Steven Hollis

[ismail-villa]

He doesn't have to say anything. He doesn't have to talk to us like we're idiots. That's what Tom Fox and Faulkner did. The fact he's doing the same ruins the idea for me that things will be different 

Hmm I can understand your point of view, imo I think things can change since he's not afraid of changing things as shown. Maybe he'd be man enough to tell Lerner where he's gone wrong, and to not just be a yes man, or maybe he's just an ass kisser haha.

[dn1982]

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

It's the same shit though. A new approach with new people but still praising Lerner. We've basically just repeated that a few times and it's sending us down. 

Those comments have ruined any positive things he's done for me. That and Krulak on board just confirm to me that's its going to be the same shit with just different people **** up under the word removed on an owner. 

And Hollis can get **** if he's going to speak to us like that. No different to the shit Faulkner and fox have said. I thought this was going to be different. Is it ****. 

What? Actions speak louder than words and his actions have been very good so far. How can it be same shit when we actually have 2 very experienced football people on the board now? Something I think every fan wanted. He's stood up to Lerner by the sounds of it so are those some of the comments that's ruined it for you?? I've no idea what you mean when you say speak to us like that as it seems a perfectly reasonable interview which you'd expect from an employee. Respectful of his employer but stating he's here to do a job not to pander to him. 

[DCJonah]

1 minute ago, ismail-villa said:

Hmm I can understand your point of view, imo I think things can change since he's not afraid of changing things as shown. Maybe he'd be man enough to tell Lerner where he's gone wrong, and to not just be a yes man, or maybe he's just an ass kisser haha.

But fox changed things. He fired lambert and put together the dream team of Sherwood Riley and Almstadt to rebuild the squad. Just making changes doesn't prove anything. 

[DCJonah]

Just now, dn1982 said:

What? Actions speak louder than words and his actions have been very good so far. How can it be same shit when we actually have 2 very experienced football people on the board now? Something I think every fan wanted. He's stood up to Lerner by the sounds of it so are those some of the comments that's ruined it for you?? I've no idea what you mean when you say speak to us like that as it seems a perfectly reasonable interview which you'd expect from an employee. Respectful of his employer but stating he's here to do a job not to pander to him. 

When his actions have an impact then I'll credit them. We all wanted Lambert as manager and that was terrible. Most wanted Garde as manager and that's been awful. 

And saying the owner is passionate about this club while we sit bottom as one of the worst teams in premier league history is insulting bull shit. Just as bad as Fox saying we were building something special. It's a serious lack of respect to those of us who have had to witness the downfall of this club over the last 5 years. 

[VillaChris]

Surely you judge Hollis in the summer with what sort of transfer budget and fire sale there is?

When Newcastle went down a few years back I can't quite remember what state their finances were in compared to us but given the high wages I expect a fire sale.

Ashley decided he'd sell one or two but keep most of the squad to get out of the division first time and they walked it.

[deamie]

So Hollis has come out and said he is not Lerners poodle....well I would like him to explain why Krulak has been appointed as a full director to the board ? We all know that was Lerners call and a very bad one given the blokes lack of football knowledge and treatment of fans.

Edited March 19, 2016 by deamie

[Kingman]

Just get on with sacking Garde,

its fairly obvious he won't be here next season, I think we can also obviously say he was Appointed by Arsen Wenger and the two chancing clowns that have just had the nine, ten, jack dealt on them! 

Although the demise and mind boggling decisions behind the scenes are not down to garde, however he has contributed to the demise of the football on display. Not saying we played like Brazil under sherwood either but i have seen nothing to suggest improvement or progression either, Infact i would say key factors like passion, determination, motivation, grit, fight. spirit and togetherness that arguably kept us in the division last season are little to non existent.

Its the managers job to get that out the players and its simply not happening so surly it can't continue. They are not playing for the gaffer, they are not playing for the fans and they are not playing for each other, in-fact I've seen more life in a tramps vest. 

