fortereliable

General, I think considering how notoriously difficult it is to sign quality players in Jan, you guys have done very well to get the players in you have. Summer time is when the major rebuild should take place and providing we have a decent second half to the season I am sure the real quality players ( Keane, Barton, Bent, SWP etc) could then be lured to Villa Park.

We have done well to get the players in we have. Everyone knows Jan is very very difficult to sign quality players as no one wants to sell good players as theere is still so much to play for. Providing we have a decent second half of the season and secure a top ten finish then recruiting the likes of SWP, Bent, Parker and Barton will be that much easier. Summer time is always when the big moves are done so to get the players we have in Jan is great business by randy and MON.

I guess on loan would do us no harm but I would much rather see us trying to get a creative midfield player in.

Where is this from?? I rate Lahm the best left back out there right now. Absolute quality! Sort of player hopefully who would consider coming in 2 to 3 years but I seriously doubt he would consider us right now..... Sneijder I haven't seen play enough...

WE should be looking to make a substantial offer for Joey Barton. He would be a superb signing for us and make all the difference to our midfield. He is also the sort of character we need in the team as we are definitely not vocal or nasty enough.

Its in tonight's Express and Star about Harewood. No doubt the guy on his day is destructive as he showe in last year's FA cup semi final at Villa Park but he has clearly not been doing it this season so if he were to come its a gamble.

I see we are now being linked with Marlon Harewood. Thoughts?

Bent or Keane for CF SWP or Kieran Richardson for wide role Curtis Davis for CB Bardsley or Luke Young for RB Joey Barton for midfield dynamo Get all or most of these and we are in business! Over to randy and MON to sell their vision for AVFC

SWP with lerner's money is realistic. Any player within reason should be. Persuading them to come will be the tricky part but that is down to O Neill and randy to sell their vision for Villa's future. I want to see SWP, Kieran Richardson, Keane or Bent, Curtis Davis Joey Barton and Luke Young. Don't want much do I!!

Bottom line is until they stop blurting in the press and actually sign a confidentiality agreement which would enable them to do the necessary due diligence which may allow them to formulate a bid they cannot progress. They only have nine days to do this so in reality they have an awful lot to do to be able to win now and I certainly hope they don't! They along with Neville should retreat gracefully. What is amazing is that in all the months where there appeared to be no interest in this Football Club why didn't one of these parties put a deal together then??? Rothschild have been appointed for months now.

Just from knowing Doug for so long I know that he can easily have his head swayed especially by cash!! Imagine if AV06 throw in "you can stay on the board Doug if you like" Just being devil's advocate here but until this is all completely done and dusted I will fret slightly. Whilst it was a level playing field on the bids ie the asking price Lerner was Doug's prefered option no question. Like I said I just hope for once in his life Doug does the right thing here... Honour the deal he has struck, the deal he wanted and ultimately the best deal for Aston Villa not necessarily Doug Ellis.

You see Richard we are not that far apart in our views...That's been my point all along "they will muddy the waters" Its something we don't need at the moment.

Richard BTW my family made its money in the Funeral business and I mentioned it as a joke!

Richard... Lets just forget it and get on with the debate. Ian, it would certainly be extremely unusual if Lerner did not now win having won the public backing of the chairman, chief executive (yes I know same person!) and the rest of the Aston Villa board plus the second biggest shareholder namely Petchey. It should still happen. AV06 throughout have annoyed me and today's antics is in keeping with their completely unprofessional loud mouth media statements. The fact that they have not even signed a confidentiality agreement which means they can't conduct any sort of due diligence says it all about them so I can't help wandering what is their motive behind today's statement. I know Doug only wanted to only consider Lerner whilst it was a level playing field ie they all bid the same price.. I just have a slight nagging worry that if they did come in within 21 days with a £70 million bid and could prove that they could provide massive backing to O Neill for the foreseeable then he may start to have a rethink. Hopefully for once in his life Doug will do the right thing and stick to the deal he has struck and the one he has always maintained he wanted.

