A'Villan

I don't know that it's superficial @Dave J I think @Stevo985 is definitely correct in presuming team morale was high, for me, this comes down to having football staff with a professional attitude, though I see where you are coming from in saying it's subjective and we don't have the scope to know the true perspectives of the people at Villa in regards to Bruce. However subjective, I would still say that it was fairly obvious we had a team spirit that was behind our manager and committed to the approach, it was the limitations of that approach that was in part a cause for us not winning more games. Whether players got frustrated at times or could care less if Bruce was moved on is irrelevant in my view. One teammate plays a bad pass or misses a chance and the inclination for some is to be frustrated, this doesn't necessarily mean that they abandon a 'can do' attitude for the remainder of the game and the season at large. For the majority of the season we showed a spirit of togetherness, and even when we didn't, there was no drama or fragment in attitude apparent.

Like I posted in the match thread, I would like to see the more defensive midfielder dropped for a ball playing one. Lansbury makes good decisions, one-twos and off the ball runs. He also isn't afraid to have a ping at goal and has a decent shot on him at this level, I'd say better than Hourihane, and better than Whelan and Thor combined. Thor got some praise for his toe poke goal, Lansbury is yet to do it for Villa but had some stunners for Forest. What I really want to see from him though is that pass and move mentality that he did well at Forest and has done at times here, only for his teammate on the ball to not be attuned to his intent and movement in time for it to be effective. Having a midfield three of Lansbury - Hourihane - Grealish would allow us more control on the ball and opportunity to play it on the floor between the flanks, taking the onus off individual efforts to get the ball down the pitch, and making us more of an attacking threat by creating a style of play that gives us far more options and greater potency through midfield and on to the final third. Sure, cover for the back four is compromised and it would then require us to adopt an 'attack as the best form of defense' philosophy and to be effective in possession to the point where we create the quality chances needed. But I think we could pull it off. Grealish and Lansbury have good shots on them, and Hourihane is not afraid of a goal when the opportunity is created for him, so all three would not only be responsible for moving the ball through midfield and from flank to flank, but chipping in with goals too. All that is left in the recipe is Bruce to run drills and implement some sequences in training that we can emulate come match day, preferably tailored to our opponent. I know it's been mass-debated in the Bruce thread and throughout the forum, but I really think the difference between Fulham and us in that POF, and perhaps throughout the year, was that they had better organisation as a team when in possession, and I think Cairney's "football won" comment has validity.

Is our ability to hunt the best of CEO's limited in any financial capacity by our other financial responsibilities, like FFP?

I've known the word 'ranga' for 20 odd years, never knew it was derived from Orangutan. Makes sense. They have a lot in common as a species. Solitary lifestyle, less aggressive than other species but when provoked their hair takes over and fiery fits of rage with super strength come over them.

What do people people think about dropping the more defensive style midfielder and putting in Lansbury for a more on the ball approach? Lansbury doesn't seem too popular but one thing he can do is pass and move well. This would take some weight off Grealish's shoulders in bringing the ball up the pitch and would mean that we can move across the flanks with a little more potency. Just an idea. The way I see it if Bruce employed this sort of system in training, we have the personnel to pull it off against teams like Hull. RDL CB Chester Hutton Lansbury Hourihane Grealish Adomah Green Kodjia As for Adomah not having another season in him, I think some might be pleasantly surprised. Due to the tactics we setup with he often received the ball too deep, having to run a third of the field without much options on offer, and try to create something from individual nous. A bit more composure and control of the ball from our central midfield and I can see Adomah being played in (mostly by you know who) for a good haul of goals and assists again this season. It's just when he has to do it solo for large parts of the game I think the fatigue sets in for Albert quicker than most of his opponents, now that he's over 30.

Immortal Technique: Revolutionary Volume 1 & 2, The 3rd World, The Martyr. Been part of my weekly routine for 15 years.

Those things in a swarm could easily kill you. Good thinking to leg it.

"Can I bum a fag?" "Wait, to be clear, I'm just asking for a spare cigarette"

I don't really mind if we play 3-5-2 as long as it's not some fad and Bruce has the players working his system well and with cohesion. Do I have confidence in that? Not particularly. I would highlight what others have said as cause for concern, bar one thing, and that is changing the system. It should be apparent to Bruce whether or not players have the ability to apply what he is going for and in the event it does not look like a feasible approach the sooner it is ditched, the better. That's all yet to be seen though. We still will have some talented attacking players, certainly more so than in defense, and I don't see why we shouldn't be backing that ability in our tactics. One of our issues last season at times was that Adomah, Grealish and Snodgrass would receive the ball too deep and have to do too much on their own to get the ball down the pitch, as we know passing systems are not exactly Bruce's forte. If 3-5-2 is only going to exacerbate that then we're in for a slow start. I still think we have some of the best personnel in the league, players like Lansbury and McCormack don't even look like getting a look in. So I look forward to being pleasantly surprised by what's to come.

