Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Helix

hes absolutely awful that bloke

nobody in the club gives him anything any more so he just makes up as much as he possibly can, and then gives out about lerner whenever he gets a chance

Time Magazine

I'd really like to see a couple of signings this week.

How many is our first-team squad at the moment, about 13?

Helix

at this point in time we have exactly enough players to put out a first xi and fill the 7 man bench

if we have an injury we dont have anyone spare without going to the academy or reserves

which is a joke, but hey we're used to it. itll be the same next summer too if mon is still around

Time Magazine

Helix wrote: »

if we have an injury we dont have anyone spare without going to the academy or reserves

And let's not forget Freddie won't be back for a while.

In order of priority, I think it's:

1. Laursen replacement. Haangeland please.
2. A Bentley-type winger so we have, you know, somebody other than Salifou in case Young/Milner get injured.
3. Competition for Gabby. Almost anyone decent will do. Michael Owen would have been epic had he stayed fit. I think by far the most important thing Heskey brought to Aston Villa was his effect on JC. Imagine if Gabby stopped scratching his arse for sixty minutes a match.
4. An attacking Barry replacement. Sidders/NRC/Gardner are unlikely to cut it. I really like Gardner but compare him to Tim Cahill.
5. A spare right-back. No more NRC/Gardner there please.
6. A third-choice GK. Just in case.

That six signings before we get into building some squad depth.

Helix

just saw there richard dunne looks off to sunderland. ffs why arent we in for these players?!?

Headshot

Helix wrote: »

just saw there richard dunne looks off to sunderland. ffs why arent we in for these players?!?

Do you not think villa could do better than dunne.

Helix

Headshot wrote: »

Do you not think villa could do better than dunne.

with mon doing the buying?

no

something is wrong at villa behind the scenes and its got me worried. nixon has said we've had loads of bids made and accepted for players but we cant get anyone to sign. thats terrifying if true, and means something is desperately wrong somewhere

JPA

Helix wrote: »

with mon doing the buying?

no

something is wrong at villa behind the scenes and its got me worried. nixon has said we've had loads of bids made and accepted for players but we cant get anyone to sign. thats terrifying if true, and means something is desperately wrong somewhere

Chill out man, nothing is wrong.

Helix

JPA wrote: »

Chill out man, nothing is wrong.

if nixon is right and we cant close any deals, then yes, something is

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

if nixon is right and we cant close any deals, then yes, something is

alan nixon has a decent track record and ive quoted him before but what makes anyone think he has a clue whats going on behind the scenes at VP? as far as the press goes i dont think anyone really has insider knowledge at Villa anymore and when it comes to signing players (exc Curtis Davies who we already had on a year loan & agreed terms with well before then) hadnt we signed nobody at this stage last year too? I believe Sidwell was the first on the 10th of July

Helix

nixon doesnt need to know whats going on in b6, he just needs to be in contact with the agents of the players in question. any other journalist and id completely disregard it, but hes the most reliable in villa related stuff

*edit*

davies was the first signing, went through on the 3rd july

then sidders on the 10th

JPA

Helix wrote: »

if nixon is right and we cant close any deals, then yes, something is

IF. A big word in relation to Alan Nixon.
Can't you see and haven't you seen for years that transfers at Villa and other places don't get into full swing until into mid July and August.

matrim

Helix wrote: »

with mon doing the buying?

no

something is wrong at villa behind the scenes and its got me worried. nixon has said we've had loads of bids made and accepted for players but we cant get anyone to sign. thats terrifying if true, and means something is desperately wrong somewhere

Even if it is true you don't know what type of players these were. They could have been the huge star players that are normally too big for VP but MON decided to try anyway before moving down the list

Bounty Hunter

im not going to disregard what nixon has said because as i said he has a good track record but it would not surprise me if nixon saying we've had loads of bids made and accepted for players but we cant get anyone to sign is just his way of covering his ass for saying that Distin & Tuncay for example would be signed by now.

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

*edit*

davies was the first signing, went through on the 3rd july

then sidders on the 10th

is that not exactley what i said?

Helix

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

is that not exactley what i said?

ahaha so it is

did you edit the davies bit in? coz i didnt see it when i read the post initially

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

ahaha so it is

did you edit the davies bit in? coz i didnt see it when i read the post initially

nope i didnt i knew we had signed him early but tbh he was a Villa player for a full year before then. Yes MON acts slow but he does act even that Davies signing shows that i mean he coulda been wrapped up a long time before then, the fee was set we had already negotiated wages with him but still it wasnt till this time last year that it was made official just before he woulda had to return to WBA. I doubt too many people would be too annoyed if we had a similar standard of summer as last year except obviously with a slightly higher standard of player coming in to reflect how out squad is now of a higher standard.

and sure that was my main point this time last year we had essentially signed nobody also and we had a good summer, i see no reason why that cant happen again.

