Guus

He isn't pulling the funding I think he is just taking stock and saying we have spent nigh on 30 mill on players either MON won't play or just sitting on a bench . Trouble is we just simply can't compete money wise with the big boys

Isn't this the case at most professional sports clubs??

Its an occupational hazard surely?.

We probably cleared the way for it by telling them that we like the chequered effect.

Could inspiration for the checks have come from our giant matchday flag? We did select the design of that after all. I think the kits are growing on me now the more I seem them; my initial reaction was quite reserved

8)

I think the checks tie in quite nicely from a branding point of view.

Lets face it, the club are damned if they do something different, and they are damned if they don't.

My worry is - even with the milner money, we are going to struggle to compete with the top 4/5 teams.

We just cant attract the players.

Therein lies the difference between those that are in the CL and those that aren't.

like man city?

its all about the $$$...

Absolutely right.

Its those who are in the CL and those who are willing to pay the difference until they make it into the CL.

My worry is - even with the milner money, we are going to struggle to compete with the top 4/5 teams.

We just cant attract the players.

Therein lies the difference between those that are in the CL and those that aren't.

I have to admit that the track top is growing on me, especially the AVFC on the back.

More to the the point is the oversized lion on the front, I love it.

Its a shame that this concept couldnt have been incorporated in the new badge.

Hey ho.

Dempsey would be a good sign at a reasonable price, but we shouldn't overpay for him. He's a bit one dimensional, and I'm not sure of the role he'd play on this team. I don't think he's particularly creative either.

If we sign an American, I think a real shot in the dark (and this probably won't happen, so don't jump down my throat) is Benny Feilhaber who is currently at AGF Aarhus. He's a brilliant passer, extremely creative in the center midfield, only 25 years old, and I think has a decent amount of potential still left. He looked really good in the World Cup as well; his presence changed the Slovenia, Algeria and Ghana matches.

Good shout. He played well against Ghana. (Feilhaber, I mean)

Still unbothered.

Shitloads of cash or keeping a good player. No lose situtation for us.

Not quite true. The 'lose' situation will occur if the issue drags on for a long time without being resolved one way or the other.

If this happens then the bulk of your transfer activities will be frozen in place and beset by confusion and uncertainty: you'll be left not knowing whether or not Milner needs to be replaced and in the meantime, with time running out in the transfer window, you won't know how much cash you'll have to spend on a Milner-replacement and/or other players.

In other words, unless it's resolved early it'll be hard to make transfer plans: set a budget, choose target players and have enough time to allow for unhurried negotiations.

This is what happened with the Berbatov to Manchester United saga, IIRC.

Watched The Road last night.

I'm still recovering to be honest....hard film to watch as I have 2 sons.

Good in the sense that it provokes a bit of thought.

read the book - talk about depressing!!!!

I think I'll pass

Watched The Road last night.

I'm still recovering to be honest....hard film to watch as I have 2 sons.

Good in the sense that it provokes a bit of thought.

I'll be more surprised if he stays TBH.

I don't have the energy for it these days what with having 2 sons and everything else that drains the life out of you, a wife, mortgage, nursery fees, work yadayada....

Used to be though.

I have to agree with Richard, General.

I think the season ticket holders deserve an explanation.

I Love Milner

Merry Christmas General.

If you can't get yourself a running partner, get yourself an i-pode type music thingy.

always helps, but is really only a help once out the door, and running ...

I've got one, I like it, but I don't know whether it stops me from monitoring my breathing due to the fact I'm concentrating on my music instead.

...or maybe thats just me :oops:

Cheers Gents.

Does anyone have any tips for improving one's motivation?

Can't get my arse out of the house at the mo'!

Did 7 and a bit miles the other night in 56 mins.

I'll do at least another run of 7 and a bit by the end of the week and then next week up the distance by another mile or so, and so on until the weekend before.

I think I might just be ready for the big day

I saw Bouma in Sainsburys Mere Green last night......limping across the car park.

General.

I would just like to echo what Paddy and dundeevilla have just said.

The squad is looking good along with the work that has been completed on the ground during the summer and also the kits, I think they are the best we have had in a long while.

Thanks again.

What I don't like is that he went to 4-4-2 with the one substitution that he made.

Did we?

It looked to me like Milner moved into the middle and Gabby to the right. Infact, that is what happened.

This was the only down side to yesterday. When I saw that Carew was coming on I thought that it would be a straight swap for Gabby. When NRC's number flashed up (which was disappointing as he had a good game) I naturally assumed that we were switching to 4-4-2. To keep the same formation and put Gabby on the right, which in effect weakened our midfield, was a strange decision indeed.

General = Legend

General.

I too hope that these professionals can pull together and sort this performance out, unfortunately I don't think we have the quallity to do so. It looked as if we had carried on from where we had left off last season, the players looked very short on confidence and some looked lacking in ability. As I see it we have lost 2 of our most influential players, Barry and Laursen and we have not yet replaced them. We have spent money on Fabien Delph(19 yr old prospect from League 1) and Stuart Downing(injured until Dec). Good players but both of these guys will not be ready to play in the Premier League for another 3-4 months. It seemed that the reason for our poor performance in the last third of the 08/09 season was lack of strength in depth, an issue that I hoped that we would have sorted in the close season. The issue has not been addressed. I think I have have a simple solution on improving on league positions in football and that is to improve the number and quality of the play in our playing squad. If a team fails to do so then they can expect to stagnate or go backwards, at the moment this is what I'm expecting of this team in its current state. I have been a season ticket holder for about 10 years now and as the advert for the Vienna match popped up on the screens as we were leaving, my first thoughts were a. There is no way I'm going to watch that! and b. I can't see us going far in that competition with the playing staff we have. Thoughts that I'm sure you will be disappointed to hear, I'm sure that I wasn't the only one thinking this.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to air our thoughts and misgivings General, we are, as fans, eternally grateful for this.

Up the Villa.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

What was the question again?

Gen.

Went past VP yesterday and saw the steps, they look great...a vast improvement.

Good work.