Written by Damian Thursday, 03 June 2010 09:52
I could link back to something said by Martin O'Neill a few months ago. Pick out a gem from Randy Lerner or his PR monkey. I could even link to a video of an Aston Villa goal that was created from open play.
I could do lots of things to try and pass off that there is very little going on and the simple fact of the matter is, we shouldn't be surprised. How about this for a crazy idea; if Liverpool really have offered a way of for Rafa - why don't we approach him and see if he wants the job at Villa?
He is far younger than O'Neill, far more successful than O'Neill - even in this country and will be successful at whatever club he joins next and I just think, if we want to be successful, then we have to be looking at managers like that.
O'Neill certainly wouldn't join Liverpool and I'd actually be extremely surprised if Liverpool wanted him. He wouldn't go there because of the pressure and the need to bring success to the club. Look at Rafa; a 57% win rate, Champions League, second in the league, Champions League runners up, FA Cup winners and then things like Super Cup winners and winning the Charity Shield. Red Rafa joined Liverpool in 2004. Now, it isn't a trophy a season but it is very close but the reason Liverpool want rid of him is because Liverpool put huge demands on their manager and if the manager doesn't deliver they get a new one in and they keep doing that until they find the man that can bring silverware to the club. It also appears that at Liverpool you can bring the biggest trophy in club football to the club and it counts for nothing. Rafa has gone stale at Anfield - that is all. Wherever he goes next he will have success, that is if he does go anywhere. If the money that is getting reported is true, he might very well retire - and actually, if he did, could you blame him? This story has appeared on my email alert again this morning. Apparently he has refused to commit to the club. Well, is this news? No, it is just regurgitated nonsense. Of course he isn't going to commit to the club - not on that back of a pay rise alone. James Milner wants to hear about the plans. He wants somebody to tell him what the owner wants to achieve and how he is going to do that. If that doesn't stack up then he'll do the off. It is clear as day he likes it here but you also don't have to be a genius to figure out that every young player wants to win things and they want to be successful. If Milner leaves; it isn't because of money, it is because he will believe he has a better chance of winning things at his new club. Now - can we please, just until after the World Cup, put a lid on Martin O'Neill; he is going nowhere and doesn't even know the transfer window is open and James Milner; well, it isn't about the money. He wants to win things and maybe O'Neill can convince him. It is very much big picture time for James Milner now. James Milner
Ascone Villa
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We shouldn't approach Benitez, simply because we have a manager much more able to take us forward.
Who, in this country, has O'Neill managed to help him become more successful than a Liverpool manager? Walsall? Leicester? Villa?
Benitez took over a club who had players to win the Champions League (12 out of the 14 used in Istanbul were there upon his arrival).
Conversely, O'Neill took over a team battling with relegation and has had to release THIRTY THREE of those players (only 4 were his signings), yet 4 years later, he is sitting above Benitez (with less money spent).
It would be ridiculous if we showed any sort of interest in any other manager whilst we have O'Neill.
Carlos is a centre back!!
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If Milner does go and I personally think he probably will, it will be a massive indicator of how much Randy is prepared to put into the club to take us to that next level,
Barry and Milner would have not been convince by his words or actions and will speak wonders.
Clarkamus
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does anyone really expect james milner to have one meeting and then sign a new deal for villa? these things take time he will concentrate on the world cup and then mull it all over, who can blame him for wanting to focus on playing well for england? i wouldnt expect us to do any business in the transfer window until after the world cup neways
M5Villa
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Rafa?..................... you're having a laugh. However, we do need to convince Milner of our intent and a couple of decent signings (a goal scoring forward for one) before the end of the World Cup wouldn't go amiss. If, at the end of the day, he does decide go to Citeh and we can get Stephen Ireland in part-ex I think that would also be good business. So come on Martin, we haven't got to keep waiting for the last days of the transfer window to buy.
Coops_lfc
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Liverpool fan in peace. Like the majority of Liverpool fans I'll be gutted if/when rafa goes. He has done wonders when you look at dumb and dumber in charge. He has a yearly net spend of £15 million from a club that minus the interest payment and debt would make a yearly profit of £50 million. You could do much worse than getting Rafa Benitez as your manage. Yes he has his flaws but doesn't everyone. His record speak for itself.
YatesyVillain
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I personally think if Man City are prepared to offer a deal valued at around GBP30mil for Milner then we'd be mad not to take it - it will drive us forward and is clearly the best option from both a business and a sporting perspective. Drive a hard bargain, but if we get 20mil plus someone like Ireland I reckon we'd be fleecing Man City and getting the better end of the deal by a huge margin. There are only a few clubs capable of making these sorts of bids in the current financial climate, and if they want one of our players then we just have to try and drive as hard a bargain as possible, but get the deal done and move on. If Milner is the be all and end all of this club we are in trouble. For 30mil he's replaceable. Ireland is like for like (maybe better if he recaptures form) and to get 20mil on top to spend on a top striker or another playmaker....happy days. Milner fan, but a realist. Get it done Villa!
The Droyd
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Regarding the Liverpool managers job, I hear that David O'Leary is available and sources close to the Irishman indicate that he would be very interested in taking the reigns.
Carlos is a centre back!!
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I agree with what you are saying YatesyVillain and I think it will be a good deal for Villa but it's just a bit worrying that 2 of our best players over the last two years have not been convinced by Lerner and MON of the way and speed the club is heading. Wrong or right you can't hide away from this fact.
mickey86
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damian
because Liverpool put huge demands on their manager and if the manager doesn't deliver they get a new one in
change ''liverpool'' to ''villa fans'' and sounds really familiar.
so the blog that has labelled a manager fat spanish w****r now wants fat spanish w****r as manager.
and yea he did well at liverpool, but like u say when you refer to MON doing well at celtic. its harder to fail at a big club than it is to succeed. its not like he finished 2nd in the league, won the fa cup, champions league all with everton. he did it with liverpool.
croni
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Ask Rafa? oh my sides are splitting!
I love these delusions of grandeur
hmmm, let me think, will I got to Villa, a relatively successful side with a limited budget, or will I got to the current Champions League holders, Serie A champions and Italian Cup champions, with an unlimited budget. God, its a tough one
Damian
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mickey86
everone is allowed to change an opinion and i think you will find that while it is easy to say 'this blog' you might find it wasn't me calling him a fat 'spanish w****r'
also - i dont think villa fans really do put huge demands on the manager. not in the grand scheme of things. if we finish 6th or 7th next season all will be okay because we will fall into that place where we accept it - where we convince ourselves we are not big enough or the city is s**t and nobody wants to live here and that we can't afford players and that we should be happy with europa league
we are not demanding supporters. the majority are accepting
croni
delusions of grandeur. nice. but how do you know rafa wants to go manage in italy and how do you know that his wife and children do not want to desperately stay in england. it is extremely easy to find reasons why something might not happen and to not put yourself somewhere you might get knocked down from.
Ascone Villa
i would hardly say one season was 'a team battling with relegation' - but to use one of your examples - how many of that squad that finished 16th also finished 6th 2 seasons before and if anything, what does that tell you? it tells me that managers are limited and that it isn't all about players it is about what your manager can do
john doyle
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would love to get rid of mon the club is to big for him thats why he wont take risks with everthing he does every body can see that even to the point of no subs being used when we are in the s**te no fringe players ever played no youth players ever used
all these things point to mon is scared of loseing and this rubs off on the team most of the time if a team sit back at villa park thats it we cannot break them down he wont go at teams and most of the time he is happy with a draw if not we would now be in the CL now
Mon his happy where we are and he is happy to be an avarage club and not take risks that is his account training for you .if we want to get to the next level we need to have some one who will go for it play the kids give them a chance buy some flair players like we used to have you know mon wont do any of the above but i wish he would then he would not be called marmite as he is in our pub because you either love him or hate him fact
Ascone Villa
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Exactly.
And our manager can consistently improve his club's league form every year. Unlike certain Liverpool staff.
frem
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does anyone know the squad numbers 4 the england players ? if so please tell me milners
Damian
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Ascone Villa
i admire your optimism but what does 'exactly' mean
do you agree with me that we are standing still with o'neill - or do you think we need to stand still longer or he will miraculously manager to get us into the top four?
i say miraculously because it will be a miracle. have you already forgotten the football we got served up for most of last season, the season before and the season before and .. the season before that
all o'neill has managed to do is get us back to where we were. he isn't capable of getting us further without serious investment. but that is opinion and it just happens to be mine
frem
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damian - wouldn't the meeting of been about the plans and ambition we had ? surly it was. milner obviously wasn't pleased about what was said and wants to move on
Andy
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Looks like the Villa trio won't be in the starting 11. Milner 11, Warnock 13, Heskey 21.
oO Red Oo
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(12 out of the 14 used in Istanbul were there upon his arrival).
Yeah but the game was won and the integral goal was scored by Alsonso, whom he bought for next to nothing.
Don't forget that.
john doyle
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carlos you are right the good players eg barry milner who will both be part of englands world cup bid can see that we aint going nowhere as i put in my last post we need a few flair playrs to go with mons runners and some new coaching staff at any other club gabby would have a proper first touch by noe as it would have been worked on every day until it was right thenn he would have gone to world cup ther are more things wrong at the club than right at the moment thanks to marmite mon
Andy
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does anyone know the squad numbers 4 the england players ? if so please tell me milners
frem...must have read your mind....just put the numbers up above for the villa trio 
VillaJigz
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I think most of the Villa fans on here are more realist rather than not demanding, I for one demand the best from the team, but realise that there is so much we can do with what we have on the field and off it. In the MON reign, we have most certainly improved as a team and advanced in the league!!! And I'm happy with that, considering the teams we are competing against with the wealth they have!! At the end of the day excluding Arsenal, we have spent the least out of the top 7 clubs over the pass 6 season!! Damo we haven't got a Sheik as an owner we have a business man running the club as a business, which is the best thing for the club, seeing as there are new Fifa rules about clubs being self sufficient and as so the limit on foreign players……Villa is well positioned for of them changes. The only major thing I’ve disillusioned with is the lack of effort in the Europa League!!!
frem
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Aston Villa management are upbeat over their chances of hanging onto James Milner after crunch talks yesterday. The Birmingham Mailsays Milner and his representative met with chairman Randy Lerner, boss Martin O’Neill and chief executive Paul Faulkner on Monday. Villa’s three power-brokers re-iterated their stance to Milner that they do not want to sell him to Manchester City or other rival clubs. The fact that all of them were keen to schedule the extra pre-World Cup talks and be there in person is a sign of Milner’s increased importance at Villa. And Monday’s meeting at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training headquarters was described as “positive and productive” by all parties. But Milner left without fully committing himself to Villa and his future will not be resolved until he returns from South Africa in more than a month’s time.
different outcome from other reports
The Droyd
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There must be f**k all happening if we are debating a hypothetical question about Benitez to Villa. That really is from outer space.
Lerner has announced that O'Neill is staying a couple of weeks ago so I am not worried about O'Neill leaving. Especially to a debt ridden club with no money that is for sale. They finished lower than us in the league and are in desperate need of moving to a new stadium.
I would like the Milner issue resolved. I don't care if he stays or goes but let's get it sorted quickly. £30 million + or a new contract with the Villa. I don't like the idea of us paying his wages during the summer whilst he covets a new club.
John Salter
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Rafa - No thanks, we already have a far better manager! Rafa can clear off to Italy, Spain or somewhere else as far as I'm concerned.
Villa haven't stood still just because they got 6th spot again. Mercenary City have their dirty money and Spuds have Harry Redknapp. Villa ended the season above Liverscum and so I think they did improve on the previous season.
No FA Cup Semi last time or a Carling Cup Final in which both games we were robbed by the Ref. The MON bashing doesnt convince most fans of the club thats why they dont whinge and whine!
Milner didnt sign a new contract on the spur of the moment because it would have been stupid to do so especially with the wolrd cup looming and his agent would have advised him not too.
If he has an outstanding world cup, his value soars, if he doesnt he stays, either way great! What Villa dont want to happen is for him to go on a Bosman!
Chiefy
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Regarding the Liverpool managers job, I hear that David O'Leary is available and sources close to the Irishman indicate that he would be very interested in taking the reigns.
how much would I roll around laughing
The Droyd
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Some interesting points by Laursen about the merits of Heskey on the club website.
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/Foo...94,00.html
Whilst I agree with what he says, they still aren't good enough reasons for picking him for England. Or Aston Villa.
Andy
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So.....If MON does go to Liverpool, can we call him all the names under the sun, like most Villa fans did with Gareth Barry..?!! 
Shevaish
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Does anyone know if villa are to have anymore preseason fixtures announced?
Also with the Walsall friendly will there be an away allocation for the villa fans?
Rob_The_Villain
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Hahaha Rafa, are you serious??? Damian, your anti MON and Lerner rants are just ridiculous!
Do you honestly believe MON and Rafa would swap places? They more than likely hate everyone behind the scenes at each opposing club after the Barry saga!
If Rafa ever did become the manager of Villa then I'm no longer a Villa fan! It'll never happen anyways, no chance!
This blog is just getting stupid!
Chiefy
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MON won't leave, MON needs funds Liverscum have no money at all, they will sell their best players and be left with nothing or very close to nothing.
Liverpool will use Ken Daglish and Rush till they either sell the club or O'Leary sends in his C.V, for now they need someone like Hughes or Hodgson just to keep them a float till they get brought MON wont want to nor does he need to do that, if he did probably better of without him because moving from us to them is like trying to walk the wrong way on an escalator............going nowhere apart to a place where you will get your house and car robbed !!
Damian
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Rob_The_Villain
i dont actually expect it to happen
but really, you writingIf Rafa ever did become the manager of Villa then I'm no longer a Villa fan!
is the stupid part. you base your support of the club on the manager and you'd walk away form the club if we got such a successful manager. i tell you what; why not just pop along to league two and pick any old manager - you'll be happy because he wouldn't be successful
i even call it a crazy idea - but if we could do it - get a manager like rafa benetiz, then i'd have a lot more hope for next season than i currently do
Chiefy
dont be surprised if liverpool have new owners soon
Ascone Villa
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"Exactly" referred to that I agreed that football progress was about what your manager could do in a "limited" environment.
I think it's blatantly obvious how far we've come since MON took over and I think you've forgotten about some of the football we were served before O'Neill came in (42 goals scored in O'Leary's last year). And of course, we got progressively worse under Taylor and DOL, finishing 16th in each their last years - wheras Villa's Champions League dream has got closer every year under this regime (the last time they came 4th, they got 63 points - we got 64 this year in a much more competitive league).
And some of this poor football you have referred to: does this include the 71 league goals scored (Villa's highest ever Premier League record by 14) in MON's second year?
Does it include the fact that last year, Ashley Young became the first ever player to receive 3 Player of the Month awards in the one season?
Does it include 2 consecutive Villa players winning PFA Young Player of the Year (2 players who cost the same as Benitez' annual net spend)?
I know that I am very bias over all-things-O'Neill, but I honestly feel that these beliefs are not unfounded.
However, I do agree that we can't get further without investment - but I don't think that this is the manager's downfall. Redknapp has been able to spend over £70m since arriving at The Lane (and of course are more competitive than our £12m transfer cap); whilst City have spent £125m in the one season! It would be unreasonable to expect little old Aston Villa to break the mould with no investment when, in fact, I think O'Neill has done exceptionally well to remain "standing still" in today's environment.
Andy
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Damian....I was not worrying that MON would go to Liverpool....Far from it....It could be a good move...? 
I was just pointing out how stupid people were to have jumped to their own conclusions as to why Barry went to another club and how some now are ready to have a go at Milner for not committing or if he does leave Villa. Make no mistake, if Milner does leave Villa for another club, it will be because he genuinely think it's to further his career. It may not further his career, but none-the-less he will only leave because he genuinely feels it for the best reasons. Just like Barry did.
Damian
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Ascone Villa
i'm not forgetting anything but i am not basing everything on one season (i dont count graham taylor in his second spell as it was never going to work and everyone knew that - it was a huge risk but one taylor was right to take and we were right to offer)
you seem to base our progress on one season under o'leary
when actually o'neill has had 4 seasons and he hasn't taken us any further than o'leary (6th) and no closer to top four based on points needed to get fourth based on what he finished on (the closest o'neill has taken us is needing 5 more points - the exact same o'leary acheived
my point is and you agree - unless o'neill is given more money, it isn't going to happen. do you think o'neill is going to get more money?
i dont think so - so what then; we just accept nothing or do we look for someone that can develop without the money
or here is an idea; we start protesting an owner loved by all?
my point is, we wither accept what we have or we look to get better. what do you want to do; get better or stand still?
Chiefy
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Chiefy
dont be surprised if liverpool have new owners soon
I do expect they will have at when they do why would you want MON to waste your money ?? If what is said on here is true then MON has spent an awful lot and we are not in the top 4, now liverscum have fell out they are going to find it hard to get back in and MON has proved he cant do that, even with the second highest investment in the league ( might be wrong there ). If Liverpoo do get new owners they will want to show intent and show they are here to win, if nothing else to get the fans on side, this is why I dont think MON name will even touch the table, Hiddink, Klinsman, Scolari, Jol these are some of the names that will be linked signing MON doesnt show intent, sorry but it doesnt.
Damian
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Chiefy
that is why they will not go for o'neill adn why o'neill is great for us
o'neill has no record of doing it and liverpool will want to bring in a manager that can
Andy
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Chiefy....The reason MON is probably a favourite for the Pool job is exactly because they have no money to spend. MON is not generally a big spender on star players and I think the Pool owners would be looking for that sort of stability for a while. Maybe until they are in a healthier position to sell the club to a rich buyer. Then, if MON is indeed Pool manager at that time he will be sacked for a big name manager. Just like Hughes was shown the door for Mancini. MON to Pool is not as far fetched as you think if you actually examine what Pool really needs at this time.
The next manager of Liverpool will be one that keeps his head down and does as he's told, which MON is that type. The managers you mention Chiefy ar not the quiet unassuming types.
vivavilla
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Would you really want Rafa at the club? A man who insists on rotating to the extreme and having only one striker?
No trophy makes a man immortal. Whatever success Rafa may have enjoyed he did so long in the past. This season he quite clearly went start-raving bonkers and totally lost the plot.
I don't want that man at Villa, thanks.
Chiefy
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I see the next manager of liverpool being someone like hodgson or hughes someone who can give the stability, while MON doesnt sign big name players he does a good job of spending lots of cash of smaller name players which i dont think Liverpooo could offer him, I also think he would struggle because they have so many players from outside of the uk,
frosty
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Rafa has gone stale at Anfield
Thats putting it kindly, Rafa has turned into a mentalist who brings off players like Torres when 2 - 1 down and chasing the game.
He's lost the dressing room at Liverpool due to odd decisions like this, speaking to a Liverpool fan this morning he thinks Rafa going is the only was they could get Gerrard to stay for another year, we will have to wait and see if thats true.
