Randy wants to cut wages further - Mirror article

[Chris Smith]

Blimey, now buying "Beye" is money wasted in the most "hideous and wanton manner imaginable".

I agree it was a poor signing but some perspective please. There's an increasing tendency to overstate arguments with hyperbolic language and the result is polarised and unproductive discussions.

Your debating style gets worse by the day.  I didn't even mention Beye, so to suggest that the money I was talking about being wasted was only on him, and then telling me to get some perspective based on your completely incorrect interpretation is ridiculous.  You're either being dim or setting yourself up as the new Coopers Injury to get a reaction.

Oh come off it, you're just deflecting now. You've often been way over the top in your choice of language but each post now seems an attempt to outdo your previous efforts. I'd expect to see phrases like "most hideous and wanton manner imagineable" in a debate about war or famine not a football clubs transfer policy.

The truth is some money was well spent, some less so. The overall amount was, in my view, not enough considering where we started from to put us in a position where finishing sixth could be classed as a major underachievement.

[dave.woodhall]

The thing that gets me is that Faulkner is almost as anonymous as Randy.  OK, if the owner doesn't like the limelight then fair enough, but you compensate for that with a chief executive who does and is both media savvy and experienced. 

 

Like the ones at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United for example? Without looking it up, name all six.

David Gill (united) Bruce Buck (Chelsea) no idea since Dein at Arse.

One out of three. 

[kippaxvilla2]

Aint bad.

[dave.woodhall]

Groups were looking at Villa that weren't really interested in other clubs that were available at the time.

And remembering who, that's the scary thing.

[kippaxvilla2]

Groups were looking at Villa that weren't really interested in other clubs that were available at the time.

And remembering who, that's the scary thing.

Sir Nicholas Padfield QC
Michael (Nice Semi In Solihull) Neville
Bryan Richardson
A consortium lead by Sven
George Gillette!
A Consortium lead by Dave Ismay.

[Concrete John]

The thing that gets me is that Faulkner is almost as anonymous as Randy.  OK, if the owner doesn't like the limelight then fair enough, but you compensate for that with a chief executive who does and is both media savvy and experienced. 

Like the ones at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United for example? Without looking it up, name all six.

It's no about being famous or appearing on Sky Sports News every day, but rather about being the public face, voice and personality of our club and it's owner to OUR fans.  I couldn't care less whether he is known to fans of other clubs, hence I don't really get what your point is?   

[Ads]

Paulie, I'm just surprised you now think there aren't many billionaires willing to invest in football after your previous talk of loads of them queueing up to do so.

No, I said someone would always be there to buy a club like Liverpool, which is exactly what happened.

Clubs in that 2nd tier on the otherhand, such as Everton go wanting.

[dave.woodhall]

The thing that gets me is that Faulkner is almost as anonymous as Randy.  OK, if the owner doesn't like the limelight then fair enough, but you compensate for that with a chief executive who does and is both media savvy and experienced. 

Like the ones at Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United for example? Without looking it up, name all six.

It's no about being famous or appearing on Sky Sports News every day, but arther about being the public face, voice and personality of our club and it's owber to OUR fans.  I couldn't care less whether he is known to fans of other clubs, hence I don't really get what your point is?   

Clubs don't exist in a bubble. We know more about others now than we ever did, so if their employees are well-known to their own supporter,s chances are that they'll be well-known to others. The CEOs of the three most successful clubs of the past twenty years aren't. That's the point.

[Chris Smith]

What do we want them to say? If, for instance, Faulkner issued a statement to oldie saying Randy wasn't looking to sell, half us would dismiss it as bullshit. If he says the ambition is still there he'll get don't tell us, show us thrown at him. What could they say that would satisfy most of us? That's a genuine question, I dislike bring in the dark as much as the rest of you but am at something of a loss to think what it is they might say.


They do hold the regular Supporter Consultation Groups but little seems to get publicised. Perhaps they need to make more of those.

[Mazrim]

Faulkner may get more flak than he deserves, I honestly dont know. But it's his responsibility to make somebody communicate with us. And when the owner and chairman are as elusive as Randy (which is his prerogative) the onus is on the CEO to pick up the slack.
To my mind, that has not happened or is not happening.
I also think it's a factor in dropping the attendance by a few thousand. Which if nothing else is costing the club money.
It's... cack.

[Concrete John]

Clubs don't exist in a bubble. We know more about others now than we ever did, so if their employees are well-known to their own supporter,s chances are that they'll be well-known to others. The CEOs of the three most successful clubs of the past twenty years aren't. That's the point.

I'd imagine every Villa fan can, or at least should be able to, name our chief executive.  I'd be very surprised if fans of other clubs, certainly those outside the Midlands area, would know the name Paul Faulkner.  Why?  Becuase it's of no interest to them.  I've probably read the names of the guys of at the clubs you mentioned dozens of times this year alone in the papers or heard them mentioned/interviewed on tele, yet I would not recall them as they simply do not interest me.  I'd imagine the same of Faulkner no matter how much, how regularly or how well he communicates with us.   

[dave.woodhall]

Clubs don't exist in a bubble. We know more about others now than we ever did, so if their employees are well-known to their own supporter,s chances are that they'll be well-known to others. The CEOs of the three most successful clubs of the past twenty years aren't. That's the point.

I'd imagine every Villa fan can, or at least should be able to, name our chief executive.  I'd be very surprised if fans of other clubs, certainly those outside the Midlands area, would know the name Paul Faulkner.  Why?  Becuase it's of no interest to them.  I've probably read the names of the guys of at the clubs you mentioned dozens of times this year alone in the papers or heard them mentioned/interviewed on tele, yet I would not recall them as they simply do not interest me.  I'd imagine the same of Faulkner no matter how much, how regularly or how well he communicates with us.   

You expect someone to be very well-known to us, but not to anyone else? I think that's a bit unlikely. I do agree that we need to sharpen up the PR, but we had one central figurehead before and look where that got us. We should also maybe remember that during the days when Randy was being lionized, one of the things he was congratulated for was his low media profile. It might appear a bit of a volte face to now say he should be in the press all the time. Besides, as Chris says, what could he or anyone else say that wouldn't be picked to pieces?

[Mazrim]

What do we want them to say? If, for instance, Faulkner issued a statement to oldie saying Randy wasn't looking to sell, half us would dismiss it as bullshit. If he says the ambition is still there he'll get don't tell us, show us thrown at him. What could they say that would satisfy most of us? That's a genuine question, I dislike bring in the dark as much as the rest of you but am at something of a loss to think what it is they might say.


They do hold the regular Supporter Consultation Groups but little seems to get publicised. Perhaps they need to make more of those.

I've always been a big fan of honesty. I believe fans could accept most things if you shoot straight with them.
If the plan is tighten the belt and trust in the youth for a few years or trim off the fat and spend again or get the club in a position to sell, be out with it. Saying nothing is only a sign of indifference and disinterest. It leaves too much room to fill the blanks in and Brummies tend to do that in the most miserable fashion.

What was the last thing of note we had? A thinly veiled sarcastic "fuck off, we know what we're doing, you dont" when McLeish (a massively unpopular appointment only likely to inflame the support) was appointed. It required a very good explanation and we didnt get one. It didnt go down well. It was very poor communication.
And since the communication has pretty much stopped completely apart from stomach churning propaganda on pravda where everything is super this and cassy that (please Mr Paul Brown, just fucking stop it).

A few fans group meetings are all well and good but they're not that frequent and only a handful can attend. It doesn't cut it.
Like I say, let us know the score and we can deal with it, possibly even embrace it.

[Concrete John]

Clubs don't exist in a bubble. We know more about others now than we ever did, so if their employees are well-known to their own supporter,s chances are that they'll be well-known to others. The CEOs of the three most successful clubs of the past twenty years aren't. That's the point.

I'd imagine every Villa fan can, or at least should be able to, name our chief executive.  I'd be very surprised if fans of other clubs, certainly those outside the Midlands area, would know the name Paul Faulkner.  Why?  Becuase it's of no interest to them.  I've probably read the names of the guys of at the clubs you mentioned dozens of times this year alone in the papers or heard them mentioned/interviewed on tele, yet I would not recall them as they simply do not interest me.  I'd imagine the same of Faulkner no matter how much, how regularly or how well he communicates with us.   

You expect someone to be very well-known to us, but not to anyone else? I think that's a bit unlikely. I do agree that we need to sharpen up the PR, but we had one central figurehead before and look where that got us. We should also maybe remember that during the days when Randy was being lionized, one of the things he was congratulated for was his low media profile. It might appear a bit of a volte face to now say he should be in the press all the time. Besides, as Chris says, what could he or anyone else say that wouldn't be picked to pieces?

I think Faulkner is well known, or at least as well known to non-Villa fans as other club's men are to us, and Randy is well known aswell.  But my point is that should one, the chairman, be a bit of a recluse, the onus is on his chief executive to be more vocal than he has been.

It's not about getting more famous - it's about getting more involved with the media/PR elements of the job.  More interviews in papers, etc.  That won't make Man Utd fans know who he is anymore than we know their CEO, but it will make the club have more of a public face to the fans.

As for what he should be saying, that's a difficult one for me.  In truth I think the damage is done now as any reassuring words would be untrusted, yet had we been seeing and hearing from him more regularly since he was in the job it'd be a more 'business as usual' feel as opposed to the 'damage limitation/get the fans back onside' exercise it would now be percieved as.   

[pauliewalnuts]

Paulie, I'm just surprised you now think there aren't many billionaires willing to invest in football after your previous talk of loads of them queueing up to do so.

No, I said someone would always be there to buy a club like Liverpool, which is exactly what happened.

Clubs in that 2nd tier on the otherhand, such as Everton go wanting.

Precisely, but Percy is missing off the fact that I said there would always be people wanting to buy Liverpool - which is the club we were specifically talking about.

If he's implying I said there were plenty of billionaires queuing up to invest in football, then he's massively wide of the mark - I said nothing of the sort.