jackbauer24

If people want to complain about the sponsor on our shirt, they can hardly turn round and suggest we sign the likes of Greenwood. Works both ways!

I will not shed a tear for their relegation at all, but I do wonder if someone offered me their last ten year odd, would I take it?! 2013/14 Promoted to Premier League 2015/16 Premier League Champions 2016/17 Champions League football (QFs) 2019/20 Joint largest away win (0-9 vs Saints) and SFs of League Cup (Great day at VP!) 2020/21 FA Cup Winners and Community Shield 2022/23 Relegation to the Championship Hope it changes soon, but not many Villa fans will really know what that feels like living it. Would you take it, even if you knew relegation was guaranteed ten years later?

So, who might you look at from relegated teams? Saints; Ward-Prowse obviously... err... Walker-Peters perhaps? Leeds; Harrison? Gnonto. Maybe Meslier? Leicester; Maddison, Barnes, Tielemans... James Justin? Slim pickings from that lot... have to just settle on Messi...

Most Villa fans undoubtedly want Europe, be it the Conference or whatever. However, other than a relatively minor increase in income, I wonder how important it is for the club and prospective signings. When we're trying to sell Aston Villa to players in the summer, it will be about the big picture and hopes to challenge for Champions League... would Conference League football attract players any more than not being in it? But obviously, as a fan, we all want to see European nights back at Villa Park. Sunday should be an electric atmosphere.

Fairs fair, they cost us Champions League by making Gerrard a viable choice for manager at the start of the season!

Just for the record, Brentford's final game of the season is vs Man City. So if they go above us/get Europe then they bloomin deserve it!

Spurs lose - free hit vs Liverpool Spurs draw - basically a free hit vs Liverpool (it's going to final day) Spurs win - we then hope Saints fancy some dignity against Brighton as we play at same time! I don't think the result in the early match puts pressure on or off us really.

It's a touchline ban which is basically nothing in this day and age. He still picks the team, he still manages the game, he just does it from the stands. I highly doubt their is any statistical disadvantage to having coaches away from the bench other than inconvenience. The most likely scenario is we lose to Liverpool. They've lost once at home, their form is currently brilliant and, frankly, they're a much better team that has underperformed most the year. Therefore, our attention turns to Spurs vs Brentford and Brighton vs Saints. To have any hope of being about Spurs or Brighton we need them not to win those games. Arguably the Brighton v Saints game is more important as they then face Man City so should get nothing and we can at least go to theirs with it in our hands. Can't see Spurs getting less points than us from Brentford and Leeds compared to Liverpool and Brighton fixtures. Weirdly, this weekend it is probably more important what Spurs and Brighton do than we do!

Whilst I would love European football... I was wondering if it really matters to Villa/ the players when it's not Champions League. Commercially I'm guessing it is of minimal benefit unless CL, and also get the impression that players are no more likely to join us than if we finished 9th - they'll look at the project and the hopes of CL in the future? Other than fans enjoyment, will it make any notable difference in income/ transfer power between if we come 5th or 9th? Just interested. Nice looking up finally though.

I was thinking the danger comes that we start having something akin to what happens in America whereby the number of season tickets stays relatively stagnant and no one ever gives them up. They then sell match day tickets, either legally or illegally, to offset the cost or even make a profit in illegal ways. Selling through Villa means the club makes even more money from ticket sales with seats being sold for 100% plus commission on the resale... not sure what that is at the moment. This is the case for sports like Basketball (Knicks), where the season tickets are sold to a select few but the secondary market is huge so games are full of tourists. It has already crossed my mind. I will definitely renew my season ticket (no one wants to lose that privileged position considering waiting list) but if life dictates, I'll just have to be more willing to sell ticket during a season to make it affordable.

Not that surprising, you're not likely to have 2 clean sheets after a 69...

I've never known it not be open for a match, even the lunchtime (UK time) kickoffs.

Buendia creates goals, it's as simple as that. He'll have quieter games, he'll try things that don't work but at the very least he'll always bust a gut. But normally, he is heavily involved in everything we create. His lovely step over for Coutinho last week, setting up Luiz today, making the pass that leads to the penalty, scoring the goal. He is our creative output. In most teams he'd be a great useful player, when the other option are Bailey or Traore then it really is a no brained. Starts every week for me.

I genuinely don't think there is any difference in quality between Traore and Bailey. But Traore has done more in a Villa shirt than Bailey. Bailey is about 10% as good as he believes and about 00000.1% as good as his Dad/agent thinks. If he's still a starter next season, something has gone massively wrong. We're starting every game with effectively 10 men.

I'm not bedwetting over the transfer window but it does feel a bit like an opportunity missed. We're on a good run, there's a spark in our team (and fan base) and we've got ourselves in to an outside shot of 7th. So to go in to February very marginally worse as a squad does feel slightly disappointing. However, for the bigger picture and definitely for next season, we have cleared the decks and got some good money in without blowing our budget on overpriced panic/short term signings. Just have to feel we've kind of 'declared' this season and have moved on and started to prep for 23/24. It does put a lot of pressure on a successful summer window now though, got to be looking at fairly significant investment if we are serious about challenging for European spots in the future.

Also check out holafly as they were excellent on my Samsung S22. E-Sim worked brilliantly in Manhattan in December and was very reasonably priced.

He plays... he might join us afterwards! He doesn't play...he might be joining us immediately! He's on the bench... he might be joining us soon! He's happy he scored/ coming off the pitch... he's saying goodbyes He's sad as he comes off/ leaves quickly... he's got to get on a plane to Birmingham tonight. I don't know, but I'm beginning to suspect that no one can read anything other than what they want from any action or inaction from the player, manager, team or press...

We have a very strong recent history of turning very good or promising strikers in to absolute dross. So maybe this potential plan of buying average or underwhelming strikers is the way to go!! If this is true, we've probably made some money (Ings), saved some wages and it won't greatly impact on our league position this year or our transfer plans for the summer. Therefore, probably a clever signing, but doubt it's one to move us forward either.

Would have thought once they'd gone (assuming SG as opposed to DS), he'd be back involved. Ah well, we move on!

I always suspected there was more to this than footballing reasons. He was, at worst, decent cover but also showed flashes of real potential... knew something had gone on behind the scenes. "High up" mean management or players? Because it's pretty unusual not to get a load of public Instagram 'good luck' messages from other players. I assumed he'd tried it on with another player's partner or something such was the blacklist regardless of management team.

Bikes stolen from shed in walled back garden 2017 Sat Nav stolen from locked car 2018 Car stolen 2019 (keys in house while sleeping) Moved 2020!

It is. Was there Boxing Day watching us lose to Liverpool!

According to a stat I just read, he's the first active Villa player to play in a final... so I'm guessing yes!

Ohhh I get it. He ain't getting on no airplane! Can't fly to Dubai...

Guilbert had a successful loan spell at Strasbourg and seems more than capable. When Cash has been out he would have been a suitable replacement. So I suspect this is not about ability at all but about some internal team politics or there is some personal stuff that's going on. We'll never hear about it of course. He clearly hasn't got a future here but I think that's down to something other than ability.