Midfielder

In Purslow I trust. I also agree a lot with Jamaican Villan's post too in terms of the equality he discusses there. It is terrible that by default, quite often, guilt is always assumed in advance and the man blamed, before any proven outcome. If found innocent, Bissouma, a proven-to-be innocent man, would unfairly have that stain on his reputation that would never quite go away. And what to the defeated false-claimant then, do they get just desserts reciprocatively from the CPS, not enough in my opinion, over the years anyway... It's all beyond me though. Good luck to Bissouma, deep down I truly hope this turns out to be a false claim as I am a bit old-school in terms of not wanting scandals creeping into the game at all, here or elsewhere and unfortunately, a player for a position we very much need, has this ongoing. I'm also suspicious of the Sky link too but this must have come from somewhere that they have picked up and ran with. Is he an upgrade on Nakamba, absolutely, do we need a player of his type, absolutely, urgently in fact. Is he the right one now, not for me, yet. It's a tricky one, but as much as I would feel a slight bit of unease if we did sign him, well tough-titty to me then and I would be behind him come 3pm on a Saturday but if he got found guilty I would be finished with the guy for good. it's a shame I guess in one way I see it this way, but with the uncertainty, he is a big risk. We are an exemplar club with a lot of female fans too, I wonder what their reaction would be if we firmed up our alleged interest.

Just my opinion. On this particular transfer, I would not make a move for him. Either he is telling lies or the claimant is. It is that simple and until the courts resolve that, why take the risk on someone who is temporarily tainted by ongoing legal proceedings relating to sexual assault who could end up being found guilty / imprisoned? We would risk losing a player to a custodial sentence, a PR disaster too and a declining asset / resale value. At a premium transfer fee of £30-40m that is a massive risk. There are surely other defensive midfielders available for that money with zero risk relating to the above. And while that may be dismissive / borderline discriminatory (as there is a good chance he is innocent) I think in terms of risk, it would be better to look elsewhere. Sorry that is just my own opinion. If his case proved his innocence in the future I wouldn't be against looking at him then, but I just wouldn't take the risk of signing him in the meantime while we wait to find out if our potential 30-40m player is or isn't a r4pist, as decided by the courts anyway.

Looking at his shirt history.... Since Buendia has 10 and Mcginn the 7, if he fancied the 14 it is sort of available as Hourihane is 99% gone. But then, the number 14 for him links back to his Barca phase so he may want a new number... especially as they took the 7 off him to give him the 14 at some point. Would be a tiny bit harsh to strip Wesley of the 9, but not that harsh, he's likely off as soon as we can regain some of his asset value to sell. I would say the 9 is free, but not sure if you are allowed to switch numbers of a registered player during the season though. Layman's guesses here at 9 or 14 if allowed

