Stephen_Evans

Hi General Having seen Villa and Blackburn (league match), and Arsenal and Birmingham (cup match) all wear the same coloured shorts this weekend, I am guessing that means that we are not obliged to wear all claret on Wednesday at Manchester City, as in previous seasons? Did you manage to get an answer on the kit clashes issue from your people at Villa Park?

I'm not doubting you, sir, but the league appeared quite happy for Birmingham and West Brom to wear white shorts at Villa Park this season, yet at Birmingham we had to change our shorts. In which case, why not change to blue? Manchester City were even allowed to wear their sky blue home shirts at Birmingham recently, so I cannot understand why blue shorts would be regarded as a clash. There is a lot of inconsistency in what the league deems acceptable. I also note that Blackburn wore white shorts at Villa Park recently. As for yesterday, well, I know all match officials are blind, but what exactly would have been the problem if Villa had worn sky blue shorts? Can I suggest again a simple rule? When wearing the home shirt, if we are not allowed to wear white shorts, we wear blue. And if that is not allowed, we wear our away kit. And if that is not allowed, then the third kit. But please, stop this all claret nonsense. As I've said before, Manchester United and Arsenal would never wear all red. It's about having a consistent branding. I'm afraid the periods 1983 to 1989, 1993-95, 1999-2002 have left some of us purists rather scarred when it comes to kits. When it appears to be a matter of policy to wear all claret whenever there is a clash, we worry you're softening us up for some future montrosity!

Hi General, The web is in uproar, but what Mr H appears to have meant is, "If I HAD to lose to anyone, well I'd rather it was Liverpool than anyone else". That is exactly how I would feel about losing to Villa if I managed another club. So here's one vote in support of Mr H, I think his comments are perfectly acceptable. Football is getting worse than politics for hysteria! The guy is getting hammered for being a very gracious man.

Hi General, just two brief comments, please: 1) Claret shorts do not go with claret shirts. How ridiculous you may say, they're the same colour! Yes, and that's why they don't go. The first principle for Aston Villa is claret shirts with blue sleeves, the second is always to have contrasting shorts. So, white, but if they need to be changed, sky blue. And if that is not possible or permitted for any reason, wear the away kit. If black wouldn't do last night, well, hey there's always white. Sorry to moan, but this is about tradition AND branding. Manchester United and Arsenal would NEVER EVER wear red shorts with their home shirts. 2) Not that you can or should respond, but I wonder privately what you think £8million and £6million respectively should buy in terms of quality of full-backs.

I'm very excited to see this. Me too, though the only slight reservation would be the fact that in a 4-4-2 the midfield would lack balance with three left-footers. Less of a problem with 4-4-1-1 (provided the withdrawn striker does his job properly) or in the more fluid system which GH prefers.

Hi General I would really love to go to the cup game at St Andrew’s but, to be honest, I am rather concerned about my personal safety. Can I implore the club to lay on official travel? It doesn’t have to be free. In fact, I bet I’m not the only one who would part with a tenner just to make sure I get there and back in one piece. My suggestion would be that folks could get themselves to Villa Park (parking there if necessary) and then be taken straight to the away end. I honestly think both clubs will live to regret any failure to keep the two sets of fans apart outside the ground before and after the game. For myself, there is no way I will go if I'm getting there on my own steam of by public transport.

Hi General Before a load of Holte Enders vent their fury at me, I am playing devil's advocate here. But in the interests of consistency, if that poor guy is to be ejected for a bit of harmless humour in the Doug Ellis Stand, surely those Holte Enders at the back who persistently stand for the entire game should all be ejected. If rules are rules, why is there such inconsistency in stewarding policy? All fans must be treated alike. Secondly, the guy in the Doug Ellis was IMMEDIATELY manhandled. It was not at all clear that he had been given the opportunity to comply with a verbal request to leave before being virtually jumped on. This too, frankly, disgusts me. Our club should NOT treat its lifeblood in this way. As you will imagine, many of us were very angry, even before we saw the mocking of the club on Match of the Day 2.

