Tony's Tweets

[Chris Jameson]

I reckon he'll have quit Twitter by the end of November.

[Toronto Villa]

He's trying to say and do that right things. You can tell he's fucked off. But this can only go badly if things don't turn around quickly.

[tomd2103]

The good Doctor's tweets are the least of our problems, to be fair.

They are, but I still think it is unwise for him to be taking such an open approach on social media.

[ASHTONVILLA]

exactly a real statement of intent

Elphick, Tshibola, Gollini also in

From the 15/16 shambles - we have quickly shifted Gueye, Clark, Sinclair, Guzan, Gil, Bennett and Sanchez

Seems like Lescott, Gabby, Veretout, Kozak and Traore have been told to get new clubs

Tonight, Hutton, Okore, Richards and Gardner will hopefully be told likewise and Cissokho should also be told to do one

its does require some quick signings in but cant fault the business so far or the management team put together

I'm looking forward to seeing our squad at the start of September, we might be thankful for tonight yet

That.

[Damo70]

I suppose you have to find a balance. Doug would have turned up to the opening of a fridge door and given a five hour speech (mainly about himself). Randy was harder to track down than Lord Lucan or Shergar and now we have Dr T. I don't get involved in Facebook or Twitter but I suppose if he is getting involved in social media he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't speak. But I think we all know that whatever he does or doesn't say it doesn't matter. If we are top of the league at Christmas he will be the best thing since sliced bread and if we are bottom he is a clown.

[Matt C]

I'm sure his intentions are good and the frankness is refreshing but I think he'd do well to retreat from social media a little.

[mr underhill]

Damo - if we are bottom by Christmas looking a clown is the least of our problems.

[not3bad]

But to change it we need to shift players and not have the players we want, or are stuck with, being alienated by the owner. IMO that tweet by Tony isn't exactly the best way to go about it, no matter how much some of them deserve it after tonight.

They couldn't be any shitter regardless what Tony tweets. Utter wasters

Luton 3 Aston Villa 1. I don't see what Tony could say to make them look worse than that.

[JUAN PABLO]

From Tony :

Even we agreed to take the LC match as  checking game, some players are not worth being given chance.

Don't tell me - show me.

What do you think the McCormack signing was? Did I imagine it?

exactly a real statement of intent

Elphick, Tshibola, Gollini also in

From the 15/16 shambles - we have quickly shifted Gueye, Clark, Sinclair, Guzan, Gil, Bennett and Sanchez

Seems like Lescott, Gabby, Veretout, Kozak and Traore have been told to get new clubs

Tonight, Hutton, Okore, Richards and Gardner will hopefully be told likewise and Cissokho should also be told to do one

its does require some quick signings in but cant fault the business so far or the management team put together

I'm looking forward to seeing our squad at the start of September, we might be thankful for tonight yet

That would leave us with about six players

and three of them are Gestede , bacuana and Westwood ....

[rob_bridge]

I'm sure his intentions are good and the frankness is refreshing but I think he'd do well to retreat from social media a little.

Yes ultimately it won't end well

[mr underhill]

just heard Tony's considering taking a leaf out of Hull's book and rebranding the club . Several names are under consideration but his preferred option is Titanic FC

[nick harper]

An open goal for The Fiver...

XIA, XIA GOT FLOORED
Generally speaking, when the owner of a club is on Twitter and actually engages with the great unwashed keyboard jabbers out there, only bad can come of it. They will almost inevitably get themselves involved with some sort of highly unedifying slanging match, will say something stupid or, even worse, actually listen to the opinions being belched incoherently at them. Still, sometimes it can provide amusement for the rest of us, and new Aston Villa owner Tony Xia could not have timed his foray on to the world wide web better.
On Wednesday afternoon Xia took part in an official Twitter Q&A, the sort of thing where usually only the most banal queries are answered in the most banal and uncontroversial manner possible, so as to give the impression of communicating with the people without actually saying anything of note. That’s the plan, anyway. But in answer to the question “where do you see Villa in five years’ time?” posed by an unwitting chap named Sam, Xia answered: “The top club in Europe with the highest number of fans all over the world.”
Cut to a few hours later, and his Villa side, featuring a number of players with years of top-flight experience (admittedly, experience of being no good there, but still), found themselves on the ugly end of a thorough 3-1 hosing by Luton in the Milk Cup. Following up their opening weekend Championship defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, Villa found themselves flapping and floundering, their season having started with all the gusto and vim of an overcooked flan. Sitcom writers could not have crafted the whole thing better. Needless to say, Xia wasn’t quite as chirpy after the game, locating the nearest moving bus and firmly chucking an indeterminate number of his underperforming players under it. “Even we agreed to take the LC match as checking game, some players are not worth being given chance,” he howled.   

Still, it’s good to see manager Bobby Di Matteo has got a handle on things and has used his years of experience in the game to pinpoint exactly how they conceded three goals to a League Two side. “We will have to make sure we defend better,” he sagely mused, possibly while swilling a glass of brandy, and sitting in a high-backed leather chair in front of a bookcase full of Football for Dummies tomes. “We do create chances at the other end but to win games you need to defend,” he continued. Pick holes in that one if you can.
In some respects it’s quite nice that the owner of a club is setting high targets for his team. Aim for the stars, and even if you miss, at least you tried. Better to die on your feet than live on your knees and all that. And as these things usually come in threes, you can insert your own meaningless platitude about the benefits of positivity here. Ambition is good, trying is good, self-improvement is good. But perhaps you should maybe think twice about predicting your team, currently in the second tier and with Aly Cissokho remaining a first-choice player, will usurp Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich within half a decade, particularly when your own manager doesn’t exactly share your optimism. “It’s a house that needs to be knocked down and started afresh,” was Di Matteo’s chipper assessment of the state of things when he arrived, a more realistic if a little gloomier prediction of what the immediate future holds at Villa Park. Xia seems to be asking his employees to knock down a two-bed semi and throw the Burj Khalifa up in its place, and be bloody quick about it too. So sure, be optimistic, aim high, be ambitious. Just try not to make yourself look like a complete clanker in the process.

[villabear]

I've seen some long posts and that's one of them.

[PeterWithe]

Spot on that, and a welcome return to form for The Fiver which seems to have disappeared up its own arse recently.

[villadelph]

"Bobby di Matteo"