leffe186

Agbonahor can be very frustrating, agreed. There was a lovely moment near the end when he lost the ball and the commentator said he "doesn't do well in those situations" - i.e. when he has to think.

Thought both teams looked decent, Man City need someone to direct their defence a bit (like, say, Dunne instead of Toure) but had loads of possession and eventually broke them down, Villa looked better than I've seen them this season. They're not the prettiest side in the world, but got players behind the ball and pressed quite well. Their defence looks solid, but I can wind my Villa wife up by asking her which set-piece they're going to rely on for goals in any given game. Still pretty one-dimensional. Tevez just didn't work for City, but Bellamy looked canny, as did both left-backs. Dunne and Collins did well, and I thought Milner was fine, he knows his limitations and just gets on with it. Agbonlahor is still the thickest player I have ever seen.

Here comes Martins.....

Great goal. I wish Berbatov was still at Spurs.

Don't want to jinx anything so I'll keep my mouth shut. He's quick I suppose. No, fabulous skills but a selfish bastard. Should be miles better than he is.

Martins warming up.

Man U doesn't feel like a big game at all, atmosphere sounds very subdued.

The atmosphere sounds weird at Old Trafford, but it's all Man U now.

Had this open ready for the goal. Giggs deflected free=kick.

GOal Wolfsburg. FIrst thing they've done for a while too.

FYP

Berbatov just brilliant. That's the end of Owen as a starter. Man U waking up.

Valencia should have buried that. I love Berbatov.

Penalty there tbf.

If they keep him on. Off before 20 mins

Absolutely brilliant touch there from Evra. Almost pointless, but nice.

Still think they'll start to put it together. Berbatov coming on for Owen will make a huge difference.

Saving grace is the subs bench - plenty of options.

The game just completely passes Owen by. Still think he'll score, mind.

Man U look really casual. Wolfsburg have set themselves up well.

Man U try to give them a goal.

...or Quips Post-Relegation?

Fulham are a sugar daddy club too though - as are Wigan (though with a more permanent attachment).

How much did Fulham, Everton and Villa spend last season? A lot, Villa certainly, but they and Everton were also building from squads who had done well the previous year. It's madness to think of the Top 8 being unreachable though - Fulham had miraculously escaped the year before and up to their late recovery had been worse than Newcastle were last year. There's no reason why a club with such a large support shouldn't be looking at Top 8 after promotion.......as long as the management is right. Depends what you think of as a lot, certainly nothing they spend should be out of our reach given the right people making the right financial decisions. Like you say the support is massive and that puts us an another league financially to most other clubs (apart from the two sugar daddy clubs and the top 4). Most clubs in the Premiership have very high wage bills as a percentage of their turnover, but Villa and Spurs (and Everton?) have shown that keeping that bill down can be done without the Champions League. Getting rid of (most of) the high earners plus the weakest Championship in my memory means this year is an opportunity to get it right. The need is for a manager that can stamp his authority on the team and squad-building (with some cash); if this doesn't materialise then this squad will come straight back down again.

How much did Fulham, Everton and Villa spend last season? A lot, Villa certainly, but they and Everton were also building from squads who had done well the previous year. It's madness to think of the Top 8 being unreachable though - Fulham had miraculously escaped the year before and up to their late recovery had been worse than Newcastle were last year. There's no reason why a club with such a large support shouldn't be looking at Top 8 after promotion.......as long as the management is right.