PompeyVillan

It probably is a relief, he hasn't succeeded here, he isn't liked by the fans and he isn't going to play. He isn't getting paid any less to play for Stoke. I should imagine he got a promotion bonus, so he's getting paid good wages to play at a lower level than he is contracted for. He will now play games which he will enjoy and he has a chance of being successful. He may even be liked by Stoke fans. All is good in the life of Scott Hogan. But another reminder of how important a good recruitment strategy is.

In order: Tyrone Mings, Tom Heaton, Jota, Douglas Luis, Wesley, El Ghazi, Trezeguet, Engels, Nakamba, Guilbert, Targett, Konsa, Hause.

I'd pay the money, but it's not my money. We'd have a problem if he performs exceptionally well in the next few months and then becomes a target for other clubs across Europe. We'd have then felt as if we had missed out. Maybe I am being greedy, but I think this guy is the icing on the cake.

I read somewhere, and I don't have the evidence to cite, but when a club builds a new, bigger stadium, attendances always increase in average. It's always being said, but Birmingham is massive and Villa don't have all that much competition, we could sell out 60,000 seats a week if we were successful, fashionable and our facilities were good. Don't get me wrong, I see no reason to knock VP down just yet. But I'm not overly sentimental about it, if we build a new stadium of the same calibre of Spurs (those that attend this weekend, let us know what it is like), I would happily accept the change. I wouldn't want any old mediocre stadium though, for us to leave Villa Park would need something special that would be an amazing football stadium and elevate the club commercially.

Amazing news, he deserves to be well rewarded for last season. A 5 year contract is sometimes a bit of a risk and I'm usually a bit wary of them, as we have been stung badly by 5 year contracts in the past. I'm not worried about McGinn though, his attitude is superb and he has the ability to play at the top level for the rest of his career. We've obviously also protected an asset, if one of the bug boys come calling they'll have to pay too dollar for him. Good move by the club.

They're a news aggregator, and they cite their sources in each tweet in brackets. They're just reporting what other news outlets or twitter accounts are posting.

I think we will come to think of him as a deep lying playmaker. I don't get the impression that he's a defensive player by any means.

I know we're not in the business of spending ridiculous money on individual players, however if Benrahma is going to cost £20 million I would say that was reasonable value. He's got the potential to be very good indeed. I just admit I'm taken by his flair, we have had functional players for a few years now so someone with a bit of skill is exciting. He has end product though and that is the most important factor for me, he gets goals and creates goals. If the money is there, I would say get him. Unless of course, we think we can get someone else of a similar quality for less and we are negotiating on several front and Benrahma is just one option.

No wonder his articles are below par, he's been writing them for the wrong site. If he can't get a simple detail like that right, what chance does he stand on Villa matters?

We would have to replace him and there isn't time.

What strikes me about this transfer window is that we've had no signings that have felt like panic buys or unimaginative 'lets get them because they're available and have played in the Premier League' type signings. We seem to have a plan. A coherent plan, based on the style of football we want to play and the type of player the manager wants. What a novelty. It remains to be seen whether our particular plan is a good one. The strategy has put a serious amount of faith in Dean Smith and Suso however and I think that bodes well for the future of the club. It actually feels okay to be excited about the season ahead without the having to add in the usual caveat about villa always being predictably crap, because we seem to be doing things differently these days.

I listened to it the other day, the Fulham comparison was made by one presenter, and then another with much more knowledge gave a decent, fair review of our situation. It's actually been a decent listen, I listened to part two today. I would actually recommend it. As an aside I find the Villa View a bit boring. It moves quite slowly and has too much banter that I don't find funny. Also, I don't find it offers any insight that you can't read on here.

A loan to a decent championship team is the best thing for us and him. Nobody is going to buy him at the moment, if he has a successful loan spell it may trigger someone into offering good money for him.

It doesn't bother me who he supports. It is clear though that he isn't as good a writer as some of the others. I've spent hours today reading articles on The Atlantic and some of them are superb.

Yeah he wrote an article about Jota playing so many games under Smith at Brentford when it was in fact another manager. Bit of a school boy error.

A bit different, more analytical, more frequent. Less historical narrative.

Yes Michael Cox and Hoginstein have signed up. I really like Michael Cox and he's already written a great article on The Atlantic about how each of the newly promoted teams play. Of course it was difficult to say much about us because our squad has changed quite considerably. It's a taste of things to come, so I have signed up. If you're not willing to pay for good journalism, don't complain when all you get is clickbait rubbish. Only strong support for good writers will eventually be the end of the ridiculous half witted TV punditry we have in this country. My thing is this, I want to read, watch or listen to something that tells me something I didn't know before.I want to learn from tactical analysis, the strategic approach clubs take that we don't always see, a bit of the politics behind why teams, players or managers make certain decisions. I am slightly surprised that Gregg Evans got the gig for Villa, but in a different format he might shine. Anyway, I've subscribed because it's the sort of thing I like. Just from reading a few articles today, I think I will quite like it.

I agree, it's just stupid, as if Ezri Konsa is getting hammered on vodka and jager. Football is a family sport and VP is generally well behaved family day out. Away days in Leipzig I appreciate are not family affairs, I hope it's a case of what goes on tour stays on tour.

It's not funny, and I really hope it doesn't catch on because not only is it offensive, it's cack. It will catch on though because some will find it funny, some won't know why it is offensive, some won't care and some will sing precisely because they know it is offensive.

Do you not think it would be possible to move the pitch further back towards the club shop at the North Stand to create enough space? Just musing, I should imagine if they're thinking of doing anything with the stadium they'll have and architect in to assess the site.

Very excited by Benrahma, he's a baller. Seems similar to Trezeguet. He's a box of tricks, direct, a d frightening to face one on one but with plenty of scope to improve and mature. Also, we need an additional option on the wing, since letting Green go. I'd be happy with Benrahma, El Ghazu, Trezeguet and Jota as our wide options this season.

Looking at the aerial photos, does anyone else feel that there is scope to knock down Villa Park and build a brand new modern stadium? It seems like a big enough site to me. I think the most likely development would be to knock down the North Stand and build a Holte sized stand there. I absolutely love Villa Park and it really is a special place. However, it doesn't seem to make sense to me that in the long term it would be better to build a new stadium than continue to made alterations to the current ground. Like any building, football grounds do not last forever. I see that being many years away yet, but I think it will happen at some point.

Mass shootings are so common now that perhaps they should be considered a national sport or a form of reality TV, not a human tragedy? It would be make it a lot easier to deal with, no need for hopes or prayers that way.

The Arsenal fan TV is always good for a laugh. There's plenty of passion there, and they capture the raw feelings that fans feel immediately after a game. Sometimes it gets ugly, but they're not much different to any football fans if you ask me. We're conditioned by what we experience, and Arsenal fans want better than they've had in recent years.

He's a clever, little player. Technically good and works very hard. I like him alot. He links up really nicely with the central midfielders when he drifts inside. He's something very different to what we've had a VP for a while, I hope the fans take to him. A shoe in at the moment.