Would you swap doing better than last season in the league for silverware this season?

I'm off to buy some Aston Villa merchandise to add credibility to my opinion.

but she added - or you could play it all out and see what happened

Pancho Villan
you would really take fourth over silverware?

Marcus said: The problem is until Villa finish 4th or above, we will never get or be able to attract the quality of player to improve the team.

I was one of the few people who supported MON for playing the kids last year in the UEFA cup when 4th was on the cards.

Players who MON apparently wanted in the window like Wesley Sneijder will not even consider us until we are playing with the big boys. Until we get to that level, we have to make do with Steve Sidwell.

The point is we have a top 6 calibre of player now who on their day with a bit of luck can get to a cup final every 10-15 years. With top 4 calibre players we'd be perhaps getting to cup finals every 4-5 years.

Chiefy said:
...
Lets have a bit all the silverware we can win and fourth with it !!! why should we sacrifice one for the other.

slow down. just because you pay to see villa at villa park doesn´t give you any more rights over someone that has never paid to see villa at villa park.

You are cheating.

You have to choose one or the other - that's the point of the game

Much sooner win a cup. To tell you the truth I hate the Champions League, everything about it is wrong. It rewards clubs who are not champions, it perpetuates the rich versus poor wealth gap in the modern game, and is totally elitist. Quite honestly if we finished 4th it would be great if Randy told UEFA that we weren't interested as we weren't strictly champions and declined the invitation, striking a blow for the real 88 clubs in the League. As for watching the Arsenal's, the Man U's, yer Liverpool's and yer Chelsea's in this awful competition, I usually turn over for re runs of Rising Damp and On The Buses

I've got a feeling someone is going to say something and then we are all doom and gloom and then this will be the most negative place on the internet

Yeah no prizes for guessing who that could be

As for watching the Arsenal's, the Man U's, yer Liverpool's and yer Chelsea's in this awful competition, I usually turn over

Chiefy, I think he meant you

I know playing on the wednesday is not good because of the Final on ths Sunday. But I am quite happy. I like watching Villa the more games the better

Are you mad we have the premier league champions in the final of a cup they will have had 7days to prepare, rest etc etc

I know but how long does the week drag without watching Villa play!!! WE are football fans so the more football we get to watch the better.

Post mortem tomorrow, I'm off to buy some Aston Villa merchandise to add credibility to my opinion.

So anyway, Greg. My question to you is, smash and grab, unattractive football with results. Or pretty football with no results

My question to you is, smash and grab, unattractive football with results. Or pretty football with no results

I was going to say the worst thing that could have happened was that we got knocked out of the FA cup by a Championship team,

There is no middle ground we win or dont and as long as we win we can play as rubbish as rubbish gets but if we win i dont care

Thats a fair point if we were actually winning most games. Take a look at our results over the last month. One win in the last 7 PL games

We're talking about athletes in their prime who get plenty of rest, should be able to sustain a season of 2 games a week

look at win rates for the top 4 managers

a screamer that you cannot stop

My question to you is, smash and grab, unattractive football with results. Or pretty football with no results

We are built for smash and grab. All this passing nonsense that damian goes on about is not worth talking about.

Play the strongest team possible against Burnley, Crystal Palace, and Man Utd. As for tiredness it's a word to readily used. Tiredness is what you feel after a 3 week stage race (Tours of France, Italy, Spain), or when you've just finished the Iron Man. Don't seem to have any recollection of Ron Saunders 14 man squad complaining of being knackered. We're talking about athletes in their prime who get plenty of rest, should be able to sustain a season of 2 games a week, problem starts when the media and sports psychologists start telling players thet're exhausted, all BULLSHIT !

As for Friedel saving that free kick, he got there but it was too powerful, there are very few keepers who could have stopped that

he falped

oN is not Mick McCarthy and we have the squad to cope with this

We play the best team we can, in every game and we play every game to win. MoN is not Mick McCarthy and we have the squad to cope with this.

