MrBlack

So many echoes of our downfall. Hovering above the drop zone for a couple of seasons. Old players on huge salaries that can't be shifted and mean you can't spend on anyone new. An ownership that doesn't want to spend anymore. A squad with zero morale or leadership. They've got to be not far above Luton for odds to go down.

Arsenal only getting Rice and Havertz for 170m. That's not a good return. Neither are better than our equivalents in that position I wouldn't say. I'd be pretty devastated if we spent that much and only got two players like that in exchange.

Bayern have their alternative. His wife is liking posts about him joining us. Its Wednesday....(just)

But going to Chelsea makes no sense. They have 600 players and they're not even in Europe this season, and they're run by a mentalist. I'm sure we could get him if he is willing to gi there.

His attitude is not in doubt. His aptitude probably isn't either. His ability to not get injured is the real question. I don't think even Emery can magic him better from injury, but if Coutinho's body stays working, Emery will definitely get the magic out of him.

I think in the Emery system, it is less of an issue. The passes they're playing are short. The passing issue is more of a challenge when they're playing it long and have to arc the ball down the line. As mentioned, having two left footed CBs against two right footed forwards would actually be an advantage. Its just rarely seen because there are so few left footed centre backs. Emery could be on to something here... hes a bigger genius than any of us so if he really wants Pau, then i have faith he knows exactly what hes doing.

@RicRic...this guy would create a similar buzz, but probably about as unlikely as Nico Williams probably ever was.

Yeah, I know, but the point is they didn't copy us. There are those that think they did though. For what it's worth, they don't have a copyright on the circle, and I agree, **** them. But at the same time, a circle is not our own DNA and means relatively little in terms of our entire history. I'd like us to use something from our history, but I'd like it to mean more than just a circle from our most recent successful period.

Anywhere the game can be watched?

Assuming the spurious links were accurate and there was genuine interest there, it's a shame this one didn't go through. The likelihood was always that he'd stay, but the noises being leaked to the press gave me a hope he was a genuine option. Makes me wonder who else is on our list for this position though.

See below...

Indeed. It bugs me when we claim we were the original circle. I guess, at a push, you could say that was two ribbons made to look like a circle, but we cant claim we aren't copying them really.

I agree. Rice expenditure is going to cripple their other investment, and I'm not sure they've got the striker to repeat last year's over achievement. I think their end of season form will continue, and they'll be a top 4 contender rather than a title contender. Whether that sees Arteta removed though is probably a bolder call

Makes me wonder if they have any idea how much we're looking at this as a potential revenge job. Almost as if we're the Coventry in this rivalry field. Euww...

It was right that it disappeared when it did. One thing we weren't was prepared. Could be argued that it perfectly describes Emery's Villa though.

It does seem odd because this spending wouldn't come out of FFP anyway. Obviously they're business men, and won't waste money, but also a reminder that we don't have UAE/Saudi/Qatar state levels of funding

It was the easy way to minimise impact on the traffic. Keep fans at the stadium longer and spread out the departure times.

Disagree, there are more differences between ours and Chelsea than the two I mentioned.

They don't have a history to bang on about themselves. Former players is all they've got to talk about, precisely because none of those ex players really acheieved anything with them.

This would be the most shocking thing about the Rice transfer.

Queue amendment submitted. The release leaked above doesn't mention supplier changes, but I guess that might be incorporated in the detail behind it.

Thet better get those relegation wage drop clauses right. Presumably a lot of players had promotion wage increase clauses that Luton maybe never expected to get activated. That could be a big hit to their spending power to.

Presumably we'd still owe Nakamba a hefty chunk of his salary anyway as a loyalty bonus. He hasn't exactly requested a transfer. He's clearly not just in the game for the money, but he does use his money to help those less fortunate, and so he will still want to get as much as he can to help his foundation. Maybe we're trying to cover his loyalty payment plus a bit of FFP profit for us. and Luton, in meeting this, don't have enough left to give him the salary he wants. That is then on Nakamba and noone else. If we drop our asking price to forgo the loyalty payment, that money is then still going to come out of Luton purse in the form of a higher salary that Nakamba will want to make up for the lack of loyalty payment. Fundamentally, we aren't a charity, Luton are a PL club, and if they can't afford him we need to see who else can. If Nakamba only wants to go there (I doubt that's the case) he'll have to accept whatever they can afford.

Also the fact our lion is new (again)...we've had so many that we can't claim a particular lion as ours. You want one that you see, and you think, that is Aston Villa. The new iteration might be it, but it needs time to develop a reputation. Success whilst we have that lion will help, then it can become "the" villa lion. But whether it stays in a circle or not, and how we use it in different media will be the end goal.

A valid point, the revamped logo was fairly basic, and far less intricate and bold than their previous one. Probably worth noting that it came after two decades of under achievement for them, and coincided with them winning the league again. Succes on the pitch (or court in their case) brings joy off it.