Some of you might have noticed but most probably wouldn't have, but I have been away for a few days, but I am now back to rain and long grass which is not what I like to see. On the other hand, it is Sunday and the best rumours are kept for Sunday.

First up, which ties in with the poll we had running for a couple of days this week, is that Ashley Young is now wanted by Barcelona and that Sir Alex has put him top of his wanted list and both clubs are willing to spend around £25mn. on the winger.

The poll showed that 87.6% of the 700 or so that voted thought it imperative that John Carew and Ashley Young stay at the club. I agree with that and if one or both are allowed to leave, well, it will be the biggest message the club have given me in three seasons.

Now, I'm not going to get down on this or Young though, as it's only speculation but apparently according to another paper, we've had a bid of £10mn. for DJ Stewart Downing made as a replacement for Young. For those that don't know; Downing is no replacement for Young, but again, it is just speculation.

It is just speculation and I can't see it happening. What I mean is, sure United and Barcelona are two of the biggest clubs in football, but Young is part of something and surely, as a player and so close to the action, he can see what is happening. Surely, he can see that the club is heading in the right direction?

Moving on on to another youngster and this time German midfielder Mesut Ozil. Some of you might remember him as the player that had a really good game against England in the U21 final in Sweden recently. He was excellent and apparently, because we are not getting Fabian Delph from Leeds, we are going after this one.

He has talent and is a very good footballer and one that I am sure will get better but I can't see O'Neill taking a risk on a youngster that isn't English. I don't know why, but it's just a feeling.

As of right now, that is it, although we might get something new later, you never know. I'm hoping for the rain to stop so I can get outside and I'm also going to hope we can get a player or three in next week, because it isn't just about adding players, it is about pre-season, it is about allowing time for new players to know his new team and seeing as the manager has a big task of changing formation and how we play football, surely he is going to want these players in sooner rather than later. I'm hoping anyway.

Comments (218)

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Villa Nick said:

... O'neill will probably make his excuse for not signing anyone this week due to rain...

Comment 1, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.23 am

paul mclafferty said:

... this season is going to be the same as the last couple, we are going to get that desperate for a signing we wont care who he signs as long as he signs someone

Comment 2, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.23 am

paul mclafferty said:

... villanick... is oneill in sweden with damian? lmao

Comment 3, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.24 am

Simon said:

... i said a few days ago that i expected A Young to leave the villa, especially as we were supposed to after the two boro lads. Now i hope this does not happen, but i wont hold my breath.

Comment 4, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.25 am

RayK said:

... I just don't believe Young will go anywhere, especially not Spuds. I really think that its Spuds using underhand tactics in the press in order to try and get us to increase our cash offer for Bentley and/or Huddlestone/Jenas. I don't think Downing is being set up as a replacement for Young either. MON will play Young either behind Carew or on the right flank instead.

Comment 5, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.26 am

Villa Nick said:

... Even the newspapers have virtually given up speculating who the Villa are going to sign, apart from this German youngster which like you say, isn't going to happen, the other rumours are just old fictional news.

Comment 6, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.27 am

Daniel Wilson said:

... Welcome back Damian! Glad to hear that your not going to go down on Ashley Young. The 25 million that the papers keep quoting for Ashley doesn't worry me at all, I honestly don't think he would be allowed to leave for anything under 30 or maybe a lot more - I'm not saying he is worth that quite yet but we don't have any need to sell him and he is contracted. Don't know anything about this German guy so I can't comment. Also saw today that were in for Darren bent which would be a good bit of business I think, and that Jenas was definatly at Villa park last week (that one can't be backed up by any link, just word of mouth). Have we been linked with the entire spurs 11 yet?

Comment 7, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.29 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... No no no Ashley young must not be allowed to leave at any cost. That young German lad really did have a good game against England the other week . Would be werth a punt I guess. Anyway nothing likely to happen today on the transfer front . If we have not signed anyone by the end of Friday I think we should all be worried. Mmmmm , roast beef today......! UTV

Comment 8, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.29 am

Rich said:

... ... I think a criteria when deciding transfer targets is to always try to go for someone that the selling club would idealy love to keep. To be linked with players that clubs obviously want to offload is worrying. No to Darren Bent. If he's not good enough for Spurs, what makes people think he's the man to push us towards the top 4? Regarding Delph. It has been suggested that anything more that the supposed £6million bid is above MON valuation of the player. I back MON to look (or appear to be looking) elsewhere, hence the link to Ozil, and let Leeds sweat a bit.

Comment 9, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.31 am

chopper said:

... I see in the papers sir Alex wants young for £25 million if he would throw in Nani perhaps this would be o.k.

Comment 10, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.31 am

RayK said:

... My comments re the Spuds are because the Mail on Sunday running a story about Spuds giving us Bentley +£10m for Young. That values Bentley at £15m - total joke. What would be nice though is if Webcam came out and said he didn't want to leave.

Comment 11, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.34 am

fatkevs said:

... Why have the club not scoffed at the Ashley rumor, this has been circulating for weeks now. i hate to say i think there must be something in it. Like Barry if not this season then next, the Yank has taken us as far as he wants too without really dipping into his pocket

Comment 12, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.40 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... Every now and again MON comes out on the offical site to rubbish rumours in the press about Villa signing certain players. I think unless there is any truth to all these rumours then he should release an official statement saying that Ashley Young is not for sale at any price and will be a villa player for the considerable future. Starting to get worried now...

Comment 13, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.41 am

Paul Theiss said:

... Ozil was one of the top 2 or 3 midfielders in Bundesliga last season. He really is top drawer---among the best young players in Europe. In other words, we won't get him.

Comment 14, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.42 am

Zidave said:

... Ozil is a combination of a young player with sublime footwork, good vision, and a good pass. Very quick feet and highly technical. We need to sign him the F up!

Comment 15, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.43 am

Daniel Wilson said:

... Altan - I think if an acctual bid did come in they would do just that, but these links with Spurs are just ridiculous, there is no way he would want to move there full stop let alone a world cup year. At very best spurs would be a sidestep for him and without trying to insult any spurs fans, at the moment it would probably be a backwards step. He would gain NOTHING from it. Man U and Chelsea have both signed wingers recently, Arsenal don't have 30+ million to splash on one player, nor do Liverpool and Man City, nah Ash isn't a complete muppet, apart from when he's got some fitty chatting to him over the internet and a webcam rolling.

Comment 16, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.46 am

karl said:

... darren bent in the papers agian? let me get my sick bag.

Comment 17, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.51 am

Fatkevs said:

... When will we forget about the Top 4 spot that is clearly out of our reach. We will not be able to replace GB & ML I cannot see Gabby repeating his goal tally & we finished well off the mark last year why all this bravado There is no sign of players of equal quality coming in so how can we challenge the Top 4 The English cups are our only chance of success what is the glory in finishing 4th Even some manu fans at work doubt they are good enough to win the CL. Like MoN hopes we will try & sign players, we can hope & try to win something but not really believe we have a chance

Comment 18, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.51 am

RayK said:

... I agree we won't sign Ozil for the reasons already mentioned. If MON/Villa trying to use this a a negotiation tactic with Delph I think its pretty stupid - Bates is a wily old fox who won't be fooled by something like this.

Comment 19, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.53 am

villa biker said:

... if we sign downing he wont be able to play until the end of november and then he will have to settle in is it worth it. get in ozil had a great tournament like the look off

Comment 20, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.54 am

AV79 said:

... I would rather carew stay than ash. If we sell him to spurs the villa fans should not atend the home game.Somthing needs to be done this could end up like spurs with ramos. Villa are falling apart bit by bit. Get MON out.

Comment 21, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.55 am

Villa Sparton said:

... Aston Villa fans are really lucky, i will explain, i can imagine many clubs wanting Ashley Young certainly the top four and La Ligue clubs, etc. I can also imagine that there a lot of other clubs that want other members of our small squad, however Villa will be reluctant to sell any of our quality players this is simple we don't need the cash. As for the German lad i feel Damien is wrong and this player is exactly what O'Neil is looking for, it fits with the long term investor players he has bought. The only obstacle we have to get over is if O'Neil will stump up the cash, as we all know he will very rarely pay over the odds. Another thing can you see O'Neil swapping Young for the Prima Donna Bentley, i doubt this very much, in fact i would say this is as likely as the Blues getting 6 points off us this season, don't make me laugh.

Comment 22, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.56 am

Fatkevs said:

... Even i would think this must be bollocks "The Mail on Sunday says O'Neill is keen on Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch, but has been told he must sell if he wants to meet their £12 million asking price. For O'Neill, that would mean selling Emile Heskey or John Carew How would we get anything for Heskey

Comment 23, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.59 am

peter power said:

... theres more chance of england beating the aussies today than young going to spurs but if man u want hi i reckon he will go for £30 million

Comment 24, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.02 am

Eoin Greene said:

... If we sell Ashley Young, then it will be 100% proof of what Randy Lerner's ambitions are. I dont care if we are offered 50m for him - selling him sends out all the wrong signals. To be honest I haven't seen that much of this Ozil guy - but apparently, from the sounds of it, he is exactly what we need. He destroyed the English midfield in the u-21 final and looked top class. It depresses me when people say we wont sign him because he is not english and we dont have the ambition to sign him. All this and he would probably be 20m if he was English!!

Comment 25, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.03 am

dave said:

... f**k me fattys off again positive as ever

Comment 26, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.05 am

Joky said:

... What villa needs is to give players like Young a reason to stay by showing our ambiton. This means giving young, and the rest of the team, support in bringing in some real quality to play along side them. I'd rather see 2 or 3 quality signings rather than a bunch of squad players. Let's hope this happens soon so they can get a good pre season in.

Comment 27, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.06 am

Billy7 said:

... i hope the rumour is untrue regarding Ashley Young, there is NO WAY WE CAN LET HIM GO, NO MATTER WHAT!! He is our best player, our most exciting player, he is why we are progressing, mainly. I'd rather any one else leave than Ash, i think he is irreplacble!

Comment 28, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.09 am

av dan 78 whats up with my login? said:

... If MON allows young to leave it would send the wrong message to all concerned. Fans, current team members and potential targets. Starting to get a bit worried now by the lack of activity and also the fact that players we are now being linked with are not that good, ie stuart downing.

Comment 29, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.12 am

TrueVillan said:

... so the main topics are us selling players! getting used to this every transfer window! if we had made some major signings and showed our intent then players like young would be a lot more settled if we do sell then 30mil is minimum, and should be to utd, we are a million miles off them so it wont matter, but spurs are rivals for top 6 position, also spurs over value their players, any deals should be cash only, otherwise arry the car dealer will bullshit ya into a bad deal! this looks to me like every other window, plans A & B are out the window and now the shit is being mentioned, i know people say keep the faith, but in what? MON transfers are shocking! if we have to sell, the only 2 players he ever bought who are worth more now are young and carew! simple as that, argue all you like about how this and that signing is not bad, but would we sell them for more than we paid, NO WAY! MON failed to use the money when it was available, now we are paying the price, we have limited assetts to sell on and no depth, Everton want every target we are after, and it pains me to say it, but are a more stable option! if young and carew are sold then im afraid i will join he corus of MON out! because he has done as much as he can, and to be honest the football we played at times last year was crap, long balls, hit and run, nothing on the ground, im beginning to think he has more luck than judgement, and that never wo a game in march is testiment to that totally pissed off with this whole transfer window! and the likeliest signing is downing, OUT UNTIL XMAS! you cannot make this shit up! MON + transfer window= crap!

Comment 30, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.14 am

av dan 78 whats up with my login? said:

... damo, login thing is playing up. says my name is in use and wont let me leave a comment and i still have to login every time i view. any suggestions

Comment 31, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.15 am

David Tyler said:

... Ash to Spurs: If I were looking for ultimate optimism, I would say that buying Downing is MON's way of guaranteeing Ash a 1st team slot for England at the World Cup.... or at least be the one fighting Joe Cole for it. The best way to convince Capello that Ash is the better winger is probably to have that reflected at club level (plus the added versatility that might well come from Ash often playing more centrally too). I suspect there are a lot of these swap deal discussions being thrown up between us and Spurs. I also suspect that much of that is coming from one side, the one renowned for wheeler-dealing and for having a loose mouth. And I think MON has to tough it out to come away - or not - with who he wants, which I think is at least Bentley. I think that this is the main battleground in terms of Villa's transfers. Once this gets resolved to our satisfaction, we'll see some signings rattle through. If not, we look elsewhere and it takes a while longer. Gut feeling is that the only other parallel deals we are pursuing while we negotiate with Spurs is for young prospects rather than definite first teamers Ash to Man U The other route to 1st team action for Ash is to play for Man U, though. I think if such a bid came (and it happened properly) it would be hard for Ash to resist. I know I definitely err on the side of cutting the club some slack for how they raised my optimism over the past few years but in such circumstances MON is right to look for an alternative, however much I agree that Downing is not adequate replacement for Young. We might not like the thought of losing Barry Young but that doesn't mean we can do anything about it. You can read that from a fan perspective, sure - but also from the club's.

Comment 32, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.15 am

daniel wheeler said:

... downing is no replacement for young and at 12 mill is a complete rip off imo.

Comment 33, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.20 am

mikey18 said:

... Fatkev why don't you think Gabby will repeat his goal tally? Gabby has improved since his first season where he started playing right wing for Villa. 06/07 9 goals 6 assits 07/08 11 goals 8 assists 08/09 12 goals 8 assists The lad is still only 22 and has performed better than many of his england rivals over the last couple of seasons. I've heard you mention defoe as a good signing. defoe stats read 06/07 10 goals 2 assists 07/08 12 goals 2 assists 08/09 10 goals 4 assists John carew 06/07 2 assists 3 goals 07/08 13 goals 1 assist 08/09 11 goals 3 assists from the statistics it shows that Gabby is the more complete striker of the 3, scoring as many goals and contributing a lot more to the team than his rivals. So for everybody who suggests Gabby is lazy and doesn't try and was lucky or whatever look at the facts he's consistently done it infront of goals and for the team for the past 3 seasons the lad is 22 he will get better!

Comment 34, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.25 am

RayK said:

... On the Downing question - i'd be delighted if he came to Villa Park at £10m - £12m. You can't knock the fact he's an England regular for several years now - and ahead on Webcam in the pecking order too. If we're valuing Young at £25m - £30m, then £10m- £12m would be very good business. Downing on the left wing and Webcam on the right wing would work well, and could allow Young to force his way into the World Cup squad on the right flank.

Comment 35, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.27 am

Damian said:

... TheMachine I thin you are right. If United or Barcelona for that matter came in with an actual bid - could any of us blame him for wanting to go? But something else you touched on; the club getting us all excited with what is happening. If we sell Ashley Young, we truly haven't moved forward under Lerner and we are just the same club with better PR and more revenue coming in because he moved 400 people from the Trinity and refurbished a pub. It isn't so much about Young leaving, it is about Young not seeing any potential at Villa. If he really thought it was going to happen he'd stay but with Barry leaving - having heard the same bullshit for years - I suspect none of it is true.

Comment 36, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.29 am

andrew said:

... I really dont care anymore,what happens,happens but if MON gets on the wrong side of us fans i cant see him being in the job much longer.

Comment 37, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.29 am

Doc said:

... We might want to have a bit of a reality check here: if Man Utd or Barcelona did come in for Young, it would be all but impossible for Ashley to resist. The argument for him not joining either is that he needs regular, if not permanent first team football to command an England place. That won't happen at Old Trafford or the Camp Nou. It will at Villa Park. Overall, this is not going to be a comfortable transfer window. Real Madrid and Manchester City are pushing the fees and wages for top players through the ceiling, and we know that Martin O'Neill doesn't have the resources or more importantly the inclination to match them. I see younger players coming in, and Villa rebuilding the side after the exits of Laursen, Barry and Young. It will be crunch time for certain players to step up to the plate: Davies, Cuellar, Sidwell, Agbonlahor, Milner and Luke Young must consider themselves senior players with the responsibility of leading Villa to a third consecutive top 6 finish. They will need to show the form that has put all of them in contention for international caps throughout the season. I'm sorry to say that the rumours about Ashley Young's departure are so frequent and so persistent that I suspect no smoke without fire. This probably isn't mere journalistic speculation now.

Comment 38, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.33 am

Zorro said:

... If MON needs to self finance his moves within the transfer market 'similar to Redknapp' then this would be the reason why he is prepared to listen to offers for his existing squad - Including Ashley Young. Sure this news would kill us after Barry and Laursen leaving but if MON has no other options to increase numbers then we need to maybe take a step back and view this from the managers perspective - this would also explain why MON has appeared to stand still during the existing window. Lerner has said funds will be made available for transfers, he didnt say where the funds would be generated - hopefully I am way off track and the club will announce its intent to retain the services of both Carew and Young today. MON is no fool and he will be aware of the confusion surrounding the club right now. Hopefully I am wrong - MON is a shrewd operator, taking his time and not willing to pay over the odd's for players as he spends cash like his own etc etc... (not sure where he picked up that philosophy by the way, cetainly not Clough) and Lerner has funds available 'over and above outbound activity' but will not release the detail as other clubs will hike up the price of targets - fingers crossed eh...

Comment 39, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.39 am

Michael panizza said:

... MON has made this statement today: "I hope to sign someone very soon. We are working very hard in that direction and we all hope to improve the squad even if my old players at Celtic & Leicester are all now closer to retirement - reducing our range of scouting as a result - and forcing our scouts to learn how to travel around Europe and beyond. We are also looking to hopefully prepare our scouts to hopefully travel outside Europe hopefully by the end of next season. I don't agree with people questioning my level of activity on the trasnfer market, I am hoping to sign someone - maybe hoping to even sign quite a few ones and I'd hope our fans are feeling the same, hopeful way. Randy Lerner's hopeful too, the dinner ladies are hopeful and our wives are hopeful too. The dinner ladies' wives too. I feel this is a big club, but only big enough to hopefully get to 5th, mind. I'd hope to get to 4th but they tell me you need scouts abroad for that, so hopefully next season".

Comment 40, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.43 am

UkMark said:

... I wish O'Neal would put to death all these rumours around at the moment regarding Ashley Young, John Carew and Steve Sidwell, especially after GB has also left to join Man Chity. All this negative news on the internet and papers leaves us supporters wondering what on earth is going on at Villa Park...It seems that important players want to leave and replacing them with less quality...O'Neal act now and inform us that our best players are not for sale and show some sign that we are trying to strengthen the side not destroy it!