So has grade lost the dressing room? To be honest i don't think he ever had it and don't think he ever will unless we have a turnaround of about 20 players that want to play for him and then there is no guarantee that the quality of football will improve either so i don't think Mr Hollis will be sanctioning that much of the queens head over the next 5 months. If its that noticeable then surly it will only be a matter of time before its on the newly establishing boards "things to do list" 

Might as well give the new manger a run of 5/6 games to see if he can get a tune out of this squad of players because i well and truly believe that this squad of players should NOT be 22 points worse off than the likes of Waford and Bournemouth squads. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Kingman

[Brumstopdogs]

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villas-steve-hollis-speaks-11063761?

Steve Hollis took time out from a hectic week of change behind-the-scenes at Aston Villato face the press. 

Here is a transcript of the key questions raised and the answers the new chairman provided. 

Quote

 

What have you found and how have you found the job?
I said clearly the business model is broken. We are taking pretty decisive action so we can address the things that are actually wrong within the model itself.
 

Why was the decision made to end Tom Fox’s reign?
The way those decisions evolved is through the board so it’s a board decision. As Tom said himself the decision was made based on the model which is now changing. The model Tom led has changed as we built the new board and Tom came to the decision that model wasn’t something he wanted to work with, so by agreement he stepped down.”
Why did Hendrik Almstadt leave?
Recognise we’re changing the model. Hendrik’s role under the old model worked. Under the new model where we’re going to put much more focus from the board.
 
Will Paddy Riley and Charlie Wijeratna be going?
There’s no vendetta going on here. This is about turning over every stone in the club and no-one individual is bigger than the club, including me. 
What we will do as a part of the review is look at everyone’s role and see how that fits in as a part of the package that we are going to be putting together than takes this club forward.
But you said the model was broken before?
That doesn’t mean all parts. It’s an individual choice as to whether you want to fit in with the model that the board is now putting forward. Hendrik and Tom made the choice that they didn’t want to fit in.
 

Does Randy Lerner appreciate his silence has contributed?
It’s unfortunate. Randy is passionate about Aston Villa. It’s down to a change in his personal circumstances that he just can’t physically be around the football club. But telephones work very well. 
I’ve got business interests in the States. We talk, meet up, what have you, and he just wants to see the best for Aston Villa. 
If you put yourself into Randy’s position, he’s put a huge amount of his emotional energy into the football club. He’s put a huge amount of cash into the club. 
It’s a real brave decision on his part to hand over the running of the club to a board where he’s a board member, but he’s one of five. 
I was very clear when I took the chair, if you want some poodle who’s just going to be your mouthpiece you’ve got the wrong bloke, because I'm not doing that. 
You’re a board member, Randy, and I’ll respect you as a shareholder but that’s the relationship we have. It’s brave. It’s part of his family assets and he’s handed over the stewardship of that asset to a new board team.

Have you looked at other clubs to see what they’re doing well?
I have been around a number of clubs. They have been hugely helpful and if you look at the successful clubs there are a few key ingredients. No.1 is stability and clarity around what the strategy is. 
That strategy is more important than any one individual, so you can actually trade any senior person within the football side and the continuity is there so it doesn't disrupt the strategy. At Aston Villa, having five managers in five seasons is not delivering the stability that you need.
 

Why has it gone wrong?
If you look at the successful models, I haven’t found one that works on the model we were pursuing before. 
That’s not to say that it couldn’t work and given time it might have worked but the reality is these kind of businesses thrive on success and what we need to do is put a model in place that is proven with the people who can make the decisions to then address the things that need to be done.
 

How did you get David Bernstein?
It says everything about Aston Villa. I didn’t know David before. I met him, explained the journey the board was on and he said ‘look, I’d love to be a part of it’. It took about half an hour over a pleasant lunch and David is fully engaged. 
 

What can he offer?
It’s what David can do and what he can do working with the board. What we are fixing first is the board, we get stability in the board we get a breath of experience in the board so as a football club we can make much better and improved decisions around the things which need to be done. 
David has a pretty distinguished business career, he did run Manchester City for 10 years and there were times when they were in the First Division, Second Division, and Premier League. He also had a career with the FA. Aston Villa is in really good shape with a breadth of talent on the board which is hopefully going to help get this club back to where it needs to be.
 

Mervyn King has had some big jobs, what will he bring?
Again it says everything about Villa – one of the planet’s leading central bankers who is a Villa nut. 
I have watched him in front of players and he can talk to them and describe some of the moves and goals they have scored and they look at this gentleman in a suit and he commands respect.
 

