Villa Signings and General Rumours Thread

Helix

Raekwon wrote: »

MON is a notorious last minute shopper

thats everyones main gripe with him tho

leaving your transfer dealings til the last minute just means youre more likely to

a) pay over the odds
b) get pipped to the post by another team
c) miss out on all your targets

all this stuff should be done as soon as possible

Raekwon

That is true, but so far it has worked for him and worked against him. For example last January he signed Shaun Maloney at the very last minute for a knock down price of £1m, but in the summer of 2006 he failed in a last minute bid for James Milner. The Milner deal was not entirely MON's fault (it was more Glen Roeder's fault actually) but IMO if he had a few more days to negotiate he might have pulled the deal off.

Helix

absolutely horrible thread on villatalk at the moment showing what our entire squad will be on july 1st of this year:

Taylor
Bouma
Laursen
Davies
Knight
Young
Maloney
Barry
Petrov
Reo Coker
Gardner
Carew
Agbonlahor
Harewood

thats it, thats the entire thing

14 ****ing players

if we're to make anything of being in europe (if we get there) we're gonna need another 10 players in the summer assuming nobody on that list leaves

Savman

Some chillaxing needs to be done here, I'm sure we'll have more than 14 players come 31st August. Really, do people really think Martin O Neill is that thick? :eek:
'Tis grand, we're in safe hands

Still tho, giz an aul player loike

Helix

if we're so safe why is the squad still so bloody small? with o'neills track record we're about 6 seasons away from having a decently sized squad

its ridiculous

regardless of how we're doing on the pitch we're always going to be just a couple of injuries away from disaster while the squad is that small, and thats not good enough imo

Savman

Helix wrote: »

if we're so safe why is the squad still so bloody small? with o'neills track record we're about 6 seasons away from having a decently sized squad

its ridiculous

regardless of how we're doing on the pitch we're always going to be just a couple of injuries away from disaster while the squad is that small, and thats not good enough imo

Fine, so whaddya propose? Sack him and get who? Show me a similar team who have spent big and has paid off dividends. I don't think there is any. You could argue we should've paid the £8m asking price for Craig Bellamy, but he's hardly kicked a ball. Woodgate is injury prone, if Ramos paid £8m for him he needs to stop thinking he's spending in Euros. I just don't see where this notion is coming from that we're losing ground on any other team, quite the opposite in fact, we're catching up, slowly.

All this panic is totally unwarranted, MON has already said he won't bankrupt the club so we just have to be patient. There isn't really any point getting all worked up about it, he's gonna do it his way regardless what anyone thinks about it.

Helix

Savman wrote: »

Show me a similar team who have spent big and has paid off dividends

man city

how can you say going into the summer with 14 player isnt worthy of panic?

if he even signs 5 we're still only 3 injuries away from not being able to fill a bench

Savman

Helix wrote: »

man city

Who are where exactly? 1pt behind! So you've kinda just proved my whole point, that wild spending guarantees nothing.

Helix

Savman wrote: »

Who are where exactly? 1pt behind! So you've kinda just proved my whole point, that wild spending guarantees nothing.

they can contend with injuries, we cant

Savman

Helix wrote: »

they can contend with injuries, we cant

Ah now you're just speculating. Take out Richards, Dunne, Petrov or Elano and that side will slide down the table, I'm sure of it. A few of my mates are ManC mad so I've watched a fair bit of them this season, they are a good side but there is no gulf in class between them and Villa. The only exception being Elano, we defo need someone like him at some stage.

Remember this is the same Man City side we should've beaten convincingly at VP. There's really nothing to suggest they could cope with injuries any better than we could. Especially considering they do not have a recognised strike force.

Savman

I see our CEO Richard Fitz has resigned, now the timing makes this very odd news indeed....

Raekwon

Savman wrote:

I see our CEO Richard Fitz has resigned, now the timing makes this very odd news indeed

After only 1 year? I wonder why he resigned. But on the flip side, Fitz was the guy who came out last May and said that Villa fans can expect world class signings in the summer. In came Harewood & Knight and out went his credibility!

Savman

Right we need at least one decent signing to balance this out. If said signing was "top class", we would not complain about the irony....:D

invincibleirish

Hmmm no new signings, CEO resigning, the paranoia is already kicking in on some of the Villa forums about all not being as it should!.

i dont think its that bad, and i think we have to remember that we have a decent First team but not much more.

of the players we were linked with, Woodgate is perennially injured and is not as good as Laursen so do we really need him?.

Pascal Chimbonda has been a rock in a very leaky defence, that along with the allegations of his greed mean surely MON wouldnt fancy him? the same reason he apparently didnt sign Diarra. Bad attitude.

