HalfTimePost

Being proven in the Premier League means absolutely nothing...as we well know. And Draxler is more than proven in the Bundesliga...

Been saying this for a long time (not frequently). The problem is that you can't in any way get any kind of parity when you have a promotion and relegation system. The NFL does a great job with parity; it makes it way more fun and entertaining, but that model, of course, cannot fit in a system where you can cease to be a member of it if you play poorly (i.e. don't have money). Yeah, NFL is a lot more competitive largely because of the hard salary cap. The key to parity is actually the centralised tv deal and the shared revenue though. The NFL is so insanely popular in the US it draws huge ratings regardless of who is playing. If you compare it to baseball, the key to big spending baseball teams is having a big local population (market) and hence a big local tv deal which they negotiate themselves. The thing that will eventually kill the premier league as a competition completely is when, like in Spain, the top clubs negotiate their own tv deals rather than having a centralised revenue sharing contract. It is bound to happen eventually, there are just too many muppets who want to watch Man U every week and don't care about the rest of the league. Luckily 14 Premier League teams need to agree to change the rules. Outside of Chelsea, United, Arsenal and Liverpool it doesn't really make much sense for anybody. Maybe City and Spurs. Still need another 8 clubs. Nobody in the bottom half would do it. Doesn't make sense for anyone. So it wont happen hopefully

On a desktop/laptop just get Google Chrome, go to the Chrome Extensions Store and search 'Netflix Unlock'. Whilst the add-on is enabled you will get access to the US Netflix. Unenable it to get access to the UK one again

Bony to Swansea official. So he goes off the list.

Exactly. We've swapped from a system where you make a massive loss on deadwood or have them hang around milking their contract to a system where your players come into their prime and potentially move for massive fees. There'll be pain because essentially we're going to be selling players the fans don't want to sell. But if we re-invest properly then it's all good. And we re-invest and we re-invest and then re-invest some more but when do we build a team? The Benteke debacle if anything shows that whenever we get a quality player he is going to be cherry picked and that will continue leaving us in a re-build vicious circle. I've stated this time and time again that only investing in youth won't work because there won't be a base on which you can build a team. If those young players fulfil their potential then they will be off to pastures new within a couple of seasons and although our club might get rich financially it will however will stay poor on success. It's a slow process but yes you can build something. Look at Dortmund. In 07/08 when their similar rebuilding began they brought in the likes of Hummels, Blaszczykowski and Mladen Petric for a combined £3m. They have since sold players such as: Pienaar, Petric, Lucas Barrios, Nuri Sahin, Kagawa, Gotze, Lewandowski (next summer) and still built something. Westwood & Lowton £1.8m. Bennett £2m Benteke £5m Vlaar £3m KEA £3m Bacuna £800k Tonev £2.5m Luna £1.5m Helenius £1.2m Guzan £Free Okore £4m Bowery £500k Sylla £2m? Steer - Tribunal.. £500k? Total: £26m outlay tops? Selling Benteke for £26m+ Would have essentially funded a rebuilding of our squad. If we really wanted to (we wouldnt), we could fill a Starting 11 + some of the bench with these players. Guzan Lowton Vlaar Okore Luna Westwood Sylla Bowery Bacuna Tonev Helenius Steer, Bennett, KEA. So yeah, I think we can build something. We already have the foundation for something before even adding in our own youth prospects. Before we add in any more additions that could come from the money we get (and/or save in wages) from Bent, Given, Ireland, Bannan and Delfouneso. If we can keep finding gems, selling them on if need be, and using that money to improve the squad, that is building something. As I said before, selling Benteke for £25-30m will fund this summer, January and next summers signings. If it turns out next summer or the summer after that Lowton or Okore are £20m defenders, then selling them will fund the next round. If in 3 years time Jordan Graham is a £20m winger, he will fund the next round..If it's Grealish at £25m the year after then the Academy has been funded for years to come. We can't compete unless we gradually build the quality of our team and the quality of our academy and eventually it clicks. Thats the situation we and any other club outside of the current top 6 find themselves in. Until then or a oil-rich sheikh buys us.. We go again..

Lets just write them off after one season? Well they could be written off if for no other reason than their mention is in a thread about Christian Benteke! My point was somebody said that if Benteke had a poor season, we wouldnt have shown him any more loyalty than he has shown us. That he would have been shown the door and we would have gotten somebody else in. My point was that KEA and Bennett have been given a second season after a poor first

KEA and Bennett are being given another season...

I think part of that is that Michu started to not perform as well towards the end of the season, whereas Benteke just kept getting better. Also nobody is thinking of putting in £25-30m for Michu. If they were he'd be gone too.

Lambert get disillusioned with losing players and leave? Where would Lambert go? Who don't lose their players? Spurs? Berbatov, Modric, Bale? Arsenal? Nasri, Fabregas, RVP? Man United? Ronaldo? Rooney? Not to mention the fact United, Chelsea and Man City wouldn't take him for years yet anyway. Arsenal will go abroad and so will Spurs..? Dortmund? Götze, Lewandowski, Kagawa... Losing players is a part of football, if your going to make a career out of football you had better be used to losing players or you may as well just give up. Stupid post.

Players we can 100% Rule Out Defoe Remy Keeping Darren Bent Lukaku (loan or otherwise) Adebayor Zamora Lacina Traore Stefan Kießling (before someone pulls up the old McLeish link) Bas Dost (see above) Seydou Doumbia (seen it on twitter) Jordan Rhodes And pretty much everybody else that everyone has heard of. Which, unfortunately, probably includes Bony and Vydra.

The only deals I would take from Spurs are: 1) Our asking price, in cash, Straight up. 2) A figure nominally lower than our asking price in cash + one or two of their prospects* Not Caulker or Townsend and the like who are already pushing for their first team and well known. More along the lines of Alex Pritchard, Souleymane Coulibaly (although he hasn't really impressed since joining Spurs), Milos Veljkovic and Tom Carroll are players that would fit in with our philosophy. although, bar Coulibaly I doubt Spurs would be willing to let any of them go... and in fairness we have the like of Graham and Grealish to bring through yet.

If Lambert can keep re-investing the money into better players, then we will improve and move up the league. When we start finishing Top 10, or battling for a Europa League place, then players will see reasons to stay. Selling Benteke for £20m, could bring in 2 or 3 players of the quality of Matt Lowton (for example). We could buy over 20 Matt Lowton's for £20m!

Put a list in the Transfer Speculation thread last night that read something like: Alfred Finnbogason (Heerenveen, who have a great history with strikers, Van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Bas Dost....Allbäck) Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, who have already signed Dieumerci MBokani this summer) Luc Castaignos (FC Twente) Michy Batshuayi (Liege) John Guidetti (Man City) Wilfried Bony (Vitesse Arnhem)

What? I don't think anybody has said that bar the one idiot who isnt a Villa fan..?

See if thats on Betfair and Lay, lay, lay.

Blip? This is the business model we wanted. Admittedly we didn't expect it this quickly. The entire business model is by young, hungry, talented and cheap players. Build them up, if we keep them - great, we build something. If we dont, we either make very little loss because they weren't good enough. Or, we sell them on for huge profits in order to fund the next round of incomings. £25-30m will fund this summer, January and most of next summers transfer exploits. This is the model working perfectly in action.

No thanks to Ba No thanks to Austin No thanks to Lukaku on loan Yes please to Batshuayi Yes please to Piazon. Benteke to Chelsea for £25m + Piazon. Bring in Finnbogason and Batshuayi as Benteke replacements for a combined £10m. Weimann (Tonev) Piazon/Helenius Gabby/Tonev Finnbogason/Batshuayi With Graham, Grealish, Carruthers and Robinson supporting in wide/AM positions if need be.

I've wanted Finnbogasson since about November. Would be a great signing. Wilfried Bony Alfred Finnbogasson Brown Ideye Lacina Traore (but he'll be on big wages) Luc Castaignos John Guidetti Would all be decent additions. Think Bony is the only one capable or replacing Benteke instantly though. But think that option has now passed.

We won't be getting Lukaku. Lets just nip that in the bud.

No need

Mat Kendrick @MatKendrick Benteke has not traveled to Germany and Villa have told him they will sell him if they receive an offer that meets their valuation #avfc So club have already said that they will sell (if valuation is met). So Whats our valuation? £30m? £25m?

Oh well, £30m and we reinvest. Bit dissappointed in him but we all knew this could happen and after his history with Genk I guess most of us knew it would come to this at some point. If I'm honest, I didn't expect it this summer, probably next, but oh well. Sell him and move on.

Mirror.

well... James Nursey @JamesNursey AVFC bombshell ...bit.ly/12mTUHJ Benteke has handed in a transfer request. He ain't in Germany. See paper tomorrow

Well now we've offered £15.48 8500000 exceptional pounds then I'm happy to call that and say Welcome Hiroshi.