‘Aston Villa fans disrespected as senior man quits after big fall-out’
Aston Villa’s recent success has coincided with Chris Heck’s time as commercial head at the club – but the American was never popular with the club fanbase at large.
Heck confirmed he will leave Villa Park at the end of this season – having joined just two years ago.
Villa’s president of business operations, who joined the club in May 2023, is set to take up a role at LIV Golf.
He helped Villa post a club-record revenue last season as turnover increased from £217.7million in the 2022-23 campaign to £275.7million.
Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – suggested the next business head must pay a lot more respect to the club’s fans.
Aston Villa’s Heck replacement must do better, says Wyness
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted Heck “steamrollered things through” at Villa and “didn’t pay note to the heritage of the club”.
He oversaw a series of ticket price hikes during his time with the Midlands giants.
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Chris Heck was there for two seasons overall.
“To be kind, his approach has been: ‘You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.’
“It’s a robust approach and he fell out with a lot of the fans.
“He didn’t really pay note to the heritage of the club, the ticket issues – and just steamrollered things through.
“That wasn’t the way the Villa fans should be handled. There’s a certain way of doing things at Villa, and there wasn’t enough respect paid to the fanbase.”
Aston Villa ready to sell Bailey
Meanwhile, Football Insider has revealed (30 April) that Aston Villa plan to accept offers for winger Leon Bailey this summer.
| Appearances (Starts) | 37 (25) |
| Minutes Played | 2071 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 4 |
| Yellow Cards | 4 |
Emery is keen to offload Bailey, 27, and bring in a new wide forward capable of providing more cutting edge.
He has just two goals and four assists in 37 appearances across all competitions this season.
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