The Boris Column: Be Prepared!

by Boris



Like many other Villa fans, I’ve already resigned myself to relegation.

It’s not nice, it’s very sad but, in reality, it would be silly of me to say I hadn’t seen it coming.  In my opinion, there’s been a gradual deterioration at all levels of the club over the past six years ever since our Carling Cup Final defeat to United in 2010.  From there, the Villa have been on a downward spiral towards the very lowest echelons of the Premier League, sporadically alleviated with moments of true joy (Beating Sunderland 6-1 and the FA Cup Semi-Final last year) which made me remember why I love this club so much.

Personally, I feel prepared for the Championship.  Friday night games look inviting and I don’t have to worry about getting the last Sunday train home any more as 4’o clock games will well and truly disappear, thank god.  We might even see a few more home wins!  However, what I really am searching for amid this season of calamity is proof that my beloved, albeit flawed football club, are indeed preparing themselves for a similar transition.

I constantly hear stories of player contracts which include clauses about slashing wages if, heaven forbid, relegation occurs.  Yet, I’m sure every other Premier League club have the same type of clauses.  No, what I’m really looking for are the other considerations that have to be taken into account to make sure our current slide doesn’t continue further and that we hit the ground running next season.  I’m also looking for evidence that the club are considering how to keep hold of those thousands of loyal fans which will help, in some way, alleviate the massive hole due to appear in the Aston Villa bank account next season.  Sadly, I have yet to see the proof I desire.  

Everyone’s got an opinion on which Villa players should leave at the end of the season and which ones should stay.  Unfortunately, in these days of player power, I can’t help feeling our hands will be tied when it comes to keeping those players we value and who could help us make an immediate return next season.

With that in mind, I, like many other fans I’m sure, want to see some real foundations being laid for the future.  Should we be blooding some of the youngsters from our U21 team for the rest of the season?  Surely, they can’t be any worse than the individuals who turned up against Liverpool and Stoke recently.  But I’m not naïve.  I’m not calling for them all to be thrown into the lion’s den at once, but at least introduce some of them gradually Mr Garde.

However, I feel Remi may have his own agenda at present due to the uncertainty of his future and, as a result, he may be using his team selections to help his CV.

That said, I’m very much an optimist who believes some people in this world thrive on big match occasions and the pressures they bring, producing performances that coaches and managers didn’t realise they had in them.

Therefore, it appals me when I see a promising albeit inexperienced left back, Lewis Kinsella, being loaned out to Kidderminster Town of the Vanarama League!  What on earth for?  I’m not asking for Kinsella to replace Aly Cissokho for the rest of the season, just give him a chance or at least loan him to a club in the Championship or League One to gain the experience which will benefit him and our team next season.

Yet it’s not just player issues that concern me at the moment.  The running of the club, as we all know, has been a shambles for quite some time but I feel it’s time to stop dwelling on that fact and look to the future by finding ways of cleaning up this mess.

Fox, Lerner, Hollis

With this in mind, Mr Lerner, Mr Fox, Mr Hollis, please look at every single element of Aston Villa Football
Club and please take some tips from your fellow Premiership neighbours who may even be in the same situation as us next season.   Sunderland revealed last week that their season ticket prices will be reduced for next season.  Genius!  Well, in reality it’s not genius, it’s a very sensible business approach but compare it those emerging from Villa Park of late, it’s genius!

At least Dick Turpin wore a mask

Slashing season ticket prices immediately generates interest amongst all Sunderland fans, loyal, armchair and anyone in between.  It also means that if The Black Cats do get relegated, they will still have bums on seats next season.  Disappointedly, Villa fans are still awaiting news of next season’s pricing guide and interest is indeed wavering.  Surely, forward thinking would dictate that the board are in a position to offer fans some tempting offers for next season already.

If recent experience is to go by, fans might be waiting for some time to get what they want and even then, might feel deflated, yet again.  Take for instance my choice to buy only half a season ticket this season.  Being a season ticket holder for 14 years, I did the noble deed of only getting half a season ticket after my daughter was born in late August.  My ticket eventually arrived by post, almost a month after I purchased it during which time I twice rang the ticket office who promised it would be with me by the end of the week.  When it did arrive three weeks late, to my astonishment, I only received 2.5% Villa cashback money as opposed to the 5% I would get if I’d bought a full season ticket.

Now, if I could briefly dream that we live in a world of common sense, surely I should receive some sort of perk for getting a half season ticket considering the awful displays that many thousands of fans had already witnessed?  Apparently not.  The ticket office informed me that I received an extra game free instead.

Great!  Which one?  Arsenal.  Is that the Arsenal game that took place a week ago?  I must congratulate the advertising department for that bit of good news!!!!

Not only that but if you work out the average price per ticket I’ve paid including the Arsenal game (12 in total), it works out more than the average of a full season ticket.  Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem but, this season, I feel it should be and ticket pricing needed to reflect that.

Whilst waiting for my ticket to arrive, I had to visit the Trinity Road ticket office to collect a paper ticket for
the Crystal Palace and Leicester games.  For a moment, I felt like I was being served by a 17 year old cashier from Tesco Express.  The assistant spent the whole time chatting to their colleague, hardly glancing at me and with no thank you at the end.  I was then told by the Doug Ellis turnstile attendants I had to go to the next turnstile down because the ticket reader was faulty.  The next turnstile was indeed closed already, being minutes after kick off, until I ended up next to the away end who then sent me back to my original turnstile.  The attendants ended up unlocking the security door to let me in, all the time treating me like this problem was of my own making.

Now, I know I sound like a moaning old fart, and to be honest, in my more mature years, I probably am turning into my Dad.

However, my point is, in this season of hardship, frustration and despair, sometimes a simple ‘Hello’, ‘Good evening’, ‘Enjoy the game’, ‘Sorry about the problem’ or indeed just a friendly smile, would definitely not go a miss.  In the retail sector, respectful and helpful customer service is a vital part of any business.

So why isn’t anyone at Villa Park showing that same commitment?  During a time when every Villa fan I know is questioning whether they should share tickets next season or indeed not renew theirs at all, staff at Villa Park should be treating us all like gods, surely.  If we were a High Street retailer, we’d have gone under years ago.

I recall something my dad told me the day after he had the opportunity of being invited for a tour round the new training ground during the weekend of the 25th anniversary of Rotterdam.  He said ‘In all my years as a Villa fan, I actually felt part of the club’.  It saddens me to think of how things have changed.  I, personally, have never felt so unwanted and distant from the club I have supported since a young boy.

To summarise, Randy Lerner, Tom Fox, Remi Garde, Customer Services department, Trinity Road Ticket office assistant and anyone at all employed by Aston Villa Football Club…I’m prepared for relegation.  Please, please, please start preparing yourselves for the inevitable before it’s too late, before people start losing interest, before this famous, world renowned football club plummets into
obscurity.

These fans, the history of Aston Villa and the tradition of the club deserve that at least.