HolteExile

Wolves hoping to tempt Ruben Neves into staying with a £100k a week offer. Surprised a player with his sort of international profile isn't already on that, TBH. Tenuous links with Yanited at the end of last season, but more likely to run his contract down with one year left. If there was any sort of chance of doing that kind of deal we should look at it, we need that sort of tactically switched on player in the middle of the park.

He sounded a bit flat and disillusioned about the club's lack of incoming deals this summer. Saying he hopes they will be in the hunt for European qualification, but that expecting progress from previous seasons is unrealistic. If the club decide to cash in on Fofana and/or Tielemans the time might be right for a parting of the ways.

Rodgers singed Coutinho for the Redscouse n'all. Probably played the best football of his career under him. So might get more of a tune out of him than the current incumbent.

We won't get Poch. We might get Rodgers. The club will have to give SG at least the next 5-6 matches so we don't look like reactionary clarts. But I'm struggling to see where the progress will come from. We had a bit of success in his honeymoon period playing a tight, combative midfield with Nakamba deep. Since Marvellous got injured it has largely been a shitshow. His go to guy Phil C is largely anonymous away from home and we're not the sort of side who can cope with passengers. He's now created a rod for his own back with the Tyrone situation. A mess.

It was March for as long as I remember it pre Premier League and in the early years of that league. And I wouldn't be against a return to that, TBH. A club may think they have done reasonable business and possess decent squad balance up until the end of Aug. But a long term injury to a key player soon changes that. Clubs can be more circumspect; only signing players if really needed if the deadline is pushed out until March. Rather than the stockpilling that goes on at the minute. It would prob mean the end for shouty Jim White and all those clearings in the woods on SSN as well. No bad thing at all.

Sleeves have a vaguely Persian/ Kazakhstan vibe, so assumed the NFFC owner might be from one of those hotspots. But turns out he is Greek, so even less excuse. And I thought Jack Wilshire had retired.

They have a weird mix of civic pride (often misplaced) and yet are also insecure enough to constantly ask people what they think of their respective cities. Brummies are generally unpretentious. Boasting is frowned upon. If you know, you know. No need to shout about it.

As already mentioned, the Michellin star + other fancy restaurants and the proximity to London would be the biggest pull for your standard footballer. Ensuring the missus has easy enough access to the shops etc in Ldn. But Birmingham does have its very own Harvey Nicks (last time I checked). And for the more sophisticated football types there's the various art galleries in the city, such as Ikon, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Remi Garde was a big fan of the latter, apparently. They could always get a country pile like somewhere near Oxford and get the best of both worlds, roughly one hour from Brum and one hour from the Smoke. Or do what Robert Pires did and get your chauffer to drive you from Hertfordshire every morning.

Looks a reasonable deal for us, on paper. From the player's point of view it seems an odd one. He's unlikely to play ahead of Digne except for illness or injury and doesn't seem like he can cover other positions. And he's at an age where you'd think first team football is the priority. But if he's competent at all and it means no more Ash at left back, win win.

Like him as a player, and hope he gets a decent move if he's not in Gerrard's plans. Gave me some of the better Villa memories post 2011-16 omnishambles. You don't play for Ajax, Lille and the Dutch national side if you don't have something about you. He can do better than Forest or Norwich.

Eyesore. How can you countenance trading in the finest entrance in British football for that.

Preferably beamed out to the sky on match day for full effect.

Been thinking for a while we could do with a niggly height monster like Soucek in midfield. Still hasn't agreed a new deal at WHam, so why don't we sign the actual Soucek.

If Leedzzz do drop, Robin Koch (fnarr fnarr) could be an option. German international, can play CB or midfield. He's had injury problems there but still only 25. They signed him for £12 million after coming up, so I don't expect he'd cost the earth either.

Trez is in the Franz Carr territory for me. Clearly hasn't done enough to be rated in our 'Best Ever XI' type debates. But a cult figure for the SF winning goal and the Palarse and Arsenal goals when we needed it most. For impact, he probably tops a list that would include Carr and Hutton (I know the Scottish Cafu was with us eight years, but it was only at the back end of his stint with us that he became revered). Wish Trez all the best and will follow what he does in future.

Not only did they 'agree' to get rid of them, the western powers pushed them to do so - on the proviso they would guarantee Ukraine's borders and claims to statehood.

It could be that it's totally different sets of people, rather than the same people going back on previous declarations. The eternal optimists already think we've embarked on a 2018/19-style Ragga Tip, whilst the miserabilists still think we'll contrive to get relegated. Broad church, and all that.

Historically we have one of the biggest pitches in the country (at one stage, just behind Wembley, I believe). We could lose some of that width + length and still have a bigger pitch than Chelsea or Norwich etc. Part of the lower tier would sit under the existing stands, so the amount jutting out to the pitch wouldn't be huge. Total flight of fantasy on my part, admittedly. But as well as increasing the capacity it could help make the ground more intimidating - particularly if the section below the current Holte was utilised for safe standing etc.

Not convinced we need an underground car park. We already have land in and around the stadium that could provide adequate space for a multi level car park if we want to go that route. But I have felt for a while that excavating below ground level to give us a smaller extra tier all the way round could solve the capacity question. Both the Nou Camp, Bernabéu and Porto's old ground have one level below ground level and the scale is something else when you enter from the street and look down. If we had had only half the size of the former's lower tiers, that's still prob close to additional 10,000 capacity at a stroke. With no need to bulldoze any of the current stands. 'd still probably look at levelling the Doug Ellis stand, if possible. It's a stand with no real architectural merit, was done on the cheap and won't be missed. With that lower tier, you wouldn't need to build higher than the current stand, so less grief (in theory) from the local residents. You'd still keep the fundamental character of Villa Park as well, but the ground will be that bit tighter and closer to the pitch. Close in the corners similar to the way Rangers have and you'd have a genuine amphitheatre. I'd keep the North Stand personally, and just modernise the back of it and the concourses. It's the last link to our great teams of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Most of their throwback fans prob still wear them.

I think those are positions we'll try to address over the next two transfer windows for certain. I'll be disappointed if we aren't in for a forward as well, as the balance isn't right up top at the moment. But I don't think we'll be bringing in 4-5 players this window.

Aye. It's such an obvious one to do. We'll probably be getting linked with Kostas Tsimikas (reserve left back at Liverpool) in the not-too-distant as well.

Agreed.

Trez's graft in that early part of last season coincided with our good run. He has his limitations, but we've missed that aspect of his game when we've been too open this season. Buendia was meant to be a grafter allied to his attacking abilities. But seen very little of that so far.

If he's the sort of manager that reads a few messages on the internet and lets that get to him he isn't the right bloke for us anyway. I don't think he is the right guy, based purely on his experience so far. But hopefully he's closer to the Terry mould; that is, trying to get fans onside with performances from the outset. That wasn't a universally popular arrival from the outset either.