dounavilla Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 He's referring to Randy Lerner in an apparent bid to be witty.He's referring to Randy Lerner in an apparent bid to be witty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 That's the biggest news story to break in the He's referring to Randy Lerner in an apparent bid to be witty. He's referring to Randy Lerner in an apparent bid to be witty. Absolutely. Clumsy attempt to be funny. Fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanBalaban Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Birmingham is changing. It's starting to look and feel like a proper city. If I was on the look out for the next big thing in the UK, my eyes would divert towards Brum. I think that's almost undeniable, though no doubt somebody is about to have a go. We've so much potential is ridiculous. You're right Brum is booming and tourism is massively on the up. For example on my walk to work this morning down Broad St there were 3 coaches sat outside The Jurys Inn collecting foreign tourists which is quite a common sight daily. The question is how do we as a club attract these tourists into the club to spend their money? As a club we are not at all good at prompting ourselves positivily. This is better left to marketing experts. But it surely can't be that hard to tie the club in to the city. I've always been a promoter of including the name Birmingham in ours, if only unofficially. Aston Villa Football Club of Birmingham, or something like that. As I say, I'm clearly (clearly!) no expert, but if we truly want to compete we need to be more vocal about our roots. Birmingham (and the Midlands in general) has always struggled to promote itself. I wrote a post about 6 months ago about how a colleague of mine here in Dubai had the Selfridges building in Birmingham as his screensaver, blissfully unaware what the building was. Had it been in London, Manchester or Liverpool you'd be sure everyone would recognise it. Same with musicians that come from the Midlands. Everyone carps on about the Manchester and Liverpool music scenes (and London obviously), but not the Midlands, despite providing a plethora of famous musicians from many eras. Plant and Bonham from Zepplin, Sabbath, Judas Priest, UB40, The Streets, ELO, Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, The Moody Blues, Ocean Colour Scene, Steve Winwood..... but no one ever associates them with the region. As an expat, you'd be pushed to find a casual footie fan that knows Aston Villa is in Birmingham, and even if they did they would ask how far Birmingham is from either London or Manchester. The region has no identity and Aston Villa falls into that trap too. Midlands PR is shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 as a yank from the wrong birmingham, I would like a thread about marketing the villa to the world. would post here, but don't want to wander afar from the topic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 You might be better placed than me to get the correct magazine name but Birmingham has been named best UK city to visit two years in a row by I think new York times?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandaq Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I quite liked Birmingham a lot. Not anything specifically that really rubbed off on me about the city itself but it's quite big so it's hard to judge it as a whole since I wasn't everywhere. One thing I did notice was that there was quite a lot of asians there when I was walking in the streets. I remember someone mentioning that 20% or so of the people that live there is from asia? This might be an untapped market.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I quite liked Birmingham a lot. Not anything specifically that really rubbed off on me about the city itself but it's quite big so it's hard to judge it as a whole since I wasn't everywhere. One thing I did notice was that there was quite a lot of asians there when I was walking in the streets. I remember someone mentioning that 20% or so of the people that live there is from asia? This might be an untapped market.. They all support Liverpool and Man United I'm afraid. But on a similar note India is definitely an untapped market for football. The new League they are forming which is featuring quite a few ex high profile professionals is a good start. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 My favourite thing about Brum and the Midlands is that the region has been soooo much more historically important than the South and the North yet no one ever shouts about it because it isn't important how big people THINK your tool is, just that you use it well aye. Think about all the things that have come out of the Midlands... not only was football - the worlds biggest art formed here, but so was rugby, the industrial revolution which changed the whole world and its philosophers who for what its worth have had more of an impact over how the world is now than I reckon probably any other single group of philosophers have ever had in history, for god sake Pythagoras wasn't even the dude that came up with his theorum. The English language came from Mercia (Midlands) English, not any other and was pretty much built on by Shakespeare, another Midlander. Englands best science talent, Darwin and Newton, the worlds greatest fantasy books Lord of the Rings, the best graphic novel ever, Watchmen, Heavy Funking Metal, the whole Goth scene, SKA. And yeah can anyone think of a football club that has given more to the world than all that??? But the best thing is that we don't shout about it. That is for the insecure gimpzoid in high school with his hand creaming itself towards the ceiling. I love how nonch we are about it all. And yeah Barcelona stole out strip colours the chuffnuts. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TRO Posted July 29, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted July 29, 2014 Aston villa as a name.....just doesn't get any better. The trick is getting the team to match up to the name. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 You might be better placed than me to get the correct magazine name but Birmingham has been named best UK city to visit two years in a row by I think new York times?? Yes - it might win all those pretty meaningless accolades - but it just Isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I quite liked Birmingham a lot. Not anything specifically that really rubbed off on me about the city itself but it's quite big so it's hard to judge it as a whole since I wasn't everywhere. One thing I did notice was that there was quite a lot of asians there when I was walking in the streets. I remember someone mentioning that 20% or so of the people that live there is from asia? This might be an untapped market.. They all support Liverpool and Man United I'm afraid. But on a similar note India is definitely an untapped market for football. The new League they are forming which is featuring quite a few ex high profile professionals is a good start. Not all... Haha that is funny, but you have to admit the Asian community largely follow Man united and Liverpool, which is worrying cause as the Asian community is becoming more massive I can sort of see Villa fading away.. I swear I see more United tops than Villa/blues tops when I'm out. Then does not just apply to the Asian community. Clubs like Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool are better marketed on the back of more recent success. Location is secondary for the 'fans' as most of them will never go to a home game. To keep it back OT the biggest reason there has no been a '£200m US Takeover' or any takeover is that we are just not that attractive a purchase. That's not unique to Villa, it applies to probably 75% of Premiership clubs. The only reasons anyone would buy Villa is either: They want a rich mans plaything like Chelsea - not easy in the brave new world of FFP. They think they will make money.....dream on as all the extra TV money largely goes to the players. They see us as having some sort of synergy with a business they already own so we could be a marketing tool of some sort like Red Bull. £150m-200m is an awful lot of money to do that even for a really large company and you could do that without buying a club. And sadly there are very few rich fools around ready to chance their money. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wishin'nhopin Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I read a while ago that Red Bull were interested in purchasing a club that they could take into the Champions League in order to further promote their global branding. They saw this as ideally being a London club (presumably because of the automatic recognition of the city globally), but also considered both Liverpool and Everton because they didn't think it would take much for them to reach the required standard (and, I suspect because the city has such a well-known football heritage which would promote well on a global stage). It makes you wonder if Manchester City would have been such a favourable takeover proposition if it hadn't shared some of the kudos the city has gained from Manchester United's exploits. I also heard recently that business luminaries such as Lord Digby Jones and the John Lewis boss Andy Street would like to see the West Midlands region market itself under the umbrella title 'Greater Birmingham' on the basis (they say) that overseas Birmingham is well known (businesswise) whereas other areas in the Midlands are not. So it could be true that we may have had more interest from potential buyers if Villa were more readily perceived as coming from Birmingham, and as being THE football club of the City. We know it's true and the rest of the UK know it, but does the rest of the world - and if it doesn't, how do we change that without the club already being successful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Oh cool marketing, my favourite part of football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I read a while ago that Red Bull were interested in purchasing a club that they could take into the Champions League in order to further promote their global branding. They saw this as ideally being a London club (presumably because of the automatic recognition of the city globally), but also considered both Liverpool and Everton because they didn't think it would take much for them to reach the required standard (and, I suspect because the city has such a well-known football heritage which would promote well on a global stage). It makes you wonder if Manchester City would have been such a favourable takeover proposition if it hadn't shared some of the kudos the city has gained from Manchester United's exploits. I also heard recently that business luminaries such as Lord Digby Jones and the John Lewis boss Andy Street would like to see the West Midlands region market itself under the umbrella title 'Greater Birmingham' on the basis (they say) that overseas Birmingham is well known (businesswise) whereas other areas in the Midlands are not. So it could be true that we may have had more interest from potential buyers if Villa were more readily perceived as coming from Birmingham, and as being THE football club of the City. We know it's