nepal_villan

Team looks solid. Not going to complain too much as I feel we got a few calls against Arsenal, so these things even out over time.

I dont get it if it is Spurs. What do they offer that we don't? London and Europa League? Can't imagine wages being that high there and in terms of size of the club and fanbase it's pretty much similar.

Barry handed in a transfer request when Liverpool wanted him and played another quality year for us. Hope something similar happens.

Time for someone to start FC Villa of Aston. Unless you're a fan of one of the 10-12 top clubs in Europe, supporting a club is no longer fun. Like others have said, I don't sell Benteke for a penny less than £35m.

Great story and welcome to the fraternity! I remember my first ever trip to Birmingham and Villa Park and both the club and supporters went out of their way to make it a special visit. Certainly, not something I could see any of the glamour clubs replicating. I recently wrote a blog post about foreign clubs developing a fanbase in Asia. It has a few Villa references. It's a bit on the negative side, so makes a perfect read for the Villa faithful!

I feel we are making the type of signings Celtic and Rangers make. Now we'll know whether those two sides could cut it in the BPL if they were ever invited

Excited about this signing. Feel we still need one more CB.

From what SublimeFCG wrote I see parallels to Gareth Barry. Anyone else?

I asked some Dutch people last summer why they always seem able to speak English. The answer was twofold. "Because no-one else can speak Dutch" and "We learn it in school". The second answer being a consequence of the first They are taught English as a compulsory language/subject from when they're in primary school. I love Holland, great country. I believe they learn English side by side with Dutch. They also have to do 4 years of German and French.

Fell in love with the name when playing a football management game called Soccer Boss back in the mid 1980's. That's why I got annoyed when the club removed 'Aston Villa' from the club crest.

Very nice. I like!

Still feel £6m is way too low for a proven English goalscorer. Last year he was a casualty of our formation and the emergence of Benteke. It wasn't as though he was dysfunctional on the pitch (relative to his style of play )

Surely this thread would tend to suggest otherwise, n'est-ce pas? thats the point thread makes no sense everyone on here SHOULD a villa fan yes you can look out for other teams results or players but you can only support Villa what happens when your 2 clubs play each other? I get what you are saying and perhaps because the BPL is arguably the best league in the world English football fans have no real reason to support anyone else. In America however you will find many soccer fans who support their local MLS team and a European side. Now for those of us who have some pretty funky lineage it's more than understandable that we have a few more teams we might support. Obviously there is a pecking order in the level of support for the different teams, but to say Villa are the only team I get upset about when they lose (or euphoric when they win) would be far from accurate.

Would he play alongside Benteke or be a direct sub for him?

To be a top 4 side you need to be pretty dominant on the pitch. It is that dominance that usually translates into comfortable and successive victories against the likes of Norwich, Fulham, West Ham, Sunderland, West Brom, etc. Scrappy teams like Villa tend to lose as many points as they gain.

Benteke has a few more years to go on his contract, so from a contractual stand point there is not much to be worried about. It's really whether a big club comes in for him. I don't see it happening as Arsenal and Spurs are not big spenders and ManU, Chelsea and ManCity don't really need him.

Still haven't come around to the new badge - especially the AVFC instead of Aston Villa. Too bad Lerner got it tattooed on his leg as now it won't change until he sells the club.

Olympique Lyon (France) - Been following them for over a dozen years. My de facto UCL team as Villa are never in it Machhindra FC (Nepal) - my local club in Nepal Montreal Impact (MLS) - lived a few years in the USA and was a fan of the MetroStars. Lost interest when RedBull bought and rebranded the club. Started following Montreal when they entered the league as I'm bit of a Francophile (see Lyon) Botafogo (Brazil) - Had roommates from Brazil that really got me into Brazilian football. Picked a team from Rio as I figured that's the one city I'd definitely visit if I ever made it to Brazil

As do all of our transfer rumours I once helped make a YouTube video for a young Nepali player. A few weeks later he was linked with Arsenal and Spurs (see link). That's all you need to know about YouTube videos!

I'm thinking he meant to say "Arsenal" instead of "Aston Villa"

Another reason to increase capacity (i.e. redevelop the North Stand) is to try to keep the appearance that we're one of top clubs in the country. A host of clubs including Swansea, Cardiff, Southampton, Crystal Palace, etc. have plans to increase capacity to 30-40,000. It's important that we're not lumped with those clubs.

I'm in the "if you build it, they will come" camp. Think a new stand will create buzz. Doubt it will happen in the near future though.

Some people really need a reality check here. Bent is a proven goal scorer. He didn't play regularly for us because of our formation and the fact that Benteke was ahead of him. He'll knock them in regularly for any club in the Premier League. Think £12m is about right for him, nothing less than £10m.

If you want to keep a player you simply pay him what a prospective club is willing to pay him. I doubt Norwich or Newcastle are ready to give him £40,000 a week. Maybe £25,000 - that's what he should be offerred. If he or his handlers feels "disrespected" by the offer, then he can leave.

We only signed Zogs 2 years back. That is when our cost cutting started, so I doubt he is on ridiculous wages.