c-krulak

General Krulak here: Gulf war veterans count...as do those who landed at Normandy! I think I may have mentioned that one of the stewards at Aston Villa actually landed on the beaches at Normandy as a young infantryman!!! Lots of history at our great Club. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. Ticketing. The issue re. student pricing and tickets for individuals serving with the Forces are both being looked at very hard by the Club. The former is a bit more difficult than the latter. We ALL agree that student income is student income...whether you are in first year or last. The key is clear identification of what "makes up" a student. I know it is hard to believe but there are some people who will sign up for a course in basket weaving at the local pub and ask for a student discount. The Forces is a MUCH easier "fix" and I am sure we will be working that one soon. 2. Scoreboard and PA system. Both of these will be upgraded as we move forward. Randy has already noted the deficiencies and will be taking action. 3. New "scoop" yet to be released to anyone....wow! Can I count on each of you to keep a secret? My sense is that there will soon be a news release on the Holte Inn describing what we are doing there. My sense is that you will soon see pictures appearing, every other week, showing the progress at Bodymoor Heath. My sense is that, with the help of fans and the gathering of the Supporters Group and our "voting machine", we will soon have a song to come out on the pitch to. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. Nialler has a good suggestion here. I will send it to our marketing folks...we may well be able to set up some sort of "package"...and everyone come out a winner. Thanks. 2. I checked the coordinates given...you just destroyed the loo in Randy's new home!!!! To whom do I send the bill?? Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

IainG, Thank you! In the immortal words of that famous center half, Clint Eastwood, "You made my day!" Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: Regarding the discussion of half-time, prior to game, etc. We need to respect Mr. Saunders and his wishes. He may choose not to come out on the pitch but rather stand and be recognized in the box. We will do what he wants in this regard. The key, as everyone has indicated, is that this wonderful man is "coming home" and rightfully so!! Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. Yes, I am aware of the one in front of Trinity...this would be a part of the larger issue of recognizing the legends as well as the fans...in a special way as you walk towards the Holte End. 2. Randy has invited, and Mr. Ron Saunders has accepted, to attend the Aston Villa-ManU game on the 23rd of December. (It's great to know that for once, we are ahead of you all!!!!) Randy will make an appropriate presentation to him at that time. Semper Fidelis, General krulak

General Krulak here: 1. You all can't get rid of me that easy!!! I will continue to be on the site...because I think it is important to have this sort of communications. 2. This spring, in conjunction with our anniversary and the opening of the Holte Inn, we will have a reunion of all the Legends of Aston Villa. It will be a great day and will honor all the players who have made us who we are. 3. The idea of names on the wall is a good one and we will give that some thought. We have already been thinking about a long walkway, made of bricks, that would have the names of our players inscribed upon them. We would also have a large area dedicated to the fans....where the fans, for a small amount of money, could purchase their own brick...in their name, their families name, etc...and that brick would become a permanent part of Villa Park. This is done in the US at many famous locations...as an example, the Marine Corps Museum. Families can go there and point to a nicely carved brick that has their father's name on it. Very sharp...and a great memory. 4. Randy, me and another Director went to the Portsmouth game (we were at ManCity too). What a battle...back and forth...no giving up...HUGE effort by both sides. Our lads came back with gusto at the end and equalized the game in the last few minutes. They NEVER gave up. Our fans were great!! Portsmouth had two drums and some trumpets in their end...made a massive noise and were very fired up BUT...the Villa Fans stayed right with them even though outnumbered. It was a great effort by our Fans!!! Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. The new CFO, Robin Russell, is doing great. He is doing a top to bottom review of the Club's financial plan and is working on a projection for the future. Randy and I have known Robin for years and he is really top notch. He is smart, personable, and cares a great deal about his profession. He is well-known in financial circles and we were blessed to get him to come join us. He has had a big hand in setting up the Supporter's meeting tomorrow. 2. Sponsorship. This is in the capable hands of Bob Kain and our new CEO. I would not want to get out in front of them. Like all clubs, this is an on-going issue...sponsorship at multiple levels. 3. Randy and Martin will be meeting this week and discussing all manner of things. Again, I know that anything mentioned on the web is strictly "top secret" and would never get out but...discretion is the better part of valor. 4. Randy and I jump on the plane tonight...see you all tomorrow. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. Yes, we know the shop in Birmingham is not what it should be....and we will fix it. 2. I try to do "walk about" before, during and after each game. I make a huge effort to get to every stand...and normally succeed. If you spot me, please come up and say hello. 3. The meeting we are having with supporter groups was not/is not intended to exclude anyone. Since we knew no other way to get "things going", we just took the various supporter groups and web sites and sent out invitations. The whole reason we are having this meeting is to see how we can open up lines of communications to ALL our fans. There is NO question that we have a large number of fans who are not affiliated with any group or site...and we need to reach out to them. One way to do that is to get the more "formal" groups together and see if they have any ideas of how to expand our reach. This will NOT be a meeting where major issues are discussed....this is a meeting to figure out the best way to open communications with the vast majority of our Fans. No one should feel "left out" because this is NOT that kind of meeting. We can certainly publish minutes....not sure they will be of interest to a great deal of people because the discussions will surround "linking of sites", establishing a site that all can come to (either thru links or directly), establishing a polling methodolgy, etc. etc. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: As I indicated, I will see if I can get the "straight scoop" on the Holte Suite...who, what, when, and why. I will get back to you all. Randy and I will be at the games this coming week. We NEED three points at home and three points away!! I will be on "walkabout" before, during and after game (after visiting locker room first)...if you see me, come up and say hello. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

IanRobo1 Let me look into this one....not sure what the problem could have been but I will by next week. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. As I have indicated before, Mr. Lerner has spent a significant portion of his life in the UK, loves sports (especially football) and has a deep respect for Aston Villa, its ethos and traditions. I do not see him leaving the Club. Randy is a very good leader and a very capable business man. He has been successful in many ventures and he achieves this success by a) surrounding himself with good people, listening to what they have to say, and c) using his own clear sense of what is right and wrong to make final decisions. When it comes to contracts and players, he will seek input from the "experts". He will not attempt to get in other people's business but he will be an active owner from the standpoint of studying, learning and participating in all aspects of the club. Randy is very bright and multi-talented...he has been a success at everything he has done in life and will bring these same qualities to Aston Villa. 2. Lots of comments, pro and con, re. our Kit. We must not get wrapped around the axle over things that are not central to putting out a winning squad. I wear the shirt, Randy wears the shirt, my 3 month old grandson wears the kit.....we all are proud to wear the claret and blue! What really makes things "good" is the performance of our lads on the pitch. We've got a great Manager and a solid team...that is what counts. 3. I will look into the Claret and Blue and see what the situation is on that issue. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: We are looking into the kit manufacturer as has already been discussed. We recognize that the current kit leaves something to be desired from the Fan point of view. We are looking into this. Parking is a big issue and we recognize that fact. I am not really able to discuss our plans in that regard as they are "sensitive" at this point....involving more than one group/organization. Semper Fidelis, CCK

