Martin O'Neill talking to Charles N'Zogbia, along with Spurs and Arsenal
Friday, 09 January 09, 10:52 AM · Comments (79)
This could all be banter but according to the player we are in talks to sign him, along with Spurs and Arsenal.
Now, let's get one thing straight; this isn't rumour or speculation. This is straight from the mouth of the player.
"My agents are talking with Tottenham and Villa and, from what they've told me, Arsenal could also be in the frame.
"I have a preference for the Gunners but they are three great clubs."
It's natural that he'd have a preference for the team he sees as a top four team but after he's spent a bit of time at Villa and done a bit of research, he should be happy coming here too.
However, there is a question that needs to be answered; is he good enough for Aston Villa?
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79 Comments · Add yours
I'd take him if he could prove to be a super sub or be more consistant on a regular basis. Also according to Mauro zarates agent we're interested in him along with tottenham and Man City.
Not sure he would make our strongest 11 but will definitely be an adequate sub.
We have no cover in the wide positions.
Reo Coker played well on the righ tat the start of the season, despite not being a winger and Gardner has looked nothing but ordinary when asked to play wide.
Apart from Ash and Milner, we have wingers, apart from Bannan, who MON seems unlikely to start.
If Ash gets injured we are screwed down the left and at least N'Zogbia is young and a natural winger.
I think its a typical good MON signing, with the potential of playing him on the left in a 442 should he want to play Ash up top or in the current formation should Ash move to the right.
i think he'd be a qualty addition to the team.
He's still quite young too.
I didn't realise we'd been linked (probably bollox, but what the hell!) to zarate?
LINK
Read the article about half way down.
Thoughts about Zarate? .... ....sorry to move away from Nzogbia Damian.
Dont get any hopes up will probably be denied by the end of the day even if its not do we want a player that does really want to be somewhere else ?????
Any day of the week. N'Z is a good player and I would be really pleased if this one comes off!
I think if we can sign both N'Z and Zarates this window that wud make me a happy villian
Although the player did say he was talking to us it still can't be true. It is still only Jan 9th therefore it is far too early in this window to start talking about players coming in. We will start to see some action from Mon 26th.
Hopefully, Bent, Heskey, Tal Ben Haim & Glen Johnston. I reckon we could get those 4 for 20m.
Up the Villa and I am very nervous about tomorrow mornings game
Zayate - Twist from the Gregory policy of signing players who score against us - sign one who scores FOR us
Would be happy enough with N'Zogbia. I was a bit disappointed with his Arsenal comment but I think Damian's right on that front.
D'oh thought you meant... oh, forget it, half asleep
Exactly the type of player we need, cover and competition for the wings. Ambitious to play for France and in Champions League and also only 22 so right age. but I don't know if he is good enough.
Sitting on the fence on this one. Prefer the link to Joe Cole.
He will only come to you if the Gunners dont want him. I hope to god we finish above you this year and you stop getting the rub of the green!
"My agents ARE talking with Tottenham and Villa and, from what they've told me, Arsenal COULD also be in the frame.
"I have a preference for the Gunners but they are three great clubs."
So he's in talks with us and Spurs but he'd rather be in talks with the Arsenal... let him go to Arsenal!
Would love us to sign Joe Cole would much rather him. Wouldnt be keen on Charles purely because he has said he would rather be at the Gonners
Yeah, sign him up. You can't really begrudge him having Arsenal as a preference, he is French and young to boot.
I couldn't see him getting in the Arsenal team when all their players are fit and Wenger would have shown more interest in him by now surely, hes been unsettled at the Barcodes for some time.
He might go to Spurs though if it comes down to a bidding war/silly wages as we all know they like to pay over the odds for players and they are in the market for a left-sided player .
NZog "would rather go to gunners" don't forget he's French and would probably prefer to be with the French Foreign Legion. If he is indeed in talks I think he would choose us over spuds and I can't see why Arsenal would be intrested in siging him (far to expensive for a team with no money!) However, I think this is a player that is desperate to leave Newcastle and is just throwing teams around in the hope one will snap him up.
Personally I think he would be a good signing playing as a left wing back behind ash how many teams would pap themselves with that speed and skill attacking down our left side??
Sign him up MON is the sort of player that won't upset any of our regulars!!
I think he will do a job down the left, left back or left wing but shouldn't we be strengthening the starting 11, not the squad? I think we have enough "squad" players in midfield, like Sidwell and Milner and need to be bringing in players to improve the team.
Reply to nath888:
Man City are reportedly prepared to offer £30million for him!! If thats the case you can forget it MON will NOT spend that much on one player especially a foreigner!!
he wants to go to arsenal so let him we dont want a player who will always be looking over his shoulder at another club hoping, we want the players who want to play for us and not play for us because he couldnt get his desired move..
he aint that bloody good ask any geordie.
Hi guys,
- Just a quick update from a friend at the press -
Newcastle United and Mr McKay have advised Charles N'Zogbia to make his intentions public in an attempt to start a bidding war between several clubs. This is due to Newcastle United having to sell players in order to have January funds available, and also because the sale of Xisco is being held up by Fifa regulations. Subsequently, this is also the reason Shay Given will be allowed to leave for Manchester City if an offer in excess of 10million is tabled.
Charles prefers a move to Tottenham Hotspur and has done since January last year, but doesn't mind signing for Aston Villa if a move to the London club falls through. The Arsenal talk is of news to me as i have heard nothing at all about Arsene being interested. Tottenham are currently in talks about signing another highly rated left winger, but because there has been no progress since late last week there is every possibility Spurs will follow up their mild interest in Charles. Apparently Everton, PSG and Marseille are all keeping tabs on the situation as well.
Reply to R.D:
Well, if that is true, MON will suss him out and leave well alone. I don't think hes into buying mercenaries.
Reply to TheMachine:
You meant Zabaleta didnt you!
Nearly...
Lol, I got it wrong too, i think we meant Zayatte...
Reply to CHiefy1:
we have no chance of signing joe cole!!!!!
good signing, imagine, N'Zogbia on the left, Milner on the right and ash playing behind gabby in the hole!
Reply to wheelo2020:
why not ? we can offer him regular football, his england chances wouldnt get harmed if anything made better, he would fit in well only problem could be his wages but i am sure for regular football and to improve his england chances he might just give it a go no one else in the top of the table would want him so why not ? MON has said he would love to sign him before you never know
In the summer, I'd have said Joe Cole was 0% likely. Right now, it's probably only 10% likely, but let's take this scenario:
Next summer, he's not starting for England, Chelsea haven't won anything and Villa have qualified for the Champions League (and therefore Arsenal haven't). In that case, I'd say it was more like 70-80% likely as the other CL options are further afield from London.
If he came now, he might have a chance of stopping the first part from happening and the Chelsea parts are broadly out of his control. He might be another who'd rather go to Arsenal but he's no longer a player on whom wishful thinking is just totally wasted energy.
He is a good player but the thing is he left legged and IMO we need a right winger to come into the starting 11. He will not replace Young so I would prefer McGeady or Valencia. Now saying that i wouldn't be too disappointed if we signed him as he does have talent. I think it was at old trafford where he ran with the ball from the defense and beat 4 or 5 Utd players before missing the chance to score what would have been one of the best goal ever in the Premiership.
Reply to TheMachine:
exactly
The Machine
How about this...
Next summer, he's not starting for England, Chelsea haven't won anything and Villa have FAILED to qualify for the Champions League (and therefore Arsenal HAVE QUALIFIED)...Young and Barry will most definitely leave for a big club, with "Gabby" possibly following them out the door and Villa slip back to where they belong, mid table mediocrity.
I think this is the more realistic outcome.
Lets get this straight, there is no way in hell you will get Joe Cole. I am a Chelsea fan and as much as i would love for you to take the place of Arsenal in the top four (because you are less of a threat), i can't see it happening. You are going to finish fifth, which is still a very impressive end to the season for your club.
Question do other clubs not have their own boards to discuss on ?? And to Barry G sounds like there is a little bit of worry in your post ?!!?! are we worried it could happen with Cole coming to us ? has your bubble burst with Roman ?? will you lose the weekend ??? is Soclari the one ??? does Roman think so ???
we have enough midfielders for now, we need defensive cover and more striking options. I think this is bollocks…
It's the condescending tone that I find very funny. Maybe these guys should be banned from posting on here until their club has, at the least, achieved what the Villa have achieved!
Reply to Barry G:
cole will not come to us, he doesnt need to be playing to get in the england team, coming off the bench for chelsea is limelight enough. Who cares though we dont need him, he plays left mid, i would rather young than cole any day!!!!
Chelsea wont win the league, prob come 2nd or 3rd and we will finish 4th so there will be no diff between us and them, both in cl next season.
hmmm, i wouldn't say the bubble has burst for us yet, now you on the other hand....
To tell the truth, im very amused by Villa's situation, you literally NEED to qualify for Champs League this year otherwise your best players are gone and you know it. Not too mention you will desperately need the Champs League money to add to your paper thin squad, seeing as the last time i checked Mr Lerner wasn't "Roman" or a Sheik and didn't have the type of money to completely disregard the credit crunch.
...good luck
Ghosthunter
"Now off you go, back to not winning the Champs League and searching for another new manager. "
Be careful what you wish for, we might just click our fingers and have Martin O'Neill dancing to our tune
Reply to Barry G:
Why would MON want to go to a club that have no more money left? He knows he is on a winner at Villa.
Reply to Barry G:
was that the tune when we ruined your season last year by beating you 2-0 at the villa and giving jose the boot in the process??
Reply to Barry G:
but Roman has not disregarded the credit crunch he has lost millions and his recent actions have led some to beleive that his love affair with Chelsea has ended or is on the rocks and for your sake i hope that is not true or Chelsea will be in trouble lots of debt reminder of Leeds maybe ???
Here are the rest of todays aston villa rumours doing the rounds:
LINK
this is how stable Chelsea is and how much faith your owner has in the club:
Abramovich’s ‘covering’ of Chelsea’s losses and payments for transfers are listed as an interest-free loan (578m), repayable on 18 months notice
"Why would MON want to go to a club that have no more money left? He knows he is on a winner at Villa."
LOL! Have a word with yourself, you haven't a clue what you are talking about.
"was that the tune when we ruined your season last year by beating you 2-0 at the villa and giving jose the boot in the process??"
It comes as no surprise to me that the victory stands out so well in your memory. I bet you were all excited and celebrated for weeks didn't you? Bless your little cotton socks.
Reply to Barry G:
Are we getting bitter? Do you blame us for your beloved Jse going? Or is it just becasue you have never one the european cup?
Kinnear's throwing his teddies out the pram again!! Heart attcak contender if ever I saw one!!
LINK
taken from a website :
Chelsea have drastically trimmed their scouting network and are rumoured to be cutting costs because owner Roman Abramovich has been hit by the global financial crisis.
credit crunch not touched you has it ??
Reply to Timmy_Ra:
I reckon he was red faced when giving them comments and spitting at the same time !!! He does need some calms
Barry G next time your in Villa Park we'll show you what the European Cup looks like. Achieved without money just ability and talent. You can't buy history.
Reply to Barry G:
wasnt you wearing the red of arsenal a couple of seasons ago
you glory hunting wanker
p.s all the money you have had we still kick ass in the trophy cabinate.....
utv
Reply to Chiefy1:
LMAO F******ng love it
Thanks for the veiled complement Barry G, if Barry was to move on, so what we are not a one man team, Young is loving it at the Villa and wouldnt leave Gabby is in the same bracket, unlike some other clubs around, our players look to be enjoying playing, not walking around with a face like a smacked ass.
our progression is slow and steady, yours was quick and meteoric, as will be your decline.
the only decent game you've played this season is when you thoroughly deserved to beat us at your place, bring on the VP clash.
in MON we trust!
Reply to Chiefy1:
Chelsea will never "do a Leeds". Leeds have a genuine fan base so are starting to recover. Chelsea will be groundhsaring with Crystal Palace within the decade...
How did a Chelsea find slime his way on here, there's no reference to them in the title or the article?
Loving the slagging off from the top four supporters lately though, showing that they truly feel threatened. Can't wait for Man U fans to have a crack, then I know we've really made it!
Barry G,
I thought your first post was fair enough - in summary, you expect 5th place position and that would be decent. That was my pre-season expectation and I know experience of being in the mix will be an advantage.
I don't agree that we'll lose our key players if we fail this year - it's early into the regeneration. If we come 5th, we'll probably be close. That'll be good enough to keep us up there(ish) next year.
