Adam2003

It's definitely an area Guzan has to improve though, he seems a bit overwhelmed when playing behind a first choice back 4 and seems nervous about deciding what to do. He should get a lot better with experience though

Experience and familiarity. I'm sure he'd do better if he was playing behind them every week. He'll be a good keeper when he's in the team regularly, although that's a way off yet given Big Brad's recent form.

Delph has had a few moments I would have wanted him to have a shot as well, 25 yards out in space.

I think once he's playing regularly and has his confidence up he'll be smacking them in from there.

tbh if Guzan says away. Cuellar has to clear.

Why on earth is he saying away in that situation? It just puts unnecessary pressure on the defender when there is no real pressure there.

Agreed but if he does say clear then Cuellar has to clear. It's the goalkeeper's decision, good one or bad one.

Yep, Guzan probably should have come but Cuellar made him look stupid by making him shout two or three times. If you're told clear it, clear it. Don't second-guess your goalkeeper.

I'd go Friedel for the final but not based on that moment!

We're playing well. On another day we'd have scored loads. Carew has impressed me for the first time in a while as well.

He's box to box for me.

Same. Needs to learn to tackle, but listening to interviews he knows that!

I don't really go in for the 'holding' midfield thing. It's all been invented from Makelele for Real. He had to play that role because Figo, Zidane and Raul and co were never going to track back. Arrigo Sacchi's book is very interesting on this - he talks about how that is reactionary; you need to do it in certain situations, but pigeonholing someone in like that to cover for others doesn't necessarily achieve the supreme goal of tactics - to make EVERY player play above his natural level.

I don't go as far as Sacchi - 'Which player in a football team is the playmaker? Whoever has the ball' - but all the best 4-4-2 teams I've ever seen have had two central midfielders who both got forward and back; Keane and Scholes (Scholes can't tackle but he never used to stop working, and people who think Keane was defensive don't understand football); Vieira and Petit etc.

The important thing is to find midfielders who can do that. I think Delph will develop into one.

Whether he goes in the summer or not, whether we should sell him or not, I'm convinced he's going to score at Wembley.

Guzan is the better keeper.

Don't agree with that, big fan of Friedel. Think this is another case of the man not being in the team being better - absence makes the heart grow fonder etc. Guzan has conceded some soft goals, not least yesterday.

However, he looks like he's going to be a very good goalkeeper - and our next first choice - so I would start him as he's played in the previous rounds and he deserves it for the Sunderland performance if nothing else! Same in the final, although I imagine if I was Friedel I'd be unhappy to miss out on probably my last chance to play in a cup final. But then Friedel has maybe one more season here, Guzan could have ten, so who is more important to keep happy?

Put simply if we get to the final, whichever of them plays, the other will be gutted. And if whoever plays makes a big mistake, we'll all say MON should have picked the other one

It's both the best and worst sort of decision to have to make for a manager. Think MON will stick with Guzan though, as I would.

I think Young is better. I think Milner's style of play will see him do more for England than Young ever will.

Both great players who I hope stay at Villa a long time.

Captain's duties in a football team:

ref - Heads or tails?

captain -Heads.

ref - Heads it is. Kick off or chose ends?

captain - We'll attack the North Stand in the first half.

ref - Okay.

The captain who wins the toss can never choose to kick off, contrary to popalr belief.

Whoever wins it chooses ends. Whoever loses it kicks off.

Just FYI from a former captain and former ref - not that it affects your point at all

young will tear you apart sounds great.

for those who've (somehow) never heard the song, it goes:

"Young, Young will tear you apart, again"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0dfd_L4tDk

could be repeated for ages.

Exactly, it can just go on and on and pick up volume.

Get it going at Stoke today lads, keep up the great support as always.

I still think we should just do 'Young will tear you apart'. It would sound fantastic with Villa Park belting that out and I honestly believe all four sides of the ground would join in.

So overall I think we'ree stronger but so are our main competition for 5th - Evernot and Spuds

Am I missing something? I thought Everton had sold a bunch of players and signed no-one, how can they be stronger?

Top post though guys.

Hi General,

I have a little bit of an operational question. As you probably know, certain competitions have deadlines for players to be registered - for example I think for the next round of the UEFA Cup we had to submit a list by August 4th.

Who is in charge of ensuring this happens? I'm guessing the responsibility isn't on the manager. Obviously from a practical point of view he needs to be aware of this, but is there someone whose job it is to wade through the pages of UEFA, FIFA, FA and Premier League rules on all this sort of thing and let him know?

For example, I think one player can be added to our UEFA Cup squad before the match on Thursday - probably either Luke Young or Shorey. Is there someone who makes MON aware that he has this option and DOES NOT have the option of picking both (please note - I'm not suggesting for one second MON isn't completeky aware of the situation!)? Because while MON's an intelligent guy, there are a lot of rules and regulations to take in at a busy time thanks to good old red-tape!

I only ask because every season in one competition or another we see a club playing one too many loan players, or an ineligible player, and being fined or docked points or thrown out of a cup, so I assume all clubs must have someone to check exactly what is going on (I don't recall Villa ever slipping up by the way). Or is it just part of the legal department's role?

Thanks and have a good day.

Up the Villa!

No, offer him to Arse for 14-15 mil!

No point. he wants to go to LIVERPOOL

No he doesn't, he just wants CL football and a pay-rise.

But yes, I'd take £16m and Finnan. £16m is more than fair, with a right back thrown in. Happy days.

5. We are working on pro-evolution.

I'd never thought of this General but can I add my voice that it would be good marketing, especially if it's just a case of us giving permission. A lot of people buy that game all over the world, and I believe they currently see us as 'West Midlands Village'!

2. hobbo: It really gets to me when someone writes that we are about to lose the "good will of the fans" or that we need to be spending the money the fan brings to the Club

It gets to a lot of us too, General.

I know that you see everything with MON-tinted glasses on, but surely you can see a trend developing here...?

I can see a trend - 16th to 11th to 6th.

That's the trend we as fans need to worry about IMO.

General, thanks for your continuing presence here. Please be aware we really appreciate having this contact.

General, I have a quick complaint re Barry (well, not really him, I understand he and MOn and randy have big decisions to make).

But as you know a lot of people are on tenterhooks waiting for news.

That being the case, it gets frustrating seeing stories headlined 'Barry Settled' and 'Barry Vow' on the official site. For the record, the first was about Gareth Barrys England form, the second about Barry Bannan in the reserves.

I know a website is about maximising webhits, and it's a good tecnique for doing so. But the OFFICIAL site shouldn't, IMO, be maximising them by using headlines which they KNOW will be misinterpreted and get people's hopes up.

But why do only 18% agree with you and I flashingqerty? Beacuse people are happy to let our best players go without fighting for them.

Oh, are we? Thanks for letting me know.

LTLOAV, he's also said many times in that same interview he thinks he can get CL football here. We'll just have to see what happens.

I'm sure MON is doing his best to keep him and that's all there is to it. If he goes, Villa are far bigger than one man.

2. "Tapping": In fact, the FA do NOT have to have an official complaint to act.

No they don't HAVE to, General, but I'd be shocked if there was an example of them ever acting without one, especially against a big club like Liverpool.

Still, if the club's decision is not to report them then I respect that.

I'm not sure what you can personally do over this matter, but just wanted to flag up concerns!

It is up to Villa to report the matter to the FA if we so wish, they don't take action on their own.

We should IMO, but that's just my opinion.

What is also my opinion is that this has been a fantastic year and another big step in the right direction. Thanks for your efforts, General!

General, just a quick question - why oh why do the club continue to give Bill Howell access? (Actually you'd probably be better off not answering as he'll read this, the parasite, and turn it into a story if you do). But he constantly puts Villa down, and it gets annoying.

Here's what he said about Nicky Keye with regards to the Trinity move.

She ''seemed as jumpy as a box of frogs. Desperate for the handful of press around the table to report the news positively."

Just disrespectful, and that's just a normal example of his sneering. If it was me I wouldn't have him near the club.

Just a little stat, but nice to see we've scored twice as many goals at Villa Park this year.

Odd, I've never heard United sing that for Giggs...

Mind I suppose in 16 years they could well have done at some point.

Still, it gets my vote. Young sounds much better with it than Giggs. Giggs sounds awful.

To the tune of Joy Division - Love will tear us apart -

Young.....

Young will tear you apart........

again.....

Repeat.

Simple easy to remember and catchy!

This! This this this! I'm starting it against Wigan, you lot better join in. In fact get it going at Everton.

its very catchy... very easy to remember... and 100% what he will do to his opponents

I think it's fantastic.

To the tune of Joy Division - Love will tear us apart -

Young.....

Young will tear you apart........

again.....

Repeat.

Simple easy to remember and catchy!

This! This this this! I'm starting it against Wigan, you lot better join in. In fact get it going at Everton.