paulanddonya

I dont understand why this is nearly 200 pages long. Lets face it Virtually everyone can see the new manager SHOULD BE Martin jol If the board can't see that - then what the hell hope have we got !

Gen Forgetting the reaction to the game - that would be temper. However , on the above, look at my four year posts to yourself regarding "Villa's No.9" and look at the above. And yet again, it is overlooked. As I say, forget the game - but when I saw harewood, then ireland get the number 9 - I really think the "Proud History" is just a gimmick, and no one actually does know how much history this club has. Only thing I want to say from today - you can appoint Fergusun, Mourinho and Brian Clough together, but unless we have someone who knows how to put a little round thing, into a big rectangle thing - we will go nowhere. And I've said it for four years !

before I start I musts say I was thankfully at work so didn't see the game and can only go on the raio commentary. So -with regards to player performances I cannot comment, although I have the following observations Positives 1. At least this should stop the stupid suggestions of McDonald getting the job. There is a ridiculous difference between a reserve coach and 1st team manager. He is good at what he is good at , and he shoudl stay there. 2. I always knew we'd lose game. When the fixtures were announced I said on that thread. the only thing you want from the fixtures is you don't have a promoted side, in their first home game. You can double that for Newcastle coz of 50,000, and you can double it again when we sent them down. A draw I would have been dancing around the bull ring. Negative 3. Kind of on above really, when the team was announced my exact words were "what the.....". Midfield - Downing - Attack Mid , Ireland - Attack Mid, Petrov - Attack Mid , Albrighton - Attack Mid , Ireland - Attack Mid - derrrr - who was defending today ?. If you are playing ireland (and this isn't hindsight because I saw a lot of people on here say it on thursday) you HAVE to play NRC !. Why KM couldn't see that - who knows 4. John Carew / or heskey come to that. I don't give a shite if they lead the line better than a armoured plate tank in Afghanistan. Forwards are there to score goals and that is it. If Carew had put one of the three easy chances away last week, and kept the ball lower than Jupiter this - we would be top of the league now. Same argument Heskey. We have 19m in the bank - USE IT 5. Warnock - dont give a giraffe about the hype - the guy is average, and has been since he came to the club. Others - god knows what went on. Put it right against Everton - you will be forgiven.

And how many shots did he have ? Trying not to be too simplistic here, but I will stick my neck out and say that Albrighton will probably get MOTM - so if out winger was so good - why the hell did our forward not get within 30 yards of any of his crosses !

Sorry? Easy - he was MOTM as he was about a 6.5 out of 10. He played the best of our players - but lets face it, that wasn't too difficult. Saturday he was outstanding, tonight, he was the best of a bad bunch !

Result OK - performance average Guzan - not impressed. Shot stopper, does not command. Need a goalie Lichaj - doesn't impress me, can't see it Beye - best of bad defence. Did OK Davies - very poor - try talking with yor feet, coz your mouth doesn't match their ability Warnock - distinctly average Bannan - lively, creative Coker - disappointing, just seemed to moan all night. Expect a lot more Albrighton - MOTM - although not that good, created all our openins though Hogg - was he in Austria today ? Heskey - was he with Hogg ? Findings Get a goalie face it - heskey is NO GOOD Bannan and Albrighton have futures Lichaj and Hogg not so sure

1st half Guzan - worrying (shot stoper / doesn't command) Lichaj - poor Warnock - ok Davies - very poor Beye - ok Coker - poor Downing - ok Hogg - non-existant Bannan - ok Albrighton - ok - best of lot though Heksey - non-existant

Am I on my own here, I am seriously, seriously not bothered about this. I cannot get enthused by this "league". It is a stpuid competition since the Champions League took everyone down to Scunthorpe !. In one way I think - trip to Dublin - nice one. In another way, I think, win this, virtually every game is on a Sunday ! I don't have to take any time off for aturday games. Sundays are a nightmare for me. So, conclusion. I want Villa to win, of course I do, I never want us to lose. But if we do - I won't be losing any sleep over it !

Firstly, Milner is a good player, that there is no doubt. But he is so over-hyped it is untrue. Yes, he was our player of the year, but come on, it was a hell of a close call. I personally went for Milner, then thought, I got that wrong, I should have gone for Dunne. Improvement - Milner is 24yrs old, not 19. He will improve, but not THAT much. He has also been very very very mediocre for England so please don't tell me he is international class. At this stage Gareth Barry is by far a better player than Milner, never mind Gerrard, Lampard etc.. Ireland - who knows, he may turn out like God, he may turn out like Collymore, only time will tell. All i know is he is a far more talented player than Milner. If he plays 100% and Milner plays 100% - we have the better player. Temperament has been brought up, yeah, maybe, but Rooney has a temperament, difference is, he has a manager that canmanage that. If we get one, then there is no issue. I for one am sorry Milner is leaving, I would rather have Ireland AND Milner. But I gotta be honest,give me one or the other, and I'd pick Ireland. And then you have a small matter of 19 million things that can get us the striker that would put one of the 10 chances our other one had on Saturday !

Gen a) Thanks for the Healthy options eating. It was one of my points on the survey and has been looked into. Being Veggie, I never ate at Villa Park, but, with the prices also kept reasonable, I for one will be supporting this as of next week. Re: the scoreboard thing. Presumably, this is all part of the redevelopment of the North Stand, ie: whats the point of putting one in for a season, only to take it down again, is this correct ? , if so, I am sure people can live without it for 19 games. c) I have said for two years, Ireland at his best, is far superior to Milner at his best (although Milner is more consistent). If the new boss gets that consistency, we have just pulled off the deal of the century ! Paul

Can someone enlighten me ? I am out of the country until Wednesday. I keep reading Randy has flew to Milan. So who is in / near Milan that we would be interested in - coz I can only think of Ranieri, or god forbid, Zola. Any thoughts ?

I too would like to heap praise on all today. I don't think KM is the man for the job, and from his interview, I don't think he does either. However, what today did show, is who-ever comes in, needs to know and respect the job KM is doing. get a guy who is respected in coaching technique, for giving players a chance, for spotting a "unhidden gem", and let KM and Sid provide a steady flow of talented youngsters, and we could be well away. Whatever happens in the future, the players need to know how much pride the fans felt today. they showed 110% commitment - not to themselves, not to a manager, or an owner - they showed commitment to AVFC and for that - I thank them. Up the Villa Paul

i've just basically said in the Albrighton thread - dont rush him, take time to bleed him However, I see a difference in Clark. I think he is ready now. The game he played last year (was it Fulham) the guy looked like he was as experienced as Dunne. This kid looks 10 times the player Cahill was - and I wish we still had him !. I'd be tempted to stay with the kid, if he needs a rest, we have cover.

Downing !! - now he played fine, but MOTM ?

Utterly superb !!! Sitting here at 9.30 am in Sunny California a very happy man !. Albrighton was superb - what the hell was the Corporate sponsors on ?. If Carew had bothered looking at the goal it could of been 10, great performance all around from a team that looked like a weight had been lifted. Come on, even the biggest MON fans must admit it - when was the last time Petrov crossed the half way line, never mind get in the six yard box (and he did it more than once) Also thought the subs were great - how refreshing to see Heskey sat on the bench whilst Weimann is given a run-out. Not saying Kev should get it full time, but just shows what he has done, and can do - which is save us a fortune. Well done to all.

It's going to be incredibly difficult to get someone in who is as much of an egomaniacal, stubborn, self-serving, word removed as O'Neill. Your description of O'Neill could be applied equally well to Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho... those are so often the traits of a successful manager. There is one fundemental issue with your statement and it is in one of the words. I let you decide the word, and what makes those different to ONeill !

I've said it for a year or more. Go and buy out Trapattoni's Irish contract and give him a young Pedouin. Even Cowans, I presume he also speaks Italian. There are dozens of managers out there better than O'Neill, just accept it !. Or, just for instance, we do pick a "lower league manager" - so !. How do you know it won't work. I seem to remember being outraged when we took Gregory from Wycome. A year later we were sitting top of the league !. You can't tell until you hire them. I thought OLeary was the best manager in the league when we got him. Took Leeds to Champions League Semi Final he did - look how that turned out. Just trust the owner. So far, he has done sod all wrong, so just trust him !

Gen / Mods I understand this is not a discussion thread so will try and keep it to the Gen, but it is obviously hard. I've just read 6 pages of people saying Randy has just "ruined our season" " lost the best thing that has happened to our club in years" etc... General, I for one, can see that it is not Randy who has just ruined our season. I for one can see that Randy is still at the Villa, now trying to find a new manager. I can't work out why Randy is coming in for the stick to be honest. Martin O'Neill was an employee, who, presumably was told by his employer what was expected - when he didn't like it - he ran away. I for one, do not blame Randy. As for best thing in years. I for one, who have been with the Villa since 1976 saw / and see Randy and the takeover as the best thing in ages - not Martin O'Neill. I have said many times, I trust the board, but not so the manager. I therefore trust they will find a suitable replacement and we will continue to go upwards. I wont be there on Saturday, only for the reason that I am currently in the US on holiday. I will be back after that though and giving AVFC my full support. I have only ever been gutted to lose one manager - Ron Atkinson. I am not gutted about losing Martin O'Neill, I am kind of gutted it has happened at such a harming time (5 days to go, only 3 weeks of transfer window left) - but life goes on. All I will say, is I trust Randy and yourself. You always say you will not settle for second best, so please don't go back on your word. A top class manager is required - not a "Curbishley" type - that is a Doug Ellis appointment, and I don't expect that of yourselves. Also, if the rumours that this all came about over McGeedy - then I am 100% behind Randy. No matter what the manager says, he doesn't need another winger, never mind a second rate one - and I support it not being sanctioned. People say it should be the managers decision - so why have Spurs got Levy, why do Chelsea have Kenyon, etc... times have changed, unfortunately, MON hadn't ! Up the Villa. Paul - by the way, on a different note, (back to the shirt thing). I went to Vegas this week. Vegas Nke store had shirts from 100's of clubs, including ones I have never heard of. I asked the guy about the Villa one and he hadn't even heard of us, never mind, had an idea of when it was available.

