imavillan

All this talk of ticket prices is becoming a little tedious.....

Since Randy has taken the helm at the club ticket prices have imho been very reasonable....£20 for Blackburn, £15 for Brighton....bring a friend schemes, kids for a fiver, a family for £40, season tickets for the lower North Stand etc etc.....for this and everything else Randy and the club have to be applauded....none of this would have happened under the old regime....and.....we should never ever ever compare ourselves with Wigan and Blackburn...if thats what we are striving for then heaven help us....

General, keep up the good work.....but.....please tell us when you are planning your next visit to VP so i can keep an eye out for you in the Holte suite so i can shake your hand...

its been too long now....we all want to know...

you cant all keep blaming the ref......he didnt miss the penalty and he does not (a bit like some of our players) have shots at goal, or give the ball away cheaply to the opposition.....to blame the ref is a lame excuse........as has been said before we have dropped points against poor opposition, Wigan, Wolves, a depleted Everton, Blackburn and now a team who were second to bottom of the league in West Ham....and to say give the lads a break because 4 away games in 12 days is hard....dont make me laugh....is'nt that why we are supposed to have a squad?

face up to it and stop burying your heads in the sand.....they are simply not good enough for the top four.....the table does not lie.....

this is not good enough against a poor West Ham team....the midfield is not functioning and Heskey contributes jack

very dissapointing.....yet more dropped points.....

we have under performed against every team below us this season....even against Pompey and Fulham who we both beat we were crap :-(

General Krulak here:

1. I checked into the Tea/Coffee issue and the answer was pretty much as you might have expected. Statistics indicate that most people take the cream, etc. In order to avoid the time delay in providing all black and then having the condiments on the side, we go with the majority. Alison Plant has indicated that, if asked, most kiosks can provide the straight black...but need to be asked. The coffee will come from a pot that only holds black...and may not last the entire game.

General,

Thank you for the response and thank Alison Plant for me.

I will be asking for black coffee in the Trinity Upper at the Bolton game this week.

Onto something else that bothers me.....

The club has changed ''offiical bettting partners'' from Ladbrokes to 188Bet.

The problem i have with this is that if i place a cash bet with 188Bet and manage to get a winner , then the only way i can collect my winnings is to open an online account with them. Then they will pay my winnings into my account.

I used to have a bet at every game with Ladbrokes. If i had a winning bet with them i could collect real cash at any of there high street shops.

You see i bet with real cash and like to be paid with real cash.

I no longer have a bet at the games as i do not want to open an account with 188Bet. I wonder how many other people have been put off from having a wager by this system.

Next season, can we go back to using any of the leading high street bookmakers who can offer being paid out from any of there high street shops?

General,

two posts in two days...great.......a very big welcome back to the fold....you have been missed.

Onto my question, catering.....i went to the catering kiosk in the upper Trinity before the Man Citeh game and asked for a black coffee to be told that ''we dont sell it''.....i then asked for a black tea....''dont sell that either''....(as you can probably tell by now i dont have any milk in my drinks)....i questioned this further to be told that all of the pre packed tea and coffee drinks contain powdered milk......surely we can offer to sell a combination of drinks with or without milk?....after all, all the staff have to do is apply hot water to the cup!!

General, please see what you can do on this one.

All the best

General Krulak here:

1. imavillan: Hmmmm, now that is one I haven't heard and I have no idea of why we would only sell tea and coffee pre-packaged with only cream/milk. Let me check it out.

General,

Do you have any feedback on this?

And now you are on the road to recovery when do you next envisage coming over to VP?

The Bolton game?

not certain but it will be early...someone on here will let you know..

The Adventurers....after getting off at Aston station...turn right then first right and its a few hundred yards on the right....cant miss it its painted claret and blue....you not been to a game before?

Close to the ground, The King Edward, The Adventurers.....city centre, The Square Peg on Corporation Street.

General,

two posts in two days...great.......a very big welcome back to the fold....you have been missed.

Onto my question, catering.....i went to the catering kiosk in the upper Trinity before the Man Citeh game and asked for a black coffee to be told that ''we dont sell it''.....i then asked for a black tea....''dont sell that either''....(as you can probably tell by now i dont have any milk in my drinks)....i questioned this further to be told that all of the pre packed tea and coffee drinks contain powdered milk......surely we can offer to sell a combination of drinks with or without milk?....after all, all the staff have to do is apply hot water to the cup!!

General, please see what you can do on this one.

All the best

Mods, I apologise for repeating the question in full but the article has been removed from the original page so the link is not working anymore

General

It is so good to have you back......i was getting worried about you.

I posted this question last week after seeing this in the Sunday Express.

General

I have just read this article (copied in full below) about Randy seeking additional funds for the club.

ASTON VILLA supremo Randy Lerner is seeking massive new investment in his club to ensure they can compete with the likes of Manchester City.

In recent days, the American tycoon – at the Villa helm since August 2006 – has held talks with several billionaire businessmen from the Far East about possible cash injections.

And that’s the clearest sign yet that Lerner, 47, who also owns NFL outfit Cleveland Browns, accepts his money alone is no longer enough to take Villa to the top of the English game.

Villa meet Man City tomorrow night in what should be a cracking clash. But off the pitch, Martin O’Neill’s men are struggling to keep pace with the country’s richest club.

When buying Villa for £64.5million, Lerner became the wealthiest football chief in the top flight, apart from Chelsea’s billionaire boss Roman Abramovich and the Glazer family at Manchester United.

But the financial goalposts in the Premier League have moved dramatically since then, amid the economic recession and the arrival of City’s Arab owners.

Compared with the £1trillion fortune of the Abu Dhabi United Group, Lerner’s personal wealth of around £750m is small change. He no longer even makes the English game’s top-10 rich-list.

And this fact was highlighted during the last transfer window, when Villa spent a mere £25m, having splashed more than £100m over the previous two summers.

In contrast, City spent close to £200m – including £17m to secure Villa’s influential England star Gareth Barry.

Though Villa did manage to keep winger Ashley Young, who was on Mark Hughes’ shopping list as well as Real Madrid’s, Lerner reckons they may not succeed in doing so next time.

That’s why he has decided to act now and enlist the financial clout of other major powerbrokers around the globe to counter City’s rapid rise up the ladder.

And the first step on Lerner’s agenda is to transform Villa Park into a state-of-the-art stadium with a capacity of 55,000.

Villa withdrew their ground from the list of venues for the 2012 Olympics last Tuesday, citing ‘substantial’ redevelopment between now and then as the reason.

I notice there is not one quote in the article but that does not mean there is no truth in it.

Now i realise you cannot comment on specifics but can you confirm if there is any foundation to the article?

Thanks

General

I have just read this article (copied in full below) about Randy seeking additional funds for the club.

ASTON VILLA supremo Randy Lerner is seeking massive new investment in his club to ensure they can compete with the likes of Manchester City.

In recent days, the American tycoon – at the Villa helm since August 2006 – has held talks with several billionaire businessmen from the Far East about possible cash injections.

And that’s the clearest sign yet that Lerner, 47, who also owns NFL outfit Cleveland Browns, accepts his money alone is no longer enough to take Villa to the top of the English game.

Villa meet Man City tomorrow night in what should be a cracking clash. But off the pitch, Martin O’Neill’s men are struggling to keep pace with the country’s richest club.

When buying Villa for £64.5million, Lerner became the wealthiest football chief in the top flight, apart from Chelsea’s billionaire boss Roman Abramovich and the Glazer family at Manchester United.

But the financial goalposts in the Premier League have moved dramatically since then, amid the economic recession and the arrival of City’s Arab owners.

Compared with the £1trillion fortune of the Abu Dhabi United Group, Lerner’s personal wealth of around £750m is small change. He no longer even makes the English game’s top-10 rich-list.

And this fact was highlighted during the last transfer window, when Villa spent a mere £25m, having splashed more than £100m over the previous two summers.

In contrast, City spent close to £200m – including £17m to secure Villa’s influential England star Gareth Barry.

Though Villa did manage to keep winger Ashley Young, who was on Mark Hughes’ shopping list as well as Real Madrid’s, Lerner reckons they may not succeed in doing so next time.

That’s why he has decided to act now and enlist the financial clout of other major powerbrokers around the globe to counter City’s rapid rise up the ladder.

And the first step on Lerner’s agenda is to transform Villa Park into a state-of-the-art stadium with a capacity of 55,000.

Villa withdrew their ground from the list of venues for the 2012 Olympics last Tuesday, citing ‘substantial’ redevelopment between now and then as the reason.

I notice there is not one quote in the article but that does not mean there is no truth in it.

Now i realise you cannot comment on specifics but can you confirm if there is any foundation to the article?

