A'Villan

I will do my bit and refrain from revisiting it as well then. I think we are on similar pages, perhaps taking a different route to get there. Bruce has been more of a success than failure.

COINTELPRO, MK-ULTRA, The Northwood Documents. Absolutely atrocious.

If you look at the greatest goals scored in the Champions League, one source has Arjen Robben's volley from a corner kick at number 1. Jack's isn't too far off.

I'm not sure I agree. I have tried to hold a perspective free from bias as to how I saw him before he became our manager. Which was not someone I would be picking to lead us. I looked in to his record with other clubs and tried to gauge a POV that was balanced, and I think many on here, some at least, have done the same in their respective ways. My starting point was that we as a club were turning a corner through TPTB (Xia) and that would be through things beyond Bruce's influence, which left me optimistic about Bruce's ability to do his best work here. It was simply unknown what Bruce would do with a club of our size and standing. As I said in a previous debate, his next biggest club was probably Sunderland, who he led to their best ever finish, 10th in the PL. His start, and I say that meaning from the start of this season (giving him time to settle in), was poor. He blamed everyone but himself and we were fairly average at best. When the reality was he had a fresh start, fresh players, fresh owner, money at his disposal, a very attractive club for the leagues elite players to join. In my mind the one job he had, was to accept those facts and move this club forward, which he has done and full credit and admiration to him for doing so. Promotion in my mind would be a by-product of that. The fact is that if Bruce, or whoever, continued to get it wrong we could have been in a similar position to Sunderland.

You would not include Terry or Snodgrass?

It's still mind boggling for me how fortunate Newcastle were to pick up Benitez, and I would love for us to poach him, even though it won't happen. It's almost as outrageous as the idea of Ancelotti coming here for a new challenge, it just doesn't really happen like that all too often.

That seems to be the consensus. I am only familiar with him through his time at QPR. Out of curiousity why would I ask Megson?

I don't really agree with the expression that a team has nothing to play for. There's always pride and unless you have a dysfunctional team, the aspiration of a quality performance. I've been part of teams that are neither facing relegation or finals that have knocked off the best in the league, and not due to the latters complacency. So although we are hunting for 3 points we should be wary and hopefully well prepared. A bit more consistency in performance will be a good thing for momentum. 4-1 Villa and @Robtaylor200 to cash in.

Possibly the shittest bloke in modern football.

I'd say they are of equal quality. Neves looking a bit more spectacular. I don't have any doubts about Jack's placement with his, I haven't really seen enough of Neves to know if he meant top corner.

I used to be of the opinion that Ronaldo was better. That was based on him being more self made and hard working, experiencing different leagues and environments than Messi at the best institute in football, Barcelona. Now though, I would say Messi. He just has more to his game. Ronaldo might be superior athletically but I think Messi has the edge in tenacity and that bit of magic creativity we call vision. Yes Messi has been fortunate enough to spend his life at the greatest academy and during his time arguably the greatest team of all time. But I don't think that is something to discredit him for, it is undoubtedly part of what has made him great but not all.

I read a bit of criticism about Cardiff. That they bully above playing a good brand of football. I wouldn't know, I've seen them twice this season. All I have to say is this game could have gone either way. I don't want to put a downer on the vibes but I don't see how undermining a successful Cardiff team benefits us. They had their chances and it was by no means a comprehensive victory for us, despite being a deserved win, let there be no illusions about whether or not Cardiff are a force to be reckoned with this season. Like Cardiff, I have not watched Fulham outside of our fixtures, so can't really comment with much conviction, but from where I sit the top four are a cut above the rest, and are fairly level amongst one another. The two of the four that are in playoffs will want to be avoided and are without doubt favourites to go through to the final, even though it will be a case of who shows up on the day. Big win for morale though. I've read that the wins against Wolves and Cardiff, which we thought would determine automatic promotion, turned out to be inconsequential due to poor results against lesser sides. I'm not so sure they are inconsequential. Knowing we can turn up and beat Wolves with four goals and beat Cardiff keeping a clean sheet might be another edge going in to the playoffs battle.

As has been said, great ball through to CH. Deserved a goal.

Claudio Ranieri. Has Nantes punching above their weight, 5th, best league position in 15 years. Won the title with Leicester. Surely he would consider us given the ambition of Xia and the players at his disposal, given the right assurances. We might see the squad utilised and a variation in methodology under the 'tinkerman'.

It's not like his position at West Ham is tenable. So that is favourable to us in regards to what comes after this season. He's 30, consistent in the Premier League, elite in the championship. As has been said, great attitude and plays for the club. Absolutely should be looking at extending his stay.

