In a weekend which showed where Swansea City beat Arsenal – a team who beat Aston Villa earlier this season – and Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur – another team who beat the club before the West Ham United game – simple two plus two equals hat logic would suggest we are doomed.

Of course, two plus two doesn’t equal hat, at least not when answered sober or without the aid of hallucinogens, but that’s not really the point – the point is arguments are often far too facile than they should be.

Nobody will argue that the place Villa find themselves in is little more than existence, a location the club have inhabited for a good few years. Following years of mediocrity, then less than mediocrity, then apathy, fans are fed up, to the point that footballing rationality has taken a back seat?

How? There have been calls for Villa to lose to see the manager sacked. Now, whatever a fan’s opinion on Paul Lambert, surely wanting Villa to lose is a somewhat backward approach – that or it illustrates perfectly the desperation in which the fans find themselves, given the club’s sad plight in recent years.

To not lose for the first time in seven games can, depending on your stance, be seen as good, bad or indifferent. Whilst celebrating a point is a little ridiculous, there has to be some credit for stopping the rot, whether the performance was worthy or not.

A point won’t change much – apart from a little confidence – but things have to start somewhere. That said, Villa find themselves in a position of averaging just a single point per game – little more than relegation form, or bottom five form at best.

So what’s the solution? There are a million ways to do better – in theory at least – but the truth is many of those doorways are closed by circumstance. In fact, closed is probably an understatement – nailed shut is a more appropriate description.

For Villa, a club hamstrung by financial decisions past and present, there’s a real sense of doom. To point the finger at Lambert would be one option, but the situation is far deeper than any individual, but rather indicative of a listless and non-cohesive “strategy”, though using the term strategy may be going too far.

Why? Randy Lerner, once seen as a silent benefactor, has been shown in recent times are a man unwilling to take risks to move forwards, instead languishing in a seemingly perennial cycle of nervousness and dour methods.

On the pitch, things are little different. Lambert, once lauded for an attacking mentality, buoyed by over-achievement with Norwich City, now cuts a desolate figure, a man seemingly out of options – partly because of personnel, partly because of an inability to be backed.

Excoriating Lambert for his tactical mishaps is something many will feel is fair given six losses in a row have caused many managers to lose their jobs. In that sense, fans would be right – Lambert is lucky to still have a job.

Looking deeper, however, and it isn’t so much a case of a simple fix – but one that would require a complete restructure to both personnel and mentality if Villa are to improve any time soon.

One option would be to find new owners and, with credit to Lerner, he does have the club on the market. However, with Villa looking more and more lacklustre as time goes on, there’s no rush for investors – why buy a club now at Premier League rates when, as is a real possibility, a purchase could be far cheaper next year.

It is precisely this kind of thought process that leaves Villa likely to suffer for the near future. Few will expect to be climbing up the table in the club’s existing incarnation, but there’s that all-too-real possibility that gaining a point a game is playing with fire – footballing and financial.

For things to change, something drastic must happen. Either Lerner needs to take a punt on further investment, or he needs to take a loss and move on – acting as is for any extended period time not only gambles with Lerner’s investment but, more importantly, with the club’s Premier League ever-present status.

If Lerner can’t find a way forwards – and fast – the future for Villa may not be a case of hope and optimism, but rather a bleak, disappointing and downward future.

Comments 282

  1. Hi Matt. Yes we do need Randy to stump up some cash in January however Lambert can do better with player selection as well. It’s always the same players and always the same way of playing. Why does he keep putting Bent on the team sheet if he doesn’t intend to play him, same with Cole who looks past his prime but let’s at least find that out for sure since he was brought in to be the creator and hasn’t been tried. Then of course there’s Grealish. Instead of playing him for 20 mins then extending it to 30 and then even a complete half if other players aren’t providing any attacking threat he’s now not even including him in the subs!??!!??! If he’s not going to get a chance then send him back to the Championship for one more season to get more match time, experience and confidence. If he rips that league to shreds then he really is the real deal and Lambert will have no choice but to start him at Villa next season. Benteke did himself nor us any favours with the red card when he really could have used him yet incredibly things could be worse given our lack of form. We’ve played the best teams from last season yet still only sit one win behind Everton, Spurs and Pool who have spent considerably more money than we have. The thing that drives me crazy about this manager is that he never experiments even when handed an opportunity to given injuries or suspensions. Instead he prefers to keep doing the same thing that isn’t working over and over again, truly an exercise in futility and hence our complete lack of goal production. Not sure when our next cup game is but I’d like to see Bacuna and Grealish patrolling the flanks with Cole in the hole and Bent in the box. If this gives us some joy then try it in the Prem. Playing not to lose is getting old very fast with Villa fans not so much re: results but also in terms of entertainment which is a big part of the complete football equation from a fan’s perspective. UTV!

  2. John Doyle,Jenny,S75 thank you for your contributions and recollections.Interesting,informative and moving.As someone who has visited the graves in Normandy,what struck me were the ages on the headstones,18,19 etc.Thank you and many thanks to your relatives.
    This other stuff,it`s only footy isn`t it.?

  3. ronnie you pretty much summed up lamberts almost rabbit caught in the car lights mentality,,
    the problem as i see it is the tough fixtures , key injuries, and forced replacements
    really did us no favours, and just as we start to see progress we loose in the most sickening
    circumstances to spuds and loose the big man when he starts to look effective,,, lambert changed it against spurs and it was better, 442 with weinmann and nzogbia rotating
    so predictably with the beast out lambert played defensive 433 at the hammers with gabby up front, against an in form team we were always capable of taking a point if we rode our luck, or a win if we some how nicked a goal
    its a pattern of play suited to away fixtures against attacking teams and to be fair has got us most of our points under lambert, however against teams like ourselves that sit back it is dreadfull as we have no idea in the last third
    like youself ron the most obvious way of playing is 442 with bent and weinmann up front and a decent winger on the left (grealish) as sissoko can not cross but can support well,,, and bacuna/lowton combo on the right if hutton still out
    playing 433 last year and dominating possession we just did not have the ability in the team to get goals, even with masses of possession hence the poor home form and poor cup defeats,,
    but this squad has more quality in it, and i am clinging to the hope i got watching the defeat to spurs
    i cling to the fact that lambert played 442,,, either weingum or zog rotated about benteke and hey ho chances made
    what really heartens me is the four midfielders, they are all comfortable on the ball and can pass and move all the way to the last 3rd,,,, if they can start to create and score goals we will have no probs winning games
    to often though the ball goes wide and poor crosses come in from the full backs, or when they are good no one is there,,, and very rarely do they get to the byeline and ping it back
    so its important we play 2 upfront to give us some movement

    sadly though we will play the same team at both saints and burnley,, if saints single out lowton we will loose easily,, 3 nil,, and if burnley sit back we will probably lose again,, but as there at home i hope they go for it,,, and we should win if gabby turns up,,
    we need the big man back,,, sharpish,,

  4. the simple facts are 5 goals in 12 games lowest in every div of football where players are paid from prem to northern prem we have a complete fool in charge i do not agree in blaming Lerner as he does not pick the side he does not tell the fool how to play it is all down to one man and one man alone .
    But as i have said many times the fans at the games dont give a toss as again on sat they clapped and cheered Lambert after that display they are fools and are so happy with a point, they are like starving dogs who are happy and wag there tails when an old bone is thrown at them or in this case a point unless this mentality is rapidly changed Lambert will be here for the next 4 years .
    i cannot go on again about his faults as that is all the man is and has nothing positive about him whatsoever he is a leach feeding on the blood of villa and needs to be burnt of and got rid of until this happens we are doomed
    to this boring non football way until regulated

    b6 thanks for your comment

  5. Matt,

    Yes, good points. However, the “Lambert out” contingent (which now includes me) don’t necessarily see Lambert as the main or sole cause of Villa’s plight. My reasoning is now is that another manager may well do some proper team selection and appropriate sub-bing … as well as speak sense when on the media.

    I suggest that more than 2 years has given PL plenty of chance to do something that is admirable, but precious little has transpired. And the fact the Villa have only scored 5 goals in 11 matches speaks volumes. Villa cannot stay up if that rate of scoring (ahem, non-scoring!) continues.

  6. 1 point from the last 21, -11 goal difference, fewest goals scored, players deciding their futures lie elsewhere, are we all missing something, can people not see there is something fundamentally wrong at VP.
    Yes Lerner is not helping the situation but the blame lies firmly at Lamberts door, he is inept at every aspect of our game, his player selection in terms of transfers is truly shocking I have not got the time to list the rejects he has signed, his team selection beggars belief week in week out, his tactics if that’s what you can call them are embarrassing, he continues to use the same players in the same system that gets beat week in week out, at what point does he say to himself blimey this is not working, or in fact why is Keane not having a little word in Lamberts ear and saying you know what this is not working we need to change things around.

    We are in a downward spiral and the majority of fans cannot see it is all going wrong, can you imagine what they would have done to McLeish if he had lost 6 on the trot, so why is Lambert getting an easy ride.

    Can a change of manager make matters worse, not in my book, we need a new face a new voice a new set of ideas, Lambert has had his chance and proved time and time again that he is out of his depth at this level and take Keane with you because he was brought in to aid Lambert and improve results, another out of his depth, if Lerner and Fox cannot see its time for a change then we are in massive trouble.

    AVFC RIP.

  7. Regarding wanting Villa to lose, Lerner and Lambert are the biggest threat to the future of AVFC probably in its entire history, i’d take 20 consecutive defeats if it was guaranteed that Lambert was booted, however, it wouldn’t guarantee that with Lerner at the helm, that shows exactly how bad our predicament is, the worst owner and the worst manager at VP at the same time. I really do think that some of our fans are totally deluded, they don’t think we can go down or go bump. The fans that turn up to games are the problem not the ones who don’t. Anyone who followed Villa throughout the 60’s can recognise the signs of decay, unfortunately Sky has turned the modern fan into a soulless zombie who accepts every deed by the owners/administrators as just, and doesn’t have either the knowledge to recognise the failings or the knackers to do anything about it, you deserve what’s coming, God help us.

  8. John L, my reasons for joining the ‘Lambert Out’ movement are pretty much the same as yours. I feel we do have a wee bit more quality in the squad than last season now that Lambert has come full circle on the bomb squad and even given one former member of it, Hutton, a contract extension if you can believe it (this could only happen at the VILLA). However I agree with other Lifers that he is out of his debt at this level in terms of match strategy and in-game tactical changes which do include subbing. All this business about ‘having a go’ and playing attacking, entertaining football when he arrived has turned out to be pure tripe; he has not lived up to this promise whatsoever. UTV

  9. Ron,
    Phoney doesn’t cover him, one season played in Jeermany,the rest in a tenth rate Scottish Lge, booted by Livingstone, deserted Colchester, Wycombe and Naarwich, employed two lowlifes, one his B-i- L and apparently didn’t see what they were up to. He’s the luckiest bloke on the planet to have been employed by three stupid dickheads like RL, PF & TF.

  10. 1 goal in 7 games i belive….Lambert has to go but i wont relax until we have changes from owner to players.

    Surly we have to go down this season.

    Burnley, leicester, and villa for me. With sunderland, qpr and west brom also in trouble.

  11. for me the cruel dropping of grealish straight after he’d signed and talked about his love of villa, no doubt he was also given assurances he’d see more game time is disgusting. not even a spot on the bench. when you consider cole and bent are our unused options every week (unless you count five minutes at the end of a loss) it shows lambert doesn’t know how to use the lad. he’s called unready because he doesn’t fit the defend from the front philosophy Lambert likes I feel for him and hope gets a manager that will use his talents properly.
    what it needs is at one home game live on sky for the home fans to stand outside for ten minutes and sing Lambert out to get the ball rolling but as Steamer says how do you convince 30,000 people who feel they are being loyal?

  12. Mark,
    Lambert’s a second rate bully boy who doesn’t live up to the tag, he needs a strong back up, Karsa and Culverarse and now Keane, to get away with it, even crappy had a go at him at QPR, Grealish is just a young lad, a convenient target who won’t stick one on him. Lambert uses the excuse that Grealish has only played one game to omit him from the team, Ffs, who’s fault is that ? he picks the team, no-one else, Grealish is a wasted talent who is prevented from gaining the experience that Lamberts talking about by some of the worst players ever to don the claret & blue at first team level. It’s absolutely crucial that this incompetent loser is booted while we have time to turn it around, will it happen ? no chance, Lerner, Keane, Lambert & Fox just Foff.

  13. Some poignant posts on the Rememberance post yesterday, if the knobs who declare war had their sons in the military they may not be so reckless. As V.I Lenin said “At either end of a bayonet is a worker.”
    It sickens me to see politicians laying wreaths and then going back to their offices to lay plans for destruction, the nearest action our own David Camoron saw was smashing up a restaurant with his fellow winkers in the Bullingham Club.

  14. steamer- it fascinates me how we glorify violence as a noble pursuit, usually because the one committing the violence is convinced they are in the right or their religion/politics says they are. there is an inbuilt violence to us all and it seems that it doesn’t take much persuading to appear. it also doesn’t take much for powerful people to use that fact, we all need to belong and for most not fitting is a strong enough stimulus to disregard what their brain tells them is wrong. thinking for yourself is strongly opposed by institutions. the human being is a strange mix of conflicting drives don’t you think?

  15. john l, I wonder if today’s stars would be called on to serve, considering they have become apart from the masses? I’m sure some would but not to the extent of the stars of the 40’s did. I feel nothing short of an A-bomb would stop the prem from airing

  16. you are all right about the substitutions and lamberts same old 433 tactics

    but until benteke is back we are 433,, its horrible but i can not see him changing it

    we have a good squad,, but he just does not seem to use it,,, grealish, bacuna richardson and cole are all players who are good players to bring on,, trouble is if you dont bring them on they loose heart and cant proove themselves

    i understand at times you have to be cautious,, against the hammers there was no point changing anything as it could have cost the game,, luckily it worked,,

    and no doubt southampton will be the same backs to the wall but after southampton we need to see goals,, against the lower teams we need to get the formation right and kick on
    the players are good enough, i just hope form returns and injuries keep away

  17. Westwood and Wiemann seem to think we have turned a corner after our draw at Spam, well we seemed to turn a corner after four games this season, thing is you turn enough corners and you are back to square one, Lamberts tactics in a nutshell the blokes a genius, extend that contract for another ten years to keep him away from Barca and Real Madrid.

    AVFC RIP

  18. We were very very luck against West Ham….Clarke was his usual self and gave a pen away….well any other ref would of given it and we would of lost.

    The west ham game shows why we usually loose….just lucked out and got a point. How we can score 1 goal in 7 games is just so so sad. We deserve to go down and whilst it will be sad, it will be no shock or surprise

  19. Very good comment Mark, these are usually, in our case, the vermin who don red jackets and chase down foxes, Camoron and that odious bastard Jeremy Clarkson.

  20. Some interesting comments re: Jack Grealish. It seems clear to me that Grealish won’t make it at Villa under this manager.

    Is he good enough anyway? Plenty of judges think he is, but we’ll never know because this brand of football is guaranteed not to suit anybody with the ability to put his foot on the ball.

  21. steamer
    to ask would any of the players these days go to war , err that would be a big fat no , jeez they only have to be brushed by a finger and they go down as if a sniper has hit them ,

    Jl your right about the way the worlds going , you know l never wanted any children as at the time we had the cold war and l always worried that l would.nt want any kid of mine to go through a nuclear war as l wouldnt know what to do , same as marriage l never wanted it as whoever l was seeing always asked when l would stop going down the villa everyweek , so l suppose l was selfish , but at 42 l got married and we had a kid and honestly l hate the thought of where were going in this world and my god as the sales say “once its gone its gone ” and we dont have anywhere else to go , unless the powerful shits have a worm-hole to escape to , l always think about that film , The Timemachine , and how we start again , but knowing our luck we’d have someone like Bozzo johnson finding the time machine , oh gawd now l am going into meltdown ! gonna take a walk down the Greenman and have a cob n pint , gaffers a nose ,but they dont call her melons for nothing )

  22. I’m in work and as much as I despise it, I had to push myself to comment due to apathy, agree entirely with the summation that Lambert is at fault for on field issues. There isn’t enough media examination or difficulting questioning from the media about his tenure. I understand that the perogative of the manager to now ban journalists ensures journalists have to maintain their attendance at interview opportunities but where is the examination of AVFC that would show how poor we are. The media approach to McLeish despite latching incorrectly to the ‘he was a blue nose manager’ rubbish, did eventually interrogate the lack of results.

    There absolutely is the issue of attempting to get the 25/30k people who do attend to look outside of loyalty, as much as it is admirable it supports the regime and no one would want this status quo to continue. I’d love for it to be organised such that everyone went to the game and stood outside their respective stands as a method of protest, that couldn’t be ignored. (I can dream)

    Lerner has also yet to get things right off the pitch from a football perspective, his own lack of knowledge allowed MON too much power and not enough accountability, and all post MON managers have not been given any other criteria than survival and wage reduction. The lack of football people at board level an issue Lerner never addressed. Lerner is culpable for AVFC’s current predicament as much as Lambert is responsible for using the players available to him.

    Does VTID now mean Villa til it dies?

  23. steve w re Grealish the kid was offered terms from 8 other prem clubs that is a fact he was told he would be part of the team hence his early involvement then he signs and look what happens he is not even on the bench he is good enough to play for at least 10 prem clubs and would be in there starting side just go on u tube and type him in and look at the kid he is pure class and skill that’s why Lamburk wont play him lamburt is a liar and a bully and in any other work place he would be sacked for his lies and the way he just forgets any player who is not licking his arse

  24. Well said Darren

    Grealish had a poor 30 mins against Chelsea (who doesn’t) and that’s the last we have seen of him. even though this team is crying out for something different. I think he would make a great player off of benteke and switching with nzogbia who he also seems to gel with.

    St75- kids are far to engrossed in xboxs etc to even notice the birds have gone. When I was a kid you had save the tiger and save the panda now they have save game. Most kids don’t know what a vegetable is let alone something with blood running through its veins. Someone was complaining about zoos and I agree they are sad places.unfortunately they will soon be the only place some creatures exist.
    Some think we are custodians of this world, it’s about time we acted like it, ever feel you have more compassion for animals than humans? It’s hard to care for the selfish bunch we’ve become.

  25. I agree John – he would certainly give us something we don’t currently have in the side. But as Mark suggested above, Lambert concentrates on whether he tracks back and closes down, not the positive parts of his game.

    Ideally I’d like to see him get a chance under a new manager, a new philosophy and alongside some far better players.

  26. For what it’s worth, the Cleveland Browns are on top of their conference. Lerner gone a year and they improve.
    Something to look forward to.

    The problem with this planet is the whole thing is run just like the Premier League.

  27. amazing is’nt it that spuds manager is being hounded , after their run of results !!!

    Darren , quite a few years when old deadly was holding back monies for the team .ole bluenose Tom had doug on his show , and his first comments as the lines were being opened was “l dont want anyone asking doug questions on the money side ” it was one of the biggest brown noser shows ever , l did catch up with Tom about it at a old blues boys charity game , we were playing them at the time and our manager was a villan ,so the 1st half he put all us villa fans in and l went up to robert hopkins and drew my hand against my throat and said “thats where lm taking you out , remember me from the mulberry bush with your li
    ttle gang of LULU warriors ?” when Tom saw our team he was getting uncomfortable as he realised a few of us were the steamers , we knew tom from years ago as his brother rosco is the only villa fan in that family , we held them 2-1 but percy had to let the nose fans get a game and the shits lost the game 6-2 , but l gave tom some stick in the club afterwards about how he’s scared stiff about asking clubs questions what the fans want answering , saw him once coming out of Dollond and aitchisons opticians on the coventry road , rolled my window down and shouted he needs more than strong glasses watching that shit every week , l had every expletive known to man shouted back at me
    followed by my name , ))

    l really do think were in the shit now , and its true about Jack , l was really surprised he put pen to paper , l know arsenal were sniffing ,

  28. mark theres a bloke here in coleshill brings one in the pubs and the fucking thing walks up and down the bar trying to drink your pints , lm going to put a braindeader out for it ,

  29. yep l feel more for animals than humans these days , l think steamer can vouch for that when l go over his house to see Bella , he just makes the coffee , (Bellas his dog )

    comment on the film Earthquake from the 70s , all the audience went aaahhh when they panned the area after the quake as there was a little dog walking over the rubble , not a murmer when they showed the dead bodies , this was in one of the tabloids ,

  30. excellent Matt

    I would only add that giving lambert lots of cash too spend would be a major risk imo

    Randy could have the best of both worlds both finacially and on the pitch if he could just identify the right manager for the club

  31. Steamer: Think Tom Barber who scored the winning goal vs Slumberland in the 1913 CF also died…

    No that was falsely stated in one of the history books (not mine!). Tom Barber survived the war but didn’t return to Villa. He went into non-league football but succumbed to TB and died in 1926.

    The only then current Villa player that died in WW1 was a promising youngster named Dobson, who had played just a few games in 1914-15. Frank Moss was injured (knee) and Hampton was gassed, but both came back to Villa.

  32. C’mon Ian. Everybody knows “compassion” is a purple coloured fruit from the rainforests of Brazil.

    Not much optimism on here concerning the future of our species. I fully agree the world is run like the Premier League. We’re inherently flawed. Maybe we need to, as John Lerwill advocates, take more notice of William MacGregor’s values and ethics. Our club would do well to do so. How can it though while in the Prem League? Is there a way?

    If the aforementioned promises to JG are true, they should let him go if a better opportunity comes knocking and he feels the need to grow somewhere else. Good luck to Jack.

    Interesting posts today. Cheers.

  33. Mark,

    Yes I agree we have over ten players out on loan, some to gain experience some just to get rid of them, two are scoring goals at the moment in Gardner and Robinson something that we are desperately short of but do you think they will be recalled by Lambert – no chance, he would rather have Cole on the bench.

    I am now facing up to the fact that our situation will not change any time soon, Lerner who don”t forget appointed McLeish is happy with the job Lambert is doing, he is keeping Villa in this division which so far he has done although we all know it will happen sooner than later, Lerner and Lambert are bouncing off each other and the fans do not give a damn, Keane and Fox have nothing to offer this club which at this moment in time is a shambles.

    I say the fans don”t give a damn because I read on one forum that the fans are frightened to protest because the stewards will eject them and they will be banned, I had to read it twice before it sunk in, they would rather sit on their hands and watch their club go down the shitter than actually do something about it, but that is your new age fans for you too comfortable in their nice new grounds with nice catering facilities to want to care too much about what happens on the pitch.

    Lerner,Lambert,Fox and Keane are sucking the life and soul out of our club and the fans are just going to watch it happen, on today of all days It saddens me to write —

    AVFC RIP.

  34. swv- johnson has been doing well too in a position we are a man down in, glad to hear gardner is scoring maybe he’ll get back to his best.
    As i said yesterday 10 mins outside the ground by a substantial amount of the support would be enough to get the message across, wouldn’t even have to protest just stay silent. if the tv cameras were there it would be embarrassing, imagine ten mins in and they pan to the holte with tumbleweeds rolling by

  35. Possibly its time to re-name the Holte End, maybe Winker Strasse, The Wimpy End, suggestions on a postcard. The current inhabitants don’t deserve to inherit the mantle of some of the finest fans on the planet. It was a real pleasure to stand shoulder to shoulder with like minded stalwarts even in the bad old days. Remember the Untied League Cup semi, Soton in the FA Cup, you could feel the stand vibrate, you can’t even get a ‘Lambert out’ from this pathetic shower.

  36. Steamer,

    Although it galls me I totally agree with you, I look at those pictures from 1968 and see fans of all ages protesting against the people who were running our club into the ground, will that happen again today no chance, would the stewards try to throw out 50 odd Steamers somehow I think not, today they are a different breed absolutely gutless and clueless not fit to be called a Villan.

    AVFC RIP

  37. Twenty years this week when Ellis finally destroyed any hope of AVFC returning to the elite of English footy by sacking BFR. Today is the first time i’ve ever heard Ron actually criticise Herbs.
    Herbie used to tell the story that after sacking him he went outside to a hostile mob and pacified them, ” I convinced them i was right,” Load of bollox, he was so scared he sent someone out to take his car to an entrance and slipped out with his tail between his legs like the sneak that he is, thats why i call him ‘back door Doug.’ among other things.
    Been unfortunate having to two worst owners in Villa history in my lifetime, neither is a Villan or an asset to the club and both obsessed with money.

  38. right i’m going to try and be positive, I vaguely remember what that is. sending players out on loan in itself is a good idea as long as they get game time. hopefully you get back a more experienced player, and one that has learnt that you can pass the ball and keep it and also express yourself, something he won’t learn at villa.
    now presuming Lamberts here till at least christmas and assuming he does shite and gets the sack the incoming manager will have a huge pool of players to call on.
    Delph and Vlaar may be sold, but gardner and donacean might come in and fill that void, johnson too is a useful midfielder. robinson may score a hatful between now and crimbo and make him a must. plus other players with talent might get a game.
    in reality Lambert will still be here and they will all go back out on loan or be sold. oh well I tried.

  39. steamer
    did you notice who the young lad was on the 1st picture in the center , non other than our old mate Johnnie Groombridge , not everyones cup of tea but l loved the bloke and thank fuck he was one of us ,saw him at wigan the other year with his young son and the tickets he had was for there end and l asked him if he wanted my ticket for his son and ld go with him , “NO he’s got to learn ” took him all of 20 mins to start , lol , still a top steamer ))
    ada jones came up there with me to that demo , saw Mo there , as you know Ada was a nose but he was a good mate and fancied a play up .lol cracking days , not like the the fans these days who keep making excuses for this twat ,
    see you tomorrow ,
    Ian , you were spot on for both kinds ..lol jokes were great the other day

  40. Ian- to be fair we could well be into a mini ice age by then or even a proper one so well done FIFA for forward planning. on the other hand it could of been leveled by a nuke so I hope the stadia are in bunkers, wouldn’t want it cancelled.

  41. ST75,

    Blimey good spot on Groombridge went back and took a look and jesus it is him, a right nutter but a lovable rogue always got on well with John and like you say glad he was in claret and blue.

    AVFC RIP

  42. Just been watching highlights of the 2005/6. season…..Harewood scoring a hat trick for West Ham against….Aston Villa…..Newcastle first win for Mick McCarthy….scorers…Nzogbia, Michael Owen and Shearer…Joey Barton scoring for Man City….Kean playing his last game for Utd……so much..going on..Moyes losing 5 out of 6 games….West Brom and Sunderland struggling…Villa first win over Blues….

    Portsmouth and Middlesboro’ still premier sides…and much much more….have things really changed that much…

  43. and of course Darren Bent scoring goals freely for Charlton…..Wigan under Paul Jewel win six on the bounce until arsenal and that man Henri…..

    Villa struggling but get a win against Sunderland…Crouch on a drought at Liverpool…..Mourinhio challenging Fergie’s dominance of the Premier league….

  44. Theo Walcott Β£12milliion signing at 16yrs old for Arsenal….and days of Robben at chelsea, Ronaldo at Utd and Luke Moore at Villa…. must admit this is the most entertaining football I have seen in while..

  45. Terrible these International weeks, does anyone prefer watching the London/Manchester/Liverpool X1 over their club ? Watching the three lions is even worse than watching Villa. Won’t be long before Fiji are on a par with the LML X1, still, i have to chuckle whenever i hear those words, Roy Hodgson – England manager.

  46. Steamer,

    you may have a point, perhaps we should have teams from various areas of the country playing weach, rather than home internationals. i am sure we could field a great team of Brummies to play a team of Mancunians..

  47. Steamer,

    you may have a point, perhaps we should have teams from various areas of the country playing each other, rather than home internationals. i am sure we could field a great team of Brummies to play a team of Mancunians..

  48. Joe Bache (Villa hero pre-WW1) – his son David…

    Does anyone here know that Joe’s son was a senior car designer at Rover in the 1950s onwards?

    Pretty well all Rover/BL shapes from the 1950s-1970s time came from his work.

  49. SVV,
    That’s good news then, all out attack to get those six goals and relegation by a measley 11 points, must get a half season ticket then. Lambert still wouldn’t get booted or show the self respect to resign.

  50. John,
    Scary, but what do you expect from a nation who actually celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall ?
    I’ll send you a couple of articles later about the real danger to what little democracy we still have.

    I worked at the Rover in the 70’s, in fact i kept the place going virtually single handed, Red Robbo ran my fan club from the Austin department of the CPGB. If he designed the SD1 then he owes me 10 layers of skin off my knuckles.

  51. PP,
    The last team of great Brummies was the Crossroads cast.

    If any of you are going to the Jeerman Market, see if you can buy a set of Kraut coaching certificates like Lambert has just to see if they really do say play a back nine in a Panzer formation. A couple of Deutschmarks should get them.

  52. Steamer + work , now theres and oxy-moron if ever l saw one , fucking ribs hurt laffing ,

    also that band we saw is on at the Rose + crown pub in Dec , its on the chester road going into sutton,

    Runtins
    music brilliant mate ,thanks

    Great picture in this months Private Eye on page 7 , non other than our fav female brady, also her interveiw is priceless , how wearing a short skirt to work is ok , she should know with the porno dwarf sullivan , and we know what she got upto in the Elbow room , well the dustbin down the side alley with a fellow steamer , and in the Hyatte hotel . erghhhh!!! dont mention the nickers !

  53. JL / steamer
    do you remember when that car and the princess came out and most car mag/so called experts ridiculed its shape , you only have to look at every car produced now to see how that shape set the standard , ………… not my car though !!

  54. bloody hell the SD1! you couldn’t wash it or it would rust. quite a few of my family worked at the rovers not sure if dad did but probably. I used to go to their dodgy christmas party for kids wasn’t you in the santa suit was it steamer? ruined my childhood that did.

    on the politics side I was listening to a famous hypnotist called roy masters talk. he said that how you hypnotise people is make them react emotionally. this is what the media/government/ villa bosses do. they say they will do one thing then, then do the opposite, this has the effect of creating an emotion in you. now he said people are one of two types, bullies or pacifists , the pacifists will be upset but they don’t like things getting nasty so they tow the line to keep the peace whether it’s right or wrong. this makes the masses easy to hypnotise apparently and that’s what’s the powers that be use.

  55. Mark,

    I had a later SD1 – a ‘C’-reg (ca 1985) – which seemed to be a lot better in quality. It had one annoying fault that if you splashed through a big puddle the leads would soak and the car would stop!

    On hypnotism, that’s a very interesting observation and it kinda makes sense. All the more to try to be detached from what goes on around you I guess … and examine what really matters. But people have been so brainwashed since Maggie (then Blair) that they seem no longer able to discriminate.

    I was amused to see that as many as 78% of UKIP supporters believe that large chunks of what was privatised should be re-nationalised. Now, since UKIP is a right-wing Tory mob in disguise, who would believe that they would nationalise anything if they had power?!

  56. JL
    they’re learning , say one thing then do the opposite , camoron , “l will not reform the NHS ” and what’s happening ? cant wait till the candidates come knocking , l got a staple gun to seat them then a baseball bat to get the real truth out of them , (should’nt have watched them SAW films ,

    you bloody lot hynotised me last year you shits .

    Evening Jenny xxxxx

    where’s Frem ?

  57. JL,
    Some of them were left in a car park with their windows down for two years, then we had to empty the water out because they’d been sold, compared to the P5 & P6 they were awful, can’t remember the last time i saw one.

    The Jeerman version of UKIP built a lot of Autobahns before they decided to invade Poland though.

  58. JL- roy masters is a very interesting chap, he’s says he has always naturally lived in the now and teaches people to do exactly as you say, sit back without emotion and observe. the world looks a whole lot different that way. He’s 86 and has run a radio show in america for 50 odd years helping people with stress etc he’s a brit though, still very well spoken.

    this is his site

    https://www.fhu.com/

    he has an app for meditation would be great for steamer, if he understood technology, or had a phone without an aerial πŸ™‚

  59. Mark: … sit back without emotion and observe. the world looks a whole lot different that way.

    Well, that’s what all the masters through time have always said … so he seems to be on the right track! πŸ˜‰

    I can’t say it came to me altogether naturally – it took a couple of big personal losses to cause me to work it all out.

    Thanks for the link!

  60. Sendeross sent back from the Swiss injured too.

    Good news tho’ Herd’s back, couldn’t get a game at BW but will go straight into our squad.

    Apparently on twatter Lambert has been booted, just not announced and Pulis is our next victim … oops, manager.

  61. There’s been a tragedy folks, Bono was involved in a plane accident! Unfortunately he is unharmed.

    I see our bankers have been at it again, what now? Jail? Return of funds? No they are much more important than that, slapped wrist then and on to the next scheme, bend over and brace folks

    Il- I’m reading Roy masters book cure stress your mind will make you well. I think you would like it mate very good, recommended to all in fact

  62. I see one of the headlines on sky is about how spurs fans are seeking urgent talks with the club due to concerns about form and where they are heading…..why aint villa fans and the club doing something like that, and in the headlines.

    It seems like a bad nightmare or horror film when your on your own and no one hears you or believes you!

    Villa are being ignored by everyone are just slipping away quietly into the championship.

  63. Roy Masters for manager. A few beers and a bit of smoke levels things out just fine. I don’t need to by hypnotized. At this age I’m in a trance most of the time anyway.

  64. ian- look in my eyes not around my eyes- paul lambert deserves a raise, paul lambert deserves a raise, you’d struggle to see his pendulum mate πŸ˜‰

    runtingz- probably wanted to ask him to teach Lambert

    andrew- not scottish enough

  65. Would anyone take a few Spurs castoffs? Supposedly Lennon, Dembele and Townsend are available and for my money if healthy all 3 would make us better, deeper and more capable of scoring goals.

    Are we capable of winning 5 of our next 11 matches? A lot depends on if Okore is ready because we’re decimated at Centre Back at the moment and Clark is not up to standard… UTV

  66. Jen if you send me your email address and also download dropbox i can send you some tunes as we were talking about a month or so ago — holla girl πŸ™‚

  67. You can tell Lerner’s got his enthusiasm back by the current shambolic handling of the contracts, Vlaar & Delph, who are both good assets, don’t get them and leave for either buttons or free and Crappy and Lambert who are both totally useless at their jobs get four extra years to destroy the club, well done Lerner, you really know your stuff.
    Someone mentioned that Cleveland Browns are now top of the league, the world works in wonderful ways.
    Delph is off to Spuds i hear.

  68. Not even a mention on the OS about the death of former Chairman Sir William Dugdale the man at the top when Villa won the EC. Villa are just so classy.

  69. Jen,
    Someone’s been talking i gather, did he also mention that he was bopping to a UB40 tribute band on Saturday, i was told that everyone thought he was having a thrombo.
    The daft bugger gave himself a haircut and put on the wrong clip,looks like a monkey’s arse now.
    Ian,
    While we’re on the subject of great musicians here’s the great Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell doing the best version of Jessica you’ve ever heard.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btELHBUFAJ4

  70. those of you that turn up for the meet -up . please remind me to show you steamers guitar efforts at my brothers house , where THEY traumatised Kobe the boxer dog , and l had to use panoramic view to take a photo of all the books and dvd’s they have between them ,and they’re still fucking useless, mind the video comes in use at the bar !!! and dont ask about SWW’s efforts on the triangle , he even came out with the excuse that he had held it upside down once when he came in at the wrong time while playing it ,

    Morning Jenny xxxxx

    Good goal by Maloney last night ,listening to game while sitting on M6 for 2 hours ,

    Evening Mail last night
    l think Nigel Spink spent to long with the noses , with his headline statement , “Hold fire over villa boss ”
    No Nigel hold your tongue mate , is he looking for a job or something ? . ,

  71. Sorry Ian, forgot to put it on, here it is on 4.40.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5pMcOz4k6o

    Some great ones in the 60’s & 70’s my faves are Rory Gallagher, Leslie West, Mike Bloomfield, Dickie, Duane Allman, Clapton, Johnny Winter, SRV ( incredible ), Billy Gibbons, Richie Blackmore Santana ( Who reckons Jeff Beck is the Daddy ) and Beck, recent ones are Derek Trucks and Joe Bonamassa who puts on a superb show. Saw a doc on Django once, amazing but Jazz isn’t my cup of tea, prefer Rock & Boogie.
    S75 can just about handle bog paper around a comb but he uses the soft type.

  72. What’s all this talk about Steamer’s finger?

    Clive

    Did you enjoy the league. That was titanic. The Kiwis deserved the win, but it was close. Great atmosphere in Wellington tonight, wish I was there.

  73. Morning folks,

    An extract from the Mail on Villa’s greatest win in my lifetime….

    Aston Villa scored ELEVEN goals in a record Villa Park rout 55 years ago today

    Nov 14, 2014 15:45
    By Mat Kendrick

    When Gerry Hitchens helped thrash Charlton Athletic
    In stark contrast to their current scoring troubles, today is the 55th anniversary of Aston Villa smashing in ELEVEN goals in one game.

    The 11-1 victory over Charlton Athletic at Villa Park on November 14 1959 is widely regarded as Villa’s finest post-war performance.

    Paul Lambert’s shot-shy claret and blues have scored just five goals in 12 Premier League and Capital One Cup matches this season.

    Gerry Hitchens plundered the same amount during the historic win over the Addicks with Bobby Thomson (2), Peter McParland (2), Ron Wylie and Jimmy McEwan also on target.

    Unsurprisingly it remains high among Villa’s biggest wins, second to a 12-2 success against Accrington Stanley 68 years earlier in 1891-92.

    Fittingly, the 11-goal win was their 11th victory of the season, came in the 11th month of the year – and was achieved with 11 players.

    The record Villa Park victory was the catalyst for Villa’s Division Two championship triumph as Joe Mercer’s men bounced back to Division One at the first attempt.
    Setting the scene

    Villa, recently relegated from the top flight, had started the Division Two campaign in fine form with eight wins from their first 11 matches.

    A slight dip in form – just two victories, four draws and a defeat – was a cause for concern for Mercer, who demanded a positive response.

    It was hardly a crisis. Immediately before the Charlton classic, Villa’s loss at Liverpool came at the end of a 14-match unbeaten run.

    Even in what Mercer regarded as a seven game sticky patch they still managed 10 goals – a figure that today’s Villa would be more than happy with.

    Sport Argus report on Aston Villa 11 Charlton 1 in 1959 Sport Argus report on Aston Villa 11 Charlton 1 in 1959

    Mercer’s message

    β€œWe want more goals,” Mercer told the Birmingham Mail ahead of the Charlton match.

    β€œWe must acknowledge that the inside-forward trio are not getting goals and we have reached the stage where they have to do something about it.

    β€œBut I do not want them believing that if they don’t score they are out.

    β€œAn unchanged team for Saturday will convey to the team, I hope, that we are not going hot and cold on them.”

    The inside-forward trio Mercer was referring to – Hitchens, Thomson and Wylie – were called to see the manager before the game and warned that their mini-drought must end soon if they wanted to keep their places.

    Despite Mercer’s concerns he kept faith in the trio and ordered a tactical change with Thomson playing further forward alongside Hitchens, while the three held their own meeting to discuss their movement and positioning.

    Love Bobby Thomson’s comment “after the eighth, we were getting embarassed, so we let the wingers take over…”

    Nice to see that JL was mentioned as part of the source of information.

  74. Paul,

    Thanks for that wee reference at the end, mate!

    Did you notice the crowd at the match? Less than 22,000. To think I was in that crowd to witness it. It was unbelieveable … whenever Villa shot we were expecting a goal!

  75. Steamer,

    I cannot believe you did not mention some of the all time greats,

    Peter Green
    John Mcglauclin not sure thats how you spell it remember the mahivishnu orchestra
    Ry Cooder
    Roy Buchanan saw him play on the old grey whistle test truly mesmerising
    And probably the king of them all Dave Hill from Slade

  76. Peter Green,hangs head in shame.

    Roy Buchanan – sad demise.

    Ian,
    You won’t believe this, five minutes before i read your posts i was tubing Keef Richards and then the Flying Burrito Brothers versions of Wild Horses.

  77. Evenjng ST 75 xxxx
    Steamer – don’t disillusion me about ST 75s dance moves – he’s promised to teach me how to dance northern soul !
    πŸ™‚ yep that Live Aid single is the pits. Is that crap why Bono had to fly separately on his private jet from the other U2s who flew 4 hours later . Carbon footprint eh hm. Load of hypocrites the lot of them. They’ve given up half a day for charity – big deal . Yes it’s for a good cause but seeing Lord Bob appear before the X factor sing off was just too bizarre and nauseating for words.

  78. what a great game between scotland and ireland – talk about blood and thunder
    looks like we will be reshaping the team in jan as its not likely delph n vlaar will be around much longer
    hi Jen πŸ™‚ just press forgotten password and it will allow you to reset it

  79. sometimes it’s refreshing to have someone speak his mind and not worry about the consequences. I usually have a quiet smile and think “that won’t go over well.”
    We had a mayor and then premier of Alberta who shot from the hip and was loved for it. A couple of his quotes regarding eastern Canada. “Let those eastern bastards freeze in the dark”. He said this when the east wanted cheap oil and gas. Then there was a migration of people to western Canada who lived on the dole and he said those eastern creeps and bums should go home. Roy Keene isn’t alone in shooting from the hip. Enjoy it.

  80. Not sure if young Jack and his fam will be as impressed
    keano though is about the most entertaining and news worthy thing about the club at the minite which is sad in itselfs

  81. I agree ian and jen, far too much offence is taken when someone speaks his mind, the journo’s are only poking keane for a reaction anyhow. its like people would rather be lied to rather than hear something that makes them feel uneasy. probably because we are all so important πŸ˜‰
    maybe his dad does have a say and why shouldn’t he?

  82. No reason for his dad to be involved but family, love, and emotion will affect any discussion. An person who has no personal attachment would be a better route to take with Grealish’s career.

  83. Just read some more on Keane. Hahaha—so he called the reporters to task. We all agree they write tripe. I’m glad for the chat they had with Keane.

  84. His comments on the punch up and the game were perfectly valid and welcome

    Keane: β€œTalking about what? Talking about something you don’t have a clue about, and everyone writing lies. The usual nonsense. β€˜This happened, that happened…”’
    14 love to RK

    But his reference to Grealish’s Dad he will probably regret as it has fed the Bham Mail with another opportunity for an exaggerated headline – when maybe it was no more than a throw away comment but it could cause embarrassment to Jack’s family . As Grealish is a sensitive subject ATM he should v said “ask Martin ” . Talk about a loose cannon πŸ™‚ Btw / has Matt Kendrick been taken off AV reporting for speaking the truth ? πŸ™‚

  85. don’t you like loose cannons though? Have you noticed through your day to day dealings, that a blunt reply or statement, once the roar is over usually gets things done.

  86. Ian,
    Personally i don’t mind a loose cannon if they are an asset but Keane has shown no sign of this, neither have Lerner, Lambert and Fox, i’m afraid all these loose cannons will hole the good ship AV and eventually sink her..

  87. You’re right Steamer but Keane and Villa, although joined through contract doesn’t seem to affect his point on view and he’s all too happy to present it. I’m guessing that the admin are a bit afraid of him. Kendrick is one that I like. Dunno about that Matt guy though.

  88. For me guys n ladies keano’s shape tougue doesnt really impress me – what i expect from the villa management is results along with good man/people management

    in terms of Jack he gets dropped by the manager and his dad get an insulted by our assist

    class

    only at villa

  89. In fact, the biggest contribution that Keane could make to progress at VP would be to resign, the national media may then find their way North and investigate the pillaging and mis-management of our club.

  90. it does seem that way Steamer – Roy hoggng headline after headline kinda deflects from what a crap job he is doing

    as for dads not getting involved in there sons football career – in my experience the parents are the most important factor in any footballer i know the backgound of’s career decisions

  91. That’s the one Ian, the arsehole.

    Talking of sinking ships, has TBAR folded ? can’t find it anywhere, shame, a decent and well run site but let down at the beginning by over confidence about the takeover.

  92. Okore sounds like he is looking for a way out — wonder if he is any good at football ? πŸ™‚
    i see Helinius has been doing well and never wants to come back to b6
    gord us villans are so spoilt

  93. steamer
    ya dingdong ! did you have your brain or hard-drive wiped , the TBAR still there , why l took you to worcs today l dont know , it wasnt for the company , and how many times did you direct me around that 20ft island , ya knob ,
    talking of knobs wheres sww ?

    evening Jenny xxx
    Runtins that music’s great mate so much l didnt know about ,

    lionheart , bang-on the other night on TVB lol he knows how to shut a pillock up !!!!

    Dearlord where’s Frem ??

  94. st75 totally my pleasure it is pretty obscure stuff and the broken beats think that was an underground thing in the UK for about 12yrs has thrown up some great uk music for me anyway

    Frem were are you indeed – my money is on he has landed himself a lovely young lady

  95. Runtins
    me too on the Frem thingy, he went down southampton with his uni mates and sounded like he had a great time , the lucky beggar , oh to be young again , in the 70s mind you ,
    had a laff with steamer today about some of the old 3rd div games with the dougle mob , PNE away and the skin head girls asking where the villa skin girls were? lol pity we didnt know sww then, they could have used him as a sub. as we was walking through the park after the game l had an old Panda car come onto the park and start chasing me (dont know why) .well l ran and there was this little hedge that l jumped over and l heard this almighty smash and when l looked round it would seem thre was a steel rail they had smashed into ,like steamer said if they had caught me l would have got one hell of a kicking in the cells . happy days ,,,

    steamer the imp hotel is a bloody tesco , great laffs in there with the dougle mob , 10p pints of mild !! lol .the “Mandy” song !! and the white swan with no staff about , Vodka !!!

  96. Yes Runtings,
    Another Lambert Murdery Mystery… First Helenius now Okore and soon to be Grealish!?!?!?! Did Okore recovery fully, is he really ready? He looked good last season before getting injured now can’t get a game to the point that Clarke gets in ahead of him. As per usual very strange indeed or just the norm with this manager. Understood that Sendeross started well but this kid was supposed to be the future. The only way to justify any of this is Lambert easing him back in due to the injury but is that really the case… Now Grealish that’s a whole other ball of wax, where has he disappeared to. Or are we just not allowed to imagine the sight of talented young players who will create goals and entertain us under this regime?
    Woah is me, UTV!

  97. Like you Ronnie,

    I am totally mystified by what is going on with Lambert and his recruits….perhaps he gets a cut on the side from the agent every time they move on, and he also on some backhander from some group of developers who want to buy up Villa and its assets on cheap and make a fortune getting planning for some huge redevelopment.

  98. ST75,

    Here alive and kicking, went to Preston that day told the OB to run you down for a laugh, old 3rd division days were the best by far looks like we might be on our way back there with these idiots in charge, the Imp a tescos what next the Meadway a quicksave or the Broadway a Mcdonalds, jesus parts of our life taken away.

    We had our day and I am glad I am not following this useless bunch of knobs, too many things have changed in football, CCTV at football gets you locked up for years and banned for throwing a punch, have a fight down town on a Friday night outside a club and you are even lucky if you get nicked, football fans are treated like scum.

    Sorry all the talk about Keane does not wash I have never liked the bloke and cannot see what he has to offer our club, get him out and take Lambert with you.

    AVFC RIP

  99. The match between ireland and scotland highlighted the advantages of an organised ball playing midfield and coherent strategy over an athletic team that play with ‘heart ‘ and little else.. Thank you scotland for demonstrating this advantage betweeen two equivalent teams. villa park should take note.

    On a different note , Bono , Geldof , Keane, louis Walshe, sinead o’connor ,,,as a national stereotype , we aint exactly ‘wall-flowers’ are we ?

  100. Hello Prox, are you coming over in the next few weeks ? you mentioned something about October a couple of months ago.

    The spivs that run AVFC ought to read the Billy Walker article on the OS, they may then realise what AVFC means to us, not that they give a shite.

    Enjoyed the Div 3 days more than any other period in our recent history, going to super stadiums like Halifax and Rochdale was a treat especially losing 1-0 to ‘Dale. Possibly that’s why Lerner is taking us back there, he seems to adopt populism, eg thinking that Crappy’s new contract would adhere himself to the fans, bewildering. Think Saints will cane us, probably 4-0, if they do then hopefully Lerner will realise that Lambert isn’t or never will a decent football manager and certainly not one good enough for AVFC.
    Lerner, Lambert, Keane & Fox OUT.

  101. Hey Steamer ,
    No mate , cant make it . Started a new job so kinda wrapped up at the minute . Dont worry , i’have’nt forgotten my promise of a little alcoholic pressie for you and that other lunatic .

  102. SWW
    l think Prox was only joking calling you a lunatic . think friendly banter ))

    steamer
    it looks like town saturday , meet in colore row bar ? one of the steamers is 60 ,( think jackboots ),
    Jenny xxxxx if your up town sat , let me know and come and have a cider with us meet the rable , and your in luck as sww wont be there .

  103. prox- don’t fret about the national stereotypes we have the entire cast of Towie plus geordie shore, the government and the royal family, Big brother, oh the shame.

  104. Very generous of you mate, for the life of me i can’t get a gargle out of that tight git S75, SWV was the same in the Broadway sat in the corner with half an Oscar Wilde all night, no wonder its a McDonalds now.

  105. Ian,
    Sport is a nest of vipers regarding drugs, i used to follow athletics closely but gave up when most of the USA Olympic team were found to have failed drugs tests previous to the games, including one who had, apparently, been violently opposed to them. Theirs so much money in sport that if Hitler could kick a ball he’d be offered a contract, cesspool. The EPL has the lot, rapists, wife beaters, Blues, who have consistently employed the dregs even released one lad in the 80’s who became a bank robber.

  106. Just read an article on league kits with pictures. Not one positive word was written. Most were snide and insulting. On a no news day they find something and trash it.

  107. ian- wasn’t a couple of the NFL players jailed for not taking all their drugs? after all winning is everything. Blimey after all if we stopped watching these massively important teams for five minutes we might realise we are being conned and what would we do then? the gravy train would stop and the world would keep on turning, can’t have that, its not natural

  108. who is going to start the Lambert out campaign properly as i have just about come to the end of my tether with this boring aragrent useless excuse for a manager at any other club in the world he would have been sacked on 3 separate occasions here he is given a new 4 year deal with the garbage he is spouting about jack in the BM again he has to go and we need to start a real campaign to get this complete dead beat out of villa park it comes to something when i would rather have Mc clueless back as he was it hurts me to say 100 times better than this clown at least he was honest unlike this liar and deadbeat we have in charge as for taking over want to see Zola in charge he would bring back all the kids sand have a go at scoring a few goals and as a footballer was only 500 million times better than the burke we have as manager so how do i start to get this piece of shite put of our once great club that has become a complete laughing stock and is getting worse every day whilst this clown and Kean and poxy foxy are there

  109. Alright boys, what’s occuring? Ain’t been on in a while. Sick of Villa, sick of football, sick of sport.

    Just seen on BBC that some baseball bloke has signed a 13-year $325mn deal. America’s always got to blow everyone else out of the water with frivolity haven’t they. Greedy porkers.

  110. “if Hitler could kick a ball he’d be offered a contract” ,….,,,,,brilliant , if only our wingers had that kind of delivery mate.

    “santas litle elves” ….ah yeah , thats funny , real comedian , you should turn pro …..just like your (insert any female relative or spouse here) did!!

  111. wtf is towie then ?

    and lay off our Liz

    steamer , athletics ?? you could.nt run a bath . have a week off the cider ,your begining to make sww look a tiny weeny bit intelligent FFS

    JD your wasting your time mate , nothing is going to shift that arse from the villa ,l think they must put something in the beer or bovril to turn some of the fans into zombie seals ……………………

  112. JD,
    Not a fan then ? Saw your letter on the BM site, bang on. Jenny had a point about Kendrick not being on Villa duty and Bill Howell returning, what’s happening ? an idiot who lives 3,000 miles away and knows bugger all about anything seems to be controlling everybody’s thoughts, beam me up Scotty,

  113. st75- nobody really knows what Towie is mate not even the idiots in it.
    As for Liz no offence but a woman that owns the majority of the land her 65 mil subjects live on because her family got there first needs no protection from you.

    Josh I think everyone is in a coma at the moment it seems like a better choice

  114. Josh was on here years ago ? Still in Castle Brom mate ? I think it was when S75 said he’d nip around for a char that he disappeared. Be nice if some of the other old timers came back, Chicago, Texas Villain, Juan, Fastback to name a few, you see some of them on other blogs.

  115. Sweaties are giving England some right welly, good job they’re even worse than we are. Jack Wilshire is total shite but the Laanddaaaan papers will give him MotM 2morrow like they did the last game when he touched the ball twice.

  116. steamer- england not to bad, england fans are giving the jocks some stick glasgow will be a fun place to be tonight.
    don’t think you’ll see too many back mate, I think the nego/clapper wars put paid to a lot of people πŸ™‚

  117. Steamer: Jenny had a point about Kendrick not being on Villa duty and Bill Howell returning, what’s happening ?

    Kendrick still writes about Villa matters, but much more low key. A few months ago Gregg Evans suddenly appeared to be the main voice on Villa: https://twitter.com/greggevans40 He seems to saying that Okore could be playing next match.

  118. Prox
    steamer told me that it was l , you meant as the lunatic , thank you for being nice as l get called some terrrible things and steamer explained to me that its a name used affectionatley , thank you kind Sir ,
    and good luck with the new job ,
    also lm having problems at the moment getting anymore of that beer in M&S , oh hum , see you in the new year then ,

    Where the Fuck is Frem ?? l had to take steamer to help me today , jeez l would have been better with a performing seal , and you still got my earth sleeving in your pocket you arse !!!!

  119. Mark,
    Some of the posters on MOMS ought to take a good look at themselves, they’re part of the reason why the club is in deep shite, Iv’e read a lot of C Gale’s comments in various articles in the media, he doesn’t know his arse from his elbow and has always been a happy clapper with a superiority complex, he’s a knob.
    S75,
    Was it yellow & Green, i thought it was liquorish, thought it tasted crepe.

  120. Nice to see GG doing well but while Lambert remains at VP none of the recent academy lads have any future with Villa. I read that Lambert signed 36 players for Norwich in his three years so that shows his idea’s about management, bearing in mind that most of the team that was relegated were his signings it shows what a piss poor judge of a player he is. apart from being a compulsive lying bastard, a crepe tactician and an arsehole, it just shows that you don’t even have to be talentless to make millions out of footy just have an owner who is a dickhead.

  121. steamer- in the article on MOM he doesn’t even mention the different positions the two teams had as starting points let alone the fact they have spent shed loads before this season at least Β£40m more than us. Thanks for the idea i’ve put our CV’s in to Randy.

  122. lets see if the villa fans have any bollox left , asking the club if they can clap at the 21st min for the victims of the pub bombings , fuck asking the club . just stand up and do it , lm going to that game just to do it then lm fucking off , 2 mates packed in working at the club as a steward because of the way they had to treat VILLA fans , but never done a thing about the away support ,
    l had an issue once with a steward , who threatened to have me thrown out the ground about 11 years ago , l told him l’d like to see him try it , he did go and tell his supervisor , who came up and whispered in my Ear ” get the fucking beer in ,in the social ” , but the arse who l had the run in told me after , i will get you banned , while standing next to a cop ,
    KARMA ! l fucking love it , on the first day of my daughter starting school , who walked in with his son , yeah the little shit , ” as l walked past , l said ” Hi do you want to see me after the bell goes ” he done a wheelie in his van in the car-park , never saw him again at the school or villa park , my mate told me he handed his notice in , and his wife dropped the lad into school ,

    Asking the club , what next putting your hand up if you want to go for a piss ,

  123. ST75,

    You need to sort out that pent up aggression mate try yoga or pilates to calm your karma.

    Sorry mate that is not going to happen most of VP are spineless now and will just do as they are told jesus how it has changed from our day.

    I see Grealish has been helping out at the girls academy and also down on the allotment well he has to find something to do while the first team are training.

    AVFC RIP

  124. Mark,
    Sorry mate, can’t say for certain but it may have been on MOMS.
    Obscene, thats what i’d call the insult to the 21, these winkers are going out of their way to ialienate the fans, stupidity doesn’t cover it, a complete lack of common decency and it makes me ashamed of AVFC. Lerner, Lambert, Keane & Fox, your all scum, fuck off and give us OUR club back.

  125. Aston Villa have become a classless shell OT their former selves under this scum.
    The club refusing a 1 min silence in memory of 21 murdered Brummies , is a fucking disgrace. I have seen it is the fans who have yet again taken it upon there selves to sort out a tribute( clapping on 21st min), I haven’t seen anyone asking the club for permission, the campaign iv seen is just to do it. Blues are having a matchday tribute, so even they are more in tune with their support than the scummy cunts in power at VP. They are continuing to drive a wedge between themselves and the fans. It’s beyond a joke , I hope they leave soon, words can’t describe the hate I have for these people, who are killing our club, typical American Bollox , until 9/11 they were funding the IRA, so it shouldn’t really come as a shock the tanks have said no to a minute silence to remember innocent Brummies slaughtered by IRA cowards.

  126. Fox hasn’t exactly got off to a good start has he ? Scabby’s contract, Lambert’s contract and now disrespecting our ENTIRE support and ALL Brummies, either he’s as thick as squirrel shit or there’s a dastardly plan afoot and VP is about to be another superstore.

  127. Hi Guys.

    This latest one is the final straw for me. I was working in the Rotunda in those days and will never forget what happened. The Villa board and Lerner are a complete disgrace. It shows that nothing has changed and the American love of the IRA.

  128. Customer Service

    The senior managers of our club are committed to ensuring that we continually improve the level of service delivered to our customers. It is vitally important that all our employees at all times:

    Understand that they represent the club.
    Have a responsibility to uphold the commitments within this charter.
    Have the responsibility to uphold our values.
    Deliver warm and friendly customer service.
    Help anyone that requires information or assistance.

    WTF ?

  129. What the hell ?! The club refusing to show respect for those murdered in what was the most shocking , sickening, cowardly and evil attack on the people of Birmingham . This is what you get with foreign owners and senior staff who haven’t got a clue about the history of the area and it’s people. If they had any intelligence they would damn well learn and show respect . We are an embarrassment . Birmingham City are reading out the names of those who lost their lives. Some of those were Villa supporters .

  130. Jenny,

    It has been said many times this lot at VP are clueless from top to bottom, a new low for Aston Villa Football Club.

    Steamer,

    You have got to admit it is a smashing looking lamppost — what a bunch of complete tossers.

    AVFC DEFINITELY RIP.

  131. When that shower of diseased peasants at the sty show AVFC how to behave with dignity then you have to wonder WTF ?
    We are now a club so badly run that even its own supporters hate it, Lerner and Lambert are recruiting future supporters of BCFC better than they could manage.
    Can’t see Fox lasting at VP, the hate will get to him, with Lerner he hasn’t watched a game at VP since Bolton and the reaction of the fans must have scared him shitless so he stays in his cupboard, Fox is in a public place, he’ll either lose his bottle and resign or someone will give him a good snotting, happy with either.

  132. We had applause for Fabrice Muamba , which was lovely gesture and quite right . 21 Birmingham people killed and 200 injured in horrific conditions , some of whom were villa supporters . Why ?!

  133. Mind, you have to wonder about the qualities of someone who says that he came to Villa because he wanted to work with Randy Lerner. Seems like the only qualities you need to work for the knob are stupidity and crassness. Lerner must be the most despised person in the entire history of our club and i wouldn’t put it past the weasel to do his best to fuck up the club permanently.

  134. SWV: You have got to admit it is a smashing looking lamppost …

    The best of it is that the story about the meeting under the lamppost has been completely overblown into something of a myth.

    The founding of the club DID NOT take place under a lampost.

  135. Steamer,

    What is gaulling for me is that even when I was working there they took absolutely no notice of the facts about things like this even though their ‘official historian’ was trying to put the facts straight.

    The Baggies supporters in Media prefer to narrate myth.

  136. It’s a terrible time to follow the Villa, the club has no connection to its supporters whatsoever, and continually treats us like shit.
    I hate everything Villa has become under these scum, from the shit crest designed by the plank of an owner, the watered down kits and colours, the lack of any ambition other than to take money from the club and fans, the football or lack of it on show, the series of crap useless managers and garbage players brought to the club, the lack of integrity, the disgusting way they crap all over everything they touch. This latest fuck you by club is an all time low, I’m glad the media are starting to lay into these cunts, I just want them all out!!!! And now.

  137. Mark
    No, they have stated all along that Villa have an end if season rememberance thing every year, it’s not specifically for the Pub bombings, but a catch all ceremony.
    I’m ashamed of being a fan of Aston Villa fc, I have started to hate the club more than the gippo’s down the road.
    Fuck off Lerner, Lambert and Fox, all 3 are a complete waste of oxygen

  138. makes no sense to not have a minutes silence unless they are afraid of upsetting the American market maybe? otherwise its a moronic failure to grasp the situation and downright inflammatory to the people of birmingham, imagine this being an American team refusing to honor the 9-11 victims. could end up being the catalyst for change though if we are lucky

  139. Not going to get into this too much as I feel like i’m intruding in a community thing , but a minutes silence is the very least that villa can do to mark the occasion . I suggest villa fans turn their back at kick -off and have their own minute . This is remembrance of local tragedy . Its a no brainer .

  140. Prox,
    From what i hear their may not be too many Villans attending never mind turning their backs. Brummies aren’t the most demonstrative folk but i think these imbeciles may have sparked some life into our HC’s.
    We can’t actually do much except let the knobs know that they’re a bunch of idiots.

  141. The nation will see an empty ground on Monday night, there will be roughly 20k EMPTY seats, the seating availability plan on the OS shows masses of green ( available) seats in every stand, it could be our lowest PL gate. Villa fans have given up on a club that no longer wants them, and aren’t attending. We lost 8-10k ST holders this year, comparing our attendances when MoN was here we are well down, they are actually killing the club and couldn’t care less, we will drop below the vermin at this rate, we are already falling behind Sandwell Town!!

  142. Glad to see the penny has finally dropped – but this should have been offered at first instance and not because of the bad press.

    Club news.

    Aston Villa Football Club identifies and sympathises in the strongest terms possible with our supporters and those in our community who lost loved ones on the tragic night of November 21, 1974.

    We have engaged with representatives of the Justice 4 The 21 campaign, who have been invited to our game against Southampton next Monday when a roll call of the victims’ names will be displayed on the stadium screens in their memory.

    We also support the initiative whereby our fans have committed to a period of applause in the 21st minute in remembrance of the tragedy and those touched by it.

    We will welcome the participation of members of the Justice 4 The 21 campaign when our fans have the opportunity to remember their deceased loved ones during a period of tribute and memorial service, an annual occurrence at the end of the season at Villa Park.

    In memory of the 21, in particular, we offer our prayers and our support to the families, friends and members of our community whom they loved and left behind.

  143. Taken from OS . It doesn’t remove the bad feeling and insult of their original stance . It just shows their inability to get the most important things right first time .

  144. Fuck the club , lv ripped that ticket up for the game , as l said lm from small heath , over the road from the blues ground , so l think l will go down the pub where l used to drink with my mate who l was going to meet that night and have a drink of his fav tipple even though l cant stand the whisky he drank ,

    B62
    a mate who works there told me about them not honouring them , and l think its in the mail , and hows the bags under your eyes mate ,

    evening Jenny xxxxxx

  145. Agree Jen, pathetic cover up for a totally unfeeling and uncaring admin. Afraid its gloves off now, even the Holte End dummies must realise by now its us and them. It must make you wonder how such stupid morons can find well paid jobs in a sport which they know nothing about.

  146. Just when you think the club cannot surprise you any more, they do just that.
    WTF is happening to this once proud club, a disgrace, even though they have now backtracked.
    I think even the most fanatical of supporters must now realise just what a shambles our club has become.

  147. This club consistently embarrasses its fan base with insulting decisions such as this one and they still put pounds into Lerners coffers, these are not the Villa fans I grew up, the ones I went to VP with had pride in the club but more so had pride in themselves, Aston Villa used to stand for something but not anymore we are a shameless shambles a mere shadow of the club I followed all over the country and abroad.

    I just hope the backtracking knobheads at VP do not allow the tribute to the victims of the pub bombings get in the way of the unveiling of the Lamp post, because I do not care what Steamer says it is a smashing Lamp post.

    AVFC RIP

  148. SWW
    steamers dog thinks its a grand lampost as its already christened it ,,,, l have had a long think about the villa (yes it hurt sww) and l think until this shower of shite go l couldnt care what goes on down there anymore , and l wont be spending a penny in the villa shop for xmas prezzies , even my daughter has told me she doesnt want anything connected to them as she feels embarrassed , Man u game is my birthday but fuck it lm staying away and will meet the lads in town instead ,
    last on the radio a lad/bloke called james , phoned in and said , lamberts doing his best with what he’s got and his hands had been tied , these are the twats who sit and clap the shit on the pitch and the clueless tactics of the lamberk , it was then l thought fuck it , lm staying away from the club ,

    have a good weekend all

    Jenny xxxxxx

  149. ST75,

    I echo your sentiments, it is well documented that Lerner Lambert and co are doing incredible damage to our club but the fans that back them are doing damage that’s ten fold, I despair at these idiots I really do.

    I hope Steamers dog managed to get his arse up far enough to have a shit on that fecking Lamp post.

    AVFC RIP

  150. John,
    That is unbelievable about Doogan, media is a major weakness at VP and the useless muppet who controlled it gets a better job !! I wouldn’t employ the clown as a bog cleaner.
    Seems everyone is leaving bar Lambert.

  151. I’ve decided we should just let Delph/Vlaar go, then blow the proceeds on a massive cast iron statue of Geezer Butler and Iron Man… Heavy Metal was invented a couple of streets from VP and Villa should be rebranded immediately… Maybe a denim away kit?
    It’s a dream I’ve been having… NURSE…!!!!

  152. Ian
    theres a great video about wolves being let back onto the yosemite park and how they changed the landscape and the commentator was saying how man could never have done a finer job , the whole forest /landscape went back to how it should have been , they culled the wild deer as nature would have it , the transformation was just incredible , , l do like watching nature programes on wolves , watching a programe the other week about some of the oceans weird creatures and they showed the squid like creature that was about 7cms long and would kill a man , and my daughter didnt believe it so l showed her the laminated sheet (which you took with you ) of the pictures of these fish ect that you have to watch out for when scuba -diving , and most were about 4 to 10 ins long , never mind the great white !!

  153. ian- watched a brilliant program that delved into the intelligence of dogs. one dog could go and fetch an object from another room by looking at a picture, it would pull it from a pile of random objects. they were better than chimps in many ways. they tried domesticating a wolf and foxes and they found that the wolf had a different mindset totally. even raised from a cub it reverted to pack mentality, when they opened the fridge or served food on the table it was straight in there. when they reintroduced it to a wolf pack it knew exactly what to do. kinda makes nature or nurture a mute point. A chap called rupert sheldrake believes each species has its own resonance field that stores collective behaviours etc. dogs are selectively bred so there genes changed and they took on our personer to a degree, really fascinating stuff.

    st75- there are plenty of fish you don’t want to tread on around our shores, if people realised paddling would cease πŸ™‚

  154. did anyone else do scuba-diving on here , l have a question, the other divers used to rib me on our trips , as l must be the only diver who never saw a MUFF !! in all my years l never came across one , and believe me l looked everywhere , some of the lads even had a T-Shirt which you got when you had saw one , so l never got to wear a Muff-Diving T-Shirt like them , even one of the bloody women had one , got to admit l was always a bit warey of looking into the holes down there as l was always worried of getting my hand or finger stuck , and lv never seen a picture of one either , oh hum ……

  155. Popped in to see Bingo Doris at the Glebe once, she had a tiny growler, a Yorkie, who had a box of toys each with its own name, she’d ( Doris not the dog ), call out a name and the mutt would jump into the toy box with the correct toy in her mouth. Not sure what the point of this story was but strangely i feel better for boring you.

  156. Warm milk? They’re doing just fine with the deer. We find deer kills on our walks. Especially in the fall and winter as the snow gives a perfect background.

    Aston Villa?

  157. Mark,
    Are you suggesting that out beloved leader is a tad dishonest ? Perish the thought. Did you know that he actually spotted a lad by the name of Lionel Messi too but he had a very good season last year, Lambert thought that 4mil was slightly too much. It’s already been established many many times that Lambert wouldn’t know the truth if it was biting his Scottish arse.

  158. ian- defo mate, we can all look in the window but if dads wallet won’t stretch to that price tuff tits. what gets on your nerves is he keeps mentioning these players as an excuse of sorts

    callum robinson 5 goals in 5 games now

  159. Back on line at last, but like everyone says with Villa…too little too late….hope it is an empty ground on Monday night.

    Steamer 75 where in Small Heath?…Lived in my sister’s house for a while in Heather Road, and drank in the Monica….Rootes Group still existed then…!!!

  160. Hope Lambert and Lerner were watching Sissoko on MOTD today….The main reason for the Toon’s improvement. Now their captain, most improved player and scoring goals…..was he not worth the money..??????

  161. Ian

    I was just horsing around about the milk. Sounds like’d just freeze at this time of year anyway:)

    0-2. No, a Southampton win probably, as Ardil predicted in the article. Doubt we’ll get anything from it tomorrow.

    Do you like venison? I’m partial to venison sausages wrapped in bread.

  162. Paul,

    It seems to me that it doesn’t really matter who Villa sign – the major problem is in the Villa’s management, top to bottom. Until that changes we can’t expect anything else to improve i.m.o.

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