LancsVillan

Are you secretly sad I got a job :-)

back to page one where's Tom?

an excellent read Paulobarnesi, cannot wait for the next instalment now

another excellent report - cheers Scott. Shame that Chelsea are so obnoxious

Also depends on how you view entertainment v quality. I like to see decent football played by numerous sides all trying to out do each other with various tactics, which can also change within a game. The sheer pace and must not lose (as opposed to let's win) that is prevalent in the Premier League would mean that for me it is behind both La Liga and Serie A, yet when you add in the goal mouth action the Premier League gets some points back as there is always a fiar bit of this for both teams. Still say that Premier League would be third in the list....

As a moderator I have to admit to being completely perplexed by many of the posts on the site since the Fulham game. The question arises: How should fans react when we lose to the second worst team in the league playing so poorly at the same time? The difference for me is that whilst I'm pretty sure that every Villa fan was embarrassed by the result and performance, some will put it down as 'one of those things', 'typical Villa' and 'oh well it's a hiccup in the long term' and move on. Some will look at being 5th and the opportunity staring us in the face to push on, add in the lack of transfer activity (regardless of availability and the like), see the result, see the effect missing one player had and now another injury to a key player and will think that life is about to end and react accordingly. And in all fairness it is their opinion at that time and VT is merely a vehicle for them to vent forth. Personally I'm stuck with the latter ones, however, I'll not be calling for the managers head. For want of a better analogy lets look at the 'journey' we are on and is oft referred to. We've been told it's a five year plan - excellent as although we tried that under our previous stewardship it never saw the light of day - so it's a pretty long journey. Say the Grand National. So far we've reached about a quarter of that time, or Beechers Brook first time around. However, the difficulty has arisen that we've got to a leading position far sooner than expected, not only that but some of our challengers have fallen by the wayside or are struggling for form. There are fans that feel we should stay in the pack and gain strength and experience and look to get a place on the podium next time; there are those that feel that with a little bit of drive we could get a place this year. Damn we hit The Chair, we've stumbled at the water the race goes one and we're still standing. Should we press on or just look at the longer term. Some of the fans want us to press on and win it now, some see the bigger picture. Neither is right, neither is wrong they both want the best for the horse and us as fans, it's just the timeline that is different. Me I'd always try to win the race this time because you are never quite sure what the other runners will be bringing next year.

by Villa89 Someone has finally closed that bloody window Well the window has slammed shut and I think we can all agree that is has been underwhelming at best. We have had little to feed off apart from a few tenuous links to a few players, notably 3 spurs players. We all expected more, especially after the good work done last January when we saw Carew, Maloney and Young all arrive at VP. So what went wrong? O'Neill has been at pains to point out the lack of numbers in our squad and the need to make additions. He addressed the primary concern in this window, right side of midfield, by purchasing a 'risk free' player for a low fee on a short contract. Those of you who have seen Wayne's interview on AVTV can see just how eager and happy he is to have joined The Villa. Not a big name to excite the fans but a good bit of business by Martin, but sadly that was it. We also tried to buy an 'unknown' keeper however the morons at the home office decided that he was probably one of those terrorist footballers who would claim social welfare benefits and clog up the NHS rather than contribute to society by paying a hefty tax bill every week like most footballers. Last night we all tuned in to sky sports news in the vain hope that some £10million pound sensation would be seen arriving at VP for a late night medical. Sadly the action was happening elsewhere, on the south coast for example. There were some big moves this January, top players like Woodgate, Anelka, Hutton and dare I say it, Defoe moving clubs but Villa were nowhere to be seen. Were we not interested, were we too busy selling our own players? Or is it simply the case that we don't really need players this time round? Fabio Capello announced his squad yesterday to much surprise. 5 Villa players found themselves in with a chance of playing for their country, 2 potential debutants, Davies and Gabby. No sign of Jermaine Defoe in the squad. Are the players we have better than those that moved in this window? What if we signed Woodgate or Defoe and Davies or Gabby had found themselves sat on the bench. It would be a huge kick in the teeth for a player who has given their all this season and has reaped the rewards. The kind of move that could crush the spirit of a young player. We have only 14 games left to play this season and surely the players that have brought us to a dizzying 5th in the league need to be given the chance to finish the job. Now I am not saying the Martin O'Neill did the right thing by only signing one player in this window but it’s not about quantity it’s about quality, just ask any Liverpool fan. We did need a few players in this window but for whatever reason it didn't happen. Maybe the quality players that we need just weren't available and the ones that were available went for very high fees and, if reports are to be believed, very high wages (Hutton and Anelka). Let’s not focus on the fact that we have not been able to add a top quality player to our squad like last January and focus on the 14 games we have left. We sit 5th in the league, we have 5 England internationals in our first team and the summer window is just 20 weeks away.

Puts paid to any chance I had of going to that then.....

Carlisle away - ooh when is it?

That's good Dad. So I'm a bit like Bremner / Petrov in that I play RM and just make sure we keep the ball?

I noticed early on in the season and only just thought about putting it on here to be honest. I don't think any of the current side would get into the team because it was a team where simply the overall was far greater than the sum of it's parts. And to be honest again I wrote it to get away from the transfer stuff.....

Madness takes its toll But listen closely, not for very much longer I've got to keep control" Yes I've found myself in a time warp, not the one as mentioned by John Gregory but one that recently hit me about our current side. There are certain similarities with all things at Villa Park that are have quite frankly scared me. Chairman - recently new in the job, is not a public seeking type as opposed to the one coming before him. Manager - has been around and has been a success at the clubs he's had before arriving at Villa Park as possibly the best we could get at the time. Has a fondness for the work ethic and team not the individual and skilful open play. Have you got it yet? I'll nip to the way we play and come back to individuals. We prefer to soak up the opposition attacks and catch people on the break; offensively we are pretty lop sided with a left winger hugging the line and cutting in; there is a big 'journeyman' up front with a local lad alongside him; on the right we have a willing runner who it seems it an unsung hero as we are getting results yet no-one notices him; in the middle we've got a good battler and a skilful creative player who has come through the ranks at VP and yet is no local lad; then of course we have two lads at the back who are very dangerous on set pieces and one of whom is knocking in the goals with a nice regularity... You must have it now..... The way we play, the personnel, the set up of the club ..... they remind me a lot of 1981. Strange but true. The previous season had seen our then manager Ron Saunders ship out a few he thought weren't good enough, Bullivant, Heard, Hopkins (spit) and realised that his 'star' was no longer shining as it should Little (JPA). Our keepers Carson and Rimmer, both had good reputations and were thought of highly wherever they played before; both Northern lads too. Full Backs: Right side we had Kenny Swain who wasa converted winger, at the moment we've got Olly a converted CB. Left side - ah a slight flaw but in Williams and Gibson we had two good players who were never going to appease everyone, same applies to Freddie. Centre backs: Two no nonsense, take no prisoners in Allan Evan and Ken McNaught in what was a different game would be the match of Knight/Davies and SuperMart today. With Evans' goals sitting nicely with Laursen's. Right Midfield: Well in 81 we had our unsung hero Des Bremner, the amount of running he got through was scary, legend has it he was the same off the pitch too running everywhere, we've got Stan Petrov who gets through a lot of work without the acclaim. Both came down from Scotland, an easier league, and deserve a decent mention. Centre Mid: Sir Dennis was(is) what NRC aspires to be and NRC has the time on his side, both hard working battling sorts; though Sir Dennis could spot a pass and scored too. Then we've got the lads who came through the ranks, living away from home. Sid Cowans (my hero from the 81 side) and Gareth Barry (my hero from when he played as left sided CB to today) like so many other left sided midfielders have that bit of class, that style that makes you want to watch them. Let Mid / Wing: Tony Morley and Ashley Young - both two footed both prefer their right; both lacking in the tracking back to help out the defence at times, both scorers of some memorable goals. Top two: We used to play long balls into Peter Withe, we used to simply hoof it to him too for the modern fan and like today with JC it sometimes worked it sometimes didn't. Alongside these two we've got Gabby and Gary Shaw, both local lads coming through the ranks; both fans of the Villa (GS at Wembley 94 - cheers Gary); the latter would I feel have gone onto greatness but for the injury that cut his career tragically short. Yes there are others but through luck, fitness or bravery the main elements of the squad are cannily alike, to me anyway. I'll leave you with Ron at his best: "'With your usual vocal backing and 110 per cent effort from each and every one of the players I am sure we will get the right result.'"

Engage 1st gear, move forward 20 yards. stop. Engage reverse, reverse to starting point, stop. Go into pub your pint will be ready, drink pint in 10 minutes you've passed.

Good read as per usual Pete, the thing I feel is missed re Rafa is that he has a history of falling out with the 'board' due him thinking he is better and bigger than he possibly is, he did exactly the same in Spain.

The fact that The General hasn't been on the site would mean he hasn't seen the question yet.....

Hmm is costs allow one for the Holte, one for the North and one for away games.....

3 for me and I added the pool only late last night and cannot believe the response already... though can I just say that if our poll indicates anything it shows that just like the badge whichever one is selected half the people will agree and accept it and the others won't. But let's not fall out about it.....

very nice it is too sir

Cheers for the report John, and from the feed I managed to get the marks and observations were the same as mine, which is nice in itself.

OK can we have a stop to the discussion about pricing for a game that has gone, the club are aware of the issues caused and we are extremely lucky to have The General come on here and put the club's position so succinctly, thanks

Good report as usual Scott as for takes one to know one eh! ;-)

I'm looking to do a family collage type thing for the mother-in-law's 60th, does anyone know any decent framing companies as it will be big and need made to measure mounts. Damian - tips for the pics would be appreciated too ;-)

If the Geordies don't win this I'll be amazed.

yep - i thought he played really well actually. Good movement, good touches, good link up play. He just doesn't look like scoring at the moment, which is not ideal for a striker .... Yet only he and Petrov out of the forwards and midfielders even looked like scoring. It seems Gabby, Ash and Carew are untouchable and Luke is the pariah

Good report - and you said you couldn't be bothered. Went to Lane Ends when I got back - not as good as the ;-) in Wigan and a lot dearer too