ciggiesnbeer

Ian Culverhouse held a gun to his head and Lambert assured Benteke either his brains or his signature would be on the contract.

Link? Curious what he said.

and another star on that damn crest.

We are going to win it. Easy.

True, but he was also a complete dickhead. No doubt, no doubt. Still, I wish England had a footballer as good as him today.

Seems like a good time to post the David Platt free kick again. Also a brief reminder that Gazza was actually really good and not just a celebrity.

My order of caring is 1.) Aston Villa 2.) England 3.) Other countries So I would be delighted if Tekkers got dropped from Belgium, I dont give two figs about their progress or not. As for England, I think Gabby has been overlooked to be honest. Although I am fine with that from a Villa perspective his omission this year is strange.

John Barnes Born in Jamaica. Raised in England. Played for England with distinction. As English as you and me. Whereas Adnan Januzaj could never be English. Maybe I have been living in the USA for too long but to my mind if Adnan Januzaj gets an UK passport then he is as English as you or me. You must have been living abroad too long if you don't understand this thing we have now called the European Union. Oh I get it. That just means it is even easier to identify as English, or French or whatever you have ties to. Thats a good thing imho.

John Barnes Born in Jamaica. Raised in England. Played for England with distinction. As English as you and me. Whereas Adnan Januzaj could never be English. Maybe I have been living in the USA for too long but to my mind if Adnan Januzaj gets an UK passport then he is as English as you or me. So if Gareth Bale gets a Spanish passport then he is as Spanish as Iker Casillas? Well yes, of course. If I get a US passport I am an American, immediately. Now you might have some kind of thing like an Anglo-American or in that case Welsh-Spanish (sounds awesome ) .

John Barnes Born in Jamaica. Raised in England. Played for England with distinction. As English as you and me. Whereas Adnan Januzaj could never be English. Maybe I have been living in the USA for too long but to my mind if Adnan Januzaj gets an UK passport then he is as English as you or me.

Hmm bit harsh. I think he is a clearing in the woods and living in the 19th century when it comes to his views about nationality but he is still one of the most talented English midfielders out there. Now that doesnt mean he could ever be technically good enough to get into the Spain squad or anything but for us he is up there with the best we have. Outside of his nationality views I am just as concerned that he regards the natural English style as putting the boot in. if one of our more technically gifted players thinks like that then we are in trouble imho.

Great Letter. We love you Paul. New contract plz Lerner.

A whiner, pretty talented footballer on the pitch and yet very stupid off the pitch. If I was being charitable I would say his latest comments struck me as coming from the old Viz "Victorian Dad" character. If I wasnt I would say they come as across as xenophobic and probably racist.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully he will get back on track in training. He was really promising last season, hate to see him slip.

I didn't! See the game as it was deemed as one to miss by all and sundry. But strangely enough those 2 Delph and Bacuna I am less concerned with their ball skills....they seem more comfortable on the ball than most in our team. Yeah they were nice. Worth tracking down if you get a chance! They are on the AVTV highlights as well. Strange game, I think we came across as rushed in many ways, we didnt realise just how much time Hull were willing to give us.

Yup. Bit worrying. Although those two bits of pure class, one from Bacuna and one from Delph on saturday were pretty sexy (Bacuna with a lovely move right down the line and Delph beating what three men around him to get the pass away?). I hope we see those lovely moments become the norm over time.

I think that was a bad shot not a drilled pass tbh. Still think he will come good though.

Still tight isn't it? - CL places are close but so is the relegation zone. Truth is our season has been mixed, and for me on the whole under par and disappointing. Despite our mixed form and indifferent displays, reassuring we are where we are! We can't get any worse, our luck has to change, and surely when CB returns and everyone barring Delph and Guzan starts playing like they can, we must improve? Now time for PL to prove his worth and earn his money. Agreed. For me I think we have had some good results off some crappy performances off a brutal starting fixture and injury list. Last season we were pretty much punished for every bad performance, so far we have been more fortunate. My hope is we will soon start clicking again like the end of last season and keep in touch with the top of the table. I still have no idea why we didnt buy a playmaker type in the summer, but as has been noted, they are an expensive breed.

I am baffled as well. I know players can have patches of good and bad form but Lowts seems to have something pretty major going on. It does seem really strange, especially after he was given a new contract and stuff. Yeah, he seemed ok last weekend when celebrating with KEA for his goal in the dug out last weekend, although KEA did go out of his way to celebrate with him. Just odd.

I am baffled as well. I know players can have patches of good and bad form but Lowts seems to have something pretty major going on.

6 pts off top. We can close that gap.

-3 points no, wait a sec 30 points

I might walk outside and get hit by s bus tomorrow. Dont do that, you will miss the Hull game.

What about Sunderland? I think Fulham are worse, Sunderland have a better team imho. I think thats right, but Sunderland have just sold their two best players AND shifted a lot of deadwood all at once AND are going through yet another manager change. Its like they are going through our past 3 years all at once. Thats going to be tough. Still if they can keep in touch until christmas and get used to their manager (interim or new) then I think they can still be fine.

I still like Lerner and appreciate the constant and steady funds he makes available for players. It is also important to note Lambert likes Lerner and talks him up a lot. Lambert is not a man to give out false praise to his chairman as we know. I hope Lerner sticks around, he is a good owner we could do worse, much much worse.