Villa General in Blues apology
Villa owner Randy Lerner has attempted to take the heat out of the Second City derby by revealing General Krulak has said "sorry" for his "pig wrestling in mud" jibe at Birmingham chairman David Gold. Villa owner Randy Lerner has attempted to take the heat out of the Second City derby by revealing General Krulak has said "sorry" for his "pig wrestling in mud" jibe at Birmingham chairman David Gold. Krulak, a non-executive director at Villa, caused a firestorm when he said "sometimes you have to wrestle with the pig in the mud" in a putdown of their bitter city rivals when addressing the £45 ticket prices charged by Blues for the St Andrew's clash this Sunday. The General, a former chief commander of the United States Marine Corps, issued the comments on one of the four Villa fans' websites he regularly posts on. But American billionaire Lerner conceded they were ill-advised, retracted immediately and that the General had apologised. "I'm very familiar with the situation. It was a poor choice of words, not the right phrasing," said Lerner. "The General acknowledged that, retracted the statement and sent a written apology to the chairman." Read the full story in today's Express & Star. Villa and Blues fans vote in our derby poll here Don't miss all the derby build-up, Villa v Blues memories in pictures, predictions, reports and analysis all week on expressandstar.com and in the paper.
Villa owner Randy Lerner has attempted to take the heat out of the Second City derby by revealing General Krulak has said "sorry" for his "pig wrestling in mud" jibe at Birmingham chairman David Gold.
Krulak, a non-executive director at Villa, caused a firestorm when he said "sometimes you have to wrestle with the pig in the mud" in a putdown of their bitter city rivals when addressing the £45 ticket prices charged by Blues for the St Andrew's clash this Sunday.
The General, a former chief commander of the United States Marine Corps, issued the comments on one of the four Villa fans' websites he regularly posts on.
But American billionaire Lerner conceded they were ill-advised, retracted immediately and that the General had apologised.
"I'm very familiar with the situation. It was a poor choice of words, not the right phrasing," said Lerner.
"The General acknowledged that, retracted the statement and sent a written apology to the chairman.
"That seems to me to be a respectful way to acknowledge what had occurred and make it very clear to Mr Gold he wanted to be swift and conspicuous in his retraction and apology.
"I don't have first-hand experience of these situations, but I'm pretty clear knowing these kinds of local rivalries don't need any extra trouble. So the idea of any kind of incendiary conduct is just foolish.
"And if you were in the room he'd have shook hands and said: "Right, let's get a beer and get over it".
"I know he was eager to get it sorted. This is a guy who has been getting along with people for a long time.
"You can't possibly have the career he's had and not be somebody that gets along with people.
"He's got a contagious personality. He's compelling in terms of being funny, he's intense, direct and accomplished.
"I spoke to the General about it afterwards and he had made his own decisions on how to handle it."
Lerner has revealed he will probably miss Sunday's big game because of commitments with the Cleveland Browns.
"I don't believe I'll be there. I have a conflict in my diary," he said. "I want to be there and I may be, but I don't believe I will."
