brummie

Better than that, he's a former Commanding Officer of the United States Marine Corps. He'd call in air support and wipe out the A Team before they'd even got out of their gay van. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Charles_C._Krulak.jpg/200px-Charles_C._Krulak.jpg

We have, at Villa, a member of the current board (Generak Charles Krulak, Lerner's right hand man, basically) who posts on the three main independent Villa message boards. Basically, it is a way of getting questions to the club, and supplying them with suggestions (an impressive number of which have actually been picked up on already). The first time he started posting, obviously nobody believed it was him, until a few phone calls from Lerner's people confirmed it really was him. Since then there have been a few meetings with representatives from the various message boards (plus other supporters organisations), and it really does seem to work as an informal link between the fans and the clubs, something I hope gets replicated at other clubs. They also use this link to occasionally drop nuggets of information with the supporters before they reach the press (recent kit deal with Nike is one which springs to mind), which is nice. This sort of interaction is pretty cheap and easy for clubs to engage in, and compared to the Stalinist Ellis days is a breath of fresh air. Hopefully more clubs will start doing it.

How about Aaron Hughes? Please.

Eh? Most of their young players are nothing special. If you can manage to bring even one single player through from the academy to first team regular, then that must surely be considered a success.

True, some English clubs do make the effort to develop kids, and if you can develop a kid and get him playing with any regularity in the premiership, then that means you are doing a good job. For example, Villa's - for academy products we've played Moore, Agbonlahor, Davis, Cahill, Osbourne, Whittingham, Gardner, Samuel, Ridgewell and Barry this season - and on occasions we've had 7 of them feature in the same match - (admittedly, the last two were poached from other clubs school setups when they were practically still foetal, but that doesn't stop people from praising Arsenal's youth set up when they talk about Fabregas). And Boro's academy produces decent prospects, too. How old was Barry when you got him from Brighton? 15, I believe.

True, some English clubs do make the effort to develop kids, and if you can develop a kid and get him playing with any regularity in the premiership, then that means you are doing a good job. For example, Villa's - for academy products we've played Moore, Agbonlahor, Davis, Cahill, Osbourne, Whittingham, Gardner, Samuel, Ridgewell and Barry this season - and on occasions we've had 7 of them feature in the same match - (admittedly, the last two were poached from other clubs school setups when they were practically still foetal, but that doesn't stop people from praising Arsenal's youth set up when they talk about Fabregas). And Boro's academy produces decent prospects, too.

I can't believe anyone could think Owen isn't a world class player. His record speaks for itself. Gary Lineker didn't carry a whole team. In fact, he didn't do anything outside the penalty area, yet he was without doubt world class.

... actually that makes it sound like he knocked her over directly, ten pin style. Which he didnt, obv.

Aye, great stuff. Well daft that it's an automatic booking. We had Carew booked for the same thing yesterday, which I thought was a bit pointless, then saw some old woman getting stretchered off out of our end just after, as she'd been at the point in which he dived into the crowd and got knocked over. Makes you think. Still made up for Tevez though. Although paradoxically, I still want West Ham to go down.

Clearly, I am biased, but the Birmingham City side of the mid 80s had the most vile collection of utter bastards of any team. Imagine a side with Mark Dennis, Tony Coton, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Robert Hopkins and Noel Blake playing in the same team.

I was speechless for a minute there until i realised you were a Villa fan. He scored 2 past us in 1996 and played a massive part in us blowing the title and he seemed pretty happy about it as well the c***. Ah, now I see. Still plying his trade at Blyth Spartans, I believe. Or was until recently.

Graham Fenton? Wallsend boy. What did he do? He did nothing with us, I know that much

There are hopes, but to be honest, I suspect that the "elite" is now so entrenched, it is getting to the point where it will never change.

You're spot on about God (local name round these parts for McGrath). Neville is an odd one. Always thought he was massively overrated as a player, but you have to say, he's been there so consistently and just done stuff. Keane was a fantastic player and is shaping up to be a good manager, too (local rivalries aside). He's a nasty cunt, mind. Steve Bruce is an odd one. Maybe his love for the Toon would have been greater if he'd been picked up by Newcastle's scouting system, which - as i understand it - for years had a track record of failing to pick up fantastic local born talent. He's a spud faced cnut, mind, I'll give you that. Couldn't agree more about Speedie, nastly little fucker of very limited talent. The epitome of the word "gobshite"

Note* Not one defender in that list. Note* Regardless if there was we still would have only got a draw at Wigan. Chelsea have still been winning without any CB`s fit. Alot of the s**** teams above us have worse defenders yet they can score goals and still win. All teams conceed the odd goal from freak shots and freekicks, doesn`t metter who you have defence as long as you midfield and strikers can score a goal or 2. How many games have we lost 1-0 because we can`t score. I fail to see how its our defence that is always the problem. Not many teams these days in the premiership win without conceeding. 4 clean sheets in 28 league games is poor, regardless how many goals you score.

Everton finished 4th 2 seasons ago, Spurs had the chance to finish 4th last season but bottled it in the game against Arsenal. Its possible to get up there. I take your point re Everton, but they still managed to win nothing, and Spurs nearly doing it isn't the same as doing it. In the last eleven years, between them the current top 4 have won every FA Cup and every title. Depressing.

What is "mediocrity" these days anyway? The entire premiership outside the top four is entirely mediocre. Bolton are 5th for christ's sake. The gulf between the top four and the rest is so huge (and the media are doing their bit to ensure it stays that way) these days that clubs like us, you, Spurs, Everton, clubs whose fans have traditionally had real expectations, now find themselves practical no-hopers before a ball has been kicked. Mediocrity is what you're supposed to settle for these days if you don't support Arsenal, Chelsea, Man U or Liverpool.

Doesn't this just sum up Arsenal this season, though? Great play, consistently outplay opponents whilst making it look easy in the process, yet spurn god knows how many chances to score and turn wins into draws. They're frightening when they click though.

It is odd to see people having a go at Milner because "he can't beat his man, he can't do this, he can't do that", yet at Villa we've got a player only a little younger, Agbonlahor, who seems to get roundly praised in the media and by our and other fans as "some prospect", yet in fact offers absolutely nothing but pace. Milner is much further down the development line than that, and has a lot more to offer than Agbonlahor, and has performed well for a season and a half now, but he gets stick. I don't get it. I know which of those two I'd prefer. He's 21 and has produced the goods all season. Yet no doubt most of the people on here, as was the case on our forums when we were linked with him too, will go gooey eyed at the prospect of signing a player like SWP to play in that position - a player who has consistently done nothing for several seasons now.

Milner is shite. I really think you should sell him at the earliest possible opportunity. I also know who you should sell him to.

Garth Crooks is such a knob. He's up there with Gordon Taylor in the blinkered stakes. Oh, and Keane is at Sunderland and Ince is at Macclesfield because 1. Keane knows the Sunderland chairman well. 2. Keane, despite his rough-arse image, is actually quite intelligent and perceptive (see comments about prawn munching Man United supporters), whilst Ince comes across as being thick as pig shit and interested mainly in bigging himself up as often as he possibly can. Ironically, I think it is Ince who is doing it the right way by starting somewhere so lowly. Look at Southgate at Boro, he'll doubtless fuck that up through inexperience, and struggle to get another top flight job again.

Worst police I have ever seen were at Atletico Madrid. Indiscriminately batoning people regardless, men, women, children, didn't matter. One thing from last night is that Man United fans seem to think they can go in home ends wherever they want and act however they like. They do it in Britain and they do it in Europe. The police shouldnt have put them in the away end anyway, but they shouldnt have been in the home end in the first place. Oh, and seeing them interviewed on SSN today, most of them appear to be cockneys. So there goes the very last vestige of sympathy for them.

Donning my tin hat here, but the premiership could do with clubs like Sunderland and Wolves back (I'm saying so with distaste, in the case of the former for you lot, in the case of the latter for my lot).

Lets knee jerk Beckham for England !!! Aint had a good game for england for years but surely if can play really well in one game and England being s*** at the moment. he must and has to come back !!!!!!!!! I don't care about England. You're right about him not having a good game for years, too. He's still having a blinder this evening though. Good luck to the bloke after the shit he put up with from Capello, sticking it out and showing what a knob Capello was is a good thing.

Talking of the Champions League, the Real - Bayern game on SS Xtra at the moment is a cracker. Beckham playing a blinder.