GalwayVillain

From a football perspective I agree with the general desire to get an upgrade to our full backs. Especially in the modern game as it is the one area of the pitch where a player has a bit of time on the ball and the best teams have constructive players in the full back positions. From a personal level though I have respect for Stephen Warnock. I only get to travel over to Birmingham maybe once a year to catch a game. I also like to drop out to Bodymoor with my children to try and see the players and just soak up the vibes. Last year during the depth of the Houlier era when Stephen Warnock was an outcast I dropped into Bodymoor. After training all the players shot out the back entrance in case they might have to delay for 5-10 minutes talking to the 15-20 fans at the front gate. I was a little bit disappointed for my children in particular. Coming from Ireland I was hoping to see Richard Dunne or maybe Ciaran Clark. My son had his Clark Villa shirt on. Only two players came through the front gate. One was Ashley Young, who as captain at the time was maybe aware of his responsibility and was very obliging for photos and signatures. The other was Stephen Warnock who was also very friendly and obliging for photos and signatures. Considering it looked odds at that time that he would not play for the Villa again and he was being shunned by Houlier and co, I was very impressed that he had this type of consideration towards the fans. As I watched Downing and co speed up the road to avoid having to spend a few minutes with the fans, my opinion of Stephen Warnock changed and despite his limitations as a fullback I have respect for him compared to many in modern game. I hope we get a young up and coming left back who can add to our team when we have the ball not just defend but I also have respect for Stephen Warnock and in the modern game where many players act as pure money mercenarys at the fans expense. I do not myself see Stephen Warnock in that category.

Hello all, I live here in Galway. This was posted earlier this week. Does'nt really shed too much light on the picture but thought you might be interested. Overall, I do not really believe these guys prime interest is the good of Aston Villa. http://www.galwayadvertiser.ie/dws/story.tpl?inc=2002/03/23/news/30702.html Date: 23-03-2002- Galway takeover of Villa will go ahead by May, says brother BY MARY O'CONNOR The brother of the two multi-millionaire Glenamaddy men who have been in on-off negotiations for the past six months to buy Midlands soccer club Aston Villa says he believes the € 96 million deal may go ahead this time. Businessman Billy Comer, the older brother of Luke and Brian, who lives in Shannaugh outside Glenamaddy, was commenting in the wake of media reports that the takeover bid is still on track and that the deal may be signed and sealed by May. He said negotiations appear to be taking place again between his brothers - who started out working here as plasterers before moving to England in the mid 1980s and who are leading a consortium - and the premiership club which is 132 years old this month. "I was surprised to hear negotiations were back on. It would be nice if it [the deal] went ahead, I feel it might this time. I'm still hopeful. They might get it for a few million less than before. According to them before, it was 15 million overpriced." The Comer brothers, who have developed reputations as shrewd investors and whose property company is worth € 1.5bn, are not likely to rush into anything. Reports say they were attracted to the Birmingham club, not for sentimental reasons - they are not fans of the side - but because of the prospect of developing land owned by it within the grounds of Villa Park. While they attend premiership games regularly their real love is gaelic football. Billy, who won the Lotto jackpot in the mid 1990s and who used to work at the Customs and Excise Office in Galway, says the talks have been going on since October. "Many people thought it was all off. People are often asking me about it but I wouldn't say anything." His brothers are remaining tight lipped, too. When approached recently at Cheltenham, in the company of Billy's son Shane (24) who works with them, they declined to comment on the takeover. "I'm always with them at Cheltenham. This is the first time I missed it for 15 years - I was too busy with the new businesses," says Billy, who is the proprietor of the newly opened "Sabrina's Tandouri (named after his daughter), Comer's Glenview Bar and James Kilkenny's Bookmakers in Glenamaddy. He says his brothers, who are based in Hertfordshire, would view the deal as a big step and would not rush into it. "You don't do these things lightly. There is so much involved." If the takeover goes ahead, it would be great for the region and Ireland as a whole, he says. "I'd be very happy if it went ahead. It would be great for the west and Ireland that two people from a tiny village could buy a football club."