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A couple week ago, I asked the 7500 to Holte staff whether they would take the FA Cup if it meant the club would be relegated. The answers were mixed, but the majority said no. This week, lets change that question up a bit, substituting relegation for something else that a majority of Aston Villa fans generally think is pretty crucial.
Q: Aston Villa are in the FA Cup final. What would you rather: Villa win the FA Cup or you wake up tomorrow and Aston Villa have a new owner?
Robert
I'll take the FA Cup win. Do that, survive, and suddenly Villa are (seemingly) worth a lot more and we get a better owner. Plus we'd have a cup to show off for it, too.
Rory
Give me the FA Cup every time. Having a new owner would certainly bring some new energy to the club - but so would winning the Cup. I just don't think a new owner would provide the same morale boost that a shiny FA Cup in the trophy case would.
Adam
A toughie - taking the long view, only with a new owner do we have any hope of seeing Villa rejoin Europe's elite teams and leading to regular challenges for silverware. If I could guarantee that owner would be hugely wealthy, an expert in football and a long-term investor I might be tempted. But it could be anyone, so give me the silverware! As a club we need something to wash away the memories of the last few seasons and an FA Cup would go a long way to re-establishing us as a club that still has the ambition to win trophies.
Andrew
I'll take the FA Cup because with it, and safety from relegation, comes a really nice pot sweetener for the next owner should Villa find one this summer.
Nothing like telling all your pals at the yacht club that you just purchased the champions of the entire English football association.
RJ
I'd choose the FA Cup victory because, at least in my own mind, Villa are much more likely to get an owner who will invest significantly in the team if they win the FA Cup and soak up all of the worldwide exposure and revenue that comes along with that. A team that has just won a trophy and will play in Europe next season has to be a more appealing prospect for someone thinking about buying a team. Waking up with a new owner tomorrow comes with the risk of another Randy Lerner type...or worse.
Thomas
FA Cup without a doubt. The whole point of a takeover is to find someone that can improve our chances of success. Realistically in the next 10 years the FA Cup is likely the biggest trophy we can challenge for. Even the best teams go several years without an FA Cup final. We may not get this chance again for a long time. Come on! Let's end the drought - win our first trophy for 19 years and our first FA Cup for 58 years!
James
No way I choose new owner.Winning a piece of silverware will mean massive things to everyone who is an Aston Villa fan. A new owner will come, with time. And at any rate, it's not like Lerner is that bad.
Jack
Cup. Easy. Even if we're stuck with Lerner indefinitely, it really seems that Tim Sherwood has turned it around. If Timmy gets some funds to work with and spends smartly, I can only see the club's fortunes improving.
Alex
As everyone else has said, winning the Cup. It'd be the best thing to happen to this club in a damn, damn long time — I would argue since 1982 — and these opportunities don't come around too often. It's the greatest cup competition in the world.
And as James said, we're at the stage where Lerner's ownership isn't miserable. As long as he doesn't draw money out of the club, we're now financially stable again with a mid-table wage bill. If Fox can maximise our revenues, there's a chance we can get that wage bill back up in the top eight.
Matt
I thought this one might be fairly close, but I guess not. I'll make it unanimous and take the FA Cup. As not-pretty as the last couple seasons have been, we have been able to avoid relegation every time. Maybe that's luck. It's probably luck. But we're still here. I'm willing to take the gamble that Lerner will keep just enough money in the club that we won't see a massive talent drain, and will still always have just enough talent to stay up. Just getting this far in the FA Cup has been an awesome ride and I'll take the potential of winning it all day long.
Those are our answers and now we want to hear what you have to say on this topic. Leave your responses in the comments.