itdoesntmatterwhatthissay

He promised "he'd deal with it". With that attitude I hope you never complained even once about the Brexit red bus slogan. Also no, Corbyn got a lot more positive screen time and the Conservatives got far more negative.

I enjoyed it too. it felt a little light on info but at least it wasn't overtly partisan; which is pretty amazing for Senor Mason as he's had a very interesting and contradictory couple of years. I also watched 'The Red Pill', which I thought was pretty good, even if it could have explored many more issues and causes.

Some sectors of the economy were improving, others weren't. I won't disagree that the Conservative ideology rushed a judgement but the Labour one of wasting money and remaining unaccountable for failures both put the economy/public sector in real jeopardy and eased Conservative opposition.

True. It's easier to let rumours rumble on the internet instead. It means you don't have to deal with the problem unless challenged. We all know how promises can be misconstrued. It was probably fortunate he didn't put his promise on a bus. Btw I'm definitely being facetious, I understand what Corbyn said and meant.

We need to keep signing oldies so when we Brexit we can get some young South American's in as replacements....I know, I know, I'm ruining English football

Best attribute was his long passing from difficult positions and that never materialised at senior level. Still time to learn, but perhaps not at Villa.

Absolutely about the PLP, shocking behaviour and they wasted two years. They need to learn how to be part of the process, as Corbyn did for 20 years. But division continues, which sadly means it's very difficult for Corbyn to embrace the detractors even if he is admirably trying. Still, his favourites need to start performing past Tory rhetoric/manifesto promises and I believe he does too. Labour need granular policy discussion so the final Tory swinging vote (and others) sees Labour as credible. Absolutely agree with you again, that's a different 'living within your means' and government does a particularly bad job delivering policy that delivers real change for ordinary people. However, it's not as recession stimulating as spending money wildly on promises you haven't actually costed; which is much of the Labour manifesto. And not only due to costs but due to delivery. I look at the promise to take back the water companies and I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment, but it leaves me chuckling for quite some time when I think about what that means and what their method to do it might be. I say might because I've heard nothing from Labour about what that promise means and what the purpose is. Also, every nation has had a slow recovery since this last recession and it's a lot more to do with things like the oil markets, finance and global trade/manufacturing than national policy. I do however welcome responsible public spending but not giveaways. Though if you want to play that partisan game then who presided over the recession and who was in charge when we pulled out of it? That argument doesn't really get us anywhere but I'd be happy to look at how policies pre and post recession shaped something like the cost of housing, which, in the context of 'living within your means' is a predominant contributor.

@blandy I could definitely name some successes, I have been doing that for very many months now. Included a couple above but I am no fool to the reality that the Conservatives have been failing with deliverable positive policies such as the overburdened education syllabus for primary and consequently, difficult secondary progression and increased workload for teachers. Though tbh, education has always been a government plaything. Freeschools, baby!

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. Labour were never getting it together, they made little progress and I believe Momentum has legitimised their ineptness by swaying people to Corby, not policy and the party. I'm sure there are coherent MP's and hopefully one day we will hear from them. I also think the Tories were spectacularly poor. They had a weak manifesto because they thought certain flagship policies/consultations would be included in the conversation, of course they weren't. They mismanaged a fair few policy announcements and even the research for them. It was a robotic campaign that would have benefited hugely from involving a wide range of opinion to shut down the opposition, instead we got May delivering soundbite after soundbite while Corbyn actually campaigned on his promises. Far from having no successes as blandy fells, they had a few very important policies that they did little to nothing to identify or promote. I do agree with you on the print media and Momentum but we need some real objectivity and not this partisan approach to conquering the rags, where the left are as bad as the right. Watching The Mash Report last night reminded me of how painful the conversation has become.

So frustrating to sign another midfielder who is a bit of everything but not great at anything specific. However, Terry and Whelan are two great spine players and we desperately need a spine. He's not as quality a midfielder as some oldies but he will surely be a worthwhile cover player at the very least. Plus, he won't last long which is good for younger players.

On the first point. PCT's wasted money like there was no tomorrow and CCG's shifted those opportunities elsewhere. Led by GP's, people predicted that some areas would experience patient number increases as a way to increase direct revenue. Worked in benefits, why not health! Though that's a massive oversimplification. Both systems were/are mismanaged, or had the potential to be. Though it wasn't helped by very many politicians forgetting to properly explain/factor in population increases, people living longer and the costs of new treatments/technology and their implementation. Retirement age reform should come after retirement living and housing reform, in terms of importance. It is not as easy as saying, you worked this hard so should retire earlier, particularly in the public sector. We need to give people chances to part-retire/retire early, work less/contribute more, or improve a work/life/economic balance, that will be achieved by delivering affordable living, which by 2037 will look very different. The public sector certainly offers better progression/certainty/flexibility. That's a lot tougher in the private sector where pensions are less fulfilling and employment and career change past 55 is a concern. Labour might have a different approach but whichever party you feel is getting it right, imo, everyone is failing to offer anything but a piecemeal approach to solving the looming retirement problem.

