Villa Signings and General Rumours Thread

invincibleirish

Martin O Neill wrote: »

15:37 - Martin O'Neill
First thing to do is build up the squad, as we were operating with the smallest squad in the league and we were relatively lucky with injuries. We may have had problems if the injury list had been bigger. Sixth last season was very satisfactory and in normal season would have got us into UEFA Cup. Our immediate plan is to get into that through the Intertoto Cup. But next season we will attempt not to stand still. The eventual aim hopefully sooner rather than later is to compete with the top four (easier said than done).

Nope started at 3 our time. This is the only Villa related thing he said.

Bounty Hunter

So...

Aston Villa have made the first move to sign Blackburn's want-away midfielder David Bentley. (Daily Express)

Tottenham are hoping to offload right-back Pascal Chimbonda to Aston Villa and defender Younes Kaboul to Portsmouth. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa are set to buy misfit Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell for £5m. (Daily Mail)

Newcastle have told Liverpool and Aston Villa they want £9m for winger James Milner. (Daily Mirror)

Neil3030

Bounty Hunter, you can add to that the speculation around Miguel:

Aston Villa and Manchester United are among Premiership clubs on red alert over the availability of Valencia fullback Miguel.

The Portugal international is demanding a move away from the Mestalla and snapped last night: "The club has not behaved well towards me this year. The directors know what I think. I think that if something appears good for both sides, it would be good to leave the club.

"I've told them that it would be better for all concerned if I left."

Bounty Hunter

I suppose i wouldent mind if Villa signed Bentley, Sidwell and Miguel this week!

Neil3030

And Boruc! Then next week we sign Henry, Van der Vaart, maybe Diego if we've a few bob left over....

Bounty Hunter

a sure why not loads of room in our squad for them boys.

anyway on Sidwell > Villa and more

Aston Villa close in on Steve Sidwell
Jun 17 2008 By Bill Howell

MARTIN O’Neill is on the brink of making Steve Sidwell his first summer signing – just as Villa await a third bid from Liverpool for skipper Gareth Barry.

Sidwell will arrive for a fee of around £4.5million and will sign a contract putting him in line with the rest of the Villa dressing room on around £35,000-a-week from his reported salary of £60,000 at Chelsea.

Barry will eventually move to Liverpool, there appears little hope now of changing his mind, but Villa want a significant increase on the £13million offered last week.

The saga looks set to run for a little while yet despite the impending sales of Xabi Alonso and John Arne Riise to Juventus and Roma.

Despite weekend reports that Barry was to submit a written transfer request to try to force Villa’s arm and forgoing a seven figure loyalty payment, Villa have not yet received such paperwork.

Sidwell’s arrival will dispel some of the gloom from Barry’s departure.

Villa have been keen to act quickly to prove their financial muscle in the market with some fans doubting their clout over the Barry issue.

O’Neill is working on a number of other targets, unhindered by his Euro 2008 commitments.

Former Arsenal trainee Sidwell has endured a wasted season at Stamford Bridge but he has enough pedigree to have attracted the advances of new Manchester City manager Mark Hughes, who made a late dash to take him to Eastlands.

Meanwhile, O’Neill believes Europe could be the making of his young Villa side next season.

Villa will be bidding for a UEFA Cup spot when they return to action in July in the InterToto Cup third round and he believes European matches represent a vital stage in the development of players like Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor.

“If we can get through the Intertoto and into the UEFA Cup it could be great experience for our players,’’ he said. “If we can get through to the group stages, where you can take stock a little bit, that would certainly be the case.

“I think Everton would say they’re much better equipped for Europe next season as a result of their terrific run this year and the experience gained from that.

“I saw that at Celtic with a number of players. Stiliyan Petrov was only a young player when we had the UEFA Cup run through to the final in 2003 and he grew in stature as the competition went on.

“Hopefully we can see the same with our young players. The likes of Gabby and Ashley Young can only benefit for that experience as they continue to develop as players.”

invincibleirish

Less press releases & webchats and more signings MON!

Villa have been keen to act quickly to prove their financial muscle in the market with some fans doubting their clout over the Barry issue.

Howell is a joker but why would he write this? a potential 4m signing isnt a demonstration of 'financial muscle' unless you're a Championship club.

Neil3030

Sidwell's in:

SIDWELL SET FOR VILLA MOVE

Aston Villa have agreed a £5.5million deal for Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell.


The former Reading star only moved to Stamford Bridge last summer on a free transfer, but he was unable to force a regular place in Chelsea's first XI.


And after only seven Premier League starts for the Blues, Sidwell has now opted to move to Villa Park.


Villa boss Martin O'Neill is keen to bolster his small squad as he attempts to build a side capable of a top-six Premier League finish next season.


But, Sidwell, 25, could also be viewed as a possible replacement for Villa captain Gareth Barry, who is a transfer target of Liverpool.

Savman

Wow! :eek: A player!:pac:

Neil3030

He'll be our Scholsey!

rgiller

Neil3030 wrote: »

He'll be our Scholsey!

Midfielder - check!

Red hair - check!

Good to get the ball rolling at last. Let's hope SWP follows him...

Savman

rgiller wrote: »

Let's hope SWP follows him...

Now that would be something special. MON is a known admirer, we have known issues on our right side and even SWP's daddy has bigged up O'Neill in the past. When you consider what MON is building at VP, a young homegrown squad that is getting the attention of the England manager, you would think someone like SWP would jump at the chance to move for the sake of his career.

I guess it all depends on Big Phil, whether he sees SWP as part of his plans or whether he brings in new faces, could go either way tbh.

Neil3030

There are a couple of sources claiming MON is having a look at Darren Bent, what say y'all? The right kind of player to be chasing? He'd be wanting to take a serious pay-cut!

DSB

Well he has proven to have the ability so yeah definitely at the right price I'd have him.

Savman

I could never understand the fuss about Darren Bent tbh, but in fairness it's been a while since we've seen the best of him. My last memory was him scoring a peach of a diving header when Charlton beat us 2-1 at their place.

If he's keen and the price is right, sure why not. Be rude not to

DSB

Really hope this signing is the start of something big for Villa. Get Bentley or Wright Phillips in too and we can make a side out of players with ambitions to make consolidate their place in the England team:D

Neil3030

Here's a question: Bentley or SWP?

Personally I'd take Bentley.

DSB

I'd have SWP. He'd probably come cheaper too.

Savman

SWP for me too.

It's funny, but when you see Villa actually signing a good player you realise we're not that far off being a really good/consistent side. I know we're short on numbers but let's be realistic, we're not gonna get 6 Sidwell's in this year who will be content to sit on the bench of a team who barely made the Intertoto. Yes there's other factors at work but essentially it's the clubs status in Europe that will determine what kind of player comes in. Probably getting a little ahead of ourselves expecting young CL hotshots to want to join.....yet

Villain

5.5 million??? Thats a bargain imo

DSB

Savman wrote: »

SWP for me too.

It's funny, but when you see Villa actually signing a good player you realise we're not that far off being a really good/consistent side. I know we're short on numbers but let's be realistic, we're not gonna get 6 Sidwell's in this year who will be content to sit on the bench of a team who barely made the Intertoto. Yes there's other factors at work but essentially it's the clubs status in Europe that will determine what kind of player comes in. Probably getting a little ahead of ourselves expecting young CL hotshots to want to join.....yet

Not sure its even a matter of players sitting on the bench. We could do well with a new first choice goalie, right back, centre back (until Davies returns), mc (Sidwell) and a right midfielder. There is so much room for improvement which is probably a good thing considering how well we did with an extremely limited squad.

The question may remain as to whether Barry is that much better than Sidwell too. Sidwell was excellent at Reading which got him the transfer to Chelsea but didn't really have enough time in the spotlight at Reading to really make a name for himself. Then his career was put on the brakes at Chelsea. Barry on the other hand had the perfect environment to thrive in. Perhaps, Sidwell will be able to do the exact same as our first choice centre mid and maybe even nick Barry's England spot.

Savman

Well, if we get upwards of £15m for Barry, and get Sidwell for £5.5m then that's a fine piece of business I must say.

Sidders comes in with pretty much zero expectation so all he can do is surprise us all, and costing a mere £2m more than Zat Knight I'd say he can do no wrong :pac::pac:

Mr Alan

DSB wrote: »

The question may remain as to whether Barry is that much better than Sidwell too. Sidwell was excellent at Reading which got him the transfer to Chelsea but didn't really have enough time in the spotlight at Reading to really make a name for himself. Then his career was put on the brakes at Chelsea. Barry on the other hand had the perfect environment to thrive in. Perhaps, Sidwell will be able to do the exact same as our first choice centre mid and maybe even nick Barry's England spot.

ha ha ha ha! again, the fickle nature of football supporters raises its ugly head.

Sidwell isnt comparbable to Barry in the slightest. Maybe one day he'll be as good a player, but not for a fair while yet.

If he could make the leap do you not think Rafa would pay £5m for him instead? of 18 or watever for Barry?

Savman

Here comes the party pooper :rolleyes:

Rafa has shown he's unwilling to take on young English 'bit ruff round d'edge' type players. They're the type MON goes after. We are perfectly entitled to draw comparisons to Barry, he's still our player ffs.

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

ha ha ha ha! again, the fickle nature of football supporters raises its ugly head.

Sidwell isnt comparbable to Barry in the slightest. Maybe one day he'll be as good a player, but not for a fair while yet.

If he could make the leap do you not think Rafa would pay £5m for him instead? of 18 or watever for Barry?

LOL

You know its funny because I know if Liverpool weren't trying to buy Barry you lot of Scouser's wouldn't think he's half as good.

Yes Barry has been better than than Sidwell in recent seasons but Sidwell hasn't played hardly at all. If he was to regain the form he had at Reading he would be very near as good as Barry only advantage Barry would have is his dead ball delivery with his left leg. Sidwell is younger and has the potential to be just as good.

Barry wasn't anything special until MON came while I hope for Barry's sake he does well at the Pool as I like the guy I really don't think Pool fans have any idea what Barry was like before MON came in.

I've watched him for years and years and he was a good left back and a ok Left Midfielder then he became a good Centre Midfielder and last season a great one under MON.

I won't go into the pool forum and tell you how good Riise is because we could buy him you know better than me how good or bad he is.

DSB

Mr Alan wrote: »

If he could make the leap do you not think Rafa would pay £5m for him instead? of 18 or watever for Barry?

O'Neill is definitely a better man for getting the best out of players who have yet to prove themselves. Rafa's real gem signings were Torres and Mascherano. Both hugely proven before they joined Liverpool. As is Barry.

But its important to stress that as great as Barry has been for Villa, and I'm not going to put him down here, he has been a very consistent player. But as said by both Villa and Liverpool fans here, he isn't outstanding. He has been helped along by the faith and regular first team football he was given at Villa. There is nothing to suggest that Sidwell won't do the same. O'Neill obviously sees something. I mean if at the start of last season someone proposed Barry ahead of Lampard, people would have given the exact response you just gave. O'Neill put simply is a better man-manager than Benitez.

Mr Alan

Savman wrote: »

Rafa has shown he's unwilling to take on young English 'bit ruff round d'edge' type players.

Pennant? Bellamy? Linked strongly with Milner, Downing. Your point is mute.

Savman wrote: »

They're the type MON goes after. We are perfectly entitled to draw comparisons to Barry, he's still our player ffs.

Of course your entitled to draw comparisons with a player currently playing for you. But i am entitled to point out how ridiculous your comparrisons may be.

Understandably so, they are tainted by the fact that the player in question no longer wants to play for you.

If young wanted to leave, would all of a sudden Milner become the better/equal player? dont think so.

DSB

Mr Alan wrote: »

Pennant? Bellamy? Linked strongly with Milner, Downing. Your point is mute.

Personally I think Bellamy doesn't fit into that category. For one he is Welsh:D, but more importantly he had already been around the block in the Premiership getting regular football at clubs beforehand. He was just another example of a player who couldn't make the jump up from being the top player at a smaller club to being part of a top squad.

Mr Alan wrote: »

If young wanted to leave, would all of a sudden Milner become the better/equal player? dont think so.

Young and Barry are very different cases. Young is packed with bags of ability. Could evolve into anything. Barry is just a very consistent player and will never be more than that. Great player to have in your side no doubt. No1 here is trying to put Barry down. But he is entirely replacable. Young isn't.

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

I won't go into the pool forum and tell you how good Riise is because we could buy him you know better than me how good or bad he is.

I wouldnt go onto a Villa forum and talk about Barry.

And i agree with you on the second point. If thats wats happening, how many of you would have thought it good business 2 months ago to sell Barry and replace him with Sidwell?

Yea, didnt think so;)

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

I wouldnt go onto a Villa forum and talk about Barry.

ROFL seriously man I think you need to stop taking those pills or do you not even read the name of the thread before you post?? :rolleyes:

Mr Alan wrote: »

And i agree with you on the second point. If thats wats happening, how many of you would have thought it good business 2 months ago to sell Barry and replace him with Sidwell?

Yea, didnt think so;)

Of course we wouldn't have said we want Sidwell before Barry but we also wouldn't have thought Barry would want to leave or certainly not for around 15 million to 20 million. If you told me 2 months ago Barry would be sold for 15 to 20 million and we'd buy Sidwell for 5 I would have said that sounds good.

I and other Villa fans know Barry better than any pool fans, he's a great guy and has been great since MON came in but he's not anywhere near worth 15 million and as I have said from the start he won't improve the Pool team, if you had offered me Alonos or Barry at any stage over the last 2 years I would have taken Alonso hands down.

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

ROFL seriously man I think you need to stop taking those pills or do you not even read the name of the thread before you post?? :rolleyes:

This is a Villa thread in a general football forum. Not exclusively for fans of any club in particular. But to discuss things about Villa, for anyone who wants to

Villain wrote: »

if you had offered me Alonos or Barry at any stage over the last 2 years I would have taken Alonso hands down.

well as was pointed out earlier:D as a Liverpool fan, I'd say you would have been making a mistake, definately over the past year.

Villain

Villa forum, Villa thread, its all the same.

You come in here praising our player because you want to justify the stupid money your Manager is going to pay for him by saying he is so great and wonderful, You haven't got a clue.

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

Villa forum, Villa thread, its all the same.

Now whos on the pills? Its totally different.

Villain wrote: »

You come in here praising our player because you want to justify the stupid money your Manager is going to pay for him by saying he is so great and wonderful, You haven't got a clue.

actually i didnt praise anyone. i agree that Barry is a very good player, but not outstanding.

i simply pointed out that anyone saying Sidwell is a perfect replacement for Barry and will/should be pushing him for his England place is taking the piss or else most deluded indeed.

DSB

Mr Alan wrote: »

i simply pointed out that anyone saying Sidwell is a perfect replacement for Barry and will/should be pushing him for his England place is taking the piss or else most deluded indeed.

He'll have all the same opportunities to become the player that Barry was. And I think its fair to say that Barry wouldn't have become the player he has if he spent the last 4 years at Liverpool.

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

Now whos on the pills? Its totally different.

Really? Let me see a Villa forum is one where all or most threads are about Villa and most posters are Villa fans but not all, A Villa thread is where all discussion is about Villa and most posters are Villa fans but not all????

Mr Alan wrote: »

actually i didnt praise anyone. i agree that Barry is a very good player, but not outstanding.

i simply pointed out that anyone saying Sidwell is a perfect replacement for Barry and will/should be pushing him for his England place is taking the piss or else most deluded indeed.

Show me with quotes where I or any other Villa fan said Sidwell is a "perfect" replacment for Barry???

Mr Alan

The question may remain as to whether Barry is that much better than Sidwell too. Sidwell was excellent at Reading which got him the transfer to Chelsea but didn't really have enough time in the spotlight at Reading to really make a name for himself. Then his career was put on the brakes at Chelsea. Barry on the other hand had the perfect environment to thrive in. Perhaps, Sidwell will be able to do the exact same as our first choice centre mid and maybe even nick Barry's England spot.

Back to work now

see ya

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

Back to work now

see ya

I only see questions and a "perhaps" there???

DSB

That actually says neither of those things. It just says that O'Neill might be able to do the same with Sidwell that he did with Barry. No will or should.

Savman

Mr Alan wrote: »

Back to work now

see ya

Seriously dude, good riddance. You don't offer this forum anything other than to try rile everyone up for some unknown reason. Maybe your own kind won't converse with ye, or maybe you're bored pissing off the ManU fans but either way the same common sense rules apply to this forum as to all the rest on boards and you're inciting trouble IMHO.

