A nightmare at Villa Park; Your Shout.

WITH the start of the new Premiership season advancing towards us I have begun to have my recurring nightmare.

In it I am at a press conference called by Randy Lerner, Martin O'Neill and General Krulak.

During the meeting Randy, Martin and the General tear at their faces and remove the plastic prosthetics revealing that they are really Doug Ellis, Mark Ansell and John Gregory.

Yes, the Lerner revolution never happened, the Holte pub is still derelict, Bodymoor Heath is still a mess and there is no money at Villa Park.

I pull my trusty service revolver from my waistband and in panic shoot at the three apparitions in front of me.

All three look down at their chests and, cackling, they simply pull the bullets out and let them drop to the floor.

They turn and walk shrieking and laughing into the mist. I awake in a cold sweat.

J SUTTON, Erdington

NO goals scored while Blues were out in Austria and to me that sets the alarm bells ringing, although it was said we created chances but lacked that final bit of quality in front of goal.

Still, it makes you think have we got the right lads up front who can do the job in the Premiership? And should we be building our hopes on Benitez as that will only add more pressure on him - and if he gets injured where do we go from there?

SHARON, via email HOW can 'Our Shout' continually defend Martin O'Neill? Are you part of Randy Lerner's publicity machine? Can you not see that after three years of O'Neill the club is going nowhere? The evidence is thus: O'Neill hasn't bought one quality household name to show ambition for our club.

He pulled us out of UEFA cup because of his failure to buy sufficient quality or quantity of player to compete.

Alex Ferguson seems to rate Michael Owen, O'Neill doesn't. Dithering in the transfer market shows poor preparation and lack of planning. How can we compete next season on any level with our small squad? I think that 'Our Shout' should consider the facts before trying to paper over the cracks.

S PRODROMOU, Castle Bromwich Send letters to: Your Shout, Sports Desk, Birmingham Mail, Floor 6, Fort Dunlop, Fort Parkway, Birmingham B24 9FF. Freephone fax: [phone]. Freephone: 0800 138 2555. Email [e-mail]. All letters should include name, address, and telephone number. If you would like to receive information from Bpm Media (Midlands) Ltd in the future, please add a YES at the end of you text or email. The information provided may be of interest to you and will be from Bpm Media (Midlands) Ltd, Trinity Mirror Group companies or other carefully selected companies. The communication may be by letter, phone, email or other means depending on the data you have provided.