Hutton i concede could have been handy but i guess he might suffer from Scottish-player-syndrome, i.e being crap for ages while they settle in (re: Petrov, Ferguson, Maloney, Mcfadden....).

We should finish top 6 with the squad we have, if we do get injuries to key players like Barry, Young or Agbonlahor Villa are ****ed anyway because how many players are there available and willing to move who will have the same impact on the Villa team as these players? not many i guess, There is no point buying players for the sake of having faces in the squad, Djemba x2 anyone?


also i think the best bit of business that Villa did was keeping Olof til the end of the season and not tempting to cash in on him with Juve' offer (wonder how deadly and DOL would have handled that). as long as He stays fit we dont have to worry about RB until next summer.

Villain

LOL thats why we sold Ridgewell lol

Neil3030

I wonder what news the papers will bring us tomorrow....

<Enter Squad Member aged 25+> hails <Enter Squad Member aged -25> as a bright prospect who will do great things in both the Premiership and for the England national team.... :rolleyes:

Neil3030

Hmmm... I stand corrected - Routledge has Villa medical apparently...

DSB

Eh is that really the sort of player we want?

Helix

yes, hes a good player with bags of potential

when hes match fit he'll be starting on the right meaning teams wont be able to focus all their attentions on young

for £2.5m he could be an amazing bargain

Savman

At this stage, he'll do.

Villain

Good signing, he could be a good option on the right and at that money not much of a gamble, now whos next?

Savman

Villain wrote: »

Good signing, he could be a good option on the right and at that money not much of a gamble, now whos next?

ITSOTP!

Helix

Villain wrote: »

Good signing, he could be a good option on the right and at that money not much of a gamble, now whos next?

fonzy alves hopefully

a sly bid would be great

Neil3030

Helix wrote: »

fonzy alves hopefully

a sly bid would be great

Nah we should deffo try snag another Spurs reject - Defoe? Chimbonda? Berbatov?

Could Spurs actually be our feeder club I'm wondering....

Helix

dont want chimbonda after his outburst last week, we dont need that kinda bloke at the club

defoe seems set to stay, maybe we could get berbatov in tho, he might fancy a step up

lol

Neil3030

Well on a more serious note, Gudjohnsen has snubbed Bolton on a return loan-deal, I'd dearly welcome a move to get him to VP. Since it was he himself that apparently opposed the move it means Barca are obviously welcome to the idea of loaning him out...

Savman

Zero chance of Defoe now tbh, he will hang on for his League Cup Runners Up medal at this stage.

Helix

Villa sign Wayne Routledge and US keeper Brad Guzan

Jan 30 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O'Neill was today putting the finishing touches to a £4million double transfer of Tottenham winger Wayne Routledge and Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

Former England Under-21 international Routledge, 23, has failed to make an impact at Spurs where he has made just two appearances all season, whilst Villa beat Celtic to capture £2million rated Guzan, also 23, who has impressed on a two day trial.

Routledge, who will solve O'Neill's right-sided dilemma, was believed to be undergoing a medical with Villa setting in motion a work-permit application for American intenational Guzan.

O'Neill remains hopeful he can add more signings with Alan Hutton's transfer from Rangers to Spurs inevitably forcing Pascal Chimbonda's hand.

And there could be outgoings with Thomas Sorensen desperate to quit, whilst Rangers now have the cash to complete a move for Luke Moore although they could wait 'til the summer when he will have just a year left on his contract.

Routledge played over 100 games for Crystal Palace, making his debut in the final two minutes of a home October 2001 defeat against Albion, aged only 16.

He was a key player in the side that won promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs in 2003-04, and he was an ever- present, scoring just the once against Southampton, as Palace battled against relegation from the top flight.

Spurs snapped him up in July 2005 with Palace receiving an initial £1.25m, rising to £2m depending upon appearances.

Routledge suffered a broken foot on his league debut aganst Portsmouth which put him out for four months and after just three games he was eventually loaned to Pompey in January 2006, where he made 13 appearances as they spectacularly beat the drop.

A loan to Fulham followed - he made 28 appearances last season and scored one goal against Leicester in the FA Cup - as part of a deal that brought Steed Malbranque to Tottenham.

But this season he has played just 23 minutes against Everton and 71 minutes against Derby, both in August.

Guzan's arrival comes at a time when Sorensen's Villa career is finished.

O'Neill is believed to be far from convinced about whether to make Scott Carson's loan permanent from Liverpool next summer and Stuart Taylor is likely to leave at the end of the season when he will have just 12 months on his contract.

After spending two years with the Chicago Fire Reserves, Illinois-born Guzan was drafted to Chivas USA where he was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2007, earning the first of five caps for the USA in February 2006 against Guatemala.

