privateer

Crouch back?? you’re having a laugh aren’t you? I'd rather remove my own testicles with 2 house bricks than have Crouch back at Villa!!

Let's move forward please, NOT backwards!

I think yor 'nads are safe, Crouch won't be back. Milner may well be and I would be OK with that. I would be more than delighted with Klose because I think he would be our 20+ goals a season man. I would also be happy to see Distin here and I don't think he will be staying at Man City. Failing that, Bobo Balde because, as I have said in another thread, he is my kind of CB. Absolute beast.

Degrees are a piece of piss, did mine whilst at work, i.e. part time.... **** pissed it, 1st in IT and Business studies, didn't even cut into my drinking time!!

I did think of including that sentiment in my previous post because it it was indeed a piece of piss. I spent most of my time pissed and on drugs and still got a 1st in Applied Micro-Bionics. Felt a bit bad that I was such an apparent waster and did so well compared to my hardworking fellows.

I'd say do it. However, after a couple of years break, ideally - do the gap year travel thing if you can.

Otherwise work to earn a few quid to keep the debt down, get out into the real world and socialise with normal people before going! It really is easy to recognise the "straight - out - of - uni" people in the workplace. The only downside is when you do go having experienced the wider world, you may look on your first - year fellows as being immature rocket polishers - because they often are.

They will mainly have come straight from school, will be away from home for the first time and think they are the dogs bollocks but will actually be pricks. They will annoy the locals, they will talk vacuous shit poorly-disguised as intelligent comment and most of them you won't have anything to do with after you leave. (Anyone who has been to Uni and/or got older and/or lives anywhere near a Uni will probably recognise this!). However, you will meet lots of people that you will recognise as being cool - and there will enough of them to ensure you have a great time. If you do it right you can balance partying hard with cool guys and shag plenty of girls and get a half decent degree as well. Do it wrong and you will end up in debt, with no degree and a pregnant bunny-boiler!

Mmm. not an easy call, it sounds, but it is. Go for it because having a degree doesn't hurt - it doesn't have to be vocational. I did mine having worked for a few years and had a great time before I went, got the degree and also had a great time doing it and then got a job that had nothing to do with the subject I studied. As time passed the degree on the CV did display its value, despite being non-vocational.

If I were to sum up the ideal it would go like this, I think:

Work => Travel => Uni => Work

There are a number of permutations of that but a stint at Uni before you get to the "obviously mature student" point is certainly worthwhile IMHO. One thing I would say, I meet very few people who say anything along the lines of "University. Ruined my **** life, I really wish I had never done it". In fact, I have never met anybody who has said any such thing. However, I meet plenty who say they wish they had of gone or would like to do it but don't think they will get the chance now.

General Krulak here:

Each game day that I am in UK (often), I go down to the Ticket Office and sit with our people on the phone and in the booth...I have been very impressed with their "customer service". There is no question that they are deep into the Villa pride and I think that they are intent on doing a good job. We can listen to the people on the phones without them knowing we are listening and they honestly do a good job. That is not to say that we don't have a way to go...but I do believe we have great people.

Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

didnt wish to infer individuals at VP were not doing a good job. more a comment on the corporate mentality in the UK.

guess you are not in the UK at the moment, otherwise Mrs Krulak might have something to say about you posting on internet sites at 2.00 am

I was wondering if the General ever sleeps but figured he isn't over here! Don't forget, Mrs K. is "harder than woodpecker lips", so I don't see our hero being foolish enough to incur her wrath! Christ, for what you have done for us so far we should send her some flowers because I'm sure you have put some hours in over the past few months. Obviously, I don't expect you to offer an address up but perhaps the mods (or at least JC) could arrange it that we could make a gesture of our appreciation somehow? I am sure neither you or Randy would accept anything personally but some floral gestures to your loved ones would surely be good.

From what you're saying General, it sounds as if we already 'know' this man fairly well.

I know of a former manager who may be looking for a board role. Are the initials GT in the right ballpark? Hope so.......

I had the exact same thought, but was too scared to post it!!

Crossed my mind as well and didn't post. It certainly sounds like we know him already and I have faith that, a) he will be a very good appointment for the club and we will like him.

Have the General and Randy put a foot wrong yet?

General

Here's a thought that came to me tonight at work, don't know if its possible wih the various restrictions on cameras / photography within the ground (and I fully understand the reasons why it might not be possible). Theres a fair few of us on VillaTalk that are keen amateur photographers and if theres a few on here in our small percentage of the fan base there must be plenty more in the whole of the Villa support. An annual Villa photography competition. Now this isnt as daft and self centered as it first may appear. With all the talk of the Museum and honouring the past etc, we must also not forget the present, for the present is tommorrows past after all. It would be a great way of fans having their own way of recording their experiences and the best entries each year being kept each year by the proposed museum as a way of documenting each season from the fans perspective.

You could also invite the professional photographers that visit our ground every game to enter their own photo's in a similar parallel competition. This in itself might encourage a bit of a positive outlook from the media as it would give the photographers something extra to focus their attrention on. It can certainly do no harm but might also foster a greater deal of sympathy from certain elements of the media in time.

Within the museum concept, an exhibition once a year of the best photo's from both the amateur and professional ranks would create both an annual event / reason to visit the museum whilst also providing a ready supply of documentary history for the museum (as a part of the conditions of entry)

Such a competition could only be named after one person in my opinion and that would be Terry Weir, former official photographer of the club whose photography can be seen in the fantastic book that was published posthumously a couple of years ago. Terry was a great photographer, a Villa fan (and loyal servant of the club) plus a great character, he always had time for the fans.

Anyway, just a thought for the future but in my opinion a great way of encouraging fan participation, a good source of documentary exhibits for the proposed museum and honouring a man that deserves to be more than a footnote in the history of the club

you might not like the idea but I thought I'd run it up the flagpole anyway

That is a tremendous idea.

General,

A somewhat odd question maybe but who's your favourite Villa-player so far? I understand perfectly if you chose not to answer that question but would still be interesting to know. As a footballer that is, of course. Just a bit curious.

Hasn't this already been asked and not answered somewhere in the last 50 pages? I'm not 100% sure but I get a sense of deja vu on this.

I am sorry I didn't answer your question...I thought I had. Although Randy believes that we can make money at Aston Villa he realizes it is NOT a "cash cow" and was NEVER interested in that as a "mission". With that as a given, he was and is taken by the tradition, ethos, and "soul" of the Aston Villa FC. On top of that he and Martin are a great team who respect and admire each other. On top of that, we have a solid team that is constantly trying to win. On top of that, we have GREAT FANS!! I hope this answers the question. NO other team combined all of this.

Semper Fidelis, General Krulak

General, we are prettty simple people too. We like to have folks in charge who love the club and we like to win. We know the latter won't always happen but as long as we have the former we will be with you through good and bad (not that I see that in the future!). Thank you and Randy for rescuing us in our hour of need, you will never regret the day you did.

I'm also glad you have a suitable legend against your posting-name now.