A'Villan

hahahahaha Flashback to a long time ago thinking about the prints of the t-shirts I owned I was going through some poo-poo and had self medicated with cannabis at the time. I remember sitting on a train and a lady commenting on how sh*tfaced I looked and that I needed to give up the alcohol. I've never been a drinker in my life. I've been blind drunk only a handful of times and drink moderately a few times a year. I was wearing a Guinness t-shirt that day, maybe she noticed that.. Certainly my thoughts as she openly passed judgement. Another time on the train, same route, an old fella read the print on my shirt and burst out laughing. The print was.. "I came to Frankston and all I left with was this lousy stab wound" and there was a tattoo style picture of a knife wound. Frankston lives up to the reputation. Especially The Pines. Which I lived a few hundred meters from the border of. But yeah, that Guinness t-shirt and Franknston are the only print t-shirts I have worn regularly that represents something I don't from memory.

Better that than clothing with 50,000 tears and rips in them if you ask me.

I've made pretty clear in the Luiz and Heaton thread that our efforts that are worthy of a victory have been eclipsed by our errors that led to defeats. You've misconstrued my post a little bit, when I said "two howlers have cost us, and otherwise we'd more than likely be celebrating".. the 'otherwise' is key. 'Othewise' means in the event they did not occur. They did, and we have 0 points from our first two games, the worst possible outcome in regards to points. We've made some poor decisions that did indeed end up as unforced errors. That HAS to improve. I guess our opinions differ in that I believe they will, you perhaps not? You tell me on that one, I don't want to assume your stance on this squad in regards to capability. I actually think we're pretty sh*t hot for a team freshly promoted. You make a case that must be considered in regards to possession, and I would guess that the truth be in between that and the suggestion we outplayed them.

Absolutely. That ability to focus is so important, there's no time for distractions. Add the fact that as ability is malleable, you must practise regularly to produce the goods when dealing with such fine margins, you have to refine your technique. But no two moments are the same, so it takes some ingenuity to take an idea from one moment and apply it in a completely different one. It's tough. The sharpness of mind you mention in any given moment on a football pitch is developed through concentrated effort and the application of functional technique. That's the recipe for proficiency. Repetition in order to hone a technique is a must, even a prodigy must apply themself to realise talent. Potential is abstract. But possibly the biggest test in mastering a craft is your ability to wake up day in day out, year after year and aspire to be better than you were yesterday. "You may not always be motivated, that's why you must learn discipline." Massive digression but Jack's had a lot to take in, at a young age. The move to Tottenham would've been a thought process he needed to come good with as well. Eh, I've said my bit. Enjoy Grealish while he's here. Or take him for granted, it's really your prerogative. He's a special player.

Mbappe isn't Brazilian, you were talking about Brazilians. I'm only kidding. And just to prove it, I know you meant player with their nether regions waxed when you said "Brazilian player".

Kevin Prince Boateng

Just to be on the pitch in the top tier at 38 is an achievement.. Then he goes and does that! Against the defending champions! Cheeky bugger!

Is that a word for word quote? My word, if it is.. Patrick'em into thinking I'm the real victim here' Bamford. "in today's news, an interview given in a documentary on Leeds football club has consequently landed Anwar El Ghazi in jail, for conspiracy to commit terror on Bamford's face."

Saw the first half of Spurs vs City and I thought that Spurs were always in the contest despite being less impressive offensively. Lamela's shot was brilliant, just as De Bruyne's cross for Sterling was. Both teams have tremendous quality, no surprises it finished level.

I mean who would've thought Toronto would last season? I know one person, in the hundreds if not thousands of opinions I came across who called them to win it fairly early on, due to rating their lineup. Pelicans look real nice to me. We'll see I guess. Just imagine the hype around Zion if he was influential in a good campaign for the Pelicans, and won rookie of the year. Denver, Philly, Blazers, Bucks, Warriors, Rockets, Clippers, Lakers and you can't count out the defending champions, all seem just as likely to take it out for me. But you and me both know it's coming home to Chicago!

