pablopicasso Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 have to say general, that walking up the holte steps, and seeing the holte suite all done out, (and the fact that the k5 sign has been straightened ) was fantastic to see... fully appreciate these sorts of things being completed around the stadium... however, i really didnt have the "buzz" i usually have when going back "home" to the first game of a new season yesterday... i was fully expecting to get turned over by wigan, and i am fully expecting to get turned over by most teams this season too... thats not a defeatist attitude, its realism based on our form since february, and the fact that we are a weaker squad in the 4th year of the managers charge than we were last season... i am dreading match days, and even before the kick off yesterday, i cannot wait for the end of the season so that the manager can dissappoint us all again next year in the transfer window... big year for him in terms of fan support, and i think he is already losing a lot of fan support... the attendance numbers and boo'ing at the final whistle, already an indication of how fans thoughts are going... sad, but reality is often not all about candy floss grass and lollipop trees... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedge Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, How many tickets have we sold for the Liverpool game so far? Keep your head up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Hi General, I hope you and your family are well. I would like to add to the list of people asking you not to be offended by the comments addressed to you after yesterday's result. We all appreciate what you do here and everyone knows that your job has nothing to do with the playing side and the results that we achieve. The result was no doubt poor and could easily have been worse. However, I do look at the bigger picture and realise that it could also have been a lot better had we taken the chances that we created. I think people are missing the fact that Ashley Young missed a very good chance and that Cuellar had a great chance to nod back to an unmarked Gabby but headed wide instead. I agree with an earlier point about our defence. MON inherited some very good defenders in Laursen, Mellberg, Bouma and Cahill. Our defence is now poor in comparison and the reason for our poor results in my opinion. Maybe MON likes to wait 'til near the end of the window in case of any injuries to key players but the defence situation has been clear to all since January. I can't help but feel that any player we now show interest in is going to cost us even more because of how desperate the situation is. Selling clubs will be holding us to ransom but MON has no choice but to pay the inflated price simply because we have no cover and the players currently out their are not of the standard to realise the ambition of the owner. That may sound harsh but it is clear for all to see General. Championship players such as Wheater or Huth will be a big mistake. We need players that are highly experienced, not ones for the future, because by then it may be too late! We need real quality, tough, experienced centre backs and ones that can fit in quickly. The likes of Upson, Hangeland, Distin are all out their and would probably jump at playing for last seasons 6th place club. Next season we may not have that pitch to sell to players so let's do it now why we do have it! It is often said that football is a results business and the last 19 games have generated 2 wins. If we don't turn this poor form around then we are going to be struggling at the wrong end of the table and that's why the fans are so worried, because that form statistic is one of a relegation-threatened side. My hope is that Petrov was short of match practise due to injury, Beye was still getting used to his new teammates, Gabby was lacking a pre-season and Milner too, although i thought he was our best performer today. Hopefully Delph was just finding it a bit diffcult adjusting to the rigours of Premier league football, although his performance was one that showed promise. I can't help but feel that Ashley is trying too hard to impress the England manager. he is doing too much with the ball and just needs to keep it simple and play for our manager and not England's, the rest will surely take care of itself! I cannot find any reasons for the other players though General and that is the most worrying factor for me. One last point I would like to make. James Milner shone like a beacon on the left against the world's 3rd best rated country on Wednesday. Why on earth don't Ash and Jimmy swap wings throughout the game? Ash struggled all game against some pretty solid marking and yet he only moved to the right wing once Albrighton came on. This baffled me and all of the people around me as Albrighton has been performing brilliantly on the right! If MON wanted to try Ash on the right, why wait for the young lad to come on and then play him out of position? MON's tactics are being severely scrutinised by the fans and quite rightly so. I think a lot of us get frustrated with some of his decision making. I know you can't comment on a lot of this General, I am merely trying to point towards the reasons for the negative comments surrounding the manager. We are not a bad team overnight but we are a team that needs leadership and needs it soon, before a potential rot sets in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General what's your take on our defence at the moment? Last season we had the 11th best defence in the league (conceding 48 goals). Since then we have lost Martin Laursen (arguably our best defender) and Zat Knight. To strengthen we have signed a player that got relegated wtih Newcastle in Habib Beye. To me it is not a surprise that we continue to concede goals and I don't see how this obvious weakness has been addressed infact we look worse off. Serious questions need to be asked.