Villa Signings and General Rumours Thread

Esse85

Who gives a fcuk if its over the odds, Ashley Young was supposedly over the odds at the time, look at him now.

The money isnt coming out of my pocket or yours or MON's, its Randy Lerners, shouldnt he have the final say on whether a fee is over the odds considering its his money.

IIRC Milosevic cost £3.5m, Collymore £7m and Angel £9.5m, hardly huge fees. Looking back these signings all had potential to be trouble as 2 came from the Argentinian league and Serbian league, the other had well known mental problem.

At the minute the other players at the club must be thinking WTF is going on, i think spirits would improve if we were being linked to quality players and stating that we aim to bring in the best players available and willing to join the club.

MON's transfer policy so far in his 2 years has hardly been a roaring success now has it?
All we're suggesting is what if he were to try something different.

invincibleirish

Esse85 wrote: »

Who gives a fcuk if its over the odds, Ashley Young was supposedly over the odds at the time, look at him now.

The money isnt coming out of my pocket or yours or MON's, its Randy Lerners, shouldnt he have the final say on whether a fee is over the odds considering its his money

Has he proved willing to go down the Abramovich route? RL is rich but not stupid, Young was over the odds for the time and has proved a hit, i'd like more of that please!

Esse85 wrote: »

IIRC Milosevic cost £3.5m, Collymore £7m and Angel £9.5m

:rolleyes: given the context, they were all Villas record signings at some point in a less TV money saturated time then now, we're not Man Utd yet when it comes to transfer fees. And Collymore was a complete flop, Savo not far behind, and it took ages before JPA established himself, i dont want that at Villa!

invincibleirish

Mr Alan wrote: »

Emmmmmm..... were Villa in for Modric? Surely that was an opportunity there.

Newcastle & Spurs the only 2 PL clubs im aware of that were bidding for him, Spurs stole a march on everyone else, fairplay to them, he looks really good going off Euro 2008.

~Rebel~

invincibleirish wrote: »

Has he proved willing to go down the Abramovich route? RL is rich but not stupid, Young was over the odds for the time and has proved a hit, i'd like more of that please!

being linked with good players Isn't going down the abramovich route. Buying a new team is the abramovich route.

There are a lot of very good players on the market who would instantly improve the team. If the money is there, not going for one or two is madness. Going in for Dos Santos Would have been the equivalent of Young, as would going in for Silva, or Modric.

I dunno, if i were a villa fan i'd be annoyed at the lack of links to decent players given the size of the squad and the money allegedly available. Spurs are hardly going the Abromovich route for instance, they're spotting young talent at reasonable prices relative to their current ability and future potential. And because of that I fully expect them to be in 5th next season, ahead of Villa.

Mr Alan

invincibleirish wrote: »

re: Modric...i believe if the opportunity present itself Villa would sign such a player.

invincibleirish wrote: »

Newcastle & Spurs the only 2 PL clubs im aware of that were bidding for him

Arsenal and ourselves were also rumoured to be interested in the last year.

In your quotes above do you see the above contradiction? the opportunity did present itself, Modric was available, and villa did not attempt to sign him.

Consistantly Newcastle and Spurs are the two clubs outside the top 4 that try and attract the "top" players. Villa, quite simply dont. Be it that MON does not favour the approach, or randys purse strings are not quite as loose as villa fans like to believe....but fans are right to voice their concern over the message that sends to Young/Agbonlahor etc.

Esse85

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I dunno, if i were a villa fan i'd be annoyed at the lack of links to decent players given the size of the squad and the money allegedly available.

Believe me, some of the Villa fans i know are well p1ssed off, including me, but i know i have little patience anyway;)

If MON identified a number of players adding up to be worth £50m that he intended on signing this summer without having to sell more players after Barry, would Lerner provide the cash, what are your thoughts?

Esse85

Mr Alan wrote: »

Consistantly Newcastle and Spurs are the two clubs outside the top 4 that try and attract the "top" players. Villa, quite simply dont.

I partly agree but i think history plays its part. I think most people would associate these teams with having a star player in the past and playing the game around that player such as Gascoigne, Hoddle, Ardiles, Ginola, Shearer, Owen.

Villa concentrate less on individuals and play more as a unit have less stars in the team. Spurs also have the bright lights of London to use as a competitive advantage while Newcastle use the "how much do you want a week" technique.

Both obviously know they cant offer a player champions league football so they seek to substitute that by using other tactics as mentioned.

Mr Alan

Esse85 wrote: »

Spurs also have the bright lights of London to use as a competitive advantage while Newcastle use the "how much do you want a week" technique.

that made me LOL, cheers

Bounty Hunter

todays Villa paper talk

the Express & Star wrote:

Villa still in hunt for Milner
James Milner could yet be heading to Villa Park this summer after it emerged Villa remain firmly in the race to sign the Newcastle winger.

Martin O’Neill has already been engaged in a heated tug-of-war with Liverpool counterpart Rafa Benitez for the services of skipper Gareth Barry and the pair are also locked in a battle for the £7million-rated England under-21 star.

Reports that Liverpool have already won the race for the 22-year-old are wide of the mark with the Magpies midfielder yet to decide where his future lies.

What does seem certain is that Milner, who only signed a new four-year contract at St James’ Park last July, will be leaving Tyneside with Magpies manager Kevin Keegan keen to raise further funds to rebuild the side he inherited from Sam Allardyce.

Sources close to the player have admitted Milner is torn between the lure of Champions League football at Anfield – a factor which led to Barry expressing his desire to leave Villa Park – and the chance to link up with O’Neill, of whom he is known to be a huge admirer.

Milner enjoyed a successful season on loan in the Second City two years ago and O’Neill narrowly missed out on landing the wide player shortly after succeeding David O’Leary at the helm when a deal fell through at the 11th hour.

But the youngster, who will now cost nearly double the price he did then, has always remained on the Northern Irishman’s radar and Villa are expected to pull out all the stops to get their man once Barry’s seemingly inevitable departure is sealed.

Another possible stumbling block in any Milner move to Merseyside is the fact the Reds are keen to use Jermaine Pennant - offered to Villa as part of Liverpool’s first Barry bid – as a makeweight but reports today have suggested the former Blues winger will not be moving to the north east.

Keegan is likely to be more receptive to Villa’s offer of straight cash and O’Neill will be determined not to lose out to Benitez again (???) with relations between the pair severely strained at present.

and

The Daily Mirror wrote:

Villa are after 28-year-old Brazilian midfielder Paulo Assuncao who apparently has bought out the final year of his contract at Porto.

and

Wilfred Bouma wrote:

'The Premier League is a hard league and we have done particularly well with the small squad we have got. Hopefully we can get some more bodies in this summer. We have been very lucky with injuries. If you have a small squad with a lot of injuries then you risk breaking up what we are trying to achieve. Touch wood, we can do that. As for how many, only the manager can decide.'

and

Curtis Davies wrote:

'I know a lot of people expected us to spend big in January but the gaffer is very shrewd about his signings and doesn't make signings for the sake of it. He tries to think about it and spend his money wisely so hopefully this summer he has the players he is thinking of and we can get them on board and kick on next season.'

and finally The Times say we are hoping to sign £2million rated Sheffield Wednesday defender Frank Simek who has 5 USA caps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Simek

MementoMori

I was wondering what the general feeling on Carson is among Villa fans is?

How likely do you think is it that he will be your number 1 next season?

As Pool fan I have to said I'd thought Carson would make a lot of sense for Villa. A young keeper 22, English, lots of potential. I didn't rate him hugely when Pool first signed him but would definately rate him of Premiership standard. I think his poor peformance for England esp in the 3-2 Crotia game has seen his percieved value drop. I can't recall him having any particular howlers for Villa this season but didn't really see alot of him expect in highlights clips.

I thought the loan deal had been made permanent a while back but this doesnt seem to be the case. If the deal was made premanent as reported surely a price would have been agreed and would be a done deal.

The only other option I can imagine was when the loan deal was reported as being made permanent is that maybe it was that Villa would have first choice of signing him and even then I'm sure common sense would dictate that a minimum amount of some sort would have agreed. e.g. It was agreed that Villa would have first choice to buy him for £8m once the transfer window opened. Now however Villa don't value him at this much and are looking at other cheaper goal-keeping options. (The £8m is the lower of what the BBC reported him as being worth when they reported the loan being made permanent deal)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7088633.stm

Are things on hold due to the whole Barry thing? Could a deal for Carson being agreed depend on whether or not Barry stays or goes? [ I'm not interested in discussing the whole Barry deal itself, just wondering if it could impact this deal ]

From the outside I'd have thought sorting a goalkeeper would have to be on of your top priorites this summer.

Is there any possibility of Taylor being first choice keeper?

Who would you like/expect for keeper and for how much?

Bounty Hunter

Carsons howler for England hugely dented his confidence, affected his performances and IMO cost him a move to Villa. He is a good keeper, with a lot of potential who probably would be good for a mid table side IMO. The worst thing about him is his coming for crosses as far as im concerned, he puts a lot of pressure on his defender with his inability in this area, and in doing so marginalises his command of his area which in turn lowers his team mates confidence in him. Dont think Villa will sign him would prefer Hennesy or Hart atm (although Hart is less likely despite turning down a contract recently supposidly) and Guzan is the most likely/linked.

Villain

Carson is a good keeper, but he is not good enough to pay anyway near 10 million on, Taylor is good keeper but doesn't have the presence of a top Premier League keeper.

I think either Carson valuation will drop to 4 or 5 million and he will be bought as part of the Barry deal or Guzan or Hennessy or another Keeper will come in.

Savman

I think MON would take Carson if the price was right. I'd defo say the Barry situation has a huge bearing on things.

invincibleirish

Mr Alan wrote: »

Arsenal and ourselves were also rumoured to be interested in the last year.

In your quotes above do you see the above contradiction? the opportunity did present itself, Modric was available, and villa did not attempt to sign him.

Consistantly Newcastle and Spurs are the two clubs outside the top 4 that try and attract the "top" players. Villa, quite simply dont. Be it that MON does not favour the approach, or randys purse strings are not quite as loose as villa fans like to believe....but fans are right to voice their concern over the message that sends to Young/Agbonlahor etc.

Im not sure wht you mean by contradiction in my qoutes, I dont think you can castigate MON just because he didnt go after Modric specifically, I only say Villa will go after big names because MON has said it, or at least he has said he will spend big money, and he has shown this when he had to.

Spurs & Newcastle are not role models for Villa, they've been trying and failing to break or get back into the top 4 and spending a fortune in the process, MON is apparently building a team, He has the benefit of the doubt to do things his way.


And i Villa should take Carson if the deal is suitable, but with a good back up just in case.

Esse85

Nice to see Bouma get a run out

Bounty Hunter

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7451961.stm

MementoMori

Was having a look at the Aston Villa squad and was wondering about what it would look like when the season actually starts
- The squad below is without Barry as personally I believe in the end he will end up at Liverpool . Also this is kinda looking at things from a worst case scenario type for Villa/MON and what you would do to sort them out. The upside is you would have a nice chunk of change from the Barry sale. I'm coming from this as a Liverpool fan but I've always had an affection for Villa and like to see them doing well - Think the whole Barry thing is a bit of a shame really but that's another discussion.

13 GK Stuart Taylor

5 DF Martin Laursen
15 DF Curtis Davies
3 DF Wilfred Bouma
16 DF Zat Knight
29 DF Stephen O'Halloran

7 MF Ashley Young
20 MF Nigel Reo-Coker (vice-captain) 18 MF Wayne Routledge
19 MF Stiliyan Petrov
26 MF Craig Gardner
17 MF Moustapha Salifou
27 MF Isaiah Osbourne

11 FW Gabriel Agbonlahor
10 FW John Carew
9 FW Marlon Harewood
14 FW Nathan Delfouneso
28 FW Shaun Maloney
33 FW Zoltan Stieber

The guys I've bolded are the guy's I'd consider proper serious premiership players - known quantities if you will. Might well be harsh on Bouma, Knight, Petrov, and Maloney but what I've seen of them I wouldn't like to be relying on them to any great extent.

Admittedly I don't watch a lot of Villa games but given the size and quality of the squad, I don't think anyone can say they haven't done very well with getting sixth place in the League.

Fair play to Martin O'Neill, but unless there is some serious upgrading I can't really see them challenging for fourth this season and to be honest would imagime they would be doing well to keep sixth. One or two injuries could easily see crash your entire season.

However according to reports you supposedly have a fair bit of cash to spend and I expect you'll get a minimun of £14m maximum £18m with the most likeliest figure being around the £16m for Barry if/when the deal goes through.

The priorities to me would seem to be initially a first-choice keeper and a first-choice right back, probably quickly followed by some sort of replacement for Barry. After that I think you're looking at upgrading your midfield players and providing more cover for injuries and to give you different options.

I don't know if their are any young/reserve players who are ready to make the step up to the first team. If there are mention them, but I'm going to assume the most likely thing is that Villa are going to be buying in players.

As such who would you like to see come in and what price would you expect to pay for them? If you could say who you want, why and what you expect to pay for them I think it would help enourmously. Is there any rumours about what sort of budget MON has?

Myself I think that the signing of Finnan and Carson would make a lot of sense for both Villa and the Pool, but I can see the whole Barry thing fump that up.

Your thoughts on this ramble please

Bounty Hunter

MementoMori wrote: »

Your thoughts on this ramble please

The squad is tiny and even smaller since the season ended with the departure of Mellberg and that waste of space Berger etc and yes a few of the youths are v.promising at Villa right now but the only one expected to possibly make the step beinng Delfounso (Forward). We should be aiming for as high as we can get but realistically challenging with Spurs and Everton for 5th while improving our cup form (inc the Uefa/intertoto).

GK: expect Guzan and maybe 1other, Villa fans seem to be 50/50 on Carson after last season personally id rather someone else and im a bit dissapoint Jussi signed back up for Bolton.

RB: Most decent RB's in europe have been linked to Villa recently including almost every single Portugese RB going. id expect Leicsters Stearman or even Finnan with Gardner continuing to provide cover for RB (low expectations = not dissapointed) although id like tos see Miguel who has been linked

Barry replacement: well it was been widely reported that Villa are interested in Sidwell and its even been suggested that they are waiting till the 1st of July when Chelseas new manager is in place for such a deal to be green lit for around £5m. I expect this deal to happen

Others: RM is a position were we could really use some quality in, it would also balance Villa's attack nicely with Young on the other wing. players linked once again have been numerous and varied but top of Villa fans wishlist seems to be SWP for around £10m although former Villa boy James Milner (who has also been linked to Liverpool) has also been mooted more than once.

Squad players: Young Scannel from Palace has been linked and id like to see him join as a squad player, he has a lot of potential and it would be nice to have an Irish international back at VP. a Backup LB would be needed two in my opinion incase Bouma (who i do think you underated) might be needed too especially if Barry is gone (as he has covered there when Bouma was subbed off) Lund & Mattock, Denmark and England's U-21 left backs have bee linked. another central defensive cover player might be needed also but if left back cover was signed, Bouma could always cover CB also.

I would really like to see Villa go for Dario Srna too he is a RM (we need one) and was converted into one from RB (we need atleast one) Croatian international who could be attracted to Villa and the Premiership over Ukraine and Shaktar Donetsk IMO.

invincibleirish

Its a neat summation of the consensus amongst Villa fans really, a GK, RB and RM are the glaring examples of am immediate remedy, and along with a few more squad signings to either improve a current position or at least give competition in places.

Of course Villa need GB & Mellberg replacments.

Will Delfuenso, Gardner,Salifou & Routledge get serious gametime next season?

I await MONs dealings with interest, its going to be a long summer with perennial deadline deal lover MON.

Esse85

invincibleirish wrote: »

Will Delfuenso, Gardner,Salifou & Routledge get serious gametime next season?

I.

If we want to do well, then we need to give these players as little time as possible on the pitch as their not up to premiership level at the moment.

ShoulderChip

oh I thought this was about David Villa, he probably needs a thread of his own considering the number of suitors.

Savman

ShoulderChip wrote: »

oh I thought this was about David Villa, he probably needs a thread of his own considering the number of suitors.

No it's not about him...but he's welcome here

Bounty Hunter

the Portugese RB i posted about (yes portugese RB no12 of 17 or so linked) a few pages back is back on the radar according to reports in Portugal. you know the guy i mean i had a youtube of him getting punched in the face with the post.

Villa Want João Pereira
Reports emanating from Portugal suggest that Aston Villa are keen to sign Sporting Braga's João Pereira...

The Portuguese right-back is understood to be a target for several clubs across Europe after impressing for Sporting Braga since his arrival nearly a year ago.

The 24-year-old is regarded as one of the best right-sided defenders in Portugal and his performances have attracted the interest of the Aston Villa manager.

Martin O'Neill is looking for a new right-back for his squad and is lining up a move for Pereira after missing out on Benfica's Nélson.

However, with Napoli and FC Porto also eager to capture Pereira, Villa will have to open their cheque book to land the former Gil Vicente man.

It is understood that Braga are prepared to cash in on Pereira, as the Minhotos have been linked with a move for Benfica's right-back, Luís Filipe.

and here is the version in Portuguese:

http://www.abola.pt/nnh/ver.aspx?id=142805&rss=1

Raekwon

According to João Pereira's Wiki page he is known for his fiery temperament, that leads to altercations with adversary players numerous times. He also fell out with Roland Koeman and was relegated to the bench when they were both at Benfica so I seriously doubt this is the sort of player that MON would want in his squad.

The right-back situation is a total joke though, we have needed a right-back for two years now and it really needs to be at the very top of MON's agenda (and it should be now that Barry's mind seems to be made-up about where his future lies).

Savman

First 6 fixtures:
Man City (H)
Stoke (A)
Liverpool (H) oooooh!
Spurs (A)
West Brom (A)
Sunderland (H)

Gonna try get over for Man City and Liverpool games

Villain

Easy 18 Points

Neil3030

Who's heading over for the Inter-toto game?

Savman

Don't think I can...

*prays for extended UEFA cup run*

invincibleirish

Contact has been made with my Pool supporting London Cuz (not Spoony) for August 30/31st for Villa Pool, gotta get those tickets, if only i could justify owning a ST like some!

Villa will definitely be top of the PL by mid September with those fixtures:cool:

Last 6 games

(H) West Ham
(H) Bolton
(H) Hull City
(A) Fulham
(A) Boro
(H) Newcastle

Nice

Neil3030

Definitely nice to get some handy fixtures for the end of the season - small squad, european campaign, there'll be tired legs all round, thankful for nothing too tricky.

All roads seem to be pointing to the usual mid-season slump though

Neil3030

Rough month here:

Saturday, 21 February 2009
Chelsea (H)

Saturday, 28 February 2009
Stoke (H) O.K. ignore this one...

Wednesday, 04 March 2009
Man City (A)

Saturday, 14 March 2009
Tottenham (H)

Saturday, 21 March 2009
Liverpool (A)

Saturday, 04 April 2009
Man Utd (A)

invincibleirish

Hopefully our superstar summer signings will compensate for the long UEFA Cup campaign:p

Villa drew away against Spurs, Pool & Chelsea last season, they can do it again in at least 2 of those fixtures.

Neil3030

I had a dream last night. It was wonderful. It went like this:

---

Hart

---

---

Nelson----Laursen--Davies---Bouma

---

---

Sidwell

---

Reo Coker

---

--Bentley

---

Van Der Vaart

---

Young--

---

Carew

---

Savman

We won't get Bentley, he specifically stated it was CL football he was after.

Besides, I'm not his biggest fan at all, good player yes but seems like a right arrogant prick.

A little bit of movement on the transfer front would be encouraging

Mr Alan

Think you may have been pushing it a little with VDV too, pretty sure if he moves it'll be to a CL club.

stick-dan

Some dream

That would be bentley's and VDV's nightmare :O

Helix

Neil3030 wrote: »

Who's heading over for the Inter-toto game?

me:D

Neil3030

Let's not be too hard on ourselves regarding Bentley. Look at his statement to SSN:

"The situation is I want to move on. I want to be playing Champions League football, or in Europe."

Because I seriously doubt Arsenal will take him back, Chelsea are busy chasing high-class continental geese, and he simply isn't good enough to be breaking into the Man U first team. That leaves Liverpool, who badly need a wide player (sorry Dirk), but thus far have done very little to suggest they have the funds to sign him.

So who does that leave? Villa, Man City, Tottenham and Everton, hence why he added the "or in Europe" safety-net.

But I'd be very surprised if he followed Hughes, unless a lot of money gets thrown his way. The two of them seem to have completely burned their bridges.

So I see a three way battle between us, Spurs and the toffees, and you never know...

Neil3030

Helix wrote: »

me:D

Myself and a mate are heading over, have you got tickets sorted? It'll hardly be a sell-out will it?

Savman

Neil3030 wrote: »

Let's not be too hard on ourselves regarding Bentley.

I wasn't, I was being hard on him. Strikes me as a bit of a billy big bollocks but personal gripe aside he does fit all other MON-esque criteria. I'm sure I could learn to love :pac:

Neil3030

I wasn't, I was being hard on him. Strikes me as a bit of a billy big bollocks but personal gripe aside he does fit all other MON-esque criteria. I'm sure I could learn to love ..

True enough, but wasn't Davies somewhat similar in his "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" statements before leaving Brom? I reckon MON could beat that arrogance out of him. (Or at the very least, wouldn't sign him if he thought he couldn't).

Helix

Neil3030 wrote: »

Myself and a mate are heading over, have you got tickets sorted? It'll hardly be a sell-out will it?

well im hoping its included on the season ticket, but if its not ill just order it when they go on sale. they wont be expensive, so id say it could sell out, or come quite close

homah_7ft

Helix wrote: »

well im hoping its included on the season ticket, but if its not ill just order it when they go on sale. they wont be expensive, so id say it could sell out, or come quite close

I'm hoping to go too. Any idea when they are due to go on sale?

Neil3030

I'd imagine they'll box off the season ticket allocation before they put the inter-toto tickets on sale. I logged into the website there and there's no sign of them at any rate.

2 papers (Mirror and Daily Express) reporting we've either tabled, or are in the process of tabling a £15m bid for Bentley....

Neil3030

Here's the text of the Mirror article:

Aston Villa make £15m bid for Blackburn's David Bentley
By Mirror.co.uk 17/06/2008

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has launched a bid for £15million rated England star David Bentley.

Numerous clubs want to sign Bentley but O'Neill is the first manager to make a firm approach to Blackburn as he looks to fend off interest from Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton.

Bentley, 23, who has six England caps, wants to leave Rovers to further his international career by playing European football.

But Blackburn want at least £15m, which could prove a stumbling block.

Savman

There's no way O'Neill would jump straight in with a £15m bid, that would just drive the price up somethin crazy...

Helix

homah_7ft wrote: »

I'm hoping to go too. Any idea when they are due to go on sale?

couple of weeks beforehand

invincibleirish

Cant see Bentley joining Villa if Man City or a London club are in for him, so if the offer of 15m is offered maybe Villa are trying to steal a march on others?

He'd be a great signing, with Bentley/Young/Agbonlahor on the pitch any striker worth his salt should be able to get 20+ goals a season, are you listening John Carew!

DSB

Savman wrote: »

There's no way O'Neill would jump straight in with a £15m bid, that would just drive the price up somethin crazy...

Perhaps Blackburn have indicated he is available at that price.

vincenzo1975

chat live with Martin O Neill on uefa website from 3PM CET (inotherwords 4pm).....
http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=720407.html