The General C. Krulak Thread XV

[montague]

what sanctimonious drivel !!
Most fans who are expressing an opinion are doing so because they care passionately about the club and what happens to it.
it called emotion. 

I have a great deal of emotion and passion for the Villa, thanks.

Fans have every right to complain and express an opinion. My point is that when people are posting comments like "disgraceful way to treat our great club" and  "incompetent and unacceptable running of our club at the very top" on a thread which the General has always used to answer fans questions with courtey and respect, and after all the owners have done for the club so far, then this is totally out of order and disrepectful.

 

[Risso]

Some of the the hysterical rants on this thread are disrepectful and pathetic. The General has explained what the club are doing and has said they will take their time to get the right man. Cant we just trust the board to do this without demanding an update every 5 minutes. Doesnt everybody think that Randy has earned the right to be trusted on this. Four seasons of year on year improvement, wembley trips, the classy way they have conducted their business (Acorns etc) and sensitive way they have acknowledeged our heritage, the Generals honesty on these forums etc  - yet the first blip and you would think we had Gillette and Hicks in charge. They deserve better than some of the comments now being thrown around on here and I only hope the General does not think that this is representative of all Villa fans because if it is, and I was Randy I, would just tell us to stuff it.

Also some people need to find some perspective in their lives. This isnt life or death. We have lost a couple of football matches whilst trying to replace a manager who walked out on the eve of the season. Nobody has died. We are not trapped down a mine until Xmas. The owners have done a great job and I believe they will get this right. How about giving them space to do this and everyone calm down and concentrate von getting behind the team on Sunday.


   

So we should only talk about football a

Some of the the hysterical rants on this thread are disrepectful and pathetic. The General has explained what the club are doing and has said they will take their time to get the right man. Cant we just trust the board to do this without demanding an update every 5 minutes. Doesnt everybody think that Randy has earned the right to be trusted on this. Four seasons of year on year improvement, wembley trips, the classy way they have conducted their business (Acorns etc) and sensitive way they have acknowledeged our heritage, the Generals honesty on these forums etc  - yet the first blip and you would think we had Gillette and Hicks in charge. They deserve better than some of the comments now being thrown around on here and I only hope the General does not think that this is representative of all Villa fans because if it is, and I was Randy I, would just tell us to stuff it.

Also some people need to find some perspective in their lives. This isnt life or death. We have lost a couple of football matches whilst trying to replace a manager who walked out on the eve of the season. Nobody has died. We are not trapped down a mine until Xmas. The owners have done a great job and I believe they will get this right. How about giving them space to do this and everyone calm down and concentrate von getting behind the team on Sunday.


   

Of course football isn't life or death, but if we use that as the criterion for what is allowed to be discussed, we might as well close the site down now.  Lots of people are frustrated because the silence from those in charge at VP is deafening.  And no sorry, being told to "trust the board" doesn't wash.  The lack of action has already cost us another extended European campaign.  The lack of football industry expertise is clearly costing us at the moment, and it simply isn't good enough.

[pablopicasso_10]

what sanctimonious drivel !!
Most fans who are expressing an opinion are doing so because they care passionately about the club and what happens to it.
it called emotion. 

I have a great deal of emotion and passion for the Villa, thanks.

Fans have every right to complain and express an opinion. My point is that when people are posting comments like "disgraceful way to treat our great club" and  "incompetent and unacceptable running of our club at the very top" on a thread which the General has always used to answer fans questions with courtey and respect, and after all the owners have done for the club so far, then this is totally out of order and disrepectful. 

not it isnt... i have every respect for the general and have had many private conversations with him at villatalk over villa matters...

he knows that i am brutally honest, and i know that he is not a little fairy who wants his ego stroked...

i think it is extremely disrespectful to assume that he cant handle negative comments...

[peter w]

Ah, how things have changed. Its now disrespectful to challenge the board/owners of our football club. Funny thing football.

[hulkamania]

General, Please give us some good news asap

[Bottom Right 89]

General, Please give us some good news asap

Man City have put down a deposit for Albrighton

Do what you have to do General but do it quicker.

