millbrook85

That's my one major concern over him; his ego. He does seem to think he's vastly better than he actually is. I remember he was constantly touting alleged moves to Arsenal and the like whenever his Newcastle-form dipped, and yet none of the big boys came calling.

I think he'd be good for us, but almost equally as frustrating.

Good but equally frustrating? Sound like he's already Villa through-and-through!

I just don't think we'll let him leave. He still has a couple of years left on his contract, so we don't absolutely have to sell this summer if we're determined not to. He has already said he'll put his head down and play hard if he stays, and I don't doubt that's the case. He will need to impress if he wants to earn a move, anyway.

I think after the managerial mess, the board will be determined to show some resolve on this one.

The fact they are finding this so hard and complicated tells you something in my opinion.

"Fact"?

Media opinion - no more no less

No the generals opinion actually, it's not as simple as going to buy a Balti pie to phrase it in the generals patronising way.

You can accept that,fine. But employing a new manager should not be complicated. Al fayed doesn't have a problem and he's a complete looney.

Well, since Randy came in, we've finished above Fulham every year except for this one. What does that tell you? Perhaps we should give our ownership the benefit of the doubt here.

Tim Abraham:-

More in @ExpressandStar on Wednesday but #AVFC could well appoint their new man before the weekend...If not sooner.

This seems to suggest that it will be Hughes. I would prefer Moyes - mostly because I think Hughes is a bit of a climber and because Moyes has done more on a limited budget - but I wouldn't mind Hughes.

Asked whether the Frenchman's plans would determine Downing's future at Villa Park, the former Middlesbrough man was clear, adding: "I have enjoyed working with Martin O'Neill, Kevin McDonald, Gary McAllister and Gerard Houllier so it doesn't influence my decision at all if he stays or goes."

Great to see player loyalty in full effect again!

Well, except for the fact that he's still phrasing the whole thing in terms of "[his] decision." When he gave his quotes a few weeks ago about staying no matter what, I don't think there was any "decision" to speak of.

It's hard to believe that he's being written off so soon. It's worth remembering that our best player last season, James Milner, took at least half a season to settle. It's the same thing with Bradley - he's barely had any time to make an impact - give him a chance!

And to bring it back on topic, I don't think Benitez would be my first choice, but I also think he would be a good appointment. If we're looking for managers who have won honors, then he fits the bill.

i'll agree to disagree fran

But you can't disagree on matters of fact. You said they haven't won anything in the last 30-40 years, but the fact is that they have won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, 2 FA Cups, and 2 League Cups in the past ten years alone.

I'm proud to be a Villa fan rather than a Liverpool fan, but you simply can't argue that they haven't won more than we have.

Impressive but Moyes and Big Sam have never managed big clubs like Liverpool and Inter Milan so it's to be expected that Rafa would have won more trophies.

Please give it up on Big Sam. I somewhat understand being interested in an English manager, but we shouldn't sacrifice quality for nationality. Big Sam is nothing more than mediocre, and appointing him is the best way to ensure we always finish between 7th and 12th (ha!).

He's managed several different Premier League clubs and has been sacked each time. I would be more upset with us hiring him than I would be with any other imaginable appointment.

I don't see how it's anyone other than Moyes if he's available. He's clearly the option for us because he's experienced but still young and he has experience working on a budget but will have more money here.

From last Sunday to today, what a shit week to be a Villa supporter.

I don't know why everybody is so surprised at Delph at left back. We knew he'd have to play there as Collins, Cuellar and Baker are all injured.

Not so much surprised as interested to see how he will do against a team that will presumably be more willing/able to go at him.

I can see us line up like

--------------Friedel

Herd --- Dunne -- Clark --- Delph;

----Bannan - Petrov - Bradley

Delfouneso --------- Agbonlahor,

------------- Heskey

I would guess that Bannan will be in front of Petrov and Bradley in a 4-2-1-3 kind of formation. Or perhaps 4-2-1-2-1. Is that a thing?

Walker is on the bench, so I presume he's being rested for the weekend. It's pretty clear GH is prioritizing the league.

I'm excited to see Bradley, Bannan, and Delf in. Also, I'm intrigued by Delph as a left back.

VILLA: Friedel; Herd, Dunne, Clark, Delph; Bannan, Petrov, Bradley, Agbonlahor, Delfouneso, Heskey.

Very interesting/strange.

Disappointing performance - we played a very sloppy game. A draw was a fair result based on the balance of play, but we shouldn't have given up the lead twice like that.

Downing MOTM. He was our most threatening player and put the ball in for the first goal.

I think we could have gone a bit stronger than that. Oh, well - hopefully it will be enough.

Guzan

Beye Davies Clark Warnock

Coker Bannan

Albrighton Downing Delfouneso

I like the same line up in this formation.

---------------------Guzan------------------------

Beye--------Davies--------Clark--------Warnock

--------------------Reo Coker--------------------

Albrighton--------------------------------Downing

---------------------Bannan----------------------

--------------Heskey-------Delfouneso----------

That should do it. It's a shame we don't have a reserve left back, though. Warnock has to play just about every game.

