brummie

There seems to be a common misconception that just because Nike are supplying our kits, this means Villa shirts will be available wherever Nike kit is sold.

This is not the case. It will always be up to the retailer whether or not he sells our shirts. We're not suddenly going to start appearing in sports shops in Truro and Inverness just because they stock other Nike gear - we'll only be stocked in those places if the owners think there is a market for our shirts.

The only way we're ever going to start shifting kits in places like that is by being successful on the pitch. Yeah, the Nike kit will be better quality and will look nicer, but that alone isn't going to start making people queue up to buy it at the Barcelona club shop.

Bent will join Spurs on Monday, and Defoe will join us next week. That's a fact.

You heard it here first. Well, almost first.

Really, thats amazing as the transfer window is not even open then!

Don't sour my post by introducing pesky facts.

He will join us, you'll see.

Pesky facts which stop your post from being true? Oh...

Yes, that's what I was implying, Einstein.

Oh well stop posting rubbish then brains!

It is true. You're no Einstein, mind.

Bent will join Spurs on Monday, and Defoe will join us next week. That's a fact.

You heard it here first. Well, almost first.

Really, thats amazing as the transfer window is not even open then!

Don't sour my post by introducing pesky facts.

He will join us, you'll see.

Pesky facts which stop your post from being true? Oh...

Yes, that's what I was implying, Einstein.

Bent will join Spurs on Monday, and Defoe will join us next week. That's a fact.

You heard it here first. Well, almost first.

Really, thats amazing as the transfer window is not even open then!

Don't sour my post by introducing pesky facts.

He will join us, you'll see.

Bent will join Spurs on Monday, and Defoe will join us next week. That's a fact.

You heard it here first. Well, almost first.

I think OBE we are cleverer than that as a club

we picked up Maloney on a song, we picked Carew for **** all

We will break our record and we will see two or three big biys but I expect some quality free transfer like distin and others ....

True with Carew, but we actually paid 1m just to have Maloney 4 months earlier - he'd have been on a Bosman in the summer and therefore free.

Dean Ashton? Cover? We're not Real Madrid.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Scott Parker is the absolute epitome of the average Premiership footballer, and not the kind of player we should be signing.

And who on earth thinks Liverpool are going to want to sell Finnan, who has been one of their most consistent players this season? And more's the point, why would Finnan want to leave a CL semi final (at least) club for a mid table one?

"After Portsmouth, now Aston Villa seem to be seriously watching Muntari. According to a Ghanaian newspaper, Martin O'Neill, Villains manager, is now trying to convince his board to part with more than the 7 million pounds they have made available to him, which will not be enough to buy the Ghanaian, for whom Pozzo (obv their manager) is looking for 12m".

I agree Bardsley isn't up to much, but not on the basis that "if he's not good enough for Man United, he can't be good enough for us". They're the best side in the country and probably the best side in Europe, and Bardsley has a talismanic figure ahead of him in the shape of Gary Neville.

If we're going to use that logic, we can say that David Bentley and Steve Sidwell weren't good enough for Arsenal, so they're not good enough for us either.

I also can't believe people are talking about getting rid of Laursen. He comes back from his long term injury, does well, picks up a routine injury unrelated to his long term problems, then looks immaculate when he comes back, and people are complaining about him?

It strikes me that we have four top notch central defenders in Laursen, Mellberg, Cahill and Ridgewell. I can think of plenty more positions which need strengthening first.

Flamini for example has played loads of first team games for Arsenal. AW has had plenty of opportunity to assess his full potential. If he was prepared to let him go, I would say that means he's not good enough for us. The same would apply to Fletcher or Richardson from Manure. Why would those clubs let their top youngsters leave?

.

What, like Sidwell and Bentley?

Some of the comments on this thread are a bit over-optimistic. Think about it. Why are players like Ribery or Hargreaves going to come here? Because we've got lots of cash? So have lots of other clubs.

We're currently looking at about 15th place, and no European football of any kind, let alone Champions League football. No player who currently has that is going to give it up to join us.

We need to be realistic about the sort of player we're likely to get.

I am a Season Ticket holder , but went to the ticket office at the back of the North stand today (to purcase three tickets for a work colleague who I have been encouraging to come and take a look) at 10 o'clock and was refused entry in my car to the empty car park in front of the ticket office and shop. I was given the reason that it is a match day and although I remarked that the game was still some ten hours away was informed that I should find somewher to park on the road outside and to then walk back to the ticket office!! ...

Funnily enough, the exact same thing happened to me yesterday. I returned my tickets to the Arsenal game just before lunchtime, as I've got a dreadful viral infection and have been barely able to stand most of the week.

To arrive at 11 o'clock or so and be told that I can't park anywhere near the ticket office and have to find some street parking just because it is a match day seems absolutely ridiculous, especially when the game is 9 hours off.

Anyway, I did so, and staggered huffing and puffing to the ticket office, muttering dark things to myself about businesses who find it acceptable to treat their customers so shoddily.

and I would add it is a good job Lerner is with us, otherwise we would be so far behind ....

even Everton appear to have more money once the american there takes fully over, hence the Stallone appearance.

I assume you mean Robert Earl, the Planet Hollywood guy, ian?

He's not actually planning on taking over Everton, he took a small shareholding at the request of Kenwright, but has said plenty of times that he has absolutely no interest whatsoever in increasing it, I believe.

I think also with the Liverpool takeover, there's not a lot to worry about there. Their consortium is back by hideously rich people, yes, but they've deflated the balloon a little there by pointing out there will be no endless supply of cash / RA style funding. In fact, I believe their arrangement to buy the club is not entirely dissimilar to the Glazer Man U deal - borrowings are involved.

We need to put things right on the pitch, and then we'll have a chance of competing with clubs like Liverpool for signings. If that side of thing isn't right, then how much money our owner has will not really matter, as the players won't want to come.

The crowd for this game will be nowhere near 38k, sadly.

The prices for the family enclosure are fine, but I've just forked out 62 quid for two tickets for this game, so it isn't as if it is cheap across the board.

Still too expensive, in fact, for what is bound to be 90 minutes of fairly mediocre football.

you knwo what Wigan is no smoking and was enforced easily enough, by the tme we get to the first home game people will be used to it

(no fags now for 5 days !!)

But with our pansy stewards, can you see it being enforced?

I think someone has had a word with the stewards and bucked their ideas up.

At the Man U game, they were constantly scanning the crowd and chucking out anyone who even looked like they might be an away fan in our ends. I've never really seen them that bothered before.

I even saw them chuck out a group of about five pissed up blokes despite being outnumbered.

yes if Laursen is not going to be fit

We've still got Ridge, Cahil and Mellberg though. Not a huge amount of cover, but a massive amount compared to other areas of the team where we are incredibly lightweight.

Whats is the feeling on Matt Upson, his contract is up - hes a quaility defender who would cost not very much - the only obstacle I say is he played for them - but for a player of his quality - we could get over it - especially if we can get over Sutton?

He's a good player, but do we need a central defender?

I'd say we could use two full backs, a right sided midfielder and two strikers at the least before buying more central defenders.

i'd rather see tom hanks here tbh in a villa shirt coming onto the pitch 8)

and he could do some free marketing for us in america

(another famous villa fan apparently)

He is a Villa fan but that is only because he likes the name, apparently we sent him a signed shirt and an open invite to a game, he aint been yet I don't think.

He definitely has been to matches.

His cousin, who was appointed as "minder" to him when he was younger, was working in banking in the midlands and started taking him.

I read an interview with Gareth Southgate a few years ago where he mentioned seeing him in the players lounge after a match. I've also heard john Gregory refer to him being at matches.