Gillz

Purslow pulling a Wesley out of nowhere

See a sudden spike in this thread and jump in to see who we are signing. Imagine my disappointment when i realises its all just puns and wordplay. Feel like i've been absolutely Chad.

That, if true, is absolutely incredible value. Another sign of the club taking excellent steps in the transfer market - looking forward to see what follows!

Sensible signing after a decent loan spell. For 3m its another piece of shrewd business for a 23yr old who we have already seen big improvements in. That said, im not sure i see him as a starting centre back in the Prem. i think we will need one more after Mings

I understand the draw of getting a player like Milner back but also fully understand those who aren't so keen. + On the one hand, you have a core leader of a Champions League winning team, a past villa player who was exceptional for the club and a player by all accounts is still quality and gives his all every game. - Seems like a no brainer - Alternatively, He's 33, would demand massive wages, and is resembles the business approach from a few years ago that relegated the club. Ultimately i guess its depends on how optimistic or pessimistic you are feeling!

At the end of the day, he kept a clean sheet on debut in a challenging game. I thought everything he was doing was the right decision. It was good to see an aggressive keeper, coming out and commanding his box. The problem was you could tell he was nervous and keen to avoid a mistake, resulting in not the cleanest execution. Give him a few more games to build confidence and a relationship with his defenders, and i think we might have a solid keeper on our hands

I thought he had a poor game - struggled to hold up the ball or get involved in the game. In addition, he fluffed the one actual shooting chance he had. However, i place that within the context of: It was his first start for the team The Villa team he was playing with was significantly weaker than our first team, and played poorly The tactics of lumping it up for him to challenge with massive 6ft 6 defenders was absurd and never going to work. Whilst its a shame he didnt put in a good display, im not righting him off because of it.

The whole BB vs Jedinak debate comes down to a simple Horses for Courses for me. If the opposition are going to be more physical, long ball and direct, then we should play Jedi If the opposition are going to play the ball on the ground, with pace and passing, then we play BB. Its just great to have options.

Realistically, he is good enough in the championship, but not good enough for the PL. If we do believe we are going up this season, it makes sense not to renew.

Lost my voice screaming at the goal. Absolute class! A real season defining moment hopefully.

I think one of my favorite scenes was between Jon and Theon...some super heavy foreshadowing there

One of the most annoying things about villa in recent years has been our midfield knocking it sideways, waiting for an opening. Onomah is very different with the way he's happy to run with the ball, and can just seamlessly surge past players is great to watch. As many have alluded to, its something we haven't had since Delph

I dont get how this would disprove the theory. Sam still did all the things he has said and done...just that it was all in the past and he's recorded them down in an epic tale.

I'm not so sure about that. https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2015/11/george-r-r-martin-my-ending-will-reflect-the-lord-of-the-rings/ "We all yearn for happy endings in a sense. Myself, I’m attracted to the bittersweet ending. People ask me how Game of Thrones is gonna end, and I’m not gonna tell them … but I always say to expect something bittersweet in the end, like [J.R.R. Tolkien]. I think Tolkien did this brilliantly. I didn’t understand that when I was a kid — when I read Return of the King."

This episode added fire to my theory about Sam and the whole story of the show. Essentially i think GoT is all set in the past, and we are being told the story of what happened - rather than an active, present tense narrative. In particular i think the story/history is told/written by Sam . Sounds a bit far fetched but bare with me. Firstly, Sam is currently studying at Oldtown, and in that huge library with all the books is an odd contraption hanging from the sealing - upon closer look you actually realise it is the 3d map thingy that they use in the opening credits (link http://uk.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-astrolabe-title-sequence-2016-6?r=US&IR=T) Secondly, in last nights episode the grand maester was getting Sam's to pick books to help him write the recent history of events following Robert's death. I reckon Sam ends up writing it himself, he even suggests it needs a more poetic name....something like 'A Game of Thrones' perhaps? ( or a Song of Fire and Ice if you're a fan of the books) Explains why characters disappear for great lengths of time with no explanation of where they've been - no one knows, or the people that did are dead. Sam can't write what he doesnt know. Explains how there are seeming mystical stories, which don't tie in to the more Gritty reality of Westeros. These are legends/rumours that have become folklore of Westeros - (Think Magic baby shadow assassins, leeches in the fire, the Zombie Mountian soldier, the un-killable Dondarion) Could be why House Stark seem to be the 'good guys', and Jon in particular is the hero. Don't get me wrong, i like Jon and the Starks - but they are very much played up as the heroes of the story - whereas every other house has multiple flaws. Obviously not a groundbreaking theory, or have any impact on the actual story itself, but i think its kinda cool.

