Butterfingers

I'd be surprised if someone doesn't pay £7mil for him, even if its only one of the promoted 3. After Amavi Ayew, Grealish and Adama, Gana is the only other one that I'd be happy to see play for us again, with the possible exception of Gestede. Not overly bothered either way but I wouldn't want him loaned out. If we can't get our asking price, I'd expect him to stay.

SGC currently standing in the corner with a dunces cap on for the next hour. Upon completion, he must come up with at least 10 words to describe Amavi that are more appropriate than fabulous.

I really cannot see what all the fuss is about here. There were two choices-Pearson or RDM. Moyes may or may not have been in the frame also, we will probably never know for sure. Forget about Martinez and others who have been mentioned. The incoming regime started with a list of targets and narrowed it down to two or three (I'd wager most on here would come up with a different short list as there are that many permutations-What we don't know is whether certain candidates were actually obtainable) People need to understand that this has been a thoroughly thought out and researched decision, not a rash 10 minutes scrolling the internet. Is the doubt about RDM never having built a team before any greater than the doubt over how well Pearson will work without his backroom team? The fine lines are marginal. Someone had to make the decision and we have to accept that that decision was made with the advantage of ALL facts-Something none of us will have been privy to. RDM is no mug-He is certainly of higher stock than when he took over at WBA-Just because he managed there shouldn't influence our thoughts here and now. He has experience and he will hopefully have money-I dare say all the people worried about him never having built a team will be amongst the first to tell us who they would choose in the rebuild-Lets give RDM a bit of credit here-Of course he is capable of building a team. Hopefully, the money available will be well spent and that will give him an advantage over others.

In fairness, hardly any of them will be starting for us next season. I'd wager a minimum of 6 new signings starting the first game for us in August, if not 7. The f***wits will either be shipped out or sitting on the bench (if they're lucky). Keeping any of Grealish, Amavi, Aywe or Adama will be a bonus and would mean one less signing/position to worry about. I'd also be interested to see if Gil would shine in this league, although not concerned at all if he leaves us. We may have one, possibly 2 of our less inspiring players in there, a Westwood, Clark, Hutton or Baker type but I can't see the Lescots, the Richards, the Bacunas or the Guzans of this world being in the frame.

The more that I think about RDM, the less inspired I am by the thought. RDM is a very good manager with experience at many levels. In normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been so concerned (especially after the last few appointments) My feeling is, this is not under normal circumstances. They are very unique circumstances and it is so important to clamber back into the prem at the first attempt. The new ownership will give the place an impact and hopefully a more positive feeling, right across the spectrum. The managerial appointment needs to be of equal impact and we need someone who is going to hit the ground running. My own (completely) unqualified feeling is that there is far more chance of Pearson doing this than there is RDM. I envisage a team assembled by Pearson to be hungry and full of desire-I think that is one of Pearsons assets. I think these qualities will ensure that we hit the ground running in August. The negative for me, would how would Pearson fare without his backroom staff? This has been a problem for us since the Lambert era and I personally am sick of it. RDM has numerous qualities of his own. If we were to appoint him, I'd be 100% behind him and the choice.I urge others to be the same. There is a great divide amongst us fans-Whoever is appointed is going to create disappointment amongst a large section. There is no right or wrong appointment and each manager has individual merits-I hope everyone gets behind whoever comes in. The time to worry is when John Carver arrives at BMH, Not RDM or Pearson.

I wouldn't call it indecisiveness. Someone has actually been offered the job and turned us down-Maybe that person ought to have been a bit more forthcoming at his interview? If he'd have mentioned that he didn't want to rush into anything, then I doubt he'd have been offered the job. I personally have Pearson down as my choice to take over, way ahead of RDM who represents more of a risk. I would hope that the board/prospective board have already spoken with Pearson again (if that's who they now want) but wasn't it always the case that the new manager wouldn't be announced immediately? If it is Pearson, then it could be done quicker as he would be number 1 choice of both regimes.

Oi Deisler Keep it quiet for a few weeks eh? This deal still has to have the go ahead from the respective leagues. I doubt they'll pass it if they think a foreign Government are involved.

Pre takeover, Pearson was my ideal candidate. Post takeover, the idea of Moyes is growing by the hour. I echo everything that Gary Thomas says, we could almost overnight change from being the sinking ship to avoid like the plague, to the stand out club in the division who all championship players would want to play for. My only nagging doubt is Moyes failures in his last 2 posts, although following on from Ferguson was a thankless task.

The issue is that he has a release clause of £5mil. Its not that we're looking to get rid, that decision may not be in our hands.

Oh Briny please. This is a very, very successful businessman. It is not Mr Wong from the Lucky House, who's had a good night in the casino. Do you think he will plough millions into something on a wing and a prayer?