But it is a great chance to put the 'foot on the throat of Arsenal', to use an unpleasant metaphor. If Arsenal come 5th, they'll be fighting not just Villa but Everton, Man City and even Spurs for Europe next year and they will definitely do that without Fabregas and Adebayor.
I guess we've gone a bit parochial with you after your later posts but, hey, this is a Villa blog
As for Chelsea, you'd have to plummet pretty far to fall apart just yet so like it or not the greatest threat to you is still that Roman walks away and the credit crunch, not winning in Moscow and recent results are conspiring to make that a tad more likely.
I think he'll be gone in 3 years - about the time that Lampard's legs are starting to tire (with Ballack, Drogba, Deco and Carvalho long since departed). Obviously London will still be a draw but will Stamford Bridge still be more appealing than Villa Park, Eastlands, White Hart Lane or Goodison Park (or wherever Everton are then)?
Reply to Barry G:
to tell u the truth barry g, abramovich is losin money and it is only a matter of time until he decided he has milked the chelsea cow long enuff an wen he leaves an takes his billions, the blues wil hav a massive wage bill, high earners and no money to pay. then all ur players wil leave wanting to keep earning astronomical amounts (world class wages for average players who cannot perform on international level - terry, lampard) and chelsea wil go the way of the leeds.
bad luck
o yea and barry g - we hav a european cup, and i think u hav..........................0 european cups.
and my daddy is bigger then urs.
Reply to Chiefy1:
Woah!
I missed that one! £578M payable at 18 months notice! Forget the headlines about West Ham being the first Premier League to go bust*, Chelsea surely, SURELY, are going to go bust. As soon as he gets a sniff things are starting to turn, he'll cut his losses. I'm off to the bookies.
PS Barry G - go on, did ya really kill Jill Dando?
* I assume they mean while in the Prem. Unlucky Leeds, you can't even win that title!
Reply to Barry G:
Yes we did celebrate for weeks, that was a huge victory, we hammered you! Sure you beat us this season exactly the same, but the difference is we are a true, historic, English club. Where as your club is simple a toy for a rich kid. When he's gone, you'll be left with just Terry at the back and veterans everywhere else. We'll still be riding high, enjoying every minute!
UTV
Chiefy,
When did you start supporting Chelsea again? You must be slightly embarrassed that despite having a limitless cashpot and recruiting the supposedly best 'everything'for years, you still haven't won the champs league. You can't even win our league anymore.
I love watching TERRY miss 'that' penalty. That was divine intervention. God meant for it to happen for the sake of our great game. Your immoral club is starting to crumble, so best you jump ship now, and I'll read some of your comments on the SPUDS blog next season.
Are you serious ??? I dont support Chelsea i have been merely pointing out to the Chelsea fan on that was on here that Chelsea is not all it is meant to be.
How you have come to the decision i support them from my posts is beyond me.
VIllA through and through
is insulted to be called a chelsea fan
Guys, let's be absolutely clear about this:
Joe Cole will not come to Aston Villa.
And don't ask me "Why wouldn't he?". The answer should already be obvious to you.
Reply to Texas_Villain:
rumour has it harry is sniffing and Joe is not happy at chelsea so again why not ?? maybe not in jan but end of season i dont see why he wouldnt
Reply to Barry G:
Oh poor Barry G. These are the bleatings of a man who knows his team is on the brink. If you don't get a result this Saturday, your season will unravel. You will fall out of the Champions League, you will collapse in the Prem, you might even finish behind Arsenal for fourth. And then to take a page from Louis XIV "Apres Roman, le deluge."
Genius, George
no no no.. first of all hes not good enough to play regularly for us and secondly he would prefer a move to arsenal so a big fat NO
i beleive this is the agent trying to generate a move for the player as the club is in a mess on and off the pitch.
i think there is a better chance of getting sick note m owen who was a good friend with james milner.
this would be hard because of his merchandise royalty's but not impossible i strongly beleive 6.5m would be enough to tempt the newcastle chairman.
interested in peoples views
Reply to Barry G:
whats with the hostilities towards Villa??mid table mediocrity,players leaving, no top 4 place.If it all goes tits up and Abramovich has enough of his little toy,where will you be then.I can see players leaving, no top 4 place,and Oh whats that you sliping to mid table mediocrity where he found you.Theres a new boy in town with even more money than you.Chelsea are a top class side no question,but when Man City get into the swing of things you'll be looking at 3rd as your best finish.
