Manchester United have their new kit in the shops, they are now well into pre-season training and yesterday, Sir Alex Ferguson closed up shop on new players for his team. Business in one half of Manchester is very much done and dusted and they can now concentrate on the job at hand; preparing for next season.

In Birmingham things happen a little differently, but I'm not panicking. I am a little concerned that the speculation linking us to DJ Downing seems to be gathering pace, because for me, I can't see where he is going to fit in and I'm sorry to offend, but I don't think he is good enough.

The fact that he is injured is also a concern and I know it's not my money but if he is one of our 'big signings' and I only say that because of the money been talked about, between £10mn. and £12mn. depending on the paper, then we will be playing almost a third of the season at 90%, because one of our key players will be missing and that is assuming he actually does make it back, what happens if he doesn't make it back as expected?

DJ Downing for me would very much be a Marlon Harewood or Zat Knight type signing. I have nothing against Knight or Harewood and if they both leave this summer, there is talk of it happening, they should both be welcomed back to Villa Park with a round of applause, but they are very much 'top half' Premier League players and don't we want to be a little more than a 'top half' Premier League team?

I also mean no disrespect to DJ Downing and I know some of you thought Barry was the best player to wear a Villa shirt in the Premier League, but a couple of years ago I wrote something about DJ Downing as too similar a player to Barry for my liking. He can cross the ball, but he lacks a little something for my liking and he is nothing close to Ashley Young.

But, that is just my opinion and I would like yours, so I've added, or will do very soon, a quick question to the right, under Megan.

In other paper talk, one of them are saying that Stan the Man Petrov is the dressing room favourite to be named captain and I quite like that idea. You see Petrov talking on the pitch and I always thought that was something Barry lacked, although Laursen had bags of it.

I suspect we will find out soon enough but I honestly can't think of a more deserving player or for that matter a better one to get it.

But that is about it for today so unless we get a signing or two (I'm not expecting Bentley or Defour any more as they spoke publicly about Villa and I don't think O'Neill is too happy about that), then they'll be more, but please don't forget about our fantasy football game, if you haven't registered and the quick question to the right.

Comments (298)

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True villa said:

... Mon out!

Comment 1, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.15 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... Megan is a Fox, and i would welcome Bent

Comment 2, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.16 am

Steve Sims said:

... Only caught a couple of games in the flesh last season but Stan is always the talker and would be an ideal captain. No one else really springs to mind though, do they?

Comment 3, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.17 am

Keith said:

... Damian What do Villa do if Ashley Young gets suspended or injured? Who plays wide left? Downing is a good player who, being tutored by Robertson should become a very good player. At £10m for an England international, a good buy in my eyes and I am sure a very indepth medical will take place before the paperwork is complete. The Darren Bent link is more worrying, not that I don't rate him or prefer him to Heskey, but rumours of Carew leaving scare me. Anyway at least momentum seems to be building towards our first signing arriving.

Comment 4, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.21 am

Billy7 said:

... Why do you call him DJ Downing? ... I think he'd be a good asset, not only can cross a call, he crosses very very well, he takes good free kicks, he works hard, he'll give us options to move Ash and Milner around. My only concern is he is injured until November/December? At earliest. Baffling! Petrov for captain, we knew that anyway! Darren Bent.... Top scorer for Spurs last season, 17 goals in 42 games a goal in every 2 and half games ish, a confidence player imo, and who better than MON to sort that? But on top of that we need more quality.

Comment 5, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.26 am

Nocky1972 said:

... I agree that Petrov would make a solid captain. I hope to God that Carew and A Young stay at Villa. Would love Lennon to come in to level the wing play up but we've got more chance of platting sand ! If JC and AY go then we are stuffed for a top 6 finish. Will be a massive blow to the team.

Comment 6, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.29 am

Halfwit said:

... What is it with the mad obsession of english english english english Ok it may help if fifa got that new rule in but fifa wont get it in human rights and all that rubbish will stop that So we sign a left winger in downing and injuerd all because he is english why cant we got and get a talented fit left winger from another country what the hell is wrong with that It shows he is english hooked cause why else would you sign and injuerd player The english national team never win anything do they ? Neither will we if keep signing english players Foreign add and bring something different and its something different we need

Comment 7, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.30 am

David J said:

... How many England caps do Harewood and Knight have? I think it's unfair to put Downing in their bracket but I have to admit to being mystified as to why Capello picks him for England ahead of Ash. The real worry for me is that he's Ash's replacement - and if that were the case then them message that would send would be loud and clear. Bent would be ok - fits the MON prototype etc and we will need a 4th sriker if Marlon leaves and The Fonz goes out on loan. With this Europa lark they will hopefully all get plenty of games next season. New faces are obviously massively important but IMHO making sure we don't lose any more of the first choice lads comes a very close second.

Comment 8, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.31 am

Mike Carter said:

... Someone mentioned yesterday that £12m for Downing wouldn't be a bad deal, considering Milner cost the same and Downing has over 20 England caps. I think this is a very good point, Capello rates Downing very highly and he knows more than any of us. I remember the game we played against Boro at VP a couple of years ago when we drew 1-1. Downing absolutely ran the show for them that day, he was their only decent player and he tore us apart. If he can play like that for us, I'd be more than happy to take him on. And no matter what people say, Ashley CAN be moved across to the right to accomodate him. I think it might actually improve his game, as it would take away the time he takes to cut back onto his right foot every time anyway. Maybe MON will even then consider playing Milner in the middle.

Comment 9, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.32 am

chasrack said:

... Any1 who dosn't rate Downing needs to find another sport to watch because this kid has to be 1 of the best left footers in europe, mark my words if he comes to the villa u will see wot a player he is.

Comment 10, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.33 am

toastman said:

... Morning to all I have watched downing closly last season during the second half of the season, and his is a very good player currently in a bad team. He has quality on the ball and is a good passer of the ball. I can see Ashley on the right and Downing on the left, with Milner who does lack a little pace in the centre Midlfield. Milner likes to bring the ball down and play and centre mid might just be his best position. Regarding Bent lets get things into perspective bent scored 97 goals in 248 Games Dwight York Score 73 goals in 232 games,and we all loved dwight. bent is a goal scorer in a crap team, low on confidence, under O'Neil he can blossom.

Comment 11, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.33 am

JohnnyMcLeod said:

... Downing is quality, has tha abilty to release the ball very quickly and accurately, can't see your problem with him Damian, to bracket him with the likes of Harewood is ridicolous. Could see him sitting deeper and more central than Ash, think they'd be great together. To be slightly controversial I'd make Gardner a permanent fixture in centre midfield and give him the armband,the kid has class and eats sleeps and breathes Villa. Coker and Sidwell not good enough. Stan, Gardner, Milner, and Downing would be a top midfield.

Comment 12, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.36 am

Villain down South said:

... Downing I rate and I think if he MON can develop his skills a bit as he did with Young then he could be very good. I can see Young playing on the right or even in the hole behind a striker - specially could see him getting knock downs from Carew and trying a few strikes outside the box. I'd take Bent as well - his goal to games ratio is good, and I fancy he'd be up for it this year with the world cup looming.

Comment 13, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.37 am

mikey18 said:

... Downing and Bent are completely different class to routledge and harewood. I'd rather first two coming off the bench to change a game than the latter. The quality and depth of the squad was the reason we faltered last season and i think these to signings would go a long way in addressing that problem. I hope that MoN goes on to sign a CB and a CM with a couple of youngsters thrown in on top in Naughton and Delph. Then when would really be on our way! Heskey, Bent Carew and Gabby is a very strong strike force - remember when Tottenham had Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Bent. I'd prefer Bentley over Downing, better delivery, scores more goals and if ashleys out milner can play LW if Milners out Bentley can play right wing or off the striker. Veloso would be a MASSIVE signing, but im open to Defour, Joao Mountinho, Borowski, Hitzlesperger, Van der Vaart, Sneijder. CB I think we should offer 10mil a Zat knight to Bolton as they seem interested in him got Gary Cahill and bring in Sol Campbell on a free. A promising young CB and the Experience of Sol Campbell. Both leaders. Of course Hangeeland, Upson and Dunne are options.

Comment 14, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.37 am

Platypus said:

... Downing, Ashley and Milner can all play a few attacking positions so it doesn't necessarily mean leaving one out. Also, we all bemoaned how shocking our bench was last season, especially in Europe, so we're going to have to get used to the fact of maybe not having just one starting 11 but several.

Comment 15, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.37 am

Ronan Kenny said:

... A fit Downing would be a good addition, as for Darren Bent clear off. Is this the best we can do??

Comment 16, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.38 am

clarkamus said:

... what happens if he doesn't make it back as expected? no one is not expecting him to come back from this injury where the hell have you got that from? anyway if MON rates him thats all that matters have a little faith in our man in charge

Comment 17, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.38 am

mikey18 said:

... Then we should be really on our way* Get Gary Cahill* Its early

Comment 18, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.38 am

Mowgs said:

... I'm struggling to understand why people would be disappointed if we signed Downing. The guy has 23 England caps, albeit mostly from the bench. He's played well over 100 Prem games and yes is English which should greatly help in hitting the ground running. He can play on the wing or in the centre, would give us plenty more formation options. For example I wouldn't be surprised to see MON playing Downing on the wide left and then bringing Ash into more of a free role in the middle. The only downside for me is this injury. Which coincides nicely with the Petrov for captain link (as he was the one who trod on Downing's foot!). Stan would make a solid if unspectacular captain for me. But I think it's more a case of getting it by default because there simply are no stand out candidates.

Comment 19, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.41 am

Tim Wood said:

... Doesn't the current England manager prefer Downing to Young? Just a question! If he is Englands first choice surely he is good enough for Villa and it would be good to get someone who can cross with their left foot, from the left!

Comment 20, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.41 am

Shashwat said:

... Downing for me should be a good signing and he can play well and i guess villa could be just the right team for him. Defence is the most problem as we lack the quality of Laursen and i would like to see Senderos and Campbell. One young and other talented. And MAN CITY have gone mad. Unless we sign someone our sixth place is gone. We can slip down the table. Fantasy should be a great fun. And can anyone tell me about the friendly on july 15 or somewhere near. I'm totally unaware about it and the PEACE CUP. When is it commencing? Someone please inform me.

