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General Krulak (No Transfer Questions allowed)


c-krulak

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general,went to the villa shop today to get both of my kids the new shirt the 8year old has acorns on it and the 4year old no logo,asked why there was no logo on the shirt and was told that it was a mistake by nike and will have the shirt with the logo on it by september can you shed any light on this matter,because i dont want to buy a shirt for the 4 year old and for it to be out of date after 6 weeks ,it doesnt look right when you have 2 new kits being worn and they dont look the same.many thanks

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2. GaztonVilla: Let's make a "date" to meet somewhere at, say, the Liverpool game...I can sign it then. Meet at door to Holte Suite or something.

Sounds like fun General.. Can I expect candy and flowers too? :)

On a serious note, I've been looking for an excuse to travel down to that game.. Mrs Gazton can't really complain if I'm being called down for military service can she?

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General

Does the level of negative feeling about transfers get you down at all when you are reading through these posts and did you expect just how passionate football fans were in this country when you came to villa?

Also have you ever thought about stopping posting on these forums due to some of the questions asked? I only ask cause i get the feeling that one day you will start to feel like your banging your head against a brick wall and decide to stop.

Can i also say that the frustartion you see in some posts is of yours/ randys/ Mons own doing simply because you have raised the hopes and expectations which was desperatly needed here(in no way a bad thing). You guys may sometimes be victims of your own success.

And i'll give you an indication of how well you are doing, my 8 year old son has never been into football, but today he asked me to take him to his first villa match.

Apparently his mates all want to go too. So keep up what you are doing, it just shows that playing good exciting football will ensure the future of the club.

Good luck

Oh and General, can i ask has Gareth Barry been told not to talk to the media again? I really would have though that he would have made some kind of either public apology for his NOTW interview or at least tried to justify it? If you can't answer it ok, it just i think all the fans would like to know does he stand by what he said or did it just come across wrong.

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Hello General,

I dont know if anyone has pointed you in the direction of the Article that i include below, but it would be very interesting to know what your feelings are about it, since the bloke seems to saying you are telling some untruths.

Well thats what the article looks like to me :shock:

Is there any chance of the order of the ban for this arrogant person? All he ever seems to do, is write nonesence wit a view to show our club in a bad light. Many of us fans have had enough of his "sources". :evil:

Bill Howell said

I've noticed one or two internet geeks getting a little hot under the collar over my assertion that season ticket sales were "below expectation" at Villa.

I'd not made a big thing of it but nevertheless I had indeed made that point.

And despite the fact that the club would like you to believe that almost 25,000 have been sold for this season, I'm sticking to it.

Before you lot go hopping around your bedrooms, pulling out your wireless connections and losing your Dungeons and Dragons memory sticks, I'll explain.

Ask any reporter and they will tell you that the summer months between May and mid-July can be a bit of a bind.

Those weekly chats with the manager have dried up, the players are on the beach and your saved quotes from the last game of the season have been dripped into the newspaper and long dried up.

So where do you get your stories?

I'll tell you. Players, although you have to know them well enough for them to trust you with information that cannot have come from them- if you get my drift; from agents- who will almost certainly always tell you that Villa 'ARE' interested in his player but that a bid hasn't yet been fired off; from club staff- many and varied, from other journalists who have their own links to clubs and I'm sure there should also be another category marked: "Others".

My point is this: that stories can be found from a variety of sources- sometimes good and sometimes bad.

Now to the season ticket story.

Some weeks ago, possibly as long ago as six, I asked the club's media department if I could have the latest sale figures.

Season ticket stories come out every summer on a quiet day and are a Godsend to clubs (just ask Albion, Wolves and Blues) and writers because they are always written with a positive spin but can also fill back pages.

My request seemed to hit something of a brick wall at Villa though.

Weeks passed. I then received an email detailing a series of emails between the press and ticket offices at Villa which indicated that they were not yet ready to release any information. There was also a reference to wanting to "hang" a particular slant on the eventual story.

