Over the weekend, there’s been rumours ahoy when it comes to Aston Villa. As we know, the club is on the market. What we don’t know is who is buying it, or when that will transpire.
In typical Villa style, a sale being announced has led some to believe a sale is done, whilst others think that we are a million miles away from being sold. The reality? Nobody besides Randy Lerner and a select few of his confidantes know what is happening, and I can safely say I’m not one of that group.
In addition, there’s a strong feeling that a sale can only be a good think given the paucity of investment by Lerner in recent times, leaving Villa with only an upward trajectory ahead.
As ever, the reality of the situation is far more nuanced. Frustrating as Lerner’s tenure may well have been – given its undulating trajectory started with almost unlimited expenditure and closed with austerity – things could have been far worse.
I know, after seasons of scraping survival and after hiring Alex McLeish as manager, there will be fans thinking that there honestly could not have been a worse fate for the club, but the fact we still reside in the top flight says something, even if such an “achievement” may well be pointed at by fans as insufficient for a club like Villa.
If we look coldly at the state of the club, however, are we really a sleeping giant? Sure, our history has bright moments, though the majority of our league wins are recorded only in black and white. We’ve maintained an ever-present status in the top flight, but is that really the sort of item that should be lauded for a club that claims to be big? Or rather a more stark, but honest, reflection of where Villa are currently?
The truth is that a £250m or so fee for a club like Villa is an almost ridiculously high price when one considers the £62.5m or so that Lerner paid for the club less than a decade ago. Yes, the money has increased in terms of TV revenue – and thus the overall club revenues have increased – but Villa are far from a solid bet, despite what some media outlets may say to the contrary.
Yes, Villa have a historic stadium, but expansion isn’t really as broad as it might have been in a new location. Of course, the thought of selling Villa Park and moving elsewhere would likely be met with more protests than those that greeted McLeish.
Getting closer to the ground, and looking at the squad, there’s a lot of room for improvement. In fact, I’d argue that there’s so much room for improvement, any new owner could easily need to spend £200m to build a solid squad, and that’s £200m that will take time to be cultivated – there is no ability to throw the types of money at the team as was the case in Lerner’s early years.
Why? Despite the amount of money any new owner may or may not have, they can’t just throw caution to the wind. Financial Fair Play, thrown out by some fans as a combination of ineffective and irrelevant, has started to have an impact. No, the 60 million Euro fine for Manchester City may not dent the owner’s riches much, but the imposition of a 21 man squad is going to impact the chance that the Citizens have of winning a European Cup next year.
Getting back to Villa, we’re a long way from a second European Cup win, but we still have to pay attention to Financial Fair Play. QPR, a team who may well find themselves in serious trouble if they don’t beat Derby in the playoffs final, are another team who could be seriously affected by the ramifications of spending en masse, illustrating that progress – no matter who holds the reins at Villa – is going to be slow.
Perhaps it is that sort of logic that puts someone like David Moyes in a prime position to take on the Villa job, though history will illustrate that Everton spend many years undulating under the Scot until the later years of his tenure at Goodison Park. Prior to that, Everton were a team like Villa, often having only one half of a good season, though many fans would say that’d be a good start.
With all that said, how long can expectations be held back? If new owners come in, the pressure to perform – instantly – will be high. Are fans going to be happy if the new board do little besides achieve mid-table stability next season? Or will such progress be seen as insufficient for a club like Villa?
Whatever happens, change will be coming in the future. Perhaps it’ll be good, perhaps it’ll be bad, but one things for sure – it’s guaranteed to have give us our share of excitement and worry over the close season.
The Author
Matt Turvey
Matt is the owner of, and chief writer for, Aston Villa Life. He is also a columnist for the Wolverhampton Express & Star, appearing in the Kick Off pullout on Saturdays and the Final Whistle pullout the Monday after Aston Villa play, as well as every Thursday as a blogger on their website. He has previously been featured as a writer on Football365 and Life's A Pitch, and was a regular pundit for Sports Tonight TV on Sky.Comments 134
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Matt,
A good summing up of our current position, if some papers are to be believed Lambert will remain in charge for the near future and to be fair although I would like to see him gone yesterday from Lerners point of view the club will be more difficult to sell without a manager in place, so I think we are stuck with him and Faulkner until new owners move in.
Our nightmare continues and as the weeks tick by we will get more anxious as players start to move clubs and we will be restricted in any business we do because of the impending sale, although our list of pre-season friendlies will probably not shed any light on our short comings due to the low standard of the opposition.
Once again we are looking a shambles, we have struggled for the last three seasons and it looks like we will go into next season with the same old worries, the lack of quality is so obvious and will be our downfall, already we are looking to see if there are three teams that could possibly be worse than us, more dark days ahead for us Villans, just when you thought there was light at the end of the tunnel we again find another fucking train coming.
UTV
morning matt
hows the mrs doing hope she’s feeling better
I think on paper we look expensive but surely the price is based on current market value? and not on I want my money back so it £200-50mil. as in business and real estate the market fluctuates but considering the investment made in the infrastructure and tv revenue £140 mil + on the original price over an 8 year period might be right unfortunately. as an illustration my ladys brother moved from london to chester and made £150,000 on a house he’d had for 2 years! 8 months later he could of got another £100,000! a full villa park with more tv outings would be worth a pretty penny considering relegated teams are getting as much as manure did to win the title last season
as for the team would an initial investment of £40-50 on 3-5 players be enough to revive a sinking ship? and would it fall foul of fare play? if all the players we have on the books are fit I think that would be enough to put us mid table .
the only fly in the ointment is who the management will be and the style of play as nobody will want to watch us if its like this season. the right purchases by the right manager/DOF are the key. most wouldn’t trust Lambert to pick his nose
Your wrong about the value of the club, forget how much was paid, great ground and facilities plus massive premier league income and no debt = very valuable club regardless of history and fan base etc
Matt: …are we really a sleeping giant?
In the sense that Aston Villa is the only club of any decent size and history in the Midlands, and is certainly at least as comparable these days with Everton and Spurs, surely the answer is an unequivocal “yes”?!
The club still lies 4th in the table of number of domestic trophies won, and is still one of only 6 British clubs to win the European Cup.
The atmosphere of the ground, combined with its history, to my mind provides an unarguable case for saying the club is a “sleeping giant”. And located where it is, in Britain’s second city (in size at least), adds to the case for it to be brought out of its mothballs. … And that’s me speaking as a moth! 🙂
Hi Matt and others. They say you have to speculate to accumulate; so what will be our accumulation at the end of this speculative pre-season?
Last rumour I read about was that Lambert is still Manager in the absence of any acceptable bids to date and he has a budget to strengthen the squad. That strikes terror into my heart based on his previous shopping trips – reminds me of my wife going out to buy dinner and coming back with a pretty dress that’s probably the wrong size.
I’m beginning to think we should spend the interim period discussing concepts like FFP, goal-line technology and other macroscopic stuff and wait and see what results. We can go bananas speculating on the various possible outcomes and we will get to find out in August whatever we might think.
PS Trinity – I follow the Brumbies, mainly because my Aussie mate out here comes form Canberra!
Hello all.
Maybe Villa has become more of a gentle giant. Coming to VP doesn’t exactly strike fear into the oppostion. Villa also lacks that sharp edged competitive streak that’s needed to win a trophy. The calbre of players at Villa is testimony to Villa’s lack of ambition. The giant currently has pretty blunt teeth and claws and a roar more akin to a domestic cat than the beast we know it can be.
Clive
I’m a Blues fan. Villa and the blues go hand in hand:)
By Blues, before I’m crucified, I mean rugby S15 Blues:)
one disturbing theme is how well ex-villa players seem to play for other teams? it seems that when they set foot in villa park they lose the ability that made us buy them. curtis davies for hull for example would be great alongside Vlaar right now, why couldn’t we get the best from him and many others? its not just a Lambert trend its been going on for years
we are a big club on paper, unfortunately we are a paper tiger
Trinity – you rescued that one in time!!
John – The club still lies 4th in the table of number of domestic trophies won, and is still one of only 6 British clubs to win the European Cup.
Unfortunately it’s recent history that worries the mainstream supporters; unlike us senior people who remembers the ‘old days’. Let’s hope the behemoth awakes again eh!
Morning Matt,
An interesting piece, and I hope the good lady is on the mend.
As for our club, SWV sums it up in one word SHAMBLES!!
RL made a mess of his custodianship of AVFC, now he’s making a complete cluster fuck of the sale!!
His wordy much lauded big announcement, turned out to be a damp squib, telling us nothing whilst using strange biblical references. I don’t think there is a sniff of a buyer, and Lambert will remain until the new owner arrives( whenever that is), and in the meantime we will continue to struggle and receive zero investment into the team, which is one of the worst Villa sides assembled in our history.
I think the asking price is too high, in 2012 we were valued at £102m or thereabouts, granted the TV deal will have increased the value, but it smacks to me of someone panicking trying to get every penny he can, so he can start his next venture( Hotels in the hamptons is one rumour), and therefore he will sell to any old cowboy aka CY or Venkys.
Picking up on Matts point of perhaps relocating under a new owner to the NEC, I’m totally against that, we already hear Bollox on a daily basis that real Brummies follow Blues, as there the working mans team of the City and bear it’s name, even the local media love them, a 10 page spread on staying up on GD and avoiding the third tier of football. I was dragged round the NEC for the baby show Friday , it’s surrounded by Nose country like Sheldon, Yardley and the A45 corridor to Somalia Heath and the Sty. It wouldn’t work, it would become too sterile, and not a proper football club. The only wY I could see some fans accept it, was if we were winning the league, and competing in the CL aka Man City( although their move to the Etihad wasn’t as far as ours would be, and they didn’t set up camp in their rivals heartland)
How long have Everton been for sale though and why no takers there? They are in a far more stable state than us in recent times, and which would you prefer personally as an investment.
Anyway, back this evening as I’ve got a lot on at work…
Everton don’t make much money matt
2013 2012 LEAGUE POSITION 6th 7th
AVERAGE LEAGUE ATTENDANCE 36,356 33,208 REVENUE £86.4m
£80.5m WAGES/TURNOVER RATIO 73%
79% OPERATING PROFIT / (LOSS) BEFORE PLAYER TRADING £0.7m (£6.4m)
PROFIT / (LOSS) AFTER TAx £1.6m (£9.1m)
NET ASSETS/ (LIABILITIES) (£42.7m) (£44.3m)
NET DEBT (£45.3m) (£46.0m)
John,
More like comatose than sleeping, are football clubs really a good source of investment, I suppose at the higher level they could be but I would not want to be the one putting hundreds of millions into AVFC, bottomless pit springs to mind.
UTV
I guess villa have better potential than Everton as Everton seem to have hit a ceiling and are running close to their limits, a bigger stadium seems to be the only way for them to progress as buying more expensive players in the current model would sink them. they have to sell to buy and even survive. we seem to have more leeway if run properly god knows why looking at this
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3691825,00.html
Lambert to stay R.I.P Aston Villa
Runtings – RIP? Relegation Is Probable? Let’s not give up yet – the fight goes on regardless
R.I.P indeed Villa. Unbelievable what’s going on at this club
At least I can get my head down a d revise for 3 weeks now before I go to Turkey. I can revise and enjoy the holiday knowing we are fucked instead of hoping something great will happen. It doesn’t to us. Let’s watch Stoke and West Ham etc buy the likes of Milner and Sinclair whilst we let Helenius go and sign Tonevs brother. Season tickets won’t sell
Stuff the Villa
Hope of all hopes, that Lerner doesn’t want to pay off Faulkner or Lambert’s contract and will leave it to the new owner to get his own men in and the contract pay offs will come from the new owners pocket or doing his lackeys one last favour in terms of a months/two months salary.
What is up with Villa, just at the time of huge investment (aka mis-management) Man City come along and spoil our potential party, now FFP comes along and prevents the kind of player investment needed to get Villa out of the doldrums.
I hope to god whoever are acting as advisors in my bank are casting their net far and wide to get someone to buy our club as quickly as possible, given the length of time is needed for due diligence and meeting Prem League/FA requirements that evidences you are fit and proper to own a club, if this gets sorted by World Cup Final i’d be very happy, at least that way we have some window of opportunity to get rid of Lambert and Faulkner and facilitate player investment
I’d love it to get sorted before the WC but we will go into the first game of the season with the twats still at this club watching everyone else signing good players
Good Morning Lifers
Well he`s staying then.It makes sense under the current circumstances,who could we attract,knowing that he would be out(probably)when new owners arrive?.
Lambert,I used to say,I would judge him on his third season…..but he doesn`t deserve a 3rd season.
If he is in place at the start of the new campaign ,there will be outright hostility toward him IMO.
If the sale drags on, and I fully expect it to be a lenghty process,then we are certs for the drop,and any sale may not be completed until we are in the division below.
Even if you don’t like Lambert it makes sense to keep him, how can Lerner appoint a new manager when he is selling, the only alternative would be a caretaker/ promoting a coach from within which pretty much means Cowans
Frem “Stuff the Villa”?, hang your head in shame
Being critical is one thing but comments like this are well overstepping the mark and make me wonder if sone are real fans at all
I hope (with a mild level of hope) that Lambert has learnt his lesson and will go for low numbers and quality rather than hopeful punts. With a couple of decent signings and our injuries returning we are capable of mid table. This is where we were prior to a very bad end to the campaign regardless of the ridiculously hysterical bleating of many on this site. My biggest concern is the coaching, both in terms of quality and numbers of coaches, is Lambert recruiting new coaches?
b6b i think you are correct in that randy will not take on further expense by sacking pl
Not such a bad thing if a deal can be finalised in the next few months but if we have pl for any real length of time we will be in trouble big time as his style of football will continue to drag us in the wrong direction — and which plasyer worth his salt would want to play under him
Lets be honest – removing the manager whilst the current owner is still here was always going to be unlikely as it would leave the club in limbo until a sale is announced, and that could be some time off.
