Tony Xia (no longer involved with AVFC)

[limpid]

Please can we move back on topic. This isn't the place to discuss decisions made by Lerner, nor restructuring the league.

[thunderball]

I am worried if we do go up:

Terry will go; Samba will be off; Hutton and Gabby will not be renewed; Whelan and Jedi are over the hill; Adomah is too limited; ditto Elmo; McCormack isn't good enough; Davis and Green need to kick on massively.

That an awful lot of new faces needed, at a pretty good standard. At today's prices that's about £200m just to give us a chance in the inevitable relegation batttle.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

1 hour ago, thunderball said:

I am worried if we do go up:

Terry will go; Samba will be off; Hutton and Gabby will not be renewed; Whelan and Jedi are over the hill; Adomah is too limited; ditto Elmo; McCormack isn't good enough; Davis and Green need to kick on massively.

That an awful lot of new faces needed, at a pretty good standard. At today's prices that's about £200m just to give us a chance in the inevitable relegation batttle.

Oh I'd love to have this problem right now.

[jackbauer24]

1 hour ago, thunderball said:

I am worried if we do go up:

Terry will go; Samba will be off; Hutton and Gabby will not be renewed; Whelan and Jedi are over the hill; Adomah is too limited; ditto Elmo; McCormack isn't good enough; Davis and Green need to kick on massively.

That an awful lot of new faces needed, at a pretty good standard. At today's prices that's about £200m just to give us a chance in the inevitable relegation batttle.

I wouldn't worry too much about it... we're not going up!

It's actually far worse than you think; it's all you wrote above (and more with loans) with less money and still in this division!

[Villarocker]

6 hours ago, jackbauer24 said:

I wouldn't worry too much about it... we're not going up!

It's actually far worse than you think; it's all you wrote above (and more with loans) with less money and still in this division!

True! Better to go up, get more money, and then go down than to stay in this league with nothing in the bank.

[Villarocker]

Xia's tweet about results being all that matters concerns me a little. Yes, winning is everything but it does seem like he is quoting Steve Bruce there. We had a great run of results at one stage last season but the football didn't change and that's why we have pretty much continued in the same overall manner as last season - the football "style" is the same. 

I'd like us to win every game in September but doing so means nothing if the same boring, sometimes clueless, football continues as eventually, the poor run of results will follow. We need to start winning and doing so by playing more pro active football with a bit of style to it that suggests we have turned a corner and found our way of playing. 

[hippo]

Im not getting the love for doctor Tony. sure he come across as enthused - but the two big qualities for running the club seem to be lacking:-

He doesn't seem to have that much cash - sure FFP put the brakes on - but there are ways around

He doesn't seem like the football or financial gurus (in the sense he can make us profitable)

Granted no 2 is a very big ask - but where is the innovation, ? where are the shrewd appointments ? where are the big sponsorship deals ?

I also note that Tony is talking about sustainable growth now - nowt wrong with that - but that's totally different to the noises he made on takeover 

He's come in the splashed the cash on his purchase - but that was completely undermined by the daft appointment of RDM - Bruce looked a better and more solid appointment at the time - but should he go does anyone have confidence that the replacements won't be Moyes, Pardew or Smith ?  - it just we are sitting there hoping things come good.

[Nigel]

1 hour ago, villarocker said:

Xia's tweet about results being all that matters concerns me a little. Yes, winning is everything but it does seem like he is quoting Steve Bruce there. We had a great run of results at one stage last season but the football didn't change and that's why we have pretty much continued in the same overall manner as last season - the football "style" is the same. 

I'd like us to win every game in September but doing so means nothing if the same boring, sometimes clueless, football continues as eventually, the poor run of results will follow. 

I really don't understand this point of view, if we win every game in September by fluke own goals I will be chuffed. Results breed confidence and confidence breeds results! 

We simply have to go up this season, so to question Tony for talking about points being key is strange.

 

[Stevo985]

1 hour ago, villarocker said:

Xia's tweet about results being all that matters concerns me a little. Yes, winning is everything but it does seem like he is quoting Steve Bruce there. We had a great run of results at one stage last season but the football didn't change and that's why we have pretty much continued in the same overall manner as last season - the football "style" is the same. 

I'd like us to win every game in September but doing so means nothing if the same boring, sometimes clueless, football continues as eventually, the poor run of results will follow. We need to start winning and doing so by playing more pro active football with a bit of style to it that suggests we have turned a corner and found our way of playing. 

I think it's more of a response to Bruce reassuring him, both in the media and privately I assume, that he'll turn it around and performances are good (rightly or wrongly) and it'll all click sooner or later and results will come.

I imagine this is Xia saying "Fine, I believe you. But if the results don't come in September then your time is up"

[Eastie]

2 minutes ago, Nigel said:

I really don't understand this point of view, if we win every game in September by fluke own goals I will be chuffed. Results breed confidence and confidence breeds results! 

We simply have to go up this season, so to question Tony for talking about points being key is strange.

 

What tony says is correct - it's a results business , sure we'd like to see free flowing attacking football but I'd take a scrappy 1-0 win ahead of an exciting 4-4 draw every time 

[rubberman]

8 hours ago, thunderball said:

I am worried if we do go up:

Terry will go; Samba will be off; Hutton and Gabby will not be renewed; Whelan and Jedi are over the hill; Adomah is too limited; ditto Elmo; McCormack isn't good enough; Davis and Green need to kick on massively.

That an awful lot of new faces needed, at a pretty good standard. At today's prices that's about £200m just to give us a chance in the inevitable relegation batttle.

Not all bad then!

But if we do go up, it's a good thing that we don't have players who need replacing on 5 year contracts.  That's shrewd business IMO.

[Stevo985]

8 hours ago, thunderball said:

I am worried if we do go up:

Terry will go; Samba will be off; Hutton and Gabby will not be renewed; Whelan and Jedi are over the hill; Adomah is too limited; ditto Elmo; McCormack isn't good enough; Davis and Green need to kick on massively.

That an awful lot of new faces needed, at a pretty good standard. At today's prices that's about £200m just to give us a chance in the inevitable relegation batttle.

It's a problem.

But it's a problem faced by every club who ever get promoted from the Championship. It's nothing new.

I actually think we're better equipped than a lot of clubs that make the jump.

If we get firing enough to get promoted then our squad is already better than the one that got relegated, imo.

[jim]

18 hours ago, AshVilla said:

6 months too late

Yep

[Villarocker]

4 hours ago, Nigel said:

I really don't understand this point of view, if we win every game in September by fluke own goals I will be chuffed. Results breed confidence and confidence breeds results! 

We simply have to go up this season, so to question Tony for talking about points being key is strange.

 

I keep seeing this thing about having to go up this season but, I am not sure I really buy into that. I mean, does it mean we will be playing Newport County in two years if we don't go up? Who knows what the plans really are? How do we know Xia won't bring some other sponsorship in earlier than planned to fund getting up the season after? I understand the concerns based on the fact we are close to our FFP limit but I doubt it means the end of everything AVFC if we don't.

Going back to my original point, I would prefer us to win with a style of football that everyone can see has been thought out and trained into the team. Rather than win ugly and clinging on to the one goal lead for the last half hour of games etc. You say winning breeds confidence and that is fair but, scraping through by one goal with backs-to-the-wall football will not breed as much confidence as playing a team off the park and winning comfortably by 3 or 4 goals.

[rodders0223]

Would have to be a hell of a lot of sponsorship money, and I don't think there are major players around wanted to spend money on just another Championship side.

The reduction in income will be huge, our wage bill is huge. We will be well and truly up shit creek.

[Vive_La_Villa]

6 hours ago, villarocker said:

I keep seeing this thing about having to go up this season but, I am not sure I really buy into that. I mean, does it mean we will be playing Newport County in two years if we don't go up? Who knows what the plans really are? How do we know Xia won't bring some other sponsorship in earlier than planned to fund getting up the season after? I understand the concerns based on the fact we are close to our FFP limit but I doubt it means the end of everything AVFC if we don't.

Going back to my original point, I would prefer us to win with a style of football that everyone can see has been thought out and trained into the team. Rather than win ugly and clinging on to the one goal lead for the last half hour of games etc. You say winning breeds confidence and that is fair but, scraping through by one goal with backs-to-the-wall football will not breed as much confidence as playing a team off the park and winning comfortably by 3 or 4 goals.

I wonder if Leeds fans ever through they could fail so badly. After all they went from Champions League semi finalists to league 2 in around 4/5 years. We were always just a mid table premier league team really. Ending up an ever present in the this league or worse is not out of the question. 

