Turamber

Even if we had a blip season he has shown that he can make us competitive; I don't see as he has done anything at all to earn any level of distrust from the fan base. And, in any event, I am 99.9% sure the owner will not sack him -- they are in this as a team.

Voted for Alpay on the basis that everyone and his dog will vote for Laursen. So stupid cancelling his contract because of that silly spat with Beckham. Doug at his finest.

A very good window. Downing and Delph will be excellent acquisitions and give us plenty of options in midfield and attack. The centre backs should make us tighter in defence. Having the best left back outside of the top four is a definite plus. Beye has already repaid his transfer value by deputising for Luke Young. A Van der Vaart type player would have made it a 100% success but a 75% success is good enough from where I am sitting.

Of course he has a place, he is a good, hard working player. MON prefers a fit Gabby or Carew to him but he has much more about him than Delfounso ... a player who will, I predict, be the next one on the Villa Park hatelist within a couple of years. We rotated last night, be happy that we are out of the competition and now need to rotate less.

I'd care, Heskey is a good player and will prove his worth this season. He was also our best performer against Wigan and again against Rapid. But I still voted for Carew.

Now, THAT, is a post worth having on the front page. No doubt about it at all. It's even long enough

I ticked season ticket holder but I'm sitting in the Centenary Lounge this year. Same difference but you get a meal and a place to sit and have a quiet half time drink. Mind you there is also some heavy duty marine corp training to do getting from the seating area to the lounge at half time, with every man and their dog (and wife) on the North Stand concourse. I am a very occasional away game follower. I saw us lose our unbeaten run at Highfield Road and the next away game I took in, 20 years (?!) later, was at the Emirates two seasons ago. Couldn't see a damn thing but enjoyed the banter and atmosphere. Would like to see more away games but I have a very demanding job and often work evenings and weekends.

No, just no. 4-5-1 is good to stop the rot, and good for away games. But at home it will lead to lots of bore draws. Plus Carew, imo, can't play in a 4-5-1. Leaving our most reliable goalscorer out at home, if he's fully fit, wouldn't be too clever.

Oh goodness I did enjoy that. We enjoyed a slice of luck but with our effort and endeavour we deserved it. The cynic in me wonders where all the MON out brigade are, and just how long this thread would be by now if we had received our expected thrashing. NRC was man of the match for me, although he still needs to learn to release his pass quicker. But that is just me being pedantic Some of Petrov's tricks to keep possession and beat Liverpool players were just lovely ... in fact we played some good stuff all over the pitch. Well done to the lads!

2-0 ahead! I fully expect we'll be under the cosh second half, Liverpool can't play that badly all game ... surely? Have to laugh at Torres moaning everytime he has to compete in the air for the ball. If you're not fit then don't play, the rules don't get changed because you have a black eye you nonce.

Pretty sure we'll go with a five man midfield, but whoever we play we are going to get a spanking. The season will get worse before it gets better methinks.

John Carew is low profile and mediocre? Ashley Young is low profile and mediocre? James Milner is low profile and mediocre? We can't attract Champion's League level players because we won't pay them silly money and because we're not in the competition. So we buy the best of the rest and, funnily enough, our league positions in two consecutive seasons were what you would expect of a team that has players who are the 'best of the rest'. It is frustrating, but your ire would be better aimed at UEFA who have done nothing to break the status quo and the hierarchy of the Premier League who favour a set in stone top four. As for other matters -- our reserves finished top of the reserve league last season, thus indicating we have a very solid base for the future. Yet people want shot of the manager that has turned us into a force? Very, very odd indeed.

Carew is a special case, he even gets his song sung when he's not playing. The rest of them played in a different era for the Villa. Booing was no endemic like it is now. I remember the time when we used to cheer and sing consistently through a game, now it is sporadic at best ... but as soon as a player does something we don't like the catcalls start from the crowd. We boo all the time now and have a reputation for it.

I'd like to agree with this General. No matter how eloquent the delivery, the argument, and message, is flawed. I firmly believe the majority of Villa fans are 100% behind the manager and owner. Unfortunately "entitlement culture" continues to grow in the UK and combine that with a history under the previous owner of sacking any manager as soon as results were poor and it leads to knee jerk reactions from the fans too. Please keep up the good work, thanks for making us proud of our club once again.

You know I misread "the faithful" there, as "the fanciful" ... almost Freudian We have a very tough start to the season, it will get worse before it gets better. Don't man the lifeboats just yet.

Damnit, good move, so close!

If you're watching IraqiGoals the commentator is woeful. Trying to shit stir about everything. "MON looks sheepish", err I don't think so. We are looking much better than the weekend, we have shown composure and grit. Much more like it.

Well I'm glad the new guidelines have been so well embraced :oops: A 1-0 defeat wouldn't be a disaster, we can take these at Villa Park.

cuellar has been just as bad but no mention of him hey? ?? Cuellar's played well. We've looked okay in this game. They beat Liverpool in pre-season remember, and are unbeated for a long time at home. Not a bad side.

Covering for his central defender who had dropped in for a cross.

Is he shit? Is it MON's fault? Should we sell him?

Gorgeous play from Young! Coming into the game strongly now.

Its his team, he created the good times, and they'll come again. It is the life of a Villa fan. Besides, we're really not playing badly tonight. Especially when considering the result at the weekend and going 1-0 down in seconds. Decent stuff.

4-4-2, here we go.

Centre backs are teams, and Davies was signed to play alongside Laursen ... and played well. Laursen wasn't the demi-god he appears to be in people's recollections, he was slow to turn sometimes, and his passing was dodgy ... Davies complimented him well. Our defence lacks an organiser, but is looking better with a stronger midfield in front of it. I must have low expectations because I'm not unhappy with the way we've played.