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Aston Villa Close In On Spurs, Newcastle, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough Quartet in £24m Raid apparently? Hopefully something will happen soon!
Monday, 22 June 09, 08:08 AM · Comments (38)
Villa Transfer Merry Go Round Yet To Begin
Despite more links than the worlds biggest paper chain, Villa seem no nearer signing replacements for Laursen and Barry. But we aren't the only ones, apart from the sales of Ronaldo and Barry there is precious little happening amongst the other Prem clubs..... the club to club domino effect has yet to begin.
And yet the links continue to come thick and fast offering a little nudge and wink of hope (a cheeky hug of promise), but none seem to have any real foundation. O'Neill is still spewing out the same over-cautious rhetoric, promising nothing and giving you the impression that there's never any rush, and nothing a cup of tea with a nip of rum in it wouldn't benefit from more. So what of the recent speculation? Well it was inevitable that Ash Young's name would be banded about the tabloids but I wouldn't pay any attention to it all, last season O'Neill and Randy showed they will happily throw cash away rather than lose one of their best players. Lots of Chinese whispers are going around about Kyle Naughton - and i spoke to a Blades fan and they told me what a great signing he would be, but I am not sure he is one of our main targets defensively. That's how it often seems to work, Villa have their priority transfer targets and plan B targets if they cant get their first choices, and yet its the names of the plan B targets that seem to get leaked as agents and co are desperate to generate interest and start a bidding war. 80% of all transfer links are generated by agents and players, 10% are made up completely, 10% are real. Reading between the lines our fav pub player Davies has said we will tire quickly next season, he has joined the likes of Milner in urging O'Neill to bring in more faces and a crate of Redbull.
Wheaterfix for breakfast?
Middlesborough and David Wheater himself have said he won't be leaving, so it seems odd that the Villa link won't go away. The latest nugget is they want Craig Gardener as part of the deal, no offence to Middlesborough or their fans - but you would think they would want to cash in on Wheater and that he himself would want to protect his chances of getting in the England team? But it's possibly Wheater has that genuinely rare quality in a footballer........ 'loyalty' REMEMBER THAT ONE KIDS? And loyalty does not apply to Sol Campbell, but hey he would be a good Villa signing if we could tempt him or Distin to the club.
Okey Coker
Apparently NRC won't be used as a bargaining chip for Spurs players, nope we want cold hard cash for him only. Which makes no sense really. The other Spurs links have got boring and died away, there is the hope that Bentley's 'i'm talking to Villa' comments were genuine but it seems there is a battle of wills going on between O'Neill and Arry and who knows who will trump who (or just trump). Villa have been linked to Dindane and Chris McCann of Burnely??? The second is pretty random, the Dindane link is pretty old and just as unlikely. The most exciting link of the moment is to Spain U21 star Jurado - sounds great right? More likely to be utter dobbins though, we just don't sign young overseas players of that sort of profile - although here's hoping that changes. The Royston Drenthe link has died and even Wigan defender Paul Scharner has said he doesn't want to move to Villa because.........he doesn't want to play in defense......make perfect sense...obviously i mean sod it lets sign him as a goalkeeper and done with it. O'Neill is looking slowly though and making notes on the Owen promotional dossier with a big marker pen (few coffee rings on it now as well as carrot cake crumbs).
In other news big John Carew got conned out of 250k - when trying to buy some Porsches, should have given his money to O'Neill as not only would he still have 250K but he would have gained a Ford Capri by now.
Despite more links than the worlds biggest paper chain, Villa seem no nearer signing replacements for Laursen and Barry. But we aren't the only ones, apart from the sales of Ronaldo and Barry there is precious little happening amongst the other Prem clubs..... the club to club domino effect has yet to begin.
And yet the links continue to come thick and fast offering a little nudge and wink of hope (a cheeky hug of promise), but none seem to have any real foundation. O'Neill is still spewing out the same over-cautious rhetoric, promising nothing and giving you the impression that there's never any rush, and nothing a cup of tea with a nip of rum in it wouldn't benefit from more. So what of the recent speculation? Well it was inevitable that Ash Young's name would be banded about the tabloids but I wouldn't pay any attention to it all, last season O'Neill and Randy showed they will happily throw cash away rather than lose one of their best players. Lots of Chinese whispers are going around about Kyle Naughton - and i spoke to a Blades fan and they told me what a great signing he would be, but I am not sure he is one of our main targets defensively. That's how it often seems to work, Villa have their priority transfer targets and plan B targets if they cant get their first choices, and yet its the names of the plan B targets that seem to get leaked as agents and co are desperate to generate interest and start a bidding war. 80% of all transfer links are generated by agents and players, 10% are made up completely, 10% are real. Reading between the lines our fav pub player Davies has said we will tire quickly next season, he has joined the likes of Milner in urging O'Neill to bring in more faces and a crate of Redbull.
Wheaterfix for breakfast?
Middlesborough and David Wheater himself have said he won't be leaving, so it seems odd that the Villa link won't go away. The latest nugget is they want Craig Gardener as part of the deal, no offence to Middlesborough or their fans - but you would think they would want to cash in on Wheater and that he himself would want to protect his chances of getting in the England team? But it's possibly Wheater has that genuinely rare quality in a footballer........ 'loyalty' REMEMBER THAT ONE KIDS? And loyalty does not apply to Sol Campbell, but hey he would be a good Villa signing if we could tempt him or Distin to the club.
Okey Coker
Apparently NRC won't be used as a bargaining chip for Spurs players, nope we want cold hard cash for him only. Which makes no sense really. The other Spurs links have got boring and died away, there is the hope that Bentley's 'i'm talking to Villa' comments were genuine but it seems there is a battle of wills going on between O'Neill and Arry and who knows who will trump who (or just trump). Villa have been linked to Dindane and Chris McCann of Burnely??? The second is pretty random, the Dindane link is pretty old and just as unlikely. The most exciting link of the moment is to Spain U21 star Jurado - sounds great right? More likely to be utter dobbins though, we just don't sign young overseas players of that sort of profile - although here's hoping that changes. The Royston Drenthe link has died and even Wigan defender Paul Scharner has said he doesn't want to move to Villa because.........he doesn't want to play in defense......make perfect sense...obviously i mean sod it lets sign him as a goalkeeper and done with it. O'Neill is looking slowly though and making notes on the Owen promotional dossier with a big marker pen (few coffee rings on it now as well as carrot cake crumbs).
In other news big John Carew got conned out of 250k - when trying to buy some Porsches, should have given his money to O'Neill as not only would he still have 250K but he would have gained a Ford Capri by now.
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Posted by Dan Collacott
| Comments (38)
38 Comments · Add yours
Spot on, a good read. I just wish MON signed someone up and soon! Before all we are left with is Michael 'bloody' Owen!
Yawn
I think David Bentley should be the player we really push for.
Reply to Max:
Hope we don't lose out to Everton in the Defour chase!
Wheater won't leave boro, hes a local lad and he loves his club. However Southgate may want to sell him, 9m (the reported fee) is a lot of money for a club with a large amount of debt, and they need to bloster thier midfield and strike force, and that 9m is perfect for 2-4 ageing yet experianced stars.
I utterly disagree that Campbell or Distin would be a good signing. Too old, too slow, too immobile. We need young(ish), fairly experienced players in to replace those we have lost. You can't replace Laursen, an absolute lionheart who'd put his face onto someone's boot if he thought he could get enough of a deflection on the ball to stop a goal. Campbell and Distin have not got that kind of attitude, and I don't think there's a pension office anywhere near Villa Park, so why would they join?!
We signed Laursen from AC Milan because h was an experienced defender, a good defender, and a very very good team. So, why are we not employing the same sort of tactic?! There are some mighty good players out there playing for top top clubs who are not getting first team football. Wheater may be good in a couple of years, but we already have a defender in Davies who will be just as good, if not better in a couple of years...
The same goes for the midfield...why Huddlestone and Jenas - essentially Spurs rejects, instead of seasoned, even brilliant midfielders at crap(ish) teams (Defour, Shabanis), or at great teams thus not playing every week (van der Vaart, Sneijder)...i just get downheartened by our supposed lack of ambition in the transfer market sometimes...let's hope i am gravely mistaken!!
Can’t believe your putting all your hopes on o’neal mark my word the burnley manager will be in charge of your club by Christmas – anyway I don’t know how you can put faith in manager who spend 3 million on player haskey who only score 5 -6 goals season – only great season he had was Liverpool when played with Michael owen – who was seen in Birmingham –by someone on twitter recently
Just theoretically, would you give us Young for Bentley, Jenas and, potentially the best of the three, Huddlestone in a straight swap? Or would you want a further cash adjustment on top? As much as you don't want to sell him, what, as Villa fans, would seem a fair deal?
Reply to footballmadnojustmad :
If you were football bad you'd know it's spelt O'Neill...you know, like the Irish bar you pick up the easy skanks in on a Saturday night...
If you knew anything about football, you'd know there is more to being a striker than merely scoring goals. Look at his time in the England squad - hasn't been too prolific, but he brings everyone into the game. His role in any team he has been in was not to score goals, but to create the space and opportunity for the players around him to score. That's why he's had so many England caps, and why Michael Owen and many other players say he is the best strike partner they've ever had...
Sorry, should have been football Mad...
it very difficult to guess if wev are going to take another step forward next season at this stage as only real and citee have made big moves in the market so far but wouldnt it be nice if martin was working tirelessly behind the sceanes to try and bring carlos tevez to aston villa now that would be a big stride forward and he is a player that would consider a villa offer
Reply to RUNTINGZ:
that would mean our entire budget on one pretty over-rated player
tit on a stick, Mellberg is about to sign for Olympiakos - MON what the feck are you doing???
same ol' mediocre drivel im afraid..... we'll lose out on naughton and defour, thats a certainty. bentley or any of the other spurs party boys would also be a step backwards.....
defour will go to everton as did our other summer targets as in cahill, lecott, felliani, and jagielka im sure moyes just waits to see who villa go for then makes his move. or do we even make a bid for these players me thinks the latter is more like it!!!!!!!!
i get soooooo pissed off with mons transfer tactics.
Reply to John Doe:
Theoretically speaking I guess a straight swap for all 3 would probably be about a fair deal. The 3 players mentioned would all be in the £7-8 million category where as Ash is in the £25 million category. The problem is, that swap wouldn't improve us as a team and for us to get someone of Young's quality it would probably cost us more like £50 million as we don't have the kudos some other teams have as well as champions league football. So I guess what Ashley Young is worth, and what Ashley Young is worth to us, are 2 very different things!
he wont leave boro your right about that
the clubs released a statement today saying wheater and johnson wont be sold and that they wouldnt welcome any enquiries
whats this debt you speak off thats old news mate
debts around 30 million now we dont have a big debt no more
was sorted out a month or so ago
goog read
good read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to _AP68_:
Everton cannot afford Defour as Kenright is skint! we have had links with him for ages and there has got to be something there... the only thing that worries me is that Fellaini was Defours partner at Standard Liege and that could spark something just as Villa has been sparked by Torres at pool
So, someone is "sooo pissed off" with O'Neil's transfer tactics, someone else wonders "what the feck" he's doing, someone else says we'll lose out on Defour and Naughton "tha's a certainty".....and that's before anything has happened! Let's just cool it till we see what happens and remember it's not just us that's done bugger all in the transfer market so far.
I cant see how people are saying Distin and Campbell are good signings, if we sign them we are taking ten steps backwards. I suppose i could understand if MON has them as back ups along with Knight. I know its a long shot but we should go after Lescott, he's defo worth every penny. Football has changed since Ellis was in charge, now we have money i think its about time Villa keep up with the changes in football and start buying big.
Rumours are just that, but it's worrying that mostly we keep getting linked with "typical" O'Neill journeyman types; Appy Arry rejects and players from relegated clubs. No doubt we'll pick up some reasonable, solid players along the way,but the likes of Jenas and Wheater won't push us on. Top four, I don't think so. Wish for once Villa would go for a couple of really top class signings as a statement of intent and ambition to the fans and other players at the club. Naturally it's a risk, and of course we wouldn't get a Ronaldo or a Torres, but is a van de Vaart or a Love utterly out of the question? Sadly I believe so, because a)O'Neill lacks the imagination and vision to go for it and b)even if he did, the club lacks the wages structure. I think Villa under Lerner and O'Neill have hit a glass ceiling; I don't think I'm being pessimistic, just realistic. Having already lost two of a very best players in Barry and Laursen, and rumours persisting about Ash, we'll be running to stand still next season in my view, and sixth would be some achievement given developments elsewhere in the Premiership. Personally I predict 9th or 10th, and I'd really love to be proven wrong!!
I agree with most of what you are saying Dave but
but....we're only a month into the transfer window - so it's a bit early to be freaking out.
I get the general impression most Villa fans aren't too confident in MON and Randy when it comes to transfers, bit harsh really - they have managed to conclude quite a few deals, and up until last season we were hardly the type of team most high profile players would consider coming to (DOL era proper f*cked us) lets hope that's changed.
players like sniejder and van de vaart would be fantastic and it would be nice waking up and hearing about a cheeky offer to them but i know they wouldn come to villa park. I happen to think sol camble would be a good shining. Not for long term but just for a season or two and he would be sure to teach davies and knight a thing or two. I also think we need a defender more long term. Just want to touch on the point of laursen. He will be hard to replace but remember we took a big risk with him and that was the only reason why milan sold him to us. He was injury prone. I dont see the point in signing bently any more. I mean he has had a diabolical season and miloer is getting better by the day now and ash young on the other side whipping those balls in like he has been doing for england would surely keep bently on the bench and i think he needs reg football. We defo need to get barry replaced.i dont have many suggestions but i think we also need an attacking central midfielder to give petrov competition and i dont mean salifou quality either where we would only use him in desperate times but someone who is going to ask mon everyday on the training field to be played. I like our strikers and have mixed feelings on heskey. Cant wait to see harewood do one but maybe owen to come in asyell?
I would like to see - BENTLY, OWEN, MIGUEL, E.GUDJOHNSON, KYLE.NAUGHTON, WHEATER, DEFOUR. Thats all quality and quantity!!!
Yep today we have been linked with Gudjohnson, would be a good signing, he is a real quality player and would be aviable for a decent price. I think we should also try and get (maybe as im not 100% sure) Hleb??
ruddy. i completely agree.
bentley, owen, miguel, gudjohnson, defour and wheater wuld all b quality signings then naughton 4 the future.
i fink we hv a chance wiv all of dem bt miguel tho.
bt i wnat Defour more than any1. he's quality.
also Villa_1_2_3 i agree bowt the Hleb. wuld luv him aswel, n is possable.
if we cn get the players above, we cn garentee a top 5 finish.
atm, we're gnna finish 9th or 10th wivout out current squad.
com'on o'neill. bring in the players above plz
one thing i have been thinking about is the big picture.. (in regards to this transfer window, not the next couple of seasons etc) when you look at it. we only have two options. quantity or quality.
now, when you look at the players we have been linked with so far, not too many of them are really 1st class. the thing that has really sent red flags and whistles going off in my head, is the fact that MON will only take cold hard cash for cokes.. If whe were going to add depth, what would be wrong with a swap for jenas and then some cash on top for huddlestone..? nothing really, and given that we havent gone down this path, it leaves me with hope that MON might actually have a much grander plan in mind, and be lining up something none of us have seen coming...
alternatively, he could just be $#!+ in the window and ive completely overestimated his intelligence. hope not
MON just needs to gamble on the championship and foreign players every other team gambles on, rather than signing them at stupidly inflated prices a few years on.
and not buy muppets like Heskey when we needed a defender or creative midfielder. I mean we had Delf coming through then - whose progress got binned as a result of Heskey's signing.
Well we've missed out on Sturridge to Chelsea - although if it was between them and us you can see why he would chose them - so no disgrace there.
our own Taylor now off to City
Doyle off to Wolves
Mellberg going greek
Sunderland want NRC
every report says Everton have bid for Defour and Naughton, not us - does that mean we aren't interested or have just not made any bids yet?
Sign there's months left of this crap yet!
David Bently will sign for 7 million in the next week. My mate in hertfordshire knows him well and says he is signig for villa 90% done.
Reply to Danny Band:
7mill - bargain but no chance, less than half spurs paid a year ago
Reply to AVFCBristol:
You are 100% spot on. Campbell and Distin are past it. if we want to be challenging for 4th next season we should be targeting players such as VDV, Sneijder, Huntelaar, Robben. There's 4 top quality players that apparently Real Madrid are looking to sell. I still dont see why we have such a huge interest in David bentley for, we already have Milner who is an excellent Right Winger so why do we need another one? Or perhaps MON will play Bentley at Right Back like he has done with anyone in the Villa Squad that can use their right foot.
or maybe he is looking to bring milner into a more central role.. which would make sense if MON fails to sign a decent midfielder to replace barry.. hedging his bets
Reply to davo:
Davo,
It's not the fact "it's not just us that's done bugger all in the transfer market so far" that worries me.
It's the inevitable dross that O'neill will sign that bothers me.
The bloke either has no eye for a player or no imagination about style of play and subsequently buys very one dimensional players to fit in with his one dimensional view.
I suspect it's a bit of both.
Cracking the top 4 may not just be about money but it's certainly not about kick and rush football.
Randy, open your eyes