El Zen

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".

Why would he want to call Lee Hendrie? Silly me. Of course Lee Hendrie still has a future at Aston Villa FC after this season.

Prefers to call himself Edu as well, so sign him up and give him Lee Hendrie's number and I know what I'll have on the back of my next shirt. :winkold:

Funny you should mention it, because I heard that FC Lyn Oslo's Nigerian starlet Chinedu Ogbuke is on trial with Wigan. Don't know if it's been mentioned, but he may be worth a look. I'd take him over his mate at Chelsea, John Obi Mikel, any day.

Hmm, FC Alicebands or Smurfs IF it is then. A Buffalo couldn't give a rat's about hygene Sorry, should really have done this by PM. Delete at will, mods.

Enga is short for VÃ¥lerenga, my local club and John Carew's first professional club. Of course, Carew would not be where he is today if he hadn't spent two years with the pride of Oslo (eh, Tarj? :winkold: ).

Why bother. Obvious PFE'ing :winkold: John Carew was with Rosenborg for half a season, while he was with Enga for two full years. A player's first professional club will always have great influence on his career. What are you? A friggin' Buffalo? Again, I'm sorry. This must make absolute no sense to non-Norwegians. Shake hands, Tarj?

That is not true at all. We gave him the chance to play at the highest level at the age of 17. He played more games for Enga than for Rosenborg. He won his first trophy (the Norwegian F.A. Cup) at the club. His first taste of European football came with VÃ…lerenga. Remember 3-3 in Istanbul and the quarter final against Chelsea? He got to work with Egil Olsen, who taught him a lot about the game. I think it is safe to say that VÃ¥lerenga has meant a lot for John Carew's career. So much he's made it clear that he will return to the club one day to finish his career where it started. I believe I've convicingly proved it isn't Sorry for going off topic, I just couldn't let that one pass.

I think he failed a medical at Fulham because of a knee condition called "jumper's knees". I've got the same condition and it effectively put an end to my "career", however it is possible to recover from. I don't think it has bothered him too much over the past couple of years.

He'd cause defences enough problems to allow Gabby and Luke to bang the goals in from open play and he'd be the target for corners and free-kicks. Spot on, both of you. Well, he broke through at (my local club) Valerenga at the very tender age of 17 and, due to his brutal physical strength already being fully developed, immidietly made a name for himself. Within three years he was playing regularly for Valencia. He's been a big name in Europe for over seven years, actually. Not bad for a young lad.

I agree. He's not a goal poacher per se, but he's brutally strong and actually quite fast. With a creative midfield behind him and a couple of decent wingers, he'd do a good job for us imo.

Think you missed my point. I was being sarcastic. Probably should've added a :roll: at the end just to make it clear. :roll: :winkold:

You mean, like Chelsea? That's all I wanted to hear, really. Ta.

Oh but if we start spending over the odds for players, we leave ourselves in a poor bargaining position for years to come. Nope, probably not. However, then we may say "well, might as well cough up £15mill for Darren Bent as well while we're at it" and the snowball is in motion. Other clubs will think "No point bargaining with Aston Villa and that billionaire Lerner, he'll cough up whatever we want anyway". We can't run the club like that. MON and Randy are NOT afraid to spend £10 million on a player, as long as that player is actually worth £10 million and not £5 million. Gettit?

Yes, because we'll end up like Chelsea who have to pay over the top for every player they want as other clubs know they've got loads and loads of cash. And that's no way to run a football club in the long term, imo.

He's a very good player, no doubt. Would prefer a more experienced, goal poaching striker though, and we already have Luke and Gabby.

Doesn't really change the fact that getting top class players in January is more difficult than in the summer window, does it? If a player is first choice at his club, he's unlikely to move in January, unless a much bigger wants him and is prepared to pay over the odds. SWP is hardly first choice at Chelsea, despite being a very good player, and is one of very few top standard players available in this window I'd pressume. And, who knows, SWP may still end up going nowhere. We've hard nothing official yet, have we?

I know what you mean, Tricella, but again I must stress that big moves are not that likely to happen in January. Clubs will, understandably be very reluctant to sell their most rized assets, as there is little time to bring in a proper replacement. Now, our squad was almost relegated last season. We have a lot of youngsters playing week in and week out, which is refleceted in our recent loss of form. I think that this window is all about getting players that will do a decent job for the remainder of the season, and then build from there. It is in the summer months you can really do business. I'm sure the board and the manager would love to sign world class players, and I think we have the money to do so. But if other clubs won't sell, what can we do but look for less fashionable yet decent alternatives?

Maybe, but I hope we can do a lot better too. I know I'm repeating myself and what others have said too, but we must remember this is the January window. Top standard players will be very hard to get. I think players like Alan Smith, Marlon Harewood and Robbie Earnshaw could do a decent job for us, and if nothing else add Premiership experience and more options. What I also like about these players is that they have good physical qualities, as we need more power in our team.