Villa Signings and General Rumours Thread

Neil3030

Good result but hopefully not one that's going to be taken as indicative of our right to claim the 4th CL space. A deflected shot/injured keeper, poor defending by Duff on the far post, a shambolic attempt by Newcastle to clear a corner and a moment of insanity by Carr gave us those 4 goals. I was very dismayed at how we still looked flaccid on the attack in open play even against the poor toon defence. It really showed how we simply do not have any attacking creativity in CM and up front, just dogged work-horses. While I'm also delighted for Carew to bag his hat-trick, I'd be shocked if the big-man scores again before Paddy's day.

But on the plus side I thought we defended well today and I'm glad Davies had a decent outing after his nightmare final 20 mins last week. Gardner also showed promise when he came on; though his defensive attributes are nowhere near Mellberg's, he has decent pace and better delivery up the flank, which he used to release Young on a couple of occasions. Makes me optimistic for when/if MON signs an outright RB with better attacking qualities.

Bounty Hunter

I wonder where does Gardner play in training RB/CM? afterall he is Villa's backup RB and CM atm aswell as the English U-21 RB

Savman

Wasn't expecting Citeh to get a result like that at Old Trafford but safe to say that wasn't the result we really wanted, most teams around us all won this weekend so it'll stay tight in that 2nd tier for a while to come.

I'll be happy so long as we just keep up pace with 4th place, so even allowing for the odd slip-up I'd like to think we should stay within 3-4pts off the CL spot. There's too many teams creeping up behind (Blackburn, Pompey and WHam anyway) and I think between Villa, Pool, City and Everton, at least one of those teams will hit a bad run of form and drop out of the UEFA race.

Our run-in is friendly on the eye, so no reason we can't do Top 6. I'd drink to that.:D

Villain

I'd drink to top 6 too but I think we need a lot of luck and hard work to pull it off, city have been on a poor run and while the lift of winning a derby will help them I think they will drop more points than us.

I'm a bit worried Pompey will push on again now with players back from Africa, its going to be tough.

Savman

3pts between us an Pompey. Feck all.
6pts between us and Blackburn who will hopefully lose ground at Emirates
7pts between us and WHam, that's a bit of breathing space anyway.

I don't think anyone below that will be there or thereabouts, Spurs, for example, have just given themselves too much to do.

There's 6 teams that will be chasing 4th
Villa, Liverpool, City, Everton, Blackburn, Pompey

There's 1 CL spot and probably 2 UEFA spots up for grabs so potentially 3 of the above teams will be cursing their luck come May. Touch and go really...

Helix

theres potentially 3 uefa spots for the league depending on how the fa cup turns out iirc too

Savman

Yeah well counting all variables that means a Top 4 side to win the CC and FAC to open up another place (or 2?) to the league.
But the FAC doesn't get decided until the week after the league finishes so cant be relying on that tbh.

Helix

well if the fa cup final contains 2 teams who finished in the top 6, 7th place in the league gets the last uefa spot (assuming chelsea win the league cup)

krinpit

It has to be said though - the UEFA cup is a snore-fest. The Champs League or bust!

Helix

not much point going into the champions league with the current squad tho, chances are we wouldnt even make the group stages as we'd be unseeded

Raekwon

krinpit wrote: »

It has to be said though - the UEFA cup is a snore-fest. The Champs League or bust!

The UEFA Cup is still a prestigious competition and I would love to see Villa competing in it next season rather then have no European football at all. I think it is way to early for Villa to be in the Champions League besides we don't have a squad big enough for a competition like that. I think even if we did qualify for the CL and sign a few players during the summer we could well end up like Everton a few seasons ago (getting knocked out of the CL by Villarreal in the qualifying stages and then having a nightmare season).

Neil3030

What's the latest on Routledge? Wasn't on the bench on Saturday.

Raekwon

No Routledge didn't make the bench on Saturday. He has only played 2 games for Tottenham this season and that was back in August so he is not match fit yet.

Btw I just saw on SSN that Villa had a bid (rumored to be £6m) rejected by Benfica for Portuguese Under 21 International rightback Nélson. Benfica said that Villa fell short of their £8.2m valuation of the player.

eirebhoy

Nelson was motm by far against Celtic last season. Set up a couple of the goals I think.

