So, Benteke is finally off, Delph has slithered away and onto the treatment table, and Tom what’s-his-name bolted a while ago. All doom and gloom for Villa, who were apparently already in another relegation battle as of last week, according to the papers, anyway.
I’ve seen more positive outlooks popping up though, and I’m largely on board with them. The numbers of ‘ins’ versus ‘outs’ is starting to even up, we seem to be buying virtually every player in Ligue 1, and none of them are bargain buys. Sherwood looks to be after players who are just coming into their own (with the exception of Richards and Crespo, who are more experienced) and have expectations attached to them. As many have noted, they’re athletic, ambitious, and coming from more technical set-ups.
Naturally we won’t know the full shape of things for a little bit yet, but I think we’ve shored up the defense, are assembling a decent midfield, and obviously looking for strikers. Ayew, Amavi, Gueye, and now, possibly Veretout, too. Add in Richards and Crespo, and this is starting to look rather good—on paper, at any rate.
I like what Mark had to say the other day about a squad shaping up that will be more fluid in its play. That seems very much the direction of things. And heaven help me, if we’ve finally sorted out at least one of the fullback positions, perhaps there is a god, and the age of miracles is not yet finished.
Of course, Lerner’s still the owner for now, which will always have some supporters in a funk. But significant funds are being spent…basically four players for £35m-£40m. That is the kind of investment—at least in the sort of price range—we’ve been crying out for. I don’t think there’s a Beye, KEA, or Shorey in this shopping cart. A Makoun or N’Zogbia? Perhaps, but we certainly can’t judge yet.
I do put some stock in the interview where Lerner admitted his shortcomings and failures, and said he needed to appoint someone else as chairman. In other words, I think he’s aware, and admits it, that he’s failed to do what he wanted/promised to do.
Which leads me to believe that until a buyer is found, Lerner is going to act accordingly with that admission. With Fox, who is no fool on the business end of things, Wilkins and a sporting director from a quality organization, it seems to me that a Sherwood has an able team around him. There doesn’t seem to be much hesitation in these buys, either. They don’t smack of desperation.
The defense needed work, and it’s shaping up to be much more experienced and balanced. Then we’ve added up the middle with two box-to-box midfielders and a striker up top. Always a tad concerned about continentals adapting, but the Premier League is also littered with successes. There are plenty of good players playing in leagues with less money. The PL’s big fish have poached from us, now we poaching from down the food chain.
At the moment, I’m already thinking Villa are a better team than the one that wilted in the Cup Final, given what look like six new starting additions. With Gil, Grealish, Clark, Okore and Gardner among others in the mix, we’re not in too bad of shape. I know some will want three more wingers in, but two really solid fullbacks will do us a world of good. I’ve also never quite agreed with the Guzan detractors. Are there better keepers? Yes. But I think he’s plenty good enough. I’d much rather see us spend £10-15m on a goal-scorer or winger than to replace a keeper. A fair few of the goals we’ve conceded in recent years have been the result of Keystone Cops defending, to be honest. Sure, Guzan will want some back. But every keeper does. He’s been put on notice, and responded well in the nets for the US team.
In other words, let’s at least be ‘cautiously optimistic’. Lerner just needed to sign some checks, and he has done. I think he knows he’s cut things as close to the bone as possible and couldn’t continue in that vein.
Naturally, we’ll need to see how the players gel. I really wouldn’t mind some sort of deal for Adebayor. Yes, he’s a wild card, but Sherwood seems to understand him and have his respect, and on his day, he’s probably every bit as ‘unplayable’ as Benteke. Tim’s a very no-nonsense character…I really don’t think he’d bring in trouble. With Crespo and Richards costing very little, and Adebayor perhaps on loan, Sherwood & Co. are filling a lot of needs within budget. This man has an ego. He does not want to fail. Rather, he has a very definite point to prove.
So, fingers crossed, Villans. It’s a bit of a gamble, but the ranks of ‘losers’ are being pruned, and fresh new talent from the top tiers of football are being brought in at a rather impressive rate. Aston Villa 201/2016 look to be assembling a team good enough to avoid a relegation scrap, and entertain at the same time. The sale may have fallen through, but Villa are carrying on and pushing forward, not aimlessly circling around.
And if all else fails, we now could likely meet any home-grown rules Ligue 1 has and just switch over and be in Europe after all.
The Author
John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.Comments 242
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Really nice write up John, Id have to agree with pretty much all of it. I do think we’re stronger as a squad IF, and its a big if, the players bed in well. I think the goals will be much more shared across the squad this year, which is a good thing. Given that Benteke scored a massive proportion of our total goals, teams would set up to deny him opportunities. And course that was hard to do since he is such a handful, but the bigger teams with better players managed it pretty well. Now we have more danger throughout the squad it wont be so easy to plan for. We doo look a much more fluid team. I would like to see us sign one more attacking mid/winger. A player like the Praet kid we’ve been linked to, then I would be very happy with our summer signings and look forward to our season with more optimism.
UTV
On the Guzan thing, I do rate him as a keeper but feel he has fallen short of his own standards the last year. He has saved us on so many occasions in the past, I havent seen that from him in a long time. Once keepers start declining in performances its hard for them to bring it back. That being said I think being out of the team will have re-focused him and I back him to come back strong next season. So Im with you, money is better spent elsewhere. Saying that Begovic would’ve been a great signing…
Excellent post John – every true Villa supporter must be pleased that we are doing something positive after the mis-management of Delph’s contract – and was that confirmed that Liverpool are paying by installments for CB? If so that’s another case of inadequacy in the admin dep’t.
As you say not all of the new intake will slot in straight away if at all but Sherwood seems to be taking a measured view on the players he wants and we should support him, at least until it all breaks down which we hope never happens.
I would like to see some back-up for the defensive area to cover full back injuries/suspensions and maybe another striker – Adebayor would fit the bill.
I’m off out now so will look again with interest at other comments, hopefully before they become too numerous that I have to scroll down for the next fortnight!!
Okay so the gloom has lifted, I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE NEW SEASON! Jordan Veretout! This guy is on another level, he’s the complete midfielder that Delph threatened to be but rarely actually was. The clubs that scouted him include Arsenal, Liverpool and Athletico Madrid. The more I think about Ayew the more I am excited. Would Austin have been a safer bet? Yes but where is the fun in that!? This guy is an enigma, supremely talented yet suppressed by the shadow of this brother for both club and country a move to us is exactly what he needs, Tim Sherwood is exactly what he needs. The following starting line up is making me a bit weak at the knees:
Guzan, Amavi, Clark, Richards, Okore, Sanchez, Gueye, Veretout, Grealish, Gil, Ayew.
Here, here for the sentiments expressed. Clearly some of the outs are a loss but not many, some of the inward coming might not make it but it is different to the last few seasons. I am not sure we are going to avoid a relegation battle but I am sure there will be more signs of progress in the way that play. Hopefully the use of the word turgid will be used less this season when reading match reports.
Am I right in thinking Randy said he would stand down as chairman at the end of last season? If so, has he? I thought I would have heard. That’s not meant to be an anti Randy slight, I think recent transfer activity shows that Randy is at least willing to try something different. That and the extra money for players is a good sign.
I like the players we’ve got so far and I too look forward to one or two more. If you can’t be hopeful in preseason then when can you be eh.
Great read John, Like you I am quietly optimistic.
I like what Sherwood has done bringing in new players. I like that Lerner has allowed for investment in the squad, above an beyond what was recouped for Benteke and Delph.
Think the squad in now in far better shape, there will be competition for places across the squad and I think this will only be a good thing as players will have to perform or face time on the bench. For too long player have be pretty much guaranteed places in the team which has lead to comfort and lethargy in performances.
It’s going to be interesting how we look to set up, there seems viable arguments for 352, 4231, 442 formations which could cause opposition problems not knowing how we will set up,
I have an idea that although Richards has been bought in at CB, the first chance Sherwood has to say “we need to at RB” then he’ll move over and not look back. Amavi and Richards look a fearsome Fullback pairing with Clark, Okore and Baker (who I thought really stepped up when fit last season) all very capable in the central areas.
Midfield looks like its going to be a real fight to get in the team. Sanchez, Gueye, Westwood, Grealish, Sinclair, Bacuna Gardner, Insomnia (although his cryptic tweets suggest he is out the door) and potentially Veretout all are going to have their work cut our to stay in the team. Not to mention Gil and Ayew who can be deployed out wide or as supporting strikers rather than up front.
Adebayor looks set to come on loan, Kozak is fit and getting sharper and Gabby too look like adding further options upfront.
But it looks as though the spending isn’t not over with Praet apparently still on the Radar.
Its looks like we have more legs, more technical players and more options in the squad… the major question mark is how well and how quickly the new players adapt to the Premier League. That, I’m afraid, only time will tell… fingers crossed Sherwood and his team have picked out some diamonds in the rough and we can chip the edges off quickly..
http://www.squawka.com/news/photo-jordan-veretout-packs-bags-ahead-of-reported-aston-villa-switch/427094?
Nicely written, John, and it’s a good positive view on things … pending the outcome of course!
I for one think that at last we seem to be becoming professional, and I mean that in all senses of the word. For me there has lately been more of a caring attitude around the camp (apart from those that slid out for lucre) and a general sense of purpose.
It’s the best feeling I’m getting for the ways things are going since John Gregory’s first full season (1998-99). And that’s saying summat.
BTW, I’m beginning to think that Aston Villa needs to be re-named the Africa Corps ors something akin to that! Even Gabby’s family came from Africa.
Adebuyor could easily hit 15 goals for us. Big mates with Ayew as well.
He has played for Monaco, arsenal, real madrid, man city and was great at spurs under Harry.
He could easily be signing of the window.
Def need another winger type even if nzog leaves. Praet would be a dream
W-e-e-e-l-l, I suppose I was a bit carried away by MON in 2007-08 as well.
John,
The African theme reminds me a bit of Redknapp’s recruitment policy at Portsmouth before the money ran out. I was living in Pompey at the time and attended some games…Players like Lauren,Kanu, Diop, Lassana Diara,the Yak, Belhaj; t’was a proper solid team.
yeah and the arsenal team, lauren, wiltord, kanu,
I like the big strong, quick players.
Im getting well excited now…..3 more players and im a believer.
Rags,
Yes, it may be have been a phenomenon at Pompey and at Geordieland, but it’s certainly a new approach at VP!
It doesn’t bother me as long as they’re good signings – and barring them having to have some time to acclimatise themselves, they should be.
Some pundits have said things like Villa’s continental signings haven’t been that good recently (conveniently forgetting Benteke). Thing is these players aren’t being signed on a budget and other premier league teams have been interested in the players we bought in. There is certainly an anti-villa agenda in some media outlets (F365 for eg) due to Tim Sherwood. I just can’t wait to gloat when we have a good season.
JC excellent
i think your views are balanced and mostly on the money for me
i personally think if we can bring in a better keeper than guzan we would be doing ourselves a big favor ,,, saying that if the play infront of him improves maybe he will also — he did great in the gold cup but the prem strikers are a bit different than playing vs the reggae boys
TS is doing the kind of biz that i love to see and if learner allows him to plug the remaining gaps in the team i will also start believing
I always try and be positive at the beginning of the season – at least we have a premier league campaign to look forward to. It could easily have been different this past three years.
Watching the streams on AVTV – Kozak looks like a new signing we could get excited about. He’s more than just a target man and seems decent with the ball at his feet.
I’m confident Richards, Clark, Okore, Baker, Bacuna, Westwood, Grealish, Amavi, Gueye, Sanchez, Sinclair and Kozak will do well for us this season and will be considered valuable first team players.
We can be hopeful about Gil, Bunn, Gardener and Crespo doing well where they’re given a chance and being more valuable at the end of this season.