Plus who is going to sign in the interim if we have no manager, and I’m pretty certain Lerner doesn’t want or need the headache of hiring someone to cover the gap between now and a sale (which could be any amount of time).
As for Everton, I don’t see much of a comparative difference – similar turnovers really, and a far more saleable squad than ours.
Be honest – given the choice, which team would you rather buy? My answer would be neither, but I’d find Everton better value than Villa.
Sid believe me there aint many fans more loyal to the club them Frem -you will find those comment born out of disapointment and frustration
doesnt look like Randy will get the statement out today does it guys — the worst thing about randy for me is just leaving the fans to stew without any indication or info on anything
I can understand that he may not be able to say too much but at least he could say something like i am working hard to pass the club over into good hands asap or not just something
Runtings, not sure I agree, I have read Frem’s comment in horror for a while, very ill informed and illogical, wanting players who are either terrible/ not as good as we’ve got, totally out of our league or just signed for other teams to be signed; completely unbalanced, criticising one day, praising the same player the next, ridiculously over the top insults of players who if Frem were face to face with he wouldn’t say a word and now saying things like “stuff the Villa”
If this is loyalty I’d hate to see the alternative, unbalanced whining little girl who knows little or nothing about football
Fans have every right to be frustrated about the state of the club but there’s ways and means to express them. Naming yourself after a player (name and squad number) as Frem did in his previous incarnation and them turning on him and calling on the same player to be got rid of is not the way to do it. Nor is referring to our longest serving and most loyal player as “trash” and later putting together endless suggested lineups with the play included is the sign of an unbalanced mind. Frem has done all these things
With fans like that…..
Sid of course you are intitled to your opinion – can’t say i share yours — yes frem gets emotional , he has his opinions some i agree with some i don’t but insulting him because you do not agree is not making you the bigger man and you are no better than him ——– There are not too many fans that love there club that do not have very strong opinions and i am sure will have all been wrong about things within our opinions at some point
do have
The biggest problem in selling a football club is that it’s not a sound investment , it’s a high risk , fools investment . How many billionaires are there who can afford to watch their money burn.
RL has prepared us for the sale by lowering wages, loans , outgoings so on paper we look more attractive and with improved infrastructure etc , increase in TV money , fabulous stadium so we look pretty good . Sleeping giant we maybe , toothless giant presently, but a giant nevertheless.
The valuation is based on current market value as Mark says and RL will try and get as much as he can . It’s the Lerner Family Trust which stands to lose £100 million on estimated reports . As he won’t be the only beneficiary of the trust I’d imagine there are a few beneficiaries who are pretty annoyed with the AV saga. No one’s gojng to shed tears for them but it is understandable they will try and cut their losses . The trust is in a catch 22 position – it needs to sell out to stop losing more money – but it has to get best possible price (how long will this take ) to honour the trust objective and duties to beneficiaries .
PL has to remain in the interim : these no way the club can be manager less or appoint a new mgr who may not be new owner’a choice and thus have to be paid off a 3 year contract .
It’s early days – I’m not panicking yet !!!
Jenny,
I will drop you a line when its time to panic.
UTV
Jenny,
You got mail.
UTV
Sid , if you had read all of Frem’s comments you would see that he loves AV . He’s a young lad compared to a lot of us on here and his enthusiasm and passion for the club is huge .
SWV 🙂 Don’t – I am in denial 🙂 it’s easier .
Villa a Sleeping Giant
To Clive, SWV and others ….
Whatever adjective you use – comatose or whatever it happens to be – the fact is that in Aston Villa there’s a mammoth possibility that has been left to be mismanaged by one entity after another.
And it’s in the potential of Aston Villa that we’re talking of it being a Sleeping Giant.
The club has a huge catchment area in the Midlands, and little has been done to utilise that.
Investing enough money to bring back a style and swagger about the club – as did Ron Atkinson – would help to prick that potential. Whether you do it through (1) spending huge amounts without thought of getting it back or (2) a mix of spending and youth, it needs a wealthy someone who is a real fan of football to pick up the gauntlet. And his appointment of a manager who has the vision and the skills.
The question is, of course, ‘who is there of this description to come forward?’
Meanwhile Tom Hanks has spent his recent time watching German football!
SWV
I am becoming concerned.Why?Well I`m finding that I agree with almost every word you write.I must see S75 next time I`m over for some therapy.
Sid
Frem is fine,we all make over the top statements and say daft stuff,or write daft stuff from time to time(apart from me and SWV of course).By stuff the Villa,I`m sure he just means he`s going to put Villa on the back burner for the summer.He loves the Villa and gets over excited at times.
On the takeover,be patient,if it`s worth having,it`s worth waiting for.I trust Randy to do the right thing and sell us to competent people.For all his errors of judgement I believe Lerner wants the best for AVFC in the future
Matt a realistic summary.
Ian a good piece yesterday,I hope all the graft you are putting into the house,bears fruit.
Matt: I’d find Everton better value than Villa.
Matt – forgive me – I can’t follow the logic of that statement when you take into the equation that Everton have to compete against Liverpool and two other North-Western clubs that we all know about.
Everton have achieved more-or-less the same playing record as Villa. And Villa sits here – in geographically a fine position in the country, access-wise – without any nearby competition of note.
Villa fan I might be but looking at the matter objectively I can’t see why on earth Everton is a better catch.
Making Money out of Football
Anyone who thinks he can must be mad i.m.o.
As Mark has suggested, football should probably be considered as a charitable enterprise for the benefit of a region.
And the only financial backer who would meet those conditions is someone who is a football nut unless they’re in it for the glory that can be attained, even if not the loot.
For example, if the owners of JLR (Tata) were to buy the Villa and plaster their logo over the kit and the ground, success of the club would reflect on Tata and their products. It’s all been done before (in Italy etc).
sid l have had Frem on some jobs with me learning his trade , and he’s a mad mad villa fan , and at the moment l say the fuck the villa as they seem to be fucking around with the fans , he’s a yound lad and has a season ticket , a lot of the young kids l know are now sitting in the pub rather than going down , and some of them have season tickets but are fed up watching the shit dished out , all frem wants is the best for his beloved team , but for 3 seasons he’s watched shit , l gave up when Mcleish was appointed and l now have a large group ,mainly fellow steamers who sit and drink with me , and yes when l was a youngster l wanted , best, law , curry , bowles, lee, waggy ect and was pissed off when Rioch left , so l think most of us have been there , and as runtins said we all have our opinions some l agree with others l dont ,
Under FFP how much can Villa spend for the 2014-15 season? Randy sold Cleveland to a rather shady character who is being watched for various dealings. It’s going to be interesting. Still better than the plight BCFC find themselves in.
Trinity, all of the above except Birch syrup instead of Maple syrup. And if you are wondering I have a box of Maple Walnut ice cream in the freezer.
Aston Villa are the perennial sleeping giants. Just when we think it’s about to wake up it goes back for a nap. Last 4 years its been hibernating.
The potential at Villa is huge but is it worth £200m? Like Jenny I cant see how anyone in the current climate would think its a sound investment. Lerner bought the club for £62m in 2005 which probably undervalued the club at the time. And he’s put in roughly another £240m since then so he’s looking at a loss of £100m. Incidentally, that £62m in 2006 would be worth £80m today allowing for inflation so in real terms he has lost probably more than £120m if he sells for £200m. Any business man making a long term investment would want his asset to much outperform inflation. I think that figure of £200m – £250m a figure plucked from the air somewhere in between what the club is actually worth and what he has put into it. He wants to recover as close to break even as possible, and the realistic value is nowhere near that.
Lerners family trust has put in all that money as loan notes and waived about £26m in interest. £90m of the debt was converted into equity. Its a substantial loss already and most of that can be put down to bad management. Makes you think, what kind of model were they following?
So last week Learner issues statement which states PL PF etc to remain and see out and help the transition stage. But PL & PF have to go to New York for long weekend a week later……for what exactly? Surly a conversation about transfers etc can be done on phone or something?
Id have to agree with John that Villa are a better prospect long term than Everton. Everton will always suffer from ‘second club in the city’ syndrome. Man City have shown what it takes to overturn that – over a billion £’s. But they had some other factors that made them a suitable club for the sheiks to take over. The new stadium paid for by the city built for the commonwealth games, the ability to develop the land around the stadium, and a good following and catchment area.
Villa imo are more comparable to City than Everton, we have the stadium that can be developed. We have the fanbase, more than what City had before the ‘plastic’ era. Everton have the fanbase but not the stadium. And the revenue they take is less than the Villa despite all the years of struggle. Add a cost of a new stadium to that and they could be facing many years of cut backs to pay for it.
Personally I dont know why they dont build a new joint stadium with Liverpool.
Consensus seems to be that I have been too hard on Frem, no doubt that is true
I must say, I gave him both barrels as a proxy for a lot of fans on the site I guess because logic has gone out the window for many. To be clear I am not at all happy where we are as a club (no shit Sherlock!) but we can’t just say everything’s bad or assignall the blame to individuals. Unlike many I did not want Lambert as manager although wasn’t devestated when he joined. I remembr giving a similar kick to someone called Simeon on another blog who was convinced when MON left all would be rosey – 9th and 15th to 16th placed finishes since then gives he lie to that
I am probably too patient and not demanding enough but what I do know is building a negative consensus and putting the fear of God in to a young squad does noone any good and doesn’t encourage good football so I don’t sound off about how terrible everyone is, boo etc
Petrov was rubbish in his first season then became a legend. Curtis Davies and Steve Sidwell were both terrible for us and needed to be booted out but turned out to play well for other premier league teams
I’m wasting my time i know but ….. patience is a virtue
B62B,
No need to worry too much about us both being in agreement as I think we are hardly in a very exclusive group, it is an easy conclusion to come to because the situation has been the same for three years and it looks as if nothing will change any time soon.
But I am sure that ST75 will be on here soon to assure people I am indeed an arse and normal service will be resumed.
UTV
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3842756,00.html
So there we have it.. no takeover imminent.. PL to stay in charge.. we are in deep shite..
Runtings, I can take strong opinions, and yes we can all be wrong, it is not about whether we agree or not, I’m used to being in a minority. Maybe i was too critical of Frem but only because he has singled out individual players and trash talked them in a way which in my opinion is unacceptable using insulting terms which i don’t believe he would dare say to a players face
I don’t insult anyone when I’m not willing to say it to their face and that includes Frem
Sid,
I do not need to stick up for Frem as he is a very capable young man but you may find this blog a little different to other frequencies, we tend to give respect to each other even though we sometimes completely disagree, some lads on here have met on face to face terms for a drink and a chat which brings a different meaning to the blog community.
Some sites are full of keyboard warriors promising to visit with virtual baseball bats, thankfully AVL is probably one of the best and informed blogs I have ever been a part of, we even have a site cat that gets fed daily.
In Steamers absence I will take up the mantle of The Voice of Reason.
UTV
South West understood, no more baseball bats!
Shouldn’t the base ball bats not be put away as far as the players are concerned also? – here’s hoping for base ball bat disarmanent rather than a base ball bat arms race
All quiet on the Culverhouse and Karsa front.
UTV
Sid
l didnt want PL here , and at that game in norwich when all around was singing his praises , l was singing for him to stay put ,
and as for Frem , he’s young and only wants whats best for the villa , and sometimes he says things in frustration , dont we all …………..
l could slag the PL fans , but l dont as its their opinion, they know mine l know theirs , simples ……..
my opinion ……..the blokes a clueless clown ………. but got lucky ..
Sid,
Happy days it just might be time for a virtual group hug as long as I am not next to ST75, my god I think we may all need one soon.
UTV
Sid These highly paid guys are in the spotlight and everyone will have there opinion on them – defend there honor if you like – frem villa through and through so i will stand shoulder to shoulder and defend him — those player barring a few won’t give to shhhh about us
SWW , voice of reason !!!!!!!!!!! dont talk shit
runtings, well paid maybe but still human. Weiman for instance, came through the Acedemy, appears to care for the club and gives his all mostly. Been played out of position a lot, had little service so has a dip in form, has been slated by a lot of fans (not saying Frem by the way). I know many others disagree but when he cupped his hands to his ears I felt he was saying, I want to hear you sing my name because I’ve given my all – and a bit of I want to hear something positive because you have slated me enough. I don’t think it was the cocky crowd taunting many thought, i could be wrong as I don’t know him but having met him once he seems a good guy.
Regardless, if you boo/ criticise players, even though we think they are arrogant and untouchable many will subconciously melt and get worse so is a no no as far as I am concerned
Anyway, back to reading and not posting much as unfortunatley (for me) I don’t have time to do more)
sidcowanslovechild – Yes you are right in your analysis of Frem. 🙂
Frem writes utter drivel but somehow manages to be a likeable character. He’s as obsessed with the villa as anyone. Scrub that. More obsessed than anyone.
I can’t see why so many people have got their knickers in a twist. The club is up for sale. This is good news. Rejoice and enjoy the summer. We have a World Cup with no expectations (we are 33-1 ) and we have a fascinating summer for Aston Villa.
Worst case – we don’t get sold. So what? We will have loads of players coming back from injuries and if there is any danger of us being relegated, Lerner will spend in January. The squad is young and will only improve. We only got involved in a relegation scrap because of injuries to key players.
Personally I think we will be sold this summer. I think Lerner will have people lined up but an actual sale takes time.
Stuff the Villa, not the best thing to say. I promise you the last thing I would do is that 🙂 it’s just annoying that after a god awful the season, there was hope a new owner and manager is coming in but that looks a long way of. More of the same to come if it doesn’t happen soon. The club don’t care about the fans anymore
Wrongly in some people eye’s i suppose, but i will be getting another season ticket who ever is here and if its York City or Man City in the cup’s at VP on a Wednesday night, i’ll still be going. I’ll still be going to at least 2 away games a season also
I know I moan about the players, and sometimes go over the top on them on here but when i’m actually at games, I never leave early what ever the score ( Apart from one game in 10 years ) and I never booo them. I know judging by my posts you probably think I’m the one who starts of the abuse but my Mother hates it when people abuse players at games, so I don’t.
