Written by Damian Monday, 15 March 2010 10:40
Wigan have drawn the same and only lost one more than Stoke have at home this season so it must be a hard place to go, so I guess some will happily take a point tomorrow night. I won't, not at Wigan, a place where we have only ever lost once.
If it we were playing at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford or The Library, I'd take a point before the game but nowhere else. I'm sorry if you think my expectations are unrealistic, but against every other team, away from Villa Park, I think if we are to have aspirations of top four then we have to have aspirations of winning.
So, we go to Wigan tomorrow where we won 4-0 last season and most actually have it down as an away win on our prediction page but there are a fair few that think it will be a draw also. I predicted a draw, so chances are that you should put your money on anything but draw and at 23/10 for Wigan and 6/5 for us, if one of those come in, you'll be happy.
Early Team Prediction
Nobody went off injured against Stoke so expect the same players to start against Wigan or expect Gabby to start for either Carew or Heskey. O'Neill has now tried the Heskey and Carew experiment and he can easily change without upsetting anyone. Do expect a player to keel over for O'Neill one day before the end of the season though from sheer exhaustion.
On the other hand, O'Neill might surprise us. He might call up Albrighton and give Webcam or Downing a rest. He might play Delph instead of Petrov or Milner and he might play Young at right back and give one of the three centre backs on the pitch a rest. He might.
Prediction
I thought we'd beat Stoke and I've already mentioned that I predicted we would draw this one, so I think that is the one result it won't be, but I'm not going to jinx it by saying anything else, I will stand by my draw prediction although this really is a place we should be going and winning.
Aston Villa News
Some links below to some stories that you might be interested in.
At the end of the day, we have eleven games left and we are 16 points off where we finished last season. We will get 17 points from these eleven games, just to do better with actual points than last season, which means we are going to lose two of them, win four of them and we will draw the rest.
Tomorrow will be interesting. Live updates and all the regular stuff here from about 6pm.
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Marcus Smith
said:
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... Looking forward to sitting in and watching this online with the blog updates. Been a while since I have been free to do so. I think we have to be looking to beat these teams all the time. I know even the big teams slip-up, but a draw at Stoke should not be seen as a hard-earnt point, but a 'slip-up'. We have to finish 4th this season. |
Dave J
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... Needs to be 3 tomorrow. Same team as finished Saturday even though it's not the way most would go about it. It's obvious that the games are coming so thick and fast for the next few weeks that changes need to be made or players will pick up injuries. Damo - I've been away for a couple of weeks so I may have missed it but did your accountant pal ever give you any analysis of the latest accounts? |
Jonathan Dixon
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... In L Young, Delph and Gabby. Out Cueller, Petrov and Heskey. Then in the 2nd half, change Sidwell for Milner, Albrighton for Young and The Fonz for Carew. Not that difficult is it. |
John Samuels
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...We have to finish 4th this season. Do we? Why? Whats going to happen if we don't? Personally I think we need to see an investment of about £30 - £40m in forwards and then we can think about CL. As it stands I'll take two good cup runs and Europa league football. Cl would be nice, but we're not ready and weit's very likely we'll get shown up. Only four teams have beaten Stoke at the Britannia this season and Wigan will be different. Wigan try to play football and it means we can get the ball down and play. Wigan have a similar record, but we will find this an easier game to compete in. The pitch is wider and the ball will be on the deck more. We did well to get a point form the game on sat and three points on wed will leave us in a decent position. We have a good chance of fourth, but it's not vital to our progression at this stage. We have one more season. |
Jonathan Walker
said:
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... Talking of taking kids to the holte end I'm taking my nephew this weekend. He's 10 years old and we will be sat three rows from the back slap bang in the middle. I've taught him all the songs without swearing and explained that there will be bad language. I would normally sit in the trinity road stand when I take him, but my mate who I go with is away. I carnt wait to see his face at a local derby right in the tick of it his so excited. I have thought to myself is it suitable for a 10 year and I would say not. Though if we dont start them young and show them how to support your culb we will end up like Man utd all standing up and clapping when we score then sitting down again. UTV |
Damian
said:
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... Juan Pablo Angel and only five teams have beaten wigan at home as for finishing 4th - you are right, we dont need to finish 4th and it isn't vital. but progress from 6th twice is quite important |
McParland
said:
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... A must win game at wigan tomorrow, even if it means we field the entire reserve side to acheive it..COME ON YOU LIONS |
Chris Harper
said:
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... [urlhttp://www.avfc.co.uk/page/FootballNewsDetail/0,,10265~1993396,00.html Interesting comments at the bottom of the article. Looks like we may see some changes during the run in. Actions speak louder than words though. |
Darragh McGeown
said:
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...We have to finish 4th this season. I don't think the current squad would stand a chance in the CL. In addition to this I think our league position would suffer should we have a run CL. I personnally would love to finish 4th and have a very short run (2/3 games) and then get dumped out. This would mean: 1) We get the initial financial benifits 2) L'pool would lose out on this money and crumble 3) We could attract a higher class of player 4) Our league position would not suffer and we could sustain 4th spot |
Marcus Smith
said:
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... I said it, because the other teams have the finance to advance more easily than we do. We had had one or two chances, and without investment, will slip further if we do not advance soon. |
Jake Gardner
said:
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... jonnie5 My dad took me into the upper holte at the back when i was six and ive been there ever since, its done me fine theres nothing wrong with me *twitches*  He will love it! |
Andi
said:
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... Nice, dont worry about me, its ok i will find out eventually, you know who your friends are dont ya, everyman for themselves |
Jonathan Walker
said:
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... Damian Do you not think that there are more teams this season pushing for that forth spot than before. Man City, spurs, liverpool, everton and villa are all capable of taking that forth spot. For me the gap is closing every season on the so called top four not just from us but also all the other teams mentioned. I think is good that we are there in that group trying to make that next step. This summer is big for us, MON has assembled a team of his players, 2 or three quality additions in the summer and I Believe it wont be forth we are pushing for more like challenging for the league. |
VillaForeverAndEver
said:
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... I know it has been mentioned once or twice before but Carlos Cuellar playing RB. I just can’t understand why he plays RB, and L Young and Beye warming the bench. Dunne and Cuellar was immense playing in the middle, and it was then Real Madrid showed interest for Cuellar. That’s how good he is as a CB. I don’t say that Collins is bad, not at all, but I think Cuellar/Dunne is better. Get L Young at RB, and we have another offensive dimension. We often see Warnock running down the side getting crosses, that doesn’t happen on the right side. The defence is solid, the offensive play is not. We should dare more. We could see a couple more losses, but I strongly believe that we would see even more wins and more points. Players are guaranteed in the starting 11, we rarely see any changes. Petrov will always start until he stops breathing; the man clearly needs a break as he stops running during 2nd half. Why not play Delph in the middle; I think he has been very good when getting a chance. Albrighton should start when fit. That means Downing on the bench. Well, I know that won’t happen. With all the matches coming now, MON just have to rotate. Just a couple of thoughts, have a lot more but I’m at work and must do what I’m paid to do. And that is not criticising anyone in or around AVFC.  Have a nice day all. |
Damian
