TB

Initially, I was struck by the (agreedly far-fetched) idea that maybe someone (his agent?) had sneakily opted to use metric feet and inches, giving his player a fictional boost in height. But that would merely explain a difference of one inch, not four - and even though the Netherlands historically have used various versions of a 'voet' even shorter than the metric foot, it would be quite absurd to think anyone would use those ancient units of measurement today...

However, the reason 'his' Wikipedia (I assume that's referring to his entry in the English Wikipedia) states his height at 6'2" is that the player's stats are retrieved from his profile on the Premier League website, where his height is stated as 187 cm. I enjoy a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone, but I don't think his agent would be able to edit the official PL website.

Possibly, there's some PL measuring equipment (or some PL representative's eyesight) that is in need of a check-up. If the PL just trusted information received from the current Aston Villa staff there might be more than merely their eyesight that should undergo a check-up...

34 minutes ago, terrytini said:

How about sly digs at those who like foreign Managers by saying those Managers have, say, sophisticashun ?

Sophistication and passion rolled into one? What's not to like, apart from the spelling ?  If ability completes the package...

For what it's worth, I'm not particularly fond of the 'pashun' phrase myself. But I don't think it's a sly dig, but rather used to describe a type of manager that relies first and foremost on geeing up his players in an 'up-and-at-them, boys!' manner.

12 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Being managed by Eric black.

Uh-oh. I know what you mean, but it could be read in a different and entirely depressing way. After all, he's still around... (touch wood)

But I do wonder whether any of the old English proverbs were two-liners originally, like their Norwegian counterparts - one line to state the (supposed) wisdom; the second to make the first remembered through humor / absurdity / alliteration. 

Unfortunately, nowadays in general only the first line is remembered.

e.g. 1) "No-one knows where a hare might roam"

2) " the man said, setting a snare trap in the oven"

I don't think proverbs are meant to be taken that literally. I agree that the 'darkest before the dawn' proverb is wrong when compared to the physics of real world. But if we're going to be nit-picking - surely a stopped clock is right twice a day? Even measured in nano- or picoseconds that's absolutely correct.  What's your chosen time-frame? 

"A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing"... Now there's Sherwood for ya. 

3 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

How many people regularly slip more than once while performing the admittedly delicate task of drinking from a cup?

Nonsense. 

I bet that a pot you watched boiled at least once. Examining every known proverb now, are we? ;-)

And if we in some absurd manner were able to win all our remaining games (hah!) Eric Black wouldn't merely be caretaker manager for the rest of the season, but surely given a new contract as manager. At least until October/November, that is. And then being replaced. Oh joy.

A really honest banner would be Caveat Emptor. But of course, that would be counter-productive. At the moment, Disiecta Membra might be quite appropriate.

And my tongue-in-cheek mangled signature 'Per Aspera Ad Undas' would also work disappointingly well at this stage.

(@Mandy Lifeboats: I'd love to see a mix of single '?' banners, alongside a collection of '!' and any other character ever used in cartoon-style swearing). Banner-style effing and blinding.

"Proud history. Bleak future. No clue."

I dare say "quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" won't work... But I'd love to have that banner displayed and other banners in the vicinity stating: "We are!", "I am!", "Well, someone surely has to!"

Could someone please find a custodian for our 'Custodian'?

Just now, HanoiVillan said:

Can I ask, what do you feel is the difference between 'fan' and 'supporter'? I've always treated them as meaning the same thing. 

Disclaimer: I'm Norwegian, and thus obviously not a native English speaker, so I might have got this totally and disastrously wrong. However:

To me, a fan (music fan, football fan or any other fan in the entire universe of fandom) is someone taking an interest, quite possibly (and quite often) to the point of obsession - but they're doing that from the outside, in passive mode. How passionate they feel about their band / club doesn't really come into it. They have no chance of affecting the outcome of the current match / gig / whatever else.

A supporter to me is someone actively supporting, trying to make a difference. Being there if you're able to, doing your utmost to cheer your team and spur them on, wanting them to succeed and trying to get that message across to them. As simple as that.

IMO, you cannot support from afar, as you have no hope of being able to influence the outcome in any way. 

Speaking as a musician: a supportive crowd can lift the band on stage to a level they didn't think they were capable of (and a silent or abusive crowd will bring them down). The CD buying fans won't. 

Being Norwegian, I've always felt that I'm merely a Villa fan and not an actual supporter of the club. Now I may support, albeit in a roundabout way and on a minor scale. £ 20 sent.

If he didn't sign for Villa in the first place I'm not surprised he never made it to the first team.

Footballers in general are normal people. However, IMO footballers in the Premier League certainly aren't (there are several ways to interpret this, I know...)

In most competitive sports, those wanting to compete at the very top make significant sacrifices in order to be as competitive as possible. A month off-season, perhaps, and then a grueling pre-season training period, preparing for the next season, trying to improve in any way they are able to, knowing that their competitors all are doing the same, and possibly doing even more... I seem to recall Milner choosing to be a teetotaler for this very reason.

I get that I'm now comparing football as a team game to an individual sport, and it's obviously about much more than merely running faster / jumping higher than your opponents, as there's an amount of understanding the game plan/working to instructions, having a certain amount of football intelligence and (of course) individual technical ability as well.

But in most team sports you have at the very least to stay competitive within your squad in order to be selected and thus possibly successful.

PL footballers in general? They're paid a king's ransom on a weekly basis. Sure, some real professionals strive to be at the top of their game each week. But if you've made the 1st 11 of any PL team, and there's no-one threatening your position you're as good as gold. Why go the extra mile? I wonder how many top level footballers just regards it as something they don't particularly enjoy, but just happens to be quite good at.

They still get paid a ludicrous amount of money, though, and often to the regret of a new board/manager, over several years.

There's football, and then there's the PL. Hopefully, the twain shall meet at some point in the future...

Upon reading the topic title I just assumed Villa had signed a young Scandinavian, as that surname is quite common over here. English with a Turkish grandmother? *Swift double-take*. Haven't a scooby about the Turkish language and its origins, but I'd think the English/German equivalent would be Burgh / Berg / Burk. (No, absolutely not berk!) 'Borg' translates as keep / fort / castle, so quite a defensive name, even though he's a winger...

Still, there might be a Scandinavian somewhere in his ancestry to account for that particular spelling. 

4 minutes ago, Isa said:

Regardless of manager, I suspect there will be a major turnover of playing staff in the summer and subsequent rebuild. So I'm not sure how many survivors from the current lot there will be.

Well, I do hope you're right. I'm just worried that the 'survivors' won't be the players we actually want to keep, but those we actually want to get rid of.

3 minutes ago, Isa said:

The 'Moyes tells friends he wants Villa job' thing was used last time all the papers went with it on the same day. Around the time Sherwood was sacked. Quite possible it's a coordinated leak from Moyes' camp to make known his interest.

 

I hope so anyhow. If there is a glimmer of hope of landing him, the board should go all-out for it.

Good observation. But if true (Mirror isn't it?), I cannot see why they didn't bring him in after Sherwood. Now: if he's actually interested at this time, I just hope that the current squad will remember what he did at Everton and not just look at his MU and Real Sociedad stints and go: Nah, has-been, over the hill guy. Not good enough. We'll continue to pretend to put a shift in. 

13 minutes ago, Woodytom said:

His quotes are hilarious. Almost as if he has no idea how shite he is.

And which quotes are you referring to? I haven't seen any quotes in the Danish media I'd say were hilarious.

4 minutes ago, sne said:

Jesus!

I know it's Easter, but no need to crucify the poor guy.

Well, as he's the manager, it's his cross to bear...

6 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

K Mac is a disgrace but losing nearly all the time is as bad as it gets. It really couldn't get much worse. 

I think Garde cares, I actually like the guy and think he will go on to probably have a good managerial career. 

I don't think that would effect the level of manager we will be attracting once in the championship. 

I think we're on the same page here, by and large ... and then again, I cannot see anyone on here giving Garde a free pass for the rest of the season. 

3 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Would they be any worse?

Not sure what Garde's feelings have to do with things. For me the point is I don't like the idea of paying a manager a lot of money and not caring what the results are. 

Any worse? Black - really couldn't say. KMac? You're joking, right? Given his team selections during his last games in charge?

Not caring what the results are: I guess that you're not saying that Garde doesn't care about the results, but that the club is wasting money on paying Garde his wages if he won't make a difference for the rest of the season. Fair enough. But other managers might think twice about coming to Villa if the last manager arrived in November with the team in an utterly precarious position, not able to bring in anyone at all in January, and then sacked before end of season.

12 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

It's true. It's going to make no real difference. I've said for a long time we should assess in the summer but it's been so bad I think Garde should be let go. 

And I fail to see the reason why at this point.

Why would you want to spare Garde's feelings? I'm sure he will cope. I believe the only reason he didn't resign when the January window closed is that he's proud/honorable/stubborn enough (you decide which) to want to see out the season, at the very least. As for sparing the Villa supporters' feelings: We're already down. Would Black or (God forbid) KMac be any better for the rest of the season? 

3 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I also disagree with a few supporters who have given him a free pass to lose every remaining game. 

Surely there's a difference between giving the manager a free pass to lose every remaining game and saying that I) Ok, we're down. The rest of the season doesn't really matter now - it's the re-build we hope will happen in the summer that's important or II) OK, we're down. Season over, dusted, done with. Let's bring in the kids and start to prepare them now.

I've seen both those views on here. Some might like Garde to stay and supervise the re-build, some want a clean break in the summer. Fine. But what's the point in sacking Garde and bringing in whoever is currently unemployed - and thus available - at this point? Hardly given a free pass.

2 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

What he has said, and you have quoted, means exactly that. There is also the implied threat that if he does not get it he will move on.

It seems that I'm not as good at translating as I thought. That's not the impression I get from the Danish article. But I confess that I've been translating from one non-native language to another, and might have missed out on some crucial nuances. 

I do find it funny, though, that some players are criticized for being happy just to sit on the bench and collect their wages, whereas others are given grief for wanting to play, thus considering a possible move in order to get more time on the pitch, if the next manager at his current club doesn't rate him. And it's perfectly clear that he doesn't even know whether the club actually will want him to stay or not. Hardly a threat, implied or otherwise.