No, you didn't. Apologies. As for the rest of your post, I can see the mind behind all of that and think that's all sound reasoning, even if I have a different POV.

I never called you negative (if your reply here had me in mind at all), and I take the points you've just made. If you have the time and interest, have a look at the points I make and consider if we were really that poor in our first two games. I believe the reality is it's undetermined whether we are relegation candidates until it's mathematically probable and plausible to say that we are. *pokes out tongue and runs*

According to Smith we're aiming to win each game and I think that shows. We're serious. Held the lead for over an hour against last season's 4th place in the PL, and runner up in the CL, in our first game AWAY at Spurs. Clear and notable efforts in regards to possession retained, shots on goal, passing success rate and limiting Bournemouth's opportunities. And I'm apparently the one who's unbelievable? Sure, we may have 0 points from our first two games, and that is the least favourable outcome. I'm still choosing to get behind and see the bright side of the club I support, as I think it's merited. I don't see many persuasive arguments as to why I shouldn't

What's unbelievable? Where do I state that we are expecting to finish top 3? I asked about whether or not hopes and aspirations of a sprinter are determined 5m into a 100m race. I think you've misconstrued my meaning here. I'm just saying a lot of ground is yet to be covered.

When he's bossing games, influential in build up and earning us a grip and even an advantage on a game, he's not getting enough goals or assists for some. When he's, for whatever reason, unable to raise bums out of seats for one match, yet provides an assist and puts in the most tackles from any of our players, he's inadequate. There's no two ways about it, Grealish is Premier League standard, and has been thus far in the infancy of this campaign, and I'm sure will be for the remainder. This season, avg per game, he has a 86% pass completion rate, 3 tackles, plays 4 key passes (3rd in the LEAGUE), is fouled 3.5 times (4th in the LEAGUE). He's top class. Thankfully most appreciate him.

Him and Luiz's brilliant moments have been eclipsed by errors that have cost their teams. Valuable points on the board have been dropped, and concerns from some supporters heightened. It's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a lot of faith in what's happening at Villa right now. Heaton's abilities play a fundamental role in me having that faith.

Let me put it like this.. We are two games into a thirty-eight game season. That's just over 5%. Does a 100m sprinter with a slow first step have a chance at a podium finish after 5m into the race?

No doubt contender for player of the season. Had the most efforts on goal from our team. Showed confidence in himself, bold confidence at that. F*** me, the audacity of those two long range efforts on goal was only matched by the sheer skill in which he showed by nearly pulling them off!

You don't pull dummies like that at the top of the box in the opposition's attacking third. Especially when there's no idea of who's going to receive it in your peripheral view. Might've been a brilliant idea if it was in our attacking third, and shows that Luiz has a creative spark in him, however doing it in that position showed naivety and cost us big. If there was ever a way to redeem yourself for such an error, he found it. Absolutely spectacular goal, which I've seen him do the like before. That was obviously no fluke. Think we've got a serious talent on our hands in Luiz. Has a long way to go in order to prove himself at this level, but the initial impression is that he'll be impressive.

When it's looking like we might be relegated? We had the lionshare of possession and notably more attempts than Bournemouth. Two howlers have cost us, and we'd otherwise more than likely be celebrating.

This is probably one for the climate change thread.. All sorts of messed up...

But not all that surprising. Had a look at their roster. No one I've seen play all that much, but some very solid names. Okafor, Holiday, Ingram, even Reddick and now Zion.. That's a strong squad with a good balance of experience and youth. Every position has a player who puts up good numbers. Arguably stronger than that Raptors team. At least without Kawaii.

"REEEEEJECTEDDDD!!"

Guzan was pretty sh*t hot at times. So was Given. It's just that both also had some howlers and overstayed their welcome. Friedel was consistent 'til what, 40 years old? Never really got to the point where his performances were unacceptable. Heaton must show that consistent reliability before I say he's better than anyone we've had in the last decade. Hope you're right though!!