Written by Luke Saturday, 06 March 2010 09:46
The doom merchants have been out recently because we lost a game. It was to the English Champions and Champions League runners-up. But we still lost so it's the end of the world as we know it. Forget earthquakes destroying cities and moving the earth's axis, this was bigger in so many more ways.
Come on, I'm as annoyed as the rest of us at losing a Cup Final but it was against one of the best teams in the world.
We've had two in the last ten years and lost both of them which is pretty gutting. Last time we played Man Yoo in a Cup Final we won and it was a fantastic day. I think the thing that annoys people is that we just weren't up for it this time around.
MON chose to rest no first team players at home to the team with the worst away record and a Championship club. That infuriated me, particularly as our reserves would've beaten both and many were calling for them to play in the first game against Palace. Reserve team players, particularly as ours are younger, often step up when needed because they don't get many chances.
MON really should've had some bottle and at least rested some players for one of the games. We put five past Burnley, do you really think our reserve team wouldn't have stuck a few past them? No disrespect to Burnley but our reserves aren't bad and by reserves I mean 50% first team and 50% academy.
MON blew it last season with resting players and he blew it again this season, but we've still done well to get to where we have. Reading away is a fantastic draw in the FA Cup and I'm hoping that we can avoid one of the two big teams left in the next round, provided we get through.
Our league standing is still particularly good although Citeh's surprise win at Chelsea could do them a lot of good and us not much at all. A galvanised Citeh will be our main challengers for fourth I think, although Spuds and Pool are still in with a decent shout. Looking at the next few fixtures I think Damian will be right that we will get points this March. However, I think some of our rivals will also pick up a similar amount of points.
- Villa: Stoke (a), Wigan (a), Wolves (h), Sunderland (h), Chelsea (a)
- Pool: Wigan (a), Pompey (h), Man Utd (a), Sunderland (h)
- Citeh: Sunderland (a), Fulham (a), Everton (h), Wigan (h)
- Spuds: Blackburn (h), Stoke (a), Pompey (h)
Looking at that I'd like us to get 8-10 points. Pool are going to pick up 6-9, Citeh 7-12 and Spuds 6-9. So ideally we need to win at least 3 of our games to keep up with the rest. We'll probably get beaten by Chelsea and given that we have two games in hand that's not too bad.
So, by the end of the month I expect us to still be in with a shout of fourth, although we will need to win as many games as Citeh I think to stay up there. It's a tricky month and we also have a few games to play so let's hope MON learns very quickly how to rotate the team.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Comments (93)
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Damian
said:
 |
... Reality is we likely stay exactly where we are right now as we always drop off towards the end of the season and this talk of fourth is only setting people up for disappointment. Until the football gets better and O'Neill uses his squad this will happen every season. Would love Pompey to win today though I'm always up early churchill - but the post was from Luke |
Leroy
said:
 |
... I think way too much is made of the doom and gloom....people are so passionate about Villa and if we loose a match it hurts... Doesnt mean that individual dislikes the team. Also it goes to say that because you remain positive through it all, that you are a better supporter of the club. People support in their own way and have different ways of handling frustration.... Taglor - has had enough of the monotony of it all Simeon - writes ridiculously long posts that dance around points (although extremely well written) Badger, Pancho etc - remain positive through most Damian - has his moments but gives a generally good overview of fans feelings.... All posters manage to show their passion for Villa.......thats what counts... This blog has become a point scoring game where people are constantly bickering about who is a better fan, i used to post all the time now i just save my words as i know it means nothing in the point scoring stakes. Villa to win 3-0 vs Reading and heres hoping of building on a positive season again so far |
Leroy
said:
|
... Damian i agree.....you could also add th fact that MON has yet to put any faith in the squad players. We need players like Milner to be fresh if they are to maintain a high standard of play on the pitch. MON has drafted the players in, but then something happens, like Reo, and then they are anchored to the bench. In the end we need to have the quality to be able to do this and in the end this means top 4 finishes to draw the cash and interest from players. Lets hope that we can go on a run and get a few wins together and have a few results go in our favour |
jerry
said:
 |
... OK, on to the substance of the article. You can see why I mistook it for his nibs - so bloody nagative (sic). And I meant "nag". The neggos have such a nagging tone. OK, Luke, show me the evidence for this statement: I think the thing that annoys people is that we just weren't up for it this time around. The more i look at it the more I see the typical Damian qualities. The upbeat stuff followed, inevitably, by the criticism. So you can sit on the fence and have it both ways. An example would be this piece of drivel: and he blew it again this season, but we've still done well to get to where we have. As usual the neggos want it both ways. If only O'Neill had that luxury. Every match-day, O'Neill has to nail his colours to the mast. There's no fence for him to sit on. It's fans like you, Luke, that taunt him from behind the dugout, making his job that much more demanding. And finally this: It's a tricky month and we also have a few games to play so let's hope MON learns very quickly how to rotate the team. You pathetic, patronising little irritant. |
keith
said:
 |
... what am i missing? how does anyone know what is going to happen the rest of the season, is there a site somewhere that gives future results? if it were so easy we would all be millionaires, by the way has anyone got the odds on villa not wining a game in march as this is probably the best indicator on what will happen. |
Damian
said:
|
... Leroy i agree - some call it negativity, some call it doom and gloom it like to call it the real world. the real world is, o'neill hasn't gotten us any higher than david o'leary. the real world is, the football really hasn't gotten much better. the real world is, you can have all this hope and belief that it is possible (like last season) but we will, likely, falter again and finish around 6th or 7th it isn't negativity and if we were fourth right now, which is exactly where we were after 26 games last season (5 points clear of arsenal) i'd say yes, we maybe had a chance, but we are not and all of a sudden, suggesting we can start to do it now when o'neill has a 42% win rate as aston villa manager, is madness sure - we'd all love it to be and we all secretly hope, but everything points to it not happening, in the real world and not in some fairy tale land where pixies fetch your food |
