Daholteend

 

According to the E & S he tweeted "There's still another extension before my game... So I think I'm screwed, I don't like these things".

Whatever that means.

I suspect he meant to say there's another game before his extension. Meaning he's one game shy of some clause in his contact and he's suddenly out of the team. I am just guessing of course but it sounds more logical that way.

 

While the economics of running a club are important, if this is were the prime reason for not playing him it is a  sad but necessary part of  the business  of football as it exists in the Premiership today.

As long as money and economics is the primary focus at  Aston Villa  and the current regime I fear that we  will need to lower our expectations as supporters and players like Tony Moon may have to either adjust  to   the  realities  at  B6  or  be prepared to move to  clubs that put football first and economics  second. 

Having witnessed AVFC relinquish an all out effort  to gain Silverware  from the  FA Cup and League Cup this season in order to concentrate on Premier League survival, if I were Tony Moon I know what I would be  telling my agent.

A word  to the wise though Tony,  don't hang  your  washing and feelings out in the public eye, do what you have to do to keep  your football career  alive, even if  sadly it would mean you leaving  our   beloved   Aston Villa.

Personally I like  "The  Barber of  Seville" and I hope he recovers  from his injury  and  comes back so  strong that he  gets  back into the team once again.

Watch  this space!  UTV

comes to something when we can't sign a player most of us don't want....maybe someone up there is saving us from ourselves.

 

This club of ours has had some funny (weird)periods....we are certainly in one right now.

I have for many years said that Villa Park must be cursed because someone in the  distant past  refused  to buy the lucky heather or wooden clothes pegs to hang out the players gear on a Monday washing day to  dry.

Whatever the reason there is no doubt in my mind that what  you say TRO is almost true. This club of ours hasn't had "some"  funny periods, Truth is that we are always having a funny period.

Once we get used to this foible of AVFC, it makes everything else so much easier to understand. We support an extremely eccentric  club. A club  that in one half of a game makes  you think they are beyond brilliant and then in the next half makes you think that  they are a club of toddlers  that can't kick  a ball or make a tackle even if their life depended  on it.

I for one don't think that  Hoolahan  was the  answer  for  our  #10   needs and I am just as happy  that Lambert  and Faulkner didn't pay over the odds for a player that more than likely would have been massacred by the  fickle ones at B6.  Perhaps we all dodged a bullet in that respect.

This "funny period"  you refer to that we are in now  reminds me a lot of  the time when after losing to  Donny Rovers in the League Cup, DOL  was unable to bring in the oft injured  Erik Bakke.

Funny  how often history gets repeated  at B6. All we  need  now is for a  sighting of  Groundhogs at Villa Park and the circle of exasperation will continue.

You don't have to have a sense of humour  to  support   Aston Villa, but it helps  if you do. Otherwise you'd be a victim of forlorn hopes and expectations.

I feel sorry  for Hoolahan though. He missed an opportunity  to join a great club and one has to question the ethics  of those that prevented  such a player from practicing his craft at a club that wanted  to play him as opposed to a club that would just keep him warming a bench.

My fiancé's an Everton fan and she reckons we have matched Hull's bid for Jelavic. Can't see it myself, doubt we could afford him.

Ahaaaa!!   Your fiance is an  ITK ToffeeKnows?

Ronald Koeman and give him £50m in Jan.

Can't  disagree with that. I was   one that   wished  for  Frank Rijkaard  to replace  Houllier. Koeman would  be a good  choice also.

RDM is being paid massively by Chelsea to stay at home. He won't come.

Thanks  for the input.  Oh Dear!   Next choice ?

I never thought that I would even think this  but  today I asked myself "What  would  Deadly do ?" .