Raekwon

The FA are investigate an incident between Joey Barton and Shaun Maloney that took place during Saturdays game and could lead to disciplinary action being brought against Joey Barton.

I watched the match live but I didn't notice any incidents but when I saw the highlights it seems like Barton took a swing at Maloney in the box right before he threw his arm up to block Barry's goal bound shot. I am actually astonished that Barton was not sent off and Villa were not awarded another penalty especially after his two footed lung on Ashely Young, again in the Newcastle box.

I hope the FA throw the book at this little scumbag! :mad:

One Cold Hand

I really hate that man. I wanna say a few worse things about him, but I'm probably get banned.

He had a hand ball and a horrible lunge on Young in their box in the first. He was lucky not to give away a penalty.

Bounty Hunter

Villa against the 39th game

From Daily Mail

Lerner spells out the home truths
EXCLUSIVE By RALPH ELLIS and NEIL MOXEY - More by this author »

Last updated at 21:47pm on 12th February 2008

Aston Villa's American owner Randy Lerner is against the plan to take the Premier League around the world.

The billionaire boss of the MBNA Bank was not at last week's London meeting when chief executive Richard Scudamore spelled out his controversial Premier League plan for a '39th game' to create a platform for global expansion.

So far Villa have not made an official comment because they do not want to break ranks with the other 19 clubs who voted to explore the idea.

But the message from Lerner is that somebody will have to make a very convincing argument for him to change his stance that English football should be played in England.

He backs up his views in the sort of marketing speak that Scudamore and his Premier League cronies will understand: 'The core value of the Premier League brand is the passion of the supporters who follow it.'

Lerner, who also owns American Football side the Cleveland Browns, spoke out in October against shifting match venues.

In the run-up to the NFL game at Wembley between Miami Dolphins and New York Giants, he said: 'I wouldn't be comfortable with Villa v Manchester United, for instance, being played in Cleveland or New York or Beijing.

'You go to Goodison or Villa Park or St James' and the environment is vital. You take two teams and don't have the home fans — and don't have what is brought by the fans who have travelled — then you're dismantling something. I find that concerning.'

Sportsmail has led opposition to Scudamore's campaign and Lerner, who has invested heavily in restoring Villa's tradition and history, is the first significant club owner to spell out the reasons why it is a bad idea.

Lerner said: 'The soul of English football is characterised by tradition.'

Raekwon

Luke Moore could find himself being loaned out to WBA for the rest of the season, although Albion boss Tony Mowbray isn't giving much away about the rumored deal. If it happens it would be a good deal for both clubs IMO, Moore could help WBA win the Championship and put himself in the shop window for a big money transfer in the summer.

Neil3030

:mad::mad::mad::mad:ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

These are the stories that just make my blood curdle!!

"Striker John Carew is backing Aston Villa team-mate Ashley Young to make a similar impact with England as Blackburn winger David Bentley"

For f***s sake!

~Rebel~

Neil3030 wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad::mad:ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

These are the stories that just make my blood curdle!!

"Striker John Carew is backing Aston Villa team-mate Ashley Young to make a similar impact with England as Blackburn winger David Bentley"

For f***s sake!

I dont get it...whats wrong with that?

Raekwon

Yeah it's a noting story. You would swear David Bentley was in the England squad for years the way the headline reads but I in reality Bentley has only 3 caps while Young is just 1 behind him with 2 caps.

DSB

Neil3030 wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad::mad:ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

These are the stories that just make my blood curdle!!

"Striker John Carew is backing Aston Villa team-mate Ashley Young to make a similar impact with England as Blackburn winger David Bentley"

For f***s sake!

Em, calm down?

Neil3030

It's a complete nothing story that either (a) is used to generate news when there is none, or (b) is used to distract fans attention from more pressing matters (which is what I fear is going on).

Ashley Young is a quality player, we know he's a quality player, we don't need any member of the team to come out and tell us he is a quality player. We get about 2 or 3 of these a week, usually Carew, Barry or Laursen talking up Gabby or Young, and I'm really starting to get sick of them.

