The Strategic Direction of Aston Villa - Suggestions.

[nigel]

Maybe we should just concentrate on supporting the club instead of picking holes in it all the time.
Good quality support on match days will always work its way onto the pitch.
Randy's not selling.
Alex McLeish is staying.
The fact is this is a transitional season for us so all the moaning in the world will not change that.
If all that effort was put into creating a positive atmosphere at Villa Park it might just be the spark that's needed.

There you go: permanent transition i.e. a state of flux, or something that rhymes with flux.

Dear oh dear

[brian green]

On Radio 4 this morning they were discussing the fiasco of England in the rugby world cup.   One pithy comment was that talented and experienced players expected one on one with Martin Johnson whom they respected and admired but got constantly ambushed by consultants with clipboards to which the interviewer added that the consultants were probably quoting verbatim from the latest american self improvement manual.

I have always believed that football is like art of which the classic definition states that whatever you say about art the opposite is equally true.

If James Collins gets his big stupid bonehead onto a corner and wins the FA cup for us one nil the shocker he played last monday will evaporate in an instant and probably never be recalled by any of us like in Men In Black when Tommy Lee Jones flashes his pocket light.

[Risso]

Simple, put me and Risso in charge of the club. 

We worry about a lack of football knowledge on the board now, you've just identified the one way to reduce it.

No bugger would have got me to sign off on the cheques for Heskey and Beye.

[PaulMcGrathsNo5Shirt]

Until football goes belly up we'll always be a club that finishes between 7th and 15th. Never good enough to win anything, always too good to go down. That said, I think as a club we're being overtaken by one, or two clubs every season.

[not3bad]

Until football goes belly up we'll always be a club that finishes between 7th and 15th. Never good enough to win anything, always too good to go down. That said, I think as a club we're being overtaken by one, or two clubs every season.

Which means that in 8 years time we'll have been overtaken by 8-16 clubs and be in the Championship?

[Greg N'Ash]

Personally i 'd do the following

1. Flog the ground naming rights off. Everyone will always call it Villa park and calling it the 3mobile stadium for some dumb ass sponser won't change that.

2. A block on signing any players over 50k a week

3. A block on signing any players over 26 for more than 5m and 2m if their over 30.

4. If we're going down the youth route then they must at least be 2nd choice by 18/19. if they're not up to it then let 'em go.


5. Concentrate on foreign players for new signings. they're cheaper and its obviously bad financial sense to buy N'Zogbia for 10m when we could have got him for 250k. Obviously with good scouts he'd have never been signed which brings me to..

6. get some good scouts in re 5.

7. Longer contracts for the young players. If a guy makes the breakthrough at 18/19 then nail him down for 5 years. At 19 he'll take it and if he falls away, then 20k a week is move liveable as a write off than having to pay him a fortune if he's a star at 21 to fend off other clubs AND only getting him on a 3 year contract. Obviously at 21 you'd try and tie him down for another 5 years on big money - if he won't sign at worse you've got him for 2 years on low wages and a good opportunity to flog him.

Hopefully that will give us a good mix of low paid young english and foreign players with a couple of old heads thrown in. Reduces the overheads and maximises the transfers funds.

Hopefully a young exciting if probably very unpredicatable team  would attract increased revenue, and also make us a name as a club who gives youth a chance. If over 5 years the above works and we're more profitable and getting near to the Europa places then a re-assessment could be made to take us to the next level

[AV82EC]

Increase Revenue, increase revenue, increase revenue....oh and control wages.

Paradoxically in Football quite often doing the second of those means the first one suffers!!

[MarkM]

Increase Revenue, increase revenue, increase revenue....oh and control wages.

Paradoxically in Football quite often doing the second of those means the first one suffers!!

Increase revenue?

Put up the cost of a ticket?
Try and get a higher price for the shirt sponsorship?
Sell off the naming rights of the stadium?
Increase sales of shirts etc...

We are already having to cut ticket prices to get people to attend [at the annoyance of many season ticket holders]
Can we with the dross we play really demand a massive price to have a name on our shirts [considering allot of companies are cutting back on thier promotional spending due to the economic situation]
Do we really want to play in the Virgin Dome or the British Gas Arena? and could we get a good price for it anyway?
In order to increase sales of shirts etc.. we need to be appealing not appalling!

