Doc's Diagnosis: Shorey and Young

Well said.

good signings hope for more it will definetly start hotting up for us in the transfer market

*****breaking news*****

the mystery player has been identified.
it is...



...Bojan krkic

I welcome the pair and we should reserve the right to judge players until they have played for us and mingled with our current players? I wont do a last season 'slagging and he turned out to be our super-sub........

More talent thru the gates of bodymoor soon please ;)

thats slagging off harewood, the post got messed up again? :o

2 solid, if unspectacular, sighnings. now looking for defensive cover, right side midfield and 20 goal a season man!Bothwill do good job. SWP, David VILLA, Robhino and Carlos Cuellar next>

just a right winger philips or lennon will do and we will be on our way!!!!

one thing that these signing have done is atleast show Oneil can sign players at the drop of the hat if he wants to ....both of the recent signings stated how out of the blue the offers came. One thing villa definitely needed was more assured and experience at the back because of woeful amount of goals we let in. HASNT oniel just addressed that point 2 new keepers one with proven experience, and now finally a right back.. We all know Laursen was like man on the season last season and opta has stats that indicate that in the games curtis davies had played in before he was crock he completed a staggering 90% of tackles he made, so that left our right area the main culprit of the defense and the lack luster Zat Knight. A few more assured signings and we should be sitting pretty ...however barry is a huge shoe to fill

Hopefully i'll wake up or come back from where ever i'm going 2mos and go to my homepage(avfcblog) and the mystery player will be known? You see how hot this blog has been today its been like fire? But to be fare anyone could have come in its just not as much worry now? m.o.n even admitted he really wasn't after young until the injury to bouma, but hey everyone at boro likes him so?

mon should have picked up Downing aswell

young is very solid and shorey is solid aswell as being very good on the ball (passing and crossing).

2 clever signings! now im waiting for the Carew or Young type signing

I think you've got that wrong Goldie. He said left back wasn't a priority before Bouma's injury. Shorey was the one he didn't necessarily need to buy, not Young. Bouma's injury is the type though that you just don't know if he'll come back the same kind of player. If anyone can, he can because he's hard as nails but as we all know that was one hell of an injury and would affect anyone, tough or not. Bouma's consistency was one of the highlights of last season though and obviously Young is the kind of player who can replicate that on the other side, and doesn't need to be spectacular, so I think he's the perfect person for that position. A damned fine day for the club I reckon.

That's 7 completed signings now, quite incredible really. Still feels like the tip of the ice berg and i hope so. I do hope player "x" becomes reality and joins us.

Its a start and yes it gives some depth but we need a spark or two as well.

At least the fans have some cheer tonight

They are farely good players, Young's goal against Tottenham was unbelieveable, i think if we can grab a hold of another RB a right-winger and a 20 goal a season striker we are really in the mix for that 4th place.

Spot on Doc, two v. good signings. We will have a v. tough defence next year and are still capable of scoring a lot of goals whether or not we sign a striker. Midfield is important though if Barry goes. I don't think a right midfielder is a priority. Now MON has found success with Petrov playing behind 3 midfielders with Young free to roam, the scope to play a Right Winger in the starting 11 is limited. Routeledge gives him an option to change the formation if required and I'm wondering if MON is satisfied with that.

for villain of the north who is the 7th signing ..

martin o'i dont care any more...

how do you know that?

Well said. For me the icing would be a Barry-esque replacement next. Not necessarily a replica but someone with similar sure-footedness and vision. Then the winger and striker. I've got high hopes, after seeing him, of Delfouneso - young but great potential.

Yeah Baby
How do you like that Pizza Face, have you put the Bag over your head again opening your mouth on the Barry Situation
Remember you are just a feeder club to Aston Villa we can take your players when we want

I heard Barry wants the deal done before this week is over if not he will stay put, maybe we should just stall for a week and look that that 'big midfield signing' in january also need a Right Mid, I'd like to see Milner or Lennon, Routledge can cut it but i think we need a better player to mount a challenge for 4th place

av33 is a twat

2 cracking buys hopefully MON will add to this, but both players are solid and it looks like we have a solid defense to start the season with. Let's get the Barry deal done, or not done and move on - happy days

These signings are a blessed relief.
Common sense...
A midfield play maker, with time on the ball, who can hit a penny from 30 yards wouldn't go a miss. I hope the 'Mr X' possibility may fit that roll.
Can't we just take Gordon Cowans DNA and grow another. I've heard the sheep thing went really well...?
Lets hope there's more to come, eh!!