[diand]

My own take on it is that in the modern game there is always going to be a mis-match between business principles and passion. The fans are passionate about their ('our') club, whereas owners, including Mr Lerner, are business people. Yes, they want their club to be successful, but because that is good business and profit comes from good business. In the same way that if I owned Argos I would want to sell a lot of stuff. Thus for owners, running a good business is the priority, where as for fans other types of success are more important. I am not suggesting these are mutually exclusive and are obviously complimentary, but ultimately they can contradict each other.

I believe the General cares about Villa (as does Mr Lerner), but I think they 'care' differently and therefore feel it differently to the rest of us, i.e. this is ultimately a business first, passion second (although that seems an oxymoron). The General obviously doesn't post on here to be a 'mate', but to communicate the business objectives (and deal with minor problems when he can). We are the consumers. We matter if we dutifully walk through the turnstiles week-on-week because we help pay the bills. Beyond that, I'm not always convinced that we matter to owners any more than an customer in Argos.  Football isn't about football anymore, it is about overpaid prima donnas who have little sense of the reality of the fans' experience. That's why the last couple of defeats matter so much to me too - not just losing to mediocre opposition, but the capitulation that, for most of us in our own line of work, would not be tolerated.

Owners and players can talk of pain and hurt, but then fans are criticised for 'poor' attendances. I think Villa fans have, historically and currently, stuck with the club through thick and thin, and will continue to do so because we are passionate. Like many, I probably spend thousands per year on tickets and travel following Villa, and have done so for years.  Small change for a premiership footballer or multi-millionaire owner.

Sorry for the rant, but the whole process of football (particularly the premiership) is toxic at times. Mr Lerner does seem to be a decent person and has invested in the club, but at this stage we need someone who is talking honestly to us, not through the smoke screen of business-lingo, saying it how it is. I am not always sure General how much you say on this thread is from the heart (it clearly is on occasions), and how much is the corporate line (it clearly is on occasions).  I can't speak for others here, but I always prefer it how it is, rather than with a vaneer that covers the reality; the former communicates respect for the heart and soul of the club-the fans. Otherwise the club risks becoming another corporate nobody and ultimately a floundering business.

If you are able therefore to answer some of the questions raised on this thread over the last few days in a transparent way, that would help considerably.

Phew.  Feel better for that.   

[exigo]

Hi General,

I've given it 24 hours before commenting.

I was at the West Ham game. The players played without shackles. You posted that evening that players were in their correct positions and it was great to see.

So can you tell us why we decided to rest the only two players in the first team squad who can play left back last night? Why we abandoned the formation that worked against them in the first leg, in a game we didn't need to chase. I thought this kind of stubborn buffoonery had gone.

After 25 years of going to games, I've decided not to bother again this season. It's 600 hours of my life I'll see again. Do let me know when it's safe to watch again.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

Hint: the really good ones already have good jobs at good clubs

Hint - we are not the first club to be looking for a new manager. You identify a shortlist of managers that you think are suitable and you go out and get one

you dont let the situation drift for 3 weeks, at the start of a season, with the transfer window ebbing away and risk writing off a complete season with the chances being that a poor season will result in the better players seeking to move and crowds dwindling

[montague]

My own take on it is that in the modern game there is always going to be a mis-match between business principles and passion. The fans are passionate about their ('our') club, whereas owners, including Mr Lerner, are business people. Yes, they want their club to be successful, but because that is good business and profit comes from good business. In the same way that if I owned Argos I would want to sell a lot of stuff. Thus for owners, running a good business is the priority, where as for fans other types of success are more important. I am not suggesting these are mutually exclusive and are obviously complimentary, but ultimately they can contradict each other.

I believe the General cares about Villa (as does Mr Lerner), but I think they 'care' differently and therefore feel it differently to the rest of us, i.e. this is ultimately a business first, passion second (although that seems an oxymoron). The General obviously doesn't post on here to be a 'mate', but to communicate the business objectives (and deal with minor problems when he can). We are the consumers. We matter if we dutifully walk through the turnstiles week-on-week because we help pay the bills. Beyond that, I'm not always convinced that we matter to owners any more than an customer in Argos.  Football isn't about football anymore, it is about overpaid prima donnas who have little sense of the reality of the fans' experience. That's why the last couple of defeats matter so much to me too - not just losing to mediocre opposition, but the capitulation that, for most of us in our own line of work, would not be tolerated.

