JoshVilla

The valuation for Declan Rice is utterly insane. Having watched him play a fair bit, I really don't understand what the fuss is about Similarly to Grealish though, his price is based on how valuable he is to the club, rather than purely his ability.

The latest MOMS podcast episode actually does make some very good points (this coming from someone who was in complete disbelief that we'd ballsed up the crest situation so badly). They made a good point regarding the stadium/surrounding area redevelopment. If that had been happening this summer, then we'd have no real choice but to go with the current badge as its going to be plastered all over the gaff. Heck has obviously come in and decided that (rightly or wrongly), the new badge just doesn't do it. If we're going to grow as a brand globally (which we need to do if we hope to compete with the big boys on a regular basis), we need something instantly recognizable, and something that might convince new fans overseas to start following us. A cool looking badge is a big factor in convincing potential fans that have no personal connection to any English clubs to choose us over City, United, Arsenal etc etc. The fact that we have a bit more time before the redevelopment work begins means that he can gather enough data to either be sure that the new crest is the right one, or gather enough feedback to help in creating something that's going to stand out for the foreseeable future. It's annoying, for me especially since I really do quite like this new badge and I don't really like this feeling of being in limbo, but the more I've thought about it, it does make very good business sense. We might be very glad that we've done it.

I've seen the kit quite a lot now, and now that I'm used to it, I kinda like it. Will definitely end up buying it, mainly because it could be the only shirt with that badge on it.

They've signed 2 players and now they're giving it the old billy big bollocks on social media with all this "blues are back" shite. What does "back" actually even mean for them? In 148 years, their achievements amount to 2 league cups and the knackered old van cup. (Unless the football league gives out a "most incestuous fanbase" trophy, then I stand corrected) Bless them, they're all very excited. They're frothing at the mouth at the thought of reaching the heady heights of 15th next season. Their poor sisters... Mate

For anybody that is worried about any quotes that they might see regarding Monchi and his love for Sevilla:

He's gonna get a right old heckling at VP now.

The crest situation has got me all pissed off. I need a signing to cheer me up. Announce Nico Williams, wearing both 22/23 and 23/24 shirts so he's in line with Villa's brand identity.

What a mess. To be fair, the more I've looked at the kit, the more I've grown to not really mind it. It's not brilliant, but come the start of the season I'll be used to seeing it and won't really think about it. The crest though, jesus christ.... It makes us look like we don't have a clue what we're doing, and I'm sure plenty of fans of other clubs will rightly be taking the piss once they get wind of it. Anyone who sees communications from the club's social media with the old badge, while seeing kit posts, match highlights etc with us wearing the new, potentially temporary, badge is going to think we can't decide what we're going forward with. We had the vote. No matter what badge comes out, there's always going to be people who love it and hate it. Just stick with what the majority vote was and get on with it.

Interesting wording in the article: Does this mean that it's potentially going to change again? Old crest still going to be used around the stadium and elsewhere while they monitor the reaction to the new one. Odd....

Feel a bit indifferent about it, but it'll look good when we're lifting the UECL trophy.

Saw them in Manchester last night. They were incredible. (Hope the grading goes well!)

Brighton agreed to sign Mahmoud Dahoud on a free when his Dortmund contract expires next month. Decent signing, that.

I'm enjoying it, but I do understand (and share) some of the frustrations. BotW was breathtaking, and had that "wow" factor with it being completely new in terms of what a Zelda game was. The open world was huge, and gave us a level of freedom that we hadn't yet seen in the previous titles. The problem with TotK is that it's basically the same game, but just with some new mechanics, set in the same world that's been altered a bit (similar to GoW: Ragnarok). It's kind of relying on you loving the previous game enough that you just want more of the same but with some subtle changes. Because of that, it doesn't really have that "oh my gosh" moment that BotW had when you first step out of the cave and see the world. It's still a very good game, but I feel like I have to be in the mood for it. When I am, I really enjoy it and spend most of the time doing everything but the main quest. Other times, I just can't be arsed because the new mechanics, while fun at first, can be a bit of a chore when you're not really in the mood. I would love a more "traditional" Zelda game with a slightly smaller open world but with proper dungeons, but I think that ship might have sailed.

**** Man City. Every trophy they win should come with a huge banner along the bottom of the screen detailing the 115 financial doping charges currently pending against them. I don't even know how pundits can talk about their achievements with a straight face. They're cheats. Plain and simple.

Lucas Digne for taking £100m a week in wages from our great club. Bastard.

Why is Robbie Savage having such an uncontrollable orgasm? Is he okay?

"and please Emery in the process"

Financial doping pays off.

I feel absolutely filthy for saying this, but I'd much rather United win this. **** City. **** Pep. **** their treble.

It's a game of football for **** sake. Yes, it's gutting to lose a cup final, especially if you feel that it's been overly influenced by certain refereeing decisions, but it's only football. Life goes on. Much more important things going on in the world. The standard of refereeing, especially in the Premier League, has been pretty poor, but the level of abuse that the officials receive week in, week out, is an utter disgrace.

We're getting battered by that no 20.

Might open up a can of worms here. I dont get why tea doesn't taste as good when I drink it outside. Does the sun make the milk curdle or something?

Not sure if it's been posted here already, but I often wonder what would have happened if we hadn't lost Grealish to injury for nearly a third of the 20/21 season (if I remember correctly, he missed about 12 games?). We finished 11th, but only 7 points off a place in the Europa Conference League (and 10 points off the Europa League). Could we have maybe picked up another 3 or 4 wins if we'd have had Grealish fit all season? Off the back of that, would he have stayed longer, as we'd have qualified for a European competition? Would that have allowed us to attract even more quality players to complement him and make a push at the top 4? Would Smith still have been manager (and would he have been good enough to manage a push at the CL spots?)? Ultimately, everything has worked out very well. Smith struggling, and then Gerrard utterly failing has led to us getting a manager of genuine quality, but it's an interesting "what if".

It makes me laugh how many articles the BBC have posted about City since they won the title. Trying to make us care when in reality nobody gives a shit. They suck all of the enjoyment out of football. I used to love watching Haaland when he played for Dortmund. As soon as he went to City......meh. I think that, if Grealish had have gone abroad, he'd have left on much better terms. I think the fact that he went to a scumbag club like City was what made it so much worse. They're an absolute stain on football.

I really do wish we'd stop giving them the ball straight back though....