brummie

Incidentally, all this Sunderland stuff .... if they do go down, they're really, really setting themselves up for the biggest egg on face situation ever.

When we went down in 1987, it felt like the world had ended, it really did. The next season was amongst the best 12 months of football following I've ever had, but I still remember the getting laughed at, the shame, the ridicule. We've had Birmingham City come up again this season, which is bad, but every single time they've gone down, I've absolutely milked it. A lot of Villa fans are milking the Albion relegation today, and the point at Boro yesterday which probably condemned them (Boateng, Ehiogu and Southgate still rankle). We - ie everyone here, and the wider football world - were pissing ourselves laughing at Spurs for the first half of the season, lest we forget. Last week, we were all sewing our sides back up after Chelsea's exit from the CL in hilarious circumstances - piss take knows no barriers, even when directed at small clubs like those two. All part of football.

It is really very, very simple. A big club who you wouldn't expect to be in this situation is, well, in this situation, so people scent blood. if it were Man City or Everton or us (for others) or Chelsea, or even Spurs, the reaction would be exactly the same. Football is about lots of things, most of them tribal, and laughing at the misfortune of others is one of the main ones.

Nearly every fucker on RTG is using that as an avatar. They could at least use the correct badge.

Good Lord.

We beat Boro last week FFS A team Villa couldn't beat this week by the way. Doubt we would have beat Boro at the Riverside to be fair..... Villa are better away then they are at home though. I've been saying this for ages, but nobody seems to be listening. We're shit at the moment, and are particularly shit at home. Needing a result on the last day of the season to avoid relegation is a pretty horrible place to be in, but playing us at our place makes it a bit easier.

but we are really SHIT. Very, very shit. But you've got something to play for. We haven't, and we're just as shit of late. Honestly, i mean, really, really shit. How we're sixth (and have only just dropped there) is absolutely beyond me, but there you go. Its probably got all the hallmarks of a crap game which will be decided by a mistake. 1-0/0-1. I'd bet my right arm it'll be an absolutely crap game, and as you said, a single goal in it.

I actually considered signing up to ask what their problem was for a second, then realised that I'd be playing by the rule that they use to hate us, IE the belief that all fans of a club are the same. As I said elsewhere when you were discussing the media thing, surely the time to worry is when nobody bats an eyelid, not when people start getting excited. It'd be the same if it were Spurs, Man City, Everton, pretty much anyone you wouldn't expect to be in relegation trouble.

but we are really SHIT. Very, very shit. But you've got something to play for. We haven't, and we're just as shit of late. Honestly, i mean, really, really shit. How we're sixth (and have only just dropped there) is absolutely beyond me, but there you go.

We're shit at the moment, we switched off weeks and weeks ago. I genuinely wouldn't back us to beat anyone currently. We squeaked past Hull unconvincingly, and that was our only win in three and a half months. Last day of the season, nothing to play for (sixth / fifth, who cares?), Ashley Young limping off injured today, really, if you can't get at least a point from that, then maybe ... well, you know.

Most football forums are full of mongs, full stop.

Boro clear off the line.

From the look of things Villa aren't there mentally at the moment. Thats got to be the last hope for us. We are utterly, utterly dreadful, mate. Us at our place is an easier fixture than Fulham at home

Ashley Young limping off. Possibly of help to you lot next week.

MK Dons are everything, everything that is wrong about football.

I didn't say you made it up, I said I didn't hear it. I would say that professional footballers have an obligation to act in a different way to supporters. If Laursen taunted your fans then, well, that's not good. But if you're going to condemn him for that, you have to condemn Lescott who - consistently - has done the same thing to us. You should also bear in mind that the ear cupping celebration at your place, although that is not the thing you're referring to, came immediately after Lescott was giving it very large in front of our lot. You can't have double standards. If you're going to condemn Laursen for it then you have to condemn Lescott for it, not temper it with "well, they were singing nasty songs". i don't see Tevez flipping at people singing "Tevez for Star Trek" or being "Hermann Munster's sun", for example. It does make me chuckle, however, when football fans rush to climb the moral high ground, though. Tell me, do you still sing those songs about Steven Gerrard's kid not being his? And next time you do it, will you be so magnanimous if he runs over and flicks you the Vs?

I can blame him. I didn't hear anyone singing about him being the elephant man or run over by a bus, either, and I never have. One thing he's done by last year and this year's massively over the top shenanigans is ensure that next time, he will get stick. Moaning about Laursen giving the crowd stick when you've got the one player who gives our crowd more stick than anyone else is a bit rich, really. It is either acceptable, or it isn't.

It's not always about money. actually, i think you'll find it is for people who don't have any dude I could understand if it was a prick like Ronaldo. It's Martin Laursen though, a top professional both on and off the pitch. Not sure about that. Conducted himself like an angry little ASBO chav at Goodison this season. I've disliked him since but I wouldn't wish a career ending injury on anybody. Good player as well. Kind of ironic. After Joleon Lescott had celebrated for so long like a true chav in front of our fans (similar to when he scored at our place last year, when he ran to the Holte End, turned his back on the crowd and pointed at the name on his shirt, before turning around and standing, arms outstretched in front of us), we get just enough time added on for Ashley Young to go and score at the other end. You can hardly blame him for celebrating like that. Fact is, had Lescott not done it AGAIN this year, we wouldn't have had the time to score, and he wouldn't have had the chance to celebrate "like a chav".

Ah, well, that's the other thing. Rumours he too might have to retire.

Absolutely gutted (although i knew it was coming a while back, having heard whispers). He was a colossus. Scored 4 times in 24 for us this season, and got six goals last year. He also brought the best out of Curtis Davies until he got injuired, and marshalled the centre of defence superbly. I never usually hang around for laps of honour, but this season will do, given the chance to say goodbye to him. Effectively they told him that he could try to rehabilitate again, but it meant months and months of painful treatment, being effectively unable to move for hours on end. I think he's done the right thing at this point in his career. I live not very far at all from him, and see him around quite often, he's supposed to be a thoroughly nice chap, was often seen in the company of Olof Mellberg around town (liked a tab as well, as it happens). He'll be very difficult to replace.

Jesus Christ.

I reckon you'll get a draw on Monday, nothing against Fulham, and three points against us. I dunno if that is going to be enough for you, but I do know that Fulham are a more than decent side these days, and we headed off to the beach at least four weeks ago.

Thing is, he's been easily amongst our best players since the manager finally decided to play him recently.

I've been to Fulham today. A few observations. Hodgson has done a fantastic job, they play the ball around with confidence, rarely lose it, and when they do fight to get it back. Very well drilled team, who all know what they're doing. We've gone to fucking pieces. MON has genuinely lost the plot. Taking the two full backs off then putting Barry and Milner there, that's the actions of someone who is smoking crack. Shorey mouthed "wanker" at him when he came off, and the team were all looking around saying "what the fuck?" when it happened. I genuinely think he's flipped. Worrying. Although more worrying is that we are STILL fifth. Incredible

No it isn't. The way ITV were talking about it, as if it were some thing of national interest, some rallying call for us all to get behind, and that in some way UEFA should make some kind of special case, really did make me want to puke. The rules might stink, but you can't change them for the final - if they're goign to be changed, it should be before the competition starts.