Doug gave his annual birthday interview/ lecture/State of the Nation address a few weeks ago. You may have read it. You may also have believed it. If so, could I possibly interest you in this Eiffel Tower the French government have asked me to sell. One careful owner, make the cheque out to Cash, save any worries with the VAT.

We start off with a resume of Doug's wealth. Fine, he's earned a few bob and good luck to him. But that's of no significance whatsoever in the running of the Villa. Unless he puts a few quid into the club, which he never has and I don't l suppose he has any intention of doing, then Doug could have the personal fortune of Bill Gates, a Big Issue seller or anyone in between. It makes no difference.

Next point is quite significant though. "Villa's profit to turnover ratio is the best in the Premiership, probably the best of any side in Europe at the moment". The reason just might be because we hardly ever spend any real money. He boasts that the wage bill is much less than Manchester United's. You know what I'm going to say next, don't you?

But it's not all prudence and economy. John Gregory has been given (altogether now) £40 million to spend on players. If you're going to bandy figures like that, you might as well mention how much has come in.

Talking of John, Doug says that he's going to

have to pull his finger out. "At the end of phase one of the stadium development, I want us to be competing for the Champions League. I also want the gates to be averaging out at around 90 per cent".

The redevelopment he talks about will be finished during next season. Which means that by then the team have got to improve immeasurably and the club will have to find another ten thousand regular supporters. Now hopelessly biased as I am, even I can see that the team we've got is, at best, typically Villa. Top six or seven, but not good enough for top three. So it follows that there will be some serious money spent to bring in the players to realise Doug's dream. Don't hold your breath.

"I am not sure that bringing one or two big names in is the answer....I have to weigh up whether spending that much is of value to the team and the shareholders." Ah ha. Back on the plane Rivaldo.

In fact, John Gregory was talking not so long ago of possibly signing a Nationwide League player on loan. This is the level of ambition associated with Walsall. I don't for one minute imagine that it's what John wants but if that's the best we can do.... (As usual at this point, if we've signed Salas, Batistuta or Salas by the time you read this, I'll happily apologise. Even Christian Vieri would do at a push)

But while John might be having to pick up a few tips from Ray Graydon, he will be encouraged by the support he enjoys from his employer. "I have been very supportive of him all the way." So John had Doug's backing when things weren't going too well. It's a pity that he didn't get it in public until the results picked up. The phrase 'keeping your options open' comes to mind here'.

Much is made of Doug's business values. "It is a country boy's outlook. Never borrow money..." Unfortunately we aren't talking about a farmer here. This is a company with a brand name which is world famous. Surely we should be employing people whose business skills are a bit more developed than the level of working on a market.

Ellis believes that 65% of Premiership clubs are financially over-stretched and believes that "careful" growth is the way forward. If this is the case, perhaps he could tell us how exactly the Villa are growing. Certainly not on the pitch in the last four years. I know that some clubs are heading for meltdown in a big way, but there comes a time when you have to stop hoarding and start investing. To return to Ellis's first love, if he was still in the travel business I wonder if he would still be flying people to Majorca in converted World War II Dakotas.

We finish with Doug's dream for the future. "The bankrupt club he took over will one day be worth £150 million and fans will enjoy top class European action in an impressive stadium". When Villa floated the company was worth £121 million ("a good investment" - remember?). Three years later it would be fair to assume that this £150 million figure would have already been reached, bearing in mind the supposed financial acumen of the man in charge. In fact, the City has such an opinion of the people who run Aston Villa that they now value the club at round £45 million. One share tipster recently described the club as "poorly managed and under-valued".

As for the bit about top European action, then fine. That's what we all want and such talk is what supporters want to hear. But it doesn't sit easily with what went before it. Doug wants a team who can compete with the elite, playing in a packed stadium. But he doesn't give any hint of how it's going to be achieved. Perhaps he thinks that honest journeymen players are going to turn into superstars. Maybe we will unearth a team of undiscovered geniuses who will blend together overnight.

Or maybe the Villa will continue to plod along the same path they have done for a decade and more. Reasonably successful, reasonably profitable. Happy with getting into Europe more often than not and a good cup run. Kidding ourselves that there are eighty-five or so clubs would swap places, and not giving much thought to the ones that wouldn't. After all, we're not as big as Manchester United and we never will be.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this time Doug has got it right and Villa will rap the benefits of his obsession with small-time economics. He may finally have the wherewithal to put his grandiose schemes into plan and show the vision to match his, and our, dreams.