Daweii

I don't think Ireland and Bent get on either.. The amount of times in the Swansea game I saw Ireland absolutely furious that Bent wasn't in a good position for a pass. You don't see that if there is a respect and/or friendship there.. Yes players get annoyed, wave their hands around and shout a bit but Ireland at times looked like he wanted to hit Bent.

I personally don't mind what Villa do with Bent as we actually played some very good football when he was injured.. I think 4-4-2 or a variation on that like 4-3-1-2 just stifles our creativity and the only time we play that is when Bent plays.. It's either that or play 4-4-1-1 with Ireland/Bannan/Gardner roaming behind the striker and let McLeish decide between Bent or Gabby for the lone striker role. If McLeish started doing that Bent would never play as Gabby is head and shoulders the better player.. Sure Bent is a more prolific scorer but other than that when he's not scoring it's like playing with 10 men. Gabby on the other hand tracks back and defends, he runs the wings, he creates his own chances and the most important thing is he links up with the rest of the team, he doesn't just stand around like a £24 million paperweight until someone passes to him. Don't get me wrong I think Bent is a great guy and a good striker but I don't think he's a fit for Aston Villa. We play counter attacking football for the most part which means we need attacking players that can run with the ball and create chances. Bent literally needs to get the ball in and around the 6 yard box to do anything with it.. That's not good for us.

Another thing that does help is we are owned by someone that wouldn't hesitate to sell us given a good enough offer. There are many clubs like Everton who are in the same general domain as Villa but have an owner that loves the club more than money. We are one of the biggest clubs outside of the top 6 that is probably an easy buy given Lerner seems to want out anyway.

Maybe it's smart to shit on this rumour, but to be honest just the thought of it happening makes Villa's current form and performance less depressing and more tolerable. Maybe I'll be disappointed in the Summer if and when it doesn't happen, but I just want a theoretical light at the end of the tunnel real or not.

Who are we going to compare Stevens to then? Salifou was the Togolese Zidane.. Is Stevens the Irish Roberto Carlos? Gotta give him some over the top expectations that he'll never meet.

This is a no brainer really.. He can't be any worse than what we already have will cost next to nothing and more than likely accept a small salary.

If QIA buy Villa I will have a heart attack seriously.. It's rumours like this I hate as I can't help but get a little excited even if it turns out bullshit. Just the thought of it happening and seeing Villa spending £100 million+ in the Summer is nice.

I want a win but regardless of the result I'm not gonna let this game ruin my New Year.. Do what you want Villa I'll start caring again next weekend.

We are playing Albrighton he'll get a few.. Albrighton could have been closer to our Young replacement by now if he'd been played more.

We need to play Albrighton.. Yes at times he can be a weak link and at times he can be a general waste of time. Though even when he plays bad he typically gets that ball into the box several times a game which is all Bent wants. All we need is one semi decent cross and Bent can work with it..

I'm gonna be the beacon of optimism in this thread.. I don't care if I'm wrong I just don't want to be negative. Aston Villa 3 - 0 Man City Bent, Agbonlahor x2

A near-invincible squad? Wolves?? I guess he's confused Wolves with Man City or something and even then Man City for all their spending aren't unbeatable.

I'm going to be optimistic here and say; Aston Villa 3 - 0 Wolves Lichaj will put in a shift today with Dunne and Collins playing their usual which these days is pretty good. I personally think we'll see more from Bent today though I would like to see a start for Bannan, the lad comes off the bench far too often and changes the game. Why not start with the player that bosses midfield with ease..

I think all derby's are getting the early treatment now regardless of if there is a history of violence.

Bent is on the bench as we need to see how the squad fairs without him

The commitment is still there we are just playing a Chelsea side that are unbeaten in pre-season and haven't conceded once. Their confidence is sky high right now.. Ours is still building.

We need to be playing better.. This is a great chance for some silverware. I know it's no FA Cup but it's still silverware.

I am excited at the prospect that for once we may just outscore some of the bigger teams.. In the past we faced the likes of Man United or Chelsea and it was a given that they would score 2-3 goals and our side was only capable of 1-2 so we were guaranteed to lose most times. Now if we line up with Albrighton, Ireland and N'Zogbia behind Bent then we could be scoring for fun this season.

Now all we need to do is beat Chelsea tomorrow just to show him what an ambitious club he has joined.. That the season is still 3 weeks away and we're winning trophies.

I am surprised at the 5 year deal.. I wasn't expecting them to tie him down for that, I was also not expecting him to agree to a deal that long.. I mean if no one comes in for him in a year or two he'll be 30 by the time he leaves.

I would love to see McLeish play the same 4-2-3-1 he played against Walsall as we looked strong. I just want to know if it was a formation that worked or just that Walsall aren't that good. Given. Young, Collins, Dunne, Warnock. Petrov, Makoun. Albrighton, Ireland, Heskey. Bent. I think unfortunately for the likes of Delph and Agbonlahor I believe that will be our strongest 11 and our best formation this season.. We just replace Heskey with N'Zogbia when he arrives.

Pre-season is a tricky time as it's about fitness and trying to gel new players, but it's also about confidence.. If you can build up a nice win streak in pre-season then team confidence is sky high. It's why McLeish probably isn't risking too much in defence right now as if we played say Lichaj, Collins, Clark and Warnock and then got smashed 7-0 then confidence would be shot.. Pre-season or not.

Hopefully Ireland is fit for the game on Saturday.. Positives - Defence was spot on.. They didn't put a foot wrong all game. Given kept us in the game at times.. That save in the second half was stunning. In the first half we were playing some crisp short passing football. Darren Bent once more showing us why we paid so much for him. Negatives - Our youth players didn't turn up.. Delfouneso looked extremely tired, Albrighton just didn't seem up for it and Clark.. If we play him as a CB and he makes the mistakes he made today we'll concede goals. Maybe it was the heat, but unfortunately it was the youngsters (Bannan not included, he was great) that let the side down today.

1-0

I think our best formation will be 4-2-3-1 -----------------Given-------------------- --Young---Collins--Dunne---Warnock-- ------------Petrov-Makoun--------------- --Albrighton---Ireland---N'Zogbia------ ------------------Bent--------------------- I think that will be our starting line up for the Fulham game in a few weeks time.. It just seems to be the strongest after watching this game.