c-krulak Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: 1. Reserve games at Villa Park. Yes, we are looking at this. We need to be careful that we do not "damage" the pitch with too much activity but a game or two is not a bad idea. The comments about Mrs Easter's class supports this thought...it is a positive thing for the community and a way of bringing "new" fans to our Club. 2. I am not a Director of the Cleveland Brown Football Team so I do not know if anyone is communicating on their site or not. 3. Over-marketing...certainly NOT a worry now. One of the things our new CEO will be concentrating on is INCREASING our marketing...around the country and, hopefully over time, the world. Do NOT worry about "glitz"...that is NOT Randy's style. He is very traditional in many ways. His view is simply this...a consistently winning team will make marketing both easy and profitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 cheers for teh info general. marketing across villa needs improving. im hoping villa can finally conquer this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 1. Cheaper travel to VP from London, etc. There is some "looking" at the possiblity of combining tickets with travel and seeing if we can come up with a "package"...this, obviously, requires us to work with trains, etc. This is in the "infant" stage of investigation. this sounds a great (and covienent) idea for me. hopr you pull it off general Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 1. Cheaper travel to VP from London, etc. There is some "looking" at the possiblity of combining tickets with travel and seeing if we can come up with a "package"...this, obviously, requires us to work with trains, etc. This is in the "infant" stage of investigation. this sounds a great (and covienent) idea for me. hopr you pull it off general Same here - please look into travel for us in East Anglia. It would be very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 General, I would be interested to know what you and Mr Lerner have thought of your Premiership counterparts (ie Chairman/Chief Executive's etc) to date? How receptive have they been towards you both on matchdays and have you built up any decent relationships yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrobo1 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi General, I just remmeber that a few days ago the land sale of the 'Serpertine Property' was supposed to be completed as per the extract from the official press release. On satisfaction of the condition precedent, the Disposal Agreement provides for completion of the Disposal of the Serpentine Property on or before 7 December 2006. On completion, the sale consideration will be payable. On searching on the Net I can see no confirmation of this from BCSL and now we are not a PLC Villa do not need to release one. Can you confirm as per the statement above whether this deal has been concluded and the moneis paid to us from BCSL ? Thanks, Ian Hi General, Just to remind you of this question I posted just before xmas. I fully understand if for commercial or legal reasons that you may not be able to comment fully on this, but I would appreciate if you have managed to get an answer to the question. Cheers, Ian ps. having the lights on in the Holte Pub before and after the match is a good touch and reminds people of ho it could look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: I think we have established some good relationships to date. We both already knew David Gill from a "previous life" but the rest were all new to us. Randy is very low key and always interested in meeting new people and learning about them...so matchdays have always included a good deal of give and take between people at lunch and during half-time and after the game. Obviously, during the game there is little or no interaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi General, Just wondered if Randy has been at the last few games, haven't seen it reported anywhere, but I assume he has been as he's been in the country. I think I saw it mentioned he was at the Chelsea game thinking about it, but not whether he was up at Old Trafford or will be this weekend, didn't see his face on tv at any point, fitting much with his image... Also presumably Richard Fitzgerald has been able to make it to the games to see what the club is all about? And what about yourself, are you coming back over for the Watford game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bully Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: I think we have established some good relationships to date. We both already knew David Gill from a "previous life" but the rest were all new to us. Randy is very low key and always interested in meeting new people and learning about them...so matchdays have always included a good deal of give and take between people at lunch and during half-time and after the game. Obviously, during the game there is little or no interaction. Evening Chuck, Based on your comments above would you say that Randy is learning from others about the football business as he is going along? I dont know if you can help me. I was a shareholder and agreed to sell all my shares bar 1 to RAL. I returned my share certificate along with the other paperwork as necessary. We were promised that we would get our share certificates back embossed with a Villa crest, a very nice touch, but to date mine has not been sent. Is there anyone at AVFC I can contact regarding this? Can you give us an idea of any 25th anniversary celebration plans yet? I presume that generation of players will be heavily involved. I have had the pleasure of their company a few times over the years and they are tremendous ambassadors for AVFC and deserve to be honoured as the legends that they are. Given your (the new board) record so far I have no doubt they will be. Finally, are there plans to develop the area between the new Holte Inn and the Holte End or will this remain as a car park? Regards Bully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B30Villa Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Hi General, I heard on Soccer AM (a saturday morning football show) that Crystal palace have recently bought a franchise in the second tier of American Soccer. Is this something Villa would look into to not only enhance the Villa brand in the States, but also provide a source of young talent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: Randy has been in the UK since after Christmas and has attended every game and has been at Bodymoor Heath almost daily. Randy's head is clearly into the Club as is the head of all of the Directors. We will not "interfere" with MON and his running of the team but we are certainly involved in the Club. As I have said, each Director spends about 1/2 their time in the UK and Randy is devoting even more now that the American Football season is over. No one should doubt that Randy is fully committed and involved. The share certificates are being created and will be mailed in the future. Do not worry about them...they will be on the way. The 25th Anniversary Celebration is being organized now. Like you, I have been with several of these fine men and they are true Ambassadors for our Club. The Ceremony will definitely