The Official Aston Villa supporters thread

[ziggy90]

Ta ra a bit Paedo.

[laoislad]

This thread is hilarious.

[orangeman]

On a day where Fergie continues to be lauded, spare a thought for Petrov who announced this morning that his footballing career is over.

Aston Villa club captain Stiliyan Petrov retires from football.

Petrov was diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2012 but is now in remission after finishing his first year of treatment.

For the life I've lived in football, I will always be incredibly grateful," he says. "For the opportunity this crazy thing that happened in my life has given me, I also feel grateful in a strange kind of way. This crazy thing, somehow, has touched people and I want to try to channel this in a positive way. This will be the greatest challenge of my life."

[sans pessimism]

He's an inspiration to all of us

[shark]

He will lead the Villa players out after the final home game v Chelsea, for the traditional lap of honour.  Saw a photo of him recently and he really doesn't look good, but by all accounts is through the worst of it.  A fine player, his performance against Ireland in Croke Park a few years ago was one of the best I've witnessed from an opposing player in Dublin.

[ziggy90]

Good luck Stan, I'm sure football fans all over the country are thinking of you and your family.

[ziggy90]

http://sport.uk.msn.com/football/football-transfer-rumours-benteke-hands-in-transfer-request-9-july908165

Right, who's going to start the bidding for this fella? Cracking player, kept the Vile up on his own last year.

[ziggy90]

Oh dear, ha ha.

[bigfrank]

Thinks are going from bad to worse this year,no wonder the tickets for the games are dirt cheap now,hard to watch,lucky we have a handy game coming up arsenal

[SHEEDY]

the comments from lambert that villa could do without the fa cup surely didn't help. I know premiership survival is the be all and end all, but for a club the size of villa for the manager to sound like he didn't care if they went through or not was bad. what did villa fans think?

[ziggy90]

The Vile fans would give their back teeth for a cup run, The Vile were always known as a "cup" side. Lambert said he didn't care about the cup? It looks as he feels the same way about The Premiership. Bring back "Special Agent Alex".😇

[bigfrank]

Yeah talk like that is hard to take as villa fans whos trophy cabinet isn't exactly full at the minute,not like we are in 4 comps and need to rest players,playin weaker teams at home and still throwing towel in,dreadin watchin before season is over,we have some awful players

[laoislad]

Thomas Hitzlsperger has become the most high-profile footballer to come out, announcing on Wednesday that he is gay. The former Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham player has given a long interview to the German paper Die Zeit, in which he says that he is talking about his sexuality because he wants to "to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals".

Hitzlsperger represented Germany 52 times, played in a World Cup and a European Championship and won the German league with Stuttgart. He retired in September last year, having also played for Lazio in Italy and Wolfsburg. "It's been a long and difficult process" [of becoming aware of being gay]. Only in the last few years have I realised that I preferred living together with a man," Hitzlsperger added.

"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

"Being gay is topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn't fit the cliché: 'gays are soft'".

[Milltown Row2]

Thomas Hitzlsperger has become the most high-profile footballer to come out, announcing on Wednesday that he is gay. The former Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham player has given a long interview to the German paper Die Zeit, in which he says that he is talking about his sexuality because he wants to "to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals".

Hitzlsperger represented Germany 52 times, played in a World Cup and a European Championship and won the German league with Stuttgart. He retired in September last year, having also played for Lazio in Italy and Wolfsburg. "It's been a long and difficult process" [of becoming aware of being gay]. Only in the last few years have I realised that I preferred living together with a man," Hitzlsperger added.

"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

"Being gay is topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn't fit the cliché: 'gays are soft'".

We should poll the boarders and see how many are gay, now that would be a thread!!

[EC Unique]

Thomas Hitzlsperger has become the most high-profile footballer to come out, announcing on Wednesday that he is gay. The former Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham player has given a long interview to the German paper Die Zeit, in which he says that he is talking about his sexuality because he wants to "to further the debate about homosexuality among sports professionals".

Hitzlsperger represented Germany 52 times, played in a World Cup and a European Championship and won the German league with Stuttgart. He retired in September last year, having also played for Lazio in Italy and Wolfsburg. "It's been a long and difficult process" [of becoming aware of being gay]. Only in the last few years have I realised that I preferred living together with a man," Hitzlsperger added.

"In England, Italy and Germany being a homosexual is no big thing, at least not in the dressing room," he said, before adding: "I was never ashamed of being who I am but it was not always easy to sit on a table with 20 young men and listen to jokes about gays. You let them get on with it as long as the jokes are somewhat funny and not too insulting.

"Being gay is topic that is 'ignored' in football and not 'a serious topic in the changing room'. Fighting spirit, passion and winning mentality are intrinsically linked, that doesn't fit the cliché: 'gays are soft'".

We should poll the boarders and see how many are gay, now that would be a thread!!

I heard once that statistically it is 1 in 4 but I doubt that.