ozvillafan

yeah - bin dunne

Hard to argue with the clubs decision to remove him from the football side of things given our run under Emery since. Good on Purslow to decide a non-football role is not for him and stepping down. Overall did a good job - but I wonder if it's the appointment of Gerrard that undid him.

Change of tack here: Lee Hendrie He was a pantomime villain for a lot of his time playing for us. Whether it was his off-field antics, his call for a testimonial game in an era where footballers were paid very well, or his single cap for England - a sign of unfulfilled promise. He seemed to have a knack for putting fans offside, regardless of performances. Loved watching him play, though. He linked up play well, knew where players were and chipped in with goals himself. Seems our distaste for creative midfielders who "can't deliver every game" is a Villa thing. See: Buendia, Coutinho

Aye. We're Vultures. Picking off players that made their name elsewhere: Jacob Ramsey John McGinn Tyronne Mings Emi Martinez Vultures, I tell you!

I dunno. I'm first generation Australian, thick Aussie accent and can speak nothing but English. My father, though, is Hungarian. He's been living here since he was 19, coming as a refugee in 1956. He speaks English only now and very well - in fact, he'd now struggle to speak his original tongue - but could never lose his accent. It still cuts him up when people make fun of it. Like there's something he could do about it. But hey, it's just a bit of fun, innit?

Same could be said for his appointment at Celtic. They wanted Eddie Howe, they got Ange and they weren't happy. He changed those opinions pretty quickly.

Tielemans reminds me of Hitzlsperger Both can bury a long ranger, but the rest of their game isn't all that.

Heh heh I love those who are under-rating Ange. Comparing him to Gerrard is laughable. Still, that's been the case for Ange his entire career - so it's not like he has to tread new ground here. He'll do well - if he's given the time he needs. Yes - he has a preseason but that means little (how was our preseason under Gerrard?). Strangely, I feel he'll do even better if Kane is sold and a bevvy of under-performing "stars" leave the club.

Ange would be a disaster. Not because he's a bad manager - quite the opposite with success everywhere he's been - but he plays a particular type of football that is high energy and requires each player to do his bit for the team, particularly off the ball. That's not going to suit a lot of the players at the club (e.g Richarlison, Perisic) and takes more than a few games until it gels. He'll be given 10 games and the players, knowing that to be the case, will simply wait for him to get the sack rather than get on board. He'd be better off with a lower table team, with smaller egos and a hunger to do better. A club like Bournemouth or Crystal Palace would suit him perfectly.

I still don't. And I don't need it explained - I can gather it's in extremely poor taste, and that's all I want to know.

Brighton always this sooky? MacAllister and Gross - settle down.

Opening day away - if the last 2 seasons are anything to go by (Bournemouth this year, Watford the year before)

So... a Coup de Villa? I'll get me coat.

Excellent last name. (no relative. Honest)

Gareth Barry leaving. You could argue it didn't do much, as we still finished 6th in 2010 but we had peaked under MON and the cracks were starting to show. Gareth went on to win the FA Cup with Man Citeh that season, followed by the League the next.

Not signing Rashica

It's an important point to make. Consider our last minute cup capitulation against Stevenage earlier in Unai's run with us. That included a lot of second streamers which he could have thrown under the bus - but he still utilizes them, including the ones you might directly blame for that loss. Compare that to Gerrard and his "handling" of players and losses and you can see why one succeeds and the other failed.

Last Belgian striker we had did ok

In the end, unfortunate for Konsa, Mings and Martinez to concede. They had been great all game - especially given the crowd, the occasion and a referee that allowed Fabinho to do as he pleased - but were undone by Ramsey dropping behind their excellent defensive line and playing Firminho on. Still - thoroughly enjoyed that. Given the injuries we suffered and the ridiculous amount of extra time it was one of our best results. Loving how good we look on and off the ball.

If it goes on head to head - which it should - then we are sitting pretty.

Exploit TAA, regardless of his role, and we get a result.

Rolf Harris

Aye - but isn't that game a derby game?

Massive double take on that one. Thought it was Brett Holman back in the Aussie national colours. shudders

Sounds more like "Who will lend me a huge amount of money to throw on players I don't use that can't get into Europe" rather than "I wonder if a rival in this league will fund me". Oil money from a sovereign state - that's who will lend it.