Helix

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

I doubt too many people would be too annoyed if we had a similar standard of summer as last year except obviously with a slightly higher standard of player coming in to reflect how out squad is now of a higher standard.

thats my main issue with the current regiment, theres been no increase in signing standard over the 3 years the manager has been here

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

thats my main issue with the current regiment, theres been no increase in signing standard over the 3 years the manager has been here

well at this stage due to the players brought in during those years if we are to get a player to compete for a 1st team spot itl have to be a increase in standard and tbh with one or two exceptions the players linked would be a big step up from the players that they would be pushing further back in squad status i.e Harewood etc.

im not going to say the same about Laursen as tbh i thought he was good enough to get in any team in the EPL but tbh we only got one season of injury free football out of him.

we may not improve on Barry but we could improve the team without him as him and Petrov wasnt an ideal combo.

its players like Tuncay, Bentley, Defour, Downing etc that weve been linked with that im referring to as a step up. and that this year the Balde etc links are much more of a joking nature than previously

Villain

FFS pre-season training hasn't even started back yet. If we haven't signed anyone a week before the 1st game then I'll be worried but for now I'm happy to support MON and Villa, not bash them at every chance

Neil3030

By all accounts our budget this year is rumoured to be smaller than last summer, so assuming it's around the 25-30m mark (say, including the 12m we received for Baz) where would people think that could be spent?

Naughton - 5m
Bentley - 8m
Drenthe - 5m
Haangeland - 10m

that's pretty much all we'd be swinging at tbh.

Neil3030

Villain wrote: »

FFS pre-season training hasn't even started back yet. If we haven't signed anyone a week before the 1st game then I'll be worried but for now I'm happy to support MON and Villa, not bash them at every chance

My argument with that though is each year we hear the same excuse about player X missing pre-season and not gelling properly with the first team in time to hit the ground running when the fixtures start. Yet each year the transfers trickle in more annoyingly slowly than a piss through a swolen prostate.

Helix

Neil3030 wrote: »

By all accounts our budget this year is rumoured to be smaller than last summer, so assuming it's around the 25-30m mark (say, including the 12m we received for Baz) where would people think that could be spent?

if thats our budget we have a problem. its nowhere near enough, and tbh i doubt that its so little. £30m base budget plus barry money perhaps

Neil3030

If we do gross spend anything over 30m i'll be contently surprised.

Helix

tbh anything less (without the barry money) and we may as well be back in the ellis days

DSB

MON seriously needs to get the finger out.

Neil3030

Helix wrote: »

tbh anything less (without the barry money) and we may as well be back in the ellis days

I agree and I also don't rule out the Ellis model being closely followed by Lerner at the moment.

JPA

Neil3030 wrote: »

I agree and I also don't rule out the Ellis model being closely followed by Lerner at the moment.

Lerner pays for transfers from his own pocket. The club pays the rest.
He's not Abramovich and specifically said he wasn't. He runs the club like a business which of course he should.

Like Ellis? There's not enough eyerollies in the world.
What an insult.

Neil3030

I don't know either men personally so I'd never claim he was like Ellis. I'm saying he appears to be closely following the Ellis model at the moment, though I'd be more than happily proven wrong with this Summer's transfer activity.

JPA

Neil3030 wrote: »

I don't know either men personally so I'd never claim he was like Ellis. I'm saying he appears to be closely following the Ellis model at the moment, though I'd be more than happily proven wrong with this Summer's transfer activity.

The Ellis model of 4 million net a season for his last 10 years?
MON has his faults but I don't think Randy does. So I love him ,what you gonna do about it? :P

Neil3030

JPA wrote: »

The Ellis model of 4 million net a season for his last 10 years?
MON has his faults but I don't think Randy does. So I love him ,what you gonna do about it? :P

Hope it's reciprocated and wish the two of you every happiness in the world?

Helix

JPA wrote: »

Like Ellis? There's not enough eyerollies in the world.
What an insult.

nobody said he was like ellis

if we have such a low budget as being speculated, then the point is that we're no better off and no more able to compete than we were in the ellis days

each club gets £40m in basic tv money at the end of each season for the previous seasons coverage. more if they were on tv in different competitions. youd expect at least half of that to be available for transfers, so with that and barry its £32m without lerner having to put his hand in his pocket. realistically, we'd need another £10-15m from lerner as well to be able to step up

if thats not there then itll be the same vibe as the ellis era, where we dont have the money to compete with not only the teams above us, but the teams around us

lerner is great, nobody is saying he isnt, but the football world may just have conspired to do us in the arse on this one

wynters

Various links to Crouch and Hangeland today

ASTON VILLA have made a late charge into the race for Peter Crouch.

