VillaCas

The way McDull has got it planned we should be ok for another 37 points at least. We're playing for 12th place - Utter tripe!!!!

Clever - I see what you've done there! Yes, I'm sure that without the criticism we would have turned in a flamboyant, Barcelona-style ping-pong football display McDull will serve this drivel up all season so get used to it

I'm happy with the point but I'm not happy with the performance. If you are content that Villa are going to go through the season playing SHA style, safety-first hoofball then thats your perogative. Obviously people are not expecting full out attack but what they would like is some adventure - I was at the game and we looked short of ideas and short of options. I felt sorry for Bent - it's going to be a long lonely season for DB9 What a sad state of affairs that people are delighted with this tripe

Sorry but if this is what the season holds I'll hate it We will be finishing around 12th so the only thing to look forward to is some decent football - You surely can't be happy with McDull's version of hoofball. If we don't have a go at teams what's the point

Like re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic

...I just thought that this was worth emphasising.....Thanks MON

I should think he does have a chance.....he cost us £6m!!!! Clark is the only one of these I expect to still be around in a couple of years time

General I don't buy the whole "I typed 4th instead of 5th" line, but 5th is almost as outlandish. Agreed anything can happen on a football pitch...football is indeed a funny old game but I've been watching it for 40 plus years and like AM, nothing is giving me the signals that we achieve a top ten spot. Given and N'Zogbia are good signings and good replacements for Friedel and Downing but we still need to find replaements for NRC and Ashley Young and a third signing to give some depth to the defence It looks like the plan is just to survive, the appointment of a journeyman manager like AM points to that as does the sale of our best players without adequate replacements. I really bought into the five year plan and have been a massive fan of RL but I'm very worried what your plans for my club are - please ask Randy in his statement to set out his ambitions for the next five years. Thank you again for posting on this site - I know you get some stick but your presence here is appreciated. Feelings run strong because we want Villa to succeed

They actually played after us, so we have had a couple hours more rest. Exactly - why should Chelsea be sharper than us. We both kick off in two weeks. We should be equally ready Pitiful

Delfouneso - useless out wide and not good enough to command a place up front Albrighton - not good enough today and must still be regarded as a squad player Ireland - Fulfilling the promise of last season Delph - Still can't see what we paid £6m for We need to sign Dann, Parker and a wide man as soon as possible

When he say this? Top 4 in a different league to us, Chelsea are having a field trip here. Oh he said it alright in his thread (page 133 I think) "....I see us finishing as high as 4th.....we have a very very exciting squad" Ludicrous!!!

Being 1-0 down to Chelsea? Yeah, possibly twice a year. We're not good enough and 4 or 5 short of a competitive squad If you think this is acceptable you're having a laugh

...and so it begins....get used to the feeling we will get plenty of this next season

Still fancy us for 4th place General???

General Firstly I applaud and appreciate that you take the time to come on this site and communicate with the fans - thank you Now the bad news - the idea that we can take a squad that struggled last year, combine them with a manager who saw his side relegated, sell our best players, and then imagine that said team can beat Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool to a CL spot is ludicrous! - realistically, the majority of fans (and newspaper pundits) would see us somewhere between 9th and 12th. Randy has done a lot of good things for the club and I believe is in it for the long haul but it is only fair to point out that he has made some mistakes along the way. Towards the end, MON was allowed to waste far too much money (we are still feeling the pain of this now), GH was in the opinion of many the wrong choice and the appointment of AM was conducted in a sub-optimal manner. As a fan I would just like to know what the plan is and I will get behind it!! I know Randy can't finance Man City type spending and I don't want Randy to try and sell to some rich shiek but I do want to know what we are trying to do - whats the plan for the next five years? If it is to consolidate, prune the wage bill and then try again then fine - I get it. If the plan is too sensitive to expose then at least tell us that. What we can't accept is that everything is great and we are in a position to challenge for 4th next season - General, if you are excited by what you see then you are in a very very small minority Thank you again for taking the time to read my comments - UTV

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ The three best posts I've read so far

I still don't think we need to invest too heavily to reach, or beat, the heights of last seasons finish. Last season was poor due to injuries and also because of us trying to take on Houllier's style. In appointing McLeish, we should do better with the squad available as this will be more suited to McLeish. 9th Whoopee!!!

There are so many things about this post I disagree with I wouldn't know where to begin Try. I personally think it's bang on and is a very realistic assessment of where we are as a club. I havn't got the time or the inclination but here's one for you...."(Houllier) looked a good long-term appointment bar age and health" My missus looks a good bet for the next Miss World title bar her face and huge arse

There are so many things about this post I disagree with I wouldn't know where to begin

We finished sixth with the likes of Petrov and Reo-Coker playing. Makoun and Delph are a class above them IMHO. The same team with the same players would not get anywhere near 6 th now. I see what you are saying but everyone around us has upped the anti somewhat. Yeah, I accept that completely. I'm not accepting someone like Makoun being a step down from someone like Reo-Coker, which other people seem to be suggesting. My post was in reply to the claims that we have a squad stuffed "with an awful lot of quality first team players"....that somehow we have a better squad now than last season...and that we will finish between "6th (haha) and 9th" It's all opinion - for me Makoun is a player on his way up and not yet a proven first team player, NRC is a player who has peaked and is on his way down. I don't think Makoun is a step down but I also don't buy into the line of thinking that everyone who has now left us is now shit (see the Downing thread). NRC was no superstar but he was a solid, experienced, premiership player - I'm not disputing that Makoun has the potential to be better but he hasn't proved himself yet - let's hope he does! If I was asked to chose between Makoun and NRC I'd go for Makoun but the real issue is that we need replace NRC with someone better (Parker) to compete with Makoun for the holding midlfield position.

