Ginge

Agreed, the commercial side of things have definitely slipped in recent months and we do all expect that this will be one of Randys first areas of improvement, after all this is one of the easiest ways to bring money into the ground on both match day and non match days. I give the current people, those that are left, until Christmas to get their act together.

Well i heard a whisper that he might be on his way, only a very small whisper at this moment in time but at lot of the other whispers i hear come true so watch this space....

Was thinking of doing that!!

Denis I agree with you 100% I could certainly tell him a tale or ten if he wanted to hear them. The sales director also known as the invisible man is the least of his worries although i hear he is jumping before being pushed not sure how true it is but i wish he would take a few others with him. I could write a list!!

I havent been on here for a couple of days and look what happens!! Cant believe how different this club is compared to this time last year when i was working there!!! Its amazing, glad i can now show my support by attending matches and i look forward to the match day experience being vastly improved upon it certainly needs it! One Pablo - funny you mention about the sales director position as i did hear a rumour it may soon be vacant or did you already hear the same?

Dont know why but i fancy us to win this one, i always enjoy my trip to Liverpool and although i have never seen us win at Anfield i have just got a feeling we will do it this time.

Fingers crossed for an announcement soon then.

False hope or excited anticipation? Wish it was all just sorted and finished with now its getting very boring.

I hope the Mercury is right but cant help thinking Doug has pulled the wool over our eyes agin, bring in a decent manager the fans are happy season ticket sales shoot up just before the season starts Doug keeps a low profile the season kicks off and we are back to square one again, i only hope im wrong........

Just checked on the takeover panel and it is only saying that Aston Villa Investments have made an offer on the club no further info is available. Despite SSN saying they were expecting a statement today we are as much in the dark now as we were 2 weeks ago all of the speculation is making me more and more frustrated!!!!!!!!

I think i will log back on when it has all been finalised, if that is ever going to happen. Have these people been in hiding until the last week and then all decided "oh yes lets buy an English football club?"

The reason our club isnt selling is simple - Doug doesnt want it to. The End.

The financial situation at the club is getting worse as we already know but selling off the catering department to get a quick cash injection doesnt seem to me the actions of a man about to sell the club. Rothschild must be costing a small fortune for no return. OUR money being wasted by the board, at Christmas I feared the worst now it seems to be beyond repair. Season tickets prices are frozen in the hope we will all rush out and buy one,how can we when we are so unsure of the future. How is this once great club in such financial mess?? Would be interesting to hear Bruce Langhams views now he has finished his garden leave or did he sign a gagging order for tens of thousands as well???

Have a look at the article of Vital Footballs website called Whats Up At Villa. It hits the nail on the head. If i didnt know better i would have thought i wrote it myself!! I am actually going to send a copy of it to Mr Ellis.

There is lots to hide. People being made redundant are signing disclaimers so they dont talk to the press!! Luckily i wasnt one of them!!

Somebody very high in the management team at Aston Villa was recently removed from service a court case was set up for unfair dismissal and low and behold just before the case started an out of court agreement was made. You will never beat the board or the chairman.

Wurzel - At Christmas the club was as low as i ever thought possible and was told it will get worse before it gets better. Now in mid March and nothing is improving. How much worse can things get before they start getting better. Recovering from this season will take a long time. May 7th when we put 2005-2006 to bed cant come soon enough.

Ellis wants to sell but the management team within Villa park are not performing and not giving him the sales figures he needs to prove we are a club worth buying. Ticket sales are down, merchandise sales are down, corporate hospitality sales are down the team are not performing well, when you buy into Aston Villa you buy the whole lot not just the things happening on the pitch. The restructure only managed to lose the management staff who knew what they were doing leaving behind a shambles!! Heads would roll at my current company if we were under achieving as badly as Aston Villa are. I wouldnt invest into them in their current state would you?

The problems at our club started when we became a PLC, it was fine until then!

I believe the redundancies are being made because the labour costs at the club are too high. Paying staff off with substansial amounts and not replacing people who leave seems to be a massive thing their at the moment. Bruce Langham started off a restructure programme which would have been a really good idea behind the scenes but when he left the powers that be decided to continue with his plans but never really knew what they were doing, the whole club is in decline in my opinion. Remember Langham is still being paid until May this year so he is still officially "on the books". Some really senior people have been paid off allegedly for the benefit of the club, Abdul Rashid was there years before they got rid of him last year. The reasons behind his departure were never given and the club has not massivley improved without him so it doesnt make sense. Other than Steve Stride i dont think anybody has the power to spend money except Mr Ellis.

It was on and off that many times that i dont think even Doug knows anymore. I would say when i left it was off!

I am a recent ex employee!! Cant say too much cus Aston Villa dont like people to talk but trust me it is true!

I can tell you that Ellis is not "in charge" in the way he is made out to be. Marion Stringer now conducts the club on a day to day basis and a lot of things are now being kept back from him, he is then used as the face of it all so we have somebody to blame and basically throw the s*** at. Re structures behind the scenes have been kept from him, redundancies are being made and the club is really in a state of depression. All control has been lost, at least Ellis knew what he was doing much as the Holte End dont believe that, it is true. Tony Hales is right to be despairing at the "behind the scenes" situation because believe me it is desperate. The club are losing money hand over fist. I can not see a takeover being achieved with the state the books are in but i do believe Ellis really wants to sell up which is why he is so angry at lost sales and under achieving on the pitch.