Steven Hollis

[SirSteveUK]

My God - the club issue a statement - and so many here are reading into it - exactly what they want to read.

"While it is of little solace at present, the process of identifying the root causes of our circumstances started long ago and the focus now has to be looking forward and making sure lessons have been learnt"

now that - to me - indicates they know what went wrong - autopsy completed - and the next step is being taken. Good.

Part of me wishes he'd sell the club to the first shyster that borrows !00 mil and then piles the debt on the club.  Be careful what you wish for - you might end up with a

Venkys or a Gaydamak or a Cellino or Yeung   - 6  months later, you'll need a new blanket with a new slogan

It's human nature that some here are glass half-full and some are glass half-empty - but I've never seen so many whose glass has been stolen by Steve Harrison for nefarious purposes

 

Edited April 17, 2016 by SirSteveUK

[Spoony]

3 minutes ago, SirSteveUK said:

My God - the club issue a statement - and so many here are reading it

 

Fixed.

[nick76]

I liked the letter, like the timing and the content was fine by me. I'm starting to like Hollis what with the changes at board level and this letter, it's a good start.

[Ginko]

Words are wind, those words in particular. At least give us an inkling of the sorts of things you're going to differently to make us more successful.

Normally I'd be okay with the club keeping its business under wraps as I'd like to think anyone successful enough to be making decisions for an organisation as big as ours would know their onions, but after misstep after misstep in recent years I think the lack of communication and transparency with how we're being run has just increased the animosity towards the board and widened the gulf between the fans and those in charge.

Most of us aren't asking for much. Show us your intentions rather than telling us things are going to change. We're a team after all, try to work with us a little more.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Ginko

[Neil]

40 minutes ago, Ginko said:

Normally I'd be okay with the club keeping its business under wraps

Don't think we keep anything "under wraps"...basically nothing is going on.  Unprepared, it's been our motto for a long time so I'm not expecting anything different next season except for more of these empty word announcements which is all we've had up until now.

[Richard]

I think it's a shit say nothing statement but one they had to get out to be seen to be saying something

[Neil]

1 minute ago, Richard said:

I think it's a shit say nothing statement but one they had to get out to be seen to be saying something

Why not, it's what we're used to.

[jackbauer24]

Everyone is just waiting on one thing now, the manager.

For all the talk, the boardroom shuffles and the open letters, it is the first bit of ACTION that this board will make that we can judge. You can't blame the current lot for much, if anything, but this is the first real move that will give us an insight to the future. I'm not sure why there should be much more of a delay now we're officially down.

It's quite simple really, to get some positivity back in the fans they only need to do a few thing;

1. NAME THE MANAGER (OR GIVE ROUGH TIMESCALE TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT IT - IF IT'S NOT TIL END IF SEASON, SAY SO)

2. ANNOUNCE COMPETITIVE TICKET PRICES TO KEEP ATTENDANCE ON THE HIGHER SIDE

3. CONFIRM WE WILL BE VERY ACTIVE IN TRANSFER WINDOW (OBVIOUSLY CAN'T MENTION BUDGET)

4. LERNER STATEMENT REGARDING SALE PLANS, IS IT OFF TIL HOPEFULLY BACK IN PREMIER LEAGUE? 

It's all about being transparent. Not making promises you can't keep, not even revealing exact detail, just tell us the rough plan. Otherwise the void will be filled by the papers and the divide will become greater and greater.

We're down, SHOW us how we're going to come back up - don't just say we want to. 

[SirSteveUK]

4 hours ago, Spoony said:

Fixed.

Really ??

[villan_007]

Quote

immediate promotion

They've said it. Now make the moves that make it possible.

[KSV]

im happy with that statement... they are not going to go all specific on the official website. I believe Hollis is working on everything that is required. Its just that i doubt Randy will fund what really needs to be done. 

[Straggler]

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is probably a duck.  Aston Villa under Lerner have lurched from one mind numbingly stupid decision to another.  The club has not shown any great subtlety or ability for subterfuge, all they have successfully done in communicating us is managed on occasion to say nothing.

The messaging from the club at all levels has been that we are waiting.  Little said it to the supporters groups, Hollis is saying it in his statement.  I for one am more that prepared to believe them.  That it is the absence of a strategy and absolutely blows my mind that the club is so unprepared sadly is consistent, stupid behavior from the Villa. 

What are we waiting for exactly?  The right manager to come knocking on the door and asking for the job?  Football is a competitive sport, no one achieves anything without driving for success.  Even if (and god I hope it is the case) we are working hard behind the scenes and are much further advanced than we appear, why not communicate that with the fans.  Say that they have plans, say that they have targets and say that they are working on them hard.  We already know that our own players have started their plans to move on and in some cases (Gana) they are advanced enough for the agents to be mentioning teams.  This will be happening across football whilst we dither.  There are enough decent managers out of work, why the hell not approach them?  Find out who fancies it.  Even the ones in work, at least put the feelers out there.  If we are not talking to them you can bet your ass that someone else is.  God damn this stuff frustrates me.

You cannot build momentum without applying a force and we needed to start pushing over a month ago.  Football is a race, whilst we stand still our competitors race ahead.  It is so stupid you have to believe that there is a bigger better plan being worked on in the background, I certainly hope that there is.  However, I hoped that Sherwood would be able to oversee a team overhaul having never bought a player.  I hoped after dodging the bullet with Mclaren we would get a good manager.  I hoped that Richards had learned how to be a center back in Italy.  I hoped Lescott would bring leadership and quality, I hoped that Gestede would be a suitable replacement for Benteke.  I had so many hopes that the folks in charge of Aston Villa knew better even though I expected the worst.  ( I even changed my dream team name to hope>expectation this year). 

