brummie

It is all part and parcel of having football as a hobby, though, isn't it? I mean, long periods of not enjoying the football - that's the way it is for all but a handful of money-blessed, CL playing clubs. It is all relative, though. You lot had an amazing season last year, and I think any comparative grimness this season feels worse because it's happening in the shadow of last season. For me, watching us, last season was genuinely like having to go for root canal work every week. This season, results are poor, but there's more entertainment. It's all cyclical, really. FWIW, regarding yesterday, a good mate of mine is a West Ham fan, and was telling me he's totally knocked it on the head this season, despite them doing well, the whole Big Sam / Kevin Nolan / boot it to Carroll thing has been the last straw. I bet it isn't though. We always end up coming back, don't we? And they know it, which is why they can (financially) take the piss out of us and get away with it.

He never did it when he was at our place, so it must be a Sunderland thing.

I know we've done it since, but the last time i saw us beat those CUNTS at our place, Peter Withe scored.

I feel sick.

That is exactly what I found myself thinking the other day, weirdly.

Nah, I am far too old to have a name like Zac. That's the bullshit we have been dealing with since he walked out on us. Constantly told he worked miracles, didn't spend too much, was forced out by Lerner etc etc. It fucked a lot of people off down here. As for 6th, 6th, 6th, no it's not bad. I understand that it might be the holy grail for a club like Sunderland to finish as high as sixth, but if MON was a miracle worker for doing that, what was David O'Leary for doing it with no money? What about the fact that between 1996 and 2002 we were never out of the top eight? A period which included 4th, 5th and 6th in successive seasons? And which also included a cup win? We've finished in the top six in only just less than half of the seasons since the PL was invented in 1992, so really, it's decent, but not stratospheric. Just like you finishing in the top six. The difference is, under MON it took an absolute huge amount of money to do, and there was not even the slightest nod or wink paid to the importance of building for the future, nothing at all. I'd also point out that there's a commoin misconception that MON came here and we had a dreadful squad, nothing to work with, as we'd just had a terrible season. Utter fucking nonsense. He had Sorensen, Delaney, Mellberg, Laursen, Bouma, Barry, Agbonlahor, Angel and Baros. We also had Gary Cahill who had just broken into the first team. That was not at all bad as the spine of a team, and you could probably make a decent argument that despite spending Champions League money, and CL wages, we now have a championship squad which is weaker than what was here when he arrived. I just dont get it. Why do these pundits think we go on about this? Do they think it's bitterness? Why? Because he left? It's nothing to do with him leaving, it is about the state he left us in, and the circumstances in which the self centred bag of shit did it.

Ajax fans are the best I have seen at Villa Park for at least 20 years. They were amazing.

Apparently, his comments were made in his column in the match day program yesterday. http://blogs.birminghammail.net/astonvilla/2012/11/re-righting-a-ron-g-martin.html

I watched our match at Sunderland on Football First just now, and those MOTD highlights are a joke. We absolutely controlled the game. Sunderland were truly, truly terrible, and suffer exactly the same weaknesses we did under Pubehead. We had six shots on target. They had one, and that was in the 84th minute. They're awful. MON looks like he doesn't like it any more. Good shout for next manager to go in my opinion.

I see RTG has a thread where they've spotted his making the same subs at the same time all the time. Just to flag up I pointed that one out as one of the things to happen.

Reading coverage of MON at Sunderland on a couple of Villa forums today, these are some stand-out comments. I wouldn't want you to think I'm a lone voice in the wilderness, far from it. referring to the video of those journalists finally cottoning on to him:

Four transfer windows under Marty means about 100m in fees on British based players. Oh, and maybe Aiden McGeady.

Two sides who have won 2 league matches between them in, what, about 30 matches? 0-0 all over it, sadly.

