Butterfingers

Good comments guys-Not a lot I disagreed with there.

It's a marathon, not a sprint-Lets get to the end of August before we start jumping to conclusions.

I've wondered this. I don't think it's Sid. I think Mystereyman had a good run from Sid at the time when he was involved in the first team with Houlier but I'm not convinced he'd be privy to how many strikers we're looking for.etc, etc.

I think Lescott and Clark had more to do with neither being very good rather than what foot they kick with.

No cowboys though-We've already had our fair share.

I disagree-It's taking shape and given that none of our (very few) assets have left us yet, we could fileld a team on paper that doesn't look too bad> The goalkeeper and defence are OK, other than RB. A central midfield two from Tishibola, Gana and Vertout (or even Westwood). Grealish one side of them, Adama the other, Awye and Kozak up front.

I'm happy for him to go. As alluded to previously, there is no problem with him or his attitude (unlike others) but he has ultimately been very poor for us, bordering on being a liability on many occasions. Playing him in his "correct" position, which is presumably sitting in front of the defence mean that his mistakes expose us to greater danger as they will be nearer our own goal. Good luck to him if he does move but for me, it is another link to our recent dim past broken. Hopefully more will follow.

I don't have the hatred for Gabby that a lot on here appear to have but based purely on footballing matters, I would ideally like to see him leave. His wages are far too high for a player who is not good enough to start in a championship side. I much prefer the idea of any combination of the strikers we've been linked to than Gabby. The time has long passed when we should be going into a new season , hoping/anticipating a huge improvement from Gabby. He has showed consistency in never being prolific.

I think there will be more than 3 between now and September. Obviously several will be going out as well.

Look at it as a loan for £2million I couldn't care twopence either way. He's another player with delusions of grandeur. He was a key player in the worst Villa midfield in my lifetime. Let him go, close the door, draw a line and move on-Lets have players here who are hungry and up for the fight £7million will be good money we can use to buy a suitable replacement.,

I think this "never built a squad" thing has been over hyped. Unless you're walking into an incredibly successful side, every manager would relish the opportunity to totally rebuild, bringing in his own players. Normally squads are that of the current manager by the end of the 3rd or 4th window in any case. We already have in place 3 excellent new signings, there will be a minimum of 4 from last season who can start. In many ways, it's easier to be in the fortunate position that RDM is in, ie with some financial backing to bring in own players. Gradually, as these players are coming in, the task of rebuilding this squad looks easier with every new signing. Key will be how many of the few good players we can keep hold of.

I think he mentioned in his Reading interview that he'd not had a break and had been training through the summer due to him coming back from injury. Our midfield has lacked presence for far too long, hopefully this lad will give us some. At 21, I don't see the problem that others do. If things go according to plan and we gain promotion at the first attempt, we aren't going to replace the entire side. A good season behind him this year will see him in a perfect place to hit the ground running in the prem next year.

Fantastic if true (and given your previous posts, I've no reason to doubt it). To beat a PL side to a signing says an awful lot. I don't know too much about the goalie but the two outfield signings so far have been very impressive. Key for me is how many of the 4 or 5 decent signings we can keep hold of. Amavi could well be here next season by the looks of things, Awye, Adama & Gana are all up in the air at present- I would settle at this stage for Amavi & Adama. Either of the other two would be a bonus. With the three new signings, coupled with those two, Grealish & Okore thrown in, that's 7 most of us would be happy starting with. There are players within the squad who I wouldn't be adverse to keeping as squad players as well. We do however need a minimum of 4 signings who will come in as starters still. Another striker is obviously high up that list but I fear this will be towards the end of the window. I read someone saying Villa would be waiting until then-I don't think that decision is in our hands, I think players are waiting to see who comes in for them before committing to the Championship. I'm becoming more optimistic about the coming season-Far more than I could have dreamt of as the last one was finishing. I'm not taking anything for granted but the last month has been very promising. As we speak how bad does this line up look, bearing in mind it will improve further between now and September (some may also depart admittedly) 1. Gollini 2. Hutton/Baccuna 3. Amavi 4. Okore 5. Elphick 6. Tshibola 7. Adama 8. Vertout/Westwood/Gana 9. Kozak 10. Awye 11. Grealish Bennett, Gil, Gardner, Baker, Clark are all able squad players. Some of the above will no doubt have left by the start of September but the spine is developing nicely.

As opposed to Pete "of world renowned fame" Colley?

I'll be very happy if this one has gone over the line. That spine looks like it will be totally redeveloped. GK, CD &CM all now in place. It will be interesting to see how many of the 4 or 5 decent players that we have, we are able to keep hold of. I also have a sixth sense that one of the bomb squad will turn good next season. We have to accept we won't manage to offload all of them. 3 key positions sorted by 9 July is enough to keep me happy.

