Spoony

His desire to get fit must be second to none (excuse the Sherwoodism) if he has got that fit that quickly. If he carries on at this rate he will actually be fitter than the rest of our squad and look like Akinfenwa in no time. Sign him up. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have no doubt he is better than a lot of our current players. He reminds me of better times when we had a decent squad.

Is this a live-action shot of the players' pre-match training last season?

Delph surely has to be the worst? Captains like Richards have let the side down with performances but at least he never outright lied and embarssed the club. I could forgive Richards if he came good next season. I could never, ever, ever, EVER forgive Delph.

In all seriousness, I'm a tad disappointed with all this. I thought he was a handy utility player and I previously had some respect for his willingness to play wherever needed and I backed the new long-term contract he signed late last year. It's a shame he is clearly as deluded and care-free as the rest of our squad.

I'm just really worried that the pull of Real Madrid or Barca will be too much for him. Hell, I'd bet he'd even plump for Juve or Bayern if it came to it but, for his sake, I hope he doesn't as I don't think that'd be enough of a challenge for him at this stage of his career. Whichever European heavy-hitter he moves to, I'd like to place on record my thanks to Bacuna for single-handedly pulling us up by the cruff of the neck in our times of need and putting Aston Villa on the map.

^^^Just backing up this statement - this happens all the time.

Dead?

I feel the same. I actually find the flowing pages and length and width of the pages slightly overwhelming to look at.

One of our more random signings. I had no idea he still played for us.

I have been in: The Imitation Game Endeavour Holby City Eastenders Veep Silk Call the Midwife Birds of a Feather Dough London Fields amongst others. I even had lines.

Fine with RDM. Wouldn't be my choice but I think he's a good manager and he has won this league before.

This is the truest statement that was ever said.

He also effectively kept us up one year didn't he?

This a million times over.

Lambert's Lifetime Lazy River Every time you get to the end, you reach a sign that says "we go again", and you go round and round and round and round and round...

If anyone truly believes that the FT have found things that the legal teams of AVFC, their external advisors and Randy Lerner's advisors missed in due diligence then they are very wide of the mark. They could not and would not have missed something as big as what Recon actually holds. I truly believe this is just a stupid mistake in the article published on the official website more than anything else. Calm down everyone.

I see nothing untoward about this at all to the point I feel I've missed something. Not everything in business is black and white and that's why so many different corporate structures exist - to hide things, far more often than not legitimately and for legitimate purposes. You will never find out everything about this guy and his businesses. Has this all stemmed from "5 subsidiaries" actually being 1 and 4 probable purchases? If so this is almost definitely just a mistake from whoever drafts what goes on the website. I spend 90% of my life drilling home to clients that corporations are different entities and what owning or controlling them actually means. I would bet everything I own that Recon being the majority owner in one and seeking to buy 4 more got lost in translation and became "having 5 subsidiaries" either through the drafter misunderstanding what he was being told or not realising how big a mistake it is to essentially pre-empt a bunch of other acquisitions when they haven't yet happened (they may have just misunderstood something about how far down the line the sales were without actually having been completed). Who knows. I personally have confidence that this guy is the real deal. His credentials are excellent, he speaks sense, he has been honest about his intentions (including non footballing intentions), he has been very open where he hasn't had to be and he is from a country who are pushing football so any government involvement or influence can only be a positive thing (for now).

Football has changed. We must change with it. It's a business. It's about money. And you don't just get huge investment for free. Everything comes with a business reason. The group that has taken us over both because I think they want to try and do something with the team and they also want to extend the reach and reputation of their current business. They will do this through sponsorship and that may well include renaming the stadium. I'm fine with this as it is still Villa Park regardless. Your options are essentially these in the modern day: accept huge investment and compete in exchange for sacrificing some of the imagery of the club and by accepting sponsorship of all aspects and the business driven side of the club taking over to an extent, or in the alternative do not accept investment, maintain all traditional aspects of the club and then disappear into nothingness and don't compete. I'll take the sponsorship and compete option.

How expensive are your choccy digestives if you can't get them for £3????? You must be buying those Chocolate Lesbians...

I haven't quite forgiven him missing 2 against Fulham...

Didn't he score a decent one against Leicester?

Absolutely every single player: