A'Villan

"They say that things just cannot grow, beneath the winter snow, or so I have been told. They say we're very far, just like a distant star, I simply cannot hold"

Came to the thread to tag you and post this. Promising.

Right on all accounts. I said to the barber that I think putting him wide-left limits his ability to impose himself on the game and provide opportunities for others. Giving him the freedom to occupy anywhere in the final third or attacking half allows him to be the focal point, distribute the ball effectively and frees up others. As for Wembley, you are right, I watched nearly every match, and saw the highlights for the one's I missed. Mount never really captured my interest enough to take note obviously. Then again we did take Derby to school at every encounter last season, I didn't watch Derby outside of that. I've gone off keeping up with football outside Villa for the most part.

One of the barbers where I get my haircut is an Arsenal fan He was at Wembley watching us live in the FA cup final, he's been a fan and monitored Jack since. He fancies him out-wide left in a creative role without the responsibility to come deep to pick up the ball. Me, I think Jack's proving both good and versatile enough for just about any midfield role except a purely defensive one. As for England, I'm in no way suggesting that Grealish isn't up to the standard to, but I don't think he will play ahead of Sancho or Sterling. Maybe play him ahead of Mount? I don't know, I've never seen Mount play a second in my life, so no idea what he offers. Certainly would have Grealish among the bench though.

For a time, you just had to play a receivable ball to Benteke and whatever he tried would come off for him, he found and worked the angles really well when finishing. I reckon my favourite goals from Benteke were against West Brom and Norwich in terms of technique, but he often found the back of the next in a very deliberate fashion. I heard from a Liverpool fan the other day that he thought Benteke was never a bad player for Liverpool, he just didn't suit the system and wasn't prolific as a consequence. I thought Ayew always showed potential to influence games in the top tier, but it surprises me to see him preferred to and taking minutes from Benteke this season. I've done a bit of a U-turn, I'm pretty damn confident he won't, it's impractical and I don't think either party are interested, but I'd be open to a return this January a lot more than I was.

City and Liverpool reign of title terror for years to come you say, hey? Right now, the chemistry, coach, standard of play and momentum is with those two for sure, and this season the title will probably go to one of them. Certainly agree that Klopp and Guardiola are great coaches with an abundance of quality in their squad, from youth to veterans, everyone's capable and contributing. I'm not saying it won't happen, but Manchester United are the only club to truly dominate the Premier League era with 21 consecutive years of top 3 finishes. Chelsea had a good go at a comparable legacy of success, albeit from a different model, they had 12 top 3 finishes in 15 years from memory. The model at United consisted of arguably the GOAT manager in SAF leading some of histories finest players to a dynasty that goes above and beyond most. At Chelsea however, unlike United who had one manager their entire reign, had a new manager EVERY season, except for Mourinho's and Ancelotti's stays. City have 8 out of the last 10 years of top 3 finishes. It's hard to deny they look like maintain what's current and investing in a bright future. Could see them doing it. Liverpool in the last 10 years have only three top 3 finishes. Not that will impede what they are doing now and building for future, but only last year did they really excel again. I'm trying to say that domination of the league for years on end happens, but is quite remarkable, it requires a myriad of complementary factors to form chemistry and success. Leicester winning the title, whilst being an anomaly in Premier League times, shows that the gap is not insurmountable, that remarkable feats are not isolated to a few top clubs. For that reason I think City and even more so Liverpool, have a long way to go before they can celebrate or think the next few years belongs to them, and their legacy. Hell, we have a lot of chemistry going at our club from top to bottom, maybe we pull a Leicester at some point down the road!

No, this friend happens to be one of the kindest and generous in spirit people I've come across. The meeting with that friend won't go ahead.

$60 brand new, got them last night. Retail for $130

So like every other post I make in this thread, basketball is on the cards everyday this weekend. I am going out for dinner tonight with a friend. I'll visit my grandmother tomorrow. Sunday I think I'll get some study done and just chill for the remainder.

Harpy Eagle - who doesn't love an eagle with an afro! Jaguar - Known to eat psychedelic plant for the purpose of tripping out, it also knows martial arts, employing a technique with it's paws to snap the neck of it's prey. Lyrebird - Capable of mimicking any sound in the world apparently, even the sound of a truck or train horn, these beautiful birds are local to the rainforest I grew up in. Goats - I used to own a couple back on the mountain rainforest. If you want your unruly backyard to be stripped back to bare, f*** a gardener, you need a goat!

McGinn & Grealish - Two rare apex predators who inhabit the Premier League of England. Their blood runs claret and blue and they have a tendency to defecate on Birmingham City.

If anyone from VT is ever in Melbourne feel free to hit me up, I'd be happy to help where I can and potentially even join you to watch Villa at the usual ridiculous hour.

It's interesting, I think there's much truth to it, even if it is cliche, but it goes both ways.. For example, there's that famous quote that favours defensive prowess: "Offense will bring in the crowds, but defense will win you championships" I tend to think creative players, which are essentially attacking players, are most pivotal. Name the last defender to win the ballon d'or? You could argue that this is in line with the above quote, as it's essentially the crowd favourite who wins it. Still, ultimately which is more important most of the time, a clean sheet, or victory (outscoring the opponent)? Add to all this, I think the following is what gave birth to the philosophy and adage that attack is the best for of defense.. Having the ball is the only way to ensure your opponent can't score, because they don't have the opportunity. End of, simple as. Another truth to the saying, is that when defending, if you were to sit back and passively follow the play until the opponents scores, it's useless. So with that in mind, what is the best form of defense? Well, it's to attack, to pressure the opponent into a mistake and nullify his threat, making a move for the ball. Also, when you are in attack with the ball at your feet, you are the first to know what your next move is, a defender can only anticipate or intervene.

Not sure I'm interpreting this post as it's intended, but alternatively you could argue we showed how true it is.

Good post, and I hope you are correct, because City rate Luiz highly. Now they have gone and acquired Rodri to replace Fernandinho, so it makes it less likely that Luiz returns. Initially there was scope and a view for Douglas Luiz to be the understudy to Fernandinho, I watched a City podcast about Luiz. I can't remember the ins and outs of it all, but essentially Pep's brother (or close associate) was influential at Luiz's loan club. They were eager to see him develop. Given the circumstances, it didn't work out the way it had initially been intended and he has moved to us instead, which I'm very pleased with. With Gundogan and Rodri there, it's going to be sporadic inclusion for Luiz if he is to return to City, which doesn't meet the criteria you outline as necessary for him to go back there.

Thanks for spelling it out for me. Totally agree. What you have described is actually similar to the processes that saved my life, no exaggeration about it. I have said in this thread my diagnosis, but never the traumas and circumstance that led to my breakdown and inability to live a fulfilling and healthy life. Don't worry, we won't go there now either, I just want to iterate that it was men and women who challenged me to develop the critical thinking necessary to pull myself out. Basketball, which I often go on about on these forums, and futsal, gave me an environment to regain my discipline, challenge myself, contribute to a team and exercise my health. There were also a few men who I worked with when I was in construction who I learnt a lot from, about toughing it out in order to accomplish something beneficial. Building houses can be arduous work, I thought I was fit from playing basketball at a professional level, but construction was a different set of demands and disciplines. Anyway, thanks again for clarifying your stance, I had a feeling that my reply might not represent your thoughts as you intended. Aimlessly inquiring about someone else's feelings for the sake of it isn't the most productive of pastimes, I'd even go as far as to say it can just perpetuate the problem at times. The angle I come from is this.. When you want to cultivate a garden, first you must rid of the weeds (bad habits and tendencies), then you plant the seeds, then growth can occur. It's an important point you make on giving those suffering some respite, even if it's through distraction, friendship is about being in good company not a drill sergeant or carer.

I really enjoy reading your posts, they usually challenge my thinking and offer an interesting perspective to consider. Firstly, I want to point out that the 2nd half of your message is very important, developing and expanding the dialogue will only increase the potential for understanding. Whether or not the dialogue takes a path that is helpful or not is never guaranteed and that's why it's important to develop your own sense of what is required. I'm not sure I am in total agreement with some of what you've said here though, possibly because I have misconstrued your message, or maybe I lack the understanding. The idea that it is somehow destructive and foreign to communicate what is going on for you is part of the reason 84 men commit suicide in the UK every week. It's taboo for men to open up. Sure, some men are quite stoic in personality and character, and that's a great thing, but only as long as it serves them and others to be so. All men have feelings. They differ from person-to-person and are unique to the individual, but everyone has them. What is destructive is divorce from acknowledging them. Feeling emotionally stunted and socially inadequate is essentially a fear, which is an emotion. To be fearful of something means there's an associated risk of harm involved. You say touchy-feely people stepping in to attempt to help only alienates the person suffering, and I can see where you are coming from, but that is a perception, and that only. A dialogue where we can identify things with feedback creates an opportunity to identify problems and strategise ways and means to overcoming them. Does that entail conversations that will highlight the issues that we are experiencing? Absolutely. Will it heighten and stir emotions that we'd rather not experience? Yes. It's all about communication and relationships, and I don't necessarily mean talking or speaking, just that we are forever engaged in someway to our environment and surroundings. Learning to talk about emotions and developing social interraction is a life skill that can be developed. It's not necessarily just an innate personality trait. It's like a martial artist refining his physical skill and coordination in accordance with what he will face in combat. It involves learning and application to become efficient.

