jimmygreaves Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 1 minute ago, QldVilla said: They moved into Plan B it may not be palatable but is the best option within the financial constraints. It's the easiest option, not the best. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QldVilla Posted September 6 VT Supporter Share Posted September 6 Just now, jimmygreaves said: It's the easiest option, not the best. Look forward to seeing your option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmygreaves Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Just now, QldVilla said: Look forward to seeing your option. Already posted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted September 6 Moderator Share Posted September 6 It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the current storm around him. Rightly or wrongly, I can't remember a Villa executive being subject to this much criticism in the time I've been here. I've obviously seen criticism of owners, but in this case the buck stops with Mr Heck - he can't sit silently on this, it'll end him if he does that, he'll never be able to show his face on social media again, and not just here, I mean in his future roles too. If he doesn't find a way to settle this, it'll stick with him like a stain through his whole career and it'll make his job at Villa from here on in a whole lot more difficult. I don't think he's a bridge builder by nature, and he's definitely not someone who will take a step back, but I'm not sure doing nothing will be an option - there will come a point where if he doesn't address it, it'll make his position untenable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Heck is Mr Short Term.... Putting on hold things for the long run benefit of the club (North Stand, Villa Live etc) in favour of things that have a short lived benefit. He's simple sugars when we need a balanced diet. He won't have much of a legacy because nothing he's done points in that direction and everything is based on the temporary good fortune of Unai's success. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 2 minutes ago, Dale said: Heck is Mr Short Term.... Putting on hold things for the long run benefit of the club (North Stand, Villa Live etc) in favour of things that have a short lived benefit. He's simple sugars when we need a balanced diet. He won't have much of a legacy because nothing he's done points in that direction and everything is based on the temporary good fortune of Unai's success. And my goodness the flies are gobbling up that shit like you wouldn't believe. Buzz buzz buzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_10 Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 43 minutes ago, TRO said: I don’t know his background to be honest. But, We don’t know the details of his brief, so it’s hard to comment. I am hearing we was so close to a 10 point deduction before Dougies sale, that would have changed everything. I am not giving him a free pass, but unless we know the details, it’s hard to form an reasonable opinion. “I don’t think people really comprehend how much damage he’s done in the little time he’s been there,” one team insider said. He added: “He just came off as arrogant and ignorant, and in this business it’s a very bad combination. He was so arrogant, you just couldn’t talk to him. You don’t have to be a 100 percent soccer guy, able to name all the players on Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team, but you have to have a basic understanding of the sport you’re working in. And that was clearly lacking." That is a quote from New York Red Bulls where he lasted a year before being sacked. That is his only background in football. He made his name in basketball. Where credit to him, he did help turn the Philadelphia 76ers into a billion dollar franchise, from about £400M. Around those numbers anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabucks Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 We all get it you some hate heck as he cancelled their fabled new north stand, or made some ill advised comment about finding the lower grounds… I’d say the vast majority outside of this echo chamber don’t really give two shits about what our execs do / say as long as their actions enable us to compete. There’s a reason he’s in the job and no one on here isn’t - he’s got the experience required and he’s not here to pamper to a small minority’s he’s here to raise revenue pure and simple. Will always be casualties from this but that’s the way of the world. Overall when he leaves we will be better off financially and if his actions by doing this really do make some disconnect from the club then so be it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avfc1982am Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 47 minutes ago, TRO said: We don’t know his brief, so it’s hard to comment. I am hearing we was so close to a 10 point deduction before Dougies sale, that would have changed everything. I am not giving him a free pass, but unless we know the details, it’s hard to form an reasonable opinion. Maybe if he'd been transparent from the get go people wouldn't be so pissed at him. For instance claiming that we were going to break the big 6 up, not sell our better players and take everyone else's better players instead etc. Which with the recent revelations has been found to be so far from the reality of what is happening. It makes him look like a bull shitter. Then going on about how important the STH and fans are only to play on their loyalty and squeeze for every penny when most give the club as much as they can to be in the ground on matchdays. It's not really difficult to see why those that have spent years giving their hard earned cash to the club when it was on it's arse are a little annoyed. It's as obvious as ever that we are commercially nowhere near the top tier of the PL, so just come out and say that we need to massively improve behind the scenes and the fans in the ground will be expected to contribute more. He has no allegiance to the supporters or the club and is here to do a job, so just be honest about the situation. Nobody likes a bs merchant who sugar coats things with one hand whilst putting their other in your back pocket. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 13 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said: It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the current storm around him. Rightly or wrongly, I can't remember a Villa executive being subject to this much criticism in the time I've been here. I've obviously seen criticism of owners, but in this case the buck stops with Mr Heck - he can't sit silently on this, it'll end him if he does that, he'll never be able to show his face on social media again, and not just here, I mean in his future roles too. If he doesn't find a way to settle this, it'll stick with him like a stain through his whole career and it'll make his job at Villa from here on in a whole lot more difficult. I don't think he's a bridge builder by nature, and he's definitely not someone who will take a step back, but I'm not sure doing nothing will be an option - there will come a point where if he doesn't address it, it'll make his position untenable. I agree, but we have had weak ineffective and to a degree cowards as executives at the club. It's good to see someone not afraid to make the best decisions for the club even though there will be backlash from some fans as a result. Purslow for example cared far too much about how the fans thought of him and wanted to be there giving all happy news, signings etc.. This is a competitive business in football with lots of bug risks like relegation etc.. they face. It needs strong leadership and drive and love him or loath him Chris Heck is by far the best person we've had in that respect in past few decades. I don't think the complaints and moans of the Fan Advisory Board or whatever has any real impact on his position. This period of transition in relation to Villa Park and ticket prices is not something that will happen every year. The guts of the transition is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Townsend Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 5 minutes ago, thabucks said: We all get it you some hate heck as he cancelled their fabled new north stand, or made some ill advised comment about finding the lower grounds… I’d say the vast majority outside of this echo chamber don’t really give two shits about what our execs do / say as long as their actions enable us to compete. There’s a reason he’s in the job and no one on here isn’t - he’s got the experience required and he’s not here to pamper to a small minority’s he’s here to raise revenue pure and simple. Will always be casualties from this but that’s the way of the world. Overall when he leaves we will be better off financially and if his actions by doing this really do make some disconnect from the club then so be it. In the words of Economist Thomas Sowell " There are no solutions, just trade offs" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 7 minutes ago, avfc1982am said: Maybe if he'd been transparent from the get go people wouldn't be so pissed at him. For instance claiming that we were going to break the big 6 up, not sell our better players and take everyone else's better players instead etc. Which with the recent revelations has been found to be so far from the reality of what is happening. It makes him look like a bull shitter. Then going on about how important the STH and fans are only to play on their loyalty and squeeze for every penny when most give the club as much as they can to be in the ground on matchdays. It's not really difficult to see why those that have spent years giving their hard earned cash to the club when it was on it's arse are a little annoyed. It's as obvious as ever that we are commercially nowhere near the top tier of the PL, so just come out and say that we need to massively improve behind the scenes and the fans in the ground will be expected to contribute more. He has no allegiance to the supporters or the club and is here to do a job, so just be honest about the situation. Nobody likes a bs merchant who sugar coats things with one hand whilst putting their other in your back pocket. I agree.....I am not blaming supporters for their Ire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 (edited) 20 minutes ago, avfc1982am said: Maybe if he'd been transparent from the get go people wouldn't be so pissed at him. For instance claiming that we were going to break the big 6 up, not sell our better players and take everyone else's better players instead etc. Which with the recent revelations has been found to be so far from the reality of what is happening. It makes him look like a bull shitter. I agree with you about transparency but do you realise the irony here? Do you think they want to sell our best players? Do you see why they are trying to increase income every way they can? We couldn't even " afford " the CB and Right Back everyone wanted for these same reasons. In reality I'm sure we could easily afford them if it weren't for the restrictions. Logically, what reason would he have to bullshit about those ambitions? The same thing was echoed by the owners lol... Unless you think they were bullshiting too? As I remember these statements happened previous to our proposal about increasing the loss threshold. The proposal failed and I distinctly remember him saying " we realise this is something we realise we are going to have to do ourselves " in relation to generating finances and ambition. It sucks that it's passed on to fans but it's still baffling to me how ppl don't see how it's all connected. The owners and Heck aren't talking any money out the club for themselves. Edited September 6 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 38 minutes ago, QldVilla said: All the fan base has done is given the football media the opportunity to put the boot into the club. The same media that has mostly ignored the club for what they have achieved over the past 18 months. I get that some fans aren’t happy with the pricing, but the club tried plan A and was pushed back on by the PL. They moved into Plan B it may not be palatable but is the best option within the financial constraints. Should the fans become happy clappers to everything the club does? Fans have done nothing wrong at all 