blandy

A comment for General Krulak on the ambassador thing - I can understand why people raise the point, but tbh if the "ambassador" is not part of the actual club, then she or he is surely "just" a fan with a good profile or renown. We have those already. If this person became "official" then they are no longer an independent commentator /public cheerleader, but part of the club structure. I think we have one of those already..... At best a suggestion would be to communicate well with "notable" supporters in the public eye, so that when/if they, through their enthusiasm for the club, start talking about the club (on the radio say), they are up to date with the situation and circumatances and can tell it straight. I have to say, though, that an additional comment would be that the direct communication with fans sits easier and better to my mind than selecting "celebrity" fans and giving them extra attention/information - if high profile people are "real" fans, then they'll pick up the latest info and so on, and if they're not "real fans" then are they who the club would want as "ambassadors"? The club has perhaps been used before by people who associate themselves with it for their own ends, rather than because they are genuine claret and blue.

Posts Deleted. This thread is for questions and answers to and from the General NOT chat between posters, however genial. Please respect the fact that the General has a lot of posts to trawl though and don't make him work harder to keep us informed and listen to our concerns, thanks. blandy

Whitestake, I think it's called, the village - just outside Preston, anyway, round the back of a garden centre, near new longton http://www.turbarywoods.co.uk/ edit - I should add, for Kitey, that there's an absolutely gorgeous Red Kite there. Not very keen on being photographed, though I did get a picture, the call she makes is something else, too. Quite tuneful, really.

Poor photography, but nice Owls (and a falcon). Trouble is Owls like the dark. And it's only a little automatic camera

