roger_moore Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi General - can you let us know what the timescales are for the stadium developmnent review? This guy who joined from Wembley, has been here for about 4 months now, just wanted to know when you would expect to be communicating plans..if there are any plans - I am guessing it will not be too long as we need 55k capacity for 2012 Olympics? You and the management team are all doing a fantastic job General - I hope to shake your hand and thank you personally at some point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.I.C.O. Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. My sense is that there can be very little progress without exploration. This mantra is very refreshing on the whole but in the specific case of this overseas game idea, I assure you General that the only thing that will be found by this "exploration" is a can of worms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. Honest to goodness, this is simply not one to start a "moan" thread on!! Come on gang...NO ONE is saying yes to anything because NOTHING has been proposed. Obviously the League understands better than anyone that the integrity of the Premiership and the scoring and the tables and the fans are CRITICAL!!! I can assure you that Randy understands. I cannot believe that the League hasn't "explored" other things that have NOT come to fruition. Please do not make this the latest furor and uproar...because I can promise you, I will not play! The League is not going to play "Sepuku" with its reputation, its integrity, or how and when the standings are finally established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuse Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. Honest to goodness, this is simply not one to start a "moan" thread on!! Come on gang...NO ONE is saying yes to anything because NOTHING has been proposed. Obviously the League understands better than anyone that the integrity of the Premiership and the scoring and the tables and the fans are CRITICAL!!! I can assure you that Randy understands. I cannot believe that the League hasn't "explored" other things that have NOT come to fruition. Please do not make this the latest furor and uproar...because I can promise you, I will not play! The League is not going to play "Sepuku" with its reputation, its integrity, or how and when the standings are finally established. General, Richard Scudamore of the Prem League has just been interviewed on SKY and he is convinced this is going to go ahead. SO if the Chief Exec of the Prem is convinced what are we to believe? As for 'us fans' not making this the latest uproar and you threatening to not play I think that goes against your 'thick and thin' comment on communication. Frankly if we can't communicate on something as big a subject as this then we are not getting the full benefit of having you here. I am astonished that you don't understand why we would make a big deal of this, no matter if it is at exploration stage or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salsa Party Animal Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 If we have to play one league game aboard. Will Randy use Cleveland Browns Stadium to host an oversea game between Aston Villa and another team ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis_B Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, further to what Fuse refers to this is Scudamores quotes on our Official Site.......looks to me like a more or less done deal Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, said: "We are proud the Barclays Premier League is viewed as the strongest domestic football competition in the world by fans at home and abroad, and we are committed to maintaining this position. "The 'international round' is an exciting and innovative proposal that needs careful consideration before being introduced. However, this concept recognises the truly global appeal of the Barclays Premier League whilst understanding that the traditions of the English game have always underpinned our success. "We believe that an 'international round' of matches will enhance the strength of the Barclays Premier League as a competition; create extra interest in all 20 Premier League Clubs at home and abroad; and allow increased investment in talent development and acquisition, facilities as well as our football development and community programmes. "The globalisation of sport is both an opportunity and a challenge; one that needs addressing in a responsible way. We are a better competition for being a cosmopolitan league and have benefited from our increased international reach. "Nonetheless, it is critical we retain our English character by improving our efforts to produce home grown talent, deepening our commitment to community engagement and continuing our investment in the grass roots." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted February 7, 2008 Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. Honest to goodness, this is simply not one to start a "moan" thread on!! Come on gang...NO ONE is saying yes to anything because NOTHING has been proposed. Obviously the League understands better than anyone that the integrity of the Premiership and the scoring and the tables and the fans are CRITICAL!!! I can assure you that Randy understands. I cannot believe that the League hasn't "explored" other things that have NOT come to fruition. Please do not make this the latest furor and uproar...because I can promise you, I will not play! The League is not going to play "Sepuku" with its reputation, its integrity, or how and when the standings are finally established. Sorry, General, but I don't agree that nothing has been proposed. It has been proposed to look at adding an extra game to each team's fixtures, to be played abroad, with the ties to be drawn