merlin

Did you just reveal yourself as Jeremy Clarkson? No - because unlike Clarkson, I WOULDN'T have apologized...!! The truth hurts.....but I don't need the job now ; he does...

Had forgotten about this topic because I was back in debt-ridden UK when most of my posts were answered..I'm glad someone has re-posted because after all that has happened in the last 12 months - and esp the last 3 - some of you EU-Lovers must be eating Jumbo sized slices of HUMBLE PIE !! The debts of Eastern European countries now threaten to split up the Eurozone because the Germans(quite rightly)don't want to pick up the tab for bailing them out...read Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in today's Telegraph IF you can tear yourselves away from the Grauniad/Independent(NOT) and Sobverser.! As for Oz, we have had far less impact on the economy(despite the best efforts of Mr Rudd & Co) than Europe or US because the banks here are better regulated and don't give loans away with cornflake packets like Northern Crock... And as for your climate rubbish, apart from a week in Adelaide & Melbourne, we have had a LOVELY summer, thank you, with lower than av temps in much of the country and Queensland has had RECORD rainfall...go and spout your Al Gore propaganda somewhere where they might believe you - but then, plenty of schools in the UK have fallen for this tripe.. No wonder a once-great country has gone down the tubes....

The lad was a brilliant player, miles better than the likes of Beckham as a footballer. Never forget his debut at 17 against Spurs at SJP - looked cock of the walk as soon as JC put him on as a sub and forced Clemence into a great save from a free-kick. Would have been an all-time great had he been managed by the likes of Clough or Fergie, and probably still playing for England in the 1998 World Cup.... He needed a firm hand but neither McFaul or Venables had that - SBR managed him to a point, but Hoddle lost it... Always lacked self-discipline and very sad at what has happened to him, but that's life - had George Best still been around,he would have had some idea about the demons afflicting Gazza.

Hi KK, a great post and sums up most of my feelings about Asprilla - as you say, it was other players losing form(and possibly, their bottle) which cost us the title. Even a draw with Man U at SJP and a win at Liverpool would probably have done it for us, but the Man U game was the cruncher and Tino did as much as anyone to unlock them as I recall.It was Sir Les who missed the best chance to score after being put in by....Tino ! As you correctly say, Supermac was, in this instance, correct - Zola WAS a more influential player than Tino and went on to prove it with fabulous service to Chelsea..who knows, if KK had signed him, maybe we would have done it.

Totally agree about Tomasson - went on to prove himself a good player(and KD right to buy him)at AC Milan. I reckon he would have been a success at SJP if Shearer had not been injured.

:lol: £10M budget and Joe Kinnear in charge. Arsenal and Villa must be shitting thaself. Isn't the £10 million what he's prepared to put in? Not sure how many other clubs owners are prepared to stick their hand in their pocket to finance their clubs. Ashley said that he wanted to 'have fun' with his money by buying NUFC - any hobby costs you money to 'have fun' - if he was buying a boat, car or anything else, he would have to get his hand in his pocket...

Agreed, Keith - Acuna never did let us down, and I think you've hit on something when you mention Bobby having a down on players wanting to play for their countries ; this I found particularly hypocritical in view of the fact that he had been an international manager himself, and must have known all about the frustrations of trying to get players released for England games. Solano in particular was the butt of his gripes about this, and of course, the whole thing ended up with us losing him for a ridiculous fee ; very annoying when you consider some of the crazy fees Bobby paid for the likes of Bassedas, Cort and Viana - not to mention Bramble..

NUFC has had far too many who haven't really made it...which is a reflection of the club's status over the past 40 years because the CLUB has 'never really made it' to where it should be. Perhaps the number of player who haven't made it is the reason why the club hasn't...!

FYP. I may be mistaken, but i think the defender he slid to take the ball off, was Mike Gatting ( cricketer), brother. Used to stand directly over the wall at the top of the players tunnel in them days. I think he went to Liverpool, cos Willie Mcfaul,or more likely Stan Seymour, wouldnt match the money , Liverpool were paying players at the time. Yes, you are right about it being a Brighton defender - what confused me a bit was that Corrigan was in goal, and he played for City for years... Beardsley was sold to Liverpool because the Board wanted the money to pay towards the Milburn Stand.

You are of the same generation as me, Bob ! I was 21 when I saw us win the Fairs Cup, and like you, I expected more silverware to follow, esp with the 74 and 76 sides, when we fell at the last hurdle. Cannot see the club winning anything under the present set-up - we are light-years behind at least 6 other clubs and the money coming into other clubs will leave NUFC for dead. There have been too many false dawns and the gap is far harder to bridge now than it was in the 70s. Our last real chance to become a major force in the game was 96/97 - gone backwards since then, with a brief respite in 2001/3.

They are dropping prices simply because they KNOW that, under the present regime and with Kinnear as manager added to threat of unemployment, quite a number of fans will just NOt renew, and they are living in Cuckoo Land if they think this will make much difference.. They are CONSOLIDATING for a mid-lower half place in the Prem - they HOPE...

There is NO way - this comment shows Llambsarse up for what he is - an amateur who should o back to spinning roulette wheels......

I agree that he needs to go, I hope we go for somebody with a bit of hunger for goals and games. Ameobi and Xisco should do the job. Cheap and good business. Just like Rob McDonald and Bobby Shinton. Yes, the Good Old Days are coming back once again..!!

Def a Newcastle United Legend ; so many amazing goals apart from his other great qualities and hard work. Incredible to think that Mark Hateley kept him out of the England side in Mexico 86 until desperation forced Robson to play him alongside Lineker against the Poles.. Too many great goals to list but 2 stand out for me - his outrageous sliding tackle to win possession from a Man C defender in our final game of the promotion season of 83/84 and then he stood up and cheekily chipped Joe Corrigan from the edge of the box to out a great seal on a 3-1 win..always remember KK running back to the Centre circle, shaking his head in amazement..!! No 2 was a terrific run from almost the halfway line near the East Stand, beating 3 defenders and leaving the really quick Des Walker stranded for pace to score against Brian Clough's Forest at SJP in December 86...I knew after that he wouldn't be staying at SJP much longer, and he was sold to Liverpool the following August. He had an amazing second spell at the club too, when many thought he was almost past it - a really excellent player.

After reading Llambarse's latest missive in the Press about the future of Kinnear, nobody needs to concern themselves as to whether Bruce or anybody else would take the NUFC job ; they won't be asked because the Owner/board have got the ideal man - according to them.. Whether season-ticket holders will buy THAT one en masse will be interesting to see. It seems NUSC will be getting an uplift in membership soon...!!

Talking if which, this is the Villa squad for our game in Moscow this week. Brad Guzan Stuart Taylor Elliott Parish Luke Young Curtis Davies Zat Knight Nicky Shorey Eric Lichaj Ciaran Clark Shane Lowry Steve Sidwell Moustapha Salifou Craig Gardner Isaiah Osbourne Barry Bannan Marc Albrighton Marlon Harewood John Carew Nathan Delfouneso No Friedel, Heskey, Ashley Young, Barry, Milner, Petrov, Cuellar or Agbonlahor. He's clearly made a decision about priorities, by the looks of it. And thats a sad thing for most Villa fans in my opinion. Its your only chance of a trophy thrown away. Teams spend all season trying to qualify for Europe then dont take it seriously when they get there. You wonder whats the point? In ten years you wont remember finishing fourth I don't see why - NUFC fans still remember finishing second over 10 years ago, and second is hardly different from 4th because you have still fluffed it....

what other “criteria” do you expect from a casino manager, they haven’t got a clue about football. 'We like him' is Llamb-speak for ' he is our Man From Del Monte'- when we ask something, he say Y-E-S..!'