Owners and players can talk of pain and hurt, but then fans are criticised for 'poor' attendances. I think Villa fans have, historically and currently, stuck with the club through thick and thin, and will continue to do so because we are passionate. Like many, I probably spend thousands per year on tickets and travel following Villa, and have done so for years.  Small change for a premiership footballer or multi-millionaire owner.

Sorry for the rant, but the whole process of football (particularly the premiership) is toxic at times. Mr Lerner does seem to be a decent person and has invested in the club, but at this stage we need someone who is talking honestly to us, not through the smoke screen of business-lingo, saying it how it is. I am not always sure General how much you say on this thread is from the heart (it clearly is on occasions), and how much is the corporate line (it clearly is on occasions).  I can't speak for others here, but I always prefer it how it is, rather than with a vaneer that covers the reality; the former communicates respect for the heart and soul of the club-the fans. Otherwise the club risks becoming another corporate nobody and ultimately a floundering business.

If you are able therefore to answer some of the questions raised on this thread over the last few days in a transparent way, that would help considerably.

Phew.  Feel better for that.   

And how much do you think Randy has trousered from renovating the Holte Hotel, the Holte mosaic, the Acorns sponsorship, Bodymore, European cup celebrations etc. How much will he see back from the millions ONeill has spunked on sub-standard squad players. He may be a businessman and he may not feel the same sort of passion as most supporters but I think he genuinely cares about the club and its heritage and is not just in it for the return. I hope so anyway, and from my view of what he has done so far I have no reason to doubt him.

[prmort]

Hi General,

I've given it 24 hours before commenting.

I was at the West Ham game. The players played without shackles. You posted that evening that players were in their correct positions and it was great to see.

So can you tell us why we decided to rest the only two players in the first team squad who can play left back last night? Why we abandoned the formation that worked against them in the first leg, in a game we didn't need to chase. I thought this kind of stubborn buffoonery had gone.

After 25 years of going to games, I've decided not to bother again this season. It's 600 hours of my life I'll see again. Do let me know when it's safe to watch again.

Did this myself last year after the Wigan game. First game back this season after Mon had gone.......Rapid Vienna.....oh dear....

I would imagine that someone with General in front of his name may be aware of the requirement for leadership......within the club and on the pitch. Kindly explain this to management and players at the earliest opportunity.

[jembob]

Hint: the really good ones already have good jobs at good clubs

Hint - we are not the first club to be looking for a new manager. You identify a shortlist of managers that you think are suitable and you go out and get one

you dont let the situation drift for 3 weeks, at the start of a season, with the transfer window ebbing away and risk writing off a complete season with the chances being that a poor season will result in the better players seeking to move and crowds dwindling

If it was that easy do you think that they would have done it by now? Do you really think that it's just a matter of deciding who we would like and then just offering them the job? Do you really think that the club are deliberately leaving this situation to drift, and are unaware of the impact which it's having on and off the pitch?

Sorry for cluttering up the General's thread with this but some of these comments about the Board's 'lack of leadership' are bewildering. The one thing they can be accused of, is lacking in communicating the details of the situation with the fans and that information void is being filled with pointless speculation and unwarranted slander.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

If it was that easy do you think that they would have done it by now?

you would have hoped so wouldn't you

Do you really think that it's just a matter of deciding who we would like and then just offering them the job?

pretty much yes, thats the way football works. Identify the manager you want, talk to his current employers if he is employed, agree a compensation figure, offer him the job, hopefully he accepts. Pretty much the same as what happens with players e.g. Milner

Do you really think that the club are deliberately leaving this situation to drift, and are unaware of the impact which it's having on and off the pitch?

No, but I think they haven't acted quickly enough for whatever reason, lack of necessary football knowledge or skills, maybe not realising the full impact

And I don't think I have slandered anyone with any of my posts

[eastie]

We are told the club have been inundated with applicants , of which many are experienced international or premiership managers past or present- yes we could and should have appointed by now.

Look at svens club record-would he not have been a better option with all his contacts and experience than kmac?

Or is randy waiting till the window is over so he doesn't have to spend? The general I respect greatly but he is randy's man and is not going to tell us things randy doesn't want us to know!

[TimTheVillain]

My thoughts on the new Manager are, if we aren't going to be competing for trophies / titles then give us a Manager who can give us another  'Big Ron' era.