Hutton and Guzan are solid enough so I wouldn’t prioritise replacing either.
Cissoko, Cole, Gabby, Senderos, Richardson and N’Zogbia aren’t bad players but aren’t either good enough or consistent enough to make us a top-half side – as harsh as that is.
That leaves us with a very, very thin squad with almost a majority of them with something to prove. I’d like to think Jordan Vertout (midfield) and Rudy Gestede (striker) would be good additions but even if a couple of academy lads come through (Rushian Murphy, Sellars and Robinson etc) we’re still short players and Tim has a lot of work to do.
Especially when you consider top of the injury league performances of the past four years.
Forgot Ayew – he might be a proper player – just saw his YouTube reel. We know nothing at this stage.
Also forgot Adebayor. I hate to have any faith in someone’s media profile but when you see the number of Spurs fans who hate this guy for how rarely he shows up – you wonder…
Scott Sinclair, once again, the very definition of PONY!
Just finished watching Villa v Wolves friendly.
Negatives: Defence looks as shoddy as ever, Baker on the pitch just 10 mins and was shocking.
Positives: Kozac is the perfect poacher with plenty of eager youth behind him.
Baker what are you doing!
Tony h….what do spurs fans know….just look at ades record. Loves to play under a harry or tim type to….needs an arm and confidence. No way a avb or poch player.
Results have been poor pre season but good work out tonight.
Need more players in!
Very pleased for kozac….liked him soon as i saw him. He had a volley that hit the bar in a game last season which was immense. Not just a big lump. Very good feet, clever movement. And he sniffs goals….cant be taught that
Dont want to go into the season with hutton and bacuna down the right.
Loved the post John!
I was oozing with positivity after reading it…
And then I watched the Wolves game and witnessed some of the most shambolic defending EVER (didn’t think that was possible after the last few years).
I can’t really fault Richards whose pace and aerial ability will be a major asset this season. But Clarke was extremely poor and Baker who replaced him for the last 15 minutes must have had some serious money on a draw tonight – he was horrendous! Amarvi is fantastic going forward but he’s very raw and needs a calm head next to him – I’m afraid Clarke and Baker were anything but that tonight.
Sinclair cannot play in a 442 as his defensive game is non-existent. Gabby is still Gabby and always will be I’m afraid. Bacuna was lively and put in some killer passes but I can’t help but feel his future is at fullback, as for all his endeavour, Hutton just doesn’t have the footballing brain or skills to give us the right balance moving forward.
Kozak put in a great shift and scored two fantastic goals – Ayew who replaced him for the last ten eased himself into the game but he looks a very intelligent player which bodes well for the season ahead. Robinson was very handy when he came on and did very well with his assist.
Westwood was tidy but Gueye for me is a real find. He is everywhere and looks so comfortable on the ball – another one of him in the squad and I’ll be a very happy man.
I’m not sure where we’re supposed be at this point in pre-season but we’re going to have to start showing signs of improvement soon. If I see more of the same cr@p at Forest then I will not be looking forward to the Bournemouth game with confidence.
Anyways, we’re getting Adebayor tomorrow and the other Jordan kid looks like he’s on the way so I should be oozing with all that positivity John had initially created before the end of the week.
Berbatov! Tims a crazy bugger.
Andrew you gazumped me on the B E R B A T O V link… now I remember why I support the Villa, this is well a truly the maddest club in professional sport! 3 young frenchmen called Jordan in a week another another young Englishman on the bench with the same name, it’s raining Jordans and suddenly a Berbatov appears from the quarters of the Champions League. Bizarre!
UTV
Thank you John for a very measured and enjoyable article.
With so many new recruits , and half of them being French , it’s important to settle the new guys in and focus on team bonding and how to handle the language situation . If you read the impact that language has on this aspect then it has to be handled with sensitivity.
This is what David Ginola had to say on the French players at Newcastle.
He said: ‘You can’t just arrive in Newcastle and say, “I’m just going to live my life, I don’t want to understand the culture”.
‘It could be bad in a way, if all the French players stick too much together, you don’t speak English, you speak French together in the dressing room. I guess there will be some rules in the dressing room that the French should speak English. That could be a problem.
‘It’s also a problem with the English players. I’ve been in this situation before when I was speaking in French with some of my friends, sometimes English players start to get annoyed because they think we are talking about them. It can bring some issues in a dressing room and this is something you have to avoid.’
I’ve always thought Charlie looked a solitary figure – was this because he never settled in – and the same question could be asked of Jean Makoun.
Mirror reporting Ade will be comjng to us on loan – I guess spurs are paying some of his 100k a week salary . I hope it works – he has had tragedy in his personal life and so his temporary absences can be excused . He clearly has affection for Tim so I believe it could be a great success. It is an opportunity for him to show his true potential .
Berbatov – really ?! So that’s Wellbeck and Berbs – I must be dreaming !!
Great article John, and would agree with most of the comments, but i am not going to worry about pre-season friendly results, or maybe not until after the Forest game!!
Hopefully if all the plans of Tim come off, then we should have a squad capable of holding it’s own, and may even surprise a few in the coming weeks.
Good to see some positivity here..!!
Thanks, all.
I am feeling positive, but trying to keep expectations realistic…for example, the Leicester bid for Veretout is not amusing me, if true. Dunno why, but I like the look of him, the sorts of things being said. He looks explosive and good with the ball, seems to be aware. Don’t think they’re more attractive than Villa, but I don’t want them driving up the price just for shot in the dark. We got in there first, move along and do your own business.
Glad to see Kozak’s finding the net, if nothing else so far.
And then Berba. Adebayor and Berba. This could turn out to be a team for the ages. What ages, I don’t know, but could be a terrific clown show for the young at heart.
Talk sport reporting on Ade medical and Our interest in Berbs – apparently pushed forward by Petrov. Personally would love to see Berbs at VP – truly magnificent player , even if he turns it on only sporadically . He’s one for the crowds I think and even if there’s a risk that we could have both Ade and Berb strolling round hands on hips on occasion , this is their last Premier League shot and this could inspire them to give it their all . Here’s hoping ! We scored a paul try 31 goals last season – now we could be top heavy with strikers : only at Villa !
spurs and liecester trying to steal a march on jordan no.4 –really hope we get him as we have nothing in midfield with his attributes
early days but yesterdays game kinda confirms to me that we are far from ready for the big kick off and there is plently more wheeling to be done.
i have a feeling that gabby will be sold if a bid comes in as he is part of the problem as to why we have been consistantly poor
the defence could do with another centre back but i cant see us getting one and putting clark on the bench and the right back position – as frem said sell both right backs and get a half decent one in
Nantes President confirms he’s set to sell Veretout to Villa
Nantes President Waldemar Kita has confirmed to L’Équipe that while Leicester City have made a better offer for central midfielder Jordan Veretout, he plans to sell the player to Aston Villa.
He had the following to say:
“He has made his choice, and I am going to go in his direction. They (Aston Villa) are haggling on certain details. They need to be careful because if they continue to haggle they might lose the player from right under their noses. They have until this evening to take a decision. I’m set to lose €5m (by taking Villa’s deal and not Leicester’s). I am a pillock. I would have never thought I would have done anything other than try to raise the price, but I am not going to go against the boy. He is a boy who has never done us wrong, who played the game right until the end, contrary to others, who did not sulk.”
I haven’t been on here for years and was surprised I could even remember my password!
A good read John and I agree that new French signings all looked good last night. I am however concerned as, as some have said Sinclair is a pony, I though Richards looked disinterested ( yes I know it was only a friendly) & Hutton although keen caused more problems for the defence than he solved!
Gabby!! Words fail me!! He offer nothing and often simply slows down the the attack!! Kozak although, yes he is scoring goals in pre season and at least looks keen, but for me he doesn’t have the aggresion & looks clumsey when challenged. But I would rather start with him than Gabby!
Ady I can accept (as long as its a loan & Spuds are paying half his wages Berb, no, I know he still has something, as shown against Arsenal but its going to be hard enough dealing with Ady’s ego without him. There are a lot of changes if it is to work it will take time and will need a good team spirit, what would destroy it would be one or two Big egos so even if he is free and not demanding big wages I really don’t want him!
Baggies sign Chester for £8m…. Bahahahahaha
Andrew – they know as much and as little as other fans.
Ady is lazy and disinterested for too much of the time. Putting him with Berbs would be a disaster for 95% of the time. We can’t afford passengers like those. They both had incredible ability when they wanted to show it but I fear those days are gone.
I saw Berbs for two seasons at Fulham – what an incredible player – for two minutes. What a waste of time for the rest of the match.
Berbatov would not last 90 mins or be a regular and def not to partner ade. Great for a sub and experience for the dressing room…..we have a young team.
Most of them would be in awe of him!
Doubt it will happen saying that. Prob his agent fishing
Still need to adress the right hand side. Hutton and bacuna dont cut it. Id have Richards rb and sign Praet. Better
Went to the game last night. To say we have a lot of work to do is an understatement.
The huge weak link is our right side in Hutton and Bacuna. The worst right side I’ve ever seen in football. One can’t cross from right back, the other can’t do anything at right mid. Replace.
Ady hopefully signing today. Ayew and him self are improvements on Kozak and Gabby no doubt
A box to to box CM supposed to be joining also
GK and centre back a worry as well, and winger. A lot of work still to do this summer
We could try and keep it solid at the back and put in an offensive front six:
Guzan
Crespo
Richards
Clark
Amavi
Veretout
Sanchez
Gueye
Gil
Grealish
Adebayor
Put Richards to RB when Okore is fit and it looks even better.
AVFC
Just seen the goals from last night. Kozak’s first was a great strike – didnt know he has that in his locker! His second was a good poachers goal after good work from Robinson.
Our defending tho! First goal, and this is where I worry about richards, he lets the striker completely run to the near post with no awareness of him at all. Course it wasnt great defending allowing the cross so easily but still, youd expect him to sense danger better.
Second goal was all down to a piss poor lackadaisical pass from Baker. Giving the ball away so lazily in the last few mins of a game… Richards went crazy, and he was right to!
The Berb move is not going to happen so we can stop worrying/being excited about that depending on whether your a soulless miserable bastard or not.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2015/jul/29/aston-villa-surprise-package-premier-league-season?
Really like this article. Although Bacuna and Ayew instead of Hutton and Adebayor for me. Course we will chop and change during the season.
really positive about watching a very different Aston Villa side this season, season can’t come quickly enough and still we are linked with players. Veretout looks quality, rumour that we are taking Adebayor’ full wage is a bit off putting but if we get a good 6 months and 15 goals out of him then it may be worth it.
Love to see Gestede and Praet in the claret and blue and who knows Hutton’s ramble down the wing to provide one of Kozak goals will see him making a contribution to Villa. Had my doubts about Guzan and Bunn as a challenger but perhaps the two can spark each other to perform.
Want to see Okore back, pity we didn’t get to see a pre-season partnership with Richards, it may well be that Baker and Clark are the back up and next season having worked wonders with midfield and attack, that we spend 20/25m on two outstanding CBs.
Onwards and upwards for the Villa
UTV
Id be inclined to give Kozak and Ayew the chance and not sign Adebayor, I mean 100k a week for a year is £5m! Thats still a fair sum of money. For me if he score 5 goals and passes on experience to Ayew plus the youngsters its worth it. Doesnt seem the type tho, plus always some drama with him. Anybody follow his facebook reveals about his family?
Praet is the dream and we know his pricetag. Probably wont make so much of an impact first season but in the future he could be some player! Rumour has it that ourselves and Newcastle enquired about Thauvin who looks another talented winger but he wants to stay at Marseille.
Promising about the link to the Marseile winger…..looks like we want that type of player in.
The overhaul of the team allready is amazing to be fair. Nearly a whole new team from the one kicking off last season.
Nice writing, John.
