Alec

One of the issues with Ireland for me is whether he has a clear 'best' position? He struggles in centre midfield in a 4-4-2, he can't really play out wide and he goes missing if played behind a striker in the 'no. 10' role. For me, he looks like yet another player that needs to play in a 4-3-3/4-3-2-1 where he either has two other central midfielders alongside him or the support of another deeper-lying forward playing off a target-man. Which is fine if, in fact, we are going to play that formation - but it's sligthly concerning that the majority of the midfielders on our books look exposed in a 4-4-2 (Petrov, Delph, Makoun, Bannan) which somewhat limits what changes we can implement tactically during matches, let alone the starting line-up. If McLeish can get consistently good performances out of Ireland, then we'll have a real player on our hands so let's hope he can. I think he's got a reasonably good record for getting the most out of limited players like Ferguson, Bowyer, Larsson and Gardner at Blues so maybe this could be one of the more pleasant surprises to watch this season. Still think the club would move him on to Newcastle if a suitable bid is received though.

You don't just need to look at the amount of money invested in relation to what you can subsequently generate when the player leaves - more importantly is how well the player performed during his time at the club. I don't think anyone could argue we didn't get £2.5m worth of value out of Friedel during his three years here - in fact, it looks like a bargain in retrospect. Who knows if the absence of such a reliable keeper might have been the difference between finishing sixth and finishing tenth, or God forbid, between finishing ninth last season instead of going down. I couldn't point to one game or one save as being singularly key to anything, but the importance of the overall contribution mounts up over time. If we get a couple of good seasons out of Given, the £5m will have been a good investment regardless of what anybody else may pay for him in the future.

Just not at Aston Villa.

Well, Gary McAllister left the club for starters, along with most of the management team.

No offense, but two of the three key factors you cite - ground and stadium - are the same thing. And I look forward to day we sign a player and he cites our corporate facilities as a reason for choosing us over Liverpool, who were also reportedly interested but couldn't get the fax machine to transmit an offer in time due to their aging facilities. I believe John Lennon Airport also now offers international flights so players new to the area needn't worry about booking their holidays.

It makes me laugh that Mcleish had Bentley at SHA and he played Sebastian Larsson in front of him, he can't be that good if he's not being picked infront of Larsson....I honestly hate the sight of the guy, everytime I see him play he's always touching his hair to make sure it's all in place. I think that both of them were playing in the League games for the most part (Bentley was cup-tied for League Cup semi and final). Whilst both are naturally more suited to the right flank, I think they both had stints out on the left.

Bentley is very similar to Downing in a lot of respects - great passing, excellent crosser of the ball, slightly lightweight. Attitude if the big question mark but I think he might be worth chancing. Aaron Lennon has always been preferred to him at Spurs and he's never had a consistent run of games there, but when he was at Blackburn he was outstanding. A big reason for his form prior to his big-money move was his link-up with Roque Santa Cruz, who as I'm sure all will remember was enjoying the best season of his own career at the time. Bentley is the kind of player who is only as good as the striker's he's supplying to - when he first signed for Blues last season he only had Matt Derbyshire playing ahead up front and the best it ever got was when Zigic and Jerome returned to fitness. Put him in a team with Darren Bent as the figurehead and I've got a feeling that we'll all start seeing the kind of delivery that led to so many comparisons to Beckham a few years ago when he was still part of the England set-up and regarded as Beckham's most natural successor. As I said though, attitude is the big issue. If he genuinely wants to re-establish himself as a top Premier League player and has the drive to do so, he could be a bargain. If he doesn't, we could end up with another Ireland/Beye/Warnock scenario, draining wages from the lifeblood of the club. McLeish has worked with him so if he decides to go for him, I'll trust that he will be in the best position to know whether it's worth that gamble.

It happens ya know. Where have you been for the last 5 years? Where have you been more like? Liverpool have been more unstable than us over the last 5 years.. Managers they couldnt afford to sack..Owners not willing to invest..A stadium in need of mass upgrading..They have been yo-yo'ing up and down the league..etc etc.. So even if Downing was tapped up, where's the pull? Its not like they are a top 4 team, or even a team playing in Europe.. Like I said the pull wasnt strong enough whilst we had Houllier because we were going places..He even came out publicly stating he likes Houllier. Yet as soon as Houllier departs, Downing cant get out the door quick enough.. And will continue with Bent being the next one looking to go. McLeish out! The stories surfacing about Downing stalling on a new contract were already out well before McLeish was appointed. I don't doubt he liked Houllier and enjoyed playing for him - but if Houllier was still the manager, Downing would still be looking to leave. He's had his head turned and he sees Liverpool as a step up - which I'm sad to say they still very much are. Liverpool have not been 'yo-yoing' up and down the league - they've missed out on the Champions League two seasons running but have remained in the top seven. And anyone who's been watching events at Anfield with any degree of objectivity this past six months will know they have sorted out a lot of the problems caused by Hicks and Gillett, that the new board are ready and willing to invest, that the playing staff are happy and pulling in the same direction having been united under Dalglish. The run-down stadium still retains an aura that most modern grounds lack and, of course, they still have the cache of being the second biggest club in the country. Sadly, they have a lot of the kind of stability - as things stand - that we don't during this uncertain period (and I'm still curiously optimistic about the coming season). I couldn't say if they'll be back in the top four this time next year, but I reckon they'll be making a pretty decent challenge and if I was an Arsenal fan right now I'd be worried.

Unfortunately, I don't think Downing's market value - even after last season - is as high as Ashley Young's so I couldn't see us getting anywhere near £16m next summer. To be honest, I think we'd possibly struggle to cover the £12m we paid for him - and we don't yet know what kind of form he will sustain over the next twelve months.

-----------------------Bent----------------------- Nzogbia----Delph---Milner----Ireland----Bentley #Nice That midfield would get destroyed I'm afraid. Replace Ireland with Reo-Coker though and that would be a different story.

I think on the basis of last season's form, Downing would represent a more immediate loss than Young - though it's unquestionable that we will all retain far more - and far happier - memories of the latter due to his superior overall service. Downing was class last season, no doubt. And managing to shine during some pretty dire months with the constant underperformance of thos around him was no mean feat. There is an elegance and an intelligence to his play that we are probably lacking throughout the rest of the squad, but there is - and always will be - a slightly light-weight side to his game that prevents him from being the truly top drawer player he could be. And, as I've said before, the only player that feels genuinely irreplaceable to us is Darren Bent and if a good fee can be negotiated for Downing, I don't see why part of the money can't be reinvested in a hungrier player that can be just as effective (N'Zogbia, Kranjcaar, even Bentley if he were to arrive with the right attitude), and still leaving cash leftover for additional reinforcements. Who knows - maybe the £18-20m would be enough to make Milner's mooted return a slightly more realistic proposition? What is most important to me as a supporter is how Villa handle the prospective sale. There are stories circling that the player needs to hand in a transfer request - and thus negate any further payments from the club - which I hope we stand firm on. The same goes for the transfer fee itself - based on the fact that Liverpool have only just spent £18m on Jordan Henderson, that needs to be the absolute minimum figure we accept for Downing and we shouldn't be budging. If we remain strong on these two key points, we should get ourselves a good deal (though I also wouldn't mind considering the possibility of including Raul Meirelles as part of the deal seeing as he looks to be off this summer). McLeish needs to start moving on his own targets though - and quickly. The perception issue is arguably our biggest enemy at the moment because it seems as though one piece of bad news is following another. It's high time for us to get on the offensive and start making in-roads on securing our new signings and the sale of Downing would go down a good deal better if we had already brought in a new face or two and were seen to be actively re-building rather than appearing as the sitting duck we must appear to be to clubs eager to cherry-pick our better players. We should be using the sale of Downing to say that we are now drawing a line in the sand. We have more than enough money in the bank (together with the sale of Young) and it is going to be reinvested. Everyone has to come to terms with the selling of key assets - and we've had three consecutive years of it - but Tottenham are a prime example of how to use the influx of cash to move on, bring in new talent and get better. They've withstood the loss of Carrick, Berbatov and, to a certain extent, Keane, who when he was sold to Liverpool was a very important player for them (admittedly, his return only a year later showed how rapidly his powers were fading). The likelihood is that they will lose Modric this summer and Bale in the next 18 months, maybe sooner. I don't think that we're any more of a selling club than they are but there is a hierarchy that is impossible to deny, and even with the relative success that Spurs have enjoyed in the last two seasons, they are struggling to retain their best players. What's important is how you respond and the combination of Redknapp and Levy know how to work the market in a way that we don't - or at least haven't in the past. I feel this is where McLeish is going to need to prove his mettle and show he genuinely is ready to manage a club at the higher level he now finds himself at.

