GaztonVilla

Given the choice of Ellis or Niall Quinn, I'd have to think long and hard about my decision... Quinn may be a knight in shining armour to the mackems, but his ego puts Ellis to shame. And having McManus and/or Magnier in the background is no guarantee of immediate riches. Remember how they were prepared to f**k over Man Utd over a personal grudge?

They're right to say nothing. They're back seat financiers in this situation. Neville is the front man of the bid, he's leading the consortium and he's talking to the press. He's the one who's come out and proclaimed his love for the fans, the clubs history etc. Their dealings in this matter will be with Ellis and maybe Petchy. But I would imagine that when the deal goes through, their day to day involvement with the club will be minimal. That will be Neville's job.

My opinion is that the Comers' interest has cooled off, and the death of Mahmoud Fustok has taken away another large source of funding for the bid. Neville is still keen to buy the club and is scouting around for alternative sources of finance, sources that may or may not include potential financiers known to Bruce Langham. Allegedly.

Yeah but that only cost him £6 million quid, probably less... Now, if he'd put that £6 million on Brave Inca yesterday, we might have been in business

His name is (was?) Mahmoud Fustok. Brother of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, he has links with many prominent Irish politicians. His name was involved in the "Payments to Politicians" tribunal in Ireland, where he was alleged to have paid vast amounts of money to Charles Haughey, former Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and invested money in Haughey's son's helicopter business, in exchange for Irish passports for himself and his family. Fustok's involvement was never fully concluded and no criminal charges are arising, but this apparently made someone at Villa nervous and Ellis apparently wouldn't deal with a bid which involved Fustok so Neville went looking for alternative sources of money. Not sure what the latest development was but was interested to see the story about Fustok being killed.

The Saudi horse racing tycoon rumoured to have been part of the finances behind the Neville/Comer bid was killed a few weeks ago, knocked down while jogging in Florida. Might explain the delay?

I want us to win. Once we are winning, the style of victory is a secondary consideration. People castigated JG for his style of play and tactics, but we were winning and I was happy at 4.45 on a Saturday. If we start winning, then we can think about the style in which we won. Win first.

I picked Ugo too. I think the times when he and PMcG played together were the strongest defensive unit I've seen. And wasn't Shaun Treetrunkthighs goal vs Tranmere? Diving header.. And the broadest grin I've ever seen in a Villa jersey.

I went for Ray the ferret Houghton. Never tired of running after lost causes, scored some very important goals (none more so that vs Inter Milan. Oh and against Italy in 94. Off topic, but one of the great goals that made me cry )

For me there's only one option.. Stan the man Staunton. One of the sweetest left foots I've ever seen. Even when he was huffing and puffing for Coventry, he could still pick out a great pass with that left boot.

Agree with you Tom that it probably won't happen for those reasons, but were it to happen, I'd welcome him...

I was thinking about this today and I'm wondering if it's just a case of DOL trying to complete the O'Learyification of the side.. Before he arrived, Daz Vass was a first team regular, now he's sold off. Peter Enkleman was goalkeeper, and he's been replaced. JPA was consigned to the subs bench, he's now his next door neighbour. Solano, McCann are first choice midfielders, Dion and Ronny Johnsen are gone. Jlloyd Samuel, Mellberg, Barry and Delaney are the only members of the first team who were in situ when O'Leary was appointed. ( And I think JLloyd was really only on the fringes then..) Delaney is being denied a new contract and has almost been replaced by Hughes. So, Mellberg and Barry are the last ones from the pre-DOL era, so to speak. Anyway, I don't know what that means. I suppose every manager wants to bring in his own players and remove those from previous regimes. Maybe thats why he's sold DV. Just doesn't fit into the manager's plan.

Keane and Ferguson in apparent furious bust up which has resulted in Keane not going on tour to Asia with an apparent hamstring injury... Come on O'Leary, call David Kennedy and Roy Keane and remind them both that they owe you BIG TIME.. BIG BLOODY TIME, and see if we can get a season of The King Keane in Claret and Blue..

If you're sick of that then we better not buy Baros either :winkold: Baros is a better finisher than Vassell will ever be. Vassell picks up the ball on the left wing, turns and runs upfield, gets forced out wide and more often than not, loses posession. Baros picks up the ball on the left wing, turns and runs upfield, drops a shoulder and uses his balance to turn infield and either pass or shoot. Here's a question, how many of our striker's goals were scored from outside the penalty area? Can't think of many (or any) and Baros definitely would provide that element.

Ah but it's in the Sun.. So surely its bollocks?

Laursen needs to be brought back into first team football at a steady pace.. Versus Portsmouth, it wont be the biggest test he'll face this season so it could be a good way to bring him back in. Also, the expectation and pressure of a home game wont be a factor, the always-fantastic away support would be good for his spirits too...

Personally, I find the culture of oneupmanship on this site to be quite nauseating. Can we have a poll on that?

If we had a crop of bad tempered youth players all getting sent off at Arsenal type regularity, I would say yes. But Lee seems to be the only one who has trouble (sometimes) channelling his agression appropriately. So my answer is no...