sheriffvilla

To be fair to Lawro, I am surprised at the stick he gets. Yes he has us to lose a lot of matches but, er, how many matches have we actually won the last two seasons?

He just plays to percentages as far as I can see. People can say what they like but I reckon the bookies and Lawro don't stray too far from each other in terms of thinking.

I think Keane is past his best and that there are better options.

Strange really as he is only 25, he seems to have been around forever, bit like Gareth Barry. I'm inclined to agree though really, I think he may have fallen into the 'peaked-too-young' category.

Bill Howell does seem certain about it though :?

As for

Wish list stuff but why not, I'd love to see Gattuso arrive in the summer.

I mentioned him in the McCann thread. It's HIGHLY unlikely but man... could ya imagine it!

Good idea BOF.

shocking typos Julian!

spot on though.

100% accurate on both counts there :winkold:

Thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyable read.

Kudos.

Actually I think I might have implied something was negative but going down again I think I mis-read it.

So hey, I aint too big to say sorry.

What?

Oh right.

Sorry.

I say yes because if it improves him as a player thats good for us as a club and I really couldn't give a shit about SHA to care enough if they come up or not. I tend to think a bit bigger in terms of our rivals over the next few years than that shower from down the road!

seconded.

I voted Yes.

What makes you think that he would improve as a player there?

Sorry, can not see this at all myself. At all.

No.

I can not see a genuinely good reason why he should, either.

I think that

Mind you whichever way you view it you cant help but agree with at least the last 4 four words

which is talking about

Bloody good, that is.

is the point really. Surely? Can't really see the negative vibe requirement here.

I linked to the OS for a report on this yesterday, but I will damn well be linking to this article too when I finish this post.

Just for you OBE, this has now been done.

24/1/70... some of us started the first ever Ellis Out chant.

Jeez, talk about putting a little perspective on things!

Totally agree on the

So OutByEaster? (10)

by the way.

I linked to the OS for a report on this yesterday, but I will damn well be linking to this article too when I finish this post.

We even got an experienced referee, with Dermot Gallagher finding his level.

Good job on the report mate, enjoyed that.

Aint managed to get to a reserve game yet this season, I have managed at least one the last few years so hopefully will get in there at some point soon,

Gorgon-f'n-zola!

I'll PM you to save dulling up the thread.

Or, more to the point, embarassing myself :winkold:

Cheers dude.

I'll volunteer for Voodoo Radio if you want a cheesy pop reviewer. No? Ok, don't say I didn't offer

That's another excellent article in a recent series, from Richard, Drat and now Malc.

It's good to read these tales, because not only are they entertaining and affirming in themselves, they remind us, or tell us anew what can happen in the future.

top work

Plus as much as I am sure it is a nice reminder for the older folk, for a young man such as myself (25) who wasn't around, it's always nice to hear about it from a source other than my family or something 'official'

Good on ya, you oldies :wink:

Good man

One of the better articles from yourself Malc, I enjoyed that.

My Dad paints a similar picture when he tells me about that cup final.

I'd say that is fair enough.

Which is good, cause looking back at that I am not sure I explained my point very well!

I now have 5 active blogs, so I have cut my load in half (for those of you that don't know my blogging exploits, that, sadly, is the truth!)

If you want to update the front page list feel free CV, but it is in my auto-sig anyway so no real bother if you can't be arsed - I would fully understand to be fair!

Clicky for active blog list

The one thing I will say about the 'tactical prowess' of MO'N is that Chelsea were pretty dull, wide players aside, in their two championship seasons.

If the players are good enough I think teams will be up there regardless, of course it is whether or not we can become genuine title contenders that is the question.

But the John Gregory side was boring a lot of the time, Paul Merson aside.

I think I might be waffling a bit, the point I am attempting to make is O'Neill probably can take us beyond just the 'top 10'.

Nice article.

I must confess, in the first instance I was a little sceptical about Randy Lerner, based on nothing other than the fact that he was a Yank and I had saw what had happened at Man U. Mind you, I was like that with every bid... I suppose it is like whenever my 19 year old cousin has a new boyfriend ; I am always sceptical at first, not because of him, but because I love her so much!

However within days it was obvious that his offer was the right one to take, and I have been cheerfully having a portion of humble pie in my daily diet every day since

When I was little I remember getting a 'history of Aston Villa' video. It was around 1989.

The European Cup run & League title season review sections, I must have watched around a thousand times (well it feels like it), the tape is pretty weary these days!

Always nice to get a view from someone old enough to remember it though... No offence Richard :winkold:

Good read mate as usual.

I always look forward to a 'Blandy' article.

Thing is Malc who do you see us getting in better then?

Not necessarily saying you are wrong, just not sure who the better alternative is if Carew is short-term, because when I look around I do not see many better options that we can get in - the bit in italics being the important part.

That said, I would definitely suggest that Dean Ashton is one such scenario.

I will not pretend my knowledge of football outside of Britain is so great that I can offer much there. Not that I know nothing about football beyond these shores, but I know more about Championship football than I do beyond the top teams in Europe. Arrogant English type & all that :winkold:

I guess it also depends on the definition of short-term.

At the risk of sitting on Blandys fence :wink:, I think you're both right...

Honestly, if the cash is there, I reckon we should go after both of them in the summer (this is assuming their respective clubs go down)

One of the problems when Carew went off on Saturday - and against Newcastle - is it became blatantly obvious how we missed him holding the ball up (and accentuated what was already obvious, in as much as we were woefully poor at it before!) so that is where Ashton comes in. I also agree that he is the closest thing to Shearer that England have these days. Now, while many people on here hate the bloke, I'd seriously question anyone that dismissed his ability, so comparing Ashton to him is quite the compliment!

At the same time, I think if Darren Bent was available, it would be criminal not to go in for him.

Also, one of the biggest factors in succesful sides is options in attack. The last time we REALLY had that at the Villa was Deano/Dalian, with a young up-and-coming Dwight Yorke and a wily old Cyrille Regis as back-up. Undoubted quality all round.

Now, while we appear to have that now with the new signings, imagine a front five to pick from of Carew, Young, Maloney, Ashton, Bent. Not even counting Agbonlahor or Moore. This is of course including that Agbonlahor, Young and Maloney can all be used wide. Maybe Luke Moore would benefit from a season-long loan at a Championship side?

I am just saying that, this summer could be the biggest ever in terms of Aston Villa, and maybe our youngsters could even be in a position to gain experience at other levels, like they do at Chelsea, Man U and Arsenal. I could be getting ahead of myself here, but this could be a massive period for us, and I really hope we have gone on a bit of a late run to give ourselves a strong league position when the end of season arrives.

Feel free to mock me now... :winkold: