Commercial failings

[Kimaster1976]

Around 10 years ago we were challenging for the Champions League positions and the sky was seemingly the limit

Around 10 years ago Tottenham panic appointed Harry Redknapp whilst in the relegation positions

Look where they are now and look at their stadium and facilities

So many missed opportunity's over the years to be a force both on and off the pitch

If you keep missing opportunity's in life it eventually bites you in the ass (see the last 9 years)

We got 1 more chance to win the play offs get back up to the big time, and with the current set up/owners we can get to where Tottenham have found themselves believe it or not ON and OFF the pitch

[XXVilla]

Nightmare getting out of and away from the Spurs ground last night apparently. Trains/buses overwhelmed etc. Oh and they still haven’t won anything of note in those 10 years.

[Des Little]

It was a nightmare at WHL when the capacity was 34k.  I refuse to accept that they can possibly make things any easier with 61k in there. Then again, I couldn't give a toss, fcuk 'em

[ChicagoLion]

Appalled by the idea of not playing at Villa Park.
I cannot understand anyone who would support moving away from our Home.

[AV82EC]

Appalled by the idea of not playing at Villa Park.
I cannot understand anyone who would support moving away from our Home.

I’m not sure I’m appalled at the idea, I would admit to not being keen though. I can understand some though who would prefer a more accessible, modern ground if you like that soulless edge of a retail park experience.

If they bought in safe standing I could quite easily see the issue going away for Villa though as you could redevelop and increase capacity to a reasonable level. I’m definitely in the prefer to stay camp.

[Des Little]

Appalled by the idea of not playing at Villa Park.
I cannot understand anyone who would support moving away from our Home.

I’m not sure I’m appalled at the idea, I would admit to not being keen though. I can understand some though who would prefer a more accessible, modern ground if you like that soulless edge of a retail park experience.

If they bought in safe standing I could quite easily see the issue going away for Villa though as you could redevelop and increase capacity to a reasonable level. I’m definitely in the prefer to stay camp.

Prefer to stay camp?

[AV82EC]

Chortle...

[pauliewalnuts]

You have to go some to get a pint down you in 15 mins, so a bottle is plenty

What prawn sandwich brigadery is this?! Do you sip it with your little finger elegantly sticking out?!

A pint in 15 minutes beyond you?  Deary me Des!

The only reasons I can think of for struggling to down a pint in fifteen minutes all involve medical conditions!

[pauliewalnuts]

When a minimum wage worker is employed to serve for a 15 minute slot at HT, (s)he will never satisfy everyone in the queue.

I fail to see how this is a commercial failing and other than opening 50 more kiosks around the ground, I don't see what the answer is?

Lots of customers unable to give you their money for something which they are trying to sell you is the very definition of a commercial failing.

How about improve the method of delivery so it doesn't involve a teenager sloping off down the other end of the bar every time someone fancies a beer?

I am sure other grounds employ agency staff on minimum wage to do this work as well, but most of them seem better at it than we are. Which is probably why our commercial income managed to barely improve all through the latter premier league years.

Maybe the answer is, as you said, opening more kiosks? Maybe it is redeveloping the ground? Maybe it is moving to a new ground?

Whatever it is, we need to find the answer, because we're just going to fall further and further behind.

200 kids serving 20,000 people in a 20 minute slot? Do the maths.  It’s 100 customers per bar person or 5 customers per minute.  It’s impossible.

What on earth are you talking about? 200 kids? 20,000 people?

You're genuinely suggesting it is not possible to serve people considerably faster by either changing the way we serve, the number of serving points, or the facilities available at the ground?

What about this sort of measure?

It's not a science.  I remember being at Derby away, JPA was playing so that gives you a clue how long ago it was.  At half time the kiosk had pre-poured pints with lids on, and they were banging them out ten to the dozen without any issue.  Other clubs have bottle bars doing likewise.  We don't need a Steve Jobs to get this set up FFS.  The staff in the Holte Suite look like rabbits in headlights after the game, as if they weren't expecting hundreds of people wanting a drink.

One last thing, why don't we just serve bottles in the stands?  You have to go some to get a pint down you in 15 mins, so a bottle is plenty, and takes a fraction of the time to serve too. 

Rant now over.

Why can't we look at things like that?

[amfy]

There is a limited supply of people over the age of 18 who want to work once a fortnight for about £30.

It’s not that appealing to anyone other than students who don’t suffer any knock on effects on their other income. There’s lots of students, but even they have better options. If you’re going to do some bar work for a bit of extra money, do it in a pub or club that’ll give you a few more hours and is a more fun and sociable environment to work in.

I did it for a while whilst I was a student & for me it was great to get out and watch the last bit of the game that I couldn’t have otherwise afforded to see - but the job itself was absolutely shit.

So you can make a lot of logistical improvements, but when these aren’t desirable jobs, you are gong to end up recruiting people who aren’t that good at it, as well as probably never quite enough of them!

[mike]

The facilities are appalling and for that reason I don't use them. It's a pain taking the top off my lad's bottle on the way in and hoping he doesn't spill it until I'm out of sight and can put the spare lid on! I bring in sandwiches and snacks for us. However, I'd prefer to not come with a rucksack and spend a few pounds at Villa Park if 1) I could get served in time (I'm another who won't leave his seat before the half time whistle) and 2) it wasn't generally a bit shit. It would be part of the match day experience, but the first time we went to a match, we spent 10 minutes getting even close to the concourse, let alone in the queue and to his credit (he was only 6) when I said 'do you want your pop enough to miss a couple of minutes of the match,' he said 'no.'

When I used to go to Gloucester Rugby, they had some great food and drink on sale with, admittedly, much fewer people to deal with plus the fact that because it's rugby, there was a bloke walking around with a barrel on his back dispensing beer to you (upon payment) as you stood in The Shed, so there was no mad dash for beer at half time.

My question would be, are other clubs doing it better and if so why aren't we learning from them. Do Liverpool fans moan the same as us, for instance? They've got a relatively dated stadium and big crowds so it would be interesting to know. Is it a Villa problem or a problem to all clubs with big capacity stadiums? If it's just us then there is absolutely no excuse.

[KRS]

Interesting debate and the powers that be should be made aware of this type of discussion and points raised.

Agree with DW that we can't be comparing Villa Park to the most modern £billion stadium in the country, however I would refer to the match day experience at the Etihad a few seasons ago where they have a large concourse with pre-match entertainment, bars and food outlets selling quality food...I enjoyed a pint, pie and a foot long proper quality hotdog. My point being that these kind of services could be provided on a smaller scale at either end of the ground, providing a much improved match day experience for thousands at the expense of a few hundred who use the space for car parking.

In terms of inside the ground, it simply needs better management, logistics, staff training, and serving facilities...its not hard to implement those things at minimal cost to the club to yield greater profit.

[Des Little]

I may be mistaken, however I’m sure that the mobile backpack beer on the concourse thing was vetoed by the council of all people a few years ago. Is that right or am I mistaken? Shame if so, as the whole contactless payment nowadays would make it ideal.

[dave.woodhall]

My point being that these kind of services could be provided on a smaller scale at either end of the ground, providing a much improved match day experience for thousands at the expense of a few hundred who use the space for car parking.

The trouble there is that i) those few hundred who use the car parks pay a fortune for the privilege and ii) car parks are the sort of thing that's sacrosanct in planning.

[JJ-AV]

Just pre-pour the pints and stop taking cash.