General Krulak (part 3) - Questions

[Ulver]

Hello General

In this time of supposed Villa turmoil and doom and gloom (according to the tabloids) how come I went into Saturdays game feeling good, and came out feeling even better ?

Something doesn't add up. I'm supposed to be depressed and fearing for my club if what I read in the gutter press is true, yet i'm strangely excited and positive for the season ahead.

I'm worried :-)

Ulver

[bannedfromHandV]

Hi General, I have to echo some of the complaints regarding the North Stand lower on Saturday.

It seems strange that the far end has now been closed off both in terms of food and drink and an exit after the game. The food and drink issue as many have said will cost the club a fair bit of money I'd imagine, my partner for example refused to queue up being as the queue was about 50+ people deep!!

Only having one exit after the match is likely to cause an immense amount of frustration too.

I appreciate much of this might be in advance of us rebuilding the stand next summer but I can't see how it's a problem to at least open the gates at the end of the match down the far end.

[Richard]

I think the lads were sending a message today...and the message was powerful

General, who do you think the message was being sent to ?

[AVFCChis]

it seems that Villa employ many more staff than Tottenham overall - around 445 compared with their 286, a difference of 159.

Not attempting to speak on behalf of the General, I'm sure he will comment, but you need to take into consideration the fact a lot of functions involved in the running of a football club, marketing, catering, stewards, ticket office, club shop franchises, groundsmen, physios etc can be outsourced to a specialist contractor or staff brought in from an agency, so you can't compare raw figures like that.

General: Great day on Saturday! Albrighton was sensational, beat his man every time and I'm really excited by the prospect of seeing more from him. Carew seemed to enjoy playing the father figure too. Appointing Kevin McDonald as our manager to 'blood' the youngsters may be seen as a step backwards by some but could pay dividends next season. My biggest concern would be loosing such a good reserve team manager if things didn't work out. However I'm sure whatever the board decide to do it will be for the best. While I was saddened by the departure of MON, the events of last week and how the club has handled itself during this time has only reinforced my already strong belief in Randy and his team. I'm proud to be a supporter of such a classy football club - which is something that I'm sure you wont hear any city fan saying.

On a side note, I'll add my name to the list of people who gave up queueing for a drink in the lower north stand at half time and before the game. I didn't venture down the to catering stand near R7 as I was told it was closed, I guessed that this would be temporary, but after learning about the doors not being opened at the end of the game as well (which explains the queue to exit the stand) I'm not so sure. Can you confirm the situation regarding the kiosk and doors at the R7 end of the stand?

[Villarocker]

Hi General,

Further to my earlier point regarding the facilities in the North Stand Lower, my friend reminded me that the beer also seemed to be worse than it was before.

It seemed ok when we thought we were going to get Heineken but we didn't, we got Fosters instead, and at £2.80 for what seemed like just over half a pint, we don't feel that it represented any kind of value for money. Bear in mind that the tv screen has also been moved from near the catering outlet to above the steps it proved to be an all-round poor experience, apart from the game itself.

You now have to plough your way through loads of people watching the tv to get to the catering outlet, and then plough your way back through them armed with your food and drink etc so that you can see the screen yourself.

Surely it would be wise to put another tv up above the catering outlet so that people can watch the half-time replays and scores etc whilst they are queuing? I am sure a lot of people can't be bothered to queue for food because they want to see the hal-time scores and replays etc. I am sure another tv would pay for itself over the course of the season General. It just needs to be put up high in the catering section so that all that queue can see it.

I would also like to add that the steps and floor are dangerous. I saw a guy fall flat on his back on the steps on the way to his seat before kick-off. Other's were being careful too, because the floor seemed so slippery. This is not the first season it has been like this. My brother also fell down the steps last season when it had rained prior to the game.

Sorry for the moaning General. Some of the things I have said are safety issues and I am sure you can appreciate that, as well as the financial impact they could have on the club.

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. North stand lower....I have got it...and will pass it on to those who need to know.

2. Those were, in fact, Randy's comments. He RARELY speaks out but this time he did. Probably regrets it as he is not one for publicity.

3. The majority of the folks who work at Villa Park are part of our Club...and are critical to running it the way we feel it should be run.

[Cracker1234]

Hi General,

Thanks for taking the time to come on here and answer the fans questions and for passing feedback on.

Do you have anymore news on what is happening to Milner? Does it look like he will be going still, if so how soon?

I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but on Thursday the 26th of Aug when we play Vienna at home, Blues will be playing Rochdale at home also.

"Birmingham City's second-round Carling Cup tie has had its date changed.

The home tie against Rochdale, which was scheduled for Tuesday, August 24, will be televised live by Sky Sports and has been put back two days to Thursday, August 26 (7.45pm)"

Thought I would point that out so you can ask if the police has the resources to cover both matches for them evening matches.

[kidlewis]

General Krulak here:

2. Those were, in fact, Randy's comments. He RARELY speaks out but this time he did. Probably regrets it as he is not one for publicity.

I have to disagree with you on this general.

Not on whether he regrets doing it for his personal stance on his public relations with the British media, but in terms of speaking his mind on issues he obviously feels has gotten under his skin.

His comments highlight (at best) he isn't happy at all with Manchester Citys handling of the Milner saga, and possibly going back to the Barry saga. Their actions have impacted on our transfer window and our ability to do business and has cause Milner and any other potential players in this deal an undue wait to see what is going to happen.

My personal stance is that I hope this saga results in us striking Man City off any future deals with any players and we certainly take an even more robust approach towards them in the future.