Necronomicon

Spurs accepted a bid for Kevin Prince Boeteng as well. MON is a busy last-minute shopper.

Helix

petrov must be on the way out the door

coz it sure as hell isnt nrc, barry or young we're buying in these midfielders to replace

Savman

Monsieur Marteen, wit zeez players you are really spoiling us

Villain

Not exactly big name signings that will better our best 11, but young players with potential who may improve under MON and offer cover for injuries. Still need a RB and perhaps a 20 goal a season striker but I have a feeling they will have to wait until the summer.

DSB

Chimbonda looks a likely signing I would imagine.

Helix

the prince boateng story is false

both villa and spuds have denied it and sky sports admitted they made a massive cock up

Helix

DSB wrote: »

Chimbonda looks a likely signing I would imagine.

mon said on friday he didnt want him apparently

who can blame him after that outburst from him

dont want that cnut within 500 yards of either vp or bodymoore

Villain

Helix wrote: »

the prince boateng story is false

both villa and spuds have denied it and sky sports admitted they made a massive cock up

Yep looks like a red herring, so that leaves us with one player on the way in, ummmm

Helix

2, weve agreed a deal for that yankee keeper

£4m for him and routledge

Bounty Hunter

Chimbondas agent has today sad he is going nowhere and despite him actually being a RB i would prefer Mellberg till Summer then someone else who hopefully will be attracted by Villas european football.

Kevin Prince Boateng i would be quite happy with although i wouldent expect huge things from him immediatley. Id also see this move as the long term end of Ozzy Osbourne at Villa.

Routeledge is the type of player Villa need and will def eliviate the pressure A.Young is under although he would not have been my choice i expected Giles Barnes tbh

Helix

id expect us to move for barnes tomorrow to be perfectly honest

Villain

Now Barnes would be a good signing.

Necronomicon

Would he really go for Barnes having just signed Routledge?

Not surprised to hear that the Prince Boeteng was a red herring. He's gotten much more playing time under Ramos than he had under Jol.

Villain

Barnes is a very good player imo and could play in several positions

Raekwon

We have been linked to Leicester right-back Richard Stearman and Crystal Palace striker Sean Scannell but that is probably just the media putting two & two together after MON went to see both of their teams play together earlier this week.

I haven't seen anything of Wayne Routledge, he has only played a handful of games in his 3 years at Spurs. He would be a gamble but we do need a right-sided midfield player.

Anyway, the official site has said nothing so until they confirm a signing then I'm not getting too excited.

Helix

wouldnt mind the official site, they dont put anything like players having medicals on it as a rule

routledge had the medical this morning and passed it, theres likely to be a pc on friday if we're gonna be shopping again tomorrow

Savman

Helix wrote: »

wouldnt mind the official site, they dont put anything like players having medicals on it as a rule

routledge had the medical this morning and passed it, theres likely to be a pc on friday if we're gonna be shopping again tomorrow

There always is a press conference on Fridays

Raekwon

Yeah your probably right. The official site is rubbish anyway, they have the most useless news stories on there. The headline right now is about Villa 'cult hero' & the head of education at the Ipswich academy, Sammy Morgan visiting Villa Park tonight.

Villain

I wouldn't get too excited about the routledge signing he's only going to be a squad player with potential for the moment.

Helix

he'll go straight into the starting xi when hes match fit imo

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

he'll go straight into the starting xi when hes match fit imo

I would tend to agree although I hope long term he becomes just a squad player unless he develops that much talked about potential

Helix

cj_iow wrote:

ICBrum forum quote

Then last night I went out for dinner with two football agents,if you require their names, pm me, and I will only be to glad to inform you of exactly who, obviously during our night out, the subject of football and transfers came up. Both of these said agents would not give exact names, but assured me that at least one exciting transfer will happen in the market before the week is out concering Villa. They also both stated that Villa had been in touch with them about three other players who the club would like either now or in the Summer if possible, the figure touted for one of the players was 19.5 mill euros and the player concernd being a Spanish player, the other player being touted by Villa being a Dutch under 21 international, although not available till the Summer window. Ok names would obviously not be given or reputations would go down the pan. One other piece of info that was shared was that a 23 year old Argentinian player would be moving from Mjorca F.C to Portsmouth before this window closes. So far I have been very sceptical about any players coming in this window, but after last night and the general conversation, I am now more than sure that we will be gaining at least two or three players before this window closes, and at least one of these players will be a quality accqusition.

Then 5 mins ago i find this

http://tinyurl.com/232hor

So is there anything in this pot of gold seeing as this was printed WAY before this story was found, to much of a coincidence? ... possibly?

very very very interesting, considering that original was posted 3 days ago apparently