A'Villan

I would agree with you that McCormack and Bruce are through, it would surprise me if anything else came to be. Don't really believe it to be a theory, rather the attitude of an individual which dictates their ability to resolve issues, not everyone possesses that ability and as you say some situations are beyond resolve. Just giving my two cents that I think it disappointing that in this case it seems beyond repair.

How deep the Rabbit Hole goes. How prejudice can be so consuming and blinding for people. How corrupt and unethical some of our most 'legitimate' agencies are. What kind of man Fred Hampton might've grown to be.

"I'm not the one who's guilty, you're the one who's guilty. Lawmakers, the politicians, the Colombian drug lords. All you who lobby against making drugs legal, just like you did with alcohol during the prohibition. You're the one who's guilty. I mean, c'mon, let's kick the ballistics here. Ain't no Uzis made in Harlem. I mean, not one of us in here, owns a poppy field."

@weedman Yes you are making sense, although the England tattoo analogy possibly didn't help illustrate your point, not for me anyway. I think I see where both sides are coming from. Sometimes you have to agree to disagree, you are not muddling your words, it's just that you see Bruce in a different light to others. Both sides of the argument in this thread can be quite headstrong in their approach, which I think is a good thing more often than not, but it doesn't make for an easy time convincing someone who disagrees with you, that you know what you're talking about.

I'm not too clued in on the situation, but as @Junxs said, why not try? Such an approach doesn't strike me as naive at all. I think it's the reasonable thing to do. We are constantly negotiating in life and one source of conflict will not always be emulated from one situation to another. It's more resourceful to try and put differences and past indiscretions aside for a good cause, in this case, playing sport. McCormack is a capable footballer at this level and as long as he is not a detriment to the team and is able to show up and function then what's the problem? However I would agree with you, that Bruce and McCormack are probably not going to make amends and come to an amicable relationship, which is disappointing, but I don't think it naive at all to have the capability of seeing beyond conflict to try and come to a beneficial arrangement.

Been out of the loop for a week or two, and haven't caught up with what's transpired in the news. One quality that Bruce strikes me as having is motivation and in my uninformed opinion I could see him staying, even with the challenge ahead. He walked out on Hull due to a lack of ambition in the transfer window, but he was afforded every chance of success here. I've no clue as to what's really happening but I don't see him walking away due to the squad suffering temporary depletion, afterall, he's partially responsible for that and without doubt would have had an awareness of what's to come, to some degree at least. Say what you want about his football, but he doesn't strike me as a man lacking character or resilience. I mean you have to commend him for his efforts during a difficult time with his Mother. I don't see why he can't take the bull by the horns and rise up to face the challenge that is Aston Villa. Obviously it's a lot more complicated than tit for tat but he was afforded a season with his own squad, and by no means a poor one in his first season either. I imagine he'll have a fair bit of autonomy to run things as he sees best from a footballing perspective. If this is the opportunity of a lifetime he talks about then I don't see why he wouldn't want to show his worth and merit by giving it an honest crack while the chips are down.

I was stopped in the street by a charity campaigning and taking donations for animal welfare and rescue, the guy said the world has lost over 50% of it's wildlife in the last 40 years. I googled it just now and it's correct according to a WWF report.

Not well versed in this discussion but Melbourne has had it's coldest Winter in 36 years. We also experienced our hottest ever April on record and November 2017 saw our longest heatwave in 150 years. I suppose that's seemingly insignificant in the scheme of things, not sure it's an indicator of any crisis for the planet but what would I know, could well be showing my ignorance on the subject.

It's a powerful message to any youth getting caught up in the poverty and shallowness of gang culture. Though it's probably not in my top 10 from him. I like his messages of courage, altruism and spirit much more. Anything he condemns is always accompanied by solid reasoning and heart. He built an orphanage in Afghanistan with the profits from his music. Good human.

Don't agree with this point entirely. especially not when you use the word complicit. Supporters are not privy to the on-goings and information required to make decisions for the club. We can only take things at face value. In doing that one becomes more vulnerable to being mislead and fanciful thinking. Exposed to the details involved and given the opportunity to make informed judgements about what is taking place at the club, I believe supporters would come to conclusions that are fitting for the passion, pride and care they have for the club. Whilst obviously there is always going to be mistakes and flaws, I don't believe supporters would compromise the existence of the club in exchange for monetary pursuits.

Not being entirely serious but the best thing that U.S politics has produced in recent years would have to be Immortal Technique.

I'm glad you found some level of amusement, if nothing else, in all that. I can be a dork at the best of times and don't mind others being mildly entertained by it. And thank you.

I know Jack is coming of age now and is ready for the challenges of the Premier League, as well as having done his time in the Championship and proving he is a cut above. I am aware that I have my claret and blue shades on when I approach this discussion, however I still think the following is true. Jack will not regress like some claim by spending another season in the Championship, I would argue that the leadership role he has at Villa combined with the fact it's his club will serve up challenges for him to improve and he will have the motivation to rise up and meet them head on. Then you consider his position at Spurs or Liverpool. Both would be a considerable upgrade no doubt. The chance to work with Pochettino or Klopp alone should be considered, not to mention the pay rise and quality of competition within the squad. Does he get enough of a crack at the starting XI to really make a home for himself though? Is he afforded the confidence that Kane was? When you look at Spurs midfield, it's not guaranteed immediately, neither at Liverpool. Eriksen, Alli, Son, Moura, Lamela are going to be hard to displace at Spurs and as for a deeper role, equally Dier, Dembele, Wanyama, Sissoko, Winks will be too. They have one of the best midfields in the country, not to mention the youngest. Will Klopp drop one of Salah, Mane or Firminho to accomodate Jack into his XI? Not a chance at this point in time. Perhaps a deeper role will be afforded him alongside Henderson, Wijnaldum, Milner, Lallana or Ox. It's the next step to see if he can cut it at the top, and it is a big step. Chance of a lifetime, as both clubs will see his potential, whether it works out for the best is something entirely different. If I may share my own experience to highlight why I don't think Grealish remaining at Villa for another season in the Championship will be a step backwards for him, rather an opportunity to hone a different set of skills, build confidence and momentum, enjoy a leadership role within a team and gain the all important match experience. I play basketball. At age 11 I attended tryouts that would select the best players from the state to compete in the best competition in the country. 25 minutes in to a 40 minute selection scrimmage I was told to sit out of the game. Little did I know I was the first person selected and only player who did not complete the 40 minute evaluation. As my family could not afford to send me around the country to play the tournament, I never went, and it was only after the event that my school informed me they would have sponsored me had we come to them. The point is though I was a top prospect in the country. At age 13 I signed up with my first professional club. When I walked in to the gym for my initial trial and greeted the coach for the first time, I was told, you have two training sessions and I doubt you will make the cut for any of our teams, he was the head coach for the junior levels at the club. I impressed and was selected to play with the Under 16's first team instead of my own age group due to this head coach wanting to put me in one of the teams he coached directly. We would play in the states second highest division. I spent very little time on court in that first season, sometimes a 30 second stint was the best on offer. How's all this relevant to Jack? I'm getting there. I learnt a lot about different systems involved in team tactics and training routines that were advanced for my age but had little to no opportunity to implement them in a game environment and develop my game where it counts, in a competitive fixture. The tactics I spent hours learning gave me a greater understanding for the team game but were also redundant in that they were unique to this coach and team, something I was a bit part player in. The training drills no doubt allowed my skill set to improve but I can only look back and think it was a mistake to have me in that team without any opportunity to play and develop with others my own age, in an environment where I probably didn't quite cut it. By this point I was no longer being selected to play at the national level and never would be again. And this is what I wonder about for Jack moving to Liverpool or Tottenham. There's no doubt he's a prospect who can enjoy a career at the top level. That said, he's not going to walk in to either starting XI. It's not guaranteed that he ever will. His opportunity for minutes will come here and there, and if he works hard in a season or two should challenge the starting XI, but it's not going to come immediately. Without having watched a lot of fixtures outside our own, I'm going to make the assumption that Jack was the best player in the Championship last season, I could be wrong on that, in any case, it's a level he is proven at, and that will provide a platform for him to develop his game should he decide to spend another season there. I think he can cut it at the top level now, but another season in the Championship would only solidify skills further in preparation for his inevitable return to the top division. Moving up a division is a huge step up in skill and competition. I took a 5 year break from basketball entirely, when I returned I was pretty average. I started putting in the work again and I currently play in the 3rd tier of Australian basketball. I have had to improve exponentially for each jump in division. To give some perspective, I play in the same division as players who are given tryouts with NBA teams who've obviously not made it for one reason or another. So I think I have an idea of the standards and challenges that Jack faces making that step up. Writing about some of my own experience with team sport has solidified how good I think Jack is going to be. He's been involved in junior international squads and from a club perspective has basically matched the efforts of David Silva and Phillipe Coutinho in regards to first team performances for his age. They perhaps were playing for better teams but Silva didn't make it to the Premier League until 25, Jack was 18. Silva was playing in the Spanish 2nd division at 19. The significant difference between them is both Coutinho and Silva were bought for the starting XI. Something I would be slightly surprised to see in Jack's case. You just simply have to look at the football he plays though and if he can take that to the next level then he is right among them. Should he keep putting in the work on his game and fitness he can be an absolute pearl.

