Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: wozwebs on March 11, 2016, 04:14:58 PM
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Good move. Radio WM exclusive. Tbc soon
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Also reporting Fox won't be at the game on Sunday .
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And for once they've got something right. Villa and WM.
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Welcome Sir Brian, and the other guy. I hope this works out well for you both, andtherefore, us!
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Good stuff. Better late than never I suppose (through gritted teeth).
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Also reporting Fox won't be at the game on Sunday .
Running scared of those naughty songs or on the way out I wonder?
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Bernstein...a Man City fan and an accountant, like Mr Hollis?
Brian Little... a God and a great head of hair, even now?
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Good stuff. Better late than never I suppose (through gritted teeth).
Quite. I wonder how things might look now had this been done in 2008.
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is David Bernstein the former FA man ?
UTV
The Doc
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is David Bernstein the former FA man ?
UTV
The Doc
Yes and Man City
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Bernstein...a Man City fan and an accountant, like Mr Hollis?
Brian Little... a God and a great head of hair, even now?
Bernstein - great experience of a big club in trouble
Brian - hope this doesn't mean he gets tarnished it it continues to go paws-up
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Bernstein sits on the boards of a number of public companies, including fashion label Ted Baker and restaurant chain Carluccio's.
No Carluccio's in Aston, just bring back VFM please.
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Good stuff. Better late than never I suppose (through gritted teeth).
Quite. I wonder how things might look now had this been done in 2008.
No guarantees of course, but I suspect the money would have been targeted a whole lot better. Sigh.
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Shame this didn't happen in the summer
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is David Bernstein the former FA man ?
UTV
The Doc
Yes and Man City
cheers itbrvilla....just looked him up :)
UTV
The Doc
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With the exception of Fox, I'd say we've got a stronger team in boardroom than on the pitch.
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Bernstein sits on the boards of a number of public companies, including fashion label Ted Baker and restaurant chain Carluccio's.
No Carluccio's in Aston, just bring back VFM please.
new kit suppliers, Ted Baker ? ;)
UTV
The Doc
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Is David Bernstein one of the family that founded Granada Television? If so, blue chip pedigree.
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Better late than never.
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Welcome home Sir Brian.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
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Thought Brian was head of Jersey FA?
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I'll bet a pound that bringing Brian in was Merv's idea.
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(http://i2.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article4728479.ece/ALTERNATES/s1023/Brian-Little-in-mid-air.jpg)
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This is good news. It's actually quite reassuring that they finally have a couple of people, especially of their calibre, with experience of football in there.
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So our Board is now:
Former Governor of the Bank of England
Former Chairman of the FA
Villa Legend Sir Brian Little
Former Head of KPMG in the Midlands
Tom Fox
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Will we get a Jack Woodward interview with Bernstein?
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I'd put these 2 down as the first 'total' input from Hollis, so Bernstein as CFO (I assume he'll replace the guy who left a month or so back) and Little as the sporting director we've all been asking for. Alongside Hollis and King that's quite a big change in the boardroom in 3 months.
What I'd also suspect is that each of them will be given a couple of months to settle in and evaluate the club before we see another big round of changes come the end of the season with lots of coaching and scouting roles being replaced at that point. I'd hope we keep Garde and the staff he wants and let him do a similar job on the playing squad. If so I think it could feel like a very different club by August (and despite us likely being in the championship I mean that in a positive way)
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Welcome home Sir Brian.
I agree welcome home.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
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Former Aston Villa player and manager Brian Little is to be part of a boardroom shake-up at Villa Park.
The 62-year-old Villa legend has been lined up to join the board, along with former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein, reports BBC WM.
They are to become the latest boardroom appointments by chairman Steve Hollis, who brought in Lord Mervyn King in February.
The Premier League's bottom club have yet to confirm the appointments.
But it is understood that confirmation will arrive in the coming days.
The moves mark a step towards a more football-orientated board, following on from the appointment of Lord King, the former governor of the Bank of England and a Villa supporter.
He was the first to be brought in by Birmingham businessman Hollis.
Little was a player for a decade at Villa Park, winning one cap for England before injuries wrecked his career.
He then made a successful return to the club as manager between 1994 and 1998, leading them to the League Cup and twice achieving top-five finishes for the club, who have been part of the Premier League since it was formed in 1992.
Bernstein, 72, became chairman of the FA in 2011, a role he has also filled for Wembley Stadium Limited since 2008.
Villa are currently bottom of the Premier League, eights points clear of safety, ahead of Sunday's home date with Tottenham Hotspur.
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Will we get a Jack Woodward interview with Bernstein?
Chortle
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Some much needed good news
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Hopefully good appointments.
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(http://i2.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article4728479.ece/ALTERNATES/s1023/Brian-Little-in-mid-air.jpg)
That's the one PWS - get in there, we're saved!
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PWS is there one of his famous goal against QPR?
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At 60 with dodgy knees he's still probably quicker than Gabby.
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If the shit stirrers in the dressing room don't get the message from these two appointments they are even thicker than we think they are. If that is possible.
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PWS is there one of his famous goal against QPR?
Is this the one Brian?
(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article169661.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/brian-little-scores-598128640.jpg)
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Suddenly I start to feel positive about the future. Rebuilding begins!
UTV!
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The bright(er) future starts today. We hope. Now get rid of those other wankers.
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The bright(er) future starts today. We hope. Now get rid of those other wankers.
Yep. I might even get a season ticket for me and my lad. It would be my first since 1981-2!
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Likely to be anymore additions?
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Graham Taylor looked very bored yesterday when he was having lunch with (presumably) his wife yesterday at a garden centre on the Chester Road. He might also be interested.
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At 60 with dodgy knees he's still probably quicker than Gabby.
He should start up front against Spuds.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
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I hope all these guys are in good health, none are spring chickens apart from Fox (Fox and chickens is a bad recipe too, admittedly).
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Good news.
Bernstein knows the game inside out so at long last some real experience on board... and Sir Brian has done every other job he's had at the club well, so hopefully this one too.
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Graham Taylor looked very bored yesterday when he was having lunch with (presumably) his wife yesterday at a garden centre on the Chester Road. He might also be interested.
Oh yes please, Sir Graham tells it how it is
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Like Cropley & Shaw, injury stopped him before he reached his peak.
His team in '97 was the last time I saw a Villa team that looked and played like they belonged in the top 6. O'Neils's team were only imposters.
I just can't believe it's taken 10 years for Randy to learn that you need experienced football people to run a a football club.
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I just heard on the press conference that General Krooklock was knocking about the place this week. I won't get too excited just yet.
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I'm pressing the Like button
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Do we have enough chairs to go around the table?
Sounds like finally some sensible appointments.
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Much of the work has to start from the foundations of the club. I flip flop on Garde every day. There are some days I absolutely give up on the bloke, and then remind myself what a shit hand he was dealt. And not just the players but the complete gong show behind the scenes. I do wonder with the correct structure, whether we are in the PL or not, that he is in fact the right man for the job. Bringing in an actual chairman, Melvyn King, now Bernstein and Little are we finally looking to create the correct foundation for the club? And when I listened again to his press conference this morning, and the fact that he has offered his opinions, I do wonder if they are doing a lot of this to not just appease him, but give him the proper backing he needs? Such a shame that Randy and all of us have gotten so burnt in getting to this point. As was said earlier, if only this happened in 2008.
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Well this all seems very sensible, doesn't it?
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Well this all seems very sensible, doesn't it?
I know, Villa doing something right that has had across the board support from the fans, unheard of in recent times. I think I need a lie down. Not confirmed yet so I await some spanner in the works.
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It's a great move in as much as it gives the place and the fans a bit of a boost.
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I wonder if David Bernstein will be bringing his brother Elmer? It's about time we had some harmony around the place.
Welcome fella's, please do well for us.
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Ok, this is good news. Well done Randy & Board.
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Most of the signings and appointments have seemed sensible at the time, they just all turn to muck.
Let's hope these ones don't, welcome home Sir Brian Little
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I'm going to stick my head over the parapet here and say that this raises more questions than answers.
Brian is without doubt a legend here (a word ridiculously over used these days, but not in this case), but it's been a long time since he's been involved at the upper echelons of the game (even Championship level).
Also, is it for the right reasons? If there bringing him back to be a cheerleader, then there seems little point.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
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Really pleased with this. I said a couple of days ago we needed a football man on the board and thought Sir Brian would be up for it. At last the club do something right
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I'm going to stick my head over the parapet here and say that this raises more questions than answers.
Brian is without doubt a legend here (a word ridiculously over used these days, but not in this case), but it's been a long time since he's been involved at the upper echelons of the game (even Championship level).
Also, is it for the right reasons? If there bringing him back to be a cheerleader, then there seems little point.
It's not as if he's going to be taking training or offering tactical advice to Garde. He's on the board to advise of football-related matters, it's not as if he's completely shunned the game either, he co-commentates or is a pundit most weeks.
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The Board of Aston Villa Football Club has been conducting a review of all aspects of the operation of the Club. That review is continuing and to enhance this process the Board is pleased to announce two key appointments which will increase the football knowledge and experience available to the Club.
