villathriller77

Exactly Dubbs, the Evening Mail (or Meaning Evil) usually prints stories with no substance whatsoever. Lazy journalism imo.

Koumas, Davies would add some strength to the squad. Gera? two years ago i would have said yes, not so sure anymore (fickle!?!)

Kamara? No ta, never impressed me in Premier League, good championship player but nowt special!

Simao is class but he does have a habit of going missing in games from time to time. However, he does hit a mean free kick although Maloney and Young are supposed to be our answer to that particular problem.

Heard a whisper today that JPA may be heading back to River Plate in the Summer? Thoughts?

Scotty Parker, Kevin Nolan or Joey Barton. That mould of player would be awesome and would allow the Barry's, Petrov's et al to break free from the shackles.

Could add Papa Bouba Diop to that list I suppose. I rate him to an extent and would be decent enough but not convinced he'd be the answer to our midfield problems.

Defoe is a real possibility IMHO. Too many rumblings that he's unhappy and on his way to us and I don't ever recall MON dismissing this, same could be said for Bellamy.

Premiership for me, it's the ultimate test of a team. You can have a good season and finish sixth but to win the title really is a tough ask. However, with all the will in the world I think to break Chelsea and Man Yoo's hold on the trophy would really take some doing, not that it's beyond us of course.

A top four finish is not out of the question in the short to mid term, making a CL win more likely. Winning the CL is arguably more high profile than the Premiership and would really announce the re-birth of the club to the worldwide media.

Tubby, your list makes good reading and I can't really disagree with the ins and outs you have listed. However, signing these players is another matter. Also, getting rid of spme of our fringe players may not be that easy, unless we're willing to waive a fee.

Time will tell but your list of targets are all gettable imo.

I wonder if we went knocking for a Mark van Bommel would he still be interested? With us looking to get to the next level and Bayern suffering a relative domestic crisis it might be a decent time to enquire. HeVan Bommel? Good shout. He's class, no doubt about it.

One potential problem in prising him away is that Owen Hargreaves could be on his way to Man Yoo this summer so Munich would not be so keen to get rid.

Anyone know how old is he now?

if i had to bet on 2 players joining villa in the summer.i would put my money on SWP and Bellamy.

guess we would just have to take the rough(bellamy) with the smooth(SWP)

Seriously though. I think Bellamy is at the stage of his career where a lot of clubs wouldn't touch him with a bargepole. If MON wants him, i don't think he'd take much persuading to come. Let's face it, he's not playing all that regularly and Riise is a bit of a fixture in that side. If the story is true (and it came from the Sun) then I would imagine a move for him in the summer to replace JPA and/or Sutton would very much be on the cards.

However, it remains to be seen if he can knuckle down and stop behaving like a petulant child. He's at a crossroads now, he can't afford anymore incidents if he ever wants to be taken seriously.

I think the recent incidents would make a swoop for Bellamy less likely. MON will not want trouble makers like him here!

I would say that MON is more likely to go on his own judgement and experiences of Bellamy (considering he has signed him in the past) than what is being reported in The Sun.

Even Carew had a certain reputation for being 'awkward'.

If memory serves me right Bellamy didn't have too many disciplinary problems in Scotland.

If anyone can keep a player in check it's MON.

As much as i'd love to sign Villa I can't see him coming to us to be honest.

Be interesting to see what develops at Liverpool with regards to the Riise and Bellamy saga.

A Summer Swoop for the Welsh Madman wouldn't suprise me.

Having said that, i'd prefer Keane or Bent over Bellamy anyday of the week.

Etherington and MAaooney linked to Everton and Fulham respectively this morning, I think they could both do a job for us.

Who?

Anyway, Etherington for me is a player that was fairly good at CM a couple of years ago. Is he really that good in the real world?

Anyone else think he would be worth a pop?

Definalty yes but heRiquelme is class, no doubt about it but to an extent it would be a risk bringing someone of his ilk to the Premier League. A loan deal might be the way to go but as Kiddybloke said, he'll probably end up at a club in CL. A big club like Lyon eh Meelan??! :roll:

Does anyone know what the fee is for Diop to Wigan? He's just the sort of mean player we need in Midfield. Having said that I would take Joey Barton any day, especially for £5.5m. Think we would have struggled to convince him to sign last week but with Carew and Young on board people can see we mean business.

Then there is the MON factor - he could sell ice to Eskimos!!!