brommy

Morpheus?

Any truth in that? Highly unlikely, imo. I don't know how they would expect to begin and complete such a massive deal and contract negotiations within a few hours. For example, the Fellaini deal was completed last night but the bid and personal terms took days to agree. I think it much more likely that the paper had a couple of centimetres to fill and chose a throw away line involving a favourite club of theirs and one of this season's hottest players; a line they knew neither club would bother to sue about. I'd love the local press to write that we'd rejected a late £50m bid or that a £45m bid had been accepted but Benteke refused to leave our mighty club - I suspect there would be as much truth in it. After he had signed a new contract, concern about Benteke leaving this summer was always going to be unnecessary. Like worrying about a car journey or perhaps taking a flight - the worst can happen but the chances are so low as to render concern pointless.

You might be right, but for PR it wasn't great for Birmingham was it? The greatest show on earth and we couldn't be arsed in playing a part? At least they have VP down for the Rugby World Cup, which is a much bigger event than Olympic footy I guess. Please don't use 'the greatest show on earth' tag for Olympic football; it really isn't! Also, do you honestly believe there was PR damage for Villa/the city or any PR gain for the likes of Coventry?

You may be right but this sort of comment has been posted in every transfer window over the last few years. Well the deadwood still hasn't been cleared. It never will be - with a first team of 11 - and a squad of 25 - theres always going to be some players that will be referred to as deadwood - sure the names will change - but there will always be some excuse as to why the manager has limited funds I think every club has its deadwood. I also think PL would have more funds available if Villa's deadwood were 4 or 5 players on £20k/week rather than 2 or 3 on £20k/week plus 2 or 3 on £50k+/week.

Firm speculation (if that's not a contradiction!), believed to be permanent and believed to be a pale imitation of Benteke.

Please state course and speed.

It is possible that Lambert shares your opinion but doesn't rate the AM players currently available for the funds the club has.

Lambert will have his reasons. The fact that one may not readily understand the reasons might reflect on not having the full picture (both in terms of current playing staff capabilities and the availability of new players against the monies available) or having no experience of managing a large football club. There's no shame in it and I've accepted it.

Nobody said the Olympic football tournament was terrible, just that after reviewing the detailed figures available closer to the tournament, a decision was made that hosting wasn't worth it. Without access to the facts and precise figures, we can only guess at why other clubs/grounds were happier to host. Greater capacity allowing an element of profit for the larger grounds? Prestige outwaying the 'hassle factor' for chairmen/owners of the smaller grounds?

Possibly but that's what makes BB so good!

Actually what happened is that we gave up the chance to host some Olympic matches as 'ground developments' where planned in the summer of 2012. Which then didn't happen as we averaged 33,000 under McClueless so I guess the board didn't want the ground to have 20,000 empty seats instead of the 10,000 we were regularly getting.That's not the truth and Voinjama has already pointed out one flaw. Well it probably just confirmed it, the crowds did drop from over 40,000 under MON's 2nd season when the club did sound quite serious about a new north stand, and it went steadily downwards to the car crash season of 11-12. It was the same time as the recession but I think Lerner realised that Villa do not have quite the fanbase for a 50,000 stadium so its been shelved. Had England won the 2018 world cup bid it might have been a different story though. The Olympic football games were turned down because there was nothing in it for the club (margins were that tight it was possible to actually lose money for the games) AND because they could have impinged on ground preparation for the new season - from minor issues such as new screens and summer ground maintenance/pitch replacement to possible ground improvements. I suspect that if there was a decent profit to be made OR the additional games would not have had a possible impact on preparing Villa Park for the new season, we may have hosted. I agree that a successful 2018 World Cup bid might have changed things. The recession combined with some very average football prevented our decent fanbase from visiting Villa Park regularly in the 40,000 plus numbers Randy would have been looking for. Even sell-outs would tell a story - were there thousands of enquiries turned down after selling out or just a few hundred?

Actually what happened is that we gave up the chance to host some Olympic matches as 'ground developments' where planned in the summer of 2012. Which then didn't happen as we averaged 33,000 under McClueless so I guess the board didn't want the ground to have 20,000 empty seats instead of the 10,000 we were regularly getting. That's not the truth and Voinjama has already pointed out one flaw.

