Can Aston Villa fans unite?

Let me get this out, right away; this post isn't a form of endorsement and I'm writing that because I didn't really promote the McLeish Out protests that happened recently. Let me also get this right out of the way; how they plan on going about this, is the right way. To start anyway and that is why I'm posting this today.

I'm also going to be a little critical of Villa Fans United today and Ryan, the guy that set it all up, knows this is coming and I like that. His response to me before I put this up, warning him that I would be critical if I did, was "people can make there own minds up".

I liked the response, because to me, the mission was more important than him getting a bit of criticism from me - call it constructive if you want, but and again Ryan knows my view on this, as it stands today, this group (not my word) is doomed to failure, but they are so close.

Everything is in a name and they've picked the wrong one to start with, but maybe, with a little hope and direction and an open and transparent discussion, it can be the right one. But as things stand today - I think the whole thing is doomed to failure, for one very simple reason and I'll get to that later.

The name is important

We had a group once called Villa Fans Combined and they had the name right. Villa Fans United is a little too far fetched, but there is hope and I know this because I'm an Aston Villa fan.

The press and media do not know however and that is why this name might scare the likes of Paul Faulkner and Randy Lerner - because this name, to the media and those not directly linked with Aston Villa, suggests that Aston Villa fans, are actually, united. It is all in the suggestion and for our owner, it is all about PR, suggestion and stringing along.

Which is why Villa Fans United wrote to Paul Faulkner and why he has now offered them a meeting. I think he wants to nip this in the bud and appease them with words, but this is doomed to failure. But again, more on that in a minute, because now we need to focus on the plan Villa Fans United have.

The not so secret plan

I'm not going to copy and paste exactly everything Ryan sent me - instead I'm going to bullet point it. This makes it easier all round and all I'm doing is making a very long email, much shorter. So here is the goal and the plan, as I interpreted it and Ryan you are free to let me know if I've missed something and I will add it if I have, but only if when I go back to the email, I see it. And more about Ryan at the end of the post.

The goal

• The aim of Villa Fans United is to have Alex McLeish sacked

The plan

• Reduce revenue streams into the club by writing to sponsors, corporate partners and asking supporters to not go to home games
• Ask Villa fans to not buy club merchandise
• Ask Villa fans to not immediately renew season tickets
• Spread the news through as much media coverage as they can get

First and why this isn't an endorsement or a call to arms and why I think it is doomed to failure in it's current form: it is inevitable that Alex McLeish will be gone soon enough and if it is only just about Alex McLeish, it is a waste of effort and going to all this trouble just for him, isn't actually worth it.

Let me explain why. The football we are getting served up is the same football he served up at his last club. From what I've read and been told, it is pretty much the same football he served up in Scotland too. So, from that, I can deduce that he isn't going to change.

And from that, if he isn't or can't change, I have come to the conclusion that his time at Aston Villa will not last much longer, so why bother with doing anything to hinder revenue streams into the club, because the effect will only impact the next man. Talking of the next man, what happens if it is Sam Allardyce and we get stuck with long ball football - do we go through this all again? Do you see where I'm going?

So, if the plan is to remove Alex McLeish - they have already won because as sure as the sun setting tonight, he will be gone soon enough, because he simply isn't good enough and if I'm wrong - fantastic. I'd love to be proven wrong and I've said that since day one.

A meeting with Paul Faulkner

But, they have a meeting with Paul Faulkner on the table and they're understandably quite proud of that, much like they are proud that former manager John Gregory ReTweeted something about Villa fans uniting. What they failed to mention was that John Gregory also ReTweeted that Villa fans shouldn't protest.

But, Faulkner isn't going to roll over and have his tummy tickled. He isn't going to sack Alex McLeish after a meeting. His aim is to appease Ryan and to halt him in his path, because Ryan has done something that is absolutely perfect; he has mentioned money and threatened to do as much as he can to disrupt the flow of money.

If there is one thing Randy Lerner craves more than anything, it is money. He might tell you about his love for the club, or his passion, but that is PR to make you feel happy about having him as an owner. No, the one thing the club can not have is a group of supporters, claiming to be united, getting national exposure in the press, threatening to boycott companies associated with the club and not spending their money on merchandise or tickets to a game.

But as things stand today, there is little threat. They have 272 Twitter followers and 144 Facebook likes. They will need a lot more to make things happen, but that could come, with the right exposure and if just one national newspaper bites.

And that is what scares Faulkner and that is why he has offered the meeting. This is just my opinion, I could be wrong, but I can't see why he would arrange a meeting other than to calm things down, because there is a real threat.

In summary

So - the plan is to get McLeish sacked and that is great. He has to go. But it will happen. How they plan to do it though, is very interesting and if they change the aim, by aiming much higher and I don't mean getting rid of Lerner or Faulkner, but for for something meaningful and real and long lasting, then I'd support it and if the aim became something that actually meant something, more would follow.

I don't know what it is. I have my wish and that is to have true supporter representation at board level with someone that can not be bought and someone that has true footballing values and a long term aim, but I can't see that happening and you know what, if there were true long terms aims, they should be doing this already, but they are not.

So, if you like the plan - stop spending you money on anything remotely linked to Aston Villa, but if you get your wish we could end up with Sam Allardyce or someone worse than McLeish. Okay, that last part might not be possible, but you get my point and if you don't here it is; it isn't just about the manager. It is about Aston Villa. It is about football. It is about a real future and about values.

We have to stop chopping and changing managers and we need to do things the right way. We might have already started that, but the appointment of McLeish took us backwards. It did and there is nothing anyone can say or write to make me change my mind on that.

Villa Fans United

Find Villa Fans United on Twitter and Facebook. Follow or like. Get involved. Be open and transparent and when submitting an idea - think big and huge ideas, because we have to think big and huge. Behaviour breeds behaviour and if you think small you will get small.

And before I go, don't take this as anything negative on Villa Fans United. All that needs to happen is they add a number two. Number one is getting McLeish sacked, but there most be more aims and there must be open dialogue and there must be a bigger picture, but the way Ryan wants to go about it is the right way and he is very passionate, or appears to be, we've only exchanged emails.

And having passion is important when starting something like this because there is a helluva lot of work involved and it costs. Trust me, I know. If the focus more on what they want to achieve, then there is potential, but it really does mean Villa fans uniting and I'm not so sure I can see that happening sadly.

Comments (154)

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GabbyisNOTmylovechild said:

... I think Ryan has at least had his comments heard and the club have responded, better than sitting in the pub moaning. It probably will come to nothing and Faulkner will send him away with a pat on the head but at least Ryan can say "I tried" and that is something to be proud of!

Comment 1, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.45 am

Badge said:

... Like you say, it cant be just about AMC but he is hitting them where they are going to hurt

Comment 2, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.50 am

RayM said:

... Whilst many of us would agree that McLeish was/is a bad appointment the single aim of getting him sacked falls very short of the mark. This is akin to the policy of deposing Saddam Hussain or the Libyan regime, or ousting the Taliban in Afghanistan without any idea of what would happen afterwards. Deposing one regime and replacing it with another (possibly worse) regime is not the answer. The answer lies in having aplan.....and sharing and agreeing that plan with the citizens (fans in our case). The biggest problem with Aston Villa is that we really have no idea what those plans are, and we are kept in the dark by the managment of the club. Under these circumstances opposition grows.

Comment 3, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.50 am

ou812 said:

... Huge respect to Ryan & VFU. Getting Faulkners attention so quickly proves as Damian pointed out its the money that matters. What must not happen is allowing Faulkner to easily appease or make false promises at this meeting. Also going in prepared (im sure you will be) with a clear agenda on what needs to be discussed. Simply saying ECK out wont work. Im sure plenty of people here will come up with good questions & sugestions on what should be discussed. Most now would lilke to see ECK gone (& not just to the states)but what happens then, do we trust the board in appointing the next manager? Bruce? Big Sam? McCarthy? Same old managers rehashed from club to club. I was talking to a work collegue earlier saying how mad it is that Sunderland sack Bruce to try & stay up & now Wolves may employ him just a few weeks later to try & keep them up? Madness. I would like to see a young up & coming ambitious manager who want to play the right way & build on the fantastic youth set up we have, having the same footballing philosophy all the way through the club. Who is that? I dont know but with the right research we could all come up with suggestions. I have not bought one thing Villa since ECK took over. I want to kit out my sons room with Villa things but I wont, not yet. He is 4 & at the age he is starting to watch some football with daddy, mind you after a few mins of shouting come on Villa followed by a few hoofs he is of to play with his trains...& who could blame him! Im starting to lose my track... Good luck Ryan & VFU. This is 1 Villa fan right behind you, & I have already posted on Twitter & Facebook.

Comment 4, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.57 am

Damian said:

... ou812 sadly - they can not go to the meeting as it will compromise their position fo strength faulkner only wants the meeting to appease them .. and that can only be bad

Comment 5, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.00 am

Andy Lochead in the Air said:

... We had a group once called Villa Fans Combined and they had the name right. Villa Fans United is a little too far fetched Damian, this reminds of the bit in Life of Brian where they are arguing about 'Popular Front of Judea' and the 'Judean Popular Front'. Can't say the name worries me, it is the objectives and planned action that is the main thing. Having said that, I think season tickets sales will be very low next season if McL is manager, with or without any formal protests.

