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

[b6bloke]

General for me it is not so much him being BCFC it is the justification of his credentials.

2 relegations

No history of bringing through youth

a jammy goal cup win

Negative football

poor buys

and scottish football is nothing but league 2

General I do warn you that every perosn on here knows that representatives of Villa were in Corsica last week before he resigned, open and shut case for tapping up = £5.5 million compensation and you will no longer be able to come on here and claim we do things by the book.

Randy built up a reputation that we did things by the book and had the club at heart, that is now gone.

I am not going to say I wont renew as i support Aston Villa but I dont have to support you, the board or a man whos appointment shows YOUR ambition

YOUR OUTCOME IS YOUR TRUE INTENTION

[The_Rev]

Dear General.

WTF??

Yours,

The_Rev

[R.I.C.O.]

General,

If you appoint McTosser as manager I will be boycotting the club until your sorry circus has sold up and left. That includes all merchandise, tickets and interest. I'm sure there is a local non-league club round these parts that needs the money and that doesnt treat their fans with such contempt.

Shame on you.

[Don_Simon]

Hi General,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying your day. I was having a lovely day in the sunshine until I read the Boards most recent statement.

There is a delicious irony to the fans absolute last choice manager possibly being appointed on your watch. When you first arrived on the forums, I thought it was fantastic! A real opportunity for the fans to have their ideas, opinions and values expressed to someone who really matters at the club, something that would never in a bajillion years have happened under the previous regime. Fast forward five years, and probably the one time that the fans have begged you to listen, you wave them away like a mosquito thats a mild irritant as evidenced in todays statement.

I understand fully that money the club makes from merchandise, season ticket sales and the occasional pint of warm beer at the holte end kiosk isnt what keeps the club ticking. TV money does, (and dare i remind you Mr Mcleish has thus far lost his previous team two lots of this income). Yet what really keeps us ticking, is our values, that we're AVFC.

Champions League football has probably never been further away; we actively give up cup competitions these days instead of at least trying to win and our best players leave on a yearly basis. So its our values that keeps us obsessed with AVFC and these values are even more important than ever in what seems a closed shop in the Premier League. This (possible) appointment will trample on those values and alienate the fans even more than financial constraints, Arab Billionaires and messers Barry / Milner / Downing already have.

Take it easy General, sorry for my ramble.

Simon Faulkner (not a relation to Paul).

[Bebbo75]

General,

Could i please forward my son - Harley, aged 5, for the job of one of your 'advisors' when we next need a manager?

Despite his young age, as a season ticket holder and someone who watches every game he can on TV (be it Man U, Barca, 1860 Munich or Yeovil) he knows the game very well and has developed a vast football knowledge and will only charge 2 packs of Match Attax and a Fab lolly..

I've not had the heart to tell him that your considering AM yet, not cause we are anti Blues as we live in Cheshire, so dont get caught up too much in that, but just because he really wont understand why and how do i explain that one??

It will be an absolute disgrace if we appoint him General. If this is the best our board could come up with then god help us.

People have been taking the piss for the last 2 weeks about the trash we've been linked with and I laughed it off saying that Aston Villa FC's board would pull something good off..... General, if this happens, i was very wrong to trust you.

On the plus side though, Mrs Bebbinton will be very happy, she'll have her Husband and 2 Sons back at weekends after many years, and with the money we save from 3 season tickets and attending 90% of away games, a nice holiday of her choice

[RunRickyRun]

General,

I renewed before we were safe (May 13th) because I had total and utter faith in Randy and the board - even had the worst happened and we were relegated.

Then you do this.

If a a manager who has suffered relegation 2 out the 3 seasons he has been a Premier League manager makes our shorlist and is interviewed, it shows me just how poor our recruitment process has been.

[Holtender_in_Sky]

Doug Ellis is an old man - some would say doddering old fool. He was a cantacarous old git but I tell you what despite the lack of investment he was always accused of, he would never have done this - never in a million zillion years would this have crossed his mind. Shall I tell you why? He loved that club - he loved it dearly. He still does. A proper fan - a bloke from Birmingham who knew what this club meant to our fans - he made mistakes - he made absolutely loads of them and the fans detested him for it. But he would never have done this to us.