Out By Easter gives us an absolutely splendid summary of L'iL Lee's Villa career With Lee about to leave us for pastures new, I think it's only fair we look back on thirteen years where he gave us all the entertainment we could ever have asked for, some of it on the pitch! It’s September 1994 and Villa are beating Inter Milan at Villa Park, its night and Big Ron’s wearing sunglasses. The callow youth behind him on the bench in those photo’s and clips is none other than YTS player Lee Hendrie, his face lit with excitement. Allowed onto the bench by the larger than life character with the perma-tan and the pearly teeth, Lee was there to learn. I suspect he spent more time watching Ron than the game. It’s hard to believe that that young boy turned thirty a week or so ago, it’s sadly easier to believe that his thirteen-year Villa history will be ending in the next few days. So how do you get from there to here? The rise... Lee made his debut for us in December of 1995 away at QPR. He came off the bench, as a sub and it was clear the young man had a talent. He was sent off late on however, despite an impassioned plea to the referee from the venerable Ray Wilkins, I say impassioned, obviously I mean as impassioned as you can get in Rays dull monotone. Anyway, an impression had been made and Lee became a fan favourite. He made a couple of other nice cameo appearances that season, including the first time I saw him at Villa Park against Middlesbrough, but didn’t start another league game until the 1997-98 season. In 1997-98, Hendrie was our Young Player of the Year, and he’d become the Lee Hendrie we’ve all become familiar with: a creative footballer who could see a pass, a player who liked to get into the little spaces between defences and midfields and with an eye for goal (albeit not matched by his finishing prowess.) He was a popular sight, the will-o-the-wisp youngster, with the curtains haircut, swaying and bobbing around defences, and he was making a name for himself. He’d caught the eye of the England U21 coaching set-up, scored 5 times in 13 appearances for them, and he’d carried his form through to the 1998-99 season, playing 31 times for Villa, the most he ever managed in a season. England had been knocked out of the World Cup in the summer of 1998, and had embarked on a search for the young talent on which to build a team for the future. It seemed only natural when Lee was called up. He played 18 minutes for England on the 18th November 1998, replacing Paul Merson and doing very well against the Czech Republic. He looked a very lively substitute, and even managed to hit the post. What a future he had in front of him, “our Lee”: Villa and England’s future. Alas it was not to be, Glenn Hoddle was sacked very shortly afterwards, and Lee’s England career was snuffed out in its infancy. Glenn’s ill-advised comments on the disabled had done for both of their international futures, and no other England manager seemed to believe that Lee’s could be resurrected. Lee Hendrie: England midfielder would not find reincarnation. But worse was to come, Lee had been gathering bad Karma. And fall…. We should have seen it coming. Right from that start against QPR, Lee had always had an unerring ability to find trouble, or to have it find him. His England U21 career had been cut short following an incident where he’d missed a curfew and been out drinking. Stories had started to emerge from around Birmingham of Lee out and about on the town. Nothing serious, just that he didn’t seem to know when to stop, when to back down, when to leave it, when to say no. He was becoming as well known for what was happening in the Fox and Goose or Rosie’s or Broad Street as he was for what he was up to on the pitch, and it was hardening attitudes towards him. It seemed to me that during the 90’s Lee had a black eye at least once or twice a season. On the pitch too his mouth would get him into trouble, the talent was still there though, and he could still change a game with a shimmy or a prodded through ball. 1999-2000 brought fatherhood, but the season was marred by injuries that cost him a starting place. Paul Merson, the player he had replaced for England had arrived at Villa Park and replaced him as Villa’s playmaker and in the hearts of Villa fans. Paul had his own troubles, but they seemed somehow to make him more human, where Lee’s seemed to take him further away from the man on the street. He was back from injury and on the bench for the 2000 FA Cup Semi Final, being brought on by John Gregory late on to take a penalty in the shoot out. He was now no longer a youngster, this sort of responsibility meant that Lee was now amongst the senior players. He didn’t make the starting eleven for the final, but he if he could go into the summer and work hard, he had a chance to push on and develop. In July of 2000, on his way to report for an Intertoto away trip, Lee crashed his Porsche into the central reservation of the M6. He was lucky to walk away with very minor injuries; he was probably lucky to be alive. He still managed 6 goals in the 2000-2001 season, his best return in a Claret & Blue shirt. From 2000-2002, Lee played reasonably well and reasonably often for Villa, without ever looking like a player who could dominate a game, he was worth his place in the squad, but he didn’t seem able to make the step up into being a star. He could drift out of games, or allow himself to be marginalised, the touch was still there, the quick feet remained, but he seemed to have lost a little direction, and when Graham Taylor arrived in 2002, it looked like Lee’s Villa adventure was coming to an end as Graham began the search for suitors for his errant midfielder. If John Gregory was a manager who was the leader of the gang, Graham Taylor’s more avuncular style didn’t seem to bring the best out of him; Lee needed a more modern man to motivate him. As luck would have it, one was just about to arrive. A Renaissance and the depths Enter David O’Leary, and Lee; seeming to sense that he might be separated from his only club worked hard to gain his new managers confidence, producing his best season for a few years as Villa finished 6th. In the first half of 2004-2005 Lee produced one the best spells of his Villa career, he’d scored his best goal in a Villa shirt with a 25 yard lob against Bolton at the end of the previous season, but nothing prepared us for his one man assault on the goal of the month competition in late 2004, he won it eventually with a cracker against Everton, but he could have had any of three or four contenders. For a couple of months we had a flash of the player he could have been, he was “Thierry Hendrie” but he couldn’t keep it up, and that period couldn’t cover up the rift that had developed between Lee and the fans during the previous summer. I had a seat on the half way line for the pre-season friendly at Bescot in August 2003, and I’ll give you my point of view. Lee was having an okay game, nothing special. He seemed to be the butt of a couple of jokes coming from a section of the Villa support, nothing nasty, just banter. He misplaced a pass, and it became a little louder and a few more joined in. The first cry of “blue nose” went up. Next up a 40-60 challenge that Lee ducked out of. Lee’s ducked 50-50’s his entire career, not because he’s a coward but because it’s not what his games about, he’s not a great tackler, so he doesn’t try the things he can’t do. Especially not in a meaningless pre-season friendly at Walsall. For the next 10 minutes, he suffered the worst kind of abuse; his own fans called him just about every name under the sun and some besides. In an effort to prove his bottle, he went in late on a Walsall player, and they gave him more stick for it. Once again the Lee Hendrie trait of never knowing when enough is enough, knowing when to walk away overcame him, and he launched the ball into the fans, before grabbing his genitals and gesturing at them. It briefly looked like it might escalate, but he was pulled away and substituted, he was visibly shaken up as he left the field. I remember a Walsall fan shouting across to me “How come they hate him so much?” The break had been made though, and from then on Lee’s days at Villa were always numbered, you sensed that the joy had gone out of it for him, and for us too. His personal life continued to cause problems; he was no longer just living life at 90 miles an hour he was driving that way too, a driving ban followed. Banned from the roads, he did manage to allegedly steer a golf cart into a lake during a quiet day off. The following summer brought even more grief, his marriage came to a painful end, and he was rumoured to have been involved with Amy Bruce, who I can only assume is significantly better looking than her father. He barely played the next season, then, at the beginning of the season just gone, the manager Lee had been waiting his whole career for arrived, but too late to save him. Fade out… I thought Lee and Martin O’Neill would be a match made in heaven, but it didn’t take Martin long to identify the source of trouble in his squad, after a final appearance at the Emirates on the opening day, Lee was pushed out on loan to Stoke. The Maradona of the Potteries wowed Stoke fans, without ever threatening to make a Villa return, but his love for the club could still be seen in his appearance in the crowd at the league cup game against Leicester. Typically, the police had to step in and tell him to calm down on that occasion. In truth, he wasn’t missed in the Villa squad, and with the hoped for additions this summer, his time had passed. The golden boy had grown up and we’d discovered he was just orange after all. I’ll miss his neat skills, but not his annual “I’ve grown up” speeches, and I’ll miss his enthusiasm, but not his big mouth. Writing this has made me realise just how much of what’s gone on at Villa over the last thirteen years has centred on Lee and the things that happen in his life. Our future will not be that way. The last time I ever saw Lee Hendrie in a Villa shirt, he was taking a last second penalty for the reserves. It was saved, and he missed the rebound too, and that’s Lee, always in the centre of the action, but never quite taking his chance. He’s become a story that Gordon Cowans tells Villa’s young kids; a cautionary tale, the bogeyman. Yet he’s played thirteen years at the top level (or at least with us!) and he’s never been anything but entertaining. From curtains to the tanning salon, from boy to man, from fan favourite to gobby misfit, Lee Hendrie will light up the Championship for someone next year, I have no doubt about it. He’ll also be in trouble, there’ll be no-one to blame but himself, and it won’t bother him a jot. Goodbye Lee and good luck. I hope you had the time of your life.

Sure, me too. She's excellent, but [mod hat on] to keep this relevant, this thread is precisely for the purpose of raising questions or concerns, and Nicki Keye as consumer sales manager needs to be made aware of this type of thing, as does Richard Fitzgerald - he signed the letter. That the ticket office service is excellent is commonly agreed, it just looks like an oversight, perhaps due to the rush to get things out.

I disagree to an extent about 3 or 4 of your conclusions, but not massively sso. Freddie Bouma - for me he doesn't do enough going forward, though he's pretty good defensively. More to come, I'd hope, but I'm not sure. John Carew, I'm yet to be convinced by. More based around fitness than anything else - he looks a bit laboured at the mo' but a full pre-season will help, unless it brings injuries. Steven Davis I rate very highly indeed and Aaron Hughes, for me can certainly pass and play, I just feel that he doesn't do enough to stop crosses coming in. I guess that his time in the prem as a regular may be coming to an end, but he's a lot better than most fans seems to think IMO. For me the interest will be not so much in glamour signings, but in balancing the side, and the midfield in particular. Davis, Gardner, Petrov, Barry are all extremely capable or promising players, with good futures, I just wondr about the balance of attack and defence. Barry makes us tick and has been fabulous, Petrov controlled and cool, Gardner energetic and able and Davis brings invention and quick feet and creativity in the final third. They're all better going forwards than defending, though GB is looking like an all rounder, as does Petrov to an extent. What's interesting is that there's very few who look on the way down, or who have peaked, and many who have huge scope to get better.

