wishywashy

Barca announcement suggests that it's done. Imagine being told 5 years ago that Aston Villa would be poaching a highly-rated and well-liked Sporting Director from BARCELONA. Barca fans seem to really like him: he's got them back to winning the league on a shoestring budget. Genuinely insane.

15 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Offering the client base what it wants seems like a good business idea to me

The new kits will sell like hot cakes, there's no doubt about that: the City Football Group badge template clearly works from a business perspective. I just find that sort of stuff empty, so corporate in feel. My disappointment comes from the feeling that they could have made a badge that both works well from their marketing perspective and made the greater public happy without defaulting to what is clearly a template. You had people on Twitter of all places managing to pull this off with countless concept badges that were just.. better. At all levels. It was not an impossible ask.

I'm weirdly passionate about this sort of stuff, I don't know why. I'd say I'm pretty business-heady a good 90% of the time. Yet I was also irrationally peeved at what they did to the Pringles and Firefox logos 

Honestly, I prefer the current one to the upcoming one. And the alternatives. The fact that it (clearly unintentionally) looks like an Aston Villa version of the Chelsea badge simply by playing it safe shows you how uninspired and mediocre it (and a bog standard round badge template) is. They could have at least *tried* to offer something a bit more out there and keep it round if they really wanted to: Ajax managed it. Hell, go crazy like Koln did. But no, Round Badge Template Easy To Use In Marketing #232 it is.

The gas lamp alternative had plenty of problems too, from the name feeling off to the fact that it barely looks like a lamp. Clearly *someone* in the design process had a bold, cool idea that would have showcased a unique historical aspect on our club while looking all modern, but it was watered down into mediocrity: just like the round one. Not sure why they bothered if that is the case, really. The soullessness of it all is quite indicative of the direction that Villa's commercial department has taken over the years: pure marketing with no thought to anything else.

Also, that survey at the start was a joke. I actually laughed at how most of the questions were just asking people to pick meaningless buzzwords. I reckon you could have gotten people to take it 3 times a day and the results would have been entirely random each time, as nothing actually meant anything. Yet they seemingly clung to the results. No idea what they were thinking there.

United at home have lost 1 in 16 (at the start of the season), for the record. It was always going to be a big ask to get anything out of this game, even though we were on good form. It happens. Onwards to the next game.

3-0. wolves please

2-2. booo. poor from hampton there

DALY AGAIN!

1-1. boooo

First set piece goal United have conceded this season!

41 minutes ago, Rustibrooks said:

L’Équipe via Sports Witness have linked us with Adrien Truffert, who would be a decent back up to Moreno if we sell Digne. I can’t seem to find the link from L’Équipe directly though.

I think this is just a regurgitation of an old link that's all a bit hypothetical: Matte Moretto who broke the Moreno link said back in December that Truffert was the alternative target for a starting LB if we didn't get Moreno. We may well have bid in January, but I'm not so sure we'd go back in even if Digne leaves: especially since Moreno has solidified himself in the team.

Him coming in for Bailey has worked out pretty well for the team: without a dedicated DM like Kamara (and pre-Emery in general) I feel that Luiz and McGinn in particular are stifled, with fewer creative responsibilities. Sure, Dendoncker is, at best, a decent defensive midfielder who links-up play pretty consistently (unlike liability-in-possession Nakamba!). But his profile is essential to allow our other midfielders to play to their strengths. I don't think it's a coincidence that since he's come into the team McGinn has been on fire (although moving to RM is doing wonders as well). A good reason why we haven't particularly missed Kamara, imo.

Also, we didn't concede until he came off in the Stevenage game 

It really puts things into perspective when you consider that this season was the first in a very, very long time where it hasn't been a matter of life or death whether we sign a bunch of starters. We've only just really shaken off the consequences of awful squad building from the Xia-era and getting promoted arguably a season before we were really ready. Like, we obviously need a striker, but it's not a case of "it'll be really, really bad if we don't get this one right". The squad-building is finally finding some stability and now there's an elite manager at the helm. Fascinating summer ahead.

Guendouzi's relationship with Marseille has really soured. Been benched last two games and seems like they both want to part ways now. Looks like the deal for wherever he'll go to will get wrapped up nice and quickly (and I doubt for the money they were asking in January...)

can at least go back to hating united, and with more reason than ever. hope ratcliffe and the glazers run them into the ground x

Sancho scores 7 minutes in. Spurs defensive structure non-existent. Come on... United.. Nope, still hurts.

Jokes aside, you had 3 Spurs players on Sancho and they just.. let him do his thing? What on earth are they doing?

12 minutes ago, Jareth said:

They both get Europe, 7th probably too. Not sure about 8th - anyone know?

Unless Man United win the FA Cup but don't finish Top 4 (which is extremely unlikely): 5th and 6th get Europa League, 7th gets Conference League, 8th gets nothing regardless of scenario.

West Ham winning the Conference League will give them a Europa League spot, but this would have no impact on the spots given by league position.

Spurs v United tomorrow. Might be the first time in years I've wanted United to win a game. It hurts.

18 minutes ago, Follyfoot said:

Are you including the Leyland DAF in that figure 

Apparently, yes!

I occasionally think about how Emery has won more trophies (11) than Small Heath, ever (9). And I'm being pretty generous to the latter by counting their Third Division title...

I know he's passionate and emotional, but he really needs to kick that habit of sometimes stropping around angrily when he loses the ball: especially when he wastes the opportunity to keep fighting for the ball. It's been far less common since when he first came in, but it happened a few times yesterday. 

Fulham had one shot all game. It was in the first 30 seconds. I know they lost Willian & Wilson unexpectedly: Fulham's attack is dire without Mitro as it is, but what the hell are you cooking, Mr Emery? Resisted the urge to up the tempo when Fulham were almost inviting us to open the game up, just kept them away from goal and saw out an easy win.

1 minute ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

Imagine the excitement the final day when you’re sitting there with one ticket to Sevilla, one to Azerbaijan and one tram ticket to Wolverhampton.

1 hour ago, Keyblade said:

He didn't do too bad after coming in after Mourinho was sacked. He had them more attacking and they were dispatching the lesser teams which they seem to be struggling with now. 

They already had a solid defensive structure under Jose and were pretty well drilled already, making them more attacking was relatively simple with little trade-off. This time the job is much more complicated: their defense is significantly worse and any resemblance of structure has vanished since Conte left. They switched to a back 4 against Newcastle, looked comically undrilled, and the rest is history. Plus, Mason was the assistant to Stellini. I'm not sure this is an easy fix, and the chopping and changing of interim managers surely can't be helping the chaos and confusion. I really hope that they continue this awful losing streak, would make our 50-50 run for Europe a loooot easier...

And can we make sure we know whether we're in Europe before the final game of the season, please? After the playoff final and West Ham in 19/20, I don't think my heart or my body is prepared to go through that again.