Spencer
said:
 |
... If we had made wholesale changes against Palace chances are we would've not been playing Reading today. Like the team MON chooses or not where we are currently is because of every team he has played for every game this season. He picks the best team equipped to win the game each time and I'm fairly content with where we are right now. Would playing |
Spencer
said:
|
... Would playing the likes of Delph, Reo, Albrighton orDelfonso have made more of a difference to our current position? Maybe by a point or two either way maybe not at all. Either way it's MON who sees these plyers every day in training so he is better placed than any of us toknow when to rotate and when to play the strongest possible team because we need a result. |
keith
said:
|
... damian if villa and man c win their games in hand spuds, pool, villa and man c will all have a 50% win rate so far this season |
Spencer
said:
|
... Damian we are 4 points off 4th with 2 games in hand and a decent run of fixtures. What makes you think we haven't got achance of getting 4th? |
keith
said:
|
... the real world is, you can have all this hope and belief that it is possible (like last season) but we will, likely, falter again and finish around 6th or 7th this isnt negativity? |
Damian
said:
|
... Bakewell i dont think anyone is saying wholesale changes - i think people are generally saying it has to be incorporated into the game - so we dont have to make wholesale changes and players can stay fresher for longer keithj no - it isn't negativity. it is the most likely thing that will happen. if you asked 100 football pundits and averaged out what you think would happen i think you would find a very very low percentage say 4th. the highest percentage say 5th or 6th and then the rest would say 7th and it would be quite a high number it isn't negativity if it is the most likely and i'm afraid, it really is |
Damian
said:
|
... Bakewell sorry - didn't see you question. yes, we are 4 points off fourth with 2 games in hand. this time last season we were 4th, five points ahead of 5th that and because o'neill hasn't used his squad properly and the football isn't getting better, make me think we are not going to get it |
Damian
said:
|
... keithj and it was better than that last season. at this stage last season i think we had won 15 of 26 league games - then look what happened. i dont have a crystal ball - but lets just see what happens at the end of the season and hope for a very good cup run |
Spencer
said:
|
... Would those changes have made a huge difference on Sunday though really? Between Rooney and Dowd I don't think they would. Freshness will definitely make a difference towards the end of the season and I can see Delph getting more pitch time. We are in a great position though at this stage of the season and do not for a second think we'll see last seasons cave in. Spurs on the other hand are starting to go lame with injuries, Citeh aren't consistent but Liverpoo are getting stronger. Should be exciting and we've got as much chance as any of them. |
keith
said:
|
... damian im pretty sure that 50% of the sky sports pundits said villa for 4th not so long ago |
Ammar
said:
 |
... Nice post Luke & Leroy add some sanity and realism to where we really are. Bakewell said : Would playing the likes of Delph, Reo, Albrighton orDelfonso have made more of a difference to our current position? Maybe by a point or two either way maybe not at all. Either way it's MON who sees these plyers every day in training so he is better placed than any of us toknow when to rotate and when to play the strongest possible team because we need a result. Okay ask your self this if playing these players would not have made much difference which by the way I tend to agree with then why not play them ? At least if at the end of the season if we have missed the boat for 4th which is now a strong possibility we have something to hold onto and say we have a crop of bright young prospects coming through and the future is really bright. This would save us millions in the transfer market especially as there is a world recession going on and nobody really knows how that has impacted Randy Lerner… As far as it goes for the training point of view possibly true but you only really know the true quality of a player in real match conditions. Was it not MON who said about Delph and Fonz that in training he was amazed at there ability they had. So what do they need to do get some games under there belt… Its all about picking his favourites and not upsetting the apple cart…. Further examples of this Picking Cueller ahead of L.Young when its obvious by most who is better suited for that position…Sidwell coming on as sub even though he has constantly underperformed…Selecting Heskey when his goal scoring record is appalling… the real world is, you can have all this hope and belief that it is possible (like last season) but we will, likely, falter again and finish around 6th or 7th Its not negativity it being realistic. I would be over the moon if we were to achieve the goal of 4th spot my heart says go on the mighty Villa do it. My head on the other hand says very unlikely. You just have to listen to MON comments of when he first joined. Listen to his comments now and the likely hood of us achieving 4th. That in a way tells its own story. |
Damian
said:
|
... keithj and i have no doubt some will say 4th and some have said 4th and maybe they are right and if they are, then half of them will be right at the end of the season but it could be that half of them are wrong - we have to wait and see what happens but i'm just saying, i dont think it will for us |
keith
said:
|
... mon 451 please explain why its not being negative. so far this season mon has a better % win rate in all competitions that our rivals so to say we will probably falter IS being negative, |
S
said:
 |
... If we are to get the 4th Champions League spot this year MON needs to strategise more. He has to rest players and use players like Delph, Delfouneso, Reo-Coker and L.Young when he can and when our players need a rest. Particuarly in the upcoming games which are pretty close together. In our FA Cup match MON needs to rest some players as early as possible once we get the lead so that they can be more rested for the League matches. |
scott harwood
said:
 |
... really enjoying the posts this morning guys.this was always gonna be a test of our nerves.we lost the final but had the fa cup as back up and a good league position along with a great run in.tomorrow is a MASSIVE game for us,we win the heads are up and we will go on a great run i feel.but a loss and i can reaaly see,understanderbly,the lads heads drop.they are all young and will be gutted. this is a real test for mon,the biggest hes had since hes been here imo.i expect the lads to turn up and give reading a good hiding,best form in the championship or not. furthermore if u hadve give me a chance for 4th ,a cup final and a potential cup final at the start of the reason when (a)liverpool were considered by a lot of people to be champions (B)citeh spent a lot of money and (c)spurs had a full season with arry in charge i wouldve bitten ur hand off! just enjoy the ride lads |
jerry
said:
|
...MON needs to rest some players as early as possible once we get the lead Nailed on, is it? |
scott harwood
said:
|
... and furthermore,about the football.have u watched chelsea play?they dont set the world alight but look where they are!they are effective,they are strong and do what it takes to win.incidently i believe that us and chelsea have scored the same amount of headers and have roughly the same amount of set piece goals!we are 1,maybe 2 players away guys i really believe this. |
VillaNick
said:
 |
... Im not with the doom & loom merchants either, I'm a proud Villa fan, a club with currently the best defensive record, in the best league in the world. A 1/4 final against s**t opposition in the FA cup, games in hand that could see us challenge for 4th with a fairly easy run-in, lets face it. Money to spend, albeit limited funds to strengthen the squad in the summer and whole host of England International hopefuls going the world cup of which we have a decent chance. Love football, at the moment it well exciting, and my attitude from Sunday is simply, "micky mouse cup anyway"  |
Ammar
said:
|
... keithj, You may have a point that it may come across negative. It is like buying a lottery ticket and saying the likely hood of winning is very slim. Some would call it negative some would call it being realistic. Now for the Villa obviously not to that extreme as we in a 4 way tussle Villa, Man City, Liverpool, Spurs. One quarter of a 4 way battle so on that basis I would say unlikely. On top of that there is a little gap opened as we are not playing and our 3 main competitors are. Yes we have games in hand but at this point of the season I would rather have points in the bag than games in hand. It starts becoming a mental battle as well as a physical battle so the least number of games to play the better. |
keith
said:
|
... mon 451 It starts becoming a mental battle as well as a physical battle so the least number of games to play the better. man u won the carling cup still going in cl and a very good chance of the title. now if you had said perhaps our quaality in depth of the squad was a concern i might go along with that. but i still wonder why you say we are unlikely of the chasing pack to get 4th |
Ammar
said:
|
...Keithj This is one of the main talking points on this blog amongst most fans I guess. Do we really know the quality in depth to our squad ? They have hardly been used through out the season so how do we know. It boils back to the questions of . Squad rotation, . Using subs in a match, .Not selecting your favourites regardless of how they are performing. Only then do we really know. The above example you gave about Fergie look what he did in the final. He put Rooney on the bench for Owen played Rafael at right back when he had Neville available . Fergie will utilise his entire squad so the number of matches they play will not have the same impact as it will have on us. Surely last season should have taught us that lesson when we were in a stronger position in the league than we are today. |
keith
said:
|
... mon 451 This is one of the main talking points on this blog amongst most fans I guess. Do we really know the quality in depth to our squad ? i do not know what our quality in depth of the squad is but im sure mon does and im also sure that the team that he puts out week in week out is the team that he feels has the best chance of winning |
AV4EVER
said:
 |
... As we all know by now, Villa fans expectations are always high, I've been saying for the last few weeks that the football has not been great to watch apart from the odd occasion. We are still a young team, but need a top striker (easy said I know), a play maker (still not that impressed with Petrov, only one goal all season and would like to know how many assists he has been involved in, just not good enough in my opinion). MONs doing a great job, sometimes a bit negative when it comes to subsitutions, but with the pressure most top flight managers are under it doesn't really surprise me that he sticks with his best so called elevern. When were not playing attractive football but are still in shout of fourth place and the FA Cup, got to a league cup final, that's got to be improvement by anyones standards, yes, even most Villa fans. 2-2 for tomorrows game, but I'm hope we win so that we don't get fixture backlog. |
Ammar
said:
|
... keithj i do not know what our quality in depth of the squad is but im sure mon does and im also sure that the team that he puts out week in week out is the team that he feels has the best chance of winning I would tend to agree with that as they are all his signings now. |
Luke Marson
said:
 |
..... Thanks Churchill. To be honest, you are a cock. But, let 's not go down too far to your gutter like level. I challenge you to write a post here. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't. Given the number of people on here that said "we didn't seem up for it" that was evidence to me that people were annoyed that Villa didn't seem up for it. It is also from the mouth of Villa fans I have spoken to. He did blow it again. Not using the squad effectively meant we had to put the reserves out against Hamburg and lost. Because he didn't rotate the squad at home to a team that hadn't won away all season and against a Championship side made us struggle against one of the fittest teams in the league. We've also done well with a limited size squad and the even more limited way in which he uses to even get to the Final and get to another Quarter-Final with a very good chance of getting to the Semi-Final and potential Final. If we don't rotate the squad effectively we will lose games because our players cannot give 100% in a match if they only have 90% of the gas in the tank. Fact. So as muchc as I irritate you, there are facts behind what I say and if you don't like it then write something of your own and don't criticise others for what they say. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and yours was just to take apart what I said with nothing to backup what you said. |
Nik Skilton
said:
 |
...Accounts for the club and their holding company reveal that Aston Villa's American owner has injected the money in the form of loans and equity since May 2008. |
Nik Skilton
said:
|
... 70.6 million on 84 million turnover... thats 84% of turnover spent on wages, far too high. A figure of 55-60% is generally considered the maximum a club can sustain. Lets hope Randy is in this for the long term... otherwise we could end up in a similar situation to portsmouth who have been spending around 85% of turnover on wages... |
Villatx
said:
 |
... Just watched the academy play at bodymoor Heath...players were getting on the coach when I was there....talked to Ashley young...he says they are up for reading tomorrow in a good mood after seeing him dunne Collins bouma and davies UTV |
eVilla!