Midfield player who isn't the greatest tackler. Tis the Villa way.

Good job Crispin Blunt didn't. Some brilliant speakers throughout.

Not in the making! From his accurate and brutal assessments to his expression of indignation when someone says something stupid. he is downright hilarious and always has been. My problem is that he's too focused on process and so nobody knows it's hes actually able to understand deliverable policy. Either way, imo his more obvious talents are wasted if he's not in some way part of the governance conversation.

Fair point. They certainly did that over and over again. They, like remain, sat behind toxic narratives, but the immoral actions of some sections of leave had the opportunity to deal some hefty blows. You're right that it's different strings, does one hear or listen to music? But I don't feel the remain voice was heard as well as it should have been, even if more often than not it had weightier experts delivering conclusions (not assessments). That's my biggest frustration of the last few years, that we weren't able/willing to tell people why the EU was great, it was assumed that everyone already knew when policy wise. we don't. have a scooby

I'm willing to accept their voice was heard and it was something I unsuccessfully tried to research before the election. If you (or anyone) has any pointers I'd really enjoy researching them. I did however find many policies that people weren't willing to discuss, on both sides of the argument. But still, I don't feel giving the main brexit campaigners a voice is giving 'leave' a voice. I don't think anyone can say the media comprehensively explored any policy area and vocalised the solution with boring but knowledgeable people or politicians helping to further the debate. Instead we got experts predicting doom or boom and even remainer Cameron was in on it. Worse still, there was no clamour from any political side to stimulate the debate. Even now! On your last sentence, yup, absolutely fair point and sadly very many effwits.

A huge reason I voted Brexit was because the view of leave was not listened to. How long did people debate the bus, and still do!!! I certainty don't think a million people read EU Directives like I did, but I do believe the depth at which the referendum was discussed impacted on whether people felt listened to and therefore, shaped their vote. Politicians are only now talking about the UK policy environment under EU rule, because they absolutely have to. And tbh, in public, the majority are making a pigs ear of it. The media still isn't bothering to put that across and continues to concentrate on partisan reporting. Voters continue to be taken in by those soundbites because the wider discussion is not readily available or promoted. Rural and coastal communities continue to be sidelined for conversation about the financial sector and manufacturing opportunities that as yet, we are not identifying. If the conversation before and during the referendum had been phrased as 'How does EU policy really impact prosperity?', both the EU and the UK would have benefited. It definitely would've emboldened some leavers but politicians who actually wanted to win votes would have done their research, come out with proper negotiating and reform positions and I truly believe, convinced enough people that many of our problems with the EU are of our own making. Imo (and it influenced my vote) the decision to not understand that EU environment, despite decades of concern from impacted communities, is a sign that nobody was really listening or had a desire to.

You definitely missed out 'charges through the middle of the opposition with dancing feet that we haven't seen since Gabby was 19...loses the ball....like Gabby has been doing since he was 19'

I don't have a problem with him because I feel he does an adequate job is most positions (adequate for the Championship) but I detest his wait and see approach while on the ball. For me, that's a constant problem for us, we all too often let defenders set their positions which stifles our attackers when the passes/ricochets eventually go near their feet.

Slow passes forward remains a fixture....though we shouldn't be too surprised, our players really aren't that great. Imo you can tell Terry has played at Chelsea. Sees the game really well but heck is he slow....and he seems to know it.

Fixed the last line for you Sorry. I'm still hungover and think I'm funny....

Good points well made. Let's hope it can be a training hub and remain profitable and brilliant for the city.

FFS, so stupid.

Reminds me a little of the way we 'recycle' using Dutch incinerators.

@Kingman @TrentVilla I heard a few podcasts on the subject over the last 12 months but can't remember exactly what was said, not very helpful I know. Speakers seemed to agree that it won't be anywhere near as bad as the housing crash because the loans in say the US, aren't wrapped up over here like housing was. As I remember, podcast disagreement came on the scale of the crash. Some people said it shouldn't matter because not enough people have bet against the market and the loans are fairly small; others thought the estimation of 'numbers of default loans' was wrong and it will create grave knock on problems within the financial sector.....can't remember the exact reason why...will try and find the podcast. When you consider how deep we've gone into a new system of car ownership and the now noticeable increase in credit debt, who really knows! It's a worryingly fascinating topic.