A winner, a defeat and PFA rules get Barry back

I heard a rumour that MoN was in Stoke over the weekend and a cheeky bid might yet go in for Gordan Banks. I mean he's not that much older than Brad is he...... :P

Looks like youve already had a beer...or two...

47 years old eh?

;)

villa have started to do my head in again. wat the hell is going on again!!! mon said last nite that we need strengthening, well get ur finger out and buys some players, surely he can do that!!! y is he buying guzan? when he isnt ready for the premiership!!! this guy (mon) just doesnt make any sense at all!!!his transfer history suggests that he will never buy a world class player or players!!! he hasnt got the charm or ambition to bring them. we as villa fans must act and send letter after letter to randy lerner to say wat the fuck is going on and where the fuck is the world class signings that were promised!!!!?
alot of my fellow season ticket holders feel the same way. and surely you feel the same way damien?

bhurji,

Every manager has their different methods. MONs way of working in terms of transfers is generally to buy players who aren't superstars, but who are young, promising talents who have the right attitude to progress and become even better. And we all know that MON is an absolute legend when it comes to boosting the confidence of players and getting them playing bloody good football.

It pains me when I see people complaining so much despite the brilliant things MON has done for our club over the last two years. It doesn't bother me that MON doesn't buy 'world class' players, because he buys players and them helps them become 'world class', and I couldn't be happier with the job he's doing.

eddy

good call. your spot on.
Mon is a living legend and should have our absolute unwavering support for what he has done and is doing.

People should look at the whole picture and all the facts over the last couple of years before commenting. His record is unquestionable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bhurji,
Wenger isn't in the habit of buying world class players, is he, just relax. Lets everyone start drinking.

Hang on a minute Damian. Your competitions are all wrong. First you picked a winner for the first signing and you used the Sidwell signing for the first one, when in actual fact it was Davies! Then now you state you have to say the following in the body of a reply and I quote you...

'if loving Aston Villa is wrong, I don't want to be right'

Not that I have anything against Not So Silent Bob, but he did not write what you asked to write!!!!!!! I have pasted below exactly what he wrote, which clearly does not match what you wanted.

Bobs reply.....'if loving villa is wrong and i dont want to be right what does that make the blus fans.................insert coments here peeps lol'

Can we have a re-count? Why bother running these bloody competitions if they are nt getting run properly. Your not a Premier League Ref are you by any chance?

I appreciate they are for fun and it's not like your offering a holiday as a prize, but come on Damian...Get it right, cos noone's gunna bother with your competitions if they are judged wrongly!

andyarkitekt

i'm hoping you're on a wind up .. but

first - the shirt competition - we already knew about davies when the competition was opened - we were told by martin o'neill last season that the deal was done when he signed a year loan deal - it wasn't a secret

second - the dvd yesterday, okay Not So Silent Bob didn't exactly put it down as asked but he put it down and got involved .. which was the point. we're only a blog, but i think i'll make the next DVD competition (coming later today) something about use all or some of these following words to make a statement ..

i apologise if i amde a mistake yesterday with the DVD competition - but i'll be clearer in the future ..

cheers

Damian....You have an answer for everything don't you!

So you made a mistake....Is that an admission that you are wrong then? Bloody hell, you are human after all. If you can appologise and everything comes up rosey, why can't GB do the same. Yes, I know your now going to say it's not the same thing, but now I've mentioned what your going to say you probably won't, but then again I may not be right for being wrong!!!!

It was not a wind-up. Just get it right. ;)

First off, there is no such thing as a friendly, so when you put on the Villa shirt you do everything to win. However, from what i have seen, the first half was full of opportunities and i would guess the second was a different ten or eleven. Although saying that, i would still expect our youth team to beat Lincoln (disrespect intended).
Now i have paid good money for my boy and i to see the mighty villa progress in the toto (well 15 squid), so lets stop this BS and start winning >:(

Like German tourists the stupid are everywhere. Why does this always go through my head when reading this site (not the blogs themselves but rather some of the comments).

Lets look at Bhurji's comments for example.

"we need strengthening"
"well get ur finger out and buys some players"
"y is he buying guzan?"

