Should Randy Lerner rename the Doug Ellis stand?
Thursday, 02 November 06, 09:36 AM · Comments (8)
If you read the twenty-four page document Jonathan Fear sent to Randy Lerner when the purchased the club you'd believe it was a priority to change the name of the Doug Ellis stand as quickly as possible, it may well be to some but I know for sure it's not for others, so what do you do?
We could run a poll, as other sites have and ask the question but the most people we've ever had vote on a poll is 544 and even if we got 20 times that amount it's not going to reflect real opinion on the matter as most people that visit Villa Park are not using the internet and most of the fans that support Aston Villa don't go to Villa Park week in week out.
I like Jonathan Fear so this isn't having a go at him as I'll leave that until after he's bought me the drink he owes me but to rename the Doug Ellis stand is removing some of the history and heritage of our club that the new owner talks so proudly about.
It's often vitally important to remember bad times as it is to remember good times and whatever anyone's individual opinion on Doug Ellis is, he did make the club financially secure, he did find Mr Lerner and he did appoint Martin O'Neill.
It's also important to remember that under his Chairmanship we did win two League Cups, something not every other team has achieved in twenty years. Do you remember how you felt on those two days? For me it didn't matter who the Chairman was.
I'm not saying anything about how good or bad Doug Ellis was as he has gone and we need to move forward but history isn't always about the good things and not everyone wants it changed back or given a new name so how do you keep everyone happy?
Jonathan did get it right about a few things in his document. The official web site is awful and the content is poor. It's not what you'd call reporting, more relaying information and everything reads too much like a press release.
We need a decent shirt manufacturer and I'd second getting Nike or Adidas involved, even someone like Umbro but please not Hummel again.
As a club we also need a sponsor that can match our ambition and it has to be a company interested in the long haul rather than two seasons. We need a company to buy into exactly what Mr Lerner has bought into which is probably exactly what he's going to do.
But to finish how we started and should the Doug Ellis stand be renamed? Only one man decides as he is the new owner and whatever he decides we have to be happy with as now we are a private limited company there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about it.
Here's my suggestion. Aston Villa is bigger than any one man but we should also recognise the individuals who have sat at the helm of our great club. Why not rename it The Chairman's Stand. This way, every Chairman of Aston Villa past, current and future get recognition. Only an idea, what are your thoughts? Let us know below.
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8 Comments · Add yours
its the witton lane for me but it always has been. the chairmans stand is a good idea and nobody shoudl be able to complain .. it dont matter at the ned of the day as its not where i sit its if the villa win!
if the club are going to rename the stand and if the new owners are going to listen to the fans as they say they will then a vote has to be done and not like player of hte match type vote on the aston villa site but it has to be done properly
its a big job and whatever the outcome some wont be happy. but whay is it such an issue anyway
There have been much better Chairmen than the last incumbent and none of them, to my knowledge, were so egocentric as to want to name a stand after themselves. Going slowly backwards for 25 years is not my idea of justifying that sort of memorial.
If he had built the stand with HIS OWN money then OK, he would have put something into the club. But all he did was take under the guise of being prudent. The truth is we have been ripped off by him for too long. Get that name down pronto. please. Chairmens Stand - OK; Witton Lane - OK; Herbert Ellis Stand - NO, NO NO.
it has to be renamed and i like witton or even chairmans stand but not doug ellis and when they change it they shoudl have a party!
Un-renaming it sounds like the best option. It was the Witton Lane stand and should be again. Feeling conciliatory? Then the "Chairman's Stand"; that might be tolerated.
I would hope that Mr.Lerner does the decent thing and waits a while to rename the Witton. Let's face it, Mr.Ellis does not have too many Saturday afternoons left in him and i would like to think that our new owner is dignified enough to keep it as the Doug Ellis Stand until after the inevitable.
Yes, i am the first to admit i've wanted Doug to go for a very long time. But now it's happened and he has done the decent thing by selling up to the right man, i don't feel the need to rush along and rip his name from the place.
Years of frustration, underachieving, terrible managers...but the one thing i always had faith in, was that Doug would never sell us down the river. He hasn't. Look at all those undesirables who looked to improve their profiles by pretending to bid on our club. We could have been easy prey for unscrupulous vultures who would have stripped the club or fantasyland cowboys without any proper clout who couldn't run a bath.
So let's not rush eh? What point would it prove? Sour grapes? Afterall, it's not like having some obscene graffiti sprayed on our ground, like St.Andrews does!!
Let's look to the future. Mr.Lerner could add corners to the North stand, increase capacity for when we have all the glory hunters following us in years to come. Then he could stick his name all over that, or the Messiah's.
Let's be carefull what we wish for, B6 is not a ZIP CODE just yet. Will you really be happy, with your Happy Meal(TM), sitting in the McHolte End at VODA Park!?!
Kit: As regards to Nike, no thanks. I don't like what i read about that evil empire and i have boycotted that brand for some time. Adidas? Ze Germans? Well, i suppose the extra cash could be handy, but c'mon, what's really wrong with Hummel? It's different, i like different, it's Danish, i like Danish (not the pastry, the bacon), it's not so 'in ya face' and Tommy & Martin Laursen must get a good discount!
I certainly don't think having a big 'tick' on our shirt would endear us to that many hoodies, and why would we want that anyway? Let's leave that to the ManUres and Arse-nils of this world to whore themselves.
If i had a choice, it would be Umbro or Lonsdale. As i think they are still British, if there is such a thing anymore!?
Shirt sponsership: I don't like the fact that our family club is sponsered by an on-line gambling company and i have a feeling Mr.Lerner would agree. Though saying that, i wouldn't mind a beer sponsor! Obviously Banks's. Why not, McGrath was keeping them afloat for years!!
Let's concentrate on the football, instead of VILLA-BRAND(TM). Mr.Lerner is a lover of English football history, that's why he's gone for the Grand Old Lady of em all. I for one, am looking toward our bright future, but i am staunchly proud of our past. Up the Villa!
no matter wat anyone says about ellis hes done great at keeping villa afloat and keeping us out of debt for so many years it should stay the ellis stand coz he loves this club as much as us the fans do, hes a clarot and blue legend!!
Rename the ELLIS STAND THE WITTON LANE OR MAYBE THE MC REGOR STAND, HE DID FOUND THE LEAGUE OR THE RON SAUNDERS AND WHILE WE'RE THERE HOW ABOUT GIVIN THE GROUND SOME ORIGINALITY BACK, THE NORTH STAND? IT'S THE WITTON END