The banners at Old Trafford and Anfield recently sum up the state of mind of supporters under the Glazer regime at United and Tom Hicks and George Gillett administration at Liverpool: "Thanks, but no Yanks."
The antithesis of their kind is just down the M6. Randy Lerner, the philanthropist who contributes to the National Portrait Gallery, the quiet American who bought Aston Villa for £63.6 million in 2006, has transformed his club in 3½ years to the point that they are on the cusp of a trip to Wembley for their first major final in a decade.
All that stands in the way of their making the Carling Cup final is Blackburn, who go into Wednesday's semi-final second leg 1-0 down.
Unlike some of his compatriots, Lerner actually has an interest in football, fostered during a year spent at Clare College, Cambridge, as a student.
But there is more that separates him from the likes of Hicks and Gillett. As one club employee pointed out, unlike any of the other major Premier League players, his wealth is inherited from his father, and his nature is to build something rather than see it as a vehicle for making a buck.
It is an approach that has been embraced by supporters. When Tom Hicks Jnr made his ill-advised stop-off at a Sandon pub, the son of the Liverpool co-owner got covered in lager.
When Lerner goes to the Holte after matches, as he often does, he is welcomed. In January 2008. Dave Woodhall, of fanzine Heroes and Villains, described the mood of supporters as thus: "The fans worship the ground Randy walks on. He can't do anything wrong. He's got the common touch, and it seems like he genuinely cares."
Imagine then the quizzical looks that must have been shared at Villa Park in recent weeks at the emergence of a disconnect between the American and a small minority of Villa supporters who have begun to criticise the very characteristics that have made him so popular, accusing him of being an absentee landlord and of falling out of love with the club.
True, he has spent less time at Villa Park than in the past, but the suggestion that he has lost interest just earns laughs at the club.
The NFL side he inherited following his father's death seven years ago - the Cleveland Browns - have been going through tough times and Lerner has had to concentrate on that. Browns fans, naturally, are just as concerned that Lerner is more interested in football as their Villa cousins are that he has NFL in his heart.
For those unconvinced, the absence of transfer stories this month is seen as further evidence of his loss of interest. Those with longer memories, however, will recall that it was always his intention to spend less this year.
In the one appearance he made for the press last year, Lerner explained he had a year-on-year plan, which he intended to stick to regardless of last season's success.
"When we set out to build the club we expected year four to mean more modest spending than year three," he explained last May.
"I'm thinking more in terms of what we had planned to do, rather than checking to see if a bank account has less money in it." That said, he still spent in excess of £40 million in the summer.
It is one of the idiosyncrasies of the sport that as his club stand on the verge of the Carling Cup final, he faces doubts from fans.
If his tattoo on his right ankle, of the Villa crest, was not enough, he spent Christmas snowed in in Warwickshire, and he will be at Villa Park this evening.
Perhaps those suspicious fans would do well to consider the possible alternatives.
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