There is a question for you all from Doc coming later and also a very optimistic look at next season from me, with a familiar ring but also a fresh look at the speculation and what can be possible for next season, but for now, it's like football stickers this morning.

The rumour in the Daily Mirror this morning is that Martin O'Neill wants to use Reo-Coker as bait to get his hands on Tom Huddlestone.

Now, we paid nearly £9mn. for Nigel Reo-Coker and I think, while that might have been a little much, it was good business and I think we should be able to get a fair chunk of that back if he moves on, maybe not all, but a fair chunk.

We might not be able to get all back, simply because he rarely played in his preferred position of central midfield last season but I think he is a very good central midfielder and I also think he is a better player than Huddlestone, even though he is a different type of player. I think Spurs fans would be the happiest if this turned out to be true.

Ask me who I would prefer in my squad and I'd pick Reo-Coker over the two, but give me the option of Jenas and I'd have to think long and hard. Jenas has the potential to match Reo-Coker in the work rate department and Huddlestone in his ability to spot a pass and he also scores goals. I think I'd prefer it if it was bait for Jenas, but bait for Huddlestone, I think we would be getting a player of similar quality.

I mention similar quality, because that is the basis for my post later and what I think we need next season is better quality as well as numbers, so a swap for similar quality, doesn't' excite me.

Anyway, it is just a rumour, but I expect we will start to see more as the talk is Martin O'Neill is back from holiday and well, he needs players soon as pre-season starts soon, so either expect speculation to hot up or signings to happen.

Comments (56)

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Mikee Benz said:

... This is probably just because Reo's been linked to Spurs in the past and the red tops are putting 2+2 together - Don't think MON would go for it unless he'd asked to leave? Probably crap!

Comment 1, made on June 18, 2009 at 8.47 am

Barry Martin said:

... Reo-joker for Huddlestone, Good Deal!

Comment 2, made on June 18, 2009 at 8.49 am

Mikee Benz said:

... http://goal.com/en/news/11/tra...n-villa-or Must be a fresh quote as he's mentioning Ronaldo's move!

Comment 3, made on June 18, 2009 at 8.52 am

Nigel said:

... I'd swop them. For me it's a no-brainer. Hudds can pass well and Reo can't!

Comment 4, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.06 am

John Flynn said:

... The problem with Coker is he is a terrible passer, and if he were to play in CM with Petrov our strikers would never see the ball.! But i hope this is just paper talk, because we really need a bit of quality in the middle...and Huddlestone is not it.!

Comment 5, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.06 am

ak_27 said:

... Damien NRC is worth around 4m and no more so we paid way too much for a player(not the first time under MON) who cannot pass all because he is English. Saying that out of all our current CM (petrov aside) he would be the last one I would get rid of as he can on occassion do a good job. If he does go we are left very short of CM's that can win the ball i would hope (not expect) that we bring in another ball winner type player. For me id like to see Sidwell leave as he really isn't good enough.

Comment 6, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.10 am

Max said:

... No thanks, I like Reo-Coker and do not want him to leave. If you had Petrov, Coker and a talented CM/AM as a 3 then I think that would be an effective / hard working midfield. Coker would never need to do anything other than give a short pass. Huddlestone would interest me as a separate buy, but only if he was cheap, which he won't be.

Comment 7, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.11 am

Michael said:

... according to the daily mail villa are ready to wap ashley young for both bentley and either huddleston or zakora. id be pissed off if that happened because - a. we could buy 2 of them players for £15million at the most. that would value ashley young at just £15million. b. zakora is crap c. bentley isnt as good as young and d. like said above, we already have someone similar to huddleston in reo coker.

Comment 8, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.13 am

Damian said:

... ak_27 we have different views on sidwell mickey ashley young is going nowhere martin o'neill valued him at £30mn. was it last season? well .. we'd take jenas/huddlestone/bentley/modric for young if o'neill allows young to leave for bentley then well, you won't be able to believe anything he says in the future ...

