A regional daily gave over its front page to a series of pleas from football fans’ to their club’s owner over the current state of their team.
The Birmingham Mail printed readers’ messages to Aston Villa FC’s American owner Randy Lerner, following the club’s 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool FC on Sunday.
The loss left Villa adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table, with just 16 points from 26 games.
After the match, the Mail urged readers to get in touch with their messages for Mr Lerner, pledging to pass them on to the “pawnbrokers” at the club’s Villa Park home ground.
The response resulted in the front page pictured above, with the messages running in yesterday’s edition.
Messages from supporters to Mr Lerner included “you have taken the heart out of Aston Villa and broken it” and “we are a laughing stock.”
The Mail said in a piece on its website: “Here at the Birmingham Mail we have been inundated with messages from supporters complaining that their voice is being ignored by the claret and blue hierarchy.”
Villa were this week dubbed the worst team ever to compete in the Premier League by TV pundit Jamie Carragher, although Derby County fans who remember the Rams’ calamitous 2007-08 campaign may disagree.
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I wonder if the club will now ban the Mail for daring to splash negative thoughts, a la NUFC etc.
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To see this once great club reduced to this ,there once was a time when players put on the Claret and Blue with pride ,that is no longer so ,the players ought to look at themselves because they are to blame ,i feel so sorry for Guard ,he has taken over a team with no spirit ,R I P Aston Villa it will take a lot to get back to the Premier Division ,all my life when i worked abroad the first thing i used to do was see the Villa result ,
Bring back Doug Ellis!
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Wat can I say worst ever .since I hv been going to villa park 45years bring bk deadly Doug villa through a through
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Just sell up for a tenner a nether come bk randy a go a buy a netball team
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I have supported Aston Villa all my life,so to did my father and my grandfather. Up until Mr learner took over the club I was a season ticket holder. In the 2nd season of Martin O’Neill’s reign I was informed by a club official that investment in the playing staff had to come from the
commercial arm of Aston Villa and no more funds would be given to O’Neill. It was obvious to me then that mr Learner saw the purchase of the club as a speculative business venture. So I am not surprised at how the club has been run or why we are currently in such a mess.
Lerner has ruined the Aston Villa brand.
Commercially the business strategy has failed because it is what you do on the pitch that drives the business.
The value of the club is at an all time low and the management do not connect with the most important facet of Aston Villa…The supporters!
Randy Lerner is not a wayward chairman because from day one he and his colleagues have never been present even when they were,hence his surprise when in the early days fans were chanting his name along with USA.He just doesn’t understand, and why should he; the passion and investment we as supporters have for our football club.
In short Aston Villa have got what they’ve paid for,poor management,
poor leadership on and off the field of play,poor contracts and poor
results.It is only the poor supporters that don’t deserve to suffer the indignity that has been bestowed upon us.
I look forward to the day when I can watch my team without the stomach churning trepidation and anxiety that I experience at present.
Why did you buy our club Mr Lerner?
And when you finally sell it please find a buyer that’s remotely interested in our game.
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Its about time villa was seen for what it is a total train crash for years now they have been on the verge of relegation. I can’t wait and perfect timing as the true club of our great city Birmingham city are going to sail on by as they march on there remarkable turn around under legend Gary Rowett goodlook to villa playing Walsall and Burton Albion .Now that’s a true football fairytale the way Burton have come from shobnol fields to the pirreli . let’s hope the villa don’t end up like Coventry ! ! keep right on to the end of the road roll on 2016 True blue
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It’s only football folks, not life or death!!
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thank you Mr learner for finally convincing me not to support my team after 62 years my wife is well pleased that i now can go shopping of a saturday instead
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This is what happens when football clubs are run as a business and not a sports team as originally intended. I can count on one hand the number of people paid week in week out by Aston Villa that have supported it all their lives. I’must a proud ex-soldier, always proud to wear memories of military service, I used to be just as proud to wear claret and blue. Now I am sad to say the latter is embarrassing. We will NOT bounce back from the Championship because there is NO fight or pride in the squad. You need to purchase 25 backbones and surgically implant them in the squad
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Learner is only after parachute pay day and he will be gone club left in scrap yard and bringing in other people to hide behind just be a man stand up straight and leave this great club you could not run a greyhound you muppet
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Didn’t the supporters ov learners old American football team tell us about him when he took over villa that he would mess things up a they went from good to bad aswell y didn’t we listen then lads lets hope we can end up coming bk up in couple ov years a hv someone take over a blke the man city a Chelsea
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