This January window was meant to be a desicive turning point for Villa, bringing in fresh players, who may have Premier League experience who can help Villa escape relegation. Well as things have turned out, it’s become incredibly difficult for Villa or Garde to really convince anyone to join the club. We’ve been linked with a host of players with media speculating that Sane, Debuchy and Kalinic were close to joining the club. None of this has so far materialised, sparking belief that it has become very difficult for Garde to convince players to join the club.
On the way out we’ve see Joe Cole permanently move to Coventry, Bennet, Gardner and Crespo have all gone out on loan. More interestingly, the media have also reported that LA Galaxy offered £3 million for Lescott, meaning that Villa would’ve profited! But that bid was most likely rejected, with Lescott continue to play alongside Okore. And more recently Swansea were reportedly in for Scott Sinclair, after putting in a £2 million move (too little in my opinion) but that might’ve been rejected as well since Sinclair started in the FA Cup game against Wycombe.
The lack of transfer activity is disappointing, mainly because we are now picking up points and if this form continues, you never know what can happen. But I am still in favour of bringing in two players on loan, so even if we did go down, we would not be stuck paying their wages, remember Alfonso Alves, Zigic and Mitroglou? Our current form is great, the players are starting to understand Garde’s philosophies and the club might be able to climb forward, to at least 19th place that is.
Excuse after excuse, we have had, we tried hard to bring people in, then it was the moneyball crap, now its nobody wants to come…. yet more excuses for a blatant lack of investment…
Club’s around us are in the market so nobody wants to join us because of our predicament is bollox I don’t even believe we’re looking at players to come in. All a huge smokescreen
We’re 10 points off safety. 19th place Sunderland are 4… Who would you rather sign for? That’s 3 wins and a draw off safety with none of Sunderland, Newcastle or Swansea getting another point. Can easily see why other sides are able to sign players and we can’t get who Garde wants.
We won’t be the only Team relegated clever clogs 2 other teams will be joining us don’t look to clever for the teams just above us so the players join teams above would like to get relegated on more points????we ain’t looking for anyone is closer to the mark
Nothing to do with relegation on higher points. But Sunderland are a win and a draw from safety, we’re 3 wins and a draw. That’s more wins than we even have. They’re far more likely to get the necessary points than we are.
That assumption is based on teams above Sunderland picking up sodall points.so Sunderland in your opinion ain’t got nothing to worry about there safe??
Not at all what I said. I said that players are going to them because they have a better shot at being safe. I think they’ll go down with Swansea as well going down. But 4 points and 10 points is a big difference. A lot easier for a player like a striker being like “I can score enough to get them those 4 extra points” than a striker looking at Villa being like “10 points? That’s a fair bit more”.
I think the defeats to Sunderland and Norwich put the dampners on any potential plans we might have had to spend. I’m hopeful we’ll still get a few in, probably on loan as you said Adam. The January window often results in late decisions, and let’s face it we’re hardly anyone’s dream move at the moment so its understandable our targets are weighing up their options.
If the club don’t support club all I can say is thank FUCK for the fans.
There’s just no point in debate about transfer activity, it’s just a waste breath. I read something today about needing a work permit for that croatian goalkeeper, but croatia are EU members, so that story was probably bull. It’s all name dropping from villa with no chance of getting them, hence why Garde has been loose tongued about other teams players as per Lerners instructions. I believe this chairman appointment is so Lerner won’t be named as the chairman that took us down. Am I paranoid, I doubt it.
Players from Croatia need work permits to play in England up till July of 2018 despite being an EU member.
You’re point?????????
Under Armour are to be the new kit manufacturers, how appropriate. Are Brodie steel supplying the headgear?
Don’t worry lads we’ll sign Vidic and with a back line of Hutton, Lescott, Vidic and Richardson become the new feeder club for LA Galaxy – ‘you know it makes sense!’
Help us possibly avoid relegation? Are you having a laugh?????
Garde must regret taking the job. Who wants this on their CV? Obviously none of the players we’ve been linked to!!!
It just gets worse! Hollis latest statement is that the spending in the summer was wasted – OK there would be a degree of agreement with that – but then goes on to say other things need to be fixed before we make a big investment (in players) again. What is he on about – Lerner’s bank balance? If he means sacking the board then I agree but what’s with the cryptic messages?
I tell you guys I have an awfully bad feeling about this – talk about bl**dy spin and sound bites!
