bubbadog Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General, I am somewhat confused by the regulations surrounding drinks at VP, not alcohol, just fizzy pop! I had a long discussion with a senior steward last night (Doug Ellis Lower), I asked him why we still insist on removing the top from every bottle of pop sold at the ground when we do nothing about people bringing in their own bottles, we also do nothing about the many people who bring their own flasks of hot drinks in (surely the glass inside a standard thermos flask could make these far more dangerous than a plastic bottle with a cap on?) On numerous occasions over the years I have had coke spilled on my shoes as people enthusiastically celebrate a goal and capless coke bottles are knocked over! The steward last night confirmed that they are under instructions to do nothing about people with flasks and that they have no right to remove bottle caps from people who have brought in their own bottles. If this is true why on earth do we still insist on removing caps from bottles sold at VP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avillafan.com Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General, Firstly, a good turn out considering the conditions last night. 39k isnt bad, specially when boro probably brought about 100 down. Well done to all those promoting the game. Secondly, i along with many other Aston Villa fans are getting increasingly sick of the same old chants at Villa Park. Now, for this to work i believe the club and the fans need to work together. You will always get around 50 lads in the Holte End or in various pubs before matchdays singing old and new chants. Yet soon as your in the ground they get drowned out by songs about our rivals all the time. On the internet, two villa websites for example (Villatalk: http://www.villatalk.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=27592 and my site: http://www.avillafan.com/fanzone/chants.php ) have loads and loads of chants. So i was thinking, maybe villa could get some cardboard holdups, maybe a big villa badge or something like that, like they do with the England flag at england games but on the back of them, print some chants of. Print some on the main website, maybe even in the claret and blue magazine. Is there anyway this could happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrissmith921 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General In the age of doing everything to save the planet etc and all that hippy lark (I dont believe in Global Warming, but hey, thats another issue) as well as surging fuel prices, have Villa ever considered a lift-share spot on the website etc? What I mean is if I'm driving up from Cardiff, I've got 3 spaces for the Sunderland game - perhaps it would be good for me to be able to log into the site, post up my details which acts as a central point for anyone who needs a lift up etc? This would probably be more beneficial to supporters living outside of Birmingham but would it would be very useful. There have been times where I've wanted to go to games and eventually given up because £30 fuel plus ticket plus food etc etc it adds up, but sharing a lift up with someone would have swayed my decision. I dont know how viable it is but I think it would be really, really useful. Obvious information required would be contact details, when leaving (time), when returning (time), what game going to and where leaving from... Cheers General Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant(aka_eddy) Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hi General, hope you're well and still enjoying things! I imagine by now you may be looking forward to a bit of a rest in the summer! I am hoping you can provide us with a bit of an inight with regards to the players views on atmosphere. It is occassionally mentioned in match reports and so on that the players commented to one another about how good the atmosphere was. Now each player may have their own preferences, but what is it specifically that best helps them perform? Breaking down the components of 'an excellent atmosphere' would give the following options; 1 - Chanting during pre-match build up. 2 - General noise levels pre-match. 3 - Particularly noisy reception as players enter onto the pitch. 4 - Individual player chants - Both warm up and during the game. 5 - Aggressive (within reason) attitude towards opponents. 6 - Cheering long passing moves. 7 - Constant chanting such as 'Martin O'Neill Claret and Blue Army (repeat)' to fill quieter moments. 8 - Anti-blues songs 9 - Contesting referee decisions. 10 - Songs aimed at opposition fans. Please resist the temptation to say all of the above! If I had to guess at a couple that would make the biggest difference it would be numbers 4 & 6. We obviously cant always 'force' a great atmosphere, often it just happens based on the game as much as the occassion, but if the most of the players loved having their own individual chants or us cheering passing moves ,then maybe that's something that could be worked upon. Cheers. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General, I am somewhat confused by the regulations surrounding drinks at VP, not alcohol, just fizzy pop! I had a long discussion with a senior steward last night (Doug Ellis Lower), I asked him why we still insist on removing the top from every bottle of pop sold at the ground when we do nothing about people bringing in their own bottles, we also do nothing about the many people who bring their own flasks of hot drinks in (surely the glass inside a standard thermos flask could make these far more dangerous than a plastic bottle with a cap on?) On numerous occasions over the years I have had coke spilled on my shoes as people enthusiastically celebrate a goal and capless coke bottles are knocked over! The steward last night confirmed that they are under instructions to do nothing about people with flasks and that they have no right to remove bottle caps from people who have brought in their own bottles. If this is true why on earth do we still insist on removing caps from bottles sold at VP? Funny I have come to this thread to bring exactly the same point up. As a father of a 7 year old that come with 2 other dads and their kids of the same age, this is an absolute nightmare for us! It sounds petty but we never ever go a match without at least one of the kids knocking their drink over. We have got to the point where we try to make sure they have finished their drink before we go up so that the kids don't ruin everyone elses enjoyment however a bottle of drink is enough to last a seven year old the whole game! It's a ridiculous rule and should be changed as soon as possible in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmygreaves Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Sounds a bit tight this but why don't you just take a few bottle tops with you the match.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromsgrove_avfc Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Sounds a bit tight this but why don't you just take a few bottle tops with you the match.............. Because: a) I never really buy bottles outside the ground I shouldn't have to c) I'd forget to bring them if I did manage to get them My point is are they really that much of a health and safety problem? What about the risk of people slipping over in the puddles of spilt drinks? The worlds gone crazy when the ban bottle tops bought on the premises but allow big heavy metal flasks that would do a lot more damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. First off, not a good showing yesterday. I had to get the game over the net but it was obvious that we did not play well. I then spoke with people at the Club and they said the same thing. I would imagine that MON had a pretty tough talk with the Squad. We now need to get a helluva winning streak going. 2. brummybloke: good idea...and you are right, it would be great fun for the children. I will see what others think of the idea. Just need to be careful re. crowd control and that no one gets hurt as the mill about. 3. bubbadog: Re. caps. The answer is probably clear to everyone...whether accepted or not. I would imagine the answer has to do with safety. At some time, bottles w/caps were thrown out on the Pitch....so w/o caps, the bottles might not be quite so heavy when the arrive at their target. I would imagine that is the argument for the caps. As for bottles that are brought to the stadium...not much the stewards can do about that. I confess, the whole thing seems a wee bit unbalanced and I will ask why it is done...but I imagine the answer will come back that it is a safety issue. 4. avillafan.com: As I have said before about chants and songs....I just don't think it should be up to the Club to choose the chants or the songs...we shouldn't be placed in a position of telling the fans what to sing. If someone wanted to establish chants and look for assistance in getting them "out", then I think the Club could and would help. 5. Lift/share spot on web site. I will see what people at Club think. Might be just as easy to set up on fan sites too. 6. Grant(aka_eddy): In talking with the players, chants/songs aimed at 1-4 are very helpful. The players are not that keen on chants that "dis" the other team or fans...simply because that has a tendency to "fire up" the other squad and their supporters. The Squad would much prefer our fans directing their cheers to our Team vice slamming the other team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V111AFC Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General, My Carlsberg tasted like chocolate when i bought one before the game against middlesboro. Use all your years of service to figure out an explanation for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaceydeaceyaggro Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General Krulak here: 4. avillafan.com: As I have said before about chants and songs....I just don't think it should be up to the Club to choose the chants or the songs...we shouldn't be placed in a position of telling the fans what to sing. If someone wanted to establish chants and look for assistance in getting them "out", then I think the Club could and would help. Spot on Chuck. Chants and songs are the FANS job, not the club's. The day when the atmosphere at Villa Park is artificially engineered by the club and not the fans will be a very sad one for our club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 General, yet another positive article in the Evening Mail about Barry visiting Acorns in Walsall. We are seeing more of this great kind of stuff and it really binds us to the local community, something I know Randy is keen on. A fundraising idea however. Why don't you put a voluntary pound on every programe or pint sold and forward the proceeds to the acorns, shhould raise a fair bit like that. there is no other cause more worthy than Acorns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hev Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Regarding bottle tops - couldn't agree more, the number of times either mine has got knocked over and run all over my bag which I put under the seat. Also, not all grounds I've been to remove the tops either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. I can assure you that ACORNS is in the forefront of Randy and everyone else's mind at Villa Park. They deal with conditions that each and everyone of us can understand and have a heart to help. You would be surprised at Randy's dedication to this charity and how strongly he feels about the work that they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salsa Party Animal Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Can you inform us what charity the club support and do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Hi General, Not a major concern compared to most on here but I don't suppose you ever found that photo of the two of us and some of the players did you? I'd really like a copy if you know where it might be found, but I realise this is unlikely. Keep up the good work. Paddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefdoc2000 Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Well as you have said in the past the 39th game was only a proposal, today we find out that it is a no go. So all the panic was for nothing really, maybe a few apologies are in order, hmmmm? not one to say I told you so but ... I haven't had much to say in awhile, but I am reading all posts as are you!!! I personally think the overseas thing won't happen, to many objections by FIFA not to mention the fans, as we can see. I for one agree they should not move from England. A totally unfair proposal that may work to our advantage, but very well may be to our major disadvantage, not worth it at all. Keep it up. :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. We support many charities but...ACORNS is our primary focus. Obviously not a day goes by that we aren't asked to support one good cause or another and we must be careful how we handle these requests. We have stated many times that our Charity of choice...the one we have dedicated ourselves to supporting...is ACORNS. 2, Paddy: I am not sure where the photos are...I will check when I get over to UK this coming week. 3. chefdoc2000: Take a peek at what I said too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewieGriffin Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 ACORNS is such a fantastic charity, and its excellent work from the board to be so vocally supportive - gives us some fantastic press whilst highlighting the work done by ACORNS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefdoc2000 Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I know what you said too General I was backing you up; the apologies that I was asking for were for you! Keep up the good work. Got to win today, hopefully when you read this we will have done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanddonya Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Gen Its a kind of moan sorry..... (you said it wouldn't be long after Newcastle) 10yrs ago Villa were top of the league, flying going into Feb. (no transfer window then)!!. We had everything, apart from a quality ball playing midfielder. We agreed a fee with Juninho. The most skillful player of the time. At the ;ast minute (due to Ellis) the deal fell through - the club was left deflated - we hardly won a game all year - finished 10th, never recovered, Gregory was sacked and it just spiralled downwards. Now, in Jan. we had the best chance to re-establish ourselves since that time, and for some reason only known to Randy and MON - we didn't do it. And what has happened, we have played appallingly every game apart from Arsenal (and yes, we won 4-1 against Newcastle - but only after an appalling first half) Now - it's happened, we can't do anything now apart from ride this bad patch out. But PLEASE !!!! , Please - do not do the same mistake we did before !!!!. In the summer, we MUST buy quality - and not one, but probably 7 or 8 quality players. I am so blinking frustrated we got ourselves into such a good position, to just throw it away - and sorry, if MON turns around and says "8 quality players would cost 80 million and we haven't got that money - then if he had bought two each window - it wouldn't have to be spent at one go would it. Frustrated - but in Jan - I was realistically looking top 4 - now, I am realistically looking at 10th - as Pompey, Man City, Blackburn and West Ham are now within one win of us. 4th would have been a dream, 8th would be acceptable - 10th (after 11th last year) will be major under-achievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts