jones1328 Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi General, I'm just gonna pick up on Randy speaking to the media. I was just wondering whether any video of Randy talking about his plans for Villa will be posted on the official website? I know you conducted an interview for VillaWorld a few months ago and I would think it would be great if Randy was able to do one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trinity-Tom Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 General, I would also like to draw your attention to an article in the Montreal Gazette discussing the new American owners of Premiership clubs. I would hate anyone to think that this is the opinion of the fans as every single Villa fan I have ever come across is united in the opinion that we are in the most capable hands! Absolute Garbage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted February 8, 2007 Moderator Share Posted February 8, 2007 If you want to discuss the language in and around football grounds can we start a new thread please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlitobrigante Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 General your whole attitude to our (must get annoying) questions shows what a top bloke you are and are just the sort of chap we want to help run our club.. Got some questions I would love to hear from you about: 1. What do your day-2-day duties at Villa include at present? Enough to keep you busy / excited? Bit of a change from the marines I expect! What other positions do you hold and how do they compare? 2. Forget about Randy / MON. Do you see your role here as long term? Or is it a short term thing to help get Randy setup before you move onto pastures new? 3. Did the previous ownership / last 25 years do alot of damage to the infrastructure of the club and was the situation as bleak & desperate as it seemed (regards finances / morale etc) before you took over? 4. Do Randy / MON take any notice of some of the negative statements coming from our recently ended poor run? Does Rundy know that 99.99999% of Fans think he is great and worship him? (if he doesnt please make sure he knows) 5. Were you close to buying another other football (or different sports) teams or sports francises? 6. Is Randy and yourself enoying things so far? Is the job bigger than you thought it would be? General as Im a reservist and soon to be full time memver of the armed forces I knew all about you and what kind of guy you are before you came here. If you could spend a moment to reply it would make my day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerms Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 General K Might the pre season tour for next season include a little trip to cleveland ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasthevillan Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Or even a game against LA Galaxy or another team in CA in late July? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juju Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 I felt the article written in th Gazette neededsome redress. I emailed the writer earlier this evening the following, as I felt he needed to be set straight. Email text - "Hope you dont mind the mail, I appreciate you must get a lot in your in box, but I read your recent article regards the purchase of Liverpool FC (English Soccer) by George Gilette, and made one factual error of clamitous size. You referenced Malcolm Glazer, the recent purchaser of Manchester United, and Randy Lerner, the new owner of Aston Villa FC. "He also showed he could probably sell a few trainloads of ice to Winnipeg - but that is part of Gillett's charm. Whereas his fellow Americans Malcolm Glazer (at Manchester United) and Randy Lerner (Aston Villa) have alienated supporters of their teams by refusing to have anything to do with the media or the fans, Gillett revels in rubbing elbows with those who cover his teams and those who pay the bills by purchasing the tickets." Frankly, I wouldn't speak for Manchester United fans, although yes, GLaser bought the club, then mortgaged it to the hilt, but the Aston Vila fans are in the midst of a frankly unprecendented love affair with M rLerner. Indeed, at the present time he may be the most popular man in Birmingham. The club was going backwards, unambitious, stale and locked in management paralysis with its previous owner, an 82 year old ex travel agent, who oversaw personally most aspects of the mamagement of the club. Mr Lerner bought a club, who mirror'd the Cleveland Browns (His NFL Franchise" in having a rich history, fan base, and had frankly done nothing much in over 20 years. Since that time, he has frankly put his money where his mouth is in spending on the training facilities in a way unimaginable to achieve the best for the future, has funded some key players, managed to aquire the most sought after coach who was available in England, achieved a deal with leading kit sponsors, and opened lines of communication to the fans at a base level that was unimaginable (that word again) under hte previous regime. Other examples abound, and for research I recommend reading www.villatalk.com. Mr Lerner treats fans with respect, and does much for the club, including a top flight team of board members to steer the club on. All of the above is such a refreshing change fromt he previous regime, who were protested about frequently, and who would not even indulge in communication with the fans. So we now, in 6 months, have a club that the hottest young talent are looking to sign for, (and its not just about wages). A forward thinking board, including the mightily well respected General Krulak, average gate attendances increasing game on game thats only part of the story, which can be measureed on the balance sheet. If I told you that there are 38k brummies (the locals of Birmingham) who would willingly shake Mr Lerners hand and buy him a pint (an english term for a beer) despite his being $ 2.5 billion wealthier than they, that probably gets closer. So I hope you note that despite grievances at many other Premier League clubs about American owners,99% of Villa fans are frankly over the moon at Mr Lernerspurchase, and the personal standards he brings ot woning the club. Thank you. Julian Cole " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasthevillan Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Bang on that is Juju! Question for the General, Do you think you could twist Randy's arm and get him to do the lap of honour that is tradition at the end of the season, the fans would really love to show our appreciation for the work that he and the rest of the team off the field have conducted. Another question, was Bob Kain the driving force behind the Nike deal and what is he working on now with his vast array of contacts in the business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheriffvilla Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 shocking typos Julian! spot on though. 100% accurate on both counts there :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenicks Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 This is great. Following Juju's post, I also emailed the guy at the Montreal Gazette with a complaint, and this was his email response this morning: "Congratulations. You are our 1000th Aston Villa supporter to weigh in on this tiresome subject. Unfortunately, you all seem to suffer from the impression that Montreal lives and dies with the Premiership. While it's true that we are not as abysmally ignorant of your game as you are of ours, we don't wake every morning to peruse every writer on the planet who happens to have mentioned A.V. in his text. We were misled here and I shall correct the problem. Meanwhile, I am stunned that so many people in Merry Olde, with all its wonderful cultural opportunities, have nothing better to think about than what some writer in North America says about a silly soccer team." LOL - was that an apology??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 pleb... best form of defence is attack, hey... fact is, they might not know the inside outs of the premier league, but if they are reporting on something to do with it, then they should check their sources, do some research and look at the facts... if they dont, then they arent really very good journalists.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted February 9, 2007 Moderator Share Posted February 9, 2007 OK OK I've had a thankyou note through from someone connected to the club, about how good it is that we righted this wrong. Can we get this back on Topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian1 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 General Krulak here: I just got off the phone with Randy...and I passed on these two great posts. He was VERY pleased! He remembered the incident at Bodymoor Heath...and said to tell you that he got more out of meeting the fans than visa versa. He cracked up about the t-shirt comment. Like I have been telling you all, Randy is DOWN TO EARTH!! What you see is what you get...and you will see good things. He is a very good man. Thanks for both posts....they made my day!! General! If you give me an e-mail address I can send you the pictures of Randy and the Norwegian Villa Supporters! It was a great day at Bodymoor Heath for us all!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pink_chimp Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 General Krulak here: I just got off the phone with Randy...and I passed on these two great posts. He was VERY pleased! He remembered the incident at Bodymoor Heath...and said to tell you that he got more out of meeting the fans than visa versa. He cracked up about the t-shirt comment. Like I have been telling you all, Randy is DOWN TO EARTH!! What you see is what you get...and you will see good things. He is a very good man. Thanks for both posts....they made my day!! General! If you give me an e-mail address I can send you the pictures of randy and the Norwegian Villa Supporters! It was a great day at Bodymoor Heath for us all!! Can we have a look...please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristian1 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 If the General could confirm that it's ok to post the pictures on this site I would be more than happy to share them with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 If the General could confirm that it's ok to post the pictures on this site I would be more than happy to share them with you Seeing as I am more than likely to be in one of these photos, I think I'm going to put my foot down and say you can't Obviously joking, of course, it would be great if you could share them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 General Krulak here: Some answers to the series of questions posed: 1. "Day-2' DUTIES. I have known Randy longer than any member of the Board and am more than happy to say that my duties...day one or day two...are to "do windows". In other words, whatever Randy wants me to do. Early on he asked me to oversee construction...Holte Hotel and Training Ground. I do that. The #1 man in that effort is Colonel Russ Appleton who reports to me...and who served with me in the Marine Corps. I am also working on the 25th Celebration...I worked on the effort to get Ron back at Villa Park. Bottom line: I try to help out the best way I can. Again, Randy is a dear friend and almost a "son" to me. I try not to interfere but am ready to help in any way I can. I post on 4 web sites to help Randy and the Club understand what is on the mind of the Fan. 2. Will my role be long term. Absolutely. I will be a Director of Aston Villa FC as long as Randy is the owner and I am not 6 feet under. Both are a long time in the future. 3. The previous owner. I must admit that I have never been treated with anything other than respect by the previous owner. Everytime we meet, it is very pleasant. He understands that there is a new owner and that he no longer has an official position with the Club. At the same time he is extremely supportive of Randy and of our efforts. 4. Negative remarks. Obviously, no one likes to hear negative comments...Randy, Martin, or any of us. It is not in our make-up to enjoy hearing negative comments about what we are doing or trying to do. At the same time, people like Randy and Martin and the Board need to keep focused on the plan...focused on achieving the goal. Spending too much time worrying about what people think can be harmful. 5. We looked at other Clubs but were never really close to buying one. 6. Is Randy enjoying himself. He is having a ball. He likes Martin, he likes the Team, he likes the Fans, he likes Villa Park and he KNOWS we are going to be good!! He' having a ball. Not everyday is a holiday nor every meal a banquet but....he loves it. 7. I am not sure you will see Randy taking a lap around the Pitch after the last game....that just isn't his style. BUT, who knows, maybe we can convince him that it would be nice for the Fans. He would NEVER do it for himslef. NEVER!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbo Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Exactly how many marines are there at Villa Park now ?? Could do with a couple in central midfield, eh General? :nod: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 General Krulak here: Only two...Russ Appleton and myself. Both of us would be absolutely useless in the midfield...he is as slow as I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 General, you probably wont be able to answer this question but it regards the smoking ban coming into place later this year regarding public places, at Villa park your not aloud to smoke in the seating areas but are allowed to in the concourse areas, will this change, will VP become a total smoke free zone? or will there be designated areas for smokers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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