Villarocker

Hi General, I see it's time to get the flak jacket out again hey! We are passionate about our players and losing them to the "big 4" always hurts. I cannot wait until we are up their and courting their best players. It is with that in mind that I would like to suggest to you that, as a way of getting in some practise, Villa make an official bid of £30 Million for Steven Gerrard. After all, he is desperate to play alongisde our club captain and MON is rumoured to be looking for someone to play right midfield, from where Gerrard scored 20+ goals 2 seasons ago!

I just want to say that I hope that the club does go ahead with having Acorns as the official club sponsor. This would be an incredible gesture by Randy and the board and would make me even more proud to be a Villa fan. I also think that a lot of "neutral" football followers, together with fans of lower league teams who like to also follow Premier League teams, will buy the Villa top because they will believe that the hospice will benefit from this! Great for the Acorns kids and great for the Villa's reputation of being a family club! Keep up the good work Villa!

Hi General, Hope you are well and thanks for keeping up the good work. Gareth Barry seems like the perfect example of how a professional should go about his work, on and off the pitch. The guy seems like a genuine family man and it would be a very very difficult decision for him to uproot a young family to move up north. This is the reason I believe that he would prefer to stay and lead Villa on to success at home and abroad. I am sure the club will give him an insight into what the future seems to hold for Aston Villa FC regarding transfers and funds etc. Therefore, if he does decide to leave, I feel this would give a very negative sign to the supporters of this club. It will be very difficult for the fans to watch two heroes walk away at one season's end. Only the purchase of some real top quality players will ease the pain of the fans General!

Hi General, I just want to echo what loads have said already, that I am grateful for all the effort of everybody at Aston Villa. To witness such a success as that against our local rivals was unbelievable and one I remember forever! I hope you had a great experience and have got the bug for many more like that with the Villa. All that the club is doing is amazing and I have never been so proud to be a supporter of this club as I am today. In fact, I am so amazed at the result that I cannot even bring myself to take the pee out of the Blues fans that work with me because I feel so sorry for them!

How about singing a few songs in honour of the General and Randy on Sunday to show our appreciation for all their hard work!!!!

Hi General, Great win on Saturday but one thing marred it for me and I would like to know if you heard any feedback from the players or coaching staff regarding this. At half-time the players were booed off the pitch by a number of supporters and I wondered if they heard it? If so, how did this make them feel? Personally I think it's a disgrace to ever boo the players, especially after the season they have given us so far! One final point general. I read Scudamore's comments about the big 4 wanting to play these games abroad and that they would break away if it doesn't eventually happen. I have the feeling it will be a case of "if you can't beat them, join them" and all Premiership clubs will take part. I just hope they don't go ahead with that seeded nonsense just so the "big boys" don't have to play each other and put their respective images on the line. That to me would be the biggest cop-out and final proof that the league bends over to accomodate those clubs! I just cannot believe the English FA would sell the fans down the river. You would never see the British Open Golf Championship played in Dubai or Africa, or The Grand National run in America etc so why the greatest sport of them all? Overall, I think foreign supporters would much rather see a game played in its natural environment, just like all of those Norwegian folks who came over to watch us win on Saturday! By the way General, any chance of getting these guys over every week if it means big John is going to perform like he did on Saturday? :winkold:

General, do you think this is a good idea personally and do you have any idea of how it will work? I think that in Randy's reign as owner you will find that the top 4 clubs in this country join a European super league with the elite of European football. It will probably work where the bottom of those 4 clubs drop back into our league, with the winner of our league replacing them, or something along those lines. Have you ever heard of such a proposal during your time at the club General? Also, what are your personal thoughts about a super league? I can't help but think that the growing need for greed in our great sport is going to deprive the hard working fan of watching his/her team as much as they would like General!

