dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 That's better Woodytom!. Suffice to say I disagree with a lot of it. I don't agree that we have no right to at least the vaguest inkling what is going on at our football club. That we shouldn't expect it to be run with a tiniest amount of due care and attention. On a personal note at this point no, I don't trust what he tells us. I'd like to hear it any way, because at least then he will be further accountable should it not materialise and the supporters/press even more motivated to bring him down. He needs to sell us. I will take the gamble that the next man is **** useless because you know what? He'd have to be one of the very worst possible to be any worse than this clown at running a football club. No need to apologise. I'm fine mate. I'm not angry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I think when you're in the kind of decline we are in then you have to offer at least some sort of transparency if not just to try and inspire a little of confidence I think at times lerners self imposed silence really doesn't help him, this is one of those times, we are shit, we are going down, we have a load of bloke at the helm who seemingly don't know what they're doing, if they do then come out and demonstrate, instead they let snippets from the AGM out and let the press run wild We have a policy as a club as not responding to speculation but I'm sorry because your audience does so it simply doesn't work We are going to be torn apart over our finances for the next couple of days, a whole heap of it wont be true, the club will say nothing, they'd rather let the media and the fans believe something that might be false than come out and say something, it's madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 15 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: That's better Woodytom!. Suffice to say I disagree with a lot of it. I don't agree that we have no right to at least the vaguest inkling what is going on at our football club. That we shouldn't expect it to be run with a tiniest amount of due care and attention. On a personal note at this point no, I don't trust what he tells us. I'd like to hear it any way, because at least then he will be further accountable should it not materialise and the supporters/press even more motivated to bring him down. He needs to sell us. I will take the gamble that the next man is **** useless because you know what? He'd have to be one of the very worst possible to be any worse than this clown at running a football club. No need to apologise. I'm fine mate. I'm not angry. DDID, in my previous post in this thread I asked whether any of the leading OTDO74 could possibly ask the club for a meeting with one or two of the board members? Do you think this is feasible/possible? I just think there are a lot of valid points in the open letter that deserve an explanation. If you and/or others were interested, be a shame not to enquire at least with the club. Great work to date by the way and having had more notice, be really interesting to see on Sunday whether more fans follow suit and leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodytom Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 29 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: That we shouldn't expect it to be run with a tiniest amount of due care and attention. I don't think for 1 second randy doesn't care. He might not care personally about the opinions/feelings of me and you individually for example but I very much doubt he wants the club to be in the mess they are in. He has made wholesale changes time and time again - sometimes - in terms of garde and lambert - changes that a lot of the fans wanted. Nothing has worked. Admittedly he needs to take responsibility for those decisions but he won't have wanted them not to work. You can't say that he hasn't attempted to alter the things that in his and a lot of our opinions weren't/aren't working. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted March 10, 2016 Administrator Share Posted March 10, 2016 Time for another reminder. This thread is to discuss one specific protest. Everything else is off topic and will earn you warning points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post markavfc40 Posted March 10, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, Woodytom said: The beauty of football is the surprise element. At all levels. The shock win or the signing we didn't see coming. Or the unknown player who makes a name for himself. The sport is losing that element by the day. I agree with this. Things like that can be a lovely surprise. Finding that you have people on the board who know what they are doing, finding that the club is being run by people who can ensure that you finish in a position in the league somewhere with in the region of what you are spending on wages relative to other clubs, finding that you have at least got close to maximising commercial income at a time the Prem league is booming, these kind of things shouldn't have to come as a surprise. They should simply be expected. This club has failed in the basics and it is so frustrating. No it is heartbreaking in fact. If we had people in the senior positions above the manager with the proven nous and experience who knew what was required to allow a manager to succeed then we could well have employed a manager who was capable of realising the clubs potential or at the very least kept us competitive. A lack of money hasn't been the biggest issue at this club. It may be an issue in terms of us finishing in the top 8 over the last handful of years but we have spent enough, certainly on wages, to have been competitive in this league and to be able to compete for a 10th - 14th place finish. The fact that we have failed is that we have not had the right people in place to oversee the spending and those same people have failed to employ the right manager to spend it or have forced that manager to adopt a policy in terms of incoming players of quantity over quality. The reasons we are protesting, the requests that we want actioned with in the open letter, aren't unreasonable requests, we simply want a club that is doing the basics right and is employing the right people with the required levels of expertise to ensure that happens. If Randy can't do that as he has continually shown then he needs to do all he can to get out and let somebody who can take over. Edited March 10, 2016 by markavfc40 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 1 hour ago, ferguson1 said: DDID, in my previous post in this thread I asked whether any of the leading OTDO74 could possibly ask the club for a meeting with one or two of the board members? Do you think this is feasible/possible? I just think there are a lot of valid points in the open letter that deserve an explanation. If you and/or others were interested, be a shame not to enquire at least with the club. Great work to date by the way and having had more notice, be really interesting to see on Sunday whether more fans follow suit and leave. The letter has been sent to the club and to Randy Lerner via mail. At the time of reckoning the club still think we are a joke, or at least that's the last OTDO74 heard. First "we" (as in all of us) need to gather support and momentum, particularly in the press. The nationals are still slow on the uptake (telegraph aside). 