Villarocker

Hi General, I hope you and your family are well. I would like to add to the list of people asking you not to be offended by the comments addressed to you after yesterday's result. We all appreciate what you do here and everyone knows that your job has nothing to do with the playing side and the results that we achieve. The result was no doubt poor and could easily have been worse. However, I do look at the bigger picture and realise that it could also have been a lot better had we taken the chances that we created. I think people are missing the fact that Ashley Young missed a very good chance and that Cuellar had a great chance to nod back to an unmarked Gabby but headed wide instead. I agree with an earlier point about our defence. MON inherited some very good defenders in Laursen, Mellberg, Bouma and Cahill. Our defence is now poor in comparison and the reason for our poor results in my opinion. Maybe MON likes to wait 'til near the end of the window in case of any injuries to key players but the defence situation has been clear to all since January. I can't help but feel that any player we now show interest in is going to cost us even more because of how desperate the situation is. Selling clubs will be holding us to ransom but MON has no choice but to pay the inflated price simply because we have no cover and the players currently out their are not of the standard to realise the ambition of the owner. That may sound harsh but it is clear for all to see General. Championship players such as Wheater or Huth will be a big mistake. We need players that are highly experienced, not ones for the future, because by then it may be too late! We need real quality, tough, experienced centre backs and ones that can fit in quickly. The likes of Upson, Hangeland, Distin are all out their and would probably jump at playing for last seasons 6th place club. Next season we may not have that pitch to sell to players so let's do it now why we do have it! It is often said that football is a results business and the last 19 games have generated 2 wins. If we don't turn this poor form around then we are going to be struggling at the wrong end of the table and that's why the fans are so worried, because that form statistic is one of a relegation-threatened side. My hope is that Petrov was short of match practise due to injury, Beye was still getting used to his new teammates, Gabby was lacking a pre-season and Milner too, although i thought he was our best performer today. Hopefully Delph was just finding it a bit diffcult adjusting to the rigours of Premier league football, although his performance was one that showed promise. I can't help but feel that Ashley is trying too hard to impress the England manager. he is doing too much with the ball and just needs to keep it simple and play for our manager and not England's, the rest will surely take care of itself! I cannot find any reasons for the other players though General and that is the most worrying factor for me. One last point I would like to make. James Milner shone like a beacon on the left against the world's 3rd best rated country on Wednesday. Why on earth don't Ash and Jimmy swap wings throughout the game? Ash struggled all game against some pretty solid marking and yet he only moved to the right wing once Albrighton came on. This baffled me and all of the people around me as Albrighton has been performing brilliantly on the right! If MON wanted to try Ash on the right, why wait for the young lad to come on and then play him out of position? MON's tactics are being severely scrutinised by the fans and quite rightly so. I think a lot of us get frustrated with some of his decision making. I know you can't comment on a lot of this General, I am merely trying to point towards the reasons for the negative comments surrounding the manager. We are not a bad team overnight but we are a team that needs leadership and needs it soon, before a potential rot sets in.

Hi General, I just wanna say that I am very proud of the way our team played last night. The boys were brilliant and Guzan was outstanding. Randy promotes a bright future and how can that be argued when you see such young players performing like that, against a seasonsed side such as Juve's too! I watched a stream with American commentators and they were full of praise for our kids, even suggesting they were as good, if not better, than Arsenal's current crop! Gotta say that those commentators were funny and I thought how good it would be to have them commentate on some of our PL games. It would be better than listening to the very boring Alan Smith and some of his fellow commentators over here! Two questions for you General. 1) As already requested, could we have some wallpaper downloads of the team celebrating with the cup please. 2) When we do win something "proper", will you please celebrate with the players on the pitch! I would love to see you running around Wembley Staidum with the Carling or FA Cup held high!

Good to hear from you again General! Hopefully the medication will get rid of your infection and you will be back to normal asap.

That's a fair shout General and I apologise for suggesting that the lads were out in Dubai taking it easy. I guess it was a bit of frustration on my part as the Tottenham game really got to me. I was so gutted and annoyed that I couldn't even bring myself to barrack the useless linesman that was in close proximity, after making an absolute joke of a decision during the second half. I want us to prove the cynics wrong so badly. You know General, all of those people who say that the "top 4" are the "top 4" and think that they are beyond the reach of the rest of the clubs in the top flight. The arrogance of some of those people really winds me up and I can't wait for the time to come when we gatecrash the party!

Hi General, Hope you are ok and not too despondent following our recent slump in form. I have to say that the team and MON are certainly proving all of the doubters right at the moment. I must admit that I was also concerned about our lack of quality in reserve for when the big games came and it's only been proven right General! I would have loved it for the lads to show the cynical, top 4 loving, media and pundits that we have got enough strength in depth to cope with the amount of big games we had coming, but unfortunately they haven't done themselves any favours at all. Going out of Europe seemed like an executive decision made by Martin but the players have let him down and it's, no doubt, going to come back to bite him on the backside. I gotta say that I am disappointed with the lads being given so many "breaks". We are supposedly aspiring to be a "top 4" side. Well those "top 4" sides cope with massive, high pressure games year in year out and you don't see them flying out to Dubai for a break! The stars who compete in Champions League football are needed nearly all of the time at this end of the season, simply because every game for them seems to be huge. How is it that their managers can play them week in week out, winning big games, but ours felt that our players needed a rest? I know we don't have a squad as big as theirs but who is to blame for that? I am hoping that we can get back to winning ways ASAP but that 4th place is now going to be very difficult. I am seriously worried that we may have missed a golden opportunity. There is no doubt in my mind that Man City and Spurs won't be as poor next season. They seem to have no fear in the transfer market and top quality players are going to be hard for Villa to sign in the summer, especially if either of those 2 clubs compete with us, not to mention the top 4! I know Martin was recently quoted as saying that we would have a squad capable of competing on all fronts next season but to do this he is going to have to work unbelievably hard in the summer to make that happen! I am behind him and the team all the way General, as are all the other Villa fans. We are all just frustrated that we have seen this all before when we were so close to doing something massive. We now need to hope that the players can work a miracle this season. If not, we will have to hope for some major activity in the summer, otherwise I fear tickets may be much easier to obtain for Villa Park next season. By the way General, I have my season ticket bought and paid for already. I can't wait to get first option on the new stand when it's eventually built

Sorry but I have to disagree with the above post. Wayne Rooney hardly comes across as MR Intelligent does he but look how his career has gone! He went and got into trouble for paying an old Prozzie to give him some experience and got slaughtered for it, but it hasn't gone and ruined his career. Gabby has family around him who can give him the right kind of advice. He also has, supposedly, one of the best man-managers in the business to give him guidance. I think that his supposed lack of genius should have nothing to do with his poor performances of late. The lad needs dropping to freshen him up, simple as that! I don't think it is his fault. All players go through a dip in form but their managers take them out of the firing line to shake them up. Unfortunately, MON doesn't seem to want to do that, for whatever reason. Gabby should be on the bench and then let on for the last half hour to run at tiring defences. This might give him more chance of scoring/creating goals, which would then boost his increasingly flagging confidence. Anelka seemed to be never been free of controversy at one stage but he has never forgotten where the back of the net is.

Hi General, Shame about the result the other night but at least the lads tried their best and gave it a good go! We all now wait in anticipation of seeing the Villa lift the European Cup within the next few seasons On another note, I wanted to ask you what you thought your highlights and lowlights have been since you have been involved with the Villa? And, one final question if I may. Do you think Martin will wear a suit when we get to a Cup Final or do you think he would keep to his traditional tracksuit manager look?

Hi General, I have to say that I understand both the fans and MON regarding the Moscow game. I would be pretty frustrated if I went all the way out their to see half a "first" team. However, I understand that, at the moment, we have to prioritize the league and try to secure a top 4 finish. My only hope is that the club is aiming for higher than 4th this season. I am hoping 2nd is the prize we are chasing, to guarantee group stage Champions League football next season. I would have said 1st (and wish we could finish top) but the realist in me sees Man Utd looking unbeatable at the moment. We can but try though and that's all the fans can hope for really! My concern with finishing 3rd/4th is the fact we will have a very tough qualifying game at the start of next season and this season's efforts could prove to have been in vain. I only hope that, in the summer, MON buys the extra quality we need to compete in all of the competitions we will be playing in next season. I understand he isn't looking for great numbers but I can only really accept that if he buys the neccessary quality we obviously lack at the moment. This has been shown in the defeats to QPR, Zilina and Hamburg. The fans can see it and so must MON. I trust the manager and believe that he sees what we see, as you often put it! Let's hope the lads can put on a great show for us tomorrow and leave Moscow with their heads held high!

