Sentimentality gets us nowhere, Michael

In the land of the elves and the pixies, where the sun always shines and bubble gum grows on every tree, we would all hope that a died-in-the-wool stalwart of the Holte End would emerge from the disguise of his denims and his 82 European Champions shirt, and reveal himself - to universal gasps of amazement - to be the heir to a Russian oligarch's fortune.

He would then immediately pledge ?100 million to Martin O'Neill's short-term transfer fund, with the same amount again available for the January window; single-handedly rebuild the North Stand before the Reading game and hire Abi Titmuss as the new club masseuse.

Sadly, reality looks and feels a trifle different. I'm sure Michael Neville would feel disappointed that as a self-proclaimed "lifelong Villa fan", he hasn't had the overwhelming and vocal support of Villa fans in his battle to take control of the club.

Why is that? There's no collective betrayal behind this - just an explicit understanding, clearly shared by Martin O'Neill himself, that Lerner is going to be in a position to support the new manager's ambitions for the club with financial muscle.

I believe that nothing would be potentially more disastrous than Neville exhausting all his available financial backing taking control of Villa, only to have to sell off assets and indulge in repeated refinancing to balance the future books.

This is the time for revolution, not sentimentality, and it simply doesn't make sense to put the club's future in the hands of any party who can't build on its purchase of Villa's stock with similar investment in the playing squad and facilities.

As far as we can all make out, Mr. Lerner is in a different league from Neville financially. It sounds cold, unsentimental and harsh judgement, but it is the only judgement we can sensibly make without different information.

There is, of course, real and serious precedent. Ask any supporter of Manchester City how they view in hindsight the (then) much-feted takeover of Francis Lee . Lee, City's favourite son from Main Road terraces to sky-blue superstar to millionaire Cheshire businessman, was the subject of a well-publicised takeover, supported by the fans in their tens of thousands and by the red-top press in full cry.

Millionaire though he was, Lee could afford only to take over, but not to invest further in success on the pitch. It wasn't long before City had slipped to the third tier of domestic competition, a disgrace for a club of its size and standing. The fans paid heavily and painfully for their sentimentality.

The three questions Doug Ellis is said to have asked of the four or five consortia chasing the Villa deal are sensible and clear. We need to be reassured that the new owner has unswerving ambition for the team on the pitch, and is prepared to invest in that ambition fast.

Sentimentality doesn't have a role to play. We are talking about waking a sleeping giant, not tickling its toes.

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