Marka Ragnos

You gotta admit, the score flatters us. Arsenal has lacked, too, and we've been lucky.

We are flying on wings made of weaker clubs. Methinks the free ride is almost over. But I hope we don't go down. It may be years before we get back up.

Nice stop from Cleverly.

Agree. Every time I see Sanchez, he's slowing our game down and destroying any hope of a counter-attack.

Can we do a better job of letting Arsenal enjoy unopposed possession near our goal? Jaysus flipping hell.

Another week, another taste of the weakest sauce. What to do?

I don't know whether he's good enough or not, but there's a profound lack of innovative thinking on the pitch, and that's purely on Lambert. I would take a little inconsistency at the moment because we've been consistently sucking.

Saved by the Gil.

Without Gil's brilliance, we'd be up by one against an overachieving Championship club. Don't care if we win by 5 --- the Lambert/Lerner duo is spent.

Lambert needs to go. Nice guy but we need a change before it's too late.

Sick to my stomach.

So tired of watching Sanchez holding the ball, looking for someone -- anyone -- other than the same old **** bores.

Utterly devoid of midfield creativity. What a **** bore this is.

Already on the back foot.

From the "for what it's worth department" ... This is Randy Lerner's restaurant, called The Meeting House, in the very upscale Hamptons area of Long Island, New York. I believe he also has a pretty big estate nearby. How much does the restaurant say about the man? Who knows? Probably not much, actually. What I can safely say from my perspective in the NYC area, it's kind of ... well, really QUITE boring. It doesn't take any big $$$ chances or culinary risks, and offers what is essentially overpriced American comfort food to a financially comfortable clientele. Not my cuppa, that's for sure, but there is a market for this sort of thing, and as far as I know, it's doing well as a business. But this is very Old Money part of America with few signs of social tension. Think Chiltern Hills -- or something like that. But don't count on any exotic, very expensive dishes suddenly to appear on the menu -- um, say some Spanish delicacy -- and please keep the noise down not to frighten off potential buyers wink wink wink. This is a restaurant owned by someone with a conservative, somewhat sheltered, non-confrontational, slightly skittish approach to doing business. That's my read, at least.

But a lot of this "something" seems to be leaving with us "nothing."

I feel like it's now or never for Lambert to go. Another few days, and it's really too late and will be too disruptive. He needs to go NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW ... and if not, then we need to accept whatever comes. It's definitely the hour of decision.

Another year, another visit to the cardiologist to get cleared for a Villa releg saga.

It is too hard to be a Villa supporter. Damn, it hurts it hurts it hurts.

You can't be serious. Arsenal just spent upwards of £70,000,000 on transfers, unless I'm misinformed. For a club with a corporate culture that actually wants to see a slight profit, that's an almost staggering gamble. Would much rather fourth and win the FA than be a debt-ridden trophy club with a sugar daddy behind it all.

I'm going to take it a step further and say he also looks like the sun is constantly in his eyes. And the awesome thing is, a conventional, unremarkable appearance and football-playing quality are so closely correlated.

Oh, dear. Can't we just leave the herpetological references out of this? I would've thought we'd had our fill.

I chose 9-12, and I'm slightly optimistic (but in a slightly ironic way, which would be ... pessimistic then? or optimistically pessimistic? or positively negative about being too pessimistic while maintaining a thin patina of fresh-faced faith?). Since I'm a relatively new Villa fan, I haven't yet had loads of hopes steadily and inexorably crushed year after year after year, but I do hear this is what I can expect.

Um, OK, but who besides you is talking about booing him? Not going to happen. And surely there's a middle-ground between acknowledging a raft of legit concerns and excoriating a player unfairly?

This is the bit that stood out to me, partly because it suggests to me, reading between the lines, that PL is actually going to try to pull something out of Cleverley he hasn't always been able or willing to show at United. Cleverley isn't known as "high energy," but he apparently aspires to it, and that seems good. But "coming down" is strictly geographic in this case, Tom!