nick76

This situation is not serious, it's about a football team... of which there are thousands. If people stopped taking a football team who has absolutely no slight on them personally, we'd be much better off. Aston Villa is nothing more than a business in the entertainment industry. I hate these sort of posts. We know it's only a football club and of course it's not life or death, but it's still important to its fans. Oh and if you think a football club is just a a business in the entertainment industry, then you don't get football and what it means to its supporters. Totally agree, I hate posts like that. While it's not the be all, it's something we are very passionate about, spends large amounts of our cash and free time on and have a very strong affiliation with. It's not only a business in the entertainment industry to most people, as there aren't any other products that have such strong brand loyalty despite how good or bad the product is.

sometimes even treading water is difficult. I'm questioning why arms are being thrown up after that game, which was a drastic improvement on the previous 5 despite the result and also despite the strength of opposition we have played. It was a difficult result but to use anything from today to bolster any case to sack Lambert is wrong. but it's not about today in isolation, it's the cumulative couple of seasons

why start them though, they aren't scoring or being effective, at least Benteke can be that even if he's only at 80%. Benteke needs a run of games to get match fit to what you say we want. Although in this team I'm sure his confidence is going to get hit with the lack if chances being created.....

That's my biggest issue, I don't care about possession and passes but I am concerned that our shots per game on target is incredibly low. Having Benteke back will show if that's because of our other strikers are shooting enough or not good enough or now Benteke is back(ish) that our supply to the strikers is not good enough. It's probably a bit of both but one is fixed while Benteke is not injured but the other about supply goes back to last season about creativity in the team

I don't agree with that at all. I think they were a case of better players against lesser players. We lost based on ability, not because we weren't "men". I honestly wonder if people watch the games sometimes. If people think Man City won't have an easier game than yesterday's all season then they're just plain wrong. well I'm plain wrong then as Man City will get a fair few easier games this season than that one. No way can you convince me that that will be Man City's easiest game of the season.

Agreed, can't wait until we play normal teams! These and Chelsea are so good. The fact is our 10 points have set us up well, we are in the top half of the table and we've almost played all the top teams. Did well in this game and held out until 80th minute, so overall I'm happy and especially with Benteke getting 30 mins.

Bizarre that Gareth Bale was sold for almost the same price as the alleged Villa price

Tony Morley in the old players game down at Holly Lane, Erdington.....Ron To$$ was playing for blose equivalent if I remember correctly

You guys are all so fickle, winning the league one week and now you are accepting potentially third place. We have the black plague running through the club with a side of herpes but do you see the players giving up......NO......they are out there. Lift up your chins and remember the next two games are an easy six points and a chance to improve our goal difference.

Roy Keane invented the beard

I have him for first goal scorer at 25/1......fingers crossed!

A bit early for this extension, just like if we had lost the first four games that he'd get fired. The last few years haven't been great and restrictions on him haven't helped. The start of this season has been great. New deal for him seems like the club are getting too mixed up in the emotion of the first four games. The club seem to get more unprofessional by the day, I'm glad we seem to be doing alright on the pitch.

I think that it'll get to a point that we'll be so far ahead in the title race this season that we'll have been perceived as winning it and they will let us into the champions league this season......that's had good we are! First club not to even initially qualify who wins the champions league!

I think I'm going to stay balanced for once. Over the last few seasons I have mixed feelings about Lambert being at the club. The end season run and way of playing of 12/13 season gave me immense hope for the start of last season and I really believed in PL but then last season, as things fell apart, part of me thought it was time to leave. Now four games in we have started, in my eyes, phenomenally given our team and the lack of outlay in the summer to a team already that lacks quality. Signing Senderos, Richardson and Cole as freebies, Keane coming on as number 2 left me deflated at the time but Lambert despite the restrictions brought in some quality without it being earth shattering in Carlos, Ally and Cleverly. I felt better about the additional options but have been worried about the season. After these first four league games I'm in la-la land but want to hold back because I'm assuming there will be downside so want to be more balanced and not react so dramatically when we have a good run and also not feel so down when we have a bad run. I am glad and encouraged by what Lambert is doing at the moment though, Senderos signing seems inspired and a great rock at the back and Keane seems, although without any supporting evidence, to have added something to the club. Long may it continue.

Too inconsistent and needs a kick up the arse. Hopefully new deal will give him life rather than decline more which sometimes happens with players after they sign a new deal

Wow the pessimism here is incredible..............

Grealish still needs time for me, he has the ability but this season is his introduction and not throwing him the deep end. Sub appearances, a few starts here and then when it's appropriate. He's a talent, let's not destroy him in the first year playing him too much.

I've never really got this argument on any player. I understand players get paid stupid amounts and playing football is what we all want to do but I'm wondering how many people would be happy to reduce their wages by 50%. I understand the argument of playing regular and all that but given the short careers of footballers and to be fair we aren't a glamorous team. We will still likely fighting at the wrong end of the table despite our great start and he does play (although inconsistently) for Man Utd and has no affiliation with Aston Villa and at the end of the day it's still his job and to attain enough money in a short career.

Is he similar to Milner in style? I've seen him play but cant remember anything of note but from that video seems a hard worker, gets around the pitch, some slight skill and similar things to what Milner did for us

Yeah has to be dropped IMO, just not effective at all at the moment

No shots on target at home!!! Great to get another clean sheet. Gabby and Andi, just awful. Given available players you have to play one and I would prefer Andi as Gabby's effort is just not there

maybe the teams who could afford them haven't wanted to purchase them

Well, I think those are all fantastic reasons as to why you couldn't play for them If I were a kid and Birmingham offered me a trial, however, I would snap their hands off and happily become a professional footballer. You don't look the gift horse in the mouth and - with exception to anyone out there who genuinely didn't dream of being a footballer as a kid and never had any desire to be one - any Villa fan who turned down the opportunity to play as a professional footballer no matter who the team was deserves a slap. I suspect that when you're a young footballer, your support for your main club begins to dwindle anyway. The whole 'footballers are mercenaries' argument always tickles me. Of course they are! It's their job for crying out loud. Yeah, it's great when a player spends a long time at a club and forms a close bond with them, that's different, but I'd question the sanity of anyone who would turn down the chance of being a footballer just because the team making the offer were your boyhood team's local rivals. Hence the reason why I said your future options and the "guy whose coming through and probably believes he could play at a higher level then I'm not sure I could play for the rival team". If that was your only option then obviously it would be a very hard decision and as you say to be a professional footballer is all our dreams but that wasn't my original intention of the question?

Even though I love Villa, my answer would be yes. Being professional means acting like one as well and football player play football for their living. It's their job. Just like referees. Everybody support a team but cannot underperform because of the fact that they aren't playing for their favorite club? I'm from a small town in Stockholm named Sollentuna. We had three teams before. Two of them joined together and became one club instead. I was in one of those clubs. First two-three weeks was like an audition to stay in the team so the rivalry between us was a lot even though we would end up playing together. Not because everybody wanted to get past the audition, it was mainly because of old derby feelings between the clubs. This story is about boys in the age of 18-25 and 26. The club is now up and running and all those feelings are gone. Two teams that hated each other are now playing together and going up to a higher divison. This is about young unprofessionals, if we managed to play with people we "hated" (of footballing reasons) then professionals can do it with ease. So my answer to your question would be yes, I could imagine playing for the blues if that was for the better of my career but I would never change my mind and love for the Villa. I would be playing football as a professional for them and support Villa when outside the pitch! I don't think it's about being professional because you may not want to work for another company due to any number of reasons and that doesn't make you less professional. In fact you could argue that it makes you more professional as you know you could't give your all for that company and thus your professional ethics dictate that it is not right to move to that company. I do see your point though I'm just not sure I could do it especially if my belief is that I could play at that level which I'm sure this lad thinks he can, so I also suppose it depends on what you think your options could be in the future.

To be fair do you think any of you could play for Birmingham??? I think I'm a fairly level headed bloke, late 30's, work in a global company at senior management level and standard family life but I don't think I could play for them. Obviously if my only source of income anywhere and it's my family's only way of living then obviously but that is an extreme. Under normal circumstances like this guy whose coming through and probably believes he could play at a higher level then I'm not sure I could play for the rival team. Growing up it was ingrained into me to dislike the Blose and that emotion stays with you. I don't care about their results anymore, don't care what league they are in, enjoy the derbies when we do occasionally play them but never really pay much interest in them but playing for them would be a big no no for me. What about others? could you play for Blose? or I know other Villa fans have more of a rivalry with West Brom or Wolves, so the question is if you had the ability and played football at a high level could you play for the rivals of your childhood team.