Secret_Squirrel

Now that the Ancelotti ship has sailed its got to be Moyes for me. However if we cant get Moyes to leave Everton I'd take any of Hughes, Rijkaard or Benitez. I know many on here dont like Benitez due to the Barry saga but he was just looking out for the club he was at the time. He's a good manager with interantional standing, we could do a lot worse - step forward Mr McLaren! If the Wally with the Brolley pitches up at Villa Park I'm gonna go start following tiddlywinks instead!

Villan1957, personally I dont disagree with you on GH but he wasnt popular with most fans and McLaren would be even less so which dosent help put bums on seats.

I can't see it being McLaren, replacing an unpopular manager with possibly the most unpopular managerial appoinment possible (bar appointing Trevor Francis) is hardly going to help sell season tickets or keep our best players. If Randy appoints that clown I'll find a new sport to follow. Should we start a McLaren Out thread just in case?

astonvillalife is credable, in that he does know some of the players, though not sure the players will know much more thsn the rest of us.

Addidas please!

Cant wait to see Bent link up with Benzema

Cant wait to see Bent link up with Benzema

General, Do the club have any plans to run a competition to win a trip to watch Villa at the Asia Trophy in Hong Kong. That would be one awesome prize!!! - How about everyone who attends a lower porfile match or two gets entry into a draw.

Curbishley! :eek:

Leaving aside the whole manager issue for one moment - I need a break from it and I don’t envy Randy this task as I don’t think there is a single outstanding available candidate to choose from – the one thing that I really think that the current regime at Villa have completely failed to grasp is that stars put bums on seats. I think it’s fair to say that attendances aren’t what the board were expecting and I suspect with recent events it’s probably going to get worse this season. MON spent an awful lot of money during his reign at the club but not once did he bring in a recognised “star”. Arguably some turned into “stars” during MON’s time – Barry, Milner and Young but two of them left and how much longer will we hold onto Ashley? I believe many ticket sales in the first half of the season (inc season tickets) are dictated by fans (uninformed) expectations of the coming season – mainly based on who they see arriving at the club. As the season progresses results on the pitch become more of a factor but it may well be too late by then as people have decided to spend their money elsewhere. The Premiership is now more about entertainment than sport and works in much the same way as Hollywood - put Angelina Jolie and Tom Hanks in a movie and more people will watch it than the same movie if it starred Elizabeth Shue and Bruce Campbell. Same applies to football – sign, for example, Jermain Defoe and you’ll sell more tickets than if you signed somebody called Marlon Harewood. I do believe MON’s buy late in the window strategy hit ticket sales big time. A single early (exciting) signing in the summer would send people to the ticket office. The manager obviously needs to address the supporting cast and this can be done up to the last minute to get the team balance right but if you want to sell tickets give the fans a star name to get them excited. Just to set the record straight I’m not talking about Ronaldo’s or Messi’s here I’m think of players of the calibre I’m sure we could have got in the recent past like Defoe or Bent. Hopefully when the new manager is in place and for future windows things will change! I dont expect any more signings this window.

However Nicko has since clarified on BRFCS that the Heskey move is not cut and dried and that the bigger story might be the future of Big Sam.

I thought people were discussing Petrov not NRC!

Ok, so if I was to ditch the Richards idea and scout another defensive option would I get the job!

I've decided to have a go at this management lark - seems pretty easy to me: Out - Milner 25m, Heskey 1.5m, NRC 3m, Sidwell 2m, L Young 2m, Shorey 2m, Davis 5m, Beye 1m, Salifou (priceless) = £41.5 In - Keane 6m, Huntelaar 12m, Bentley 8m, Ireland 10m, Carrick 10m, Onhua 5m, Richards 8m = £59m Investment required from Randy - £17.5m Jobs a good'en - champions league here we come! Do I get the job?

The oversized lion is a fantastic idea - absoloutly love it! Could we have this as the crest on the kit - claret body, blue sleeves and oversized blue lion crest - ideally with a claret and blue striped collar!

Thomas Helmer played for Sunderland. Didnt Heinze Rieldle play for Liverpool at one point? Anyway back on topic, I dont think we'll sign any Germans!

1 - Hammer 2 - Lehman 3 - Klinsman 4 - Ziege 5 - Rosler 6 - Babbel 7 - Hamman 8 - Helmer 9 - Ballack There you go, i beat 8

Huntelaar and Carrick for me. Huntelaar is still one of the best finishers in Europe if you can get him to settle. I think the prem will suit him.

Hi General Just an idea on ways for paying for season tickets that might help boost attendance. Why not set up a monthly direct debit scheme so you can pay monthly over 10 or 12 months? Automatic renewals, you could include some interest so it would be slightly cheeper to buy a ST up front (as I'm sure the club would preffer the revenue in advance). It's just another option that might suit some people better than the current arrangements.

This

If your ticket is going spare General, I know a good home for it :winkold:

Hi general This isnt a transfer question, just a plea. We desperatly need a 20+ goal a season striker, an out and out goal scorer who knows how to stick the ball in the back of the onion bag. I dont expect an answer, just gald of the opportunity to air my view to someone in the club - I'm sure MON is on top of things. Up the Villa!

I've lived and worked in and around Brum all my life, and worked with many fans from small heath, (baggies and wolves for that matter too). I'll wake up on Sunday, full of mixed emotions from nerves to exictiment and expectation. I cant wait to see the game - it matters! When we win, I'll go to work on Monday and give it both barrels to the noses in the office. But what really matters is that we collect 3 points and move closer to European football and continue the progress of the club. Winning the derby is all Small Heath can ever hope to acheive, we're Villa and have bigger fish to fry. However, I just dont feel the need to punch or throw a bottle at some 14 yearold kid wearing a blue shirt. I'd rather see Gabby hit a hat trick and then celebrate. As for Mersyside, it's no myth. You see it on the telly and I've been myself. Sure there are pockets but you dont get the mass hostility that happens here.

Have to agree with a lot of the sentiment in the article. This fixture should be a celebration of football in the city and something for both sides to relish. I look on in envy at the mersyside derby and see Liverpool and Everton sharing the stands together. I work with a blue nose and the we've had loads of fun trading insults and banter, who can show thier face on Monday morning? But at the end of the day it's banter. This fixture has been spoiled by the knuckle draggers who find it an excuse for a fight, hardly a great advert for either club or the city in which most of us live. I was in Borders bookshop in the bullring a few weeks back and saw the book on display about the "famous" hooligan gangs of Aston Villa, made me feel ashamed.