blandy

or NASA https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

No, That's not so. It's another example. It's nowhere near 20% disagreeing. Obviously different studies will throw up slightly different stats, but it's close to 97 or 98% https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-advanced.htm Much more on link. Detailed methodology, explanations, all sorts.

I don't know what your point is here. Maybe you're just airing general observations, but you quoted me, so I'll try and address what you're saying in the context of what I wrote So again, progress wouldn't be relegation. Progress isn't = games won. Progress, as the club has needed for a long time is to develop an identity, a pattern of play that the players understand and buy into, that involves consistent training methods, set up for the modern game. It requires effective, clear tactics that the players buy in to. It's OK for mistakes to be made, if they're learnt from. Everyone makes mistakes. It's OK not to win every game. Progress is seeing young players come through and fit into and improve the team, rather than being sidelined. Progress is seeing signings actually suit the pattern of play and slot in to the system easily. Progress isn't buying or loaning loads of expensive midfielders or forwards and then having them sit out games because you've gone and got "want that one" from somewhere else, like a spoilt kid. Progress is finding signings that turn out to be bargains - like Bruce did with McGuinn. Not like he did with Lansbury or Hogan etc. Or like Timmy did with Micah. Surely you can see that we've got to end this ludicrous short-termism of wasting tons of money on "name signings" or "he played well against us". We have an U-23 side that plays one way and a first team that played a different way. Where's the sense in that. Having them all play the same way, that's progress because it allows players to move up and settle much better, already knowing where to be, what to do, where others will be. So to start with, for a period, winning won't be the be all and end all. Repairing the damage, sorting out the unbalanced squad and establishing some sort of progressive style of play, as opposed to "give it to Jack" would be a nice start. But I suspect you know all that, really.

Why do you even ask? did you not see the bit you quoted in bold - "if people see progress". Obviously, relegation would not be progress, it would be further regress. The point I'm making is for all the modern impatience that you rightly identify, I don't think that overall supporters are so binary that if they can see something taking shape, genuine steps in the right direction, they will give a degree of leeway to a manager. Of course they'll want to see the progress turn into results and it's not limitless, but managers get honeymoon periods, and ones that communicate, show they know where they're trying to go tend to be given longer ones than others who do the opposite. I can't believe that anyone sees it differently.

I know it's tongue in cheek, but this is the type of (on the face of it) false "confusion" that leads to people being so misinformed. The scientific community and responsible reporting does give the true picture, but it's easy to twist that and partially report and use it in a way to falsely discredit wind power.

Understandable. I think these new owners undermined Bruce (not their man) when they potted a few of his staff. But I don't think they'd be daft enough to do the same with "their man", particularly at the very time they're trying to appoint him.

I suspect that the "presence" of John Terry last season, with all the stuff he did off the pitch, the benefits he clearly brought to the squad, the organisational side of him, the professionalism and all that left an impression with players, staff, and people like Brian Little etc. who the new owners would have talked to. Whether they wanted someone high profile or not, I'm confident they wanted JT involved for what he brings aside from his name.

If that were to happen - no promotion this season (and I think that's the likely outcome) then there's only one option. As you say we'd have severe financial constraints (again. That we've so far ignored them this season is a major worry, but that's another story). SO with financial constraints, the ONLY option is to do what the teams already operating on small budgets do - build and develop. Whether it's a Brentford version, a Burton Albion version, Rotherham...whoever. We've now got a manager who works that way. We've got a youth system (not affected by FFP). So whatever level of achievement we get this season, the way forward is and always should have been to rebuild the club on a sustainable, stable, sound coaching type of footing. Embedding a system and all the rest. For me the Bruce and RDM appointments were wrong, and I said why at the time - because they were not along the lines I've said here. They were about short term, throw money at it and hope something works, somehow. A massive gamble. That could have worked had the club been less of a mess, but it was so broken that IMO it was never going to work. Bruce did well to sort out some of the issues, but he didn't progress anything tangible or long term. RDM had 12 games or so and couldn't get anything to work in that time so he was potted because of the short term outlook and gamble. You're right people are less forgiving or patient, but my sense is that if people see progress, they will put up with a period of poor results, particularly if they connect with a manager and the manager connects with them.

I'd guess so. It is nevertheless staggering that when 98% of the scientists looking at climate change believe it is certain it is man made, that the general population (or a sample of it) having less knowledge of the facts only 61% or so have a similar view. There is clearly a failure of media, or success of interested deniers (oil lobby etc.) causing this mismatch. Like you hint, significant events like these succession of super-storms, heatwaves etc. are bound to change the perception.

Yeah. Maybe a stay at the Savoy, or something relaxing.

I think it's true that both of Hogan and Jimmy Danger are confidence players. When they're confident and in form, they both look dangerous and good forwards for this level. When out of confidence, their form drops, their body language isn't too good and Kodjia in particular can be quarrelsome with refs and opponents, and once or twice with team mates who tell him to chase or track or pass or whatever. But they're both decent players and given a different manager may well thrive again.

Yeah, exactly this. The points dropped already, the unbalanced squad have proper done for us this season. FFP will also have an impact in a few months. What the club has needed all along is to develop a recognisable, coherent template - exactly what Brentford have (only a Villa version). A way of playing embedded and enjoyable. A long term outlook and an idea of where we're going. Not a short term "we must get promoted now" panic style effort. If you get the other things right the results and success come on their own. Success at any costs is just the wrong approach. The club needs to make more of its youth system and bring through more players playing our way. Lose the desperation and replace it with inspiration and organisation. I hope he gets time to enable all this to happen.

Returning officer, surely?

Yeah it is despicable. We should simply accept it. We who live in the U.K. we should simply note that the US system is rigged and continues to be so, and then move on to not accepting stuff that actually affects us. Not accepting the Repubs behaviour means doing something about it, and we can’t.

I agree. Good post. They lost the plot the last 6 months or so, in s reckless gamble. No argument. My point isn’t that the Xia execution of it was correct, or whatever, merely that I don’t know if there’s a plan now, or if so what it is, or if actions are consistent with any such plan. I doubt anyone does.

Don't you mean Corbyn-alike Joe?

Saw that stuff in the local Booths. I think the fire brigade have quelled the worst of the flames, now. Serves them right.

Not only that, he wasn't a General, either! Whatever next? Lana Del Ray, Seasick Steve and Tom Waits are not actually the same as their musical personas? Captain Beefheart, by the way...

Yes, you're right. Ta.

I refer the honourable poster to the last two words of my quoted post ?

"Fly cemeteries" my Dad used to call them.

For a little while now I've been slightly troubled by something. But before that, firstly to say that I'm pleased they came along and essentially saved the club from the financial recklessness of Dr. Xia's massive gamble. I'm also pleased that as individuals they appear to have both genuine resources and a large degree of business and sporting experience. They chose well. They've bought a cracking football club. If they run it well they'll be both lauded and also much richer. Returning the Villa to the Premier league and building it back to what it was and what it should be would be hugely rewarding in many ways (and hard work, too). Now to the niggle. When they came in it was suddenly, effectively, almost ruthlessly efficient, under the circumstances. Clearly they knew their way around a takeover. They've appointed a CEO and are on course to appointing a DoF. They've sacked (rightly, in my view) the last manager and his staff, having previously also sacked various coaching staff and backroom people. The thing that's a worry is that under Tony Xia, there was a plan (even if half of it was unicorns and rainbows). The plan was this "Villa Engine" gubbins. The consistent application of a single principle throughout the football side of things. Scouting, junior, youth, U-23, senior team - all to have a consistent pattern of play, to recruit younger players with promise, rather than over the hill, or at the peak, expensive players. The CEO working with the manager almost hand in hand, along with the DoF, Steve Round. It seems like, for the moment at least that has gone, been lost in the changes. Baby and bathwater. Scouting has gone, and all the key football people, for the first team - manager, assistant, keeping coach, fitness coach etc. have gone. New owners, a new CEO, a new DoF on the way. A new manager on the way. So where's the continuity for them to settle in to, all these new people? All of them from owners, to coaches to manager to scouts to god knows who else are going to have to come in, all in a short space of time to something that doesn't have an embedded structure or vision or plan (as far as we can tell). That in itself is hugely challenging, but there's another aspect, too. Finance. All the personnel changes cost money. New deals for players cost money. FFP is there in the background, frowning disapprovingly while fingering its cane, ready to dish out a beating. Nassef Sawaris and Wes Edens involvement with Adidas and the Milwaukee Bucks and love of sport in general, offers hope of some level of understanding and knowledge of structures for football clubs and sports finance and business, but I fear that there's a lot they've yet to get a full understanding of and that the chances of errors on the way are high. I wouldn't expect them to tell us what they're doing to manage FFP, or recruitment or much else. But what I would like to feel a little more comfortable about is basically how the club intends to shape itself for the future - are we to have an overhauled "Villa Engine" type plan? are we aiming to do a Man City or PSG style of "just buy the best" are we planning on focussing on really bringing through youth players and building over time? Are we planning on the "one team to get us up, one to stay up and another to reach towards winning things again? Everything at the moment is one disruptive event after another. This has the advantage of getting it all out the way at once, I suppose, but the disadvantage that no-one can kind of look up above the fog and see the objective and just follow a well known path. They're all making it up as they go along, fighting crocodiles and no-one's draining the swamp (as far as we can tell). Already it's left us with a monumentally unbalanced squad, all right backs and surplus midfielders and almost no centre backs (well, one) or left backs (ditto) and three skittish keepers. If you wanted to sabotage a club's promotion chances, a lace defence and collection of seemingly overpaid, unwanted midfielders and forwards would be one way to go about it. There is of course an awful amount of talent in the squad too, and there's that to cling to - but so far the "birth" of Aston Villa under Nas and Wes is looking to be a difficult one. So what do I want? Not much, in truth. I'd like to enjoy watching Villa play, which I haven't for the past few years. I admired Steve Bruce's teams resilience and competence, but it never thrilled me. Before that, well it was just defeats. I'd like the football to thrill me and be hopeful. I'd like the owners to get the structure and appointments right, and for someone to communicate what the vision is, how the swamp is going to get drained, so I can top worrying about crocodiles and start enjoying the view.

Not a touch on meat pie and caramel sauce

But..but, that's for when you order something before it's dropped.

Zackly. As per Blackstar etc. Anyway, stupid annoying terminology - "Rocking" - as in "look at him rocking a new bad-boy jacket and haircut" . No, **** off.