brummie

Why? They're about the most boring team in the league. Season after season all they ever do is float about but never actually do anything of note. Like 16 of the 20 teams in the top flight, you mean?

It doesn't inspire confidence if potential buyers are waiting for the wage bill to come down a bit before committing. Firstly, it suggests they're possibly not that bothered about buying the club. Secondly, it suggests they're not "money no object" people. That thing about MA maybe deciding he's the best person to run the club is just incredible. This is the same man who was saying "just give me the 100 mill, first to show it gets the club" a couple of months ago, isn't it? What a wanker.

Senderos to Everton? Thank god for that.

Ain't that the truth. If you ever have to live through a MON transfer summer, think back to this post. Mind you, if i ever have to live through your current summer, I'll throw myself off a fecking bridge.

From leedsunited.com, their official site. Bit weird. I tihnk they may be pissed off with wonky faced Harry. However - Ken Bates / "principles" conundrum.

Gazzetta Dello Sport this morning are linking Milan with, errrm, Gareth Bale.

Not heard.

"Back on" is the word. As is Delph again, apparently.

Coming to us, according to errm, ITKs.

Villa win on pens. Not bad at all, seeing as we finished (and played most of) the game with such stars as Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Bannan, Albrighton, and Lowry on the pitch. Great experience for the kids if nothing else. They look really fearless. Good on them.

Just watching the Peace Cup final. Again, Marc Albrighton looks quality, as does Eric Lichaj.

I'd be extremely jealous if he went there but can't see it. Surely most of the top clubs will want him even if Madrid don't, he's fantastic. It has been in the papers down here, but no fucking chance. Martin's fucking this window up big style. Oh, and we've been linked with Senderos, too. I feel your pain.

Wish I could have seen the punch-up. To be fair though, "playing largely the kids" is a bit of a fact-massage - only Lichaj and Albrighton in the starting lineup could be called kids. Well, I make it Guzan Lichaj Albrighton Ciaran Clark (after 20 mins) Hardly seasoned campaigners. Apparently MON's sending off the other day was due to transfers for Delph (Man City money) and Martins (thank fuck for that) falling through that very day after being very close.

He was fine until that Croatia match, then he disintegrated His speciality was to always dive the right direction, and the right distance, but two seconds after the ball had hit the back of the net. And he looks like a thin Chris Moyles.

Into the final of the Peace Cup tomorrow against either Real Madrid or Juventus, having beaten Porto 2-1 tonight (playing largely the kids, and the last 20 mins with 10 men). Just for once I can put aside our chronic lack of transfer activity and impending doom for the season ahead, and reiterate that Marc Albrighton (academy kid) has been absolutely superb this pre-season, playing way beyond his years. Further to that, Barry Bannan and Andreas Weimann have also looked excellent, as has Guzan in goal.

Friedel didn't seem as good for you as I was expecting based on his Blackburn days. Is that fair? btw, I was told a rumour (outside of the interwebs) that Gary Cahill will sign for us when we sell Lescott I thought Friedel was decent, but then again, I watched Carson the season before. If you took a random sample of 100 Villa fans, I reckon 95 - at least - would tell you that MON dropped a major, major bollock selling Cahill. He's brilliant.

Here's a prediction. Brad Friedel will barely feature for us this year, Guzan looks very very good indeed.

One of the old school managers, but at the same time, he was in many ways amongst the very first "modern managers", going to coach in Europe, in different leagues, doing so well and gaining nothing but respect everywhere he went. Pretty much nobody had a bad word to say about him, and you don;t get that very often in a field as full of self-serving reptiles as football. RIP

I think the problem with it is it's almost identicle to last years Claret body, blue sleeves. That's all that matters really. It's a nice kit, but without examining a picture of the outgoing shirt I couldn't name a single thing that's even slightly different. Round neck v V neck is the major one. I don't care, I don't buy them, but personally I'd like our shirt to change pretty much nothing from year to year. Look at the guff Adidas add to some of their kits, for example, show-horning triple stripes into them and what not. Liverpool have had some truly horrific kits.

Lescott may not be "worth" 20m pounds when judged against other defenders, but that doesn't matter a single jot. Moyes might decide it'll take 50 million pounds to make him part with Lescott - losing one of his best players and having to go out and find a replacement, that might reflect how much he doesn't want to do that. Footballers aren't valued like something you pick up off the shelf at Tesco, there is more than "how good is this player?" involved. Oh, and Man City getting quoted massive fees for players? They've only got themselves to blame for that, after 7 months of swaggering around like a bunch of horrible nouveau riche, arriviste lottery winners, who seem to know the price of everything but the value of absolutely nothing.

Big blow for Villa. He was quite a lot better than Barry for them last season whenever I watched their games. He had a far better season than Barry, true. I'd have been more concerned about selling him than GB. MON needs to get his fucking finger out big style. The squad is down to the bear bones, I just do not know what he is playing at. On the bright side, the next batch of academy kids, Albrighton, Bannan and Weimann have looked very good on the tour, especially the first of that three, who was really excellent last night, scoring one and setting one up.

On a tangent but re the OP, how fucking rubbish is MSN video? "Your video will play after this commercial message" *goes to Youtube*

I like Bobby Robson, always have done, his achievements in European football stand out against pretty much all other English managers (in terms of achieving things with European clubs, rather than in European football with an English club, that makes him pretty much unique) But I've often been curious about seeing him described here as a Geordie legend and the strength of his link with NUFC. I always assume that's meant in the sense of a legend from your parts, rather than an NUFC legend, given that his connection with the club was 4 or 5 years as manager. Is this right? Not being from your area, I always associate him overwhelmingly with Ipswich as a manager (and then Albion and Fulham as a player).

Villa sell Zat Knight to Bolton, leaving us with just two centre halves in the squad. Distin rumoured to be the third, could Bassong be the fourth?

I think the problem with it is it's almost identicle to last years Claret body, blue sleeves. That's all that matters really.