Mr Lambert  would be out of a job well before now  wouldn't he ? The next  question   was "What  would deadly   and  Steve Stride do  to stem the tide of  failure?"    and  some one  (like me)   might have said  "Roberto Di Matteo lives   down in Leamington Spa  as far as I am aware. Get on down to Leamington before  New Years Day and find out  if there is any interest because if something isn't  done quickly  there is no way in  heck that  we will  be able to  accumulate   19 more points this season, and even if we did  get  19 points this season I  dont think that will be enough to keep us  in the Prem."

The flaw in my suggestion  though is this . I don't believe   that Mr Lerner or Mr Faulkner  have the  balls  to  make the changes   that they need to.

I   don't think that Paul Lambert   simply  has the  qualities  to be able to steer this  club anywhere else  right now but oblivion without a brake! Of course  that  task  doesn't require any other strategy than to keep  doing  what he   has been doing all along, saying unintelligible things  and    occasionally  "We  go  again!"    But now I know where  we are going  if  we don't make changes  and  quickly......nowhere but down, and if they keep  him on as manager we might even    be finding our  way to Portsmouth  again in  a  couple of seasons time!

The only   glimmer  for  redemption might be   if  Ron Vlaar   gets  fit enough  and  Benteke magically heals up and finds   his   form but sadly something tells me that if  Atletico Madrid  comes up with an half way decent offer  or some one like  them, even Benteke  will be gone  to  pastures green.

We lacked a spark.

Yes, too bad  those rumours  of Kiyotake and/or Wijnaldum don't  seem to have any legs at this  stage.

It's early days yet and we have yet to see  how some of the new  signings  like Helenius and Tonev will add  to  our creativity.

WE also    don't yet know  what will happen  with  Nzog if and when he  returns. Who knows, once the  window closes perhaps even Bannan  might make it back  to  contention.

Delph is still  growing  and so too is el Ahmadi and even though Westwood's game  wasn't  sparkling today it is just one game and a lot of players  might   gel into  quite a creative force once they get a few games under their belts together.

 

 

Toure looked superb to me. I don't agree liverpool  are top side though - thought fatty gerrard had the look of an old man - and they looked slow all over the pitch.

 

 

For an old fat man Gerrard had a  good game  today. He marshalled his team well enough to win the game. You cannot overlook the  blocked passes , the boot  aways  from Benteke   that are critical attributes of Gerrard's play today. With Gerrard, Toure and Agger all being  solid  today only something special was  going to get us a win and it just wasn't there today, not  because we have  a lack of talent,  but because old fat men  can still play good football and do just enough to stifle  our young lions.

Gabby Agbonlahor's slip in the first minute prophesied  the end result.  To be fair to Aston Villa's youngsters we ought to remember that we started the week at The Arse and Chelsea and played two hard fought games at both.

Liverpool on the other hand beat an ordinary Stoke had had a week to stay fresh and  were ready  for this game coming in  with fresh  feet and a controlled rehearsed strategy to press   quickly for the first and as it turned out only goal. Liverpool's football  was very  crisp and made  us  run for the ball  and  tiring us   out in the process particularly in light of the games we played earlier this week. 

Ex Villa   youth's Sturridge's goal was a piece of artistry and allowed   Liverpool to sit back  and  defend which they did by keeping possession under the  generalship of Gerrard. Gerrard  playing deeper than he usually   does was able  to move the ball around and he did  so with precision which made it very hard  for us to gain possession .

In the first half Villa's control  of the ball was lacking  touch  and too often when we gained the ball we  gave it  away  predictably to a sharper Liverpool midfield.

Second half we played much better. Delph was sharper  and  also Tony Moon on the left showed touches and  a great deal of promise. It can be argued that El Ahmadi might have started the game  but I  don't think that he alone would have made much difference to the way that Liverpool started. However  with El Ahmadi  and Delph  in the midfield we seemd to find  more space  but the ball  just wouldn't  fall to us  where we could really make the penetration that  would allow  us  to have players in strong goal scoring positions.