You said when you joined you were edging away from appointing someone like Brian Little, what changed?
It wasn’t really a change of mind. I was new to it so give me a little time to understand the things which needed to be put in place to understand the big fix. 
If you look at Brian Little, his track record with the club goes back 40 years. He knows this place inside out. 
He is so well respected by the Villa family and he comes with a knowledge around football, around Europe and the leagues in the UK. He is a great addition.

Was it hard to convince Brian to come back and risk his reputation?
I don’t think I did (need to sell it to him). It just speaks for the affection so many people have for this football club. 
I said ‘would you be interested?’ and he said ‘when do I start?’ It was as quick as that. 
I understand when people say you must be nuts to want to get involved in this club with what’s happened in recent seasons, but the positive side and the piece we must focus on is there us so much warmth and enthusiasm to try to make this club a great club again.

What are you feelings on the fans walkout?
I can understand it. The thing I learnt with the Aston Villa fans is, there is such passion, that genuinely, genuinely care. 
If you look at what they have had to experience over the last three or four years you can understand the raw emotion that comes out, evidenced in actions like that. 
I must say I’d rather they didn’t and we all work as a team and get behind the team, I don’t think it’s helpful and I would ask them to get behind us and work with us. They are an important part of this journey.

General Krulak was over recently, is he part of your investigation?
Any board in any organisation has to serve all its stakeholders, we have a huge responsibility to the supporters. 
The General is a trusted advisor to Randy Lerner. You will see on the board there is now five of us. We have Randy, the General, myself, David and Mervyn.

What is the plan now?
The plan is whatever division we are in next year we will have a much better decision-making machine. 
If we are in the Championship we will certainly have the best balance sheet and be one of the biggest clubs. We will use the opportunity to rebuild and we will have the best opportunity to bounce back. 
If we manage to stay in the Premier League there is a plan to address the issues so that we don’t go through another round of battling at the bottom. Whatever happens to this place we have both the financials covered and we’re building the business plans and strategies.

What are your thoughts on Remi Garde?
Remi is fully engaged. He is spending a lot of time with Mervyn and David. I’m leaving it to them to see what best worst. They will come up with their recommendations.
Remi Garde, when you look at his CV, is one of the top managers in Europe. He has joined an organisation that needs fixing and it is one of the toughest jobs in the Premier League. But David, Mervyn and Co are working closely with Remi and the team.

Confident he will stay?
Let’s see where the review goes. Let’s not pre-empt anything. Let’s give the process the time it needs to make the decisions. They’re not going to make knee-jerk decisions.

Will it make the club easier to sell if they go down?
I don’t think so. Villa is one of those brands, that if there is a buyer out there who really wants the experience, wheichever division Villa is in, it will attract that kind of buyer.

The accounts aren’t great, how concerned are you?
Whatever division we’re in, we have a strong balance sheet. We have a business model which works through for the next two or three years. 
That’s what you would expect of the board. You could have the finest plans in the world but if you can’t afford them they’re worth nothing. 
What we’ve put in place is the strategy and plans and the modelling. The big part of the (£27m) loss comes through the depreciation of the players. 
It’s money you spent several years ago. It’s a big difference between the reported loss and the cash leakage. In cash terms the club is in a strong position. We’re fine for the next two or three years.

Could you crash right through another division – concerned about that?
It's not a concern I have, the concern I have is what do we need to do to make this as strong as we possibly can. If we can and have good people making good quality decisions – there’s nothing risk free – but hopefully we’re in a better position than most to bounce straight back.

Is this the bottom?
I’d like to think so. I’m a businessman not a football man. If you remember in the financial crisis every one was trying to predict the bottom. It takes a brave man to predict the bottom in any swing or cycle. 
It’s a really brave man who makes that call. I’m not going to fall into that trap! Hopefully it is at the bottom. We just need to work hard at it.

 

 

[briny_ear]

He's hardly gonna tell his boss to **** off out of Villa now is he. He's just trying to keep the positivity as high as possible (which isn't really much).

Fair enough but in that case he shouldn't come out with bollocks about not being Lerner's "poodle" because, as you've just mentioned, he actually is.

Maybe Hollis's will be the greatest thing since sliced bread for the club - I'm not ruling that out.