Comment 41, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.44 am

David Tyler said:

... Damian, That's why I agree with you absolutely that this is a key window: if Ash goes to Man U it could be a statement about us, one about them or both. His departure won't be enough in its own right to say which but we'll know by virtue of whether we bring in genuine quality to cover it. My optimism is based on a better squad (as it was before ML and GB left), a better manager, better league positions and basically a better cache amongst players but I do have concerns about keeping our momentum, of course. I don't believe all of what feels like progress can be dismissed as PR then but we'll get a flavour of how much is PR by August 31st. My optimism is higher than most but it is falling.

Comment 42, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.48 am

Villa Nick said:

... ... I really dont care anymore,what happens,happens but if MON gets on the wrong side of us fans i cant see him being in the job much longer. I don't think MON or any Manager come to that has that much control over who leaves the club and can only do so much within a budget to attract new players coming in (player power and all that). If a player wants to go they will eventually go, no matter what! O'Neill is probably just as frustrated as the fans!

Comment 43, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.56 am

confusedvillafan said:

... here we go lets all believe the papers. do you really think he`d let young go ffs,if the news of the world printed lerner is selling back to doug you`d believe it.

Comment 44, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.56 am

Stephen Gilligan said:

... A friend of mine who lives quite close to John O'Shea's family in Ireland told me MON enquired about him recently. I dont know if its good thing or not Ive never really rated him. but he must be doing something right if fergie keeps picking him.

Comment 45, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.57 am

confusedvillafan said:

... monkeywrench,what the f**k you on about

Comment 46, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.58 am

xandehx said:

... If we sell/swap/loan Ashley to Spurs I'm never going to Villa Park again

Comment 47, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.02 am

GG said:

... If the Young speculation has anything behind it (probably more newspaper guff) and he was tempted, he should look at the example of Wright-Phillips moving to Chelsea one season before the last World Cup. He was in and out of the Chelsea first team and consequently lost his place in the England team. He'd been flying at City and could well have set the tournament alight after another season as their talisman, but he opted for the big bucks & bright lights and blew it. Now he's realised where he was better off but he's lost three of his best playing years as a bit part player when he could've been huge star in his own right. I'd say Ashley Young's in a near-identical position.

Comment 48, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.08 am

JohnnyMcLeod said:

... Downing would be a good signing for us, for a start we don't have any left footed players other than the 2 full backs, we 'll look very unbalanced in midfield if we don't replace Barry with a similar player. One of Downing's great assets is that he is able to release the ball quickly and accurately (more so than Barry) he's a totally different player to Ash and should play inside and deeper, they'd be fantastic together down the left side. If Downing's not fit to start the season give Bannan a run rather than loaning him out again. As for Ash, he's not the finished article yet and needs another season of regular games leading up to the world cup, he won't get that at Barca, Man U, or Chelsea. If Carew is allowed to leave then Randy and MON have lost the crowd and there's no way back in my opinion.

Comment 49, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.20 am

james said:

... i don't think ash will leave this season, he's a smart lad and with it being a world cup year, i think he'll stay. but if we don't get champs league and he has another good season, i think we'll have to get used to the fact that he may well be of, everyone has their price, ask fergie!! as for the bent deal, i think that would be a good bit of business. he wasn't in great form last season, didn't start many games but was still spurs top scorer with 17 goals. which is more than any of our strikers managed. i think he could do really well at VP.

Comment 50, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.20 am

robbo said:

... Last season MoN and Lerner showed that they wouldn't be pushed around even by a bigger club if they really felt they had something worth fighting for. If we do let Young go then it will be because MoN feels that it will be good for the club. I distinctly remember people on here complaining that Young falls over too much, has lost the knack of beating players, is over rated etc etc. I wouldn't mind betting that some of them are the same people who are now saying that if we lose him it'll demonstrate that the club is going backwards (because some people on here instinctively gravitate to a negative viewpoint whatever the topic). I want us to keep Young and to add others to the squad but I don't think it's very clever for anyone to shout their mouth off about everything being wonderful, or a disaster until we actually know the outcome of this year's transfer activity. Dogmatism based on ignorance is easy, but intellectually shallow.

Comment 51, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.24 am

vijay said:

... Will people now agree that we're in a mess and mon has no clue??

Comment 52, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.25 am

taglor said:

... Monkeywrench, I'm not a fan of MON at all but your comment was sick and not needed.

Comment 53, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.29 am

vogra said:

... If Man Utd came in with a 30Mill offer for Young i'd snap there hands off. Carew though is a must keep, he is IMO our best and most important player,you see when he plays and not plays the difference. I'm coming around more to the Downing deal,a couple of years ago i thought he was a waste of space but he's improved considerably and has now pushed Young down the pecking order for England.

Comment 54, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.29 am

jason parkes said:

... my mate down london says if cesc fabregas goes.arsenal would bid for webcam how true i dont know. but if cesc goes then id worry

Comment 55, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.31 am

Anthony Laud said:

... young would off to both man u and barca if he gets the chANCE. why would he stay at a club showing no ambition! i see osnail is up to his old tricks saying he hopes to get players in - f cking get them in!!! and he wont up his bid for Delph - ffs if you want the player just pay it!

Comment 56, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.34 am

macca said:

... cant read this rubbish anymore! villa in the best hands ever and people question MON and Rl becuase we havent made a stupid signing yet!!! grow up and get a life!!! think of being.. a bluenose leeds fan newcastle fan.. and 80+ other league football fans. we were 6th best team in england last year and your wanting to sack the manager for not spunking the clubs money!!! last ever visit to this site !!

Comment 57, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.35 am

Mark said:

... I wouldn't be that bothered if Young went or Crew for that matter. That is not to say I want that to happen. If they stay, then great they are both probably our best two players technically. That's not to say either is without blame for us failing to finish top four last season. Oh! I forgot!! It's all the fault of MON not the players!!! It would send out no signals whatsoever as far as I am concerned other than the fact that the game generally is in a mess. Our intentons as a club are clear to anyone other than those who thrive on moaning or cynicism. We were big spenders last season and we refused to take the corn for Barry even to the extent of being prepared to keep him this year. We are investing in the future at all levels within the club.

Comment 58, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.35 am

Hadders7 said:

... I see Darren Bent has been linked, I think he would be worth adding to the squad...then again, I bloody would with the numbers we have! I am not saying he would walk into the starting 11, but he would be a great replacement for Harewood and his premiership goal scoring stats are very, very impressive...a better ratio of goals per game than any striker we currently have, then again, my nan's was slightly better than Heskey's!

Comment 59, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.48 am

THE AV VILLAN said:

... Chopper I see in the papers sir Alex wants young for £25 million if he would throw in Nani perhaps this would be o.k. Would be o.k????????????? Are you kidding!!!!!!! Nani is just another Kleberson or dare i say it Djemba Djemba. Young MUST not be sold!!!!

Comment 60, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.49 am

Michael panizza said:

... vijay: can you read English? I've already explained there's no link, Jesus you people need to read things 3 times before they sink in? Once again, for the slow ones: the joke was connected to spelling, not illness. And my mom barely survived cancer, do you really think I'd find it funny? f**k you vijay, go judge someone else.

Comment 61, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.51 am

Damian said:

... TheMachine There has been a lot of talk this week about foundations. I for one believe that the foundations are now in place and now is very much the time to build on those foundations. Wait too long and the foundations start to rot. You can't wait too long .. building has to happen this summer.

Comment 62, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.55 am

vijay said:

... i judge u, so get of from here!!

Comment 63, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.56 am

whitey said:

... Monkeywrench - I don't think some people have the intellect to realise how funny your comment was!

Comment 64, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.57 am

Michael panizza said:

... Damian: agree 100%, we've spent the past 3 seasons building to this step upwards so this summer it's make or break for the MON/Lerner 5 year project.

Comment 65, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.58 am

THE AV VILLAN said:

... Damo, MONKEYWRENCHE needs to be barred. Comments about MON's wife dying are way way way below the belt. Boot the twat out of here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment 66, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.58 am

Michael panizza said:

... Thanks whitey, imagine if I'm gonna crack a joke about MON's wife illness..alas, judging by vijay's response, the penny hasn't dropped yet.

Comment 67, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.59 am

adam said:

... my mother died of cancer 2 years ago and i dont find monkeywrench's comment offensive. grow ya self a sense of humour boys. read the comment PROPERLY ffs

Comment 68, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.05 pm

Paul Bennett said:

... I cant see Ash going anywhere ... this summer at least. If we dont seriously challenge for honours in the next 2 seasons he will be gone and who can blame him. He's good enough to win things but I think he knows he owes MON a lot for taking a chance on him. We need a strong cup run its been too long since our last cup final. I think we will get Downing this summer, not as a replacement for Ash, but to play with him. Id be more than happy to have him at VP and challenge for a place. He can play left and Young can play behind the front 2 on occasion. It just gives us a lot more options and strength in depth which is exactly what we are looking for. If we got Downing, Tuncay and Bentley that would strengthen us immensely compared to our wide options last season. NRC and Gardner might even get a game in there proper position! The signings arfe coming ... UTV

Comment 69, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.07 pm

Niall Donlan said:

... you no what dis is bloody pathetic why dont martin o no deals just sign someone it isnt hard!

