A'Villan

It's my birthday on the 31st and what I want from Santa (wait, what?) is a Villa win. Rob @Robtaylor200 and Mark @TheStagMan you are both invited to the BBQ, however you are required to make your own way down to Melbourne, don't worry I've got you covered for food. I expect to see you both there at 3pm AEDT.

Agreed, it would be both exciting and logical. Ancellotti or Enrique would be good aquisitions but I think Tuchel trumps both.

I actually enjoy this guys ego. It's quite endearing and doesn't harm anyone, justs exudes self belief and confidence. What a player he has been too. Not many manage to make the impact he has in as many teams and leagues.

Any more updates on JK? Can't underestimate how important it might be to have someone of his potency in attack.

I have been around long enough to have witnessed Heskey play for us, and can safely say, I have absolutely no idea how he is relevant to a discussion on quality or contribution, whether by the stat sheet or what the naked eye percieves.

Well spoken, poitier, and I agree. The one thing I would mention though that he is involved in creating chances, quite heavily. His through balls are sublime at this level and he has put through Adomah in particular on countless occasions, who has scored a bucketload for his position. If near misses were counted then Jack would hit double digits this season. That said, I agree, if they aren't going in there is reason to say he could and should improve. I honestly believe, at this level, Jack could be having a Lampard-esque impact on the score board, and you never know, Jack could still hit double figures this season, even by his current form and standards, he's been so close on numerous occasions, and that's exactly why we're in agreeance when we say he has a shot on him.

I actually agree with you regarding Gil being talented and capable of PL standards. I think there was good reason he came from a club like Valencia. That said, I can't understand how you can make judgements on Gil with such conviction. Same as anyone dismissing his abilities. He was part of a dysfunctional team, and in his short time here produced a mixture of performances. I think it's difficult to make an assessment on Gil. There's no denying his 3 goals were all class, and he can play a pass and understands attacking movement. There's also no denying managers have not always favoured him, for whatever reason. He will inevitably suffer wherever a manager fails to see him as a viable inclusion and I think that's been the case with Gil for some time. To say he has a higher ceiling than Jack is ridiculous. I don't agree at all. That's the kind of talk that I would expect from a troll, it's unjustified, exaggerated and bound to get on the wrong side of a few people, considering Gil left and Grealish stayed on to be perhaps our most valuable player. I would however like to see more of what Gil can produce. If he can consistently show the kind of play he did at his best whilst here he will find himself a role and could play in any league. As it is, he's not having that kind of influence and you can't really argue his abilities from snippets of a season.

I like Mourinho. While I don't think he is as good as he touts himself to be, he is definitely one of few who can challenge Pep's city. I thought his speech on 'football heritage' was quite apt and concise. As a semi-pro, I've been told I'm not quite good enough in one way or another multiple times, I don't think it's bullying. Perhaps I'm out of the loop in regards to Shaw, but I don't see it. It's not pleasant by any means though.

^This disheartens me as a football enthusiast. That people need to look at a stats sheet in order to quantify someone's quality. You watch the game, you should see someones (Grealish's) contributions.

Not the first half I woke up at 4:30am on a Sunday to see. Bit deflated but hopefully we get the better of themin the 2nd half.

Benteke was excellent for us, has been decent since he left (overall). For that money I'd probably rather sign someone fresh. I might get shot down for saying this, but I'd see Delph back as happily as I'd see Benteke. As said, we could give Kodjia a go, he's scored some good goals, quality in any league. Shaqiri was very good for Basel, not so sure about his time at Stoke.

Has averaged a goal every 5 games for 8 seasons in the Championship, or thereabouts. I'm guessing that better than a lot of strikers that have seen the division.

Love Yaya Toure, absolute gem of a player and has been integral to City slowly becoming a dominant force.

That's right, has Nantes punching above their weight. They haven't been that far up the table in 15 years.

I think he will surpass Lallana. People point to a lack of goals and assists but he has so many near misses it's bound to go his way soon enough. The quality is there.

What's Claudio Ranieri doing these days? Woud anyone fancy him over Bruce?

Don't underestimate Juventus against Madrid either. I kind of want to see City win it. Just so Yaya Toure, Silva and Aguero, even Kompany get some recognition for the work they've put in.

Would have been a very different game. Then there was Snodgrass hitting the woodwork. It's these moments we're going to have to capitalise on if we want automatic promotion. I have to say though Jack was extremely lacklustre in defence for the 3rd goal.

To anyone of the thought that Cardiff and Fulham won't throw away results like we did against QPR. Just recently Cardiff conceded two goals to Birmingham and Fulham needed a stoppage time goal to knock off Preston. Cardiff also had 8 less shots than Barnsley and gave up 61% possession in that game, at home. Could've been a different story. Had Jack's header gone in against QPR it would've been 1-2 with over a half to play. Could've been a different story. I know that ultimately what counts is who goes up, I am just trying to illustrate that the margins are fine and we are not out of this race yet.

I take it you're a fan then.

Wasn't even that poor against QPR, I thought he had some nice moments and could have had a goal. It was the fact that we conceded three goals that lost us the match, not Jack.

No easy games, teams always have something to play for, even if it's just pride. Bolton still need points and you never know when teams will show up and put in a performance. Must be at our best as often as possible for the run in, otherwise I fear we won't get the results needed for automatic promotion. Can't rest on previous efforts or the Wolves win, we need to reinvent ourselves for each opponent.

That may be the case. I stopped watching football outside of Villa closely a few years ago and have missed the rise of Alli for the most part. That said, Busquets is hard to match, I'm confident he would have compilation videos of his theatrics.

I think Busquets and Pepe would have something to say about that.

Absolutely. We all want promotion and all of us are emotionally invested in achieving it. One loss to QPR doesn't close that door. Despite being a blow to our chances of automatic promotion. IMO whether you are pleased with Bruce or not now is not the time to do anything but back the team. We still have an excellent chance of going up. We should be a source of confidence rather than compounding the anxieties. Until our chances of going up are put to bed we should be behind the team and Bruce.