EastEndVillan

Signed. Absolutely disgraceful situation.

I'm really struggling to see how Kiyotake (or any other 'no.10') would fit into a current team. We ended the system playing 433, with Gabby and Andi either side of Benteke and a midfield 3 of Westwood, Sylla, & Delph. He won't replace Benteke, and I would suspect he's unlike to be pushed into a wider role that either Gabby or Andi were playing. In theory he could play in the middle of midfield at the expense of one of Westwood, Sylla or Delph, in a 4231 formation, but playing that many attacking players would leave the middle of midfield rather exposed. So for those reasons, I'm out - and can't see it happening.

Lightening can't strike twice!

Assuming that no suitable bids come in for CB, then towards the start of the season he will sack his agent (Agent falls on his sword) with CB saying that 'He's was badly advised and let down by someone he trusted and was forced into handing in a TR, and he really doesn't want to leave after all' - who have trouble believing a football player in limited intelligence shocker and that he unquestioningly did as he was told. Goes a long way to smooth things over with the fans (who'll never know the truth) and the club/Playersand. His re-acceptance wil be completed once he starts banging in the goals again.

Is this the much vaunted Dortmand model in action, for Benteke read Lewandowski (or Gotze)? Whilst disappointing news we move on (go again). The important thing is to maximise the transfer fee for Benteke and re-invest in the next Benteke. Don't really care where he goes, as long as they cough up the money. Minimum, for me, would be £28m. The big hope is that PL and the club knew this was going to happen, or at least suspected it, and have a suitable replacement lined up, which causes the minimum of disruptions to pre-season.

Someone on H&V suggesting that the premier league club that he'll sign for tomorrow is in fact Arsenal! Seems far more plausible.

This, or just as likely, that as soon as the player or chairman leaked details of our "interest" we backed out and we moved on to other targets. Didn't something like this supposedly last year when the player said something on Facebook.

How can they be linked to Gignac @ £12m - albeit paper talk, and then in the next breathe plead poverity when trying to sign Bent - again paper talk?

Seems harsh compared to Stuart Hall's

There could be any number of situations, and only a handful of people at either club know the truth, and it appears they're releasing selective information to improve their position. for example, we could have offered €8m, and their chairman is trying to drive up the price or, we could have offer Belhanda £30k p/w and he wants more, hence trying to drum up a bidding war. Both offers may still be on the table, and it's just a waiting game to see how blinks first. Or it all could be complete BS.

We once had a player like that... And I still want him back. Everything was going so well, all these exciting fancy named players on their way in. Now you just gone made me sad again. Jimmy, we're sorry, won't you come on home? Twitter BS alert. I stumbled across a tweet that said we were in talks with Man City regading the trransfer of one of their players ..... Dare to dream? Unfortuately, further stumbling lead to the name Jack Rodwell ..... who would certainly keep the Physio team busy!

The daggers - Dagenham and Redbridge. Sort of the local team (although Orient is now closer), with a link to Walthamstow. Used to have a season ticket, cost about £300, and you can stand at the game. Good little club - or as we like to sing "just a pub team from Essex".

It's not just Wigan's game with Arsenal that we need to look out for. If Newcastle and Norwich both fail to win this weekend, then they've both got less points than us with very very difficult finally games. Should Wigan win at Arsenal on Tuesday, it spells more danger for those clubs than it does for ourselves. Don't fancy Norwich getting another point, and Newcastle, you never know they may fall foul of a "liberated" QPR.

A point against Chelsea, QPR join the party and beat Newcastle, and then we role over and let wigan win - Newcastle are relegated. Nothing better than the sight of blubbing fat 'Jawdees' at the end of the final whistle.

Kiraly DL Cruz Tiler Calderwood Small Agathe Djemba Djemba Osborne Leonhardsen Cole Balaban - Did he actiually play in the PL

I thought that I would resurrect this thread, with one eye on the Wigan game. I’m assuming that all will be still to play for, for both teams, so is there any merit in some Villa soldaritity and all congregating at the same venue to share the highs and lows of the last game of the season?. Any takers? Where?

I think if Given goes we would be lucky to get anything at all for him due to his wages and any fee would probably have to be written off so another club could pay his wages. Lichaj is also out of contract so that's another 500k you can take off. I could see a similar case with Makoun & Hutton as the club will be desperate to get rid of the two of them and will probably accept anything. Throw in another £70k a week for Ireland and we should have a great platform to build from. Makoun's already gone - hasn't he. No details on how much Rennes are paying, would imagine bugger all, but at least save the £30k p/w wages

Whilst the rhetoric of this statement might sound 'right on' there is absolutely nothing to support this notion. Your use of quotations marks around efficiency gains detracts from the reality that the nationalised industries were, in the main, remarkably inefficient, operating at a loss and propped up by premiums added to bills and the tax payer. The fact is in 1975 the UK consumer was paying more for their electricity and gas than any other Western European country, today it pays the least. Yep. Privatisation massively improves efficiency. Once an industry actually has to stand on its own two feet or risk going bust all the waste is quickly cut. I have worked in private companies and am now in a government organisation and the difference in culture is massive. There is no risk of being fired or made redundant in the public company even now during supposed government cuts. Employees continue to receive above inflation pay rises every year regardless. Meanwhile staff still leave the office at 4 in the afternoon and there are long group tea breaks during the day that you just couldn’t afford to take in my old company. There is even a guy who regularly has a nap at his desk after lunch! I think the best way to structure services is to have a range of private options running for profit and then a public company running not for profit and without subsidies. That way they both systems keep each other in check. The private companies can’t collude and screw people down and the public company is kept on its toes as well. I would love to know what Government body that is. I have worked for two large public sector institutions, Westminster City Council, and now the MPS. I can can assure you with both of those organisations (in recent times) there have been no above inflation pay rises and both organisations have made significant number of people redundant.

Dunne's contract is up, so if they did want to keep him, for say another 12 month, they could offer him a deal but on vastly reduced wages, circa £20-25kp/w - with some added clauses about being fit enough to play. It's then up to Dunne what he wants to do, if he want to go for one last pay cheque, then so be it, if he wants to stay on much lower wages then great - either way it's win-win for me (provided they don't offer a contract on the same wages).

Might be there because if you enter your pin wrong, you can delete it. I think it's the inconsistency of it all, Lloyds, the cash machine that I predominately use, you don't have to press the enter, but others you. So I'm standing there waiting for the damn machine to do something and it's waiting for me to press the bloomin' Enter button. Perhaps I should just pay more attention at when I use the cash mahines.

When at a cash machine (ATM) and after you've typed in your PIN, then having to then press the enter key. Completely winds me up - petty I know.

Having looked at at couple of Reading forums, that simply isn't the case, or isn't with the Reading fans. Most are convinced that Benteke, Weimann and N'Zogbia are going to tear them to shreads.

That's really interesting, whilst hardly being scientific. I notice that the Villa come high in lots of east and central London postcodes, and check out W11. I'd like to think that I'm responsible for most of the Villa tweets in E17.

What sort of education does one need to achieve a job title such as that? Very Little. Get PRINCE2 qualified (a week). Get a job in IT, then work for a poorly paid public body that handles sensitive data. And hey presto

I'll go first then. Secure IT Project Manager