JPAngel

Nice little snippet from RDM on the OS

Those two typos on the official announcement are really bugging me...

I think we all know how that ended up when Krulak joined VT...

Same here. @BOF that is an absolute tease.

Anyway.... When is this takeover going to be announced? Have we signed Zidane yet?

Wasn't the original point finishing 12th with the current squad?

Just a troll. Read the rest of his tweets, he's an absolute idiot.

Ravel is a huge talent but I echo what others have said above and I've heard nothing but bad things about him off the pitch. However, part of this new-look Villa lies with us as fans too. We need to trust that the club and it's staff are doing the right things and if RDM and Clarke believe that he's a good signing and is ready to knuckle down then I have faith in their judgement. If someone as experienced as Ferdinand said that Pogba couldn't even get close to him at United then he must have the ability to kick us on. We need to remember where we are now and we might just need to polish a few gems to get back to where we belong.

SkySports running the story now as well:

Have we been liquidated?

Hmmmmm...

@dont_do_it_doug. @DeadlyDirk As long as I can use a blanket to cover the penetration...

I just want an official interview with XIa and RDM and I'll be happy, I swear.

Yeah but even Young and Milner went for nowhere near what they were worth!

Have we ever got good value for selling on any of our players since Lerner arrived? I feel like we pay high prices and get low sell on fees for everyone. Other than Downing and maybe Benteke we let our boys go for pennies!

I would absolutely love for him to come back into the first team. As others have mentioned above, the parallels drawn between overcoming adversity for both parties is uncanny and for him to help drag us back into the BPL would be amazing. The fan response alone would be worth giving him a shot. Having him back in the dressing room would be inspirational.

Do people think that once the takeover is signed off by the BPL/FL the signings will just start rolling in? I haven't been this excited for a transfer window in bloody ages! I'd love for us to sign at least a couple I've people I've heard of this year and you'd hope that with Dr. X's apparent wealth, this could be a reality. I've had enough Lowtons, Bowerys, Westwoods and Bacunas to last a bloody lifetime

That article was a fantastic read. I wasn't hugely fussed about Massimo until now! It's so refreshing to know that we've got such sound knowledge behind the scenes on a coaching level - it's importance could not possibly be overlooked, this season especially.

For those who don't want to translate, the above is just a statement about Steve Clarke's arrival and his career thus far.

Hey, why don't you tell us how you really feel!

Therein lies the choice RDM has to make. Glad I'm not in his shoes . I don't think affording him the time to perform is an issue if Xia is to be believed and I do think he's a good option to have on bench as I said earlier. I say keep him for another season and give him a chance as he's at least performed in this division before. With Ayew leaving and Kozak likely broken, it's probably worthwhile.

@sne He's a target man, if the ball is being passed around in front of him on the ground he can't get in to positions where he's effective. If the ball isn't being put out wide and crossed in, he's pretty much useless. I'd love to see some stats on balls crossed into the box or even matches where we've had actual wingers on the pitch.

Perhaps not all the time but I think he's a dynamite option to have. We've seen how effective a "big man, little man" combo can be in the past and as someone to chuck on to give us an outlet/battering ram up top he can't be a bad choice. Imagine, knackered opposition defenders, 85th minute, on comes Gestede... That's a nightmare scenario for them if we use him correctly.

Precisely the reason we're using him all wrong and that's probably why he's a target man. There's a reason why he did this:

Nail on head. I think we underestimate Gabby's pull in foreign countries as well. He's been a premier league player for a long time and his surname is hardly forgettable. We have to remember that Liam Ridgewell is a top player in the MLS at the moment and even has his own signature celebration - "The Ridgy Roll" *shudder*.