brummie

Genuinely wouldn't swap Martinez for any keeper anywhere in the world. He's so important to us. Anyway, still 100% against Bayern.

VAR as a concept is fine. It catches loads of offsides, for example - in terms of the technology. The problem, as with most technology, is when you introduce humans into it. That's when you get five minute long pauses after a goal whilst they pore over what is on their screens. Other countries seem to do it really well, from the admittedly limited amount of non English football i watch. It just seems in this country we can't get to grips with it.

It is a good juxtaposition, mind. If you'd ever have said then we'd be where we are now in six years, I would never have believed it.

It's annoying we get things like that ^^^ off the pitch so right, but then go and do things like charge 95 quid to watch us play Bologna. Let alone Bayern.

Nice touch, Villa. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c2kd54vxd2lt?post=asset%3A2759bf58-d75e-497d-94b3-b14cbc9c0e63#post

Oh, I say! That league table looks lovely right now. LOL Arsenal. Keane not having a fucking word of the good defending discussion.

I think they were both booking offences to be honest. What a stupid twat. Still, mustn’t grumble, it’s also very very funny.

i think the thing we have now is we are resilient so capable of winning matches we’d have lost in the past, even in other times when we were a decent side. I’ve never known a manager change things so willingly and effectively to turn a match around. We had our worst 45 minutes the first half today but he changed things and we were superb in the second. Thinking of previous managers, Smith probably wouldn’t have made a change, O’Neill would bring Steve Sidwell in on 75 minutes as that’s what he did every week, and Gerrard would have stood emotionless staring at the centre circle.

He reminds me of Martin O'Neill. Big on personality and motivation, not so big on actual tactics, especially in circumstances where his standard 'tactic' isn't working.

Tielemans has been absolutely outstanding for us of late - last part of last season, but especially this season so far. Great performance this evening and a great result as well, but it's good seeing players looking like they've matured and been improved by Emery. Onana already in the space of literally a few games looks significantly improved on the one subjected to DycheBall.

Truly horrific news. One of my heroes growing up - he was one of us, it was like we could have been him, and he had an insane career - wins the league and European Cup, then career killed by injury at an insanely early point. Like Brian Little, in fact (and he was absolutely my favourite ever Villa player). Really feeling this one.

Jarred Gillett is such a terrible, terrible referee. It's a joke that supposedly the best league in the world has so many piss poor referees.

It's amazing how it's so easy to figure out, but nobody has actually managed to figure it out with any consistency, given our results since the Blessed One arrived.

Crikey no offence, Stifler, but what absolute nonsense. It is absolutely nothing to do with that. Our owners are constantly pushing to get the PSR rules changed - one of the few clubs behind the proposal last year - and have said, it was Emery's call not to want to play CL games in a three-sided ground.

We have had two of our most important players - Kamara (vital) and Mings out with ACLs all last season, have only just got Ramsey back in any fitness, and also missed Buendia all last season as well, and he's still not back. Our owners are building something durable, not flash in the pan Lerner style. There are no guarantees, but I see absolutely nothing to suggest what you are suggesting will happen. Yada yada moaning about prices - and they are disgusting, and it's not just for the CL games either - but fuck me, what a time to be a Villa fan, 6 odd years since being a few hours from meltdown and in the championship.

I tell you what, if we can get over this ten match run of being unable to defend properly, we're going to be a more than decent team. Amazing that we had 85% possession at the point we went 0-2 down.

Gary Shaw (In my mind, forever 22) apparently in a coma after having a fall last week. Get well soon.

Also - people will pay those prices but it’s all so complicated and demanding these daysy. I am in my 50s. I’ve seen us play Juventus home in the European Cup (the greatest team I’ve ever seen play at our place). I’ve seen us win the European Cup let alone play in it. I’ve seen us play in the UEFA cup too. I’ve seen us win the league and four league cups. I’ve seen us do third division to champions of England and Europe and back to division two in 15 years. What an insane ride. I am very, very lucky to be old enough to have experienced all that and at a time when the sport was reasonable and cheap (even accepting the increased risk of death or injury back then). i look at my nephews now, all teenagers, and I think, not only is the structure of the game with stuff like FFP rendering these things almost impossible, even when we do get the chance to have nice things again, they’re getting fleeced for it. They’ve no chance. Everything about football now is related to money / finance. Everything. Sport making you happy at a price you can afford, and just being what it is, without talking about predatory pricing or accounting rules, I don’t think that is ever coming back. And that’s depressing. Football is just disappearing up its own arsehole.

Since we imported a new CEO (different job title, though) who had a long history in turning around the finances of an NBA franchise, but also alienating every fan there, we’ve started to do way better commercial deals, but at the same time seen some fucking insane pandering to high ticket price customers - corporates and GA+ as they call them they’ve spent the whole summer creating new lounges and corporate facilities - we now have an £8,000 season ticket if you fancy it - and putting in stuff like 150 quid match day tickets which include access to an all you can eat and drink facility. All this whilst turfing out long time season ticket holders from the better seats to turn them corporate and at the same time binning the plans to redevelop and enlarge the North Stand (high demand, fewer tickets, higher prices etc). So for three or four years we have had over 30,000 people in the season ticket waiting list and 30,000 actual season ticket holders. Only now because of all the above, we now actually have brought the number of ST holders down to 27,000 which obviously fortuitously creates 3,000 more GA+ seats. Off the pitch we have been excellent since the current owners came in, and this new guy, Chris Heck, wants to drive income to 400m in 5 years, and he probably will, but all the same, it is rampant at times. He is lucky he is doing this at a time we have an absolutely top level football management structure in Emery, Monchi and Vidagany and we are progressing hugely on the pitch. The fact he feels he has to do it though is very very disappointing.

Michael ‘Gerrard’s Right Arm’ Beale coached São Paulo. the actual one, not like a tribute club or something.

Sir Dave ‘Marginal Gains’ Brailsford there. I’ll give you a significant gain for free, Dave, dump them all in the canal and start again. what a hilariously wretched mess.

I haven't read the article, but one thing is true, it is no longer possible to come into football, pour endless money into it - even if you have got it - and achieve results quickly.

I can't find our draw. How come, why are we not being drawn against someone? Have I missed something?

Jesus, you've got a long memory. The boy was so promising. I am right about Morgan Rogers, though.

I told you, Morgan Rogers is going to be a big, big player for us. I thought we were really good today, only looked significantly second best after 2-0. We have to take our chances, though. I thought we played better today than in this fixture last season, when we won 1-0. Also, Arteta, what a fucking thundercunt he is.