Morning all and welcome to a sort of new home for the Aston Villa Blog. Basically, OleOle seem to have stopped me from logging in this morning so I was unable to tell you about Randy Lerner dropping out of the billionaires rich list or give you my match prediction as I wanted to this morning.

Instead, I've got to write this and get this new site set up, because if they're not giving me access and not replying to emails, there is little else for me to do.

I bet you are wondering why though and even if you're not, I'm going to tell you anyway.

Basically, OleOle approached me last year wanting to buy the site, the domain name and the content. To say I was a little nervous when they didn't want to offer me any money and just pay me monthly to keep blogging, would be an understatement, so I said no, not unless you pay something up front. They were after all wanting to 'buy' everything.

So, they did. They paid a lump sum up front and then we agreed a smaller monthly fee. I was happy as I was given assurances that I'd still have complete control on how things worked and looked and I was going to get more money than the site was making, although I should say at this stage that the site was never there to make money, it grew from my love of the club. But that is sort of not what we're talking about.

Anyway, I've had recent problems getting paid by OleOle and they've told us that backers have backed out. I've also got little to no control on how the site functions or looks and I've got to have all those ads all over the place which make the site look cheap, which it shouldn't.

Now, I appreciate they have to make money but it doesn't look as good as it did any more and it mostly looks like a banner farm for affiliates to drop an ad or two. I might be alone in this but for me, design is an important factor of a web site and while the content is the main reason for visiting a site, users tend to like visiting well thought out sites that are not too cluttered and they don't want to see ads everywhere. Mind you, I am going to have one in the top right hand corner - if only to fill the space.

Anyway, that's not the reason why I can't get in today. Basically, I got an email last week telling me I had to transfer the domain by close of business Monday or return the money and go our separate ways and well, that came as a bit of a shock and felt very much like a company desperately looking for money.

The thing is, I've kept up my end of the bargain. I'm blogging and I'm doing it on OleOle under the banner of the Aston Villa Blog. The old domain name redirects to them and while the functionality of the site and the design isn't to my liking, it was working. I was and still am to an extent, committed to transferring the domain name to them after the three year period is up and they had fully paid for the content and domain name, as long as I can add content and keep blogging.

I might even be forced to transfer to the domain name to them, seeing as they've got all the content, but they're not replying to my emails today and I got no notice of this happening, so my hand was sort of forced.

They've got all the content, that you'll see is not on this site, but I have to say, when you get an email from one of the co-founders demanding you transfer the domain or pay back the money (which is now not the same amount seeing as most of it was put into shares and they've all gone to pot), it does get you a little worried about the business as a whole especially when you've had problems getting paid, backers are pulling out and in the current economic climate, so on Monday I bought this domain name, just in case something like this happened.

So, this is the new home for now as I can't log in to the old site and they've turned off comments. It's going to take a while to get the site back to where it was and it feels like I've lost an arm, but had I transferred the domain name and OleOle had gone bust I'd never have got it back and if they decided to sell up and the new owners we're not going to stick to the old deal, then I would have lost it all too without getting what was agreed.

It's not that things changed, but I was told lots of things that didn't happen and I'd lost faith, call it trust if you wish, in one of the co-founders after getting told things and finding out things didn't happen that way.

So, this is my new home and where I'll continue to blog about Aston Villa. The old domain name is going to continue to forward to OleOle until my solicitor tells me what to do and while I only have the old content up to when we moved, that might one day come back, but for now, it is going to stay where it is at the moment.

I must also say that it's gut wrenching losing the blog and the content. I've spent five years working on it and it was a great place. However, the most important thing about the site and where I find myself now is, the blog is more than a domain name, it was about the community that was created from it. I've had some great days on here over the years and there have been some great debates on all things from David O'Leary to more recently Gareth Barry, Steve Sidwell and James Milner.

Bottom line, it's not about me or a domain name, it's about the content and most of that is created by the users. So, hopefully, over time, we can make this particular site just as good as it was.

Thanks for reading, now I'll get back to blogging.

An update on March 19th at 10am, just so I don't have to answer this again. On Thursday, when this site went live, I forwarded the authorisation codes to OleOle for the domain name avfcblog.com. I set this site up because I could not get in and continue blogging and no further communication was made to me on the domain transfer at that time or informing me that my account was closed.

I received an email late on Thursday night acknowledging this and offering me a way back in, but the content of that email made it difficult for me to agree or even accept that there was the potential for a working relationship with OleOle, but that was a personal decision and the content of that email, while three OleOle bloggers and three OleOle staff members have seen, will not be published by me.

If I had my time again, I would have insisted that the domain transfer be transferred at the end of the three years written into the agreement, but I didn't, it was just a conversation. I have learned a lesson.

Basically, five years hard work has gone and I have thought long and hard about continuing to blog about our club and I've still not reached a final decision, but I still love waking in the morning and heading straight to the online papers and Google news, so I suppose that sort of suggests I won't give it up just yet, but losing five years hard work and all that great content has been and still is gut wrenching and the decision wasn't taken lightly.

Comments (37)

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Andrew Murdoch said:

Gutting That realy sucks, but good on you for not letting them take you for a ride. I'm only a newcommer to the site realy, started reading maybe 3 months ago but it is a great site. Im sure you will have a nice archive of content here soon enough and you can forget about the old stuff.

Comment 1, made on March 12, 2009 at 2.28 pm

InAfrica said:

Sucks Man! Found your site around the Lerner takeover and have been a reader ever since. Never commented because the banter already here was great. Your articles awesome. I am sorry and I know it hurts the most with the domain name and the archives of everything. As Andrew stated if you are unable to get it all back it will soon be forgotten with all the new stuff. All the regulars will soon find you again. I did after one day. A big thanks to the astonvillanews.com site for already linking your site. Up the Aston Villa Blog!!! Ole claims to be a fan site, but it just pissed on many many Villa fans.

Comment 2, made on March 12, 2009 at 4.08 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... I will not be visiting avfcblog again now and i hope most people who have read this do not again, keep up the good work damian

Comment 3, made on March 12, 2009 at 4.44 pm

steve t said:

... first of your old members back damo ... the point of the site you created was the content and the users oleole really have shot themself in the foot!

Comment 4, made on March 12, 2009 at 4.47 pm

steve t said:

... 2nd user back then gonz cheers

Comment 5, made on March 12, 2009 at 4.55 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... I'm with gonzo on this, bye bye avfcblog - hello thevillablog. Let's all start again and make this the best Villa blog on the net.

Comment 6, made on March 12, 2009 at 5.18 pm

Damian said:

Nice one lads .. Well, it's up to you guys what we put on. I'm thinking about a community type page with some Facebook type features .. not sure if it's too much and maybe we should just start with a forum, but probably need to leave it a few days until others find the page.

Comment 7, made on March 12, 2009 at 5.21 pm

steve t said:

... good to see you had a plan b damian

Comment 8, made on March 12, 2009 at 5.38 pm

Jake Gardner said:

... sounds good to me damian, can we start a ole ole boycot

Comment 9, made on March 12, 2009 at 6.21 pm

Mlockey89 said:

Whos O****e?? Damoo I gfound my way ehre through the avfc blog thing. im sure the others will too. if you want i coudl stick some emails out and let them no? jsut give me a shout. Im behind you all the way as you know i have only been on about 2/3months but love the banter and causing a few arguments. I liek the facebook idea. are you planning on haveing a sign up thing so you dont have to fill the comment box questions out each time ?

Comment 10, made on March 12, 2009 at 6.28 pm

Ken Bonker said:

nowayO****e That's a nut kicking thing to happen Damian, they have just lost quite a few users, good riddance to them and their bullying tactics. Good luck with the new site in whatever format you decide, a community page sounds good, there's room out there for something original to draw the crowds. Onwards and upwards!

Comment 11, made on March 12, 2009 at 6.50 pm

Adam Reeson said:

... well done damian, keep it up. now we a forum!

Comment 12, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.02 pm

Adam Reeson said:

... i meant need a forum! lol

Comment 13, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.03 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... I've just been on the old site; ches is sweeping like mad, I am dropping links to this site everywhere and my posts are being deleted within seconds of going up. Hey, this is a good way to spend time during a football drought.

Comment 14, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.22 pm

Adam Reeson said:

... yeah i'm trying to promote this site on there but they have banned us from posting now!

Comment 15, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.25 pm

ak_27 said:

... For me i couldn't care less about the other site. Like you said its the community and i'm sure in a few weeks everyone else will find their way home. By the way maybe you should an article with a riducles heading that will grab most peoples attention on newsnow. Something like Learner plans to sell club in the summer. That should attract most people in. So did you have to pay all the money back or did you make some profit from it? Hopefully you did.

Comment 16, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.32 pm

Damian said:

... ak_27 i´m not going to rock the boat, just take it slowly slowly. build the forum, get a little better structure and then optimise everything so its quicker

Comment 17, made on March 12, 2009 at 7.37 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... Well Damian, I came here during the summer that RL took over, and will follow the blog wherever it goes or however it evolves. If every move improves the site we all benefit.

Comment 18, made on March 12, 2009 at 8.03 pm

Jack Villan said:

Twitter That article on oleole about twitter came in quite handy as it happens, would have had no idea about this malarkey if I hadnt checked it out Jack's word of the day; ma⋅lar⋅key    /məˈlɑrki/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [muh-lahr-kee] Show IPA –noun Informal. speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress; bunkum: The claims were just a lot of malarkey. Also, ma⋅lar⋅ky. Origin: 1925–30, Americanism; orig. uncert.

Comment 19, made on March 12, 2009 at 8.19 pm | url

Roderick Seel said:

... you seriously think you can lose us that easy!!! lol Sorry about the old site mate, but shit happens, we are defined by how we deal with problems not how we avoid them!

Comment 20, made on March 12, 2009 at 8.56 pm

Marcus Connolly said:

... Hey all sorry Im late, hope theres room for one more in here, now where's my forum? lol. can't let these lads run riot for too long or we will never be able to spank them into shape!

Comment 21, made on March 12, 2009 at 9.35 pm

Marcus Connolly said:

... Oh and the very best of luck Damian, that last place was really starting to stink up anyway

Comment 22, made on March 12, 2009 at 9.37 pm

Michaell Lockey said:

Spanking! Yee Harrrr! wheres my 2by4

Comment 23, made on March 12, 2009 at 10.08 pm

PaulE said:

It'll be better this way... Well, you've got my support. I felt it was becoming a bit of a circus anyway so maybe it will be better this way. I read the blog because I want to read your opinion, Damian. That is where the value is, not the domain name. If Ole Ole can't see that then it's their loss (although you have my sympathy if you're going to be any worse off financially because of this). It's a new chapter - proud 5 year history, bright future! If you keep writing, I'll keep reading.

Comment 24, made on March 12, 2009 at 11.16 pm | url

mickey86 said:

... this one already looks much better than the old one, plain white background is always better to look at than a coloured one, and i was wondering what all them adverts were for, they wasnt even football related, if the adverts were for lager, condoms, porn and kebabs then i wouldnt mind, but womens clothing?!! (just dont sell out next time a big company comes along lol)

Comment 25, made on March 13, 2009 at 9.26 am

Lloydy said:

I am with you Damien Just found this through the Randy story, keep the faith Damien, we are with you all the way. I detected things were'nt right a while ago. We move on. In Damien we trust!

Comment 26, made on March 13, 2009 at 12.31 pm

Michaell Lockey said:

Spreadin the word. Damo i have sepnt the past 2 hours trying to spread the word about the new blog. hopefully we'll see the traffic increase soon. Posted a few things around oleole to help others. anything else give me a shout

Comment 27, made on March 13, 2009 at 1.45 pm

Josh said:

... Alright lads, got rid of the Mugs. Now i'm the DizzyVillan good to see the site is still up, to an extent.

Comment 28, made on March 13, 2009 at 3.59 pm

Damian said:

... Dizzy This all came as a bit of a shock, literally yesterday morning, so I'm working as quick as I can .. and before launching everything I want feedback - but I know you understand and I'm only pulling your leg .. but any suggestions would be welcome

Comment 29, made on March 13, 2009 at 4.13 pm

steve t said:

... i think the idea of having user profiles like facebook and close to that of oleole would be benificial to all as it would help create user identities and more of a...dare i say avfccommunity

Comment 30, made on March 13, 2009 at 4.25 pm

Michaell Lockey said:

Profiless. Yess my idea that people like Yes i think having a page hwer eyou can stick your photo and a few facts and other things just means you have a little bit of a better idea who your talking too. Maybe in the future once where back to full workings we could have a fantasy football league set up ?

Comment 31, made on March 13, 2009 at 4.34 pm

Josh said:

Suggestions Paypal donations? Could make a few extra bob to keep the site in good nick, if you need it. I'd make a donation, if my money wasn't already going to kids in Africa, Acorns, charities in Russia, and cancer research UK lol. Also keep the competitons and what-not going, if you can get sponsors that'd be handy. We still up for this raising money for Acorns thing?

Comment 32, made on March 13, 2009 at 5.18 pm

Marcus Connolly said:

... How about a comp every week with two winners, the following week both write a short readers review of the Villa game for that week, where every one else gets to vote poll style for the best review. the 4 winners in that mont go into a draw for a t-shirt or something. might not be the best idea, but its an idea none the less

Comment 33, made on March 13, 2009 at 7.31 pm

Igor Poblete said:

... It was for the better. Even though the blog at oleole worked well, I think it will be even better now that you'll have 100% control again Keep going strong Damian!

Comment 34, made on March 15, 2009 at 4.20 pm

Goldie 7 said:

... I prefer this place, f ole ole

Comment 35, made on March 16, 2009 at 9.44 am

Damian said:

... Comments are now numbered and have time stamps ...

Comment 36, made on March 16, 2009 at 1.52 pm

SammyVilla said:

... Have been so confused for the past week... ''why has damian not updated the site'' ''why are people not talking about this fact on the previous stories'' ''has he gone on holiday'' ... to say i tried to see if anything had changed 10 times a day would be an under-estimate... it all clicks in to place now!!! so glad it is back will make my working days much easy. keep writing the cracking blogs damian. UTV

Comment 37, made on March 17, 2009 at 10.13 pm