Weiman   looked  tired and off his usual game which is no doubt why He got  subbed. I don't think Bacuna deserves the  stick that some have given him. He actually looked  quite good  at  right back  when Lowton left the game. Lambert did the  right thing by keeping him in the game. You don't  want to discourage a  young player on his  debut and  to say it is the  worst debut  that you have seen at Villa Park  means that you haven't been   down the Park too many times. I have been  an Aston Villa fan for a good many years  and I can tell  you  that there have been many worse and Bacuna's wasn't one of them so give the bloke a break. He has  some  touches  and with  experience will prove  the early  biters incorrect.

Tony Moon and Okore were pretty solid for me. I    like what I see in Okore . He has pace, he has  strength, he reads the game and he  has  guts. I would   expect Okore  to become a permanent  fixture. When Baker and Clark are fit Vlaar will  be hard pressed  to keep his    place. I  think  a case   that Vlaar didn't  follow Sturridge  through the middle    could be argued   which allowed  Sturridge to  score. Mind  you Sturridges    touch   for that goal would have been hard to deal with by any defender so again I    won't rest  the blame on any one player in particular.

Looking at  Liverpool's CB's  they played  Agger and Toure and they were able to keep Benteke in check but when  Benteke  did get an opportunity  in the  85th minute Mignolet brought off  another   game winning  save.

The result was disappointing but  AVFC  can bring a lot of  good  things  forward from this and  should have no shame in the way  we played  today.   We  Go  Again!

Disappointed to hear the tony moon chants, i thought it was going to be to the tune of that song beggin. Sounds pretty shit if you ask me, there was a guy at i think walsall who just sounded like a cow moooooooooooooooon

Yow've nevver bin to Caldmore   'av  yow!  it's   Toe  Kneeeee   Moooooooooon!    not  Toe Kneeeee   Moo INN 

From the videos I have seen Kiyo  reminds me of Modric and perhaps a little faster. We have been sadly lacking for set piece plays since Barry and Young left and there is no  doubt that Kiyo has some talent there.

The one thing I  have liked about him though that stands out  for me is the exuberance and joy that he shows  in his play.

However, at the moment he is  still under contract with FCN and understandably  they don't want him to leave. They allegedly put a valuation on him  that would discourage a number of teams  from pursuit.

Rumours abound about  Kiyos  own  wishes but regardless of  social media anecdotes, the question to settle is whether Kiyo  would add much more  to what we may already have on our squad. Tonev may already be an option as a  No. 10. Delph seems to be an older wiser more confident player and Sylla keeps improving  every game. We haven't seen the top side  of  Westwood for  that matter. So what would  tip the balance if we assume there  could be a Villa interest? For me it is probably  going to be down to being able to negotiate   with   FCN for a fair  valuation on the contract side of things. On the playing side I would  think that the addition of Kiyos  set piece  skills would tip the scales.

So for me, If  the  rumours that we are in for  Kiyo  and he is interested  are true then I would  applaud Lambert if he signs the lad.

There may well be a few other irons in the  fire apart  from  Kiyotake. I wouldnt be surprised if we  signed a couple more players before the window ends. Maybe even sooner  if the possible Bent  sale  is  concluded.

Honestly can't understand the criticism that Vlaar gets. Solid Premier League defender.

I agree. We sometimes forget that when he was injured last season he was  badly missed.  The signing of Okore, if  fit,   should go a long way to  helping the defence but in my view  we still  should be looking for another   CB because  it's a long  season  and  with our   injury history  with   CB's we  need more   back  up.

 

 

 

 

Just doesn't have the attitude. Thinks he's far better than he actually is and consequently doesn't put the work in to be better.

 

would you take a pay-cut in your job?

 

 

This...

 

I'm seeing a lot of this at the moment. Why doesn't he get realistic with his wage demands?etc etc

 

All the players can see the market has diminished significantly. So why would they lose the good contracts they are on? Even if they go elsewhere and get game time and be successful it is still open to debate whether they would get future contracts that are better than what they currently have.

 

Point is not a single person on this site would take a pay cut to join a rival company so why would they.

 

I get that its frustrating for us the fans but I'm sure that hasn't entered the players heads too much.

 

Since  you brought it up, I  DID actually take a  20% pay  cut  to join a rival company a few years  back and I was earning substantial money  at the time.

My reasons  for  doing that  were because the  future  at the  company I was  working for  would have limited opportunities  for future growth. .

It turned out to be  one of the best moves I ever  made. Within a  short amount of time I  gained back   the  salary and through  hard work was  given more responsibilities   that led  to better  opportunities on my next appointment.

I realise  that I may be  one of the very  few that did that but because  Barry  is    so  young and  has a fair  degree of talent he should not  let money alone dictate  what his next move should be.

It is possible that there  are  a  few more clubs  for him to   explore before the  transfer window closes. Don't  forget  its only the end of   July and he still has a  few more weeks    left   to make a  decision.

It's a BIG  decision  for Barry Bannan.  Just because  there are a few fans that  would like  him to move on  doesnt  mean that  he  has  to  oblige  them.  After all, what  does he owe them and  how much are  they going to  contribute   to his  future welfare?  ...  oh  wait a minute...it's nothing isnt it!

I love  AVFC as much as anyone but lets  not be too hasty and  harsh when a lad  who has put in 14 years   service  to the  club  is being  shown the  exit   door. As fans  we  can  choose  to  respect players  who   have worn the claret and blue.

I wish the  lad well and hope that when he is ready he makes a choice   that makes  sense  for  him and moves to a  club where  he has a future career. If the right  opportunity  comes along I  would hope  that  BB  takes it  and  is willing to take a  pay  cut    that  may   reap a bigger  reward  in the   future. I  did , and I   have never regretted it.

Hindsight is 20/20 . Reality is that we  would have been so much better off just taking ₤25M from Citeh and not having anything to do with  Ireland. There can be no value placed on the  angst created  at   AVFC and among   the fans who have collectively   spent hour upon hour of  discussing the pros and  cons  (mostly  cons)  of  this  former talented player.

The writing was already on the wall  for   SI   when  Mancini  sent   him to play with the  reserves   saying  ."I don't know what he is thinking about his future but, for me, Stephen is a fantastic player and if he can change his head I think he can start to play like last season [2008–09] again"   Problem is  he didnt  appear  to  change anything except  his training shoes  on a  daily basis. 

At the time of leaving  the  BBC  quoted  Ireland as  saying "I've kind of forgotten the feeling of what it is like to come off after a game feeling tired, winning or losing. I'm not used to sitting out for so long," said Ireland. 

He  certainly is used to sitting out  now. I can't help feeling  thats  it's all been a  waste   for  everybody   involved including  Ireland himself. It  writes like a football tragedy.  Yes, I know that some will say  that the lad  is making millions but really?  How many   millions    can make  up  for  the fact  that  here is a  football player  who never  lived up  to the  expectations of  everyone  in the business. . So much latent  talent unused. So much money expended.

If I were in those   same  training shoes  I  would be massively  depressed, but thats  just me.

We will never know just how much having  SI as a  makeweight for  James Milner played  in MON's departure unless  of   course any of the parties involved  decides  to   write  a memoir.

Of  course  it  wasn't  Irelands  fault   that  the next  two managers struggled  to  get a  team together that  could compete at the level  that MON   had achieved. Some might argue that had  Ireland played  immediately  the way  he did  when  he was Citeh's  Player of the Year, things  might have been  different. To  that I would  say  that "If the  Queen had testicles she would be  the King!"

