Pez1974

I suspect there is nothing 'odd' going on. He is out of a job next month, and has barely done a days work for almost 18 months. If he has been frozen out, he would have spoken up to let any potential employers know he is OK and that it is something personal. The fact that he hasn't spoken up tells me that he ain't fit and ain't close. He had a very good first season, and put in a shift for a couple of key games at the end of last season (after injuring his shoulder in a dumb-ass challenge earlier in the season which really hurt us), but otherwise, he was a disappointment. I remember at the time we were looking at him and Distin, and being happy with who we got. Shows what I know!

He wanted to do that in January by bringing in more experience and he was denied the funding to do it. Can not see Lambert thinking otherwise in the summer, as for Lerner and the gimp, well im nor so sure. If we stay up, then they might think their policy was a success, then i foresee a BIG problem coming between them and thier manager. Lambert will not want to be fighting relegation next term. Might be a bit harsh on Lerner and Faulkner. I understand your concerns, but don't share them. We all know the squad had too many overpaid players who contributed little, and this had to change. Consider the merits of Benteke, Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar and Westwood, and the fact that between them they probably earn no more than £80k per week; then compare them to Bent (who is OK), Given (ditto), Hutton, Dunne and Ireland who probably cost the club well over £250k per week. Things had to change, and they have. I genuinely believe that transfer money isn't the problem, as our spending since Lerner came here shows; the money being pissed up the wall on average to dross and being paid massive wages is the problem. My view is that the changes have saved the club from a fate worse than a few seasons struggling, and although Randy and Faulkner should never have let it happen in the first place (or did they not 'interfere'?), they have at least had the sense to make sure it didn't continue like it did at Leeds and Portsmouth, and is doing at QPR (who spent big on experience in January, and are now screwed).

There's an update on him on the OS [i'd put a link here if I wasn't so crap, but I kinda figure you all know where it is]. I really hope he can make it to the ground for a match before the end of the season (health depending) - it would be great for the fans who have shown their love for him, and give the team a massive lift. Keep fighting and stay strong Stan.

Oh yeah! Just done the predictor on the BBC, and a few goals from ManC would help both in keeping Wigan below us and evening up the goal difference a bit. I still think our key game is the one v Sunderland (pretty obvious really), with the Sunderland v Stoke outcome being the other biggie. I think it's 1 from Stoke, Sunderland, Wigan and us for the final relegation place. Stoke have got to get results against QPR and Sunderland to have a chance in my opinion, otherwise they are done.

Lambert was at Wembley for Crewe's final there a week or two back, and Crewe's manager, I seem to remember, mentioned him being there and that Westwood had clearly put in a good word for his mate. Their manager also said that there had been no offers, unsurpisingly. I would imagine he is exactly the type of player Lambert would want (and Clayton too), and I can only guess that Lambert wasn't on a jolly, so although a bit of a guess all round, I think it is safe to say he was 'looking' at someone, and Murphy would make the most sense, and Clayton second, given the names on the team sheet.

I've changed my vote to No (just come back off holiday, so I am a bit late). We are picking up points, and see us picking up more than Sunderland and Stoke, and reckon that Wigan are unlikely to get more than us, as in previous seasons they relied on a few freak results, which I don't see being repeated. We will be OK - believe!!!

I have just read that Dave Ismay, a huge Villa fan, and ex-announcer at the club has died. RIP - Holte-enders in the sky.

I think Guzan also gave Baker a 'hug' after the cock-up, but Vlaar really does seem to be someone who the whole squad look to in times of difficulty. I think that even if Clark had done the same, the ffect would have been different. Ron ain't perfect, and always seems to be committing fouls that he gets away with, but we are better with him in. And I love the picture above - he really gives a shit about this club already.

You've let the club, the supporters, and yourself down. Now go on - back to the Sun's headline writers office.

I thought he did pretty well today, as did Sylla. However, Reading are terrible in midfield, so I don't think this proves him worthy of a regular starting place. I just don't get what his role is; he can't tackle, doesn't bully the opposition (quite the opposite), his passing is no better than Westwood or Delph (but no worse) - he wlways seems to make up the numbers to me. But he does give a shit - his reaction at the end of the game was excellent, and players who care should never be hated by fans.

Thought he did a good job today. Reading's midfield was shite, but he made no mistakes, got around the park well and had a couple of go's at goal. Let's see what he can do against better players, but I was really encouraged today.

This. Thought Sylla looked comfortable, knew his role and did it well, albeit against a pretty shit midfield.

For me, it was all about game time for our youngsters. Under MON, they barely ever played so had no real opportunity to show what they could do - and that was the perfect time for some of them, and they would have come into a decent team, preferably around the Feb/Mar slumps in form. Since then, too many have played at once becuase they have had to. I just think we don't use our youngsters correctly. We were buying expensive prospects in Curtis Davies, and paying huge wages to average players like Knight and Collins, and yet let Cahill, and even Ridgewell go relatively cheaply. We have also let the other James Collins (Bannan's drinking buddy) go, and signed Bowery. Not a problem with Bowery, but Collins is banging them in and we let him go for nothing. We let Forrester leave for nothing, and there has been (unsubstantiated) rumours of us looking to sign him back. Spurs on the other hand send their players out on loan for a year or two, and when they return, they are England internationals! I just don't believe that all our youngsters are shit; I think what we do with them is!

I don't think us claiming to have 'found' Benteke is right - he was a Belgian international, a team which is starting to look very handy, we paid £7m for him, and he is, afterall, an employee of the club. He owes us nothing above his contract; we owe him nothing above his contract. It's hardly like the Dwight Yorke scenario, where he really did come of out leftfield, so you would expect a little more loyalty. For me, he is under contract, so we either make him stay, or ensure that we get a great fee. Let's be realistic, good players who are wanted elsewhere nearly always go - shit ones don't. With regard to the Randy bashing (sounds like fun!), I think this is grossly unfair. We have only lost those who wanted to leave; I think we got very good fees for all of them - and a staggering fee in the case of Downing. Yes our better players move on, but not for a pittance. Given where we are as a club, that's all we can realistically do.

He came here as a young lad who was being raved about. Started OK-ish, but got the injuries. He is now getting a run in the team, and in the last 6 or so games, with a defined role alongside Westwood. The result is that we are starting to see a player who is genuinely capable in this league. I think we need to stick with him over the rest of the season, and into next season, and we could end up with a decent player on our hands. There is no point getting rid because he isn't great - MON did that in the halcyon days, and right now, I think most of us would love to have Gardner ©, Ridgewell and especally Cahill still in the squad. ****, we'd probably take Curtis Davies, Zat Knight and few few other 'rejects' back right now! We should always get rid of the utter shite, and demand high fees for the good ones. Decent ones paid accordingly can always be useful. That's what Man U have done, and that is why Wes Brown and John O'Shea have Champions League winners medals!

This guy is getting better and better. Him and Westwood starting to make our midfield look organised and not the walkover we were over Christmas. I think the problem was Bannan - as not playing alongside an Oompa Lumpa is doing this guy loads of good.

Aleister would be great as a relation. Wonder if he could get us a bit of help

Do you think I look like Kid Creole with this little tash? (One for the teenagers out there!)

Yeah - remember when your first pet died, and that girl dumped you! Or when [add close relative] died! What's next - worst performance against SHA?

Bulgaria Prime Minister Boiko Borisov agrees play in a charity match against Aston Villa to raise funds for children with leukaemia. Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has undergone treatment for the illness. "The match between Bulgarian Stars and Aston Villa will take place on May 25 at the Vasil Levski national stadium," the Bulgarian Football Association say. From the BBC website. Just a shame that it won't be at Villa Park. However, I would expect he will get a testimonial (v Celtic?) and the place will be packed. Bet they score from a corner Support Stan

With regards the wage bill, people seem to forget to include some of our 'staff': Lambert will be on a chunk, and so will his team - there's a fair few £m there. Plus the youth and academy coaches. The kit-men, physios, the masseurs (although we have saved a fortune since Carew left ), the groundsmen at VP and Bodymoor Heath. It wouldn't surprise me if the wage bill for the non-first team squad is £10m, or maybe more with all the add-ons. Then there is the annual pay-off for the former manager and his staff - possibly anothe £10m a year for the past 3 seasons. Add on to the £50m+ for the first team from above, my guess is at least £70m on wages and related this season alone. Finally, national insurance will take this up to at least £80m. Something had to change, and is. And that's without paying the interest to Randy, or even running VP or Bodymoor. Arghhhhh

1 in 20 seems pretty poor to me, as others have pointed out. Plus, conceding 8 goals from corners already this season means we are on course for what, 12 or 13 in the full season, so 1 every 3 games or so. Compare that to us scoring no goals directly from a corner this season (I think) with a couple from a second phase. Plus, no goals from corners last season. Has Randy sold the corner flags at Bodymoore Heath?!? Plus, it isn't just the goals, it's the utter choas a simple corner into the box seems to cause. Seriously, the stats show how shit we are at corners; we know how shit we are; the opposition know how shit we are; and the pundits know how shit we are.

Gutted. Just gutted. I am certainly not blaming Benteke for anything, but does anyone else feel that bringing him off towards the end (80 mins plus)when we are trying to defend a lead may help? For all the tremedous stuff he does, balls can just bounce off him, and he can loose people at defensive corners. With him on the pitch, the outlet is always just a punt upfield, which often just comes stright back and therefore does not relieve the pressure.

I think I know what you mean, and it is true to some extent. But we keep letting in goals at corners, and that isn't the midfield, at least directly. Both are a big problem.

David Pleat, BBC Radio 5 live "Simon Dawkins is a good player. He trained with Spurs last year and they really liked him. He was there as a youngster before suffering with injury problems and then going back. They got the boy over to America and he did well over there. Will he keep Aston Villa up? Not necessarily."