Photo Finish - With The Negatives
By The Fear
April 15 2003
Following on from the thought provoking, though a little shocking, article by Ben Morgan, Photo Finish - But Without The Negatives, I have decided to answer his sentance below.
By The Fear
April 15 2003
Following on from the thought provoking, though a little shocking, article by Ben Morgan, Photo Finish - But Without The Negatives, I have decided to answer his sentance below.
"This season, Villa have fallen below the expected position that we are capable of finishing. Many fans have decided to scapegoat the board, the manager, and now the players." Ben
The majority of the seasons that have followed from Doug Ellis taking the reign have fallen below the expected position for a club that had won the league and the European Cup. Runners up twice and two league cups don't fill me with excitement our any great feeling of achievement.
To say that the fans have just decided to 'scapegoat the board' is ridiculous. The club have procrastinated and the board have been the problem for as many years as I can remember. The only difference now is that the fans sense that this board are on borrowed time which is why many groups in the Villa community have come together to form Villa Fans Combined.
Check the facts, this season alone we are 198 000 fans short of a full attendances, we have the lowest % attendance to capacity and one of the lowest % season ticket holders to capacity. People have been disenfranchised and pushed away by a board who have stripped Villa of it's heritage, just look at the new name for what will always be The Witton Lane Stand, and don't even start on what happened to the historic Trinity Stand, we didn't need the extra attendance, so why rip the heart out of Villa?
The board lack any clear business plan and haven't the structure in place to compete with the teams above us. The league position never lies, we aren't, and under the current policies never will be able to compete for Champions League qualification, which is the stated aim of our board. Yes we have some very bright young players who will be making their livings in the Premiership before too long, but other clubs also have bright new stars and good youth academy set ups, we are not unique in that. The difference is they will also supplement home grown talent with quality players.
To blame the fans seems wrong to me. The negativity at Villa emanates from the boards lack of ambition and has effected countless players, many of whom have left for 'clubs with ambition' there words, not mine. Can they all be wrong? Fans will always target managers when results are poor, and managers know full well that when things go well, they take the credit and conversely when things are going wrong the finger of blame points to them. The Villa Fans Combined are trying to illustrate that, whatever you think of our current or previous managers, it is the board who have either failed to chose the right man for the job or have failed to invest adequately in the manager to gain the success that we all want to see.
Just ask yourself, has the policy of a new manager on average every 2.5 years worked? No. Time for a complete change at Villa. Investors are circling, and a fresh approach is now very much needed. To have the same person in charge of any company for 21 years leaves the company stale, Mr Ellis has had a good chance and it is time for him to sell up and enjoy his retirement. Leave the football club to a younger and more dynamic board of directors that don't feel that it is ok to tell the fans that we are a selling club.
I agree with you 100% about fans turning on the players though, to boo one of our players whilst he is on the pitch seems pointless, counter productive and disloyal to me. But don't blame the fans for the frustration and hurt that they are feeling for this season or the ones that have passed. Blame the people at the top for that.
The majority of the seasons that have followed from Doug Ellis taking the reign have fallen below the expected position for a club that had won the league and the European Cup. Runners up twice and two league cups don't fill me with excitement our any great feeling of achievement.
To say that the fans have just decided to 'scapegoat the board' is ridiculous. The club have procrastinated and the board have been the problem for as many years as I can remember. The only difference now is that the fans sense that this board are on borrowed time which is why many groups in the Villa community have come together to form Villa Fans Combined.
Check the facts, this season alone we are 198 000 fans short of a full attendances, we have the lowest % attendance to capacity and one of the lowest % season ticket holders to capacity. People have been disenfranchised and pushed away by a board who have stripped Villa of it's heritage, just look at the new name for what will always be The Witton Lane Stand, and don't even start on what happened to the historic Trinity Stand, we didn't need the extra attendance, so why rip the heart out of Villa?
The board lack any clear business plan and haven't the structure in place to compete with the teams above us. The league position never lies, we aren't, and under the current policies never will be able to compete for Champions League qualification, which is the stated aim of our board. Yes we have some very bright young players who will be making their livings in the Premiership before too long, but other clubs also have bright new stars and good youth academy set ups, we are not unique in that. The difference is they will also supplement home grown talent with quality players.
To blame the fans seems wrong to me. The negativity at Villa emanates from the boards lack of ambition and has effected countless players, many of whom have left for 'clubs with ambition' there words, not mine. Can they all be wrong? Fans will always target managers when results are poor, and managers know full well that when things go well, they take the credit and conversely when things are going wrong the finger of blame points to them. The Villa Fans Combined are trying to illustrate that, whatever you think of our current or previous managers, it is the board who have either failed to chose the right man for the job or have failed to invest adequately in the manager to gain the success that we all want to see.
Just ask yourself, has the policy of a new manager on average every 2.5 years worked? No. Time for a complete change at Villa. Investors are circling, and a fresh approach is now very much needed. To have the same person in charge of any company for 21 years leaves the company stale, Mr Ellis has had a good chance and it is time for him to sell up and enjoy his retirement. Leave the football club to a younger and more dynamic board of directors that don't feel that it is ok to tell the fans that we are a selling club.
I agree with you 100% about fans turning on the players though, to boo one of our players whilst he is on the pitch seems pointless, counter productive and disloyal to me. But don't blame the fans for the frustration and hurt that they are feeling for this season or the ones that have passed. Blame the people at the top for that.
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