sjinus

It can appear that way but once you break through the frosty exterior there are some really nice people in New England...I should know I married one of them !

Update from Oslo : 21:00 CET During a tense dinner, just prior to serving dessert, OGS has farted creating quite a stink. Talks are on hold, as are noses, and the atmosphere is about as thick the big print version of the Complete Works of Charles Dickens. more to follow...

For those rightly questioning OGS's level of experience, keep in mind that he wants to bring his two head coaches with him, both of whom were well-respected coaches at Man Utd...so its not like he's on his own trying to sort everything out. It's a risk, but its already a damn sight more fun than McLeish and Peter 'dugout blocker' Grant.

and people say our board are bad :shock:

Ranieri win % post Chelsea : Valencia 41.7 Parma 43.8 Juventus 48.9 Roma 57.1 Inter 47.1 I would love someone with an average record like that and for the record his Chelsea win % was 53.76 ! (AMcL was 21.4%, MON 42.1)

Shooting for the stars : AVB, Ranieri or Capello (they would bring experience at the highest levels) More realistic : Lambert, Martinez or Rodgers (largely unproven, but big potential) (Fat) Dark horse : Rafa

Randy won't sack McLeish even if we're in the dropzone. The only way McLeish leaves, and it's a long shot, is if he gets cold feet and doesn't want to be responsible for 3 relegations - that would be some CV - and so he resigns before it is set in stone (let's say around February). Of course Randy could encourage him to do that by opening his wallet and giving him a payoff.

I was watching a stream on Saturday and thought I heard the "they're going up, they're going down" Blues song - was this really sung ? Oh the irony ! Personally, he has my support at least until Christmas and I would give him the welcome his position (as AVFC manager) deserves - he's done nothing wrong yet.

From memory, he was up there in a few, but not as many as you would think. He is by no means rubbish, but he's no world-beater either, ie. just a "steady-eddie", as Mortimer rightly describes him.

Not sure what it adds to the debate but after checking all of the VT ratings threads for the league games, Petrov received one MOTM selection over the entire season (against Newcastle) - so as good as some say he is, there was usually someone playing better.

First half we were mostly excellent, second half we were poor. Carew had a nightmare...and who are the two people that voted him motm on the poll ? I'd like to see Ash and Downing on the wings and Ireland playing off the striker once Albrighton begins to tire. Ash had one beautiful cross today from the left that is a rare reminder of what he has done for us in the past.

Can someone ask John Carew what he thinks of Gerard Houllier !!!!! Personally, I think a Houllier-MacDonald combo will be fine for now.

Yeah, I heard it mentioned during the commentary on Sunday...not sure if it is a good thing or not. Short term it may be a problem, but we'll hopefully replace him eventually with someone of equal or better quality..

Lots of ifs... If Milner left and if we brought in Ireland and Keane, then Keane would most certainly bring the movement and intelligence up front that we have been begging for and Ireland could supply the killer pass. Might even answer MON's latest dilemma of winning more at home.

similar to posts above... Defintely 4th place over FA Cup for me...it's part of the '5 year plan' and I'm sure if we become CL regulars there will be more frequent opportunities to win a domestic cup. Of course, as has already been noted, the key is CL regulars, not Everton style. Plus, I've never heard a top European player say he's joing a new club purely because they won the FA Cup (or local equaivalent)...they typically join for CL and money.

In summary... Impotent, uncreative, boring, passionless, frigid, tepid, inaccurate, amateur, uncompetitive, sterile, hoofy...but above all SHIT.

I am proud to be a Villa fan today ! I thought the lads competed with Utd in all areas. The game was very open and suited our counter-attacking approach - indeed, the only time I think we struggled was when we slowed the attack down and got all 'European'. We looked very threatening when we went at them at speed. Dowd aside, we were beaten by a Rooney moment of excellence, assisted by loose marking. Petrov was my Villa MotM, closely followed by Gabby, Milner and Ashley - I would go as far as saying that for me, Petrov was the best player on the pitch. A special mention to the Villa fans at Wembley - absolutely outstanding...most poignant moment for me was after the final whistle, when Utd are celebrating all you could hear was Holtenders in the sky ! Amazing support for a team who had given everything. We will grow from this experience and hopefully it won't be too long before we are back...a little over 2 months would be perfect !!

Has anyone else seen Downing's post-match interview on the beeb website...how many times does he say "like I say" in the 2 minute segment...I got to 67 then gave up !! First half everything was shit (including the internet streams), second half all was much improved - except Carlos' passing. Nice to see the attacking unit gaining in confidence ready for the big week ahead. The key for me was the speed at which they attack...much faster in the 2nd half.

James Milner knows the last digit of pi

This is addictive... - Joe Satriani copied James Milner's hit single Viva La Puddin' - James Milner can put a chewit in his mouth without chewing - Minstrels melt in James Milner's hands - During rush hour, James Milner was known to span the Tyne to ease the gridlock - James Milner doesn't blame it on the boogie

New England is a hotbed of 'soccer' fans and I'm sure they would welcome a Villa visit. I remember in recent years going to Rentschler Field (near Hartford) to watch Celtic v Liverpool (wearing my Villa top of course) and the crowd was pretty good...Maybe Villa could join the European Summer 'invasion' :shock: with the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Bareclona et al.....come on you know it makes sense. Oh, and my over-30's team is available too...but don't worry we'll go easy on the boys :winkold: