MrBlack Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 5 minutes ago, Captain_Townsend said: Indeed. The cherry on the cake for me is the comms. If we be kind to him, and stay neutral on the decisions he has made, then you have to concede his communication of these decisions has been icompetent. Worse, they almost assume we are too thick to work out that they don't make sense (for example claiming the new round badge was really a 1981-82 anniversary one season crest tribute, after a clear 2022 comm that it would be a new crest for a new era; that a new North Stand was too big, when our average attendances are the best they have been in about 75 years). I would respect him more if he was honest - Purslow for his faults did excellent comms. Yes, communication does seem particularly bad. And realistically if he'd been honest about the Terrace View changes in advance (before ST holders renewed under am expectation the holte suite was getting refurbished for their benefit), honest about the reasons behind the North Stand build being deferred, and honest in his comms with the FAB about the badge redesign (and any limitations he was working under), then maybe some of those things become understandable. Not to mention the radio silence since 20th Dec when the badge was effectively revealed in the IPO trademark. His comms do seem to be very poor. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 1 hour ago, CVByrne said: The actual decisions he's made show leadership and have logical reasons for them which are to the benefit of the club. That’s debatable. Leadership isn’t just about making decisions, most senior people can do that but it doesn’t show leadership. Leadership involves so many other components. As for logical reasons. The North Stand decision from the outside from a purely financial perspective seems a logical decision although we don’t have all the facts. The badge, I can’t see a logical reason for what he’s done and especially the way he’s done it, there is no leadership about that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post El Segundo Posted January 11 Popular Post Share Posted January 11 3 hours ago, CVByrne said: So the communication was poor. He just did one interview with club site to announce all of this. Then just presented the crest as our new crest essentially. So the manner of thos was poor. The actual decisions he's made show leadership and have logical reasons for them which are to the benefit of the club. The communications were not just poor they've been fundamentally dishonest/deceitful. The supposedly "logical" reasons he's given often don't make sense or again are misleading. 200 unsold tickets per match means the demand isn't there for a new stand, despite a season ticket waiting list in the tens of thousands? Utter bollocks. The fans are at the centre of what we are doing? BS. We're refurbishing the Holte Suite (implying it would still be for season ticket holders use)? Yeah right. That's my main issue with Heck so far. The decision on the new stand also leaves the nagging impression of a focus on short term ways to increase revenue (which of course we do need) but doing so at the expense of long term sustainable revenue streams. I'm sure NSWE will not have got to where they are by encouraging or incentivising short-term thinking and I assume they would have to sign off on everything Heck proposes, so hopefully that nagging impression is baseless and there is more behind to the decision to delay than the rather feeble reasons provided by Heck. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 (edited) His comms on the North stand are so bad we have some people thinking we are sticking with a limited capacity and others convinced we are moving to a new stadium. Hecks poor comms have been a major distraction, causing unnecessary uncertainty around our identity and our long term vision. We had a strategy and we have deviated from it since he came. Edited January 11 by Captain_Townsend 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted January 11 VT Supporter Share Posted January 11 Weren't we also told that there was going to be a further statement about the North Stand? I'm sure I read that on here somewhere. I'm amazed that with the anger and confusion it's caused there hasn't been a more formal statement from the brand expert. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Made In Aston Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 10/01/2024 at 21:36, ozvillafan said: ... you sound like my boss at work. No. If I sounded like you're boss I'd be telling you to get off the porn site and do some work. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 11/01/2024 at 10:37, MrBlack said: Yes, communication does seem particularly bad. And realistically if he'd been honest about the Terrace View changes in advance (before ST holders renewed under am expectation the holte suite was getting refurbished for their benefit), honest about the reasons behind the North Stand build being deferred, and honest in his comms with the FAB about the badge redesign (and any limitations he was working under), then maybe some of those things become understandable. Not to mention the radio silence since 20th Dec when the badge was effectively revealed in the IPO trademark. His comms do seem to be very poor. Terrace View was launched before he came in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 3 minutes ago, Zatman said: Terrace View was launched before he came in You're right, it was announced just before he joined. I think because it didn't open until after I'd associated it with something he'd done. Fair point. Just means there's one less thing he's done, and nothing extra that he's done evidentially well. My view still remains he needs to have got us a good Adidas deal and revisit his badge, before i start thinking he'll be good for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 11/01/2024 at 07:30, CVByrne said: I think the heat people are putting on Heck is mostly unfair. What do people expect him to do? He joins the club with a clear remit. First thing he's faced with is the Club crest problem. The new crest doesn't work for differentiating Villa and the club brand which is core to our marketing and revenue growth. Our brand is our history, our unique classic ground, it;s founding the football league, it's the older club in the Premier League, it's