General Krulak here: 1. It is our intent to take a hard look at multiple options re. our kit and our badge. Your recommendation is a very smart looking badge! We may well ask the fans to help on this one. Remember, Randy is a tradition man. 2. None of us were around when Doug Ellis was Chairman...and none of us want to look back. We do not "steer the ship by the wake"...we steer by the stars. Let's all look forward...what was, was. What is, is. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: VillaSquare...Please PM me all the details and I will get on it. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. The youth team issue...absolutely new issue to me. I appreciate the view from the fan and can understand the frustration. Let me look into this one. To me, it makes no sense at all to have other Clubs offering "camps" to our fans!! 2. All ticket pricing ideas are welcome. We are putting them in a list and looking at them holistically. There are some good ideas. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: Each game day that I am in UK (often), I go down to the Ticket Office and sit with our people on the phone and in the booth...I have been very impressed with their "customer service". There is no question that they are deep into the Villa pride and I think that they are intent on doing a good job. We can listen to the people on the phones without them knowing we are listening and they honestly do a good job. That is not to say that we don't have a way to go...but I do believe we have great people. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: TT, as an aside, I am on 3 Corporate Boards as a Non-Executive Director and get paid for all of them. I am not sure if that is "typical" for the UK (although our Bank in the UK certainly paid its Non-Executive Directors) but it is certainly the way it is done in the US. I mentioned this point, not to ask for donations or to pass the offering plate but, rather, to indicate to the Fans that YOUR Directors are serving out of our immense respect for Randolph D. Lerner (Randy)and for the love of Football in general and Aston Villa in particular. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: By now all have seen the announcement of both our new CEO and new CFO. Richard Fitzgerald has been named the CEO of Aston Villa FC. Richard worked for 18 years with IMG (sports, entertainment and media group). His last assignment was as Senior VP and Head of IMG's New Media International business. His clients include the F.A. Premier League, KNVB, Manchester United FC, The Wimbledon Championship and the European Golf Tour. Richard KNOWS sports, he KNOWS the FA, he KNOWS marketing, and he lives in the UK and will be moving to Birmingham. Robin Russell has been named the CFO. Robin served 12 years as CFO of MBNA Europe Bank, Ltd...he was the CEO whilst Randy was Chairman and I was CEO of the Bank. We know Robin very well and can assure the Fans that he is a superb choice. These are two great individuals who will bring their immense experience and talents to our Club. You all will be happy!!! As an aside, someone asked on another thread about salaries. Obviously I should not discuss the salaries of these two additions to the Club BUT, I can discuss the salaries of the Directors. No Director is paid!! We are doing our job for zed!! We love Aston Villa FC, we consider it an honour to be a part of Aston Villa FC and we respect Randy! That is pay enough! Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. Don't forget that Randy was Chairman and I was CEO of MBNA Europe Bank, Ltd and we understand both credit and debit cards. The card we would need to look at would be debit. 2. Correct, we need someone who is in the UK 24X7. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: Re. the new CEO...I did not indicate that you would necessarily "know" the individual although you might. What I said is that you would like the name...particularly after you look at his experience in the areas that are critical to our Club as we move forward. Remember, we have a great Manager who is exceptional at evaluating players, motivating players, and "coaching" the players he has. We have an owner who has huge experience in the Sports arena and has roots in the UK and is well-respected in the FA as the "new guy on the block." What we need now is someone who, on a day-to-day basis has the experience and leadership ability to move the Club forward across a gamut of activities. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: A GREAT idea!!!! Let me see what we can do with this one. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: 1. The new CEO should be announced within the next 3-4 days. You will like him. 2. We've got some great suggestions on how to get us all "wired" together....now we just need to execute. We will work on it over the next 2 weeks. The Villa Park IT director will be on it soonest. 3. I really don't think it would be good for a Director to single out a particular player as his "favorite." Simply put, I think they all bring something special to the Team and, interestingly, highlight their talent at different times during each game. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General Krulak here: It is the intent of the Club to meet with about 7-10 individuals who are already involved in Fan support (as an example, our leader here at Villa Talk) within the next several weeks and sit down and really dig into what we can do to increase fan participation, communications and support to OUR Club. This meeting will be the beginning of a series of meetings that will hopefully result in a better linking of the fans and the Club...to include a "voting machine" linked to fan websites and to the Aston Villa FC website that will allow Randy, the Directors and the CEO to get a "numerical sense" of what the fans are thinking with regard to certain decisions. A very simplistic example would be a vote on what song the fans would like to hear when the Team comes onto the pitch. Again, we have a distance to go in getting all this set up...there will need to be "give and take" as we move forward...BUT, we are committed to opening up the lines of communications. Another example of what might be accomplished is that I am on 3 websites now....I get questions at each website...very good questions. Unfortunately, when I answer these questions, they only go to the population on that particular site. In this age of advanced technology, there must be a way to "link" my replies to all 3 sites. You and I know it can happen...we just need to "make it happen" without any site losing its own identity. As you can see, we do have some work that needs to be done. The key is that we, the Fans and Villa, recognize that we need to do a better job of communications...that the flow of information needs to be spread to all fans. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak PS Re. the Czech Republic: We may be coming to you for some advice.

General Krulak here: 1. Holte End box office/porta cabins. I am not sure how I have missed you but I will be by to see you a week from Wednesday. I had to go back to the US for Thanksgiving or my wife and family would have killed me. She is harder than woodpecker lips and could do it!! 2. We are looking into developing a way to link all of the great web-sites in a manner that would allow the sites to remain "independent" but, at the same time, share fan thoughts, etc. Additionally, we are looking at a way to enable fans to "vote" on certain issues that are of interest...such as the song to come out on the field to, etc. 3. Great idea on update re. construction at Bodymoor Heath and Holte Inn. Let me see what we can do from Villa Park to make that available. 4. To the postman...if I am going on a long walk...but not a trek...I wear ASICS GT 2110's. 5. Thank you for the warning re. the Press. I understand that they can be "rough" but , at the same time, I can't imagine that they will find our discussions of any great interest unless they, themselves, are Villa Fans...and if they are Fans, well then, welcome aboard. Semper Fidelis, General Krulak