Well things are hotting up and it’s welcome to Elmo and Glen Whelan, who’s just been officially announced.
On the face of it they’re not the most inspiring signings, but I do agree that they’ll be coming in to do a job, particularly in Whelan’s case.
I’m not convinced where Adomah stands after Elmo’s aquisition, but it will be at least good competition for him.
And at the end of the day, these players haven’t bust the budget, given that
we’ve yet to sell anyone of decent value.
For that, read they’ll do a job and are cheap.
With that, I was talking to a Watford fan yesterday and I mentioned the Graham Turner friendly, which he informed me is tonight?
I’ve looked around as best I can with the poor internet I have and could only see that we were scheduled to play Bristol Rovers away?
Perhaps someone can confirm please?
Either way, I’m hoping both our new signings go straight in, if we are indeed playing, so we can get a look at them.
In other news, Elphick’s departure to Blues is looking on the cards, which should bring in a few bob.
And Veretout has reneged on St Etienne, in not bothering to turn up for a medical?
What’s that about?
Good riddance wherever he goes if that story’s correct; just the sort of mercenary we don’t need or want at the Villa, in my opinion.
And I hope whatever club he signs for realise just what type of player they’ll be getting.
If the story is correct, of course. We all know things are never what they seem in planet transfer world.
The good and bad news is that I’ll be back home in the early hours of Saturday morning, so at least I’ll be able to keep up better and maybe even get to see a stream before it’s back to the seven day a week grind in what’s about to be the busiest time of the year for me.
In the meantime, I still think we have another trick or two up our sleeves when it comes to signings.
Here’s hoping and UTV!
Just to let you know the latest post is up 🙂
Your Watford mate is pulling your plodder, the teams in Germany 🇩🇪 it’s not till next week
No game tonight…next one in Germany at the weekend. Graham Taylor game is 29th July. Maybe the under 21s are in action?
If Vertout did fail to show up for a medical then he is in breach of contract. He would have agreed to show up in writing. That means Villa could sue him for substantial damages.
If so OLL I hope they do – very disrespectful towards Villa and St Etienne.
Apparently Fiorentina have come in late with a bid for him.
I very much doubt anything was in writing and it was probably just verbal. But what’s happened to honouring your word?
Disgraceful, imo.
Exactly what i said in the 1.22 post Badger.
Ah, I stand corrected.
Cheers Langford 😀
Surely the club has been in touch with veretout /agent asking what the fucks going on???
Do you think he might have Alzheimer, how the hell you can mess clubs about beyond me. its as OLL saying he’s most likely bound in agreement verbal and writing to honour that medical. I hope he gets the book thrown at him by the FA and fined by Villa.
Can’t we fine him the transfer fee we were due to receive????
Giddy, here’s the script mate;
http://sportwitness.co.uk/aston-villa-verge-pocketing-e7m-messy-transfer-situation-last-minute-swoop/
At the end of the day, it’s 7mill Euros over 4.5.
The club won’t give toss what’s happened.
If it’s true.
Badger, I thought St Etienne had offered £4.5m about €6m and a bit? Not that it makes that much difference around his behaviour as he pushed for a move back to SE where he was on loan last season.
I hope the Fiorrentina deal goes through or we’ll be stuck with him
Seven million Euros is about six and a quarter million pounds.
You’re right OLL – c**p maths on my part – £4.5m is around €5m not €6m but then I only worked my whole life as a QS 🙂
Hah, no worries! I worked six months as a forex trader for the Mafia. Mistakes could prove terminal.
🙂
I’m not sure Hitch.But it’s always possible the villa told him to speak to Fiorentina.
And refusing that would be a breach of contract.
Plus a euro ain’t far off a quid, so the sums aren’t right somewhere.
Hitch, I doubt 6 and a bit mill Euros is anywhere near £4.5 mill.
Just saying.
No you’re right – see my response to OLL – back to school for me – duh 🙂
Here’s a text I’ve just received from my Stokie mate;
Apparently how Glenn whelans song came about !!!!
…I would like to tell you all the tale of club legend, family hero, and sumptuous sex symbol, Glenn David Whelan.
Christened “Whee Whillie Whelan”, the man known now as Glenn Whelan was born into a Clondalkin family of cobblers on the 13th January, 1984. Expected by all those around him to continue the family tradition, much excitement arose in the Whelan household when he tied his shoe at only two weeks of age. “This boy is special”, proclaimed his father. He was correct, but not in the way that he predicted. The mundanity of shoe-repair was not what Whelan was ultimately destined for, but the journey ahead was not a simple one.