out of a hat. In the same way the league is looking at it (with a view to what? actually proceding, I presume, or else why bother) we as fans want to voice our disapproval of the CONCEPT. When you say you "will not play" that's fine. No one is having a go at you, or your communication with us, quite the opposite, but if this thread is to be of use to us, we have to be able to say what we think, respectfully. There are some people whose faith in the way the Premier league is run are perhaps not so, er, trusting as yourself. We're the ones who travel up and down the country at inconvenient times for us, at the behest of the TV fixture people, we're the ones who would see (or not see) our English League games be moved abroad. This move is clearly about "exploring" how much money could be made for the league. Is it likely to be profitable. It's not about sporting integrity. The fans who go to games contribute to the coffers of the league and the clubs, and we would, again, lose out. I believe it will be clear that fans of all clubs would be overwhelmingly opposed to what is potentially a massive move. To me at least this is a big issue. More important than pies or toilets or car parking or signage. Part of the "looking at" that the league will do needs to tke account of fans views on this, and this place is not such a bad place to start off voicing those views, whether supportive of or against the "idea". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villab0y Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Another game we can get drawn against man u in then... this is NOT a thread for discussing with other posters - it's for Q&A and comment for General Krulak. Blandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ricardomeister Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, I think this has to be 1 of the stupidest ideas ever and Villa must resist it. It is all about greed when football used to be a sport. The main beneficiaries will be the likes of Man United and Liverpool with all their glory hunting "fans". I see they will be seeded so they don't have to play each other! You can bet it will be fixed so that they get to play in the Far East for their glory hunters. Surely it is obvious to anybody with a modicum of intelligence how unfair it is. Imagine you have Villa in 6th place and Spurs in 7th place on level points going for the final UEFA Cup spot. We draw Man United and Spurs draw Derby. We lose, they win, we miss out because we had to play Man United three times. The same could happen to 2 teams fighting relegation. If we allow competitive games to be played in foreign countries then the next stage will be to turn the Premiership into a European or world super league. The greedy money men running football will see it will be much better to have the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Milan clubs in the league than Reading, Blackburn, Bolton etc...and maybe eventually even teams like Villa, as this will generate yet more money. The whole idea is crazy and will alienate the real fans in their hundreds of thousands around the country. Scudamore has shown how arrogant he is on many occasions so Randy and other chairmen should be telling him where to go. If the genuine fans are lost but more than made up for by people in the Far East then he (Scudamore) will not care as he and his cronies will be lining their own pockets. I have checked Villa forums, newspaper forums and other clubs' forums and a huge majority oppose this stupid idea. General, can we rest assured that Randy (and hopefully the other chairmen) puts sport and real fans over corporate greed?! UTV SOTC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cicottrell Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Please General, find me one Villa fan who thinks this is fair.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dundeevilla Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 This is the first time I've posted in your thread General - I've never felt as strongly about anything before to warrant bothering you. If this proposal goes ahead it will be the end of the game of football as we know it. If we didn't already suspect that the PL and its Sky Sports bedfellows exist mainly to service the cash cow that is the so-called Big 4, then now we have proof. This proposal is only on the table because they want to take the 'Big 4' clubs to the Far East to rake in the cash, and these clubs won't be drawn against each other to ensure that their will be as many games featuring them as possible, thus maximising revenue. If these unfair rules are invoked and games are played abroad then the league will become totally meaningless. This must never ever happen. For the sake of our beloved club and our national sport I hope Randy and Aston Villa will play a big part in opposing this utter abhorration of an idea. (While I'm on I'd like to thank Randy and all his staff for totally transforming Aston Villa. It's always been good to be a Villa fan, but it's even better with you guys in charge. You're a legend for answering our questions on here. [/brown-nosing]) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, I hope you feel all the anger and passion that is shown in this and listening to Scudamore today on radio 5 he is sounding like it is a done deal. He is crowing the fact all of the clubs have agreed to look at it further. the vast majority of fans see no validity at all on this proposal. At no point have the fans been given consideration to this and Scudamore did not say one thing that would help us. You and Randy are fully aware of the passion we feel about Villa and to see this on the OS A Villa spokesman said: "It is an exciting idea and it will be interesting to see how the initial proposal develops over time." makes me so mad and I am fuming at this and at the same time