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To clear up the shroud lurking around Aston Villa's terrible 2015, the Aston Villa Supporters Trust have hosted an AGM with CEO Tom Fox and Chairman Steve Hollis in attendance. I'll let the brilliant @AVFC_VILR take it from here, please visit their twitter feed for the full scoop.
"You are only as good as service to the customer...people like coming to #avfc VP...even in adversity..my job is to make it right" - Hollis
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) January 21, 2016
Right, first off Steve - I know I'm a customer, I'm aware of it - but please don't refer to me as one. Disconnection between board and fans begins the second you break that illusion.
"Tim Sherwood said we cant do it with these guys. No football club lets one guy pick 15 guys. #avfc squad lost confidence v early." - Fox
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) January 21, 2016
The biggest mistake here was hiring Tim Sherwood. It's an incredible lack of foresight. How did the bloke even pass his interview? Why was a man who did not fit the plan hired?
"Recruitment in summer did not deliver a bad outcome." Fox #avfc
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) January 21, 2016
Yes it did Tom, yes it did.
#tomfoxq&a Fox: we are not a desirable club.
— Lowey (@AV_Lowey) January 21, 2016
This answer speaks volumes to me. There's a massive swath of people who want Lerner out, but frankly - he can't go until someone buys us.
"If we make mistakes now we will cripple our chances. I would be irresponsible if i spent money that harmed us if we went down." - Fox
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) January 21, 2016
My favourite answer of the night, but the one I feel as though I can't agree with. Newcastle and Sunderland might be irresponsible, but they sure as hell may stay up.
"We had an aggressive plan over the summer...manager at the time was willing to work to this. Fell down integrating players" - Fox #avfc
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) January 21, 2016
Again, I am so disappointed with the lack of foresight here. I think we all knew Tim Sherwood was a walking, talking, banter-injected meme of a human being. I know their plan was shafted, but they can't have believed he was the right man for the job.
So yeah, I can't disagree with many of the answers, but the business lingo used so well by Tom Fox and Steve Hollis will not endear them to a hostile audience. The AGM seems to have left many fans horrendously disappointed and although I certainly understand that Villa are a business, there will be many dreamers leaving Villa Park feeling tremendously upset at this.