AGM - Protest

[passitsideways]

The fuck-ups were the summers of 2013 and 2014 (and 2012, sort of) - i.e. before the current big wigs at the club turned up. It's one thing if players of genuine quality were available and willing to come here yet the board was unwilling to spend the necessary sizeable amounts to get them; but that's not the case here - we're talking about bog-standard players here who realistically won't move the needle much on our survival hopes.

[villadelph]

The fuck-ups were the summers of 2013 and 2014 (and 2012, sort of) - i.e. before the current big wigs at the club turned up. It's one thing if players of genuine quality were available and willing to come here yet the board was unwilling to spend the necessary sizeable amounts to get them; but that's not the case here - we're talking about bog-standard players here who realistically won't move the needle much on our survival hopes.

I'll be the first to admit I approved of lambert, but don't forget the managerial/hierarchy appointments. There has been far too many mistakes on every front. I honestly can't believe we stayed up this long..

[LTA]

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so7ebb

[Witton Warrior]

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so7ebb

Blimey - that's upset him then - did the room really "erupt in laughter"?

[AV82EC]

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so7ebb

Ah bless him the delicate little flower.

Collymore, an annoying sideshow to be honest.

[adrenachrome]

Full transcript of the meeting from Steve Wollaston  via the Birmingham Mail.


Steve Hollis meets the fans

[FrankyH]

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so7ebb

Boo frickty Hoo , so if we haven't phone up Talkshite as supporters we are all as culpable as the board ! Yes Stan I am guilty as charged.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1so7ebb

Boo frickty Hoo , so if we haven't phone up Talkshite as supporters we are all as culpable as the board ! Yes Stan I am guilty as charged.

collymore can fuck off, for the club he claims to love he couldnt really be arsed when he played for us

[SoccerHQ]

Established players don't want to join us though, surely it's not defeatist to say that?

I think that's just a cop out. There are decent players out there that might join on short term deals if we offered them the money. That's the problem though (in my opinion), we won't pay the wages for these players. Our wage bill goes down every season so it's no wonder the team is sinking like a stone along with it.

Well seems we want (ed) Remy and Debuchy on loan...they're not exactly racing up the M6 are they? In any case their parent clubs would pay most of their wages.

[AVH87]

Full transcript of the meeting from Steve Wollaston  via the Birmingham Mail.


Steve Hollis meets the fans

Thanks for that. I don't feel too negative after reading that, we all know we are in a nightmare situation and whatever was said can't change that. I don't think chucking big money around now would be the right thing to do either, as we'd probably still go down, only in the process we'd have harmed our chances of coming straight back up.

The way I see it there's two new guys at the club, the first is Garde, who I'm positive about. The second is Hollis, who we all have to give time and not make any assumptions just because Lerner has appointed him, he's now the chairman and it's his neck on the line.

Garde has the feel of a proper manager about him to me, not the caretaker-feel Sherwood had. I'm confident under Garde we wouldn't go into any season undercooked in terms of fitness, and in terms of our squad (Gestede as main CF, Guzan main keeper), this happened under Sherwood's watch.

I would have preferred a chairman with more of a sporting background, but we will have to hope Hollis's business experience in other areas along with his knowledge of English football through being a fan means he can do a good job.

[amfy]

Reading the transcript it would be interesting to see if anyone can point out where he called us customers?

He refers to customer in business, and how you lose them in any business if you don't provide a good service, and then he immediately refers to US as FANS, in the next sentence.

It's not in any way an unreasonable statement, but let's use a misquote to support our pre-conceived view that he's useless, when he's hardly been here a week, and scatter it all over Twitter.

[Dave]

Reading the transcript it would be interesting to see if anyone can point out where he called us customers?

He refers to customer in business, and how you lose them in any business if you don't provide a good service, and then he immediately refers to US as FANS, in the next sentence.

He even clarifies that point later - when he says "my apologies for using the word ‘customer’. It was directed at previous businesses who have never actually had supporters".

Claiming that he was calling Villa supporters customers is pretty disingenuous. Or misreading what he said.

"Every business I have ever been involved in is only as good as the service you provide for your customer, the relationship that you have with your customer and suppliers".

That's pretty clear that he's talking about what he has done previously rather than what he is about to do at Villa.

[Ormy Droid]

I can't say that I agree with some of the doom and gloom about the AGM, at least from the transcript I've read. It actually sounded as if Fox gave a half decent account of where we've been going wrong, and that slowly we're putting things right (though too late to save our place on the gravy train). I'm slightly more confident now that we've got a chance at restructuring the club for the Championship and coming straight back up than I was before. So hopefully we won't do a Leeds, Forest, Sheff Wed, etc.

A more fulsome apology for appointing Sherwood in the first place would've been nice though.

[old man villa fan]

Fox to be gone before end of season just my view.  Chairman will want his own man in, tis often the way in 'troubled organisations' where 'governance' is lacking and there is a need to conduct a 'root and branch shake up'.

Can't see that myself. Hollis is not a 'footballing' man and so will not have any contacts in football clubs elsewhere to call on for 'his man'. For known entities, he would be looking in the world of general business/finance.

One thing you do not do in business when you take on a new role is get rid of high up staff as you not only have to earn your own corn but you take on the responsibility of the person you hire. Hollis will want to get his feet well and truly under the table before making any recommendations on changes. Besides, Fox will take the heat of himself while he settles in.

[amfy]

It is as I said, they don't talk in a way fans understand.

It was surreal for me last night. I heard them say perfectly reasonable things about our situation, and looked around and saw fans with their head in their hands in genuine despair.

The disconnect in communication is a serous problem. I don't understand it. It wasn't even like the fans there weren't intelligent people, it's something in the way that fans understand football that is totally different to what these guys are used to, and they don't connect with it.

(I think I hear it because I have had one to ones, which are a better exchange of understanding, as others who have met them on this basis seem to hear them more like me)

Nothing wrong with what they are saying, but somehow, something very badly wrong with how they say it. That's what they need their 'football man' for.