Editorial

So what's new? We can beat the best and lose to the worst. We need another goalscorer and the number nine we've got puts in a world beating performance once every six weeks or so. There have been enough good performances this season to show we can't be a bad team and enough bad performances to show we aren't a consistently good one.

Off the field the big news is the share issue. Reaction has been mixed, although we've had a lot of critical response which is featured elsewhere. Many people are pointing out, quite rightly, that football clubs are taking a short-sighted attitude which could lead to short-term gain and long-term problems. It's also true that the Villa are not planning to do anything with the money that couldn't be self-financed.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but worry about what happens when City investors start exerting their influence. On one hand the club's commercial activities could be run much better, despite what they might say. Then again, we'll have people with a say in the club who don't care about the team. And don't think for a minute that our current regime will be able to stand up to them. As I've said time and again, the next man to get the better of Ellis won't be the first. Who would you put your money on to come out on top, a group of financial experts or the man who's spent four years trying to get a scorebord installed?

But one thing is for certain. For over twelve months Ellis was denying that the Villa were going public, when it was obvious that they would eventually be doing just that. In that time the value of his shareholding trebled, and at current values that's £40 million which will be going into Doug Ellis' private fortune It could have been going to Aston Villa. Think about that next time you hear about his devotion to the club.

Day by Day

25th January: Derby County 3 Villa 1: Some days you just know aredt going to go right. Even from the worst view I've ever had at any match, anywhere, this was a game were never going to win. If we had a shot on target prior to Sasa's goal I didn't see it, our approach play was pedestrian and the defence was as bad as anything I can remember, Milosevic is now as ineffectual as ever, and in all honesty McGrath didn't have to be particularly good to hold Yorke. Bosnich seems to be the focal point for all the hostility and blame that's going - a bit unfair, but given his performances and behaviour this season, not surprising. In fact, the last time I saw a Villa player get so much abuse it was Steve Hodge. Speaking of receptions, our ex-legend was cheered before, during and particularly after the match. And when we reacted to defeat by singing his name afterwards he wasn't even bothered to look in our direction. Thanks. It's now 40 years and counting, but that joke ceased to be funny a long time ago.

29th January: Villa 0 Sheffield Wednesday 1. In the Victorian era the Corinthian-Casuals would always miss penalties because they believed no footballer would foul an opponent deliberately and so such a decision was unjust. It's good to see some traditions remaining. It's also easy just to say how bad this game was, but remember that the team were applauded off the pitch at half time and Wednesday barely had an Most attack until scoring. The problem was an almost total lack of ideas, although with our first choice midfield out there was some excuse. What's most worrying is that after trying for an hour without success the team seemed to give up and Wednesday came into the game with the inevitable result. It also seems like we've got back to the other reminder of Atkinsonism, the attitude from certain players that they're in the team regardless of performance. We'll see.

30th January: Sasa Curcic says sorry to just about everybody. Mark Bosnich says he loves us really.

Ist February: Villa 1 Sunderland 0. A vital result, never mind the performance. it wasn't as bad as has been reported. Villa didn't really look in any danger and remember, we've got our whole first choice midfield out. That said, we should have killed the game off well before the end. Savo had a good game, but one in five isn't good enough. Lee Hendrie came on again and looked promising. It's about time both he and Gareth Farrelly got a proper chance. They can't do any worse than happened last month.

3rd February: The FA are complaining that UEFA are backing Germany's bid to host the 2006 World Cup. And the Villa are on the business pages again. Something's happening with the shares but nobody's saying what. UEFA victimising England, FA officials being stitched up by Johnny Foreigner and the Villa dithering. So what's new ?

6th February: Aston Villa announce plans for a Stock Market flotation. Exact date and price to be announced later. Now there's a surprise.

15th February: Not much been happening this week. Andy Townsend gets offered a new contact, Gareth Southgate signs another one which will make him a very wealthy defender indeed. And Small Heath lose at home to Wrexham in the FA Cup. Small Heath losing a cup tie. I wonder what story will be in the papers in the next couple of days?

17th February: They never let you down. Headline in the Evening Mail, "Blues Ref Acts On Missiles". It's all been said before, and it will be again.

