GENTLEMAN

tonyh29 meets Red Ed, "Gromit, old pal, I'll need assistance".

(this fellow has discovered emoticons)

Martinez

Pressed on his future, the former Scotland boss said: "I anticipate still being here next season, yes. "It's not something I have even thought about. You are speculating, it's all hypothetical." :shock: "I have emailed Paul, he's away on business just now and I have asked when we can sit down next week. He says he is back and available from Monday all next week." :wink:

Stay Classy Team GB. Designed by Stella McCartney, No? Would be special if the AV kit/training gear was designed by a local fashion graduate, as a competition, and made in Brum by a local manufacturer, maybe as a one off. The Gent would be willing to cough up £70-£80 for Brum designed/manufactured top for memorabilia purposes. Gentleman's Pipe-dream of course. Will always come down to financial benefits of kit manufactures.

:thumb:

The Irrepressibles - Mirror Mirror Getting the Gent through Cell & Tissue Function in Human Disease revision.

This Gent can empathise with David on that one. Alex has constantly emphasised he is in contact with RL via texty. Ruddy damned lies?? "Tony Pulis has soared as a manager....I hope to emulate him over the next couple of years" Alex McLeish Dec 2011 Come on Randolph 'mutually agree' to make Alex unemployed

Youth-set up is indeed 'decent', however very limited in scope and breadth of network. Must be widened to cope with demands of modern day football. On local kids, this gent understands that the club run development sessions, but are limited to a number of sessions throughout the year and they are a little pressured and focused on 'talent spotting'. More emphasis on small games, working on touch, technique and should be fun. Sessions that are widespread throughout the city similar to social clubs, offer free merchandise and ticket give-aways, emphasise on getting young fans. Could be advocated that the club is community based, however more could be done, view the likes of Ajax and Feyenoord. Returns to age old business vs community, has the working gent been priced out. Many feel disillusioned, including this Gentleman, look at Blackeye Rovers and to some extend Villa. Fans should have some capacity on the board regarding decision making, Swansea fans have 20% stake, also elected fan on the board and German football demands fan involvement. Again is it a business or an arm of the community. On topic, the Gentleman would welcome the majority of names mentioned with the proviso of the emphasis on the long term project, (in a non Steve Kean corrupt way) and just a little joy and excitement at the games.

The gentleman does appreciate a fine cherry tobacco inhaled with a gents Big Ben pipe yes, washed down with an aged scotch. A little cliched perhaps but nevertheless ruddy well deserved. Alas the gent is cutting down, tobacco smoke contains a fair number of carcinogens, don't you know You partake in either my good man? What was those surveys used for? Kindling at Doug's Gentleman's club?

I was there, this is the game Heskey missed a sitter and Dunne wrecklessy handed them their equaliser Take those individual errors out, we've won How is that the manager fault The more you sit back and defend, the more likely your defenders will make a mistake, other than that Dunne was brilliant, and the more you defend the more you rely on your strikers to take the odd opertinity they get. All McLeish's fault. As mentioned by the previous fellow, its a matter of chance. Statistic analysis tells us if you are put in a position 100 times there is a greater chance of a selected outcome materialising. For instance, if you was to defend a chance on goal 100 times compared to 10 times the possibility of conceding would be greatly increased. This does not even factor in the affect of mental and physical tiredness after said number of completions. Nothing to do with luck, rub of the green, the footballing gods etc. If anything the opposite is true, if you are in 100 defensive situations then you are 'lucky' not to concede. The same principle applies to attempts on goal. Granted the higher quality of player results in less negative outcomes but this is less of a factor when playing similar ability (Premier league) opposition. During the non-winning streak, Alex was asked by a sky reporter how he was going to win the next game. He was totally dumbfounded, stumbled and bumbled then blurted out "cut out individual errors", you cannot 'coach out' individual errors just merely alter tactics to reduce the amount of situations players may find themselves in to make errors (defending) and increase the chance creation situations (attacking).

Even though his stock has dropped slightly, the Gent concurs. Villa need a fellow/s who can reshape the club top to bottom. The 5 year 'Enema' project. Maybe a DOF and head coach team. Need a vastly improved scouting network, develop a style and identity with a view to educate the players in this identity. Involve local communities. Like dutch clubs, provide floodlit pitches, heated changing rooms and Aston Villa Kits to youngsters for all abilities. Get them involved with a emphasis on fun and individualism, rather than "break his legs Billy, win at all costs". In turn, will regain the support of local youngsters who heads are usually turned by the bright lights of the 'sky sports' teams. This Gentleman had the privilege of visiting the San Mames in Bilbao recently, the club is interwoven into the community. Locals truly feel apart of Athletic, it was truly awe inspiring. The Basque emphasis may play an important role is this relationship. The issue is wider, is a football club a business motivated to gain sponsorship/make profit or an arm of the community, aimed at entertaining and identifying with the locals. Or is it a combination of both? Can both exist in the same realm. Major money clubs like Manchester Utd claim to purport the identity of the local community but is it just lip service to keep the mechanism of business turning and generating profit. The majority of German football clubs are required to have 51% membership, look at CL finalist Bayern for a fan owned fantasy. Things just are not right in this country.