Agree that it’s an interesting gamble, a positve one. Sherwood certainly is aiming to build a new team with a view to attacking.
I’d be happy with Adebayor if Spurs help pay his wages and he proves that he’s not at Villa just to make up the numbers or take a sabbatical.
There is still a lot of work to be done in the short time left before the new season kicks off. There’s still a few quality players to come in by the sound of it. Better be true, not convinced we’ll make the grade this time.
So baker off to burnley for 2m? Why? If so there had better be 2 new centre backs coming in as we just have 2 fit experienced ones to start the season?!?!?
We do have quite a lot of CB’s at the club Ronnie. Atm we have:
Clarke
Richards
Okore
Senderos
Baker
Crespo
Donacien
Though I think only Clarke, Richards and Baker are the only senior ones fit.
I felt Baker did really well some games, but lets be real here… he is never gonna set the world alight. Decent player, capable of being a solid PL CB, but not the best. If we get decent money for him I wouldnt be against it.
Flipping heck – not expecting that Ronnie. Seems like “if you played in the first team last season – be scared – very scared as Tim is fast becoming Terminator TIm. Oh dear Kris is going to be very disappointed and tbh I liked Nathan – Worcester lad – down to earth and put his neck on the line literally. Oh well – TIm knows best. Feel sorry for Baker though – does his career decline from now on?
You can understand his thinking. Even though we had two good internationals in Benteke and Delph we were pitiful the last four games. We can’t replace Benteke or Delph with a similar player as top players aren’t going to come to a 17th struggling team . He needed to take drastic action and this is what we are seeing. It is a brave strategy and goes with the maverick and self assured character that Tim Sherwood is. Life is never going to be boring at the Villa with him there.
I can see the reservations with Ade and Berbs – and agree that Berb’s time at Fulham was pretty hopeless. In his defence – Fulham changed owners and managers about 5 times during his time there. I remember his so called publicity photos when he signed for them – he looked as miserable as sin – understandably 🙂
Even if they don’t perform on the pitch as we hope – be sure there will be plenty of performances in the dressing room with not two big egos but three !!!! – Tim Sherwood, Ade and Berbs. Expect a few tantrums and handbag or gillet moments . The more I think of it the more comical it appears – can’t see Ade and Berbs forming a striking partnership somehow – two top dogs . Hilarious.
Taking on so many new players is going to be a risk – even the greatest don’t work out. Look at Angel de Maria – started off magnificently and ended up like Torres did, confidence shot. That is what is slightly scary about the big cull and new team in – you can afford one or two not to settle , but when your whole team is new, we are going to have to really look after them and not expect too much too soon.
imo if we are to move forward we need to get rid of baker along with a good few others
we must not forget how woeful our team has been and only the few seniors that can come out of ;last season with there head held high should remain
so far for me tim is doing what he must if he wants to really take villa forwards and i think the scouting is on another level from what has gone on in many a year
Glad bakers going. He is rubbish.
Cole, nzog, senderous, cissokho, hutton and guzan to go and ill be very happy.
I dont think it is a gamble…..who else are we meant to be bringing in thats not a gamble. Its more of a gamble keeping the same rubbish thats neraly took us down. A clean sweep was needed.
Runtingz- I reckon the scouting is just Mr Reilly without the brakes on, and a little Tim in there. We were linked to some good players just wouldn’t/couldn’t pay or buy them under Lambutt that said its a massive improvement in quality.
bloody hell I go to Wales for 3 days and we have gone buying mad, said we would or rather we (meaning Lerner ) had to. I’ve no doubt some will flop and there will be many tears along the way but the Villa landscape is well and truly changing for the better.
I think Timbo will use these new lads to raise the quality and expectations of our youngsters and jogging along until your sold for £500,000 will not be tolerated, shape up or ship out. we should then see value from our under-performing Academy and produce a solid progression of pro’s and the odd Gem.
I reckon Ady is coming to settle the rest in as much as score us goals, bit risky with his rep but its defo Tims signing.
Kosak is looking like he’s worth a punt and after all he’s been through I’d let him try. I think he suits the way we are trying to play, not as focal point but a capable part of the team, moving defenders about but able to finish when the chance arises, no more one man band Villa Yay!!
Andrew- Its a gamble in the fact we have lost the spine of the team let alone the meat on the Bones. its almost starting from scratch Just as Lambert did. Had to happen, I just don’t think Delph/tekkers were supposed to go in Tims mind.
One other thing Grealish, Gil, Kosak could work very well indeed with the right players running off them.
Mark
I dont think it was much of a spine, so hopefully easier to replace!
Agree about the style of play. The players seemed to go into auto pilot and knock it long/cross for tekkers.
It would be something if losing tekkers was the best thing to of happened to us?!
Reading on twitter that Spurs and AV are interested in Ashley Young . A big yes please . Come back Ashley . This transfer window is just unbelievable !
Would be a brilliant mix of experienced – young and new to prem league – Ash and Ade with our French recruits and he would be good in the dressing room as a leader and mentor . He’s still better than anything we’ve got and will bridge the gap until they make it to his level / gain experience .
Gestede deal on!
I have not seen a overhaul like this since big ron spent the Platt money.
Very please with the impending arrvial of Gestede and Veretout and Adeabayor.
I expect after there arrival there will be a further cull of existing players leading the charge N’Zogbia, Cissokho and Baker
It leaves us with a squad bar youngsters who push their way through this season of
Bunn, Guzan
Amavi, Richards, Clark, Senderos, Okore, Crespo, Hutton, Richardson
Gil, Gueye, Grealish, Gardner, Sinclair, Bacuna, Cole, Westwood, Sanchez, Tonev
Ayew, Agbonlahor, Kozak
add to that Gestede, Veretout and Adebayor only really leaves at risk from injuries in defence.
Shaping up nicely just bedding in time
UTV
YOWZERS!!!!
Another striker? I’m a big Gestede fan so really happy with this bit of business, but where are they all gonna play?
Perhaps we should be focusing on a new right back? Wouldn’t a commanding centre back either to be honest.
more great bix from tim – now hopefully someone will bid for gabby – its time for him to move on
biz
Gestede will bring us something even Benteke never truly gave us a real aerial threat, this bloke can notch with his noggin, tekkers for all his height and jumping ability was never clinical with his head or he would of doubled last seasons tally. Ayew is also good in the air for his size as is Richards and Amavi, add kosak and Clarke and we will be pretty hard to stop from corners, something we haven’t had for 5 years.
I reckon Hutton wont play much, crespo will be in either at cb and richards rb or tuther way roud.
I reckon there will be some outgoings but we will def get a winger type attacker.
Tbh Im not too enamoured with this Gestede move. Fine if we dont sign Adebayor, but if we do we will have 5 strikers vying for 2 spots at most – maybe even 1 spot. For me 4 is more than enough. Not seen a lot of the Gestede guy but from videos looks very similar to Carew. Carew had a lot of service from the wings, doubt Gestede will have the same and he doesnt seem like the type to create something out of nothing himself.
I feel like signing two more strikers is giving the impression that the strikers we have atm are not good enough… which may be the case… but I think they need to be given an opportunity to prove themselves. If you make a fairly big signing like Ayew you have to back him to show his worth by playing him when it might be a bit tough. Signing Adebayor AND Gestede shows no faith in your own judgement.
Honestly, Id be happy if we started the season with just Ayew, Gabby and Kozan with Robinson as backup. Then if things dont work out we always have the January window to make moves. Right now this is overkill imo
I likes the look of Gestede from his clips. Cv not that impressive on paper but you never know. Look at Austin & Ings, Lambert. Could be a belter of a signing.
Adebayor is a risk imo, would Gestede give us anything more than what Kozak could give us? Id rather spend the £12m+ both would cost overall on a genuine quality attacking mid/winger to help us create the goals. I dont think finishing the chances will be a problem as long as we create them.
It’s raining strikers – a reaction to our 31 goals but is it an over reaction ? I feel a bit sorry for Kozak who from all reports hasn’t put a foot wrong pre season and found the net more than we did in three months during the dark days . I know the teams were not prem level but there’s an article in the Bham mail about him being the “forgotten player ” and he wants his chance .
Ree Ade is a risk but I believe his relationship with Tim will lesson it . Ade needs to prove his doubters wrong and I hope he grabs this opportunity to do so. I have faith that he will . Also be amusing to see his £230k roller on the players car park at VP on a Saturday – it will put Doug’s in the shade 🙂
No problems at all buying strikers.
We scored 31 goals last season….WITH TEKKERS. enough said!
More the merrier. According to ITKs we aint finished yet! CB and cam on the way 🙂
Someone on another site who is generally not far off the mark reckons we have a centre back coming in very soon.
AVFC
Happy with the transfer dealing..
Rumour is that Vereout is at Bodymoor heath..
Icing on the cake would be a good CB.. even if it happens late in the window.. 🙂
I’m loving it
Gestede and Ady.two beasts. Added to Ayew, we are stronger up front
Veretout- a box to box CM
Rumours of Michu. I’d love him. Wouldn’t cost much, can play CAM
We’ve bid for a winger but it was rejected. We need one
Goalkeeper and right back needed also
CB’s and ST’s – two of the positions we dont need to strengthen imo! A winger/CAM is a must.
Andrew – more strikers doenst equal more goals. The thing about all these strikers is that it might actually be worse for us in the long run. Competition is good, but if the team keeps chopping and changing the strikeforce there is no consistency and that will hurt us. Guaranteed we will look back at the end of the season and say 2 of these strikers did not contribute at all.. but werent given enough chances. Whats the point in buying them then?
Unless Sherwood has a plan to get rid of one or two and by that I mean Kozak and Gabby. Both have their uses… just seems pointless to me.
We’ve no proof Ayew or even Kozak will hack it consistently in the prem so why not get in cover in those positions and have a proper challenge to get into the first team, that’s what the squad needed. Benteke was a shoe in every week, even played when injured because there was no back up, now we have cover in spades (or will have) and you complain about not trusting decisions.
Enjoy the moment lads and ladies, we’ve had a transfer window to be proud of for the first time in a long time, every effort is being made to ensure we are the surprise package of the prem and no longer flirt with relegation.
No problem with strength in depth, keep it coming TS, Paddy Reilly, the German lad, Fox and even Lerner.
I can deal with Adebayor, he is an enigma if a risk but very capable of scoring goals, not just that but capable of magic too. Gestede? I dont see what he brings to the table.
Why shoot our load all at once can we not just save some for later when it might come in handy?
TS is not just looking at this season, Ade will be a loan, whereas Gestede has resale, in fact all his signings have that about them. If this lad can get on the end of the umpteen crosses we put in to no-one I couldn’t care if he stood and scratched his arse. Reminds me of Fellani a bit.
Kosak has good qualities but his heading on goal is not one of them, he can win them but there is no power unless he is running on to the ball from close range. This lad is very athletic and powerful for a 6’4″ bloke. Gabbys role is now to score goals not defend would you put money on him to get 10 even?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oaypyc21JXs
If the two less used strikers push the main two to 30/35/40 goals between them and contribute during injuries or rest phases, then the junior strikers have done their job and i won’t call it out as being why did we buy them.
Tim should have a starting a 11 bedded down within a month and the rest challenging, every other team operates this way and that’s with the likes of Chelsea and a keeping world class players on the bench, no one complains about their non use if the team is winning
Stop trying to find the chink if its not there Ree 🙂
I think Ade is TS’s crutch, a get out if the rest don’t work straight away and maybe some inspiration for the other Africans and strikers. Take either one on his own and its risky, two unproven in the prem one coming back from long term injury and one hasn’t scored double figures in years.
Ree- if you look at this we have spent £25.5 mil and brought in £45m so we still have £20 mil without dipping into whatever transfer kitty Lerner allowed, probably £20-£30 mil tops? so we could still have £50 mil.
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/transfers/wettbewerb/GB1
Thing about Ade is that it raises the profile of the club on a global scale. He is a house hold name in Africa and Europe, even my girlfriend who knows absolutely nothing about football was like ‘Adebayor? He’s meant to be good isn’t he?’ It’s a statement of intent too, Tim Sherwood bringing in one of his own. Mind you, given that we’re in for Gestade too maybe Ade’s just been bought in as the translator!
rumoured that Bakers off for £2m and sissy for £3m so at least we are recouping something.
who the hell is bfab and teks 🙂
love it
can’t believe people are complaining about buying players
considering that 90% of our seniors are never going to be good enough and that we are going for bright talents with every buy – whats the problem ?
its on tims head and there is no room for sentiment on the road to success so i am delighted with what is happening and actually can’t believe it
work to do still — if we can get a keeper -centre back- rightback -attacking centre mid , winger then we really are in buisiness
i would sell gabby and kozac if we could add michu as he is a complete different level to those guys
viva la revolution
Runtingz -some people just want to complain must be the Brummie factor, we do like a good winge 😉
I’m with you after 5 years of mediocre shite bring it on. Would keep Kosak as don’t think he’s that bad, the lad hasn’t played in a decent villa line up in all his time here, hasn’t even seen time on the pitch with Gil or Grealish yet he might surprise us.
Ree
“Why shoot our load all at once can we not just save some for later when it might come in handy?”
You’ve been reading the BBC news pages, haven’t you?
I think Kozak deserves a chance to prove himself again after a badly broken leg at training. He was scoring at a decent rate previously.
That doesn’t mean he’ll automatically get picked, might not be the best thing for the team. We’ll see soon.
I’m currently in Hanoi, Vietnam.
I admire the Vietnamese for all their achievements. They’re a tough people, imo, the smiling tigers of Asia, but I could not live here, even though, the coffee is awesome and they can certainly bake a good loaf of bread.
Trinity have they got any decent footballers on the cheap 😉
Kozac def should be given a chance.
Gabbys the one to axe.
I wonder if we would have had such transfer activity if delph and tekkers stayed?
Mark-I don’t know. I don’t know anything about Vietnamese footy, but judging by the number of kids I’ve seen kicking a ball around, they’re right into it. There’d be talent and work ethic, but it’ll need a lot of development. Also, the culture clash would be a real barrier.
Andrew I still think there would of been a lot of bodies in and out, don’t forget a lot was done before they departed at least 5 players in and plenty out. Ade if he comes richards, bunn, Crespo for next to nothing
Not sure what you mean Trinity?
Im not complaining about buying players, I just think money can be better spent elsewhere. Maybe its all part of Sherwoods master plan but I fail to see what Gestede brings to the table. He was with Cardiff while they were in the prem, and he wasnt exactly a youngster either, but didnt cut it. He has one good season with Blackburn, where he was not even their main striker, and all of a sudden he’s good enough for Villa? Theres no potential there like there is with our other signings. From what I see he is extremely limited,a poor version of Carew. And he doesnt have a resell value, he is 26, even if he has 2 decent seasons we wouldnt get what we shelled out for him. Im not usually one to pass judgement before I really watch a player play but all the indications are that he’s distinctly average. So why bring in somebody for a big enough fee just so that they could hamper the opportunities of our other average strikers? We will just end up bringing in strikers better than all of them for more money.
Im not convinced we still have 10’s of millions to spend either. One of the things that bugged everyone about Lambert was him bringing in players in positions that didnt need filling even if it was for small fees. 5 senior strikers plus the youngsters who will now get no opportunities. Doesnt sound like good business to me in any way shape or form.
Ree Gestede absolute monstered Swansea in the cup last year.
He’s not a Benteke, but what he does offer if an eye for goal, incredible ability in the air… watch how he jumps and the seems to hang in the air, and a big physical presence. Not the quickest I agree, but his touch isn’t that bad.
If he comes he’ll be a different type of striker to what we already have. Adebayor maybe be a big lad but he’s not one to bully defenders… and some times that’s what you need to do.
I’m pleased Sherwood is making whole sale changes. Baker and Cissy seem off and Insomnia is being forced out the door. So that’s a couple more failures gone and Baker who I like but realise he’ll never be top draw.
I can see Sherwood bringing in another Defender and the Praet rumours seem to seem to be snow balling…. rumours we’ve returned with an increased bid.
Ayew, Ade, Gestede – Central Strikers
Gil, Grealish, Praet, Sinclair, Gabby – Wide Attackers
Sanchez, Gueye, Veretout, Westwood, Gardner – Midfield
Its all looking very positive.
A quality CB or RB and I think we’ll be surprising a few people next year….
I still think Richards has been bought with RB in mind…. Tim just told him he’d be CB to get him lol.
Ree- if we get him for £6-7m and he scores 15 a season in the prem your saying he is still only worth the same? he is 26 and not exactly jordan Bowery ( thank god he left with our current crop of jordans arriving). Not the main striker? part of a 40 odd goal partnership for a crap team, 32 in 60 or 1 in 2 for them. If he does score and goes for the same its better than we have had such as, absolutely nothing for Bent after probably 1 whole season cobbled together.
Each to his own mate but I’d say what he brings is an Aerial threat, room for improvement and potentially goals for probably a small wage. When Gil and Grealish start dropping the ball on his nut we will see.
Why haven’t we got money? we have brought in £45 mil windfall from sales so far and spent £20m before delph tekkers were offski, with the amount of players going how can Lerner of said we cannot spend? TS would of followed the players IMO.
GOG- they way Richards knock players over he’s going to give a lot of free kicks centrally, he’s ok but has a lot to learn at CB imo. Crespo is very quick for a tall man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0__byI_cjEw
Ade to Tim is probably what GHolt was to Lambert. Both did incredibly well for their respective gaffers . Ade scored something like 12 goals in 11 games for Tim and GH was instrumental in Norwich and Lambert’s rise. With so many new players Tim will want someone he knows and trusts in the dressing room. Ade fits the bill . There’s an attachment there : shared good times and gratitude , going big ways .. I really believe if the villa fans take him to their hearts (unlike the spurs fans ) he could get us 20 goals next season. He needs to be loved though . Has he signed yet ?!
Mark – I dont buy it. Dont think hes capable of even 10 goals in the prem let alone 15. 20 goals in the championship? Look at how many Bent scored and how useful he was to us. I bet if you put Kuzak in the championship right now he would score more than that. Rhodes is obviously the main man there, he was the foil… so why are we chasing a foil? What does he give us? Physicality? Heading? Finishing? Sorry but Kuzak and/or Adebayor are better in each department (whether they use it or not) plus they are capable of something out of the ordinary. If Gestede was any good he would have been snapped up already. Doesnt make any sense unless we get rid of Kuzak and for me Kuzak deserves his chance, at least 6 months.
Buying Gestede not only does it send out the wrong message to our rivals, but it hinders Kuzak’s ability to make an impact. Despite that If Kuzak does make an impact, then it would be like we spent money for nothing. Its a no win situation.
Ree.. Can’t help but emplore your support and loyalty for Kozak.. He’s been unlucky with injury and should be selects on form along with everyone else.. But don’t kid yourself.. If he scored 30 this season and had Champions League offers he would be off.. He won’t score 30 and therefore we’ve got to back The manager if he feels he needs more options to improve! Football is a merciless game as proved by everyone from Bosnich, Staunton, Yorke, Downing, Young, Bent, Vlaar, Delph and Benteke.. Did Alex Ferguson give Dion Dublin a chance after his broken leg? No he signed Cantona and picked him off to Coventry.. Nobody is saying Gestede is Cantona.. But what’s wrong with competition, increased options and trying to improve on what we have? If Kozak is good enough It won’t matter… If he isn’t then Tims done the right thing by us
Ree- the Lad is possibly the most dominant player in the air I have seen in a long while including Tekkers, my question would be can we deliver a good enough service to him? If doing something as ordinary as putting the ball in the back of the net is all he does I’m happy as that was all Bent did. What difference does it make if he was the first or second striker? was Rhodes deflect the ball off his head and body 34 times? if so the mans a genius. when did shearer or lineker ever do something special? come to think of it when did Bent, gabby, weimann ever do something special? He will frighten the living shit out of defenders trust me.
Mark G – its not that i have any special loyalty to Kuzak, although to come back after the best part of 18 months out after the injuries he’s had and show the determination he has over pre season to play and score, deserves some respect and a proper chance imo. It just doesnt make sense to me.
In simlified terms its a toss up between Kuzak and Gestede. Kuzak is worth maybe 10 goals this season imo, i doubt Gestede would even get that. To pay a fee of £6m for someone who has not shown any decent amount of potential despite being 26 yrs old, while yoh already have someone at the club more capable and in direct competition, does not make any sense.
And the £6m fee counts. The £32.5m we got for Benteke does not come all at once, the deal is structured. Just as Liverpool didnt get the fee for Suarez all at once. This is why there was such a delay between the release clause being triggered and Benteke’s medical – they were haggling over the structure. Just as we did with Amavi. Id be mind-blown if we spend any more than £15m after the signing of Veretout, as i dont think we have the cash flow. Why blow the £6m when other areas are in more need of strengthening? Theres way too many negatives about this signing. This will be like a repeat of Crouch… except for the facg that Crouch actually had potential.
Mark – im not excited by the prospect of getting the ball to the nig lump up top as fast as possible so he can getnhis head on it. I was excited at the prospect of playing with two quality 10’s, some of the football played towards the end of last season was probably the best football Id seen Villa play in years. Reverting back to ‘lump it to the big man’ is just depressing given the potential we now have.
Really simple… goals win Games… gabby won’t cut it, adebayour is a risk, Kozak has looked promising but has a ad injury record and is untestef over a whole season… So having a plan B is a good thing… Why did Chelsea win the league? Because when the going got tough they adapted and had options… As much as TikkaTakka is pretty.. mourinho knew that come January pragmatism was needed… Wenger Rodgers AVB Pellegrini all have the same fault if lack of a killer instinct or ability to adapt… No one wants to see long ball… But equally height and power is an important attribute … And unless any of us are Blackburn or Cardiff season ticket holders we shouldn’t be ridiculing a player we’ve never seen play!
We don’t disclose fees so all the media speculation is purely conjecture and should be treated as such
I cant buy what you’re selling Mark G. Sure i might be a bit quick to judge but the signs are there, dont think im wrong on this one. Please tell me 1 thing Gested provides that the,others dont.
Gabby – pace, ability to get in behind
Ayew – dribblibg, passing, touch, finishing
Kozak – heading, physical presence, poaching, finishing
Adebayor – physical presence, d4ibbljng, finishing, magic
Gestede? Heading, physical presence, finishing?
Plan B? More like Plan E. If we’re struggling by January then we can look at it. As it is we need to get rid of one, who is bound yo be Kozak. Whats the point? Fraid we have to agree to disagree on this one.
reality Check….
Gabby – pace, injuries, inconsistency, not enough goals apart from about 3 electric games a season
Ayew – raw and untested n England , and I’m not going to judge him on what I saw at Molineux
Kozak – not actually convicted by his heading heading/presence, liked his first touch and shot but he is brittle and has a poor injury record
Adebayor – JuJu, compassionate leave, inconsistency… Plays when he wants…
If they were all as good as stated they wouldn’t be playing for us! No one is saying Gestede is a world beater it a saviour.. But we’re not the American Police.. Shoot first ask questions later..So I think we should maybe afford him the honour of turning out in a villa shirt before we run him into the ground
So you’re saying we should buy him because we cant rely on any of our other strikers? Then why buy Ayew/Adebayor in the first place! If you cant back them to succeed dont buy them in the first place. Im not saying I wont support him if he puts on the shirt, but i just dont like the signing. Just as I didnt like the signing of Holt. Imo its unnecessary. Bottom line.
