Marley the Bognor Villan

IMO: Although I like Guzan, the manager clearly has no confidence in him. If thats down to "one mistake" or some other reason like he isnt very good at organising his defence, his distribution is dodgy or something else entirely I dont know. Maybe its even a combination of all or some of those things. Whichever way you look at it, The relationship isnt working. So, if Tim can bring in a very good keeper that will eliminate those issues then we have one less thing to worry about. I would love us to sign Begovic and a decent left back. We still have some players to move on which will free up some wages and hopefully add a few quid to the kitty but its anybodys guess who they will actually be so it will be interesting to watch. I hope Kovac is still as good as he first appeared to be and I hope Gil manages to open Tims eyes during pre-season. If our first three signings are Sinclair, Richards and Begovic then we have strengthened our team already with premiership players. Its all very well shopping around the championship for bargains but if you build a team of championship players you end up with a championship team! Lets not forget we are not a top six team adding one or two rising stars from the lower leagues. We are a team that has nearly been in the lower leagues ourselves for 3 years in a row. We should be looking for better players than we have, not similar players that might get good once they've played a bit more. Just my opinions.

The all time ITK for me was Julie B. I'll never forget that classic day when she was adamant that Dale Stephens was hiding away in a basement in B6 ready to sign his contract! :-D

Having read a lot of your posts on here I struggle to see what you add, I'll keep reading though and hope they improve, doubt it though! It's as if you're in the know when in fact you just post what is already being reported in the media. So whats the deal here, we are all here for your benefit? I dont think so. This is a speculation thread where we are all entitled to make suggestions and give our opinions to the discussion whilst hoping to pick up any info that people might have come across from the various sources they use. I dont know if Richard actually knows these things or if he is simply a bloody good investigator but he has been more acurate than the average poster on here. Oviously any deal can fall through at the last minute so he will never have a 100% record but I for one will continue to appreciate him taking the time to add to this thread. At the very least, his posts give me hope!

Spinks last appearance prior to that game was 2 years before when he came on as a substitute against forest.

Watching this one with my dad and my little boy at home. Sanchez is the danger for me, if we can keep him quiet that will be a big help. If Tekkers, Bacuna, Delph, Cleverley and Jack play like they did in the semi we have an excellent chance of causing an upset. We were unlucky not to beat Man City and we beat Liverpool so if we turn up we can give Arsenal a run for their money (bearing in mind that they couldnt beat sunderland at home!). We were massive underdogs when we beat United in 57, Bayern Munich in 82 and Barcelona in 83 and United in 94 so, we go again... Trying to stay optimistic here! lol

IMO I wouldn't expect too many signings, at least certainly not in the early part of the window. The reasons being that we have so many players out on loan that Tim hasnt had chance to assess yet, for example, Helenius scored a hat-trick at the weekend for Aalborg so he could be in with a shout depending on how he performs at BMH. Darren Bent (previously a 20 goal a season man) may even get a look in based on Sherwoods reputation for getting players firing again (Adebayor). Last year we all believed Hutton, Zog and Given should all be first on the bus out of Villa yet they have been very good for us lately. Before Tim came in Bacuna wasnt getting any game time and Jack was being held back but Tim seems to have a knack of getting the best out of people, starting by playing them in their most effective positions and playing to our strengths. The one player I am concerned about is Carles Gil, looked mustard from the little we've seen but doesnt seem to get a look in at the mo, and whilst it would be risky to try someone you dont know if you already have a winning formula at this stage of the season given the importance of each game, I just hope he doesnt give up and leave in the summer. I would sign Cleverley, Sinclair, A CB (if Vlaar leaves) then assess what we have and replace as necessary (starting with Weimann).

are we in for Cahill? would be awesome if we was, How the hell are we supposed to get Cahilll signed in 90 minutes? Where in the world is he this evening? New York? hes a free agent so it doesnt have to be done in the window

Nope. Fox and Lambert are still there too

Before you go, any chance of next weeks Lotto numbers?

Imo it wouldnt matter if we had Aguero up front, if we dont put the ball in the area more often we wont score goals. Tekkers is awesome but hes not getting the service.

Would rather risk £5M in wages on someone like Pato

Rangers are apparently tying up a deal to loan 4 or 5 players from Newcastle. Bet thats opened a can of worms on their transfer thread.

CAHILL LEAVES NEW YORK Tim Cahill has left MLS side New York Red Bulls after his contract was ended by mutual consent. http://www1.skysports.com/transfer-centre/ Free agent anyone? :-)

and this: Aston Villa and Newcastle United are keeping close tabs on Auxerre’s teenage sensation Samed Kilic, according to theDaily Mail. Kilic, 19, has broken into the Ligue 2 side’s first-team this season to make 23 total appearances, and his performances are said to have attracted interest from a host of clubs. Both Villa and Newcastle are reported to have scouted the promising central midfielder in recent months, although the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are also said to be monitoring his progress. The France Under-19 international was the subject of a bid from Saint-Etienne this month, but their approach was knocked back by Auxerre. http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015/02/02/report-aston-villa-and-newcastle-tracking-auxerre-midfielder-sam/

Something to read whilst passing the time... http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2015/02/02/report-aston-villa-making-late-bid-for-chievo-midfielder-mariano/

We would probably actually get the better long term value based on age, Injury record etc to be honest. I would think its better to have a regularly injured player than a regularly shit one due to the fact that if a good player gets injured, someone else gets a chance, but if you've got a shit player hes just taking up a spot in the team.

I think we should sign Nikolai Valuev to beat the crap out of Richardson and Cleverley so they wont be able to play again this season. Then play him up front...

That could've been very dangerous if we'd had Albrighton to put in place of Bacuna. Personally I would like to see Grealish in that spot. All this talk about bringing in new blood yet we have a quality young player there that has got better with every appearance and has proved to be a menace to defenders with the ball at his feet. At least when he is on the pitch the ball is getting into the box. Tekkers would be scoring a lot more if he had regular service. Just my opinion!

From the OS: Breaking news: Scott Sinclair joins Villa on season-long loan http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~4451282,00.html

Cheer up, its better than nothing happening!

You are probably right but I saw it in the transfers section on the SSN website so assumed it was to do with that. My bad...

Just been browsing the news clips on the OS and see that we have until Monday to decide on making Cleverleys deal permanent: http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~4450984,00.html Birmingham Mail: Villa have until Monday to decide whether they want to sign Tom Cleverley on a permanent basis. The club have an option to buy the on-loan Manchester United midfielder before the end of the transfer window if they decide that a long-term move would be beneficial. Cleverley will remain at Villa Park until the end of the season regardless, but if Villa fail to act in the next four days, they face the risk of losing him to a rival in the summer. Also noticed on SSN website that we have a press conference booked for 13:30pm today. Obviously for Sinclair but hopefully for some other good news too. Delph (who pretty much all of us thought was leaving), Sinclair, Gil and possibly another signing (hopefully Ali) is a far better window than I was expecting.

Bonus side to that scenario being that he would then already have a mate at Villa by the end of the season. The sinclair deal seems to be taking a while to be announced, I'm hoping that is due to them trying to tie up the Ali deal prior to a press conference (we live in hope!)

Window closes Monday night at 11pm.

MK Dons midfielder with 12 goals in 26 games. Loads of potential. Bloody hell!