AVFC1874

Last two lines are "Tony Daley down the wing like a torpedo, puts the ball into the air. to Tony Cascarino" i think mate

Love the we'll support you ever more song. Few others are - Roll along aston villa roll along, to the top of the league where you belong. There'll be cups and trophies too for the buys in claret and blue, roll long aston villa roll along Also bells are ringing for claret and blue..... And my eyes have seen the glory of the Villa win the cup.... And half hour renditions of ......s claret and blue army, whoever the manager was

Don't get me wrong i don't think he should leave for a minute. I posted somewhere else that when you look at it Liverpool are more attractive than we give them credit for. They have won the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup more recently than Arsenal who actually haven’t got a European triumph, they were losing finalists in the European Cup more recently than Arsenal. They have finished above Arsenal in the league 2 out the last 3 seasons and they lost less games than Man United last season. They have one of the richest histories of any football club. Theres loads I can say against them and I could post all day in support of us. I’ll be absolutely gutted if he leaves but I can understand why he is torn, after all he’s not a Villa fan and is now wondering after 8 years what will I look back at my career and remember. If he leaves with dignity and praises our club I will respect that. It won’t send out a good message, it won’t help us but that’s life. Its not something that Barry himself has to be held accountable for that he is a key member of the team – as it is the hate towards him comes not really from what he is doing – it’s the most attractive proposition any of our players have had for a bit and the likes of Solano left for Newcastle and get less grief! He will get grief as we can’t accept his decision. In fairness I think your view and most others stems from the fact you are desperate for us to succeed and angry with the situation as we all are. Personally I won’t blame Barry for it though if he goes. I’ll think he’s made the wrong decision though and if he does a Yorke my views change overnight

In fairness I understand a lot of your points though I disagree. The issue for me is that I feel far more anger to someone who hasn’t given us there all, towards players who slag us off in the press, to someone who stayed a couple years and left. We have had all three ranging from Ginola, to Berger to Solano in recent years yet the vitriol Barry will get off some will far exceed this. The only reason in my opinion is he is more valued to us as a player – he has achieved that through his performances with us and shouldn’t get more grief for it in my opinion. Barry has stayed when he could have left before and has been a great servant, becoming a model professional and playing a huge part in our progress. For this I offer him thanks. If you are objective and put yourself in Barrys shoes you can understand his dilemma. I’d like to think none of us would have acted as the likes of Ginola, Berger and Solano did. In addition with all the comparisons of Yorke I think its totally different. Yorke was petulant throughout, he put in a lazy, as opposed to bad, performance v Everton, he was on record as desperate to leave which Barry isn’t. Even then most didn’t boo him - at Old Trafford I was there when he kissed the badge and what sparked it was banter chants of “you can’t get in the team, you dirty glory hunter” to the tune of support your local team. He then compounded this by kissing the bench on substitution. This fuelled much of the hatred which was further added to when he joined Blues and spoke out against us in the media. That is why the situation is totally different. Its also important to remember Barry hasn’t left yet and in fact the only direct quotes I have heard are him praising our club and looking forward to next season.

Even though Liverpool have finished higher than Arsenal for 2 of the last 3 years, won a European Cup more recently, been to a European Cup final more recently, won the FA Cup more recently than Arsenal and the League Cup more recently? In fact the only thing they haven’t won more recently is the league

I notice loads of people suggest Liverpool are far weaker than Arsenal and say it’s a big 3. Don’t see it myself. Liverpool actually lost less games than Man United this season, there fault was throwing so many points away drawing games at home. Since 2005 they have been to 2 European Cup Finals of which they won one, a League Cup Final and an FA Cup final they won. They’ve been in the Champions League every season and before this year had finished above Arsenal for the past two seasons. When you add onto that their history, past successes and expectation I think we underestimate what a draw they could be for an ambitious player. I’ve said a million times I’m not sure it’s the right move for him, just I can understand it if he goes

No. I don’t boo Southgate either which I think was a similar case as I also thought that was a genuine move for ambition and he respected our club. I think if Barry moves it is purely for footballing reasons, albeit ones I disagree with. I also think he will speak highly of us and will have given us a great ten years. If he did anything Yorke did – ie start the season yet put in the worst performance ever seen, make a huge song and dance about refusing to continue to play for the club, kiss the badge at his new club in front of us or start to slag off our club in the media I would boo him. However I am confident if he leaves it will be with a heavy heart, a lot of praise for our club and all in all a very dignified exit. If this is the case I will actively clap him on his return

