I’m not sure how much Joe Cole has left in the tank at this point. That was my first reaction to his signing. He really has never been the same player since he blew out his knee while still with Chelsea. Realistically he doesn’t need to have that much leftover to help us. The team’s lack of creativity was dire last year. Even in a diminished capacity Cole should help if he can stay on the pitch.

Cole and Phillippe Senderos have a couple things in common beyond just being cheap. They both have played for big clubs and have won things. Other than youth competitions the lads in the team haven’t won much in their careers. They are say it with me… experienced!!

Bringing in experienced players along with Roy Keane looks to be an effort to add leadership and accountability to a team that may have lacked it. Having experienced professionals to at least lead by example and show the young players how to be professionals may be what the club has needed Time will tell if Cole and Senderos can help more tangibly on the pitch.

I found both Cole’s and Lambert’s comments to be refreshing. Clearly if Cole cared about a last payday he would be anywhere else. He’s here because he still thinks he can play at the top level and is out to prove it at a club where he will have ample opportunity to play.

Barring the increasingly unlikely possibility of a quick sale, Villa’s path to survival is for Matt Lowton, Andi Weimann, Clark, Baker, and maybe even Joe Bennett and Alan Hutton to be better. Okore, N’Zogbia, Gabby, and Bent need to be fit and up for it. The cavalry probably isn’t coming. Villa will be lucky to add a couple members to the party. Come August all there is to do is circle the wagons.

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Jason Chalifour
I am a regular columnist for Aston Villa Life with my column running every Friday and have been writing at least semi-regularly about Aston Villa since 2010. I also run my own General Sports Website www.98ontheblack.com

Comments 50

  2. Pete Gunn

    Surely Senderos’s arrival means Clarks off? Fifth choice centre back for an international at 25? If he’s got any self respect, he’ll look elsewhere himself. No sign Lambert would consider him for holding midfield (where he was ok for us), or cover for left back (We’ve got two already, even if their not very good).

  5. runtings

    Jason — i think randy is doing as little as possible to allow the club to stay up while any sale goes through.

    in reality the like of joe cole and sender should not be putting on a villa shirt as they are not progressive signings

    but its like someone said – you don’t value your house put it on the market and them re do the kitchen and bathroom

    I think we can forget about anything exciting playerwise until the club is sold at the very least

  6. Josh Cattier

    Hello folks – I have returned from Lanzarote with quite the tan and a fair few more lb’s on the gut.

    I think Cole will be a valuable asset, similar to Patrik Berger and Robbie Keane, in that we lack any players with guile and a technical, creative edge. We have plenty of physical strength in the team, a lot of pace but no spark. Even though he’s the only one in the squad who can boast such a quality, and he may not play all that much, he’ll bring something to the team we need and his experience, along with Senderos’, is of value to our younger lot.

    Realistically, we can’t be expecting big money signings given our predicament but these stop-gap, fairly short term deals, can help us out for now whilst we once again battle relegation. Hopefully these aren’t the only two brought in and Lambert can get a bit of funding through selling unwanted or under performing players, but for now they are helpful. Doesn’t mean anyone should be going into the season with gleaming positivity – unless of course new ownership is achieved – but we’re on the right track to stabilising our position in the meantime.

    Hope you’ve all had a good week doing whatever you’ve been doing without me.

  7. steamer

    Hello Jason,
    Good write up as usual. Possibly Senders and Cole are here because its the last throw of the dice for them, no-one else at any level would sign them. I must say iv’e never been a fan of either and regarding Cole, how many players from the metrolops succeed when they move to the frozen North ?very, very few. I wouldn’t expect either to be at VP by the end of their contracts.
    Standards are rapidly eroding at VP while our custodian expands his career as a painter and decorator and the ginger one takes a totally unearned holiday in Brazil, they’re both lucky that they’re not paid by results.

    Jen,
    CC is humble, Socialist, Brummie and a Villan so no need to be overawed, although that combination of qualities would make most humans feel superior. His family are lovely too, his wife is a delightful Oirish woman and daughter, who attends VP every game, is a livewire.

  8. steamer

    Runtings,
    I’d take ANYONE over this idiot. Not much evidence of Arison until you realise that this is the way Lerner works, stand in a corner with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears and hope any problems are sorted by teatime.

  9. steamer

    I just don’t understand why McMumble plays anyone in MF instead of Clark who IMO would be just the type of player alongside Cole that he needs. I agree with Andrew that Coles inclusion suggests that once again we are going to play narrow despite that tactic being a total failure. Grealish won’t get a look in.
    Possibly the lifers away day will now be Wycombe, i went last year and we had a superb day.

  10. steamers75

    Jenny my darlink XXX
    R;e CC. you would need to get to the social for about 5-30/6pm as after that you would be propping him up lv got some pictures of him in the steamers hat somewhere , l dont listen to WM anymore after the way he was treated , its our gain thou as he doesnt need to get home early , mind you his daughter is formidable as she makes sure he gets home ,

    have a good weekend all ,
    were in town somewhere tomorrow to watch the game , and then onto the manzil , stay safe

  11. steamer

    The real expert panel in the caff were unanimous that the ref robbed Croatia last night. I suppose i’ll have to nip down the boozer for a gargle tomorrow for the stay back, never mind the footy, they may have an England badge on their shirts but this shower don’t represent me, hope whoever they’re playing stuffs ’em out of sight.

  12. Mark King

    hi folks

    I think cole and senderos are likely to be crocked if they play regularly, as to there impact I’m not holding my breath. kind of hoping Okore and grealish and gardener shine in pre-season and limit their chances.

    shame I missed the musicians from brum theme, 3 of duran duran lived in my aunt sues street. Dave pegg of jethro tull and Fairport convention lives near me he’s a brummie and sandy dennie and dennie lane from the Fairport too. roy wood, dexys, spencer davis group , fine young cannibals, joan armatrading, steve winwood, the moody blues and lets not forget musical youth, erm no, lets pass on musical youth, probably on the left hand side 🙂

    I have a suggestion for stopping the riots in brazil, if st75, b6 to brazil, steamer and sww gave all the £20’s they owe people including myself to the Brazilians that should build them several cities

  13. steamers75

    l wish people would stop suggesting how to spend my money what lm owed off those people Mark mentions in his last post ,

    l hope Kristina is ok , that score does not look good . to Kris xxxxxxxxx

    to jenny xxxxxxxxxx because your jenny xx))
    it would seem were going to a proper pub up constitution hill tomorrow night

  14. steamers75

    watching the world cup , l really think it wont be long till the players will be walking onto the pitch on a fucking CAT-WALK , lm mean the football boots , the kit , the manicured nails , waxed bodies (frank lampard ect) and the fucking ridiculous haircuts ,mind SWW Mullet in the 80s would take some beating , would it be worth putting a patent in for the catwalk ,
    me and frem could do all the lighting , steamer said today he always wanted to be a carpenter (giggling here ) ,marks some kind of builder , just a thought !

  15. steamer

    Taking of Jethro Tull, Martin Lancelot Barre also comes from Brum.
    Roger Taylor of DD lived a few houses down from Jeff Lynn in Shard End as did Tony Clarkin of another Brum band Magnum, This city is the music capital of the World, never mind Liverpoo.

  16. steamer

    Also Thunder resided in Birmingham for a few years, we also have the downside of ST75 singing ??? She, mid you he’s used to having hands around his throat.

  20. steamers75

    Had a text off Fem , he wore the bloody gold thong the wrong way round and roasted his nuts on the beach !!!!

    steamer
    remember womble on beach in newquay 75 lol (nuts hanging out ) also text you about going into town a bit earlier and having a crawl to the Lord Clifton to meet them lot , you pick me up park at yours and get toot toot twain in ………..

    Have a good one all ,
    Kristina (( ))) be happy ,xx
    Jenny xxxxxxx

  21. B62 Villa

    Watching England playing with Pace, Passion, adventure, without fear and putting their bodies on the line, in the worlds best back yard!!! Eng v NZ is compelling, and even though I think we still will come up short against the AB’s, we will be able to he our heads up high and say we gave it a go.
    I hope the football lads are watching this and take it into their match tonight.
    I still love watching the national side in all three big sports , football, rugby and cricket and would love nothing more than a sporting trifecta , Eng to beat NZ, Italy and crush Sri Lanka in the test at lords.
    Keep St George in my heart 😉
    Onto Villa, it seems no one wants to take on the mantle of custodian and spunk a few hundred million, so we will be struggling at the wrong end of the table, giving contracts to freebie cast offs, it’s a sad state of affairs, which will ultimately end in relegation unless we sort things out.

  24. steamer

    Agree Mark, Vlaar to Untied.
    The London/Manc/Poo representative team should have enough to see off Italy tonight despite Hodgson.
    International footy is a bit pointless now, they fix the draws, get the refs to influence ( cheat ) to get the big teams in the latter stages, its not about the best teams anymore its about the fattest brown envelopes, i’ll give footy another 30 years before it dies of shame.

  25. steamer

    B62,
    Hows the hols go ? Was in Walsall last week and found a scooter pub that has Ska nights, every night forget the name but its at the top end opposite the big musical instrument shop.
    Are you up for a day out at Wycombe ?

  26. B62 Villa

    Steamer
    Holiday was good cheers mate, just relaxing by the pool with San Miguel on all inclusive, and Peroni in the local sports bar for €3!!
    What’s the Craic for Wycome??

  27. Mark King

    anyone else feeling senderos could be vlaars replacement? what date is the Wycombe game?

    steamer
    I think Brazil will be given a massive hand up as not making the final could bring a whole lot of trouble for their government in light of the unrest and look bad on fifa

  28. B62 Villa

    Mark
    That was my fear when we signed him, if Vlaar continues to play well in the tournament I can see LVG taking him to shit Trafford, he seems to rate and trust him.
    The more I think about Villa the more despondent I am about the oncoming season, no takeover and a squad lacking in quality that is a cross between Dads Army and Jossys Giants.
    We need a buyer and fast

  29. Trinity

    Hello all.

    Yep, if Vlaar keeps playing like he did against Spain, he’ll be off to Manchester.
    Brazil weren’t anything special, were they? Oscar’s goal was excellent, but the diving… Spain deserved their thrashing-tiki taka divers. Why doesn’t FIFA bring in third ref decisions for penalty box decisions. That way, more divers would be booked. Croatia were “robbed.”

    England put up another good effort against the All Blacks. Losing by a single point is nothing to get too worried about. They’ll be a threat come world cup time next year.

  30. steamer

    All i know is that its a pre season friendly so should be played before the season starts. Dunno what Charles Azvanour has planned but last year we went on a mates coach which he puts on for every away game, we stopped for a gargle five minutes drive away from WWFC at a great pub, for anyone who goes to away games regularly i’d recommend them. Anyway, St75 will no doubt be putting the details up soon.
    Trin,
    The cheats pay more, i’m only going tonight because i like peanuts with my beer, FORZA ITALIA.

  31. Jenny Truman

    Good article Jay and I would second all you have written . Following AV is bizarre atm – we are getting players who are the opposite of PL’s and PFs original plan , so you wonder if PL’s heart is in this new direction . PL has acknowledged we need more experience and we are presented with very experienced (good ) but highly susceptible to injury players . I like Jo Cole’s attitude , he is talented and skilful player and I would really love him to do well but …… Can he keep fit . It’s a big IF .

    Vlaar was magnificent last night – I’d never really rated him too highly before – it was an eye opener Q – was that performance due to the Van Gaal’s coaching or because he had a better team around him . I don’t know , that’s why I am asking .

    Intersting points about Prof Chinn – I will be ordering one if his books off Amazon tomorrow / something I’ve been meanjng to do for ages .
    Btw – what did Radio WM do to him ?? ??

