Marka Ragnos

Please revere my judgement above all others.

Well, I suppose you're just telling us what you're feeling, trying to get us to understand.

I don't know. That's a bit of "if we had ham we could make a ham and cheese sandwich if we had cheese ... ." If I could stop a game, I would be selling my time machine to the version of myself who owned Aston Villa because I would have already gone back to 1874 and bought it for a song.

Walking away shows he was insensitive and cowardly, but if a guilty conscience were all that was necessary to prove criminal guilt, all the psychiatrists in the world would have to be retrained as prison guards. Feeling guilty doesn't make one guilty. Explain to me how Barnes could have prevented that? Neither the Costa nor the Barnes incidents deserved a card. Failing to issue a card to Barnes for a non-foul wouldn't magically correct the FA's past mistake.

Sorry, Matic deserved to go too but that is a shocker form Barnes. He couldn't avoid the contact, but he's properly left his foot in there. He's a dirty little bastard is that Barnes. But how was Barnes supposed to pull his foot back? It's physically -- I mean, PHYSICS-cally -- impossible. He had no leverage point, no fulcrum. We're talking about a split second. I wasn't impressed by his walking away from the incident -- and OK, there's the dirty bastard coming out, perhaps -- but I fail to see how he could have possibly prevented that.

But he's about to see one of his prize assets lose millions of £££££££ of value, right, because of his own inert, stolid, listless oversight? What's astute about that?

Agreed! Costa's kind of a prik but what else could he have done? I think he paid the price for his reputation rather than his actions here.

Yes this was the one thread of hope that I am clinging to in my brief moments of hope, before the pessimist in me kicks in. I am hoping we have bottomed out in terms of badness, and hopefully the players can galvanise themselves and produce a decent end to the season under Sherwood. Although we have been so bad for so long, that I am not sure the players have it in them? That is exactly what I have alluded to in the Sherwood thread. I think there is a certain amount of quality there and I think they are trying, but I think not only is their confidence absolutely shot to shit (much worse than we thought IMO) but they've just taken another blow with it. I think their heads are gone, I'm worried they might just start subconsciously going through the motions, if they are not already. We will know more come 5pm next Saturday. Time to bring in Steve Peters. I don't know if Villa already have a psychologist on retainer, but how could it hurt -- and it could help!

Mourinho never frickin stops! So tired of his self-pity. So tired of his eternal victimhood. Now he's calling a player a criminal. Nonsense! Did you see the tackle? Ashley Barnes was already in the air when Matic swoops in peripherally. The video is very clear: there's not a damn thing Barnes could have done. It truly is a case of things happen in football. If anyone was at fault, it was Matic for essentially thrusting his leg in front of a kicking striker. You can even see Barnes trying to stop himself but it's obviously too late. Right call. Glad to see Matic sent off. I hope Jose gets another fine until he finally shuts it.

Can I ask you what that "severe cost cutting" meant in the past? Are we talking "just" player salaries or are there staffs involved in this? I am especially interested in the kind of knock-on effects for Villa's particular situation.

If we go down -- and still don't think we will -- what are the long and short-term financial implications? How bad can it get, financially? Is there a scenario that sees us implode as a club and melt down into administration, for instance? This is an area of club management that I find so opaque but also quite interesting. Are we in a state where we can financially "absorb" relegation and dust ourselves off? Are we were facing the double-blow of relegation and an already bleak financial picture? I would be interested in any light you all may shine on this complicated sub-topic that I am masterfully unqualified to speak to.

Is this an artful piece of nonsense from Tim? Asked if, in the context of his pride in taking charge of Villa, this was one of the lowest moments of his football career, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager said: “Yeah, it’s low. I’m low tonight.” Really? Can Tim really be THAT low? What the hell did he think was happening at Villa? Or is he being diplomatic, because NOT to seem crushed would make him seem insensitive to supporters' emotions? Or is he so arrogant as to think that he really deserved serious substantive credit for a week's work and therefore this loss shouldn't have happened? On the other hand, do you think he's truly given his heart to Villa and is feeling sincerely gutted? Mind you, I understand managers sometimes have to say things they don't necessarily believe, but this comment still intrigues me.

"Fight in them." It's an interesting concept, but if you're talking strictly psychology, I actually think the players are still accessible to the influence of good coaching. No "fight" would suggest they're beyond that. I've said for a while that I think Tekkers actually does have some kind of psychological block, but other than him, I don't know. It seemed to me that the players were fighting pretty fudging hard against Stoke but Sherwood was still hoping against hope for Benteke to come to life.

Yeesh ... sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Wait just one second, Clever Clogs ... Are you contending that correlation implies causation?!?! Incredible! (E-hem, thanks for the wonderful productivity-killing graph. It's very interesting. I hope we don't have to test the theory!) I would love also to see stadium capacity in and out of periods in the Premier League cross-referenced with actual attendance. This would shed light also on how "big clubs'" supporters perceive themselves or their clubs whilst in and out of relegation. How much loyalty is there, for example? I am struck by some of the absurdly tiny attendances Villa had during its Second Division doldrums in the late 60s and early 70s. This suggests that when things get really bad, a "big club" can start looking very tin-pot indeed.

I think the whole role model thing is over-rated. I can't think of many Villa players BETTER suited to soldier us through a releg fight. My only worry is that the mistake he made with Stoke will make him gun-shy in the box. He needs to learn fast and put it behind him. His aggression as a tackler and an interceptor can help us break other clubs' momentum against us.

I admire your optimism, chum, but I don't share it. I think this is the year. I had a dream about it the other night -- not that I think it was prophetic, mind you -- but we were in League One, not the Championship. I don't know if the Football League agreed we'd been so bad this year that we deserved to drop two divisions, but that's what happened. I just don't think our players have the confidence or the spirit to get out of this mess. Lerner's left it much too late. Lambert should have been gone at the end of the season in my view and a new manager could have had the whole summer to bring in a couple of players, his backroom staff and a new philosophy. That would have been the smart move. Instead he keeps his job and gets a lengthy contract after a few decent results. Absolute madness, Randy. What have you done? The clubs we need to beat also have dire problems, and Sunderland and QPR will finally gift us another year in the Premier League. I do think Burnley is worrisome for us. They have spirit. Sunderland and QPR don't.

I think we'll eke out a narrow win. The lost against Stjoke was extremely unlucky, and Sherwood will be determined to make a result here.

We're not going down. You will see.

I like, too, but I think the writing's been a little off lately. The season 3 opener had a great battle scene, but the rest was dull. I really hated that bit where all the men were moaning about their wives and lovers, etc., verging on self-parody.

Exactly, he's been a good player for us, so I don't think its right that the fans turn against him because he makes one silly mistake. They are human! I just wish he had picked a different moment to be so human. Bugger.

What party is King Arthur? That's mine.

Haha. But I hope it's not so much a perpendicular shot off the edge for us as a glancing tangential route, and we might still get back on the track. Here we are ...

Great player, made a stupid mistake. I imagine he feels worse than anyone today, second only to the gutted supporters.

Sorry, tired of contemplating relegation. What I'd like to ask is -- from this day forward -- what precisely do we need to do, step by step, in as much detail as possible, to stay up? If you were manager, what would you do, from this day forward? Give us a clear road map for avoiding the drop. Show us your map!