Super Jonno

Cavanda's played a lot for Lazio this season it seems and they're 2nd in the league - is he really a realistic target?

He has played quite a bit but they prefer Konko at RB, who has been great and radu has just returned from Injury so he wont be a starter for them at LB. I would say its a realistic signing.

Absolute bollox do we need Karl Henry, I'd rather not sign anyone than that useless shite.

He has bite though

and thats about it.

I know we need a physical presence in the middle of the park, lets ask Vinnie Jones to come out of retirement. Or some thug released from prison, because they will add bite into our side

Baffled. Cannot believe some people actually think Henry would be a good move for us.

simple..karl henry would add some bite in the middle,he may not be good enough but its all about the team..we need a player like kh,i would take kh

lol. He may not be good enough. Why would you want to bring a player in that you have admitted isnt good enough ??? It is about the team and bringing in a player who doesnt improve our quality doesnt sound like what we need at all. He fouls and tackles so on that basis he would be a good addition. There are plenty of footballers out there who can tackle ( and not foul ) and actually make a pass. Karl henry is not our answer.

you can't justify Lowton , Bennett, Westwood , Bowerey or KEA but they are all here

I can quite easily justify Westwood, and Lowton although less so. That being said what do you expect from Bowery, he was never bought into to have an instant impact this season was he ? Considering we had Bent, Benteke, Weimann and Gabby. KEA has failed to deliver so far, and the others were brought he for there potential.

If you genuinely see no potential, especially in Lowton and Westwood then ill be shocked. Bennet and Bowery again to brought in for what they could be, and none of these have less footballing ability than Karl **** Henry. you lot are crazy wanting him in, shite, wanka, cant pass but because he has a physical presence you want him. Your just showing a complete lack of understanding.

Every wolves fan i know slate him, slated him in the prem to, now all of a sudden he is our answer. come on, sort yourself out fella.

He was a vital part of wolves' midfield during their successful period in the premier league, I'd take him here no doubt

Jesus wept!!!!

Define successful ? Their success in the premiership was staying up on the last day of the season, there success mimics the exact same situation were in now. Karl Henry is slated continuously by Wolves fans, he isnt good enough for them at the moment in the championship. You cannot possible justify karl henry at the Villa.

That Liverpool game went to his head since then his finishing has been pathetic

Even if it did go to his head, which I dont think it has. How would that effect his finishing. Please stop making things up.

Why have Moussa Sissoko when you can have Dale Stephens

It makes sense

Because Sissoko costs 3.5 mill and WIlshere would cost about 20?

Maybe because Sissoko is one of the more applauded young defensive midfielders in european football. Anyone that keeps a tab on french football in the last two seasons would know how highly thought of he is. Why do people always think we can go out and get anyone !

Maybe we have gone for him, maybe he didnt want to come to us, maybe maybe maybe

Posting messages like the first one is absolutely pointless. Id love to have a player like Sissoko in but jesus christ its not as simple as championship manager 01/02.

Facts are the facts, Jan 10. No business concluded .

Disappoint.

What a wonderful post.

If the question was have we made any signings, your answer may well be correct. But considering I was picking up on your "where is the urgency remark", and shared your concern but asked whether you knew that we hadnt attempted to sign someone, or are mid way through a deal, because if you dont know that you cant question the urgency.

Also, thanks for the heads up, I never realised a fact was a fact.

That's what concerns me. We've known for ages we need reinforcements yet nothing is being done quickly enough

Where is the urgency ???

I understand your concern but you seem so sure that nothing is going on, can you enlighten me on the ins and outs of Villa at the moment. Can you confirm that we havent actually gone for a player? Can you confirm we are currently not in talks with a player ?

No you cant. Its not as simple as we need reinforcements and then bam you have them in. You draw up a shortlist and try to bring them in, if the selling club is playing hardball or doesnt want to sell you have to rethink.

Theres no need for a relegation clause in Bents contract. If we are relegated he will leave.

Very true. Although it is still not great practice from the money at Villa.

Im all for Julies gossip I just dont see the relevance of it to this transfer window. Debating that crap is pointless.

Ok, after reading a little bit of the last few pages I kind of understand. Id rather not speculate about things like that, because there is no point, no proof and at the end of the day unless the club comes out and says anything we will never find out!

The direct quote in that article could of been made up by a toddler, If indeed it is true that Relegation clauses werent included, especially in Bents contract then thats shocking. But there is zero point in discussing it!

Now back to unlikely, dreamland transfer rumours please.

Can someone please link me, or explain to me in a little detail what this whole Darren Bent / Poision / Matt Law thing is all about ? I am genuinely interested but I really dont want to sift through pages of pages of ITK arguments.

Which by the way, I dont see harm in posting ITK rumours. I hate the use of the term "ITK" but a rumour is a rumour and its interesting non the less. I keep seeing people say take ITK with a pinch of salt..... so why isnt anybody !

Weimann is worth far more than £8-10 million. That is ludicrously low! Compare his age and attributes to other strikers and the price they have sold for. Weimann is worth more than Bent. If he is a 15+ goal striker over next two years I would not sell him for less than £30 million because he has more years in him and greater resell than Van Persie.

Van Persie £30 million transfer to Man Utd aged 29.

Attributes: World Class finishing, playmaking, passing, positional awareness, ball control, set pieces, and ability to link up play. Strong heading. Hardly has a weakness so gets the top price even though he is at the ripe age of 29.

Dzeko £27 million transfer to Man City aged 25.

Attributes: World Class finishing, positional awareness, heading, and has the ability to be the target man who holds up the ball. Doesn't have as strong playmaking, passing and set piece delivery skills like Van Persie but was much younger (which adds a premium) while Van Persie was much older (which gets a discount).

Bent £20 million transfer to Aston Villa aged 27.

Attributes: World Class finishing and positional awareness. Heading ability not special. Lacks strong playmaking skills and does not have the ability to be a target man who can link up play.

Weimann £30+ million aged 21.

Attributes: World Class finishing, and positional awareness. This alone suggests he is worth more than Darren Bent, because he is younger than Darren Bent.

Weimann is better than Bent. Goal against Ipswich suggests he has great headin He also has the ability to hold ball up and link play (goal against Liverpool), and stronger passing and playmaking skills than Bent. He's not as good as Van Persie or Dzeko but it is unknown at this stage how much more he will improve - Van Persie is better at 29 than he was at 21.

Lay of the meth.......

He is far far from the finished article, which is what your suggesting by valuing him at 30 million.

Some of the statements you have made their are huge and completely unfounded.

He is a fantastic young player who could be huge for us. Lets not get carried away.

Iv watched virtually every west ham game this season, my friends a hammers fan and aslong as villa dont play same time i watch the game with him. Collins has done what he has always done. Been good at the backs against the wall heading / tackling but his positioning and passing and general mistakes are all there still. He cost them a couple of weeks back with a horror pass back.

He is shite. End of.

I agree, the money being speculated makes it less appealing. Although I have no doubts he could play for longer than 18 months. That being said IF he did wish to come, we wouldnt be offering the money that is being quoted. I just find it daft that you have people coming on a thread to just post " it aint happening".

Its hardly a big shout, its adding absolutely nothing and goes against everything I believe being a football fan should be about. Hope.

God forbid we want something good to happen to the club.

You can have hope and be realistic.

A defender similar to his quality would be great for us this season, not usually a fan of loans but bringing him in on loan wouldn be great.

**** me, Im sure people are aware its not realistic but were discussing how much of a great signing it would be, and commenting on speculation. Piss off with your it aint happening posts, your not making bold statements, its pretty obvious its a big ask.

Christ, not even allowed to talk about speculation now.

Would love to see this happen. Exactly what we need.

Same. Whether its realistic or not, this is the exact signing that would be put us on the right track. A quality defender, who would undoubtedly have the hunger to do well for us, what bigger motivation can you have than to play and help your boyhood club through a difficult period and be part of the transformation into a better side in the long term. Oh and he has the one thing that has caused an outrageous amount of debate on this site. Experience, experience in the premiership at various levels, challenging for Europe, challenging for Champions League, Challenging for the title and experience Internationally. I always thought he looked good for England in recently.

I dont buy into the reliance on Experience, quality of the player is the important thing but more often than not experienced players have the mental skills and leadership qualities that are integral to high performance. I think if there is a position where we need a little more experience, it would certainly be in defense.

Not going to happen, not worthy of a thread as it just gets up false hope And ultimately disappoint.

Can you give the CI seal of approval to all speculation threads so I dont get my hopes up please. Considering the wide spread of sources it is worthy of a thread regardless of how realistic it is. One of the best things about being a football fan is the excitement and hope, it comes part and parcel with disappointment but I wouldnt change it for the world.

If we are ever in for a good player I can presume you will just state the topic is unworthy ?

