MarkLillis

Always thought along these lines about Traore.I can remember I long journey back from Sunderland after he had run the length of the pitch to set up Carlos Gil….the whole mini bus was convinced we had the next big thing in our squad and I just couldn’t see it! I genuinely think I played with Sunday league players who had a better understanding of the game than him.

The window SLAMS shut!

Always like him to be fair (well since I first noticed him as a player anyway)

If there is and he’s any good then we won’t be able to activate it….

It could also be that Fat Frank is making the above look bad in the same way that Gerrard made our boys look like no hopers during his short tenure here?

They aren’t relegated yet. it’s not looking good…..but I can only think of two Premier teams that have been pretty much already gone at Christmas.Feel free to add others…. Derby 06/07? (Not sure) Aston Villa 15/16 They still have a good chance of staying up imo.

Good solid professional could be relied upon to do his job. Which is great when his job was to score goals. However he never seemed right for us....and none of the mangers we had here got the best out of him,i think we can all agree that he didn't look as good for us as he has at other clubs. I like him and wish him all the best.

Is there anymore on this that says that we feel £10m is a good price for him?

The Geordies have been excellent in pretty much all they have done since the takeover. A good example of how getting the right coach will change your club far more than just getting an owner with a shitload of money will. I guess the money helps…..just a little but Eddie Howe should take the plaudits.

I have to know what is happening if they are playing….I just have to. Usually I am at VP and occasionally at away matches so it’s not a problem and if neither of these then I’m watching Sky or following on my phone. However there there have been occasions when I am following on my phone whilst at some kind of social engagement when I happen to to talking to another person who professes to be a Villa fan and the say…..”how are they getting on” or even worse “I didn’t know they were playing” I could never be this type of Villa fan. Whats the point?

This. Its been missing from our game for far to long. I hope our signings in the rest of the window have other skills in “shithousery” too! Whatever it takes I want us to do it there are NO unsuccessful teams that do this stuff every team that time wastes and dives and are generally annoying are also winners.

Newcastle had great fans and support in the 90s during the Keegan “entertainers” era. No surprise there. Since then the atmosphere has ranged from quiet to toxic.Apart from a brief period under Sir Bobby (RIP) Until now. I wonder why that is? Anyone that thinks good loud support happens when the team is not playing well is living in cloud cuckoo land. Weve all been following a failing team for too long to remember the Villa Park is more than capable of sustained good support… When we have a team worthy of it. Which is what Newcastle have right now.

So it’s just us then….I stand corrected.

Spot on. I can usually tell how they are going to play based on the first few touches. Against Wolves I somehow envisioned the first half shit show before they had even kicked off….there were no physical warning signs I kind of just knew it was coming. There is definitely more at play here than just “The Villa have shit support” and it’s not easily fixed.

Your ground has a good atmosphere based on how well your team is playing (form). That pretty much is always the case with any team. If the team is shit or in our case can’t be trusted then the atmosphere will be flat. This is how it is everywhere even the wonderful Geordies are the same.Not matter what the Commentators said tonight about how loud they would get there was little atmosphere until they scored… Dont believe the hype if/when we get good again the atmosphere will return.UTV

Yes we have some players that haven’t worked out.Don’t all clubs? We also have players that would go for 10s of millions (quite a few of them too imo) we are like any other mid table Premier league team. There are some clubs who have the pick of the market and can’t really go wrong Man City,Liverpool etc Some clubs who have really got recruitment nailed down Brentford,Brighton Then there’s the rest of us and finally after that there is….. Everton

The Villa podcasts are always interesting to me I like to here other Villa fans and their opinions. However to enjoy them you have to accept that these guys are amateurs if you do that it’s fine.

100 % this imo

McGrath Grealish Cowans Yorke Merson

Totally agree with your assessment that Mings* figured out what could beat the stubborn Wolves defence.I’ve been saying this to my Wolves colleagues today. *however there is a possibility that this Indy was passed to him from the bench when Ings came on…

I thought Wolves got their tactics spot on.The first Half performance from them would of made it difficult for even the best sides to play against. Their set up stopped us passing through and also restricted us out wide and their players to a man were “at it” However second half we reacted and reshuffled with Coutinho coming on and I think they slowed down a bit. Chance creation was about equal All in all a very fair result for an even game. Do players even notice if it’s a “Derby” ie V Wolves or Leicester? I mean of course they would up it v Blues but Wolves? I just thought Wolves played well and stopped us playing tbh.

Top ten would be great.Top 7 would be better…..however top midlands side? Since when have been interested in “pride of the midlands” trophy? It was invented for the likes of Wolves Stoke and the Baggies

I spoke to Palace fans about Zaha on the train back to New St last year. We both agreed…. Zaha is a player you can only actually like if he is playing for you. My opinion as of now is that he’s a tw@t that may change depending on wether he ever plays for us or not.

This is true. I will be watching I won’t be able to ignore it. However it feels like a “stolen” tournament taken from its usual environment and relieved of its status as the number one sporting event in the World. Its been reduced to a rich man’s plaything… Sad.

Yes high line is very risky one way to protect against getting caught out is Emi playing as a sweeper… The other way is to have very fast defenders who can recover….Kyle Walker style.