Daholteend

Good Evening General Krulak . I enjoyed those observations. When I read the comments from Fabian Delph I smiled and it reminded me of something that was said to me when I had the wonderful opportunity of accompaning the legendary Billy Walker on his last few visits to Villa Park. Billy would reach the top of the steps of the old Trinity Road Stand and go in through the doors and be greeted by many of the Villa Staff at the time and walk towards the pitch and look down and around and then step back and say " You know son, there are ghosts in these walls and grounds and they could speak volumes of how great this club is and they always will" Fabian's comments evoked those words and I believe that MON without a doubt has signed a "good 'un" . I beleve he has every chance to follow in the the footprints of players like Billy. As a famous American once said "He has the right stuff ." My thoughts are that as far as MON is concerned a large percentage of Villains do trust in MON and that there is a fringe minority that are quite vocal in their moanings that distort the real perception of what Aston Villa, MON and Randy Lerner have already accomplished in such a short space of time. There is no doubt that Villains are passionate to an almost religious extreme in some cases. They are hungry and impatient for instant success. Sometimes they forget that a game of football has two teams on the pitch who want to win just as much as each other. Those that question MON's passion for Aston Villa need only watch him on the sideline at every game and how his adrenaline rises and falls with each attack and near miss. For fans like me who have followed Aston Villa for over 50 years I can quite easily state that MON is the best manager of Aston Villa I have seen and there have been one or two good ones like the two Ronnies ( Atkinson and Saunders) . In the end though MON is a realist and I noted his brief quote the other day where he said "I manage a football club and I am paid to win matches" . He will no doubt be judged in the fullness of time by the number of medals and trophies that Aston Villa win over his years of tenure. I trust in MON. I trust that his tenure at Villa Park with Randy and yourself will continue to be a successful one. I have no doubts that it will because you are all dedicated sound professionals and we Villa fans should know that the clubs future is in excellent hands. Thank you all for restoring my pride in our great club.

A bloke was out on a date with a girl who asked him how he managed to get turned on. "It's the blue pill." he tells her. "Would it work for me ?" she asked. "Possibly." he says. "Can you get it over the counter?" she asks. "Probably if I take two of them !"

I second Shillzz post script. If General Krulak had been a Russian, like General Zhukov he would have been awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award four times just for having the patience of listening and responding to us feisty Villans on an almost daily basis. General Krulak brings to mind a famous quote from Zhukov as follows "If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as it were not there." I cannot speak for anybody else on this board but I appreciate the Villa's famous General . I cannot now imagine how we as fans would have coped without his valuable insight provided for and on behalf of Aston Villa and Mr Lerner. Aston Villa should mint its own Hero of Labour Award and present the first one to General Krulak .

Thanks for the re-assurances General Krulak . A win win solution to the thorny issue being presented by Mr Scudamore might possibly be to play those "extra games" during the summer at some future date in the five cities they are considering overseas. The outcome of those games should have no bearing pointswise on the traditionally accepted system of the Premiership as it is currently played. Perhaps the Premiership could devise a Summer Cup Tournament in those five cities. This may have the benefit of promoting the Premiership internationally and help enhance the already considerable revenues for all the clubs involved and stave off the possibility of considerable fan unrest being ignited by the "concept" currently under discussion. With perhaps only a couple of minor exceptions, the majority of Villa fans are considerably grateful for the huge personal investment Mr Lerner has made in AVFC and we do trust his integrity, as indeed your own integrity is never in question. Your exceptional history of Public Service is on record, and we are benefitting in so many ways from your regular contibutions and direct action in voluntary service for Aston Villa. So please excuse us if occasionally we come across as ungrateful,we are not, but we are somewhat passionate about our football clubs and even the remote possibility that our sacred icon might one day be globalised is as great a concern to us Villa fans as was the middle of the night flight that the original Browns owner did when he took the old Browns to Baltimore to the Dawg Pound. As many know, Mr Lerner's father, your military comrade and friend, purchased back the name of the Browns from the owners of what is now the Ravens and using his own money gave back the city of Cleveland it beloved Browns. Because of this great family history, we Villa fans should rest assured that Mr Lerner is not likely to do anything that would compromise the fans of Aston Villa and we should, and in most cases do trust, his integrity to pursue his and our goals in accord with the Proud History, Bright Future mantra. I do not question that Mr Lerner will always maintain the highest, brightest and best actions on behalf of Aston Villa. Thank you General Krulak . We appreciate the time and dedication that you place with us. I hope our passions for Aston Villa are not mistaken for ingratitude. As you know, many of us fans have families that have supported Aston Villa for several generations and some even from the very beginning in 1874 . For one of the founding clubs like Aston Villa whose families have followed the various fortunes of the club through two world wars and the depression the idea of having the club start playing in Hong Kong and Beijing on a regular basis is anathema to us and our views are echoed by Malcom Clarke of the Football Supporters Association. Ironically, clubs that are less entrenched in their proud history, because they don't have one seem to think it is adventurous. My own view is that owners of those clubs might be better suited to promoting mud wrestling and leave the playing of football to those clubs whose fans, players and owners truly love the game and their teams. Aston Villa is undoubtefly the club that personifies the very best traditions and ethos as Mr Lerner has often said. I am very happy that you have taken the time to voice our opinions to Mr Lerner and hope it will help him decide what is the best course for Aston Villa.

Another great report OBE. Your posts on the reserve games are always very readable and enjoyable. Thank you.

While we are heaping all the much deserved praise on Barry let it not be forgotten that what makes Barry's job for England a lot easier is that he is playing well alongside his friend Gerrard, who as we all know is a very gifted ball player. As long as these two play well together McClaren's job as manager is going to be considerably easier because I haven't seen Gerrard play as well for England as he does alongside Barry. Since Lampard has been having problems with his game of late I cannot see him starting ahead of Barry. Now here is a question to be posed for MON. Should we not dig into the purse strings and make a very sizeable offer to bring Gerrad to Villa Park ? If we are to become the epitome of a young English Lion's team why not bring in the other key player to complete the jig saw puzzle? IMO such a move would cement Villa as a leading contender for a few years to come and such an investment would pay deep dividends for Aston Villa .

Thats life, even when Doug was feeding Baggie Bill rumours it was never easy and quick for Villa to sign anyone! Not true tricella. Remember that DOL signed Phillips, Berger, Taylor and Hughes before by July 5th 2005. That event alone is a good advertisement for the policy of taking one's time and getting it right IMHO.

The plane leaves the gate, the flight attendant gave the passengers the usual information regarding seat belts and emergency exits. Then she said, "Please sit back and enjoy the flight while your captain, Jane Smythe, and her crew fly you safely to Paris." The bloke in the next seat to me calls the flight attendant over and asks "Did I hear that right? Is the captain a woman?" "Yes," said the attendant, "In fact the co-pilot is also female and in fact, the entire crew is female." "Ohhhhhhhhhhh ?" said the bloke, "I'd better have a very large scotch in that case. I don't know what to think with only women up there in the cockpit." "Well that's another thing you should know sir," said the attendant, "We No Longer call it The Cock Pit. It's now known as "The Box Office"

Surprise Surprise! Ajax are creating a Dutch Auction for Sneijder

Of course they are. How many posters have stopped to think that perhaps the journo that wrote that rubbish is a Spuds supporter? Any lazy journalist in the Home Counties would know that that sort of article will sell well in North London. At the end of the day, money talks and bullshit walks. If Villa want this player they will bid what he is worth and at the very least they will make Spuds pay dearly for him. There will be other midfielders to go after and there are still 83 shopping days before deadline is set and probably at this rate 2000 more pages of speculation to enjoy, or not That said, I hope Wes signs hehehehehehehehehehe

It's about that time of the month where I make my David Nugent suggestion..... again. Back in April, Nugent was supposedly on our Wish List. Does any one have any news on that front ? If we are still looking for a right back how about 24 year old Jose Bosingwa currently playing for FC Porto who is available on a free transfer and supposedly would command 15,000 a week. He got his first cap for Portugual playing against Belgium on Saturday. Jols and Southgate are taking a look at him. Spurs see him as the replacement for Chimbonda if he signs for Chelsea. He can also play defensive midfield, as a controlling midfielder, and as an overlapping right winger. He was part of the 2005-06 FC Porto Portuguese champions team. I would think he is worth a look especially since Hughes and Bardsley are out of the picture.

Go ahead. Make my Day! Instead, For a few dollars more, we could bid for David Nugent before he heads to Everton. Sometimes a man just has to know his limitations.

Brickie reminds me of a certain player now under review in France, "Couldn't finish" The difference however is that the Board can bring in finishing bricklayers to tidy up the detail and get it right if they so choose. Apart from that minor detail Jim, Bodymoor Heath looks fantastic doesn't it ? Who of us wouldn't have loved the opportunity to play and train in such a world class environment. Randy and Co deserve an extra scarf waving for getting this project financed and almost completed. I am so proud to be a Villa Supporter these days. On top of all this, I would bet that MON will be successful in persuading Berger to come back for at least one more season and play, train and coach in this facility.

Usually the only people behind Boruc are the crowd

I wish JPA every success in New York. Our loss is the MLS gain because adding players like Beckham and JPA to the rosters of American "Soccer" teams can only improve the quality of the football and the appeal to the fans. JPA had that one great season which really made DOL's record actually look better than it really was. JPA never got that form back after his ankle injury and seemed to lose a pace thereafter. Having been a Villa fan over five decades and having the good fortune to see the likes of Gerry Hitchens, the Doog, Tony Hately, Andy Lochhead, Brian Little, Gary Shaw, Peter Withe, Dwight Yorke etc. I can happily say that JPA belongs right up there with them and in his own unique way deserves to be a legend. As a professional he embodies much of what is desired of a Villa player and deserved to wear the claret and blue and we fans will miss him and I am sure he will miss us also. Good luck in the MLS my friend. We JPA fans will now be following your fortunes with the Red Bulls. Thank You JPA, you and your football brain were a pleasure to watch.

McCann is one of my favourite players because he gives 150% and tirelessly works for the team. However being a destroyer by itself is not enough for what we need alongside Petrov and Barry. Who is available who could replace Gav ?

Yah sure yah betcha

Hope they get moved to milton keynes just like Winbledon did. Still too close for me. Can't we just ship 'em up to Clydeside and have them play at a ground half way between the 'gers and celtic. Can you imagine the whacking they would get in the Gorbals .. Oh yeah I like that idea ! Try ripping off those calendars matey!

Paddy, The General, Reading your posts is really humbling and inspiring for each and every one of us who are part of Aston Villa through all the levels of the Football Club and those who are connected one way or another with the club by way of employment or enjoyment as fans. What does it show? It shows that we all count. Every single one of us and it also shows on a different level what can be achieved when a group of well intentioned and dedicated people get together and decide to make a change for the benefit of all rather than the benefit of individuals . We share our setbacks and our successes together and as long as we are all pulling in the same direction towards a common goal what is going to stop us but ourselves ? Up the Villa ! Mr Platini, if we win the European Championship three times do we get to keep the trophy and retire it to our Hall of Fame ?

Fulham have bought in Alexei Smertin the Russian midfielder and Papa Bouba Diop has turned down Wigan. Should Villa be interested in Bouba Diop ?

The rumour mill stopped churning out the stories about Nicholae Dica of Steaua Bucharest the attacking midfielder/striker. Anyone know if there is anything happening in that direction? I am guessing that Smith's arrival would put that on the back burner. Only 3 1/2 shopping days left for Barton btw don't leave Manchester without him

I think that Villa may have decided not to waste any more time on Milner. We got snubbed in August and thereafter Roeder and Milner both made noises that hinted at silly buggers and I don't believe that you mess with MON in that way. I know I would have told them to stuff it where the sun doesn't shine by now, but then I am not MON so I will wait and see.

I would have thought that if Maloney was considered by MON he would have been here already. I think it will serve his purposes to wait until the summer and be available on a Bosman. I like Diop but I would still hold out for Barton. With Barton and Carew, Villa will get some needed beef and aggression so that we can mix it up with the best of them.

the Djemba twins don't count for obvious reasons

and they would be ?? Richard?