Comment 21, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.42 am

TrueVillan said:

... im 50/50 on downing, but it will be a bad signing if it takes a chunk of our transfer fund for someone who might be around for xmas! im hoping, as i said yesterday, this is a deal between randy and MON to buy an early jan transfer, as this is when he would be ready, and in fairness would be harder to sign by then spuds have turned down 12mil for bent already, so how much will he be? and on 90k a week, so im not sure with downing buy we could afford him too, unless we have more money than we think what has happened to bentley? why no defour rumours any more? it would be nice to stop speculating and finally start dealing. i know people say we have time, but players coming and going do so on what they see as the team they are joining or currently with, so the sooner we start showing exactly what money we have and what type of a squad we will be playing with, the sooner things will start to settle down. i suspect if some of the rumours are true, the cost of getting them all would requie a big sale, this can only mean ashley young, he is the only one who could generate a fee big enough to buy 2-3 major signings, he would be a massive loss, and the players we bought with the money would have to be top quality to make the fans happy. at least MON continues his campaign to not buy fullbacks! if we do not buy naughton then we have no other links, did a fullback do something to MON in the past!

Comment 22, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.43 am

Smyth said:

... chasrack It's not that i don't rate Downing its just i don't rate him that highly. I'd definitely take a punt on Bent though you're probably talking at least 11-12mill.

Comment 23, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.43 am

jonnie 5 said:

... I would love to see downing and bently cum in this transfer window. I think we were far to one dimentional last season and i think they would both offer us a different approch going into games. This would allow the likes of milner and web cam to play inside and offer us more creativity through the middle. We are in real need of a leader at the back a centre back is a must in IMO someone proven, or i feel we will struggle next season. MON needs to pull his finger out of his arse and get involved in the transfer market sooner rather that later. As far as darren bent goes I'm not a fan would much prefer to see the likes of tuncuy or martins brought in. This is my first post on this, I read it every day so hello to all you fellow villa fans UTV

Comment 24, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.43 am

AV79 said:

... Mon critized other cubs in the past for singing player without proper medicals,So i cant see him signing downing as you cant say he will ever be the same just look at bouma.He isnt good enough either not at 12 mill i would say 7-8 max. Season long loan with a view to perminat.

Comment 25, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.43 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... If MON really wants Downing, a price should be agreed for January when he is fully fit. Until then we have him on loan. We should not be signing an injured player out right. He might return in November , play a couple of games and then have a reoccurance of his ankle injury and be out for another 6 months!! Also if we do sign Downing I cant see us signing Bentley aswell. Darren bent .....yes please, most underated player in the premiership . Should start for England. Petrov for captain , it has to be . He deserves it and anyway who else could do it. Still no sign of a centre back which worries me a little . Downing Veloso Bent/Tuncay Hangerland Delph Naughton UTV

Comment 26, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.46 am

Leroy said:

... I think Downing is a decent player, but how can we consider spending 12mil on him but not 14mil on Defour? In the end the best and most realistic business we can do is buy Veloso and Tuncay. 12mil on Veloso and 8mil on Tuncay. This would give us a big lift through the middle. I think we would see much less long ball shit as well as both are great with linking up through the short passing game. We totally need to solidify the back four also. Two decent experienced CB´s together with those two signings and i think we would be in much better shape...

Comment 27, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.48 am

Damian said:

... Halfwit Human rights and all that is tosh .. football is a business yes, but above all that it is a game and every game has rules. If a rule of the game is you can only have 11 players you can only have 11 players. If those 11 players are all internationals and they play a team in division 4 with no internationals and only part time players it doesn't mean they can have 13 players on the field to even it up a little. If a rule is, you can only have 3 non British players, it's a rule of the game not of european law or human rights.

Comment 28, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.50 am

Smyth said:

... I don't know this Veloso too well. What's his story?

Comment 29, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.51 am

Eoin Greene said:

... Carew for captain!! Downing is a decent player and would strengthen our squad - but 12m is ridiculous for him - we could get three Downing type quality on the continent for the same price. Harewood and Knight 'top half premier league quality' hahahahahahahahahaha. Whats even funnier is that Knight is probably the best center half remaining at the club - Cuellar could be but we never see him play there.....

Comment 30, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.51 am

d villians said:

... at d end of d day we'v 2 choices 4 captain friedel r petrov were not gona get much lnger out of friedel n petrov is captain of his country n was captain at celtic under mon so its obvious who's gonna b captain n bring in van der vaart 4 barry ozil wud b a gudbuy tore england 21s apart bent wud suit us 2 pacy strikers n 2 dat can hold d ball we need defenders badly doh

Comment 31, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.52 am

toastman said:

... Regarding Bent lets take a look at some stats last season games incl cup competitions. Games Goal Gabby 45 13 Carew 25 15 missed a chunk of last season Bent 42 17 not bad considering spurs struggled in the begining and he spent a lot of time on the bench. Frankly thats not bad, wonder what he could do in a better team. And when he was a charlton after signing from Ipswich so Charton were in the prem 45 games 20 Goals (league games only) I say worth a shot.

Comment 32, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.53 am

cornwalljay said:

... I think people's mutual dislike for downing was down to steve 'umbrella' mclaren picked him in his england squads purley because he was his star man when he was boro manager, his "teachers pet" if you like! At that time I made a snap judgement on him saying he wasn't good enough. Since then i have watched him playing numerous times and think he's a very good player and would welcome him to aston villa with open arms.

Comment 33, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.54 am

bob said:

... Downing on the left would not mean the end to Ash, as well as giving him a deserved rest every now and again it would free him up to play a more attacking role right across the front behind the striker(s), such as ronaldo did some times for united!

Comment 34, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.55 am

Smyth said:

... d villians I don't see what Friedel's done to warrant the captaincy!

Comment 35, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.55 am

ak_27 said:

... As long as MON is not blowing a good chunk of our budget on him then fine. But there are far more pressing area's of this team to fix so i don't want to hear any excuses about lack of funds ext if we go out and bring in another winger. Goes to show what he thinks of Bannan. I would have thought he would be ample cover for this position. He is now 19 and should be getting time on the pitch. I still think Young will be off to Utd if we sign Downing. Just because Fergie said he is finished spending doesn't mean anything. I would say that is SAF way of letting a few clubs know that they won't be held to ransom and he is probably hoping they drop prices.

Comment 36, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.57 am

Keith said:

... Halfwit I posted this link before. 6 + 5 rule is legal under EU law. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/feb/26/fifa-6-5-eu-law-independent-report-bosman-ruling-sepp-blatter

Comment 37, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.58 am

Chrisodon said:

... I'm bored of speculation i just want the signings done so we can sit back and enjoy the season.

Comment 38, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.59 am

Halfwit said:

... I Just wish we could go for a few more foreign we all know they bring somthing different to the table which is needed from time to time especially in europe. I suppose tho right about now any signing will do id even be chuffed if we signed lee trundle Veloso id love us to sign but dont think martin will get him as he aint english

Comment 39, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.01 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... to be honest i don't think Friedel is good enough to be our no1 let alone our captain

Comment 40, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.04 am

DAVIDVILLA said:

... I agree with billy7 could not say it better, LETS GET BECKHAM LMFO UP THE VILLA

Comment 41, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.04 am

Billy7 said:

... Well? Why DJ Downing?? Whats the DJ? Did i miss something?

Comment 42, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.08 am

RichT said:

... Great news on Downing and Bent, both would be great! Damo, leave Downing alone! Is he going to be your new Milner? Target of all your abuse? Add Delph and were looking good. Davies for skipper for the long term. It would do him good.

Comment 43, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.09 am

Halfwit said:

... Ok but that rule still wont get put to use i dont think Its all talk its been a good year or two now since they started talking about it and still nothing has come of it nor have we heard anything about it for ages i just cant see it happening

Comment 44, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.12 am

bass said:

... Downing not good enough, Bent, although i am not gabby's biggest fan, he is better than bent with a very similar style, so far i think even with just the talk in the papers if soem of these happen i think we are standing still at best! there is nothing that makes me want to go and see these new signings and i think we will not be as strong on the first day of this season as we were on the last day of last season. i cant see many premier teams worrying about coming to villa park at the moment. i feel rather down beat!!! I live down south and i am going to watch bournemouth v spurs fri night so will be interested to see who plays for them.

Comment 45, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.16 am

NeilG said:

... I really hope both of these are true. Downing left, ash right milner and petrov middle and Care and Bent up front - gabby as an impact player! Bent has one of the best "prem" records around and the way villa play will really suit him. Yes please to both - then CB + Delph + naughton = job done!

Comment 46, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.19 am

Anthony-Daventry said:

... Im surprised nobody has mentioned yet that Downing totally destroyed the Villa when Middlesbourough won at Villa park last season - peobably one of the best individual performances I have seen from an opposition player for some time.

Comment 47, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.20 am

Mike Carter said:

... cornwalljay, I think you raise a very good point re: McLaren and Downing. I for one resented Downing massively after Second Choice Steve picked him ahead of Young for every match. But then it was blatantly clear he wanted to bum him so I guess it was always going to happen.

Comment 48, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.20 am

Warren Aspinall said:

... Downing would be a good signing, even if he won't be fit until around Xmas. That's exactly the time that the side is usually in need of a lift and him being availble for the run-in would only be a good thing IMO. Also, and I don't think it's been mentioned, he spent a lot of last season playing on the right-handside for 'Boro, to great effect, being able to cut-back onto his left foot and whip balls in. If 'Boro had had someone like Carew (or even Heskey) trying to get on the end of his crosses I'm pretty sure they'd have stayed up.

Comment 49, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.20 am

Paul Egan said:

... If it were a straight choice between Downing, Ozil and Defour, he would be third in line. If we were to buy a creative player to play down the middle as well as Downing, then I say let's get him. I voted for the positive option in the poll, but I'd have picked a middle option if one had been available. He would definitely strengthen our squad and make us less reliant on the good form of Young. Young could also be given a free role - that might be nice

Comment 50, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.22 am

ak_27 said:

... Halfwit i can't see it going through either because it is still using someones nationality as a way of picking one player over another. The whole ethic of the EU is that we are all seen as one EU nationality in a way so i can't the EU allowing this through. All the big clubs will fight this all the way as well.

Comment 51, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.23 am

Wagonwheel said:

... There is a common theme to these comments: Maybe you are wrong Damien, Downing is generally rated. He may not be a Ronaldo, or even a Robben or a Young, but "just" running up and down constantly delivering quality ammunition for the forwards and occasionally chipping in with a goal or two didn't do Darren Anderton's reputation any harm? I certainly rate him better value and more advanced than last years £12m Milner. Surely he can only add to the growth of talent. Incidentally, I am convinced he will play Downing on the left and Young on the right at Milners expense, or Young will be the new Joe Cole sitting in the hole behind who ever MON chooses up front. Either way we will have options, and more options off the bench aswell, which will be an improvement over last season at least. Onwards and upwards.

Comment 52, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.25 am

Billy7 said:

... DavidVilla.... What do u mean u agree with me? Beckham? I didn't mention Beckham!

Comment 53, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.25 am

Keith said:

... Billy7 Downing does stints as a DJ in his local nightclub, playing house music apparently. Should sort his taste out if you ask me!!

Comment 54, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.27 am

Keith said:

... I think the poll is rigged to get the result Damian wants. Obviously Downing isn't pure class. However, he is still worth buying as he is a very good player and we need more of those.

Comment 55, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.29 am

Halfwit said:

... ak_27 Thats what i mean i cant see it happening at all Im sure martin thinks it will happen thats why he tries to sign english players all the time Yes i know we have the likes of carew bouma cuellar and petrov but it seems to me with martin its english first foreign players 2nd Id like it to be equal and sign players based on there skills not there nationality...And no im not calling martin racist before someone thinks that crazy idea

Comment 56, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.30 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... Sorry off subject, are we getting a new home shirt this season?

Comment 57, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.34 am

Damian said:

... Altan Yes

Comment 58, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.35 am

Damian said:

... keefvilla rigged poll to get the result i want? it doesn't matter what i want; my view is that i dont think he's that great and isn't going to kick us on at the moment, most think he will be a good signing, i don't but we use these polls as a reference point. we'll see what people think in 6 months, if he does sign

Comment 59, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.37 am

chasrack said:

... any pics of new home shirt

Comment 60, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.39 am

Stennett said:

... Downing in the January transfer window? When he is Fit? By then we will know exactly what the team needs and if that's him, then so be it.

Comment 61, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.39 am

Keith said:

... Halfwit & ak_27 The 6+5 rule will come in at some stage as both FIFA and UEFA want it to. EU law states that you cannot use someone's nationality as a way of employing one person over another not picking one player over another in a football side. Every club will still be able to employ as many EU, non English players as they want, they just will not be able to play more than 5 at any time. However, I think it will be brought in slowly. For example, from 2010/11 season you must have one English player on the pitch, two from 2011/12 season and so on until 6 minimum. I don't think that MON considers this rule when buying players, he just wants players he knows a lot about, background as well as football ability.

Comment 62, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.40 am

chasrack said:

... any shouts for sidwell coming good this season

Comment 63, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.41 am

Frosty said:

... Downing Stats: I'm not trying to be negative, I actually think he could be good but last seasons prem stats are a bit worrying.. 70 shots - 0 goals 148 crosses 4 assists

Comment 64, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.43 am

Keith said:

... Damian A better poll would be would you like Villa to sign Downing? Yes or No. Not "the lad is pure class". Anywau I think you have a problem identifying good wingers - Milner a prime example

Comment 65, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.43 am

GG said:

... I see no poll and no "Megan"....? Downing like Barry? I thought he's more like Ashley Young (which is why I don't really see what he'd add, except for taking some of the creative weight off Young).

Comment 66, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.45 am

Goldie 7 said:

... Downing was on from in the 2007/08 season so i dont see why he couldn't re-capture that form playing in a better side and not having relegation on your mind for half a season. It's unlikely that we'll be taking 2 players from boro so if there was a possibility we could get Tuncay instead i would prefer him. He to has a good goal ratio that would only get better with service from Ash and Milner. I would play him as a striker mon loves playing players o.o.p so it could work out nicely

Comment 67, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.47 am

Jamie Bell said:

... AV79 - he signed Davies when injured don't forget

Comment 68, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.52 am

Jamie Bell said:

... Altan, it's out 13th August fella

Comment 69, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.52 am

mikey18 said:

... We shouldnt be paying more than 20mil for the pair though. Downing is injured, put in a transfer request and must be a burden on boros wage bill. Bent wants to leave Tottenham and Tottenahm want to sell him, so we should be in a dominant position. 10mil a piece i think, ideally 8mil for downing! But i'd rather with that 24mil but in a bid for lescott! just to see how much he does love the villa! If it got excepted then 13mil for Veloso, Lucus Neil on a free.

Comment 70, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.58 am

ak_27 said:

... keef i see what you are saying and the angle FIFA will approach it on. I just think there is a way to go yet to see if the EU will actually allow it or if they change their laws to stop this loop hole. Will be interesting to follow. Personnally i hope it fails as i want to see the best 11 on the pitch reagrdsless of where they are from.

Comment 71, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.58 am

robdabank said:

... "mon out" what sort of a post is that... not really getting behind the team is it... why are people being so negative..? pls mon sign somebody anybody etc...

Comment 72, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.59 am

colm tarpey said:

... How can not signing Downing and Bent not be a good Idea? Downing carried a team on his young shoulder for a number of seasons, and Bent is a PROVEN goalscorer in the PL. Both have played internationally adn will do so again, but they should be additions to the squad, not replacements for for carew and Young...who are our two most recognisable players. They would be hungry to improve and Bent especially would have something to prove to the Spuds. If Downing is bought to play in the Barry role i woould worry that we would look a bit lightweight in midfield.....it would need to be a five man with Reo-coker (or Veleso or whatever) sitting behind putting his foot in and breaking up play or we would be all cock and no balls... Liverpool walked through us for that reason adn i can see it happen again... Oy! Martin! where's my pint of Haaglandbrau?!!

Comment 73, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.02 pm

Mike Carter said:

... Keefvilla I think you're spot on about O'Neill. I don't believe he's got the 6+5 in mind when he's looking out for players, but it does work as a nice coinsidence for us if the rule does come in to place. We stand to do well out of it, one way or another.

Comment 74, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.04 pm

Keith said:

... ak_27 I don't think I have ever agreed with you. I'm sorry but as an England fan I hope the rule comes in soon.

Comment 75, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.07 pm

peter haworth said:

... Why would we spend 12 million on a player who is seriously injured.Who knows if he will ever be the same player again. He might suffer setbacks in his rehab and not play all season.Surely to risk this ammount of money is insane.Spend the money on another player and leave Downing to next summer and assess him then,if he makes a full recovery.Would love to see Bent at VP he will score a lot of goals and I predict he will be going to South Africa in the England team at the World Cup next summer.

Comment 76, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.08 pm

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... and man city are to confirm the Tevez signing this afternoon and now they are in talks with Adebayor!!! how many more players do they want?

Comment 77, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.08 pm

VillaDude said:

... How many more strikers do Man City want? I actually don't think we will sign a player until August at the earliest.

Comment 78, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.11 pm

colm tarpey said:

... On the flip side, does anyone find it weird that we are apparantly ready to spend 10-12mill on a striker when we have four senior and one junior on our books as it stands and we spent the first weeks of the summer debating whether we had any money to spend to place ML and GB??

Comment 79, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.11 pm

Mike Carter said:

... Not really, Heskey and Harewood are dog poo and Carew might be leaving.

Comment 80, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.14 pm

otv said:

... i think its rather ironic that we crocked downing in the first place

Comment 81, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.14 pm

sss said:

... If Downing is signed he could fill the left wing slot and allow Ash the free role behind the front two or one. He is naturally left footed and can put in a decent cross. With milner on the other side it could be a very attack minded formation

Comment 82, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.14 pm

In MON I Still Trust!! (well sort of!!) said:

... We must leave for Spain around the 23rd July, as our first game is on the 25th, so SURELY we must have some players in before next Thursday!?!?!?!?!?!? If I hear any of the following comments from MON next season, I'm going to scream!!! "we need to give the new lads that arrived on 31 August 2009 at 11.59pm time to bed in. Please give them until Christmas to gel with the squad "we have one of the smallest squads in the premiership and it's taking it's toll on one or two" "we haven't got the resources to rest any of our big players, we just haven't got the sqaud"

Comment 83, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.17 pm

Eoin Greene said:

... I think it will be impossible for the FA to implement a limitation on the number of 'foreignors' playing with premier league teams. It breaks all sort of EU regulations and in my opinion is bordering on racist/eletism. Foreign players have improved the standard of the premier league drastically and I dont care if we have 11 eskimos playing for us - its abouot getting better players on the pitch.

Comment 84, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.22 pm

Keith said:

... eoin1981 It is legal. It has been checked. Read the link I posted above.

Comment 85, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.27 pm

taglor said:

... keefvilla, damian has written some great posts lately, why don't you just not visit here if everyone is below your superior football knowledge.

Comment 86, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.27 pm

jk92923 said:

... i thought a new home shirt was only every 2 years. new one last year...none this year? and where is the sense of having a big release of the away kit...and holding off for the new home one?? answers please!

Comment 87, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.28 pm

villarobin said:

... Bent is very under rated , I cant understand why Spurs fans dislike a 17 goal a season striker who was never really given a chance. Downing would be fantastic back up for Milner / Young and a quality addition. Remember we have Europe + cup games , we need 2 x quality teams really. Bent and Downing are also head and shoulders above Knight and Harewood !! We need a BIG signing or 2 in defence, and an attacking central midfielder though.

Comment 88, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.28 pm

Doc said:

... Toastman nice to hear some sense

Comment 89, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.29 pm

celtic_villain said:

... ak 27 your completely right. sorry damian it should come in, for the sake of the england national team, but cannot and will not; it is unconstitutional. unless european law is changed or britain leave the eu it can't happen - and they aren't going to leave for footballing reasons

Comment 90, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.30 pm

Abdul Kashif said:

... I can't believe that some people are saying that we should be going in for Lucas Neill.. I'm not saying that he's a bad player or anything, but I'd rather we go for Jonathan Spector.. Some of the names being bandied about now are a result of desperation!! I just think that anything can happen between now and August 31st and it will probably go down to the wire. It is a bit frustrating but I can't see M.O.N changing his ways and we all know that he likes to keep everything under wraps.

Comment 91, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.32 pm

Keith said:

... taglor what are you going on about now?

Comment 92, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.33 pm

Doc said:

... sss - good point. A fit Downing would give us options with Young and Milner. Young became a bit one-dimensional and readable on the left (as many have commented), so the ability to switch to a Plan B or C would be good

Comment 93, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.41 pm

Doc said:

... keefvilla - best thing is to just leave Taglor alone

Comment 94, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.42 pm

Mark Johnson said:

... I don't think Bent is a bad shout, we could get and have had worse, games to goal ratio stacks up. I'd like to see MoN spread his wings a bit and bring a couple of foreigners in, all this british stuff is killing us financially, whch is what Sir Alex has just come out and said. As for DJ, it's a bloody big gamble that he comes back to the form he was in before. Oh well 49.1/2 days to go til we calm down and wait for the same frenzy or lack of it in January UTV

Comment 95, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.48 pm

JigzVilla said:

... Doc/sss - Both very good points, when teams started to work us out in the second half of the season as we were one dimensional, (give the ball to AY) coincided with us losing ML and a lack of quality options from the bench. This is what we need to address, we need a plan b and c, have different options in formation, have players that can play well in different positions. This is what Downing/Bentley/Bent will bring to Villa. We need options that we don't currently have. Look at our bench at this moment in time, which player would you bring on to change the game???? (I will wait all day for a answer). We need them options for next season if we are going to push on. I don't see anything wrong with having England or any other international players on our books, whether it be from the bench or in the starting 11. Bring on Bent, Downing or Bentley. But we still need something solid in the middle or the back. But we are going to have to wait, we've all been here before last season and it going to happen again this, but it WILL happen. Mark my words!!

