terrytini

I don't think Randy Lerner is about a sign a player that is worth 10 million without asking questions if he will be good for the club. Kevin has done fine with the reserve team and he knows them young players better than anyone at the club, that's the sort of players we need to move up to the first team squad and I think he would be the best person to do that, not spending 20 mil here and 20 mil there for a player with a bigger name. We have a good squad without them younger players moving up, but atleast this way they will have a chance of doing so. As for MON, he walked out on the club 5 days before kick off, we will maybe never know the real reason why, but just walking out of the club 5 days before kick off isn't the best thing he could have done. Who said Lerner isn't going to invest? Maybe he didn't want to give MON anymore money to buy players like Sidwell, Heskey and all them others who aren't that great. He did - he has said, via the General, that the Club must exist within the financial limits of its Revenue. I could run it on that basis. As for whether he did or didn't like the players, if you are right, I find that even worse - not only has he bought Ireland you are suggesting he only supporrts his Manger if he likes whop he buys ? How much more interference would you want ? (As it happens, I don't think it has anything to do with people you happen to not like being disliked by Randy)

I am staggered you seem to think that is a fact. From what I can tell MON picked out Ireland in the swap, they got into the advanced stages of negotiations and then MON left. In this tricky situation Randy consulted with MacDonald and decided to go through with the deal. Hardly Abramovichesque Schevchenko buying is it? Unless Mcdonald is our Manager, the owner has bought Ireland What problem do you have with SI? Isn't he good enough for you? Do you think we should have offered 50 mil to buy Gerard? He is good value for money in my opinion, not forgetting he was Citehs player of the year just 2 seasons ago. If Lerner has bought him then I would like to say thanks to Lerner, I think he will add something to the team we already have in place, something that we might miss with Milner going. Milner was going anyway, like it or not....It just would have happened alot sooner. You miss my point. I personally have no problem with Ireland - I think he will be terrific for us. I happen to beleive the Manager should buy the players. Always have done, always will. Abramovic did it at Chelsea and Muriniho left, Ashley at Newcastle and Keegan left. I love what Randy has done so far as much as the next man, but I don't think that means throwing my beleifs out the window - I don't want an owner deciding who plays in my Team.

Signing SI is the clearest indication that KM will be our new manager imo. He will probably work with a DoF, and he has almost certainly encouraged Randy to go ahead with the SI component of the Milner transfer. As for being staggered by knowledgeable fans wanting a much better coach than Mon, a much better tactician than Mon, and a much better man manager than Mon who also happens to be our reserve team coach and manager, I suggest that you suspend judgement until you get to know the man. Finally Randy isn't moving away from owner investment, he is obviously targeting the wasted wages. These wages will be recovered by either moving certain players on, or by several of the frozen out players actually having the opportunity to earn those wages by contributing to our future success on the pitch. It takes all sorts of fans to support a club, and I guess you and I Terry are opposite ends of the spectrum. I respect your views and can see where your concerns are coming from, but I hope that future results will show that Randy has got things right after a concerning few months. Much as you want to make this to do with MON, it is not. As it happens I also consider myself a 'knowledgeable fan' as you rather arrogantly put it. I have watched the Reserves regularly. Whilst I disagree with your views of MON (and take issue that you appear to have suddenly become a spokesperson for people wanting Mcdonald and assumed you know their reasons) it is nothing to do with it. Being a good resrve Team Manger, which he is , is a world apart from being a good 1st Team Manager. He may, of course, be great at it - but why would we gamble ? We need to push on with the Best we can get. And I'm sorry, but in their own words the Club have now moved to live within income - which, whilst it may be sound finance, is definitely different to the earlier years where we thought significant investment would (and did) come from the Owner.

I am staggered you seem to think that is a fact. From what I can tell MON picked out Ireland in the swap, they got into the advanced stages of negotiations and then MON left. In this tricky situation Randy consulted with MacDonald and decided to go through with the deal. Hardly Abramovichesque Schevchenko buying is it? Unless Mcdonald is our Manager, the owner has bought Ireland

Again, I'd love to know why we have suddenly become so unambitious. No rush ?? - why not ? Not relegation material - is that the limit of our ambition at the moment ? We can't afford this mentality - we need to be desparately trying to move on, not suddenly accepting 'transition years' and 'no rush'. Whats got into everybody ?? :? Im with you on this. But i still think Macca is the one 8) Why ? What has convinced you that out of all the Managers that might want to come here (no idea how many - not many if they think the Owner buys the players now perhaps) Mcdonald is the most likely to take us forward ? I have seen nothing that would make me think that. Because by definition he can't have shown anything, as he hasn't done the job. Had we lost that first game 3-0 would you still want him ?

Again, I'd love to know why we have suddenly become so unambitious. No rush ?? - why not ? Not relegation material - is that the limit of our ambition at the moment ? We can't afford this mentality - we need to be desparately trying to move on, not suddenly accepting 'transition years' and 'no rush'. Whats got into everybody ?? :?

Seems to be becoming almost accepted - why ? We can't afford a transition year (stagnation) and we have the platform to push on. We need the best possible Manager we can get - and that canot possibly be our untried reserve team Coach. Incredibly some people are saying "lets see after another 2 games" - what the hell does that tell you one way or the other !!! Either people want him (wrongly in my view, but fair enough)) or they don't ( I really don't), but to say he stands or falls over a 2-3 game period is just ludicrous.

I am staggered by the amount of fans who seem okay with the fact that our owner has just bought a player. Even more so when by his own words players coming in will be in shorter supply now, with the emphasis on 'living within our income' . Nothing should have happeneed until we had appointed a Manager, who should then have had the say on what he wanted. (But I am equally staggered by the number who suddenly seem to want our Reserve team Coach as Manager, the number who are thanking Milner 'for all he's done', the number who seem okay with our Boards rubbishing of MON, and the lack of protests about the subtle shift in stance away from Owner Investment)

Hello General Very disturbed to read in the Mail on Sunday of Randy making refernce to Tony Barton as an example of a succesful promotion from within. TB inherited a hard working side built up by an uncompromising difficult character, Ron Saunders, who often played the same 11 men over and again, who left the Club because of problems with the Board. It was Saunders who won us the European Cup. Had he stayed, and been fully supported by the Board, it could have been a Golden Age for the Villa - instead, the Board had its way, a terrific Manager left, and after the European Cup win (in fact the same season) the Club wwent downhill. Can you confirm Randy is as aware of all this, just as much as he is aware of a quick win by a temporary Manager ? We need a top quality Manager and proper, significant, Investment now more than at any other time in our History, to build on what Martin acheived (already underrated by too many) and give the Club a final big push into CL territory, or we are in grave danger of allowing history to repeat itself.

Ridiculously over the top praise for the manager. Haven't you all seen how many times an internal promotion results in an initial good run ? We were superb today, no doubt. Would he have started with the 2 kids had others been fit ?Doubt it. Interesting he also did n't think Reo Coker was the best option too. Credit where it is due, a brilliant performance, but Manager -no thanks. We want to push on for CL qualification over 38 games, we need a top class proven guy. Hiddink preferably, but any reasonable Manager - not an untested Youth Team Coach.

Hi General Fantastic performance today which removed some of the gloom I'd felt at losing Martin. Can you confirm however, that the Board will not be fooled (unlike some of the fans on here) - by 1 good show against a very poor side - into thinking that makes Kevin Mcdonald a suitable candidate to take us to the next level ? Apart from the opposition, it is so often the case that an internal promotion produces a few early good results. A proper proven fella please General (my own preference would be do whatever it takes to get Hiddink, but we can all dream !) With the right Man, and some investment, we are at a base where CL football is still a real possibility.

Oh, and can I please ask anybody but Sven. Anybody.

Hello General I have been 100% behind both Randy and MON since day one, and am very sad to see him go and that partnership break up. As regards the recent events and the future though I think Randys statement that we are "aiming always to be as competitive as possible given our size and resources " is indeed different to the message we have been given, or had implied, for the last 4 years. It may well more accurately state the position, and it may well be financial sense, but would you not agree there is ; (i) a definite difference between being 'as competitive as possible' and "aiming for top 4 as minimum over 5 years", and (ii) a difference between what is acheivable 'given our size and resources' and what is acheivable given Randys personal resources, which I think is what most fans (and MON ?) have assumed was the criteria, certainly in the early days - (and presumably when the last lot of players were bought and contracts agreed) As I say, I am not complaining, it isn't for me to tell Randy how to spend his money, and he is a great custodian for our club, but surely you would agree the emphasis has clearly shifted. Indeed, for better or for worse are you not, as a fan said earlier, now running the Club on the Doug Ellis model ? I think clarity on this issue is crucial - as someone said earlier, you are not looking at trying to qualify for or win the CL on the resources we have, terrific youth policy/manager/atmosphere or not.

Our history has shown we are poor in international terms and have been since the mid-sixties at best. We regularly fail to qualify and perfrom poorly when we do. This is no different than it has been for many years. Since it is impossible for players to suddenly become so much worse overnight, the only possible answer is that they were not that good to begin with. Our Premier teams are full of players from all over the world, so how these players may appear to play in our League is not a guide to their quality. Few of our players are ever, or have ever, either been wanted abroad or succeeeded abroad. Our Champions League sides have been dominated by foreign players for years. There is a certain type of football played in this Country which is very different to others - the only chance we have of any successs internationally is to pick a team of those players who best epitomise that style - even if they are from lower clubs - and develop that style and stick to it. Just because it is fashionable to string 90 passes together doesn't mean it works for everybody. A good Championship side with a decent keeper and a goalscorer would both have a better chance and be more representative of our football. Throw in a good Manager who epitomises the british game (someone like Martin O neill) and the chances of success would be greater. We'd still come unstuck against the best, our players will never play to that standard regularly, but we'd have success too. At our 'top level' in the Premiership we have/have had largely managers building teams with large foreign content and integrating that with a small amount of English players. How is that ever likely to be a recipe for International success ?

You could have handed over £10,000,000 in Lottery money and watched them for 80 years, and be the greatest superfan ever, but your support (in respect of this game) is luke warm, to put it mildly. If you don't like the tactics, or the feeling when we got beat, or anything, thats up to you, but the support in this fixture will come from the people who go regardless of whether they feel that way and get behind the team. I could pay a fortune for my kids private education but if I give up on them when I don't like how it's going.... Don't go, it's not a crime is it ? And you are no more or less a fan than you or anyone else considers yourself to be - but you can't argue that you are self evidently not supporting them, or MON - isn't your whole point that you aren't supporting them ?

Now I've seen some of the people who aren't going I'm looking forward to it even more ! Perhaps it will be like Wimbledon on those days when they have catch up days and real enthusiasts get tickets instead of the world weary regulars. :winkold:

Hi General I am not sure the fight over standing should be as difficult as you think. I work with EHO's in another Authority and like evryone else they have to justify the value of any actions they take, especially at this time of cuts. Birmingham Council are currently cutting loads of EH posts - if sufficient number of Bham ratepayers complained to their councillors (especially with election coming) that they did NOT consider this an issue worth pursuing, they would have to listen. People stand at concerts, cricket, horse racing, and at many football grounds (watch any Champions League match). We stand at our own ground, before the game, at half time, and (absurdley) in times of 'momentary excitement. We are all consenting, paying adults (one way or another) and would not (with some exceptions ) choose to sit in the Upper Holte if we wanted to sit like in a cinema. Stewards stand, police stand, people leaving early stand. If we pushed this hard enough they'd have to leave us alone. If we end up unable to stand at all, which is the logical extension of where we find ourselves, I for one would not go to the games anymore - so you can also argue loss of revenue. As a postscript, after many years of following the Villa, this standing issue together with the over critical negativity of our fans (and loss of some personal income) really has me considering forgetting about it altogether the standing issue could be the last straw for many others too. Sitting down listening to a load of 'experts ' complaining about our team, then getting told off by stewards when trying to sing and lift the atmosphere, is really quite soul destroying. Of all the fights you could have, I can't think of a better one.

