Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

Esse85

pavb2 wrote: »

Great video, shame isn't it as that is clinical finishing, his accuracy and ability to find the corners was incredible.

The Blackburn one passed into the net was my favourite.

Reminded me of Lampard and how he timed his runs into the box so brilliantly.

SI's finishing from that video is so natural

Neil3030

Ireland is finished. He can still pass the ball well sure, but he's lazy, makes John Terry look positively pacey and has almost zero positional sense. Hasn't chipped in at all with goals, either. To the MLS with him, and let us put that 60k p/w towards something more fruitful.

Neil3030

Wow, I didn't know the TV money is going up next year. Next year's TV deal in the Prem will be approx £75mil.

Raekwon

Neil3030 wrote: »

Wow, I didn't know the TV money is going up next year. Next year's TV deal in the Prem will be approx £75mil.

Yeah Sky & BT are sharing the rights for all games and have stuck a combined deal worth £3 billion with the FA. I didn't think it was as high as £75m for each club though, if that's the case then RL really needs to decide if not spending a few million now is worth the risk of being relegated and losing out on TV money. He also made over £600m from the sale of the Cleveland Browns so its not like he's short of a few bob.

Frankie Lee

Esse85 wrote: »

Keith Andrews is not the answer, if he's signed, I know that PL is preparing for the championship.

I can't think of another Premier League team in which he'd get a starting place so it is baffling to see people calling for him to be signed. I see QPR are looking like signing Jake Livermore on loan, he would be a big improvement on the likes of Delph for Villa.

CSF

Neil3030 wrote: »

Wow, I didn't know the TV money is going up next year. Next year's TV deal in the Prem will be approx £75mil.

Pity villa will only be getting parachute payments

circadian

Worst season to be potentially relegated. Parachute payments will probably go up too but the gap between the tiers is going to be much bigger.

Doodee

circadian wrote: »

Worst season to be potentially relegated. Parachute payments will probably go up too but the gap between the tiers is going to be much bigger.

Payments will be about 40m p/y for 4 years afaik. Not as good as staying up.
Rumours on VT that the board were unhappy at PL saying they had no money for transfers..

Corholio

matrim wrote: »

It is a poor return but he has been playing on the wing for the last 3 season and he can be ok at making chances but he's being paid way to much. I think he's on 60k and he's worth nowhere near that, maybe about 25k

He has been played on the wing a good bit over that time, but he's also played up front a good number of times too and had zero impact on games. He has the same footballing brain he had when he was 17, hasn't used his experience at all, especially as far as his pace is concerned. He should be taking on players time after time, but his control and decision making to do that can be atrocious.

Raekwon

Our head of scouting, Michael Henke, has left us to join German second division team FC Ingolstadt as their assistant manager. He was only at Villa for around five months

Neil3030

Raekwon wrote: »

Our head of scouting, Michael Henke, has left us to join German second division team FC Ingolstadt as their assistant manager. He was only at Villa for around five months

But in that 5 months, he uncovered such gems as.... eh... <ahem>... moving on.

matrim

Neil3030 wrote: »

But in that 5 months, he uncovered such gems as.... eh... <ahem>... moving on.

Benteke

listermint

matrim wrote: »

Benteke

Minor gem, see some of the misses on saturday :O

matrim

listermint wrote: »

Minor gem, see some of the misses on saturday :O

Yeah he does seem to be a bit hit and miss, the first one I don't mind as it was a hard rebound to get, came back hard and at an awkward height. The second one with the almost free goal was horrid.

But the guy is still only 21 and can hopefully improve his composure. And alot of our other chances on Saturday came about because of good work from him.

Esse85

matrim wrote: »

Benteke

If he was only there 5 months, I doubt he persuaded PL to sign him, I'd say PL knew about Benteke when he was in charge of Norwich.

If Lambert decided to sell Benteke for £20m and played Bent upfront, and used those funds this window we'd easily beat the drop.

