Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: remy on July 27, 2012, 10:54:55 AM
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Stop me if I have got this wrong - but didnt we pull out of using Villa Park as an Olympics Venue because we had plans to demolish the North Stand and increase the capacity to over 50,000?
According to the newspaper reports the decision was made to pull out before the start of the 2009-2010 season, the previous season (Moscow debacle and relegating Newcastle) finishing 6th and 10 points off a Champions league place with us getting full houses or close to full houses on 8 home games.
In the past I have read that Spuds and Arse have full houses every home game and there is a waiting list for season tickets. I would say that we are the biggest club in the West midlands area in terms of fanbase and honours. Did the management get a bit carried away?
I went to watch Belarus vs New Zealand last night over at Coventry's stadium. There was a fantastic atmoshpere (and plenty of empty seats) and the prices of a cold drink disgraceful. But the fact that it was part of the olympics and the showcase for the city and prestige for the stadium, I believe that the Board made an error here and should have waited until there was a tangible demand for seats at Villa Park before making that kind of decision. I remember both Newcastle and ManUre both rebuilding stands purely because of a huge waiting list.
Im sure the size of Birmingham and its location would have made a better venue for people across the country rather than some midland backwater.
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From a Supporter's Consultation Meeting earlier this year:
Question Nine: Do you regret turning down the chance of Olympic Football now that no development is taking place at Villa Park this summer?
No. We held preliminary discussions with LOCOG about the possibility of hosting some games, (none of which were to feature Team GB), in the Olympic football tournament in 2008 and early 2009, but took the decision that the requirements of LOCOG around exclusive access to Villa Park and the potential disruption that would cause to our preparations for the start of the 2012-13 season, as well as our non-matchday business (such as conferences and weddings) during the summer, meant that hosting such games was not in the best interests of Aston Villa.This decision was never made in light of firm plans for development work to be taking place at the stadium this summer. We hope and expect that the Olympics will be a fantastic success for the country, and will be cheering on all of the British athletes involved in the games.
Paul Faulkner, Chief Executive
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At least we have the Community Shield and the prospect of a sell out.
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From a Supporter's Consultation Meeting earlier this year:
Question Nine: Do you regret turning down the chance of Olympic Football now that no development is taking place at Villa Park this summer?
No. We held preliminary discussions with LOCOG about the possibility of hosting some games, (none of which were to feature Team GB), in the Olympic football tournament in 2008 and early 2009, but took the decision that the requirements of LOCOG around exclusive access to Villa Park and the potential disruption that would cause to our preparations for the start of the 2012-13 season, as well as our non-matchday business (such as conferences and weddings) during the summer, meant that hosting such games was not in the best interests of Aston Villa.This decision was never made in light of firm plans for development work to be taking place at the stadium this summer. We hope and expect that the Olympics will be a fantastic success for the country, and will be cheering on all of the British athletes involved in the games.
Paul Faulkner, Chief Executive
Fairs.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Bollocks to the non-Villa supporting people of Birmingham. When they care about us, that's when we should think about them.
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I think they would have been better off holding some of these football matches at places like Walsall or Burton
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I would love to know how much it has cost 'The City of Coventry Stadium' to host games.
They cant use any of the car parks(which is a cash cow on match days).
They have had to change seats in the stands,and curry and chips would be off the menu.
I think we are better out of it.
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Anything happening in our stadium - or in/on any Villa property - should always benefit the club and it's fans.
The Olympic matches wouldn't have, so it's right not to bother.
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I think they would have been better off holding some of these football matches at places like Walsall or Burton
All the football matches should be held in London.
Its ridiculous to see the pitchside boards saying "London 2012" when the game is being played in another city, hundreds of miles away.
High profiles matches could have been played at Wembley, Twickenham and the Emirates. Lesser matches could have been played at other London Premier League grounds. The real "who gives a feck" games could have been played at Brentford, Orient, Millwall etc.
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I can't really see that the prospect of hosting Morocco v Honduras would really have put us on the map. I think hosting the Community Shield is probably a bigger event anyway considering we wouldn't realistically have hosted too many/if any of the knockout rounds.
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I think they would have been better off holding some of these football matches at places like Walsall or Burton
All the football matches should be held in London.
Its ridiculous to see the pitchside boards saying "London 2012" when the game is being played in another city, hundreds of miles away.
High profiles matches could have been played at Wembley, Twickenham and the Emirates. Lesser matches could have been played at other London Premier League grounds. The real "who gives a feck" games could have been played at Brentford, Orient, Millwall etc.
Not very practical though using all those stadiums in same city at same time as well as all other events going on - just like the sailing, it's in Weymouth, not practical to have in Londo!
If they did do what you say, then people would moan about London having it all. You may as well say the torch relay should have been held inside the M25.
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I went to VP last week and noticed that they seem to be replacing the big screen at the corner of the Witton Lane/North Stand. Good news if they are and certainly worth missing the Olympics for.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Who would have thought it, the CEO of Aston Villa doing what's right for Aston Villa. Wonders will never cease.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I know it's your opinion and you're entitled to it but I would laugh in your face if you said it whilst I was there. Utterly ridiculous, AVFC should always come first and a little bit of refelected glory from the Olympics is countered by getting the Community Shield, which will bring more money to the areaas it will be a sell out and more people will watch it worldwide.
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Fuck the people of Birmingham, they're all b-losers aren't they?
At our first game back we would have been greeted by 'Shit On The Villa' spelt wrong in crayon all over the bogs.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I'm not a Faulkner fan - he has a long way to go before he's restored his reputation in my opinion, but that's a whole different argument - but I really don't see what the problem is with this.
We were originally down to be a venue, then the club pulled out because they thought there would be work being done on the North Stand. The Olympics weren't just planned a few months ago, the plans have been laid for several years now.
The fact we ended up having two horrendous seasons and much lower crowds (for all the various reasons) meant that we didn't have to do the building work, and could have hosted games, but by then the plans were already laid elsewhere.
Besides, how much business do these matches bring? 14,000 people at Coventry last night for their first match.
That's pathetic. We probably bring more business to the City with a medium sized convention than a crowd the size Blues get. In fact, I bet hosting the Jamaican and US track and field teams for a week or so brought in more money.
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A key thing is we can sell advertising for the community shield, we couldn't have for the olympics.
We'll also definitely have a full ground, not sure what attendances there have been so far but I'd guess we'd not get a sell out.
We'll probably also get a better share of the ticket revenue as well.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Who would have thought it, the CEO of Aston Villa doing what's right for Aston Villa. Wonders will never cease.
Totally agree, sorry Remy but Aston Villa comes before anything else. I dont want the Olymics at Villa. We dont need exposure for our fabulous ground as it is world renowned already, also the olymics wouldnt have been particularly worth while financially. Everything points to a No from me
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I know it's your opinion and you're entitled to it but I would laugh in your face if you said it whilst I was there. Utterly ridiculous, AVFC should always come first and a little bit of refelected glory from the Olympics is countered by getting the Community Shield, which will bring more money to the areaas it will be a sell out and more people will watch it worldwide.
Agree Karl.
I think PF has got it spot on again.
We'd have had 3 or 4 games which would have probably only sold about 10,000 (given the Coventry game) Which would hardly cover cost of opening the ground.
The Community Shield will be a sell out and will most likely bring as much money to the local area.
Yes, Well done Paul
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I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Thousands of jobs and business, ey?
When Seb Coe and Tony Blair triumphantly announced that London had won the Olympics on 6 July 2005, one of their mantras was how London and the UK would benefit from the presence of the games. They painted a rosy picture of local businesses booming on the back of the influx of tourists.
But the cold reality of today's Olympics is greyer. Commuters are being advised to work from home rather than use the overloaded transport networks; the civil service is effectively shutting down; and Zil lanes for the "great and the good" of the Olympics universe are choking already congested London streets.
Even worse, businesses across the UK, but particularly the local ones in the economically deprived environs of the Olympic Park in East London, are categorically NOT allowed to benefit from the games. Under the terms of the contracts drawn up by the corporate mega-sponsors, London small businesses are not allowed to capitalise in any conceivable, possible, miniscule way on the presence of the games in their own city.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/annie-machon/the-olympics-welcome-to-t_b_1700736.html
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That last paragraph sums up everything that is wrong with major sporting events like this for me.
All the sponsors have such tight deals that they effectively ruin local businesses while the event is on. The mcdonalds chips/fries one is the high profile one that everyone has read about but there are loads of others just the same.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
There are reasons why Paul Faulkner is CEO of Aston Villa. The main one being that he knows a thing or two about business fortunately.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
That's the single biggest pile of shite I've read on here for some time.
Why the fuck should we give up our commercial space at probably the most important time of the season, to a tax-dodging corporate bandwagon?
