Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: amfy on November 15, 2016, 08:58:40 PM
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So - next Tuesday I am somehow in a group of fans getting to meet Steve Round.
What should I realistically ask him?
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Are the club looking to implement a style of play at all levels so that any future managers are easily able to pick up where their predecessor left off ?
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Stadium expansion stuff.
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1. Roughly, what are the divisions of responsibility between him and the manager.
2. When the manager is sacked/moves on, which bits of the system remain; tactics / footballing philosophy/ scouting infrastructure/player data?
Ultimately I would like him to identify the (target) Villa DNA - if there is one - which will define our core principles and continuity between managers.
Basically what Richard said, but using more words and less eloquently.
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Red sauce or brown on a bacon sarnie?
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What's the precise capacity of Villa Park?
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Is there a plan to get our younger players first team experience by loaning them out in the way Chelsea do?
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Ask if there's any jobs going. Preferably high paying and don't involve much, if any, actual work. Like wearing the number 11 short a few times a year.
/baddumtish
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Some guff about halal food options.
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Which player uses the shampoo bottle on their way into the showers?
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Are you square?
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Whatever happened to the African Car Reverser?
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Does he plan on sticking round for long? How is his relationship with Tony?
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Is there a plan to get our younger players first team experience by loaning them out in the way Chelsea do?
Following that kind of line - would be interesting to hear his general plans for the academy and the development pathway through the U21's and into the senior side.
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Why did Gareth Barry not take the penalty?
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Plans to keep Hepburn Murphy
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What Richard said.
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Ask him about the possibility of the Chinese investors putting some money into redeveloping Alexander stadium? A medium size investment to finish off what's already there would complete the stadium. This would be a major boost for the city's commonwealth games bid great publicity for our owners and the under 23s etc could use it as a home ground.
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Owls or Gibbons ?
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As has been mentioned succession plans between managers is a very important one. Succession plans were being developed during the last administration but it never came to fruition because they were constantly firefighting and thus managers of very differing styles came and went in quick succession. The nearest we came to seeing these plans utilized, I think, was during the summer transfer window of 2015 but as we all know things didn't go quite the way they (or us) hoped.
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Who is replacing Nicola Keye and what is her mobile number?
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Are Villa retaining a relationship with Acorn?
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Get tanked up and sing 'He's our Round M'lord' throughout.
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Made me chuckle!
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what is his job and why, having previously been an assistant manager, is he qualified to perform the role
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Tell us a bit about yourself.
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Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a poet, artist, lover and friend. I like to express themes of free will, love and mortality in my art work while making the world a better place through day to day acts of kindness in my day job and with my friends.
Its not for me to call myself a "hero" I am sure there are others more deserving of the title but I like to think I have moved the world a small way towards a better place.
Thanks for asking.
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What Dante Lavelli said but more like Richard's way.
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You have extra time. The meeting has been put back.
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What have you achieved at your previous clubs and what have you achieved since you've been here / hope to achieve ?
Is it just me that hasn't got a clue why he is here and what his role is ?
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You have extra time. The meeting has been put back.
Forward.
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What are the main similarities and differences you see at Villa having worked both at Everton and Yanited ?
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Not a question for Steve Round, but I thought this article would fit best in this thread.
Les Reed talking about his role at Southampton. I guess/hope many of the things in here would form part of Round's job.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37954971
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Thanks everyone! I will do my best to shoehorn these into our conversation if the other attendees let me get a word in.
If the club track social.media he should have his answers ready!
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Just one thing - to echo what Amfy said about a similar occasion, a lot of what's said at these sort of meetings is 'You had to be there' type stuff. There's not a great deal of hard fact talked about so please don't expect a fully-minuted state of the union summit.
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There'll be a fuller write up from other sources that were there as they are getting a recording - and they'll be something in the programme. I have had to rely on some random scribbles to remember stuff.
Broadly, I asked the first question - about what his role was and how it interfaced with the manager, and then he talked for ages and I think pretty much covered everything else barring condiment and owl/gibbon preferences.
It was all really positive as you'd expect.
He is responsible for the manager and first team coaching recruitment, and all recruitment across the club. In the case of Steve Bruce, he asked a data analysis company to anlyse his top 10 choices to help him to get the shortlist down to 6. His first choice was Steve Bruce, and the stats totally backed this at every level - not just things like win ratios, but also media presence and 'softer' targets like that. They interviewed 5 managers, and Steve Bruce just remained a clear leader throughout the process.
He is a firm believer in using data to test and back up your instincts, not to replace your instincts. He has a degree as a Sports Director but this is backed up by his football experience. He has taken his academic skills out across a range of sports to test out the theory, and data works very well in sports like cricket, but football has more variables, and stats don't apply as completely as they might in other sports. He is clear that data has a place, but isn't everything. He is a really good combination of academic and practical skills, and he has really thought about how his football knowledge combines best with his learning.
He talked about using data to study how other teams play, and feeding this into how we play. He explained how this fed into Baker's free kick against Brighton, but there's no way I could translate what he said into words on here. The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager - coaches at all levels to brainstorm ideas and then practice them. We are starting to see the results.
He talked very much about Villa's footballing philosophy and how he saw it. He has a clear memory of how Villa have been over the years. He sees us as a front foot, running team, flair backed by determination. That needs to be instilled. He said what we have all seen - starting with being more solid, getting some good results on the board, then starting to build in flair.
He also talked of always knowing this club as a 'class act', a place that knows how to treat people well and be respected.
He has been busy with recruitment across all disciplines, scouting, coaching, medical, psychology. He believes they now have higher quality people in place but the budget has actually reduced. He has also tried where possible to recruit talented people who also have an affiliation with the club and understand Villa. We now have a head of European scouting and a head of domestic scouting, and is recruiting a network of scouts who know the game to work under them. He feels we are putting ourselves in a gong position to approach the January window with some good targets.
He gave his short term goals as winning games and promotion, with good player recruitment in Janiary as part of this.
Long term - building Bodymoor Heath a into an elite performance environment with a sustainable culture of excellence. He is concerned that the academy has fallen away and it needs to be built back up, using the scouting network, to attract the best talent in the area.
He said that Steve Bruce deals with everything to do with players and the media. He is responsible for player discipline and Steve Round is more to do with their right of appeal in the way we might all have greviance structures to higher management in our workplaces. Round liaises between Bruce and the CEo & owner. The owner asks him for updates on innovation, change, structure, recruitment, etc. No one would be signed without Bruce wanting that player, and they look at potential targets together. He said the owner is very engaged, very intelligent and very ambitious for the club. Round wouldn't have joined before, but now believes the club can be turned around.
He said the initial task has been the vicious circle between confidence and winning, where confidence could not be built because we kept losing. They have fed into confidence all week in everything they do to turn this around, and sometimes this has meant being tough with players who are getting stuff wrong, so that they can start to get it right - this too builds confidence. every one in the club right through to the ticket office has been made to think about how and what they contribute to a Villa win, and to stop behaviour that doesn't help us win.
He said Villa is like a massive ship that if you get it moving in the right direction there will be no stopping it, but for too long the direction of travel has been the wrong way. He feels we have had to take a big turning circle but are just starting to get the direction of travel right.
He is clearly delighted to be here and has big plans and talks a lot of sense. I really hope I haven't ended up saying more than I should, or interpreting something wrong.
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Brilliant, thanks Amfy. That all sounds decidedly heartening.
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Wow, superb summary amfy... very impressed with that all round.
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Excellent. Thank you.
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Thanks Amfy.
Have to say that I'm still very much in the 'I'll wait and see' camp as we often hear how well someone speaks and says the right things. Ultimately I want to see results. I've just gone down too many blind alleys to be overly positive just yet.
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To be fair - there were things that made him more believable than stuff we've heard in the past - possibly I the 'had to be there kind of way that Dave mentioned.
I am encouraged that some.possibly less naive participants than me on Twitter seem equally impressed.
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Great summary, thanks Amfy.
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Great summary Amfy, it certainly sounds promising.
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Thank you Amy, very encouraging.
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Thanks Amfy, good write up and as others have said sounds v encouraging. As ever proof of all of this is a team on the pitch that wins games.
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Thanks for that, very encouraging read.
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Thanks, Amfy. An interesting read. I'm intrigued by what Round's definition of Villa's footballing philosophy. Interesting times.
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Sound Round round-up! Ta Amfy!
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His words about Villa being like a ship headed in the wrong direction for too long are almost exactly the same as I've thought of it.
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Thanks Amfy.
I'm not a big fan of middle management jargon and it makes my eyes glaze over. But whatever 'technique' somebody like Steve Round uses to make people feel confident and motivated, the only criterion is whether it works. It's like alternative medicine: I don't believe in it myself but if other people do, and that belief helps them get better, who am I to criticise.
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Thanks Amfy.
I'm not a big fan of middle management jargon and it makes my eyes glaze over. But whatever 'technique' somebody like Steve Round uses to make people feel confident and motivated, the only criterion is whether it works. It's like alternative medicine: I don't believe in it myself but if other people do, and that belief helps them get better, who am I to criticise.
Well whatever they are doing is starting to show results
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"Right Gabby we've peeled the onion and you need to leave the low-hanging fruit [pies] alone and start thinking in the box going forward."
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Thanks Amfy. For the first time in a long, long while there seems to be something being built at Villa. I actually keep forgetting we have Round in there as our DoF (- maybe that's because I had grown used to the Lerner-era sticking plaster structure of a first team manager and CEO running the whole operation.) Onwards and upwards!
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Cheers Amfy. Sounds promising, but as others have said, results matter, so let's hope we continue as we have been the last 6 weeks or so.
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Thanks a lot for this, Amfy.
This confirms the general impression that we're on the long road back.
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Telling a few players some home truths needed to happen. All this ''great effort, played brilliant'' bullshit of the past few years hasn't done them any good at all and they've all almost to a man gone hugely backwards and seen a drop. How could they improve if they weren't being told what they were doing very badly.
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If my memory is correct Graham Taylor used the large ocean going ship analogy about the club way back, circa 1987.
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If my memory is correct Graham Taylor used the large ocean going ship analogy about the club way back, circa 1987.
Not quite. It was along the lines of if you are big you slide faster because you are big. You come back quicker because you are big as well if you can turn it around.
