Shomin Geki

Could be a mennace on the pitch Haven't we Beanover this before? AAAARRRRGGGHHH! It is happening again!

Uppermost in my reasons for keeping Guzan is his nickname. I like that we have a Goose in our team. If he goes I may spend a good hour or two at work wondering about animal nicknames for the rest of the team. It's all about priorities...

Thank you! Good to know my expertise on the Internet is lower than 'quick cursory glance'. Must try harder. Anyone know how he did in these games?

He may be a sneaky cockney, but by jove he is OUR sneaky, quietly brilliant, oddly likeable cockney.

As much as I dislike all this brouhaha I'm learning to accept it as simply the new 'rules of the game' of modern football. And/or the increasingly public nature of everything. I'm 'getting with the program' as the idiots say. But yeah, I'm happy Delph is here for next season at least.

If we can get him this seems like a no-brainer. Has he played against any big boys? Do we have a clue how he'd fare against stronger opposition? This to me is the obvious concern. I'm not the most internet-savvy soul out there, but is there any resource out there where one can find out exactly who he has played against? Many thanks.

I was just reading this report on Michu in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jul/14/michu-swansea-city-garry-monk Oh Michu! Injuries have of course played their part but what a waste! A so-so player utterly transforms his career after signing for Swansea City and goes and completely screws it up. And now he is effectively back where he started. Icarus would be proud. Now with much talk about the curse of signing for Manchester City I was wondering what you fine people consider the very worst career decision any footballer has made?

You can't have been watching the Copa America then, because he had Lionel Messi in his pocket. That boy plays like he's floating above the grass. Sanchez is a fabulous destroyer. He's going to be very important for us this season and he's going to improve to the point where we are bricking it that he'll be snapped up in the summer. Remember where you read it first You are correct. I did not see him. I did hear the legend though. I simply meant that he's a bit of a bruiser that lacks finesse. Maybe he thrives against more skillful and technical opponets. Takes them off their perch somewhat. And the PL does not have the loose hips and intricate tip toes of our Spanish and South American friends. I cannot tell you how elated I will be if your positivty bears fruit.

Really like this guy. Perhaps a touch lightweight? The kind of player that really flourishes when we dominate, and has the ability to pull a real surprise out of the bag, be it freekick, assist, or surging run. Far from perfect, but also pretty far from his seeming potential.

It's always looked to me that if football was a game played with 15 men on a boggy marsh Sanchez would boss it. Pretty grass with eleven? Not so much.

Goody gumdrops. Tim's Goody Liqueur Gumdrops. The perfect indulgent night cap for any man enjoying a smooth mid-life renaissance #DoItLikeSherwood.

I can't work out what Westwoods role actually is. He has a good touch and reads the game well but is pretty ineffective at attacking and also pretty average at defending. He seems to be good at passing the ball around the middle of the pitch. His job is to do a bit of absolutely everything. He'll sometimes break up play around our own box. He'll sometimes find himself coming on to phase 2 of a corner or set piece to have a pot shot. Generally he'll receive the ball in the centre of the park and his job will be to instigate the next attack. He's the string puller which is a massive responsibility because his performance largely dictates our performance. But he'll never stand out, much in the same way that Carrick never stands out for United, yet they nearly always win when he's in the team. I do think Westwood can still get better though. I wouldn't say he's as good as he's going to get. That particular midfield position gets better with experience. And sometimes he's just lurking around our box. And sometimes that chance of a pot shot never comes to him. And sometimes it looks like he's busy daydreaming about that Michael Carrick Shiny he swapped his lunch for. He's a sometimes player that so often doesn't. The superficial resemblance to Sir Carrick is what keeps us all oddly tantalised methinks.

Delph is such a 'player with something about him', the proud, crusading scamp. Will that 'something' eventually become who he actually is, day in, day out? I would argue that we have to, as a club, reach for those elevated states if we really want to progress. How many Villa players truly 'make themselves' at this club? Is it a coincidence that it tends to be defenders? Anyway, wonder if these shenanigans will have any impact on how the faithful view him.

Jesus, the links keep on coming! When it rains it pours... Couldn't we just round up all these fine gentleman and make them Hunger Games it out for our eternal affection? Side point: Birmingham will burn to the ground if, come the start of the season, more than 80% of these links turn out to be red herrings. The moment a hand-rubbing Wes Hoolahan waltzes up to B6 get ready to duck and cover...

The off season is such a wonderful soap opera of fan's feelings, their hopes and fears. It kinda reminds me of that scene in the Big Lebowski when The Dude sees the photo of the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and mistakes the disadvantaged kids for Lebowski's actual biological children. Maybe I'm of a certain age now but I do have weirdly paternalistic feelings about our boys. I suspect a few of us do. No bad thing. So, boy am I proud of little Jack Grealish and his wondeful talent. It's been a joy watching dear Ciaran become a real man. N'zogbia? A bit like the stoner in his messy bedsit always insisting that he's gonna get that comic book or DJ career up and running. Oh, Charles! You'll never know how I feel when I draw your curtains and see you blink pathetically in the midday sun. This isn't a bit weird right?

Thank you very much for this! Very interesting. So, **** yeah, he's a genuine 'dynamo'. There's something about that word that loudly rings my bell. Throw in a 'tyro', a sexy new photo of him in the finest and it may be love!

How many people are expecting heroics? He was a cheap striker signed to be a decent backup to our obviously number one striker. And so far he's scored a fair few goals when he's played. He's a squad player. he doesn't need to be scoring 30 goals a season to be good enough. I mean, isn't it natural to expect something resembling heroics from a striker? Or is that squealing eight year old footie fan part of me worryingly strong? People often, in my view slightly peculiarly, compare the club to a regular place of employment. As someone who's managed a commercial environment I would love a sturdy, hard-working Kozak to be part of my team. But, Ikea we ain't. I just think at the level we want to be operating on it really does help to have either that swish of magic or the perseverance of an ox. Having said all this I am always 100% behind every Villa player and find much of the mouth-fuming regarding our boys to be pretty obnoxious. Make me love you, Kozak!

I very much agree, friend. Supporting the mighty Villa does seem to bring out the neurotic in us!

And football is about much more than nice stretchy knees.

Depends on who we get to replace him I suppose. However we look less one dimensional under Sherwood than we ever did under Lambert. Plus Sherwood is looking to improve the whole squad, so maybe Benteke leaving now would be less of a blow compared to 12 months ago. Very true. I think we're all praying that Sherwood isn't simply a terrific sprint starter. And boy are our knees itchy. Maybe it's the weird sense of romance the club has reaquired of late but I'm curiously optimistic about the good ship Tim. I think I'm just really excited about the possibilty of, say, Villa Liverpool semi-final with superior players. And my God we all deserve a shot of that next season.

I just think the praise some are doling out is more indicative of low expectations for the club. Who can seriously say they picture Kozak and think 'wow, that football lark's pretty awesome'? How many anticipate misty-eyed reminisces about his glorious heroics in five years time? I mean, seriously, be honest. And isn't that what football is about in many ways. As everyone keeps, correctly, saying, it ain't just about getting over the line, be that the goal line or the heady utopia of 17th place.

People talking about pairings are absolutely on point. Often the best players have a best mate, as it were. I think Okore could be glorious with the right partner. But worryingly I also think Clark could be immense with the right partner. I'm just not sure the the two will ever truly excel when paired together, much as I admire their tender Bromance. But I like them both individually.

Guzan is, for me, a quintessential example of that tough decision of whether a player is merely going through a bit of a blip or is at the start of a terminal decline. It seems to happen earlier and earlier with players. I fear he may have peaked. Ascendancy and descent are weirldy important to football teams. Just look at how quickly Manchester City went from being fearsomely imperious to looking weirdly knackered and crap. I certainly agree with posters noticing that he seems to get close to too many shots whilst letting an alarmingly high amount in. Having said that, not the biggest priority, although I think the talismanic properties of a mighty goalkeeper are really underappreciated. Having a proud, overseeing golem at the drawbridge does wonders for the troops. Forgive me if this has been posted before, but, yeah, it's quite interesting. http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jul/09/goalkeeper-david-de-gea-petr-cech-iker-casillas

I was wondering to myself earlier today and couldn't make my mind up: Just how much have we altered our entire team ethos to play to Benteke's strengths compared to him simplifying his play to fit in with our less than enlightened style? If that makes sense. I.e. Is Benteke the Samson's hair of the Villa team? If he goes do we suddenly fall to pieces and have to rethink how we play from the very top?

Townsend? Would be great if real football resembled Fifa 96, all straight and diagonal runs and sudden stunners from 30 yards. Alas, we do not live in that wonderful world and must instead get with the 'joypads with buttons on the back' era. Sad.