Marka Ragnos

I love pointless threads. And pointless posts, too.

I don't know. I think it's probably that he thinks that if he wants to keep the locker room on his side, he's going to have to pay a bit of homage to the Vieille Garde. Had he NOT done that, he would have been taking a massive risk. For all his rep for being a straight-up, tough-talking geez, he's not a fool.

Fernando Torres and Michael Owen both hit their peaks at around age 23. It seems very young to me, but it happens.

You inspired me. I made a variation of this tonight, and I and the little lad gobbled it up. Even the dog had a little taste afterwards (he made had no complaints either).

Well said, methinks. That's how I feel. True enough. When the last game was 1-1 with minutes left, I felt bitterly angry at Sherwood's unwillingness to slot in Gil, and even though I think it's a little foolish to suggest that not putting him in was some kind of brilliant move on TS's part (which is easy to say after that very lucky if wonderful win), there certainly could be other factors at play. Considering the millions of £££££££ spent on N'Zog and Tekkers, you'd think Sherwood might simply feel obliged to see if he can get these lavishly paid men to function like their labels say they do.

Not that laughable. Is there a point along your Great Continuum X Axis of Laughability that lies somewhere between, say, "faintly risible" and "absolutely laughable"? I would actually place the phrase "Gil SHOULD have played" a few inches to the left of "faintly risible," to be honest, somewhere in the vicinity of "potentially amusing" and "more or less unfunny."

Wait, are you suggesting, with devilish subtlety, that first impressions do not ... in fact ... matter?

Yep - apparently we weren't going to win another game prior to Tuesday and definitely down and out too! Just love VT and forums Yeah but it's not the same people saying each of those things FIXED: Don't football forums seem sometimes like a continuous cycle of Optimism/Optimism-Mitigation/Pessimism/Pessimism-Mitigation ad infinitum WITH THE OCCASIONAL PIPING UP OF THE INTEGRITY POLICE?

Whoa! Never heard any of this, tbh. Is it pretty well established fact,I mean the stuff about his childhood and time at Genk? I was really struck by how different he sounded when I heard him on the radio compared to the sort of confidence-wounded sweet-guy image I had in my mind. He just sounded a bit self-deluded and not someone who could entertain ambiguities too but it could also have been a language issue.

"All we need to do" - If picking up three wins had been so easy and straight forward we'd be fighting the top three, not the bottom three. I love the optimism in the wake of Tuesday's win, but a speck of perspective shows we struggle to win games, so winning three is not going to be straightforward. Don't football forums seem sometimes like a continuous cycle of Optimism/Optimism-Mitigation/Pessimism/Pessimism-Mitigation ad infinitum?

The Odfather -- Vito's eccentric cousin from Staten Island want to control the black-market trade in obscenely shaped pasta.

The Legs Movie -- limbs, limbs, and more limbs.

American Swiper - he's loud, he's a little fat, he thinks France is weird, and above all, he's a total klepto.

Have a funny feeling we're going to beat the Hammers but draw with Burnley.

The Philadelphia Tory -- a rom-com about a young rather serious gent from Chesham who emigrates to America's City of Brotherly Love only to find no American girls want to date a man who thinks "the power of entrepreneurialism" makes good pillow talk.

Aging Bull -- a children's comedy about a geriatric gentle-but-misunderstood bull Spike and his zany efforts to woo the much younger Daisy.

Close Encounters of the Hird Kind -- a documentary about the sexual lives of sheep.

I agree with the first part of this wholeheartedly, and I hope you're right about the second part.

It's as good a guess as any. Let's hope Sherwood finds a way to reach him in whatever maze he finds himself in. I can't imagine there's anyone in the world who doesn't want to the see the lad succeed.

Calm down, junior.

I don't think it's a confidence issue. I did think so for a long time, but I think it's deeper and less fixable. I hope I'm wrong! I'm genuinely amazed at the continued faith so many supporters seem to have in "the Beast," this persistent sense that he's coming back, soon, soon, tomorrow, tomorrow, to claim his right place again. I just happen to think tomorrow's never coming, at least not with AVFC and Tekkers. If you only knew how much I hope you're right. But when I look at Tekkers' contributions this year, I see someone holding Villa back. Yes, he scored a cool penalty against West Brom, and I cheered madly along with every other Villan, but it's just such flashes of brilliance that, I think, make it so hard for the managers to face the deeper fact of his inadequacy. The problem is, there's no one to replace him. But that doesn't mean he's any good any more. Again, I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

I heard an interview with him today, and I wasn't impressed at all, to be honest. I always thought his recent issue has been "confidence," which is a bit of a meaningless cliche, the more I think about it. He sounded a lot more complacent and self-satisfied than I'd ever imagined him being. I wish Sherwood would bench him.

I would bring the Fifth Dimension. I would simply unfold the "now" and stretch it into a place outside the room.

Last night on BBC 5 Live's daily podcast, post-match, veteran broadcaster Pat Murphy said that this is a time at Villa "for lions rather than lambs" as we face a tough schedule and, still, a relegation battle -- again. He also said many players have been in the last five years "phoning in" performances. I found this an intriguing comment that really got me thinking. In general, this year, who are the lions? Who are the lambs? Last night, I felt that Grealish, for example, was definitely leonine. He wouldn't let up. He pushed and pushed. He fought for balls. Thoughts?

Does anyone know if TS would likely have a substantive part in choosing a DOF? Or would he at most have a pro forma role? Or none at all?