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It all starts with a very engaged owner. Xia is proving that in everything he does, and it is filtering its way through the club with the appointments. The place was a disaster once Lerner lost interest and we stumbled from one manager to the next all of whom had no leadership to turn to. It all feels very different now and ultimately whether or not we are promoted this season or next we should have in place a very defined structure. That is very encouraging. Thanks Amfy. Very nice summary.
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If my memory is correct Graham Taylor used the large ocean going ship analogy about the club way back, circa 1987.
Not quite. It was along the lines of if you are big you slide faster because you are big. You come back quicker because you are big as well if you can turn it around.
This was very much what he was trying to get at. A bit like the physical of big objects having greater momentum or something like that.
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Cracking read. I feel really confident with the two Steve's at the club. If it doesn't happen this season, I feel that we are only building to be even stronger, next. I'm enjoying being a fan again!! Ta Amfy for the post.
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I really enjoyed reading that, thank you so much Amfy!
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I echo what's been said Amfy, good work sir.
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Many thanks amfy!
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I echo what's been said Amfy, good work sir.
Madam!
And yeah, great report. No better man/woman for the job.
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"Right Gabby we've peeled the onion and you need to leave the low-hanging fruit [pies] alone and start thinking in the box going forward."
You are absolutely Exec material for our place. Can you PDF you cv to me along with a covering one pager outlining your vision and mission ....or is it mission and vision🤔
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I'm surprised as many as 5 were interviewed for the job. Bruce was clear favourite all along and Round confirms this.
I can't for the life of me think of 5 realistic and/or available candidates that were worth interviewing once Bruce had confirmed interest.
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It sounds distinctly like we're getting our shit together.
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Thanks all! I decided it was best to write it up quickly whilst I could still remember stuff.
Although I can be a bit of a sucker for club spiel tbh, I think how quickly I wanted to write it up, and how much concrete stuff was in there makes me feel that this actually was different to what has gone before. It was really refreshing to be at a meeting where just about everything wasn't prefaced by 'just between these four walls...' Or 'this needs not to go outside this room...' There were a couple of those, but it was really clear why. It's genuine openness I think - unless I now find I am banned from the inner echelons of Villa Park!
What I really liked was the amount of concrete tactical examples he could give to back up what he was saying about methodology, so we could actually visualise what he was saying in practice. This is what made it believable, but whilst I understood it at the time, I struggled to hold most of it in my head - although to be fair, I could probably talk most of it but not write it - but that's what happens when you send a girl I guess! ;)
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...The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager...
Great read Amfy. Especially this.
Maybe after all these years the players will learn how to keep possession from a throw-in.
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Thanks all! I decided it was best to write it up quickly whilst I could still remember stuff.
Although I can be a bit of a sucker for club spiel tbh, I think how quickly I wanted to write it up, and how much concrete stuff was in there makes me feel that this actually was different to what has gone before. It was really refreshing to be at a meeting where just about everything wasn't prefaced by 'just between these four walls...' Or 'this needs not to go outside this room...' There were a couple of those, but it was really clear why. It's genuine openness I think - unless I now find I am banned from the inner echelons of Villa Park!
What I really liked was the amount of concrete tactical examples he could give to back up what he was saying about methodology, so we could actually visualise what he was saying in practice. This is what made it believable, but whilst I understood it at the time, I struggled to hold most of it in my head - although to be fair, I could probably talk most of it but not write it - but that's what happens when you send a girl I guess! ;)
I would be amazed if some of the `data' he talks about doesn't include what's said in places like this. Anything you were told on the record, I'm sure you were intended to spill.
We've moved on from the days when a successful football club was a single semi-autocratic individual with good judgement, like Ferguson or Shankly, and a small core of consiglieri who owe him personal loyalty. If we can make the DoF model work it can only be to our long-term advantage.
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Maybe after all these years the players will learn how to keep possession from a throw-in.
We haven't been able to do this in the 60+ years I've been supporting Villa!
But your report is very encouraging, Amfy. Many thanks for taking so much trouble
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Very good read. Thanks for the info. It is encouraging to hear stuff like this and now we hope that they follow through with it. I'm certainly more confident this year, although still doubt we can get promotion unless we hit a meg run of wins, but we'll be stronger and it is clear there is a plan. Hopefully January sees a couple of long term additions.
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He talked about using data to study how other teams play, and feeding this into how we play. He explained how this fed into Baker's free kick against Brighton, but there's no way I could translate what he said into words on here. The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager - coaches at all levels to brainstorm ideas and then practice them. We are starting to see the results.
The Baker free kick a great execution as was the delivery but our corners are still awful and our full back crossing even worse
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He talked about using data to study how other teams play, and feeding this into how we play. He explained how this fed into Baker's free kick against Brighton, but there's no way I could translate what he said into words on here. The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager - coaches at all levels to brainstorm ideas and then practice them. We are starting to see the results.
The Baker free kick a great execution as was the delivery but our corners are still awful and our full back crossing even worse
It's not going to fix itself overnight and will only be fixed by a consistent and dedicated coaching approach. That along with better coaches and better players.
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He talked about using data to study how other teams play, and feeding this into how we play. He explained how this fed into Baker's free kick against Brighton, but there's no way I could translate what he said into words on here. The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager - coaches at all levels to brainstorm ideas and then practice them. We are starting to see the results.
The Baker free kick a great execution as was the delivery but our corners are still awful and our full back crossing even worse
It's not going to fix itself overnight and will only be fixed by a consistent and dedicated coaching approach. That along with better coaches and better players.
The way he described that was brilliant, from identifying where Brighton's defending style would leave the space and when, though to having 3 different players who could have been on the end of it depending on who Brighton managed to pick up. I was particularly pleased with this because the commentator had kept saying it was a poor free kick (again and again) like it was some kind of lucky break that Baker got on the end of it and directed it in. Every time the commentator said it, I was arguing with the telly that it was meant - and boy was it meant!
We also had a really good chat about Ashley Westwood's role in the team and that his running stats on Friday were way beyond anyone else on the pitch for either side. They have been working with him to get him running more, as well as identifying who he should be passing to and making sure they will be in that place to receive it. (Totally the basic stuff the whole team have been missing for a while)
As well as how all of us had noticed he had a more dynamic game than we have seen from him for a while, my Dad had picked up that whilst seeing little of the ball, Westwood was running from one opposition midfielder to another, forcing THEM to pass sideways and backwards. This was key to his performance. This allowed Jedinak and Grealish to perform their more visible & driving roles whilst we are watching saying 'I haven't even heard Westwood's name yet'. It's a really good example of how managers and coaches can see stuff that most of us miss, because we are looking at who is ON the ball without necessarily understanding the task a player has been given.
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He talked about using data to study how other teams play, and feeding this into how we play. He explained how this fed into Baker's free kick against Brighton, but there's no way I could translate what he said into words on here. The entire coaching team had a set piece meeting with him and the manager - coaches at all levels to brainstorm ideas and then practice them. We are starting to see the results.
The Baker free kick a great execution as was the delivery but our corners are still awful and our full back crossing even worse
It's not going to fix itself overnight and will only be fixed by a consistent and dedicated coaching approach. That along with better coaches and better players.
Plus, full back's crossing is hard to improve based on data analysis as it happens in-play when the other variables are in action. That's more of tactic which develops based on players building relationships rather than a computer's prediction (imo).
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I look forward to the data being presented to our players regarding throw-ins. Against Brighton I came to the conclusion we actually plan to give the ball to the opposition as not one single Villa player wanted it.
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I look forward to the data being presented to our players regarding throw-ins. Against Brighton I came to the conclusion we actually plan to give the ball to the opposition as not one single Villa player wanted it.
So agree with this, but it seems to have been a problem for Villa for several seasons. I can only remember one quick throw in the last 6 years which was the Sidwell assist to Milner. However, on the plus side the standard of corners and free kicks is improving.
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I look forward to the data being presented to our players regarding throw-ins. Against Brighton I came to the conclusion we actually plan to give the ball to the opposition as not one single Villa player wanted it.
So agree with this, but it seems to have been a problem for Villa for several seasons. I can only remember one quick throw in the last 6 years which was the Sidwell assist to Milner. However, on the plus side the standard of corners and free kicks is improving.
For at least 20 years we have failed to show any movement whatsoever when we have a throw in.
It drives me up the wall.
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Just as I suspected, Westwood can't play football, everybody at the club knows it, and we're using him now to run around the pitch in the general vicinity of the opposition. A sprinter from Birchfield Harriers could do that. The sooner we get a replacement who can: a) kick a football forwards, b) run, and c) tackle - also known as a 'midfielder' - the better.
Good work, amfy.
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Well you might be able to draw that conclusion from some of what I wrote if you wanted to - actually, the bit my dad said rather than the bit that Round said about actually ensuring that there is a forward pass available for him to play.
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To be honest I drew the conclusion after four years of watching him play, but I do understand why he gets played. His attitude generally is good (apart from the Preston surrender), I just wish his ability as a footballer was anywhere near the same standard. We're going to have to upgrade at the soonest opportunity if we want to create the chances we're so badly missing.
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It's not just about attitude with Westwood because he fits the shape of the team defensively. He clearly takes on board what is said and can hold the team shape defensively. He reads the game well and sometimes it is about standing in space or cutting space off as much as it is putting that tackle in. That type of player is a gem to any manager as they can organise and (sorry) pointing is as important. Just letting a player know where they should be standing never mind closing somebody down is a skill as it shows he understands the game that's going on around him. That type of player tends to be the best tactician and manager.
BUT.
The problem for us with Westwood is that he is very limited with the ball at this level. And the one above. Every now and then he'll do well but what he is good at isn't good enough the higher up the pyramid you go. I'm not critical of Westwood and never have been as he has the organisational qualities. Sadly, that isn't good enough on its own and why he does need to be replaced.
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This is why I think Gabby was brought into the team last week. He didn't do much on the ball but SB knew he would close down the Brighton centre backs and stop them having time on the ball to build up their attacks. He is probably better and more disciplined at this than Ayew (who had also been away on international duty I believe) or Gestede. Purely putting a team out with instructions to perform certain tasks and then, if done correctly and successfully, hopefully gaining a result.
Also as Peter W says the cutting off of space or being in the position thus preventing a pass is just as efficient as putting a tackle in. I recall Damon saying on here some time ago that he had the pleasure(?) of being at Chelsea's training ground and was allowed to see Mourinho putting them through their paces for a short while. He said that Mourinho would stop the drill every so often and bo**ock the player and tell him he should be 10 yards away from where he actually was, thus cutting off the space etc. Let's hope that some of this coaching is actually happening at Bodymoor Heath nowadays as there has been very little sign of it over the past few seasons.
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The recent positivity is welcome, but we will only truly start motoring when Westwood, Hutton and Gabby take their shit show to another club.
4 years (most likely a minimum of 5 now) for AW, 6 years of Hutton and a decade of Gabby. We've had club legends who have got nowhere near the appearances that hapless trio have somehow wrangled out of the club.
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The recent positivity is welcome, but we will only truly start motoring when Westwood, Hutton and Gabby take their shit show to another club.
4 years (most likely a minimum of 5 now) for AW, 6 years of Hutton and a decade of Gabby. We've had club legends who have got nowhere near the appearances that hapless trio have somehow wrangled out of the club.
I agree. Imagine where we'd be in the table if we had an improvement on Westwood who chipped in with their share of goals.
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I think if we do get a offer for him (Westwood), we will cash in. I wonder what happens to Burnley's interest in him.
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In case anyone's not seen it yet:
Director of Football Steve Round met with the FCG
Attendees: Steve Round (Director of Football) Tommy Jordan (Head of Communications) Lee Preece (Football Operations/Projects Manager) Mo Razzaq (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) Kris Carr (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) Steve Gough (Aston Villa Independent Supporters Clubs) Scott Jones (Villa Talk) David Michael (My Old Man Said) Anne-Marie Fern (Heroes & Villains)
Could you define your role and key responsibilities?
We have the owner, Dr Tony Xia, and the CEO Keith Wyness they needed someone who was going to be in charge of the football performance for the club. Performance comes under many issues as you need someone to try and align all the departments at the training ground. So, my remit is working with the manager, the first team coaching and together, oversee the coaching methodology of the club – right the way through from senior players down to six/seven year olds and to get that aligned as the ‘Villa engine’. I answer to the CEO and the owner so when he comes in this week we will be discussing the progress we have made. Innovation and change is important in our evolution. We have re-done all the organisational/structural/recruitment strategies. I’ll liaise on this between Steve, the CEO and the owner.
What was your involvement in the managerial search?
Both Keith and I were heavily involved in the manager search. That was a really interesting one because I submitted ten candidates and we carried out due diligence on all ten. There was a statistical and data analysis research project which I consulted out to a data analytics company. It’s a company I knew and trusted the guy who was running it. They looked at all performance aspects of the managers. Everything from win ratios, win percentages, style of play, social media personality, character - everything. The number one target on my list was Steve Bruce. When the manager search came back it was a forty-page document and the number one recommendation was Steve Bruce. It was excellent fact to back up our instinct and advise the Chairman – this is our one to six from that ten. In the end, we went with a recommendation to the owner. The owner made the decision and went with Steve.
The previous recruitment policy concerned supporters – how have you rectified it?
I made some tough decisions on my first day and changed some personnel. That's never easy but I felt it was the right thing to do. I have brought in Ian Atkins to head up European recruitment. I worked with Ian at Everton, he’d worked at Sunderland and Everton as head of European recruitment for eleven years. His knowledge is incredible and he’s got a fantastic work ethic, he’s an ex-player and manager, he’s a pro license coach and a proper football man - he's also a big Villa fan! I also promoted Tony Coton to head of domestic scouting. Tony, again, has a wealth of knowledge in football at the highest level both as a player, coach and scout. We have kept on Dave Downes as head of U23 recruitment. There are some really good people here already who just needed help and guidance. I brought in a guy called John Harrower who worked at Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Newcastle – quite a few clubs. He’s come in as scout coordinator so his role and responsibility is to make sure all the scouts report in to the database and we collect all the relevant information. We’ve changed a lot in this department and we’re getting there. I’ve only been in three months but we are moving in the right direction.
What are your thoughts of moneyball – using data to sign players?
We’ve brought in real football people and we’ll mix that with one or two of the guys that have the analytical/moneyball data that you hear about which is a bit of a bone of contention to me. The moneyball thing came about because of baseball and that’s very statistically developed – like cricket. But football is always in a state of chaos. On any given day, football is a random, human, fluid game, so data and analytics only back up the instinct of the people looking for the talent. And I think football has gone away from that. They’ve gone too analytical and too data-minded and a lot of people are paying the price for it. You’ve got to get back to the real people who matter. scouts identify the talent and data backs that up. Villa is a massive club with high expectations. Our scouts with a massive knowledge on football need to know that a particular player is capable of thriving at our club.
What about the future of the club – the academy and bringing young players through?
I’m also working with the academy and the head of department Sean Kimberley – who I must say has done an outstanding job on the resources and the neglect he’s worked under in the past few years. David Hughes has left the Welsh FA and will come in as U18s coach. We’re interviewing for a head of medicine in the academy and we’re interviewing for a chief scout for the 10-16 age group. We have no scout there which is incredible. We’ve done a deal with the local team – Phoenix - who bring a lot of local boys through. All the best young players in the city need to be coming to Aston Villa. Villa always used to have one of the best academies in Britain so we need to take the city back, then we need to take the Midlands back then we need to be competing nationally with the best. We’ve got such a good catchment area and such a good facility. Historically, Villa has led the way in youth development and we need to get back to that.
Other changes you’ve implemented?
Sports psychology and culture is massive now in modern elite sports. I have brought in Tom Bates from Brentford who now heads up that department. Sports psychology in football has been a bit of a taboo. People have doubted it - does it work? But every other sport takes it and uses it massively. The advent of neuroscience has now dictated that psychology is real and is measured and it’s appropriate to many issues but sport especially and I wanted somebody in because I sense that Aston Villa had lost its way a little bit culturally in the training ground environment.
People are positive or negative depending on the results and the situation but I felt internally we needed to rediscover what Aston Villa really is. It’s a football club not a "brand" or "commercial tool". I wanted that heartbeat to come back but I also recognised that there’s a hangover after a few years of decline so we needed to flip that mentality. I did a search nationwide to find the best sports psychologist/performance coach that I could. It happened to be Tom – he had worked at West Brom, Bournemouth, Birmingham and he was currently at Brentford so I was really pleased to get him. He’s had a massive impact. Not only with the players individually but just the resonance of the training ground - that was important. Confidence is building.
What other new faces are in the training ground that we’ve not heard much about?
I’ve just brought in Danny Donachie who has got a tremendous amount of experience and is an outstanding individual. I had worked with him previously and recognised his qualities. Then you’ve got the club doctor, physios, fitness coaches and performance analysts that deal with all the data for training and games down to the masseurs. That’s a very important part of first team performance. They’re looking after the medical welfare, the physiology and athletic ability of all the players. I’ve brought in Steve Harrison that used to be a coach here a few years ago. He’s arguably one of the best defensive coaches in English football. He comes in one day a week and works with the U18 and U23 defenders and anybody Steve Bruce wants him to touch base with in the first team. He also scouts games for me on a Saturday. He just loves it and he’s been brilliant around the place. We’ve also taken a guy called Dave Stewart from QPR. We’ve promoted some analysts from within too. That’s important that the staff that are already in situ get a chance.
Will the manager have the final say on all players signed by the club?
There won't be a player signed that Steve doesn’t know about or have the final say. He is the fundamental decision maker. The recruitment department is set up for him to see the best players to select from. He and his staff also watch a lot of games and form the final part on player selection. The manager has enough on his plate managing the team, the players the staff, the media and the fans. If you look at our training ground we’ve got 60 that work there, then there’s the academy it's a massive job. I’m quite keen to keep people motivated, inspired and challenged as they need to feel a part of something special so as long as we’ve got the right people in doing the right job then I am happy. I have a great relationship already forming with Steve so together I believe we are moving the club forwards
The other thing is performance analysis – the analysts film training and I make sure they can provide the level of detail that the coaches need. For example, last week we’d sat down at the start of the international break and had said we’re not scoring enough goals from set pieces – that directive came from the manager, to be fair. So we had a meeting to look at how we could improve on scoring from set pieces. Everyone was throwing in suggestions about set pieces and what could we improve. We’ve now come up with a criteria. The goal at Brighton came from the performance analysts looking at the opposition. Every club is doing that – more detail is always needed and we’re going to do it in as much detail as possible.
Are you happy that the coaching staff around the manager will give us the best possible chance of achieving success on the pitch?
I’m delighted to get Colin Calderwood in as assistant manager. I’ve known Colin for a number of years on the circuit. He’s a top coach and an outstanding professional. I think he’s going to be a massive asset to us. Coupled with the other guys we’ve got – Stephen Clemence who is a young, up-and-coming coach who is soaking up everything and forging a strong reputation. He is good in the dressing room as he's not long out of it, so it’s a nice balance now. Gary Walsh is an experienced coach too. He’s a football man born and bred. The manager has been a breath of fresh air. The training ground resonance and atmosphere is starting to feel positive and confident. In our turnaround there will always be the odd set back - it's football - but the training ground feels right at the moment.
What about the future in terms of building a structure on solid foundations?
I’ve not had enough time yet to be able to establish a methodology and a Villa engine – the style and the way we’re going to play. It’s been about short-term re-building and making sure the foundations and building blocks are in place. We’re going to start the process of coming up with a ‘Villa way’ and the Villa strategy on the pitch. Obviously the manager plays a fundamental part in that but we also want to build something that’s sustainable.
In the future the way we do things needs to be right. Villa has always been a hard-working, tough, aggressive, forward-thinking, forward passing, dynamic club. I used to bring youth teams in the late 80s/early 90s to Villa and they’d spank us every week! it would be the hardest game of the season. The kids were talented and hungry, I think maybe we’ve gone away from that. We’ve got to get some of those basics back and then evolve the rest of it as we go. I’m pleased we have Kevin McDonald and his assistant Mark Delaney with the U23s. They know what it takes for young players to play for the Villa. The club was like a ship sailing in one direction. With the takeover in the summer we've managed to slow it down and in the last month we’ve probably turned it around and now we’re starting to go in the right direction. There’s a long way to go and a lot of hard work and effort but I feel for the first time I’ve got heads of department that are dynamic, expert, professional and entrenched in football and we’re just starting to move forwards. You get that ship called Aston Villa moving forwards and fast enough - you try and stop it.
