How the club is perceived by players and agents

[chrisw1]

What are the chances the Sun have had this for a while and were waiting for him to play in a big game for max impact?

The video doesn't actually show him inhaling anything.

[ktvillan]

... under training, over eating, over drinking,  heavy smoking, rolling in the gutter, partying with (alleged) slappers, inhaling nitrous oxide, trouser phone texting, gum spitting, hotel rowdiness, paternity scandals, want-away club trawling -..

Sounds like a great weekend Brian

Sounds like my autobiography up to the age of 35

[RichardBatchelor]

One day the S** will get its comeuppance, and when it does, I'm gonna have the mother of all parties.

[brontebilly]

When Yorke, Bosnich, McGrath etc were up to all sorts off the pitch, we didn't care as they were delivering on it. Bruce, Robson, Keane were all pissheads at United too around the same time.
History is written by the winners I guess, we must be the most under performing club in Europe so any kind of story around crisis club AVFC will garner some inches of newsprint.

[Sexual Ealing]

When Yorke, Bosnich, McGrath etc were up to all sorts off the pitch, we didn't care as they were delivering on it. Bruce, Robson, Keane were all pissheads at United too around the same time.
History is written by the winners I guess, we must be the most under performing club in Europe so any kind of story around crisis club AVFC will garner some inches of newsprint.

I'll see your Aston Villa and raise you a Denso.

[ciggiesnbeer]

How many other clubs have had a litany of stories of poor behaviour or professionalism over the past 2/3 seasons ?

Sunderland has had a pretty good run at it.

[The Edge]

I disagree that there is anything intrinsically different at Villa than any other club.

With Gabby, the reality is probably that Bruce feels his resources are so limited that if he can re-integrate the player that gives him a better chance of getting promoted and keeping his job.  I very much doubt it's a new found 'soft streak' or influenced by some aura hanging over the club.

I don't think players see it us a holiday camp, are deliberately taking the piss or not trying.  I just think fundamentally many of them are a bit shit.  I think us as fans, particularly those poring over message boards and hearing every snippet of news, read far more into situations like ours than is really the case.

The simple fact is we had an owner who turned off the taps and appointed a number of shit managers and bought a number of shit players.  I think Bruce and Xia will sort it out, but it will take time.

Quite right. Put it in a nutshell there.