Firstly, David Bernstein CBE, former Chairman of the Football Association, will be joining the Board with immediate effect.
David was chairman of Manchester City Football Club from 1998 to 2003 and is hugely respected for the vital role he performed in helping stablise the Club and pave the way for the revival which has led to its success in recent years.
Secondly, we are also pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Little, former player and manager of Aston Villa, as an advisor to the Board.
Brian has deep knowledge and experience of the football world, both at home and abroad and is a well known and respected member of the Aston Villa family.
The Board promises its unswerving commitment to restoring the fortunes of Aston Villa. The Club has a great history and tradition that is respected throughout the football world and the Board fully recognises its responsibility to restore the Club's fortunes for our outstanding supporters. We are completely focused on the task of ensuring that the Club has a future worthy of its past.
Chairman Steve Hollis said: "I was delighted when David agreed to join the Board and when Brian likewise agreed to join as an advisor to the Board.
"From the initial findings in our review of the Club's operations it is clear that we need a Board that is equipped with the breadth of talent that will lead us to make better decisions.
"Both David's and Brian's experience will be invaluable in this respect."
David Bernstein said: "I am delighted to have been asked to join the Board of Aston Villa.
"This is a difficult time for the Club. However, having had detailed conversations with the Chairman and key personnel, I believe that those difficulties provide an opportunity for change and recovery.
"I have had 20 years' experience in football at Manchester City, Wembley Stadium, Chair of the FA and I hope to bring the benefits of this to Aston Villa.
"Aston Villa is a great club in English football and I will do all I can to help regain its place in the game."
Brian Little added: "I'm delighted to have been invited to assist the Board.
"I've held various roles at the football club over a 46 year period and I know my experience and love for the Club will help shape a positive future for Aston Villa."
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~5412335,00.html
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Great to have Sir Brian home - I'm sure someone has already said it but he can start against Spurs if he wants.
David Bernstein also seems a smart appointment - proven track record, good experience in the game.
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I'm going to stick my head over the parapet here and say that this raises more questions than answers.
Brian is without doubt a legend here (a word ridiculously over used these days, but not in this case), but it's been a long time since he's been involved at the upper echelons of the game (even Championship level).
Also, is it for the right reasons? If there bringing him back to be a cheerleader, then there seems little point.
It's not as if he's going to be taking training or offering tactical advice to Garde. He's on the board to advise of football-related matters, it's not as if he's completely shunned the game either, he co-commentates or is a pundit most weeks.
That's true as long as they actually listen if he criticises.
If it's being done to try act as a shield for them then I see little point in the appointment.
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Do you really believe he would have taken the job on if ultimately it was just an elaborate ruse to get fans onside? Let's be honest, it's going to take a bit more than Brian Little becoming an advisor to the board to turn around supporters' opinion after what's happened over the past 6 years or so, as foolish as some members of the board appear to be, I don't think even they would think otherwise.
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I'm going to stick my head over the parapet here and say that this raises more questions than answers.
Brian is without doubt a legend here (a word ridiculously over used these days, but not in this case), but it's been a long time since he's been involved at the upper echelons of the game (even Championship level).
Also, is it for the right reasons? If there bringing him back to be a cheerleader, then there seems little point.
It's a good move from the Board, regardless of Sir Brian's actual input - it's harder to shout "Sack the Board" when there's a bonafide Villa legend on it.
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I wanted a striker in. So pretty chuffed to get one of the best ever.
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I would have preferred to have seen Graham Taylor back but it is a small step in the right direction.He would have made a difference. I am not sure Brian Little is forceful enough.
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I'm going to stick my head over the parapet here and say that this raises more questions than answers.
Brian is without doubt a legend here (a word ridiculously over used these days, but not in this case), but it's been a long time since he's been involved at the upper echelons of the game (even Championship level).
Also, is it for the right reasons? If there bringing him back to be a cheerleader, then there seems little point.
It's a good move from the Board, regardless of Sir Brian's actual input - it's harder to shout "Sack the Board" when there's a bonafide Villa legend on it.
Sir Graham's legendary status didn't stop him from being booed at the end of his return season, so I don't think having a villa great as an advisor to the board is going to stop the dissent if they continue making clusterfucks of decisions.
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Even though the appointment of Little will probably be the most eye catching for the fans I think Bernstein's appointment is the most shrewd. Hopefully our turnaround will start by winning the Championship. It's good to see this review is actually bearing some fruit.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
T'other way round for me.
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Also to be fair to him Hollis's statement seemed sensible. Maybe he is not a complete loss after all.
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Good stuff. Better late than never I suppose (through gritted teeth).
Quite. I wonder how things might look now had this been done in 2008.
Spot on.
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Happy with both appointments to the board, just need some decent player appointments in the summer.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
T'other way round for me.
Me too.
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Excellent news and for once hopefully two bloody good appointments.
We certainly need something to cheer about so bringing Sir Brian back had made me smile. Welcome back Sir.
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Good stuff. Better late than never I suppose (through gritted teeth).
Quite. I wonder how things might look now had this been done in 2008.
Spot on.
Hard to know what may have happened, but it's an intriguing thought. There's no way in hell o'neill would have stood for someone like Little advising the board.
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Even though the appointment of Little will probably be the most eye catching for the fans I think Bernstein's appointment is the most shrewd. Hopefully our turnaround will start by winning the Championship. It's good to see this review is actually bearing some fruit.
Agree totally. Little is the romantic appointment, but nonetheless a useful one as it gives the board a member whose name and reputation resonates with the fans. However, Bernstein is exactly what we've been missing since Steve Stride left: someone who knows who to talk to, to trust and schmooze in the corridors of footballing power. Nor should his role in turning around the fortunes of another fallen giant be underestimated. I feel far more optimistic about the duration we might have to spend in the wilderness than I did 24 hours ago when the accounts were being discussed.
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Welcome home Sir Brian.
I agree welcome home.
This all over! It'll be great to have Little back at Villa.
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Well well well we didn't see these in the accounts yesterday. Good appointments at last.
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Like Cropley & Shaw, injury stopped him before he reached his peak.
His team in '97 was the last time I saw a Villa team that looked and played like they belonged in the top 6. O'Neils's team were only imposters.
I just can't believe it's taken 10 years for Randy to learn that you need experienced football people to run a a football club.
He hasn't. But Hollis has apparently figured it out and found 2 potentially great appointments inside 4 months.
If this is a taste of Randy being completely hands off, bring it on. (That statement will of course result in a disastrous summer transfer window)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
What a great picture - Giddy, Andy and Sir Brian!
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Great appointment, let get another ex player on board as well. Sir Dennis Mortimer ;)
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This is the first bit of Villa news to put a smile on my face in months.
This should put paid to any lingering suspicion that they are happy to coast. Proof of the pudding and all that but it seems we are at least trying to do it right.
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The question now is what self serving dead wood will now be culled?
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
T'other way round for me.
Me too.
McGrath's the best, Little's the greatest.
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I love being involved with the Trust sometimes!
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So we gone for a board of a few to many in the space of a couple of months?
Interesting to hear from Remi today that Krulak has been at the club this week.
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I would guess that Krulak was there to motivate. He is a very inspirational speaker.
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I just can't believe it's taken 10 years for Randy to learn that you need experienced football people to run a a football club.
Did Randy appoint them?
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Brian Little walks on water. Welcome back.
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So we gone for a board of a few to many in the space of a couple of months?
Let's hope there will soon be one fewer!
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No nonsense from Steve Hollis so far. Feels much more positive. Now for the playing side to get sorted. Garde, are you in or out? Hopefully, if it's out, this board will select the right man to take over.
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I think they have more business and football sense at the top now than in ten years or more. Bernstein looks a bit of a master stroke in fairness.
It shows well on Hollis too. He had clearly seen the issue and is dealing with it.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
What a great picture - Giddy, Andy and Sir Brian!
And a very sad Emlyn Hughes
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So we gone for a board of a few to many in the space of a couple of months?
This suggests that a few of the directors will be out the door very soon. Fox is almost certainly heaving for the exit door, and the meddling pair of Reilly and Almstadt probably too.
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There's far too many football people making football decisions on this board. Where are the finance people?! Oh Bernsteins an Accountant.
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The appointment of Bernstein may prove to be the more important but, if the third coming of Brian Little means he can be part of something as successful as the previous twice, he was with the club he may qualify as being the subject of some kind of quasi-religious text.
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I f"""""g love Sir Brian
I actually love hollis too , Such a shame was an awesome song
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Brian Little walks on water. Welcome back.
La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La
Hopefully that's the right number of La's!
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So we gone for a board of a few to many in the space of a couple of months?
This suggests that a few of the directors will be out the door very soon. Fox is almost certainly heaving for the exit door, and the meddling pair of Reilly and Almstadt probably too.
Reilly and Almstadt aren't members of the board.
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From the Beeb.
'Little goes straight into Villa's starting line up for the vital clash with Tottenham on Sunday.'
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
What a great picture - Giddy, Andy and Sir Brian!
