McGregor1888

So true mate, Isn't it horrible though that us fans are actually hoping we get a point (at home) to a team low in the form table (Spuds). This is a game that a year or so ago, we would be quite easily looking to grab 3 points as a given... It is all AM's fault!! I'm sorry but what?! Maybe not last year but pretty much every year before that. And hopefully soon again.

Silly nonsense? I would go beyond that and suggest that what we see here is classic loser mentality. Nine points left to play for and we need every Villa fan that cares about the club to get behind the club. Those that want to follow Championship teams or watch Barcelona v Chelsea should do us all a favour and follow another club because they bring absolutely nothing to Villa other than help drag our great club down. When times get tough you learn a lot about the character of folk, who are the winners, who are the losers, who are those you want by your side in battle and so on. Bedwetters please stay away from Villa now and the foreseeable future would be my earnest suggestion - go follow Man Utd, Coventry, Leeds Utd, Barcelona, Chelsea...follow the club that provides the thrill you need that Villa so clearly doesn't. Leave the rest of us to lift our great club back to where it should be.

You're own your own with that one squire. An extra voice supporting the lads at Villa Park could make a difference.

Not a surprise, we don't compete at all in the Premier League and nothing is coming out of the club to suggest we will in the future, so fair enough Bas. That hurts, and is very depressing. Sometimes it's still hard to believe we are where we are. it is depressing and it's not acceptable for Villa to be in this position. It is laughable that the City of Birmingham hasn't got a club that can compete for the very top players. The buck stops with Randy Lerner (just as it did with Doug). He has to spell out his ambitions for the club this close season - if he has not got the means or ambitions to challenge for honours then he must do the RIGHT thing and find people who have.

Where's the 4-4 draws with Spurs and Chelsea? Who is to say one 4-4 draw is better than another and should be put up for a nomination?The London/North West bias here is astonishing. Where's Stan's goal v Derby, Dalian's goal of the season v Wimbledon...? How many Midland's clubs and players are represented here? Just shows how the media influences and shapes football and it's perceived "history". It stinks. This vote is pointless because it will be dominated by glory hunting teenage plastic fans from Asia, Africa and elsewhere simply voting for nonsense they've been spoon fed by the London/NorthWest media that controls the game.

Rubbish ! Bannan has been on the fringe ever since MON left - he must 22 at least by now .......how long are you planning to given him ? Herd is 23 - and has slotted in well. Personally I thinks it more the case of a good engine than a great player. - But yes in the team on Merit. Baker - has made a catalogue of mistakes. He may improve in time - but why he playing on sun with Cuellar and Clarke available is beyond me. Gardner is still very young - and for that gets the benefit of the doubt. I have to say I have seen very little to suggest he is even as good as his brother though. Clarke - looking promising and composed last season - but hasn't improved on that this season. I think this current crop might give us the equivalent of Liam Ridgewell \ Graig Gardner.........at best. However if your expecting a new dawn from our academy kids you are going to be dissaponted. Been watching Villa for 40 years - and have seen some great home grown players:- Brain Little, John Deehan, Gary Shaw, Mark Walters, more recently Gabby - up until this season. In general you only get one or two at a time - throwing six or seven in, has and always will be a recipe for disaster. None of those great youngsters you mention were drafted in under the circumstances our current lot have had to face. Brian Little came into an experienced side that wasn't even in the top flight! Mark Walters came into a side that were Champions of Europe. Gary Shaw came into a side with a whole host of top quality, seasoned pros to support him. Our current crop of young lads have not had such advantages, they've all been thrown in together into a struggling side with some very average senior pros. Writing any of them off now would be incredibly foolish. Gary Gardner will be a top, top player, for example. You have to give youngsters time to develop and grow into senior football. Imagine GG after a couple of seasons growing, developing and gym work: he will be a top, top player - and even then he will only be 21-22 years old. But thats my whole point. Those players were good enough to hold there own. There were plenty of others who didn't make the grade. Whatver level Little, Shaw, Barry, Walters - were in the team on merit by 20 years of shaw - shaw won euro young player of the year {i think} you could be right about GG - but players who have made the grade with Villa (in general) have been showing it by the time they are 20 ....Gabby and Barry obvious examples. Remember these ? Dean Glover, David Norton, David Mail, Ray Walker, Kevin Poole - in 1986 these were the young lions, who we were told were the best batch of youngsters in the clubs history - they got the club relegated in 1987 - and at best they went on to have have careers with division 2 clubs I remember them, indeed. The only one I can recall being talked about in real glowing terms was Ray Walker. Kevin Poole had potential too if I recall. I don't think it was the youngsters that got us relegated but rather the very swift break up of the European Cup winning team. They (the youngsters of '87) really were thrown in at the deep end. What you say is very apt, though, because it only just strikes me how similar the situation now is to '87. There are so many parallels it's untrue!

