NurembergVillan

That's from watching that Rita Ora video...

So, the Puppeteer in Chief is about to have his claws even further into the UK consciousness. Fox have agreed a deal to purchase Sky TV. Things seem to be happening to Ole Rupey's benefit since his clandestine meeting with Maggie May in New York. First fracking, now this. I'd say she's got herself a guaranteed seat in the chambers of his new world order. Pair of arseholes.

Every advent calendar has a few windows we don't like!

I know I bore on about the countries I've lived in, but I'm with you (although not young!) in that I see myself as European. I refer to myself as British when travelling. I rarely say I'm English. It feels too specific for me. Not sure why.

Yes he was. In 93/94. I felt his best form was the year before that, when we first signed him, so that was why I opted for Dion.

No way. Ghost poos are such a disappointment. If I've gone to the trouble of digesting something I want to see the fruits of my labour. Unless of course you mean that you have supernatural visitors who defecate before they leave?

We should never have signed either of them, really.

Made a rare venture in front of the TV for Question Time last night. I saw it accurately described on Twitter as being "Celebrity Jeremy Kyle". Farridge is an odious chap isn't he? He points out all the problems but rarely has a credible solution of his own; he castigates the "political class" despite, to me, being one of them; and makes an overstated laugh when anyone calls him out rather than making a considered response. And, because I'm sometimes petty, from now on he'll be called Farridge. He's no more Fuh-rahge than Mrs Bucket was Hyacinth Bouquet.

Window number 9! For most clubs it holds legendary status whilst for Villa we've had a few key players hold the shirt but not many who would get near the fans top 5 - even Peter Withe (although perhaps if I'd seen him play live I might hold a different opinion). That said, some of my favourite players have worn the 9 shirt. Football is about goals, and number 9 is (should be) about goalscorers. Sadly our last prolific number 9 was over 10 years ago, and in 2006/7 we didn't even have one. I'm going to abide by my own rules here and only pick from the squad number era, which started in the 93/94 season. Controversially that means I haven't chosen Dean Saunders, as my fondest memories of him were in the 92/93 season. It was a tough one to call, but my number 9 is the man who recovered from a broken neck to do this at Wembley - Honourable mentions for Dean Saunders and Savo Milosevic. Dishonourable mentions for Marlon Harewood and Stephen Ireland. If it was purely based on ability this window should have been Stan Collymore...

Sadly I am too young to have seen Gary Shaw in his prime, although I'm not really young any more! My self imposed rule was to only choose players from the squad number era, which was why Charlie Aitken missed out when Mike wanted him at number 3, and why I'm not going to allow myself to have Alan McInally behind window number 9 tomorrow...

People of any class can behave with class... Similarly people of any class can behave without class too...!

There was no mention of majority, and certainly not across the whole of Spain either. My reference was to some of the British ex-pats who have moved to the Costa Del Sol and not made any attempt to integrate, setting up English language newspapers and British pubs. Anyone who has visited the area will have seen the type of place, and people, I was referring to. Whilst my intention was implied and should perhaps have been more explicit, the intent was to illustrate the hypocrisy of Britain needing people to make more of an effort when we can be as guilty of not assimilating when living overseas. I apologise if my ill-fated attempt to raise a wry smile came across as a betrayal of my own background and family.

I don't despise anyone so long as they're of sound moral standing. There's a lot of truth in what you've said. Despise is a strong word though. And I'm not sure I agree with the "better schools / code" part either. For me, of course I want my child to go to a good school. I also want to reduce the risk of being a victim of crime, having been one on average once per year throughout my time of living within the "M" postcode. I'll also enjoy the 30% reduction in home and car insurance that comes with that reduced risk. I think class is a tool which can be used to carve out racial issues. The very notion that Trump and Farage can be seen as standing up for the ordinary man and sticking it up to the elite is laughable. The working classes have been targeted by the elite in a bid to preserve the status quo - foreigners are costing you a good life, and we can fix that for you.

