PB

What can we realistically expect through signing young players on low wages? Will it ever be enough to achieve a higher points total or league finish than MoN? I'd be surprised if it does.

There has to come a point where the wage bill and transfer fees increase otherwise we will just be a club that survives or finishes mid table.

We have no choice. Thje only way we can increase the spending is to increase the revenue. As it has been shown that the club cant put up entrance fees, Im at a bit of a loss as to where this money is supposed to come from?

The Premier League chairmen are about to approve what amounts to a salary cap and rules on profit/loss that make the UEFA Fair play regs look like a stroll in the park. Essentially the chairmen have more or less agreed that players and agents will not get their hands on all the new TV money, they want it.

Whether you like it, approve of it, or think its fair is neither here nor there but the fact remains this is what will almost certainly be agreed, making the way Villa are going about things the ONLY way to go about things

No single team in the world would take Holman over Berbatov, I mean, if they really wanted to win games that is. Berbatov might look a bit bored at times but his touch and vision is world-class, and I guess the Fulham-fans are pretty happy with the 5 goals and 3 assists in his exact 8,5 league games for the club compared to our total of 10 goals. The thing is though, Berbatov would never come here in a million years. It's not about the wages at Fulham, we could have paid him the same amount as we have lower wages now and there would always be room for a star who would sell kits in the club shop, it's about London. He lived in Manchester because that is where the biggest club in the world dominate, but he goes to Fulham for London, easy as that. I have been to Birmingham several times, and I lived one year in London, I know where I would live if I had millions and still managed to play Premier League footy

The reason they are all player and no team is down to buying 'names' and not a team. They have also bought alot of cast offs, trouble makers and people there just for the money who quite clearly dont give s flying &*^%.

As for Harry, he has a mixed record in this part of the league. If QPR do go down, it wouldnt be his first relegation. When he took over spurs it was much earlier in the season and they were quite a bit higher in relative terms and had a better group of players. All he needed to do was lift spirits initially. The job at QPR is much, much harder than that.

As for two wins behind us, thats a massive gap at this end of the table. They need to get at least seven points more than everyone else down there over 25 games. I just cant see it.

I think people may be overestimating slightly. Redknapp is not the English Mourinho some on here make him out to be so it's certainly not out of the question that QPR could carry on struggling.

I would bet fairly good money that QPR will go down. They really are in deep do dah

Just to add a note of concern. I had expected our ability to keep the ball to have improved by now. The fact that it hasnt troubles me a little

How long will we have to be patient? As long as it takes tbh

This rebuilding from the ground up, investing in young talent, putting down long lasting structures, it takes years.

Thing is, there is no other sustainable way forward imho. Even if we had a rich sugar daddy, we still wouldnt be able to make a loss under proposed Premier League reguialtions. We'd still only be able to spend a certain amount of our money on wages. Either we do it this way, or no way at all..

The last four games have yielded four points - a sequence that some people were predicting would give us none. So thats OK, not brilliant, but OK.

Now we need to improve on that, five or six points from the next four would do nicely

I'd bet a shit load on it

We always make it so easy for teams

If you need to break a duck just play Aston Villa

We need to win all our games in the mini league down the bottom we have already lost 1 against Southampton cannot afford any more **** ups imo

Im not sure how true this is. norwich turned their season around on the back of beating Arsenal and then United. In alot of ways, what we need isnt to beat some rubbish team, its to beat someone good

In the summer if you suggested relegation would be an issue you were laughed at and mocked.

Now a third into the season, worst start in the history of the club and in the bottom 3 if you didn't expect it you're laughed at and mocked.

Seems pretty hypocritical.

I expected it/ Frankly anyone who didnt expect it was being unreasonably optimistic. The club was/is in the smelly.

I just dont expect us to stay there. The rot has pretty clearly been stopped, time to start turning it around. Will be a close run thing I'm sure, but I'm quietly confident we have more than enough to stay up. January will be interesting. Desperately need a strong ball playing center mid and a strong ball playing central defender

Thanks for posting that, great stuff. Thats the game I fell in love with as a kid, not this plastic modern rubbish. The Holte back then was incredible

I think there is just an expectation issue and people didnt appreciate how bad we were under Mcleish. People blamed McLeish, he was an easy target, but actually the problems at the club ran much deeper than that which is what we are seeing. The problems were that we had too many players on fat long term contracts that they didnt deserve, given to them by previous managers. That wage bill had to be slashed or the clubs future was at risk. We were running off a Champions League sized wages and transfer fee budget without the revenue to back that up

Where are we at now? We are improving, very slightly, but improving. While our record is almost identical from the last 12 games of last season this is mitigated (slightly) by us having only played 5 home games this season and by us generally playing slightly better. So thats OK, the rot has been stopped, the decline halted. We now need to improve further and faster over the coming 12 games. Personally I'd be looking for us to get 13-15 points from those games, and then build again in the final third of the season. I think there are enough sings to show that we can do it, but its likely tlo be a bit if a tight squeeze. The team will need the fans behind them

From that article, I guess his nickname in Belgium is the Red Devil

Belgium are the Red Devils I think

I thought he played really well yesterday

He needs to work on his positioning a little (he should have stopped their fifth goal) but generally i have been very surprised by him

He hasnt been quite as solid last couple of games imo. Id look to bring Given back next week tbh

Patience

Thats all really, patience. Its just a 12 game spell. We've had worse 12 game sequences in a season and still finished top six. Im not suggesting we'll finish top six, just that there is still a long way to go. Its like, you dont look at the table and go, oh yeah, West Brom, they look like a Champions League side, because they dont. Theyre an upper mid table team currently punching voer their weight and in form. We a re a lower mid table team currently punching under our weight and out of form. Thats all, we arent going down

How many people have really slagged him off since he joined us?

Enough for me to have felt the need, repeatedly to defend him. After spurs people were calling him all sorts of things. Apparently some so called fans were even laughing at him in open training.

read back through the thread, illuminating stuff

Whats amusing is that it seems as if those fans who had been slagging him off when he first arrived, and then were shut up by his recent fantastic performances, are the ones getting all hot under the collar.about this non story

The irony of it is, that what they arent getting, is that he is getting this attention from the media BECAUSE he has been playing so well. (basically trying to spin the Villa little provincial club in shit hole town, what are they doing with a classy player like this? line)

They will keep spinning this line the better he gets, its what happens to any decent player not playing in London or Manchester, I hope and expect more of the same over the coming months as it will mean he is having an impact and scaring the bejeebus out of the top clubs

Go on son, you show em., You carry on shoving it all back down their throats

Same could be said about those who believe the club could do no wrong.

Is anyone actually upset or annoyed that he's not a villa fan?

What are people upset about then as I dont get ti at all? that he *said* he wasnt a villa fan? Naughty boy. That he is reported to have said words to the effect of "Im an Arsenal fan and I dont care who knows it?".

Do you lot really have nothing else to worry about. If so, you;re very lucky

By the way, Dwight Yprke calls himself a villa fan, and he is a first class twunk and judas.

Having a sarcastic dig about a subject no one is actually arguing about.

Wow, how talented you are.

Thank you. Youre very kind. Bit touchy, but kind.

Clark and Westwood in midfield?! No creativity at all.

As opposed to Delph and Westwood, which is a couple positively brimming with flair

I think he has to be re installed to the team immediately, because he's a villa fan.

Oh, hang on ....

Oh my God! Christian Benteke ISNT a Villa fan!?

I think he, and all the other non villa supporting players should be sold, immediately. Its a disgrace, who thought this could happen?

I think its quite clear that Lambert wants rid of him.

I dont really agree. Im sure Lambert would be more than happy to have a player of Bent's abilities available to him, when he needs him.

If bent was being stroppy about not playing, and throwing the toys, upsetting the dressing room, then I suppose Lambert might think differently, and he'd be right I guess

I blame Ron Atkinson for the third goal Why? Well, he signed John Fashanu, and John Fashanu was pants. So is Steven Warnock..Because Warnock is pants we had to buy Joe Bennett. Cos Bennett was injured we had to play Enda Stevens on Saturday, and he completely lost Hernandez for the goal, therefore its all down to Big Fat Ron.

I know its not very joined up, but it makes as much sense as blaming Benteke for it.

You would think, on the face of it, that anyone blaming Benteke for the goal was stretching a point to its absolute maximum for nothing other than effect. Like a villa supporting Robbie Savage or Alan Green

I dont think we should sell him, and I dont think the club or lambert wants to sell him, but the fact remains that as a club it seems unlikely that we could keep him as backup to Benteke. It seems likely to be an either or kind of thing, with us needing to spend any made by selling him on a squad striker

I wouldnt bank it too much. He clearly intends to run a self sufficient club