brummie

Anyone seen that Arsenal fan tv Rice Rice Baby video? So cringey it made my testicles retract so far into my body, one popped out of each nostril.

Speaking generally rather than specifics of one match, that Everton team which won the title in the mid 80s was superb, if we hadn't been banned from Europe, I reckon they'd have won the European Cup.

The thing about Ferguson's teams is exactly that, the number of times I thought we'd beaten them, and they'd just counter attack from absolutely nowhere. They never, ever gave up. I hate Man United, but you've got to admire that.

I've spent the last three hours drinking wine and watching ancient matches on YouTube, so am nostalgic and teary. For Villa fans, those of my age, the answer (below) is probably the same amongst most of us, but i was wondering what the answer would be for other teams. What's the best away team you've ever seen at SJP? What's the one team you saw in the flesh that you still think about now? 40 years ago I was lucky enough to see this lot at our place in the European Cup QF. A truly excellent game, and they were just stunning. Platini played a ball through to Boniek to score which is genuinely one of the finest balls I've ever seen played. Proper moody atmosphere, too, lots of Brum based Italians all round the ground, stabbings and all sorts. What a side, though. Also Gordon Cowans, with a magnificent shuffle and seconds later he's scoring. A fine son of the north east. Sometimes I don't think football will ever really be as good again as it used to be.

I am in my mid 50s and in my time, the only years we haven't had claret body and blue sleeves are 2019 (Grealish), 99-2000 (Merson), 93-94 (Dean Saunders), and 83-89 (blame Ellis).

Digne is still decent, he’s just not batshit attack minded like Moreno is, which is what Emery wants. Word on the street is we are after both Diaby and Brennan Johnson. It’s not one or the other. One weakness last season was we lacked a bit of pace. He seems to be addressing that. Have to say I am impressed with our owners. Expanding the ground, appointing Emery and putting in a whole new management structure with the likes of Monchi, who is phenomenally well regarded across Europe plus binning Purslow and bringing someone from the NBA to handle commercials, building a new academy next to the ground, investing in the youth scheme, plus making big money available for transfers. They’re going for it. Very much unlike Lerner they also realise the off field structure is vital.

That's basically it. I'd also add that Coventry are like a West Midlands Boro.

How do you think yours is going to be impacted, then, given you've spent almost 3 times as much in the last three years? Incidentally, you say "Without the Grealish sale" as if selling a home grown player for a ton of money is an exceptional event. Selling one for 100m is, yes, but that side of transfers is going to become more and more important. Selling 120m of homegrown players makes a difference because you can book the entire value in one window, whereas otherwise, spending is spread out across the length of the contract (see Chelsea and their insane 8 year contracts). Football is basically as much like Ultimate Team as the actual main game these days.

We also have an FFP-proof option of selling some of our homegrown. Jacob Ramsey, Cameron Archer for example. Aaron Ramsey, Tim Iroegbunam, even players who have just been on loan in the championship fetch good money these days. It isn't a coincidence that when the new owners poured money in, they addressed a large chunk of it towards the youth and academy (we're building an inner city academy just next to Witton Station, spitting distance to the ground at the moment). TBF to Man City and Chelsea - and I don't like doing that - their owners also realised this, and trading homegrown players makes a huge difference to the FFP position of those clubs.

Because the Premier League judge sales like that and if they are at fair market value (like ours was), then all good. If it's at an inflated value - like Derby did - then you get done for it.

By 35m euros, not a huge amount. That's going down to the championship plus coming within literally hours of administration for you. Coming back from that is expensive. It was also over 4 years ago, so irrelevant to current FFP situation.

It's also not done on full transfer figures, it's more complex, it is about amortisation of values over a period of time, and the window which counts shifts. I'd also say that even based on minus 125m, that's a net spend of 40m each year, ie 20m each window, which is positively restrained compared to most clubs. We've spent next to nothing the last two years.

Newcastle United are MINUS 338m on transfer sales last 3 seasons.

I genuinely never thought a bad thing about Wolves, and they are in no way whatsoever considered a 'derby' by our fans, never have been, even though the grounds are 12-13 miles apart (there are a lot of clubs around these parts). Then when they got promoted their fans were constantly on about us, having finished above us for the first time in about 50 years with all this "mind the gap" shit, really bizarre. Obsessed with us (like Coventry, similar vibe). So now, they can go and fuck themselves. I remember when they used to play in front of less than 4k in the third division, the uppity wankers.

There seems to be a fire sale going on over there.

They look exactly the same to me.

also those figures are €

chukwuemeka 20m too.

John Percy is basically the oracle for Villa stuff, if he says it, it's true.

How many midfielders do Chelsea need before they realise it's getting a bit nuts?

For absolutely no rational or logical reason, I agree. It smells of Taibi to me.

Yes - i was told we are definitely very interested in him. Nothing more than that though, don't know anything about bids or what not but just that Emery really likes him and we're very interested.

I don't think they'll be that bothered. I think people who actually work in top flight football are able to seperate the wheat from the chaff, or what matters from what is just background noise. They have an ability to focus and apply themselves, which is a vital skill of getting to the top in the first place (not to mention total belief in their 'project'). Not like us as fans, constantly F5ing all day, micro-analysing things. They won't be bothered about things they can't influence.

Who will they get to replace Fabinho in that role of constantly hacking at opponents, producing clear fouls, only for them to go entirely unpunished by Liverpool loving match officials?

Everton will never, ever learn when it comes to signing Man United cast offs. Although I think Ashley Young is a good signing, and I'd have kept him here personally, I honestly think that, on the links so far, I reckon they're fucked this season. They remind me of us in the years prior to our relegation, they absolutely stink of death. Who is going to be scoring goals for them next season, for example?