Villarocker Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 In addition to my previous post General, I would like to say that it was a shame to see such a small turnout to watch the lads last night. I am sure there are lots of reasons why, such as finances, midweek game, the Moscow debacle, not progressing very far in previous cup campaigns etc. I will say this. The Rapid fans support of their team last night was brilliant. The Villa faithful had no match for them, simple as that. We tried to out-sing them down in the Lower North but we just couldn't because there wasn't enough people singing. But, having said that, do you think that the rapid fans would have been so colourful or vocal if they had to sit down like everybody else in the stadium? I know you say it's an health and saftey issue but I really do think that this is taking the fun out of going to football matches. It seems like people will only sing when they are standing but that's hard to do when the stewards are constantly telling you to sit down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa84 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Feel free to pop into this thread and take a look General. Look at the voting at the top, i know your nothing to do with it, and you would never dream of letting MON know as the thread i have started is pathetic as pointed out by many posters. Just thought for your general knowledge you might be interested. A bit like the history lessons many give you about our club whereas this is more of a predict the future lesson.. 3000 posts and I still can't do a short link Before i get slated, i love the clubs and think you guys running it are doing fantastic. Also MON is awsome but needs to tweek a few things.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanveer1968 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General, falling at the first hurdle is a major heartbreak for the fans, players and manager and board. Can you please advise what Randy's feelings are regarding the loss of revenue due to being eliminated from the competition at the first hurdle. I would imagine revenue from the group stages had been budgeted and this may affect transfer budgets in the next year. This may even afffect our chances of signing players in the current window (budget and appeal to the players to chose Villa over Fulham or Everton) The win at Liverpool was great and this level of performance needs to be maintained to enable growth of the business and brand value. We obviously need a winning and exciting team to get increased tv coverage on a world wide basis. The club has done very well in promoting the image, with off the field activities and when we were riding high in the premiership and beating Ajax we were very popular with the media. Do you and MON feel that in terms of business growth and club image we are according to plan? Also what commercial implications will there be resulting from losing to Vienna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. First off, I know of no one at Villa Park, Bodymoor Heath or here in the US that isn't VERY disappointed to go out of the competition. Simple as that! I, personally, am gutted. When RV scored their goal, I almost broke my hand punching the wall. So, if you want disappointed, count me in. 2. 4-4-2 or 4-5-1: I am not the Manager. Like any Fan, I can have my own opinion but the Manager watches the tapes, he has done the scouting, he knows what he needs and he plots the strategy. I just do not think I am of the quality to question what our Manager is doing with any real sense of knowing what he knows. I recognize that there are fans who, without access to films, scouting material, etc. are prepared to take what happened at a game, say Liverpool, and translate that into a way we should always play. I just think that there is more to developing a strategy than that. BUT, I confess that I am not an expert in the game. 3. Laursen and Barry: I agree that we miss Laursen. I am not so sure about Barry. I am not sure what Fans are watching but I would say that MON has worked hard during this transfer window to bolster the Squad at the two positions mentioned. The window is not over yet and MON is still working to bolster the Squad at key points. People continue to complain about lack of action by the Villa in the transfer market....but aside from a couple of Clubs who are spending like mad, I would say we have been as aggressive, if not more so, than almost every Club. I continue to read comments about "timing"...I hope people understand that it takes "4 to Tango"...our Club, the selling Club, the Player and the Agent. It is NOT as easy as some try to make it out to be. 4. Qualification of Coaches: I honestly don't have the time nor the inclination to go about trying to determine who has what...I am sorry. That is a bridge too far for me. Can you imagine a Director sending over to Bodymoor Heath a request for qualification badges of our Team leadership? Not a smart idea. 5. Re. the Heskey thread...not at all sure what a thread like that is worth in the long run. No one is going to make decisions based upon the druthers of 170+ fans...and, hopefully, you would not expect anyone to do so. 6. Let me tell you where we are: 1) We are working on the "window." 2) We are shaking off what happened last night. 