Aston Villa’s President of Business Operations, Chris Heck, has given an in-depth interview in which some key topics were covered with some intriguing responses.
Heck joined the club in May last year in his role as part of the V Sports infrastructure, and while he opted to stay out of the limelight in his first six months in his new position, he has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks.
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It hasn’t all been positive in terms of feedback given he has opted to scrap plans to rebuild the North Stand at Villa Park, while a touted new crest has received backlash both in terms of the potential final design and the consultation process, or lack of, with supporters.
Nevertheless, he has been placed in a fundamental role that will impact the club’s success both on and off the pitch, and it’s important we hear from him on crucial aspects to ascertain what the plans are moving forward to make the ownership’s vision a reality and to support Unai Emery and the football department as much as possible both in the short-term and long-term future.
One particularly reassuring and positive statement that Heck made in the article was in relation to the impact of FFP and the risk of potentially seeing our rivals in the Premier League take advantage of their stronger financial position and target our top players.
The Villa chief though was adamant that it wouldn’t be a concern, and delivered a strong message on the matter.
“They can try all they want, but maybe we’ll try to buy one of their players,” he told The Times. “I think this idea that we’re here for the taking is dead. And we need to move on from that.”
Naturally, actions will be more important than words and so it’s hoped that although this will undoubtedly get the backing of Villa fans and build a more positive picture, we’ll hopefully be in a position to do exactly that in the summer and continue to strengthen instead of have to replace.
Heck adds in the piece that he felt that the focus was more localised at the club prior to his arrival, but he wants that to be a global strategy now in his attempt to increase revenue and strengthen our financial position by building the brand.
That could come through improved sponsorship deals, merchandise being more accessible over a wider area outside of the UK and intriguingly, he added that Villa are filming our season behind the scenes with the hope that it may get picked up as a documentary series by a platform.
Increased hospitality areas for fans to enjoy the matchday experience and improvements to the stadium infrastructure were also noted as part of his plans, and so it promises to be fascinating time for Villa off the pitch too in the coming months.
Big decisions will be needed, and it’s vital that while we’re excelling under Emery and the future looks promising, it’s matched in other departments to ensure we have a sustainable and constantly evolving strategy to become a real force.