Job Losses At The Club

[deero83]

Well I'm going to try the Aston Hotel tomorrow.
Any tips?

[cheltenhamlion]

If you are lucky I will get you a card for 30p a pint off at The Bartons.

[Dave Cooper please]

As is usual once the pub closing debates start i have to point out (even though someone else has already said it) that good pubs are surviving. And I'm noticing now that some of the dodgier places round my way are trying different things, curry nights, live music, a real ale handpull (had a pint of Pardoes Original in a pub just down the road earlier, The New Talbot, very nice and had it not stuck a board up outside advertising it I wouldn't have gone in).

[Chris Smith]

The problem is, Dave, the places that close tend to be pubs that suit the locals just fine. The sort of place where the same blokes go in a few nights a week and have 3 pints. You can tart them up and make them more attractive to a wider clientele but then the regulars don't like it so they've lost their boozer anyway.

[Chico Hamilton III]

a real ale handpull

is that a euphemism for getting wanked off by a barmaid?

[KRS]

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

Exactly.

With regards to pubs in general, I agree the best run and popular establishments will remain open but there are a lot struggling to stay open or closing completely. I'm seeing more and more pubs boarded up and closed for business in what has become a highly competitive market. A well known pub and restaurant local to myself closed down a few months ago and has recently reopened as a "Hungry Horse"...I havent been yet myself but they must be doing a great trade judging from the full car park during the daytime and evenings.

[Risso]

The problem is, Dave, the places that close tend to be pubs that suit the locals just fine. The sort of place where the same blokes go in a few nights a week and have 3 pints. You can tart them up and make them more attractive to a wider clientele but then the regulars don't like it so they've lost their boozer anyway.

The trouble is, a rundown back street boozer which serves one or two old blokes a night, isn't really a viable business model whichever way you look at it.

[Chris Smith]

I know you're right, Risso, but they're important parts of communities and they're disappearing at a rate of around 40 a week.

[big 1st serve]

Not sure if its been mentioned earlier, but with a bit of development , prehaps the Holte pub,

could be developed into a museum  as its position is perfect when you approach VP.

Reading this thread really makes  you think as to how my match day ritual has changed over

years;

1977- 82,  Meet at the Aston Tavern, have too much lager,

1982- 2000  , Ansells Social , Perry Barr  pre & post match, cheap beer & communal balti !

2000- present , Bartons, getting there too early, drinking too much & eating Thai food.

he -ho 

[Dave Cooper please]

The problem is, Dave, the places that close tend to be pubs that suit the locals just fine. The sort of place where the same blokes go in a few nights a week and have 3 pints. You can tart them up and make them more attractive to a wider clientele but then the regulars don't like it so they've lost their boozer anyway.

I agree to a point, but if the locals can't put enough money behind the bar then their pub will shut. I'll take the example of The New Talbot near me again, it hasn't changed a whole lot, same fittings, same locals. What it has is a forward looking landlord, he's done some research, put grub on that will attract the nearby factory and office workers, stuck a handpull on to pull in the odd (very odd) CAMRA Man and chose his guest well, put local bands on at the weekends....etc.
All the usual punters are still drinking there, but now it also gets enough other trade to make a profit.

Just being the local boozer isn't good enough any more.

[hawkeye]

the smoking ban has had a massive impact, if they had allowed pubs to make a choice then thousands of pubs would have been saved. the good news is that you can go to a pub without smelling of and breathing cigarette smoke, the bad news is that there are far fewer pubs

[wozwebs]

Was at a Network Villa event this morning with Paul Faulkner as the guest speaker. As well as a superb 3 course breakfast it was a great event in general.

He talked about the transfer window and how the logistics of it all worked out, players having to catch flights, getting stuck in traffic, having two hospitals set up ready for Hutton and Jenas, which took 3 hours each and the faxes finally going off around 10:40pm.

Then came around our table and spent quite some time chatting to us. Given this opportunity I thought I would ask him a couple of questions. I said that I appreciate everything that Randy has done and think he has been fantastic but I asked why he never personally speaks to the fans, either in interviews, not just in the national / local press, but could use AVTV to do so. In 6 years I've only ever heard himi speak once on central news.

Paul's reply was that Randy likes to do his talking 'on the pitch' in respect of spending the money on the club and players etc and doesn't like to court the media. I said I could understand that but a little more, even as a PR gesture to the fans wouldn't go a miss.

Some less Internet savvy fans, who don't read posts from the General (or even know who he is) really have had no feedback from him since he came, apart from the ST holder letter we had pre-season.

Also questioned why when the screen by the North stand was taken down it wasn't put back up. He said aesthetically it didn't look very good up there and that the picture quality wasn't great anyway. He mentioned that Old Trafford and Anfield don't have them and we all managed before the came in.

Valid points but I got quite used to them watching the pre-match build up and replays after goals.

But overall I though Paul came across excellently, didn't shirk any questions asked of him, very composed and you can tell he genuinely wants the best for the club. He said that some of the young kids like Johnson that he watches in the reservesre looking very bright and that he hopes Bannan and Albrighton get a long run in the side.

Also spoke to someone about the Holte pub and they said that it isso hard to predict the amount of people coming in. One day last week there were 2 people dining in there, same day the week after 46 turned up so hard to account for staff numbers etc. Match days always busy.

Nothing worthy of a H&V meltdown but hopefully gives a small insight.

[Dave Cooper please]

the smoking ban has had a massive impact, if they had allowed pubs to make a choice then thousands of pubs would have been saved. the good news is that you can go to a pub without smelling of and breathing cigarette smoke, the bad news is that there are far fewer pubs

I don't think it has. Have smokers just stopped going to pubs?
Most every smoker I have spoken to has carried on drinking and the only change they have made is to maybe move to a pub with a better smokers area.
Pubs are closing because there is less money to spare and a lot of competing leisure activities for what there is, plus you can buy your beer and wine far cheaper in Asda. It's no good just being a 'local' any more.
If pubs like The Black Eagle can survive despite it being in possibly the worst location you could think of then there's hope for any landlord willing to think about doing something more than just serving Carling.

[dave.woodhall]

I don't know of a single decent pub that's closed for years, smoking ban or no. I daresay a lot of landlords have used it as an excuse and a few have had to close because they couldn't be arsed moving with the times and proving more than the basics.   

[Chris Smith]

I don't know of a single decent pub that's closed for years, smoking ban or no. I daresay a lot of landlords have used it as an excuse and a few have had to close because they couldn't be arsed moving with the times and proving more than the basics.   

 I think the Longbridge closure has had a huge impact round here. There just isn't the same sort of money in the local economy and all the pubs mentioned by a couple of us earlier are within a mile or two of the factory. Social clubs seem to have survived as they're a lot cheaper.