Antonio Manuel Luna Rodríguez

[dave.woodhall]

If we had a good attack and defence we'd be CL contenders. We're not so i'll settle for consecutive scores along the lines of 5-2, 2-2, 1-5, 6-0, 3-3, 0-4 etc rather than a  bunch of 0-0, 1-0, 0-1 and so on. I'm old and I want to be entertained.

I don't see anything entertaining in getting thrashed every few weeks. It's embarrassing.

How did you miss the bit about winning 5-2 and 6-0 as well?

But in the real world we're more likely to be on the end of a thrashing than the ones dishing them out. Our defence is still a worry.

Why is it more likely?

Just an opinion based on what I saw last season, Dave. Nothing more than that.

It was certainly not based on young players gaining an extra season's experiene, a full pre-season working with the manager, a more solid midfield and two new defenders.

All well and good, but I still don't think the defence is strong enough.

And I think it's improved, with evidence to back up my claim. We shall see.

[saunders_heroes]

Was 07/08 entertaining?

Yes. We scored 71 league goals and conceded just 51 and finished 6th. Not bad. Much better than last season's humiliations.

So we're agreed then that a good defence isn't a necessity for an enjoyable and/or entertaining season. Which was my original point.

You having a laugh? Compared to last season's defence the 07/08 back line would be the football equivalent of the Great Wall of China in defence.

[PeterWithesShin]

Strong enough for what though s_h? Albion finished 8th while conceding 57. I can see us conceding less than that next season, wouldn't 8th be a decent season?

[PeterWithesShin]

Was 07/08 entertaining?

Yes. We scored 71 league goals and conceded just 51 and finished 6th. Not bad. Much better than last season's humiliations.

So we're agreed then that a good defence isn't a necessity for an enjoyable and/or entertaining season. Which was my original point.

You having a laugh? Compared to last season's defence the 07/08 back line would be the football equivalent of the Great Wall of China in defence.

But it wouldn't be a good defence would it conceding 51?

[saunders_heroes]

If we had a good attack and defence we'd be CL contenders. We're not so i'll settle for consecutive scores along the lines of 5-2, 2-2, 1-5, 6-0, 3-3, 0-4 etc rather than a  bunch of 0-0, 1-0, 0-1 and so on. I'm old and I want to be entertained.

I don't see anything entertaining in getting thrashed every few weeks. It's embarrassing.

How did you miss the bit about winning 5-2 and 6-0 as well?

But in the real world we're more likely to be on the end of a thrashing than the ones dishing them out. Our defence is still a worry.

Why is it more likely?

Just an opinion based on what I saw last season, Dave. Nothing more than that.

It was certainly not based on young players gaining an extra season's experiene, a full pre-season working with the manager, a more solid midfield and two new defenders.

All well and good, but I still don't think the defence is strong enough.

And I think it's improved, with evidence to back up my claim. We shall see.

What evidence? We haven't kicked a ball in competitive football yet.

[saunders_heroes]

Strong enough for what though s_h? Albion finished 8th while conceding 57. I can see us conceding less than that next season, wouldn't 8th be a decent season?

8th would be brilliant compared to last season's debacle. Concede another 69 goals and it'll be another relegation battle though.

[dave.woodhall]

What evidence? We haven't kicked a ball in competitive football yet.

I repeat. Young players gaining an extra season's experience, a full pre-season working with the manager, a more solid midfield and two new defenders.

[saunders_heroes]

Was 07/08 entertaining?

Yes. We scored 71 league goals and conceded just 51 and finished 6th. Not bad. Much better than last season's humiliations.

So we're agreed then that a good defence isn't a necessity for an enjoyable and/or entertaining season. Which was my original point.

You having a laugh? Compared to last season's defence the 07/08 back line would be the football equivalent of the Great Wall of China in defence.

But it wouldn't be a good defence would it conceding 51?

Nor would it be a diabolical defence like last season's.

[PeterWithesShin]

That's the thing s_h, some of don't think we'll concede 69, it will be probably be 50+, but I fancy us to score even more. Which is why, for me at least, it will be entertaining.

[PeterWithesShin]

Was 07/08 entertaining?

Yes. We scored 71 league goals and conceded just 51 and finished 6th. Not bad. Much better than last season's humiliations.

So we're agreed then that a good defence isn't a necessity for an enjoyable and/or entertaining season. Which was my original point.

You having a laugh? Compared to last season's defence the 07/08 back line would be the football equivalent of the Great Wall of China in defence.

But it wouldn't be a good defence would it conceding 51?

Nor would it be a diabolical defence like last season's.

And again, that was my point, it doesn't have to be a good defence for it to be an entertaining season.

[saunders_heroes]

What evidence? We haven't kicked a ball in competitive football yet.

I repeat. Young players gaining an extra season's experience, a full pre-season working with the manager, a more solid midfield and two new defenders.

You can repeat it as much as you like but that defence still looks to me like it's gonna concede lots of goals.

[dave.woodhall]

What evidence? We haven't kicked a ball in competitive football yet.

I repeat. Young players gaining an extra season's experience, a full pre-season working with the manager, a more solid midfield and two new defenders.

You can repeat it as much as you like but that defence still looks to me like it's gonna concede lots of goals.

And as I also said, time will tell.

[saunders_heroes]

That's the thing s_h, some of don't think we'll concede 69, it will be probably be 50+, but I fancy us to score even more. Which is why, for me at least, it will be entertaining.

If we concede 10 - 15 fewer goals than last season we'll finish much higher than we did last season. So I agree with you there, but the defence still worries me. Can't see why that's so controversial.

[PeterWithesShin]

That's the thing s_h, some of don't think we'll concede 69, it will be probably be 50+, but I fancy us to score even more. Which is why, for me at least, it will be entertaining.

If we concede 10 - 15 fewer goals than last season we'll finish much higher than we did last season. So I agree with you there, but the defence still worries me. Can't see why that's so controversial.

It isn't controversial, it was you that disagreed with my opinion that scoring a lot while not exactly being tight at the back would be entertaining for me.

[saunders_heroes]

That's the thing s_h, some of don't think we'll concede 69, it will be probably be 50+, but I fancy us to score even more. Which is why, for me at least, it will be entertaining.

If we concede 10 - 15 fewer goals than last season we'll finish much higher than we did last season. So I agree with you there, but the defence still worries me. Can't see why that's so controversial.

It isn't controversial, it was you that disagreed with my opinion that scoring a lot while not exactly being tight at the back would be entertaining for me.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree then because I don't find a Villa defence that concedes as many goals as we did last season entertaining.