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Why, oh why have we had the wasted years? Was Lerner so far away from the action that he had no idea what was happening or were those running the show completely devoid of knowledge and initiatives?
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Impressive. But also eye-opening as to just what a mess the place must have been under the previous regime. No Head Scout for the 10-16 age group??? I never had a problem with Lerner's absence, as long as the club was set-up right. Xia isn't going to be here full-time but he's been doing exactly what Lerner failed to do.
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You do have to question what the hell was going on on Faulkner watch. He may have been nice guy and Lerners close friend but he was massively out of his depth as a Football Club CEO. Still it's not what you know it's who you know......
Oh and this bloke sounds like he knows what he's doing.
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It just shows how little lerner's interest had spread through the club. Scouts not scouting, Academy falling apart, by the sound of it we've even been losing our reach within Birmingham. More than the relegation that is hard to forgive. Not just wanting to sell up but also leaving behind a mess that even Miss Haversham would have given a spring clean to.
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Interesting read
still having kmac at the club i find quite alarming after spuds away
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Amfy, I have just read this thread and your summary was absolutely fantastic, take a bow!
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This gives me the same feeling when I watched Villa win the Youth Cup in 72 at Anfield.We were on the verge of coming out of Div 3 but there seemed an inevitability with the great support and the quality of the young players that we would be eventually back at Anfield and similar grounds on a regular basis.The last few years have been so like the late 60s,the neglect of the team,the youth set up ,a lack of investment in money ,ideas and a belief that Aston Villa should represent quality.
When good structures and good staff are put in place,you feel that success will come,it might be the next season,the season after or after that but it will come.
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Some very interesting reading and as others have said, the degree of neglect under Lerner runs deep. This really stood out on the Academy:
'I’m also working with the academy and the head of department Sean Kimberley – who I must say has done an outstanding job on the resources and the neglect he’s worked under in the past few years.'
Didn't know Steve Harrison was back either.
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If you look at the amount of Birmingham-based players alone we have missed out on in recent seasons; Saido Berahino, Damari Gray, Nathan Redmond and even the fat lad at Watford- it's clear something had gone haywire. Going back further, we missed out on Lescott )at a time when he might have been useful for us) and Daniel Sturridge.
With the competition on our doorstep it's unrealistic to expect to sweep up all of them. We should be aiming for a better return than Gabby and Grealish in the best part of 15 years though.
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It's hard not to feel in love with Mr Round after that.
What sort of players would he have come up against at Villa when he said our young lads would spank his teams late 80's/early 90's?
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Better hide all the paper cups as Steve Harrison is back.
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Amfy, your summary was amazing having just read the "official one". I tip my hat!!
Its incredible/criminal we had no scout for the 10-16 age group. Im shaking my head in disgust as I type that!!
But this guy just sounds "right". Its actually heartwarming to read his answers. It doesn't come across as "management speak" or "this is what they will want to hear". Its specific and gives good detail as to what we are doing. For the first time in years I am hopeful we will be back. Hopefully that is this season, but i feel we are in safe hands at last
Is it "that " Mark Delaney? Always liked him as a player, very good full back ( grass allergy aside)
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Yes it is that Mark Delaney. Is it "that" David Hughes?
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Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party.
So.......Steve Round.........come on down !
Prove to us all why you above others, were chosen for the exalted post and GET SOME TALENT IN QUICK !
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Let's acknowledge work done .
Impressive players brought in so far. I wish the gap wasn't 9 points
Keith witness recently tweeted
keith wyness @retsub12
lots of hard work done by Steve round and his recruitment team since the window opened, still many hours to go .
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footy, for once, you are absolutely right. [sorry, by agreement with mr underhill i cannot capitalise for the rest of the day even to exclaim that you are right] mr round and co have done well, so far, and as mr wyness says....there is plenty of time to add to the catch list.
well done, so far, mr round.i am impressed....and grateful. thanks.
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Credit must go to Steve Round for getting so much of this done ahead of the bullshit of deadline day.
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Credit must go to Steve Round for getting so much of this done ahead of the bullshit of deadline day.
And there's matches for a lot of UK teams in 31st which in some way can be significant
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I think Steve Round and Wyness have proven that they can get business done.
We don't know if the deals were 100% SB's first choices, but they sure did well to get so many in and out in the time.
Now SB's got to make sense of it all and make a team from what he has got. Please....pretty please or there could be some messy scenes to follow.
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He's not a real circle.
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In case anyone's not seen it yet:
Director of Football Steve Round met with the FCG
Attendees: Steve Round (Director of Football) Tommy Jordan (Head of Communications) Lee Preece (Football Operations/Projects Manager) Mo Razzaq (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) Kris Carr (Aston Villa Supporters Trust) Steve Gough (Aston Villa Independent Supporters Clubs) Scott Jones (Villa Talk) David Michael (My Old Man Said) Anne-Marie Fern (Heroes & Villains)
Could you define your role and key responsibilities?
We have the owner, Dr Tony Xia, and the CEO Keith Wyness they needed someone who was going to be in charge of the football performance for the club. Performance comes under many issues as you need someone to try and align all the departments at the training ground. So, my remit is working with the manager, the first team coaching and together, oversee the coaching methodology of the club – right the way through from senior players down to six/seven year olds and to get that aligned as the ‘Villa engine’. I answer to the CEO and the owner so when he comes in this week we will be discussing the progress we have made. Innovation and change is important in our evolution. We have re-done all the organisational/structural/recruitment strategies. I’ll liaise on this between Steve, the CEO and the owner.
What was your involvement in the managerial search?
Both Keith and I were heavily involved in the manager search. That was a really interesting one because I submitted ten candidates and we carried out due diligence on all ten. There was a statistical and data analysis research project which I consulted out to a data analytics company. It’s a company I knew and trusted the guy who was running it. They looked at all performance aspects of the managers. Everything from win ratios, win percentages, style of play, social media personality, character - everything. The number one target on my list was Steve Bruce. When the manager search came back it was a forty-page document and the number one recommendation was Steve Bruce. It was excellent fact to back up our instinct and advise the Chairman – this is our one to six from that ten. In the end, we went with a recommendation to the owner. The owner made the decision and went with Steve.
The previous recruitment policy concerned supporters – how have you rectified it?
I made some tough decisions on my first day and changed some personnel. That's never easy but I felt it was the right thing to do. I have brought in Ian Atkins to head up European recruitment. I worked with Ian at Everton, he’d worked at Sunderland and Everton as head of European recruitment for eleven years. His knowledge is incredible and he’s got a fantastic work ethic, he’s an ex-player and manager, he’s a pro license coach and a proper football man - he's also a big Villa fan! I also promoted Tony Coton to head of domestic scouting. Tony, again, has a wealth of knowledge in football at the highest level both as a player, coach and scout. We have kept on Dave Downes as head of U23 recruitment. There are some really good people here already who just needed help and guidance. I brought in a guy called John Harrower who worked at Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Newcastle – quite a few clubs. He’s come in as scout coordinator so his role and responsibility is to make sure all the scouts report in to the database and we collect all the relevant information. We’ve changed a lot in this department and we’re getting there. I’ve only been in three months but we are moving in the right direction.
What are your thoughts of moneyball – using data to sign players?
We’ve brought in real football people and we’ll mix that with one or two of the guys that have the analytical/moneyball data that you hear about which is a bit of a bone of contention to me. The moneyball thing came about because of baseball and that’s very statistically developed – like cricket. But football is always in a state of chaos. On any given day, football is a random, human, fluid game, so data and analytics only back up the instinct of the people looking for the talent. And I think football has gone away from that. They’ve gone too analytical and too data-minded and a lot of people are paying the price for it. You’ve got to get back to the real people who matter. scouts identify the talent and data backs that up. Villa is a massive club with high expectations. Our scouts with a massive knowledge on football need to know that a particular player is capable of thriving at our club.
What about the future of the club – the academy and bringing young players through?
I’m also working with the academy and the head of department Sean Kimberley – who I must say has done an outstanding job on the resources and the neglect he’s worked under in the past few years. David Hughes has left the Welsh FA and will come in as U18s coach. We’re interviewing for a head of medicine in the academy and we’re interviewing for a chief scout for the 10-16 age group. We have no scout there which is incredible. We’ve done a deal with the local team – Phoenix - who bring a lot of local boys through. All the best young players in the city need to be coming to Aston Villa. Villa always used to have one of the best academies in Britain so we need to take the city back, then we need to take the Midlands back then we need to be competing nationally with the best. We’ve got such a good catchment area and such a good facility. Historically, Villa has led the way in youth development and we need to get back to that.
Other changes you’ve implemented?
Sports psychology and culture is massive now in modern elite sports. I have brought in Tom Bates from Brentford who now heads up that department. Sports psychology in football has been a bit of a taboo. People have doubted it - does it work? But every other sport takes it and uses it massively. The advent of neuroscience has now dictated that psychology is real and is measured and it’s appropriate to many issues but sport especially and I wanted somebody in because I sense that Aston Villa had lost its way a little bit culturally in the training ground environment.
People are positive or negative depending on the results and the situation but I felt internally we needed to rediscover what Aston Villa really is. It’s a football club not a "brand" or "commercial tool". I wanted that heartbeat to come back but I also recognised that there’s a hangover after a few years of decline so we needed to flip that mentality. I did a search nationwide to find the best sports psychologist/performance coach that I could. It happened to be Tom – he had worked at West Brom, Bournemouth, Birmingham and he was currently at Brentford so I was really pleased to get him. He’s had a massive impact. Not only with the players individually but just the resonance of the training ground - that was important. Confidence is building.
What other new faces are in the training ground that we’ve not heard much about?
I’ve just brought in Danny Donachie who has got a tremendous amount of experience and is an outstanding individual. I had worked with him previously and recognised his qualities. Then you’ve got the club doctor, physios, fitness coaches and performance analysts that deal with all the data for training and games down to the masseurs. That’s a very important part of first team performance. They’re looking after the medical welfare, the physiology and athletic ability of all the players. I’ve brought in Steve Harrison that used to be a coach here a few years ago. He’s arguably one of the best defensive coaches in English football. He comes in one day a week and works with the U18 and U23 defenders and anybody Steve Bruce wants him to touch base with in the first team. He also scouts games for me on a Saturday. He just loves it and he’s been brilliant around the place. We’ve also taken a guy called Dave Stewart from QPR. We’ve promoted some analysts from within too. That’s important that the staff that are already in situ get a chance.
