Little8Rioch

My choice as Villa manager would be Ron Saunders - oh no sorry in a bit of a time warp ... and that's because tonight I will be at VFM with my mates, because 30 years ago we were in Rotterdam - on the greatest night in our history. So whoever is the next manager they better realise the legacy they carry! Proud History - not sure about the future :?

General I assume you are enjoying another quiet summer at AVFC . I don't want to know the new manager, I just want you to promise me that the club will treat Gordon Sydney Cowans with respect. If the new manager doesn't want him please make sure that he gets his old job back. Syd=legend @ AVFC. Thank you

General Do you know if I can have a job in our first team. I'll just need about £50,000 a week and I'll turn up and jog around the pitch when there is a match on. But I won't chase back if I lose the ball and it certainly won't bother me to watch a couple of 20 year olds trying to lift the team because I won't give a sh*t. I won't have the balls to apologise to my team mates after the game but I will go to the press if the manager complains about me. Can you thank Ciaran Clark and Barry Bannan for me for their attempts to raise the team. I hope Randy knows just how much team strengthening is needed in January because if we don't spend we are in trouble.

General Welcome back. I wasn't bothered when Mr Quitter quit. I'm not bothered that the new kit won't be available until November or that Gerald Houllier might not be available until November. However having watched him in the youth team, I will be bothered if we lose Gary Gardener because we allowed his contract to run out. I don't know if the paper rumuours are true but please assure me we are going to keep him and contract negotiations are already underway?

General Please thank everyone at the club responsible for bringing James "Superman" Milner to Villa Park. Now he has been voted PFA young player of the year- can we make sure we keep him by offering him anything he wants, when he renegotiates his contract. Loads of money, a share in the ground, marriage to my daughter.....anything he wants

General fantastic expression - I will be using "interlocking bands of grazing boshido" from now on. Will probably try it on the wife first!!!

General Amidst all the doom and gloom - will you be here for the semi final? Thank you for your rational explanation about the MON rumours. I've been moaning about MON recently but when I thought he was going to leave - did I panic! Never overreact to big win or a big defeat, everybody knows and you more than most, sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war. Although it is a bit worrying when the troops appeared to lay down their arms and surrender in their last battle. The reason I asked about the semi final is, I think you should do the team talk before the game. I keep telling everybody and nobody believes me - THIS IS OUR YEAR. 8)

General Will you be able to be here for the semi final - if not don't worry, just come to the final - it's our year, it's written in the stars! I have to agree with other season ticket holders posting on here about loyalty points. I except that, we will get tickets for the semi final but just because I want to sit with my family, we will have to wait until the 1 April to try and get our tickets. Why - because my daughter who has kept her season ticket, despite being at university and knowing she would miss some games (that is loyalty!!) has of course missed the home FA Cup games and we want to sit with other family members who are in different blocks of Villa park (all of us have been to all the home FA cup games). I am however worried about the final when (not if) we get there. We are not going to have enough tickets for season ticket holders. My wife and I have had season tickets since 1981 - is that actually going to count for anything, because loyalty to the club is tougher in the bad years - believe me.

General I genuinely hope the tests go well for you and you get the all clear to come to wembley. If it is the doctors that are not letting you fly then let us have their names. I hear Jack Bauer is not doing much at the moment- one call to CTU and those doctors are "dead men walking". Seriously - all the best General, get back on the site soon because the excitement will be building ahead of the 28th and this thread is my favourite lunch time read.

General You really have started something, as has Stephen Evans. I quote -- "Otherwise, I reckon supporters could give you a list as long as your arm, but Brian Little's hattrick against QPR at Highbury in the League Cup Semi-Final replay was pretty special." You may gather from my name I'm a bit of a fan of the "son of God" - (Brian Little) - I missed that game because I was away at University. I think I would personally pay the production costs of that DVD.

General Glad to see that we will wear the poppy on our shirts and a great idea to auction them off. I know Acorns is "our charity" but could we not give the proceeds from this to the British legion - we lost 5 more soldiers last night in Afghanistan. Salute our heroes past and present.

General A few weeks ago I posted about my brother in law who has cancer and I was trying to get a get well card signed by the players. you told me to contact Lee Preece at the club. I sent the card in to Lee, who phoned me to say he had received it and was passing to John Greenfield who would deal with it. The card arrived on 24 october signed by all the players. The result - great excitement in my brother in laws' house as they looked at who had signed and for a time he had no idea how it had happened. I could say a lot of things but I think "THANK YOU" will suffice.

General Glad to see you back in circulation and hopefully you will soon be with us at Villa Park. I have supported the club since 1963, when my Dad first took me (beat Liverpoll 2-0) and been a season ticket holder since 1980. I don't think I have ever asked the club for anything but I need a little bit of help. My brother in law (big Villa fan)is currently battling cancer and he has had a kidney removed and part of his liver. Now the "bloody useless NHS" have finally found the cause and he faces a third operation to remove some of his bowel. I have decided that a good luck card signed by Martin and the boys will give him a bit of a lift but I don't know how to make it happen. I have tried in the past to get cards signed for people but it has never worked. If I get a card, could you tell me who to send it to at Villa Park with the details. I don't really want him to know I have had anything to do with it. It will be more of a surprise if it just arrives in the post. Hope you can help. I appreciate the club must get loads of requests like this and so if it isn't possible - don't worry. Thanks

General A question for you concerning transfers (don't panic mods). I'm sure everybody connected with the club gets a buzz when a transfer target is successfully signed, particularly when a lot of time and effort has been invested in getting the player. it is certainly good as a fan when we sign a big name player. I may be in the minority but I actually prefer it when one of the youth team comes through and makes it, because in some ways it just seems to mean more. The investment in the development of the player might actually be greater than £4m or £5m being spent on a transfer. The current situation with the defenders is the classic case. I hope Clark or Baker or Lowry come through and take the shirt rather than a new signing. How do you feel on this, is the "buzz" greater when when we sign player or "one of our own" makes it?

General Please ignore the all the negative stuff on here just because we lost a game we were expected to win (and SHA are above us in the table). I think the real problem is the knowledge gap - we all want to know what MON is going to do and we want to know now!! I also think some people have lost the confidence that MON will be able to put it right. This comes from the last 12 games of last season rather than just the Wigan game. All the comments remind me of the quote from the late Bill Shankly, which went something like - "some people think football is a matter of life and death, but it isn't, it is more important than that" Well my brother in law, a big Villa fan, has just had two major operations and is fighting cancer, so believe me losing to Wigan isn't important. He is just annoyed that he won't be able to use my season ticket against Fulham because I'm away on holiday. As the great philosopher (Jon Bon Jovi) said - "keep the faith" and keep posting!