Graham Taylor has expressed his concern at the current pantomime at Aston Villa and claimed it is a 'sign of the times.'
The former Villa and England manager is disappointed but not surprised at the current state of flux after five days of turmoil.
In a web of intrigue that would put an Agatha Christie thriller to shame, a statement issued by Villa's squad of players criticising Doug Ellis has since been denied vehemently by club officials.
With the fingers of accusation pointing in many different directions, Villa have revealed their very own team of sleuths who are aiming to solve this perplexing riddle.
Such is the level of paranoia and mistrust at Villa Park, that the club, as revealed in an official statement, will be holding an internal inquiry to find the perpetrators of the original statement.
Chairman Ellis, who is out of the country, will await the results of his investigation and is likely to consult with his lawyers before taking what he deems to be appropriate action.
"Aston Villa announce the club is to hold an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the recent publication of a so-called player statement, which was allegedly supported by the entire first-team squad," reads the official statement.
"The panel will consist of operations director, Steve Stride and non-executive directors, David Owen and Steven Kind.
"The inquiry intends to establish the facts surrounding the events of recent days and this will include meetings with the players.
"There will be no further comment from the club until the inquiry is completed."
That unambiguous statement should concur with O'Leary who claimed he was 'shocked' at the statement from his squad.
"The players wish to meet the chairman at his earliest convenience to discuss issues raised over the weekend," he said.
"My own position is that I feel it would be unwise for me to comment publicly until the outcome of the meeting and I shall continue to concentrate on the club's pre-season preparations."
The only certain fact emanating from Villa Park at present that the club are in a shambolic state off the field.
O'Leary, who also denied any contact with Sunderland over their vacant manager's job, is coming under increasing scrutiny from Ellis and the name of Alan Curbishley is bandied around as a potential replacement for O'Leary should the chairman deem a change necessary.
With the club up for sale, no new signings imminent and dreadful season ticket sales, they are in a downward cycle that is gathering momentum.
Taylor is watching from afar with a heavy heart and believes the current state of affairs is indicative of modern day Aston Villa.
During Taylor's first stint as manager the club reached the heights of second place in the top-flight of English football. When he returned to Villa in 2002, however, he found a different animal.
The club finished 16th in the Premiership before Taylor resigned and O'Leary picked up the cudgels.
"It is a sign of the times at Villa that this statement has come out," said Taylor.
"I had two spells as manager at the club and the second was nowhere near as successful as the first.
"Perhaps supporters will understand why I left now.
"The results weren't as good but if thought the situation could have been changed I would has stayed and stuck it out.
"I take no great pleasure in saying this, as I have a real affection for Aston Villa."
Whether the dressing room was united behind the original statement has been open to conjecture after Villa officials claimed otherwise. Taylor has vast experience of dressing rooms at all levels of football and he confessed to being surprised at the unequivocal support.
"We are all stumbling in the dark a bit here until we know all the facts," he said.
"I would like to see the document in print and at least one of the players put their name on the bottom.
"I think it is an absolutely amazing statement.
"What I would say is that I have seen lots of dressing rooms over the years and I have never known a group of players be this united before, as there are usually one or two who disagree.
"Therefore, it would have been nice to have seen one of the players actually attribute his name to this statement on behalf of everyone else."