our unique name and club colours. The shield badge which we've had since 1990 and had in our past is key to that. So the decision on the club crest is it needs to be the Shield. So what should he do? Next the North Stand, let's say Emery is against the idea of losing a whole stand for 2 years from end of this season as it will impact the atmosphere at Villa. The costs of the work have gone up a lot due to inflation, we've got the transport issues that have rumbled on. Plus the capacity is only increased by 8,000 once the new stand is built. An alternative proposal can increase capacity by up to 3,000 while work on other parts of the ground to improve fan experience and boost revenue. The North Stand work can be revisited (and it will need to be). So decision is need make this change for the best of the club. So what should he do? We have Castore problems with the shirt, we need to get out of our deal with them early. We need to replace them, the time is perfect as the team are doing well, Newcastle have got a lucrative deal with Adidas and Heck works to secure us a new long term deal with them too. Big boost to revenue and club profile if we are in the Elite A category. We have got new strategic investors too with Ataros, who are big in media side, they will hopefully open up more channels for the club brand and opportunities to grow the revenue. At the end of the day, the best thing for Aston Villa and the reason Heck was brought in was to grow the clubs commercial side which has been massive underperformer and is the no1 barrier to us breaking into a new Big 8 and becoming a top side that can compete year over year with the big boys in the Premier League. I am sure all the decisions made have been well thought through and I back him on them because I think he's doing a great job so far when hos job is clear. Grow our commercial revenue. Capitalise on the opportunity we have right now with the team performing so well and grow the commercial side. Look what Spurs achieved when they had a good side under Poch, Levy grew the commerical side of the club , secured long lasting deals which keep revenue flowing and always allow them to compete financially with the big boys. Heck inherited problems and decisions he disagreed with. Decisions made by the team who failed to grow our revenue to where we lagged other smaller PL rivals. I think he's showing leadership by being decisive in what he's doing because he and his team know how to build up our revenue. I'm personally really excited by what's happening, the Adidas deal is the tip of the iceberg I hope and we'll see other new deals spring up 1- The crest wasn't a problem until he made it one 2- I would be amazed if Emery has any opinion on stadium construction. He is 100% focused on the pitch. We had a very detailed plan communicated to fans throughout the last 18-24 months. If they have decided to cancel it then at least communicate that. Mentioning it halfway through an in-house interview with fuzzy logic is not a great look. 3- I don't think he inherited problems. Villa hasn't been in such good shape for years, partly due to the work his much-derided predecessor had done. So far he has caused more problems than solving them and the communication has been very poor imo. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post FLVillan Posted January 12 Popular Post Share Posted January 12 14 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: 1- The crest wasn't a problem until he made it one 2- I would be amazed if Emery has any opinion on stadium construction. He is 100% focused on the pitch. We had a very detailed plan communicated to fans throughout the last 18-24 months. If they have decided to cancel it then at least communicate that. Mentioning it halfway through an in-house interview with fuzzy logic is not a great look. 3- I don't think he inherited problems. Villa hasn't been in such good shape for years, partly due to the work his much-derided predecessor had done. So far he has caused more problems than solving them and the communication has been very poor imo. 1. Absolutely spot on! No badge will ever be universally accepted, but with close-to 80% the round badge was a clear winner and a massive upgrade on what we had. 2. Spot on again. I don't think Ron Saunders gave 2 seconds of thought into the decision on knocking down the witton end in 1977! And I don't remember Ron Atkinson having input into the demolition of the Witton Lane stand. 3. 3 for 3! Some really positive moves made by his predecessor to plant to get our stadium a place to be proud of and bring us into the 21st century, with a load of work done with architects, the city council, transport authorities, UEFA and other entities to get everything ready to go, and to replace the horrible badge(s) that we've endured since 1993. The Gerrard debacle aside, there wasn't too much that could be pinned on Purslow to be fair. I wish he (Purslow) had swallowed his pride and stuck around after the Monchi appointment. The new badge would now be simply integrated into everything and the new north stand plans would be moving along nicely. To date, all Chris Heck has shown is that he's an American version of Tony Xia. Dishonest. Even Xia's regime produced a couple of decent kits. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Heck, sounds a proper sausage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted January 12 VT Supporter Share Posted January 12 14 hours ago, sidcow said: Weren't we also told that there was going to be a further statement about the North Stand? I'm sure I read that on here somewhere. I'm amazed that with the anger and confusion it's caused there hasn't been a more formal statement from the brand expert. In fairness Heck's further statement on the North Stand would be a video of him stamping on a print out of the mock ups and then dropping his trousers, squatting and curling a log onto the photos, before turning to the camera to give everyone the finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 58 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: 1- The crest wasn't a problem until he made it one 2- I would be amazed if Emery has any opinion on stadium construction. He is 100% focused on the pitch. We had a very detailed plan communicated to fans throughout the last 18-24 months. If they have decided to cancel it then at least communicate that. Mentioning it halfway through an in-house interview with fuzzy logic is not a great look. 3- I don't think he inherited problems. Villa hasn't been in such good shape for years, partly due to the work his much-derided predecessor had done. So far he has caused more problems than solving them and the communication has been very poor imo. 1 - His job is about growing revenue. The circular - run of the mill - crest impacts our brand and thus our revenue. 