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparey16 Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, a different question for you here, step away from the game yesterday. I have renewed my season ticket for this season, but i found out at the game yesterday that hardly any of the lads i met last year have, its all change. I also have a bloke in particual next to me who i will proberly find very difficult to get on with, he was either drunk or extremely over-active, would not shut up all game, hands moving everywhere, couldnt stand still. How easy is it to request or enquire to change you season ticket seat? If i know where abouts i would rather move to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prmort Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Hi General, Any chance Martin can have a new book of excuses this season. I see on the OS that he is already blaming the players being tired for yesterdays result. Maybe they need a break…….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 tired, my arse... i am sick of hearing his excuses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namaste Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 A few have commented on abuse towards the General on this thread. I fail to see it at all apart from a concern over the direction of Aston Villa and criticism of our manager's out-dated style. No abuse as far as I'm concerned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobbo Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, I thought I'd leave it a day to calm down a bit. Waste of £30-odd pounds. The players looked as though they couldnt give a shite imo and we looked as though we'd let our best defender and midfielder go and not replaced them. Oh!??? Randy and/or MON need to decide if they have what it takes (money and talent, in that order) to succeed in the Premier League. If they do, let's see it. If not, look for somebody or some people who do and don't hold the potential back. It was pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, Well done and thankyou for the work that has been done to the face of the holte end. It really does look fantastic. I am sure you are more than familiar with some of the comments attributed to yesterdays performance, but please know that 99.99% of fans think that what you and Randy have done for the club is amazing. Keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen_Evans Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, You're not the manager and therefore you shouldn't be blamed when results go against us. Sometimes I think it's unfair even to post comments about matches to you. On the other hand, who else will listen to our frustrations?! So here goes, fan to fan: 1) Movement off the ball. Non-existent. When we have a throw-in, the opposition don't need to mark us because our players mark themselves. Time and again the poor guy taking the throw had no-one to give it to. The best sides keep the ball and they do so because there is always a team-mate moving into space ready for it. Delph seems to have this ability to move well off the ball and I hope the others "catch" it. 2) Ashley Young. Here's a young man who's manager is constantly telling the world he's "world-class". And Ashley, bless him, believes it. Now hopefully he'll get there. But not while he runs into defenders and then throws himself theatrically on the floor expecting free-kicks. You cannot make opponents "disappear" by trying to run through them. And secondly, you only have to beat the defender ONCE. If you're Beckham or Barry you don't have to beat them at all because you just whip it in as early as possible. The best know when to keep it simple. And if you watch the replay of Ashley's miss, it was because he wasn't content to just pass it into the net with his instep. No, Ashley had to try to curl it round the defender. The boy needs the Ron Saunders treatment, whereby his feet are kept on the ground and he's told he's as good as his last game and his job is to put the ball in the box from the wings. He produced several fabulous crosses yesterday, which made me wish that he would take more of his "chances to make chances" as I call it. 3) Heskey. The guy is brilliant with the ball played into his feet. He is more agile than people appreciate and great at bringing others into the game. So why do we keep smashing it towards his head? That's "hope" football. We might get a flick on, we might not. Usually the ball is given away. And alas, there is no strike partner able to read the game well enough to get on to these flicks anyway. 4) Agbonlahor. I'm not cross with him, I just feel for him. He didn't have a shot against Wigan that I can recall. Game after game has passed him by in the past 6 months. Usually people say he just needs a goal and his confidence will be back. But he's scored 3 teams since our win at Arsenal. We can't even complain he's missing chances, because he's rarely in the thick of any goalmouth action. Whether it's him or whether it's the service, who knows? Something needs to change, but I don't see it changing. Finally, the Board has faith and confidence in MON. But I hope that there is some critical analysis of what is happening as well. Because he is only human. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkshireCoop Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, You're not the manager and therefore you shouldn't be blamed when results go against us. Sometimes I think it's unfair even to post comments about matches to you. On the other hand, who else will listen to our frustrations?! So here goes, fan to fan: 1) Movement off the ball. Non-existent. When we have a throw-in, the opposition don't need to mark us because our players mark themselves. Time and again the poor guy taking the throw had no-one to give it to. The best sides keep the ball and they do so because there is always a team-mate moving into space ready for it. Delph seems to have this ability to move well off the ball and I hope the others "catch" it. 2) Ashley Young. Here's a young man who's manager is constantly telling the world he's "world-class". And Ashley, bless him, believes it. Now hopefully he'll get there. But not while he runs into defenders and then throws himself theatrically on the floor expecting free-kicks. You cannot make opponents "disappear" by trying to run through them. And secondly, you only have to beat the defender ONCE. If you're Beckham or Barry you don't have to beat them at all because you just whip it in as early as possible. The best know when to keep it simple. And if you watch the replay of Ashley's miss, it was because he wasn't content to just pass it into the net with his instep. No, Ashley had to try to curl it round the defender. The boy needs the Ron Saunders treatment, whereby his feet are kept on the ground and he's told he's as good as his last game and his job is to put the ball in the box from the wings. He produced several fabulous crosses yesterday, which made me wish that he would take more of his "chances to make chances" as I call it. 3) Heskey. The guy is brilliant with the ball played into his feet. He is more agile than people appreciate and great at bringing others into the game. So why do we keep smashing it towards his head? That's "hope" football. We might get a flick on, we might not. Usually the ball is given away. And alas, there is no strike partner able to read the game well enough to get on to these flicks anyway. 4) Agbonlahor. I'm not cross with him, I just feel for him. He didn't have a shot against Wigan that I can recall. Game after game has passed him by in the past 6 months. Usually people say he just needs a goal and his confidence will be back. But he's scored 3 teams since our win at Arsenal. We can't even complain he's missing chances, because he's rarely in the thick of any goalmouth action. Whether it's him or whether it's the service, who knows? Something needs to change, but I don't see it changing. Finally, the Board has faith and confidence in MON. But I hope that there is some critical analysis of what is happening as well. Because he is only human. Seconded... General , the players themselves look as confused as the supporters. I sat with ex players yesterday who all seem to share similar views to this post above. I was really hoping for a summer to re charge the batteries, buy 5 or 6 players and try and re produce the form of last year. Instead, we have lost our two best players and are told by Martin that the players are tired still? I am ever the optimist and will continue to get behind Martin and the players, but I am spending hard earned money in a recession and quite frankly yesterdays team was one of the worst I have seen in the 20 years I have followed the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. I have not taken a single comment on this thread personally and do not feel abused. I am a Fan like each of you and your frustrations are mine. Your comments do not just remain with me...as you expect, I pass them along. I can assure each of you that I have yet to encounter a "happy" person at Villa Park or Bodymoor Heath. No one was happy about yesterday! MON, the coaches and the players understand that this is a long season and this was one game...but they also understand that there are areas that need to be sorted. Again, these are professionals and they want to be at the top...not the bottom. 2. villarocker and steven_evans: Both good analysis and I appreciate the time and effort you put into them. 3. Brumstapdog: There is no question that the loss of Laursen for the last months of last season was a huge blow. That he is not with us now is also a huge loss. I am not sure I would agree with you on Zat. We still have Bouma out which hurts...but he should be back soon. The transfer window is NOT shut so we still have ample opportunity to strengthen the area. 4. sparey16: Call Nicky Keye at ticketing and explain what you want to do and see if she can help you sort this out. 5. As many have pointed out, we have 3 huge games coming up. We need to get something in each. I am not prepared to throw in the towel for the season...it is just too early. I am not glossing over yesterday...I was gutted like everyone. At the same time, I believe we can do what needs to be done. If I didn't believe that, I would spend the year in misery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted August 16, 2009 Moderator Share Posted August 16, 2009 Hi General, I don't really think there is anything left to be said about the performance yesterday or the current issues in relation to the squad but what I would like to ask about is Martin O'Neill's comment about the players being tired. I'm hugely concerned about this on the opening day of a season and I think it needs addressing because it was either a rather poor excuse for a rather poor performance or something is seriously wrong somewhere in our preperation for the season. Either the training has been too excessive or not hard enough or the trip to Spain for the Peace Cup was ill advised it has to be one of these things because there is no other reason for our players to be tired, or perhaps it was just an excuse. He is quoted on the official site as saying You can analyse everything but at the end of the day, we looked tired, which was a bit of surprise considering we had a good pre-season. But I'm not going to make excuses. We were beaten today. We should have been ready to go. It was very disappointing indeed. Either way I'm frankily disgusted to hear that from our manager on the opening day of a season especially given the fact that last season we 'withdrew' from the UEFA cup because of fears over players getting 'tired'. At this moment in time for the first time in O'Neill's tenure I'm seriously starting to question his management and the direction of the team and club. It a horrible feeling after just one game of a new season, just horrible. I just hope that you and Mr Lerner are also asking questions about just how our players can yet again be tired. Edit - I've now just read that the players day off was cancelled and they were called in for extra training. Can you confirm or deny if this was the case? If it was I find this most strange given the 'tired' comment, surely if they are tired more training isn't the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablopicasso Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 it wasnt just "one game" though general... this poor form has been since february and we are arguably weaker than we were last season... what is it, 3 wins since february? that is relegation form in anybodies language... now i understand that the transfer window is open for another two weeks, however, we have had a few months to sort out the squad issues that martin o'neill highlighted quite regularly in his own defence last season... the season started yesterday... not in two weeks time... we should have had the majority of our squad sorted by the start of the season... and the "tired" excuse yesterday from the manager, was just an insult... i save for a long time for my season ticket and it is a financial burden i can barely afford, and could do without, and to hear the manager trying to make excuses like that, because he has messed up the transfers this summer, absolutely disgusts me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanddonya Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Gen I echo every single one of these comments since 5pm yesterday. Of course we appreciate what you do, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we could be bottom of Div 2 and having protests outside the stadium - but we all would still have unbelievable respect for yourself. However, two posts have shone out to me today. 