Scheduled ages in advance, though. This time two days ago, people were saying "Reading Arsenal and Chelsea Man United? What unimaginative choices"

I thought they were awesome against us at Villa Park this season, played some cracking stuff.

given how Lambert seems to be disregarding Bent full stop (planning to sell him I wonder?) it seems unlikely See above. I'd agree with your points above but theres one problem, your not scoring goals atm so why aren't you using a proven goal scorer, Bent has already proven he can play in shite teams and score Because Bent won't do anything other than apply the finish. If you get it into the box to him, he's a good bet to put it away. What he won't do is drop back, fetch the ball, work to create chances for other players, or put in a shift elsewhere on the pitch when needed. Right now our biggest problem is that the midfield isn't creating chances, we're not getting the ball into the forward players with enough regularity for them to score. Benteke puts in way more of a shift than Bent does, and is doing ok (4 in 7 or 8 games so far). Weimann also works tirelessly when he gets a game. Bent, on the other hand, will wait for the ball to come to him. Right now, we can't guarantee getting it to him with enough regularity. That's the problem with Bent, and currently it is a major issue for us. I never think that the route to improvement is in selling your "best" players, but if Lambert were to move Bent on in January for anything like a decent fee, and invest the money in the midfield, I would totally understand why.

Not in the first half it didn't. They were utterly shocking. This is truly classic Arsenal, when the evidence starts to stack up that they're in decline, they manage to frantically paper over the cracks just in time. I would have banked on Villa even to have managed not to spunk away a four goal start at home to that side tonight. That's how poor they were. Arshavin in that first half gave the most un-interested, not fucking bothered, fuck-you performance I think I've ever seen.

given how Lambert seems to be disregarding Bent full stop (planning to sell him I wonder?) it seems unlikely See above.

Bent won't start and probably won't get on the pitch. Benteke will play alone up front, certainly if Lambert has spotted what most Villa fans have this season. Bent is a cracking goal scorer, but we're much better when he doesn't play, as he offers bugger all else to the team. I know that sounds mental, but it's true.

Incidentally, I know I go on and on about MON, but in my defence, pretty much everything I say about the bloke is demonstrably easy to back up with actual evidence. I'm happy to acknowledge that sixth place three times on the bounce was a decent - not earth shattering, as David O'Leary achieved the same finish three years previously, but decent - achievement. I just think that he has a small number of costly flaws which are visible from space. The only thing is, the media seem almost entirely unwilling to admit it. I notice even Sunderland fans seem to be cottoning on now, mind.

Curtis Davies 10m or so and Heskey plus 3 year deal take some beating 3.5 yr deal, I think you'll find. MON doesn't really do many big-fee poor signings, what he does is mid-range fee signings that he then instantly decides are shit (Shorey, Harewood, Sidwell) or who the whole football world said "he's shit" and then turn out to be, well, shit. His lack of imagination means that his transfer policy turns into "throw enough darts, eventually one will hit the bullseye" Tried telling my mackem mate this when he joined them, but he was totally not having it, despite the glaring evidence of recent years at VP.

O'Neill is really starting to look like he's not enjoying it much. He'll walk before the end of the season.

I went to Northumbria Uni (well, it was Newcastle Poly at the time). My best mate up there was a mackem, from Cleadon. We went over to his parents house a few times. Now, that's a particularly posh area, so I assumed most of Sunderland was relatively pleasant (like Newcastle). Then we went into the centre, and I rapidly re-evaluated. This was 1989, though, I would imagine it has improved a lot since then.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/newcastles-wonga-shirt-sponsors-spark-1367970 labour MP with a pair of platinum tickets. what a c*** he sounds, complaining about this deal. aye, spending his wage on something he likes, what a c*** Ian Lavery's a total joker: haha felt like I had just seen the Political Version of Goal of the Season. Crikey, look at that for a row of pure cunt. Hammond, Mitchell, Cameron and Gideon. The last time I saw a row of gaping cunts like that, it was on the gang bang section of Red Tube. *feels sick come up at back of throat*