Papillon

The best we can do? Around 9th Realistically? 13-14th The worst? Relegation We might have strengthened so that we don't have to play Herd or Baker every game - but we have to play Richardson, Senderos and Hutton - none of these are very good players are they? Humble and hard-working, hopefully, but there is a reason why nobody wanted Hutton and there is a reason why we got the other two so quickly without a fight. I don't really fear relegation though, that is always a good thing. Before this summer I had a really bad feeling, but with some signings and Benteke back in action we will be fine. That's basically what this league is about for teams like us. Staying in it..

They have signed Angel di Maria and now Falcao the last few days for money they have earned, and they are a joke? If so, I would love for AVFC to be a "joke" as you put it. They seem to be trying to emulate Real Madrid from 2003 endlessly signing attacking players. Madrid won nothing for three seasons I think. They have signed Falcao (to cover for Van Persie who is always injured) and di Maria (because their wingers are struggling and they lack creative talent). Also, since they have Rooney starting every game - it would be hard to give game-time to Welbeck who is a striker with qualities outside of just scoring goals. Di Maria will create tons of chances, Rooney we all know likes to track a bit back in the pitch and Falcao will score every time he is given a sniff. Apart from them, they have signed Shaw (defender), Rojo (defender), Blind (defender/defensive midfielder) and Herrera (natural midfielder to defensive midfielder). I would say they have purchased two attacking players and four defensive players, which does not compute with your your sentiment. I agree that their defensive unit is not the best in the world, but let's not forget they are missing a few players from their line-up these days. Shaw, Rafael and Rojo have played 0 minutes, Blackett has 270. They definitely need a leader like Vidic or Kompany to be the best they can be, but let's not pretend their remaining players are on par with a bottom-5 side. To be honest, I don't think any of the top sides except for City/Chelsea have admirable defensive units. United can play something like Shaw - Rojo - Evans - Rafael at the back. Arsenal play Gibbs - Koscielny - Mertesacker - Debuchy. Liverpool have Moreno - Skrtel - Lovren - Manquillo. Tottenham have Rose - Vertonghen - Kaboul - Dier etc etc. Not much between these units on paper in my opinion.

You could say it is high, but then you would be wrong. It certainly isn't crazy. I am not a huge fan of Danny Welbeck due to his lack of killer instinct in front of goal, but he has been playing second-fiddle to Van Persie and Rooney. These guys are not the easiest guys to compete with and Welbeck has always been utilized as an enabler for these boys when playing. There are a few factors here: Welbeck is 23 years old and potentially has 10 years left in him, if he was 29 and at the same level he would not go for 16M. You easily pay for age, as you have to judge his potential ability and no-one can deny that he has lots of it. He has played over 100 league games for United (and Sunderland) - as well as 26 games for England with 8 goals to his name. This is 2014, not 1994. 16M is not a huge sum of money for a young player already with lots of experience.

They have signed Angel di Maria and now Falcao the last few days for money they have earned, and they are a joke? If so, I would love for AVFC to be a "joke" as you put it.

United will pay something like 6M + half of his wages. Of course, if they pay something like 150k-a-week + the loan fee it's 15M for a year - which is still quite the sum. But Falcao is quite the player isn't he? In no way will they pay a 24M loan fee + 350k-a-week wages, but I guess you chose to believe that just to say it out loud?

We have played Stoke, Newcastle and Hull - two of the games at home. These three teams scored 45, 43 and 38 goals last season. Let's wait until we have played some proper teams over time before we start celebrating our acquisitions?

It is incredible how sentiment change whenever a player suddenly is linked to our club, or any other club for that matter. Not really incredible, just shows how fickle and naive most people are (myself included) when it comes to supporting something. Imagine if Balotelli had signed for Man Utd instead of Liverpool? Imagine the mood on LFC-forums as opposed to the ridiculous comments that are boasted on RAWK right now. I have seen comments saying Balotelli is a much better player than di Maria, it goes to show how ignorant people are. Cleverley has been blasted on here for two years, but when we are linked to him he is a very good player and an awesome talent all of a sudden. I have never said he was as bad as the general population thinks he is, but I have my reservations now that he has been down in the mud for so long. The kind of form and pressure he has had the last 24 months can break any player, and I doubt we will ever see the ability he could have flourished in the end.

Surely you couldn't guarantee that Grealish would create anything? Some people need to stop bigging up our so-called talents. Grealish is 18 years old and has experience only from League 1. As we saw from United's humiliation at MK Dons yesterday, being good in the Youth team doesn't necessarily mean you are going to hack it with the big boys. Chances are he will never make it, they rarely do from our Academy, so throwing him out on the pitch just like that would be suicide. I know nothing about this player as I haven't seen him play before, but if he is any good he will be given minutes here and there and get the chance to prove he is capable. Certainly shouldn't start games right away when we finally have options in our squad.

So instead of buying one top class player they could have brought four average ones? Well if you want to call them average it's up to you but my main point is that they could have bought to make them solid from the back. It doesn't necessarily have to be those 4 but Di Maria gave the ball away about 50 times in one World Cup match, he's not in the class of the very best in which he is going to win games on his own. They need their spine rebuilt if they want to get in the Champions League. You are talking without any sense really. Di Maria is among the very best, and will obviously bring something to their team that they lack. He is not Messi and Ronaldo-class, but he is in the tier after these two legends. Mentioning one single game in the World Cup (after a long and hard season, playing for the national team) is pointless - what about mentioning the CL-final where he created the goal that won the match? Regardless of di Maria, it is not like they are buying him over the others you mentioned. They have cash for both, and probably will buy another defender and a midfielder. Buying players like Sanchez, di Maria and the lot is extremely difficult - and they are the ones that win you the trophies. Buying players like Vlaar, Blind, Vermaelen and Song is much easier - because they are cheaper and they are in a million.

I beg to differ. IF he played for WBA, Stoke or Swansea, I am pretty sure I wouldn't be able to even name him if I saw his picture. On the pitch he is pretty invisible, mostly because of his role and because we seldom keep the ball in play. I like Westwood, he seems like a decent guy and he has a certain calmness to his play. However, he doesn't stand out and I don't think he has taken huge steps towards being a very good player in the future. If he was 20 years old like Ross Barkley he would have been quite the talent, but he is already 24 and I'm afraid I don't see the huge potential in him. He will always be a tidy player, picking up the ball and delivering it to the next guy going forward, but he is one in a million and can easily be replaced. Hope I'm wrong though.

Phil Jones is a really good defender. Better than Smalling. However, is he really the kind of good Man Utd need to be Man Utd and win everything? Michael Dawson at Tottenham is a really good defender but he plays for Tottenham. Man Utd are missing two World Class level defenders. Rojo might be one. Luke Shaw might be another but they are both unproven and inexperienced. I also think they need more than Ron Vlaar because good as he is he'll get a calf injury before december. Jonny Evans is by far their best central defenders these days. Often in the shadow behind Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic the last five years, but he is very stable and a good tactical player. Injuries are messing up his career as well though, so they can hardly count him as a sure card. To be honest, United don't need Ron Vlaar as they already have players similar to him - luckily for us. What they need is of course a top, top central defender to play every single game. A natural leader as well, who instils fear in the opposition and calmness to his own players like Vidic/Terry/Kompany. When everyone is fit (or at least when injuries are back to "normal") I don't think the defensive department is the biggest problem for United. They played without Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans, Rafael and Marcos Rojo yesterday, as well as Chris Smalling who limped off after 43 minutes. Their best setup would probably be: Shaw, Rojo, Evans and Rafael in a back-four. Compare that to Arsenal (Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Debuchy), Liverpool (Manquillo, Lovren, Skrtel, Johnson) and Tottenham (Dier, Kaboul, Rose, Vertonghen) - and I would say that they aren't far from being as good - or even better. They lack that one great stopper like Kompany to be very well organized. Their problem right now is the central midfield and the inability to get anything out of the "new" formation. Cleverley and Fletcher were woeful and lost the game for them yesterday, because the other units didn't get to play football since these two guys were struggling to glue them together. Since they failed to contribute, the wing-backs didn't dare to take any chances and they were short on players going forward. How many times didn't we see Mata or Rooney trying to find an option, but there were none. Of course, Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick were injured as well. For United to have a chance at competing for the title (at least on paper) - they need a central defender and a tank in the middle, easy as that. I do not think they will compete for the title of course, but with di Maria they will get a world of alternatives and they will create more chances because of him in every game. Oh any by the way - I think the new formation looks silly. Where are the pros? I only see cons as it doesn't seem to create more chances and it only leaves them lightweight on the counter. This must be the ideal formation for Villa to play against...

I hope he has more than potential, as he turns 29 in February... He is a beast though, clearly very fit and will not be tossed around like Barry Bannan and other scrawny midfielders.

Today they were without Shaw, Rojo, Evans and Rafael. How would we fare without Vlaar and the other defenders? Besides, their defensive display today wasn't too bad except for the corner-situation (which could have happened to the best defense in the world). The problem was in the central midfield, Fletcher and Cleverley are barely a top-15 combo.

True that, but signing a world-class player is always going to make the team better. Besides, who know what they will bring in the next week? United desperately need some skill from the wing, as well as players who can do something out of nothing. Di Maria offers just that, he is exceptional at gliding past players and creating something when everything seems locked. The problems at United are very obvious right now, especially with the new formation they are playing. The midfielders today were woeful, none of Fletcher/Cleverley are going to be first picks when everyone is signed and fit. When you don't have exceptional midfielders in this formation, it is almost like playing with 10 men from the first minute. Remember that United today played without Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Jonny Evans, Michael Carrick, Rafael da Silva and Ander Herrera from their current "first" selection. On top of that, next week they might have Angel di Maria available. Van Persie and Januzaj are obviously unfit at the moment, but have to play because of injuries and lack of depth.

Angel Di Maria is an exceptional footballer, their attacking players are probably the best in the league if this happens. However, they need a midfield enforcer and a new central defender to be able to contend this year..

Wow, you must have a MSc in Economics as well as in Advanced Negotiation Techniques. So you think every selling club go to media sites and look for articles where the buying club has made any remarks of potential deals? Give me a break, this is not how it works. Villa are pretty much skint, like every other club in Europe seems to be except for the lucky few. People KNOW that Paris St. Germain, Manchester City, United and Real Madrid have cash to spend, they will easily crank up the price here and there. Most players have a set value and if there is reluctance to sell you know the player will oppose it and react with a transfer request etc. Whether we go out to say "we are going to buy a new player" as opposed to "we might strike a deal if the price is right" means absolutely nothing when dealing for players within the range we are looking at. Just look at the players we have signed over the last year; Richardson was a freebie, any club would love to sell Senderos, Cissokho came back from a failed loan at Liverpool, Sanchez wasn't very cheap for his age, Kozak certainly wasn't cheap given the ability he has shown in his career and so on. Let's say we go for a player we value at 3M, it's not like the club is going to say 5M based on an interview Lambert has made. They could of course demand 5M from the start, but that is down to negotiation and meeting in the middle. The players we are looking at are probably a) players not worthy of a spot in his current team in the Premier League, loans or c) players from Europe (belonging to clubs with lackluster economy). The art of selling players is easy. If you want to keep said player, hike up the price and refuse to sell unless the price reaches astronomical figures. If the player is surplus to requirements, you are glad to get rid of him. Would we hike up the price if someone came in for a bid for Luna, Bent or Bennett? Of course not, we would pay for their flights. Would we hike up the price for Vlaar or Benteke? Certainly.

Positivity? Sure, we won the game last weekend. That keeps the mood stable during the next week, until you play the next game. The mood after that game will be based on the outcome, just like it would for every other fan of any other club. However, take a look at the first game last season when we won 3-1 away to Arsenal. One games means absolutely nothing in the long run, except of course that is brings us 3 points closer to the magical line of 40 and avoiding relegation. With our upcoming fixtures in a few weeks, we desperately need a few wins now to create some cushion. The signings over the summer have been mediocre, yet again. We have gone for experience, but none of the players will make us particularly better. Let's not kid ourselves, if someone had mentioned Richardson, Cole and Senderos a few years ago we would have laughed it away. I am not going to comment on Sanchez, I have never seen him play before. He has spent most of his career at Valenciennes and then Elche before he joined us, pretty much the equivalents of Villa in their respective leagues right now. Lots of players have performed well in a World Cup before securing a move. I sincerely hope he will do well, but chances are he is a new Makoun. Also, the new CEO will hardly perform miracles when we currently have a very unsexy brand and little money to develop it with. I am happy enough with Cissokho, I have hopes for Sanchez, Okore and N'Zogbia - and I hope Vlaar stays on. We are maybe a little bit better than last season in terms of options and quality. However, we are still without our best player; Christian Benteke. If he returns before October and stays injury-free until the end of the season, we will be fine around 14th place in the table. If he returns too early and then struggle with niggles or even more serious injuries, we are firm contenders for relegation yet again. I think it's extremely pleasing to see that Luna, Tonev and Bennett are far away from the team though - I wouldn't even describe these as professional footballers. The same goes for El Ahmadi and Bacuna, they might have some assets but I don't think they are anywhere near good enough to start in the Premier League.

