MikeMcKenna

It not over till the fat lady sings! GET IN!!! UTV!!! Spurs lose!

My first final: 1961 Aston Villa 3 Rotherham 0 Alan O'Neill, Harry Burrows, Peter McParland after losing 2-0 in the first leg away of the final we won the very first league cup 3-2 on aggregate after an extra time goal by Peter McParland. I don't like talking about the next two finals v scum and spurs but like many above enjoyed others including Norwich '75, the marathon against Everton, the stuff of dreams in Rotterdam, slaughtering Man U and Leeds etc etc sadly I missed the 57 cup final by a few years but I have so many great cup winning memories. Another one is coming very soon IMHO

This :-)

Got back to Bournemouth from the game about 20 mins ago! Villa fans were brilliant! Great result and a few excellent goals BUT let's not get carried with our midfield yet! Pompey absolutely dominated possession and the midfield we simply couldn't get the ball off them at times and had they been better up top we would have struggled I am surprised Downing is leading motm as our best player IMHO was Guzan. Downing made some surging runs which bodes well for the future but didn't look totally fit to me Milners goal was a cracker!

Ha Ha Ha! Ho Ho Ho! Hee Hee Hee! Ha Ha Ha! Ho Ho Ho! Hee Hee Hee! Ha Ha Ha! Ho Ho Ho! Hee Hee Hee! Ha Ha Ha! Ho Ho Ho! Hee Hee Hee! Job done! UTV!!!

This......... What a result, I am so glad I kept stum over the last few weeks

Am in Italy tonight and will be watching the game on my tod surrounded by Juve supporters!!! Should be fun if we win ?!?!?!

Because we have seen whhat Barry has offered us in the last ten years? With Barry as our key player for a good part of the last ten years the honours achieved are: FA Cup * Runners-up: 2000 Intertoto Cup * Winners: 2001 Player of the Season * Winner: 2006–07 I think this pathetic record is no coincidence. Barry may be perceived as a quality player but imho he has never been a winner! Good bye, its time for a change! So it's Barry's fault we haven't won anything? In some ways, various managers have tried to accomodate him, in the hope that he would make the difference - he hasnt. At the beginning of the season people were raving about the likes of Young, when has anyone "raved" about Barry? He was originally made captain because of time at the club, but imo he was a shit captain. he isnt inspirational, has litle passion or drive. Technically he may be a better player than Petrov, but I dont think he makes sufficient difference. He fulfils the holding position for England, which imo is his best position and is patently not an attacking midfielder. Barry could have 20 yards in front of him, yet invariably he'll look up and knock a ball long to Young or Milner. Looks impressive but is so predictable - Barry is guaranteed to never spring any surprises. How many times this season have we seen him drive into the box? People talk about teams like Arsenal missing a Viera type player, because they believe they lack a midfield general who will make a difference. Our "midfield general" has rarely made the difference. I accept that one player cant carry a whole team, but look back over the years and I am sure you will be able to identify players who were lynchpins... Platt, York etc Villa have been pretty boring for much of the last ten years (with a few exceptions) and I think Barry is partly to blame

Because we have seen whhat Barry has offered us in the last ten years? With Barry as our key player for a good part of the last ten years the honours achieved are: FA Cup * Runners-up: 2000 Intertoto Cup * Winners: 2001 Player of the Season * Winner: 2006–07 I think this pathetic record is no coincidence. Barry may be perceived as a quality player but imho he has never been a winner! Good bye, its time for a change!

Obviously whoever posted that is talking out their arse but we have to remember that any current comparison has to take into account the fact that Petrov was primarily the Defensive/Holding midfielder in the last 2 seasons and Barry was supposed to be the attacking midfielder. IIRC Barry wanted to be the attack midfield but imo hasnt really been that effective in supporting the strikers. Yes he makes some great passes out left and right but could Petrovs stats have done the same if their positions been reversed? On the few occassions when Petrov has got forward he has tried to attack defenders

Barry is history for me. Petrov is an excellent player but he is not an automatic replacement. We need someone who can score goals from mf, dominate and change games.

Very few fans disagree with you but its Barry that wants out. He wants a change and I see nothing wrong with fans agreeing that a change might be for Villa as well. As someone else has said I think he should never have been made captain again and sent all the wrong messages to the rest of the squad. His class cannot be denied but he wants to leave so AVFC should let him go to the highest bidder - then we can get on with rebuilding.

