Lightning about to strike twice: The transfer window

I have to say I'm disappointed that we haven't signed anyone, but, I think the players we have should be able to see us through. The Villa 5 know they are in Don Capello's thoughts and surely this will only benefit the team. What a 5aside team that would be - Robinson, Davies, Barry, Young, Aggie!!


I think fourth is unrealistic but if you'd have asked me at the beginning of the season I would have bitten you hand off for any chance to follow the boys around Europe in ANY competition. . I know nothing is won yet, but, if you look at our home fixtures to the end of the season - Villa Park should be a fortress and we've got good mileage away too.

I just wonder how much of an impact Fitzgerald leaving has had on our ability to act quickly in the transfer window.???

oh well, no point gettin mad. jus gotta get on wit it then. if there is a serious injury crisis wit our small squad, then lets test the youngesters.
altho it wud be nice for the club or mon to come out n say there has been no signings other then routledge, jus to put the fans in the pic

When you put it like that, 14 games 14 weeks, it sounds like we can cope easily even with a few injuries/suspensions.
Thing is though, there are games when Barry, Gabby and a few others look a little tired and there is no real quality replacement for them. I don't like Defoe's attitude and he probably didn't want to come to the midlands anyway (i'm sure he won't live in Portsmouth, he'll surely commute) but he would have been a genuine contender to Gabby/Carew up front.
In a way i'm glad England didn't qualify for Euro 2008 cos at this rate half the team would be coming back knackered at the end of the summer.
Overall though, i still have faith, it's wavering a little and if we have a nightmare scenario with 2/3 players suspended and others injured, it could start looking like a very different first team.

We have no recognised right back when challenging for Europe and the only cover we have for our centre backs is Knight. This is just ridiculous for a side challenging for europe. I'll happily admit I'm wrong if we get into europe

Fair shout! Can't help being dissapointed tho, checking the news everyday of january...i just hope no one breaks a leg!

my point about the 14 games in 14 weeks is, players should have enough time to recuperate between matches

i bet you this; the likes of ronaldo and rooney as well as players at everton will play as many games, if not more than some of ours

we're within touching distance - if we can stay injury free - i reckon we'll do it

spud - mellberg was recognised right back at international level and for me he's having an excellent season at right back - juventus think so too!

M.O.N is a great manager but i feel he has made a school boy error in only buying 1 player. When we see teams like Pompey buying Defoe we must be able to atleast compete with them in the market. I know he likes to buy english players but we have a core of good, young future england internationals. Maybe his scouts should have looked abroad for that X factor or someone who can change a game when teams like Blackburn flood the midfield and mark gabby and young out the game.We have been so lucky with injuries and suspensions but that can so easily change, so i hope M.O.N does not use that same old excuse.

If this set of players can muster up the energy to take us into Europe, they deserve madals. I know they are good enough, but how long they can keep going for is another question.

Fifth in the Table, Five Villa players selected in the new England squad. What more can we ask for at this moment in time.
I trust MON 100%!
Even if we finish outside the top six at the end of the season, we are still on course with Lerner's five year plan.
Come on you Lions !!!!!!!!!!!

Great, well here's my comment and I want to say hi to my smug self in the future by predicting injuries and suspension will have Fucked up our season. Anyone of these players was possible and would have added strength, are people saying that none of them wanted to play for us or that none of them were up to MON's standards? Alves, Diarra, Defoe, Hutton, Gilberto, Caicedo, Anelka, Woodgate. Ok I really hope we do qualify and I look like a panicking woman but I am still pissed off for the reason that Villa are my team and I invest money and emotion, I wanted just 1 sodding exciting player to feel proud of and look forward to watching. To be without a recognised right back for so long is unbelievable, what would Randy do to the football coach if he didn't sign a quarterback? The scary thing is there will be people more happy that the villa business saved money than invested, maybe it's to convince themselves that there is some secret masterplan instead of scouts being paid our money to do fuck all

Disappointed is the only word for it. I'm quite sure that the only reason Defoe didn't come is because he didn't want to and whats the point in trying to sign a player that doesn't want to come to Villa - then his only motivation will be money and that's not a good starting point.
Damian - you indicated that you knew something big was in the pipeline yesterday but that you couldn't say because you were sworn to secrecy. What went so wrong with that? Was it really something that was meant to happen or was it another red herring?

