Had a nightmare at work yesterday so I spent the evening catching up and digesting this.
First off, I have to say that, despite the occasional complaint that some members on here are being too critical, most of the discussion appears to have been pretty fair. People express their opinions well on here - unlike some other forums.
FWIW, Hollis and Fox would be fools to not be preparing for life in the Championship. Fine. There is still a larger problem that this new and, for the moment, talkative regime hasn't put to bed: the club hasn't explained past decisions or outlined a meaningful vision of what we are going to be.
The problem is that Fox and Hollis are trying to continue the master narrative that investment is worthless without infrastructure. This is a reaction to Lerner's substantial spending in the first few years of his tenure and a false explanation for what it stopped. Secondly, the responses at the meeting assume that football must somehow lag behind our ability to operate a good human resources team. This is a response to the fact that the players from France didn't bed in as well as hoped. Maybe our team working in that needs help - that doesn't need an entire rethink.
The responses at the meeting indicate that the official club narrative is now about business and sustaining a corporate culture. Fact is, bad football clubs haemorrhage cash. Ones in the Premier League can rely on the massive tv deals propping them up.
We keep getting told that villa is a brilliant brand. The problem is that the processes, that should be behind the scenes, have overtaken the goal: being a football team of which it's fans can be proud. Yes, football teams can and are corporate giants, too - I'm not making out that this is some sell out. The problem arises when the underpinnings overtake the ultimate aim of the organisation.
I wish they'd stop excusing the past. I want to see them build a footballing culture that has something to it (maybe about style, or community values or local kids from the youth team getting a chance) rather than the mixed approach we have now. It's having a clear and defined goal that has helped the likes of Soithampton and, up to last season, Swansea. Unfortunately, that requires some vision and some money up front.