jackbauer24

Quite clearly Photoshopped!

Statistically this must be up there for a ridiculous anomaly. 5 times in 20 years in a pot of 61 other teams. Surely the odds are astronomical of that happening?! We get them 25% of the time...

There will ALWAYS be new variants. So there will ALWAYS be a period of uncertainty over how significant they are. So is this what it will be like ALWAYS now? Still, no one has explained where the exit is. I don't care about masks. I do care about expectations to be jabbed (I am double but where does it end?), never being confident events/holidays can go ahead in case there's a change in regulations and the over bearing influence and excuse for corruption by politicians. If this really is it forever... I can hand on heart say I don't want to carry on. It's depressing for everyone but I struggle in good times, this feeling is beginning to feel inescapable.

Don't normally post in here but last two films I've watched at the cinema are polar opposites of each other in terms of my extreme reaction to them. Bond. Sorry, 'Craig' as it might as well be called. Self-indulgent destruction of a legacy. That isn't Bond at all. Left cinema absolute fuming at the film, the actor and the disregard for the past and future of the character and the franchise. Was angry for days. Ghostbusters; Afterlife. After Bond I was nervous but WOW. A love letter to the first film and just done so so well. Didn't overdo the kid angle, great nods to the past, excellent story and sentimental to just the right level. I really fail to see how it could have been better. I left buzzing and still am! In summary; Bond Bad, Ghostbuster Good!!

I can't defend a single outfield player, but I'm not sure where this belief Ings is better than Watkins has come from, both in this game and this season. Both are awful, clearly not enjoying the system and putting in relatively minimal effort. However, I think Watkins is doing far more running, getting far more involved or at least trying and has missed no more than Ings opportunity wise. Today he was awful again, few runs in the second half, few passes or hassles and not much else. Did anyone see Ings do anything?! Invisible. Don't mix up talent from last years star struggling in a new system with a new signing that's done nothing bar an overhead kick this season. I think we should go one up front again, but that man should be Watkins.

Going on shout formation is one thing, but that also doesn't excuse the lack of effort, quality or temperament. Awful to man, again Martinez aside. Mings and Targett are particularly horrific, one thinks he's gods gift to CBs but slashes at every ball, the other can't read the game, can't cross beyond the first defender and doesn't like any pressure. Then you've got midfielders on completely different wavelengths and two strikers who can't be bothered because of the formation or whatever. Horrific from minute 1 to minute 50 or whatever it ended up being.

Is anyone really surprised by that performance, never mind result? What separates good teams from average teams is consistency. And we are arguably the least consistent team in the league, being Champions League one week and barely Championship the next. It is a complete lottery as to our performance levels. So many bad performances from a host of players today; Luiz was World Class last week, this week he'd have been hauled off in League One clash.

If, by the clubs own admission, Bailey, Buendia and Ings were brought in to replace Grealish's output, then we have not actually made any progress from last year if we don't buy further players. Today was abject, but even that aside it is clear we are weak in a few areas - especially midfield. We are very weak as a team, the centre backs lose a lot of battles and the midfield can't hold the ball up at all. We do get pushed aside by teams like Watford because they are physical and press - exactly the same as last year. If we're not going to invest in the squad further, then I'm not sure there is a real desire to improve rather than just stand still/consolidate our position.

I share the rolled eyes that a number of people who see this thread appear every few months! Badge is fine, it's copyrighted, it's suitable for digital age, it looks fine monochrome occasionally. The whole circle thing annoys me as we've had a shield as a badge for about 90% of our history. Think we had 'prepared' on our badge longer than we ever had a circular badge. Rather just leave it alone than spend quarter of a million pounds or whatever the ridiculous amounts these firms charge for giving us a nominally changed badge.

And that crypto company get slaughtered on Trust pilot where it's listed as a scam! Just wondered who they were... won't be using it!! Lots of sponsorship companies for shirts to shoelaces is great, but the big money comes from over-inflating other incomes. All a FFP illusion.

I've suspected that might be the case before. If Jack wasn't 'one of us' it would be a legitimate question in my view. I think Grealish is an exceptional ENGLISH talent which gets him noticed... but Buendia looked just as skillful, more hard working and more tenacious (not grumpy!) in a much poorer Norwich team. I think come the end of the season people might genuinely wonder which one is better. Only issue is we're back to ONE player of that level, would have been amazing to see a couple in the midfield.

My issue with Dean Smith is I've never seen him adequately deal with Plan A not working. And basically Plan A was get the ball to HWSNBN. This season is basically one big Plan B. So it's sink or swim time. Could Terry be back by Christmas?!

I find it weird everyone saying he's here to effectively compete with Konsa. For me, it's Mings that is the weaker of the CBs and has more prolonged periods of lack of form. But Tuanzebe is miles better than Hause so it improves the squad for a nominal amount. Instead of Cash going off and being replaced by Elmo, we now have Young. Instead of a CB going off and being replaced by Hause, we now have Axel. Instead of our 2nd striker being Davis, we now have Ings. That's a much healthier squad! Just need a hard working midfielder now. Not sure Luiz, Nakamba or even McGinn are really good enough for where we want to be.

