Re: A hovercraft of eels...it's the Tony Xia thread.

by **NARLA24** Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:31 am

There are only 2 pitches that will be affected by HS2. These are both on the Academy side of BMH. Now although this is very inconvenient for the Academy side of the club it would appear that they may be given some surrounding land to relocate these academy pitches.

by Sky Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:39 pm

Tony Xia invited some officials from Birmingham City Council during the Cardiff game.

Xia apparently is looking to build some sort of complex like star city around villa park.

by deadbuzzardalive Mon Nov 28, 2016 9:28 am

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/steve-bruce-excited-mouth-watering-9348802

Doesn't really say much, but things could get interesting if we get back to the Premier league.

by Guest Mon Nov 28, 2016 11:42 am

deadbuzzardalive wrote:http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/steve-bruce-excited-mouth-watering-9348802

Doesn't really say much, but things could get interesting if we get back to the Premier league.

was just gonna post this, really exciting stuff, I just hope to Mcgrath we can get back quick and he doesn't loose patience and fock us off. ive said this many times, WHEN we get back to the prem I think the doctor is gonna go for it big time, I really do.

by Guest Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:23 am

watch Xia cam, hes focking loving it - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-transfer-rumours-news-12244347

by **NARLA24** Tue Nov 29, 2016 1:09 pm

jimbop wrote:watch Xia cam, hes focking loving it - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-transfer-rumours-news-12244347

The differences between him and Lerner are startling to say the least. Passion is now sweeping through the club instead of total negativity. Well done Xia.

by DelboyVilla Wed Nov 30, 2016 7:57 am

NARLA24 wrote:
jimbop wrote:watch Xia cam, hes focking loving it - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-transfer-rumours-news-12244347
The differences between him and Lerner are startling to say the least. Passion is now sweeping through the club instead of total negativity. Well done Xia.

I don't want to be a negative nelly but we all felt the exact same feelings when Lerner replaced Herbert?

However with hindsight Dr T is not making the same dimwitted decisions as Lerner? For example the appointment of Wyness. So fingers crossed!!

by Gordonsleftboot Wed Nov 30, 2016 11:22 am

Read the notes of the interview with Steve Round on here to see the vast difference between the Lerner and Xia approaches. Very impressive stuff.

by deadbuzzardalive Thu Dec 01, 2016 8:12 pm

He's apparently been interviewed by 'The Times' in the last couple of days. Something to look out for, I imagine it will get printed sometime over the weekend.

by deadbuzzardalive Fri Dec 02, 2016 4:20 pm

by deadbuzzardalive Sat Dec 03, 2016 12:41 pm

deadbuzzardalive wrote:He's apparently been interviewed by 'The Times'.

Haven't read it myself yet, so don't if it tells us much new, had to copy it from 'reddit' as it's behind a paywall on the Times site, here it is...

'When Aston Villa’s owner, Dr Tony Xia, addressed the World Robot Conference in Beijing in October, he was inundated with tweets from Villa fans asking everything from “any chance they can build us a decent right back” to “are we re-signing Peter Crouch?”

Villa supporters are fascinated by Xia. Many in football are curious about the little-known Chinese businessman who now controls one of the founding fathers of the Football League. Xia engages readily with fans via social media but since buying Randy Lerner out for £76 million, he has largely avoided interviews. So his image has gained layer after layer: Xia has been depicted as everything from a saviour of the Holte End to a stooge for the Chinese government, from a Bond villain to the Harvard-educated hero who sailed through the Football League owners’ and directors’ test.

In six years we can be top of the Premier League so we can be in Champions League But who is Tony Xia? He’s certainly different from Lerner, let alone Doug Ellis. The situation is confusion meets Confucius. Xia is a ferociously intelligent best-selling author who reads Jane Austen and has inserted two safe-standing areas in new plans for the Holte End. He says that Villa were “a mess” when he bought them, that Steve Bruce “is better than I expected” and wants to turn the 11th-best team in the Championship into Champions League winners “in ten years”.

Villa fans don’t think he’s crazy. “On a scale of one to Cellino, you’re about a four, Tony,” one supporter reassured him. Xia’s club travel to Massimo Cellino’s Leeds United today. English football is a broad church, especially at board level. Chinese expansion has been particularly felt in the West Midlands with Trillion Trophy Asia taking over Birmingham City, Guochuan Lai buying West Bromwich Albion, Jeff Shi fronting the conglomerate owning Wolverhampton Wanderers while Xia has Villa.