Don't get excited Chelsea are not going to go bankrupt. They may owe 578m but they basically owe it to themselves as Abramovich is the 100% owner of the club. The money will never be repaid in full, he will get more than half of it back when he sells the club but knows he will never get it all back.
Reply to Texas_Villain:
Texas, we have had this discussion before. You stated that Joe Cole wont leave because he is first choice at Chelsea, "if he's fit he plays" is I believe what you said. Over here newspaper reports have stated that Deco is getting a lot of stick from supporters for being Big Phil's "pet" and getting in the team ahead of Cole. He isn't playing a lot and is supposedly upset. Maybe a move to an ambitious, well run club with mostly English players and the best manager in Europe would appeal.
Reply to Mac:
Who would pay £289 million for Chelsea?
let him go to arsenal. i guess he wants to finish in 5th place this year
Reply to Mac:
You're right, Mac, but even so, if they ever look under threat of sliding, he'll move quickly and like keefvilla asks, who will want to pay that much? Sure, their stock is high but it will be coming down from its peak.
Lerner bought Villa for peanuts and will sell on - hopefully in a good while yet - for a handsome profit but who is going to believe that they can increase the asset value of Chelsea when they have already had their time as the richest club around? With Mansour at Man City, that tactic is closed.
There is something quite timeless about a top 7 made up of Man U, Liverpool, Villa, Arsenal, Everton, Man City and Spurs and mark my words, that will be the Top 7 in 2011/12. QPR may have a thing to say about that but probably not Chelsea.
Reply to keefvilla:
Yes, I'm aware of the reports. They do nothing to change my opinion. Signing Joe Cole is even more pie in the sky than signing Lescott.
I mean no offense to you, of course. You're just expressing your opinion. But these unrealistic and unfounded expectations about who we ought to sign inevitably lead to dissapointment and unwarranted criticism of MON when Villa signs a lesser name.
re- Barry G
Don't feed the trolls boys, and a class rebuke about Jill Dando
UTV
He's a good squad player, I'm not sure he'd find a spot in the first team though. However, I wouldn't say that we don't need him. We have no wingers in our squad. Sure NRC can play RW and Milner can switch sides, but that is not good enough for a Top4 team. We need someone like N'Zogbia in the squad and he's still very young too and while he shouldn't be anything more than 3rd choice at it, he can cover LB as a bonus.
Reply to Texas_Villain:
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
No matter what the post is about, one quick scroll to the latest post and it will resemble nothing to do with the original post and a load of handbags at dawn along the way. I have learnt on this blog though that everyone is clever than the next person and would manage any team to world cup glory, myself included.
I find that sun-rippened tomatoes, a little garlic and a drizzle of olive oil is an excellent light snack over ciabatta.
PS I reckon I could take Moldova to the World Cup final
Reply to keefvilla:
I'm sure plenty of people would pay that for Chelsea. They have been in numerous Champions League semi finals. They look a much better buy than Newcastle or Man City.
Mac,
Yes, I admit I was wondering about Newcastle asking the same price when I wrote my last post on Chelsea
Yep, if billionaires are still queuing up for Premier League action and that's the price of Newcastle or Wham, they'd take Chelsea any day but in those circumstances Roman'd probably look to recover more like 80%-90% of his outlay. Even then, the clubs being bought to now have at least a theoretical potential upside that I'm not sure Chelsea has, unless they take the CL crown.
I know it is definitely too soon to be writing them off - I myself was tipping them for the title until recently - but the transition from Roman will be 'interesting' for Chelsea. It may depend on their superiority within London... I suspect a few Chelsea fans will be willing us to break into the Top 4 for precisely that reason - perhaps they should be careful what they wish for
Reply to Barry G:
You clearly dont know Randy Lerner do you, the man own's the Cleavland Browns as well as Villaand point taken he has'nt got the money of Chelsea or Man City but over the last 2 season's MON has been in the top 2 transfer spender's in the premiership, so why do you think that we need the Champion's League money to keep hold of the like's of Young and Barry, dont you remember that we turned down 16million plus Finnan from Liverpool, to me that's not a cash straped club that's trying to hang on to players to me?
UP THE VILLA