HolteExile

Milner going your direction and Ireland + £20 million wouldn't be the worst bit of business in the world, or even Ireland + Onuoha and £15 mill. Thing is, player swaps generally don't happen in the topflight. I also get the feeling that Jimmy -if he moves at all will only go to a bigger club. At this point in time you can't offer him any more than we can. That may change if you secure CL football next year and we don't, but that's far from a banker. There is also the danger that if he goes to Citeh he could be in a situation where you have a new manager by January. New manager, new ideas. Someone who decides to tear the thing up and start again on a whim. It can't be the most settled of environments, lets be fair. Jimmy might find himself played out of position or not even played at all. Part of the attraction when he joined Villa was joining a settled environment for pretty much the first time in his career and a manager he trusted. He might jettison all that if one of the bigger sides come in, but not sure he'd take the punt on Citeh being able to justify that kind of gamble. As you say, United or Arsenal and it would be a different story.

General: is it understood at the club that the majority of fans might want MON to stay, but will comment on occasion on poor team selection, indifferent home form and the like? This might occasionally manifest in the side being booed off at full (or indeed half) time, if supporters don't feel the level of performance is up to standard, at is mirrored at grounds up and down the country. Only managers of other clubs don't seem to trade in thinly vailed digs at their own support base when it does occur. Is there any other industry you are aware of that blames or trys to deflect attention onto paying spectators/ customers in this manner? Does the manager realise this isn't a uniquely Villa trait, or is he trying to use it to his advantage to foster a trench mentality 'us against the world' amongst the players? Alex Ferguson used to do similar earlier into his career at Old Trafford. I hope it is this, rather than getting his excuses in early or preparing the ground for a possible departure in the summer (how could I ever please such demanding fans et.c). Thing is, we aren't that demanding. Not really. There is no real suggestion that we should win silverware or finish top 4 as of right. Our recent history isn't consistent with that. We just want to see a side who go about their business in the right way, who look to entertain and win matches at home, for example. And a manager who actually wants to be here.

All nice efforts, would prefer to see a traditional collar on the home kit though. We should have learned by now not to torture ourselves with these efforts, as by the time it comes out the official kit actually disappoints compared to the mock ups.

I wouldn't hang him on that. But I would point to the fact that he inherited three decent CB's in Mellberg, Laursen and Cahill and spent close to £30 million on the likes of Knight, Davies, Cuellar, Dunne and Collins. That indicates waste. He has also spent £6.5 million on a perfectly decent RB in Young, yet refuses to play him. And why fork out £3.5 million + wages on Shorey and do the same. Again waste. Finally, £4.5 million on Harewood and £3.5 million plus high wages (believed to be close to £60k) on Heskey. The latter deal in particular might be looked back on as the beginning of the end for him. It seems to be the tipping point for many Villa fans who -up until then- believed he could do no wrong. It was like watching a car crash. You knew what was coming with that deal, yet Martin seemed oblivious. Perhaps believing his own hype that he could salvage much maligned journeyman pro footballers. Had he pulled that off with Heskey it would have been the footballing equivalent of turning water into wine. But Martin is no messiah. In fact the few conjuring tricks he's been pulling for a few years now are starting to wear thin.

The season has been swings and roundabouts so far. We could be feeling quite different if we beat Wigan and Spurzzz lose to Liverpool -neither of those results would be out of the ordinary lets be fair. My concern was that we'd lose to Liverpool and give them the confidence, I'd felt uneasy about it for the past few weeks. But it's done now, **** it. Think I'd agree that a Spurzzz victory over the Redscouse might be better for us long-term though. Tottingham are capable of being brilliant on their day, but are quite likely to gob it against weaker opposition. Liverpool would be more capable of putting a sequence of results together even if not playing well. As would we.

In the interests of balance, perhaps an article of this nature was long overdue. But it does seem to veer on the ultra-negative. As for lessons not learned from last season, I'm not sure about that. We effectively purchased a new back four in the summer, Downing and Jimmy give us more variation in the middle of the park, though -admittedly- this is a recent phenomenon and some of our earlier season peformances were dull. This time last year we were in the middle of an amazing unbeaten stretch, which -if we're honest- relied quite a bit on luck. Many sides gave us a shoe-ing, yet we somehow escaped with the three points. Here's the thing though Pete, we're in a similar position this year and not much of it is down to luck. Most of the games we've won this year -even the dull ones- we've deserved to win. And the few we have lost, you could say we were unlucky. Wigan excepted. The win at Old Trafford made the headlines for obvious reasons, but in may ways the victory just a few days later at Sunderland was equally impressive. We didn't go there and play them off the park, but we always looked in control and capable of switching up a gear if needs be - a genuine big-club peformance. There was no fear or anxiety in the latter stages of that match as there might have been last year -to the point that when Sundeland had an attacker injured in the latter stages they sent on a defender. To keep the score respectable. You also give far too much credit to Man Citeh and Tottingham. The dynamics of a succesful and motivated football club extend far beyond transfer fee's and column inches. I accept that in the latter those two sides trump us. And on their day they are capable of brilliance. But over 38 games? Through all the variances of the English league season? Could they, for example go to Old Trafford and turn Manure over and then do the same at the Stadium of Light a few days later? I honestly don't think they could, and it's that steel, that resolve that you ultimately need if you have designs on challenging the top 4. We are by no means the finished article. But we have more reasons to be optimistic than most.

Dunno why ye all devote so much time and energy to the annoying twerp. The loon probably takes it as a compliment. He's a bit of a bell-end, but not reflective of Spurzzz fans as a whole. The others that come on here seem to be a decent bunch. Save your invective for Redknob and his idiot son. The twitchy spiv prick well and truly deserves it.

Thought Spurzzz played quite well. Good zip to their game and plenty of movement. The test for them will be against the lower ranked clubs. Losing to Stoke and Wolves indicates they have some way to go yet, as indeed do we after reversals against the likes of West Ham, Wigan and Blackburn. But we've recently added some much needed guile to our play in centre-mid without losing stability at the back. For all the hype surrounding 'Arry's boys, signings like Bassong and Palacios aren't top quality, and don't seem to have corrected the notion that Spurs can be 'got at.' That when you get past the attacking threat of Defoe, Lennon and Krankjar, there is a soft underbelly waiting to be exploited. Just a shame we got caught between stick and bust when we played them at VP. Had we played our current formation I reckon there would be a 5 point gap between the sides now in our favour. Perhaps it's happened for the best though, as average as we were that day our overall standard of play has improved since then. Maybe it was the wake-up call we needed.

It's a welcome change of pace, Spurs fans on this forum talking sense and not delivering posts that constantly read like something out of tribal football or one of those other horrendous transfer obsessed sites. Aye. Plus if I ever what to know what players we are bidding for 'Arry tells us even before our own club does. He's good like that.

Good move for Everton, good move for Donovan. They get a highly rated international midfielder who scores goals (and can also play up top) without having to pay mental wages by PL standards, and no long-term commitment. Donovan gets a chance to establish himself in the most high-profile league in the world, with one of the league's better teams (based on previous seasons, at least). Win, win. Can't be a mug if he's played for Bayern, and by all accounts the main reason he left Germany was non-footballing issues. Could end up being the type of player we wished we had gone for. For the cost involved he'd be well worth a punt.

Aye. A welcome addition.

Modric is a special talent TBF.

:nod:

He is a bit of a tit TBF.

Never particularly disliked Tottingham, their fans and ours have a lot in common. As much as that might be uncomfortable for some. Supporters of big, but largely under-achieving clubs. To the extent that you come to develop a gallows-style sense of humour. Most Tottenham fans I've met seem to have quite a high regard for the Villa, more so than -curiously- another similar sized club Everton. They seem to genuinely dislike us. What I do find amusing- and I think this crystalizes the issue- is when you have media outlets like SSN running phone-ins with the centre piece topic being "Will this be the year that Spurs finally crack the top 4?" Finally? As if they've been knocking on the door since year dot? Funny, as I look at the bulk of their Prem record -and indeed their league record for many seasons before that- and I see a team perennially treading water in mid-table. With only the odd cup outing and superstar signing breaking up the grey. In contrast, during the same period- lets say early 90's -present we've challenged for the title twice, finished in the top 5 twice and the top 6 many other times. And bagged two LC wins. But I guess it comes down to perception. Like it or not, we are an unfashionable club. A big club, yes. As big as most in the country. But Tottenham have featured in more FA Cup finals in recent decades, and always been prepared to push the boat out for the likes of Ardilles, Ricky Villa and Klinsmann. Thats always worth column inches. Though they've lacked the planning to get the best out of those talents to the full benefit of the team. Not unlike more recent Spurs sides, in fact. They could buck that trend this year. If they produce peformances like they did against Wigan reserves and ourselves second half more often than not, they will be there or thereabouts. And as a football fan, I'd say they fully deserve it. More so than if we sneak through the back door with the kind of tactics we employed on Saturday. Or lack of. One thing though, Redknapp is definitely a cant.