You haven't the first damn clue how good Gareth Barry is, you're just jumping on the bandwagon. We've been watching the guy for years so please do not presume to think you know more about the player than those who have followed his career, highs and lows. In your mode of thinking, a £15m player has to be better than a £5m player, such thinking is typical of Liverpool and is one of the reasons you are where you are, just above Villa and Everton but still light years away from challenging for the Premiership. You are just not good enough over 38 games, so this is merely a small step up for Barry to a club with a slightly better chance of winning a cup competition.

Before you go dissing Sidwell, the guy was signed by Jose Mourinho so logic dictates he must have some level of ability that cannot be disputed.

Like I've re-iterated numerous times, if you want to discuss all elements of AVFC, you are welcome here. But your Barry Barry Barry stance is boring and you're the kinda guy everyone slowly shifts away from at the local boozer, like the drunk who sits at the bar blabbering on about the glory days of the 80's. Spare us, please.

The discussion is about the announcement of a fee being agreed for Sidwell and how he'll fit into the Aston Villa team. This will allow us to comment on Barry's imminent departure but we don't want to open that debate here again when there's already a dedicated sprawling thread for that. Besides it's been done to death at this stage and nothing new has developed so you can stop banging that drum for a while at least.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Sidwell...yeah...good signing.

IrishMike

Savman wrote: »

You haven't the first damn clue how good Gareth Barry is, you're just jumping on the bandwagon. We've been watching the guy for years so please do not presume to think you know more about the player than those who have followed his career, highs and lows. In your mode of thinking, a £15m player has to be better than a £5m player, such thinking is typical of Liverpool and is one of the reasons you are where you are, just above Villa and Everton but still light years away from challenging for the Premiership. You are just not good enough over 38 games, so this is merely a small step up for Barry to a club with a slightly better chance of winning a cup competition.

Have to say thats an extremely bitter post.
To say Liverpool are only a slight step up for a player over Villa is maddness.
Liverpool consistently win trophies, villa do not.
Success determines how attractive a club is and Liverpool have had a lot of
it in the past number of years.
The only thing left to win for players like Gerrard and Carragher is the PL.
Liverpool also almost guarantee CL football year in, year out.

Before you go dissing Sidwell, the guy was signed by Jose Mourinho so logic dictates he must have some level of ability that cannot be disputed.

Maureen also signed his share of crap players to be fair.
Boulahrouz and Pizzaro spring to mind!
Just because Chelsea bought him, doesnt make him instantly desirable

Savman

IrishMike wrote: »

Liverpool consistently win trophies, villa do not.

Villa don't win silverware, you're right there, but I wouldn't exactly say Liverpool "consistently win trophies". FA Cup '06, League Cup '03 and the CL we'll never hear the end of in '05. Hardly consistent now is it?

IrishMike wrote:

Liverpool also almost guarantee CL football year in, year out.

Er, right. CL qualification can be guaranteed now?

IrishMike wrote:

Just because Chelsea bought him, doesnt make him instantly desirable

But if he played for Villa, like in Barry's case, that does make him desirable? That's a warped logic. Sometimes I don't know what Liverpool fans are arguing, and sometimes I think they don't even know themselves. What exactly is your point? Because all it sounds like is "nah nah na nah nah we're taking your captain" :rolleyes:

Put it to ya this way, if I was to swap places with anyone in the PL, it wouldn't be Liverpool

PHB

Sidwell is a fantastic signing for Villa, really fantastic. If Barry leaves, they've got a good replacement lined up, if he stays, they'll have a great central midfield.

Let's hope MON keeps up with the signings cause I really hope Villa push for 4th next year and they need more players

Savman

PHB wrote: »

Sidwell is a fantastic signing for Villa, really fantastic.

I think he is too. Quite a shrewd bit o' biz by the O'Neill fella.

fullstop

Mr Alan wrote: »

This thread is very friendly altogether, this "outsider" wont be posting in it again. Apologies for spoiling your little party. And there was me thinking this was a general football forum as opposed to a fan site.

Man of your word...

Pyjamarama

Savman wrote: »

Villa don't win silverware, you're right there, but I wouldn't exactly say Liverpool "consistently win trophies". FA Cup '06, League Cup '03 and the CL we'll never hear the end of in '05. Hardly consistent now is it?

Yep just forget the other finals we've been to and the Champions League semi finals. We might not have won them but it proves we are capable of winning thropies consistently something Villa are clearly not at this moment.

