Yesterday, a meeting initiated by Aston Villa’s Supporter Liaison Officer, Lee Preece, and the Head of Communications, Tommy Jordan, was held. In attendance were representatives of Avillafan.com, AVST, MOMS, Heroes & Villans, AVISC, Vital Villa and the Lions Clubs to consider creating a Fan Consultation Group in which fans’ feelings, concerns and questions will be addressed.
Yesterday’s initial meeting was largely about how this would happen.
The meeting was productive and all parties agreed that the group could be a positive move forward, building better relations between all groups and the club.
This project has been guided by Aston Villa Chairman Steve Hollis as he seeks to repair damage done in recent years and to build bridges with the fan base.
Below is a short summary of the aims of this group:
To help build a trusted relationship between the fans and the club.
The agendas for these meetings will be created and agreed by all representatives of the group.
To ensure a structured engagement and dialogue between fans and the club.
Each fan representative already engages in dialogue with other fans via social media, fan sites, supporter groups and forums.
These existing lines of communication will help identify matters to be raised as agenda points of discussion and provide a platform for the dissemination of the responses from the club on any given matter.
To be clear, this will be a fan-driven and fan-led process; it will not be controlled by the club.
Monthly meetings will be held throughout the season starting with a June/July meeting at Bodymoor Heath, which the new manager will be involved in.
After this meeting, the proposal is to have a formal, agenda-driven meeting in August then an informal meeting in September. The pattern of informal then formal meetings will continue from then on.
Informal meetings
These will not be agenda-driven. This will be an opportunity for fan representatives to engage with board members and senior management pre-match.
These meetings will also be an opportunity for the Consultation Group to discuss the approaching formal meeting and prepare/agree possible agenda items.
Formal meetings
These will be agenda-driven meetings, with the agenda being set by the fan representatives and not the club.
It was proposed that at least two board members/appropriate senior management personnel, selected based on the agenda, will attend the formal meetings.
It is worth noting that this plan is still in its infancy and changes to the structure may be made depending on further discussions between the parties involved.
The next meeting is set for Saturday April 23rd, before the Southampton game. If you have points you would like raised at this time, please join in the discussions on the forum or feel free to contact us privately.