Just to add – I want to see some meaningful action and quick – not a load of meaningless statements that just add to fan’s concerns.
Hitchy that’s a right load of horse shite being spouted by Mr Follies. Net spend was 8.1m, 52.6m – 44.5m. So just where and when was this major investment? I must have blinked and missed it.
They sold the family silver (Benteke, Delph) and pissed it up the wall.
He makes my toes curl, he looks like a B&Q store manager, with less football experience…. Massive investment in the summer my arse, sold our best players and tried to replace them on the cheap…. I can formally announce our new chairman is an arse!
Agreed BWS -it all adds up to more spin and another non football appointment who hasn’t got a clue what he’s talking about. Villa fans are a long suffering bunch but I have a feeling when the dam breaks ………
Let’s call in 617 squadron and get it over with.
Surely not the mosquito squadron BWS, we’ve Got enough sick notes.
It’s them Fokkers that have ruined our club Bill.
You can say that again BWS,, I’d use stronger words than that, booking tankers they are.
if Vidic does come in I would rather it be as a defensive coach. we haven’t had one for years.
Watch Sky Sports news. Fans not happy after having a meeting with chairman and Fox. Fans saying the board have given up not going to fight and stay in prem.
Odd, most fans I’ve talked too who went are happy with what was said. Claimed the board are ready to fight and players weren’t giving up hope yet.
Or should that read ‘most odd fans’?
Possibly, but without mentioning a lot to me, they claim social media as per usual has taking a lot of things out of context. Like Fox only caring about revenue, Hollis calling Villa fans customers (which he apologized for and realizes we’re fans) etc.
https://social.shorthand.com/stevewollaston/ugFwyf4tbY/steve-hollis-meets-the-fans
A lot of what was said, missing a little bit at the end.
Andrew, I read that too, [off the B’Ham Mail website].
A lot of what Fox and Hollis said made sense, albeit that Fox was struggling like a man who somehow had to admit that he’d made more than a few of the recent mistakes himself.
For me the key part of all this is that they finally acknowledge [& admit at least some personal guilt, where applicable] that the whole running of AVFC has been a mess for years – and that Lerner’s money has been largely wasted.
Reading their responses in detail they’ve basically come as close as anyone still wanting to be in a job could say that the owner is a clueless Muppet who’s acted on duff advice for years. They’ve also had to admit that ‘smaller’ clubs have managed to generate a bigger increase in revenue than Villa, despite the overall growth in PL money – and that Villa is still a massive loss-maker of a business – although no doubt we’ll see the usual response on here that Lerner’s pocketed the money himself, etc…
Sure, Fox could go further and ritually disembowell hinself on the steps of the Holte End [although I doubt even that would satisfy some fans] – and I don’t accept the official version that suggests all the crap started only when MON left; IMO the problems were there from day 1 when Lerner came in, and we’re now seeing the effect of 10 years mismanagment – not just the ‘five’ to which they constantly refer; but that’s just my opinion.
At least there’s the clear recognition that when in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging and then find a way out…
Andrew this is what I want to hear (and if you don’t know who said it, look it up) –
“Finance is important, but we should never forget that we are not talking about a mere business. This is the Aston Villa football club, and it deserves nothing short of the best.”
Action speaks louder than words.
Agreed Giddy but there was some interesting stuff in that report.
Naivety of Lerner plus Deadly handing over a structure rooted in the Middle Ages then add MON who still thought it was 1970’s mix in a little Faulkner and you have a deadly and very poisonous cocktail.
OK we can hold Lerner to account and so we should -it also sheds some light on why he can’t sell the club – if you remember the last buyers were reported as having pulled in the due diligence stage. Maybe, just maybe, Fox has at last got Lerner to listen.
I’m going to keep an open mind and try not to be swayed too much by the sound bites just yet. However, I’m going to stick to my opinion (ridiculed by some) that Deadly has more to answer for than some would admit
Hitch, I’ve said as much on my last post, Dirty Doug has to answer for what’s been done, he’s not squeaky clean far from it.
I predict that it’s going to get unpleasant – and about time
What a knob Hollis is both feet every time he opens his mouth, me and Randy were jumping up and down watching villa Wycombe replay their was more excitement at the morgue
“In football terms, this is a crisis. This is the worst position this club has been in for many a decade,” Hollis told BBC Sport’s Pat Murphy.
Glad somebody finally noticed.
In other words we’re f**ked
So let me get this right.