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... jonnie5 i agree - more teams are capable of stealing fourth. but last summer was big for us, as was the one before one of the teams you have mentioned and i think there are two capable of doing it; man city or liverpool, will make fourth place theirs soon and when that happens, we can kiss goodbye to it i'd have loved it if martin o'neill could have brought on the football because the chance to take fourth last season and this one was a really good chance. i dont think it will be as easy next season unless we have a new manager or a serious amount of investment and probably both man city will get it right next time and if liverpool do get new owners with some serious cash then they will be a threat i think the difference between 4th and 8th will be quite close this season - next, i suspect the difference between 4th and 5th will be very close but that there will be a much bigger gap to 6th and i think unless something happens that surprises everyone, we all know where we will finish |
Jonathan Walker
said:
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... Damian Talk of changing manager I think is wrong, new manager means starting again which is going back to then go forward. Which by then other teams would of moved on and its another 2 or three years before we get to where I feel we are now. I think Investment in the summer is important and I agree 2 or 3 quality players and we will be a force. Man city and Liverpool we know will invest, but I feel the foundation we have set at villa puts both them to shame. |
Damian
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... jonnie5 maybe, but look what harry redknapp has done at spurs in just over a year - all i'm saying is that maybe it doesn't take that long to change the football as long as you have some decent players at the club as for liveprool - they have the foundations in place and unfortunately, the man city owner can buy those foundations in a heartbeat |
Keith
said:
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... jonnie5 & Damian Isn't every summer big for every club? Chiefy I think this is what happened to Phil Brown..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkcg77pjZdI |
Andi
said:
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... Rocksteady - I like Phil Brown, he is a character and the game needs more of them, MON is not as nuts as he used to be, Strachen is in the wrong league along with Murhino, Match Of the day used to be entertaining, other than the football. |
paddyvillan
said:
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... Damien your a stats man as you keep telling us and after the same games played against the same teams (relagated/promoted teams swapped) are we after making progress r not? Points wise that is. |
Darragh McGeown
said:
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... Chiefy - I'm not saying I don't like Phil Brown. I agree with you on his character but the axe has been hangin over his head for a while now! |
Keith
said:
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... Phil Brown is the most successful manager in Hull's history. He got the club promoted in the Premier League for the first time in their history. He kept them up. I hope they get relegated now, that will teach the ungrateful so called supporters of that club a lesson. Their version of ak_27 and John Doyle were probably on blogs demanding he was sacked for not getting champions league football. The game has gone mad. |
John Samuels
said:
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...We had had one or two chances, and without investment, will slip further if we do not advance soon. I believe we will get investment to buy strikers. If you look a the way MoN and Randy have done things there is a clear strategy in the way the team has been built over the last four seasons. Mainly summer transfers. Purchase quality, but always looking for value for money. Mainly home based players. An emphasis on youth and pace going forward. Experiemce and solidarity at the back. We will have money for strikers and we will prgogress again. Why would Randy stop now when we've come this far? Damien, Changing the manager will do no good at all. We need some forwards, maybe two really good ones and perhaps a centre mid. If we do this and don't lose anyone important we will be awesome next year. All mon has to do is add about 20 - 30 goals to the team with an exciting modfield and a brilliant defence and we'll be in the topf four. Patience is needed. The team has been built in stages and the off field stuff has been going on. There is a clear strategy which is there for all to see. Look at the bigger picture and have a little faith and patience. Mon pulled one of the best defences in the league out of his ar*e and seeing the potential of Milner and Barry was awesome. He's done a good job, but he's in no rush. He's doing things slowly and deliberately and is obviously in this for the long haul. If he now picks up a strike force that increses our goal tally next season by about 20-30 goals we'll be pushing for the title let alone top four, and I'm deadly serious too. We're not far away at all. |
John Samuels
said:
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... keef, fair play mate, but maybe the best thing for Hull and Phil Brown is a change. He's been there a while and the club perhaps needs freshening up and so does his career. He can now go and put the experience to good use and with a top Championship side or perhaps a Premier league one. They've been staring at relegation all year. They're going down due to financial reasons more than anything else and I imagine Brown is on a big wage. The chairman will appoint a younger upcomning manager on less money and his first job will be to chop out dead wood and get players off the wage bill. It's typical stuff. |
Damian
said:
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... Juan Pablo Angel i'm not saying we should change manager. all i am saying is that unless we get serious investment this summer or a new manager, i can't really see us developing at the pace manchester city will or maybe liveprool will if they get new owners or fresh investment but we have 11 games left - we could win them all and if we do, maybe lerner will put in a serious amount of money into the club to buy the striker that will score all those goals and bring in the central midfielder to link everything up .. maybe we will lose the next 11 but lerner will do that anyway and maybe with these better players we will naturally just get better and play better football and maybe with these new players he will rest players more often next season we will see what happens and it might all just work out |
villarobin
said:
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... Damian we dont need a new manager for gods sake ! Who are you going to get thats any better ?? Also WE DO PLAY FOOTBALL !! We dont just hoof it all the time anymore. Even Tony Pulis said it before the Stoke game about how he doesnt understand people who critisise Villa for not playing football. He also said Villa are one of the only teams along with Man U and Arsenal that he would Pay to go and see. |
Damian
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... villarobin i dont know how to make it any clearer - i did not say we needed a new manager |
Andi
said:
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...we will see what happens and it might all just work out Who is that ?? what you done with Damo ?? |
Damian
said:
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... Chiefy funny. but it might just happen. lerner might have asked o'neill what he needs to challenge for the league and o'neill might have prepared a list and given it to him and lerner might be, right now, this very second, be on the phone to one of the representatives of one of these players and he might be sorting it all out. it might happen |
John Samuels
said:
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... Damien, I understand your doubts and uncertainty. Where i'm coming from is this. Dunne - £5m, Collins - £5m, Warnock - £7m, Young - £6m, Davies - £9m, Shorey - £4m, Cuellar - £7m, Friedel - £3.5m, Guzan - £3m. Defence - £49.5m Downing - £12m, Milner - £12m, Young - £9m, Petrov - £6m, Delph - £6m, Reo Coker - £8.5m, Sidwell - £5m, Midfield - £58.5m Heskey - £3.5m, Harewood - £3.5m Forwards - £7m We were told there was a 5 year plan originally and despite denial of this I believe it is clearly visible. We consolidated our league staus in year one and stabilised the side and chopped out a lot of dead wood, streamlined the squad. Year two we sorted the defence out and got rid of the rest of the dead wood. We signed some good players in defence and midfield. We scored loads of goals this season but shipped a lot. Year three saw us with our most convincing league push yet, but the losses of Laursen and Barry forced us to go back and look at the defence again shift things about in midfield. Year four has seen us with a cfinished defence. One of the meanest in the league. It also sees us with a midfield with youth, pace and tremendous dead ball ability, shots from distance and players with the ability to go past their man. We have spent a decent amount each summer to progress the squad and we will again. An investment of about the sam eporportion but this time in the strike force will see the team enter year five with a finished defence, midfiled and strike force. An expensive five years would have seen us catch up with the majhority of the rest and hopefully a season which see's a trophy and qualification for the CL. Qualification for the CL will see a marquee signing and the ground redevelopment ready for the increased gates tha t CL football brings. This season is the best we've seen in ten years and I it's going to continue. We are so close, just have a little faith. Why do you think Randy is just going to stop investing? Bank of America which is the company that bought out MBNA has recovered from the recession and despite selling the company to them, a large part of that was in Boa shares. Lerner's personal wealth has increased back into the billions and we will probably see a significant investment this summer as a result. The last two windows were in a difficult financial period and modest investment has seen our chairman weather the storm. Things are going to keep getting better, just htink Wembley twice in a season for Villa! Awesome stuff. |
