MessiWillSignForVilla

I agree, I don't think Bennett should start as Luna has done well so far, but I wouldn't be displeased to see him start ahead of him, as it shows Bennett has impressed enough in training to dislodge Tony Moon, and is determined to play well.

Ha, Fair enough It wouldn't hurt if he bulked up to be honest.

At the risk of repeating myself from the page before, I want to just get something off of my chest about Bennett. A lot of people seem to be a bit hard on him and want him out of the club ASAP, there has even been suggestions that Stevens is better! Personally, I quite like him and think he could become a good and useful player for us, and I feel the need to put up some sort of defence for him. People get down on him as he started off poorly, which he did, but continue to hold it against him despite improvements in performances. Note that I'm saying his performances have been improved, not necessarily good. This is my problem with this criticism (and what occasionally comes across as despise and hatred), I don't think many people factor into account the circumstances of when he arrived. I'll summarise: - He was only 22 - He's a young left back. Most left backs begin to peak around the age of 25-30, so to expect a 22yo to perform consistently in the premier league is extremely unfair IMO. If a LB is doing well in the PL at that age, it is more than likely that he is very good. - He was playing in the Championship - He stepped up from the Championship, which is a huge step. Not many players can perform in the Championship, and then make the step up to the PL, see Taarabt. It's going to take some bedding in time for him to get used to the pace, physicality and higher technical ability of the league. In the Championship anywhere between 16-24 teams can win the league in August, in the PL, the title is only realistically leaving Manchester for Chelsea. This gulf in quality between teams within the league is also a huge challenge. In the C'ship, you can realistically beat anyone at any time, in the PL, you can more or less predict the outcome of most games, that's probably some getting used to. - He joined on August 29th - He joined late in the transfer window, the season had started and he missed our Pre-Season. He joined with no knowledge of our tactics, probably knew none of our players and would of needed time to settle. With this being during the season, he needed to adjust instantly and had no time to get to know his new team-mates and become familiar with the new tactics he would be playing in. He was thrown into the proverbial deep-end, and I think he kept his head just about afloat. - He was injured when he joined - Added into the above, he had an even tougher time trying to adjust, as he couldn't train, had to learn new tactics without practice, had to watch his new team-mates from a far get to know each other and bond on the training pitch, and on top of it all, he wasn't match fit either. - His debut was in a 4-1 loss as a sub - I bet that didn't help his confidence. He came on when we were 2-1 down against Southampton, and was probably tasked with trying to help claw back an equaliser. Roughly 5 minutes later, Clark scored an own goal which pretty much finished the match, and probably demoralised the entire team. I mean who wouldn't be demoralised losing 3-1 to a newly promoted side, a team that had yet to win also. Then Soton get a fourth at the end. Again, demoralising and probably crushed what little confidence he had. - He was our only Left Back - With Warnock being loaned to Bolton, and despite Stevens' cameos around Sep-Oct (I Highly doubt he'll pull on a Villa shirt again), Bennett was our only natural Left Back. This meant he had the pressure of starting week in, week out just weeks/months after returning from injury and signing for a new (Premier League) club, all at the age of 22. Add in the fact that when he began to start, it was becoming clear we would be embroiled in another relegation battle, so was given the task of helping us get out of that situation. Again, enormous pressure. Slightly contradictory, but still valid, he had no competition and was essentially undropable, so despite the pressure he was under, I would imagine he became somewhat complacent. - Other new signings blossoming - With other lower league signings in Lowton (L1), Westwood (L2) and Benteke (Belgium) all performing very well, it set an unrealistically high expectation of other signings, especially Bennett as he had to make arguably the smallest step up. This put the spotlight on him to perform, and when he didn't live up to expectations, I think many fans lashed out as he was an outlet and an easy target. He didn't perform as well as Lowton/Westwood/Benteke who came from "lesser" leagues so therefore Bennett must be terrible. He's not a bad player and I think people give him too much of a bad time. I firmly believe he will come good this season, with the signing of Luna forcing him to work his arse off to get/stay in the team. Before you write Bennett off, consider the circumstances of his 2012-13 season. Add in the improved performances from March onward, and you begin to see he isn't quite as bad as some make out. He has a long way to go before he can become a good PL player, but I think he will get there. Sorry for the long post, but it annoys me to see fans get on the back of the players, no matter which player, and it annoys me moreso when its a player I think is good. I had a lot to get off my chest. /rantover

I quite liked his opening day hat trick against Man City in 2008 in fairness. That was perfect. Literally. One of the most exciting hat tricks seen down VP. Crazy (brilliant) game too, wasn't it 0-0 at half time? Was also a flawless hat-trick and a classic hat-trick. (Can't remember exact definitions). Was it quickest ever in PL? A perfect Hat-Trick? i.e. One Right, one Left, one header? Hope he can keep up this form,he's finally learned how to dribble which make his pace even scarier. Also quite happy he's not in the England squad, less chance of him getting injured and being able to play for Villa. Plus I couldn't give two hoots for the national side anymore (Unless they win something )

Archer, pretty funny comedy. Adam Reed, the creator, says it's "James Bond meets Arrested Development", which isn't far off, it has a similar style of humour to Arrested Development, and is slightly similar to Family Guy too. Definitely worth a watch IMO.