Neil3030

Esse85 wrote: »

If he was only there 5 months, I doubt he persuaded PL to sign him, I'd say PL knew about Benteke when he was in charge of Norwich.

If Lambert decided to sell Benteke for £20m and played Bent upfront, and used those funds this window we'd easily beat the drop.

Exactly. Henke wouldn't have recommended any of the Summer signings.

circadian

Doodee wrote: »

Payments will be about 40m p/y for 4 years afaik. Not as good as staying up.
Rumours on VT that the board were unhappy at PL saying they had no money for transfers..

Agreed. Goooing down after these changes is a much tougher situation to recover from than before. It's simply not an option and could have a Leeds type freefall effect.

I think Lambert is right to downplay funds oththerwise clubs will think of being able to jack prices (and wages on account of agents). They'd see Villa coming and remember them dropping a crazy amount of cash on Bent to get the team out of the very same predicament.

pavb2

I think the humiliation of relegation would be worse than under McNeil in 1987 so our worst situation for over 40 years not withstanding the financial aspect.

We need a short term fix for the rest of the season even if it means deviating from the long term project of younger players, attractive football, & building for the future.

Again I think Villa need to spend 20 mill, pay tried and trusted prem players the going rate. I know he's not available but I'd pay Lescott 100k a week for the rest of the season.

The only problem I have is I don't know who you could bring in to get us out of this mess. Wesley Sneijder mentioned at 150K a week? Would he come would he make a difference?

Speculation rife about Lambert's future my opinion is if he's sacked we're definitely done.

Need to beat the Baggies & Newcastle for a start.

CSF

pavb2 wrote: »

I think the humiliation of relegation would be worse than under McNeil in 1987 so our worst situation for over 40 years not withstanding the financial aspect.

We need a short term fix for the rest of the season even if it means deviating from the long term project of younger players, attractive football, & building for the future.

Again I think Villa need to spend 20 mill, pay tried and trusted prem players the going rate. I know he's not available but I'd pay Lescott 100k a week for the rest of the season.

The only problem I have is I don't know who you could bring in to get us out of this mess. Wesley Sneijder mentioned at 150K a week? Would he come would he make a difference?

Speculation rife about Lambert's future my opinion is if he's sacked we're definitely done.

Need to beat the Baggies & Newcastle for a start.

Depending on what Lerner could pull out of the bag (and with him I'm not holding out too much hope) another manager could potentially envigorate Villa. Someone short term like MON or Harry could probably drag even this bunch to safety. Would rather see Lambert be kept, funded and stop signing Football League players though.

Patser

The lack of even solid rumours about signings US starting to get really worrying. QPR seemed to be linked with everyone, Sunderland have made a few signings (so much for MON's last minute approach.) and even Reading have made a few astute buys.

Frankie Lee

Patser wrote: »

The lack of even solid rumours about signings US starting to get really worrying. QPR seemed to be linked with everyone, Sunderland have made a few signings (so much for MON's last minute approach.) and even Reading have made a few astute buys.

Wigan are also after signing Henriquez on loan and look are looking to strengthen their defence with Ramis injured. Southampton have been linked with some decent players in Italy too and seem to have plenty of ambition in the market.

Doodee

Did PL say that he wouldn't bring anyone in until after the cup games finished?

CSF

Doodee wrote: »

Did PL say that he wouldn't bring anyone in until after the cup games finished?

He's really not coming off too bright recently. How many points dropped by then?

matrim

Doodee wrote: »

Did PL say that he wouldn't bring anyone in until after the cup games finished?

I think he originally said after Bradford. Most people assumed this was the first leg but now it's a bit later people are speculating it's the second leg. I don't think it was confirmed anywhere he was waiting until after the second leg

Raekwon

Villa are being linked to Jeroen Lumu who plays for Williem II in Holland.