Meeting Xia is a two-fold process, first a ten-minute private chat in the Bodymoor Heath canteen followed a week later by an interview in the boardroom at the training ground where all the photographs have been taken down. He does not have to look far for local heroes, having just spent two hours watching training in the company of Peter Withe and Brian Little.

He seems surprised at any suspicions. “Chinese people are very friendly,” Xia says. “It’s from our very long history of philosophy, they want to make harmony with the world. From Confucius they start to implement that conception of harmony.” Xia insists the Western perception of Beijing being closed and suspicious of the outside world is outdated. “For now, the Chinese government has changed a lot, they are now not considered enemies. They do not have very strong suspicions to other parts of the world. They start to change their minds and learn how to understand others, not only with the US, but UK and other countries. There’s really no big barrier between East and West now.”

So, really, who is this Beijing-based, Villa-backing citizen of the world? Xia patiently explains. His family history seems partly to reflect China in the 20th century, including the grip of Communism when Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China in 1949. “Before ’49 we were a very wealthy family. My grandfather’s father used to be a minister for the Kuomintang party, which went to Taiwan [in 1949 after defeat in the Chinese Civil War to Mao]. It was not good for our family to stay in mainland China because of the political situation, but we couldn’t move.”

They stayed and suffered. “Our life was affected a lot, not only economically. My father was not allowed to go to college because of the political background, even though he was admitted to university. He couldn’t take some jobs. He lost opportunity. It was very difficult. For the Cultural Revolution era, you can compare with North Korea now.”

Deng Xiaoping brought in economic reforms and things began to improve for families like Xia’s, increasing when Deng stepped down in 1989. “After Deng Xiaoping came off the stage, some families like ours who had difficult times in the Cultural Revolution era were allowed to get equal opportunity again to go to school and have jobs. My father was free to do something. He started to do some business but it was very minor business for him, just so he can afford for us to go to school. My family taught me that the only way to go through hard times was to study hard.

“The difficulties that our family faced taught me a lot, like you have to work hard.” He still managed to fit in football training and playing as a striker while studying in Beijing. “We had a college league for all the universities in Beijing, close to semi-professional level.”

Harvard beckoned where he studied design and landscape architecture. “A dramatic change for China was that starting from the early Nineties, a lot of people like me went abroad to study. A lot of those students went back to China either to do business or to teach at university or college. Those people are changing the country a lot.

“Harvard opened up a broader view of the world for me. I got the chance to access all kinds of knowledge. Harvard has more than 100 libraries! I got a chance to meet people from all over the world, from different fields and that made me understand the world better.”

He spent five months at the University of Oxford in 1999. “There are a lot of similarities between Oxford and Harvard, actually, but Oxford is much more historic. It’s more like the difference between America and the UK. America is much more open and ‘pop’. But here it’s more Classical and more disciplined in parts.”

It was not all work amid the dreaming spires. He headed up the motorway to catch John Gregory’s team in action. “I watched one game at Villa when I was at Oxford — against Liverpool.”

Xia returned to China and continued building his business, The Recon Group, which is involved in everything from monosodium glutamate to small loans. When his wealth was recently estimated at £550 million, he laughed it off, tweeting “those rich-list ranking stuffs never get even close to ‘correct’.” Yet he sees fit to mention when he has landed a large deal for Recon, as if to show he’s not a “pauper”.

So does he consider himself a capitalist? “Honestly, I never understand the term ‘capitalist’ and in mainland China there’s ‘communist’. The driving force for me to do some business came from my childhood experiences and from my education, not only at Harvard but also in China. When I was in China, from elementary school to college, I was trying to learn so that one day I can make some changes in society for the country. When I completed my studies at Harvard, I started to learn that maybe I can not only do something for my country but do something to make the world a much better place with my ability. At Harvard, I was trained to be a person who can be valuable to the world.”

And valuable to Villa? What was the attraction? “It’s much more difficult to buy Arsenal or Liverpool,” he explains. He could also see the potential of a fallen giant, a 142-year-old club who have won the title seven times, the FA Cup seven times and the European Cup with that goal from Withe in 1982.

“I’m absolutely aware of the heritage,” Xia adds. “That’s another big reason for us to consider Aston Villa, the long history, the large fanbase that maybe was broken somehow for some years. We have time to recover and take it back to being a great club again.