Comment 6, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.12 am

david mcbride said:

... I agree there has to be a constucttive plan in place from the Villa Utd group. Before meeting with Faulkner they want to look at the fan groups in Germany who have managed to changetheir club owners minds. For example, Schalke who now have a say in the day to day running of the club incluidng transfers and management. As a group they got the last manager sacked. My view is that in order to succeed long term we should put it to Faulkner that a new young coach is appointed to bring through the talented youngsters we have. (look at Dortmund)There is now a very good young coach on the market, Lee Clark. This reasoning will not only secure the long term financial stability of the club, but will build the club within and develop a desire to play for the club through the nurturing and development of the youngsters. One final point, I do not agree that McLeish will be sacked unless we lose three of the next four. David

Comment 7, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.16 am

SilvaVillan said:

... Perhaps supporter reprensentation on the board could be point number 1, even ahead of getting rid of McLeish. It could be massive for all of us if that finally happened (doubt it though). While we all have differing opinions, well done Ryan for having the cojones to do what you're doing. Just continue to be smart about it

Comment 8, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.44 am

Return of Rowley said:

... Lee Clark is a good shout but he won't be available for long. I wonder if he was sniffing around for a better job and Huddersfield weren't impressed, so gave him the boot. On the post, I like to think it's a positive. It's a step forward at least. My concern is that the fans aren't united and too many home fans are like sheep. It baffles me why they are so placid after the drivel we've had under McLeish. It angers me that I seem to be a minority at villa park wanting to do something about it. I don't think the club will sack McLeish this season. I was reading the article on the official site about McLeish going to Cleveland and the wording about his relationship with Lerner and his commitment to villa suggests they are seeing a different villa to everyone else and that there is no chance of him leaving. I know they're not going to say anything different but it worries me that the manager and owner are so close.

Comment 9, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.47 am

thorpyuk said:

... Petition to get him out here! http://www.petitiononline.co.u...late/4196 UTV!

Comment 10, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.13 am

xandeh said:

... As i posted the other time I wrote an email to PF, it was swiftly replied to by Nicola Keye asking me for a contact number, I replied again insisting I would not be handing over a number I did that last time and got a load of rubbish I could not back up, this time I want everything they have to say in writing, strangely no reply after that I decided to leave it 24 hours then I emailed again, I asked what was so difficult about replying to my email as she'd already proved she could do it once. Still waiting....... This is what the people of Aston Villa think of their supporters, you make some honest comments, ask some important questions and you get ignored, ignored simply because they have no answers. I don't want to email PF again, there's no point the man is a tool. Does anyone have any contact info for Randy Lerner? If you can't get a satisfactory answer from someone high up go to the man at the top! Except this time not only will I include my letter, I will let him know exactly how Mr Faulkner and Mrs Keye think it's acceptable to deal with complaints, then will send a copy of the whole thing to the mail and the mercury. Money bothers Lerner. Then again so will his ego

Comment 11, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.26 am

david james said:

... i think its about time we had a change allan hutton must be the worst sighning after letting habib beye leave bent should have been allowed to leave and he should have made a couple of sighnings and why on earth does he noy play barry bannan

Comment 12, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.32 am

Return of Rowley said:

... Xandeh Don't let it go, keep pursuing it. The only thing with threatening going to the papers is that the local papers won't print anything overly controversial. They have more to lose by criticising the club than not. The Evening Mail and the others all want interviews and press access and they get it as long as they don't 'rock the boat'. I fear they wouldn't be interested in a disgruntled villa fan, no matter how unfairly treated. I'd love them to give an interview to a journo that had the balls to ask some real questions. Never gonna happen.

Comment 13, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.35 am

Dave1 said:

... Deliberately keeping money out of the club is stupid. All that will do is damage the club in both the short-term and the long-term. What happens next year if (and it's a MASSIVE if) a major sponsor decides to pull out because the club is in turmoil and the fans aren't happy? What happens if we then can't replace that sponsor or we only get half the money? That means there is less money to spend, meaning we have to sell players and replace them with worse players. Then we do worse in the league, generate less money and have to sell more players. And the cycle continues. I know most of the money is from TV, but a significant amount is sponsorhip, a significant amount is from ticket sales, merchandise, etc. If we get progressively worse then all of the above revenue will reduce, which will mean we get even worse. We will be on TV less if we get worse, meaning even less money. By all means protest against the manager, but don't deliberately damage the club, it's ridiculous.

Comment 14, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.36 am

xandeh said:

... Oh I wont let it go, I have forked out over a £1000 this season alone supporting Villa and I think for money at the very least I deserve answers to my questions as do every other Villa Fan. If this was about a fridge or a holiday I'd be contacting Dominic Littlewood but I have no idea who the 'man' in this area is? If anyone has any input or help it'd be hugely appreciated.

Comment 15, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.45 am

Ken said:

... Dave1 have thought about what you have just written? the damage is already being done now, nobody wants to watch the cr@ppy football if you can call it that now, look what other fans are saying so please think about what you write.

Comment 16, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.46 am

vivavilla said:

... Removing McLeish is surely only taking out one sour cog in a much larger set of sour cogs. Yes, it has to be done, but in the long term it doesn't solve the problem.

Comment 17, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.56 am

Return of Rowley said:

... Dave1 So what's the alternative? Turn up continuously regardless? Keep forking out hard earned money just to appease the accountant at the club? I'm no clapping seal or trained monkey. If I want change I can only do what is in my power. If you're happy to carry on like this, by all means do it, but don't call me ridiculous if I don't want to spend money on villa. I also think it's highly unlikely that any spindie would renege on a deal due to supporter unrest alone.

Comment 18, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.56 am

Return of Rowley said:

... spindie?? Wtf?! SPONSOR Stupid iphone

Comment 19, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.57 am

stevec said:

... Dave 1 has a point. As much as I want the manager gone and for the team to start playing more attractive football, hurting the club finacially is stupid. Yes Randy has had to cut back on players and wages, which business hasn't over the past couple of years apart from those owned by oil rich arabs. Do you want the club to go the way of Rangers or as today, Pompy?

Comment 20, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.05 am

Agrotis said:

... Im with Damian on this. No point removing McCliesh when any other manager that replaces him will be working to the same instructions. And that replacement, although he may get more from the squad, will only be an appointment that matches Randy's ambitions. Tey need to reminded that this is Aston Villa and not Birmingham City, and the fans demand not only better Football, but to challenge for europe. OK, its harder than what it was, but that has to be the mark of failure or success for any manager or owner of this club. If they cant deliver or wish not to even try, then the message has to be, sell up.

Comment 21, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.22 am

ou812 said:

... Damian, Im at work & cannot access Twitter or FB. Has Ryan said he is declining the meeting? I wonder does he want more of a backing/following of fans supporting first. Position of Strength as mentioned. Im sure he didnt think (I know I didnt) he would get an offer of a meeting so soon. Im sure some printed media local or national would have an interest in the fact the CEO wanted a face to face meeting. Has anyone read the US media re ECKs visit. Its not going down well & from what ive read their opinion of Villa is extremely poor (as in league position & where the club is heading) Randy wont be liking that. They seem to think or are certainly implying ECK was told to go to learn as in being chastised by Randy. If thats true maybe he is starting to notice that ECK isnt up to the job & we/he has been Punk'D by Sir Alex! We must wait until Bruce has a job as he is just as bad as ECK.

Comment 22, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.23 am

Damian said:

... ou812 i dont know, but i suspect he will go

Comment 23, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.27 am

Agrotis said:

... Deliberately keeping money out of the club is stupid. As opposed to Randy taking it out of the club? These loans have to be paid back to him, and have you seen how much they have spend on advisor's ect? Faulkner is on a nice little earner aswell. Sooner or later, you have to draw a line in the sand, and say no more. Randy's weakness is the smell of your money, dont give it him if you want change, since most of it is going into his pocket anyway.

Comment 24, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.28 am

vivavilla said:

... For those worried about hurting the club financially, consider the effect of McLeish getting us relegated - a very real possibility.

Comment 25, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.32 am

windofchange said:

... I want McLeish out ASAP for me KMac and Sid should have the reigns until the end of the season, who comes next would obviously create the same debate we have had the past 2 summers. But I also understand that not everyone shares my opinion and those that want to continue backing the manager are fully entitled to do so.

Comment 26, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.34 am

Agrotis said:

... For those worried about hurting the club financially, consider the effect of McLeish getting us relegated - a very real possibility. Which would no doubt entail a larger "reduction in our wage bill" whilst Randy still takes out the loans he gave us. If people think that we would automaticly come back up,think again. We will just continue to sink. And its all the fault of Martin Oneil lol. Fight now not when its to late

Comment 27, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.41 am

Agrotis said:

... If you still thin Randy is doing a good job, then read what the Americans think. http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/02/aston_villa_manager_in_clevela.html We are now officially, the biggest circus in the town

Comment 28, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.51 am

xandeh said:

... ou812, if what you say is true and Randy has sent AM to the states to 'learn' then that really cements the mans inability to run this club. Learn what exactly? From who? another hopeless coach? When his pal Fergies up the road? Is it even acceptable that a manager of a big premiership club has to go and 'learn' whilst already in the job!? Surely if he isn't up to the job he must be removed not advised. I hope the american press tear the whole situation apart, I hope they crucify Lerner and Mcleish.

Comment 29, made on February 17, 2012 at 11.54 am

ou812 said:

... "Randy Lerner, who owns both teams, asked McLeish to go to the NFL team to spend two days shadowing coach Pat Shurmur." "Lerner believes there are universal transferrable methods both clubs can employ." Hold on a minute! Isnt the American footbal season over? Why is ECK going out there when the premiership season is hotting up & villa are perilously close to getting sucked into a relagation dogfight & showing the fight we put up its one we would likely loose! Why isnt the Browns coach coming over to Villa to see us train, see ECK in his own enviorment & giving him hints & tips? This is really strange. As Spock would say...This is not Logical!

Comment 30, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.05 pm

Agrotis said:

... If the guy whom is representing VillaFansUnited comes on,can he please read the link covering the cleveland press in comment 28. Everyone read it, especially the comments left. You will hopefully then realise, that your aims have to go higher, otherwise we are fcuked.

Comment 31, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.09 pm

windofchange said:

... The break we have as a result of being out of the FA Cup should have been fully utelised given our delicate league position, ECK should have been working with his coaching staff to sort out our defence and general pattern of play problems.

Comment 32, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.10 pm

Agrotis said:

... I honestly believe Lerner is gone. This trip is charade, it does not add up for a million different reasons. It involves all the staff he brought with him from Small Heath, the Villa coaches have stayed behind. Odd? Im getting more convinced hes found a buyer, whom is bringing in there own management team. It also follows straight after the arabs visit last week, and i don not beleive in coincidence. Something is up. I really do believe that.

Comment 33, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.15 pm

washwoodvilla said:

... agrotis...can you put that link up again , that one dose not work ,,,cheers...utv

Comment 34, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.19 pm

Agrotis said:

... And another thing, do you really believe that the reason for a saudi prince visited Bodymoor Heath to view the function facilities at Villa Park? It just does not sit.

Comment 35, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.20 pm

Agrotis said:

... Here it is washwood http://www.cleveland.com/brown...nts-3.html

Comment 36, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.23 pm

windofchange said:

... Maybe any new buyer will only purchase if we are still in the premier and Eck is being offered a bonus to ensure that happens but also knows he will be out if the sale goes through. Stranger things have happened. Arabs are also reported to be looking at Spurs, same ones I wonder?

Comment 37, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.26 pm

Damian said:

... Agrotis i wouldn't be surprised either and then we will see his true colours

Comment 38, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.26 pm

DanWilson82 said:

... Firstly well done to Ryan for putting something together and following through with it. I hope that unlike many others who have contacted the club, he does not end up being turned and change his beliefs simply because someone at the club has responded and fed him a fat wad of spin about giving the manager a chance and the bright future we can look forward to. Paul Faulkner needs to be told firmly the views of many Villa fans that right now the position that they have placed us in is one which is unacceptable. Completely agree that this musn't stop at having Mcleish removed. Damian said think big, personaly I would like the whole structure of the club changed and large amounts of cash pumped into our youth setup and scouting network. I firmly believe that we should have scouts in every continent unearthing the finest young talent and although it would be some time before it paid dividends we would then have a solid base from which we can build upon. If we already have a scouting network in place they should all be sacked with immidiate effect as they are frankly useless. The next manager needs to be someone who can bring through the youth players with a football mind, the time for old fashioned, graft and hard work is gone, it's all about models like Barcelona and Ajax. We are unlikely to ever have a Billionaire Arab owner so this is the only way we have a chance to become a force again. What is happening at our club currently is criminal and frankly I'm sick of it.

Comment 39, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.28 pm

washwoodvilla said:

... agrotis cheers,, like the name austin villa lol

Comment 40, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.50 pm

chrisprice said:

... in my opinion,anything that shows the powers that be our general dissatisfaction is good. true,it's not just a case of getting AM out,althought that is a must. Lerner has to change his outlook or please sell up. i'm still gutted over MON leaving. now he's going to carry on his good work at Sunderland. why oh why did Randy let him go? it bugs me so much. we had 6th position for seasons and selling MONs best players from under him was not the way up. we managed without Barry because MON brought Milner through,but selling him and giving nothing to spend was too much. i know it's old ground,but this is how Lerner must change. of course MON went,he was banging his head against a wall. then,6 months later,Lerner gives £40 000 000 to Houllier to spend. panic,because we were doing so bad. if only that money had gone to MON earlier,i'm sure we'd be competing with Liverpool,Newcastle,now. please,Randy,learn your lesson. get rid of this terrible manager and concentrate on building a good,solid team. slowly is ok,but please give us some positivity.

Comment 41, made on February 17, 2012 at 12.58 pm

Davfc said:

... Cant see how withholding revenue benefits the club the less money the club makes the less likely that mcleish will be sacked

Comment 42, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.03 pm

Villa fans united said:

... I am monitoring the blog today even tho I am extremely busy Thank you Damian for a fair and to the point piece, I will be writing properly again soon, to address a few points related to the group, such as the meeting that has been offered Argitos Read that link, really interesting the plan Damian outlined is correct but mcleish going is just part of it, as I said to Damian and he reiterated to me, at some point mcleish going is inevitable, what happens after that is more important, but phase one, mcleish to go Villa fans united, strength in numbers, help your club

Comment 43, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.09 pm

BigGreySteve said:

... I agree with most comments that the only way to get anything like a happy atmosphere alive again down the old place is to sack McLeish and I am now going to offer up a possible replacement who has only just (surprisingly) become available: Lee Clark. He is young, ambitious and has been VERY badly treated at Huddersfield. Go on Randy, give him a shot at the big time, he deserves it

Comment 44, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.11 pm

windofchange said:

... Our situation means we cant afford to risk a total rookie at this level we need either someone who knows the club and fans inside out (K.Mac and Sid) or someone who has plenty of experience at this level (but not potatoe head).

Comment 45, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.28 pm

VTID said:

... I have been getting sick of pundits and the so called football experts saying a manager needs time to stamp his mark on a team and get his own players in. Mcmuppet has had no influence on the team or supporters except to make us all miserable and find it hard to support the brand through bums on seats through to merchandising. MON has proved that the right person can have an immediate impact at a club and their squad is no better than ours. We do need to think big and we need to see people in place higher up that understand the English game and the passion that true supporters have about the game. We are not asking for much, all we want is good football played the right way and all the rest will fall into place and Villa Park will be an exciting place to look forward to again. I am working abroad now, but I used to have my season ticket and couldn't wait for the weekend and i used to enjoy the 2 hour drive i had to home games and looked forward to going to the big grounds on away days just as much. People still say the away support is immense, but i would like to hear them start mentioning Fortress Villa in the same breath and let teams know they will need to play out of their skins to get a result there. I honestly feel that the run in will be tough for us, but i also feel like a few others that things are going on behind the scenes. There is no way that our owner can be happy with what is happening on and off the pitch, he is losing revenue and Aston Villa is not an attractive proposition at present, which for any businessman of any worth would be dealt with. Time will tell my friends.

Comment 46, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.29 pm

jcv said:

... first of all.is anyone else having poroblems writing on thi site now to the football.well done ryan for doing something positive, at least your trying. next,how come fans are saying that to boycott the ground and store will only hurt the club.where!as what would happen if mcleash were not to be sacked and given a transfer kitty in the summer.which would do the most damage. i also agree with damian that if they sack mcleash they would go out and get another tried and failed man in. we need a new director of football that knows the game first then get rid of mcleash.there are some good up and coming managers coming through that know the modern game.that is our way forward. finally,i am amazed the amount of villa fans who dont really think that we can go down.well it is now a real possabilty we are the worst team to watch,even wigan and blackburn try to win games. VILLA WILL RISE FROM THE ASHES.IT IS UP TO US!

Comment 47, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.44 pm

xandeh said:

... I honestly cannot see why GH was not kept on as a DOF, we had to pay the man anyway he might as well of just changed job title and moved upstairs, that was supposedly the long term plan wasn't it? Why not have just sped it up! There were a lot of people who didn't like his management style, but very few who can fault his football and player knowledge. We should have made his first duty finding a new manager! Another waste of money. After reading the page Agrotis posted and others I have read, it obvious that the Browns fans feel the same way as many of us Villans. The problem is by all accounts they've felt like this for a while, is this because they haven't done enough to try and change it? Or is it because Randy refuses to listen, refuses to change? Surely the most logically thing to do when it comes to the stage of getting Randy to step down they have to be involved? It would vastly increase the numbers who would support our cause, and it would instantly get attention across the pond, further harming his reputation.

Comment 48, made on February 17, 2012 at 1.54 pm

.vogra said:

... At least we're not Portsmouth....grim

Comment 49, made on February 17, 2012 at 2.01 pm

McLeish?? Oh dear.. said:

... If anyone is in doubt of Lerner or still think he is somehow great i suggest you read the comments left by Browns fans underneath this article:- http://www.cleveland.com/brown...evela.html

Comment 50, made on February 17, 2012 at 2.29 pm

windofchange said:

... Thing is the franchise system means as rubbish as The Browns are their fan's dont have to worry about relegation so how can the two clubs have any common issues that the coaches can take advantage of?

Comment 51, made on February 17, 2012 at 2.35 pm

Rocco said:

... This is like groundhog day apart from Randy Lerner is playing Doug Ellis. Alex Mcleish is playing Billy Mcneil only missing is Trigger playing Paul Faulkner

Comment 52, made on February 17, 2012 at 3.05 pm

TheDiamond said:

... Seems like a very misguided witch-hunt to me. What is the point of attacking McLeish. We knew what we would get from the start of the season. It's like being angry at duck for quacking. McLeish isn't really source of the problem anyway. The owner and the board are. The sooner villa fans can "unite" in understanding that, the better.

Comment 53, made on February 17, 2012 at 3.41 pm

j0nny said:

... Villa Dont need alot of fixing tbh.... when keane goes back, if we had the right man in charge we would be fine. I would like keano to stay though. Tbh i know we loaned out Jean Makoun. But he would be one of the first name on the team sheet for me, he is more of a defensive midfielder than anyone else we have, a decent tackler, and can pass the ball well. Given Herd Cuellar Dunne Clark Makoun Petrov(c) N'Zogbia Ireland Agbonlahor Bent That team would be fine..... with an acutally passing football manager! we need Mcleish out!!!

Comment 54, made on February 17, 2012 at 4.00 pm

j0nny said:

... add to that team i posted if we had two proper full backs as an eg.kyle walker and leighton baines.... Given Walker Cuellar Dunne Baines Makoun Petrov(c) N'Zogbia Ireland Agbonlahor Bent. With a manager like Brendon Rodgers.... or a manager who likes to play passing football and keep it on the ground that teamm is top 8. Trying to push the top 6 and realistically thats where we should be.... Just shows that the squad doesnt need to much tinkering tbh... a decent manager and a two decent full-backs....

Comment 55, made on February 17, 2012 at 4.10 pm

peterwithe 1982 said:

... villa's football is s**te under mcleish only he can blow a two goal lead at an under performing arsenal, make a poor man city look good, we made QPR look good ffs, the man is tactically naive you basically look at every loss or draw and pick up negative team selections, out of form player etc the man is useless end of we've only beaten dross, now that dross will start beating villa begining with wigan & blackburn away. this is 1987/88 all over again who was manager then, oh yeah BILLY MacNEILL another complete and utter useless tw@t from scotland

Comment 56, made on February 17, 2012 at 4.24 pm

Richexiledincoventry said:

... I've never known anything like it. Villa Park is a morgue and people, myself included, are too disillusioned to protest or fight anymore. Just abject acceptance. This is why I applaud Ryan and anyone else who constructively tries to do something. McLeish has to go, as does anyone who sets out a team in Aston Villa's name trying not to win. 73 minutes before we had a shot on Saturday! But as has already been mentioned we must NOT replace like for like and appoint an Alladyce or a Bruce or a McLaren. We need someone with a vision we can buy into even if initial results don't go our way. We need enthusiasm: we need to see an effort to play in the right manner; we need to want to start going to Villa Park again. Lee Clark would be a good choice or someone with Villa connections like Dean Saunders. Most of all I want to see 11 people on the pitch who want and are proud to play for Villa and the best way to do this is through the youth set up. McLeish should be in Amsterdam learning the way to play the game,not America! How about Arnold Muhren, Danny Blind or Ole Gunner Solksjaer. The same old names won't wash anymore.

Comment 57, made on February 17, 2012 at 6.12 pm

peterwithe 1982 said:

... i honestly believe villa need someone like ranieri who knows how to play football alongside a proer no2 in gordon cowans, this twam is too good to go down but McMuppet will do it, time for change,

Comment 58, made on February 17, 2012 at 6.45 pm

gmjvilla said:

... I must say... the cleveland brown fans have a sense of humour... comment made about Mclueless trip to Cleveland What's next? Boating lessons from the captain of the Costa Concordia? made me chuckle

Comment 59, made on February 17, 2012 at 7.33 pm

RSVF said:

... Ryan will fail.... This is a certainty, not because of his commitment to the cause or the lack of positive comments from sites such as this. Sites that sit on the fence dishing their "should do it this way, or, i know better than you"attitude. He will fail because of the apathy spreading like a cancer though our supporters, people aren't up for the fight any more. This is a leisure industry, and other than the ardent supporters, i would say that the majority of people in the ground are leisure supporters. These people dont care, about who the gaffer is or who owns the club, all they want is to be entertained, if they dont get that eventually they will take there money else where. They are not about to fight for something they can replace with the drop of a hat. So what is needed is sites like this to get off the fence and support this, even if you dont agree entirely with all that is being asked its a start. So get off yer backside and give the guy a break, at least he has started the ball rolling. I'm off to sign up for his twitter and FB and i hope many of you lot will do the same!

Comment 60, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.08 pm

Damian said:

... RSVF this site isn't on the fence, far from it but we've wanted this manager gone for a long time and for a long time I've been saying the only thing this owner will listen to is the people not spending by going to villa park

Comment 61, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.18 pm

Len said:

... I have't read all the blogs,but I think that although our present manager needs to go,we just won't attract a top manager if Lerner won't give them money for players and keeps selling our top players,they must look at Villa and see an owner with no ambition. Lerner owes the fans an explanation,it is he who needs to talk to us,we get no respect from him,after all we are investing in the club as well.

Comment 62, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.26 pm

Leroy said:

... I guess the way to support this notion is to "like" it on facebook and follow on twitter. I will be doing so......i dont like how people sprout s**t like " if we get rid of him, just imagine who we would replace him with".... The guy is a liability end of. I think all Viilla supporters would accept a younger less experienced manager, if the club gave the supporters a vision and plan. We would be more likely to give more time if we knew something was being "started" or a direction being followed......instead we are left to make our own conclusions about it all and we seem rudderless and devoid of any ambition. Clear and concise communication with the fans is only the start for me and how likely is it that we will get that anytime soon

Comment 63, made on February 17, 2012 at 8.59 pm

Ken said:

... Whats the point in asking ppl not to go to Villa Park. How long have ppl been saying that and yet you still get 30k plus down there and a lot of them are the ones who say everyone should boycott the place. Dont make me laugh. Ppl are still gonna go down and Lerner and Faulkner aint gonna listen to a few fans moaning and groaning cos they dont like McCleish, if they did they wouldnt have hired the ginger t**t in the first place!

Comment 64, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.09 pm

Falmouth Villan said:

... If Learner is as smart a business man has everybody thinks why does he not think to advertise that after the next home game he will address all the fans on the pitch and take questions back about whats happened since MoNs days and how he is going to take us forward. This action would not only ensure a sell out for the next game(raising him more cash) but would also give some clarification to the people who actually pay to keep his business running...the customers who are aston villa fans! It might even help HIM to understand his responsibilities to the club, whilst he may financially own the club....its OUR club and always will be no matter whos name is on the books! How about it Randy? VTID

Comment 65, made on February 17, 2012 at 9.39 pm

Bass said:

... Mclueless has to go ASAP and I bet any money bent will be sold at the end of the season to get randys money back in the coffers to make the next man in feel like he has some money to spend! I have been saying for ages the only place to hit randy is in his pocket!!! Money really does talk ! I have not been to a game or brought a shirt this year and I won't until that ginger tosser is out of villa park!

Comment 66, made on February 17, 2012 at 10.58 pm

Adam69 said:

... Having looked at the Cleveland Browns fans and media reaction to McLosers visit it is apparent that he is only a small part of the problem. And it's more negative media for RL and will hopefully give him the wake up call he needs to sort us out.The problems the Browns are having and their fans reactions are almost identical to ours. RL for all his wealth and buisness acumen seems to not have a clue on how to run a successfull sports team.The same problems and issues over the pond RL is obviously not learning from his mistakes. I want McLoser out but things aren,t right at the top and I dread to think who the board would replace McLoser maybe Mad Mick!! It's all very strange this visit to the US with the Small Heath contingent,I can only hope that we will be bought out and this nightmare will be over next season.

Comment 67, made on February 18, 2012 at 12.11 am

b6 villa said:

... Wolves done it because bad results and them being dragged towards the drop zone, is that what it will take for our clueless owner to realise that this manager is not right for our club, we have had the worst home record in ages and this t**t should of gone by now

Comment 68, made on February 18, 2012 at 12.16 am

SilvaVillan said:

... This is a little bit off topic. As a Villa fan since I was a wee fella I can't begin to explain how angry,disappointed,frustrated and disheartened I am at the current condition of our beloved club. I was going to post a rant about Lerner,McLeish,Hutton,Warnock,Collins,Dunne,Heskey,lies , dire football,Faulkner etc but I figured it wouldn't be much different than anything else some of you have already written before. So I've gone to (very budgeted) fantasy land instead. The other day I found myself daydreaming of changes we could make at the Villa. I know we are under financial restrictions hence very budgeted fantasy land and not fully fledged fantasy land where the likes of Iniesta,Cavani,Messi,Chiellini,Silva,Neymar are begging to come to the Villa and where Laursen is ten years younger and has two good knees. First of McLeish out!(should never have been in) Now we need someone to replace him. We could just replace him with a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man and it would do a better job, but lets aim a little higher. Realistic managers we could target: Poyet,Lambert,Rodgers,Saunders,Flores,Solskjaer,Di Canio, Grayson,Laudrup. I think it's safe to assume we can cross Rodgers and Lambert off, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Flores has stated before he would be open for a move to Villa. Solskjaer has been successful in his managerial career to date,has a good football mind,knows the ins and outs of the Premier League and plays a positive style of football. Poyet will depend if BHA get promoted,if they don't I'm sure we can turn his head. Di Canio is a left field option and I'm sure he wants to manage in the big time. He is a bit green and a bit crazy! But you have to love his passion and his footballing style. Saunders has experience in the lower leagues and is a club legend, what he lacks in experience he would make up for in his passion for the club. Laudrup loves to play an exciting,attacking brand of football and has shown he can make the tough decision to cut the past it experienced players and promote the youth,he is also currently unattached. Grayson is available,has a good record and has pulled on the claret and blue. Anyone of these would be a step up and a step in the right direction. Some other options could be Clark,Platt, Zola,Holloway,Bilic,van Gaal,Di Matteo,Martinez,Rijkaard, Stojkovic,Babbel,Ragnick or even Villas-Boas of you believe all the talk about Hiddink,Capello or Mourinho being lined up to replace him. Also de Boer could be worth keeping an eye on.

Comment 69, made on February 18, 2012 at 1.59 am

SilvaVillan said:

... Now on to the team. I don't want Guzan to go,but he wants first team football which we can't give him with Given in front of him, so you can't stand in his way. Delph could be something under the right manager but maybe we need to let him go home. Thanks to Petrov for his service to our club but it's time to move on. The rest (Hutton,Warnock,Dunne,Collins,Heskey) can go to any takers. So we need a No.2 keeper,left back,right back,centre back,an experienced centre back to play when needed and to help bring on the young defenders,centre mid to add competition,an experienced centre mid to play when needed and to help bring on the young mids,winger,target man,striker and maybe a young keeper to battle Barrett and Siegrist. No.2 Keeper: Jaaskelainen (BW) free, Cudicini (Spurs) free, Harper (New) free, Fulop (WBA) free, Taylor (Man City) free, Lewis (Posh) free Young Keeper: Long (Shef Utd) 1-2m, Ryan (Central Coast Mariners)500-750k Left Back: Taylor (Swans) 3-4m, Figueroa (WA) free, Olsson (BR) 3-5m, Cissokho (Lyon) 7-9m Right Back: Clyne (Palace) free, Mallo (Celta Vigo) 2-4m, Koch (Zurich) 2-4m, Azipilicueta (Marseille) 6-9m Centre Back: Vertonghen (Ajax) 10-12m, de Vrij (Feyenoord) 5-7m, Douglas (FC Twente) free, Ogbonna (Turin) 5-7m, Sokratis (Genoa) 4-6m Experienced Cenre Back: Distin (Evtn) free, Samuel (Inter) free, Van Buyten (Bayern) free, Cetin (Galatasaray) free, Mellberg (Olypiacos) free, Woodgate (Stoke) free, Nelsen (Spurs) free Centre Mid: Butterfield (Barnsley) 2-4m, McGugan (Forest) free Experienced Centre Mid: Rosicky (Ars) free, Dunn (BR) 2m, Murphy (Ful) free, Seedorf (AC) free, Ballack (Leverkusen) free, Hargreaves (Man City) free Winger: Hoilett (BR) free, Moses (WA) 4-6m, Farfan (Schalke) free, Sinclair (Swans) 6-8m, Barnetta (Leverkusen) free, Dyer (Swans) 4-6m, Jarvis (WW) 5-8m, Shea (FC Dallas) 4-7m, Snodgrass (Leeds) 4-6m/swap, Whittingham (Cardiff) 3-5m, Phillips (Blackpool) 2-4m Target Man: Babacar (Fiorentina) 2m Striker: Rodallega (WA) free, Fletcher (WW) 5-7m, Rondon (Malaga) 6-9m, Morison (Norwich) 3-4m, Hooper (Celtic) 4-6m, da Silva (Vasco da Gama) 3-5m, Rhodes (Hudd) 3-4m, Petric (Hamburg) free, Raul (Schalke) free, Johnson (Ful) free, Giroud (Montpellier) 8-9m, Bas Dost (Heerenveen) 7-10m, Rodriguez (Burnley) free, Dembele (Ful) 8-10m Villa Outs: Guzan free,Hutton 3-4m,Warnock 2-4m,Collins 4-6m, Dunne 2-3m,Petrov 2-3m,Heskey free,Delph 4-6m/swap,Jenas(LR), Keane(LR),McLeish 0-3m compensation (Beye&Lowry recently sold/released) Villa Ins: Marshall new 1yr deal,Cuellar new 4yr deal (5-10k less a week),Jaaskelainen/Taylor free,Long 1-2m,Figueroa free,Mallo 2-4m,Douglas free,Mellberg free,Butterfield 2-4m,Murphy/Hargreaves free,Shea 4-7m/Snodgrass 4-6m/swap,Babacar 2m,Rodallega free, Makoun(LR),New Manager 0-3m compensation Short term captaincy options: Cuellar, Given, Makoun Long term captaincy options: Gardner, Clark, Bannan Even with our very limited budget the club could easily make these or similar changes without to much trouble and if newspapers,websites and rumours are to be believed then with these changes the club would save somewhere in the region of 5-6m a year in wages. We could save even more because the likes of Mallo and Figueroa may not even be needed if the likes of Lichaj, Stevens and Baker are given a fair chance. Speaking of fair chances,now that Keane is gone hopefully the likes of Bannan, Gardner and Weimann will be given a fair chance to play a major role in the run-in. Also we need to have plans in place incase Ireland (7-9m),Makoun (6-7m),N'Zogbia (9-10m) and Bent (24-26m) are sold off. Ireland replacement: Wijnaldum (PSV) 6-9m, Kranjcar (Spurs) 3-5m, Martin (Sochaux) 7-10m, Allen (Swans) 3-4m, Davies (BW) 3-4m Makoun replacement: Muntari (Inter) free, Diame (WA) free, Pogba (Man Utd) free, Vormer (Roda) free, Gago (Real) 7-10m N'Zogbia replacement: (see winger list above) Bent replacement: Sow (Fenerbahce) 13-17m, Toivonen (PSV) 8-11m, van Wolfswinkel (Porto) 12-15m, Bas Dost (Heerenveen) 7-10m, Giroud (Montpellier) 8-9m, Matavz (PSV) 7-10m I apologise for this very lengthy post, I just needed to take my mind off the current situation for a few moments. Thank you if you took the time to read this, I would be intrested to hear your opinion. Just a dreaming Villa fan looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. UTV!!!

Comment 70, made on February 18, 2012 at 1.59 am

Winnipeg Villan said:

... Will the Big Eck be canned if we lose to Wigan?And when I read the puff piece about AM visiting the Browns I almost gagged.how did Lerner come up with a crazy idea like that?

Comment 71, made on February 18, 2012 at 4.01 am

DeadTeamWalking said:

... It just needs a young manager that likes to play with a bit of style and attacking,Like Brendan Rogers or Paul Lambert and then stick with them and let them build We spent what £24mil something like that on Darren Bent ? And then go and hire the most defensive negative manager in football,That to me just don't make sense a complete waste of money..Bent is still a top stirker but slowly Mcleish is ruining him and his England chances With out Young players who some are very good going forward if given he chance and with Bent we could be a very good side but it needs a manager that is attack minded and not so negative MCLEISH OUT

Comment 72, made on February 18, 2012 at 4.42 am

DeadTeamWalking said:

... I also have decided not to go to anymore matches or spend anything Aston Villa related Lener & Faulkner time to wise up

Comment 73, made on February 18, 2012 at 4.45 am

peterwithe 1982 said:

... morning all, my thoughts overnight have still not changed,MCLIESH FATTY FAULKNER OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment 74, made on February 18, 2012 at 4.56 am

windofchange said:

... It will be hard to convince enough fans not to go to games, in the old days of the old 3rd division we had record crowds, we seem to respond to adversity.

Comment 75, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.34 am

dgdawkins said:

... "...it is inevitable that Alex McLeish will be gone soon enough." Your idea of what is/isn't 'inevitable' is a little bit abstract. Obviously, at some point during (or at the end of his contract) McL is going to leave the club. But that's not the issue here. How much damage will have been done before he finally gets sacked? Pressure is being put on to make it absolutely sure that something has to change during the summer or before. Reading between the lines, I can't help but feel that you're scampering for influence here. Your particular brand of armchair cynicism has fallen flat while other fans are reaching around in the dark, trying to find a decent and consistant voice of dissent. They're probably quite a long way off, but at least they've started and this summer I sincerely hope that we'll have something to thank them for.

Comment 76, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.21 am

keithj said:

... Ryan Please be aware that the reason the meeting would be held at BH could be that AM may also attend. Good Luck

Comment 77, made on February 18, 2012 at 11.12 am

windofchange said:

... There is always a chance that AMc may be p*ssed off at the way he has been treated this week and walk - we can but hope! It would appear to be a bit of an insult to me to suggest he could learn anything from an American Football coach.

Comment 78, made on February 18, 2012 at 12.29 pm

Albri-12 said:

... Scum fans loving life. Beating chelsea, singing s**t on the villa and knowing they are going up, and that we are going down. Villa board, what has AM done that Chris Hughton hasn't ?? Both got teams promoted to the prem, and Hughton did well with his club in the prem unlike AM. Silva- Good list of players. Figuora for free we have to get him. I think AM will go for steven Fletcher, Kenwin Jones or Kenae in the summer. we need 2 of the 3 really cus Hesk will be gone, Bent as well and Gabyy isn't good enough. Get Zoggy out and get Jarvis and Barnetta in

Comment 79, made on February 18, 2012 at 12.52 pm

xandeh said:

... The reason the meeting would be held at BH is they so can 'flatter' your brains out first with the facilities and meeting players.

Comment 80, made on February 18, 2012 at 1.03 pm

Villa86 said:

... finally the pundits are having a go at mcleish!

Comment 81, made on February 18, 2012 at 1.10 pm

b6 villa said:

... How can this t**t call himself a manager, with most of the season gone and he still ain't sorted our biggest problem which is conceding silly goals and setpieces, we would of been playing today if that wasn't the case

Comment 82, made on February 18, 2012 at 1.58 pm

Villa86 said:

... i think in the wake of rangers and portsmouth going into administration its a bit silly to suggest to fans not to spend money on the club. do the turn upto the the game at 3:15 protest instead.

Comment 83, made on February 18, 2012 at 2.29 pm

25yardDalian said:

... 1. McCleish needs to go - we are in a VERY REAL rele battle 2. We are not too good to go done 3. Offers the board plenty of time not to make a knee jerk app 4. Players need a lift and inspiration (they are not behind McLeish) 5. Randy saves money by not going down to the pub league 6. Randy saves money by not making a full time app until end od season 7 End of season would be his selling time (ot the buyers purchase time - depending on league / asset value)

Comment 84, made on February 18, 2012 at 2.45 pm

Aero-4-Villa said:

... His sister is in labour i think. So, Marc sticks on Soccer Saturday. The chap has his priorities right in order Top lad!

Comment 85, made on February 18, 2012 at 3.37 pm

Aero-4-Villa said:

... http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net...145627222 4_n.jpg

Comment 86, made on February 18, 2012 at 3.38 pm

Aero-4-Villa said:

... http://www.facebook.com/photo....=3&theater ..christ

Comment 87, made on February 18, 2012 at 3.42 pm

gmjvilla said:

... Liked VillaFansUnited on fb... I'm not on Twitter... Support the cause... Ryan may be our very own John Connor. Ryan, be clear on the Goals and Objectives of the movement and don't take any crap. Also, look out for people who pretend to support but have their own agenda... Last word of advice... Keep your enemies close. UTV VFU VTID

Comment 88, made on February 18, 2012 at 4.12 pm

steamers75 said:

... good luck Ryan with your protest and as gmjvilla said keep an eye on the fans , theres a load of sheep out there , l know you and your dad used to come down the villa with us , youve already heard off one of the old boys , and l for one wont be putting any money in the club until that t**t has gone , the football is dire as it was down the s**t , if you want to see faulkner , go in the holte pub after the games and you will see the sheep in there slapping his back , the blokes a t**t as well , anyway good luck and give my best to your dad matey

Comment 89, made on February 18, 2012 at 5.03 pm

Villa by Birth said:

... Agrotis Hi chap where is the info/link about the Saudi visit

Comment 90, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.07 pm

J doyle said:

... Watching Sunderland at the moment I can now see why we are useless at home it is the pitch arsenalhave no chance on there mud patch We have the best and biggest pitch in the prem it is perfect for proper football something mc mippet don't play Look at the teams who have beaten us and the draws at home Liverpool man utd man city arsenal WBA swansea the look at the draws at home mc mupoet is a clown look at stoke they have there pitch narrow for there long throws we just set up our pitch for proper football something our manager knows nothing about So all we need to do is get a plough and tractor on there and churn it up this would then suit mcmuppets brand of football simple but I hate to say true

Comment 91, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.07 pm

Albri-12 said:

... MON just always does it, turns a bunch of average players into a very hard side to play against and its a another win. MON has saved sunderland already, there safe and hes only been there a few games, AM has had all season and we are heading to the championship. sunderland will rip us apart when we play them

Comment 92, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.11 pm

villabiker said:

... wenger will be available soon

Comment 93, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.24 pm

Billy.villa said:

... I think Failkner has made a major mistake in meeting this group. He may not meet them but what he has done is give the group a story for national news, or at least MOTD. One of their main aims was to get as much media coverage as possible. So Faulkner had helped one of their aims. Just says it all about the man's interlect really....

Comment 94, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.28 pm

John Salter said:

... I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that AMc will be gone at all I'm afraid as Damian said. Lerner will keep this man as long as he can and that includes Villa getting relegated. Lerner went out of his way to appoint him and paid BCFC millions and on top of that, alienated a lot of fans so how bad in reality would AMc have to become to be sacked? Worse than our worse nightmare I reckon. Additionally if he was sacked, who would Lerner get to replace him, bearing in mind he would want another manager lacking ambition and the tools to progress! No I'm afraid that AMc will be with us for the long haul even with the way things are, 15th in the table, MON flying high (9th) by the way, trips to the US to talk to another appalling manager and six whole wins since he took over. Unless of course something happens to force Lerner to change his philosophy like these protests for example, good luck to them!

Comment 95, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.47 pm

sjh said:

... bolton game cancelled,good or bad?

Comment 96, made on February 18, 2012 at 6.59 pm

monkeyman said:

... well done in making the effort ryan mate. but im afraid its a piss in the ocean

Comment 97, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.20 pm

sten-nett said:

... Off topic ( but more interesting) : will villa streams be showing the fight tonight?

Comment 98, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.28 pm

Albri-12 said:

... We are a very easy team to play against. Why ?? Because we have no pace or athleticism in our side. We must be the easiest team to play against. We dont have any height up top so teams just keep us out to the touch line and if we cross it in, we have no one to get on the end of it. We do have Bent but hes only good when supplied with clever players around him, like young and Downing who never really whipped balls in from the toch line but played clever balls to him in and around the penalty area but we dont have players to that. If someone asked what style do we play, what would you say ?? We dont hoof it all the time, but we dont play attractive football ??

Comment 99, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.32 pm

Albri-12 said:

... To be honest under AM we should just play like stoke and if he is going to stay on untill next season we have to because its the only way we will stay up. Make the pitch as small possible, Get to huge powerfull guys up top, get two out and out wingers and play 4 huge guys in defence and press high up and dont let the other team breath. Its a simple/ Lazy way to play but it works and we you need height and power in your team to cause the other teams problems but we dont. Newcastle have Ba, cisse, Amebobi and Best and it works

Comment 100, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.34 pm

monkeyman said:

... who has gone more backward villa,arsenal.chelsea or wolves in the last 12 months?

Comment 101, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.42 pm

sjh said:

... albri-12 i agree why weve never played a simple 442 with heskey and bent ill never know!

Comment 102, made on February 18, 2012 at 7.55 pm

monkeyman said:

... sjh ? mate heskey no way

Comment 103, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.08 pm

gmjvilla said:

... Monkeyman good question... Here's my list with Chelsea being the most regresive, although Arsenal/Villa will be the worst long term. Wenger has well and truly lost the plot... Chelski Arsenal Villa Wolves

Comment 104, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.11 pm

sjh said:

... monkeyman i dont mean heskey as a player.I mean we play s**t football but not to s**t footballs strengths if u get what i mean.we make boring football look good!

Comment 105, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.15 pm

monkeyman said:

... sjh - yeah i know it just hurts me to see a player as s**t as heskey in a villa shirt. i think you could say villa above chelsea,purely as chelsea have a possible spine in cahill ,mata,sturridge where as villa dont,i think a new manager at chelsea would get them firing but there position is not to dis-similiar to ours the senior players are no longer good enough lampard terry cech cole drogba we have petrov dunne collins warnock heskey the problem being for a new manager is you have to get rid of this s**t before u start rebuilding.

Comment 106, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.24 pm

25yardDalian said:

... A new manager might: A) Inspire the players B) Play them in the correct position C) Drop under performers These 3 things can keep us up - Mc can't do this

Comment 107, made on February 18, 2012 at 8.46 pm

ScottM78 said:

... Just back villafansunited Instead of 1000's of fans just moaning about it on websites etc going around in circles Ryan has actually started to do something about the club we love. We all want something to change so dont be negative about villafansunited, get behind it. We can all do this.