Fox has overseen (in under 2 years)
Lambert receiving a contract extension and the sack
Sherwood appointment and the sack
Gabby long contract extension
£60 million overhaul of the squad which blatantly wasn’t equipped for the premiership
and still keeps his well paid job.(unbelievable)
In fairness to Hollis although none of us want to hear it he probably told us the truth which in itself is a rarity at villa.
In terms of recruitment realistically which players that we would like like to sign would really want to come to us at the moment when if they are any good would have other options.
I fear we are going to have the annual rebuilding (5 year plan) speech regurgitated on us again. Maybe this time it is the truth.
I hate how he says we need to be more like bloody Leicester!! Just because Leicester are where they are now suddenly we don’t need to spend money on players we just have to have a better ethos just like them and suddenly we will be where they are having spent peanuts. Hollis is a joke, another puppet.
He’s just looking at business models and not understanding the challenges around finding and then buying players of quality. I would venture to say that Leicester have been lucky in finding players like Vardy for virtually nothing and so far holding on to him. I would have been impressed and felt he had done football experience if he had used Everton as a model not Leicester.
*some
we have a chicken and egg situation here. Villa have lurched from one disastrous appointment to another. Clubs like Everton have benefited from stability, having appointed decent managers in Moyes and Martinez. That said, they have been prepared to sell the family silver (Rooney and Rodwell spring to mind) on occasion. When they have done that they have tended to reinvest more wisely.
Villa are on a different long term plan every year (or less). If they get it right it will be by the sheer law of averages in that they will stumble upon the solution rather than make the right decision for the right reason.
The chicken/egg conundrum is this: do they appoint the right manager and support him in player acquisitions/structure, or do they get the club structure right and then bring in the correct manager? I have no idea whether Garde will prove to be the right appointment. Certainly the board will have to up its game if he is to be successful. Me having no clue leaves me in exactly the same position as the hierarchy at the club.
How about both at the same time? It’s been done before Busby – Shankley – Clough – Wenger – and to a degree Sir Ron,admittedly it’d difficult to find and appoint the right individual but the present cart before the horse doctrine is the problem imo.
Not that this is a situation that’s unique to AVFC, lot of boards, owners, chairs seem to be meddling in areas outside their field of expertise, it’s something that appears to me to be endemic in modern football.
Also, would we the fans be patient enough to see a plan like that through should it go south at some point?
I don’t think we would.
Here’s a blast from the past when we were at our zenith
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jan/22/golden-goal-ken-mcnaught-for-aston-villa-v-barcelona-1983-super-cup?
Great memories BWS – but did you read the comments about Deadly Doug! I say no more as I’ll be accused of blaming our ultimate demise on his failure to build on the team of the early 80’s – whoops I’ve gone and said it 🙂
Hysterical Hitchy, we are at the time holders of the European Cup, the biggest club prize there is. In the final of a European Super Cup against one (if not the) biggest clubs in the world and his interest is in the Villa Lottery and getting some mug to operate a video camera for nought (a bit rich coming from Mr only women and horses work for nothing).
You can see why him and Randy hit it off.
Perhaps it’s Deadly writing the script for Hollis?
And what a player McNaught was – bought from Everton after his showing against us in the 3 x played League Cup Final. But I remember when he first got into he team he was awful and actually got booed at Villa Park but class will always tell through and he was class and with Alun Evans – what a CB pairing. Happy days.
Just back from a birthday trip to Barcelona where I saw Barca thrash Bilbao 6-0 (Suarez 3, Messi, Neymar, Rakitic). Wonderful experience!
So from the sublime to the ridiculous –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35378292
Hollis says that Villa are in crisis. It’s taken him this long to discover this fact? He also states that ‘big cheques’ won’t help. Reading from Randy’s prepared script I daresay.
Oh well, back to reality….
According to SSN, Swansea are in talks over Sinclair – and so the exodus begins!
No baggies preview LADS??
Ardent, I think it was you who defended Lerner’s spending.
I didn’t notice anyone pick up on the fact that Hollis commented that Lerner put his hand in his pocket for £23 mill.
That is probably a fact.
But it’s not what he actually spent, because the Benteke fee, for instance, involved staged payments, which Lerner will get back.
This is just typical smoke and mirrors and we really shouldn’t fall for it.
My opinion says Lerner is clawing money back in spades and I stand by it.
Giddy, you’re just so impatient aren’t you?
I’m looking at a preview just now 🙂