Look at the goal scoring record of the 4 players you listed.. Over the last 10 years … gabby 6 last year and never reached double figures
… Ayew 13 in France
..Kozak ..4 the year before.. Has only ever reached double figures twice
…adebayour 2 last year.. And less than a hundred goals in 10 years despite costing 50mil in wages!
If they get 20 goals between the 4 of them next year that’s a good season!
Gestede 34 goals in 65 games for a poor Rovers Team… Admittedly Chempionship! But who else is gonna come??
Charlie Austin don’t want us mate…
Look at the market for strikers we are in and come back at me with someone more consistent who will actually want to join us… Just count yourself lucky it’s not Lambert Berbativ or Crouch
austin at 15m after one season geste6m take a chance
long time since looked forward to a season ,,when shirt numbers been handed out, will there be new bomb squad mark 3
The answer to questionable goalscoring is not to buy a questionable goal scorer! Either you buy proven or you buy potential. Gestede is neither. I disagree, i think Austin would come to us but maybe he’s aiming higher or for bigger wages. He will get left on the shelf at this rate. Persinally id rather buy potential. It makes no sense to buy a goal scorer for £12m then buy 2 more just in case he fails. We’ve all seen what happens when you replace quality with a legion of average players. Ie liverpool and Spurs. We dont need to follow that route, and we havent so far. Its just this signing that i really dont like
Interesting debate over Gestede…
I guess I’m in the “can’t-have-too-many” strikers camp, given how dependent we’ve been on Benteke. Understand the concerns, certainly, but we need to have a bit of a dogfight, and options. How long has it been since we could bring on someone that might actually score and change a game? We might even have a Plan C.
Ade is a loan, no big deal. Let Ayew, Gestede, Gabby, Kozak and whomever else battle it out. Clearly what Tim has in mind, the way I see it. And it’s not his money. 😉
Or mine.
I’m just disappointed to see that Berba may be leaning toward Bremen (if he was ever even part of the conversation). Would be awesome to have him, however lazy. He’s a piece of work.
Ree- Looks like your wella nd truly dug on Gestede 🙂 so was Benteke a huge success in Belgium that’s why all the top clubs wanted him? hang on wasn’t he £6-7m and a punt in the prem? his main asset physical presence, same with Kosak who was poor in Italy but scored in the uefa cup. I like kosak but he doesn’t have a right to play every week.
On the money side, players transfer fees get set against tax over a 5 year period so it doesn’t matter if Liverpoo defer payment, so £50 m doesn’t come off of 1 years income but 5 so £10m a season, that’s why wages are crucial as they get paid regardless and are a cost annually. £50,000 a week is 2.6 m a year over 5 years so we need to keep it in cheque.
Of course if you keep on spending like Liverpool you will eventually have a lot to pay on fees too but we are small fry in that sense. with the new deal in 16/17 we will get £120m- ish extra over 3 years factor in a rise up the table , more games on the TV, better sponsorship, more world wide exposure that could be a lot more.
heres what Bent cost us in real terms over 4.5 years, worth it to stay in the prem?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11659791/Revealed-Darren-Bent-cost-Aston-Villa-27000-per-touch.html
Just watched this vid of gestedes goals from last year and he scored all types of goals. also watched rhodes vid and he scored at least 4 from Gestedes knock downs. Gestede scored nothing from Rhodes providing from what I saw except when rhodes hit the bar. Rhodes is a very good player but he also takes the pens for blackburn, Getede took one so 21 goals from free play. One header from the edge of the area with the ball swung in from the left but from behind him so he generates the power is exceptional.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaYXvNHpFPs
Morning all .
I’m
With you John C , it would have been awesome to see Berba at VP .
Looking at the stats for Gestede they are excellent – 22 goals last season and a better goal to game ratio than Benteke even if it is in the Champ League . He could be v promising . He is also French speaking (as is Ade I believe ) so we have 8 or 9 French speakers – should be interesting in the dressing room will there be a French speaker on the coaching staff? On this point, Watford have 22 different nationalities so I guess compared with them , communicating should be plain sailing .
. I don’t think anyone would turn strikers away provided the defensive element of the team is strong enough . Our pre season and last games of the season suggest it isn’t . But we aren’t done yet so if a high quality defender comes in then the team will look more balanced .
Pleased with the signings so far – now to get all these characters playing as a team together !! Tim
And Ray really have git their work cut out ! The most exciting pre season we’ve had in a long time . With Gabby being injured, the team we put out could all be new players save for Guzan !!
jen apparently we tried to get a sports director from a french club
http://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2015/aston-villa-made-an-offer-for-monaco-director-luis-campos/?
Those clips show he’s got talent and is cool headed with it . He’s also used to playing to empty stadiums by the look of it – how many empty seats were there?!
Wow that is interesting Mark . Looks like the French connection is very much part of our strategy and Tom Fox’s arsenal connections / philosophy are being attempted at AV. At least we have a direction and strategy now which is a big improvement.
one thing I have noticed is that most of the players we have bought video’s feature them scoring on the break a lot not silky arsenal like passing moves but pretty similar to our recent game of counter attack.
yes jen we are Le Claret and bleus
Mark – it was plain as day that Benteke had something special about him from his videos, not just his physicality. Plus he had mass amounts of potential being what 22? I dont see that from Gestede at all at 26. Pleaes tell me why Blackburn are rejecting a £12m bid from Middlesbrough for Rhodes if Gestede is his equal? I think clubs have a very good sense of the worth/potential of tbeir players. Hes great at heading and thats about it.
On thd money side, you ‘re right in accounting terms the transfer fees and wages of a player are accrued over the length of the contract. Thats purely accounting. Thats NOT the same as cashflow. It does not tell you how much money you have in the bank. I truly believe if we go for Gestede it will hamper our ability to make more signings this window. For a signing that is not imperative. Course that is all just educated guesswork ftom me but still its an important point.
There was a good point made about squad size on another site. With these signings we woukd have i believe 28 players over 21 to fit in a 25 man PL squad, meaning we have to get rid of players. Baker will probably go. As will cissoko and maybe 1 or 2 on loan. It just does not look right to me for the balance of the squad.
http://avillafan.com/site/19213/scout-report-rudy-gestede/?
Sorry but having watched that video again has not changed my view one bit. Practically ALL oh his goals were one touch finishes, the VAST MAJORITY from his head and quite a few where the ball somehow bobbled its way to hkm for an easy finish. I do not see 1 goal he created for himself. With Benteke you saw those ond touch finishes plus the headed goals but more importantly moments when he created goals for himsrlf ouf of nothing. Thats an indication of real talent. Gestede is an average/good player much like Kozak. Byt while Kozak is already at the club whats the point?
I am concerned about the amount of prospects that we are buying from the French League. And we are paying large transfer fees for these unproven players in the Premier League.
Newcastle deployed the same approach and they were also in crisis last year. With the exception of Cabaye (a player Houllier was desperate to sign) the rest of the players they purchased are forgettable.
I also believe we will find it difficult for all of these players to gel quickly into a winning football team. We can all reserve judgement until the season starts but I believe Tim’s transfer strategy is high risk.
With the amount of strikers we are signing we may as well put in a loan bid for Mario Balotelli.
Ree- unless more are coming in as rumoured a CB at the very least.
we have pulled in £45m so far and maybe another five for baker and sissy that’s £50 mil outside of the clubs income which you would assume after losing so many high earners we would have a fair amount of leeway and funds available. According to FFP rules we can spend that no problem and it appears we are. We should be in profit this year after a £4m loss last tax year. Christmas shopping is more expensive than summer buying so even if we spend £60m it makes sense. There will still be funds available if needed as we have spent money generated by sales. But to be honest if we do have to spend loads somethings very wrong.
Richard – that is a big concern. Ig does help having a slightly easier than average start to the season fixture wise. Does give them some room to bed in
Beneteke took penalties and missed an awful lot of headers too, yes he created the odd goal for himself but to be honest his flick ons of which there were many were not directed well, can’t remember many that we scored from and he was almost permanently offside at times. Also his awareness in the box and movement were not top notch either, often stood waiting for the ball so easy to mark, unless he moved. Bent didn’t create much either still had 1 in 2 ratio what’s the difference!! give me the ball in the back of the net. Each has their strengths each their faults.
Richard s I share your concerns but at least they can communicate, we bought umpteen cheaper foreigners from lower leagues under Lambert and we are still here just.
westwood, lowton, bennett, sinclair, bowery and steer all from English lower league sides inspiring isn’t it? One look at the quality on the ball of our new recruits has to say something.
Something that has not been mentioned unless I missed it is our wage bill, we have shifted probably six of our top earners in Given,Vlaar,Delph,Cleverly,Bent and Benteke, all those arriving with the exception of Adebayor will be earning far less than those six put together, so with a net transfer spend of basically zero if Baker and Sissy go and a considerable reduction in the wage bill Mr.Lerner must be well happy.
AVFC
Bring on a triple signing today!
I wont relax though until a new gk, and the right hand side has been sorted out. unless crespo replaces hutton we still have hutton and bacuna down the right hand side. crepe
Mark
I have heard good things about westwood pre season. Apparently looks quicker and stronger.
New GK
Richards Crespo Clarke Amavi
Gueye Veretout
Preaet Gill Amavi
Adebuyour
Subs
Okore
Westwood
sanchez
Sinclair
Grealish
Gestede
Bench looks a lot stronger 🙂
Mark – there is a BIG difference between Bent’s 1 in 2 and Benteke’s 1 in 2. The difference being the service provided. Take away the service, as what happened, and Bent becomes a 1 in 5 man. Dont get me wrong, Bent was a natural finisher probably the best for sniffing out goals in the box in the PL since Ian Wright. But take away the service and he becomes useless. Take away Benteke’s service and he will still provide for himself and even his teammates.
Incidentally I dont think Gestede is anyway near a good a finisher as Bent. Looking at Blackburn fan’s reactions, theyre worried about losing the goals but they dont rate him as much as Rhodes and they see him week in week out. Benteke had his own limitations but he more than made up for it in what he did do for us.
Our biggest problem imo is not the goalscoring we have lost through Benteke, by the chance creation we have lost through losing both Benteke and Delph. I like the signings of Ayew and Vertout because they both create a lot of chances, Ayew is also decent at finishing them. Will that make up for losing Benteke and Delph? Whow knows, probably not. We also have Grealish and Gil who are very capable at creating chance but can we really rely on them all season? Its the creating of chances that worries me more than the goalscoring, and I think we need more in that attacking mid department.
Any decent striker will finish chances if they get enough opportunities. I think we already have a decent finisher in Kozak, in the few prem games he has played plus his history in Serie A and the UEFA cup you know you have someone capable of scoring goals at a high level. In the few games he’s played for us, I think he’s shown a real good knack of being in the right place at the right time, which is what all finishers need. Gestede seems decent, great heading, decent finishing but for me he really does not add much to the squad overall except better heading maybe. And if we turn to that then its like we are regressing as a team not evolving.
Loving the Amavi twins Andrew! :lol
Richard S – good point re Newcastle and our position does look closer to them than Arsenal in what we are trying to do. The French players worked very well for the toon to begin with and the players themselves said they felt happier being amongst other french speaking players. They chose players of similar value to the ones Villa have selected and they went on a great run. It started to fall apart and press reported divisions in the dressing room and then there was the animosity between Cisse and Ba From what I have read, Pardew doesn’t stand out for his sensitivity or man management – so I am hoping that Tim, who has a good record in being able to handle players will be able to do a better job in accomodating them all. If ours turn out as well as the toon players have, Cabaye, Remy, Gouffran, CIsse and Ba (when they were scoring 40 between them) then it is a good move.
The challenge AV have is that it is difficult to attract good quality proven prem league players will come to us until we get our ranking higher. Going to a club that finished 17th (and equivalent for the last three seasons) is now viewed as a step down to any clubs finishing higher. These young players look at the table rather than the history. Also, the new french players are keen to prove themselves in the premier league – and even if we are just a stepping stone to them at this stage in our development – we will benefit from having them albeit for a short time. Put in a hefty release clause fee in and we will be on the way up. I think Newcastle could have done so much better with their french contingency but the personalities and mis management failed them in the end.
SWV – good point too. If you look at money coming in from Delph and Benteke we haven’t actually spent anything have we ? This takes the risk element down .
Haha…too many new signings for my tiny brain to compute!
Lescott linked now!
I get where Ree is coming from re Kozac and gestede.
But i am so fed up with 4 years of rubbish football and losing im happy for lots of new players to come in. Obviously Tim sees something in Gestede and im happy to roll with it.
Demba Ba felt very upset with CIsse coming in – and both failed to recover their form (though CIsse has been injured much of the time) It just shows what can happen – 2 extremely talented players individually but a night mare together.
On the finances/cash flow again. The fee for Benteke will have a great amount deferred. I guestimate that £32.5m fee will be split 60:40 between this season and future installments. Even the 60% upfront would probably be split between 2 installments this season – hardly any transfers involve the full sum of money being paid upfront. Liverpool are still being paid for Suarez. I believe Liverpool were still being paid for Torres by the time he left Chelsea! I guess it would go something like 30% -30% then 40% over 4 installments the following 2 years. Meaning we only have 30% of the Bentek fee as of right now that helps the cashflow. But when looking at transfers I guess they would do so over the full season. Delphs fee would most certainly be ‘up front’ ie over the course of the season.
So say we have this amount of money coming in (from transfermarkt):
Benteke – £32.5m – 60% upfront = £19.5m
Delph – £8m – 100% upfront = £8m
Weimann – £2.5m – 80% = £2m
Sylla – £1m – 100% = £1m
Lowton – £1m – 100% = £1m
= Grand total of £31.5m
Money going out:
Ayew – £8.4m – 80% = £6.7m
Amavi – £7.7m – 70% = £5.4m
Gueye – £6.3m – 80% = £5m
Sinclair – £2.5m – 100% = £2.5m
Veretout – £8m – 80% = £6.4m
Gestede – £6m – 80% = £4.8m
= Grand total of £30.8m
So in terms of a transfer deficit we are really only £0.7m in credit right now if we buy Gestede. Course you can say we still have television/prize money plus season ticket sales/commercial revenue to add to that. But of course we have other costs like player wages etc to take into account. Even still we would have budgeted for maybe a £20-30m outlay in transfers but bear in mind this also includes contingency plans for January.
So I think at best we only have £10-15m to play with right now. And buying Gestede for £6m does not seem worth it.
I didnt even take into account the £3.6m ish we need to pay Genk as a sell on fee!
Newcastle were flying with their french men at one point… when they had Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Ba, Cisse, Sissoko etc. When thing go well for you the form can just carry you through games, but when things get tough thats when you see if your players have any character. Newcastle’s french players either got found out or left. Hopefully our french contingent are stronger, and also we have more of a glue holding the squad together with our homegrown players.
Newcastle also had one John Carver to add to their on and off field problems Ree.
Forgive me but most of our ” french” players are african arnt they or one generation at most.
All of the time benteke played for us we attempted to use his aerial ability, well gestede is better at that ( more accurate) blacburn used him in midfield too as his flicks and lay offs to players was outstanding. We have vertout, gil, grealish and Cole as playmakers to play to him and the likes of gabby, sinclair, kosak and ayew running off of him he brings a different option to benteke less well rounded but very strong at what he does.
Andrew i like westwood he will gel with these players.
Ree rhodes is british isnt he? I like him but none of the top clubs seem to. Palace have bought connor wickam havent they, why not rhodes
wickham for 9mill.
Thats why we shop abroad.
Mark – our new recruits are French speaking and brought up in France and came up through the French football leagues and training academy. Being able to communicate is what is important for the team to gel. “yours” or “vous” “mine” or “moi”. Richards had best get his French speaking app on the ready if he is going to be captain. 🙂
Rhodes is average if you ask me. If he was any good he would have been snapped up by a lower mid club taking a risk years ago. Yet he is still rated twice as expensive as Gestede? Yes we used Benteke’s aerial ability to get up the pitch, but if you ask me thats a shit and outdated way of playing football – lump it to the big man and look for flick ons. Its not a wonder why we were so poor all these years. Even going back to the Graham Taylor mark 2 era. I hated whenever I saw Dublin’s name on the team sheet cos I knew how we were gonna play. Not that I hated Dublin, I respected him for him hard work, leadership and abilities (even if he did wane a lot in later years), I just hated the way we played with him in the team. ‘Playing the percentages’.
BUT Benteke was way more dynamic than that. Not only could he challenge for the ball aerially but he could also bring it down and do something with it. Cole I think is past it but I do like the others mentioned for creating chances. I think we need more in that department.
Connor WIckam for me is a much better signing than Getsede. I dont particularly like his style but the guy is still only 22 and has played a lot of matches in the PL for a good few seasons now. He is also very hard working and good for a few goals despite playing out of position most the time. I think he will do well if given a run as a central striker. This is the difference of potential, Gestede just does not have it for me.
Yes Gareth that’s true
Andrew – you always pay a premium for potential, no matter where they’re from. There is no premium on Gestede!! Just so happens Wickham is english in the richest league in the world which has a quota. Not surprised at that price tbh. Remember he was £8m as a 18 yr old and no-one baulked at that price given his potential.
Their problems started way before Carver Gareth! He just added to it 10 fold. Wonder how mouthy he will be in his next job if given an opportunity again (doubtful)
on the big French debate i see more postives than negitives
France won the world cup due to apart from 4 players in the whole squad a bunch of french africans
Arsenal went unbeaten for a whole season due to mainly a french squad
newcastle were flyiing until they started losing key french players
bring it on
I’m still on the same vein with having options in all positions, Ree I understand you don’t rate Gestede that is fine, all opinions are fine and while I don’t have an opinion on Gestede himself as I’ve not seen him play and any videos are blocked in work.
My point which I feel is valid is that we now have options in attack that we didn’t have before, Gestede may not be first on the team sheet but he may be on the bench in that if we are a goal down with 20 minutes to go which change approach to route one and work off Gestede’s headers on goal or another player works off his knock downs.
Either way, options is what we need and TS has opted for Gestede to provide a challenge for the main strikers or provide for a change in formation if needed. Gestede is not the end of the world nor is he Cavani but he’s very welcome to the Villa.
The only worry is how long it will take to bed down the new arrivals with whatever system or systems TS will use, may be patience required at the start when things aren’t working but we now have some very accomplished on the ball players so in a better place to control and impose on other teams.
Can’t wait for the Bournemouth game
I hear what you’re saying Darren, its another option. For me its an additional expensive option that we already have in Kozak, Gestede might be a better header-er of the ball but Kozak is no slouch in that department either. Everything else Gestede does well I bet Kozak does just as well if not better.
We’ve made some really good signings potentially this summer, Gestede is not one of them. But hey, cant be perfect I guess. Im looking forward to the season too. Really hoping we get in another attacking mid/winger.
Def need another winger type Ree. Bit of pace.
Linked againf to 3 French players. A striker, cam and winger!
I wonder if the Ade deal has fallen through.
Expecting deals done today.
I wonder how Gill, Gardner and Grealish are fitness wise.
Squad Depth:
GK: Guzan, Steer, Bunn
RB: Hutton, Bacuna, Richards, Crespo
LB: Amavi, Richardson, Bennet, Cissoko, Crespo
CB: Clarke, Richards, Okore, Senderos, Crespo, Baker, Donacien
CDM: Sanchez, Westwood, Gueye, Gardner
CM: Gueye, Gardner, Veretout, Westwood
CAM: Gil, Grealish, Veretout, Nzogbia, Cole
RM: Nzogbia, Gil, Bacuna
LM: Sinclair, Grealish
ST: Ayew, Kozak, Gabby, Gestede? Adebayor? Robinson
For me the winger/CAM spots are lacking not the Striker. Thats 29 senior players to fit into a 25 man PL squad list. Includes 15 home grown players but excludes 3 u21 (inc Amavi).
Looks like we have some selling to do…
Baker
Richardson/Bennet
Cissoko
Nzogbia
Cole?
Kozak?
Agreed Ree,
We’ve gone from almost no strikers to potentially too many in about a week!??!?!
Yet on the other hand we seem in real need of CBs…
Yeah we’ve got about a month of offload the deadwood. I see no reason to sell Baker personally, he’s played really well of late and seems to keep improving!
If Gestede really is coming in then Berbatov looks more and more unlikely if it was ever a possibility.
Perhaps the idea is to have have 3 pairs of strikers: Gabby/Kozak, Adebayor/Berbatov and Gestede/Ayew; the first two pairs battle it out for two places and the other pair get to come on as impact subs and gets lot of minutes in the Cups while learning… pure speculation on my part, I guess we’ll see. UTV
A message to you Rudy
welcome to villa
were the shirt with pride
bang in some goal and silence the critics
viva la revolution 🙂
From being cautious about Ade – I have now gone to being massively disappointed if he doesn’t sign . We all know what he is capable of football wise – but he also links in nicely with the French African players we have brought in . He could be a great role model / mentor to them . A role which he should thrive in. Looks doubtful he will be playing Saturday though 🙁
I second that Runtingz 🙂
Runtings – am I allowed to have an opinion without being labelled a critic?
Vertout has been confirmed, great signing.
Gestede looks set to be revealed next, poor signing. I actually hope we dont sign Adebayor now. Too many cooks.
One great thing about Veretout signing is that we finally have someone who is able to whip in a dangerous set piece!
Welcome vertout….i have never heard of him but after some research highly highly rated.
Yep Gestede looks next. Very Quiet on the Ade front though.
Ree
I just think after only scoring 31 goals last season and losing tekkers most of us are just welcoming strikers with open arms.
Jenny seems to know more about psycology etc but from watching Gestede there seems some sort of confidence/arrogance about him.
Demenour (spelling) and how they appear is why i dont rate guzan…love a bosnich type in goal. Looks so confident.
Ree we are all critics please don’t take it personal – you could well be right i just hope not
Welcome Jordan — hope he can fullfill his potentail with us
Not taking it personally Runtings just thought that was aimed at me since Im the only one on here who doesnt like the move.
Anyways, he’s a Villa player now so I will back him.
Welcome Jordan and Rudy!
Andrew – very highly rated. I really like the look of Veretout. His play just shows a touch of class about him.
all good Ree
looking back at the comments i now see only you have voiced major doults about the lad so i hope you are wrong
So do I Runtings!
Honestly really excited about Veretout, think he could go on to be the best central mid we’ve had since Milner! Delph who?
Rating the signings in order of excitement:
1) Veretout
2) Amavi
3) Ayew
4) Gueye
5) Richards
6) Sinclair
….
….
….
last) Gestede!
Ree- Kosak is nowhere near as good in the air as Gestede or as physical, he has power Kosak doesn’t. I’ve seen Kosak nod half a dozen headers lamely into the keepers arms, Benteke too for that matter. Heading is a skill every bit as difficult as shooting and dribbling when done with purpose not just in hope. Kosak has many good qualities but a powerful and directed header ain’t his game.
You just pointed out we have Veretout to put in dangerous balls well Gestede could be a dream for him. You seem to not like the lad because he doesn’t create his own goals? he does create for others though 4 last season 2 more than tekkers.
We will definatley have the players to mix the play up this season but It doesn’t hurt to have a physical presence, Kosak could easily feed off gestede he makes good runs and anticipates better than gabby, don’t know about ayew but he looks ok from his vids
Tim Sherwood
“However Villa boss Sherwood is delighted with the acquisition as he looks to fill the void created by Christian Benteke’s departure to Liverpool. He said on the club’s website: “I’ve known about Rudy since he was at Cardiff City and he is a player I’ve always admired. “His goalscoring ratio last season was fantastic and he is someone who certainly knows how to find the back of the net. “He’s a big, physical striker but he can play and I’m pleased to welcome him to the football club.”
With all these new players, we’ll have to devise a new bunch of songs to belt out from the stands.
Some are fairtly obvious/easy:
Ayew – Boom boom boom, let me hear you say Ayew – Ayewww
Gestede – Rudy Rudy Rudy Rudy (think Kaiser Chiefs)
But how about… (tune of Agadoo)…
Ver-e-too too too pass it up to Gest-e-de
Ver-e-too too too go and win a penalty
To the left, to the right, run up and down and we’ll be pleased
Come and see you every week, singing who needs Cleverley!?
It seems to me that Joan Baez’s song “We Are Crossing The Jordan River” should now be our anthem! 🙂
One thing is for sure these French lads would have looked at who’s joining from there league, if they thought they were poor players would they have signed? I think mostly they saw we were linked with Gestede and signed straight away 😉
Ree- what about Bunn surely Gestede cant be above him? 🙂
Are Guzan , sanchez back for sat?
Benteke stats
http://www.squawka.com/players/christian-benteke/stats#performance-score#aston-villa-(current)#english-barclays-premier-league#8#season-2014/2015#126#all-matches#1-38#by-match
Gestede stats different leagues I know but gives you some idea.
http://www.squawka.com/players/rudy-gestede/stats#performance-score#blackburn-rovers-(current)#football-league-championship#10#season-2014/2015#127#all-matches#1-46#by-match
wow some excellent comment and debate on here today!
Not much to add but for what it’s worth I’ve not seen a guy as good at heading than Gestede since Ducan Ferguson. I tend to agree with Mark that his style is a bit different to Kozak. Despite that they definitely wouldn’t complement each other so it is a case of one or the other IMO so in some ways I agree with what Ree is saying. I differ from Ree in that I think the fact that most his goals are ‘set up’ is actually a good thing. Benteke was great except he didn’t score enough tap ins! He was a one man team type. Given that it seems we actually have an 11 man team now maybe we need a poacher who does his work inside the box. The guy looks like a proper number 9, something we haven’t had since Carew I’d say.
Rags- Kosak has been all over the place in preseason, works his nuts off and
makes decent runs, I wouldn’t rule out a land of the giants partnership as both are quite savvy players. Probably unlikely but just think we could scare Stoke 😉
baker stays 4 year deal
http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7519211
Congrats to Matt AVL founder on being the brummy mail’s top summer signning
Happy days for monty as baker signs a new deal
wonder if delph new of these plans and went anyhow
Congrats on new deal baker. Not a fan and wanted him sold. Happy to be proved wrong.
Wheres adebuyor
I reckon he did mark. Hey ho!
I think thats pretty much all the delph tekkers money gone.
Now for me to get ultra excited i want to see learners money go on a gk, cam winger.
Then id be happy as larry
http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2015/7/31/9078911/column-transfer-news-aston-villa-fabian-delph-mistake-rudy-gestede-jordan-veretout-ayew-amavi
Collymore tweeted hes coming home, hes coming home. Quickly deleted.
Young or lescott
Djemba Djemba andrew 🙂
I’ve now looked our Rudy up and you’re right Andrew – he’s got the swagger – and as these clips show (to the tune of the Kaiser Chiefs) he’s a cracking player too – like the overhead heel kick like Ibrahim’s – confidence oozing out of him.
Like Runtingz Rudy tune fir him – message to you Rudy – particularly as they’re from Coventry.
Levy is playing his usual hard ball – but it’s still on in Sherwood’s eyes.
Pleased for Nathan B and Kris 🙂
OMG – will be over the moon if Ashley Young came back !
Clip I forgot in the excitement of Ash comjng back
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5pec5BpQdQA&itct=CCQQpDAYACITCKG8k8yJhscCFQ8HFgod69AOBTIGcmVsbWZ1SJuPu-jNmL2oIg%3D%3D
i think sherwood wanted delph benteke out to give him decent kitty to revamp entire squad we are probably only just at break even mark now on spending plus normal seasonal spend under lerner
baker was a shock maybe with right coaching plus better team in front of him defence not be under as much pressure
hoping as van gaal says we have one magic signing left in this window
Welcome Calum and blue – I think we will have something to sing about at last too !
I’m feeling so positive iid even have a punt on Balotelli . Imagine Ade , Berbs and Balotelli in one team haha – having a punch up over who takes the penalty 🙂
Maybe Tim will be the one to tame him where all others failed ?
He’s been told to find another club and with our u turns and surprises so far – watch this space .
No ones mentioned the hat trick Rudy scored against Small Heath / that will make him a holte end favourite for starters .
blimey jen – you do like a bad boy don;t you 🙂 with all them lot together tim would be showing up for an interview with a black eyes ., or with could get a Cantona moment at villa park 🙂
seems there may be a few more coming in , very interesting times
No lescott in the wba squad!? Clarke lescott swap?
Brilliant news for the berbatov lovers……deal looks like it could be on. Talks on going and he is cutting short holiday. Ade deal must be dead?
where are all the usual crowd frem we have signed 4 players in a week plus linked to maybe another 6 the kit man will have fun getting numbers sorted
Had to log in and it’s nice to know that I’m human. Had an easy question though.
This is like Christmas and most of my xmases have been good. At this point I can’t say I’m too disappointed Benteke , Delph, Vlaar, and Cleverley have gone. The first three were injured for large parts of the season last year and Cleverley had to improve or Everton would have passed on him. Can’t run a team from sick bay.
Lots of enticing names being bandied about and the 25% French in me is happy with the continental flair.
Go for the throat Villa you have nothing to lose. And I would take a look at Joey Barton. Just for the anticipated dust up.
Frem has fainted!!
they are talking ade and berbatov now I’m thinking what the feck is going on? If someone had said we are on a budget and these are the type of signings you’d be pissed off but after the buys we have had? I can’t make sense of it there are only 38 league games.
Steamer and ST75 is collymore talking about you 2?
watcha Ian have a slice of Christmas pud
Still not aboard the Gestede hype train but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. What I will say if those numbers may be Impressive for the championship but the prem is a diff kettle of fish. Also I’d be willing to bet my house every one of his assists was a knock on/down.
All these forwards still being linked, are we gonna play 2-2-6?
ree
as long as i don t see 9-1 with gabby up top
if we they score 3 we score 4 i ll smile
didnt smile much last 5 years
After watching the Gestede goals, it’s clear he’s got an eye for goal, even if some were a bit scruffy. The headers though…Superb. He’s going in there to win it, and win it with authority. He’s moving into the ball much more than Benteke. Not saying he’s a better player, but he seems equally good with his head, if nothing else.
As I said already, it’s good to have a bunch of different players fighting it out for playing time. You could bring Kozak or Gestede off the bench for some punch. One or two set pieces late against tired defenders…those might grab back a few of the points we’ve been unable to seize. It’s a crucial piece of the puzzle.
And he’ll be used to a scrap.
With Gabby and Weimann, you got work rate, but precious little end product. And we had no one to bring on to change things, present a different challenge.
And while the MFs we’ve signed aren’t 20-goal strikers, they seem to have found the net more regularly than Delph. In the PL? We’ll see.
Again, this seems to support a more fluid set-up, the possibility of goals coming from more players, and the prospect of posing more challenges to opponents.
Guzan
Crespo. Richards clarke amavi
Gueye. Vertout
Gill. Grealish. Ayeuw
Gestede
How i think we will roll with current players.
However well we have done getting numbers in more is needed. Start spending learners money on a new gk, cb and praet id be ecstatic
Berbatov would be on a free for 40k a week. Maybe ade deal breaking down.
Got a feeling clarke may be off.
Cb heavily linked and with baker staying on may be related to clarke?
wow
Express Sport exclusively revealed Berbatov was edging closer to a move to Villa after his close friend Stiliyan Petrov told Tim Sherwood the striker was ready for one last crack at the Premier League.
The 34-year-old, who is Bulgaria’s top scorer with 48 goals, has held talks on the phone with the Villa over the last few days as Sherwood looks to boost his side’s scoring options.
Berbatov, known for his laid-back nature and silky skills, will attend the christening of Petrov’s son on Sunday and will fly to England on the following day.
Maybe Petrov keen to atone for his embarrassing Tonev intro .
My dream is comjng reality and if still believe Ade will be comjng . Now we just need Balotelli for a troublesome trio for Tim to work his magic on. Unless they are so turned by their wealth , they all have one chance left to leave the premier league flying – which they all can do .
Runtingz – super Mario is the only player my teenage daughters will come to villa park for 🙂
Anything can happen – now where is Ashley Young ?!
We might not have the best team but we certainly are the team to look out for .
Frem is sitting in a dark room with a cold flannel on his forehead – his system can’t take it.
Hi all
I for one am now excited about next season.
Some of the deadwood is gone, and I suspect I can hear Sherwood shouting “timberrr” behind CNZ as we speak!
It will take time for all these players to gel and adapt, so I expect a less than sparkling start to the season, but I reckon we will grow as a the season goes on with a strong finish.
I am also looking forward to hearing, “Jordan, play it to Jordan, no not that Jordan, that Jordan, over there…….”
Ree- At the end of the day goals win games I’m happy whoever gets them. I think your being a little harsh on Gestede. It was Austins first season and in the prem and he did ok didn’t he? Austin is an opportunist, he gets in the right place or thereabouts to finish, gestede has that same knack in his locker plus height and power and I’m sure like Austin would knock it in with anything legal to score and trust me nobody at villa was moaning when Andy Gray or withe were heading them in.
At this point in time not even Tim knows his team and I’m sure there will be ups and downs aplenty we may end up with goals from all over and I suspect that is Tims aim.
Fed up of the games we nearly won, the nice try but no prize we seem to think is good. Its nice to see good football but it has to be effective, Arsenal are a reminder of that, you get the feeling wenger will stubbornly stick to his plan rather than win games like Jose will.
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/08/01/aston-villa-signing-rudy-gestede-the-best-player-in-england-a/?
I think we should try and sign Mario Balotelli from Liverpool on a loan with a view to a permanent deal. The guy is Italy’s centre forward and needs to prove himself.
I have no idea how the French Revolution is going to work out.
I will still like us to sign a couple of proven players with Premier League experience – specifically in midfield.
Viva La Villa.
whispers… @whispers_listen 20m20 minutes ago
berbatov nothing. adebayor everything avfc
whispers… @whispers_listen 1h1 hour ago
defender to complete his move to avfc this week.
richard s you either have the darkest sense of humour I’ve ever seen or your nut! 😉 Mario Balotelli??? please no
the line up looks nowhere near complete
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/08/01/confirmed-nottingham-forest-v-aston-villa-line-ups-veretout-on-b/?
Mark – no i am serious. With the exception of his season at Liverpool last year take a look at his games to goals ratio – it is very good. He is a proven goalscorer who has scored goals at the highest level. Granted he clearly has some issues but I would take him at Villa – nobody else wants him and he would certainly bring the X Factor to Villa Park.
I am sure Mario and Jack would get on a treat!
richard s- I’ll give you that he has scored a few and surprisingly young, it seems like he’s been about forever. still wouldn’t be my choice if he scored 30 he’d be off that’s his style and I bet he’s still got a teddy
He would be off just like Benteke – Delph – et al. We don’t keep our best players end of.
