sting

D'you know, that's the funniest thing I've heard all week. Glad to be entertaining 'briny_ear' and it is absolutely true!

Would really like to insult you further, but alas, with your intelligence 'Granville' you just wouldn't be offended!

:shock: Sorry mate, it's an in joke with the Irish. In Northern Ireland at the moment there is a whole spait of robberies concerning gangs using JCBs to steal cash machines! Trying to get one of those gangs to drive one of their JCB's down Granville's mouth and up into his brain, but they wouldn't find anything of note. Pity that!

Good to see you're a man of your word and won't ever post here again sting. Saying something that you know is not true?! Why, that would make you a li... Never mind. I'm sure you've heard it all before. Anyway, how exactly do you know what "Oposing managers" do when they see our team sheet? I think they wet themselves and cower in the corner of the room shaking, but my guess is as unfounded and therefore useless as your's. First of all 'Granville' i decided to come back on site due to the support i have received from fellow VTs by PM, who have indeed asked me to come back. Secondly, i see you are continuing to dish out unfounded insults which could be deemed as slander. Its probably something you get off on, not having to face someone face to face and this verifys two things to me. One, you are a coward who stands in a crowd and thinks he is funny while no-one else laughs and two, well, you are a complete asshole! Thats ok though, as i now understand that you just can't it!

Petrov should be sold in January, as he will never be any good in any system. He is simply too slow and no longer has the stamina to play in our midfield. Oposing managers rub their hands with glee when they see him on our team sheet and when he plays in our team, you can drive as many JCBs through our midfield as you like. The only good thing is that the JCBs are leaving the cash machines alone!

Ok folks last post from me on the site and i'm sure most of you will be glad. Was at the game yesterday, contrary to some opinions on here that i don't watch players that i comment on. Our defence was terrific, with Cuellar having his best game to date in a villa shirt. Maybe there is a player in there after all? However, from midfield to our forward line we were again poor, although Gabby did work hard from the so called service from our midfield. Particularly in the second half, i watched a team playing the type of football that i have been banging on about here for over a year, free flowing football, skill and guile with players comfortable on the ball. It saddened me greatly that it was the opposition playing this way and not us. We are indeed light years away from playing the type of football that Spurs played in the second half and i nearly applauded a couple of times, forcing my hands to stay locked in my pockets! The reason for our poor performances for over a year now is simple. We have grafters in midfield, instead of creative quality and neither Milner, or Young are good enough as out and out wingers to carry the creative aspect of our team. For me Young should be removed from the left and played in behind the strikers. Milner should be dropped and replaced by Albrighton, to see if he can give us more of a creative spark? Our central midfield is a complete joke compared to teams like Spurs and Redknapp should be applauded for his team's style of football rather than ridiculed on this site! I simply wish that we had a manager who has the same foresight as Redknapp to build his teams around skill and technical ability, rather than effort! We will not win anything with O'Neill in charge. Yes he has improved us, but then again, he has been given the finances to do so and rarely got it right. 4 years and many millions later he has finally built a defence in truth by luck, as Distin was his first choice, but he chose Everton instead! I will continue to go and see Villa play, reserve games as well, as i am Villa through and through and ache for the time when we will have players who will get people up off their seats in awe of the football our team is playing. Can any of us really say that that has happened consistantly since O'Neill has been in charge? People on here will continue to make excuses for some of O'Neill's purchases as well as his team selections and indeed tactics. I however, have always called it as i have seen it and i believe O'Neill has taken us as far as he can. Someone like Hiddink would be the next step for me. Hs name alone would attract the better player and he would promote better technical football at Villa Park for the fans, who bloody well deserve it, after having to put up with the drivel of O'Neill's teams! I wish everyone the best of luck on the site, even one VT who has felt it necessary to call me a liar, which i have never been!

If O'Neill plays Petrov today then we are in for a very tough game. Would like to see this team.... Guzan Young Collins(if fit) Dunne Warnock Milner Reo-Coker Sidwell Downing Ashley Young Gabby

When Everton get their full team back they will be ok. However the way finances are going, both Everton and Liverpool might have to consider 'timeshare.'

Love to see O'Neill going to Liverpool with Hiddink then coming to us. Sadly no change at Liverpool until their fans turn on the manager. Something, i would never do! :winkold:

No obsession, just making a point!