Liverpool suddenly linked with Santa Cruz.. smells of Hughes to me.
croni
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Damian it may be easier but it doesn't necessarily make it less true.
Villa definitely progressed under O'Neill last season and I really can't see how they're seen to be standing still just because they finnished 6th
They reached one cup final and another semi-final. They also had to contend with the emergence of Spurs and City. They did all this while having to replace both Laursen and Barry. The inclusion of the players in the England squad also indicates the level of improvement in the team.
I would take O'Neill over Benitez any day of the week
Rugby Villan
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Ascone Villa. Thanks for saying pretty much everything I was thinking.
Perhaps it's not the club that needs a new manager but the blog ...
Chiefy
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Liverpool suddenly linked with Santa Cruz.. smells of Hughes to me
You have done well my dear Watson
Just when Oleary was polishing his cuff links as well
frosty
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Just when Oleary was polishing his cuff links as well
Think he's still working in Tescos in Skegness waiting for his big chance.
Ascone Villa
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I think O'Neill will get MONEY... how much of it, I'm not sure.
Yes, O'Leary got us 6th (albeit with 56 points), but he got drastically worse as his tenure went on. His effect bares no comparison with MON's.
And whilst I think it will be hard for O'Neill to break the top 4, I can't think of anyone else better prepared to do it (especially considering it's his team). And I think that, considering where we have come from, we should be grateful that we are even standing still - where I think a less competent manager would see us slipping backwards.
But I think it's also harsh to say that we have stood still when this year, our fight for 4th lasted 37 games and our cup consistency was finally sorted.
frosty
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A little off topic, world cup rules for the missus to follow, simply print and place on the fridge door..
http://forum.earlybay.com/view...=1&t=24085
Damian
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Ascone Villa
i dont think anyone doubts o'neill will get money, what people doubt is he is going to "significant funds" - without significant funds it wont happen with o'neill
as for o'neill and o'leary - what o'leary did only goes to further demonstrate how important the manager is. o'leary was absolutely useless and he took us backwards. there is a very strong position to say that o'neill has taken us as far as he can
as for where we have come from - that is you talking about 1 season again. we have come from greater things than 6th
and we have stood still. it is where you finish that matters. gloss it over if you want to make yourself feel better but we finished 6th. like last season and the season before
John Salter
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Damian - I'm starting to get the feeling and it's just a tiny suspicion, that you don't like MON
Apart from not rotating some players or playing Luke Young at right back and Carlos in the middle sometimes to gives Collins or Dunne a break, he did exceptionally well to compete with Liverscum, Spurs and Mercenary City, didn't he? 
Chiefy
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I think O'Neill will get MONEY... how much of it, I'm not sure
I two think MON will get MONEY but I dont think he will get the sum we need to compete, just out of interest does anyone have an idea on the sum of cash it could possibly take us to compete?, thats with the team as it is now.
Ascone Villa
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It's not based on one season, it's based on the last 10 years.
Yes, we were once a great club and even competed in the early Premier League years. But we have been far from that club in the 21st century and it's down to Martin that we have had the audacity to expect again.
Well put it this way: knowing the type of O'Neill, he wouldn't have agreed to stay on another year if he felt he wouldn't be equipped with the "significant" artillery to take us forward. So either the right amount of funds will be there, or he believes the current rate of progress (and it has been progress) will be sufficient to eventually see us back in the big time.
Some people might argue against his superb managerial skills, but he is a very intelligent man and he wouldn't be hanging around for no reason.
Damian
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Ascone Villa
do you really think expectation is down to O'Neill; really?
as for o'neill - do you really think he is staying on for another €3,000,000 because he thinks he will be able to kick on?
has has 3,000,000 reasons to hang around
Chiefy
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Aston Villa star James Milner insists representing England at World Cup finals is a boyhood dream
and just you remember who got you there and who made it possible, if it werent for us you would still be getting mugged on the wing for 90mins !!!!
Andy
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I don't love or hate MON. However it is fact that MON has spent an awful lot of money on many players. He's spent modest money on each player, but collectively he's spent a lot. The problem with this, I feel is that MON does not use a lot of players, so either way he's wasted a lot of money. If he's say bought less of these very average players and consolidated that money on less players of real quality, then I'd say he'd done a good job and I genuinely feel we would have had more success.
I could understand MON buying all these players if he was going to have a proper go at the Europa League or acyually utilise the squad better in the league or cups, but he does not.
I don't think for one minute MON will change his tactics. That's just how MON plays the game. What I do hope he's learnt is to manage the finances and transfers better. I'd much rather see less players coming in, but of much better quality.
And why do people always compare MON to DOL....? Is it because it's easy to justify why they like MON...?! Why not compare MON to say Big Ron ro Little, who arguably has just as much, if not more success than MON. Stop taking the easy option to justify MON's position.
John Salter
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MON bashing is okay when for example he was playing Carlos Cuellar where Luke Young should have been etc etc. You can't compare him to previous players properly but how many of them would have got Villa the 6th place against emerging Mercenary City and Harrys boys?
So who would you like to see managing the club Damian? Let's see your answer and then can we please stop the bashing until there's a real reason to do so?
Andy - What you said is true and if he only has limited funds this time round, that's exactly what he has to do
Andy - PS can we have another cake pic? 
Ascone Villa
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I have two pieces written about O'Neill on my website which explain why he is a top manager (even though it's absolutely ridiculous that it should even need explained).
He is compared to O'Leary at times, just to show what he inherited(but according to Damian, DOL just had one bad season - so if it is an easy option to compare him to a manager who didn't do too badly, then MON's doing something right).
And, for some reason, I don't think MARTIN O'NEILL will have any bother getting paid £3m at another club.
I'd love to hear suggestions of which manager could do a better job at Aston Villa...
Damian
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Ascone Villa
i'm not saying o'leary had one bad season - he was a useless manager - i am saying he had one good season
i wanted DOL out in his 2nd season - i was called mad. i am used to people thinking i am mad but mark my words - we will never get anywhere under o'neill
we might have a good cup run every now and then but as a club we will not develop and because of that we will never really progress
Aero-4-Villa
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Villa v Bohemians
Its like my wife fighting my mistress!
Bohs will be a very tough match, they're a quality side..
Aero-4-Villa
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http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/Foo...8,00.html?
This also says we'll be playing in the Guadiana Cup against Benfica and Feyenoord. Lets hope Albrighton performs the same way as in the Peace Cup and maybe he'll stake a place in the first team team. 
Andy
said:
...
Ascone Villa.....The thing is all you have actually really done IS compare MON to DOL, stating MON took us from 16th place etc.
Do you really want us to start throwing suggestions of managers that could do as good a job at you. There are numerous that could. For various reasons they would not come or are not available. The other BIG reason is that we currently have a manager and I'm not aware that Aston Villa FC are currently looking for a manager.
None of us on here are football managers, but I am sure the vast majority can see MON's good decisions, but we can also see the things he's been doing wrong, that I think we all agree should in theory have made us better. You know, such as using a squad, not wasting money on players that your not going to use, using the same squad who are sometimes tired or carrying injuries, not looking further afield than the British Isle for players etc etc. We all see it, so how come MON does not. Love the guy, but he's a right stubborn bugger. He needs to learn some humility.
StickyAV
said:
...
RAFA?????
RAFA??????
I aint read this site for a while and I am wondering why I came back.
Sack O'neil and take Rafa???
The man flukes one champ league, with gerrard taking them through the whole torn with diving and wonder goals, and then he does nothing. they came second one season, but were shocking for the most part of it, and one with last minute 1-0s. They drew far to many games. there defence was good.
His transfer history on the whole is SHOCKING. Possibly the worst of any top 10 club. When you look at the players rafa bought, the money he has spent and how many are total rubbish you will see how bad a manager he is.
If we get rafa I will stand in the stands with a rafa out flag every game until he's gone. The guy is an idiot.
HE'S JUST A FAT SPANISH WAITER
croni
said:
...
o'leary is not the most likeable person in the world, but he is far from the disaster of a manager that many, including damian, make him out to be
his leeds teams, although never fulfilling their potential, never finnished outside the top 6, and he brought them to a uefa cup semi final and a champions league semi final.
they played some great stuff and actually improved on the team george graham had left him
Simeon
said:
...
The problem Liverpool's owners have with getting rid of Rafa is still there: his massive contract. They have no money. They can't afford to get rid of him. They are relying on him taking a job at a club that can afford to pay his salary so they are no longer liable for his contract. Maybe that'll be Inter. Maybe Juventus. I can't think who else it could possibly be. But it won't be us, because we'd need to get rid of O'Neill first, then offer Benitiez the job (assuming he was interested, which is unlikely, though perhaps not impossible). Liverpool aren't going to appoint O'Neill before Benitez has resigned, and we're not going to appoint Benitez before we sack O'Neill. Therefore, the prospect of O'Neill at Liverpool and Benitez at Villa is highly unlikely, and in fact probably impossible. The only way it could happen is if there is a job swap, but the odds of this happening would surely be astronomical.
I'd be surprised if O'Neill left this summer, given that he seems to have committed himself to Villa for next season - although it's perhaps telling that we can't point to a definitive statement of intent. Of course I'd be one of the minority of Villa fans who'd see the prospect of a new manager as a real opportunity to progress (though in the medium- rather than short-term, given the circumstances). But I'm not at all convinced that Lerner would make a good appointment, and were he to do so, I think it might be more by luck than judgement. I am by and large a Lerner fan, but I am highly sceptical of his ability to make good football decisions. However, I think a new manager would be good news, even if it wasn't a stellar appointment (but as long as it wasn't a dog of appointment), if only because we have a number of decent players at the club who have no future at the club under the present manager, but who may well have a future under a new manager. That some of these players are also potentially valuable assets if there is a change of manager (though near-worthless if there isn't) is an excellent economic reason to bring in a new manager.
