What's going on?

[Toronto Villa]

After losing their best player, spending nothing in the transfer window, entering yet another 'missed opportunity' season, a protest before the game, I couldn't believe how positive and supportive the Everton fans were for their team on Saturday. Most impressive.

that's a really good point. Their fans looked well up for it despite the fact that the manager has been able to spend nothing at, have lost arguably their best player on deadline day along with two other forwards. They have a chairman that hasn't been able to find a buyer for whatever reason, yet on match day they really got behind their team. Compare that to the empty seats we had for a local derby. I know that things haven't exactly been brilliant of late, and selling Ash and Downing are heavy blows. But on match days it serves no purpose if the atmosphere is like a morgue. It does feed its way down to the players and makes it twice as bad. We need that stadium packed as often as possible, because it's still Aston Villa playing and the club will be here long after the current manager/board/staff/players and all of us are long gone.

[cheltenhamlion]

A handful of injuries? At one point we were only a few short of the first day at The Somme.

[timeoutbigbar]

I don't want him seriously injured, but I don't particularly rate him.  I think we have better options that should be looked at though, but there's a reason I'm not a football manager.

[Phil from the upper holte]

To be fair everton wasn't sold out and when the camera switched to Bill there was booing

[brian green]

Two points I wish to make and I will try not to ramble.

Firstly Everton last saturday made a big show of solidarity and getting behind the team because they were in the spotlight and wanted to be seen as good, unified supporters.   Fans of just about every team would do it.   Good luck to them.   The test of whether they are better than the fans of other clubs will come when the glare of publicity is off them and they are struggling to keep up their standards.   Even the most lukewarm supporters those of the Arsenal were singing we love you Arsenal as the goals tsunamied in at the Manuredrome.   Does that make the Arsenal fan base passionate, loyal and diehard?   Not in my book.

The second point I wish to make is that there is a universe of difference between fearing the worst and wanting the worst to happen.   I fear the worst but I no more want Emile Heskey to hurt himself than I want one of my children or grandchildren to do so.

On Radio 4 earlier this week there was a discussion about the importance of history.  An historian was quoted as follows "madness ensues when a person cannot remember what has happened to him and act upon it.  The same will happen to society if it cannot remember what has happened in the past and act upon it."

A few weeks ago a poster longed for the return of the days of Blanchflower, Hitchens and McPartland (sic).

Dave Woodhall immediately replied that when those three great players were playing for Villa we were rubbish.   We were rubbish, I can vouch for it.

I do not feel negativity towards Villa, I feel a profound sense of unease about where we are and what is going on.

I am impressed by Alex McLeish's handling of the media, I am impressed by all the off the field things he does with one or two small exceptions but I am not impressed by any of the games we have played.   He talks a very good game of football but we have not seen one from him yet in five games.   That is the root of my unease.

[Villanation]

Two points I wish to make and I will try not to ramble.

Firstly Everton last saturday made a big show of solidarity and getting behind the team because they were in the spotlight and wanted to be seen as good, unified supporters.   Fans of just about every team would do it.   Good luck to them.   The test of whether they are better than the fans of other clubs will come when the glare of publicity is off them and they are struggling to keep up their standards.   Even the most lukewarm supporters those of the Arsenal were singing we love you Arsenal as the goals tsunamied in at the Manuredrome.   Does that make the Arsenal fan base passionate, loyal and diehard?   Not in my book.

The second point I wish to make is that there is a universe of difference between fearing the worst and wanting the worst to happen.   I fear the worst but I no more want Emile Heskey to hurt himself than I want one of my children or grandchildren to do so.

On Radio 4 earlier this week there was a discussion about the importance of history.  An historian was quoted as follows "madness ensues when a person cannot remember what has happened to him and act upon it.  The same will happen to society if it cannot remember what has happened in the past and act upon it."

A few weeks ago a poster longed for the return of the days of Blanchflower, Hitchens and McPartland (sic).

Dave Woodhall immediately replied that when those three great players were playing for Villa we were rubbish.   We were rubbish, I can vouch for it.

I do not feel negativity towards Villa, I feel a profound sense of unease about where we are and what is going on.

I am impressed by Alex McLeish's handling of the media, I am impressed by all the off the field things he does with one or two small exceptions but I am not impressed by any of the games we have played.   He talks a very good game of football but we have not seen one from him yet in five games.   That is the root of my unease.