Comment 96, made on July 14, 2009 at 12.52 pm

Paul Bennett said:

... Id be happy with Downing. All last season we moaned about not having a big enough squad and he is just the type of squad player we need. I dont understand some people. You moan that we have no signings and then moan about us signing an England international as cover for the left side? He fits the bill perfectly. This site just makes me angry I dont know why I bother. UTV

Comment 97, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.18 pm

Trezzy said:

... so is there anything concreate in either the downing or bent link? we cant wait till january to get downing cuz other clubs would be interested,take a gamble i say.

Comment 98, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.20 pm

Halfwit said:

... Frosty said: Downing Stats: I'm not trying to be negative, I actually think he could be good but last seasons prem stats are a bit worrying.. 70 shots - 0 goals 148 crosses 4 assists ^^ Now that is bad no wonder boro are in the championship now Downing is pointless for me i dont see where he fits in either Bent...There are much better players out there than him for half the cost Anyone remember us being linked with Bafetimbi Gomis ? Beats Bent hands down

Comment 99, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.40 pm

RAZ said:

... First of all let me just say good shout on using megan, great tits. Next, its now got to the point where im not even interested who we sign but am very worried we wont get anyone at all. Its ridiculous really but im still 100% behind MON and the boys. realistically i fink we need to pay stupid wages in order to progress its just the way of the footballing world - look at barry etc... mercenaries but ive got a bad feeling man city will put a serious fight in next season and i hope we've got the answers!! UTV!!!! AND KEEP THE FAITH IN MON!!! REMEMBER O DREARY DAYS!

Comment 100, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.40 pm

Christian said:

... I don't understand the 'DJ' Downing tag?? Am I being thick? I was out drinking on a school night last night tho, so the penny might drop later...

Comment 101, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.42 pm

Christian said:

... I get it!! He was a DJ in a couple of Middlesbrough's clubs!

Comment 102, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.47 pm

JigzVilla said:

... Halfwit - What are you talking about, Bafetimbi Gomis has scored 38 goals in 144 games, that a goal every 3.78 games or there abouts! In the French League!! Where as Bent has scored 99 goals in 248 a goal 2.5 games....in the Prem with only half descent teams. On them stats how can you compare. Bent is much the better goal scored, this what we need!!!

Comment 103, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.51 pm

Stephen Gilligan said:

... we must be close to signing a defender as Megson has said he close to signing Knight and 2 other players in the next few days,and as I hear MON wont let Knight go until he has cover for him.So it looks like there maybe a signing this week.I hope so anyway>

Comment 104, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.55 pm

Doc said:

... Just thought I'd float this quote from the Football Rumours website. The usual level of truth there is around 0.03%, but it makes for a laugh and some names we haven't been linked with too much yet: "Aston Villa will explode into transfer activity in the next two weeks by making an incredible SEVEN signings. Martin O'Neill is to go against his normal policy of leaving it late to do deals and is keen to increase the squad size significantly before they travel to Spain for the pre season Peace cup. Do expect Marlon Harewood to leave for Hull City though for around £2.5m and Nathan Delfouneso to go out on loan for the season to – Cardiff City. In: Fabian Delph – (Leeds) £5m and a further £2m in future installments Wesley Sneijder – (Real Madrid) £13m Tuncay – (Middlesbrough) £5.5m Phillipe Mexes – (Roma) £12m Ryan Shawcross – (Stoke) £6.5m Stuart Downing – (Middlesborough) £10m Steven Appiah – Fenerbache – Out of Contract Out: Marlon Harewood – Hull £2.5m Nathan Delfouneso – Cardiff (loan) Nigel Reo-Coker – Fulham £6m Isiah Osbourne – Leicester (loan) Barry Bannan – Derby (loan)" Looks tosh to me.

Comment 105, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.56 pm

GL73 said:

... There's only talking of Downing, an injured player. I need some good links with players who can come right in the starting 11, both in defence, on the middle and up front. But I'll be patience, I have trust in the Irishman.

Comment 106, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.56 pm

Rich Clark said:

... completely agree damo... and im lovin the megan fox pics

Comment 107, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.56 pm

VillaDude said:

... How little do people forget?? MON does a lot of his scouting of other players when we actually play against them. On numerous occasions, he has commented on how impressed he was with Sidwell when he played for Reading against Villa, and Milner when he played for Newcastle. Does anyone remember how well Downing played against Villa last season, he tormented our defence and scored a good goal! And anyone that saw the game at boro recently, before Downing got injured he was causing our make shift right back (Milner) so much trouble. If the bid is accepted, Downing will be coming to VP. It's great competition for Young, who at the moment walks into the 1st team and was getting complacent towards the end of last season. I jus wished all these links/rumours/swoops etc were finished and we actually was getting players in!

Comment 108, made on July 14, 2009 at 1.58 pm

Mike Carter said:

... People need to stop looking at Downing as competition for Young. That can, and would both play in the sam starting XI.

Comment 109, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.04 pm

Steve said:

... Guys quick question, while I dont agree with what Man City are doing in the transfer market, who is villa's equivalent of Gary Cook?! Now I know he comes across as a bit of a pratt however he is clearly told by mark hughes who to buy and then he is on to it. Granted he failed with Kaka and Eto'o but he has now brought in Tevez, Santa Cruz and Barry this summer and spent £143 mill since the takeover. Obviously we aren't spending anywhere near the same but do we have an equivalent figure?!

Comment 110, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.05 pm

Keith said:

... Doc If that happened we'd have a even smaller squad than last season. But excuse me while I dream of signing Sneijder.

Comment 111, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.06 pm

1 New Villa Blogger said:

... Doc Bowles - Its definately tosh as Shawcross has just signed a new contract Sneijder would cost more than 13m and Mexes would cost more than 12m.......that is if they woudl actually come to us!

Comment 112, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.08 pm

Mike Carter said:

... Mexes has said he wants to stay with Roma anyway.

Comment 113, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.10 pm

Mowgs said:

... Gary Cook is a complete arsehole. There is no worse man in football than him right now in my opinion.

Comment 114, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.11 pm

Keith said:

... jonnycarew MON is the answer to your question. I think that you will have to consider that Hughes doesn't always decide who they will buy.

Comment 115, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.18 pm

Mark Johnson said:

... Mowgs.... Yes there is... Alex McLeish LOL

Comment 116, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.21 pm

Dale Wootton said:

... says on distans wiki hes a villa player

Comment 117, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.25 pm

Dale Wootton said:

... well it did lol

Comment 118, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.26 pm

lucky4 said:

... Im hearing alot of rumours that knight is joining bolton at the end of the week for 3.5m! Its good that we can sell him for as much as we bought him for but that will mean we need another 2 centre backs and yet again mon is letting players go before bringing any in! This morning i read on the villa website that knight wants to be the one to replace laursen and that he is looking forward to playing for villa this season and yet now he is joining bolton! Seems weird to me! Would be sad to see him go cause hes been decent enough when called upon but if we got 2 in like distin and upson then i would be happy!!

Comment 119, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.28 pm

Mozza said:

... 148 crosses is a good return! If he was crosing in to Carew or even heskey I think he might get a few more assist's don't you? He's a very decent player and I would like to see him in a 5 man midfield with ash, downing, stan, milner/NRC/sidders and bentley. In that order with stan holding! Pretty sure that would work nicely and could change it round to 442 or swap ash and bentley inside for downing and milner etc. Seen spuds are offering 11 mil for both kyle's from sheff utd. We should be snapping them up. Cover for Rb and Lb. Both will be sh!t hot in a couple of years! Then raid mancity for Micah Richards and one of their forwards. Bellamy, bojinov, caicedo?? Or benjani.

Comment 120, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.34 pm

clarkamus said:

... zat is staying red the official website it is the only place you will get the truth about villa

Comment 121, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.35 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... the sooner they bring in the 6 + 5 rule the better, the english game has almost lost its identity and the national side will get worse, imo. teams like arsenal are a disgrace, foreign manager and at times 11 foreigners in the starting 11,can you imagine that happening in spain italy etc.the english game used to be a good physical game now its full of whinging diving cheating bstrds.

Comment 122, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.45 pm

Mike Carter said:

... Not necessarily, he's just saying he wants to play a part. Doesn't mean he will.

Comment 123, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.46 pm

Macstar said:

... http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Sylvain Distin&hl=en&ned=uk&tab=nw has sylvain distin joined villa????

Comment 124, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.53 pm

Macstar said:

... http://www.google.co.uk/search...stin&meta= sorry thats it...

Comment 125, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.54 pm

Macstar said:

... Sylvain Distin (born 6 December 1977 in Bagnolet) is a French footballer who currently plays for Aston Villa, having joined them in the summer of 2009. ... this is it underneath sylvain distin wikipedia, but if you open it, it says hes still at pompey??? confusing...

Comment 126, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.56 pm

Mike Carter said:

... It's just someone dicking about with the page (anyone can edit). It'll get fixed soon.

Comment 127, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.58 pm

Ed Villa said:

... Never trust wikipedia......

Comment 128, made on July 14, 2009 at 2.59 pm

Macstar said:

... Still, i hope your not right

Comment 129, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.01 pm

Warren Aspinall said:

... I wouldn't be suprised if Distin is a Villa player very soon....

Comment 130, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.16 pm

Altan Kargaci said:

... If Zat is going to Bolton then maybe Gary Cahill is coming home.....!!

Comment 131, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.28 pm

Christian said:

... This isn't really related, but the other night I was chatting to one of the Villa physios- in fact, she's Curtis Davies' personal physio, and she said to me his shoulder injury was terrible and still isn't right. I think that, in addition to Laursen's absence, explains a lot toward why he became a liability at times.

Comment 132, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.30 pm

Halfwit said:

... Tezez conference delayed again i wonder if he went to the wrong stadium in manchester lol Come on martin i want a villa press conference

Comment 133, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.34 pm

David Lewis said:

... Downing will be fit in September!! Just in case anybody is interested, I had the same injury as downing playing sunday league football about 2 weeks before he did. I'm ok now and building strength up - my last physio appointment is at the beginning of August - after that I would be ok to play again. I can now run and jump and twist and turn, but am a little hesitant at being on the receiving end of a tackle. Ok, so I've not got to enter the rigors of premiership football. But if Downing has recovered at the same rate as I did he should be getting the all clear by the middle of August, then its just a case of building up match fitness and strength. I would also anticipate his physio would be a lot better than what I have received from the NHS... although I can't complain. Mark my words, he'd be playing by september... As for if he is a good signing... I like to judge with the benefit of hindsight

Comment 134, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.48 pm

Steve said:

... Was clearly never going to happen but thankfully Bramble has signed a new deal at Wigan anyhow!

Comment 135, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.48 pm

stephen said:

... i loved the middlesbrough away game last season when cuellar slid in for a challenge when he should of stayed on his feet and petrov gave him a right old bollocking

Comment 136, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.53 pm

vogra said:

... Dont want to bring this site down or anything like that but Megan Fox...wow....id do standard 20 years for that..

Comment 137, made on July 14, 2009 at 3.59 pm

TrueVillan said:

... linked with andy king instead of fabian delph! FFS! hope that is paper talk, otherwise we really are scrappin the barrel! with harewood and knight almost gone, we must be about to sign someone! the villa training ground will look like a ghost town, they can barely play 5 a side as it is! and when will the club and young speak out about the rumours, wheater and boro did it, hangeland and fulham did it, so why not clear this up, unless there is some truth!

Comment 138, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.14 pm

jk92923 said:

... is there any way of knowing if Villa call a press conference? is it just through the press or do they release details over the web?

Comment 139, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.27 pm

In MON I Still Trust!! (well sort of!!) said:

... Is it me or is this becoming a bit of a joke? FFS make bids for your targets and lets get some deals done. The longer it goes on the more I think MON has alot less money than we thought!

Comment 140, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.38 pm

Nathan said:

... all our main targets are slipping through our fingers we'll end up signing: 6 league one rejects, sylvain distin & jim magilton knowing MON he just hasn't got the pulling power to lure big players, I fear we may have had abit of a false dawn under MON. 4 years into the '5 year plan' and we've still got a tiny squad.... it's 13th for us this year

Comment 141, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.44 pm

Stathis said:

... LoL the poll results are soo even at the moment

Comment 142, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.44 pm

Mike Carter said:

... This is ridiculous - football in real life is not like Football Manager people . You can't just make a bid, offer a contract, and have it done. There are appropriate channels to go through and it's a lot more long winded than some of you appreciate. Take Dirt Harry for example. If we want to sign Bentley, or any other Spurs player for that matter, it's going to take days (if not weeks) of first going through Harry's attempted negotiations to try and get something from us. Don't forget the selling club holds all the cards - ultimately they will explore every possible avenue to try and get the best deal they can. They're also under no obligation to respond to the buying club in any certain timeframe. We may contact a team, even make a firm offer, and they don't have to get back to us until they feel like it. Some people are very misguided in how these dealings work. If it was that easy, we'd see signings galore from all the teams. What does the lack of transfer activity nationwide tell you? Nobody is going to make it straightforward for anyone.

Comment 143, made on July 14, 2009 at 4.57 pm

Tim Wood said:

... all our main targets are slipping through our fingers we'll end up signing: 6 league one rejects, sylvain distin & jim magilton knowing MON he just hasn't got the pulling power to lure big players, I fear we may have had abit of a false dawn under MON. 4 years into the '5 year plan' and we've still got a tiny squad.... it's 13th for us this year Exactly what main targets are slipping through our fingers??

Comment 144, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.04 pm

Paul W said:

... Who's voting yes??

Comment 145, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.08 pm

David Lewis said:

... Totally agree vivavilla... about time somebody said something that actually makes sense. Too many people on here think choosing which players to buy is like choosing which pie you want from the chippie! (By the way, its chicken and mushroom )

Comment 146, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.09 pm

Stephen Gilligan said:

... well we wont be getting huntelaar he is off to stuttgart.

Comment 147, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.14 pm

Mike F said:

... I don't see anything in Downing to warrent 10-12 million. Marty better get off his keester and "sign" someone instead of "track" them... I see us getting Delph this week- Leeds need the cash.

Comment 148, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.22 pm

Tim Wood said:

... Who's voting yes?? More people than voting no!

Comment 149, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.25 pm

toastman said:

... stop panicking and relax it will all happen soon

Comment 150, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.34 pm

Anthony Laud said:

... well every other club doesnt seem to struggle like we do to bring players in before pre season so it cant be that hard. There have been over 50 prem signings already. we just have clueless outdated Onsnail in charge!!

Comment 151, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.36 pm

toastman said:

... remember this MON can go out and buy 6 players tomorrow if he wanted but they won't be to the quality we need, the quality players take time.

Comment 152, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.36 pm

TrueVillan said:

... we have not signed anyone because at the end of the day it comes down to wages, and we have a low ceiling cap compared to all the top prem clubs, we can argue the rights and wrongs of this but it will affect signings man city are dealing not just because they pay high transfer fees, but because they are paying high wages they are not even in europe, yet have signed CL players. we will never get anything close to this type of player, not because we cannot afford the fee, but because we will never get near the wage they will want. that is why we need to scout for up and coming talent, here and abroad, and why we might need to pay a little extra in the transfer fee, as we will save on the wage hopefully a batch will come off at the same time and propel us into the top 4, i was not originally in favour of this, but now think we need to conclude dals for the likes of delph, naughton and hope thay come off

Comment 153, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.37 pm

toastman said:

... The only way we can compete is through the youth system and being smart in the transfer market, Forget Man City there dealings are on another planet we are not in that league. And frankly it wont last, a war in the middle east will put paid to the mad market city are in, unfortunatly a good english club like Man city will suffer when that happens.

Comment 154, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.43 pm

ak_27 said:

... toastman i agree but being smart in transfer market and only looking to purchase English players don't go together. Also if we do sign Downing that really says everything about MON not giving our youth a chance. Bannan is probably our brightest youngster and he is now 19. Surely he is good enough back up for this position?

Comment 155, made on July 14, 2009 at 5.47 pm

Juan Pablo Angel said:

... I wouldn't be suprised if we announce five or six deals at once and thats us done for the summer. It may be hinging on the negotiation of the Naughton and Delph contracts which seem to be the ones in all the papers. I would fancy that Campbell, Distin, Bentley, Downing and Bent are pretty much done. I figure we've been negotiating with Bent for a while but the papers didn't know who at spurs we were talking to hence all the rubbish about jenas,hud,hutton etc. I fancy the Veloso deal might be pretty much a dead cert too, no one except bolton are interested and they can't afford him.

Comment 156, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.00 pm

Juan Pablo Angel said:

... Completely agree with Toastman, we need to follow the example of Everton and concentrate on signings and fees that suit the club as well as bringing the youngsters through. we do after all have a pretty good academy system. We will overtake Everton soon unless they get bought out, it is clear to see from last season and the noises coming out of Villa park this season that we have more funds available than they do. The wages thing doesn't seem to be such a problem for us either, i think MON is just a man of principles and you only get big wages if you deserve it i.e offering Baz £90,000 a week before he went to eastlands for £140,000!!

Comment 157, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.03 pm

TrueVillan said:

... ak27 totally agree, been saying this for a while, we need to look to europe more for signings the delph situation goes to show that even a 'prospect' if english, commands stupid fees on this occassion we may need to bite the bullit and pay up, but a better european scouting system would provide this kind of quality for a third of the price!

Comment 158, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.05 pm

Doc said:

... ak27 Once again...the point has been made several times in this thread. Downing would NOT be a back-up for Ashley Young. With Downing playing on the left, Young could move either to the right wing or into the "hole". Much of the tactical criticism of O'Neill last season was about how readable Ashley Young became and how O'Neill lacked a Plan B. This looks like the emergence of a Plan B to me, with two wingers who can switch flanks or - in the case of Young - be played just behind a front man. It makes perfect sense - and it may also allow Milner to take up more damaging positions. I am one of many who don't think Milner is a natural winger.

Comment 159, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.22 pm

Richard Bunn said:

... Doc Bowles I concur

Comment 160, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.27 pm

rob h said:

... milner will end up a right back

Comment 161, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.27 pm

Mark said:

... I think some players are for "show" and some for "dough" to use the golf parlance. Downing is for "dough" in my book, perhaps not spectacular, definitely not a goal scorer and not particularly fast. Put him in the right team however and he will feed the strikers with quality ball. He's disciplined and has a good first touch.

Comment 162, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.27 pm

Richard Bunn said:

... We need more options and we need them now. Teams now know how to play us, the novelty wore off by February last season. We had a good season, but need to kick on and take 5th consistently.

Comment 163, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.29 pm

Doc said:

... ...and another point: I don't give a toss whether the signings come from Britain, Europe, South America, Africa or bloody Afghanistan: as long as they're well thought out and give us more quality tactical options against sides we've struggled to break down. This is a key window for O'Neill, and the signings have to be very intelligent, not just quick and big-money. If we get in six or seven players who clearly give Villa options both in the starting eleven and on the bench, that will be a window well managed by MON. The other point is, do we know yet who the daft spenders are going to let go? If Adebayor does join City, then they will have nine strikers. Real Madrid have talent all over the field which may be left on their bench. The players in question are big players, and signing them isn't like making a piece of toast. And to really f*** Somersetvilla and Taglor off, yes - I do still trust in O'Neill. By the way, good to see you back. Somersetvilla.

Comment 164, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.30 pm

richyvilla said:

... And frankly it wont last, a war in the middle east will put paid to the mad market city are in, unfortunatly a good english club like Man city will suffer when that happens. er........there is a war in the middle east quite a big one actually

Comment 165, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.30 pm

Jeremiah Wood said:

... I think Downing is a good player, and I'm all for adding another good player to the squad, whether he starts or not. No more Routledge and Salifou coming off the bench - no wonder MON never substituted anyone.

Comment 166, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.30 pm

toastman said:

... Jaun Pablo angel I'm saying that O'neil should only buy Engish I would like him to try Abroad as well, but I feel we are most likley a season away from the likes of Nathan Baker and Cirian clark, bannan, delfonzes and Albrighton making the grade, if so MON will have to stop buying in those positions and introduce them like Fregie did, once again its a judgement call on his behalf. If 5 players from the youth suddently make the grade, MONs got a nice problem to deal with. remember Eugo one season he was crap the next, it's as if he had woken up.

Comment 167, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.35 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... http://footballtalentspotter.c...razil.aspx This seen on newsnow. Is this a real rumour or just more one plus one = three?

Comment 168, made on July 14, 2009 at 6.57 pm

M'ON CLARET+BLUE ARMY A V F C said:

... OFFICIAL...Sylvain Distin has signed for Aston Villa on a 3-Year Contract, for a believed to be in the region of £2million!! (AT LAST!!!)

Comment 169, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.03 pm

VillaDude said:

... Where do you get the news for distin? Only website I will beleive is the official site...

Comment 170, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.09 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... I smell a liar..

Comment 171, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.11 pm

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... somebodies pants are on fire

Comment 172, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.12 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... I dont get why people do that, serioulsy whats the point?

Comment 173, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.14 pm

clarkamus said:

... why say that when it is untrue plonker

Comment 174, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.17 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... all he wanted to do was to get a reaction just ignore it.. so anyway when is mon gonna sign someone??

Comment 175, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.20 pm

toastman said:

... All transfers are first published on the offcial site, hence every now and then I look on there. Whats the point of having your own website if you don't give yourself the exclusive.

Comment 176, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.22 pm

James Clift said:

... I Think we should all just accept that the money simply is'nt there. If we had money O'neill would be spending it. The American bullshit that the board have had us believe for the last couple of years is running out.

Comment 177, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.25 pm

VillaDude said:

... I dont think MON will sign anyone until August....once man city have finished their business...let clubs like spurs and villa feed on anyone left.

Comment 178, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.26 pm

toastman said:

... Jimbo O Yea of little faith. he who can stay calm within the storm will triumph.

Comment 179, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.29 pm

Jae86 said:

... ak_27 signign downing has no bearing on Barry Bannan at all, yes he is left footed but by no means a left winger. The guy is small and not very pacey but sits in the middle and pings passes for fun. Hes very much in the Hitzlsperger or Barry mould. I don't think we will sign Bentley as a winger because Ash can cover and Albrighton will get more game time plus gabby can play there too so left wing is a position we do need cover for and Downing would be great cover. Theres 1 player who nobody has really mentioned for a long time and MON sees him as a future holte enn dhero, whats everyones views on Isiah Osbourne. I personally am a bit dubious but Mon likes him. As for centre back whoever is calling for Senderos is an idiot he was the laughing stock of Arsenal. There is only 1 player to replace Laursen in my eyes and that is Hangeland, so my realistic guess of the targets would be very close to the reports, Downing Hangeland Bent and possibly Veloso, Delph will need at least a season to adjust to premiership pace and naughton will go spuds Ozil will end up at Bayern most likely and Borowski back to bremen. Hopefully we see more of Harry the future forrester too

Comment 180, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.34 pm

Rich said:

... Anyone agree Kranjcar would be a good shout? Creative midfielder, used to premiership, etc

Comment 181, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.34 pm

ak_27 said:

... Doc Bowles who loses out in your formation? Is it Milner another 12m player? What im saying is if we do have budget constraints i really feel the winger position is one where we may already have adequte cover for another season at least until we see what Bannan and Albrighton can do. Its is down the centre the big money needs to be spent. Now maybe it will and maybe we have more money to spend then we think we do but i can't see MON playing 2 many games this season with 1 up front. Mainly as he has 4 strikers to chose from and will not want 3 constantly sitting on the bench. I still think MON will probably build his team around Heskey dropping deep. I can't see any of our current 4 strikers being to happy with sitting on the bench for that long going into a world cup year. Which makes me wonder about the Darren Bent rumour. Another striker in would surely mean Carew leaving.

Comment 182, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.35 pm

toastman said:

... Jae86 this what i was saying sooner or later our youngsters will push through and MON is going to have to make a decision, look at Rodwell and how he has come on. i feel these kids are close very close.

Comment 183, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.39 pm

Rich said:

... Jae86 Isiah Osborne. From what I've seen has very little impact and has had enough opportunities. The game seems to pass him by. Can't remember him making significant mistakes or blunders but on the other hand can't remember him doing anything!

Comment 184, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.39 pm

toastman said:

... the jury is our on Isiah as I think he is 20+ and he should be knocking on the door for a first team place.

Comment 185, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.45 pm

jfourplusone said:

... Darren Ben - no thanks. When typing Darren Bent into Google the first suggestion is "Darren Bent Miss" If he was that good Spurs would issue a hands off and the top 4 would all be linked with him. I think we should have higher expectations.

Comment 186, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.47 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... Every time I look at a picture of Fabian Delph I get a funny feeling. Now I've worked it out! He must be one of Dion Dublin's many offspring! MON - sign him up at whatever cost - NOW!

Comment 187, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.49 pm

Ed Villa said:

... Does anyone remember when we were told that MON could spend 30m on 1 player if he wanted??

Comment 188, made on July 14, 2009 at 7.57 pm

darren26villa said:

... this is really a big load of stinkin watery nut filled sh*t!...i hate the lack of activity....its like going out with a chick who wont go down on you!

Comment 189, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.04 pm

Halfwit said:

... Yep i remember that and i do belive randy would do that but martin ohhh no He dont agree with spending huge huge ammounts on players while O Neill is in charge we will never see a £15-20 Million signing

Comment 190, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.04 pm

ed Yates said:

... wont it be nice when we finally find out who will join our force, which to me is sooo strong. its very easy to bite to the comments etc. i think the not knowing is killing us all!!!! we HAVE to trust MON, i think that any addition to the team he makes will be in the teams best interest for the long run. ahley young wont go, or carew, i have no time to worry about anything just to look forward and support MON in his choice!! WE HAVE TO TRUST HIM!!! at a time when things are so exiting and no news is good news lets show our total full suport, get our season tickets and stuff anyone in our path!!!! villayates

Comment 191, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.33 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... i wonder what really went on with mellberg and martin o'neill, for a player who has still got it, he could of come back with open arms from the fans for 2 million, instead of going to a weak european team, I really believe knight might leave us very soon and that means we will be two defenders down, i wouldn't want to sign upton and campball, we would be a laughing stock with the gay jokes, about showers EG, so how many world class defenders are availble out there, 3 days to go now until we sign our very first player, friday july 17th.

Comment 192, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.43 pm

holte ade said:

... This is just boring now. the papers are just full of made up shit. Nothing on ssn about the villa and the official web site is so dull if you spend more than a few minutes browsing it you could fall into a coma.We all know we need players and lots of them but the thing that really frustrates me more than anything is the lack of communication from the club and mon.I know he can't tell us his transfer targets or how much we have to spend but the odd positive comment here or there would go a long way to ease the fans anger at the lack of activity.we make our support loud and clear on matchdays(spending hard earned money to do so) it's time the club gave us some back with a bit more info.

Comment 193, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.47 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... if we signed players in the begining of the transfer market it boost sales on season tickets for new players, if you sign a world class player or bring out a home shirt for our last home game of the season the shirt it sells more stock so they can afford to drop the price, i rate martin oneil has a mid table or uefa cup manager and he has done a good job for us, his problem is he sells alright players and then he moans that he can't find cover for them, lets hope this would be a good transfer window for us this season

Comment 194, made on July 14, 2009 at 8.53 pm

Altan Kargaci said:

... Leicestershire AVFC You forgot this bit ...... 3 days to go now until we sign our very first player, friday july 17th.

Comment 195, made on July 14, 2009 at 9.00 pm

Kevin Curtis said:

... oh yeah, thanks altan, i remember starting 17 days to go from july the first and i got a lot of stick for it, wouldn't it be funny if we did sign a player on friday 3 days to go now until we sign our very first player, friday july 17th.

Comment 196, made on July 14, 2009 at 9.06 pm

Halfwit said:

... Leicestershire AVFC its a good guess your 3 prediction (we know its not fact) But i still think its a bit to early for the snail martin

Comment 197, made on July 14, 2009 at 9.12 pm

Nick said:

... Downing is a very good player. He would not exactly walk into our team especially because Ashley Young is that much better than him. But he would be a valuable asset and it would allow us to try either Ashley or Downing in a different role etc. I would be very happy if we could sign Downing, we need at least one more quality winger because there is no one after Ashley and James. And as far as im concerned Petrov is the only possible selection for captain. Who else could it be? Friedel? NRC? Young or Young? Bent is a good striker, but I dont rate him ahead of Gabby, Carew or... well maybe I rate him ahead of Heskey. I cant see us bringing in another striker, especially one that wants a lot of playing time. I can feel a rush of signings coming..

Comment 198, made on July 14, 2009 at 9.25 pm

David Tyler said:

... Nick, downing couldn't walk into the team anyway... not until November

Comment 199, made on July 14, 2009 at 9.58 pm

lindenio said:

... my patience is wearing thin with MON and his transfers

Comment 200, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.00 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... I was talking to a Villa fan Saturday just gone and he said he had bought a Villa shirt for his son recently and asked to get Carew's name put on the back but was told they had been told not to put Carew's name on back as "they weren't sure what was happening with him". Was a bit of a suprise but he did not appear to be bullshitting

Comment 201, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.22 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... have you been saving that one sid ? lol

Comment 202, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.25 pm

lindenio said:

... SELL Reo Coker - 5.5m - Spurs or Fulham Knight - 3m - Bolton, Wolves Harewood 1.5m - Boro, Hull Delfouneso - Loan - Cardiff, Sheff Utd, any Champs team Osbourne - Sell 1.5m - as above Shorey - 4m - Spurs, West Ham, Fulham Salifou - Loan - Championship team plus Barry has gone for 12m and we should have got a 2m plus insurance payout for Laursens Knee injury causing him to retire, also Taylor went to Man City for about 1.5m TOTAL = 31 m INS We should theoretically have 20 - 25 m to spend plus the 31m for players who have left = approx 55m we need to start buying quality players, not the typical english crap he keeps buying. A few big names, plus a few squad additions Drenthe - 5m Van Der Vaart - 10m Jenas - 6m K. Naughton - 6m Distin - 2m Vagner Love - 15m Upson - 6.5m Tuncay - 6m NET SPEND 56.5M THEN the squad would be Friedal, Guzan L.Young, Naughton Bouma, Drenthe Upson, Cuellar, Davies, Distin Petrov, Sidwell, Jenas, Van Der Vaart, Tuncay, Gardner, Milner, A.Young Carew, V.Love, Agbonlahor, Heskey Why cant O'Neill just pull his finger out...... f**ks sake i know we'll end up with players like Bent, Delph, Downing and Bentley - overated and over priced

Comment 203, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.26 pm

sean jones said:

... Just found this article on the Aston Villa news website about Ashley Young. Apparentley according to the Guardian MON wants to keep Ashley Young, he's not intrested in a part exhange deal, and only a bid on 30 million would tempt him, but even then he would not be willing to cash in. All we need now is MON to come out and say, or Ash to confirm he's staying. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/14/ashley-young-aston-villa-tottenham

Comment 204, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.32 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... confused, been busy. Not sure MON would tel the club shop of his transfer plans but there you go

Comment 205, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.36 pm

Damian said:

... Ed Villa That was back in the Ellis days ... its different under Lerner; no bullshit words, just actions!

