John Draper

Tonight we take on Redditch United U21s in the Challenge Bowl Cup Final 🏆⚽ A huge night for the lads — your support would mean everything as we look to bring the trophy home 💚 🎟 U21 Challenge Bowl Final tickets: ticketsource.com/midland-footba… Select Sutton United as the option.

All eyes on Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium… 👀 A first final for our U21s on Wednesday 13 May, followed by our Men’s First Team looking to complete a campaign double on Tuesday 19 May. A huge couple of weeks ahead. WHERE ARE YOU! 🦢

FIRST TIME IN HISTORY. Sutton United Football Club — promoted to Step 5, MFL Premier Division. WOW. WOW. WOW. Unbelievable scenes in that sold-out away end… pure magic. We couldn’t have done it without every single one of you. History made. 💚⚽️

@J_Tanswell And hopefully hooked

He's eventually booked.

Buendia is often the spare man, but he's given away nearly as many fouls as he's made passes into the final third. Kind of sums up how laboured #AVFC have been with the ball and also without it, where Wolves give you chances at the back.

@MrMikeDiskin @Alex_Berwick Covid??

@Alex_Berwick How can match day revenue in 2021 only be a £1m ? Or do I misunderstand this?

Absolutely phenomenal work this by everyone at #avfc - need to save this graphic, will come in handy for talking to idiots.

@AVFCTranstweet Google his wages - you might rethink.

Sell Emi Martinez and get James Trafford. #AVFC

@Llama_Bin_Wild @espenstrand Can we remove Barkley and Kamara from the UEFA squad as they’re injured and free up funds for salaries of loans / new purchases?

@espenstrand Currently all Europa league spots (22) filled assuming Elliott goes and Alysson registered. Movement may come from Garcia (loan) or Barkley (sale or extend club option + loan). Moving Sancho (11.5m SCR) or loaning Guessand (12m SCR) would free up space to go big #avfc #utv

"...replace some players who are leaving." 🤔More players are leaving then, how I read that comment. In the 25 team squad. #UTV #avfc🦁

this is probably an unexpected opinion coming from me... entrepreneurship is over-sold and self-awareness is under-sold 👇🏾 The not so popular truth is, most people would be happier with a good salary than a successful startup. But social media continues to push a generation to optimise for lives they don't actually want. Entrepreneurs like me get a lot of likes and followers when we tell people to quit their jobs and chase their dreams. But here is the context that we nearly always miss👇🏾 Entrepreneurship can be really really boring - you will have to do things you do not enjoy. You will deal with big, hard, stressful problems, every day - including bank holidays, christmas and any other time off - for years. If you're lucky enough to be successful, the problems will get bigger, not smaller. You will not have one boss. You will have hundreds - every customer, every investor, every employee. You will answer to them 24/7. You will probably work 3x the hours you do now, have 10x the stress and a tiny probability of significant success. A recent survey found 87.7% of founders deal with at least mental health issues. That's not a bug. It's a feature of entrepreneurship. You'll see your kids less. You'll probably earn less (for years, maybe forever). You will probably pay yourself last and as little as possible. You'll struggle to switch off. Forever. Your phone will probably become a prison. And here's the punchline: If you succeed, it all gets harder. More money = more complexity. More growth = more anxiety. More success = more people depending on you. In life, when you find yourself following someone else's playbook, you are at risk of winning someone else's prizes. All I'm saying is be intentional. I'm not AGAINST entrepreneurship, I'm FOR self-awareness. Truth "wealth" is probably👇🏾 ✅ Knowing what game you want to play and why ✅ Having the courage not to play other people's games ✅ Understanding your real strengths and weaknesses ✅ Designing within them, not against them Happiness is not about the structure, the social media post or the story. Happiness is about alignment. Building a life that's aligned to whoever you are! This does the beg the question, why do I do it? If I'm honest, the answer is probably....I don't know. It's probably some blend of lower t trauma, my inability to fit inside normal structures like school and conventional work-places (I was fired a few times), my adhd brain that makes working on something for 14 straight hours feel like 7 minutes and some childhood self-esteem issues. Whatever the reason, this is who I am and what works for me. This is the weird way I make myself happy and fulfilled. To someone that is not me, it would probably feel like torture. And to me, their life would probably feel like torture. And that’s the thing… when you create a life that feels like home to you, it will probably look like hell to tourists. Please know what you are not!

Congratulations to Lewis Davis who made his first team debut today after stepping up from the U18s! 💙 Well done Lewis, and here’s to many more! 👏 #COYR #OurTown 🔵⚪️

A player is in an offside position if: any part of the head, body or feet is in the opponents’ half (excluding the halfway line) and any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered. For the purposes of determining offside, the upper boundary of the arm is in line with the bottom of the armpit. And yet nowhere near the armpit and the foot is over the line, couldn't make it up @FA_PGMOL!!!!! #avfc

@figarosdad - liking the moves, familiar?

FT | U21s A hard-fought point against the league leaders. 💪 Draper off the bench with a 2nd-half brace to seal the draw! 🔥⚽ @MidlandLeague

@J_Tanswell @TheAthleticFC It points out that Digne is 32 but he would get into most PL sides and is a French international, should he just be discarded based on age? BTW – average age of Napoli squad last season 28.1.

@J_Tanswell @TheAthleticFC What a misleading graphic, Torres & Lindelof are CB’s and Tielemans a CM. No Garcia but Burrows included, no Barclay, Jimoh or Sancho. Ideally Barclay and Buendia would have been upgraded but replacements that can improve the squad are not easy to obtain or cheap.

Success brings longevity. Emery is nearing his third year at #AVFC & has the PL's joint oldest squad. It means he'll have to do something he hasn't so far - transition/rebuild the squad,planning for the future rather than upcoming months. @TheAthleticFC nytimes.com/athletic/66304…

There's been so much negativity around Emery and Monchi lately. So I felt I had to put things in perspective. By adding some numbers. Numbers will show, that most of the negative numbers stem from before Emery came to Villa October 2022. Lets look at the numbers🔽 #UTV #avfc🦁 Transfer spending Since Emery took over, october 24th 2022, we are +£13M NET. Wages After buying and selling players. After being in Europe 2 seasons in a row. And a 3rd on the way. That alone will demand from our players to increase their contracts. Still we are ONLY 300k+ on wages. From being a club fighting relegation in 2022, to beating the CL champions at home in the quarter finals in the CL in 2025. So basically from NO resourses at all, Emery AND the management team, have delivered wonders. Have spending been 100% on point? Absolutely not. But imo it get WAY to much critisicm. Jhon Duran Huge success. Found a gem. Created enormous revenue. Alex Moreno At the time he came was a success. Struggled with inj. Others took his spot. Youri Tielemans HUGE success. Free. Rediscoverd his game. Now a leader and a very important part of the team. Morgan Rogers HUGE success. £8M+ and have become a England regular. Prob now valued at £100M Was a project when he came. But took the level right away. (Most of the other projects have not) Pau Torres When he came - Huge success. We all loved him. And his ability to progress the ball. There are different reasons why his defending have been an issue the last 12 months. Moussa Diaby Was a success. 10+10 production. A threat. Became a SCR sacrifice. And some say he wanted out. Amadou Onana Undecided. Struggled with injuries. Impossible to anticioate. Imo have enormous potential. With his physical stature. At times showed what he WILL bring. Ian Maatsen Undecided. Digne have held him out. Have struggled to get the structure needed to be successful. You can see the level he can bring. Now struggle with the same as the whole squad. Confidence. Donyell Malen Undecided. Imo the one I question the most. He's struggling all over the place. Touch, not working hard enough, confidence. Evann Guessand Undecided. WAY too early. Struggling with the huge difference in pace in the prem. And a lot of chemistry to be developed with teammates. I can see it will take some time with him. But he's got all the tools to become a factor. Harvey Elliott Undecided. He's got everything in place, to become a very important piece for Emery. The rest is basically managing the squad. Adding projects. That are still developing. Rogers was one of those projects. Difference is Rogers took the level right away. Others did not. Yet. Managing PSR/SCR etc. Adding/removing space. Is another element of lots of transfers too. **Look at transfer history on other prem clubs. Quite a large % of players added at most clubs, are not successful transfers. Im hearing people say, most of the squad is coming from the Smith area. Yes correct. But when Emery took over, none of them where close to what they are today. Its because of Emery's ability to develop them. They are still good prem players. Not because of the recriutment under Smith. We have to remember, Its because of excellent coaching and good management, Villa have become the first team in Premier League history to qualify to Europe through position, 3 times in a row. And the talk of bad management from this management team. 1. As I said, its basically from the previous managment. 2. This management could clean up back in 2023. Selling a lot, and clean up the payroll. But we had Europe for the first time in decades. And wanted to be prepared. Wrong choice?? I dont think so. Because I dont think anyone saw back then, the enormous impact FER and UEFA SCR was going to impact finances as it have. 3. The punishment from UEFA stems from the 2023. finances. Maybe even 2022. 4. IF we cleaned up back then, we would most likely not qualify for CL. 5. IF we cleaned up back then, we would most likely not have close to the revenue base we have today. Now that we are in the middle of a very tough time at Villa, fans are looking for answers. I get that. Imo Its extremely easy and premature thinking, to criticize Emery and his team. It will always come down to terrible structured regulations that is now more and more become reality. NSWE's ambition, Emery's ambition, Villa's ambition have been challenged. Villa under Emery are very close. Close to something no club in England. No club in Europe have managed. To challenge the pre 2011 (FFP) established revenue clubs. IF you believe another manager and management would do better, Im afraid you're very very wrong. Increase revenue have been the MAIN goal from day one. Still is the main goal. I still believe 100% in Emery and his people! We're now in a little funk. Emery are working strategically to get out of it. As he is saying in interviews. He is now rebuilding the "team". He is working on NEW structures and shapes. He will manage to get the ship on the right path very soon. Up the Villa🦁

@Total_Villa @TomCollomosse Improved terms don’t necessarily mean an increase in basic salary - contracts could be extended, bonuses on European qualification perhaps? If their existing contracts have a mechanism to ratchet up then it will all be planned for (hopefully).

🚨 Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Matty Cash, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans are in line for improved terms at Aston Villa. Not an easy puzzle for Villa to solve when they need to stay in line with UEFA spending rules. ✍️ - [@TomCollomosse] #avfc

@SuttonVillans Unbelievable effort 👏

Marseille Saturday…Villarreal Sunday

@NatWest_Help I’ll try that - why wasn’t this emailed to me by the helpline?

@drapesj Hey John You can make a complaint using this link to the online form: natwest.com/support-centre… Is there anything that i can help with in the meantime? Mike

@NatWest_Help - new level of incompetence. Cora not available for complaints except during office hours when, bizarrely, your clients might actually be busy. Phoned the helpline (if only) to be emailed a link to Cora - round we go again. Well designed system to avoid complaints!

@MartinSLewis Hi Martin - stricter regulation and disclosure reqd around BNPL. Also worth looking into subscriptions paid by credit cards - almost impossible to cancel vs direct debits.

Good new. The Statutory Instrument for regulating the Buy Now Pay Later sector should be laid today (ie the start of putting it in law). Then there'll be a consultation by the regulator. Here's my official statment... “We’re finally sneaking closer to the long overdue, much needed, consumer protection that regulation of BNPL will bring. Buy Now, Pay Later is now ubiquitous at online checkouts, many people don’t realise it is a form of debt – and that if things go wrong it can mess up their financial lives. "This isn’t about knocking BNPL, its about making it safer. BNPL can be useful, allowing those who need to spread payments for a budgeted, necessary purchase like a plumber to do it interest-free. Yet it's been sold as a lifestyle choice, not a debt, and pushed for instinct buys or even takeaways. Too many are in trouble with multiple BNPL repayments, leading to debt-chasing and credit file damage." "Regulation will mean firms must be overt that it's a debt, have proper affordability rules, and will crucially let people go to the ombudsman if things go wrong. Yet it’s not coming in until 2026, so people should still maintain a level of wariness until then."