[Harry]

Hi General, just thought you might want to see what I have just posted on the Next Manager thread.

I don't give a monkey's that AM managed Blues, its just that I think he is a shit manager who is miles below the level we should be aiming for. The only conclusion is that we are incapable of attracting anyone better.

Forget the club he managed what matters is he managed to get them relegated twice in three years and I don't think he actually had too bad a group of players to work with. He was given money whilst he bought some excellent players like Dann but he also bought some total shite. That cannot be blamed on the Board.

Appointing AM (and don't think it won't happen as there seem to be no other candidates in the frame) tells all our players, our fans and transfer targets the level of our ambition which is pretty much just to exist in the Premier League. And that my fellow Villans is exactly where Ellis had us.

Proud History yes, Bright Future? No chance.

Make a note of 14 June as this is where our dreams ended. I've already my renewed my season tickets at a cost of £1,040 and I would have done whoever is appointed manager. Beyond that I can't see myself supporting the club, for me support works both ways.

Maybe just maybe AM will be a huge success but I think its a huge gamble by the club. A cheap cheap solution that betrays our total lack of ambition.

In my opinion this whole process has been nothing short of a complete shambles. And trust me my job means I know all about senior level recruitment and how boards should operate. As I said a complete shambles. Still the mosaics look very pretty.

[LeafyVilla]

General, Ive been supporting the Villa for 31 years although I'm actually 39 years old and live just over 120 Miles from Villa Park in Watford, it has long been an ambition of mine to one day raise a son as a Villa fan and take him with me to Villa park and to dress him in a Villa kit, my son is 3 now and this season I really wanted to bring him to Villa and get him his first ever Villa kit ( I did order one last year but cancelled due to the long delay, afterall I couldnt dress a then 2 year old in a football kit in the winter could I), in my 31 years a Villa fan I have witnessed so real highs & lows but nothing as low as I'm feeling right now at the prospect of even giving McLeish an interview, how the hell can the board give this man an interview and not Mark Hughes is beyond me, I know you can't be seen to bow to fan pressure but I really can't believe Randy would be so stupid as to not realise this is not the done thing, so my question is this, who is the bright spark who is choosing the potential new manager, is it Randy or is it Faulkner or both ? I honestly believe the fans will stay away in there thousands if McLeish is appointed an I will be one of them, and as much as it pains me to say this, my boy will never get a chance to wear a Villa kit or visit Villa Park as I'd rather drive 2 miles down the road and introduce him to Watford F.C than keep on doing 240 mile round trips to Villa.

[jackbauer24]

DOUG ELLIS brought us the League Cup in 94 and 96.

RANDY LERNER has brought us nothing but 'nearly' and now McLeish.

How have you managed to become less popular than Ellis, despite all his faults, in such a short time? This isn't going to go away, however much time you give it.

MISTAKES ARE ONE THING. CONTEMPT IS SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY.

[birdistheword]

Hi general, do you know how to actually play the game of football? (not soccer, football) Appointing McClown will show me you don't.

[QuintonK6]

General - For all his faults Mr Ellis would never have done this to us.. Why, because you Yanks are passing ships and Mr Ellis Is Villa through and through.

I'd like to share this picture with you Gen.

It's a view from the North Stand that the remaining supporters will see on matchdays.

Any thoughts before you sign off this message board forever ?

[steaknchips]

Did Rijkaard really show interest in the job?

[mykeyb]

The politest way I can put this is is foolish.

If Randy really has such little regard for money he can chuck a few grand in my direction because it will be mere peanuts when compared to the millions he is going to lose in the next 12 months.

Never let it be said he wasn't warned either

[brummybloke]

General

Do the club have a target for season ticket sales for the coming season?

do we have some sort of figures on what the renewals are like at the moment and have we had many returns of tickets yet?

and lastly

how much will the club lose per home game if under 25,000 fans attend each home game and people dont bother buying any merchandise , food or drink?

many thanks

Brummybloke

[webby1982]

General,

Embarassed, ashamed, disgusted, angry, disappointed, frustrated,ridiculed that is how I feel about my club at the moment.

I honestly do not believe that you are even considering HIM for our club. It also appears by the club statement that we have spoken to him or his rep as it states something like "not supported by his board".

The facts without mentioning his link to the dark side.

3rd biggest net spend

3 seasons in Premiership.. 2 seasons relegated and he did have 5 months to get them out of it in his 1st season.

His own fans stated that he plays dire football, a mile away from what Gerard was tying to achieve.

The board mentions premiership experience Sam Alladyce, Martin Jol, Mark Hughes, even Rafa were all available and have better records.

The board mentions young and ambitious, Owen Coyle, Gus Poyet.

These are without the fans choice of Davie Moyes

Can the board confirm that the revenue figures for 2011-12 if he is appointed have allowed for gates of 25,000, merchandise sales at an all time low ( yet another cock up as no sponsor and the away strip due out end of June)?

Do the board consider that a Facebook campaign which has nearly 13,000 signed up since Sunday apposed to him joining irrelevant?

What do the likes of Darren Bent and Stuart Downing think when the potential next manager is so opposed to? Why stay in a couldron?

The board are playing a very dangerous game going against the fans like they are. Civil War is on the horizon General

[Pilchard]

General,

What the hell are you still doing on the fan sites? Why are you and the club pretending to care about what the fans think, want or even prentending that you are listening to us? Because you aren't.

The statement on the official website completely misses the point.

We don't want McCleish because he is a terrible manager. The fact that he comes from Birmingham City is irrelevant

Putting it simply. We had a terrible season last year, and finished ninth. That's actually McCleish's best ever season.

You are breaking the trust that you have with the Villa fans. You are doing it in full knowledge of what you are doing. This is all your own fault. Don't come on here moaning about lack of ticket sales and explain this is why we can't spend money on players. You have chosen this.

Perhaps you can explain what makes this man such a great fit to out club. Is it that he brings through youth? No, it can't be that. Is it his excellence in the transfer market? No, it can't be that. Is it the ability to grind out results when they are needed? No it can't be that.

It's all very well wanting Premiership experience. But when two of the three and a half seasons he's had in the Premiership has ended in relegation, don't you think that the experience he's had shows that he's crap? Or the experience he spent in the Championship, when he nearly got sacked because he struggled to get the team promoted.

You have alienated fans from the club because you want the cheap option. It's going to be even more costly when the fans stay away, if he doesn't manage to finish above his oh so brilliant 9th place finish.

McCleish is not welcome at Aston Villa.

[diand]

General

I am sorry that a few people on this thread are drifting into personal abuse. We are above that. I have read the official statement this evening and am very shocked indeed. However, I still hold on to the belief that the Board know what they are doing, both in terms of football and Villa as a business. With that in mind, I look forward to the Board's strategy coming to fruition over the coming couple of weeks and appreciate the current statement is purely part of a bigger picture.

[atalbot01]

Dear General

It is with a heavy heart, and great regret that I wish to give notice of my intention to terminate my support for you and the board.

Due to the contempt in which you and the Chairman have treated my colleagues and I over the last few weeks, I feel I have no other option but to watch events unfold at the once great Villa Park from afar.

Under normal circumstances I would offer my best wishes to you and the business, but due to the lack of mutual respect shown by the board I regret I cannot wish you luck. I sincerely hope that you and your colleagues depart from my beloved club and leave it to real football people who don't proport to listen and act on fans feedback.

Yours

A Talbot

[jamesvilla]

Today's statement is a big f... you to the fans. Unless you act quick and do the right thing, you're going to look very foolish when 99% of the fans are ultimately proved right and the board were wrong!

The naivety shown by the board this summer has caused you all considerable embarrassment.

You're clearly out of your depth.