This is why club culture and pre-season preparations will determine, in part, the strength of a teams season. Tactics come and go relevant to the situation and their success. Team commitment, work ethic and quality of preparation are paramount to cohesion and gaining an edge over the opposition, and are timeless. Perhaps (or undoubtedly) something our club has been lacking for some years from the top down. Results in pre-season don't mean anything, they really don't. What matters is the procedures in place to ensure the team is ready for the challenges ahead. As a club we have been through an absolute nightmare in regard to this for some time. Thankfully I think we have a very intelligent and out of the box thinker in Xia, who will have a bit more competency than his predecessor, which will enable the team to function smoother when it needs to. Bruce also must be credited for employing a number of players with the right skills and culture to restore some professionalism and character to the club. I think this will carry over in the event of a change in manager, or dramatic overhaul of playing staff. Which would be a huge win for the club considering the rot we've had. Just thought I'd add whilst on the topic of major changes, apparently McCormack isn't the only one of our more expensive purchases to have some off field distractions (for lack of a better expression). I hope when we spend big we are looking at character as equally important to ability is all I have to say. Whilst not being problematic by any means (as far as I'm aware) I wonder if performances have justified the purchase cost. I would say these distractions would inhibit and hinder potential, so I'm not sure it's a desirable part of the package when spending that much.

Absolutely, this. Well said. That said, I expect a CB to threaten more in a one on one like that, but we all have our moments.

Even though I'm not from England and could care less about how they fare in tournaments, I think it's possible more than probable, that Jack being included in Southgate's plans would be a win for all involved. It would be a new platform for Jack to develop, and would provide England with some creativity and style that they probably lack in midfield. I haven't seen much of Alli so can't comment on him but aside from him I'd say Wilshere is the next best, and from an attacking perspective I don't think Grealish is too far off Wilshere. I'd say he's probably superior in a few ways. I'm not worried about him getting exposure, just the club seeing him as a financial asset above a footballing one. Thankfully nothing's been said or done to indicate that.

I think that's a tad unfair, to say that AntrimBlack's comments are synonymous with throwing the towel in. While I don't align myself with the idea that another manager would be doing a better job, I think it's reasonable to have doubts about some aspects of Bruce's methodology.

This is something which I question as well. Will we employ a game plan that is tailored to our opposition, and enables us to compete (or dominate) and play with chemistry? Will we see four strikers on the pitch if we end up chasing the game? Further frustrating the teams ability to impose themselves on the game meaningfully. Allowing forward players freedom to play their game is good when you have the talent, which we do, so I don't think it's fair for me to criticise Bruce there. I will say though that we are not a team with drilled in systems which add to the magic and make the team less dependent on a piece of individual skill to create chances. We seem fairly dependent on our individual efforts and nous to construct team performances rather than tactical nous which enhances those individual abilities through rapport and cohesion.

Chose to go it solo instead of playing Grealish in which frustrated me a bit, he created a decent chance for himself but Grealish was better placed. I suppose that drive to make things happen himself is one of his better assets, but I still think he would improve noticeably if he were to choose his moments for it more wisely. Above all it's great to see him making a promising return from what's been a bad run of injury.

I'd say it could be put down to preparation for the most part. Every team is unique whether they employ similar formations and tactics or not. Results are often determined by the application of a given approach to a match, or a lack of. Hence the criticism of us being inflexible in making changes where and when needed.

I said earlier in this thread that having a player like Jack is going to be as important, if not more, as having a financial advantage over our competition. Losing him regardless of whether or not we are promoted would mean we take a step backwards in our squad strength, whether we are able to take a step forward afterward is an unknown, and I would be doing everything possible to keep him rather than consider him a financial asset. I'm only 8 years in as a weekly supporter of Villa but I have seen the detriment to the club caused by the sale of players like Milner, Young, Downing, Benteke and Delph. It without doubt cost us our place in the Premier League but also our identity as a club. Charles N'Zogbia was actually a decent player for Wigan, and statistically matched up to Young, looking a worthy replacement. In hindsight I think Young was worth more than 20 million to us and N'Zogbia as we all know, an expensive mistake. Say what you like about Downing but he was effective for us, a good player, we struggled to find another that would have his impact in the coming years. Same story with Milner. Ireland looked like a promising talent at times, but rarely like the work horse that Milner was and again we never found an effective replacement. Call Delph a snake but he had work ethic and desire, same as Benteke. Look at how limp our squad became without their presence. My rant is to point out how rare and invaluable a player like Jack is to our club. We are not going to get better by losing him, regardless of the fee. Why? I believe he'll go on to be a class act at the top level, especially with the right coaching. I really hope we can keep a hold of him as in the event our European aspirations come to fruition, I see Jack as being able to contribute if he continues developing. Different players and styles, but a young Coutinho at Inter was unrefined and full of potential, on the fringe of the squad, look at him now. Jack's talented, but you don't score goals like that without skill, developed by the time you spend beating on your craft. The contrast in his performances from now to a few seasons back, it's obvious he's coming of age and putting in the work, it's also apparent how heavily the culture of a group can influence. We need players like Grealish to set the standards at the club, because he's capable of doing so. Look at someone like Gabby, who simply doesn't quite have the leadership or playing talent to dictate the momentum of the entire club, then look at someone like Terry, who's competency and presence have lead Chelsea to the top of the game and had an almost immediate impact here for our club. Take care of Jack, allow him what he earns on merit and the sky is the limit. I'm betting he will develop leadership and character as well as skill on the ball.

Kodjia inclusion is a big boost. Can't see us losing this.