pablopicasso

have to say general, that i applaud our stance regarding barry...

either way now, whether he goes or stays, we cannot lose out... and the message we have sent out regarding how we deal with "bullys", is priceless...

not to mention quite amusing watching plop and their idiot delusional fans squirm over how skint they are...

general, brillant gesture with regards acorns...

fantastic stuff from the club...

so proud...

just read a comment from h&v quoted here regarding what we are doing behind the scenes from the general..

fair enough general, i do hope that we are standing firm, and the proof will be in the final outcome...

i have said it before, and i will say it again, this is more than about losing a player of barrys ability...

the message this sends out to players, be it our own, or to others we are courting, will be that we are a selling club and as soon as a club like manure, liverplop, le arse and cheatski come in for them, we will allow ourselves to be bullied by the media favourite clubs, and then bend over backwards to allow them to leave stating that we wont keep an unhappy player...

well nuts to that, we are bigger than the likes of gareth barry and if we dont want to sell him to a direct rival, then we dont have to sell him to a direct rival... especially if that direct rival is using underhand tactics in an attempt to bully us into selling because they think they are the bigger boys...

if gareth barry wants to leave, then that is his choice, but we dont have to oil the cogs and help him do that to a club that have acted disgustingly towards us and disrespected us to such a degree...

to do so, sets a precedent that will have a knock on effect when these disgusting so called "bigger clubs" come in for players like ashley young, curtis davies, etc...

if plop want to buy him, then we tell them to get **** or tell them a ridiculous fee that they couldnt possibly afford and not budge...

we dont have to help our rivals, and we dont have to send out messages of weakness...

unless we are admitting that we are a small weak selling club...

general, is there any plans for better information on the reserves and the youth on the official site?

would be nice to have a whole section dedicated to the youngsters, with stats like top scorers, advice on upcoming tournaments, up to date information on tournaments we are competing in such as the hong kong sevens, interviews with the youngsters to prepare them for handling the media, etc...

have to say, i am pretty disappointed in the reporting of the hong kong sevens win, and it would be nice to have really up to date information and news on the youngsters progressing through the ranks...

there are a lot of us who are interested in youth football, and its a shame to say, that the club isnt that forthcoming with information regarding this very important and interesting area of the club...

cheers...

there may be trouble ahead....

i too am hoping that particular rumour is correct...

purely from the rumour, other clubs fans have commented positively on the villa and how great we and the new owners are...

and most importantly, a good cause gets some superb coverage...

titanic was built in belfast...

there is a theory that she had a major design flaw and that is why she snapped in two when her stern raised what was probably no more than she would have done in severly choppy water... however the water that flooded the front compartments added so much strain on the centre of the ship as she was pulled down, she bent both ways and snapped in two... mainly down to the weakness in the design of the way she dealt with bow movement... or something like that...

her sister ship the britannic had a different design to titanic and also different from the original design plans for britannic... which would suggest that harland and wolff admitted the titanic design flaws, albeit not publicly...

although britannic sank as well, so their designs cant have been that good...

although i am no expert on the matter...

Blues announce their profits have risen from £3m to £7.8m year on year, impressive I hear some say and the Blues board certainly seem pleased with themselves.

But when you consider they sold their manager who then helped relegate them by keeping Wigan up for £3m that means despite promotion to the Premier League they actually only increased their profit by £1.8m.

What a joke they are.

We may have gone down and cried on TV bu look we know what we are doing

Relegated Birmingham have been boosted by a big leap in turnover for the first half of last season.

The increase followed their promotion to the Barclays Premier League in 2007.

Over the six months up to February 2008, turnover was £32.6million, up from £14.3million for the corresponding period 12 months previously when City were in the Championship.

Operating profit was up from £3million to £7.8million, although those figures are likely to decline again following Blues' relegation back to the second tier this season.

In a statement released to the Stock Exchange this morning, managing director Karren Brady said: "The club's relegation will have a very negative effect on the business but we believe we have the right management team in place to regain membership of the Premier League at the first attempt."

minus 40+ million in premier league television money...

united... dont want another club to win the european cup other than the ones that have won it...

and we wouldnt hear the last of it if a cockerney club won it...

lmfao...

portsmouths cynical fouls everytime a cardiff player went past them was disgusting...

i cannot stand that twitching cockerney barra boy who manages them either... disgusts me watching his horrd 'droopy' looking face awash with joy after being the luckiest side to ever win a trophy...

mind you, cardiff are crap, and played the long ball right into portsmouths hands, so the better side won...

but the game was a coma inducing pile of garbage...

crap game...

According to Tom Ross, we've got the scum to thanks for our Intertoto spot, despite the fact, had Rover won, we'd still have got it anyway thanks to our goal difference. Prick.

if he is right about that, then we sent them down with those 6 points we rightfully took off them...

tbh though, when a small heathen said the same thing to me, i just agreed with him and laughed.. what better way to gain europe than by your rivals helping you and STILL going down...

you couldnt script that shit..

priceless...

what an absolute farce of a club...

general, have to commend the club and the manager for our handling of the liverplop cheating scum shenanigans...

i do feel that we are sending out the right 'message' in my opinion...

i seem to remember a certain villa manager getting punished for "tapping up" over media comments...

heaven forbid a manager of the media myth alleged "big 4", recieves the same treatment....

there would be black arm bands, minutes silences and all kinds of self grieving nonsense from certain clubs fans if they actually recieved the same treatment as clubs not in this little media created clique...

General Krulak here:

8. Acid Test: Let me tell you why I don't like to look at this situation as an "acid test": To me, an "acid test" is just that...fail the test and everything is a failure. It is like making a person an objective in combat...ie. "get Bin Laden", "get Geronimo"...when you don't "get them", the entire operation looks to be a failure. We, YOUR Club, cannot afford to put a line in the sand re. success or failure around one player. We just can't. I have said, ON MULTIPLE POSTS, that we do NOT want to lose our Captain and that we will do ALL in our power to keep him. At the same time, if he wants to go...if he no longer wants to wear our colours...it is hard to keep him. The key will be to get his value!! Again, we do NOT want him to go. We will get to Europe and it would be wonderful if our Captain was here to lead us on that path.

a fair enough point, but it IS a very stern test of our resolve and our future ambition... if not only for the message it will send out to the footballing world...

just out of interest, what would gareth barrys "value" be?

General Krulak here:

1. First off, if this issue is the "acid test" for our Club, then heaven help us. Let me, once again for the record, state the following: Your Club does NOT want our Captain to leave. MON's comments are spot on...they represent the EXACT feelings of Randy and the Directors. We ARE a top tier Club and will act that way in all of our dealings...we are professionals and we will act that way. If our Captain wants to go to Europe, what better thrill, challenge and "high" than to lead our Club to that "Promised Land"??? He knows we want him...he knows our vision and goal...and he knows he will be compensated properly. At the same time, if he wants to play for another Club...if he doesn't want to wear our colours...then it doesn't make much sense to say "no." I think we should all settle down a bit and trust MON and Randy...trust our Captain...and let this play out.

with all due respect, this is a SERIOUS test for the club...

this issue is more than simply losing a player of gareth barrys ability...

if we allow liverpool to walk all over us and cave into their underhand demands, then that will show that we are weak...

and it will show that any thoughts of breaking the "top four", are completely fruitless...

if we dont stand our ground on this issue and give into the media myth alleged "big four" clubs demands, or even give into player demands, whoever they are, then we might as well stick 'for sale' signs around our best players necks and just announce that players are bigger than aston villa football club...

and when other clubs come in for the likes of young, (and if he keeps up his progression, then the vultures will flock quicker than flies around shit), then we might as well just wave the white flag and admit publicly that we have no intention of breaking the "top 4" because we are not strong enough to keep hold of our best players...

we HAVE TO send out a message that WE are in control... to other clubs we are meant to be competing with... to our own players... and in the process, showing potential targets that we are serious with our plans to challenge at the very top...

make no mistake, this is a HUGE test of the club and our ambition...

has to be chelsea...

fergiscum only comments to suit his agenda..

any news on the new shirt/sponsor general?

if gareth wants to leave, then we should tell liverplop to pay over £20 mil or they can get stuffed...

if not only for the way they have conducted themselves in this little saga, but most importantly, to show our strength as a club...

we need to show that we are nobodies pushovers and wont dance to the media myth alleged "big four" when they start their underhand tactics to demand what they want...

especially when they making an example out of us and giving us grief over the standing issue...

im quite satisfied with my price rise...

works out to be about £1.20 a match...

its unfortunate that prices have to rise, but it is unrealistic to expect them not to rise, especially given the price freeze over the last few years...

i trust you had a brilliant day general...

that is what it is all about...

Another thank you for the mosaics. I can't explain why, exactly I'm so chuffed with them, I can't put it into words, but it's just brilliant. I guess it's a combination of pride, reflected "glory" that the stadium looks infinitely more classy, and harks back to the old mosaics and an appreciation that Randy's done it, perhaps for some of those same reasons.

Whatever, it's just great.

after this, and other actions by the club, a couple of fans of other clubs that i know, have recently said to me that we are a great club, a proper club, with fantastic owners, and one even said that he wished he was a villa fan!