AlwaysAVFC

Im just glad we are looking at the continent tbh. Far better players out there than the likes of Austin or Ade!

Yes hypothetically the whole scenario could have been a lot different with no clause. There would be a good chance Benteke would have ended up trying to force a move which would have made the whole thing a lot messier. It may of still happened if Liverpool didn't want to pay the full amount but a £32.5 million clause was a realistic amount & helped make it more straight forward. So all in all the clause worked out well, if you can call losing Benteke well.

Personally if he is to start I think it should only be right back, if he can just improve the defensive side of his game a little (easy said) he would be very good there. I just don't think he has enough in his game to push for a start anywhere else. He could play on the wing but he'd need to be a hug the touch line winger and that doesn't really fit in with the likely formations and he doesn't really take on players, his runs are about space, pace and timing which he utilises quite well at right back.

Sorry.

Admittedly there has been few things to be positive about, but I do hope it's just the Villa you're so negative about.

Seeing just the negatives and not the positives that are there, isn't being realistic.

Not massively involved but looking good

I have a spare ticket if anyone is interested

Hope this guy lives up to my expectations because I think bar benteke, it's the best signing of perhaps the last decade and could be what keeps us in the prem imo.

I think your account has been hacked!

Igunana go out on a limb here and say Richard doesn't know anything. I read last summer him saying how huge things were happening and he was very positive and it was just the same old crap.

And I'm not writing him off

Is that not what you've been doing for the last week or 2? It's fine thinking that he won't come good and he may not, but to me saying that he's not good enough over and over is writing him off. I'm sure there are plenty who at the moment also think he won't do much but are willing to give him more than 14 or so appearances to make up their mind.

I'm thinking of of going as its only a short train ride for me. Hopefully will get in the away end, I had to get a ticket in home end for the cup game the other season and like a nob couldn't stop myself and celebrated the late winner, luckily for me nothing happened. At least if I have to go in the home end tomorrow its a bit more low key and I should be able to contain myself. 

Just been retweeted my Midge Ure. Oddly satisfying.

 

I once had a DM from Steve Froggatt on Twitter. It just said 'lol' but made me feel good

Shaun Teale once DM'd me to say I'd been hacked. None of my mates could be arsed to let me know.

I hope we include a sell on clause in the deal as i expect his time at Plop will be brief.

I doubt we're in a position to add a sell on clause unless we accepted less than the £32.5m

It looks like it's possibly a pre contract discussion story to me, leaked by his agent to make sure he maximise what he can get out of Liverpool.

Tim Sherwood is lining up a move for Belgian striker Obbi Oulare to fill Christian Benteke’s giant boots.

Aston Villa spies in Bruges have been watching the 6ft 5in 19-year-old and contact has been made about a possible £7million deal.

Sherwood is keen on Emmanuel Adebayor, too, whose Spurs side are also eyeing Oulare.

The criticism for the club should be that we allowed the situation to get to a point where delph could demand such a low release clause. The club had to agree to it, they were stupid with the PR and the way it was revealed to the fans.

We've been so bad for a while now, for all we know we've been trying to sort a contract for the last 2 years. I'd sympathise with anyone with ambition not wanting to commit themselves for another 3/4/5 years as it has been. It's only nearly a year since Fox joined he may well have had no chance of getting Delph signed up.

Agreed on the whole PR and stuff it was a bit stupid, though the increase in positive atmosphere around the club partly down to this, may have got us over the line to stay up. That plus the £8m is just about the only positive you can squeeze out of it though.

I feel sorry for all the young kids who have just bought the new shirt with his name on.

10/07/15

"Who are these f**kers I've basically just given Villa £8m and the fans are calling me a word removed. I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget. Give me a week and watch this space"

17/07/15

Ha ha!

Would rumours of exclusivity really stop someone else enquiring? I'm not so sure. I doubt if someone wanted to buy Villa that they would not make an enquiry because there was rumours of exclusivity in the papers. They would contact Villa with their interest and see what they had to say that's if they've even read the papers or heard any rumours.

Not at all, but they would have to join the queue so to speak before any real discussion could take place.

 

Lerner hired BoA Merrill Lynch to handle the M&A aspect, and you can bet your bottom dollar they will have been working overtime to find any other parties remotely interested in buying the club, they wouldn't just be sitting there waiting the phone to ring.  Not sure if they are also providing other non M&A advice (i.e. re-structure the business, prepare for future sale, retain as a passive investment etc), if they are then it would add an entirely different dimension.

In any case likely they have been retained a small fee and will collect a % of the sale value, so any deal is worth a good few mill to them to see the club sold to somebody..

The page break didn't help but my main point was Villa not denying there was an exclusivity period is by no means confirmation that there is/was any exclusivity period.

Would rumours of exclusivity really stop someone else enquiring? I'm not so sure. I doubt if someone wanted to buy Villa that they would not make an enquiry because there was rumours of exclusivity in the papers. They would contact Villa with their interest and see what they had to say that's if they've even read the papers or heard any rumours.

Not a bad option as a back up but from what I saw last year he's not good enough to be a regular starter at this level.

That's a bit harsh he had a broken leg all of last year apart from a couple of days, not surprised he didn't look good enough

But seriously he made 14 appearances. In those games I think he did as much to think he could be a good signing as to that he won't be good enough. Either way it is far too early to make a decision, let's just hope he comes back at the level he was and then see what he can do.

In contrast I rate Dzeko but much better than Benteke?

I've been out all day. Found out about him staying from someone's phone during the day but that's it. Do we know why the sudden reversal (besides the Mat Kendrick tweet above)? Seems very strange that all the media would go with it only for him to announce he's staying.

A conspiracy.

As DDID said, I'd like to know what conspiracy?

Useless suggested it was all a PR exercise by Villa. Well there was a 50/50 chance it was all planned by Villa I suppose.

Doesn't really make much sense to me. What does the club gain from it? It's not like he's signed a new contract or anything.

Of course not, there's no chance that is what happened. Well I suppose there is a 50/50 chance.

Maybe Delph was sent in as a spy to check on Man City by our new owners. The £8m clause didn't exist it was just used a trap give Delph an in to do his stuff and return home the hero.

Delph was rumbled before he got into the Etihad so it now looks like we have a mole, Richards and Sinclair are being interrogated as we speak.

I think that sounds much more plausible.

I've been out all day. Found out about him staying from someone's phone during the day but that's it. Do we know why the sudden reversal (besides the Mat Kendrick tweet above)? Seems very strange that all the media would go with it only for him to announce he's staying.

A conspiracy.

As DDID said, I'd like to know what conspiracy?

Useless suggested it was all a PR exercise by Villa. Well there was a 50/50 chance it was all planned by Villa I suppose.

So many mixed feelings. The club haven't done great, with the big deal signing the contract and the recent marketing it may be Delph saying those things but it will be the club who have pushed for that to be done.

The plus side is of course he could have left for free but it's hard to take that as any sort of compensation as a fan right now.

I actually think he will actually push on with his career now and become top class player and won't rot on the bench. Not sure if I hope I am wrong or not.