said:
 |
... Sorry Luke that was a pathetic comeback. Churchill was quite harsh but your original post was indeed nonsense, lacking any entertainment value and is really just chipping away at the club. What is the point? Then you defend yourself by saying that a few people saying we didn't seem up for it is evidence that we weren't up for it. No, that's just evidence that a few people didn't think we were. From my point of view we were totally up for it, and the majority of posters on this site seem to agree. If you have the time you could go back through the posts and work out a percentage of opinions but even if 90% of posts think we were 'up for it' that wouldn't be proof of the mentality of the 11 men who stepped out on the Wembley turf. Saying they didn't want to win is patently ridiculous and makes you look a but of a tool. Someone who musts wants to whinge. Not using the squad effectively made us lose in Hamburg? The UEFA cup is the least important competition and gives us a chance to use and test the squad. On that night the squad players failed to prove themselves worthy of a place in the team, with the exception of delf. Not only did we not need to win that game but Martin actually made it clear he didn't care whether we won. It was a non-event. The perfect example of an opportunity to use the squad, and the opportunity was taken. Yet you pounce on it as proof of incompetence. Then you use 'fact' to underline an 'if' statement. Yes, if players only have 90% in the tank they can only give 90%. Well done for that amazing insight. Doesn't mean they did have 90% in 'the tank' though does it? It's not a fact at all. Just more nonsense. If you want to attack the manager, maybe you should have the balls to do it without hindsight. When the team gets announced on match day, I challenge you to post your opinion on here before the game plays out. Tell us what mistakes MON has made, what's going to happen in the game as a result. Then we can judge whether you were right or not. It's so easy to whinge after the event. That's what got Churchill wound up. Your post offers literally nothing to anyone. Churchill has posted on here before and I'm afraid to tell you they're very entertaining reads. Fair play to you for posting an article but Im sure you can do a lot better than this. If you're going to put your balls on the line, next time put some thought into what you post. I can't think why Damian would have published this other than it makes his own posts seem balanced by comparison. Like an average looking girl who only hits the town with total munters so she looks like, well, let's say Megan Fox.. |
Damian
said:
|
... For what its worth, I think that lads gave 100% against United but they simply didn't have enough quality or enough ideas. Nice to see the clowns going out of the cup too |
Damian
said:
|
... Nik986 Don't forget the £15mn or so in interest and management fees. A big summer and we could do something next year |
Nik Skilton
said:
|
... Damian Surely we must see the loans turned to shares very shortly as Lerner puts this money down to a loss, a lá Abramovic? Im not so sure we will have a big summer unless we reach the 'promised land' of fourth. A number of players will leave and we will replace them, but beyond that im not so sure. Hope im wrong! |
Frankie Pimblett
said:
 |
... The end of ninety minutes The referee blew up And now those blue & white batards Are out the FA Cup Oh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha etc etc |
James
said:
 |
... eVilla great post. Here's an odd thing I've noticed..... ...if MON is so predictably wrong, if we are so lacking in quality, if we are so unlikely to finish anywhere near the Top 4 etc etc - How come the 'Neggos' keep predicting and expecting convincing victories every week? Do these people wake up each Saturday and forget that MON is the manager of their dull and tired football team? |
Roderick Seel
said:
 |
... Leroy i agree - some call it negativity, some call it doom and gloom it like to call it the real world. the real world is, o'neill hasn't gotten us any higher than david o'leary. the real world is, the football really hasn't gotten much better. the real world is, you can have all this hope and belief that it is possible (like last season) but we will, likely, falter again and finish around 6th or 7th it isn't negativity and if we were fourth right now, which is exactly where we were after 26 games last season (5 points clear of arsenal) i'd say yes, we maybe had a chance, but we are not and all of a sudden, suggesting we can start to do it now when o'neill has a 42% win rate as aston villa manager, is madness sure - we'd all love it to be and we all secretly hope, but everything points to it not happening, in the real world and not in some fairy tale land where pixies fetch your food Damian.....you are a Villa fan aren't you? Just checking! |
oscars arse
said:
 |
... Damien you say Martin o' Neill hasn't got us any higher than David o' Leary yes that is true. Why is this you think? I think that the clubs above us have invested in better players simple as. I'm not saying MON is a crap manager far from it I just think he is not as shrewd in the transfer market as he could be. In his time at the club he has bought and sold on players and bought players and not played them as much as he could so that should tell you something. With a better transfer record I feel we could be a lot more competitive. Hopeful for tomorrow would love to see us lift the FA cup |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
 |
... All these people who think they know better than O'Neill how to manage the team - it's ridiculous I still haven't got over Damian's 'maybe they should apologise for the performance' comment. These are the expectations of cloud cuckoo land |
david
said:
 |
... Pancho, I had my doubts about Damian's loyalty to the club in teh past but am now convinced that he loves Villa.....however...comments such as the 'maybe they should apologise for the performance'one do make it hard to take him seriously sometimes |
Nik Skilton
said:
|
... The general has spoken: General Krulak here: |
Damian
said:
|
