The General C. Krulak Thread XV

[BannedUserIAT]

General, not impressed. I see no reason to pussy foot around because some reserve team coach played a load of untried kids and got away with a draw against a poor side.
Has it always been club policy, even in Mons days to try and throw European matches ?
Very laudable result considering but that's not Aston Villa with ambitions of success, just as depending on the youth like those on show isn't.
I've always been 100% behind RL's decisions and policies, but I'm beginning to have doubts. Small ones true, but doubts never the less.

[Dr Butler]

General, not impressed. I see no reason to pussy foot around because some reserve team coach played a load of untried kids and got away with a draw against a poor side.
Has it always been club policy, even in Mons days to try and throw European matches ?
Very laudable result considering but that's not Aston Villa with ambitions of success, just as depending on the youth like those on show isn't.
I've always been 100% behind RL's decisions and policies, but I'm beginning to have doubts. Small ones true, but doubts never the less.

Blimey..........do you live on your own ?

[Brend'Watkins]

General, not impressed. I see no reason to pussy foot around because some reserve team coach played a load of untried kids and got away with a draw against a poor side.
Has it always been club policy, even in Mons days to try and throw European matches ?
Very laudable result considering but that's not Aston Villa with ambitions of success, just as depending on the youth like those on show isn't.
I've always been 100% behind RL's decisions and policies, but I'm beginning to have doubts. Small ones true, but doubts never the less.

Blimey..........do you live on your own ?

I think he might have a nurse with him at all times too.  She must have slipped out for 5 minutes.

[Olneythelonely]

Look at me, look at me!

[Dr Butler]

Look at me, look at me!

 

[Concrete John]

I do ponder sometimes that some people seem to think the board/club/manager's job is just to make them happy and as soon as they don't the policy should change.

[Namaste]

Hi General,
Just wanted to say I was proud of Villa last night, the team selection and Kevin MacDonald for his decisions. There is some optimism for the future in players like Albrighton, Bannan and Lichaj.

On a side issue are you aware of how badly Newcastle will want to beat Villa on Sunday in light of us relegating them previously? I'm sure the coaching staff are well aware but it will be another hostile reception at their ground for sure! The first twenty minutes will be crucial to the result of the game and if we can silence the crowd this will help us immensely.

All the best,
Namaste.

[ckrulak]

General Krulak here:

1.  Regarding the Manager:  It is more important to get the "right" manager than to get "a" manager by a certain game...or time.  Randy and the board will take the time necessary to get the right person.

2.  Troy Eccles:  I enjoyed the article.  Sure did like the conclusion.

3.  Not much value in going over the MON issue again.  Everytime I write something in this thread it gets picked up by the media and either 1) taken out of context or 2) given an unintended "spin."  I think most fans know exactly what I was saying.

4.  sfx412:  Simply put, KM chose the team that he felt could do the job...and be competitive.  He was faced with niggling injuries to some of the lads...and wanted to make sure that he did not exacerbate problems when he could have solved them by a bit of rest.  He knows the youth and he knows the squad...he took them to the continent and they did well.  Now we just need to win at Villa Park.  To even hint that we work hard to get to Europe only to gaff it off when we get there is nonsense.

[peter w]

General, when was the last time that we put out a full strength team in a European tie?

[Toronto Villa]

General, when was the last time that we put out a full strength team in a European tie?

Bloody hell Peter. How's any of us meant to know that, let alone the General? It's completely subjective for one, and you're just shit stirring. You may as well file that with another question about ground capacity.

[BannedUserIAT]

Besides, didn't Spurs put out a full-strength side against Young Boys?
Didn't work out too well for them, did it?

[hipkiss92]

General,

In my opinion, where football results are regarded, the end justifys the means, so please applaud KM for his gutsy squad selection that could have back-fired and damaged any ambitions he had of gaining the job full-time. It is this kind of key decision making that will be a key part of any managers job.

[Dante Lavelli]

General,

This is a question I posted not long after Martin left, which probably got swallowed up with all the others that you answered as a whole in that hectic time.  Now that things have calmed down a bit, I wondered if we could re-visit it?

Basically, we all understand and accept the issue of wages, their ratio to turnover and the need to manage this.  But although that's one argument, the other is that what we were spending was not being fully utilised due to some high wage earners rarely featuring for the first team.  So, what was/is the greater issue - total wages or the use of those wages?

The reason for my question is that I feel in order to be sucessful we do need a reasonably sized squad, in which some players will feature more than others.  While I accept we did not have this balance right under the last manager, this would mean that, for example, a squad of 16 or 17 senior professionals on high wages, further supplimented by our emerging youth players, is necessary to achieve our goals.  So, would this be acceptable to the board, if more rotation was used, or would the wages/turnover ratio take precedence?       

This is an excellent question.  General if you are permitted to divulge such information then I, and I'm sure the rest on here, would love to hear your response. 

Thank you again for your open and honest answers, it reflects well on you and the club as a whole.

[Clampy]

General, when was the last time that we put out a full strength team in a European tie?

When was the last time you asked the General a worthwhile question?

The kids who played were great, well done to them.

[TimTheVillain]

Hi General,

Re. the screen removal.

I think you guys ought to look into putting it back up please  - those around me in the Upper Trinity ( who probably don't come onto these forums, but are die hard Villa fans) were complaining last week about the lack of screen.

I must admit it looks a bit odd now to be able to see houses etc. outside the ground where previously there was an informative screen.

Maybe a second thought ?