EPL side Aston Villa CEO TOM FOX hopes RANDY LERNER "will continue to be the club's owner for a 'long, long time,'" according to Stuart James of the London GUARDIAN. It is the American's "first interview with a national newspaper" since he left his role as Arsenal’s CCO last summer to accept Lerner’s offer "to take over the day-to-day running of Villa." He comes across as a man "who is fiercely determined to deliver success and not expecting a tap on the shoulder any time soon to say the Midlands club will be in new hands."
Fox "breaks into laughter" when it is put to him there is a school of thought that the FA Cup final against Arsenal on May 30 could be Lerner’s last game as Villa’s owner. Fox: “I really don’t know how to respond to that. I think I’d know if there was a sale imminent."
After several questions aimed at getting to the bottom of the takeover situation, Fox said, "Look, there may be people out there who in their own mind think they want to buy Aston Villa. It’s nothing that we know about it. People are trying to fill the void of information with something. And I’m not suggesting you are irresponsible for asking these questions, but a lot of what is being said out there is just borderline irresponsible." He added, "I look at some of the things that are being written about the ownership and I just laugh. ‘Rich person interested in buying Villa.’ Of course there is. Why is that news? Tell me who it is, tell me what his offer is, tell me he’s engaged actively with the bank to do that, and that there’s actually engagement on the other side, and then you might have a story. I haven’t seen any of those things happening." Fox said that he hopes Lerner will be Villa’s owner "for a long, long time."
MONEY TALKS: Pointing to the financial fair play rules introduced in '13, Fox said that "it is misguided to think a wealthy benefactor could replace Lerner and transform Villa’s fortunes." Fox: "Even if he wanted to, an owner could not come in under the current financial regime that exists within the Premier League and invest as much money as Randy has in the club. It wouldn’t be allowed any more because of the profitability and sustainability rules." After five successive years spent fighting relegation, Fox said Lerner "now sees some light at the end of the tunnel with where we’re headed" (GUARDIAN, 4/30).