“Honestly, the first part [of his interest in Villa] comes from my passion for the sport. The second is the business part. When we bought Villa, it was a total mess. We are talking about the management system through the club. It was even much worse than I expected when I took over.

“We have bought a lot of similar businesses, some companies in crisis, and we had to fix them. That’s the value we can give.” Fixing problems. Roberto Di Matteo was appointed in June, partly, it seems because Xia respected his academic qualifications including attending an MBA course. He lasted until early October and the more experienced Bruce came in.

“He’s much better than I expected,” Xia says of Bruce. “I didn’t expect him to be so open to learn a lot of new things. Honestly, a lot of people said he was quite good as a manager to get out of the Championship, and go back to the Premier League — and that was the first priority and we didn’t expect much more. But now I think he is much more open, and learning. Now I’m very confident and quite comfortable not only just Steve, but Keith [Wyness, chief executive] and Steve Round [technical director]. I like the whole team.

“Everyone knows we have to build everything step by step. We plan to go back to the Premier League in one year, at most two years, stay [consolidate] for one or two years and we hope in five or six years we can be the top club in the Premier League so we can play in Champions League and then two or three more years we can challenge to go top of Europe. I’m very confident for that.

“I foresee modern football changing very quickly. The club that is top now won’t stay there for many years if they don’t push to fit into the changes that are happening. Football will be dramatically changed by the implementation of more data technology, internet, communication technology, and one day, maybe also, bio-science, bio-technology. Even a club like Man United now, if you don’t start to make a lot of changes will very soon be left behind.”

Football is changing already, especially with the areas around grounds being turned into fan-friendly areas as at Anfield and the Etihad. Xia has similar plans for Villa Park, mixing business enterprise and theme park. “My conception for the redevelopment of the Villa Park area is not just the stadium itself,” Xia continues. “We are going to redevelop the whole area, so we can combine with all kinds of stores, specialising in sport, and some entertainment location experience.

“Maybe we will build some tourism destination to demonstrate the history of Villa as the first club to [help] found the [Football] League. We can bring not only Villa fans from all over the world but tourists from China, India and other countries to visit. That’s the large plans we take to Birmingham city council. It’s exciting. I pretty much agree we can insert some safe standing. We might add two standing areas in-between a seating area. That would be interesting.” Having transformed Villa Park, would he sell? “No, no, no,” Xia insists.

He enjoys watching Villa, meeting supporters, relaxing. “Honestly for the past five years I’ve been working too much. I’m not young any more. I realise I can’t work like I studied at Harvard, when I worked 18 hours every day, so for now, sometimes I take one day off to sleep on the beach, just make peace. My daughter was born two years ago and she’s made me more relaxed.”

He also relaxes by reading. “I was a best-selling writer 11 years ago. I had two books published as best-sellers in Chinese. I’m very much into literature and philosophy. From the traditional Chinese literature, my favourite would be Cao Xueqin.” Cao’s book Dream of the Red Chamber is considered one of the four great books of Chinese literature but he also loves one English author in particular, Jane Austen. “I went to Bath city for The Three Sisters! Jane Austen!” Xia has yet to read any of Steve Bruce’s three novels, but the engaging, slightly mysterious Dr Xia has certainly become embedded in English footballing life.'

by achilles Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:58 pm

That's a good article.

Cheers, @deadbuzzardalive

by deadbuzzardalive Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:09 pm

Apparently there's information on the companies house website, that suggests that Recon have taken out a loan from HSBC, don't know how true that is and whether it would be something to worry about.

Xia referenced it on his twitter, but didn't exactly deny it.

by AstonThriller Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:41 pm

deadbuzzardalive wrote:Apparently there's information on the companies house website, that suggests that Recon have taken out a loan from HSBC, don't know how true that is and whether it would be something to worry about.

Xia referenced it on his twitter, but didn't exactly deny it.

I thought he put that to bed quite easily actually...

Dr. Tony Xia ‏@Dr_TonyXia Dec 8

Nothing abnormal as Villa and HSBC continue to develop business partnership¬hing to link with January window plan. Ppl are too sensitive

So what's the fuss when the man already said he put 600m in an English bank to bankroll the Villa deal and also showed a dailymail reporter a 400m dollar cheque in his name? Just idiots on twitter trying to stir the pot again just like they did in the summer.

by Guest Mon Dec 12, 2016 1:51 pm

AstonThriller wrote:
deadbuzzardalive wrote:Apparently there's information on the companies house website, that suggests that Recon have taken out a loan from HSBC, don't know how true that is and whether it would be something to worry about.

