Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[PeterWithe]

Phil King.

[Clive W]

Phil King.

Thanks PW

I did say it was an age thing!!

And I spelt Dalian with an e

[Mister E]

I’m not quite so pessimistic PW - I think it’s an age and memory issue
I remember the Holte when Dalien scored the last minute equaliser against Tranmere.
I remember the Holte when Sammy Morgan terrorised Bob Wilson and Arsenal in the FA Cup replay
I remember the Holte when Andy Lochhead towered above the Man U defence to thump his header into the top corner
I remember the Holte when we played Liverpool in 1981 - “Go on Dennis!…go on Dennis!…go on Dennis!…gooooaaaallll”
I remember the Holte when Andy King smashed his penalty straight down the middle against Inter

Closer to home I remember the electric atmosphere for that Friday night match against Everton a couple of seasons ago
I remember the ground rocking during last season’s match against Newcastle
And in 20/30/4O years hence, today’s youngsters will say -  “do you remember the atmosphere at VP in the last 10 minutes when we came from a goal down to beat Palace 3-1?”

As long as VP exists, there will always be special moments like these - and yes, probably outnumbered by mind numbing mediocrity
But it’s why we love the Villa - for those special moments
And why we will never be like Manchester (how many trophies will we win this season?) City

Yes, I was there for many of those, as were many of us older contributors (you could have added the 5-1 vs Liverpool in 1976 and the 2-0 vs Sunderland when we finished our promotion season in 1974; no matter).
And they were amazing.

But I also take Paulie's point: the fact that we can call out those occasions - rather than the swaying mass of raucous, riotous fans being the norm - does emphasise the singularity of many of these high-octane games.

[Nev]

I’m not quite so pessimistic PW - I think it’s an age and memory issue
I remember the Holte when Dalien scored the last minute equaliser against Tranmere.
I remember the Holte when Sammy Morgan terrorised Bob Wilson and Arsenal in the FA Cup replay
I remember the Holte when Andy Lochhead towered above the Man U defence to thump his header into the top corner
I remember the Holte when we played Liverpool in 1981 - “Go on Dennis!…go on Dennis!…go on Dennis!…gooooaaaallll”
I remember the Holte when Andy King smashed his penalty straight down the middle against Inter

Closer to home I remember the electric atmosphere for that Friday night match against Everton a couple of seasons ago
I remember the ground rocking during last season’s match against Newcastle
And in 20/30/4O years hence, today’s youngsters will say -  “do you remember the atmosphere at VP in the last 10 minutes when we came from a goal down to beat Palace 3-1?”

As long as VP exists, there will always be special moments like these - and yes, probably outnumbered by mind numbing mediocrity
But it’s why we love the Villa - for those special moments
And why we will never be like Manchester (how many trophies will we win this season?) City

Yes, I was there for many of those, as were many of us older contributors (you could have added the 5-1 vs Liverpool in 1976 and the 2-0 vs Sunderland when we finished our promotion season in 1974; no matter).
And they were amazing.

But I also take Paulie's point: the fact that we can call out those occasions - rather than the swaying mass of raucous, riotous fans being the norm - does emphasise the singularity of many of these high-octane games.

It's not the norm anywhere though, that's a myth. Everyone's first trip to Anfield is remarkable for how quiet the ground is, ditto many other "fabled" stadiums. Of course, they come alive, just like the Holte at certain times and when the chips are down the crowd can drag the team over the line. My fear is that fans on the Holte will be wondering when the chips are served in the years to come rather than anything else.

[PeterWithesShin]

The fact most examples were big cup games shows it isn't the norm, and never has been. Every club can talk about the big cup games with special atmospheres and results, that they are called special is the point.

Most of the time in my 40+ years it's been an average to quiet atmosphere in a ground well below capacity. And for many years mainly half empty.

The atmosphere thing most of the time is again the same as every other club in the country.

[eamonn]

Phil King.

Thanks PW

I did say it was an age thing!!

And I spelt Dalian with an e

Alien

[PaulTheVillan]

Phil King.

Juan King

[SaddVillan]

He's interviewed in today's Sunday Times.

The online version is behind a paywall.

Is anybody able to cut and paste it onto this thread?

[Risso]

From algy in the ground redevelopment thread:

This doesn't offer a huge amount new, but might be of interest:
https://archive.ph/vqGVG

Interview with Chris Heck in The Times.

[pablo_picasso]

From algy in the ground redevelopment thread:

This doesn't offer a huge amount new, but might be of interest:
https://archive.ph/vqGVG

Interview with Chris Heck in The Times.

I like this from him...

“They can try all they want,” (try & buy our bestplayers) says Heck, firmly. “But maybe we’ll try to buy one of their players. I think this idea that we’re here for the taking is dated. And we need to move on from that.”

...But the rest is nothing new.

And the dismissive tone from that journalist to Villa is all too familiar with the media in this country.

[SaddVillan]

He's taking a cold-eyed unsentimental approach to his job, which is to drive up revenue from every potential source.

Remember that Deadly Doug got a lot of flak during his time in charge (some deserved, some less so) because he was a fairly hard-nosed businessman who kept an eye on the pennies. But in retrospect there's a recognition of the positive changes and improvements he brought about during his times at B6 6HE - remember where we were and what Villa Park was like when he took over in 1968?

[dave.woodhall]

He's taking a cold-eyed unsentimental approach to his job, which is to drive up revenue from every potential source.

Remember that Deadly Doug got a lot of flak during his time in charge (some deserved, some less so) because he was a fairly hard-nosed businessman who kept an eye on the pennies. But in retrospect there's a recognition of the positive changes and improvements he brought about during his times at B6 6HE - remember where we were and what Villa Park was like when he took over in 1968?

I remember what we were like when he took over in 1982 and I remember how that "hard-nosed businessman" failed to take advantage of every opportunity that came our way from then on.

[OCD]

Thought it was interesting that they want to make the tunnel more intimidating for opposition players. It is all a bit too nice atm.

[AV82EC]

He's taking a cold-eyed unsentimental approach to his job, which is to drive up revenue from every potential source.

Remember that Deadly Doug got a lot of flak during his time in charge (some deserved, some less so) because he was a fairly hard-nosed businessman who kept an eye on the pennies. But in retrospect there's a recognition of the positive changes and improvements he brought about during his times at B6 6HE - remember where we were and what Villa Park was like when he took over in 1968?

I remember what we were like when he took over in 1982 and I remember how that "hard-nosed businessman" failed to take advantage of every opportunity that came our way from then on.

Well said. All the goodwill he built in the late 60s early 70s was pretty much burnt by the time I started supporting the club in the early 90s and he was a deadweight around the neck of the club for the majority of the 80s/90s. For hard nosed businessman read Corner Shop Proprietor.

[Risso]

Thought it was interesting that they want to make the tunnel more intimidating for opposition players. It is all a bit too nice atm.

That must be why we've lost so many home matches this season...