cyrusr

If he desperately doesn’t want to go he simply doesn’t sign the contract to join the other club. He cannot be forced to sign. He can be asked and explained about the financial issues about it but he can still say no, Villa are under an obligation to pay him a wage or terminate his contract. Think about it the other way, if it was that easy to get rid of players, why are Richards and McCormack still here? Sure there may be a lot less interest in them but the same principle applies. And if he refuses to sign, what are Villa going to do, not play him and reduce his value? The ball is actually completely in his hands so if he really wanted to stay, actually there is nothing stopping him. Personally though, would think it is completely daft and professionally he would be better plying his trade in the top flight rather than single handedly trying to promote us! Well that’s my head, my heart has him demanding a 10 year contract at £10k a week....

Played this a few weeks ago and was a wonderful experience! Thought the story and game play completely gripping and enjoyed the anxiety of each decision you have to make. Having the other half play it as well was interesting. She made a few significant differences and had a completely different game at the end. I will probably go back to it in due course to see what happens with other decisions. In relation to endings (I will put the next bit in spoiler just in case):

A move to Stoke seems daft for both club and player: Club - selling our best defender to a purported competitor for less money that we got for him, leaving us with a huge gap in the middle of the defence when we have already lost 2 key players from last season? From a club perspective, if we were to agree to sell to Stoke at around this figure then it will definitely show how badly we are doing financially... Player - why would he go from 2 years challenging to another season doing exactly the same thing? I cannot see Chester pushing to move to Stoke for 1 minute. If someone was to offer him top flight football that's different; but its a sidewards move for Chester and he can do better than that. Either the rags are bored or Stoke testing to see how desperate we are...

I suspect not all of Grealish, Kodjia and Chester will go. Grealish I’m resigned too but not sure about Kodjia and Chester. Kodjia we wouldn’t get the money because he was out most of last season and even if he did go, we have alternatives. Chester would be a big loss though - already lost 2 centre backs this summer! BB & MJ - the money for BB (if true) makes it a sensible sale. MJ, again to get off the books as I suspect it is more in the region of 40-50k a week than 26k. However would be worried getting rid of both. Think we will also get a few loans in, but this is a team that is at the very lowest on a par with our 1st season in the championship and they did ok. I think (hope) they will do better than most seem to be expecting...

His Instagram looks like he is currently training with Deportivo so cancel the Grealish mask and barber.

So what a fun month... No transfers in and serious lack of cash... From what I said before, there are 1 or 2 differences due to lack of movement on our part... From my list last month: New GK - Henderson/Hart/Westwood/Hennessey however Henderson has now gone to Sheffield Utd, Hennessey has signed a new contract, Westwood appears to be settled well into Wednesday's preseason and given our financial issues we probably couldn't afford. Hart same issue but depends on how keen Man City to get rid? Myhill is available though possibly? With Bunn signing more likely to be Steer/Sarkic/Bunn though I suspect... Just bloody hope Steer can stay fit... New LB - Henry/Clark/another - Clark has gone to Vitesse in Holland... Henry we probably couldn't afford... Hutton has resigned - probably the alternate choice for LB? 2 New CBs - Tuanzebe/Huth/someone else - Tuanzebe is looking more likely. Huth - being linked so we shall wait and see... Elphick more likely to stay but would he be content being 3rd or 4th Choice? Bedeau and Suliman possibly brought in as well? New RW (Bayliss/another) - Bayliss still possible and could be relatively cheaper! Could also be a good shout for the central midfield spot that seems to be imminently vacated by someone leaving... New LW (Shipley/Hoilett) - Shipley is still at Coventry, see Bayliss above. Holiett has signed a new contract with Cardiff... New ST (Grabban/Hernandez) - Grabban has gone to Forest, though for a relatively big fee for a player the wrong side of 30... Hernandez still available but likely to be out of price range for wages now... Team to look something like this now? GK: (New GK)/Steer/Sarkic/BunnRB: Elmohamady/Bree/De LaetLB: Taylor/Hutton/(De Laet)CB: Chester/(Tuanzebe)/(Huth)/(Elphick/Suliman/Bedeau)DM: Jedinak/WhelanCM: Hourihane/Lansbury/Bjarnason RW: Adomah/(Bayliss)LW: Green/(Shipley)AM: O’HareST: Kodjia/Hogan/Davis/(RHM) Plus Richards, Tishbola & McCormack because quite frankly I expect no one to take them... One most likely being Tishbola... Overall, if we only end up selling Grealish of the 1st team, then we can still maintain some competitiveness, however, it requires some clever spending and a bit of luck... GK and AM main concerns, if Steer can stay fit, I don't have an issue. Hopefully O'Hare can make the step up and if we sign Bayliss/Shipley could they possibly take up that role as well? Green I am pretty confident well shore up the LW spot. So then, who's in charge of all this???

May not be as it seems... Allegations Maybe A Hoax In short suggestions that a lot of fishy information along with it being unsubstantiated. Also linked to an email address for a 23 year old male who would have been 5 years old at the time... It also draws comparisons/coincidences with allegations made against Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Details of article are below if you don’t want to click the link: It goes onto to quote Maynard about his previous sexual proclivities and his response tweet in effect denying completely. Not sure this is open and shut, if that reassures you at all @Chindie

This. Definitely missed these 2. And good on OH, a sign of a good show if someone who doesn’t have a clue can enjoy it! My OH came as well but is a massive fan and loved it.

Was there too. There was a lot of new stuff, which can be a little frustrating, but I enjoyed most of them. Agree on missing classics which would have made it brilliant! Arenas though - how many idiots a) can’t find their seats, b) have to constantly get up to go to loo/beer and c) leave before the end?!

VAR wasn’t at fault for the bizarre decision, the buck still lies with the ref and what I saw for 90 minutes was a wholly inept one! Didn’t control the game and could dispute decision. I think I read somewhere that in the other game he has been in they made a complaint but can’t remember which one. Anyway, Iran were very close from getting out of the group (ruled out goal in Spain game; that shot that hit the netting in Portugal) and knocking either Spain or Portugal out would have been phenomenal. They have a lot to improve politics/freedom wise but they did very well in this World Cup and in this group. Morocco too did alright, I think Spain and Portugal were very lucky in the end to be going through, which you would definitely not have said before the start of the competition!

Only the rags - newspapers rely on titbits just as much as the computer game.

Outdated idiots. Never trust the tabloids - FM18 says he is on £3.5k per week. Source: For the record it does have Lansbury at £40k, McCormack £38.5k and Jedinak at £45k so there may be some truth. The Bree one is just a farce though. Sadly it seems little facts are actually out and there is an absolute ton of speculation and rumour... It’s clear something is up but whether it’s Wyness or Xia or both it’s hard to say without something more substantial coming out... However it is, not a great start for the summer to say we can continue to challenge at the top.