[/QUOTE]Er, right. CL qualification can be guaranteed now?[/QUOTE]

Pretty much, we finished outside the top four what once in the last how many years? And given people love to say what a bad season Pool had last year they still finished forth quite comfortably in the end.

[/QUOTE]But if he played for Villa, like in Barry's case, that does make him desirable? That's a warped logic. Sometimes I don't know what Liverpool fans are arguing, and sometimes I think they don't even know themselves. What exactly is your point? Because all it sounds like is "nah nah na nah nah we're taking your captain" :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Who said that at all?!!?! I can assure you Pool fans could care less about Villa. They're not one of the teams we want to be considering our rivals. Do you really think people will be in hear gloating about signing Barry? I doubt it, in fact half the pool fans on the Pool Superthread don't want to sign him in the first place! One thing I would point out is that Sidwell is likely to be pretty damn rusty in comparison to Barry given the fact he's barely played in a year. That alone would make Barry more desirable.

[/QUOTE]Put it to ya this way, if I was to swap places with anyone in the PL, it wouldn't be Liverpool [/QUOTE]

Well duh... you're freakin highlarious!!! But i'll tell you one thing you wouldn't find many intelligent Villa fans who wouldn't swap places with Liverpool.

To be honest I had NO interest in posting about this topic again but when some posters (and it is the minority) just start generalising and basically making stuff up its hard to ignore. Anyone who's not blinkered would see that it's in Barry's best interest to move to Anfield that's all the pool fans seem to be doing and if they think Barry is better than Sidwell then surely they're entitled to comment on the fact, especially given they'll both be Villa players very soon (for a while anyway). It kind of saddens me that thngs have come to this between two groups of fans who I always thought got on quite well but I'm comforted by the fact that this kind of attitude is a minority, and I'm not having a go at Villa fans alone here, I've read some stupid posts by Pool fans on the subject but almost every post made by a Pool fan on this thread is getting set upon like a pack of rabid dogs...

invincibleirish

Sidwell scores goals from play, Barry doesnt.

Barrys greatest flaw is that he doesnt have that goalscoring knack that other CMs do, if he had he would be a genuinely brilliant all round midfielder and would be coveted by many more clubs then just the poor man of the 'big' 4.

Sidwell is a great signing for the price involved, Barry is a better player then Sidwell, but not £10m+ better. Shrewd as usual from MON. plus he's 25.

invincibleirish

Pyjamarama wrote: »

I can assure you Pool fans could care less about Villa.....To be honest I had NO interest in posting about this topic again

you could have just said this and not the other dozen trolling lines you typed.

Pyjamarama

invincibleirish wrote: »

Sidwell scores goals from play, Barry doesnt.

Barrys greatest flaw is that he doesnt have that goalscoring knack that other CMs do, if he had he would be a genuinely brilliant all round midfielder and would be coveted by many more clubs then just the poor man of the 'big' 4.

Sidwell is a great signing for the price involved, Barry is a better player then Sidwell, but not £10m+ better. Shrewd as usual from MON.

I don't think anyone thinks that Barry is worth 10m more. That's why the deal hasn't happened yet. Pool and Villa clearly don't agree on Barry's price tag.

I think Sidwell is a decent signing to be honest but I don't think he's the kind of player who'll help you break into the "big 4"..

As for the "poor man of the big 4" what was the point of that comment? Nothing but a lame dig at pool. Really childish to be honest...

Pyjamarama

invincibleirish wrote: »

you could have just said this and not the other dozen trolling lines you typed.

You might want to check out what trolling is and if you still think that I was trolling work away and report me.

dc69

Im a Liverpool fan,not trying to rile anyone up.

I would prefer if rafa had just kept alonso but Barry is a good player,so it ok.

Sidwell is also a good player and Villa have some very good players already.If Martin O'Neill spends the Barry money well then it could be good for the club ala henry at arsenal.

Villa only need a few more players to be going for that 4th spot,obviously as a Liverpool fan,I would hope we would be going for 3rd or second but Martin O'Neill is a great manager and this could be the catalyst Villa need to really progress,so I dont think its all doom and gloom.

I think this purchase could in the end be alot more beneficial to Villa than Pool.

Whats with Randy Learner?

I know he is quite rich,is he not giving Villa money?
Are you guys in for any big players?ala Man City.