19th February: Villa 2 Coventry 1 told us nothing we didn't know already. Our first choice team can beat poor teams with no problems and there's still a lot of incompetence at the Villa. Torrential rain's forecast so you put a pitch cover on two hours before kick-off. Nice one. With a proper midfield back the team look so much better and with Dwight Yorke anything's poissible. Even with the benefit of an own goal Coventry caused no problems and if we faded a bit towards the end it wasn't unexpected with three players back from injury and awful conditions. And Coventry lost their biggest game of the season and if anything, their supporters are getting worse. Sad.

20th February: Sasa Curcic asks for another transfer.

21st February: Nottingham Forest 0 Villa 0. This season's video review should be called "How To Avoid Winning Matches". Today gave a few more ideas. Savo missed a chance in the first half, then another one in the second. The rest of the team were equally proficient at turning down a win bonus. We know what this team needs and so does everybody else. There's little point going on about il, but we will anyway. Another eighteen quid as well. The only real winners of today's exercise were the Nottingham constabulary, who yet again treated a football match as an excuse to turn their city into a police state.

25th February: The Villa make another worthwhile development by announcing that they're setting up a youth academy at Bodymoor Heath. We're also developing up a scouting network in Australia via Roy McLaren, another Forgotten Hero. But before we start getting too excited, remember who was our last Antipodean import. Could your nerves stand another one?

26th February: Carl Tiler asks for a transfer. Villa Res 1 Wolves Res 0. It makes promotion from the Pontins first division a near-certainty, but it was still a bit worrying. There's no forward cover, Johnson looked woeful even at this level and if Lee Hendrie's going to be the player we hope he should be shining in a match like this. Scott Murray and David Hughes played well, though.

1st March: ALERT!!! ALERT!! I Fenerbache still haven't paid for that useless barrel of lard we sold them in 1995 so we might have to take it back. Maybe that's why we've got 24 hour security at Villa Park now.

lst March: Envelopes start dropping though the letterboxes of Considerably Richer shareholders. There's a lot of long words and difficult sentences, but a couple of phrases stick out 'Chief Executive' and 'share options'.

2nd March Villa I Liverpool 0, suppose you could say vve didn't deserve this win, that Liverpool were dreadfully unlucky and we got a lucky goal towards the end when they were pressurising us. You could also say that MacAteer, Fowler and Redknapp aren't annoying little runts and John Barnes is thin. In truth it wasn't that great in the first half with both teams cancelling each other out and for twenty minutes in the second Liverpool were looking ominously in control. MacAteer in particular was giving Alan Wright the runaround and Fowler could have got a couple. Still, we scored and they didn't so hell mend the supercilious Scouse bastards. To pick out players Nelson was superb, his best game for the club, Savo's wonderful until he gets into the box and David Hughes looks extremely promising. We've proved we can beat a top team, that our first choice side is a match for anybody. The problem is that they had Patrik

Berger and Neil Ruddock on the bench, we had Julian Joachim and Hughes. It's this lack of strength in depth that cost us dearly in January, but with luck and an easy run-in Europe's still there for the winning.

3rd March: Ever heard of Sean Gregan? Me neither, but Brian's reported to reckon he's worth £600,000. Preston North End, though, think he's worth more.

4th March: Another day, another denial. Villa are not buying Gregan. Sheffield United are not buying Carl Tiler, nor taking him on loan. Bruce Grobelaar, Hans Segers and ex-Aston Villa player John Fashanu, the former Aston Villa player who played for Aston Villa before his retirement, are not guilty. They're also not not guilty.

5th March: We're not bidding £7 million for Duncan Ferguson, who isn't top of Brian's shopping list. And I can't say I'm too upset. Leicester City 1 Villa 0. As I've said before so often I've lost count, there's no half measures with this team. Three days after beating Liverpool and they put in another awful display that gets what it deserves. Only Mark Bosnich kept us in the game as long as we were, Dwight faded and Savo did his usual trick of looking like Pele when he was in the middle of the pitch and Mrs O'Grady from the pension queue in the box. Leicester supporters must win every award for sad wank*rs going. Is life in Leicester really so boring that they've got nothing in their pathetic little lives except a football team's ex-manager to get obsessed about ?

6th March: We've said enough about other clubs players, so I suppose it's only right that we mention it. Gary Charles gets arrested after a 'disturbance' in the small hours. Which begs the obvious question - if he's not fit to play, what's he doing at a club?

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