Simeon
said:
...
croni
Further to your comments about O'Leary, I'd suggest that he would have done a far better job in the transfer market than O'Neill. Whether this alone would mean that we'd have been better under O'Leary is another matter. I think O'Neill is better at getting the most out of his players than O'Leary. But, I think that were we looking for a new manager this summer having just sacked O'Leary, I think we'd be a more attractive proposition to a new manager, simply because the new manager would have a better group of players to work with, and more room to manoeuvre in the transfer market.
leight
said:
...
benitez in would not be a bad thing...
good tactically..
luke young back at right back..
king carlos in the centre..
so not all bad,
we might even sign some players before august 31st 23:59h..
Andy
said:
...
Why are people discussing Rafa coming to Villa. It just won't happen. We are not a big enough team for him. Whereas I can see the situation of MON to Liverpool as very possible.
StickyAV
said:
...
In*
• Josemi – £2m - (failure)
• Antonio Nunez - Makeweight in Michael Owen sale - (failure)
• Luis Garcia - £6m (success)
• Xabi Alonso - £10.7m (success)
• Peter Crouch - £7m (success but sold!)
• Momo Sissoko - £5.3m (success/failure)
• Sebastian Leto - £1.85m (failure)
• Gabriel Palletta - £2m (failure)
• Bolo Zenden – free (failure)
• Pepe Reina - £6m (success)
• Fernando Morientes - £8m (failure)
• Daniel Agger - £5.8m (success)
• Robbie Fowler – free (failure)
• Craig Bellamy - £6.5m (failure)
• Dirk Kuyt - £10m (Wouldn't get in to any other top 4 side)
• Jermaine Pennant - £6.7m (failure)
• Mark Gonzalez - £1.5m (failure)
• Fabio Aurelio – free (success)
• Javier Mascherano - £17m (success)
• Fernando Torres - £22m (success)
• Alvero Arbeloa – £2m (success)
• Ryan Babel - £11.5m (failure)
• Yossi Benayoun - £5m (success)
• Scott Carson - £750,000 (failure)
• Lucas Leiva - £6m (failure)
• Andriy Voronin – free (failure)
• Diego Cavalieri - £3m (?)
• David Ngog - £1.5m (failure)
• Robbie Keane - £20.3m (failure)
• Andrea Dossena - £7m (failure)
• Philipp Degen – free (failure)
• Martin Skrtel – £6.5m - (success)
• Albert Riera – £8m (failure)
• Glen Johnson - £18m (? overpriced)
• Alberto Aquilani - £20m (failure)
• Sotirios Kyrgiakos - £1.5m (?)
Total spend - £229.65m (not including signing on fees)
* Successes - 13
* Failures - 20+
Out
• Michael Owen - £8m + Antonio Nunez in
• El Hadji Diouf - £2m
• Antonio Nunez - undisclosed
• Josemi – swap with Jan Kromkamp
• Bolo Zenden – free
• Vladimir Smicer - free
• Jerzy Dudek - free
• Igor Biscan – free
• Luis Garcia - undisclosed
• Robbie Fowler - free
• Djibril Cisse – £6m
• Xabi Alonso – £30m
• Harry Kewell – free
• Stephane Henchoz – free
• Stephen Warnock - £1.5m
• John Arne Riise - £3m
• Peter Crouch - £11m
• Momo Sissoko - £6m
• Craig Bellamy - £7.5m
• Mark Gonzalez - £500,000
• Djimi Traore - £2m
• Scott Carson - £3.75m
• Fernando Morientes - £3m
• Chris Kirkland – undisclosed
• Jan Kromkamp - undisclosed
• Robbie Keane – (up to) £19m
• Sebastian Leto - £3m
• Gabriel Palletta - £2m
• Sami Hyypia – free
• Alvero Arbeloa – £2m
• Darren Potter - £250,000
• Danny Guthrie - £2.5m
Total - £112.5m
Net spend since summer 2004 - £117.15m (not including signing on fees)
Players brought through the ranks since 2004
• Emilio Insua (28 games for 1st team)
• Nabil El Zhar (25 games)
• David Ngog (22 games)
• Jay Spearing (3 games)
• Stephen Darby (2 games)
Read more: http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2...z0po3AjuwJ
Panos
said:
...
Rafa vs Villa.
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2010/06/exclusive-rafa-benitez-vs-aston-villa.html
VillaMitch
said:
...
i wanted DOL out in his 2nd season - i was called mad. i am used to people thinking i am mad but mark my words - we will never get anywhere under o'neill
we might have a good cup run every now and then but as a club we will not develop and because of that we will never really progress
What complete and utter codswallop. Why are you making guesses about what the future might bring and trying to pass them off as facts? Obviously its a discussion blog but come on, this pessimistic rubbish sounds like it's being written by someone who is suicidal. How about you cheer the hell up!
For the record I think you are mad and the digs at O'Neill and Lerner are getting so frequent now that you should rename the blog 'The-I-want-Villa-to-fail-so-that-I-can-moan-a-lot-blog'.
I renew my season ticket every year because I think the next season is going to be better than the previous one and for the past few years that has been the case. If I had listened to this rubbish theres no way I would have renewed for the upcoming season. I have renewed though and only a fool would protest that we haven't made progress and haven't got reasons to be optimistic. When O'Neill and Lerner took over there were problem areas to be found all over the pitch as well as off it and they have addressed them year on year.
I can't be bothered to go through squad lists and timelines and stuff but when O'Neill took over, all areas of the team were in need of improvement.
We needed a reliable keeper, he gets one of the most reliable and respected keepers in the game. The defence needed improving, he buys Davies, Knight, Cuellar, Shorey etc. He realised some weren't fully up to the task and signed Collins, Dunne and Warnock.
He replaced a midfield that boasted Gavin McCann, Lee Hendrie, Mathieu Berson and Eric Djemba bloody Djemba with some of the best English midfielders around. Ashley Young (young player of the year), James Milner (young player of the year), England international Stewart Downing etc.
People moaned the squad was too small and we couldn't cope with injuries so he buys a lot of squad players and we have a healthy squad. Very few get injured so then people moan that he doesn't rotate enough! If the manager likes a settled starting 11 then its his prerogative to stick with it if he wants to.
It's blatantly obvious that we are just a consistent goalscorer away from progressing and improving on this season and O'Neill knows that too and will sign one.
The pessimism on this blog is too much for me and has convinced me to never post or visit it again, my club and I can do without this blog and it's depressing owner who will always find reasons to be negative nomatter how much success we have. At least it will free up more of my time each day so thanks Damian. I am pretty sure never reading your drivel again will not have a negative effect on my lifestyle or my football club.
Over and out.
Andy
said:
...
Sticky...Not sure what you are trying to say about Rafa there. How are Carson, Bellamy a failure, when in actual fact Rafa made a profit on them. We even paid £3M more than they paid for him....!! So who's the mugs there then. In fact Rafa has probably spent the same as MON then, according to your figures. In fact if it was over the same period MON would probably have spent more, if you project the figures back to 2004...! Don't get me wrong I don't particularly want Rafa, but you gotta admit he really fights for the club.
Damian
said:
...
StickyAV
nobody said sack o'neill - you were in fact the first person to bring up the notion of sacking o'neill on this entire page
i think actually you will find if you go back a month or six or the entire season - that i've been saying o'neill needs the funds. important words to point out here, if you hadn't understood already were that i was saying o'neill needs the funds
VillaMitch
you call it pessimism - some call it reality. the reality is we will find out in 3 years. if we dont do any better than 6th, it would have been realism
i fear some will say people like you were living in cloud cuckoo land thinking it was going to happen with o'neill - just like people like you probably thought it was going to happen under o'leary
it will only happen with o'neill if he gets all the money he has been given the past 4 years again this summer or he had all that money in his first season
seeing as i dont have a DeLorean lets hope for the former because without it - i dont think i will be proven wrong - although i would so love to be
but - you wont be here so goodbye
dingbat
said:
...
Surely having two years to run on his contract means Milner is already commited to Villa!?
Damian
said:
...
dingbat
committed and tied are two different things
this is an important summer for o'neill - he needs to keep milner and i fear to do that he is going to have to force lerner into spending some real money. we have to show players like milner we are serious; if we don't we will be seen as a stepping stone club
frem
said:
...
shut up about rafa.
oneill could be off. its a very high chance it will happen. i wont be surprised if he walks
rocky5
said:
...
villamitch said will always find reasons to be negative nomatter how much success we have.
what success is that then. frem, it won`t happen,unfortunately
dingbat
said:
...
Fair point Damian. I just find it a little galling that it was only a couple of months ago he told the world how settled he was. Now it seems he thinks he is too good for the team, manager and club. Three of the things that have got him in S.Africa tonight!
Simeon
said:
...
Well there you go. Benitez has got his pay-off, and the Liverpool circus just got that much more interesting! And Dalglish is suddenly the bookies favourite?! I think the odds of Liverpool finishing in the bottom half just increased substantially. Happy days. Interesting that Inter are interested in Benitez, and yet Liverpool haven't waited to see if Inter would actually offer them compensation for Rafa, rather than paying him off now. Maybe this means they have their new manager lined up and want to get him in place as soon as possible.
