markavfc40

Bottom line is that the game is kicking off 10pm local time which is 8pm here. Current time in Athens is 21:42 (2 hours in front).

Aston Villa website - ticket info. Villa have an allocation of 1,600 tickets for our trip to Greece on Thursday, May 9 (ko 8pm GMT / 10pm EEST). https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/april/24/Olympiacos-ticket-details--second-leg-/

Confirmed that it will kick off at 10pm local time. Seems a little crazy given it could well go on to way past midnight.

We can take it as a given that Spurs will beat Sheff Utd. I think we can also say it is highly likely they beat Burnley. That then gets them to 66. It then comes down to us needing to get more points from our four games against Chelsea (H) Brighton (A) Liverpool (H) Palace (A) than they do against Arsenal (H) Chelsea (A) Liverpool (A) Man City (H). We both play Chelsea and Liverpool with the big advantage for us being we are at home for both whilst they are away so even if we are a little pessimistic and say we both take the same amount of points from those games it then comes down to us needing more points from Brighton and Palace away than they take from Arsenal and Man City at home. What a fantastic position we have put ourselves in.

Sorry for your loss mate. He is going to the game with though as you are taking him with you by thinking about him now and you'll carry those thoughts and him with you throughout today. Enjoy the day mate.

Really enjoyed that interview. He is just a lovely bloke isn't he and the affection he has for Villa just oozes out of him. He was so proud to have managed his/our club and we as a fan base are proud to have had him manage us. If he still has ambition to manage in England at the top level I hope he gets another shot at it.

Aside from Bournemouth being a decent side on a good run of form as others have said the biggest issue today is going to be tiredness. it is hard to say from just watching the game on the tele but I didn't get the impression that too many of our lads put an all in shift in against Lille. Our performance, whilst not great, was quite controlled and we never seemed at full pelt possibly because of tiredness already but hopefully more that being the plan to conserve energy for the following games. I think you have to factor in that we also ultimately got through on Thursday and the jubilation and adrenaline from that can go some way for making up for any tiredness, certainly mentally. Had we have gone out on Thursday today would have been much tougher. I have a feeling we'll plan to win this from the bench again and may well see Bailey on there and coming on with fresh legs around the hour mark again. I also would not be surprised to see Carlos and/or Lenglet come in from the start and possibly Tim. Will be a tough game but hopefully our backing as fans will help see us over the line. I'm going for a nervy 2-0 win.

The trouble is for everyone like your mother in law there will be 10 genuine cases of people who are ill and will now potentially be assessed as to whether they are fit to work by someone who is incentivised to find them fit for work. Digging a little deeper it seems that these Tory proposals include wanting to reform PIP which is a benefit to support those with long term illness/disabilities. Things like cancer, parkinsons, MS, COPD. In a lot of cases illnesses that are unlikely to ever be cured. Instead of giving cash payments he wants to replace those payments with access to treatment apparently. In 2024 in the 6th richest country in the world you'd expect people who are ill to be getting access to treatment anyway but the Tories have run down the NHS that much they are now looking to get people who are ill to give up their disability/sickness benefits to pay for treatment. Just when you think the bastards couldn't sink any lower. Just to add insult to injury the guy who announced these proposals today is a billionaire.

I love him. If he played for another club though I'd hate him. I'm glad he is ours.

I was relieved he had to go off as I'd have put money on him getting a second yellow with this card happy ref. The injury just looked like an impact one and I'd hope he'll be fine for Sunday.

I'd take a cup win all day long over qualification for Champions League. My eldest daughter is 26 this year and has had a season ticket since she was 5 and has never seen us win anything. There are thousands of supporters like her. 28 years since we last won a trophy so we haven't won a trophy this century. SHA have won a trophy more recently than us and I have some of them often remind me of that fact. Champions league qualification doesn't guarantee future success. Far from it. A trophy in the cabinet can never be taken away though and will be something we'll talk about until our last breaths.

I have nothing against all this analysing what other clubs may or may not do in the run in but one thing I would tell us all to remember to do is enjoy it. Since 1981 we have finished in the top 4 in the top flight just three times. The last time was 28 years ago. This is rarefied air we are experiencing, breathe it in people and enjoy it.

I'm 50 years old and was 7 when we won the league in 1981. I could say I remember it like it was yesterday but I'd be a bullshitter as I don't. To put a little perspective on what Emery is on the verge of overseeing though since that title win almost 43 years ago we have finished in the top 4 in the top flight 3 times. All within 6 years of each other with the last time being in 1996. Extend that to finishing in the top 5 and we have done that 4 times since 1981. Winning a trophy and finishing top 4 has happened once over all that time. Given the current playing field and closed shop nature of the league we play in Emery is on the verge of achieving something remarkable and arguably the most remarkable achievement since we last won the league. That he will have achieved it having found us a clueless mess (on the field) looking like relegation fodder just 18 months ago puts it at the point where if someone predicted this tale 18 months ago you'd have wanted them sectioned. It is simply unbelievable the job he is doing and he has to be up there now as one of the greatest managers of many of our supporters' lifetimes. Certainly anyone under the age of 30. Wow what a statement, but one I believe is warranted.

Has Bailey been doinking that second blokes missus

I think it well and truly has Emi.