Villa Signings and General Rumours Thread

DSB

You're probably right. Some of the risks have been quite huge.

Savman

Just got in, didn't see the game and didn't hear the result until now, needless to say I wasn't expecting that at all :eek:

Terrible result.

~Rebel~

Just watching the superbowl buildup. They were asking famous people from the US and England about who they thought would win. Martin O Neil was one of them and he was saying he thinks it will be the patriots and that he's surprised the Giants have gotten this far, that he thought they wouldn't have had the strength in depth and that injuries would have stopped them before now. Bit amusing considering his own team is facing the exact same problem due to his lack of signings only a few days ago..

Raekwon

~Rebel~ wrote:

Just watching the superbowl buildup. They were asking famous people from the US and England about who they thought would win. Martin O Neil was one of them and he was saying he thinks it will be the patriots and that he's surprised the Giants have gotten this far, that he thought they wouldn't have had the strength in depth and that injuries would have stopped them before now. Bit amusing considering his own team is facing the exact same problem due to his lack of signings only a few days ago..

Nice post ~Rebel~, but I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry at that quote from MON He seems like a very intelligent and likable man but some of this decisions and comments are quite baffling. I understand that he found it difficult getting quality players in the transfer window but I am starting to think that his idea of quality is alot different from most peoples perceptions of the word. I mean he signed Zat Knight and Marlon Harewood for £8m and for me that doesn't represent quality or (his other coined term) 'value for money'. Most fans will argue that they are just cover players but with the size of our squad we don't have nearly enough players to cover every position so that argument goes straight out of the window. Plus don't get me started about trying to buy a 4th keeper at the last minute, that could easily be solved in the summer ahead of more pressing issue's like...........oh let me see..............signing a rightback :rolleyes:

At the end of the day MON did terrible in the summer's transfer window, but he said that knew what he was doing and decided to wait until January to get the players that he really wanted. January has come and gone and we have the same size squad that are now down to the absolute bare bones with a few injuries and probably more looming. I think come May we will find our European aspirations seriously disintegrate because of a fickle and quite bizarre transfer policy. We have been really lucky up until now in regards to injuries and suspensions but we will probably find it very difficult from now until the end of the season (I really hope I'm wrong though). Granted we are 6th in the table at the moment, but it is the 4th of February not the 4th of May.

Savman

If you were to describe the terms that would bring about a mid season slump, would they include the following:
-Top Scorer gets hamstring injury
-Knocked out of FA Cup
-Manager cant/wont sign badly needed players
-Losing to a relegation fodder team who are 2nd bottom in table
-CEO of Club resigns for undisclosed reasons
-Bright prospect Defender sold

Granted this is just focusing on the negative but the fact remains we had no less than THREE chances to capitalize on teams around us in the past 3 weeks. We scraped a draw at Anfield, rescued a point at home to Blackburn then lose :eek: at Craven Cottage. Three clear opportunities missed to gain some ground and keep the push for Europe going. Instead we get 2pts from a possible 9.

Gabby getting injured, like last year, is a blessing in disguise. He needs the rest and whatever about that England call up bollocks he's been fairly average lately but he's not alone in that department. Now we've a tricky damn game with Barcodes coming up followed by a lovely trip to Emirates. After that we take on Boro before another nice trip to a Defoe-inspired Fratton Park. Oh the irony.

At least the following game is winnable, Sunderland at home. Then, we simply get max points from Old Trafford and Europe here we come.

~Rebel~

Savman wrote: »

We scraped a draw at Anfield, rescued a point at home to Blackburn then lose :eek: at Craven Cottage. Three clear opportunities missed to gain some ground and keep the push for Europe going. Instead we get 2pts from a possible 9.

The blackburn and liverpool results weren't bad really, the Fulham one was alright.. I still have a feeling Villa will have enough to make the Uefa cup. The question is, do yee want it? Another front to fight on next season? Could be more trouble then its worth if a LOT more players aren't brought in..

Raekwon

~Rebel~ wrote: »

The blackburn and liverpool results weren't bad really, the Fulham one was alright.. I still have a feeling Villa will have enough to make the Uefa cup. The question is, do yee want it? Another front to fight on next season? Could be more trouble then its worth if a LOT more players aren't brought in..

On paper the Blackburn & Liverpool results look decent enough but considering Villa had hammered Blackburn 4-0 at their place and were on a very good run at the time they played at Villa Park, one point gained seems more like 2 points dropped. As for the Liverpool game, we were 4 minutes away from 3 points then lost concentration along with another 2 points. Frustrating stuff.