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I think PF has been, quite rightly, criticised for a good few things in the last couple of years. What is also quite apparent at the moment is he does quite a few things pretty well as well, possibly better than many other CEO's of football clubs. We invested in him to run a business first, rather than a football club and he will undoubtedly be better at the former than the latter. It takes us back to the argument about having a football man beside him. As for the Olympics, I think it will be good but whether it would have benefitted Villa to host is very doubtful.
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I don't think any British commercial interest are served by the olympics! Certainly we wouldn't have made any money out of hosting football matches as any share of the revenue would have gone on the costs of opening up VP to a few thousand fans.
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If we have got a match involving Team GB, Spain or Brazil , it would have been good for Birmingham Profile
Manchester economy benefited hugely last night from a 72000 ground with a lot of fans from outside Manchester and to be fair I really enjoyed the "whole" olympic experience
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If we'd been a host coventry wouldn't have been.
Look at the games they've got, they're what we'd have been given.
Are any of them worth the effort?
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
In what way would a handful of games between teams nobody gives a shit about in front of a half empty stadium impact on the jobs, business and lives of the people of the city in general, you lunatic?
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Couple of things...
Matrix signs driving into Coventry at the start of the week saying "Olympic events from 25th, AVOID CITY" which I thought was a great way of showing off your city.
London's hotel bookings are down by 25% YoY, with the normal tourists avoiding the place like the plague due to the disruption.
Saying that, I'm going to Cov on Sunday and despite having to get there two and a half hours before kick off I'm looking forward to it!
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Wish there had been a sign saying "AVOID CITY" when I got dragged there recently.
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A couple of points - we don't get a cut of Charity/Community Shield ticket sales (the clue's in the name) but we do get marketing and commercial spin-offs. Football is the only sport in the Olympics which is spread around the host city's country, because there are rarely enough graded grounds in the city. Ironically, London does have enough (although places such as Orient & Brentford wouldn't qualify) but long before the venue for 2012 was announced the bid committee decided this was a way of giving something to the rest of the country.
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Wish there had been a sign saying "AVOID CITY" when I got dragged there recently.
I was about to type something along those lines, but then decided to wait, I was so convinced someone else would do it!
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Surely they don't need an 'avoid city' sign on the way into Coventry from Birmingham, we're close enough that we all know better than to visit there, surely.
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I think its amusing that as soon as we pulled out they chose bloody Coventry ahead of either of the other two clubs in Birmingham. Both Small Heath and Smethwick would have killed their grannies to even get a sniff of the Olympics and "putting one over da Villa".
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In hindsight maybe it would have been better to keep all the football in London, the grounds there are all big enough to have coped with demand.
Anyone know what the plans were for football when Birmingham bid for the 1992 Olympics? (I'll never understand why they chose Barcelona over Brum!)
Looking at the last London Olympics in 1948 the opening two games, which were a preliminary round, were played at Portsmouth and Brighton, but all the other games were played in London, using places like Ilford, Dulwich, and Walthamstow as well as Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham, Palace, Brentford and Wembley.
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Did a bit of googling to try and answer my own question, above. No mention of plans for the football but I did find these drawings of the village and stadium at the NEC. And the logo, which would make a nice t-shirt to wear in London over the next few weeks just to confuse people.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1064099 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1064099)
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I think it's a disgrace we didn't go for the Olympic football. My heart would have swelled with pride seeing 25,000-30,000 empty seats in Villa Park for such high profile games as Gabon v Switzerland, Belarus v New Zealand and so on. Shame on you Villa for denying youngsters of today the chance to re-live the Simod Cup experience.
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
When we were first announced as one of the possible venues to host football matches I don't recall many comments along the lines of "It's shit/ a waste of time," etc. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Indeed, there was a fair bit of criticism when we eventually pulled out.
I get the fact that the games aren't commercial moneyspinners for the clubs involved due to the way the sponsors and their vested interests have things tied up. So from that sense we aren't particularly missing out.
But this is a once in a lifetime event for the UK, and I'll admit I'd like to see my club involved. It would be far more fitting to have the second city and a renowned venue like Villa Park featuring in the thing rather than the Toxic Avenger mutant sprawl that is Coventry.
I don't know for certain, but if a venue such as ours was involved, chances are we'd hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and co (no offence to any Kiwis) anyroad.
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
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Remind me again what the city of Birmingham has done for us.
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Remind me again what the city of Birmingham has done for us.
Looking at a map of what constitutes "Birmingham", I'm surprised at how little of it I actually drive through on my way to Villa Park from Jct 1 of the M5.
(http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobkey=id&blobnocache=false&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1223405096395&ssbinary=true)
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My recollection is we pulled out cus of the ground improvements which were required for the world cup bid, as opposed to ground improvements to meet villa demand
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Wish there had been a sign saying "AVOID CITY" when I got dragged there recently.
Oh my ribs, stop it please.
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Where's Sutton Coldfield gone from 'Thinks He's Mr Kirilenko But Its Me's' map?
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
And then again we may have had matches that people were interested in.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Bollocks to the non-Villa supporting people of Birmingham. When they care about us, that's when we should think about them.
I assume you are talking about the minority BCFC supporters and NOT the potential fanbase of AVFC who dont any club?
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Anything happening in our stadium - or in/on any Villa property - should always benefit the club and it's fans.
The Olympic matches wouldn't have, so it's right not to bother.
I disagree. I think the venue of Villa park would have showpieced the lovely ground and sold loads of Villa merchandise via club shop. The ground would also have been beamed around the world. Also I think many football fans in the area would have come to watch.
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I can't really see that the prospect of hosting Morocco v Honduras would really have put us on the map. I think hosting the Community Shield is probably a bigger event anyway considering we wouldn't realistically have hosted too many/if any of the knockout rounds.
And you know this because? Villa Park holds 42,000, St James 52,000 and Old Trafford 76,000.
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I went to VP last week and noticed that they seem to be replacing the big screen at the corner of the Witton Lane/North Stand. Good news if they are and certainly worth missing the Olympics for.
Really? Then perhaps they should put a vending machine on the concourses so Villa Park can pull out as a World Cup venue if England ever wins the bid.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Who would have thought it, the CEO of Aston Villa doing what's right for Aston Villa. Wonders will never cease.
Take a bow for hiring Mcleish ! And then paying him a huge sum in compensation. And Houllier....and Oneill.
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I take it the bird you wanted to pull last night went off with your mate, remy?
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I know it's your opinion and you're entitled to it but I would laugh in your face if you said it whilst I was there. Utterly ridiculous, AVFC should always come first and a little bit of refelected glory from the Olympics is countered by getting the Community Shield, which will bring more money to the areaas it will be a sell out and more people will watch it worldwide.
So Aston Villa FC is just about the money is it. What was the Acorns partnership done for? Pioneering initiatives as usual by the greatest club in world. When you are happy paying millions to people like Habib Beye, rather than using the some of the money hosting a WORLDWIDE unifying sporting event I think something is wrong here. The Olympics wont be here again in this country for a very long time.
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Fuck the people of Birmingham, they're all b-losers aren't they?
At our first game back we would have been greeted by 'Shit On The Villa' spelt wrong in crayon all over the bogs.
Fuck the people of Birmingham, they're all b-losers aren't they?
At our first game back we would have been greeted by 'Shit On The Villa' spelt wrong in crayon all over the bogs.
You do know that Aston Villa is based in the city of Birmingham right?
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I'm not a Faulkner fan - he has a long way to go before he's restored his reputation in my opinion, but that's a whole different argument - but I really don't see what the problem is with this.
We were originally down to be a venue, then the club pulled out because they thought there would be work being done on the North Stand. The Olympics weren't just planned a few months ago, the plans have been laid for several years now.
The fact we ended up having two horrendous seasons and much lower crowds (for all the various reasons) meant that we didn't have to do the building work, and could have hosted games, but by then the plans were already laid elsewhere.
Besides, how much business do these matches bring? 14,000 people at Coventry last night for their first match.
That's pathetic. We probably bring more business to the City with a medium sized convention than a crowd the size Blues get. In fact, I bet hosting the Jamaican and US track and field teams for a week or so brought in more money.
I think the reason we pulled out because of the building work was premature. I honestly believe we would have got larger crowds at Villa Park than Coventry did when I went earlier in the week. Most of the people I sat around were not even from Coventry.
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Well, I prefer to think of as the city of Birmingham being based around Aston Villa, but yes, I do know that remy.
But thanks anyway, I suppose for all you know I might be as stupid as you make me out.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Who would have thought it, the CEO of Aston Villa doing what's right for Aston Villa. Wonders will never cease.