Yes, ideally we should be getting started immediately now Young's sale has been confirmed. Any subsequent loss of Downing would be perceived much differently if we were already some way toward rebuilding the side for next season. If one sale came on top of the other without at least one major incoming signing arriving first, it would look seriously bad.

I certainly see where you're coming from, but if we were to sell Downing and we added his fee to Young's we would probably have somewhere in the region of £35m to spend (and I don't believe Mr. Lerner is going to prevent McLeish from spending any revenue generated from transfers, despite what some of the doomsayers might think). If we could secure N'Zogbia and Bentley, for example, I think we would likely still have a good £15m of that remaining which could be put to good use - and supporters generally take a lot of heart from seeing new arrivals to freshen things up. So I would likewise be happy to release the likes of Dunne and Cuellar as well if other teams are prepared to stump up some cash for them as has been reported, because I can't imagine anyone will be too keen to pay for Dunne in a year's time and Cuellar will be out of contract by then anyway. I know there's a lot of 'ifs' in those scenarios, but I'd be more excited about the new season if we had a new-look spine to the team than if we just replaced Young and kept hold of Downing. And I'm not all that confident that we will see Downing maintain the form of last season if he has had his head turned by potential suitors. Ultimately, the likes of Bent will be among the chief benefactors if he's backed up by a team of hungry, younger players than what we currently have in central roles - though I recognise that we can do without any further negative spinning by the media whilst we go about our preparations for pre-season and that kind of exodus might sound a few alarm bells.

To be honest, I wonder if letting Downing go now may be the best thing. This is almost certainly the moment we will be able to get the highest price for him, having just completed his best season and still only being halfway through his current contract. Liverpool, as evidenced by their spending £20m on Henderson are clearly in a position to spend over the odds now - and we should be looking for this figure for Downing in the present market. If we could sign either Kranjcar or Bentley from Spurs as a replacement, there would still be a significant portion of cash left over for other players and if either were to find their best form they could easily match the performances of Downing last season. I actually think Bentley is very similar to Downing in many respects - elegant technique, excellent passer and capable of outstanding delivery though slightly lightweight. The only real difference is one is left-sided and the other right-sided. As has been written elsewhere, only Darren Bent is probably irreplaceable and I think it might do the club good if McLeish could rebuild as much of the rest of the team as possible.

Apart from the noted issues concerning his temperament, mental health and all-round reliability, is anybody else slightly concerned about the guy's fitness? I think he made two sub appearance for Newcastle in half a season on loan there. If he could rediscover his best Man City form, he would be an asset - you couldn't argue with that. But the likelihood would be that his ridiculous wages would just continue draining the club whilst getting very little back in return. Still better off selling him and re-investing his wages in two other players who will actually contribute.

You know it may just be that the Birmingham City academy is nowhere near as good as our's and there was good reason for him relying on older pros.

I voted no, but within context. As people have pointed out, the likes of Mourinho, Wenger, Ancelotti, Mancini et al. didn't have Premier League experience but we have to ask whether or not we can attract men of that calibre. The truth is that we aren't at the kind of level where we can and so the kind of international candidates that are likely to be viable options will naturally present higher risks. So I can kind of understand where the club are coming from in seeking someone with prior Premier League experience, I just don't think it should then automatically become a dogmatic rule by which ALL international candidates are then frozen out.

Setting aside the usual supposition work, this is actually quite a balanced piece from today's Guardian that rings fairly true. http://bit.ly/kUNjS0

In this case though, the club has done nothing but fuel the fire. Between the General's comments and the official statement released last night, tensions have been well and truly exacerbated rather than quelled. They couldn't have done a great deal more to convey the impression that they really don't care what the supporters are saying on this issue and any acknowledgement to the contrary has been passing at best. The entire process has been badly managed from start to finish and regardless of who is ultimately appointed, neither the media or the fans are going to easily forget the farcical situation this has descended into.

