Hobsons Choice

Sheffield Wednesday have been out of the top flight since 2000, they still get an average of 30,000 fans every home game. Leeds in the championship get 35,000. These are good old clubs with historic stadia. As I've alluded to before on here, matchday revenue makes up an average of 13% of club revenue in the PL. If you think that a new 70,000 seat stadium will ramp up revenues, and take us into the stratosphere, you are wrong. Improved media revenue would dwarf any such gains.

Why does it have to be measured in terms of financial benefit? Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest clubs in the world. They will always have that, and it will always be a draw. I have a proposition that makes tangible financial sense. We buy Birmingham City, consolidate into a single entity called Birmingham FC. Knock down Villa Park and St. Andrews, and build a stadium next to Birmingham International. That would take in a catchment of over 1 million people. Any takers?

History doesn't work like that. You don't erase it. We've won 7 FA cups, the league and the top level of european competition while playing games at Villa Park.

Even if it is, do we really want to sell our own history for the sake of players who at most spend 3-5 years here max? I've been a Villa fan for 32 years.

Because in practice there never is compromise. I bet on paper all new stadia start out with the objective of retaining heritage and preserving atmosphere, but almost every time it is boiled out in the planning and construction. While they are technically superior stadia, the atmosphere at West Ham, Tottenham, Arsenal, Wembley, Stoke, Leicester, Man City, Southampton etc etc has dropped. Will anyone think of the new Wembley with the same reverence as the old? The old Wembley was a cauldren. Search for any fan polls (as I just did) on best away ground atmosphere and you won't find any of those above. You'll see the following repeated over and over: Liverpool-Anfield (1884), Newcastle- St James's (1880), Leeds- Elland Road (1919), Everton-Goodison (1892). Occasionally Villa Park crops up. The history is baked into the walls of those places. You can't create that artificially, you just can't.

Villa Park is our home. I hope it stays our home. If I wanted a bland toilet bowl of a stadium....well I'd be a West Ham fan.

I'd like to know whether it's because I'm old that each year feels like the wheels are finally going to fall off of human civilisation, or whether it really is about to collapse. Is this just something that every generation feels as they get older, or are we actually wahoonied this time?

Sorry is that; Kambwala (4 PL appearances 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 national caps), Amad (5 PL appearances, 0 goals, 1 assist, 4 national caps), and Garnacho (47 PL appearances 8 goals 5 assists, 3 national caps)... Taking the piss out of Douglas Luiz (168 PL appearances, 20 goals, 18 assists, 10 national caps). Sit down children.

Joey Barton in utter dick shocker.

I know it's good money, but I don't like the idea of a betting sponsor. Always seems trashy and smalltime to me. None of the 'Sky 6' have betting sponsors. Have any Champions League qualifiers from the PL had betting sponsors? I can't find any in recent years.

Yeah but it's the rules that are shit. Anticompetitive protection racket in the guise of regulation.

Well yeah, and argument about where the money comes from aside, the alternative is that no one ever challenges for the title again. To me this is as much about fit and proper persons as FFP. The issue with Newcastle is that the owners are not fit and proper, not that they are spending money. The PL has successfully convinced everyone that it's a money issue, not an owner issue.

Really liking the new England shirt. I personally hated us with blue shoulders.

So FFP is in place to prevent clubs going bust, but the only teams to have been punished so far are those for whom relegation is a possibility, and if they are relegated, their finances will be in an almost terminal state? Regardless of the right or wrong of punishment with respect to the rules, FFP is either fundamentally flawed, or worse, actually there for another purpose- to protect the elite from any challengers. Until we see Man City punished, I will continue to argue that those rules are bullshit.

I just found out that the D in DVB stands for Dirty. I'd ask bluenoses to look in the mirror before making such a statement, but they wouldn't be able to use any mirrors in their places of residence as they are smeared with pie grease. Bantz, innit.

Yoooooouuuuuu! Don't you dare ruin Emma Willis for me.

She's absolutely gorgeous.

Emma Willis is a Villa fan??? I like her.

FTFY

Ugh. I detest United.

"This is the voice of PMGOL. Your planet is doomed. Here, let me lay out all of our plans so that Carey Grant can **** us up." I appreciate I may be a bit off topic at this point. West Ham can suck balls. Ah there we are.

Haha. Yes. Yes he does!

I don't get Arteta. Dude always looks like he wears guyliner and has recently been crying.

I do think Unai shat the bed a little bit with the starting lineup. I guess the difference between him and previous managers is that he saw it and fixed it. If the right players are available on the bench they were available to start.

Don't blame him. First a little hippy nicked his ring of power, now this!