Good another Mario fan Richard He’s an incredible footballer and it would be worth it for the fireworks. Imagine the team being read out and Ade and Mario walking out from the tunnel – is love it . Maybe that’s the way forward – we take all the maverick genius players who have lost their way and Tim gets them gojng again. Tim
And his bad and made good !
and his bad boys made good I should have typed .
Scott Sinclair hat trick (yes I had to look twice too) 3-3 FT.
You have to think of team harmony and he’s like poison Richard. Also a bit of a one man band player, not sure we are good enough to carry him, Liverpool certainly were not and nobody appears to want him.
http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2015/8/1/9084183/match-report-aston-villa-nottingham-forest-preseason-friendly-1-aug-2015
sinclair gets goals when put through, he’s no winger. He could work well with gil and grealish and Gestede as should Ayew. Tough call as to our best 11, Westwood appears to be first choice with Gueye at the moment but Veretout will be there soon I think.
Sanchez was a makeshift CB today so he’s way down the pecking order you would think and Crespo didn’t inspire and got injured, early days for him.
It will be interesting to see what Grealish can cunjour up with Amavi and the front line should work well with Gil too and the french CM’s. to many choices 🙂
, Tim got Ade back on track and he wasn’t fans or players’ favourite. Maybe he coukd do the same with Mario who must know it’s now or never for him in the Prem. Tim’s strength to date is his man management and motivational skills . I wouldn’t have said he was poison in the dressing room more class clown .
The below article by Fox makes interesting reading in relation to our shopping spree in France http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tom-fox-feature-aston-villa-8279153
Does look very possible that Berbatov will be a Villa player soon, depends on contract details.
Who would have thought so a week ago?
Gestede looks a good bet, strong, competent and confident. If he can stay injury free, he’ll probably do a good job for Villa.
TS has been a busy bee in the transfer market. If the new players can gel, it will be a productive season for Villa. That’s if….
I am worried about Tim’s preference for all things French. I think we might look back and at the end of the season and believe he has blown all of the transfer funds on players who didn’t cut it in the Premier League. If you look at the team today and the level of performance there doesn’t appear to be too much quality in the team. It’s s high risk approach. I was expecting Tim to sign a bunch of Tottenham players and I am a little bemused as to why he has decided to depend on the French League. I do hope I am wrong
This could help Villa’s faltering defence. A cheap and crafty option. Who would know the animal had been specially trained for the job? 🙂
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/football-soccer/news/article.cfm?c_id=86&objectid=11489349
As much as I like Tim Sherwood as a motivator and someone who goes for The jugular and always wants 3 points instead of 1! (Which is completely refreshing compared to the last 7 years !)
There is no way that he is the architect between out Ligue 1 signings! Tim isn’t a European football expert by any means.
The signings we have made have been made by the club based on potential and future values (even Gestede Ree)!
If you look at the O’Neil/Houllier/McLieshout/Lambert mess that we are only just exercising this season it makes complete sense: players that fit an ethos that you chose the manager around (think Southampton or Swansea) all is good providing that we have the right guys picking the players .. But if a grey area.. None of us know who they are or how proven they are… Fingers crossed .. Definitely a positive step if we have the right world wide scouts… But it does mean we are setting ourselves up as a selling club in the medium term
I still won’t be happy until some of learners money is spent and quality added to the squad. All we have really done is replaced who we have sold……takeover talk happening again.
Always thought Sinclair would do well as a second striker instead of Gabby. Hes quick, can dribble, good touch and can finish – even has that selfish streak all strikers have. Only thing Gabby has over him is slightly more pace and a lot more enthusiasm.
The defense does worry me a bit, Richards has a lot of great atrributes for a CB – apart from positional awareness. A couple of times hes been caught out now. Slightly concerned that the season is upon us and we havent been able to put out anywhere near our strongest team yet. Will take time to gel, time we dont really have. At least we have a relatively easy start to the season. Still have plenty to work on. The next starting line up will be interesting.
Mark G – i think the signings are more indicative of our new statistical ‘moneyball’ approach as refferred to by Fox in that article, personified in our new sporting director. One thing all our signings have in common is the fact that they all have good stats for their value/potential *cough* ex Gestede *cough*. I really hope that the scouts saw a lot of games cos you never really can tell if the can make the transition into the PL.
Tim says:
“It’s a rebuilding process going on here and people are working very hard behind the scenes to help me acquire the new signings. We can’t worry about what we have lost. That’s been and gone.
“It’s my job now to rebuild this squad and make it competitive in the Premier League this season. We’re gradually improving. It’s my job now to gel these guys as quick as possible.
“We are going to do morning and afternoon sessions – plenty of 11-a-sides – so they get the message as early as possible. It is going to take time but in the end we will get it right.”
I think it’s going to be a bumpy start until they gel.. The defence still worries me Tim plays a high back line and we would concede even with work class centre halfs.. Hopefully Clarke can continue improving and Richards can adapt and improve his positional awareness before their confidence gets too shot!
It’s certainly going to be an interesting season and a lot more exciting than the previous 3 managers
There could be plenty of goals in our games. Hold onto your hats! I’d like a new gk and walker and lescott.
Despite bringing 9 players in( of which most are a gamble as have never played at this level), we are short of quality at the back and up front. Our defence looks at sixes and sevens every time an opponent attacks, bearing in mind we have only played lower league teams, the amount of goals( especially late goals) we are still conceding. We need a dominant CB and a RB, both of which need to be of a good quality not potential or has beens. Richards isn’t a natural CB imho, but seems to have signed as that is where he wants to play and TS looks to have signed him on the basis that’s where he will play, despite being the best RB on the books. I would go out and get Kyle Walker and Jonny Evans. Up front we are still short on goals so need a genuine goalscorer, we haven’t spent any money as yet as TS has only used what he has made from sales and we have saved on wages. The only worry is that most of these players from France have never played at this level, so to pack the team with them and expecting them all to work is a massive gamble. This is work in progress though and there are still more to go and come in, I fully expect Guzan to go, let’s hope we bring a quality replacement, now we have missed out on Begovic and Heaton.
B62,
Forgive me for saying but you are generally one of the “half-glass empty” brigade, so I read your comments in that light! 😉
Mind you that’s not to say I totally disagree. The defence side of things does give a little cause for worry, but you also say we’re in need of scorers and there I’m not so sure. Sinclair is clearly out to impress and Kozak has goal or two in his locker, so apart from other signings, I think we have something to work with there. I shan’t mind if we win or draw a few matches having conceded 2 or 3.
The key thing is that in pre-season we’ve not seen the actual first-choice team in action. I’m certain we won’t start the season in a blaze of glory, so we’ll have to wait until October (again! When have I heard that said before?!) to see how things are working out.
By and large I’m still an opti.
Morning folks, Tim says that Ligue 1 players are the closest you can get to prem style players at a high quality outside of the prem and they are reasonably priced. To have bought similar from the prem would double the spend, a gamble yes but what signing isn’t?
wish we had gone for milner though and maybe we did who knows? he would bring some leadership although I think Tim has been careful to buy motivated strong willed individuals. Yes we wont be great to start but we will pose a threat regardless of the defence which should improve.
Gestede will prove invaluable in this if we need a out ball, Kosak got swamped by forests defence yesterday, chance after chance went begging from crosses. on the upside Sinclair is shaping up with amavi behind him and even his defensive game improved. Him and Ayew off of Gestede could prove very potent as we seem to be going 433.
Richards was formally a CB at international level then converted to RB at city but still played for England. As Ree says his positioning is dodgy as he’s missed out on 4-5 years of development in his preferred position CB
hopefully like Clarke he will click soon. Possibly needs an older head to guide him but that would limit Clarke. one thing we have now is more pace at the back and players that can spring forward with the ball.
The Mutton Bakuna duo is not working so for me one gets dropped and probably Gil gets the wide birth, then bakuna or mutton gets the shout depending on how attack/defensive we need to be on the day. ( would rather buy a quality RB)
Apparently a £145,000,000 bid from an American sports link has been tabled and talks are ongoing. To be fare are worth may have been boosted by £100mil of potential and that wont have gone unnoticed
IMO we will up the concentration next week and Tim has purposely played very physical sides to give them a taster and get them up to speed. I suspect they were told not to get stuck in too much in case of injury. Second half we still made chances with a porous defence of Sanchez, baker, mutton and Kinsella and no Guzan so hopefully things will improve with a regular back 4 but I’m not expecting to many clean sheets.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-rumour-mill-145m-9774735?
Morning all
I have the same concerns about lack of preperation and playing time for those who will be key members of the team. Not laying blame at TIms door, just the way all the transfers panned out. Thd season is upon us already, and we will be going into the first game with an unsettled 11.
Two ways it can go, we can hit theground running against slightly easier opposition (barring Utd) or we can struggle, then just as we look as we’re gelling we run into a tough fixture list. I hope its the first case but tbh the second is more likely. Tims got them doing double sessions in training, hopefully that will pay off in the long run. Also worrying that we have conceded plenty of early AND late goals during preseason.
Shame Gil and Grealish got injured that for me has been worse than the new arrivals being up to speed.
French football looks pretty fast paced from all the vids shown of our buys. There’s a lot of quick counter attack football so they shouldn’t be to far off the pace. Crespo on the other hand showed the difference with Spanish football, I think the pace shocked him.
To Gel a team you have to know what that team is, the fact cole played yesterday and looked fit and ready says Tim wants a playmaker in there.
Vertout is a box to box playmaker/goal scorer and Gueye looks slick and unhurried and capable of a pass/shot and ball carrying so the onus won’t be on one player to create, that should allow Grealish/gil’s dribbling to make inroads with good movement off them. Most of our forwards have good assist records too so chances shouldn’t be the problem.
The front Three look like they will be allowed to roam with Gestede/Kosak possibly dropping into midfield as tekkers did creating space for the other two and then making his runs to get on the end of any balls in.
Nothing prepares you for games like games and an awful lot of teams have bought a lot of players so we are not the only ones playing catch up.
http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2015-16/summer-transfer-window-2015.html
Looks like 4 4 2 with wingers, a target man and a speedster playing on the last man.
I hope TS figures out who the back 4 are and they themselves figure out what they are doing in time for Bournemouth.
Still mighty curious about Berbatov and assuming Adebayor will sign but until he does nothing is certain; Berba could certainly teach Jack the lad a thing or two.
Seems like we’ll have a lot of strikers now… are Gestede and Ayew going to play in cup games this season unless there are injuries.
The squad looks two deep at each position now which is exactly what we want and definitely as a group we are stronger than last season however only time will tell if the quality is there as well as the numbers; Gueye and Amavi are getting a lot of praise and Veretout has played at the highest level internationally but the premier league is the ultimate test as we all know.
More excited about this season than the past 3 combined… UTV!
Of course with Veretout I mean for his age group.
Not sure how much I blame Lambert for the approach he took fishing into the lower leagues and the Dutch 1st (Erevisie or whatever it’s called); he was extremely strapped for cash and basically told to put the finances in order and operate on a tight budget.
Some of his signings have stuck around and potentially 6 of Lambert’s players could have started the first match (Kozak, Gil, Sinclair, Westwood, Bacuna, Okore ). That being said I wasn’t an admirer of his body of work on the whole and am much happier with Tim and the new mgmt trident that is now in place.
Seems to be a Guzan out movement which I don’t see the point in. Where do these short memories come from out of curiosity? Wasn’t he one of if not our best player for two seasons and didn’t he save us from relegation at least one of those seasons. He’s a good keeper and they’re not easy to come by. Let him work his way back into good form and don’t be afraid to give him the hook if he gets too comfortable again. Depth wise, keeper and left back are out two weakest positions as I wasn’t at all impressed with Steer against Burnley and it made me thankful we have a legitimate number one in Guzan.
UTV
We aint good enough to play 442.
Has to be 4231 or 433 surly