Signings are imminent, the new kit and £15 million and Finnan for Barry

whats the new keeper shirt like and who will model that

I would be over the moon with 15 million and finnan,We need a right back and squad numbers finnan would improve both situations, plus 15 million would get us another very good player.

I preferred last season's away kit - the white was much better.

Finnan isnt good enough for first choice and isn't worth £3m so why would we accept the offer? That would value Barry at £16m not £18m we are asking for. If the scousers can't afford it - TOUGH!
We should offer Blackburn what they want for Bentley and quickly. Just get him down Villa Park whatever it takes. Robinson, Ferdinand, Milner, Sidwell would all be good additions. Malbranque and a loan goalkeeper (Foster or Carson) would not. Don't know who exactly but I've been told that the right back MON wants is playing in Portugal.
Lets get some signings in soon.

What an average shirt, although it goes with our average players (anyone remember Fitzgerald telling us we'd get star signings two years ago)?!?!?! Am I the only person that thinks that since Nike came in the kits they've produced have been some of the worst Villa kits ever? Last seasons away kit was OK but the home and away ones this season are a joke and must have taken all of 5 minutes to throw together....they certainly don't say "bright future" to me. The photoshopped kits that went around were awsome and that makes the real ones look even worse. And to have the cheek to make the away kit blue.....BLUE for f***s sake. It should be white or yellow, but blue is an insult...who's gonna buy that s*ite?

I actually really like the away kit. Both are good. I've got serious doubts whether we can get bentley - he probably wants to go back to the big smoke and join spurs - booooooo!

Why does our away kit look more like a Keeper's top?

If we get Bentley I don't think we'll need Milner as we have Routledge, unless Milner is for the left.

Please Please get some talent in soon villa i can't take it anymore its been 7 0r 8 weeks since the season ended already, with all this speculation we should have bought at least 1 new players by now

Why would bentley go to spurs over villa, london is not that great and its 1.5 hours away its not that far to travel most of the current villa players live outside of brum anyways

Boruc/Foster
Ferdinand
Bentley
Sidwell
Miguel
Lennon
Bent
Milner
Fletcher

Transfers This week villa and im hopin its not Steed Malbranque

Them Rottweilers at training yesterday must have got mon on his toes

I think Anton Ferdinand would be a very good signing and could forge a long partnership with Curtis Davies in the future. I would take the 15 mil and finnan personally another rightback option and buy a 1st choice right back then we're sorted there.

i love the new away kit i usually get the home kit so i mite have to get both this season

Expect signings within 48hrs ;)

I agree entirely Damian, when the manager says that about new signings it IS very exciting, and it does raise the expectation levels a little.

Get the Barry deal done now. £15m Finnan is great business for us.

wud love 15 mil plus finnan. then bentley signin wud be superb. but, im not gonna belive anythin til i see them in a villa shirt.

starting to see some action now, would be very dissapointed if sidwell went to newcastle instead of us, he would end up like scott parker. we definitly need 2 new goalkeepers even the young academy goalie has had to go to switzerland as back up for taylor because we haven't got anyone else. Was just wondering if anyone knew why barry banna did not go to switzerland his name wasn't on the website with the people who travelled???

Finnan is a good solid dependable right back
He is not a spectacular, overlapping foolback, but he is experienced, and he is very good at what he does.

Sorry, but Bentley & Finnan are worth more than GB imo

Just read on Sportinglife.com that Newcastle are interested in both Sidwell and Ferdinand!...Any comments? :o :o :o

Finnan is a proven right back. Perfect. The £15m will go towards the £17m bif for Bentley. So basicly we will get Finnan and Bentley for Barry! Sounds good enough for me. I aint to sure on this but i think santos that spurs signed is a Centre/Right midfielder so spurs may not want Bentley. And we must'nt forget that Bentley was an Arsenal player... Will he really move to spurs anyway??

and Robinson! :(

i like both the shirts they are nice makes a change to being white.
i reckon that harry forrester should of been on the trip aswel, i saw him in the youth cup against chelsea and he was one of the best players.
15mil for barry plus finnan id snatch there hand off, finnan i dont think is worth 3mil but least we will have a proper right back and some decent money to go spend on players like sidwel, bentley etc

Pezza....... are you seriously suggesting that Routledge is better than Milner? If we got Bentley we would also get Milner to cover for injuries/loss of form/suspensions etc. Why is it that we want a bigger squad then say we don't need someone because he wouldn't be first choice?