Comment 206, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.43 pm

Fitzy_7 said:

... if we sell carew our season will be over before it begins,thats how highly i rate the lad

Comment 207, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.46 pm

Martin Clabon said:

... I don't get out much, who is Megan Fox?

Comment 208, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.46 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... im gonna go in the clubshop tomorrow and buy a top and ask for youngs name on it

Comment 209, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.49 pm

7 said:

... anybody seen a sneak peak or rumoured copy of new home shirt or wat day it gets press release

Comment 210, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.50 pm

Ed Villa said:

... Damo, I could of swore I heard it more recently, Last summer I'm sure. Think it may have come from The General. Or am I dreaming?

Comment 211, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.54 pm

Benno Turland said:

... I think Downing would be a great buy only because we should and could move the team around. What i think should happen is that MON should put Downing on the left, Webcam on the right and move Milner into Barrys place in the middle. I like Milner but he can't cross for shit. He has a great engine so would be ideal in the middle. That would be right tasty acroos the middle. Downing - Petrov - Milner - Young Just need to sort out a partner for big JC as i don't believe Gabby will get any better unfortunately........

Comment 212, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.54 pm

Rubben said:

... confusedvillafan bad news already tryed they said cant have names on until squad numbers come out :/ alsoooo im sure everyone remebers this . i still go crazy when i see it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nev6ZuSqiac

Comment 213, made on July 14, 2009 at 10.54 pm

sazavfc said:

... damn did you see tevez get raided by hundreds of city fans at the ground? THATS WHAT I WANT!!! A PLAYER THAT MAKES EVERY VILLA FAN RUN TO VILLA PARK IN EXCITEMENT!!!!!!

Comment 214, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.02 pm

7 said:

... no one got any ideas on new home shirt

Comment 215, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.02 pm

kohoutek, home now and name still not working properly said:

... The American bullshit that the board have had us believe for the last couple of years is running out. As is the English bullshit of inventing the game and seeming to be clueless how to play it or develop players, even get passed up by the French.

Comment 216, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.05 pm

whining_villain said:

... i havent wrote for quite a while and i bet you can guess why lets just face that he is not a good enough manager in the transfer market to keep the club fighting for forth place if we get veloso and campbell fair enough but fabian delph who plays in league 1, i dont know about you but can you see this as an improvment and nauhgton its ridiculous and im hoping they are just rumours im not sure downing would be a ideal signing either because we have got ashley young there and bent is not a proven prem scorer for you who thinks he is i think we are making a very stupid decision and selling young thats why we are after downing

Comment 217, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.07 pm

sazavfc said:

... it looks as if we keeping the home shirt the same. our first game is next week. so unless we release it this week, we shud be keeping it the same

Comment 218, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.07 pm

darren26villa said:

... saza....doesn't isiah osbourne do that for you??

Comment 219, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.08 pm

sazavfc said:

... whining_villain. u might aswell stop writing again. Trust in the manager. He'll come through. I thought we were trying to make this a positive blog?? Fair enough its your opinion, but even if we sign the players that you dont want us to sign, u will still support and love Villa. So what difference does it make to who we sign? We get relegated to league 2 and ill still support them as i do now!

Comment 220, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.11 pm

whining_villain said:

... We should theoretically have 20 - 25 m to spend plus the 31m for players who have left = approx 55m we need to start buying quality players, not the typical english crap he keeps buying. A few big names, plus a few squad additions Drenthe - 5m Van Der Vaart - 10m Jenas - 6m K. Naughton - 6m Distin - 2m Vagner Love - 15m Upson - 6.5m Tuncay - 6m NET SPEND 56.5M are you mental first of all i heard we had 55m from what RL was giving out and 12m from barry second of all take out naughton and put in campbell we need experiance and thirdly van der vaart would cost about 15m if madrid bout him for 20m

Comment 221, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.13 pm

sazavfc said:

... darren26villa lmaoooo that was a good one. I did get really excited when we signed the 'next Zidane' Salifou!

Comment 222, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.14 pm

whining_villain said:

... i dont know how to use the quotes sorry everyone

Comment 223, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.14 pm

robbo said:

... Damian, If you could choose the owners of Villa, would you swap Lerner for the current owners of any other premiership team (excluding Man City)?

Comment 224, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.17 pm

Andy Scarborough said:

... Thanks Rubben - I like this one too, especially the bit about the pie near the beginning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3VFKW64pSI&NR=1 All Our Yesterdays. Imagine All Our Tomorrows. UTV - SOTC

Comment 225, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.17 pm

Steve Badger said:

... whining_villain, i havent wrote for quite a while and i bet you can guess why Yep I can guess why. I'd guess it's partly down to your username (what's that about?) But more likely down to the shit that you spout. Criticize if you're not happy when the window shuts, imo.

Comment 226, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.19 pm

d villians said:

... mon know's what he's doing he's one of the managers in the world and certainly the manager we could get he will bring in players dont worry about that he know's we need players but look what we'v been doing wit the smallest squad in the league things take time city will learn that spendin just for fun on just strikers took chelsea two year to win the when they done it but wheres th champions league have faith in mon he's great just dont let young or carew go

Comment 227, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.19 pm

d villians said:

... it's not out till august 11th in ireland

Comment 228, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.21 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... straight to the point badger

Comment 229, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.27 pm

whining_villain said:

... badger... whats badger about and i dont spout shit im giving my opinion i think city will do shit this season i hope and i dont think any team should spend what city spend and we never spend a lot and we get the job done but he needs to look abroad for once

Comment 230, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.27 pm

sazavfc said:

... Look you whining bastard, MON is the expert, not you. He will be the judge on whether we need to go abroad. How do you know we need to look abroad? Your just a fan not a foootball genius. Whoever MON buys, as far as im concerned, is the right choice.

Comment 231, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.39 pm

Steve Badger said:

... No point messing, confused whining, Why choose a name like that? I think a few posters on here ought to have the same username, as it happens, but there you go. So you don't think we should be in the market for the top young talent? Well that's a viewpoint, I suppose. Bent isn't a proven prem scorer? Of that list in post #221, how many times have you watched those players? If you're someone who spends all your time watching footy, fair enough. But I'll bet you've never seen more than half of them more than once or twice.

Comment 232, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.41 pm

7 said:

... damien is that defo bout new shirt Altan said: ... Sorry off subject, are we getting a new home shirt this season? Damian said: ... Altan Yes

Comment 233, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.45 pm

whining_villain said:

... Of that list in post #221, how many times have you watched those players? actually i dont know more than MON saz but i just think we do and i live in sheffield so ive seen naughton play 2 seasons vagner love 2 times against us upson, tuncay, jenas, distin they play in prem and only ones i havent seen more than once are van der vaart and drenthe and i couldnt think of any other name so thats why its that

Comment 234, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.47 pm

confusedvillafan said:

... whining ...you`ve watched naughton for 2 seasons is he any good,would he improve us ?

Comment 235, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.53 pm

Steve Badger said:

... whining, Let's just look at what you said; i havent wrote for quite a while and i bet you can guess why lets just face that he is not a good enough manager in the transfer market to keep the club fighting for forth place How do you know that? I'd say we'll see this season. Things will be harder, but if we can achieve 6-7th and Europa again, I'll be happy. if we get veloso and campbell fair enough but fabian delph who plays in league 1, i dont know about you but can you see this as an improvment and nauhgton its ridiculous and im hoping they are just rumours And you don't even include them in your list of "wants"? im not sure downing would be a ideal signing either because we have got ashley young there and bent is not a proven prem scorer for you who thinks he is i think we are making a very stupid decision So Ash can't play on the right or in the hole? and selling young thats why we are after downing smilies/angry.gif Who says he's going anywhere? You should stop believing the rubbish in the papers mate. Don't get me wrong, if we sell Ash, I'll be calling for MON's head too. But not until. That's the difference between a supporter and someone who likes to just whine.

Comment 236, made on July 14, 2009 at 11.59 pm

sazavfc said:

... lol haha watch when damian sees this. hes gonna be like 'stay on topic! u wanna cuss each other go to the forum!'

Comment 237, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.00 am

sazavfc said:

... well played bagder. thats what im talking bout!

Comment 238, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.01 am

confusedvillafan said:

... saz, some people just need tellin. Damians probably had 15 beers and he doesnt give a shit at mo but just in case, i think downing would be a good signing and petrov for captain

Comment 239, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.10 am

avfc1983 said:

... EXCLUSIVE!!! Kyle walker and Kyle Naughton spoke to spuds today to discuss possible moves I live in Sheffield and have a friend that knows kyle walkers mum

Comment 240, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.10 am

confusedvillafan said:

... avfc1983, its already been in the press mate

Comment 241, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.14 am

fatkevs said:

... Leicestershire AVFC can you post a stab at lotto nos for friday aswell we should have a vb punt

Comment 242, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.20 am

avfc1983 said:

... confusedvillafan yeah just seen press, they went down to london today my source said it will be sunday until anything happens

Comment 243, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.27 am

Steve Badger said:

... avfc1983, rest assured mate, if Villa have put a bid in for Naughton, he'll be talking to us too. It's basic business mate and nothing to worry about. If we don't get him, it'll be because a) he's too expensive (trannsfer fee) and MON doesn't rate him that highly. Or b) Redknapp is going to pay him stupid wages. b) is the most likely imo.

Comment 244, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.28 am

avfc1983 said:

... Yeah true mate i hope we get him a checky last minute bid you no whay MON is like

Comment 245, made on July 15, 2009 at 12.30 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... but onto the main point, is Tevez the ugliest football in the PL?

Comment 246, made on July 15, 2009 at 3.19 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... meant to say "footballer" but i am tired

Comment 247, made on July 15, 2009 at 3.20 am

colm tarpey said:

... 7... why would he lie?!

Comment 248, made on July 15, 2009 at 4.30 am

simondgm said:

... Someone I know with contacts in the press reckons deals for Downing and Jenas are close to being announced.

