Villa attract detractors: is this a good sign?

[Mister E]

Savage, Keown, Adams, Sullevan .... who next?

Does this sudden (i.e. since early August) interest in our hoped-for demise mean that we are relevant again? Has the obscurity and blandness of the last two seasons disappeared? Is it now okay to dislike Aston Villa?

I hope so.

After all, accordingly to Mervyn King earlier this week, supporting Villa is tougher than running one of the world's largest central banks.

Maybe we are back on the footballing map.

[CJ]

Three of those are tossers of the highest order whose opinions aren't worth the oxygen they waste expressing them.  I've got some time for Martin Keown, not least of all because he played for us, and sometimes he talks sense, although labelling Villa fans as delusional and his apparent support for TSM last season edged him towards Savage territory. 

[jcsutv]

It seems a little too soon for people to see us as a threat.  A lot of people would have liked us to go down. Or are we just sensitive to it as we know we always get knocked by the London press.  Over the last few years they were backing some poor mangers over the club.

[Rancid custard]

I think to a lot of fans we're a non entity club. Much like that way that you know Wigan, you know they play in the premier league and we'll play them twice a season but beyond that you really don't give them that much thought except for when Dave Whelan starts his deluded ramblings about Martinez and his one season wonder player of the moment. There's a certain look at the league table, You think Arsenal, Citeh, Utd, Chelsea will be battling away at the top, Spurs, newcastle, everton and maybe the scoucers will be the fight for 5th, the relegation certs like southampton and the team that comes up and everyone seems to get behind because they're a sucker for the under dog. If you're not one of these groups I don't think you're paid much attention.

F*ck 'em, I don't care what anyone says about the Villa.

[Chipsticks]

I don't give a toss what other people think about my football club.

[Monty]

Well it's interesting that Guardian knocked us all last year, and have started praising us a bit this year. Then again, they don't have any of the Old Boys' network of pundits in their ranks, so they could say what they like about TSM.

[QBVILLA]

Any side who finished 16th the previous season with just 38 points playing turgid football is an easy tip to struggle. There have been no star signings or massive investment either. It's up to the manager and moreso the players to prove these pundits wrong. For example I fully expect Wigan to be in the bottom five and we finished below them. Personally I couldn't give a shit what the pundits think, they have a right to an opinion. More performances like the last two and i think it'll be an opinion that changes radically.

[Dave]

I think you're putting a bit too much thought into it.

The Savage and Keown ones are just them being lazy and assuming that because we were rubbish last year then we're bound to still be rubbish this year. The Adams one was just a random name to pick to demonstrate his breathtaking lack of self-awareness and Sullivan is just Sullivan, thrilled for the opportunity to talk about us at every opportunity he gets.

[villan from luton]

Lets be honest, we were useless last season and know from speaking to lads at work and mates that they still think Villa are useless. Dont think we should take it so personally, though Sullivans comments show him to be a twat of the highest order. Adams would not get a job at Wigan let alone Villa, he failed miserably at Wycombe. Savage is entitled to his opinion which was made before a ball had been kicked and to be fair, a fair amount of Villa fans were as negative. Lets just get on with it and ignore the comments. Remember even when we won the league in 80/81, it was Ipswich who were the media darlings. Did I give a toss, not at all, would rather us winning the league which we did. No one even considered us ready to challenge until we beat Liverpool 2-0 at VP

[johnny from donny]

Let them keep knocking us, a manager as good as Lambert will just use it as another tool to galvanise and motivate the team.

[not3bad]

I think you're putting a bit too much thought into it.

The Savage and Keown ones are just them being lazy and assuming that because we were rubbish last year then we're bound to still be rubbish this year. The Adams one was just a random name to pick to demonstrate his breathtaking lack of self-awareness and Sullivan is just Sullivan, thrilled for the opportunity to talk about us at every opportunity he gets.

Yeah that about sums it up.  Feels a bit unusual that these pops have come so close together though.

[stevenavfc]

Robbie Savage fits in perfectly on the BBC golfing chums network sofa. Bet he can't believe his luck that the corporation will pay top dollar for such p*ss poor journalism but football fans seem prepared to put up with it.
Heard him on FT this morning ' I'm going to be controversial here' (stand by for predictable and lame)
At the end of the day he isn't insightful or original or interesting so who cares what he claims to think.

[LeeB]

I think these media twats dismiss Villa in much the same way they dismiss the West Midlands in general.

[Pete3206]

Couldn't care less. Afternoons like last Saturday are all that matter.

[Toronto Villa]

It doesn't matter what others say. The better we get the more people will want to have snide digs. Let them. Much of the negativity and cyncism about our club is well deserved and most of it was self inflicted. We need to look after our own house, go about our business. We will always attract haters but that is inevitable. Our play and the way we conduct ourselves will attract more admirers, especially amongst our own and that's what will be most important.