include them. More on what will take place will be forthcoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePablo Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: 3. Over-marketing...certainly NOT a worry now. One of the things our new CEO will be concentrating on is INCREASING our marketing...around the country and, hopefully over time, the world. Do NOT worry about "glitz"...that is NOT Randy's style. He is very traditional in many ways. His view is simply this...a consistently winning team will make marketing both easy and profitable. Good evening General 90 posts already? You're here for the long-haul after all...! Regarding marketing, not a question per se, just a couple of statements: a) You rarely see a Villa top on sale outside of the midlands, never mind potential prospective fan bases such as Malaysia or Thailand. Recent success isn't a factor - Liverpool FC have an amazing fan base in SE Asia, even prior to their recent European Cup Win. We're simply not in the mix..... even I don't have the opportunity to buy Villa apparel in London - and I know a good few fans down here in the Big Smoke. I personally feel we look cheap with the sponsors we have. I read the deal with 32Red is worth seven figures over a period of time, which I feel falls way too short of who Aston Villa are. As someone who is invloved with sales day to day, I think it would have been better kudos to have an NGO sponsor us for free (a la Barcelona and UNICEF - even though Barca did make a financial contribution), rather than taking peanuts from a dodgy, Gibraltar based online gambler. My two cents. Apologies for the spelling errors - long day at the office today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: Randy has been in the UK since after Christmas and has attended every game and has been at Bodymoor Heath almost daily. Randy's head is clearly into the Club as is the head of all of the Directors. We will not "interfere" with MON and his running of the team but we are certainly involved in the Club. As I have said, each Director spends about 1/2 their time in the UK and Randy is devoting even more now that the American Football season is over. No one should doubt that Randy is fully committed and involved. The share certificates are being created and will be mailed in the future. Do not worry about them...they will be on the way. The 25th Anniversary Celebration is being organized now. Like you, I have been with several of these fine men and they are true Ambassadors for our Club. The Ceremony will definitely include them. More on what will take place will be forthcoming. Hi General, The first paragraph you sound a little frustrated and I can understand why after some of the recent rumours, which from my point of view probably started from the press looking for stories in a transfer window where really very little has happened. I dont have permission from the vast majority but I'm going to say it anyway, that I believe 99% of the Villa fans have never doubted Randy's commitment/intentions and it seems the 1% seem to have had a voice recently. So I hope yourself and Randy believe how much we, the villa fans believe in you and trust in you and Randy. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bully Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 General Krulak here: Randy has been in the UK since after Christmas and has attended every game and has been at Bodymoor Heath almost daily. Randy's head is clearly into the Club as is the head of all of the Directors. We will not "interfere" with MON and his running of the team but we are certainly involved in the Club. As I have said, each Director spends about 1/2 their time in the UK and Randy is devoting even more now that the American Football season is over. No one should doubt that Randy is fully committed and involved. The share certificates are being created and will be mailed in the future. Do not worry about them...they will be on the way. The 25th Anniversary Celebration is being organized now. Like you, I have been with several of these fine men and they are true Ambassadors for our Club. The Ceremony will definitely include them. More on what will take place will be forthcoming. Cheers General, punctual as ever. I hope you and Randy appreciate that the English press will try to create a story from nowhere and they dont mind who they upset along the way. With your previous experience of working and living in the UK I am sure you are aware of their practises. Do not despair, I am certain that despite their blarney everyone is fully aware of all of the boards commitment towards AVFC, that you are 'in it for the long term' and we are all right behind you. Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenjos Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 a) You rarely see a Villa top on sale outside of the midlands, never mind potential prospective fan bases such as Malaysia or Thailand. Recent success isn't a factor - Liverpool FC have an amazing fan base in SE Asia, even prior to their recent European Cup Win. We're simply not in the mix..... even I don't have the opportunity to buy Villa apparel in London - and I know a good few fans down here in the Big Smoke. You can hardly find kits in birmingham!!!!!! :shock: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Spot on, it's impossible to get a Villa kit down here and I'm only 80 miles away. Smaller clubs with smaller fan bases even have their shirts in all the stores i.e. Man City, Everton. If you want one in London One Pablo, you CAN find them in Lilywhites - but that's about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicw8832 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Rest assured the club are working hard on these commercial issues as Mr Krulak has previously said. We must be patient, we need to constantly remind ourselves that it is going to take time, Rome was not built in a day. They will get the job done! - Aston Villa, the global brand. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 i live in chester and i haven't seen a villa kit here for 4 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 General Krulak here: 1. Richard Fitzgerald is a pro at marketing. He knows the problems that we all have seen re. our "visibility" in the UK and around the world. We will make headway. We understand what the issues are and we will attack them. Since Randy and I worked and lived in Chester, I will personally bring a box of shirts to the "Cross" and sell them...probably set up a blanket and put out a violin case to collect the money. Seriously, Chester is a perfect example...we ought to be able to sell kits in Chester...BECAUSE we are a winning side...CONSISTENTLY. Every issue is pretty much interconnected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted January 11, 2007 Moderator Share Posted January 11, 2007 General, if I saw you coming with a violin case I'd run a mile ! Isn't it the case that we are tied in to the distribution network of our current shirt manufacturer ? There are teams that seem to get shirts everywhere that are no bigger than we are but have a higher profile kit manufacturer and are therefore in more sports shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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