Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[pauliewalnuts]

It is very easy to sell tickets for a match like this, just not at £1,000 a go, unsurprisingly.

[PeterWithesShin]

There's a difference between massively high profile and it being one of our biggest games. To me there is anyway.

[Beard82]

It's clear from response so far that Bologna at home is not going to be sold out. Heck was no doubt encouraged by the rush that resulted in Bayern game GA selling out in under 24 hours and stuck with the same pricing structure. This  could  be a commercial mistake. Furthermore club are having trouble shifting GA+ stuff for the Bayern game. We could have another Wolves situation on Wednesday night with 100's if not a couple of thousand empty seats. This would be a shame.

If you’d told me I wouldnt be taking my kids to watch Villa at home in a champions league game, I wouldnt of believed you. However, i can’t afford the Bologna game and can’t justify the outlay after already paying for the Bayern game. It will be interesting to see if our seats sell for the inflated price.

I think this is the thing - people just cant afford it.  I was expecting some kind of package to make it more reasonable.   Its everywhere though - I bought tickets for England v India at Edgbaston next summer.  I normally try and do 2 test a summer but probably wont be able to at those prices.   Going to a gig- even for a smaller band - is suddenly £50 kid a ticket.

[astonvilla82]

 

It's very high profile but nowhere near our biggest game, it's not even top 10 biggest home games in 50 years.

Juventus and Barcelona early eighties were big games, but other than that I'm struggling to think of another eight bigger than Bayern. Anyone else think of any ?

Birmingham City of course

[Pat Mustard]

There's a difference between massively high profile and it being one of our biggest games. To me there is anyway.

To me this is the nub of the problem. For the likes of us I absolutely agree - Albion in a play-off semi final was a much bigger game. To the people Heck is trying to attract, however, they would find that idea laughable.

[ChicagoLion]

My worry isn't that Heck doesn't know what he's doing, but rather that he knows exactly what he's doing and it's what NSWE want.

I agree.

They have all the social, economic, demographic and financial data. Heck has form in implementing

My worry isn't that Heck doesn't know what he's doing, but rather that he knows exactly what he's doing and it's what NSWE want.

There is little doubt in my mind that you are right.

This is where I struggle to believe he does know what he’s doing. If they were interpreting the data correctly he must surely realise the pricing structure is wrong - there are not enough people who want to watch Villa who can afford the current prices.

People keep saying we want to attract day trippers ahead of regular match goers as they spend more money. If that were true and they looked to limit STs to, say, 25k then that’s 15k seats we have to sell for every game, effectively 400k tickets to sell to day-trippers. With the best will in the world, we are never going to sell 400k tickets to individual purchasers - we need a good chunk of people who go week after week. The reality is that with prices as they are, those people that would go to multiple games can’t afford it.

I’m going back to something I’ve repeated multiple times - for the last 5 years we as family of 3 have gone to almost all matches. This year we will probably go to no more than half all together. Where are our replacements, when we haven’t managed to sell out a single game so far this season, including Wednesday which is our biggest home game in 50 years.

He’s screwing up the long-term in pursuit of a short-term objective, but in doing so he is screwing up the short-term as well. We are not making anything like the increase in income he is expecting with thousands of seats that were previously full now empty, and there will be games later in the season where the deficit in atmosphere could well end up costing us on the pitch. Last season we finished 4th by 2 points - one more draw or defeat and we would have lost £50 million.

I think you are right Pat, he has completely misjudged the situation.

[Chip Butty 111]

There's a difference between massively high profile and it being one of our biggest games. To me there is anyway.

To me this is the nub of the problem. For the likes of us I absolutely agree - Albion in a play-off semi final was a much bigger game. To the people Heck is trying to attract, however, they would find that idea laughable.

Who are these people Heck is trying to attract?
I can't fathom it?
People who haven't been to football before?
People who haven't been to Villa before?
People who have been to Villa but want to spend more?
People who have nothing to do on a winters night but fancy a game?
Who are they?

[VillaTim]

There's a difference between massively high profile and it being one of our biggest games. To me there is anyway.

To me this is the nub of the problem. For the likes of us I absolutely agree - Albion in a play-off semi final was a much bigger game. To the people Heck is trying to attract, however, they would find that idea laughable.

yeah agree, Leeds in that FA Cup QF, Tranmere ? Athletico, WBA in the FA Cup QF , loads of "bigger games" , the list goes on

[Brend'Watkins]

There's a difference between massively high profile and it being one of our biggest games. To me there is anyway.

To me this is the nub of the problem. For the likes of us I absolutely agree - Albion in a play-off semi final was a much bigger game. To the people Heck is trying to attract, however, they would find that idea laughable.

Who are these people Heck is trying to attract?
I can't fathom it?
People who haven't been to football before?
People who haven't been to Villa before?
People who have been to Villa but want to spend more?
People who have nothing to do on a winters night but fancy a game?
Who are they?

Tourists. Bugger all tourists in Birmingham in October. He thinks we can tap into those in London who fancy a CL game, the eejit.

Voting with our feet is the only way it changes.

[Dante Lavelli]

It's very high profile but nowhere near our biggest game, it's not even top 10 biggest home games in 50 years.

Juventus and Barcelona early eighties were big games, but other than that I'm struggling to think of another eight bigger than Bayern. Anyone else think of any ?

Personally I’d put Tranmere up there, or any league cup semi final.  The play off v West Brom too.  That was one game away from a final whereas Munich is more about watching expensive players running about which I’m a bit meh about.

[Chip Butty 111]

It's very high profile but nowhere near our biggest game, it's not even top 10 biggest home games in 50 years.

Juventus and Barcelona early eighties were big games, but other than that I'm struggling to think of another eight bigger than Bayern. Anyone else think of any ?

Personally I’d put Tranmere up there, or any league cup semi final.  The play off v West Brom too.  That was one game away from a final whereas Munich is more about watching expensive players running about which I’m a bit meh about.

I'd put the Inter games and Atletico Madrid on a par with Bayern as they were knock out games. Boro at home in the play offs would also be in the mix just for the tension and great atmosphere.

[VillaTim]

It's very high profile but nowhere near our biggest game, it's not even top 10 biggest home games in 50 years.

Juventus and Barcelona early eighties were big games, but other than that I'm struggling to think of another eight bigger than Bayern. Anyone else think of any ?

Personally I’d put Tranmere up there, or any league cup semi final.  The play off v West Brom too.  That was one game away from a final whereas Munich is more about watching expensive players running about which I’m a bit meh about.

Yep, not expecting a great game.

[Des Little]

For me, the level of jeopardy dictates the scale of its importance. If we lose on Wednesday, we’ll still be in the competition, with other points to be won in order to progress. It’s therefore more akin to the Santos game in 1972, with a high profile club (as opposed to a star player) coming to town, and everyone wants to be there.

Personally I can think of many games that have been bigger - I won’t list them, because others have done it in earlier posts. They’re the ones where you’re sick with nerves for days leading up to the game, and I just don’t think this one does.

[DeKuip]

The play off games and the draw at West Ham in 2020 to stay up were all far bigger and more important than Bayern. Lose on Wednesday and the world won’t end, it’s just about making money. We haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of winning that competition.

[algy]

There's a very easy mnemonic to help remember all this stuff. Heck's a c*nt, NSWE are c*nts, Purslow was/is a c*nt, David O'Leary was/is a c*nt.

When i was young my great aunt Ada taught me a useful rhyme

If it’s twats you seek,
The name’s NSWE
If it’s a cnut you want
Try that Chris Heck bloke
To find a prick be astute
Purslow’s the wanker in a suit
And if it’s an arsehole you’re bound to see
That’ll either be O’Leary or Stevìe Gee


Always comes in handy