maqroll

It would be nothing like the impact of signing an Asian player. Christian Pulisic could walk around any downtown American city and nobody would recognize him. And that's our marquee player. The commercial benefit of signing an up and coming American player is negligible, IMO.

So....has the general consensus shifted from thinking he was out of his depth in the PL to wanting his contract extended?

I'd love it if we signed a good Japanese or Korean player.

Scoop him up for a relegation discount. Check mate.

Must it be either/or?

4 players 90m

The promise of half filled MLS stadia sealed it.

We've won the bottom half of the league by 10 points. Not sure what the trophy looks like, but I'll take it. Weird season in so many ways. Our flying start really captured the imagination. The stretch of games up to the new year and the excitement the team were generating helped me get through the worst of the pandemic and upheaval. Tale of two halves, really. Disappointing dip in form and fortune with Jack and Cash going down. Dean Smith is the boss, and I like it. He's a steadying force and has the respect of the players. He got things right most of the time again and I think as he grows into the job more he will become more agile in his in-game management. Big season coming up. He has a chance to consolidate his position but if the team struggles will NSWE stand by him even in a regression? It was nice to sign Sanson, the jury is still out for now though. He seems composed enough, I wonder about his toughness. Emi deserving of all the plaudits. Targett was immense every time I watched him play. Intelligent, positive player who gets stuck in. Barkley seemed like weird business for Villa and it was. Not a good fit. The worst player of the season. Petulant, entitled attitude. Just go away. Ollie Watkins is my new Villa hero. Such a bright player and relentless. And likeable. Hopefully things shape up so that Jack Grealish puts pen to Villa paper again. If he stays, it means he's been promised another few big signings. If he's sold, we will have a proper war chest. We need better players at a few key positions. Let's hope we get them and depth as well for other positions. Should be an exciting summer. I'm going to try to get to VP next season. First time in 22 years. UTV

Florian Thauvin to Tigres, stunning. I thought he'd look good in a Villa shirt but he's off to Mexico.

We won the bottom half of the table by 10 points!

Spring arrives late in Maine, but it's worth the wait.

Maybe Villa Twitter, but not reasonable Villa fans!

I'm sure Villa wouldn't expect a seemless transition.

Apparently he's had his Euro suitors but he just preferred to stay closer to home. I see no red flags in that. He's still just 26.

I do like the cross stripe look. I'd love our away top to be white with a claret and blue stripe across it.

I have an American Jewish Facebook friend who posts mostly progressive left wing political stuff. Until recently. Now it's Israeli flags, "I Stand With Israel", #stopantisemitism", etc. The disconnect is stark, and I don't think he realizes it.

Absolutely. And I honestly don't have much in tow to begin with after I cleared out of Portland last summer.

Enjoy! I'm off the sauce, but expect to be tested mightily this summer as people come together again.

FTFY

Earlier substitutions

It's a 15 minute drive to town. Which will likely be my daily commute as well when I move there, but I'm going to rent it out for the summer for top dollar, hopefully, before I move in. There's a state park/public access lake 5 minutes away. This place was easily the nicest property I could find given my significant financial constraints and the insane housing market here. 5 years ago it would've sold for 50% less. And it's not without some issues that will take adjusting to, namely the cramped bedroom and paucity of storage space. But it's just me and I can always stash random stuff at my mother's house. The other house that was in the running had vinyl siding, vinyl floors, a propane "wood stove" with plastic "logs", not enough windows, a huge asphalt driveway, etc. Just no character at all. And 20K more.

Depends. If Lange has been scouting him and they like him long term, then it would make sense. An up and coming young player for a small fee and likely small wages. Develop him more and see where it goes.

7m is a cup of coffee in today's market.

7m for Turnbull, oh yeah

My new bachelor pad