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The General's thread - do not respond to other posts!


TrentVilla

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Hi General

I have renewed two season tickets for the forthcoming season. Included in the deal is free AVTV. Very good indeed, however on AVTV at present is an interview with Ron Saunders. I am reluctant to buy AVTV when my ST's are to be delivered shortly and I presume, my free AVTV code.

Will the interview be left on the site for everyone to watch?

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General,

How is the club going to remedy the loss in season ticket sales?

And....

In the current bout of belt tightening, do you think it is fair that the club expect hard pressed fans to carry on spending money to watch a relegation scrap, or mid table challenge?

And

After the sale of Ashley, and the likely departure of Downing. What is the club going to do to hang on to players like Darren Bent?

And

Will all the Ashley money go to Alec Mcleish?

And

If not, why not?

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General, I'd like to congratulate the club on having the superior mascot in the upcoming Asia trophy.

Whilst I don't understand why a Lion is being perma-struck by lightning, our mascot is far superior to Chelsea's bearded beer-gutted darts playing Lion and Blackburn's dog that appears to have an extra chromosome or two.

Our boy must also be double brick-hard to take Batman's utility belt from him.

0,,10265~9714171,00.jpg

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General,

I know you won't admit it but if you don't secretly believe that Villa have made the biggest mistake in a long time by appointing Alex McLeish and that our ambition as a club has fallen in the 5 years since Randy took charge then I despair of the people at the top.

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General,

firstly, hope your are well and working hard!

1) Where are you? Lets be having you!

delia_smith_norwich.jpg

2) Any news on the home shirt release?

3) Been anywhere nice for your hols?

Cheers

UTV!

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General I hope you and your family are well.

I would just like to say that as someone who will support the current board and the new manager (at least for the next 12 months) i am deeply worried by the way we seem to be going about our buisness.

I have no doubt that Randy has nothing but good intentions for Aston Villa. Unfortunately it seems he is being advised very very poorly by the people he has chosen to have around him.

I think you will be shocked at how low our attendences are going to be next season. We have just had a relegation battle, lost our best player, seem about to lose our next best player, have just signed a manager not a single fan wanted at the club, and all this in the midst of a financial crisis which is still hitting the everyday bloke very hard indeed. It seems commerical suicide to do what we have done recently, and no-one can understand the thinking behind it. Randy im afraid to say is listening to the wrong people it seems and has undone all the good faith he has built up.

I will back the new manager 100% as he deserves a chance. Unfortunately i will be doing it from home as i havent renewed my season ticket. Thats not my own choice though, as the pal i go along with doesnt want to renew, partly because of money worries, and partly due to Mcleish. Im not going to travel to and sit at games on my own so i havent renewed either. From asking around it seems i am but one of many who wont be renewing, backed up it seems by the constant almost desperate calls i seem to be getting from the ticket office asking if i will be renewing.

I think Randy and yourself have misjudged the feelings of the average football fan these days. The majority of fans who dont support a Man Utd or a Chelsea are rapidly losing love for the game and are no longer prepared to shell out the ridiculous sums needed to follow your team these days. To make a decision like Randy has in signing Mcleish, at a time like this, seems utter madness, an own goal on the commerical side and deserves some sort of explanation?

I was genuinely shocked to see no sign of Randy at the Mcleish press conference. He should have been there, sitting next to the man he has brought to the club, and explaining his thinking to the fans. Instead he has hidden away. And im afraid it now just looks to the fans like he hides away so he doesnt get put on the spot and asked difficult questions. It was a poor show from Randy and its lowered my opinion of him. Im aware he likes to stay in the background and not be talking to the press every 5 minutes, but he seems to have taken it to the extreme, and it isnt reflecting well on him at all.

For us to get to where we want to be we need to be super sharp when it comes to transfers, player contracts etc. We need to maxmise every single pound we have. We need to combine a great youth set up, with a well respected managerial setup that can identify and sign young inexpensive talent from all corners of the globe. I dont feel we have that with Mcleish, and from what I understand our scouting system is an absolute joke compared to nearly every other club in the premier league. We seem naive and sloppy when it comes to negotiating contracts or dealing with other clubs. Basically the whole operation just seems very amateurish currently when viewed from the outside looking in.

That may be a poor and unfair description, but its the image that the board are currently projecting to the fans. The image i have is of Randy delegating the buisness side to Mr Faulkner, the playing side to Mcleish and then sitting back and letting them get on with it, while taking advice on big decision from the likes of Graham Taylor who has been out of touch with the modern game for almost 20 years now. Its seems almost like he doesnt want the responsibilty, and it worrys me that the future of our club is currently in the hands of a CEO and manager who have done little to warrant such complete faith in their abilitys and complete trust and backing to run things as they see fit. We need him to be more hands on, and get better advisors on board. Unfortunately it seems to be going in the opposite direction.

Anyway enough of my rambling, id like to ask

1. How worried are you at the likely drop in attendances next season? And how are the season ticket renewals stacking up so far compared to average

2. Do you agree that the fans have a right to expect some sort of communication from Randy, particularly after the nightmare 12 months we have just had. Can you appreciate why his current approach of avoiding the fans and press altogether is being interpreted by some fans as either a lack of balls, or he simply isnt bothered what we think? Can you understand why some of the stories coming out of Villa Park (as an example, the turnaround on Steve McClarens interview due to fan pressure then the signing of McCleish) have got the fans completely baffled?

3. Do you agree that having a world class & world wide scouting system is essential to us having any form of success, do you agree it has been an area that needs massive improvement under the new manager?

4. Is or has Randy looked for people to come in and invest in the club as a partner, or thought about the club to be re-floated on the stock exchange? What plans do we have to increase the revenue or the financial muscle we have behind us to compete with the best in the league.

I hope this post doesnt come across as too harsh as i have alot of respect for what Randy has done for the club on the whole. But its just the current strategy seems very reactive and his line of thinking isnt clear at all (i.e the stated need to urgently cut costs, O'Neil walking out over supposed lack of funds and then the signing of a 24 million pound striker?) and is giving the impression of Randy being either very badly advised, or very unsure on how to take the club any further.

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General,

This board is all rhetoric and no "actions", we may not of liked what we heard from Doug but at least we did, it's about Randy spoke to us too.

Yours,

A former believer.

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Hi General,

Now that things have been settled with regards to the manager and the sponsor, I was hoping to possibly re-ignite the possibly of Aston Villa getting involved with the banner that I have designed? It has proven popular on here, Twitter and with Ian Taylor, so I think this could really help - along with the Holte and North Stand banners and the Lower Holter Villa flag - to build the atmosphere pre-kick off, if this was hung across either the Doug Ellis or (preferably) the Trinity Road Stand.

DIDNOTCHOOSEBANNER7-1-1.jpg

http://tinyurl.com/3gewzw7

Thanks General, hoping to hear back from you soon!

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Dear General

This has probably been posted on numerous occassions, and gets repeated year on year... however I would appreciate a comment as to whether you think the prices of Replica shirts are a fair price.

For Example... I have a 3 & 5 year old... who I would love to deck out in replica kits... however I am absolutely astounded to find out how much it will cost me to kit them both out in the 2011/12 kit.... £46.95 each (including their name and number on the shirt)

Do you consider these prices to be value for money... or do you agree with me that this is excessive pricing...?

Either way, my kids will not be wearing Villa Kits as these prices are a complete rip off.... and yes, I am aware that the market is also charging similar amounts for other shirtsd... however I had hoped (blindly) that we would look to encourage our junior fans to wear the shirt...

Would appreciate your views.

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Hi General,

Out of all the premier league clubs Aston Villa are the ones who start their preseason training off last.

Arsenal - July 5 The Gunners squad return to training on Tuesday, before embarking on an Asian tour which starts with a game against a Malaysian XI on July 13. It remains to be seen whether Cesc Fabregas will link up with his team-mates should he still be an Arsenal player next week.

Aston Villa - July 8 Alex McLeish will meet with his squad next Friday for the first time since his controversial move from Birmingham. Villa have confirmed an away friendly against near-neighbours Walsall for July 21.

Blackburn - July 2 Rovers start training tomorrow - a few days earlier than most of their Premier League counterparts. They travel to Hong Kong at the end of the month to take part in the Barclays Asia Trophy alongside Aston Villa and Chelsea.

Bolton - July 4 Owen Coyle's players are due to report back on Monday before jetting out to the USA for a three-match tour starting on July 14 against Tampa Bay. They host Levante at the Reebok eight days before starting their league campaign at Loftus Road against promoted QPR.

