brommy

Governments leak possible future policy to see how much pushback is generated. It's possible Heck and co. did similar. IF those who don't like either/or the star and 1874, acknowledge the majority of fans surveyed wanted them, and we acknowledge that the round badge wasn't working as good brand recognition amongst all the other current round badges in top level football, do we think that the recent images showing a gold (not yellow) lion on a shield are decent and at least acceptable?

I couldn't borrow Durán's agent a tenner but I could lend it. Perhaps one for the 'Things that piss you off that shouldn't' thread!

Exactly my thoughts on what I believe is the primary reason for the cancellation of Phase 1. Every home game I take a look across the stands from my vantage point in the centre of the Upper Holte. Even sell out games will see single empty seats, perhaps 1 in 100, which is to be expected through illness/holiday or toilet visits (there's a bloke, who sits in the row in front of me, who makes 3 or 4 visits during every game!). The groups of seats visible without fans in the occasional not sold out games are always in the same areas - the very top corners of the Upper North and the very top corners, closest to the Holte, of the Trinity and D.E. stands. Those latter two areas are reserved for those without season tickets who have purchased hospitality in the Lower Holte. In a couple of games there's been an empty group of around 50 to 100 seats in each of those two areas. I fully expect Heck has done the return on investment maths (we can sell out another 8000 seats at season ticket prices of around £40/match but not at £60+/match or £120 with some hospitality) and presented his findings to NSWE. It will then have been NSWE's decision to choose not to replace the North Stand.

Surely it is an error on that website - perhaps they were awaiting confirmation of the VAR personnel? It was my understanding that all FA Cup games played at current Premier League grounds would feature full VAR coverage. Why would Stamford Bridge be any different this Friday evening?

Didn't her husband's family own the multi-billion pound pharmaceutical company?

Clearly not injured. Wouldn't be the first to throw a sickie to get a birthday off work.

That's a good sign to most!

I'm pleased Bertie kept his cool to score a decent penalty. Just one thing confuses me about that video clip - why does Jean-Paul Gaultier appear in it?

Sorry for your loss. I'm sure the VT community are here for you if you need us.

Still no news on the appeal against the red card for Calvert Lewin?

Yep. Shortbread can taste lovely made with all butter but cheap and nasty if made with another fat.

The result of a possible appeal will be interesting. After all, several VAR officials and the match referee viewed it several times and from various angles. All agreed it was a red, so an overturned decision will be saying they were all incorrect. Interesting if the PGMOL will 'throw them under the bus' for what is a subjective decision.

I agree. I strongly suspect the somewhat mediocre demand to pay the prices for the Terrace View and Lower Grounds hospitality offerings, has caused Heck to believe there isn't the money in the Villa fan base to pay for the new North Stand in what he and the owners believe is a reasonable timeframe. We've thousands of fans willing to fill a 50k Villa Park with their £40 per match season tickets. They might also give an extra £10 profit to the club by buying a pie and a pint (possible a bit more if the catering was more efficient!). Change those averages to £80 and £30 respectively and Heck would have already approved the construction start, but we've not got the numbers willing to pay 'London prices'.

Already posted but while it's being discussed, just to add some perhaps comparable detail (in terms of both being large Premier League clubs), regarding anticipated financial return - Chelsea very recently rejected the expansion of Stamford Bridge as their payback period was 25 years with just a 2.8% annual growth over a 50 year period. A significant difference from Villa Park was their cost per new seat was double the North Stand cost per new seat, but I also strongly expect Chelsea could charge around double for their tickets and hospitality.

Pfft, walk? If we get a bit of a jog on, the title is ours. I like it, a lot!

The demand is there at £800 per season ticket. It's not there at £70 per match seat or £150 per seat including basic hospitality. I think Heck has decided the payback period using reasonable season ticket pricing is too long for a new North Stand to be financially viable.

Good stats. It now looks like a decent late earned point away at Bournemouth.

...and Chelsea. Stamford Bridge is over 2k smaller than Villa Park. CFC have also recently concluded that the constructionally feasible expansion of adding 13000 seats isn't financially viable, with a minimum payback period of 25 years and a return of just 2.8% over 50 years. The construction cost per seat would likely to be double that of a new North Stand but Heck also now knows our fan base can't support Stamford Bridge prices.

An announcement cancelling the expansion closely followed by announcement confirming the next step on the way to station expansion. Something is very weird here!

Emery said in today's pre-match conference that Pau isn't fit for tomorrow night's game. I don't think Unai is one to bluff/lie.

I think you will need to register your son as everything Villa tickets appears to be fan ID driven.

In fairness, I didn't see an issue with Pearce's question. It gave Ollie the perfect opportunity for his great response that in the same circumstances he'd do the same again. His question and Ollie's response also gave a good foundation for the three MOTD2 presenters to comment in support Ollie's action.

Found this thread at the bottom of page 4 so I guess their 'mind the gap' crap hasn't aged well. Exactly double their points (38 to 19) after 17 games. Mind the maths - karma's a Villan!

I agree. I think I've written similar at least a couple of times on VT.

It's probably not fair to ban home fans from their away fixtures!