Raptors vs Pelicans and Clippers vs Lakers in a fortnight from now. If I have the day off I'll certainly tune into both games.

Many fans are reserved in their view of Smith, and breakdown each performance as they see it, not everybody is so eager to cast judgement on how the season will progress so easily. I'm neither flippant nor fickle when I talk about Dean Smith. That doesn't change week-to-week. I'm really pleased with what's happening and optimistic about what's to come. He has my full support, and has had since it became apparent to me how impressive his ability to come in and make changes necessary to turn this club around as a footballing entity. His immediacy in establishing a framework for how he envisioned us playing football allowed us to turn what was looking a very mediocre season into an exciting and successful one. It became apparent to me early on, even as results went the other way, that we were going to be capable of achieving our goal of promotion should we persist with Smith's plans. This campaign thus far, I've only really been disappointed with the showing against Crystal Palace. That's the only game where I feel like we were down and out of the contest. I have said previously, given time and encouragement, Smith will lead us to greater performances and create an identity and culture that will give us every chance in any game. We saw it in the Championship. There were some growing pains and a lot of fans started with their doubts about results and Smith's pedigree and if he was up to the challenge. In the end, he accomplished what two managers of notable success, with an absolute war chest to buy players, failed to do. He got us promoted. I don't know because I've never spoken or worked with him, but I get the feeling Smith is diligent with regards to developing his understanding of what's required of his role. Now that we are where we want to be division-wise, we must re-assess what we need to survive and even thrive. I firmly believe Smith will be integral in us achieving and ascending.

It's hard to call, as it's still early stages. I think I am clinging to my optimism beyond what is perhaps displayed, but I think we're going to do well, certainly better than what's touted. The distance between now and end of season means there's scope for dramatic improvement and capitulation for nearly every team. Teams will adjust or maintain their approach based on the belief of whether or not it achieves a desired outcome for them, all games are opportunity to improve standing. No table position is solidified yet, and with so much to play for I think every club is hopeful and doing their utmost to ensure an optimal outcome is achieved by the seasons end. We will still see upsets like Norwich defeating City, games that are largely controlled by teams who go on to lose, fluke goals, manager sackings, player injuries etc. I don't watch any games outside of Villa really so I don't have an opinion on which teams will struggle or which will rise above, as I don't see them play. That said... The whole competition has an opportunity to find a formula that sets them apart from an opponent, tactics and approach are not necessarily established, same for the starting XI. Strengths and weaknesses are perceived and will not always align from one's to an other's POV, every match being unique means threats and frailties will vary with every opponent. Look at the commentary on VT surrounding Tammy's ability to make the step-up. I was sure he would, if he continued to play how he was for us, but many were doubtful about it. The thing is though Tammy has been fortunate enough to land himself a role where he's got the confidence of the manager, and that has worked out thus far. That might change. Watford won a cup last year, no? I wouldn't know because I don't watch them, but I'm certainly not saying they are relegated, they may find similar form to the cup run and kick on..

@KenjiOgiwara That's pretty impressive. I wouldn't be too concerned with condescending advice (re too-thin commentary). If you have a goal and an ideal then work toward that, as long as it's serving it's purpose for you to do so. You never know you might be one of the first people to achieve such a balance. It's like Arnold Schwarzenegger said, break the rules and don't be afraid to fail, no true maverick or original did it any other way.

Excerpt from Steve Biddulph's book Manhood which I think highlights the wisdom in @lapal_fan's post.

@TheAuthority Great read, thanks for sharing that!

Starts tonight for me. Some real classy moments going forward against Brighton. Would add a dynamic we don't have.