Have you not answered your own question here? We need more than one goalkeeper you know! At least three in a squad really. You're not likely to get two world class keepers and keep them both happy, much better to get a more experienced keeper (maybe big Brad) and a young promision keeper (Guzan), it just so happens they are countrymen too!

"he isnt ready for the premiership!!!"
maybe true, but most of the players brought in from abroad aren't ready right away, don't care how much they cost, some may never settle!

"his transfer history suggests that he will never buy a world class player or players!!!"
Maybe not, but has he ever had the budget to do so? Maybe he is sticking with what he knows works? Buying young promising talent, we all want big names, but with that brings big gambles.

"he hasnt got the charm or ambition to bring them."
Bentley bid confirmed... we may not get him but its ambition.

"alot of my fellow season ticket holders feel the same way. and surely you feel the same way damien?"
i'm sure some people will, personally i don't. from bottom 6 to top 6 in 2 years and you complain?

Andy, just shut the f*@" up for goodness sake, lifes too short.

In damiens defence, he ran a competition on deadline day last year to win a villa t shirt if you were the first to guess how many signings we'd make. I was lucky enough to win and true to his word the t shirt arrived within a few days.

Im not having a go at MON here but EddyG87 who has he ever turned into a 'world class' player?

rob h MON is a living legend? wtf????? OK What has he won at top level? If that's your idea of a living legend good job your not in charge of the bullshit honours system. Sheep.

Ok JonnyW, just cos you say so, I'll shut the f*@" up. Mmmmmmm, let me think? Not a chance mate!

bhurji.....why are you worried about not signing top class players? Your mate at the Belfrey has told you who we are signing hasn't he?

Well MON maybe a good Manager picking rough diamonds.. but come on we need a right back..!! Saturday we play a team who's season started over 2 months ago, yes we are strong in other areas but whats the point of that if our defence is below par..?? I'm sorry to say its a shambles, even if a right back comes in today do you think he will be settled for saturday..?

As for Barry we must remember he is a human being not a robot, and he makes mistakes like we all do... So dont be surprised if he playing again for us soon, MON has learn't his trade from Clough and the great Brian had many a falling out with his players but he was always man enough to give them a 2nd chance..!!

faceless guttless intertnet bitching, I love it.

Don't you get involved Woodinho, cos you'll reaally, really, really get me angry... ;D ;)

MON is a legend yes, but even legends cant continue to operate with ZAT KNIGHT at the back, no Right backs, no midfield playmakers, no right sided winger, no back up at left back etc etc..

IM right behing MON but for gods sake GET YOUR FINGER OUT !!!

I was at the game last night and i think wayne routledge did really good it could be a big year for the lad

we was shit at the back tho we need to buy some defenders soon

Quit your Jibba Jabba

Yes MON has got us to the top 6 and its fantastic, but that doesnt mean we should all sit back and go on and on about it. Villa is a top 4 club, a european cup winning club !!

There is a strong argument to suggest if we moved abit quicker on things, like buying a right back for instance we could be even better , and break that *ucking top 4.

No right back or right winger for what is it now , 2 seasons HA - RIDICULOUS..

There seem to be several rumours today linking us with Stuart Downing.

GOD NO!!!

Overrated, overpriced. With nearly 5 years left on his contract we'd be talking in excess of £20m. He's not worth half that.

Quit Your Jibba Jabba: Quit your jibba jabba!!!!!!!

ive said this enough times on this blog...PATIENCE!!!!....
would all you moaning fans be happy if O'neill rushed into spending £50mil on 9-10 players and only 4 of them played well at villa?..I dont really know exactly how MON goes about his transfer business but i can imagine he has inquired about ALOT of players...inquiries we havent even heard about..some of these inquiries probably are for world class players but do you really think they will choose to play for villa when the likes of Chelsea, Milan, Marid show interest too?...if at the end of the transfer window the big guns dont snap up these players then im sure they would choose to come and play for a young, talented team (villa), under a well respected manager (MON).
Let MON O'neill get on with what he has been doing...getting us higher up in the league!...if he fails in doing this...you moaning, depressing fans then have the right to do what you do best...

Give the man a chance!!!!

Come on MON, prove these critics wrong!!!

friedel is 37 not 47

losing 3-0 to Lincoln is a fucking disgrace, let's not beat around the bush here, we have an important game on Saturday and we have lost the last 2 pre season games that we should have won easily. Lincoln, for fucks sake do me a favour, my pub team could give them a good game…

I'm with villa rob on this one. Sick of the sheep going on about look where we are, bottom 6 to top 6 in two years. While I agree that's great, what about the blatant failings in the club. Very low squad numbers, Right Back and generally weak down the right. I've not known the defence so poor for years. All an opposing team had to do was attack down the left and defend down the right. These areas need sorting.

We may well get through the Intertoto over the two legs, but let's face it, it would have been easier with RB, RM and back-up keeper at least. If we don't make it to UEFA, MON has had plenty of notice of the weaknesses in the squad and there's no excuses.

MON says it's hard to get the targets he wants or needed, but everyone says footballers just go for the money. If I'm not mistaken was we not told that the funds were available when the new owners and management came in. If so why have you not splashed the cash MON on filling these positions accordingly. Don't any one of you give me a load of bullsh@t that MON is spending wisely. Cos you know what, if not spending at all is spending wisely, then I don't know my rights from wrongs! (very topical).

There will be some of you that will be happy next year if we have the same squad numbers and finish in the top half. As long as MON makes a forgotten man into something more than mediocre then some of you will be happy with the 'MON effect'...Blah, blah, blah. What about the 'Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho effect'

Before the sheep start having a go, I like MON, he's cool and down to earth, but come on let's see this world class ambition.

Appologies for the rambling..I'll shut the f*@" up now.

Kieran, did you have a humour bypass? No wonder MON et al have got away without a proper professional team for so long, can you imagine other businesses without the right staff? Please stop harping on about 6th place, there was only a couple of points between that and 10th. That means we are not leaving the 2cnd div of the prem table yet, it means we are all equal. Top 4 is the aim and we need the top players to do it.

QuitYourJibbaJabba is spot on.

I don't know why people are so negative, we have shown clear progression since MON took over. If we stop progressing and start to move down the table then everyone one here will be quite right to bitch and moan, but at the moment things are rosy. We are or at least on the evidence of last season playing great football, better than we've played for years. Who do you think is responsible for this? So in my opinion MON is a living legend when it comes to the villa, I have never been more excited to be a villa fan. When I see the games coming up I always feel that we can and should win, before MON I remember looking at fixtures and no being very confident of winning every game, which has changed now. So to be honest I don't care who MON signs because I have complete faith in him. Although Kaka and Robinio would be fantastic in claret and blue lol

Andy get a life mate, it was only a fun competition who really cares if Notsosilentbob didn't write the exact thing. It was for a DVD not a holiday in Barbados! It wasn't as if Damien asked us to phone our answers in like a BBC competiton (In if was the prize would have gone to Damiens mate down the pub).

Anyway not aure about anyone else but I for one am disappointed that we couldn't even beat Lincoln. I get annoyed whenever we lose to anyone (just ask my wife, when Charlton scored to beat us in the 90th minute 2 seasons ago or when Kaboul equalised at White Hart lane!!). Surely preseason games are there for us to get match fit and build confidence. Losing 3-1 to div 2 side is not that great at inspiring players.

I remember when i was a young boy Villa coming to play my local team Falmouth Town in a preseason. I wanted villa to win that game just as much as I want them to win any game. These players get paid shed loads of cash to play for our club and to play high competitive football. As proffessional sports men they should have that desire to win everygame! Come on boys Lincoln City!!!!

I know it's a preseason clash and the results counts for nothing but seriously we are better than that.

sorry rant over!
:o

Villa are preparing for Saturday's Intertoto Cup clash with Odense and the last thing that the manager needs is several injury problems, with such a small squad.

Gardner sat out Tuesday night's friendly defeat at Lincoln because of a groin problem, after picking up the injury in training on Monday, forcing Nigel Reo-Coker to play as a makeshift right back.

see below - so gardner if he plays will prob be playing not fully fit. wtf is going on its a joke!!! imagine if these 3 were out who would play defence? salifo and reo coker with bouma and knight i gues. its comical!!!
our first game is in 3 days and we have bought in one player and let 5 go. we have by far the smallest squad in the premiership. some of u say other teams have made few signings but they didnt have such a dismally small squad to start with and havent let as many players go.
we have no righ back, no back up centre back, no 1st team goalie, no back up left back. we have 3 fit defenders in our whole squad and i MON has been shambloic for the 4th transfer window in a row!!