Well, it's not necessarily homeless people, it's also poor people who maybe can't afford to buy a coffee on a strict and planned out budget. All you have to do is ask at the counter if there are any suspended coffees available, and if there are you get one. I don't know how this couldn't be exploited by people who just don't want to pay for the coffee though, it probably will be eventually. My only gripe with it is, as stated in my other post, if it is a charitable contribution to help out the less fortunate, it would be much better utilised in a shop such as Subway, where you could get a meal and a drink, instead of just a coffee.

When you buy a cup of coffee, you pay twice so someone who is homeless or too poor gets one for free. After having a quick read about that suspended coffee thing, what pisses me off is that this is being used on coffee. Surely an idea like this, if it was to help people down on their luck or homeless, it would be much better for it to be implemented in places such as sandwich shops or bakeries, where you could pay for someone to have a meal and a bottle of water or something. Why would someone who is homeless or short for cash need coffee? Unless it was as a last resort as they couldn't afford food or water. Obviously it is still a nice idea and a good thing for people to do, but I think it would be better if it was used for food rather than coffee.

The Two films I saw over the last two weeks: Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - 8/10 - Was worried that after ten years, it wouldn't live up to the standards set in the TV series, but got to say it's pretty much a feature length version of the TV series. Lots of little jokes and snippets that wouldn't seem out of place in the series, and thought the way they transitioned it from small screen to movie was very good, and thought the story line was believable for an Alan Partridge film. Happy it didn't turn out as Alan does the US as was rumoured at one point, it fits with the character that he's still a z list celebrity on a tinpot Norwich radio station, not some US TV host or something like that. Kick-Ass 2 - 7/10 - Good film, but a little all over the shop with the two story lines, it seems they tried to fit the two comic book series', Kick-Ass 2 and Hit Girl, into one film, and it didn't work too well. Still had some of the charm (violence) of the original though. One of the things I love about the Kick-Ass series is the way it's a believable story of someone trying to be a Superhero in the real world, like how he spent 6 months in hospital in the first after getting stabbed. Almost guaranteed to be a third with the last scene showing a more armored costume, and since there's a Kick-Ass 3 comic, I'd be surprised if that didn't make the transition too.

Are comic book films not films then? As others have said, if you want a film recomendation thread, make one. I quite like coming in here and reading what other peoples thoughts on films, especially films I enjoy, and I happen to enjoy comic book films.

I count that as 8 first team AM's, with most being good enough for at least a top 6-8 team, surely some of them are going to be unhappy and want a move?

The more I see of Moyes, the less convinced he'll do well at Utd, he seems to be completely out of his depth. Said today that there probably won't be anymore signings this summer, and it just smacks of mind-games that aren't working to me. Surely with Utd's budget he could buy at least one player to improve their squad? Thought he'd be a good fit but think he'll come up short against Chelsea, City and in the Champions League. Mourinho will get the better of him in the mind games, and will win the league comfortably.

Auto-Correct. Just texting my brother about tea for tonight, and instead of putting BBQ Chicken, it came up with BBQ Children. I don't even want to know why that came up

I don't know why Wenger suddenly decided that possession football was the way to play football. The teams that won him the league all had big, tough centre-halves and bruising central midfielders with pace and flair upfront. As soon as Wenger wanted the style they now play with, he took the spine away from the team, which meant they couldn't handle it when teams get in their faces, like us last Saturday. As you say BOF, they need a Vieira type player back in the team.

I think it's just people have been pinching Wigan's wingers ever since Utd signed Valencia hoping they're just as good. We did it with CNZ. Wigan's best players over the last 4-5 years have all been wingers/strikers, and there has always been a bit of a media hype around the players too which make people who don't really watch the games think they are in fact quite good. So Chelsea bought Moses purely because of media hype? No, I think that's why any neutrals would rate him, I think Chelsea signed him because he was playing well at Wigan and they were hoping that he was another Valencia, a top class player, and not a player just shining because he was part of a poor Wigan side. *Bit in Bold - Neutrals that don't watch many games, if you've watched him regularly and rate him, fair enough.

He's only 22 and has a good 10 years ahead of him if he can keep fit, I don't think he'll be too worried about world cups just yet. Plus the fact I don't think he's anywhere near the squad at the minute.

I think it's just people have been pinching Wigan's wingers ever since Utd signed Valencia hoping they're just as good. We did it with CNZ. Wigan's best players over the last 4-5 years have all been wingers/strikers, and there has always been a bit of a media hype around the players too which make people who don't really watch the games think they are in fact quite good.

Ah, I'd forgotten about the new Spiderman The trilogy with Toby Maguire was terrible even by Superhero film's standards, so it needed a reboot.

Which one are they remaking that just had a trilogy? Personally quite like Comic-Book films, the thing is though, when watching them you kind of have to suspend your disbelief and accept that it's going to be a cheesy, good v evil story that good will win no matter what happens. If you go into them and try and think about the plot too much and treat it like you would a normal action film, you'll find plot holes all over the place and realise they're not the solid story line you'd expect from a Billion dollar grossing film.

I think Wenger needs to go if Arsenal ever want to challenge at the top again. Arsenal fans should've been worried when he started spouting the "Fourth is as good as a trophy" nonsense. Signing Flamini and seemingly giving Bendtner another chance aren't the types of moves you'd expect a title challenger to be making. Don't get me wrong, Flamini is just what they need, and Bendtner could be brilliant if he really tried, but in their current turmoil, they need to be signing some big name and known quality players. Wenger hasn't made a fantastic signing since he bought Vermaelen, and even then he paid £10m for him. Wenger seems to be trying to sign his normal astute and cheap-ish signings he used to make in the late 90's-early 00's, but that doesn't work anymore if you want to actual challenge for the title, thanks to Man City and Chelsea. It could be the board that are putting the breaks on any potential big money deal, but it seems as if Wenger is unwilling to spend upwards of £10m anymore, and if that's his view, Arsenal need someone who is willing to spend big if they ever want to get into the top 3 again. Couldn't care less what happens there though, I absolutely hate Arsenal, i don't even know how I managed to write so much about them

I think us signing Luna will be the making of Bennett. With Luna playing how he is currently, Bennett will have to play out of his skin in training or when give a chance, and if Bennett manages to force Luna out of the side it will show how much he has improved over the last 12 months. It's one of the things that I've really liked about our signings this summer, they create competition for places so some of the players who many deem "terrible" will have to up their game to get back in the squad, it's worked wonders with Clark already, he was our best defender against Arsenal and did well against Chelsea when he was on, but many wanted him out the door in the summer as he wasn't "good enough". Luna has made a good impact so far but I think his biggest impact will be highlighted when Bennett has to fill in for injury/tiredness.

Ahead of who? If any of the front 3 are dropped to the bench, Tonev will be first man in line to step in El-hanadi. We will be more attacking at home this year than we are away from home. But not against Liverpool surely ? A team that will try and pass us to death, think they're one of the best teams in the league and probably won't start with a defensive minded midfielder, add in the fact we're at home, it's the perfect team to play an "in the hole" type player. Liverpool will come and think they'll be able to win with ease, and will probably think we'll line up like we did against Arsenal and Chelsea and just try absorb pressure, so if we start with Helenius + our 3 strikers we'll go for the win from the off and I'm not sure how well they'll be able to handle it, especially when they have one of the worst defensive full backs in the league in Johnson IMO, effectively leaving them with three "defenders" to deal with us. Having said that if Lucas plays, it may not seem wise to play Helenius instead of El Ahmadi, but I don't think Lucas will play.

It's being changed so it is every 18/24 months in between world cups, at the minute it's either the year before or after I can't remember. The next one is only a few months away to align the series with the new Ashes calender. The next one after is in 2015 I think? EDIT: I didn't explain it very well, this Wikipedia page describes it better http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Ashes_series

I like how one of his first touches was a pass and he immediately started sprinting up the pitch. It happens too many times that our midfielders pass the ball and just stand there waiting for a return ball, should add a bit of attacking impetus to our midfield.

No he hasn't been good enough, but some of the criticism seems to be getting to point of criticism for the sake of criticism. As I said in my post, he needs to be shipped out asap. And I agree with Mike, I can't wait for this thread to be locked. Jesus, 400 pages for Barry Bannan

Using that game as an example of how bad Bannan is is just as unfair as using win % to determine how good he is. Everyone was terrible v Chelsea last season, and our improved performance tonight has more to do with how we have improved as a team not because certain players weren't playing, you can toss in the fact we played 3-5-2 in that game too as a reason why we've improved. I accept that. He was in there again for Wigan at home in that run of 0 for and 15 against. Numerous issues across the team, but I don't accept he was effective at all last year even when on the pitch when we won. My memories of Bannan will always be of the headless chicken treading water. And when he was put on the wing........ Bloody hell. What did McGash and Lambert (for too much of last year) see in him?! We are stuck with him and Ireland to the end of their contracts. This thread will reach 600 pages if not 800. I agree, he was extremely ineffectual last season and should be shipped out asap, but seems as if Bannan is becoming a bit of a scapegoat for things that he can't have helped anything. Not having a go or anything, it's just a general theme that appears to be developing.