[gaucho1966]

I believe we should be preparing ourselves for purgatory.

[nigel]

Personally i 'd do the following

1. Flog the ground naming rights off. Everyone will always call it Villa park and calling it the 3mobile stadium for some dumb ass sponser won't change that.

2. A block on signing any players over 50k a week

3. A block on signing any players over 26 for more than 5m and 2m if their over 30.

4. If we're going down the youth route then they must at least be 2nd choice by 18/19. if they're not up to it then let 'em go.


5. Concentrate on foreign players for new signings. they're cheaper and its obviously bad financial sense to buy N'Zogbia for 10m when we could have got him for 250k. Obviously with good scouts he'd have never been signed which brings me to..

6. get some good scouts in re 5.

7. Longer contracts for the young players. If a guy makes the breakthrough at 18/19 then nail him down for 5 years. At 19 he'll take it and if he falls away, then 20k a week is move liveable as a write off than having to pay him a fortune if he's a star at 21 to fend off other clubs AND only getting him on a 3 year contract. Obviously at 21 you'd try and tie him down for another 5 years on big money - if he won't sign at worse you've got him for 2 years on low wages and a good opportunity to flog him.

Hopefully that will give us a good mix of low paid young english and foreign players with a couple of old heads thrown in. Reduces the overheads and maximises the transfers funds.

Hopefully a young exciting if probably very unpredicatable team  would attract increased revenue, and also make us a name as a club who gives youth a chance. If over 5 years the above works and we're more profitable and getting near to the Europa places then a re-assessment could be made to take us to the next level

Agree Grag.
I will say, though, that Villa are starting on the 5 year contracts. I'm sure that I've read that some of the young guns are on 5 year deals.
I think football in general needs a wages overhaul.
Every player has to sign a 5 year deal.
Given the level they're playing at a wage structure could be implemented.
1st teamers:
Year 1- £20,000 per wk
Year 2- £25,000
Year 3- £30,000
Year 4- £35,000
Year 5- £40,000
Years 6 onwards will be £45,000 plus annual loyalty payments.
If they leave during at any time they have to start on Year one.
Something along these lines would stop your ManC and Chelsea's from offering silly money to get a player. It would also stop teams who can't afford it offering silly money and going bust.

[Simba]

Until football goes belly up we'll always be a club that finishes between 7th and 15th. Never good enough to win anything, always too good to go down. That said, I think as a club we're being overtaken by one, or two clubs every season.

Which means that in 8 years time we'll have been overtaken by 8-16 clubs and be in the Championship?

Yup. Except that AM has created a compound effect. So two years.

Those of a nervous disposition should read no further: Have a serious look at the fixtures, playing style, stats (shots on, total shots eg). Plug in the increasing lack of confidence, management desperation, crowd apathy and even this season could be it.

Then imagine if the Scummy ones made the playoffs and.... well, imagine.

[KevinGage]

Our function should be to exist as a giant question mark, right at the heart (or slap bang in the middle) of the Prem.

McLeish as manager and building a side around Ivanhoe are good starts, granted.  But we need more weirdness. That Coventry chap was onto something with that ludicrous text a sub (subtext?) brainwave.    More of that please, Villa.

[Vanilla]

Isn't our strategy to:

1. Have more modest targets (this was the statement from the club when MON left)

2. Cut the wage bill

3. Seemingly target cheaper signings

4. Maximise potential buying revenue from the uplift in sell-on value from said signings and young talent

5. Cross our fingers and hope we don't get relegated in the meantime

Can't really see past this, as it could take a few seasons to fully implement.

[Iago]

Simple, put me and Risso in charge of the club. 

We worry about a lack of football knowledge on the board now, you've just identified the one way to reduce it.

Fortunately for me, I am not the guy who hired AM as manager. Oh one other thing Chris, have you managed to watch the Tottenham game yet?

[Percy McCarthy]

Some good points and ideas from greg nash there. Gulp.