V Stoke

[bongosdad]

Sorry freer but it's all hypothetical. No of us know what will happen. We could return and finish midtable for all we know and that would be a decent season.

[freer]

Bongo

My reply is factual not theoretical

I would rather watch evenly matched contests in the Championship

Than a 2 or at maximum 3 horse race for the Premiership



In all honesty close to 33 % of the Premiership are little more than cannon fodder for the galactic spending ‘Usual Suspects !’

[bongosdad]

So did you not enjoy the football under MON?

[freer]

O'Neill didn’t win a trophy at Villa, but that was nothing new for our club in recent times.

Under O’Neill, Villa did manage three consecutive 6th place finishes this achievement was certainly an impressive one.

Villa's UEFA Cup defeat at CSKA Moscow was his Waterloo as O'Neill opted to play a weakened team in a major European competition for which he was rightfully criticised

Following his condemnation `The Wee Fella` unwisely opted for the `Vito Corleone` approach to management warning his critics “never to question him again”.

O’Neill’s had a net spend of £80m, yes he made some fine signings

However his better deals were outweighed by grossly overspending on mediocre players, leaving us in a financial mess

We were then stuck with players and couldn't really get rid of them. The wage bill was totally out of kilter way too high this hindered the club for years to come.

O’Neill’s sudden departure from B6 a few days before the 2010/11 season was the catalyst for our decline, It was said to be due to a dispute over transfer funds more like “when he doesn't get what he wants he walks away.”

So to summarise Bong..

The worse Villa have become the better the O'Neill years have looked by comparison.

O’Neill left Villa with an impressive record

On the whole during "The Wee Fella’s` tenure the football was effective….. But it was not pretty on the eye

And breath out !

[bbvilla]

Interesting comments re Championship v Prem. The Stoke game was a fair yardstick cos they are still basically a Premiership team and on the day should have won. Ince and Allen were really good plus the likes of Berahino, Shawcross, Butland, McLean etc impressed. We showed resilience to come back twice and the match looked more like a lower 10 Prem game, probably better than Burnley Huddersfield, Newcastle Fulham or Cardiff Brighton, bit more like Watford Palace maybe? So I do believe Villa could survive in the lower reaches of the top league but you can't dismiss the demoralisation of getting murdered by the top 6, not a nice experience.

I also agree about Jack. He doesn't help himself by seemingly looking for the fouls or not wearing shinpads but there is no doubt the cavemen of this league will kick his career to an end if we're not careful. And do we need him! Real lack of creative spark on Saturday, there are good players who can perform consistently but predictably and then there are special players who will look for the unexpected and unpredictable. We have one of those.

[bongosdad]

Spot on BBvilla.

Freer, Newcastle haven't won a trophy for about 500 years.

[TrianonDave]

Success now is money not cups! Thats the reason why many fans are disalusioned with the game!

[westcountryvillain]

Spot on BBvilla.

Freer, Newcastle haven't won a trophy for about 500 years.

Bong - in a little over 3 years Villa will have 2 league cups to boast in the last FORTY years, the more I reflect on football the more I warm to the idea of the PL elite going off to a european format as has already been commented on here. I often wondered if Man U fans became bored with the prospect of winning every week and only therefore relishing the encounters with Arsenal and Real Madrid et al.

[samhubball]

Bong - in a little over 3 years Villa will have 2 league cups to boast in the last FORTY years, the more I reflect on football the more I warm to the idea of the PL elite going off to a european format as has already been commented on here. I often wondered if Man U fans became bored with the prospect of winning every week and only therefore relishing the encounters with Arsenal and Real Madrid et al.

Man United are a mid table side at best now

The european cup is the start of the end of the bubble IMO. When Chelski's millionaires are playing Real Madrid's millionaires in a stadium with a capacity of 30k in Atlanta with a TV audience of 5million the genuine supporters will fall out of love with it

[freer]

Freer, Newcastle haven't won a trophy for about 500 years.

No history jokes please Bongo