jimgriff Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hi General, Hope you and yours are well. I was just having a look online at tomorrow's The Times newspaper, and there is an article in which Martin Samuel (who wins a lot of sportswriter awards btw) commends Aston Villa for being the lone Premier League dissenter in a recent meeting about allowing players to be loaned between Premier League clubs. His main point is that it undermines the integrity of the league by allowing 3rd party influences over clubs. TheTimes. (As you're quite clearly a very busy man, here is the paragraph mentioning us) "Technically, there is nothing to stop an elite club placing the talented young players from outside their first-team squad throughout the league, like booby traps. The potential problems are clear and Scudamore has argued against the loan system for several years (he made a similar speech at the 2007 annual meeting, too). Put to the vote again this year, however, he was defeated by 18 to one, with Chelsea not present (Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, had left at the end of the first day). Aston Villa were the only club who saw sense and put what was best for football above self-interest, although even their attitude may have changed had the naysayers' vote been taken first and Villa's representative had realised that he was going to be in a minority of one." This struck me as interesting, seeing as we have taken advantage of the system obviously this year with Scott Carson. I understand that details of Premier League meetings etc are probably governed by confidentiality obligations, but I was just wondering if you were able to elucidate a little on why Villa voted against this, and maybe why you think it was only us against it. Anyhow, as this is my first post here I just wanted to thank you personally for the time and effort you take to bring us all closer to the club, and to all the team (especially Randy!) at AVFC for the manner in which you've given us back our faith in the club and that a top-flight club can behave with integrity and succeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dogz_Danglies Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Dear General, A Little token of appreciation to the Americans who came and restored pride in our beloved football club. Hope you like it. A larger version and a couple of the team, present and past, can be found by following the links below. American Gothic Creation of Adam The Last Supper If it's in any way possible for you to forward "The Creation of Adam" to Olaf I would be very much indebted as I am sure he would appreciate the sentiment portrayed if not the less than ample "tackle" - Michelangelo's fault not mine. All the best for the future, CK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I feel ashamed for not knowing this but "what is the name of the song that the players walk out to ?" Being a season ticket holder, I should bow my head in shame but hey ho. sorry guys. Also sorry to answer for the General but the song you may be referring to is called Club Foot by Kasabian. Well that's the one the crazy lions dance to as the players run on to the pitch anyway General, I also love the idea of the Villa "Pride" lager - pure genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadoftrinity Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Hi General I will repost this one, you may have missed it due to the barrarge of questions about Gareth Barry, I would be grateful if you could answer. Before the home games, especially on a Saturday at 3pm, why dont you show, and even advertise showing the game that is a kick off at 12.45? Surely this would help generate income by getting people into the ground early other than going to the local pub to watch the game. I know that part of the game is shown, however, myself and some friends went to the ground early to watch Man U v Arsenal a while back, at 1-1 at the game was switched off in the concorse after 70 minutes and just advertising was shown which has happened on a couple of occasions, and all the advertising was of the company that provide the entertainment on the screens, promoting how they supply the content to other clubs in the Premier League, whats the point in that? I think that showing Sky/Setanta game is a good way to get people to go to the ground early, and therefore creating more revenue for the club. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. You will start reading many rumours of players and offers, etc. etc. As I have said before, they are only rumours....when we have nailed someone down, we will immediately let you know. 2. The Suffering Villa: Nice logo!!! Probably would sell well at Villa park. 3. AVTV: If I have not been specific enough on this question, it is because we are still working the various issues. obviously, we want it to work with a Mac...but equally important, we want it to be a value proposition. We have work to do. 4. The_Dogs_Danglies: You, mate, have too much spare time on your hands!!!!!! 5. roadoftrinity: I believe I did answer your question. At the macro level, we do want to bring folks to the Park early and have them enjoy themselves before the game...and after the game. This is what happens at Football Games in the US. Of course, at the US we have large car parks where tailgate parties, etc. can take place. We are currently spending quite a bit of time trying to see what can be done at Villa Park. You raise the issue of TV. Again, we have a problem. We have contracts with advertisers that cause us to meet certain pre-game time slots. Again, we are looking at the cost/benefit of having such contracts. Your question does not have a simple answer or we would have fixed it right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Dogz_Danglies Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Unfortunately so General... it's the curse of the mild insomniac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvillian Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. You will start reading many rumours of players and offers, etc. etc. As I have said before, they are only rumours....when we have nailed someone down, we will immediately let you know I assume this will be done on the official website, like was done with the acorns deal!!As you can imagine behind the great story that it was, to be told by Richard Scudamore that he welcomed the "rumour"(cause at the time thats all it was), was abit of a let down. It wasn't for another couple of hours that we were "immedediately let known" on the OS .I taught this to be very unprofessional. So when a rumour is no longer a rumour and has become a "nailed someone down", do you have faith in the OS that this can be done in a professional manner that has flooded throughout the club since your comings and maximise the postive aspects of the deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerms Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 General K, Simply ,,, some of your replies on here are just award winning !! I suspect some of your 'Motivational' chats whilst you were serving were rather good as well !! I was wondering if you have seen the mobile phone footage from the xo of the boat that has recently bumped off the bottom,,,,,, he's a nice chap !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaEire Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 General, Just to let you know when I tried to pre-order the new kit with Villa Direct it said that I had no account (which Ihad) so I then tried to set up a new account. There is no option for Ireland in the drop down menu of countries. I cant put it down as UK because we dont have postcodes in Ireland and a postcode is a required field in the form. I will just have to wait for the kit to be sold in shops over here but I would have quite liked to get my hands on the free goodies!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 General krulak here: 1. tvillian: Obviously we have zero control over rumours...players or Acorns. As soon as we have a signing locked down and I can say something, I will post it on this thread....and will have the OS do likewise. 2. VillaEire: Give John Greenfield a call at the Villa Shop and let him know that you are having a problem...he will sort it for you. 3 I have not seen the mobile phone footage...always a bummer when you bang a boat of the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCresswell Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 General, How are the negotiations going between MON and Mrs Krulak - we she be signed for that right back position in time for the Intertoto?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaajax Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 The_Dogs_Danglies, I love the way you have put Barry in Judas' place in the Last Supper picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chief_hughesey Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 General, any chance to a reply to my query? Regarding getting the new Villa shirt in america when they come on sale? any idea of places along west coast? nike stores or malls whatever u guys call them? thank in advance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-savman Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 C'mon General stop teasing us and gizza look at the new home kit!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramshackler Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 General can i just bring your attention to some appalling customer service i received at the club shop villa village. the website told us we could pre-order the shirts ONLY by going into the club shop (this was before they were available online) i went all the way into villa village to do this, but the manager simply replied nah mate not yet. when i questioned him about what was said on the website he look disinterested, so i asked if he could please check this with someone as it definitley said this on the website and i have come all the way over specifically. he point blank refused to phone anybody until i threatened to complain, at which point he picked up the phone walked to the other end of the shop so i couldnt hear and pretended to have a conversation with someone that lasted less than 30 seconds, came back and told me no it wasnt available turned his back and walked off! i then went into new street and ordered it no problem! this despite the person he was supposed to of been calling being the new street store! to say i was furious to say the least was an understatement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jones1328 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Hi General, on the official Odense BK website they have stated that if they face us in the Intertoto Cup, ticket prices for the game at Villa Park will be £20 for adults and £12 for kids and over 65's. Is it possible for you to confirm this? Thanks, Gareth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccadooby Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 General can i just bring your attention to some appalling customer service i received at the club shop villa village. the website told us we could pre-order the shirts ONLY by going into the club shop (this was before they were available online) i went all the way into villa village to do this, but the manager simply replied nah mate not yet. when i questioned him about what was said on the website he look disinterested, so i asked if he could please check this with someone as it definitley said this on the website and i have come all the way over specifically. he point blank refused to phone anybody until i threatened to complain, at which point he picked up the phone walked to the other end of the shop so i couldnt hear and pretended to have a conversation with someone that lasted less than 30 seconds, came back and told me no it wasnt available turned his back and walked off! i then went into new street and ordered it no problem! this despite the person he was supposed to of been calling being the new street store! to say i was furious to say the least was an understatement! Reading that has just made my blood boil - I despise people like that, whether what he was saying was true or not he didn't offer any courtesy by the sounds of it. Sounds like he didn't know what he was talking about anyway. Just to say General, I think most of us are aware this is becoming less common in recent times - used to be par for the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted June 19, 2008 Author Share Posted June 19, 2008 General Krulak here: 1. ramshackler: There is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for a fan/customer/anyone to be treated with such disrespect. The correct answer and explanation should have been readily available and, if not, should have been obtained w/o theatrics. I aplogize to you for what was obviously an unsatisfactory situation. I would ask that you call John Greenfield and explain to him what happened...let him know I asked for you to call him. Additionally, I will ask him to read your post. 2. I have done a good deal of research into the AVTV situation. There is no question that the content at this time of year is a bit "slower" than during the season. At the same time, AVTV will be the place to see the entire press conference for our new signings (yes, we will have new signings) and will offer exclusive interviews with the new players. We are currently working on highlighting the stuff going on behind the scenes with the Trinity Road project, new training pitches, etc. AVTV will be covering all games...Intertoto and (hopefully) UEFA games. As for the MacIntosh problem...you are absolutely correct....not compatible at present. We are working hard and fast to sort this out. As an aside, the OS is not intended to be a rumor mill. When we have a real announcement to make, it will be made. The Acorns is a case in point. The deal was known well before it was formally announced...it was in all the media. We could NOT put it on the OS because that would have violated our agreement with 32Red.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa_Boy Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Evening General, This is the first time that I have posted on this site so I thought I should start, as it seems most people do, by applauding all the good work that you and the rest of the AVFC team have been doing. Interestingly, it's the good work that you've been doing that has caused me to write this 'complaint'. I noticed today on the Official Site that the work on the new hospitality facilities for the Trinity Road Stand are well-advanced, which was good to see. However, I was somewhat concerned to read that whoever was responsible for producing the sign above the new Lounge has failed to include the most basic of punctuation. At the moment the Players' Lounge is missing its apostrophe, and therefore simply doesn't make sense - I'm sure that AVFC didn't mean the sign to simply tell us that players lounge?! Now, I'm sure that some will tell me that this is nit-picking pedantry, but in an age when educational standards are plummeting, and at a time when you and your colleagues are going to great lengths to restore an image of class and professionalism, could I ask you to put some of your undoubted influence behind a move to change it. It would be sad if our new, flagship facilities remained a testament to poor English. Thanks for your help! General, I know you've been busy with countless people asking about transfers (and not noticing that you are only able to give the same response each time), but have you had an opportunity to look into the point that I raised a little while ago? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas_Mike Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 General, any chance to a reply to my query? Regarding getting the new Villa shirt in america when they come on sale? any idea of places along west coast? nike stores or malls whatever u guys call them? thank in advance... Just shop here. I seem to think it was free shipping http://www.worldsoccershop.com/shop-by-team-aston-villa-fc.html Sorry to answer for the General but it was where I purchased mine from last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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