Very interesting. Milner and Albrighton start along with Luke Young. I like the team. Sidwell must be off since he hasn't even made the bench today and the likes of Bannan and Lichaj have.

VILLA: Friedel; L Young, Dunne, Clark, Warnock; Albrighton, Petrov, Milner, Downing; A Young, Carew. Subs: Weimann, Bannan, Lichaj, Heskey, Guzan, Beye, Reo-Coker.

To be fair to us, Milner doesn't have a lot to complain about as far as his valuation goes. It may be higher than Manchester City wants to pay, but we are supposedly offering him a new contract that would bring his salary in line with our asking price. It's not the same situation as he had at Newcastle, who were putting a big transfer fee on him but refusing to offer him a new contract with improved terms.

Mancini on SSN that he still hopeful on signing Milner.

I wish he would shut up and stop talking about our player. This really is the same thing that happened to Everton with Lescott last season, and that hurt them. Why don't we do what we did with Barry and set a deadline so that we can move on with our preseason preparations?

James Milner had very good reasona to want to leave Newcastle for Villa but he only has one reason to leave City for Villa, and that's money. There is a difference. I wouldn't mind if Milner left Villa for Chelsea or Man U.

He left Newcastle for Villa mainly due to money. He wanted a new contract with a higher wage and Newcastle wouldn't give it to him.

I like Milner a lot as a player (and he seems like a really decent guy as well), but let's not make him some kind of footballing saint. Just because he works hard and gives 100% effort doesn't mean he's immune to realistic concerns. He's been at three clubs by the age of 24, so he's clearly willing to move if he feels it will progress his career.

Right, got you. I wasn't aware that by "attempt to unsettle our player" you meant "bid for him".

Anyway, you completely missed the point. I was quoting somebody who said that it is our fault if we don't sign him for not meeting your price demands. I rebutted with the fact that the price demands are astronomical for Milner and you have effectively priced him out of a move.

Personally, I really want him as I've rated him since his Newcastle days, but most City fans are of the impression that they could take him or leave him. We have players such as Ireland who can play in the centre and do a good job for us, so the need for Milner is negligible if we keep Ireland. He isn't this type of player that we will do anything to sign, as you can tell by the way that we've conducted business. If we wanted Milner desperately, we would have paid the £6m difference and signed him immediately.

As I said, the reports of £24m is more than fair for Milner in my view and if Villa try to hold out for £30m I can't see us taking the deal.

Let's say he does stay and you sell him next season for £12m. Is the £12m loss of revenue really worth it? And for what exactly?

I really don't think I have missed the point. It's absolutely Man City's fault if they don't end up with the player.

You can't have it both ways. You can't both claim that you haven't unsettled the player and claim that we're risking keeping an unhappy player who was not unhappy until you started making noise about signing him. You've unsettled him; there are no two ways about it. You have Mancini, Shay Given, and Patrick Viera all on television talking about how they would love to have him at Manchester City in addition to talk from whomever about some impending second bid. I realize that this is part and parcel of the transfer game these days, as our players have also responded to questions about other teams' players, but you can't publicly conduct this business, trying to pressure us into a deal, and then imply that we are somehow holding him back.

I don't know what our asking price is exactly, but I want to be clear - I don't think James Milner is worth 30 million pounds in this or any universe. I wouldn't blame Man City in the slightest for not paying it. On the other hand, we have the right to demand whatever price we want for him because we are not willing participants in this particular transaction. If we were holding out for a ridiculous sum for a player like Steve Sidwell, whom we are pretty clearly open to selling, then I would take your point; however, this is a player we would have had no intention of selling until we were dragged into a negotiation against our will by Manchester City.

I think our manager and our board are interested in letting people know that they don't intend to be bullied. We took a loss on Gareth Barry to prove this point, and I would not be surprised to see us take a loss on James Milner to reinforce it. It appears from statements coming out from our board that we are more concerned about our finances from a wages perspective rather than a transfer fee perspective, so I'm not sure they're too worried about losing money if we have to sell Milner next summer.

I've read many of your posts in this forum, Damocles, and I think you're generally a very level-headed guy who puts up with some of the less polite postings you get on the forum with a lot of class. I hope you know that the people who make racial slurs against your owners don't represent everyone on here.

I just think your postings on the Milner topic seem to have a touch of the arrogance that can come with being able to afford to buy anyone you want.

Why this down to us? We've said how much we'll pay, and it's a good, fair price for Milner. You guys can either drop the price to be more realistic (unless you seem to think that Milner is worth £30m) or can keep an unhappy player and we'll turn our attentions towards Arteta or Ramires?

Of course it's down to you. When he joined us two years ago, the player signed a contract stating he would play for us for four years in exchange for a certain salary. We are only two years into that contract, so he has two more years to fulfill it. We want him to keep playing for us, so if you want him you'll have to pay whatever price we have set. Otherwise, he will stay with us. By all accounts he's a model professional, so I am not at all concerned about 'keeping an unhappy player.'

It's the height of arrogance for Man City to swoop in, attempt to unsettle our player, and then criticize us for keeping him against his will. He is contracted to us!