Andi
said:
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...Chiefy Damo positive thinking rarely comes from you even though it scares me a little its good  |
villarobin
said:
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... Damian , you said "i dont think it will be as easy next season unless we have a new manager or a serious amount of investment and probably both" Which basically implies that we ned a new manager to take the club on to the next level. Which is basically the same as saying we need a new manager. |
Damian
said:
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... Juan Pablo Angel and it might just be happening - but as you alluded to earlier - we are also maybe at the stage of having to replace some of the players that o'neill himself has brought in i.e. Petrov its a long road and time will tell but if the strategy is as clear as you hope it is then we will find out this summer |
villarobin
said:
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... JPA IS SPOT ON !! There is nothing really to moan about when you look at what Oneil has done since he came in. We have and are improving year on year. I don't care what some spoddy stats say, its just common sense, you can SEE and FEEL how the club has changed from 5 years ago. We are challenging again on all fronts for the first time i can remember since the 80's, and the club looks / feels like its moving in the right way. Alot of the criticism is either wanting too much too soon, or just nit picking. |
BeetrootVilla
said:
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... I'm trying to stay positive about 'the race for 4th',but it's becoming increasingly difficult when the manager keeps picking the same team week in,week out. Far be it for me to tell Mon how to do his job, but unless he starts resting key players we can forget about getting to another final and forget about finishing 4th because they'll all be burnt out(just like they were last season). What was the point in adding players to the squad in the summer if they're not going to be played? Everybody knows what players to rest and what players to bring in, everybody except the manager it would appear... come on now Martin, enoughs enough, please give some squad players a chance - you may even remember why you bought them in the first place?.. |
villarobin
said:
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... Chiefy - Im not going to start disecting the meaning of words , its pointless !! Damian is constantly talking about Oneil not being good enough to take Villa to the Champions league, and hinting that the only way is to get rid. |
mintvilla
said:
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... Villarobin - and damo is not wrong, am not saying hes right either, but MON has not took villa to the champs league, therefore you cannoty say he is capable of doing it when he has never took a prem club to the top 4 we we'l just have to watch this space... which is what damo was saying. Mon has however in my opinion done a good job with alot of investment, resulting in a young squad with heaps of talent, and JPA list of his signings does show the only area we need to improve upon, however MON am sure would suggest that in the past 3 yrs we have been among the top scorers in the league, my opinion is however we need a finisher, its easy to say we need a 20-30 million pound striker but theres not too many of those around and the ones that do want to go to champs league clubs, so we'l see. i can see doyle coming in but again we'll see. with it being a world cup year dont expect too much activity until the last week of august and we might only sign one or 2 players during the whole summer so i wouldnt hold my breathe on big investment, we will probs sell a few fringe players and buy one or 2 but i would imagine our net spend will be quite small, which is mainly damo's point hes been bangin on about, the whole huge investment, might not come this year as everyone seems to expect, sure we'll do business but i doubt we'l spend another 50million again, you can only do that for so long before you have to turn the taps off. At the end of the day am quite a happy villa fan, i like having young quick players in attacking positions and an ugly mean defence at the back. we are doing well in an enviroment where money is ruling the game, look at everton, they deserve to be a much bigger and better club than cleski or citeh, but there not lucky enough for big investors snapping up the club, so they do the best they can, and then have to sell the gems they produce to continue, the point is it could be worse, were doing well and getting to finals and we have a squad full of english international, will we ever win anything again? will we ever get champs league? i dont know, but it wouldnt surprise me if in the next 10 yrs we dont, we'l just have to see, again watch the space... |
Andi
said:
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... Villarobin -- I understand this, but in Damo's defence he has given you two choices it is you that has highlighted the MON out one instead of the investment so is it you that secretly wants mon out ? you have made a decision to focus on that point. If nobody rose to the point then when it is made no one would pay attention and eventually it would go away simple common sense |
john doyle
said:
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... as i have said before its not the players that martin has brought it is where and who he playes every week he moans last year that we aint got a big enough squad so he ads 6 players to it and we play less players this season than last so his pets get worn out what is the point of buying players if he dont play them as for heasky it aint worth wasting breath on the lump any more |
Jonathan Walker
said:
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... The one thing that can be said for this season is that at the moment we are still in the hunt on two fronts. CL qualification and the F.A Cup is still a dream that could come true for us. Yes it could be all gone in a second but for me while the chance is there I'm living the dream you just never know. If in that second its gone I know I've loved every second of being on the that winding road. For those that are frightened to let go and embrace these times I feel sorry for you. Yes the football needs to develop and yes I wish he used his squad more, but when was the last time we could talk about going to wembly twice in one season. The last four seasons have brought some great times for me being a villa fan we are now competing at the right end of the table. We are showing more and more progress every season and until we start to go backwards we have to support what Randy and MON are doing at villa. I Belive even if we finish seventh this season theres been progress for the simple fact we have competed on three fronts. I find it hard to understand how people can question whats happening at villa when for me we are still moving forward. |
Martin Garner
said:
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... I agree with Villarobin. Damian is always going on about O'Neill not being good enough and "until the football gets better" blah, blah, blah. The football is getting better. It's been getting better for the last three years and it will continue to get better with O'Neill and Lerner at the helm. That's the same Lerner that has transformed this club, but that Damian also constantly bashes and remarkably believes isn't investing in our club when it is clear to everyone that he is and will continue to do so. Why don't you stop being so defensive all the time and just pin your colours to the mast and say it out loud? You would rather have a different manager. Anyone who is a regular visitor to this site knows that. Why can’t you just admit it? Maybe its because there a part of you that knows it’s a ridiculous idea. I used to love this blog, but the negativity and O'Neill bashing is getting ridiculous and boring. JPA - love your posts. We need more like you mate SUPPORT THE TEAM, with a little more emphasis on the word SUPPORT! UTV |
Greg
said:
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... MINTVILLA Villarobin - and damo is not wrong, am not saying hes right either, but MON has not took villa to the champs league, therefore you cannoty say he is capable of doing it when he has never took a prem club to the top 4 we we'l just have to watch this space... on that logic you think liverpool will gain the 4th qualification champs league spot??? Spurs and man city havntever got their, and redknapp hasnt ever finished 4th and mancini has never done it in england. Its it fair then to say they are not capable because they have never done it? stop blowing it out your arse |
Damian
said:
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... time will tell i for one think o'neill needs a lot more money to bring in a few more players and maybe if that happens we might break into the top four Wonkeye how can i make it any clearer? your opinion is the football is getting better. mine is that it isn't i think o'neill needs much more money. if he gets it - maybe it will happen. wihtout the money, i dont think it will. how much clearer do you want me to make it? |
Martin Garner
said:
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... The football IS getting better. Ask any other football supporter, manager or pundit and I believe 90% of them will tell you Villa are progressing and are progressing well. The evidence of that is the club's results over the last three seasons, the decent cup runs, European qualification, beating the top teams in the county (Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Ure) and regular attendance by the England manager at our games. We're not even last on Match of the Day anymore! O'Neill is the manager and he takes responsibility (and more importantly credit) for those results. This is O'Neill's team. He had progressed us year upon year and I believe he will continue to do so. He's shown me little to prove that he won’t. Why can’t you focus on the things that he has done rather than the things that he hasn't? You're not clear Damian. You never are. Are you now saying that if we don’t get much more money we should get rid of O'Neill, but if we do get more money we should stick with him? What exactly is it that we need to "make the football better" is it better tactics, a new manager or better players? I know one thing that will lift the players and make them better…. SUPPORT. UTV |
John Samuels
said:
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... He'll get the money. I think five years of investment in the team is something that has been promised to O'Neill. Randy has been putting the infrastructure in place off the field to sustain an assault on the top of the league. The facilities are better than they were, the profile of the club is improving, we have a nice kit, the possibility now of a big money sponsor, a larger ground, a brilliant training complex and this wil help sustain is at the top in terms of revenue. Portsmouth are an example of a club that gained success too quickly and at the expense of thier business model. The club couldn't sustain it, neither could Leeds. I rest assured that the club is in good shape having been forced to progress and grow in a sensible and sustainable way and while it may have been denied since i'm afraid i'm only going to take the first answer. The on pitch growth has been steady with a revlving door for lower grade 'stop gap' squad players who make way when a quality replacement is availble. The whole squad has been built that way and this summer may see the last of those lower grade players leave. Harewood, Salifou, Shorey, Beye, Osbourne and possible either Carew or Heskey will be out the door. We will see there shoes filled to some extent by Albrighton, Delfouneso and Delph. There is also likely to be a large amount invested in the team to make a fifth year push for CL. My thinking however is that with investment in quality up front and perhaps one recruit in midfield we may have to look a little higher up the table to spot us in future. Spurs have had a large squad with plenty of quality in it for a while so I don't believe it's fair to compare Redknapps achievements there to Mon's at Villa. Redknapp is definitely a good manager, but it has meant he only needed three or four players to turn around a stuttering Spurs. Man City have billions and the team like Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea have had big squads filled with quality that has been amassed over a longer period of time and is added to each year. We need to get to the point where we have the squad fully assembled and it is clear to see we have short comings in the only area of the field that hasn't seen massive investment under MoN. Strikers WILL come in and then we can really see where the club has progressed to. Martin has said recently how he will have to utilise more of the squad this month AND that we need reinforcements up front (actually mentioning a 20 goals a season striker). THe signs are there that he knows what we need and will sort this out when given the chance. He doesn't buy in January unless it is essential and that's that. Get used to it. I foresee a load of fringe players leaving and three players coming in at a net spend of around £40m. It's about the usual we've come to expect over the last three years I don't see it changing. |
Andi
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...We're not even last on Match of the Day anymore! Next thing you know we will be filling our ground !!!! |
tubbydunne
said:
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... This argument happens every time Villa don't win a game. It's so predictable and boring. A draw against Stoke wasn't a terrible result and an awful lot of people predicted it beforehand. What is all the whinging about. The Manager is doing a fine job and he has improved everything since he came. Obviously he isn't everyone's cup of tea but they will have to deal with it because he will be here for a while |
Martin Garner
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...Next thing you know we will be filling our ground !!!!That would be nice mate. I still don't understand how we don't fill it. I can't think of anything I love to do more than going to watch the Villa. It was a bit of a joke but its still a valid point. People take us a lot more seriously now, that's the effect consistent progression has. |
mintvilla
said:
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... JPA you say you dont see a net spend of 40 millions chaning? but when do you stop the tap, we do make 40-50 million a yr in profit so all of this is borrowed money, when do you stop borrowing? you'l notice chelski have barley spent a penny in the last 3 yrs as theyve been recouping the initial 3 yr investment, like i mentioned ealrier i dont think we'l see a net spend of more than 5-10 million this summer as the bulk of the squad is there and fine, i think we'l buy one striker and it wont be a 30 million pound everyone wants, it will be a jones or doyle and that will be that. Heskey and carew are on big contracts and i doubt they will be leaving as no one will pay them at their age what were paying them, harewood will go and we'l replace him, but i dont see any major investment this summer |
Andi
said:
|
...That would be nice mate. I still don't understand how we don't fill it. I can't think of anything I love to do more than going to watch the Villa. Its got better but i dread to think what the gates would be if Randy didnt do his ticket specials he does. |
Andi
said:
|
...you say you dont see a net spend of 40 millions chaning? but when do you stop the tap, we do make 40-50 million a yr in profit so all of this is borrowed money the person who has lent us the money owns the club the only way he will get his money back or a better return is if we are succesful and to do that he knows we need the right tools. There is no reason why Randy pants will all of a sudden say NOPE martin you cant have anymore money wouldnt make sense for him to do that . The likely hood as JPA has explained is that there is a 5year plan and so far everything seems to be going right, it wouldnt make sense not to invest this year, the ground is due to be redeveloped end of next year, if we do well in closed season for stirkers and have a good season next year the ground being redeveloped will link in with the season presumming with have a good season with extra fire power. We are changing our sponsor who will also bring in fundage so no reason why Randy pants wont invest |
Damian
said:
|
... A net spend of £40mn would be more than O'Neill has ever had and it might do the trick .. but I really cant see it happening. I'd be surprised if it were half of that |
john doyle
said:
|
... you know that i dont like martin abecause he is so negtive the best he has done for us is 6th place the same as oleary did i cannot see us getting any higher this year thats why iam fustrated all the time with his team choice week in week out just because we say what we think dont mean we dont support the team i have paid for 4 season tickets this year the same as the last 8 years and before that 3 and 2 as the kids grow up as i have said before this team could not live with big rons or the eurpoean team and that is the standard i expect for the money which has been spent we are in a very lucky time period to have randy he is the best thing that has ever happend to the club in the past 50 years how long he will be hear no one knows execept him so we have to make the best of the money he puts into our club now that is why i slate martin only when he wont play the players he has brought or rotate the pets when you have been brought up on andy gray, peter with, yorkie, sid, merson and of course GOD, its very hard to accept a lump like heskey being allowed to wear our hallowed shirt you all slag me off but deep down how many of you agree |
Andi
said:
|
...A net spend of £40mn would be more than O'Neill has ever had and it might do the trick .. but I really cant see it happening. I'd be surprised if it were half of that I am expecting about 25-30mil including sales of the rubbish we have sitting around sucking of the wage bill quick calculation MULE - 5million Harewood - 3million Shorey - 3million Salifou - 1million Osbourne - 1million Beye - 3.5million Sadly I think Cuellar will go to Madrid - 15million thats 32.5 million in sales i cant be that far of can i ?? |
john doyle
said:
|
... cheify i think that you have vastley over valued that lot 5mill for the lump be lucky to ge 1 mill and he would be vastly overpriced at that he wont leave as he could not get half the wages he gets here he must think its better than butlins harwood no one would pay any thing for him shory might rase 1.5 mill same as byebe salafou and osborn might get half a mill for the 2 of them thats about 4.5 mill for the lot at the most but it would get them off the wage bill rember we only got 3 mill for gardner and he is diffrent class to this lot |
mintvilla
said:
|
... MULE-1mill Harewood-1mill Shorey-1.5mill Salifou-free Osborne-250k Beye-2mill i make that 5.75million mate, your valuations arnt realistic, Heskey is old, salifou and osborne arnt prem players, we wont get what we payed for shorey or beye since their now older and havnt been playing for us see they obvs want out so noone will pay over the odds for, the 5-6 mill wed get wont get us the 20 mill player we all want, and if we do sell cuellar, MOn would want a replacement and i dont see him going anyway, Real madrid will have new manager by the summer anyway so him going their is just plucking things out of the air. |
mintvilla
said:
|
... put it this way, if you was a manager would you pay that kind of money for the players you suggested? i highly doubt it |
Villatx
said:
 |
... Mint villa your valuations aren't exactly realilstic either...at least some of them although he had his critics heskey is an englan international and respected by managers...I'd say we oils seek him for closer to 3 million than 1...harewood wouldn't be far away from 1 million but I bet we could get closer to 1.5 or more I agree that bête could be sold for 2 million, but I'm sure we could get more for heskey than him |
john doyle
said:
|
... mint villa i think that you are asking to much for this lot you might get a bit more for them if you put them on cash in the atic ss they are all antiecs |
Andi
said:
|
... I reckon the MULE would get a bit for him and his history, lets face it he is worth 2 million in body weight alone lets say 3mil, Habib is worth about that, Salifou is bullet proof, shorey ok maybe 2mil, Osbourne maybe 500k, Harewood 1mil so lets say 10.5mil for that lot, and Cuellar if Madrid come calling 15million thats still 25 million !!! |
john doyle
said:
|
... villa tx heasky has been a con man for to long no one else will fall for him he will see out his contract here as no one will pay him what us fools do |
cess
said:
 |
... I have just finished a marvellous book "from mine to milan" the Gerry Hitchens story. For supporters who followed Gerry through the late 50's and early 60's I can recommend this book to you. Season 60-61 42 goals for Villa! We could do with him now. Cess |
mintvilla
said:
|
... 3 million for heskey? ok we paid 3 million for heskey when he was 30, hes now 32, he will be nearing his 33rd yr next season, hes scored 5 goals for us in about 36 apps for us, MON already had a moan about him not being able to finish 90mins, and always having niggles, again tell me where you get 3 million from? Habib's value has decreased as hes now older and looking to leave, so we wont get what we paid for him, and your valuing salifou at 1mill? why hes never played a league match, hes not even champs level, hes league 1, as is osborne wed get next to nothing for them players, and with harewood breaking his ankle, no one will want him either, we'l be stuck with marlon next season while he winds down his big fat contract that no other club will be paying, we'l do good buisness if we get 5 million, and again King carlos wont be going mardrid, they will have a new manager, who will buy more strikers they do not spend money on defenders, never have done so i duno why you think there suddenly gunner pay 15 million for a player who cant get into the spanish national team, i suggest one stops reading the sun and stops playing football manager |
john doyle
said:
|
... mint villa you are spot on how many players do you think we could make a profit on what martin has brought i bet we would not get 120 mill back for them thats for sure |
Jonathan Willier
said:
 |
... I must say I find myself agreeing with almost every one of JPA's posts. In addition, jonnie5's have been spot on as well. f I suppose I agree with them because I see the glass half full. I don't mind reading or do I wish to bash Damian's or anyone else other viewpoints. I think the Lerner is doing the smart thing by slowing building up the club. There are numerous examples of how throwing big money around in a short period of time, while it may work for a season or two, will eventually come back to bite you in the a*se. While it can be very frustrating at times, I'm still willing to be patient and be rewarded with a longer, more sustainable success. I don't think it's that far-fetched to think that in the next couple years we could be contending for a league title! |
Andi
said:
|
...Chiefy - what about Sidders? We should just give him away I forgot sidders and hokey cokey sidders 4mil and hokey cokey 6mil so when all the sales are done we have dough !!! we should do buy 1 get 1 free with invisidwell and mule |
john doyle
said:
|
... one thing for all you lot who said a point at stoke is a good result you are all barmey even small heath got 3 points there we got what martin wanted you set up with 3 center halfs for a draw a draw is all you get which is not good enough |
John Samuels
said:
|
... MintVilla, Chelsea haven't spent much in the last 3 years because they made an initial outlay in Abramovichs first three seasons of nearly half a billion! Of course they don't they have one of the most expensively assembled squads in the world! Carew has been approached by a Turkish club and I can see him leaving. Knowing him he'll want one last payday and dur to the titles he has won there he is a bit of a legend in Turkey and he'll get a big contract mark my words. Heskey will probably stay and finish his career with us, but I said at the time he was a trade up on Harewood. Why would MoN build an attack around a player who is 31 years of age? He wouldn't, it's not his style, he'll want someone young and hungry that he can also make a few quid on long term. Heskey is player who does a job, helps us keep things tight at the back and is a decent influence in the dressing room. He is a stop gap and will be forced to play more of a fringe role next season. We need to bolster the strike force. One or maybe two strikers depending on who leaves and whether Delfouneso makes the step up. If this is one player we will almost certainly see another attacking CM come in. The links with Ireland and Hleb are no coincidence and this is the sort of player we need. I believe we will also bolster at RB with someone young. Luke Young is getting no younger at 31 and Beye is probably off. There has been noises about Kuszcak who would be a great competition for Guzan as Friedel maybe has one more season in him. If we got rid of the dead wood and generated say Shorey - £3m (justifiable as he is actually playing quite well at Fulham. Depending on Bouma's fitness we might even keep him) Harewood - £1.5m (the figured touted to Toon) Salifou - Free Osbourne - £500,000 Carew - £5m (Fenerbache) £10m and a load off the wage bill looks good to me. This would allow us to bring in three of four players: - A Goalkeeper (Friedel is almost done). - An attacking CM (Hleb, Ireland someone to thread balls inbehind and give us a different dimension. - A Striker (Someone Physical, Quick and capable of 20 a season. - A young FB (someone to deputise where we don't have a real prospect. Lichaj is ok, but by all accounts is not developing as we'd hoped. Nice to see O'Halloran back fit at LB tho) Depending on whether this FB comes in and whether anyone else leaves we might see another CM come in to take the pressure off Petrov. One of Sidwell or Reo Coker would have to go if this were to happen although I fancy we'll keep both and use Delph more next5 season. This is what I expect and what I've deduced from the noises coming out of the club. We knew we needed goals when MoN came in and we got them with Carew, Young and Gabby. We knew we needed a defence and Mon gave us Dunne, Collins, and Warnock. Now we need a striker and I'm sure we'll get one. we'l see a net spend of more than 5-10 million this summer as the bulk of the squad is there and fine, I disagree the squad is not finished. We clearly need investment up front and then the squad will be there and fine. We've spent huge amounts on the defence and in midfield and sod all in attack. We now have a team that is brilliant at the back, plays good football at times but struggles to score......What a surprise, doesn't take a genius to work that one out and that's what MoN is, a little Noerthern Irish Genius. |
Andi
said:
|
...King carlos wont be going mardrid, they will have a new manager, I wouldn't be so sure about that |
Andi
said:
|
...and your valuing salifou at 1mill? Not only can he dodge bullets this mans oranges are second to none he is envied throughout the world for his orange slicing technique |
john doyle
said:
|
... sidders is joing the justice for gingers leage he has forgot how to play but how do we know he his only given the odd 10 minshe dont even play in the 2nd team he cannot be worse than the lump who plays all the time NCR wal on the fringe of the england team when first come look what martin has made him now i rember him saying that gary cahill aint good enough but we would have to pay 20 mill for him now |
John Samuels
said:
|
... I missed the £1m we'd probably get for Beye. Looks like Fulham and Sunderland both want him so we might be able to bump the asking price up to say £1.5m/£2m at a push. |
Andi
said:
|
...i suggest one stops reading the sun and stops playing football manager why you think there suddenly gunner pay 15 million for a player who cant get into the spanish national team, Ok so Cuellar wont be going the world cup will he not?. Just because my opinion is different to yours does not mean i read the sun or play championship manager, there is no need to turn into attacks because my view is different to yours. I also suggest one stops typing like a T"^t to try and make himself sound intellectual |
Villatx
said:
|
... John Doyle just because fans like you don't rate heskey doesn't mean managers don't. Capello is one of the best and he loves heskey. If you play a style of football that fits heskey then he's quite valuable. Besides in a world where man city pays 30 million for a brazillian that they loan out, and where Birmingham have a 12 million bid for roman pav turned down, then how can you not expect a team to pay 3 million for heskey... |
Villatx
said:
|