And a very sad Emlyn Hughes
Thats the 5-1 game I think. Just too young to remember it myself, but my dad told me about it. One of the greatest games at VP.
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I just can't believe it's taken 10 years for Randy to learn that you need experienced football people to run a a football club.
Did Randy appoint them?
I'm totally guessing but they seem like the kind of logical appointments that someone who knows the club and who is well connected with senior administrators might suggest. A former Bank of England guv'nor , for example
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THE greatest game I ever witnessed at Villa Park. Breathless doesn't come anywhere near. When you hear the modernists talking about total football, refer them to the first 45 minutes of that match and then tell 'em, "that's something else the Villa invented".
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
What a great picture - Giddy, Andy and Sir Brian!
And a very sad Emlyn Hughes
Thats the 5-1 game I think. Just too young to remember it myself, but my dad told me about it. One of the greatest games at VP.
Yes, indeed the 5-1 game against Liverpool in Dec 1976. I saw every home game in 76-77 but missed that game! Fabulous times.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
Thanks Dave. I've always had the sense I missed the truly special renaissance years.
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THE greatest game I ever witnessed at Villa Park. Breathless doesn't come anywhere near. When you hear the modernists talking about total football, refer them to the first 45 minutes of that match and then tell 'em, "that's something else the Villa invented".
Spot on, Dave. Still rates as my favourite live game as a Villa fan, notwithstanding the League Cup semi vs Manure and the 1981 league-winning games.
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THE greatest game I ever witnessed at Villa Park. Breathless doesn't come anywhere near. When you hear the modernists talking about total football, refer them to the first 45 minutes of that match and then tell 'em, "that's something else the Villa invented".
You're right there. What a season 76-77 was. Thrashed Arsenal 5-1, Ipswich 6-2, Baggies 4-0, Man Utd 3-2, Derby 4-0, West Ham 4-0 all at home! Too many cup games prevented us from lifting the title that season. Best time ever as a Villa fan.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
There was a wiry power about Villa then - an electricity ran through us and players busted a gut to win the ball in midfield, get crosses in, makes runs and we had some of the bravest forwards ever to grace English football. When you walked up to VP you BELIEVED!
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
Yes, Dave, perfect summary! I'm glad I was able to witness such a great era. Still think on its day that the 76-77 team was the most exciting Villa side ever.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
What a great picture - Giddy, Andy and Sir Brian!
And a very sad Emlyn Hughes
Thats the 5-1 game I think. Just too young to remember it myself, but my dad told me about it. One of the greatest games at VP.
Yes, indeed the 5-1 game against Liverpool in Dec 1976. I saw every home game in 76-77 but missed that game! Fabulous times.
Yeah all correct, I was lucky enough (and obviously old enough) to have been there that glorious night...
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Like Cropley & Shaw, injury stopped him before he reached his peak.
His team in '97 was the last time I saw a Villa team that looked and played like they belonged in the top 6. O'Neils's team were only imposters.
I just can't believe it's taken 10 years for Randy to learn that you need experienced football people to run a a football club.
He hasn't. But Hollis has apparently figured it out and found 2 potentially great appointments inside 4 months.
If this is a taste of Randy being completely hands off, bring it on. (That statement will of course result in a disastrous summer transfer window)
I wouldn't understimate the effect that King has had at the club. The guys a Villa fan and I hope hes putting a good argument forward for common sense
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
It makes yer proud.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
Yes, Dave, perfect summary! I'm glad I was able to witness such a great era. Still think on its day that the 76-77 team was the most exciting Villa side ever.
Totally agree THE BEST VILLA team I have since I have seen, that includes the 80/81/81
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Probably the most exciting but 1980-81 were a better all-round team.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
the 76/77 team was the best villa side i have ever watched
belief and a ridiculous amount of attacking flair
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I think I caught a glimpse of myself on that. I loved the old Witton End. We got all the Villa goals down there in that Liverpool match.
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First bit of good news I've heard from the Villa for a while.
My dad will be chuffed to bits, he who walks on water is back. I loved him as a manager here too, never had the pleasure of watching him weave his magic. He never really took off elsewhere and I'd like to think that was because his heart was never in anything else but Aston Villa.
Welcome back Brian, we need you.
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If we'd have kept Gray and Gidman, and Little didn't get injured (and didn't sign for Small Heath as he was going to), I wonder if we'd have still won the League and European Cup?
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That bloody league cup 3 X semis and 3 X finals. Too many matches otherwise I think things may have turned out different
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Too Little too late.
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Maybe I'm not reading the club statement properly, but it appears Sir Brian is not joining the board, he is acting as an advisor to the board. They would be smart to actually appoint him properly instead fannying around with an advisor role.
I'm also wondering if Bernstein will take over from Hollis as Chairman after the pillar-to-post review of the club has been completed and the necessary changes made.
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If we'd have kept Gray and Gidman, and Little didn't get injured (and didn't sign for Small Heath as he was going to), I wonder if we'd have still won the League and European Cup?
Probably not. I don't even think we'd have won the European Cup if Ron Saunders had stayed. We'll never know. Just me parking in a different place one game or wearing the wrong socks could have changed history!
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I agree with others here that the 76/77 team was the best I've seen, but the 80/81 side were also exciting to watch and clearly had some extra ingredient.
It should also be remembered that as brilliant as the 76/77 side was at home, it was often a very different story away.
In both those seasons though we were up against the best team in Europe, and that shouldn't be overlooked. That was one hell of a Liverpool team we dumped 5-1.
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Sir Brian has some commitments with Jersey doesn't he? At least when he's required in B6 he can just walk across the water.
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When I see some of the references to the 76/77 side and the footage, I could bloody weep!
We were a wonderful, attacking side, the best in the league.
I missed the Liverpool game - it was my works Christmas do and I was told I had to be there or else...the only home game I missed all season...I remember phoning VP after 30 minutes and being told that we were winning 3-0...the 2 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' fans on my table wouldn't believe me, obviously.
When I got the full-time score I sat there like an idiot wallowing in the satisfaction that my team were the best in the land and that none of the silly, ignorant buggers in the same room had got the message - yet!
I bloody love Aston Villa!
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
I was there that night, as well as the other great nights that season, and that photograph is truly a thing of beauty.
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Liverpool were at their most dangerous when they were behind. No they weren't.
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When I see some of the references to the 76/77 side and the footage, I could bloody weep!
We were a wonderful, attacking side, the best in the league.
I missed the Liverpool game - it was my works Christmas do and I was told I had to be there or else...the only home game I missed all season...I remember phoning VP after 30 minutes and being told that we were winning 3-0...the 2 'The Mighty Reds YNWA' fans on my table wouldn't believe me, obviously.
When I got the full-time score I sat there like an idiot wallowing in the satisfaction that my team were the best in the land and that none of the silly, ignorant buggers in the same room had got the message - yet!
I bloody love Aston Villa!
Ditto
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Liverpool were at their most dangerous when they were behind. No they weren't.
We absolutely bloody stuffed 'em, for all Paisley's pronouncements later. The better team by a million miles!
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
I was there that night, as well as the other great nights that season, and that photograph is truly a thing of beauty.
I wasn't there but that photograph is indeed, a thing of great beauty!
Andy Gray's joy at Sir Brian scoring, granted, but Giddy's confident swagger and arms aloft says it all for me.
We were fucking ace!
No ifs, no buts!
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(http://i4.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article10878534.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Aston-Villa-v-Liverpool-1976-16.jpg)
(http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/aston-villa-striker-brian-little-celebrates-after-scoring-one-of-his-picture-id509201570)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYWXQUjWsAAymeG.jpg)
I was there that night, as well as the other great nights that season, and that photograph is truly a thing of beauty.
That picture - and I am far too young to remember by a couple of years or so - is perfect.
3 Villa Players celebrating, whilst the England Captain (I think he was at the time) looks disconsolate and a monstrous number of people in the Holte End in the background.
I remember a Saturday evening a few months later and my folk's finest neighbour giving me a match day program with Little on the front and his wife telling me watch Star Soccer tomorrow as Andy Gray scored two goals. He responded never mind him watch the fella who set them up and ran the game.
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now that's what I call a manager.....2 fantastic teams within FOUR years.....
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
There was a wiry power about Villa then - an electricity ran through us and players busted a gut to win the ball in midfield, get crosses in, makes runs and we had some of the bravest forwards ever to grace English football. When you walked up to VP you BELIEVED!
Spot on. Villa Park was a fortress back then and going a goal down merely stirred us into action. The best season for atmosphere at Villa Park in my life, and a real bond between players and fans- all forged by a manager with a clear sense of purpose. That night v Liverpool was truly unbelievable - it would be like leading Barca or Real 5-1 at half time now. The closest I can think of to compare would be that Brazil v Germany World Cup semi final first half two years ago.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
It makes yer proud.