Hi all. I’m a lurker rather than poster these days so I’ll make up for lost time with a megapost. I’ve been dying to post all day, just finished work, haven’t read the previous pages but obviously everyone is delighted. I am 43 year old child today. I arrived at work, stunned by the confirmed news, had colleagues asking me if everything was ok, as if distracted by some personal life crisis and I haven’t been able to tell them it was “merely” football related as well, I work in a hospital and I’ll spare the rest as to the mistakes and lack of care I have given my work today. That is down to Coutinho, Gerrard, our wonderful owners and our backroom infrastructure, Lange and Purslow, hats off to them too. I just wanted to give one man’s take on the absolute positivity, optimism and love I have for this club. It has never waned over time, no matter who in charge, your club is your life, your religion. No matter what. I am not getting carried away by one signing. But the magnitude of this signing, the magnitude of our manager. Thanks Deano for everything you did and brought us to this point and with this foundation. Two random additional aspects of miscellany as I type: Firstly- Newcastle et al - Forget Trippier and any other mercenary they may sign. To see Coutinho come to us, not being interested in their financial package nor their footballing project- that must hurt. A little reality check there, that has likely taken their very vocal fans down a peg or two in reminding them that not everybody can be bought, in life or football. Sure, we are a bigger club, with better prospects and a more intrinsically soul, identity and infrastructure, than that of NUFC. But more often than not in football, transfers don’t usually go this way. This certainly wasn’t a financial decision (especially on potentially reduced financial terms), it was one for football. A two-fingers up to Newcastle and that darker, less palatable side of the game. The neutrals across England and the footballing world looked at us and this move today and they applaud it too. I have been hooked to the reaction outside of this club to the transfer today. Secondly- Dear Small Heath Alliance - _____ing have some of that. Have some. My love for this club is and always has been unbreakable. Such love, is constant, so it takes a lot for me to react the way I have today, a mess at work. I feel star struck, excited, just so ____ing in love with all things Villa even more so. I have had a lump in my throat at points of the day. Literally locked myself in the toilet cubicle watching videos and clips and news updates. This could be a landmark for us, a milestone from which we progress, on and on and on. Thanks for this signing Villa. I have been in shock all day. Phillipe Coutinho, welcome. I like your position, your style of play, your magic, your professionalism, your attitude, your ridiculous skill, the levels of each of these things that you will raise in others in our squad, particularly our youth who will look up to you, as will our first team. What do you see here Philippe? Do you see the plan and the project too? You want to be part of that, from the off? This new Gerrard direction? Take us there PC. You may have graced the Camp Nou and the Allianz Arena in more recent times but you have no idea as to the unique fanaticism and support that is awaiting you and the love you will receive from 43 year old children such as myself. I can’t remember feeling like this, for a long time. This to me, feels like we are on the verge of entering a Villa Goldilocks Zone. Competition wins aside, this is one of the biggest points in our Villa lives. This is a turning point of a gift and I am thankful. What a statement signing, what a coup. When I wake up tomorrow and realise this was all real… I get to experience this all again. Only then will it sink in that I was not dreaming. UTFV. SOTFC. COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COUTINHO – GET IN THERE MY SON JESUS CHRIST I NEED TO GO LAY DOWN

looks like i have shot my bolt ! I thought i was paul the octopus for a bit back there, but hey

Big one tonight for MFFers! Found these stats on website source: https://footystats.org/europe/pfc-ludogorets-1945-razgrad-vs-malmo-ff-h2h-stats Also this game is on UK telly at 745pm BT Sport 2 I think, so I'll have a look during the Barrow game! I'll say good luck, but quietly! Bookies odds heavily favour the Bulgarians. But then, how many times have Malmo been the underdog thus far...

Well that's that then.

Cheers Sne! I cannot find any highlights on YT at all, just utter Twa-- posting PES / Fifa highlights and passing it off as actual highlights. So, the away leg to come on Tuesday and then it is on to the group stages where I presume the bulk of non MFFers wouldn't mind seeing (if they can hold the lead away) them getting grouped with the likes of say Bayern, Barcelona and some random team in eastern Russia or somewhere! Still though, dizzy heights for some of those lads regardless. Really is a massive achievement thus far though. I did see this video though and thought that's some welcome from the Ultras for the Malmo team coach... I wonder how the opposition were greeted. And yeah when you look at it like that, the group participation payments / TV rights money is crazy good for Malmo but incredibly disproportionate when compared to the earning capacity / current operating wealth of the other clubs combined. I should imagine that a few of those lads will have the day off on Saturday then, wrapped in cotton wool pending the away leg. Sure they're rich and scoop up a lot of the money domestically and potentially in CL group stage too only boosts that. It will widen the gap between other teams and parity for sure. Still though, fair play. And bigger, elite teams getting drawn with them might be chuffed to get drawn with Malmo but never a good thing to underestimate an underdog.

I agree with this too. I also think £50m is way over the odds for JWP and the potential resale value should we ever need to sell or if by then, further down the line, if we ever did break into the top 6, we may even find we need better than JWP in... then we could take a huge hit on the resale. Or... he could bed in and be the next Milner / longevity and give many years consistent output. He's their captain and as essential to them in some ways as Grealish was for us. They can set whatever price they want, to compensate themselves for losing such a massive player, or, to put us off bidding again. Something, or someone, in this case is only worth what the other party is willing to spend in some cases. With JWP, I think it is clearly the player the manager wants, but, Southampton clearly don't want to sell etc, but the player may want the move. It's a hard thing to do, to instigate the move as a club captain. Look at the mess Kane has made of it. That game at VP last season, he was so annoying, he got everything right. When he stepped up to take those free kicks I shat me pants, I knew they were going in. £50m is ridiculous. Maybe we could get cheaper, if it was £40m that's still uneasy with me. But, then, we need goals from everywhere we can get them and this guy is a set piece master. Grealish used to win us a lot of free kicks but the trickyness of Buendia and Bailey added to Ollie and Ingsy now, we could still do with someone to chip in with goals from set pieces. We have Austin McPhee now too who hopefully would work magic with JWP. And while of course he has way more than converting set pieces in his locker, he is one of those steady pros. Someone up a few posts said about he does the simple things well and that against Watford that was evidently missing. £50m is way too much, but I would like JWP at the club. And while that figure is outrageous to me, 1- its not coming from my bank account and 2- what if he was that piece of the jigsaw that low-key clicked it together. Personally I want to see Sanson given an extended run too, but, he is one knock from us being back to square one. We seem to be fine with adding bonuses on to deals so if this ever happened I am sure it would be a hypothetical £50m and closer to being £38/40m ish in the S/T or M/T which kind of makes it easier to stomach. Incredible to think JWP being "worth" that really though. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and albeit over the odds, it would return a steady performer who passes well, is knocking on England's door and can put a goal on the board from an area of the pitch we are useless at benefitting from. 8-10 extra goals off a midfielder would be worth a few of those millions each year too. I hope to see him next year at VP and not wheeling away having put it in our net. If we valued Buendia (ok yes, diff type of player) at £33 plus add ons, £40mish plus addons for JWP isn't too bad... ISH!

Yeah that is terrible. Agreed. Thing is for me too I hate this change over time of kits getting more expensive but the print quality declining. This transfer crap that over time begins to peel off, constantly having to be super careful in the washing machine too for fear of cracking logos and badges. In the old days they were embroidered, embossed etc but this transfer shit is doomed to fail sometimes. And for 50 plus quid every time too. I mean somethings worth what someone is willing to pay etc, but they must cost a quid max and are the crappest quality sometimes. i got the Pro version of ours last year, never again, the logos are cracking on it just the same. But i look there at the state of that Man City one as that's full price, looks terrible etc, but still is that shitty transfer material, like a vinyl / plastic. It never lasts. Yet, I have Mitas, Mullers, ASTs etcetc from days gone by in supreme condition, the Prem patches and the names and numbers and still wear, and endure all wear n tear. Although.... jesus christ, some of those, from back in the day were THE most unbreathable fabric ever. The memories of being stuck stood up on a hot day post match on a packed number 11 bus thats not moving anywhere while stood, hot as, in the shirts of those days, i guess thats one thing i guess, the materials are more breathable. Even so, still built to fail with the quality of the logos etc. And its not nice spending all that on a shirt you know is old hat soon enough... that you're scared if it's going to mess up in the wash. Ah well. There are many worse things to buy for sure.

I forget his name, but I think he's pointing at me saying "Oi you! You cheapskate tw--, I heard you were planning to wear that 20/21 Grealish 10 shirt about the place in 21/22 because its still Cazoo and Kappa, well you tight arsed git, let me just mess that up for you and don't mind me doing my second kit launch for two different teams but that'll teach you for getting it name and numbered." Still though, I don't always get a kit year on year, i like our original retro shirts, have dozens of them... but.... am feeling a lot of love for Martinez this year, might get a GK top for the first time since Muller days and a Martinez 1. Will hang back as I see there are people still waiting for ones ordered ages ago and letters in store being out of stock. What';s a shame though, is back in the day when long sleeve shirts were available, I used to get them every time, then they stopped and you could only get GK shirts in L/S, these days everything is S/S only inc GK. Probably wasn't much of a market for them maybe, but they were always my first choice. I miss the long sleeve days

Hands down, they really are. And whoever in Kappa's design office was responsible for those monstrosities would have had a continuity dilemma, as in, if replicating human anatomy in a poxy football kit... what do we do about the groin area then boss for the shorts, you know, weve gone into detail on the shirts.... ah just make them dickless so we dont offend anyone Those kits make that Man City one a masterpiece in comparison.

I honestly think the guy will be back with us in some way in the future. Has his badges, coaching and management experience, has an international rep, was respected as a pro and a person off the pitch, is an ideal role model for young players. Has love for the club, reciprocated massively by many, I could list many more positives but we all know them. Add the bulk of that up, he is part of the tapestry of this club and I think, more than hope, that he will be back. Any club needs that array of skill, professionalism, character in a coach and if it's for us, that sort of intrinsic bond with an employer. He'll be back. No ITK here though! @StewieGriffin fair play mate, he is absolutely f----d if I get near him, not for any man love, but a bit:

4 mins of injury time granted, converted 9 mins into injury time, that sure is a dramatic way to end a game and upset Malmo at home. Blaranderna go top (my chosen Swedish team too), halfway point of the season reached. DIF, Malmo, AIK, Elfsborg all within 4 points... There sure is a lotta green in that form table there. Damn, look at the state of Ostersund, they got knocked out of the cup tonight to the Bromma boys too...

Thanks Sne! Good luck to him. He has a lot more in his locker than punditry! I hope to see him back in coaching / management after his stint. Obv he's will be welcome back at Villa anytime! Ps: source Wikipedia: C More Entertainment AB is a pay television company that previously operated as Canal+. It targets Nordic countries and has a separate channel in Sweden (C More Film) I hope they pay him well. And fair play to Wezbid's commitment! The Mellberg love is strong.

So In a couple of weeks, 48 hours after the transfer window closes... England have Hungary away, 2nd Sept Andorra at home, 5th Poland away, 8th Assuming that Kane has been transferred by then, likely toward the end of the window closing, I'll say this. I am an England fan and I do not want this guy spearheading our attack. His stock has fallen. His complete lack of respect for Spurs with the clear lies he has spun through the media, are a disgrace to his employers and his profession. Yet he maintains he has done nothing wrong, spat his dummy out in public and it has spectacularly backfired, trying to put the blame on them with that ridiculous social media post as if it was written by a certain Duke and Duchess, laying all the blame one sidedly at Spurs door. He is a fantastic talent, true. But... F F SAKE GARETH, as things stand, DON'T pick this guy for these three games. He is, if some rumours are to be belived, training in isolation, and being kept away from matchday setups, hasn't flown out for their European game either. Likely not match fit, and not mentally in the right place to be a captain for Spurs never mind England. Gareth said ages ago about not having favourites, etc, he better be true to that, because if Kane's starting for England in those games that's utter bullshit to me because someone else deserves a chance. People that turn up for work, people who give a shit. Pick one of those instead. I don't care if he gets signed by City and is all over their training and everything is A-ok in his world again. Just pick someone else. Sure, he can come back into the fold over time but just not this time. I'll be livid, if an unfit Kane is starting that Hungary match after all this, that'll really show some hypocrisy from Southgate too. Let someone else step up, and if they take that chance then so be it. Obv he could sign for them overnight if they really wanted and him bang in a hat trick on his debut but I doubt it, Levy looks to be playing the waiting game. I have zero sympathy for Kane in all of this. Whatever price Levy set, that's the price. No need to be such a bell end about it. And blimey, how he must have been gutted when they went for Grealish INSTEAD of him. As the kids say, "awks".