Simeon
said:
...
frem
Why wouldn't you be surpised if O'Neill walks out of interest? Would it have anything to do with a tiny minority of Villa fans wanting him out (whilst the vast majority of Villa fans want him to stay, and a significant proportion of that vast majority worship the ground he walks on)? Would it have anything to do with him not getting enough money to spend (despite a net spend per season well in excess of £20m whilst he's been at the club)? Would it have anything to do with his unhappiness at Villa seemingly being run as a business (although he has repeatedly stated that he treats Lerner's money as his own, and always stressed the importance of not jeopardising the club's future by speanding money the club doesn't have)?
There may well be a small proportion of posters on this blog who would like to see the back of O'Neill, and (shock, horror), most posters have had a moan about things, and on occasion directly criticised an aspect of O'Neill's management, but, by and large, the Villa support are hugely supportive of their manager, and the owner has backed O'Neill to the hilt. Were he to walk, the only credible reason would be that he has had a better offer. O'Neill has on a few occasions indicated that he doesn't have the thickest of skins with some of the things he's said in the media, but that doesn't mean that he has any good reason to be anything other than happy at Villa.
Greg Davillain1887
said:
...
Another martin o neill bashing point, the way you euogise the position at weight weight of demands at Liverpool you should go buy yourself a jersy.
Year on year liverpool have become a worse team and club sinc benitez joined. The payers he has brought to the club are far worse than the ones he let go.
His euro cup win was a bit like greece winning the euro's a total and complete fluke of nature. You say it counts for nothing, if he didnt win that he would have been shot long ago.
More drivel filled martin oneill bashing and belittleing ful of inneuendo and anti villa undercurrents. Its damn annoying to see a blog caled 'the aston villa blog' being used and run this was.
mickey86
said:
...
appoliges damian - it wasnt u who refered to him as FSW.
i think villa fans are demanding tho - 6th 3 seasons in a row is good for a team that hasnt done anything for 25 years.
and i cant see why u are so adament that MON cant get us 4th, if we beat wigan on the opening game and blackburn on the last game we would have finished 4th.
frem
said:
...
simeon - i wouldn't be surprised if he walked because i think hes type of manager that would. us selling milner isnt going to fill mon with confidence. loosing villas two best players in a year that he made must really hurt him and worry him about where he can go
oh and it sounded in your post that you think i want oneill to go, i dont
MoodyVilla
said:
...
Benitez is a good manager that has been let down by his club. He wanted full control and it took him a long time to get it. He has made some bad transfers, but he has also made some quite inspired ones. Most notably Alonso, Reina, Torres and Mascherano.
The club has been ruined by the American owners and I think it is admirable the way the fans have stuck by him up to now and are sorry to see him go.
However I still don't believe that Benitez is that much better as a manager than O'Neill.
They both have different ways of working and while Benitez is widely regarded as a master tactician, there have been instances when he has over rotated his squad and left out his biggest players in important games where this has backfired. You certainly wouldn't catch MoN resting Torres, Gerrard or Hyppia if he didn't have to, although Benitez probably wouldn't play Cuellar at RB.
He does insist o
n playing Babel out wide and he did also waste money on players like Degen, Kirgiakos, Dossena, Lucas and managed to sign Robbie Keane and play him in the wrong position and let him go at a loss after less than a season.
Why has Rafa spent millions searching for a decent left sided player when MoN managed to pick PFA young player of the season in that position out of the obscurity of Watford.
I really do have a lot of faith in Mon when it comes to significant transfer fees. Big money spent has on the whole been justified in the cases of Milner, Young, Petrov, Dunne, Warnock.
Davies and Reo Coker have both shown great promise when given a run in the side and had both not suffered injuries this year they would have got more game time. Had Davies been fit he would have partnered Dunne all season and we wouldn't have signed Collins (another transfer masterstroke). Delph looks a good investment, but has now been injured and no doubt bloggers will be harping on about what a waste of money he was when they forget how good he looked and ignore the fact he's injured.
We should be thankful for O'Neill, if we sold the entire squad now we'd make back what we've spent and clear the debt on the club. We are moving forward.
If Milner goes we have already been linked with Ireland, Hleb, Benayoun, Cole etc who all have the ability to increase in value if played consistently in the right way.
frem
said:
...
lots of liverpool fans saying oneill is coming. also adding that milner will follow and so will carew. FU#k of liverpool
Simeon
said:
...
MoodyVilla
Though I wouldn't go as far as saying that Dunne, Petrov and Warnock were a waste of money, it should be pointed out that none of them, if sold, would fetch a fee as high as that we paid for them. The thing is that none of them are top-four quality, and to justify spending money on older players, you need to see an immediate return - and not so much in individual performances, but rather in team performances, which then bring increased revenue that can be used to replace the ageing players. If you buy younger players then you'll either get more mileage from them, or you will sell them at a profit (or at least get your money back). Because we are not in a position where we can achieve immediate success, this is what we need to be doing. And when we perhaps have had the chance to achieve immediate success, and could therefore justify buying older players, the older players we've bought have clearly not been of sufficient quality to bring that immediate success. All of which indicates an ill-judged, short-termist transfer policy.
You mention Reo-Coker and Davies, a couple of the younger players that O'Neill has signed. These were perfectly solid signings, and may have turned out to be very good signings. But both have been frozen out by O'Neill for one reason or another (I disagree that they would have seen some action had they not been injured, as both have not been used since they recovered from injury, and in Reo-Coker's case, he was used only sparingly (and usually out of position) in the preceding season). Because of this, players that should have bee sound investments are now liabilities rather than assests. They are both unwanted, and neither has played any serious football for almost a year, and so they are worth very little on the transfer market. Between them they cost £18m. We will be 'lucky' to get £5-6m for the pair.
Villa are no longer a club with significant sums of money to spend. We are essentially operating on a sell-to-buy basis if Lerner and O'Neill are to be believed. The boom years have passed, and in my view it is very clear that we have not taken advantage of the good times, and are a little precariously placed for the bad times.
Jimbo Daventry Villa
said:
...
Damian, comment 91,
I see where your coming from here but, if City came in with £30m for Milner we'd be bloody stupid to refuse it. It would be a fantastic bit of business, as Milner for all his running and little tricks by the corner flag when we're 1-0 up with a minute to go, isn't actually that good.
For £15m we could buy a better player and spend the rest improving the squad with a couple of good additions, leaving another £10-£15m of Lerners money to buy a quality forward.
It would be hard to see Milner go after Barry last year, but potentially it 'could' be the best thing thats happened to Villa for years.
Damian
said:
...
mickey86
i have given up on expectations - mostly because i always feel let down. it is far more fun for me to have none and have pleasant surprises on a very regular basis ..
Jimbo Daventry Villa
i suspect it would be very hard to turn down and i agree to an extent with you about milner - but his engine; there is a value to that and i just think he might get better
frem
said:
...
oh bugger. i just realised that i will have to change my ps3 name. its milner-8 at the moment
frem
said:
...
simeon- we will get more than 5 or 6 mill for reo and davis. they are both young so the price will go up. id say 6/7 mill for davis and 5 million for reo. i think we will get over 10 million for them
frosty
said:
...
Villa are a good club, a big club, with good players and a top manager but we're not Manchester United or Chelsea. Villa have to work hard every season to maintain that position and it's not going to be easy.
Other teams are spending a lot of money and the competition is hard. It would be a success for Villa to stay up there in the top six every season.
A reality check from king Laursen.
Maindog
said:
...
Its all very exciting now!..Weather MON stays or walks, I couldnt give a monkeys. If he goes, the potential for Learner to bring in someone new to work our talented squad differently and maybe correctly is a very nice prospect. On the other hand, if he walks and Learner brings in Mark Hughes or Stan Collymore then it could all go horribly wrong!......I have faith in our Randy though.
Jimbo Daventry Villa
said:
...
He will get better - no doubt, but in 3 years time will his value have gone past £30m? No chance, he's not worth that kind of dough and this might be our only chance to get near that amount.
If we can get £30m now then why not take the money and build with it? As Frem said, Stephen Ireland would be a brilliant replacement, add a very good right back and a proven goal scorer and this time next year it could be us in the champions League.
Simeon
said:
...
frem
We ought to be getting at least that kind of money for them, because they are both decent players. But Reo-Coker is in the last year of his contract and has already said that if he leaves it will be on his terms. He's happy to stay and fight for his place (although I think this is really a euphemism for "If I don't get a good offer from an upwardly mobile club I'll sit out my contract and leave for free in 12 months. Not that I blame him by the way). Because of these factors, and because we are looking to get rid of him, his price will be £3m - if we are able to sell him, and I rather suspect we won't get a penny for him because he'll leave on a Bosman.
As for Davies, He's not played any first-team football since the end of August last year. He has a clause in his contract that stipulates he's due a pay-rise after 2 more appearances for us. Again, we are looking to get rid of him. A buying club will inevitably have concerns over his injury history - particularly his shoulder - and this will knock down the price still further. I suspect that any offers we receive will probably fall below our valuation, and we'll decide to keep him - although given that he will be backup (and possibly behind Clark in the pecking order, given that Clark was on the becnh towards the end of the season and not Davies), and given that we won't want to activate the clause in his contract, I can see us being forced to accept a very modest sun, probably towards the end of the transfer window. I'd expect that sum to be, at most, £4m. So, if we get very lucky, by my estimation we'll get £7m for them. But even if we get the £10m you suggest, that still represents a loss of £8m, and given that each of them has spent half of their Villa careers kicking their heels for one reason or another, that represents very poor business.