Comment 9, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.16 am

ak_27 said:

... Damian i don't see what Sidwell contributes to the team when he plays except for making runs and nearly getting on the end of balls into the box. That's all good but other then that he is a liability in the Centre of the park. At least NRC and Gardner will get stuck in if they are playing in there. Maybe im being a bit too harsh on the man but i really don't think he is good enough to be playing for any team in the top 7/8 in league.

Comment 10, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.20 am

Eoin Greene said:

... As mentioned above - the problem with Reo-Coker is that he is the worst passing midfielder that I have ever seen. Its all well and good winning tackles but if you give the ball away straight away then whats the point. He cant pass, cross or shoot, has no vision, and his left foot is Curtis Davies' left foots twin. However, he is fast, can tackle and apparently has good leadership qualities. Huddlestone on the other hand is the exact opposite of Reo-Coker - slow and doesn't win many tackles - but an unbelievable passer and has great vision. I think we need the Huddlestone 'passer' technical type of player more than a workhorse - but thats just my opinion. I also think that maybe Huddlestones workrate and fitness could be worked on especially by someone like MoN - who supposedly gets the best out of players. Finally - Damian - you said Reo-Coker was/is value for money at nearly 9m - seriously you must be having a laugh. If ever there was a player that displays the 'overpriced because he is young and english' - it is Reo-Coker - because of the reasons given above. Never worth more than 5m and thats what we would get for him now.

Comment 11, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.21 am

ak_27 said:

... Eoin we paid West Ham £9m for a sub on their team that stayed up by winning at Utd on the last day of the year. Must be the best bit of business West Ham have ever done except maybe for getting £4m for Marlon Harewood that is.

Comment 12, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.26 am

Damian said:

... eoin1981 i think i actually said, it might have been a little much but i do think it was good business as i like reo-coker personally and don't think he's been given a proper run in the team but martin o'neill saw fit to buy as many central midfielders as possible so it was maybe never going to happen on that point, you've got to question, why would a manager spend that amount of money on a player if he wasn't going to give him a proper chance to settle i mean he has spoken recently about players needing a season, reo-coker never really had that in his preferred position

Comment 13, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.26 am

jk92923 said:

... no way! a swap is no good. why do we want to lose more players? we need all the players we can get and letting another go is back to square one. keep NRC and buy huddlestone on his own. the more back up, the less chance of a burn out come the end of next season. we want more...not less! come on MON, get the finger out and sign that Defour lad. he is sitting and waiting on us! UTV!

Comment 14, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.30 am

Anthony K said:

... villa should swap reo coker for huddleston and also bentley and DEFOE

Comment 15, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.32 am

ipjohnson said:

... We are meant to be adding to our squad not swapping players around, we will still be in the smae situation come January and using the least amount of players. Randy get your hand in your pocket and give us some strength in depth.

Comment 16, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.34 am

Billy7 said:

... I think, at the time we signed Reo, he was definately worth it, he captained west ham at 19 i believe, i think he is a great asset to the squad, and would have had more opportunity if petrov had not come good. Keep him! And as said above, BUY A QUALITY ATTACKING MIDFIELDER alongside Reo and Petrov!

Comment 17, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.37 am

Fordvilla said:

... I am getting tired of the continued speculation over Spurs players. Bentley would be a good buy but Huddleston and Jenas, who cares. Would they add something to the team? maybe, the are probably about the same quality as we already have. Basically this is all just newspaper talk. In MON I trust.

Comment 18, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.37 am

ak_27 said:

... Damien in fairness NRC has had loads of oppertunitys in the centre. maybe not last season but the season before he played in there a lot. He does have his qualities which are of course his great engine and ability to nip in and win the ball but then like Eoin said above he just often just gives the ball away. I know some people will say that we should play Sidwell and NRC and Petrov in a 3 man CM but we would only be doing so to make up for NRC and Sidwells short coming as players. That is why i do not like this talk of have a 451 as our preferred fromation as it normally to facilitate short comings with our CM. We need to address these short comings not accomadate them. If we do go to 451 then we need petrov, another top agressive midfeilder who can pass (Diarra and Palacoius would have been perfect) and a good attaking mid like Defour.

