By the way it was a good decision by the club either by luck or judgement not to travel to Dubai over the last week.
A few sporadic sand storms materialised as they always do this time of year, before the climate moves into the sweltering heat.

Would have hampered training no end.

Read all the posts and my considered opinion is that CB will leave in the summer, the only questions is whether the fat ginger twat can broker a deal which is better for AVFC than any other party.

Moving onto to Arsenal they have been playimh poorly perhaps we can snatch a point as their focus may be on the spuds match which AW cannot afford to loose - champs league position would be gone

night all back tomorrow to read some more "Expatpedia"

Arsenal away brings back some of the best memories I have following Villa away, and the sweetest defeat I had ever or will ever witness. May 1981 last game of the season at Highbury really needing a win and seeing Pele paraded around the ground before the match wearing an Arsenal scarf. Having little hope that 'Boro would do us any favours against Ipswich hoping but not expecting, losing the game hearing that 'Boro had indeed beat Ipswich and we were champions!!!!!! Stopping the coach on the way home in an unsuspecting village in Buckinghamshire a coach load of exstatic Villa fans running across a village cricket pitch (whilst a game was in progress) into the village pub - whose takings must have been a daily high - back on the coach home for 10ish got changed went to a local nightspot till God knows when woke up in a field my velvet jacket soaked in the early morning dew, home, changed showered into Brum to see the victory parade in the City centre - memories aye? sadly I suspect never to be repeated - at least not in my lifetime - still we live in hope!!!!

Arsenal away brings back some of the best memories I have following Villa away, and the sweetest defeat I had ever or will ever witness. May 1981 last game of the season at Highbury really needing a win and seeing Pele paraded around the ground before the match wearing an Arsenal scarf. Having little hope that 'Boro would do us any favours against Ipswich hoping but not expecting, losing the game hearing that 'Boro had indeed beat Ipswich and we were champions!!!!!! Stopping the coach on the way home in an unsuspecting village in Buckinghamshire a coach load of exstatic Villa fans running across a village cricket pitch (whilst a game was in progress) into the village pub - whose takings must have been a daily high - back on the coach home for 10ish got changed went to a local nightspot till God knows when woke up in a field my velvet jacket soaked in the early morning dew, home, changed showered into Brum to see the victory parade in the City centre - memories aye? sadly I suspect never to be repeated - at least not in my lifetime - still we live in hope!!!!

See Gabby has been at it again.

In the Daily Mail today - Headline.

" Spurs or Arsenal? Benteke can play higher than that... Agbonlahor tips team-mate for big move "

Why doesn't he just shut his mouth.
Hasn't he got enough to concentrate on, only scoring 3 Premier League goals all season?

Just because he's been at the club the longest and a Brummie Villa fan, does not give him the god given right to be the club's spokesman.

This guy Benteke has proved in just over half a season that actions speak better than words.

See Gabby, Benteke walks the walk !
You just talk the talk !

Can't anyone at the Club pull him to one side and tell him to shut up ?

Shut your bloody mouth !!

jonnah: no problem with him being a Brummie Villa fan who is lucky enough to play for the club, I think as with Gerrard at Liverpool he loves the club I dont doubt that, but, I just question if he has been duped by the club to say these things, "can do better than Spurs or Arsenal............." suggests to me Man City, Man U or Chelsea in other words more money, we can stick out for a bigger fee from those 3 where as Spurs and Arsenal have limited budgets, I blame the club for this, its the money thing again.

expat007 - No I can't blame Benteke for coming to Villa to put himself 'in the window' but the fact that players do this should not be acceptable to any supporter of Aston Villa Football Club. It demonstrates that the club is merely a stepping stone for players of above average ability and they'll use Villa then move on but where does that leave us, the club and the supporters and what does it mean for the future?

Accepted the club had to reduce the wage bill, accepted we sold nearly half a full team of very talented players but at the same time the club were telling us they were preparing the foundations for the future, that 'Bright Future' they kept banging on about. It's been a few years now and all the club has done is slide further and further down the table until we are now another version of Wigan and it's just not good enough.

