Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has pledged to back manager Martin O'Neill in the transfer market again this summer.
Lerner believes the credit crunch will not have a significant impact on the funds that will be made available.
He said: "Will there be funds for players this summer? Yes. Like any club we are conscious of having money available for the summer."
But the American multi-millionaire is also eager to ensure Villa do not become embroiled in the financial difficulties which have hit other clubs in the past through reckless over-spending.
O'Neill spent around £50million on new players last summer and has made it clear the size of his squad needs to be significantly increased if Villa are to challenge for a Champions League spot.
"We are also conscious of managing the players leaving and trying to generate funds from that. It is a balancing act but, yes, there will be funds," he added.
"Will the credit crunch impact on funds available this summer? I don't really view the credit crunch as a big issue in terms of the funding for the summer.
"But, if anything, what has gone on in the economy makes you very conscious of building a sustainable business because, in the end, that is what you are responsible for doing.
"To the extent that you are deficit spending, maybe you should think very hard about how you are ultimately going to pay it off and the consequences of not being able to pay it off.
"We know clubs that got into trouble before and those disappointments far exceed not having the best players and not winning what one sets out to win. They are long term problems that don't go away."
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lubov??? YOU ARE A TW*T!
I HAVE COMPLETE FAITH IN MON AND LERNER AND THEY ARE DOING THE BEST FOR ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB. WE NEED A BIGGER SQUAD OF PLAYERS AND WE NEED MORE QUALITY PLAYERS ESPECIALLY IN THE DEFENSE NOW THAT LAURSEN IS GONE FOREVER. BARRY HAD ANOTHER GREAT SEASON AND ASHLEY YOUNG WAS SUPERB AT TIMES. I HOPE BARRY STAYS FOREVER!
WE ARE IN SAFE HANDS! KEEP THE FAITH!
VILLA TILL I DIE.
hahaha were are villa know sixth lol look
manutd
liverpool
chelsea
arsenal
everton
villa
hha hahaah villa
hahahaha villa sixth not even in the top four hahahahah
villa can't dance with the big boys man
I, like David, have followed the Villa into the old 3rd div and back up again. I remember 48100 people turning up to watch us beat Bournemouth 1-0 and the superb young team that raced to a 5-0 half time lead aginst liverpool. We never have spent big and have always tried to bring young talent through which is why I am proud to be a Villa fan. I don't want to see my team stuffed with foreign mercenaries on £50k per week who have little interest in the club, look what it did to Newcastle. Lerner and MON are a good combination, ideally we need 3 top class reinforcements to gain a top 4 place. Quality not quantity will get us there.
Sick of it all and other Aston Villa fans like myself who have followed the club for over forty years. Remember when we were in the 3rd division, when John Dunn, Keith Bradley, Charlie Aitken, Brian Godfrey, Fred Turnbull, Brian Tiler, Pat McMahon, Burce Rioch, Andy Lochead, Ial Hamialton, and Willie Anderson nearly beat Tottenham Hotspur in the 1971 Football League cup final. Then in 1982 we won the European Cup by beating one of the best teams in Europe Bayern Munich with Peter Withe scoring the winning goal and Gordon Cowans, who has been a major influence behind the development of the youth team. Who in these memorable times as a child do I need to thank? Well Doug Ellis! Yes, he didn’t spend a lot of money to buy player because he believed that by spending money doesn’t bring success. Just look at Barcelona last night winning the European Cup with seven players in the team who had progressed from their youth team. Lerner has the same philosophy and that is why Doug Ellis decided to sell Aston Villa Football Club to him. I met him once and I can tell you that Doug Ellis was one of the most passionate persons I have ever met who wanted the club to continue to be one of the most successful clubs in the football league. Remember one VERY IMPORTANT POINT, Aston Villa were NOT in ‘DEBT’ when he sold the club.
My point is that we have a dedicated chairmen and a manager who will bring back the glory days back to Aston Villa. To those supporters who want that success now, forget it. We don’t want a one season wonder club, but a club that will continue to make progress year after year. Yes, we need to improve the team, but not at the expense of one of the best youth teams that will produce players like Barcelona in the future. Just be patient as Aston Villa will be a force in the future. God bless John Robson!
it all went wrong when we lost our lionheart laursen thro injury. most of all we need somebody to fill his role. mcgrath and laursen centre back legends
For villa to finish 2 successive seasons in the top 6, is an acheivement itself for a club of Villa's stature. Remember how it was under Ellis, where the club was yo-yoing season after season with his interferance of club matters??? MON is a doing a great job in reviving a fallen giant... it would take another 2 years at least to reach the heights of the top 4 without any financial difficulties that they are facing now... on top of sparing the fans the need to pay over-zealous ticket prices to fund bank loans and such... Randy and MON are one of the better cominations in the EPL... look at other teams that looked like clowns when the managers and chairman fought publicly...
UTV
I Totally agree with Rahul, Friedel has been useful, but the guy is too old, Heskey is totally @#$%, need another Juan Pablo Angel, to excite us as he did a few years ago, Pacey, exciting to watch and most of all a goal scorer !! UP THE VILLA
There are some Villa fans who don't rate Martin O'Neill - I disagree with them. He has shown himself to be a great team builder, and a shrewd tactician - he has given the team a confidence which saw a remarkable run of success earlier in the season. His weakness is he has been cautious in the transfer market - getting in to few high class players and bringing people on board late in the transfer process. He needs to find 3 - 4 players with a good reputation for demonstrating lots of energy and commitment in March and April when the rest of the team run out of gas!
OWEN is not wanted at VILLA, sicknote owen is really finished in football, everyone can see that, bit like jonny wilkinson in rugby, villa need 6 players to contest the big four, they need a new goal keeper(1) as brad is well past it and cant organise his defence, he never talks to them, we need two defenders of mellbergs class (2&3), we need someone to replace barry(4) or someone like him(5) just in case of tiredness or injury, we need to get rid of heskey, o neill only bought him cos they re mates from leicester, regardless of him we need a striker and i dont mean OWEN, we need a world class striker(6) not someone who is well burnt out and pass it, we need to clear out brad friedel, heskey, shorey, gardener, zat knight, reo coker, and other like albagonor need to learn a lot more then just running and lazy attitude at times, for 90mins they need to earn their money at least if they are not playing for pride,
oneill you just cant handle the big names
Well said Randy, building for the future on solid ground, not sand.
Disappointed by the end of the season, but heartened by Lerner's desire to build slowly and methodically.
this is what a football club need. an owner and a manager that have the same idea and vision. gudluck villa! eventhough i dont see villa breaking top4 in near future, yet it is a gud afford and hopefully miracle can happen.
nicholsondave : I think so! Not many as understanding and forward thinking as he is. Good partnership between him and O'Neill
aston villa must have this squad for next season:gk:friedel,defenders:curtis davies,cuellar,shorey,johnson,midfielders:reo-cocker,yo ung,milner,lucas,strikers:agbonlahor,darren bent
I'm sure that Randy is learning just what a big club Villa are and that every penny invested with a very capable manager,in MON, will be money well spent. Unfortunately, the premiership is geared towards supporting The Big 4 to remain The Top 4 - fixtures, referees, FA decisions and whilst only 4 teams from England can enter the CL the big money will elude us. Villa would be better equiped to win the CL than 80% of the teams entering thequalifying stages.
More wise words from Lerner. The ideal chairman?
well lets hope he does not buy another Heskey, Although heskey is an ok player he was not all we needed in january
I was shocked that he was all the Villa bought as the squad is a small one and the players had been playing constantly since the intertoto and were to my eyes starting to look tired
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