Zhan_Zhuang

I think if we're to salvage anything from this season we must build the first eleven around S. Ireland.

As a kid growing up these players were my heroes - Diego Maradona Lothar Matthäus Marco Van Basten Ian Rush And now as an adult - Lionel Messi.

Unfortunately one cannot argue with this...and to think we may actually get relegated too! I genuinely think we have some good players who should be performing better and agree with you that with the key players in certain positions Villa should be at least top eight. I wanted to give McLeish a chance but we're getting worse...

Gabby up top (where he should be) with Ireland in-between midfield and attack...it has to be done. This should give the midfield and wingers space to operate as Gabby's pace should stretch the defence...in theory :shock:

Slightly off-topic I know but did not know where to post this: I am from Birmingham but have lived outside of England and the UK for around 18 years now. I used to get down to Villa Park on average once every couple of years and so I am heading back next month and was going to take in a match against Bolton but in all honesty I really don't care anymore enough to actually go. It's a shame because I wanted to give McLeish a chance but the writing's on the wall so why waste my money?

Yes. I agree with darrenm . The problem seems most likely to be a few bad apples in the team most notably those in defense, we need to get them out this summer. Going forward we are creating chances and generally playing ok but it's the defensive lapses which are the problem not the manager after all there's only so much he can do.

:shock: :shock: I did not know that. I know that the first season under MON was not great but I did not think it was anywhere near as bad as this. I thought AVFC got 50 points that season. As for the league being worst now, I am not sure about that. The fact that there are 6 strong contenders for the Champions League instead of 4 would suggest otherwise. Also I remember Watford in the premiership in 06/07 and they were horiffically bad, much worse then Wigan now. I agree that the PL is much more competitive now than it was back then. I'd also swap O'Neill's defence with ours in a heartbeat; Bouma, Mellberg and Cahill could all still arguably do a better job than the clowns we currently have. Unfortunately for McLeish he's inherited a terrible defence!

Nick Diaz and his brother Nate are both imbeciles of the highest order! Nick's had two chances now at the highest level, firstly he repeatedly failed to honour media appearances in the run-up to his last title shot and now this! Looks like Condit v GSP next then, initially it was touted Diaz v GSP and I personally would have hoped to see GSP destroy him but I guess that is not to be.

The people organising this protest are a disgrace in my opinion. They are basing their unrest on McLeish's previous affiliation for SHA and not on any justified footballing reason. When we are good we can beat Chelsea on their own patch so there is reason to be optimistic. Yes we're currently sitting in a bad position but I think our players and in particular the defence have let him and us down badly. Against Newcastle we really should have been two or three up and if not for Krul that may have been the case. McLeish has a similar record now as O'Neill did when he arrived those are the facts and he needs time! Protesters = embarassment as far as I am concerned!

Ba and Cisse will likely play which is bad news for us; both were rested against Blackburn due to their flights from Africa. I fancy Villa to cause a few problems in attack but we're going to concede. 2-2.

Stopped reading Me too...it is nonsensical.

I agree, it's the same on this forum regarding the cynicism of some who have no patience with the manager.

I know this is going off on a tangent... Well yes because each manager has his own philosophy. We all know the style of play is different from O'Neill who played down the wing and under Houllier who played out from the back and through the middle. One however cynical cannot deny we played brilliantly against QPR (in the second half) and also against Chelsea away for example. No I do not agree as it is contrary to common sense that we hold the opinion that "this is as good as it gets" because firstly that is cynical and secondly YOU do not know for sure and therefore such an opinion defies logic and common sense. Should we keep our attacking players and address the defensive frailties then we should be in good shape to have a better season next time around in 2012-2013. Behold, the logical opinion my friend!

What is deluding are those who think six to seven months is more than enough time to build a decent football team! Ask any pundit, ex-player or manager with a wealth more experience than the armchair fan and they will tell you a new manager needs at least eighteen months before one can be completely justified in having an objective opinion on the matter. So the correct answer all along is we have to give McLeish some time...

I voted for N'Zogbia based on his second half performance where at times he was almost unplayable; a lovely finish for his goal and unlucky not to get another later on. I think Villa can and do play some very good stuff going forward because we do have the players to play in that fashion. Unfortunately on the defensive side we really need to address the situation and sign a commanding CB and another LB. In an ideal world we'd need a replacement for Hutton but I honestly think McLeish will stick with him; maybe Lichaj will step up once back to fitness?! It's ridiculous that we seem to be giving teams a goal or two away based on our inability to defend.

I was thinking this too based on Nike, Adidas and Umbro being the largest companies Puma must be next in line. Then there are Diadora, Hummel, Joma, Kappa, Le Coq Sportif, Lotto, Reebok; surely these companies would fall over themselves to sponsor a PL team such as Villa?! Personally I used to love the Reebok 'AST' kit.

I agree with you... Bisping won the first two rounds. Unfortunately they don't want a British fighter challenging for the title as the interest would be poor in the land of the USA. Sonnen's post-fight comments were a disgrace and I hope Silva destroys him!

Hutton is still an awful player who shouldn't be playing for Aston Villa. We need to either move Cuellar to RB or wait for Herd to come back...somehow I think McLeish will persist with playing Hutton though which is costing us.

The greatest magic is transmuting the passions. ~ Bankei Yōtaku Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. ~ Morihei Ueshiba I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. ~ Bruce Lee

Unfortunately for them they lost several key players in the end of season run-in. Believe it or not Zigic was a blow to them as prior to his injury he was scoring some important goals!

So what happened to giving McLeish some time? I thought a manager deserved at least eighteen months to hone a team as they see fit. As has been correctly pointed out he has amassed the same number of wins as O'Neill and Houllier in less time. I thought Villa played well against Wolves and carved out some better chances then they did. Also we should've taken the lead within the first minutes of the game and I envisage that they would have been on the receiving end of a severe scoreline if we had done so earlier in the game. Albrighton was lively, Gardner strong and Keane and Bent linked well. Therefore these are positives to look at. We should try to be positive and at least give McLeish a chance. If he lets the deadwood go in the summer - Heskey, Beye, hopefully Collins and maybe Cuellar, Makoun he can focus on buying a decent defender or two and maybe another winger/attacker. I don't think we need too much just sorting out the defence!

I agree, Hummel is a touch of retro in a world where most kits fit a template regardless of club tradition. Fans of other teams have often remarked to me how much they liked the Hummel kit Villa had. To be clear I do also like and probably prefer having Nike as a sponsor though as it means we have the brand and the marketing expertise that goes with it that results in greater appeal and more money for our club.

That was one deep standing guillotine! To be honest I like both fighters but I wanted Machida to win and I think he took the first round; the cut was a nasty one and he knew it would be costly so his confidence was hit badly. I'm not sure Anderson Silva will step up as he'll lose his speed and elusiveness but you never know?!

I don't think Suarez is out for this match?!?

Yea, I'm in the Greg Lake camp too... Other favourites of mine -