I suppose we'll all have to wait for the summer and what will be will be for the rest of the season but one thing's for sure and that is that finishing in the top 6 will be a huge acheivement and may just end up eluding us again this season come the end. We're still probably a couple of players short on the type of quality required to be serious contenders but I'll be happy to be proved wrong. I cant see us really competing with the bigger boys until we've got some real quality on the bench also - someone who gets our hopes up when he gets up to warm up and we see him coming on (you all know that feeling).

damian your are spot on, players should be able for one game a week, im wit you i think we will do it.europe here we come

Whilst I agree that MON has done brilliantly to get us to where we are at this moment in time, like nearly everyone has said this could so easily change in the blink of an eye with a couple of injuries. So to me then yes it is a big big gamble to try and go the entire season without a recognised right back or at least cover for mellberg and yes I do know that mellberg played at right back for sweden. My question is surely MON must have recognised the player he wants for that position by now as he has had long enough time to make that decision so why haven't we signed this player in january?

Also it is MON who has quite often said in the press about our having the smallest squad in the premiership and that we need to address this then again surely he must know the players he wants to bring in so why hasn't he done so?

Now please dont take this as MON bashing because it is not because the man has performed miracles for villa so far this season and I do firmly believe that he is the man to take villa onwards and upwards, I just dont understand why we have taken such a gamble and not added to the squad, perhaps this is something that MON or the club could answer, anyway we are where we are with the squad that we have so all we can do is continue to support the boys and hope that we continue to be lucky with injuries, keep going boys were all behind you!!!!

Problem for me is that we are fith and 2 points off 4th and potential Champions League, if we had spent £30m we could of really pushed at that 4th place spot and where then, I know i'm getting carried away and it's bloody tight at the top but that extra quality could of been the deciding factor, I love our team but our squad worries me, just feel we may miss out on something big, please please please prove me wrong

While nobody can deny that villa are having an excellent season and that we are probably ahead of this so called '5 year plan', on the other hand nobody can deny that this transfer window has been an absolute disaster and that the fans have been let down.

For the last 18 months, MoN has constantly harped on about our small squad and luck with injuries - for the life of me I cant understand why he hasn't added numbers. Frankly the minimum ammout of squad players should be 25 (25 who you could actually start). To develop from there - you buy players who are better than the incumbents. Even in our current squad - there are players who are quite simply not good enough. Salifou - does he even exist!!!

In my opinion even if we finish 4th this year - it cannot disguise the fact that the last few transfer windows dealings have been a shambles. This can be credited to one of two things - 1 - Randy has no money, although interviews etc would suggest otherwise. 2 - MoN hasn't a clue about transfers.

We have to recognise how hard it is going to be to break into the champions league - the top four are so flush with money and 'attractivness' to top players that when one of them slips, they will always recover the next season. That is why we have to look at this year as potentially our best chance ever of champions league football - and another reason to curse our transfer window dealings.

Another point, MON only buys english players and everyone seems to be delighted by this fact. Has is escaped everyones attention that the english national team is in fact crap, and that english players are technically terrible. I recognise that it is probably easier to blend english players into the villa park dressing room and I also admit that it does add to the crowds respect/adoration/following/pride in a player if its a local kid who has come up through the ranks. However, to be honest MON needs to develop a wider network of scouts and buy players with a bit of flair. To be honest I couldn't care less if we had 25 martians in our squad - although they may have trouble getting a work permit....
I realise that this post has been almost 100% negative but I am just sickened by our transfer dealings in the last 2 windows. Being a fan doesn't mean you cant criticise if you believe you have been let down, and frankly we have.

My best mate is a West Ham fan and he laughs at their injury list, they have the players to cope with it, if we have anywhere near their injuries we are up sh*t creek without a paddle

eoin1981, Pongo1981, Jammer

all good points and in a roundabout way i think most will agree with those 3 comments - if mashed up a little

hence my suggestion that the manager gives a list to the board and then the manager focuses on managing

the list isn't definitive - it could be that the manager has 10 players on that list - he meets with them all then he only wants 1. then that list has to be doubled to get two ... what i mean is, rather than spend all that time - let the board do it

I heard that Doyle was at the club discussing terms on the day Defoe was told he could leave and we pulled out of that because MON wanted Defoe, this came from someone at the club and I find it hard to stomach the fact that we've ended up with nobody, I wouldn't of minded Doyle at the club he's proven both seasons he's played in the prem that he can score.

I really hope MON doesn't give it the "smallest squad" quote after the Fulham game on Sky... it's becoming as annoying as DOL "Honest bunch of lads" crap!

I'm begging Martin, please don't say it!!!!!!

