Silafou's_besi_mate

7 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

I would just like to point out, that if this information is in fact true, and your source is credible, then you really ought to contact the local press (e.g. B'Ham Mail) about this.

I'm calling Mat Kendrick as we speak... 

8 minutes ago, mattyvilla said:

is this for real? There is a large surplus every season thats why they sell them for £10 come march!

Yes, this is for real...you couldn't make this up in a Holly script!

11 minutes ago, chrissmith921 said:

is this serious mate?

the fact our shirt / badge gets burned is bastard disgusting

Yes, this is serious.  Yes this is true.  I totally agree, burning the badge is disgusting.  I found out yesterday, but was so upset that I couldn't even write about it on here until today.

1 hour ago, theboyangel said:

The summer transfer window was daring but now obviously flawed.

Everyone could see we needed a major reshuffle but with the club's ownership in a state of flux, a substantial warchest was never going to be provided from club funds, instead our most valuable playing assets (Benteke and Delph) were cashed in to give the vast majority of the transfer budget.

We also got money for the likes of Weimann, Lowton and Sylla who were much-maligned on here, and released the likes of Luna, Bent and Tonev with the vast majority pleased to see the back of them.

It was a major rebuild, but the club failed to spend the money to replace the likes of Benteke and Delph - this is one of the many reasons we're where we are. Properly replacing Vlaar, even though he was a sicknote in his last season wasn't achieved either.

As for budget buys from France - Ayew, Veretout and Amavi were all above £7m (but what does that realistically buy you nowadays?) and I would say have been amongst our better performers this season. The jury is still out on Gana but I think most see there's a player there who can be decent.

The real budget buys - Lescott, Sinclair, Crespo, Illori and to a lesser extent Richards have all failed to impress or even make an impact. Four of the five are from the Premier League - read into that what you will.

The biggest flop seems to be Gestede though but his fee was under £6m - how did anyone at the club expect him to replace Benteke?

The club and sherwood were responsible for the rebuild and now Garde (like him or not) is having to deal with the mistakes made.

He has the toughest of tasks ahead and needs to bring in his players that will listen to how he wants them to play.

Sadly, I don't think the club care about that, the players have switched off and we're not in the best position to attract the right playing staff.

 

 

 

 

 

Well said! I actually think Garde is doing OK considering the players he has.  How did anyone think that Gestede would be a replacement for Benteke?  We should start preparing for the championship now and get players that will play for the manager in the way he wants.

We should have won that, but again unlucky.  No penalty given for shirt tug on Michah Richards and they get the most dubious penalty I have seen.  Yes we should have won that, but Richards played well at right back.  Better than Hutton.  We just couldn't get it in the back of the net as usual.  Why is Gestede being played, he is useless up front unless it in the air. Even then he's pretty poor.  At least rich radon didn't have a shocking game at letter back..

I actually think we are in a good position and should trust the current strategy. We have bought in four good quality players so far, not like the previous buy cheap and hope strategy under Lambert.

Getting Adebayor and a quality young striker with potential to sell on for a bigger fee in 3 years would actually be a smart piece of business. It's what we've done with Benteke. Adebayor will also provide good experience for the younger players.

I do think we need a 'captain' for the team - either a quality midfielder or centre back. 3 more quality signings and I'd be very happy going into the season.

After all Tonev has finally scored - what's not to be positive about!

Four?

 

are you including Bunn? As he is an absolutely typical Lambert style signing. Not saying he's bad, just saying.

 

also anyone one know why Senderos hasn't featured in any pre-season or U21 games? Is he still injured? He's not played in a ridiculously long time.

I think they're all "Lambert style signings" just worth a bit more money. 

 

Probably evidence that the manager doesn't have sole control over the transfers at AVFC anymore.

 

In fact, I'd say Bunn is pretty untypical of the transfer style when Lambert was here. He's not young for a start.