After breaking the world record for most shoes cobbled in an hour, a single tear sank. As he gazed at himself in the mirror, it was the combination of transparent vacancy yet powerful raw emotion in his tear that made Whelan realise what he truly desired in life. Sexy passes. Stimulating long balls. Brutishly erotic tackles. Seductive Clearances.
“When I… When I… When” stuttered Whelan in a somewhat panicked state before his dad remorselessly bellowed “shut your face you freak, what are you doing? Get back to cobbling”. Random abrupt outbreaks of “when I” continued for seemingly no reason at all and it was not long before Whelan was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome.
Whelan became labelled a family embarrassment. It was torturous for him at the time, but two years of being locked in the attic forcedly cobbling, whilst fed nothing but polenta and dry Weetabix, forced Whelan into realizing his full potential. Epiphany struck, and he sexually thrusted his way out of the thatched roof of his family home before sprinting away to the unknown realms of his future.
Broken free from the limited ambitions and restricted parameters of his family, Whee Whillie Whelan purged almost all existing links of his cobbling background by changing his forename. A long admirer of astronaut John Glenn, Whelan adopted this as the forename that the whole world would one day know him for.
At the age of 16, the now named Glenn Whelan encountered football for the first time as he strutted alluringly past Elmdale Crescent, the home of Cherry Orchard FC. Time seemed to stop as an abrupt gasp emanated from the whole Cherry Orchard squad, induced purely by the sight of Glenn Whelan. A member of the squad timidly handed Whelan the football they were training with…
“When I…, “When I…”, stuttered Whelan. The Cherry Orchard squad started to look around quizzically at one another. The stuttering continued from Whelan, “When I… When I”, before the pivotal moment of truth and realization hit the world all at once…
“WHEN I GET THAT FEELING!!!!” screamed Glenn Whelan at the top of his voice.
Yeah
Without even knowing his name, the Cherry Orchard squad, as well as a few passers-by, at once collectively exclaimed in response, “I WANT, SEXUAL WHELAN!!!”. Sexual Whelan had arrived.
I was one of those passers-by
That’s hilarious!
Everytime I see Whelans picture he reminds me of Craig bluenose Gardner is it just me or is the top shelf kicking in???
am just repeating what others have already said about whelan, he is the missing jigsaw piece we needed. he is the type of player that knits a good football team to make a better one. you need experienced players when the chips are down, they are the players that galvanize others to fight on, finding the way back into the game.
terry samba chester are going to love this guy. they are the platform for the rest of the team to have the freedom to attack, lansbury will finally be able to do what it was we bought him for and that’s arriving late in the box, not being the sitting midfielder.
lastly to finish on the experience. we are aston villa and pressure on us is massive. players last season couldn’t handle that week in and out. this is probably the reason Bruce has gone for such high quality. takes a big player to stand up and play for villa. i am really really happy to land whelan he is a player you watch and think he will be good for villa. he never gave in at stoke if he brings this to villa and this rubs off on the other players we are in safe hands
Nath…great post mate! I see it exactly the same way! To be a strong attacking threat you have to win and distribute ball well first. We now have them players in place. Very shrewd signings, everyone single one IMO….Lord help the opposition…..we’ll tear them a ‘new one’ as the saying goes! Just a little bit of patience needed initially!
UTV#Part of the pride
totally agree these players will need some time to get a working relationship with new team mates, they have two weeks i think but won’t take them long you could see in last game terry and samba are already stand out performers. they will only get better. i recall you posting ages ago, about how terry will pass the ball out. i had my doubts about us attracting him but now hes here i haven’t any about his ability of distribution or defending
I agree Nath out of all the signings Whelan is the best one. He gives 100% every game and gets stuck in and bullies players. If I was manager I’d play Whelan for away games at these little hostile grounds that bully us. And I’d play Jedinek for home games.
Disagree Oohah, you can buy any number of players that give 100%, problem with Whelan is he’s a zonal player, meaning he likes his area, yeah he’s composed and good in that area but that’s where it stops. We haven’t had someone on the right side who could provide crosses since Milner, and that pre-moving to center mid days. Elmo actually gives us someone who can provide down the right and that will come in handy for Kodjia.