Avery good post Damian with some very valid points, I can't really argue with what your saying but I do think he is playng a risky gane, but who am i to question MON he knows what he is doing so i'll leave it to him. Good thing is Laursen signed and Mellberg is here past January.

anyone know why we've taken davies on loan for this season when his transfer is set in stone? we could have got someone else in on loan if it wasnt for that

but i havent got too many complaints, he's balanced the team with routledge and other teams havent brought that well - defore overloads the team, utaka and nugent will be moaning next month unsettling the team, spurs brought a new back line, will take time to settle, man city brought a SA striker and we know how long it can take for them to settle and liverpool brought a defender who got slaughtered by havant, whilst everton got gardner!LOL

its not as bad as people make out

No brett your right it's absolutley brilliant we didn't sign anyone I am so excited

PC - thats what it is going to come down to - was the risk worth it! There will be an element of disruption if you bring in too many players so this could work out great for us .. but - let's wait and see.

brett - the rumour is 'for tax reasons' i think but i think it could be a case of waiting until we have the extra £30mn. TV money rather than borrow from Lerner or the bank ..

Nothing has changed again we make a profit on our transfer dealings. This is for 1 of 2 reasons.
1. Because we have no money to spend....I don't believe this.
2. MON hasn't got a clue when it comes to buying players & is a complete control freak who has to do it all himself and waits for the window to open before he even thinks about who he might want to sign.

Call me a moaner but we were promised a right back "worth waiting for " and we got Routledge who nearly went to QPR. We are not competing & for that reason we will not qualify for Europe.

Oh but we've got a nice pub & training ground.

The Daily Mirror are reporting we signed Pascal Chimbonda on loan this morning. Can anyone confirm this?

On the contrary Damien - I think that you have been more negative about our transfer dealings than anyone. So I dont see how you can come back to us and say "just remember this, I'll be coming back to this post when we finish 6th this season and referring to all your comments". What Rubbish! This is from a man demanding that we should ay £22 million for a right back (even chelsea have said no to such prices). It seems to me your knowledge of the game is largely limited to reading wikepedia. Of course you wont print this as I am not agreeing with you.

eoin1981

Don't totally agree with your English players are crap statement but that does apply to Nigel Reo-Joker who is as you say crap.

I PROPOSE A MOTION TO PETITION THE CLUB (AS ITS FANS WHO DESERVE TO KNOW, AS WE ARE STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL)FOR AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHAT THE MANAGER HAS IN MIND OR FOR WHAT THE ACTUAL SITUATION IS REGARDING OUR TRANSFER WINDOW CONDUCT SO FAR, THIS IS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT SEEMS AT THE MOMENT AS THOUGH WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING AGAINST OURSELVES WITH THE 'MANAGER' NOT TELLING THE FANS ANYTHING AT ALL AS IF WE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO KNOW OR DONT DESERVE TO BE TOLD AND THE FANS REALLY REALLY FEELING THE STRAIN. MON IS SUPPOSED TO BE A FOOTBALL MAN, IF HE IS THEN HE MUST KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE A FAN- SOME PEOPLE'S LIVES DEPEND ON IT, DOES HE THINK IT'S FAIR NOT TO HELP ALLAY THESE FEARS AND ANXIOUSNESS? WE ARE NOT EVEN ASKING HIM TO DO WHAT WE WANT, WE'RE JUST ASKING HIM TO TELL US WHAT HE'S THINKING AND WHAT THE ACTUAL SITUATION IS SO THAT WE CAN EXPLAIN IT TO OUR FRIENDS OR NECESSARILY DEFEND IT??Y'KNOW NORMAL EVERYDAY BANTER IS A PART OF LIFE AND A BIG PART AS WE SURELY ALL KNOW??

Well, nothing on the official site Dizzy... so I wouldn't get too excited! Mind you as someone said earlier they are still typing up the interviews from John Gregorys era!

Peter

For our rules on not publishing comments [url=LINK]read this[/url]

as for your opinion on the £22mn. for bosingwa, what i was trying to get across was porto revealed the price and if money wasn't an issue and martin o'neill had identified him as the man he wanted then why not pay it. i think i even said you could probably get him for less and while i'm not going to look up the post, that i thought it was wrong that you pay that much - but it's not my money nor is it mr o'neills

but you're opinion that i've been more negative than anyone else is your right. but i dont think you'll find that i demanded anyone pay £22mn. for a player

Ok, we will be fine. However i know we are fifth place and that is fantastic. However its very tight between 4th-10th and a couple of defeats could change our season. We need to stay on course and victory against Fulham is a priority. I think there will be such a buzz around the 'English' Villa players this Saturday that we will carry through. Even better we dont have to face Davis.

I have a bad feeling that we wont qualify for europe, im hope im totally wrong, cos i want Villa to be up there again fighting for the top spot, its a pity players like Diarra and Defoe(and they both end up at pompey, i cant believe it, so they can afford them but we cant?)who would have guaranteed us europe were not signed, hutton, we need a right back, i just dont understand it, i feel we dont have the big money, it seems we are the only ones who cannot afford the wages, why is that?? we need answers and no more excuses, if we dont qualify for europe then heads have to roll, starting with the board!

Dizzy mugs

The daily mirror web site says no such thing, you are talking pure dung

Damian - i'm not having a go but just curious as you have changed your opinion a little since the last transfer rumour. I recall you were angry (well a little annoyed) that the club was not putting up the funds. Now you are comfortable with it. Why the change of heart? Is it league position?

I meant last transfer 'Window' not rumour!!

what a pathetic sh*t january!!! thank f*ck its feb now!!!
Why did Oneil say we are short on numbers - we need to bring players in and we'll look to do that in January. By his own admission we wouldnt be able to cope if we had injuries like westham or spurs so we needed to sign players!!! we have relied on luck with injuriews and suspensions up till now and we are going to have to again.
Its pathetic!!!

What I hate most about this transfer mess is the double standards of it all... MON comes out and says "the price was too high for Diara" but we took £5 for cahil?!?

It's as if it's okay to accept "silly money" but not pay out a fairly reasonable fee (or in MONs eyes "silly money")... it's soon going to be time to put up or shut up where transfers are concerned I'm affraid Martin!

The problem we have now is the summer window will be taken up by searching for a rightback, again more delays on adding to our thin squad... AND A PERFECT EXCUSE FOR MORE INACTIVITY!

AGGGGGHHHHHHGGGG!!!!!!!!!!

lasgidis, I totally agree, I want the club and MON to at least explain why no signings and the long term plan, some people have to buy season tickets and want to know who they will see. I think the lack of respect emanating from VP is getting bad and I think much more of it and it really will start to create an us and them attitude I already feel divided from them and we the fans seem to be feeding from what little scraps they give us, we pay their sodding wages do us a favour and treat us with a bit more repect and all I am asking for is if not a signing then just a quote from the manager as to why we haven't a right back and why we haven't expanded the smallest squad when we are the closest to europe in years. VP is seeming more and more like a faceless corporation to me at least banks send you a statement for your credit dealings more than VP and it's american billionaires yes BILLIONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

at steve m

i'm not 100% sure. league position is a factor, belief in what the manager is doing is another .. but to some extent, the club built up my expectations last time round and they were not met - so sure i was, just a little annoyed - although i've moved on

i've also got no problem admitting if i'm wrong and my views do change and i've got no shame in saying i've changed my mind - i'm entitled too as is everyone is

but for a long time now, since pretty much the day the manager came in, i've always said i'd give him time - so everything usually boils down to that - he's got two more seasons after this one as far as i'm concerned and probably more seasons because i truly do believe he is the right man

Jinksy,
To explain myself - I said the english team is crap and that english players are technically terrible - of course there are exceptions to the rule (young, bentley, rooney) but I stand by the overall statement. Watch any english match over the last five years and you will see that they are a poor team unable to keep control of the ball. England have a team of so called superstars but Croatia walked all over them - I bet 95% of people couldn't name 5 of the croatia team.

On Reo-Coker, I am in two minds about him. An excellent leader, motivator, tackler and has a huge engine. You need players like him in the dressing room. However, he is quite possibe the worst passing midfielder that I have ever seen...everytime he wins the ball he gives it away, and he never,ever comes to take the ball off the back four - which is probably a good thing now that I think about it!!!!

On spending 22m on boswinga - I agree with Damian 100%. If Martin O Neill finds a player who he thinks is world class and who will obviously improve our team - then you go out and pay market value - simple as that. To keep improving you need better players all the time - this means that people shouldn't moan if we are linked with players like Doyle, Defoe(who wasn't my cup of tea anyway), Bent etc - they mightn't be the superstar names we want but are definitely an improvent in our squad.

I fear that by standing still this january we will have gone backwards before the summer. Great opportunity blown.

