Not Good enough: Odense 2 Aston Villa 2

Top Article Damian

That was awful, we made that team look good, we even made djemba-djemba look good! Agbonlahor was useless which i guess we can put that down to lack of fitness, but that dont explain y he didnt pass that ball to carew for a tap in. But as Damian said a win would have not been a fair reflection of the game. Lerts just hope for at least a couple of signins b4 nxt week and an improvement in fitness. UTV

draw is ok, key thing was not to get beat & get an away goal. If we had a balanced side, we would have comfortably beaten them, so hopefully we'll sign a RB by friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's early in the season. We were short in numbers. We played reasonably well, considering. Odense were good. We were away from home and we still have the 2nd leg. We will sign players.

This and more predictability from MON to come up to a local BBC/Sky/Setanta interview near you.

One of the worst Villa performances I can remember. Play like this in the Premier League and we could well get relegated. To show how bad we were, at times we made Djemba Djemba look like a world beater. We were definitely lucky to get a draw and if Odense practice their defending in set pieces in the coming week then we may struggle to create chances, let alone score. Hopefully this was a one off or just poor fitness because I found it truly worrying. The only Villans who perhaps had a half-decent game would be Bouma, Laursen and Taylor. We need signings sooner rather than later.

Agree with most of your post Damien, though Djemba2 certainly did his bit with the old tactical talk and our frailty down the right.
Overall we were lucky but then Laurson had one cleared off the line too, definately lacking in match sharpness.
Overall i'll settle for two away goals and a draw.

We're just in bad shape at them moment, which is why it's frustrating that we have these two important games. Our league season hasn't started so the players are not up to pace and the squads about as thin as a Rizla (no ones fault but MON's) so that's that. With no decent right sided player they could do the same thing to us at Villa Park next week so don't assume we'll win.

all i am saying is give us some players mr O WE NEED SOME NOW NOT JANUARY this team aint good enough

So frustrating!never seen us play that badly and really thought we were guna hold out for the win!sidwell had the perfect debut scoring a goal!!!!!2 away goals is a positive and we should win 2-0 next week and progress through but for god sake o'neill get a right back and a keeper in please zzzzzzzzzzzzz

thats a great result for the squad we have dont forget there season was meant 2 start today so they have been training for like a month so good result get friedel next few days hopefully some other signins by then and
unlucky sidwell did well but unlucky wid the own goal

Mick70

I was just about to run into you with your comments, until I read your last paragraph .. ;)

Two years to sort the right side. Give me the money Randy and I'll sort it in two weeks! I'll even do it free of charge! Even my twelve year old lad wrote a letter the other day to MON asking for him to look to Europe and get some creative players in.

Below is a 12 year olds letter to MON. It just says something about what's happening at the moment. (I don't actually agree with some of it, but it's the point that a 12 year old is frustrated with MON) I am awaiting all the crap from the one's that lambast us moaners and whingers! If you lemmings think tonight was anything like good enough, you should not be blindly supporting what the management is doing.
Dear Martin O’Neill

My name is Jack
I am 12 years old and I am a villa fan. I am writing to you to say that the club needs to focus more on worldwide talent in other leagues. When you were appointed manager in 2006-2007 I was delighted and you brought 2 great players in (Ashley Young and John Carew) that have been great for us in the 2007-2008 season. This season we have bought Steve Sidwell and Curtis Davies. I look on the AVFC website regularly and we have been linked with many players abroad. If we have any chance of going further in the league we need to fulfil the rumours and move in on them. One of our links was Thierry Henry, he is in our budget range and is rumoured unhappy at Barcelona. I am not faulting the signings we’ve made, I am just saying we need to focus a bit more on players in worldwide leagues and focus less on the premier league. We have a remaining budget of what I believe to be £35 million pounds and if we sell Gareth Barry another £18 million to spend and we could do some damage to the premier league with that sort of funds and world class signings such as Diego from Werder Bremen. We are in urgent need of a right back like Valencia’s Miguel and I think we need a replacement for Reo-Coker because he hasn’t shown enough class for £8 million pounds.

If you would like to write back send an email send it to my dad’s email - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yours Faithfully,

Jack XXXXXXXX

Damian..heh. I like MON, I really do.

He seems like a fella I'd gladly share a pint with.

