turvontour

Who's saying that all Muslims hate us?

So there's been a lot more than 55 alcohol related stabbings by drunks on Saturday nights in the UK so far this year then? If true, in most cases id imagine that the people are known to eachother, and its some form of fight/altercation. Not helpless members of the public having their throats cut while out having a meal. Sorry, im just annoyed by this constant reassurance by the media that theres more likely ways to die. After Manchester, i read that you are more likely to be killed by lightening, and then this morning a spokesman for Scotland Yard said that youre more likely to die in a car crash. Im guessing that weve surpassed the lightening death average for the year after yesterday then? Comparing accidents with what has happened is pointless. It just works to distract away from the issue.

I'm in a similar position where my other half doesnt want us to go into Bham with our children, unless we have to. Its made me think, its probably only around 1% of the UK, geographically speaking, thats under threat of attack. If we say UK is 100,000 square miles, its only going to be tops 500 square miles that is going to be targeted. Take say 10-15 biggest cities and say an average of 25-50 square miles around absolute centre of each? Obviously bigger catchment for London.

Huddersfield have just been promoted having lost 15 games and with a negative goal difference. They didnt even have a positive goal difference in the playoffs. Promotion from this league next season should be there for the taking with this group of players.

Felt a mixture of anger and sadness today. Having young kids doesnt help admittedly. Angry that i dont see this stopping. And that i wouldnt even be remotely surprised if the same happens in Birmingham soon.

The lack of Birmingham based football shirts in Birmingham sports shops. I think it’s a bit different nowadays as Sports Direct and the like generally have national stock as opposed to regional, although there was a very small Villa section in the one that I visited on Saturday. It struck me though that I couldn’t see any Blues or West Brom shirts, albeit I didn’t search for them. The football area was dominated by Liverpool and Man U tops, with Chelsea, Man City, Barca, Real Madrid and Newcastle (Ashley’s influence I presume), all similarly prevalent. It’s difficult to pin point what annoys me so much about it. I suppose that it encourages glory hunting? OK maybe not encourages but makes it more acceptable. I just think it’s a shame that when all Birmingham based teams have around 20% of the ground empty each week, kids have the easy option to support the latest flavour of the month.

The Premier League is painfully weak at the moment, which makes our current predicament all the more frustrating. Chelses and Spurs are OK. The next 5 are all very poor considering the spending. And then the bottom 13 is just complete dross. Pulis shortlisted as manager of the season shows just how weak the league is. West Brom have lost way more than they've won, and have spent a fair bit.

I heard there was a load of confusion earlier when they called for the bomb squad and Bent, Ireland and N'zogbia turned up.

Worth a quid.

Not sure if you’re serious but I can’t agree with any of that. Roberto Carlos scored one decent free kick? Ye, alright…… Bacuna scored 15 goals in the top Dutch League as a kid before he joined us and then 5 in his debut Premier League season. So he had scored 20 goals in top European divisions by what 21-22 years of age? He’s now turning 26 in August according to Wiki and he’s scored a grand total of 2 league goals since those initial 20. Based on those figures, I’d say it’s fairly safe to say that he had the goal scoring ability and now he’s lost it. I appreciate he isn’t deployed as a goal scorer, as he often plays at right full back, but man, at a time when we need goals (I think only Blues scored fewer than us out of the teams left in the division) it’s so frustrating that players who you know can and have scored simply aren’t at the minute. Norwich are going to be one of our main rivals next season, and just looking at their stats, they had 6 midfielders who scored 4 or more goals this season, we had one – Grealish. Now you see why I’m frustrated with a player who can do it in the Prem but now can’t do it in the Championship. I’m just trying to establish in my mind the reason for it, is it confidence, change of focus in training, lack of desire to succeed etc, I wasn’t overly surprised to hear Grealish say in his recent dressing room interview that Bacuna was the last to turn up for training every day.

He scored 5 in about his first 5 months in the Premier League. All from outside the area. And has then managed just one or two across the next three years. Thats what i dont get. How do you possibly lose that ability, when you are basically just trying to fine tune it everyday on the training pitch. How have the club not done anything about it? I know you cant compare football to everyday life. But it would be like me turning up to an office job claiming to be a whizz on excel. Being excellent with it for the first year, and then gradually forgetting how to use it as time went on, until i dont even bother using it. And the company being accepting of that and just letting me do so filing or something on the same salary. Not likely is it.

I asked this question on this thread somewhere before but I don't think that anyone answered it. For my simple brain, can somebody explain to me how as a footballer who plays football every day, you can go from being able to score regularly from distance (both from open play and direct free kick) in the Premier League i.e. Bacuna 4-5 years ago, to not being able to score a goal from distance? If it is as simple as that he has regressed as a footballer despite the huge investment of time and money, then why on earth does he continue to play for the club?

Exotica Erotica! Now there's a blast from the past (sorry). Channel 16 was fantastic. Not many channels you could watch Villa reserves followed up by an episode of Strip Master Brain.

Promotion away form instead of relegation away form. Requires one hell of a transformation. For us to appear seemingly less accepting of defeats. We know we're going to lose games, Newcastle have lost around ten this season, but recovering quickly from setbacks is paramount. If we lose at Preston one week, we need to make damn well sure that we win at Blackburn say the next game on the road.

Shirley the options should be 25k - 30k, 30k - 35k and 35k plus? I'll say 33.5k. What's our average out of interest?

Yes, looking at the current side, there doesn’t seem to be too many players in their 20’s. they’re either fairly raw late teens or in the most part mid-30s coming to an end type players. To be a Warwickshire and Villa fan is to win the lottery of life……

Leandro Bacuna, what a miserable phrase.

Christ Warwick are pants at the minute. Whats going on down there? Mostly the same team as far as i can tell minus Chopra.

Haha! Blues win a game and the EFL feel the need to investigate the oppositions side. Top banter.

Oh ye, i completely agree on the away form; its pivotal. I see no reason why we cant win 13-15 home games next season. But we need 10 away games minimum to be competitive. 4 away wins again and its another mid table finish at best. We've won an away game once every four months for the last two years. We need that trend to buck big time.

What, so you would be genuinly surprised if we didnt take 6 points off those two teams next season (Sheff u and Bolton)? All i was saying is that its unfortunate that it looks like 2 or 3 quite sizeable clubs are coming up, as we generally do better against the weaker, smaller clubs and 2 of the weakest are going down. The three weakest clubs stature wise this season are arguably Rotherham, Wigan and Burton. I think we are unbeaten against that bunch winning 5 out of 6? We would in my opinion have fared better next season going to somewhere small like Fleetwood (not sure of their ground) than to Brammall Lane.

Looking at who is coming up actually worries me. Sheff U, Bolton and maybe Bradford through the playoffs. All ex Prem, all have had the better of us in the not too distant past. Really unlucky bunch of clubs for us i think. Particularly when it could have been Scunthorpe, Fleetwood etc. Its really gutting that we are losing Wigan and Rotherham from the league as they made up 2 of the 3 teams we did the double over this season? Think thats right. Its the 10 away wins that i cant see happening. If Reading go up, then we will look down the fixture list in a couple of months and see 23 away games for next season listed. We'll have only won at one of those grounds in the season just gone. Just, how?

You're right, now i think about it, its only ever women that say it. But the ones turning 50 will say that its their 30th. The conviction and regularity with which they say it is what troubles me, like they genuinly want to change their age. Its just strange to me cus ive always been fairly content at each age that Ive got to (like you have any other choice anyway). One final thing, without meaning to overdo this but if they are able to go back ten years as they wish, are they going back and simply reliving their lives, knowing all along whats about to happen. Or are they going back to completely live those ten years again say. So in otherwords, completely deleting the last ten years of their life?

Why when its someone's birthday do they jokingly say that they are really turning a younger age? Girl at work was 30 the other day but said about ten times that she was really turning 23. I dont get it. Is it just a long running joke that you say it each time that its your birthday, or do people actually really want to be a younger age?

I'm really struggling to see how we're going to make the transformation needed to get us up around the automatics next season under Bruce. A transformation in energy, urgency, quality, consistency etc etc. Simply, we need another 30-35 goals from somewhere.