Comment 19, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.39 am

Leroy said:

... Well to me this is about as much of a no brainer as one can get... We want a player and the team he plays for may be interested in a swap for a player that we dont use....except for out of position on occasion....why is anyone thinking about this? Also, continuing on from what AK 27 was saying - How is it that MON is willing to pay stupid prices for young english talent, but when he sells he does so at a much lower than "market value"? Cahill, Ridgewell etc In my opinion we have only one player who has actually increased his value since signing for Villa - Ash Young. It could be fair to say that just about every other signing would fetch a fee substantially less to what they were brought in for.....

Comment 20, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.42 am

Mark said:

... Huddlestone is a poor man's Barry. Good vision and control too slow to sit in the middle of a 4-4-2. Jenas is just what we need - fast, good engine, decent in the tackle. Sidwell - who knows? He did the job in a 4-5-1 but was never trusted for 4-4-2 although Barry and Petrov were almost ever-presents. AK goes to games so I'm always going to respect his views on players unlike some others on this site, I just think you can't underestimate a player who generally ends up on the winning team - is it always 2despite of" rather than "with"?

Comment 21, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.47 am

Woz said:

... jk92923, we cant get defour yet, we have to wait for rafa to place a bid then try and play catchup and will prob end up being too late!!!

Comment 22, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.49 am

ipjohnson said:

... Also you said you was going to explain where the name 'Thursday' comes from, I'd be more interested in that than this link.

Comment 23, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.50 am

mikey18 said:

... NRC played centre mid with barry when we finished 6th, he obviously has abillity.

Comment 24, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.50 am

woodinho said:

... How come petrov gets given special treatment but reo-coker doesn't? By that I mean when petrov was bad, I mean really bad, mon stuck by him, yet reo-coker hasn't done much wrong, played out of position without moaning, sat on the bench without moaning and now it looks like he's off! My point is reo-coker never played as badly as petrov did yet got bombed out of the team, I think petrov got subbed once or at most twice!! if I was coker I'd think mon was a twat and want to leave. It's the same with shorey - he had to watch a right back play in his position! Yet he hadn't really done much wrong - well not as much as petrov did but yet he got bombed and could possibly be going this summer. Reo-coker for hudd, no thanks, how about give coker the same chances, favouritism and faith as petrov got and watch him shine.

Comment 25, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.52 am

The burp said:

... I agree with everything EOIN1981 says about NRC. He can't pass, shoot or cross - surely this is a basic requirement for any footballer.Having a high workrate shouldn't and doesn't disguise these flaws

Comment 26, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.53 am

Dubai Dave said:

... Sidwell 'was' a good player for Reading, but I didn't see too much of him at Chelsea and haven't seen too much of him at Villa, but you just can't write off a player who you don't see too often. I will concede that when he has come on recently he hasn’t played with that much confidence, but is there any surprise? I remember many a villain calling Cuellar shite, and there were even historical seeds of discontent surrounding Petrov, I think most will now acknowledge the contribution both now offer? NRC wouldn’t be swapped as he’s too versatile a player – vital for a small squad, Sidwell shouldn’t go as he’s still got to be thrown in to sink or swim, and Young simply can’t go because he’s up there with our best. This ‘only fools and horses’ transfer approach stinks of a redface wheeler dealer stunt, probably few brown envelopes being offered around too. Martin I hope, won’t entertain such nonsense and will approach things with a bit of class. As we all know, he certainly won’t leak out gibberish deals to the press – does he even speak to the press about transfer targets? Spurs, in contrast have only succeeded in unsettling their players and have unwittingly handed Villa the upper hand, all whilst further exposing their ‘second hand car lot’ transfer tactics. Lets hope Villa can take advantage: offer some cash and the players will probably ask for a transfer anyway (if they haven’t already) UTV

Comment 27, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.58 am

Billy7 said:

... vermaelen having medical at Arsenal tomorrow, thats 1 player alot of us mentioned going elsewhere. Defour will be next i guess

Comment 28, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.58 am

corroded said:

... I keep finding Villa news relating to Spurs and keep finding myself here. Weird! Anyway, Spurs have always tried (with varying levels of success) to play a quality passing game. I don't know if Reo Coker could bring that. Frankly, if any rumours were true recently, i'd sort of hoped it'd been that Huntelaar, Robben and Heinze one. I've heard Redknapp is keen on bringing a strong central partner for Palacios but Spurs have always been after a second winger, and that leaves no place for Modric, unless we swap to something like a 4-5-1. Which of course leaves Spurs in the same situation as before, too many strikers, which don't fit the team. Defoe isn't tall enough to be sole striker, Keane isn't prolific enough, and Bent has a horrendous first touch and clearly doesn't fit in, and Pavlyuchenko who i've always though hadn't quite adapted yet, but showed promise and is probably the most natural goalscorer we have.

Comment 29, made on June 18, 2009 at 9.58 am

Eoin Greene said:

... Damian - i think you inadvertently raised a good point!! Can MoN manage a large squad? He is of the old school philosophy that you definitely know your best 11 and you dont change your first 11 unless there are clear signs that hell is beginning to freeze over. These 'favourites' are so set in stone that he hardly ever makes substitutions and when he does - typically makes about 297 positional changes to keep everyone happy - Heskey on the wing, Reo-Coker at right back, Milner at right back, Friedel as a attacking midfielder etc.etc. There are so many players in our squad that polarise opinion. For example - Gardner, Reo-Coker and Sidwell. In my opinion these central midfield players are not good enough and never will be godd enough for a club chasing the top 4. But their supporters/backers will say that they never got a chance in their preferred position. And thats a huge problem I have with MoN - its ok to use players in a different role if there are drastic injury problems or something along those lines but he continually does it. What about having two players for each position? What about Luke Young being our right back and if he is injured we play our second choice right back? What if Luke Young gets injured during a game or is having a bad game - we bring on the second choice right back? Midfielders are not wingers who are not right backs who are not as good as left backs. Strikers are not wingers. *There are exceptions to these rules - but not that many I would say - and none in our squad. Anyway - I am rambling - my point/question is - MoNs 'favourites' policy means that he would not be able to utilise a big squad. For example Gabby was crying out for a break for the last 4 months but Fonz was never given a premier league start.........what about Routhledge and others who were NEVER given a chance. I am not saying he was good enough but why buy players if they are never given a chance. Rant over - please sign someone MON please. Preferrably Defour and that will keep my impatience at bay for a few weeks!

Comment 30, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.02 am

Badbobby said:

... I would bring in crouch, just as good as Carew.

Comment 31, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.11 am

Peter Dragoonis said:

... Reo-coker isnt a great passer and we paid too much for him. But Huddlestone isnt anything special. Let someone buy Reo-Coker, for say £6m. then we have £18m generated in sales so buy Moutinho. Everton wanted him last year but could only afford £15m whereas the price was £18m, so the bought Fellaini. that would men weve replaced Barry with someone infinitely better, and havent 'spent' any money.

Comment 32, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.12 am

Mike Carter said:

... Huddlestone is really the polar opposite of Reo-Coker, the only thing they have in common is the physical presence they bring. Reo-Coker is a wonderful athlete. Very strong for his size and very quick as well, he's that little bit of muscle that we've lacked in the middle for a long time. Off the ball he's an excellent footballer - good tackler, good positioning, good work rate. Trouble is when he's got the ball at his feet he's nigh on useless. No passing abilitity whatsoever, can't cross, can't shoot, can't really head the ball either. His skillset is so limited that he's a little out of his depth at our level. He reminds me a little of Micah Richards, who also possesses great athletic ability but often looks a poor footballer. For a midtable team he could be invaluable, but he doesn't cut it for us.

Comment 33, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.15 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... People get on the official site MON has finely spoken about transfers and Barry leaving .

