Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on April 27, 2016, 02:41:50 PM
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Following some informal discussions it was felt that the old SCG had run its course and needed to be revamped. As a result, the first meeting of a new group took place on Saturday 23rd April.
It was agreed that the initial constituent fans groups would be as originally proposed by Aston Villa FC. Deletions from and additions to could be made as and when considered appropriate.
Aston Villa Supporters Trust 2 Reps, Lions Clubs 2 Reps, MOMS 1 Rep, Heroes and Villains 1 Rep, avilla fan.com 1 Rep, AVISC 1 Rep, Vital Villa 1 Rep.
The members of the group would seek to achieve unanimity in terms of the questions and priority of those questions to be addressed to the club.
The group will seek to give the club ten days notice of the issues to be raised in order for the club to provide measured answers and representatives
Members of the group will not post reports of the meetings until such time as the formal minutes are published.
We will respect the fact that any information given to the group by the club in confidence will remain in confidence.
We will seek to ensure that the club publishes the minutes both on their website and in matchday programmes to ensure that outcomes of meetings are distributed to as many supporters as possible.
Minutes of the meeting on 23rd April
Present
Peter Warrilow and Kris Carr AVST, Gary Kilburn and Vaughan Ellis Lions Clubs Anne Mcgivern avillafan.com, Joe Costello Heroes & Villains, Steve Gough AVISC, David Michael MOMS, Ian Stokes Villa Talk.
Steve Hollis, Brian Little, Nicky Keye, Tommy Jordan and Lee Preece all representing Aston Villa Football Club
An agenda numbering ten items had been presented for discussion.
Time constraints determined that not all issues were raised and those outstanding have been addressed to the Club for a more detailed response.
The numbers detailed below refer to the agenda numbered items:
1. Steve Hollis said that for obvious reasons he could not go into details regarding a potential sale but that discussions were taking place and in part the appointment of a new manager was dependent upon the outcome of those discussions as were new board appointments following the resignations of Messrs Bernstein and King
2 and 3 Ticketing and Pricing. Nicola Keye dealt with this and explained the rationale behind pricing. We would not be the most expensive club in the Championship and recognising that there are important income considerations (and Financial Fair Play) to consider it is not thought that more drastic cutting of prices is possible. Villa Park has 40% concessionary ticket sales and as a result the average ticket sale is much below the ticket price.
The club will review pricing in light of attendances . An invitation to participate in a ticket pricing group was extended.
The club has details of lapsed season ticket holders and will be campaigning to persuade them to return
7. Dressing room harmony will be a matter for any new manager and Brian Little spoke at some length on the type of manager and player that he thought we should seek to recruit
9 The key objective for next season as stated by Steve Hollis is a return to winning ways and to win win and win to secure an early return to the Premier League
10 The issue of taking the club captaincy away from Gabby Agbonlahor was raised but it was said that his actions are still under investigation.
Finally Steve Hollis said that he welcomed meeting such as these and was always prepared to meet and talk with supporters .
Matters outstanding
4. If a change in the badge was necessary why now and why not a full rebranding to demonstrate that Aston Villa is a cohesive organisation?
5. What are the club’s plans for bringing about improved PR and ensuring that Aston Villa avoids the multiple PR disasters of the current season?
6. Will relegation and the cost implications impact upon the proposed new website and the new kit deal?
8. Will you be prepared to consider initiating a youth forum to involve younger supporters?
Further details and news of other meetings when available.
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Thank you.
Apart from 9, obviously, I think 5 is really vital. We need to get on the front foot with that as a club.
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Nice to be kept in the loop.
It would be good (though I'm not sure how realistic) to hear from Mr Hollis on the extent to which the club has safeguarded itself with regard to player salaries and relegation, i.e what percentage of the squad will take a drop in their wages now that we are in the second tier.
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Very informative, thanks Dave.
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Thanks for the update.
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Thank you. Plenty of dots there to join up.
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That strikes me as a pretty honest assessment of where we are (in the shit).
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O.k so from the first point if we appoint someone like Pearson in next few weeks, that indicates a takeover isn't close....but if it lingers on to May and June then we could well be about to be sold, if I've read that correctly?
Let's just hope the takeover dosen't collapse at 11th hour as that would be a disaster for next season.
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Disaster? Nah, we've got Eric all trained up and ready to go again.
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It's going to be an incredibly difficult timing act re the takeover and manager position. A new owner will want to appoint their own man, who won't necessarily be the same as anybody Lerner and Hollis have in mind. Appoint somebody too soon, and it may prejudice either the sale or the asking price. Leave it too late, and if the takeover falls through, all the decent candidates will be taken and the possibility of pre-season being missed.
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It looks like a very short meeting.
What were the time constraints?
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Good to hear that Brian Little was there... how often are these meetings?
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Thank you for that. It's important for fans like myself who are ex-pats because, with no one to talk matters Villa with I sometimes feel isolated.
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I am saving up for a phone Dave so you won't be cut off much longer.
