dukes

To be fair i wasn't referring to the no option to buy part. Clearly Gregg Evans is reading the forum though. In totally unconnected news, I don't often get ITK information, but I just bumped into a guy who said Villa were going to buy Ars Bandeet from FC Cuntum of Guinea-Bissau. take with a pinch of salt.

Is TrentVilla Gregg Evans ?

Some school kids reading between the lines and letting their imaginations roam free.

So what was Gabby going on about on Wednesday night in the tweet that got deleted ? Was it not Villa related ? I can't see a situation where we don't sign anyone. We need a Striker, a CM and a left Winger as a minimum, since Engels seems to either never be fit or never be in favour an experienced backup CB is probably needed too, but we could crawl through to January without. I can see us using the loan market for a couple of signings and perhaps buying a few from Denmark or who have been scouted by Lange to top up what we have.

IS Lucas Torreira unreasonable as a DM option ? Not wanted by Arsenal it seems and looked pretty decent at the beginning of last season. Possible loan to buy ?

Or proof that he is close to the hierarchy and was prepared to put fake news out there on the promise of a few scoops.

And to think my wife says men don't understand how bad a period is, 8 in 2 seasons could indicate he's going through the change though, so I think we should look elsewhere..... Probably would upset dressing room harmony.

I think this could come back and bite us on the arse. Not brilliant for us, but he was thrown in at the deep end after arriving from a poorer league. It takes top players many months to adjust to the strength and pace of the Premier league, a luxury that due to our predicament he wasnt afforded. Came, tried his best, scored a decent goal, and i think would have done a decent job off the bench for us this season.

One thing is for certain given how Mourinho treated Luke Shaw, Sessegnon is unlikely to be his kind of player.

Still Belgium manager AFAIK.

Yes but that's an issue between Man City and Aston Villa, and not between Luiz and Aston Villa so does not affect his contract talks. I guess whatever we agree with Luiz, may affect how he feels about returning to them though.

Not Steve Stride then. Good!!!

If we still have money then I'd like to get a CM in, I'd rather that Lansbury was knowhere near the first team. I would also like Benteke back as I think being back here would give him the boost he needs, he would offer something very different to Watkins and could help Davis bring his game on. I can't see us spending £20M on a reserve striker and it's clear Watkins will be first choice, and also I have a feeling Wesley will come good when there is less pressure on him. I think we are OK at CD, but it would be good if we could bring in someone older to guide the younger players when Mings inevitably gets injured.

I really hope this is not Steve Stride, why on earth would he want to tarnish his relationship with the fans by getting involved with this kind of shit.... It never ends well.

Smith and Lange.....we don't know what they are capable of until we give them a chance. Smith might not have the big name that you're looking for, but what more could you have asked from him ? He got us up, and kept us up. He held on to Grealish. I would agree that if Smith were Brentford manager now, and Villa were where we are now , but with a need for a new manager then Smith would be highly unlikely to be appointed, but surely that's testament to the good job he has actually done since he came here ? For the record, before lockdown i wanted Smith out, and a bigger name in, but he steadied the ship, and kept us up so surely he has earnt the chance to develop further as a manager here for now at least ? I would expect that following two summers and £200M being spent if we are in the relegation zone at Christmas then Smith will be gone. Whether at this stage of our development we could attract a manager of similar ilk to Ancelotti is a different thing all together. Before Ancelotti, we were probably 2 or 3 seasons of careful investment behind Everton, you can't compare the two teams, as for Leeds i have no idea how they were able to convince Bielsa to go there, and without him their squad is not at our level.

I'm not sure there's any evidence to suggest that Purslow doesn't like to be questioned. There's plenty of reasons why people don't get on, and we are not party to the internal mechanics at Villa. My guess is Suso has a history of bringing in players that are older and more established, and Lange is better at bringing in players for development...but it's just a guess. Suso's contract was up, perhaps the board a sa collective felt he'd done what he could and a different direction was needed. Whats wrong with that ? It doesn't need to be that there is a vendetta against soemone. While nobody is above reproach, i struggle to see what Purslow and the owners have done wrong since they arrived ? The club has been and remains on an entirely upward trajectory.

I certainly haven't said Purslow is a problem. Football Clubs need driven, ambitious people at every level. Strong characters bang heads occasionally. Its just the way of the world.

Last summer we signed :- Mings, El Ghazi, Hause all of who were tried and tested in the championship for us, and all of who most were happy to sign. Heaton, Target who most agreed added much needed quality Wesley, Luiz, Engels, Konsa, Nakamba, Trezeguet who in my opinion all contributed enough to consider them decent. Luiz after Lockdown, was exceptional. and Jota who Smith knew and at £2M plus Gardner was worth a punt, and i doubt Suso had much to do with. The work had to be done, players needed to be added and the first season in the Premier League is always tough for any player from abroad, as is the step up from Championship to Premier League. Personally i think his hit rate last summer was pretty good, if we were to sell those players now, i suspect we'd make a decent profit (with the possible exception of Wesley and Jota). The problem was that in January Samatta for £8M, Baston for free and Drinkwater on Loan, contributed next to nothing. Reina did very well, and i suspect Suso was a big part of the reason he came here. £8M wasn't much of an outlay, and i suspect that had more to do with FFP than anything else. With such a low spend though it's hard to really knock Suso, and i still think Samatta could come good if theres less pressure on him. I think Suso's downfall must have been his relationship with Purslow more than the players that were bought in, i have no idea if Lange will last, or indeed if Lange can attract the higher calibre of player that we will need going forward if we are able to establish ourselves, but i do trust the board and i do expect they'll make the tough decisions (including dispensing of Lange if needs be) that will be needed if we're to achieve their dream of competing European football

How on earth anyone can judge Lange's transfer performance before a ball has been kicked is beyond me. How anyone can judge his performance before the players have even been announced is just so Villa !

Get a grip man ! It's Villa, Stella, Balti !! Try that as your mantra and forget this romantic nonsense.

You do know that freeing unwanted players on contracts usually means paying up their contract? So in terms of freeing up wages it does not help unless you can afford to take a hit in one year

Well by all accounts he was definitely a target for us last year, so we must have designs on someone much better.

33 is nothing for a goalkeeper, most are just coming into their prime. Romero has done it for longer, he was immense at Sampdoria, and has been great for Man U when called upon. Anyway if we're seriously considering spending close to £20M on a keeper it signals 2 things to me. 1. We are definitely not done spending, and can see us spending similar to last year (but on less players with more quality). 2. Heaton's injury must be worse than thought and there are obviously doubts about his ability to play at the top level long-term.

If the price is really that high, would prefer Romero at half the price (reportedly).

Well exactly this, he had no business being in the Holte end, particularly for away games.