KP was terrible. Running out finch and then just throwing away his own wicket. Once again only some very good bowling rescued a win from an under par score. The Currans are both very exciting prospects and its hard to tell who will go further. Tom is currently the better bowler - he's a bit more experienced and disciplined than Sam. Sam probably is the more talented, but he needs to get some consistency. His biggest improvements this year have actually been with the bat - Alec Stewart said he reckons he might be a better batsmen than bowler in the end. I think Tom will end up being the one who plays for England most and has a better career - think Sam will be a top county player but will become one those players who is both a good bowler and good batsmen - but not great enough in either discipline to make the step up internationally.

It is a hard question...and our results last season and form pre season certainly point towards a lack of goals. However, Sir Alex Ferguson once said "Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles." Not sure if this holds true, but if anyone is worth listening too its probably Fergie

Are we really comparing Glenn Whelan to a guy playing in Dubai who might have been on Arsenal's radar at one time!? Whelan is a good, albeit uninspiring signing. He'll help recycle the ball, keep possession and give more freedom to the creative players. If you're not sure about the guy, just have a look at the Stoke's fans reactions to losing him

Another top game at the Oval last night in the T20...great to see the bowlers come out on top for a change. KP, much to my surprise, was in fine form. took 26 off one over - which in the end was the difference between the two team.

He sang the theme tune for the second hobbit film....

So i'm a big fan of cameos, if done well i think they can be great fun. Its something GoT has done in general quite well Unfortunately this wasn't the case. The acting was god awful and the scene served no point whatsoever. It was a few lines of weak dialogue talking about how 'War is bad'. There was no character development, no consequences and no drama (This my change if it turns out Arya is going to be interacting more with these guys, but i highly doubt it). It was a waste of 5 minutes, which considering we are limited to 7 episodes this season, felt like a complete waste of precious screen time. Apart from that i thought the episode was a solid season opener, seating the scene quite nicely for the season ahead

I think we are agreeing on a lot of things here, and i deffo concur with you that with the money we spent last year we should have gone back up (although i blame that more on the managerial choices rather then the player recruitment tbh). I actually think our player recruitment last year was pretty good at the time. most of this forum was delighted with the signings of RMac, RDL, Jedi, CH, Adomah, elphick etc at the time of purchase. In contrast this signing is a relatively cheap, less risky pick. I dont think he's going to be the saviour of Aston Villa, but i've certainly seen a lot worse in the last few years....and with the reported price just £1m, who would you suggest signing instead?

You've already changed your required level though from 'players above the championship' to now players with 'Premier League potential'. Potential is a dangerous word to use as its entirely subjective, one could argue that the 'high performing players in the championship' which you've dismissed have such potential... Don't get me wrong though - I'm all for building a squad that could survive in the PL. The issue is, whilst It's not impossible it is extremely tough. Hence the high number of teams who go up and then come straight back down. Obviously there are exceptions, but you'll often find these are teams that have had time to build and develop teams. Unfortunately our size and stature doesn't allow for a few seasons of stopping the rot and building together a winning formula. We the fans are demanding promotion and (rightly) so will accept nothing less - thus the board and management are looking for quick fixes and short term solutions. It's a far from ideal catch 22.

You may think its short sighted, i think its realistic and pragmatic. I'd love us to sign 'players who are a level above the championship', and i think in some cases we have (Terry, Chester, Taylor etc)...but it is nigh on impossible to do this with every signing. Firstly there are the financial considerations - we cant afford / FFP wont allow us to splash £10m on every player in the starting XI. Secondly there's the psychological considerations - What player in their right mind would be wiling to give up PL to drop down the the championship (unless they are promised stupid wages which would take us back to the financial considerations). Instead we are having to settle with a blend of PL quality, high performance Championship players and players with some experience of promotion. Now i will agree with you that this is slightly short-sighted, in that it focuses purely on promotion and not how to survive in the Prem once we are there....but as i said before lets win promotion first and then worry about that hurdle when we get there. If last season showed anything its that the championship isnt easy, and the fact that we are a 'big club' gives us no divine right to waltz out way back to the Prem.

I'd argue its been the philosophy behind quite a few signings. Some of them have worked, some haven't. Lets wait and see what category Elmo falls into before we start writing him off before he's kicked a ball.