El Zen

Guess which one I am

My thoughts exactly, so I'm definitely going for "better".

Thanks for that, PB, a great read that saved my otherwise very quiet day at work.

I've PM'ed you, Ian.

and I'm there at this moment - beer expensive thank god for those expenses :-) Where've you been drinking, Ian?

Not bad, Hall, not bad at all. You just sounded a bit like a Yorkshireman who'd spent twenty years of his life living in Drammen. Which is a good thing, mind you :winkold:

Certainly is. Sat next to him and this English girl (her name escapes me) who was with him during lunch. It was a good laugh. Hall's English is probably the funniest accent I've ever heard

Actually it was Ashley who was driving, as it was probably his car. I must say he looked about eight years old sitting in the driver's seat of his BMW X5 chelsea tractor

I'm presuming but this is probably because none of them actually have a house yet so are probably staying in the same hotel. Just a guess That would probably be an accurate presumption too, Bicks.

You're right. Ashley, John and Bardsley were all in the same car.

No problem, Kristian, I'm happy to contribute. It really was a fantastic trip. I'm the 6ft4" guy with short blond hair wearing glasses, standing next to Kristian in the group picture. Kristian is the gentleman photographed with MON (you lucky b*stard). Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone wanted to buy me a beer next time I visit Villa Park :winkold:

I'm going with the majority and say the Premier League. Like people have pointed out, you have to be consistantly the best team over a period of nine months.

I agree with this completely. Well put, sir.

Seeing as I am more than likely to be in one of these photos, I think I'm going to put my foot down and say you can't Obviously joking, of course, it would be great if you could share them.

I never chose to be straight, I just am. Can't see why it would be any different for a gay person.

Do you think we can expect an official anouncement from the club regarding this in the next couple of weeks, General sir?

That is excellent General, I'm glad Randy appreciated it as well. That really made my day. And to Joey, about the photos I'll see what I can do. I'm not too learned in the art of linking camera to computer to web. I'm sure there'll be somthing on www.villans.no , though.

Cheers, Paddy, believe me the club deserves every bit of praise it can get. Though I'm sure you're well aware of that already. If the mods would put my post on the front page, that would be great.

General sir, I thought you'd might appreciate a report from my week-end trip down from Oslo to see the boys entertain West Ham. Needless to say I had a great time, however the trip turned out even better than I'd dreamt it could be. I booked my trip only two weeks ago while listening to the Watford game on VillaWorld. Too late, I thought, to join the Norwegian Supporter's club, who I knew had a planned a trip up to Bodymoor Heath and a tour of Villa Park. Ah well, I thought, I'll just spend friday sightseeing around Birmingham. Luckily, I bumped into a couple of the guys from the AVSCN in the airport and they invited me along. Before I knew it, I was at Villa's training ground waiting for the players to show up for training. I soon forgot all about the players though, when a certain American pulled up in his car. We waved and cheered, and out stepped the most down to earth billionaire you could imagine. His t-shirt not even tucked properly in like he'd just got out of bed, mr Randy Lerner greeted thirty crazy Norwegians like he was one of us. I got to shake his hand and thank him, and he was more than happy to pose for photos for everyone. I was stunned by how real this man really appeared, and you could tell how he thouroughly enjoys being a part of Aston Villa. A couple of the guys from the AVSCN had arranged a meeting with Martin O'Neill, and returned full of praise for the manager as well. According to them, a fantastic character. We then made our way in to Villa Park for a nice lunch at the Corner Flag and an interesting tour of the stadium. I thought the tour guide was a top man, and the old fellow made no effort to hide how pleased he was with Ellis being gone and Randy taking over. He also said he expected there to be an announcement regarding the North Stand in the near future, however he made it very clear that was only an educated guess and that he had no inside information. Then the club gave us a special discount in the Villa Shop, a fine gesture I think appreciating the effort put in to come all the way from Norway to support the club. On saturday I got to the stadium early, having walked from the hotel to get a feel of the local area surrounding Villa Park. The weather was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Villa News&Record on the steps of the Holte End. I presume everyone know all about the game by now, but I must say the atmosphere was fantastic and seeing as this was my first win at Villa Park in five attempts, I've never felt better being a Villa fan. Obviously, having a Norwegian player whom I've followed since he was a mere kid scoring the winner contributed to that feeling of pride I had walking through Aston Park on my way home. This club is going places, General sir, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to the man I had the honour of shaking hands with on friday for making it all possible. The whole trip was such a fantastic success for me personally, I wish I could do it every week-end. Hopefully I'll be back in April for more of the same. Up the Villa!

Mellberg and Laursen. There really is no discussion for me, given they are both fully fit, based on their combined experience and how their strenghts and weaknesses compliment eachother excellently.

I hate SHA with a passion. Now, I'm not from Brum at all so me hating the Blose so strongly may seem a bit silly. However, having walked the streets of Brum wearing a Villa shirt and taken the abuse from several bollocks-on-a-chain-wearing wnakers, I know what they're about. I bloody hate them. The Baggies I dislike, but I wouldn't describe it as hatred. I don't particularily want them to do well, but I'd prefer them to go up over the Blose. The Wolves are alright, and I actually want them to do well as long as they don't offer us direct competition. This is a no-brainer for me, really.

I have to say, General, with the latest additions to the squad and the noises coming from our new CEO regarding a five year plan, this feels almost as big as when you first took over round August time. I feel so genuinely proud to be part of Villa now, and I'm positive we'll return to greatness in the not-so-distant-anymore future. All I can say is thank you, I guess. I feel forever indebted to you guys for what you're doing for my club. May I start paying you back buying the first round when I fly in for the West Ham game?

A fair assesment that, Tarj. I particularily agree with the bit about him being a potential hit in the dressing room. He's a very cheerful lad, who'll get along with pretty much anyone. Always a smile on his face, it seems. Welcome to Villa, John. I'll be there to give you a warm welcome when we entertain West Ham, and hopefully you'll help make it a successful trip for me.

Link

Wow, then I'll have to hurry into work so I can have the coffee ready in time for the press conference Not having a go at you, Randys, just don't think it's going to happen. The OS message boards are infamous for these so-called "inside stories".