Comment 108, made on February 18, 2012 at 9.11 pm

steveAVFC said:

... Just thought I,d tell you that its been a strange day.No Viila, but watched the Whitney funeral on sky and , well amasing.Had the priveledge of seeing her sing live on 3 occasions. But today was unbeliveably emotional and must admit I cried when Stevie Wonder sang "loves in need - God Bless you Whitney

Comment 109, made on February 18, 2012 at 10.06 pm

taglor said:

... Hang on Steve, are you a bloke on a football blog admitting to seeing Whitney Houston 3 times? Are you on the wind up? As for bless her, I haven't much time for spoilt crackheads that smoke crack in front of their daughter which she did regularly. ps Whats 6 inches long and won't get sucked tonight? Whitney's crack pipe pps The autopsy on Whitney found that her lungs were so black luis suarez sent them hate mail.

Comment 110, made on February 18, 2012 at 10.23 pm

Dr. Villa said:

... When we moan to the club about sacking Mcleish, it's no use just moaning. We need to back up what we're saying with statistics. Statistics like why we haven't gone seven home games without a win since 1987, and why we have the worst corner statistics in the prem at both defending(11) and scoring(0). Add to that, you've only got to show the club the individual statistics for each game this season to see that the football has been dross.

Comment 111, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.37 am

xandeh said:

... yes Dr Villa, but being a football club you'd expect the Villa to already have and know about those stats, and a lot more and if they do already and still refuse to act, it make things rather difficult for us. I still think the major problem we have is that there are STILL far too many morons who think we need to give him a chance, give him time to bring his own players in and that actually this season hasn't been too bad, there are thousands of sheep on other sites, on Facebook especially and judging by the attendances there are all a lot still going to games. These people are the problem.

Comment 112, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.59 am

Dr. Villa said:

... Of course they should already know those stats, but to sound credible and be taken seriously, you have to back up what you are saying with fact.

Comment 113, made on February 19, 2012 at 9.30 am

Dr. Villa said:

... And yes, it does make it harder for us, if they accept the current situation and refuse to act.

Comment 114, made on February 19, 2012 at 9.43 am

Steve Jones said:

... Mr Tagler,simply classic.

Comment 115, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.06 am

runtingz said:

... Dwight Yorke is the only x player to speak sense regarding villa ..he listemed to amc interview after the citeh game saying we played well and was unlucky barring individual errors.. when ask his thoughts dwight said he totally disagreed with amc and that the football was far fron easy on the eye and compleatly understands why villa fans are unhappy well done yorkey

Comment 116, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.19 am

runtingz said:

... taglor your whitney comments are a disgrace mate

Comment 117, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.23 am

xandeh said:

... To be perfectly honest, Whitney aside I think taglor is exactly the type of person VFU need on their side, he's been saying what most of us have now realised ever since I've been coming on this blog, okay sometimes he's pushes peoples buttons and frustrates others with his comments, but you certainly can't criticise his passion for the Villa. I would personally love to read an email from him to the club.

Comment 118, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.41 am

runtingz said:

... do a bit of research into the illumimati and you may then understand why so many celebrated singers fall by the way side , die young or theow it all away thoughout music history

Comment 119, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.41 am

xandeh said:

... Oh I do, I know all about it, it still doesn't condone doing drugs in front of your child on a regular basis though, they all know the sacrifice they're making when they sell their souls.

Comment 120, made on February 19, 2012 at 10.50 am

runtingz said:

... fair comment and i dont condone anyone taking crack in front of kids or even taking crack but as you know how it all work you will realise that the inviorement ppl like whitney end up in is created and manipulated for them to fall into ... and i get the joke side of it this is england and we make a joke out of every misfortune or death of a celeb .... just pointing out there are two sides to every story , .. nothing against u tag btw , just thought one of ur comments was a tad harch

Comment 121, made on February 19, 2012 at 11.00 am

TorontoVillian said:

... I tip my hat to Ryan...we all know the power of social media. Damian, you could be a big supporter; help lead their direction. Lets be honest, its all about the numbers...there are a couple villa supporters sites, we need some leadership & vision, to help us unite! I'm a big fan of this blog & feel we could help Ryan & our club! My 2-cents

Comment 122, made on February 19, 2012 at 12.35 pm

adam69 said:

... Damo not sure if you have seen this but pretty much sums up your thoughts. Everyone should have a look at this. Fast forward to 6 minutes then keep listening for something that sounds familiar. http://www.bsc.edu/livestream/index.cfm I think we have been had by these yanks

Comment 123, made on February 19, 2012 at 2.06 pm

mooseman said:

... Can Villa fans unite? We have to. Not only is the link provided by adam69 outrageous, I have just listened to the ESPN Soccernet Podcast, one of my pleasurable routines at the weekend http://soccernet.espn.go.com/f...ek?cc=5901. The Feb 13 podcast contains a lengthy discussion of last weeks Villa v Man City game, most of which is devoted to discussing the Villa performance. Some key points (many of which have already been voiced here): - Why did Vila not bother to go forward and try to win the game. - Probably understandable that they wanted to keep it tight and looked like they would be happy to keep it to 0-0. But why didnt they not change tactics and go forward to look for an equalizer after City scored. Looked like they were happy to settle for a 1 - 0 loss. as if that would be a good result. Changes were eventually made but far too little far too late. - Emile Heskey in midfied, for crying out loud - It's Alex McLeish. Villa are a turgid, woeful team. OK to keep it tight but doing that in front of your own fans is beyond comprehension. How can you think you are more likely not to lose by parking the bus in your own 18 yard area for 90 minutes? - Villa had good players up front but McLeish does not provide any supply to feed them - Do Villa fans have to watch this week in week out. No wonder they are fuming. - It's like watching Birmingham all over again.They are going nowhere. Remember what happened to Birmingham. Oh yes, they won the Carling Cup but the slide they went on after that was due to McLeish's inability to go forward week in week out. Even the last game of the season at Spurs, when a draw what not enough to ensure survival, he put everyone behind the ball. It's such a mind-numbing thing. He's so remarkably set in his ways. I just cannot see him lasting.

Comment 124, made on February 19, 2012 at 3.26 pm

TrueVillan said:

... adam 69 very interesting, I think we are all becoming aware that Lerner is the biggest problem at our club. he has no footballing knowledge, failed to keep a good manager in MON

Comment 125, made on February 19, 2012 at 3.59 pm

TrueVillan said:

... DAMN! had not finished! lol MON needed to be helped by a strong CEO who could have controlled the signing sums and wage demands. houllier was just too ill, and to this day I

Comment 126, made on February 19, 2012 at 4.01 pm

TrueVillan said:

... seem to have a problem, my messages keep going before I finish em!

Comment 127, made on February 19, 2012 at 4.04 pm

DeadTeamWalking said:

... One thing i would like to ask Faulkner would be You spend £25+million on Darren Bent and hire the most defensive negative football manager on the planet yet you claim to know football ? Is it not point blank obvious that you are not going to get your money's worth out for your star striker with a defensive negative manager ? This is why i have come to the conclusion that neither Paul Faulkner or Randy Lerner have the first idea about football Next time you both go on the hunt for a manager maybe you should consult someone with a footballing brain

Comment 128, made on February 19, 2012 at 4.07 pm

TorontoVillian said:

... @Mooseman...you're right on! Listen to the ESPN guys take the piss out of the "100 Villa fans" who showed up to protest...come on Damian, you can help us, we need leadership. We look fkg sad!

Comment 129, made on February 19, 2012 at 4.18 pm

DeadTeamWalking said:

... Just wondering also how Macron fell of this situation i won't be buying a shirt next season if we still have Mcleish or go down my reason for not buying if we go down is purely a simply because Randy hired a man nobody wanted so why should i give him money ? I know its not just me either from what i seen there are 1000s now refusing to buy anything related to Villa I may even email Macron myself explaining my reason for not buying there shirt

Comment 130, made on February 19, 2012 at 4.21 pm

xandeh said:

... I'm watching Brighton give Liverpool a better game than we did.

Comment 131, made on February 19, 2012 at 5.04 pm

xandeh said:

... wow until that happened.

Comment 132, made on February 19, 2012 at 5.04 pm

taglor said:

... Thanks xandeh, nah i'd just be too grumpy in an email :s Runtingz it's cos I look after people who are ill through no fault of their own daily and when I see someone who had everything and throw it all away celebrated as if they are a good person it wrankles. But I know what you're getting at. Must also point out the fact the suarez joke is intended at takin the piss out of him for being a racist as I hate recists.

Comment 133, made on February 19, 2012 at 5.41 pm

taglor said:

... xandeh, it has done me no good taking at having taken that stance the last 6 years and I wish I was proven wrong as it is miserable being a Villa fan at present. Really wish I lived close enough to at least see the reserve team and support them instead but there is NO way on eart i'm goin to spend over a ton on travelling, hotel etc to see Villa as you can do all that to turn up and watch 11 men behind the ball. It is a disgrace, it's only a game why is he so scared of playing to win? Worst case we lose, nobody dies and at least we have pride

Comment 134, made on February 19, 2012 at 5.45 pm

Holte64 said:

... Just a small point to all those in the media who say Villa fans don't support the current manager because of where he came from. I would hire Hughton in a heartbeat!

Comment 135, made on February 19, 2012 at 5.58 pm

Salty said:

... 1. Interesting how a club in real crisis [Rangers] got an overwhelming show of support yesterday [50,000+] despite rippling debts, administration, an owner who is hated, a weak squad and pretty ordinary football. [See point 3, below] 2. I agree totally with the fact that we are going backwards, that McL doesn't have the vision or ability to meet our aspirations, that Lerner has probably lost interest, that Faulkner is a bank clerk and not a Premiership CEO, and that our squad is p... poor, but I can't agree that this is our biggest crisis ever. A lot of contributors here would have no idea how desperate things were from 1963-69, or from 1983-89 [Euro Champs to Div 2 in 5 easy lessons], or how utterly mediocre we were [with one brief exception]throughout the 50's. They would not have known the pain of two relegations to Div 2 and one to Div 3. Now that was a crisis, and we were an absolute national laughing stock. The O'Leary years weren't a bundle of joy, either. So, a bit of perspective, lads, before we commit mass suicide. 3. The protest ideas founder on one obstacle-they are all aimed at delivering a negative result for the Club.In planning to hit at our finances and force the Club into populist action [ie sack everyone we hate], we should be very, very careful what we wish for. Rangers fans wanted Derek Murray out as they thought they were sliding backwards, and look what they got. 4. A mischievous final point: perhaps everyone who comes onto the Blog advocating a stay-away could begin their piece by declaring whether they have actually turned regularly up anyway? It would help this debate if we knew who is talking from current first-hand experience of what is happening.

Comment 136, made on February 19, 2012 at 6.00 pm

b6 villa said:

... Think randy should of sent the Ginger t**t to Stevenage rather than a holiday to the states, he would of learned alot more there than the states

Comment 137, made on February 19, 2012 at 6.10 pm

Richexiledincoventry said:

... McLeish has to go quickly because VP is dying on its feet and its a slow cruel death. With his tactics and style of footall he is never going to win over supporters and the club needs its fans galvanised and on side. Look at the home record. We need someone who fans and players believe in and who we can unite behind. For numerous reasons this will NEVER happen under McLeish and the odd win here and there will only prolong the agony. At the risk of upsetting a few on here, I refuse to go down the line of slandering McLeish personally as at the end of the day I believe he is a decent enough guy. He just never will be accepted. For his style of football alone he is at the wrong club. Salty... This comes from a season tkt holder in the Upper Trinity. I haven't turned my back on the team this season but will not be renewing next year unless there is renewed hope.

Comment 138, made on February 19, 2012 at 6.22 pm

Richexiledincoventry said:

... b6 Villa. I haven't seen the game or know the score - not interested unless it affects Villa but don't we see enough long ball football at VP without watching Stevenage? - They are by all accounts the new Wimbledon!

Comment 139, made on February 19, 2012 at 6.25 pm

Len said:

... Yesterday I went to Kidderminster Harriers,and it is about the 4th time this season,my mate said that they were poor yesterday,but I have to say they played better than Villa,created chances and attacking football,they are 7th in Blue Square Premiership,this is a worry if they can play exciting football then maybe we should swap managers.If AMc is still playing boring football next season I know where I will be.

Comment 140, made on February 19, 2012 at 7.29 pm

ogs said:

... get out ginger, get out gh, get out sunderlands saviour. Never any valid alternatives. Reading from belfast, note most of contributors dont even go to matches. P,ease tink of a positive answer or e will get the same old crap.

Comment 141, made on February 19, 2012 at 7.46 pm

Hadders7 said:

... Damian, I would love for you to be right, however I think you are way off the mark if you think our Owner and Faulkner are going to admit they made a huge mistake in appointing this muppet of a manager! I don't believe they will sack him unless the unthinkable prospect of relegation becomes a reality...they would not put their hands up and make it right, that would appear weak...it will not happen! It should...but it won't!

Comment 142, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.11 pm

monkey man said:

... OGS- positive answer is any manager from any league to replace AM and id be happy apart from steve bruce or sam allardyche

Comment 143, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.17 pm

jvc said:

... damian, just testing i cant get on to blog.

Comment 144, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.51 pm

Falmouth Villan said:

... Been thinking about the best way to raise the profile of the discontentment our fans have at the mo, and thought instead of not going and hurting the owner in his pocket and letting down the few players who DO care what about....wait till the next televised game (if we get one) then turn up in mass (circa 20k) at 15 minutes after kick off this would cause absolute chaos with the logistics of getting everyone in,maximum disruption shown on tv. then after the match dont go! sky always do a live interview about 15 minutes after the game so just think 20k fans all chanting for Mcleish out, refusing to leave....guarrented national exposure, plus the added cost to RL of keeping the police working late! Maybe worth a try? bloody hell lads we have to do something! Ryan (VFU) this could get the bandwagon rolling, as by not going we are only denying ourselves...we all love the villa V.T.I.D.

Comment 145, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.55 pm

Damian said:

... jvc you are on, you just need to login

Comment 146, made on February 19, 2012 at 8.56 pm

Falmouth Villan said:

... Lets move for Lee Clark now, then next season when we are in the championship (because we will be under this clueless idiot visions of needing a win at norwich on the last day and only drawing) ) he can drop straight in. we can afford him next season to re-build from top to bottom,, then come back stronger for longer!

Comment 147, made on February 19, 2012 at 9.00 pm

jvc said:

... salty, i to remember the old days,i followed us down to the old third division it was dire.but the comeback was a great roller coaster ride.remember the andy gray,brian little etc side,brilliant football,then the championship side say no more. but under this ownership i fear the bad old days are to return. old doug picked some lousy managers but soon got rid. and even though we all moaned that he would not spend big the club was financially sound. doug with hindsight,i wish you were still in charge!

Comment 148, made on February 19, 2012 at 9.04 pm

b6 villa said:

... Richexiledincoventry the point I was making was the trip to the USA is useless and has got nothing to do with the English premier league, atleast Stevenage gave a spurs a better game than we did

Comment 149, made on February 19, 2012 at 11.06 pm

steveafvc said:

... Taglor and Steve Jones You are both t**ts of the highest calibre.If you want to take the piss out of someone who died ,then wait for one of your relatives/friend (i doubt it) to f**king die first

Comment 150, made on February 20, 2012 at 4.53 pm

Gok Wan Acolyte said:

... "Can Villa Fans unite"? Err...most of us are United in our support for the club, any chance you lot could join us rather than continuously sniping because Lerner has appointed someone you don't like?

Comment 151, made on February 21, 2012 at 12.41 pm

Macca said:

... Get Villas-Boas IN! He's the perfect man to get Villa up and running once more.

Comment 152, made on February 21, 2012 at 4.39 pm

Agrotis said:

... Mike Whitby has just announced on Central news, that Qatar Petroleum will be announcing during the summer, a 150 million pound investment in Birmingham. Mike Whitby is a Villa Fan. Qatar Petroleum are one the rumoured buyers of the club. 150 million is what a lot of people think we are worth. To all the doubters, this is the first concrete sign that we are being sold

Comment 153, made on February 22, 2012 at 5.11 pm

Agrotis said:

... Further... This was posted on Villa Talk, and its more or less what i told you what i was told back in November. I was out tonight, (Friday) and I got talking to a couple my mates who work for Villa. There's two of them and one works for the hospitality on match day, the other on security at Bodymoor Heath. Now, The one from Hospitality told me that all season an Arab from Qatar Petroleum has been going to every home game and the buyout is all done and dusted pretty much. Allegedly Mr Lerner was caught in a compromising position with a single lady and his wife caught him, and he has to sell up all they jointly own and more to pay her half as she is super powerful or something. I'm not to sure about that bit. but the bit that did interest me was him saying that he would give me twenty quid if Villa weren't sold in the summer, he's a tight cheapskate you see and he wouldn't say this lightly. The other bloke (~from Bodymoor) has shaken this Arabs hand. And both are convinced its all a done deal. They say that the club is saying the lack of transfer activity is down to wages etc in reality Lerner is trying make as much back as possible and to balance the books... I don't normally pass on rumour but this has been going on for a while now and when I told him about it he was pretty matter of fact about it which makes me wonder why no rags are into it, but I stand to make at least a score should we not be sold, which is a bonus for me anyway Posted Image Villa are to be sold to Qatar Petroleum OR I make twenty Quid Like I said I'm not a betting man but if I were... I may be talking rubbish passed on by fools but I am really starting to expect news in the summer, the Villa PR machine is conspicuous by its absence Oh and these people had to sign a confidentiality clause not to talk about club affairs on facebook etc Now this was posted before the central news item, and its amazing that it mentions Qatar Petroleum

Comment 154, made on February 22, 2012 at 5.26 pm