Villarocker

You can't expect us to be able to play pretty football when you play against a bunch of cloggers like Stoke! I think it's pretty obvious that MON wanted to match the aerial threat by playing the big two up front for us today. Gabby should come on soon though, we need someone to run at them and they will have tired legs by now surely! Ref is a complete clearing in the woods. I remember him being the ref against Chelsea at VP earlier this season. Gabby should have had a pen and the defender sent off but ref totally bottled it and has given us nothing each time we have had him this season.

We were destined to meet them at some point surely! I would rather play them in the semi than the final TBH. If we lose this then it's only one day of expense and not as disappointing as losing in the final itself. if we win then we have nobody at all left to fear and we can all look forward to a final in which we have a much better chance of winning. As for the game against Chelsea, I think we will win. They have to go away to United the week before and they have Spurs away the week after. Also, midweek between the Utd game and playing us, they could possibly have the 2nd leg of the Chapions league quarter final to play, should they get past Inter! All in all, they will have a much tougher schedule around the time of the semi and hopefully it will have taken it's toll on them by the time they play us.

Happy Birthday General I will have a beer on your behalf when I get in from work tonight Have a great day!

How can you say that about Dunne? Everybody makes mistakes in their jobs so you can't expect the guy to be foot perfect every single time he steps out onto the pitch! What you fail to acknowledge is the fact that Vidic took the ball off Gabby about 20 seconds before it hit the back of our net! That player wouldn't have been able to do that if the ref did HIS job right! I think you also forget that, from the dismissal, Man Utd would have been likely to take off one of their forwards, probably Berbatov due to his usual lazy approach to the game. This would have meant them playing one up front - Owen - until he went off. Berbatov then wouldn't have been on the pitch to lay the ball off to Valencia to cross for Rooney to head in! The reasons you are suggesting for our defeat just can't be agreed with by me. They were better than us with 11 a side but it shouldn't have been that way. You also don't know how much the poor refereeing took out of our team!

I have to agree with the point made earlier in this thread about Downing drifting into the middle too often. It seems like we sometimes have 3 in the middle and just Ash out wide and that isn't going to help our cause when the likes of Valencia are on the opposite side. We were done over by the ref on the red card decision but we never really looked beating Utd with 11 players each on the field. It makes you wonder how much Dowd's mistake had an effect on the Villa players. United's first goal came after Gabby ran forward and was intercepted by Vidic, the ball ran free, was hoofed upfield and there equaliser followed from Dunne's error. There's no doubting the effect the ref's decision had on the game. They had two strikers on the pitch at the time. Surely they would have taken Berbatov off with his reputation for not putting in much of a shift - the man whose pass put in Valencia to cross for their winning goal! I thought Gabby and Milner were great and I felt particularly sorry for Gabby. The guy didn't get enough of the ball, on a day when he was clearly in the mood.

Even by your logic, he's still been denied a goalscoring opportunity, whether it's a difficult one or not. The only reason Gabby had to check back anyway was because he was having his shirt pulled and being fouled. Yes but then you could argue pretty much every foul in the box should be a red-card. I think had Gabby not had a poor touch and kept driving like at goal and Vidic bought him down, it's a definate red. However I'm not sure, i'd want to see another replay. I don't have any complaints. We were 1-0 up, we put in alot of effort but we're beaten. I think Dowd was incosistant and made some bad decisions but i'm not going to blame our loss on that. That's just great that is! The man, whose duty it is to uphold the laws of the game on the pitch, fails to do his job properly and you find an angle in which to blame the much-maligned Gabby for having a poor touch! Seriously AVFCBrum, that is an outrageous comment to make. The ref **** up, simple as that. Everyone knows it and retired refs are saying it too. The guy was too gutless to do his job because it involved sending off Man Utd's best defender and he knew how much of a big impact that would have on the game. Regarding Dunne's comments, this game was totally different to the one in the league at Villa Park. We had not long conceded the equalising goal to them, in the league game, and were probably looking at making sure that we didn't lose the point that we had, rather than to go throwing caution to the wind by going all out for the winner. Sunday's game was different in the fact that the sending off would have come a lot earlier - 24 minutes earlier in fact - and that we wouldn't have had to be so cautious as there would have been no points to lose. I have heard people talking of the club asking for some kind of retro-spective action being taken against Vidic but personally I wouldn't want him to receive a 3 match ban after the event. Man Utd play Liverpool in 3 league games time and I would rather see them at full strength as we would want Utd to win that one!

It would be nice to stop making the chavs from small heath feel like they actually mean something, just for one day! I hope we are all singing the songs like the ones mentioned above: We're on the march with Martin's army, we're all going to wem-ber-lee. And we'll really shake 'em up, when we win the carling cup, 'cos the Villa are the greatest football team. I am also a big fan of: We'll be running round the bull ring with the cup. We'll be running round the bull ring with the cup. We'll be running round the bull ring, running round the bull ring, running round the bull ring with the cup - PISSED UP! By the way, we should definitely be singing (in the light of the semis and the final of the FA Cup being played at wembley), Tell me ma me ma, to put the champagne on ice, We're going to wembley THRICE, Tell me ma me ma. It would also be nice to hear a prolonged version of MON's claret & Blue army belted around Wembley during the game. I think that would sound awesome given the fact we will probably have the majority of fans there!

Hi General, I would like to say that I think the ticket prices for the Palace game are as good as we could have wished for, with everything taken into account. Do you know if Randy will be at the game? I hope he is enjoying his time at the Villa and the resurgence that his efforts have brought to the cub! I am going to be tempting fate a little with the next question General. I can't help but ask this question as I am sure that a lot of other's will have thought the same! Have Villa made any plans for a trophy parade just in case we win the Cup next week? I have the Monday off work you see and I am guessing that nearly everyone on here will not be working that day too! Surely we wouldn't want to miss a chance to celebrate beating Man Utd in a cup final IF we should win? Keep up the good work General - Up The Villa!

Hi General, Here's a joke to cheer you up a little! Martin O'Neil, Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger & Rafa Benitez meet in a pub for a few beers prior to this weekend's round of FA Cup matches. Martin goes up to the bar and buys the first round of 4 beers, then Ferguson buys the second round of drinks, Wenger gets in the third and Benitez gets the fourth. Martin then goes back up to the bar and comes back with just the one beer - for himself. The other 3 managers all look at him and ask "where's our drinks?" to which, Martin replies "sorry guy's you aren't in the 5th round!" Come on the Villa boys!!

Welcome to the forum once again General and may I ask you - how is your health kind Sir? Also, can you tell us where you plan to watch the mighty Villa at Wembley on the 28th of February?

Hi General, I am sure that the fans who have said that Villa are a "joke" don't actually mean that the club is a joke. It's just frustration aimed at one thing - buying their wembley ticket! I know that it's ticketmaster that the tickets are being sold through but it's hard to remember it at that frantic moment when you have logged onto the villa website, followed the directions to the online ticket site and you find yourself staring at a 10 inch long blue bar, that has to be filled with claret, and after 30 minutes you have moved one inch! You said that 5,000 people logged into the site in half hour. I guess most of those were eager to part with at least the £70 for their ticket, as people want the best view possible, a view that sits them with the main body of Villa fans! Lots of people were buying for others so you could probably say that each of those 5k were purchasing 5 tickets or more on average. If that was the case General, it means that around £1,750,000 was trying to be spent by the Villa faithful in that half hour, which shows just how much we love our club! Please remember that most of these folks will have purchased tickets from ticketmaster before for concerts or alike and will not have experienced that kind of wait. Seeing Villa at Wembley is far more important than seeing Girls Aloud, Kasabian or whoever General, so that's why we were all so frustrated. The word you mentioned was PATIENCE, well these fans have been waiting for 10 years for this and have stood by their club throughout that time. To me, that shows a lot of patience. Hopefully you will also be patient with us and can appreciate that it's over-excitement on our part. We love the Villa and this is what supporting them is all about. Going to Wembley is an unbelievable occasion with the Villa and having experienced it 3 times before, you just can't get enough of it General. I just hope you can be there to share it with us too! One other thing General. If Martin needs help with inspiring the players for the final, ask him to play them the DVD from the 1994 final when we beat United 3-1. The United team that day was full of stars of their past and I am sure the current crop of Villa players will all know just how good that team was! If our team of that day could win, then surely the team of today can win also! Oh, and please tell Martin we all proud of the way he handled the Wenger situation. He was right to say what he did and it was nice to see a manger stand up for our club and players like that. The man's sense of humour is second to none in my opinion! By the way, Freddie's back - YES!!! Come on you Villa boys!!!!!

How about this one for the Cup Final? To the tune of knick knack paddywhack give the dog a bone, this old man came rolling home. You score 4, we'll score 6, When Ash and Jimmy do their tricks, With a knick knack paddywhack give the dog a bone, The carling cup is coming home. Or You score 4, we'll score 6, When Ash and Jimmy do their tricks, with a knick knack paddywhack who the **** is scholes, when the villa boys are scoring goals. Another one for the final based on Football's coming home. Like the Villa Lion on our shirt, the carling cup is gleaming, Fourteen years of hurt, has never stopped us dreaming...... It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming, the league cup's coming home. (Repeat over and over) I can just imagine the last song being belted out by 31,000 Villa fans on the 28th of Feb. What a sound that would make!

Hi General, Can I just say that it is GREAT to see that Freddie Bouma is back in full training and I am sure that I am not the only person who cannot wait to see Freddie back on the pitch where he belongs, putting opposing wingers into the advertising boards, where they belong! Please tell him that he won't be the only emotional person in the stadium when he runs out to take his place in the team again! Up The Villa

Hi General, I just wanted to know if there is any news regarding Villa putting on trains to Wembley? Up The Villa

How about this idea for Wembley. Just before kick-off, or just after, we sing "It's your round" with all of the starting line-up's names being sung. All the way through the team from Keeper to striker(s). We could even add General K, MON & Randy at the end to fiinish off. Something like this, Brad Guzan my lord, Brad Guzan. Brad Guzan my lord, Brad Guzan. Brad Guzan my lord, Brad Guzan. Oh lord, Brad Guzan. Lukey Young my lord, Lukey Young. Lukey Young my lord, Lukey Young. Lukey Young my lord, Lukey Young. Oh lord, Lukey Young. And so on through the team. I know that some will be difficult, such as Gabby and Heskey but we could use the following for them. Agbonlahor my lord, Agbonlahor. Agbonlahor my lord, Agbonlahor. Agbonlahor my lord, Agbonlahor. Oh lord Agbonlahor. Big Emile my lord, Big Emile. Big Emile my lord, Big Emile. Big Emile my lord, Big Emile. Oh lord, Big Emile. Then after all of the players, we could sing, Charles Krulak my lord, Charles Krulak etc. Or General K my lord, General K. Then, Martin's God my lord, Martin's God etc. Then to finish it off we could sing, Randy is our lord, Randy is. Randy is our lord, Randy is. Randy is our lord, Randy is. Our lord, Randy is. I think it would be a good way of going through all the players names and acknowledging their efforts, and the management too! I think 31,000 Villa fans singing that would sound awesome at Wembley on live tv.

Thanks Drat & Bully for the info on the pub situation. One other question for you lads. Do you know if people are allowed into Wembley in full fancy dress? There are four of us who are thinking of going dressed in old crusader costumes with plastic sword and shield. I am not so sure they would let us in with the plastic stuff but a couple of the others reckon they might. What do you guy's think?

