momo

I think it's more a case of getting players off the wage bill before signing more players. We haven't actually sold anyone yet but I really hope in the next few days/weeks we lose Hutton, Collins and Warnock to free up space for Bennett and Vlaar. Then our back 4 will be sorted for next season as we would have options...

LB - Bennett, Lichaj, Stevens

RB - Lowton, Lichaj, Herd

CB - Vlaar, Dunne, Clark, Baker

The reason I'm confident about selling players in this window is that we don't have MON waiting for August 30th before deciding who needs to be sold and bought.

Which Bennett are you talking about? Ryan or Joe? Both LB!!!

Hehe...no I agree that they should just shut up and accept that the two titles were taken away, but I do not think anyone else deserved them. At least not the cheaters Inter...

Well yeah...Europe next year. They wont have a chance if they don't buy more quality up front. Don't know why Matri was underused in last few months, but maybe they should get one of Napoli's strikers.

Congrats to Napoli, btw. Even if I am a Juve supporter, I can take loosing to Napoli today.

Good luck to del Piero. Get him to Villa!!!!

Number 30

This is probably one to ask of the mods, but, has there ever been a topic in the history of VT where every single fan wants the same thing and has the same opinion? Its Insania!

I want him to stay!!!

Nah...just kidding!!! At least he finally achieved not getting relegated from PL.

Simon Grayson.

One last great goal! (Unless he scores in the cup final)

Thank you del Peiro!!! Going out with style! Should have had another season. Scored some vital goals despite not playing that much.

Juve per sempre sara!

This is what victory is like!!!!

Turin was the place to be yesterday!

You do sum up a perfect Juventino, ungracious in defeat. And in victory.

Sore loser :winkold:

Can I say that Pirlo was the difference? Anyway, it was a good season, but not the best by any standard. Both Milan and Juve lack that extra spark, but we will see what kind of investment they make in the summer. Should be exciting with Juve in the Champions League.

Forza Juve! The old lady is back!

4 points lead (Milan supporters...stop complaining about that goal now).

No losses yet, 1 game to go. Conte!!!!!!!!! del Piero!!!!!!!!!!!

Milan would've been 2-0 up at that point. Points would be level, GD would be level and Milan would actually lead on goals scored (if that's how it works in Serie A). But nobody knows how that game would've gone after that, so it's hard to speculate.

Anyways, Juventus throw away a 1-0 lead to 10 man Lecce and Milan win!

Buuuu(ffon)!!! It would have been 2-2, btw. 8)

Sad that the league title is essentially being won by that awful decision in the Milan/Juve game at the moment.

Milan would still be behind on goal difference. In your face!

Can I ask a stupid question...?

At Villa there is 15 players who can be classified as seniors, and are paid well. One of theses is Andy Marshall, so let's say 14 players...I don't understand...we can't afford having all of these players at the club...

Is it time to get real...maybe we shouldn't be in the PL if we can't afford having a normal squad of seniors. Maybe we should be a feeder club, like West Ham once was with all the graduates...

Juve were caught asking for particular referees, it's on tape, that's why they got such a punishment. Inter were obviously involved, but apparently they can't take the league titles away now because it happened too long ago. How ridiculous.

Yeah, but they didn't pay the referees??? I just don't see it as such a big scandal. I mean, it is a big deal, but it wasn't match fixing of the highest degree. I still believe that Milan was equally guilty. To choose away a group of referees is the same as choosing a group of referees you want to officiate your games...

Anyway, it is in the past...I have been a Juventus supporter since the days of Baggio...so it was hard to swallow the relegation.

Anyway, isn't changing referees match fixing too? Why did Milan want exactly those referees?

Because they felt certain referees were getting lots of wrong decisions against them, so obviously they didn't want them. It turns out they may have been right given what happened years later.

So they wanted referees that was bad for the opposition? Hence, good for them...hence match-fixing?? Didn't Juve do the same? I can't see the difference.

That's not what I said. Milan believed certain refs were pro-Juve and they did not want these referees doing Milan games. So they ask for none-biased refs to officiate. They weren't asking for help, they wanted fair refs - not Juve refs. I don't see how that's match fixing, it's just against the rules.

I don't think there were any Juve-refs. The point is that Juve and Milan did the same thing. They both wanted other referees. Juve were just better at choosing, since they won Serie A...so they got punished harder. This Milan wanted to avoid Juve-refs is just an excuse after they were exposed. Anyway, this is in the past...Too bad Inter got away.