Because he can (mostly) get away with the errors. Played well today but let's not go overboard. Dear oh dear. That's canny pathetic really. He's done well at right back. Why is it pathetic? It just reads like like begrudging praise. Are you suggesting playing at fullback is a cop out & an easier position? That's how it reads, that's all. I'd say full back is an awful lot more demanding position & he's the only one of our centre halves who adapts well to playing there. He's done well there & should be praised for it in exactly the same way he's criticised for playing poorly (which he has at centre half) It's begrudging praise because I still don't rate him generally. He was clearly one of our best players today though and has covered well for us there. He still made a couple of stupid errors today and if he'd made them in the centre he'd have been punished much more, possibly by a goal being scored and/or him being sent off. All I'm saying is that his usual rash play is far more 'acceptable' out wide. Agree - if he wasn't a naturalized Geordie, he would get loads more stick.

Have not seen full match yet, but a really shocking tackle from Nolan - deserves to be suspended for 6 matches, never mind 3... Completely indefensible, went in deliberately from the side with both feet, almost jumping on the player's leg. This is probably the reason Nolan was available - he has a tendency to lose it in tackles, and Bolton knew all about that... In the circumstances, a draw is a creditable result because every point is vital, but Nolan's recklessness will cost the club because his physical presence is useful in midfield - IF it is kept under control... Not surprised at the high ratings given to Enrique - he's a good player, now starting to prove it more regularly.

Always rated this boy as an excellent prospect - he has great qualities, and considering he is still just a year into the Prem and only 22, he could turn out to be NUFC's best LB since Beresford, AND he's a better defender. If we go down, I guarantee a top side will sign him, poss Liverpool

This is what happens when you get someone in charge who is so pig-headed that they are prepared to let the person responsible for 'getting them playing again' leave so that they can retain their sacrosanct management structure...

There is no way Mourinho would join NUFC under the current set-up ; he had enough of others choosing his players at Chelsea(i.e. Shevchenko). Of the 2 clubs mentioned he is far more likely to end up at City unless Cashley fires Wise & Co... If Ashley can't do better than Kinnear, to link Mourinho with the job is ludicrous.

Villa are unbelievably average getting by on luck and late goals You win the(Booby)prize for the daftest comment of the year so far....unbelievable..! Really? I must have missed them consistently playing teams off the park. As far as I can see, their reputation they've supposedly built up this season has been based on a small handful games where their attacking talent has blended together. Average is a bit harsh, they're a good side, but true, they've got the rub of the green with a lot of things up to now: interesting to see how they bounce back after the past 7 days. Alan Green seems to agree with you going on this article. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/alan-green/alan-green-no-thrill-in-villa-surge-14197749.html The day that Alan Green is right about football will be the day I give it up...I'd love him to have said that to Cloughie about one of his sides - Clough would have had him for breakfast with a few words, such as 'that's why you are a journalist, and I am a manager , Alan..'

Whilst I believe that NUSC face an almost impossible task if their aim is to force change at the club, I think it is a good thing, overall, that they exist as a pressure group. Having dumb apathy among fans is just as bad as having a silent cartel between political parties(which is what I believe to be the case in many western countries today, esp the UK) ; the status quo will just continue and there is no pressure on the people in charge to change anything for the benefit of their customers(voters). In the case of politics, the voters do have options if they disagree with the situation, and they have the necessary skills, because they can leave/emigrate , but in the case of football fans, they will either just put up with it or stop going, so having a well-organized pressure group is good, but it will only work if the people they are targeting can see a real threat behind their rhetoric i.e., big bucks or high-profile supporters like the Press. It remains to be seen just how effective NUSC will prove to be, but, as Voltaire said,'I may not agree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it'...something our dear politicians should remember when they are trying to stifle criticism...

Villa are unbelievably average getting by on luck and late goals You win the(Booby)prize for the daftest comment of the year so far....unbelievable..!