Yes, I thought this too-My feeling was that there must have been one or two stand out CB's in the division last season, we could put that £5mil plus some of the additional funding towards a better model. I really do not like Clark-He has participated in too many loosing games and has been instrumental foe some absolute howlers that have proven costly. There is every chance that he still has time to improve and grow as a player but Sherwood was right about one thing-There was a loosing mentality amongst the players. It is probably better for him, as well as us to part ways, enabling him a clean slate to develop elsewhere.

Snap anyone's hands off who will pay £5mil for him, its another £5mil towards the war chest. There surely must be better value out there than Clark?

You are not wrong and it is a possibility. There are obviously numerous other possibilities as well. There are only two clubs who really have owners who are prepared to throw unlimited funds in and they are Man City and Chelsea. Everyone else has to work within certain restraints. We have worked under impossible restraints, since the start of the Lambert era and the results are now there for all to see. What type of owner could we have realistically hoped for? The Man City type is a one off. The next batch, there is not much of a muchness between. Some are successful, some are not so successful. It would have been a gamble. If there is Government backing in this, from China, then you would assume that money will follow-That could only be a good thing. If their motive is to improve Chinese football then how will that effect the way that Villa are run? In order for us to influence Chinese football, surely we will have to be successful ourselves? We won't be much of an asset if we languish around like Sunderland do year in year out, just making up the numbers. I see no real problem with Government backing-In fact I see it as a massive positive. I also suspect there will be no sleep lost doing dodgy deals to enhance Villas rebuild-So what? The game is corrupt from top to bottom-From the likes of Baker who sells cup final tickets on the black market, to the Chelsea owner who has no morals about where his money comes from.

I'm dreading the announcement of a new manager-This board will go into meltdown with conspiracy theories and "I told you so's"

I'm in the small minority that doesn't really care what the ground is called or where it is situated, as long as we have a successful team. Time moves on and lifestyles change. 100 years ago, the majority of our support came from within walking distance of the ground. This then developed to areas on the other side of the city centre, then to surrounding areas and towns (Lichfield, Droitwich, Daventry etc) and finally where we are today, with possibly the majority of the support travelling from outside of Birmingham (a complete guess on my part) Villa park is unrecognisable now to what it was in eras gone by. On reflection, the bulldozing of the Holte was the final nail. We are now not relying on support from traditional areas of Aston, Perry Barr, Erdington, Kingstanding etc-I don't see the tie with the local community that was once there. Football is a completely different entity now. The big clubs attract fans from all over the country, not just the local communities. That's what we should be planning long term. We have a great potential catchment area down that M5 channel and also down as far as Northampton, maybe further on the M6. I know its a dream but to develop a fan base would involve requiring a larger stadium. There is also a potential of us outgrowing our hospitality options, which would be accommodated better in a new stadium. I envisage most of these stadiums will go in the next 100 years. Arsenal & West Hams already have, Spurs are to follow, Everton may be next. Chelsea may need to move at some point, as will Liverpool. We have to accept that times change and be prepared to move with the times

Of course it doesn't matter. Throughout the course of the day, we've had people dissecting every single comment he's made. Whatever he's said, someone has managed to turn it into a negative.

Theres certainly enough candidates on here to front it.

Brinny-I think we all know that we aren't going to be one of the top 3 clubs in the world. Would you sooner our owner claim that, that is his goal or would you sooner he tell us that he'll assemble an honest bunch of lads who will try very hard for promotion to the Prem, every season?

Me too-I think the buzz within football in China currently, suggests that theres a possibility of very serious investment-Maybe not initially (although initially, it could be as much as we would hope for) The feel good factor alone is going to have a massive impact on everyone at the club. My only negative is that we are not going to be able to ship all of last seasons dross out in one go-Just seeing them in a Villa shirt next season will upset my stomach in much the same way that the sight of Blues fans in our ground has, every time we've played them for the past 40 years.

In fairness, similar statements were made when Man City were purchased. I doubt their fans are up in arms that it hasn't come to fruition.

Possibly and I do agree that new owners are exposed to being held to ransom generally. The fact that he mentioned that theres up to £50mil available, renders the £20mil quotation irrelevant. There was absolutely nothing to have been gained by mentioning specific figures.

We have no idea how long he's been interested. From at least October onwards, any deal was dead in the water, due to the uncertainty of where we would be playing next season. Lerner would probably still have been driving for a higher price at that point. It was obvious that no deal could have been completed until our fate was decided.

Agree Should never have mentioned figures for the war chest though. First golden rule when entering into a transfer window.

I'd guess that there is a compromise regarding the debt, dependant on how next season goes. If we win promotion at the first attempt, the price rises around £30mil to reflect the debt. Seems like win, win for the Dr to me.

One of the very few to emerge with any credit last season. My only nagging doubt is how to play him in the Championship. I admit to not having watched anything from it but I have this vision of teams playing long to a target man. I don't think that's Ayew's game. How do teams set up in that division generally? Could we go with a more traditional 4-4-2? I'd really like to keep hold of him but my feeling is still that, that I won't lose any sleep over any departures this summer