Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

invincibleirish

Didn't think NRC had a bad game, dunno bout Shorey though. It was a good result and the squad got a work out, Fonz got another near full game, despite his missed chances he's only going to get better. Would've liked Ash to come off earlier but can't take off best player when 1-1. Have to give Knight the benefit of doubt for the moment, all we got til the Stallion and CC are back although someone is going to buy Brede Hangeland sooner or later, would it be a bad thing if it were Villa?

Now West Brom, got my ticket can't wait.

Setanta/NOTW says West Ham are looking for £15m for Upson, ooh pricey.

Bounty Hunter

Brede Hangeland is quality but Villa arent going to have four quality centre backs and rotate them itl be Laursen plus one probably Davies while he stays fit, then davies and cuellar if laursen isnt fit and in the future with knight always happy to be fourth choice just incase like now we get two cb injuries at the same time.

Him, Isanovic, Hyypia and maybe whoever is considerd unites 4th cb is(O'shea, brown, Evans) are probably the four best 4th choice centre backs in the league not that any of their teams fans would want to see them starting every week.

Esse85

That tie was never gonna win us any admirers, what the hell was Harewood trying to do in injury time, he had about 3 chances to clear the ball yet he couldnt get it outside our own box.

Shorey, Knight and Harewood are championship players, and the more they feature in the first team, the more harm will be done.

Im getting sick of players being played in unfamiliar positions, Cuellar, NRC and Gardner are not Rb's, sort it out MON, get rid of Shorey and bring in decent cover there.

Villain

Lads anyone heard anything about how Harry Forrester is getting on, I know he's still very young but when we signed him there was quite a bit of talk about him with Utd and Spurs also looking to sign him?

invincibleirish

Esse85 wrote: »

That tie was never gonna win us any admirers, what the hell was Harewood trying to do in injury time, he had about 3 chances to clear the ball yet he couldnt get it outside our own box.

Shorey, Knight and Harewood are championship players, and the more they feature in the first team, the more harm will be done.

Im getting sick of players being played in unfamiliar positions, Cuellar, NRC and Gardner are not Rb's, sort it out MON, get rid of Shorey and bring in decent cover there.

Patience Esse85 patience, to be fair the 3 players you name are stand ins, we have a squad now which is unbeaten in 8 PL games and with 4 1st teamers and any potential signings to return, plus hopeful improvement in Sidders & Milner.

Things can only get better?

Helix

Esse85 wrote: »

get rid of Shorey and bring in decent cover there.

no point with freddie back in a few weeks

Helix

Villain wrote: »

Lads anyone heard anything about how Harry Forrester is getting on, I know he's still very young but when we signed him there was quite a bit of talk about him with Utd and Spurs also looking to sign him?

ive heard nothing but glowing reports about the chap, seen him a couple of times too and he was fantastic, if a little bit lightweight. he'll definitely be a first teamer within the next 3 years anyway imo

Neil3030

JOVANOVIC REVEALS EVERTON SNUB
Posted 04/01/09 19:45

Serbia international striker Milan Jovanovic claims he has rejected a January transfer move to Everton.

The Standard Liege ace played and scored against The Toffees earlier this season when the sides met in the Uefa Cup.

However, Jovanovic was not interested in a move to Goodison Park claiming David Moyes' side are not a 'big club'.

"Everton aren't a big club," he told Serbian site Blic Online. "That club I have turned down already."

Jovanovic could still end up in England's top-flight with Aston Villa reportedly coveting his services; a theory he has not ruled out.

"The other club interested in me is in and around the top four in the Premier League," he continued.

The former Lokomotiv Moscow man is not getting carried away with the speculation linking him with a move to the Premier League, after seeing his PSV Eindhoven switch fail to materialise last summer.

"I'm getting offers all the time, but they are a little vague and I don't want to be frustrated again. Last year I wanted to go to PSV, but Standard did not let me leave."

Can't think of any other teams than Villa who are bigger than Everton and currently in or around the top 4... maybe Arsenal? Decent player this fella, might be a bit outspoken for MON's liking though.