[There’s a TL;DR summary towards the end] Our biggest problem with FFP I think will be wages. We haven’t spent a vast amount on players under Bruce (Hogan excluded) transfer fee wise but we have given players big wages; Terry the key example. If players were willing for less then great more than happy to keep them; but I suspect, and what was shown this season is that you don’t have to spend top money to get promoted. We definitely need to be smarter and I would hope that there was 2 lists being made up prior to the end of season... Changes: Gollini - almost certainly gone. Not seen anything formal yet but seems likely. Johnstone - shock if returns. Could play Premier League next season. Would keep in heartbeat if could work out, somehow... Bunn - out of contract - would he stay for less money? OK back up. De Laet - would leave if not 1st team (likely) Hutton - out of contract Terry - gone Samba - out of contract? Could stay though - not bad as back up? Tuanzebe - loan finished but maybe again? Elphick - may want 1st team? Richards - hopefully will go but I who will take? Onomah – probably would want to try and get into Spurs team. Hasn’t played the best for us anyway. Tishbola - possibly? Snodgrass- seems unlikely able to pay wages? Gil - gone already? Grabban - loan ended McCormack - IF anyone takes him... I suspect a lot of teams would, just his wage demands (still) will be too high... Gabby - gone (finally) That leaves as worse case scenario: GK: Steer RB: Elmohamady/Bree LB: Taylor CB: Chester DM: Jedinak/Whelan CM: Hourihane/Lansbury/Bjarnason RW: Adomah LW: Green AM: Grealish ST: Kodjia/Hogan/Davis Certainly I would say some of those that may go may not - at both ends. We may get Grabban/Tuanzebe back on loan. With Richards and McCormack no one will seemingly buy so we are likely to still be despite not being wanted. When you look at these lists, what you realise is how bloated the squad still is. You can easily take out arguably 9 players and actually not miss out at all. And of course it’s another window of clearing out the deadwood. Goalkeeper is a big problem. Steer has been good when playing but let’s not forget a lot of the time he has been here he has been injured. How often has Bunn made the bench and not Steer? I only recall the cup games he has played. Otherwise he hasn’t. I suspect Bruce will be going for another keeper. I noticed a few people mentioning Henderson - saw him during playoffs and know he’s getting good reviews for this season. Is he ready to make the step to Championship promotion battle? He’s definitely not been offered a new contract at Man Utd, right? Could be a good acquisition... Then going to the other extreme, what about Hart? Clearly unwanted by Man City, struggled with form at West Ham, 1 year left on his contract - could be possible that City want him out of his squad at any cost? Could be very low loan fee in that situation and the drop down a league could suite him better? We know he had talent once before - maybe a chance to work with Agnew could really bolster? Or do we go with experience in Championship- someone like Kieran Westwood from Wednesday, though how much would he cost? Wayne Hennessey is available for free as well - another option? Left Back - I know there’s talk of Taylor being sold as not good enough, but who will play there? Hutton has done an excellent job deputising but he’s another year older. Given his effort I would absolutely give him another year (subject to wage, of course) but I can’t see him playing another year week in week out. I would hope he remains in the squad though. I wonder how much Rico Henry would cost to take from Brentford? Had a knee injury which cut down playing time but could be willing for move, though noticed on Wikipedia page it says he’s a SHA fan... I’ve also seen Max Clark being mentioned though profess not noticed him before - any good? If the fees quoted are correct and he is good, feels like this is a no brainer! Notice Luke Shaw is also out of contract - if not staying at Man Utd then not saying Shaw would come to Villa but likely to go to a premier league team. This would cause a shift in the Left Back area and possible make someone else available for us? CBs - Samba could be given another 1 year deal and remain 4th choice - not got an issue with that per say, so long as 4th choice. Also, unless Elphick is playing first team then I think he’s gone too, leaving a very big gap! I am not sure I would trust Elphick - seems to have too many mistakes in him and we were vulnerable when him and Chester played 2 seasons ago. I am not so worried about Chester going, he came in knowing we were in the championship when he could have gone to a premier league team. I think he will stay. Trickier though is to find the right player to replace Terry. Tuanzebe should be a good shout though and definitely gettable with another loan deal. Give him the opportunity to play properly. I see that Huth is becoming free from Leicester who does have a good amount of experience. Possible? Otherwise open to other ideas; I am somewhat struggling on this one; but it could be a good loan of an experienced player. Can’t see who else this would be though. The middle of the park we are OK for once; but I don’t think we should shy away from improving if we can. Think though we have other priorities. Wingers - Jordan Graham I’ve seen mentioned. I’ve noticed he’s on the retain list of Wolves though so it seems he will be a purchase - though noticed he was returned by Fulham in January- does anyone know why? Didn’t appear to play a lot last year for 2 promoted teams... is he good enough for us? In fact he has only played 25 league games over his career? Knew he was a prospect here but has he moved on? I can see Snodgrass being picked up by a Premier League team. Adomah moves back to right wing and Green is finally given his chance? We definitely lack depth though and could do with some flourish. I notice Bayliss and Shipley started on the wings for Coventry for the play off final, could they be what we are looking for or are they more like Grealish in that they can play wide, but better in the centre? Of course it look likes Holiett could leave Cardiff on a free; perfect fit for the Left Wing and did alright this season! Can play on the right as well and with Elmohamady able to play; might be enough?) O’Hare seems to be the perfect back up for Grealish but I do wonder if he will go and get someone else? I suspect we can still challenge without selling Grealish but I think it might depend on what he wants to do. If a “big club” comes in for him and he wants to go, then so be it, I don’t think we could stop him. £40million being touted seems about right - the league is ridiculous for money and would set us up nice for a little bit but hopefully we can get a bidding war going to up it a bit more... if we do this will be a position that needs prioritising. Striker - a fully fit Kodjia should do the trick and I think his injury was the only reason we got Grabban in January. Hogan hasn’t worked so far and struggling to see it from a long term perspective either. Think he would stick around. If Bruce intends to play one up top, then I cannot see him getting another striker but I think if Grabban is available I think Bruce will come back in for him. He might also go for Hernandez which wouldn’t be against per say, I just hope he would give Davis & RHM a try or let go on loan to play. [TL;DR start here] From a realistic point of view, I can see us signing (in bold likeliest IMO): New GK (Henderson/Hart/Westwood/Hennessey) New LB (Henry/Clark/another) 2 New CBs (Tuanzebe/Huth/someone else) New RW (Bayliss/another) New LW (Shipley/Hoilett) New ST (Grabban/Hernandez) GK: New GK/Steer/(Sarkic)/(Bunn) RB: Elmohamady/Bree/(Hutton) LB: Taylor/(New LB) CB: Chester/New CB/New CB/(Samba) DM: Jedinak/Whelan CM: Hourihane/Lansbury/Bjarnason RW: Adomah/(New RW) LW: Green/(New LW) AM: Grealish/(O’Hare) ST: Kodjia/Hogan/Davis/(New ST)/(RHM) And of course, McCormack and Richards will still be around but I don’t think they will be used and quite rightly so. Attitude of the pair of them (from what it seems) doesn’t give me any hope they can play a positive role in the squad. We also don’t know the mindset of a lot of other players and whether they will stay or not. Some I have no doubts (Hourihane; Whelan; Elmohamady); others I am not so sure about (Grealish; Steer; Hogan). We can do quite well IMO from frees/loans and cheap deals and still compete again for promotion. Just need Bruce to be a bit smarter when picking team - and scout the opposition more - if they are quick attackers, it’s no good having Jedinak run half a mile behind them! There is also the option of using the youngsters as well, and it’s clear some of them are ready to make the step up. Can easily plug the gaps with them also.