Loyalty goes both ways as far as I'm concerned for anything, friends, work, colleagues and football etc etc, I back you and look out for you and you do the same, we've done that for Villa for decades but where's the return? There's virtually none at the moment and it has to change, the clubs philosophy has to change. We all want what's best for Villa and we want to see ambition, challenging for the upper half of the league but it's nowhere to be seen.

Granted survival in the PL is the priority but with a little more insight and ability by the board and the owner, Villa wouldn't be in this position, shouldn't be in this position. So if they don't change the way they do business, it can only get worse and at best we'll stagnate and become a regular Wigan and I'm certain none of us want that. Continually selling our better players will only ensure stagnation so it has to stop if we're to become a top six side or better again.

We as supporters shouldn't accept this selling disease if we want the best for our club.

Bad enough that bentikes agent bigging him up for a big move now gabby sprouts that he should look at the bigger club as well!!!What is wrong with this idiot.why has the manager not come out and say he is not for sale full stop?

John Salter

We as supporters shouldn't accept this selling disease if we want the best for our club.

John Salter,

As a long time fan I find myself in agreement about much of what you say, but the game has moved on for better and worse, whether we like it or not.

Virtually every club in the country has had speculation linking their best players for a move right now. Lots of team's fans think their club is bigger than their league position. Just ask Arsenal and Liverpool fans. Why should Aston Villa be any different?

The player loyalty you describe will always come second when potentially there's money to be made.

It has it's good points. If Benteke was following your principles, he wouldn't be a Villa player right now - and we needed him this season wouldn't you agree?

The thing that would really be the icing on the cake would be if I thought that any business we do for Benteke was a master-stroke by the club and was the start of the type of transfer policy that has served Arsenal so well. Unfortunately, I think the club just got lucky this time and I think it's fair to say that most fans have doubts about whether or not his sale would be re-invested in the club as it should be.

If anything, I'd say the proper reinvestment of player sales is where we have fallen down. The money from Milner, Young and Downing should have been used to buy 5 or 6 Benteke style players with 3 of them coming good and being sold on for big profits. If that had happened, I see no reason why we still wouldn't be a top 6 club - and we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.....

good morning all +expat,

perhaps gabby is trying to ensure his place is safe,by advising benteke to go to a big club.
he also today,is spouting how good sylla has been in training.i quote.
"he puts a lot of two footed challenges in training and kicks a lot of players"
thats a few red cards coming then.

back to us and our future.or should i say what future.
wigan or everton,well under lerner it will be wigan.i dont expect anything more.and thats if we stop up.
like expat and others,im glad ive got my memories of better days.

on another topic,watching arsenal the other night and noticing so many empty seats,guess what
bar a couple of hundred,it was a full house.
you can fool some of the people,comes to mind.wonder how many we add on.

PITBULL,
i dont think the arsenal fans think that their policy is working.
i listened to them on talksport after the game,and boy do they give some stick.
with benteke its not so much that he will leave,but how anxious we are to cash in,on any player worth his salt.
at least spurs liverpool etc,try their hardest to hang on to players.and if the player is sold,they will splash out to replace him.
when benteke goes,his replacement will come from the lower leagues.thats the difference between us and other clubs.

Short version - We'll have a much better chance of keeping our best players when we have a run of top 4 finishes. In the meantime, I'm in agreement with any strategy that is plays it smart.

I think selling Benteke and going out and looking for 2 or maybe 3 more potential Benteke's would be prudent for us in our position.

unless lerner sells up.we will never challenge the top six again.
the last two seasons will be repeated year after year,untill we drop.
and that could still be this season.
and the gates are dropping accordingly.
be very interested to see how many fans,will renue next season.

jcv
Good morning Mate,
Re you piece on the empty seats at the Arsenal. I was watching a Arsenal home match earlier in the season and the commentators commented on the empty seats although it was advertised as a sellout.
The answer was simple as the attendances were bases on tickets sold and not those attending. It would appear that Arsenal have sold all their season ticket allocation, the number is restricted and those empty seats were season ticket seats not taken up.
What luxury! The Emirates is the most expensive football ground to visit and they supposedly have the wealthiest supporters in the land, some of whom do not even bother to turn up for home games even though they have paid as much as £1,000 per season for the privilege.
No wonder they make a profit every season.
PS: I still have a season ticket for the Trinity Stand that is used by a friend and myself and there are occasions when that seat is empty so why am I surprised? We will not be taking it up next season, so fu*k them

JCV,

I'd agree to some extent. Arsenal fans legitimately have something to moan about - their stadium is full every week and they pay through the nose to see their team. Their problem is that the sale of Fabregas and RVP was invested in the wrong players. Wenger panicked and bought reasonably big name players with no room to grow. He could have bought (and hindsight is a wonderful thing) Benteke and Michu many many times for the money he paid for Poldoski and Mertesacker which in previous years he might have.

As for the business of holding on to players - we tried to do it with Barry, and it could have worked had we done better. Exactly the same as Arsenal and RVP.

I think that once a player announces he wants to go, it's pretty difficult to stop them. Especially if the team they want to go is Man Utd, Chelsea, Man City, Barcelona, Real Madrid.

In recent history, we haven't sold any of our top players to anyone else.

We only really need to get worried if Benteke goes on strike because Sunderland are trying to buy him.

BTW - It doesn't mean I like it. Just trying be realistic.

PITBULL,
mate,you are correct,we cant hold on to our players,especially with our wage structure.
and you are being realistic,thats the reality under lerner nowadays.
a big club,with a great tradition,big fan base,great facilities.
but acting like wigan.
what hope is there for the future with lerner at the helm.

JOHN SALTER,
sorry mate,meant to say earlier,i agree with everything you said in your post 24536.
how the mighty have fallen.

right im off.
roll on saturday.

We are all selling clubs in prem bar man u;man c; and chelsea.So we are not on our own get used to it!!

Is gabby working with bentikes agent!

Bobvillian

Is gabby working with bentikes agent!

Blade_one,

ha, ha, you may well be right there!

Injury's and players coming back into the fold.

Albrighton Ankle injury.........April 2013........ N/A
Dunne Groin injury.................... N/A N/A
Gardner ACL injury........... May 2013 N/A
Herd Ankle injury................ March 2013 N/A
N'Zogbia Knee injury ................February 23 2013 Arsenal (A)
Petrov ................................N/A N/A

Need N'zogbia back in the starting XI for Saturday!

Just waiting for toadys top up news from CB's agent - ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

On Twitter 15 mins ago.

Timothy Abraham ‏@TimothyAbraham
"Charles N'Zogbia definitely fit for #AVFC trip to #AFC - came off with a slight knock against West Ham. Chris Herd has resumed training."

bobvillian - It's all well and good saying 'Villa are a selling club, get used to it' if you not too bothered about achieving anything. I for one want more for the club I support and fighting to avoid relegation or being in the lower half of the table isn't a part of what I want. Fans just accepting this dire state, won't help change it nor will blindly going to the games and coughing up your hard earned cash. If and when I see an improvement, I'll go back to Villa Park, until then I'll stay away.

"John salter" I have supported villa for 65years and i have seen all the good times and bad times;But football now has changed big time as to the huge amount of money that is there for some clubs. Sadly we are not in the ball park anymore and until another sugar daddy takes us over we are where we are for now.But whatever state we are in i will always support my team whatever divison we end up in.

jaf,

If we stay in the Premier League we automatically receive 60m from BskyB.

All depends on how much of that 60m Lerner will take for himself (if he does take any of that money), bearing in mind that from Lerner's previous lavish spending we're still approximately 75m in debt to him.

The problem as I see it, is that if we stay up next season and Lerner does take some or most of that money that is owed to him from BskyB deal, Villa will be say, for example sake, some 40m worse off than some of the so called lesser clubs in the League if Lerner decides to take the money from Sky.

These so called lesser clubs I would determine as Norwich, West Brom and Southampton, in terms of buying players. Ok some of this money is used for players wages, but what we may find is that it puts us in a difficult position for the start of next season, with others clubs using much of that money to enhance their respective squads. Our money from the BskyB deal may well have gone into Lerner's pocket to reduce the debt.

It will be the first time that some of these so called lesser clubs will have received such a large amount of money.
If we look at how much money Lambert spent pre-season, it was the 5th highest spend in the Premier League. These so called lesser clubs will be able to spend what we spent pre-season and more, based on the forthcoming BskyB funding. Which means the competition next season will even more fierce due to even more money being invested in the Premier League.

It all depends on what Lerner's plans are for this 60m?

If he swipes the carpet from underneath our feet and takes most of that BskyB money for himself we may find that come August the 15th, kick-off for the new season, and up to the end of the August window, we're starting the season with the likes of these so called lesser teams such as Norwich, West Brom and Southampton all out spending us which would be previously un-heard of.

Looking and quantifying our recent season's, bouncing around in the lower half of the league means that if Lerner did take most of this money, we would find it even more difficult based on other clubs spending more than what they have previously done and historically, which makes the situation of bordering on nigh on impossible to stay in the Premier League next season.

Lerner takes the money to remove some or most of the debt and we have problems, even if Lerner gave the manager 20m-30m next season it would not guarantee us staying in the League due to fact that the so called lesser clubs will be spending more, and quite probably the so called lesser clubs will spend each, a lot more than 30m next season.

bobvillian

But whatever state we are in i will always support my team whatever divison we end up in.

jonnah

I can't see a spending spree on players next season due to the increased increase from Sky. Last season Villa received 42m for competing in the Premiership. With the increased revenue next year Villa may receive circa 60m which is an increase of 18m, hardly the budget to go mad with. Most clubs in the Premiership are in serious debt and are desperate to get some money to reduce their debt which in many occasions is owed to a financial institution. And as with all of these type of loans 'your home is at risk if you do not keep up your repayments'. We are in a very fortunate position that our owner loaned the club money rather than borrowing fromt he market. Villa Park is NOT as risk the same way Leeds and Portsmouth were and Everton is! Furthmore Premiership clubs have massive opperational costs, not only for the funding of cars in the players car park but also in maintaining the ground and paying the bills. The quality of the pitch at VP is one of the best in the Premiership, although I dont know the cost of this I am guessing it does not come cheap.

In summary, although the tabloids and agents may like to create some hysteria of a spending spree by all of the clubs I just can't see it coming to fruition

As usual there is nothing to report re The Villa. We will just have to see Lambet's today interview about the Arsenal game throws up, but I doubt it will tell us anything!
Even though the Arsenal are doing badly at the moment I still can't see us getting out of the game as they must win to have any chance of Champions League next season.
Goodbye for now, back on if anything turns up.

dont expect to see Arsenal anywhere near as poor as they were against Bayern.Home win.

good evening all,
at last,back to business tomorrow.
the JCV bar is back open.
what do we expect against arsenal.i fear a backlash,but hope im wrong.
a scrappy win against west ham,with the other results going our way.it is now up to the squad to
step up.wether they can or not,we will find out the next few games.

time to prove me wrong.

FTKV,
mate you beat me to it,with your point about us compaired to arsenal.

why is it that when the papers mentioned about the speculation that Bentekes agent started that there were loads of comments on here about him leaving but since Lambert came out and said he is the one who will be deciding not one comment?

KEITHJ,
hi mate,if benteke carries on his form,then im afraid the roumers will carry on.
and with our policy,if the right bid comes in he will go.we all know it.
thats where we are under lerner.

keithj,

Lambert can say what he likes, but if Lerner wants to sell Benteke then he will be sold.

jcv,

Arsenal have not lost 3 home games on the spin for well over 30 years, can you see us ending that run

MUZ1,
hi mate,
no ive said i fear a backlash tomorrow.

jcv

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert says he will decide on the future of Christian Benteke after insisting the striker will stay at the club.

Thing is mate there were posts saying that if the club were ambitious or give a **** about the fans they would make a statement saying that he isnt for sale. Well theres the statement but I guarantee the posts will be this is just bull****/pr when the money is offered he will be off.

lads,
if you do fancy a draw tomorrow,you will get 4/1 odds on it.its up to you.

muz

Lambert made a statement months ago about Benteke saying whats the point trying to build a team when you keep selling your players. If Lerner/Faulkner sell Benteke then I am sure Lambert will resign.

jcv

Its a definite win so go get the big odds

jcv mate,

I'm with you on the result of the game, hope we are both wrong though.

lamberts last statement on benteke,was you better have big money available,which is a shift on the situation.

22/2/2013

Lambert said: "As far as I'm concerned the guy's here and he isn't going anywhere until I say so - that's the bottom line."

then why are we linked with the watford striker.?

jcv

Linked by the papers not the club

but i agree with B6 VILLA.
we have to stop up first.then see what great plans lerner has for us.
and if we do drop,thats answer enough.

jcv

You still worrying about relegation, I keep telling you we'll be nearer top 4 than bottom 4 by the end of the season, maybe after we beat arsenal and citeh you will start to believe.

keithj,
mate,we are still in a big battle to stay up.
blind faith is something to beware of.

jcv,

I wish keithj would stop being so negative, a few weeks ago he was saying we would finish in the top 4, now its nearer the top 4.
Do you think his faith is on the wane?

B6,
beware it could be a nightmare.
but i hope you are right.

jcv,

Dont forget if we win tomorrow us over 50's have still got to come on here, otherwise we will get told off.

muz,
mate,keithj is the born optimist,forever believing and ever hopefull.
nothing fazes him.i dont know how he does it.

muz,
count youself lucky,im over sixties.
on another note,expat today thought he was the oldest on here,i think its old mac.

jcv,

mate i think it is old mac, he hasn't been on for a while has he? is he still ill?

these next 2 games are freebies imo.Im expecting zero points so anything else is a bonus,im targeting the QPR and REading games and they have to bring 6 points!!!!

muz,
he had the flue for a few weeks.he did still post.but has been quiet these past couple of weeks.
hoping he is back on tomorrow.
i like to know he is okay.

muz

Old mac only appears to offer words of wisdom, his posts are rare but are golden nuggets

keithj,

Yes his comments always seem well thought out, not like the crap some of us spout.

jcv

I am surprised you let it get to you because like me you have been there, done it, got the t shirt etc so is it that you just got more cynical in your old age. By the way I am not nearly 60 years old I'm nearly 60 years young,

next time old mac is on,im going to ask his e.mail address,i dont know if he lives alone.but i fear he does.and i want to know if he is okay.we must look after the old villa fans.
i do worry about him,as you all do.

B6,VILLA.
agree with you,but its hard.

keithj,

sorry mate,it still gets to my guts to see whats happening.i know how you take it,but for me its a disgrace.
if i didnt feel this way,id just give up.and unless there are big changes in the summer,i will.
i know ive said it before,and have come back.
but i live on the hope,that lerner sells out.if not that will be me.

keithj,

I think it can be harder for some that have been there and done it and have the tshirt, as we've seen it all before and dont want to see the same thing happen again

muz

I think a good way of putting how I feel is how would we as young lads/men liked to have been told that our club was **** and had no ambition and when we went to the 3rd division the next step was oblivion when in reality we were having the time of our lives following the club we love without a care in the world. Well you know what, maybe todays young lads/men feel the same so lets not take it away from them.

LADS,
however we all feel,i take it that we have the villa at heart.and the last three years have been a shambles.where we want to end up,is any ones guess.
but for me.if we are to just make up the numbers in the prem.forget it.
my aims are higher,as should yours be.
and indeed the club itself.
but there is an undercurrent at the highest level,that now seems to be,a lower level of achievement.we as fans,must not let this happen.sooner or later,we have got to give lerner,the lesson that we the fans,will not stand for this crap anymore.

anyway,
i wish you all a goodnight.
and lets see what happens tomorrow.

jcv

Have a good night mate and be ready to party

jcv,

goodnight mate.

keithj,

I understand what your saying, and yes we did have some great times back then,but it was easier then being a big club and bouncing back. In those days if you were a brummie it was Villa or the noses, nowdays many are utd, chelsea etc.
While not trying to be negative if we went down now many youngsters would follow suit as they want to be associated with a premier club so many new fans could be lost.Also many seem to think if we go down it will be a formality in coming straght back up.
So while i hope the younger fans have a great time, todays game is very different to the seventies.

Being positive, I think Villa could get a 2-1 or 3-1 win.

