KT3AVFC

Manchester City are like the enormous black hole pulling everyone in, and now Man United look like they have been sucked in. Today may mark another day that football died.

Football has always been about money. The Man Utds, Liverpool, Arsenals have been successful because they've had a massive financial advantage for the last 20-30 years with their continual supply of CL money. The only way to compete is spend a massive amount of cash. Good luck to Man City. Just wish it was us.

Pre the birth of my daughter when basically I had a decent amount of disposable income I brought myself a TAG Carerra. Classically understated time piece which has maintained its value.

On the downside it cost me the best part of £500 for a new strap and to get it serviced last year

A More likely explanation is that the club has to pay for the 1200 or so additional tickets and it doesn't think we can sell them.

I can honestly say as a 40+ a season game man home & away, cup and pre-season for the last 10 years... Rafa will never be given time or the patience as the manager of Aston Villa as the hardcore support, many who don't post on forums will not accept him.

There I've said it.

Rafa would be judged the same as any other manager - if he achieves decent results then most people will be happy. Neither he nor the Board are idiots and they will have learned from the Houiller PR mistakes so I've no problem with the Liverpool connection.

Looking at the realistic candidates Rafa would be my first choice. He's a proven winner with lots of experience. At a stable well run club rather than the joke that was L'pool under G&H then I believe he could do a very good job. I can't believe some many would turn their nose up at a manager of this calibre.

It will not work well with McClaren, it is obvious.

Why is it obvious?

if its mcclaren i will not be happy with lerner and the board

that would be an unacceptable appointment. give ancelotti until unday night to amke a decision if he says no lets go for jol

Jol was in charge of the biggest club in Holland and fails to win the league, McLaren does win the league managing the Dutch equivalent of Blackburn and yet you would throw your toys out the pram if McLaren was appointed!!!

McLaren has been criticised for his failure at Wolfsburg but I've seen plenty of shouts for Klinnsman or Van Gaal who have both somehow managed to turn by far the biggest club in Germany into also rans.

It's about time people got over the spell at England and the dodgy video.

McLaren wouldn't be my first choice but I've no doubt that he would do a good job somewhere in the PL and if the likes of Ancelotti or Moyes don't fancy the job then I wouldn't have a problem if McLaren was appointed.

Based on nothing but my own prejudices I suspect Ancelotti won't want to work outside London unless it was for one of the Manc clubs - hence the suggestion he would have been interested in West Ham but apparently doesn't fancy the Villa job.

Assuming that neither Moyes or Ancelotti want the job then I hope we don't let some misguided principle get in the way and exclude Hughes from consideration.

Instead of some turning their frustration on both Ashley and Downing, why not read whats said by them, and then read between the lines as to whats going on?

I mean, we have past history to go on aswell, when you consider the Barry and Milner episodes.

Simple fact is, they want to win things, and when theyve met the Villa Hierachy to see if there is chance of doing it at Villa, they've been given little indication of it happening anytime soon.

Whether that is because we dont want to do that because we see Villa as a buisiness, rather than a Football club, or we simply cant afford it, or even a combination of the both, the fact remains that our top players dont see us competing anywhere near to where they wish!

What would you do?

Stop at a club thats stuck with the also rans, or jion someone whom is going to deliver some winners medals?

Clue to this, is Downing mentioning that his agent has asked him to hold off signing any contract, after a meeting with Faulkner. We know Downings stated ambition, but whats Faulkners and Randies???

To turn this around what would you have Randy do? Man City spent how much, £350,000,000 to finish top 4 and win the FA Cup. Maybe Randy doesn't have that sort of money to spend. It's not as if he's been tight with the cash in the past. You and I are not prepared to spend £1000 on season tickets and the club just doesn't generate the sort of commercial business that the big London clubs do. In the absence of a multi billionaire who wants to take over - and they appear to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment - there isn't a great deal that can be done.

I agree with you that there is a risk that we will continue to lose our best players but I don't blame the board. There's only so much they can be realistically expected to do to compete with clubs that generate so much more money. As some else said welcome to the Premier League in 2011!

I guess I have just got used to it and come to the realisation of where we are as a club and others have not

It's hardly rocket science is it?

Our turnover is significantly less than the teams we would have to overcome to cement a top 4 place. Unless we're prepared to stomach QPR type price increases or there's a Sheikh or a Russian oligarch floating about then we're probably going to be stuck amongst the best of the rest and we're always at risk of having our best players nicked.

I see that Modric came out with some non commital comments about his future so we're not the only ones who have problems when the CL teams come a knocking.

Probably the first thing that Vince Cable has said since last May that I have agreed with.

It's inevitable that he will go sooner rather than later and if Cameron was any sort of leader he'd already sacked him rather than allowing him to skulk around in the cabinet.

No one can be pleased with how things are at the moment but it would be a joke to sack a manager after just 3 months. The most successful clubs tend to stable clubs. The timing of MON's departure was massively destabilising for the club. Why would we want to inflict even greater instability. I believe that Houiller will come good but that he has to be given time.

As far as I can see even if we were to sack him we'd be in the same position as we were before he was appointed with regard to the lack of any suitable alternative.

I'm no expert of the pros/cons of the EU but if the **** Daily Express is against it then I'm definitely for it!

Fifa can go stuff themselves.

At least it means that we no longer have to prostitute ourselves to the likes of Blatter, Jack Warner and the other 'upstanding citizens' who run world football. We should be showing them the door rather than sucking up to them.

What's the chance of the game being called off? Surrounding areas are gonna be dreadful.

Reading some of the comments on here we may as well call the game off as the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

I might be out tomorrow evening goddamnit

Getting your hair done?

How could you possibly miss this?

It's my wedding anniversary tomorrow so have to go out for a meal with the wife. If I cancelled there wouldn't be another anniversary! Have promised to leave the phone at home so I won't know the score till well after full time.

I can't think of a single reason to prefer Real Madrid to Barca.

Whether it be the football they play, the number of players who have come through the ranks, the fact they're not Franco's XI or that they have Messi rather than Ronaldo I'm chuffed to bits that Barca have wiped the floor with Madrid.

Let's hope the players have a bit more belief than some of the posters on here.

It's a myth that they want it more than us. If that was the case then we wouldn't be 7 unbeaten. Of course it won't be easy but this nose team is no great shakes and I'm very confident we will be in the semi final draw.

How far is walk to ground from nearest tube station ?

It's about 15 minutes from Putney Bridge tube. A very pleasant walk through Bishops Park besides the Thames.

Don't think we've beaten Wigan at home since they came up so that wouldn't be a gimme.

Anyone but the Arse, Man U and Small Heath and hopefully 2 of them will draw each other.

A tad worried about this one. Those scumbags are due a win. :cry:

It took us 15 years and countless attempts before we beat Man U. The last time we won at home against either of Man U, Liverpool or the Arse it was still the 20th century. The law of averages don't mean jack - Small Heath are due nothing and that's they will leave B6 with on Sunday!

From a neutral's point of view the 2 games last season we're pretty dull and I can't imagine Sunday being too exciting for the neutral either.

Sad but true it's also the case that the viewing figures for Bolton - Liverpool will be higher than Sky would have got for a Villa - Blues game.

They'll be up for this game big time!

And we won't be?

The other West Mids clubs are always up for the Villa game (even if we don't care about them) and yet we still have a very good record in derbies.

It won't be a 5-1 but reckon we'll beat them by a couple of goals.

10,500 at the Hawthorns tonight.

Even with a half empty VP we still managed nearly as many as Small Heath and West Brom added together.

Bearing in mind;

1.We have played Blackburn about 50 times in the last year

2.Blackburn are way up there amongst the least attractive clubs in the PL

3.Seeings as they could barely muster together 2000 for last year's semi can't see them bringing more than a 100

4.It's the 3rd round of he Carling Cup - everyone traditionally has shit crowds

Our attendance tonight was about what you would expect!

I'm a traditionalist and so all I ask for from a home shirt is that it has a claret trunk and sky blue sleeves. In my opinion Nike have produced a series of classic Villa shirts which compare extremely favourably to some of the stuff that has gone before and the sort of garbage West Ham have worn in the same period.

If only they could get them into the shops at the start of the summer!