Stephen_Evans

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.

General, I am not a techo-phobe and I like digital innovations like the Yearbook. But I am extremely disappointed that there is not a printed version this year (particularly as I am not aware that supporters were asked whether they would be happy not to have a printed version). Like many others I have spent nearly two decades building up my collection of season reviews and yearbooks and now will be unable to continue it. Because there are multiple links on each page, the digital version doesn't lend itself to being printed. Moreover, how will supporters without access to the internet be able to enjoy the publication? I'm afraid this smacks of someone clever back of house coming up with a "genius" idea without thinking it through. I would be happy to pay three or four times the amount previously charged for a proper printed version to add to the collection. Also, I am a little bit concerned about the attention to detail generally in the publishing department. This season I have spotted far too many typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and factual errors in the Villa News & Record, and this is not something I was conscious of on a regular basis hitherto. A serious question, because I would love to help: do they need a free proof-reader?

Hi General, Please excuse the fact that the following thoughts make me sound like an anorak, but I've had the day off and too much time to think about the Villa! And don't trouble to reply specifically to them either, I just wanted to throw a few things out there for you. 1. A big IF I know...but IF we end up playing Manchester City in the League Cup Final and we are drawn as the "away" team, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't let us wear claret shorts with the claret and blue shirts, like we seem to every time we play at their ground. It looks stupid and the fact that it's been done so many times before is no defence in my view. It's the one combination that does not work. Given that West Ham played in sky blue and we played in white back in April, I cannot see why blue shorts should be a problem in that scenario, even though their shirts are blue. This is obviously hypothetical at the moment! 2. The mock up for the semi-final flags looks great and I'm looking forward to waving mine! Subject to there not being some kind of deal with Carling, can we have "League Cup" or "Football League Cup" rather than "Carling Cup". It'll be the League Cup long after Carling don't bother with it. (I'm assuming they haven't been made yet!) 3. Another big IF...IF we are in the delightful position of selling Final tickets to Villa fans (Please God), how about giving the Holte and North lower regulars the opportunity to sit together at Wembley, so that we take the Villa Park atmosphere with us and don't spread our noisy people out too much. Plus, for myself, as a Doug Ellis upper season-ticket holder I wouldn't wanna sit behind the goal net for example, so people could have the same kind of seat at Wembley as they normally do. How feasible this is I just don't know. Anyway, up the Villa, hope you don't spend all day thinking like this! Haha

General, let's be thankful you didn't join the Board before 1936, because then you would have had a hand in picking the team and purchasing and selling players. Imagine what a fuss we would all create on here!

Thanks General, I am delighted at how quickly these kinds of things are dealt with under Randy's ownership. It creates a lot of goodwill.

Hi General Without labouring the point, I would wish to add my name to the list of those who feel that supporters lucky enough to be able to go to Sunderland have already received their reward by being guaranteed a Portsmouth ticket and by having their travel to Sunderland paid for them. Any further reward by being higher in the pecking order for tickets seems rather unjustified, especially as those of us who went to Portsmouth paid for our own travel. One thing that has bothered me for ages (and I won't shoot the messenger but would ask that the matter is looked into, please) is the problem of multiple client references. The website is now emphasising the importance of only booking under one reference. However, the fact that I have more than one is simply not my fault. I was a season ticket holder at university between 2000 and 2003. Family circumstances dictated that I could not have a season ticket until December 2007. When getting my half-season ticket that year, unbeknown to me a new client reference was issued. Between 2003 and 2007 I booked countless individual matches and was always asked my name and address. However, these individual purchases seem not to have been put on my first reference and have been "lost", and for all I know appear under a third reference. Most of my points are under the latest reference from 2007, but it seems rather unfair that the ticket office haven't found a way of merging these multiple references so that supporters are not penalised. I got what I was given so to speak, and would not have chosen to have more than one reference. As things stand, my points from 2000 to 2003 will not be taken into account and my purchases between 2003 and 2007 have disappeared altogether, despite the ticket office always asking my name and address. With regard to prioritising the Blackburn away game, surely the points system should have been brought into play at this point if it is to mean anything? Kind regards Stephen

Hi General Was just wondering if there will be a Yearbook for 2009-10? I couldn't see one in the shop last time I looked. Many thanks & best wishes Stephen

Now you've started something sir! There is so much unreleased footage of Villa from the 70s and 80s in particular that I would love to see. Various games come to mind, but one glaring omission from the footage currently available are the two legs of the European Super Cup Final 1982-83 against Barcelona. Brief highlights appear in various sources, but not the whole games. I know the games were not as good as the second replay, but as a supporter in my late 20s, I have not seen anything of the League Cup Final 1977 at Wembley or the first replay at Hillsborough. I mean, Villa scored (actually it was an og!) in a Final in the television era and I've never seen it. Otherwise, I reckon supporters could give you a list as long as your arm, but Brian Little's hattrick against QPR at Highbury in the League Cup Semi-Final replay was pretty special. Perhaps a structured, orderly year by year release of favourite games from that era would allow folks to build their collections and be an innovative new merchandising intiative for the club. There are many games where fans can see the highlights but I'm sure would love to have the whole game (after all, the whole games were filmed), for example the victory over Liverpool in 1980-81. Anyway, you get the picture, as it were! All the best, Stephen

Hi General I note that Tottenham's new ground will have a 63 row end stand. Makes ya glad to have an 85 row Holte End eh?!

Hi General This one might take a bit of research by somebody at the club, but I just know you're the man to ask! Based on a recurring discussion on these boards about the way the atmosphere comes across on television, where exactly DO the TV people put microphones at our ground and do they do things the same at every ground. If they're putting them at ground level, could they perhaps be encouraged to notice that there is rather a lot of noise at the top of the Holte? At the moment, I do feel that the atmosphere is sometimes misrepresented. I'll give you a few examples. Remember the first goal against Blues in the 5-1 victory, the equaliser against Arsenal on Boxing Day, or Laursen's opener against Ajax? The crowd's celebrations for those particular goals were long, loud and incredibly intense. But you watch the tape over again and think, "is that it?" I'm lucky to be there every week and from my seat in DE Upper I know that Villa Park rocks as much as any of the other top grounds. I guess this is an issue which is partly outside the club's control (aside from any long-term plans to tackle acoustics - though we're not Symphony Hall!), but worth a thought maybe. All the best, Stephen

Because that's when the 4-3-3 experiment (be positive people, it's not 4-5-1) started, to great effect.

General, Firstly, I am really thrilled at the free ticket for the Cardiff game. Thank you very much. Regardless of whether it's the club or a family member or friend, you have to be delighted when someone treats you to a game at your beloved Villa. Secondly, thank you for this continuing facility on VillaTalk, whereby the Villa family can communicate civilly and openly with the Board through yourself. It remains a privilege not a right, and I am very grateful for it. You and I have had one or two discussions about tactics on the field and the way you handled those, even when there might have been a measure of disagreement, is a credit to you and the club. If it's any consolation, I have never met two fans who agreed on absolutely everything! The club is in great health and for the first time in my adult life, we have two decent players in every position. Not galacticos, but solid, decent players. And everytime I see the facade of the Holte, it symbolises our progress.

General, You're not the manager and therefore you shouldn't be blamed when results go against us. Sometimes I think it's unfair even to post comments about matches to you. On the other hand, who else will listen to our frustrations?! So here goes, fan to fan: 1) Movement off the ball. Non-existent. When we have a throw-in, the opposition don't need to mark us because our players mark themselves. Time and again the poor guy taking the throw had no-one to give it to. The best sides keep the ball and they do so because there is always a team-mate moving into space ready for it. Delph seems to have this ability to move well off the ball and I hope the others "catch" it. 2) Ashley Young. Here's a young man who's manager is constantly telling the world he's "world-class". And Ashley, bless him, believes it. Now hopefully he'll get there. But not while he runs into defenders and then throws himself theatrically on the floor expecting free-kicks. You cannot make opponents "disappear" by trying to run through them. And secondly, you only have to beat the defender ONCE. If you're Beckham or Barry you don't have to beat them at all because you just whip it in as early as possible. The best know when to keep it simple. And if you watch the replay of Ashley's miss, it was because he wasn't content to just pass it into the net with his instep. No, Ashley had to try to curl it round the defender. The boy needs the Ron Saunders treatment, whereby his feet are kept on the ground and he's told he's as good as his last game and his job is to put the ball in the box from the wings. He produced several fabulous crosses yesterday, which made me wish that he would take more of his "chances to make chances" as I call it. 3) Heskey. The guy is brilliant with the ball played into his feet. He is more agile than people appreciate and great at bringing others into the game. So why do we keep smashing it towards his head? That's "hope" football. We might get a flick on, we might not. Usually the ball is given away. And alas, there is no strike partner able to read the game well enough to get on to these flicks anyway. 4) Agbonlahor. I'm not cross with him, I just feel for him. He didn't have a shot against Wigan that I can recall. Game after game has passed him by in the past 6 months. Usually people say he just needs a goal and his confidence will be back. But he's scored 3 teams since our win at Arsenal. We can't even complain he's missing chances, because he's rarely in the thick of any goalmouth action. Whether it's him or whether it's the service, who knows? Something needs to change, but I don't see it changing. Finally, the Board has faith and confidence in MON. But I hope that there is some critical analysis of what is happening as well. Because he is only human.

Hello General Are we wearing the new white "England" strip against Fiorentina then or last year's home kit? Stephen

General, I expect the best time to analyse the season properly will be when it's all over and everything has calmed down. But I do hope that behind the scenes at the club, our long unbeaten run in the middle of season will be put its proper perspective, that is, seen in the light of the dreadful run which followed it. Even when we were winning, game after game the opposition saw more of the ball than us, we were sloppy in possession, we were often camped in our own half and we enjoyed massive slices of luck. Everton, West Ham, Hull, West Brom, Sunderland, Portsmouth, on another day wouldn't just have beaten us, they would have beaten us soundly. I remember after Slavia Prague hearing MON say how good we had been. Whilst we had worked hard, they had absolutely battered us without reward. I hoped that away from the cameras he would get real about some of our "splendid", "terrific", "exhilarating" single goal, nail-bitingly fortunate wins, but the latter third of the season has shown that he has not. Every fan thinks he or she knows the answers, but seriously, so many fair-minded people are questioning why it is that we lack balance at the back, are consistently over-run in midfield, have wingers who can't beat the first man or who put the SAME corner/free-kick into the box everytime. Half the team can't pass the ball, and the other half can't control the ball so passing is never an issue for them. Those who have suggested on this forum that the squad is split between those who can't do wrong (even when they're badly out of form) and those can't do right may be onto something. The tactics, the shape of the team, the SUBSTITUTIONS and the reshuffles arising from them.....well, put it this way, I'm now at the stage where anger doesn't do it for me anymore. I'm choosing to laugh. I'm not a fan who thinks we have to choose between being a MON "believer" or a committed critic. Like all managers, he has his good and bad points. But it will take a lot to convince me that he can ever take us beyond 5th. I want him to succeed, I want him to ram these words down my throat. So in that sense I am a "believer". But I cannot see it. For the sake of balance, let me say that I love the way the club is run, I like MON as a man, and in many respects as a manager, very much, and I am thankful for Randy every time I stroll past the Holte mosaics and stained glass windows, the new modern statement of Aston Villa's enduring greatness.

Hi General I've deliberately posted this a couple of days after the game, rather than in its immediate aftermath. I appreciate that you will probably not wish to comment on what I am about to write. I also appreciate that players are not your concern. However, the club's reputation is your concern and perhaps the two overlap in this instance. When Ashley Young throws himself to the ground in the penalty area, in my opinion he damages the club's reputation and hinders his own cause with referees. Please, tell the young man to stop it and to concentrate on taking the first opportunity he gets to cross the ball rather than trying to beat the full back 6 times before trying to claim a penalty. Many thanks.

General, I am absolutely thrilled by how beautiful the stained glass windows and mosaics look, and so proud to see a photo of them on the back of the Daily Mail on Saturday. With the Holte pub restored as well, that end of Villa Park has never looked more magnificent. Thank you and congratulations yet again to Randy, yourself and the Board.

Glad you were able to confirm that the HOK report is in, General. I am excited to know what Randy makes of it and what his plans are. I think most of us realise we will need to be very patient and that he will want to go for the best long-term strategy rather than a quick fix. The Holte pub, the mosaics, the stained glass windows, the Trinity renovation....these all serve to convince me that whatever he does will be class and something we can be proud of. You're probably aware that many of us will be eager to know in due course what plans, if any, Randy has for the external part of the Trinity. Randy has righted many wrongs and I know that he will have been inspired by the greatness of what Frederick Rinder built in the 1920s - the old Trinity Road Stand. If ever a building defined a football club, the old Trinity was it.

Hi General, Just finished my dinner. Humble pie never tasted so good (see my last post). Good on you for staying positive when some of us were down!

Hi General First up, I know you are not responsible for anything to do with team performances and that you are just a fan like us. So speaking to you as a fan, it concerns me greatly that MON's post-match analysis seems to miss the real reason why games often go against us or are more difficult than they should be. The reason is that for a side with top-4 aspirations we are simply shocking at passing the ball and keeping hold of it. Check out the stats: when it comes to possession and passes completed we are absolutely miles and miles behind the top 4 and I cannot see that changing. Considering the transfer fee paid for one particular defender I cannot believe how bad he is at finding a player wearing the same colours. I think I'd be taking him back to the Glasgow Rangers shop and asking for my money back! On another point, to help fans understand things a little better, could MON be encouraged (!) to enlighten us on the full-back shuffle in the later stages of games? It is totally up to him what he does of course, but most of us in the stands are absolutely baffled, and might be more understanding if we knew what the point of it is. Thanks for sharing the good and bad moments with us!

My question will make me sound obsessive about small details, but anyway! I noticed on Saturday that a section of steel panelling above the players' and officials' entrance has been replaced by glass (the section immediately beneath the brickwork). I am aware that you are reluctant to specify what the Board's plans are at this stage, but are you able to say whether the rest of the steel panels on the outside of the Trinity Road Stand will be similarly replaced. Or failing that, can you say whether aesthetic improvements to the outside of the stand are at least on your long-term radar? And with my tongue firmly in my cheek, if ever you fancy taking a walk with me around Villa Park, I'm sure I could make plenty of suggestions and observations! But then I'm sure that's what HOC are for!

Hello General, I was just looking at the photos of the Trinity Road Development on the website. I was under the impression that the work was all internal, but I noticed the scaffolding. What is the scaffolding for? Will there be some external work done as well, and if so, what kind? Thank you

General, My tongue is slightly in my cheek here, but (i) Can someone mention to the rhythmically-challenged gentleman in the lower tier of the Doug Ellis Stand (near to the Holte) that he is totally out of time with his banging, is deafening everyone remotely near him, and also point out, that very few respond to his beat anyway! (ii) I lost count of the number of times the pitch-side announcer told us it was a "super Saturday", "this is Villa Park", "it's a Saturday afternoon", "it's 3 o'clock" etc etc. A whole season of him has got just a little irritating!

Hi General, I thought this would be a good place to flag up the following issue, as I have no idea who to go to with this. After the Blackburn game I noticed that there is an extra row of car parking spaces directly outside the Holte Suite. The result is that fans could hardly move as they made their way out of the ground, and it was a bit of a crush, with people moving in opposite directions between Trinity Road and Witton Lane. Before the extra row was put in, there was plenty of space in this area. I can't help but feel that safety is being compromised here for the sake of an extra row of spaces, though I'm sure that such a compromise would not be intended. Anyway, I suspect this is something you would at least want to review with the relevant officials. Many thanks.

General, I must emphasise that this is not a moan or a complaint, just a sober-minded comment. For all the talk of effort, commitment, "deserved a replay" etc, etc ad nauseum, I do hope that the Directors all realise just how far behind Manchester United we are, and just how much money it is going to take to catch them up - if we ever do.