Pez1974

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."

**** brilliant quote at the 40 second mark on the video above.... "Simon Dawkins banged one against me a couple of years ago......" Maybe I'm tired Good goal though.

Hmmm - a 25 year old from Spurs who never really played for them, attacking midfielder / striker. Useful perhaps. Hope he does well, as with all signings ever. But.....hardly what was required. He is probably cheap, and that great source of facts wiki says he is out of contract in June (so a free transfer if he does OK?), and in addition to a CB, fine. But not instead.

My first thought. Would be hugely embarrassing if true IMO. Surely it would be a strapping CB.

Club tweeted about a loan for a promising player who has recently done well in MLS It's like a **** quiz!

He's suspended. But that doesn't mean..........

Get in line. I'm 6 foot 4. And 16 stone. Which makes me 1 inch taller and 5 stone lighter than Dunne. And I'll work for £10 grand a week. -ish

And why are Tigger, Pooh and Piglet hugging Bannan?

I think were sufficiently in the Pooh! Sorry

Kinda somewhere between Yoda and the Comma-less kid Simples

Nah, it's a 6310, with a button missing. Probably the i version, so it works abroad. Next on the Phones 4 Morons channel.........

I thought a fair few people on here thought we should go and get Liam Trotter as a DCM from Milwall - an average Championship side (let's be honest, they could only beat us with a last minute goal at home!) We sign a player from overseas of a similar age, from a similar club in a similar(ish) position, to play in the same position, and who has actually received some international recognition (for a country with decent players, unlike over-hyped English talent), and people moan. Wow.

Don't know what to make of it? He isn't Bannan. Or Ireland. Or Delph (who has improved a bit of late). Or Holman. Or KEA. That is a perfect start.