MYSTERYMAN Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 General , In just over a week if you believe the message boards then we have gone from all hope and glory to doom and failure . I was there last night and very disappointed with the result but then slept on it went to the 82 Lounge corporate night tonight and looked at the magnificent job done on the Trinity Lounge where I sit saw the mind blowing plans for the new Sky lounge listened to the REFURB plans for the Holte suite ( Sounds fantastic ) and the steps of the Holte End which the fans are going to absolutely love to death . Then thought I need to get a grip about my doubts , these guys aint going to fail they are going to win course it isn't guaranteed but you have such a good team in all places its just geared for success. My own business is suffering greatly like everyone else and I can't justify having 10 corporate seats paid by the company when people are losing jobs and taking pay cuts ! But have managed between myself and nine other mates to pay for ten corporate seats in the new Sky lounge it's just too good to miss and its a massive part of my life so if its that or a holiday then there is only one winner ! No big deal but just wanted you to know 100 percent behind what your doing and now is the time to show support when it appears we have hit a rough patch . Like you and the rest I am in it for the long haul ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougie Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 General Where do I find out about the new Sky Lounge? My company is desperate for some good Corporate Hospitality. Who do I need to talk to? Oh and by the way 4 badish results do not, a bad season make. Up the Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishCockney Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hi General Hope you are well. Obviously we are going through a sticky patch at the minute, and I honestly can't see that improving with the fixtures we have coming up. There is light at the end of the tunnel though, as our last 6 games are all winnable. We just need to keep the faith, the boys need to keep believing and Martin needs to make sure their confidence doesn't fall through the floor by then, or those 6 games will become impossible. Looking forward, this will stand us in good stead, because as the saying goes when the going gets tough....at least we will know for the future who can hack the pressure at the top, and who isn't cut out for the job in hand. See you at VP soon IC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingphil Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General Where do I find out about the new Sky Lounge? I'm sure the General will answer this as well, but for now I will provide you a little bit of info. The Sky Lounge will be situated between the Holte & Trinty. Currently, we have The McGregor Suite and Sponser's Lounge (used to be Park Suite) there, you can see the balconies of both these suites. The area that the Sky Lounge will be located has always been there, just not used. The Club have thought long and hard about how to improve the facilities, and the introduction of The Sky Lounge (and also the 1874 lounge) will further add to the corporate experience. If you are interested, give the Hospitality and Events team a ring - 0800 612 0960 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runetune Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General I've been meaning to come in here for a while, and finally have remembered. I wanted to say a massive thank you to Randy for taking the step of putting those stained glass windows in the Holte End. The effect with that and the mosaic, and knowing the steps are being sorted at some point makes it feel as if we've regained at least something of what was lost a decade or so ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RA19 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General Further to my recent comments about AVTV and Mac computers I received the following email from AVTV: "Thank you for your email. Our content has always been protected by Digital Rights Managements (DRM) and therefore has not worked on the MAC OS. This will be available from the beginning of next season." [AVTV] This statement is incorrect as I pointed out in my reply below. However I have now cancelled my subscription. Sad! "Thankyou for your reply. In fact the AVTV service (with the exception of the Match Highlights of Premier League games) has worked perfectly on my Mac OS laptop since taking out my subscription last August. Interviews, Press Conferences, Academy & Reserves highlights have all worked perfectly - so something has now changed, other wise I would have cancelled long ago. To say your service has never worked on a Mac OS system is incorrect. However, thankyou for arranging the refund. I have written to General Krulak at the club expressing my disappointment at the continued lack of support for Mac's (the only growth sector in the PC industry)." [RA19] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. There is absolutely no question that the last couple of weeks have been disheartening and tough for all fans to absorb...to include me. I could make 1000 excuses as could most of us...reasons for the fortnight. With this in mind, we can follow two paths: 1) We can get angry, depressed and disgusted...all of which may well bring short term satisfaction but no long term gain or, 2) We can suck it up...recognize the fortnight for what it was...get behind the lads and MON...and focus on the remainder of the season. Simply put, we have a good enough squad to be in 4th place and we have PROVEN that we not only know how to win but, more importantly, we can win. We just need to get back on the horse and ride the SOB to some victories...and I believe we will. 2. Dubai: I personally think this is a good trip and needed. I like the idea of the Manager taking his troops to a distant shore where they can totally focus on the issues at hand without distractions. I know MON and I can fully imagine what he will do when he has his lads all to himself and they can concentrate on the areas he feels he needs to work on. I firmly believe they will come back ready to go and charging. 3. For hospitality, please contact Alison Plant at AVFC...call the operator and she can put you through. 4. RA19: I am not sure what the issue is at this time. I took your concern directly to the folks who run our system and they, in fact, told me that our system has not been compatible with MAC. Now you say it is...and I can't figure it out. I would not get angry with our system folks...you are only getting angry with a man who just joined AVFC within the last two weeks. Our previous web man was let go. Before you throw in the towel, let our new man work on the issue. 5. We went with acorns because they are in a very tough spot right now...simple as that. It had nothing to do with being unable to get a "paying" sponsor...we could have done that. It had everything to do with not deserting a ship that is taking on water! We need to help them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villahagler69 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 5. We went with acorns because they are in a very tough spot right now...simple as that. It had nothing to do with being unable to get a "paying" sponsor...we could have done that. It had everything to do with not deserting a ship that is taking on water! We need to help them. And that General Sir is one of the reasons why so many of us love Aston Villa Football Club and the people that run it. We salute you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heystally! Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General Krulak here: 5. We went with acorns because they are in a very tough spot right now...simple as that. It had nothing to do with being unable to get a "paying" sponsor...we could have done that. It had everything to do with not deserting a ship that is taking on water! We need to help them. Hi General, Just fantastic. Fantastic. I did have a quick thought though. Going to Everton and Man City away, I saw that they had half-time competitions, involving kicking footballs through a solid goal with random ball-shaped holes cut out of it, and they have the opportunity to win some sort of holiday. I was wondering whether we could take upon this idea in some way, but us it primarily to raise funds for Acorns. A basic example of what i'm thinking is that every week, you can purchase tickets to be entered into a draw to go on the pitch at half time and score as many goals as possible. Each home game, a certain number (maybe like five per week) are selected at random, and take part in the competition at half time. At the end of season, the person with the most goals wins a holiday or something like that. But the majority of the proceeds from it could go towards Acorns. Like, the goal could be a giant Acorns logo with holes cut out. And the holiday could be sorted by our new partners in Thomas Cook, which would also aid their charitable image. Obviously that is a very basic layout. Just a thought. It'd get a lot of people's attention as it would be on match days, and more people may be inclined to do it if it was primarily for Acorns. Hope you're well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RA19 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General I really do appreciate you taking my comments on board. I subscribed to AVTV on an annual contract last August - please trust me I would not have continued with it until now if none of the AVTV segments could be used on a Mac. The match highlights I always understood were DRM protected because the Premier League don't want to encourage their 'intellectual property rights' (jeez, this used to be a game for the fans, the common man!!) being freely available (although if it's via a subscription service I don't really get that either). But the academy, reserves, player interviews etc. have ALWAYS worked for me - but not now. I hope they manage to get it fixed soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerlad Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Love the stained glass windows, General. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 General on the ground developments is it possible to show the new plans for the refurbs ? Also could the OS have better photo's of the ground it is poor on there for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. RA19: As I indicated, we went out and hired a web site manager with a vast amount of experience. We realized, as a result of fan input on these boards, that we had some major problems. I personally met with our new manager and raised many of the issues that our fans have put forth over the past year. He knows the problems and absolutely has the knowledge and experience and technical ability to fix them. He is on the case right now!!! Personally, I found him to be a very receptive bloke with a great deal of common sense. 2. I am glad fans have recognized the stained glass windows. These were all done by Randy...he picked the window pattern and location. 