Deisler123

He is better than Hutton. Not sure if compared to De Laet. For a player like this, less than 20 yo, I would double his market price (0.75m?) as a long term investment, ~1.2m seems an ok deal. Actual transfer cost is probably lower than that I would assume.

from 2:0 to 2:2? Again? Why always us?

I don't think it is a good idea to release Hutton in this window. He is not a top player, but good enough as a first team player. The rest of the season we may see a number of injuries, and the depth of the bench is important, if we want to get to playoff. We should keep him till summer even if we manage to get a new RB. Three midfielders in, optimistically, and we are back on track.

A duo signing takes time, and much more difficult particularly in Jan window. Speculation says there was some delay in completing the talk with Bree, therefore the announcement of Hourihane was delay too. But if indeed Bree plays this week, the duo signing will indeed be unlikely unfortunately.

Jareth, I started to follow Villa, simply because of Tony. To be precise, because of him taking over Villa. Well, that was how it started, at least - now, I am well beyond that level as a Villa fan. I have been living overseas (from China) for many years, and like all of you, I am proud of my own country. Very often I came across some negative comments about my country (some do have grounds, some don't), and when that happened, I feel quite sad, and sometimes furious and helpless. I always want to prove a point, but sometime I actually think (and know) it is worthless to prove that point. Nevertheless when I saw Xia was about to takeover Villa, I came here to observe how people think about him. I want him to be successful (so to Villa ofc). Soon I became a villa fan, naturally and happily. I don't mind people call me Tony, not at all - I know people are having fun with it, so it is cool- although I don't think I have to clarify I am not Tony. To me, Tony is very different to normal Chinese businessmen (especially those who own football clubs), possibly due to his education background in western countries as well as his family background. That is key for him to be successful in European football imo, and why he may not be successful in football in China. It is just a pity that he does not have too many links with Chinese football, either through business or links between clubs. I have mentioned at VT a few times that I hope that his ownership of Villa can help football in China (in its most general sense). This was really my motivation of supporting Villa at the beginning, and still is. Last, let me say this forum is really a great place to be in. You guys' enthusiasm in football is simply amazing. Last season I saw how you 'celebrated' in the last home match, and I absolutely admire your love to your club. A club like this deserves, and needs, a top owner. Let's hope Xia is that person - he is not there yet, and certainly needs to do a lot more.

I think that goes without saying, Godders. I am not.

Welcome, Hourihane. Really look forward to the match vs Brentford.

He basically said it is 100% done. The player himself is determined to join Villa, and medical is no problem. So should expect an OA tomorrow.

Pity that this weeks game will not be live on tv. I would like to see the new player at least on the bench.

First half stats: Shot Spurs 0 Villa 1

Are you Simon, or perhaps David?

Would you please get a shield for our team please? No need for 7 days one, just a 45 mins one would do. Thanks

Sorry, but you are wrong. If what you said (i.e. Xia bought Villa and gets it back to a top six club in PL and sell Villa for a profit) were true, then it will need to take at least 3 years, most probably 5 (if we were lucky). And to achieve that, he will need to invest a lot more than the net profit he can possibly make in re-selling Villa. With the same amount of money, he can invest in other business sectors and get much more profit in a much shorter time. I think a lot VTers (including myself) have mentioned that his motives in owning Villa is, in addition to his enthusiasm in football (to a lesser degree I have to say because he is a businessman after all), to have an 'indirect' and more importantly long-term way of increasing the 'value' of his own or his company's brand. Of course this is even better, if you place his ownership of Villa in the current football 'environment' in China, because the potential gain could be huge. I think the point you raised is illogical, IMHO.

one more pls, i will be happy

There is absolutely no organisation in our midfield. Shocking

I had a dream last night that at the end of the season neither Brighton nor Newcastle will make automatic promotion. We finished the 2nd. Oh well..... What a nice dream!

nice idea... My wife can but I doubt she wants to. I will post a photo of myself wearing scarf chanting for Villa in Wembley! Let's hope that will be the coming June.

Thank you all for your input on this, guys. I finally decided not to buy the scarf for this Christmas, due to lack of choices online. Instead, I plan to buy one when I watch villa's game live in a stadium, hopefully in Wembley June 2017.

During lunch time I was trying my luck to see if I can find Villa Scarf from Taobao (Chinese Ebay if you like). No luck.... Tons of Man U, Arsenal, no stuff for villa.... Damn But guess what, I found this: https://world.taobao.com/item/16934698144.htm?spm=a312a.7700714.0.0.T6XeB5#detail It is quite expensive....almost 6 pounds.... And look at the signature..... Anyone can tell if it is genuine?

I am sure it will get done once the club gets back to PL. BTW, I actually like the round badge than the current one. It just looks better.

It is so annoying that there are only a few designs available online (only 1 in official shop, a few on Ebay and amazon). Couldn't find any with round badge available online, or the one @VILLAMARV mentioned. The club needs to improve at least the official shop, if it seriously considers expanding its fan base overseas. I live in the UK and I cannot even have more than a couple of options from official channel......

Do you mean this (in the middle), Richard? Is it the older badge Villa used?

Is this Tom Hanks? see my post above @dont_do_it_doug. - if I want the badge to be vertical along the long side, would you say the first one is better than the 2nd one in my original post?

Sorry showing off my ignorance here - why is the white color on this traditional design?