...r static strikers were being easily marked by defenders they should have been running rings round.

Perhaps the only other player I cannot fault for effort was Milan Barros, who unfortunately looked like he did not relish the cold and his touch on the ball was often well short of what we know he is capable of. I think the game perhaps turned on the penalty claim which TV replays show was an abject penalty when Milan Barros was chopped down in the box. Villa seemed to give up after the penalty was turned down. That aside Doncaster should have had another one when Liam Ridgewell very deliberately shoulder barged one of their players off the ball.

Considering that the league cup was our only realistic chance of success this season, you would have thought that we could have expected a little bit more from the players. It seems to me that the hunger has gone from the side and we have accepted the mid-table mediocrity that is so often the result of a long hard season. And indeed, the league position suggests that they think that even that will be handed to them on a plate. Quite simply it is not good enough. These players are earning - a very loose definition of the word - thousands of pounds per week, and much of that comes out of the ordinary supporters pockets.

I know for a fact that Aston Villa have some of the most fiercely loyal supporters in the land, which perhaps explains why they continue to spend money on substandard products rather than shop elsewhere. However you cannot help thinking that in years to come, unless things change radically, this will not be the case. In todays society where more and more people are moving away from their towns of birth for employment and social reasons, clubs cannot rely on regional association to maintain their fan base and success, however infrequent, is the only thing which will keep the fans returning.

Aston Villa has always been considered the bigger of the two Birmingham cl...more

nfl Playoffs: chicago Bears Lost the Defensive Edge

...o heal their wounds and to review video tape but the week off also took away their sharpness on the field. They were so successful defensively because they would be able to swarm to the ball in record time. Yesterday as smith was running all over them, their ability to swarm to the ball was questionable.

The Panthers also did a great job at picking apart the Bears defense early. T...more

Goal Setting: Pops Proves Its Never Too Late

...nrolled as a freshman at the university of South carolina.

No, he wasnt considered too old for that. Many others, much older, have pursued college degrees for the first time. What Tim Pops Frisby did was even more special. At an age when even most professional players have hung up there helmets, he began working out with the South carolina gamecocks football team during the winter. Working out with players half his age, all of whom were young enough to be his son, he competed for a position on a Division One major college Football Team.

It was a goal that Pops had lived with for a long time and he began to realize it when coaches invited him back for fall drills. When South carolina kicked off their season against the university...more

Is Troy Aikman a Hall of Famer?

...w for slight more yardage and 67 more touchdowns than Aikman. Young could also hurt you with his legs rushing for 4238 yards at 5.9 yards per carry with an additional 33 touchdowns.

Of the seven, Aikman's completion percentage is lower than all but Kelly (60.1%) and Moon (NFL number 58.4%). Aikman's 165 touchdowns pales in comparison to everyone else's 237+. The others all threw for 40,000 plus yards and only Moon (80.1) and Elway (79.9) had lower quarterback ratings.

Call me old school but I think the Hall of Fame should be reserved for the truly greats of the game. I realize that HOF criteria is not strictly numbers based and involves many intangibles including leadership and winning but Troy Aikman was clearly not great. This is an argument generally reserved for baseball but applicable here.

Let's look at some players that are coming up soon, just retired or will retire soon. Most I consider good but not great. Perhaps the closest analogy to Aikman is Scotty Pippin, decent numbers, 6 championships, Does he deserve to get in ??? In my eyes - No/Maybe. Regar...more

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