Mellberg gone. Cahill gone. Osborne out on loan. O`Halleron out on loan. Routledge in. 4 out 1 in, great business for someone with "the smallest squad". If Routledge could not get into Tottenham`s team, therefore deemed not good enough, he should not be good enough to get into Villa`s. Carson? why hasn`t that deal been done yet?
Does Randy Lerner have the money or not, if so what the hell is MON doing.
I hope all 5 picked for England play next week, BUT, god help us if they get injured.

"Dizzy mugs

The daily mirror web site says no such thing, you are talking pure dung"
I read it in todays paper, dipshit.

Taglor - Great point, I was just about to say, ALL WE NEED IS A STATEMENT FROM ONEIL ON THE OFFICIAL SITE EXPLAINING HIS IDEAS / PLANS etc

Damien I dont think anyone is denying that MON is the right man for the job, I for one wouldn't want anyone else. It's his transfer dealings (or lack of) that are in question!

Three questions I'd put to the club:
[b]Why have you not added to our squad?
Why do you not communicate with us, the fans?
Why are we so far behind other clubs when it comes to transfers?[/b]

We could get Champs League and I'd still want these questions answered!!!!! It's respect for the fans from the club more than anything that is lacking - and that boils down to principals!

Taglor, unfortunately I think the "us and them" is already here!

MON knows exactly who he wants, IMO.
If you read one of the previous blogs, Damian was told we were after Nelson of Benfica. The deal fell through, for whatever reason, but MON has said himself that our main target became unavailable because the selling club couldn't find a replacement.
This sort of thing happens, it's as simple as that.
I, for one am glad we haven't made loads of crap signings.
Look at the reaction when we signed Harewood, for gods sake!
It was obvious he was only here for cover and MON still got villified.
Whilst I'm highly dissapointed with the window, I'm still happy with our current position and think we'll make europe.
If I'd said that 18 months ago, I'd have been classed as a nutter. Indeed Taglor probably thinks I am :D
But seriously, let's see what happens. I have every faith in MON to do the right thing. In fact, whether we like the way he does it or not, he is doing the right thing. As has been said, the table doesn't lie.
Keep the faith

eoin1981

You say Reo-Joker is an excellent tackler?? He can't tackle. The two takles he made against Man U he got sent off for. Leader??? what makes you think he is a great leader??? He is a great pointer telling the other players who to pass to as long as it's not him.
Like i said i agree that in his case English players are crap & the sad thing is no matter how crap he plays MON still keeps a much better central midfield player Craig Gardner on the bench.

LINK

read it and weep, ps someone else asked the question why haven't we signed carson permanently? or davies?

PAGE NOT FOUND...

oh, found it now...

Blimey, there is a lot of anger on here today!! I, like most of you spent most of last month glued to the web sites hoping for that awe inspiring big name signing...however, it didn't happen, so we get on with the rest of the season. I can't say i'm overly happy with the lack of players coming in, but i do believe that the current squad will still get us into Europe..Have Faith!!!!!

Woodinho, it was the wages that were too high regarding Diarra, not the fee.
Signing him probably would have meant breaking the clubs pay structure, something that RL or MON appear reluctant to do.
I personally can understand that.
But then, I think this needs to be reconsidered.
To get the best players, you have to pay the best money and I'd suggest this is why we aren't going for the big names.
This strikes me as slightly odd as MON is well known for paying high wages. I've read Celtic and Leicester fans saying he left them in the crap money-wise. Maybe he's learned his lesson?
Or maybe it's RL not allowing him to pay the big wages.

Is it true that Ash Young is suspended for Sunday???

Yes it is he got booked for kicking the ball away against Blackburn his 5th booking.

taglor, we'll said

I can't understand why there are so many people on this site, who act like complete t*ts! If villa had signed Bosingwa, Quaresma and Defoe yesterday there would still be people on this site who do not have a f*ckin clue about football whinging and whining! get a f*ckin grip of yourself you f*ckin idiots!. Just remember where u are in the table at this minute. People are saying english players are s*ite! well it seems to have for us this season! Liverpool are behind us in the table (ok with a game in hand) but they have mant to have bought some of the best young talent from around the world! and look at them now. We have a manager who knows what he is doing and that why he is charge of a premiership football club and you arent so do everyone a favour and shut the f*ck up!

UTV! all the way

Just seen that MON has come out and said that villa will try and put things right in the summer (birmingham mail), he also said that he tried to sign various people in the window but for whatever reason the clubs were unwilling to sell and if they are going to improve our squad then you can understand the teams reluctance to sell. So thank you MON and actually telling us something about what happened in the window.

Could I just address the them and us scenario, who would you rather have in charge of villa, hicks and gillet or Mr Lerner?? I know who i'd want in charge and we've got him. So all we can do now is support the team on their march to europe and look forward to these signings (whoever they be!!) in the summer, up the villa!!!

Damian - I asked a question of you earlier which I was rather hoping you'd at least give some kind of response to but you've either not read it or are side stepping it. Which on is it? I', just interested in what went wrong with what you intimated yesterday.

jinksy,

There are lies, damn lies and statistics but statistically he has won more tackles at a higher percentage that anyone else in the league this season (i think it was on the sky website...). So to say he cant tackle is, well wrong.
As for leader, what age is he now 23(ish)....he has been captain of wimbledon, west ham, england u21's and villa. A captain is generally a person strong in the leadership department and Reo-Coker has been selected as captain by about 5-7 managers(guess) so i'd assume that at least one one of them new something about selecting an appropriate captain. But then again they could all be wrong and you could be right....

Well, I wasn't expecting it but MON has had a few lines put on the official site. It's not much but it's a good step to letting us know what the hell went on!

eoin1981

You can quote sataistics all you like, yes he gets his foot in every now & then but tackle no way. Do you watch the games home & away. Tacking is something Coker never does.
And yes they are all wrong & i am right...lol
To be honest Churchill was a great leader but like Coker a shit footballer.

...Oh it is the Villa blog.
I thought I'd stumbled into the sty.

[i]
"I enquired about some players who I felt could significantly improve the team but it wasn't to be," said the Villa manager. "I was spurned in those advances.

"But those players may well be available in the summer. They weren't available now and I can totally understand that.

"I have great faith in these players and my only concern is picking up serious injuries between now and the end of the season.

"That's where we have been lucky before and let's hope it's the same now.

"We simply didn't have the transfer bonanza like we did last year."[/i]

Be grateful for what you have, where we are and the direction we're heading.
If you want to support a team where the manager spends stupid money every single window, then go and support Wigan.

MoN thinks he's being charged "silly money" now.....wait till summer when every club in the world knows we don't have a full back. He'll be lucky to get the piglets right back for 22m !!!

at NickC

sorry - didn't see it ..

from what i've been told offers were made for nelson from benfica but the club didn't want to sell

and for the record - 99% of the rumours on this site are quite literally taken from the papers - but occasionally, in nearly 4 years we do get a little information e.g.

we got the darius vassell thing going to manchester city 2 days before it happened

we got the bosingwa one - which while its not happened we're fairly sure there was interest

we also got this one - again - its not happened but its not to say there wasn't interest and an offer made ...

we also started one about david o'leary wearing ladies clothes but again - who will ever know?

MON is going to unveil 3 new surprise signings this teatime and admit routledge was just a joke to throw us off scent!

PS oh dear it's the first of february isn't it, not the 1st of April?! damn

Damian - i'm of a similar thinking. I am a little annoyed that we have not strengthened but our league position does not lie. Our signings we have made are staying with us - look at Bianchi at Citeh. The players MoN has let go are proving MoN right - Davis now off up north, ridgewell making errors at crucial moments, Jlloyd and Mcann, Baros fallen out with Lyon. I also think that Defoe's attitude stinks and am glad MoN stayed clear

i work for the press association and there is a strong rumour going round that oneill is due to step down as villa manager. we have been trying to get in touch with someone from the club but no one is willing to comment. i will try and keep you informed and we are persisting with speaking to the club and journalists

That would be ace

Fair play to MON for explaining why no signings, I might not agree but at least he has come out and spoken, thanks MON I really appreciate that.

MON and Harry Redknap make an interesting contrast. HR buys for the short term and doesn't seem to mind paying the asking price. He is developing a good team but this policy means he has a squad with a high percentage of journeymen and players he has only a short term interest in himself. I'd put wham in this bracket too. A couple of years of relative success but then, and it doesn't matter how rich your backers, football clubs have a habit of swallowing money and it could well dry up, (unless you own an oil well). Maybe Middlesborough are an example of this?

MON deserves credit for building a stable squad of young, quality players who want to wear our badge. We need to be a bit more patient than Pompey fans but that patience will be rewarded by success over a longer term. I'll still be saying this if we don't reach 6th this season because I have enjoyed my football this season and will continue to enjoy watching us take even bigger strides next season.

Well London_Villa the press association worker, we know not to listen to you then!