I wouldn't read too much into that. A fair few teams will still take a hammering at OT this year. When the Russian lad fully settles in and Arteta returns they'll rally. They aren't a million miles of us now, depite their poor form. And it's still only November.

St Kilda beach wouldn't be short of rubbish, syringes and the like. One of Melbourne's more 'colourful' areas.

We might respect them (well some Villa fans at least) but overall I'd say the feeling is far from mutual. Two of my closest mates are Evertonians, and I'd always felt there was a connection there between ourselves, Everton and Tottenham. But conversely, whereas plenty of Villa fans seem to dislike Tottenham and respect Everton, Tottenham fans quite like us, whereas Everton fans often come across as bitter and twisted. I'd noticed this even before the events of last year, but some of the comments after the 3-2 up there were disgraceful re breaking Ashleys legs, and they seemed to revel in our eventual demise towards the end of the campaign. In contrast, the general theme from Tottenham fans I meet is if they can't make 4th, they hope Villa can.

Aye, same thing here. Signed Miguel for Atletico Madrid from Valencia during my first close season. He was a regular player. I simulated a few matches and next thing I know he's joined -ironically- Villa. For less than I paid for him, and without my consent. Also doesn't look like you can turn off the automatic player growth. I liked the option in 09 of building up the points until they could make a difference and targeting specific areas e.g shooting, pace et.c. I've played this game on and off now since early Oct, and I've decided: I prefer Fifa 09. Not just because of the issues in Manager Mode, but also the overall playability. There seems too much emphasis on strength, so you're constantly barged off the ball even if you have strong players and they've made a balls of the shooting and heading in this latest incarnation. You work a chance, and it invariably ends in a weak or scuffed shot. If the ball breaks in the area and you're first to react, your forward spoons it wide/ hits the post/bar even if it's harder to miss. The goals scored in last years effort had a ring of authenticity about them. This year, you can score with a well directed shot into the corners and lobs, but thats about it. You don't often see real-life matches where every goal is directly into the corner or a lob, so it feels like a backward step. The motion they've used for a side-foot shot also looks too deliberate and laboured. Players contort their natural body shape and it just doesn't look right. There also seems to be less individual character shapes this year. A feature of 09 is that Torres moved like Torres, NRC moved like NRC, Carew looked like Carew and so on. The individual crowd chants seem to have been scaled back too. Overall it just doesn't feel as 'real, ' reagrdless of 360 dribbling gimmicks or anything else.

Whereas plenty of the others on that list were shit most of the time ;0

If we're talking 00's, then Dublins best form was between 98-99. He was never quite the same player when he came back from injury. Carew and Angel for me...just. Angel at his best (latter part of 2001 and 2003-04) was a class act. Looked dangerous as an out-and-out finisher but also had a good alround game and could slide a team-mate through. The memory is tarnished though by his last couple of seasons. He quite often looked off the pace, frequently got caught offside and at one point, seemed reluctant to even get into the penalty area.

Not sure if he'll win this one, don't particularly care to be honest. Khan looks the part at times, but one sharp counter, one love tap on the chin and it's all over.

That's a joke! That's not even enough for Villa season ticket holders and I'm assuming not for all Everton season ticket holders either.. that's a disrgrace, I didn't realise the allocations were that low. Always has been a shite allocation, with priority given to corporates and the 'FA family,' leaves it wide open to touts. The only good thing about it is you can be pretty confident of getting a ticket on the day if all else fails, though you pay more than face value, obv.

Agreed. Gollum, Woy Hodgson or Tony Pulis as Manager of the Year for me. Woy just shades it bearing in mind where they were 12 months ago and where they finished this season. Update: Just seen AG's post. Well done Moyes. We'd do well to ape their buying policy of signing the best players from the lower divisions. The real cream would, I'd imagine still be out of reach for a team who finishes 6th (like us), so we should look to make our own stars like they have with Lescott and Jagielka (and we have with Ash).