Yes, signing a 17 year old forward is exactly what we need right now :rolleyes:

CSF

Raekwon wrote: »

Villa are being linked to Jeroen Lumu who plays for Williem II in Holland.

Yes, signing a 17 year old forward is exactly what we need right now :rolleyes:

Does Lambert realise that if he doesn't get the right players in, that he won't be here to oversee the development of all these youngsters?

death1234567

Esse85 wrote: »

If Lambert decided to sell Benteke for £20m

You'd be lucky to get £10m for Beneteke. The black Savo Milosevic.

matrim

Mat Kendrick in the Birmingham Mail is linking us with Moussa Sissoko this morning.

LeBash

matrim wrote: »

Mat Kendrick in the Birmingham Mail is linking us with Moussa Sissoko this morning.

Can see him coming. He is a good player and young enough to be a very good player. Although that is the kind of player we need.

Neil3030

Old news apparently. An inquiry was made last week and he wants 75k p/w.

circadian

75k per week???? Pffffffft!!!
If that's true his agent is really chancing his arm.

Doodee

matrim wrote: »

Mat Kendrick in the Birmingham Mail is linking us with Moussa Sissoko this morning.

That to me would be our marquee signing and I'd be happy with not breaking the bank for any more players.
He is teh right age and type of player that we need right now. I wouldn't worry about the wages either as there is surely room for negotiation.
Would be a player that wouldn't just be there to avoid relegation but a foundation to build from for next season too.

I hope there is a bit more too it than rumour. Can see a few spirits being lifted in the squad with such a signing. A bit like when Parker walked in to the Spurs training session after it was completed.

CSF

Doodee wrote: »

That to me would be our marquee signing and I'd be happy with not breaking the bank for any more players.
He is teh right age and type of player that we need right now. I wouldn't worry about the wages either as there is surely room for negotiation.
Would be a player that wouldn't just be there to avoid relegation but a foundation to build from for next season too.

I hope there is a bit more too it than rumour. Can see a few spirits being lifted in the squad with such a signing. A bit like when Parker walked in to the Spurs training session after it was completed.

Surely Villa are gonna need the signings that are there just to avoid relegation too though. Right now in time, Villa have no use for bringing in players that aren't upto it now, but will be in 3 years time. Won't be able to keep them in the Championship anyway if they're as good as you'd want them to be.

Neil3030

I'm not sure Sissoko is of high enough calibre to justify 75k p/w. Not so much to do with his ability, but more to do with how other players will take to his wages being so much higher than theirs. Should he sign on a contract anything in that territory, I would imagine that it won't be long before phones start ringing from greedy agents on behalf of disgruntled players.

However, having said that, if they aren't kicking up a fuss over dross like Ireland and N'Zogbia being so handsomely remunerated, maybe that won't be an issue.

death1234567

circadian wrote: »

75k per week???? Pffffffft!!!
If that's true his agent is really chancing his arm.

I think its more to do with him being out of contract in the summer. Maybe we could give him a big signing on fee and then pay lower wages...

Doodee

CSF wrote: »

Surely Villa are gonna need the signings that are there just to avoid relegation too though. Right now in time, Villa have no use for bringing in players that aren't upto it now, but will be in 3 years time. Won't be able to keep them in the Championship anyway if they're as good as you'd want them to be.

If we do the panic buy thing then we will be repeating the same curse that we have seen over the past 2 seasons. The restrictions that appear to be in place are paying high fees and salaries for players that are not worth it / not going to improve.

To me Sissoko is a player who has a bright future, and has been wanted by big clubs in the past. Sure the 75p/w is maybe excessive as a base salary, but I think that with ample negotiations you could probably see clauses that lead up to that if he performs, say a base of 45 p/w with extensions. He is young enough to inspire our youngsters but established enough to show intent to develop. There will be a need for back up too, but I'd like to think that if we avoid relegation then in 4 years time he is still with us and one of the highly regard DM's in the league.

