Out the door on 74

[Archbishop Herbert Cockthrottle]

Why are open letters always so long?

[cdbearsfan]

Because they won't fit in an envelope. That's why they're open.

[Pat McMahon]

The people who wrote that letter have done more than I have so I ain't criticising them. They may not have a 4 step master plan, or even a 5 year plan ( remember them?) but raising the general awareness of our shiteness is only a positive.

I know Randy isn't going to sell on the back of a letter to the Mail but every little step helps. Hollis - who is used to dealing with basket cases, and who will logically be painting as dark a picture as possible - will be communicating the full extent of the clusterfuck to Lerner Towers methinks.

[markavfc40]

Which is all well and good, but how exactly are you going to get him to do all that?

By applying pressure. We’d hope that by staging these walkouts it continues to bring negative media attention. Puts the focus very much on Lerner. We saw after the Everton game every match report was heavily focussed on the walkouts. The walkouts come accompanied with a message which is clearly spelt out in the open letter.

We are not naive enough to believe these walkouts will definitely have a positive impact. What I would say though is that at least by trying to get a message heard there is a chance it will be. By doing nothing it will never be heard.

I think many would agree we have let Lerner off the hook really. We have allowed, even assisted him, in continually making managers scapegoats. The bigger issue though, and the main constant, over the last 6 years of decline has been Lerner. His failure to appoint people above the manager with the relevant nous, experience and where with all has meant that we have made some very strange managerial appointments. Until we get these positions right at the club we will never employ a manager good enough to bring us relative success, or even if we do, allow him the tools to carry out his job successfully.

I think really the best outcome for all would be for Lerner to become a more motivated seller and to sell the club. You can’t force him to do that though but for however long he remains he has to over the summer commit to invest in the squad because this squad is not good enough to gain promotion and he must ensure we have the right people on the board who can ensure that investment isn’t wasted and who have the nous to ensure the right manager is brought in.

I don’t think as a fan base we can afford to sit by idly and just assume those at the club know what they are doing because they have continually shown they don’t. This is a massive few months for us coming up. We get things wrong and we could well be looking at years of stagnation in the Championship or worse still could drop again.

I know a lot of fans don’t agree with this form of protest. All I would say is if that you feel you have some better ideas then act on them. We also intend to look at other means of protest following these walkouts. We have to do something though. We have to try to get a message heard even if the chances of it being heard and acted upon are slim.

[Clampy]

Their aim is to get into the papers? If so, well done them.

Dave these walkouts/protests come with specific actions, as shown in the open letter to Randy Lerner, that we are asking him to undertake.

Firstly that Randy becomes a more motivated seller and prices the club at a level it will sell and also ensures the person or persons he sells to have the where with all and vision to restore it to at the very least a club that can hold its own in the top flight. 

Out of interest, how much do you think is a reasonable selling price? Also, I'd say the second point is the most important thing of all.

[Jimbo]

Hi all. I am one of the fans behind the out the door on 74 campaign and the recent open letter. I have been meaning to come on here for a while to engage with you and get your feelings on the walkouts, good and bad, but as I am sure you are aware these things take some organising and having the time to come on here as been difficult to find.

If any of you have any questions, concerns or would just like to offer support then it would be good to hear your feelings. I have had a quick scan through the thread and as has been the feedback in general it is pretty mixed it seems.

There's been a very predictable response from some Villa fans to this. I won't be sneering at these protests, even though I don't think a walkout is the most effective way of protesting. Because of the fractious nature of Villa fans, you need mass participation for a walkout to be truly successful (although I was surprised at the positive media coverage of the Everton walkout). Also, the events of a match could possibly work against future walkouts - who knows, we might even be drawing a game on 74 minutes?

I think whatever further action you decide to take, you need to take into account the fact that Villa fans will never act en masse unless we're winning. We are too divided. Whatever you do will need to be effective with a relatively small number of participants.

The Borussia Dortmund tennis ball protest was an excellent example of this. It's been suggested on here that fans throw their Bright Future scarves on the pitch just after kick-off. Or towels, after all, the club threw the towel in at the end of January. Anyone can bring an old tea-towel in the ground. The idea would be that, in stopping the game, you would demonstrate that fans have at least some power and influence over on-pitch matters. And you'd only need a few hundred fans to take part.

Well done for actually doing something, though. There's so much apathy around Villa Park - from the owner and board, to the players on the pitch - so it's great to see at least some fans taking a stand. And as for the notion that you're doing this just to get your faces in the media - are people really serious? I'm sure there are much less risky ways of doing that than protests which could easily fail and make you look stupid.

One thing's for sure, being passive and doing nothing but sneering at fellow Villa fans will achieve precisely nothing. And even if your actions don't achieve anything tangible, at least you've registered your displeasure, got something off your chests, and shown the media that you will not sit idly by while your club is destroyed from the inside. If all you can do is apply pressure, channel anger, and raise awareness, then that is good enough.

[SoccerHQ]

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-protest-group-write-11016668#nav-panel

each to their own and fair play for doing something but what is this going to achieve?

I've seen it reported in mainstream media so its achieving more than doing nothing.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is in the mainstream media. I still don't know what the ultimate aim of these protests is.

To get Lerner to sell the club....or at least get his asking price reduced so more interested parties come forward. (Although relegation will probably accelerate that).

There have been examples recently, Steve Morgan sold up at Wolves partly it seems due to fan abuse.

http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2015/10/07/abuse-from-fans-cited-for-wolves-sale/

I'm sure the very negative atmosphere developing on matchdays is being fed back to him in the States from Fox and co...."Sir, Sir they're calling me a W^^ker!"

I'm not saying it will be the sole reason but I think it could help speed things up a bit.

[dave.woodhall]

If you want to succeed it's probably not a good idea to publish a long-winded criticism that goes on to make demands before finishing off with veiled threats.

[The Edge]

Their aim is to get into the papers? If so, well done them.

Dave these walkouts/protests come with specific actions, as shown in the open letter to Randy Lerner, that we are asking him to undertake.

Firstly that Randy becomes a more motivated seller and prices the club at a level it will sell and also ensures the person or persons he sells to have the where with all and vision to restore it to at the very least a club that can hold its own in the top flight. 

Out of interest, how much do you think is a reasonable selling price? Also, I'd say the second point is the most important thing of all.

Who knows?  I know he paid 67million so I guess for a club in total turmoil and hurtling towards relegation he should be happy to sell for say 100 million. As for the 74 protesters I say good luck to them. At least they are doing something instead of just sitting around moaning. We all want this situation sorted for the love of our proud football club.

[SoccerHQ]

If you want to succeed it's probably not a good idea to publish a long-winded criticism that goes on to make demands before finishing off with veiled threats.

I never said I agreed with the open letter strategy, the walkouts and any other ground protests like using the bright future scarves are fine by me though.

[The Edge]

Hi all. I am one of the fans behind the out the door on 74 campaign and the recent open letter. I have been meaning to come on here for a while to engage with you and get your feelings on the walkouts, good and bad, but as I am sure you are aware these things take some organising and having the time to come on here as been difficult to find.

If any of you have any questions, concerns or would just like to offer support then it would be good to hear your feelings. I have had a quick scan through the thread and as has been the feedback in general it is pretty mixed it seems.

There's been a very predictable response from some Villa fans to this. I won't be sneering at these protests, even though I don't think a walkout is the most effective way of protesting. Because of the fractious nature of Villa fans, you need mass participation for a walkout to be truly successful (although I was surprised at the positive media coverage of the Everton walkout). Also, the events of a match could possibly work against future walkouts - who knows, we might even be drawing a game on 74 minutes?

I think whatever further action you decide to take, you need to take into account the fact that Villa fans will never act en masse unless we're winning. We are too divided. Whatever you do will need to be effective with a relatively small number of participants.

The Borussia Dortmund tennis ball protest was an excellent example of this. It's been suggested on here that fans throw their Bright Future scarves on the pitch just after kick-off. Or towels, after all, the club threw the towel in at the end of January. Anyone can bring an old tea-towel in the ground. The idea would be that, in stopping the game, you would demonstrate that fans have at least some power and influence over on-pitch matters. And you'd only need a few hundred fans to take part.

Well done for actually doing something, though. There's so much apathy around Villa Park - from the owner and board, to the players on the pitch - so it's great to see at least some fans taking a stand. And as for the notion that you're doing this just to get your faces in the media - are people really serious? I'm sure there are much less risky ways of doing that than protests which could easily fail and make you look stupid.

One thing's for sure, being passive and doing nothing but sneering at fellow Villa fans will achieve precisely nothing. And even if your actions don't achieve anything tangible, at least you've registered your displeasure, got something off your chests, and shown the media that you will not sit idly by while your club is destroyed from the inside. If all you can do is apply pressure, channel anger, and raise awareness, then that is good enough.

Spot on mate. I 100% agree with your post.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Good luck to anyone who gets off their arses to make themselves heard.

[lordmcgrath5]

Good luck to anyone who gets off their arses to make themselves heard.

Indeed, and I thought the letter was very good.

[lordmcgrath5]

If you want to succeed it's probably not a good idea to publish a long-winded criticism that goes on to make demands before finishing off with veiled threats.

It's not actually that long-winded. There's a lot to complain about, isn't there?

[dave.woodhall]

If you want to succeed it's probably not a good idea to publish a long-winded criticism that goes on to make demands before finishing off with veiled threats.

It's not actually that long-winded. There's a lot to complain about, isn't there?

It actually is incredibly long, and while there might be plenty to complain about, putting everything down at once obscures your message. Never use ten words when one will do.