Hi General, The performance from the lads on Saturday was brilliant! I went to the game and enjoyed the performance and the banter that we all had. I still talk to fans who, for whatever reason, do not accept that Villa have any chance of winning the league. They say we want this and that result so that results go our way and we can finish 4th. I disagree because I think we shouldn't be worrying about what is going on below us. We should be looking at those above us and who we can overtake! Those lads out on the pitch yesterday were fantastic and the team spirit shown is amazing. They really do play for each other and I personally think that is the "Superstar" factor that we have at Villa. We may not have a Ronaldo, Torres, Drogba or Van Persie but we do have a very talented and incredibly hard working bunch of players that all share the same will to win and that spirit is something that I have not witnessed in a Villa team for a very long time. I can't believe I am saying this but I watch Villa and never worry for one minute that we might actually lose the game. That surely as to be a good sign! I firmly believe that this is our year to win something and I have been telling you this all season General! It was nice to hear Martin's post match interview yesterday, when he said that the players now have belief. They should, because the table doesn't lie and they full deserve to be where they are. Let's just hope they can continue to believe and deliver the performances that are making this an incredible season for AVFC. General, us fans were singing this yesterday - "we're gonna win the league, we're gonna win the league. And now you're gonna believe us and now you're gonna believe us and now you're gonna believe us - we're gonna win the league" Crikey general, it's been a long long time since I last sung that!

Hi General, A much better performance from the guys today but not the result we wanted hey! We did everything but score and I don't think you can blame our players for that. Wigan defended very well and through anything and everything in the way to stop us scoring. On another day it could have been a big scoreline. I thought the effort of the lads second half was fantastic and that is why I find it hard to believe that some people booed at the end. I didn't hear this personally but I have read it online through various sources. It's hard to understand how these people think or why they would do this after watching the lads put so much effort into that game. I just hope MON realises that it's only a very small minority of people that weren't thinking straight with their reactions! I have a small gripe regarding the catering in the Lower North Stand. The kiosk to the left of the stand, as you look at it, was closed at half time. All of the fans then headed to the other remaining kiosk and getting served was a struggle to say the least! It is hard enough to get served in that stand as it is but today was just a joke. It is quite frustrating when you have to leave your seat 10 minutes before half time to get in the queue for something to eat or drink normally, but when you actually get back to your seat and the second half has already kicked off, it is really annoying. Surely something is wrong when you have to miss 15 minutes of the game just to get some chips or a drink? I don't know what happened today but the service in that stand really is sub-standard for a club like Villa General. Sorry to complain General, it's not really in my nature to do so as I love all things Villa!

Hi General, I hope yourself and your family are all enjoying better times. I wanted to comment on the "lucky" tag the press is labelling us with. A few weeks ago I was questioning how much longer our "luck" would last before it ran out. Then I got slated by a few guy's on another forum. I told myself to try and start watching villa with a more open point of view and I have to say that your comment about working harder making you luckier seems to be true in respect of Villa's performances. A lot of guy's were moaning about Man Utd being lucky to get a winner in the 94th minute at Bolton last week but how many teams would have settled for the point in the 94th minute away from home? Most I guess but not Man Utd and that's why they are at the top and so successful. Now, it seems, Villa are beginning to show that will and determination to go and win matches and not just settle for a point. If we continue with that mentality then we can achieve anything and I really believe that we will win something this season. With my new viewpoint, I watched the game against Sunderland and thought we were actually unlucky! Their goal was offside, Cisse should have got a red card, not yellow, for a two-footed tackle on one of our player's. Milner only scored with his arm because he was fouled. Had the referee done his job correctly, he would have sent off their defender and awarded us a penalty. That would have put us in the possible position of being 1-0 up against 9 men! We might have gone on to win by 3 or 4 and further improve our goal difference. We make our own "luck" and I truly hope it continues for as long as possible as this season is making Villa fans nervous again, but this time for all the right reasons! I want to finish by saying that I am happy that we have signed Heskey as I think he will help the team enormously. He may not be a 20 goal a season man but at least he will hold the ball up and bring the other's around him into the game more. Up The Villa!

Hi General, I would like to take this opportunity to wish yourself, your family and everyone connected with Aston Villa Football Club a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. General I am sure that a trophy will be ours this season! Remember I told you that this is the season we have to win something if we are continue our impeccable record of winning a trophy every decade since our establishment? Well I stand by my prediction that we will win something this season. Whether it be Fa Cup, UEFA Cup or the Premier League, I am sure that we will win a major trophy this season!!! General, would you be so daring as to predict which trophy you think we have the best chance of winning? My choice is the league and I know that will draw a lot of laughs from die-hard Villa fans but you just never know in this game and with the top teams all struggling to score goals, I believe that we can win it as much as any of those teams. Come on you Lions!!!!

Hi General, Just wanted to congratulate you on your prediction for last night's game. We were outstanding and the player's thoroughly deserved the win. The defence is looking better and the attack is a real threat when we go forward at pace like we do. I was so confident that we would win whilst watching that game and never thought Spurs would score, no surprise it took a fluke really! I made a prediction to you earlier this season and that was that we will win a trophy of some sort this season. I am really confident of this as we have won a trophy every decade since we were formed and this one will be no exception!

Hi General, Hope you enjoyed the game yesterday. I think that everyone will agree that we let 2 points slip yesterday because that was the best chance we have had to beat Liverpool in years! A point is better than nothing though and at least we kept a clean sheet and saw the great Dane back to his best This is the first time I have felt the need to complain about anything at the stadium but feel that I want to say something about yesterday. I queued for 15 minutes to get a beer at half time in the lower North stand. I was about the 6th person from the front of the queue when a couple of staff showed up with cases of beer. They started selling it to people who walked over to them who were at the back of the queue, without being behind the counter! After a few complaints from disgruntled fans the 2 women refused the other customer's who had gone to them and went behind the counter to help serve. After serving a couple of guy's in front of me they suddenly announced that they had run out of beer, which was very annoying given the fact I and a few other's had waited patiently in the queue. I know you say that the club is trying to improve the match day experience for the fan's but there seems to be an ongoing problem with the catering side of the business that really does need sorting out. It's not the first time we have not been able to get a beer at that end of the ground. I am sure there are other fans with issues regarding the catering side of Villa Park who would like to know how long this may take before being sorted out. A fella rom Coventry came to the game with us yesterday. He has no allegiance to any particular team so he comes to support the Villa with us sometimes and on other occasions he goes to the Coventry games with his brother. He claims that Coventry have introduced a card system whereby you put credit onto a swipe card and use that to pay for your food or drink. He said that he went last week and there were no queues whatsoever. I understand that they have not got as many fans as us and that there stadium is more modern but surely a Premiership stadium like ours can come up with something as technically advanced as that? Sorry for the complaint but I do feel the club could take in a lot more revenue through having a much better food and drink service.

General, UK and US football apart, what other sports do you like and which is your next favourite? Also, who is your favourite ever sportsperson?

General, I think it is a great idea to switch the UEFA Cup game. It means we have home advantage for the 2nd leg and we won't have to travel all those miles in the week leading upto the Liverpool game, which means we will be fresher for when we play them and hopefully will give us a better chance of beating them and sending them North with egg on their faces!

General, Thanks for your efforts on here. Not all of us wish to think you are all hype and spin! I BELIEVE totally that Villa were sincere with the statement regarding GB last Wednesday. Christ almighty, don't people think that some thought would have been put into it before the statement was made? It says that MON had agreed with GB and his agent that, if the deal wasn't reached by a certain deadline, then GB would be staying. GB agreed to this remember! It is quite obvious that HE is the one going back on his word and I am sure that his agent is having a major factor in all of this. Remember that this is GB's first ever transfer and it is all new to him too! MON said on Saturday that GB's head is "all over the place" at the moment. He is caught between staying and trying to realise is dream with us or moving on and getting their quicker with Liverpool. You could see MON's disappointment and frustration at this saga so we're not the only ones. GB obviously gave us the indication he would stay if the deadline wasn't met and now he has changed his mind, probably due to pressure from his agent! That is not important any more. Let him go and get "the price" for him and let's move forward and prove to him he made the wrong decision. Transfers, you just cannot win General! I understand MON trying to get his plan A targets first before going for lesser quality players that we need to fill the positions. Surely that is the most obvious thing to do? It isn't rocket science really is it? You have a list of targets of the quality you would like to add, then if they are not available or choose not to come, you move on to plan B and so on unti you end up with a player for that position. Who in their right mind would go out and buy someone just for the sake of it when someone better may be available instead? The fans would have wanted MON's head if we had bought a couple of journeymen right backs at the start of the window and then along comes a top quality right back who says that he would have loved to have come to the Villa! I read through a few of these last pages and then had to stop because it was embarrassing for me as a Villa fan to read. General, a question to keep in line with the thread. If you had taken a lot of these folks into Vietnam with you, do you think Vietnamese would now be the first language of the USA? BTW, my Niece served in Iraq and a lot of her equipment was faulty (boots melted in the heat etc) but it didn't stop her from going out their and doing her job well enough to come back safely! Come on Villa fans, lighten up and let MON do his job and wait and see what the season has brought us at the end of next May!

General, I would also like to be able to send some sort of get well soon message to Freddie. He was fantastic for us last season and it was his "never give up" attitude that probably led to his injury. The guy is awesome for us and all the fans love his attitude so it would be nice if we had some way of getting messages of good will to him! The result was great General and the goal was worthy of winning any game of football! I thought the reception for GB when he came on was quite warming and hopefully it will remind him just how much the fans actually do want him to stay. I am sure you have seen the game and know as much as the fans do that he is calmness personified with a football at his feet. I hope MON sits him down and reminds him that WE actually want him whilst the Liverpool fans do not rate him very highly. Also, if Benitez wanted GB so much, why the hell is he buying Robbie Keane ahead of him? Come on Gareth, give us another season to help us get to where we ALL want to be!

General, do you have any idea why MON decided to play GB at Walsall? I have been trying to figure out why he would deny a youngster the chance of a run out for the club to gain some experience, in favour of someone who no longer wants to play for us. I am sure a lot of other fans have wondered why he played him too. I understand if there are reasons you cannot answer that question General.

Hi General, Hope you are keeping well and your dad too. Has he got his hands on a Villa shirt before the rest of us as been as you have inside influence at the club? I know I would be asking for one if I was him :winkold: I agree with giving GB our thanks for his years of service for the club. It is a shame that this saga has turned out the way it has but we cannot deny that he served the club well for the past 10 seasons. I look at it this way, Mellberg cost us £5m and left for nothing after 7 years service. Barry cost us something like £1m and will bring in close to £18m after 10 years service so who was better for the club overall? I wish he would have decided to stay and get into the Champions League with us but I guess that his head has been turned in some way and so we have to accept his decision and just hope that it doesn't hinder Villa's progress onwards and upwards. BTW the above is not a dig at Ollie because that guy was and always will be a favourite player of mine. He was awesome for the Villa and his parting gift at West Ham said everything about the player has a man! One last thing General. You say you have no say in transfer policy but Villa have agreed a deal for the USA keeper Brad Guzan. I just wish to know how much the club have paid you in agent's fees! :winkold: Thanks for admitting that even Senior (I mean rank) Military men get it in the neck off the missus just like the rest of us!

Hi General, I firstly want to wish Yourself, Randy and both of your families a very happy 4th of July. I seriously understand why you have held such important posts in your life because you are one unbelievably cool headed man! God I wish I had your stress tolerance with some of the people I deal with at work! The points you made in your last post are very valid points. I can remember the Villa fans moaning like hell about the previous board sticking their noses in with transfer dealings so to have a go at you or other board members about transfers is way out of order. I wish the top brass at my place of work would leave us guys to get on with things, the place would be run a hell of a lot better believe me! I feel sorry for the club regarding the GB saga because I think you are in a no win situation really. If you keep him you keep a player that doesn't want to play for us and if he goes for less than the "asking price" then it looks like we sold him on the cheap. I trust in everyone at VP to do the best for the club and if that means getting a bit less than we wanted then so be it. The club has certainly done us proud with its stance over this, nobody can argue with that, but maybe we don't want to cut our nose off to spite the face hey General! At least we can use the money to bring in someone who does want to play for us and we will all support him instead. There will certainly be no gripes from me whatever the outcome is! General I need to ask you something personal to see if you are actually human like the rest of us. Are you henpecked by the missus just like the rest of us fellas? Keep up the good work and have a great day!

Also sorry to answer for the General but the song you may be referring to is called Club Foot by Kasabian. Well that's the one the crazy lions dance to as the players run on to the pitch anyway General, I also love the idea of the Villa "Pride" lager - pure genius!

Great list! I used to work in a fishmongers in Erdington and my boss was very good friends with Jimmy Macewan, number 80 in the Villa goalscoring list! He was a cracking old Scottish fella with a great sense of humour. I remember Kent Neilsen coming into the shop regularly to buy stuff and Jimmy telling him how he used to play down the wing for the Villa, it was good to see the old timer talking with one of the new breed of player at that time.

General, I am sooooooo pleased with the new sponsorship. I type this with tears in my eyes because I am just so proud of what our football club has done. This is going to help those poor kids so much and will also aid the efforts of everybody involved with the hospice and hopefully help them to help many more sick children in the future. You may get people knocking the board for this but please do not entertain their views because any living human being who thinks that a trophy or a multi million pound player is more important than a child's life is not worthy of having an opinion in this world!! Please General, pass on the accolades to Randy and everyone who decided to advertise the Acorns on our shirts. I cannot wait to get mine Well done to Aston Villa, you really are the greatest board a supporter could wish to have in charge of their club!!