That Woodward-guy at Man Utd also came from a commercial background where he supposedly did very well, I hope Mr. Fox has a better transition than him.

Acceleration is the most important thing - and if you acceleration is good then you are likely to be pretty fast as well. Showing a video clip of a player already at pace vs. a player just turning and then accelerating proves very little, even Per Mertesacker could win races like that. However, Vlaar isn't slow at all - much better stoppers than him have had problems with their pace their entire careers and it has never been a problem. Nemanja Vidic and John Terry were never quick, but they are probably the best to have ever played in the Premier League when they were at their prime. I really hope Vlaar stays here. He has nothing to win at Southampton to be honest, he is 29 years old and will never reach any level with them whilst he is still active. If an offer came in from a big club then he will have my blessing to achieve something in his career (he certainly will never win anything with Villa), so that would be understandable. Southampton have a better team than us and more money to potentially build a strong squad this season still, but they are lightyears away from competing for European qualification. Makes no sense for him to leave for them, he could probably earn the same money here as well and keep his reputation.

Hell to the no!!!!

I don't think anyone would like to pay actual money for Karim El Ahmadi. Probably going to be one of those loans where we pay all his wages and see him bugger off next season for free. Great signing.

Barry Bannan has 2 goals and 8 assists in 79 games in the Premier League - now he is getting more assists than Hazard, Özil, Eriksen, Mata, Sterling and Yaya got last season? Someone put in that Jennifer Lawrence-GIF please.. Also, Crystal Palace scored 33 goals in total last season, don't think they will do much better this time around. 3(12) might just signal his game-time this season though, that is much more likely.

I don't know if he is any good or if he will adapt to the Premier League, but it surely is great to get in another number is a very weak midfield - as well as an enforcer to break up play. Very, very important for a team that are (most) likely to fight for relegation. I remember when we signed Jean Makoun, many had big hope for him, but it didn't go well at all. Hope it will be different with this guy, who should be in his prime to make an immediate impact.

Not even worth the energy of typing from any of us on here. The chance of him joining us is zero. He would have roughly 80 clubs lurking around for his signature - and 80% would back away because of his wage demands. He is not a poor player just because he cannot hack it at Barcelona, he would be the ideal player for a lot of clubs including Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham to mention a few. Then there are all the good clubs in Turkey, France, Italy, Germany and Spain - all of them with more money and a better chance of getting him. I wouldn't be very surprised if he ended up in Italy or was signed to "compete" at Man City or Man Utd.

I think United are favorites for top 4 ahead of Liverpool, regardless of them signing any more new players. The most likely will, even multiple, but with LvG at the helm and no European football to worry about, their squad doesn't have to be that huge to compete in the Premier League. With the right acquisitions, they are also contenders for the title - but that means signing players like Hummels and Vidal before the window shuts. Liverpool have a good squad on paper, but they are far, far away from City/Chelsea in terms of top talents. The void left by Suarez is huge and Gerrard is getting even older. Mix that up with many new players having to gel in whilst also playing in the Champions League, it is going to be a difficult task to copy last season. Talk about winning the league is totally of the mark, that will never happen. They are nailed on for 5th, but also Everton can challenge if they go out early from the cursed Europa League. Will be very interesting to see what the clubs manage to do before the window shuts. If Arsenal bring in a top striker a la Benzema and a central defender, they will be candidates. If not, the same as last year will happen once again. Giroud will tire after Christmas and they will lose all the games against the good teams.