I understand it wouldnt happen because of his wages, but lets just be hypothetical and say he wasn't on that much. I can't believe there are so many no's here. I know he is 29, but James Milner is nowhere near in the same league as Gareth Barry - and I predict now, whether he goes to Man City, stays with us, or goes to barcelona - he will never be !! People forget how bloody good Barry was / is. there is a reason we sung "Barry or England" for 10yrs, and why he is now the indispensible one out of the England midfield that has players like Lampard and Gerrard in it, Barry, like Platt before him, was / still is absolute sheer class - and - if I had a chance, would take him back with a shot !. Or maybe people wold rather see Sidwell and god forbid Isiah Osbourne and Salifou in our squad !

Personally, I think this is Man City doing what Chelsea did when they first broke. The first thing to do to get success, is make sure your opponents are weaker. I think Man City buying Milner is more to make sure Villa (or even any other club that may look at him) are weaker than to make them stronger. He is Man City's version of SWP at Chelsea. Just off my head, Man City have Silva , Barry , Toure. then others like De Jong, bellamy, SWP. Johnson , the other Johnson, Ireland Personally, I would play any of those over Milner and if they want to swap, would take any of them. So, whether Jimmy thinks he will play or not, I cannot see it happening.

Gen Welcome back, lets just say, given the expectations of the two nations. I think you lot had a better time in S.A. than us lot. Can I ask a question. Going back 4ish years, when we signed the deal with Nike, you stated the intention was to have shirts on a multi-year basis, as you said it was a fair thing. Obviously, since this time it hasn't been possible, and I think that is understandable. We first had the Nike shirt, but had a year left with 32red. then we had the yearly agreement with Acorns. However, now, with the 3yr partnership with FX Pro - it seems the perfect chance to bring this in. Personally, and I know there are different views on here, I would think a two-year shirt, alternating between a new home and away shirt each year - is fair. Any thoughts ?. On the same note, I like both new shirts. Although I must admit that I am not in favour of the "Americanisation" of our shirts. What I mean by this is that 10 clubs, including us (and not all of the clubs have announced new shirts this year) have announced a "Black" away kit. What do all away teams in baseball wear ? = co-incidence - I don't think so. However, after saying that, it is nice Paul

I know this is all very simplistic and it is a hell o a lot harder than us lot say on paper. But, in my simple terms:- 1. Get around 20m PLUS Ireland for Milner - player about even, and dosh to spend 2. Spend that 20m - or however much of it it takes (prob around 16, bearing in mind they put a downpayment of 8m on him) on a certain forward who we should have bought originally - Darren Bent !! 3. Now break even, or maybe around 4m left over. 4. Sell Heskey for 2m , add it to the 4m - and go and get Keane - thus completing the forward line for around the next 6 yrs ! 5. Get rid of the others like Sidwell, and buy a quality full back for it. TOTALLY BREAK EVEN 6. Use whatever funds we actually had this year to buy that elusive "other" midfielder we need (or if we are happy with Ireland, Petrov, NRC and Delph - use it on a young goalie) Easy ! On above , two players I'd actually look at at Plop - Kuyt - but dont think he will leave Babbel - probably will leave, and I just think he is better than what he has shown so far.

Good riddunce. i've said all summer the guy is unbelievably over-hyped. As long as we get the money we want - let him go and go and get better (and Ireland is better by the way). He is a work-a-holic - no doubt. But he ain't class. If he was, why the hell are we craving a midfielder with some skill !. He just thinks of money, he did at Leeds and Newcastle, now us. Bye bye you money grabbing ....... - and go and enjoy the bench at City - co you aint fit to lace Barrys boots never mind the likes of Silva!

McGeedy - I seriously hope not. I have never watched a scottish game, but I am an ireland fan and have watched hims many a time. The guy is like any 7yr old. Picks up the ball, puts his head down and just runs. Where to - he doesn't care - as long as he runs. He eventually runs smack bang into the chest area of a central defender and bounces off - the ball having been long since gone. Believe me, watch him - i really can't believe we would want him. Boro seem to be buying up all the Old firm players and I am serious when I say he isn't good enough for them !

Now that I don't know - it is chequered, as in chequered flag. But one Cheque / cheque ? Who knows Well actually, thinking about it, you couldn't have one check / cheque, coz that would just be a square wouldn't it !