My posts probably don’t show it, but I love this club an unbelievable amount, like everyone, probably more than I should. I wish I could just relax, get over games straight away, not give a hoot but I can’t
I’ll try and cut down on the drivel Droyd, can’t promise anything though 😉
I am obsessed with Villa yes, to much.
World cup will be good. Won’t be easy for us to even get out the group stage but I think we will manage it somehow.
worst case- Lambert is still in charge
“To the fans, my message is simple – this is your club and it’s a fantastic club. Your support has made it into this.
Don’t blame me you twat, blame the happy clappers.
“The past two seasons have been tough and expectations, rightly, are high. But success is always built on everybody working together and the circumstances now require us all to pull together and stick together and try to galvanise ourselves for this challenge we face.
“I’m determined to give it everything I have, the players will do the same and it is our collective strength as a club which, ultimately, will see us through.”
What a load of knackers, this is BS for we’re buggered.
Droyd
some of us have met Frem and he is a likable chap , villa mad , yes ,
and some of us met last year for the 1st time . Mark , steamer, B6brazil.B62 ,Jed and we dont all agree on things but never have we slagged each others opinions , and all were likable lads ,
as l mentioned before , we may be meeting up and going to the chesterfield friendly , tell you what , how about coming and lets see if your a likable person ,
Frem – don’t you dare change your posts – be yourself – and it’s only Droyd’s opinion they are drivel . SWV point is so true – we all have different opinions – there’s no right or wrong one – it doesn’t matter what you are , how old you are , what you have or haven’t done . The object is to respect everyone’s views even if you don’t agree .
Frem you come out with some classics – they make me laugh anyway . Be yourself kidder .
Sid i agree with most of your last post and yes players are human — they are in the public eye and in a competitive envioriment so therefore they will have to deal with a different level of critism from the ordinary guy on the street and also get great benifits and huge support and addulation from fans and media
Aston Villa like any club is about the fans and wthout support t just becomes a kick about in the park so the fans deserve as much respect as the players
i don’t support abuse of any kind and deffo not abuse of the foot soilders on avl
Jen,
The one about horse shite and dog shite was World class.
Jenny:> <The object is to respect everyone’s views even if you don’t agree .
Yes, well, this never works in practise, Jen – though it would be nice if it could be the case.
There are many examples in history when this tactic was used only for the courtesy to be received as a slap.
Big example is that of Chamberlain and Hitler.
Determination of what is truth is a higher road – in my opinion! 😉
I’ll try that again!
Jenny: The object is to respect everyone’s views even if you don’t agree .
Yes, well, this never works in practise, Jen – though it would be nice if it could be the case.
There are many examples in history when this tactic was used only for the courtesy to be returned as a slap.
Big example is that of Chamberlain and Hitler.
Determination of what is truth is a higher road – in my opinion!
AVFC OS: But we’ll look to identify players of proven quality to bring in…
I thought that phrase gives a bit of hope for reality having been recognised.
Well well , I was wondering when someone would mention Frems ability to zap all positivity on a game to game basis . I don’t comment often but have to say over however long I’ve been using the site I’ve learnt to take comments with a pinch of salt. If only Sherwood was our manager !! Haha . Anyway anyone know the odds on England not scoring a goal this World Cup ??
🙂 Steamer – that’s the one I was thinking about and has to be AVL number one Fremism . Brilliant Frem – keep them coming !
John- They said that in Jan and we got Grant Holt. Milner, Lescott, Barry. Get them in
Liam- So many positive games last season. Spurs and City were filled with positives, and the Southampton game, Stoke game, Palace game, Man U game, Swansea game, Fulham game. Ended on a real high
In all honesty, there was probably 3 and a half games where I thought well done Villa
Arsenal, Chelsea x 2, and 45 Mins against Pool.
frems like those packs of batteries at poundsaver half a pack with a negative at both ends and the other half with positives, frem doesn’t do moderation or balance, top man 🙂
you go and fix your moms tv and a fight breaks out.
Frem speaks from the heart : balance and moderation is very overrated – ask David James 🙂 how did he get through £20 mill ?
To be fair to Frem , he’s not the only one unhappy on here . Even Mr L is comparing AVL freedom of speech with the rise of the nazis – it’s been a long season 🙂
And next season will seem even longer. Sorry, can’t see a way out of this hole while these shameless spivs have anything to do with the club. I wonder what devious scheme L, F & F have worked out, whatever, it’ll be like the rest of their ‘plans’ a total failure.
Albri is on his way out then, no new contract. The only good thing to happen to us in the last 10 games of the season is going. Sums us up at the moment
Well that’s £510 down the pan, Villa never fail in plunging to new depths and pissing off its loyal fanbase , all we need now is for the vermin to be taken over and the despair will be complete.
To sum up our current predicament, we have one of the worst owners who had turned gold into dogshit, ably assisted by his clueless sidekick, who knows nothing about football and the business. Add to this we have a buffoon as a manager, who’s negative footballing ethos and tactics are from the dark ages, and has succeeded on putting together one of the worst squads in our history, breaking all the negative records possible.
Just when we thought, there was light at the end if the tunnel, it seems it’s been extinguished , no takeover, more of the same dross, I fully expect relegation under these clowns. AM was loving it on the radio today, he was basically vindicated for us being shite under him, and pointed out things haven’t got any better since his departure.
Iv never bet on Villa to lose, but I’m gonna stick a few quid on us going down, to cover the ST should the worst happen.
Mark,
I’m not convinced that it’s true that players improve when they leave Villa. It may look like that but part of the problem is that some fans do love a good whinge and maybe it’s that other fans are better at appreciating what they have. Take Sidwell. Ok, he’s no World beater but the fact is that when he played for us he did it effectively as evidenced by our results being better when he was in the team than when he wasn’t.
Curtis Davies……..he played very well for us up until the time when he dislocated his shoulder. He kept trying to play for us when he really should have had a long break to properly recover. The fans just loved to hate him though.
Don’t you remember the criticism that was aimed at Milner Young and Petrov. What would we give to have players of their calibre in our midfields now?
Then look at Bent, Gardner, Ridgewell…….none of them have set the world alight since leaving us.
I reckon it’s our perceptions of our players when they’re with us that needs to be looked at….not whether they improve when they leave us.
Well, at least we know who the manager is even if it’s more of PL. At least he’s demanding decent transfer funds and is trying to entice the likes of Lescott, who’s a Villa fan and would complement Vlaar at the back. Hopefully, he can bring in Milner and Barry too, though I think Pelligrini wants to keep Milner, but at least PL is finally ready to pay for some quality players. We’ll see soon enough.
Spurs are greedy. How good is Holtby, anyway?
