Ellis Selling Villa At Half Price

As the rumour mill moves on to Russian businessmen looking at Aston Villa, Doug Ellis has confirmed (ahem) that a number (cough, cough) of offers have come in.

If they have – and lets face it, they haven’t – then why has the City and the shareholders been informed?

However, he doesn’t think any Russians have approached! Would he even know?

Ellis said: ‘I have said quite openly that I was prepared to sell to the Comer brothers who came in with an offer way below the true value of the club. Nevertheless, they were seen to be football people, terribly keen to get into football. Unfortunately so far it hasn’t come off. Having said that, we are looking at other people, of course, who have come in.’

So is £64million now seen as ‘below the true value?’ and if so, who is doing the valuation? According to the Birmingham Mail Ellis believes he is selling the club at half the real value of the club. We really are in more trouble than I thought!

‘As and when that happens – a buyer comes in – the criteria is that they are football people and can take Aston Villa forward and be very interested in the progress of Aston Villa Football Club. They should not just be coming to asset-strip because we have got some valuable land to build houses on.’

Valuable land? Slap bang in the middle of Aston? NO offence meant at all, but……. Aston is not Chelsea.