jackbauer24

Errr... 1.84%? Or am I missing a joke?!

Early Team News Released; 1. Prince George 2. Eric Cowell 3. Bear Payne 4. Saint West 5. Beau Williams 6. Agbonlahor Jnr 7. Agbonlahor Jnr Jnr 8. Agbonlahor Jnr Jnr Jnr 9. Price-Agbonlahor 10. George Jetson 11. Villarus (on loan from Jupiter FC) Subs; Elmo (over 65s), Android GK 7 (45min max charge), Keinan Davis (return from injury), VAR freepass token and Agbonlahor Jnr Jnr Jnr Jnr

Disgraceful. Leicester putting in more effort when 4-0 up in the 90th minute than Villa put in after the 10th minute. Chasing, pressing, tackling, just bloody running. So angry. Can excuse lack of quality, but lack of effort is unacceptable. That falls on the manager.

Tomorrow feels big. There's this sense that the fight begins now, we've the games in hand, the players are united, McGinn is approaching a return and that we 'demonstrated' our quality in the final. Guilbert is posting images of lions on Instagram and there seems to be renewed focus. All that is in danger of evaporating with a massive loss tomorrow, it shouldn't but it feels like the bubble would completely burst should we not get something out of the game. Conversely, a win and we might actually push on. Cliché as it is, I think tomorrow is the biggest game of the season. To be out of the relegation zone and with a game in hand would be huge.

Another plea. If you're reading this then you know how important mental health support is for you or those you care about. Please sponsor me as I raise money for the Aston Villa Foundation in aid of Mental Health projects. Your donation, however small, could make a difference to someone's life... Hell, it could even save a life. If I can't get Villa supporting people with experience of mental health to support the cause we really are in trouble!! https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RussellGoodman2020 (Aston Villa 24hr Football Match)

I do find it interesting how many people have rated Lambert very high in their lists. The hindsight of time has perhaps made people revise their opinions of him. Personally, I always think he did a very good job for us considering the circumstances but it's only relatively recently people are beginning to recognise that. However, that's not to say we didn't break him in the end! We destroyed him and his career and he's never been the same since. Much like a number of strikers, our managers never go on to anything better as we suck they lives out of them! Likeability-wise; Smith, RDM, Houllier, Lambert, Bruce... The rest.... McLeish Ability-wise; Houllier, Lambert, Smith, Bruce... The rest... Sherwood Results-wise; Smith, Lambert, Bruce, Sherwood...the rest... Garde Overall? Can't say until Smith finishes his tenure. I think potentially this team is better than some Lambert kept up so if he keeps us in the Premier League then Smith takes the No.1 spot, he's had more support from ownership than Lambert had and been able to build up/ride optimism rather than forever be fire-fighting. We get relegated then I'll maintain Lambert did the best with the resouces available.

Woah woah woah; are you suggesting the vote options weren't thought through so that one choice (that had a multitude of different versions depending on how you viewed it) was unfairly put up against a single binary option?! We should be careful to make sure that never happens again through fear it may spread to even more important decisions that would impact on generations of people! Can you imagine what would happen at a Government level if people didn't think through what options to put on a ballot?!

I never understand how these things come back around! This is from about twenty years ago!!

I will say it for the millionth time; A circular Villa badge is not our traditional badge! It has been used by far the shortest time versus the shield we now have and no outline at all. People like the circular badge largely because either a.) they remember that fondly from their youth/our grestest success or b.) because it plays in to the whole retro styling fad at the moment. In another generations time, people will be wanting the 'Prepared' scroll back. If anything, the circle badge is the less traditional than our current one.

Unfortunately, I think it's far more likely we'll lose the final AND get relegated!

The 19/20 Home Shirt. Really hoping I don't turn up to an event and someone is wearing the same outfit as me...that'd be so embarrassing... But I'm sure I'll be fine... Normally I wear my classic 80/81 one or my Acorns one but not been brought much luck in any so no superstitions formed. I don't particularly like this seasons shirt but bought it because we got Mr and Mrs on the back for a photo holding up the shirts during our wedding last year; Mr 20 and Mrs 19 - fortunately also works for the 19/20 season too, we'll just be Mrs and Mr instead!

Think you're getting a better deal than me! I went to site and all I can see is £3535 deposit and £589pm. Too rich for me unfortunately!!

I'd love to find those kind of deals on an I-Pace! I could only find ones with huge deposits and about £700 a month!

The Jaguar E-Pace on lease is around the £450pm mark with a £1kish deposit. It's more than I want to spend really but not impossible. It's not so much the value of the car as to the lease deals available. I want a lease as a) initial costs are low b.) It's new so all warranties are in place for duration c)don't have to do tax or mots d)it's a budgeted cost each month and e)I don't care about selling/ holding value! So while the value of the car suggests there would be loads of ootions, getting on lease reduces that. As mentioned above, I think I got a bloomin good deal on my Sciricco R! Finding a replacement is harder. So the Porsche at £8k deposit and £700+ per month is out unfortunately!!

I saw an Avengers gif a few posts back. Funnily enough, a statistic from Dr Strange came to my head as I left St Mary's today - we also probably have about 1 chance in 14,000,605 scenarios. And we have no Tony Stark. Team? Makes little difference who we assemble in this end game! Personally I'd go; Nyland Konsa Mings Engels Guilbert (if fit?) Targett ElGhazi Nakamba Hourihane Grealish Samatta Won't make any difference though. If McGinn is able to even walk by Sunday I'd be getting him on bench, morale lift and all that. ElGhazi gets nod purely due to lack of options and hope that he could score with his back again! All defenders instructed to release ball immediately and not attempt too many passes - hence why Hause doesn't feature! Nyland can prove No.1 should be his (Reina's great saves today all came from his mistakes). Luiz way too chilled/lazy/incompetent to start. Alternatively, go to a flat back four, drop Konsa and play Baston as a wildcard and actually have two strikers on the pitch. To be fair, he made intelligent runs today but sharpness a bit lacking! Think, as people have said above, records could be crushed though. Heaviest defeat in any final?

So many questions have to be asked of Smith at the moment; 1 "players aren't fighting" - you've said this a few times now. Words along lines that we're not commited or didn't show up or started slowly. Can't keep saying it - fix it, it's your job. 2 Why insist on playing it out from the back when clearly none of our defenders can pass?! We have the most mistakes leading to a goal because Hause, Konsa, Engels and even Mings sometimes, aren't comfortable on the ball or, worse still, far too relaxed/lazy with the pass. Southampton are not the first team to see that if you put our defenders under pressure they will crumble. After the first half we were lucky it wasn't far more given the number of mistakes. 3 How do you not know your best midfield yet? Think I can count on one hand the number of times we've had the same midfield from one game to the next. How can't you see that Nakamba and Luiz don't work together? How can you think Drinkwater was a solution? Do you have any idea what to do with Grealish? 4 Why do subs invariably come in the 60th minute regardless of the game? Why aren't we reacting to what is happening? 5 Why are players turning to the bench for advice during the game? Surely they should be drilled to tactics and changes during the week? Today I saw, I think it was Trez, asking who to cover as Hause was out of position. Then when Konsa went off there was mass confusion through the whole team for a good five minutes - if there was a message it clearly wasn't being communicated clearly from the sidelines. Players should be being instructed, not seeking help. I could go on... It's shambolic and only getting worse week in, week out.

This. I don't think he's actually fit. Think there's a very good player in there but today he was atrocious and looked a mile off the pace. If he's not fit he has to be rested, even more so against a very fast winger. On Smith this one, Elmo should have started.

I have very mixed feelings on the uproar over gambling sponsors. Ideally I'd like a charity 'sponsor' but in the age of FFP that isn't possible so is having a gambling sponsor really that much worse than many other industries? Ethically speaking, most companies have questions to answer; are Chevrolet and Emirates dealing with carbon footprints? Are American Express lending responsibly? Are Coca-Cola and Cadbury's tackling obesity issues? All industries have things in place to combat the negative side of their business - I'm not sure I'd ever heard 'when the fun stops, stop' before gambling adverts became so prevalent. Gambling causes issues because it's so woven in to the game and yet the relationship is confusing; You can advertise on adult shirts, but not kids (highlighting it more to kids presumably as their shirt is different). Players can't bet on football anywhere in the world but can promote it. Gambling adverts are not allowed on TV before 9pm but live games can have the companies plastered all over the advertising boards. It's a particularly 'seedy' deal that football finds itself mixed up in at the moment but I see little difference between it and alcoholic drinks sponsorship (which I don't believe is banned still) and, to some degree or another, the 'deal with the devil' all sponsorship brings with it. It just happens to be that gambling is where the money is at the moment. Edit: however, as some one mentioned above - the Sky Bet is as dodgy as f*ck; if you're controlling the media, links to players, reporting and the inevitable impact that has on odds, how the hell are you allowed to be a betting company?!