Thanks

General,

about yesterdays game ......me and mrs imavillan are season ticket holders in the trinity road upper.........and the good lady mrs imavillan went to the ladies to ''powder her nose'' ...............and as any good lady (or bloke) does washes her hands afterwards ;-).....but....only to find that the water is so hot she cannot keep her hands there because they will be scalded........... the water is too hot......now its bad enough to have to watch what we did on saturday ......but to have to put up with the good lady complaining about the hot water as well.....double whammy.....general this is a health and safety issue....you have the power....please sort it out........

General Krulak here:

3. imavillan: Please apologize to your wife for me. I will attempt to sort this out this week. Please give me feed back after the next game to see if it got sorted.

General, some feedback.

There are now signs warning people that the water is hot, but it is still very very hot and you cant keep your hands under there too long becuase of this. At least this is an improvement warning people but the temperature needs to be lowered a little.

We went into the Holte Suite before todays game and we were both impressed with the smart makeover. Its a big improvement, brighter and more comfortable. I must also say that the quality of the food on offer is excellant. Compliments to the catering staff.

Many thanks for being available to ''talk'' to to help sort out these issues.

Will you and Randy be going to the Temple Of Doom in a couple of weeks? :winkold:

General,

about yesterdays game ......me and mrs imavillan are season ticket holders in the trinity road upper.........and the good lady mrs imavillan went to the ladies to ''powder her nose'' ...............and as any good lady (or bloke) does washes her hands afterwards ;-).....but....only to find that the water is so hot she cannot keep her hands there because they will be scalded........... the water is too hot......now its bad enough to have to watch what we did on saturday ......but to have to put up with the good lady complaining about the hot water as well.....double whammy.....general this is a health and safety issue....you have the power....please sort it out........

yes...he has been our best player this season....he is head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch....

but if he goes we move on............like we have when all the others before him have left to better themselves....

the big question here is, do we want to kick on and challenge the top four or are we just going to be satisfied with challenging to be best of the rest???

simple.....to kick on and challenge the top four you need quality players.....

General,

For what its worth i'm ok with what Martin is doing, and i dont think everyone will be against it.

We might not have a better chance than this to finish in the top four.

After a ''bad week'' at the office, out of the FA Cup, defeat by Chelski and a Draw with Moscow, Martin has obviously taken stock and reprioritised. My guess is if we had not lost against Chelski the squad would have been different......

.....and we have not lost the tie yet....one goal will be enough...

Keep the Faith...in Martin we Trust...

General, I know I've posted on here a lot of late but one more thing.

I have sent this email to Villa in re. the Paul Birch Tribute Day vs. Chelsea on 21st February. Would you be so kind to PM me with any email addresses of anyone who can help specifically with this?

This is the email I have sent.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm an Aston Villa season ticket holder and over the past several days I have been helping to organise a Paul Birch tribute day for the game vs. Chelsea.

We have agreed to make Chelsea the game as it will be a sell out and will be on television so the whole footballing world can see we have a place in our hearts for Paul Birch. The idea was to hold shirts and scarves aloft to make a sea of claret and blue - but more specifically, shirts that have "Birch 7" printed on them.

Just so you don't think this is a waste of time, I have contacts within the local media and they have reported on this as well, see the following link:

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2009/02/04/aston-villa-fans-to-dedicate-three-matches-to-paul-birch-97319-22852720/ .

In order for this to be a huge-hit and for all fans to hear about this we feel that it will need to be published on the official site for all fans to take note. I have made a a leaflet for this, which I will be handing out at Blackburn away on Saturday, and Moscow at home three days before the Chelsea game to try and make as many fans aware as possible.

I hope that co-operation in this matter is something that can be reached as this is something that all Villa fans worldwide have been touched by.

RIP Paul.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Franks.

As you can see we are looking for this to be published on the official site for it to be successful. If you can help in any way possible we would all be extremely greatful.

Kind regards Gen, hope we can get this the publicity it deserves.

General,

This imo is a really good idea so anything you can do to help promote this would be good.

I was at the Donny game last night and when they announced over the PA the stats of Pauls career i was very impressed. We are talking here about a true Villan. The word genuine is often used in many guises, but here was a man who was true to the word.

The minutes silence held last night was impeccable from both sets of fans, there was not a sound to be heard anywhere. I felt honoured to be part of it. In remembering him It bought a tear to my eyes.

Please help this happen in any way you can.

Thanks.

Hi General

Who and how can i contact at the club for stadium maintenance?