Chelsea - July 6 Andre Villas-Boas is expected to impose a strict new disciplinary regime when he introduces himself to his players on Wednesday. A friendly against Vitesse Arnhem had been arranged for just three days later but the new boss has cancelled this match as he deemed it to be too soon.

Everton - July 4 The Toffees also begin their pre-season on Monday and will travel to play Bury on July 15 before two games in America against MLS opposition. After playing Birmingham at St Andrew's on July 30, they have no fixtures scheduled for the two weeks prior to their league opener, which is away to Tottenham.

Fulham With most Premier League players still on the beach, Fulham played their first competitive match of the campaign last night as they beat Faroe Islands minnows NSI Runavik 3-0 in a Europa League qualifier. The Cottagers had their first training season a week earlier, having only had a month off.

Liverpool - July 4 Kenny Dalglish's players are due to report to Melwood on Monday, but Lucas Leiva, Luis Suarez, Emiliano Insua and Maxi Rodriguez will spend most of the month in Argentina playing in the Copa America. Andy Carroll has already resumed training as he tries to regain full fitness.

Manchester City - July 4 City will play in the impressively titled Herbalife World Football Challenge in July, playing matches in the US against Club America of Mexico and David Beckham's LA Galaxy. Manchester United are also involved in the event, but the two English sides will not play each other.

Manchester United - July 4 The champions will commence preparations to defend their crown on Monday. They fly out for their US tour a week later and will finish their pre-season in a Community Shield clash with neighbours City on August 7.

Newcastle - July 4 The Magpies are yet another team who will travel Stateside later this month. Alan Pardew's men will be put through their paces for the first time on Monday and will use the pre-season to determine their new captain - and new number 9.

Norwich - July 4 The promoted Canaries will fly to Germany for a pre-season training camp in mid-month and will complete their preparations for the big kick-off with a glamour home fixture against Italian side Parma.

QPR - July 4 Despite furious speculation, the Hoops have assured fans that manager Neil Warnock will continue to lead the team once they return to the training ground next week. The Premier League new boys will play all seven of their pre-season matches away from Loftus Road.

Stoke - July 7 The Potters squad will fly out to their annual training camp in Austria just a day after the start of their pre-season. Boss Tony Pulis will lead his side in Europe for the first time when they play the first leg of a Europa League qualifier on July 28.

Sunderland - July 6 Steve Bruce's men will meet up at the brilliantly-named Academy of Light on Wednesday. The Black Cats make the short trip south to York on July 13 for their opening warm-up game.

Swansea - July 4 Ahead of their first-ever Premier League season, the Swans are following the example of the majority of their rivals and starting pre-season work on Monday. They will play Spain's Real Betis at the Liberty Stadium on August 6 - a week before their first league fixture.

Tottenham - July 6 Chairman Daniel Levy is expected to hold talks with Chelsea target Luka Modric when he returns to training, along with the rest of the squad, on Wednesday. Spurs fly to South Africa for games against Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in the middle of the month.

West Brom - July 4 Midfielder Simon Cox reported back early this week as he fights to establish himself as a first-team regular. Boss Roy Hodgson will take his Baggies on a 12-day tour of the US that will include three friendlies.

Wigan - July 7 Latics fans will be delighted that manager Roberto Martinez will be back at work along with his first-team squad on Thursday, having spurned the advances of Aston Villa this summer. Wigan host Villarreal on August 7, six days before kicking their league campaign off at home to Norwich.

Wolves - July 4 Wanderers will play five away friendlies before concluding their pre-season schedule against Spain's Real Zaragoza at Molineux on August 6. Defender Ronald Zubar is hoping to be fit in time for the start of pre-season training on Monday.

The Mirror

Why does it look like most clubs will be back 4 days before us, Blackburn who we play towards the end of the month will be back 6 days before us, yet we need this preseason training more than most teams.

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Just reading on the bbc web site about Spurs applying for a "grant" to redevelop their ground although the article mentions the regional growth fund which I believed is expensive debt funding?

If it is a grant, I would find this really frustrating as they are a club that is able to spend millions on transfers and wages and already have a commercial proposition. I don't see why they should be given public money to support such a business venture and I would expect the other clubs competing with Spuds to echo this sentiment and make a formal complaint?

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Welcome back General,

We didn't know you were on holiday until one of the Mods pointed it out.

How did your holiday go anyway?

We've been waiting around as fans do waiting for any news from the club....We've had none, are we going to expect any in the next week do you think?