Xia referenced it on his twitter, but didn't exactly deny it.

I thought he put that to bed quite easily actually...

Dr. Tony Xia ‏@Dr_TonyXia Dec 8

Nothing abnormal as Villa and HSBC continue to develop business partnership¬hing to link with January window plan. Ppl are too sensitive

So what's the fuss when the man already said he put 600m in an English bank to bankroll the Villa deal and also showed a dailymail reporter a 400m dollar cheque in his name? Just idiots on twitter trying to stir the pot again just like they did in the summer.

same old same old mate, digging for shit when the shit doesn't exist!! glad I don't live life like that

by Guest Thu Dec 15, 2016 3:29 pm

this is who Dr T is, what a great man - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-tony-xia-most-12325881

by achilles Thu Dec 15, 2016 4:43 pm

jimbop wrote:this is who Dr T is, what a great man - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-tony-xia-most-12325881

Aston Villa, Tony Xia and the most heartwarming story you'll read this Christmas

Chris Searles had an emotional experience of a lifetime thanks to Dr Tony Xia

BY MAT KENDRICK

Aston Villa fan Chris Searles has contacted the Birmingham Mail to share a heartwarming story involving Dr Tony Xia.

Chris was over from Canada for his stepfather's funeral when he had a chance encounter with the Villa owner.

What followed was a wonderful example of Xia's kindness and an emotional nostalgic experience of a lifetime for Chris.
We'll let Chris take up the story:

The background

My dad, Melv Mullen, was a well known Villa fan.

He isn’t my biological dad, but came into my life when I was five when he moved to Bognor for work. My first game was in 86, a home game against Liverpool that finished in a 2-2 draw. I was hooked on the Villa from that moment on travelling around the country watching Villa.

It was about spending quality time with my dad, the excitement of travelling up by train, seeing the magical AV floodlights, his old Villa friends that treated me superbly, the electric atmosphere and hopefully a Villa win.

The bereavement

My dad passed away in August and we wanted to have the memorial service at the Aston parish church. After a slight delay we booked in last Friday. I had emigrated to Vancouver about 11 years ago and came over for the service. Being back in Birmingham and particularly Villa after many years away was very emotional.

It was fantastic to see so many old faces from my youth. Just before the service started, I become a bit too emotional and needed a walk to clear my head and refocus. I decided to take a walk down to Villa Park for old times sake. It was dark with not many lights on.

The chance encounter

As I walked past the North Stand from the Trinity Road I saw a couple of figures come out of the reception area. As I got closer to them I realised that it was Dr. Tony and his assistant Rongtian Ho.

I bumped into them and said that I’m really pleased with the positivity that seems to be around the place. I told them I came from Vancouver for my dad's memorial and that I’m taking a walk for sentimental reasons as Villa Park holds so many happy memories for both of us.

I was about to ask for a picture when he asked me to join him for the next day's game. I was a bit shocked! His assistant (known as Mr. Ho at Villa Park) took my number and said we would connect in the morning.

I went back to a wonderful service with a wake at the Aston Tavern where old stories were shared. Including the one of Mac the Sock and my dad hitchhiking to Norwich and getting picked up by Doug Ellis who took them there and brought them back!

The next day

The next morning Mr. Ho asked if I could meet him at the North Stand reception at 12.45.

As I got there Ron Atkinson was walking in. Mr Ho turned up and beckoned me to come outside and get in a car. I jumped in the front and Dr Tony was siting behind me!

So he waited outside until a no mark like me got in! We got to the players' entrance where he waved at the Villa fans waiting in the usual position by the fence.

The three of us walked in and I said 'hello' to a few players after they said hello to the chairman.

The tour

We walked down to the changing areas and he popped into the manager's office very briefly. He then walked me out onto the pitch and up to the Holte End.

There I was, just me, the chairman and Mr. Ho walking out on the pitch together. He didn’t need to do any of it but made it just for me.

I told him how unbelievable this was and how I wished my dad was there to see as he would never have believed me!

