Grant(aka_eddy)

Dont know. I suspect that he will have spells of success punctuated by spectacular outbursts and periods of player unrest. Graeme Souness part 2.

Not a big chocolate bar fan but Galaxy is a nice smooth tasty treat! Oh and does anyone else struggle to finish a Mars bar? Cant even remember the last time i had one as after the first bite it's too sickly.

Yay!

2-1 to us

nickrogers new pup had taken to making a sharp exit after political debates

Sounds better, but isn't. Fair enough....I'd bite someones hand off for that. Out of interest if someone said we're going to rename Villa Park to Fortress Villa Park for 10 years and heres Gravesen Saviola Malbranque Milner Bale Klose and Hargreaves Would that make any difference. Sorry to nag, i'm just interested if when you can actually see the goods - as opposed to a random sum of money - it's any more tempting?

Seriously? £5m a year? That sort of money is chicken feed for the big boys, the boys we're aiming at. A 10 year deal for £50 million. Exactly the same but sounds so much better.

So if it was re-named Fortress Villa Park for £100 million you would object and see it as selling our soul? Noy having a go, i'm just surprised at such an adamant no.

As PB suggested a while ago....RL is involved with Fortress (finance?) so the ideal name change would be Fortress Villa Park. Tbh i'd feel guilty taking their money for that!

You'd rather loose Villa Park than the imaginatively named 'North Stand' and 'Doug Ellis' names, strange. I said traditional names! So that would be Holte, Trinity and Witton. Actually I couldnt give a toss about the north stand now i think of it. Like i said, it seems a stadium name change would be easier to gloss over and be ignored. Stand name changes i think would have a greater impact on the fans. Doesnt seem strange to me at all and I think a few people have agreed that Villa Park would still be used amongst fans anyway.

Careful, that's the kind of nickname that can stick Could lead to you getting a Frostie reception at times. Can someone sponsor a certain moderator to change is name to Sugar Puff Good work from all 3 of you!!!

Oddly i'd rather the stadium name was changed and the individual stands kept their traditional names. I cant quite explain that preference to you.... I think perhaps because once you're inside the ground it is more personal and a name change would have a greater impact over which stands you were in and in general would be more 'in your face'. A name change to the stadium seems easier to gloss over and ignore.

The money in it is so good that I would be pro. This is because I know I will still refer to it as Villa Park and so would everyone else. A bit like if Kellogs gave me half a million to change my name to "corn flake", course i would but no-one would ever call me that, i'd just have to fill it in on forms and the like.

I see what you're saying Si. Naturally due to the direction i was thinking the ghosts would be behind but to ghost in front of them would be an interesting twist imo. A little more thought provoking as it isnt trailing where they were but projecting ahead of the current time. If they could both age in the future ghosts i think it'd be magic!

I'm going to have to disagree here....I think they are a little too close together to work effectively and also the order should be ghost ghost solid. But subjective opinions and all...

It is a simple situation... We have a fantastic bidwhich has the good of the club at heart and making us competitive without destroying the soul of the club. Any alternative bid would need to prove it is better than that. AV06 are failing, so time to put up or shut up! This is going to be a horribly long 9 days.

As frustrating as the timing of this is i'm with PB. (and digsby, BOF and a few others) You just have to wait to see if the bid comes in and what it's like. I agree it's difficult to see anyone having both the financial clout of Lerner along with a proven track record in sports. We know a great deal about what he'll try to do and we like it. A billionaire who's a safe bet, difficult to beat. EIther the bid comes in and it isnt good enough to beat Lerner and we resent them for holding things up. Or it comes in and gets accepted as the better bid for the club. Hurrah! Either way this - long term - is the ending we always wanted from the Ellis era, a great new manager and rich new owners. The cash-splashing may have to wait for 6 months or a season but just hold on in there. it'll be worth the wait.

Villabugs 18th had been a roaring success, but oddly the ladyfolk refused to follow the instructions he had so carefully prepared Meanwhile at Rob's 18th he decides he doesnt like the taste of alcohol and will never drink again!

Dreading the start of a new week, bleary eyed VTers check for any news on the Takeover

As RichardCanning is taken to hospital, VT members wonder if the lamp-post will be ok Trimmy takes on Grant in an effort to impress the watching popworld girls

Lerner. He has good experience in sports to run the business as it should be and the financial muscle and desire to invest. Some of the other bids may also be very good for the club but we know too little about them to judge. Lerner is more than we ever could have hoped for.

Maybe there should be a RichardCanning appreciation thread? Or a whipround for a card and flowers? We could turn up en masse and repair his car or at the very least carry him to work aloft our heads like an unsung hero who has won our hearts with his tale of woe?! More likely though he'll get a merciless piss-take session... Get well soon RC, hows the car btw?

Someones going to have to break our kick off times and days to him gently. Still he can watch us on a Saturday/Tuesday/Wednesday and then fly home to see the Browns.

well, I think that maybe he believes he has. Poor old fool if he does, although I dont think he's quite that naieve. I think he's perfectly happy for everyone to think he has though, suits him fine. Look, we are about to recieve at least one, possibly as many as four firm bids to buy the club. under stockmarket rules he a) has to put all bids to the shareholders has to accept the one, should be there be one, which takes the club forwards and meets the criteria laid down - such a bid HAS to be recommended to the shareholders for acceptance There is no ambiguity about this, no grey areas, only hard and fast, black and white takeover law. This sint a process Ellis has any control over. he has already laid down the specifications, some time ago now. maybe he felt those specifications would never be met, but now they are about to be and there isnt anything else he can do about it. he can no longer change the goalposts without some severe consequences, as he has already discovered. Its over for him. I like that opinion alot. Now drowning out any bad noise from anyone else....la la la la la la

It isnt about the 'best' footballer though Brian, otherwise it would be Rooney. They need to be good enough to be selected regularly, be able to read the game and influence their players. Playing CM or CD is also a bonus in helping them to do this. Ideally they'll also have a physical presence. Both SG and JT fit that category, both would be fantastic captains and both are young enough to hold the role for a decent amount of time. For me JT sneaks it as he's less involved in the action and has more time to view the game rather than running around and I dont agree Gerrard is a louder voice. He also has an edge to him....when he cut his leg against Man U and needed 10 stitches and had blood squelching out his boot...all he said was I carried on because I didnt want them to see i'd been hurt! Captain Terry.