DSB

I'm sure its just the media sparking up the propaganda that generally does lead to alot of players getting called upto the squad. I doubt Carew rang up some newspaper to tell them he thought Young should be in the squad, sounds far more likely that he was asked about it, and gave his opinion, accordingly.

Neil3030

But he's already in the squad. He even played the last 5 mins against Switzerland. And given the frequency of these pointless stories I can't accept it's the media sparking baseless content.

Bounty Hunter

meh its just an attempt to find something to say about Villa in a week when they dont have a game, infact they arent even in the country. Like last year Villa are having fun in the sun atm partaking in a training camp in spain.

elsewhere good news regarding Villa's right back.... thats right we have a RB at VP (except he isnt at Villa Park) Chris Herd scored two goals in the opening fifteen minutes for Port Vale last night where he is on loan.

Raekwon

From the official site:

Villa have applied to enter next season's Intertoto Cup - as a back-up to the ongoing bid for automatic European qualification.

The competition format has changed since Villa last entered the Intertoto back in 2002 and Martin O'Neill's men would need to negotiate just one round to reach the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.

If Villa do qualify for the Intertoto, they would play one two-legged tie over the weekends of July 19/20 and 26/27.

Villa have entered the Intertoto on three previous occasions and won the competition in 2001.

I have mixed feelings about this. It's not really a sign of confidence from a side that could potentially finish 4th and earn a Champions League place next season. It would actually seem that Villa are gearing up to finish outside of the UEFA Cup places and this is the back up plan. Fair enough I suppose and it probably would be better to play some completive matches during the summer instead of meaningless friendlies thousands of miles away.

But then the down side to that is that if we do play in the Intertoto before the season kicks-off then we could have played approximately 6 more competitive games before anybody else has even kicked a ball. That could hit us hard further into the season will players getting tired or/and injured. I would assume that MON wouldn't have given the go ahead to enter this competition if he wasn't planning a massive spending spree during the summer. Here's hoping

Anyway, hopefully we can get into the UEFA Cup with our league position rather then going the Intertoto route.

Bounty Hunter

Im not sure what to think about this really although im optimistic that Villa wont need the Intertoto to get into the Eufa as I think 7teams will go into europe as one of the CL qualifiers will win a cup IMO and prehaps even 8teams as Everton could win the Uefa or Spurs could win the Uefa and CC.

If however Villa were to finish 8th and not get europe then i would be happy with Intertoto football especially if it is only one two legged round before Uefa qualifying matches, so as a back-up option ive objection to Villa applying for it as Europe is where we need to be to attract new better players, even if we have to use the backdoor to get there.

DSB

Yeah it really doesn't say anything about how Martin O'Neill feels we're going to do in the league, its a Plan B, everyone knows that its not set in stone we'll qualify by other means, so it makes sense to have another option.

Bounty Hunter

Villa youths (Delfouneso and Co) doing good again after a 2-0 win they are into the semi-final's of the FA Youth Cup where they will most likely face Chelsea. MON actually flew back from the training camp to watch the game.

Helix

apparently barry bannan ran the show in the quarters, big big noises about him despite him only being a wee chap

if we make the final im thinking i might head over for it, be a bit of a change

shoutman

All quiet at VP really.

Barry tips Harewood for Villa start

Tue 19 Feb, 02:45 PM

Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry has hailed the impact of Marlon Harewood since his arrival at the club.Harewood is yet to make a Premier League start for Villa after his summer move from West Ham, but after an inspirational second-half performance against Newcastle, Barry believes he could soon earn a starting spot.

The England midfielder told the club's official website: "Marlon deserves a lot of credit - probably more than he got - because he pumped the players at half-time in the dressing room.

"His work-rate lifted everyone and I'm sure John (Carew) with his goals appreciated all the work Marlon did for him.

"Marlon was half-thinking he might have started against Newcastle with Gabby (Agbonlahor) being out, but he had to wait until half-time. You could tell he was desperate to prove a point and I think he did and he's now in the manager's mind.

"Marlon's been an asset all season - he's kept working hard and he's had to remain patient. But he's been around the game long enough to know you have to do that sometimes."

I think Balou has been sensational for villa, he is an inspiration. Everybody though MON was mad when he signed the big man but they have been proven wrong. Imagine what he'd be like if he had a decent bit of talent....

shoutman

Also looks like Luke Moore is heading to WBA, he's at the hawthorns for a medical at the moment. £3.5mil deal.

Villain

Lovely helping them get promoted so we have another derby next year is a great idea!

dobsdave

shoutman wrote: »

Also looks like Luke Moore is heading to WBA, he's at the hawthorns for a medical at the moment. £3.5mil deal.

How can he sign outside the transfer window?
Does that just apply to Premier league signings?

Helix

by signing on a loan til the end of the season, then signing proper when the window opens

we wont get any money for him anyway, theyll just knock it off the davies bill

dobsdave

Ah... didn't realise it was a loan deal.

shoutman

Yea sorry I should have clarified that. Villa will still have 30 days to recall him when the loan commences.

Bounty Hunter

shoutman wrote: »

Also looks like Luke Moore is heading to WBA, he's at the hawthorns for a medical at the moment. £3.5mil deal.

strange that Tony Mowbray doesent seem to agree

He told the Birmingham Post:

'The Luke Moore thing is purely speculation and he will not have any impact on the players at the club now. We have got Ishmael Miller, Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Craig Beattie and we have scored more goals than anyone else in the country this season. We are happy enough with our goalscorers, but they have to keep that competition going among themselves.'

although he did say Moore wouldent have any impact on the players he has not we wont sign him. still odd

guess this proves that when it comes to transfers a manager denying a move mean Jack snit

GuanYin

CHARTER UPDATE

Regarding Superthreads

Please read and be familiar everyone.

Esse85

Any predictions on today's game, i reckon we'll win by a goal.

Villain

Barry missed a penalty awful miss.

Neil3030

Not impressed by this performance thus far by any stretch of the imagination. Davies is looking solid at the back though.

PHB

Looks like a solid away performance from me, keeping in touch with the CL. Reading is not an easy game, just ask United.

Harewood with a lovely finish.

Young is some player, if you guys don't get CL football, I can see at least one of the top 4 making a move for him. Personally I'd love to see him at United.

Im_No_Superman

Great goal from Harewood. He is turning into a very handy player for ye.

One Cold Hand

Harewooooooouuuudddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bounty Hunter

Good performance today, by far the better side. A well worked first goal nicely finished by Young, who yes is quality and is bound to start getting attension from currently more succesful clubs (not going to say bigger) come the Summer but i expect him to be playing in europe next year with Villa. Then a great Henry-esque finish by super sub Marlon Harewood for the second which was well needed as despite this being a good away performance we were never comfortable with just a one goal lead.




Doyle really needs a goal atm

edit: 2-1 very late Shorey consolation free kick (carson got a hand to it and it went in off the post)

Savman

I hold my hand high and admit I was wrong about Harewood, his attitude is "top class"tm

Carson beaten by a late free kick again, I'm beginning to see why MON is deferring any talk of a permanent deal.

DSB

Don't think I've ever enjoyed watching Villa play so much. There was plenty of wasteful play in front of goal but we really showed how well we can pass the ball and whenever there was a 50/50 ball I felt we showed the hunger to get there and invariably did.

Ashley Young is a class act, would hope O'Neill wouldn't sell him for any amount of money. Laursen is also top notch. Pity about the penalty miss, it was a terribly struck penalty, but Barry had a good game overall. Agbonlahor used his pace brilliantly. Gardner looks like he might be the answer to our right-back problem because hes far more positionally aware than Mellberg. Don't like him as a centre-mid but think he can do the job really well as a right-back.

Harewood showed why he is going to be such an asset to this club, and I'm chuffed to be proven wrong about him. Definitely looked better than Carew did when he came on. Carew wasn't awful either though. Davies really looks comfortable in centre-back and will only improve. Bouma is definitely the unsung hero of the side, looks really good with the ball at his feet. Carson was dodgy on a number of occasions and ReoCoker was a bit anonymous.

Harper should be reprimanded by the FA over that push on O'Neill by the way. Really not on.

Savman

Pretty much sums up my sentiments too. Hard to find a lot wrong with this Villa side, quite impressive today with the exception of Carson for that free. NRC is hit and miss, can look average or world class, still has a lot to learn I guess.

We'll forgive Barry that howler.