IIRC   he  has  one more year left on his contract with   AVFC.  I hope  for  his own sake that he  just  doesn't  spend the year  in the Bomb  Squad. There is a lot more football  to be played by   SI..  it's  just not  going to be  at  B6 .Additonally in  a month's  time  he will be   27  years old...  still  young enough  to   enjoy   what is left   of a  football career  that badly needs  salvaging..  for  his own  pride if nothing else. Ireland   still has a  chance  to make it to the World Cup. Stephen Ireland   still has a chance of   making that team but it   depends on him   having a  strong worthwhile  season to achieve that.

SI has windows of opportunities ahead of  him. I  hope  that he   takes them and  finds   that talent that   he  has. Sometimes in life, the money becomes irrelevant. Sometimes  the personal  satisfaction that  you  have accomplished all that  you are capable of  becomes paramount. Stephen Ireland, if  you are reading this, I  sincerely  hope  you understand  this and  grab   the  opportunity  that still lies before  you. Don't let money pre-occupations get in the way of  having a happy life!

If he can guarantee  more goals like that  do we care  what position  Lambert plays him in? And more to the point does he ?

The thing to look forward to about having Helenius and Benteke on the pitch at the same time is that defences   can't afford to  double team both of them. Add in  the  Gabby  and  Weimann   factor  and we might have  something if all goes  to plan.

"Tony Moon"  also known as  "The Barber of Seville" is destined  to be a great signing by Paul Lambert. When fully fit I am certain that his defence will be much  tighter. Shame about the disallowed  goal. We would  have all   been over the moon !

Tony Moon" también conocido como "El barbero de Sevilla" está destinado a ser una gran firma de Paul Lambert. Cuando ajuste completamente estoy seguro de que su defensa será mucho más estrictos. Qué pena que la meta no permitida. Todos estaríamos en la luna!

 

 

When I can be bothered to read your posts

Charming!

Haha I didn't mean for it to sound like that, I'm just lazy!

 

I'd blame it on the phone. If the post is too long ( like mine can be)  the tendency on the phone  is to  skip to the short concise ones. I should take my own advice, but  where is the  fun in doing that ?  Us old uns   want  you to do as we  say , not  as we do.

He may have had a fair game  tonight and thats always good  to see. However, defencively speaking  would  you rather play  KEA over Sylla  or  Delph  assuming that all three  are  fit?

Our problem last season was that we leaked too many goals starting from giving the ball  away from midfield positions or not  being able to  control the midfield. The situation improved with the  arrival of  Sylla and  Delph came into his own also. 

It's good to  have a creative  scheming midfielder but that player must also have some grit and strength in defence while also having the ability to win and  to hold the ball and then distribute it effectively. Of the three of them  who  does this  the best?

Bloody great away day, horrendous journey back. No trains from Crewe to Lichfield TV so had to go to Birmingham to get to Lichfield, but it stopped at City leaving me with a 1-2 mile walk back to TV.

The thing that stinks about that walk is that the fastest way to get there is via Cherry Orchard, Roman way  etc  and IIRC there are no pubs  along that route and certainly none that would be open if  you arrive at Lichfield City after hours. Of course  if  you  aren't pushed for  time  you could  have walked past Cherry Orchard and on  to the Duke of York Pub and then onto the Anchor at Streethay. I would celebrate each goal with a pint  and use the walk between pubs  to  burn the  calories !

Then on the other hand if  you don't   go  to Pubs...just enjoy the walk! Better walking it  after  Crewe  than   doing it  after Luton!

Oh  did I mention ?  the  roulette   ball  fell   solidly  into  Black 13 !     What a terrible shame   

Don't  misunderstand me, I would rather keep Benteke  for  one more season.  None of us wants to see Beneteke  go, but if a player   whether by poor  advice or his own  foolhardiness is  bound and determined  to  go then let him  go and in that respect  I take my hat off to  Paul Lambert  for   dealing  with the matter   in a sensible  way  that benefits  Aston Villa.