Being alone doesn't frighten me 'Mr_Dogg.' I do think that Milner although being a good player, is nowhere near being better than that. I would like to see us adopt a diamond formation because that is were i believe we will gain most success and there is no room in there for a James Milner, who in my opinion neither creates enough where he is playing at the moment or indeed, in my favoured diamond formation. Sorry you think that is being silly, but it is my humble opinion. i would have thought that a diamond midfield would have been the absolute ideal formation for james milner. he can get forward, defend, run all day and come inside when needed. what attribute do you consider milner doesnt have that would be required for someone playing in one of the wide positions in a diamond formation? at the moment he is the 'in' player that everyone is talking about after getting a bit of exposure at international level - just like barry was a couple of years ago, and whilst there is perhaps a bit of bandwagon jumping and over-stating his abilities coming from some people i really do think that just deliberately going against the flow without really giving any evidence to back up your thoughts comes accross as being a bit "look at me - i'm different" style posting for effect. I have constantly explained why i think Milner is overated, so there is no real need for me to do it again. As for posting for effect, nope! It is my honest opinion of him.

I like Milner a lot, but it should also be pointed out that Capello also rates Heskey... strikers have always been a weakness of Capello he rated Delvecchio when at Roma Well if you use that as an argument, what about O'Neill's forward purchases? He must have rated both Heskey and Harewood to buy them!

I happen to think that either Lennon or Walcott is a better alternative than Milner for England as long as there is a solid FB behind them. They won't cover in the same way that Milner does, but in my opinion, they are more effective going forward.

Being alone doesn't frighten me 'Mr_Dogg.' I do think that Milner although being a good player, is nowhere near being better than that. I would like to see us adopt a diamond formation because that is were i believe we will gain most success and there is no room in there for a James Milner, who in my opinion neither creates enough where he is playing at the moment or indeed, in my favoured diamond formation. Sorry you think that is being silly, but it is my humble opinion.

As a point of record 'CrackpotForeigner' i don't hate O'Neill. Indeed i find him entertaining with his funny manerisms before and after match interviews. I have however questioned many of his signings, which some have worked and others, well, have disappointingly failed miserably. You can probably say that of most managers, even the great Fergie and Wenger! I do however dislike the way O'Neill sets out our team to play and in my humble opinion, he doesn't make the best of who he has signed for one reason or another. When he finds a winning formular, he changes the team the following week and quite evidently has his 'favourites,' born out with his treatment of Reo-Coker! I also believe that with a more progressive thinking manager, we would have a better squad of players with more guile and technical ability with the amount of money O'Neill has been furnished with and just maybe, we might have been better in Cup and European matches as a consequence? Gained more success maybe? Nevertheless, it is more than fair to say that we have improved since O'Neill has become our manager, but then again, that would be the very least we would expect with the money spent! I just feel that O'Neill's system of play belongs more to the coaching book of the 1980-90s rather than being reflective of today's style of football. Thats why i believe O'Neill has taken us as far as he can and we do need a new manager who will instill a different type of system of play into our squad. I would like to see us playing a more diamond formation with the quality players to play that way. This would leave us less open through the middle and i dont think our wingers are good enough to carry a consistant threat, just as i don't think our central midfield partnership are good enough at the moment to allow us to play two out and out wingers! Only my humble opinion of course and as always, there will be many who will disagree with me. I just want the best for our club and although we are indeed in very safe hands with O'Neill, i think we could at, the very least, see more entertaining football coming from our team, with the same, or indeed, even more success! for what its worth on here, i can empathise with much of what you write.I too feel similar with your explanation of the Midfield & wingers. It seems to me the cm's are the scapegoats and the wide players get away with murder. I am not an advocate of removing O'Neill, but I am living in hope he will change his view. Many thanks for your considered reply 'Tro.' I don't disagree with much of what you said. I do, however, think he has built a decent squad but, like you, don't think he uses it to its maximum capability. I am not sure your diamond suggestion would work with our players BUT it could be worth a try. Anything has to be better than sticking with the same front 6 and same formation that we have for the last 5 or 6 away games. I can take losing/drawing with poor teams if I thought MON was trying to turn it around and find a solution to our poor performances. He didn't for the last 15 games of last season and he hasn't done for our away games this season. It feels like groundhog day to me! Hi 'barry'sboots.' Totally agree with you saying that we may not have the players to play in a diamond formation. This was actually what i was getting at and to play this way we would need to buy possibly two quality midfielders with Petrov and Sidwell going out the goodbye door! There is no doubt that both Young and Milner are good players. As i have stated elsewhere, for me, Milner is overated and although he gives 100% in every game, does he however, provide a consistant threat as a right out and out winger should do? In my opinion he does not. He neither has the pace, or the guile to do exactly that. I believe Young should be played at the forward point of a diamond formation rather than as a left winger. Whatever tricks he may have as a left winger, have indeed now been noted by oposing coaches and nulified! It has been no surprise to me that he is less effective this season and it is my belief that he will remain so, until his position in the team changes. It is the main reason why we struggle to score from open play when teams don't hold a high line against us! Would love to see O'Neill sell Petrov, Sidwell and Milner to help purchase two quality midfielders so that we would become less reliant on our mainly inafective wingers and play a more progressive passing game with a creative edge to our play. Won't happen though in O'Neill's Villa Park tenure! :cry: