c-krulak

General Krulak here:

My only point was that we might try to do something special for the 25th...and that it might spill over into next season.

General Krulak here:

1. Sounds like we could get something going for the 25th Anniversay and carry it forward. Scarfs, etc.

General Krulak here:

1. Unfortunately (or fortunately), neither Randy nor I are associated with the credit card industry any longer. The credit card issuer is responsible for setting the promotion rate and the duration of that rate...AVFC has no control over that.

2. Not sure I know anything about the songs. Is that something the Club is responsible for or the fans? What is the issue?

General Krulak here:

1. I hate to do this again, but I wrote a full two paragraph comment on Steve Stride's departure from the Club and posted it on Heroes and Villains...if anyone wants to see what I had to say, pop on over there. Basically, the news release was accurate...Steve is leaving on his own...he was NOT given the boot. Steve has been a HUGE help to us as we transitioned from one owner to another. He has been the institutional memory and has been an absolute prince. I like him personally very much and his wife is absolutely wonderful. I would never attempt to put words in Steve's mouth but my sense is that he looked at where AVFC has been, where we are now, and where we are going and figured that after 30+ years of service, he was comfortable to step aside and move to the side-lines. Let's face it, he has been a part of some great times and some not so great times...and has kept the boat from rocking too much. I will miss him...he is a friend and a good man. Thankfully, he will be coming to all the games so I won't be left to try and figure out this game alone.

2. Kit changes. You make a good point....I will look into it. My point was simply this...that we know that a change every year is NOT Fan friendly and we do not want to do it. There may be a period where that is difficult. You may have identified one...but let me check.

link added by blandy

General Krulak here:

1. Randy and I have seen the article and understand the writer's concern. I posted a pretty complete comment on another web site (Vital Villans) that talks to the article. I would repeat it here but I don't have the computer skills to move it over. If it is not against the honour of Villa Talk, I would encourage those who might be interested to peek at what I wrote.

2. There are absolutely no plans to move from Villa Park...in fact, we are spending money to improve Villa Park.

3. If standing is legal, we would figure out a way to bring it back.

4. The Holte Inn will be free...and the fans will be proud of it!!

link added - Jonathan is a good friend of ours. blandy

General Krulak here:

1. thetrees...thanks for another English lesson. Yanks are almost hopeless when trying to speak!!

2. I have asked for a special SCG meeting to be held the week of the 12-17th...a date will be published soon. I have invited Richard Fitzgerald to attend also...along with folks from ticketing, hospitatlity, etc. It is my hope that this meeting will be an opportunity to get to know some folks better and to conduct a Q&A.

3. There will be some unique opportunities for ST holders in the next couple of weeks to do some fun things...but it will require speed of action to get in on it.

General Krulak here:

1. Bully: I would call the ticketing people (Nicola Keye) and describe what you are trying to do with your under 7 Team. She may be able to help...perhaps for Sheff. Untd.

2. Obviously, I don't want to steal the thunder of our ticketing folks...but, there will be greater segmentation for our Fan base...there will be more bennies for ST holders...some of those will be seen before the end of this season.

General Krulak here:

1. We are very serious about seeking new fans at the Uni. If you want someone to come out and talk about tickets, etc. we can arrange that. Birmingham University should have a whole contingent of Villa Fans!! Please contact Nicola Keye at Villa Village and give her your idea.

2. Alan Perrin ...what I admired is what you all admire...Alan is much more than a Fan, he is a good and decent person. I will see what we can do to recognize him and his efforts.

General Krulak here:

I don't know who spilled the beans about my birthday but.....thanks to the VillaTalk Villans for the kind words. You all made my day!!

I didn't get a chance to see the game live, but I talked with some folks who did. They thought our fans were magnificent...and Randy specifically mentioned that they deserved "MOM". The Villa Fans must have been great. I would have loved 3 points for my Birthday.

General Krulak here:

AVFC will follow the rules...Randy would not do otherwise.