Fair point General and thanks for the reply! I guess that we have to follow the motto "In Martin we trust". I think the problem myself and others have General, is that a few years ago Villa were in a very strong position in the league and failed to build on it which cost us and we just don't want to see it happen again. If it does happen then we will just have to wait a bit longer and be a bit more patient. May I ask if you are a gambling man General and if you ever have a bet on the Villa? My mates and I have a bet called a "scorecast" every Villa game, where you have to pick the correct score plus the name of the first scorer and I have to say that big Martin Laursen plus a Villa win pays very generous odds

Hi General, I too wish to say that all of yours, the board's and the playing staff's efforts are appreciated. I, like a lot of other fans, am worried at the lack of personnel coming into the club. I understand that MON doesn't want to just go and throw money away just to make up the numbers but in the summer the man is going to have to do some serious business surely! I am not expert on players contracts but surely we will lose Sorenson, Berger, Ollie and maybe Moore in the summer. That leaves us with a squad of just 19 players and Martin recently claimed that he wanted a squad of 26-30 players all of the same sort of quality. That tells me that he will have to buy around 6-7 players in the summer, at around £5m+ if you want the same quality as what we already have. That equates to a lot of money spent general given the fact that we won't be making much on the players leaving! Plus we have to pay for Carson and Davies if we are to keep them so overall that becomes an investment of around £50m and I just cannot see that happening. If it does I will be more than happy of course, and so will others! I have to finally add that I am bitterly disappointed in the sale of Gary Cahill. Considering we are supposed to be developing players through the academy, it is criminal to let go of such a promising young player. I know MON seems to like the younger players so that he can "bring them on" so why pay £3.5m for Knight who is 27 and let go of a 22 year old who the club has invested a lot of time and money in? It is a shame to see him leave! Take care General and keep up the good work! Given that the Gen. has said numerous times that he has nothing to do with transfers, including just above this post it's mildly frustrating to see people still asking about them. Blandy

Hi General, Hope you and your family had a great Christmas and the New Year was seen in with a few beers inside you! I haven't commented on this site for a while but have been reading a lot of what people are saying. I think that you are a man of very high tolerance and I urge you to keep cool and keep coming back for more because you are greatly received and appreciated. I am not against the ticketing price for the Man Utd FA Cup game. I agree with you that this a top class game as it is the 3rd round of the best cup competition in the world and we were playing the current English Champions. There is only one real reason that the attendance was so low in my opinion, that is because the majority of Villa fans knew we would lose to Man Utd and have to suffer the indignity of having their gloating fans sitting amongst us. I know lots of Villa fans who said they weren't going to the game because they knew what it was going to be like. I am sure that if it was guaranteed that Villa would really give them a game and the result could go either way, you could have charged £50 a ticket and the place would have been full! Unfortunately, although the team has vastly improved during Randy's ownership, we are still a long way away from being able to give Man Utd a real game. When that day comes General, you can bet that Villa Park will be full every game! I would like to remind you of past season tickets. We used to get to see the first cup match of the season for free as part of the deal when purchasing a season ticket. It usually used to be the first UEFA cup game, which was usually against a poor team anyway! I mention this because I firmly believe that Villa will be back playing European football next season General. The Man Utd game may be a blessing in disguise as now the team only have the league games to concentrate on and I am sure that all of the negativeness of the FA cup game will be forgotten when Villa fans are going to see UEFA cup football again next season. Finally General, I remember going to the Villa to watch an outstanding defender called Paul McGrath whom Villa fans renamed "GOD". I have not seen a player at the club since worthy of this accolade until Martin Laursen. The man is brilliant and every Villa fan that I talk to says the same. I know so many people who are angry with the club for allowing a situation to develop where we can lose 2 of our very best players, Olof Mellberg included! I know you don't get involved with the playing side of matters General but I beg you to please let MON know just how much the fans love these 2 players. I am sure Randy has a tidy amount in his bank account but no amount of money could replace Martin Laursen in my opinion. You can keep your John Terry's and Rio Ferdinand's and they are both Englishmen! give me the Great Dane wearing the Villa number 5 shirt any day! If there is a God then please let Martin remain an"Aston Martin" Thanks for everything General, Best Wishes Jason aka Villarocker

Hi General, I would like to ask you a friendly question. Does a very successful person and ex war vet like yourself have dinner cooked for him on Christmas day? or do you have to help cook it yourself? I am the latter and glad of it because that way I know I won't be getting any food poisoning off the missus over Christmas! I noticed that a post on page 321 came from a person called Eamonn Deacy, I wondered if you know that a player of the same name played for the Villa from 1979-1984. I remember seeing him as a kid and if it is the guy who played for Villa I think it's great to know he is still fond of the club! I have been ill for the last 3 days and didn't know if I would make it to the game today but my doctor has supplied me with some anti-biotics and steroids for my breathing and now I am all set to go and see us gain 3 valuable points to get us past the 30 point mark! This will be my last post 'til after Christmas so I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas General. The same goes to all connected with the name Aston Villa. UP THE VILLA!!!!

Hi General, I just want to say thank you for doing your best to ease the fans minds regarding MON and the England managers job. If the previous posters hadn't of asked then others would have so please don't be too offended by their persistence in asking. I hope that you can see the positive out of all the "negativity" General! it is simply that Villa fans love Martin O'Neil and feel that he - along with Randy, yourself and the rest of the staff at the club - are doing a fanastic job. We fans find it hard to trust after previous years of being lied to by the previous board and I plead with you to bear with us all because we are getting their! I think that MON is an honourable man and that he would want to finish what he started with Villa and we should all be proud to have such an intelligent man as our manager, it proves how good he is if the media and FA would prefer him as the next England manager! All of this does prove one thing though - AVFC is in the hands of a very good management team!

General, Do you think that, in time, all 4 sides of Villa Park will be equal in terms of facilities? If so, how long do you think it is likely to take before this is possible? I saw the field goal for the Brown's on tv and couldn't believe that the Ravens players had started to get changed before having to go back out onto the field that must have been a pleasurable victory for Randy! Jase

Hi General, I would like to make a suggestion regarding the Villa Park fixture between Villa and Blues in April. As we Villa fans have continually been charged over-the-odds prices to attend their stadium for the local derby, can Villa PLEASE charge them an inflated entrance fee when they come to Villa Park in April? the General has already answered this a few pages ago. We won't and can't do this. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be trouble at the game that day, both inside and outside the stadium. The police force will be mostly made up of the same officers who were unable to control the thuggery on Sunday so the chances are it will happen all over again. Newspaper reports said that the thugs were a "minority of around 200-300 people", I would say that the vast majority of those will be present at VP in a Birmingham contingent of around 3,000, which would then see them making upto around 10% of their away support, not such a minority! Now if these "fans" are happy to cause mayhem outside their own stadium imagine what they will be willing to do at VP! Graffiti and the breaking of seats is surely to be expected and this will be at a cost to AVFC! I am not sure how the payment of the policing works but surely the cost will be higher after what happened Sunday, if only because more officers will be present! Can any other Villa fans that agree with this please add your support. NO. This a thread for Q&A for the General not an ad hoc petition for the club to break the Premier league ticketing rules.. Blandy

Hi General, First of all I want to say that I am at work today and I am sooooooo happy! I watched the game in a hotel in Sutton coldfield with loads of other villa fans and the atmosphere in their was electric and everyone went home very happy with the result and performance. I think that we weathered a couple of storms during the game but class prevailed in the end. Gabby was already a hero but now he is like a god to Villa fans, a Villa fan scoring the winner against the Blues! it doesn't get any better than that General! I am sorry to hear that the Browns narrowly missed out on victory but I am sure that Randy will be very proud of their efforts. If ever you needed proof that your comments were right about David Gold then it must have been yesterday when his own fans didn't show up and fill their stadium for their biggest game of the season - what a joke! the guy his fleecing his own supporters and I feel sorry for the genuine fans but not the ones who brought shame to their club by using violence to try and spoil the day for the celebrating Villa fans - they are a disgrace!