... Mint villa are you high? When did I mention any kind of suggestions about salifou or osbourne... I told you some of yours weren't realistic...those two won't get us crap, but this is 2010 man... Everyone is overpaid for...there is certianly a team out there that would pay more than your 1 million prediction |
Darragh McGeown
said:
|
... Chiefy - I would love to keep Reo-Coker if he was willing to say. He's perfect backup for Petrov just sitting in front of the back four breaking up play... |
john doyle
said:
|
... chiefy carlos might go if he was playing center half because as a full back he his crap perhaps this is martins ploy to hold onto him play him in the wrong place every week and no one will want him and theres me doubting the great martins brain he got me fooled |
Andi
said:
|
...Chiefy - I would love to keep Reo-Coker if he was willing to say. He's perfect backup for Petrov just sitting in front of the back four breaking up play.. Yeah so would i but i dont think MON will forgive him that east its not every day that MON has to use his ninja training and hokey cokey over stepped the mark |
john doyle
said:
|
... villa tx how many games have we won with him and how many have we won without him 70% win withouthim 20% win with him he is just a con man and you live martin and the great cappelo have been conned |
john doyle
said:
|
... cheify i would to kep NCR but no one at the club can disagree mith martin the god if you do you must go thats the way it is martins way or the highway |
Andi
said:
|
... John - On the MULE thing he does work, somehow, when you play to his strengths and in the england set up he does work well. The trouble is for us Cuellar has more assist than him, Dunne has the same number of goals as him, so you see for us he is rubbish. I can see the thinking behind him though i think maybe MON expected more from our midfield on the goal scoring front and if this was the case then MULE would have his uses but as the team is now and since the beginning of the season EMULE has no place in our team he is pants really pants. |
John Samuels
said:
|
...go thats the way it is martins way or the highway too right, that's the way it should be. European qualification regularly for the first time in ten years, a cup final, a semi of the FA cup and a good young squad. He knows what he's doing. |
Andi
said:
|
... John -- on the NRC thing CAREW went to watch some tit-ties and look what happened there god knows what will happen after you make MON get all ninja on ya that can only mean trouble cant it |
Villatx
said:
|
... John Doyle I see your point for sure...I'm not saying heskey is the second coming of Christ in fact i prefer Carew by a longshot on his day I'm just saying there are teams out there that would spend the money on him especialy with some of the transfers in these times |
john doyle
said:
|
... jan pablo angal has he got us any higher than o leary for 4 times the spend well these are facts what you got to say |
Andi
said:
|
...I'm not saying heskey is the second coming of Christ He is pele's son though I am the only one who things NRC is lucky he is still at the club after going toe to toe with MON ?? irrespective of want you think of MON as a manager you cant go getting all WWF on the manager. |
john doyle
said:
|
... ok villa tx but if you where a manager would you buy him having watched him for the last 12 months i would be happy if he went for nothing and where ever he went i would drive him there myself for nothing of pay for his flight if it was abroard and thats true he is just a con man |
Villatx
said:
|
... Your right I wouldn't buy him after his performances but I know there are teams that fit his style of play quite well...I wouldn't mind him leaving if we got a replacement but there are teams out there that would pay I don't value him at 3 million but mint villa was predicting incomes for players and we could certainly get over 1 million |
mintvilla
said:
|
... and chiefy No cuellar wont be going to the world cup, he hasnt been capped, not made one squad, so unless the top 4 spanish centre backs get injured he wont be going, as he defo wont be going as a right back. If you dont play football manager then dont quote made up football manager prices for worthless players, as it undermines your arguement, am saying the same stuff, get rid of the dead wood, buy 1 or 2 quality strikers, but am saying it will be hard, at some point the money will stop, and we will have to have a few years paying back the loan, and i think it might be this season, so i wouldnt be surprised if we didnt buy next to noone next season as i can see MON keeping carew heskey gabby and the fonz as our 4 strikers, heskey defo wont be going anywhere, the only one that might go is carew, and then we will replace him, all am saying is dont expect much activity, we cant just sell 4 or 5 players thats dont play have 40 million, and end up with van der vaart and jan klass huntalaar, it will never happen unless we finish 4th, and even then id be surprised if we did buy a 20million pound striker |
john doyle
said:
|
... let me put the heseky thing another way if any of you lot saw a shop kepper short change an oap for say £20 would you say something if the anser is yes then that shopkeper is like the mule every week getting his wages |
john doyle
said:
|
... mint villa martin has never brought a high priced center forward in his life as a manager he aint got the bottel for it |
Frankie Pimblett
said:
 |
... to Cess I've read the Gerry Hitchens book as well and really enjoyed it. He was obviously a very special player and one of the few who managed to make it in Italy, a great bloke as well by all accounts. Would probably have made the '66 England squad if Ramsay had picked non domestic players. I'm thinking of writing my own book about Villa centre forwards called 'Hitchens to Heskey (from the sublime to the ridiculous)'. On the subject of sales I don't think we'll get a lot for Sidwell, Marlon, Heskey, Salifou, Shorey, and Osbourne, but there has to be a clear out, you'd be lucky to get more than 6 to 7 million for the lot of them and half of that would be for Shorey. |
frem
said:
 |
... out gardner (gone ) 3mil sid 4 mil reo 5 mil l young 2 mil beye 1. 5 mil hare 2 mil carew 5 mil hesk 2 mil osbourne and sali 1 mil 25.5 mil total in kuschac(GK MAN U) 4 mil mathews 2.5 mil Ireland 9.5 mil guiza 5 mil edurado or owen |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Heskey will probably retire at Villa under O'Neill. If we sold him we'd probably get a couple of Million if more than one team wanted him. It's all conjecture though, stop arguing about it. John Doyle. Martin has had a great deal of investment yes. We were very much behind the times though and he's had to rebuild the whole squad. O'Leary made some terrible purchases, but he did make a few good ones too. Baros was a poor signing if you ask me and he was a lot of money. Juan Pablo had one good season, but cost £10m. Djemba Djemba was brought in and so was Gavin McCann to play in midfield, but Barry was sidelined out of the squad. It's things like this that never convinced me and while we may have had one good season out of the few he was there, and while a large amount of this was due to spo9radic investment by Ellis I would take MoN every time. The period of progression we've had under MoN has been steady and lacked the topsy turvy unpredictability of O'Leary's reign. We have finished sixth twice in a row and we're going to finish around there again and this shows consitency, something we've lacked over the last ten seasons. We were always top sic for a bit then mid table then relegation battle then top six again. We seem to have a good squad that is capable of top six and europe, but also has a lot of promise. I don't judge the squad necessarily on players like Friedel, Petrov, Heskey and Carew because their days are numbered. I judge the progression of the squad on players like Ashley Young, James Milner, Stewart Downing, James Collins, Gabby Agbonlahor, Nathan Delfouneso, Carlos Cuellar, Steven Warnock, Brad Guzan, Fabien Delph, players that have time on their side, undeniable quality and the room to improve. Heskey, Carew, Friedel and Petrov will be replaced gradually over the next 24 months and we will see a new strike force taking shap too. Dunne is a little older, but we have Davies still to step in and improve his game. I just think we are better placerd to do well over the next couple of seasons, when under O'Leary we had an ageing side cobbled together that didn't really have any prospects, but now the whole club has a clear direction and what appears to be a will to get to whereever it is they're going. O'Leary didn't have the presence of mind to move Barry into the middle and I doubt whether he'd have gone out and signed a player like Ashley Young. It's more likely we would have blown the money on some Balaban style foreigner or a veteran with only a couple of seasons in him. Whoever above said Cahill is worth £20m is a nutcase. He had a ood bit of form earlier in the season, but now he's gone a bit and Bolton are struggling. |
John Samuels
said:
|
...van der vaart and jan klass huntalaar, it will never happen unless we finish 4th, Both over rated, Van Der Vart is also very similar to Milner, no point despite him being the better of the two. I'd rather have a proven premiership striker like Bent than waste the money on Huntelaar who can't hit a barn door. By all means go ahead, but a player who has only scored 8 in 23 games is not what we need and not worth his Eur24m price tag. MintVilla, There is a difference between a 20 goal striker and a £20m striker. RSC scored 20 for Blackburn in his first season there and he cost £3.5m. There are players out there, it's just finding them. Who thought spending £18m on Dunne, Collins and Warnock would lead to one of the best defences in the league? Selling the fringe players and Carew may net us £10 - £12m. It also frees up wages. Osbourne and Salifou are probably on about £8,000 a week. Carew - £55,000 Harewood - £30,000 Shorey - £30,000 Beye - £30,000 That's about £160,000 in wages suddenly made available too. This will free up plenty of space in the squad with youngsters like Albrighton and Delfouneso coininng a fraction of their fringe counterparts there will be money available for transfers this summer definitely. We've spent plenty of cash every year and the only part of the team not to get significant investment is up front. This will come and when the squad is totally finished, that is when you can judge O'Neill. |