[Jareth]

Having done some amateur sums in the FFP thread, it does appear that Tony has spent the absolute maximum he is allowed so far, and has been completely hamstrung by the losses incurred the last two seasons of the prem. We also are yet to see what sponsorship advantages he has brought in, there will be no accounts reflecting how he operates the business until next Spring. If we stay down again, I think his plan next summer will be hugely designed by FFP (i.e. 13 mill max overspend a season) as such I can definitely see him playing a more patient game and probably with a new Wagner esque manager, mostly playing the yoof. He should probably go the whole hog and get some promising Chinese players in too. 

[villan_007]

21 hours ago, hippo said:

Im not getting the love for doctor Tony. sure he come across as enthused - but the two big qualities for running the club seem to be lacking:-

He doesn't seem to have that much cash - sure FFP put the brakes on - but there are ways around

He doesn't seem like the football or financial gurus (in the sense he can make us profitable)

Granted no 2 is a very big ask - but where is the innovation, ? where are the shrewd appointments ? where are the big sponsorship deals ?

I also note that Tony is talking about sustainable growth now - nowt wrong with that - but that's totally different to the noises he made on takeover 

He's come in the splashed the cash on his purchase - but that was completely undermined by the daft appointment of RDM - Bruce looked a better and more solid appointment at the time - but should he go does anyone have confidence that the replacements won't be Moyes, Pardew or Smith ?  - it just we are sitting there hoping things come good.

Well he has splashed the cash. You can't deny that. From the latest FFP news he has somehow massively saved us from getting a fine. Surely being a championship club over spending by some sponsorship work around would be reckless and silly. Do we really need to spend anymore?

In terms of sponsorship and innovation...

 - He's opened Villa training schools in both India and China broadening the club brand

 - Arranged for Zeelo a custom-made coach routes for season ticket holders - the first in Birmingham.

 - Made Science in Sport our new official nutrition partner. Big in the olympics and Team Sky winning 2017 Tour de France team sponsor.

-  Partnered with Hisense who are now globally on par with most tech brands, and the their first football partner in the UK.

- Our Kits are with Under Armour.

- Unibet are our sponsors that cross many global sports.

For a championship Club, he's spent a fortune, assembled a squad more than capable of winning the league, completed the above deals, reinvigorated the club fan connect and kept us in the black

I don't think there is really much more he can do given where we are.

What more do you want from him?

 

 

[hippo]

3 hours ago, villan_007 said:

Well he has splashed the cash. You can't deny that. From the latest FFP news he has somehow massively saved us from getting a fine. Surely being a championship club over spending by some sponsorship work around would be reckless and silly. Do we really need to spend anymore?

In terms of sponsorship and innovation...

 - He's opened Villa training schools in both India and China broadening the club brand

 - Arranged for Zeelo a custom-made coach routes for season ticket holders - the first in Birmingham.

 - Made Science in Sport our new official nutrition partner. Big in the olympics and Team Sky winning 2017 Tour de France team sponsor.

-  Partnered with Hisense who are now globally on par with most tech brands, and the their first football partner in the UK.

- Our Kits are with Under Armour.

- Unibet are our sponsors that cross many global sports.

For a championship Club, he's spent a fortune, assembled a squad more than capable of winning the league, completed the above deals, reinvigorated the club fan connect and kept us in the black

I don't think there is really much more he can do given where we are.

What more do you want from him?

 

 

1.The academy was already there. Its just villa branded (if that) beyond that the link is very weak - I would be very surprised if we hear anything from it ever again 

2.I would disagree he has spent a fortune - we spent heavily last summer - but that has gone straight onto the accounts as debt.

3.What more do I want ? - well he talked about being the 3rd biggest club in the world - Glenn Whelan and Manu 4th choice keeper on loan weren't what I had in mind.

4.The other stuff is nothing we haven't seen before - Randy opened the pub, refurbed the training facilities - its all window dressing mate ! 

 

 

[Stevo985]

5 minutes ago, hippo said:

1.The academy was already there. Its just villa branded (if that) beyond that the link is very weak - I would be very surprised if we hear anything from it ever again 

2.I would disagree he has spent a fortune - we spent heavily last summer - but that has gone straight onto the accounts as debt.

3.What more do I want ? - well he talked about being the 3rd biggest club in the world - Glenn Whelan and Manu 4th choice keeper on loan weren't what I had in mind.

4.The other stuff is nothing we haven't seen before - Randy opened the pub, refurbed the training facilities - its all window dressing mate ! 

 

 

You haven't answered the question though...