I  dreamed  the other night that we  sold  Tekkers to  Spuds for  30M.  Spurs missed out    by one point  at the  end of the  2013/14 season to get into the  Champion's League falling to 5th  again behind  the  Arse. Tekkers  finally figured out that  Spuds  werent  Arsenal and then went on strike   in next summer's    transfer  season and ended up   signing for  Arsenal for 15 M  ! Tekkers made  the  Belgium WC   squad but never played a  game  because Lukaku was brilliant. So  CB   moved  to  the Emirates  and just  couldn't   find any form  and  ended up  being  sold  to Antalyaspor ! Meanwhile  a players agent  who  shall not be named took all his   gains   to Las Vegas  and bet it all on    the  red....and   that was  that!   Instant  Karma!

Then I  woke up and  realised..  Villa might well   receive  30M. Aston Villa  FC  is a business. 30M is not to be sniffed at.

Rumours abound that Spuds are going to test Lerner's resolve of asking  25M  for Benteke by coming in with an offer at 20M.

I would love to be in Randy Lerner's  shoes on this one. Spurs transfer  dealings  are almost as detestable as Benitez and Parry's! He happily stood by  his valuation of Gareth Barry where Benitez and Parry offered 15M   for Barry and  did not meet the 18M  asking price and rejected  them outright.

Why  would Spuds  waste  their time and ours  by not  stumping up the 25M? If it were me every time the chiselers offered   something below my asking price I would  add an additional premium on top next time they called equal  to  the amount of the  shortfall. So if they offered  5M   too low,  next  time  they  come in the price   would be  30M and so on.

Someone this summer  will pay  the  25M  or more. Call me crazy  or whatever but  in this market and the current Premier League, Benteke is  worth  every penny    that Tottenham, Chelsea  or any other club   will offer  over  25M !

Spuds!!   Please  stop wasting  Lerner's and Faulkner's time and  making yourselves look  cheap. Pay the Piper! On this one  Randy is definitely calling the tune and bless  him  for it.  Kudos  Randy  Lerner! 

 

if we accept a bid and still want to keep him then we have to match the offer he is given right?

Depends on his contract surely?

Personally I hope we do a "Barry" and say "you're under contract son! We will sell you when WE are ready."

 

I agree with  you Mike!  What's the point of  signing a contract  for  four years  if  your  intention  was  to break it.

However, none of us  is privy  to all the facts and probably  only  Benteke, his Agent and the Management of AVFC know , or think they know, what the  situation is.

There is  no  onus on AVFC to  change  the   terms of  the  contract as it  stands. From a legal  standpoint  they can let it  run  the full four  years barring there being any terms in  the contract  that provide Benteke  with  a way  out.

However, if  AVFC did a  "Barry" then  it is  fairly certain  that  the player   will be gone  at the  end of the  3rd   year because  that is the last opportunity   to  get  significant money  for   him.

On the other hand from what we have already  seen of Benteke's   upside, here we have a player  who  IMHO is the most   significant   Striker   since  Gerry Hitchens   bar  none! If  Paul Lambert;s  belief  is that  success   can be built  on   Benteke's  broad   shoulders  then it is  easy  to see why  there is a  crack in the door  where  Lambert  and   the AVFC  board is willing to  sit  down and talk about Benteke's   long term  future with the  club.

If Benteke  shows that he is  100%  on board with  Villa's  future plans they will have a  contract improvement signed and  sealed.

If he    baulks  all bets are off!   It will be  an interesting  summer.  

Could very well become a new chant from the terraces?

There will be a million of  them. Mine's  going to be chanted  to   "That's Amore!"  as  follows:-

When the ball hits the wall and a Villan whose tall -

That's Okore!

He's better  than Dunne  and our  Number One!

That's Okore!

The  signing of Okore is exciting enough by itself, but when you add in the other signings a lot of   Villa  fans   can't wait to  see Okore and the lads ITSOTP !

On that  level excitement  I agree with the  sentiments in this  article. http://tinyurl.com/m597aoj

Apologies if this  has already been posted.