10,000 fans walking out against Spurs might just draw the attention Aston Villa need to their plight. From there if they engage, sure why not. I don't wish to speak for OTDO74 as a whole but if at some point the fans want OTDO74 speaking for them then I don't see a reason not to. I suppose I'll be accused of being big headed again now but it is what it is. What OTDO74 do definitely hope to achieve is assist the fans in working towards the requirements stated in the letter. How that comes about is still a bit suck it and see, but the first step remains grabbing the headlines and a visual display of power from all supporters. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 1 hour ago, Woodytom said: I don't think for 1 second randy doesn't care. He might not care personally about the opinions/feelings of me and you individually for example but I very much doubt he wants the club to be in the mess they are in. He has made wholesale changes time and time again - sometimes - in terms of garde and lambert - changes that a lot of the fans wanted. Nothing has worked. Admittedly he needs to take responsibility for those decisions but he won't have wanted them not to work. You can't say that he hasn't attempted to alter the things that in his and a lot of our opinions weren't/aren't working. Fair enough. Regardless he has failed, that is a fact now isn't it. At the same time he admitted almost 2 years ago that his heart isn't in it anymore. That he is still here is unacceptable to me. Those managers haven't always failed through their own volition. It's not the fans fault, at all. I know you didn't mean that, but it's worth reiterating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 10 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: The letter has been sent to the club and to Randy Lerner via mail. At the time of reckoning the club still think we are a joke, or at least that's the last OTDO74 heard. First "we" (as in all of us) need to gather support and momentum, particularly in the press. The nationals are still slow on the uptake (telegraph aside). 10,000 fans walking out against Spurs might just draw the attention Aston Villa need to their plight. From there if they engage, sure why not. I don't wish to speak for OTDO74 as a whole but if at some point the fans want OTDO74 speaking for them then I don't see a reason not to. I suppose I'll be accused of being big headed again now but it is what it is. What OTDO74 do definitely hope to achieve is assist the fans in working towards the requirements stated in the letter. How that comes about is still a bit suck it and see, but the first step remains grabbing the headlines and a visual display of power from all supporters. Cheers DDID, I think my reasoning for suggesting a meeting, headed by one or more of OTDO74, is because the club are obviously not going to talk to thousands of supporters in one hit nor would it be feasible to do so. A small group may just get some answers and a better understanding of our future, but again, this would only be of the willingness of the club. Longer term, it may even improve relations between us all and create some transparency, something severely lacking recently. Again, I hope OTDO74 does progress and doesn't just fizzle out. Momentum is key as you quite rightly say and requires as many of us as possible to get behind this now. Thanks again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodytom Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 13 hours ago, markavfc40 said: The reasons we are protesting, the requests that we want actioned with in the open letter, aren't unreasonable requests, we simply want a club that is doing the basics right and is employing the right people with the required levels of expertise to ensure that happens. If Randy can't do that as he has continually shown then he needs to do all he can to get out and let somebody who can take over. But hindsight is a wonderful thing..... I remember posting when we got ray wilkins that I thought it was one of our best signings in years. I remember TrentVilla replying saying that he would add fox and Almstadt to that. I agreed. Now I'm not saying for one moment that myself or TrentVilla speak for the whole of the villa faithful but on the summer, the response to the hirings/signings were very good and had people even suggested relegation nevermind the shambles we've witnessed, they would have been shot down instantly. 10 months down the line and we're protesting (in some form) about the hirings that we were only a short time ago very pleased with. We thought they would work out. And I assume randy Lerner did. Yet were pointing the finger in disgust at him. What were not accepting is despite off the field issues, we have a squad of players who can compete at this level, yet have chosen not too. This protest would not be happening if we were 5/6 points better off which would be more than achievable had the players shown more desire. Things aren't going well. Sometimes they don't in football. That, like the suprise element, helps make the sport. Somebody has to be bottom of the league. Unfortunately it is us and whilst I think it's fair for us to voice our opinion atm, I honestly genuinely believe it would be better placed aiming it at the players, who could have easily made that bit of a difference to give us a chance as oppose to randy, whose wrong decisions (that were supported by us) can not be fixed so easily. Sorry if you feel this has gone OT limpid or other mods. Tried to keep it relevant to the topic. I think it's fair to challenge the protest but to do that with respect, I have to explain my reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 2 hours ago, Woodytom said: But hindsight is a wonderful thing..... I remember posting when we got ray wilkins that I thought it was one of our best signings in years. I remember TrentVilla replying saying that he would add fox and Almstadt to that. I agreed. Now I'm not saying for one moment that myself or TrentVilla speak for the whole of the villa faithful but on the summer, the response to the hirings/signings were very good and had people even suggested relegation nevermind the shambles we've witnessed, they would have been shot down instantly. 