Villarocker

I was a critic of Downing's last season but credit where it's due and all that, he had a great game on Saturday. Hopefully he will continue to play like that and prove all the doubters, like me, wrong.

Hi General, Further to my earlier point regarding the facilities in the North Stand Lower, my friend reminded me that the beer also seemed to be worse than it was before. It seemed ok when we thought we were going to get Heineken but we didn't, we got Fosters instead, and at £2.80 for what seemed like just over half a pint, we don't feel that it represented any kind of value for money. Bear in mind that the tv screen has also been moved from near the catering outlet to above the steps it proved to be an all-round poor experience, apart from the game itself. You now have to plough your way through loads of people watching the tv to get to the catering outlet, and then plough your way back through them armed with your food and drink etc so that you can see the screen yourself. Surely it would be wise to put another tv up above the catering outlet so that people can watch the half-time replays and scores etc whilst they are queuing? I am sure a lot of people can't be bothered to queue for food because they want to see the hal-time scores and replays etc. I am sure another tv would pay for itself over the course of the season General. It just needs to be put up high in the catering section so that all that queue can see it. I would also like to add that the steps and floor are dangerous. I saw a guy fall flat on his back on the steps on the way to his seat before kick-off. Other's were being careful too, because the floor seemed so slippery. This is not the first season it has been like this. My brother also fell down the steps last season when it had rained prior to the game. Sorry for the moaning General. Some of the things I have said are safety issues and I am sure you can appreciate that, as well as the financial impact they could have on the club.

Hi General, It is with regret that I have to spoil the celebratory mood with a complaint about the North Stand Lower. As you know, I am a season ticket holder and attend the games with 3 members of my family. We sit in block R1 of the North Stand Lower. Last season we were sat where there was a leak in the roof, so we re-located a few rows further back to where we would be under cover. When we arrived at our seats on Saturday we were surprised to see that there was a massive gap in the roof, probably due to the removal of the big screen, and all of the seats in the area seemed to be exposed to the rain that was pouring in. Obviously, if this had been mentioned prior to the start of the season we would have re-located to an alternative area that was under cover. I braved the downpour in the second half but the other 3 went, with a lot of other fans, to watch the game on the screen in the concourse, which surely isn't right when they have paid an extra £50 for their tickets? The concourse is another area for complaint. It has been widened but there is no longer a betting office for those who choose to have a bet on the match. Also, the queue for the food/drink seemed worse than ever and I was told that it was because the food stand at the other end of the stand had been closed. If this is true, you are going to lose a lot of revenue because people won't get served or simply won't bother trying to buy anything because of the number of people who will be ahead of them waiting to be served. Is the club planning to address the situation with the roof anytime soon or is it going to be left like that until the re-build on the stand is completed? If so, is there anything we can do to move to an alternative seat where we won't get soaked everytime it rains without having to pay a re-location fee? I know that a lot of guys around us had also moved to avoid getting wet and they too were not happy folks on Saturday, although the performance from the lads was great. Up The Villa and keep up the good work General.

Randy did state that deals would still go through before the transfer window closes so has anyone considered that he might actually be going to Milan to seal the deal for Mathieu Flamini? we have been linked with him quite a bit during this summer!

General, Would it be possible to get a preiction from you for the game against West Ham? I would like your predicted score and the name of the player you think will score first. Every game, on the way to the match with my family, we pop into the local bookmakers and place our predictions, which is a combo bet called a scorecast, at which I am totally useless. So, your help in trying to remove the bookmaker of some of his easily earned money would be much appreciated. Regarding Bob Bradley, I would suggest that people have a look at his coaching record in the US. The only man to win coach of the year award on 2 occasions. The only man to win 100 games as a manager with a win to lose ratio of something like 2.5 to 1. I know that people will say that it is easy in the US and that the quality is nowhere near as good as in the PL, which is true, but you could also argue that Bradley gained better results and performances from his team of bargain players than Capello did from his team of supposed Superstars during the World Cup. If MON had quit before the World Cup and Capello was linked with our management position the fans would have been begging you to get him in! I reckon we should let Randy do his work and trust that he makes the right decision, whoever he gives the job to. Giving the new guy a hard time before he has even been given enough time to work his stuff is just not going to help the club at all.