    Late night waiting for my 16 year old daughter to come back from a “rave” celebrating finishing her exams , Yes they still have them / mixed emotions of envy and fear !!!

    Frem – if you are reading this , hope you are having a great hold in Turkey – be careful after the game tonight !

    Have same thoughts about the Mexico fiasco – it’s very sad seeing photos of the rioters outside , the contrast of the stadium display .
    As Tears for Fears sang it’s a Mad World .

    ST75 – last but never least – the worlds a better place for having you in it 🙂 xxxxxxxxxxxx
    More stories of growing up in the shop please .

  32. Ian

    Jenny, a combination of skill and a better team around you and your (Vlaar) game improves. He didn’t worry about his team mates messing up and he was able to play his game. Just maybe he will stay at Villa–loyalty and all that.

  34. steamer

    Regarding Vlaar, with 12 months on his contract i think the club ( RL & PF ) want to sell him to top up Lerners sweetie fund, i have no doubt at all that Lerner will continue draining AVFC of any assets, he just doesn’t give a shite, same with Delph, not even market value, just get the ££££.

  35. Mark King

    Jenny

    Definitely vlaars quality showing with confidence in his own team mates don’t forget he was still picked even though he had a poor end to the season . Van gall rates him so should we.

    Uruguay imploding oh dear

  36. Jenny Truman

    Let’s hope the fear of relegation’s impact on the sale means we will keep hold of Vlaar and Delph

    Uruguay imploded all right . Let’s hope we don’t !!

  37. steamer

    Can’t believe people are giving England credit for that performance, Sterling has quick feet but no end product, Rooney has never been much of an international and is now going backwards, Wilshire is an injury prone mediocrity who was fortunate to be born in Laaandaaan, neither full back can defend, Gerard is finished and a bad influence on the team, The worst Italian team since 1966 won at a canter, FORZA ITALIA.

  38. Mark King

    steamer

    to be honest I think they started with the wrong players. I would have gone with stirling on the left and lallanna on the right sturridge up top rooney/ barkley in the hole. baines was up against 2 all night as wayne had a monk on and henderson and gerrard to narrow in the centre. I presume the idea was to stop purlo but that back fires as he doesn’t run about much anyhow and left the left hand side open. milner would have been a more astute addition in the centre instead of Wiltshire. also Lambert should of come on once Italy sat back and shut up shop, he would of caused problems with the right balls in, I am surprised Andy carroll didn’t go for the same reason. we are not clever enough to break a disciplined team down through the middle when they are a Wiley as the Italians but we can cross the ball, Baines especially.
    I called every one of Roys subs and can see his thinking except the Lallana one as I would of sacrificed Rooney for Lambert if the injury hadn’t occurred. despite the cross for the goal rooney is no winger its number 9/10 for him or don’t use him as we have similar or better players who are fit.

  39. Ian

    And I was happy just to see them play. Joe Hart did a couple of deer in the headlights and it could have been 3 or 4.
    All in all for me, not too bad. With the heat and humidity I think a big part of the tactics should be fresh legs and subs to come on earlier being a greater thought than player selection. It takes a lot to recover from that.
    A few years ago I was at a swim meet in Indianapolis Indiana and the heat and humidity was absolutely amazing. I’ve never been so happy to be back home in cold Calgary. The swimming pool we competed in was air conditioned. This building held two 50 metre tanks, a dive tank and a warm up 25 metre tank. Plus seating for 5,000 and all the decks needed. That was amazing too.

