Aston Villa trades in their new crest design as worries rise and Chris Heck’s dream fades

Aston Villa trades in their new crest design as worries rise and Chris Heck’s dream fades

 

 

Two months have passed since Chris Heck expressed his desire to introduce a new Aston Villa crest in an interview with Villa TV.

 

In the weeks that followed his late-December briefing to supporters, he intended to reveal the new crest to the public. Heck met with the Fan Advisory Board (FAB) of the team on December 20, the day following the publication of his initial interview, and showed them the crest he had created.

 

It is believed that the crest that was displayed to fans that evening was the one that was submitted to the Intellectual Property Office in December. Supporters were concerned, though, because the filing date coincided with the FAB conference.

 

Despite being present at the FAB conference, the Villa Trust maintains that they were not given the chance to participate in Heck’s design process. Heck gave Villa TV an explanation the day before, saying, “We are working very closely with supporter groups and individual fans.” The fan owns the crest. It is for the fan and is worn by the players.”

 

Approximately 16,000 supporters participated in a poll regarding the new crest design process. However, the Villa Trust stated in a statement expressing their worries regarding the new crest proposal that they are not aware of any more feedback from supporter groups other than the October survey given to specific fans. Villa’s FAB does not think that the “thorough and extensive consultation process” required by regulations put in place last year to conserve heritage was adequate.

 

A team must also be able to show that the majority of its fans approve of any modifications that are suggested. Despite the club’s denials, members of the FAB later wrote the FA to express their worries that Villa had not participated in enough consultation.

 

The FA can take appropriate action, such as requiring a club to return to a prior crest, if it is determined that a team has violated the rules.

 

With one exception, Villa filed a second crest earlier this month that was identical to the one that was presented at the FAB. In their statement, the Villa Trust also mentioned that fans wanted the lion to run wild, and the most recent iteration of the badge seems to address that.

 

The lion seems more fierce and has more detail, as can be seen below. The new version of the crest is either undergoing examination by the Intellectual Property Office, or it has already been evaluated, but the original application to register it was accepted back in December.