I want to place a bet, because I'm fairly sure the name plastered over the shirt for next season will be Acorns Children's Hospice.

Now, the club haven't said anything but the rumours are rife, from people that have mates that work at Nike to people attending meetings with Acorns.

Now, like I've said, we know nothing yet but the rumour is it's just for exposure. Acorns don't have to pay anything and nothing is getting paid to Acorns on the back of shirt sales, however they are the clubs nominated charity so they're already getting something.

So, rather than look at the negatives of why we didn't get a sponsor, we're going to look at the positives.

Acorns offer a network of care to life-limited children and support for their families across the heart of England. They have three hospices, situated in Birmingham, Walsall and Worcester and a community team that offers practical and emotional support to families in their homes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Now, it doesn't matter if they get to have their logo over the front of the shirt or not, what they're doing locally deserves a little support and I for one will be off in a minute to make a donation and you can too, if you want to, by clicking here.

All donations are processed through Just Giving so quite a big percentage, if you're a UK taxpayer, is also added and while whatever you can offer might not make much of a dent into the £6mn. annual running costs, but a few quid from a few thousand might.

Anyway, it looks bang on that they're the sponsor, so unless we hear different from the club, expect to see Acorns on the shirt and feel good about it, because we're doing a Barca.

Comments (35)

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NH08 said:

Slightly ironic we're dropping an online betting company as our sponsor for a charity, and you want to have a bet over it

April 18, 2008

jaf said:

I'm all for the Acorns sponsor, but are we a big enough club to do without the revenue a shirt sponsor brings..? Also Barca never had a shirt sponsor, so they never lost anything when the Unicef deal came..

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

jaf i think its a case of, maybe, we wanted x each year and with fitzgerald leaving there wasn't enough time to get it ... rather than compromise on the brand, give it away for a year and use that year to find the right partner .. i think it's as much these days, to have the right sponsor on the shirt and while we might be losing out on a few quid, i don't think it's a critical amount

April 18, 2008

Not so Silent Bob said:

does the money from the sponsor really matter? is it worth debating? end of day if acorns are going to be on our shirt its for a good cause. it shows that the villa are not all about bringing in the doller... more from the rest of the prem please spread the wealth to the people who really need it.

April 18, 2008

WezAVFC said:

I cant tell you how pleased i am with this i think its great if it happens more clubs should follow suit

April 18, 2008

nhuggy said:

I want to place a bet that Damian gets sectioned for thinking Steve Sidwell is better than Gareth Barry. Can anyone advise?

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

nhuggy i'll take that bet .. what odds do you want all you have to do is show me where i've written that or produce some little bit of evidence that i have said it and i'll pay out

April 18, 2008

smylhr said:

if the loss was so significant i dont think that they would do it... utv

April 18, 2008

smylhr said:

if the loss is going to significant they wouldnt do it. time will tell. utv

April 18, 2008

LoveDon said:

Lol, no wonder you kept deleting my posts about Acorns! Thought this might be coming. Just to absolutly confirm this whole Acorns thing they are not having to pay to be on the Villa shirt next season. Randy is letting them have the space on the shirt for the whole of the season and in return Acorns get free publicity all season, so although no money is changing hands, Acorns get free publicity. I met an Acorns rep at a business breakfast this week who told me all about it

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

nothing got deleted LoveDon go to the pages and refresh your browser (firefox, hold down shift and press f5 or in IE just reload) but your comments did trigger this post ..

April 18, 2008

Woz said:

Damian, not sure but think its actually Ctrl F5 to refresh direct from the server... not shift??

April 18, 2008

Woz said:

Damian - btw meant CTRL is for proper refresh in IE. Would e-mail as not really info for sponsor discussion!!

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

you're right. it's Ctrl and F5 or .... shift and hit the refresh button in the browser .. i dont run with a cache in firefox anymore - pain in the arse if i'm honest

April 18, 2008

PaulE said:

I like the idea of Acorns being on the shirt, for a season anyway. Btw Damian - you might want to remove the first "I" from the title.

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

no idea what you're talking about PaulE

April 18, 2008

fiffyfu said:

I think acorns as out sponsor is a great idea, about the money thing, i dont think out deal with 32red was that good finantialy as it was a last minute thing and we only get a % of their profits if i remember correctly. Its nice to have a local sponsor aswell, when will our sponsor be confirmed by the club and when do you think we'll get to see the new shirts? after the season has ended or before? Loli think im getting ahead of myself, UTV

April 18, 2008

Kieran McGrath said:

paddypower will take almost any bet

April 18, 2008

AVFC_Pete said:

this a great idea from the club. allow acorns to sponsor us, and get some positive media coverage. then next year when we will hopefully be in the UEFA Cup or champions league get a shirt sponsor-when are in a much stronger position to attract a big name and negotiate a good deal

April 18, 2008

LoveDon said:

Cool i never knew how to update this page, sometimes it only shows a couple of comments and when you add a comment it shows up then disapears when you go back to have a look later, so using that method will solve it?

