General Krulak (No Transfer Questions allowed)

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. First off, EVERYONE at Villa Park understands that to have an effective Brand, World Wide, requires a winning Squad on the Pitch. It is amazing to me that we have even one fan who thinks we don't understand this foundation fact. BELIEVE ME, we do!!! We need to win, consistently, to have a Brand that "takes" world wide. YES!! At the same time, it is NOT that easy. You have to have distribution outlets, you need marketing, you need demographic analysis, you need revenue sources to allow you to achieve what is needed on the Pitch, etc. etc. We are not Chelsea! We are not going to go out and spend $100's of millions of pounds in one year to buy a Squad that may or may not last...and that certainly drives the Club deeply into debt. We took over a Club that had a dying infrastructure and a long way to go on the Pitch. We have a new Manager who is superb, we have brought in some quality players, we have strengthen the infrastructure, and we are continuing to improve all aspects of our operation...yes, we will even get some players before the end of the window!! Some fans want it all YESTERDAY...well, that has NEVER been the committment. Randy has always talked about a 5 year plan...and SO HAVE I. We want to build a lasting dynasty...a Club that your children can watch win 20 years from now. We want consistency and to achieve that, you need to "build." Give MON a chance for goodness sakes!!! Give Randy a chance!!

2. Multiple beer dispenser. I will check into that. Sounds good.

3. The team Mum is deeply involved in all aspects of player relocation and settlement. The fact that Maloney does not have a house does NOT mean that he can't find a house...it just means that he has not found the one he wants to buy. NEITHER HAVE I!!! And Randy just did. None of this means that we don't have a handle on the issue. It just means that Mr. Maloney has not found the place he wants to spend his money on....not real unusual.

4. Regarding the Holte Hotel. Please call Nicky Keye and explain the situation as it happened.

[SoccerHQ]

Chelsea tickets weren't being sold on the O/S when I checked the other day.

[Demitri_C]

any chance of seeing you, and randy in villa shirts general??

[DANNY_DYER]

General Krulak here:

1. First off, EVERYONE at Villa Park understands that to have an effective Brand, World Wide, requires a winning Squad on the Pitch. It is amazing to me that we have even one fan who thinks we don't understand this foundation fact. BELIEVE ME, we do!!! We need to win, consistently, to have a Brand that "takes" world wide. YES!! At the same time, it is NOT that easy. You have to have distribution outlets, you need marketing, you need demographic analysis, you need revenue sources to allow you to achieve what is needed on the Pitch, etc. etc. We are not Chelsea! We are not going to go out and spend $100's of millions of pounds in one year to buy a Squad that may or may not last...and that certainly drives the Club deeply into debt. We took over a Club that had a dying infrastructure and a long way to go on the Pitch. We have a new Manager who is superb, we have brought in some quality players, we have strengthen the infrastructure, and we are continuing to improve all aspects of our operation...yes, we will even get some players before the end of the window!! Some fans want it all YESTERDAY...well, that has NEVER been the committment. Randy has always talked about a 5 year plan...and SO HAVE I. We want to build a lasting dynasty...a Club that your children can watch win 20 years from now. We want consistency and to achieve that, you need to "build." Give MON a chance for goodness sakes!!! Give Randy a chance!!

2. Multiple beer dispenser. I will check into that. Sounds good.

3. The team Mum is deeply involved in all aspects of player relocation and settlement. The fact that Maloney does not have a house does NOT mean that he can't find a house...it just means that he has not found the one he wants to buy. NEITHER HAVE I!!! And Randy just did. None of this means that we don't have a handle on the issue. It just means that Mr. Maloney has not found the place he wants to spend his money on....not real unusual.

4. Regarding the Holte Hotel. Please call Nicky Keye and explain the situation as it happened.

General, we all appreciate the effort you and Randy and the board are putting in and we all know that we have the best people in charge, please don't let a few twerps distort that fact.

We are looking good and the changes ie re branding are building us a solid base.

I've just returned from the States General and they have gone Beckham mad I'm sure you'll agree, with yours and Randy's influence will America now more so than ever take on a greater significance for Aston Villa and if so what are we planning in the long term ?

[flashingqwerty]

Hi General,

sorry to be another one of 'those' people whojust come here to moan at you - i truely am!

But the fact that we come here to moan speaks volumes about how much you are valued and that

we know you will do everything in your power to help which no other club in the world has i'd wager!

Was trying to buy my new shirt for my birthday which is friday but to my dismay i cant get one

anywhere in Ireland (Galway) - not really surprised about this really. So i then asked my brother who

work for the club 'HOORAH!' to havea go and he could get a size bugger than a 48" chest.

Now i'm a fairly big chap as you may have guessed and in previous seasons - including last season - shirt

sizes went up to a 58" chest and had no bother getting a size. So i thought that was a bit funny so i

checked out the villadirect website and again to my dismay found that sizes dont go past XXL (48" chest).

Also have emailed the shop and had a response saying that sizes above this wont be available... is this

correct?

I appreciate that as you have said with the late deal being done maybe they are making the smaller sizes

first and the larger - less bought sizes later - which is fine. But to be old i cant get a shirt larger than 48"

is a bit outrageous TBH.

I truely hope this isnt the case and if you can offer any words of advice i would most appreciate it!

UTV

[cicottrell]

Hi

Just a small matter you may be interested in:

I was at the game on Saturday, having brought a ticket on the phone for the Doug Ellis Stand. I picked it up in the Holte Car Park just before, went to my seat and there was already someone sitting there! We compared tickets and both had exactly the same one! There was a spare seat next to his, so I sat there. Do you think it was just a ticketing cock up or did he have a fake? He didn't turn up in the second half so I wonder if he thought I'd rumbled him? I was sat with my brother and Dad, he was alone.

[Lion-heart]

General Krulak here:

2. Multiple beer dispenser. I will check into that. Sounds good.

Hi General, I really think these are a non starter I'm afraid. They take an incredible amount of space and we are not overly blessed with space behind the bars. Would need a total re-build in my opinion. I think lack of space is the real problem with the service.

Keep up the Great Work. The Faith will be Kept

[b6bloke]

Before we go onto the multiple beer dispenser lets see if the bottle bar works on sunday. I have a feeling this could be the thing that works.

Can i just say that a lot of us are on board with the 5 year plan General

[Mossa]

Firstly General, don't ever be surprised we have one fan who thinks something, never do that again, trust me, out there is a Villa Fan who thinks Birmingham City are the better club than us...With that I have no doubt, that "fan" is out there, and yes he genuinely believes he is Villa. However to raise the tone, our club has some of the best fans in the world, we have some of the best players in the world, we have one of the best managers in the world, we have one of the best Chairmen in the world, and in yourself we have a man at board room level willing to talk to us all on a regular basis. regardless of our opinions and beliefs as fans we have not experienced this before, and I can see you have to field many silly questions, and rightly you just ignore some, others don't deserve a reply but you still do, and others questions I see genuinely give you what you need to improve the club, hense you give serious consideration and reply. Ill give you one question and hopefully is sits within your area, When do you see us having the demand to re-develop the North Stand and upgrade the capacity, 1 year? 2,3?

[VillaInGreece]

Now i'm a fairly big chap as you may have guessed and in previous seasons - including last season - shirt

sizes went up to a 58" chest and had no bother getting a size. So i thought that was a bit funny so i

checked out the villadirect website and again to my dismay found that sizes dont go past XXL (48" chest).

Also have emailed the shop and had a response saying that sizes above this wont be available... is this

correct?

I appreciate that as you have said with the late deal being done maybe they are making the smaller sizes

first and the larger - less bought sizes later - which is fine. But to be old i cant get a shirt larger than 48"

is a bit outrageous TBH.

I truely hope this isnt the case and if you can offer any words of advice i would most appreciate it!

UTV

Hi General,

I am in the exact same situation regarding bigger sized tops. I buy a new shirt every season and sometimes a couple of training tops and a tshirt. This season I was really excited with the switch to nike only to find out that NOTHING in the range will fit.

What is going on? Is it due to the late deal? If this is the case and larger sizes will be available next season I will bite the bullet and wait but I really dont see it happening.

I really dont think there would be much problems selling the bigger shirts, they have always been available in the past and I see a hell of a lot of "big blokes" walking round VP on match days who must be in the same boat. I must be one of the few fans that wish we had not gone to nike.

[B6 to E6]

General,

At the Liverpool match I was asked to move so that a family who had been double booked could sit together.

i was reluctant to move because I am a season ticket holder who has had the same seat at the end of a row since the new trinity was built, but the steward made me feel like a pedantic arse for not wanting to move.

Turns out the kids in the family were about 20 and they did not talk to each other anyway.

How do I know that this will not happen again?

[Mossa]

post deleted. this thread is for questions/comments to GK, not for general chit chat. 's'in the site rules. Ta Blandy

[JohnGoodman]

General,

Does the club have a chaplain? I was very impressed by the chaplain of Everton, who talked a lot of sense following the terrible murder in Liverpool.

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. deko1970. I will look into this issue. It sounds like the Club did 99% of this correctly...and only missed on 1%. Not sure what the problem was but...I will take the 99% anytime.