2 - Athletic reporting Emery concerns about losing the stand. How could he not be concerned. 3 - He inherited decisions around the North Stand and the Crest that pre-date the entire current team including Emery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 18 minutes ago, Chindie said: In fairness Heck's further statement on the North Stand would be a video of him stamping on a print out of the mock ups and then dropping his trousers, squatting and curling a log onto the photos, before turning to the camera to give everyone the finger. Now there's a visual that I didn't need on a Friday morning... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 4 minutes ago, CVByrne said: 1 - His job is about growing revenue. The circular - run of the mill - crest impacts our brand and thus our revenue. 2 - Athletic reporting Emery concerns about losing the stand. How could he not be concerned. 3 - He inherited decisions around the North Stand and the Crest that pre-date the entire current team including Emery. 1. You don't build a brand by changing a company logo three times inside two years. That's basic business common sense. 2. North stand was built when we were in the top six and won the league cup. Witton Lane stand was built just after we finished second in the league. The Holte End was rebuilt when we were top six and had just won the league cup. Trinity was rebuilt the year we reached the FA Cup Final, the league cup semi final and finished sixth. And I don't remember a solitary peep or complaint from Saunders, Atkinson, Little or Gregory. To suggest that Emery is giving his opinion on a new stand is laughable and quite frankly disrespectful of his laser focus on producing a winning team. I believe The Athletic "reporting" about as much as I believe Epstein killed himself.. 3. He inherited two well thought-out, properly researched projects that had seen a great deal of work put in, that were universally accepted and in most cases, welcomed by the MAJORITY of Aston Villa fans. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Well said. Sick of reading nonsense about now being the wrong time for redevelopment when there has never been a better time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) On 11/01/2024 at 09:27, Captain_Townsend said: Indeed. The cherry on the cake for me is the comms. If we be kind to him, and stay neutral on the decisions he has made, then you have to concede his communication of these decisions has been icompetent. Worse, they almost assume we are too thick to work out that they don't make sense (for example claiming the new round badge was really a 1981-82 anniversary one season crest tribute, after a clear 2022 comm that it would be a new crest for a new era; that a new North Stand was too big, when our average attendances are the best they have been in about 75 years). I would respect him more if he was honest - Purslow for his faults did excellent comms. thing is, if you say nothing.....you can't be accused of being dishonest....Purslow for his faults, cost him his job.....comms is one aspect of a compendium of disciplines in the job of business leader. We live in a complex world, where no matter what you say can get twisted out of context.....so being transparent in a complex business world ,could be deemed naive, in some quarters. The owners in their wisdom, say very little.....and I for one respect that. I sometimes think us fans want to know too much, about the club " curiosity killed the cat" ......That has to be measured, surely. I was once close to ITK information about Villa, and I don't recommend it.....I know nothing now, and I love it. I don't want to know the warts 'n all ,it spoils the dream....it really does. Let me give an example of my thoughts.....lets say for example, the transport away from the ground is the main problem ( in reality it could be someting else, but its just an example) and Chris comes out and says WMCA are the problem, and he's right......when he wants some support further down the line, what reaction, do you think he will receive?......its not always easy to be honest..." discretion is the better part of Valour" I don't know what to think about Chris Heck, but I do trust the owners to make the right decisions, and UE is testamount to that....so I will reserve my judgement on him, until I have something really tangible to further my opinion on. In the meantime " What the Heck" Edited January 12 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 This Heck fella is coming over as a bit of a dishonest prick isn't he! And such is life, Once you're out of the circle of trust through dishonesty then its very hard to get back in. Sort yourself out chap whilst you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted January 12 Popular Post Share Posted January 12 Nothing new then... Just the same circular arguments based on previous assumptions , with the descriptions and adjectives getting worse each page Each time I pop in when thread is bumped and it's literally the same circles just with people getting more dramatic. Dude is now Tony Xia, by next page he'll be Joleon Lescott with a Marketing Degree or something. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLVillan Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: Nothing new then... Just the same circular arguments based on previous assumptions , with the descriptions and adjectives getting worse each page Each time I pop in when thread is bumped and it's literally the same circles just with people getting more dramatic. Dude is now Tony Xia, by next page he'll be Joleon Lescott with a Marketing Degree or something. And it makes us feel better, having a place to blow off steam about stuff that we care passionately about. Far better than screaming at the sky.... and for the record, he's an American-version of Xia, not the actual one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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