maqroll

Say no more, I know who you speak of.

Every article or tweet that praises Villa recently gets lots of comments from Toon supporters who all say "But what about Newcastle??" I love it that we are occupying a position they thought their oil money was going to guarantee them.

I really respect Dean for coming back to Villa Park the other day. Most people I think would maybe be too prideful to not only come to the game but be part of the media contingent doing interviews. I would love to see him back in the fold eventually in some capacity.

A sandonkwich.

Well it ain't working!

The fetishization of the military, guns, survivalist/tactical gear and clothing, macho trucks etc. is a big problem here. There is a demographic here that has become radicalized by 30 years of right wing propaganda and gun deregulation. It might be an unpopular opinion, but I also think video games like Call of Duty have been a factor in this phenomenon. A big reason why I've gravitated away from American sports over the years is because of the almost pornographic public displays of jingoism after Sept 11 2001 at stadia. It was unbearable.

21 year old student shot dead by stray bullet while she was working the end of her shift as a bartender.

Did your Kevlar vest take any direct hits?

German club feeling skittish about any perception that they're lenient towards public statements from their player that could in any conceivable way be interpreted as anti Jewish. But the statements are uncontroversial. I respect Anwar even more for not backing down.

I'd literally not want any of their players in our starting XI.

Yep, and can score from range, too.

I'm not sure about this. I think Poch is better suited to manage older players who already know how to win, like Ancelotti. These Chelsea players are mostly young and unaccustomed to the pressure and demands of playing for a club like Chelsea in the media glare of West London, in a league as competitive as the Prem. They'll collect points against the lower table riff raff, but struggle badly against the top 7.

Considering we've played without Mings, Buendia, Moreno and Ramsey and lost badly in the opener, it's been superb.

It'll be fascinating to watch our moves, or non-moves. Even without CL, quality players want to play in the PL, and would love to play for Emery and get paid handsomely in the process, but I see your point. The only players good enough to replace our players would likely want guaranteed CL football straight away. Which makes qualifying such a massive step. But also shows just how good we are right now that the only players out there who can actually improve us are the very elite. It'll be strange days when we start looking for upgrades on some of the absolute studs we presently have. Moreno and Ramsey returning will be like "early" January signings. As for the window itself, if a striker or RB are identified and available, hopefully Monchi makes moves. And if we actually qualify for the Champions League, he will try to assemble a team over the summer that is good enough to win it.

The entire club has imploded, and I firmly believe the rot starts at the very top with the owners. They don't understand the game or the club or the league, any of it, and that shows in the scattershot approach they've overseen from the start. Which isn't to say there isn't plenty of blame to go around as well. Managers, players, scouting department, the operational people. They do well with sponsorship deals, but that's about it. And even that may start to suffer at this rate. The best thing that could happen to them might be relegation. A chance to finally clear house and start fresh with new ownership, just like we have.

I saw a funny clip of Noel Galagher entering a bar by himself in Istanbul where Man City fans were watching the final. Either nobody knew who he was, or they completely ignored him. I think he thought he'd get a warmer reception..

He makes Ralf Rangnick look charismatic. Extremely dry Dutch personality. He's probably more dynamic coaching mostly Dutch players in the Dutch league, but his style doesn't translate well to England, anyway.

I think most of them support Man City now.

They should've hired Eleven Hag

Absolutely ice cold if true, I hope it is!

Had my hands tied when I dropped Kincaid. ****!

Won't be a cakewalk. But they have a hard time scoring, so I predict 2-0. He'll set up to not concede, so it might take a while to wear them down.

Kelce and Diggs have let me down badly.

Obviously if they were chanting "Slaughter the Jews", that's problematic. But chanting about "Global Intifada", while maybe disturbing to some people, doesn't violate any speech laws in the UK, does it? And the bloodied baby effigies are clearly depicting dead Palestinian babies, so I'm not sure what law that violates either. Seems reasonable, if shocking, for a street demonstration against a bombing campaign that is killing innocent people. When effigies of dead babies are more offensive to the general public and media outlets than actual dead babies, we've got a real psychological disconnect going on.