... Nanwasafan can people not hope? that is, clearly what supporting a tema is about isn't it Pancho Villan that comment you are using is taken completely out of context but you still bang the drum and i'm not sure if it is because you are stupid or childish r0bb0 please read above - pancho is taking that sentence from an entire paragraph which said The club website said thanks to all the supporters the other day, which was nice, but a little unnecessary. Maybe they would like to apologise for the performance and result? Yes, I am in a very strange mood today, but there is no need to say thanks, we don't go into this wanting thanks. Like I said, nice for those that will take it that way. I don't.now, i have a feeling you will understand the context |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
|
... r0bb0: I have no doubt that Damian is pashionate supporter of the Villa. But Jeez, football is to be enjoyed. When you are in one final, heading for another, and competing for the holy grail of champion's league football, surely it's time to be a little up-beat. Damian really needs to get stuck into a tin of surströmming to cheer himself up a bit |
Damian
said:
|
... Pancho Villan the holy grail isn't champions league. when are you going to get your head around that? i dont think you will and i suspect you are 18 to 25 years old and no nothing about football prior to the premier league |
david
said:
|
... Can we start a 'mythbusters' section in here? Let's start with Martin O'Neill has done no better than O'Leary Did O'Leary achieve consecutive 6th place league positions and a Carling cup final. No he Didn't. He took us consecutively to 6th, 10th and 16th with no Carling final. |
Damian
said:
|
... r0bb0 who were runners up in the uefa cup last season? my point is, nobody (you might, but the vast majority wont) remembers who came second and for creating consistency, o'neill has been fantastic. and if all you or we want is consistency then we have it ... |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
|
...Pancho Villan The club website said thanks to all the supporters the other day, which was nice, but a little unnecessary. Maybe they would like to apologise for the performance and result? Yes, I am in a very strange mood today, but there is no need to say thanks, we don't go into this wanting thanks. The context makes no difference Pancho Villan Portsmouth won the FA Cup recently Winning the premier league is cloud cuckoo land If Villa want to be a big club again we need to be in the champion's league. Without the champion's league, we are not a big club. Understanding reality does not make me a child |
Nik Skilton
said:
|
... Damian, Robbo, Pancho Villan et al. What i love is that football is full opinions, very little is cut and dry and MoN seems to divide Villa fans. We have probably the best team we have had since the early 90's, that are all yet to hit their peak. One article i read that i agreed with (even though its the daily mail): THE MIDLANDER: 'Giants' Aston Villa have won one League title in 100 years and one FA Cup in 90 - so give Martin O'Neill some credit for what he's achieving |
Damian
said:
|
... Pancho Villan the context does make a difference, but you have just confirmed you are stupid |
Steve Oldaker
said:
 |
... the holy grail is the chumps league we go over this a million times thats why i don't bother half of the time. if we get the chumps spot it means better players coming, not only because martin will buy them but because the player will WANT to come which sadly has not been the case so far |
Nik Skilton
said:
|
... Had we been in chumps league last year we would have got sneijder, possibly but didnt because we were playing in the invitational LDV disney trophy or whatever it is. |
david
said:
|
... Damian, I really think you are being unreasonable and unrealistic in your expectations. Consecutive 6th places and a Carling final and an FA quarter final ARE an improvement on where we've been. It does feel to me and many other fans (i'd imagine a large majority of fans) that the club is now building a sustainably successful future which will deliver trophies in time. We've waited a long time for this and a positive attitude should not be mistaken for complacency. Most of us are thoroughly enjoying this season but see it as a stepping stone to even greater success in the future. I don't worry that if I show that I am happy now MoN will sit back and relax. When it comes to football he is a driven man and he will not be happy unless and until he achieves real success as a manager either with Villa or another team. I hope and believe it will be with Aston Villa. |
david
said:
|
... Damian, Those of us who've read this blog for a while know that Pancho isn't stupid and I think you know it too. It might be worth you trying to look at what you wrote through Pancho's eyes and asking whether perhaps what you had in mind when you wrote it could be interpreted in a different way ..even by intelligent people. |
david
said:
|
... Another 'mythbuster' it's better to play a Rb at RB than a centre back Barry started as a centre back moved to left back and then midfield Milner started on the right and has moved to the centre. McGrath used to play in midfield and at the back before settling at the back. It's reasonable to discuss the merits of specific players in a specific position but nonsense to say that a player has to play in a specific position |
Scrumpy
said:
 |
... I think what Damian is trying to say about his "Chumps" league not being the holy grail, is that finishing fourth is just the first (or actually maybe the fifth or sixth step) on what will hopefully be a very long and continued progression. To win minor or major trophies you have to get to finals. After you get to finals you have to learn to win them. To finish fourth in the league you have to learn how to get into a good position in the league around March time. You then have to learn how to sustain that challenge. You have to learn to do this while also getting to and winning cup finals. By qualifying for champions league in fourth, you have to learn how to negotiate the qualifying round. When you have negotiated the qualifying round, either by winning through or finishing third in the league, you have to learn how to get through the group stages. After learning how to get through the group stages (and for examples look at most of the Sky 4's record in CL and see how it took them to time to learn how to make it through group stages). Then you have to learn how to get through knock out stages. When you've done this, you learn how to make the final, and (something that Arsenal and Chelsea have yet to do) then learn how to win the final. Then after that there is the Super