A'Villan

That's why I mention them. The Premier League is a better standard than the championship though, so I'd be intrigued to see if he makes the step up. You feel me?

Wouldn't mind seeing Kodjia in the Premier League. He likes to take it to the opposition and doesn't mind being the focal point of an attack. I'm just not sure he has the technical ability and finesse to get by the defenders at this level, and even if he did, the technique to finish. Certainly possesses the audacity and ambition in his play though.

Well said. I'd take that stepping stone to bigger things every time though. I think we have very, very capable owners. Add to that we have Smith, who I back to play his role in restoring this club to European competition and as one of the better teams in the Premier League. We have Grealish, McGinn (who is a man on a relentless mission to raise the standard), Mings, Heaton, Engels who all look like they will make the grade and be mainstays. Then we have some promising players who are yet to prove themselves at this level, but only time will tell. The beautiful thing about our team right now is that I don't doubt any players ambition, desire to prove themselves, commitment to the shirt or dedication to Smith. Remember Lescott being more concerned with automobiles, twitter and jibes at the less financial instead of giving his best to football and the club allowing him that opportunity? We've actually got the character required for building the foundations of a successful enterprise again.

As for our wingers and a forward.. I think El Ghazi and Trezegeut have shown they can play at this standard, despite not being elite. Jota has some nice ideas but hits the dead end with a frequency that makes whatever dribble or run he made redundant more often than not. Wes and Davis I have confidence in both to be viable options and contribute to our system having the strengths capable of winning games. I am not desperate to see any additions, but if I were to pick one it would be a striker who has a bit more potency to their moves than Wes or Davis. Picture a version of Kodjia with his skills and technique more refined with a slightly higher football IQ and decision making ability. That would be ideal.

Benteke was immense for us. He was in the same conversation as Van Persie, Bale, Suarez and Lukaku at the time. There was another player in that discussion, his name was Michu, and he got a big move too. Didn't rise to the next level for whatever reason. Sometimes a player really shines within a system and everything they attempt comes off. I think that's the case with Benteke and Michu. Would any of us jump at the opportunity to re-sign Jordan Ayew? I'm not having a pop at Ayew, but I think he's potentially even a better option than Benteke these days. There's a few ex-Villa players who have made the grade when their big move came calling and who could probably still do a job here, they are.. Milner (no shit sherlock), Ashley Young, Delph (last I saw) and Gueye. That's all I can think of. It's a big no to Benteke from me.

I'm not sure I believe change for the greater good is going to come from within the system. Why? The problem with always being a conformist is this.. When you are trying to change the system from within, it's usually not YOU WHO CHANGES the system eventually, it's the system that eventually CHANGES WHO YOU are. The use of the term "democracy" these days is pure propaganda. We live in times of racism, right-wing conservatism and capitalism. It's the rich telling the middle class to blame the poor. That goes for those within the borders but especially those from outside. What's the issue with millions of people within 3rd world countries suffering everyday, unthinkable atrocities, as long as they are 'stupid' enough to allow ours to profit? In direct democracy back in Athens, if the population was the equivalent of the USA, 3 million people would make up the senate and house of representatives. Now before people jump down my throat about mentioning Athens, please just read the following, I'm nearly done.. The powers bestowed congress are exclusive to 0.0001 of America's population, whereas if it were the equivalent of Athenian direct democracy, just under 1% of the population. You tell me if someone who you've never met before has the ability to represent you and your unique circumstances when discussing the greater good of the people? I've got 100 people in my network of friends and acquaintances easily, but I don't have any politicians. By definition democracy is power of the people, not power of businesses. Billion dollar companies (in Australia anyway) pay less than 1% of their income in tax, an individual on 80k pays 30% of theirs in tax. In private enterprise or capitalism we should all know enough to see that a few people control great sums of money, and great sums of people control few money. I won't even get into how philanthropy works in such a system.. Capitalism and democracy are not synonymous, as I keep saying. You tell me which one of the two governs our system.

Saw the news of impeachment briefly on the discussion panel of an ABC current affairs program. Haven't got up to date with it so can't really comment anything of worth.. But my initial and uneducated impression is that there will be a loophole somewhere along the line of discussion that means he will not face the full consequences. And it will be because it is "In the best interests of the American people".

The bling-bling era was cute but it's about to be done I'll leave you full o' clips like the moon blocking the sun My metaphors are dirty like herpes but harder to catch Like an escape tunnel in prison I started from scratch

Bit of a long shot but I am wondering if anybody on the forum has a contact in the top tier of English basketball? Or if anyone even has enough of an interest in the league to give me some insight that would be much appreciated.

That's heartbreaking @BOF Thanks for sharing.

We were putting up similar numbers (not quite this dominant), as an average per game, way back when people started calling for his head in the Championship. It goes to show results can be hard to come by, but if the performances are there, in the long run things will come good. Look at the run we ended up going on last season. It will be much harder to emulate in the Premier League, but I believe in Smith and the squad we have. UTV!

Would have loved to have seen the game in full. FWIW, we were putting up similar numbers (not quite this dominant), as an average per game, way back when people started calling for his head in the Championship. It goes to show results can be hard to come by, but if the performances are there, in the long run things will come good. Look at the run we ended up going on last season. UTV!

@JAMAICAN-VILLAN You said someone was in for a hiding! Dean Smith and co delivered!!

Sorry @Dr_Pangloss!! I'm a bit embarrassed by that one and your response is apt. You have probably figured out by now that I can get on my soapbox.. The post wasn't necessarily directed at you, except for the last line. Which you are free to answer if you feel inclined.

It is without a doubt his arm that it hits. So you're probably right. And if it was intentional, like you say he leans into it, then sure, penalty. From when I saw it I didn't think much of it.

He's making it happen. This guy wasn't even on the radar a few years ago. He's a champion and a great example of why you give your best at any level and see where it leads.

I'll be honest, the 'handball' late in the game by (Sokrates?) Arsenal that ended up a no call, was the right call. I'd be f***ing fuming had that been given against us, or if a referee blew that on me in a futsal match. Yes it blatantly hits his arm, but he is actively trying to keep his arm down while jumping (not easy), and I think the ref saw that. I might have the rules of the game wrong on that one, but from my understanding that's a no call.

This is a good post. Highlighted part resonates with me. I think there are some key differences to that season though. The first being that Alan Hutton was our best defender that season. That is not the case now. We had a GD of like -50, 20 something worse off than the next team. The second being that Micah Richards was club captain that season. That is not the case now. We have a leadership quality within the group that will bring out our best. While losing Benteke could be seen as a parallel to losing Tammy, and the general upheaval of personnel throughout the squad similar. It's such a different case. We also lost Delph that year and Vlaar who seemed like a reasonably good captain to have. But I take your point, it's not enough to just be in every contest, we're going to have to win our fair share too. Fulham is actually a good case for a team that performed reasonably well but got shat on by results (while Jokanovic was at the helm)

Stamina plays a huge roll in the latter stages of play. Don't know if that's part of the issue (it might be). In any case Smith states post-match he wanted us to get men forward and press on for more goals, where we decided to sit deep instead. I think Smith got a lot right if I'm honest. We had more shots on target than Arsenal and we had the lead, why change things by adding to midfield or bringing in Davis? Smith brought on Elmo after we regained the lead, which I think was actually a good substitution, if not a really good substitution. Here's why.. Arsenal had been constantly getting to their left side byline, despite subbing of the left attacking midfielder when their RB was sent off. Perhaps a tactical ploy.. Whatever the reason, the heat maps show it was their left side byline in their attacking third seeing the action. So bringing on Elmo meant a few positives in my opinion, they are.. We kept our formation, our wide outlet options, we had a defensively capable winger with fresh legs there to cover, as well as being able to provide crosses (8 assists last season?) You've got to remember we're winning the game and despite Arsenal's threat and control over ball retention, we're creating some real chances. McGinn could've had a hatrick. We've made two individual errors, with Engels playing the man and not the ball in the penalty area, and Mings making a half arsed clearance that fell to an open man in the box. Honestly, on another day, with a bit more composure and confidence, we walk a way with 3 points and no questions are really asked about what went on.

I'll check out Maher, but it's safe to say Milo is a douche to put it mildly!

Ah, injuries suck. Do you have to have surgery for the infection? What's the diagnosis? (if you don't mind me asking) You've done it before, and you can do it again! Can you train around this injury at all? Take care my fellow Villan! The toughest part of injury for me was the mental discipline.

I just wanted to acknowledge your post by saying that worship probably wasn't the word I wanted. What I intended to get across was that the dogmatic thinking can turn the blinkers on just like you might find with worship. Excuse me if the question isn't welcome, I understand we probably stand at two very different view points, but here I go.. Would you worship mother nature? Her blessings and will are what has allowed for you to take this journey, really. It's pretty magical, for me anyway. Is it so difficult to conceive the idea that in an attempt to understand and convey the phenomena of life that our stories can get skewed?

Don't mistake our silence for ignorance, our calmness for acceptance, our kindness for weakness. We know who we are and what we are capable of, you'd be wise not to underestimate us. We saw the rise and we are going to be here for the fall. Capitalism and democracy are not synonymous. You tell me which of the two holds true to our society, as it is.

@Keyblade 4th round after this one, then Quarter finals, and so on.. Nice lineup too!

You know I have this thought too sometimes. They can jump over 3m high and 11m long and run at what, like 40-50km/h? We're well and truly outdone in a fight, unless you're a master at Capoeira and all your moves land as intended. Even then you're a goner really.. I wonder if we could call upon the wisdom of our feline friends (the much smaller ones) and hide underneath a car and move every time the tiger tries to scoop us out from under..