3) We are concentrating on the next game. 4) We are concentrating on our long range strategy...keeping focused on the "day after tomorrow" and not just tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaceydeaceyaggro Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General, in the last 12 months Villa have lost their two best and most influential players. The last time I looked we haven't even bothered to replace them, and the team is suffering. This is absolutely disgraceful. No other words to describe it. It's ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishCockney Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Edit - Not the place for discussion. Trent General, I must apologise for our lack of support last night, it was a shameful turn out, and a poor performance by the "12th Man" where we couldn't muster a song for toffee. Thats the absolute joke. Too many people waiting to Boo I'm afraid, perhaps rightly they will argue but hardly helpful... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_villa1972 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General. Is it possible to have the date and time of publishing on the news items on the OS ? It is frustrating to read an item stating something might happen in the next few hours and not know whether it was published / last updated at 9am or 9pm ? Something similar to the BBC items. We were mighty unlucky last night. I took 2 Man U fans with me last night and they said that some of the football we play was excellent, some like the way Man U played 2 / 3 years ago but hey, look what they were doing 2 / 3 years ago. They did comment though that at other times were poor and that if we could get consistency, then he could see Man U and the other Sky 4 really having a problem - even this year. My only comment was what would they know as they are Man U supporters. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaceydeaceyaggro Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Edit - Not the place for discussion. Trent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undesirable Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I don't want to sound like some fawning sycophant but the generals comments in point 1 are spot on. I remember reading in the Villains book that when we were in the lower leagues in the 70s we were taking around 20,000 fans to away games at the likes of Notts County, that we were revered around the country for our support. Our away support is still one of the best in the country, if not the best, we need to replicate this devotion at home games, after all we are supporters not enthusiasts. Up the Villa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaN.I Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General Krulak here: 3. Laursen and Barry: I agree that we miss Laursen. I am not so sure about Barry. I am not sure what Fans are watching but I would say that MON has worked hard during this transfer window to bolster the Squad at the two positions mentioned.[/b] The window is not over yet and MON is still working to bolster the Squad at key points. People continue to complain about lack of action by the Villa in the transfer market....but aside from a couple of Clubs who are spending like mad, I would say we have been as aggressive, if not more so, than almost every Club. I continue to read comments about "timing"...I hope people understand that it takes "4 to Tango"...our Club, the selling Club, the Player and the Agent. It is NOT as easy as some try to make it out to be. Hi General, regarding your point 3 can you tell me how MON has bolstered our squad at the two positions mentioned? Who has taken the position of the 2 key players we have lost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcveighp Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 General, As stated before i rarely post on the board. But I would like to say, I am extremely confident in the Villa this year. I'm very proud to be a villa fan, and believe the game last night was a fantastically exciting match, which is what football is about. The Game last night is exactly the reason i watch and support a team for! The excitement of watching the game knowing it can go either way right to the end. I was on the edge of my seat and although i was disappointed I think we played extremely well as did Rapid and it was a thoroughly entertaining match. Please pass that on too MON general, It was a very entertaining game, the team played well. And i have all confidence with him this year as do many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 4. Qualification of Coaches: I honestly don't have the time nor the inclination to go about trying to determine who has what...I am sorry. That is a bridge too far for me. Can you imagine a Director sending over to Bodymoor Heath a request for qualification badges of our Team leadership? Not a smart idea. General, sorry you feel that way. I tried to preface the question with an honest statement, as like i said i was genuinely interested for personal reasons. Im quite surprised with your response General, although as you have said before, it is hard to determine a persons tone in printed word. Thanks for taking the time to answer. Cheers Dom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 in defence of dom_wren, he coaches over in the states, and i imagine that is where his interest comes from... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Hi General, Thanks for your response reharding Laursen and Barry. I guess opinion is divided their but to be fair to you, we have yet to see Downing and Delph has only played a couple of games. I guess I was thinking more of here and now and not 6-12 months down the line. I will say that it was refreshing to see Delph getting the ball and running at defenders when we played Vienna, something we have lacked in that central area for a long time IMO. It would be great if Downing and Delph could shine for Villa and prove to be better players than Barry. Do you have any idea what the attendance is looking like for tomorrow's game? I sincerely hope the fans wake up and start getting behind the lads more. It must be like playing in a cemetary sometimes for our players! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. Dom_Wren: Believe me, my answer was not intended to come across in a negative way or a nasty tone. Not at all. My point was simply that I worry if I, as a Director, were to "pulse" our People at Bodymoor Heath about the qualifications of our Manager and Coaches. I just don't think it would be a smart thing for me to do. Again, I did not intend to sound disrespectful to you. 2. Laursen and Barry: Again, let me reiterate my point. Laursen was a HUGE loss and I am not sure that any single player can be considered his "replacement." His knowledge of the game...his understanding of how MON wants the lads to play and his willingness to lead, on the Pitch, was superb. We have brought people in to bolster the back...and the window is not over. Does that mean we will come up with THE replacement for a man like Laursen...tough to know now. As for Barry....he is a fine player but no where near, in my opinion, the linchpin that was Laursen. I think that any number of our lads...youth or recently acquired...will make us forget Barry. Let's face it...he could take a penalty kick and could do a good job of distributing the ball but he was not a in the category of a superstar and certainly not a Laursen. We will be fine with those who we have to play his position. 3. Attendence at Fulham game is looking like somewhere north of 34K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubby Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 General, Your comments on Barry surprise me given your position however I am not offended as they match mine quite considerably. Barry played ball well, but couldn't be relied upon to score other than from the spot. I believe that in Delph and Sidwell we have 2 players who can be the goal scoring midfielder we have lacked for a while though the system ultimately has to provide them with the opportunities to do so. Its not the end of the World in this case whereas with Laursen it could be considered pretty much nailed on though equally he had his flaws on the pitch. Am looking forward to our continuing redevelopment and improvement, hopefully more than 34,000 people will continue to see it tomorrow also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 could not agree with you more about barry general... still dont think that we have anyone, at this moment in time, who has "replaced" him though... which therefore makes us weaker in that area... fabian delph, in the future, will be a far superior player than barry ever was, however, at this moment in time, he is not... and in the short term, we could suffer for that, unless someone comes in to replace him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkshireCoop Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. Dom_Wren: Believe me, my answer was not intended to come across in a negative way or a nasty tone. Not at all. My point was simply that I worry if I, as a Director, were to "pulse" our People at Bodymoor Heath about the qualifications of our Manager and Coaches. I just don't think it would be a smart thing for me to do. Again, I did not intend to sound disrespectful to you. 2. Laursen and Barry: Again, let me reiterate my point. Laursen was a HUGE loss and I am not sure that any single player can be considered his "replacement." His knowledge of the game...his understanding of how MON wants the lads to play and his willingness to lead, on the Pitch, was superb. We have brought people in to bolster the back...and the window is not over. Does that mean we will come up with THE replacement for a man like Laursen...tough to know now. As for Barry....he is a fine player but no where near, in my opinion, the linchpin that was Laursen. I think that any number of our lads...youth or recently acquired...will make us forget Barry. Let's face it...he could take a penalty kick and could do a good job of distributing the ball but he was not a in the category of a superstar and certainly not a Laursen. We will be fine with those who we have to play his position. 3. Attendence at Fulham game is looking like somewhere north of 34K. General, I am amazed at this comment about Barry.. Gareth Barry could do alot more than score a penalty and distribute the ball well. He was a cut above his team mates often here at Villa Park, which is the reason why he was the only player to be a regular fixture in the England first team. I hope people at the club do not just discard Gareth's qualities and cover his departure with " Youth or recently aquired will make us forget him " attitudes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carew_villa Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Completely agree about Generals comments about Laursen and Barry It seemed to me that Barry got too big for his boots towards the end of last season laursen was world class and was a real leader whereas for me Petrov carried barry last season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefdoc2000 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Always had that view about Barry and don't think your comments are anyway shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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