The General C. Krulak Thread XV

[Edvard Remberg]

sfx.....
can i really say what i feel? I have not been  a supporter for the same time yuo have. But what you just said is b******

[Edvard Remberg]

General Krulak here:

1.  Obviously I did NOT indicate that waiting for certain "big spenders" to go bust...or the Clubs to go under in red ink...is part of the plan.  Nonsense.  My point is a simple one of economics...there comes a time when even the richest begin to understand that the amount of money they are throwing at a Club does not make economic sense.  Chelsea's bill is not what it was several years ago...same with some of the other "big names."  The debt of some of the Clubs is simply going to choke them at some point in time.  These Clubs are owned by businessmen and at some time, there business sense will kick in.  Randy is also a business man and is well aware of the dangers of debt...and the dangers of a wage bill that is too large a percentage of the revenue.

2.  I think that Troy Eccles made a few very good points.  1)  Randy has certainly opened his wallet to get quality players...players that the Club wanted to get.  2)  We have invested heavily in our youth program.  One needs only to see what is happening at Bodymoor Heath with our youth system to see that it is VERY solid and IS producing!!  We have players who are ready to join the squad and be very productive...and we have them now!  3)  Scouting...critical to success.  Our model, in many ways, mirrors the model of other Clubs.  There is no "secret formula"...we have our own folks out looking and we also have others doing scouting.

3.  These are always difficult days for our Club.  Randy is in the UK specifically to be with the Villa at this time.

Fantastic answer ....

Brilliant Gerneral...Would love you as a boss anyday

[Risso]

General, not wishing to put a damp squib on this whole youth thing, but by law of averages and bitter experience, of the eight players you named we'll be lucky if more than one of them ever becomes a Villa regular. If we get two stars from this lot we'll have done brilliantly.
We could rely on youth, but it means mid-table finishes without some real class alongside them.

I understand what you are saying Dave, and agree to a certain extent. However, it's also not impossible that the majority of them players come good. For example, look at the kids that Alan Hansen said Man Utd would win nothing with - G. Neville, P. Neville, Butt, Beckham, Scholes, O'Kane, Davies. 5 out of them 7 didn't have too bad careers.

That's one exceptional crop of youngsters in the last 15 years.

[ckrulak]

General Krulak here:

1.  sfx412:  Once again, someone putting words in my mouth.  Read what I said...NOT what you think I said.  I said that someone on a site told me to not mention our youth...and I said that was foolish.  If you totally disregard our youth, then why have a youth program...why an Academy?  Simply put, I mentioned 8 lads who have the talent to be first team or solid squad players....and I didn't mention everyone.  My point is that we DO have a solid youth program and to be told to not even consider or mention them is total hogwash.  I was NOT saying that you only build with youth...but I AM saying that to discount them is foolish.  Even YOU agree that we have potential first team players in the group.  EVERY player has to start somewhere.  Even the very best were "youth" at one time or another.

[sfx412]

General Krulak here:

1.  sfx412:  Once again, someone putting words in my mouth.  Read what I said...NOT what you think I said.  I said that someone on a site told me to not mention our youth...and I said that was foolish.  If you totally disregard our youth, then why have a youth program...why an Academy?  Simply put, I mentioned 8 lads who have the talent to be first team or solid squad players....and I didn't mention everyone.  My point is that we DO have a solid youth program and to be told to not even consider or mention them is total hogwash.  I was NOT saying that you only build with youth...but I AM saying that to discount them is foolish.  Even YOU agree that we have potential first team players in the group.  EVERY player has to start somewhere.  Even the very best were "youth" at one time or another.

Yes General I agree with those sentiments, completely, and as I said I have great faith in the youth coaching setup and its ability to bring on the kids.
My point was more to do with the management thinking it necessary to highlight the quality and potential in the youth squad at a time when there is an obvious restriction on transfers of new blood and we are about, perhaps, to lose several  squad members.
I'm sure you see my concern and that of other contributors of a similar mind, especially when in the past before RL, it was an oft used tactic to placate fans, the last time being when we had the Moore brothers, Cahill, Ridgewell, Gabby, and others like Osborne coming through or in the pipeline.
Thank you again for taking the time to explain, most appreciated.

[sfx412]

sfx.....
can i really say what i feel? I have not been  a supporter for the same time yuo have. But what you just said is b******

Why thanks for such a charming comment Edvard.
Thankfully the General, being a real gentleman felt otherwise and gave a very interesting and erudite reply, far more interesting and informative than your little gem.

[Dante Lavelli]

sfx412 (what does that mean by the way?)

I'd hope (and as the General has intimated), having 5-6 youth players in the squad means that we don't have to buy 5-6 squad players.  As we all know squad player are expensive these days (I'd say about £3m and £25k in wages - that's probably a conservative guess too).  Whilst the youth and academy are not free, I'm sure having these players in the squad means there is more cash and wages available for the big signings.

I personally think its the only way we can both compete and be sustainable. 