Totally agree, sorry Remy but Aston Villa comes before anything else. I dont want the Olymics at Villa. We dont need exposure for our fabulous ground as it is world renowned already, also the olymics wouldnt have been particularly worth while financially. Everything points to a No from me
Yeah so world renowned that when you come to the Arrivals at Birmingham airport they have Cadburys world and Shakespeare as murals. I agree the 'Olymics' might not have been tangible (financially) rewarding but intangible rewarding (goodwill, showcasing the ground, bringing new people to VP, researching about the club) getting involved with a national event.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I know it's your opinion and you're entitled to it but I would laugh in your face if you said it whilst I was there. Utterly ridiculous, AVFC should always come first and a little bit of refelected glory from the Olympics is countered by getting the Community Shield, which will bring more money to the areaas it will be a sell out and more people will watch it worldwide.
Agree Karl.
I think PF has got it spot on again.
We'd have had 3 or 4 games which would have probably only sold about 10,000 (given the Coventry game) Which would hardly cover cost of opening the ground.
The Community Shield will be a sell out and will most likely bring as much money to the local area.
Yes, Well done Paul
Birmingham is a larger metropolitan area. Larger fanbase, central location, larger ground. Its like comparing a frozen cheesburger to a prime steak when you compare Coventry and Birmingham.
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I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
Thousands of jobs and business, ey?
When Seb Coe and Tony Blair triumphantly announced that London had won the Olympics on 6 July 2005, one of their mantras was how London and the UK would benefit from the presence of the games. They painted a rosy picture of local businesses booming on the back of the influx of tourists.
But the cold reality of today's Olympics is greyer. Commuters are being advised to work from home rather than use the overloaded transport networks; the civil service is effectively shutting down; and Zil lanes for the "great and the good" of the Olympics universe are choking already congested London streets.
Even worse, businesses across the UK, but particularly the local ones in the economically deprived environs of the Olympic Park in East London, are categorically NOT allowed to benefit from the games. Under the terms of the contracts drawn up by the corporate mega-sponsors, London small businesses are not allowed to capitalise in any conceivable, possible, miniscule way on the presence of the games in their own city.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/annie-machon/the-olympics-welcome-to-t_b_1700736.html
Yeah when I went to the match in Coventry (New Zealand vs Belarus) there were loads of 'Spectator Assistants' - all employed locally. Local bus services ferried people from stations to the ground. Extra policing (paid by the Olympic committee), all the extra people flooding into the city centre buying drinks, snacks and shopping.
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Astom Villa FC should not be JUST A BUSINESS its a FOOTBALLING CLUB. If the greatest sporting event is coming to England then Aston Villa FC should have been a part of it.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
That's the single biggest pile of shite I've read on here for some time.
Why the fuck should we give up our commercial space at probably the most important time of the season, to a tax-dodging corporate bandwagon?
Er...because one side of the Olympic games is a tax-dodging corporate bandwagon - you know like the Premiership is and their players and the OTHER side is watching a sporting spectacle like when you take your seat in the Holte end during a game.
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So do you want the games at Villa Park or not?
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I think PF has been, quite rightly, criticised for a good few things in the last couple of years. What is also quite apparent at the moment is he does quite a few things pretty well as well, possibly better than many other CEO's of football clubs. We invested in him to run a business first, rather than a football club and he will undoubtedly be better at the former than the latter. It takes us back to the argument about having a football man beside him. As for the Olympics, I think it will be good but whether it would have benefitted Villa to host is very doubtful.
I agree that PF might be a good business man but as CEO of Aston Villa I think he should have looked at this from more than a business point of view. If you want him to do EVERYTHING geared towards the bottom line then dont complain when the 'supporters' become nothing but 'customers' in his eyes.
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If we'd been a host coventry wouldn't have been.
Look at the games they've got, they're what we'd have been given.
Are any of them worth the effort?
Your basing that on us being equal to Coventry - were not.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
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Watching this remyathon is like watching Olympic football. Thank Christ we didn't allow our ground to be used for it. Phew.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
In what way would a handful of games between teams nobody gives a shit about in front of a half empty stadium impact on the jobs, business and lives of the people of the city in general, you lunatic?
Firstly Im not a lunatic. Im having a civilised debate on a football forum.
Secondly as posted, all the spectator assistants were employed locally. Lots of people travelling to and from the centre of Coventry, new people experiencing the surrounding area and the football stadium coming to watch a worldwide sporting spectacle. The nations competing, their fans and their people back home would be aware of WHERE the match is being played, the club, its heritage, its history etc.
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I'm off to Wembley on Wednesday to watch Gabon v South Korea.
I'm gutted that I didn't get the chance to see such a mouthwatering group game at Villa Park. I'm sure it would have been a sell out
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
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Remind me again what the city of Birmingham has done for us.
What were you expecting the city of Birmingham to have done, or be doing for us to have hosted some Olympic Football matches at Villa Park in return?
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Well, I prefer to think of as the city of Birmingham being based around Aston Villa, but yes, I do know that remy.
But thanks anyway, I suppose for all you know I might be as stupid as you make me out.
No I dont think you are stupid.
I feel the same as you with the city of Birmingham based around Aston Villa. I just WISH that there was a greater presence of the club around everywhere, in schools, city centre etc. ANY opportunity to get the Aston Villa FC name out into the world should be be given maximum exposure.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
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My recollection is we pulled out cus of the ground improvements which were required for the world cup bid, as opposed to ground improvements to meet villa demand
That is my recollection as well.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
Don't try to be a smart arse trying to twist things around and making cocky comments you fuckin dick - you asked a dumb question and I answered it - even a complete moron can work out 12 Olympic matches will cause more damage than 1 Community Shield game.
Personally I would rather have everything at it's best for the start of the season rather than our ground staff having to patch the pitch up after bunch of second rate teams have been playing on it, the ground staff have spent all summer taking care of the pitch for our first home game of the season and if our pitch has to be patched up now what sort of condition is it going to be as the season progresses.
Yes grass grows but if you cut chunks and divets out the pitch they don't grow back they have to be cut out and patched and those patches are well known for continually being bad throughout the season, they can cause all sorts of problems.
But hey if you think a patched up pitch is better than a perfect one then that's your prerogative but don't try to be a smart arse n attempt to make me look stupid to cover over the dumb question you asked in response to my post.
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
I have no idea, but in the other events the competitors are allowed access to the facilities for training etc. Some of Team GB have (quietly) been complaining that we’ve given away an advantage by letting the other countries to have equal access as Team GB.
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
I have no idea, but in the other events the competitors are allowed access to the facilities for training etc. Some of Team GB have (quietly) been complaining that we’ve given away an advantage by letting the other countries to have equal access as Team GB.
let them shag covs pitch then
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
Quote about Coventry hosting matches -
"The venue will host 12 games over the next two weeks, including the women's bronze medal match."
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
Quote about Coventry hosting matches -
"The venue will host 12 games over the next two weeks, including the women's bronze medal match."
cheers that is hell of alot
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
I have no idea, but in the other events the competitors are allowed access to the facilities for training etc. Some of Team GB have (quietly) been complaining that we’ve given away an advantage by letting the other countries to have equal access as Team GB.
let them shag covs pitch then
And their women!
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If we'd been a host coventry wouldn't have been.
Look at the games they've got, they're what we'd have been given.
Are any of them worth the effort?
Your basing that on us being equal to Coventry - were not.
Absolute nonsense, the majority of decent games are at wembley, the millenium stadium, hampden and old trafford. There is no chance they'd have changed that if it had been us instead of coventry.
As for prestige, what prestige have Newcastle gained after the ticketing problems meant that fans there missed huge chunks of the games. Probably wouldn't have happened with us but it might have, why take the risk.
The Community shield has far less nonsense surrounding: the way tickets are sold, the way sponsors are handled, the food that can be served, etc.
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12 games ? is that how many games we would have been played if we hosted the olympics ?
I have no idea, but in the other events the competitors are allowed access to the facilities for training etc. Some of Team GB have (quietly) been complaining that we’ve given away an advantage by letting the other countries to have equal access as Team GB.
let them shag covs pitch then
And their women!
i wouldnt wish that on them :P
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Remind me again what the city of Birmingham has done for us.
What were you expecting the city of Birmingham to have done, or be doing for us to have hosted some Olympic Football matches at Villa Park in return?
I'm not talking about the Olympics. I mean over the years - up to and including a recent council leader saying we should change our name to help the city.
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This thread takeover is boring the shit out of me.
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"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
You think they are valid points, but they aren't - they're your opinion.
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
Yeah, but its Villa, I'd rather Villa won a corner than see 'Team' GB win the gold.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
Don't try to be a smart arse trying to twist things around and making cocky comments you fuckin dick - you asked a dumb question and I answered it - even a complete moron can work out 12 Olympic matches will cause more damage than 1 Community Shield game.
Personally I would rather have everything at it's best for the start of the season rather than our ground staff having to patch the pitch up after bunch of second rate teams have been playing on it, the ground staff have spent all summer taking care of the pitch for our first home game of the season and if our pitch has to be patched up now what sort of condition is it going to be as the season progresses.
