Aston Villa Owner Issues Rallying Call

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Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has issued a rallying call to fans as we now find ourselves in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.


<br><br><a href ="http://www.vitalfootball.co.uk/router.asp?7524075">Click here to read the article</a><br><br>
 
Nice words, but needs to attend more if he wants to tell others to unite. I am not sure he totally gets football. Fans will always debate, moan, react strongly to losses, be beside themselves with wins etc. Take that rollercoaster of emotions away and football would die. He could also have united the community by donating to the fundraising I did for the AV Foundation. The CEO did. We are all in this together aren't we? Maybe!

 
Meh. That's how I feel. I haven't really warmed to Dr Xia. I don't have a problem with him, but neither am I inspired by him either. In fact, Villa in general leaving me feeling pretty cold to be honest. They are a shadow of the club I fell in love with , but perhaps that says more about me than anything else.
 
I think we can all agree with the sentiments of the article. A unified Villa including the fans (akin to Wolves) would be hugely beneficial.

We can all take a loss or two if we can see the "vision" being implemented. The underlying current of unrest from a proportion of Villa fans stems from the periods of turgid football where there appears to be no apparent plan on the field of play. I accept that SB (and the wider management team) has had to deal with a disaster zone and competitive sport has winners and losers. I didn't expect Villa to run away with the league this season, but after 15 months of SB, I thought we would have a consistent style of play developing which lead to consistency in the results.

While I accept the FA cup was not a priority this season, SB had the opportunity to learn about fringe players and how they might add value to the team. As an outsider, I saw muddled thinking and an opportunity missed. SB could not possibly have learnt anything from that debacle and may now have written off the likes of Callum O'Hare as not ready. If he had slotted 3-4 players into the team (in their correct positions) and viewed others from the bench, he would have learnt a lot more. I could have taken the loss a lot better if I thought SB was experimenting, not sending unprepared players to the slaughter.

I just feel it is that kind of muddled strategy that leads a proportion of the Villa faithful to question whether SB can take us forward or is the right man for the job. We have seen that much less expensively assembled teams, with the right attitude and a consistent game plan have consistently overachieved in the Championship. I don't think anyone would suggest that Aston Villa have overachieved since SB's first transfer window last January.

Before that window he averaged 1.92ppg (with Westwood et al)
Since that window he has averaged 1.48ppg
This season he has averaged 1.69ppg
 
I like he's trying to be positive but I think we've been bitten by the last owner and the one before was the ruination of the Villa that could have been.

So I think less words (and I'd prefer little to no tweets) and more action is where we'd build our trust?

Said at a FCG meeting they should under promise and over deliver.

I know it sounds petty but the amount of backing of his club from fans is amazing, so telling people to unite shows he's only really looking at twitter. Do not use social media as a gauge. Look at the fans going to the (rather dull largely) games. And then when a fan is the first to fundraise for the AV Foundation, surely to goodness the owner should set an example? IF he did, the manager would have, the players might have followed. Keith Wyness and other staff donated.

Are we all in this together and united or not? If not, it's just words.

Hoping massively he's the real deal and we look back in five or more years and are delighted.

Been there before, I'll not feel secure until the words are back up with reality

One of the top clubs in Europe was the claim. I look forward to this being delivered with great hope!
 
I understand the sentiments; we probably all do. Maybe his choice of "next 10 games" is significant. Maybe he's hoping to minimise negative forces to give those 10 games the best chance of achieving what's required.

However, whatever the views on Bruce I doubt if anybody thinks we're where we ought/want to be. Some are optimistic it'll come good. Some have seen enough and think we need a different hand on the tiller. I suspect Xia is somewhere in the middle. He's not going to pull the plug if he thinks there's a chance it'll come good. I think he also knows he may have to, but not yet.

My guess is also that Wyness and Round are in the same position. They have a good working relationship with Steve, and don't want a break up unless necessary. But Steve's results need to improve, and with that goes better decision making.

Me, I thought a change was due last summer, and nothing I've seen since has really changed my mind. I'd have liked to have been proved wrong, but as yet I haven't. Xia, Wyness and Round have been patient, maybe too patient, although can understand why. Thought Merd's post above spot on.
 
Strange ... I see his interest waning, his patience wearing thin. Tweeting is not the way. Hopefully words are being said behind the scenes.
 
"Merd" - 12/1/2018 09:59

I think we can all agree with the sentiments of the article. A unified Villa including the fans (akin to Wolves) would be hugely beneficial.
Click to expand...