O'Neill revealed: "Whether that makes Craig a doubt for Saturday, we'll see how that goes. He might do a bit of training today and we'll see after that."

The manager says Laursen's non appearance at Sincil Bank is not a concern, while striker Carew was taken off at half-time in the 3-1 loss as a precaution after tightening up.

where did it go? 10 million- 4 million. we know carsons price tag at the start of the tf window was purley leverage in the barry "deal". Any player, barry espcialy, thinking of joining liverpool should bare this in mind. I wonder if carson now feels his career prospects have been hampered? i'd be spitting nails! liverpool should be made to explane there behavior. i am genuinely dissapointed. liverpool's history speaks for its self but the currant management have acted in this matter with arrogance and devoid of any integrity . barry has burned his bridges at villa park, the trust has gone, sell him quick. sell him to lincoln for a tenner just to watch liverpool squirm.

Word up Bruce, spot on mate

MON has again been proved to be waining when it comes to getting numbers in. We showed against Zurich and no Lincoln City that we've not got any cover let alone one good player in a couple of positions. No Goalie, No Right Back and no Right Midfield. I just hope our season doesn't finish earlier than the usual September in the league and 1st week of Jan for our anual 3rd Round Exit of the FA Cup to Scumchester Utd.

Our season starts proper on Sat and we seem miles away from being ready. Glad Bouma is back but if he gets a knock we've got no right our left back. Knight is well out of his depth in Premiership. No cover at cetre back either.

MON - I'm glad you came to Villa but at the moment I'm more than pissed off with you, Lerner and others. We had 20 years of broken promises and more will not be welcomed. You've had 2 months to get numbers in and you brought one in that I rate highly. But centre midfield was't the most importat position to fill.

So pull your finger out and stick a rocket up your staffs arse. In todays world of football you ca't stay still!

What you have to understand is the relatioship between Villa and Liverpool is no more. Both managers are under pressure. Rafa trying to save his job which will go before Christmas and MON as his golden myth bubble has burst with Villa fans.

I think MON is the best at getting players motivated and tactics are fantastic but he must rank near bottom with transfers minus Young who to me is the best thing Villa have had in the modern game.

If I could be arsed I would look at the last twenty years and try find a correlation between pre-season and season performances. I may be wrong but my recollection of good seasons have been that they came off the back of good pre-seasons (last year was certainly a case in point).

As I said some weeks ago, it is already too late for us to be signing players and I fear MON is about to have his worse season for any club as manager. Look out for injuries to key players and poor performances.

ak27

Well I guess it depends how you define 'world class' but if you think of it in terms of how many villa players have got call ups for their national squad since MON took over then you'll see the point I'm trying to make.

Bouma
Barry
Ashley Young
Agbonlahor
Maloney (pretty sure he wasn't called up before)
Carson

Do you see what I mean? These players didn't have much of a chance getting in to their respective national squads until MON had coached them.

if im honest. i quite like brad friedel. sure hes 47 but he still can make some very good saves.

UTV ;D

p.s. how much was the friedel bid anyhoo?

Relax...If you've seen anything from the transfer market so far it's that it's like a bunch of dominoes. Utd want Berbatov. Spurs want to spend the Berbatov money on Bentley. Villa have a bid in for Bentley. Blackburn don't want to sell, but the player wants to leave. Blackburn/Bentley waiting to see if Spurs will spend more money. Blackburn will want to buy a replacement, and so on. MON has been working on Nelson and Miguel for RB and so on, and there's whether or not those players want to leave, and whether their clubs have their price and/or their replacements, etc. Juve back out on Alonso.

It may seem too late since we have a meaningful game in what would otherwise be a meaningless preseason start up. But just because the Intertoto starts for us now doesn't mean that everyone else is working on the same schedule. MON can't force anyone else to do anything on his timetable. He's obviously bidding for players, working the deals, doing what he can. Even Sidwell, which we knew about for a while, took time getting settled because he wanted to talk with the new manager first.

Apart from the Barry saga, there's no reason MON should feel that the starting lineup that finished 6th in the PL wouldn't be adequate to face Odense.

The players weren't even trying in the second half against Lincoln, from what I read, and if they'd been sharper would've had 3 or 4 goals in the first half. They don't want injuries, and they don't want to overextend themselves. It's just a run-around against an earnest bunch with everything to play for, and Lincoln don't have a real match following on Saturday to worry about. Do you honestly think if Lincoln were the Intertoto opponent Villa would've lost 3-1? At least 2 of the 3 goals were scored toward the end of the match with Laursen and Bouma not on the pitch.

I seem to recall us beating Milan 3-0 in preseason. Do you think that would happen in a meaningful game?

Look everyone calm down!!! Sure we are very light on players but MON knows this, he has said as much all summer. It is hard to buy a player if the club he is at doesn't want to or have to sell (ask Liverpool). Blackburn are trying to keep Bentley and don't you think that other clubs already in europe such as Man City, Spurs, Everton etc would want him? If you were a world class player who didn't support Villa, would you really choose us over clubs in champions league who would pay higher wages etc? No you wouldn't. The hardest thing to do is to buy that first class player and then others will follow. What MON has to do is try to improve the squad and team gradually and try to be in champions league in next 3 seasons. Remember the 5 year plan anyone? This is an important summer but lets all be patient and trust in MON.

Viva la Revolution!

absolutely spot on kohoutek.

47,What the F***.If we get him then he'll retire strait away!

You last three...It is without dispute how the team has progressed in terms of motivation. However, even the most ardent MON supporter cannot disagree with the fact that it's been way too long without a decent organised defence and right side. I am firmly of the opinion that had these positions been sorted last summer we would have been above 6th place (which was only a couple of points away from mid-table). Had these positions been sorted, then on all balance of probability we would have finished with a handfull more points. Don't argue we will never know, because I know that, but you can't argue against that these areas should have been strengthened long ago.

according to skysports transfer clockwatch we are supposed to be signing stuart downing...sky say that it was in one of the papers but i can't find it :S

bhjuri or whatever the hell your name is...your a twat

Onion 'bhurgi' does my head in!!!!!

Has he ever got anything positive to say about the club or martin o'neil?

Look at the bigger picture, and at what he has done and is doing for the club. Judge him at the end of the season mr.bhurji!!

Think Villa fans need to have a look at a few things from last season and compare to other clubs. 1. Number of injuries, types of injuries and amount of injuries to players at the same time. 2. Offside goals you got and good goals that we disallowed against you. 3. Amount of "Lucky" goals you got, ie goals that came of bums, deflections etc.
Villa had a very very lucky season on all fronts last year and judging by pre season your lucks run out big time.

are u making some personal attacks or racist attacks ron? damien i think u should warn this twat, pleae read his comments, i find this offenssive

Racist cos he made a play on your name, come on!

anyway, you all complained we didn't sign enough players last season and we finished 6th, judge the man on results (in meaningful games) or support spurs they'll sign anyone over 10 million that the big 4 don't want.

What a suprise, Gareth Barry was put on the treatment table following a minor foot injury in his first traing session, so he's been ruled out of the Intertoto game. Not reported as a problem, but enough to miss the game. Got to keep him out of the spotlight and ready for a transfer. The script could have been predicted!

Off topic, what is our european route should we win the two legged tie?

I know it has been posted...Could I have a link or something...

Racist!!!!?
It's just a play on your name bhurji? like the primeminister says.
Besides i like a gud onion bharji.
Anyway bhurji, why is it that you feel you have to slate MON every 5 mins?

bhurji...i'm with the prime minister. Whats the matter with you?
Surely you calling Ron a twat was more offensive than him making fun of your user name. (is that your real name? i know my user name isn't my real one)
I don't usually comment on matters of racism but i fell that you are over reacting somewhat.
Anyway...UP THE VILLA ;)

[b]@ SpuddyBoy [/b]
should villa win they will enter the draw for the Uefa cup where they will play 9 games (18 legs) to reach the final in Istanbul

nuckle heads

i travelled 360 miles to watch that dros last night i hope its a wake up call for saturday.mon we need to spend now!!!!!!!!!!!!

i've got a really bad feeling about Saturday, this is a fucking huge game, not to the fact we could have one step in the UEFA Cup but also to attract players with the lure of Europe. If we lose there then at Villa Park we bottle it..aka Leicester last year MON's head will be on the chopping block, and i for one will be swinging the axe..but i'm going to get these negative thoughts out my head, back MON all the way and hope we turn these mugs over, I think Friedel will be signing very shortly, great goalkeeper...and hugely needed for Saturday

Dear bhurji,

Thank you for all your letters. On the back of your criticism I've decided to put the club up for sale. You'll be delighted to hear that the previous Chairman, Doug Ellis, is very interested in taking control again.

If the purchase goes through I believe he intends to bring in a new manager who can spend the transfer budget every season regardless of who he is able to purchase. From as much as I can tell from my end I think that Steve McClaren looks hot favorite!!

No doubt you'll be overjoyed for the club to return to the good old days!!


Best Regards

Randy

Where there's blame there's a claim.

Been called childish names?
Fiddled on a fun competition?
Had opinions disagreed with?

Don't suffer in silence call today.

Bloody hell is it me or do some people only post a comment when they have something to moan about? Do you really think that every player would go flying into every tackle against Lincoln in a friendly? Risk injury when we actually have a game that matters coming up? I mean it was pratically a training session to help get match fit. MON has done a amazing job and Sidwell was a great buy, Guzen was a steal at 1 million. If Bentley comes a decent striker and a right back are be well happy. Watch us destroy this shitty team on saturday 3 - 0. If we loose i will never post on here again, that is how confident i am. Come on Villa!

;D come on you villa

I'm Lerner

No, I'm Lerner

barry is a nob 'ed anyways send him off to arsenal and lets cash in on that judas ;D

bring in bentley anyday

:@ i really do not no what is worst jarrad power or a bloody bluenose :@

No it's me, I'm Lerner!

who is this jazmundo sounds like a twitcher from small heath"""" :o :o :o :o :o

mon spend now

damian if the dvd meant more to andy id be happy for him to have it, i entered for a bit of fun and never expected to be "pulled out of the hat as it were" if i said the wrong coment in the way i delibratly worded it then i appoloogise to everyone that took part that said the right thing and im happy for the comp to be re-drawn again,

heres my entry

if loving villa is wrong i don't want to be right



does it still count lol ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D



as regards to transfers people lighten up nothing we say or do can make mon move faster or sign the players we want hes in charge not us we are just supporters we dont get a say ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

i love jazmundo xxxxxxxx ;D ;D ;D ;D

Bob...Sorry it's just too damned late now. Damian is a very naughty quiz master. I really, really wanted that DVD. Could I swap it for the Gareth Barry DVD though. ;D ;)

No, I'm Randy.

Bob...Think people have missed the point. It's all part of the fun coming on here and provoking reaction from Damian. Also provoking reaction from the lemmings. Got to have some fun to brighten up the day! :P ;)

Olof Mellberg supporter. Never saw her at Villa Park

[img]LINK[/img]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.............err..........no!

i will have the last word .....im randy
and i have a hard on for martin...
he's the best man i know.
somebody said 18 games to get to the final,fuck...

Gareth Barry, Gareth Barry, You're a wa****, the Holte End say, Gareth Barry Gareth Barry, You and Gerrard are FU***** GAY!!

I'm Spartacus !!

Thanks TPM.

If there a website for the european run-in...?

WTF are you idiots on about? i dont care how much you whinge, i trust in MON. He has brought in a quality centre midfielder, a future prospect in Guzan and is about to bring in possibly one of the best Goalkeepers in the Premiership. so theres 2 of our positional issues out of the way if you look at what we needed at the beginning of this transfer window. Now once Bentley comesin, and i believe he will, we will have another position out of the way with Routledge as cover, and even Petrov. So you say martin oneill lacks ambition. Clearly he has his targets AKA Sidwell which took a long time to sort out (not MOn's fault) and Guzan who he has pursued since january. dont you think that says that MON see's this player becoming a superstar??

Onto the biggest issue. Our defence is wafer thin in terms of depth. We have 3 CB's, with Davies being injured. One more is enough. And i believe that will be Anton Ferdinand. He is young and english and has been constantly linked over the past few weeks. If oneill wasn't pursuing him or wasnt going to sign him he would have moved on to another target.

And as for a right back. Mon would have assumed by this time that Barry would be gone. Therefore he would have already got finnan in as a replacement until he signs Miguel, which i think is a huge chance of happening.

I was extremely frustrated when we hadnt signed anyone after 6-7 weeks of the window had passed. But now things are looking brighter. We have signed a terrific centre midfielder and are on the verge of having two new keepers. Add bentley, Ferdinand, Miguel and possibly Finnan and we have 7 additions and 5 out. Thats 2 better on numbers than last season with som e new academy players set to make their mark and MON to do his traditional late signings and we shall have between 6 and 10 more players than last season. Enough? I think so.

Look at the positives instead of all the negatives. theres still plenty of time to go and im sure the boys will be up for Saturdays Game.

UTV

(and if i mightadd......Keep Gareth Barry!!) :P

I see Blues are trying their best to keep hold of Seb Larsson.

I tells ya, if he ends up moving to another Premiersip club I will not be happy. He's a massive talent and most clubs don't even realise. If he can't get Bentley, I'd want Larsson ahead of Milner, Lennon and even SWP!! >:(

I am SPARTI..CUS' i'm older!...Nicely written Villa#1,I for one completely agree with you...Shut up you wingers!

Whinger's not wingers!!!!!!!!

MON doesn't play the passing game so we are not going for the "top class" players. He occassinally goes for flair ie bought boro juninho at celtic after WC'2002. But I doubt continental flair players are going to come to VP for a bit of kick and rush footy. Our team will be based on brute pace and crossers, ie - "British flair." So please people snap out of the dream of signing class players. Top 6 can be achieved with workmanlike not easy on the eye football, Everton have been doing it for a few years.

why would we offer a 47 year old a 3 year deal, he is 37! he is bringing him in because he wants brad guzan to learn from him! simple! he wants guzan to be as good as friedel at the age of 37

I agree with you Villa#1, there are positives to look at. We'd all love to have a fully strengthened side for tomorrow's game but alas, it's probably the other way around - once the matches with Odense are out of the way, there'll be signings. Whether the signings will be 1st or 2nd choices will be based on whether we get through or not.

I have been frustrated in the windows too but the progress of the last two years isn't just in the league table, it is (more importantly) also changing in terms of the perception of Villa amongst players... This is probably the first window where MON can truly set out his stall and say 'look, we're scoring goals, making progress and Fabio Capello pretty much has a season ticket!'

Gareth Barry's situation has made it much harder for MON to sell that message but Sidwell's signing offsets that to some extent and success against Odense will help him get it all back. We've moved forward, players can see it and they'll want to come.

Point on GB... there were 3 major events in Villa's upturn a couple of year's ago: RL taking over, MON becoming manager and Gareth Barry having faith that these two factors made it worth a gamble on staying. To be fair, he was too good to be playing in a team whose trajectory was towards relegation. We could have done with one more year from him to cement our positive image for players but the 2 years we got were hopefully just enough. I think he's handled the situation (or rather his agent) BADLY but of all the 10 years great service, this final 2 were the crucial ones because he's played a major part in MON's development of the Villa brand. Time for him to go, fair enough, but we're in great shape to push on without him, in part due to his own faith in us, and I thank him for that.

Although i would love to see some big names coming into the club i really believe that we have a group of young talented lads who are willing to give everything they have to get villa back where they should be,regular european football.
Some of the lads e.g ashley and gabby are great prospects and i think MON will get them to their full potential, i expect Mon to start getting busy when the intertoto leg is out of the way, cummon lads lets have faith in martin, he is god.



Reo Coker or laursen for captain?

Your problem is like Liverpool. You have no money & thats why MON wants that amount of money for a player who is 28 in Feb. So thats why he cannot buy as the money is short