Banger75

Agreed. He has had the kick in the trousers he probably needed. Benteke was awesome as a sub, lets see how he handles that role again.

Good call maqroll.....I'm pretty sure Vieri owns a restaurant in Sydney. Also, Sydney FC goalkeeping coach is ex-socceroo Zelko Kalac, who spent about 4 years at Milan, and also our man Benito Carbone who spent a season playing for Sydney FC. In the 'old' Australian NSL, one of the biggest clubs was Marconi Stallions - a club with Italian roots based in Sydney's western suburbs. They had some guest appearances over the years by Italian players, so still have some strong links.

WOW. Even as a supporter of the A-League, this is massive. I'm certain he could have got much more than $2m a season anywhere else. :shock:

Was never my favorite Aussie National team player, but as said previously he can frustrate as much as excite. Give him some time, we were poor in the final 3rd and he didn't do his best work (neither did Ireland or N'Zogbia for that matter). He will come good, hopefully if he gets a chance at home.

This bloke is immense. I loved the way he pushed forward at the end trying to spark something. He hates to lose, and is all class.

If we get a decent new left back - 6th if not - 10th I really do think getting the right bloke in this position is critical, we got murdered down the left flank regularly last season.

How about a link, mate? sorry mate, not great with links but i'll have a crack...

sorry if it has already been mentioned....but I just saw a you-tube clip of him scoring from in his own half....anyone else seen it? some commanding headers also, very laursen-like.

I reckon with all the investment in PSG, there has to be some disgruntled players.....surely there are some bargains there?

What a dose of reality, thanks Stan, you are a legend. Get well soon mate.

So you're saying that because he is Australian he has had no technical training, and has no technical ability? Get your heads out of your arse. England is not exactly overrun with great technical players, and creaming yourselves over a Jack Wiltshere once every generation just shows the lack of technical ability produced. The ignorance of this forum to players outside of england is astounding.

I like both kits. The home looks very nice, seems like macron have spent heaps of time working on the 'little things' - trim, collar, colours, emblem etc. I've also really liked the promos and videos of the manufacturing, photo shoot etc. Very professional IMO. Also, great to see 2 Aussies in the official advert...one very happy Villan here.

This guy played against Australia (minus Brett Holman) a week or so ago....looked sharp, got forward and comfortable on the ball. Quite the opposite of Warnock really. Would be a good signing at the right price.

As far as being a Brisbane boy, Perth is a ridiculously long way from home. That said, I love Perth. Great place, good beaches, food and places to see. The mining boom has ruined things for anyone outside the industry (luckily enough I am smack bang in the middle of it, so yay for me!). I do the Perth-Brisbane flight at least once per month, and if you book ahead its really only a $600 return trip, but 10hrs of your life you don't get back(return trip). Ponky is spot on, lots of Pommie ex-pats in the north of Perth around Joondalup, you will feel right at home there. Unfortunately most of them support Liverpool and ManUre as someone else has mentioned. As you've probably already found, there are plenty of good footballers to come out of Perth, so your kids will be right on that front. Unfortunately the Perth A-League team is coached by Ian Ferguson, but we are happy for you to join the Brisbane Roar bandwagon for a proper footballing team. Good luck!

Lambert will appreciate Makoun's ability, he will hopefully stay.

Holidaying in Hong Kong at the moment...and there was a large number of villa home and away kits at the Nike store at city gate outlets....and people were buying them! They did not have a sponsor on them though....

Got my 'Support Stan' shirt in the post this week....have been wearing it ever since! My own battle with leukaemia as a child makes this something I am very passionate about. Get well soon Stan.

Good post Ponky. As much as I think he deserves a chance, I think that sacking him is the best for the club, and for the chance to start afresh. Mind you, this needs to be done ASAP after next weekend. Could we be so bold as to think that Randy has another candidate already lined up, once Premier League status is assured? Villas Boas? (joking...!)

Get him back. Get him holding midfield, Ireland attacking midfield with Holman. Clark at CB, Herd at right back, Lihaj at left back. Bannan as back up, + new player.

optimistically... 1-1. realistically...we will get severely rogered, with no doubt a 'fergie-pen/sending off' to start the rogering. 4-0. fark.

Throw in some appropriate capital letters :winkold: and the man makes a very valid point! Thanks brommy, no time for punctuation when ranting!!

some people on here seriously need a wake up call. we've got an established international at his peak for free, and he will be on relatively low wages. the fact that people don't know who he is shows more ignorance of the game outside the UK, rather than the size of his profile (or ability).

yet another aussie VT supporter here, so beware the bias. I am delighted at this signing. Holman has a good engine, is deceptively quick, and is one of those players who is always available for a pass. he has the potential to be the 'robbie keane' link-man that we have enjoyed over the last couple of months, but is more midfielder than striker. he plays a similar role to Cahill in the Aussie national team, but as we saw against Serbia in the WC, he can hold his own at the highest level. I think we will see a great asset who will win the fans over very quickly with his work rate and ability to play the ball on the ground and pop up with the odd goal.

We really should have won this. A combination of great saves by Krul (one particularly lucky one off his knee) and poor finishing by Bent cost us dearly. They scored a scrambled goal and an absolute screamer....defending was not the problem in these cases (I would argue we defender poorer on other occasions and did not concede a goal). Gardner for me must start in attacking CM with ireland, bring Stan back to defensive CM and go with wingers (Zog, Gabby, Alby, Bannon). Clark to CB (reserve).

based on what??????? he inherited evrything from his dad incuding the Cleveland Browns. He didnt make his own money. Looking at what he has done at Villa since he has been here in terms of running it as a business I would say he is pretty clueless when it comes to running a business. seems so simple doesn't it...? inherits successful company, things start to go poorly, so must be shit businessman...? in reality, it really isn't that simplistic. the world finance market is chaotic, and the US is right in the middle of it. not to mention the absolute disaster that is europe. Chelsea lost 100m, does that make Roman a bad businessman? my gut feel is that Lerner is a very astute businessman, and he knows that Villa can't compete with the Man City's of the world. We had a 5yr plan, and got very close to achieving it, but failed....critically by missing a Champions League spot (see 3x 6th place). So, we reset. See out this yr with a Manager who can work with little or no funds, and start again. As an owner, it would not be wise to pop up making promises in a financial world that has so many unknowns at the moment....so Randy is assumedly keeping low and seeing this storm out. I just hope we survive so we can start the next chapter...