In fairness to Wolves apart from odd sky glory hunters the whole city supports Wolves . It's their Local club . Villa don't have that identity



 
Personally I think Dr Tone has made a few own goals this week.

The stuff about Wolves was both totally inaccurate and down right jealousy and embassassing.

One Wolves fan put it perfectly - you bought x for 12m y gor 22m z for 10 m a for 6m etc.... you have spent loads, we have spent wisely.

It was bang on.

Before Dr Tone talks about rallying calls I would prefer him to explain why on ezrth we are so crippled by the apparent FFP. It doesnt add up to me, we get parachute payments, we only now have 2 high wage earners we dont want - Gabby n Richards. At mist their wages total 5m a year - so what is the problem.

I am starting to suspect it is just an excuse.

As for rallying cries. If we play 3 or 4 games the same way we played v Bristol - you watch the fans rally, but when you know we will play a blinder for 1 game, then be totally boring for the next 7 its kind of hard.

Praying that we play a similar style today - but you just know we wont
 
Forgot to say.

I would prefer for Dr to stop tweets (apart from the cryptic transfers which are actually quite fun).

However, Keith Wyness and Steve Bruce need to be more vocal and accesable. When he came , Wyness did a very good interview on WM. We need more of that, as well as fan forums like they used to do. Could be invited ST holders in the Holte Suite and WM presenting and briadcasting.

Instead of hearing Xia slag off Wolves for why they are spending I would prefer Wyness to explain exactly the reason we cant and for Bruce to ecplain why , when we have, the majority of them cant get in the team
 
The fan base and support is massive and widespread and Dr Xia would do better to make a point of this. I don’t like references to business plans but if we do need them I suggest the owner bigs up the greatest asset at his disposal - the fans. The fans of whom ultimately the whole success of the Premier league is built upon, are totally loyal to the club but all have individual opinions on all other aspects of the game, including team, manager and owner and so it should be.
 
Personally I'm OK with Xia's tweets. We all like to know where he stands. Think the latest one indicates that he's unlikely to fire Bruce over the next week or so, that he thinks the most constructive thing is to get behind the team, but also that he's not too happy about the state of things and maybe his patience is being tested. Nothing wrong with that, and we know where we stand. He's backing the manager for now, but there are limits.

Twitter is part of the modern world, and it enables communication away from official announcements. Most clubs don't communicate enough. It also helps raise Villa's profile, which matters in terms of expanding revenue.
 
Holtelower , there has been full explanation of FFP elsewhere in this forum . Mike Field has explained it very well. FFP basically is combined losses over a 3 year period and it's not as simplistic as paying a couple of players £5 million a year.
 
Fair play for Mike to explain it but I dont want Mike to explain it, I want

A) The club to explain it

And more inportantly

B) If we dont go up, what are the plans.

Coz, from my simplistic view, if we cant buy players now, even when we have parachute payments and sold a lot of players like Gueye, Sanchez etc...

What the hell happens when we have NO parachute money and NO players ti sell.
 
holtelower - 13/1/2018 12:51

Fair play for Mike to explain it but I dont want Mike to explain it, I want

A) The club to explain it

And more inportantly

B) If we dont go up, what are the plans.

Coz, from my simplistic view, if we cant buy players now, even when we have parachute payments and sold a lot of players like Gueye, Sanchez etc...

What the hell happens when we have NO parachute money and NO players ti sell.
Click to expand...

I think Mike's explanation would be the same as the club's , the rules don't change according to who explains it.

But yes it is vital we get promoted this season as we would get very reduced parachute money next year and another season on the chapionship would have serious implications.
 
Club won't overly explain what's easily searchable and to be fair, in our position, if I was in the 'job' I wouldn't explain B as it instantly opens you up for criticism and in already knowing if we don't go up there are going to have to be sales, we ruin our own negotiating position next summer if we even attempt to overly explain how much shit we might be in.

I know you might reference Wolves Holte, with them saying if it goes tits up we'll sell, recoup money, tread water in effect for 18 months and then try again, but it's a different kettle of fish even on the expectation front.

Let alone the financial front and comparable finances.

And it could be a comment that bites their owners down the line when the fans stop squeeing given their league performance.

How many Villa fans still threw back at RL/the Gen 'we can spend £20million on a player if we want' and how many still threw it back when we did.

Wolves aren't at that point yet in their early ill judged words.
 
Next season we won't have to take into account the losses from our last year in the PL. Which might help. Not the faintest how much that loss was though.
 
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