Marlon Harewood isn't good enough. Time for Nathan Delfouneso to get his chance

Last night we got what we deserved. The entire team played woeful not just Marlon. Yes he should have taken his chances but he played no worse than the rest of the team.

Personally I think someone jinxed the result by sticking £20 on a villa win

Yep Milk totally with you on that. Normally Damian you can make some sense, but your far wide of the mark on this one. It's not fair piling all that on Marlon. I recall last year Gabby and Big John not scoring for a while and the goals had to come from elsewhere! At the end of the day the whole team, other than Carlos probably did not turn up for the show. I am sure that was probably the plan anyway as I am sure MON told them privatly to only play on two cylinders...! Obvioulsy in public MON was always going to say he wanted to win it, otherwise the fans would be well pissed off, even before a ball was kicked. If he did plan it this way, and if they won it's a bonus, then fair play to MON a brilliant bit of managerialship.

UTV

I'm not piling it all on Marlon - I@m not blaimgin anyone and ultimately if anyone should take responsibility, it's Martin O'Neill for making so many changes - but it's not about that.

But, how many shots/chances did Marlon Harewood have last night and against lower league opposition - he really should have scored one. - seeing as it's his job.

There was a lot of 'he's not good enough' when we signed him and because of his commitment and determination people have given him time and respect, but it's time to accept, for me anyway, that we need better. His job is to ultimately score goals and he had so many chances last night ...

I must admit when we signed him I was slagging him off, but he surprised me and has better skill than I originally thought.

I think he is an impact player and one that comes on and can bully a defence, mabe he should of started Nathan, give him some first team time. The question is, if he's not good enough and we want better, what quality stiker is going to be happy warming our bench?

Not really that upset we are out of this comp, still don't think we have a big enough squad to compete in all the cups and league, and rather get knocked out now than the quarters

i think you are being a little harsh on marlon. We all loved him last year when he was coming off the bench and scoring goals and as soon as he has a bad game he is turning into the scapegoat again. I don't think he deserves it, he hasn't played any football and it would have been difficult to come in under those circumstances. I don't think delfounso should be given a free ride just because he has potential. if he is performing better in training and in the reserves then he should be given a go. The best players should be in the team not the players with the most potential

I know what you're saying Damian. Im a fan of Harewood...not because he's a world beater but the fact he's shown 110% commitment and passion for Aston Villa. I've always stood up to people moaning about him. (many arguments with my mates too).

My head is telling me that he just isn't good enough but my heart is trying to deny it! I think soon I'll have to accept it, and maybe O'Neil will too.

Maybe it is too early to put pressure on Nathan so a forward is a must in January. People will probably disagree with me but I wouldn't mind Heskey if O'Neil was to buy him. He is a proven premier league and England forward with bags of experience. As much as I hate to say it, I think he'll provide us with more than Marlon can...

Oh, and with regards to my last statement.....Im trying to get myself mentally prepared to accept that Heskey is the most likely forward we'll buy in Jan!

I think you may be right Chris and I think Heskey will come and be part of the squad ..

He's a Carew style player and I think Gabby will be able to play off him just as he does with Carew...obviously only if Carew is injured!

Damian...I'm going to get involved in this one as a healthy bit of debate..!

With the title of this post and within hours of the loss to QPR, and it is aimed at his performance in that game, I think it does look like a go at a witch hunt..? If not, we would be having a diagnosis of all the players that played. Not just Marlon..!

The plain fact of the matter is that Villa DO NOT have a team to compete on all more fronts than the league and UEFA Cup this year. We have a good team and I'm enjoying the position in the table (although we have not played well and it's very early days and we have not played good opposition yet, even Liverpool and Citeh were not performin), however let's get our head around the fact that Villa are a 'work in progress' and we are halfway through the 'plan'. I previously did not sign up for the 5 year plan, but if I don't I'm always gunna be dissapointed until the end of the plan, so I signed up to the plan. If it fails, then whats the frickin difference to the last 25 years with bugger all glory!

So in summary, because I have digressed..! Let's leave Marlon alone, because he has never had chance to establish himself in the team like Gabby etc, so that he can get a proper feel for the way the players around him play. It was a 'team effort'...A shit one..!