Comment 70, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.10 pm

ashley young said:

... hi all just to let you know i read this blog often,and thanks for the nice comments i am under contract at villa so no need to worry.

Comment 71, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.11 pm

Michael panizza said:

... This reminds me of when tabloids triggered the paranoia about paedophilia in the UK a few years ago and some hysterical mouth-breathers began stoning a paediatrician's home.

Comment 72, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.11 pm

RayK said:

... Even the most ardent MON fans can't tell me that MON wouldn't have wanted to have signed at least one player by now. They also can't tell me that the lack of transfer activity is evidence at this moment in time of a strategy being successfully executed. A concern of mine for a long while is that MON is too dogged in his pursuit of certain transfer targets. At one level its great that MON has conviction in his opinions but there is the real danger (as appears to be happening) that: (i) we get held to ransom over transfer fees but don't have the budget for it not to matter (2) we miss out on 2nd choice targets because we spend too much time chasing our 1st choice targets. When you add to the above that MON's initial target list is likely to be small anyway (criteria generally young, english and, if not, already playing in the PL/SPL) then it exacerbates that problem even more.

Comment 73, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.12 pm

Ben said:

... Sir Alex has just brought two wingers so wouldn't worry about Ash. I really wouldn't worry about anything coming out of Spurs and there family friends at the Yellow press. Spurs don't have any money to play with and as per norm with Harry his over spending will cripple them like all the clubs he's been at before - Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton & West Ham - just one to think on !!! Its a big concern that MON isn't really being linked with anybody that's going to set the place on fire. So like many of you I think he'll just buy the normal panic buys at the last minute and most of them will prove poor. Its so important that Randy shows his intent at Villa this summer.

Comment 74, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.23 pm

vijay said:

... This summer is crucial but MON doesnt seem to think so, our first signing could be Downing, i player i rate and would be happy to have, but he can play till christmas! i just dont understand mon, we need a playmaker and 2 central defenders badly, but not players like Distin, we need to show ambition by trying for Hangeland, Richards, Upson, Alves, i just dont understand what is going on, we cant even sign a 3rd division player!!

Comment 75, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.24 pm

Carl said:

... if that is really ash then he has to email damo and damo can tell us if players really visit this site

Comment 76, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.25 pm

ak_27 said:

... Ben SAF bought 1 RW and a very young LW who is one for the fyture. I would say he is still in the market for a LW o wouldn't be surprised at all if he was after Young.

Comment 77, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.27 pm

kieron said:

... Why do our fans have to be so fickle? It drives me nuts!

Comment 78, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.29 pm

tiptonvillan said:

... sounds like ash reads the site then.

Comment 79, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.30 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... hi all just to let you know i read this blog often,and thanks for the nice comments i am under contract at villa so no need to worry. If thats the real Ashley Young, post a link to your webcam so we can see for ourselves

Comment 80, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.31 pm

vijay said:

... Ashley Young will be off in a flash if Man U are in for him and if they offer 30 million then we should take the money, thats life guys! I would rather have Downing 10 million, Bentley 10 million and Hangeland 10 million than one player in Ashley Young, we dont really have the money and so we have to deal with our best players, said but true

Comment 81, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.38 pm

bfastvilla said:

... hi everyone, sorry to add to the negative flow of minds BUT there is alot of speculation on 606 debate that MON could quit very soon. Personally i dont believe this but if he did who realistically would we like at the helm? That wouldn't be the real ash, would it? (just in case, please stay)

Comment 82, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.41 pm

Paul Bennett said:

... Niall - do you know how hard it is to sign players then? How many people have you signed? There is a lot of unneccasary negativity around here and quite frankly its depressing. Do you really think were not going to sign anyone? Do you really think MON is going to let our captain retire and sell our vice captain and not replace them? A lot of people moan about 'Arry's transfer style but it sounds to me a lot of you wish MON was like him. MON doesnt comment on speculation and says nothing about his targets untill they walk through the doors and put on a Villa shirt. We all know what he's like, accept it. Id rather that than he came out talking about this and that player then end up looking a fool if we didnt get them. Bottom line is MON is the man for Villa. Its not about being a legend in the transfer market, its about 11 players on a pitch and winning games. MON is winning us games, MON is getting the best out of our players, and MON is building for the future. Without him we would be a mid table club, no Europe, no challenge, no hope. UTV

Comment 83, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.41 pm

vogra said:

... off the subject, check this out.....holy fcuk!! awesome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWit8ckPkxg

Comment 84, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.45 pm

bfastvilla said:

... I see what your saying vijay but if we keep getting rid of our best players, which young definately is one of them, we dont have a skeleton to build on. Next season we would loose more of our top players and the cycle will not stop.

Comment 85, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.45 pm

testie said:

... vijay -I like the idea of signing Hangeland, Richards but surely you don't mean Alves from Boro?. I'm not sure you read the Monkeywrench comment properly i had to read it a couple of times to see where it would be offensive and i'm still a little miffed. Damien - you are right we have built some good solid foundations and now it's time to start building the house further. I am not too worried about signings at the moment, i know it's hard to not want signings now, but that's not happening and the more worry you have the more frustration develops and the more pissed off we will all get. I just think there is no way that we will not improve the squad come the start of next season. Yes ideally we would have signed all the players we want by now, but that's football manager not football real life. Fast forward forty days we will all be happy, in theory anyway.

Comment 86, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.47 pm

Hadders7 said:

... In answer to your question about the best replacement...it would have to be David Moyes for me. He would realistically have more money to spend here than at Everton and has done a great job on a small budget. That said, I hope it's all s**t and that MON stays, at least for his usual 5 year stint as he has done at other clubs.

Comment 87, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.48 pm

vijay said:

... No testie mate i mean Bruno Alves, Porto and Portugal central defender Bfastvilla, i agree we shouldnt sell our best players, but do you really see us competing with the top 4 in the next year or so? do u see us making top class signings in the next year or so?? players want the best, and im sure Ashley will want the same, he might stay another year but then he will want to play for Chelsea or Man U, champions league football, premierhsip challenges, play with top players week in week out, and lets not mention the money! Now you tell me??

Comment 88, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.53 pm

RayK said:

... Is ANYONE on here actually happy that we haven't signed anyone yet?

Comment 89, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.55 pm

David Tyler said:

... I think Damian summarises it very, very well. I agree it's time to show that we're moving beyond setting up. I think I'm getting resigned to us only realistically bringing in prospects this summer - I think the fees, wages and competition for established quality will be just too strong. Chelsea could lose their 2 star players, Liverpool might lose big parts of their midfield. Hmmm... This could be a frustrating season for us but could also be one of the most open PLs for many years. Be careful what we wish for?

Comment 90, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.56 pm

Nickg said:

... Ozil would be the coup of the season if we got him. a definate talent for the future. MON pull your finger out!!!

Comment 91, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.56 pm

Michael panizza said:

... You know what? Sitting here hoping it's not gonna get us anywhere. So I'm off to the pub.

Comment 92, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.56 pm

vijay said:

... For me MON has one more year, then its bye bye, my choice to replace him would be David Moyes or Gianfranco Zola (1st choice)

Comment 93, made on July 12, 2009 at 12.58 pm

True villa said:

... We must admit we are fickle!!! Like I keep saying mon must go!!!! Trust me come 31st august all the mon lovers wl want him out!! Like I said he isn't seeing eye to eye with Lerner and he won't sign anyone!!! He will only loan a player or 2. I only wish that gregory was here In charge!!! At least he would get the players inby now!!!

Comment 94, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.00 pm

Carl said:

... Why does everyone put the blame at Martin O'Neill? Do you know how much money he has to spend this summer? Do you know how much has been made available to him since he joined - it isn't much and it is very much what the business can afford to offer him so we shouldn't be surprised that we are 6th. What O'Neill has done is the best he can do with the funds he has available to him. For Aston Villa to take the next step we need to have serious investment in the playing side and not just money from the business. Don't blame O'Neill for doing everything he could do. Sure, maybe in a season or two we might get fifth but without serious investment, i.e. the owner putting in money we will never get top four or better. Why blame O'Neill for getting an A?

Comment 95, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.08 pm

bfastvilla said:

... do you not think mon deserves more of a long term stint at the club. How many people complain about the merry go round of managers and clubs sacking managers too quickly. To be fair he has had a lengthy crack at the job now. However i really do feel there is no one better for us at the minute. Moyes has done little more in more time but he is talked about with high admiration. Possibly he is not the best in the transfer window, therefore i think this is an issue that the club should resolve. Maybe bringing in someone with a view to helping secure the deals for the players that we want and need. UTV

Comment 96, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.08 pm

Paul Egan said:

... 'True Villa' - you remind me of when Spurs fans were calling for Martin Jol's head. They didn't know how good they had it. Ozil looks class. I don't see us getting him, but if we did I'd soil myself with joy.