Also, this might be worth a look. List of players who have 6 months left. Stolen from the Sun ^_^

theSun.co.uk wrote:

THE turn of the year doesn’t just mean the January window is open — for some players it signals just six months left on their current contracts.
As of January 1, all of the players listed below were potentially heading for the exit door for FREE in June...


ARSENAL: Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, Sebastien Squillaci, Emmanuel Frimpong, Lukasz Fabianski.
ASTON VILLA: Richard Dunne, Andy Marshall, Eric Lichaj.
CHELSEA: Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda, Paulo Ferreira, Hilario, Ross Turnbull.
EVERTON: Phil Neville, Sylvain Distin, Jan Mucha.
FULHAM: Mladen Petric, Damien Duff, Mark Schwarzer, Chris Baird, Philippe Senderos, Mahamadou Diarra, Giorgos Karagounis, Brede Hangeland, Neil Etheridge.
LIVERPOOL: Jamie Carragher, Doni.
MANCHESTER CITY: Kolo Toure, Richard Wright.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs.
NEWCASTLE: Steve Harper, Xisco, Danny Simpson.
NORWICH: Elliott Ward, Marc Tierney, Simeon Jackson.
QPR: Kieron Dyer, Brian Murphy, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Radek Cerny, Ryan Nelsen.
READING: Stuart Taylor, Ian Harte, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Noel Hunt, Jay Tabb, Alex Pearce, Simon Church.
SOUTHAMPTON: Frazer Richardson, Richard Chaplow, Danny Butterfield, Artur Boruc, Jason Puncheon.
STOKE: Michael Owen, Matthew Upson, Carlo Nash, Rory Delap, Dean Whitehead, Ryan Shotton.
SUNDERLAND: Titus Bramble, Louis Saha, Matt Kilgallon, Fraizer Campbell.
SWANSEA: Gerhard Tremmel, Luke Moore, Dwight Tiendalli, Mark Gower.
TOTTENHAM: William Gallas.
WEST BROM: Boaz Myhill, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Steven Reid, Zoltan Gera, Goran Popov, Chris Brunt, Gonzalo Jara, Luke Daniels, Yassine El Ghanassy.
WEST HAM: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Gary O’Neil, Freddie Piquionne, Winston Reid, Joey O’Brien, Carlton Cole.
WIGAN: Maynor Figueroa, Callum McManaman, Franco Di Santo, Albert Crusat, Piscu, Mike Pollitt, Ronnie Stam, David Jones, Emmerson Boyce, Antolin Alcaraz.


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4720439/Out-of-contract-Premier-League-players.html#ixzz2I3F23kMS

Esse85

Who's still on big wages at the club?

Given, Dunne, Warnock, Hutton, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Gabby, Bent??

They've all contributed nothing this season.

Doodee

Esse85 wrote: »

Who's still on big wages at the club?

Given, Dunne, Warnock, Hutton, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Gabby, Bent??

They've all contributed nothing this season.

Makoun is around the 40k mark too, but I'll assume that is being covered by the loan club.
If we could get 3m for him right now it could be a straight swap for Sissoko

CSF

Doodee wrote: »

If we do the panic buy thing then we will be repeating the same curse that we have seen over the past 2 seasons. The restrictions that appear to be in place are paying high fees and salaries for players that are not worth it / not going to improve.

Surely all these young players Lambert have signed will be coming good by then? If of course, they are as good as the faith Lambert has put in them.

Either way, relegation is unthinkable for Villa. If Lambert can't find the players to turn it around (and they aren't going to be 17 year old Dutch prospects), then there is no way he should be anywhere near the club for the battle to get back up there. Lambert has failed every aspect of the job so far and needs to get his act together or **** off. If Villa were to beaten by West Brom at the weekend I wouldn't hold it against Lerner if he told Lambert to piss off. Of course I'll then be shouting for him to follow Lambert's lead.