Rubbish ! Bannan has been on the fringe ever since MON left - he must 22 at least by now .......how long are you planning to given him ? Herd is 23 - and has slotted in well. Personally I thinks it more the case of a good engine than a great player. - But yes in the team on Merit. Baker - has made a catalogue of mistakes. He may improve in time - but why he playing on sun with Cuellar and Clarke available is beyond me. Gardner is still very young - and for that gets the benefit of the doubt. I have to say I have seen very little to suggest he is even as good as his brother though. Clarke - looking promising and composed last season - but hasn't improved on that this season. I think this current crop might give us the equivalent of Liam Ridgewell \ Graig Gardner.........at best. However if your expecting a new dawn from our academy kids you are going to be dissaponted. Been watching Villa for 40 years - and have seen some great home grown players:- Brain Little, John Deehan, Gary Shaw, Mark Walters, more recently Gabby - up until this season. In general you only get one or two at a time - throwing six or seven in, has and always will be a recipe for disaster. None of those great youngsters you mention were drafted in under the circumstances our current lot have had to face. Brian Little came into an experienced side that wasn't even in the top flight! Mark Walters came into a side that were Champions of Europe. Gary Shaw came into a side with a whole host of top quality, seasoned pros to support him. Our current crop of young lads have not had such advantages, they've all been thrown in together into a struggling side with some very average senior pros. Writing any of them off now would be incredibly foolish. Gary Gardner will be a top, top player, for example. You have to give youngsters time to develop and grow into senior football. Imagine GG after a couple of seasons growing, developing and gym work: he will be a top, top player - and even then he will only be 21-22 years old.

Listen to this guy. He's the only person around here who writes sense - a dry pair of trousers in a sea of bedwetters.

Sometimes you have to see the bigger picture and know when to sell. I think it's the perfect time to sell and fine tune Villa's squad. Bent simply isn't mobile or dynamic enough which, in turn, limits the team. A more dynamic front man opens up more options and styles of play.

Where Liverpool want to be and where they will actually end up are quite possibly two different places. They are a spent force living on past glories and are probably worse in the league now than they were last season so if Bent goes then I would think he would be aiming higher than these 'Has Beens. Absolutely. Liverpool are the eighth/ninth best team in the league. Where do they want to be? (I'm sure we want to be there as well, by the way.) Liverpool need huge wholesale changes and they simply do not have the money or manager to get where they want to be - they are light years away from the top four. I would willingly sell them Bent if they tip up the bulk of their transfer kitty to us in the summer - I actually think it would weaken them further and strengthen us because they then would have to rebuild their style of play to fit Bent's strengths. We, on the other hand, would have further funds to buy some top quality young talent to complement our youngsters. Liverpool remind me of a more limited version of Martin O'Neill''s Villa.

From the Wiki page on him.. So he's a guy that was more than likely on the radar of Manchester United, was on the radar of Arsenal and signed for them and then chose us.. That's a curious decision. Joining the best youth set up in the country a curious decision? It shows the kid's got confidence and ambition.

I thing your confusing encouragement with an honest appraisal of how he played yesterday. I really hope he goes on to be a top pro for us - and yes he was up against some top notch players yesterday that said- in my heart of hearts I would lying I thought he had a good game yesterday. He played fine. The whole team sat back (due to inexperience and nerves as much as anything else in my view) and he sat back with them.