Was we ever after Defoe or Doyle? Peter Crouch seems a MON player more than just anyone else in terms of his attitude, being English and willingness to improve his game. Liverpool wont sell now but maybe he could be one of those who could join us in the summer. He's in no hurry to get his right back in right now so again, he's clearly waiting for his man.

London_Villa
if you worked at the press associon, you'd be in london - are you in london?

Yes, London_Villa, do one, you muppet.
You work for the Press Association and don't even use capitals?

He must be.... look at his name!

jinksy, please get a clue. Statistics don't lie! Reo Coker has made more tackles than anyone else in the premier league (last time I checked anyway). His passing is bad, I admit that, and if he doesn't sort that out then there is not much hope I'm afraid but remember, he is still young and is progressing.

In recent times, against Liverpool he marked Gerrard out of the game. But yeah on that subject, Skysports.com is so biast that in their review they said what a great game Gerrard had, what a load of crap!

I sense that your London question was loaded Damian... I suspect that you have tracked his I.P. address to a location outside of London. Small Heath maybe??

not small heath but also not london - although not far from london

What Badger said! O'Neil is going nowhere, even if he was we wouldn't know about it. Just look at his bloody transfers!

On that transfer front, I was very dissapointed and I feel he should have at least brought in some more 'squad players' because whatever anyone says, we DO need that. However I don't think that it's a issue with money, I think it's about who MON wants and he wasn't able to get the players he wanted! Roll on the summer I say. We can say 'oh he should have brought Defoe, Diarra' and yeah I think Diarra in particular would have been a great buy but they obviously wern't what MON was looking for.

1981 we won the league with a squad of 14. We can still make it into europe. I think its wrong to have ago at the club for not signing anyone. None of us know wat was going on behind the scenes. I'm sure we went for players but either they didn't want to come or we couldn't agree fees or wages. Just because we have a rich owner doesn't mean we should be pandering to players demands. I still have faith that we will get into europe. We have 5 players in the england squad and thats amazing, so its not like we have a s#?t team. We have the quality to do and i believe we will.

Yeah persist in talking to journos that'll get the truth out.
Obviously they know what's going on with MON.
Oh and also ask them where Kp Boateng is?

Lads - please read this and please take notice; we really do not want to be speculating about anything that is personal to anyone associated with the club or anywhere for that matter.

It's nothing to do with this. As such I'm going to be deleting the above comments.

I hope you understand but it's something I dont want getting picked up or even talked about as it is pure speculation and personal.

MON has to stop being so fussy about picking players and learn to take a gamble on or 2

Anyone nice to be known as a selling club thanks martin for all ur hard work sitting down watching sky sports news and watching the breaking news about other clubs signing players

Apologies Badger, i wasn't be arsey with you, that was just bad timing my comment was aimed at London_villa

Taglor - u sound like a sad bluenose washer woman. ;D ;D ;D

NP Damian, I understand and agree

If this ridiculous transfer window didn't exist I believe we would have progressed a lot more under Martin O'Neill. I know that we're ahead of schedule in the developmet that Lerner expected but if the transfer windows weren't in place I think we'd have been able to sign those quality players that O'Neill said were impossible to get in January [url]LINK[/url]. I feel that if we'd been able to get in a couple of quality players i.e a striker and a right winger then we'd have been almost nailed on for a European place but now its going to be a fight that goes right down to the wire but if we stay clear of injuries I think we'll get it.
I don't like having a go at O'Neill because he's done a great job but I've got one question to ask. What happened to that right back we missed out on in August but would be available in January. We were made to beluieve that the mystery right back would be signing for us but still we have only Mellberg, a big a legend as he is, doing an average job at right back hoofing the ball up the pitch.
Let's just forget about transfers until the summer and get behind the lads in our push for Europe.
UTV!

Transfer thing is worrying because we have a big opportunity to get into Europe and we should be pushing hard to make it happen. More worrying still is that MON seems to be trying but failing to get players in. I agree he needs help with this side of the business - Damian is right about that. No denying our squad is just too small!

If we do get into the UEFA the weakness and lack of depth of our squad will quickly be obvious to everybody. Still looking forward to it tho!

About NRC - he lacks quality in every department - can't tackle, can't control the ball, can't pass, can't even see a pass when it's on! And he's slow, and easily caught. And he won't show himself for the ball - quite unusual for a central midfielder! How are his throw-ins?