2. Randy and I both have Villa shirts...and wear them often. Last time we were in London we went to a pub wearing our shirts...made for a lively time when the folks figured out who these "Yanks" were wearing the Villa shirt.

3. Yes, the states have taken to Becks....and here is why. He is playing every game and he is playing hard. As an example, he played here in the states, flew overseas to play with the England Squad and flew right back to play a game. Think about the time zones involved...5 across the pond and 3 across the states. This type of "guts ball" and dedication means a great deal to the US fan. Additionally, he is playing well.

4. I will meet with John Greenfield this weekend and check about the shirt sizes. I am not aware of a problem getting larger sizes but will know this weekend if there is an issue.

5. Again, I will be at Villa this weekend and will ask Nicky Keye about the double-booking issue...see if it is for real or whether we have to counterfeiting going on. If you want an answer before next week, go ahead and call Nicky...she will give you the scoop.

6. We are already working on the preliminary drawings for the North Stand and North end of Villa Park. My sense is that we are 3 years away.

7. The Club does not have a Chaplain.

8. Nice win!!

[TRL]

General!

Have you ever been to Norway? If you havent, how about bringing the team, Randy and yourself over for a training session

[MYSTERYMAN]

General ,

Re the banners its really created a good feeling and I think the vast majority of the fans welcome the banners it almost creates a bit of a bond between the fan and the club in a a way as the banners are personalised coming from the fan as opposed to the club . I have done my bit now with the three we have up but it seems to have snowballed where other fans are willing to do banners in keeping with the ones already up . I realise the club went through a whole rebranding and a lot of the adverts board hoardings have been replaced by the LED screens etc but just wanted to know if its still possible for more match day banners to go up . I understand that any further banners from the comments I have received from business Villa would have to ok them i.e ( Just touching on the banner subject, not meaning to sound like a party pooper as I think its great, but you need to make sure that anybody else planning on producing a banner to permanently put up at VP need to get the permission from the club first. They would need permission from Russell Jones (Head of Marketing) who will confirm it with Richard Fitzgerald (CEO ) .

Just wondered what your view was on it because some of the ideas for the banners are uplifting for the players and supprters as you can see from Ashley Youngs comments after the 12th man banner in the Holte End .

Regards MM

[thecraft]

General Krulak here:

1. First off, EVERYONE at Villa Park understands that to have an effective Brand, World Wide, requires a winning Squad on the Pitch. It is amazing to me that we have even one fan who thinks we don't understand this foundation fact. BELIEVE ME, we do!!! We need to win, consistently, to have a Brand that "takes" world wide. YES!! At the same time, it is NOT that easy. You have to have distribution outlets, you need marketing, you need demographic analysis, you need revenue sources to allow you to achieve what is needed on the Pitch, etc. etc. We are not Chelsea! We are not going to go out and spend $100's of millions of pounds in one year to buy a Squad that may or may not last...and that certainly drives the Club deeply into debt. We took over a Club that had a dying infrastructure and a long way to go on the Pitch. We have a new Manager who is superb, we have brought in some quality players, we have strengthen the infrastructure, and we are continuing to improve all aspects of our operation...yes, we will even get some players before the end of the window!! Some fans want it all YESTERDAY...well, that has NEVER been the committment. Randy has always talked about a 5 year plan...and SO HAVE I. We want to build a lasting dynasty...a Club that your children can watch win 20 years from now. We want consistency and to achieve that, you need to "build." Give MON a chance for goodness sakes!!! Give Randy a chance!!

I think it's easy to forget the state that the club had got into prior to the new regime taking over. I still firmly believe we couldn't have a better board and manager - every time I read the Generals comments this fact is rammed home. So Gen Krulak, Randy, Martin & co - CHEERS!!!

Oh & Mysterman - the banners are brilliant! Esp if we can fasten them down well!

[b6bloke]

as you can see from Ashley Youngs comments after the 12th man banner in the Holte End .

what were his comments?

[mb]

Ash is even impressed: ""It was great to score in front of the Holte End. They are like a 12th man, as it says on the banner on the stand. If they can keep lifting us like they did today, I'm sure we'll come up with the goods."

[sidcow]

General Krulak here:

2. Randy and I both have Villa shirts...and wear them often. Last time we were in London we went to a pub wearing our shirts...made for a lively time when the folks figured out who these "Yanks" were wearing the Villa shirt.

Suprised no one else has picked up on this point.

The new regime constantly earns my utmost respect.

I cannot imagine any other chairman (and certainly not the previous encumbent) would do this.

I have to say I would not wear my own Villa top to a London pub in case some local nutter takes offence......mind you I have never had a heavily trained US marine at my side!