If we can get amongst them early and also score an early goal, the level of gesticulation and enmity towards Arsen Wenger will reverberate around the Emirates which could only be likened to the British winter of discontent.

Villa need to strike seize and grasp the opportunity, when it presents itself.

Here's an interesting match stat for today's game.

Arsenal have created fewer goalscoring opportunities from corners (24) this season than any other side in the Premier League.

Happy days, they won't score against us from a corner !!

Seems that Stephen Ireland may well not feature again this season for the first team.

Thursday night Ireland was spotted at a concert in Manchester with family. Again has been told by Culverhouse that he is surplus to requirements, persona non grata for today's game at Arsenal. According to the papers he's been told that he still has to train with the reserves.

8m quid from Man City on a reported between 55k - 70k / week. We won't sell him either in the summer, it's going to be another white elephant such as Warnock and Hutton sitting it out in the reserves.
These high earning players who get left out are normally senior pro's who realise that they can take their time in choosing their next opportunity. Still getting paid a Kings salary, they can afford to sit and look at all options.

"Villa top empty seats revenue table"

"Premier League clubs are scoring an ‘own goal’ by losing millions of pounds on seat revenue each season with empty seats estimated to be costing them up to £7 million per year in lost revenue, reports fcbusiness.

Analysis from BDRC Continental’s Sports and Sponsorship Insight team has revealed that Premier League football clubs are losing out on valuable home game revenue by failing to maximise match day sales, resulting in empty seats and lost cross-selling opportunities from food, beverages and programmes.

At the top of the league are Aston Villa, with a missed home game opportunity just shy of £7 million each season. Hot on their heels are Sunderland, scoring a missed revenue opportunity of £6.5 million plus.

Wigan Athletic and Everton say goodbye to a potential £4.2 million and £3.1 million per season respectively. Newcastle, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion are also guilty of missing out on valuable revenues to the tune of £2.3 million, £2 million and £1.8 million respectively.

While the top seven register significant lost revenue opportunities, three further clubs still notch up more than £1million per season: QPR (£1,368,000), West Ham (£1,143,000) and Manchester City (£1,082,000). The rest restrict their lost revenue to less than £1 million.

Swansea have the best performance in avoiding missed revenue, losing just £5,264 per match – or a shade over £100,000 per year – thanks to a 99% seat utilisation.

Mark Long, Director of Sports & Sponsorship at BDRC Continental, said: “Since the Premier League announced its new financial controls, top-flight teams need to address how they can turn this lost opportunity into valuable income.

Under the new regime kicking off with the 2013/2014 season, any increase in match day revenue can help fund players so empty seats in the ground will have a direct impact on the quality of a club’s squad on the pitch.

“But it’s not just about slashing ticket prices to get supporters into the stadium; there is a balance to be achieved between attracting new fans and keeping loyal season ticket holders happy. And don’t forget the need to maximise on-site sales in the various retail outlets once fans are through the turnstiles.

“No two clubs are the same, however, so it’s never a ‘one size fits all’ solution. But through careful research and data analysis clubs can still move forward and optimise their fanbase to fill seats and impact the bottom line.”

(Sources: Football365.com and BBC ‘Cost of Football’ survey)

The empty seats is just another in a long line of unwanted record breaking achievements this season. What was Lambert explaining when he first joined the club. 'Villa should be playing in front of full houses ever week!'

Apart from the obvious we're top of the league for empty seats. At a loss of 7m / season. (That could have been another Benteke) if we'd have had the right owner showing intent to drive the club forward...

This quote caught my eye. 'Under the new regime kicking off with the 2013/2014 season, any increase in match day revenue can help fund players so empty seats in the ground will have a direct impact on the quality of a club’s squad on the pitch.'

First of all I would like to say that small heath are buggered then under this new scheme.
Reminds me of that joke Jasper Carrott said. ' I was down the blues the other week and I said the the bloke next to me... Oi !!' (Shouting as loud as he coud because the bloke next to him was the other side of the pitch)

Still.... Villa are top of the charts again for all the wrong reasons. The Villa fans have voted with their feet, and Lerner must be seeing and starting to feel the pinch.

'Don't put out on the pitch, the fans won't put out on the terraces.'