These prototype mock ups are great. Hopefully some lazy Macron employee will just lift these and be done with it. Do we concur that the appearance of the kits alters a players performance, 'a go faster stripe effect'? Do the smaller kit manufacturers consult with fan groups?

Not likely, this chap is sweating in his bowler pondering how to make Alex and his team (if they are to stay) more bearable. I have messaged Nicky Keye, outlining the Gentleman's 3-point ('1-big point' to make Alex more comfortable) plan to personal improvability:

horseshit. Eloquently put my fellow, however we can agree with the sentiment. The old smokey Gentlemen's 'not me, but someone else told me' spiel.

We are not Blackburn Rovers Gentleman

If the gents memory serves him correctly, Bruce was only there for 1 and half seasons. Taking over from 'bigger eyes on a potato' Chris Hutchings half way through the 07/08 season. Although he did indeed oversee similar fortunes maybe (clutches at straws) the premier league was less competitive back then. Granted Bruce is an apt transfer player generator but all in all, Bruce has a face like a fist with zero style and Martinez is a gent. Previous Gentleman points made are still valid, Martinez for the job when McLeish shuffles out.

My fellow, it is about perspective. When comparing fan-base, resources, facilities and wage/transfer budgets it appears Plucky Little Wigan (PLW) are one of the smallest teams in the top two tiers of English football. Without the 'surprise' element and high morale of a newly promoted team and his star players cherry picked each year he has ensured PLW's survival in the top division for 3 years with effective entertaining football. Proving himself tactically adaptive, intelligent and to have high quality man-management. It is the Gentleman's understanding that he has an extremely high work and moral ethic, indeed he was criticised when first arrived at PLW that he was concentrating on the structure of the reserve/youth teams too much. The man is a meticulous being. He will not incorporate a player until he grasped the apprehension and understanding of his team-mates and tactics. He is calm, self assured, young and has high amounts of potential. What this club needs now is an enema, and in the Gentleman's opinion, with Mcleish being persona non grata, the man most adept at holding that pipe would be Señor Martinez. Excuse the crass analogy.

This is ignorant in my opinion. Yes - their final position in the table is 16th (ish) every season, but that has got to do with their squad and not Martinez. They have a Championship-team with a few diamonds in the rough, that is about it. Do you think Wenger, Redknapp or let's say Di Matteo would have done so much better this season? Wigan have no cash, they have little backing and no atmosphere (i.e help) from their supporters in home games. What I like about Martinez is that he is a genuine footballing man, seems to adopt to the modern game (even with Wigan, which is a gamble indeed), has the backing of his owner unconditionally, as well as fans and players, and he is still very young. He is a talent, at least compared to old fools like McLeish. He is 38 years old, barely older than Ryan Giggs and younger than Brad Friedel. Managers develop in the same sense as players do, over the course of their career. Where was Moyes when he was 38? In his final years at Preston North End. Wenger? You wouldn't have heard of him. I am not saying Martinez is a guarantee to become the best manager in the world, but I am more than willing to let him take the reigns at Villa. He has shown commitment to Wigan in tough times, a kind of loyalty we don't see often in this game. He is regarded as a gentleman between the managers, he never picks unnecessary fights and he is articulate in the media. Does not make up drivel and blame the players when he has done a big mistake, unlike our current pensioner. And I like the fact that he stands on the touchline and gets involved in every second of the game.. shouting and instructing, not just sitting there in the dug-out like he couldn't give a shit. All in all, he has experience at 38, he like the attacking, modern game - he likes the passing mentality, he is loyal and he just deserves a chance at a higher level. The Gentleman’s understanding of the Roberto situation is when joining Plucky Little Wigan in the summer of 2009, he committed to a 3-year contract. In between puffing Cuban smoke, honorable Whelan offered the Señor at least 3 seasons in charge regardless of fortunes (e.g. relegation, 3-way sex scandals, phone hacking etc.). A modern day act of loyalty, if you will. The Señor was approached whilst only 2 years into this contract and as such decided to mirror the loyalty shown and refused to speak to the claret and blue party. The honorable Whelan is a most canny squire. He understood he had Señors loyalty last summer, but for all intents and purposes his large northern mouth suggested otherwise. When trumpets announced that the Señor was to remain, Whelan once again arose as Plucky Little Wigan’s noble hero. The Gentleman is of the perception that the Señor is yet to sign an extension, therefore relinquishing any moral conundrum if a similar situation should arise this summer. The Gentleman suggests that this was Randolph, Esq. master plan all along. The proposal of a fastidiously orchestrated stooge (Alex), who could never succeed, would take the reigns for a single ‘near’ disastrous year, allowing him to be disposed off without any fuss. This, in turn, would simultaneously allow the acquisition of the now out of contract, morally appeased, Señor Martinez and the lowering of fan expectations to Johnson paint trophy semi finalists. Therefore permitting Señor Martinez to establish a high-order, elite, super-dooper top ‘top’ club and bring the joy of a thousand Paul McGraths to deserving fans. However, the Gentlemen’s master elucidation falls down when it is considered that Alex was offered a 3-year contract and that Randolph eyes a very close together suggestive of limited intelligence through aristocratic inbreeding. When the involvement of chubby Darth Faulkner is factored in, the plan seems nigh on impossible. The Gentleman Weeps.