tubbydunne
said:
|
... JPA Agree with a lot of what you said, but two things, it was Gregory that brought in Angel and while Cahill mightn't be worth 20 million, he is a terrific young player and it was a mistake to sell him. But it just goes to show that even O'Neill can make mistakes. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... tubbydunne, sorry about that, you are right. Still O'Leary made his fair share of questionable signings, I hop you forgive me for that faux pas! Cahill is a decent CB, but he wanted to play and he wouldn't have played every game at Villa. We got £5m which was a fair price at the time and even now he's worth £8m-£10m? He wasn't getting in to the back four with Mellberg and Laursen there and those two were better so what could he have done? |
john doyle
said:
|
... JPA good reply but martin has wasted about 40 mill on crap and he wont take chances on wining games whats to stop him starting the fonz for a game say tomorrow against wigan with gabby 2 pacy players if he dont score he can take him off whats wrong with that the kid has scored every time he starts but he wont even do that he would rather play heasky who is worse than all of o learys bad buys wold much rather have baros in the team than mule rember small heath also carlos at full back is a joke we have to set up to beat teams like stoke and wigan rember small heath beat these 2 crap teams martin give 2 much respect to these cracp teams insted of going at them he is happy with draws thats why we will never be at the top because of negevitivy thats martin |
john doyle
said:
|
... JPA the other thing i was going to say in reply to you is that football is for today the fonz is scoring now delph is playing well now they might not be next year when all the spunk has been knocked out of them from sitting watching the crap that are playing in ther places as i said before if martin was at everton rooney would still be in there 2nd team so not to be rushed you cannot wrap players in cotten wool it just dont work |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Wasted £40m on who? Heskey and Sidwell seem to be the main point of your outburst and they cost a combined £8.5m whereas Chelsea Spent £18m on Kezman. MoN has his own way of handling Delfouneso and to be honest would he have suited the play at the Britannia? The ball was on the deck for about 3mins combined. Baros was absolute crap. Lazier than Carew, no pace and got pushed off the ball. Liverpool must have been laughing all the way to the bank. Stoke are not crap, they are 11th (we finished there two season ago and I didn't think we were crap). They are physical and most teams go there and draw or lose. Only Spurs, Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea have gone there and won this season. Wigan will be tough, but they suit our style of play more, I think we'll nick a win. It's not negativity, we just lack a ruthless goalscorer, which we will get. This blog is the same every time we lose a game and it's never going to change. I'm just trying to add some rationale to the doom mongering. Don't get impatient, I stand by the fact that because we overachieved for a period of last seaosn people expect instant success. It doesn't work like that, but we are getting better. |
john doyle
said:
|
... JPA 10 mill on davis 5 mill on zak knight 6 mill on sidwell 7 mill on NCR 3.5 mill the lump 5 mill shorey 3 mill beybe 4 mill harwood even ashly young looks high at 9.5 mill and is dowing worth 12 mill is this enough of a waste how much more do you want |
John Samuels
said:
|
...JPA the other thing i was going to say in reply to you is that football is for today the fonz is scoring now delph is playing well now they might not be next year when all the spunk has been knocked out of them from sitting watching the crap that are playing in ther places http://www.teamtalk.com/footba...66,00.html http://www.sundaymercury.net/m...-26026311/ Read the above. The whole experience is brilliant for the youngsters, they love the spectacle of playing for a team vying for trophies and will take their chance when they get it. They need time and encouragement and not too much pressure. MoN will rotate this month, he will have to. He isn't an idiot and you definitely don't know better. How many teams have you managed, how many titles and trophies have you won and how many European cup winning teams have you played in? Give him time and a little faith. This is just the beginning of a great period for our club, be patient and enjoy the ride instead of wandering around spitting bile because Stoke were hard to break down. The strikers will come in and we will continue to improve. |
john doyle
said:
|
... also JPA any team who lose at home to small heath are crap they cost for the whole team 30 mill |
John Samuels
said:
|
...JPA 10 mill on davis 5 mill on zak knight 6 mill on sidwell 7 mill on NCR 3.5 mill the lump 5 mill shorey 3 mill beybe 4 mill harwood even ashly young looks high at 9.5 mill and is dowing worth 12 mill is this enough of a waste how much more do you want Davies is plenty good enough, as is Young and Downing. We actually made £1m on Knight and Beye was a stop gap while Young was out. We'll get our money back on him. Harewood was a good squad player when we had no one else and cost £3.5m He paid that back in goals the season we qualified for Europe for the first time in ten years or have you forgotten. Not a waste, he was responsible for getting us about twelve points that year if I remeber with equalisers and winners. NRC hasn't come on as I would I have liked, but he's struggled to get games with the renaissance of Barry and got injured at the wrong time this season. With Petrov's injury and virus he would hav played. I'd rather have NRC and Sidders on the bench than Salifou and Osbourne. Milner, Young, Downing, Gabby, Warnock, Dunne, Collins are all worth as much or more than we paid and that is good business. |
John Samuels
said:
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...... I'm bored now. Bye bye. |
john doyle
said:
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... JPA i might not have managed a eurpoen cup winning side but neither has martin i have watched one though and a team that finished 2nd in the prem under big ron and either of those teams would have played this team off the park so i can say what i see with my own eyes and can compere the great god martin with the past managers and i know that he has had at least 3 times the money any other manager in the clubs history has had as i have seen it with my own eyes i even saw pele play at villa park so that is why this team for the cost and the way the manager picks it aint good enough when they come up to past teams then i will say that they have done good but until then buying 4 season tickets a yeay spending over 20k a yeay watching them home and away i can have my veiws |
john doyle
said:
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... Jpa go to sleep and dream of the great martin i have seen them win the european cup i wont see it again with this guy in charge its as simple as that |
dominic elmer
said:
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... Got to be 3 points tomorrow, Wigan proved they can compete with the top sides with the win over Liverpool but I can't see us slipping up. Our defence is the best around even if MON still plays his game of playing people out of position. Read in the paper today that Bouma is ready for first team action, it'll be interesting to see if he can come back as good as he was. |
Trigger
said:
 |
... !!!!!!!! Whats with all the negativity ! I am loving this season, one cup final, a semi final to look forward to, still competing for 4th. We are in a better position than liverpool, would be level on points with spurs if win our games in hand. We have not had it this good in so long . . . .spurs i may add have chelsea arsenal and utd all in a row. I said at the start of the season after losing such an influencial player in Barry, if we finish 6th i would be happy, i still stick by that, although i think we will finish either 5th or maybe , just maybe 4th. UP THE VILLA! Oh and John Doyle , i respect your views but come on even you must see the progress . If you dont like MON then fair enough, but at least as a villa fan . . . . get behind the team! |
Andy Scarborough
said:
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... Danian, you are a very naughty boy. I was looking forward to reading the Bloos link too. |
oscars arse
said:
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... I had a dream last night, it was about Emile Heskey. It's the semi final against Chelsea and we're drawing 0-0. Heskey picks up the ball inside his own half goes past flying tackles with ease nutmegs Terry and is 1 on 1 with the keeper, he takes the ball past the keeper who slips, he takes the ball right on the goal line then drops on his knees to head the ball into the net - we're in the final! This fades out and its a Villa - Spurs final. We walk it 3-0 with a hat trick from Heskey, all cracking shots from outside the box and with this Heskey goes to South Africa where he scores the winner in the final for the English against the Germans and becomes a national hero and gets knighted arise Sir Emile!!! Oh and then I woke up. A win please for tomorrow we must. |