Esse85

Helix wrote: »

no point with freddie back in a few weeks

Id like someone who can compete with Bouma for a first team spot.

Helix

i think shorey has the ability, he just needs time

Esse85

Helix wrote: »

i think shorey has the ability, he just needs time

Do you think he'll get time? I think he was a bit of a panic buy and playing a rb at LB ahead of him cannot be good for his confidence.

invincibleirish

Helix wrote: »

i think shorey has the ability, he just needs time

Does he though? 2 England caps & 2 seasons in the PL with Reading suggests he has some form, but his main appeal seems to be as a decent passer of the ball rather then pacy full back or tough tackler?

If/when Bouma returns to full form i think the LB berth will be his for the taking.

I'm not writing him off and i hope he stays and fights for his place, but i don't think an international with 2 seasons pl experience should struggle so much to get into the 1st team when he's the only fit specialist LB at the club.

Average-Ro

invincibleirish wrote: »

Does he though? 2 England caps & 2 seasons in the PL with Reading suggests he has some form, but his main appeal seems to be as a decent passer of the ball rather then pacy full back or tough tackler?

If/when Bouma returns to full form i think the LB berth will be his for the taking.

I'm not writing him off and i hope he stays and fights for his place, but i don't think an international with 2 seasons pl experience should struggle so much to get into the 1st team when he's the only fit specialist LB at the club.

Like most players, he needs time to settle in and get used to playing with a different team. Villa bought something like 6 players last summer, usually it would take awhile for that team to settle down and gel; however for the majority of the players it's gone smoothly. Some just need more time than others.

Samurai

Personally I just think he's awful, he only got those caps because every other left back who was english got injured!

rgiller

Watched yesterday's game on Setanta and, although I never thought such a thing existed, that Scottish co-commentator was the most biased anti-Villa propagandist I've ever heard. He spent the whole game going on about how useless Ashley Young is (not just yesterday - but all season), how Knight and Davies should have used all their years of experience to deal with Jackson's goal (it was a superb piece of skill) and how the penalty was soft. He dropped a snide comment every couple of minutes and by the end of it I was incensed by this Scotch pr!ck's drivel. Anyone know who he is and what kind of personal vendetta he might have against the club?

tomred1

Yeah i think it was Craig Burley, don't like him at all, i switched over to UTV.

Neil3030

Discussion on the January Transfer thread has me thinking this would be a very formidable starting 11. Unlikely, but still.

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Friedel

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-Young Laursen Davies Bouma-

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-Milner Petrov Barry Downing---

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Young

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Agbonlahor

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Bounty Hunter

I dont expect it at all and dont rate him as highly as the media seem to but id be very happy if we signed downing and let Young play in the hole once it wasnt the only signing coming in and we still bulked up our striking options.

wont happen tho imo

shoutman

No space for Carew Neil? You are right though, it does look a good team, but I think Young works better when he's out wide, with the option of coming infield, despite yesterday's performance he is still very good at swinging the ball in and beating full backs.

As for the commentator, was it Lou Macari? But either way, yea he was a gob****e.

Neil3030

I have a sneaking suspiscion he's off Shoutman. Bit of a coincidence this strange longterm injury coincided with him being disciplined? Maybe I'm being overly cynical...

I wonder if 'arry would take NRC in a swap deal for Lennon if Spurs sign Downing...

Helix

shoutman wrote: »

No space for Carew Neil?

i dont think carew will be a villa player on september 1st of this year

Helix

Neil3030 wrote: »

I wonder if 'arry would take NRC in a swap deal for Lennon if Spurs sign Downing...

he might you know

i think he'd be very interested in nrc if we were to make it known he was available. my only concern with that is that hes exactly what spurs need, and im loathe to be helping those feckers

Villain

I think a striker is what we need, Lennon or Downing wouldn't get in ahead of Young and Milner and I think Young in the middle isn't his best position, we need a striker and cover for RB

Bounty Hunter

Neil3030 wrote: »

I have a sneaking suspiscion he's off Shoutman. Bit of a coincidence this strange longterm injury coincided with him being disciplined? Maybe I'm being overly cynical...