This is spot on, and i feel the same trepidation about the feeling that you know something is going to happen sometime and form will drop as will heads and the gaff will be blown from there on in, we have started reasonably, but we just haven't been convincing, and McLiesh does come over very poker faced and everything is in hand, that is of course until the!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!fan.

[Toronto Villa]

I am impressed by Alex McLeish's handling of the media, I am impressed by all the off the field things he does with one or two small exceptions but I am not impressed by any of the games we have played.   He talks a very good game of football but we have not seen one from him yet in five games.   That is the root of my unease.

5 games though Brian. He had to fix the defence and get the team playing for each other. I think he's on the right track with both. In 5 games, that in itself is some achievement.

[Legion]

Brian, last season you were convinced that we were going to be relegated under Houllier/McAllister. We eventually finished 9th. How do you envisage the outcome of this one?

[nigel]

After losing their best player, spending nothing in the transfer window, entering yet another 'missed opportunity' season, a protest before the game, I couldn't believe how positive and supportive the Everton fans were for their team on Saturday. Most impressive.

Maybe our supporters should take a leaf out of their book.
I always tend to look on the positive side of things regarding our club and it really does p**s me off how negative some are.
I do despair at times, such as Sunderland and Wolves at home last season, the bright side being it couldn't get any worse :-)
At the end of the day, we're all entitled to our opinions. But, why do the negetive ones get all abusive when we positive ones disagree?

[The Laughing Policeman]

Some of you on here will remember the day that Mr. Saunders was appointed to manage our club, and without the 'benefit' of the internet we all asked the same question that's being asked now.
How many of you that were around in those days thought "yes good call, he'll build three teams that will culminate in winning the League Championship?"
I'll hold my hand up to being a doubter in those days, which is a good enough reason for me to be patient with AM. As long as the board are willing to give him time and the "fans" don't hound him out.
I honestly think that given two to three years AM will give us all something to crow about.


Hmmm, on second thoughts and in this age of "I want it all, and I want it now" maybe we should be calling for his head on Saturday.

[TelfordVilla]

I dont wish Heskey to be long term injured, but if he stays out of the team for ever that's just fine by me. Step up to the plate Bannan or Ireland or anyone else in the squad because they will surely offer more than that lumbering carthorse has ever offered. Just because he scored a scuffed miss-kick against Blackburn is no reason to play him. Consider if A N Other had been wearing the shirt in that match we may have scored more goals than we did. Heskey is just the sort that is blocking the rise of talented youngsters and he should have been shipped out in the summer. 
I never wanted AM but I hope he is a huge success at Villa. However one win and 3 poor draws is not the good start that our opening four fixtures should have provided and when you consider the much stronger opposition to come we can only pray for an improvement. I hope AM is learning and can prove to be up to the task.

[dave.woodhall]

I get the distinct impression some desperately want McLeish to fail. Sorry chaps but it ain't gonna happen.

I sense that too. Even some people who are not in that camp tend to turn on him fairly quickly and easily.

Even looking past that there is, from some posters on here, a festering air of extreme negativity that is quite unedifying.

Well said. 

Yep,you're right,its been brewing for a while,from the last days on M'ON,to the whole time under GH. Maybe its the way of the modern fan and football,but in all the years ive supported Villa,its always been a few highs followed by more lows,but you go with the flow and enjoy the good times,don't get too down beat during the bad times.

I think it's part modern football/life being so instant and mercenary; grab it now and judge everything on what you've got, and part the attitude of if you haven't got what you want it must be someone else's fault.

[DrGonzo]

Frankly I'm reaching the end of my tether with reading the angst ridden, anger laden, vitriolically over burdened, incentive filled, unthought out witterings of some of the posters on this site.  I used to enjoy reading and posting some derogatory (mainly in an anti-Ellis vein) tirades.  However if I log on to this site once a day now it is with the creeping fear of reading the witless rumblings of complete numpties. 
Can we not set a filter whereby we can eradicate the postings of our least favourite members (sic) and the endless "qoute wars" that can almost consume an entire page in a single post?

Love you H+V, but hate you just the same.

[villadelph]

Support is a forgotten virtue amongst some Villa fans.

[Vanilla]

re: Brian green

I think if you are going to quote the importance of history regarding villa, i think an apt quote is from Karl Marx (yes I know), when he wrote:

"History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce".

Recently, tragedy can be seen in the 2009-2010 season; farce would be 2010-2011. I have no idea which this season will be.