avfc1982am

Loved that kit!!

I touch kids. I truly hope not!!

I preferred it as a ships galley. Used to love boxing there.

I can understand where stans coming from. Problem is it's an ideal and we don't live in an ideal world. Money in all honesty has been doing the talking since the premiership was formed.

Think both him and kendrick are talking sense.. I do think the general consensus is we are at an advanced stage regarding the sale.

Sorry - but our location goes against us. Ive heard this arguement about the vibrant second city, catchment area,potential - and I really don't buy. Our ground is in a very deprived area of Birmingham - and Birmingham consists of many such deprived areas. I just hope we capture the imagination of someone, or someone football savvy can front up a consortium - but as an investment opportunity it ain't great IMO Don't believe that myself. Most football grounds are in deprived areas that are predominantly lower class, with football being historically a working mans game. Plus it hasn't hindered other clubs, just as it didn't stop lerner buying us back in 2006. Also with the new HS2 line that is going ahead we will be far more accessible. Our crowds are also on par with teams like spuds, everton and man city. With the right investor, development of the North Stand and the team, bringing back the glory day's could be a reality.

My own lad is in the same boat.Good luck with them exams matey.

Do you know why Mike? In my humble opinion the reason why is he is not Ellis and people invested years and so much effort in his removal to now admit that the man who replaced him was not much (if at all better) is a bitter pill to swallow but that's just my opinion, if people feel that way they are entitled to but thats the reason I suspect. Where i personally stand regarding your comments mike/richard is that for me Lambert has been a pretty terrible manager at Villa. Not because of the finances but the football which apart from a couple of games here and there has been shocking. As far as ellis and lerner are concerned, through the 80's I was a kid growing not really aware of the boardroom politics until we went down to the old 2nd division(bit older then) and believe me I used to slag ellis every week as a militant teenager when we were shit. Luckily enough though we bounced back quick. The 90's although yo yo gave us some amazing times, flirting with the big boy's and winning cups along the way. Ellis though needed to go and I was glad when he did. As for lerner I am grateful that he came along and helped provide with his investment memories I could share with my own kids, cup final,semis etc. The reason I'm not hammering him right now is because I believe he will sell us to the right person/people. If I'm completely honest it's relief more than anything. I do believe he has put us in a strong position to be sold however shit the last few years have been and he is like ellis going at the right time - any longer and I would certainly be hammering him. Life story I know chaps but my explanation.

I truly believe we will get a decent new owner out of this. It might take time to complete but I do think we aren't being sold by an egotistical clearing in the woods only just interested in the coin. If that was the case we could be waiting a long time before randy got the money back he has actually invested. Fingers slightly crossed though!

Good point, I think a good proportion of ST holders will wait to decide after the season we've had.

I hope man city fight uefa all the way with this. It wouldn't surprise me if the clubs accepting the sanctions realise they are likely to get screwed over worse due to their own malpractices and underhand dealing's. Clubs on mainland europe especially spain and italy are as corrupt as they come. I know this country is corrupt but it's far better regulated on the whole imo. Uefa just like fifa are scabby thieving bastards.

He wont be going anywhere til at least next summer now i wouldn't have thought. And if we get the owners we all hope for maybe longer.