Yes. A cup final, a quarter final, and top half in the League with some brilliant wins I've waited for for years. In 45 years of following Villa I have only had a handful of seasons like this. I don't share the view of the guy who said a success is winning something - that means most clubs are failures year in and year out - to me that is not what football is. Any individual triumph is a success. And the more triumphs, the more successful. Drawing a game you could easily lose is a success. Sounds to me like some people want us to be the next Chelsea, or Man U - well there is no harm in that, and trophies would obviously be great, but there is more to it - or less to it ! - than that for me. God forbid we end up like those Man U fans for whom only the CL/Prem double will get them excited, or the Chelsea fans who politely applaud every time their team wins its millionth home game.

I already class this as a succesful season.

FFS it wasn't just the Vidic incident. 2 Villa players were booked for each of their first 2 tackles, yet Fletcher was let off aswell as Vidic. The difference it made to Collins for that first half against Owen and Berbatov was palpable, he was crapping himself about making a mistimed tackle. It would have been far easier for Dowd to warn each of them, thus 'protecting the spectacle' as he is claimed to have been doing. Then what about that appeal from Fletcher for a free kick someone mentioned. It stinks and something should be done - like foreign refs for cup finals or something.

In that case yes, very stupid. Its not as if anyone gets away from Shit Hole Wembley quickly Hmmm, not entirely true. Watched the whole game and was away and on the motorway by just after 5, home by 7.30, when it takes until 6.30 just from home games ! Utterly miserable, thought we didn't spark as we needed to, plenty of effort but where was that penetration of the first few minutes ? We were nervier than them - understandably (don't remember them even coming out for a look at the pitch) and don't think the crappy pitch helped our fast stlye. Ref was atrocious, and I think the bigger problem was his booking Collins for his first tackle (but letting Fletcher off) as Collins knew he was on a knife edge whereas Fletcher had more freedom. Agree Luke Young may have been a better bet (hindsight tho') and would have liked to see Delph for 20 minutes when Carew came on. But the first 10 minutes will live with me forever ! I still feel we are going onwards and upwards. Thought our support was pretty poor after they scored - we never used to need much rousing, I hope we aren't getting spoilt.

It is £25 follow the link from the Villa Wembley guide - once on the site it tells you how many spaces left, there were 300 odd yesterday.

Does anyone know which MWay the coaches will take ? I want to time my journey to drive past them so my son can see the fleet. Was thinking of leaving about 9ish. Anyone else took the expensive but simple option of parking at the Stadium ?

So many top 4 challengers (including us last year) faded away after January. I think MON has made a tactical decision to alter the way we play to keep us steady - although we don't show the ambition we would have in the previous 2 years it feels to me like we are in a better position(mentally for example) for the run in. We have lost only 2 of our last 19 games and are in the hunt for 2 Cups and 4th. How people think 'questions will be asked' depending on the next couple of games beats me, but I suspect we will play more adventourously for the rest of this month. And as for the guy that thinks Man U were there for the taking ...do you watch much football ? They were superb and we did well to get a point - could so easily have won it with John C penalty claim, or lost it with Roonetys effort in the 2nd half. As MON said, look at some of the results around last night - it isn't as easy as people think.

You are fed up with the predictability that has sen us lose only 2 of our last 14 games, beat Man U away, put 5 past Bolton and 6 past Blackburn and qualify for the Final of the CCup and 4th Round of FA cup, whilst staying in contention for the Top 4 ? Absolutely unbeleivable.