Hi General I'm not sure if you have seen an interesting thread about the journalism on the AVFC website today. It reminded me to mention a long-standing concern about the programme, which I may have highlighted before. In the last year or so I have spotted literally scores of examples of spelling mistakes, typos, poor grammar and factual inaccuracies. I could draw up a sizeable list of all the mistakes I have found just this season. I don't know who takes ultimate responsibility for this aspect, but they need to sharpen up. Our programme has long been one of the best and is rightly a football treasure. This post is not to have a go at anyone, just to try to protect a wonderful institution, because I don't recall seeing these problems before our partnership with Programme Master. Slightly more tongue-in-cheek, with regard to the website I think we're all fed up with cheesy headlines like "Gift of the Gab" and daft articles on the theme of "such-and-such determined to score a goal/win the next game". I mean what else is a player going to say?! One last point (and these are all connected with media in one way or another). Let us say, diplomatically, that Jack Woodward is not to everyone's taste. "I'VE BEEN TO THE WEST END, I'VE BEEN TO BROADWAY, BUT NEVER HAVE I WITNESSED ANYTHING LIKE THIS". Would Jack mind NOT screaming Alan Partridge-esque cringy lines over cherished memories of one of the greatest games of my life, the Carling Cup semi-final. To keep fans and critics of Jack happy, the solution would appear to be to make use of technology and give fans the option of having crowd noise but no commentary on such DVDs. Btw, a big thumbs up from me over Mr H!

As good a post as I have read on here for a long time.

No. Gap between Alex Massie's resignation and George Martin's appointment was longer.

Isn't GH the man who masterminded FIVE successive wins over Manchester United? (Or am I making that up?)

Nice one, MM!

Hi General We're looking for a manager who knows what it takes to finish at least 4th. How about the only man to have done it at Villa in the last 17 years? Brian Little would walk from the other side of the world to get his old job back (including over any water getting in his way). :notworthy:

Hi General Rumours are just that and must be taken with a pinch of salt, but Bob Bradley? Sorry to get all Thatcheresque on you, but no, no, no!

Some rather disturbing news today, General. Blackburn Rovers, managed by Sam "anti-football' Allardyce, passed the ball more sharply and more accurately than Aston Villa, managed by Martin "we really are a fine side" O'Neill. Their movement was better too. I am the type that backs the players and the manager to the hilt on matchday (I save my moaning for the internet, haha), but no-one now seriously expects Villa under MON ever to play the STYLE of football or be set up as a team in a way which will bring a place in the top-four. It cost me 45 quid in fuel to watch that rubbish today.

Hi General, Fair enough if you missed this, as you have dozens of posts to sift though on the various sites you're involved in. I'm asking this question because it's normally this time of year I start to get worried about kit designs involving aquarmarine stripes on pink shirts etc etc... I would love to hear that Randy will stand by claret-body-blue-sleeves, even though inevitably the actual design of the shirt (ie collar, extent of sleeves, etc etc) must vary from year to year (though many think it should be from two year period to two year period!) Thanks very much.

General, A post tucked away in the middle of the kit thread on Heroes and Villains says that a Villa tour guide said that it is rumoured that our next kit will be stripes. Now of course, no-one on here would ever believe rumours on an internet site, would they.... But seriously, just to be clear, just in case Randy ever gets tempted: Aston Villa DO NOT play in stripes. Between 1894 and 1982 (with a six month heretical intelude in 1969), the template (not the individual designs of course) was a no-brainer. Between 1983-84 and 2001-02, the classic model template (and even the shade of the colours!) had rather too much competition from variations which were not worthy of our great club. Co-incidentally, this "downturn" seemed to co-incide with the return of a Mr H.D. Ellis, that great architectural vandal. Anyway, if ever you're tempted: DON'T DO IT!!! Now to my question: I wouldn't ask you to comment on that silly rumour, but please could you tell us Randy's policy towards the issue of the basic kit template. I have to say, his record so far has been excellent....