Sadly all the evidence of the last six years points to apathy and inertia leading to our stagnation and ultimate demise.  That the club is announcing more of the same as a strategy for the summer should not be a surprise, it is only the stunning obviousness of its stupidity that has us grasping at straws that surely there has to be something bigger and better going on behind the curtain.  I don't think that there is.  I think we are quacking like the same duck we have been for the last 6 years, which to be fair is pretty decent as we appear to be a dead one.

[hippo]

What could he say that would make us feel ok ? - Nothing.

People can say its all talk - but by and large the action has already been taken. getting rid of Fox , Remi  - easy stuff, but none the less its been done. Now for the big one, where are we really heading? - The new manager is key. For there is a group of managers which at least say we are serious about sorting this stuff out.

Moyes, Pearson, Bruce, Dyche, Rodgers  - are all in that group - the group below starts to stretch the credibility

Mccarthy, Rowett, Houghton 

Then the ones that make me throw my hands up in the air in despair

Mclaren, Grayson, Southgate,

When appointed the new manager will give us a clearer indication of Hollis's intentions for the club. His early appearances were cringe worthy , now he has got the easy calls right.....were all waiting...!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

[Demitri_C]

Gods, offered to come teach villa players to defend free for a year! get him signed up hollis!

[Straggler]

He could have said something like this.

Having made the decision to part ways with Remi we approached David Moyes. David was very excited about the opportunity to revive our fortunes and impressed with the preparations we had in place. As such I would like to announce that Moyes will be our manager next season and will be in place immediately in a consultancy role to oversee the reconstruction of he club.

Don't just talk about plans, demonstrate with some action.

[Demitri_C]

6 minutes ago, Straggler said:

He could have said something like this.

Having made the decision to part ways with Remi we approached David Moyes. David was very excited about the opportunity to revive our fortunes and impressed with the preparations we had in place. As such I would like to announce that Moyes will be our manager next season and will be in place immediately in a consultancy role to oversee the reconstruction of he club.

Don't just talk about plans, demonstrate with some action.

Spot on, but from what the papers are saying its that imbecile lerner holding things up as he hasnt set what our budget will be next season so we cant really interview managers if we dont know what the budget will be. 

[markavfc40]

38 minutes ago, hippo said:

When appointed the new manager will give us a clearer indication of Hollis's intentions for the club. His early appearances were cringe worthy , now he has got the easy calls right.....were all waiting...!!! 

 

This is pretty much the crux of it now. Getting rid of Fox, Almstadt, Garde was the easy part and tells us very little. It is who comes in that will tell us plenty about where the club is now heading.

The managerial appointment will be a huge indicator. No manager worth his salt is going to come into the club without cast iron assurances that they will be backed financially to sort out this mess.

In terms of the open letter from Hollis it was all very predictable. Plenty of words that actually said very little of substance. We need to see action and if he is to speak again in the meantime then he needs to put specifics forward as to what they are going to do to right the wrongs.

[Neil]

39 minutes ago, hippo said:

What could he say that would make us feel ok ? - Nothing.

Yes, saying nothing and replacing with doing something would probably make us feel okay.

[MikeMcKenna]

11 hours ago, SirSteveUK said:

My God - the club issue a statement - and so many here are reading into it - exactly what they want to read.

"While it is of little solace at present, the process of identifying the root causes of our circumstances started long ago and the focus now has to be looking forward and making sure lessons have been learnt"

now that - to me - indicates they know what went wrong - autopsy completed - and the next step is being taken. Good.

Part of me wishes he'd sell the club to the first shyster that borrows !00 mil and then piles the debt on the club.  Be careful what you wish for - you might end up with a

Venkys or a Gaydamak or a Cellino or Yeung   - 6  months later, you'll need a new blanket with a new slogan

It's human nature that some here are glass half-full and some are glass half-empty - but I've never seen so many whose glass has been stolen by Steve Harrison for nefarious purposes

 

Really? We have just been relegated after an appalling season. Every appointment that Lerner has made in the past has been claimed to be positive and turned about to be the reverse.

It is hardly surprising that many still remain skeptical about whether Hollis and others can fix the club. The constant reference to the shit owners we could have is frankly boring. Despite his millions, under Lerner in the last 6 years we have suffered the worst times and football that most Villa fans have ever known. It has been unrelenting crap. 

The statement should have said SORRY! 

Expecting fans to believe that the next steps will be positive while Lerner still owns the club is beyond a joke. The man is ******* incompetent in the extreme, and Hollis has yet to win any plaudits beyond firing the latest scapegoats under Lerner's ownership. 

 

[Stevo985]

12 minutes ago, Straggler said:

He could have said something like this.

Having made the decision to part ways with Remi we approached David Moyes. David was very excited about the opportunity to revive our fortunes and impressed with the preparations we had in place. As such I would like to announce that Moyes will be our manager next season and will be in place immediately in a consultancy role to oversee the reconstruction of he club.

Don't just talk about plans, demonstrate with some action.

Well he could have said that, if it was true.

But I imagine it isn't.