bickster

No, I'd much prefer it if they went out of business completely and were wiped off the face of the planet

I'm struggling to see the point of this poll

Great Tune... or Great Apparent Lack of Tune I should say No seriously, I love it!

Excellent report, really enjoyed reading it

PB - that would be my favourite track by the Killers, just for that line But me, right now, I'm listening to Beck (& Friends) covering the entire Velvet Underground & Nico album Its not an actual release but part of a project called record club on Beck's website where Beck and his mates go into the studio and record a loved album whole without any prior rehearsals, They then release one track a week in embedded video form on Beck's website. The VU&N album has just finished, so now we await with baited breath the next album to be covered and who he chooses to go into the studio with this time. It's a most interesting concept

bugger, need to fill up tonight then

Nice report I'd agree with mosf what you've said but I think you missed out two of our best players yesterday John Pantsil - 10, why anyone has ever been convinced he's a footballer is beyond me, I'm not even sure he knows which way he's kicking most of the time, he took his goal very well Aaron Hughes - 9. Possibly his best ever game for the Claret & Blue, no wait..............

Today should have been 4-4-2, no real need for NRC today as he showed by doing very little (not his fault, just no need for him today)

What is more important, breaking into the top four or having some nice Thursday nights when fading or obscure European opposition come to town (disguised as top European opposition). I'd argue you can't have both. You can take this tin pot Euro minor TV channel league seriously and always be also rans or you can have a crack at the top four, I don't see how a team in our current position (or is that predicament) can realistically do both. If UEFA really took this competition seriously, they'd award a place in teh Champions League the following season as a prize, they don't and that speaks volumes about this competition, its contemptuous in the extreme. It's ok for the failures for the Champions League to be relegated to it for half a season but not OK for the team that wins it to be promoted? It's ill conceived and only serves to distract us from the real aim.

Now the Villa European dream is all over for another year, I think it’s time to reflect on what European competition actually means to us. You see, for me I really couldn’t give a damn. It’s odd, as a person my politics are quite pro European integration. I enjoy my holidays in Europe, France being a particular favourite. There’s nothing like experiencing a bit of European culture every now and again, in fact I’ve often said that If I had the money I’d be off like a shot as this country often depresses the hell out of me. But European football? it leaves me cold. It really doesn’t excite me one bit. And given the attendance at Villa Park on Thursday, it seems I’m not the only one! Now on a personal level it’s quite easy to explain why I’m not a big fan. Living in the North West, every game is an away game and midweek games themselves are usually too much trouble to consider going to in the first place. And if I’d made the effort what would I be rewarded with? Well usually I’d be watching a second string eleven with a few first team players thrown in for good measure (Villa aren’t alone in doing this) who would be trying their hardest not to concede a goal and possibly sneak one or two on the break. This is the nature of the Euro-game, such is the emphasis on the very silly away goals rule. European football is generally a tense but dire spectacle in the UEFA Cup (sorry Europa League, I forgot the bigwigs re-launched it and made it even worse again). If I don’t go I still get messed around, our league game will be moved to a Sunday and travelling from up here on a Sunday by train is a pain. I don’t particularly want to drive because I like a drink and that for me is part and parcel of the appeal of going to match. Going to the pub before and after, having a chat with the lads before the game about how we see it going and the post match post-mortem over a couple more is part and parcel of the ritual for me. I get to see old friends from school and my other Villa supporting mates. Quite simply being totally selfish, European football messes with my ability to enjoy going to watch football. But it’s not just that, as I’ve already said, the football on offer is usually substandard anyway and I’m not knocking the manager here, he because of the commitments required for the modern day game has to juggle his squad, younger players need experience and there’s no better way of giving the youngsters some Euro experience because generally speaking the game is played at a slower pace, it provides a decent springboard between reserve level and Premier League. The flipside of this is that because of the pressures put upon the modern day manager, some of the first team also have to play, they have to assume more responsibility too as they are playing with less experienced players, this makes for more fatigued first team players. Come Sunday half the first team are rested, the other half are the opposite. We as a football club, simply aren’t at the level where we can sustain a large enough squad to be really able to cope with a sustained European campaign and to compete in both domestic cups and the league effectively. Something has to give and for me, it’s the Eurodullard I could do without. I’d much prefer to see us playing a gritty but tense affair away at Macclesfield in midweek than have to put up with playing likes of FC Timişoara, who I have no connection with whatsoever, to the extent that I couldn’t even tell you which country they play in and I’d like to think of myself as quite widely travelled especially in Europe. But what about the great European nights down at Villa Park, I hear some of you scream? Well they don’t happen much in the early stage of this new competition by which time a team like ours has completely messed up its season with players getting over played and tired from all the travelling and by the time they might come round, the squad isn’t really that capable of a sustained attack. Then again, those big European names, why exactly should we be playing them in the later stages, they are only there because they’ve messed up in the Champions League - a competition where failure appears to mean, you get to play in a different competition, which because you’re a Champions League team, you don’t care about either! UEFA simply has this more is good philosophy when it comes to European competition. Well that might work for the top four and the other Euro giants but because the second UEFA competition doesn’t really provide the extra finance on a scale that justifies having the large squad to cope it doesn’t work for the rest of us, in fact, to my mind it keeps us further apart from the top clubs. It acts as reason to inhibit our challenge on the top 4. Before we can can start dreaming of those Great European Nights Down Villa Park (© some marketing imbecile) we need to start having some great domestic days down Villa Park against those teams considered to be above us. When we get to their levels of income, then and only then can we think about having great European adventures again. Is the Europa Cup the main draw for all players. Sure I can understand the Champions League, but do footballers really like all these games in far flung places midweek? They end up being away from home for three nights, it must get to you at some point. Those clubs not in the Europa League hardly seem to be saying, we can't attract the players, we're not in the Europa League. I haven't heard a single player say, "I've moved to (Insert club here) because of the fantastic opportunity to play in Ventspils on a cold Thursday night". I simply don't think the appetite is there for this I hate the Europa League and to be honest, I’m glad we’re out of it. It messes up my social life and it messes with the team’s primary goal and that is achieving something in the domestic game. We don’t yet have the finances to compete in such a long winded European competition and the competition doesn’t provide those finances from what I can see. We’re better off out of it!