Anyway, isn't changing referees match fixing too? Why did Milan want exactly those referees?

Because they felt certain referees were getting lots of wrong decisions against them, so obviously they didn't want them. It turns out they may have been right given what happened years later.

So they wanted referees that was bad for the opposition? Hence, good for them...hence match-fixing?? Didn't Juve do the same? I can't see the difference.

I hope they dont win it. Bouncing back so quickly after calciopoli proves it was hardly a punishment at all.

And AC Milan wasn't involved?? And the team Milan has assembled are rather expensive compared to Juve. So all credit to Conte if they win it. Any other manager would have them as mid-table team, which they were rather long enough after coming back from Seria B.

But weren't Milan punished for asking referees to be changed, not match fixing? But asking for that is illegal? So they didn't do anything to change the outcome of games, just something illegal. There's a huge difference (which is why they weren't relegated in the end).

Wasn't Juventus punished for asking to change referees? I must have missed the whole thing, since it was so badly explained. Anyway, isn't changing referees match fixing too? Why did Milan want exactly those referees?

Sorry, but the whole deal seems so bizarre. The worst thing is, as I remeber it, that someone had recorded the calls, and that Inter Milan was not charged..Did they make a deal to take out the other two teams that had always been better? In bonus they got 2 championships?

Now we are back in normal mode...Juve and AC Milan on top, Inter struggling.

I just don't want Zlatan's streak broken.

If Juventus was stripped, he was stripped...so the streak is shorter...

I hope they dont win it. Bouncing back so quickly after calciopoli proves it was hardly a punishment at all.

And AC Milan wasn't involved?? And the team Milan has assembled are rather expensive compared to Juve. So all credit to Conte if they win it. Any other manager would have them as mid-table team, which they were rather long enough after coming back from Seria B.

FORZA JUVE!!!

***Picture not from last nights game, but I love his tongue

It was men vs boys. When Heskey came on, we got a man in our team. That shows you Heskey's worth. He takes up a lot of space.

Forza JUVE! Forza Del Piero!!!

Forza JUVE!!!!!!

http://bit.ly/HMVsnB

Ten facts to put Liverpool's dismal league campaign into context

1) If the Premier League had started on New Year's Day, Liverpool, with eight points from 12 games, would be 19th in the table, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers below

Top six

1 Man Utd 28pts

2 Man City 26pts

3 Newcastle 23pts

4 Sunderland 23pts

5 Arsenal 22pts

6 Everton 22pts

Bottom six

15 Wigan 13pts

16 Stoke 12pts

17 QPR 11pts

18 Aston Villa 10pts

19 Liverpool 8pts

20 Wolves 5pts

2) Liverpool are 16 points off fourth place and entry into next season's Champions League qualifiers, their stated aim at the start of this campaign. They are closer to the relegation zone, being only 14 points ahead of 18th-placed Queens Park Rangers

4 Tottenham 58pts

8 Liverpool 42pts

18 QPR 28pts

3) Liverpool have lost six of their last seven league games. The last time they endured such a poor run of form was in 1953-54, when they were relegated

4) 1953-54 was also the last time Liverpool had such a poor points per game ratio in the top flight (correcting the discrepancy of the old two-points-for-a-win system). Liverpool's current points per game ratio is a lowly 1.35, 42 points in 31 games

5) Liverpool's goals per game ratio is 1.16, 36 goals in 31 games, making this Liverpool team the least frequent scorers since the 1991-92 season under Graeme Souness

6) Liverpool have never had a season in which both their points and goal per game ratios were so low. The closest is 1923-24, when they recorded 41 points in 42 games (0.98) and 49 goals (1.17)

7) Liverpool's home form has been particularly poor, winning only five of their 15 games at Anfield, or 33%. Again we need to go back to 1953-54 for the last time when they won so few, seven of 21 in the relegation season

8. Liverpool's goal difference is +3. Liverpool have not had such a low goal difference at the end of a season since 1964-65, when it stood at -6

9) Liverpool's top scorer in the league is Luis Suárez, with seven goals in 26 games. Only once in the Premier League era have Liverpool gone through a season without one of their players reaching double figures in league goals, 2004-05 when Milan Baros scored nine times

10) 2004-05 was also the only Premier League season in which Liverpool finished below Everton in the table. But Everton, in seventh, currently sit one place and one point above Liverpool

I'm hoping a late run of form from West Brom will see Hodgson's team finish above the bin-dippers too, that would be priceless.

Do we have something like this for Villa? Would be nice to see.