I was watching Messi quite closely tonight and he literally walked through this match, and not in a good way. Very disappointing from him for large parts of the game, but to say he is not a leader is to overlook his efforts with Barcelona. Admittedly I have seen only a handful of his matches for Argentina, in that time I have seen him determined and brilliant. Just wasn't there for his team tonight. Had maybe two or three flashes of what he is capable of but dealt with easily enough by Croatia. Croatia punished three lapses, the first a decision and the second two were effort and positioning.

I see, that makes things a lot clearer. It does make sense. What threw me off originally was the Chinese investment suggestion, as I would imagine they are hindered by the same restrictions that Xia is apparently experiencing, but it would also mean, as you say, that there is no clear plan ahead. As for Psychology, ha! I've spent the better part of the last 72 hours studying various research done by psychologists and was enrolled to do a Bachelor of Psychology this year before I switched to Youth Work! I only find it boring when the research is flawed or lacking in examination. There's some profound insight to be gained.

Thanks. Yeah I think I get where you're coming from, you don't desire the attention and scrutiny that comes with being regarded as having inside info. You're simply adding to the discussion where it suits and leaving it where it doesn't? I'm not going to ignore it, I visit the forum weekly, sometimes daily, so I obviously have an active interest in the input of other supporters. As I said elsewhere you seem to have an admirable knack for pursuing and obtaining accurate information. I was just commenting on two outcomes you mentioned that were vague and contradictory in nature, which struck me as odd, so I was curious to know more on your thoughts. Hope I didn't come off as critical.

Reading through this thread and the Israel/Palestine thread only affirms for me how fortunate I am to live in Melbourne, Australia. Largely due to the fact that I have avoided the dogmatic thinking that accompanies patriotic or religious belief systems. I find people who have served in the army are particularly prone to patriotic schools of thought and the justification of the actions that their country pursue is recited and defended rigourously. I'd rather invest my thoughts and actions to causes that enhance the welfare of my environment. Our current leader is still a tit in that his primary concern is his political career moves are of more concern than the policy to ensure the betterment of life for everyday Australians. He's still guilty of widening the gap between the rich and poor and in Trump's own words to Turnbull, "You're worse than me." That was in regard to immigration policy, something which Turnbull has advised and influenced Trump on, also managing to offload over 1200 refugees to the U.S in the process. But the turmoil and injustice to Palestinians is a reality that I can empathise with at best without ever experiencing the like. Same with the welfare situation in the U.S and the culture of violence that ensues. We just don't experience poverty to that degree. Worldwide there's a serious lack of benevolence in leaders of today. It's rarely about the most fundamental aspect of leadership and that is to ensure the well-being of the people you're in charge of. I often hear the term psychopath dropped when discussing the shortcomings in leadership, but I don't think brain structure is the real issue at heart. Afterall, many 'regular' people have ruined the lives of others and believe it or not there are psychopaths who have lived lives free of any serious malcontent and grown in to loving and lovable adults. People with a disposition to Schizophrenia and Psychosis are actually also prone to being creative genius when their environment allows for it. They come up with some of our most reality shattering concepts of what constitutes life and have a temperament that might lack socially but makes up for it in originality of thought and idea. Yet there is still huge stigma attached. The issue for me is more along the lines of the quote, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." What I'm getting at here is we have duped ourselves in to a world of put downs and negative dogma. We act like our best or most comprehensive understanding of life is down to an absolute science whereby things are just naturally chaotic, and that we are this inconsequential little blob of matter in a universe so vast and strange. It's all down to a science. The reality, in my mind, is that we are the very fabric that makes up the universe and therefore we are not separate from or a stranger to it. The sun could not evoke light without eyes to perceive it, you see, so we are not so separate from our external reality. The issue with the current common belief system is that it does not really encourage awareness beyond the idea that you are an entity with an ego who should act in a way that is built on the conclusions of limited thinking and one that binds you to the mind that you are alone in your bid for survival in all this. Donald Trump said, "I'm the biggest, I'm the best." Malcolm Turnball when discussing a banking scandal, "It was a bad political move on my behalf." Absolutely no focus on addressing the people who suffered as a consequence. We see in the Israel/Palestine thread, the belief of Jews as to being a superior race. See, when you identify as being separate from the world you live in, you try and gain one up on it, instead of working with it. Both Einstein and Tesla regarded intuition highly, which by nature involves having an awareness of your world in a way where you're connected. Often put down as unscientific. Yet two of the greatest scientific minds regard it. I do not believe the current culture of legitimising corruption that we see so readily worldwide is an innate quality, or of possessing more dominant characteristics than a more benevolent, fair and just counterpart. It can be disheartening and depressing to see, but the mindset that these conflicts and poor standards of behaviour are something out of the grasp of our understanding or influence is the exact kind of thinking that facilitates a world of financial and conflict engineering whereby a few profit from war, oppression, the labour and confusion of the many and we neglect the environment in the process, and when I say environment, I don't mean exclusive to trees and animals, I mean all encompassing.

