JoshVilla

Why does the go-to place to store letters seem to be down the side of the microwave? I swear all of my local takeaway menus are now radioactive.

I went to Uni in Chester (lovely city) and subsequently stayed for another 2 years afterwards. I spent a lot of time going to and from Liverpool and Manchester for various things (I worked in Liverpool for 2 years).

I actually don't mind Liverpool. There's some pretty nice parts, especially by the docks, and there's loads to do there. Made some good friends working up there (who were always quite complimentary about the Villa too, and this was around the time we got relegated...).

Manchester, though, I just really didn't enjoy going there at all. I never felt safe walking around there, especially getting back to the train station after gigs. Not a fan at all.

By comparison, Birmingham really does get a bad rep when it's absolutely no worse than any other of the big cities. I'd much rather walk through Birmingham at night than Manchester. I think that most of the preconceptions about Brum come from the fact that we're rather self-deprecating by nature, thus you don't often hear Brummies talking about the good things about the city.

I'd take Birmingham over Manchester any day of the week.

!!!

Bring him home

The LHW belt is cursed

I'm sure that this same guy will have complained about the same teams competing at the top of the league year after year. He should be celebrating this. Miserable helmet 

Shit music on that video. #PauOut

Am I missing out on anything by not visiting the sky islands? I think I've used recall thingy on maybe 2 or 3 of the stones that fell from the sky and there was literally nothing of any worth on any of those little islands.

I've sunk quite a few hours into the game without really bothering with them.

16 hours ago, mjmooney said:

 

Gary Neville's finest film.

No idea if this guy is legit, but a thread for anyone who (like me) has nothing better to do on a Monday night.

Wishing happy birthday to Everton players now. Odd.

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.

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:

Quote

The redesigned crest, which pays homage to our European Cup-winning heroes of 1982, appears on Villa’s playing and training kits this season.

The club will continue to use the existing shield design around Villa Park and on our digital channels, as well as in other areas.

Aston Villa will monitor local, national and global reaction along with feedback to the use of both the crest and kit moniker as the 2023/24 campaign progresses.

With our landmark 150^th anniversary on the horizon next season, the club will further engage with supporters on the future identity of Aston Villa and how it should look for the next 150 years and beyond.

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.

On 15/06/2023 at 10:00, GarethRDR said:

Mars Volta this Sunday.  So hyped, I told myself not to get hyped but I am hyped. Got to get past a Taekwondo grading, of all things, beforehand though, then haul ass into London.  It's going to be a weird day.

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.