My biggest worry for the new manager is this - The Villa fans! MON set a very high standard for the last 3 years and it is asking a lot for a new man to come in and raise the bar or even reach it for at least a couple of seasons. The players, staff and new management team will all need time to gel and get used to working together and our fans are not exactly the most patient. And with MON seemingly having a strong, hardcore following on here, I can see them soon getting on the new managers back as soon as we suffer a couple of poor results. I sincerely hope that the above doesn't happen but you can almost sense with some that they are just waiting for the earliest opportunity to get at the board and the best way to do that is criticise the new manager. I will back whoever comes in. I liked O'Neill and am grateful for what he did with us but I sometimes found him a bit one-dimensional and it didn't bother me one bit that he went. I am actually looking forward to the season more now than I was before MON left. It might be a strange thing to say but at least we have something different to look forward to, even if it means we might lose a few more and finish in a lower league position. We just need to give the new people time to do their work and give them chance to settle down and introduce their style and players into the team. Klinsmann may not be very experienced as a manager but he knows a lot about the game and I agree with the earlier post about him being a modern style manager, as opposed to the old school type that MON was. He talks very well about the game and I am sure that he would bring a more technical approach to Villa and I would be grateful to see that.

Hi General, I would like to show my gratitude for the honesty and openness you have shown in the last couple of days. I don't know about everybody else but I prefer to hear the truth over bulls**t any day of the week, no matter how good or bad it may be! My question to you General is, what do you think the score will be against West Ham? Also General, any idea what kind of attendance we are looking at? I remember you as being quite accurate with your predictions last season so I think it's time for the Oracle to return to action.

I can't imagine Sven working to a tight budget.

If the General doesn't mind be answering for him, I would like to offer two answers to that question! 1) Play them. 2) Don't buy them in the first place. Martin O'Neill was paid to "Manage" the footballing side of the club. If Randy gave him the freedom he wished for to do those deals he felt neccessary to take us further, he must then trust in MON (like the General always said) to "do the right thing". If Randy then realises that the wage bill is not doing well in comparison with the revenue, which MON apparently knew all about, then surely it is within reason for Randy to address that situtation by telling the "Manager" to manage the situation accordingly and cut the wage bill. If Martin O'Neill was unable to do that then it proves he was not a good "all round" manager. General, do you think Randy will pay closer attention to the next manager's dealing in the transfer market as a result of what has happened with MON?

Can I say thank you for your post General. I hope you don't let all the anguish get to you as these folks just love the club and are worried for our future. I will say one thing though. Anyone who says they don't know why they support the Villa needs to look atthemselves and ask if they are a genuine fan. It's not like changing your underwear or your missus. If you only want to support the club when all is rosey then you are in for some disheartening times! You ask us to trust in Randy. He certainly has my trust to bring in a manager good enough to take us where he is aiming. Thanks General, for the reassuring words. Up The Villa!!

I have to say General, despite my earlier post being genuine and from the heart, I am concerned about our great club. The rumours are not good and I think the best thing that Mr Lerner can do now is give some kind of press conference to let the fans know exactly where he stands regarding our club. There was an initial aim of Champions League football within a certain timeframe. If that has changed it would be better for him to be honest with the fans and tell us what his new ambitions are. It seems that the biggest concerns of the fans now is that we no longer have any ambition to challenge and that we are going to sell our best players without re-investing the money back into the playing side. There are rumours in the morning papers that Friedel and Ash Young are to go as well as Milner. If this is the case, then Mr Lerner needs to be truthful or he will lose the backing of all of the fans, not just some of them. The worse thing that can happen here is that the club loses all it's major assets and we're left with nothing but bunch of average players and a bunch of promising kids. I haven't lost faith in Randy Lerner, General. But, it would really help my nerves if he could come out and make an heartfelt statement to let us fans know exactly where we stand. I know there has been a lot of hatred shown to Doug Ellis over the years but he was one of our own. Randy is not even English and I can see a lot of people turning against him a lot quicker given that fact and that is why I believe it would serve him well to be honest and try to calm this situation as soon as possible. Please General, if you can advise Randy Lerner of one thing. Try to get a statement out for the fans, just so that we all know the score.