Fair enough but thats where we differ, I see Albrighton, Makoun, Ireland and Delph as quality players and all will contribute to the first team plus Nzogbia. I also dont see why Dunne cant rediscover his form from when we first signed him. This season will be better than last and I think we'll finish between 6th and 9th. Yes I know we finished 9th last year but I think we'll acquire more points and have a better cup run. 9th to 12th at best - We both know we won't be finishing 6th!!! Albrighton, Makoun and Delph are squad players but could in time become quality first team players but they're clearly not at the moment. Ireland, Dunne, Beye, Heskey, Collins, Warnock etc could all recover their form they had 12/18/24 months ago theoretically but I'm not banking on it and neither should AM. If we REALLY had a squad jam-packed with "an awful lot of quality first team players" I'd agree 6th was a possibility but in the real world a couple of injuries and we'll be in real real trouble

We have an awful lot of quality first team players and hopefully Nzogbia will soon add to that. I dont prescribe to the view that Albrighton isnt ready and this will be the first season for years that we have started with a proper goal scorer. Add to that the like of Delph, Makoun and Ireland I dont see why just because Downing and Young have gone we cant improve on what was a very shit season last year and yet still finished 9th. I really can't agree at all - Young, Given, Gabby and Bent could be described as "quality" - Petrov is decent when fit but can only be counted on for half a season After that - Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Beye, Heskey, Ireland and Makoun have a lot to prove this season, I'd be surprised if we a describing more than 3 of them as quality first team players by the end of the season - Some of the youngsters (including Delph) have potential but none can yet be described as "quality first team players" - Cuellar (sadly) looks like he's on his way out By my reckoning thats four experienced, quality first teamers and hopefully four more from the "off-form / injury-prone" brigade. That leaves the rest of the squad made up of largely unproven youngsters (of which Albrighton and Clark are the most likely to establish themselves We struggled last time round and badly needed to revamp a very thin squad. Since then we've lost our two best players, a talented full-back, and an experienced holding midfielder even if N'Zog comes in we are still three short of last years squad which was patently not good enough. An awful lot of quality, first team players - I don't think so!! An awful lot of overpaid mediocre dross who we would sell in a heartbeat if we could find another team thick enough to take them I'd like us to sign Parker, Vargas and Dann but it's not likely so if we are not going to buy then we need a couple of frees (Hitz? Upson?) and a couple of Loanees (Naughton?) Even with them - 9th at very best but I'm expecting 11th with a few hairy moments along the way

Wow that's an optimistic view - IMO we have got the weakest squad we've had for years. Bottom half and looking over our shoulder rather than top half and looking up sadly

Maybe not be in that situation in the first place? Or maybe this was the risk Randy took for CL football with the vision it would be reached in a certain period of time. This qualification was not achieved and now that level of wage is no longer sustainable so a new approach is needed. So after all these years of being told "At least we're not" we finally find we actually are. Wooosh, nope i dont know what you are on about. I read it as "At least we're not Leeds United/Portsmouth etc" - ie gambled on a CL place and lived to regret it

According to the general the aim is top 4 and next season Villa could be anywhere between 4th and 9th. Or something along these lines anyway. The general obviously understands very little about football if he believes we can challenge for 4th spot - we'll be lucky to finish 9th to 12th (many pundits in their pre-season predictions have us around 11th) What's RL's plan is now - Survival? Consolidation for a couple of years and then another push for the top - doubtful? Sale of the club? What's your next 5 year plan Randy? I'm not sure you know! The UEFA financial fair play rules (if applied properly) will mean that it will be very difficult to move from the position you start out at - if you begin as a mid-table team you will need substantial growth over a sustained period to radically alter your position - it seems to me that mid-table obsurity is the fate that awaits us It's will be sad to see a team as great as Villa once were, being cannon-fodder for the big 4 CL sides. I expect MU, Chelsea and MC to disappear over the horizon clutching there CL money, together with one of Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool (the two losers in that little battle could be in trouble and maybe do a Leeds - let's hope) I've been a Villa fan since the third division days but sometimes it's hard to maintain the enthusiasm. The past five years have been good because it seemed we were building to something but whats going to keep us motivated for the next five? We can't hang on to our best players, We have a less than inspiring manager, we need half a dozen new faces just to stand still and if AM is to be believed we will be getting one more in. It's difficult to see what we have to look forward to now? The battle for 10th? Avoiding Relegation? A good Carling Cup run? I can't blame Randy really - the MC thing blew the plan out the water. Someone else might buy the club and do better but I doubt it. It's football's problem - how do you keep fans interested when only 2 or 3 sides can ever win anything. It's all shit