Job Losses At The Club

[bertlambshank]

I think Randy must have known this would be a big loss leader, there was no earthly way it was going to work bearing in mind its location and to be honest there is a large muslim population in the area, added to the fact that gun crime has a propensity to rear its head from time to time.

I don't think he did. A lot of those first two or three years was based on "Build it and they'll come." But they didn't.

I think that had we made the CL the season of the Moscow debacle then we would ahve moved on massively in revenue. From the moment we didn't and then the subsequent cutting of investment that has taken place we lost the chance and I fear it will never return. Don';t forget we did average over 40K that season and could proably ahve averaged a lot higher had the gound held more.

The potential is there but it takes more thna a couple of good seasons to sustain it. You need to win things and you need to prove to our fanbase that it isn't a false dawn as we have had so many of those people are far more cynical.

I don't think the fanbase need convincing or are particularly cynical. There are 30,000 who will turn up pretty much whatever happens then another 10,000, of whom most are floating fans rather than supporters who don't know that much about the club and our history of missed opportunities. 

Even when we were getting the big crowds it was on the back of cheap tickets and promotions; I think the thing they really expected was or the commercial income to grow and it didn't.

Gregory was the last person to fill VP on a regular basis.

[The Man With A Stick]

Very sorry to hear that anyone's lost their jobs, but I don't see why the players should feel guilty about "earning" £50k a week when others are being made redundant.  It's not their fault the pub isn't making a profit.

Dunne's the only one who should feel guilty, if he was to use the Holte every time he went out on the piss there wouldn't be an issue.

[Chris Smith]

 We got our highest post war average attendance 3 seasons ago and the one after wasn't far behind.

[Nev]

It is pretty sad that a city the size of Brum can't support a club with 50,000 gates.

But we have 2 big clubs and a rathole within a very small distance, diluting the support. Newcastle is a one club town, London has a higher population and as for Manchester, despite claims to the contrary, Newton Heath draw a huge amount of support from outside the city and as for their neighbours, when they arrived on the "biggest stage" last night their fans forgot to.

[VillaZogmariner]

How do pubs like The Adventurers do on non match days?

I'd imagine they do very poorly but match days more than make up for it, that can only be the reason someone is spending money doing up the rat pan.

I drove passed it earlier and it looked closed.

[Toronto Villa]

It is pretty sad that a city the size of Brum can't support a club with 50,000 gates.

I think as Brummies it takes a lot to get us excited and almost culturally we'd sooner bleat and moan than get behind something. We're so backwards at coming forward and speaking positively at what we have, yet we're almost unparalled when it comes to putting ourselves down, whatever the issue. Manchester, Liverpool and London folk seem to really talk themselves up. I've never got that impression about Midlanders in general.

[oldtimernow]

If only it was as easy to get rid of none performing players....

[Dave Cooper please]

How do pubs like The Adventurers do on non match days?

I'd imagine they do very poorly but match days more than make up for it, that can only be the reason someone is spending money doing up the rat pan.

They'll have their regulars from the local area, and don't forget that they aren't paying for any staff on any other day than a matchday, the landlord will be doing the serving.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think as Brummies it takes a lot to get us excited and almost culturally we'd sooner bleat and moan than get behind something. We're so backwards at coming forward and speaking positively at what we have, yet we're almost unparalled when it comes to putting ourselves down, whatever the issue. Manchester, Liverpool and London folk seem to really talk themselves up. I've never got that impression about Midlanders in general.

Looks like you're guilty of that yourself, Toronto.

[Cleybrooke]

How do pubs like The Adventurers do on non match days?

I'd imagine they do very poorly but match days more than make up for it, that can only be the reason someone is spending money doing up the rat pan.

They'll have their regulars from the local area, and don't forget that they aren't paying for any staff on any other day than a matchday, the landlord will be doing the serving.

Not sure about that - he live in Abotts Bromley.

[pauliewalnuts]

I'd imagine the upkeep costs of a building like the Adventurers, which has all the charm of a branch of B&Q, are somewhat low compared to those of the Holte Hotel.

On a wider point, the pub industry is dying on its arse and has been for a while.

The disappointing thing - well, no, actually, it's more telling than disappointing - is that three years ago they were willing to carry what is still a modest cost for the prestige of the club. Now they're not.

[Risso]

I'd imagine the upkeep costs of a building like the Adventurers, which has all the charm of a branch of B&Q, are somewhat low compared to those of the Holte Hotel.

On a wider point, the pub industry is dying on its arse and has been for a while.

The disappointing thing - well, no, actually, it's more telling than disappointing - is that three years ago they were willing to carry what is still a modest cost for the prestige of the club. Now they're not.

Is the pub industry dying on its arse though, really?  Obviously living over there you're better placed to comment than I am, but on my visits to the NW to see the family, I was actually surprised at how many pubs were still open and thriving.  Of course, lots have shut down, but I was impressed by how many had taken steps to increase trade, by things like tarting the pub up, or offering meals etc.  I can say that most of the decent pubs in Wigan that I'd ever have considered going to are still open, and the majority of the ones that shut were crap and refused to change with the times.  I can't think of many that I've seen that have shut that are a great loss to be honest. 

I realise that's pretty vague, and likely to be different throughout the country, but I see it as the pub industry has been forced to adapt, and that the good pubs have largely survived.

[pauliewalnuts]

All research shows that it's very much dying.

Good pubs surviving is good to see, but the industry as a whole is in decline.

[cheltenhamlion]

There are still plenty of pubs open round my way.

[Bottom Right 89]

To ensure this club remains competitive any part that is not making money has to be reviewed. I read a report recently where they produced a league table of wages compared to turnover for the premier league clubs. This may have improved in the last year as we have shifted most of the high earners but in 2009-10 we were up around the 80% mark, one of the highest in the league.

I think to restore this building to its former glory was a great idea, to turn it from the Bates motel into a revenue stream made commercial sense. If it now has to shut none match days because its costing too much to run so be it, it shows Randy is trying to reduce unneccessary cost so that we can still go and buy quality players.

What needs to happen is that this place packs out pre match and adds profit to the club. As a lapsed season ticket holder I never know if I am welcome to drink in here or not without having security clearance and a decent credit rating. There must be plenty of people just like me who would like to have a decent pint next to the ground on the 10 or sorties to Villa Park a season and whilst I accept there should be steps to ensure the Brummie Reds and other ferrals don't come in and trash the place, Villa fans need a decent pub that you can leave five minutes before kick off. Make it friendly, open to all Villa fans, get the beer right and get some decent staff who are polite, efficient and don't have to ask a manager to count the change from a tenner and they will come - put exclusive beer promotions and vouchers in H&V and we're all winners