uncle_junior

General. Who do you think England will turn to? Mourinho, Allardyce, Coppell and Curbishley have all said they're not interested.

General The difference is that when Martin made that statement the other day, England were still odds on to qualify for the European Championships, and still had a manager. The situation now is totally different, in that England have not qualified and are looking for a new manager. "I have a big commitment to Aston Villa" is not the same thing as "I do not want the England job". Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley have said it in open terms, MON needs to do the same. I reiterate - do it now that the job is available.

And what about Randy?

General Any movement towards an answer to my question re away fans in home areas? Sorry to be a nag, but I'm supposed to be taking my nephew to the Man United game, and his mother is unsurprisingly concerned that he's going to be in the vicinity of swearing, jostling and fighting if our stewards let away fans sit where they want.

Again, General, I am really sorry to push on this point, but you have made the above point before, but still haven't expanded on what the unintended consequences of ejection are. Could you tell us a little about why it is necessary to involve the FA and other clubs, for example, to stop away supporters (some wearing away shirts!) walking into home parts of Villa Park? Several people have commented here and on other sites about the tense, confrontational atmosphere that this creates, and the worry that people have taking their kids into this kind of atmosphere. Let me put this in the form of a simple question .... We play Manchester United at home on October 20th. 1. At that game, will stewards allow entry to home areas for people who are clearly away supporters? 2. Will their be a consistent, joined-up policy issued to all stewards re what to do if they become aware of away supporters where they shouldn't be? Yes / No answers to both the above would be much appreciated

I don't mean to badger you, and I'm sure you are doing your best to sort this out, General, but could you give us an idea of what these "unintended consequences" are?

Sorry, General, but I don't see what is so complicated about this. It says, quite clearly, on the back of the tickets that the ticket is for the use of home supporters only. It says, above the entrances, that the stands are for home supporters only. If stewards see away supporters wearing opposition kit, what on earth is complicated about enforcing our own rules and ejecting them? We manage to do it sporadically (seemingly dependent on the whim of the steward concerned), so why can't we have a consistent policy? I look forward to hearing your reply.

General Can i ask you for a clarification on this response you gave: Are you referring: 1. Specifically to the case described here of the Liverpool fan in an executive box goading the home supporters 2. To the issue of away fans in home areas who make a nuisance of themselves 3. To away fans in home areas full stop. By this I am talking about situations people have referred to of stewards having a laugh and joke with Liverpool shirt wearing supporters in Villa seating rather than ejecting them? Sorry if this is forcing you to reiterate a point, but this is a subject of some concern, and as such, I think this could do with a little clarification, so we all know what is being looked at

Why? Because we've drifted off (his) message? People are expressing their opinions, for the most part lucidly. Football is all about opinions. I'm sure the General doesn't need people protecting him from criticisms and worries.

General I too have a sneaking feeling we may have been at best misled, and at worst lied to in regard to transfer expectations. Is MON working to a tight, sell-to buy budget, something which his recent statements have hinted at? If this is the case, then I can't help but feel those record season tickets sales were achieved under false pretences.

That was my post. What I was trying to say was: 1. We've had a lean time of it for a long time now. 2. In the past, we won the biggest prize of all and got relegated 5 years later - how's that for a false dawn? We could have been like Liverpool and built on our success, but didn't 3. We've had so many false dawns before. 4. I don't doubt the board are doing their utmost best to get things right. 5. We have a recent history of underachievement and mediocrity. 6. If we sound like we're incredibly demanding or suspicious at the moment, it is largely because of the five points above. 7. We've very little reason to suspect you won't get it right (but, hey. blind faith is dangerous too) , but if things don't get better (compared to years gone by), prepare for much outpouring of emotion, because of the first 5 points. So, yes, you were not that far off.

What I am getting at is whether Randy needs to be in the UK and present at contract negotiations for a transfer to go through, or whether these agreements can be negotiated and concluded without his presence.

General, the new kits look absolutely fantastic. However, without wanting to rehash the debate over the Harewood signing, one thing that should be absolutely crystal clear from events this week is that whilst nice kits and the Holte Hotel are fantastic, these absolutely pale into insignificance compared with building the team on the pitch. We've been let down many times in the past, we need now to compete with the other teams chasing UEFA spots, but there is a belief amongst many of us that so far this summer we haven't seen the progress we expected on this front. You've got an incredible amount of goodwill, if you screw it up (and I'm not suggesting you will), you need to be aware that the anger over this last signing will look tame by comparison. If we sound melodramatic this week, it is purely because we've seen so many false dawns before. Don't let us down. Up the Villa!