CrackpotForeigner

General, I don't know if this issue has been discussed much on here, but I noticed these in the Matchday thread: That happened to me and my mates against Pompey. We got kicked out by about 30 stewards and coppers for the crime of standing up on a back row in the lower Witton Lane, rebels eh!? No wonder the atmosphere is shit. Obviously we don't know the circumstances, but I hope the stewards are not being heavy-handed. Nothing spoils the enjoyment of something more than being at the mercy of officious busybodies, whether they're poorly-recruited nightclub bouncers, poorly-recruited policemen or poorly-recruited match stewards. I know that if I were kicked out of the stadium for anything but actual antisocial behaviour, it would leave a very bad taste, and I probably wouldn't be back for quite a while. Why should people face a scolding when they pay to watch the team they support? I stress that I don't know anything about the circumstances mentioned in these posts, but clearly people are feeling aggrieved. Seeing as the stewards are the public face of the club on matchdays, I hope Aston Villa are doing everything they can to employ stewards who try to send everyone home happy (rather than just throw their own weight around).

That, to me, says everything that needs to be said about the Heskey signing.

^^^ Good post srs. Hey, it could be worse, we could be in England and enjoying experiences like this: Anyway, my thoughts: - As we all seem to agree, Heskey and Carew do not deserve to start. - So we should play 451 with Gabby, or give the Fonz a go. - The ref was a disgrace. Completely and utterly worse-than-useless in that game. - MON's substitutions seem to defy logic. - Aston Villa is not the best club for talented youngsters, seeing as we seem to stick with once-talented veterans no matter what. But it's not SO bad because: - The mighty Downing will be in the side soon. - Our defense had a bad game, but MON deserves huge credit for getting Dunne and Colins in. - With a ref like that, the game can go either way, even if you're Barcelona. - Heskey and Carew are both one game closer to losing their places. - We are hopefully one game closer to playing 451 in the right circumstances. - Milner will be back soon.

What? Stratford is much better than Bramall?

This is an excellent thread. I was just wondering what proportion of a sample of message board posters would tend to be immune to logic and reason. Looks like the answer is 5%

What rubbish! "Vastly different opinions"??? I agree with your ratings completely :winkold: (I didn't notice Petrov having quite such a good game, but other than that I couldn't agree more.) And GABBY! We always knew he was fast, and normally a good finisher, but now he seems to be developing excellent crossing, vision, generally good passing, and his workrate is good as well. I admit I had a few doubts (which I kept to myself btw ), but now I think it's possible that he will turn into an actual WORLD CLASS player. Hearing the Holte sing the Gabby song before kickoff couldn't have done his confidence any harm. He clearly is a confidence player. A lot of people have said how good he is in training. To me this is a sign of somebody with real talent, that will get better and better as his experience and confidence grow. It wasn't an amazing team performance, but as many have said, if we start to play as well as it looks like we can, we will be a bloody frightening team to play against. And the brilliant Stewart Downing still to come. Happy days!

Firstly let me say that I don't claim to understand the proposals completely, BUT: I think you are wrong, CVB. This proposal is about 15 years too late. The Champion's League has become a cartel. Our revenues are now miniscule compared to, say, Man Utd's. Man Utd's shirt sponsorship cost more than our CLUB ffs. So that means we will simply not be able to compete at the top, ever, if these proposals are implemented. Personally I would rather risk seeing a Man City overtake us than accept that we are never going to have another 1981-2 ever again. Wouldn't you rather be 3rd in a race that was still going on, than 2nd in one that was finished? It sounds like UEFA are claiming that this will level the playing field. It will, if you think that "Level" means the clubs who have done best in the last few years should always be the most successful.

I agree up to a point. Obviously Petrov has a lot to offer in the right situation, but Delph really has amazing ability. He is the long term replacement for Petrov imo. And some replacement he will be. Can I ask how crazy a midfield diamond would be with Delph forward and NRC behind? With hard working wingers like Milner and AY, it could work very well if we MUST play two strikers.

Loved reading through this thread, but am baffled how our CB who witheld attack after attack during the game could be classed as anonymous. That was me, btw. I resisted the temptation to see what others wrote before rating the players. This was just my impression. But being anonymous is not necessarily a bad thing for a defender! It would be great to be totally un-anonymous (!) in a Martin Laursen way, but failing that I'll take anonymous every time. I do like Cuellar, and I didn't mean to have a go at him. He did get done a couple of times early on, though. Maybe I mis-rated Cuellar, but I was spot on with all the others

Shorey's corner for Davis's goal was absolutely brilliant. The player we sold to Man City was really not very good at corners imo. Glad we got rid

Friedel 8 Brilliant after early fumble, if only he could catch Beye 7 Nothing spectacular, but no shockers either Cuellar 6 A couple of bad mistakes early on, anonymous later Davies 9 MOTM Those shoulder steroids did the trick Shorey 7 Some dodgy moments, but goal line clearance and good on the ball Milner 7 Usual hard working performance, without doing anything spectacular this time. NRC 8 Some great tackling as expected, and some unexpected good passes. Petrov 7.5 Composed, reliable and some great interceptions Sidwell 7 Some very timely touches, and generally looking a more confident player. Young 7.5 Great free kick, brilliant penalty, but his usual failure to pass when surrounded by three players. Should have scored from late chance. Gabby 7 Didn't do much as a striker, but won lots of corners and put in some good crosses. Never had great service to be fair. Heskey 7 Did well, usual competent display, usual lack of goals

I'd say the top four are weaker this year. Chelsea - Pensioners ManU - No Ronaldo Liverpool - No man to pull the strings Arsenal - Lost best defender and striker (debatable) Everton will probably lose Lescott, weakening them. If you want to count Spurs as a rival, then i'd say theyve remained the same. Man City are probably the only team thats strengthened, Sunderland too but i dont see them as a rival. This. We are stronger this year, imo. Downing and Delph are both Young/Milner calibre signings. Laursen is a big miss, but we are going to have a LOT of threat in attack, especially with the awesome prospect of Albrighton's crosses thrown into the mix. If the transfer window shut tomorrow I'd still fancy our chances of improving on last season. Some of the crap written on this thread is quite unbelievable.

Whaddaya mean BOTH games? You mean all four, I think

OK, cheers Yillan. General, I'll assume that latecomers like me can still send messages to postbag@avfc.co.uk

Hi General, Further to Phumfeinz and nik986's posts: Is there anywhere we can leave "Thanks and all the best"- type messages for Laursen? It's not like Villa fans to agree on anything, but we pretty much all agree that he was a fantastic player and a great guy. We miss him, and some of us, I think, would like to show our appreciation for the way he played and generally conducted himself during his time at the club. A lap of honour round VP doesn't do enough, in my opinion, especially for those of us who are overseas!

I read that Lichaj has a monster throw like Delap. This true?

James Milner hates people telling other people what he hates. Oh. Ooops.

Gosh, what an amazingly funny, clever, insightful, accurate, helpful and well-explained comment.

8) Thank god. I thought our squad was looking a little thin for a moment there.

James Milner is not impressed with the ad for Tennis Manager at the bottom of this page. Tennis Manager ffs.

A better option, but how about we get a point against Chelsea and stay in both cups? Difficult brstard. 8) No deal. Let the cards fall as they may.

Maybe, but playing in both cups is surely too many games. How 'bout we stay in the FA cup, then? And beat Chelsea as well, obvously

We really need to be finishing 3rd or better, not 4th. How are we going to sign top players if we could so easily go out in the TWO qualifying rounds before CL proper. Beating Chelsea would be a huge step towards 3rd or better. We can go for it in the cups when we have packed the squad with quality signings attracted by the CL. The UEFA cup is just too many games for too little glory imo. Doesn't even get you into the CL. Obviously a win in either cup would be great, but getting CL football is more important, and we can't do both...or can we?

Agree, why would you knock the player in his own song? Cmon Holte Enders, it's "Played for the shite"

Get your votes in for Heskey, Villa fans. Only 128 more needed.