It's like watching us now, except we are Portsmouth
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Sorry to be late to add my welcome to Brian. As well as the epic slaughter of Liverpool my abiding memory of the great man is the semi final defeat of QPR at Highbury. He scored an imperious hat trick as we swept them aside and got a bonus of a glimpse of Sid coming on as sub for Frank Carrodus. It was either the second or third of Brian's goals that was a classic. Right in front of the Villa support he collected the ball on the left corner of the penalty box, shimmied and plonked the ball in the top right corner of the goal. Such memories.
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Sorry to be late to add my welcome to Brian. As well as the epic slaughter of Liverpool my abiding memory of the great man is the semi final defeat of QPR at Highbury. He scored an imperious hat trick as we swept them aside and got a bonus of a glimpse of Sid coming on as sub for Frank Carrodus. It was either the second or third of Brian's goals that was a classic. Right in front of the Villa support he collected the ball on the left corner of the penalty box, shimmied and plonked the ball in the top right corner of the goal. Such memories.
God, yes: that night was amazing - happy days.
When asked, I usually say that He Who Walks on Water was the best player I ever watched. Unfortunately for many, he is not an obvious choice and - because he spent much of his career below the top tier - they assume I'm simply wearing my c&b specs.
Oh well, their loss!
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Credit where credit is due, some good news for a change.
All we need now is for Gabby to be hit by a meteorite and we can claim the insurance money (in our situation every £1.25 helps).
Lets hope this spells the end, or the beginning of the end for Fox, Almstadt and Reilly.
Sad it has taken so long and that so much power was given to the "Muppet Squad."
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Sorry to be late to add my welcome to Brian. As well as the epic slaughter of Liverpool my abiding memory of the great man is the semi final defeat of QPR at Highbury. He scored an imperious hat trick as we swept them aside and got a bonus of a glimpse of Sid coming on as sub for Frank Carrodus. It was either the second or third of Brian's goals that was a classic. Right in front of the Villa support he collected the ball on the left corner of the penalty box, shimmied and plonked the ball in the top right corner of the goal. Such memories.
Have to agree on the Highbury night as an absolute highlight. Only eclipsed by his brace in the final final Final at Old Trafford. That winner is still my favourite Villa moment in over 40 years as Sir Brian ghosts in, adjusts his weight so he doesn't sky it and slots home! I have a signed poster of it in front of me now.
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I posted this before. I was at that Highbury semi-final and remember it with clarity. I stood at the Clock End but, I'm buggered if I can remember how I travelled there or back. Anyone out there can help me?
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Finally something positive! Brian Little will always be a club legend, not just for what he did in his playing days, but for producing my favourite Villa team since I've been watching them. :) Yes I'm younger than most of you just deal with it! ;D
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I posted this before. I was at that Highbury semi-final and remember it with clarity. I stood at the Clock End but, I'm buggered if I can remember how I travelled there or back. Anyone out there can help me?
We went by BR Football Special.
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
It makes yer proud.
It's like watching us now, except we are Portsmouth
I recognise the team but not the game they play.
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The only thing that scares me about Sir Brian is that by the time he leaves again all his hair might have fallen out from the stress of working with our board ;)
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For a man of my tender years my heroes were Shaw, Morley, Withe et al. For the seniors, before you shuffle off, can you explain the essence of the mid to late '70s? Little, Graydon, Gidman, Deehan - what did we miss out on?
Style, flair, belief and the certain knowledge that the opposition were going to get battered.
It makes yer proud.
It's like watching us now, except we are Portsmouth
I recognise the team but not the game they play.
Calling the detectives, for whom were the black armbands being worn for? I didn't realize this mark of respect was happening back then.
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I think it was a few days after the Birmingham pub bombings on 21 November 1974
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I think our board is shaping up very nicely indeed. Big club thinking for once. I feel much more reassured than I have for years that things will be done appropriately.
Plus if Garde goes we've at least got people in place who'll know what they are doing good replace him.
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Welcome Brian Little much needed football nous. The Villa LiverpooL best game I've ever seen at VillA Park it wasn't the win that made it special ,it was the score ,it seemed every time we attacked in the first half we would score. I was lucky to be behind the goal on the Witton end that night surrounded by LiverpooL supporters ,it's not often you say that. It certainly made up for the many bad displays that I had seen since 1959.
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I think our board is shaping up very nicely indeed. Big club thinking for once. I feel much more reassured than I have for years that things will be done appropriately.
Plus if Garde goes we've at least got people in place who'll know what they are doing good replace him.
Was thinking the same. I have no doubt that we'll still drop, but I have a lot more faith now that we will do things appropriately off the pitch to give ourselves the best chance possible of coming straight back up.
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At last. It has taken us 10 years to realise that we need football nous at the top of the club. Like everybody I love Brian Little but Bernstein could well turn out to be the ace in the hole.
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At last. It has taken us 10 years to realise that we need football nous at the top of the club. Like everybody I love Brian Little but Bernstein could well turn out to be the ace in the hole.
or the Oscar (Hector) in the Barry :)
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Very pleased with these appointments, bringing both knowledge of the club and the modern game. As others have lamented, pity we didn't make this move a few years ago.
Just watching that clip of us vs Pompey makes you realise how little movement and first time balls there are in our current team, oh for just a quarter of the talent that we had back then.
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We have two men who genuinely care and understand about Aston Villa. That hasn't happened in the Randy Lerner era and you have to where we would be if we had someone on the board that got it. Let alone two individuals.
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All my happy days associated with this great Club always always have something to do with Brian Little. FA Youth Cup win, years in the second when strength and success kept building up, the League Cup wins and then the team he managed. Yes to put a smile on my way I always go back to Brian time except for the small interlude of winning the League and the European Cup. I somehow think he naturally belonged in that team as well but...
Welcome back Brian.
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David Bernstein is an excellent appointment. We have a proper heavy weight football board now. Next fix the team.
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It would be good to think Jack Grealish might read this thread. He could observe the journey of a lad from the youth team to admired and revered member of the Villa board, praised and glorified. If he buckled down and stopped acting the goat it could be him in forty years time.
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I think I caught a glimpse of myself on that. I loved the old Witton End. We got all the Villa goals down there in that Liverpool match.
Ha! I used to pester my Dad all the time about us going in the Holte instead of the Witton End, I'd only been in the Holte once, against Arsenal in the Sammy Morgan cup game. That night against Liverpool, my Dad just looked at me and said, "The Holte End, eh?" and winked.
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Just heard the news and for the first time in ages, had to head straight to H&V and the Heroes Discussion section, and with a smile too.
Two excellent appointments and exactly what many of have been calling for. I have much more faith in this review with those two on board, figuratively and literally!
The recovery starts here !
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This news has given me some hope for the future where previously I had none. Of the two I think at the moment that Bernstein is the most important and he could be crucial in restructuring the administration at the top of the club. Get that right and the rest will follow. However, as he is 71 years old I don't expect him to be around long term, but he could be vital with his contacts in recruiting the right younger people to run the various departments.
Pleased to see Little in as adviser to the Board. He could also act as a "sounding board" for Garde if the latter wants it. Garde is a puzzle to me at present. A good manager in the right place at the wrong time - a bit like Joe Mercer - or bad? In his defence (1) the squad is not his choice (2) he has not been able to bring in the assistants he wanted. Whether he can or not after this season ends could decide whether he stays or goes.
Anyway hoping this is the start of the revival of AVFC, let "Operation Lionheart" commence !!
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It would be good to think Jack Grealish might read this thread. He could observe the journey of a lad from the youth team to admired and revered member of the Villa board, praised and glorified. If he buckled down and stopped acting the goat it could be him in forty years time.
Trouble is reports in today's press suggest he'll be out the door in the summer. Hopefully his Dad will tell him a few stories about Sir Brian and how he could follow in his footsteps. Hopefully not by starting in the 3rd Division and working up!
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I cant really add anything more to the comments already made but It just feels nice to be able to post on a positive thread.
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Since hearing this news yesterday, I've felt like I do after we've had a good win. I've smiled a bit and was able to patronise two Manure fans on two separate occasions this morning.
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The football knowledge from these two and specifically the football administration knowledge from Burnstein in particular is, as others have said, what we've lacked on the board since Stride called it a day.
It has actually given me some confidence that there is now a hand on the tiller.
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It would be good to think Jack Grealish might read this thread. He could observe the journey of a lad from the youth team to admired and revered member of the Villa board, praised and glorified. If he buckled down and stopped acting the goat it could be him in forty years time.
Trouble is reports in today's press suggest he'll be out the door in the summer. Hopefully his Dad will tell him a few stories about Sir Brian and how he could follow in his footsteps. Hopefully not by starting in the 3rd Division and working up!
and maybe we could induce him further with a 5yr 40k/wk contract. Or maybe we shouldn't give a shit.
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Who was Villa's number seven in that Portsmouth video? Sparkling player!
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Who was Villa's number seven in that Portsmouth video? Sparkling player!
Graydon. He could probably still do a better job than our current bunch.
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Who was Villa's number seven in that Portsmouth video? Sparkling player!
Graydon. He could probably still do a better job than our current bunch.
Jesus saves and Graydon scores on the rebound.
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Pace, movement, tempo, three features of attacking play we lack.