We won the European Cup in 1982, in those days you could get away with having a small squad - now you'd be a fool to think you can, if you have any ambition that is. I don't like the way the club keeps things quiet (although I suspect they were quiet because there was nothing to talk about), I'm seriously questioning whether MON is able to manage anything either than young lads and if we waste this season due to all this "sensible approach at all costs" mentality then no excuses in the bloody world can take away from the fact that MON and Lerner's interpretation of the transfer market is nothing short of idiotic. Let's see.

Taglor, you are one miserable soul. The poor people putting up with your bleak vision of life (or at least Aston Villa) have my deepest sympathy.

I'm disappointed we didn't sign anyone, but if you look at who signed who, neither did any other team in the top half, really.
Let's just hope that we don't get some injuries. The players we have now aren't going to just stop performing this season.
I think we'll be a little more attractive to a lot of players from outside England if we're either in Europe or nearly pushing for a European spot.
As for the Defoe/Diarra thing, both are good players, but Defoe clearly isn't interested in coming here, and I don't want someone who said the same day he signed that he wants to play for a bigger club. Portsmouth can have them both - they'll still finish under us.

Well, I just wanted to say it sure is polite on here, aint it?
apart from one person/post its all been respectful,oh and just to say thanks to MON as well for that explanation? as for me im just gonna keep everything crossed and then some just hoping for the best for this run-in. upwards and onwards 8)

Hey considering our position and the fact we have the smallest squad in the division what M.O.N has accomplished in his first "proper" season in control is beyond amazing.The fact today we have announced 5...yes 5!!! English national squad members is fantastic and it truly demonstrates O'Neils approach towards english talent is un-questionable...but WHY oh WHY have we not secured Defoes services???..a 20 goals a season striker..along side Carew he would be top notch....gabby on the right....Ash on the left....puzzling..but im not going to seriously question what Martin is aiming to achieve....i have full confidence in him and his choices...

We will qualify for Europe. At this stage of the "five year plan" we're not quite the Cadilllac of ManUtd, or the Ferrari of Chelsea - more like some Heath Robinson contraption held together with bits of string and a prayer. Therefore we don't have any totally redundant parts to dispose of and can continue to add to the squad with recognised quality in the summer. Just look at the rest of our season, we'd have to be really banged up, suspended, stupid, gaoled, admitted to the Priory or something to not get 5th/6th.
Come on - UP THE VILLA!!!

i can never understand why this site is so negative about everything. We have a good squad and while for some this season is our 1 opportunity for MON its a season to take him where he wants to be ie at the top tier. So if that means waiting for the player he wants then he will wait and thats that. He has bought 11 players so far and everyone of them is better than the players they replaced. As for the comments about NRC its just rubbish he has changes his position to a defensive midfielder and is developing well. Some games he has been MOM and provides with a grit in midfield that we badly needed. I love coming to games now and know the club does more for us than most. We will end the season on a high and players will arrive in the summer of course for some there won't be enough, they will be overpaid, and not good enough but MON will think they are ok and that is all that matters in the end.

eoin1981
Read this link from the Times.....................I rest my case.

LINK

im confused by some of the comments on here, people seem to be seriously overacting. Ok so we havn't signed anyone but for years villa have signed some right tripe. has anyone even considered the fact that martin is looking at top class players that we cannot sign cos they are needed at the moment. if you look through the jan transfers i wouldnt take most of them. yes the likes of blues and wigan and pompey are signing people but most of them are no good.the only good signing was anelka and chelsea got him. pompey signed defoe who sounds like a bit of an idiot and baros who we know is dodgy.

keep it calm everyone, o'neil has a plan and this season is blatantly ahead of schedule. we need players that will mprove the squad not backup as the backup type wont improve us. we are top 6 now so players we need are players who play for top4 clubs- not easy to sign.

london villa im a son of christ and he told me that villa are bankrupt and are selling all there players and ground i will keep you informed when the angels get in touch with me. And villa_rules you would be one of the first to complain if he took a gamble on players and they turned out to be crap and we started to slide down the league cause of it. we will buy in the summer im sure of this.

eoin1981, the england team aint crap. and every signing martin has made has come good. even harewood looked good the last couple of games. the mans made HAREWOOD look DANGEROUS. if that aint someone to get behind no matter what then i dont know what is!
oh and since ure gonna be coming back to these mr avfcblog man. what a player routledge is!!!!!

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

If the england team aren't crap then what position do you think they will finish this summer in the european cup?

eeerrrr taglor this england team isnt the same one as didnt qualify for the cup so wait and see how they get on before we judge em