KMitch

Cue the Benny Hill music... What a clown car circus...

Gerrard will be gone by Christmas... Mark my words.

Yeah... Us...

Yep... Can't wait for us to get destroyed by Man United's youth team this weekend...

To be fair, we're set up in a 433 with pace on the wings looking to hit them on the counter... against a team defending with 10 men behind the ball. We look clueless because Gerrard is getting outwitted by an A-League manager.

We look the exact same as last season... Can only attack on the counter and can only defend with 10 men behind the ball.

Gerrardball. Most attacking talent in in the squad in almost 20 years and we look toothless in attack and shambolic in defense.

...and Traore

It's what happens when you use your fullbacks as forwards... Leaves the channels wide open for the opposition on the counter. Would have been a goal against a Premier League forward with pace.

You'd think we have a brand new manager or a dozen new signings the way they're playing right now... Not two new players and a manager who has been with the team for 10 months... Completely lost and clueless. Nobody knows what they're supposed to do or where they're supposed to move in attack.

I think 7th would require a lot of luck with injuries, huge improvements from certain members of the squad, and significant tactical changes to Gerrard's setup from last season. 7th is hilariously optimistic.

TBH, this is the least excited I've been about the Villa since the Lerner days and I'm extremely apathetic with regards to the upcoming season. I'm anticipating another boring mid-table finish with a lot of Jekkyl and Hyde performances. I'm fully aware this is me being an ungrateful, entitled, armchair fan considering that we were on the brink of administration just a few short years ago and we just signed flippin' Coutinho in May, but I've never seen a team with this much star power on paper look so toothless and mentally weak. I'm still hoping Gerrard can turn things around, but I'm not convinced.

I'm not bothered by Carney reportedly wanting out. There will be enough interest in him to net us a huge profit and a sizable sell on clause if he ends up becoming a star. If he fades into obscurity, we'll be the ones laughing holding the bag. There are a lot of good youth players in the team coming through. Giving into the reportedly ridiculous wage demands by his agent will only cause the rest of the youngsters in the squad to expect the same. Also, Daniel Crowley was the biggest youth prospect we've had at Villa in the past 20 years... Bigger than Grealish... Bigger than Gary Gardner pre-two broken legs... He fooked off to Arsenal for practically nothing (200K) in 2013 and it was seen as one of the biggest blunders of the Lerner era... He didn't make a single appearance for the Arsenal first team and plays for one of the worst clubs in the Eredivisie now.

Halftime Positives: Olsen looks like a Prem-quality backup keeper Chambers is quietly confident and didn't put in a foot wrong the entire half Digne >>> Targett and worth the minimal cost to upgrade Kamara fits into this team like a glove. He's going to be a star this season Bailey was immense. Everywhere this half trying to make things happen. Halftime Negatives: Tyrone made 3 yellow card worthy challenges this half... Was lucky it was a friendly Dougie & Ramsey were anonymous this entire half. Poor movement to receive the ball and bad touches/passes gave possession away too easily in the center. Ollie works hard and will create chances, but his finishing is atrocious... I think Gabby was a better finisher even. Coutinho's penalty miss and follow up were really poor... Just bury the thing in a corner and stop with the stutter step trickery. Gerrardball is still boring... Never been more underwhelmed by a team this exciting on paper.

James showing once again that he belongs in the Championship...

Ugh... Great save, TBH, but Ollie should have buried that. That was another chance we'll be kicking ourselves for not taking.

Stonewall peno... but an awful take from Phil... Ugh

I didn't realize he was a hobbit... We signed the Brazilian Tommy Elphick?

It's criminal just how underrated McGinn is to a lot of our fanbase... I like JJ and think he can develop into something special, but McGinn is a starting caliber midfielder for a top 8 side at the very least.

Where is the thread on this Aviato guy? I've seen transfer threads started with less smoke before...

hahaha... Just saw this.

Hey, it's still Wednesday!!!

Pumped after the draft... Pistons rebuild is continuing to roll along in the right direction and will supplement Cade Cunningham with the best guard and best center in this year's draft, plus still have ~$50 million in free cap space to sign vets. Might be too premature at this point in the rebuild to sign a player on a max contract, but rumors are swirling around Michigan that Miles Bridges may be coming home if Charlotte can't agree to get him the deal he's looking for. Otherwise, we may continue to pick up bad contracts for future picks and/or grab some shooters in free agency to help us out. Either way, I'm more excited about Detroit Basketball than I have been in about 15 years.

What a load of crap... Players don't look at clubs as someone they're in a relationship with, they're their employers... WE as fans view the clubs we support as a lover, but players couldn't be bothered. Anyone who as ever been a contract worker before will tell you that when their contract is coming to an end and they don't get a good enough offer to stay on as a permanent employee, they're going to shop around to try to get a better offer from the contract house or with someone else before settling on their future. Neither Dougie nor Carney are Villa supporters... Why do we need to paint them as greedy/selfish or taking the piss because they're doing the exact same thing we would do if we worked for an employer we had no attachment to? If they stay, awesome. If they go, cool! We'll make a lot of money off of them that we'll use to reinvest in someone else... and so it goes on and on and on.