On the plus side, at least we'll make a huge profit on Milner, and were we to cash in on Ashley Young, we'd make a handsome profit there too. But whether these profits would actually cover the losses we will incur on the rest of O'Neill's signings remains to be seen. I suspect it won't. After all, Marlon Harewood alone cost the club upwards of £10m over four years, and for that we got a handful of starts, a bunch of substitute appearances, and, what? Four goals? An extreme example perhaps, but not atypical of this club's recent transfer dealings.
FortuneVilla
said:
...
Villa heading to Dublin 
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8690_6189702,00.html
mickey86
said:
...
when it comes to milner - id rather sell him now for 30million than wait till next season when he as 1 year left and then sell him for 15milliion.
y cant we do what spurs do, they gave modric a 6 year contract.
keithj
said:
...
just watched a liverpool game in 3d to see how realistic it was,,,,,,,, well at half time my wallet had gone
Greg Davillain1887
said:
...
i hope we sell reo joker what a crap player, has done nothing at the cub to warrant a starting place, his mouth is bigger than his ego and he is ony an athethe not a footballer. If i trained every day i would be too. He has done nothing for villa to make us better.
Poor curtis davies, all he lacks is real belief in himself. I hope we hold onto him for another year, maybe if he gets a chance he could take it, he has the phisic, height and strength, just lacks that bit of composure and common sense on the pitch.
I like to see sidwell go to a promoted club, he has talent just not a big cub player, coulddnt do it at arsenal, just short of sensational at reading, took the wrong decision to go to chelsea and never looked the part with us, except for taking out umps off the oppostion, hitting mis placed passes and generally goin awol in matches.
Heskey could do a job at a bigger cub maybe, from what pundits say, i dont see it, his flick ons for us are usually impossible to get onto, and his short passing has been nothing short of shocking, we are obviously not good enough to carry him.
Luke young should be bombed out just because he has big fat lips and i think although he had one good season with us, he is the weak link in defense when he plays.
Anyway id just like to say we have a class manager in martin oenill. HE has signed us some great players overall, who have cemented us as a top 6 force, and when fully fit on our day are more than a match for anyone. Its aughable how people say he doesnt give youth a chance, after young n milner getting consecutive pfa young player of the year, and gabby now a recognised prem league striker, and nathan delfouneso tipped for great things, as is albrighton and to and extend bannan and clarke.
People say he doesnt know what he is doing but is odds on favourite for the liverpool job. And some dopes say they woulndt mind havinf benitez as a manager, lets sign aurelio, degen, ngog, el zhar, lucas, when as a club you have the pulling power to sign players like torres mascherano benayoun and reina. if you are liverpool you dont need to sign unrecognised rubbish. Good one whoever said benitez, you must be a f**king t**t.
Our club is in great shape. We may have to sell a star player to fund a summer signing spree. Its great to be in this postion, if we can use milner to get ireland and cash i think it will be the deal of the decade. Im sure there will be some more pleasant signings, players plucked from obscurity or brought back from the brink to surprise us all, and if they are signed late so what?? they will come, they will have a pre season at another club, for those of you who dont rate oneill you would be surely happy they get in training with another club, sure what deos he no. any way im going to bed goodnight f**kers you know who you are
goose
said:
...
I really cannot fathom how you could want Rafa over MON. The players MON brought in were to move the squad forward from where they were. Now we are just at the point when they need to be moved on and we can acquire the type of players we couldnt at the beginiing of the Lerner era and the 5 year plan. MON has improved this club beyond doubt and we are just a couple of key signings away from pushing on.
As for Milner I wonder if 30M upwards would be something we should consider what with the new uefa financial rules coming into effect soon that the days of excessively high priced transfers will be gone with clubs having to balance their books.
I really wish reading this blog wasnt a constant MON has done as much as he can for villa...
Try providing a constructive critsicm as believing Rafa could push Villa forward unlike MON, clearly shows your lack of comprehension of the vast improvement we have made under MON and how close we are from having a very good team that are capable of challenging for 4th spot.
This summer is vital and as much as I would love Milner to stay it may be worth taking the money + Ireland and Onouha and have more to spend on a Striker or two and maybe another midfielder. Have faith this is one of the better Villa sides in many years and a team that makes most supporters proud to be Villa fans.
Paul W
said:
...
better than the carew & carlos vids
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/5873623/
Luckynumber7
said:
...
although I'm sure Damian is chuffed to bits to see the odds tumbling for Oneill to be next Liverpool manager, I for one would be gutted, annoyed and very disappointed if it does happen.
Chiefy
said:
...
The Daily Mail says O’Neill will be high on Dalglish’s list and would jump at the chance of restoring Liverpool’s tarnished reputation after becoming increasingly concerned by dwindling transfer funds at Aston Villa.
The Villa manager has tried to find some common ground with American owner Randy Lerner over the level of investment needed but he might be easily prised away from the club.
If MON does go for Liverpooo then it is even more proof that he isnt all he is cracked up to be, just because he gets a little less in the transfer market after spending a substantial amount on transfers he may decide to down tools and move on ?!?!?! that aint no GREAT that is someone who relies on money, does him think he will get it a Liverpoo ?? could he manage the big names ?? could he cope with the foreign contingent ??
I to hope MON does go only because continuity is key and it would mean starting again, new philosophy, new ideas maybe a new way to play good in some aspects but it would but the CLUB's development back..... MON is not bigger than the club and we would move forward without him, I would like him to stay for continuity and to really see if he has GOT what it takes, but no mistake if he does go it will be him the regrets it.......
Chiefy
said:
...
Think it is time for the club or MON to come out and say what they intend on doing, none of this last minute rubbish. Doubt they will though after all we are only the fans and we dont need to know nothing just turn up week after week like good little sheep !!!
StickyAV
said:
...
Andy,
Those success or failures were based on how they performed at the club. bellamy at LV was a failure. Benitez didn't get the best out of him. he is rubbish at man management and never puts his arm around a player to give them confidence. He only critises. I remember gerrard saying that even when they won by a handful of goals, benitez was never happy. he worded it such that, the manager was a perfectionist, but sometimes you want your boss to be happy with your achievements.
On a financial front, Rafa is no quite as bad although he has still made many losses with his stupid foreign buys. But to be fair he got most of those crap players on free's because he likes to spend 20 mil on one player. Which is fine when it's a Torres, but not so much for glen who was largely overpriced.
At the end of the day, rafa has had cracking players. Crouch played well for them, sold. They desperately needed a striker with Keane on the books, and he is on the bench. etc etc
The number of players who came to work under benitez and did not live up to there hype is large. He is not a man manager and with our transfer funds we need someone who gets the best out of there players. Not the worst.
Damian, I didn't say anyone did say sack O'Neil. But surely if you would take benitez we cannot have 2 managers in charge.
Your favourite response "show me where I said that/those words". Implication Damo, implication.
StickyAV
said:
...
Oh and Andy,
It's not fair to compare Rafa with O'Neil in terms of money spent.
You only have to look at the teams they inherited to realise why...MON didn't inherit a gerrard for a start.
Chiefy
said:
...
Liverpool FC told to forget about approaching Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill
this has not come direct from the club though the club felt in unnecessary to put out an official statement, glad they do
croni
said:
...
6th is 6th, what a load of nonsense
well which team has a better season? a team that wins the league and the champions league or a team that just wins the league
i really don't know how you can conveniently ignore Villa's cup campaigns
this is also coming from a person who was lamenting that Villa didn't ahave a long Europa League campaign like Fulham. Your completely contradicting yourself.
Despite all your protestations, and declaring your support for O'Neill with faint praise, you clearly do not like the guy. So why don't you just admit it? Your reluctance probably stems from the fact that O'Neill has shown you up on too many occasions and also from the fact that a lot of people would turn against you. At least others on this forum are clear on whether they're pro or anti O'neill.
Why don't you have the courage to just admit it?
John Salter
said:
...
MON won't go to Liverscum just to spite Damian! And here are ten other reasons why he wont go:
1. MON trusts Randy Lerner who has not let him down so far.
2. MON would be walking into a nightmare at Liverpoo with the two rednecks that own it!
3. MON wouldn't have a penny to spend unless he sold Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun!
4. MON would have a team with very few English or British players.
5. Liverscum are a team that will soon be in free fall like Leeds were!
6. Villa have better prospects.
7. Villa have a better squad.
8. Villa already have a better ground that's going to get even better.
9. Villa will attract better players than Liverscum.
10. Villa have a bright future, Liverpoo do not!
There are many more reasons but these are the main ones. He certainly wouldn't want to risk his professional career by going to somewhere that has a very, very, uncertain future with little resources that wiould destroy him as a manager.
Sorry Damian but I'll wager your stuck with him
Andy
said:
...
Sticky...You are right in some respects as I agree Rafa made some bad signings. I was just pointing out stats and figures can prove positive and engative whichever way you spin something. I was just pointing out that Rafa did seem to be better at the money side of things. That said, MON won't have done a bad job if we sell A Young and Milner, campared to what we paid for them...!
Don't get me wrong I don't have any wish for MON to go and us have Rafa, or any other manager for that matter. What I'd like is for MON to sort out his tactics and use the full squad better. I'd love to see us take the Europa League sriously and really go out 100% to win it. It's much better than the two domestic cups. If Milner is sold, I'd like the money spent wisely and certainly not on any more Sidwells or Harewoods, that you are not going to play. I want him not to simply play his pets, even when they are off form. I'd love nothing better than MON to really succeed with Villa, but I have to yet be convinced he has the ability to take us to that next level.
Chiefy
said:
...
