dn1982

I like Westwood but him and Delph are too weak as a 2 IMO and both need competition as they look complacent and that goes for Weimann and Gabby aswell. A strong DM would benefit him immensely as he'd play that bit further forward. Big season for him.

Hatem Ben Arfa on loan would make for a very good window that's assuming Samchez does sign!

Tony Moon looked good in our preseason games last year i will withhold judgement till i see him playing against better players

Not sure if you know Hutton has a bit more experience in the PL and albeit for Scotland is a full international. When we signed him I was very happy with him. His first season was awful but I blame the ginger one then the bomb squad shenanigans. This is the first preseason he's had to show Lambert really and so far he's doing a good job.

Don't use Viagogo. Either phone the Villa direct on +441213275353 or buy off the Villa website. If you've never sat in the Holte End I'd suggest to do that.

Would be interesting to know how much Lambert has spent on LB's during his time here. I have a good feeling about this one though.

About £5m for the lot.

About half a Steven Warnock basically!!

Our 11 last year was good but the squad as results showed was crap. Now it looks like we will have a strong squad with plenty of options that we'd be more than happy with!

Judging by the comments on Sky Sports most Liverpool fans think he is dreadful and cannot understand why we are buying him. I cannot really remember him at all save he was cover for Enrique.

From a club that spent £35m on Carroll I wouldn't worry what they think!!

IF we get Cissokho that'll be the defence sorted. Just a DM and a AM for me and I'd be happy. Chadli and Capoue from Spurs? Chadli has turned down a swap move apparently so is available and he's good pals with Benteke. Not sure if Capoue is available though.

The biggest difference for me between Lerner and Ellis is Lerner gambled and messed it up whereas Ellis never had the balls to go for it when he had numerous chances and would have cost a lot less. Absence makes the heart go fonder but record books don't lie. Anyway Lerner is still here and still has a chance to make sure he's better than Ellis!!

God I wish we could go back to the halcyon days of Doug's last ten years of ownership.

 

League cup wins, average 8th place finish and no debt.

 

I hope we don't go back to those dark days!

 

Is our average league position much different from those times and these times, if you want to look at it like that? Is a solitary league cup win worth pining over? 

Is it bollocks.

In the rush to condemn Lerner for the last 4 years people seem to forget the first 4!! I know it's unusual for us to have consecutive low finishes but I bet the win raio and the average finishing positions are roughly the same for both. Hopefully this new CEO being touted is someone to get us on the front foot again.

Hopefully with the flurry of departures and an incoming CEO we are preparing the club for new owners. I doubt we could get a decent CEO if not promised a long contract with room to do things as they'd want. It'll be an interesting appointment either way!

When the academy statuses were given out in this country we was ranked in the top couple independantly. We was invited into the inaugural Nextgen as it was based on the best youth academies not just clubs affiliated to CL clubs. We also have one of the best ratios of players becoming pro's. Our academy is good at creating decent players what's lacking is what Southampton seem to be able to do and have players with that world class ability.

What part of it don't the 8!! Lions clubs like? It seems to me that they're moaning more about the state of the club than the actual document. Even after the club stating criticism is allowed yet not abuse the clubs have still moaned. Wasn't it put together by other Lions Club members?

The European Youth Comps are a joke. Nextgen started out with a good idea which was taking off using the best academies then UEFA decided it was a good idea and wrecked it by using a CL shadow comp it seems now it's the Premier. Leagues turn to have a go!! I wouldn't read to much into it as our academy is still ranked in the top few around Europe we just need to turn out some world class players instead of just decent premier league players.

Giving players high wages that didn't deserve it got us into this mess. Ki wasn't really wanted at Swansea and if he was that good Sunderland would have been in for him. Not saying he wouldn't do a job tho.

okore as a DM anyone? his distribution is excellent.

Yeah, that is what we need to do with a young player, coming off the back of a terrible injury, in a new league with little experience behind him. Play him out of position. Jeez.

Okore hopefully can get 30+ games under his belt playing next to Vlaar at CB, I am excited.

He is young enough to adapt! Not as if he has been playing centre half for 20 years, this is what coaching is about, seeing somebody with the raw materials, and developing them, something that we really dont do particuarly well at all.

The last think Okore needs is to be **** about playing a position he isn't suited to.

He is suited to it though, has all the attributes. I get your point about him just coming back though.

He may have the attributes but why buy a CB then convert him and still leave yourself needing a CB?? He's played CB his whole career and looks like he could be immense there so leave him learn his trade and buy a DM if needed.

I'd say the articles are just a rehash of old stories that have been brought up because Lerner has flown over. We are supposed to be making a profit this year so should be able to invest without Lerner putting anything in. When do we actually get the new TV money? If we are profitable now with that to come Lerner needs to invest a chunk of that aswell.

I thought we kept the ball well but we need more creativity up front and gabby and Weimann still look crap! Grealish and NZogbia look better options and I'd love to see them start against Parma. I hope the team that starts next week is virtually the one that'll play against Stoke and they get a good hour at least with probably the exception of Vlaar

We have shifted some players who either aren't good enough or need games to develop yet people moan. We are only allowed a 25 man squad at present we have 29 give or take so we have to move people out. Hopefully we are getting enough out so we have spaces that need to be filled. There's one month to go to the end of the window and at present our sqaud is stronger than last year so why all the panic?? I believe we will get another couple of players in and then regardless of our being up for sale I think we will have had a good summer strengthening wise.

Didn't he move back to Sheffield without telling anyone then got caught out because he got stuck in traffic?? Cracking footballer but unfortunately not a good defender which when being a RB is a shame if he had a bit more pace he'd be quality but you can't teach that!

He should have gone on loan last season and he needs to go on loan this season. Needs to play week-in-week-out or he'll never develop.

 

He did go on loan to Sheff Wed.

 

For 3 months. And didn't impress. He needs a full season playing

He said himself that he played too many games in quick succession and injured himself again. After the amount of time out you tend to get niggles. He needs to be in and around the 1st this season he isn't a kid anymore and needs to step up. I'd play him ahead of KEA in a 3 to start.

Hatem Ben Arfa is available and I reckon he'd be cheap enough for us. Not sure about his wages. It seems he has fallen out with Pardew but up until recently was quality for them. Pardew is a bit of a prat IMO and I doubt has much man management skills so it may be a case of both being at fault but I'd still take the gamble either way.

Decent player and can cover but is he worth a place in the 25?? That's he's biggest problem we have a number of 'young' plYers who now need to be sqaud members so I feel he's chance has gone. It's a shame look good at RB and decent else where without being great in any. Not having one position has hampered him.

Dunne? Haha...

 

Vlaar is better.

 

Ron has been with us two years and I've seen nothing in that time, in a Villa shirt, to suggest he is a better player than Dunne but the game is all about opinions. Dunne was a big reason in 09/10 we had the 4th best defense in the league and conceded just 39 goals which was even more remarkable when you consider we conceded 7 in one freak result/game.

The thing that lets Dunne down is that he was/is prone to the odd clanger but when he was good, and in 09/10 that was certainly more often than not then he was a very solid centre back. He also, alongside Given, was a very big reason we stayed up in 11/12 when at the back end of the season he had some excellent games.

 

Don't get me wrong I think Ron is a decent centre back and certainly based on his recent performances for Holland I'd rather we kept him than sold him.

 

If he wants out and we get an offer of over 5 mill I'd imagine he'd be off. I'd also be relatively confident that with that kind of money Lambert could find an adequate replacement.

TBF we had a good defence. Give Vlaar a solid defence and I think he'd do just as good that's why it'd be good to see him alongside Okore with 2 good FB's. Our win ratio with him shows how good he has been for us compared to when he is out. I hope he stays and would want at least £10m as that's what we'd have to pay to replace him.

Well, on the irreplaceable thing, Lambert got him for €4m wasn't it? If we get £10m we'll have made a lot of money on him, I would back Lambert to be able to replace him with 3 times the money Vlaar cost in the first place.

The reason we got him for cheap is because he played in the Eredivisie and it was a signing that involved some actual scouting. Lambert seems to have abandoned that though now and has reverted to a MON transfer policy of Premier League experience only.

If that is the criteria that he maintains for any replacement then we won't be getting anyone near as good even if he gets the entire fee to spend*. We'll probably just end up with a has-been like Michael Dawson.

*Which in itself is unlikely.

So because we have signed 3 players with premier league experience which nearly every one was crying out for Lambert has given up scouting? The reason we got him was he was good enough for us and still is.