Yes grass grows but if you cut chunks and divets out the pitch they don't grow back they have to be cut out and patched and those patches are well known for continually being bad throughout the season, they can cause all sorts of problems.
But hey if you think a patched up pitch is better than a perfect one then that's your prerogative but don't try to be a smart arse n attempt to make me look stupid to cover over the dumb question you asked in response to my post.
Please cease and desist with the personal abuse.
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I think casual and foreign viewers would see Villa Park as a minor ground if it hosted a few crap Olympic games like Coventry are, while the best games are at OT, Hampden etc.
Whereas those watching the Community Shield will think (not being aware of geographical detail) that the stately home of football must be the next best venue when Wembley is otherwise engaged.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
Don't try to be a smart arse trying to twist things around and making cocky comments you fuckin dick - you asked a dumb question and I answered it - even a complete moron can work out 12 Olympic matches will cause more damage than 1 Community Shield game.
Personally I would rather have everything at it's best for the start of the season rather than our ground staff having to patch the pitch up after bunch of second rate teams have been playing on it, the ground staff have spent all summer taking care of the pitch for our first home game of the season and if our pitch has to be patched up now what sort of condition is it going to be as the season progresses.
Yes grass grows but if you cut chunks and divets out the pitch they don't grow back they have to be cut out and patched and those patches are well known for continually being bad throughout the season, they can cause all sorts of problems.
But hey if you think a patched up pitch is better than a perfect one then that's your prerogative but don't try to be a smart arse n attempt to make me look stupid to cover over the dumb question you asked in response to my post.
Please cease and desist with the personal abuse.
I don't consider that to be personal abuse, more a statement of fact, he was trying to be a smart arse by twisting what had been said to try make me look a dumbass to cover up his stupid question and generally being a dick about it - maybe my language is a bit colourful but it wasn't abusive.
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"you fuckin dick" isn't abusive?
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"you fuckin dick" isn't abusive?
all good banter chaps ?!
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
Don't try to be a smart arse trying to twist things around and making cocky comments you fuckin dick - you asked a dumb question and I answered it - even a complete moron can work out 12 Olympic matches will cause more damage than 1 Community Shield game.
-- And this doesnt bother Manchester United and Newcastle then?
Personally I would rather have everything at it's best for the start of the season rather than our ground staff having to patch the pitch up after bunch of second rate teams have been playing on it, the ground staff have spent all summer taking care of the pitch for our first home game of the season and if our pitch has to be patched up now what sort of condition is it going to be as the season progresses.
--So because it might have been the International teams of New Zealand and Belarus they have no right to grace our Villa English turf. Nice.
--Thats the ground staff's job isnt it to look after the pitch, what the hell are the club paying them for???
--The Olympics finish on Sunday August 12th with the Gold medal match at Wembley, with the last game played in the other cities finished before then. Our first home match of the season is on August 25th - go figure.
Yes grass grows but if you cut chunks and divets out the pitch they don't grow back they have to be cut out and patched and those patches are well known for continually being bad throughout the season, they can cause all sorts of problems.
--What are you a ex-groundman?
But hey if you think a patched up pitch is better than a perfect one then that's your prerogative but don't try to be a smart arse n attempt to make me look stupid to cover over the dumb question you asked in response to my post.
You did that yourself with your personal abuse.
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Remind me again what the city of Birmingham has done for us.
What were you expecting the city of Birmingham to have done, or be doing for us to have hosted some Olympic Football matches at Villa Park in return?
I'm not talking about the Olympics. I mean over the years - up to and including a recent council leader saying we should change our name to help the city.
Sorry Dave, when I said the city of Birmingham I was not referring to the Council, but the people within the city.
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"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
You think they are valid points, but they aren't - they're your opinion.
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
Yeah, but its Villa, I'd rather Villa won a corner than see 'Team' GB win the gold.
And what if there was an Aston Villa player in the starting XI for Team GB?
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I think casual and foreign viewers would see Villa Park as a minor ground if it hosted a few crap Olympic games like Coventry are, while the best games are at OT, Hampden etc.
Whereas those watching the Community Shield will think (not being aware of geographical detail) that the stately home of football must be the next best venue when Wembley is otherwise engaged.
I disagree, I think we would be perceived as one of the selected venues important enough to hold an Olympic event in England's 2nd largest city.
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Villa Park will be hosting the Community Shield between Chelsea and Man City because other venues are being used for the Olympics. If we was holding Olympic games we might of only got some the games most people wouldn't have a lot of interest in and a empty ground.
I'd rather see VP full with fans for the Community Shield, between 2 of our top clubs than possibility of games like Egypt vs New Zealand that could have a half empty ground and wrecking our pitch for games there is little interest in.
..and also what is the difference between Man city / Chelsea wrecking our pitch than New Zealand vs Egypt?
Are you being serious? Do I really need to explain how 12 matches in 2 weeks for the Olympics compared with 1 match for the Community shield will cause a lot more damage to our pitch prior to the start the season?
We aren't playing any home friendlies before start of the season which means the Community Shield match will be the only game played on our pitch this pre-season which will pretty much mean the pitch will be in great condition for the start the season.
Nice and ready for our assault on the Premier League title while the cut up pitches at Newcastle and Manchester United will seriously hinder their prospects - as grass is notorious for not growing.
Don't try to be a smart arse trying to twist things around and making cocky comments you fuckin dick - you asked a dumb question and I answered it - even a complete moron can work out 12 Olympic matches will cause more damage than 1 Community Shield game.
Personally I would rather have everything at it's best for the start of the season rather than our ground staff having to patch the pitch up after bunch of second rate teams have been playing on it, the ground staff have spent all summer taking care of the pitch for our first home game of the season and if our pitch has to be patched up now what sort of condition is it going to be as the season progresses.
Yes grass grows but if you cut chunks and divets out the pitch they don't grow back they have to be cut out and patched and those patches are well known for continually being bad throughout the season, they can cause all sorts of problems.
But hey if you think a patched up pitch is better than a perfect one then that's your prerogative but don't try to be a smart arse n attempt to make me look stupid to cover over the dumb question you asked in response to my post.
Please cease and desist with the personal abuse.
I don't consider that to be personal abuse, more a statement of fact, he was trying to be a smart arse by twisting what had been said to try make me look a dumbass to cover up his stupid question and generally being a dick about it - maybe my language is a bit colourful but it wasn't abusive.
Colourful? I would shudder to think what you'd make of as abusive.
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"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
You think they are valid points, but they aren't - they're your opinion.
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
Yeah, but its Villa, I'd rather Villa won a corner than see 'Team' GB win the gold.
And what if there was an Aston Villa player in the starting XI for Team GB?
Are you going to deal in anything other than the hypothetical? They don't make your point valid.
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Yes, but below a few others in the pecking order. Not so in the case of the Community Shield, which, as opposed to crap Olympic games, is one that people actually want to watch, as will be borne out by the attendance and probably the TV viewing figures.
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I think casual and foreign viewers would see Villa Park as a minor ground if it hosted a few crap Olympic games like Coventry are, while the best games are at OT, Hampden etc.
Whereas those watching the Community Shield will think (not being aware of geographical detail) that the stately home of football must be the next best venue when Wembley is otherwise engaged.
I disagree, I think we would be perceived as one of the selected venues important enough to hold an Olympic event in England's 2nd largest city.
Here's a fact; Villa Park was considered important enough but it wasn't deemed a good enough deal for the club.
Villa told the Logoc 'thanks, but no thanks'. How awesome is our club.
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The point is we were offered both, and the people who were in possession of all the relevant information and who's job is to serve our best interests, decided that one would be good for the club, and the other not so good. I'll go with that.
As for the abuse remy, I think you were a bit snide and piss-taking with the other bloke. Pot and kettle etc. - I'm the same myself sometimes. But I'm not surprised if people then tell me to fuck off.
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I don't consider that to be personal abuse, more a statement of fact, he was trying to be a smart arse by twisting what had been said to try make me look a dumbass to cover up his stupid question and generally being a dick about it - maybe my language is a bit colourful but it wasn't abusive.
Unfortunately, we do, and it's not your opinion of whether it is abusive that counts, it is ours, so knock it on the head, please.
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
I'm being very real, thank you. You're the one dealing in some intangible value of prestige in Villa Park being an Olympic Venue. I consider this prestige to be seriously diminished due to the actual quality of teams involved, which would invariably have been played in front of low crowds. When I see the highlights of games at Hampden or Millenium Stadium or wherever, I don't think "wow, the people of Glasgow / Cardiff must be really proud to be part of the Olympic games", mostly it's been "wow, the crowds are really poor".