Will the manager have the final say on all players signed by the club?
There won't be a player signed that Steve doesn’t know about or have the final say. He is the fundamental decision maker. The recruitment department is set up for him to see the best players to select from. He and his staff also watch a lot of games and form the final part on player selection. The manager has enough on his plate managing the team, the players the staff, the media and the fans. If you look at our training ground we’ve got 60 that work there, then there’s the academy it's a massive job. I’m quite keen to keep people motivated, inspired and challenged as they need to feel a part of something special so as long as we’ve got the right people in doing the right job then I am happy. I have a great relationship already forming with Steve so together I believe we are moving the club forwards
The other thing is performance analysis – the analysts film training and I make sure they can provide the level of detail that the coaches need. For example, last week we’d sat down at the start of the international break and had said we’re not scoring enough goals from set pieces – that directive came from the manager, to be fair. So we had a meeting to look at how we could improve on scoring from set pieces. Everyone was throwing in suggestions about set pieces and what could we improve. We’ve now come up with a criteria. The goal at Brighton came from the performance analysts looking at the opposition. Every club is doing that – more detail is always needed and we’re going to do it in as much detail as possible.
Are you happy that the coaching staff around the manager will give us the best possible chance of achieving success on the pitch?
I’m delighted to get Colin Calderwood in as assistant manager. I’ve known Colin for a number of years on the circuit. He’s a top coach and an outstanding professional. I think he’s going to be a massive asset to us. Coupled with the other guys we’ve got – Stephen Clemence who is a young, up-and-coming coach who is soaking up everything and forging a strong reputation. He is good in the dressing room as he's not long out of it, so it’s a nice balance now. Gary Walsh is an experienced coach too. He’s a football man born and bred. The manager has been a breath of fresh air. The training ground resonance and atmosphere is starting to feel positive and confident. In our turnaround there will always be the odd set back - it's football - but the training ground feels right at the moment.
What about the future in terms of building a structure on solid foundations?
I’ve not had enough time yet to be able to establish a methodology and a Villa engine – the style and the way we’re going to play. It’s been about short-term re-building and making sure the foundations and building blocks are in place. We’re going to start the process of coming up with a ‘Villa way’ and the Villa strategy on the pitch. Obviously the manager plays a fundamental part in that but we also want to build something that’s sustainable.
In the future the way we do things needs to be right. Villa has always been a hard-working, tough, aggressive, forward-thinking, forward passing, dynamic club. I used to bring youth teams in the late 80s/early 90s to Villa and they’d spank us every week! it would be the hardest game of the season. The kids were talented and hungry, I think maybe we’ve gone away from that. We’ve got to get some of those basics back and then evolve the rest of it as we go. I’m pleased we have Kevin McDonald and his assistant Mark Delaney with the U23s. They know what it takes for young players to play for the Villa. The club was like a ship sailing in one direction. With the takeover in the summer we've managed to slow it down and in the last month we’ve probably turned it around and now we’re starting to go in the right direction. There’s a long way to go and a lot of hard work and effort but I feel for the first time I’ve got heads of department that are dynamic, expert, professional and entrenched in football and we’re just starting to move forwards. You get that ship called Aston Villa moving forwards and fast enough - you try and stop it.
This is the bit I struggle to understand. Re-reading this nearly 9 months on is interesting - I wonder what his update would be today against progress on some of this answers he gave back then. Its difficult to understand what the "Villa way" was ever going to be following the appointment of SB unless it was always intended to be a short term appointment.
Interesting comments on physical and mental fitness - sounds like its more than SB that needs to be booking a slot down the job centre.
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Ian Atkins - Head of European recruitment - European players signed...Samba and Bjarnason. One a player who we already knew about and the other who looks like he's trying to control a childs bouncy ball. Worked at the famed Sunderland Euro scouting department, because they've found so many gems themselves the last 10 years haven't they.
Tony Coton - Head of domestic scouting - Virtually every player we've signed has been a simple transfer by numbers job that anyone can do without watching any football. In fact, it doesn't look like we have watched any football before we signed any of the players. Chased the stats and completely ignored the attributes of the players involved.
Dave Downes - Head of u23 recruitment - Kept on because of the amazing job he's done in finding.... no one during the last few seasons.
''Will the manager have the final say on all players signed by the club?
There won't be a player signed that Steve doesn’t know about or have the final say''
Having said all that boring ****** Bruce makes the final decisions and he's about as adventurous as Dot Cotton.
Clemence, Gary Walsh. Shit, worked at relegation addicts Hull and Sunderland before. Tom Bates, sports psychologist, brought in from the giants of Brentford having previously worked at other well known sucessfull clubs like the Rags and Albion.
The heart is in the right place but the appointments are jobs for the boys for Potato's old mates or blokes who just haven't worked at winning clubs. Bruce has to go anyway, Round will be on borrowed time too, he's done a fantastic job of helping to make us even shitter.
In fact, we play worse football than this time last year.
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It's sobering reading it against what's happening. Behind the scenes counts for little if the first team are on a permanent kamikaze mission.
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I think Steve Round and Wyness have proven that they can get business done.
They certainly got the business done but I question if they understand the business.
I can only assume back in January it was decided to bet the house on being promoted as surely both were aware of where we would be under FFP rules should we fail. Now we find ourselves unable to buy any additional players or possibly even raise the funds to pay the compensation for a manager change.
Bruce pointed out last week that we may be forced to sell players that we don't want to sell to balance the books. As Kodja is still injured and unlikely to be fit before the summer window closes, I'm struggling to think who else is there we can shift to bring in a few quid. Chester?
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Bit of revisionism going on considering most of the January business was lauded.
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Bit of revisionism going on considering most of the January business was lauded.
Hardly. It's about the money rather than the players. The fact we never budgeted for this summer in the Championship should be a concern to all.
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I still think the January business was good, it's just that we have a manager that hasn't got a clue.
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Bit of revisionism going on considering most of the January business was lauded.
I guess people thought at the time that there might have been a plan to play to the strengths of the likes of Hourihane and Hogan rather than just looking at some numbers and assuming that putting them (occasionally) in the same team would be enough.
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We laid out one big fee on Hogan, covered by £11 million for Gestede and Westwood. The squad didn't need more than a handful of additions, echoed by support and club alike.
Further revisionism going if you're now pretending people weren't very pleased with what we did.
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Ha! What don't you understand. It's not about the players that yes, we were happy to sign, it's the fact we appear not to have a pot to piss in now. It's about the lack of financial planning. The fact that Bruce says we may have to sell players we don't want to sell to balance the books.
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Ian Atkins - Head of European recruitment - European players signed...Samba and Bjarnason. One a player who we already knew about and the other who looks like he's trying to control a childs bouncy ball. Worked at the famed Sunderland Euro scouting department, because they've found so many gems themselves the last 10 years haven't they.
Tony Coton - Head of domestic scouting - Virtually every player we've signed has been a simple transfer by numbers job that anyone can do without watching any football. In fact, it doesn't look like we have watched any football before we signed any of the players. Chased the stats and completely ignored the attributes of the players involved.
Dave Downes - Head of u23 recruitment - Kept on because of the amazing job he's done in finding.... no one during the last few seasons.
''Will the manager have the final say on all players signed by the club?
There won't be a player signed that Steve doesn’t know about or have the final say''
Having said all that boring c*** Bruce makes the final decisions and he's about as adventurous as Dot Cotton.
Clemence, Gary Walsh. Shit, worked at relegation addicts Hull and Sunderland before. Tom Bates, sports psychologist, brought in from the giants of Brentford having previously worked at other well known sucessfull clubs like the Rags and Albion.
The heart is in the right place but the appointments are jobs for the boys for Potato's old mates or blokes who just haven't worked at winning clubs. Bruce has to go anyway, Round will be on borrowed time too, he's done a fantastic job of helping to make us even shitter.
In fact, we play worse football than this time last year.
Good summary. Ive said for months the same about Calderwood and Clemence. No marks with no track record. Not a winner amongst them
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Ha! What don't you understand. It's not about the players that yes, we were happy to sign, it's the fact we appear not to have a pot to piss in now. It's about the lack of financial planning. The fact that Bruce says we may have to sell players we don't want to sell to balance the books.
You didn't expect the managers to be backed?
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Calderwood is a strange one. He was highly credited for the way Brighton play. They were not happy to lose him last season.
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Ha! What don't you understand. It's not about the players that yes, we were happy to sign, it's the fact we appear not to have a pot to piss in now. It's about the lack of financial planning. The fact that Bruce says we may have to sell players we don't want to sell to balance the books.
You didn't expect the managers to be backed?
Now you're being silly.
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We spent barely anything in January, the manager should have been entitled to pick his players, as RDM was. That we had to write off £20 million this summer is down to poor acquisitions.
We're not at the limit of FFP because of anything Bruce has done.
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Nobody is blaming Bruce.
What I am questioning is the financial planning of Wyness and Round. Apart from Hogan, we paid an additional £11m on three midfielders and a full back, money that we've recouped this summer with the sale of Vertout, Sanchez and Baker. So far this window we've spent £2.5m and even then the manager is saying we still need to sell and by the sound of it, one of our more valuable players.
Maybe Xia thought he could buy us out of the Championship but you'd have hoped Wyness and later Round would have set the alarm bells ringing back in January to let him know it was a shit or bust strategy.
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Nobody is blaming Bruce.
What I am questioning is the financial planning of Wyness and Round. Apart from Hogan, we paid an additional £11m on three midfielders and a full back, money that we've recouped this summer with the sale of Vertout, Sanchez and Baker. So far this window we've spent £2.5m and even then the manager is saying we still need to sell and by the sound of it, one of our more valuable players.
Maybe Xia thought he could buy us out of the Championship but you'd have hoped Wyness and later Round would have set the alarm bells ringing back in January to let him know it was a shit or bust strategy.
I guess thats where my confusion on what the real plan was/is - regardless of what happened in January the piece implies the day of shit or bust strategy should be moving behind us but I think its pretty much been biting us on the arse for most of the backend of last season culminating in no real strategy around buying players this summer that supposedly will support the "Villa way" - unless we are thinking kick and rush is our long term aim (and we still don't have the players even for that)
I just wonder what Steve Round would say his best achievement has been in the last 12 months. I've had a season ticket for a number of years and gave it a miss for a few years due to working abroad and other work pressures but decided this was the season that the recovery started and bought one. Just can't see that anything has changed but more importantly you would hope that the likes of Steve Round and the CEO etc have been preparing for this eventuality over the past 9 months.
Somehow I doubt it.
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We sold Ayew, Westwood and Rudy for 17 million in January, which funded the bulk of our purchases.
Round wasn't at the club last summer.
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We sold Ayew, Westwood and Rudy for 17 million in January, which funded the bulk of our purchases.
Round wasn't at the club last summer.
No he wasn't - think he came in around September
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There's an interesting and very largely positive interview with Steve Round on the OS.
https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2018/02/14/the-big-interview-steve-round-on-villa?view=amp&__twitter_impression=true
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Nice 'Man at C&A' photo to go with it.
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Well whatever his contribution is it is having a positive effect
Long may it continue
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It’s a really good read. And he points out many times it’s a process and our direction is correct. That we are setting in place a foundation for future success which we all said was critical. The losing culture at the club had to change and that must have been challenging. We’re on the right path.
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It would be good to hear more about the long term plans for the club, be it in the Prem or where we are now. By that I mean on and off the pitch - this Aston re generation scheme sounds very promising.
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It would be good to hear more about the long term plans for the club, be it in the Prem or where we are now. By that I mean on and off the pitch - this Aston re generation scheme sounds very promising.
The official site also has an interview with Wyness which looks forward a bit more, buying other clubs, increasing capacity to 60k being the two big changes. Little by the way of detail but certainly express ambition.
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I have always wondered, imagine if we had established ourselves as a top 4 club under Lerner would be honestly attract enough regular support to fill 60k stadium every week? Even with man city's success they cannot regularly draw crowds like the red side of town.
I think for balance, if nothing else, the midlands needs a top premiership club. But would we genuinely have support to fill one?
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I hope they don’t think we’ve made it already? Got to stay honest and take each game as it comes.
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I have always wondered, imagine if we had established ourselves as a top 4 club under Lerner would be honestly attract enough regular support to fill 60k stadium every week? Even with man city's success they cannot regularly draw crowds like the red side of town.
I think for balance, if nothing else, the midlands needs a top premiership club. But would we genuinely have support to fill it ?
It’s a massive yes from me! How many Liverpool,Man Utd, Chelsea,Arsenal etc supporters are there in our City let alone the Midlands ? Just a little success like a trophy every five years should do it. There are ten million people within one hours drive of Villa Park I believe. I would rather think just how big would our ground need to be if we had won the number of trophies the aforementioned teams have won in the last fifty years ? We’re starting from a great base of currently able to average 35,000,we all know from MON’s tenure that we can average 40,000 so without additional tourists / season ticket strategies or increased away allocations we are at two thirds full. Our City and region needs a world class stadium and not just one than can host football.
Having visited the Ajax Amstel arena to see U2 play five consecutive nights in a 55,000 capacity stadium you can see the benefits those numbers would bring to all the hotels ,restaurants,airport and service industries in our region.
It’s not like we haven’t got the footprint in place, we own the land we need to make it happen ( current plan ) and at worst would have to purchase houses down the Witton Lane side of the ground to make a three tier horseshoe design based around the rake of the Trinity with a massive stand alone Holte.
And hey if the worst came to the worst we’d fill it at least five times a season and it wouldn’t look shocking with the top tier of two stands empty if required.
Didn’t we once have a Chairman who wanted to build a 110,000 stadium before the outbreak of World War One ?
Bring it on !
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Having visited the Ajax Amstel arena to see U2 play five consecutive nights in a 55,000 capacity stadium
WTF?
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Having visited the Ajax Amstel arena to see U2 play five consecutive nights in a 55,000 capacity stadium
WTF?
Christ on a bike. Were you sponsored mate?
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Brent, what crime did you commit to be sentenced to such a cruel and inhumane punishment?
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There's no way we'd get permission to expand the ground without some seriously improved transport links, for a start.
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Having visited the Ajax Amstel arena to see U2 play five consecutive nights in a 55,000 capacity stadium
WTF?
Christ on a bike. Were you sponsored mate?
Sorry I only went the one night lol ,U2 played the five and they we’re Fu#@ing brilliant !
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There's no way we'd get permission to expand the ground without some seriously improved transport links, for a start.
Agree Dave and think that’s already way down the pre planning consultation phase with the City council.
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
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Isn’t the transport issue really easily solved by laying on trains from Aston and Witton every few minutes.
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I have always wondered, imagine if we had established ourselves as a top 4 club under Lerner would be honestly attract enough regular support to fill 60k stadium every week? Even with man city's success they cannot regularly draw crowds like the red side of town.
I think for balance, if nothing else, the midlands needs a top premiership club. But would we genuinely have support to fill one?
I think the significant point is, ‘under Lerner’. I liked Randy but I feel that he didn’t build beyond the expected support for the club. He was very good at consolidating the local and the historical support for the club and supporting the immediate improvements to commercial outlets for AVFC.
There’s a real difference in expectation and expansion, and thereby the progression of the team and the Club and thereby, the crowds that might turn up. I think Dr Tony has seen possibilities for expansion based on the team being better.
Whilst Randy Lerner could have counted on a traditional following, I think that Dr Tony is actually building on that.
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Isn’t the transport issue really easily solved by laying on trains from Aston and Witton every few minutes.
One of the Villa's biggest annoyances is that the train companies don't want to know. Concerts, rugby World Cup - fine. League games, no chance.
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
Even if you re-submitted Doug’s plan to wrap around the Trinity to replace the North Stand that gives you 53,000 so I don’t often disagree with you but on this Dave we have the bulk of the space already. However a stadium done without changing the Witton Lane stand would look odd so that’s the only side we need to work on in respect of land purchase and requires the acquisition of no more than 100 houses ,without checking the land registry site we might even own some already !
Like I say ,bring it on, there’s hardly a shortage of land around us for car parking and 21 st century transportation improvements .
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
Well I guess it was ok as a kitchen garden.
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Isn’t the transport issue really easily solved by laying on trains from Aston and Witton every few minutes.
One of the Villa's biggest annoyances is that the train companies don't want to know. Concerts, rugby World Cup - fine. League games, no chance.
I’d guess that the city centre commercial landlords could apply some pressure to get an extra 20k people into the city centre quickly to spend money there after games?
Unless of course we are playing the Blues when we are all too scared.
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There's no way we'd get permission to expand the ground without some seriously improved transport links, for a start.
Yes, and to justify that there would need to be more going on in the area than just a football game every two weeks for 9 months a year. That's why I think work needs to be done in terms of regeneration of the whole area to make it more actively used, which needs buy-in from the wider community. The club owns some land around the ground, but probably not enough to have a transformational impact on the whole area. It needs the sort of local government participation that has led to Liverpool City Council's assistance of Everton's ground move etc.
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
Even if you re-submitted Doug’s plan to wrap around the Trinity to replace the North Stand that gives you 53,000 so I don’t often disagree with you but on this Dave we have the bulk of the space already. However a stadium done without changing the Witton Lane stand would look odd so that’s the only side we need to work on in respect of land purchase and requires the acquisition of no more than 100 houses ,without checking the land registry site we might even own some already !
Like I say ,bring it on, there’s hardly a shortage of land around us for car parking and 21 st century transportation improvements .
53,000 is the figure I believe we've already got in principle, but expanding Witton Lane would involve getting rid of parkland (never easy now) and moving into residential areas, which is an absolute minefield. The days of buying up houses on the cheap have gone and you're looking at that whole area around Holte Road suffering substantial upheaval, and that's no going to happen without years of planning battles. There's also a massive shortage of car parking and room for transport - that's what the problems would be about.
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If Dr Tony has a plan then I would back him to make it happen.
With the Commonwealth Games on the agenda as well.
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So I’d guess that the plan must be a little more adventurous than ‘build a bigger football stadium’ if they are confident of getting planning?
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Perhaps it’s moving to a bigger and better Alexander Stadium, but I hope not.
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
Even if you re-submitted Doug’s plan to wrap around the Trinity to replace the North Stand that gives you 53,000 so I don’t often disagree with you but on this Dave we have the bulk of the space already. However a stadium done without changing the Witton Lane stand would look odd so that’s the only side we need to work on in respect of land purchase and requires the acquisition of no more than 100 houses ,without checking the land registry site we might even own some already !
Like I say ,bring it on, there’s hardly a shortage of land around us for car parking and 21 st century transportation improvements .
53,000 is the figure I believe we've already got in principle, but expanding Witton Lane would involve getting rid of parkland (never easy now) and moving into residential areas, which is an absolute minefield. The days of buying up houses on the cheap have gone and you're looking at that whole area around Holte Road suffering substantial upheaval, and that's no going to happen without years of planning battles. There's also a massive shortage of car parking and room for transport - that's what the problems would be about.
It’s not as complicated as you think with the right leadership in place ,which I believe we have. As Fatsam states it will require wider regeneration of the area to get the wider community onside and that is the route I believe we are undertaking. The strip of parkland you refer to can be replaced , Aston Park it isn’t. Section 106 planning agreements also allow for the building of Hospitals, schools , roads, anything virtually to support the applicants ( Commonwealth games taking place in 2022 did I hear you say ? )
I’m certainly not proposing a confrontational approach with our neighbours quite the opposite and believe a win win can certainly be achieved . However my understanding is that with the consent of our local authorities and regional government that compulsory purchase orders could be made. Our local authorities want this for our City and region,we want it for our club . I remember Andy Howell, son of the late Lord Dennis Howell MP, when deputy leader of Birmingham City Council stating that the council regularly asked Doug for a blueprint for a stadium and that they were always frustrated by his regular one stand plans .
We also have quite an ace with our neighbours in that we have been here since 1897 - No one can have moved to the close proximity of us without knowing about attendances and congestion.
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Please don't go down the "We were here first" route. It's a fatuous argument and one that always reflects badly on us. You'd be looking at potentially hundreds of houses being affected and that's an incredibly difficult set of logistics to balance not least because they could look at our past attendances and say that a large increase in capacity isn't justified. We're not Spurs or Arsenal with huge waiting lists for tickets and we're not the Manchester Commonwealth Games bid. In any case, let's not walk before we can run; there's no evidence to say that we would ever need a stadium holding much over 50,000 at the most.
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Please don't go down the "We were here first" route. It's a fatuous argument and one that always reflects badly on us. You'd be looking at potentially hundreds of houses being affected and that's an incredibly difficult set of logistics to balance not least because they could look at our past attendances and say that a large increase in capacity isn't justified. We're not Spurs or Arsenal with huge waiting lists for tickets and we're not the Manchester Commonwealth Games bid. In any case, let's not walk before we can run; there's no evidence to say that we would ever need a stadium holding much over 50,000 at the most.
Dave like I say I don’t often disagree with you but on this issue I do as it’s all about potential. If it were 1985 now when we were averaging 15,000 gates ,people would have laughed at you if you said “we’ll win no major trophy from here on in , we’ll have some of the worst home form of all the top divions for five years, and yet in 2017 we’ll have an average gate of circa 35,000 “ you’d have been certified! We have the potential.
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I doubt there's a club on earth who won't say they have potential. Equally, and I could be wrong but I don't think there's a club that have substantially expanded or moved their ground without it being full on a regular basis for years beforehand.
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I doubt there's a club on earth who won't say they have potential. Equally, and I could be wrong but I don't think there's a club that have substantially expanded or moved their ground without it being full on a regular basis for years beforehand.
Southampton’s Dell, Leicester’s Filbert Street and Derby’s Baseball ground weren’t lock outs week in week out before they all moved to larger premises . Let’s wait and see what happens - at least it isn’t dull and at least we are trying to move forward. Like I’ve previously stated I hope and believe that the club are and will be working with the community to achieve a win win situation. .
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I doubt there's a club on earth who won't say they have potential. Equally, and I could be wrong but I don't think there's a club that have substantially expanded or moved their ground without it being full on a regular basis for years beforehand.
Southampton’s Dell, Leicester’s Filbert Street and Derby’s Baseball ground weren’t lock outs week in week out before they all moved to larger premises . Let’s wait and see what happens - at least it isn’t dull and at least we are trying to move forward. Like I’ve previously stated I hope and believe that the club are and will be working with the community to achieve a win win situation. .
They were all totally unsuitable for the modern era, which Villa Park clearly isn't. To be honest, I've seen too many plans and dreams and hopes to get worked up about something that's still very much in the nice idea but... stage.
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There is scope to build and redevelop even within the current constraints.
The North Stand is an eyesore and the Doug Ellis was never a great stand to begin with. Both would benefit from better facilities and improved commercial/executive options, even if the overall capacity didn't shoot up right away.
And as MK Dons have shown recently (and Tottingham did mid 90s) new stands can be built in such a way that they allow for future expansion, if we were concerned about not selling out the 50k plus in the short>medium term. Which would be a totally legitimate concern, in all honesty.
Xia and the rest of the brains trust would then need to be convinced about the merits of a large outlay for not much more in terms of capacity in that interim period.
But if they were in it for the long haul, one argument in favour would be that building costs are unlikely to go down over the next 10/15 years. Take the hit now (or in 18-24 months) get the bulk of the work out of the way, and then there is less to do in future. Rather than doing it all and causing bigger disruption if/when we are at the stage of regularly selling out and actually doing well on the pitch.
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I'd love to be in a crowd of 50/60,000+ at Villa Park. One day...
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I'd love to be in a crowd of 50/60,000+ at Villa Park. One day...
I'm privileged to say that I have been on several occasions.
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Good luck to anyone who tries sorting it. The other problem is that we've got a three-sided plot and all three sides have restricted room for growth.
Even if you re-submitted Doug’s plan to wrap around the Trinity to replace the North Stand that gives you 53,000 so I don’t often disagree with you but on this Dave we have the bulk of the space already. However a stadium done without changing the Witton Lane stand would look odd so that’s the only side we need to work on in respect of land purchase and requires the acquisition of no more than 100 houses ,without checking the land registry site we might even own some already !
Like I say ,bring it on, there’s hardly a shortage of land around us for car parking and 21 st century transportation improvements .
53,000 is the figure I believe we've already got in principle, but expanding Witton Lane would involve getting rid of parkland (never easy now) and moving into residential areas, which is an absolute minefield. The days of buying up houses on the cheap have gone and you're looking at that whole area around Holte Road suffering substantial upheaval, and that's no going to happen without years of planning battles. There's also a massive shortage of car parking and room for transport - that's what the problems would be about.
All good points but it can be done. Look how Arsenal shoe horned a 60,000 seater into Ashburton Grove.We have a main line railway running a few hundred yards from VP. And people will always find parking. Just have to walk a bit further.
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I'd love to be in a crowd of 50/60,000+ at Villa Park. One day...
I'm privileged to say that I have been on several occasions.
And me. 60K v Manure and 57K v Sunderland.
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I'd love to be in a crowd of 50/60,000+ at Villa Park. One day...
I'm privileged to say that I have been on several occasions.
And me. 60K v Manure and 57K v Sunderland.
I was thinking of those two!
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What about the gate against Santos?
I've found it - 54,437 Feb 21 1972
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It was just short of 60k, I think.
Edit: beaten to it. Thought it was higher. Still not bad for a Third Division club!
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I think that there is an opportunity to position Villa Park as an events venue for the whole region. There has been talk in the past of purpose-built stadia for the Olympics bid etc. but the Commonwealth games is taking the more economical (and probably more sensible) route of temporarily enlarging an existing venue. The fact is that Villa Park will remain the largest venue in the region for the foreseeable future. Why not make it the default venue for major events, and build up the capacity and facilities to attract them? Obviously, high quality football would be the starting point, but other sports, concerts, conferences etc. as well. This is where regeneration of the area to make it more hospitable to audiences other than football fans would help. Mixed-use development with more homes and businesses to make it more actively used. Even if this is not immediately possible due to the wider work necessary, I would like to see this sort of ambitious forward planning, if only to avoid further piecemeal development.
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Also, with Old Trafford, the Etihad, the Emirates, Anfield, White Hart Lane, Stamford Bridge and the new Everton stadium all pushing capacities towards or beyond 60k, anything less will start to become insufficient for the sort of showcase events that Villa Park has specialised in until recently.
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I'd love to be in a crowd of 50/60,000+ at Villa Park. One day...
I'm privileged to say that I have been on several occasions.
And me. 60K v Manure and 57K v Sunderland.
I was thinking of those two!
62.5k agin' ManUre in Deecember 1970 and 58k vs Blunderland in 1975. I was at both. They are the figures I recall, but I haven't chekced back.
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I think that there is an opportunity to position Villa Park as an events venue for the whole region. There has been talk in the past of purpose-built stadia for the Olympics bid etc. but the Commonwealth games is taking the more economical (and probably more sensible) route of temporarily enlarging an existing venue. The fact is that Villa Park will remain the largest venue in the region for the foreseeable future. Why not make it the default venue for major events, and build up the capacity and facilities to attract them? Obviously, high quality football would be the starting point, but other sports, concerts, conferences etc. as well. This is where regeneration of the area to make it more hospitable to audiences other than football fans would help. Mixed-use development with more homes and businesses to make it more actively used. Even if this is not immediately possible due to the wider work necessary, I would like to see this sort of ambitious forward planning, if only to avoid further piecemeal development.
Maybe look at the Amsterdam Arena - which is a bit of a hike from Amsterdam city centre but has a great road/rail link
Apart from football it hosts other events (AMF for example) and has plenty of hotel accommodation too.
Aston will be a hard gig to promote so will need great ideas and serious investment - Brum has some real historical assets which could be promoted - i.e. Aston Hall and the Jewellery Quarter for example. Maybe we could attempt to prise away the National Football Museum from Manchester - I used to love visiting it when it was at Deepdale (however I guess it was moved from there to Manchester City Centre as the Deepdale area is similar to Aston is respect of environment and community - ie. old Victorian back to backs and locals who traditionally have no interest or links with football ).
As a multicultural City Birmingham could maybe celebrate this by offering a multicultural harmony/peace zone with a mixture of ethnic restaurants, community centres or even places of worship - similar to around Wembley/Ealing where there is a beautiful Hindu temple and the Clay Pot community hall (for Indian community events) and lots of differing restaurants - an up market Ladypool Road if you like - I haven't lived in Brum for over 20 years so I am not fully aware of what facilities there are for some communities - the Afro Caribbean community for example or the recently arrived/integrated eastern European community. One of the things that makes me proud to be a Brummie is the diversity of its population and despite difficult times its resilience to defeat racism.
This is an opportunity for the club to embrace the wider community and not just the fans to see what they would like developed and bring meaningful employment to the area - sports facilities, job training centres, community schemes,
Just an idea :)
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Obviously it is all in the planning stage but the suggested ideas by Dr Xia was to regenerate the whole area and not just the football club - it was alleged to be very much welcomed by the council. City development is one of Recon's core business's so I am sure he bought us with other ventures in mind
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That's the important bit. I don't think any plans we have for the ground would be as grand if it wasn't tied to the games and also the entire regeneration of the surrounding area. It's what happened in Manchester which Man City took advantage of and built on it. We have an opportunity to modernize the entire area including Villa Park. I have no doubt however that this is fraught with issues given where the ground is and the homes and businesses it will affect. Not an easy task at all for the council even if it is sold to residents as being very positive long term. It will be critical that they embrace and get the support of the local community leaders in order to make this happen.
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It'll be interesting to see how many daytrippers we might attract if we are in the Premier League and HS2 is up and running. We would still be easier to get tickets for than most top-flight London clubs.
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It'll be interesting to see how many daytrippers we might attract if we are in the Premier League and HS2 is up and running. We would still be easier to get tickets for than most top-flight London clubs.
If the football is good, the fans will come from the Birmingham and the Midlands, we won't need daytrippers. The only thing that could have a negative impact on it would be a tough economic climate.
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It's time we brought Duran Duran home. Get them to fill the stadium every summer with some James Blunt as support and then an NFL game during the forthcoming winter break/Superbowl season. This ain't no Ordinary World!
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It's time we brought Duran Duran home. Get them to fill the stadium every summer with some James Blunt as support and then an NFL game during the forthcoming winter break/Superbowl season. This ain't no Ordinary World!
You seem well behind the times Grandad. It's all Ocean Colour Scene now.
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On being in big crowds at Villa park, I may be rambling in the mists of time but, I was there when we played Preston in the sixth round of the FA Cup and the few functioning brain cells that remain to me tell me the crowd was 68/69k. My old man reckoned it was 70+. I'll have to check.
