Randy Lerner today has issued a statement. He didn't write this and someone put it in front of him and he approved it. I might be giving too much credit here, he might not even know about it. Why am I a little harsh; read the spin from General PR below.
Randy Lerner
Having had some time to reflect on Martin leaving, I can say that our most immediate focus is supporting Kevin MacDonald and resolving the situation with Manchester City and James Milner. As for explaining why Martin left, I can say only that we no longer shared a common view as to how to move forward.
To deal in greater detail would do little but cause additional distraction for the club as it faces imminent games and the clear priority of hiring a permanent manager. Finally, there have been no changes in our approach to building the club, aiming always to be as competitive as possible given our size and resources.
This doesn't tell us anything and the more I read it, it just feels like blarney. General PR has more.
General PR Krulak
There is absolutely no question that Martin did a good job for Villa and I have said that over and over. At the same time, I can promise everyone that he knew and understood the long-range plans for the club and bought into them.
He knew full well about the need to bring wages in line with revenue - the same as every Premier League club. He was absolutely supported by the owner during his time with the club. All one needs to do is look at the money spent. The reality is that the wage-to-revenue issue was not addressed and Martin apparently was unwilling to help address it. He quit. No one person is bigger than our club - not me, not Randy, not Paul Faulkner (chief executive), not Martin.
What is interesting is that, apparently, only three of those named understand that fact.
Many will know that I didn't think O'Neill could take us further, but the man only left a few days ago and on the day I predicted that General PR would start serving us some spin and guess what, here it is.
This really isn't necessary and they should know this but maybe they don't, but Martin O'Neill is highly regarded in this country and coming out like this isn't going to win them any friends.
And while we don't really know the real reasons Martin O'Neill resigned, most supporters will see this as spin from a group only really interested in making money and most football fans will assume that Martin O'Neill left because something he thought was coming was taken away.
I have to put my cards on the table once again, but most already know this. I've not bought into Randy Lerner like many have and while some will say he has put all this money into the club, he hasn't really. The club is carrying more debt now than it ever has and Lerner is taking out millions and millions in interest and management fees.
Time for Lerner to speak and face questions. Man up Mr Ellis.