3. ianrobo1: You ask a very good question but one that we are not prepared to meet right now. It is not because we are trying to hide something but, rather, because we have not come to our own "final" decisions as yet and we have not approached the council with our completed plans as a result. It would not make much sense to put something out that we have not totally bought in on and that we have not gained approval to accomplish. I can assure you that we will alert the fans as soon as the plan is finalized. We will certainly seek fan input on any changes that will require temporary movement of fans. We did learn a good lesson from the Trinity situation. Dialogue with fans on such moves is CRITICAL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morley_crosses_to_Withe Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 General, I'm not sure whether you are aware, but it's the Cheltenham Festival this week. It's by far the best horse racing event in the UK. The main race of the festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup which will take place on Friday. This is one of, if not, THE most highly sought after and prestigious prizes in National Hunt Racing. For a horse to win this race, they truly need to be the best of the best. You may have heard of a horse called Best Mate - owned by lifelong Villa fan Jim Lewis. Best Mate won the Gold Cup three times in a row which is a remarkable achievement. He also ran in Claret and Blue to reflect Jim's love of the club. Every time Best Mate won the Gold Cup, Jim was invited to parade the cup around Villa Park, which he did, each time proudly wearing his Villa scarf. Unfortunately, Best Mate died in 2005 and racing lost one of it's most loved horses. So anyway, with the Cheltenham Festival this week, and with us at home on Sunday, I was wondering if the club plan to commemorate a sporting legend and one of the most famous horses in racing history? Perhaps a video could be shown on the big screen before the game of Best Mate racing to win his third successive Cheltenham Gold Cup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldbathkid Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 General, from someone who has a deep and long lasting love of Villa Park, it's wonderful to see Randy and yourself share this love. The changes that have happened at Villa Park over the last few years have been fantastic to see and they clearly show you guy's are here for the love of our great old club. I have total confidence in your vision for the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 3. ianrobo1: You ask a very good question but one that we are not prepared to meet right now. It is not because we are trying to hide something but, rather, because we have not come to our own "final" decisions as yet and we have not approached the council with our completed plans as a result. It would not make much sense to put something out that we have not totally bought in on and that we have not gained approval to accomplish. I can assure you that we will alert the fans as soon as the plan is finalized. We will certainly seek fan input on any changes that will require temporary movement of fans. We did learn a good lesson from the Trinity situation. Dialogue with fans on such moves is CRITICAL!! thanks General because form the bits Mystery Man has said about the Holte I am very intrigued at this and noticed no planning permissions on the Birmingham council website, yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.V.F.C Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Right, this is such an unecessary touch but...IF (and its sure as hell a big if at the moment) we get the champions league spot, then can we play the champions league tune nice and loud after the final match at Villa Park this season! Give us all a taste of what would be to come next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_moore Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi General - Last game of the season is against Newcastle, as you know and as well as it hopefully being the biggest game of the season, its also a chance to celebrate the lives of those ex Villans who have passed away this year - which will be emotional. Can I also draw your attention to Bobby Robson, the ex England and Newcastle Manager, and now a director at Newcastle. In my mind he is one of, if not the most popular figure in British football, for his footballing prowess, but more so for his enthusiasm, ethics, and his manner. For me his contribution to British football has been immense and I cant think of anyone else who has such 'cross club' popularity.Bobby is terminally ill, and has dedicated the last 3 years to his charity. I for one would like to pay a tribute to him, as I am sure most football fans would, should he be at Villa Park in May. as he may not be around next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-savman Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Right, this is such an unecessary touch but...IF (and its sure as hell a big if at the moment) we get the champions league spot, then can we play the champions league tune nice and loud after the final match at Villa Park this season! Give us all a taste of what would be to come next season. GREAT idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuen_Biao Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 General Krulak here: 5. We went with acorns because they are in a very tough spot right now...simple as that. It had nothing to do with being unable to get a "paying" sponsor...we could have done that. It had everything to do with not deserting a ship that is taking on water! We need to help them. This puts things into perspective as there are more important things than money and football. I am proud to hear this news General. I would also echo the sentiments of half-time prizes with all proceeds going to Acorns of course. They do this at Pittodrie (Aberdeen FC) where the winning raffle ticket can win the match ball and maybe the Man of the Match shirt for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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