"We're going to take young Elliott Parish out as well as back-up to Stuart Taylor, but we are hoping to resolve the goalkeeping situation pretty soon. In the meantime the experience won't do the young lad any harm."

quote from MON, maybe this week then?

I like the away kit, I remember them having a similar third shirt in the 90s. Does anyone remember when fans stopped complaining about there being a new shirt every season? It seems we've come to accept it now. Personally, I've gone backwards and decided to wear the oldest shirt I can find for matches. Retro FTW.

I think that Steve Finnan would be an excellent signing. He has probably been one of the best right backs in the premiership for the past ten years and has been one of Liverpools most consistent performers. Sure he is 32 but he has retired from international football and has 2-3 good sesons in him. It would be even better if we signed Miguel and Finnan was back up - thats the dream!

Would be happy with Bentley as he would throw down a marker but personally I would prefer Wright-Phillips. I feel Bentley's reputation is more based on a media profile....

Sidwell again would be happy with...

Ferdinand - poor poor player and struggled to get into west hams dodgy back four. But could be worse I supose - could be steve carr.

But we need to sign these players just to break even...

can i have a refund on the Barry dvd i bought at the end of last season Gareth?

Delfouneso, Williams, Albrighton, Parish, Baker, Stieber all going to Switzerland.

Anyone know by Bannan isn't going?

Anton Ferdinand is just your straight up bad attitude brother off the council estate, he is nothing like Rio, people from where I am from witnessed him drunk and beating up an innocent guy outside Faces nightclub. Plus he is shite.

and sod Finnan, he is a has been. We need to be strong on our stance of £18 million only.

Si

I ddon't know what you're on about, the nike kits are fucking cool in my opinion. A lot better than those shit hummel kits we had before, how can you be complaining???

Bannan must be going on loan

id accept the finnan plus 15m for barry, might aswell, its not a bad offer and i think both teams would benefit from it. in my opinion barry isnt worth 18mil, not even 15. and what would you rather happen we get finnan an 15mil or have gareth barry rot away in reserves and we end up getting no money for him

sidwell is coming inthe next 48 hours apparently.
barry's meant to be leaving around the same time

if barry was foreign he would only be worth about 6mil

fuck that cunt barry off, i have heard that pennant is on his way instead of finnan!!

I'm excited ;D ;D ;D ;D

Finnan, Bentley, Sidwell, Ferdinand? Yes Pleasey!!!!

You've got to fancy us getting a player this week don't you? That Ben Foster rumour won't go away either! What does everybody else think of Foster?

Seems MON was working in Austria! Has Gareth Barry f*cked off yet! I'm getting bored! And would ronaldo just F*ck off too! That portuguese Hairy Muff is gettin on my wick as much as GB

@ bhurji: Pennant would be a pretty worthwhile purchase, moreso than Finnan at his age. He could slot into the first team fairly easily (because, honestly, Routledge isn't going to) and would probably be a more realistic prospect than Milner or Bentley. More power to Martin if he can bring one of the latter in, though.

Love new home kit but dont like colour of away kit, it should of been white with claret sleaves!

I love the away kit--different without departing too far from traditional colors.

And now I'm getting excited about the new players FINALLY coming in.

If Taglor is excited then we must be signing Ronaldo !!

Finnan, Pennant - no way !!! Both poor players who will only be numbers at Villa same with S M from Spurs. I really hope this isn't true.
I'd rather push Liverpool and say £15m and Carson as Goalie is more important at the moment as we've got no cover what so ever. Other people can cover right back for the time being. I really can't see what people on this site see about Finnan - Must be one of the worst right backs in Premier League!

Must say Finnan would be useful ut not sure of he should be first choice. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a few new players! UP THE VILLA

LINK

If Sidwell isn't at Villa in the next 48hrs I'd pull the plug on that as well. If the player is more worried about money than playing is it worth having a player like that. He's already made £?,000,000's in his career! Good player none the less. Bit more back bone than the tw*t Barry !!!
I saw MON going on about taking kids anyway on tour - I'm all for giving kids a chance its the best policy! However are main squad doesn't even look waffer thin. MON has let numbers get so low I think its going to back fore on him!

You would've thought maybe some showing on new players at the kit launch - No ..... Showing on Tour - No ..... New Season I doubt it .... End of window? Maybe a few cast offs - Robinson, S M from Spurs ... Finnan & Pennant from Liverpool - For God Sake I hope none is true.

Villa showing ambition AGAIN !!!!

Hairymanbeast
i like your style :)

I think finnan wud be a good addition to the squad.I cant remember him ever letting liverpool or ireland down when he played for them,plus we dont have one recognised rb at the club.He might not be spectacular be he wud do a solid job for us.

get finnan in as backup with the 15mil

i heard we are after this player aswell, and if we are then OMG!!!

LINK

Miguel instead of Finnan
NO way am i hving s**ty Carson back!
lets bring in realistic players:
Robinson - Gk
Miguel - Rb
Bentley - Rm
Sidwell - Cm
Doyle - St

id quite welcome a rite back who has played in almost every football competition around!finnan is a proven right back, played in two champions league finals and at 31 still has a good touch and a bit of pace, plus EXPERIENCE!which is essential at the back...cant believe some people are not liking this...
im feeling alot better today tho about the whole transfer tack!see some people on here are still depressing!...cheer up guys!

This is exactly what worries me about the club: we're allegedly owned by a very rich man, perhaps not as flamboyant with his cash as Abramovich but surely able to provide us with the funds we lacked under Ellis.

Despite this, we have to wait for Barry to move to the Scousers before going for Bentley.

And we're still looking at loaning in a keeper in Ben Foster, if you listen to what some rag reports today.

Something just doesn't add up.

I agree Miguel & Sidwell are very good players ... Bentley can be fantastic but also wants to do to much thus giving a lot of average performances but would be a good buy - but he's not a £10m player!
Doyle impressed me at Reading but is he a 20 goal a season man - I doubt it .... Robinson for me would be a last option. He's so poor it amazes me that some people rate him. For the last two years he's been poor. I felt for him with the blunders he made last year. However with MON going English - I'm worried as there isn't 1 quality English keeper out there! Maybe at youth level i don't know.
But Carson is much the same as Robinson, Hart didn't impress me whilst playing for the U21.

I'm really scratching my head in working out what some of you guys see in Finnan? Maybe a 1 year deal to play in the 2nd team. I think Villa should be getting a 1st choice right back before thinking 2nd and 3rd choice at most!

Did anybody hear anything more on the young defender from LEICESTER City coming to Villa? Not Stearman the other one!

Damian,

I played against Villa old boys on sunday.. Cowans, Rioch, Gibson, Kinsella, Parker, Spink etc although they battered us 11-0 it was a great day and after the game I had an interesting chat with one of the more senior players over a beer.

Firstly he confirmed what we all already know that Barry is 100% off, he said that everyone connected with the club was gutted at his departure including himself and that we had done as much as possible to keep him which shows Barry's News Of The World interview to be utter bullshit.

Secondly and more importantly I asked him why we still hadnt signed anyone and where all this money was, while he confirmed Mr Lerner did have the money he also said he was reluctant to spend it.

Correct me if im wrong but once we sell Barry my calculations suggest that in the time Lerner has been here this would bring his total investment in players to a grand total of £0.

I think we maybe waiting a long time to start spending £17mn on the likes of Bentley.

jimbo Daventry Villa - come on. Did you really need it confirming that Randy had a fair bit of the old spondoolicks? As for the reticence to spend it, well I think the National Gallery might want to disagree.

I think the reason for the reticence is MON. Not because he doesn't want to spend but he wants to show other managers, and potential players that he is a contrary old Ulsterman who you can't second guess.

This works for us on a number of levels:

Other managers might think twice about trying to pinch our talent. It is good to start the mind games early, keep them guessing. I have visions in my mind of Rafa getting horrendous indegestion over his evening meal remembering that he has still not bought Barry yet and he has to come to Villa Park for his 3rd game. You can see the headlines if Liverpool have another poor start to a season and the prospect of MON being there to twist the knife a little more.

With payers it gives them the message: You play for my team and we will not discuss it. Ala Clough, Ferguson etc.

Also secretly I think MON likes the small squad because he can bolster the 'seige mentality' in a different way from Man Utd & Chelsea's 'everyone hates us because we are successful'.

MON is holding his cards close to his chest because he can, because he knows that he has the money to back himself up with.

Also I also secretly think that when it comes down to it he is a contrary old, (sorry MON) Ulsterman.

