Kendrick Says It's Time To Ask Questions

[saunders_heroes]

You say that because you agree with him. Would you want equal weight to be given to an opinion that you don't agree with?

Publish and be damned.  The club puts out messages tailored to its own agenda, all clubs do; why then not the other side of the story?

Because then you're headed down the road of 'fan spokesman,' giving far too much weight to individuals (particularly on the internet) and all that bollocks.

I've never read anything from Hodgson about him wanting to be a fan spokesman. I've heard you interviewed on radio and TV yet I've never once thought of you as any spokesman so why should I or anyone think of Hodgson as one?

[dave.woodhall]

Do you really want the press to go with one man's personal grudge and pass it off as the weight of public opinion?

Yes I do actually. I could care less about his ejection from the directors, but the reason they threw him out was because of his concerns of where the club is heading, which is 100% relevant. We've had 4 years of decline and it's about time we put a bit of pressure on the club.

You say that because you agree with him. Would you want equal weight to be given to an opinion that you don't agree with? 

I'm not sure what you mean. If I didn't like what was being said I'd take no notice of it.

I haven't looked at the reports but 'Fan Slams Villa Board' would be my guess at the headlines. Would you be so eager for them to give equal prominence to a pro-board article?

[hilts_coolerking]

Because then you're headed down the road of 'fan spokesman,' giving far too much weight to individuals (particularly on the internet) and all that bollocks.

I don't see how otherwise the other side of the story gets told.  It seems to me it doesn't much matter who the alternative version is attributed to so long as it's valid.  I'm not particularly bothered about seeing 'fan spokesman Jonathan Fear / Dave Woodhall / Howard Hodgson / whoever' in articles so long as what they say is valid.  It's up to the reader to determine that for themselves and they can't do that if they don't get a chance to read it.

[saunders_heroes]

Do you really want the press to go with one man's personal grudge and pass it off as the weight of public opinion?

Yes I do actually. I could care less about his ejection from the directors, but the reason they threw him out was because of his concerns of where the club is heading, which is 100% relevant. We've had 4 years of decline and it's about time we put a bit of pressure on the club.

You say that because you agree with him. Would you want equal weight to be given to an opinion that you don't agree with? 

I'm not sure what you mean. If I didn't like what was being said I'd take no notice of it.

I haven't looked at the reports but 'Fan Slams Villa Board' would be my guess at the headlines. Would you be so eager for them to give equal prominence to a pro-board article?

I hope that is the headline, as they deserve to be put under pressure. As for a pro board article, I doubt if they'd be many fans wanting to write something pro board considering the crap they've put us through these last 4 years, but if you want to write one, go ahead and write it.

[hilts_coolerking]

I haven't looked at the reports but 'Fan Slams Villa Board' would be my guess at the headlines. Would you be so eager for them to give equal prominence to a pro-board article?

Anything the club puts out is going to be pro-board, unless there's some rogue maniac in the press department.

[dave.woodhall]

Do you really want the press to go with one man's personal grudge and pass it off as the weight of public opinion?

Yes I do actually. I could care less about his ejection from the directors, but the reason they threw him out was because of his concerns of where the club is heading, which is 100% relevant. We've had 4 years of decline and it's about time we put a bit of pressure on the club.

You say that because you agree with him. Would you want equal weight to be given to an opinion that you don't agree with? 

I'm not sure what you mean. If I didn't like what was being said I'd take no notice of it.

I haven't looked at the reports but 'Fan Slams Villa Board' would be my guess at the headlines. Would you be so eager for them to give equal prominence to a pro-board article?

I hope that is the headline, as they deserve to be put under pressure. As for a pro board article, I doubt if they'd be many fans wanting to write something pro board considering the crap they've put us through these last 4 years, but if you want to write one, go ahead and write it.

I've no desire to, but that's not the point.

[PeterWithesShin]

That he says we never had 4 bad seasons in a row under Ellis makes me think he is a prat.

Go on then, tell us when was the last time Villa had 4 consecutive relegation battles.

Bad seasons is the term used. Nearly relegated, relegated bottom of the league, promoted by the skin of our teeth with things out of our control by the end, nearly relegated.

If that isn't 4 bad seasons in a row then I don't know what is.

[saunders_heroes]

That he says we never had 4 bad seasons in a row under Ellis makes me think he is a prat.

Go on then, tell us when was the last time Villa had 4 consecutive relegation battles.

Bad seasons is the term used. Nearly relegated, relegated bottom of the league, promoted by the skin of our teeth with things out of our control by the end, nearly relegated.

If that isn't 4 bad seasons in a row then I don't know what is.

Well if you're gonna split hairs, when was the last time promotion was deemed a bad season?

[Isa]

Whatever the club, the CEO is chief scapegoat.

It depends on the structure of the club as to whether it is unfair though. At a club like Spurs, Levy basically has power over the strategy and makes all the major decisions for example. Whereas I don't believe this is the case with Faulkner which is why I don't blame him for the McLeish hiring or the general decline over the last few years.

Do you really want the press to go with one man's personal grudge and pass it off as the weight of public opinion?

Harsh to dismiss it as 'one-man's personal grudge'. Firstly because most of the points made do echo the concerns and thoughts of many. Secondly because I don't believe that Howard made it personal in his piece. He expresses his disappointment about his treatment by the club for just daring to question the direction under the current regime, made all the worse due to his and his family's long-standing association with the club establishment. Such a draconian reaction by them is worth mentioning and revealing to other fans as it gives a telling insight into those who run and have control here.

[hilts_coolerking]

Bad seasons is the term used. Nearly relegated, relegated bottom of the league, promoted by the skin of our teeth with things out of our control by the end, nearly relegated.

If that isn't 4 bad seasons in a row then I don't know what is.

I'm not sure that even Risso at his gloomiest would describe promotion as a bad season.

[PeterWithesShin]

That he says we never had 4 bad seasons in a row under Ellis makes me think he is a prat.

Go on then, tell us when was the last time Villa had 4 consecutive relegation battles.

Bad seasons is the term used. Nearly relegated, relegated bottom of the league, promoted by the skin of our teeth with things out of our control by the end, nearly relegated.

If that isn't 4 bad seasons in a row then I don't know what is.

Well if you're gonna split hairs, when was the last time promotion was deemed a bad season?

I'm hardly splitting hairs when the term used in Hodgson's post is bad seasons, it is you that switched it to relegation battles. When it involved Aston Villa. Promotion is shit because we shouldn't be there in the first place.

[PeterWithesShin]

Bad seasons is the term used. Nearly relegated, relegated bottom of the league, promoted by the skin of our teeth with things out of our control by the end, nearly relegated.

If that isn't 4 bad seasons in a row then I don't know what is.

I'm not sure that even Risso at his gloomiest would describe promotion as a bad season.

So not being in the top flight isn't a bad season for Aston Villa?

[hilts_coolerking]

So not being in the top flight isn't a bad season for Aston Villa?

If relegation has happened then promotion is the best possible response to it surely?

[Chinchilla Bathhouse]

I'm not sure he deserves all these personal attacks does he?  I mean, he's been called a prat (x2), a twat, pompous, an ego maniac, and so on, some of which may well be true but surely the most important thing is whether what he says is valid?

Precisely. It's pathetic.

No, that's not the most important thing at all.  My points, which you seem to have missed, are that the validity of his argument is sorely undermined by his admission that he's had a personal fall-out with the people he's criticising, and also that he's failed to back up his opinions with factual evidence.  It's not a report, it's an opinion piece, and it's the opinion piece of a man who has an axe to grind.  He may make some valid points that resonate with a lot of us, but he's simply not the right man to be making them.

If the aim here is to put pressure on the board by publicising our dissatisfaction and alerting the nation to our plight (and I assume it is), then the most important thing is to have it presented articulately and factually.  We have to be able to present the irrefutable evidence that justifies our disgruntlement, otherwise we're just another bunch of whingeing fans who think we deserve better. 

You might be happy for Hodgson to put himself forward as a spokesman for all of us, but I'm not.  If his piece makes the national press all the focus will be on his spat and his motives for writing the piece.  Any important issues he raises may well be overlooked, and that in turn might make it harder for someone else to bring them to wider attention.  He doesn't appear to have considered that, which is why I have referred to him as an egocentric prat.  Or whatever it was I called him.  I apologise if that offends your sensibilities but I think he could do more harm than good. 

[PeterWithesShin]

So not being in the top flight isn't a bad season for Aston Villa?

If relegation has happened then promotion is the best possible response to it surely?

Staying up on goal difference is better than being relegated, won't stop it being a bad season will it.

If you and SH think Villa being in the second divsion was a good season then more power to you, I fucking hated it and thought it was shit.