Lerner's Driver

Ssshhh! Please don't say things like that out loud, you will just attract the attention of the transfer police. There's one really zealous bod doing the rounds atm, who will come down on you like a tonne of bricks if you start showing the slightest bit of interest in a transfer rumour that he has not deemed true.

Let's go!

Some bloke on Twitter sparring with Fabrizio Romano adamant that Pau has failed his medical

Unlike the joke

That much, have you been taking the happy pills again KV?

Nah, this one's done. Not even sure why you mugs are doubting it, you can see with your own eyes, he's already ITSOTP! What more do you want, Monchi to be his mum's baby daddy?

Mark, that is quite the pledge! Given your admirable certainty, might I suggest you up the ante and go one step further by offering to livestream to Villatalk the consumption of your own cock? I'm sure we could start a GoFundMe if you are worried about the HQ server capacity.

Quite so, and you can extend that out to further condemn the people who actively seek "followers". Weird and unpleasant behaviour, in my opinion.

And there are no fun parties in the real world, NONE!

Apparently, the journalist who wrote the story is the Barca correspondent at e-Notícies, the Spanish outlet he works for. Who knows if what he says is accurate, but currently he has 42 followers on Twitter, so perhaps not yet that well known for his exclusive access to the innermost workings of the Barca powers that be.

Presume Bardell loves him because he gave him a break and helped him get started in saying not very much for a living. Curious that though because he really didn't want to be doing his podcast last night. At one point, after making the same FFP point for the fifteenth time and hearing Dan say the opposite, he commented on the fading light and suggested it must be nearly time to end the podcast.

If you don't like a specific issue, don't comment on it - you telling everyone you don't like it just gives it the oxygen it needs to continue annoying you. Not exactly rocket science.

I think Emery quite likes Bailey, seemed to use him quite a lot, despite his poor form. When he limits the flash stuff and simplifies what he does (running directly at his man without the stepovers, before cutting back), he can be very effective. Not saying totally eliminate the tricks, but earn the right to show them. Get two or three simple things right before you turn on the style. He was showing signs of that under Emery, so let's see.

What are Ferran's specific weaknesses/limitations atm? Obviously fairly confident that Emery could help him to address them, but I am not sure what they are tbh.

It was a weird, awkward vibe on that show, for sure, Evans clearly didn't want to be there! He was adamant in stressing the point that it was unclear to what extent the owners would stick to the promises they had made to Emery. At one point, when Bardell was pushing the opposite, saying there definitely is money to spend, he said, "I believe, no I know, Villa have to be really careful because things are quite tight with FFP right now." I don't think Greg Evans is the brain of Britain, or even an expert on FFP, but he did seem strangely insistent in raising questions about Villa's financial buoyancy at the minute. They are usually pretty pally those two in pushing the everything is rosey line, so his hard line almost seemed like he was sharing something he knew wouldn't be popular, but he had to do it. Probably nothing, but it does make you wonder. Either way, his content is always pretty uninspiring.

Pau Pau! Sheckshi...

He seems like a step up to me, albeit from a pretty low base. Both are from solid Brummie stock, but John is at least capable of compiling some original thoughts of his own that don't endlessly shuffle the words "yeah", "brilliant", "let's see" and/or "we go again", which were Mr Preece's typical contributions.

Bravo Sir, please keep this up.

I hear you and your technical point is more than likely accurate, not many offers will have been tabled, so not many (if any), will have been turned down. However, I am certain some of the exploratory talks we have engaged in will have become quite advanced, with the broad outline of the possible offer discussed, which in some cases will then have been rejected. The press conflates, exaggerates and yes, absolutely makes up most of the talk around the transfers you hear 'reported', but it isn't all lies and Villa are getting turned down by some players based on the indicative offer we have made! So, what?

I didn't say how many players were turning us down, or comment on their quality, or even allude to the veracity of the individual rumours, but I did say players will be turning us down. Of course they will, we aren't going to be successful with every offer we make. And that is fine.

It certainly is possible that players we want are turning us down, not sure why anyone would doubt or question that. It is also fine that it happens - why be disappointed about something you have zero control over? Sometimes an offer, even if unsuccessful, signifies a buying club's direction of travel and/or the player's understanding of that club's intent, etc. Villa are on the rise, paying more, have a good manager, great set up, in Europe, etc. But we are competing with other clubs who can offer even more. So, yes we will be losing out. That's life, move on to the next player and continue improving until the ones we want can't/won't turn us down. It's all perfectly fine and normal.

It's a cracker!

Spot on.

Generally, it shows a lack of seriousness and willingness to engage with the issues in a respectful way. People with that kind of attitude are not looking to debate, they are looking to undermine.

Their view is just as valid as those non white posters who haven't spoken up, but are offended - no doubt there are various good reasons why we won't hear from them. A decent, liberal (live and let live) society, is judged by what it does to protect and respect the rights and interests of everyone regardless of their background. Not just those in the majority.