MR_Black_AVFC

Surely it's about giving us a bit of hope for next season. Putting a few of the kids out would get the fans behind them and even if we lost 3-0 or 4-0; I would guarantee that our fans wouldn't boo them off as I bet they'd have put a shift in. That's the issue here. None of these players put a shift in. They are better (on paper) than what they show, but there is a black, negative, smouldering stink that has swept through the club like water ripped through the Titanic and turned average/good players into diabolical specimens of arrogance and self-importance who are dictating what they are and aren't prepared to do. On another note; was talking to a SHA fan at work today. He said that when Steve Bruce took them up, they had Mark Bowen. Bowen left, guess who came in? Eric Black. He reckoned it all went downhill after that, and it would be hard to disagree when you see what he's done under Remi and now since he's been running things. Once Bruce left them, Black took charge on a caretaker basis, dropped their main GK for a shit keeper who wasn't up to League Two status, let alone PL and went from there. That was just one or two games apparently, yet we've had weeks of it and I've seen ZERO improvement. Eric Black is NOT a good coach - his performances here, and historically elsewhere proves that, so I find it hard to understand why certain people in the media (and on here) think he is.

I am surprised any of us are bothering to attend games now. It is a complete waste of money and effort just to see us humiliated. In saying that; I admire anyone who does go. I just can't watch what is happening any longer as it's too painful. I have had a season ticket for over 14 years now, and since the Liverpool debacle; I haven't been down VP or away since. That is the first games I've missed since 2006 when my son was born, so I think I am more than able to give my opinion. I followed the game on here, and it seems that it was same old story. We start the game positively, but once the opposition score we collapse and embarrass ourselves.. Norwich winning puts us 15 points from safety, and I think even the most optimistic Villa fan will now have to concede that it's all over.

I'm nothing to do with Eric Black, despite my name. Wasn't Eric Black Steve Bruce's assistant at SHA?

Am I the only one who thinks we'll win tomorrow? Liverpool are so hit and miss. Villa 2-1 Liverpool tomorrow and back in the mix we go.

The only comfort I can draw, is if by some miracle we don't go down this season, we never will. I just don't want to get to the last day with a chance to survive and get turned over at Arsenal. I think that will be worse than having it confirmed weeks before.

I know there is only 8 points in it as it stands, but can anyone see us winning enough games and the teams above losing most of theirs? My money will be on Norwich, Sunderland, and us. I know Newcastle are being smashed at Stamford Bridge, but I really can't see them being down there when it comes to the crunch- although in saying that; McLaren has to be the most overrated manager in football history. He really is shit. However, despite all the negativity - I think we'll beat Liverpool tomorrow.

Like someone else said; rotten to the core. The whole club has gone. Time to plan for the Championship.

Ramseys been coach at QPR all season...just saying. We're talking about his time at Spurs.

Spurs fans have not got much good to say about him. It seems that Ramsey was the brains during his time there, with Sherwood as the mouthpiece. I've got a bad feeling about this. http://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/forum/threads/tim-sherwood.8360/page-384

Lambert: "We peppered their goal and dominated the game". Interesting...was he watching the same game as me?

I agree that Lambert needs to go. But can any of us really see Lerner paying up a four year contract a matter of weeks after signing it?

I get what you are saying, but Moyes didn't really push Everton to be a force - it was a safe, little job. They were average and he didn't really excel himself; we were a far better side than them in the early days of Lerner and MON. To be honest, I'd like to see an up and coming foreign manager given a chance at Villa. This current obsession with boring Scottish managers is clearly not working. Moyes would just be another to add to the list. Lambert is no different to McLeish in my view. Both were boring, uninspiring, with a catalogue of excuses ready for anything that went wrong. Lambert's view of games is delusional. We play awful, get overrun in midfield and often only manage one shot on target....yet if you listened to him and never watched the game, you would think we'd bossed it from start to finish and were just unlucky.

I don't get the hype about Moyes. It took him the best part of ten years to get Everton established. He expected to go to Man Utd and start another long term rebuilding process - but the fans were not prepared to wait that long, and with their history - who could blame them? He would be a disastrous appointment for us in my opinion. We should have pulled all the stops out to get Martinez when we had the chance. The only good to come out of the Lambert era is Benteke, Vlaar, and the emergence of Delph and Guzan. He does need to go, but all I could see replacing him would be someone like Pulis. Am I being unfair?

He'll do for me. Guess who he scored his first professional goal against? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsAyywfGZgI

I don't know how true this is, but I did a bit of fixed wiring electrical work at Bodymoor Heath earlier on today and got talking to one of the staff (not going to name names) about whether Benteke would be staying beyond the end of the current season. He said that he didn't know; however he said that Lambert will have far more to spend next season and has already identified a number of targets for next season. One of them is Jackson Martinez of Porto. I haven't done any research on the guy as I've only just got in and couldn't wait to tell you all what I've learnt today. All I know is that he is a striker.