From now to next May your expectations

[Ads]

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team.

I thought we’d spent approximately £120 million gross and £80 million net and are the third highest spenders overall in the past three or four seasons, with a bigger wage bill than both Everton and Spurs?

[5ft811st2 Durham]

Low.

[The Situation]

Man... we haven't even got our new manager in yet and people are already deciding where we're going to finish under him (Houllier). He hasn't even officially been appointed yet, nevermind him being in charge for 1 match yet. For Christ's sake, the negativity around here stinks. People are forgetting that we were only 2 games away from finishing 4th last season and now all of a sudden people like to think they know more than others saying we'll finish somewhere between 8-12. How many Villa fans expected us to finish above Liverpool last season, how many so called ''football pundits'' didn't expect us to finish in the top 6 again?

People panic far too much, the season is only 3 games in, patience ppl.

[Dave Cooper please]

We have finished 6th three years on the trot..

Which a few considered as failure. 

One or two, most of those perceived as anti-MON however saw it as a sign that he had taken us as far as he could rather than failure.

[Reality]

We have finished 6th three years on the trot..

Which a few considered as failure. 

One or two, most of those perceived as anti-MON however saw it as a sign that he had taken us as far as he could rather than failure.

Who believed finishing 6th was a failure? I agree there were people who said MON had taken us as far as he could, but I've never came across anyone that has said it was a failure. Far from it.

[Villa'Zawg]

Is it not fair to expect little from the new man, Initially,  partly because of the poor timing of the previous managers exit, his smallish squad.
The huge spend used to achieve it may, it seem, be restricting what further spend is available, certainly while we continue to have large wage earners on board.
If Mon's major achievement as Chris suggests was 6th after such a big spend and 4 seasons on the job, I'd assume with no spend for some time, 6th really would be an achievement and one the Blessed Mon obviously didn't fancy taking on.

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team. Just as our wage bill is not high for top 8 team, it is below average. The area of finance where we have a serious deficiency compared to the other top 8 teams is in revenue and/or investment.

We spend less than the rest, we pay less than the rest and our owner invests less than the rest. Keep saying it often enough and you might get someone else to believe it.

If I kept saying that or anything like it you might have a point but what I said was entirely different.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team.

I thought we’d spent approximately £120 million gross and £80 million net and are the third highest spenders overall in the past three or four seasons, with a bigger wage bill than both Everton and Spurs?

He's using the Milner money to make us look like paupers, which is not the case.

Expectations?

Putting aside the fact that we unlike every other club in the league have failed to strength our squad this summer, I still think we can have an good season. What will be interesting to see is whether our flair players can grow, stepping it up a level. I'm expecting us to be more organised in defence and midfield but I'm not sure what will happen when we stop relying on speed as our only attacking outlet. I would hope we'll start scoring goals from corners and free kicks, something that ended when Laursen left. We really have been shocking in failing to take advantage of our set piece opportunities.

As for our final position, whilst sixth was the minimum we should have expected these last few years, it's only fair to say fifth was probably the best we could have realistically have hoped for. Now with a much stronger Man City and Spurs, Liverpool unlikely to have another disasterous season, not to mention the possibility of Everton not having an injury crisis yet again, it will be a real battle to reach sixth spot. That's not to say it can't be done but it's going to be tough. I'm going for 7th spot, which will be an achievement considering the summer we've had but if we can get one or two quality players during the January window, sixth is still a possibility. The most important thing is we remain up there with the group fighting for 4th spot whilst improving as a team throughout the season.
I thought we’d spent approximately £120 million gross and £80 million net and are the third highest spenders overall in the past three or four seasons, with a bigger wage bill than both Everton and Spurs?

[sfx412]

I expect Malcolm's knife will be in Gerard's back before the Christmas decorations come down.

Far from it.  Malcolm HAS to like Houllier.  It's pre-programmed.  He will think the sun shines out of his arse.

Why do I have to like him?

What a puerile comment

[sfx412]

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team. Just as our wage bill is not high for top 8 team, it is below average. The area of finance where we have a serious deficiency compared to the other top 8 teams is in revenue and/or investment.

Do you really believe that ?

I see where the General is coming from when he says some fans don't listen to anything or believe anything he says.

I also wonder if I was the only one who ever criticised what Mon did

[adrenachrome]

I expect Malcolm's knife will be in Gerard's back before the Christmas decorations come down.

Far from it.  Malcolm HAS to like Houllier.  It's pre-programmed.  He will think the sun shines out of his arse.

Why do I have to like him?

What a puerile comment

Mac's comment is based a theoretical analysis of your substantial writings in various internet media, published in another forum as "Malcolm's Dialectical Method: Teleological Desperation on the Cusp of Madness".

This theorem postulates a clear dialectical progression of thought verging on religious obsession in which Herbert is Satan, and John Gregory is an avenging angel. Events thereafter see subsequent managers as agents for the devil or the deity. DoL was thus a jolly good chap because he followed GT, who was probably the most satanic actor in this schema, and close to the devil himself, HDE.

[Rancid custard]

At least a semi in one of the cups and a top 8 finish with a double over the blues. Which to be fair is what I'd have expected before the turmoil...

[sfx412]

This theorem postulates a clear dialectical progression of thought verging on religious obsession in which Herbert is Satan, and John Gregory is an avenging angel. Events thereafter see subsequent managers as agents for the devil or the deity. DoL was thus a jolly good chap because he followed GT, who was probably the most satanic actor in this schema, and close to the devil himself, HDE.

Why thank you again, my lovely minute minded troll xxx

[Villa'Zawg]

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team. Just as our wage bill is not high for top 8 team, it is below average. The area of finance where we have a serious deficiency compared to the other top 8 teams is in revenue and/or investment.

Do you really believe that ?

I see where the General is coming from when he says some fans don't listen to anything or believe anything he says.

I also wonder if I was the only one who ever criticised what Mon did

Do I still believe what? The amounts of money we spend and how that relates to the other clubs in the top 8 isn't an article faith, it is factual, objective information available to all.

Spending £120m over four years is a huge amount of money but isn't a huge amount relative to spurs who have spent more than that in only 2 years. Belief doesn't come into it.

[Shrek]

I'm just hoping we continue to compete with the top teams otherwise Ash is a goner.

Spurs have already put the idea of leaving in his head, so if we have a 'write off' season then he'd be off.

[Villa'Zawg]

It doesn't matter how often you say it, it still won't be true. £60m net spend on the playing squad going into our 5th season under Randy Lerner is not a huge spend, it is a below average spend for a top 8 team.

I thought we’d spent approximately £120 million gross and £80 million net and are the third highest spenders overall in the past three or four seasons, with a bigger wage bill than both Everton and Spurs?

He's using the Milner money to make us look like paupers, which is not the case.

...

I was using the actual amount of money we have spent in a conversation about the amount of money we have spent. That seems logical to me.