Comment 34, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.15 am

Panos said:

... woodinho, My point is reo-coker never played as badly as petrov did yet got bombed out of the team, I think petrov got subbed once or at most twice!! During the 2007/08 season Petrov was benched for a couple of months. When he was brought back in the team he started playing really well, and continued to do so last season(08/09). Having said that, I rate NRC and would like to see him staying at VP.

Comment 35, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.20 am

Tim said:

... What worries me from reading the main Villa Website is that Stepan Defour says he would relish the chance to play for Villa or Liverpool ! Yet no one has approached his Agent yet. Whats the betting that Liverpool will get him as we just dont seem to make quick moves for players !! MON is far too slow off the mark i feel. Whats with all this Spurs players are what i want business MON ? You need to wake up to the fact that we need to buy some decent Foreign players, maybe some of those great Dutch players being offloaded by Real Madrid not players in England who cannot get 1st team football. Its time to get real in the Transfer market and buy Quality not players that just are as good as we already have. MON is giving me no good signals with his tansfer strategy, and im worried. I can see us struggling next year if we dont buy real quality and if we do i think it may be bye bye time to MON. We dont need a ditherer in charge we need someone who goes headlong for world class players before the top 4 beat us to them.

Comment 36, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.23 am

ipjohnson said:

... O'neill is on the look out for players, he should have a list as long as his arm!

Comment 37, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.29 am

Dubai Dave said:

... Tim, All this “spurs players are what I want business” is not MON, this is Harry Redface up to his old tricks, with his press leaks and thinly veiled attempts to unsettle players. MON does not reveal his transfer targets, as we all know. This shows a good business acumen and he should not berated for it. From reading what he’s written on the villa Website, it just reinforces what I think – He has come out and said we are looking to bring players in to strengthen our squad – but we’ll tell you who we really really want after the deal is done. Go to a market in Marrakesh old boy and see how a great a deal you get when you tell the shop keeper how you really love his products and it’s vital you have them!

Comment 38, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.31 am

Tim Wood said:

... ... People get on the official site MON has finely spoken about transfers and Barry leaving . Yawn! Same old b*ll*cks spurted by MON! Sounds almost word for word what he said last year!!

Comment 39, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.32 am

NeilG said:

... I really don't see the point in the swap at all or any of the other swaps that have been mentioned!! At least Reo (and I don't think he is that good) is versatile and until we sign a bigger squad has his uses - will always try even if comes of the bench! Huddlestone may turn good but not an improvement - I think Sidwell can be better if he gets his form back. We need to spend the Barry money for an upgrade i.e defour etc. Someone that puts some excitement into the squad - all swapping like for like does is unsettle the squad. Lets spend 15 or so million on a decent midfielder who is proven (that can do all the basics well i.e pass and tackle - can't believe that is too much to ask for!!) and then we can buy the less required players that are maybe gambles (Bentley and Hudd's). But lets do it quick!!! and why not just offer Fulham 15 mill for Hangeland no harm trying?!?! that would be a net spend of 15 mill for defour and a top class CB and at least show we are looking to improve not just trying to survive!!

Comment 40, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.38 am

bass said:

... we might see a couple of people coming in soon but our main business will be done in the final month of the transfer market as martin no'deal treats randy's money like his own and thinks if he hangs on he will get people on the cheap but as we know that does not work! also i don't think getting rid of rio is a great move because the numbers are not increasing they are still down! we have lost martin, marlon and barry then maybe rio before we even start. here is my wanted list for what it is worth: huddleston bentley wheater owen obi martins de la red

Comment 41, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.41 am

peter haworth said:

... The problem with NRC is that he cannot pass the ball or shoot and after he has won the ball he looks confused and then gives the ball away,great athelete but that is not enough.Would like to see MON sign Bentley and Defour and play a 4 2 3 1. Carew Young Milner Bentley Petrov Defour What do you think,would it work ?

Comment 42, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.43 am

testie said:

... Woodinho-you make a great point Petrov was pants for quite a while, maybe MON always thought he would come good having worked together at Celtic. I for some reason have always liked Reo-Coker, i remember the FA cup final when he played for West Ham and had a right battle with Gerrard. When we signed him i was pleased and thought he would be quality especially if he replicated that type of form. Unfortunately, he hasn't. But he is still relatively young and a good player to have in the squad especially for competition and injuries. You never know he could come good, injury to Petrov and he comes in and bosses it. Loosing players is not what we need right now, 'Sally Foo' I can understand because he never plays, but Reo-Coker who is good cover with small squad doesn't make sense.

Comment 43, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.43 am

RayK said:

... Cheers Altan. No amazing insights from MON there then and why we've had to wait 2 weeks for his comments on Barry I do not know. Given that Jenas is being quoted at £9m and Huddlestone at £6m or £7m I'd say we'd be lucky to get £7m for him, or a straight swap for Huddlestone? VivaVilla - I'm not having a pop but I love the quote 'Off the ball he's an excellent footballer - good tackler, good positioning, good work rate.' I think that says everything we need to know about football today - how can anyone earn £30k a week as an excellent 'off the ball footballer' That said I do think the problem with NRC is that he's tried to be something he's not - an attacking midfielder. If he just sat in front of the back four with all that tackling and workrate and kept his passing really simple he'd be a much better player. However, for NRC to play that role you need a real flair player alongside /in front of him to balance things out and neither Barry or Petrov had enough flair/creativity to make a partnership with NRC really work.

Comment 44, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.48 am

Villa4life said:

... we did not pay 9 mil for reo....it was 6mil.... And Iike the guy.. reminds me of a raw Taylor.... a very good work rate...... I want to forget these Spuds links.... its just that arry has no dosh to spend....end of

Comment 45, made on June 18, 2009 at 10.56 am

NeilG said:

... Dont see what all the fuss is about with regards to MONs statement. All he said is we are looking at players. I don't think he'll swap anyone and expect to see signings next week. I for one think anyone that says we'd be better off without MON is an idiot. So many teams would snap him up if they could as I think we are doing amzing well with the squad we have. You have to remember we are not the most attractive club for a player currently in Madrid or Milan etc.

Comment 46, made on June 18, 2009 at 11.19 am

Dubai Dave said:

... NeilG - Agreed. Damien - maybe you could do another Blog just for all the MON slating... and another to discuss topical, relevant villa news? I mean, Come on. I for one and getting a little bit bored of all the MON bashing - Look at the bigger picture, Martin is doing a good job – the vast majority of football fans, regardless of where their allegiance may lie, would probably agree. What do you want from the man: Obama style press conferences, on the hour - every hour, spelling out all tactical thoughts and transfer targets in glorious multicolour? Or probably a ‘Jeremy Kyle’ styled chat show where any ‘fan’ can bark out Villa's historical mistakes, heap the blame squarely at Martin and call for his head – easy with hindsight, eh Lads? Can't see much credible alternatives to MON - oh apart from the Ericsson huggestion a couple of wks back - says it all

Comment 47, made on June 18, 2009 at 11.39 am

Josh said:

... Sounds like an MON kind of deal to me, swapping someone who hasn't managed to find their feet in the squad for someone he probably prefers. However, i'd rather we kept Reo-Coker and left Huddlestone well alone, he has increased his fitness since Ramso and Redknapp have been at Spurs but he's still a slow little f**ker. Reo-Coker puts in 110% and can play a number of positions decently, as i don't think he will get many chances at centre mid unless we switch to 4-5-1 and even then you can expect MON to buy a more attacking-minded midfielder, what with Petrov, Sidwell, Gardner and NRC all being more holding players.

Comment 48, made on June 18, 2009 at 12.02 pm

RayK said:

... Dubai Dave said: ... Damien - maybe you could do another Blog just for all the MON slating... and another to discuss topical, relevant villa news? sorry Dubai Dave - but what could be more topical, relevant villa news during the close season than transfers ... especially given the small size of our squad etc etc? I'd MUCH rather be talking about actual transfers than transfer speculation but I can't really do that can I?

