villabromsgrove

Liverpool may have struggled recently, but they are a top club by reputation and have a massive world wide fan base.

Did Young and Downing not pretty much do the same thing? We offered new deals to both, they both refused...the only difference is that Downing handed in a transfer request to push the move through, which I actually find quite commendable (Downing would have forfeited maybe £2m bonus by doing that) Good point, I think anyone who expects good footballers to behave differently is missing the point. Football is a job not a hobby, and if they're good enough to attract the top clubs then they would be idiots not to move if offered the opportunity. It may be the only offer they get to maximise the rewards for their considerable ability. A poor tackle could end it all in the next match, so don't knock players for seeking the best they can for themselves and their families. When you pay £550 for a season ticket you buy into the business of football. Expect footballers to do the same.

He played a full season in 2008/09 as well, half for newcastle and half for city. In fact since the turn of the century he's only had two league seasons cut short due to injury 06/07 and 07/08. and 2009/2010 with a dislocated shoulder towards the back end of the season. I also seem to remember that on a couple of occasions when I went to St. James he was injured and Harper played a blinder against us.

Given would not have been my choice as keeper. He's a good keeper when he's fit but there in lies the problem. Checking his wiki stats since 2005/6 he has only played one full season (2009/2010). The rest of the time he's managed approx half a season on average. Our second choice keeper isn't good enough as back up if Shay once again can only manage half a season. Fingers crossed that he stays fit. :|

even Man Utd or Chelsea defenders? I don't think it matters to him who he plays against. If you want to shut him out then it's a 90 minute tussle. I'm not saying he's near being the finished article, but he has the attributes if he gets to play regularly.

Weimann is a damned nuisance to play against. He pulls defenders all over the place by his willingness to chase everything, and he loves mixing it physically in and around the box. He usually scores scruffy goals and is not particularly fancy in his work, but he is always looking to be involved and you wouldn't want to play against him.

Downing is a pussy footed shirker of tackles, and is about as one footed a player as I've seen but he has a sweet left foot and an electric burst of pace to add to a great shot. If he ever added a gutsy tackle and a willingness to use his right foot to his armoury, then only Man City would be able to afford him! I rate him highly even with his deficiencies and I hope he stays, but only if he commits to Villa which frankly doesn't look like happening.

If Downing goes, at least his replacement will be a natural right winger. If we buy N'zogbia as Young's replacement at least he will be a left footed left winger. I often got frustrated by the predictability of our wingers cutting inside onto their natural foot before releasing the ball.

I think Ireland is mentally unsuited to life in the Premier league football. The internal and external pressure is simply too much for him. Some managers may deal with him better than others, but only for a limited period before depression or doom and gloom (call it what you will) drag him down again. It's a shame as Ireland get's a lot of flack for being stupid, when he may instead be clinically unwell. Only my amateur opinion of course.

I think Dunne, Warnock and Ireland let Villa and themselves done last year. However while we are paying their wages AM has no option but to get the best out of them. A metaphorical Big Eck size 12 up the arse might just start getting some value for Randy's weekly cash drain.

The sad thing for me is that Randy and co have looked so clueless in the last few weeks. I still believe that Randy means well, but his almost total lack of judgement in a footballing sense is very worrying in the context of Aston Villa's future.

The whole appointment process has been about as predictable as watching a blind man driving a steamroller, you can hardly look because you know something calamitous is going to happen!

I would be surprised if there wasn't a press conference. Appointiing a new Villa manager is a massive deal. If Randy doesn't hold a PC it's tantamount to an admission that he's done something horrendously wrong!

Unfortunately Randy is proving the Cleveland Browns fans right. He's a nice guy but he appears clueless about appointing a manager. His obsession with a "shared vision" always obscures his ability to see the wider picture beyond. Browns fans are now reasonably optimistic over the appointment of their recent head coach. Why? Because Randy didn't appoint him. For the first time in his ownership of the Browns he allowed his vastly experienced President Mike Holmgren to do the job, which he did quickly and efficiently. Randy's idea of a "criteria list" is quaint and old fashioned and it prevents some potentially very good candidates from being interviewed. I hope RL recognises the urgent need to appoint a vastly experienced football administrator at AVFC. He needs to replace the muddled good intentions of a couple of nice guys (RL and PF) who have clearly shown that they are way out of their depth in the dog eat dog world of Premiership football.

Randy Lerner has been sat at his desk for hours with a loaded gun in his hand and he's been pointing it at his shoe. Will he pull the trigger and shoot himself in the foot or will the General having been forewarned by thousands of Villa fans snatch it off him in the nick of time? Watch this space!

Big Eck is evidently a nice bloke, he's not the worst football manager either although his defensive style would bore me very quickly. I also believe that he and Gerard respect each other. (did GH recommend him?) I've just run out of positives and have to say that none of what I've said above matters. To appoint AM in the face of overwhelming fan opposition would be ownership naivity of the highest order. If sanity prevails it won't happen.

General, I'm as moderate a supporter as you will find and I always look to find a positive with every situation. I would normally say when there's uproar on the Villa fan sites "don't worry General, fan sites don't represent the view of the silent majority of fans." In this case I would have to say that I believe that the reaction you are getting in response to the prospect of an AM appointment probably does represent the view of perhaps 80/90% and maybe even more of the whole Villa fan base of tens of thousands. It is all very well to set criteria for the Villa managerial appointment, but those criteria need to be informed and implemented with commonsense, and allowing an avoidable action to alienate a huge percentage of the fans who after all are the reason for the clubs existence, would appear to be at best ill judged and at worst suicidal. I still believe that Randy is considering other candidates and would ask you General to please make sure that commonsense prevails as our new manager is appointed.

Let me introduce myself, I am the most laid back and easy going poster on VT. Why don't you do me a favor and f**k off with this "keyboard warrior" stuff!

I feel I must apologise for being happy about a good manager being linked with Villa however tenuous (and you don't get much more tenuous than a tweet). I really should have effed and blinded about RL and Eck shouldn't I.

I've just taken a "calm down, calm down" tablet in case there is any basis to this latest tweet. Utopia!

Spot on bolg. The closure of BBC 606 has added a number of juvenile WUM's to this and other Villa sites, as if we didn't have enough doom and gloom merchants already. TalkSport and the rest of the gutter media can only prosper if Villa fans react as we've unfortunately been doing. We know nothing and neither do the media and that's how it should be, so let's wait for Randy to appoint his best candidate and then we can comment on fact rather than fiction.

Decent shout.

I love WIGANVILLAINS rearranged chant on another thread .... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING! That's just how it should be.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the coming transfer window pans out. We have the opportunity to bring on the next Barry, Cahill, Young or Milner from our talented crop of youngsters. I guess our choice of manager will give us a strong indication of Randy's views about our way forward. I would be happy to see "coaching" rather than "contacts" at the top of our next manager's CV.

We don't need to know anything about the Villa's search for a new manager. When the deal's done we can argue the pro's and con's of the appointment. Rabid hate posts about managers who the press might throw into the equation to sell newspapers or gain advertising hits are at best making us look like thick fans, and at worst allowing the media to try to damage Villa's standing in the football community. Light hearted banter and speculation is an enjoyable way to pass the time, but some of the posting on here during our short managerial search will have caused long term damage to our reputation. We have tens of thousands of fans patiently waiting for an appointment to be made, and yet a few "eejits" are now represented by the media as "the voice of all Villans." Randy and PF are trying to do their best for Villa and that job would be easier if Villa "supporters" were actually seen by the media to be "supporting" their club while hoping for the best result, rather than taking every imagined and made up bit of "info" and ripping it to shreds. UTV!!!!