I'm not sure exactly where this narrative comes from but it's rubbish. No, he's not a hard tackling midfielder but that was never his role. It's like complaining Martinez doesn't score enough goals. A few goals? 29 goals in 150 games. 1 in 5, for a midfielder. At PL level, 4 in 31 which still isn't shabby. Important goals? Well the semi-final leveller was pretty damn vital. And a load of assists at crucial times. Doesn't bust a gut for the team? Grealish punched in the head - Who is first there? Leeds debacle - Who is first there? Any rumours of off-field antics? No. Considered by most an absolute hard-working professional? Yes. Not ever been happy to sit back and take the cash and never kicked up a fuss or slagged the club off. He cost pennies and has been fantastic value. Not sure what some players have to do to be rated by fans and some become almost fashionable scapegoats for people's frustrations. He might not be at the standard we need any more, but he has done more than most to get us back in the PL and I'd struggle to think of many better midfielders we've had over the last 10 years odd. Conor will go with my utmost respect and appreciation.

The only thing that ever so slightly worries me is that he implies that Buendia, Bailey and Ings have been brought in to replace Grealish's output and, whilst it's wise to reduce the reliance on one player, that would indicate we don't improve - we stand still. I'm hoping £100m is used on top of a healthy budget, not that it is the budget. Buendia £35m Bailey £30m and Ings £25m would mean we still have £10m of the fee left PLUS continued investment in trying to push us towards Europe. So another two top quality players are needed to progress in my opinion. Another midfielder and a defender.

Ian Taylor posts 'calm before the storm' on his Instagram. I'm not one for reading crap in to nothing, but today that feels like a hint from a man who does know. He didn't stay for loyalty, he stayed until the offer was good enough for him personally. Now it is.

Leave when we got relegated and I understand. Leave when we just survived our first season back and I understand. Leave with two weeks before new season, in which we made huge strides in the season before (tempered only by your injury) and when we've already shown ambition in the transfer market... no, don't understand. All that makes me think is it was never about Villa and about the best deal for him. Agent says wait til Euros, bigger contract etc. The project is more alive now then when he 'bought in to it' so to leave now shows it was rubbish PR talk. We're on verge or making a massive step and he leaves now and we're back a year or two. Buendia is around the same level in my opinion but one of those in a team can be nullified, two is scary. He stays and Europe is not a possibility, we'd be favourites. So no, no hero talk for me if he leaves.... and no retiring the shirt

Thank you @rjw63 ! Maybe I am Jack Bauer and this is just my cover

Thank you!!

First time, and last time, I'll ever quote myself! This is now TOMORROW. I'm a Villa fan, raising money for the Aston Villa Foundation for mental health projects asking Villa fans who are talking about the importance of mental health for support. I couldn't be appealing to a more targeted audience! Please support if you can, every penny will help. Keep well everyone.

Pre-ordered the training kit for July 14th release. Had email to state they apologised but it was now delayed to July 21st. Since had another email to say now delayed until August 4th. Good to see they've sorted out their stock and supply issues finally

Approximately 16 months ago I was supposed to be taking part in a 24hr Football Match in aid of Mental Health projects with the Aston Villa Foundation. This has finally been rescheduled to 31st July, or little under two weeks away. I'm hoping one of the few pluses to come out of the past few months is that more people understand mental health issues, anxiety, depression, isolation etc. So, I would love to get a few more sponsors from Villa fans who understand Mental Health issues, for an Aston Villa Foundation project. It couldn't be more tailored for this thread!! Please, if you can, sponsor me/ the Aston Villa Foundation; https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RussellGoodman2021 All linked officially to the charity and online. Please tick gift aid so the government give us money too!

I'll reiterate the kit/ training wear issues. It's constantly complained about from Macron, to Under Armour, through Luke, into Kappa. We are always one of the last, if not the last, to show our kit. We are always one of the last, if not the last, to get the home and away kits on sale. Training gear, and kits, both are woefully understocked in anything but extreme sizes. Kids kits arguably worse. Forget style of quality concerns of each brand, Nike were the last ones to adequately get stuff out in a reasonable timeframe with decent stock. It is a bit silly we're going into the next premier league season with the same manufacturer and same sponsor and still know our kits won't be available til after the season has started. Yet every meeting seems to report back that they're 'aware' but nothing ever changes... Rant...

The question remains however. If the Delta variant, or any future variant, are less influenced by vaccines then is this life forever? There HAS to be a discussion at some point about what really needs to happen to end all restrictions for good. Or is this life forever more? There will always be variants and waves but, unless there is some level of accepted risk then it is right for the government to come out and say that they will be controlling your freedoms for the rest of your life. There will always be reasons for caution because of unknown risks... But how long can you shackle 70m because you're worried of risk? You also can't ignore, even if you are 100% on board with every decision made so far, that there are certain groups who benefit financially and politically from ongoing restrictions. Certain groups will always revel in the limelight and not want it to go, fear creates income. Preventing freedom because of 'what if' is not a good enough reason.

Furthermore, he'll have spent probably the best part of £80,000-100k on rent he'll definitely never see again. In those ten years, the house price probably doubled too. There might be dips, crashes or negative equity in the future, but as a rule, given long enough, you're normally going to make/save/invest money in property. In renting it's guaranteed wasted cash. I doubt a crash that causes house prices to plummet to the same cost as they were ten years ago is that likely, stagnation or small drops are far more likely. If the last 18months with viruses and brexit hasn't hurt the market, what can?!