On the way back Steve Bruce popped out for a chat and graciously allowed a picture. Tony and the manager seem to have a very friendly and fun relationship. The Dr. took me up to join the #sittingwithxia competition winners in the box suite and had a chat with us all there.

Dr Tony was really nice. I had no idea what was going on so I pretty much just followed the two of them about whilst they took me on this personal tour. I wanted to be respectful so just went along with it all.

The experience

I said to the Dr. that previously owners had looked at a Villa fans ‘match day experience’ as a chance to sell merchandise and make money.

He said that they are working hard to make Villa a family club that has deep connections throughout Birmingham.

Keith Wyness came in and told us that we are behind the other clubs with our youth policy and that we are determined to be the best in the Midlands as soon as possible. He said they have completed a round of staff recruitment with a mandate to take back the city.

It was exciting and promising stuff. Ian Taylor came by to say 'hello' as well as Brian Little, my dad's favourite player.

One thing I noticed was how friendly and down to earth everyone was. There were no airs or graces, we are all part of the same family.

The match

The first time I heard Holte Enders in the Sky on Saturday, I of course have a tear or two in my eyes.

The game wasn’t the best and looked to be another draw until fittingly another product of the Aston Social match day club, Jack Grealish, fires in a belter for the win.

The memories

How’s that for a story? It probably means a lot more to me than anyone else, but to have Dr. Tony do that all for just me was incredible. He didn’t need to do it. He wasn’t looking for any recognition.

He understood the significance of my visit and how important it was to me and wanted to make it a great experience.

I just knew that my dad would have a hand in it all!

In the days before mobiles and internet forums, you rode your luck on meeting up with your friends on matchday.

My dad also said to me to never worry about not getting a ticket, he always sorted it out.

And he did, we never missed a game despite some close calls.

We always found the Villa fans and a couple of tickets were always produced.

This time my dad produced the best ticket for me.

by **Trotters** Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:53 pm

Great read!

by **De Kuip** Sat Dec 24, 2016 7:35 pm

Bloody hell Dr T, just read the third line of your latest tweet. Yes I'm excited but not sure I'm as excited as you are suggesting mate.
Bit risqué there me old China. ....

by **Trotters** Sat Dec 24, 2016 11:04 pm

by Timeclock Thu Jan 05, 2017 4:25 pm

Go check the Swiss website "le matin" There are 3 articles talking bout Xia involved in an serious attack against one of his partner... It happened 4 months ago and no one is talking about it... I tried to post you guys the links but as a new member I have to wait 7 days in order to do so...

by Jae1411 Thu Jan 05, 2017 4:58 pm

who let Alf Ts missus sign up?

by Jae1411 Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:03 pm

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.lematin.ch/faits-divers/pascal-jaussi-agresse-piste-chinoise-precise/story/10106111&prev=search

heres the link for you. makes very little sense to me, poor translation coupled with what seems like the writers personal speculation.

by Timeclock Thu Jan 05, 2017 6:15 pm

Thanks for the link but the same journalist wrote 2 additional articles about the same story..

by **Trotters** Thu Jan 05, 2017 11:28 pm

http://www.thelocal.ch/20160905/swiss-space-firm-boss-left-badly-injured-in-violent-attack

Swiss space firm boss left badly injured in violent attack

5 September 2016 13:10 CEST+02:00

The founder and CEO of a Swiss space technology firm, who previously received threats against him, is in hospital with serious injuries after a vicious attack.
Pascal Jaussi, 40, who heads Swiss Space Systems (S3), was beaten up and set on fire by two unknown perpetrators on August 26th in a forest in the canton of Fribourg, reported the Tribune de Genève on Monday.

News of the attack was not released until his condition improved, said the paper. The CEO’s life is now out of danger but he remains in a serious condition in hospital, it said.

The entrepreneur was found near his vehicle and transported to Lausanne’s CHUV hospital with burns on 25 percent of his body.

According to the paper’s sources, Jaussi was forced to drive his car into a forest, where he was doused in petrol and set on fire. He managed to get himself out of the vehicle and call a friend, who alerted emergency services.

Fribourg police confirmed to the paper they were investigating the case.

According to the Tribune Jaussi had been in touch with police in recent months after receiving threats related to his work at the company.

A leader in space technology, S3 aims to make space more accessible by creating low-cost, reusable satellite launchers, a development not welcomed by all in the industry.

Last year the company’s base in Payerne was broken into and equipment damaged, said the Tribune

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