Window number 8, and on a personal level I'm torn here. I still well up when thinking about Big Ron's 92/93 team, and Garry Parker was the first name I ever had on the back of a shirt. His incisive passing was crucial to that team and, without getting into an Ashley Westwood debate, he was the epitome of what makes a team tick. BUT it's Christmas, and what would this time of the year be without angels? For a while we had our own. At times unstoppable, and at others frustrating but you can't help but wonder how he may have faired in some of the other Villa teams through the years who were better set up to serve his needs. For the number 8 shirt, there's only Juan Pablo Angel... Honourable mentions for Garry Parker, Mark Draper, Gavin McCann and James Milner. Dishonourable mentions for John Fashanu, Robert Pires and Jermaine Jenas.

I think he means the "pipes" bit, what with old lightbulb head being Scotch and all that. And yes, I know there are bad elements to every nationality. I also agree that learning a language when you live somewhere is the right thing to do - I didn't really need to. The corporate language was English, and in shops most staff could speak it or I could get by. I wanted to, because there were people there who I wanted to talk to who couldn't speak English. The other ex-pats who didn't speak the lingo still managed to have a good life there, contribute lots of valuable tax money and create products that made billions in profits for their employers. It feels like we're in a race to the bottom around stirring support for one side or the other and UKIP are leading the sprint. The reality is that we gave up the right for Britain to be white and English speaking several hundred years ago when we invaded half the world and brought samples of the local population back with us.

I lived in Germany for 6 years, as part of an ex-pat community at two major international brands. The English speaking contingent was mostly British but with a few Americans and a couple of Australians. I was one of only a handful to get a grasp of the language, regardless of how long most stayed. The Scandinavians all became fluent quickly. It's a small sample size, but if every country insisted ex-pats had to learn the language there wouldn't be many Brits living abroad. Or maybe that's the point? I don't know if I'd want many of the ones who moved to the Costa del Chav to come back though, to be honest. I'd rather keep the Poles.

Day 7. Easy. Every time he pulled on the shirt, so did each and every one of us. One boy's Christmas wish that came true... Honourable mentions - Ray Houghton, Ashley Young Dishonourable mentions - Stephen Ireland, Ashley Young Misty-eyed regret - Lee Hendrie

Onto the midfield for day 6, and this is a shirt that's seen some tough tackling hard men and some silky skilled ball players too. Gareth Barry was a great combination of both these attributes, but he was also someone who had a few different squad numbers. For me, there was a number 6 who came in and proved to be a great all round midfielder and a great captain, and doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Number 6 - Honourable mentions for Andy Townsend, George Boateng and Gareth Barry (stay tuned for more from him). Dishonourable mention for Stewart Downing (booooooooo!).

Bit late today, busy day at work. So, window 5. No real surprises here. Apologies to Martin Laursen... Most other clubs this would've been you. Similar for Ugo Ehiogu too. But, ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for the only number 5 any club could ever wish for -

It'll be interesting to see the real support for far right politics in mainland Europe. It didn't prevail in Austria, and I wonder if the notion of support on the continent has been exaggerated by the British media - "look at those racists in Europe! We're not racists, we're just hard-working tax payers who want our country back." I know there's been a ground swell of support in the western world, but is it really big enough to form a government? I see the likes of Le Pen as being too overt to succeed, as opposed to the wolf in sheep's clothing method adopted by Trump and Farage. Although Trump lost the popular vote and Farage has never been elected to the HoP.

Anyone know if Ravel Morrison still wants to play for us?

Who's behind window number 4? It's a no-brainer, and not. Seems we've got quite the legacy of number 4s over the years, and there was a surprising amount of competition for this one. There's no surprise with who I've gone for though. Beyond a cult hero - a genuine hero. For a few years he was the heartbeat of Aston Villa, a lion in claret and blue. Ladies and gentlemen, all rise - Honourable mentions for Shaun Teale and Gareth Southgate, and a golf clap for Ron Vlaar. Dishonourable mentions for Steve Sidwell and Micah Richards, both of whom arrived with great expectations and couldn't live up to the legends who wore the four before.