Obviously improved scouting will also help.  In fact this begs a question for the General...

[Dave Cooper please]

General, not wishing to put a damp squib on this whole youth thing, but by law of averages and bitter experience, of the eight players you named we'll be lucky if more than one of them ever becomes a Villa regular. If we get two stars from this lot we'll have done brilliantly.
We could rely on youth, but it means mid-table finishes without some real class alongside them.

I understand what you are saying Dave, and agree to a certain extent. However, it's also not impossible that the majority of them players come good. For example, look at the kids that Alan Hansen said Man Utd would win nothing with - G. Neville, P. Neville, Butt, Beckham, Scholes, O'Kane, Davies. 5 out of them 7 didn't have too bad careers.

Oh don't get me wrong VS, I would love to see half a dozen of this lot making up the core of our team as we beat Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League Final! Realistically though? Maybe Albrighton and Ciaran Clark as we finish seventh? The rest don't look Premier League standard to me.
I really, really want to be badly wrong on this by the way.

[Monty]

Fonz, Albrighton, Clark and Weimann are all definitely up to scratch, and for this year as well (Weimann less so - I think he'll be doing what the Fonz did last season). Clark I'm particularly impressed with - to have the calm and positional awareness he does at that age is really quite remarkable.

[Top Cat]

HI General,

Can you assure me that the screen between the North Stand & Witton Lane will be back up by next Saturday?

I sit in Lower Trinity & really missed the screen during the frindly last night.

Thanks.

I've just read on the OS that the screen will not being going back up.

I have to say I'm very disappointed as I'm sure other people will be. Having said that I like the new scoreboard on The Corner Flag.

[Irreverent ad]

Hi General,

I hope you are well.
Just a quick one when will our squad numbers get announced for the league this year? (just to avoid confusion, I mean which numbers each player will have, not who will be in our 25 man squad)

Many thanks

Adam

[Toronto Villa]

Oh Heavens above, now I really am beginning to worry.
General, when club officials, managers, chairman, spokesmen et al, start promoting the youth as the future of the club, experienced fans know immediately that all is not as it should be.

Whilst I appreciate we have a decent youth setup few clubs with top 4 aspirations, or even top 10 aspirations ever achieved anything based on its youth setup, especially with a manager prone to selling the likes of Cahill and buying Knight and Davies. The few that did, had an exceptional group of players and found it hard to repeat again.

Talk of youth as saviours is just pandering to the masses, its been tried too often before, by the likes of Ellis, Taylor and many before them. It never worked then and its not going to work now.

If we are lucky, 3 maybe 4 will offer the club some useful service, with more luck 1 maybe 2 will prove to be very useful in the mix, as Gabby has been for the last few seasons, but generally most fall by the wayside, and leave for next to nothing.

The other problem is of course if we get the odd real quality coming through a Rooney or similar, and I don't see one, surely club policy  will be to sell him to Man City to balance the wage bill.

No General, for the first time since you started on these sites you have sown seeds of doubt, very worrying

the seeds of doubt for some is a flourshing garden for you Mrs Overall. You've taken a commendation of our youth development and turned it into complete negative and an imminent sign of doom. Why can't it be that we are actively promoting our academy while adding quality players from elsewhere.

[Dave Cooper please]

Why can't it be that we are actively promoting our academy while adding quality players from elsewhere.

Loving the first bit, not seeing much sign of the second bit.

[VillaZogmariner]

General, not wishing to put a damp squib on this whole youth thing, but by law of averages and bitter experience, of the eight players you named we'll be lucky if more than one of them ever becomes a Villa regular. If we get two stars from this lot we'll have done brilliantly.
We could rely on youth, but it means mid-table finishes without some real class alongside them.

I understand what you are saying Dave, and agree to a certain extent. However, it's also not impossible that the majority of them players come good. For example, look at the kids that Alan Hansen said Man Utd would win nothing with - G. Neville, P. Neville, Butt, Beckham, Scholes, O'Kane, Davies. 5 out of them 7 didn't have too bad careers.

That's one exceptional crop of youngsters in the last 15 years.

You're right it is, and Man Utd were fortunate that they all came through at around the same time.

Like Dave rightly said, the odds that the more than a couple of the players mentioned by the General will make it are slim. However, I think they will be brought into the side over a longer period of time than the Man Utd players were, and have seen enough bits from some of them (not all) to think they could have a positive influence on the Villa squad in the future.

Interestingly, the player I've got the highest "hopes" for from our youth set up hasn't been mentioned - Gary Gardner.

Sorry for hijacking the thread General/Mods.

[Dazvillain]

GK, you mentioned earlier that RL was over here dealing with transfers but another site has shown a picture of him leaving at an airport. He was on the tarmac next to his car with Paul Faulkner...does that mean that the business has all been sanctioned, both in and out of the club already and just needs finalising a few deals via Chief Exec or has he gone away on other business to return prior to the start of season this weekend ?