Assuming that McLeish wasn't tapped up, and that his sudden availability has come as much of a surprise to the Villa board as they will no doubt protest it has, is it reasonable to think that the man himself may yet decide that this isn't the best move for him? Setting aside my opinion of him as a manager, he has always struck me as a fairly pragmatic, intelligent guy. Take his public comments in the build-up to and aftermath of any derby match between ourselves and the Blues over the last few years; he never seemed to buy into any of the fire-stoking tactics that Steve Bruce did and was often quite complimentary - and realistic - about how Blues ranked in direct comparison with us. Clearly, he possesses a certain degree of awareness and so it's not as if he won't be privy to the mounting intensity among Villa supporters so dramatically opposed to his appointment. Yes, he will rightly see Villa as a bigger club and one that offers the kind of career challenge he would no doubt want from his next appointment - but surely he will weigh the personal cost of instantly becoming such a figure of controversy that the hysteria from both sides of the city will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for him to work effectively. Despite the two relegations with Blues, it appears his reputation and standing in the game is respectable and he will almost certainly receive other attractive offers in due course. If things go badly at Villa his reputation could be irreparably damaged. It wouldn't surprise me if he even pulled out before an interview takes place having taken stock of things - and if he does he will probably have exercised more common sense than our board is clearly willing to at present. Or maybe I'm just clutching at straws and desperately trying to still apply some degree of logic to a situation that has become inherently illogical.

General, This is taken directly from the statement just released by the club; "We are determined, still, not to allow that three-and-a-half year post to disqualify him should he be the best candidate for the role of Aston Villa manager." Who he worked for previously is not of major concern, it is purely his track record - as it should be for any prospective candidate. There is no possible argument that could be manufactured to justify how Mr. McLeish - a manager with two relegations from three seasons in the Premier League - could ever be seen as "the best candidate for the role of Aston Villa manager" so I trust that the club's interest will not proceed beyond the interview stage. I appreciate that this game is all about opinions but every now and then an issue arises in which the facts are undeniable and speak for themselves, pointing to only one logical conclusion; that Mr. McLeish can not, and will not, ever be appointed as manager of Aston Villa on the basis of such a dismal and indefensible track record. That the club have decided to pursue their interest in him as a candidate this far gives me and the majority of Aston Villa supporters grave cause for concern in the board's competency in as far as identifying the criteria they see befitting of a potential manager. I suggest that that Mr. Lerner, Mr. Faulkner and the board recognise the sheer folly of continuing down this line of enquiry, go back to the drawing board and start from scratch because clearly the entire selection process is flawed if it has brought us to this point. As of right now, nothing has been done that can't be undone - the situation can still be reversed. There remain a number of highly qualified, extensively experienced managers who are not currently employed. We have options. I sincerely hope that reason prevails. Thank you.

The longer this goes on the more I'm starting to think that there either isn't a plan in place or whatever Plan A was (and probably Plan B for that matter) hasn't panned out and they are now scambling. So if they really are intent on not considering Mark Hughes - and I still think he's the best suited to the job - then I can see them turning to Claudio Ranieri for many of the same reasons they went for Houllier last year. In light of the way some of the rumour-mongering has led us - rightly or wrongly - this maybe isn't such a bad idea but I can see results following a very similar pattern as last season's. One thing is for sure though, however this all gets resolved there's a good chance that the residual damage from the media fall-out and collective supporter anxiety during the past few weeks has hurt the credibility of Mr. Lerner and his board, and has arguably done more to define the direction the club is heading toward than any statement possibly could. It appears clear that the club are nowhere near to being ready to mount any kind of sustained challenge for major success, either on or off the pitch - and it's not due to the lack of any financial muscle but the organisation of what resources we have to pull together in the pursuit of clear definable goals. After the last twelve months, we look like we can't see further than merely keeping our heads above water, dealing with whatever situation follows another, allowing for little in the way of long-term planning. I was really hoping that whoever is to be unveiled as the new manager would enable the club to clarify exactly what our aims now are and how we are ready to move ahead after a year of transition and unrest. With each passing day, it appears that the impending appointment may ultimately signal little more than the aversion of a mounting crisis to steady an increasingly very rocky ship and the new man will be met with a sense of acceptance rather than optimism. But I sincerely hope I'm wrong and that we may yet still be pleasantly surprised.

James McCarthy has been a good bit of business at £1m. Wouldn't mind him following Martinez here. Getting Tom Cleverley on loan wasn't bad either.

Speaking to one bloke isn't hard but speaking to his dog is an achievement, I'll grant him that. I don't know, I get the impression it's the dog that speaks his language.

I appreciate that Wigan don't have the biggest fanbase, but it's still highly impressive that you've managed to speak to each and every one of them in order to draw this watertight conclusion in the short space of time since the Martinez story broke. Fair play.