Going to have to reinvent ourselves without Grealish but no point neglecting the formation of the coming seasons team to woe the loss of our best player. Hopefully Bruce sees this as an opportunity to instill a more structured team dynamic with those that remain and anyone who comes in. We will still have some of the divisions better recent performers, some in their prime. It's on Bruce to implement a system that gets the most of the individuals at his disposal for the purpose of performing as a team. Hopefully he has identified a worthy captain, I hope it's someone who can inspire us to give our best and work to the plans and preparations employed by Bruce. Someone Bruce can look to for dependability and not just someone who is talented, experienced or fan favourite. With everything that's been said surrounding the club I have no idea what to expect. All I know is if we're starting the season with the likes of Kodjia, Hourihane, Lansbury, Adomah, Hogan, Davis, Green, hopefully O'Hare on return and Hutton then we have decent foundations to build a team that can compete with anyone and challenge top half of the table.

Hopefully we're so busy in preparation for a successful campaign and rectifying the recent blip that we can afford to overlook the ticket sales of games to be played a month away for the time being. Then again I thought every minute that potential revenue is up for grabs would be snapped up at this point in time.

I'm not exactly Mr. Current Affairs, but The Wire is a worthy recommendation to anyone who hasn't seen it.

You could potentially negotiate the allocation of a place on the board with 10-20%. It's happened before. Other influence to be gained is a good disclosure statement or the acquisition of reasons for a given resolution by court order, so even without representation on the board minority shareholders can keep checks on and be informed about board decisions and evaluate performance. The pdf I posted above has a whole chapter dedicated to the benefits of transparency between club and supporters. All of this would facilitate a hierarchy that acts within the best interests of the club and its supporters whilst also enabling the removal of parties acting out of self interest or the interest of the shareholder that appointed them.

Business and commerce doesn't always concern itself with profit first. Sometimes a quality of interaction, trade and professionalism are the focus. Agreed. That's the way it seems. If he was a Villa fan or a businessman he'd invest the time and have the interest in addressing the running of the club. Time will tell if he's been true to either.

It's all subjective but I like the idea of involvement and insight that comes with it. Although the majority speaks there are terms like "shareholder oppression" and "reasonable expectation" for a reason.

Premier League clubs return between 28th June and 7th July. At a guess we'll have a little more insight between now and then.

Not all businesses lose money in football. This time last year 12 of the 20 clubs in the PL posted profits in the millions. Size of club or league standing was not necessarily indicative of profit. Entirely subjective but I would put forward that there's more to being a shareholder than the potential for profit and the final say on decision making.