Comment 97, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.31 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... I dont post on here that often, but sometimes i feel compelled. Just because YOU decide that we should buy player X, Y or Z does not mean they are available or want to come to us. We do not have a manager like fatknap, so we do not know who he has gone for. As far as we know we have been in for 100 players each window, but for one reason or another it has not happened. This is not Football manager, and signing players is subject to millions of factors, most beyond MoNs control. Just because we want a player and they want to come does not mean it will happen. MoN signs the players he can get that he thinks will take us further. He doesnt take a scattergun approach that Fatknap does, but if the players he wants aren't available he will wait, as he has the long term view. Sometimes he will take a gamble on a player that doesnt cost much, to add numbers etc and then will sign his preferred target i.e. routledge, then signed milner. This is a long term plan, its not even possible for Man City to get all the players they want and they have billions to spend. Its not even possible for the current league champions to get the players they want, so why is it that any player mentioned with Villa in the press we should be getting. I for one am happy to wait, and have faith in MoN, if he is after a player its for a reason. UTV

Comment 98, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.48 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... Plus it gets on my nerves people posting a wish list of players we should sign etc. Why should we sign them? Because the Sun say we are in for them because an agent wants a better deal/club to sign their player. Just because we are linked does not mean we are in for them. MoN knows what he is doing, he made some mistakes last year, but he is a top manager for a reason. and while of course we are all entitled to our views, and with hindsight it is easy to pick holes, MoN has the best interests of the club at heart, and is doing his best to improve the club and crack the top 4. UTV

Comment 99, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.51 pm

Goldie 7 said:

... True villa Your starting to get annoying now what manager with any credentions could we get in now thats not in work and better than mon? That time with gregory was a one off like 10 years ago stop living in the past! Where is gregory now that was probably the highlight of his managerial career get over it and stop being so erractic with the rash statements.

Comment 100, made on July 12, 2009 at 1.56 pm

Ed Villa said:

... I don't think AY would leave, this year atleast. I think it could be similar to the Barry saga - if we don't have CL football this time next year you can move on. We all know AY is a class act and he will move eventually. I'd love to see Bent move to Villa Park look at these stats: Charlton 68 Aps 32 Goals Spurs 59 Aps 18 Goals (alot from the bench) He's a proven prem goal scorer. UTV

Comment 101, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.03 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... ed villa - i too would like to see Bent but Fatknap has the most unrealistic valuaitons of his players so its unlikely

Comment 102, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.07 pm

Ed Villa said:

... nik986 - I'd much rather spend 18m on Bentley and Bent rather that Downing and Tuncay but on the other hand i'd take anything at the moment. I hear the Bramble deal is back on......

Comment 103, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.11 pm

vijay said:

... I think the main man to be blamed has to be Lerner, the problem with mon is that he must have some money tp spend and needs to sort himself out. The other thing is that we dont have they money then someone should come out and say so atleast then we can all stop wasting our time here and hoping that players will come in. Lerner has conned us all, he needs to answer and bring in new investment if he doesnt have the money, Villa are very attractive and he paid half of what its worth today, he needs to look around and bring in outside investment retaining major control of the club

Comment 104, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.12 pm

Goldie 7 said:

... Football players want to win things and play with quality players if Ashley Young wants to go and we get 30m a for him sell him. He's a good player but at some stage he will want to leave between now and next summer good players always move around.

Comment 105, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.13 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... ed villa- Fatknap will want £18m for each of them, £36m for the two, or would oyu rather £18m for downing and tuncay?

Comment 106, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.16 pm

vijay said:

... can someone agree with me that we are in a mess??

Comment 107, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.18 pm

mikey18 said:

... Vijay your an idiot if you want to replace MoN with gianfranco Zola! He may turn out to be an unbelievable manager in time but at the moment he has no credentials. Do you know where he managed before West Ham? Do you know the extent of his managerial CV? How has he demonstrated that he is anyway more capable than MoN in any department? David Moyes wouldn't leave everton to come to us, he's invested the last 7 years into everton to try and break the top 4! He would only move to a top 4 prem team or maybe take the scottish job! Please your constant suggestions that MoN is inadequate and need to be replaced are undermined by you lack of footballing knowledge. Everybody said the same thing this time last year, don't people remember. If i could be arsed i would love to see some of the old blogs, and im sure they would read this is a defining summer for MoN and Lerner, we need to invest to ensure 6th, its july 9th we haven't signed anyone, and then we went out and spent more than anyone else bought in 7 players of a good standard and pushed hard for fourth!

Comment 108, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.19 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... Im sure MoN feels Young could be replaced for £30m+, ad id back him to do so. He is a very good player, and will possibly get better, but he often goes missing in big games, and can be marked out of the game

Comment 109, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.19 pm

Goldie 7 said:

... Why oh why does anyone rate Bent the guy is complete trash let him go to bolton or blackburn he'll do alright there The only players i would take from spurs are Lennon, Huddlestone, Bentley for less than 8m not a penny more, Keane, and Defoe everyone else there NO THANKS

Comment 110, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.19 pm

TrueVillan said:

... we are linked to quality players every window, but never buy any of them! why? simple, we cannot afford the wages that come with them. i truly believe that when we come to enquire about a valeso, delph, miguel etc the wages that they command immediately kills off the deal i think it is the wages that dictate who we buy, which is why we end up with mediocre players, they are happy with the wage we can pay, it is also why players leave, they end up getting into the england squad, find out what everyone else is on at that level and decide the time is right to move on the only way to overcome this is the buy foreign policy that MON hates, we could unearth quality at a low price and even if they do move on we would make a huge profit, an example i used before being hangeland, bought 2.5, would sell at 10 mil! this would give us quality players at low prices within our price range and make massive sell on profit, which could be re invested in the squad unfortunately, MON seems to dislike the foreign market, only buying when they have already played in the premeirship and the cost has risen. if we accept we have a wage limit, then the only way of moving forward is by taking a chance on foreign talent and developing them. otherwise we are stuck with average players, or the odd good one who moves on when he has made a name for himself. i said in an earlier post, name me a MON buy outside of young and carew who would sell for more than we paid for them? bet no one can think of a single player, and that is our problem!

Comment 111, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.19 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... TrueVillan - Easy to say go and buy foreign, does not always come off, many teams have spent £££ on foreign players who are worse than their english counterparts. MoN buys players he knows will perform in english league, and surprisingly they do. Other teams spend lots fo money on players who look good abroad only to look shit when playing in the prem.

Comment 112, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.21 pm

robbo said:

... There are a number of people saying that MoN sould be replaced. So.....assuming all managers outside the top 4 were available and willing to move to Villa (a silly assumption I know but go with it for the moment), who would you rather have here? Harry (time for another move?)Redknapp David (I've been here 7 years and haven't won a single thing) Moyes Martin O Neill Martin (Fickle directors wanted more than 1 win from 10 games)Jol Someone else?

Comment 113, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.21 pm

robbo said:

... Vijay...show a bit of originality or reasoned debate will you? Every time from now on that you say "we're in trouble" or "we're in a mess" I'm going to call you an ignorant twat. I don't usually like personal insults but if you insist on saying the same thing over and over and over again I reckon you'll deserve it.

Comment 114, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.25 pm

robbo said:

... I often disagree with TrueVillan but I think the wages point is an interesting one. Does anyone here have any idea how much the wage bill has changed over recent years, or what the top player salary has been and how it compares with other teams either here or overseas?

Comment 115, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.29 pm

mikey18 said:

... Darren bent is a proven goasl scorer goldie even though hes not been in the tottenham side he still managed to score goals, and he did so at charlton. He would score 20 goals + a season if he played week in week out hence the 16mil price tag

Comment 116, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.30 pm

Paul Bennett said:

... nik986 you speak a lot of sense. robbo - Id have MON over any manager in the league (bar Fergie and Wenger). The real question is which of the top 4 are going to give him a job when we drive him out of VP. UTV

Comment 117, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.32 pm

L3icestershire AVFC said:

... i know some of you fans might be feeling down today about fake paper talk, this will cheer you up from a villa youtube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwSERr4pR0 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july. and i will be enjoying my pie and beer of dan wilson

Comment 118, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.35 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... if we drive MoN out of VP it will be a dark day at B6. The best manager we have had for a very very long time, and if we stick by him he will build the club into a top 4 proposition.

Comment 119, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.36 pm

testie said:

... Vijay - you sound like we were relegated last season, [I think the main man to be blamed has to be Lerner,] What exactly should we be blaming Learner for? We finished sixth last season, yes it could have been better but it could also have been much worse. I understand your frustrations with the lack of signings but it's not like the transfer window in now closed.

Comment 120, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.37 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... the only thing MoN has done wrong is be in the top 4 for so long, he raised expectations beyond a realistic level, and some of the fans are ridiculous. Oh an also playing a full strength side in the first leg against CSKA, I would have put out the kids and rested players for the chelsea game, but I see fourth as more important for our development than winning the europa league milk carling cup or whatever it is now called.

Comment 121, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.41 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... vijay/truevilla,the same person, talk bollox everytime they speak they do it on purpose to wind us up wouldnt take much notice of them,these are the twats who said villa had booked two medicals at little aston hospital

Comment 122, made on July 12, 2009 at 2.43 pm

fingerscrossed said:

... I totally agree with nick986 regards to AY good player, yes, exciting at times against lesser teams and can take a good dead ball, but can be in the pocket of top class defenders and then he looses heart and drifts out of the game, note Portsmouth game up against Glen Johnson, so if Alex wants him for 30 mill then let him go and invest in the team,

Comment 123, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.01 pm

vijay said:

... some of you(mikey, robbo, confusedvillain) should go back to your little dirty huts and shut up!!