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Good on yer Brian. I look forward to that. We can reminisce together about the last time we won the FA Cup.
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Sounds good to me.
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It looks like a very short meeting.
What were the time constraints?
A football match.
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It's going to be an incredibly difficult timing act re the takeover and manager position. A new owner will want to appoint their own man, who won't necessarily be the same as anybody Lerner and Hollis have in mind. Appoint somebody too soon, and it may prejudice either the sale or the asking price. Leave it too late, and if the takeover falls through, all the decent candidates will be taken and the possibility of pre-season being missed.
I wonder if Randy can fuck it up?
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It's going to be an incredibly difficult timing act re the takeover and manager position. A new owner will want to appoint their own man, who won't necessarily be the same as anybody Lerner and Hollis have in mind. Appoint somebody too soon, and it may prejudice either the sale or the asking price. Leave it too late, and if the takeover falls through, all the decent candidates will be taken and the possibility of pre-season being missed.
I wonder if Randy can fuck it up?
If you want to complain about the current owner there are several other threads where your spleen can be vented away. Let's keep this one to the subject in hand.
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Sounds very productive and a step in the right direction
I like #1 in that, as mentioned earlier, it seems to imply that either a manager or takeover will be announced first and each one can't happen without the other, cleared that agenda up for me.
Which leads me to #7, this one I like as it backs up what you mentioned regarding confidentallity earlier in your statement.
Much appreciated feedback on the mighty Villa so thanks.
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It's not perfect; nothing like this ever can be. But I do think it's an improvement on the old SCG, that started off with the best of intentions and ended up with an unwieldly, over-large number of attendees, many of whom were there for the sake of it or to push their own anecdotal hobby horse.
It's not representative, and there will be plenty who say that those involved don't speak for them. That's fine - we will if you want us to. PM me, e mail me, grab hold of me down the match. If you've got something you want put forward at the next meeting (which will probably be in June) let me know.
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Seems like a solid group. One question, I don't think its breaking confidence but if you don't want to say thats fine. How did Hollis seem? In effect he is now the only onsite management the club has right now so his demeanour and temperament are pretty important.
In particular I suppose I am referencing how he talked about us coming back up. There is a difference between a man talking with confidence versus hope if you know what I mean.
Cheers!
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Seems like a solid group. One question, I don't think its breaking confidence but if you don't want to say thats fine. How did Hollis seem? In effect he is now the only onsite management the club has right now so his demeanour and temperament are pretty important.
In particular I suppose I am referencing how he talked about us coming back up. There is a difference between a man talking with confidence versus hope if you know what I mean.
Cheers!
I wasn't there; you'll have to ask joe_c.
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will do. Cheers.
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Very much appreciate the info and update. This feels like a very positive step forward. Well done to all involved getting this started, thank you.
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Well done to all and the Club. Hopefully Hollis will recommend to the new owners what wonderful chaps you are and that it's a worthwhile exercise.
I'm hoping Joe_C can give a little more detail on Q7 and Sir Brian's ideas.
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Would like to known is the club in any discussions with potential managers obviously no names can be said but a few questions like gabby club captain and dressing room harmony would be addressed with a new manager
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It's going to be an incredibly difficult timing act re the takeover and manager position. A new owner will want to appoint their own man, who won't necessarily be the same as anybody Lerner and Hollis have in mind. Appoint somebody too soon, and it may prejudice either the sale or the asking price. Leave it too late, and if the takeover falls through, all the decent candidates will be taken and the possibility of pre-season being missed.
The new owner - if such exists - may already have the manager lined up.
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Many thanks for the summary.
Would be interesting g to know how Hollis took the snap resignations. Maybe rumours of inflated egos on behalf of B & K were not too wide of the mark.
It clearly has not impacted on Hollis Beviington or little
I do hope the new potential owner (s) don't leave it too late. We need to be stabilised on and off the field before returning after close seaskn6
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For what it's worth, Steve Hollis to me at least came across as refreshingly bullshit free compared to recent members of the senior management team. Certainly more at ease with things compared to the Supporters Trust AGM he attended shortly after his appointment, maybe due to the more low key ambience of the weekend's gathering compared to what was a fairly fractious atmosphere in January.
He opened up the meeting possibly only half jokingly that ideally it would have been cancelled coming on the back of the two boardroom departures earlier in the week but he engaged with all attendees with good humour throughout the hour or so and made no attempt to deflect attention away from the playing side in favour of more successful areas of the club's operations. Most importantly for me anyway was that he is under no illusions about the size of the task in hand and is undaunted by it as opposed to saying he is relishing a challenge that nobody wanted.
Can't add anything else to Brian's comments about dressing room unity etc I'm afraid though he did say it's not simply a matter of player attitudes and personality, the manager and how he deals with them is also a significant component and will be a major consideration in the appointment of our next manager.
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I think that's an interesting observation Joe about the managers role in handling dressing room chemistry and dynamics. Garde clearly was dealt a shit hand but he also said and did things that didn't help matters. Instead of bringing the players together the cracks became chasms. And all that on the back of Sherwood where the initial divide and dressing room cliques had already been created.