Hope Bristol City go up as would be a good away day, been to Palace, Hull and Watford with Villa recently so would be a but different. Good city for the weekend too

General, I'm not sure if this has been covered before or if you have the figures but i was chatting to a mate the other day about how big our support could be and i wondered how many different people have bought tickets this season? I know we have a set amont of season ticket holders and have sold a huge number of individual tickets this season but wondered if you actually have the figures of what number of different people bought tickets with different client codes etc? Clearly we had more than 40,000 different fans this season unless the same people go week in week out. I was thinking anyway it gives a good indication of our possible fan base and wondered also whether there are any figures for estimated worldwide support based on research in the marketing department etc? Up the Villa

Was very loud today, heard it at every game since Arsenal away. And agree i hate that Carew is on fire song, is for basketball or something

Spag Bol is the only thing i can really cook that tastes nice, when i have to cook i always do it. Pretty easy to make as well

Agree totally

I was disappointed when it meant an extra place to the UEFA is lost. That apart though it is definitely good for the cup and will be a far more interesting few games now instead of the predictable top4 v outsider routs or the top 4 v top 4 bores. Pompey Cardiff and Albion all have good supports as well so i reckon the atmosphere will be far better

To Platty, Platty on to Paul McGrath and out to Tony Daley. Tony Daley down the wing like a torpedo, puts the ball into the air............to Tony Cascarino Thats what ive always sung anyway

Absolutely spot on. Couldn’t agree more. Your work and the work of O Neill is massively appreciated. I am sure it’s easy for people to over react on a keyboard and I cringe when I read some of it. I can only speak for those I go the games with but we haven’t been so positive about the future of our club for a long time. We have the best owners and the best manager we could have, of that I have no doubt. Up the Villa

I had a look at what you needed to get 4th - 9th in the last five years to help as well - 4th - 68 67 61 60 67 Best = 68 5th = 60 65 58 56 64 Best = 65 6th = 58 63 58 56 (Villa) 60 Best = 63 7th = 56 58 55 53 59 Best = 59 8th = 55 56 52 53 52 Best = 56 9th = 54 55 52 52 51 Best = 55 With 41 points and 14 games left including 6 at home in the bottom half and 3 of the bottom 5 away there are a lot of winnable points. 63 points has been the best needed to get 6th place in the last five years and would also be our best tally since the premiership went to 38 games over 15 years ago to show what an achievement it would be. You would expect this to get a definite top 6 finish and European place We would need 22 more points - 6 wins and 4 draws and 4 defeats. I reckon we will do this, even if we get a few injuries. Worst case scenario for me would be about 56 points which co-incidentally was the total we got last time we got in the top 6 and would probably see us finish about 7th/8th

Apologies for answering for the General but on the BBC Sport is says this and suggests the deadline for the Intertoto Cup has passed. Also i believe it has repeatedly been said that O Neill and not the board would decide whether we enter the cup. Manchester City have applied to enter this summer's Intertoto Cup. The competition provides an alternative route into the Uefa Cup if Sven-Goran Eriksson's side do not win a place via their position in the Premier League. Eriksson told his club's website: "The deadline for the Intertoto Cup was 25 January and we are in it. Hopefully we won't need to but it's a possibility."

So we know the squad we have, we are well over half way through the season, where does everyone think we will finish? I’d have ideally liked more players but don’t personally think it’s as big a deal as some are making out. Bearing in mind our team is the same team that shone before the transfer window I don’t expect a collapse. With only 14 games to go and no cup distractions an injury crisis would be very unlucky. Even if our top players get injured I think we have good enough cover to beat a lot of the teams we have yet to face – Carson – Taylor, Laursen – Knight, Barry – Gardner/Petrov, Young –Maloney, Gabby – Harewood/Maloney/Moore With 6 home games against bottom half sides and away games at Fulham, Derby and Reading to come I still think we will get another 20+ points putting us in the top 6. I’m quietly confident in fact. Where does everyone else think we will finish? poll added, LV

Hi General, I am in the same boat as this and wondered if there is anyone at the club i can speak to regarding this? I appreciate this is not the clubs fault athough did wonder if any ticketing procedural changes can be implemented so tickets are only on sale after the fixture is 100% confirmed? Again i have no idea of the admin and problems in doing this but wanted to draw it to your attention how difficult it has made things for me. The best part of £20 is wasted and when added on to the £20 i will now pay for a coach and the £35 match ticket the day is £75 before i have had a beer or any food. I can't stress enough i know it isn't the fault of the club and i believe fixture changes have inconvenienced you also but did wonder whether anything can be done to help the fans. For Arsenal away for example i can't book my travel yet or a mothers day meal for the Sunday incase the game is switched, even an announcement that "the game will definitely be played on a saturday" when this is confirmed would help massively. I can't thank you enough for all your hard work at the Villa and appreciate your time to answer people's questions. This is the most exciting time at the club since 1982 and it's great to be a part of it Up the Villa

Questions don't have to be asked about competence if we sign no-one. Questions have to be asked about competence if we don't perform on the pitch. So far we have performed brilliantly, i don't understand why losing Sorenson, Cahill and Berger out of the ones you mentioned would have any effect. It wouldn't show incompetence, it would just show O Neill is culling the squad. No way would we let all 5 leave anyway with no replacements, i don't mean your post but i get the feeling people love giving worst case scenarios to have a go at the manager. So far he's improved us ten fold since he joined. His record in the transfer market must take some credit for this, if people don't believe that i'd be interested to know why they think we have improved. I want a couple signings but its not that big a deal if we get none.

11 Points up already is a great achievement. With the same results as last season from here on in would be 61 points, easily our best total in the last ten years. To do this we would need - Wins against Reading, Blackburn, Newcastle, Sunderland, Birmingham Home and Everton Away Draws against Boro and Wigan Home, Fulham, Arsenal, Derby, Pompey and West Ham Away Defeats against - Bolton Home, Liverpool, Man United and Reading Away A couple tricky wins but also some dropped points, in particular Bolton, Boro and Wigan at home. Certainly achievable

A few old cup ones would go down well tomorrow when we pull off a famous win! My eyes have seen the glory of the Villa win the cup, seven times we've won it no -one else will catch us up, we are the boys in claret and blue we are the chosen few as the Villa go marching on on on... Glory Glory Aston Villa.... She wore, She wore, she wore a claret and blue ribbon, she wore a claret and blue ribbon in the merry month of May, and when i asked oh why she wore that ribbon, she said its for the Villa cos they're off to Wemberley.....Wemberley, wemberley, we're the famous Aston Villa and we're off to Wemberley We're on the march with Martin's army, we're all going to Wembley, and we;ll really shake them up when we win the FA Cup cos the Villa are the greatest football team We'll be running round the bullring with the cup We shall not be moved, just like a team thats going to win the FA Cup we shall not be moved When Barry goes up to lift the FA Cup we'll be there, we'll be there Wembley, Wembley, we'll be all pissed up and we're going to Wembley Take your pick!!

We are 9 points up on the respective fixtures from last season now which is great! Attendances well up as well, a great chairman and a transfer window round the corner things are looking very bright indeed

Careful, you'll upset a few people with these sorts of comments. Didn't want to bite at that comment but got to admit thats actually why i always disliked him - I actually thought he couldn't care less about us and all he ever did was to convince us we were a small club so we would tolerate staying up as a great season. As for a top man i am on the other side totally on that argument as well, he slagged off us as supporters which annoyed me no end after going to Wycombe and Doncaster etc and made up ridiculous statements about us moaning even f we won the Champions League, in my book he was trying to portray us as moaners to the rest of the country and make us a laughing stock. He alienated some of our best players i am lead to believe by both paper reports and speaking to a member of our quad who has now left. I just felt he was as bad if not worse than Ellis for where he was taking us, it was as if he couldnt accept there was little money and was bitter at his job, something that rubbed off on everyone around him. Thats my view of it anyway

Maloney is probably the king of the Holte End at the moment and is not because he is a poor player. Sutton was excellent while he was here, our best striker. I agree the boss could have done better in the market but there isn't a single manager that couldn't do better in the transfer market. Agreed. I undersand your sentiments Rocafella but feel we have made great progress, every transfer will never set the world on fire and at least we have got some great buys in like Young, Carew, Carson on loan as well as a few others who improve us in my opinion like Reo Coker. As for Maloney i am surprised you hold that view, i really rate him, he just looks a threat whenever he plays