I only saw your post after pressing send on the above buddy and agreed, these really are the worst kits I've ever seen too. To think too, a chain of command in Puma's corporate hierarchy has signed off on that range. I just noticed that City's crest actually is shadowed into the shirt afterall. This'll be seen a good many times this year with the 55+ games City could play in the season.

Man City's new third kit, below. Possibly one of the worst kits I have ever seen. Any City fan buying that, above their other kits at the same price needs an appointment with someone. It looks so cheap, effortless and just plain nasty. This really is their 3rd kit, no wind up. Not even the club crest is on it.

I feel left out that this was absent from my childhood, but now, I can't unsee it. You, the Melvillan too...likely more. Ongoing though, I guess that gives me some entertainment to make half times more interesting. Image off Google:

Happy Birthday to Morgan then. It's a shame with how the 2nd half of last season went for him. I see him as more than being there to provide competition for the first team, I think and hope he can really push to become a first X1'er. I'm sure he got a payrise coming here but to leave Marseille to come to us, and now aged 27, these are his prime years that he's opted to spend here. That's a big decision professionally and he won't want to be classed as a squad player. Who knows what we will do with the rest of the transfer window and the central midfield position but in the meantime we have Sanson hopefully raring to go and chip in. This guy's got a lot to give but we just haven't seen it yet. Handful of appearances and injuries aside, I wouldn't mind seeing a Luiz, McGinn, Sanson trio in the middle and not him just get the nod as a sub or starter in cup games etc. £15 mill is still a lot to us, time to start paying it back sonny.

The older I get, the more the Kappa logo makes me think of a bloke and his missus who've had a row. Like she's all mad at him because their flight has been delayed or something and so they just have to sit it out in the packed Departures lounge until her mood wears off. Naturally, he's done nothing wrong, but she's not having it.

I think when Leicester suffered after winning the League and Ranieri got sacked he made thinly veiled accusations that our remaining assistant coach was the one who had stirred it up behind the scenes and their working relationship became impossible, making allegations of being undermined and badmouthed to other staff continually, making stuff up etc. This was reported in a number of national newspapers at the time. Only one side of the story and only alleged. I just hope that this is zero to do with it, no shenanigans. I mean if he was ill or a family member, he would get a paid leave of absence to deal with things maybe prior to definitely wanting to quit completely. I can't get my head around it, could just be something's happened in his life that takes precedence over his job, but he loves Smith and being here. Terry went as he is bound to get a job soon enough, someone#s bound to get sacked about 6-10 games in, lower end of the Prem even or Championship. I just hope R O K is well and that there isn't anything sinister behind this, behind the scenes, that has made him walk. It is a massive thing to do, just leave a job with nothing lined up. The only other thing I can think of is, well, it was a quadruple rollover on the Lotto last night tho

Three years or so since I last spammed this thread with some godawful tunes. So I'll dump n run. Virtually all of this is sort of niche, guitary (but for some funk / jazz bolted on at the end)... so in order of heaviest / most aggressive.... Starting with some sorta dissonant, shouty, hardcore modern punky stuff artist - Show Me The Body, Albums - Body War and Dog whistle Sample 1 - Body War Sample 2 - Arcanum (off Dog Whistle) Then, toning it down: artist: Slint, album Spiderland... Good Morning, Captain (love this song, is inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, powerful poem) and a second recommendation, same album, Breadcrumb Trail. Next up is pretty much anything by Mac DeMarco... first off: nice and chilled, Still Beating (from This Old Dog). Also from This Old Dog, track: On The Level Honourable mention to Khruangbin, nice n chilled, track is Dearest Alfred... And finally, some jazz / funk, to spice things back up, artist- James CHance & The Contortions, album is Buy... basically the whole album but here's a couple of tasters. And finally, same album - Throw me away --- I'll get me coat.

Following the resignation of Richard O'Kelly and a potential vacancy for a new assistant coach, Olof, MAKE THE CALL.

I am shocked at this too, him and Deano have a really strong and close friendship going back many many years. Why give up such a good thing with such a good bunch of people?