hippo

Official Nickname has always been the villians - due to polictal correctness this has taken a low profile - I will be interested in the generals feedback - as to whether this gets re born.

Official Nickname has always been the villians - due to polictal correctness this has taken a low profile - I will be interested in the generals feedback - as to whether this gets re born.

I voted 8th - 10th - I think we will start poorly - but then MON will be forced to drop his favourite sons, Heskey, Cuellar, - and play some of the young guns. I also think that this will be MON'S last season. Don't think Randy will sack him - I think he may walk.

I have the same dilema - the team that goes out saturday - will be much the same as the one that finished last season. logically expect similar results. I really think we will struggle to score goals.

But keep your season ticket.

We signed Heskey - I beleive he is a libility to the team - hence the glut of goals since he has not been in the first team. Come up with all sorts of clever theries if you like - but I reckon we would have more points on the board had we not signed Heskey.

We signed Heskey - I beleive he is a libility to the team - hence the glut of goals since he has not been in the first team. Come up with all sorts of clever theries if you like - but I reckon we would have more points on the board had we not signed Heskey.

Why do we need to score 2 goals ? - a 1-0 would see us through , surley ?

How can MON Impose a deadline (not a dig - serious point)

If MON doesn't want to keep an unhappy barry - and they come up with the cash - late August - having already promised Barry he can leave - if liverpool match the fee - I really don't see what effectivley he can do - without repeating the whole charade again in January.

I reckon MON needs the funds - to finance other deals - hence the links - but no action so far

Well if you had millions at your disposal , ask yourself honestly would you be signing wayne routledge & zat knight ? - NO

If MON took the liverpool job in the summer - bet your life he wouldn't come back for those players - it would be top bracket / top fee / top wage players

Sad as it is he doesn't have the money !

We don't even seem to be able to agree fees for players - which is generally done before discussing the players salary. Although I take your point in general - I don't think we have got close to bringing someone who would command £70k per week. - because we don't seem to be in the market for this type of player. AT present we seem to be bidding for players at around £4m - these type of players do not command wages in excess of £45k per week. The worry for me is that we are still competing in the lower end of the market. I really don't think MON has the funds that some on here think he does.

I really think you are over complicating things. as you said fegie did most of his deals as soon as the season ended - always a good move in my book. Don't say say that MON targets weren't available because Harewood was available since the end of the season.

MON has come out today and said he won't pay 'silly prices' and won't 'bankrupt' the club - It used to be Mark Ansells job to say this - seems it now falls under the remit of MON - it matters not who says it - and it is a fan friendly way of saying 'we can't afford to buy big'. Despite the positives of the training ground, and 130 capacity holte hotel - it seems our clout in the transfer market has improved little - this wisdom of buying Harewood for £4.5m and selling Davis for £4m - would also make our judgement in the transfer market suspect.......but hey 'were keeping our powder dry' and 'at least were not leeds'

we have now improved our midfield, we will have gabby and luke as strikers for the whole of next season and i'm sure young players like gardner and cahill will continue to improve.

inexplicably some players won't perform next season. Young players are espeicially prone to being one season wonders - Laursen is Very injury prone to a lesser extent so is carew. Graham Taylor once said you will be lucky if you have six players fit and in the peak of their form at anyone time.

I can't beleive anyone can say our signings to date this close season have been a anything other than a dissapiontment. I must admitt when we were first linked with reo coker - I thought he would be a fringe player ! - then when I heard MON bigging him up, I thought ah - he's our star signing.

I can't puzzle out - where the lack of signings come from - usually a lack of signings indicate the manager doesn't have the funds available - not always. However we have been assurred that the manager has a significant war chest - so it seems he has chosen not to use it. I would guess that lack of european football is the main reason. West Ham with all the millions - have only attracted similar players to villa - so that theory makes some sense.

without much foundation, I also beleive MON has misjudged this transfer window - he was nowhere when Bent joined spurs - and Harewood was available all summer - but MON left it until the very last minute. Apparently he likes to work like this - much as I have respect him - this seems a particulary dumb tactic. I m not expecting a big signing now - as I said earlier NRC is our 'big' signing of the summer.

For all this - I have hunch - that next season will be great one for villa - 4th place I reckon.