April 18, 2008

chefdoc2000 said:

damian, if you do manage to get a bet on make sure you bet on "acorns" as the shirt does not say children's hospice

April 18, 2008

brett said:

makes good sense IMO, if we scrape into europe this year then cement a place a next season we would get more money for a sponsor next year if we sign a rubbish 3 year deal this year we could shoot ourselves in the foot

April 18, 2008

nan was a fan said:

It's quite bizarre that the 'big bad money boys' on this occasion can see that sometimes decisions aren't about money. Yet,some of the 'normal folk' are still talking about how much, bigger deals etc. Just maybe Acorns stays on our shirts for ever, and we suffer without getting the crappy midfield signing we could have bought with the money. Instead some kids get a happy few weeks/months in otherwise s**tty circumstances. Randy and co. I salute you. This alone means you're good enough for me.

April 18, 2008

jfourplusone said:

Am I the only one who thinks that this is not a good idea ? Sure, I agree with the sentiment and as AVFC's charity will undoubtedly benefit as a result which is a good thing. But this is football, not charity, not a £5M donation to the National Portrait Gallery. Lerner - show me the money! Just to put this into perspective.. AIG - Man Utd - £56M - 4 years Tamoil - Juventus £15M a year BenQ - Real MAdrid £14M a year Mansion - Spurs £34M - 4 years And before anyone replies with its just a 1 year stop gap comment- I dont buy it - Can you see other clubs stuck between deals - Its bad business.

April 18, 2008

Damian said:

jfourplusone i think everyone knows it's a cock up by not getting a sponsor sorted but it's a double edged sword. when spurs signed that deal they were in europe and there is probably clauses in place that reduce the amount Mansion have to pay if they don't get into europe. the key point above is europe and brand. there is an argument for doing a deal with someone and give it to them cheap year one if we're not in europe or pay proper $ if we are (because i still quite fancy that we will be) and yes, they cocked up because they never did the deal or couldn't find the right company - but rest assured, they'll get it for the following season, because they're probably going to have to

April 18, 2008

jaf said:

jfourplusone, Good point, What i would like to know why didnt the board wait until Ueffa cup places are finalised..? I'm sure things will change if we are in europe. Spurs didnt sign there deal until June.!

April 18, 2008

andyarkitekt said:

Heres some pics of what the shirt will look like?? These have been doing the round for a few days now.....Could be a great talking point to get some bounce off sponsors. If we get some newsworthy coverage out of this will other sponsors jump on board? Only a thought....UTV http://www.football-shirts.co.uk/fans/villa-shirt-acorns-charity_818

April 18, 2008

Villa_Rules said:

Acorns sponser deal is a joke why take on someone with no money when you can have a number of high profile companys with big money Hell id rather have sainsburys sponser at least they got some cash

April 18, 2008

mickey86 said:

people moan about how much footballers earn, yet now a good gesture is being done by aston villa and people are complaining!! id prefer a charity on our shirt than a s**t sponsour like 32 red or every othr sponsour in the premier league, theres only 2 decent kit sponsours in the premiership, and thats carslberg of liverpool as its football related (lager) and the other is derbyshire for derby as it has relevance to the team and local area.

April 18, 2008

brett said:

i agree with damian, if we had multiple euro clauses in place then its a poor decision to go with acorns but if no one was willing to offer extra cash for us being in europe then acorns is perfect business sense worst case scenario would be a new 4 year deal with no extra cash for us doing so well, acorns isnt worst case scenario

April 18, 2008

Danboi said:

lets just accept what is... I was with Lovedon at said meeting with Acorns rep!! It is true... end of. Atleast it is a local charity and they are putting money back into Birmingham!! Dont worry...Be happy!!! (as the song went)

April 19, 2008

jerseyvillan said:

its great to see football does have a heart.yes we know villa screwed up not getting a major sponsor set up,but isnt it great to be able to carry on supporting the community the way that villa do?everyone goes on about greed in football,players ,agents,and the clubs themselves so we should back villa and trust randy and the others to keep improving the club and the glory days will come.

April 19, 2008

Gompedyret said:

Lots and lots of things are being done right in Villa nowadays. And boy, this could possibly be one of the rightest things among them. As most followers have noticed, Villa is obviously going places. Lots of buzz around the team, fans rediscover their love for and faith in Villa and Villa Park reaches attendance numbers previously unheard of. This is not only because of the actual and promised improvements on the pitch, this is also because Villa makes it's mark as an positive club and a positive force, one that people naturally want to support. The acorn deal will speak volumes about what kind of club Villa wants to be, and is. People will notice it, and Villa can be able to reap this goodwill for a long time ahead. In the world today, the goodwill of your (potential) customers is an invaluable asset. Lerner & co obviously know their ABC of local and global branding. The club will only fare better because of it. Of course, an added bonus for Lerner is that this deal answers the question about the club's finances and ability to spend big on players. Oh, and it's good for Acorns as well.

April 19, 2008

Hadi said:

I never bought the new villa tshirt cuz i dont approve of bettting, im definately gona buy the new jersey if its got acorns on it!!

April 19, 2008

monsoon said:

Acorns is a brilliant thing for AVFC and we will have the dosh comming in from Euro anyway. It's the right manager, chairman and they are putting a people's vision together with a good mix of hard business planning - wot a difference a couple of years have made - onwards and upwards!!

April 22, 2008

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