Cup and then world club championship, all the time trying to repeat and improve on the previous years achievements, learning to maintain and challenge on several fronts each year (or winning again and again). At the same time your domestic season improves and you are able to challenge for the league. These many fronts include getting through to minor cup finals (such as League Cup) and being able to play a weakened side and still expect to win. By qualifying for CL, you get additional revenue, that additional revenue can be used to attract players, the calibre of which want to play and are capable of playing in CL. Along side this you buy and develop your own talent and improve them to the same standard so that you can maintain this challenge (lets call it sustain it) year on year. Success and quality breed success and greater quality.... and with it follows revenue and further resources to sustain that challenge, and improve marketing and financial opportunities. That's the holy grail.... Losing in the League cup final was one of many steps onwards and upwards. An FA Cup quarter final is just the next step....UTV! |
VillaDude
said:
 |
... Shorey is playing really well for Fulham, every ball hes playing is finding the striker, really don't see how warnock is that much of an improvement.. |
paul mclafferty
said:
 |
... read lukes post but cant be arsed to read the comments, first of all i had to check who wrote this post because it was by far too optimistic to be damians post.. myself and others have asked bfore damian, and you said yesturday that YOU would submit a positive post, but hay ho it ends up being a post from luke, come on damian give us a positive from you as you really are getting very predictable!!! |
Simeon
said:
 |
... I posted this on a previous blog, and was wondering at the lack of response. Having found this latest post, I understand why! I've done a bit of research. Here are the gross and net spend figures for those teams above us in the league table during Martin O'Neill's tenure. A link to the site from which I drew the figures is here: http://www.footbo.com/Teams/Aston_Villa/Transfers |
keith
said:
|
... simeon that would be more applicable if you added the value of the team at the beginning of the gross spend |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... simeon... are you a complete numpty? you put this on a previous thread and i answered it and will answer it again for you!!! we HAVE the biggest NET because mon had to buy when he had f**k all to sell!!! please get it in your thick stupid head, the other teams had colateral(spelling) to wheel and deal we had barry!!! mon has now built a squad which cost money, but not as much as others who are doing far worse than us.. do me and other proper villa fans a favour and look on the bright side of things or go glory hunting with the rest of your family and support united or chelsea, where you can buy victory.. |
keith
said:
|
... simeon to simplify this man u could probably get away with spending 20 million to have a good chance to win the title next year but eg. burnley would probably have to spend 300 million, simples |
Damian
said:
|
... holteend Paul Where did I say it was me posting today? Go read it because it doesn't say that |
Nathan Price
said:
 |
...to simplify this man u could probably get away with spending 20 million to have a good chance to win the title next year but eg. burnley would probably have to spend 300 million, simples At the very least, lets be honest £15-20m doesnt get you today, what it got you when Chelsea started to spend big about 5 seasons ago. Other than being an interesting little read, those figures mean nothing without perspective and context. Why choose 4 seasons, why not 6 or 10? Honestly if I wanted to read a load of negative garbage about Villa Id go to smallheathblog.com |
Ammar
said:
|
... Robbo ... Your right it’s not rocket science and to a certain degree i could understand if we had no right backs. But we have two both of which were MON signings. Barry and Milner were given new positions and almost over night settled into those roles comfortably. It’s fairly clear to the naked eye that they have developed as players in these roles.They are also regarded as good utility players which Cueller is not. Are you seriously telling me that Cueller has developed as a player playing at right back ? Anyway at the end of the day MON is the manager and if decides that he is going to play Carew in defence or Dunne as a striker who are we to question him. Simeon, Yes I did read the figures and it’s an interesting read. What I would say is that money has been spent and you cannot change that. We can only look forward and hope the next set of monies provided by Mr Lerner is better spent. There have been some good buys and some pretty average buys. We can only hope. |
Ammar
said:
|
... Some stats on prize money for various competitions Prize money for winning the LC 1000000 Prize money for winning the FA Cup http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/...2009.aspx Prize money for were you finish in the Premiership http://www.telegraph.co.uk/spo...table.html Prize money for winning the champions league UEFA awards €3 million to each team that qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, plus €2.4 million for participating in the Group stage. A win in the campaign is worth €600,000 and a draw is worth €300,000. In addition, UEFA pays each quarter finalist €2.5 million, €3 million for each semi-finalist, €4 million for the runners-up and €7 million for the winners.[3] A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each country. For the 2008-09 season, both Manchester United and Bayern Munich, who reached the final and quarter-final respectively, earned more than Barcelona, who won the tournament. |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... damian.... holteend paul said: where do i mention that you wrote todays post????????????. i know it was luke who wrote the post but half way through, as it is your blog, i turn the attention to you!!!! but in my life have i never gave you credit for such a positive post!!! |
Simeon
said:
|