Congratulations, sir! Methinks you are well qualified to teach supporters of all viewpoints the meaning of the word "patience"!

As this is a thread for questions, and without holding Board members personally responsible, may I ask whether the Board has noticed: (i) That, apart from changes due to injury, today is the first time the team has been properly "rotated" in the league since November; (ii) That the team CONSISTENTLY runs out of steam 2/3 through games. Certain players in particular. (iii) That in 2007/08, 2008/09, and 2009/10, we started well, didn't use many players, started to run out of steam in March and then in that month got hammered at a "top 4" ground (Man Utd 4-0 in '08, Liverpool 5-0 in '09 and Chelsea 7-1 in '10; (iv) That the "ratio" of effort to productivity on the field makes us susceptible to points (ii) and (iii), and that this imbalance between effort and productivity is a result of team shape during games, tactical naivety, poor ball retention, and an inability to control any game, whether the final result be a win, a loss or a draw. What I mean by this is that we have to work exceptionally hard just to stay in games against supposedly inferior teams. I would suggest that today's SCORELINE is freak, but the team's predicament today was not as freak as we would all like to think. A pattern has emerged over the course of 3/4 seasons. The way we are set up in terms of tactics, style and non-rotation of personal compared to other clubs with ambition does not suggest to me that the current approach will take us much further than 5th/6th/7th. Finally, using cup runs as signs of progress is something of a red herring, I'm afraid. Villa won the Cup in '57. It did not make us a decent team, as relegation in '59 sadly confirmed. As a third division club we reached a major final. And in any case, I would expect us to beat Cardiff, Sunderland, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Reading more often than we lose.

Talking of what I want as a fan: 1. A right back at right back. 2. A proper striker wearing the number 18 shirt. 3. Players without the ball to give players with the ball someone to pass the ball to. Sort those three, and maybe we won't need to choose between the FA Cup and fourth place.

Hello General Being mindful of what is within Aston Villa's control and what is not, who would be the best person to write to at Wembley to explain that, with regard to the categorisation of seats, sitting in the front row of the top tier (say, near the halfway line) is emphatically NOT the same as sitting in the front row of the lower tier (say, behind the goal net)? One gives you a fantastic perspective on the pattern of the game, the other leaves you grateful for the big screen! I do wonder if these people have ever watched a game of football. Anyway, 10/11 prices look good to me and the distribution of the semi-final tickets has obviously been extremely well designed.

Hi General Re criticisms of the club over tickets for Wembley....one of the few occasions on which I ever agreed with David O'Leary was when he joked that (apparently) there were Villa fans in 1981 who moaned because we didn't win the league championship "in style"! I am sure with your current flight ban you will be glad just to be at Wembley if that's possible. I do hope fans who are lucky enough to be there will take the same view. Up the Villa!

Hi General Delighted we've been given the "home" end at Wembley. Do you know whether this means the team will have the use of the "home" dressing room and will wear the full home kit (ie with white shorts)? More of an issue if it's United rather than City of course. I'm aware that officials of all four semi-finalists went down to Wembley before the semis were played, so wondered if these things were all decided in advance.

So did Ramsey, Rinder and the rest and they built (as a matter of fact at the time) the greatest football club in the world. Love it, great to hear General.

Couldn't agree more, General. All the things which were frustrating me around the summer time and at times during last season are being put right. The movement is better, the passing is better, we have players who are increasingly confident and comfortable with the ball. I admit to having wavered on a few occasions regarding MON, but life is about learning, and I'm learning that the man sees the same things we do but puts them right in his way and in his own time. When I think how the whole club and fanbase felt after the Stoke game last year and subsequent events, it has been a phenomenal effort from MON to lift everyone, get the balance of the side better than it ever was before, and get his players oozing confidence. Three years ago we would have lost today's game and a year ago we were struggling to beat teams who played that kind of football at Villa Park - great progress. And ability aside, speaking as a relatively young man (27), this is easily the bravest and fittest Villa team I have seen. Pats on the back all round I think.