So you are saying Amavi is similar to Luna or Bennet - a French under-21 player? Richards similar to Senderous? Sorry, but my view of the player we have bought so far is a little different to yours. And my four, I am excluding Bunn but including Sinclair. Who scored goals for us last season - not like Tonev...

I actually think we are in a good position and should trust the current strategy. We have bought in four good quality players so far, not like the previous buy cheap and hope strategy under Lambert.

Getting Adebayor and a quality young striker with potential to sell on for a bigger fee in 3 years would actually be a smart piece of business. It's what we've done with Benteke. Adebayor will also provide good experience for the younger players.

I do think we need a 'captain' for the team - either a quality midfielder or centre back. 3 more quality signings and I'd be very happy going into the season.

After all Tonev has finally scored - what's not to be positive about!

He's lingering now, like a turd that won't flush.

Or put another way, like the girlfriend you thought you'd dumped, so got with a new girl (in this case Richards). Only to find your ex is still considered your girlfriend by many, even though you don't.

Totally agree. He has shown no respect for the club, bearing in mind he was a former captain. I've said it many times, I'd rather we got rid as we've only had 1 decent season out of the time he has been with us. Nothing would make me smile more than Benteke to wipe the floor with him next season when we play against him, whoever he signs for.

Has this been resolved yet?

 

 

I reckon we are going to do a swap deal for Barry Bannan...

When I first read about him leaving I was very disappointed - but reading some of the comments, I think you guys are right. I'm not too bothered now. I think he wanted Everton all along, and only came to us because Everton couldn't agree a fee in time and he didn't want to be sat in the UTD reserves. He helped us stay up and he was decent for a few games (but only a few) but hardly a world-changing performance for us. I could be syndicalism and say that he was playing for a contract and therefore stepped up his performance towards the end. I'd rather have someone that wants to play for us and is passionate about Villa than someone who see's us as a stop gap.

I will be massively disappointed if he leaves this summer, the type of player we craved for years, comes into the team, looks every bit a good player, then cast aside. I can't agree with Sherwood on this one if he does go, I'd much rather see him play ahead of N'Zogbia and Cole.

Be massively disappointed....The Times are quoting that Gil has been made available for transfer and told to find another club. I can't believe it, but Sherwood must have seen something he didn't like. If you look closely at the pre-FA cup final training video the club put on YouTube you can see the guys warming up. Gil isn't sprinting anywhere near as hard as the other guys - he knows he's out.

Utter gash!

When are people going to realise that Vlaar is utter pants? He keeps talking about a move to another club and then when he's not injured and plays makes mistakes, causes penalties and is utter gash. The sooner he is out the better. I'm hoping the talk of Tim keeping him is to keep the guy motivated, then we get shot of him at the end of the season.

There was no urgency in Midfield, and what was N'Zogbia doing - I don't think he even got off the bus! I looks like we are going to be safe because of other results, but Tim has got to bring in more quality in the summer, starting with a goalkeeper and better defence options.

We shouldn't get too excited about the Final if Lerner goes.  Its been reported he is going to attend.  Remember the game he attended earlier in the season that ended our run of results!  I reckon he's bad luck - when was the last time we won a game when he attended?

 

I think we should start the campaign now #nowembleyforlearner

Here's some fuel to the 'conspiracy against Gil' fire. He's been replaced with Alan Hutton on header the club's official Twitter page

 

 

 

 

Oooh... that's some fuel you've added there!  I reckon they are playing CNZ instead of Gil in the hope someone buys him in the summer, and then Gil becomes a regular starter next season.

When was the last time we won anything with Vlaar in the team - don't think he added anything what so ever to the team last night.  Clark plays better with Okore.

 

If we re-sign Vlaar this summer, it will be a terrible decision.  We've had one good season out of him - we should have sold him in the summer.

So it is real and not a dream!

Was so excited that we won a game, and it such good style, that I couldn't sleep. Was awake at 2am watching the highlights again on Sky +.

Got a massive presentation at work today and feel a bit like death, but the adrenaline of last nights win is keeping me going!

UTV

My take on it:

We're in a grim, grim place and all the statistics point to the fact we'll be relegated. If we're brutally honest, we've been toying with relegation for far too long now and I believe we do deserve to go. Those slating Tim Sherwood however are so wide of the mark it's untrue - the bloke has been here two weeks, he's not a miracle worker. The real culprit is Randolph Lerner and he's been a complete disaster ever since he walked into this club - from letting Steve Stride walk away to appointing Paul Faulkner with zero footballing knowledge to chucking money at a pipe dream hoping players like Habib Beye on £40,000-a-week were going to get us regular Champions League football. His whole tenure has been laughable. Sir Doug did many things wrong (don't get me wrong) but he's being made to look like a genius by this uninterested, clueless American. And one thing you can't say about HDE: he's never been an absent owner. Lerner's latest (and possibly fatal) mistake was keeping faith in a clueless Lambert for so long and it has provided Tim Sherwood with a massively tough task. Reading between the lines, Lerner's statement on Paul's departure makes it clear that so much faith was placed in Lambert because he was happy to be Lerner's 'yes man', puppet and shield from criticism, while the unsustainable spending was reigned in almost as fast as he first started chucking/wasting (delete as appropriate) money in the first place. A couple of very hard years beforehand, coupled with a spineless manager and spineless owner and vastly less resources was almost inevitably going to lead to the situation we see before us. The buck stops with Randolph Lerner, ultimately, and it fills me with great sadness that this almost constant descent he's been taking us on has largely gone unnoticed by the masses - instead frustrations being vented at previous managers and players. He's got away scot-free in all honesty and ironically today was the first time we've seen a banner in the Villa end directed at our owner.

Sherwood has had two games with us now and despite the hugely disappointing end product, there have undoubtedly been signs that he's trying to get across a slightly different and more effective way of playing. In the first half against Stoke, we made more forward runs and were more positive with the ball (despite the fact it didn't convert to more shots on goal). Today we were the better team overall and definitely the better team in the first-half. We played more directly and are obviously trying to tap into our biggest threat (Benteke) - we passed when we needed to and used long diagonals to trouble the Newcastle defence. And, in fairness, we created chances today. Compared to some of our performances recently where even a chance was too much too expect, I call that small signs of progress. We're taking more risks now and that means we're more open at the back, hence why Newcastle almost countered us several times in the second-half. I'd rather be playing like that than some of the negative dross we saw under Lambert.

The most disappointing thing for me about Sherwood today was his starting line-up. What more does Gabby have to do to get dropped? He's finished as a Premier League footballer and I'm worried if TS cannot see that. Carles Gil was poor against Stoke but he was being played out of position against a very physical side so it was inevitable one could argue. I felt today was the perfect game for him to come back in and show us what he can do linking up with Benteke. That said, he's the gaffer and we have to support him - he's come into a sinking ship. I thought Fabian Delph was an absolute travesty today - giving the ball away, turning backwards, conceding stupid fouls - he certainly didn't act like a Villa captain today and I'd give the armband to Clark immediately, who again had a good game.

For me, there are several things we can do straight away to boost our survival chances:

-Drop Gabby. He offers nothing any more. I think I could even beat him in a race, and that's the only thing he's ever been good at.

-Play Gil. He's our most creative player, we struggle for goals. It's a no brainer.

-Give Clark the captains armband to reward his performances of late. He's also a leader, I don't think Delph is.

-Teach Benteke the offside rule. If he knows it already, tell him to prove it during a game because he's caught offside far, far too often.

-Don't let Ashley Westwood take another set piece. I've seen a subbuteo player with more precision and quality than anything he serves up from a dead-ball situation.

-Give Bacuna more game time and consider giving him a regular run in the team in an advanced position. Why? He can't be any less effectual than Gabby/Weimann and although he makes mistakes he does score goals & he can also take a free-kick, a department we're so limited in when he's not on the pitch.

The situation looks desperate it really does and the two games against Baggies are huge and could be season-defining. We need a packed Villa Park on both occasions and we need to get behind them for the whole game - 90 minutes - no matter how badly we're playing. Two other glimmers of hope is that 1. we play Sunderland, QPR and Burnley before the end of the season and 2. QPR and Burnley have tougher run-ins than us. It's STILL in our hands and whilst we've still got a chance, a hope, I'll be there singing at the top of my lungs hoping that something will change and we'll get to the summer as a Premier League team. We need the fans now more than we've ever needed them before.

Completely agree and a great post. We didn't deserve to go in a goal down at half time today. We had a lot more chances throughout the game than normal, we just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net without being off-side. To me thats a sign that Sherwood is having an effect as we are playing better.

My 9-year old daughter has seen villa play 3 times and never seen us loose - it's time to get her back down the villa as our lucky charm. I'm buying tickets for the next two games and she is coming with me. 100% behind Villa for 90 minutes in the next two games no matter what

Service to Benteke has been dreadful. Of the goals he has scored this season, I think most he's actually made himself. If he's getting no service, what's he meant to score off? In the last few games he's been dropping deep to help get something setup. With decent service he'd do well. He is a 'needs a few chances to score' type of player, not like Bent who needed one sight of goal and he'd score (in his prime), but Benteke is coming back from a long time off. If we'd signed Lambet in January, it would have taken the pressure off. He needs someone to spark off, and maybe that person is Sinclair...

I thought his time at the club was up but he has shown some real improvement this season.

 

It's this kind of commitment I'd rather see than watching players with their hands on their hips waiting for things to happen. He is the least of our problems.

 

I agree...look at Westwood just trotting back. Without Clarke getting stuck him, he would have been straight in on goal

whats happened to him??

 

hes never been prolific.. but towards the end of the season.. when we have been in trouble hes stepped up and saved us a few times. He used to score in crucial matches. His passion used to show and hed fight and work hard.

 

Those days just seem gone.. he looks lazy and seems like he doesnt give a shit anymore. Money got to his head? Injury? hes over the club? Maybve he needs to get a move..  Only way i can describe it.. hes gone stale.

What's happened to him? You just have to look at him off pitch with the antics he gets up to, children with numerous women etc - with all that going on, I'm not surprised he's not focused on his football. In a counter attacking team his pace helped, but now we have changed strategy, his one big asset (his pace) doesn't help us anymore. I feel like he's turning into another Vassel/Joachim type player, great pace, but that's about it.

I think I'm being a bit too negative this morning, but Weimann is another player with a lot of effort put in, but end product is poor. Was it a surprise that when he did play well two seasons ago, his contract was up, he was linked to Newcastle and we suddenly gave him a new contract. Ever since he's dropped off. Gets the occasional goal, but now where near the amount he should.

Im positive about him, especially since we haven't got Lambert to kill off his attacking intent.

Totally agree with you - I think Sherwood will get the most out of him and we should snap him up permanently. My worry is he will do well for us and someone like Everton will come in for him in the summer.

Sorry to disappoint, but he is utter gash. He gets close to goal and shoots himself. If he played today, because it's against a former team, he'd try and take on everybody then shoot wide of goal. He did that all goal a few seasons ago. I think we played him to put him in the shop window and get rid in Jan - it didn't work, so he's not not first choice. One of Lamberts poor strategies was playing him.

I just think he needs managing. Some players only perform with decent management, I would trust Sherwood to bring him in one game see how he peforms for him.

I see your point, but I think CNZ is one of the most overrated players we have. I don't think he Sherwood could get a performance out of him. It's been too long - two years - since he had a decent game. Shame he didn't sign for small Heath United when they had the chance

Who put this guy on a two year deal? Bad piece of business. We should have done a pay per game deal with him.