Didn’t realise that the cross city line was on bus replacement as well...! Ah well, thank McGrath for Uber! At coach station now waiting for the 10am bus. Not busy yet but more villa fans are coming in...

https://www.efl.com/news/2018/may/play-off-final-in-numbers/ That’s pretty impressive, particularly for an outfield player! Last time someone so consistent I think must have been Friedel!

Anthony Taylor did referee this one, a 3-1 win at the Emirates against Arsenal; giving us 2 penalties in the process https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/23644714

Elmo could make it...

Bought mine on Wednesday also and not received either. They have said they should have all shipped by yesterday - if not received by Wednesday/Thursday maybe start asking. Think majority haven’t received yet - it’s just a few lucky ones that they have processed already!

Ah - didn’t realise! Yeah, getting a coach from Birmingham doesn’t help you much!

You can log on straight away now - there’s about just under 1000 left doing a quick count.

You do know they do a special run straight to Wembley Stadium? Got it for the FA Cup a couple of years ago - really good to be honest! Dropped right at the stadium and picked up also. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/events/championship-play-off-final

https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2018/05/21/play-off-final-very-latest-info Sorry to those not in the queue yet...

This was done previously - might help those that get kicked out of queue.

So was curious and wanted to see exactly how experienced our team is at Wembley. We know that a few have been there/done before but actually when you look at it, based on likely team (Elmohamady fit etc), this is what I found: Starting 11 Johnstone - played in league one play off 2015 with Preston Elmohamdy - Championship play off in 2016 with Hull. Also fa cup final for hull in 2014. Chester - possibly played in football league trophy in 2011 with Carlisle. Also fa cup final for hull in 2014. Terry - not researched exactly when but think this one is a given! Hutton - FA Cup semi & final 2015 with Villa. Won league cup with Spurs in 2008. Jedinak - play off final with Crystal Palace 2013 Hourihane - league 1 play off final 2016 with Barnsley. Football league trophy 2016. Grealish - FA Cup semi & final 2015 Snodgrass - Championship play off in 2016 with Hull. Adomah - Championship play off final with Middlesbrough 2015 (lost) Grabban - league one play off final 2009 with Millwall (lost). 2010? Efl Championship play off 2015 for Norwich (sub). Championship Play off final reading 2017 (lost). If plays 3rd Championship play off final in 4 years! Likely Subs Kodjia - none Whelan - 2005 league 1 play off final with Sheffield Wednesday (he scored!!!). 2011 fa cup semi & final with stoke. Bjarnasson - none Hogan - none Bree - none (but on bench for Football league trophy 2016 with Barnsley). Taylor - none (didn’t feature for Swansea in 2011 play off as sent off in semi). Samba - none Steer - none So yeah, every single one of our likely 11 have played at Wembley before at least once. The only starter of the semis was Bree, but even he has been there. I can’t believe that Whelan has scored there as well! Kodjia & Bjarnason both have international experience as well let’s not forget. So yes, when they talk about experience, we’ve got it. I reckon with the fans as well - this wil feel more like a home game for villa than Fulham. Media and fans seem to be fawning over Fulham. Might say as it’s London it’s a Fulham home game. That’s fine, let them underestimate us.

I suspect that either way Bruce will want to give him a 1 year contract. His commitment is 2nd to none and he continues to play 100%. I have definitely been critical of him the past but fair play to him, he has really put in the effort this season and deserves his spot next the team. Really managed to change my opinion on him! I think as a squad/back up player he will be capable definitely in the championship and possibly in the premier league. Even if there are question marks around his skill, his character and team work will be invaluable. Subject to what level his wages will be, I can definitely see Bruce saying to him 1 more year.