ThunderPower_14

Agree completely! I hope we get to Europe but if we don't, we get another season to build our depth and push for Europe again from a much stronger base. It's the most exciting time to be a Villa fan since at least the MON years, arguably in the Premier League era.

Disappointing to have it such a done deal in the media and then fall over. Much better that it happened now an not in a month's time. I'm certain we had contingencies in place. We haven't lost anything.

Kane's penalty was basically identical to the one he got against Cash. Makes zero attempt to get to the ball and theatrically falls over a player he could easily avoid. He gets rewarded with penalties like this all the time and there seems to be no appetite among the referees to stamp it out. Disgraceful.

Looks like the conference league is most likely, and I'd hope we have a real go at winning it. It's been way too long between trophies.

This is fine, but we're in the Chris Heck thread though, talking about what Chris Heck might bring to the table. Star players are always important but you still need to get things right around them.

It was more than that, the Sixers were a nothing team for years. They sorted out their branding and now have some of the best uniform/branding combos in the league, and became a genuinely massive team. The on court product had to go along with it, but they nailed their identity shift and generally the way they carried themselves as a franchise.

It'll be quite funny to see all the 15 year old Messi fans scramble after spending 12 months slamming Ronaldo. It's such an ugly move for both of them. Both of them have bank accounts that would make Scrooge McDuck's vault blush and they'll sell their souls for money that won't meaningfully change their lives.

That BK8 sponsorship is truly horrendous on every level. I liked Cazoo, it was simple and not a gambling business. I know we can't have Acorns but jesus wept does it have to be evil AND ugly? Looks so small time. They'd want to have been offered an eye watering amount of money to have accepted this monstrosity. I was really looking forward to getting the first kit with the new badge but that's tempered my excitement quite a bit.

It was pretty important for them to keep Grealish away from their rivals as well. If Grealish had gone to Man Utd, he'd have been a transformative player for them. Can't have that.

Not quite good enough today, but it doesn't help when they can just clatter into us again and again without a whistle.

The price seems outrageous but it looks to me like it's designed purely for sponsors and other corporate type tickets as opposed to the average season ticket holder. We talk about why Spurs seem to have a money printing machine for home games and we have nothing like it, well having good facilities for corporates is a step in the right direction in terms of that. Every modern stadium has stuff like this.

While I know they've bought the league, I think there is something fundamentally different from self-made millionaires worth a few hundred million combined and the multibillionaire petrol barons and hedge fund bankers that dominate the premier league. Where the money comes from is pretty important in terms of the level of disgust.

He suffered as much as anyone from football under Gerrard and he could benefit as much as anyone from football under Emery. I think our current style of not panicking on the ball around the box and looking for the right passes might suit him to a tee.

Benteke was a force of nature. He basically single handedly kept an absolutely dogshit squad up a couple of seasons in a row there. He was a 1 in 2 striker in one of the worst squads and squad cultures the Prem has ever seen. Under Emery, I think Ollie has stepped up to being as good if not better. Just can't be stopped at the moment. Prime Benteke was a genuinely elite striker. It's a shame that he was chewed up and spat out at Liverpool in a setup that didn't suit him.

Southgate will come out this week and argue that because he hasn't done it in Europe, he'll have to bide his time

I'm pinching myself here. It brings a tear to the eye to think of what we've been through over the past decade, and now we've got Unai Emery playing on easy mode. Genius.

If someone got that close to you at a shopping centre you'd probably throw an elbow up in self defence as well. The complete lack of respect for referees in football has led to players thinking they can get away with stuff like that. It's good that Robertson got a yellow, I don't think it's worth any more on either side. PGMOL need to come out and firmly tell players to respect the personal space of referees or start getting carded.

Who else in football would have one timed curled that around the keeper into the back of the net? Bonkers. He's such a joyful player to watch, so glad he's back and so happy for him to have scored.

If she was on Man City's bench she'd have 50 caps

As others have said, you can tell why he kept getting picked while out of form under Gerrard. He's a team first player with an excellent workrate who does what his manager tells him. So chuffed to see him playing so well, he's the heart and soul of the club.

The wasted year under Gerrard was worth it because it put us in position to land this absolute magician. Pinching myself.

Did anyone want these rules? It just seems like a wildly unpopular rule change for no real reason.

Yep. They should get a notification on his watch that just says "have another look", they go to a screen and get a couple of extra looks at the incident from a couple of different angles at normal speed, and make a decision from there. I'd even do this for offsides, without the lines. A referee on the pitch has a feel for the flow of the game and he's set the tone for the flow of the game. That referee must make all decisions. It's not like cricket where everything is black and white.

Chuffed for him and for us all that he seems to be back to his best. You've gotta love him. The world feels like a better place when he's in form. Comes across as a thoroughly coachable player, it's not a surprise he's continued to get game despite having a not particularly fluid play style. Does what he's asked and gets in good positions, and he has surprisingly good vision and creativity. Uses his body to make space so well. We're well overdue for one of his 360° spins or a screamer from outside the box as well.

You don't get good by overhauling the side every summer, you get a lack of chemistry and a lack of identity. We've had a high turnover rate since we were promoted, which we absolutely needed because we had a championship squad. If we want to progress further, we need to stop turning the squad over and start building. I think it's insane to say we don't have a top half capable squad. We're sitting 11th, 3 points off the top half, after being so bad in the early part of the season that we had to sack our manager. If we had Emery's points per game across the whole season, we'd be sitting 7th, competing for the European spots.