Doc I have always thoroughly enjoyed reading your articles. Thank you for the thoughtfulness you put into them. Again this says a lot, I really feel that MON has done extremely well this time around in the transfer market.

Shorey- he has potential to be better than Bouma. Bouma is immense in his defensive skills, but going forward he offers very little. Shorey on the other hand. He has an excellent set piece, passing ability, a shot, and offers some experienced defending. This also gives us the opportunity to place Bouma as a CB if need be too.

Young - again another fullback with a vast amount of premiership experience and a very consistent performer. He gets forward a little bit too, he is no Mellberg going forward :). Not only that, but he offers a good amount of dressing room/on the pitch presence. He could even be considered for captaincy at any point.

In both of them, as you said, they were considered to arguably be the best player at their club. Good signings.

MON is really sorting it out. Lets hope we can find a RW and a Barry replacment as well. Maybe add some flair ^_^

Doc - I agree entirely. We have really made some good strong signings at the back which is exactly what we needed. I'd like to see a good Right Midfielder and then I think we'll have considerably improved the team.

great signings now for de la red

bojan is not a suitable barry replacement... i doubt its him...
i reckon its either:
shweinsteiger
diego
de la red
marcos senna
falcao


hitzlsperger???

We're certainly getting there aren't we? billy bob says all we need is a right winger and we're on our way... and to be honest, in terms of a starting XI, I reckon he's dead right. Young and Shorey will add great experience but the thing I like the most about this is that they're both fairly attacking minded fullbacks who can both deliver a decent cross into the box. How long has it been since we had that?

Don't get me wrong, I love Freddy as much as the next Villa fan and I'd never want to replace him. He does what he does very well but his area of expertise is a little different from Shorey's, and I'm hoping that "new dimension" will benefit us. As for a right back, well, I can't remember the last decent one we had, let alone one that gets forward or not.

Zidave - I disagree with your point that Shorey has the potential to become better than Bouma. Shorey is 27 now, he's sadly not going to get much better than he already is. Not that it's a bad thing. I do however agree that this is an excellent opportunity to use Bouma a bit more flexibley; both as a fullback and a centreback. Whenever he's played centreback for PSV or Netherlands he's always done a good job so I can't see any reason he can't provide an option there for us.

This mystery signing business is getting quite irratating.
When are we going to find out!

It better be worth the hype and wait

tre
it's not a mystery singing. it's a mystery bid for an exceptional player. if it comes off is another story and as soon as i can - i'll mention it

Incidentally, Fans FC (I know, crap source, but still...) are reporting we're going to offer £5m for Seb Larsson! ;D ;D Would absolutely LOVE it if we signed him, I've been calling for us to make a move for ages now and it would be brilliant if he came.

vivavilla!

we had an email about that a while ago, although the person who emailed hadn't emailed before nor since, so take it as you will:

[url]LINK[/url]

Vivavilla!- fair enough, it is all a matter of oppinion and you are entitled to your own. What I did mean by potential is not the sense of improving over the years, I mean he still has to prove himself, but i rate him to possibly be better is all with being more well rounded, but that is just my own opinion.

Either way I happy as long as we both agree on we love Bouma at Villa for his career :).

And yes I think he could be outstanding at CB. In my mind he'll be above the pecking order over Zat for CB as far as I'm concerned. I'd rather have Shorey on LB and Bouma in CB than Bouma LB and Zat CB lol.

Mystery bid- I have no problem with waiting to hear about it, at this point it's nothing more than a bid, we could bid for Kaka but what is the point of getting excited if there is no possibility. As of now we know nothing so we just have to take our time with it and relax, cross our fingers, and hope when we do find out it is good news!! :D

Well said doc, reports suggest we are about to pip pompey to the signing of Kaboul which would be great and would leave the defenese sorted IMO.

Damo, for my own sanity, will you be able to update us today on the 'Mr X bid' - just so i can actually get some work done - yesterday was a write off :)

Darragh

I'm not allowed to say yet. What I can say is that according to my man, the bid went in yesterday and if it was accepted or not, I don't know - he hasn't been told yet.

when can we find out about this player!!??
is kaboul on his way?
would anyone have took alan smith for 2 mil??
do we really need another striker as we finished second only to man utd with goals scored?
all these questions!!!!!!!!!!!

