hippo

I wonder quickly the FA and other prominent pundits will come out and say

"There is no question of Liverpool football club doing anything untoward" - if they haven't already

And anyone saying Dowd fixed the final is being ridiculous IMO. He made an unbelievably shit decision that might have cost us the game but I seriously doubt he did it with any malice.

A slight aside - which gets forgotten because of the penalty + non sending off.

I was at this match - and on the screen Dowd went up to a Manu player - holding up his fingers and must have been saying something like "Thts 3 bad tackles son - one more and youre in the book"  - Seconds later Collins goes in for tackle - no warning for collins - straight in the book.

Makes you wonder

Jesus forest have dodged a bullet here. From a selfish point of view I would have liked him to have stayed, as it is 'villa fans never gave him a chance lives on'

His next job must be in the far east - can't see anyone else wanting him

Actually - if we do go down - wouldn't it be good for the 2013/4 season - If QPR were still in the prem ?

With everyone fit, I know that is a big if, we have the 14th best squad/team in the division. If they can come back soon we may survive.

Who are we waiting to get fit ? - I thought we were more or less at full strentgh ?

Getting out muscled by Anichebe isnt that big a deal its just stupid to be so tight. What is awful is the way he just falls over rather than getting even an attempted block in. People moan about Bennett but the weakest link in this side is Clark.

Bennet is playing poorly no doubt. I don't see Clark as good player playing poorly, I don't think the required attributes are in place.

 

If getting wages down is the precursor to him leaving, or a requirement for him to have to sell then for me get rid of all the players because the sooner he leaves the better

 

. He isn't actually seeking a buyer at present though, Villa isn't high on his to do list though.

 

 

Not publicly, but im pretty certain that if the right offer is made, hes gone.

 

Despite the last 3 seasons and our present opinion of where we are as a club, its still an attractive acquisition due to its history, tradition, size and potential. And that wont change whatever division we will be in. Will relegation make us more attractive?

If we were a London club, we would be an attractive proposition. But we are in the midlands. I think Randy has tried pretty hard to get investment, but nothing came of it. The big players will always go for a london club. I think the best we can hope for is that Randy sells to someone who knows how to run a football club, raher than a mega rich owner who is prepared to throw millions at it.

If getting wages down is the precursor to him leaving, or a requirement for him to have to sell then for me get rid of all the players because the sooner he leaves the better

I know he was looking to sell a couple of seasons back. He isn't actually seeking a buyer at present though, Villa isn't high on his to do list though.

Total shite!

Is there a single, positive stat that Lambert is beating AMc on!?!?

 

He isn't ginger, that is pretty much the only thing I can think of

If Lambert were to come good - we would have a really good team to watch. A good Alex Mcleish team would always be dull 1-0's etc   (not that I wouldn't kill for a 1-0 at the mo!)

So Brian McDermott's Reading have now won something like five out of six. They look like they'll fight their way out if it, or at least have a good go at trying. If we go down, it'll be with a whimper.

I wonder how many mega salaried players he's got to his disposal? Was he given £20M + in the summer?

Thats the between a little club on the slide and a big one. The smaller clubs tend to rally together - when as when a big club starts to tumble, its a lot harder to stop.

He has been thrown in at the deep end and is drowning, needs to b given a rest

Well he is 23, made his debut some years back. I don't think he is young a raw , I just don't think the ability is there.

I know he was extremley highly rated when he was a teenager, and not just at villa - but he has hardley progressed at all. To me he doesn't do anything well, he is just 'there' - no tough tackles, no good headers, his game seems to be to incercept a pass - and then pass the ball on. He has no where near enough in his armoury for me

Whats with the anti Liverpool feeling on this site. We aint rivals to them geographically or in terms of league position.

Trying winning the league championship for the first time in 71 years - and on the coach journey home - listening to how Liverpool had qualified for europe and what a marvelous acheivement it was.

I hate the media love in with them

£23 m in the window was it ?  - quite a lot for a club who were are told 'don't buy teams' and develop there own talent of loveable scousers

So if we get relegated through being the only club abiding by the FFP regulations (How typical Villa is that) then when we lose out on a 70m windfall as a result due to other clubs blatantly flouting those rules at our expense & UEFA do what its highly likely they will do, "nothing whatsoever", apart from a few pathetic "Oooh there are a few naughty boys out there stop it else we'll tell you off & hurl a few harmless threats at you...(Now where's our backhander?!)" comments,  Will we as a result of the damage caused be able to put in a claim to them for damages? I mean surely if we lose out on 70m as a result of them telling us to do one thing & then not punishing those clubs who don't do it giving them an unfair advantage, it is only right that they compensate us right?

There are no guidelines about how much you can spend to avoid relegation.

We are going to win the premiership in 2 years by default. All other teams will be docked points after points because their spending is more than they bring in

The fair play rules only apply to euro competition - and even then are thought to voilate 'ability to trade laws'. If your waiting for action against QPR for overspending, your going to be waiting a long time

I know for a fact that Lerner was trying to sell the club in the summer of Mcleish. He then had a change of heart, and was hopeful of securing some investment deal. At the moment villa is a problem to him, he has sunk in a fair amount of cash which he won't get back, IMO he is currently pondering at what point to cut his losess.Again IMO the fact they he once decided to sell, then changed his mind indicates hes not here for the long term.

Fair enough. I really rate Bent dont get me wrong. However I think he just does not suit Aston Villa. IF MON had signed him then that would've been perfect. However we have a poor team and all 10 have to work hard for us to get a result in a game. Something that will not happen with Bent in the team.

Its all too complicated. Bent averages 1 in 2 - end of.

We really need to bring in a couple of well-established biscuits with some experience. A good solid pair of digestives would do a world of good.

They will crumble on a soggy pitch

Like MON? Cos that's pretty much what he did and it only gets you so far. I think if a manager can successfully build a squad for the long term it will be far more beneficial for AVFC. Problem is, it's much harder to do.

But there isn't a long term. Most of the players are signed on 3 or 4 year contracts. So there will always be someone leaving, replacements arriving. Being towards the bottom of table on a regular basis won't help us - even if the players are young. We miss out on gate receipts, massive prize money - and limits the players we can attract.

We need players who can do the business now - not in 3 years time.

If Taylor sees this Platt bloke as the answer to our midfield ineptitude i think we are in real trouble (taken from VillaTalk 1988)

To be fair Platt was brought as a fringe player - and we already had a reasonable midfield. Stephens seem to brought as a solution - I don't have a problem with him coming to bolster the squad - but to get us of the dung, I m not sure.

Some sights are reporting we have signed Khalid Abdo - hes only 16 ? - is this a wind up, or has he signed for us ?

If we bring in more young guns on the cheap, it will be a surprise if we stay up. Thats not a dig at Lambert if thats all he can do. But in effect your asking lower league players, to compete with some of the best players in the world. The result is pretty predictable.

The big question for me is can Lambert organise a defence. They were always suspect at Norwich, and even with Vlaar our clean sheets were few and far between. Whilst we leak goals we will never get above halfway - this season or in the future.

Sturridge confirmed to Liverpool

12 million

Surprising move. The club that don't buy big fee players, but raise them all through the youth team. - Good player but seems a a bit of desparate move to me.

More likely Heitinga if it's any Everton defender. Not saying it will happen but he seems to be less in favour than Distin.

Watched Distin in a game the other night. He played pretty well for an old un !