Comment 124, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.01 pm

FatKevs said:

... Mickey Defoe not me i have mentioned the boro boys (why by players that cannot play its like buying a striker that does not score oops heskey)i have generraly only concerned myself with Randy & who we may lose. I do not have a knowledge of other players as i only see them maybe twice a year. As for Gabby you can look back i have never called him lazy i have said i thought he was trying too hard in his barren spell & that with the horrible football we play he is key. In saying that though he does not have the skill to beat players or the knowledge to read the game with all the balls he gets its no wonder there are assists but did he look like scoring after xmas.

Comment 125, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.05 pm

Damian said:

... NO MORE PERSONAL INSULTS

Comment 126, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.06 pm

NISSE said:

... good to see you back i like your articles they are entertaining UTV CHEERS villa sweden

Comment 127, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.07 pm

L3icestershire AVFC said:

... damian i cant log, and i need a email so i can activ it, sorry about the spelling thanks leicestershire avfc 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july. and i will be enjoying my pie and beer of dan wilson

Comment 128, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.09 pm

Imran Patel said:

... I havent posted on here for a while now i have been reading the posts for a while though. if one thing the last few weeks have shown me in the football world its quite obvious that every player has his price. ronaldo 80m and Kaka 56m both said they would stay. Not if but when young leaves for barca or man utd or one of the other top four I wont hold any grudges he will be moving to further his career and villa look like they may be moving backwards. i really dont think he will leave this year with the world cup and all. He will go to the world cup set it alight and then leave for a higher price. But if he goes to spurs that would piss me off it will show we have no ambition whatsoever, and learner is a joke and we have been feeding off lies for the last 3 years. i dont think bentley or downing are good enough replacements for young he is miles better than them stats dont lie. Carew cant be allowed to leave either i think with the right service this year he can be that 20+ striker we have been looking for. the players i would like to see comming in are the following: hangerland noughton veloso darfour ozil and maybe bentley out of that list if we get two of them id be surprised

Comment 129, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.09 pm

L3icestershire AVFC said:

... Today i went on a Barcelona blog to see if there any truth about web cam ashley young, i notice alot of the barcelona fans think web cam isn't worth no more than 20 million euro, 15 million pound, i left 2 links of webcam young on you tube to shut them up, now they think hes world class, that shut them up, slagging of our legend of a player 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july. and i will be enjoying my pie and beer of dan wilson

Comment 130, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.15 pm

Damian said:

... L3icestershire AVFC check your spam folder. the email contains a link

Comment 131, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.17 pm

Ben said:

... I don't think anybody wants to drive MON out of VP. He's a top manager without doubt. However his skills in the transfer are very poor. Its the difference between being a top manager and world class manager. For 3 years we've needed our squad numbers to rise and yet year on year they've gone down. I know there's been a lot of dross over the years brought in but most of the dead wood has gone. Once Knight, Salifou & Harewood have gone there isn't even that as an excuse. Again what is needed is a show of intent by Villa and MON - Do you want the club to progress or stagnate? I only want the best for Villa (I'm in for life not a wage). I'm not going to put any more comments for a while as I feel even my views are making a negative feel about the place. Please prove us wrong MON & Randy ......

Comment 132, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.17 pm

L3icestershire AVFC said:

... i have, and i can't seem to find it, could you send me another one thanks, great post this morning welcome back 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july. and i will be enjoying my pie and beer of dan wilson

Comment 133, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.19 pm

Damian said:

... L3icestershire AVFC Try logging in with the details you provided.

Comment 134, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.21 pm

vijay said:

... who will sign in 5 days??

Comment 135, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.22 pm

L3icestershire AVFC said:

... i will do mate thanks villa legend vjay since july the 1st i have put 17th july starting from 17 days to go. we will sign our first player and i have non stop of moaning abuse, i have even had one person going to buy me a pie and pint, its only a joke 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july.

Comment 136, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.25 pm

jus nasty said:

... first some people in here shouldnt call themselfs villa fans all i here is evryone crying signings signings obviously signings are comin whoever they are what i cant believe is how easy people are callin for oneils head after all villa is in the best position we have been in in 20 years or so i dont understand. Everyone can see there has been hardly any activity in the market unless your a Real supporter no significant signings have happened in the prem and to this ashley young issue if he wants to leave let him no player is bigger than the club he can be replaced its easy as that i love young dont get me wrong but last season his form dipped his crosses wasnt finding anyone but the front post defender and i saw his attitude make an appearence he was blaming his team mates when his free kick or cross was shite oniel found him so he can do it again if he hasnt already see that new arsenal LW we have bought. so next season when everyone is buzzing with the same anticipation and excitement i will sit back and remember all the negative shite on here and say was it worth it ask yourself.

Comment 137, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.26 pm

Aero-For-Villa said:

... even if we did sell Young - we wont, trust me! I dont see why we would be tempted by loads of money if MON isnt even going to use any of it!

Comment 138, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.27 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... thank you very much villa legend x 5 days until we sign our first player friday 17th july.

Comment 139, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.30 pm

Steve said:

... To cheer all you miserable gits up, check out these 2 links below. This one containing a villa superstar taking the piss out of diving http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiG707bVfLA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVb2gbMtN3I

Comment 140, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.36 pm

sazavfc said:

... Just met Delfoneso in JD!

Comment 141, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.43 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... i really think young is a 3 out of 5 good crosses in the box, does that make him worth 25 million, German midfielder Mesut Ozil on you tube looks like the next ronaldo, after seening o'neill spend 9 million on young, i would be happy to see him spend his money on mesut ozil fat nap thinks bentley is worth 15 million, what planet is he on, i would take jenas bentley and throw in bent for web cam, 6+8+11= 25 million, i really can't stand the man and i really hope he gets a few more coin throw to his head, if we want downing and boro wants to sell, boro should knock of a further 2 million due to wages and bonus, if he is fit by nov or dec, boro should cash in now instead of having to risk not selling him in the winter transfer window 5 days to go

Comment 142, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.47 pm

vijay said:

... leicestershire mate i hope youre right! i will buy you 2 pints!

Comment 143, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.51 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Today i went on a Barcelona blog to see if there any truth about web cam ashley young, i notice alot of the barcelona fans think web cam isn't worth no more than 20 million euro, 15 million pound, i left 2 links of webcam young on you tube to shut them up, now they think hes world class, that shut them up, slagging of our legend of a player Well done Leicestershire AVFC, I can already see the head lines - Florentino Perez signs English winger Young after viewing youtube clips posted by Villa fan

Comment 144, made on July 12, 2009 at 3.55 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... vjay, im happy to buy you a beer near the ground or at half time mate, a few yanks was telling me a week ago, that randy wants to rebuild the doug ellis stand and the north stand and bring our stadium up to 57000, would the doug ellis stand be worth knocking down 5 days to go

Comment 145, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.01 pm

Steve said:

... capacity of 57,000?! We only ever sell out for the top 4 games, if Randy hopes to get 57k he better get signing some big players for us!

Comment 146, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.07 pm

Peter Dragoonis said:

... How can anyone think Ashley Young wouldne leave if united came in for him? he would be joining one of the biggest clubs in the world. a team who have won and finshed runners up in the champions league over the last 2 years. he would be playing in the champions league. Instead, at 24 he will stay at Villa. a team who have won nothing in 15 years, whos highest finish in years is 6th, who are unable to make big signings. it is because of these reasons he plays second fiddle to stewart downing at international level. he will be gone in a flash in united or chelsea come in for him. that way he can play champions league football and win trophies.

Comment 147, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.16 pm

Damian said:

... Jokes to be placed in the forum please. Comments on this page to be kept on topic.

Comment 148, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.20 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... sorry damian i notice a few jokes on here in the pass about birmingham, i understand mate pete you are right, thats what dwight yorke did when he left us for man u and i still respect him has a player who enjoyed his time at villa park, if web cam left us for a larger team, you can't blame mon for letting him go, if he went to liverpool, spurs or even man city, i would be be upset a bit, this german ozil could be a 30 million player in a few years,

Comment 149, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.28 pm

TrueVillan said:

... nic986 TrueVillan - Easy to say go and buy foreign, does not always come off, many teams have spent £££ on foreign players who are worse than their english counterparts. MoN buys players he knows will perform in english league, and surprisingly they do. Other teams spend lots fo money on players who look good abroad only to look shit when playing in the prem. im still waiting for that list of players that perform so well thay are now worth more than we paid, which is the true testiment to how well thay have really done look forward to that long list!

Comment 150, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.29 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... if web cam did join man united just like dwight yorke this, web cam won't have to use the internet, he could pull a page 3 model like jordan and have one ugly baby together, there are too many people saying on here if we sell young i won't be going to villa park again, come on lads it just shows that you aint real fans, guess what if we did a newcastle i will still go down to follow my team,

Comment 151, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.36 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... i think that a manager should only buy players before they play in a world cup, if they do well in a world cup there value go up by 2 to 3 times the value, instead of playing all that money in transfers we should be spending a few million a year in scouts looking into countrys like south america, instead of having a few scouts spending there time in england, if i had the money like lerner i would open up aston villa soccer training schools in america where they can train from a young age and see who are good to bring over here, 5 days to go

Comment 152, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.42 pm

kieron said:

... I'll say it again, most of you are fickle and need to take a good look in the footballing mirror. MON and Lerner are the best things to happen to the club in the last 10 years, so why try and hinder that. Let them get on with their job and leave the stupid comments until the transfer window is closed.

Comment 153, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.44 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... well said Ron

Comment 154, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.46 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... 10/10 ron

Comment 155, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.48 pm

vijay said:

... ron mate, remember shorey, knight, salifou, harewood, routledge...

Comment 156, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.51 pm

Dan Naylor said:

... At the end of the day lerner has come out and said money is available!! I love MON but needs to act soon, and how anyone can think Downing is a replacement for Ash i will never know! Come on MON- prove all doubters wrong please! COYL!!

Comment 157, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.53 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... shorey still a good player, knight,can cover for injued players salifou cost nothing harewood wasn't has good has he played for the hammers, routledge cost over a million well thats nothing for a player who was once a good player

Comment 158, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.55 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... downing is just has good has ash, ash isn't worth over 15 million, hes to greedy with the ball, 3 out 5 cross are ok, also if hes not good to break into the england side starting 11, enough said

Comment 159, made on July 12, 2009 at 4.57 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... if mon didnt mess up the moscow game we could of won the uefa cup that year with the easy teams to the final, martin o neil got us in uefa and spent less than man city and spurs, if we get uefa every season, i would love him even more, we aint a top 4 side and we never will be

Comment 160, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.01 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... triple posting is a sin

Comment 161, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.03 pm

Nik Skilton said:

... salifou, routledge etc crap Blah Blah Blah... ...Not every player we sign can be a guaranteed starter, we need to sign squad players, and these players by and large have done some sort of job. We havnt lost big money on them, in total we should get back roughly what we paid for them so whats the issue? Would you rather we didnt sign them and had a squad of 13 players? Or do you think we should be spending £30m+ on player after player? Have some realism as ronvilla said we have the best management team in years, and one of the best in the english league. Im a happy villan!

Comment 162, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.12 pm

TrueVillan said:

... bentley has been attacked in a restaurant in herts last nite the attacker was described as having a northern irish accent, thinning curly dark hair and glasses! sounds like an unhappy spuds fan to me, come to villa david,we will appreciate ya!!

Comment 163, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.17 pm

mikey18 said:

... Sorry FatKev if i put words in your mouth i was trying to illustrate to much. I've noticed that you have taken issue with Gabby and suggested he is not the man to score 20 goals +, or at least that is the impression i've got. I've also noticed that people champion Defoe as if he is a better alternative! I was just trying to highlight Gabby's abilities in comparison to his teams mates for club and country.

Comment 164, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.34 pm

robbo said:

... vijay, it isn't reasonable to expect every single player bought to perform. Every manager makes mistakes but I would say that MoN has made very few clear cut mistakes. If you accept that some mistakes will be made then it's disingenuous to mention those but ignore the successes. There are some buys on which the jury is still out (in my view anyway): Sidwell, Heskey, Cuellar. I wouldn't include Shorey as I thought he looked pretty good at the end of last year, nor Knight who was a first rate squad player last year (even though I know the bloke who sits in front of me and swears at him at every opportunity wouldn't agree) If you want examples of mistakes made by other managers I'm sure that people on here will be all too happy to point them out for any other manager you care to mention.

Comment 165, made on July 12, 2009 at 5.48 pm

Halfwit said:

... Young cant go and i dont think martin would let him If he did martin will gain himself a lot of stick from fans You dont sell your best players the barry situation was differnt anyway didnt young sign a new contract recently ? We got him for a good few years yet i think

Comment 166, made on July 12, 2009 at 6.10 pm

pjmavfc said:

... Just saw ashley young outside what i think is he's house near pedmore stourbridge . there was some kind of party going on as he was with he's homies waiting for guests to arrive. I might be a bit sad and have another drive past to see if i can get some info...

Comment 167, made on July 12, 2009 at 6.32 pm

Pezvilla said:

... Yeah, his there laughing at fatnaps twitch!

Comment 168, made on July 12, 2009 at 7.08 pm

Ed Villa said:

... Well said Ron!

Comment 169, made on July 12, 2009 at 7.30 pm

FatKevs said:

... PJ You may aswell great crash once the party has stated he is a nice bloke he may give you a burger & a Beer

Comment 170, made on July 12, 2009 at 7.40 pm

James Clift said:

... Leicestershire AVFC, I can't agree with the Young comment. Yes his crossing can be a bit poor but more often than not he's looked absolute world class. Think back to the way he took Blues apart in the 5-1 win or the time he ghosted past the Sunderland defence to set up Milner in the 2-1 win. Young is better than Downing now and over the next 2/3 years he will only get better.

Comment 171, made on July 12, 2009 at 8.03 pm

Halfwit said:

... I just hope he is not getting downing cause he fears loseing Young in the next year or two

Comment 172, made on July 12, 2009 at 8.21 pm

vijay said:

... Ofcourse he is, thats why he doesnt mind signing him even though he wont play till christmas, Young will be off next season, unless he leaves now! I hope that England win the world up next year, Young is the star of the tournament and we sell him for £50 million, not impossible you know!

Comment 173, made on July 12, 2009 at 8.25 pm

Zorro said:

... Young v Downing... Similar stats considering 1 plays top 6 and the other bottom - Capello thinks Downing is the better player within his particular formation but that counts for nothing. Downing will probably deliver a similar return to Young and I agree that Young will get better and better, however I fear that Villa Park may no longer the platform for his development

Comment 174, made on July 12, 2009 at 8.56 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... Zorro, what similar stats? No oals last season and few assists for Downing. Are you talkng about completed crosses, pass acuracy?

Comment 175, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.12 pm

JeffJeff said:

... I'm sick and tired of the rubbish transfer activity at this club. I believe MON is a good man manager but rubbish in the transfer market. If the players are there buy them simple. At this rate Young and Carew will go and Downing is the most overrated player in the premiership and also all this buying english player is rubbish as well they are over priced compare to the better standard of players available abroad.

Comment 176, made on July 12, 2009 at 9.48 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... jimbo with webcam he had a great first of a season that won him young player of the year, when he scored that goal against everton he looked like a 25 million player, second half of the season the game at home to moscow till may, he seem like a 12 million pound player, ashley won't get any better if he is still greedy with the ball and his 3 out of 5 cross get any better

Comment 177, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.00 pm

sazavfc said:

... what was the 'joke' Damian?

Comment 178, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.05 pm

FatKevs said:

... I think the sending off affected his form.

Comment 179, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.06 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... High hopes for this coming week. I see Downing Signing which will make me more than happy, my guess is mon has already sat down with Ash and discussed the different roles he wants him to play this year eg free and both sides. Fabian Delph deal wrapped up when Villa & Leeds reach an agreeable figure. Hopefully someone else too. Come on mon, I want to see this blog flip 180 in 24hrs

Comment 180, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.09 pm

SteveBlueNose said:

... Ashley Young is rubbish and overrated

Comment 181, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.10 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... ok blues name a player of yours who is better

Comment 182, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.12 pm

SteveBlueNose said:

... Steve Carr

Comment 183, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.14 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... stevebluenose the whole blues team is rubbish,fancy heskey back

Comment 184, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.15 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... dan i really believe we will sign downing this friday, he is the type of play martin needs since barry went, he is 4 years younger and barry and he has hit is peak yet, fabian delph could also be a villa player if one of our players join leeds on loan, banian or defonso, almost 4 days to go until we sign our first player on friday baby

Comment 185, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.16 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... blue nose, steven/alan carr, he must play for brazil if he is better than young

Comment 186, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.18 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Leicestershire AVFC - I agree, I think Downing is a great player, I see him playing more the Barry role inside Young aswell as pushing onto the wing when Ash moves inside. He is composed on the ball, has a natural left foot and would be a fantastic addition to our squad imo. Got to say, I think it will happen before your 4 day guess though, and i'm looking forward to my pint

Comment 187, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.20 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... dan wilson: Fabian Delph if he did join us, would you pay 8 million or have a sell on clause, just in case he become a 20million+ player if the 6+5 rule comes into the premiership

Comment 188, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.20 pm

Steve said:

... Not sure why everyone seems to think that if villa sign downing that young will leave. why is it people dont think villa are able to have a squad and have good players on the bench while the top 4 do as do everton, spurs, man city! I think MoN will constantly switch from 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 and wouldnt be surprised if at times we had a midfield 5 of downing, petrov milner young, agbonlahor ie young in a free role and gabby sometimes playing wide right as he has done before. And if we get bentley in that gives us even more options. Really think we are only 4 signings away from having a team that could challenge top4. If you look at the stronger links in the media, its downing, bentley, defour/veloso all of which suggest we will have a 5 man midfield where young or milner could be on the wing or in the centre depending on which of the above we get! I think MoN is showing flexibility and will get the best priced one (hopefully not downing!!)

