Seats on 7

[not3bad]

Not the first time this kind of thing has been tried.  Anybody up for this one?

This is what the Aston Villa protestors have planned for the Bournemouth match

The Aston Villa Protest Group are planning the 'Seats on 7' demonstration as part of their campaign to make their feelings of frustration known to absent owner Randy Lerner.

Aston Villa protestors are calling for their fellow fans to leave their Villa Park seats empty for the start of the Premier League match against Bournemouth.

The Aston Villa Protest Group are planning the 'Seats on 7' demonstration as part of their campaign to make their feelings of frustration known to absent owner Randy Lerner.

Previously the group staged an 'Out the Door on 74' walkout, encouraging supporters to leave the stadium on 74 minutes of last month's defeat to Everton.

On Saturday, there was a 'Banners Out on 74' protest with fans holding up A4 posters with the slogan 'Proud History. What Future?' during the loss to Chelsea.

The group are now asking fans to leave their seats empty for the first seven minutes of Saturday's game against the Cherries at Villa Park.

Here is the thinking behind their latest plan - in a statement from the group
Seats on 7 – Aston Villa vs Bournemouth, April 9th, 2016.

Following on from the successful demonstrations against Everton and Chelsea we are again calling on you our fellow supporters to join us in protest. We are asking you to refrain from entering the terraces until 7 minutes after KO this Saturday vs Bournemouth.

We also encourage you to join with your fellow supporters in the concourse to make a strong visual and vocal statement that as a fan base we are very much united in our pursuit of answers and positive action from our absent owner.

The significance of 7 minutes being that during Aston Villa’s rich and proud history we have won the League title on 7 occasions, a league in which due to the incompetent ownership of this magnificent club we will not be competing in next season.

Further to this, by leaving your seat vacant at kick off you will be mimicking the actions of our absent owner, whose seat has not been filled at Villa Park since September of 2014. That being the ONLY time he has attended Villa Park since December 2012.

We also want to see a continuation of Banners Out on 74. The supporters must now own this.

We have been asked why we don’t protest the players. That is not in our particular remit, they are a symptom of the disease rather than the cause. However we feel that banners, such as those seen last Saturday, provide the ideal opportunity for fans to express their discontent towards ownership and players alike.

We must maintain the pressure on Mr Lerner. The need for him to make a statement addressing the concerns in our recent open letter to him along with the need for him to action the three requests within that statement is as imperative as ever.

Further to this we are in a crucial time for the club as it seeks to appoint a new manager and we must leave those responsible in no doubt that they must work hard to appoint the correct manager for the plight we face.

We must continue to show the world that despite a lack of passion from Mr Lerner and from the players that we the supporters care deeply for our club. That we will not rest until Aston Villa is proven to be back on a firm footing and heading in the right direction.

Aston Villa Protest Group

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/what-aston-villa-protestors-planned-11135308

[Richard E]

But we'll miss the first 3 Bournemouth goals!!

[Olof's Beard]

Could this not lead to a huge crush of people in the concourses? That's if anybody bothers turning up at all.

[Des Little]

I'm not getting in 3 minutes earlier than I usually do for this...

[Chris Jameson]

Bollocks to that, I'm not getting up at 7.30am to catch a train down to then miss the opportunity to mock the likes of Richards for seven minutes. There will be thousands of empty seats anyway so it strikes me as a pointless exercise. The thousands of empty seats throughout the game are surely more of an indication of how people are feeling, not the greatest idea.

[Clampy]

No. They're starting to like the sound of their own voice.

[Nunkin1965]

Not sure. The place will be half empty in any case unless theres David Moyes in our dugout.

[Chico Hamilton III]

If things go tits up against Bournemouth, there'll be no need for planned protests because the spontaneous reaction will be more effective. Getting the game held up would be brilliant. There won't be many more chances to make a protest to a Premier League audience. Nobody else will give a shit about us next season, this is the opportunity.

[markavfc40]

No. They're starting to like the sound of their own voice.

Far from it mate. Non of us involved in this protest group want to be doing this. There are only three home games left this season though and as we have no desire to have to protest at the start of next season we want to try to keep the focus on Randy Lerner now, call on him to make a statement regarding the concerns we have raised in an open letter to him and also get him to action the three requests with in that open letter. By protesting now we'd like to think it will help ensure the club is in much better shape next season which will mean there is no need to protest.

[Clampy]

No. They're starting to like the sound of their own voice.

Far from it mate. Non of us involved in this protest group want to be doing this. There are only three home games left this season though and as we have no desire to have to protest at the start of next season we want to try to keep the focus on Randy Lerner now, call on him to make a statement regarding the concerns we have raised in an open letter to him and also get him to action the three requests with in that open letter. By protesting now we'd like to think it will help ensure the club is in much better shape next season which will mean there is no need to protest.

I disagree. There's been changes to the board and on the managerial side and whilst there's a lot of hard work to be done, it's a start and hopefully a step in the right direction. Leaving the new people to get on with it for now would be the best way forward.

[VillaAlways]

No. They're starting to like the sound of their own voice.

Bit rude.

I think the protests have been very successful The banners especially was a huge effort which I'm very grateful for.

[Legion]

Hasn't this already been done? A late entry into the match, I mean.

[Legion]

I thought the banners etc at the Chelsea match worked very well indeed.

[West Derby Villan]

Don't think that there will be more than 30K at the match anyway, so the empty seats protest loses its value. I think that the targeting of certain players with abuse is more effective. They ain't bothered about our protest, they get paid anyway. Lerner has put Hollis
in charge and he has, in my opinion, got a decent board in place. I support your stance but won't be boycotting the first seven minutes. UTV

[curiousorange]

I think they're running out of ideas. As Edwyn Collins sang, 'too many protest singers, not enough protest songs.'