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabucks Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 Very sad state of affairs that just because you don’t hate the man or are ambiguous it’s pitted fellow Villa fans against each other … I’m guilty of this also. It’s shameful really and the curse of modern day football fan and the business and society in general. It’s also a sad inditement of this place that we fight amongst ourselves over a common goal 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmygreaves Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 23 minutes ago, Andy_10 said: He made his name in basketball. Where credit to him, he did help turn the Philadelphia 76ers into a billion dollar franchise, from about £400M. Around those numbers anyway. Football clubs, from the fans perspective at least, are not franchises. They are established cultural hubs. Many have held this position for over a century. They don't exist simply to make money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post OutByEaster? Posted September 6 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted September 6 2 minutes ago, CVByrne said: I agree, but we have had weak ineffective and to a degree cowards as executives at the club. It's good to see someone not afraid to make the best decisions for the club even though there will be backlash from some fans as a result. Purslow for example cared far too much about how the fans thought of him and wanted to be there giving all happy news, signings etc.. This is a competitive business in football with lots of bug risks like relegation etc.. they face. It needs strong leadership and drive and love him or loath him Chris Heck is by far the best person we've had in that respect in past few decades. I don't think the complaints and moans of the Fan Advisory Board or whatever has any real impact on his position. This period of transition in relation to Villa Park and ticket prices is not something that will happen every year. The guts of the transition is done. That's an interesting perspective and I think to some degree points out the biggest weakness that Mr Heck displays. He's a revenue generator, a very, very effective commercial director who, in my opinion has been promoted beyond that role and not made the adjustment to CEO/President. It's the CEO/President's role to both grow and to protect the business, the CEO manages those who head departments to ensure that the business isn't harmed by decisions that might well benefit one area. I think we lack that as a company. Heck performing well would have a team around him that focus completely on generating income (and I'm sure he has). What he should be doing is separating himself from that team and managing the strategic position of the business. A good CEO doesn't alienate their customer base, nor does a good CEO paint his company into a corner in the national press. A good Commercial director generates income - the role of CEO/President is more to do with protecting the image and the brand value of the company - I think it's clear we don't have that at the moment. If Heck were doing the job well, we wouldn't be in the press this week and we wouldn't have the unrest among supporters that we do. As an example you'll like, Ronald Reagan wasn't a great economist, but he understood that the job of President was in representing something, he understood it was about appearance, emotion and connection - he was able to see through a lot of unpopular policy that affected a huge swathe of the population negatively by open easy communication and simple emotive narratives. That's brilliant CEO work, even if I hated him. I don't see the protection of the clubs reputation and values as a weakness, it was a strength of Mr Purslow's time at the club that he painted the picture of Villa as the club that did everything the 'right' way, regardless of what might have been going on behind the scenes. The key part of his role was representing Aston Villa, creating something that people would want to invest in and would want to partner with - I think the events of the last week have (quite unnecessarily) affected our brand value. Right now, there will be brands who wonder if our values align to the values they want associated with their brands. Purslow was, if you like, a reliable sensible head with experience that could guide us through a formative stage, he was Dean Smith if you will. He managed to foul himself up when he got lost in his admiration for Gerrard and started to stray into becoming a sporting director and he was duly dismissed. We replaced Dean Smith with a man of reputation, a man with a couple of dubious incidents in his past but a reputation as a winner. As it turned out, he was difficult to deal with, obstinate and ultimately lacked the real experience and skill to actually achieve what he'd been brought in to do - a great player who hasn't (thus far) made the transition to being a great manager. I hope that's not a mistake we're making again at board level, but it's hard not to see the comparison. Thus far Heck is all Gerrard and no Emery, and if the noise keeps growing, Mr Sawiris will need to step in again. 11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 44 minutes ago, Zatman said: Should the fans become happy clappers to everything the club does? Fans have done nothing wrong at all He's kind of right in a sense though. When people share stories on here like " Congratulations Heck You've made headlines for this farce ". They don't realise all the media are doing it talking an opportunistic approach and running a fresh story for hits based on our online activity. They don't necessarily care, agree or know anything about our club. Lol They do the same with other clubs too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 (edited) I think fans accept the owners or anyone employed by them arent doing everything they do for the fans. But there is a way of doing things and trying to keep the majority of punters happy and the club just haven't been doing this in the past year. It's a real shame considering how well we've done on the pitch. Edited September 6 by Vive_La_Villa 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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