Mandy Lifeboats

Great effort folks. But you need a change to continue getting publighty in the next game. "Where's Wally?" posters rebranded to "Where's Randy?" is still my preference. But whatever you choose.......thanks for giving a damn what happens to Villa and giving up your time and money.

The NFL want to get rid of kickoffs in order to make the game safer. A few proposals have been discussed but nothing finalised. I found this idea quite ininteresting. Instead of a kickoff (at the start of each half or after a score) a team would be given the ball on their own 20 (?) yard line. They would then get 1 down to get 20 (?) yards. Or they could punt. I'd be sad to see kickoffs go. But if they did this could be an exciting alternative. Imagine being 14 down with 10 seconds to go. Two Hail Mary passes to save the game. The only bad thing is that the Raiders could go for a entire match and only touch the ball once.

I grew up in Wolverhampton in the 70s. It was a grim existence. Very similar to purgatory but with ample supplies of pork scratchings. But I still vividly remember a day when I was 6 when my beloved grandmother bought me a tracksuit as a surprise present. It was 1976 and tracksuits had yet to be adopted by as fashion items. They were actually worn by professional sports people. The tracksuit was without doubt the best tracksuit in the entire world. Claret trousers with a light blue top and 3 claret stripes running along the arms. Even better it had loops at the bottom of the legs that kept the trousers in place and zips on the side of the ankles so you could take the trousers off without removing football boots. I can sense everyone who is reading this getting very jealous. But just get over it. I had the best tracksuit ever. Grasping my tracksuit with pride I asked my granddad “Which team wear these?” In that moment my granddad had power beyond his wildest dreams. At that moment he was going to decide what team I would support for the rest of my life. Would he say West Ham? Would he say Burnley? Knowing granddad he might have said Celtic as he wasn’t the sharpest tool. But no. He said it was an Aston Villa tracksuit. That was it. I was a Villa fan. I didn’t know where Aston was, who played for them or which division they were in. But I must be a Villa fan because I wore a Villa tracksuit. At school I was the only Villa fan. My classmates were split roughly equally between Wolves fans and glory hunting mercenaries supporting Liverpool because they were winning things. Playground football matches were the highlight of the school day. One day someone suggested a Wolves V Liverpool match. With the sides roughly equal in both numbers and abilities it seemed a great idea. But……but…….what about me? I couldn’t play for either side as I was a Villa fan. It might have been a school playground and a bunch of nine year olds but that didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to pretend to support someone else. Numerous offers of sweets, crisps, wagon wheels and tomato flavoured Snaps couldn’t convince me to sign for either side. As the top unsigned free agent in the playground I was in huge demand and the signing-on fee offers rose to the level of a huge bag of chocolate buttons. I turned them down with a heavy heart. That did turn to a feeling of relief a few days later when it was discovered that someone from our school had stolen a large bag of chocolate buttons made for dogs from the local pet shop. My teen years coincided with the height of Wolves hooligan problems. The “Subway Army” were the high profile firm and they walked around Wolverhampton Town Centre in their tight jeans, Pringle jumpers and Adidas trainers looking for trouble. One Saturday I was spotted in town and identified as a known Villa fan and therefore asking for a beating. Whilst completely surrounded I was asked who I supported. I’d seen movies and knew what would happen next. I would proudly proclaim my loyalty to Villa to the amazement of all. My bravery would immediately win the respect of the mob and they’d let me leave with my head held high. Unfortunately the mob weren’t big film fans and simply delivered a prolonged and vicious beating. I fought back but was vastly outnumbered. I soon found myself being used as a human football. But what has any of this got to do with Aston Villa’s current plight? Not much if I am honest. I want players who are as proud to wear the Villa shirt as I was to wear that Villa tracksuit. I want players who aren’t just interested in the chocolate buttons, nitrous oxide money. I want players when they are in a tight spot to fight as hard as I did when surrounded by those hooligans. I want Aston Villa back. I WANT LERNER OUT!

I doubt it. Looking at the fixtures there would be some matches with teams in almost identical uniforms.

The worst part of Hollis letter is the suggestion that they are trying to establish the root cause of our problems. The root cause is pretty obvious. Lerner has made bad decisions on staff appointments and how he spent his money. Those staff have made bad decisions on staff appointments and how they spent the money available. So...the root cause is Lerner and the people Lerner appoints. Just remind me, who appointed Hollis? At the time of writing I am not worried about Premiership relegation. Its getting together a team that will not bw involved in a relegation struggle NEXT year.

The Jags uniform was hilarious. It was like watching a team of C3P0. I look forward to seeing the Browns uniform for fairly obvious reasons. Raiders will be an interesting choice. Black = 11 poorly trained ninjas. Proper Silver = 11 airport firefighters. Grey Silver = "Who left black pants in with the white laundry?"

I hate the color rush uniforms. I've not seen one that's pleasing to the eye. I just can't understand what its trying to achieve. How many fans will buy those jersey? Not many. They are nowhere near as marketable as the throwback jersey.

Color Rush Uniforms. Are they? A- A welcome change and pleasing to the eye. B- Ridiculous. Its like watching teams playing in pyjamas. C- A great way to prevent colourblind fans watching games. Serves them right. Discuss.

Having seen today's line up I can only conclude the Black is the 3rd best manager we've had this year. That says a lot.

I have no ill will against the Broncos. They are a great car. Just ask OJ...

I'm a Raiders fan, I have a lot of experience of being at the bottom of a division.

The Rams - Titans trade seems an amazing deal for the Titans. Wentz or Goff would need to be Hall Of Fame quality to make the trade good value. Titans need half a team and this trade gives them a fighting chance of real improvement. But we are talkingabout the Titans. I am sure they will find a way to screw it up.

This!!!!!!!!

Claret and blue might seem the obvious colour choice. But yellow and black is the most striking colour combination which is why hazard signs tend to be that colour. You could also include small text asking the fans to deposit the signs for re-use at various locations outside the ground. You may only get a few back but any that you do will just add to the effect of future protests. ?

I have just donated to your crowdfunding. Glad to help. For the next set of banners why not go for a simple symbol rather than a slogan. A campaign that is visually striking will get far more publicity. I am sure someone can improve on this idea but how about fans holding up banners with "?" to signify the lack of comment from the owner and club on the future. That could look amazing. Or large cardboard arrows which fans in the Holte point towards the opposition goal on 74.

£20+ is no problem. I can't get to games very often and it would make me feel like I am contributing. On a lighter note...we haven't ruled out a gypsy curse being the cause of our current malaise.Therefore I propose the next protest be targetted at the very scientific solution of urinating on each corner of the ground. #GoForAWeeOn73

Stick with Banners on 74. The best visual image will need banners to be given away beforehand. I'll gladly donate a few groats and I am sure so will many others. You've made some mistakes but at a time when certain players have no passion, no commitment, no resilience and no creativity, its great to see a group of fans showing those qualities.

Tomorrow could see us one step closer to seeing Barry Bannan back at Villa Park. I must go now. I've got to find 6 feet of rope and a sturdy beam.

I can't understand why some people think this protest is dedetrimental to the club. I doubt the board is thinking "The protests are growing in popularity so lets not work quite as hard". These protests will motivate change. If I was a potential buyer I would rather see protests from engaged and passionate fans. That's much better than empty terraces and/or apathy. At a time when we are critical of players for showing no fight, no passion, no creativity and no effort, it makes no sense to criticise the Protest Group for showing those qualities in abundance.

LOL. I suppose we would have worked that out a little quicker had we been using our real names. DOH!

The original email was reproduced in the protest groups press release of 23rd March. You can view it on the press release section.

Many years ago I went to a Lazio game where the fans in the home end remained silent throughout the game. It seemed to have more impact than a torrent of abuse. Lazio scored 2 or 3 that day and only a handful of fans even blinked. It got a lot of press attention.

It definitely didn't say prefer. I shall be very interested to see if the club takes any action this time. Good luck everyone involved.

I approached the club for an explanation of why the club confiscated the Lerner Out banner whilst ignoring far more offensive language. Their reply DOESN'T say anyone complained, nor anyone couldn't see, nor the message was offensive. It says that banners must be pre-approved and generally supportive. Isn't the honest answer that 'someone' decreed a crackdown on visible protest against Lerner on the same day that the protest group had suspended a visible protest against Lerner. That was what I found bemusing and annoying.

Protest if you feel it will help. Don't protest if you feel it will help. But why argue over who is right? Hopefully BOTH viewpoints are motivating change.