Do I think Barry is an excellent player - yes! Will we miss him - yes for a while! Is it time for him to go - yes! Barry has been the key player for Villa for years yet I think its time for a change. MON needs to reshape the side and find a true driving midfield general. Barry can hold the ball and make fantastic passes but I have never thought of him as a match winner - which is what we desperately needed - Bye, Bye GB. Thanks orthe last year despite the fact you would have rather have been at Liverpool.

That is very funny! I am far from your typical Upper Holte fan, but surely you are on a wind up - the lower Holte mayhave great fans but come on.......... true they are obsessed with shitting on the city in the Upper and we have more than our fair share of nutters but having sat in both upper and lower there is no comparison - the Upper makes the noise the lower follows...............

I think he cares. I remember watching the legendary Brian Little many years ago and wondering the same thing. He rarely smiled or celebrated a goal but that didnt make him any the less a committed player. He had several patches of bad form and now he is considered a legend. Whether Gabby can become the same I have no idea. I accept that there are question marks about some professional footballers attitudes and if I thought all the abuse would make him and others a better players I would be screaming at them every game but as I said elsewhere, I don't know of any examples where this negative approach works. I agree that players out of form should be dropped and it could be argued that Petrov's spell of the bench (last season) turned him round. MON is not the messiah, but in the final analysis he must be trusted as the best judge of a players mentality - ultimately if the team of "professionals" he assembles don't deliver Randy Lerner then will have to judge whether MON is the one to take us forward.

Jim Jiminey Jim Jiminey Jim Jim cher-oo ! Milner's our winger in claret and blue

Jim Jiminey Jim Jiminey Jim Jim cher-oo ! Milner's the winger in claret and blue

Cant believe Petrov isnt on the list. Makes the poll a bit of a joke. He is the glue that has held the team together alllowing Barry and others to do their jobs. When we were without him for 2/3 games we were much less effective.

Hi General Thanks for all your comments and feedback! I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

Obviously now at only 27% wanting him gone, more and more fans are seeing the sense of keeping Barry. As others have said I will never totally forgive him but if his staying means Villa perform better next year and challenge, I dont give a **** about the emotional side!

Its interesting isnt it that 66% either want him to stay or cant decide as opposed to 33% who want him gone. Sounds to me like he could be easily forgiven - despiete everything I would like him to stay - life's too short and we need players of quality. He needs to come out now and say he made a mistake and will commit to a new contract with Villa!

I voted "no" but as others have said that is based purely on our transfer dealings this summer. I am totally happy with our progress for the 1st two seasons under MON and Randy Lerner but worry about going backwards next season

General I realise that the Barry situation is not originally of the clubs making but MON's humiliating climbdown tonight is the sort of embarrassment that I thought we had left behind when ellis sold the club. Whoever came up with the idea that a "deadline" would work must be very naive. Tonight like many Villa fans I am really pissed off that yet again we have been made a laughing stock. I sympathise with the club but after all the big talk we have been made to look like a small time operation. I have been a steadfast advocate of MON and the Randy Lerner but like others I am now starting to lose my faith and patience. I have just wasted a day travelling to Reading to watch an inept perfomance by a Villa team made up largely of reserves and academy players.... we were lucky not to have lost lost 4-1 never mind draw. Our squad was small last year, now it is a pitiful. Please thank Randy for the for the pub and mosaics etc BUT......... I would like to know when Randy & MON are going to do what I did when I bought three season tickets.......... i.e. Invest in the FOOTBALL Club! Only a deaf, dumb and blind man could believe that we have a hope in hell of of realising the clubs stated ambition of "...challenging for the Champions League within 5 years" based on the current transfer dealings.

General A big thank you to all concerned on the Acorn sponsorship. I like Randy's style! Another 1st for Aston Villa Football Club. If there is God up there he will hopefully ensure Aston Villa are rewarded in the future with a few more firsts on the field!

I am very, very surprised at the results so far. I have a great deal of respect for Barry and fervently hope that he stays. But if he goes to anyone our premier league competitors such as the red scouse I will be seriously pissed off. I will not boo him per se but likewise I will not applaud him under circumstances. If he goes he is no longer "one of us" but "one of them"..... and should be treated accordingly! :evil: