tylerreznik

I think he'll get a chance, I really think his lack of english was a big part of Sherwood not picking him. Given the position we were in, I imagine Sherwood wanted to a) motivate the players, and ensure they were following instructions mid match, on both parts you'd have to think Gill would have been on the outer within the team in terms of communication. Even blind freddy can see Gil offer more than Znogbia, I just can't believe Sherwood is so blind / pigheaded / stupid to continue playing Nzogbia while not at least giving Gil a chance. As other note, Wilkins being a fresh pair of eyes could also help his cause. Finger crossed anyway, seeing him int he first XI would also be like a new signing.

I very much doubt there is a policy in place to prevent any new signings, would be suicide for the club if there were, we could miss out on targets etc, and if sale dragged on could be left with mere weeks or even days to conclude any transfers. More likely we have a transfer budget (both transfer fee and wages) set and it's simply business as usual as long as as prospective signings fall within that budget. In any case the club has worked really hard to put professional structures in place, starting with Fox and Reilly, if any of that structure changes dramatically following a takeover I'd be seriously worried, i.e. Reilly leaves and some clown of the likes of Redknapp or Kinnear come in as consultant / director of football / recruitment etc, sadly it happens all often at other clubs and never ends well. Absolute best case following a takeover nothing changes except an increased budget for player purchases. I believe Reilly and team have a heap of well researched targets both within current budget and out of current budget. Also last thing you want from a new owner is direct involvement in player recruitment, i.e. i don't him, I've always liked him etc, we pay professionals to make those judgements....

I think he'll have to carried out kicking and screaming, way too comfortable and knows he's on a fantastic wicket...

Even if the Delph 10 mill clause is true (I doubt we're hearing the full story), I really couldn't see him moving to Man City. He's proven himself to have a half a brain and clearly enjoys being captain and playing week in week out, move to Man City and he'll be lucky to make 10-15 starts per year, any young english player moving there to fill in the quota deserves everything they get.... Plus the Mirror is worse than muck, it's whole MO is to make up fantasy land nonsense like this Honestly if his intention was to leave this summer (or in the near future) and just signed a contract to give something back to club after looking after him when injured and giving him a platform to make the england team, why would he have signed for 4.5 years? That part just doesn't compute, if that were his intention i would have expected 2.5 year contract max, giving the club time to find a buyer or he walks for free with no feeling of guilt. If however there is a clause saying 'if we are relegated' he can leave for 10 mill, then that I would absolutely believe and would make perfect sense, would also make sense that the Mirror would conveniently leave that little detail out as it makes a huge sensation become a complete non story.... If Stoke really have rejected an all cash offer of 10 mill for Begovic they are deluding themselves. 1. Player wants to leave 2. In final year of contract, his value is decreasing every day he isn't sold 3. 10 mill for a keeper at his level is great money, and that's before factoring in the final year of contract 4. If he is still at the club in Jan you can pretty much guarantee he'll sign a contract with overseas club and they'll get $0 5. I don't see a huge queue of clubs in for him, not as if they can spark a bidding war

Awesome signing if it happened. Guzan is a nice guy and it's really satisfying to see him progress the way he has, but I think everyone agrees his distribution is poor to terrible, as good a shot stopper as he is, his poor distribution will always hold us back as a team. Begovic would be a significant upgrade by all measures.

My fear is this behaviour is indicative of his personality, takes a lot more than just raw talent to succeed at the top level these days, how many young players show great promise, believe the hype and either disappear or grind out an average career. I really hope and pray he and his mates don't think he has 'made it' already, as the reality is he's a kid with great potential but has achieved pretty much nothing, he has a lot more hard work ahead of him if he is to realise his full potential. I don't begrudge him time to unwind post season, but honestly he needs to mature / smarten up quickly and really think about the situations he puts himself in, even more so now he is a prime tabloid target. And how many young school kids look up to him already? Get p!ssed by all means but don't flaunt it in pathetic selfie pictures dude or pass out in the street...