I wonder if 'arry would take NRC in a swap deal for Lennon if Spurs sign Downing...

a lot of villa fans on other message boards have jumped to that conclusion but imo it is just a conclussion not neccesarily the right one. He is injury prone but has picked up niggling injuries that keep him out for long preiods and this is one of those times. Not to say he woulldent be sold when fit again if it takes even longer again till hes recoverd he could be sold, with the team having already adapted and imroved without him could cash in on him while he was still able to command a good price and go somewhere decent, then we would sign a less injury prone but as talented replacement hopefully.

Neil3030

Villain wrote: »

I think a striker is what we need, Lennon or Downing wouldn't get in ahead of Young and Milner and I think Young in the middle isn't his best position, we need a striker and cover for RB

Well Lennon would be purely backup imo, and if it were a swap deal it wouldn't cost us anything. We then get a back up RB and NRC is more or less replaced, a striker and maybe a CM.

Bounty Hunter

Villain wrote: »

I think a striker is what we need, Lennon or Downing wouldn't get in ahead of Young and Milner and I think Young in the middle isn't his best position, we need a striker and cover for RB

yep the priority has to be a striker and that player should be good enough to start if needed, then cover for RB (a right hand sided version of what Shorey is supposed to be for Bouma) and the wings (Routeldge mk2, twice as good hopefully)

Helix

if we got lennon we could play milner up front

1 game, 2 goals from playing an advanced position for us this season

Bounty Hunter

Helix wrote: »

if we got lennon we could play milner up front

1 game, 2 goals from playing an advanced position for us this season

I think Milner can chip in with goals and is a good player/signing but i wouldent want to be relying on him for goals. Because, though it was as from a different position albeit it from an advanced one he hadnt scored once for us till that game, and one was a penalty plus it wasnt premier league opposition.

Neil3030

Stilian Petrov is an outstanding player. Just thought I'd mention that.

Helix

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

I think Milner can chip in with goals and is a good player/signing but i wouldent want to be relying on him for goals. Because, though it was as from a different position albeit it from an advanced one he hadnt scored once for us till that game, and one was a penalty plus it wasnt premier league opposition.

i think he'll get goals if he plays up front, but he wont get 15-20 a season or anything. it migth work tho, we scored the 3rd most in the league last year without a 20 goal man, and we're looking like being up there again this term having played the last couple of months with a single forward, so i think maybe versatility might be foremost in mons mind in terms of attacking. as it is gabby, milner and young can all play in each of the front 3 positions we use or in the hole, so maybe mon might decide to go down that route again, and get someone who can do the same

Neil3030 wrote: »

Stilian Petrov is an outstanding player. Just thought I'd mention that.

agreed, i was one of his biggest critics til this season, but hes the single most important player in the team at the moment imo

shoutman

Agreed Petrov has been inspirational this year.

I wouldn't be shocked if Carew left, and if we get any decent money for him I'd be happy, after all he owes us absolutely nothing considering we swapped him for the pile of dribble that is Milan Baros.

I'd be happy with either of the two wide men mentioned but would be shocked if either of them came as neither would be starting.
Young is a wide man imo. Milner too is a wide man, he has one of the best crossing abilities in the league, two of the crosses he picked out for the fonz in yesterdays match were ridiculous, especially the second one when Fonzy managed to head it down across the goal, one touch from milner and bam it was straight onto his head, quality.

spiderdan

Downing, Lennon, Heskey etc etc not the kind of calibre of player I'd be looking for us to sign, we need more quality put the money into a 20goal striker, I agree we need more cover but I want us to sign a proven striker, invest in Santa Cruz, Owen, Defoe any of those players would make us a real force.

We badly need to sort out the LB position, I reckon Bouma will take a few months to get back to where he was which could be too late, Im sick of watching NRC play at RB its a joke, Young is a quality RB and when we play WBA I hope he plays there not NRC, I think he's more of a liability at RB then Shorey is at LB, look at the Arsenal match and a few others. Its our main weakness at the minute and until it fixed we could really screw our chances of 4th up, as I said Bouma will take time maybe too long.

As for Laursen, gotta admit it doesn't look good, especially if we sign another CB it could be curtains for him. As for Carew's injury?? Lets just hope MON doesn't keep us waiting till the last minute

wynters

spiderdan wrote: »

As for Laursen, gotta admit it doesn't look good, especially if we sign another CB it could be curtains for him.

I'm concerned about this Upson rumour too... There's no need for him unless Laursen's injury is long-term and much worse than originally feared... it's worrying.

Savman

Petrov's only downfall is his temperament, has picked up a few silly bookings for dissent. Shows he cares I guess.

That aside, I pay him a huge compliment when I say that he's probably equally as important to Villa's progress as Barry, Sidwell or NRC.

Petrov is a real shining example of the old cliche "form is temporary, class is permanent".

Helix

Savman wrote: »

Petrov is a real shining example of the old cliche "form is temporary, class is permanent".

yeh... we just dont know which way its swinging at the minute lol

is it form or class showing now after 2 years of rubbish

Neil3030

Helix wrote: »

A West Ham Utd
H Arsenal
A Hull City
H WBA
A Sunderland
A Portsmouth
H Wigan Athletic
A Blackburn

if we take 20 points from those games we'll quality for the champions league imo, no doubt

So let's see where we're at... 3 games down, 7 points gathered. A win against Brom this weekend and we're half way towards a place in the CL!! Come on!!

Helix

Neil3030 wrote: »

So let's see where we're at... 3 games down, 7 points gathered. A win against Brom this weekend and we're half way towards a place in the CL!! Come on!!

if we go as i said there, we'll have 51 points from 25 games which based on previous seasons would mean another 19 points from our last 13 games should see us home and dry

19 from 13 games is more than doable in anyones language

Neil3030

The 13 fixtures in question being:

Aston Villa v Chelsea
Aston Villa v Stoke
Man City v Aston Villa
Aston Villa v Tottenham
Liverpool v Aston Villa
Man Utd v Aston Villa
Aston Villa v Everton
Aston Villa v West Ham
Bolton v Aston Villa
Aston Villa v Hull
Fulham v Aston Villa
Middlesbrough v Aston Villa
Aston Villa v Newcastle

With really only the games in bold being the ties where you wouldn't expect us to get at least a draw, you'd have to fancy at least 15-20 points.

Helix

£11m bid in for upson from us

that cannot bode well for martin laursens long term future

Villain

No way? Jesus I'm not sure if thats good or bad I mean surely Laursen and Davies were first choice with Cuellar as backup, I wonder what this means at all

edit never mind: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4754601,00.html

matrim

Can upson play as left back? It might possibly have been so he could be cover for left back and at the center so that we don't have to rely on Knight.

Although it doesn't matter now as I don't see MON paying 16m for him.

Villain

Don't think so he's purely a CB AFAIK, its a strange one obviously they are not sure if Laursen will be able to stay fit?

spiderdan

If we're bidding for Upson- looks very likely that Laurson might be out for the season- end of career!!

Savman

£11m?!?! Christ.

Samurai

eeek!! wish we had bid that on defoe instead, although I'd imagine he would've picked spurs & harry before us

spiderdan

11m for a injury prone 29 year old seems madness, not to mention the 15m West Ham are looking for

edit- few looks like its bull

http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1510333,00.html

Tomthepost

It could simply be that he thinks Davies is still a bit raw, Knight only good enough for a team with mid-table ambitions and Cuellar lets be honest has been a bit of a disappointment so far.
16m for Upson not a hope. 11m a bit outrageous in my opinion.
Also I think alot of posters are way off the mark in relation to Carew's future. Im sure he will be back and banging them in again for us within a month.
We have been very lucky recently with last minute goals indeed outside the first half against Arsenal we aint been playing that well.
Carew is still a huge (pardon the pun) player for us.

Savman

Thank feck OS have denied it. Crazy money that.

Villain

"Sky Sports Understands" my b0llix

Savman

Sky Sports understands...that if you create enough wild speculation, sooner or later you'll hit the target.