I know many other fans are livid with the situation yet again with another important player and it can't keep happening to us because soon it will start to impact on us as a club if we are being held up by these cash rich idiots who appear on the face of it to be rather flippant towards us when it comes to business in transfer windows.

[GaztonVilla]

General Krulak here:

2. Those were, in fact, Randy's comments. He RARELY speaks out but this time he did. Probably regrets it as he is not one for publicity.

Level with us General, had Randy celebrated the victory with a few beers before making those comments?

[kidlewis]

General Krulak here:

2. Those were, in fact, Randy's comments. He RARELY speaks out but this time he did. Probably regrets it as he is not one for publicity.

Level with us General, had Randy celebrated the victory with a few beers before making those comments?

I think that should be a rule between the General and Randy.

'for every goal villa score, we have a pint of beer'.

would make the 5-1 derby even more special!

[steve_avfc]

General

I hold a season card for North stand lower. I took my wife who is registered disabled to the West Ham game, the ticket office told me there were no disabled seating available. My wife can walk short distances but has difficulty going up and down stairs so I 'upgraded' my seat to lower trinity for £17 and paid £35 for my wife (total £52).

However. since then a fellow season ticket holder told me that because I went as my wifes carer, I should not have paid £17 extra for my seat as disabled carers go free.

General, please can you clarify this point and is there anything I can do ???

Your help is much appreciated Sir - Thank You.

[danceoftheshamen]

Hi General,

I was wondering what is being done regarding building the image / profile of the club abroad.. Especially in Eastern Europe where the Premier League has a huge following. I have recently exchanged messages on this site with fans in that region, Slovakia specifically, who say there is absolutely no "presence" from Villa whatsoever... EVEN IN THE NIKE STORES!! This is also backed up by my wife's family (She is from Poland & her family still live there) who had not been aware of Villa before i met her (Needless to say they are now lol).

The thing is that having visited Poland recently & spoken to people from various countries in that region during my work as an international club DJ, which means i travel around a fair bit, i feel there is so much more that could be done to increase interest in our beloved club abroad... There is an abundance of marketing / profile building for the usual suspects of Liverpool, Man Utd & Chelsea in the main but nothing at all for Villa?! Is there nothing that can be done to improve this as it would after all help massively with revenue which is of course a very prominant topic at present & would eventually lead to better quality of signings surely?

So is this being looked into? I know there is work being done in this area from some of your previous posts but it seems nothing is much happening "on the street" so to speak.

Thanks for your time.

[Oaks]

Hi General;

I just wonder if the performance and 3 points on Saturday has slowed down the urgency in finding Martin's replacement? I understand that getting a new manager is the priority, but good wins surly gives the board more much needed time.

I am also aware that the team that played on Saturday was Martin's, something alot of fans seem to have forgotten. It was the same shape as the Valencia game, so its not that JM has completely changed the team, just maybe tweaked certain aspects(and West Ham were awful).

Yours Gary.

[Villarocker]

Thanks for your reply ref North Stand Lower General.

As I said earlier, I hate to moan about it, especially as we put on such a good show for the fans on Saturday. Hopefully the club will be able to sort something out for the fans to make the match day experience all the more enjoyable.

Thanks again and UTV

[runetune]

General

I hold a season card for North stand lower. I took my wife who is registered disabled to the West Ham game, the ticket office told me there were no disabled seating available. My wife can walk short distances but has difficulty going up and down stairs so I 'upgraded' my seat to lower trinity for £17 and paid £35 for my wife (total £52).

However. since then a fellow season ticket holder told me that because I went as my wifes carer, I should not have paid £17 extra for my seat as disabled carers go free.

General, please can you clarify this point and is there anything I can do ???

Your help is much appreciated Sir - Thank You.

General, hope you don't mind me jumping in here. You shouldn't have paid for being your wifes carer..... and I've a funny feeling you've paid too much for your wife's ticket as well. I can't remember the exact scale of ticket pricing for the disabled, and I don't know what grade game the WH one was, but I do believe that the highest disabled ticket is £30. I'd suggest contacting Shelia Maybury (she does have a direct line, which I cannot get to atm, but you should be given it via the main switchboard). Shelia is the Disabled Supporters officer, and she has helped me in the past with similar problems.

Hope this helps.

[NASTY_LEE]

General,

Could you please explain the rationale for taking down the big screen and not putting it back up? As mentioned, parts of the ground cannot see the remaining screen and it makes no sense whatsoever to have taken down the other screen. Thanks

[parisvilla]

Evening General,

When are the talks scheduled with Maradona? :winkold:

[villabromsgrove]

General, as a huge admirer of James Milner I have a bad feeling about today. When Man C make the inevitable phone call can Randy please tell them to clear off and never darken our doorway again?

After their poor performance on saturday I'm sure they now realise just how much they need James, but so do we! He's still our player, we still have time to retain his services and build our team around him for the next few seasons.

I understand the extreme pressure that City's prolonged and unwanted attention has put both JM and Villa under, but I still pray for a miracle however unlikely that may now be.

Finally, whatever the outcome of this sad and disappointing episode can we publicly tell Man City's representatives that we will not do business with them again until such time as they learn to treat other clubs and players (including their own) with proper respect.

Edit: In view of the breaking news my post is now irrelevent, it's a very sad day for me but life goes on. As ever, UTV!

[steve_avfc]

RUNETUNE

Many thanks for your advice - a good insight - appreciated.

I will see what the General clarifies and if he can assist

[davidplatt7]

hi general i was just wondering how fabian delph is coming along in his rehabilitation?also now with the milner deal pretty much wrapped up will any of the transfer money be used to try and add to the squad this transfer window?thanks alot randy and yourself are both doing a fine job at this club