1, The one that said "I didn't have the same buzz because I knew.." and I feel the same. I am on holiday from thursday, every year at this time I sign up to the AVFC TV or whatever its called, so when abroad, I can find a computer to hire and listen to the game. I haven't this year because I really can't be bothered. I am not going to spoil a day of my holiday because I've just listened to the Villa losing. Now if I, a season ticket holder, a guy who has been to over 500 away games and has a bloody tattoo on my arm - thinks that - then what are the casual supporters thinking. 2. I think the post where someone says "why do you take the flack - it should be Martin O'Neill on here" is 100% correct. Not every day, not even every week, but every now and then Martin O'Neill should be made to come and explain / listen to his customers. Again , in ANY walk of life, if you get poor service, you ask someone to put it right. If you feel you receive poor service, you ask to see the manager - why on earth is football treated differently ! If I go on holiday and receive a rubbish hotel, a rubbish flight and rubbish food, I have every right to complain. And with my wifes family being from San fransisco I know from experience that the Americans know this better than anyone in the world. Well i paid more for my season ticket than my holiday - therefore I believe I have the right to ask the manager why it has gone wrong !. Up the Villa anyway. hasta la vista - see you for the Blues game (and jesus christ - if you think the last 24 hours has been bad, god forbid if we carry on then lose that game ! - I think MON should know that !!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namaste Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Agree with the sentiments as above. Why aren't we better prepared General? Also can you clear up the misunderstanding regarding John Carew; does he have an injury? Thanks for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fran_villa Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General Krulak here: 1. I have not taken a single comment on this thread personally and do not feel abused. I am a Fan like each of you and your frustrations are mine. Your comments do not just remain with me...as you expect, I pass them along. I can assure each of you that I have yet to encounter a "happy" person at Villa Park or Bodymoor Heath. No one was happy about yesterday! MON, the coaches and the players understand that this is a long season and this was one game...but they also understand that there are areas that need to be sorted. Again, these are professionals and they want to be at the top...not the bottom. 2. villarocker and steven_evans: Both good analysis and I appreciate the time and effort you put into them. 3. Brumstapdog: There is no question that the loss of Laursen for the last months of last season was a huge blow. That he is not with us now is also a huge loss. I am not sure I would agree with you on Zat. We still have Bouma out which hurts...but he should be back soon. The transfer window is NOT shut so we still have ample opportunity to strengthen the area. 4. sparey16: Call Nicky Keye at ticketing and explain what you want to do and see if she can help you sort this out. 5. As many have pointed out, we have 3 huge games coming up. We need to get something in each. I am not prepared to throw in the towel for the season...it is just too early. I am not glossing over yesterday...I was gutted like everyone. At the same time, I believe we can do what needs to be done. If I didn't believe that, I would spend the year in misery.so are you saying that there is in house fighting??..that maybe mon might have lost the squad?..been honest General,if you and Randy want this club to be takin serius,we need to sign bigger better players,Man City have shown us this..if we cant compeat then in my honest opinion Randy should look for someone that will hand over the transfer funds to compeat for the top four.i no he has givin a lot but to be honest,we need to be signing players in the 20m area..a blind man can see that for gods sake.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OK_Villan Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 ^Where did that come from? I think the General has made the position of himself and the club very clear. I think we should wait and see what happens in the next couple of games before pulling the General into message board drama any further. General, I appreciate that you listen to the fan's concerns and respond. I believe that most supporters have not given up hope and have faith that the club is going to try to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imavillan Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 General, about yesterdays game ......me and mrs imavillan are season ticket holders in the trinity road upper.........and the good lady mrs imavillan went to the ladies to ''powder her nose'' ...............and as any good lady (or bloke) does washes her hands afterwards ;-).....but....only to find that the water is so hot she cannot keep her hands there because they will be scalded........... the water is too hot......now its bad enough to have to watch what we did on saturday ......but to have to put up with the good lady complaining about the hot water as well.....double whammy.....general this is a health and safety issue....you have the power....please sort it out........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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