MON won't go to Liverscum just to spite Damian! And here are ten other reasons why he wont go:
1. MON trusts Randy Lerner who has not let him down so far.
2. MON would be walking into a nightmare at Liverpoo with the two rednecks that own it!
3. MON wouldn't have a penny to spend unless he sold Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun!
4. MON would have a team with very few English or British players.
5. Liverscum are a team that will soon be in free fall like Leeds were!
6. Villa have better prospects.
7. Villa have a better squad.
8. Villa already have a better ground that's going to get even better.
9. Villa will attract better players than Liverscum.
10. Villa have a bright future, Liverpoo do not!
and now I am clam...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Andy
said:
...
John...I'm not having a go at you, just asking some objective questions of what you wrote....
1. MON trusts Randy Lerner who has not let him down so far.
I would agree with this.
2. MON would be walking into a nightmare at Liverpoo with the two rednecks that own it!
Would agree with this, but Pool will have new owners anyway soon.
3. MON wouldn't have a penny to spend unless he sold Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun!
MON does not have any money to spend now, so whats the difference..?
4. MON would have a team with very few English or British players.
He'd have Milner going with him and he could sell to buy English players, just as he does with Villa. He's bound to make the team his own, so this point is not really valid.
5. Liverscum are a team that will soon be in free fall like Leeds were!
Where is the evidence to say this is 100% true. How can that be predicted...? I could just as easily say Villa will end up mid table next season, but I have no proof of that...!
6. Villa have better prospects.
Where is the evidence of this...? Liverpool are a bigger club and have much more draw for top class players than Villa.
7. Villa have a better squad.
Do we really......?! I would have thought on paper Liverpool have a better squad.
8. Villa already have a better ground that's going to get even better.
I very much doubt MON would even take this into account.
9. Villa will attract better players than Liverscum.
You have to be kidding with this point.....!
10. Villa have a bright future, Liverpoo do not!
You make the same point here as you did in point 6, so my observation would be the same also.
Although Liverpool is the club I love to hate most managers would love to have the opportunity to manage at such a club. Theres no getting away from it, Liverpool have a cult type status and have a much bigger fan base than most clubs. Arguably the 2nd most supported club in England. Why would MON not be excited about such a challenge. The main reason MON would not go, is because he'd be happy with his nice little number at Aston Villa. There's not as much expectation at Villa, so what he has achieved is looked upon generally as success. I must say however that the Liverpool fans have taken finishing 7th very well. They have not generally been calling for Rafas head, which is a credit to them. I can't believe I just gave some praise to Liverpool fans...!
frosty
said:
...
Rafa Benitez vs Aston Villa
Benitez has spent more than twice as much money as O'Leary and O'Neill in the last 5 years.
These figures can finally put to rest the ridiculous misinformation spread by Pro-Benitez fans that Villa have somehow spent more money than Liverpool.
http://www.liverpool-kop.com/2...villa.html
Luckynumber7
said:
...
as i said - I'd be very surprised if he went. Surprised, and disappointed.
not least - O'neill has his team at Villa. A team he assembled and a team he believes are going towards the end goal. Liverpool would be almost like starting again - why would you do that? If he's good enough today, he's good enough in a few years. I'd like an official 'I'm going nowhere' statement, or better still just agreement from Hodgson that he's signed up.
ak_27
said:
...
I honestly can't see MON going to Liverpool until their current mess (ownership issue)is sorted out which i doubt will happen any time soon. It def won't happen before the start of next season so i would be shocked if he decamped to Anfield.
Andy
said:
...
number7...I'd like a 'I'm going nowhere' statement from MON too. Just to put these rumours to bed, retain stability and to show to other clubs that Aston Villa is a place where managers want to manage mor ethan clubs such as Liverpool. That would be a great boost to Villa's confidence as a whole.
frosty....That just goes to show figures can be spun any which way someone want to prove something. It is no surprise that the guy writing the article is someone trying to prove MON is better and therefore is the right person for Liverpool. Jaimie Kanwar also uses DOL in his article to try and prove a point, but he's not saying DOL is the best man to manage Liverpool is he....!!!!! In Jaimie Kanwars article he also only mentions gross spend, but fails to talk about that we are only just behind Liverpool on gross spend. He also fails to mention, other than this last season how much better Liverpool have finished in the league and cups than us.
The article also does not take into account last seasons figures, so it surely does not put any debate about spending to bed does it. Not that I'm that interested about how much Villa spend. I don't really care...It's not my money. As long as it's spent wisely and the team is managed wisely, then thats all I'm interested in. I don't care if we spend more than any other club, in fact I'd kind of love that, if the books were balance at teh end of the financial year or over the planned projected term of a business plan.
Not sure why so many people are so quick to have a go at clubs that spend more money. It's what it;s all about. In business you have to speculate to accumulate.
darren g
said:
...
look at milner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pON6HPAgwOo&feature=autofb
sick guy
Christian1983
said:
...
I don't know whether he'll go or not. And like a few others on here, I'm not overly bothered. If he goes we might get to see an exciting manager come in who can add the finishing touches we need. But MON might take all of our decent players with him!
I won't be losing any sleep.
I don't know what Torres will make of constant long balls smashed up to him, or Gerrard being told to 'get it wide, get it wide, get it wide and run, run, run!!!'
'Excuse me there, Agger. Have you ever thought about being a rightback...?'
Chiefy
said:
...
Pellgrini will be the new man at Liverpooooo.......would still like a committed I am going no where statement from MON !!
Christian1983
said:
...
Just seen that you can get easily get 66/1 on Peter Crouch winning the Goldenboot at the World Cup!
He tends to score for England when he plays, particularly against the poorer sides. If he bags 6 altogether against Algeria and Slovenia that should be enough
John Salter
said:
...
andy -
MON will have money to spend, just not 20m on 'one player.' Thats what they've said.
If MON went (hypothetically) why would Milner go with him? Has he adopted him! Rot!! Rot man I tell thee!
I'd say there were huge signs that a club that's over 300m in debt, led by imbeciles, with their best players more than likely leaving this year, are already and will be a club in free fall. It's just starting!
Of course Villa have a better squad. Not only does the league table tell us that but we have younger, faster, keener and more ambitious players.
Villa Park - We already have a world class stadium, they have an old shed and to even survive they would have to ground share with Everton in the future. Of course this is a reason for MON to stay, its either that or the Mersey and we know what floats in there!
Villa will attract better players because we'll be playing Champions League football soon, they be playing Oldham!
And finally Villa have a brighter future because we're now in the fourth year of the five year plan. Lerner and MON had the bottle to say that four years ago and so far they're right on schedule!
Chin up andy, have faith have some yorkshire tea loaf, with a nice brew, the futures bright, the futures Villa
SuperBox
said:
...
Damian
you seem to base our progress on one season under o'leary
when actually o'neill has had 4 seasons and he hasn't taken us any further than o'leary (6th) and no closer to top four based on points needed to get fourth based on what he finished on (the closest o'neill has taken us is needing 5 more points - the exact same o'leary acheived
Surely finishing consistently 6th, is better than finishing 6th once.
Consistency is progress.
Consistency makes it easier to attract players.
Consistency brings cup runs.
Consistency brings fans to the ground.
Christian1983
said:
...
We're heavily linked with that Boussoufa again. Never seen him, the write-up sounds good though.
http://www.expressandstar.com/...ufa-swoop/
Then again, the last player we signed with 's', 'a', 'f', 'o' and 'u' in his name wasn't all he was cracked up to be
Christian1983
said:
...
I know YouTube can make anybody look brilliant, but this extended clip show's he can certainly play. Excellent with both feet, reminds me a bit of Juninho. And check out the strike at 4.37 on the clip!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH7hDHvNihk
Andy
said:
...
John...Don't worry I have faith in everything. I don't really care if MON stays or goes. Theres more important things in life.
By the way John...Liverpool has been put up for sale, so those rednecks you mention won't be the new managers bosses for long. Does that remove your point number two John....?
Not got tea loaf today. It's a nice cream tea after a bacon and egg sandwich for me today
frosty
said:
...
Not sure why so many people are so quick to have a go at clubs that spend more money. It's what it;s all about. In business you have to speculate to accumulate.
I think it's just that word "business". It isn't about the football anymore it's about business.
The big spenders ( Chelski, City ) have taken the focus off football and the sport is suffering for it, thats why I have big issues with them.
Chiefy
said:
...
We're heavily linked with that Boussoufa
dont care how good he is I wont be having his name on my shirt !! a friend of mine made that mistake with agbonlahor
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
a friend of mine made that mistake with agbonlahor
I heard it actually costs more than the shirt itself. crazy
John Salter
said:
...
andy - I don't think anyone in their right mind would invest money into a club owing over 300m coupled with all their other problems, so I think my points still valid
Egg and bacon butties eh? Smashing
FortuneVilla
said:
...
The greatest song ever written!! Enjoy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxlWgiWJPjA
Chiefy
said:
...
a friend of mine made that mistake with agbonlahor
I heard it actually costs more than the shirt itself. crazy
It did I kept threatening to get EMULE on my shirt but I said I would if he scored, so we no what happened there. I think I still will and extent it to the world cup, although I may have Lionel.H or Emule not sure but whats the chances of him scoring ?? exactly I have nothing to worry about
FortuneVilla
said:
...
"...f**k croissant's, baguettes and brie..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxlWgiWJPjA
Chiefy
said:
...
Agent hints Aston Villa threaten Sporting Lisbon Evaldo deal
Aston Villa launching bid for Fiorentina keeper Frey
some player rumours, MON is staying Liverploop wont want him and he wont want them end of, they will have hiddink, rikjard, klinsman other people that can come in a make a mess with the owners backing they........Frey has been tracked by all the top prem clubs that would be quite a coup if we land him, does this mean the end for guzan ?????
john doyle
said:
...
all this rubbish about liverpool mwanting mon do you think they have gone crackers he aint no where big enough to manage a club like liverpool he aint big enough for aston villa let alone the souse gits they will look for a man who has won something not leage cups and a few things in jock land which is f**k all
they have ther sights set on bigger things not like us
Chiefy
said:
...
