Christian Purslow - Resigned

[Risso]

The owners (and Purslow) have been in charge for a couple of months short of 5 years. The first year of that they obviously had to get us out of the Championship, then not along after we'd got up we had a two year pandemic where the country pretty much shut down

In that time though, we've gone from being nearly bankrupt in the Championship with Steve Bruce as manager and players like Jedinak, Kodjia and Neil Taylor, to Luiz, Kamara and Moreno, Emery as manager and battling it out for a European spot. On top of that we've got the plans for the new North Stand agreed, we sell out every game and have 30,000 people interested in taking up a season ticket.

I'm sure commercial income will start to rise on the back of the success we've had, but there are decent reasons for it not catching up as quickly as we'd like.

[pauliewalnuts]

The attendances and waiting list situation is absolutely nuts.

[john e]

I’m 61 now and I want to see us Win some more stuff with my family before I go

I’m all for the changes, upgrades, ambition, modernisation of the club and accept it will not suit everybody, also knowing that it is necessary for a big successful club, but it’s all mere Bagatelle compared to the real objective, which is to win some silver bits

So if you can just get on with it please, starting with one of those European trophies next year will be fine

[tomd2103]

I hate to say it but we were 21st on the deloitte list a few months back and there are a fair few clubs that we'll overtake shortly, without European football it will be tough to push into the top 10-12. That said the breakdown of where our money is coming from looks pretty consistent with other English clubs on the list so I'm not sure it's fair to suggest our fans are being fleeced to make up for poor commercial performance.

I don't like how expensive football is, I don't like the wages and fees that are being thrown around but singling us out as a problem when the entire league is the same, and then using that as a stick to beat Purslow with feels like it's more down to not liking him than him doing anything particularly wrong.

We could leave everything as it is, and not compete of course.

I'm not sure adding prices to tickets is going to make us more competitive in the bigger picture.  Might be wrong, but I would imagine that income from ticket sales is a small percentage of the income.

It just feels like a bit of a kick in the nether regions though when the fans who stayed with the club during the rotten years in the Premier League and the Championship are now being squeezed when some success finally seems on the horizon.

Every penny helps though I suppose.

[eamonn]

The attendances and waiting list situation is absolutely nuts.

Like something out of Bedrock.

[Drummond]

I hate to say it but we were 21st on the deloitte list a few months back and there are a fair few clubs that we'll overtake shortly, without European football it will be tough to push into the top 10-12. That said the breakdown of where our money is coming from looks pretty consistent with other English clubs on the list so I'm not sure it's fair to suggest our fans are being fleeced to make up for poor commercial performance.

I don't like how expensive football is, I don't like the wages and fees that are being thrown around but singling us out as a problem when the entire league is the same, and then using that as a stick to beat Purslow with feels like it's more down to not liking him than him doing anything particularly wrong.

We could leave everything as it is, and not compete of course.

I'm not sure adding prices to tickets is going to make us more competitive in the bigger picture.  Might be wrong, but I would imagine that income from ticket sales is a small percentage of the income.

It just feels like a bit of a kick in the nether regions though when the fans who stayed with the club during the rotten years in the Premier League and the Championship are now being squeezed when some success finally seems on the horizon.

Every penny helps though I suppose.

I'm guessing that the season ticket increases will add about 2% to our annual turnover (though one of our numbers people will know better than I). That would be a significant increase for FFP purposes.

[Paul.S]

I don’t like the 15% hike a season after a 10% one the season before. People have said it’s a football issue as a whole, which it is, but when does it stop. Is this the norm we can expect each season in order to catch other clubs prices up? Would anyone on here rule out another big increase next season?

[danno]

The attendances and waiting list situation is absolutely nuts.

The Tottenham and Brighton games will be the first games in years (aside from games at Wembley) that I’ve missed involuntarily due to demand, rather than by me not wanting to go.

Maybe it’s my own fault for being too stingy to pay £40 for a membership.

[Clampy]

That kind Mr Purslow sent me a drink voucher today. Which was nice.

[eamonn]

That kind Mr Purslow sent me a drink voucher today. Which was nice.

Hope Chicago got one. He'll learn to love Christian eventually.

[ChicagoLion]

That kind Mr Purslow sent me a drink voucher today. Which was nice.

Is it for VP?
If so that will add 30 minutes to the waiting time.

[WassallVillain]

I don’t like the 15% hike a season after a 10% one the season before. People have said it’s a football issue as a whole, which it is, but when does it stop. Is this the norm we can expect each season in order to catch other clubs prices up? Would anyone on here rule out another big increase next season?

Now they’ve got the base price up even small percentage increases yield larger revenues 15% this year adds £100 to my ticket this year. 5% next year would add £80

[Ger Regan]

Accordingly to the Athletic we're looking at bringing former president of Philadelphia 76'ers in, Chris Heck. Some football experience with NY Red Bulls.

Aston Villa want to strengthen their senior management structure by hiring former Philadelphia 76ers president Chris Heck.

Owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have targeted Heck as they drive forward with ambitious plans to grow the club.

Heck left his previous role in June 2022 after nine years with the NBA team and was praised by the co-managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer for “establishing the 76ers as a truly global brand”.

He helped the Sixers exceed franchise records in ticket and sponsorship sales while also making a positive impact in the Philadelphia community.

Edens, who co-owns the rival NBA team, Milwaukee Bucks, has pushed for this move and believes it will add another layer to the current structure.

Heck, who is recognised as an expert in the commercial department, has football experience from his time as the president of business operations at New York Red Bulls where he worked between 2011-2013.

It’s unclear at this stage whether his expected arrival will have an impact on others in senior positions at the club.

Christian Purslow has been the Villa CEO for almost five years and has played a significant role in transforming the club’s fortunes on the pitch.

Purslow has also worked tirelessly on plans to redevelop Villa Park with the introduction of a new North Stand as well as making improvements at the Bodymoor Heath training complex and creating a new inner-city academy.

As Villa continue to grow into an established Premier League team with aspirations of breaking into the top six, the owners see the importance of strengthening key departments to help the club flourish.

As reported last week, Barcelona’s director of football Mateu Alemany is set to join when he leaves the Spanish giants on July 1.

He will work closely with manager Unai Emery, who has three games remaining in the Premier League season and has already helped guarantee a first top-half finish for 12 years.

Villa take on Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday with the push for a top-seven finish still in sight.

[eamonn]

Makes a change from Big'Eck McLeish.

[Jon Crofts]

That kind Mr Purslow sent me a drink voucher today. Which was nice.

Is it for VP?
If so that will add 30 minutes to the waiting time.

It’s OK they’ve started taking the tops off this afternoon in readiness.