Pompey are ready to sell the 28-year-old England striker but are unlikely to get the £12million price they want for him.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce believes he is in the driving seat to clinch a deal for around £10m.

But now Europa League-bound Villa are expressing an interest with Norwegian John Carew facing an uncertain future.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill is also ready to swoop for Fulham centre-half Brede Hangelaand.

The Norwegian, 28, has turned down a new deal at Craven Cottage, worth around £30,000 a week.

O'Neill is set to bid £9m and offer the player £45,000 a week as a replacement for Martin Laursen, who was forced into retirement by a chronic knee injury.

Neil3030

That Crouch rumour has got to be the laziest yet.

Helix

yeh the journos are really scraping the bottom of the barrell now

was it howell again?

Helix

Fulham defender Brede Hangeland has again played down speculation he could leave the club after being linked with Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The 28-year-old Norway international is reportedly a long-term target for Arsenal, but recent reports have suggested that Villa and City are now competing for his signature.

However, when asked if he expected to be at Craven Cottage next season, he told Aftenbladet: "I believe so. It looks that way."

Reports on Monday suggested that Hangeland had rejected an offer to double his wages from the club.

And, although he has hinted that he is eager to secure a better deal, he has reiterated that he is keen to commit his long-term future to the club.

"I'm very happy at Fulham and would like a new contract, but then we must agree on something that both parties can be satisfied with," he told TV 2 Sporten.

seems hes just angling for more money

tomred1

Just seen Blackburn been linked with Ruud Van Nistleroy. Its a pity we not been linked to any decent players,apart from Hangeland.

Bounty Hunter

tomred1 wrote: »

Just seen Blackburn been linked with Ruud Van Nistleroy. Its a pity we not been linked to any decent players,apart from Hangeland.

doesent mean were not after em, nobody knows what MON's up to tbh, although for some reason i dont expect him to be after RVN

Helix

blackburn ruled him out, they cant afford te £90k wages

Helix

we're back in preseason training today

the u21s and players who played late internationals are back this day next week

Esse85

I was away on holidays for 2 weeks and I seriously taught MON would of signed a player by now.

Just seen that Villa are set to "make moves for Tuncay and Downing" on SSN

Id rather Bentley than Downing if Im honest, Bentley appears to be more flexible.

Helix

someone on vt has just said ssn are claiming young is spurs bound for £15m plus huddlestone

sounds wrong on so many levels, but is anyone near a tv to confirm its bull?

villains77

mon be mad to sell young now hope there no truth in that
i would have thuaght we would have at least somebody in by now

Villain

Helix wrote: »

someone on vt has just said ssn are claiming young is spurs bound for £15m plus huddlestone

sounds wrong on so many levels, but is anyone near a tv to confirm its bull?

Has to be bull

matrim

Helix wrote: »

someone on vt has just said ssn are claiming young is spurs bound for £15m plus huddlestone

sounds wrong on so many levels, but is anyone near a tv to confirm its bull?

I'd say it's bull. There's nothing on the website and I've just flicked it on and it was going over the Premier league thing and only mentioned Bowyer and Van Persie.

Helix

thought as much alright, but it honestly wouldnt have surprised me all that much lol

orourkeda

If the money is right, sell him. Nobody is irreplaceable. He's a good player but a substantial bid should at least be listened to.

death1234567

Helix wrote: »

someone on vt has just said ssn are claiming young is spurs bound for £15m plus huddlestone

sounds wrong on so many levels, but is anyone near a tv to confirm its bull?

Its probably just someone seeing the paper talk round-up on SSN and thinking that its true rather than just the rumours from the daily rags.

Helix

orourkeda wrote: »

If the money is right, sell him. Nobody is irreplaceable. He's a good player but a substantial bid should at least be listened to.

tbh, do you trust mon to replace him as well as laursen, barry and probably bouma in a single window?

orourkeda

Helix wrote: »

tbh, do you trust mon to replace him as well as laursen, barry and probably bouma in a single window?

Thats a little unfair. Shouldnt he wait for the right players to come along rather than bowing to unnecessary fan pressure to make signings?

Theres a point that all of his signings havent been perfect and thats fair but theres plenty of time yet. If nothing has changed with a week to go before the season starts then we should start getting worried.