Anyway, it wasn't a problem. I was never that bothered about the story in the first place.

I then got a second email from Villa, about three weeks ago, saying that the season ticket request of mine was being dealt with but that the news was poor at the moment so 'could I wait a few weeks for when the news would be good?'

I have kept both emails.

Again, I was not bothered either way and when a good source at Villa confirmed to me that sales were low I decided a few words at the bottom of a blog would suffice.

So that's the history. Villa are now claiming that sales are seven per cent up on this time last year and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt them. A figure approaching 25,000 is blummin' good business by anyone's stretch of the imagination.

My point is this: Villa sold over 26,000 last year. They have sold less than 25,000 now. And a couple of months ago they told us that 1,400 people were on a waiting list.

So there are a missing 2,500 by my calculations.

The whole issue is not worth haggling over.

Villa will once again be the best supported club in the Midlands by a country mile.

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General.

I apologise if this has already been asked, i keep half an eye on this thread but sometimes i miss a page or two, but its with regards to two Americans called Brad.

Guzan comes with excellent credentials, and with the track record of American keepers over here generally being successful (certainly Tim Howard, Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel. I think the jury is still out on Marcus Hahnemann) its certainly an interesting signing. You may not want to talk about Friedel as the ink hasnt been put on his contract yet, but getting arguably the most consistently good goalkeeper in the division for a fee that appears to be the going rate of the fee for taking a player on loan for a season could prove to be an exceptionally clever bit of business.

So my question is this: Obviously with American owners, will having some Americans on our books be used to raise the profile of the club on the other side of the pond?

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This might be a difficult question for you to answer. What would be a typical week for the players during the season? When do they train, for how long, when do they meet up with the squad before games, what do they do the day after a game, etc.

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Gen - totally off the subject of transfers for a bit....

It's been announced today that the MLS is increasing in\size. Has Randy ever thought of setting up a team in Cleveland ?

And, if this thing about Friedal is true, that part of the deal is helping him set up soccer schools - would the club benefit of first pickings of anytalent ?.

Cheers

Cant go tomorrow as I have to work, I am missing the Mac City game as I will be sunning myself in Tunisia. By Liverpool I expect 4 points, a Uufa Cup game to look forward to and another 8 players please !!! :D

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General,

Just another quick thanks for you and your staff for letting me into Villa Park and making my Christmas come in July.

I was telling some of my Liverpool "friends" the story how I was allowed in to the park and the look of awe in the faces was classic as to on other fans faces; they knew they would not get that kind of help and support if they wanted to get into Anfield. So thanks again and maybe next summer if tours are not available I could get in contact with Duncan in time!!!

Thanks again.

i183358_villapark2.jpg

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General Krulak here:

1. HOBBO: If I say we have been told, "no difficulty" and then something happens, I would find myself answering 100 posts. Simply put, we have not be told that there will be any difficulty...and, obviously, we asked the question.

2. V111AFC: Wow!!! Not sure what you want me to say. I have answered this same "rant" mulitple times so anything I say will probably not set your mind at ease. I am a fan like you....and I would sure like to see some signings. I DO KNOW that the money IS ABSOLUTELY available and that MON is NOT sitting on his bum. This is obviously a very tough window...and not just for us. As always, I have no choice but to trust MON and his sense of what we need and how we will get them.

3. Trajan: Thanks for the history lesson. My point is that the man I am talking about is the only person I know who can make the claim and deserve to make it. With all due respect to Paul M.

4. I have been told by John Greenfield that the shop at Villa Park will put on "acorns" at no cost. I have a call into him right now to confirm that fact. He told me last week...I hope nothing has changed.

5. Gaztonvilla: Yes, if you think you can get away with it.

6. Peter1968: Simply put, I told the truth. We are ahead of last year...we are doing well...we had over 3000 on waiting list...AND, signings will help even more!!! Yes, I am a fan too....bring them on!!!

7. sickmick99: All players have portions of their contracts that talk about media relations. Barry will meet those requirements.

8. paulandonnya: No, Randy has not thought of putting an MLS squad in Cleveland. No comment on GK.

9. chefdoc2000: Great picture....I am glad that things worked out so well.

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General to follow up on the Bill Howell point it appears we have a constructive dialogue going

Link

which I think is positive for all concerned.

Just one question or point if you like

Every game you get asked the same question time and time again about the perspective crowd attendance, would it be possible to put this on the OS at a regular basis ?

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General

I was just having a pop at the various Bishops of Rome. I'd never wish you to waste your valuable time on my output of trivia.

You guys are doing an absolutely fantastic job at Villa Park and long may it continue.

By the way, your contribution to the fans' websites is well and truly above the call of duty.

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Status: Online!

General been looking on here 4 a while now, keep up the good work !!!

just wanted your feed back on 2 issues:

1) - i went into buy the villa top today and in the villa shop it was £45, yet in sports world and over places you can get it for £34 etc.... why do we pay more for it directly from the club shop ??

2) i brought an infant kit for my son (3-6 months) this came with no acorns sponser after reading ur other threads i enquired at the shop and although saying it will be free to put this on they cant do it till the end of Aug or early sept ???? why is this ??

Looking forward to the game tomorrow and hopefully looking forward to more euro matches down the villa... last thing i promise, is last years away kit going to be the 3rd kit and if so when is this on sale ? as the staff in the shop have no clues about it being the 3rd kit..

keep up the good work

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General

Hi there, just a quick one really. There is a lot of talk about buying shirts from other places. I was just wondering whether you could comment on the percentage of the money Villa receive if shirts are bought elsewhere. If there is a big difference compared to the full price we obviously get from our own shops it may help change peoples mind and buy it directly from us.

Thanks again for everything

Dan

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1) - i went into buy the villa top today and in the villa shop it was £45, yet in sports world and over places you can get it for £34 etc.... why do we pay more for it directly from the club shop ??

Not my place to answer for the General of course but I believe the reason for this is that Nike/Villa set the recommended retail price for a shirt at £45 therefore they have to charge £45 (unless it's on 'Sale'). It would be a bit unfair for Villa to tell every other shop in the world that they should sell it at £45, only to then sell it themselves for £30.

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2) i brought an infant kit for my son (3-6 months) this came with no acorns sponser after reading ur other threads i enquired at the shop and although saying it will be free to put this on they cant do it till the end of Aug or early sept ???? why is this ??

Given the nature of the work carried out by acorns it was decided not to put it on the shirts of young kids. this was mentioned earlier.

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General, I'm not sure if you keep an eye on any other threads but you may enjoy taking a look at this little post I just made: Villa exposure in the US it's incredible to see Villa presented so prominently an ocean away from Brum.

Great to see that General but people on that thread were wondering why the away shirt ca nbe bought in New York now but not here. Is this a marketing decision t orelease after the home shirt to maximise sales or is it a supply problem?

(PS not a moan a simple question)

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General Krulak here:

1. Bill Howell....I am sure that he experiences frustrations...just as we all do. At the same time, his "story" re. Season Tickets was not accurate (for whatever reason) and I doubt if he tried to contact Nicky Keye. Simply put, we are ahead of schedule, we have sold over 25,000 and we had a waiting list well in excess of the 1500 he quoted. I hope that whatever problems that exist with Mr. Howell get resolved because, as you know, accurate press is very important.

2. Infant kits: I am not sure why the wait for the acorns...only quessing that the size of the print might be the issue.

3. Cost of the kit. Some of the stores mentioned are large chains and buy in bulk...not just a Nike Villa shirt but many others. Buying in bulk is less expensive. Whether this is the sole reason, I am not sure. It is a reason. Nike is introducing our kit world-wide....timing is up to them when it comes to overseas.

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