General Krulak here:

1. I concur that Universities are great places to start "growing"new Villa fans. We will be looking for "Ambassadors" to help in that area. At the same time, we have not been sitting on our hands...we have had our ticketing folks at several Uni's to try to drum up support.

2. Youth soccer at the new training ground might be doable...the only issue is that the turf will not be ready for play. We may be able to put them on the "old" fields.

3. I am not too concerned about the print on the shirt....Nike knows how to do this better than almost anyone. I think that we will all be happy with the quality. I certainly do not have the money to throw at a shirt that doesn't keep the lettering.

4. Re. 32 Red. I think I have mentioned before that I do not believe that Randy would ever break a contract with a partner who did not want the contract broken...it is just not his style. There is always reputational risk when you start "picking and choosing" what contract to honor. Not Randy's style.

5. stato: away allocation...you made it happen.

General Krulak here:

The 25th Anniversary weekend will be the 5-6 May.

General Krulak here:

1. The European Cup Team will open up (cut the ribbon) on the new Training Ground.

2. We wanted to have the same folks open up the Holte Hotel but it will not be completed at the time they are here with us.

General Krulak here:

1. Tommy "Holte" Waldron....you sound like me. Steer by the stars, not by the wake. Look to the future...not just hold on to the past.

2. John Cresswell says it well....it just isn't Randy's style to "stiff" someone....never a good business move. You might win in the short run but the professonal reputation gets sullied and you end up losing.

3. I will be on the streets for the Parade...I am easy to recognize...face like Tom Cruise, body like Conan the Barbarian, wit like Charlie Chaplin and suave as 007!!! If you see me, buy me a pint.

General Krulak here:

1. My sense is that we will not see the new kits on the backs of our lads for the last game of the season.

2. Badge has been finalized with Randy making the final decision...but with good input from the fans. As I have said before, it is impossible to please everyone but...the explanation of the badge (design, shape, etc.) is very clear and very persuasive. For what it is worth, I like it! Of course who am I?? Just some Yank. BUT, I do like it.

3. I am not trying to "tease" anyone about the kit...I stated up front that I would not describe it. My only point is that Randy's sense of "who" Aston Villa FC is...what it stands for...is keen.

General Krulak here:

1. Paddy, both Randy and I will be in the UK all week long...Arsenal and Liverpool...plus lots of work.

2. Kits will be ready during summer. The "away kit" is something very special...and the home kit is very smart. Please don't ask me what they look like because I obviously will not be able to answer the question. BUT...you will like both.

General Krulak here:

1. John has made a very good point. We try to be ethical business men (I know, sometimes an oxymoron) and, therefore, you honour committments made. If there is an agreement between individuals and both sides have honored that agreement, then "breaking" the agreement is neither wise nor ethical. We will see where it leads us in the future.

2. We should be seeing the new kit, new badge, etc. over the next weeks and, possibly, months. We want to introduce them in the best possible way.

3. Saintlouisvilla. You have probably not seen my answer on this one before but...here goes. Randy is absolutely NOT the type of man to come into a situation and deliberately stick someone in the eye. That is not his style. He respects Doug Ellis for what he did for 39 years...some great things, some good things and some not so good things. He is not interested in how the stand was named...only that it bears Doug's name now...and to remove that name would be small and petty...and NOT who Randy Lerner is.

4. Am I addicted to VillaTalk? Mrs "K" would give one answer, I would give another. She would say I am addicted...I would say that I have made new friends and enjoy the give and take.

General Krulak here:

Tubby...I only wish I was as shrewd as you seem to think. I'm just trying to pose some of the issues with having a direct-to-player exchange. I absolutely agree that Fan-Player interaction is a MUST and we are not doing a great job with that right now. We have some good ideas to move that forward and hopefully you will be seeing some of our efforts bear fruit soon. As for naming gates, I was just saying that this sort of thing is done in the states...just as info.

I know that Martin is looking a friendlies but no decisions have been made at this time. He is open to many ideas.

General Krulak here:

1. I will mention the idea of a player or two on the web sites...but it is a double-edged sword. They should not be placed in a situation that they are asked questions that they can't or shouldn't answer...which means that Martin would have to play a role too. Also, anything on this site (or others) beocmes fair game for the press. Some things that seem like good ideas can have unbelievable unintended consequences.

2. Gates. In the US, sometimes gates are named after corporate sponsors...as well as people.

General Krulak here:

Just back from a two day meeting with Randy and the Board of Directors. Lots of good discussions over most of the issues that have been posted on the web site...ticketing, new construction, marketing and sales, path forward w/regard to our ultimate goal, etc. etc. I can assure you that 99% of the issues you have raised over the past couple of months were aired at this meeting. It was a roll up your sleeves affair...not just a bunch of folks sitting around listening to BS. This was good planning led by our Chairman. We have a long way to go but we are definitely all on the same sheet of music and feel very positive about the advances made to date.

With regard to a new stadium for the lads down the road. We don't pay much attention to what comes out of that location. We have enough on our plate to bother about them. What I can tell you is that we are in constant contact with the Council and will not encounter any "surprises."

Hall of Fame days...good idea.

When the North Stand is completed, it will not be a "refurbishment"...it will be a major effort.

General Krulak here:

1. What have I learned from the fans? Well, I sure have learned a good deal about how to speak English!!! I will NEVER mention "championship" again. I have learned about the depth and passion the fans have for the Club. I have learned how skeptical some folks can be when they have not had much to look forward to...but, also, how trusting they can be once they see "action." I learned to always say "kick their butts" and never say 'kick their fannies." I have learned that AVFC fans love their team.

2. Redevelopment of North Stand. The long range plan (or our current vision) would have a major piece of work done...to include a major restructuring of both inside and out...expanding capacity and fuctionality. It would be nice to eventually have a brand new store in the stand...a mega-store capability.

3. The new kit design will be like everything else...some will absolutely love it, others will not. We have certainly figured that one out...we can't please everyone all the time.

4. The 25th Anniversary should have every player attending at least one activity. As it stands right now, we have players coming all the way from Australia...and Canada. Randy is paying the entire bill...travel, lodging, food, etc. We hope to have every single person associated with the Team...to include physios...out on the Pitch with the Cup raised over their heads!!

5. Area 51. I am afraid that if I told you the answer to that question, I would have to kill each of you. I will say that I have not seen an Alien since I was scoooped up about 27 years ago. Unfortunately, none of the aliens I saw looked like they could play football...all of them walked on their hands!!! Talk about 'hand ball"...penalty kicks all the time.

General Krulak here;

1. I am working hard on the time machine...should get it going soon and will beam all the good things that will happen in the future immediately to the present.

2. No winging on rates....I paid a non-refundable round-trip ticket from Philadelphia to Manchester and back to see the Arsenal and Liverpool games before all the changes!! I lost my shirt!!!!

General Krulak here:

1. No problem watching practice.

2. As I indicated, we are doing a total scrub of the web site...bottom up. Again, we need to "pace" all of our efforts...we can't do everything at once. THE key issue is to get the players we need...so we need to pace our other activities.

General Krulak here:

I will see what I can do to get the official site to start providing a bit more info. As you know, Richard is working at doing a full "sweep" of the web site and other fan communications. We need to do a MUCH better job across the board. We are obviously NOT where we want to be.

General Krulak here:

1. Yes, Randy was aware of the article in the Montreal paper. He did not give it much thought UNTIL our Fans got involved. He was obviously touched that so many would refute the article!!

2. I do not wear my uniform anymore. When I attend the games I wear a sports jacket and a shirt...no tie. I am at a sporting event and I don't like to put on a suit or coat and tie...I like to be able to jump up and shout w/o worrying that I will rip a suit.

3. As I have mentioned before, we are looking at many ways to get our name out there...not only in the UK but around the world. TV, Chinese language, etc....all will be topics of further discussions as we move into the off season.