Out with tihs small-time, old fashioned, play the same team every week, mentality

It's one of the best strikes i've seen this year and Friedel got a full hand to it, despite being slightly unsighted. I doubt I could have hit it and reached the goal from that distance

there is no way a keeper should be beaten from a deadball from 36yards not a chance

I'd rather play Sidwell

Rebuilding the team to play possession football and retaining the ability to be so strong in defence is going to be dificult. Fine we can try and change how we play, but I fear it would affect the results

Win cups gets you players like Sidwell.
Champs League gets you players like Sniejder

Our players just don't seem to a pass and move the way others do and that includes a lot of team with far less gited players then we have.

It'll be tough again and physical

but I say we pass well when we have the space to

Look at the wall positioning. i think a 2 man wall has to stop this

Certain players aer static and just too one dimensional.

Is anybody else bored?

Greg,
Delph would have learned more at Villa in training and in the few games he has had than he would have playing every game for Leeds.

GUZAN for the final all day long !!!!

Juan: you talk a lot of sense, but that's just baloney.

but, lets be honest, he looked well dodgy on crosses against blackburn home and away.

but i think Big Brad has to play.

Brad is in control of the number of people, and positioning of the wal

Guzan got us there it would be unfair and down right disrespectful to take it away from him it is largely down to him why we are there and as Fridel has shown he is to open to faults so GUZAN for me !!!

Delph would have learned more at Villa in training and in the few games he has had than he would have playing every game for Leeds.

As for the FA cup being more worthy, I don't see that we are in a position to pick and choose

Brad vs Brad, it has to be Brad for the final, he's a lot more commanding than Brad in the box. Brads a great shot stopper, but Brads experience must be taken into account. Definately should be Brad in my opinion.

I think we are at the stage in the season where we can't afford to have any muppets in the team like Sidwell and Guzan.

Personally I think chucking him in was genius

Guzan
Young Cuellar Dunne Warnock
Young Milner Petrov Downing
Heskey Gabby

Fa Cup Team

Fridel
Beye Collins Davies Bouma
Albrighton Delph Sidwell Downing
Carew Fonz

'How do we win the title?' debate

I think we are at the stage in the season where we can't afford to have any muppets in the team like Sidwell and Guzan

Just wondered if anyone fancied a pint before the Burnley game, I have a three week break between deadlines so I will be at my first game since the Peace Cup in the summer

Just wondered if anyone fancied a pint before the Burnley game, I have a three week break between deadlines so I will be at my first game since the Peace Cup in the summer


Villa hotel before the game my friend

The MON/progress discussion is ALWAYS boring.

Lets just start that debate anyway.

I think we need to sign, Rooney and Gerrard and maybe Drogba, then were in with a shout.

Yes, but MON doesn't like big name players

john doyle said:
...
i say again and again martin must play the fonz as our main striker he has got class give him a run untill the end of the season and he will be on the plane for the world cup as he is much better than gabby or sicknote and thats a fact could be the next england center forward for years to come just play him martin and let us see

pancho have you seen this kid play

JPA -- has found his way out of bed the wrong side today

Juan Pablo Angel: I'm just saying don't knacker out our first eleven four days before a cuo final - it's not as though we're in a final every year is it.

ak_27 said:
...
JPA i think Milner above all others needs a rest. He hasn't been at the races lately and he is looking tired.

Let me guess we will moan if we lose the final due to the players will be tired!! Can we not just enjoy the fact the we have a strong squad, a league cup final and FA cup to still play in and we are still knocking on the door of the top 4

Man Untied can out last any team on the pitch and yet we want to take them 4 days after playing another cup replay ( thanks Big Brad ) come on we need to be at peak for this our players are not super human, the level these guys play at is not like sunday league having games in quick succession plays havoc on your muscles, agility etc etc if it was not asking a lot to do it we would have a huge premier league and 2/3 games a week all season. Some people do not see this as problem and this is a massive problem if it wasnt why did MON say before the game he wanted to avoid it ??? because he knows this could upset everything why can people not see this, one injury in the palace game or one wrong booking and we could be up the creek and yet some see it as ok ?

It's not great timing but would you rather we were out of the FA Cup?

In January 2003, Moore was ranked alongside young starlets such as Wayne Rooney.

JPA i think Milner above all others needs a rest. He hasn't been at the races lately and he is looking tired.

Downing is running of of gas too - and Beye just needs a game.

Personally I think Downing is getting better with every game

Personally I think Downing is getting better with every game

for me he is getting worse nothing like when he first came into the team