Esse85

Doodee wrote: »

Makoun is around the 40k mark too, but I'll assume that is being covered by the loan club.
If we could get 3m for him right now it could be a straight swap for Sissoko

Totally forgot about him, I'd say Villa could be covering half of that wage.

Esse85

There's not a hope in hell Lambert will be sacked this month.

Neil3030

If we offer Makoun + cash (no idea what Makoun is worth, how is he playing in France?) then give Sissoko Makoun's wages (40k) and a signing on fee of a million or two.

This could see the whole deal done for ~£3m with minimal effect to the wage-bill.

CSF

Esse85 wrote: »

There's not a hope in hell Lambert will be sacked this month.

5/2 in the sackrace. I'm not saying he will but its not out of the question either. Theres only so much worse things can be allowed get before it becomes irrepairable.

Esse85

CSF wrote: »

5/2 in the sackrace. I'm not saying he will but its not out of the question either. Theres only so much worse things can be allowed get before it becomes irrepairable.

No chance this month, I wouldn't even put your money on at 10/1

Raekwon

So we are half way through the transfer window and haven't strengthened yet? This is bloody typical of Villa! :mad:

As for Moussa Sissoko, nobody is going to pay him £75k per week. The only team that would even contemplate it would be PSG but they already have Clément Chantôme, Mohamed Sissoko, Blaise Matuidi & Sylvain Armand who can all play in a defensive midfield role, so they don't need him.

In saying that he is exactly the sort of player Villa need though as he has experience playing at international level and is suppose to be a very imposing player with strong tackling abilities that can break up attacks.

He only has 6 months to run on his contract and is available for £3m so RL should offer him £50k per week and a huge bonus if we stay up. But that's more then likely won't happen unfortunately.

I'd personally love us to try and sign Danish international CB Simon Kjær from Wolfsburg. He's fallen out with his manager and was on loan with Roma last season and with 6 months left on his contract he could be bought for a fraction of his original £10m transfer fee. He'd be cheaper and younger then Lescott anyway.

CSF

Esse85 wrote: »

No chance this month, I wouldn't even put your money on at 10/1

Surely next month is even more ridiculous though?

Esse85

CSF wrote: »

Surely next month is even more ridiculous though?

It depends on what happens this transfer window.

If PL brings in some of the players he wanted, then he'll see it out to the summer at least.

If he doesn't bring in anyone then he could possibly be replaced in Feb.

There's no point replacing a manager in January unless you've been touting that manager a few months and getting him to identify targets for January all behind the current managers back.

RL is not the type that acts without thinking, I think he's a decent person and won't act on his emotions.

If McUseless got the full season then so will Lambert, results are worse under Lambert but McUseless was hated more.

CSF

Esse85 wrote: »

It depends on what happens this transfer window.

If PL brings in some of the players he wanted, then he'll see it out to the summer at least.

If he doesn't bring in anyone then he could possibly be replaced in Feb.

There's no point replacing a manager in January unless you've been touting that manager a few months and getting him to identify targets for January all behind the current managers back.

RL is not the type that acts without thinking, I think he's a decent person and won't act on his emotions.

If McUseless got the full season then so will Lambert, results are worse under Lambert but McUseless was hated more.

Surely Lerner knows whether Lambert will be bringing anyone though? If there isn't going to be significant changes made, then it makes sense to make significant change to the management structure, because as things stand Villa will be a Championship club next season. Probably with only Reading behind.

Esse85

Lerner obviously knows whether there's funds available or what players Lambert wants, doesn't always work out tho, just look at the french striker signing for QPR instead of Newcastle.

Lambert won't be sacked this month, that is a certainty.

matrim

CSF wrote: »

Surely Lerner knows whether Lambert will be bringing anyone though? If there isn't going to be significant changes made, then it makes sense to make significant change to the management structure, because as things stand Villa will be a Championship club next season. Probably with only Reading behind.

What a few people on VT have said is that Lambert has given Faulkner a list of targets in order and Faulkner is now out trying to negotiate for them.