Randy Lerner, the Aston Villa chairman, has passed up the chance to shed any light on Martin O'Neill's departure but his right‑hand man was more than happy to do the job for him today. General Charles C Krulak, a former US Marine Corps commandant who is a non-executive director at Villa Park, accused O'Neill of believing he was "bigger than the club" and of refusing to bring a spiralling wage bill under control.
Krulak's comments, posted on the Villa supporters' website, VillaTalk, are sure to go down badly with O'Neill, who resigned as manager yesterday. The Northern Irishman felt unable to continue because of the financial constraints placed on him as Lerner sought to redress the balance after Villa's annual wage bill climbed to £71m, accounting for 85% of the club's turnover. Krulak claimed O'Neill was told that those figures were unsustainable but said that he would not tackle the problem.
"There is absolutely no question that Martin did a good deal for Villa and I have said, over and over, that I felt he did a fine job," wrote Krulak. "At the same time, I can promise everyone that he knew and understood the long-range plans for the club and bought into them. He knew full well about the need to bring wages in line with revenue ... the same as every Premiership club. He was absolutely supported by the owner during his time with the club ... all one needs to do is look at the money spent. The reality is that the wage to revenue issue was not addressed and Martin apparently was unwilling to help address it. He quit."
Yet it is Krulak's comments about O'Neill's personality that will provoke the most interest. The 68-year-old, who has regularly posted messages since Lerner took over in 2006, seemed to imply that O'Neill's ego was out of control when he wrote: "As an aside, no one person is bigger than our club ... not me, not Randy, not Paul, not Martin. What is interesting is that, apparently, only three of those named understand that fact."
O'Neill came under further criticism from Curtis Davies, who rarely featured last season. "A lot of players have been frustrated by not having a fair crack of the whip and I'm one of them," said the defender. "There is no guarantee whoever comes in is going to play you or not play you. But if you feel you have got a chance, then you are happy. As long as someone who comes in is fair, I am sure people will be happy. I felt I didn't have a chance."
The goalkeeper Brad Friedel rubbished reports linking him with a move to Fulham and so was not one of the contributing factors to O'Neill's exit. "The story was made up," he said. "I've never had contact with Fulham. I never had a conversation with Martin about it."
Lerner had been expected to make a statement after flying back to England yesterday but the chairman has chosen not to comment at this stage. Whether that situation changes today remains to be seen, but the Villa owner is coming under growing pressure not only to talk about O'Neill's exit and the search for a successor, but also to outline his wider plans, includinghow he intends to bring Champions League football to the club. The American was unable to offer a coherent strategy to support that goal last season. He discussed the merits of a "sell-to-buy" policy and talked about "other strengths", including "continuity of your manager" and the ability to identify promising young talent. It felt like a weak case long before O'Neill departed.Lerner and the club's chief executive, Paul Faulkner, who were at Villa's training ground yesterday as Kevin MacDonald, the reserve-team manager, took his first session as caretaker manager, have drawn up a shortlist of candidates to replace O'Neill. Bob Bradley, the USA coach, and Sven‑Goran Eriksson have both signalled their interest in the job.
Any hopes of luring Martin Jol look to be doomed, with the Dutchman apparently happy at Ajax now that he has been backed in the transfer market.