All of April's games have been moved and yet we still don't have a date for this? Seems to be taking a long time - Man City had a completely unexpected postponement due to weather and that was rearranged (and played!) within ten days.

I'm completely stuck on what to do for a car in a few months, I'm not inspired by anything or, if I am, I certainly can't afford it! My lease comes to an end in July. I've had a Scirocco R for 3 years, 8k miles with maintenance for £320pm. The Scirocco is no longer made so can't start again. I also only paid about £1k initially on that deal. So what's next? Everything is either dull or slow or too expensive. I'd go a little more (£400pm) but needs to be 'exciting' for that. And not necessarily just speed. Looked at a Toyota CHR - interesting styling, hybrid, techy.... Mindnumbingly slow (11+ seconds 0-60) Looked at Jaguar E-Pace - above average looks, marque name, not fast, not really economical, more expensive Looked at Honda Civic R - ridiculous Hot Wheels styling. Looked at Golf/Focus etc etc but so incredibly boring in style. Looked at Polestar and Tesla - too much and low availability. Might just dust off the old pedal bike...

I don't for one second believe that Hourihane isn't Premier League quality, I think it's about utilisation, set up and tactics. He offers something. However, even if I pretend for a second that he is only Championship quality, I still think that puts him light years ahead of Drinkwater. I'm genuinely not convinced Drinkwater would be a consistent starter for a League One club as it stands. His fitness and pace is arguably the worst I've ever seen at Villa Park and, possibly due to that, he displays absolutely no quality on or off the ball. If, for arguments sake, we suggest both CH and DD are passengers at this level, then clearly you choose the player who has three goals and two assists in 16 matches. In a packed field over the last few years, Danny Drinkwater is beginning to cement himself as the worst player* to have played for us in the Premier League. Either he has a sudden upturn in form/ability or he gets dropped very soon so he's statistically irrelevant. Even Sanchez offered more than he does, I've not seen a single redeeming quality yet! *not including players who simply didn't really feature like Djemba-Djemba.

As mentioned in Villa kit thread, the quality of the print is pretty bad. Dean Smith is being interviewed and all you see is cracked logos and peeling badges. It looks awful. I also wear some of the training gear once a week and it started cracking and peeling after a couple of washes. Fair to say there have been plenty of size and stock issues too!

As mentioned above, the quality of the print is pretty bad. Dean Smith is being interviewed and all you see is cracked logos and peeling badges. It looks awful. I also wear some of the training gear once a week and it started cracking and peeling after a couple of washes. Fair to say there have been plenty of size and stock issues too!

@kurtsimonw For a start, forget romantic relationships for the moment. It'd be like expecting yourself to be pulling whilst in a coma! You can date until you're awake again, you sound too low for that. With the best will in the world, your conversation and energy for new relationships will show through and we all put on an act on at the start which can be tiring. Concentrate on making yourself better and the above will come back. A technicality on work - often if people are off long term then workers are instructed not to contact them. This is under the belief that you need a break. People also do this, assume you want a breather. Don't assume it's because people aren't thinking. And finally, if you can, think about coming to meet me and about 50 like minded blokes of differing ages and social backgrounds who play football every Wednesday at Villa with the AVFC Foundation. Fitness, social, safe and support. You may find things grow from there. What you got to lose?

If we repeat every result against our remaining opponents we get a disturbing 8 points. I think that puts in to perspective our predicament. That includes a point against Man Utd and three against the now rejuvenated Everton. To further put that in to the overall picture, West Ham would get 16pts if they repeat their first results. I chose WHU because they're currently in that last spot. Maybe another team has an even worse record against their remaining opponents but don't currently have time to check and highly doubt it! We are in massive trouble. I think the above is far more telling a statistic than where teams are after 25/26 games. We don't need to just keep going, we need to double our points haul against these opponents in the remaining fixtures. I'm not convinced we have the quality for that. We have won two matches away all season. Our home games see us play 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 14th. So one team in bottom half. The odds are stacked so heavily against us.