rubberman

We just sold the carthorse.

I think we'll be waiting for this one for a while.

Sigh...Gabby. Otherwise about as good as we can expect. Please play well for once.

^ Wait till we get the version with arrows.

re the length of the loan period. It is possible that the 18 months was more of a Round call than Bruce's. Statistically it is not terribly likely that Bruce will still be here in 18 months so would make sense if the club don't want to get rid completely, but know that Bruce doesn't fancy him. Ideally of course SB will still be here, we'll be in the PL and Gollini will have matured into a top keeper. Maybe.

Hmmm. Gestede gone, RHM looking dodgy and now Ayew. Leaving us with Kodjia (good), McCormack (yet to fire), Gabby (done) and Kozak (god knows but probably also on his way out). That's not a promotion strike force.

Name Home Team Away Team Guess Reading 2 1 QPR Reading Leeds 1 1 Derby Draw Bristol 0 1 Cardiff Cardiff Birmingham 1 0 Forest Birmingham Burton 1 1 Wigan Draw Fulham 1 1 Barnsley Draw Ipswich 1 0 Blackburn Ipswich Preston 1 2 Brighton Brighton Rotherham 0 2 Norwich Norwich Wednesday 1 1 Huddersfield Draw Wolves 1 1 Villa Draw Brentford 1 2 Newcastle Newcastle rubberman

Are we just going to swap squads with Middlesborough? Doesn't seem like it'll get us very far.

pffft. I've been biding my time, waiting to strike while everyone was distracted by mince pies and transfer talk. Well, either that or dumb luck.

Well that was fun for a while. Next random speculative link please..

With Hutton still playing, the crosses would be nowhere near his head anyway.

Om, nom, nom.

At least 4-0. We'll have about 20% possession and be a complete embarrassment, showing how far behind we've fallen. Can't be over soon enough.

Seemed a decent sort of fella. Terrible fit for us though. Can't say I care much that he's gone. Onwards we go.

I am quite probably deluding myself, but I feel quite good about that line up. We have both width and trickery through the middle. Grealish will get free kicks or a penalty, and if he can feed McCormack this could work.

Name Home Team Away Team Guess Birmingham 1 1 Brentford Draw Blackburn 1 2 Newcastle Newcastle Bristol 0 1 Reading Reading Burton 0 1 Preston Preston Cardiff 0 1 Villa Villa Fulham 0 1 Brighton Brighton Leeds 2 0 Rotherham Leeds Norwich 1 1 Derby Draw Forest 0 1 Barnsley Barnsley QPR 1 1 Ipswich Draw Wednesday 2 1 Wolves Wednesday Wigan 0 1 Huddersfield Huddersfield rubberman

Name Home Team Away Team Guess Villa 1 1 Leeds Draw Rotherham 0 1 Burton Burton Brighton 2 0 Cardiff Brighton Ipswch 1 1 Bristol Draw Newcastle 3 1 Forest Newcastle Reading 2 1 Fulham Reading Huddersfield 2 0 Blackburn Huddersfield Barnsley 1 1 Birmingham Draw Derby 2 0 Wigan Derby Preston 0 1 Wednesday Wednesday Wolves 2 1 QPR Wolves Brentford 1 1 Norwich Draw rubberman

I hope and expect we will address the midfield in the next few weeks. That should also impact on the forwards and start to make them gel a bit more which will mitigate the AFCON break. For all our weaknesses, we still have a deeper squad than most in this division and that will start to tell as the season grinds on. I agree we aren't playing at all well, and yet we are slowly but surely moving up the table. I don't expect it to be in the next couple of games, but do expect us to get there. It's not a given, but also I think it's eminently doable.

Will Hughes off to Everton for £15m apparently.

This for me. Bruce took over when we were 19th. We've overtaken 9 clubs in that time, not least Norwich and Blues. Only Brighton have lost fewer games and we're the only club unbeaten at home. We are definitely on track to make it to the play off places at this rate.

Good the keep building fortress villa park. Good to bag 3 points. Good to move up the table and close in on the top 6. It would be nice to be playing well and scoring freely as well, but I'm not going to complain that that's missing at the moment. It been too long we haven't had any wins. We can add the cherry on top when we're safe in the mid table of the premier league.

At some points last season I would have paid extra for a restricted view.

Yep. Hope this is a shrewd bit of management.

And yet more than half of them have been starting for us this season.