We weren't talking about dropping into the championship though, The discussion was nothing to do with him signing for Villa. Bozby was stating that getting a sun tan in Spain would be good for a player of the quality of Bamford because it means "he'll be playing football" I think that's a load of crap and he can "play football" anywhere. If he has ambition (which I'm sure he will have, he will aim higher than mid table Spanish football. I would be surprised if a mid table Spanish side could compete with England regarding wages in any case. From Villas point of view, they would sell the package as 1 season in the Championship and then look at the Premiership after that.

That's fine. You've posted your opinion, I've posted mine. It's not something I'm overly bothered about in any case, I prefer to talk about the Villa. You think it would be good for a 22 year old to drop down a level in order just to play football, I think he doesn't need to and if he has any form of ambition, he won't. The Twitter thing could be complete crap in any case.

Other than kids football where competition and results are secondary to development, every athlete be it amateur or professional should be pushing themselves to the limit, testing themselves at the highest possible level. Simply playing football for some obscure Spanish side is not in the best interests of any 22 year old professional player of Bamfords undoubted ability. The top 3 last season were 3 teams who are not "the same old teams", unless you class Arsenal in that bracket. Whether Leicester was a one off or not, the fact remains that they maintained it for an entire season-Something a Spanish side wouldn't do. A mid table Spanish team is worse because they are never competition to the "same old teams", often virtually the whole Barcelona or Real Madrid sides are second string, when playing mid table sides. English sides could never afford to do that because they would risk defeat. An English "same old team" has to be on top of it's game whoever the opposition, week in, week out. That is the difference between the two leagues.

In fairness, the point that John was making (I think) is that unless he's aiming at Barcelona or Real/Athletico Madrid (which are way out of his depth), there really isn't much of a challenge coming from elsewhere in the Spanish league. Can you ever see a Spanish side doing a Leicester? In Premier League, the competition is there every week, all the way through the league. It is the strongest league in the world. If you are a young up and coming English player like Bamford, why would you not want to test yourself at the highest level, as opposed to drifting along for a meaningless Spanish side? Admittedly, Villa aren't in the prem but if a prem side came in then surely that is the challenge that a 22 year old should take, not some mid table Spanish side?

These are my feelings more or less. I love Ayew's work rate however, he can be a bit hit and miss at times. He also appears to be very individualistic and it's hard to imagine him working in a partnership (not that he doesn't put a shift in). Ideally, I would like to keep him but for arguments sake, 2 out Ayew, Bamford and McCormack would work for me.

Sounds a bit like Hutton then?

Some will definitely be here next season, hitching a ride. It doesn't mean that they won't be open to or indeed exploring opportunities this summer. The new ownership and new ambition will be a plus point but the two deciding factors will be money and platform. I suspect that those with relegation clauses will be wanting to negotiate higher deals than the clause permits, using the bartering tool of other offers in order to achieve the goal. It is also being a tad optimistic to expect any player to turn down the chance of PL football if the opportunity arose-Just as we cannot tempt any PL player who is in the starting 11 to drop down. (Elphick was not in the starting 11) I'd say they would all be testing the water-They'd be stupid not to. Some will stay, some will go. Hopefuly it will be the right ones that go and not the foreign batch from last summer.

Interesting comment Trent. Whilst in a terrible side admittedly, I (and I think many on here are of the same opinion) thought that JA was one of the positives from last season. One of only 2 or 3 players who came out with any credit. His work rate was fantastic and he chipped in with some great goals as well. Surely with 12 months experience under his belt, he could do a job at that level? The service he had to work on was diabolical-It won't ever be that bad for him again. Do you not think he's PL standard?

Apart from Guzan and possibly players like Hutton and/or Gestede your choice (the magical 10%), I think you'll find that every other player has a sell on value. All of the foreign signings from last season are certainly worthy of PL status-All would leave if the right offer came in. Gil looks to already have brokered a deal. Grealish would also be an asset to many other PL sides and may well (understandably) be tempted to put his own career ahead of his love for Villa. I know if it was my son, that is what I would be advising him. Bacuna obviously wants out. Westwood has been linked with other sides. You are being naïve If you think that there won't be interest, both from the PL and abroad. You are also being naïve if you think last season has sold the club to any of the players. Nobody has suggested there will be a stampede of PL clubs at RDM's door-Simply that 90% of the players would be trying for a move if possible. This is exactly the type of hyperbole that is all too frequent on this forum.