Ree
Sidwell was a box to box goal scorer for reading he turned into a half wit for us who’s tackling ability made Genghis khan look gentle then back to a goal scoring box to box player for Fulham. I thought he would be the new Ian Taylor for us. trust me I appreciate players attributes but we seem to take a diamond and produce a turd at times. whitaker and davis did much better, gardner and ridgewell were steady with us and that’s what they remained , after all we trained them in our wonderful academy. cahill was a rough diamond we sold him for knight??? other than barry who else made a major impact in the prem from our academy? we paid £10m for Davies because he had talent, a couple of dodgy games destroyed him we are very quick to judge I agree but also very good at coaching talent and belief out of a player. Our academy players play together sometimes longer than the first team so build a good understanding over the years hence we won a lot. this somehow doesn’t translate into being great for the first team. this season the u21’s had players go out on loan and they were average and won nowt. I have high hopes for Grealish I hope he doesn’t go the way of albrighton.
Albri was never going to stay if Lamtwat was retained, who, apart from Westwood and Holt, would want to play for the worst manager in the entire league ?
Wonder how much Lerner will get for the club next year, £50m ? The second worst thing to happen to Villa bought to the club by the worst thing ever to happen to the club.
Lambert will end up selling Albrighton, then Benteke when he returns, making Holt the captain, and scour the country for cheap loan deals, so that there is plenty in the coffers, and Lerner will get most of his money without selling the club for more than £150 million. It will then be up to the buyers to improve Villa and save them from the drop..
Guaranteed with Lambert in charge, the most we can hope for is that he gets Lescott, plus a few QPR rejects.
Morning
Seems the mood on here is as variable as frems posts – swinging around more than 75’s g string.
Liam mentioned Sherwood and i have heard a lot of fans talk of Sherwood. Not saying i want him but like the story of when he took over and balled a few players out for not playing for the shirt. The story goes afew others came over and said “nice one gaffer – they needed that a while ago” so Sherwood replied “then why the feck didn’t YOU do it a while ago”.
To my mind this sums up what we need to get back at the club. Team spirit and being responsible for your own effort and actions.
Lets hope we get a decent owner with a sporting background clearly the sooner the better. Then and only then will we know if PL is staying and who we can expect to see coming into the club.
22 days til footy goes again, i’m hoping Roy takes this team further than they should go on paper and shoves it up some of the meedjas backsides whilst he is at it.
UTV!
Paul
What you’re saying is a possible scenario, especially given PL’s record in the transfer market. Let’s hope you’re wrong.
Who knows what kind of wheeling and dealing has occured behind closed doors?
Bibulus
“To my mind this sums up what we need to get back at the club. Team spirit and being responsible for your own effort and actions.”
True. If everyone can do their own job first then the team will perform better overall. Too many at Villa have not performed up to the required standard.
Ash Cole and Frank Lampard are looking for new things. Just a thought. They still have a lot to offer. Go on PL and Randolf, have a talk to them at least.
I feel utterly despondent at the current situation at Villa. But I am not surprised.
The announcement made by Randy was no surprise but the failure to have a buyer ready to take over I find incredulous.
Paul Lambert is dead man walking. When new buyers are found he will be replaced. His brief is to try and protect Randy’s asset, find a few experienced players to improve the squad until a buyer is found. Then he will be shown the door.
I still feel a great sense of pride when I go to Villa Park. We have a phenomenal stadium, an awesome training ground and great support. We are a Premier League club.
But the investment to purchase our great club is significant and the return will be nothing more than vanity.
Let’s all hope that a buyer can be found soon, a multi-billionaire with a passion for our club and one who is prepared to invest in the team. Not asking much – is it?
Up the Villa.
PP- You would hope we have new owners by the time Benteke is back fit. Agree with what you say though
Trinity- Those two, Milner, Barry and Lescott are all available, but we will watch the likes of West Ham, Stoke, Newcastle etc get them whilst Villa have no money, a dire manager and an owner who want’s out
It’s looking good
And delph, Gabby and Vlaar could all be going as they only have a year left on thee contracts and we won’t renew them. Albri will be going to another relegation rival
And Lambert wants Hoolahan and Pilkinton
No buyer will wants us if we sell them and sign those
Frem: No buyer will wants us if we sell them and sign those.
I don’t follow that, mate. A buyer would look at the overall potential. He would ask, “What is there in this entity that should attract my investment?”
The players he can sell and buy afresh.
He would like:
1. The club’s history;
2. The fact that it is a PL club;
3. The fact that little meaningful opposition exists within a radius of 70 miles or more, therefore the potential of more supporters within that radius;
4. The fact that the ground can be expanded (to 50,0000 capacity).
5. The club’s infrastructure.
i think you’ll hear all the stories about Lescott, Milner & Barry etc, but they’re obviously a ruse to get ST’s sold, this years marquee signing will be Holt followed by players of similar ability.
I don’t feel guilty about turning my back on AVFC due to the fact that its been dead for four years, this isn’t the club i followed, i wouldn’t follow this club under any circumstances. AVFC is taking a nap,when this reincarnation finally dies of shame i’ll follow it again
Steamer
Instead of walking away…now is the time for action…with all those £20 notes floating about between you, ST75, B62, and a few others, added to all the tabs, I still have owed to me from my publican days, we could probably with the help of a few mega wealthy members of AVL like Droyd, along with our legal team of Jenny and Josh make a bid for the club now and appoint Frem as the new manager and JL as director of football.
Good article today from Matt Kendrick about villa on the mail site.
Surly any player will think twice about joining a club with a potential new owner to come in and also a different manager.
And will the current players give 100% knowing PL will be off? Untill the new owner and manager are in place i cant see any positives looking forward.
PP,
At least we’d have the club at heart, SWV could fund us with the £££ that he saved avoiding buying a round.
Suppose your right John:) and the fact we are the 4th most successful English team. That’s something. We need to win a trophy or two so very soon though to keep that
Andrew- the only players we could get are the likes of Holt and Hoolahan. There is no positives at the moment at Villa. Not one. West Brom might be close to getting a half decent manager, Big Sam will probably be leaving.
They will get first picks of the better managers
Pat Murphy interview with PL on BBC – http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27485242
Afternoon all,
Like RichardS , I can’t believe that RL made the statement without a buyer in place. Reason ? I believe he’s been wanting to sell for ages so why make it now – unless he is now desperate and wants to attract more publicity. It has made the club less attractive to players coming in, to our existing players (who might be all on the phone to their agents) and he has to continue with an unpopular manager who hasn’t got any assistants (GIven and SId were temporary) which is not good for ST sales. Can you honestly see players like Lescott (who we have approached yet again) signing up in these circumstances, because I can’t.
As for Frem being manager Paul P, I think he should apply for the assistant coaches job. Daily Mirror reporting that Culverhouse and Karsa contracts are being terminated and that Paul L will be recruiting new back room staff. I can just see it 4-4-2 heaven 🙂
Hopefully we can still get decent players such as lescott and barry – reason being regular first team football as well as there association with the club -as long as the wage ceiling has been raised i think we can get them
players will come to villa but my main issue is that we are stuck with PL and unless he gets a decent coach we will still be playing this backward and outdated kick and rush brand of football.
whatever happened to the beautiful geeeeerman (steamers chat) style of football that was promised ?
