General Krulak (No Transfer Questions allowed)

[beasley]

Is this the finished press conference area General? I liked the photos on the walls but aren't there usually adverts like post match interviews?

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. Press Conference was late due to issue with other Club.

2. New Press Conference area will be "up to snuff" in new Training Ground.

3. Comment about "secrets" was in answer to someone talking about new kit.

4. Season Ticket update: 21,870 as of today...compared to 11,493 at same time last year. 7,230 are considered "new."

[pablopicasso]

excellent news about the season tickets...

that shows general, that even though you may have a few people complaining on the internet, the overall fanbase is pleased and excited about the way the club is being run...

not surprised about the shammers holding things up.. they are the ultimate unprofessionals...

hardly surprising when they are run by humpty dumpty...

[TrentVilla]

Thanks general - The season tickets sales are a great improvement on last season - although have to say I'm a bit surprised that they aren't higher. Hope we can get up to 30'000

[Gizmo]

Thanks general - The season tickets sales are a great improvement on last season - although have to say I'm a bit surprised that they aren't higher. Hope we can get up to 30'000

To be fair, it's not far off the best we've ever had. Not bad considering the lack of signings thus far.

[MYSTERYMAN]

General ,

I understand Alison has put forward a business proposal to Mr Lerner regarding the Holte Hotel today , just hope that it will still mean its open to match day people as opposed to the corporates ?

Anyway now onto PROJECT VILLA PARK FORTESS

I am in the Park Suite for the Liverpool game taking a few customers and we will be sitting on the balcony seats for those that don't know its the second corner balcony in the Trinity Road next to the Holte End .

Would you or the stadium people consider a banner being put in the Park Suite the length of it in that wouldn't drape over the people below but basiccally cover the length and width of the balcony .

I am prepared to pay for the banner not expecting the Villa to pay and quite prepared for either the Villa powers to be to ok the design or throw it open to people on here for suggestions on what they would like on it . I have emailed Alison Plant to arrange a meeting to discuss it but want your thoughts first please . I also won't be sitting there all season its a one off but the banner could be put out taken in after each game by the stewards . As I say I will foot the bill ! just want your thoughts on it please .

First suggestion was to make it like the scarfes handed out at the Sheff Utd game would also need the ok to use the official Villa badge .

Another was from one we had done for the 94 final which said simply ' TOTAL VILLA ' which is how me and my group of mates talk about Villa it sums up how we feel but open to ideas .

[jasthevillan]

General sir,

can we please get to see the training pitches at the new facility? As a footballer that's what excited me the most

I was told on my tour of the training ground that the new pitches would not be ready for the start of this season, not sure exactly when they will be.

[Rocafella]

I was told on my tour of the training ground that the new pitches would not be ready for the start of this season, not sure exactly when they will be.

What - are you kidding me? That is very, very poor in my opinion. Do you have any idea why? Thanks for the answer btw.

[OutByEaster?]

4. Season Ticket update: 21,870 as of today...compared to 11,493 at same time last year. 7,230 are considered "new."

Fantastic news General, still plenty of time to go and we've already sold more than half of the tickets that will be available at Villa Park this season !

[ianrobo1]

to say the record is 24k, we are well on course to smash it

General are you still hoping for 25k or has the target been revised upwards bearing in mind we all expect many more quality signings

[paulanddonya]

Gen

Great news on tickets, I think you said before we had 19k odd last year, if we have already got 7k new ones, coupled with the fact I can't see many people not renewing we must be guarenteed 26k and probably looking at between 28-30k

You must have friends in very high places - give a few shirts out to the influencial guys and we can have a game of spotting the american celeb. in the villa shirt comp. !!

One serious thing though Gen if i could - with the upsurge of season tickets and the fact I really do think we have a chance at a cup comp. next year (just going on the fact we are very hard to beat and would've prob. gone a long way this season if we hadn't got Chelsea and Man U - even before the strengthening of now).

I am sure other fans will be thinking the same. I have been a season ticket holder since 1983 and went for the 6yrs before that, and supported us through thick and thin, even renewing when DOL and DE were still in charge - I would be bloody devestated if we got the cup final and I didn't get a ticket - and someone who only got one this year, thinking the good times are back - did !!. Can this be discussed by the ticket office well beforehand so , hopefully come April next year we won't have to panic.

It's a credit to you lot that Villa fans have never had to think of this problem before !!!

[avsteve]

Thats a good point Gen. I too would be gutted if I missed out

[TrentVilla]

General,

As it seems the board are working hard to raise the profile of the club I was just wondering if there were any plans to try and cash in on our famous followers?

If rumours are true we can count on the new home secretary Jacqui Smith as one of ours then there is your fellow across the pond convert Tom Hanks who I'm led to believe has selected us as his team. Then of course there is the obvious Prince William connection - just think of the press we'd get if we could get him sitting in the directors box for a couple of games.

[Mrsmith]

I too would be gutted if I missed out

Its something I often thought about in the past should the situation have ever risen.It is a catch 22 situation for the club,probably not disimilar to the selling off of the £200 season tickets in as much that however they were sold,someone would have been disapointed.

My own feeling is that you should not have more rights over someone for example who is 18,just out of college & a first time season ticket holder.Everybody who purchases a season ticket should be treated equaly & everything should start on an even keel at the begining of each season.You could have a situation where a 20 year old has followed Villa home and away all season and been to every cup game.You could have someone who has held a season ticket for 30 years,not been away since Wembley 2000 and not seen any of the cup ties,why should he have priority over the 20 year old who has clearly been more comitted during the cup season?