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And very strong physically. Ray was not a player to be bullied.
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This is the first bit of good news for a long while.
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Brian Little is an ideal person to bring in. He has done it as a player and done it as a manager. He knows what 'good' looks like. Even better, he has done it at Villa. He came to the club as a youngster and worked himself up through the levels to become a true Villa hero, with greatness only curtailed by injury. He could be a great inspiration for the young players because he can say he has been there and done it.
I always thought that Brian was too nice a guy to manage at the top for long but as an advisor he will recognise things that are not right but not the one that has to pull the trigger.
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And very strong physically. Ray was not a player to be bullied.
Before my time as a player but did a really good job managing Walsall.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
T'other way round for me.
Me too.
McGrath's the best, Little's the greatest.
Quite ironic as God didn't have much good to say about Brians time as manager if you read his book.
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I agree with others here that the 76/77 team was the best I've seen, but the 80/81 side were also exciting to watch and clearly had some extra ingredient.
It should also be remembered that as brilliant as the 76/77 side was at home, it was often a very different story away.
In both those seasons though we were up against the best team in Europe, and that shouldn't be overlooked. That was one hell of a Liverpool team we dumped 5-1.
I was fortunate to be there as 17 year old with my dad and his mates. I recall one who was always nervous before a game going thru the programme , looking at the top internationals Liverpool had in the team saying we would be lucky to get anything out of it.
The first half was breathtaking. Needless to say we could not maintain that level in the second half but people realised something special was happening at Villa.
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
Comyn is still trying to untangle his legs now after what Barnes did to him.
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
Charlie Young?
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Charlie Young.
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
Charlie Young?
Is the correct answer.
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Well I'd welcome Sir Brian back in any capacity, but advisor to the board is a bit different to actually being a director, and it will depend on what and how often he is asked to consult on.
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Brian is a quiet, hugely experienced man of exemplary character, I would expect them to consult him frequently on a wide range of football related matters.
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I'd be on the phone to him every bloody hour, if I had the chance. He'd be sick of hearing from me, but I bet he'd never let it show.
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I'd have just made him manager. With Johnny G as well.
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It's only words but 'advisor' could be better than director. On the board he would be one voice amongst six but advising them they will be wanting to listen to him.
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And culpable if it ever became know that they went against his advice with the result that it went tits up.
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Mervyn King will know exactly what Brian Little means to Aston Villa. They will listen to him and it's why he's been persuaded to join.
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It's only words but 'advisor' could be better than director. On the board he would be one voice amongst six but advising them they will be wanting to listen to him.
It's much easier to ignore advisors than it is other directors. That is if they end up asking him anything at all. The cynic in me thinks this is an easy stunt to quiet the fans.
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Brian Little walks on water, true club legend with two league cup medals from his time with us as a player and a league cup win as manager to boot. Comes across as an absolute gent in interviews too.
Bernstein is an interesting one, 72 now but credited with Man City's revival in the early 2000's when they got back in the top flight. Hope he's still got the energy required to overhaul this proud club.
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David's brother is sir howard bernstein I believe, chief exec of manc city council
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I'm sure that this is only going to be good, but I definitely remember seeing that bringing in Wilkins, Fox, Almstadt, Black, Keane, Garde and many others was the Appointment That Showed That We Were Doing Things Properly At Last.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
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David's brother is sir howard bernstein I believe, chief exec of manc city council
Nephew of Leonard Bernstein.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
They're doing what's been demanded for years and it's window dressing. What exactly would you want them to do?
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
Charlie Young?
Is the correct answer.
I am ashamed to say I neither remember a Charlie Young playing for us nor that he was in the team that night.
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So who played next to Leighton Phillips in central defence when Gray,Little and Deehan were taking Phil Thompson and Emlyn Hughes apart? He was little known
but it was.......
Andy Comyn. Easy. :o
Charlie Young?
Is the correct answer.
I am ashamed to say I neither remember a Charlie Young playing for us nor that he was in the team that night.
That surprised me, I was there that night but have no recollection of Mr Young.
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Those pictures of Brian make my heart swell with pride and at the same time loss at times gone past. He was, in a unique Villa context, magic. My one-way time machine ticket is booked for 1976.
Do well Brian.
is the room for a stowaway? I never saw Brian play, but my brother did and his description was simple: the best player he ever saw including Best etc...
BL was s Villa great but just behind the God McGrath
T'other way round for me.
Me too.
McGrath's the best, Little's the greatest.
Nicely put.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
They're doing what's been demanded for years and it's window dressing. What exactly would you want them to do?
Oh Dave... you poor misguided fool.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
They're doing what's been demanded for years and it's window dressing. What exactly would you want them to do?
Oh Dave... you poor misguided fool.
Really? In what way? Do tell me how I'm misguided and a fool for seeing the appointments of a) a respected football man and b) one of the three or four most respected Villa men of all as anything other than a good move. I'd love to know.
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What the hell is Brian Little going to do? 10 years ago he might have been relevant. It's too little to late. You're so blinded by beer and sandwiches in days gone by that you can't see what's in front of your face.
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
They're doing what's been demanded for years and it's window dressing. What exactly would you want them to do?
Oh Dave... you poor misguided fool.
Really? In what way? Do tell me how I'm misguided and a fool for seeing the appointments of a) a respected football man and b) one of the three or four most respected Villa men of all as anything other than a good move. I'd love to know.
Dave I think this is a trust issue more than anything else. Many of us cannot quite believe that it is all going to turn around and be OK after telling the Owner/Board for years what we think might be a good idea. It is a bit of a shallow move when we are all but relegated and looking at a season in the Championship so hoping that crowds don't fall, shirts are still sold etc.
You are absolutely correct in your what you say and I do not believe you are misguided or a fool - but you may be a little too trusting? I for one hope this is a sea change in attitude.
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If the club has any sense at all they will use Sir Brian as something of a mouthpiece for us. The communication between club and fans needs to get a whole lot better. The fans will certainly listen to him.
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What the hell is Brian Little going to do? 10 years ago he might have been relevant. It's too little to late. You're so blinded by beer and sandwiches in days gone by that you can't see what's in front of your face.
How about for starters he sets in motion what we should be doing in the future. What we should be doing now? Lays in place some plans that the club can adhere to. You seem to be so wise, what exactly would you do? Who would you have appointed? Or maybe we should just turn the lights off at Villa Park and simply give up?
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What the hell is Brian Little going to do? 10 years ago he might have been relevant. It's too little to late. You're so blinded by beer and sandwiches in days gone by that you can't see what's in front of your face.
Brian Little is, hopefully, going to provide us with the benefit of the experience that comes from a lifetime in football, and most of that time closer to the psyche of the club than just about anyone else has been. The time when that proves not to be the case will be the time to criticise; until then I shall see this for the positive move most of us believe it to be. I'll ignore your final sentence as I haven't got any idea what it means.
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If the club has any sense at all they will use Sir Brian as something of a mouthpiece for us. The communication between club and fans needs to get a whole lot better. The fans will certainly listen to him.
Absolutely. I've been saying for years that we need, for want of a better phrase, a patriarchal figure who can ease the rift between fans and club, talk to and be respected by the press and do the sort of ambassadorial role that Sir Booby RIP does at Theatre of Dreams.
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He certainly isn't going to be able to advise on anything that's going to make a difference to this season, but it will get Lerner off the hook to a certain extent, which I suspect is the only reason it's been announced now. I an glad he's here, but would like to know more details of what his role entails.
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If you think Brian Little is the answer you don't understand the question. He may be Villa through and through but he has has no recent experience in current football. What would I do? I'd sack current management team. I'd get ready for 5 years in the Championship. Appoint a hard nosed manager capable of bloodying a few noses. I'd spend 5 years sorting out Bodymoor Heath. Then I might think about reinvesting in the playing staff.
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If you think Brian Little is the answer you don't understand the question. He may be Villa through and through but he has has no recent experience in current football. What would I do? I'd sack current management team. I'd get ready for 5 years in the Championship. Appoint a hard nosed manager capablw of bloodying a few noses. I'd spend 5 years sorting out Bodymoor Heath. Then I might think about reinvesting in the playing staff.
No-one is saying that he's the answer to anything, but he may be a small but significant part of the answer and that's what I welcome. Five years without buying players - that's an original idea.
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Yes Dave I really think we shouldn't buy a player for five years 🙄. What I mean is we should sort out our infrastructure. Obviously we have to stay afloat in the meantime.
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
And I hate to break it to you, but he's been working in the game ever since then so he probably knows a thing or two about it.
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
And I hate to break it to you, but he's been working in the game ever since then so he probably knows a thing or two about it.
Keep backing that horse Dave. Unfortunately it's nowhere.
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
And I hate to break it to you, but he's been working in the game ever since then so he probably knows a thing or two about it.
Keep backing that horse Dave. Unfortunately it's nowhere.
Whatever makes you happy.
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Stirchley, are you saying that you'd sack the current management team, appoint a new manager with the aim of making us stand still, in the Championship, for five years? Surely that change of management would be a forward thinking step to get us back quicker, even if we spend no money, as you seem to be suggesting?
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And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
And I hate to break it to you, but he's been working in the game ever since then so he probably knows a thing or two about it.
Keep backing that horse Dave. Unfortunately it's nowhere.
Whatever makes you happy.
No one would love it more than me if BL rode in on a white horse and saved us all. Unfortunately it's not going to happen. Whoever is pulling the strings at VP has seen a last ditch opportunity to appease the fans and brought him in. I'll tell you what... mark this day in your diary and PM me in a years time and tell me how fantastically we're doing. If we're still crap I'll give you a pass and let you gloat in two years. I'll bet you we will still be having the same conversations as we are now.
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Stirchley, are you saying that you'd sack the current management team, appoint a new manager with the aim of making us stand still, in the Championship, for five years? Surely that change of management would be a forward thinking step to get us back quicker, even if we spend no money, as you seem to be suggesting?
Sorry your post makes no sense.
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Stirchley, are you saying that you'd sack the current management team, appoint a new manager with the aim of making us stand still, in the Championship, for five years? Surely that change of management would be a forward thinking step to get us back quicker, even if we spend no money, as you seem to be suggesting?
Sorry your post makes no sense.
I suggest you reread what you posted on the previous page and amend it. Get ready for five years in the Championship you said, select a manager to bloody noses, but select someone who is happy to stay in the Championship and spend no money? Not sure I agree with your strategy but each to their own I guess. May I ask, which manager would you choose? I presume you don't want to stick with Garde?
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As much as we all love Sir Brian, I think it will make no difference. Why isn't he an employee or proper board member? To me it's similar to when Krulak was on all the fan sites. A quick and easy sop for the fans to take the pressure off Lerner.
Probably because he hasn't got the time to be an employee or director.
Window dressing I suppose.
They're doing what's been demanded for years and it's window dressing. What exactly would you want them to do?
Oh Dave... you poor misguided fool.
Really? In what way? Do tell me how I'm misguided and a fool for seeing the appointments of a) a respected football man and b) one of the three or four most respected Villa men of all as anything other than a good move. I'd love to know.
Dave I think this is a trust issue more than anything else. Many of us cannot quite believe that it is all going to turn around and be OK after telling the Owner/Board for years what we think might be a good idea. It is a bit of a shallow move when we are all but relegated and looking at a season in the Championship so hoping that crowds don't fall, shirts are still sold etc.
You are absolutely correct in your what you say and I do not believe you are misguided or a fool - but you may be a little too trusting? I for one hope this is a sea change in attitude.
I wholeheartedly agree with the move but this is it for me. I'm too cynical to not think it. I wish I was less cynical to be honest as I'd enjoy things more. Glad SBL is on (advisor to the) board.
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Why does someone with the experience Little has need to have been a manager in the last 10 years?
Brian Marwood - with next to no coaching experience advised the Man City board for a long time. Leicester have a director of football that was an academy coach.
The Spurs board is mainly financial people, with their director of football operations being someone that worked for QPR previously and is not, and was not a manager etc in the last 10 years.
The difference with Villa now is that we have the genuine financial expertise in Hollis, King and Bernstein that we have not had at all previously, and on top of that there is a realisation that there is not enough common sense football knowledge (although adding the former chairman of the FA and the guy that brought City back up through the divisions is not a bad addition on that front) so have pulled in someone with genuine affinity with the club, who is respected in the game, as an advisor.
It is about his ability to be a sounding board and offer advice on the strategic direction of the club surely. A board of directors are not there to all be the subject experts, but one or 2 that know different aspects of the business and can offer scrutiny of that and ask the uncomfortable questions to allow the chair to run it properly can only be a positive thing. Questioning if Little has the right credentials to do that is just odd. He is not the one who is going to be doing the tactics, taking team talks and signing players. He might well be the one who is asked advice on ideas about appointments, club structure, and strategic direction of the team. Of which I think he is perfectly placed. It is not an onerous role, but very helpful I would think to Hollis and King.
And if not him, who is?
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Stirchley, are you saying that you'd sack the current management team, appoint a new manager with the aim of making us stand still, in the Championship, for five years? Surely that change of management would be a forward thinking step to get us back quicker, even if we spend no money, as you seem to be suggesting?
Sorry your post makes no sense.
I suggest you reread what you posted on the previous page and amend it. Get ready for five years in the Championship you said, select a manager to bloody noses, but select someone who is happy to stay in the Championship and spend no money? Not sure I agree with your strategy but each to their own I guess. May I ask, which manager would you choose? I presume you don't want to stick with Garde?
Why would I amend? You obviously understood it.
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Can see the cynical point of view, a scoop to appease what was getting rather nasty down at B6, but we seem to have tried previously to put this structure off the field into place, but I believe filled it with the wrong people.
Football is like a lot of businesses," who you know as well as what you know" and you have someone like Bernstein who knows the corridors of power within football as well as any one, an example we would probably have not got the visa refused for the goalie, as Bernstein would have seen the list of people on the panel and immediately objected to the woman from Sunderland being allowed to sit on it, Fox probably was not aware of who she was, more than likely.
Holis and King offer a financial balance and then Bernstein with the knowledge and contacts overall, add to it Sir Brian who as has been stated even if they use him as the voice from the boardroom to the masses, will be listened to and respected and I also believe loves the club so much that if he was being fed a load of bull would tell them what to do with his advisory role. King and Sir Brian as Gregory stated feel the hurt like we do, when the results go against us, my only concern is how Randy is going to play the purse strings, all the good people in the world need some financial backing to get us out of this mess.
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My view is that the purse strings are much more likely to be slackened by financial competents like Hollis, King and Bernstein if there is a plan in place that is more than the sopping up or proposed sopping up of players like Cole, Senderos, Adebeyor, Lescott, Richards, Townsend or Berbatov. If we are to endure more financial stringency, which I think is very much on the cards I hope it prioritises the cutting out of wasting money, not just not spending any. We desperately need a striker, a centre back, a goalkeeper and a midfield bully whatever division we are in. They must be a priority over cost cutting elsewhere.
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Brian we have needed that spine for quite a while, but the losses posted last week makes me more worried about Holis and the de-facto administrator.
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Agree Kuwait but I think the triumvirate of Hollis, King and Bernstein are expert enough to make savings of sufficient size to permit those vital acquisitions. A garage sale of the non triers should raise enough money for one, maybe two strengthenings. The staunching of the wound that is N'Zogbia could fund another. Other winning clubs manage on tight budgets, why shouldn't we?
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As Brian has said, the appointment of 3 x experienced money men, 1 of which knows how a successful football club works and another who knows what a successful Villa see used to look like; then I would hope that the purse strings would be loosened for the right acquisitions at the right time.
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It strikes me that the bottom line is - we asked for something, got it, and for some it's still wrong. These two appointments are not all we need but no-one is claiming that they are. They may, though, prove to be part of what we need and that's not spin, being conned or wishful thinking. It's a fact.
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It strikes me that the bottom line is - we asked for something, got it, and for some it's still wrong. These two appointments are not all we need but no-one is claiming that they are. They may, though, prove to be part of what we need and that's not spin, being conned or wishful thinking. It's a fact.
I'd agree there are some people that'll always see the negative.
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Summer will be interesting I think. Mr Lerner may release a few pounds for the manager,be it Remi Garde or not, but not a significant ammount that could make a big difference. As we know N'Zogbia and Richardson will be leaving so that will help. Its possible that Richards also will move on to somewhere like Crystal Palace or a newly promoted club. I think Paddy Reilly and the stats bloke will quietly disappear but Fox may stay and work on the commercial side which is his forte.
Assuming Randy does not find a buyer it will be down to the manager ,who on reflection with the new input at Board level will more than likely be British,to hit the ground running and get a few early wins.
Two things of which you can be certain. The away support will be magnificent and Gabriel Agbonlahor will still be there and still weasel his way into the first team from time to time.
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... the manager ,who on reflection with the new input at Board level will more than likely be British ...
How do you draw that conclusion?
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... the manager ,who on reflection with the new input at Board level will more than likely be British ...
How do you draw that conclusion?
Because Mervyn King and Bernstein should have an extensive knowledge of players and managers in the British Isles as should Brian Little through his pundit work. To get a top class foreign manager, such as Simone, you have to pay big money. British managers in the lower divisions come cheap and that I fear is what we will get.
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What we needed was an injection of new blood in January, not an advisor to the board with 9 games to go.
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What we needed was an injection of new blood in January, not an advisor to the board with 9 games to go.
We needed both.
This is about the future, not the present. They appear to recognised that things could not continue as they were and have attempted to address them. Clearly, given what has gone before we are going to be sceptical but only time will tell on that score.
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What we needed was an injection of new blood in January, not an advisor to the board with 9 games to go.
I agree. You could employ Pele as an advisor but without funds his advice would be pointless. Finance is what we need.
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What we needed was an injection of new blood in January, not an advisor to the board with 9 games to go.
