General Krulak (No Transfer Questions allowed)

[harrywrose1]

and furthermore General. I am a long standing Oz Villa fan of 29 plus years; two points I disagree with:

1. MON has had 2 full seasons to gather a squad capable in numbers and

2. Can you answer a simple question not thought of from Villa fans? Why are the Cleveland browns fans so hostile towards Randy's cost cutting ways and apathy ridden team?

Randy would of made quite a profit from T.V money thus far, very smart businessman I'd say.....

Cheers

General on behalf of the intelligent villa fans out there, Please ignore the quoted comments!

We have 110% faith in everything that is going on at the club!

look, the poster can ask stuff as long as it's within the rules. It may be based on a false premise, you may consider it a question not worth answering, but please rather than comment on the questions of others, allow the General to deal with the question(s) as he sees fit. Thanks. Blandy

[avillafan.com]

Hi General,

I have a couple of points i would like to bring up but firstly, your post about the PR and how transfers are being run etc, was spot on. I was shocked by how you expressed somethings, but at the same time shows passion. And its what we all like to see.

1. Regarding Transfers.

Now in this day and age i understand football clubs cant shout about every deal they may or maynot be involved in. But i ask you to see it from a outside point of view. We the fans pay a lot of money (still the cheapest around - thankyou) but regardless, its still a lot of money. We also love Aston Villa to bits, just like yourself and probably Randy. However, You and Randy know whats happening being the scenes. We dont. We hear stories after stories after stories but dont see much action. Thats not to say MON isnt working is bollucks of, because i believe in that man and have every faith in what hes doing. But sometimes, it would be nice for someone to come out from the club, and just state where we are in transfers. Like let us know we are talking to clubs and players, maybe drop a name or two.

Its just to reasure. Hope you understand what im saying, and dont take it the wrong way.

2. I just want to say i do appreciate everything that Randy and MON has done for the club.

[V111AFC]

General,

Im going to put a hypothetical question to you which I have been thinking about for the last few days now, and especially after the embarrasing result to a Danish Team who realised we dont have any right sided players.

If you were Gareth Barry. Would you stay?

Thanks

[YorkshireCoop]

General Krulak here:

1. Let's start with the basic premise that I am a Villa Fan and I am as anxious as anyone to sign players. Hopefully no one out there will challenge that sentence. That being said, almost every comment goes back to "small squad", "is MON slooow", why do some players seem to "get away" from us, why aren't we signing new players and the ones we have, don't we know we are playing a game in 90 minutes, etc. etc. Seriously, is there anyone out there that does not think MON can count...that he doesn't know how many players he needs and that he is short a few??? MON knows exactly where we stand...and has NOT been sitting on his bum and is NOT happy with the numbers. Does anyone really think that MON does not know we have a game in 90 minutes?? Geezz, of course he does. Does anyone think that Randy requires MON to sell before he buys? If they do, they are DEAD WRONG!! Does anyone think that Randy will not open his wallet for MON? If so, they are DEAD WRONG!! Look around the league...seriously, there have not been a plethora of signings. We are about the norm. Why? To be serious, your guess is as good as mine. I can speculate but that is all it would be. I can assure you, MON is working! He is not sitting on his bum. Transfers are hard and getting harder...the league is competitive, agents are in the mix, lots of things going on. It is NOT just AVFC. It is VERY important to us because of where we are now and where we want to go...I understand that. At the same time, those few folks who seem to believe that Randy or the Board ought to jump in and start micromanaging the process are just asking for trouble. MON has a huge amount of help...at Villa Park, at Bodymoor Heath and across the Pond. It is not just a one-man show BUT, MON is the final arbitrator and you will not see Randy or the Board getting into his business. We will do one key thing...WE WILL SUPPORT HIM!!! Randy has NEVER, EVER, said no to MON. Again, I understand your frustrations but it is NOT just a matter of calling up a Club and Player and offering a wad of money....if it were that simple, we would have a bunch of players!

2. On a completely different subject. I read on another blog that my appearing on these boards is for PR. What a bunch of shite. If Mrs "K" ever heard that, she would be on the first plane to the UK. I have posted over 2500 comments on 4 separate sites and have done so almost daily...only times I don't are when I am traveling. Name me one PR guy who would spend that amount of time each day...knowing that in the summer and winter, that PR guy would be in for some heavy stick over transfers. If anyone thinks this is for PR, then they need to get a life...or walk a mile in my shoes. The PR value went away almost 2 years ago....what we are doing now is trying to make OUR Club better.

With all due respect General, I do have a life and I would love to walk a mile in your shoes.

Instead, my life is considerably based around my support for Aston Villa. Not my job.

I live in Yorkshire, and i run a Supporters Club for this area. I earn dont exactly earn a huge amount of money, but a huge percentage of this goes towards supporting Villa up and down the country, and now overseas. I run a website for my members, and i arrange transport,tickets, get a riduculous amount of phone calls and text messages all regarding tickets/transport for Villa - this is outside of my 60 hours per week of work. Well Mrs C gets rather fustrated also.

I do this becuase i love Aston Villa and have known nothing else since I was a young pup. I try and make it easy for fellow Villa fans up here to get the matches, and take their kids, because i understand just how expensive things are now for families, especially up here.

My worry General, is that I have a coach load of people being mislead into something happening in the " bright future". Yes, i understand you have nothing to do with transfers. But my real point is, that I am worried this is all one big money/marketing spin. Supporters are getting ever more curious that there is some sort of wage structure which is denying us the oppurtunity to sign top players. Even if MON brings in a few players between now and the end of the season, a small percentage of us are seriously wondering what standard these players are going to be - and whether they are going to be the usuall - players with points to prove settling for lesser wages, or even last minute panic buys.

I am sure I am going to get bombared with hate threads now, and this may even get deleted. But I am only expressing my concerns, and nothing in the past 2 years have proved my concerns wrong to be honest with you.

So this is no thread about your involvement in on field activity, or transfers, i am just voicing my concerns. And i really do appreciate the time and effort you put into replying to paranoid muppets like myself.

Chris

[ferguson1]

On a light hearted transfer question General, I like many other Villa fans dream of certain players signing for our club at this time of the season, however unrealistic. My dream signing for the club over the last few years has been and still is - ‘Thierry Henry’. Just imagine him and John Carew up front together!

Anyway, with your rose tinted Villa supporter glasses on General, is there one player who you would love the club to sign? If you don’t wish to provide Bill Howell with an exclusive General, you can cop out and provide the name of a past great if you like, as I’m sure this would be just as insightful.

[DalianDaley]

Having just found this site i would like to say how nice it is for a lowly Villa grunt to be able to go bang on the Generals door and ask for an explanation into any dealings concerning Aston Villa ... this alone makes me believe that our club is in safe hands.

In recent times there has been a big drive in the marketing of Premier League clubs to the overseas market (which Villa have not been slow to jump on thanks to our current owners) in order to increase revenues and club stature.

I would like to ask the General if a similar amount of time/effort/money was being invested into the local market?

Each year a new generation of potential Villa fans are born into the greater Birmingham area, a large amount of these coming from households with no particular footballing loyalties. I was wondering how you were going about actively recruiting these kids in schools only a bus-ride away from VP instead of letting them drift over to the "Dark Side" or some team playing in a stadium they'll never be able to get to.

The long term solution would surely be to expand the stadium to a much greater capacity, and start a program with schools in Birmingham and its outlying towns to fill empty seats on non capacity matches.

You would be raising a new generation of villa fanatics who will grow up to be season ticket holders and buy shirts for their new families

Short term loss - Long term gain

[b6bloke]

I'm sure the General will answer your question anyway but it may be worth reading some of the past posts as you will see that this is already being done and done well at that.

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. Peter1968: My belief is that consistent, winning, football is achieved by bringing a series of actions to bear..1) A good Manager. 2) An owner who is proud of the team and willing to make money available for improvements on and off the Pitch. 3) An improvement of the quality and numbers of players on the Pitch. 4) An infrastructure that enables success...a superior Academy, a superior training facility, a superior stadium. 5) People who work for the Club who have a passion and love for the Club that equals that of the Fans. 6) A loyal fan base who possess the wisdom to know that miracles do not happen overnight...that anything good that comes, most assuredly comes from good planning and execution. So to answer your question, I do not believe that they way to achieve the goals we have set for this Club is to "do it all" in one year...any success achieved in that manner will not be sweet, will not stand the test of time, and will not inspire anyone for the future.

2. Thamutznutz: Rather than regurgitate what I have posted over the past 484 pages, why don't you take a look back...even so short a time is the past few days....to see my answer to your question. My answer will not change because it is Sunday vice Friday. Simply put, MON knows what he needs...he can count...he can "read" the play on the Pitch as well as anyone...he knows what is in the Club house...he knows what is in the Academy...he knows he has the support of the owner. He is out working the issue. Some fans (villafan.com) would like us to be more "open" about who we are looking at...I disagree and so does the Club. It makes no sense for the Club to announce to the "world" who we are after...that can only result in a spike in competition, price, etc. We recognize the desire of the fans to be in the know but the dangers of making our plans public are too great. I have said this before but....getting the players to take us into the top 4 is a wee bit more challanging than getting those to take us to number 11. Let the Manager do his job. He knows he has the support of Randy....truly.

3. 3V79: I disagree with your comments re. the Browns fans and Randy. To discuss the Cleveland Browns on this forum would be a total waste of time. Suffice it to say that unless you understand the history of the Browns...the history of the Lerner Family and the Browns...the turmoil experienced by the Browns over the years...you CANNOT begin to understand the relationship between Randy and the fans. Take a look at free agency...take a look a drafts...Randy has spent money on the Browns and anyone with a grain of sense can see that. The Browns are on the upswing and the fans know it. I read the Cleveland Papers and they are solidly behing the Lerner Family. They are beginning to recognize that these are class people who understand the sports business and how to build a team.

4 VIIIAFC: Yes!

5. Yorkshirecoop: Again, I have answered your question many times. Money is NOT an issue. Wage structure is not an issue. I wish that getting players were as simple as most believe...but it isn't. I have said that time and time again.

[Phoenicks]

Hi General

I am sure your patience is wearing thin, and we know you have nothing to do with transfers, but you are our only link to the higher echelons at Villa Park.

I hope you understand why many fans are in a dilemna now. Most (me included) are delighted with the progress we have made over the last 2 years and signings such as NRC, Carew, Davies, Petrov, Young, Sidwell etc. are exactly the kind we want to see.

However, the lack of movement in the January window and the current one have become a serious concern to me, especially given the amount of players shipped out. I didn't have a problem with the increases in season tickets, mainly on the basis that you stated on these forums that if we wanted to buy players and pay bigger wages, it had to come from somewhere. Given the size of the squad and the lack of "superstars", our wage bill must be one of the lowest in the division. I don't think we have yet had a clear answer on whether we are operating under a wage structure, and whether this is restrictive in the players we are trying to sign? It is clear there are players we have identified as targets, and we are unclear on the reasons why we have not signed them (Gordon, Bentley etc.). Is it down to the wage structure?

I appreciate totally what you are saying about micro managing MON, but how much longer will the situation be allowed to continue? To see a team identify a weakness in our formation (our entire right side) and exploit it to such good effect must be a concern to a military man such as yourself? The fact that this was a Danish team (Championship level?) in our most important match for several years makes the situation all the more worrying. Comments from commentators about Randy not yet proving his commitment, and rumours on here about Browns fans being not impressed with Randy's "cost-cutting" do not help!

I will keep the faith, and put my trust in people that have not let me down as yet. Just hope you can understand our concerns, especially given the suffering we have had over the last 25 years. You, MON and Randy were our bright new dawn and we are praying it was not a false one.

[pablopicasso]

you sound like you need a beer general...

il buy you one on saturday if you are about...

[NorthEnder]

general why dont you start a topic below on main messageboard that you want villa fans to discuss.

[terrytini]

Hello General

Tranfers - Could I suggest a different angle ?

Firstly let me make clear I am and have been a full on MON backer...

I have a few Hundred posts on here and not one is critical or impatient with MON or the Club - I argued as recntly as last week that if MON hasn't identified , for example, a Right Back who he wants and will come, I still support him in not getting one. I am a MON 100% 'blind faith' loyalist.... YET....

Even I struggle to understand the whys and wherefores of our deficiencies.

So how about the Club, or MON, giving us 'in the dark' folks a detailed - hypothetical if necessary - example of what exactly does go into securing a player these days ? If it's not just a question of offering enough money and wages, if it's not a question of being 'slow', if it's not a lack of clarity over who to buy, and if it's not the case that the Manager is overloaded - all of which I am completely prepared to accept, ..what is it ?

We're all, or mostly, pretty clever people, but we're really in the dark about the process from initial interest to securing a transfer - it even confuses me about 'permission to speak/ tapping up' etc..

So how about someone giving us all a lowdown ?

[markavfc40]

Bottom line to all this is simple and that is come the end of this transfer window, August 31st, we need a squad capable of competing in the league and possibly 3 cup competitions. Do you believe General, without giving any details, that this will be the case?

[bully]

General,

Are you and Randy over here for the Intertoto game?

How are ticket sales going? (MON's master plan of not beating the danes should ensure a decent crowd :winkold: )

How many ST's have been sold to date, are we still on course to sell all that are available?

[hobbo]

Bottom line to all this is simple and that is come the end of this transfer window, August 31st, we need a squad capable of competing in the league and possibly 3 cup competitions. Do you believe General, without giving any details, that this will be the case?

A really important question and one I expect to be dodged. Nobody question His way.

[c-krulak]

General Krulak here:

1. terrytini: Asking me or anyone else to post the ins and outs of transfers would take a long time, many people, and at the end, shed little light on the subject. It is full of legalities, differing personalities, differing Club styles, differing agents, medical requirements, etc. etc. I wish one size would fit all but that is not the case.

2. ST sales are ahead of schedule.

3. hobbo: Why, in heaven's sake, would you think I would dodge a question like the one asked by markavfc40? Of course I will answer it...like I try to answer all questions that I can answer. The answer is yes! Now the question back to you is simply this...will you accept my answer? The problem I see with the 4 sites I am on is that when I am asked a question and give an answer, there are those who either don't like my answer or think that I am giving the "party line." Those who feel that way do not know me...do not know my reputation...and would not believe me if I put it in blood. Yes, I believe we will be ready to go on 31 August .

[hobbo]

Fine. Let's leave until then and I hope you're right.

[uncle_junior]

Yes, I believe we will be ready to go on 31 August .

General

Good to hear. Although the season does actually start on August 16th. That'd be even better.

[rsjg80]

Ok, let's test this 'dodging' theory!!

General, without revealing (and as per your claims you don't know anyway) who we are after or what MON thinks we need or how much money there is etc etc, how many players do YOU personally think we need - as a fan, and taking all things into account how many players do you think Aston Villa need to be prepared for September 1st (a date that slightly irritates me as being the goal - seeing as we've already played three games by then and could theoretically be 9 points behind the top teams....)

[Razor]

What are the other sites you post on General? If anyone else wants to answer for the General then be my guest.....