VILLAMARV

his overinflated sense of self worth would fit right in at the moment. Maybe on some sort of pay as you play deal where he gives us some of the money back he stole was paid from us down the years for every appearance he makes? He would also be a great ambassador for the club and a great example to the youngsters we have of how to make it and be successful in the modern game. shouldn't this be in the non football threads anyway mods?

I don't think we can lay claim to such a title any more. Even during the best of times with MON, we still weren't selling out every week. I think our fan base is a big consideration to a potential buyer and I think Randy has proven that even with some success (albeit relative success) our crowds won't grow exponentially. If we'd had the crowds, the north stand would be gone by now. We still have (while we are in the prem) one of the top 10 incomes in UK football. yes there are bigger teams than us in terms of historical achievements (though not many) and financial clout. but there are still a good 80+ teams in UK football that would kill for our fan base, stadium, facilities et al. Fair point. And as I was writing the above, I was keenly aware of the fact that the revenue stream from ticket sales is becoming an increasingly small percentage of turnover. Not sure what the draw is though. Even as a long-standing Villa fan, I'm not sure where our opportunities are to increase fan-base and subsequent revenue. All I see at the moment is opportunities to decrease it lol it is at our place! but really however they market 'brand villa' across the world the only thing that will attract new fans is a good team playing good football. That, and the name and the colours of course!

Guzan is the only player on the pitch who seems interested in organising anything imho. They are both good shot stoppers but Guzan offers us alot more than I've ever seen in a Villa shirt from Given. I'd like to see him giving it to the defenders a la schmeichel in his heyday a bit more but Guzan's been a real bright spot in a dark dark season for me. and while it's the midfield and defence that need to sort themselves out, Given has hardly inspired when given a go (see what I did there!). Good saves at Norwich aside he's kept no clean sheets when he's played, let in 3 goals in 2 LC games against premier league opposition, let in 6 goals in 3 LC games against Swindon and Bradford respectively and 3 goals in 2 FA cup games against championship opposition. He's also conceded 4 goals in 2 prem league appearances. All this adds up to conceding 1.78 goals a game this year. Even with the 8-0 Chelsea, 5-0 Man City and 4-0 Tottenham results marking his card Guzan is currently letting in 1.87 goals a game. He's also played in all 6 clean sheets we've kept this season. He needs to drop the left back.

I don't think we can lay claim to such a title any more. Even during the best of times with MON, we still weren't selling out every week. I think our fan base is a big consideration to a potential buyer and I think Randy has proven that even with some success (albeit relative success) our crowds won't grow exponentially. If we'd had the crowds, the north stand would be gone by now. We still have (while we are in the prem) one of the top 10 incomes in UK football. yes there are bigger teams than us in terms of historical achievements (though not many) and financial clout. but there are still a good 80+ teams in UK football that would kill for our fan base, stadium, facilities et al.

Ha Ha Ha. we were joking about this 20 years ago in a pub i worked in. whenever we score in the first 10 minutes we used to look at each other and say well can we hang on for 80 mins? Its a strange mindset to the likes of Man Utd/Liverpool fans but hasn't this always been the case? We're a defeatist bunch us villa fans, but it's born out of 100 years of underachievement. welcome to the club

they seem to be really into trolling on media message boards and the like these days!! that pisses me off more than anything these days. Ive given up on reading threads on articles (probably why I came here after all this time!) coz I'm sick of all the scouse bile. For me as a 70's kid I grew up in a Liverpool dominated era of football, so ALL the gloryhunter kids of our day were Liverpool fans. I know more Liverpool fans who have never been to Anfield than those who have. I did have a soft spot for Souness though. Anyone that sells us Staunton, Houghton and Saunders is ok in my book

no problem in football is it? Even if they want to test you you just don't turn up, tell them you're phone was off. Get a few weeks holiday as a punishment and come back no questions asked isn't it?

Good point about that Chelsea game, didn't the ref retire after that too? Unfortunately it's not a new idea though huh. The Segers & Grobelaar era should stand as a reminder that it's not just foreign teams that get caught up in this stuff. And while Le Tissier claims to have only ever tried to fix the time of the first throw in, his team mate at the time Claus Lundekvam alluded to the problem being alot more widespread in the UK than anyone wants to believe.

To be fair, this has very little to do with Lambert. Unfortunately the advent of the "Champions League" always meant this was going to happen, whatever the FA hand over in prize money for the Premier League. It is and always has been a closed shop for the big boys and unless you're in it you will never be able to compete with them financially. The EUFA FFP rules are spun as a way of protecting clubs from themselves but in reality make it even harder for a team to ever bridge that gap and help to protect the marketable brands for years to come.

No It's directly linked. (league games) Without Bennett 12 games - 3 wins - 4 draws - 5 losses - for 11 - away 16 - points 13 With Bennett 13 games - 1 win - 5 draws - 7 losses - for 12 - away 33 - points 8 in fairness to him he was only on the pitch for 4 of Chelsea's goals and 2 of Southampton's in the 4-1 away (his debut) so maybe 6 of those should be on the other side......mind you in fairness to us the only win with him on the pitch was the 1-0 away at Sunderland where he was stretchered off after 11 mins so shall we move that up aswell? also we were 1-0 up at home to Norwich when he got sent off in a match we ended up drawing. (also the awful 1st half against Newcastle he was there [2 goals conceded], the revival in the second half he wasn't [0 goals conceded]. vs Tottenham, stretchered off conceded 0 with 10 men albeit in a game they'd already won by then.) In the cups he played in both FA cup games against championship teams. so played 2 - won 1 - lost 1 - for 3 - away 3 In the League cup he didn't feature in the wins against Tranmere, Swindon or Norwich. or the extra time of the Man City win (subbed off on 86 mins) He did play the first 86 mins of the City game and both Bradford games, although again was subbed off in the second leg (after conceding the goal). This is not an anomaly. I'm not saying he'll never make it but I really fear that if Lambert doesn't give him a rest for Lichaj/Enda it's going to seriously ruin him for the rest of his career. Definitely needs to hit the gym and bulk up along with Clark imo. On top of all this my eyes and brain agree with each other that he's not very good.

I thought he looked really nervous when he came on. He looked like he hadnt trained with us and looked a bit off the pace. But he did put himself about, which is what we need / wanted right? He looks a real battler.Anyone comparing him to sissoko is probably going to be disappointed imo but anyone who is wondering if he is the tough tackling DMC we've been crying out for, he just might be. he looks raw, he looks like he's going to pick up some cards along the way. But in 20 mins he got more involved than KEA in the rest of the match and I'd be surprised if he isn't starting against Nolan / Noble on Sunday.

Vassell's debut still makes me smile EDIT: EUROPEAN debut! lol

As awful as the rest? Would Bennett/Clark/Lowton/Baker/Lichaj/Stephens seriously get in the Dutch squad? Personally I think the good performances have papered over the occasional mistake but looking back through the thread I can see that would be a futile conversation for me to have with you so we shall agree to disagree!! I sort of agree with the last bit though I would change it to this: Mellberg wasn't Beckenbaur Laursen wasn't Beckenbaur Vlaar isn't Beckenbaur

goals conceded in League games with/without Vlaar with : 29 goals in 16 games (goals conceded per game 1.81) without: 20 goals in 9 games (goals conceded per game 2.22) (before the injury this was 22 in 13 @ 1.69) not that much in it! but hopefully I found some stats to back up my own point of view ;P yes we've let in 7 in the last 3 games since his return but we'd let in 18 in the previous 5 league games without him. It may not be perfect but it has definitely improved since his return. the night and day/ying and yang of the Bradford results would also suggest as much. Yeah there is not much in it, pretty close. Not a huge improvement like some had thought or hoped. And as has been mentioned, he has been at fault for 5 goals since his return. He is average, but he is the best centre back at the club. Not much no, but still an improvement. He like any player is not immune to criticism and when you make individual errors you will be singled out. I have no problem with that. I saw McGrath make mistakes in games. That didn't make him an average player. When he came back I hoped he would bring some stability and sort out the mess it had become in his absence. I didn't expect him to teach Clark and Bennett how to defend properly though. He is an asset and if we manage to stay up it will be because of him, not in spite of him. I dont remember a more composed defender in C&B on the ball in my lifetime. Wish he was a bit better at heading. Wish he paid more attention to the ball at set pieces sometimes. At 3mill and half Dunne's wages I think he's a bargain. But it's OK!! we're allowed different opinions after all

true, although he played about an hour in the Arsenal game. A more important absentee from this period is Bennett though imo. he got back to fitness just in time for the Chelsea game......

he sits around lighting cigars off of burning bundles of £50's doesnt he?

me too. I think we have to be careful what we wish for with Lambert. I have real belief that if he's given time and money he could attract some proper players to this club over the next few years.

goals conceded in League games with/without Vlaar with : 29 goals in 16 games (goals conceded per game 1.81) without: 20 goals in 9 games (goals conceded per game 2.22) (before the injury this was 22 in 13 @ 1.69) not that much in it! but hopefully I found some stats to back up my own point of view ;P yes we've let in 7 in the last 3 games since his return but we'd let in 18 in the previous 5 league games without him. It may not be perfect but it has definitely improved since his return. the night and day/ying and yang of the Bradford results would also suggest as much.

Pretty much this. I think the key thing in all this is how is the debt set up and what the deal with the trust fund is. I dont know, and feel free to correct me if im wrong (i know you dont need the pep talk!) but is it not possible to set up trusts which have fixed conditions. If the debt is owed to the trust it could be on fixed long term (like generational) conditions? For me this is the missing piece of the financial jigsaw and I suspect we will never find out until he sells up. last years figures are going to make interesting if depressing reading.

with Benteke I would argue we are in a good position, considering that on the pitch he is a HUGE influence and off the pitch we have a player under contract until 2016 that other people admire as much as we do. If a transfer bid does come in in the future we can play the Barry game with them. Name our price and stick to it. Lerner may well be rubbing his hands in glee, hoping to sell him on in the summer and make a good £10-15m profit in one year on one player. That would probably make him happy as he wouldn't have to delve into his pockets again in order to pay the bills and keep the lights on as he has done every year since he took over. Who knows? my original post was basically saying stop finding something to complain about in Benteke (unless defending corners is your thing!) and enjoy him while we got him.

yeah, I know. but it aint all doom and gloom imo. It Isn't suggested he has a release clause so even if he is to leave we actually are in a good position for a change. no reason to suggest we'd get mugged off on the price. Just unhappy people ripping apart the silver lining

Defending Corners - As Bad As People Think? Yes.

we simply HAVE to start winning at VP. W.Ham, QPR, Fulham and Sunderland all to visit. We need to win those games.

I know its bad. I know we're all hurting. but can we just enjoy the fact that we've actually got a decent striker again after all this time, misplaced hope and false dawns. imo we should all be praying to all and any god/s and entities,touching as many lucky inanimate objects as we can find and throwing as much as we can find down the wishing well in the hope he doesnt get injured rather than getting down about the fact that he wont end his career here. It's not nailed on that he would go. Maybe he's driven by greed, who knows but if he has any sense he would stay with a club that loves him for a few years, improve his first touch (which is why he'd be on the bench at Man City/ Utd imo), and be assured of a regular starting spot. I doubt his place in the Belgium squad would be in jeopardy wherever he plays tbh. Clubs may well be interested in him but contracts are contracts.

this is true: + this is surely the way forward: + this is basically what I came here to add to this thread: