blandy

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.

There are kind of two different things here. One good, one bad. You’d hope, surely, that the head of the European Central Bank would be an experienced banker. You’d hope that people advising on banking and currency changes would have a background in those areas. Experts are useful. Like when in the U.K. if an MP has been a doctor or teacher or whatever, get them involved with health or education, because they know about those areas. The potentially bad thing would be if the experts were all coming from the one single bank, Goldman Sachs. You’d hope there would be a range of relevant experience, different banks, different government posts, professors, civil servants. But your point that 2 people involved with the ECB have a banking background isn’t really much of a criticism, is it?

Something of a, er, blow, for Gobblers Knob, Utah.

They get right on his wick

I once got a Northern Fail train from Preston back to Lytham, summertime a few years back. After the footy, I think, or maybe cricket. Anyway, for whatever reason the train went at breakneck speed through every stop (not stopping) on the line, fair rattling along, going past people waiting on the platforms at 70 miles an hour or whatever - startled looks all round. It got to Blackpool North (end of the line). Sat there for 15 minutes, then another driver got on, and it trundled back, stopping most stops on the way and I was eventually able to get off at Lytham. There was no announcement, no explanation, nothing. Bloke must have been on a promise or something.

I know, it's come to some rotten state when Northern rail makes merseyrail look half decent. It's not a rail service it's a disgrace.

Ooh. I'd love to go see that. I just fancy a nice night out in Liverpool, tonight, maybe take in some music.... I'll get the reliable Northern rail train service there and back... 6 piggin' months this has been going on. Words removed.

Probably about as much as the totally contradictory lines coming out of the Labour one about Brexit referendums last week. The media collectively isn't as sharp focused as it ought to be.

Definitely. I’d say the idea of revolutionising the club is more than attractive, it’s essential, both for fans and owners. How and who to employ to do that is the challenging first step. I’d be concerned if we got in people who’d want to live in London, take the money and not be wholeheartedly committed. Not saying that would the case with your combo, but it might be...who knows

The negative side isn't base on nothing. Which isn't to say that there couldn't be a positive outcome...but most people I think would accept that he's untried, untested and unfamiliar with this division? The positives, as I said above is this type of gamble has worked in the past, at for example Chelsea. There are a long list of great players who haven't hacked it at all as managers. It's fine to be excited about such a possibility. But equally, I can remember being, er, chastised for my concerns about and "not getting behind" SB before he was appointed. For once in my life I was exactly right that time. Other times I've been wrong (more often). But go back and read any thread speculating on a new manager and you'll see a mix of views about different possibilities. Some people end up right, and some wrong. I get the desire to be positive and hope for better results and football and future - I share it. Equally, it's not exactly unique to have concerns about an untested candidate. Any appointment is a risk, and most end up as failures to one degree or another. I hope whoever it is does really well. I just can't think of any comparable situations where a big name untried manager has stormed it in the way you hope and revolutionises a club. Even going abroad, and looking at the top managers now, most were unknowns, or never World class players, when they started managing. Klopp, Mourinho, Guardiola (good player)...most are not world cup winners. But to end on a positive, willingness to start lower down is a good sign, and he would attract players and assistants through reputation. So here's hoping for the best, Jas.