Aston Villa Supporters Trust

It is with regret that we have to announce that after many years of service for the Trust as the Press Officer, Neil will be resigning his post after making a life changing decision to relocate abroad.

Neil has been a key director in liaising with the media, none more so than during the Randy Lerner takeover where the phone was constantly ringing.

The Trust Executive thank Neil for his service and wish him and his family the best of luck in the future.

If anyone is interested in becoming the new Press Officer or taking a role in the Trust whether it is as a Director or non-Director role, then please contact us at enquiries@villatrust.org.uk

Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of the Trust’s control, we have to announce a change in venue for the Trust AGM on 8th May.

The Holte Pub will now be closed on 8th May, so the venue has been changed to the Doug Ellis Box 9. Access will be gained via Villa Park Reception in the North Stand Car Park.

Notices will be put on the Holte Pub doors just in case to re-direct members.

After the formalities of the AGM we will relocate to the Bartons Arms in Newtown for a social drink.

The Trust’s Annual General Meeting will be on the 8th May at 1930 in the Drawing Room at The Holte Pub.  If you have not been,  this is a good opportunity to see the refurb’d venue.

The formal notice will be issued shortly to Trust members.  Non-members can attend the AGM if they notify the Company Secretary in advance at enquiries@villatrust.org.uk.

The Aston Villa Supporters Trust will be holding a collection prior to the home game against Bolton Wanderers to raise monies for the William McGregor Statue project to commemorate the founder of the Football League.

If you can offer a helping hand, please contact the Trust on enquiries@villatrust.org.uk, leave a voice message on 07958 422815, or write to us at 2 Coton Road, DE12 8NL.

Please don’t forget to donate to the project by either sending a cheque payable to the Aston Villa Supporters Trust to 2 Coton Road, DE128NL or by clicking on the Donate button on the left hand navigation bar to pay by Credit Card.

Please give generously. We welcome your support.

Thanks

Peter Warrilow, Chair

In an interview with the BBC, Sepp Blatter (FIFA President) has rejected the PL Gam£39 proposal, declaring it as “abuse” of association football impacting its that may impact the integrity of matches and competitions.  In addition, the FIFA President hinted that it may impact the decision of choosing England for the 2018 World Cup bid.  The full BBC article on the interview can be found here.

The Football Supporters’ Federation has vowed to step up its NO TO GAM£ 39 -A MATCH TOO FAR! Campaign following FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s opposition to the Premier League’s proposal. In statement issued on Friday (Fri 15/2/08) the FSF said, “Whilst Herr Blatter’s statement is welcome, this doesn’t mean the danger of the Premier League pressing ahead has passed. Supporters need to keep the pressure up. We confirm that we’ll be proceeding with next week’s campaign meetings around England.”

FSF Chair Malcolm Clarke said, “We might have gone one up ten minutes into the game, but there’s still a long way to go. We’ll be fighting right to the final whistle. We can’t afford to be complacent or think this proposal is off the table.”

Petition up on Downing Street website is open (despite end date of 11th Feb):

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/EPLabroad/

Wording is:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Urge the Premier League to abandon plans to play Premiership games overseas purely as a effort to raise more money.

Not the best wording (integrity of League system = 2 matches?) although additional wording does go into this; but this is still worth supporting in addition to FSF petition which now stands at 10,000 signatures.

The Football Supporters Federation is in the process of arranging a series of NO TO GAM£ 39 regional action meetings.

Fans of all clubs are invited to congregate to discuss what action we can take against the Premier League’s potentially lucrative but preposterous proposals to play competitive domestic matches in far flung corners of foreign fields.

In the days since the news broke the FSF has been inundated with supporters demanding we take a stand. Everything from match boycotts, where fans of Premiership teams would watch a lower-league side for a weekend, to Jarrow Crusade-style fans’ marches to London has been proposed.

The Football Supporters’ Federation has the will and the resources, both financial and technological, to help mobilise this country’s football supporters around this issue. What we need now is for fellow fans to make a stand and get involved.

The Birmingham meeting will take place Friday 22nd February (7:30pm) at:

The Old Royal Pub
53 Church Street
Birmingham
B3 2DP

For other regional meetings, go to the Discussion Board here.

Reasons why

For those of you who haven’t signed the petition yet the FSF have collated a list of reasons why you should. The arguments against are many and varied - for those of you yet to sign the petition here are just some of the reasons why you should do as soon as possible.

Go to NO TO GAM£ 39 Reasons why these proposals are a bad idea

“I beg to tender the following suggestion … that ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season” (William McGregor)

When William McGregor wrote to fellow Clubs to propose the establishment of a Football League, he did so based on a fair and equitable system in which both teams would play each other twice - one at home and one away.  The Premier League proposal to play an additional game on a ”lottery” basis for additional League points falls foul of the basic principles of a League set up.

We understand the rationale of global commercialism / competition in the sports / entertainment industries,  and we are not against per se of playing games abroad to increase “brand” awareness.  What we do oppose is throwing away of the principles of a fair and equitable League system.  We hope that the next year of ”consultation” on the PL proposal will lead to a solution where teams can play abroad to sell their brand / increase revenues, but not for Premier League points. 

The Supporters’ Trusts at the PL clubs have come out against the current proposal of “Game 39″ supporting the FSF “NO TO GAM£ 39” campaign. For the full list of quotes, please see the discussion thread.

“This proposal would severely unbalance the tried and tested practice of playing each opponent twice and settling the championship and relegation on merit. Consider the situation that a side is relegated on goal difference purely because they have been unlucky enough to draw one of the ‘top’ sides in this lottery.” (Peter Warrilow, Villa Trust)

A petition is now available to sign at the FSF website and a Facebook group is open. The FSF are looking to protest locally at every Premiership Club and are looking for volunteer input (please see email link on FSF page).

To discuss the PL proposal, enter the Trust’s discussion board here.

Radio 5 Live have recently asked what has happened to the atmosphere at Premiership grounds! In the Mirror, the FSF (Football Supporters Federation) column looked at the ‘Sit, down, shut up and empty your wallets’ approach.

So, with the proclamation from the Holte that we are the 12th man, do you think Villa Park has a great atmosphere or needs improvement?

Have your say by logging into the forum and discussing your views here. Your Club-Your Voice.

To view the latest the Supporters Direct magazine, for all news in England, Scotland and internationally on supporter issues, download the PDF file.