Who isn't overpaid in sport!? I'm a Bulls fan and it was frustrating to see Sacremento put 80 million on the table, forcing us to match it.

Half price pizza Thursdays at my local pizza joint. Returning the smile that people give me and then being informed I've got yogurt or porridge leftovers in my beard.

I hadn't really thought about the possibility of the word being taken in a different way from one place to another, as it's never had any real negative connotations to it in my lifetime, not that would be met with much hostility anyway. I imagine one might find themselves getting dropped for using the word sambo in some neighbourhoods. Thankfully I can't see myself walking through Harlem saying "I could murder a sambo right now" anytime soon. I'd all but forgotten about him. Guido Hatsis (plumber prank call) is another good one. And while I'm not a fan Fat Pizza and SuperWog (Youtube channel) are also pretty funny. Arj Barker has a accurate and funny depiction of Aussie slang on one of his stand up shows.

That's kind of you to apologise. Thanks for clarifying I'd agree that everything you said which I could wrap my head around was valid and pertinent.

I really wasn't expecting to log back on this week and have such good news, in regards to our change in ownership and ability to pay dues. Chuffed. They seem to be somewhat similar to the system employed here in a semi-pro league whereby the design is centered around a balance of investment and self sustainability (promotion of academy prospects for example), clubs wanting to be promoted must undergo some scrutiny as to their financial capabilities and plan on top of earning the right through the home and away season. A failure to meet financial obligations results in penalties and a review of where the club is at. One lesson Villa as a club needs to learn fast is a better recruitment and negotiation policy. That's largely how we've ended up in the poop.

Call me masochistic but I don't mind reading the back and forth between pro-Bruce and Bruce-out. Everyone's got a slightly varied view of accounts and it's interesting to read. I didn't get to see any games this preseason, not that it's much of a gauge of things to come, but I am looking forward to seeing if Bruce can alleviate the doubt surrounding his ability to rectify some aspects of his approach. It's another season of familiarity that the players have under their belt as well and if Bruce has them on side and morale is high then the final puzzle two puzzle pieces are appropriate tactics and a bit of luck.

Spot on. I'd keep him over 30 million, if we can find another means to navigate through our FFP responsibilities, then without a doubt I'd keep him instead of taking the money that would be on offer. I know people that make their way to the games to give the team a lift will get one in return if Jack holds form or improves. Same goes for us disrupting sleep patterns to watch the team, having someone like Jack makes it so much more worthwhile. Happy fans, skilled football on display. That's what it's primarily about, and that's what will bring the success which in turn brings the money.

Yup. I'm guessing you're referring to what we call European wasps here. Nasty, aggressive little things.

It was a derogatory word for Greeks and Italians or any Balkan in Melbourne, which kind of turned in to a term without any negative connotations by the time the persecution of that phase of migrants was over. I suppose it's kind of like the N word nowadays except everyone here uses it whereas the N word is exclusively used by Africans among themselves. @BOF

I went to a high school with a lot of different backgrounds. Melbourne has the 2nd highest population of Greeks in any city outside of Athens, and the area we were in at the time had a big Greek/Italian population. We had more Asians than Caucasian. Your accent was often down to the company you kept, as you say. My Mothers side is Greek but I never adopted the wog accent that my Greek peers did. I wasn't exclusive with who I spent my time with though. Whereas the majority of wogs stuck together, like the Asians and the Aussies did too. Now I live in a an area where there are a tonne of Muslims (I hear Birmingham is like this) predominantly African, their accent is unique but similar among themselves. The heavily pronounced wog accent is what I don't get, as you mention it's probably down to identifying as outsider. Just as long as no one expects me to start saying things like 'lit' or 'hunnit' in order to form a common bond we're good.

I don't think it took me 20 years but I actually had a similar experience. It was my Dad who told the joke a number of times when I was younger and my initial interpretation was that the cemetery was actually bang in the middle of the city. Must be an Irish thing, my Dad's Irish, you're in Ireland at the time.

Everytime you drive or go by a cemetery you can inform your company that the location is the dead centre of whatever city you're in.

Say a Greek or Italian family moves to Australia and settles, I'll include Serbs, Croats and Bosnians in this too. I understand the accent in this scenario, when you're fresh of the boat. What I don't understand is why these peoples children's children speak in this mutated accent'. English is their first language and they don't sound anything like the authentic accent. It's almost a boganised version of their European accents. Maybe it's an Australian thing. Aussie accents are pretty bogan. Must be a hybrid of the Aussie ocker and their family cultural background.

Isn't Buddhism all about abundance mentality? Maybe that applies to pies and cake too

I imagine it would be a lot more enjoyable to be able to have a casual drink or two and some good company rather than be bombarded with selfie requests and the like. I remember reading an article on the history of Aston Villa, I don't remember the name or era he was from, but one player was known to search the stands for bottles of lemonade with some left overs remaining to drink them. Nowadays they've got the clout to buy the Lemonade company!