Jas

Never mind football fans, I'm beginning to dislike football.

I don't post in this thread usually, but reading some of the previous comments by Villa fans, I felt I needed to produce a message. We're not all bitter and jealous Villa fans. Fair play to Tottenham Hotspur and Harry Redknapp for getting in the top 4. Whilst I feel it's been due to the money spent, it's still a difficult task. Hopefully you'll get past your qualifier for the Champions League so my SKY subscription is filled with English teams in Europe, of whom I will watch, rather than some other European based team I couldn't care less about. I can understand people are bitter towards Man City. In fact, I don't really understand that either. If we had the money of Spurs and Man City, we'd be loving it. It's pure jealousy. Fair play to Spurs and good luck for the season - though not at the expense of the Villa. :winkold:

How much are these Chinese consortium worth?

£21m plus Stephen Ireland would be a great deal. Unfortunately, I think it's just one of those 'internet' rumors.

What's been said?

Well that interview with MON throws a spanner in the works doesn't it?! Unfortunately, I don't think City will be the same as Liverpool (Gareth saga). They'll stump up the money and it'll probably be at the end of August knowing our luck!

When I was a kid you'd have the new shirt before the new season kicked off. How times have changed hey. Don't think I'll be purchasing.

Way I see it is that we're football fans. We sell a player for £30m, surely we can sign a few players with that money? Let the money men worry about the money! Anyway, think the next couple of weeks will be busy. Especially on the James Milner front. (Stating the obvious).

And how much would not then be 'spare' in the wage bill? It is wages that seem to be the important thing. (Also excluding that we'd still have £6m to take off the balance sheet for Milner, I'd guess, if he were on a 4 year contract). True, I did think of the wage bill - just couldn't be arsed factoring that in. That's something I have to do every other day in my own job. That's Randy's problem to solve!

Got linked today in both the Independent and Guardian. Serious answer.

Does it matter? I believe those three will come. At least I hope so, anyway.

Manchester City will pay the money. Of that I have no doubt. This is the club that offered £105m for Kaka at the end of the day. If Mancini wants James Milner, his employers will purchase him. They're treating us like Everton. I really respect Everton, I honestly do. However, we're worlds apart in regards to finance than Everton, just like City are with us. We have a billionaire owner - he may not be the richest out there, but he's a damn sight richer than Bill Kenwright. We don't have to budge on our James Milner valuation at all. £24m for Joleon Lescott and Everton was too good a price to turn down. James Milner is worth more than Lescott as a player, and he's at a club that are financially sound. We should definitely demand a bit more money and like I said, we'll get it. £30m for James Milner = Stephen Ireland: £9m Aiden McGeady: £9m Robbie Keane: £6m = £24m with £6m spare, or thereabouts. I'd be sad to see Milner go, but that's only because we grow to like our players. I was more disheartened by Gareth's departure, it doesn't compare to that. Ashley Young is the one we need to keep, as long as he stays we'll be fine. In conclusion, the sale of James Milner will make us a stronger team and squad imo if the money is used correctly. I believe MON will use the money to make us stronger.

Just watching city losing on espn against sporting and stephen ireland has looked really classy. Great touch, vision and appetite for the game. Box to box both attacking and defending. Really hope we get him to replace milner.

As I suspected at 2pm today, it is more a case of MON wanting Milner to leave than Milner fighting for a move. Martin is not daft, he knows exactly what he is doing. What happened to the positive talks they held before the world cup? I don't think that was a lie. Just think MON's policy has changed. He wants the money and Stephen Ireland imo. He feels this will make AVFC stronger. He wants James to go because he feels he can make us stronger with the money. Martin isn't one to play his ace card in the public eye. He's up to something. I for one trust him.

Barry promoted our away kit last season in the photoshopped efforts. Means nothing. Emile will be off imo; if anyone can afford his wages.

Something alot different to this than when Barry was seemingly off to liverpool. MON almost didn't seem too bothered about it. I think he feels 30m or there abouts would be fantastic money. I trust in O'Neill, I really do.

At least he recognises he hasn't reached any high heights with the Villa as yet. Good sign. I think he'll come good. In fact, I have no doubts at all. He's a good player. Straight into my fantasy team too!

I know you're joking but they've got a £1bn investment co-operation with New East Manchester (Urban Regeneration Company), to transform the local area. It's an incredible plan tbh. In regards to Milner; he's no Gareth Barry, he's a lot worse. I never booed, nor do I hate Gareth. He deserved his chance at another club. Milner has only been here 2 minutes. Gareth will be remembered fondly by Villa fans in years to come, Milner won't. If he wants to go, let him.

Stephen Ireland and Robbie Keane are certainties imo. There will be another 3 that follow them. 5.

Love the AVFC at the back.

Spoke with yours yesterday seems Lescott is going to be your left back and some Benfica centre back is lined up . Yeah, David Luiz. I'd be shocked if Lescott played left back for us first choice, simply because he's shit there. Mind you, if Bridge goes down, we do have Luiz, Lescott and Barry who can all play there, as well as Jerome Boateng, so it isn't a major concern. Anything about Milner from the Villa end yet? Our end seems to think it's a done deal with the club, and the lad will sign for 5 years? Lescott's not crap there, I think he's a better LB than CB Yeah, did well for Everton there. Hasn't shown his true form for City, yet.

Just don't rate him. Collins, Cuellar and Dunne are far superior. He's had some excellent games, spurs away before this season, arsenal away and liverpool away this season. Big game player at times, but full of mistakes. Just my opinion. Edit: mind my spelling, using my phone.

Told everyone a long time ago, curtis davies is absolute shite. Won't be missed unless he learns how to head, track his man, improve positional sense, become stronger in the tackle and learns to sometimes kick into row z rather than attempting to play a xabi alonso type pass out.

Another person who feels perfectly entitled to give an opinion on somebody's character because they've read a post they've written on the internet. You are correct when you say that most City fans aren't like me. If you think I'm bad, you should try and visit us on Bluemoon. I didn't say that, I said that Lerner is the best thing that has happened to you, because he isn't a dick like Ellis. Re-read my post. Right, so what you are saying, is that winning a European Cup in living memory means that you're a top club? Just as Forest must be twice as big as you then? I can dismiss it as something Villa won "28 years ago", because..well...err...Villa won it 28 years ago. I know it's a pain in the arse, but unfortunately, facts are more important than emotional, sycophantic and utterly pointless rants on a forum about your grandad. You fail to address absolutely any point, and your main argument seems to be "you're a bad man because you thought that something that happened nearly three decades ago is irrelevant to the current standing of the team". Didn't you dismiss me in the first paragraph of your rant? Besides, don't try and talk to City fans all about loyalty mate, especially the ones who have been to all the divisions that we have been. From Rotherham, to Santander, to the Faroe Islands and everywhere in between. I've watched my club stand in the shadow of the biggest club in the world, in their most successful ever period, during our worst ever period of time, watching from a stand that didn't even have a roof on it. I loved and supported my club when we were in Division Two and nearly bankrupt. I will still love and support my club when we are rich and chasing the Champions League. It doesn't stop because we were taken over by Sheikh Mansour (who if people bothered to read anything up on, would stop with their bullshit stereotypical views of 'rich Arabs'), just as it didn't stop when we were ran by Peter Swales. The one thing that City has always been is a big family. This is an often overused saying, but the facts of it bare out with reality. We invest a shedload in our local area, we support fans in trouble, hell, the yearly meetup/pissup for forum that I'm an admin on was held at City for free and included a gig from Manford. We have always looked after each other and we continue to to this day. Don't think that because many dickheads who haven't a clue about football spout their nonsense about my club, that we have turned into what they say. We are still the same people who were pulling in 30 thousand fans in Division Two. I constantly hear the 'classless lottery winners' tag, and y'know what? We did win the lottery, but **** it. I've watched my club go from near bankruptcy to near bankruptcy, and consistently snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. We as a club were wrecked by Swales in the 80s and never really recovered until now. I have spent my whole life following a team whose biggest day out in recent years was a draw against Gillingham. So perhaps, at times, we do come across as inpatient or disrespectful or whatever but I don't think I particularly care that much. We've been laughed at for years and always handled it with our trademark gallows humour, why can't we have our 15 minutes of success before we revert back to type and inevitably find some way to **** up having trillionaire owners? I'm just hoping that we win the Champions League before some bastard invents a good solar powered car or something. Knowing our luck, someone will run over Tevez in one the day before the derby. I do apologise. Probably should have read your posts throughout rather than jumping on a few replies I had seen to your messages. Good luck to yourself and Manchester City.

I didn't make myself clear here. The joke was that you'd won the Euopean Cup last season, but after reading it back, it didn't actually sound like that. Must try harder. Right, so if you're a top club because you won the CL 28 years ago, does that make Forest a bigger club than you? As I say, define your terms of a top club, linking to Wikipedia isn't an argument. And I'm happy with our position in comparison to United. They're one of the worlds biggest clubs, and we are nowhere near (and won't be for a long time) the size of them. It doesn't bother me in the slightest to be honest, I've grown up in Manchester my whole life and know enough about them and their fans to be comfortable to not be one of them. You've dragged me out of bed to type this message on the computer, after viewing the thread on my phone. I'm utterly astounded by some of your comments. I must remember you are just ONE Manchester City fan, and the majority are not like you. I live in Mancunia, have done since I was 8 years old, it's a beautiful place full of wonderful Citeh fans. You, however, are not one of them. How dare you say the best thing about Randy Lerner is that he isn't Doug Ellis. I'd tell you to go ask my Granddad about the old so great Doug Ellis, the man who stopped him from going to watch his football team play for well over 15 years. The man cost us for many, many years. Unfortunately, my Granddad never got to go to VP and witness the Lerner takeover, he'll be smiling upstairs though, I assure you. Just wish he was there to see Ron Saunders make his first appearance back at VP over a similar time period - would have brought a tear to his eye for sure. He talked about that man with such emotion. Randy Lerner has been a godsend to this GREAT football club. I don't need to list what he has done in his short reign, you can "google" and "wiki" that. Won a European Cup 28 years ago? You dismiss it with such animosity and contempt. My Dad and Granddad went to that final. We have pictures around the house of that glorious day, the glorious day my dad and granddad went to go watch their football team, Aston Villa, win the European Cup - the highest accolade in European club football. Doesn't matter if it was 8 years ago, 28 years ago, 280 years ago, we've won it. Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. That's an almighty list my Mancunian friend, not. The list speaks volumes. When my Dad tells me about that day, I see it in his eyes and I hear it in his voice, it's real, it was genuine, it was the most amazing day of his life, so don't you dare dismiss it as something the Villa won "28 years ago". To many people on this message board it felt like yesterday. James Milner may go to Manchester City, so what if he does. I don't know about everyone on this message board; but I support the VILLA. I live down the road from both these Manchester Clubs, and yet you'll find me driving down the M6 every other Saturday to go watch MY team, MY club, MY life. Win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter. Aston Villa is so much more than that, you City fans used to feel that way too. God help me if I ever end up dismissing fellow football fans like you. Just remember, the pen is mightier than the sword! Stop being so arrogant, it only makes you look foolish. Up the Villa!!!!