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General Krulak here:

1. I guess I can't take a vacation now??? Somehow I am dodging the Fans?? Simply put, I said I was going to be off the site for the 4th of July Holiday (Independence Day) and I have been off the site. The truth is, not much has changed since I left the site...people are still angry at the choice of our Manager, people still question the owner who, over the years, has supported the Club and Manager to the hilt, people still comment on transfer rumors that appear in the papers, etc. etc. etc. We even have people who question the start date of our practices...because other Clubs are starting "earlier."

2. Let's start at the beginning. Randy has not turned into an ogre in a period of two months. He is the same man who purchased the Club years ago. The same man who put money into the Club (players) and the infrastructure. If we all can just step back from the emotions of the past couple of months and the strain of last season and look at the actions of Randy and his support of the Club, I think we will all agree that he hasn't changed. He has NEVER put the Club second...his spending should put that to rest if anyone really looks at it.

3. To indicate that Randy went after Bent as an act of desperation is just not true. To be totally honest, we had been looking at Bent for sometime...certainly before things went down hill last season.

4. Ashley Young. A fine player who made it abundantly clear that he wanted out. We got the price we were asking and we sold. This happens all the time in the Premiership. It signals NOTHING.

5. Downing. Again, a fine player who has two years remaining on his contract. Why are we having to debate whether he is going to be with us or not? You have heard NOTHING from the Club about him leaving. All you have heard is what is in the media. You want us to get into a debate with rumors???? For the millionth time, we just are NOT going to do that. That is not what we do.

6. I am back on the site but I must confess that I think that people are so disenchanted that I doubt if we can really get much accomplished. As always, I will try to be as honest as I can...and present the Fan's opinions up the line...but I am not sure how much faith anyone has in what I am trying to do for the Club and the Fans and if that is the case, then I don't want to waste your time or mine. I am willing to give it a go but only if its truly is valuable to you, the Fans, and to the Club. The ONLY reason I came on this site so many years and posts ago was to help the Club and the Fans.

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Hi General,

This isn't a direct transfer question, but can you confirm that Randy will be backing Alex McLeish in the transfer market? All we hear from the media (the media, I know), is that we have no money and McLeish won't even get to spend all of the Ashley Young money.

Many thanks

UTV

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Welcome back General!

The emotions have died down recently and although I'm not happy we chose McLeish, I will give him a chance. I do have one question though.

I'm not going toquestion you about transfer targets obviously but we have now sold our star player this summer. The Stewart Downing link has gathered more pace only due to Downing's comments whilst on England duty and so people are assuming that we will sell, it's only natural. But now we have sold Young and have a new manager, will Randy Lerner continue to back his manager in the transfer market like he has previously? Alex McLeish will need a lot of funds to replace Young, Milner (who we still haven't replaced), strengthen what was one of the worst defences in the Premiership last year and IF he does leave, Stewart Downing.

It's a simple question, will McLeish be backed in the market like Martin O'Neill and Houllier have been? Or is McLeish talking about the future UEFA financial rulings a clue that Randy wants to stop spending and the manager won't be backed as much as the fans would like to see?

Thanks

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5. Downing. Again, a fine player who has two years remaining on his contract. Why are we having to debate whether he is going to be with us or not? You have heard NOTHING from the Club about him leaving. All you have heard is what is in the media. You want us to get into a debate with rumors???? For the millionth time, we just are NOT going to do that. That is not what we do.

General, the only time we would hear from the club if Downing were leaving is on the day the club and Downing would accept a deal, just like Ashley Young, we heard on the day he left from the club.

As for you being away for the 4th of July it's only the 3rd of July today....So I assume now you will be taking your break?

I personally don't remember reading that you were going off the site for a holiday, not that it matters much as you have other commitments now with the college.

Will we hear any news from the club this week, any news which will give us fans a lift?

The only thing that's keeping Villa fans smiling atm is what is happening over at Small Heath.

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General, I think most of us really appreciate what you try to do via the forums and I would be sad to see it end.

AM is now the manager and I think most of us will support him and wish him all the best. Likewise most of us have faith in Randy despite not being in agreement with the choice of manager. I was critical at the time but I would be delighted to eat my words and I'm sure others are in the same boat.

My real question is why the Board put previous Premier League experience so high on the criteria for a prospective manager - can you comment on this?

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