I agree with you about next season though. If Villa do get a UEFA Cup spot (looking doubtful at this moment in time) then MON will need to sign around 10 players during the summer to sustain any sort of challenge in 4 competitions. That number might sound huge but we could only have approximately 16 first team players come July and with MON reluctant to sign players we could find ourselves asking more and more questions about the clubs ambition. It's crazy really, we have come so far yet there are still huge question marks hanging over the club.

Esse85

Villa are where they are in the league due to players like Laursen, Mellberg, Barry, Young and Agbonlahor carrying the side. Once we take off the tinted Villa glasses and assess our side we get a clearer picture.

MON's signings since he arrived have been poor overall.

Petrov: Im afraid he's been here long enough now and he still doesnt look like he can hack it in the PL. Slow, off the pace and out of the game for long periods.

Carew: The big number 10 is a journeyman and i dont think his home is at VP, sometimes he looks dis-interested, lazy and off the pace, he's injury prone too and statistics back up that he wont score 15 league goals a season.

Maloney: I like the guy and dont think he's been given a fair run in the team, but a year on after signing he hasnt made much of an impact, whether the PL is too fast and physical for him ill leave others to decide.

Harewood: Poor player, all heart and no real craft or guile. Has no first touch, was playin reserve football for West Ham last season yet MON gives West Ham £4million for this 28 year old championship player.

Reo-Coker: Has very little ability on the ball, similiar to McCann. I know he's supposed to break up play but he gives too many free kicks away and gets caught out of position alot. I dont think we'd ever recoup the £8.5million we paid for him, the fee was justified i believe because he's English, and he captained England in the European U21 championships in the summer.

Knight: This guy is a calamity waiting to happen, he's so prone to mistakes. He got some critics off his back early on by scoring against Chelsea but to those with any knowledge they'll no he's a liability to have in your squad. How Ridgewell and Cahill can be let go and this lad is deemed more suitable cover is ludacris.

Carson: Although only a loan deal, if its £10million Liverpool are after then they can keep him. He's worth half that at most. I dont remember any man of the match performances from him, no world class saves come to mind. He should of done better on a number of goals with Bullard's goal the latest.

Salifou: One substitute appearance, when is he going to get a run. Signed as an exciting right winger in the summer and we've never seen him. Has MON no faith in this guy after he signed him?

On the plus he has made a great signing in Ashley Young and Curtis Davies who will hopefully become a permanent signing.

I think MON's inabilities in the transfer market will always prevent him from being labelled a great manager like Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger

Savman

Esse85 wrote: »

Villa are where they are in the league due to players like Laursen, Mellberg, Barry, Young and Agbonlahor carrying the side.

The truth in all it's glory.

What's really struck me is that O'Neill may not get a gig like this again anytime soon, rich owner with a blank chequebook. Most managers would have a field day and go on a spending spree using all their might and many contacts to get quality players in. It seems only himself wants to continue to shop thrifty despite winning the lotto.

I wouldn't mind if we had news coming thru that "Villa had bid declined for Defoe" or "MON thwarted in Riise bid" - it would pacify the fans at least and I don't see the harm in the odd story trickled out rather than the complete blackout we have now. It's also not fair that the General has to repeatedly answer questions MON should be answering clearly at press conferences. I truly admire that he keeps his cards close to his chest, but eh, hello, we're the fans ffs.

Yours sincerely,
Disillusioned in Dublin

Villain

Well I was away for the weekend but I saw the game in an Irish bar in Sweden, probably would have been better off not watching it, I know I was been negative after the last two draws but now I think most people can see why. We are relying on Young and Gabby far too much for the attacking side of our play and obviously set pieces also.

So when Young is suspended and Gabby goes off we are left with little to any threats going forward especially when Barry and Maloney can't deliver set pieces. MON has made a huge huge mistake in not taking some risks and buying players, we really could struggle if we were to have a run of injuries.

Maloney is a good player but a top class winger he was up against a defence that is weak and yet he rarely took on his man, Carew was winning headers but we couldn't get the second ball and he asked for it to his chest at least twice. Petrov is not a right sided midfielder but ffs he should be intelligent enough to stay out wide when he is played in that position.

I really think MON has lost the momentum and confidence he had built into the side and we really need to dig in now and grind out results or any chance of europe is gone.

Helix

have i or have i not been saying all this, and been shot down for saying all this, for a long time now?

o'neill is abysmal in the transfer market, and has show no signs that its set to change

young looks more like a fluke than anything else at this stage

im pretty sure i was critisized for saying that it was very likely our good work so far would be for nothing if mon made a balls of the jan window (which was always going to happen)

unfortunately, im being proven right, fortunately i fully expected it so im not too disappointed

its at the stage where i dont think a director of football/head of recruitment for playing staff would be too bad an idea

Savman

Helix that's the equivelant of shouting "I told ye so" at the top of your internet voice. Some of us wanted to give MON the chance to build his own squad but there comes a time where you have acknowledge it might not happen, ever. Unless the plan is for MON to get us stable again then hand over to someone else (which could well be the case) then we will not make sufficient progress to keep up with the elite.

The fans have come back in droves and bought into the dream, spending money on merchandise, higher attendances etc etc so we're doing as much as we can. Also the atmosphere at the stadium this year is the best it's been in a long time. I don't think it's too much to ask for our manager to show some ambition in the market.

I'll freely admit I have been defending MON and his methods up until this point, because it could be argued in each window so far he did the best he could. Last year with Carew, Young and Maloney he "significantly strenghtened the side" and in the summer we got NRC along with Carson, Knight and Harewood which just about kept the fans off his case. Now he's only brought in an out of form winger for peanuts, I'm sure Wayne will be a very good signing but where's the rest?

IMHO this is the first transfer window O Neill has done really badly and he's not helping himself by the bizarre quotes about the squad not being strong enough. Absolutely mind boggling, so even I cannot defend him on this one and I've been a huge fan of his.

A good outcome to all of this hullabaloo is we make Europe in May and spend big in the Summer. The worst case scenario is we miss out on UEFA and he carries on his bargain basement shopping in July because I genuinely think that would be the beginning of the end of his reign at VP.

He splashed out on Ashley Young, and he's arguably our best player so I cannot understand the apprehension in going for the talent. Sure he might get it wrong but as the Salifou signing shows he doesn't seem to care about that. And besides, every manager signs some flops.

Helix

we have to spend big in the summer, and we have to bring in a lot of players

we're looking at needing 7-10 players just to have a remotely half decent sized squad for next year

hands up who thinks thats going to happen?

id love if mon had signed 4 flops in january, no harm in trying like. its when youre not signing anyone that its frustrating

also, i dont think randy will sack him, ever to be honest

Bounty Hunter

Routledge scored his first goal in a Villa shirt tonight (for the reserves) apparently it was a screamer

Helix

for the record, i think routledge will be a great signing

its just too little too late

mon has zero ambition in the transfer market

Savman

I think most would agree Routledge will prove to be a steal @ £1.25m. I'm beginning to think MON's plan is to buy out the whole England U21 squad.

Doodee

Its only January yet.

If i recall everyone was happy at the reports that MON had a long term plan.
Now yee all seem to be angry cause he's not shifting from that.

Let the man do what he feels necessary right now and leave the pitchforks and torches for the Summer.

PHB

6th place, with 41 points. Last six games have been 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss. Two draws against Liverpool and Blackburn aren't a bad result. Fulham was a bad result.
He's getting the absolute best out of the squad he has, and he is slowly building. He looks like he wants Barnes, which would be another great signing. Give him time.

Savman

PHB wrote: »

6th place, with 41 points. Last six games have been 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss. Two draws against Liverpool and Blackburn aren't a bad result. Fulham was a bad result.
He's getting the absolute best out of the squad he has, and he is slowly building. He looks like he wants Barnes, which would be another great signing. Give him time.

How much time exactly? This summer he'll be 2yrs in the job so you'll forgive us if we demand more than 10th place. Yes it's only Feb, but he's gambled on not getting any serious injuries. Then Agbonlahor goes and gets injured. Go figure.

Raekwon

Doodee wrote: »

If i recall everyone was happy at the reports that MON had a long term plan.
Now yee all seem to be angry cause he's not shifting from that.

Randy Lerner has a 5 year plan, not MON. Apparently MON doesn't really believe in 5 year plans for some reason or another :rolleyes:

Martin O'Neill wrote:

"You don't get time in football. I'd love to say I have a five-year plan or ideas for the youth team. Have a bit of sense - it just doesn't happen."