Nothing wrong having a zonal player as whatever zone he is marking will require discipline and will be a strong area of the pitch for us
That’s very true but that means he needs someone next to him that can spray passes, make runs forward as well as help him defend. We really don’t have an all around center mid in the squad good enough to do so.
Elmo is kazy though. Milner was the opposite
Not sure how much I believe in the whole “Elmo’s lazy” argument. Bruce doesn’t allow lazy players into his team because his team isn’t about finesse, but hard working players.
Samba signs a one year deal – from what I’ve seen I think he’s earned that and again a sensible contract arrangement.
Is his middle name Mass
Yes he’s worked hard to earn it now watch him revert back to type into his error prone clumsy defending style. He was a disaster at QPR
Cheers….more good news!
Welcome Chris
UTV#part of the pride
Awful player Langford very error prone he is a liability
richards had anything about him, he would seek life elsewhere lol. if i know i wasn’t gonna play, i would be instructed my agent to earn his crust and get me out off here lmao.
does anybody think we could get him off the wage bill ??? i used to think he was decent, but that was way back for manchester city. he is a liability and just not good enough at center back, 60k wages second thoughts i would stay and pick up my wages
selling players is gonna be important. or releasing them. even loaning them because you want a tight knitted squad, thats innit together with no alone egos on the edges of squad trying to disrupt. 7 players maybe more need to be shifted.
i am more confident now with whelan signing, we have better skilled individuals but none that link everything thats needed to be successful, whelan will be better than jedinak as oahahaha says. he is more mobile. but to be fair jed played with a injury the whole season, but he was still the stand out.
finally lang and a few others have already said. having a solid defense. that can pass the ball out. is a massive bonus. opposition will spend lots of energy pressing our defense allowing more time for our midfield, also quick forwards like hogan will benefit from high opposition defenses, provided we can thread the through balls, this time with our defense solid our midfield will be able to attack & supply with great comfort of knowing we are safe at the back.in past we have tried to thread them balls too far away, but now they will be able to be more precise, also elmo will send in decent crosses from the right how many times have we been able to say decent cross from the right
hogan is still a untapped player. i see he gets lots of abuse on fb but how many chances has he missed. i put it to the knockers. wait until we supply him with chances before you judge. he is a decent player, better than kodjia on my neck i believe. he is totally different too kodjia but he needs chances created unlike kodjia who can create his own.
Fairly big dilemma we have here. I do think Bruce will go for a 5-3-2 which we proved we can’t play with Kodjia and Hogan playing together, And it’s fairly obvious it’d be Chester-Terry-Samba, and that’s where the problem lands. We have Baker, Richards and Elphick as back up and that’s it, unless Bruce brings in a youth center back or two, and I definitely don’t think he will. We want rid of Elphick, leaving Baker and Richards as back up. Baker is a fairly reliable defender, but injury prone. Richards hasn’t been good in like, 6 years. If we sell Elphick, we’d need a back up center back if we’re going 5-3-2.
It also seems we could look to sell off Amavi, big mistake in my opinion, but also the fact that we’d only have Taylor. Unless he plays Green or Grealish as a wingback, which wouldn’t work. Would also screw them up playing a 5-3-2. We went on a run playing 4-3-3 and we need to continue playing that way.
Anyways, seems Bruce wants more signings. Center mid, attacking mid are two definite spots we need. I’d keep Veretout but he wants gone so needs replacing with someone decent. But then again we’d have bought another whole new midfield.
We’re being linked to a striker from Paok, no clue who he is.. Had 0 goals in 21 games last season. But overall he averages a goal every three games.
There will be a lot of 0.0 draws that’s for sure
See the German FA – another load of pompous autocrats have cancelled Villa’s friendly against Vitesse because ‘they weren’t happy about a Dutch and English team playing on German soil’ – thought we were still in Europe!
It’s a shame Hitch when football fans mouths run away with idiotic chanting, this might have something to do with it.
England fans’ chants in Germany condemned by Football Supporters’ Federation
Supporters booed the German national anthem and sang distasteful songs about the First and Second World Wars
Oh for the days that a fan stood on the same terraces.
There are mindless idiots throughout the world and fans of both Germany and Holland haven’t done themselves any favours in recent years – but these aren’t the national teams and it’s a pre season friendly. If distasteful chanting lies behind this decision are the German FA going to ban all Dutch and English teams from playing in Germany – I don’t think so.
This just seems a petty ‘jobsworth’ type decision which will cost the clubs and the fans money.