Grant(aka_eddy)

Fixed. You sure Mike? I remember Cowans being similar to Merse in range and quality rather than one touch quick play. That said its just a shade outside my era so i'll bow to your superior memory...i think

His one touch passing is the best i can remember seeing at Villa, bar none. Different sort of passing to Merse who had more vision and a greater range but i'd say he is the best passer since him. I think the passes that went astray were when he was under pressure and there was little movement and he was forced to choose between a hoof or attempting a risky pass....personally i'm glad he opted for the latter in those circumstances. Very good positional sense and composure but did look a little lightweight and lost some 50-50 tussels. So perhaps not the out and out defensive midfielder i was hoping for but vastly superior passing ability and generally a player with a good footballing head. Ideally I would pair him with a player who can win the ball, exchange passes and burst forward with the space his passes find. That's Delph (long term) or Reo-Coker (short term) for me.

Consider Bent has just shit on Sunderland, will booing Barry and Milner really be the best way to bring that home to him? Doubt it will matter, he doesnt seem the sort to get upset easily by that prospect but still, i'd rather just ignore Milner and Barry.

I would have liked to have an option for 'Ill timed injury crisis' to go with a smattering of each of the others.

The FA cant do anything can they, due to the ridiculous rule that the referee cannot be questioned by using actual evidence that show they were wrong. De Jongs tackle was a disgrace and I said immediately it should be a red, that's before Ben Arfa seemed to be injured. The rules are clear on excessive force and going through a player head on from so close is risking injury. I dont think there's much of a debate to be had here, the rules on it are quite clear and i'm sure the ref is cringing when he saw replays of both feet making heavy contact. De Jong is a good player and hard tackling should stay in the game, but it is a question of angles and proximity combined with the force and his radar is all off when it comes to this. He really needs to be taught to curb it, the tackles that have resulted in broken legs arent unlucky like other seen recently, they've been crucnching full contact efforts that have a high risk of causing injury. As the FA cant do anything, i hope the public criticism and dropping from the national squad sinks in with him and hopefully someone at Man City might consider some coaching. Otherwise, expect to see more injuries.

As did you apparently

What if Randy thinks what is best is taking 30 or 40M, clearing some debts and funding our summer transfer spending? What if he wants to change it into 1 pence pieces and pay for his Waitrose shop by counting it out at the till? What the hell will we do then?

They are and were signed to be bodies. They were never meant to be first team or to be rotated - they are there as back-up in case someone from the first team gets injured. It's clear as **** daylight. Everyone first team player MON has signed, has been good. Clear as daylight to the players when they signed, or were they told they could fight for their place? Fight for your place, but not really i'll play the best 11. How does that work for new signings? Agents are not stupid, is their client a first team player or not, if not why would i go to Villa i'll be on the bench! So as i said before unless MON changes, which he needs to do anyway whatever money we get for Milner will be shit compared to any replacement in the long term. All of those quoted had at some point been highly rated (admittedly a stretch for Marlons one good season ) and were available reasonably cheap. So signed as squad players who could potentially recapture their best form. Not much lost if they dont, but worth the gamble as cover and to put pressure on others to improve, which they have.

Behave Richard, 5 years ago we'd have all sucked on Ellis' plums to be a club that buys players for £12 million, turns them into regular internationals and firmly rejects bids of £20 million. Profitable player trading from a position of strength is where we're at. Good place to be as well. Everyone bar Man City and maybe Chelsea is trying to get there, with only a few clubs in a better position than we are. Man U, Spurs, Arsenal...i think that's it? Every player has their price including Kaka, Ronaldo, Fabregas & Henry; and to a lesser extent Berbatov, Carrick, Barry, Tevez & Lescott. Would love it if we hang onto him but every player from any club can go when other clubs can afford to pay ridiculous sums. Important thing is we now have players who want to stay and we can afford to hold out for top price which will allow us to capitalise on this, whereas before we were being taken advantage of. That's growth.

As a Lib Dem voter i'm really happy with the coalition and given they only won 55 odd seats, they have managed to squeeze a hell of a lot from it. The most important thing to secure was the referendum on voting reform. Followed by simply being part of a coalition that brings a different perspective to the Tories and will act as a checking mechanism. I think thetrees touched on this earlier in the thread and it's spot on. Everything relating to individual manifesto points is i think largely irrelevant in the context of the changes to the way political system. What i'm sick of already, a few hours in, is insults to the Lib Dems and Tories from Labour (Prescott last night) and those within the parties who are picking up on details or claiming one party or another has sold out. I think these folks are so up their own arses in the much maligned culture of 'politics' that they are completely unable to contextualise this progress. I very much hope they begin to tow the line internally and that Labour do not hypocritically attack the coalition that they themselves wanted. On a personal note though this is bad for me, i was contracting in the public sector until 4 weeks ago...i think that's ruined!

I dont think it was anything to do with a lack of respect to be honest, more a succession of spectacularly bad decisions, starting with his 'clean sweep' upon appointment. Credit where it's due, thats a fantatsic achievement with Twente and builds on his decent Boro experience.

For context I voted Lib Dem and would have gone for Labour next, though i have no political allegiance and like/dislike elements of each parties policies. But at this stage as long as a referendum on political reform is part of the deal then i think we have to go for Lib-Con coalition as they will have a clear majority and represnt the largest achievable majority that the electorate voted for. I think the process we are going through now is very valuable, even if it is frustrating. I just hope we end up with the best of both from those two parties.

A very good option imo. I'd like to see us try for: J.Cole/ Benayoun /Jonas Gutierrez All creative midfielders who influence games and could help us break down teams at home, along with a more savvy striker. Cole (especially) and Benayoun may be out of our reach but i'd like to see us try anyway. Gutierrez is gettable, though he'll cost more than last year after they went down.

Yeah i was surprised but i scanned for the word 'summer' which didnt help. ta to the mod for tidying up.

Well since some clubs arent kicking their heels with transfers it looks like it's time for this already. Chamakh will address one of Aresnal's two weak positions Jerome Boateng to kick off the Man City cash spunkfest I also note that Tim Cahill is to be signed up at Everton before going to the World Cup. Not only is that a shame but do wish we could do the same with Milner, just to put us in the best negotiating position if the worst should happen.