Lerner eyeing the Top 4

[unitedfan]

Randy Lerner is ready to open his chequebook as he bids to help Aston Villa break the stranglehold the 'big four' have over the rest of the Premier League.

The combination of billionaire owner Lerner and his astute manager Martin O'Neill has seen Villa make steady progress over the past year.

Villa fans are hopeful their side will prove good enough to gatecrash the European places this season, and Lerner sees no reason why they cannot eventually establish themselves as UEFA Champions League regulars.

"It is our ambition to compete with them (the top four) although there is still a lot of work to be put in to build up Villa to that sort of level," said Lerner.

"It will be the multi-growth of our business which we hope will eventually enable Villa to compete with the likes of these clubs.

"Attendances and other sales are up but at the present time they do not balance the books. It was not expected they would.

Prudent spending

"I don't know if necessarily buying players and throwing them into the team would be a direct indicator of future success. You need a group of players who play together over a period of time.

"Probably what we would like to do is to add on in a tactical and practical way over a period of time to strengthen what we are already building."

Lerner concedes that he is prepared for O'Neill to ask him for fresh funds in the January transfer window.

"Obviously, you need to spend to compete and to spend more on a higher level," he added.

"We have not discussed specific players and there is no budget in mind. That doesn't seem to be the nature of our dialogue."

From SkySports

Whenever he talks, he sounds like the perfect chairman - probably a good PR advisor earning his money!

[NJ10]

They have the root of a decent side, still a fair bit of deadwood though.

I think Top 6 is achievable this season, although they would need to play out of their skins and probably bring in a couple of players in the transfer window.

[unitedfan]

Lerner and O'Neill have been all about steady proggression since they came in. I think they'd be very happy to make the top 8 this year, and push on to break 6th the following season.

[andy villa]

we have a VERY VERY long way to go to get to even 6th spot...

[Mighty T.A.L.]

You can forget about top 4 when you lose 1-4 for United at home!!

[unitedfan]

Originally Posted by Mighty T.A.L.

You can forget about top 4 when you lose 1-4 for United at home!!

Liverpool were beaten 4-1 at home by Chelsea.

[henry14]

Originally Posted by Mighty T.A.L.

You can forget about top 4 when you lose 1-4 for United at home!!

It doesn't matter when defeat by giant teams.
We should look for the future, Villa have the capability to win all the mid-level and lower-level teams, then villa also have sufficient points to rise their position to top-5 to top-7, even top-4 probably.

[andy villa]

he has a point though..

apart form the farcical joke refereeing that ruined the second half, they showed the difference and distance between the two sides..

utds movement, both on and off the ball, their ability to hold posession and their vision and passing were excellent..

and they did what all class sides do when being outplayed in the first 30 mins, was to take their chances.. after they scored their first from our gift, our heads dropped and we looked in awe, and utd again, did what all class sides do, they took advantage of that and although fortunate not to have a pen given against them, they again, took their chances to make it 3-1 before half time...

that was the difference between the two sides and shows how far we are away from the top 4...

so while its great to have ambition from the chairman, and a plan, we have a VERY long way to go to achieve those ambitions and we wont be doing that by siging players of the ilk of marlon harewood, stilyan petrov or zatiyah knight... nor will we get there by not having a single right back or right winger at the club.. nor will we get there by sitting back and inviting pressure onto us as soon as we take a lead...

[unitedfan]

Villa have the potential though, I'm convinced of that. We can see what they can do in a no-pressure situation - look at the 3-0 pre-season over Inter for an example. Yes, Inter obviously weren't going all out on Villa, but that doesn't take away too much from the style of their play that game. Thet've got bags of pace and a good front of the squad. What's needed is depth, and some experience - be it signed experience, or experience gained to the Youngs and Moores over time, so they can play that level of pace and fluidity in a higher pressure situation. At that kind of tempo, they could take anyone off their gaurd, it will take time, but they are a good long-term investment, imo.

[andy villa]

oh, i agree...

we are planning for a long term sustainable challenge, and if we get there, we will be hard to dislodge...

but its a long way off...