For Ian...

I can't promise to write any more today- I'm up to my neck in pre-season pull-outs.

But I have just seen a response to a blog from Ian who asks: ".....it is partly because the reports you write are seen to be anti villa as in the season ticket story.

"I guess you do have a tightrope to walk between proper reporting and tittle tattle.Can I ask though, do you think your reports are more critical of the club that say that of the Liverpool Echo which hen we look at the reporting of the Barry saga seem to be 100% behind the club whether they believe it or not ?"

I'll answer that one straightaway:

I didn't write a season ticket story. I asked the club many, many weeks ago if I could because those type of stories are always positive.

They weren't keen though because sales were lower than they wanted everyone to know about.

Eventually I decided a line, nothing more, on the bottom of a blog would suffice- so your question should really be aimed at the club's media department.

In my opinion the club really could use the local media a lot more than they do. We rarely, if ever, get ticket information.

Although the club have used their official site today to try to boost sales of tomorrow's game, no one has contacted the paper. If they had we'd have written a piece that tickets are still available.

It's not rocket science.

Did the club ring to let me know a fee had been agreed with Blackburn over Brad Friedel? No they haven't.

Should they? Well, I think so.

But as always that sort of information comes from elsewhere.

Yet this week we have been approached about the new mural of fans at Villa Park and if we can give it coverage.

There has to be a bit of give and take. It's a balance, I'm aware of that.

But Villa this season do appear to have opened up the communication channels with players, so I have to salute them for that.

Secondly, I do not and have never tried to walk a tightrope between reporting and 'writing tittle tattle'.

The tightrope I walk is from getting as close to the truth as possible whilst keeping contacts happy, and also keeping the readers content with the service we provide.

Do you call me writing that Villa were set to sign Henrik Larsson on loan "tittle tattle" because it didn't happen?

Trust me, a superb source called me to say he was actually at the training ground having talks on the Friday. By the Saturday morning Celtic announced they had failed to persuade him to go there and then on the Monday he was signing a new contract with his club.

"Tittle tattle" is people who write that Villa have bid £5million for a Valencia striker because they saw it in the Sunday papers or the internet and didn't bother to check it out.

I don't see those reporters getting a hammering.

So much goes on at a club that they would prefer us not to know.

I took a call earlier from a Villa fan I know very well who just happened to be in the hospital yesterday when a Villa first teamer walked into the reception with one of the staff- both in their tracksuits.

I've not written about it as, at this moment in time, I don't see the point. But I'll ask the question when the time comes.

No one wants to see Villa painted in a good light on the occasions when they deserve to answer questions.

You can buy the matchday programme, read the web-site or buy Claret and Blue if you want to see Villa in a positive light all the time.

Again, it is about balance. There is no way I would have survived for eight years on the Mail and two years before that on the Mercury covering Villa if I wrote negatives all the while.

No way at all.

Martin O'Neill would never speak to me, when I think we get on pretty well- just as I did with John Gregory, to an extent, with Graham Taylor- certainly, and with David O'Leary- for a time. (His line, two years back, about me being banned by a previous manager was absolute rubbish.)

Nigel Reo-Coker wouldn't have taken yesterday's call, even though I have been critical of some of his performances in the past.

Same too with Ashley Young. But I spent 15 minutes with him on Wednesday afternoon in Digbeth (of all places).

It is about balance. Surely supporters want me to ask some questions that are a little difficult to answer from time to time?

From team issues: "Why no right-back for a season?" and "Why no centre-back cover?", "When are the signings going to be made?"- to issues surrounding the club: "Why does the Chief Executive only ever last a few months?".

If the manager comes out and says to the media that he did all he could to keep a certain player at a club but that it was no use- should I not go to get the other point of view?

Believe me, the very fact that I am prepared to ask those type of questions can sometimes make my job difficult. Clubs never want to be fronted by a reporter not satisfied

But I do the job to the best of my ability and write things as I see them.

Thirdly, am I as positive to Villa as the Echo are to Liverpool?

Well, I can't speak for the Echo. What I will say is that the Gareth Barry issue caught Villa on the back foot and Liverpool certainly used their local paper to the best advantage.

You weren't complaining when Martin O'Neill phoned me to have a direct pop at Rafa Benitez and we splashed the story on the back page.

For months and months I have known of Liverpool's interest and the fact that if they went for Barry he would want to go.

(Just like for months and months I knew of the Acorns Hospice deal which was flatly denied by a club spokesman when I approached them).

The Barry deal will happen, eventually. And why should I be criticised for that?

Did you buy a paper yesterday when we splashed on O'Neill again phoning us to say that Liverpool will be set a deadline and that Barry is back in his plans?

Finally, as to whether the Echo always print positives- when all hell broke loose over George Gillette and Tom Hicks' fall-out, do you think the Echo wrote anti-club stories then? Of course they did.

Ian thinks we are too critical when other fans think we are not critical enough.

Lose a game and believe me, everyone becomes a critic!

Have I ever criticised Randy Lerner?

Nope. I think the closest is when I wrote a line in a blog that despite all the gestures of goodwill to fans: the scarves, the 1982 celebrations, the free coaches; and the investment in the club: the training ground and the Holte Hotel, the board were still unproven in the transfer market.

And with one player in (and yes, hopefully many more soon) I stand by that.

I'll just finish by saying it is impossible to please all the people all the time. Sorry for the cliche.