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On being in big crowds at Villa park, I may be rambling in the mists of time but, I was there when we played Preston in the sixth round of the FA Cup and the few functioning brain cells that remain to me tell me the crowd was 68/69k. My old man reckoned it was 70+. I'll have to check.
69,732
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We had 74,000 in for Walsall, once.
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On being in big crowds at Villa park, I may be rambling in the mists of time but, I was there when we played Preston in the sixth round of the FA Cup and the few functioning brain cells that remain to me tell me the crowd was 68/69k. My old man reckoned it was 70+. I'll have to check.
69,732
Looks like Hilter was in the crowd.
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On being in big crowds at Villa park, I may be rambling in the mists of time but, I was there when we played Preston in the sixth round of the FA Cup and the few functioning brain cells that remain to me tell me the crowd was 68/69k. My old man reckoned it was 70+. I'll have to check.
69,732
Thanks PWS, I had a fair idea I was right. I remember the build up to that match, it was all about Tom Finney and him going to reach the cup final. Villa played well that day.
The crowd was massive as you can imagine and the old lad was insistent that the gate was well in excess of 70k. I wasn't that old so I believed him, still do.
That was the biggest crowd I ever stood in at Villa Park, and I attended many,many semi-finals that always had big crowds. Always had tremendous atmosphere.
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It'll be interesting to see how many daytrippers we might attract if we are in the Premier League and HS2 is up and running. We would still be easier to get tickets for than most top-flight London clubs.
If the football is good, the fans will come from the Birmingham and the Midlands, we won't need daytrippers. The only thing that could have a negative impact on it would be a tough economic climate.
You’re right Rudy but I saw some figures from the English Tourist board showing 5000 overseas visitors per home match for Liverpool,Man Utd and Arsenal ( I’m assuming that includes Ireland ) I think our City’s hotels, bars ,clubs and restaurants would be happy with that.
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It'll be interesting to see how many daytrippers we might attract if we are in the Premier League and HS2 is up and running. We would still be easier to get tickets for than most top-flight London clubs.
If the football is good, the fans will come from the Birmingham and the Midlands, we won't need daytrippers. The only thing that could have a negative impact on it would be a tough economic climate.
You’re right Rudy but I saw some figures from the English Tourist board showing 5000 overseas visitors per home match for Liverpool,Man Utd and Arsenal ( I’m assuming that includes Ireland ) I think our City’s hotels, bars ,clubs and restaurants would be happy with that.
I just love the fact we are still a traditional club. Our support is ace.
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What exactly does he do?
I read he's been with Manchester United as assistant manager and heard of his Everton connection.
20 years in premier league knowledge but seems like an old boys network.
Got the gig here at villa Park probably due to connections but I starting if not always dubious to how he approaching things as a technical director.
I imagine Bruce will still be given chance and fails his mate davy moyes would be in.
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Steve Round has now officially left the club. No reason given.
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FFS.
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I would’ve sacked him even if we’d been promoted. He’s pretty much failed in his job role hadn’t he?!
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Does it mean we are a little closer to the sale or just another indication that we deeply screwed?
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Not really sure what hes done here.
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What a fucking mess
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Must have thought wtf with zero ability to freshen things up
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Oh dear.
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What an absolute shambles.
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Does it mean the decks are being cleared for a new owner? Hes had enough as he knows what is coming and wants to get out? Rats and sinking ship?
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i would hope new owners would mean the ship has been re floated
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Ah yes even more lack of leadership.
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So who is actually doing the sacking?
Surely Dr Tone is nowhere to be seen whilst trying to find more money from China
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Simon Jordan on Talksport just said he wouldn't be cashing a big cheque to buy the club, but may be part of something that will takeover soon
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So who is actually doing the sacking?
Surely Dr Tone is nowhere to be seen whilst trying to find more money from China
That’s my thought too.
Is the ‘commercial director’ now calling the shots on the football operations?
He must be, he’s the only fucker left.
Unless one of the catering staff did it.
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Told you, Don't upset the Tea Lady at Villa Park or your a fucking gonna.
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any idea why Jordan seems to have this warm cuddly feeling for Villa?
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He is very complimentary in his book too, its a decent read
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If Simon Jordan gets involved at the Villa we may as well turn off the fucking lights lads
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If Simon Jordan gets involved at the Villa we may as well turn off the fucking lights lads
Apart from him being a bit of a flash Harry type, and a gob on legs he could be worse. He always seems to talk sense whenever I hear him in interviews and seems to have some sort of affinity for the club. Downside is he rates Bruce.
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According to The E&S:
"A committee consisting of chief commercial officer Luke Organ, finance director Ian Hopson and lawyer Victoria Wilkes are currently in charge of operations at Villa Park."
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Great, the one guy with a pedigree in football that we actually had on our books.
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He has a pedigree as assistant to Moyes at Everton /United as a director of football he had no experience and I can't see what he has achieved positively since he has been here ...
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What a mess. So much for the ‘Villa Engine’.....
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Failed it's emmissions test.......
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It's a mess alright.
Don't shoot the messenger and of course I will throw in all of the usual caveats in relation to reliability etc but my girlfriend was told on Monday, (by someone who is on the coaching staff) that Tommy Mooney is the new first team coach and that Bruce wants out and is desperately looking for another job. Watch this space...
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Randy Lerner is beginning to look like a footballing genius.
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It's a mess alright.
Don't shoot the messenger and of course I will throw in all of the usual caveats in relation to reliability etc but my girlfriend was told on Monday, (by someone who is on the coaching staff) that Tommy Mooney is the new first team coach and that Bruce wants out and is desperately looking for another job. Watch this space...
This sounds like bluenose bullshit...
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Mooney is charge of Player Loans at Villa according to Wiki.
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It's a mess alright.
Don't shoot the messenger and of course I will throw in all of the usual caveats in relation to reliability etc but my girlfriend was told on Monday, (by someone who is on the coaching staff) that Tommy Mooney is the new first team coach and that Bruce wants out and is desperately looking for another job. Watch this space...
This sounds like bluenose bullshit...
nothing surprises me anymore
if they said it was Benny from Crossroads i wouldn't blink an eye
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Mooney is charge of Player Loans at Villa according to Wiki.
He's been doing that job for over a year.
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According to The E&S:
"A committee consisting of chief commercial officer Luke Organ, finance director Ian Hopson and lawyer Victoria Wilkes are currently in charge of operations at Villa Park."
Ahh cool. All that footballing experience there and knowledge of how to run a club. What could possibly go wrong?
One of them will probably be picking the team in another months time.
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Just found a picture of the Villa engine
(https://cdn.carcomplaints.com/complaints/images/d42c4f8a-f425-1033-b743-4c3114d2dee3r.jpg)
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Just found a picture of the Villa engine
(https://cdn.carcomplaints.com/complaints/images/d42c4f8a-f425-1033-b743-4c3114d2dee3r.jpg)
That's better than I was expecting to be honest!
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According to The E&S:
"A committee consisting of chief commercial officer Luke Organ, finance director Ian Hopson and lawyer Victoria Wilkes are currently in charge of operations at Villa Park."
Ahh cool. All that footballing experience there and knowledge of how to run a club. What could possibly go wrong?
One of them will probably be picking the team in another months time.
Or playing centre midfield.
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Hard to know whether Round was part of the problem or the solution. Any good he has done would probably not yet be evident however his 'engine' and Bruce as manager never really aligned.
Good or bad, the club is a mess. Whoever comes in will need to start the whole process again. sigh.
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Guide to our "new" board!
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/vicky-wilkes-76884a27
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ian-hopson-a1616ab0
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Can anyone point to anything Steve Round actually did that was noticeable for his wage packet ?
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Failed it's emmissions test.......
Piston broke
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Guide to our "new" board!
Cheers for that, SHQ. Very interesting interview. Shame we're in the brown stuff. Seems a decent clever chap.
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It's a no from me, on the grounds of overuse of the word 'piece'. I've walked out of (internal) meetings for the same reason.
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He's not our Round m'Lord
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The news of Round's departure is yet another major concern. The club seems completely directionless at the moment.
We've had the wool pulled over our eyes haven't we? There was no long term plan, it was a bunch of chancres hoping to get back in the top flight and taking it from there.
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It's a no from me, on the grounds of overuse of the word 'piece'. I've walked out of (internal) meetings for the same reason.
What context did he use it in?
He comes across pretty well and he's worked with some big sporting organisations.
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Guide to our "new" board!
Cheers for that, SHQ. Very interesting interview. Shame we're in the brown stuff. Seems a decent clever chap.
Is the mention of Wasps a bit of a concern seeing what has gone on there recently?
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/wasps-accounts-reveal-falsified-information-14632240
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I’ve just seen the Villa Engine for sale on eBay
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I’ve just seen the Villa Engine for sale on eBay
£50 reserve. No bids yet.
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Guide to our "new" board!
Cheers for that, SHQ. Very interesting interview. Shame we're in the brown stuff. Seems a decent clever chap.
Is the mention of Wasps a bit of a concern seeing what has gone on there recently?
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/wasps-accounts-reveal-falsified-information-14632240
Nothing to do with him. Sounds like they've been caught using some creative accounting.
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Guide to our "new" board!
Cheers for that, SHQ. Very interesting interview. Shame we're in the brown stuff. Seems a decent clever chap.
Is the mention of Wasps a bit of a concern seeing what has gone on there recently?
https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/wasps-accounts-reveal-falsified-information-14632240
Nothing to do with him. Sounds like they've been caught using some creative accounting.
Didn't mean he was responsible for the creative accounting you mention, more about the general financial situation Wasps are in and the move to Coventry not exactly working out as planned.
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Let's hope he's a bit of a brain with the heart to de-liver and not kidney one. If he strikes a chord he could be key to hitting the right notes and getting a tune out of us. Of course he might just be a cock.
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It's a no from me, on the grounds of overuse of the word 'piece'. I've walked out of (internal) meetings for the same reason.
What context did he use it in?
He comes across pretty well and he's worked with some big sporting organisations.
As in a substitute for the words ‘factor’, ‘aspect’, even fucking ‘thing’ would be better. But these pricks always say ‘piece’. Granular wankers.
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You keep my Gran out of this.
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You keep my Gran out of this.
I apologise for involving your gran in my Organ contemplations, Señor Verde. She was a wonderful piece.
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Steve Round may have gone but Round Steve is still here