Thank God he is ours!

ben richards please remind me of any mistakes finnan has ever made?my old man is a liverpool fan so i watch quite alot of liverpool games and ive always liked finnan..any player who has played a big part in a champions league winning team can certainly not be considered 'one of the worse in the league'!and you would rather see carson instead?...joke!i can remind you of at least 3 mistakes he made for us last season which lost us games...sorry matey but i just dont agree with you.

woulfeman....well said pal.
totally agree with you mate...O'neill is a special manager and im glad hes not like the typical big club prem manager spending millions on a squad. we would all be the first to complain if O'neill spent £18mil on a player that turned out to be a flop.Let magical martin do his business and see what happens at the end of the season...

I'm excited about Taglor being excited. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Finnan is a player at the Autumn of career. I would go with experience for sure but if we got him it would be for a year at most at that age!
When I talk about Carson - Yes he's mad mistakes but he also saved us a few points. He's played for us for a year. He wants to play (Robinson didn't as money talked before)Robinson has been poor for sometime now. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but Carson is still learning. Liverpool might be willing to let him go to Stoke for £5m if reports are true. Villa will pay the same and more for Robinson - So Mr Maindog - Do the Maths ....

Woulfeman - I like what you say ... And I hope its true but the late game MON & Randy are playing is a very risky one. Maybe Randy has read his History books and is waiting to do a Rotheschild - If you don't know what I mean read about how they took a risk at Waterloo and then became TOP DOG .... So your idea might come to fruitition!!!!

Any more news on the American keeper we didn't get last time? I see he's played a part in a number of their last games?

Nan was a fan, I think you've been taken in by Taglor's subtle wit. Though you being excited has got me a little aroused. ;D ;)

Signings Are Imminent

What again ?

Apperntly Signings have been imminent for the pass 2 years

When I read some of these comments I thought I must be on the wrong blog - such positivity!!! Then I read taglors and thought I was definitely on the wrong blog. It's my Birthday tomorrow (9th) and I'm really excited too!!! ;D

Honestly I'm not being ironic, I really am excited. All I needed was some positive comments from MON and now I feel like the club are talking to us and not ignoring us. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

i think mon must have seen this blog and thought 'fuck me i better come and say something positive' and he has done that today by saying that signings will be made. i still think its a joke and a pr stunt.!!!!

i will gurantee you that sidwell wont join, he will go to newcastle.

I actually think the new shirts are pretty good.
OK i'm not a fan of V-neck collars but either way Villa have usually always had bit shit shirts (in my lifetime anyhow) and the new ones are pretty decent in my opinion. Don't understand the criticism by some.

Simple and nice despite the V-collars.

As for transfers ....well seeing the actual squad list flying out for Switzerland games was a real reminder of just how painfully small in numbers we are of actual senior players.

O'Neill - no one can't argue with him in terms of results and progression up the table so far and we all just have to sort of accept that he is doing things his way albeit in a bit of an unorthodox way compared to the majority of managers and clubs around in the Premiership at the moment.

It is bit frustrating looking at an already ridiculosly small squad and now of course minus Barry , Melberg , Carson , Sorenson , Moore and having no replacements bought in yet and it is bit concerning see likes of Spurs , Pompey , Man City all stocking up.... but...we do need to just accept O'Neill is bit more unorthodox.

Last season was a genuinely exciting one - so while maybe it's a worn out cliche maybe it is just best to "lets just see what happens".
After all we have no alternative .

Paul Robinson and Anton Ferdinand do concern me though i have to say.

a close friend of mine works at the belfry golf course in tamworth, he doesnt lie and he said that he had seen david bentley arrive this evening with his agent and met with mon, please note mon has not flown out with the team today.
my mate saw him and has got video footage of this on his phone, the footage will be on youtube tommorrow to prove he is telling the truth.
they had a meeting in 1 of the rooms, and bentley is staying in birmingham overnight i am guessing for a medical tommorrow at bodymoor heath.

watch this space!!!!

bhurji, ill believe it when i see it, and if you have footage hopefully we shall see it soon

omg just looked on youtube for it and its true bentley really was there.

LINK

I'm sorry but this is an awful signing. 6-10m to play a CB out of positon? What is this a slight upgrade from Knight? We've already waited an entire season... I expect a better signing then wasting money on placing an average CB out of position at 6-10m. This is lazy and we can much much better. I strongly hope this is false.