Charity conscious Villa

Randy Lerner has continued to set a supreme standard for the money men of the Premier League.
Lerner has agreed a deal with Acorns Children's Hospice that will see the name of the charity adorning the Villa shirt for the whole of next season.
It is an agreement which only has one parallel - that of Barcelona in Spain who had UNICEF sponsoring their kit for free during the last campaign.
Villa have now taken the lead in England, but don't expect too many sides to follow in the near future.
With the influx of cash conscious foreign chairmen, the Premier League is in the middle of a money grabbing age.
Some notable owners are now running their clubs as businesses more than football teams, but Lerner has broken the emerging mould.

Turmoil

There was stark evidence of the contrast when Villa took on Liverpool at Anfield in January.
The Reds were in turmoil off the field as wranglings between their American owners took centre stage.
The effect was a poor on-field performance and efficiently run Villa nearly stole all three points - only to be denied by a late Peter Crouch equaliser.
Villa were clear underdogs but togetherness reigned supreme and the Claret and Blue were agonisingly close to plunging Liverpool into further despair.
Although salvation struck Benitez, the treacherous boardroom situation continues to disintegrate the image of a great club.
Other clubs such as Man City are currently going through a transitional period but for Villa there was no such era.
From the moment Lerner took over stability was the key, his priority.
It's worked and a top six finish was apt reward.
The partnership with Acorns is simply the furthering of an ambition driven by desire rather than money and generosity rather than ruthlessness.
Some Chairmen could learn a lot from Randy.