Link

Helix

PHB wrote: »

6th place, with 41 points. Last six games have been 3 wins, 2 draws and a loss. Two draws against Liverpool and Blackburn aren't a bad result. Fulham was a bad result.
He's getting the absolute best out of the squad he has, and he is slowly building. He looks like he wants Barnes, which would be another great signing. Give him time.

thats exactly the attitude that pisses me off no end

"we're doing well at the moment so lets ignore the fact that with a few injuries we wont actually have enough players to fill a bench, never mind drop down the table like a stone in a pond"

yes, we're doing brilliantly. my point is it could very well be for nothing due to the manager not strengthening

JPA

This anger that is felt towards MON is almost entirely internet based.
Fans at the ground are VERY happy.
He should have tried to strengthen more but I think he's aiming too high with the players he wants. Clubs just won't sell in January. He's then stuck as I believe he has no plan B or C.
But then I think he doesn't want to settle for 2nd best which is just his nature.

id love if mon had signed 4 flops in january, no harm in trying like. its when youre not signing anyone that its frustrating

also, i dont think randy will sack him, ever to be honest

Would you like him to sign anyone coz signings are fun or what?
And would you like him sacked despite improving us beyond our expectations because he doesn't make enough signings?
Remember there's a 5 year plan in place. Which suggests we will be improving every year. He's on course for that at the moment.

Savman

JPA wrote: »

T
Would you like him to sign anyone coz signings are fun or what?
And would you like him sacked despite improving us beyond our expectations because he doesn't make enough signings?
Remember there's a 5 year plan in place. Which suggests we will be improving every year. He's on course for that at the moment.

Nobody's saying he should just sign anything with legs (some would argue he already has) but he can defo do a whole lot better than he has done. At least Sven shows ambition going after Benjani, likewise with 'Arry getting Defoe. There's plenty of decent players about so I really don't buy that MON can't find them, it seems it's more a case of he just has a specific type of player in mind and if they don't fit that bill then he doesn't bother. I'm speculating here of course because the whole thing is run like an MI5 operation. 1.5yrs into his reign and Ashley Young is by far his best signing. At just under £10m he's also our record signing, all we're asking is for more of the same now that the penny pinching days are supposedly behind us.

It's simple really, players like Ashley Young get you into Europe and keep you there. Players like Scarewood might get you in thru the back door or thru sheer workrate and determination, but they certainly won't keep you there. You need guile, craft, skill and many other cliches.

All I want to know is when we can expect the goalscorer we so badly need because they certainly don't come on the cheap. What did Rooney cost ManU, £20m odd? Torres, £25m? History has quite clearly shown that you have to pay top dollar for these players otherwise you get left behind.

Helix

JPA wrote: »

Would you like him to sign anyone coz signings are fun or what?
And would you like him sacked despite improving us beyond our expectations because he doesn't make enough signings?

no, id like him to sign people because our squad is stupidly small and a couple of injuries/suspensions will destroy our season, and with it all the hard work the team has put in since august

where did i say i wanted him sacked? what hes getting out of the players on the pitch is fine, its in the transfer market that hes awful

JPA

I agree with everyone that we need a bigger squad. No doubt about it.

But I'd rather have a brilliant manager with a weakness in the transfer market than an average manager who'll sign anyone.

Helix

oh right, so we have to just accept the bad points?

we'll never do anything if mon wont buck up and buy, especially if he keeps selling

JPA

Do you really think MON does not fully understand the situation?

Savman

JPA wrote: »

Do you really think MON does not fully understand the situation?

He seems like a highly intelligent man, which makes the current predicament all the more baffling.

Raekwon

JPA wrote: »

Remember there's a 5 year plan in place. Which suggests we will be improving every year. He's on course for that at the moment.

To me the 5 year plan seems like a 'get out of jail card' being played from the off-set. Randy Learner knew that the fans would want him to part with some of his millions straight away so he came up with the 5 year plan to give himself some breathing space. Of course if the plan doesn't go the way he wants it to then he always has the manager & his directors to use as scapegoats. Even the issue with the CEO resigning is a total mystery. Remember this is the same guy who told the media that 'significant funds were available' & 'the fans can expect some top quility signings during the summer'. None of these promises came to florisian then suddenly, 12 months into the job, he is out the door with no explaination given by the club

JPA

I suppose it's a matter of trust but I believe the only reason significant funds have not been spent is because of MON.

He has shown he will take risks with money with the signing of Young and has repeatedly said that he would spend the money on the right player. Repeatedly.
I don't think Lerner can be blamed for anything here.

Helix

JPA wrote: »

Do you really think MON does not fully understand the situation?

the current situation is his making, so he either doesnt understand it, or doesnt know what the hell he can do to get out of it

Helix

and where in the 5 year plan does it state that if we get into a position to take advantage of our competitors dropping points leaving us theoretically in with a shout for 4th or the uefa, that it should be acceptable to blow the chance because of pathetic transfer windows?

just coz its a 5 year plan doesnt mean it has to take 5 years, if it happens earlier you MUST be in the position to take the opportunity, coz it might not come around again

PHB

thats exactly the attitude that pisses me off no end

"we're doing well at the moment so lets ignore the fact that with a few injuries we wont actually have enough players to fill a bench, never mind drop down the table like a stone in a pond"

yes, we're doing brilliantly. my point is it could very well be for nothing due to the manager not strengthening

You are not a top 4 team. You can't have depth of two Youngs, or two Agenbonlahors. Instead of panic buying, he is waiting for the right buys. That is the way to go. Spending for the sake of spending is what ruins football clubs.
Look at Everton or Portsmouth. Hit really hard by the ANC. Doesn't mean they are gona go nuts and spend. If you get injuries your season will go badly, i.e. you won't get into Europe. With some luck, you won't.
That's the way it goes. Very few clubs are able to have the same quality when they are injuried.

It's like criticising Fergie because if Ronaldo got injuried we might not win the league. Or criticising Wenger because if Fabregas gets injuried they might not win the league. You will always suffer when your key players are out.
MON will continue to strength, but to strengthen in January is very very very tricky, trickier than most fans understand. You end up buying players who aren't quite the standard you want, and normally they dont do well until they get a pre-season behind them. Wait till the summer, then MON will buy I'd say 3-4 players. You want top class players like Young, but you also want to buy them in January. It's extremely rare you can get a top class player in January, because clubs can't replace players if they sell them. MON is aiming high for the players he wants, because he doens't want a squad filled with dross. Buying quality over quantity is always the way to go. In the last 4 years Fergie has bought about 10 players. Benetiz has bought about 25. Getting the right player is more important than getting a player.

Helix

theres a massive bloody difference between key players getting injured and not having enough players to fill a bench tho

if you managed a company and you didnt hire enough people to do the work that was required, but when they were in they did a good job, youd still get the boot for poor management

Raekwon

JPA wrote: »

I suppose it's a matter of trust but I believe the only reason significant funds have not been spent is because of MON.

He has shown he will take risks with money with the signing of Young and has repeatedly said that he would spend the money on the right player. Repeatedly.
I don't think Lerner can be blamed for anything here.

It is a matter of trust but the clubs 'open door policy to the fans' lasted about 5 minutes, now they don't tell us anything, so of course speculation is going to be running rife (mostly fuelled by the media I might add).

MON took one slight risk signing Young but it's not like he plucked him out of total obscurity. Lots of clubs were after him and Villa were neck and neck with Tottenham & West Ham until the fee was raised from £8m to £9.6m by Watford, only then did other clubs back off.

As for MON repeatedly saying that he will only spend money on the right players, how do you know if you have no proof? He seemed to really want either Hoyte or Bosingwa but got knocked back, did he even make a bid??? Also how do you know for sure that Randy Learner hasn't put a 'sell to buy' policy on the club for the time being for what ever reason? The answer is nobody knows anything for sure we are only speculating at what we see, ie: £3.5m price tag slapped on Luke Moores head, CEO walks out of the club, Gary Cahill leaves for £5m, Wayne Routledge signs for £1.25m, club still has no rightback and numbers are still seriously depleted but the club make a £3.75 profit and probably save £100k a year on a CEO's salary! Result! :rolleyes:

Raekwon

PHB wrote: »

You are not a top 4 team.

Not yet, but if we had any ambition that's where we would should be aiming for.

PHB wrote:

Look at Everton or Portsmouth. Hit really hard by the ANC. Doesn't mean they are gona go nuts and spend.

Pomey actually did go nuts last month and splashed out around £15m+ on players.

PHB wrote:

It's like criticising Fergie because if Ronaldo got injuried we might not win the league. Or criticising Wenger because if Fabregas gets injuried they might not win the league.

That is riduculous! Man Utd & Arsenal have huge squads and can cover every positon quite comfortably. Villa have a squad of 19 out field players, that includes 4 who haven't kicked a ball all season.

PHB wrote:

You want top class players like Young, but you also want to buy them in January.

We got Ashely Young last January.

JPA

Any players we have sold just weren't good enough for the team.

Martin O'Neill says he will look to add real quality to his Villa squad in the summer, after being frustrated by January asking prices.