Yes I am sure MON will have a big voice in all of this. He has come to Villa to work for Lerner..

Listen Richard I am not a liar and you are now implying I am. That to me is a big insult and I don't appreciate it. I would ask the moderators to step in here as you have my details and can confirm my identity. Bloody hell I only came on to pass on what I know and have some friendly chat with fellow Villa fans. I live in Bournemouth these days so sites like VillaTalk are great as I can chat with fellow Villa supporters. You for some reason want to interogate me like some vindinctive journalist.. Not sure why? Don't forget what industry my family made its fortune in... I am so excited about this and beats even floating Hodgson Holdings on the stock market!! Just wanted to share my knowledge and excitement with my fellow Villa fans.. Not have my intelligence or identity questioned!

Listen Richard at the time I had been reliably informed there was a nasty rumour circulating that Lerner did have plans to merge the Birmingham clubs and that he had been laughed out of Italy and Spain. I just reported on here what I had been told.. Its seems to be rubbish and I am the first to say so now. I believe Mike Mckenna wrote a thread on similar lines a couple of weeks afterwards. As for Neville when I wrote that, he was at the time the only one prepared to put a bid forward. I have since spoken to a number of mutual friends of Doug's and mine who say Doug never ever took Neville seriously as he had been lied to by Neville over the Comer deal. Since then I have been on here and other sites saying Lerner was the best option and that IT WOULD HAPPEN... so get off my case mate... You know who I am... You know I have Aston Villa's best at heart.. My family spent days compiling a report and a presentation to fans at the VLC.. I personally have had a season ticket for over 30 years.. I am one of the good guys! Who are you and what are your credentials?

I just think Richard its an unnecessary distraction that we could do without and may well slow everything up. Having said that I have always mantained Lerner would win and ultimately I am sure he still will. My one fear is that Doug or Petchey have their heads turned by a bid of say £70 million. I do not think Lerner would want to get involved in an auction. As long as Doug is good to his word and is happy with his £21 million and Petchey does likewise then we will be fine

I think Mark its clear AV06 have substantial finance backing but thats not the be all and end all is it. lerner appears to be the best fit from the fact that he is experienced in owning sports enetrprises, to the fact that he is our football manager's prefered choice, to the fact that he is an individual not a consortia which are much harder to manage and all keep happy.. Different agenda's etc AV06 may in the short term be prepared to pay more for the club and even initially supply a bigger transfer budget but Villa's long term future in my mind is in better hands with Lerner.

HMMM.... tell that to the trust Richard. We must send out a united message to Randy that its him that we want. Consortia are complicated beasts at the best of times. His bid, his persona etc is by far the best fit and credit to Ellis he has recognised that even with Neville and Padfield offering him potentially much more money for himself and his family.

Richard Iwish they would go away because I know how Lerner hates this unnecessary publicity and I don't want anything to go wrong.. Comprendo??

Yes I agree Ian.. As far as the Villa board are concerned its a done deal hence Doug's statement yesterday Also MON wants to work for Randy. Thats very important in all of this. Its not just about the money. Lerner and MON like each other and have a vision for Villa. Not sure how MON feels about Padfield and co especially bearing in mind they wanted laudrup and Jensen to be the managers of Villa

Doug only wants to deal with Lerner... Always has. I wish these clowns AV06 would leave it be...

Thanks Simon. Top man. Initially at least £20/30 million which will be spent fron now and Jan. But the important thing is that there will be a constant annual budget for players which will allow the club to build properly with quality YOUNG players not players past.

I am not Randy Lerner, you know who I am now and I am not in his league!!! MON will have plenty to spend.... PLENTY! He must of course spend it wisely. Wander if Gareth Barry still wants to leave or Milan Baros....... This will be a whole new challenge to MON. He has never had this sort of money at his disposal before.