After a disaster of a season, if you want to turn things around and fire up the focus on the season ahead, you have to make a gesture to supporters and get them on side again.
One way to do it is a proper gesture on ticket prices and Villa’s fellow relegation victims and strongest rivals next season, Newcastle United, have certainly done that.
While Villa offered an underwhelming £10 off season ticket prices next season, Newcastle announced that ‘a new ten per cent discount has now been applied to reward supporters’ loyalty.’ The reduction has been made across the board on season tickets, which will no doubt help rally their fan base.
Lee Charnley, managing director at Newcastle United, said:
“Your loyalty through these challenging time has been magnificent and it is right that we now reward you with savings for our 2016/17 Championship season.”
After Rafa Benitez signed on the dotted line to continue at Newcastle last week, the club confirming such a reduction on season tickets, both says ‘sorry’ for the previous season and will help get the Geordies in to fill St. James’ Park for the promotion push. The fact they’ve already come up with the hashtag #JoinTheRafalution, also suggests from a marketing point of view, that it’s all systems go on the promotion push.
In comparison, Villa decided to close the upper tier of one of the Trinity stand despite having lost hundreds of seats in the North stand due to the wheelchair conversation. It’s indicative of the kind of short-sighted conservatism that has cramped the club’s ambition in recent years.
The season finished a fortnight ago, yet a new owner hasn’t been sworn in yet , the club is still managerless and the players reportedly don’t even know when pre-season starts.
Unless they can summon the spirit of Denmark in the 1992 European Championships (they won the tournament with zero preparation, after filling in for war-torn Yugoslavia), then it could be a precarious season ahead.
MOMS have already suggested to the club in the Fans Consultancy Group meeting to Steve Hollis and Nicky Keye, that the club should consider following the route that Leeds United have gone down in offering season ticket holders a 25 to 50% rebate if the team fail to at least make the Championship play-offs. Obviously, it’s something that should be flagged up again with Tony Xia and his board.
If everything goes ok with the ‘Fit and Proper’ tests on Tony Xia and his team, then incentives to re-energise the Villa fanbase – either a reduction or potential rebate – should be one of the first items on the new board’s agenda.
Promotion is key and we can’t afford to waste any more time.
UTV
Follow MOMS on Twitter – @oldmansaid
What’s the point of talking to Keye she is a no mark that has the customer service skills of an aardvark !
According to the website, almost all of the Doug Ellis upper is already sold out along with all of the trinity lower. Spent three days trying to get through on the phone only to be told to buy any old seat and then I could go for one of my choice on Seat exchange day. Don’t believe they’ve sold the seats they claim, looks like another example of crass ineptitude.
Or it could be some don’t want to beleive the truth, as it would seem a lot want to support the club as it battles for an immediate return to the Prem
can things get any worse , iam afraid things are still going down hill and nobody seems to care .
no manager no owner and players wanting to leave sinking ship .
this needs sorting out NOW
Aye let’s all panic coz it’s holiday time ! Or maybe not —- anybody know how to blow up Lancastergate ?
Just a point on the managers job, does any one actually know if Di Matteo is a done deal or is just the press presuming it is because Dr X said his name in an interview. How about an alternative view and follow through the following points. Brian Little is last man standing in the directors, he was last man to win us something, his captain was sitting next to him at Old Trafford, we have not made any announcement from the club about who was on the short list, Hollis said it will be a British manager, why is it taking so long, maybe because the Toulon tournament has just finished, there were rumours of the other board members leaving because they wanted Hodgson of England, maybe it wasn’t Hodgson they were after but Southgate, it would answer some questions if the desired man is Southgate sure he would like to work with Brian Little. It ticks a lot of boxes and would answer some questions but then again i expect it will be Di Matteo, but just wonder if just maybe?
MOMs actually said that the players don’t know when preseason starts, and this is what I understand to be the case. None of them know when to turn up for the start of term. They will know the date of the first match. But not when training begins. Its chaos.
And what is the fit and proper test? I have been trying to find out, but nothing explains. However if the Premiership are investigating, then they have not got much time. On June 1st Villa cease to be a Premiership club.
Trevor Fisher
According to the press releases the fit & proper test is being conducted jointly by the Prem & the Championship management . But it would seem they are more interested in the Internationals than Villa’s future or am I being cynical ?
I’m sure some of Villa’s players don’t have a return date, but those are probably the ones who have not started their summer holidays yet & those who will not be returning as their contracts have expired