There's been lots of talk of Villa's English players leaving over the last 12 months. Barry, Gardner, Harewood, Shorey, Young x 2, Heskey, Gabby, Davies, Sidwell, NRC etc. maybe this is telling us something? Martin O'Neill has an apparent liking for British players, particularly English ones. But he could only afford the fringe England players whilst at Villa. There is a very successful club manager who seems to be able to manager anyone as long as they aren't English. So, given the above facts, is it possible that a swap deal is in place for England to have O'Neill and Villa get Fabio Capello in exchange?

This! RL did want Klinsmann originally but he had already committed to something in the US. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Klinsmann was appointed Villa manager. I am not sure as to what he could achieve but I do know that he is a respected man in the world of football and he might be able to attract the kind of player that we apparently struggled to get under MON's management. I agree with a few others who think that the next appointment will show what RL has in store for us. If he brings in someone small time then we will all be wondering what happened to the dream of CL. However, if he does bring in someone big, we will all be excited again for the season ahead. Who's to say that a big name won't come in and be given the money from the Milner sale plus another £10m? I am sure that RL looks at our bench and sees around £40m worth of players in L Young, Shorey, Sidwell, NRC, Davies and Delph and thinks to himself "I am sure i could have gotten more for my money than that lot". How many of us have questioned MON's tactics in the transfer market over the 4 years? Successful or not, we have questioned a lot of his buys. I wouldn't be at all surprised if RL got pissed off with him as well and that's why he decided not to give him any more money. Telling MON that HE has to sell before he buys is one thing. Getting a new manager and giving him the chance to purchase quality is another matter altogether.

Hi General, I hope that some of the harsh words don't drive you away from this site. People are in a state of shock and worried about what is happening at the club. I am sure that you wish you could tell us the truth but I doubt very much that you will be able to. I am sure that deep inside you have often wondered what MON was doing in some games by not changing it when we haven't looked like scoring etc. It's quite obvious that a director of the club can not come onto a fans site and say exactly how he feels. That is how the board of Birmingham City and now West Ham work and we are bigger than that. I hope that Randy Lerner is sincere about his hopes and ambitions for AVFC. I would hate to feel cheated after buying into the belief that we are on the brink of something major at our football club. I am not ready to give up on him though, not after losing a couple of star players and having his first manager resigning on us. Surely we owe the man more time and opportunity to deliver those good times? I just hope that Randy Lerner makes the right decision when he appoints MON's replacement. There are lots of experts saying that we won't find anyone better than MON and that we will not be able to achieve a league position that we have reached in the last 3 seasons. MON is gone now and won't be back. It's time to forget the manager and get behind the owner 'cos he is the man who is here and running the club. Yes we should be grateful for MON's achievements with the club but the season is just around the corner and we have to think about that now and not the past. Randy is the man with the money and the power to bring in the people needed to take us to where we want to be so he is the man who we have to support now and those players who take to the pitch game after game. These are the people who need our support. Let's not do the away fans jobs for them by making things difficult for all those at Villa Park. I am fully behind the people at the club because until they prove to me that they shouldn't be here, they will always have my support. I promise you General. If Randy brings in the right man and we have a season as good as last season, today will soon be forgotten in a hurry. A question for you General. Will you, in an advisory capacity, suggest to Randy that it would be a good idea for the new manager to have a scouting system that reaches outside of the British Isles. Oh, and does Mrs K also have a coaching badge? :winkold: Up The Villa!!!!