Hi General, I agree with the last post that there is certainly no need to apologise about the non-attendance at the Villa v Blues game, after all it's a major thing to have your team go top of the league and if it were Villa with that chance you would have people missing weddings and funerals! I am sure that someone at the Blues will have something to say in the press about you not being their but that's because they have no class. What else would you expect from a club run by a poor imitation of Hugh Hefner? their is an article in today's Sun newspaper where he says he is fuming more than ever and that your apology was a "load of waffle". It's not your fault General that he doesn't have the intelligence to realise that people from other countries have different ways of expressing themselves and that what we take to mean one thing, can mean another thing somewhere else! Don't worry because you will have the biggest and most intelligent part of Birmingham to back you up Just a quick mention about the firefighter who lost his life "VillaAsh post above". I am sure you know what it's like to put your life on the line and without those brave firemen there would be a lot less people alive fortunate of watching their beloved football club so it would be nice if Villa AND Blues could have one minutes applause to praise the efforts made by those poor firemen who perished in Warwickshire this week. Hope the back gets better and the Browns win along with the Villa! Good luck to us all!

Hi General, I just want to say that it was great to get back to winning ways on Saturday and, although the performance was not of the high standards we have previously set this season, it was great preparation for the game against our biggest rivals next Sunday! I am personally wishing away the next days of my life and cannot wait for 1pm on Sunday. I know Martin is the manager and knows best but I'm hoping he plays all the brummie lads so they can show just what it means to have passion and claret and blue blood running through their veins! Come on you lions!! PS: Have you ever given a speech to the players? I can just imagine that being a General you must give a mean, motivating speech!

You are welcome General - thanks for the acknowledgement! Glad to see that the stewards will be more proactive in the future. There has always been a record of good behaviour at VP and it would be a shame to spoil that because of abusive away supporters taking up seats that should only be taken by the Villa Park faithful! General, have you ever experienced the Villa v Birmingham City derby before? even if only on dvd? The pride and passion is immense and it means so much to us fans when we beat them it certainly makes it a lot easier to attend work the next day!

Hi General, This is my first post on this site and I just spent a couple of hours reading through the previous questions and the answers from yourself - which I found very good and quite unbelievable! to think that you do actually come on here and communicate so much with the fans is amazing and very much welcomed. I am a 35 year old Birmingham man who is Villa through and through, I had no choice as I was born in Church Road - Aston to a family whose blood runs claret and blue! I have to say that Yourself, Randy, Martin, the players and the rest of the board and backroom staff are doing a fantastic job and long may it continue. I have a season ticket and sit next to a friend and my uncle and we have loved it this season, the great atmosphere has finally returned to Villa Park and if you think it's good now then wait until we have the nights of European football back - they are out of this world! I am so glad that you have kept your cool and continued to post on here because it seems like you repeat yourself over and over. I'm afraid us Villa fans have been promised so much in the past and suffered so much disappointment that we are never quite sure whether we are being misled but I'm sure all Villa fans will agree that this time we have a group of genuine people running the club who we can trust totally and it feels so comforting to know that. A few things at the stadium will never change unfortunately because Man Utd fans ALWAYS get into all areas of the ground. Three members of my family all sat together in the North Lower for that game and they said they witnessed a Man Utd fan smack a small boy in the face just because the lad asked him to sit down. Apparently a steward was called to sort out the situation but he ignored the request and so a couple of Villa fans dealt out their own kind of "punishment" to the culprit. My Niece was so shocked by this that she called over more stewards and police to help and they then escorted the man and his friend out of the stadium. I think the only answer is for better quality stewarding in such cases as to avoid serious injury to people. Apart from the odd poor result (not always fair i.e. Gerrard's dive for Liverpool's match winning free kick), this season is looking like a very promising one although I would hope for Martin to invest some of Randy's hard earned money on a good quality right back so that we can have Ollie back in the centre of defence with the Great Dane! I don't know how often you talk with Martin and I know you have said that you don't influence future playing staff but could you PLEASE mention the name of Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves from the Dutch Club Heerenveen to him or one of the scouts? They may think he is rubbish but his goalscoring record at the moment is phenomenal and he looks perfectly suited to the challenges of the Premiership. I hope you have the time to read this and I thank you in advance if you do. Thanks also for giving us fans hope for a bright and successful future! Jason aka Villarocker