Kuwabatake Sanjuro

No matter what cross he delivers it will always find an opposing player, hopefully more opposing hands can be found. Maybe if there were 2 upfront he could be more effective but that would require a proper midfield to be installed.

Look where Drogba was at his age.

They sacked Monk when they thought they had Bielsa lined up, that would have been fair enough had it not fallen through. Guidolin was a solid appointment but the summer transfer window was a disaster and he was undermined early in the season with the Giggs thing. Bradley might not be a bad manager but was the wrong man at the wrong time for Swansea and could not sort out their defence. Jaap Stam would probably be the best possible appointment for them to get back to what they are good at but there is no reason he will leave Reading for them.

A singing/ultras section in part of the Holte end would possibly be worth implementing at some stage. I know it it can be a little cringeworthy but in general Villa fans can come across as very negative/depressed (with some justification). A section of positivity could become infectious to the rest of VP and who knows maybe an anthem could develop. More Steel Pulse needs to be played in the ground too,

Barry Bannan is badly missed.

It only cost $1.4b, the fact that the city has about 10000 people sleeping homeless doesn't matter when they can have a stadium as obscene as that.

The cause of poor strength and conditioning is probably down to the number of changes in management, poor investment is sport science from the Lerner era, poor coaching structures under Lambert and Sherwood and a large turnover of players. The club needs to take a long term approach to maximising player fitness.

He might have done better for the goal as it wasn't the most powerful strike in the world but he is looking a lot more impressive now. The quick clearance that got Adomah killed was excellent too.

Fitness was definitely an issue but even if Villa were fitter there still would not be a big difference in quality between the two teams. Apart from Kodjia, Amavi and maybe Ayew not many Villa players would be considered better than their Birmingham equivalents on that pitch today. Forget price tags. The only complaint I could have with Steve Bruce today was not changing things up in the 2nd half when it was clear how badly we were struggling especially in midfield and with Ross McCormack being completely ineffective on the RW, Options available to him weren't great though.

He wasn't that bad today as he worked hard and tried to get forward to support Kodjia but it really isn't his role. When he was a half decent player he played as a deep lying playmaker in the mould of Leon Britton and did a reasonable job when paired alongside Delph & KEA, however that is a long time ago now and his lack athleticism was evident today especially when compared to Davis who dominated him in a couple of 50/50s. Tshibola sould have came on around the hour mark.

I wouldn't consider it an excellent performance at all, he did the simple things well abut could have done better for the goal, He had no influence going forward which was down to the lack of control o the game from the team. He will do better in games when on top and I still like his attitude.

Just checked what he is up to and he is looking smart to be fair. Unfortunately the caption below reads "Mário Jardel acusado de vários crimes no Brasil" Money laundering, false documents and criminal association seem to be the charges.

Looks like the sort of appointment that will help us consolidate our position in this division.

9 As in his GCSEs although I'm not entirely sure how impressive that is. Academic intelligence obviously doesn't equal footballing intelligence but I'd consider him a decent judge of a manager. Somewhat on topic Steve Bruce's talent as an author is worth noting. https://www.balls.ie/football/steve-bruce-novel/293169

1st choice for me is Marcelo Bielsa, might be difficult to get at this stage but if Dr Tony is willing to splash £15m on Championship strikers then he might be able to make an offer worthy of the great man. He could finally sort out the culture of the club and leave a platform for others to build on. 2nd choice is a bit more realistic in Michael O'Neill, a very shrewd tactician and generally is a very positive man without being a spoofer. Has overachieved in his last two jobs. Jonny Evans who is probably one of the smartest professional footballers in world football recently mentioned how shocked he was that no clubs have come in for him.

What is needed is someone who is tactically astute, can set up a defence properly and can get players believing in themselves. Michael O'Neill is the obvious selection for me.

I feel sorry for Bilic,I'd like to see him do well but the club and supporters I couldn't care less about.

He will make more mistakes like every other keeper on the planet, hopefully they aren't as costly and hopefully the fans won't get on his back again. I don't think they will as after a few games he is looking like a good keeper.

To play inter county Gaelic football at an amateur level it is generally accepted that there would be no drinking for the majority of the season. The odd exception would be after big wins or team bonding sessions during training camps. In my own county we had a top class u21 player who was called up to the seniors but was dropped off the panel for missing a training session and going horse racing instead. Unfortunately soccer players have contracts so it harder to enforce the same level of commitment to the team.

On now if anyone cares, Kilkenny leading 2 points to 1 after 6 mins.

On now if anyone cares, Kilkenny leading 2 points to 1 after 6 mins.

Not much else on with the international break, this is worth watching if anyone is bored today. Throw in is at 3:30pm(coverage starts earlier obviously) and the teams are Kilkenny and Tipperary. Kilkenny win almost every year, Tipperary win most years they don't, nobody really likes either of them but it should be a cracking game of hurling played in front of 83,500 people. It could also be the last game of hurling shown on Sky as the TV rights are up for renegotiation once again.

Pochettino's man management skills are highly rated, if he can get him motivated then it won't be a bad bit of business but it is a risky one. Newcastle fans are delighted but he could sicken them.

I watched the full Hull game and seen bits of him in preseason. Have seen him a couple of times for CSKA in the past but didn't really pay much attention.In the In the Hull game I noted that he has pace still but takes the wrong options almost every time. A couple of shots from him were pathetically weak too. I'm not one who believes that all Nigerian players cheat on their ages but he is a suspicious one.

Unreal so he was, couldn't believe the nonsense he was spouting about Wilshere. A good panel overall though and Chapman is probably the most talented football host in the English media.