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Posted by: OutByEaster?
on Friday, July 16, 2010 - 06:19 PM
You’ll no doubt have seen the pictures of the shirt launch in the city centre and at The ICC yesterday and I’m sure we’ve all got an opinion on the shirts. What you won’t have seen was the work the club did behind the scenes or the way the club dealt with the press, the fans and one lucky Villatalk member.
The club were kind enough to invite Villatalk to the unveiling of the new shirts and once it was decided that none of the more sensible members were able to attend I was lucky enough to get the call.
For me it was particularly interesting as I’m lucky enough to be part of the team that delivers these events at The ICC. Which meant for once I actually had an excuse for spending half of my working day thinking about the Villa.
It meant I was lucky enough to be there at quarter to eight in the morning when a problem with a cherry picker left the big shirt on the outside of the building briefly exposed – not for long, but long enough for sharp eyed VT poster The Don to get a picture and post it here before eight!
Early birds Vaq Hussain and blogging Paul Brown were in soon after as the Villa marketing team started to arrive, a quick hello and the first of a number of sheepish apologies for The Don’s work followed - although to be honest they were happy to find that people were interested in the kits rather than worried about any leak.
Come lunchtime and things were really starting to get going – the press, Sky Sports, the sponsors, the media and all manner of the local great and good had been invited to a pre-launch reception and having bumped into Jonathon Fear from Vital Villa at the foot of the stairs I wandered in for a mingle.
When you’re a couple of internet oddballs from fan sites, you’re never quite sure how you’ll be received at these things, but it’s really amazing the extent to which people at the club go out of the way to speak to you (or at least to Mr Fear.)
Speaking to ticket office supremo Nicola Keye prior to the main event, you got a real sense of the feeling of excitement at the club as it builds up to the new season – she spoke about looking forward to the season starting, about her pride in her sales team and about cup finals. Particularly the challenges she’ll face if we make it to the Europa Cup final (actually she said “when” we make it to the Europa League final) and how much she’s looking forward to them.
We got the opportunity to speak to a number of people from the club and they couldn’t have been more open in telling you what they wanted to do – it’s impressive that you can get the ear of the Chief Executive ten minutes before he launches a new commercial partnership and a new shirt, but each and every Villa employee went out of their way to make us feel welcome.
Outside in Centenary Square, at the front of what had become quite a large crowd, with some local kids playing five-a-side and an up and coming band of some sort as warm up things were hotting up around the stage.
A special section at the front had been sectioned off for us in the catwalk show which I unfortunately couldn’t stay for (I was at work after all) and for the only time during the day the rain stopped and the clouds parted so that God could see the unveiling of the shirt.
As for the shirts themselves, I like the home one – it’s traditional enough to be proper without being so simple as to not be different to last years. Us older types tend to get all grumpy about a new shirt every year, but kids love it and it’s as much a part of the modern game as….well all that other stuff us older types tend to get all grumpy about.
The check pattern on the home shirt is quickly becoming the clubs motif and is apparently based on the tiling in The Bartons Arms. The legend being that it was these tiles that influenced our original choice of claret and blue as club colours.
It also wins green points for being made from recycled water bottles and does some sort of magic air circulation thing to make you less hot and bothered if you’re running around in it (or climbing the stairs to the Upper Trinity)
Anyway, I like it.
The away shirt is a funny one and I’m still not sure if it’s beautiful or ugly. I suspect it’s one of those that will be quite generous to those of us with tummies that have visited the bar once too often and the more I saw it the more I liked it.
As for the keeper’s kit, well I think the fairest I can say is that I won’t be looking to get one. I don’t think they’ll need to stock too many of these in adult sizes in the club shop and I’m sure I heard somebody say bzzzz as Brad Friedel walked by.
I’m also quite keen on the bright orange training kit t-shirt things but I’m not sure if they’re for sale. I know what you’re thinking and you’re right but I like ‘em just the same.
After the grand unveiling of the big shirt on the side of The ICC everyone was back inside for media duties and I was lucky enough to catch up with Alan Perrins, co-ordinator of all of the Lions clubs and a man with more stories about the Villa than you could shake a stick at.
Players went by sheepishly from interview to interview with Carlos Cuellar the star man with a smile and a word for everyone. Brad Friedel looked particularly shy as he wandered around in his yellow and black number and Stillyan Petrov showed off a deep tan and some expensive dental work in the away kit.
A number of people from Villa’s media and PR teams came and said hello with the inevitable mention of The Don’s picture and a roll of the eyes, and all of them seemed to be looking forward to their upcoming visit to Ireland and the pre-season.
Then they were off, away back to mansions, stadiums and offices across the Midlands. Leaving us with some new shirts and I think a bit more.
Leaving aside my self indulgence in writing this, I think the whole day showed the class with which the club approaches things, there are no amateurs in our football club and the day was really well organised throughout. If this is the approach we take to everything then we’re in good hands.
There can also surely not be another club in the country that treats supporters groups this way. We were afforded the same access as Sky Sports and the Evening Mail and treated in the same way as any other guest. It’s an incredible change from five or six years ago when we were treated as a dangerous rabble, crazed militants from the ether.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a big cuddly non-corporate animal, this deal proves that’s true – not everyone is happy to see a children’s charity replaced with a financial company on our chests – but the club is on the move and Randy’s stated aim of increasing our ability to generate our own income and securing the clubs future is the only agenda on the table. Keeping the customer happy is a big part of that and we’re a big group of customers at the end of the day.
What we have though is a company that will listen to you, in fact we have a company that actually wants to listen to you, that wants you to be there and want to know what you think; what’s more they’ve proven they’ll act on our opinions. I can’t think of another company I’m a customer of that can genuinely make that claim.
Our corporate future is in good hands and whilst I’m not sure how the boys in the FX Pro shirts will do next year I’d put my shirt on them being part of a club that’s well set to give them every opportunity for success.
Click here to join the debate on the new kits
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