7500 Holte post:
Aston Villa are confusing.
First we heard that there would be no new contracts or signings this summer. Then we heard that funds would be available. That seemed quite good! But yesterday gave us word that Marc Albrighton was likely not going to have his contract renewed, which was quite perplexing in light of the club’s unquestionable need for creative types.
Well, we may have some explanation for that decision: Aston Villa seem to be under a contract ban. While Paul Lambert will have the funds to make a few signings this summer, he apparently won’t have the freedom to extend the contracts of players such as Albrighton. And yes, that news stinks because it means that Marc is probably headed out the door. If that were the extent of the problem, though, it would be something with which we could live.
But unfortunately the problem could very well affect the squad for more than just this summer. With Fabian Delph, Ron Vlaar, Gabby Agbonlahor, and Jack Grealish out of contract next summer and unable to be renewed now, they will almost certainly start attracting the attention of other clubs now. And when the option of cash to spend becomes available, it will become increasingly difficult to say no to offers for those players.
At the very least, even if these players stick around for the summer, it creates a logjam of new deals to finish next May. If the club haven’t been sold yet, it could be a real crisis. If they have been sold, it could mean committing more money to wages (in all likelihood, the players mentioned–with the possible exception of Gabby–will command higher wages than they do now) than is strictly necessary. That, in turn, could mean less money for transfers in a summer where the club will need them to make up for loans and stopgap moves made this summer.
In some ways, it makes sense to allow new owners to make these decisions. But the prospect of this club acting in a sort of Lerner-induced-coma is frightening. These types of decisions seem safe to punt away now. What if an owners isn’t found, though? What becomes of the club if they are in this position next year? It’s even more difficult to sell a team with few marquee players. Something needs to be done, contracts need to be signed.
Aston Villa are infuriating.
PS – We all love Frem and he loves Villa
“It means Lambert is likely to have to rely on loans, free transfers and cheap buys this summer. He will still lobby Lerner to dig deep for experienced Bosmans like Joleon Lescott and also fancies Wes Hoolahan and Anthony Pilkington at old club Norwich.
The Scot must wheel and deal with flops like Aleksandar Tonev, Antonio Luna, Nicklas Helenius, Enda Stevens and Yacouba Sylla available for transfer to raise funds.”
Daily mirror today
Should be fun 🙂
My expectations have been lowered so much that i would be a little excited about Hoolahan.
He hasn’t even gave Helenius a chance. If he’s going for free agents, Gareth Barry is a must. Love him as a player. Oh how good he was when we had Laursen, stan, Milner and Young. Made playing CM look easy
Do you realise the pain I’m in that we are letting our only natural winger go ? The thought of Gabby and KEA on the flanks next season and Baker and Benett in the back 4 is frightening.
Jenny- it would be a 4 4 2 🙂 I’m a massive fan of Atletico Madrid now. There like an unbelievably well oiled functioning machine. Spent less money than us, lower wage bill than us and they have just won the Spanish league. Not one have played 3 or 5 at the back, not once have they played a 4 3 1 2 fancy BS formation, it’s always a 4 4 2 or a 4 4 1 1. Simple but effective. You don’t need 5 at the back, or 3 midfielders standing on each other teams. So next time lambert plays a 5 3 2 and when we get battered moans about money, I’ll cut his balls off, stuff down his throat whilst showing him YouTube vids of Madrids tactics
Aston Villa FC are a living clusterfuck, for everyone that says Lambert has been backed, I give Athleico Madrid, Simeone has built a team for less and a £20m a year smaller wage bill. To rub salt into the wounds they have topped La Liga and are in the CL final, I wouldn’t back Lambert and this team to win the Birmingham Senior cup. We are a catastrophe, and Certs for relegation. A poor squad and a useless manager whose backroom staff are facing the sack for bullying, no investment mean were right in the shit.
We have no plan, no footballing philosophy , just negative reactionary tactics which plainly don’t work. I honestly can’t see a worse team as it stands next season, even the teams that are coming up are preparing properly, we’re in total disarray, on and off the pitch.
RL has obviously tried to sell us on the quiet, failing that he’s now announced it in a real amateurish panic. The man is clueless and prob has to be told to take down his pants to have a shit.
Lambert and Faulkner are just idiots who have fallen lucky, totally talentless.
So what’s going down on the suicide watch that is Aston Villa Life? 🙂
Miserable sods.
*fucks off*
PP
Me as DoF would get us relegated for sure! 🙁
Does anyone think it’s true that there is a blanket ban at the moment regarding contract negotiable etc ??
If so what happens with the likes of Vlaar, Delph etc who are entering their last year I their current deal, if nothing gets sorted, they will walk for free next summer and can sign pre contract agreements in jan ( I think).
I have a horrible feeling we will be having these same discussions next summer, as to who the new gaffer and owner will be when Lerner goes, only we could be planning a return to the top flight after this year!
Albrighton and the Fonz officially released by Villa.
WTF is going at Villa, surely MA has got something to offer, after all this Villa team is awful
mental
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3845958,00.html?
john or matt get in there 🙂
http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~3845640,00.html
My application is in, at least i’d be honest, there’s no-one at VP with that qualification at the moment.
In fact the way Lerners cutting costs i could end up manager, coach and captain at the same time.
steamer
they’ve said they need someone for the right wing so I’ve tattooed a swastika on my neck and put my CV in good a chance as any, their paying minimum wage too, quids in.
Robert Rich is the latest name to be linked. Only worth 1.8 billion though, won’t be getting us back to the glory days
Good comments Droyd – fair play to to Frem – he’s over the top a few times like most people but I think we all recognise frustration since we’ve all felt it.
I really hope the Villa can get a decent buyer this summer – hopes not wild about it. I’d be so gutted if we get a Venkys or Vincent Tan and spend several months being a Newcastle-style comedy.
No too bothered about Albrighton going. Not good enough and not consistent enough but I will be gutted if a different club make a good player out of him.
I’m happy with Delph and nearly happy with Westwood or a new, better central midfielder with back up from an improving Gardner who should get to stake his claim next season. KEA is almost good enough but it won’t do if all you can do is break up play. A solid ball controller would take so much pressure off our back three or four and play it through occasionally rather than all this hoofing. This player is priority number one.
Holtby would be a great choice but he’s not worth £10m yet – doesn’t have the consistency but I expect would get it if he was relied on every week. Dembele would be perfect but it’ll never happen.
We are in immediate need of a left-back. Betrand on loan again looks unlikely since Chelsea need a stand in for Azpilicueta now that Cole will go. Cresswell looks good but has no right foot and doesn’t lift his head enough. Would be good value at £5m as he should get better.
If Lowton can’t find form again – he needs to be replaced. We can’t keep holding back Bacuna by playing him right-back.
I’m happy with Okore and Vlaar with occasional back up from Baker or Clark.
Speaking of Clark – he should be a holding midfielder or sweeper (dropping into the back line). He’s not a good enough centre half.
