Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on December 10, 2010, 05:24:09 PM
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He's asked us to post this.
"I believe that the time has come to take a break. NOT because I am concerned about the "good, bad and ugly" that might come from the thread but, rather, because any comments I make become cannon fodder for the media...and that media has no qualms about twisting my words to be incendiary. At the end of the day, this does not help the Club nor does it help the Fans.
Heroes and Villains is a hugely important site...and one that has had a major impact on how the Club has proceeded over the past few years. Like Vital Villa and Villa Talk, Heroes and Villains has, been important to me personally and to the Club. Every member should be proud of what they have accomplished over the years. I have grown to appreciate, respect and admire those who have taken the time to post on my thread...even though some of the posts could be pretty rough at times. As I have said many times, you pay for your ticket, you have the right to comment!
For those who have thought that I was only a PR stunt for the Club or a "spin-meister"...believe me, you are wrong. I have tried, at all times, to be honest and straight forward on every subject. I have given my honest opinion at all times and have attempted to make the distinction between me as a Fan and me as a Board Member. Unfortunately, the media has never been able to make that distinction and that has been THE problem.
As General Douglas McArthur said, 'I shall return'."
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Wise decision, the media keep using that thread for misleading soundbites.
Best all round, for now.
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As General Douglas McArthur said, 'I shall return'."
I hope this is so however if it's not as McArthur said it is:
"Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that my thoughts will be of the Villa, and the Villa, and the Villa.
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Agree with Mark. It's a shame though.
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I agree with Mark as well, it's a shame the media have hijacked the thread and misquoted the General. But it is sensible to leave it for a while.
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I agree with Mark as well, it's a shame the media have hijacked the thread and misquoted the General. But it is sensible to leave it for a while.
A shame yes. A suprise, no.
Very sensible decision.
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Thanks General... very much appreciate the feedback you've given.
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A shame, but I would like to add a qualification.
It was great to be engaging with the fans when everything in the garden was rosy, i.e. when most Villa fans were happy that the person in charge wasn't Doug, the manager was the one that nearly every other fan would want in charge at their club, and the team were on the up.
However, I would suggest that if you're happy to do it then, it becomes, if anything, even more important to do it when things aren't as rosy.
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A shame, but I would like to add a qualification.
It was great to be engaging with the fans when everything in the garden was rosy, i.e. when most Villa fans were happy that the person in charge wasn't Doug, the manager was the one that nearly every other fan would want in charge at their club, and the team were on the up.
However, I would suggest that if you're happy to do it then, it becomes, if anything, even more important to do it when things aren't as rosy.
He would like to still do it, but the way his words are being mis-used make it difficult.
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However, I would suggest that if you're happy to do it then, it becomes, if anything, even more important to do it when things aren't as rosy.
He tried, but you saw as well as I did what chaos his thread descended into after Monday night.
It was ten pages of ranting Mr. Angrys, one post from The General saying he does not comment on playing matters but for us to believe that everyone at the club was determined to get through this, then another ten pages of ranting!
There may have been some good, honest questions in there, but I wouldn't have liked to try to find them amongst the dregs.
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Capital G for General, dave.
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we were very lucky to have this sort of contact with the club and a real shame it's come to this. I hope I'm wrong but can't see it coming back. If the media misquoted it once they'll do it again.
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Thin end of the wedge I suspect.
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Shows what a dreadful state journalism is in. So many media articles these days are copy and paste from press releases or other websites and little original thought makes it to print. All media outlets crave Coverage, and it matters little whether the truth is told or not as long as they can maintain advertising revenue.
General Krulak's posts have provided an invaluable insight the redevelopment of the club and his views have always been forthright and honest. This facility has now been lost thanks to some dimwit reporter who can't be bothered to get up off their arse and find out the news for themselves. I would suggest that we use the rest of this thread to gather the names of the publications who have obviously been to H&V and have distorted the General's words. We can then make sure that we never buy any of their lousy stuff again, and subsequently take every opportunity to damage their circulation.
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How about the General has a thread where only he can post in order to update us? A bit like the Villa website but better.
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However, I would suggest that if you're happy to do it then, it becomes, if anything, even more important to do it when things aren't as rosy.
He tried, but you saw as well as I did what chaos his thread descended into after Monday night.
It was ten pages of ranting Mr. Angrys, one post from The General saying he does not comment on playing matters but for us to believe that everyone at the club was determined to get through this, then another ten pages of ranting!
There may have been some good, honest questions in there, but I wouldn't have liked to try to find them amongst the dregs.
Agreed. Some of the attention seeking posts on there have been nothing less than embarrassing. It's a great shame but hopefully the General will soon be back.
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General, you're a legend. Don't let them beat you. It's what the media do over here. You're better than that. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
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General, are PM's still allowed?
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How about the General has a thread where only he can post in order to update us? A bit like the Villa website but better.
We'll look into this suggestion. Possibly with the use of PMs in order to address direct questions.
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Unfortunate but understandable decision - we will meet again some sunny day ... ! - Thanks for the insight and the fact you come on here to post sometimes in very challenging times
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The General has made the right decision.
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Thanks General from every Villa fan for your time. Hope it is not to long before you are back on H&V
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General, you're a legend. Don't let them beat you. It's what the media do over here. You're better than that. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
This
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one of the last posts from the general gave the impression to me as a fan was that monsieur houllier has well and truly bollocked and put in his place!
The reports in the press indicates exactly that also! I dont see how staying away from the site will help!
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I agree that this is a shame, but you can't keep a good man down so hopefully it won't be too long before the General is back. I'm certainly going to miss the thread but if it means the thread will return i'm sure we can all be patient, it makes you realise how lucky the Villa fans are to have direct access to a board member.
On a related note if the board members of my work wouldn't mind disappearing for a while, I'd be very happy!!
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Correct decision General, you will no doubt be a constant observer to this site and report the feelings and attitude of posters. This i believe is of some importance.
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Why let the press win. PS, as long as we know the truth, what else matters?
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I don't blame the journalists, they're probably doing what the editors/proprietors tell them to do. I wonder how many people, other than Villa fans, will be caring about what the General said this time next week.
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I agree as well that this is the right decision. Annoying to see the media abuse his postings.
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in 4 years and thousands of posts on all the sites his quotes have been picked up and 'misquoted' how many times ?
The idea was highly innovative and has been a fun time for many of us, but it had started to lose its edge and perhaps its usefullness.
The resultant vacuum his absence will now create is a very interesting development for us fans, but all those on all sides of the decision will know this, especially at a time like now, where for the first time since Randy took over the club is not performing well.
His input will be missed, especially if times get tougher and no other input is forthcoming from within Villa Towers.
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Could be that GH might have had a say in the decision too.
This:
And the no-show at Anfield, coming as it did less than a week after Villa were sent crashing out of the Carling Cup by Birmingham City, had Vietnam war veteran Krulak pulling no punches.
'Those who are looking for Gerard Houllier's head, who are asking that he be fired have the right to feel that way,' he said.
even if taken out of context and ignoring the support the General has expressed for GH (as was obviously the intention of the Daily Mail) could be viewed as undermining the manager.
It's all a bit of a mess.
It leaves them open to the charge that the first sign of things getting difficult the lines of communication are cut, that there is now a deliberate gap placed between board/owner and supporters. I don't think that's the intention and in many ways the thread had probably ran it's course.
He couldn't discuss playing issues and most other queries were directed to Nicola Keye.
On a side note, I thought that short period a few years back where the General was discussing military strategy and foreign policy was some of the best stuff on that thread.
Wouldn't mind that making a comeback but I accept I'm probably in a minority on that one.
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General - thank you for taking the time to reply to the many posts on here, if the press wish to spin your words then so be it, but I think people on here know what you say is genuine. Can I just add, if Randy and other members of the board were a little more forthcoming in their way of dealing with the media and being a little more accessable then they wouldn't be jumping on every word that comes from you as 'Randy's right hand man'.
I like the fact that Randy's actions are more than his words, but sometimes he does need to come out more and talk to the fans.
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Why does everyone I care about leave me?
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A sensible decision. Having a relatively free media does mean that things will sometimes be twisted by that media with a different agenda.
At least Wikileaks hasnt come after us yet. :-X
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Is it all forums he has ceased to trade on?
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How about a statement for each post:
Any quotes used without the express permission of the author, will result in prosecution.
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counter-productive. they would just summarise the quote and spin it even more.
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counter-productive. they would just summarise the quote and spin it even more.
Oh well, we're on our own then.
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How about a statement for each post:
Any quotes used without the express permission of the author, will result in prosecution.
That's exactly my thinking.
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That's exactly my thinking.
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2 posts, 2 different views.........I love this site!
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It's always good to take a break and come back to it later at some stage when you're ready too.
Perhaps when the General returns he can copyright his posts in some sort of way so the media aren't allowed to twist his words and make it look bad lol? Hopefully he'll be back when we're doing better in the league because I think it's great that he comes onto this site to answer questions from the fans out of his own time. Respect.
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There are probably other ways he can make use of sites such as this, such as the suggestion on a previous page.
Maybe questions have to be passed by mods first before they go live? I know the site has avoided censoring posts as much as possible but it would cut out a lot of the rubbish on the thread.
Maybe make the thread membership only? Only members ok'd by mods can view it? May stop journalists just popping by. Hard if they join the site though.
Of course these would only work if they were put into place on all boards he uses.
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We could certainly do with the General today, too clear up this Richard Dunne issue.
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General you have been great to post on here and I have the utmost respect for you as a man - I hope you and your family have a great Xmas and look forward to your return in 2011- you are a legend!
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I certainly will miss his posts (although in truth he rarely gave me a straight reply-and I don't mean about the last exchange we had-that was an exception) but I am sure he can still get comments to us without putting his name to them. I assume Pelty will keep posting.
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Still find it strange that in 4 years and plenty of posts the Press 'misquoting' is suddenly the reason. I wonder how much Houllier's reaction to his post had an affect, now that would make sense, to cool things as a gesture to placate him after his 'discussions' re his Anfield showings.
He'll be back when the need arises I'm sure, perhaps Pelty will be on more :)