Bringing reserve team games and crap PL games into your argument is utter tosh as well. For one, we get a direct benefit from PL games, and then there's the small matter of villa actually playing in those games, which is, you know, the reason Villa Park exists in the first place.
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Colourful? I would shudder to think what you'd make of as abusive.
sorry next time I'll be a weasel and just hide behind snide remarks and insinuated insults.
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I don't consider that to be personal abuse, more a statement of fact, he was trying to be a smart arse by twisting what had been said to try make me look a dumbass to cover up his stupid question and generally being a dick about it - maybe my language is a bit colourful but it wasn't abusive.
Unfortunately, we do, and it's not your opinion of whether it is abusive that counts, it is ours, so knock it on the head, please.
I'll attempt to watch my language.
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Colourful? I would shudder to think what you'd make of as abusive.
sorry next time I'll be a weasel and just hide behind snide remarks and insinuated insults.
If it's good enough for the rest of us...
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"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
You think they are valid points, but they aren't - they're your opinion.
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
Yeah, but its Villa, I'd rather Villa won a corner than see 'Team' GB win the gold.
And what if there was an Aston Villa player in the starting XI for Team GB?
Are you going to deal in anything other than the hypothetical? They don't make your point valid.
By this guys rationale he is only interested in seeing Villa win a corner than ANY other team at Villa park. I said what if a Villa player was in Team GB - its a straightforward question, would you be interested or refrain? From my position I support Aston Villa and would watch an Olympic game at VP whether it was Qatar vs Solomon Islands or Team GB vs Brazil, Villa players or no Villa players. That doesnt make me a better supporter or worse, Im simply saying it would have been great if Villa Park has been a venue for the Olympics because Aston Villa have been woven into the fabric of football history in this country and a massive sporting spectacle that is once in a lifetime for some (I feel) the club should have been part of. If the reason we didnt participate was of financial reasons and inconvinience, I think its a small price to pay for all the good it would have done the club.
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What good would it have done the club? Genuine question, as I really can't think of anything substantial.
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Remy do you get out much?
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By this guys rationale
Don't attempt to play to the crowd, everyone thinks you're talking shit here anyway.
he is only interested in seeing Villa win a corner than ANY other team at Villa park.
There's 92 league clubs and I hate 91 of them.
I said what if a Villa player was in Team GB - its a straightforward question, would you be interested or refrain?
I wouldn't want any Villa player in it for a start, I'd be worried about them getting injured. I don't have any interest in Olympic football in any case. What has the hypothetical idea of a Villa player go to do with your argument anyway? It wasn't a good deal and the CEO stated why.
From my position I support Aston Villa and would watch an Olympic game at VP whether it was Qatar vs Solomon Islands or Team GB vs Brazil, Villa players or no Villa players. That doesnt make me a better supporter or worse, Im simply saying it would have been great if Villa Park has been a venue for the Olympics because Aston Villa have been woven into the fabric of football history in this country and a massive sporting spectacle that is once in a lifetime for some (I feel) the club should have been part of. If the reason we didnt participate was of financial reasons and inconvinience, I think its a small price to pay for all the good it would have done the club.
What good would it have done the club? If it's not making money for us then its not worth it, end of story. I fail to see how about 5,000 people turning up to watch UAE play Fiji or something would do anything positive for Villa.
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
I'm being very real, thank you. You're the one dealing in some intangible value of prestige in Villa Park being an Olympic Venue. I consider this prestige to be seriously diminished due to the actual quality of teams involved, which would invariably have been played in front of low crowds. When I see the highlights of games at Hampden or Millenium Stadium or wherever, I don't think "wow, the people of Glasgow / Cardiff must be really proud to be part of the Olympic games", mostly it's been "wow, the crowds are really poor".
Bringing reserve team games and crap PL games into your argument is utter tosh as well. For one, we get a direct benefit from PL games, and then there's the small matter of villa actually playing in those games, which is, you know, the reason Villa Park exists in the first place.
I apologise for the 'Get real' comment.
Firstly, its not JUST the prestige of Villa Park being an Olympic venue, its being part of the biggest sporting spectacle in this country since 1966. I have seen on the news about the crowds being poor with me being in attendance at Coventry they had an entire stand closed. Disappointing but I believe that the ticketing organisation should have been better and priced cheaper which would have drawn bigger crowds. A game at Villa Park would be a big enough draw no matter who was playing.
Well when I see the highlights of the games I think wow wouldnt it have been great if Villa Park had some of the Olympic football.
The reason I brought reserve games and the crap PL games into the argument is to highlight that sometimes the football played at VP isnt the best or at a high level so why should that count against international teams who are seen as lesser lights?
You say the small matter of Villa actually playing in these games, so all the FA Cup semi finals, International friendlies (when wembley is out) Cup winners cup finals or whatever its called these days when the ground was made available to others dont count?
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I'm not sure why you think there would be much bigger crowds at Villa Park. Less than 27K for the Euro '96 QF would suggest otherwise. As would none of the group games selling out IIRC.
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By this guys rationale
Don't attempt to play to the crowd, everyone thinks you're talking shit here anyway. - I have no idea what playing to the crowd means, Im going to google it. So by expressing my opinion and its not agreed with (especially by the foul mouthed) its shit. Nice.
he is only interested in seeing Villa win a corner than ANY other team at Villa park.
There's 92 league clubs and I hate 91 of them. There are (roughly) 196 countries in the world and you hate 195 too?
I said what if a Villa player was in Team GB - its a straightforward question, would you be interested or refrain?
I wouldn't want any Villa player in it for a start, I'd be worried about them getting injured. I don't have any interest in Olympic football in any case. What has the hypothetical idea of a Villa player go to do with your argument anyway? It wasn't a good deal and the CEO stated why. So as long as the CEO stated why (including appointing Mcleish) we have no right to disagree. Doug is that you?
From my position I support Aston Villa and would watch an Olympic game at VP whether it was Qatar vs Solomon Islands or Team GB vs Brazil, Villa players or no Villa players. That doesnt make me a better supporter or worse, Im simply saying it would have been great if Villa Park has been a venue for the Olympics because Aston Villa have been woven into the fabric of football history in this country and a massive sporting spectacle that is once in a lifetime for some (I feel) the club should have been part of. If the reason we didnt participate was of financial reasons and inconvinience, I think its a small price to pay for all the good it would have done the club.
What good would it have done the club? If it's not making money for us then its not worth it, end of story. I fail to see how about 5,000 people turning up to watch UAE play Fiji or something would do anything positive for Villa.
Im not interested in whether it made money for AVFC, it certainly wouldnt have made such a huge loss like Habib Beye, Marlon Harewood, Alan Hutton etc. The partnership with ACORNS wasnt about the money. The links with the coaching in the schools isnt about the money. The concert put on for those two teenagers who were shot wasnt for the money. The visits to the ethnic minority places to form links with Birmingham multicultural population isnt about the money, its about Aston Villa being more than a Premier League football club.
I wouldnt expect Villa Park to be a sellout 42,000 for any of the Olympic games, hell we dont get sellouts until Manchester United are in town! I would expect an excitement around the city that the Olympics are in our own back yard.
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remy, we get it, you wanted Villa to host the Olympic football. Most, if not all of us, are in the couldn't bothered camp. Leave it now you've made your point.
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So because Team GB werent going to come and the massively oversubscribed and commercially lucrative non-matchday business (such as weddings and conferences) and the disruption to the start of the season (but its ok for ManUre and Newcastle - both finished higher than Villa last season) its not in the 'best interests of Aston Villa'.
Well done Paul.
I think when a decision is made that can affect thousands of jobs, businesses and lives of ordinary people it should be taken out of the hands of those who think for the minority and should be put as an open question to the majority - the people of Birmingham.
I am a PF critic,but he called this correctly.
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remy, Just because you want to sit in a half empty Villa Park watching Gabon v New Zealand doesn't mean everyone else should want to as well.
And despite what you claimed about crowds it would be half empty. Olympic football in Birmingham will cause far less excitement in the city than Euro '96 did. And only about 23,000 Brits were excited enough to turn up for the QF.
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Do you think now we have all gone Olympic crazy, we should start referring to the Villa as "Team AV"?
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No.
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...and No
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Awwww why not ?
Come on Team AV !
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Works for me. My telly already has an AV channel.
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So does mine, but, No for team AV !! We are Aston Villa.
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Im not interested in whether it made money for AVFC, it certainly wouldnt have made such a huge loss like Habib Beye, Marlon Harewood, Alan Hutton etc.
They were brought to the club with an eye to improving the Villa squad, it was money that would/could have a direct effect on Aston Villa.
The partnership with ACORNS wasnt about the money. The links with the coaching in the schools isnt about the money. The concert put on for those two teenagers who were shot wasnt for the money. The visits to the ethnic minority places to form links with Birmingham multicultural population isnt about the money, its about Aston Villa being more than a Premier League football club.
