Paul33

Could be garbage, could be a great signing ..... it won't be anywhere in the middle ! I'm reassured by the fact Everton wanted him as they are not a club who traditionally buy rubbish. Welcome Tom ! #UTV

Belter of an end to end game with Villa winning 5-3 ....... hic !

Not a fan but lets face it, many a talent has pulled on a Newton Heath shirt and been made to look garbage ..... they've even made RVP look average !!! Rather spend the £8M on a proven goalscorer but I'll give him a chance if he comes and who knows, it could lift his game being at a new club. PS: He is at least 800% better than KEA !!!

Okore is a class player but I've never seen anybody as out of shape as he was pre-season. He looked not only sluggish but as though he was carrying an injury or maybe just very, very wary of the injury he has had. Either way, he looked well short of the fitness level he needs to be at.

Get rid - total waste of a shirt and one of the worst players EVER to play for Villa ! #justsayin

We start the day second in the league table ...... onwards and upwards !!!

Neither Vlaar nor his agent is going to bang out statements about wanting to stay as that will result in a lesser contract deal for him. It will be better for him to allow people to fear losing him as they'll logically be better prepared to offer a more lucrative deal. He's playing every week, he's in his national side, he is becoming a "name" and I think he'll want to stay here and ride on all that for a season or two. If he goes elsewhere, he risks becoming a squad player and that, in turn, will put his national place at risk. 90% staying at Villa for me.

Judge Gabby after Saturday ..... I get the impression he doesn't "do" friendlies !!!

Worrying lack of quality at times but I'll put that down to the heat in hope that it was nothing more ! Typical pre-season stuff - lots of running and passing but no real purpose nor any great desire to actually score goals. Grealish looked neat, Hutton looked dynamic going forward, Senderos looked composed, the rest looked largely like they were doing a light training session ! One positive is that last season's pre-season games were made up of 70% seniors and 30% youth with little chance of making the first team whereas this pre-season we appear to have two XIs made up of senior players plus (today) Okore, Cole, Vlaar, Kozic, Benteke still to come ...... not many world beaters plus certainly plenty of depth and experience this time around.

Houston is six hours behind us so assuming its an evening kick off then it will be silly'o'clock over here ...... be good if it was an afternoon kick off though ! Edit: 8pm kick off over there so 2am over here again !

MOM first half - OKORE, MOM second half - HUTTON !!!! Now I'm off to lie down LOL !!!

Was having some stuttering on Internet Explorer, switched to Firefox and a perfect stream through the game ..... well done AVTV !

Baker in, Bacuna out ? #madness

(HERE) WE GO AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember these "backroom staff" are anything but backroom five days a week when the players are training. These are the guys the players have to work with and they can/will/do have a bigger impact on player confidence and morale than any manager does. I have a hunch that the players will feel a lot happier with these changes and I would expect to see some evidence of that on Saturday.

Holt was better than Gabby yesterday and, to be sadly honest, he's been as good as Benteke in most games he's played in ...... which, okay, isn't saying much ! He works hard, he talks to the younger players, he clearly wants to do well and, for me, that earns him my support. He is what he is and he does what he does ..... its up to the manager to use him at the right times in the right circumstances and yesterday was so obviously not one of those moments !!!

I think he will lose most of the fanbase he hasn't already lost after today. Setting out for a 0-0 against Crystal Palace is just wrong for a club like ours !

We have a half decent away record arising from a fast counter-attacking style and Lambert plays Holt up front ..... how does that work ? I have nothing against Holt but he's a big target man who, if he still has a strength, holds the ball up well but you don't want that if you are looking to counter with pace. Either Weimann or Albrighton had to play with Gabby, or even both. I really don't get what Lambert is doing !!!!!

MEN -v- BOYS #nuffsaid

I could say much but I'll rest my case with Lambert bringing Sylla on who, on a good day, is League Two standard ..... massively out of his depth and a complete train crash player ! #nuffsaid

Deeply disturbing !!!

Good signing ..... maybe Jose will take Bennett and Luna as a swap thus gifting us a win-win-win !!!!

Norwich were a good footballing side WITH Holt under PL !!!

You whingers will be the first to grab your box of tissues when he scores a late winner !!! Welcome Grant !

Holt is okay as an emergency backup to Tekkers but is Helenius so bad that he'd rather sign a veteran lower league player ?!!! Strange !