michael060670
said:
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... would be very suprised if we win many games between now and the seasons end. i think we will be lucky to get into the top6 b'cos players don't get a rest. they are playing like a team on their last legs. when the defence and midfield run themselves into the ground every week and the strikers don't score the goals to win games then it can have a negative affect on the team. it's a shame that we didn't at least try to better our strikeforce in the summer or even january. we won't get to the champs lge with the strikers we have. that's something that really grates on me. we are wasting time and the young players we have will be off if we don't get there by the end of next season. the players we have are ambitious and won't want to spend their whole careers at a club with less ambition than them. this summer will be o'neills last chance to keep this team together as a unit. he has to buy two top strikers and two central midfielders, one defensive and one attacking midfielder. sell heskey, sidwell, beye and a couple of others to help improve the transfer kitty. young bannon should be brought back from blackpool and given a chance to see what he's capable of. fonze has to start from the beginning of next season to see what he can do aswell. if the younger players are not up to it then either sell or send em out on loan to get the experience they need to progress. all managers do it, why not o'neill. fonze has spent the season on the bench when his career woulda been better served out on loan at a good club. i believe that u destroy the soul of good young players if they're kept on the bench without getting their chance. i was reading a comment yesterday that said our reserve team was doing very well for the last 3yrs. if thats the case then why haven't we produced more from them. surely they are good enough to give a break to the more established players during a long hard season. we should be using one of the cup competitions to blood them. arsen wenger has proved that it's helpful to the younger lads as far as experience and confidence goes. hopefully mon gives them a chance next season. i'd like to see these young players we have do well and come through the ranks, go on and play for villa for yrs. i have been guilty of slagging mon off on this site but it's b'cos i want what's best for my club. yes, he has improved our status as a club in the league and cup competions this yr but when he continues to play a player who offers nothing then the fans are going to get more and more disillusioned with his management of the club. if we were to win the FA cup this season then i'm sure we would be able to attract better players. if we beat chelsea then we have to win it. they are the best team left in it. how many tickets are we allocated for the semi-final damian? do you have any idea? |
kieron
said:
 |
... I think you miss the point Damo, Stoke are a big physical side with a killer throw-in. Wigan try and pass the ball around, which suits our style of play down to the ground. Thats why going to Stoke is tough for a side like us! |
Andy Scarborough
said:
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... Take a look at this - rather funny. http://www.mudhutsmedia.co.uk/news.php?extend.212  |
McParland
said:
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... I know we only managed a draw away to stoke but its better than a loss like last season,and many teams find it very difficult either to play fancy fotball or compete on a physical level at the britania stadium.So the villa managed to match them physicaly on the day and earn a valuable point. Just read the sunday paper and it says the britania stadium troops will test the resolve and mental strength of any team when they vistwhich we already knowas do many other teams the gunners for one.Next up we have wigan then wolves and thankfully wolves will be without *Johnny Hancock* lol .Anyway they will be different games from the stoke match and hopefully we can play some of that nice football that secured us 3 goals in eleven mins against reading to secure two wins. UP THE VILLA |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
 |
... Honestly i thought the performance away wasn't too bad. We did actually try and pass it around but i guess our one dimensional football really cost us the extra 2 points in the end. Hopefully MON will sort that out in the summer with the addition of guile, technique and that bit of class. Bellamy and Ireland would do. If he doesn't and all we see is more hard working phyiscally stong players come into the club then his position should then be questioned. Evryone can see what we lack. I just hope the manager does also. |
david gabbey
said:
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... if liverpool win the europa league do they automatically qualify for the champs league in doing so does 4th still qualify? |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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...if liverpool win the europa league do they automatically qualify for the champs league in doing so does 4th still qualify No. I think. That won't happen anyway. |
AVFC 4 LIFE UTV
said:
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... if liverpool win the europa league i think they go into the champs league qualifier and 4th dosent. dont quote me for that though. |
FatKevs
said:
 |
... Looking forward to the manager telling us how we are still trying to finish 4th says it all. If you are not in it to win it why not just entertain & go for the cups that is where the Joy is |
david
said:
 |
...So, we go to Wigan tomorrow where we won 4-0 last season This gives the impression that we have the egde on them and should beat them easily tomorrow. It's a cliche to say there are no easy games, but to put last year's 4.0 in perspective, we've met Wigan 9 times since 2005 and of those we've won 2, drawn 3 and lost 4. It is unlikely to be an easy game but hopefully the fact that I'm taking the wife to her first midweek away game will tip it in our favour. |
frem
said:
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... if liverpool dont get champions league and we also want stephen ireland, then who would he want to go to? a club with a bright future or one with a dull one. a club where his center back old friend is shining and a club where he will fit in perfectly. counter atacking footy. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...It is unlikely to be an easy game but hopefully the fact that I'm taking the wife to her first midweek away game will tip it in our favour. Its a must win game. Simple as that. If we drop points tomorrow night then no way will we get 4th spot. Anything less then 6 points from the next 2 games just won't be enough. |
VillaDude
said:
 |
... Jamie O'Hara is actually playing really well against Liverpool - easily replace Sidwell in our squad... |
david
said:
|
... ak.... quote]Its a must win game. Simple as that. If we drop points tomorrow night then no way will we get 4th spot. Anything less then 6 points from the next 2 games just won't be enough.if we have pretensions of top 4 I tend to agree with you. Of course other teams will slip up between now and the end and 2 or 3 points dropped tomorrow are not fatal to our hopes of CL but would signal that things are slipping away from us. |
david
said:
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... There's been lots of talk of Villa players tiring. Does any one have any facts on how many games say Gabby has played this year v same time last year? Or how many Rooney (who isn't looking too tired to score) has played? |
PAUL BOLTON
said:
 |
... Thats a good point about Roonie r0bb0, but how many times has been a sub or been taken off before the end of the game to bring on fresh legs? |
S
said:
 |
...We have to finish 4th this season. This is my opinion exactly. I really want us to finish 4th for the financial benefits. Also having a chance in the CL does attract better players. Teams that dont make CL cant get the best players. Even Man City. |
S
said:
|
...Phil Brown sacked!!! I think that is really unfair on him as I like Phil Brown. Hull owe him alot he got them out of relegation in the Championship in 2007 and got them into the Premier League in 2008 and kept them there in 2009. Although theyre arent going so good they should have kept him. What did they expect from their manager and squad this season? If i was a Hull board member id be happy to come 17th and I wouldnt expect any better. |
Damian
said:
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... r0bb0 gabby played 50 games last season and scored 13 goals. rooney played 49 games last season and scored 20 but what someone said above about getting taken off is important. when 180 minutes of football a week can be so tiring (i really cant see how but I accept that it is) when a player gets taken off with 20 minutes to go in each game - it must have an impact - rooney gets that almost every game when they are 2 or 3 up with 20 minutes to go - gabby doesn't rooney also does get rested for entire games and when 90 minutes of football is clearly so tiring - having 90 minutes off must be. again, gabby doesn't get that. if football is so tiring - you can sort of understand why our players cant make a full season - they really only get rested when forced to be rested |
david
said:
|
... Damian, I agree totally about taking every opportunity to rest players if only for 10 to 20 minutes a game. I do think that maybe we're overdoing the tiredness thing though and that's why I was interested to know how we compare this season with last and also how we compare with other teams. |
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