Christian Benteke has voiced his frustration at having to miss the World Cup but is determined to return ahead of schedule for Aston Villa next season. Benteke's hopes of playing for Belgium in Brazil this summer were wrecked when he ruptured an Achilles tendon in training at the start of April. He had been relishing the prospect of showcasing his talent on the biggest stage after an eye-catching 18 months for Villa in the Premier League, and admits it has been a difficult period. However, he has received the support of his Belgian team-mates and national team boss Marc Wilmots, who battled through a number of injuries during his own playing career. Reflecting on the moment he got injured, Benteke told RTBF: "As soon as I heard a noise, I fell down. "I immediately asked a team-mate if it was not broken or if he saw a wound. The fact that he said 'no', was a relief for me. 'Phew, I'm likely to go to Brazil' was what I thought. I tried to stand up, but immediately fell down. "My balance was gone. I went to the physio room and the doctor told me I would probably out for six months as my Achilles tendon looked torn. I kept on hoping as long as I hadn't had a scan, but when the diagnosis was confirmed, I didn't feel sad, I felt frustrated. "I was thinking about all the sacrifices I'd made and that I'd deserved to be at the World Cup. That's what I mean with frustration. "People have said lots of positive things to me. To be honest, I didn't expect that. There were many people who were disgusted with what happened to me and not only people from the world of football. This is what gives strength to stand up and move on." Benteke added: "When Belgium play their first game against Algeria, on June 17, there will be a little frustration, but I think I can easily watch. "Marc Wilmots, the national manager, called me on the day I injured myself. He told me injuries are a part of football. "In a career, there are tough times. He has even bounced back, after a lot of operations, to play at the age of 33. Why shouldn't I? I got a lot of support from Marouane Fellaini and Eden Hazard, but also Vincent Kompany called me to encourage me." While a six-month lay-off would rule Benteke out of action until at least October, the striker is optimistic that he will come back sooner than expected. Having missed the end of the season as Villa staved off the threat of relegation, the striker is looking forward to getting back at the earliest possible opportunity. He said: "I'm convinced I will be back faster than expected. After my injury I also thought about Villa. I had ambitions, but a lot of things crossed my mind. "At that point we weren't even sure we would stay in the Premier League, but I'm relieved the boys avoided the drop. "There are many people who have said it will take me six months to get back, but I am sure I will be back faster."

Putin gets my vote also. No one will f*** with us with him in charge. And we may possibly see executions on the pitch should players not be pulling their weight! Great shout stan!!

For a young british appointment i really like sherwood. Been a breath of fresh air, straight talking and no nonsense. Personally though i would like to see us look abroad for our next manager.

I realise it's a little of track but where does this leave us as far as contract renewals. Albrighton, gardner etc. Also the pending investigations into karsa and culverhouse. Can anyone shed light on these issues?

Especially after Ellis, too. I don't get it either. Personally I think he hasn't been as bad as some people have made out. Although the last few years have been poor I believe he has always had the best interests of the club at heart. When he landed he said if it didn't work he would step aside and true to his word he is. He has imo tried to maintain the great traditions of the club and redeveloped in certain areas. Also he ensured that the boys of 82 were recognised by the club for their great achievement, unlike the previous owner. Ok it hasn't quite worked out on the pitch recently, but no one can say he didn't give it a go. My only hope now is that he sells to someone equally as ambitious as he was when he first arrived. He leaves with my blessing.

My thoughts excactly. Would be better of saying nothing until something concrete happens. Afyer all they've said pretty much nothing for the last few years, another month or 2 would make no difference.

As I've seen written elsewhere, if your lamp doesn't work with three different bulbs it's the lamp that's the problem, not the bulbs. Maybe the batch of bulbs are faulty and not the lamp! You are right though about expectations however I don't think anyone expected miracles, just get the basics right. Which hasn't been delivered. And lets be fair you dont need messi, ronaldo etc to get the basics right do you. I think people expected us to finish higher than 15th, but to be quite frank, do we have even the 15th best squad in the league? Not without Benteke and Okore IMO. Us our squad better even than Fulhams, who finished bottom? Not sure. Personally I expected better than last season considering the added investment in the summer and the addition of 8 players. I believe the squad is better than 15th and our problems have also been brought about from not just minimal investment but poor decision making from the manager. I don't just blame lambert, but blaming the fans is a bit shortsighted imo. Especially when they have been very supportive until recently.

As I've seen written elsewhere, if your lamp doesn't work with three different bulbs it's the lamp that's the problem, not the bulbs. Maybe the batch of bulbs are faulty and not the lamp! You are right though about expectations however I don't think anyone expected miracles, just get the basics right. Which hasn't been delivered. And lets be fair you dont need messi, ronaldo etc to get the basics right do you.

**** all those that love a manager who has proven to be completely out of his depth at OUR GREAT CLUB!!!Villa stopped being great when we had to rely on league one players in the premier league. I believe he is too good for Villa. Don't care if anybody disagrees. Greatness isn't achieved over night and it hasn't been destroyed just because we have a poor squad of players. This club will always be great regardless of what division we play in, who owns us, manages us or plays for us. One thing is also certain. No manager or player will ever be too good for this great club.Maybe I said something I shouldn't have, but the reality is that the squad is inexperienced and weak, the supporters are impatient and fickle, the owner is cheap, and the manager gets the blame. Momo, I'm going to be as respectful as possible to your comments. You talk shit!! Hahaha...that's constructive. So what is the reality? Do you mean the squad is experienced and strong, the supporters are patient, the owner is wasting money for fun on Villa? The supporters have been very patient and not fickle! The squad was believe it or not, put together by the love of your life, not the fans or the owner. I don't expect you to understand that though!

**** me - I've heard it all now. Lerner may not be perfect and has made some howlers but you can't fault him he put his own money in the club unlike that other one who relegated us - dismantled the European and League Champions - called fans 'men on the terrace' and had just as much (if not more) disrespect/contempt for the fans and shareholders as Lerner.For me I didn't experience any of that. In my experience as a villa fan I'd have to say lerner has been worse, however I recognise what Doug did in the past was awful. In terms of putting money in, I don't think that means he gets a free pass, I also think he'll get a lot of it back when he eventually sells. I think he's been a shocking owner and the fact our last 3 years have seen less points than Doug's final season shows how poorly he's run the club so far. He's gambled with our premiership status and has dragged us down to a level I've never seen us in before. I can't wait for his statement telling us he's leaving. I just hope for the sake of other sports fans out there he doesn't buy another sporting team. I have to agree with John. It sounds like Ellis really messed the club up in the 80s but I was too young to experience that. In my time as a Villa fan the last 2 seasons have been the worst I have experienced. The only shining light has been Bentake. Not just 80's - when we finished 2nd in the inaugral season - instead of investing to push us forward he held us back - sacked Ron Atkinson (who had an aging squad and it clearly needed investing in). So no problem guys with your views at all but some of us had over 25 years of him and that was more than enough! But he did then get Brian Little in that gave us 3 great seasons and left a good squad for the next manager. He think he made a massive mistake backing Gregory. I agree he would get us so far and then never push on until we ended up standing still or going backwards. Do you think though that had ellis put the extra mil on the table for juninho things may have turned out a little different for gregory. If i remember rightly we had him down villa for talks before boro?

**** all those that love a manager who has proven to be completely out of his depth at OUR GREAT CLUB!!! Villa stopped being great when we had to rely on league one players in the premier league. I believe he is too good for Villa. Don't care if anybody disagrees. Greatness isn't achieved over night and it hasn't been destroyed just because we have a poor squad of players. This club will always be great regardless of what division we play in, who owns us, manages us or plays for us. One thing is also certain. No manager or player will ever be too good for this great club. Maybe I said something I shouldn't have, but the reality is that the squad is inexperienced and weak, the supporters are impatient and fickle, the owner is cheap, and the manager gets the blame. Momo, I'm going to be as respectful as possible to your comments. You talk shit!!

**** all those that love a manager who has proven to be completely out of his depth at OUR GREAT CLUB!!! Villa stopped being great when we had to rely on league one players in the premier league. I believe he is too good for Villa. Don't care if anybody disagrees. Greatness isn't achieved over night and it hasn't been destroyed just because we have a poor squad of players. This club will always be great regardless of what division we play in, who owns us, manages us or plays for us. One thing is also certain. No manager or player will ever be too good for this great club. If I'm not mistaken even Lambert has aknowledged how great a club villa is. Something I have always believed since I first entered VP back in 1980 and looked upon the famous holte end. Something my kids believe and hopefully in time grandchildren. It's a massive club just, underachieving at the moment, but hopefully not for long.

For once gentleman i totally agree with you. Best away following bar none.