true and the rest of the UK know it, but does the rest of the world - and if it doesn't, how do we change that without the club already being successful? There was interest from Red Bull but that is all it was. Too much red tape to do what they wanted too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREAT_BEARD_OF_ZEUS Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) "Commentators are watching the proposed sale of Aston Villa with great interest, noting that shares in MSG, the owner of two US teams, are up eight per cent since the Clippers sale announcement." Hmmm I can't work out what the second half of that sentence has to do with us? Why would an increase in MSG shares since the Clippers sale necessarily connect to the sale of our club? Edit: Damn page break - the line is from the article posted by Gabby0878 on the previous page. Edited July 30, 2014 by GREAT_BEARD_OF_ZEUS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG_Villa_Fan Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) All, Very interesting article in today's City AM a financial daily newspaper aimed at the City workers. The wider article talks about how LA Clippers are being sold for 2bn, but then talks about how Villa are so cheap. Concludes with a strange line about how shares in American company MSG have risen 8% since the deal was announced. Probably nothing but often the financial journalists hear about things before the sports guys!http://www.cityam.com/1406680436/la-clippers-2bn-price-tag-outstrips-market The NBA teams are an entirely different prospect to football teams. They operate in a very strict, closed environment and are virtually ensured to be profitable over a period of time, whereas even the best football teams have huge losses and debts. During the past season only a few teams have recorded yearly losses ( quite small ) and that was mostly due to paying luxury tax to the other NBA teams. Over a period of time all NBA teams have been profitable and their market value has been increasing ( per Forbes ). At the first glance of potential long term issues the NBA would quickly act to relocate ( Seattle -> OKC, Vancouver -> Memphis, etc. ) or even take over ( New Orleans ) teams so that all are in a good shape. The Clippers, in particular, have had a $15-20 mil profit during the past season and with a new upcoming TV deal in 2016, rumoured to be in the $15bn range buying any NBA team right now would practically ensure that : 1. You'll be profitable unless you're an idiot ( yes, Lerner wouldn't qualify here as well ) and 2. the cost would be significantly increased above market value. On top of it all NBA teams are allowed to sign local TV deals to bump their revenue even further. Big market teams, such as LA teams are at a huge advantage and as recently as 2011 the Lakers signed a local TV deal with Time Warner worth $5 bn over 20 years. Bottomline, selling NBA teams is not even close to comparable to football teams. Edited July 30, 2014 by BG_Villa_Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 It's so depressing too, because the Clippers have been nothing but a complete failure of a basketball club for their entire existence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
il_serpente Posted July 30, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted July 30, 2014 It's so depressing too, because the Clippers have been nothing but a complete failure of a basketball club for their entire existence. In the U.S. a major league sports team doesn't necessarily have to do well to do well. You can thank legal protection from anti-trust laws and the lack of the relegation/promotion system that's prevalent in football leagues around the world. The major leagues are closed markets. The TV revenues are guaranteed indefinitely. Cities all want to be able to call themselves "major league cities" so they fund stadiums for use by the teams with tax dollars and give favorable deals on concession sales within the stadiums, tax breaks, etc. Teams threaten to move to another city if they don't get what they want and the cities usually give in, particularly in the smaller markets where insecurity about the city's status really makes them cherish the "major league" label. George W. Bush went from a failed business owner to a wealthy man when he got a sweetheart deal on the Texas Rangers and got serious favors from the local community if I recall correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 It appears 5% of a Northern football club is to be sold for £88.7m on the New York stock exchange and that is considered to be value for money but we cannot attract a bid of double or just above/below that for 100% of our football club from anyone. We should have appointed Max Bialystock to bring some money into the club because we currently seem a very hard sell that needs a costly upgrade that everyone ignores as they hurry past the estate agent's window. We really need something to start to happen without further delay. We would like to think that something is happening behind closed doors that neither we nor the press are aware of but I guess that we have heard nothing because that is what is currently happening sale wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 The only reason we know about the consortium who asked Howard Hodgson to join them is because Howard Hodgson told everyone, himself before he signed one of the those silence agreement things. I'm sure that'll come to nothing but what it does tell us is that stuff goes on behind the scenes without the press having a clue. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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