Happy with Bacuna on the right of a three or four. We may have to use N’Zogbia if no buyer can be found for him. There’s nothing viable on the left. Nothing. Our third priority.
Not happy with Weimann in a front three. It’s been a waste of a season there and he will not develop further. He has to be in a two – either out and out or playing off Benteke or Kozak (another man with no business in a front three).
So that’s a left-back, central mid, possible right-back and left-sided midfielder just to get something decent on the pitch.
We need Grealish, Carutthers, Johnson, Donacian Robinson and Steer to come on leaps and bounds to be back up that isn’t scarily shallow. It’s impossible to think they will all be good enough squad players for a top-ten team. If three of them do and one of them becomes a first team regular – that would be a result. They need to be blooded or we’ll never know.
Luna or Bennett can go – although I think there might be something to Bennett. Cahill-like. He’ll plug away somewhere else and be brilliant all of a sudden.
Sylla and Tonev will never be good enough at this level. I’m comfortable saying never. Sylla is slower than one of those wankers who used to hack at decent players in the Pathe footage of games in the forties. Tonev has player nearly 20 times and can’t help himself for pissing away possession with confidence-draining shots when confidence and composure-building passes are on.
I see nothing in Bowery. I’ve tried and see nothing. It often feels like he should be the one on loan somewhere improving his game and someone like Robinson, Carruthers or Grealish should be taking those valuable minutes of game time.
Holt has or had some qualities but now he has no business in a Villa shirt and I hope that by the time i wake up tomorrow – he’ll be one of those players whose time at the Villa I’ve forgotten.
Bloody hell!! I’ve gone on a bit. Was listening to Bela Fleck and just kept on waffling….
#AVFC the irony advertising for a Journo when a cartoonist and a comic publisher would be more appropriate
Tony- I’d hope we will stop shopping in the championship. I’d sell all of Luna, Bennett and Baker. There crap. sylla, Given, Hutton, Zoggy, Helenius, Tonev, Bowery, Steer, Herd, Albri, Fonz will all be gone. I’m sure there is more crap I have not mentioned. Huge chunk of the wage bill
Signings -number 1 keeper. Guzan has been poor. Left back, Right back and Lescot. Vlaar is injury prone.
Midfield – hopefully Grealish will step up. Gareth Barry and Milner are must’s. Those two, Westy and Delphi isn’t a bad centre mid options what so ever. We have no wingers. Not one so that needs addressing BIG TIME !!
benteke is our only good striker. The rest are just squad players
It’s a massive job. 100 mill needed on players
Who as manager though ?
Moyes would be best for a project where we can’t throw City Money at it.Rafa would only come with a tone of money to spend straight away. Laudrep Maybe
Back from meditation lesson – last one next week – but me and my friend Debbie have caused the Tibetan monk who takes it to retreat for a month 🙂 but we are booking up on the next one in July in time for the “tough , very very tough season” ahead as our manager has called it . We will be ready to pick ourselves up and go again . 🙂 🙂
Zoggy is a something of a winger and Bacuna is a decent player on the right. Zoggy was only shite since we played shite under McLeish and when he had Bennett behind him last year. He may not be awful. We have nothing on the left.
If Benteke is out ’til October and Weimann can’t play in a three up front – why can’t we bring back Bent to play off Weimann, beside Gabby or behind Kozak? We’re paying him anyway.
I don’t think we can have Barry and Milner – we couldn’t afford to waste Milner on the right (where we already have Bacuna or, reluctantly, Zoggy).
£100m is half the value of the club that no one wants until now – I’m sure Lerner has tried some direct contacts without luck.
We can’t get the players and then the new manager. We have to be sold before the new manager and we can’t wait until we get sold before we add new players to the squad (and get rid of the dross).
We is in a pickle innit?
We should be concerned about new coaches before a new manager. There’s nobody out there who’d be worth replacing Lambert with unless they came with a new owner and billions, which is also unlikely to happen I’m afraid.
Fasten the seat belts boys….
And girls please Tony !
We is in a pickle
Zoggy has talent for sure, but as long as Lambert has a say in things he will be out the door as soon as possible
New owner, new manager, and new players by the time September the 1st comes around.
I wouldn’t waste Milner on the wing. He’s a quality CM. Would be phenomenal alongside Delph or Barry
I wouldn’t mind us taking a a chance with Uwe Rosler but I think new owners would go for a safe bet like Moyes
Bomb squad are back then
You couldn’t make it up
Wonder how season ticket sales are going ?
Albrighton and Delfonso gone for free….the saga of Villa’s demise continues as anyone of any value is released,and we look to scrape up everyone else’s rejects….Next we will loaning Joey Barton and making him captain…
We do not want Moyes….he was a failure at Everton, never actually achieving anything but maintaining the status quo, and then failing with his playing honest football at Utd. Fergie never taught honesty to his players, and they certainly were not going to accept it from Moyes.
We need a master tactician who is man manager and understands the beautiful game….we do not need Jenny stressing out and being led to better things by her Tibetan monk….
Sounds like RL has made PL eat some humble pie.
Hutton and Bent back in the seniors. Lol. We’ll they’re getting paid, so why not?
Guzan
Okore Vlaar Lescott Bertrand
Delph Westy
N’Zogbia Kiyotake Tadic
Benteke
This Is partially my dream for next year that we could maybe afford (Lescott, Kiyotake, Tadic) and a best case scenario for the remaining players. maybe carruthers where zoggy is.
Bela Fleck–a favourite
well well, so villa’s plan is let go semi reasonable players out of contract, bring in disgruntled players to make up the numbers and pin our hopes on the long term injured coming back fit for purpose , oh and promote the u21 enmasse 🙂
could be a stroke of genius by Mr McMumble as truly if we survive this season and attract the likes of barry,milner and lescott to join this merry bunch he truly is the messiah.
just had a terrible dream am I awake yet?
Chaos reigns in B6, It is now obvious we have no buyer lined up, no white knight charging in to save the day. Lerner has cut all investment into the club, hence the bomb squad returning, as we literally have no one else to play, and we won’t be buying anyone this summer, we may get in a couple of loans but they won’t be quality just quantity. We are going into next season with a terrible squad, which is fractured and split due to some players previous treatment, no unity or common cause whatsoever. A clueless idiot as a manager, without his trusted wingmen who are out on their ears for bullying( still don’t believe PL wasn’t party to this), An owner who simply wants out ASAP and isn’t going to put a penny into the club, as it’s all about the profit/loss for him.
There are NO reasons to be positive , even RL leaving has been overshadowed by the mess he’s making of flogging the club, Lambert is a moron, but is also bring sold up the river, I can see him walking( no loss). I think the sale will be protracted ie 12 months like Everton/Newcastle etc, maybe longer when we go down next season, as there is no interest, which explains RL statement begging for a buyer.
Bent along with Ireland and Heskey were praised to the high heavens on AVL last season…..now Bent is back many aren`t happy,confused .com.
Good times will be coming to Villa just a little patience is required.We have got what we wanted.almost.
Randy is leaving,Lambert is in his last season and will be off soonish.
Hang in there,it will take time.
COYVB