  40. runtings

    Loved the England performance – i felt entertained and we had a right go – only thing missing was the finishing

    Lambert hopefully will play next game as i think he is our most n form finisher as well as an itelligent player

    The world cup has been great though , shaping up as a classic tourmument

  42. steamers75

    i agree with Mark here ,Engerland played the wrong team , they should have played Roughly United , ))

    saturday we met up with some of the old lads in the briar rose and were on our way down to the lord clifton pub ,hockley when we got a call that they were charging £10 to get in and watch the game , fuck that , we ended up at a pub called “smackers” in Mary Street , balsal heath , l thought it was someones front room , but it was an old pub , and full of noses pictures ect , and l think it shocked the locals that 20 odd steamers had landed , lol it was a good night though , forget the score , then onto the Manzil for a curry , even steamer enjoyed the night, my nephew won either way the score went as he’s got italian blood as well , and who was gonna argue with him , steamer done his Topo Gigi act ,

    R;e Roughly United
    played against them about 30 years ago in sutton league and we panned them 18-0 the first game , when we played them at their ground l got chatting to one of their players and he told me that as they were playing us they had a bet that if any of their players scored against us they would get all their beer bought them for the next weekend , well we were about 8-0 up at half- time and l said to the lad when l call him l want him to follow me and he better put the ball in the net , well l called him and while l was running back to our goal he was next to me ,l give him the ball , he shot our goalie palmed it back out to me so l passed it back to him and he scuffed it and hit the post but thankfully it rolled in, he got the only goal , and the beer , they were a great team , they turned up every week knowing they were going to get beat , l still see that bloke now down the villa every now and then and l always get a pint off him, SWW would have walked into that team .

  43. southwestvillan

    Blimey you actually found someone with a pass, wheres that smilie with the jaw dropping when you need one.

    How are the waiters at the Manzil send them my regards and tell them I will drop in and pay for that curry next time I am in Brum.

    Fell asleep before kick off I knew that would do the trick, England the cure for insomnia.

    UTV

  45. steamers75

    gave the wife £50 and told her to go out thursday and leave me in peace too watch the football ,
    “l wont need that much” she laughed …
    “you will, it has got to last you 5 weeks ” l replied ………..))

    steamer thats like watching Manure mate ……….. drop over for a coffee tomorow

  46. steamer

    Well apparently Lerner had a buyer ready for Lambert and Chubby to meet and guess what ? true to form the eejit fucked it up, so now we’re stuck with a management and admin full of dummies.
    Keane will add his calm and collective persona shortly. Thank God for Olbyon. Does anyone know if the 2015/16 season will be the first without a West Midland representative ?

  48. Jenny Truman

    I feel the same about the Wc as you steamer – watching Muller hamming it up today , Croatia being denied , and seeing us lose , it will only end in tears .

    Great gran , granny Hodges returned to her house during the war and all that was left was a hole in the ground . I think it was in Hockley area but not too sure. Imagine that . Everything gone . She had to go and live at my Nan’s , and she was a terror . She’d go missing for a couple of days (on a bender as my nan called them) then turn up on a park bench (much to my everyone’s embarrassment ) Ruddy Germans she’d say .

  50. steamers75

    Jenny
    sad times, funny how we big up the people who went through the war and the soldiers who fought for this country , and how have we treated them since , sickens me to watch the politicians at rememberance day , fucking arses , when l worked for the council l saw OAP s struggling , me and Guy used to take some the Tea,milk sugar ect as we knew they couldnt afford much , very proud people , and hated having to ask for things , l once got threatened with the sack , as one winter , as l went round doing repairs around nechells l went to a lot of oaps houses and they were freezing as the heating was crap , so l gave heaters to them , l gave 26 out and was told l should,nt have , l wouldnt sign a disiplinary form and got threatened with the sack , l told them to carry on as l think the papers would love the story , l never signed but the arse tried to give me a hard time , how thrilled was l when l saw him on the platform at New street , while waiting for the train to wembley for the Bolton semi, and althou he was a villa fan , l had great pleasure watching him squirm when l told him when we get off in london lm gonna knock the shit out of him , l never got a peep out of him at work ever again,
    my mom used to go out after the air-raids and collect shrapnel off the bombs and was given one sweet which would be split into quarters for her and her sisters , she was 15 at the end of war and she lost her best mate through a bomb , its sad really that they never taped stories of ordinary folk as they had some great stories to tell ,

    anyway another sad note on how we have fallen , Bony of swansea will be able to leave if a top 6 team comes in for him , Arsenal , liverpoo AND….Everton !!!!!!! FFS……

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