Just wishing he would drop all the PR bullshit because that's all we've had no -stop since Lerner arrived.

[dounavilla]

To be fair you are always going to get some degree of bull. It happens in every business or cooperation.

So far I like what I'm seeing but it will it will on the pitch where it truly counts.

 

[sne]

"Randy is passionate about Aston Villa" 

[HanoiVillan]

1 hour ago, sne said:

"Randy is passionate about Aston Villa" 

To be fair, I should think he is. He didn't say Lerner passionately liked us. 

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Spoiler

What are you feelings on the fans walkout?

I can understand it. The thing I learnt with the Aston Villa fans is, there is such passion, that genuinely, genuinely care. 

If you look at what they have had to experience over the last three or four years you can understand the raw emotion that comes out, evidenced in actions like that. 

I must say I’d rather they didn’t and we all work as a team and get behind the team, I don’t think it’s helpful and I would ask them to get behind us and work with us. They are an important part of this journey.

Condescending much? The walkout was before you made your moves too, easy to spin in hindsight eh Steve?

What makes us important to this 'journey' is that we don't just sit back and take it. We have a voice and we use it. I also assume he was asked about banner-gate and chose not to comment. 

[villianusa]

5 hours ago, DCJonah said:

When his actions have an impact then I'll credit them. We all wanted Lambert as manager and that was terrible. Most wanted Garde as manager and that's been awful. 

And saying the owner is passionate about this club while we sit bottom as one of the worst teams in premier league history is insulting bull shit. Just as bad as Fox saying we were building something special. It's a serious lack of respect to those of us who have had to witness the downfall of this club over the last 5 years. 

Some one can be passionate about something, yet still make bad decisions. We all know mistakes have been made with the club, but none of us know what's inside Randy's heart. Randy can be more passionate than you and I, but doesn't mean he can run a football club.

Hollis is stating something that he deems to be true, just because it doesn't fit your view, and we are bottom of the league it can't be true. I can't say either way where Randy's passion level is, so I have no stance either side, but I won't dismiss it out of hand.

We all look forward to the day we get a new owner, but while we wait I'm happy to see what Hollis can do.

[Nicho]

I think the quotes are good but the problem is if we manage to put a successful "model" in place that works and then get sold it will surely all be removed. Unfortunately with the club still up for sale and an absent owner we will struggle for consistency in decision making at any level in my opinion.

[srsmithusa]

6 minutes ago, Nicho said:

I think the quotes are good but the problem is if we manage to put a successful "model" in place that works and then get sold it will surely all be removed. Unfortunately with the club still up for sale and an absent owner we will struggle for consistency in decision making at any level in my opinion.

So, we should leave things broken?

[tonyh29]

He's getting things done but only time will tell if the doom merchants in the opening days of this thread will have to admit they were wrong... Or get to post told you so 

that's his second interview now where I came away with the impression that Garde is seen as part of the solution and not part of the problem ... I'm thinking our first game away to Brentford  next season will still see Garde in charge 

[Nicho]

4 minutes ago, srsmithusa said:

So, we should leave things broken?

No not all, Im pleased we are making changes and hopefully for the better. I just think without a stable position at the top anything put in place is short term, I want Hollis to succeed and so far he has managed to wave good bye to two people who might have been the problem with the last fix which lasted 18 months. Hopefully this fix lasts longer and works. 

[dounavilla]

8 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

He's getting things done but only time will tell if the doom merchants in the opening days of this thread will have to admit they were wrong... Or get to post told you so 

that's his second interview now where I came away with the impression that Garde is seen as part of the solution and not part of the problem ... I'm thinking our first game away to Brentford  next season will still see Garde in charge 

Bold statement.

I'd say Leeds at home.

[PompeyVillan]

It's the same shit though. A new approach with new people but still praising Lerner. We've basically just repeated that a few times and it's sending us down. 

Those comments have ruined any positive things he's done for me. That and Krulak on board just confirm to me that's its going to be the same shit with just different people **** up under the word removed on an owner. 

And Hollis can get **** if he's going to speak to us like that. No different to the shit Faulkner and fox have said. I thought this was going to be different. Is it ****. 

Perhaps he should slag off his new boss?