So as you say then, Villa are already doing something for the people of Birmingham. All of the above means a lot more to the city of Birmingham than a couple of crap matches watched by a miniscule crowd with no real benefit to the club.
I wouldnt expect Villa Park to be a sellout 42,000 for any of the Olympic games, hell we dont get sellouts until Manchester United are in town! I would expect an excitement around the city that the Olympics are in our own back yard.
I doubt anyone would much care, look at the reaction on here, look at the crowds on telly.
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I think you have both made your points.
Is it not time to agree to disagree ? In my opinion only.
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
I'm being very real, thank you. You're the one dealing in some intangible value of prestige in Villa Park being an Olympic Venue. I consider this prestige to be seriously diminished due to the actual quality of teams involved, which would invariably have been played in front of low crowds. When I see the highlights of games at Hampden or Millenium Stadium or wherever, I don't think "wow, the people of Glasgow / Cardiff must be really proud to be part of the Olympic games", mostly it's been "wow, the crowds are really poor".
Bringing reserve team games and crap PL games into your argument is utter tosh as well. For one, we get a direct benefit from PL games, and then there's the small matter of villa actually playing in those games, which is, you know, the reason Villa Park exists in the first place.
I apologise for the 'Get real' comment.
Firstly, its not JUST the prestige of Villa Park being an Olympic venue, its being part of the biggest sporting spectacle in this country since 1966. I have seen on the news about the crowds being poor with me being in attendance at Coventry they had an entire stand closed. Disappointing but I believe that the ticketing organisation should have been better and priced cheaper which would have drawn bigger crowds. A game at Villa Park would be a big enough draw no matter who was playing.
Well when I see the highlights of the games I think wow wouldnt it have been great if Villa Park had some of the Olympic football.
The reason I brought reserve games and the crap PL games into the argument is to highlight that sometimes the football played at VP isnt the best or at a high level so why should that count against international teams who are seen as lesser lights?
You say the small matter of Villa actually playing in these games, so all the FA Cup semi finals, International friendlies (when wembley is out) Cup winners cup finals or whatever its called these days when the ground was made available to others dont count?
I'm fairly certain you've now decided to keep this going just to wind people up but just in case:
If Villa are playing at home then they play at villa park, the quality of the game is irrelevent, this extends to the youth, reserves, women, etc. If you have a Villa kit on in a home game no one is going to complain if you're at villa park. Given that, remove any reference to poor premier league games, etc from your argument.
which leaves comparing a sold out cup semi-final/a sold-out community shield/a sold-out european final/etc to a bunch of at least half empty olympic matches. If you can't see why people don't care about the latter but are happy to see the former I'll point it out; the words 'sold-out' are the key.
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Remy have you seen what is on offer tonight?
It is fucking shit with a dollop of shit on top,a bit like your argument.
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Remy, you're comparing football matches that people give a shit about to football matches that virtually nobody gives a shit about. Apples and oranges mate.
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It is absolutely bonkers to think that an olympic match at VP would have attracted bigger crowds than anywhere else. I doubt even a GBR v whoever would have sold out. It's not the sort of football we care about. I am pleased that we are not part of the London Games.
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remy, we get it, you wanted Villa to host the Olympic football. Most, if not all of us, are in the couldn't bothered camp. Leave it now you've made your point.
The thing is Peter, I made my point of view and some people disagreed. Good. I responded to their point of view that they dont want the Olympics at VP and various reasons why. Thats the whole point of a forum isnt it? Im not waiting for someone to agree with me and I couldnt care less if you disagree with my point of view but I AM interested as to WHY the fans on here cant be bothered with the Olympics - great now I know.
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remy, Just because you want to sit in a half empty Villa Park watching Gabon v New Zealand doesn't mean everyone else should want to as well.
And despite what you claimed about crowds it would be half empty. Olympic football in Birmingham will cause far less excitement in the city than Euro '96 did. And only about 23,000 Brits were excited enough to turn up for the QF.
No I think 10,000 to 15,000 would have come to VP if we had it on which isnt even half the stadium. I claim that the fun, family, carnival atmosphere would have been great at VP. Which is probably me hankering on to see return of the good times to Villa Park (in any shape or form) after the clouds of the last 2 years.
The New Zealand fans sang to the Belarus fans - "Your only a small town in Russia" to which the Belarus fans sang back "Your only a small town in Oz" ha!
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Im not interested in whether it made money for AVFC, it certainly wouldnt have made such a huge loss like Habib Beye, Marlon Harewood, Alan Hutton etc.
They were brought to the club with an eye to improving the Villa squad, it was money that would/could have a direct effect on Aston Villa.
-- So lets say VP was hosting a match, the direct effect on Aston Villa would have been to project the club and stadium to a worldwide audience maybe. 2 of the 3 above players Villa made a loss on in terms of transfer fee £2m + £4m plus wages for their splinters, so how can hosting an Olympic match be as greater risk than signing players financially?
The partnership with ACORNS wasnt about the money. The links with the coaching in the schools isnt about the money. The concert put on for those two teenagers who were shot wasnt for the money. The visits to the ethnic minority places to form links with Birmingham multicultural population isnt about the money, its about Aston Villa being more than a Premier League football club.
So as you say then, Villa are already doing something for the people of Birmingham. All of the above means a lot more to the city of Birmingham than a couple of crap matches watched by a miniscule crowd with no real benefit to the club.
On the contrary, I believe that hosting matches would have meant as much to the people of Birmingham as the other initiatives.
I wouldnt expect Villa Park to be a sellout 42,000 for any of the Olympic games, hell we dont get sellouts until Manchester United are in town! I would expect an excitement around the city that the Olympics are in our own back yard.
I doubt anyone would much care, look at the reaction on here, look at the crowds on telly.
The majority of the reaction on here is indifference, the crowds are down mainly because of the ticketing fiasco of every single event.
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Im not interested in whether it made money for AVFC, it certainly wouldnt have made such a huge loss like Habib Beye, Marlon Harewood, Alan Hutton etc.
They were brought to the club with an eye to improving the Villa squad, it was money that would/could have a direct effect on Aston Villa.
-- So lets say VP was hosting a match, the direct effect on Aston Villa would have been to project the club and stadium to a worldwide audience maybe. 2 of the 3 above players Villa made a loss on in terms of transfer fee £2m + £4m plus wages for their splinters, so how can hosting an Olympic match be as greater risk than signing players financially?
The partnership with ACORNS wasnt about the money. The links with the coaching in the schools isnt about the money. The concert put on for those two teenagers who were shot wasnt for the money. The visits to the ethnic minority places to form links with Birmingham multicultural population isnt about the money, its about Aston Villa being more than a Premier League football club.
So as you say then, Villa are already doing something for the people of Birmingham. All of the above means a lot more to the city of Birmingham than a couple of crap matches watched by a miniscule crowd with no real benefit to the club.
On the contrary, I believe that hosting matches would have meant as much to the people of Birmingham as the other initiatives.
I wouldnt expect Villa Park to be a sellout 42,000 for any of the Olympic games, hell we dont get sellouts until Manchester United are in town! I would expect an excitement around the city that the Olympics are in our own back yard.
I doubt anyone would much care, look at the reaction on here, look at the crowds on telly.
The majority of the reaction on here is indifference, the crowds are down mainly because of the ticketing fiasco of every single event.
Personally don't think that is the case Remy. Aside from the GB men's team, there is very little interest in the rest of the football competition (both mens and womens). Saying that, Old Trafford and Wembley have been pretty full for the two GB games, so I'm pretty sure Villa Park would have sold out had they played here. Villa Park was never going to get a GB game though, so all in all, we're better off out of it. The choice between hosting the Charity Shield and hosting Olympic games not involving Team GB is a no brainer really.
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Bloody hell, I was just trying to get used to "Lambert's Limes" and now it's "Team AV". Very well.
Come on Team AV!
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I think we're all being a bit harsh on remy.
Disagree. Had he kept to the prestige argument then I don't think he'd have gotten as much stick as he has. Sadly, for him, he brought some utter nonsense into the debate, and is justifiably being ridiculed.
And I also have to disagree with your assertion that we'd be hosting bigger matches than New Zealand and the likes. The overall standard of the teams on offer is pretty poor, and we'd have been up against 3 other grounds that I would consider to have been ahead of us in the queue for the top matches, 4 if you include Hamden.
"Justifiably ridiculed" - because Im bringing some valid points across and I dont agree with some of the points made?
The standard of teams has been pretty poor? What difference does that make? Dont they play reserve games at VP? Are you expecting Brazil 70 vs Spain 2010 every time you see teams step onto the turf. Get real. Ive seen some seriously poor games played at Villa Park over the last few years and this is supposed to be the Elite league in all of England!!!!
I'm being very real, thank you. You're the one dealing in some intangible value of prestige in Villa Park being an Olympic Venue. I consider this prestige to be seriously diminished due to the actual quality of teams involved, which would invariably have been played in front of low crowds. When I see the highlights of games at Hampden or Millenium Stadium or wherever, I don't think "wow, the people of Glasgow / Cardiff must be really proud to be part of the Olympic games", mostly it's been "wow, the crowds are really poor".
Bringing reserve team games and crap PL games into your argument is utter tosh as well. For one, we get a direct benefit from PL games, and then there's the small matter of villa actually playing in those games, which is, you know, the reason Villa Park exists in the first place.
I apologise for the 'Get real' comment.
Firstly, its not JUST the prestige of Villa Park being an Olympic venue, its being part of the biggest sporting spectacle in this country since 1966. I have seen on the news about the crowds being poor with me being in attendance at Coventry they had an entire stand closed. Disappointing but I believe that the ticketing organisation should have been better and priced cheaper which would have drawn bigger crowds. A game at Villa Park would be a big enough draw no matter who was playing.
Well when I see the highlights of the games I think wow wouldnt it have been great if Villa Park had some of the Olympic football.
The reason I brought reserve games and the crap PL games into the argument is to highlight that sometimes the football played at VP isnt the best or at a high level so why should that count against international teams who are seen as lesser lights?
You say the small matter of Villa actually playing in these games, so all the FA Cup semi finals, International friendlies (when wembley is out) Cup winners cup finals or whatever its called these days when the ground was made available to others dont count?
I'm fairly certain you've now decided to keep this going just to wind people up but just in case:
If Villa are playing at home then they play at villa park, the quality of the game is irrelevent, this extends to the youth, reserves, women, etc. If you have a Villa kit on in a home game no one is going to complain if you're at villa park. Given that, remove any reference to poor premier league games, etc from your argument.
which leaves comparing a sold out cup semi-final/a sold-out community shield/a sold-out european final/etc to a bunch of at least half empty olympic matches. If you can't see why people don't care about the latter but are happy to see the former I'll point it out; the words 'sold-out' are the key.
No I dont post on here to wind people up, Im expressing my point of view and responding.
It reminds me of the time (think it was clueless odreary) when he was on the ropes after the Doncaster game and the general consensus on here was that he should go. There was one poster (name escapes me) that debated that sacking him at that point in time was the wrong thing to do. Cue huge amounts of fury and personal abuse, (I thought he should have gone aswell by the way) but Im sure he did it just to provoke a reaction like the radios do. I dont have time for that.
My point is so what if the stadium is half empty for an Olympic match? We had 21,000 for a League cup game against Hereford and 20,000 for Bolton in the cup.
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My point is so what if the stadium is half empty for an Olympic match? We had 21,000 for a League cup game against Hereford and 20,000 for Bolton in the cup.
They were Villa games, played for the benefit of our supporters.
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Remy, you're comparing football matches that people give a shit about to football matches that virtually nobody gives a shit about. Apples and oranges mate.
"Matches Virtually nobody gives a shit about" = zero people (apples)
Attendance at Coventry for New Zealand vs Belarus 14,457 (oranges)
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Surely it could only be zero if nobody gave a shit? Virtually nobody implies that a relatively small amount of people do. Like 14,000 out of an area the size of the West Midlands.
And how come you now think we'd get 10-15K at VP for matches when earlier you were saying our crowds would be higher than at Cov?
Finally, surely the fact that you're on a football forum and there is little interest in the Olympic football shows you the apathy towards that sport in the Olympics?
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***raises hand in the air***
Please Mr Moderator, I got told off for doing so, but considering the continued ridiculous comments, I think the disallowing of calling remy a dick should be rescinded and everyone be allowed the opportunity to call him a dick too.
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Surely it could only be zero if nobody gave a shit? Virtually nobody implies that a relatively small amount of people do. Like 14,000 out of an area the size of the West Midlands.
--Yes your right, the term 'virtually nobody' implies compared to the size of Birmingham's population. 8,000 turned up for one of our greatest ever players - Paul McGrath's Villa Park testimonial out of our Aston Villa supporting population.
And how come you now think we'd get 10-15K at VP for matches when earlier you were saying our crowds would be higher than at Cov?
--Well we wouldnt have got any less.
Finally, surely the fact that you're on a football forum and there is little interest in the Olympic football shows you the apathy towards that sport in the Olympics?
--I agree.
But before the games, because the games hadnt been in this country for a very long time and this is the birthplace of football, national sport etc. they chose the largest grounds in anticipation of large amounts of people to accomadate the matches not thinking about potential low attendances comparatively to other matches played there normally.
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Once again, if a team named Aston Villa (with anything afterwards) are playing then no one can (or should) argue about them being there. It's our ground, regardless of quality we play games there.
If no team containing the name aston villa is playing there then I only want there to be a game if aston villa are getting something out of it.
Lots of scenes of the camera panning across a nearly empty stadium whilst the women of New Zealand play Cameroon, to me, offers us nothing (that's the next enticing fixture hosted at coventry). Compare this to a full ground, with advertising, watching Chelsea and Man City contest the annual kick-off to the english season.
I fail to see how anyone could want the former over the latter.
If football was meaningful in the olympics (or we were asked to host a meaningful event) I'd be with you but the fact that it doesn't take long for any discussion about it to turn to "should they even have it as an event" sums it up for me.
I just don't see any prestige in hosting it, afterall, without googling, can you name any of the grounds used for football in beijing, or athens, or sydney (other than maybe the one the final was played in).
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I watched that game last night and I struggle to see how Villa could have benefited from hosting matches. If I was a neutral I would not have been watching the TV thinking what a great event and I doubt any extra kudos will be awarded to Wembley (or Cardiff - not sure where it was being played) as a result.
I found the atmosphere and the game incredibly flat. The whole thing lacked any sort of passion despite it being a reasonable game.
No need to reply to this remy - this is just my opinion having watched my first match.
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***raises hand in the air***
Please Mr Moderator, I got told off for doing so, but considering the continued ridiculous comments, I think the disallowing of calling remy a dick should be rescinded and everyone be allowed the opportunity to call him a dick too.
Or we could just all act like grown-ups.
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***raises hand in the air***
Please Mr Moderator, I got told off for doing so, but considering the continued ridiculous comments, I think the disallowing of calling remy a dick should be rescinded and everyone be allowed the opportunity to call him a dick too.
Or we could just all act like grown-ups.
To quote my dead friend Buddy Holly 'That'll be the fucking day'.
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Remy, you're comparing football matches that people give a shit about to football matches that virtually nobody gives a shit about. Apples and oranges mate.
"Matches Virtually nobody gives a shit about" = zero people (apples)
Attendance at Coventry for New Zealand vs Belarus 14,457 (oranges)
A chance to host Man Citeh v Chelsea in the Community Shield - 42,300 (pears)
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***raises hand in the air***
Please Mr Moderator, I got told off for doing so, but considering the continued ridiculous comments, I think the disallowing of calling remy a dick should be rescinded and everyone be allowed the opportunity to call him a dick too.
Or we could just all act like grown-ups.
controversial
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What would have been wrong with people taking their kids to see teams like brazil, Spain etc for say 10 quid at villa park.
I took mine to see 2games at old Trafford being team gb and brazil and they were cracking atmospheres.
Odds are we my kids won't get see likes of neymar very often down the villa..
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What would have been wrong with people taking their kids to see teams like brazil, Spain etc for say 10 quid at villa park.
I took mine to see 2games at old Trafford being team gb and brazil and they were cracking atmospheres.
Odds are we my kids won't get see likes of neymar very often down the villa..
Nothing would have been wrong with it, except in all likelihood it wouldn't have been the likes of spain, brazil etc playing at villa park, no matter how special we think the ground is.
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i dont care much for Olympic football, but i certainly wouldnt have a problem with them using Villa Park,
i find the whole 'whats in it for us' thing a bit ungracious,
if we were able to offer VP and they wanted the use of it then thats fine by me, sometimes you can help out for the greater good without always having an ulterior motive,
maybe we wouldnt have got much kudos out of it, so what,
isnt life about offering what you can for the benefit of others, without wondering if you will come out ahead.
i'm sure AVFC had good reasons for pulling out, and it doesnt bother me personaly that we are not involved,
but posters saying they watched a bit of football from other stadiums and didnt think it good enough for us to be associated with is a bit purile to be honest
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i dont care much for Olympic football, but i certainly wouldnt have a problem with them using Villa Park,
i find the whole 'whats in it for us' thing a bit ungracious,
if we were able to offer VP and they wanted the use of it then thats fine by me, sometimes you can help out for the greater good without always having an ulterior motive,
maybe we wouldnt have got much kudos out of it, so what,
isnt life about offering what you can for the benefit of others, without wondering if you will come out ahead.
i'm sure AVFC had good reasons for pulling out, and it doesnt bother me personaly that we are not involved,
but posters saying they watched a bit of football from other stadiums and didnt think it good enough for us to be associated with is a bit purile to be honest
You do realise that the Olympics isn't a charity, right? It's possibly the most corporate event going.