10 months down the line and we're protesting (in some form) about the hirings that we were only a short time ago very pleased with. We thought they would work out. And I assume randy Lerner did. Yet were pointing the finger in disgust at him. What were not accepting is despite off the field issues, we have a squad of players who can compete at this level, yet have chosen not too. This protest would not be happening if we were 5/6 points better off which would be more than achievable had the players shown more desire. Things aren't going well. Sometimes they don't in football. That, like the suprise element, helps make the sport. Somebody has to be bottom of the league. Unfortunately it is us and whilst I think it's fair for us to voice our opinion atm, I honestly genuinely believe it would be better placed aiming it at the players, who could have easily made that bit of a difference to give us a chance as oppose to randy, whose wrong decisions (that were supported by us) can not be fixed so easily. Sorry if you feel this has gone OT limpid or other mods. Tried to keep it relevant to the topic. I think it's fair to challenge the protest but to do that with respect, I have to explain my reasoning. Leaving aside the idea that we should leave this all to chance because 'that's just the nature of the game', who hired those players? Who hired the man who hired the men who hired those players? We are NOT 5/6 points better off because of all of those factors and the accountability runs all the way to the top. Despite popular belief, shit rolls uphill, as it should be. There has been one constant at this club residing over 6 years of failure on the pitch, though some may argue 10. A decade of failure off it, which is unquestionable now. His name is Randy Lerner. What decisions did we support? Unilaterally that is? It's irrelevant in my opinion. The thing that has ultimately bought this club to *potentially* the darkest hour in it's 139 year history is the complete lack of commercial direction, vision, measured and consistent financial support and a strategy that has flip flopped from one extreme to the next. Yes the players are a joke and should be **** ashamed of themselves for the most part, but they are the symptom of the disease, not the cause. The cause is Randy Lerner and the sooner absolutely everybody to a man see's that then the better, IMO. Would we have formed this particular protest group if we were 5/6 points better off? Had we not gotten smashed 6-0 the week before? Possibly not. But we aren't and we did, so the point is kind of moot. The feelings expressed are genuine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 15 hours ago, ferguson1 said: Cheers DDID, I think my reasoning for suggesting a meeting, headed by one or more of OTDO74, is because the club are obviously not going to talk to thousands of supporters in one hit nor would it be feasible to do so. A small group may just get some answers and a better understanding of our future, but again, this would only be of the willingness of the club. Longer term, it may even improve relations between us all and create some transparency, something severely lacking recently. Again, I hope OTDO74 does progress and doesn't just fizzle out. Momentum is key as you quite rightly say and requires as many of us as possible to get behind this now. Thanks again. It's more to do with the willingness of the fans. We don't have that remit yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanpabloangel18 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 18 hours ago, Woodytom said: The beauty of football is the surprise element. At all levels. The shock win or the signing we didn't see coming. Or the unknown player who makes a name for himself. The sport is losing that element by the day. Leicester are about to win the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted March 11, 2016 Moderator Share Posted March 11, 2016 45 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: It's more to do with the willingness of the fans. We don't have that remit yet. Very true, and you'd quickly lose the 'undecided' vote if you took that liberty. "They don't speak for me", "Who do they think they are" etc etc. Nah you're doing it well guys. Best of luck for Sunday 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMcKenna Posted March 11, 2016 Author VT Supporter Share Posted March 11, 2016 Claims on Twitter that Brian Little and David Bernstein have joined Villa board Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Claims on Twitter that Brian Little and David Bernstein have joined Villa board Brian Little and David Bernstein OUT! We're bottom of the league and need to make changes! Nothing left to chance! Etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) There was an unconfirmed report on Little & Bernstein on Radio WM this evening from 1.38 onwards below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03k1fyp Mark from 1.42 onwards suggested that if the club confirms these appointments (which has since been done on the club's site) then the walk out against Spurs will be off and further action postponed by OTDO74. Is there any further comment/news on that as yet? Edited March 11, 2016 by John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YGabbana Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I dont see how those appointments will effect the walkout tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCJonah Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 37 minutes ago, John said: There was an unconfirmed report on Little & Bernstein on Radio WM this evening from 1.38 onwards below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03k1fyp Mark from 1.42 onwards suggested that if the club confirms these appointments (which has since been done on the club's site) then the walk out against Spurs will be off and further action postponed by OTDO74. Is there any further comment/news on that as yet? That would be disappointing. As a group are we that soft that a nice name from the past can make us not care about everything happening right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) 44 minutes ago, John said: There was an unconfirmed report on Little & Bernstein on Radio WM this evening from 1.38 onwards below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03k1fyp Mark from 1.42 onwards suggested that if the club confirms these appointments (which has since been done on the club's site) then the walk out against Spurs will be off and further action postponed by OTDO74. Is there any further comment/news on that as yet? It's coming. We've not gone soft. But it's clear they are listening, so we must throw a small gesture back no? Mark wasn't given the time to flesh out fully what he wanted to say, he was reacting to live news which is not easy even when you're media trained! @DCJonah We've not gone soft. But if we want to be respected, we must show respect back I feel. Edited March 11, 2016 by dont_do_it_doug. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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