So that's it, then. Another season done and dusted. It's been a mixed bag, with an underlying theme of improvement and optimism. Today's game exemplified why. The day started with the short trip, for me, to Horwich and the Bromilow Arms, where, some fine beer ( the local flat cap) was taken, and end of season chatter was had with fellow Villans from the North West. (Credit again to Bickster for taxiing it all the way from Liverpool). After our pre-match sharpeners we walked down to the out of town shopping mall and football dome place that is the home of Bolton Wanderers. We knew I think, what we'd get. They might have lost "Big Sam", but the players are still the same - all big, strong, fit lads, with a bit of ability, a good team ethic and an awkward style of play, to both play against and to watch. The first 20 minutes or so, in the Lancashire rain, were pretty end of season uneventful. The game wasn't a great spectacle. Villa playing the same team as last week were relaxed, but not lackadaisical, Bolton were their usual selves. It was around about the 20 minute mark when they scored, in front of us. A knock down in the box, less than diligent marking and Gary Speed finished well. Sloppy, really by Villa, but exactly the sort of awkward thing Bolton excel at. Fortunately, Villa have a spirit and ability about them these days that means we don't take setbacks as anything more than temporary blips. Within 5 minutes Craig Gardener had scored an absolute blinder. A volley as the ball fell over his shoulder, from Big John's knock on, on from the corner of the box. it was unstoppable. 1-1 and the game reverted to it's middling fair. Plenty of people seemed as interested in scores from elsewhere, a sure sign that the game wasn't riveting the attention. There were a few scrapes at each end, and injury to Tommy, caused by a fair challenge as he hesitated with a defender over who was going to deal with a ball, and Nolan, I think, caught him on the hand, with his studs. The second half saw Stuart Taylor on, and Bolton swap Anelka (off) for Idan Tal. Bolton had more of the play for the first part of the half, and another failure to clear a ball in left Davies to score, similarly to Speed in the first half. For a while, Bolton were well in control, and they looked perhaps more likely to get a third, than we did to equalise. The Villa players looked tired in comparison to the Trotters who were after a European place. Martin O'Neill decided to replace Patrick berger with Luke Moore, and a bit later, Freddie Bouma with Steven Davis. Both substitutions worked well, livening up the side and adding threat and invention. You just know with Luke, that given a chance, he'll score. He did again. Lovely play by MoTM Ashley Young a ball in from the goal line, and Luke Volleyed past Jaskelainen before he could blink. The last 10 minutes then saw Villa pressing, then holding on, then Bolton playing for time, presumably because of scores elsewhere. Referee Clattenburg blew his whistle for the last time this season, the fans, many Villans in fancy dress, cheered and applauded the players off. Martin Laursen threw his shirt into the crowd, hopefully he'll stay. It rained some more and I was home in time for tea. Some marks for a fairly ordinary game. Tommy 6 (Stuart taylor 6) Aaron Hughes 6 Freddie Bouma 6 Olly 6 - never seems to do well against the physical sides. Martin Laursen 7 - we'll seriously miss him if he goes. I hope his fitness stays and his knees hold up. Patrick Berger - 6 Gareth Barry 7 Craig Gardner 7 (1 for the fabulous volley) Ashley Young 8 MoTM - full of confidence and tricks. Big John - 6 Gabby 6. So, for the next 3 months, while cricketers huddle from the rain, tennis players fleetingly take centre stage and papers talk of transfers and intrigue to fill the space, we'll recharge out batteries, rest our throats and watch as the club continues to improve. We started brightly, dipped and then came again. That's the beginning sorted, now comes the hard bit. Thanks to all the players and staff, the barmen and barmaids, the fellow claret and blue travellers and even the odd train driver. See you all in August.

There's an away scheme, for season ticket holders, where you get tickets for all the away games. Cost is an extra 25 quid (plus the ticket costs). Details available from the ticket office. It's very good. It's not available to non-season ticket holders, (I guess through demand and availability of away tickets), and is a perk of season ticket holding. It's probably one of the biggest selling points, now of a season ticket, for me.

"GENERAL" WARNING TO ALL POSTERS - PLEASE KEEP COMMENTS TO QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS OR RELEVANT ISSUES FOR THE GENERAL. PLEASE DON'T MAKE HIM TRAWL THROUGH A LOT OF PAGES OF IRRELEVANCE TO GET TO THINGS THAT HE CAN AFFECT OR DEAL WITH. HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR WHAT HE IS DOING AND THE TIME HE HAS AVAILABLE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER THREADS WHERE THE CLUB CAN SEE HOW HAPPY OR WHATEVER WE ARE. THEY DO READ THE VT BOARD

Agreed. The thing that sticks in my mind about today, apart from the good company, the rather unexpected flea in my ear in the pub, and the great feeling from a full VP enjoying a good performance and the chance to celebrate properly the players from when we were lads, is just the joy on people's faces. From kids like AJ, the students & others not born in 82, the 30 and 40 somethings and the old boys and girls who've been going forever - it was just happy faces and optimism. Applauding, and being given the chance to applaud, the league and European Cup winning players, and Ron Saunders, properly, in the sun, at home, amongst a sea of claret and blue, well it brought a lump to my throat. As the old players and manager disappeared down the tunnel, we fans looked at each other in the stands. And we agreed. Priceless.

Baz, I agree with some of your post, to an extent, but I don't agree with the bit quoted. I look at it like this, if you watch the telly, MoTD or something, and Alan Hansen talks about defending, and explains why Watford let in a goal, it's not "giving it the big I am" it's just the opinion of a bloke who has experience of defending, talking about his opinion of defending. Same with Paulo and the badge. In either example, we're all free to agree or disagree, but it's worth, IMO, thinking about the "profesional" verdict, while reaching your own conclusion, without saying that AH or Paulo's view is tainted. It's obvious that the badge has not been universally liked. Me, I'm fine with it, now. It's our badge, and that's it. But If people who know about "fancy colouring in" analyse why they don't like it, and take the trouble to explain why, then were all better informed aren't we? It's a well written article.

I'm not sure I agree my critical faculties are solely based around who is in charge of the club. I would, I imagine, think exactly the same of the badge, whoever owned the club. Re-branding with Ellis still here - I agree, I'd have "slagged it off". Not because it would have been Ellis, but because re-branding only works, IMO, when you've something new to say and offer. We now have. That's what I was trying to say. The post wasn't really about the badge, that's just, to me, a small part of the picture. The club in my view HAS changed enormously for the better, and there's a lot more improvement to come.

Do I like it? - Yeah, it's decent. Better than the last one. Do i love it, or feel it captures everything "exactly so" . No, but then again, whatever they'd come up with I'd most likely have said no. It's a no win, really for the club. In summary. It's "OK" but not brilliant. But it doesn't reallt matter that much. It's a massively over-hyped issue. They gave us the chance to have say in it, we had our say, the result is decent. Maybe, just maybe, we have some of us, just lost a little perspective, here. The people who know about marketing the club, about making us better, must be happy with it, the likes of IMG, Nike, the board, globally experienced folk are happy with it. It reflects well enough on our past and future. It unifies the effortd the club will make to bring us success, improvement and good fortune. Villa always has been and always will be my club. I'm overjoyed with the people in charge of it, now. The shield is such a trivial issue, really, compared to results on and off the pitch. There's been almost nothing at all to even contemplate complaining about for a season, now, so the badge gets the supreme "over-hyped" attention of everyone. It's a sign of how much we've come on, that it's an issue, as well as a sign that the club and everything to do with it matter to us, always. Of all the things a fan might be unhapy about, the shape/colour/whatevr of the badge is pretty low down on the list. Not all Villans like the badge. Meanwhile, in other news, MK Dons ground is being built, Leeds are going down the pan, Sunderland are promoted under Roy Keane, Torquay are out the league, Liverpool are in Euro Cup final....

There's been a lot of talk about the "re-branding" of the club. Here's some more. Normally, when I read stories, or hear on the news, that such and such a company has "rebranded" itself, I just think sceptically of consultant's fees and "workshops" in which loads of arty types called Nathan and Oliver talk all kinds of gibberish, then go off to "Bistro Riche" for an extended luncheon at the client's expense, before finally coming out with a result that turns out to be almost exactly the same as the previous version - Remember BP spending millions on getting someone to come up with basically the same badge as the last time, but with slightly sloping letters? So when It comes to something that does matter to me - my football club, why aren't I equally scornful? Well the first reason is that the "image" of Aston Villa was somewhat jaded and tarnished. If ever there was a case for a club needing people's perceptions of it re-aligning (apart from Leeds, and they're looking beyond help) then it was Aston Villa. Talk to a fellow football fan about Villa, at almost any time over the past decade or so - a supporter of Preston, or Liverpool, or Norwich, or wherever, and you'd generally get one of two reactions. Either "Big Club, Proper History, you deserve better than to be run by that buffoon Ellis." or less kindly, "Empty seats, the chairman's an idiot, the fans are always moaning, you're mid table fodder for the big clubs to walk all over. Get used to it" The Wigan fans chanted "You're not famous anymore" at us at the JJB, and they were right. "Unambitious and unhappy" was perhaps the wider perception of Villa across football, and the media, until very recently. Things, as we know, changed big style last summer. But aside from making the news for a while, (until attention moved on to the next club to be taken over and McLaren's inadequacies) perhaps there's not really been that much wider recognition of just how much things have changed. Yes, the press the club gets is better than it used to be, though as it was pretty dire before that's not hard. Martin O'Neill has helped, of course, as has the absence of any pompous pensioners blathering on in an official capacity. Since the summer, negative perception has been replaced with neutrality or curiosity - people know the club isn't "miserable" any more, but what is it? That's where the "branding" comes in As Arsene Wenger pointed out, "everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife", yet Villa really does have claim to rather more significance than is credited to us in this SKY+ age. It's acknowledged that Liverpool are England's most successful club, Manchester United have the most fans, Chelsea are the richest, Arsenal the best to watch (though these things can, and may, all change). There's is though, no "tag" for Villa, now that the negative aspects have gone. Fortunately it's not a case that a false "tag" needs to be invented. There is a genuine huge amount to be attribute to Villa and for the world to see. Unlike "richest", "most fans", or "best football" etc, what we have is that the whole "old ball game" was pretty much kicked off by Aston Villa, in terms of founding the football league (and consequently the spread of the game world-wide). It's also true that for a long, long, time Villa was the most successful and glamorous club. Sure it might not mean much now, but it's something to be proud of. It's unique. So let's not hide it away. We can be proud too, that 25 years ago we were at the top of European Football (we should also be more than a little sad that we've got nowhere near since, mind). Chelsea last night, again, showed that it's not easy to get near that level, even with all their money and a league format that helps the money teams - So it's a nice touch that the great players of that 1980/81/82 team will be part of the launching of the new era for the Club, that we'll have a "brand" that both links back to their day in the sun and back beyond that, to the very founding of the Football league. We have a Club that is unique, a Club to once again be proud of and one that is truly aiming to get back to the top while not forgetting the past. Another aspect about the "branding" of Aston Villa is the international element. Here history plays a greater part than perhaps it does in the UK, where we follow each and every result of each club and the evolution of the league table over the season. Abroad, perhaps, for the non-committed, but interested, it's more about what the club represents, what they've done, and why AVFC rather than Anderlecht or Austria Vienna. In terms of the new marketing experience and new impetus and expertise behind the Club, in terms of clearing away the cobwebs of 25 years of neglect, the decision to revise the Club's badge was a good one. A new start, looking forwards and re-connecting with the past pretty much demanded the replacement of the yellow stripey (copyrighted, TM, plc, no you can't copy it) badge from the later Ellis years. We the fans were consulted over preferences for shape and colours and so on. And the new badge has been released to a bizarrely over-excited world. Some fans love it, some hate it, some think it's quite nice, and some not very nice. Well knock me down with a feather! I'd never have guessed that would be the case. Personally speaking, it's got a lion on it, it says "Prepared" on it, it's a pale blue background, on a shield with no nasty yellow stripes. Looks alright on the club website and will look very nice on the kit. It's more than a nod to the past and we'll soon get used to it. And so will the world, hopefully. Right, that's me done, I'm off to Bistro Riche for some Chateau Parafino '07 and canapes.

No pie , Chris, I had an organic cheese burger outside the ground. I kid you not (with cheese, onions and an inferior brand brown sauce). Beer was 2 pints of GMT in Wetherspoons, a Deuchar's and 2 Timmy Taylors Landlord in the Waldorf (plastic glasses in there, mind). Mmm Beer. Dipsomania is not an illness....is it?

Well I reckon it was NW trains at fault - probably they did it to avoid paying some fine for the number of late trains, or something - cheaper to miss the fares of a few folk, than to pay a fine. But it really was only 4 minutes late. because it is the same train going up and down one line, people could eventually get off, but it made me 30 minutes late, and other people later than that. Not good. It may not have been the driver's fault, but he was laughing about it with the next drivr at the end of the line, when they changed. Twunt.

Global warming - don't ya just love it? The season is almost at an end, and in the north west of England today, the sun shone, warmed the bones and made promises of things to come. But being northern dwellers, Jon, his Bro and myself protected our pasty winter complexions within the shelter of a packed boozer near piccadilly, watching the SKY telly game from Goodison. Can't be too careful, what with them ultra violent rays beating down from the heavens. Anyway, after pleasant chat and pleasant beers, we trooped on up to the upside down space spider that is the COMS, home of low (should that be "No") scoring Manchester City. So did around 40,000 others. about 3000 of them Villans, the rest being of course the fans of the also rans of manchester. Their support is numerically excellent, but on todays evidence, sonically dire. Not as bad as their team though. The game, which let's face it, was not one of the weekend's more important fixtures, kicked off lively enough. City were perhaps the brighter, early on, but truth be told, both sets of players looked a bit enervated. Olly and Martin laursen seemed to be handling the efforts of Mpenza, Samaras and Vassel pretty comfortably. Neither goal really looked under much threat. After this initial "getting to know you" period, Villa started to come much more into the game from an offensive viewpoint. But still to not much effect. Then, in the calmness that is only present when the game means not so much, I knew we'd score, before we did. Ashley Young wriggled on the left, beat his man and put over a terrific cross. I was certain, even before seeing Carew head it superbly into the corner, that we'd score. It all looked so pre-destined, in that moment. All those worries about bogey sides, Darius and poor records in Manchester rendered meaningless and groundless by a bloke taking on the defender, crossing, and a big lad heading in across the keeper. Simple game, Dunno why we get so tangled up. In the end of season sunshine Gareth Barry was the one player on the pitch who really looked like it meant something to him. He had a top game this afternoon. Ran it, really. Others did good too, but GB was the stand out. Nevertheless, with Halsey refereeing, you just can't take things for granted. Shortly before half time Tommy turned away a City shot for a corner, the corner was crossed in and Tommy, in coming for the ball, was either prevented from getting it by Vassel, merely didn't get there with no one being at fault, or if you're Mark Halsey, fouled Darius heinously and gave away a pen. Joey "youse lot are all sh*te" Barton, showed his average team mates how to do it, by, er, tonking the pen miles over the bar. Diddums. Half time. Second half was much more one sided, Villa were well on top. Not as much so as at Boro a week or two ago, but nevertheless, we looked easily the more able side. Really I suppose, we should have made more of this superiority, but we never looked like letting one in....until Mpenza got clean through, following a foul on Carew, not given, City broke quickly, but Tommy saved excellently in a one on one. Carew was subbed off, not long after, Shaun Maloney replacing him. You know your luck's in when a sub comes on and scores straight away. It happened at Boro with Luke. This time it was wee Shaun. A free kick maybe 28 yards out. Wall, keeper, etc. Easy. Ball over the wall and into the goal. Keeper static. It was the second time I knew we'd score before we did. Wierd. City fans streamed, sullenly, to their exits, Villans stayed and enjoyed the last 15 or 20 minutes. Game over. Job done. It wasn't a classic, I doubt MoTD will be able to make much of it. It was all so end of season meaningless, in the wider context. For Villa though it wasn't meaningless. Apart from the duty of the players to damned well earn their devotion and their money, there was the issue of ending a "hoodoo", of keeping on the improvements so that next season starts on the right lines, of fighting to earn their places in the team. No game is truly meaningless to the fans, and nor should it be to the players. Some marks Tommy - 7 - Crucial saves, Bardsley - 7 - Did well defensively, best game for a while from him. Freddie Bouma - 7. You know the thing, without me saying. Olly - 7 Crazy Horse - 7 - the pair of them were on top of their opponents throughout. Craig Gardner - impressed again - 7 Stan - He had another good one. 7 Ashley Young - A lively 7 Gareth Barry - Didn't put a foot wrong, ran the game. 9 Big bad John Carew - 7 - looked a bit unfit, but effective. (wee shauny 7 - lovely free kick) Gabby 7. City were pants. I haven't had a moan about the trains for a bit. SO here we go. Coming back tonight, and this is true, the train announcer (on the train) said "we're not stopping at [any of the stops] as we're running late" 4 minutes late, that's all! Consequently...well you can guess, but how daft is that? - People stood by platforms as the train howled past, having to wait another hour because the fecking driver must have been on a promise. Utter twunt. Grrrr. It didn't detract from a good day all round, though. But North West trains are still ****s.

I've said similar in discussions about season tickets and match ticket pricing. The thing that is the problem with other times is the transport arrangements, for me. the reason they do it is aruling regarding protecting incomes for clubs in other leagues. Which is on the face of it fair enough. But then they have their midweek games clash with TV games. I'd like to see the Prem effectively "buy out" this protection and pay non prem clubs "compensation" butthen Prem games be televised on Saturdays at 3 or 4 pm. I accept that this is currently unrealistic, partly because Sky will always want to spread gaes across as many days as poss, to protect their audiences. Nevertheless, if the situation doesn't change, then prices are too high. Even at Villa. Me or you as an individual don't matter in money terms, just now, but we will if things carry on as they are. For all that Man U increased their prices (to pay oof huge debts due to the takeover) it's also the case that Wigan and others will be dropping their prices. I'm not fussed about the money, because I can't afford it - I can, but because it is just not genuine value, for me. The odd dissident doesn't matter, but I just think the trend will be for price re-adjustment, over the next year or two, if TV keeps up it's insatiable demands in return for it's huge injection of cash, and it will.

No camera knowledge whatsoever, just another big up for Cat's pics. I love 'em. Critters are brilliant, and the images capture that glory.

Nice post. Was he not signed the day Brian Little left? It's one of those factlets that seems stuck in my mind - but either way time flies.

I reckon I'm up at 25 + now

Don't know what you mean :oops: edited now, to make it look like I didn't mess up

Thanks folks. Couple of points Risso - yep, I ran out of steam in my quest to get it done before my tea. I should really have said that Freddie Bouma controlled his full back position like the dominant Jackdaw ensuring no twig was taken from his nest atop a tree, no juicy morsel of snail or carrion was able to escape his firm and solid hold on proceedings, but I was hungry. And Scott - Flat!! the flat bit! Pah! The road winds across (and up and down) some mighty fine lumps. It's all hills and valleys, peaks and windswept, er, windy parts. There are these strange circular stone walls, with just a small gap on the leeward side in some of the fields, there are wind turbines lurking just off the M6 and there are sheep. I saw Rabbits and pheasants, village pubs and wooden benches, and er, people in shell suits eating burgers and crisps in lay-bys. The English countryside was in all its glory. Flat....Good grief.

It's always the best journey of the season, for me, Middlesbrough. Not necessarily the best game, or the best away ground, but just the best trip. The reason why is the scenery on the way and today it was even more beautiful on the way back. The sun's gentle rays alighting in their soft, evening, way on the ancient landscape between the East and West of the country. Lambs with their little black heads trotting and mewling after their shaggy coated mothers in their stone wall enclosed fields, Lapwings twirling and wheeling, like black and white mini-stukas. Crows waiting for fresh road-kill. Marvellous. I'd set off this warm morning in hope. Hope because of recent better performances and results and hope because Boro seems to be a lucky ground for us. Lucky in that we always seem to play well there, even if we lose. The Riverside is a similar distance from Lytham as is Villa Park, so, it's not exactly a home game, but it's not to difficult to get to, at all, and with the aforementioned glorious scenery, I got my kicks on the A66 (except the bit with the roadworks, which was a pain - still I should have got up early enough to catch the train, but there you go, another story..). My arrival in 'Boro was made all the more pleasant by meeting up with PMS from VillaTalk, his lads and Jan. We talked of Blackpool, Edinburgh and Vodka aversion, and last year's tonking of the 'Boro over a couple of drinks and some food and then meandered our merry way to the ground. It sits there, spaceship like, or maybe just ship-like, on the waste-ground the other side of the A66 from the town centre. And so to the match itself. I guess most people will know the result, 3-1 to Villa, and I think it was a fair reflection of play. The game had started off with both teams playing the ball around nicely, a couple of chances for Villa - Shaun Maloney should really have scored, clean through, but turned instead of taking the ball on, and the chance was gone. He hit another long range effort left footed, which Shwarzer tipped for a corner. Anyway, the play was bright and tidy, neither side had any fear or any massive objective to chase, but it was entertaining. Then Boro were given a free kick about 25 yards or more out. Rochenbach (the announcer said) hit a powerfull shot past the wall, but Tommy was well positioned, and caught the ball half on his chest, half in the crook of his arm....and then let it squirm through and trickle into the goal, at his right hand post. Some of the maybe 1800 or so Villans cussed and abused, some chanted Tommy's name. Me, I just thought, hey ho, it's team game, all of us need to make up for the error. And we did. The goal had come after about 20 minutes and by half time we were level. Phil Bardsley, I think, played Gabby through, and his run down the right and subsequent cross found Craig Gardner unmarked in the middle to finish nicely, for his first Villa goal. Gabby's rocket heels and endeavour troubled Boro all game. With the goal coming just before half time we went for our half time refreshments lifted. The second half was much more one sided than the first. Villa ran it. The previously slightly tentative Ashley Young and Phil Bardsley improved and the rest of them maintained or lifted what was already a good standard of play. With each side attacking their own fans we got to see plenty of Villa pressure and skill. While George Boateng is a fine player, he was outplayed in midfield by Stan Petrov and Gareth Barry, ably assisted by Craig Gardner and Ashley Young. All game Martin Laursen and Olly were well in control of the tricky Yakubu and Freddie Bouma has his side sewn up, too. Perhaps 20 minutes or so into the second half Luke Moore came on for Shaun Maloney to freshen up our control of the game, and within a couple of minutes he was celebrating. A free kick played in by Ashley Young was headed down by Martin Laursen and Luke swiveled and shot past the blameless keeper. Luke looked mighty pleased. 5 minutes later, we were further ahead. Barry picked up the ball, passed nicley to Petrov's good run, Petrov slipped past the defender and shot into the corner. Sweet for Villa, sweet for Stan, and sweet for my friend Yordi (a Bulgarian), next to me, who would collect Stan's shirt after the game. Despite the sunshine outside, in the shade it was cool, and Villa kept their cool too, to easily see out the rest of the game. Steven Davis (lively) and later Aaron Hughes had a run out. All was well with the world. Some marks Tommy 5 - His distribution of the ball was good, he wasn't that busy, but he did drop a ricket. Still it happens. Bardsley 5 - Still learning, plenty of time to get the necessary "nouse" Olly - 8 - Dominant Martin Laursen 8 - Dominant - the two centre backs were absolutely rock solid. Freddie - 7. Good Craig Garner - Worked his socks off, scored a nice goal - 7.5 Stan - Lovely finish, lovely passing. He knows how to run a game when we're on top 7.5 GB - Class, as always - 7.5 Ashley Young - eager, 6.5 Shaun Maloney - 6.5 - another youngster with time on his side. Gabby - 8 MoTM - Full of it today. A right handful. Subs - Luke 7 (1 for the goal) - he scored, That's what forwards are there for. Steve Davis - 7 Aaron Hughes not on for long, 6. We played keep ball, we passed and moved, we entertained. Let's hope that our tomorrows bring more of the same, but better.