Just my opinion - as I said,its catch 22 but I can't see it being a good sales pitch to attract new season ticket holders to the club - "yes you can have a season ticket by all means,that will be £475 please, oh and by the way if we get to Wembley, you won't be guaranteed a cup final ticket like some season ticket holders will.

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. Training Pitches: We need to go back a bit....when we arrived on the scene, there was no "new" training facility. There was a partially built shell that was not being worked on at all. There were no plans to put in new Pitches and no effort to make new pitches. Randy re-did the plans for the Facility, brought in world-class diagnostic equipment, put in multiple pools, built a world -class physio set up, etc. etc. He also added the indoor pitch and started the new pitches to go along with the new facility. New pitches do NOT grow overnight...and when the weather is as bad as it has been over the past month, things get even tougher. Bottom Line: There are no plans to be on new pitches this year and there never were such plans. The reality is that Randy and MON decided to put in new pitches...after the decision to go ahead with the new facility.

2. Tour shirt...I will see what I can do about getting some to the US.

3. Regarding the banner....I would go straight to Allison and see what she has to say. She will get to the right people.

4. By the time we get to the Cup Final, we will have sorted this out in the fairest way possible. Right now we are concentrating on tdhe start of the season and rolling on from there.

[trekka]

General Krulak here:

1. Training Pitches: We need to go back a bit....when we arrived on the scene, there was no "new" training facility. There was a partially built shell that was not being worked on at all. There were no plans to put in new Pitches and no effort to make new pitches. Randy re-did the plans for the Facility, brought in world-class diagnostic equipment, put in multiple pools, built a world -class physio set up, etc. etc. He also added the indoor pitch and started the new pitches to go along with the new facility. New pitches do NOT grow overnight...and when the weather is as bad as it has been over the past month, things get even tougher. Bottom Line: There are no plans to be on new pitches this year and there never were such plans. The reality is that Randy and MON decided to put in new pitches...after the decision to go ahead with the new facility.

Thanks General. I think most of us realise these things take time and it's better to get things right and take things steadily than to rush and get things wrong which would only need 'fixing' in a year or so. For that you have my thanks for the way you've told us honestly where things stand.

[dolalu]

Hi General,

Are we any further forward on things such as naming rights etc? it was mentioned that villa were in line to land a £100m sponsorship deal (newspaper talk i know!) from a number of deals with US based companies. Is this on the horizon, or another example of ;azy jornalism?

I know details would not be mentioned, but are we likely to land anything close to that?

I also feel that as a brand we need to try harder to break into new markets.

I live in Ireland and you would not believe the number of Sunderland shirts, DVD's, Car stickers etc just because of the keane, Quinn link. Villa has historically had a good irish core support and we have nothing in the local shops. How will we penetrate the brand outside of the UK?

[villanfromluton]

General

I was a season ticket holder from 1974 to 1986, through the good and bad.

I now live 80 miles away from the ground, but still go at every opportunity with my 14 year old lad. I phoned up about getting season tickets, but asked the lad if it would be possible for the club to sell tickets if we could not attend as my lad plays football on a Sunday afternoons and evenings are difficult with my work. He said there were things that may happen within the club to do this.

I rang the following week about the cheap tickets in the North Stand, would not have minded paying the £250 required and missed out on a few games. The girl who answered was quite abrupt and said I was talking nonsense about the club possibly having plans to sell tickets on. I could not get down to get the cheap tickets because of work, but am still interested in getting a season ticket.

Please can you tell me if there are things in place for the club to sell tickets on if you cannot make a game. My lad is really keen on us getting a season ticket, one of the few lads in Luton who wears a Villa shirt. Mr Lerner has one a great job for this club and long may it continue. Sorry if I have bored you, if you ever want to talk about the clubs history, I may be the man

[blandy]

I don't know whether this was covered for the people who were able to take advantage of the cheapest seats behind the Witton end goal, but it ocurred to me that for home cup games, (where the visitors are entitled to ask for 15% of capacity - 6000 ish tickets) it would be likely that segregation would mean clubs that take up that option would need to be allocated the old away end, plus the "new" away section in the Witton Lane stand upper and Lower tiers. Is that right?

If so - as a result, people who have season tickets in the witton end (North Stand lower tier) will not be able to buy their normal seats for cup games. So I wondered whether they know this (if I am correct) and if so, what alternatives, have been worked up?

Or have I got it wrong and there's a different plan?

[JulieB]

general krulak here:

1. paulanddonya: a very interesting "mix". again, i would love to see the idea of a song taken up by the Supporter's Group vice the leadership of the club dictating a song.

2. no situation room under the trinity but...lots of "old friends" who keep us posted.

Hi General,

With regard to the songs issue you mentioned a while ago that you were looking into this... is there any news with getting the club involved or would the club rather leave it to the supporters to sort out themselves due to not wishing to impose anything on the fans?

There's been some really good suggestions on the Utter chants and songs sticky as well as the recent thread about the song used for the players to run out to. I'm sure the other fan sites have some great ideas also.

Paulanddonya is quite right Nigel Kennedy is an amazing musician and Villa mad. Black Sabbath and a few others as well. I think it would be a pity if something can't be done if we had a bit of professional help.