Don't despair Corleone, we beat them in '94 when their team's front 6 players were Giggs, Ince, Keane, Kanchelskis, Hughes & Cantona! Our win denied them the treble that day. If ever there was a way to inspire our current crop of players to beat Man Utd in a final, they should be shown the DVD of that game, if only to show that Man Utd are not so invincible! Personally, I don't care who we get as I think we will beat either of the Manc team's. I suppose it depends on how you look at it. If we get City it means we may have the opportunity to sing "you should have stayed at a big club" to our former captain. If we play Utd it means we will get to wat ch about 100 minutes of football instead of 93! Come on you Villa boy's!

As this is the "social" and travel thread, this must be the place to ask the question, Is the Greyhound pub still open and if so, are we going to take it over as usual? The atmospehere at that pub, at the last 3 finals we have been in, has been brilliant. I haven't been to the new Wembley so I am hoping that this pub is still open and will be the watering hole on cup final day! If it isn't, can anyone suggest another pub to go to on the day of the game?

What a game and what a night General! I am so proud to be a Villa fan. Everyone is ecstatic and wishing away the next 5 weeks it seems. Can you please say thank you to Randy, Martin and all the players, coaching staff etc. They have given us the best start to a New Year we could have wished for. I would also like to add weight to the comments from Paulanddonya regarding the handling of the fans on the pitch. It was nice to see the stewards behave the way they did, especially after coming in for a lot of criticism this season. I think that added to what is a very memorable night for Aston Villa supporters who attended that unbelievable game. Bring on the Mancs General, we can take out anybody these days! Now for my question. I would like to know if Martin and his coaching staff have been reading the Brazilian coaching manual, given their "you score 4 and we'll score 6" style of football? Personally, I am all for it and look forward to seeing Milnero 8 on the back of Jimmy's shirt!

i'll second that General! come on you Villa boys! I really hope you watch tonight General as the atmosphere is going to be amazing.

I know the General has already replied to this but I just wanted to make the point that the club only charged between £15-£20 per adult ticket for the Blackburn FA Cup game, and still only managed to get 25,000+ through the doors! I know the Blackburn game came shortly after Christmas and that the financial situation for most isn't great, but it still seems to me that we wouldn't have filled the ground even if we had charged £10 per adult ticket - just as we are for the Brighton game. I think this is mainly because of the other outlays that come with attending a football match, such as programmes, travel, food, drinks etc. It may only cost £10 to attend the game but I bet the average fan spends at least a further £20 per matchday - I know that I do! With us having 4 home games within 10 days, the potential outlay for some will be massive towards the end of this month, especially if we have a Carling Cup Final ticket to buy as well

I agree totally that Guzan has been brilliant for us in the cups. it would be really hard on him if he didn't get picked to start, but I just think that MON will go with the experience of Friedel for this one. It's been a long time since we had two really good 'keepers at the club at the same time. A nice position for us to be in, as long as other clubs keep their filthy mitts away!

First time at doing this so pleeeease bear that in mind folks! :winkold: With Guzan doing so well in the previous rounds of the cups this season, would you start with him against Blackburn on Tuesday night, or would you play Friedel for his experience? For the record, I would go with Friedel for his superior experience, although there is no doubt that Guzan deserves his chance after his previous achievements this season. Tough one for MON this!

Hi General, I hope you and your family had a great Christmas. Happy New Year to you all and let's hope the Villa make it a winning one in 2010. Will you be over for any of the 3 home cup games against Blackburn? I say home because let's face it, Ewood Park may as well be called Villa Park for Tuesday night! I have my ticket and cannot wait to be there to experience a brilliant, Villa created atmosphere. It is nice to hear Martin's comments on tv recently. It seems that the playing down of our chances for CL qualification have subsided and that he now has every confidence in our team. I love this and I just hope the belief spreads to the players because we are good enough on our day and if that day comes more often than not then this season should see us finish in the top four. General Krulak = Villa Legend! Up The Villa!

I also think 65-69 points. I am sure that I heard somewhere that MON has never won a Premier League game in March! I just hope that isn't the case this season!