AJ

I like it when nice people say nice things about our nice club. It makes me feel good inside, like sunshine straight to the heart. Oh wait. That could be fatal.

Every morning my computer sings "hello" to me. Its a Dell.

The reason I suggest Lansbury was because when he played us, he was so heavily involved in their attacks. He is a cunning little shit, and would be just what we need in midfield. On the flipside, he has been at Forest for a while now, as if he is part of the furniture, and may be reluctant to leave. Also, Forest may be quite reluctant to sell an important player to a Championship rival. And he has shit hair. But, if we don't try for him, we will never know.

Sarcasm in Villa Talk? Sure. That will NEVER happen!

I appreciate your post, and you do provoke some interesting thoughts. What I am thinking is there may be much more to Steve Bruce than what we read or the snippets we see of him. For this reason, I am reserving my judgement until I see a few game results. If Brucie does get us up, it will result in a squad overhaul regardless. Players who were reluctant to play in the second tier may find Villa more enticing in the Premier league, especially with Tony throwing fistfuls of cash into their faces. Tony also seems quite ambitious, so he wont be another Lerner and just settle for making up the numbers in the Premier league. As for Steve Bruce, he does have his history with other clubs. He also seemed quite excited to be here, which is a nice change from the last 6 or so managers we have had. What sort of manager will he be for Villa, well, time and results will tell.

Lansbury?

Sounds like he will be conflicted. Hope you both have a wonderful day out.

If we win our next away game (Reading), he would achieve something in nine days what the last two and a half managers couldn't do.

Judging by his formations, it was like he was applying feng shui to the pitch.

Still, I would rather we played basic football and brought sexy back.

For the past few seasons, one of the main sore points for the club has been the manager's position. A lot of people here are saying that even if we get promoted, we should ditch him for a more "glamorous" manager. I don't agree with this, as I wouldn't want to see Villa go back to square one. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, if it aint broke, don't fix it.... yada yada yada

I think so too. I think he wanted a manager who he felt comfortable to put faith in and fully support, and that is probably what he is looking for most in the new man.

That doesn't rhyme.

Soooo......who's coming?

Bit of an anti climax to report, but that was to be expected. I called out to him, I think he noticed me, as some nutcase who would turn up to an international match in a Villa shirt. He acknowledged the crowd, but I don't think he was up for any fan interaction. On another note, I did get to shake Matty Ryan's hand. Despite the goal, he did make some great saves, and I thought he had a very good game.

Off to the Australia / Japan game tonight. As I said earlier, I will try, quite possibly in vain, to get Jedi to sign my Villa shirt. It is a bit of a downer that he hasn't been up to expectations, but I have always been a fan of him. I am confident he will make his presence known tonight. I am just wishing he could play well for Villa.

No. We earn our place, just like every other sporting team on the planet.

I am about 90% thinking its Bruce, and about 10% thinking all the Bruce talk is a smokescreen for a surprise "bigger name".

Yes. I think he is doing a good job for Australia, and he also did very well for the Roar, but I just have a feeling that he is not ready for the job for Villa. Yet. I believe if he came in now, it would break him and he would end up on the ex Villa manager pariah scrap heap.

Was this in regards to Ange? I am genuinely interested in your view.

For a substance to be an effective turd polish, it must contain an abrasive agent.

I would just be happy with a manager that can get it into the players skulls that they are not just turning up for a game of football, but remind them strongly that they are involved in a competition, and that points do matter.

As for Garde, Bruce or whoever will not be set up for failure.

In a perfect world, it would be absolutely wonderful to have a manager that is on the rise and here for the long term. Someone who is ambitious, and wants to impart some form of legacy upon Villa's history. It creates stability, something Villa and a lot of other clubs have been lacking. Due to the dispensability of managers, it has created an abundance of journeymen who are well aware that job security does not go hand in hand with the profession, and it would be safe for this to describe the overwhelming majority of managers these days. We just have to accept the best person available in getting the job done.

Getting there is the only thing. Staying there is a solvable problem that hasn't happened yet.