El-Reacho

A friend of mine who works at the sh*tty city has told me that as a last resort they are prepared to offer......

£30 million plus onuoha, ireland and richards as they are that desperate for him. They think that is a £45 mill total, ohh yes to that!!!! Would still tell them to do one though as i think the boy is class!

ill have me some of that!

I seriously doubt this - as it would leave City with bugger all home grown players. If they subsequently had to go and buy players just to make up the quota then they're not going to get as good as those three.

Daniel Sturridge is an international forward in the making, and if you can't see it .........

How can i see it if he doesn't play?

In the Premier League this season he has started 2 games and come on as a sub for 11 games.... 1 goal. In the FA Cup, 3 starts and 1 sub appearance, 4 goals. Looks a bit more respectable. Goals against Cardiff, Preston North End, and Watford.

He's still unproven in the Premier League and imo we should be looking for the guy who has experience at the higher levels and who can take us to the next level.

I'd imagine Delf's stats are not far away from those. Would seem odd to spend a fair bit of cash for someone who may not be any better in a few years time. Especially since they'd both be fighting for the same place.

Kevin Doyle was reportedly linked with a £10M move to Arsenal last week. It was apprently in the News of the World.

First bit of ITK, a friend of mine has just received an enquiry from Villa for a large number of chairs. This can only mean one thing

press conference..... BUT FOR WHAT?!?!? HHMMMM

Did he happen to mention how many chairs exactly were needed?

Would love us to sign:

Doyle

Ireland

Parker

Kevin Prince Boateng

But I reckon we'd have to pay well over the odds to sign all four. But O'Neill has had no quams in doing that before.

Out:

Harewood

Heskey

Sidwell

Bouma

Beye

Will be gutted if we sell NRC. Should also keep Shorey as deputy for Warnock. Luke Young and Cuellar covering right back. Davies and Dunne should start together I think with Collins as cover.

I'd like HTC, the mobile phone manufacturer to sponsor us for a few years. They are really making a mark in the mobile market, taking on Apple's iPhone. Think they may have some money to throw around and could develop into a massive company!

Here's their logo if anyonw wants to add it to a shirt design.

I'm sure there's probably a joke there some where about our squad and smart mobility!

They sponsor Mark Cavendish's Columbia Cycling team - wouldn't be out of the question - would like them over some internet gambling site.

Agent Ridgewell!!

^ Don't think Milner's leaving the first time would have been his fault -was just part of the loan deal. I think Newcastle wouldn't sell him to us IIRC.

The UEFA Cup thing last year was a big mistake - it seemed to allow an attitude that only some games are really important which must have had an effect on the squad.

Not sure if this has mentioned before in the post but I think people sometimes forget ( myself included ) how different it is playing full back compared to centre back.

Defensively, i had no problem with him at right back as he won a lot of headers at the back post and didnt get skinned often but his passing and forward play wasnt very good at all. At full back, you generally see less of the pitch and have fewer passing options than at centre back and i think this was one of the issues with him.

If you look at other decent centre backs who have been made to play fullback they never look as comfortable, I seem to remember Liverpool playing Skrtel at right back last season and Downing took him to the cleaners. I also didnt think Mellberg was ever that good at right back either.

Think you're bang on here - playing at fullback requires much more 'football' than playing at centre half which is probably why central midfielders and fullbacks seem to be quite interchangeable.

Not sure if this has mentioned before in the post but I think people sometimes forget ( myself included ) how different it is playing full back compared to centre back.

Defensively, i had no problem with him at right back as he won a lot of headers at the back post and didnt get skinned often but his passing and forward play wasnt very good at all. At full back, you generally see less of the pitch and have fewer passing options than at centre back and i think this was one of the issues with him.

If you look at other decent centre backs who have been made to play fullback they never look as comfortable, I seem to remember Liverpool playing Skrtel at right back last season and Downing took him to the cleaners. I also didnt think Mellberg was ever that good at right back either.

Think you're bang on here - playing at fullback requires much more 'football' than playing at centre half which is probably why central midfielders and fullbacks seem to be quite interchangeable.

Uncomfortable rusty seats in the dugout.

In the passage leading to the pitch some nice old prints over on the opposition side of players being stretchered off with a coat over their head after a butchering by Frank Barson, George Curtis or Andy Lochhead.

Something like 'This is Anfield' but much more macabre and threatening.

Dear old Albert, the 88-year-old Visitors' Dressing Room Attendant, snot streaming from his nose, nice clean white coat already soiled by the afternoon's first three attacks of diarrhea. No, change that to dear old Douglas, well it'd give the old duffer something to do.

His young protege Noel Blake looking after their belongings during the match.

A dressing Room Ghost.

A personal handshake and smile from Craig Gardner.

Loud Black Sabbath music as they come out on to the pitch.

Make Villa Park a fortress. The dugout is already in place.

Like it. Should have a chapel in the away dressing room, a la Camp Nou. Maybe even a priest to hear confessions before our guests step onto the pitch.

Gaby, Petrov, Gardner and NRC have all spent time there over the last three seasons. Leonhardsen was right midfield too a few years back maybe? Did Carbone play down the right or was that too long ago?

Milner for me though, no question.

Hi General,

I hope you're back to your best.

Just wondered, and this may come slightly close to the transfer questions rule so ignore if needs be, but does MON enjoy the transfer window and the wheeling and dealing that goes with it, or is he desperate for for it to end, so he can get on with the season?

Looking forward to the season ahead,

UTV.

I would imagine MON is currently planning his squad around him not being here, so it would be good if we got De La Red or Johnson in, had a great squad, and then come deadline day it turns out he stays. He would then be a bonus player - probably not guaranteed a starting place let alone captaincy. I think things are beyond repair between him and O'Neill, however to prevent Liverpool getting him, even if he were to sit here losing value would be a good outcome for us IMHO. Besides if he can't get his move he'll bust a gut for us for his England place if nothing else.

Hey there General,

Well done on all your efforts with the club to date. The mere fact that you may be reading this shows how refreshingly progressive the club has become in the last year. I'll apologise in advance if these points have been raised elsewhere in the last 300 pages.......

Firstly several Premiership clubs have representation on the FA Council (Man Utd and Chelsea certainly do), as far as I'm aware we currently don't. The likes of Graham Taylor and maybe even Doug Ellis have been involved previously from a Villa perspective. Is this something that the new board have plans to become involved with, or is this something we would have to be invited to take part in. The reason I ask is that David Dein was very much involved when Sven Goran Eriksson was appointed England manager, and Arsene Wenger was never approached (much to Arsenal's benefit). I know this opens a whole can of worms regarding conflicts of interest, but with the media beginning to jump on the 'MON for England' bandwagon it would be comforting if we had someone representing us in there.

Also one of the other threads this week quotes previous players telling stories about MON's pschyology and manner in the changing room. Have you ever seen him in action on match day? Maybe you're bound by the official 'stays in changing room' act?

All the best,

Des.