peterw

I disagree. he could be a top international defender but to make that extra push he needs an experienced defender next to him also talking. A Southgate, Terry, Ferdinand next to Mings would be invaluable and would allow him to concentrate on his own game not just trying to help others all the time.

I'd have him behind nyland and reina, so no place on the bench.

If a youngster leave then so be it. We take youngsters from other clubs, so if one or two of ours go - however promising - then i'm not too perturbed. The last one that went with a massive reputation ended up playing at Small heath. So, what will be will be.

it was actually not as sparse as you'd think. because of the trouble v Anderlecht the section of the ground opposite the cameras was supposed to be kept empty for segregation reasons, yet quite a few fans found there way in and were sitting in the part of the ground meant to be empty. So, the ground was actually more full than it was supposed to be.

The biggest disappointment given that we have Smith and Terry, is the apparent lack of organisation at the back. The midfield do not protect the back 4 and there are holes everywhere meaning runners get at us, and behind us, with alarming ease. When we went to 3 at the back we were ruthlessly picked off by sides aiming to attack the space on the left of the 3 - usually were Hause was. The biggest problem for us was not being able to replace Tuanzebe who i think would have been excellent for us )injuries permitted). also Engels complete loss of form and confidence. Going into the last 10 games we desperately need to address how we set up when we are defending. That comes from all 10 outfield players but when a team is running at us I am always fearful.

I always viewed him as a moody dick. he has gone up so far in my estimation that it makes me look at myself more than just wonder in awe at the brilliant work he is doing.

And its also worth noting that there needs to be probable cause to stop someone, i.e. you just can't just stop someone and search them or as for ID. for those that have been stopped the point is that the majority are black and therefore they are disproportionately discriminated against. racial profiling does not work on our streets and leads to tensions that should not be there. To note: that was in reference to Delmitri's post - just an epic quote fail.

Still not convinced. Because of her opinions to date many people with an Asian background aren't jumping up and down because she's the Home secretary but dislike her because of her policies. She isn't the first person of colour in a cabinet, she isn't the first person with a South Asian heritage in the cabinet, nor the first woman of South-Asian heritage in the cabinet. I get your point but I think your over evaluating her heritage to find your point.

well it depends on the context in how is using it and for what purpose. it is a word widely used by black folk in US when either talking to each other or about someone. We can't just throw around arguments along the line of, 'well you can't say that if we can't say this then' as it clouds what is a very serious point. For far too long BAME people have clearly suffered racism and disproportionate segregation of their rights. Yes it happens to white people but we are not overly in fear of our life and/or liberties because of it. Yes we share poverty, violence, maltreatement, police prejudice but on many levels, very rarely because of the colour of our skin. take that away and we can start to look at how we tackle poverty with a fair and open mind.

Well I doubt Priti patel is an inspiration to BAME given how she is tightening the restrictions on those from overseas coming to the UK meaning that her parents wouldn't have even met her new benchmarks.But that's quite a different conversation for another lockdown day.

true enough. it was part of the bigger Aston Villa problem that beset us from O'Neill's tenure onwards; namely that there seemed to very little coaching in trying to bring players through into the first-team.

Undeniably true, but the nub of the debate is why are those identified as BAME disproportionately affected, and does that then reflect in the mindsets of those that racially profile. the police do it, as do many (most?)enforcement agencies. Throw the fact that in the US enforcement agencies are armed into the mix, and you can see the powder keg that is ignited so very often.

Everyone gets labelled for ease of reference as much as anything. my point being that they aren't 'Indian' as they aren't from India.

To be honest that you have to find examples and stats to back up your argument baffles me. Surely anyone, everyone, accepts that systemic racism is everywhere and not just in the heads of agitators?

Also a bit earlier than that we wore our away kit when we beat Atletico 2-1 at home in 98.

as is being able to track back, being able to tackle, to be able to spot off the ball runners, as is being able to close space around you to stop an easy ball being passed through the channels and into the defensive lines, as is being able to speak/communicate to those around you. none of which I have seen from Davis to suggest he would be remotely adequate to any comparable midfielder.

For a start there isn't an 'Indian' Chancellor or an 'Indian' home Secretary. There's a pair of clearings in the woods but that's a different argument. To label them as being 'indian' is lazy and the kind of casual racism that allows the mind to label and therefore presuppose and judge others. They are not Indian and we should be careful to avoid falling into that trap. on the wider statue point there is a dividing line between sensible decisions based on overt racism, and and those that lived with racism as part of the world the inhabited. I do not believe Sir Francis Drake was a racist for example despite his undoubted ties to slavery. Without doubt he was a 'wrong un' in 21st century morality but the overall nub of his existence was that of a pirate. our history is more accurate relating to him now than the buccaneering cavalier he has sometimes be painted out to be. As a pirate he would rob, loot, kill, and steel at a time others were doing it. It was the de rigeur essence of the 16th century naval existence. People and lives to him were secondary to hi life as a pirate. he wasn't part of the slave trade, he was part of the pirate world where anything and anything went. He should be recognised on those levels and we as a country still haven't got to grips with how we made our wealth and that is a question for us to look at. Drake's statue shouldn't be taken down because of racism because there is no evidence to suggest that he was. he was hated by the Spanish for what he did to them demonstrating he was what he was. Someone who was driven by the value of trinkets, not the colour of someone's skin. So those that want to take down statues need to have a proper reasoned idea for doing so and most people would back them on it. But they shouldn't be doing it just because of a link to slavery or for killing during warfare. Drake, Nelson, Gladstone for instance. Otherwise they will start to lose the debate and it will descend to the white noise of debating why our war heroes shouldn't be honoured, or how it is that 'can't say nuffink nowadays' and the moment will be lost. Churchill i would find if harder to defend. Great as a wartime leader, but a horrible racist.

eh? 10 years earlier than when?

At the time it was. Adama was showing no signs of the player he has become, and Adomah was excellent for us.

Now isn't the time for gambling. Throw him in by all means to see if he can be worthy addition, but don't give him the responsibility of having our season resting on his shoulders.

unless he was in Australia, i guess.

We haven't signed that many 'great' players that are or were in their prime that didn't do it for us. In memory i can only think of Tommy Craig and at a push Frank McAvennie (although he was at the end of his career). Arguments between Villa fans and his own mind make Tony Cascarino a debatable choice, less so Nigel Callaghan who was just utter gash.

Another one - water in the southern hemisphere gurgling down the plug hole in the opposite direction to the northern hemisphere? Again, false. The spinning of the water reflects the spinning of the earth - as north and south spin in the same direction, so does the water going down the plughole.

That thing about a statue of horse with one leg in the air? The person supposedly killed after battle but from wounds in battle? Two feet in the air killed in battle? All totally false. just a statue of a horse with feet in the air.