Yup, been using it for a couple of years now, perfectly happy with it even though I don't use it to its full potential

By Heystally!

Yer right there mate, the Railway is awful (they even have a deliberately fast clock to call time with) and as the Freshie is two doors away from mine, I'd have much prefered it, but I was intruding on other peoples habits!

Highly unusually, this one is by me!

its no myth, today is either an exception or he's been possessed ;-)

Says who? For the record, we're all semi drinkers in our house but I don't have that much of it as I'm a black coffee man anyway Medical experts. Sorry but that is utter rubbish

Says who? For the record, we're all semi drinkers in our house but I don't have that much of it as I'm a black coffee man anyway

I only ever watched it once, the one that had the band on and various dragons werealmost fighting with each other for a piece of the action Thing was, the band were crap Hard nosed business people with an eye for making good dollar out of helping someone's business along the way, trouble is not one of them had a clue about the music biz and they all seemed to want a piece of the action hilarious and idiotic all at the same time

No place for the magical Puff?

An article by Villatalk member - Juju

doesnt it cost silly money? I'm no expert here but I'd hazard aguess its no more than any other mobile internet account, in fact you are saving them the hassle of giving you the equipment as part of a deal

You know he's 100% innocent of course? This conviction stank from before he was delivered into British hands. I even doubt he's got cancer tbh and I don't reaaly care because this has more to do with World politics than it has to do with any individual He was convicted on the flimsyest of evidence. To me this is just part of the same deal that brought him here and its all to do with oil and in its own part it diminishes Russia's influence on the world. And yes I do think its one big huge conspiracy, and for once, I dont care.

Yep some guy convicted because a Maltese Shirt saleman said he bought a shirt in his shop It was never the safest of convictions

Bernie Connor's Sound of Music - show 21 A podcast by my old mate Bernie (an encyclopaedia of music in human form), available weekly and most excellent, Bernie goes all over the place and is well worth a listen, his collections spans decades as does his knowledge Listen, you'll learn a lot But right now I'm listening to Chess Moves - Future Blues, reworkings of old blues classics in the future blues style by Kieth le Blanc You can hear a little sampler on Keith Le Blancs My Space Site Along with some other great stuff of his