David-Copenhagen

3 hours ago, TRO said:

Its clear to me, when he's fit and on it.....He is up there with the best.

It is also clear that when he's not on it, the picture is very different.

I have to trust the manager on this, and I guess the gamble is too good to resist...if it comes off, its a real coup.

That is exactly how I see it. I loved him before he joined Villa and he was great before COVID hit him. He clearly needs to be very fit to be good. 

If we don't sign Ross Barkley I will be disappointed. I think he can do very well for us. We need a squad and he will really help with that, and I just have a feeling he might turn out to be a starter..... 

1 hour ago, bobzy said:

Plus the transfer window isn't even open.

That does not mean anything. We can make a deal now, he just can't join before the window opens. 

19 hours ago, 479Villan said:

The combination of this and your signature line is chef's kiss

True :-), but they can both have merit all the same. 

19 hours ago, Teale's 'tache said:

Thought I'd have a look and see what other clubs may be getting as a Champions League bonus from adidas, the first thing that popped up was Manchester United's £900m deal over 10 years, one of the biggest kit deals in history, it costs them £10m every time they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

So your £20m is way over the top, as much as we would like it to be different Manchester United are a bigger pull, with a much bigger global following, much bigger brand, and sell boatloads more shirts than us right now, so adidas were never going to give us anywhere near the same, or they'd likely have to re-negotiate with them.

£3m doesn't seem much, but qualifying for the Champions League alone doesn't put us at the top table just yet, winning it or going far in it, and/or qualifying regularly will.

I feel like Heck has tried to load our deal a bit more on the shirt sales side, where he probably has a bit more control, any good salesman would back themselves in this kind of situation, if he hits that target then you'd have to say it's a good move, if he doesn't and we qualify again then you could say it's cost us a bit. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The reason I think 20 mill is right, is when I compare to the Newcastle deal. And CL participation is a lot smaller issue for Man U than it is for us. Man U are still relevant without CL, we easily become 5 times more relevant with CL. Hence we should get a bigger bump. 

19 hours ago, Alakagom said:

CL for one season is meaningless for Adidas, it's the amount of fans you have, social interactions, and Villa is nowhere close to big six clubs or other major European teams. The deal is quite clearly structured with that in mind, if Villa progresses accordingly I'm sure they will renegotiate. 

I agree with this, what I don't like is that we would have to renegotiate. We should have done that already. It is a lot easier to do initially. 

Duran is great as an impact sub, not as a starter. He plays better when we are looking for a goal, not when we are trying to be balanced and the game is going back on forth. If he an stay around the penalty area and create havoc then all is good. 

18 hours ago, Jas10 said:

 

If this is true, it is a not as good a deal as I thought it would be. 3 mill bonus for CL? That is ridiculously low. It should have been 20m bonus. You are basically getting a CL club for nothing. I can't believe CH would accept that. 

25 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Smart doesn’t mean cheap. He might only want one transformational player like Ronald and then a bunch of freebies or kids like Barkley.  Smart is utilising the money at hand as effectively as possible.  I don’t think it’ll happen but it wouldn’t surprise me either.

Agreed smart is identifying cheaper options that can allow you to go big in other areas if needed. 

Right now what we need, IMO, is not super stars, but more McGinn, Rogers, Kamara types of players. That have room for growth in a system. 

There is a thing about winning, it gives you momentum and believe. I think the positive outcomes Sunday and yesterday can lift the team. Yes it was 120 min yesterday, but we are good at keeping the tempo down in large parts of the game. IMO none of our players looked like  they were on the brink, in fact I think we looked like the team with energy and momentum in ET. Play smart Sunday and nick a 2-0

15 hours ago, picicata said:

Really? I won't give half a shit, i'll be to busy thinking about us!

I will, because I don't want them to get the revenue. If it was not a money game, I would not care

Play him agains Ajax. He looked good when he played earlier in the competition and we need some bodies in the squad. 

12 hours ago, cheltenham_villa said:

They do also cost money. 

Yes, BUT Aston Villa does not have to own the stadium. In fact we don't today, if I remember correctly the stadium was sold to NSWE. 

So building a new stadium does not have to affect FFP negatively, but will make Aston Villa a lot more money, so it is a no brainer really. 

3 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

Can we rename this thread the “people talking about a new stadium that isn’t going to happen?” thread please?

If it does not happen in the near future, then we are left behind. I don't like it, but there are really little alternatives. To compete, we need to make money. A new stadium makes more money. And money rules the game. 

Give him playing time against Ajax. 

16 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

Yup premier league are gutless if it were a newly promoted club they’d probably make an example 

Not sure I agree. By bringing the charges forward PL have nailed their flag to the mast. They have to go all out to win. All hail our Cup win in 2020

On 13/01/2022 at 15:25, vreitti said:

In my view he's too similar, in both style and stature to what we've already got. I'd prefer a different type of midfielder. Perhaps someone more like Loftus-Cheek, albeit less injury-prone. 

Are you kidding me? We have nothing like him at all. The only real ball winning DM we have is Nakamba and he is not good enough on the ball to really move us forward - and he is out injured. 

3 hours ago, Mr_Dogg said:

Where's he going to go and actually play without taking a step down? The example of Bellingham is very rare.

Agreed if he was as good as Bellingham, he would be starting now or at least get on every game. 

2 hours ago, Lerner's Driver said:

I'm not choosing to believe anything, the guy I quoted has though, if his post is anything to go by.

I am retaining an open mind on the likelihood that Jack will leave because it definitely could happen.

That's not negative, it's realistic based on what has happened with other players in other clubs before.

I have not chosen to believe anything. I am just sick and tired of all the fans saying "he is off" based on stupid rumors. 

31 minutes ago, Lerner's Driver said:

Absurd, ridiculous statement.

'Negative' fans are protecting themselves from what... the criticism from 'positive' fans like you, who haven't 'given up'?!

And how have you not 'given up'... by passionately believing the opposite?

You can believe whatever you like, we all can, but it makes no difference at all. 

If Jack wants to leave and he is fully entitled to do so, then he's off. Same as for every other player since Bosman.

I'm not saying it's definite, I don't know any more than you do, but don't waste your time 'getting pissed' at fellow fans for being negative when they are just observing what has happened before and could well happen again.

 

How it is absurd or ridiculous? for the past 3 years we have seen tons of posts saying "he is off", "bye bye Jack" etc. Based on what exactly? That is right nothing really. And yes I am speculating that people take this approach to protect themselves from hoping and then feel hard done by if he ever left. 

But the fact is that for all we know he could stay or he could go. However what is very clear is that we don't want to sell and even the Bosmann ruling can't force anyone to sell - just have a look at the Dortmund/Man U and Sancho situation. 

If there is no release clause in Jack's contract, and I think we would have heard about it now, then I can't see him leave as a combination of two reasons. 

1. He is worth more than we could get for him for us. There is no way we can get a world class player without Europe and he is our biggest marketing pull. Also he is good for 10-20 points more a season for us. In short unless someone offers us 300m ish it is not a really good deal. 

2. Jack loves Villa like us and I don't see him rocking the boat this season, if any. 

But I still hate all the stories that come out, and I get pissed with all the negative fans who try to protect themselves by being giving up and accepting defeat. 

1 hour ago, villalad21 said:

101 pages for a player we haven't even signed.

Hilarious.

Go back and look for Defoe........

18 hours ago, romavillan said:

Only the Jan window once we get through this one though right?

Not that I know anything, but I would guess it is a full 2 year clause. If so it should run out next summer. 

We seem to be able to hold on to promising players, and sign a few ones as well. This is starting to look like a trend and players will notice.