Tottenham boss Redknapp favoured by Liverpool chief Dalglish
Woohooo Welly face at Liverpooo how much more will they be hated then !!!
croni
said:
...
andy - how do you know somebody is going buy liverpool soon?
do you know something we don't?
salter's points are more convincing
Chiefy
said:
...
Lionel Heskey has gone plowing into Reo Furyhands and now he is out the world cup...Dawson flying out, good old Heksey
John Salter
said:
...
john doyle - Liverpants have got their sights on trying to survive nothing else mate. In a couple of years they'll be in the same league as Tranmere
croni - Ta!
Chiefy - Harry Redknapp at Liverstool!?! Haha not at chance in hell
Rio (Jar Jar Binks) Ferdinand - Already Emile has had a more positive effect on the squad than I could have ever imagined taking that retard out! Excellent, things are looking up for England eh?
Chiefy
said:
...
Chiefy - Harry Redknapp at Liverstool!?! Haha not at chance in hell
I wouldnt be so sure, Harry has the arse because levy has not given him a big fat contract as yet and he is known to have a burning desire to manage one of the big boys, I wouldnt discount it quite so easy
John Salter
said:
...
Can't see it at all Chiefy. Harry worked wonders with Spurs to get that 4th spot from Mercenary city, not to mention Villa. To throw that away and go to a club that's only surviving as we speak on a reputation from decades ago, just isn't logical at all!
Emile has more chance of getting the golden boot than Harry going to Liverpants
dingbat
said:
...
Papers will have a field day if Emile has put Rio out! Any chance to knock us. How many times have we read about the time Warnock has spent on the pitch for England?
SuperBox
said:
...
John Slater, Chiefy
I suspect Redknapps main focus will be on his wage packet, and Liverpool seem to be able to pay above average wages. Plus, once the ownership thing is sorted, and it will be soon I'm sure, then they'll be back. It's a pretty attractive club to buy, it's got the global brans thing going on, which is what football is all about these days!
Rednecks out and Redknapp in! I've heard more bizarre things in my life.
SuperBox
said:
...
Global Brans - Global Brand.
They are not into high fibre cereal, that I know of!
frem
said:
...
we have been linked with alot of foreign players recently but i think its just talk. we know papers read this blog and they know we would like more buys from outside scotland so they just link us with random players.
john doyle
said:
...
john saltar i hate to admit it but liverpool will always be a bigger club than us and will always aim higher they will get some mug to buy it and bail them out they sold over i millon shirts worlwide how many did we
frem
said:
...
lots of everton fans saying they are getting ben arfa. NO. NO. NO. this is the quality player we should be getting. hes a very good player
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
http://norwichcity.myfootballw...football/?
This says Andy Marshall has been released. Does that mean the Frey rumors could be true? Maybe...
1.Frey
2.Friedel
3.Guzan
Poor Brad junior
Dirk sprew
said:
...
Just out of interest,,have the club said anything about a new kit for next season,,seen a few home made ones done with smart shirt designer.any one know of anything ?
AussieLion
said:
...
...
lots of everton fans saying they are getting ben arfa. NO. NO. NO. this is the quality player we should be getting. hes a very good player
I agree. I read that rumour awhile ago and thought that if Everton could get him then so can we. Id make an offer as the rumour said he wanted to leave his club and in my opinion is better than Downing.
frem ( stephen ireland )
said:
...
lion - i agree. ben arfa is a very good player. if everton can get him so can we. it will be really really worrying is everton get him and we dont.
doyle been linked again. i think hed be ok but we should get keane aswell. sell carew and hesk
frem ( stephen ireland )
said:
...
interesting what ian dowie has said. hes been saying he wouldn't be surprised if oneill couldn't resist liverpool. he also said that a lot would depend on wether or not he can keep hold of his star players. basically if milner goes, he goes.
i wouldn't be surprised if oneill has told dowie this. they are very good friends.
frem
said:
...
young villain - i thought that to. maybe its got something to do with liverpool.
oh and take much interest in the world cup. we are not getting anyone from there
Aston Villa scout warns fans not to expect any signings from the World Cup
we have a scout though. hes been at toloun under 21 tournament
frem
said:
...
Chief Scout: MON wants players with premiership experience
yes. stephen ireland, joe cole erc etc
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
http://www.whufc.com/articles/...84_2065134
West Ham have little teasers on their OS saying they are close to announcing their first signing. They say he has over 60 caps in international experience but dont say for what country.
My bet, and my hope is that its Emile Heskey. He must have played up and around 60 matches by now!
UTV!
HolteArmyNick
said:
...
Its Thomas Hitzlsperger! The 'Hammer' (No pun intended) is back
Shame it wasn't Emile though I got excited
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
Aww no! I cant bare to see one of my favorite all time Villa players playing for a different Premiership team. He should still be ours!!
dingbat
said:
...
Yes we missed a trick there! They may be more willing to sell Scott Parker now though.
dingbat
said:
...
Sullivan probably thinks he's signed a porn star when somebody mentioned "The Hammer"
Leroy
said:
...
Good to see Lionel having an impact on the England side....he has injured Reo Ferdinand
abz1888
said:
...
Hello all.. just a quick one. I popped into the Villa shop today, the one in town, and the manager there was talking about the new Villa shirt sponsor. He said he's not allowed to give anything away BUT he did say that it's not Acorns. He told me that it's an American firm which is also big in Cyprus and Russia, or has links in Cyprus and Russia..
It's not Budweiser or anything like that.. Just wondering who it could be..??
The Droyd
said:
...
Behave. Hitzelsperger is s**t.
All he has is a shot. He will get 3 or 4 spectacular goals all season and do absolutely f**k all else.
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
I was just doing some research on Arsenio Halfhuid and i came across something very interesting! ; ) Did anyone know that the team we bought him from - Excelsior, also at one stage had players such as:
-Salomon Kalou
-Michael Bastos
-George Boateng
-Robin Van Persie
-Royston Drenthe
They clearly have an eye for talent. Whether these players were brought in on loan or brought through the academy, it cant just be mere coincidence that all these players have gone on to such big things. They're clearly doing something right over there!
Lets hope they raised Arsenio the same way! We could have a world class striker/defender in no time. I hope he stays as a striker, he looks identical to Carew!
UTV!
Maindog
said:
...
Aero....Brilliant piece of research! Your right, the kid is quality, like alot of our youngsters...I hope we see a bit more of some of them this coming season. I got a feeling Fonze will get a bit more time on the pitch and will soften the blow of us signing Kevin Doyle or Richardo Fuller or something.
Andy
said:
...
I told you that Gabby should be sold because he can't even manage to see to get on the end of a good cross. If he can't see Ash Young, there's no way he's gonna pick out a killer cross is he..?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx6LfIXWdIg
mickey86
said:
...
aero - apart from van persie - they are hardly world beaters - any team in europe at some point has probably had one good player.
Aero-4-Villa
said:
...
Mickey86,
Salomon Kalou is a quality player. He has a bad game every now and then, but i would still love him at Villa. Hes a poacher and has scored some priceless goals for Chelsea.
Royston Drenthe is one of the best young talents in the world. He would be getting his game week in, week out at any team away from Real Madrid. Jesus... he was player of the tournament in the last U21 European Cup.
Michael Bastos is a Brazil international. Hes rated at around 25 million pounds. Hes world class.
George Boateng. Well... he hardly had an unsuccessful career. He may not have won huge tournaments throughout his life but hes name everyone knows!
I really dont understand how you can say Robin Van Persie is the only world beater in that list!?
UTV!
AussieLion
said:
...
Hello all.. just a quick one. I popped into the Villa shop today, the one in town, and the manager there was talking about the new Villa shirt sponsor. He said he's not allowed to give anything away BUT he did say that it's not Acorns. He told me that it's an American firm which is also big in Cyprus and Russia, or has links in Cyprus and Russia..
It's not Budweiser or anything like that.. Just wondering who it could be..??
Oh im interested now who could it be? At least we got someone different so we can get more money.
...
I was just doing some research on Arsenio Halfhuid and i came across something very interesting! ; ) Did anyone know that the team we bought him from - Excelsior, also at one stage had players such as:
Thats some good research Aero. Hopefully he becomes our own Van Persie!
Also I hope the link with Doyle is false. I think 9m is alot for him as I think he is a decent player but not great. Also he'd stop Delfouneso's development so I'd rather we get Keane if we had to get one of them.
r0bb0
said:
...
abz he new Villa shirt sponsor. He said he's not allowed to give anything away BUT he did say that it's not Acorns. He told me that it's an American firm which is also big in Cyprus and Russia, or has links in Cyprus and Russia..
Well that would fit in with a rumour from another site that it's FxPro. American company into Foreign exchange trading with offices in Cyprus and Russia and already into motor sport sponsorship. This rumour does look possible, but I must admit I'll be sorry to see the Acorns link go if it disappears completely.
Chiefy
said:
...
sorry to see the Acorns link go if it disappears completely
it wont be going the club has already said the link will remain and we will continue working closely with them. FxPro never heard of them, Longbridge reckon its going to be TATA we guess we will find out the 20th when the away kit comes out.
Man City 25 million take it or leave it for Milner ??? depends on the player if his head has been turned, taxi for milner, if he is committed to the cause sign the deal and lets carrying on marching on
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