Tony's Tweets

[AVH87]

Interesting tweet overnight saying he has set up a working group to plan the redevelopment of Villa Park.

Thinking out of the box here, but they could always open the top tier of the Trinity....

I know that's said in jest, but a few people questioned the closing of the Upper Trinity and in fairness it's been justified so far as we've been nowhere near capacity for any game yet.

Hopefully that changes as we are surging towards promotion in the New Year, the run-in also includes a tasty looking fixture against Sha.

[chrisw1]

Taking a long term view, with the likes of Spurs, West Ham, Arsenal, Man U & City having 50-60k+ grounds, if the ultimate aim is to compete at the elite level then we will need to have this too.

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place if Tony genuinely wants to kick on from there. 

I do think with consistent success we will begin to pull in bigger numbers.  Just look at the growth in City's support since the money came in - in the 80's & 90's they were generally mid 20k (capacity 35k at Maine Road).  This season almost 55k and the extra 10k seats snapped up.

[godzvilla]

Then we'll have about 20,000 empty seats instead of 10,000.

How many have we sold for the Holte tomorrow and will they be loud enough?

i know there's more to it than pricing- competition from other clubs and other
Leisure pursuits, but I'd be interested to know how our pricing compares with Newcastle. Does pricing have any difference beyond a certain point? I'm not so sure it does for us.

You get the impression with Villa, some weeks they could barely manage 36,000 and other weeks could sell 50-60k.

It's always been the same. Back in the poost-war boom period we'd get 50,000 against Wolves or Spurs then lose half of them a fortnight later for Middlesbrough.

69,000 plus vs Wolves ( 1949 )
Nearly 77,000 vs Derby ( 1946 )........but that was when it was not all seating..................Godzvilla!

[dave.woodhall]

Then we'll have about 20,000 empty seats instead of 10,000.

How many have we sold for the Holte tomorrow and will they be loud enough?

i know there's more to it than pricing- competition from other clubs and other
Leisure pursuits, but I'd be interested to know how our pricing compares with Newcastle. Does pricing have any difference beyond a certain point? I'm not so sure it does for us.

You get the impression with Villa, some weeks they could barely manage 36,000 and other weeks could sell 50-60k.

It's always been the same. Back in the poost-war boom period we'd get 50,000 against Wolves or Spurs then lose half of them a fortnight later for Middlesbrough.

69,000 plus vs Wolves ( 1949 )
Nearly 77,000 vs Derby ( 1946 )........but that was when it was not all seating..................Godzvilla!

A month after the Wolves game we got 32,000 against Middlesbrough.

[VILLA MOLE]

Hopefully It is not just about expanding the ground . The current facilities need improving with regards leg room , concourse space and toilets in certain areas

[Bad English]

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place

Very optimistic but, in our current plight, speaking of top 4 and such reminds me of those 1950's 'Life in the year 2000' articles.

[kippaxvilla2]

If he develops the ground my theory is that he will price accordingly to ensure people fill it.  A bit like the Beijing Games where they virtually paid and bussed people to fill the stadiums.

[Jimbo]

Much better we have a chairman that will do this for us - rather than the unwashed in Bordesley Green who want the city council to rebuild their tip as part of the Commonwealth Games bid. We have all seen what one of their previous owners has done in East London which has wasted millions of pounds. And she is still claiming she wants more.

I'm hoping Tony will be able to use his urban regeneration experience to expand not just Villa Park - but the local area as well. We have got to go this way as all the other "so called big clubs" are doing it.

Needs big thinking for a big club. Better transport links - and other local infrastructure. Where do they put the new tram? Where do they put hotels, extra parking etc? (Which idiot sold the Serpentine car park?)

Even small clubs like Preston, Reading, have more parking adjacent to the ground than we do.

Some good points here. If the ultimate goal is to have a successful football team, then the Man City model will be the one to follow, with redevelopment of the area. Sports facilities / attractions for families, a football 'theme park', museum, hotel, leisure facilities, etc. will all be things the Doctor will be looking at. The area already has Aston Hall and the park, and he will be well aware of the potential interest in that from the perspective of a Chinese tourist.

It sounds hard to imagine, but a weekend involving a game at an EPL club (crosses fingers) and a visit to a Jacobean stately home will be a unique and attractive option for many Chinese visitors (I was amazed to see a coach load of Chinese tourists in The Crown on Corporation Street a few weeks ago, having fish and chips in a traditional English pub and watching the knuckledraggers on the telly. Spoke to a few, they were loving it. They're interested in our history and traditions.)

Infrastructure will be at the heart of it all, and anyone who goes to games will know that bigger crowds (should we ever become successful, because people will come if we are) will make getting away from VP hard work. It's already a pain in the arse. A tram line seems a sensible option, which could run on a loop via Newtown (stopping at the Bartons, obv.), past VP, then back into town via the Lichfield Road, maybe. There could be a line going off that to the Commonwealth Games Village at Perry Barr. All these transport links would help regenerate these areas, which are badly in need of a lift.

The game is changing, and the traditional fan base is changing, so we shouldn't look back too much at what our crowds have been in the past. The next generation will include many from much further afield, and a lot of them will be tourists.     

[Toronto Villa]

I'm glad he's thinking big as opposed to the last few seasons under the previous establishment of constantly lowering expectations. I'm sure it is not lost on him that the playing side comes first and getting back into the PL is critical.

[cdbearsfan]

Then we'll have about 20,000 empty seats instead of 10,000.

How many have we sold for the Holte tomorrow and will they be loud enough?

i know there's more to it than pricing- competition from other clubs and other
Leisure pursuits, but I'd be interested to know how our pricing compares with Newcastle. Does pricing have any difference beyond a certain point? I'm not so sure it does for us.

You get the impression with Villa, some weeks they could barely manage 36,000 and other weeks could sell 50-60k.

It's always been the same. Back in the poost-war boom period we'd get 50,000 against Wolves or Spurs then lose half of them a fortnight later for Middlesbrough.

I think in those days people didn't have season tickets so you'd tend to decide on the day if you fancied it?

So things like shit weather would affect the attendances. Also midweek games were actually played during the working day before clubs had floodlights.

[cdbearsfan]

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place

Very optimistic but, in our current plight, speaking of top 4 and such reminds me of those 1950's 'Life in the year 2000' articles.

In fairness the "shopping by television" is pretty much a prediction of the Internet.

[Pat McMahon]

Taking a long term view, with the likes of Spurs, West Ham, Arsenal, Man U & City having 50-60k+ grounds, if the ultimate aim is to compete at the elite level then we will need to have this too.

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place if Tony genuinely wants to kick on from there. 

I do think with consistent success we will begin to pull in bigger numbers.  Just look at the growth in City's support since the money came in - in the 80's & 90's they were generally mid 20k (capacity 35k at Maine Road).  This season almost 55k and the extra 10k seats snapped up.

One thing that really confuses me is where all these extra fans come form. Are they merely day tripping tourists or is there a latent element of the population that will pop out only to watch a successful team?

I ask because I can remember Spurs, W Ham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Sunderland all getting crowds in the teens to mid 20s. Now they are selling out grounds bigger than Villa Park, and in the case of Newcastle and Sunderland, without any success to feed on.

[Bad English]

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place

Very optimistic but, in our current plight, speaking of top 4 and such reminds me of those 1950's 'Life in the year 2000' articles.

In fairness the "shopping by television" is pretty much a prediction of the Internet.

Indeed. But my point is that it took over forty years before the prediction became reality and we were all buying CDs off Amazon.

[The Edge]

Taking a long term view, with the likes of Spurs, West Ham, Arsenal, Man U & City having 50-60k+ grounds, if the ultimate aim is to compete at the elite level then we will need to have this too.

Right now it's all pie in the sky, but if in 5-6 years time we are pushing top 6 or top 4, then it's absolutely right to have plans in place if Tony genuinely wants to kick on from there. 

I do think with consistent success we will begin to pull in bigger numbers.  Just look at the growth in City's support since the money came in - in the 80's & 90's they were generally mid 20k (capacity 35k at Maine Road).  This season almost 55k and the extra 10k seats snapped up.

One thing that really confuses me is where all these extra fans come form. Are they merely day tripping tourists or is there a latent element of the population that will pop out only to watch a successful team?

I ask because I can remember Spurs, W Ham, Chelsea, Newcastle and Sunderland all getting crowds in the teens to mid 20s. Now they are selling out grounds bigger than Villa Park, and in the case of Newcastle and Sunderland, without any success to feed on.

It has to be said that both Newcastle and Sunderland had pretty poor crowds pre premier league but they deserve recognition for the crowds they currently pull in when as you say they have won very little in quite a while.
With regards to the Villa I really think were still a bit of a sleeping giant. If we can get it right on the pitch we definitely have the fan base to command huge crowds on a regular basis.

[KevinGage]

Then we'll have about 20,000 empty seats instead of 10,000.

How many have we sold for the Holte tomorrow and will they be loud enough?

i know there's more to it than pricing- competition from other clubs and other
Leisure pursuits, but I'd be interested to know how our pricing compares with Newcastle. Does pricing have any difference beyond a certain point? I'm not so sure it does for us.

You get the impression with Villa, some weeks they could barely manage 36,000 and other weeks could sell 50-60k.

It's always been the same. Back in the poost-war boom period we'd get 50,000 against Wolves or Spurs then lose half of them a fortnight later for Middlesbrough.

69,000 plus vs Wolves ( 1949 )
Nearly 77,000 vs Derby ( 1946 )........but that was when it was not all seating..................Godzvilla!

A month after the Wolves game we got 32,000 against Middlesbrough.

Even in the 90s under BFR, we could get 45,000 against Manchester United at the weekend and then 16,000 against Southampton at home midweek.

No other big club had that kind of fluctuation.