Damo, fair enough - i could be unemployed by the end of this :) You havent actually given your opinion on Young and Shorey or did i just miss it.

Alan Smith? No. Why? His agent is Alex Black so not sure MON would've wanted to sit down with him for too long to discuss!

feed the hare - wouldn't have been interested in Smith, he's meant to be a bit of a muppet and i wouldnt want the 'spirit' the doc mentions above rocked.

Darragh, here:

[url]LINK[/url]

You can't be disappointed when you get two player that fill positions you need players in and they're fairly decent. I mean, is Bouma a natural left back and Mellberg wasn't a natural right back, despite playing in the position for his country occasionally.

Both players should make us stronger at the back next season - which has to be good for the team.

It might help if y'all just stop asking about the player really, you'd think by now people would have realised Damian isn't going to reveal his identity until he's good and ready.

Although Damian has brough this on himself and probably regrets saying anything now ;)

[quote]vivavilla! said:
It might help if y'all just stop asking about the player really, you'd think by now people would have realised Damian isn't going to reveal his identity until he's good and ready.

Although Damian has brough this on himself and probably regrets saying anything now
[/quote]
A bit like the Genral then!! ;)

Player 'X'.... Im gonna have that printed on the back of my shirt!

Damian, as asked previously, can you not at least tell us the position this player plays??

Half of me regrests it. But I got a lot of stick for mentioning the one in January - only for 2 weeks later, Sky to confirm it.

So, to some extent, it's nice and I wouldn't have published this if it wasn't from the same source ...

It is also nice to know that O'Neill is going after this player and willing to spend a big sum of money - I think maybe it was needed too.

Let's hope Villa have booked an extra place or two on the plane back to Bodymoor Heath!

Spot on Doc,
I`m glad we`ve got both Young and Shorey to me it`s an impressive back line with Friedal in the sticks and Curtis coming back even though it was shocking what happened to Freddie i can`t help believe that it was a weird twist of fate.

Keep up the good work on the Blog guys, although i wouldn`t be able to handle the presumed harrasment Damian has got after the mystery "X" signing lol! ;D

That Riquelme's a decent player isn't he Damian?

I hope our Kaboul interest will not put the Hammers double swoop in jepordy

I am getting really annoyed with this mystery man stuff

Who is it and when will we find out!!!!!!!!!!!

Jordan - see this as just part of the fun!

Damo - if the bid gets accepted, will that be enough to 'go live' or will you wait on an indication from player/agent too?

Got my 'Kaka' shirt ordered already!!!

I'm getting excited about this mystery bid!! hopefully we wont leak 50 goals next season like last year with dodgy knight and carson at the back. did anyone see the walsall v albion game on tuesday walsall won 2-0 carson dropped a clanger appraently!!. hopefully we can get kaboul in to further secure the defence. i would take either of riquelme, joaquin as the mystery player X!

so we`ve got shorey and young two very decent signings.Shorey who made his 1st cap for england against brazil as a replacement for A.Cole was not fazed playing these world class players,what a signing.Remember L.Young had a great season last season for boro and he has plenty of experience,you can obviously tell if a player has done well at a club if the fans are sad to see them go this was the case, Southgate reluctlantly accepted a bid and now he`s a villian,lets hope they can both do well for us this season.Next on the agenda Kaboul, will he or won`t he? personally i think this is done deal and this could be a massive deal for villa as he will cause real competition for that central position and at 22 there is plenty of years for improvement.I would love to know who this mystery player is but lets hope there is more suprises,i wouldn`t mind Ashton even though his injurys could cause problems maybe his price tag could be windled down to be more realistic but as a squad player maybe would suit and hamper injurys.As for a midfielder who knows maybe thats the mystery players position!! smash that money spent record o`neil...

My guess is that Damian is as excited/impatient as anyone else but with the added pressure of being responsible in our eyes for closing the deal out. Hope you get a cut of the fees Damo ;)

Dave-t Solihull

Didn't realise we'd built a runway at Bodymoor Heath. Thought that was gonna be n extension of Birmingham Int. going up Solihull High street !!
David Villa or Robhino please.

another pr stunt! theres no big signing just 3-4 other crap players

fair comments but for 2 mill i think smith is a steal.but trying to keep barry will effect the dressing room is he stays when he wants to leave.
other clubs are jealous of the players villa are signing!!
a big change since 2 weeks ago.i think mon will get it right and i think we only need a right mid and a playmaker.everyone still forgets we have super shaun!!!

The only player I can recall Sky confirming out interest in, back in February, is Nelson. But while he's good, he wouldn't be all that an exciting signing I don't think.

Soz Damo i didn't mean to push you or anything.

It's bjust the pressure and anticipation

Anyway, I am glad you haven't said who it is yet - in a strange sort of way

If the news gets out of the water then it could be called off

But seeing as you know the player and all, how likely is it that the bid will get accepted

vivavilla!
you are right. and on deadline day we made you aware of a bid by villa

is the x player engalaar cause in the eoros he really inpressed and i think hed be a great replacement for barry if he leaves

Nice one Johno. I like your taste too but alas I think the runway in Solihull High Street is more likely than David Villa or Robinho. Hmmm... come to think of it, quite fancy all 3!

Do you reckon the deal will go through Damo

jordan

i have no idea. all i know is what i'm getting told. i'd love it if it did - he's definitely a martin o'neill type player, as in he works hard and is committed, the icing on the cake is he has real genuine flair.

from what i'm told - the bid is in and now it's in the hands of the club and most importantly the player.

the player would do well here and villa park would be his stage

TELL US !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if it is a let down then it will be intensely irritating

What I meant was: is the player such a good name that he would and could make it at lets say a top 4 club as a regular

So Damian, admit this Mr X you're so excited about is a load of tosh propaganda aimed at getting all us fans over excited and worked up about nothing!!!

I reckon its Lionel Messi and he will be with us straight after the olympics 8)

....then I woke up and my giant marshmallow had gone......

:P

I dont know who it is! I had a quick thought that it was ribery when you said hard workin with natural flair but he is injured so that rules him out. it also rules out Henry coz he is a lazy b****x!! Messi works hard but we have no chance with him, ronaldinho too fat plus he would drive the dental health scheme through the roof!! Gis another clue!

oooh im soo excited, my work has gone down hill but as i said to the wife....Villa Come First!!!!!

Up the villa!!

One last clue please! Has anyone mentioned the name on the thread?

Right guys my last two guesses are as follows

1. Moutinho
2. Joaquin

Damo, please rule out both of these players.

Up the villa!

timmy_ra

i'm the first to moan and get annoyed with o'neill and the first to jump on the bandwagon about the club not spending money, but this isn't propaganda and if it had come from anyone else i wouldn't ahve mentioned it - but it was the same person who told me about nelson in january - so it's mentioned

maybe cover for cb as knight is poo and swp on the wing or leennon and den another striker dean ashton will do fine

Damian has not ruled out Moutinho or joaquin people so i think we can take it as gospel that is is indeed one of these players!!!!

Brilliant!

Up the villa!!

Damien,

your famous, every other blog has mention of you and "MR X"
even if it doen't happen you have every villa fan excited( bar the ones who even if we signed fabregas & ronaldo wouldn't be happy) and that is some good work.

ever thing of working as villa p.r

your giving the general a run for his money. ;D

UTV

stavenfaa
Thats nice but wasn't the intention (the reason I slipped it in at the bottom of a post). I'm the clubs biggest critic and biggest fan - all in my own head, but I needed to publish this mostly because I have been critical as of late about activity.
If it hadn't come from the same source who told me about Nelson in January it wouldn't have got published.
If they pull this off, I think even the ones you talk about will be happy.

Damian,
What position does Player X play..... even if your not going to say, will you say "not going to say". Fed up of asking now and getting ignored!

My first post - peace all from a villa fan who has to drive past the garbag pit to work every day! - even worse when they close the road in front and i had to drive past their charity shop :(
Anyway, Damian - I'm guessing X is SWP cos
a) his dad was hinting at it for some time on talksport
b) Scolari may have said he wanted him to stay, but with them bidding for Robin-who-iho he'll get stuck in reserves as per usual
c) he is young, gifted, black and English

ooops you said no Prem exp -
Miguel?

Anyone know if the SWP deal is dead?
Seeing as how Scolari is after Robin-who-iho there less room for SWP now at Chelski

Ok
So far Damien has said amongst other things about the mystery man:
No premiership experience
Works hard with flair
Good to see MON spending that amount of money
Well,
It has to be an attacking midfielder from outside England (is there such a player in Jock land?). Also I can't see it being Red whatever his name. The cost for Red appears to be around £9m. I think Damo is turned on by £12m plus.
By the way I have no idea who it is and I have been trying desperately not too get involved in this debate.
But you got me Damien.......bugger!

Holte1970
I'd get turned on by a €15mn. player .. or £12mn. - spot on ..

Mystery player is SWP

There are quite a few rumours beginning to circulate now about us attempting to hijack Everton's move for Moutinho.

Suits me 8)

Just tell us this much damien would this mystery player realistically want to come to villa or are we just wasting our time, is he already playing for one of Europe's top clubs. Can you at least give that much away?

anymore news on the mysery man yet anyone??

From Moutinho's wiki!! i am noe convinced this is the player.

Based on extremely consistent displays, Moutinho wasted no time in establishing himself as a regular as he quickly grew into a polished performer, able to play in any position across a flat midfield or in a diamond formation. His box-to-box dynamism and tremendous determination quickly made him a firm fans' favourite, as he rarely missed a game since becoming a first-choice player.

Come on Damien tell me im right!!!!

Up the Villa!

Laterz Barry you manhead fat mess, rot in the reserves!!!

Another piece of the jigsaw solved.

Damien says "15mn euros = £12mn" pounds.

That's my bit done - over to you lot who know European players (don't forget Scotland - anyone at Rangers - after their European exit?) much better than me.

Damian as you cant name him, is it one of these players?? you still wont be naming him will you.............. Moutinho, SWP,Joaquin??

good point we name them you say no or nothing then you ain't told us

i think this big mystery wont come to anything

Just read on another site a villa fan complaining £6m for Young is too much. Very frustrating behaviour! There are those that think he is too much money and then there are those who were saying a few short days ago MON should just spend whatever to get people in. Some people are just never satisfied.

Presumably whoever Mr X is Portsmouth also want him.

great additions to the team, both can not just defend well but cross the ball, shoot and play a part in free kick ideas, taking a bit of the shoulders of ashley young(superb player). If oneill adds a bit more flair or the player that can do the unpredictable, a winger and another defender to cover ita been a good summer of work. I trst what ever martin does, one of the best managers in the world, up the villa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damo,

Is this enought to close the chapter or do you need it from your contact too?

LINK

Or am I way off mark? ;)

DaveT-Solihull
All I'm going to say is, he doesn't play in that country ;)

Fair enough, I'm pleased with getting that much! I won't push any more though.

I have settled on who i think it is but would only feel disappointed if it doesn't come off, not if it's someone else. MON fancies a bid and Damian's excited - that's enough for me!

its doing my head in now and giving me false expectation

GATTUSO is the man

and I for one think its a big gamble...

I keep pressing F5 hoping to see Joaquin's name pop up

It`s quite apparent that things seem to be hotting up. The Dean ashton rumour is a start, not quite quality like Huntaalar, ring winger is a must SWP or Milner a quality central midfielder like Cowans style, a young left back & right back. Centre half and a few extra sqad players like Gerrard!!!!

young good player slightly over priced but will be a solid member of the squad same for shorey i have always been an admirer i feel he is very underated and will do a sterling job for us. as for the whole mystery player lark its either one of these 3......... 1 = diego 2= ricardo quaresma 3= bastian schweinsteiger. and im confident its one ofthem too

Glad to see the mirror didn't bother with a story about our signings and the sun had about 3 lines. We are setting the football world alight with the giants.

Damian says not the man from Portugal.
How about a Frenchman?
Jeremy Toulalan

I'm hopeful it's Joaquin - he fit's the bill for the sort of player we need, and he's just been told by the Valencia board that they won't be offering him a new contract (even though they are trying to offer Silva and Villa new deals). This suggests that Joaquin is available, and with MON over there right now, could he be tying up a deal and bringing back a big present for the fans?

hmmm ive bin away for 4 days an there are signings an hush hush activity. i shud go away more often. chuffed to see 2 issues adressed by shorey an young signin.