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Thanks Joe.
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Can't add anything else to Brian's comments about dressing room unity etc I'm afraid though he did say it's not simply a matter of player attitudes and personality, the manager and how he deals with them is also a significant component and will be a major consideration in the appointment of our next manager.
If it is not just player attitudes and personality, what more is there - ability, age range, nationalities, tactics? I would have thought attitude plays the biggest part in how successful a player is going to be at the Club. It is that desire to want to do well, to improve, to give everything for the team and the Club etc.
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Can't add anything else to Brian's comments about dressing room unity etc I'm afraid though he did say it's not simply a matter of player attitudes and personality, the manager and how he deals with them is also a significant component and will be a major consideration in the appointment of our next manager.
If it is not just player attitudes and personality, what more is there - ability, age range, nationalities, tactics? I would have thought attitude plays the biggest part in how successful a player is going to be at the Club. It is that desire to want to do well, to improve, to give everything for the team and the Club etc.
He answered that - the manager and the way he deals with them.
For example, you can bring in young international players with potential, with enthusiasm etc, but if the manager and senior pros make them feel like crap and divide the dressing room based on nationality, it's not going to help their performance. Oh. Thanks Tim, Micah and Gabby.
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For what it's worth, Steve Hollis to me at least came across as refreshingly bullshit free compared to recent members of the senior management team.
...and made no attempt to deflect attention away from the playing side in favour of more successful areas of the club's operations. Most importantly for me anyway was that he is under no illusions about the size of the task in hand and is undaunted by it as opposed to saying he is relishing a challenge that nobody wanted.
Firstly thanks to those of you who gave your time to attend.
Secondly the comments above are what I want to hear - no BS, no flannel, no PR-speak - sleeves rolled up and get on with it.
Looks like there is a delicate balancing act going on with the Manager/sale dynamic and we can only hope we are sold sooner rather than later to get a manager in.
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Thanks for posting this Dave and for your comments Joe.
Very interesting stuff and restores a bit of faith.
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Thanks for posting this Dave and for your comments Joe.
Very interesting stuff and restores a bit of faith.
Agreed
As difficult as it is we really need some positive vibes at present
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Can't add anything else to Brian's comments about dressing room unity etc I'm afraid though he did say it's not simply a matter of player attitudes and personality, the manager and how he deals with them is also a significant component and will be a major consideration in the appointment of our next manager.
If it is not just player attitudes and personality, what more is there - ability, age range, nationalities, tactics? I would have thought attitude plays the biggest part in how successful a player is going to be at the Club. It is that desire to want to do well, to improve, to give everything for the team and the Club etc.
He answered that - the manager and the way he deals with them.
For example, you can bring in young international players with potential, with enthusiasm etc, but if the manager and senior pros make them feel like crap and divide the dressing room based on nationality, it's not going to help their performance. Oh. Thanks Tim, Micah and Gabby.
Yes, having reread it again, I can see that now.
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Seems very positive so far thanks for the update
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So, ideally we need the takeover to happen soon so we can get a manager in and have him start pre season prep asap. This can't be dragging on until July.
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Although informative and thanks for sharing I do have issues with these types of meetings. Ultimately what really will the club get over and what really is the purpose? They will only tell us what they want, understandably, and a lot of this is information that is already in the public domain. They mostly know what fans think and it's due to the league form.
There may be off the record stuff but that would be unlikely to be off the record as one person would tell a friend and information would easily get out given the disparate people involved. And, the elephant in the room, whilst the owner is still there the problems will persist. Always.
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And if they don't have these kinds of meetings the club gets hammered for not communicating with supporters. Hollis made a point not long after he arrived about communicating with supporters. And while beating Randy's communication record is hardly going to win him a prize, Hollis has gone about doing that. This is important that we continue to get updates from the club in one form or another. And hopefully the clues are that the sale of the club is dictating the manager appointment. I would like to think nobody at Villa is oblivious to the fact that we need both tied up quickly so we can press on with preparations for next season.
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I can see why those on the board want to have meetings with fans and I do like the way Holis has gone about the business that we can see, thus far. The timing of this meeting is probably very unfortunate - as alluded to - but I think the agenda for these going forward will be driven almost in its entirety by Lerner's position. The purpose will then get lost amongst recriminations. let's hope not.
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Reading between the lines I'd be amazed if we didn't appoint Pearson.
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What is Joe Costello's real name?
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What is Joe Costello's real name?
Declan McManus.
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What is Joe Costello's real name?
Declan McManus.
*Applause*
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Regardless to whether there is a new manager or owner,
are we the fans likely to get an answer as to will there be enough funds before next season, to do two things (regardless of a new manager),
1) get rid of the shite players that are in our first team squad.
2) recruit new players, that are likely to help us get back up at the first attempt.
If the group cannot get us the answers to these two questions, then sorry for saying so, but what will be the point
of the Consultation group???