Comment 189, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.24 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... the prospect of fabian delph excites me,still unsure about downing at the moment

Comment 190, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.24 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... I don't know enough about him to say i'd happily pay 8 million, I think Leeds are after 6. But theres been a lot of good things said about him and from the tiny amount of stuff i've seen on youtube he looks like a prospect. Ash Young cost over 9 and look at him now. I think the best chance we stand as a club of breaking top 4 is by acquiring these quality youngsters and them turning into stars. I'f we could luck out on 3 or 4 like we did with Ash we could have a team of superstars in 2 or 3 years time. or maybe i'm just in dream land...

Comment 191, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.24 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... dan wilson: how do u get your photos on here, i want to have my photo in the box of me drinking and eating that pie you paid for me, 4 days to go i bet you are scared now has anyone been on youtube and so the young german ozil, if we sign him, wow what a player good bye young and hello new ronaldo

Comment 192, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.25 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... go here - http://en.gravatar.com/ and register with the same email address as your registered with here, then upload your pic. Don't count your pies before they hatch

Comment 193, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.28 pm

JohnnyMcLeod said:

... If Randy Lerner ever read this blog (I doubt that he even knows that it exists !) he'd probably pack his bags and head home. What a terrible Chairman he's been, bankrolled MON to the tune of 50 million, dragged the club into the 21st century, pulled off a masterstroke with Acorns, and last but not least given us our pub back. Please someone show me the quote where MON has said "The Chairman won't give me any money ". I don't want our club to pay players over a hundred grand a week, I'm proud of the fact that we're a true "community club" not being ripped off with ticket prices, and we're one of the few clubs that still values a youth system. If you want chaos and despair go down to the shambles in Small Heath where they sell your season tickets to someone else before you've had a chance to renew (witin the deadline).

Comment 194, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.30 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... i still think we can break into the top four, the top four has got weaker thanks to man city and real madrid,trying to buy every player going, i like the idea of david villa and ribery would cost 20 or 25 million two years ago now cost between 50 or 70 million, when torries went to liverpool for 26 million, thats was a lot, now 25 million isnt a lot in this transfer market

Comment 195, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.30 pm

Paul Theiss said:

... Downing's arrival doesn't signal Young's departure--at least not this season. Downing can't play until October at the earliest. Do you really think MON would play without a left winger for the first 3 months of the season? I don't. It's a dream, but I will be over the moon if we sign Ozil. Downing, Ozil, and Distin--wouldn't we take that? I reckon Downing would cost 12M, Ozil would cost 15-16M (he is worth it), and Distin would cost 2-3M. After Barry's sale, that's net 17-20M, and I think we'd be a stronger team than we were last season.

Comment 196, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.35 pm

vijay said:

... Downing for me is a top sgning, i have wanted him for a while to join us, but he is not fit , that worries me, but hopefully mon knows what he's doing! Delph would be a great addition too but we need another experinced mifielder, someone like Veloso would be great and then add Tuncay and Bentley, then we need the 2 centre back and we're away!! in mon we trust, right guys?!?!?!

Comment 197, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.36 pm

Daniel Wilson said:

... Don't worry JohnnyMcLeod, I can see this blog completely changing it's attitudes once some players start coming in (and i'm not saying i havn't had my worries and moans because I have). I'd love to read the posts from this time last year but I think they are gone since the site moved. I joined up about a year ago when I was looking on the net for info about summer transfers and I seem to remember the general mood was pretty strained! also seem to remember the mood lightening within a few hours.

Comment 198, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.39 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... if Zlatan Ibrahimovic go to chelsea for 60 million, Inter Milan boss Mourinho will bid 30 million of the cash for ashley young

Comment 199, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.42 pm

vijay said:

... if we get 30 million for young then we'll have to deal with it and mon will have to sort it out!

Comment 200, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.45 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... 20 million for a player who cant get into the england squad is worth it to me, i dont think we are a one man team and he can be replace, if martin done loads of times found a hidden gem, did anyone see the aston villa vs everton on fan zone, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwSERr4pR0

Comment 201, made on July 12, 2009 at 10.51 pm

celtic_villain said:

... hangeland distin/o'shea delph defour/veloso bentley downing tuncay bent/jones id be a very happy chappy and there all realistic but we can only really lose osbourne salifou and harewood without replacements

Comment 202, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.17 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... osbourne is my mate who mum still lives in stockland green so i won't want him to leave, als0 he facebook me secret villa stuff

Comment 203, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.21 pm

Doc said:

... There's a lot of tosh spoken on this site. But DanWilson82 is making more sense than most. Let's think long term, buy the younger players we can really compete for, and BUILD. I don't care if it takes 5 or 10 years. But I'm not going to lose faith in Martin O'Neill because he won't pay £8m for a player with no pedigree. Why don't some of you guys GET REAL?

Comment 204, made on July 12, 2009 at 11.37 pm

Halfwit said:

... Doc the idea was a 5 year plan never mind another 5 - 10 years

Comment 205, made on July 13, 2009 at 1.59 am

Steve Badger said:

... There never was a 5 year plan Halfwit. Hmm, so the latest rumour is Bentley and £25 mill for Ash; http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/...las-ashley Still no cigar for me, but I must admit it's starting to get tempting. Will Ash keep progressing or not, is the question. If he does, he could be a £50 mill player in a couple of years time, imo.

Comment 206, made on July 13, 2009 at 2.40 am

Nick said:

... Ashley will continue to get better, either with us or somewhere else. Im actually surprised so many Villa fans can actually talk like he isnt our most important and talented player. I really cant see Young leaving during this window. Next season if we have not continued to progress im sure he will be off. Ashley has said before that his next goal is to make himself a regular with England, there is no better place for that than at Villa Park at the moment. Considering his playing time at Manchester United or Chelsea would be a question and moving to Spurs would be an unnecessary sideways step. anyway the signings are coming.. keep that faith.

Comment 207, made on July 13, 2009 at 3.13 am

Halfwit said:

... Badger So what was all that talk about when martin joined about a five year plan do you not remember that ?

Comment 208, made on July 13, 2009 at 4.21 am

Steve Badger said:

... It wasn't MON or RL who said it. It came from an underling and was later denied. Even then, it doesn't matter. I agree with Doc in that I don't care if it takes 5-10 years, as long as we keep building. The worrying part for me is I probably only have 20 left

Comment 209, made on July 13, 2009 at 5.01 am

John Jordan said:

... Doc Bowles...DanWilson82 is one of very few posters on this site whom to me always appears to talk sense!...I always read his posts.

Comment 210, made on July 13, 2009 at 5.45 am

vogra said:

... Chinavillian, yep DanWilson82 does talk alot of sense, i talk mostly sh*t....arr well, its only a bit of fun i suppose

Comment 211, made on July 13, 2009 at 6.49 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... An example of how bad journalism is these days ......Bolton have signed Paul Robinson from West Brom on loan . This website has got the wrong paul Robinson ....Ha http://www.lep.co.uk/national-...5452505.jp

Comment 212, made on July 13, 2009 at 8.25 am

Damian said:

... The five year plan was actually dismissed by O'Neill. It was started by General PR Krulak, however, it was bought into by many on the forums that General PR Krulak visits. However, 5 years was acceptable and feasible. 5 to 10 years is a little, well, like its never going to happen and is much like something i once wrote on another site that when it doesn't happen after five, they'll just move the goal posts The foundations have been built, that part is done. It is now time to build the house and you can either do that out of brick or straw. This is the 21st century; things happen quicker and asking for 5 to 10 years isn't how it is done any more. Watch Manchester City, look at Chelsea. Saying 5 to 10 years is now very much accepting mediocrity. I'm not going to go one much more .. this has got me, I'm going to write a post about it.

Comment 213, made on July 13, 2009 at 8.37 am

ak_27 said:

... Spot on Damien.

Comment 214, made on July 13, 2009 at 9.10 am

Villa@herts said:

... Just back from a week in Sweden (still have hopes that we may sign Marcus Burg who has not yet signed for Humbug) and not been able to log on. Which given all the negativity may not have been a bad thing. I can’t believe all the MON has to go stuff and RL has let us down. Would you really prefer MON to sign a bunch of overpriced also runs or wait till he can get some class players? MON has said he needs to buy and must be a frustrated as all of us but he knows we need quality. I agree with Doc (although I think 5-10 is too long) but we do need to build from the youth. We do have some great young players in the reserves. I would argue as good if not better than some of those we are now being linked to. Bring 5 of those into the squad plus 3 quality players and I would be a happy man (well maybe not happy that wouldn't fit with being a Villa fan would it!) but satisfied. Keep the faith.

Comment 215, made on July 13, 2009 at 9.12 am

stephen may said:

... I am watchin Man Citeh Damien , and i really think I'm goin to see them implode

Comment 216, made on July 13, 2009 at 9.20 am

Damian said:

... flowershopboy they might too .. barry isn't that great, neither is santa cruz

Comment 217, made on July 13, 2009 at 9.51 am

Juan Pablo Angel said:

... Can anyone else see what i'm thinking? Downing: Left footed Not very pacey Excellent passer Good Crosser Good at dead ball situations Can play in cemtral midfield but not often been triedf there English On the fringes of the england squad Worth £12m Remind you of anyone? I think Martin O'Neill may have a plan. It might be the ravings of a mental Northern Irishman but he's pulled it out of the bag before.

Comment 218, made on July 13, 2009 at 3.09 pm

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