The Villa boss was only able to add Tottenham winger Wayne Routledge to his squad before the latest transfer window closed, despite trying to add further additions.

A move for US keeper Brad Guzan fell through due to red tape issues, while O'Neill refused to pay the money other clubs were requesting for the other players on his wish list.

But O'Neill is prepared to wait until the summer before stepping up his search for further new faces and has promised that Villa will be seeking 'seriously good players'.

The Villa boss told the Brmingham Mail: "The squad is no bigger but then again when we are trying to do...I enquired about players who would significantly improve our team.

"Those players that I wanted were unavailble for every reason under the sun. Football clubs did not want to let them go.

"I made serious enquiries about players that I believed would have seriously improved this team."

O'Neill added: "I could have filled the squad with a host of other players but I felt that they wouldn't have added anything really when everyone was fit.

"The players that I wanted to bring to the club, those players weren't available at this minute. Prices weren't too high, they just weern't for sale. They were good players- but it is as simple as that.

"I felt it was going to be the way during the course of the window.

"You can revisit things, which I did, but I couldn't get the players I wanted at the football club to significantly improve us for the next couple of seasons.

"We will look again in the summer."

5 of our players named in the provisional England squad with 3 of them brought in by O'Neill.

Helix

only one of them was bought by o'neill, the other 2 are on loan

JPA

Helix wrote: »

only one of them was bought by o'neill, the other 2 are on loan

With both expected to sign permanently.

Helix

well davies will be done, west brom just cant push it through til the new tax year

i get the feeling its more and more unlikely we wont take carson, tbh hes looking more and more like hes not worth anywhere near the £10m

~Rebel~

Helix wrote: »

well davies will be done, west brom just cant push it through til the new tax year

i get the feeling its more and more unlikely we wont take carson, tbh hes looking more and more like hes not worth anywhere near the £10m

id say around 6 or 7 would get carson. In fairness, with hmi your buying potential as well as for the now. He's decent now, but he'll get much better, won't be peaking for about 7 years!

Savman

PHB wrote: »

Wait till the summer, then MON will buy I'd say 3-4 players.

Right. Deja vu anyone?

Villain

Well the Youth team are doing well in the FA Youth Cup so if we get a load of injuries we can give them an outing (joke), its one thing to say no top quality players were signed its another thing to complain about the small squad you are managing after every game only to sell a good player and sign a player which may have the same potential and end up with the same size squad after a month of a transfer window.

Any Villa fan that can't see the problem with a manager going on and on about the small size of the squad and then only buying one player needs to open their eyes and realise that while MON has many many excellent qualities he also has flaws and signing players is one of them. Does he honestly believe that Defoe wouldn't have improved our squad???

Savman

Helix wrote: »

i get the feeling its more and more unlikely we wont take carson, tbh hes looking more and more like hes not worth anywhere near the £10m

Have to agree here, I have to say I'm just not utterly convinced at all. Although, being fair, he was rock solid up until that England blooper, defo hasn't looked the same figure since.
Thanks McClown.

Esse85

Why didnt we try sign Diarra from Arsenal, surely he would of chose Villa instead of Pompey. He's versatile and can covers areas of the squad where we need cover and he's only 23.

Savman

AFAIK Diarra was making noises that MON didn't seem to like, something about first team football guarantees or something.

Raekwon

Esse85 wrote: »

Why didnt we try sign Diarra from Arsenal, surely he would of chose Villa instead of Pompey. He's versatile and can covers areas of the squad where we need cover and he's only 23.

MON enquired about taking Diarra on-loan last summer when he was at Chelsea, but he choose to go to Arsenal instead. According to the press he refuses to take a pay cut to play first team football and Pomey were the only club willing to match his £50k a week wage demands. TBH he seems like abit of a Chimbonda type character.

Helix

PHB wrote: »

Wait till the summer, then MON will buy I'd say 3-4 players

brilliant! a whole 3 or 4?

thatll leave us with....... the exact same sized squad we have now

how utterly brilliant!

Raekwon

I see that Man City have finally signed Benjani from Pompey for £3.87m. Villa could have signed him & Routledge with the cash that we got from the Cahill deal. But I guess he is not the type of player MON is looking for

PHB

Buying crap players now just to add depth results in you not having anywhere near as much more or wages to buy good players.
It is a direct choice between quanity or quality, and I'll always choose quality.

January is nuts. The transfer prices in England are currently nuts. Wasted money would all it would be.