matteyp

We look a very bad team at the moment, cannot see where the next point is coming from. We don't really look like scoring, our attacks are too pedestrian and we certainly don't look like keeping a clean sheet. There's not enough quality on the pitch, I'm not sure any manager would do better but they are his players.

I'm pretty excited, I can cycle to the Houston game, the stadium is downtown. I may even do a road trip to Dallas midweek.

I went to the 4-3 win against West Brom. I believe it was 3-3 at half time. My sister got married on opening day too, and I read out the score in my speech (I gave her away). It was 2-2 at the time and people later asked me if that was really the score. Why would I make it up? I can't wait for the season to start which is a nice change from the last 3 years.

I can't see how the money would work to make this possible unless it was a loan or Citeh threw in a lot of cash.

Why are we talking about Sid in a Makoun thread? Any comparison is laughable. Sid is still the best player I've seen play for Villa. Is it true he used to kick the ball into a shopping bag from 40 yards? I hope Makoun works out but it isn't likely now.

Really wanted to go to Philly this summer but it's annoying the game is midweek. Going to Columbus a few years back was brilliant; I remember asking their goalkeeper at a club afterwards what it was like to be beaten by an Ashley Young shot!

His touches today were fantastic. I actually enjoyed watching the game so much I watched it again.

Everton won't be allowed to look this good again this season.

We've barely touched the ball. We looked rushed and a yard off the pace.

I concur, my enthusiasm for the new season is definitely muted these days. We're unlikely to get relegated and almost certainly won't compete for anything. I feel we're in limbo.

MON has proved he's a great manager and now I imagine he wants to build a dynasty. All the things he's doing point to the fact that he's slowly building a team in his image. Even if he moved to Man United he'd have to take a few steps back along the timeline. And he's no spring chicken!

General, I have a question and want a little bit of a moan. I have lived in Houston, Texas for 13 years now and only get to come home once a year around Thanksgiving. When I come home I always want to see a Villa game - I was a season ticket holder many, many years ago when my dad was alive and I always saw a few games a year when I lived in England. Last year, I didn't get to see a Villa game because it was an international weekend, though I did see Croatia at Wembley which was kinda cool. This year I was excited because there are two Villa home games around Thanksgiving, however I cannot buy tickets for either game on the website. Worse, I have no method to phone the ticket office from the US because all that is listed is the 0800 number. I have asked my sister to try and buy tickets for me for the Man United game today however although she said the people in the ticket office were helpful, and they could see we'd both bought Villa merchandise many times online from the club shop, because they have no record of either of us buying a match ticket, they could not sell her a ticket. I understand selling tickets in the UK is a different proposition from selling tickets in the US because of travelling support, but it seems there should at least be a way for me to contact the ticket office. I cannot even see a link to email the ticket office from the website, and a non-0800 number would be, I think a good idea. As it is, my sister is trying to hunt down a Villa fan where she works to help us out, but I just wanted to register my frustration. Paul Mattey

When at work I can never seem to get the Villa commentary so I always get stuck listening to the opposition commentary. And it is nearly always better than ours. The Blackburn commentary tonight is great.

This will be my only game of the year as I fly in from Houston.

General, Will you be in Houston on Sunday to watch the Browns? I'll be there in my Villa shirt!

Welcome and thank you! Any chance of Villa playing in Houston? I can't wait until I finally get to see a game this season in January. Hopefully we'll have a few new players by then! Why can fans only buy tickets three games ahead? I want to buy my tickets now.

Agreed. Well reasoned. I think Lerner is interested in Villa precisely because there's virtually no ceiling on what he can achieve. The NFL is mediocre by design - it is impossible to build a dynasty. At Villa, if he proves to be a better owner he will get more success. He can make money in Cleveland owning the Browns until the day he dies with virtually no effort. I think he sees Villa as a challenge. My two cents.

I'm excited that Villa's profile would be raised in the US apart from the fact that it sounds like he is a "hands off" owner and has the resources and business acumen. Whilst it is true we know little about any of the bids, we absolutely know what Lerner is like as an owner and I haven't read a bad word yet from Cleveland.

My only quibble with the theory that Ellis is using the Comers as a smoke screen to get through the AGM and the January transfer window is that it seems an unneccessarily onerous task for a man who ultimately has extremely thick skin. If there was no bid, if the club wasn't remotely on the market, would it matter to HDE? There would probably be some uncomfortable protests and some stiffly worded letters but I'm sure he's survived worse. I can believe he's over-valuing the club, but $64m in the grand scheme of things seems not unreasonable. I more inclined to believe that his non-financial demands, his unwillingness to cede power, are probably the real issue. But I have to believe that the club really is on the market and that the Comer's interest is genuine.

Did you put the space in the wrong place for "at wit"?

Villa fans don't have to be taught scepticism.

For what it's worth I can't find the story on Reuters.

Defenders stand out more if they're crap. Young, cheap, versatile and experienced. Can't be a bad buy unless it's our last buy of the summer.

Way too long of a thread to read for a rather silly poll question. I would go and watch any game involving Villa. My dad liked Villa too but it was always easier to persuade him to watch Arsenal over, say, Bolton.

What a great poll question! All the managers have some merit. It's actually cheered me up reading this thread. I've started dating a new girl in Houston a few months back and even she realises we now suck and took the piss today.