Yorke went on and played for the best team in the world at the time and made a major contribution. Bent is not capable of that IMO. Really!!! What absolute bullsh1t on so many levels. I wont even argue that a lucky Untied side were ever the best team in the world. The same side that got served by Barca the following year?!! But I would argue that Darren Bent ≥ Andy Cole United, in 1999, by winning the Champions League, proved themselves to be the best side in Europe. Although in the world would be opinion, admittedly. That is a fact. Andy Cole or Bent. That is opinion. But why hasn't a top club ever bought Bent? You saying we are not a top club?!! A combination of timing, price Tag and his demand for first team football. There is no doubt he is a better option than numerous strikers at the current top 4-5 clubs but he was never going to be a cheap option once he started scoring for fun at Charlton. If we had of got him at the right time we could have tasted champions league football ourselves. Ahh I see where we have a difference in opinion. It is the definition of a top club. Top Club for me is United, Barca, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal when they had Henry, Pires, Viera etc So no we are not a top club. Top clubs sign players no matter what the timing or price tag. Having said that he went down with Charlton and any top club could have got him then. He was disliked by Redknapp and any top club copuld have got him then. Also any top club could have got him from Sunderland. I agree with your Champions League comment though. Such a club does not exist. Every club has to think about timing and price tag. Having said that, Villa's actions when we snapped up Bent were that of a "top club", as you define it. Arsenal have never been a "top club" (as you define it). Those signings you mention were purely down to the astuteness of Wenger - not "top club" behaviour.

For £20+ million I would sell and get someone in for younger. Not only that but I will have a little chuckle to myself too when we finish nicely above Loserpool. Great business by us.

I havent seen him play. is he that good or is he just another bannan/allbrighton???? I think if he was that good we would have seen him already. Especially with the current state of the squad. Rooney was making appearances and having an effect at the age of 16. Not once have we had that with any of these young lads - which tells me that not one of them will be world class. And what would your definition of 'world class' be? One of the best players in the world or even league. We never have them. We can't buy them so we have to create them and atm we dont seem to be. We just seem to be gettin excited about the likes of Bannan, Delfouneso, Gardner etc - all of whom initially dont look like theyre even worth getting excited about. Of course there is still time, but name me one player out of the 10/15 over the last season or so who has consistently been very good. Theyre not all going to be top notch of course, but not one could you hand on heart say yes, look at him in prem league company - hes going to be top class. Name me any club in the Premier League that can say this of one of their kids this season? A top class/world class player? Not one club could. Welbeck's had a very good season but he is playing in a winning team with some highly motivated senior pros around him. Is he a top class/world class player? He's certainly not world class, that's for sure. As for our kids, under these circumstances they are certainly going through a tough baptism - it's far too early to judge who will make it. Looking at our youngsters, though, I notice Bannan, Weimann, Albrighton, Lichaj, Clark and Delfouneso have all opened their Premier League goal scoring accounts over the past twelve months. Can any other club boast that many homegrown lads coming through and having such an impact - especially when their club has been in turmoil?

It may be true in "your time" but it is ridiculous to claim that apart from "MON years and the time in the 90's" that AVFC have "always" been boring. From the early 70's to early 80's we were one on the most exciting teams in modern times! I was there and it saddens me that younger fans have never experienced an exhilarating AVFC team like we had then! We havent "always" been boring. Look no further than the owners: we've been unlucky to have two incredibly low-brow, undynamic chairmen in a row. It's not the "club" that's at fault, it's the men running it. Doug and now Randy - mediocrity upon mediocrity. Two men not big/rich/clued up enough to realize the club's potential unfortunately.

This is the thing, some people assume we would be straight back up. Some people assume it would be one step back for two steps forward. Relegation is not like that, it stays on your record and becomes part of your profile and history. There is absolutely no way that relegation is acceptable for Villa on any level. Get behind the players and lift them up - they need us, the club needs us, we are all in it together. Relegation will not happen on our watch!

Well, that's just over-dramatising for effect really isn't it? It's not like you're going to kill yourself if we get relegated, or worse, stop supporting the club. And if you were to do either of those things then I think it's pretty pathetic. There's are millions of fans world-wide who support teams week-in week-out who aren't in the top division in their country or who constantly fluctuate between promotion and relegation. If we get relegated I'll do exactly what I've done all my life. Keep supporting the villa. I honestly don't even care about the whole thing about us being in the elite club of teams that have never been relegated from the Premier League. That would sting people who do care for a while but we'd get over it. You think Newcastle fans care about the fact that they were relegated right now? I don't. I suppose we all have different ways of looking at things. I went through one relegation in the eighties and it was awful. The club loses its profile and sheen when you get relegated. You become "little", you become "plucky" and "underdogs" in the eyes of the media and footballing world. The longer you are out, the worse it becomes. Yes, Newcastle are doing okay now but the record book says they were playing second tier football the other year. That is now part of their history and will be lurking in the backs of their minds and the minds of potential signings. Will Newcastle hang on to the players who have done so well this year, will the Bas and Cisses of this world stick with them? My view is that such players still view Newcastle as a club that could potentially be second tier in the not too distant future as they are not established long enough in the top flight yet. Newcastle are not a stable top club and could just as easily have a poor season next year. One of the many reasons why Villa are so great is that we have, for the vast bulk of our existence, been a top flight club. Relegation IS NOT ACCEPTABLE for us and it will have a huge impact on our image and status - even if we get back up. (And it is an "if".) Our image, our standing and our history suffers. My relegation memories are not good: it genuinely knocks the stuffing out of you - and if you care about the club it hurts in many, many ways. In short: Get behind the lads and roar us up the table! Get positive.

Hopefully Randy will learn from these lessons pretty quickly. He's still a relatively young chairman after all. (Congratulations on choosing to follow the greatest club in the world, by the way!)

It must be a repeat as the tournament is done and dusted.

Spot on. Proud of you Gabby and 120% behind you. UTV.

Too many people are prepared to write off too many youngsters far too soon. You have to be patient with young lads as they need time to get the grips with the mentality required for week in, week out high profile football. When Marc got on the pitch he was a class act and tore the Chelsea full back to shreds. The ball he put in to Eric was an absolute peach, too. Patience, patience, patience when it comes to judging our young lads. Even better, leave it to Sid and Kevin Mac to decide who will make the grade and who won't.

Get a grip. I've never seen such a bunch of white flag waving, defeatist, lilly-livered faint-hearts as I've seen on this thread lately. People accuse the manager of being spineless but some of our supporters take some beating in that department too! Why don't you nay-sayers and nervous ninnies lock yourselves in a darkened room for the next few weeks and allow the rest of us to lift the club and get some positivity flowing? We are more than good enough to get points left, right and centre. Back the lads and LIFT them!

You're confusing "quality" with "form". We've plenty of players who have been off form and who have had a frustrating season. Don't forget that with Young and Downing in the side last year we had just as frustrating a time. We have players who are quality but are low on confidence and form. Support them and encourage them - it will work wonders.

it is rare that a team will totally dominate another in the top division so expecting it time after timer i would say is very high expectations. i would also say that most games are won on individual brilliance, a bit of luck or a scruffy goal so again i think your expectations are incredibly high Ok, I'll rephrase it. How many games have we fully deserved to win. The examples there were more 'phew' than 'wow' at the performance. I can't think of many occasions where I've thought 'we created a host of chances, their keeper had a blinder' or 'they didn't threaten us much'. We've been scraping our points together more than truly deserving them. It's been a year since we've come out of a game looking like 'a good side'. All of this is classic losing mentality thinking. I'm sure fans of other clubs could say: "How many games this season have we actually deserved to win?" I'm sure fans of other clubs have come out of games thinking:"If it wasn't for a moment of brilliance from player x we would never have won that." Villa are no different from any other club and we can win, pull out wins and fight and scrap just like any other club. Stop thinking that we are some kind of special case of supreme shitness (which is nonsense). Stop thinking we are the only club in the league that flukes wins and has points that are totally undeserved. Like I say, this is classic negative thinking and loser mentality stuff. Instead of dwelling on how rubbish and hopeless you believe Villa to be, simply get positive. Lift the lads - we have a very young squad at the moment - lift them, help them play to their potential...and just watch. These lads will win matches, earn points and scrap and fight. See the bigger picture - it's time for support. I have every confidence in our players. Are you by any chance related to any of the people who played in the orchestra when the Titanic went down? No. I'm related to Ron Saunders who used to say - when the odds were not in our favour - "Do you wanna bet against us?" In this instance the odds are in our favour and I'm still hearing a lot of doom and gloom. Yep, we are in pretty poor form but we all simply have to dig deep and get back on form. I have zero doubts that our players are more than good enough for the fight and run in. Whether our supporters have the fight and bottle for a rousing end of season I'm not so sure - it's all white flags and Bolton/Wigan/ A.N. Other are brilliant around here at the moment. People say McLeish is negative...what about the fans? Lift the lads and get behind our young team is the only way ahead for Aston Villa in the here and now. Lift them and the points will come.