Nice car! I hope you got them to beat or at least match the current A6 offers on drivethedeal.

Not for long actually! Met a lot of players after nearly 30 minutes after the game! Most of them in their cars. I´m from Sweden and this was my first time going to a Villa match so I stayed for a long time and mainly because I wanted to see Delph. He came out last after talking to Sturridges brother as far as I saw it. Then just before he stepped towards his car I shouted his name and asked him to come over. He asked the guards to open the gates and came to me as I talked to him about the match, also took some pictures and everything! Delph made my 7 hour journey worth it! A very nice guy! EDIT: It was an hour after the game! KEA and Bennett were the only players leaving the dressing rooms after 30 minutes! Delph's face looks like you asked him what he thought of the man-of-the-match award!

I think the cash is added on 28 days after purchase, and only if you paid fully with cash/debit ie not using part of the Villa Cash... So you can probably see why this is a bit of a ripp off... I don't agree that it's a rip-off. Granted the 10% discount of merchandise has moved to 10% 'Villa Cash' which can be spent on anything from Villa but the 5% Villa Cash from ticket purchases is a straight forward gain. They could have started it with future ticket purchases so it was a nice surprise that they gave us 5% of our season ticket value already loaded on the card. It's already got me a free ticket against Rotherham and, depending on progression and level of next opponent, should be enough for another free home cup game. Hardly a 'rip-off'.

I spent mine on sunday, got the away shirt for £25 once they'd taken villa cash and the discount off, happy days Yep. Used mine for tickets against Rotherham and the remainder on a shirt for my son's birthday. Great that my Villa Cash is already in credit again from 10% of the merchandise and 5% of the ticket purchases.

You're being sarcastic, right? Fans complain of grounds having 'no atmosphere' or being 'like a library' and then moan about noise near them. I must remember not to take a survey of those around me in K5 the next time I shout my support or go crazy over a decision!

Up to date with the latest of Breaking Bad. Rather good, isn't it?

I seem to remember a few more course things happening but still enjoyed standing on the Holte.

Result!

I expect he was over compensating to avoid accusations of bias, keep his employers happy and keep or earn a contract. It is wrong though. Either have commentators who are aligned with one of the teams playing and let them be biased (within reason) or stick to 'independent' commentators/analysers.

Christian was free to leave this summer, if his value was met. As for discussing figures for next season, there are too many variables - several for each party (Villa, Christian and the interested club(s)) - to currently state what transfer fee may or may not be acceptable to the Villa next summer.He wasnt actually .. If you read the statement carefully you will find that the club were willing to make him stay .. Assuming "act upon it" didn't mean "put the fax in the bin", the club were willing to let him leave according to their statement - "Having received his transfer request, we have also informed him that should we receive an offer within an appropriate timeframe during pre-season which meets our valuation we would act upon it. But he will remain a Villa player should this not happen." If CB does have another good season (great start so far!), it is likely he'll be off next summer - because a club will finally match our valuation of him, not because of some unofficial agreement that 'he can go if he wants because he agreed to stay this year'. However, whilst acknowledging his likely departure, the possibility of him staying another year remains. I can imagine Levy phoning Faulkner during Summer 2014 and saying "Now we'll pay you the £25m you wanted", followed by Faulkner's response - "That was last summer, dumb arse".

Christian was free to leave this summer, if his value was met. As for discussing figures for next season, there are too many variables - several for each party (Villa, Christian and the interested club(s)) - to currently state what transfer fee may or may not be acceptable to the Villa next summer.

Sounds plausible but it could be that RL, PF and PL simply don't like release clauses, so it was never on the table. In any case, the important thing is CB is a Villa player for the next 2 to 3 seasons unless another club values him as highly as we do. A successful CB on 3.5, 3 or 2.5 year contract will cost another club a LOT of money. I hope CB scores 25+ goals this season. Then he will get his big £40m to £50m next summer or clubs will mess around with £30m bids and CB will realise Villa value him more than anyone else and stay for another season - like this summer. i'm not gonna lie he will be gone next season. I thought a club would pay his true value this summer and it did not happen. What makes you sure a club will pay his value, likely to have significantly increased, next summer?

His wife was the dick, he's just a pushover Postma style!