Correct. Why wait until the patient is dead and buried before opening the medicine cabinet? Although I've no doubt Bernstein and Little will be welcome additions to a board full of under-qualified marketing men, their job has been made extra difficult by bringing them in so late. They'll be struggling to patch up the vessel while it's already on the seabed.
And as for this idea that some pesky Villa fans will always complain. You can kind of understand them complaining when their team is cut adrift at the bottom of the Premier League. You can kind of get their frustration as they go into a home game against Spurs - as they do every game -expecting to get twatted. You might even forgive them for being fucking furious that their club threw in the towel in January.
Personally, I'm happy to welcome the new board members, but I'm not appeased by them.
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If you think Brian Little is the answer you don't understand the question. He may be Villa through and through but he has has no recent experience in current football. What would I do? I'd sack current management team. I'd get ready for 5 years in the Championship. Appoint a hard nosed manager capable of bloodying a few noses. I'd spend 5 years sorting out Bodymoor Heath. Then I might think about reinvesting in the playing staff.
And bringing in the sort of expertise we've been crying out for since 2007 is part of that.
Brian Little might have been relevant in 2007. I hate to break it to you but football has moved on...
And I hate to break it to you, but he's been working in the game ever since then so he probably knows a thing or two about it.
Keep backing that horse Dave. Unfortunately it's nowhere.
Whatever makes you happy.
No one would love it more than me if BL rode in on a white horse and saved us all. Unfortunately it's not going to happen. Whoever is pulling the strings at VP has seen a last ditch opportunity to appease the fans and brought him in. I'll tell you what... mark this day in your diary and PM me in a years time and tell me how fantastically we're doing. If we're still crap I'll give you a pass and let you gloat in two years. I'll bet you we will still be having the same conversations as we are now.
Why a years time when you think we should be preparing for 5 years in the championship? I'm just glad you're not on the board, you wouldn't last very long.
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... the manager ,who on reflection with the new input at Board level will more than likely be British ...
How do you draw that conclusion?
Because Mervyn King and Bernstein should have an extensive knowledge of players and managers in the British Isles as should Brian Little through his pundit work. To get a top class foreign manager, such as Simone, you have to pay big money. British managers in the lower divisions come cheap and that I fear is what we will get.
Thanks Ron; understood.
I would hope that Merv's input on players, playing and managers is give due 'balance': he's not a football 'expert'.
I don't think we'll be in the market for a 'top class foreign manager, such as Simeone' simply because we have neither recently likely to have seriously been in the market for one nor is one likely to want to come to B6 as our manager in the near-future.
If Garde leaves us, we may be in the market for an up-and-coming foreign manager; as much as we may also be looking at British up-and-coming candidates.
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Why not announce him when the much vaunted review is complete, or at the end of the season? There's a risk now his name will become tarnished.
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Why not announce him when the much vaunted review is complete, or at the end of the season? There's a risk now his name will become tarnished.
If they'd done it at the end of the season, they would have still been asked why they didn't do it sooner or earlier in the season.
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Why not announce him when the much vaunted review is complete, or at the end of the season? There's a risk now his name will become tarnished.
If they'd done it at the end of the season, they would have still been asked why they didn't do it sooner or earlier in the season.
I disagree. This timing is very suspicious. And if the toadying report from the Trust about their meeting with Fox is anything to go by, people will swallow anything.
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Why not announce him when the much vaunted review is complete, or at the end of the season? There's a risk now his name will become tarnished.
If they'd done it at the end of the season, they would have still been asked why they didn't do it sooner or earlier in the season.
I disagree. This timing is very suspicious. And if the toadying report from the Trust about their meeting with Fox is anything to go by, people will swallow anything.
I can see where you're coming from and I admit, the thought of Little coming in to take the pressure off the board did cross my mind but at the end of the day a football man with Villa links is what fans have been asking for and it's been done, albeit too late.
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One man's toadying is another man's truth as he sees it.
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A new owner would surely appoint a new board so I see this as pointless.
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I believe that this is a positive step towards rebuilding the club, both on and off the pitch. If Hollis has identified the need and targeted the right people, why wait until the summer to bring them on board when they can make a start now?
I can fully appreciate why people will be cynical about attempts to deflect criticism and accountability for the calamatous decision making, and personally still beleive Fox will be shown the door before too long. It's just a pity they didn't act with such conviction in the January window to give us some hope that they are ready to overhaul the playing staff in the same way.
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The much hailed review may be complete and they are acting on the in-comings before they swing the axe on the outgoings, the club is viewed as a total basket case in the media at the moment, so maybe one of Holis aims , is to wait until the storm on relegation has passed and then swing the axe.
We are so use to being run as a total shambles that at times we cannot see through the trees and our very suspicious of any actions taken that could be to the benefit of AVFC, that's also Dave W why people are sceptical of any announcement unless it is the expected bad news, we are not use to good sound business decisions being made and more importantly common sense decisions.
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Why not announce him when the much vaunted review is complete, or at the end of the season? There's a risk now his name will become tarnished.
If they'd done it at the end of the season, they would have still been asked why they didn't do it sooner or earlier in the season.
I disagree. This timing is very suspicious. And if the toadying report from the Trust about their meeting with Fox is anything to go by, people will swallow anything.
Understandably given the repeated failures and cock ups everything they do will be treated with scepticism, I feel the same myself. However, regardless of timing these appointments bring the right sort of skill set and experience to the club; only time will tell if it makes any difference to our ability to shoot ourselves in the foot.
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Agreed I keep going ballistic at that.
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It would be easier to form a view if we had an idea of his remit.
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The sooner this evaluation and inquiry starts the better. If we can get a head start by getting the right people in before the end of the season then why shouldn't we? There will be enough to do at the end of the season so get this stuff done behind the scenes so the manager starts that period with the best chance of success.
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It would be easier to form a view if we had an idea of his remit.
Do you think it would stop people from being sceptical or cynical if the club told us what his remit was?
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A good move to appoint Brian and Bernstein, but once again the decision makers have got their timing wrong. Still need Fox, Almstadt, Reilly and company out of the club. I want all the shirkers gone by the start of next season - those "players" are a disgrace to the Villa name.
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I want them gone too. However they all have a day to day job so just firing them leaves those responsibilities in the hands of others. Those people may not be qualified to take up those duties along with their existing roles. So firing someone doesn't make sense and it has to be planned out so there's minimal disruption. That's why they are taking the approach that they are so when these people are fired try have a succession plan in place.
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Sky have Just shown Little in the crowd at Molinae.....molynew....molliyne....the Wolves ground
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Sky have Just shown Little in the crowd at Molinae.....molynew....molliyne....the Wolves ground
I believe its 'Molinyow'.
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Hopefully reporting back to the board that the standard in the Championship is shit and with proper investment we will stroll it
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an early scouting mission?
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Allegedly watching Dominic Iorfa. He looked pretty good.
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Sky have Just shown Little in the crowd at Molinae.....molynew....molliyne....the Wolves ground
I believe its 'Molinyow'.
Close.
Moanlikeyow.
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A new owner would surely appoint a new board so I see this as pointless.
Only if there's a buyer waiting in the wings.
Otherwise we need to be doing whatever we can to make the best possible preparations for next season. And that starts with having people above and around the manager who have a clue.
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A new owner would surely appoint a new board so I see this as pointless.
Only if there's a buyer waiting in the wings.
Otherwise we need to be doing whatever we can to make the best possible preparations for next season. And that starts with having people above and around the manager who have a clue.
And it would depend on how competent the current board is. If you take out the obvious there isn't enough evidence to dismiss what is left, plus those that are left are new and well respected in their respective fields.
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He must be mad wanting to get involved with this shower.
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Let's hope these guys are the advance guard of a new owner. King certainly is no fool.
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Good appointments. A bit of affirmative action. I hope King and Hollis are putting some structure in place that will see us stabilise next season. We will need a new manager and a clear plan of action as far as player acquisition goes.
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Don't get the excitement.
Bernstein is another Man City supporting accountant who is knocking on a bit.
Little is there in an advisory capacity and heavily outnumbered by the non football people. He will be patronised, marginalised and bullied by the others. I expect him to walk within 6 months.
Thus was a pathetic attempt by Hollis et al to win a small PR battle with the fans.
Utterly pathetic.
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Sky have Just shown Little in the crowd at Molinae.....molynew....molliyne....the Wolves ground
I believe its 'Molinyow'.
Close.
Moanlikeyow.
Something about French manufactured food blenders ?
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
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Sky have Just shown Little in the crowd at Molinae.....molynew....molliyne....the Wolves ground
I believe its 'Molinyow'.
Close.
Moanlikeyow.
Something about French manufactured food blenders ?
It's the Custard Bowl
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Very suspicious that this may be an attempt to placate the demonstrators, I hope not because these are the people we should have had at the club at the start of Lerners reign.
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Allegedly watching Dominic Iorfa. He looked pretty good.
I wonder if Little's going to take over Paddy Reilly's mandate and be head of recruitment?
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Let's face it its the timing that stinks As ever with Lerner all decisions are reactionary rather than proactive.
Any hint of supporter unrest seens to put the wind up him and usually leads to yet another hapless hopeless decision.
The thought that we have been waiting the entirety of Lerners reign for this group of individuals to arrive in order that the club can be properly structured is frankly ridiculous.
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it is, but in a season of unprecedented shiteness, better very late than never.
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
Little has no power whatsoever. He's just an adviser who will be largely ignored.
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
Little has no power whatsoever. He's just an adviser who will be largely ignored.
We were discussing Sir Brian's actual status - he is not a Board member and does not have any voting rights as I understand it? Starts to look like flim-flammery to stop the protest/s
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
Little has no power whatsoever. He's just an adviser who will be largely ignored.
You have no reason for knowing that that so how about knocking off the default 'Whatever they do is wrong' reponse and accepting that for once they've done what they've needed to do for years and it might turn out to be the first step on the road to recovery?
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
Little has no power whatsoever. He's just an adviser who will be largely ignored.
We were discussing Sir Brian's actual status - he is not a Board member and does not have any voting rights as I understand it? Starts to look like flim-flammery to stop the protest/s
I expect there to be an unveiling of an ex player prior to every home game.
Let's hope we start winning soon as there won't be room in the Upper Trinity to house them all.
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Don't get the excitement.
Bernstein is another Man City supporting accountant who is knocking on a bit.
You mean, apart from the wealth of football administration experience, like heading up the national F.A. and being Chairman of a big club in a similar position to that which we are about to find ourselves?
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Don't get the excitement.
Bernstein is another Man City supporting accountant who is knocking on a bit.
You mean, apart from the wealth of football administration experience, like heading up the national F.A. and being Chairman of a big club in a similar position to that which we are about to find ourselves?
I've said this plenty of times but one of the biggest problems we've had since the departures of Doug and then Steve Stride is the lack of someone well-known enough in football that everyone would take a call from him. I'm a firm believer that everyone in the game operates at their own level - managers work with other managers, players hang out with other players - and we've had nobody until now who could work with other directors.
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Timing wise we can moan that it should have been done years ago, it was not , but at least the two appointments last week were in the areas the club has been screaming out for. King and Holis I am not sure but Little and Bernstein, big step in the right direction.
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Said earlier in the thread Dave, that if Bernstein had been here, you can guarantee that woman from Sunderland would not have been on the panel deciding the visa issue.
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Said earlier in the thread Dave, that if Bernstein had been here, you can guarantee that woman from Sunderland would not have been on the panel deciding the visa issue.
That's a good point I'd not thought about before. Whatever else Doug might have been, a whisper in the right ear, a salmon fishing invitation and the panel would have been from Arsenal, Manchester United and any other club we guarantee six points every season.
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Apologies if I've got this wrong, but in time (ie post-Fox) wouldn't it help us if Hollis became CEO and Bernstein the Chairman? Seems like a better fit to me?
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Also Fox thought she was the receptionist so took no notice of her, didnt even say hello as he went into the tribunal.
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Apologies if I've got this wrong, but in time (ie post-Fox) wouldn't it help us if Hollis became CEO and Bernstein the Chairman? Seems like a better fit to me?
We need someone completely new. I doubt Hollis has the football nous to be CEO and Bernstein probably doesn't want the aggravation at his age. it's a totally left-field suggestion but I'd be looking at someone like Steve Froggatt. He knows football, he runs a business so he clearly isn't daft, he's generally well-liked and he knows the club.
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I've said this plenty of times but one of the biggest problems we've had since the departures of Doug and then Steve Stride is the lack of someone well-known enough in football that everyone would take a call from him. I'm a firm believer that everyone in the game operates at their own level - managers work with other managers, players hang out with other players - and we've had nobody until now who could work with other directors.
Spot on - I don't think we'd be in the total mess we are now if Steve Stride hadn't have departed.
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I don't know how it all works upstairs but do Little, Bernstein, King and Hollis have the power to sack Fox or does Lerner have the final say?
Little has no power whatsoever. He's just an adviser who will be largely ignored.
We were discussing Sir Brian's actual status - he is not a Board member and does not have any voting rights as I understand it? Starts to look like flim-flammery to stop the protest/s
Or alternatively he's not beholden to the board, so in a position to drop it all in a no holds bared fashion if he feels that they're taking the piss. I'd imagine that he would feel his loyalty lay with us and the club in general rather than the individuals currently sitting on the board.
For all we know Little has asked for it to be this way, not wanting the formal, and with it legal, implications of being a board member and room to be a bit of a loose canon if he wants.
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Does anyone know of any decent Brain Little footage when playing for Villa? I have google searched but not much joy apart from a few goals here and there. I was a bit young to have seen him as a player. Didn't realise he only ever played for one club. The right one obviously.
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Here's a good place to start.....
And this one
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Does anyone know of any decent Brain Little footage when playing for Villa? I have google searched but not much joy apart from a few goals here and there. I was a bit young to have seen him as a player. Didn't realise he only ever played for one club. The right one obviously.
But he would have played for two if he had passed the medical. Do we know which club he was going to join children?
Yes that' right!
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Here's a good place to start.....
And this one
What a welcome change. This actually made me feel good.
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Yeh I read that. He must of been desperate. Seemingly the only time a footballers career was ended prematurely and it was a good thing! Well sort of. I'm just glad he didn't taint his career in such a fashion. Sweet Pete, cheers! I watched the Blues one on YouTube - so they've always been dirty, talentless bastards then?
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Does anyone know of any decent Brain Little footage when playing for Villa? I have google searched but not much joy apart from a few goals here and there. I was a bit young to have seen him as a player. Didn't realise he only ever played for one club. The right one obviously.
But he would have played for two if he had passed the medical. Do we know which club he was going to join children?
Yes that' right!
and like ron saunders he done a good job managing west brom
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At least we have the past!
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I did love his Villa team, happy days.
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Timing wise we can moan that it should have been done years ago, it was not , but at least the two appointments last week were in the areas the club has been screaming out for. King and Holis I am not sure but Little and Bernstein, big step in the right direction.
Although in defence of Hollis in his role, Bernstein and Little look two good appointments from him.
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"Villa just prove again, that they never, ever give up". It's like a different club. They could do with showing some of these classics in the board room.
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I did love his Villa team, happy days.
Me too. Just shows how hard this football management lark is. Two top 5 finishes and a cup, when all we were missing is that fabled "missing piece of the jigsaw". I'd seen a lot of Sasa Curcic playing for Bolton, and he was brilliant for them. Started off like a house on fire for us, then went crazy and rubbish after a few months. Then exactly the same end result with Stan Collymore. If those two had played to their full potential for us, I firmly believe we'd have been in with a very good shout at a title. As it was, 97/98 was a disaster.
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Yeh I read that. He must of been desperate. Seemingly the only time a footballers career was ended prematurely and it was a good thing! Well sort of. I'm just glad he didn't taint his career in such a fashion. Sweet Pete, cheers! I watched the Blues one on YouTube - so they've always been dirty, talentless bastards then?
The footage of the whole '77 final is on Youtube as well, if you ever have a spare couple of hours. I can never decide whether that night or the Liverpool 5-1 is my favourite experience of watching the Villa.
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Mine was probably 3-2 against Arsenal. 18th of December 1998. Very drunk, very happy. Shame about Santa but you can't have it all. I will watch the full final when I get chance. Maybe the current team would look good if filmed with 70's cameras? Maybe not.
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Yeh I read that. He must of been desperate. Seemingly the only time a footballers career was ended prematurely and it was a good thing! Well sort of. I'm just glad he didn't taint his career in such a fashion. Sweet Pete, cheers! I watched the Blues one on YouTube - so they've always been dirty, talentless bastards then?
Pedant alert:
The medical didn't end his career. He carried on the following season and got injured in (circa) early March.
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There's something in the back of my head regarding that time with Brian. I think I was out at Bodymoor watching the training and the players used to move the portable goals around. Brian and another couple of players were moving one of these said goals when he jokingly said, "Come on lads, I'm supposed to have a bad back". Or words to that effect. I often wondered after that if he failed the medical at the sty because of that.
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Imagine losing an iconic, brilliant, home grown player to injury, and then simply replacing him with another.
Those were the days, my friend.
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There's something in the back of my head regarding that time with Brian. I think I was out at Bodymoor watching the training and the players used to move the portable goals around. Brian and another couple of players were moving one of these said goals when he jokingly said, "Come on lads, I'm supposed to have a bad back". Or words to that effect. I often wondered after that if he failed the medical at the sty because of that.
He did.
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At least we have the past!
It's the only thing we have to look forward to these days :'(
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There will be good days again. There always has been. I'm sure when we were in Division 3 nobody back then would have imagined us being Champions of Europe.
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There will be good days again. There always has been. I'm sure when we were in Division 3 nobody back then would have imagined us being Champions of Europe.
That is very true TV It was the equivalent of man landing on the moon.
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Give me a a break. A man landed on the moon? That sounds as crazy as two Villa wins in a row.
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Dear Brian,
For a starter for 10, can you tell them to pack this censorship shit in.
Yours, Villa fans (possibly in an open letter)