Hi General, I know there is a lot of doom and gloom around at the moment but I wish to remain positive. It does seem that we have to sell to buy but let's face it, if we sell Milner and get Ireland and anything close to £20m we will be doing some good business. I believe that, as long as we re-invest the money earned back into the team and buy at least a couple more quality players, we will still be able to challenge as well as we did last season, if not better. My biggest concern is that we have already let two left backs go in Bouma and O'Halloran. With Shorey looking likely to leave and the fact that Luke Young seems out of favour and heading for the exit door, I am worried that we won't have enough cover at left back should Warnock miss any games. Here is my question to you General, can Mrs Krulak play left back as well as right back? Up the Villa!!

Hi General, My mate at work got me all excited today. He told me that Villa had signed someone new from Holland. He then went on to tell me that it was Heineken! For a moment I was disappointed but then I thought back to all the warm points of weak Carlsberg I had have consumed over the last few years down the Villa. So, I am now a happy chappy that I can consume a better tasting beer at the mecca of football once again Will you be able to tell us if we will be selling the Export version of Heineken, General?

Hi General, Good to see you back in the world of Claret and Blue Hope you are well and Mrs K too! I wanted to ask you whose idea it was for ITV4 to show tonight's game live on TV? I can't ever remember seeing a Villa friendly screened live from Villa Park before. Can you enlighten us on the idea behind this please? I bet you are as eager as us lot to see the boys take the field against West Ham next week General. I can't wait to give my new Vuvuzuela a blast in the North Stand - don't worry all, I am just kidding and am one of those who think they destroy the cries of the fans that help make the game what it is

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this name already but would anyone else take Spiderman - Jonas Gutierrez - from Newcastle to play the Milner role? He is 28 now, so still has a few years left him and it wouldn't cost the world to buy him. Gutierrez is a South American rarity in the fact that he works his socks off for the team and seems to be very highly rated by the great Maradona, who said that he is one of the first 3 names on his team sheet, along with Messi and Mascherano (I think it was him anyway). Gutierrez certainly fits the bill in terms of the kind of player MON likes. He has Premier League experience, works hard, runs all day, can play many positions without complaining and spent the majority of last season at right back

Great run and finish from Big John

Surely Cuellar can't be classed as playing much of a part in this? He was only on the pitch for a short time before he went off injured.

Did people really expect us to win this game? I looked at the teams at the start and thought that we would comfortably get beat. I don't even think our best 11 would have had much better chance against the Benfica line up tonight. Having said all that, it would have been better for us if we had at least done the basics right with the second and third goals. Friedel should never have pushed that shot back into the path of their attacker for the second and the wall for the third was never positioned correctlty, although there was nothing Friedel could have done with the actual shot as it was in the top corner!

Nope, same XI as ever then. Oh and Milner will play if he's not sold as I've just seen MON on SSN stating that its a similar situation to Bary 2 years ago. "We managed to hold on to Barry then and he played some of the best football he's ever played that season" That really concerns me, if MON thinks Barry played some of his best football in that last season he played for us!

Brilliant! (Are you trying to get in the best post thread? ) This

Am I the only person who thinks that it would be better for us to just ask for £24m and get it all over and done with? I can't help but feel that Milner won't be anything like the same player we saw last season if he stays. If there really isn't much money available to MON then surely it would be better for us to get the deal done and move on and bring some more players in who do want to play for us.

Right folks. I have been giving some thought to how many of MON's apparent "Best XI" will start against the Hammer's on the first day of the season. Will Milner start if he is still here? Would MON make him run the gauntlet with the possibility of abuse from the fans? Will MON start one or more of our emerging younger players such as Albrighton or Delfouneso? Will a new signing or two make it in time for the first game? The question is, how many of last season's usual suspects will start the first game, given the squad we currently have? Best Eleven: Friedel, Cuellar, Warnock, Collins, Dunne, Young, Downing, Milner, Petrov, Agbonlahor, Carew. For the record, I have gone for 10 with Milner being the player not on show.