... Oh you are a funny one holteend paul. I'm aware that you offered your opinion (I think to call it an answer is being a little ambitious on your part). All I am doing is offereing people (and that means not just you) the chance to look at some hard facts and respond to them. I thought these figures were worth posting again because even I was staggered by them, and I was fully cognisant of the reality that we have a chirpy chimp in charge of our club. (Though have you noticed that he's not so chirpy at the moment, if his recent chirrups, mediated by our press, are anything to go by? Not so much a chirpy chimp as a moody monkey. Of course, if he was a little smarter, he might realise that rotating his squad was the way to cope with a busy fixture schedule. Unfortunately, the closest this primate has come to rotating his squad was swinging Nigel Reo Coker around his head. Angry Ape!) But seeing as I'm in such a good mood, I'll try, once more, to educate you. Here goes... I'm glad that you remembered that Gareth Barry existed before the mighty monkey swung into B6. But you seem to have forgotten some other notable names. Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen, Wilfred Bouma and Gabriel Agbonlahor are all players who would improve our team as it stands right now (unless they're already in it of course). Then there are some others players who, though they may not have set the world alight at Villa, are still doing decent jobs at other Premiership sides, such as Thomas Sorensen, Aaron Hughes, Gary Cahill and Liam Ridgewell. Other players at the club, who are still active Premiership players, include Jlloyd Samuel, Gavin McCann and Kevin Phillips. Please note that I am not saying these players are world beaters (though we might both agree that it would be nice if Cahill were still here), but they are nevertheless serious footballers. Finally, we had Milan Baros (who's still banging them in for the Czechs, and doing very nicely at Galatasaray - who qualified for the Europa League, and in fact are still in it, unlike us) and Steven Davis, who was every bit as instrumental in taking Rangers to a UEFA Cup final as our very own King Carlos, and is part of a dominat (in Scotland, ahem) Rangers team. And let's not forget Juan-Pablo Angel, who must have been at least half-decent given one of the most esteemed posters on this blog has decided to adopt his name and image. And I haven't even mentioned Peter Whittingham and Luke Moore, who are both featuring prominently for clubs with at least some chance of playing Premiership football next season. The point I am making is no more complicated than this: Apeboy had some decent players to work with when he arrived, even if we had just endured a wretched season under the guidance of O'Leary. And I'm assuming that you'd agree with the point that we must have underachieved to some extent that season, given how much O'Leary was disliked by the fans, but also by a number of his own players. Given that, perhaps you might want to re-think your assessment? One can always hope... |
david
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1 I was pleased when MoN bought good cover at right back and was surprised when he put Cuellar there. I do think he's done a good job though even if it is different from the one performed by Young or Beye. The pros and cons have been gone over many times recently but I am happy with any one of the three there. The point is that our defence has done extremely well so it's hard to be too critical of Cuellar in that respect. I agree that the others may give us more attacking options, but then Cuellar is handy at set pieces both in attack and defence......now I'm starting to go over the same old points again. I suppose the key point is whether you trust MoN to decide who should be in the position or not....and I do |
Simeon
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, it seems like you are hoping that O'Neill will spend whatever money he gets from now on more wisely. I would agree that he has made some 'good' buys, if by 'good' you mean solid acquisitions that were value for money, if not bargains. I can think of James Milner and Ashley Young who'd fall into that category, and given that he's seen a fair amount of action and hasn't let anyone down, I suppose you could add James Collins to that list as well. And then there's always the Baros-Carew swap that was a good piece of business, if only because Baros was a player O'Neill was never going to get on with. But the rest of his buys have been average at best. Some of them might be decent players (and I would include Dunne, Cuellar, Warnock, Davies, Luke Young and Reo Coker in that bracket - though it's worth noting that the last three have been under-utilised and/or under-used, and all three are serious candidates to leave, at a loss, naturally, in the summer), but have been bought at a premium, and so don't qualify as being 'good' signings. And then there are the rest of the signings, most of whom are woeful players, or have looked woeful because O'Neill apparently didn't have a clue what type of players they were, and therefore how to properly utilise them. Or they are players who are very average, and a waste of money (which is ok if your Man City, but we're not). The Petrov and Friedel signings are difficult to categorise. Petrov was rubbish for 2 years, then has played much better for the last 18 months (though many have gone overboard on him, and the fact is that he isn't a true holding midfield player which is something we'd really benefit from). The signing of Friedel has been deceptively expensive, and time has unquestionably caught up with him. Having said that, he might just about scrape into the top 6 Premiership keepers, and we did need a keeper, so... You will not be surprised to hear that I don't anticipate O'Neill spending money wisely any time soon, given that his success rate on signings is substandard (and that's putting it kindly in my opinion). And given all his other faults that I won't bore you with here as they have already been done to death, my hope is that he is sacked or resigns asap. |
Simeon
said:
|
... By the way, I wasn't quite sure what point you were making with your own set of figures concerning prize money. Please enlighten me! |
david
said:
|
... Simeon, a touch more brevity and a little less sarcasm wouldn't go amiss. Your current writing style doesn't endear you to your fellow bloggers (I accept that's probably not your objective) Like you I was surprised at the numbers you showed. Holteend paul does however make a perfectly fair point about the need for an assesment of player values at the beginning and end of the period you choose. I haven't bothered to do it, but my gut feel is that the current squad would be worth considerably more than the squad MoN inherited. |
Dave
said:
 |
... Simeon You are entitled to you opinion of course and very well put, but i feel chirpy chimp moody monkey this primate Angry Ape! is very disrespectful to a fellow man who is doing a very good job |
Simeon
said:
|
... r0bb0, the current squad must be worth £70m-£80m more than it was when O'Neill arrived. Like you, I'm not sure I can be bothered to attempt to measure the squads in those terms, partly because it would be very difficult, but mainly because there would be no indisputable figures which we could all agree on - unlike the figures I posted. But, just off the top of my head, I would guess that the current squad, though worth more than the one O'Neill inherited, isn't worth anywhere close to £70m more. (Incidentally, if you found the figures I posted interesting, you might want to read the figures that Bakewell posted on the previous blog topic, which detail the net and gross spend of every Premiership club since the league's inception in 1992.) The link is here: http://transferleague.co.uk/data/data.html |
Simeon
said:
|
... marmite61, in characterising our manager as a chimp, I am attempting to convey my opinion of him as a football manager. It first occurred to me that drawing a parallel between O'Neill and our furry friends was a useful one when I was reminded of proposition that, given a typewriter, an infinite supply of ink and paper, and enough time, a monkey could tap out a Shakespearean comedy (or tragedy, if you prefer). The comparison between this monkey with his typewriter, and Martin O'Neill with Lerner's money is, I think, quite apposite, especially given some Villa fans' view that O'Neill just needs more money to succeed. I am willing to accept this possibility in the same way that I am willing to accept the monkey-playwright. And of course it does wind up all those who no doubt have their own private shrines to this very special monkey! Still, in India cows are sacred. Why not monkeys in Birmingham? |
Steve Badger
said:
 |
... I'll just cut to the chase. Simeon, you're an arsehole as a Villa supporter, imo. And I don't believe you "support" the Villa at all. Support = back up, encourage etc. Much the same as the way I see Damian, I really don't believe it's in your blood. And if you don't understand that, you are not a Villa fan mate. |
AV4EVER
said:
|
... Does anyone know if Villa have new sponsors for next season. It was mentioned early in the season that it was the plan. |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... simeon... your argument is very flat as the players you quoted are either not good enough or as with gabby and cahill, untested. bouma and laursen stayed and by the looks of things both retiring.which leaves samuell,ridgwell,davis, mccann, sorensonn and hughes??????do me a favour, perlease. then we have baros, who, in most peoples opinion we had a better deal bringing jc to the club, jpa (from the top of my head) spent 5 seasons with us which he had 2 decent out of five, nothing to write home about for a record signing. finally you mentioned the only player who imo would still get into the current side mellberg. its pointless googling facts and figures all the time, because if you dont know your arse from your elbow then you will never be able to understand them anyway, which my little flippent friend you seem to fall into that category. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... holteend paul, Just ignore the p***k. Most of the more educated posters are, but I couldn't help myself  With supporters like him, who needs enemies? |
S
said:
|
...... Thats exactly right. We pay too many players wages that are too high particuarly for the players who never play because MON hardly rotates the team. I just read that Beye gets 40 000 pounds a week which is way too high for a club like ours too pay a player who doesnt even play, Beye along with Bouma, Reo-Coker, Sidwell, Shorey and Salifou should be sold to make some money and free up some wages since MON doesnt even use them.And also MON should either decide to start using or sell Davies who has to be utilised to make up for his 10 million cost. Also Heskey or Carew should be sold (preferably Heskey) to make some money so we can buy a new forward who can score goals and also is under 30. |
Ammar
said:
|
... quote]By the way, I wasn't quite sure what point you were making with your own set of figures concerning prize money. Please enlighten me! For me if we finish 4th would be a successful season. It would give us that financial clout to increase the wages. It’s all about money we do not have a chairman who has a bottomless pit as the likes of City. Winning the LC or FA Cup are great as sentimental value but on a financial basis are pretty negligible. AussieLion i agree and can only see this as being a short term thing and at some point we will need to deliver . Playing in the Champs League. . Investing in Youth and selling some of our top earners. Right off the Reading game UTV... |
Damian
said:
|
... holteend paul i dont say you say i didn write the post for yesterday. but you say that i said I was going to. i didn´t say that chill .. relax and join my in a stella |
Write comment
Latest Aston Villa Wallpaper
The VILLA BLOG FEATURED ON FHM.COM
FHM have chosen their favourite football blogs and chosen thevillablog.co.uk as the number one blog for Aston Villa! Click the badge to read the article or head to FHM.com for the kama sutra and the UK's finest girls. Login
Follow Us
Submit your own view on The Villa
Have something you feel strongly about? We are now accepting submissions for inclusion in the blog. Click here to contact us and we will send you instructions on how you can submit your articles that might get published on the number one Aston Villa Blog.
Lucozade Sport on Facebook
Lucozade Sport loves Football as much as we do. They’ve been fuelling Aston Villa players for over 15 years and using this expertise to support amateur Footballers across the country. Visit their Facebook page for expert advice, video clips and Football chat. Latest AVFC Blog Tweets
Basic authentication is not supported
Featured on Aston Villa Central
Leaving Comments
Only registered users can post comments without the need for it to be approved. Registration is free and takes two minutes so if you want your comments to show up straight away click here to register.
The Internet is Changing
