Commercial failings

[Sexual Ealing]

Is the catering services outsourced to a third party or employed by the club? Whoever is responsible for the management of catering in the stands should be sacked for incompetence.

Even if it is outsourced, that does not mean it has to be fucking awful. The club just don't seem to be able to get this sorted, though, it's laughably poor.

It's not just the produce & products of the catering provider it's the disinterested couldn't give a fuck attitude of the employees.

I once did that job (for one match) at Carrow Road as a student. By the time people had got through the queues they were thoroughly pissed off and half of them spoke to me in a way that minimum wage couldn't justify. I'm sure the same happens at VP.

[Jon Crofts]

Is the catering services outsourced to a third party or employed by the club? Whoever is responsible for the management of catering in the stands should be sacked for incompetence.

Even if it is outsourced, that does not mean it has to be fucking awful. The club just don't seem to be able to get this sorted, though, it's laughably poor.

It's not just the produce & products of the catering provider it's the disinterested couldn't give a fuck attitude of the employees.

I once did that job (for one match) at Carrow Road as a student. By the time people had got through the queues they were thoroughly pissed off and half of them spoke to me in a way that minimum wage couldn't justify. I'm sure the same happens at VP.

Trinity Road experience goes along the lines of queue for 20 minutes for a couple of bottles of Carlsberg that is always in a fridge at the other end of the serving area, server disappears who knows where and then reappears with 2 bottles of beer that they then struggle to take the top off of whilst Trisha the catering supervisor stands at the back looking at a sheet of paper telling her what stock she has or maybe it's an email about her cats vet appointment but no way is Trisha going to serve anyone and Diane at the next till on route to the fridge gets collared by Trisha to talk about the stock email or is it her cats failing health. Who knows, they're hopeless, utterly hopeless.

[Sexual Ealing]

Is the catering services outsourced to a third party or employed by the club? Whoever is responsible for the management of catering in the stands should be sacked for incompetence.

Even if it is outsourced, that does not mean it has to be fucking awful. The club just don't seem to be able to get this sorted, though, it's laughably poor.

It's not just the produce & products of the catering provider it's the disinterested couldn't give a fuck attitude of the employees.

I once did that job (for one match) at Carrow Road as a student. By the time people had got through the queues they were thoroughly pissed off and half of them spoke to me in a way that minimum wage couldn't justify. I'm sure the same happens at VP.

Trinity Road experience goes along the lines of queue for 20 minutes for a couple of bottles of Carlsberg that is always in a fridge at the other end of the serving area, server disappears who knows where and then reappears with 2 bottles of beer that they then struggle to take the top off of whilst Trisha the catering supervisor stands at the back looking at a sheet of paper telling her what stock she has or maybe it's an email about her cats vet appointment but no way is Trisha going to serve anyone and Diane at the next till on route to the fridge gets collared by Trisha to talk about the stock email or is it her cats failing health. Who knows, they're hopeless, utterly hopeless.

It sounds exactly the same as Norwich! The agency tells you to turn up 5 minutes before you start. Somebody throws a t-shirt at you and doesn't tell you where anything is, or how much anything costs, but you must remember to take the lids off bottles (but not why, so you can't answer when every other person asks you). It's as if nobody gives a shit about football supporters or minimum wage workers.

[Toronto Villa]

It’s never been great, probably has been subject to cuts since our decline in the PL and into the Championship and now is what it is until we go back up or at least start being financially stable. Spurs are the shiny new example of what can be achieved for a cool billion or whatever it ended up costing them. But I read an article the other day about how far Man U and Old Trafford had fallen in terms of overall service levels/quality of facility/staff/ground etc, and they’ve been a staple in the PL/CL so it’s not just us.

[pauliewalnuts]

It’s never been great, probably has been subject to cuts since our decline in the PL and into the Championship and now is what it is until we go back up or at least start being financially stable. Spurs are the shiny new example of what can be achieved for a cool billion or whatever it ended up costing them. But I read an article the other day about how far Man U and Old Trafford had fallen in terms of overall service levels/quality of facility/staff/ground etc, and they’ve been a staple in the PL/CL so it’s not just us.

Never being great is one thing, but at Villa it has never been good enough, let alone great.

Building the equivalent of that stadium would not cost anywhere near as much in the midlands, and we'd be investing in facilities and creating something which makes serious money.

Instead we're stuck with laughably shit 1990s facilities and lots of people trying really hard to give the club money, but unable to.

We are never going to be financially stable until we fix problems like that, but we seem utterly unable to.

[Toronto Villa]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

[Sexual Ealing]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

Isn't that why we love it?!

[pauliewalnuts]

As a first step, I would just like us to fix some of the eminently fixable problems.

I haven't looked but i bet you what you like, if you look back to this site in late 2006 when General Krulak turned up, you'll see endless complaints on his thread about people being unable to buy food and drinks because the set up is shit and the staff don't have a clue.

That was 13 years ago - 13 years, and it still is absolutely no better.

The club is stuck in a timewarp.

[Toronto Villa]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

Isn't that why we love it?!

Yep there is that too. I would love a modern version with an exterior design that is nod to the past. Importantly the interior and especially the facilities are 21st century.

[pauliewalnuts]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

Isn't that why we love it?!

The problem is that those of us of a certain age will remember Villa Park as one of the stadiums with the best facilities (till the 90s-ish).

The younger fans will only have experienced it as a place with awful, outdated facilities.

Nostalgia eventually dies off.

[clash city rocker]

Always drink and eat in town then get the train to witton just in time for kick off.

[London Villan]

Hasn’t the spurs stadium been built with the nfl in mind too. Facilities aimed at fans who spend 3 hours in a stadium watching the match as well spending hours there before and after the game.

[Sexual Ealing]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

Isn't that why we love it?!

The problem is that those of us of a certain age will remember Villa Park as one of the stadiums with the best facilities (till the 90s-ish).

The younger fans will only have experienced it as a place with awful, outdated facilities.

Nostalgia eventually dies off.

I've only been able to buy things for myself and notice this stuff since the 90s. I know it's awful, but to me that's kind of what football is - a bit shit. Not that that's the right attitude, and you're right that it's criminal for the club to leave money in people's pocket when they want to give it to them.

When I think of modern grounds, however, I think of the Madejski. I got served at HT easily enough, there was a place to have a fag had I not long ago given them up. But it was shit.

[garyshawsknee]

Hasn’t the spurs stadium been built with the nfl in mind too. Facilities aimed at fans who spend 3 hours in a stadium watching the match as well spending hours there before and after the game.

Because that part of London is a nightmare to get out of, they also wanted to encourage people to stay in the ground and have a couple of beers afterwards, having a brewery on site is the modern way it seems.

[Sexual Ealing]

If we go up that might become a question. Do we stay at Villa Park or build a new one nearby (land availability permitting)? Because with all of these old stadiums there is only so much more you can do (granted we have lots we could still do). But the trend is new state of the art stadia and as much as we all love Villa Park it isn’t exactly very modern.

Isn't that why we love it?!

The problem is that those of us of a certain age will remember Villa Park as one of the stadiums with the best facilities (till the 90s-ish).

The younger fans will only have experienced it as a place with awful, outdated facilities.

Nostalgia eventually dies off.

I've only been able to buy things for myself and notice this stuff since the 90s. I know it's awful, but to me that's kind of what football is - a bit shit. Not that that's the right attitude, and you're right that it's criminal for the club to leave money in people's pocket when they want to give it to them.

When I think of modern grounds, however, I think of the Madejski. I got served at HT easily enough, there was a place to have a fag had I not long ago given them up. But it was shit.

I think I'll retire from this debate as I seem to be simultaneously arguing for and against the idea of football being shit.