I wish he'd give us more reasons to like him though, his lack of urgency's beginning to really grind me down :(

he doesnt need advice from a 12 year old hes a clever man u cant just click ur fingers and get a player

I was going 2 say before the game that sidwell was going 2 score tonight but i did not think it was going 2 be a og

Laursen is a class player should of won us the game

need some new players this week

Complete rubbish, i did predict a bore draw, same old villa conceading goals in the last minutes of games oh when will things change

I will not be going next week, villa have no ambition and we look real dodgy at the back and we have a mildfield that can't switch! Strikers that dont link-up! its crazy you tell me why i should go? Thats not entertainment, its disapointment.

How old are you 03rodgersm? Do you have the answers? I take it you don't agree with the 12 year old that says we need the right side sorting? It was the point that we all know the failings, except one man that's not sorted it. As I keep saying I really like MON, but bloody hell, how hard can it be. If there's one person that thinks right side has been ok for at least the last year then please stand up and be counted!

AARRGHHH! MO'N ARE YOU TRYING TO STRESS THE FANS?! GET A BLEEDING MOVE ON

andyarkitekt

i like martin o'neill also, but i'm thinking he either doesn't know how to attract top players or more than likely, he doesn't have the funds to go after them

randy lerner owns the club so he has to take responsibility to some extent and if there is money available then he's got to either bring in a director of football or have a quite chat with o'neill

but, i dont think the money is available - i'd hazard a guess that he's been offered no more than £20mn. this summer and if he wants anymore he's got to raise it himself ..

just all guess work but every other manager out there would spend if they had it; why is o'neill any different?

We'll have to admit that Aston Villa is in poor condition lately, and that Aston Villa isn't very active in the transfermarked at the moment... We despretly need a goalkeeper, a rightback and a right man at the midfield... We were poor tonight and hope the MON get his finger out and start shopping soon, or we'll be at the bottom of the table.

You are never as bad as you look or as good as you look. That said, the Villa were poor today. Considering it is the first competitive match of the season and against a team that has been in their season for awhile, it could be worse. Whatever you are thinking about for RB Mr. O'Neill, do it pronto!

i thought we were very lucky at times but for that 20 minuets in the second half we looked quite good so why couldnt we do that through the whole game

it is the same as the lincon match we started well then fell asleep.

sidwell was unlucky with the own goal. Hopefully we can sign friedel and win at home

i think 2-1 villa

COME ON THE VILLA

Poor performance tonight lucky to escape with a draw very frustrating to watch.I think the only positive was laursen.He was also captain tonight,does that mean he will be captain for rest of season hope so.

why did mon leave us with 10 men by playing routledge :'( :'( :'(.jazmundo i am very angry xxxx

Bye the way Damian....If I win the DVD I'll give it to Acorns. No pressure to pull me out at random then? ;)

does anyone else think we were crap because we were without barry? because i do.
i also think the barry saga has effected a lot of the players.

If that game doesn't show MON that Craig Gardner isn't a right back I don't know what will!!! Clearly it isn't as easy a job as MON told Craig it was a year ago, I remember reading an interview on the official site with Gardner where he said MON had told him, right back is easy, if you've got the ball and space in front of you then take it forward, if not then don't. Clearly it isn't that easy and maybe now MON will realize that.

Also, where was NRC all night? I would assume his job was to sit in front of Gardner and protect him, cause whenever he tried to go forward he got caught with the ball.

Finally, Release the HARE!!!!

Not a bad result - looking forward to finishing the job next saturday.

I don't believe MON anymore and his "trying to do something" - a couple of £4m suspects will be unveiled as the players we have been chasing for 2 years !

at leased we made the final of the inter toto 8) 8) 8) 8)happy days.i love you jazmundoxxxxx

MON is going to get the sack before Christmas because the fans will turn on him come 31st August when we have signed a load of cast offs from Spurs, Liverpool & the like. It's going to be on the cheap as per usual. Last season we had a chance to sign a top calss goalie in Craig Gordon but MON goes for the cheap on loan option. He bids for Bentley but not enough & he knew it wasn't enough. Does he think that bidding not enough for a player will make us fans think Villa are after top players??? Why not bid not enough for kaka & ballack, Robineo (can't Spell) ect. Bloody Kidderminster Harriers could have a £2million bid for Kaka turned down
but that wouldn't make their fans think that they were seriously trying to sign him. Since Learner & MON have been at Villa they have spent FCUK all but have promised the world well it's time to put those words into action. Do they think replacing 18m Barry with 4.5m Sidwell is progress. Does hwe think that playing the best young central midfield player we have at right back is progress? Does he think that letting players like Moore & Cahill go & not replacing them is progress? We had kids on the bench tonight, REo FCKing Coker on the right wing looking as awfull as he normally does 8m for him what was MON thinking. Sidwell & Petrov were spectaters & as for Zat Knight i just can't see a footballer?
Like i say Learner has spent FCUK ALL since he has come to Villa & our team at present will finish bottom half at best. If we have no money come out and tell us that because come 31st August we'll all know what Villa's intentions are & i fear the worst.

We looked like a pub team today at best and are starting to remind me of Bolton, we also desperately missed Barry in midfield. Damien I know you are not a fan, but sidwell is not going to do us any favours if he's been given Barry's job. Fair play to Reo Coker who at least looked bothered, Gardener gave 100% as well but Petrov and Sidwell were filler today, both of them looked pretty damn poor. I also found the forwards a little predictable, Carew was half decent, finished the goal well but Gabby has about as much control as my nan, in fact she has a better first touch - he needs dropping for me.

We were bloody lucky to come away today with a draw, and need a complete 180 for next Saturday. What amazes and angers me is that we don't have a real recognised right back, even if we got a squad player in for now at least we'd have some cover back there. This is our route into European competition and the manager frankly has made a right cock up of not bringing signings in for this game - I think for all the slagging that Barry has had, maybe this is some of the reason he wants to piss off to the scousers. MON needs to pull his finger out this week and sign a right back and some quality - I have no idea why he didn't take off either Carew or Gabby and give the Hare a run out, I also think that Maloney would have been a useful addition to a midfield that was as flat as a pancake.

this has to be the kick up the arse that we need to get some quality players in. if it doesnt, then we can kiss 08/09 goodbye an battle for mid table mediocrity.
but its a draw, and if we play shit but stil not lose then thats a plus. sure, against a top club, that kinda performance by us will only get us bent over the table wit our pants down. there is still the 2nd leg to go, and maybe vp is that place that will say to the club - get it sorted and get it on.

what is it with us conceding goals in the last fcuking minutes of games, it really pisses me off..poor game and we're lucky to still be in it..I hope MON looks carefully at this and sees that we struggled against a very very poor team. Get these reinforcements in NOW !!!!!!

Agreed Jinksy....What an absolute joke we are at the moment. People can give as many excuses as they want, Aston Villa FC is being mis managed at the moment. We are nothing more than a feeder club and are unable to shake that tag because we continue to buy cheap players (thats when we do buy) or other teams mis mits or outcasts. We have to make a move now whilst we still have Ash and Gab or they will be next. The part that pisses me off the most is that we are supposed to be creating an environment that will encourage quality players to sign. The game tonight does the absolute opposite, potential targets will be fleeing. The thing is Everton sold Rooney and that was more or less the start of there most recent success, signing Arteta and Cahill possibly with the Rooney money. There is no excuse for not having a RB or a 1st string keeper. Plus Sidwell and Reo on at the same time puts way too much pressure on Ash to create, and when teams do their homework and mark up on him, we look dull and uninspiring as we did tonight. We have more work to do than any other club in shorter time and MON has fallen asleep at the wheel ( or at the BBC studio in Vienna ).

ok im bored with all this transfer market crap now. we need players and players fast, did anyone who see the bench tonight. it was a joke.
i can see this season being very hard and will struggle to get top half unless we sign at least 6 quality players, not the 4 millon crap we keep buying......

one step forward and 2 steps back i feel.....

Awful just as bad as the last game we played what a total joke

Im more worried about the comming season where as id like to be excited but with this sort of team and squad size things look dreadull

I keep asking why will this transfer window be any better to the other one and yet no one can awsner cause deep down you know it will be as bad as the last 3 windows

Randy Lerner MUST replace fitzgerald just to help with transfer dealings because martin is to proud to addmit he needs help

Randy has all this money and wants it spent but martin dont no where to start with it

A Center Mid Playing Right Back For This Ammount Of Time Is Totaly Unacceptable

Sort it out martin we look as bad as a championship team if not worse

Doug ellis hated spending money and what dose he do just before he fcuks off ? Hires a manager that dose not like to spend money

Total stich up if you ask me

Deathly silence from the 'We love MON and Randy whatever they do' camp tonight. They were all banging on last night and earlier today about trusting MON and for us 'moaners and whingers' that dare question why we have no right side strength, to shut our traps. Do Mclaren enter a Formula 1 motor race with only three wheels on there cars? The answer is no! I think you can work out where this annalagy is going without me spelling it out for you!

Very very rusty! Hopefully they'll get it sorted by next week

We were shit
I hear what everyone is saying about the players we crave, but its not just about selling the club and our ambitions. I think a lot of it is about selling Birmingham. It definately isn't as attractive as some other cities, I love the fuckin place, but take a look around. We ain't cosmopolitan. Bentley and co ( Henry someone) want the big lights. It ain't over yet, give MON some credit for his achievements, if a twelve year that sounds like a 30 year old knows our short comings, I'm sure he does.
Sorry I'm drunkish.

Piss poor performance tonight, yes we will win the second leg but compared to a supposed prem team we were shite.
MON Signs shite players and hasn't got a clue, you morons that support him tell me how good this lot are?

Young - Great
Harewood - Crap
Routledge - Crap
Maloney - Shite
Petrov - Shite
Carson - Shite
Sidwell - Crap
Knight - Shite
Reo-Joker - Crap

If I forgot anyone else it's because they are crap. How many of these muppets would be in a top 4 team or La Liga or Italia team? None and that is who we are supposed to be competing with. I think all of these insipid boring uninspired signings show MOn as a complete joke. sack him now not wait until next season and find out we lucked it last season. We won't get relegated, but I would prefer it to ending up mid table AGAIN for the next decade, boring boring bollocks. Have some desire to compete with top 4 not just go through the motions. If we suddenly sign some great players brilliant but I'm not falling for it anymore we have been mugged off. i want a full and sincere apology at the end of next season from all the sheep that support MON whatever he does cause it makes them feel more of a fan. More and more people are agreeing now and I've been banging on about this since last summer. At least I have the courage of my convictions to stand by what I said.

BOUMA AND LAURSEN......they were the only players who honestly deserve to wear that claret and blue shirt with pride. Boumas shot just topped off his silent but deadly performance and as for Laursen....he played his usualy self(might have been at fault for last goal tho)

Taglor. Wow...respect for your opinion.

You did miss out Davies...Good and Salifou...No idea, who's is the enigma called Salifou?!!!!!!!!!!

gazza...I'll take it you think my 12 year old son Jack writes like a 30 year old as a compliment. Thanks. Hope you don't suffer in the morning from the night before !

Up The Villa

I have decided it could be worse.....Could have been born with my family supporting Blue's :'( :'(

This is the kind of football we play, bash it into the box and wait for the keeper to parry a shot or a knock down and hoof the ball into the net, ie Bolton. Villa havent been able to string more than 3 passes together for years. MON is a great person and excels with the average but I tell you now if Lerner was there in DOL's 1st season we'd be playing attractive football with decentish players and would've got a 4th place at least once. Only problem with DOL is his lack of charisma and the fact that he's a bit of a c**t.

MON should stop making comments about signing players, it's creating false hope.

in my opinion this is the worst squad weve had for years going into a new season..on numbers and quality it is crap..yes we have some very good players,but after that,nothing but kids and crap..are we not going into a very important season,with intertoto and possibly europe..but with MON do u not think were being managed by a complete loon whos on another plant...i know i do,,the bloke makes me cringe, when hes on tv its embarassing he just talks shite all the time..we made a bid for bentley and were knocked back,,so well look elswhere,,what a twat...2 years and counting for a right back..DID YOU KNOW THERES 20 IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP THAT COULD DO THE JOB..HELLO MON ARE YOU THERE,,ARR THE LIGHTS ARE ON BUT KNOWBODYS HOME...

I am writing from Australia and i am getting more and more frustrated with the Villa. It's time to spend money on quality and bring the big names in. Sell Barry for 16million plus Finnan and then take that money and buy Bentley and a back up RB. I watched the game and was embarressed with the performance. They look like half the team they were compared to last season and whose to say that they will win next Sat? If we don,t but 2 or 3 players this week we could lose next Sat and there goes European football and any chance of signing any good players before Aug 31. Why would any one come to Villa if there is no Uefa? Come on MON get the cheque book out and spend!!!!!!!!!!!

Taglor.....
p**s poor performance tonight, yes we will win the second leg but compared to a supposed prem team we were s**te.
MON Signs s**te players and hasn't got a clue, you morons that support him tell me how good this lot are?

Young - Great
Harewood - Crap
Routledge - Crap
Maloney - s**te
Petrov - s**te
Carson - s**te
Sidwell - Crap
Knight - s**te
Reo-Joker - Crap

You lose credibility for your comments when you say stuff like 'sidwell crap'. He's played 1 competite game for us. The coment is not constructive and you are so negative all the time. You are entitled to be unhappy, but you need to be constructive.

Damian - You probably have contacts at Villa so you know more than most, but I do not believe that we don't have the money. If we needed the bunse we would not have made the Acorns gesture. I believe the money is available, but MON won't spend it.

However, I am bored like many others, when MON and others say bringing in a player is not easy. I'm sure it's not, but other teams do, and 6 months without any right back is not acceptable. If Finnan is available we shoukd get him. Even if only to fill a slot for now. Gardner isn't a defender and Reo Coker not a RB at all.

I'm not over joyed either, and now is the time for actions, and not words (blogs excepted)

I'm MON's biggest supporter. I truely believe that he will come good and sign the players that we need before the season starts. Only if he doesn't will I start to turn.

But even I must admit that I'm frustrated about having entered the Intertoto with a CM at RB and a CM at RW. We haven't had a proper RB for over a year! The team that we put out today wouldn't finish in the top half.

And to cap it all off we are now linked with Scharner from wigan and some other tw*t I can't remember, give me strength, how is this progress!!! Taglor I'm with you, out of all MON's signings only three are any goog. All these supporters with rose tinted glasses may finnaly wake up and smell the coffee, the most ridiculas thing I've heard for ages is " I think this is the year for Routledge" seriously the guy is absoloute crap!!!!

I CANNOT BELIEVE SOME OF THE ARTICLES I READ ON HERE, THEY ARE A SHAMBLES. A LOT OF YOU NEED TO STOP BEING CALLED SUPPORTERS AND RENAMED CRITICS. NOTHING IS EVER GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, MARTIN O'NEILL, THE PLAYERS AND THE CLUB ARE DAMNED IF THEY DO OR DAMNED IF THEY DONT, IN YOUR EYES.

I HAVE COMPLETE FAITH IN MARTIN O'NEILL AND THE TEAM HE HAS NOW AND WILL ADD TO. WHY MOAN ABOUT PROBLEM AREAS IN THE SQUAD. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED, DO YOU REALLY THINK THE TEAM WE HAVE NOW IS IS FOR THE SEASON.

PEOPLE LIKE ''DAMIAN'' ARE SO NEGATIVE ABOUT ALL THINGS VILLA, AND BY THIS SITE IT FILTERS DOWN TO OTHER FANS, CAUSING PEOPLE TO BE DISGRUNTLED AND BITCH ABOUT THE VILLA FROM DAY TO DAY. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR IT.

THEN NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY IN OPPOSITION TO THE GOD THAT IS DAMIAN, HE WRITES BACK SOME SMARMY TRIPE, WHICH ULTIMATELY MAKES NO SENSE. OR HE BLOCKS YOU FROM THE SITE

I AM SICK TO DEATH OF THE MOANING. ITS A SHAME TO CALL YOU VILLA SUPPORTERS.

KEEP THE FAITH

Not great but a draw will do (finally I got a prediction right) and two away goals are better than one.

Bored with all the negativity. Have your moment, you deserve it, if for no other reason than your outstanding tenacity.

For those of you who said during last season 'hope we don't qualify for Champs League cos we don't wanna look stupid' I guess you must be delighted that you think we look stupid in the Inter Toto.

Damian - I think you're wrong about RL. This is the way MON works, always has and always will - go and ask a Celtic fan. I'd rather have these two than what Man City, Liverpool, Newcastle...have got.

I can read a lot of comments saying Gardner gave a 100%... Gardner is just not good enough (even at 100%) to be part of the starting 11. All the Odense crosses came from their left winger.We need a real right back !!! Taylor just confirmed he will stay 3rd keeper (so please sign Friedel quickly). Petrov was the invisible man. Agbonlahor has to read a book about how to make a pass !!!! And we need a right winger !!!!

Good display by Laursen, Knight, Bouma, Young, Carew.

I've saved you all the bother. Here are some genuiune posts from Celtic fans when MON was manager. Sound familiar???? Now I might be a romantic but to me this says that MON borders on being a football managing genius given that he continues to do well despite his continuing lack of activity in the transfer market. It also suggests that this is the way he works and, therefore, RL may just be letting MON to get on with what thinkgs but be willing to back him financially should he need it. MON will have built up a lot of trust and respect with RL as he will see that he is careful and sensible with his money. We may not like it but that's the way it is and while the results are still good then I'm not going to moan too much!!!

[quote]We need to bring in new players for all over the pitch - and NOT squad players - team players.

If MON stated that he needed 4 or 5 new faces then surely it is now a time to worry as we have a team that is understrength for the champions league especially in the defence area

i agree aswell mate, but i cannot understand how mon has had 3 months to buy players and looked what has happened we have brought in one player when its plain to see we are short of cover at the back

yes he has had plenty of time shood have really brought in a defender instead of yesterdays carry on seemed more like panic buying in the end

again mon has left it late, he'll come out now sayin we'll sign players in january but that aitn gd enough

He new we needed more players, but left everything until the last minute to bring people in, we had from the start of the summer but nothing ever materialised until now

may be the worlds biggest cynic but i am becoming afraid of MON's judgement with regard transfers
[/quote]

Ghosthunter

Someone told me earlier this week that Martin O'Neill was worshipped in Glasgow mostly for the pride he brought back - not much else.

The same person also reminded me who there manager was now and suggested that any half decent manager would do well at Celtic.

Is it possible to get any of the these e-mails to MON himself, i have just bought a season ticket, the last time i had one was when Ron Saunders was the manager and how enjoyable those days were, i find the situation in regard to a goalkeeper and a right back unbelievable. No one can convince me that there are not these players available to be bought, Mon is obviously a man of principles however in this day and age by the time your principles are actioned other teams have gone on and won all the trophies available. We struggled last year in my opinion to play this season without players like Garath Barry can only lead to a disapointing look out. I feel other teams and the premier league will not take us seriously until we start buying players of top quality and although we may have to pay over the odds if we do not other teams will, please do not let me have any regrets in buying my ticket i have followed the Villa all my life and if we do not get our act togethet quickly i can only see a average season ahead, it would be good to read some/any comments from MON himself.

;D ;D ;D Calm down, calm down. Trust in MON, its our first competetive game, Odense have more fitness, we will go through. A teams doesnt go bad after 2 months off, people reading the red tops and jumping on the band wagon of doom? just sit back relax and enjoy UTV

Hello whingers!!
Things never change on this site, and i'm sure you would all be doing it if we won 8-0 last night!

Yes a bad performance, and yes we need a right back, right winger, and goal-keeper. But for god sake wev'e got a month until the season starts and O'Neil will get the players in.
Other teams are not exactly buying players by the dozen are they?

I'm sorry to say but you lot are starting to sound very much like blues fans!

love from optimistic ron

Damian you are spot on but I guess £10 of that £20m went on Curtis.
The General said some time back when I was complaining about loosing my seats to the corporate mob something like Randy needs to make revenue for players & the corporate fans will help this.
Right £800,000 an no Sponsor will achieve that.
Many have noted we are weak on the right side & MON has had someone lined up for over a year, but still no change.
I look forward to a Team challenging for a mid Table with Knight, Davis, Sidwell, Osbourne, Routledge Gabby .
It’s a joke if you go to the official Site the First Team Squad Still has TSorry, OMelberg SCarson PBerger Listed then makes up the squad with Sally, Nathan, Wayne & Isaiah Yes we have WBouma JCarew MHare & Gabby but with only Young & Larsen having Top 6 credentials
We are Well short of what is required without relying on the luck of the Irish
A chairman, well i recall GT "club run by Doug Ellis, for Doug Ellis and on behalf of Doug" is this coming back to haunt us, only this time Randy is not even running the club just jetting in occasionally to take the accolades.

I would also like to say we are playing in the prem not just in the Highlands.
Sidwell has sat on his ar£e for a year just thinking about spending his money Did not look like a hungry player to me.

Ron

it was a good result last night - in so much we should beat them at villa park - but the season started last night not in a month

we were lucky, but football is about luck sometimes and everyone on here is happy about that

what happens though, if on september 1st, we don't have all these players you suggest - or worse still the players we do get are not really of the standard we would have liked or just more hard working runners?

everyone has a right to a moan or a whinge when things don't go there way - especially when the club said it would

I wouldn't get too upset yet fellow Villans, we are only a goal away from getting some wired side Eastern Europe and then the UEFA Cup proper fun begins. I can see us focusing on that and ending up 12 in the league, getting knocked out by Lincoln in the fizzy pop cup (or whatever it's called now) and Havant and Waterlooville in the F.A. cup. It will be live on the BBC of course with everyone- even non-footie fans laughing at us. It's all down to Randy (I can't find my chequebook) Learner and things could get ugly during the 2008/2009 season.

taglor, i respect your opinion but we don't have carson anymore ;)
then what would you think of guzan?

Like I keep saying, you were lucky.

@ Ron - Damian has made the same point i was going to make only he said it in a nicer way. You cannot honestly say you are happy with our start to this season. All we have heard from club officials are the standard " We will be challenging for top 4" and " Martin O`Neill will be fully backed by Randy Lerner". As it stands today, both have not happened and look increasingly unlikely to happen. What is looking increasingly likely, is that all of us who have bought in to this five year plan and massive rebuilding of OUR club, are being taken for a ride by another yank businessman. The thing is nobody would be upset if they simply would have come out at the start of all this and said that MON will be given only a small purse to sign players, instead we have more or less been told the opposite, with my most hated phrase "significant funds" being bandied around frequently. 3 or 4 (being generous) players we have signed during this period are actually matching the " clubs ambition" the others are all gap fillers. The point is if you promise something do it, rather simple i would have thought. I have been very patient up until this point, one has to be supporting this club. I found myself believing in everything that was said at the beginning and now things are looking to fall way short of what has been promised, yet there are those who think that they are more of a villa fan if they just agree with everything the club says, and "stay positive" despite all of this. "In MON we trust!". I am no longer happy with mid table finishes as we have been shown that, last season atleast, we had a team and manager capable of taking the next step, and now infuriatingly (is this even a word?) we have our foot in the door (to challenge for top4) and the club is now behaving in the most unprofessional way, pissing around with this Barry saga, MON being a pundit at the euros, allowing key players to leave and not replacing them, going into another season (as it started yesterday) without a proper squad, not having a sponsorship deal for kits (although its a good cause)........the list goes on. This club is so close and to see it being mis managed at such a critical time is a sin. Ron this is why we are "whinging", i feel it keeps me a little saner rather than believing everything that these idiots ram down my throat, like the rest of the little white sheep brigade do.

Damian
[quote]Someone told me earlier this week that Martin O'Neill was worshipped in Glasgow mostly for the pride he brought back - not much else.[/quote]
Worshiped in Glasgow, worshiped in Leicester, worshiped in Wycombe - bit of a theme. Surely that proves something?? Let's just hope in five years time he's worshiped in Birmingham!!!

added in my comments within the quote section - sorry

Worshiped in Glasgow, worshiped in Leicester, worshiped in Wycombe - bit of a theme. Surely that proves something?? Let's just hope in five years time he's worshiped in Birmingham.

I agree, but Strachan is starting to get a following in Scotland - would you want him at your club and while he won two league cups at Leicester - the football was run run run, hit it long to Heskey.

I've replied to somewhere else - so I won't repeat it all, but get Martin O'Neill the right players that can play football (not that ours cant but a real talented central midfielder) and we'll really kick on, but continue this run run run mentality and don't get a real creative player in the middle and we'll not break top three and Liverpool for many a season.

We're nearly there and I'd say he's already worshipped in Birmingham because he's a very easy bloke to like, but if you went to manage Celtic you'd finish up with European football.

I'm a big fan of O'Neill but it doesn't mean he doesn't have shortcomings.

I think some of the comments on here border on the ridiculous.

Performances at this time of year mean absolutely nothing. The lads have only been training for two weeks!
I remember going down to Bodymoor Heath to watch the training. RS told the lads to get some shooting practise in and believe me, I can't state enough how poor we were. The season? 1980-81.
So don't read anything into that performance last night

The main thing is we got a result I'm sure most would have been happy with before the game and as MON says, it sets us up nicely for the home leg.
Don't forget this is still the main part of the team that finished 6th last season.

Having said that, I totally accept what has been said about the right side and I'm sure MON is working on it. I'm definitely still trusting him to come up with the goods before the transfer window finishes. If he doesn't though, I would also accept something is very wrong. But not before then.

Ron, I'm afraid there's an unattractive element down the Villa and Blues. I guess it's called "Brummies" (of which I am one). We are whinging b*stards with very short memories and very little class.

I can't believe most of the drivel I have read on this site. To think three years ago we were by popular consent the most boring, underachieving, unambitious and downright embarrassing outfit in the top flight.

I just hope people like MON and RL don't read this shite. there's a lot of people who talk about loyalty round here. Loyalty is about giving the benfit of the doubt folks. Supporting something when you are not in possession of all the facts.

Damian one thing I'm finding very tiresome is your use of the words "I'm MONs biggest fan, but...". Biggest fan in respect of what? I'm always suspicious of people who use those words.

Now have a negative opinion yes. I do, as I have said before. I think we are in for a poor season. We are still on the up but we are in the hardest league in the world and there are plenty of teams with money around us. Look at the backing West Ham, Tottenham, Man C etc. have got. For God sake get real. Be a supporter or a whinger - don't claim to be both.

wow, we weren't good, but some of these comments are totally out of proportion. MON out by christmas?!?! are you on crack?!?!

you should all put this page in your bookmarks and return to it at the end of the season. will some of these words prove prophetic?? or just [i]pathetic[/i]??

I think we missed the influence of Barry myself, it looked like a pre season warm up game except there was something at stake. Need a right back or maybe two, a creative midfielder, a winger and a striker coz Gabby looks like he's beginning to believe his own publicity, lets hope he doesn't go down the same road as the brothers Moore. Plenty to play for next week, hopefully we might have a few additions to the squad. Keep the faith guys!!!!

andyanarchist - If sorting the right back situation is so simple please outline your plan and then tell me why you think MON hasn't sorted it without simply stating that he is useless.

Ghosthunter - Spot on.

VFD - Can't be bothered bookmarking it,they were proved full of shit last season, how many times do they need to be wrong before they feel the shame.

Finally, the letter from the 12 year old was actually quite good because it contained some facts and some positivity.

How the MON supporters are seen as lemmings and the moaners as prophets of truth I will never know? Spouting you're crap, sign a right back, look to Europe, spend the money. Genius.

I'm not that bothered because I didn't expect much from this game. They've been back two weeks, and most likely weren't looking to do anything beyond get through it. We still got two away goals, and could've won just as easily as lost, however poor we were at times.

Yes, I'm an optimist. Apart from Barry, this is largely a team that finished 6th, so MON isn't crazy for taking this side into the Intertoto. And as I've said before, the transfer market doesn't care that Villa are playing meaningful games a month or more before nearly anyone else is. How well MON's done in this transfer window will only be known when it's closed.

I think MON is just as aware of the deficiencies as any of us are. As I said before last year, the only fair judgment comes at the end of the season. And the same holds true this year.

But for now, Villa will progress next week, and that's all they're looking to do at the moment. The style points or lack thereof, will count for naught.

Damian - let's cut to the chase here.

MON was hailed as a God at Celtic for two reasons - 1) They were in a mess and even his punt and run hoofball gave them some pride and 2) the big one: he's a Northern Irish Catholic, ie one of them behind "enemy lines". Strachan has done more for them in three years than MON did in five, but Strachan is a Scottish Protestant, the "enemy" of Celtic.

AVmark and ron....totally agree with you too...i get depressed reading half of the comments on here!!when we are struggling in the league and have a tiny squad still by september..moan then!!that will be fair, but to winge and moan and slate O'neill before is just wrong.

maindog, AVMark and Ron

Some people are a little frustrated, already, because this isn't the first time this has happened.

Last January there was all this talk of the squad getting strengthening with quality signings - even late last year Gareth Barry was telling us how he knew that the manager woudl be strengthening in January.

Then, last summer, it was the same - players going and not enough coming in.

While anyone saying Martin O'Neill should be sacked is mad, those getting frustrated at his apparent inability to do good business in the transfer window, have sufficient reason to be a little annoyed.

Put it this way, you support your team and for the most part believe it to be your team, despite it owned by an American who really probably couldn't explain the offside rule and until his advisors informed him he could make money out of owning a Premier League club, probably had no interest in the sport - despite what we're told. You spend quite a lot of money each season supporting your team and bigger than that - put in a lot of your time ... then, they don't do anything with that money, despite telling you they will and then you've got a new owner who says he will back the manager and he's got his PR puppet telling everyone that the money is there - but the manager doesn't spend it.

People have the right to be frustrated because this isn't the first time it's happened and most of us are expecting some average/slightly above average players fairly soon - not the players we need to challenge for top three and Liverpool.

Hope I'm wrong.

WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE TRANSFER THEN HAVE A MOAN !!
THE REAL BUSINESS DOES NOT START UNTIL THE LAST WEEK....
WHO HAVE EVERTON, NEWCASTLE, BLACKBURN SIGNED YET ??? DO WE ALL THINK MON IS HAPPY WITH THE RB SITUATION...
WE WILL FILL THESE POSITIONS B4 THE START OF THE PREM.
GETTIN BORED WITH THE NEGATIVITY AGAIN !! >:( >:( >:(

Don't mean to sound negative or anything, but how does the qualification work in the toto? will a 1-1 draw be enough to see us through on away goals or do we need to win outright. Let us all know so we can perhaps enjoy the home leg.
:'(

Yes your right. You are givin us too much credit. I seen the "overall dismal" match. We had a good enough team too beat most of our pre-season matches with the squad we had out. Love from all the Villains in Ireland