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i dont care much for Olympic football, but i certainly wouldnt have a problem with them using Villa Park,
i find the whole 'whats in it for us' thing a bit ungracious,
if we were able to offer VP and they wanted the use of it then thats fine by me, sometimes you can help out for the greater good without always having an ulterior motive,
maybe we wouldnt have got much kudos out of it, so what,
isnt life about offering what you can for the benefit of others, without wondering if you will come out ahead.
i'm sure AVFC had good reasons for pulling out, and it doesnt bother me personaly that we are not involved,
but posters saying they watched a bit of football from other stadiums and didnt think it good enough for us to be associated with is a bit purile to be honest
You do realise that the Olympics isn't a charity, right? It's possibly the most corporate event going.
I get your point John but, given a choice of taking a one off game that will show definite benefits or taking 12 matches with limited benefits and additional negatives of course you're going to take the former.
As for bringing some kind of moral sense into things as if it's part of the greater good that's utter nonsense. If coventry wasn't big enough and had sold out for every match you'd have a point but as it hasn't the olympics benefits nothing more from us than it does coventry.
The city and people of the city probably get as much benefit from the 1 match we have due to the way merchandising, etc is controlled by the olympics as well. So it's not so much what's the benefit to us as "would the tournament/club/community benefit enough to make it worthwhile to anyone" and the answer is no in all 3 cases for me.
Aside from that, anydiscussion regarding english football has to be considered in full awareness of the fact that morality has had nothing to do with any decisions made in the game since 1992.
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Odds are we my kids won't get see likes of neymar very often down the villa..
No now that Heskey has left!
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I was at the library in Lewisham this morning, lurking around while the kids were choosing books. There's a wall in the library dedicated to London 2012 - pictures of the London venues and info about the sports. There's also a section called "outside London" with aerial photos of the non London venues - St James's Park, Old Trafford, Hampden etc.
Anyway, there was a photo of the Ricoh Arena and underneath ( I swear on my kids' lives that this is true) was the caption "Villa Park, West Midlands".
I thought of Remy, for some reason
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I find that amazing; there's a library in Lewisham.
With books.
The tories aren't working hard enough.
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i dont care much for Olympic football, but i certainly wouldnt have a problem with them using Villa Park,
i find the whole 'whats in it for us' thing a bit ungracious,
if we were able to offer VP and they wanted the use of it then thats fine by me, sometimes you can help out for the greater good without always having an ulterior motive,
maybe we wouldnt have got much kudos out of it, so what,
isnt life about offering what you can for the benefit of others, without wondering if you will come out ahead.
i'm sure AVFC had good reasons for pulling out, and it doesnt bother me personaly that we are not involved,
but posters saying they watched a bit of football from other stadiums and didnt think it good enough for us to be associated with is a bit purile to be honest
You do realise that the Olympics isn't a charity, right? It's possibly the most corporate event going.
i'm sure the host stadium doesnt end up out of pocket
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Well obviously it would have ended up out of pocket when you consider lost revenue from other activities, otherwise they wouldn't have reached the decision they did.
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Well obviously it would have ended up out of pocket when you consider lost revenue from other activities, otherwise they wouldn't have reached the decision they did.
Indeed, which is exactly the reason Paul Faulkner gave. His statement concerning the matter was posted up on the first page of the thread I think.
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I fully agree with Remy on this one.
The Olympics Games being held in your country is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The 2012 Olympics has been hailed (in this country at least) as the greatest Games ever.
And yet Birmingham, the UK's Second City, was not involved because we turned down the opportunity :-\
Unbelievable.
We could have had Team GB Women playing at Villa Park - guaranteed sell-out.
The Community Shield was not sold out.
We could have attracted fans to Villa Park who haven't been to a live match before and who knows, they may have started taking an interest in Villa.
It was a chance for Aston Villa FC, Birmingham's biggest and #1 club, to bring an amazing event to the City of Birmingham and we missed it.
The club has let the City of Birmingham down.
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Topical.
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To reiterate what was said at the last SCG meeting - taking into account everything the IOC wanted from Villa in terms of office space, inability to sell our own merchandise/commercial packages and general inconvenience, it wasn't worth it for the club to host the Olympics.
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The club has let the City of Birmingham down.
Blues could have offered to host some games then.
Not Albion though, they live out in the Birmingham hinterlands - not quite Brummie, not quite yam-yam, but in a weird little pocket of space that no one gives a shit about. Plus the Hawthorns is a shit hole.
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I fully agree with Remy on this one.
The Olympics Games being held in your country is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The 2012 Olympics has been hailed (in this country at least) as the greatest Games ever.
And yet Birmingham, the UK's Second City, was not involved because we turned down the opportunity :-\
Unbelievable.
We could have had Team GB Women playing at Villa Park - guaranteed sell-out.
The Community Shield was not sold out.
We could have attracted fans to Villa Park who haven't been to a live match before and who knows, they may have started taking an interest in Villa.
It was a chance for Aston Villa FC, Birmingham's biggest and #1 club, to bring an amazing event to the City of Birmingham and we missed it.
The club has let the City of Birmingham down.
And you wonder why people think you're a troll. Why on earth resurrect this nonsense now?
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the UK's Second City, was not involved
Old Trafford hosted some Olympic football
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the UK's Second City, was not involved
Old Trafford hosted some Olympic football
Trafford is not the second city.
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Yep, I feel really let down that Villa Park wasn't used for the one sport in the Olympics I cared less about than Greco-Roman wrestling.
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HWV does have a point though - look at the cascade affect that hosting the Olympics has had on Coventry's attendances so far this season.
Isn't Coventry part of Greater Birmingham?
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There was a news report on tv from Coventry during the Olympics, in which city centre traders reported takings being down during the games.
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There was a news report on tv from Coventry during the Olympics, in which city centre traders reported takings being down during the games.
I’ve certainly read that was the case in London. I believe some traders are even looking to sue [not sure who] because they were pretty much instructed to hire extra staff to cope with the rush but the rush never happened.
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There was a news report on tv from Coventry during the Olympics, in which city centre traders reported takings being down during the games.
I’ve certainly read that was the case in London. I believe some traders are even looking to sue [not sure who] because they were pretty much instructed to hire extra staff to cope with the rush but the rush never happened.
It's a given that most events of this nature run at a loss. LA 84 made a profit because that was its primary goal - it was privately financed, recycled venues, and the cost to advertisers and networks was far above anything previously charged. I can;t think of any other global event that matched its profit margin.
It's also well known that people don't return to the places they visit during a tournament or major sports event. There were reports on the news this year of people being interviewed on caravan parks in Kent, who said they were having ever such a good time but wouldn't return.
So what do World Cups and Olympics give you, if not profit or recurrent tourism? An excuse to create civic projects. Munich got a mass transit system out of the '72 Games. Barcelona regenerated its docklands. Montreal built an international airport that these days runs at half capacity. That's what London 2012 hasn't really made clear - it has venues and suchlike it can reuse, but in the country's most populous city, it doesn't have a lasting project that helps the entire place. The fear is that Stratford will become like the Athens Olympic Village - underused and poorly policed.
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Interesting post but isn't Ken on record as saying that the only reason he backed/went for the games was to regenerate that part of London?
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Interesting post but isn't Ken on record as saying that the only reason he backed/went for the games was to regenerate that part of London?
I've never listened to anything Ken Livingstone has said.
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The fear is that Stratford will become like the Athens Olympic Village - underused and poorly policed.
They have built the largest indoor mall in Europe there so I doubt if it will be underused and poorly policed for quite a while.
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Manure made £2.5 million for staging Olympic Games at Mould Trafford.
We would have been lucky to make 35% of that.A wise move by the club to let it go.
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Manure made £2.5 million for staging Olympic Games at Mould Trafford.
We would have been lucky to make 35% of that.A wise move by the club to let it go.
So why was it a wise move to let, say, £850,000 go.
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Manure made £2.5 million for staging Olympic Games at Mould Trafford.
We would have been lucky to make 35% of that.A wise move by the club to let it go.
So why was it a wise move to let, say, £850,000 go.
Because with the upheaval it entails and the money we got out of the Charity Shield, we'd have ended up losing out.
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Manure made £2.5 million for staging Olympic Games at Mould Trafford.
We would have been lucky to make 35% of that.A wise move by the club to let it go.
So why was it a wise move to let, say, £850,000 go.
Because with the upheaval it entails and the money we got out of the Charity Shield, we'd have ended up losing out.
Fair comment. Forgot about the Charity Shioeld.