I agree with everyone that Marlon isn't good enough, 4 million for a West ham reserve, you get what you pay for folks. Can't understand why Osbourne has got a new deal, its like watching Ugo try to play in midfield ! Gardner classy again, all the senior pros were poor, treated it like a stroll in the park. We missed Laursen's leadership.

andyarchitect

yes it is a team effort and yes i am picking out harewood specifically, mostly because his job is to score goals. the likes of young, barry and routledge last night, who all had chances can be forgiven - mostly because its their job to create and when they get a crack and this miss it's somewhat acceptable.

my point is, that harewood is 29 and actually, on evidence, isn't good enough. this tournament was, for me anyway, our best opportunity at winning something this season and the tournament also carries with it qualification to the UEFA cup - not something to be laughed at

the team didn't perform as a whole - sure, but the chances were created for harewood and he didn't put them away. great impact player, but maybe what we need is someone to come in who can convert the opportunities instead

but i have to leave it now .. as i have some work to do

---I am not a usual whinger regarding Villa, and not one of those the end is nigh types. But I must agree in part with Harewood as a bit of a lost cause. Against FH he seemed disinterested off-the-ball, even whingeing when the ball was not played to perfection (i.e when he had to do something). I was not there last night and have not seen the game, but his attitude can be questioned. No one wants the realisation that they are an after thought a back-up or even a stop gap until Heskey arrives. Maybe a move to a more direct side (Stoke / Hull) will suit his hussle bussle game where someone can swoop around and pick up his crumbs.
When Harewood starts we realise how influential and skilled Carew is. We do need equal strength in depth and at the "big man up front" category we are lacking

are you joking here?? the only joke last night was a mr barry. osbourne is clearly never going to be near villa quality.if any liverpool fans were watching that they would piss themselves its no good moaning about harewood(one of only a few that put any effort in)when its the whole team that played shit

He is good enough...As a squad and impact player...! Do you really think we are going to have 5 very good strikers, with 3 of them sitting on the bench...? I don't think so..! Marlon does his job and for his commitment he's been one of our most worthy players. Last year we were all shouting for him to come on in the second half..! Can't wait till Ashley loses his form. Well be flucked..! Players lose form now and again...It's when they can't be bothered that we should be having a go at them.

So then Damain....Please give me a stronger argument than that.

Damian...You go on about having Heskey above. WTF..! Heskey is older than Marlon and Heskey only scored 3 goals last season..! How many goals has Heskey scored this year..? Don't answer that..

I give up if your happy to have Heskey and then say Marlons 'just not good enough'. Re-arrange the following...crhypitiocal

I really do not understand why we put that team out.

The Carling Cup Final next year with Aston Villa vs ??????? would be a great day out.

Also consider, Man Utd and Arsenal do not take the early rounds seriously - so they could easily be knocked out - (I think we beat Man Utd one season 6-0). After last night three more winning rounds and AV are having a party at Wembley. MON would have played his best team in the quarters and semis - so that means if he played his best team last night and for the next round - an additional two matches for our Big Guns.

Just don't make sense.

MON is still god

UTV

MON is still God indeed!

I had a feeling we would go out to be honest.

For all this talk of competing on all 4 fronts, we just dont have the strength in depth to do that.

We can only concentrate on the league and Uefa if we want to make an impression in either.

It just shows that we need another big transfer window, and get some more decent back up in.

To be fair if Milner wasnt cup tied and Sidwell was fit we would have a fair bit of back up, but a good striker is definitely needed.

I would much prefer the uefa cup final or challenging the top 4 , lets concentrate on those !

im sorry for all the hare supporters,i agree he did well as an impact player last year,but this team is moving forward and he hasnt infact i think hes gone backwards also osbourne why a 3 year deal i thought we had j lloyd back in midfield last night

I would much prefer the uefa cup final or challenging the top 4 , lets concentrate on those !

hahahaha! Dreamland boys! PURE UNADULTERATED DREAMLAND!

You couldn't even beat QPR! QPR FFS!!

Lets be honest, the only cup you really had a hope of winning was the Carling Cup and you have been knocked out by a Championship side on your home turf at the first time of asking! Dear oh dear!

Nevermind, I'll let you lot get back to daydreaming about being a big club.

Now to be quite honest I wouldn't bother coming onto other teams blog's but after your pathetic behaviour on the Spurs vs Villa game I just couldn't resist!

Damian - I think you could also have said - Gardner is not good enough at right back......Osbourne is not good enough anywhere!!and Zat Knight is nowhere near good enough.

I think what last night proves is our squad - whilst stronger than last year - is still nowhere near strong enough and even injuries to 2 key players and we would be screwed.

I like Marlon - i genuinely do - but he never has been and never will be good enough for a club with our aspirations. If he was to leave who would sign him - relegation contenders or championship clubs. Same situation for Knight and Osbourne...although these would probably not be good enough for relegation contenders teams..

Frankly - I think its better for our main priorities that we were knocked out last night and hopefully its serves as a wake up call for some..

What a shame, Jamiespurs still hasn't got over the loss to Villa on their home turf. Dear oh dear....

Get a life mate, check the league and spurs performances.....you're shite!

What makes Jamiespurs think they are a big club? Bottom of the league, no hope in europe.

Mr Big isn't he?????

Lets let the final league do the talking. . . .

Absolute fucking muppets!

Chris,

I agree with you mate. . . Hard to take

We'll move on, have a good result against the mackems the weekend and forget about the mickey mouse cup and have another go next year. . .

We'll have a huge laugh when Hartlepool do them in the next round. . . . .

chris your getting as bad as me for argueing with anyone south of watford gap services that comes on here

talusman,

Its these fucking horrible spurs twats coming on here sucking their lemons, still living off their day at wembley!

Still bitter about a league game that they were always going to lose. . .

Living in Arsenal's shadow. . .

Aww shame. . . I nearly feel sorry for them, but after a second or two, i still believe they're wankers

Fact is boys....

The league still has over 33 games to run, and doesn't end until May 2009, the league cup for you lot STARTED LAST NIGHT AND ENDED LAST NIGHT - What a glorious cup campaign that was!

Correct me if I'm wrong but Spurs are still in the UEFA Cup along with every other British club thats taking part (seeing as you haven't been in it for a while I'll remind you that its a 2 legged cup tie at first - the winners then enter a group stage)

In reality, we all know that Spurs will not be down in the relegation zone come May and neither will Villa. However, at this very moment in time, Spurs are most definitely STILL in the Carling Cup (as holders no less) and Villa are OUT!

So who you hoping for in the next round?

Sorry, was that a sore question??

whats with the fffing, tw*tting and w*nking...! Not showing us in a good light...Some kids have to read this..! (joey the ak)

andyarchitect

Philbob88 has a very limited vocabulary. Don't hold it against him. He's only like that becuase being the tea-boy at work makes him miserable.

The fact is. . .

Yes we went out! So? Your point being? You won't be holders come March 1st. . . That will go to West London with Big Phil and his D-Cup bras. . .

How do you know Spurs won't be down there come may? No club is too big to go down. . .

One thing i do know, Come the end of the season, you'll still be in the shadows of the big London clubs......

Sorry Andy, I'll revert to your 'fricking'...

Jamie you're a frickin idiot... seriously we would rather concentrate on the main competitions such as Uefa and Premier league. Because you're not a villa fan, you won't realise this... Villa simply haven't got the strength, depth in the squad to compete on all fronts.... Unlike Spurs with all their so called over rated, over hyped, over paid 'superstars'.

Get over it, last season you were shite and underachieved and this season you're worse... Its beggining to become clear.....they aren't underachievers, they are just crap!

Now piss off to your own forum where you can talk about your great form in the league and your amazing club.

Andy,

Dont worry about the swearing, i'm still slightly narked about the game! Joey's ok, he swears like a trooper himself!!!

It doesn't help with this scottish knob in here this morning. . .

Did you just make it through a whole post without swearing? Did you get the receptionist to help you do it?

Your right, you did get knocked out, by a Championship side managed by a bloke who looks like chunk out of the Goonies. My point was that to go out of a cup at the very first time of asking to a team in a lower division is rather funny and to be honest quite embarrasing. Especially when you lot aspire to Champs league football and as VillaNobin predicted a UEFA Cup final (still makes me laugh!)

You're right, no club is too big to go down. However, with the league being 5games in and teams like Hull & West Ham occupying places in the top 6/7 the table isn't totally accurate at the moment. There are teams that are far worse off than Spurs and who have far worse and smaller squads than ours too. So to say we'll be down in the bottom 3 come May is in my opinion very unrealistic.

I do not think Harewood is actually that bad of a player, just bad at finishing, point proven last night and that open goal against Tottenham.

But he does the job of a Carew type player, holds off defenders, tries hard and tries to bring the better footballers into the game.

It is a player we need as Gabby and Delf will not be able to do it and if Carew gets injured we are screwed.

However, Heskey isn' the answer.

He has the same attributes as Marlon, including the inability to finish, although he may be a slightly better actual footballer than Marlon.

We do seriously need a striekr of this mould to replace Marlon but not Heshey.

Unfortunately I have no ideas of who the answer to the problem is.

In the words of Villa_Chris,

piss off to your own forum where you can talk about your great form in the league and your amazing club.

to be honest ive never had a problem with spurs there one of them clubs that i find hard to dislike,but to spurs fan on here i would worry about your manager he inherited the seville team and so far he just seems to want to buy big name players and hasnt got a clue how to make these individuals into a team

Oh and PhilNob.....

I'm English and I live in Scotland. Kind of ruins your 'jock' puns doesn't it.

For the record, i reckon most people in Scotland couldn't even tell you where Aston is!

Jamie,

Quote:
Your right, you did get knocked out, by a Championship side managed by a bloke who looks like chunk out of the Goonies

Ha ha ha very funny! Do think that you meant 'Sloth' though, not Chunk..

Look its been obvious to most Villa fans that the quality of our squad is very questionable which is why so many are not totally sold on MON and his dealings in the transfer market. Lets be honest with ourselves there was no way that we could compete in all competitions this year with the current squad so if i had to pck one to go out early in it would be this one. As long as we beat Sunderland at home i don't care. Wouldn't count on it though as these were the matches we struggled in last ear againest teams that don't come at us. Another point. Just look at what Arsenal did to Sheff Utd. A young squad of FOREIGN players not average English players like we have.

Well many of our reserve players are young foreign players and its only just occured to me that they never make it to the first team

Do you think they favour the young english lads when it comes to the step up??

For the record, i reckon most people in Scotland couldn't even tell you where Aston is!

And, most people in Aston couldn't tell you where scotland is. . .

Come on guys....This is getting daft now..!

Sloth is a Leg End...

Sloth: [Sloth rips off his shirt revealing a T-Shirt with the Superman 'S' on the front] Sloth!
Jake Fratelli: We're in deep shit now, Francis.
Francis Fratelli: Oh, shit!

Priceless scene from Goonies..!

Villa_Chris

To be honest, I've never thought much of that film. It's one of those films that everyone my age thinks is brilliant, whereas I just think its sh*t. It did however, give Ian Dowie his 'big break'

philbob88 - "And, most people in Aston couldn't tell you where scotland is. . ."

Thats a very damning insight on Aston and the local population isn't it??

I mean I'm sure your fellow 'Villains' aren't all as stupid as you! Scotland is a COUNTRY, I suggest you get on Google and find yourself a map!

If you saw aston you'd understand. . . .

Tottenham isn't much better mate!

Lets just say, I wouldn't walk round there of a night unless it was a matchday!

Thats Aston. . . .

thats better peace and harmony is restored,but jamie being truthful do you thing one day ramos is doing a better job than jol,only with a lot more dosh

I don't know about that talusman,

two 5th places vs 1 carling cup?

Which one would you prefer?

The Goonies brings peace baby!!

I prefer to just win 1 Carling cup .....For Spurs that is

Yeah AK_27, totally agree. Proud that we have so many English players, but totally worried that Arsenal could field a team like that and we can't. Most of the stuff above sounds like excuses when you consider the number of changes, and the ages of the players. Gabby would be an old man, and Craig a senior in that team!

Regardless of the result last night - We'll keep the lions flag flying high!!!!

COS ASTON VILLA WILL NEVER DIE!!!!

andyarchitect

i never said i'd be happy with heskey. however there is a lot of speculation surrounding him coming to villa and i've accepted that it is possible. if he does come, it's also quite possible that it is as a direct replacement for harewood

however and i cant believe i'm going to defend heskey, the goals he scored last season is sort of irrelevant mostly because of how he was forced to play - a lone striker holding the ball up

one thing heskey is, is a goal scorer and if he was given the chances harewood was given last night, i'd put money on him putting at least one away and one would have been enough last night

actually, i'm not defending heskey at all. i'm defending my opinion that harewood simply isn't good enough. he's had the opportunities and not taken them well enough

and like i've said in my original post you cant fault harewood for attitude but he is a squad player (when he was purchased we were told that) but for me a squad player has to be able to do a little bit more than just come off the bench and hassle players - he has to be able to step into the first team when called upon and convert chances.

he is an excellent impact player, as i've said all along and keep him if that is going to be his only role but if you want someone that could replace carew if he got injured, it isn't harewood and i think we all know that

Guys,

Heskey is better than Marv. Fact. Heskey is in the England team...

It's not heskey's goal scoring that matters. What heskey would do is assist gabby to get more goals. He can hold the ball up as well as anyone. He's not good at running at players anymore, but bringing people in is where his game is. Ownen played better with heskey than anyone else. He has to be paired with a small quick out and out striker but when he is, he's very usefull.

That is our best chance of Europe again next season gone out of the window.
There is only one person to Blame MON
He again messed with the Team, we are not good enough to think we have a Second String Team. The First team Huff & Puff to get a result nothing like watching Brazil
Barry had an Off Night so So does the Team Simple As

Nothing like watching Brazil!!!!?

hahaha I doubt it would be. But how many prem teams are like watching brazil? High expectations maybe?

It was too many games. Bye bye carling cup I never cared anyway. Give it to some team who has nothing else to aspire to. Like Spurs!

Oh and to that spurs supporter. If the current spurs position is a freak occurance, where were you at this time last season (when you had arguably one of the best strike forces in the prem)?

Put it like this Heskey is one of our best strikers for England, they love it when him and owen play and it does sort of work?
Harewood was great LAST SEASON but things change and lately he has not been performing, i have to agree also the man is a striker and with his ex its his job to finish and put them away, i like heskey and with barry, young, milner and sidwell supplying him I think he could score over 15 a season easy.
Heskey In / Harewood Out i would be happy with that deal in Jan, so marlon please prove us all wrong and don't flop

correct me if i am wrong but if spurs were to drop just one more place in the league wouldn't they be paying in the championship? ha ha. losers

Im a bit confused about Barry this season to be honest. Previous seasons he's been mr consistent, but this season he seems to be up and down. He gives the ball away far more too. Do you think he's been mentally dented?

I summer has affected Gareth Barry in a big way, as much as he or MON deny it. . .

My personal opinion is that i doubt very much we'll see the proper Gareth Barry in claret and blue again. . .

By the 'proper' Gareth Barry, i mean the GB we are all used to seeing! Before the summer GB didn't do one up, one down!

So the answer to your question Chris is yes, in a very big way. . . .

one thing heskey is, is a goal scorer and if he was given the chances harewood was given last night, i'd put money on him putting at least one away and one would have been enough last night

no damian two would have been enough.........you cant win by drawing

The 'proper' Barry definitely turned up for the Tottenham game, I know that much! He was a cut above everyone

martin indeed needs to look elsewhere but it looks like he has his heart set on heskey

thanks for the comments about the blog

i have a feeling you're going to get lots of friend requests

If you think back, it is really the only game he has turned up. . .

That and perhaps one of the european ties. . .

sure TON23, but you know what i mean ..

I think you're right Damian

Jaimiespurs......"To be honest, I've never thought much of that film. It's one of those films that everyone my age thinks is brilliant, whereas I just think its sh*t."
Sounds like your team too. A lot of people my age thought Spurs were brilliant and would be challenging for the top four. But they are just SH*T!

There are a few players who are not good enough, not just Harewood. Knight and Routledge among them. what worries me is what do we do if Carew gets an injury? Heskey may be a ex bluenob but at least he can play for 90 mins and with his contract due to expire this summer he should be available at a reasonable price. God i hate myself for saying it but Heskey would be a good signing.

Damian,

You say we should look elsewhere, but if you were the manager, who would you go for? Realistically obviously. . .

I love you keef. . . .

Personally, i'd find myself looking at the foreign market. Maybe Kevin Kuranyi or Gomez (the german fellers)

Philbob.......Ashton. West Ham need the money to pay Sheff Utd £30M

Love you too Philbob, but don't tell Chris

Well it's no wonder we lost, Marlon was the only Villa player on the pitch!!!!
GET A GRIP for gods sake don't blame one man for the shit team performance, they are all equally responsible. Anyway why are we looking to blame someone? It should be about learning lessons and understanding where we went wrong, not Vilifying one man, that's just not fair.
Last nigh was always going to be tough, a little bit of common sense would have told us that. So we lost, big deal we are still in the mix for the league and europe and the FA cup.
Stop pouring pressure on the poor fu**ers, thinking that we can't lose at all!

I thought Ashton but he's injured again. . . . . Apart from him and Heskey, who else is there that you could actually see buying?

The guys a work horse. When villa are playing poor and need a goal, they bring on the hare and let him run at people, cause problems up front. He aint exactly a messi, and he aint gunna be as a good as henry.. But i'll tell you what he is, and thats a player who will use every inch of energy to charge down players, make them react.. and you never know he might even score a bicycle kick against liverpool for you? What else do you want from a squad player, when carews out ? I'm pretty proud of him, being so i thought he was a bloody donkey when we bought him.

raceylady,

It may be all good and well saying we won't accept second, but in reality, we have. Harewood, Knight for example. . .

Another point too, Martin O'Neills appeared reluctancy to buy from the foreign market! There are loads of players who became available after the Euros. I.E. Dani Guiza (Now Fenerbache), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Now Spurs) to name but a few! These are players who would have considered PL football in any way, shape or form and they would have added quality up front!!! And BOTH were available at around the same price as we paid for MIlner.

Hey Keef, I heard that!!

Raceylady I agree, we should be bringing in players that are as good as, or better than our current 'best' players. Such as Carew, Barry, Ashley Young etc. We shouldn't be bringing in players that are mediocre that were once good/world beaters (such as Marlon and Routledge) come January.

Only way forward now is to buy class....

Sorry Chris,

me and keef have been having an affair!!!! We have been talking all afternoon!!!! I'm so sorry!!!

So you think its ok to smile and laugh in the face of someone filled with sadness and heartache then Philbob?!?

You know what,you're welcome to him, he's a tease anyway!

I'm filled with sadness and heartache too, we lost to QPR FFS!!!

Back to the match, I'm going to re-cap the starting XI because i've been thinking. . .

Guzan, Gardner, Cuellar, Knight, Shorey, Petrov, Barry (c), Osbourne, Young, Carew and Harewood

Now, if you look at that team, we're missing Reo-Coker, Laursen and Davies, now what MON has effectivly done is taken any real bite out of the defence and midfield. Yes Gardner will battle for you but not in that position. Petrov? Yes, he will too but we all know Stan and 5 times out of 10 its huff and puff.

Add that to the suicidal decision to put Zat Knight in there and there you go! I believe that either Laursen or Curtis should have been in there instead of ZK to make the back four that little bit more stable!

Does anybody agree. . . These are just my thoughts. . .

I agree, we were missing the spine of our team....this is very important!

I have a lot of time for Harewood, but I fear you are right on this one Damian.

Marlon would be adored at Stoke or Hull, and really put the shits up a few defences with his pace and bustle. For Villa though I fear he hasn't got the grace necessary.

The thing about Heskey is that, irrespective of his goalscoring ratio, he really does contribute to overall team play. There is a reason why Fabio Capello is starting him for England, and a reason why Liverpool kept him in the side for so long. He connects play well and is an absolute handful - with experience of playing pressure games and bullying the best international defenders.

I think he would be a fantastic signing, and can only presume that if he came in Marlon would have to leave. Delfouneso will get his chance, but I'm also pretty convinced that in order to compete we could do with investing in another poacher in January. I do worry of the impact that losing Gabby or Carew could bring on what has been an excellent season so far.

I think MON was correct in playing six reseve players, all of whom should have performed, but none of them did anything to warrent a regular first team place; lesson learnt; Herewood for sale, Osbourne for sale, Gardner for sale, Routledge, Guzan and Cuellar need time. I just hope MON does not play these six on mass for the next cup game - Litex Loveech

rightsofway,

Gardner for sale????? Have you been on the wacky baccy?

Osbourne won't be for sale, nor Gardner. They've just signed new contracts and are part of our future. We know Gardner will be a great player and I jus think Osbourne will mature, I've seen him play brilliantly before in the reserves, and some 1st team performances. One game, thats all it was. Lets not get on their back ay?

Or 'K' Phil?

He's been on something Chris. . . U gona get PES9?

philbob88

if you're asking me as a straight swap for marlon - in terms of him sitting on the bench most games then i'd take heskey over marlon - but thats the thing; i dont want that type of player - i think if we're going to be buying a striker we want someone that is seriously going to challenge for a starting place and push gabby and carew all the way

Surely Oba Martins is gonna be looking for a new home in January if this mess carries on. Wouldn't he fit the role perfectly and potentially challenge both Gabby and Carew. Failing that, I'd take Owen, but Martins looks like one of those players that has a lot more to come from him under the right stewardship. And I'd prefer him to heskey.

Damian,

Lets forget Heskey for a second

What i was saying was, if Marlon was to be sold, then we'd need another striker!

But what striker would you want to push Gabby and John? Who i mean, its names i'm after. . .

You could choose Heskey if you wanted but if we're on about a 20 goal a season man then who would it be?

Ugly Betty makes a very good point about Martins. . .

Philbob, daft question mate (PES2009).....

I only said last night to my mate we should have gone for Martins in the summer...maybe Jan? He's a flare player in my eyes. Great skill, pace and can score goals! get him in!

THE TITLE SAYS IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Seb, We established that earlier. . .

Chris, I think i'm gona get it for the 360 too! Im too good at Fifa and i fancy a new challenge. . .

You're absolutley right there son, Martins would fit into our team a treat, and he's well within our budget i'd say!!!

I think Heskey is a good player, just not an out-and-out goalscorer. Which isn't to say I wouldn't prefer we go for someone like Falcao instead...or rather, in addition to.

how much do you reckon we'd have to pay for him? £10m..?

Betty, I'd say something around that region i think. . .

Who else would you have in mind if we didn't get OM?

De La Red Philbob. What happened to that story??

Ha ha I bet Damian has been waitin for that and dreddin it!

Could Benjani do a job, now that City won't use him?

Surely someone to pluck from french football too, Bafetimbi Gomes or someone like him?

Gudjohnssen, Zaki, and Alfonso Alves won't stick with Pinnochio long; Oba Martins, Benjani. It's definitely the Carew side of things we need back up for though as I think given the chance, Delfouneso will show Gabby a thing or two.

Good point Chris. . . So Damo, please, enlighten us. . .

Craig, I think City will use Benjani, he's just crocked at the moment. . . TBH i dont know much about froggy footy, except for Benzema...

Is that Gomes dude the chap who plays for Bordeux or Auxerre of sumat. . .

Gudjohnsson is a good call. . . Is he still at Barca?

What about that popov dude who ripped us apart last week? In the UEFA Cup tie?

Same here Phil, I don't watch much foreign football at all so my knowledge of forein footballers is about as good as Taglor's optimism

Or that little Braziian, Tom, who looked a little livewire...

ive been saying for weeks now marewood needs to go along with fright they are our two weakest links.
i didnt see the game last night so i cant comment, but looking at the team i think it should have been good enough to win.
how did cueller play?

Fright's a villa fan...... leave him alone!

I like the idea of being Brazilian (my real name's Tom btw)

Westermann who plays for Shalke 04 could do a job for us. Think he's their top scorer but we've got to be a better option..

If i ever see Zat Knight wearing a Villa shirt again i'm gona top myself!

so am i chris and for a lot longer but im not good enough either

Does anyone know how deep a 150mm diameter pile should be taking a load of 30 tonnes per sqM with a ground bearing pressure of 7 N/mm2..?

Oh well thought not...Worth a try..I'll have to try work it out myself then..!

i dont care what you say damian,everybody has a off game,and he dosent play every game

there are 2 different issues here. what damian is trying tosay is that harewood aint good enough for the villa, and he's right. Alright, he does put a lot of effort, i'll give him that, but really deep down, just like zat knight, if we want to step up to the next level, we need better quality of players. Also i agree with damian, that nathan d, should have been given a chance. like ass-nal if the players ae good enough give them a go.

Can't help you with that one andy!!. Martins is a good shout assuming the barcodes are still in a mess come January,though Heskey is worth having.
Can someone please tell me why we continue to play without proper full backs,using Gardner/Reo-coker out of position which makes them look foolish and why,on Sunday when hanging on for a win we substitute a defender for a midfielder

It's about time, I am afraid while Marlon is passionate about the club, he does not have the skill to play for it.
Neither do I for that matter but that does not mean I should keep getting chances. I would love to see young Nathan get his chance, now and let Marlon join QPR if they will take him with the 50 quid we will throw in aswell

please please please mr o'neil buy a 20 a season striker and not this lot of mish mash we keep getting linked to.
good man managment can only go so far, talent is also needed.

As I posted last nite: Marlon Harewood should be left in the reserves. Shocking. So poor it's not funny. A total waste of money. MON's weakness in buy average players to make them good will not work here. Sorry Marlon you'll be gone by Christmas. MON should have bought a striker in the Summer... I've said it before it WILL come back to haunt him...

"i take a whiskey drink i take a vodka drink andwhen i need to pee i use the kitchen sink"

we are gonna get heskey or doyle
oh and del la red has said he wont rule out a move to england in january transfer window

Damian is right Harewood isn't good enough to come in and play 90 minutes. So who is going to be the guy in January. Martins is a very good idea. What about someone like Podolski (who definitely will leave his club in the Jan. window), maybe he is what we are looking for. I know I will get slated for putting this name forward, but maybe a better backup for Carew would be Stoke's Ricardo Fuller (not sure Stoke would sell him).

MON is making "the same mistake as last season" every year by approaching the transfer market with the cautiousness of a Bomb Technician.

To have 2 main strikers and Harewood as back up is suicidal, just as it was daft to have no right back for what seemed to be a decade, not 2 seasons.

But I wont get too excited, I know by now how the man operates..

Andy is back, Andy is back, hello, hello.

At the end of last season MON said that we didn't have a plan B. If teams came to Villa Park to defend we could'nt change things to create a goal. Last night shows we still don't.

I wouldn't expect any world class players to be signed in Jan, Heskey or Ashton will be as good as it gets!

Chris watch it!

just read were now being linked with a 6 million move for pennant wtf

yeah

This is the last time I'm going to say this.

WE ARE NOT YET A TOP FOUR TEAM.

Our sub strikers are going to be pretty crap. If we sign a good one and carew has a run of games as sub he will go to another Prem team where he will get a start.

Only crap sits on the bench for Premiership Top 4 challengers. Who is the best sub striker outside the top 4.? Who ya gonna sign?

Everybody we were talking about strikers yesterday. . .

But nobody mentioned Kevin Doyle, thats who we're blatantly going to sign in january. . . .

Ashton's crock again. Good striker but he'd never get a game..

Barry was poor during the middle of last season, he only picked up his game when the rumours of Liverpool being interested surfaced. No doubt he'll start playing well again nearer to the transfer window.

Harewood looks to me like he knows he's not going to get in the team regardless of what he does. Gabby and Carew are MON's golden boys and he knows they won't be dropped. I think Marlon will be off in January, but can't see anyone who we'll get to replace him, especially as our scouts don't have passports.