MrBlack

3 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Jackson is so bad 

He is, but how was that a foul by him and not romero?

1 minute ago, Billson said:

Something like this?

Can't say I like it...

Better than a drop shadow, but there are much easier ways to fix it. 

Wow. Glad I didn't contribute my thoughts to this thread at the time but I'm fairly sure they'd align with what everyone else was saying. Not one person voted for what actually happened.

Bailey had shown nothing, was costing a lot of money, but might have brought in a decent chunk of money. Philogene had a brilliant pre season and seemed to be undervalued by the club given what we eventually sold him for.

The right answer was definitely keep both.  Philogene would have had plenty of minutes with the injuries and drop off in form we've had from Diaby this season.

That assumes we didn't have to sell him for PSR/FFP purposes, which I suspect we did.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But also, worth remembering the outcome of this situation, and that Diaby could well be a world beater next season.

And also, players that struggle at another club  may just need Emery as their manager to start performing.

3 hours ago, mrchnry said:

I just googled a claret villa lion. The above would look better if you could make it claret. 

Wow.  It's a bad sign that it gave you the original Lerner one and that is still associated with us. Surely we should be getting on to Google and getting rid of all other villa lions from their algorithm if we want everything on brand Mr. Heck

5 hours ago, Genie said:

I’d be very surprised if men with genuine cases of asthma could compete at the very top level of such a gruelling sport (cycling).

It’s cheating.

 

Aye, but bringing it back to United... my point is he's clearly a clever, bend all the rules, get the best out of whatever you can, and get results kind of bloke. Maybe he needs more time or it only works in cycling...

or perhaps, and hopefully more likely, United are just rotten throughout and nothing and noone can save them

10 hours ago, T-Dog said:

Genuine question - Is that sarcasm? Didn't he get called out for being quite "handy with the inhalers" for Sky? 1% better by doping, isn't 1% better, it's 100% cheating (not that he'd be the only one in cycling tbf)

Not really sarcasm. The story of the packages of inhalers that ended up with Wiggins and were treating genuine cases of asthma in him and Froome, although not obtained by official routes were prescribed medication. Used within the limits supposedly.

Whether you think they cheated with them or not (I do, but no more than the rest of the field and they were found not guilty of it anyway), they still found ways to elevate themselves anove their peers. They worked in a way that meant they dominated the sport for a period, and it wasn't just down to doping.

United don't seem to have any kind of structure that is working, drugs or not.

1 hour ago, chrisvilla4 said:

 

Some typos there , I've fixed it cheers

BBC think he's worth £34m. But Dewsbury-Hall is worth £35m (and Rashford £85m )

Sounds like typical ignorant media.

If he's only worth £34m there is 0% chance we sell him. 

And on the basis he's been injured the whole season, no club will pay what we want anyway.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cv2dr5dr98qo

Quote

Jacob Ramsey won last season’s Premier League academy graduate award after scoring six goals in 38 games, helping Villa return to Europe and he also won Euro 2023 with England Under-21s.

But he broke his metatarsal during the tournament, an injury which has restricted him to just eight Premier League starts.

Villa have insisted he is not for sale with manager Unai Emery making his stance clear in January.

The clue, BBC, is in your last sentence. Idiots.

As if proof were neesed, the Sancho slight revival of late and how horrifically out of condition he was, points to an issue with more than just the manager or the players. They're truly rotten.

They won't improve next season.

Kind of surprises me that Dave Brailsford oversees such a shambles given the iron first of marginal gains he led Sky cycling with.

Said before, possibly on the last page, that Norwich would rather face Leeds (or maybe Ipswich) in a one legged final at neutral grounds. They won't want to lose to Blues, as that risks them facing Leeds over 2 legs, and I dont think they will.

7 hours ago, Davkaus said:

Even I'm shocked that this came up again quite so soon

That's a tiny bit spooky. 

2 minutes ago, trom_borg said:

JJ is the only player of first team quality that can take one of the homegrown spots in the European squad. Selling him at this point makes no sense to me. 

Agreed.  If we want to add depth, giving us one less name in our euro squad is a strange way to go about it. 

1 minute ago, Tubby said:

What he also says is that the infrastructure can't support an increased number of fans, which in itself is detrimental to the fan experience.

But it can, as proven by the planning permission that was granted. And with the Whitton station redevelopment going ahead, it will be able to even further by the time the stand is done. Not to mention the warehouse development that's taking place at the same time that will reduce immediate post game transport demand. 

Maybe it was a bluff call because the Whitton station thing only got confirmed after he said this.

I guess if that is seen as a driver for the "pause" despite all the factors I mentioned,  then we're going to get left behind waiting for the infrastructure to catch up. And a pause for that reason isn't ever going to release itself.

4 minutes into the below...he doesn't say pause. He then implies that what they will do going forwards will be for all fans and not just one stand. 

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/19/chris-heck-interview/

His point about the fortress and not tearing a stand down when we are playing the way we are... when is the right time? When we're mid table? Has he said anything since this?

1 hour ago, imavillan said:

 

Looks nice to me

 

Feels a bit meh to me. I'm expecting something with a bit more about it, although not sure if I'll like it more than I would like the above.

They always look better in person anyway. Be nice if we got some early news on it this season for a change although I guess unlikely with all the change going on in the sponsor and badge departments. 

I think going been to the OP's point, I'm not sure you can say it's a major European semi final.  There are only three European club tournaments, and it's for the lowest placed teams of the three. If its major, then what are the two that are for higher placed teams than it?

That's not to say I'm not happy that we're in it, and won't celebrate wildly if we do win it. It's European club football, against some good and not so good sides, and winning it would be a huge achievement.

Were we ready for the Conference League when we qualified for it last season following an unbelievable run of form?

Did it kill us this season and see us finish lower than we did last season?

If we qualify for it, we will be ready. It will not kill us. And Emery knows what to do. 

1 minute ago, Czarnikjak said:

The 85% cost control was voted in unanimously last week. Today's vote was for x5 anchor cap In Addition to cost control.

How do you know this, is there a reliable source that confirms this? The BBC say its going to replace the existing rules, but doesn't mention anything about whether the recent 85% rule is part of what it considers the current regulations.

I can only assume this constant changing and revision of the rules was on the cards when we cancelled the North Stand.  A hard cap based on TV revenue leaves no incentive to increase the stadium capacity.

If Uefa follow suit, and the 85% cap in the current revised rules goes away, then a big stadium is no help what so ever. It's no environment to make a major costly investment that could end up crippling you.

Now these rules seem to be landing the way they are, hopefully we get some more clarity on what the plans are, because they presumably will still want to make it fit for purpose while they wait for the domines to fall.

35 minutes ago, calcifer said:

Fixed 

@GlobalVillan clearly rattled and that nervous twitch made them press the 0 key twice by mistake. 

Norwich won't want to finish 6th either I guess? Ideally they won't want to play whoever of Leeds/Ipswich finishes there over two legs.

Much better to let another team take on that burden,  and possibly fluke a win.  They take on a Southampton team that have been on the beach for a few weeks and might not hit their stride straight away. 

Then you get a final against a supposedly weaker team or a one leg shootout against a better team at a neutral venue that on any given day could end up with any scoreline.

I really think they're flushing.

Any chance Norwich would want to beat blues to get them out the league? Bit of insurance that their supposedly huge spending potential won't impact them next season if they cock up the play offs?

I think if Hull win tonight then there's no way Norwich are taking the game easy anyway, but if they don't then Norwich could well still turn up. 

Come on Huddersfield, you're getting relegated.  Don't concede looking for the winner though please:)

1 minute ago, Villatillidie95 said:

Just the 98th goal Sheffield United have conceded this season….20 mins of regular time left now, 5-1 to the Geordies 

Going to hold the PL record if they keep it up, and not just the 38 game season one.

Plymouth is the big one. If they can score...  my word what a day that would be.