Supporter behaviour towards own players

[saunders_heroes]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

He can only pass sideways and backwards. OPTA stats make him look like a superstar.

[mikeb1982]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

I imagine he's now petrified of the reaction he'll get if tries a fancy pass and it goes wrong.  I'm not his biggest fan, but how would you feel if, aged 21, 30,000 people called you a twat when you made a mistake at work?

[saunders_heroes]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

This is what I mean with Bannan, he hits 40yard passes and he's hollywood, he keeps it simple and just keeps things ticking over he's incapable of passing forwards.

His "Hollywood passes" that actually go forward mostly end up going out of play. The only passes of his that reach a teammate are sideways and backwards. He's a waste of space, and the least said about his set pieces the better.

[saunders_heroes]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

I imagine he's now petrified of the reaction he'll get if tries a fancy pass and it goes wrong.  I'm not his biggest fan, but how would you feel if, aged 21, 30,000 people called you a twat when you made a mistake at work?

It's not the fans fault he's so shit.

[Phil from the upper holte]

I think we should give the players a break and aim abuse at the fucking hopeless chairman

[Leicester_Villian]

Bannon should never have played again after the drink driving offence - well thinking about it maybe he hasnt!

[itbrvilla]

I agree it used to go on back then, but it seems so much worse these days.

Perhaps it just seems worse because there's no getting away from it in all-seated grounds or, like has been pointed out, the gulf between players and fans is now bigger than ever and so any negative feeling is magnified.

Have we ever been this bad before though? Even in 86-87 I don't remember us being this appalling.

We spent two years in division three in the 70s, we've been much worse. We've got the basis of a half decent side but they desperately need some help.

I'm aware of that. I'm talking about the worst team I've ever seen. Division 3 days were before my time.
I have to disagree with you on your second point though. We haven't got the basis of a good team at all. We have the basis of a Championship side, and that's where we're heading unless something drastic changes.

League 1-2 standard I think apart from a couple of players.  Like I've said before, any team in the Football League would of given us a game last night.

[E I Adio]

It's also fortunate that those who complain today about lack of communication from the club weren't around then, since communication with fans hadn't been invented then, apart from some poor hack from the Birmingham Mail who had to find stories every week from somewhere

Have to disagree. I think there's a huge difference between "communication" from the club and PR releases from the club.

Nowadays we all know how to get hold of tickets, all the deals being offered by the club, the merchandise available and showbiz-style kit launches. We're a million miles from the old days of poor marketing and badly run ticket offices ( Ray Fairfax being the wonderful exception).  Krulak played at being the link between us and the club but he was just Lerner's PR mouthpiece and fucked as soon as there were real questions to be answered. 

I don't think the club's communication has improved a jot since Lerner took over. If anything, the club's operations are even more murky and mysterious.

I agree that the deafening silence from Lerner is a problem, not least as it inevitably leads to fans assuming the worst case scenario in every instance. However, I was referring to the late '60's, early '70's when, for the most part the only communication to be had from the club was the hope of some interview puff with the manager if you were lucky, printed in the local rag on a Friday night. As I recall, PR from the club in any form was at best not thought to be important, or at worst, not even considered.

[5ft811st2 Durham]

For me it's absolutely ridiculous when people turn up to a semi final and can't wait more than 2 minutes before indulging their personal agenda against Barry Bannan.

And i'm not really surprised that Bannan kept passing sideways given the stick he'd get if anything more ambitious went wrong.

In my view people should at least wait until a match is clearly lost before dishing out stick to our players.

[mikeb1982]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

I imagine he's now petrified of the reaction he'll get if tries a fancy pass and it goes wrong.  I'm not his biggest fan, but how would you feel if, aged 21, 30,000 people called you a twat when you made a mistake at work?

It's not the fans fault he's so shit.

I also think he's shit, as I said I'm not his biggest fan, but he plays for the Villa and I want him to improve.  That won't happen when everyone audibly groans when his name is announced

[paul_e]

i can remember scapegoats of old Aan Wright got a load of stick and Frank Caradous at times, both were decent players as well
 but Bannans treatment is as bad a s anything i've seen at VP to be honest

He deserves it. He's pathetic.

I'd love to know what % of Bannan's passes were to Vlaar/Clark last night, he did seem truly incapable of passing forwards or more than ten  yards, no wonder he was first to be subbed

This is what I mean with Bannan, he hits 40yard passes and he's hollywood, he keeps it simple and just keeps things ticking over he's incapable of passing forwards.

His "Hollywood passes" that actually go forward mostly end up going out of play. The only passes of his that reach a teammate are sideways and backwards. He's a waste of space, and the least said about his set pieces the better.

Actually he statistically plays 7 a game and just under 5 of them are accurate, but don't let facts stop a good witch hunt.

[Chris Harte]

I also think he's shit, as I said I'm not his biggest fan, but he plays for the Villa and I want him to improve.  That won't happen when everyone audibly groans when his name is announced

My thoughts exactly. Give him the bird at full time if necessary, but not before.

[Tayls_7]

I believe there is a distinct difference between the mentality of a fan who vents his spleen out of sheer frustration and those who seem to revel in the opportunity to sledge players constantly. Not just that, but as Chris was saying, broadcasting their views loudly to a captive audience. Personally, I do my upmost to keep my own counsel during games as screaming abuse does nothing for the players or the fans. When I watch the games I am prepared to cross all my fingers and toes, renounce all sin to the gods - whatever will help the overall cause for the Villa. I remember having a season ticket first season with the new Witton Douglas Ellis Lane (yes I know). The gentleman in front of me who used to bring his very charming daughter had a pathological hatred of Earl Barrett. Christ he pissed me off and there was no escape. I am not sure if his daughter was more uncomfortable with his ranting or my letching! Yes Ireland is an egg-headed, worthless retard. Bannan may be an arrogant dwarf, unaware of his shitness. Concrete Ron may have been shown by a division 4 player to be made of papier-mâché. Yes Clark is a flat footed dimwit and of course Lambert is a forlorn, mumbling, catastrophic decision maker but let's voice those opinions at the appropriate time if possible. God that felt good 

[adrenachrome]

I also think he's shit, as I said I'm not his biggest fan, but he plays for the Villa and I want him to improve.  That won't happen when everyone audibly groans when his name is announced

My thoughts exactly. Give him the bird at full time if necessary, but not before.

For cough.

Only closers get coffee and only winners get a turkey.

[MonsXI]

Bannon should never have played again after the drink driving offence - well thinking about it maybe he hasnt!

wow