I think at this stage of his career / development he'd be much better served staying for one or two more seasons, guaranteed to start week in week out, and the team will be tailored to play to his strengths. Realistically he is not up to the standard yet where he would be starter / first choice at a top four prem or equivalent european team, while at Spurs and Liverpool he'll have to fight against Kane / Sturridge for top billing, and I could see him slipping out of sight pretty quickly at either if he had a barren run. And he's really not going to be any closer to 'winning' anything tangible at those clubs either, best case he gets to play Champions League 'if' either can nick a top 4 spot (unlikely right now). Ideally he signs a new contract, gets paid bigger $$$, makes him 'happier', we up the 32.5 min fee to 50 mill, he spends two more years with us, scores 20+ goals each year, we sell him for 50 mill+ in two years. Everyone wins

Commitment to Villa aside I just couldn't see him signing for Man City in a month of sundays... After the Ireland + cash debacle I'd be super wary of any swap deals, way better to get maximum cash value when selling players and reinvest how we see fit. Borini's true value is 4-5 mill max, not really much if any better than Weimann... Also even at 25 mill all cash, we'd really struggle to recruit anybody to fill his shoes, no-one is indispensable but in our current fragile state we should be building a new team around Delph, just too big a gap to plug with the squad we have right now.

haha yeah really makes me wonder what the hell would players like Nzogbia be doing if they didn't make it as footballer...

I find it quite interesting how Westwood has become such a polarising player, personally I think he is solid and fills an important role, never going to set the world on fire but I'd certainly keep him around. I'll be happy if the remaining few fringe players / failed experiments are all shipped out (3 down, Luna, Tonev etc to follow), Senderos & Cole while good pros that may mentor the kids, really add little and wouldn't be missed. Then the likes of Westwood, Richardson are 'upgraded' with truly better players for the first XI and drop in squad positions. Sadly I fear N'Zogbia will still be around year, and Gabby looks untouchable, for me they are the two that really optimise the 'loser' tag. Gabby is a delicate topic, local lad done good etc but if we really want to change the mentally of the club he'd deadset be the first I'd get rid of, too much baggage.

I always felt his lack of English was perhaps the delimited factor for why he didn't get any playing time, he also seems quite a timid character, at a time when Sherwood was obviously trying to reshape the playing style and motivate the team as a unit it would make sense why he was left on the outer. I hope and pray he gets a chance during the pre season to make an impression and / or Sherwood take more risks r.e. player selection next season, would be a real shame to see him leave, and I reckon we'd be extremely lucky to find somebody with similar skill / potential for similar money money. I'd prefer to see him given a chance over Z'nogbia every day of the week.....

@useless Not necessarily, sounds more like standard cost cutting, and makes sense if Randy's intention is to sell he would want to trim any non essential costs in the interim period, if anything it would suggest a sale is not imminent and he is slimming down non core operations as he will be paying the bills for the foreseeable future. I truly hope the club is set-up as a real business, if so then yes it absolutely should be business as usual, a budget should be place, the recruitment team should have a big list of players to pursue (both within and out of current budget), ditto for the players that are to moved on.

Little sad to see him go, he always tired and I love to see kids progress from the academy through to the first team, but he has really suffered from being played out of position on the wing, move suits everybody and as others have said played centrally up front he should score plenty in the Championship. He still has his best years ahead of him, I wish him well.

Huddlestone would be a decent addition to the squad, nothing more though. 5 mill is crazy money, he was signed by Hull for 5 mill, and hasn't really shown much to suggest he's worth more now, plus in final year of his contract, on prem league wages at a smaller club that will be desperate to cull costs as they prepare for life in the Championship, I would assume has very little interest of playing in that League so Hull really aren't in a great bargaining position, can't imagine more than a handful of other clubs interested in him either. 3 mill plus perhaps some addons sounds more reasonable.

G'day all, Long time 'lurker', first time poster here. Born in Sutton, emigrated to Sydney many moons ago, now based in Hong Kong via stints in Singapore and Tokyo. Boyhood memories of watching Tony Daley rampage down the wing from the North Stand with my old man are still as vivid as ever, though sadly over 20 years since I've managed to visit VP. Fav players over the years are Platt, Ian Taylor, McGraph, Yorke, Bosnich, Hitzlsperger, Laursen + Melberg Still follow the Villa as closely as I can on tv / media, heartbroken after the cup final debacle, but and cautiously optimistic that the tide is about to turn and we can challenge at top end again. Cheers