Comment 249, made on July 15, 2009 at 8.30 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... Downing yes , but Jenas I really do not rate at all . So I hope your contact has got that bit wrong . Oh well...... UTV

Comment 250, made on July 15, 2009 at 9.22 am

Mike Carter said:

... And someone I know with contacts to O'Neill reckons he's close to deciding what colour lawnmower he wants.

Comment 251, made on July 15, 2009 at 9.23 am

colm tarpey said:

... http://www.guardian.co.uk/foot...-tottenham O'neill has finally come out adn said Young is not leaving

Comment 252, made on July 15, 2009 at 9.33 am

Doc said:

... Interesting result on the poll, eh? Looks like a majority think Stewart Downing would make an excellent signing

Comment 253, made on July 15, 2009 at 9.55 am

Matt Riding said:

... did anyone else hear ian wight on talksport last night mention that he has it on good authority that patrick vieira is gonna sign for a midlands club - so if this is true vieira has already ruled out the blues! so he must be coming to us right?

Comment 254, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.02 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... did anyone else hear ian wight on talksport last night mention that he has it on good authority that patrick vieira is gonna sign for a midlands club - so if this is true vieira has already ruled out the blues! so he must be coming to us right? Probably West Brom.... Do we really need a Vieira type ? UTV

Comment 255, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.05 am

TrueVillan said:

... same old tired stories in the press again! if rumours true we will sign a player out until xmas, a fullback we will loan back to his club, and a youngster untried at thia level, well, that will certainly allay any fears the squad is too small! all so painfully slow and even if we get some of he targets mentioned they are average, really losing interest now, just hope that we pull something out of the fire and make an exciting signing or two, but beginning to doubt it!

Comment 256, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.16 am

Chrisodon said:

... I Hope it's not true as i can't stand the moaning f**kwit.

Comment 257, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.16 am

Chrisodon said:

... It's quite sad we're actually looking at getting vieira a 30 odd has been, when there's Veloso and the likes just waiting to be snapped up. Also where does that put petrov in the midfield ?. Worrying times.

Comment 258, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.19 am

Ronan Kenny said:

... Vieira is finished, and i very much doubt MON would pay the stupid wages he would want. Bolton (Gary Megson) seems pretty confident of getting Knight.While i dont rate knight we cant keep selling players and not replacing them. 3 players out and none in,looking good.

Comment 259, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.24 am

confusedvillafan said:

... so chrisodon ian wright apparently says viera is gonna sign for a midlands club and you put 2 + 2 together and get 5 and start moaning,unbelievable !

Comment 260, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.30 am

Altan Kargaci said:

... To be honest if Knight were to leave I think that would be a good indication that deals are wrapped up and have just not announced. I have a bad feeling these will be our news players... Distan Campble Downing Delph WoooooHoooooo.........!!!!! UTV

Comment 261, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.30 am

ak_27 said:

... Surely Viera would still be a very handy player to have at the club. We need a really agressive CM in my mind. A NRC who can also pass. Now i haven't seen him play in a while and it probably isn't a good sign that Inter don't want him anymore but he still has to be better then what we have at the moemnt (Petrov aside).

Comment 262, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.40 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... i see rednap has turned down 14mil for bent from sunderland, so that means we won't be getting him as mon won't pay more than that, cause as we all now it is his own money he is spending

Comment 263, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.47 am

Chrisodon said:

... Well if he's turned down birmingham he's hardly going to accept wolves is he ?. And i can't see the championship calling for him. And if want to moan i damn well will it's the club i support so if i'm not happy i'll say so even if it's just speculation, I Could sit with my rose tinted glasses on and say trust in mon he'll steer us right like you've probably done confusedvillain. So in the interest of future comments please don't comment on my moaning and i won't comment on your blind ignorance towards the clubs faults.

Comment 264, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.50 am

ak_27 said:

... deansaundersperm i hope that is the case. I hope we don't waste so much money on a player like that. Bent coming would surely mean Carew leaving.

Comment 265, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.50 am

nath888 said:

... Can't see MON signing Viera, he's got far to much of an attitude problem for him

Comment 266, made on July 15, 2009 at 10.54 am

confusedvillafan said:

... so its the clubs fault or mons fault who the press link us with then. you whingers have been told many times to wait and see who we actually sign until then its unfair to critisize.

Comment 267, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.01 am

ak_27 said:

... confusedvillafan i really don't why you are even on this site. We have nothing else to comment on other then transfers rumours. In fact you are worse as all you do is moan at other bloggers. That is just boring.

Comment 268, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.05 am

Az said:

... Wouldn't mind Viera for a cheap price (not really sure how much he's worth) but we would need to add somebody else imo, Velosa or Defour or whoever. It's not like I've seen either play but we need quality in midfield. If we brought in 2 midfielders I guess we could sell one. I can't see things working out for Sidwell, Reo Coker on the other hand I reckon is worth keeping. Wouldn't mind Kranjcar either, I think somebody mentioned him earlier. f**k knows who we'll actually end up with though!

Comment 269, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.10 am

confusedvillafan said:

... ak and why are you on this site,your a big time whinger too.i may whinge at other bloggers but i dont constantly slag off our manager chairman club etc because of what i read in the papers or what i hear down the pub.as has been said by others if by the start of the season we havent signed some quality then i will be moaning just like you

Comment 270, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.14 am

Billy7 said:

... Vieira? Hahaha! Not a chance, if we signed him we might as well give up, but we wont sign him. Cant believe someone said he'd be happy with it?? We're clutching at straws, its frustrating but i've got a feeling it'll be worth the wait! And like said above, lets not criticise until we know who we're signing. And even then we'll have to wait to see how the new players do (be it Vieira/Defour) until we can moan, top 6 again i think, so i wont be moaning! UTV AND ER, KEEP THE FAITH?

Comment 271, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.17 am

ak_27 said:

... So confuse will we all just sit here until then and not write anything? This would be a very quiet blog. That is the whole point of the site. To make comments. You seem to get mixed up between whinging and commenting on wheither someone thinks a certain player will fit into the team. Why not for a change make a statement about a player instead of a blogger? If you don't agree with someones point of view why not make a case for why you think certain players would be good/bad for this club other then this boring rubbish of throwing abuse at people.

Comment 272, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.21 am

Halfwit said:

... 12MILL downing fee agreed ssn now

Comment 273, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.24 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... so just personal terms and a medical then.....oh hang on

Comment 274, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.27 am

Tim Wood said:

... We're also not after Veloso according to SSN http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5434358,00.html

Comment 275, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.29 am

Tim Wood said:

... Sorry try http://www.skysports.com/story...58,00.html

Comment 276, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.29 am

Tim Wood said:

... And looks like rafa's up to his old tricks!! http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/f...page_id=43

Comment 277, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.31 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... of course we don't want him, he has silky skills and he's a johnny foreigner

Comment 278, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.31 am

john said:

... 12m on this crock? Even i'm disappointed at this one.... http://www.skysports.com/story...95,00.html

Comment 279, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.32 am

jonnie 5 said:

... villa have agreed fee with middlesbrough reported at 12 mill just announced on talk sport

Comment 280, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.32 am

Simon said:

... BREAKING NEWS ON SKY - Villa agree 12 mill for Downing

Comment 281, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.32 am

jonnie 5 said:

... for stewart downing sorry missed that bit

Comment 282, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.33 am

Robbie Wells said:

... Timmyrara, that's typical. Doesn't interest our manager. No wonder he doesn't interest him, because he's probably never heard of him. He's not english and he doesn't play in any of the top three english divisions. For this reason, how could he ever play in the Prem? I know who's better, that crocked twat who can only ever kick the ball 10 feet ahead of him and run on to it...if there's a defender in the way, then so be it, he'll lose it. Poor man's Gareth Barry.

Comment 283, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.33 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... yeah, i would be more worried about the pool link than the chelsea, man ure and spurs link

Comment 284, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.33 am

confusedvillafan said:

... i havent abused anyone ak i certainly havent abused you.im not saying dont write anything either it just gets so depressing reading the same old from the same old Mon has got to go he hasnt got a clue,lerner out bullshit just because the press have linked us with shit players, ok.dont you find that boring.p.s. downing on the left bentley on the right ash up front with carew and milner in the middle with veloso lol !

Comment 285, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.33 am

jonnie 5 said:

... halfwit u beat me to it thought i might b first fair play

Comment 286, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.34 am

Billy7 said:

... when Villa announce it, fee with Downing, really need MON to insist its not to replace Ash, otherwise i'll be worried until August 31st.

Comment 287, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.35 am

Halfwit said:

... Timmyrara ... We're also not after Veloso according to SSN http://www.skysports.com/story...58,00.html Thats obvious he aint english

Comment 288, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.36 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... of course downing could still turn us down, and wouldn't that be a kick in the balls (and not out of the realms of possibility)

Comment 289, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.38 am

ak_27 said:

... confusedvillafan fair enough. I am getting a bit sick of it(transfer window) all now. Just wish the season was here. Does anyone know if the peace cup will be shown on any channel?

Comment 290, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.38 am

Simon said:

... Just thinking of the worsy players ever to represent England. After Geoff Thomas, S Downing must be up there

Comment 291, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.40 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... mon has probably made a deal with ash that if we aren't there or there abouts come jan he won't stand in the way of a move......oh and look who will be fit come the end of the year

Comment 292, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.40 am

Halfwit said:

... Lmao i would laugh if he turned us down haha I dont no where he will fit in anyway

Comment 293, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.41 am

Simon said:

... I think Ash will go in the Jan window as SD is expected back about this time.

Comment 294, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.41 am

deansaundersperm that's perm said:

... symbas you copy cat

Comment 295, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.42 am

Simon said:

... Saunders perm, bugger you read my mind

Comment 296, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.43 am

Simon said:

... All we need now is Sol Cambell, marcus bent and that thug from Newcastle

Comment 297, made on July 15, 2009 at 11.44 am

woody said:

... At last martin no'deal seems to be getting off his arse although it seems like a 'buy now, play later' deal. does this mean Ash will be leaving. if it's true he's had a falling out with the manager, i would say he' off because Mr no'deal holds a grudge. there is still no mention of any defenders coming in which is a major worry, especially now zat shite seems to be on his way (thank god) and we are now accepting offers for shorey. this always seems to be the case at villa, we get one in and sell 2 or 3. c'mon NO'DEAL get yer f*****g act together your not working for Doug Ellis now. Just one other thing, do we have any scouts that are not scared of planes or boats, or is there a rule that we can only sign british players Martin No'deal OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT wouldn't be so bad if he was a decent tactical manager, he isn't, he's shite!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment 298, made on July 15, 2009 at 3.12 pm

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