I have two season tickets in the upper Trinity stand. At last Sundays game, and to make things worse, i had to suffer continuous drips of rain water on me from a leaking roof. It did not matter where i shuffled myself in my seat, the drips kept getting me. This also affected the person in the seat next to me......the wife!!!........ Now given that we are moving into winter it is inevitable that we will encounter more rain.

Who can i speak / write to so i can get this leaking roof repaired and sit in comfort?

Cheers....a dry....for now....imavillan

General, The next match "live" countdown on the OS looks really good....nice one....thanks.

Just found this video on youtube. It pretty good.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JeJpQlGW_GA

General,

tonyvilla has started this thread.....you got to take a look.....priceless i say....priceless...

General Krulak here:

4. I have a Board Meeting on Monday and Tuesday so I will be back on the site Wednesday to talk about our win.

General.....spot on.....can you give me this weeks lottery numbers??....in return i will make sure you are looked after :winkold:

General,

I know you are a very busy person but, can i interest you in joining a predictions league that i run?

you have to predict the scores from 8 matches every week, 2 from the prem, 2 from the championship, 2 from league 1 and 2 from league 2.

It is all very simple just go onto the website each week and predict the scores....most correct wins.

If you are interested i can register you and PM you the details...

Let me know...once you get into it its enjoyable....Imavillan

All the best...

General,

great start...lots of promise.... and i agree about the defense, they will only get better together....where did you watch the game today?....clearly somewhere with a wi fi zone to respond so quickly after the final whistle...

great start...the 2 goals they got flattered them...

will you be in the holte end for the liverpool game? they have replaced small heath as our most revilled rivals...the atmosphere will be white hot...

Hi General,

Hope all is well, apologies if this has been asked before but do you know if Nike are set to produce a Women's version of the home kit. My mrs wants to buy one so that we can both wear one when we visit VP next!( Not sure if that is a good thing!!!!LOL!). Any info would be appreciated.

Ell

If i can answer on the Generals behalf ??.........

When i was down the Villa Village store last week, Nike womens home shirts were available and in stock.

Hi General,

My question or maybe more of a query really is about our new training gear. RED?!?!?!?? I fully appreciate that some fans will love it, maybe MON asked for it, maybe that's standard Nike Gear and maybe i'm just being a tad too sensitive but everytime i see our players in that training kit i cringe terribly. Indeed it may have something to do with the fact i currently hate the colour RED after this summers soap opera involving our captain. I also form a nervous twitch around the 3rd round FA cup draw as we nearly always end up getting knocked out by those annoying RED devils from Manchester. What with Arsenal and the fact our tiny little neighbours usually play their away games in RED i am drving myself crazy that this is such a problem for me.

It just seemed like a strange decision to me that's all, with us trying to build a worldwide brand as it seems is the case here, i would of hoped for a consistent 'set' of Villa colours. Having briefly checked out fellow Nike sponsored teams there seems to be a standard design for training kits etc but most stick to a range of colours that compliment their club colours / badge.

I think i'll leave it at that as i don't want to go on too much about it, especially if you're reading it thinking 'ohh for god's sake'. It's merely something that is niggling me and a few 'brummie reds' are boiling my blood with their sniggles and jibes that it looks like we "plonked our badge on some left over Man U training tops" Agrgrgrrgrgrhrhrhrhrh

I don't think you have had this asked before but if you have and i've missed it then i apologise.

Bring on the new season. Regards

Here, here.

General,

I have to agree with the post from Shemmi.

Its one thing having, say dark navy, black or white (for training tops i would not associate any of those colours with another club) but red.

I would be interested to know how sales of this red top are going? This would be an indicator of how wel, or not, it is being recieved.

General,

Can i draw your attention to the official web site?

There are two things i think need looking at.

1) The next match is showing as Man City on the 16/8/08. Are we not playing in the Inter Toto before then? Surely this should be the next advertised match, either Turku or Odense?

2) I have asked this question before and did not get an answer so please forgive me for asking again. The match countdown (also counting down to Man City match) does not countdown 'live' Why can't this countdown real time? At the moment every time you log on it is just frozen at the time you have logged on. IMO a live countdown would be far more effective.

Thanks for all of the answers you give on this and other sites.

General krulak here:

1. I will check with the O/S and see if I can get the "countdown" fixed and, more importantly, get the fixtures straight.

2. Let me see what the scoop is on the GK shirt...I will get back to you.

General,

The fixtures are now sorted out on the O/S....just the 'live' countdown counter now....

Any news on how the Holte Pub will operate on match days this season? will it be invite or first come first served? will the capacity be increased?

Many Thanks