ThunderPower_14

We need to make a couple of changes pronto

We were a lower priority with Nike, admittedly, but only one time were our away shirts late and as I said earlier, no one will ever know the reason behind that. You've also not seen the West Ham kit Adidas have made this season, since it is not a 'cookie cutter template' at all. We only ever have claret body and blue sleeves anyway, and that's all that's ever necessary. I would prefer a plain claret body and blue sleeves shirt made with high quality material and with a better fit over a cheap, tacky looking, poorly fitted shirt that makes our claret look pink just because they can put a couple of pinstripes on our shirt. And anyway, we didn't get 'cookie cutter' shirts with Nike at all. The checks were original, weren't they? You assume too much. The reason we went with Macron is because they gave us the most money for the deal, end of. The 2014/15 West Ham kit is such a cookie cutter template that they didn't give them blue sleeves because it would interfere with the template too much(the same template they've used for countless other sides). It's literally an identical template to the AC Milan away, or the Forest away, or the Sunderland away, or many other club's kits based on the Adidas Condivo template. All that makes it unique is some afterthought horizontal pinstripes. Actually when Nike took us over we had just been bought by an American billionaire and we were the next big thing and got the full unique kit treatment from them. Our first few Nike kits were truly brilliant, the best home kits we've ever had. However as we dropped down the table we slipped down the priority list. Our kits were regularly late. But at least we got unique, Villa specific designs. These days we simply wouldn't get that. We're not a big enough team anymore. We'd get something very basic from Nike with a thick sleeve cuff like every other side who has them. It would be good quality, but Macron have improved a long way from the first shirt we had with them. This year's kits, especially the away, are absolutely brilliant.

Nike treated us like garbage, and with our efforts on field the last few years, we'd be getting a cookie cutter template if we were with Nike, Adidas or Puma this year. The people on here could do mock ups of what we'd look like in Adidas and you know they'd be 100% correct, because Adidas use about 2 different templates for everyone who isn't Chelsea or Real Madrid.

I swear this video misses some stuff they say about Delaware. Doesn't Garth suggest they go to a screen door factory?

The back 4 was staggeringly different to last season. Last season i'm sure we would have conceded the equaliser and then probably the winner in the last 10 minutes due to brain fades and lapses of concentration. Today I never felt like they were going to score, in fact I expected us to score again (and we would have if Bacuna was 3 matches in and not 3 minutes IMO). Hutton, Vlaar, Senderos and Cissokho were simply brilliant. Just a fantastic feeling to win and play so assuredly away from home. Let's hope it's not a false dawn like last season's opener.

Legend! It's really odd how much we still revere a player who left on a free transfer, but you could see how much he bled Claret and Blue.

This only happened yesterday in the Tasmanian Aussie Rules league. The guy played in the AFL for a while. http://youtu.be/csFBFH0FD_4

Unfortunately the only way for anything to change in football, not just international football but everywhere, is for a large group of people to intentionally miss out on a large amount of money. I can't see Russia being boycotted. Qatar maybe, if things continue to simmer.

This is pretty great

Dr Bashir!

I was really hoping for an obscure eastern European country to have way more rollercoasters than everyone else.

The new Rangers kit looks suspiciously like a tshirt being worn over a shirt and tie

FFP is not the reason we're being left behind. Sorry, those should have been two different posts. We're being left behind because we have an owner who isn't willing to invest and can't sell us.

We're absolutely being left behind in terms of transfers. Getting back to mid table status will be a huge effort from where we are. FFP is an absolutely criminal joke. There is nothing "fair" about it. They've made football 100% about money and then told the clubs that weren't already super rich at the arbitrary cut off date that they aren't allowed to spend money. And for what? Because Portsmouth and Leeds flew too close to the sun? What a **** joke.

Cole might be past his best but he is still class on the ball. Given we've had two seasons where we've had large stretches of games where we could not get the ball to our strikers in any sort of decent position, this signing could be an absolute masterstroke.

Just watched the Mansfield game highlights. God our away kit is phenomenal. The most beautiful kit I can remember us having. The shirt is great but combined with the shorts and socks it's absolutely magnificent.

Anyone happy to see Vlaar leave for 6 or 7 million pounds is living in 2010.

Yep, comfortably and consistently so, even up until about 2008-09 it was a comfortably better game. FIFA really upped the ante and overtook PES but are now resting on their laurels because they've created the UT juggernaut and PES have fallen into their own arses, and the consumer is the one who suffers.

Wow, that would probably be better if the shirt wasn't absolute garbage.

Had 20 on the Netherlands and Germany to both win in regulation time at 7.11 Stupid Germans.

I remember getting really excited when we first had Young and Carew because I thought i'd be able to play our superpace counterattacking style in FIFA, only to find that the pace and acceleration of Young and Gabby was in the low 80s and they were being easily outpaced by slow centre backs from basically every other team. The best thing about recruiting the likes of Senderos and Joe Cole is that their FIFA ratings are pretty good because they played for a big 4 club several years back.

Would be a huge asset to our young and inexperienced midfield. Even having him around the training track would do wonders for guys like Delph and Gardner.

Really? I'd say it the opposite to be honest. They had Adidas kits for most of the 80s. There was literally no coverage of English football in the 80s and I was a toddler so hopefully I can be forgiven Adidas seem to give everyone a template. We'll see if Man U get one

A pretty good pickup as I see it.

Um sorry mate but you'll be able to hear me cheering from Australia. Even if my cheers have to go back in time because I don't watch it live, if Sting is in WWE I WILL be audible at the stadium as it happens.