Rickmeister

General, it seems like that the moderators do not like people asking perfectly reasonable questions. If reasonable questions are being censored then this is a very sad day for Aston Villa FC. moderators do not prevent people asking sensible, reasonable questions to the General. We don't sensor even questions we think are not "sensible or reasonable" This forum provided by the moderators and with the huge input of the General is for exactly that purpose. Occasionally, where multiple posters ask an identical question, posts have been removed as duplicates. Whatever. ANy poster having a problem with the moderation should PM a moderator. Now please read the guidelines MON's statement was made before McClaren was sacked. Therefore he will inevitably be linked with the England job unless he categorically says "I am not interested in the England manager's position and I will be staying at Aston Villa whether or not the FA approach me". Maybe he should not have to do that but the only way to stop the media speculation is to be totally unequivocal. Maybe it is my legal background, but saying "I am totally committed to Aston Villa" is only indicative of today, not next week or the week after, and I am afraid that is not enough to shut the press up. As fans we pay our money so I cannot see why we cannot ask reasonable questions. Gee, thanks for paying to help keep VT running and giving you this facility. The donate button is just to the left, obviously you say you've paid something to this site, but maybe other posters wanting to follow your lead may not have noticed it. Blandy

General, I, like many other people, am fed up with people answering questions like politicians...ie ambiguously or avoiding a straight answer. As many people have stated, now that McClaren has been sacked, MON will inevitably be linked with the England job. Therefore, Villa and MON need to issue an unambiguous statement saying either he is or he is not interested in the England post. No waffle, just a very simple yes or no. If he does not categorically distance himself from the England job then the resulting media frenzy is likely to de-stabilise things at Villa both on and off the pitch. Transfer targets are unlikely to commit to Villa if the manager could leave for the England job imminently. As the Villa fans deserve to know what MON's position is, can you please confirm whether MON will be making a categoric statement of whether or not he is interested in the England job. If he is not prepared to do that voluntarily, will Aston Villa (as his current employer) tell him to make his position crystal clear? If MON avoids the question then we can only assume that he is interested. Also, if Steve Bruce is worth £3 million compensation, then I trust that Randy would be looking for significantly more for MON if he did take the England job! Thank you

If anybody booed the troops (which I don't think they would) then they should hang their heads in shame. Footballers are often called heroes but these guys are true heroes. Whether you agree or disagree with Iraq/Afghanistan should be a matter for politicians. I think the Villa Park faithful are sensible enough to know the difference. UTV SOTC

General, you mentioned that members of the Staffordshire regiment will be at Saturday's game. I think it would be a nice gesture for the stadium announcer to mention they are attending to give fans the chance to show our appreciation for the fantastic job they have been doing. Do you know if anything is planned? UTV SOTC

General, can you please advise why Villa now seem to value away fans rather than their own loyal supporters? Why do I say this? First, I complained previously that despite being ambulant disabled, I was moved from the Tram Museum to the Yew Tree car park because of supposed re-development. However, I have spoken to others who still park there and have been told that there is no re-development and they have noticed a lot more away fans parking there. Why can't the away fans park at Yew Tree? Secondly, I was sat in my season ticket held seat last night, when I was approached by 4 fans who told me I was in the wrong seat. One of them showed me a ticket which was for my seat. Despite the fact that I have been in the Cup scheme for 9 years (and I even rang the ticket office on Tuesday to confirm that they had me in the Cup Scheme!!) the ticket office gave my seat away. To make it worse, these 4 fans were Leicester City fans, 2 of whom were happily wearing Leicester City shirts and baseball caps! I obviously politely refused to move and they sat in the 4 seats next to me as other Villa fans did not go last night. Why did the ticket office sell my seat to other fans? and why sell to Leicester fans? It worries me now that if we get say Man United in the FA Cup then the same thing will happen. I will refuse to move from my seat and then this will cause trouble as there will not be empty seats for the other people to sit in. Thirdly, after the game Witton Lane was closed off so I could not go home the way that I always go. When I asked what I can only describe as the thuggish moron of a security guard why he had closed the road, I was told that it was because there were lots of people walking down the road. When I pointed out to him that if he turned round he would see that the road was totally empty he told me that the away fans took priority and that I should "eff off home!" If Villa value away fans more than their own fans who have been coming to support them since 1972 then it is a very sad state of affairs. I have not missed a single home game since I got a season ticket nine seasons ago, but for the first time I am wondering whether it is worth the hassle of renewing again next season.

General, if you are looking for Bin Laden you should try the Birmingham City trophy room...nobody has ever been in there so it has to be a good place for him to hide! UTV SOTC

Thanks for looking into my concern, General...much appreciated.

Sorry General, but another (I think very justified) moan on the subject of car parking! I am ambulant disabled and in the summer I renewed my parking permit for the Tram Museum over the phone. Then, a few days before the Inter Milan game the permit comes through, but for Yew Tree School as the Tram Museum is being re-developed, so it says. The letter said some people would be moved to Villa Village (less walking), some could stay in the Tram Museum and some would be moved to Yew Tree School (more walking). I emailed the ticket office as I am fed up with not being able to get through on the phone asking if there was any chance I could be moved nearer as every step I take is either uncomfortable or painful. I am also at far greater risk of my knees giving way and falling over due to the extra walking. I pointed out that surely when moving people your medical needs should be considered. Also, it is often far easier for someone in a wheelchair to travel a certain distance than it is for an ambulant disabled person, yet this seems to be have been ignored, and wheelchairs (even motorised ones) always get preferential treatment. Having not received the courtesy of an acknowledgement or a reply after 2 weeks, I again asked for a reply last Wednesday and again nothing. I have been attending Villa Park since the early 1970's and I have not missed a single home game in my nine years as a season ticket holder, and I do not believe this is the way to treat a loyal fan. I cannot change to a wheelchair as I was told there is a 3 year waiting list at least for wheelchair places. If Villa would rather not have ambulant disabled fans attend Villa Park, then they should say so. To make things worse, I was speaking to a guy yesterday who also parked in the Tram Museum last season. He has been allowed to stay there at present and he said that yesterday the Tram Museum car park was fuller than he had seen before. Therefore, I have been forced to move from my car park with the resultant extra discomfort and pain for who exactly? Maybe the corporate prawn sandwich brigade, as I cannot see any other reason. I know this is not your area General, and I am a very laid back guy who does not like to complain, but I think my treatment has been very poor and either nobody bothers to check ticketsales@avfc.co.uk email or they just wilfully ignore the emails! For the record, I would be more than happy to wait in the Villa Village car park for 30 minutes after every game if I was given the opportunity to park there to save the extra discomfort and pain!

General, first of all thanks for all the good work that you and Randy have been putting in. I had a thought that we should use your vast military experience for the good of Aston Villa FC. I think the ideal time would be for the home game against our blue nose friends in April. We all know how deserters were treated by the Army. Well any blue nose has deserted the opportunity of supporting Birmingham's finest and should surely suffer the consequences. Therefore, my suggestion would be firstly to torture the blue noses by making them stay right until the end to watch Villa thrash them 6-0. Then like all deserters, after the game we should line them up against the wall and shoot them!! I know in our politically correct society that the Health and Safety people might have an issue with this, but surely we could argue that it is for the greater good as there would be less unwashed on the streets of Birmingham, and we would be putting them out of their misery!!! Imagine waking up every morning to the stark and depressing realisation that you are a blue nose!!! :winkold: :winkold: :winkold: UTV SOTC