Randy Lerner

[dave.woodhall]

It's going to be very late in the day before all Villa fans really appreciate what's going on at this club.

Well there's been a constant down playing of the problems at the club until the shit has completely hit the fan this season.

Sad to see people attacking this former employee who has revealed so much. Whistleblowers should be supported not held up to ridicule.

She's "revealed" nothing other than she's a bit pissed off because her job isn't what it used to be while local media with a blatant agenda are making out that a few bits of gossip - most of which are common knowledge -  equates to Woodward and Bernstein.

To be fair, I didn't know that Fox had two body guards at all times.. or that he stripped supporters of their season tickets for simple and deserved dissent. That stinks of Putin and it's a joke.

I didn't know certain employees were cut off at halftime as a money saving tactic. That can't be true. How much could that really save? £2-3,000? Pathetic.

I'm glad she stuck up for other employees caught in the crossfire, too.

He doesn't have "bodyguards". He probably has a couple of stewards nearby in case things get out of hand. We don't know the full story of the confiscated season ticket, and with all due respect to the parties involved I've lost count of the number of supporter/steward incidents that have two sides to the story. Matchday staff have been working until half-time for as long as I can remember - after all, what's the point of paying turnstile oeprators when their turnstiles have closed or waiting staff when there's nothing to wait? If it's pathetic now, it was pathetic back then as well.

[olaftab]

Daily Mail now on the Staff letter:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3454730/Aston-Villa-crisis-unveiled-matchday-receptionist-posts-resignation-letter-online-revealing-soul-destroying-plight.html

[tomd2103]

Somebody's not renewing because their meat isn't served at the table properly?

Fuck modern football right in its twatty ear.

Why should they keep paying if the standard of service they receive is dropping? I'd have thought one of the main reasons someone has a box is the service they receive, otherwise they'd 'just' have a normal ST.

I'm sure how chilled the champagne is and how choice the meat is must be great concerns. I get corporate schmoozing, but it doesn't alter my view that it's shit.

When they are spending thousands for hospitality i'm sure it is a concern if it's a lower standard.
Same as people on here would complain if the pies/beer were of lower quality but cost the same.
And it's nothing to do with modern football, there's been boxes at VP since the North Stand was built.

It's often that the small things going wrong is symptomatic of bigger problems.  A friend of mine won a hospitality day at Villa Park in a raffle in November.  He had to fill a form in and send it into the club and he was told they then would be in touch saying which game it was going to be.  He hasn't heard anything.

It might be only a very small thing, but it's poor standards, something which seems to be inherent throughout the club.  Perhaps somewhat naively, I have always viewed Villa as a club that has certain standards and a touch of class.  It seems that is no longer the case.

[PeterWithesShin]

If it's true, and it is an if as I don't know for sure, it's worrying as well if they are scrimping money on the people that spend a fortune. It's £9-40K a year for a box at VP, depending on size and the stand, and they pay that mainly for the hospitality and rightly expect a certain standard of service to continue. It may not mean much to most of us as we don't relate to it but if it pisses off someone paying maybe £40K a year into the coffers then it matters as they aren't just paying to watch the game, they are paying for the bells and whistles as well.

[CT Villan]

Perhaps somewhat naively, I have always viewed Villa as a club that has certain standards and a touch of class.  It seems that is no longer the case.

You are correct...what was once Harrods is fast-becoming Poundland.

[A Northern Soul]

What frightens me is that we aren't just a premier league club heading for a bumpy ride for a few years due to a couple of bad managers and a poor set of players, like say Boro, Derby, Fulham or even Forest, but we are a broken club on a fast spiral downwards like Leeds or Pompey. We all know that there isn't a quick fix in the summer - that a change of manager (rightly or wrongly) or the injection of 4 decent players will remedy. It is fundamentally broken, some of the players on paper aren't THAT bad and all of our recent managers aren't successively more shit than their predecessor. Look at the rate of demise of Leeds (when they fell quickly to Div 3) and Pompey and it was all about dreadful business decisions, asset stripping and downgrading without a proper infrastructure in place. I hope to God I am wrong but there is very little to cling onto right now.

[olaftab]

If it's true, and it is an if as I don't know for sure, it's worrying as well if they are scrimping money on the people that spend a fortune. It's £9-40K a year for a box at VP, depending on size and the stand, and they pay that mainly for the hospitality and rightly expect a certain standard of service to continue. It may not mean much to most of us as we don't relate to it but if it pisses off someone paying maybe £40K a year into the coffers then it matters as they aren't just paying to watch the game, they are paying for the bells and whistles as well.

Absolutely right. This is big money and that's why clubs like Arsenal have invested a fortune to exploit corporate hospitality and gather the riches it brings. We must not dismiss it as who cares about "prawn sandwich" brigade.

[boboonthecorner]

With this employee now making public the letter she apparently sent the club, do you think people are jumping on the bandwagon here? Why don't we hear about this happening at clubs who get relegated year in year out or is it because we were once a club of stature and the media love to see the downfall of such establishments?

[Villafirst]

Whatever the publicity, it's still bad publicity. When was the last piece of good uplifting publicity to come out of the club? Lerner and Fox going would be a good start!

[Locko]

What frightens me is that we aren't just a premier league club heading for a bumpy ride for a few years due to a couple of bad managers and a poor set of players, like say Boro, Derby, Fulham or even Forest, but we are a broken club on a fast spiral downwards like Leeds or Pompey. We all know that there isn't a quick fix in the summer - that a change of manager (rightly or wrongly) or the injection of 4 decent players will remedy. It is fundamentally broken, some of the players on paper aren't THAT bad and all of our recent managers aren't successively more shit than their predecessor. Look at the rate of demise of Leeds (when they fell quickly to Div 3) and Pompey and it was all about dreadful business decisions, asset stripping and downgrading without a proper infrastructure in place. I hope to God I am wrong but there is very little to cling onto right now.

The club isn't just on a slippery slope it's fallen off a precipice. The disinterested American has appointed another layer of  mediocrity to hide behind in axeman Hollis. Lerner a man who strikes me as barely capable of brushing his own teeth has forgotten  we exist, we will be sold when he snuffs it: when they clear out his estate and someone finds this little soccer club dear old Randy owns. The the slide will continue until this point. I'm depressed...

[claret and blue blood]

I've read through all of the last few pages of this thread and I listened to the interview on the link on here.
What she is saying is a typical description of life at Villa Park of late including match days. I prefer to use the evidence of my own eyes and ears and this only backs up what she is saying, stewards and police jumping on fans in the lower Doug Ellis whose only 'crime' was to spontaneously start a we want Lerner out chant, one of the girls at work who isn't a Villa fan does the betting in the Trinity and she has told me the fans are'nt happy about self service for food, one of the customers I speak to is the printer who did a lot of work for the Villa including all the mosaic panels we held up at Wembley and his opinion now is terrible of the state of the club.
I did leave after the 5th goal on Sunday and walking down Witton Lane glanced inside the Doug Ellis and fancied another quick look , only to be greeted by a surly steward whose attitude a member of Hitler's SS would have been proud of.
Fair play to that lady.

[VillaAlways]

I've read through all of the last few pages of this thread and I listened to the interview on the link on here.
What she is saying is a typical description of life at Villa Park of late including match days. I prefer to use the evidence of my own eyes and ears and this only backs up what she is saying, stewards and police jumping on fans in the lower Doug Ellis whose only 'crime' was to spontaneously start a we want Lerner out chant, one of the girls at work who isn't a Villa fan does the betting in the Trinity and she has told me the fans are'nt happy about self service for food, one of the customers I speak to is the printer who did a lot of work for the Villa including all the mosaic panels we held up at Wembley and his opinion now is terrible of the state of the club.
I did leave after the 5th goal on Sunday and walking down Witton Lane glanced inside the Doug Ellis and fancied another quick look , only to be greeted by a surly steward whose attitude a member of Hitler's SS would have been proud of.
Fair play to that lady.

Absolutely agree. A true Villa fan of many years according to a friend of mine who wouldn't of done this lightly I hope she has another job lined up following her resignation

[AV89]

If even a fraction of what she's said is true, then it shows what appalling decay the Lerner regime have allowed to set in.

Getting rid if experienced staff and bringing people recruited from agencies is real penny pinching.  Cheap labour.

[tomd2103]

What frightens me is that we aren't just a premier league club heading for a bumpy ride for a few years due to a couple of bad managers and a poor set of players, like say Boro, Derby, Fulham or even Forest, but we are a broken club on a fast spiral downwards like Leeds or Pompey. We all know that there isn't a quick fix in the summer - that a change of manager (rightly or wrongly) or the injection of 4 decent players will remedy. It is fundamentally broken, some of the players on paper aren't THAT bad and all of our recent managers aren't successively more shit than their predecessor. Look at the rate of demise of Leeds (when they fell quickly to Div 3) and Pompey and it was all about dreadful business decisions, asset stripping and downgrading without a proper infrastructure in place. I hope to God I am wrong but there is very little to cling onto right now.

Portsmouth and Leeds were both in a much worse financial state than us weren't they?  As for the point in bold, it sounds like the club is in desperate need of revitalisation from top to bottom and that is something only a motivated new owner will bring.

[dave.woodhall]

I've read through all of the last few pages of this thread and I listened to the interview on the link on here.
What she is saying is a typical description of life at Villa Park of late including match days. I prefer to use the evidence of my own eyes and ears and this only backs up what she is saying, stewards and police jumping on fans in the lower Doug Ellis whose only 'crime' was to spontaneously start a we want Lerner out chant, one of the girls at work who isn't a Villa fan does the betting in the Trinity and she has told me the fans are'nt happy about self service for food, one of the customers I speak to is the printer who did a lot of work for the Villa including all the mosaic panels we held up at Wembley and his opinion now is terrible of the state of the club.
I did leave after the 5th goal on Sunday and walking down Witton Lane glanced inside the Doug Ellis and fancied another quick look , only to be greeted by a surly steward whose attitude a member of Hitler's SS would have been proud of.
Fair play to that lady.

Absolutely agree. A true Villa fan of many years according to a friend of mine who wouldn't of done this lightly I hope she has another job lined up following her resignation

It isn't her job. She does a couple of hours on matchday.