You may have read this piece before from the Daily Mail that Neil Moxley wrote but well worth repeating this for those of you who may have missed it

Says everything why I love Randy Lerner as our owner and why I personally trust him 100%, there are things I could add

Free scarves, Euro Champs return, Holte Pub, general refurbishment at high level, free away trips etc. etc.

But this explains it much better than I

The headlines don’t really do Randy Lerner justice. That’s sometimes the problem with this job. Journalists are trained (difficult to believe, I know) to cherry-pick the juiciest tit-bits and spin them into reports of interest.

So the story that needed reporting, given the general air of mis-trust and confusion that has reigned at Villa Park for the past couple of months, was Martin O’Neill.

Randy says that Martin stays. Good. (For the record, I think – but have no confimation – that the manager’s future might have been sorted out on the Thursday prior to the Blackburn game. And that it was Mr Lerner holding the ace cards, not Mr O’Neill

But the point about Lerner’s annual press conference was not just the important message that needed to be conveyed, but the manner of it. The American took on all-comers for 50 minutes. The friendly, inquisitive and intrusive questions about his leadership.

Fortunately, through the medium of an internet column, we can try to enlighten people as to what the man is all about. First, he is utterly, utterly devoted to Aston Villa.

Unlike Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool, or the Glazer family at Manchester United, there is no disguising his intentions. It is not to use Aston Villa as a giant cash-cow, to be milked whenever he fancies it. His investment stands at £180m and is growing.

He has bought a former farm close to Bodymoor Heath and is fully immersed in the area. Oh, and he has the club crest tattooed on his ankle. Clearly, this is a man prepared to make Aston Villa his life.

But that’s not what I like about him. True, he’s very personable, polite and very, very protective of his family. But what I admired was the following – and I’m just going to re-produce a few words from his press conference that weren’t newsworthy, because I think this gives the best flavour of the man.

‘When I walk around Bodymoor Heath in the middle of the afternoon in the pouring rain and see Gordon Cowans out there with all that he stands for, and all that he has accomplished, with his hood over his head, talking to Gary Gardner or Ciaran Clark, it’s a hidden moment.

‘It’s hidden moments like these that I think are worth mentioning because they are part of the experience that I’m having. It’s one of the signs of growth and development of the club that I value. It will become more visible over time.

‘It’s growing, that experience. Winning at Old Trafford was a big deal. Going to the Carling Cup final was beyond great, going to Wembley with my kids, driving up and seeing tens of thousands of Villa fans in their colours. I’d never been there before. It was all pretty impactful for me.’
A former colleague of mine warned me when I entered the business of football reporting that 95 per cent of those involved in football club ownership are either cheats, crooks, blaggards or conmen. That there were very few involved for the same emotional reasons as the average fan.

I think Randy Lerner makes up some of that five per cent.

‘I remain very excited and privileged to be involved,’ he said towards the end of his interview.

Aston Villa fans, you are lucky people. This man is one of you. He should be cherished.