Comment 49, made on June 18, 2009 at 2.15 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Sorry got a banging headache and can't be reading everything above right now but I for 1 wouldn't want this 'swap' to happen. I don't see the point in swapping a player who we paid big bucks for and havn't really given a proper chance in his correct position for someone very similar, where is the gain. Unless they both want out of thier individual clubs give Coker a chance to prove himself, he was top class at the start of the season along side petrov.

Comment 50, made on June 18, 2009 at 4.15 pm

Oscars Arse said:

... A MON signing being shown the door before he's had time to gel. Spent too much time playing out of his prefered position. Should be given a fair crack of the whip if you ask me. Anyone know what the new home shirt is going to be like? I hope it's like Burnleys new one rero and all that.

Comment 51, made on June 18, 2009 at 5.09 pm

THE AV VILLAN said:

... Buy Bentley for whatever its gonna cost Maximum 12 million. Then forget about all the other shite players Spurs are trying to offload and sign some QUALITY!!!!

Comment 52, made on June 18, 2009 at 6.57 pm

croni said:

... i'd be happy to see the back of reo, way too moody for a player of such limited quality he's has notions of himself way above his station moodiness is hardly bearable when you are really gifted player, like henry or ronaldo, but when you're reo coker... in fairness the guy was played out of position most of the season, showed great commitment and was decent tackler but he had hardly any pace, was way to slow in his decision making, and was a poor passer of the ball.

Comment 53, made on June 19, 2009 at 10.25 am

Juan Pablo Angel said:

... Firstly, I like Reo-Coker, he is a decent player, he has his faults and i think 8.5m is too much, but he has a great engine, is a massive influence in the dressing room by all accounts and any player who is happy to play anywhere just to get a game is gonna be useful. There were a lot of guys praising Gardner's attitude on here the other day and Nigel's is similar, he's just not a Villa fan. I for one would be immensely sorry to see him go. Secondly, i think it would be a mistake to start selling anyone, If he's not starting i'd be very happy to see him sitting on the bench, especially over Salifou. Anyone agree? Thirdly, as for the quality of Jenas and Huddlestone? Jenas was in Cappelo's England squad wasn't he? for a bit anyway. Hudd is as good if not better, so you're saying we play 4-5-1 (a formation which saw our best run of wins last season in which Sidwell was an integral part) and Petrov gets injured, Sidwell is sent off thus being banned Reo has...lets say flu. Would you rather play? Gardner, Salifou and Osbourne, or.....Gardner, Huddlestone and Jenas? It's not a who's better than who, it's a question of strength in depth. When we had a full strength side fully fit and not fatigued at the beginning of the year we looked as good as any team in the league (except maybe when we got mauled by Chelsea) but anyone who really expected us to finish fourth fielding only 19 players in an entire season including a European campaign is massively deluded. Man U fielded 39, sure they have quality but they have multiple options in positions that allow them freedom to adapt to tactics, injuries, suspensions etc. We need that. Fourthly (this is getting a bit silly now), If i saw Martin O'Neill tomorrow i would implore him not to sell anyone else, Harewood maybe but certainly not Coker or Gardner or even Knight, keep them all and buy 4 or 5 players for around 30m to supplement what we've got and provide competition for places all over the park. We are not in a position to go out and buy massive names, however we are in a position to buy players who have talent and with the right encouragement could become much better, this is why the squad size and competition is sooooo important. Finish in the Champions League next year and then maybe we can think about outrageous bids for International superstars, but not yet. I'm starting to find a few of you pretty impatient, we spent 50m last year and the first one was in July and the rest didn't come till August. Please calm down, you're doing my nut in.

Comment 54, made on June 20, 2009 at 1.40 am

chris the villa fan said:

... ashley young ain't going know where he keeps saying how haooy he is so why would he want to play for harry rednapp

Comment 55, made on June 24, 2009 at 10.11 pm

chris the villa fan said:

... MON always waits to july and i bet the first signing will be bently for 8m

Comment 56, made on June 24, 2009 at 10.12 pm

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