Double the Football

A season after business tycoon and Tampa Bay Buccaneer owner Malcolm Glazer purchased the majority share of English football club Manchester United, Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner is interested in following suit by purchasing Aston Villa football club. Lerner is a young 44-year old billionaire and the chairman of MBNA, and though the Browns will not confirm this rumor, they have issued a statement that Lerner is currently pursuing a business venture in England. Though the Cleveland Browns have not been a very successful on-field NFL team, Forbes business magazine ranks them as 7th most valuable franchise in the league. The current owner of Aston Villa is 82-year-old Doug Ellis and he has chaired the club for over 24 years now, and Villa is in desperate need of a cash infusion to become competitive in the EPL once again. Aston Villa has failed to finish in the top 5 of the EPL since the '96-97 campaign, though they were FA Cup finalists in '99-00. This past year they finished an abysmal 16th out of 20 teams. Ramble On can only wonder whether or not the Claret and Blue will have the type of backlash that Glazer faced when the felt Americans were infringing on the most English of sports. Only time will tell with what degree that takeover will be met.