anyone from our club could call the idea exciting. I have posted in the thread about this that if this goes ahead I will give up my Season ticket and that is not an empty threat. you might be able to fill my seat but I don;t think I would be the only one. all we ask for is that you make Randy fully aware of how we all feel and that if the clubs true feelins and encapsulated in the official statement above I feel so sad. this post General says it all for me AVFC1874 wrote: I go every single home and away game, i have done for years and years. I can safely say if this goes ahead i will fully intend never to set foot in our ground again. I don't know if i could do it, i would defintely mean to though. I'm disillusioned enough with the whole "premier league experience" as it is - it's no longer about suppoting your club, having a laugh with your mates, travelling for hours on a poxy train to see them lose because you love the club so much.Nowadays its about replica shirts with a name on the back, overpriced food and drink, sponsorship of everything that moves, inconvenient kick off times without a thought for the fans, 4th place meaning more than a cup win, all seater stadiums where you can't swear, stand or generally lose yourself in the game, sky tv fans who comment on rubbish from Beckhams hair to Ashley Cole's missus, "lads" getting the Pizza in to watch "their team" on their new widescreen TV when they are only playing 100 miles up the road. In short it does my head in. I still go though every week as the club still feels like it belongs in part to me, i feel they care about me as a fan and i still think my presence makes a difference. The match day experience though isn't a patch on what it was even ten or twenty years ago, onlt the away days get anywhere near. If we go with this idea its selliing the soul of the club, accepting the dollar means more than the people, accepting that we follow a business not a football team. When this happens its game over for me. I'll still be there mind, a solitary voice protesting outside our claret and blue gates, still admiring the history that surrounds us and wondering where it all went wrong. WI dread to think what William McGregor would think now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 even contemplating this "idea" just shows how far the game has fallen due to people like scudamore being more interested in money than the actual football... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ricardomeister Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, I see that the "Villa spokesman" obviously believes in what he or she is saying so much that they want to remain anonymous! Or maybe they are just sensible enough to realise how many of us are opposed to this greed! UTV SOTC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myb Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I'm with everyone else I'm afraid General. A disgraceful idea and for me would be the last straw with premiership football. I think fans across the country would feel the same way and I'd hope there'd be a big enough fan movement to prevent this. Scudamore is a disgrace and has no time for the fans whatsoever. I really, really hope General that we could act as the beacon of light for fans. It may be a big ask but we don't have to be go along if we don't have to. Please let us be the ones who stand up against this and say no. It would do more for the good of our reputation than selling our soul abroad ever, ever could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiderDijon Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, you say nothing has been proposed but the Beeb are reporting that: An additional round of Premier League fixtures, extending the season to 39 games, from January 2011 Four clubs to travel to one of five host cities, with two games taking place in each venue over a weekend Cities would bid for the right to become a host, not for individual matches Points earned from the games would count towards the final Premier League table As Denis says this sounds like a done deal :? There is NO FAIR WAY these games can be brought into the league structure. I really hope Aston Villa Football Club stand up to this ridiculous proposal. Keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEAREVILLA Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 This is utterly disgusting. The idea is bad enough, but if the top five get seedings, I also will not visit a premiership ground again. Lets see how the foreign market likes watching our games on the box in empty stadiums. A total and utter joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr10 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General. Does it at times seem like 'you cannot win?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowandlow Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Bad, Bad, Bad, idea, pathetic, whoever agreed tothis in the club should do one immediately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gringo Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 General, I would be interested to know if this was the only proposal put forward. I tend to accept your outlook in that this is only a proposal to be investigated, and as such standing up saying no at this stage would place AVFC in an undesirable position whilst the power resides with other more forceful members; however a more slightly cycnical aspect of my character wonders if this is a softening up process where a more acceptable proposal where the golden chalice that is the league title is not so sullied is also available and may be offered as an alternative. As such are minutes of these meetings made available at all, so that the supporters could get an insight into the views of the different clubs. All the best Chuck, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts