Trinity-Tom Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Gen. a) quickly, just to say well done for putting Corscombe in his place. We are all frustrated at the moment with the lack of activity, but 99.9% of fans understand this is MON's way (I don't particularly agree with it but I'm not being paid about 1 million a year to do it am I ). here's to another week of hoping. onto my question - can you give us an update on the season ticket sales. Just seen the moses got 24,992 yesterday - think it would be funny if our season tickets were more than there attendance !! c) I've seen on the telly today the Sports Minister is looking into having meetings with clubs regarding the idea of safe terracing - what is the clubs viewpoint - and will we meet the minister. Surely if safe terracing comes back - it would make sense to re-do the North Stand with this included I understand that we have over 26k but it would be good to get an update from the General! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 General do you like cigars? or is that a common stereotype which is attached to most US Generals in movies they always seem to be smoking cigars hehe if you do what type do you smoke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villab0y Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 General do you like cigars? or is that a common stereotype which is attached to most US Generals in movies they always seem to be smoking cigars hehe if you do what type do you smoke For example... When we qualify for europe at the end of the season, it'll be Randy saying... " I love it when a plan comes together..". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bully Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 General, Whilst you are investigating the ST sales numbers could you find out how many tickets have been sold for the Fulham game? The Liverpool game was always gonna sell out, as will Chelsea, but this game should give us a better idea as to how far we have come in getting the missing fans back to VP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimthevillian Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Hi General. Thanks for your continued presence on this site and it shows the club's commitment to developing direct communication with the fans. I was wondering if the club is planning on developing its scouting network over the next few years? Looking around the Premiership Arsenal seem to have the best scouting network and I know that Wenger sees their role at the club as being very key to the club's whole ethos. He even has them all flown back from around the world if the club reaches a cup final which I think is great. Looking at the prices that we are allegedly being quoted for home grown talent it makes sense to me to cast the net as wide as possible. How many scouts do we employ at present? Is this number increasing? Also with the new training facilities what is the set up at our Academy currently like? I believe it is important to educate the whole player not just their football education as if they do not make it they have academic qualifications to fall back on, and if they do they are more rounded people, and better players as a result. Do we provide academic education for our youngsters? Is there any planned future investment in the academy system? Thanks for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaztonVilla Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Hi General, This is a genuine question because we never see or hear from the guy anymore, but how is Doug Ellis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V111AFC Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 General, Do Aston Villa have a wage cap? Can they only pay wages of up to 45,000 p/w to a player, e.g. Gareth Barry. If this is in fact the case, i seriously recommend the club rethinks the stance on wages as we are never going to move forward and attract 'big name signings' (Richard Fitzgerald). Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brommy Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 General, Do Aston Villa have a wage cap? Can they only pay wages of up to 45,000 p/w to a player, e.g. Gareth Barry. If this is in fact the case, i seriously recommend the club rethinks the stance on wages as we are never going to move forward and attract 'big name signings' (Richard Fitzgerald). Cheers With respect, the General has stated numerous times that signings and contract details are outside of his remit. Contract details are private for most players at most clubs. It is usually the media who 'guestimate' and/or exaggerate players salaries in the absence of the true facts. Who would have thought the UK media would be capable of that eh? :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1380 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Amazing isn't it - we are the only club in the league that has a Director of their club posting on numerous fan sites and we give the bloke a hard time!! Now my comments above may be controversial but the fans that are giving the General a hard time (the minority I would point out) should stop and think what life as a Villa fan was like under our previous owner. Had HDE been in charge we wouldn't even be thinking about further additions to the squad, we wouldn't have a fantastic old building renovated as the show piece to our stadium and there is absolutely no chance we would have one of the best Managers in the league. Now I know it doesn't seem like it's all a garden of roses on the transfer front but lets not forget all of the hard work and changes that have taken place over the past 12 months. I am the first to admit that I am concerned at the percieved lack of transfers but lets give MON time to prove that we are being active. And if we still want to moan about the lack of transfer - let's not give the General a hard time, I think he has proven over the past 12 months that not only is he unique in his approach to fans, he is a Villa fan!!! Can we please all adhere to the site policy of keeping this thread (uniquely) just for comments and questions directly for the General. The mods let all views good and bad and those in-between be put to General Krulak "unadulterated", whatever our own personal views. It's to keep the thread easier for people to find answers, whether questions have already been asked, and for GK to see new comments/questions with as little searching as possible. Thank you. Blandy Keep up the good work General!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardo Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 General, I have to compliment the club on a fine job that you are doing with the merchandising, even though some people arent too happy!! Never before have I seen such a large array of shirts available for sale over here in Ireland. I walked round the shops on Friday, just having a gander and was amazed to see the amount of Villa shirts on sale. Every shop had a range of sizes. This makes a change to struggling to find a single Villa shirt in Ireland this time last season. Fair Play!!! A Happy Irishman!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V111AFC Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Yes general! The Availability of the Aston villa shirt is incredible. You can go to nearly any store and find it now. Forward such an opinion onto Richard, he deserves praise for this. I will never be as proud to wear my Aston villa shirt around the streets of Cardiff as i will in the coming weeks! Up The Villa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 General Krulak here: 1. Back from the Mountains! I regret to say that I did not find Bin Laden so I have failed all the readers on Villa Talk. 2. Uncle_junior: I cannot promise that we have totally solved the Away Fan issue BUT we have absolutely zero'd in on it and the stewards will be MUCH MORE aggressive in controlling them. My rationale for saying I can't promise perfection is that some creep will always find a way to get in and cause trouble. The issue we are working hard at is 1) keeping the obvious problems out of our areas and 2) stewards being "proactive" vice reactive. 3. Bully: We are very aware of the smoking in the loos. Again, the is an area where the stewards just need to be proactive. John Handley and Tony Diffley are both aware of this as a major issue and will be shutting it down. Randy calls me General, not Chuck. 4. Currently there is no free printing on shirts for Season Ticket holders. I have asked Richard to look into this issue. 5. If we are asked to meet re. safe terracing, we will meet. There is no question that terracing would bring back a certain environment that is missing now. The issue is "safe" and the execution of such an effort. 6. I do not smoke. I use to smoke cigarettes and cigars in my "youth"...but stopped when I was in my late 20's. I confess that even to this day, while drinking coffee after a big supper, I think about a quick smoke. Quitting is hard...but it beats cancer. 7. We do have a scouting system...and some very talented scouts. Since I am not aware of the intricacies of other Club's systems, I would be less than honest if I said ours were the same. Our Academy is top quality. The Academy is located at Bodymoor Heath in the new facility. It has classrooms for the lads, fully computerized and state of the art. There are waiting rooms for parents and a very fine dining facility. YOUR Club recognizes that it is more than just developing footballers (but that is very important), it is also developing minds. 8. Doug Ellis. I spoke to Doug during the Inter game...he was in Greece. My sense is that he is doing fine mentally but is a bit frail physically. No matter how people feel about the man, I do know that he loves The Villa and will always love The Villa. 9. There is absolutely NO wage cap. I have posted a comment on an editorial listed on the opening page of this site that addresses this issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYSTERYMAN Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 General , I have pmd you re the banners and realise your pm box must be full of questions just wanted to make sure you are aware of the two others in production and that you have the people in place who can look after them for match day use . Trust me they look awesome and will assist in what we are all trying to achieve . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM2033 Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 General, Being as this is the first Sat 3pm home game, and our only one at this time for a while, what is the expected turn out? I predict around 37,000, even though its only Fulham we should get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salsa Party Animal Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Lovely and have you had any feedback from Doug Ellis after 12 months in charge. Did he like all the changes so far ? I think our academy is very good, but we need to improve on development on wingers, full back, goalkeepers and creative midfielders. we are good development for central defenders and fast strikers. Let hope with our reputation, quality Academy and Randy's money will help to recruit higher quality of young players. I would like to see Aston Villa to try to sign Juan Roman Riquelme (assuming Martin O'Neill like him). As I think he will be a World Class player can be used to encourage other World Class players come to Villa Park Like Ruud Gulllitt at Chelsea. Anyway what is your role in MBA Europe ? and how many jobs do you have ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V111AFC Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 I agree with the above post! Although Martin O neill knows a lot more about the world of football than me, would it be possible general to pass on a message to sign 'Juan Roman Riquelme'. I know it isnt your remit, but you get the chance to speak to 'God' and a big name signing like this will really get villa going again!? Will you be at the Wrexham game on Tuesday night general? or is this the attractive fixture you will be missing?! Upthevilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickmeister Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 General, if you are looking for Bin Laden you should try the Birmingham City trophy room...nobody has ever been in there so it has to be a good place for him to hide! UTV SOTC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGoodman Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Bin Laden would fit right in down Small Heath way........Anyway, I have a quick question regarding Nike. Does the relative lateness of the Nike deal mean we will not see a full range of leisure wear until next season? or can we expect to see some new products during this season? PS in 'Jarhead', would you have let Swofford take the shot at the airbase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabby15 Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 General, saw you were into wrestling when in school a bit earlier in the thread & just wondered if you knew or had heard of Bobby Lashley? A former armed forces man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimthevillian Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Thanks for the reply re: scouting and youth academy. (1) The youth system sounds very good from what you say and what I have read elsewhere, which is promising for the future of the club. (2) As for the scouting system I was wondering if we have scouts permanently based around the world? This is what Arsene Wenger once stated about his scouting system: "By having scouts in every country which has good potential to develop football players of top quality and by being in touch with them always, having a lot of assessments and working very hard. Our scouts are highly motivated, there are a lot of people inside the clubs who don't get the praise but our scouting team is absolutely fantastic. We choose quality people all over Europe and all over the world. I wanted that system and put it together as soon as I arrived, with [Chief Scout] Steve Rowley because I felt that the continuity inside the club depends on the level you have with your young players." I am sure MON has his own ideas about how he wants to set-up and develop his scouting system and I really don't know how ours compares. But I do hope we have or are looking to base scouts around the world, it would seem a small cost when compared to the price of signing players. (3) Do we have any plans on developing more feeder clubs around the world. Am I right in thinking we have a link-up with Walsall at present? Do we have plans to spread this further afield? To some of the hot-spots of football talent such as Holland? Or perhaps with your own and Randy's links to the USA? thanks again. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts