MessiWillSignForVilla

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-takeover-update-steve-11350371 Looks like it's pretty much done now.

And Man City are effectively owned by the UAE government, not done them much harm

It was in the Birmingham Mail's update about the sale.

2014/15 wasn't a one off as he was also very good for Blackburn in 2013/14, when he scored 13 in 27, roughly 1 in 2.

Bloody site crashed as I posted it!

Both seasons at Blackburn he averaged a 1 in 2 goal scoring ratio, that's pretty good to be fair. He's not a good Premier League striker, but he is a good Championship one.

Both seasons at Blackburn he averaged a 1 in 2 goal scoring ratio, that's pretty good to be fair. He's not a good Premier League striker, but he is a good Championship one.

Nice to know we've replaced Newcastle as his favourite pub team

Cause it's where the world cup was won, duh!

Only team to not beat us this season

Get a copy of the photos that Lescott has of Black.

Or you know, just doing their jobs

I really hope someone dusts off the "sob on the Tyne" banners again. Their fans are ridiculously bitter about that, and it would be good to remind them when they're gloating about us going down, that they're probably coming with us

Do you really think that if we signed him, and he wasn't good enough, we'd be playing him week in week out? If we sign him, and he's not good enough, at the very least we have a very influential figure who cares deeply about the club and can help guide those around him and perhaps inspire some passion from the other players. We don't have to play him. But if we do sign him and he's back to pre-illness level? We have a potential captain and Premier League experienced CM to lead us in a turbulent period and perhaps put in some performances that will help us get back into the Premier League. It's a fairly win-win scenario, either get a Premier League level player in the Championship, or an influential figure that the club has been sorely lacking ever since he left in the first place, that doesn't have to play if he's not good enough.

He looks a tad like Hans Gruber in that photo imo

Which would mean that he's taken a team that were consistently challenging Top 6 before he arrived (of Moyes' 11 seasons, they finished Top 6 - 5x, 7th - 3x, 8th -1x, Bottom Half - 2x) to just above the relegation battle in just three years.

He got them relegated out of sheer stubbornness in regards to his play style and his complete inability to organise a defence. If he hadn't stuck to his philosophy of "pretty" football, he could have easily kept Wigan up. There's a reason why the so-called survival specialists like Allardyce and Pulis play direct, "ugly" football, because when you're in the thick of it all that matters is getting points, not how you get them. If Martinez had spent more time focusing on organising his defence properly at Wigan, and less on the technical side, they would've had a much better chance of survival, just like when Jewell and Bruce kept them up. Now the same is happening at Everton, too much focus on the attacking and technical side, whilst their defence gets worse game by game seemingly. John Stones is almost Martinez football incarnate. Yeah he looks good on the ball and is quite good technically, but he makes some horrendous mistakes all because he's fannying about trying to look skillful. The amount of times I've watched Everton highlights this season and they've given away a goal/chance because Stones is dribbling in his own box or trying to play fancy passes with opposition players in front of him is baffling, and yet it still happens, a proper manager would've told him that sometimes you just need to word removed the **** as far away from goal as possible.

And he hasn't played football in 4 years and his retrial hasn't even started yet. I'd rather not take him.

Because calling it laughing gas doesn't cause a moral panic.

Hahahahaha Aston Villa player in being a prick shocker!

I'd actually quite like match fixing "Haha, we're not actually shit, we've just been losing on purpose!" Would make this season slightly easier to swallow, I already hate all the players anyway.

It's the Sun, so yes.

If it's the story I'm thinking about, it's the nothing story that he saw Bacuna pissing about on a segway or hoverboard (can't remember which) at an airport.

The other presenter was desperately trying to get him to shut up when he was talking about Little when they came back from the ads

Southgate is sitting in the stands next to Little today, perhaps he's being lined up? Probably a case of 2+2=5 though.