I would love us to sign a player who can genuinely take on and beat a defender on a consistent basis.

I think a main reason we are so abysmal as an attacking team is because we don't have players who can beat defenders on a consistent basis. This means we have to rely on trying to pass the ball round the opposition and we just aren't good enough to do that.

Completely agree. Someone who can drive with the ball would relieve such pressure when we are defending and would open up so much space for others to move into when attacking. A DM who is capable of that would be such an unbelievable signing.

Without these players who are capable of driving forward, taking a player on you have to have fantastic incisive passing, and we just dont have that yet.

Jonno, I am just saying no to PLAYERS I would absolutely guarantee we will not be interested in, I'm not making a comment on any transfer policy we may or may not have this January.

Cheers, I was just intrigued, you seemed very assertive and I wanted to know why

I agree, personally I cannot see any of those players playing for us, nor do I particularly want any of them. Wouldnt mind Lescott, Its just not feasible I wouldnt want ( not that we would ) the club to meet his wage demands etc.

Richard are you ruling these out due to Lambert transfer policy in the summer ? Or have you been told specifically what kind of policy we are looking to have regarding activity this window ?

Id be somewhat disappointed if we wasnt to bring in a couple of slightly older players, who have had a few seasons in the top flight, not necessarily in England, just someone who can give valuable instruction to the younger lads, calming influence, know what to do and when to do things to get the result you need.

Completely agree. I'd potentially add Agbonlahor to that list as I think he has a lot to offer still. We need 2/3 quality players in January to ensure survival and then the younger lads next year will be more experienced and Lamberts plans can come to fruition.

I still have complete confidence in our manager.

Up the Villa

I agree with you, apart from Gabby. I know you said potentially but the bloke aint good enough. I love Gabby, he works his bollocks off, loves the club, loves the fans. What isnt to like?

He distinct lack of ability and his poor footballing brain. Lets face it, without his pace he wouldnt be in the premiership. We do not want to build our team around Gabby, Its good having a local boy, villa through and through on the books but why build a team around someone who doesnt have the ability to play where we want to play.

I know you said potentially Im just saying though.

According to Soccerway.com

Gabby has scored 9 goals in a season and a half. 13 goals in two and a half seasons. Only three times in his career has he got into double figures. Im guessing Benteke will score more than Gabby has in the last 2 and a half seasons this season, for us. Thats not including the 3 he scored for Genk which would put him 1 behind gabbys total.

Problem is that, If you cant pay wages of just 40-50k to 5-6 players in the premier league then the reality of it is...

YOU WONT BE IN THE LEAGUE FOR VERY LONG!

Not entirely sure where your getting this from, or how you have came this conclusion.

Baggies have only recently extended their wage limit to around 40k mark. They are not really struggling this year. Cant imagine Stoke, Newcastle, Swansea, Everton, Fulham with more than 6 players on 55k+. They have been Premiership sides for a while now ?

On top of that high wages dont automatically equate to quality players. Yes there is a balance to find, but there are hundreds of brilliant footballers out there who dont expect 50K a week. I think RL has been scolded by paying out big transfers and wages for players that simply were not worth it. Perhaps if the opportunity arrises to sign a player who would be worth, re sale value been taken into consideration too, he may well look to offer wages around that figure to a few players. But I can kind of understand the reluctance to do so with those money draining saps still on the books.

Benyoun is injured atm, oh and he has also been at West Ham since the start of the season.

Im happy to loan in one player, but thats it. We need players who are going to fight for us, you hear about the hunger that PL wants players to have whilst at the villa.

Will any of those have any hunger or desire to really fight for Aston Villa.

Personally I cant see it. They may well want to play games, but would they want to do it where they have to fight tooth and nail?

Djourou is pretty poor, there are plenty of defenders our there to sign and hopefully we will sign one, but to loan Djourou would hack me off. Think he is off some where in Germany.

@ Hippo where did you see the Trotter quote?

That article is embarrassing. Its quotes taken from various interviews over the last week from questions that weren't directly, are you going to buy anyone this window?

Exactly. There's not a shred of evidence in that piece, nothing at all to support what he's saying. It reads like a summary of the speculation you can read on this and other sites, with a few general musings from Holman thrown in. It has no more weight than a post on this thread.

The quality of journalism has really fallen, and it's now largely a case of what they can grab from the net while sat on their arse.

Being a football Journo must be the perfect job. Aside from writing a few good articles here and there ( I used the word good loosely ) based on fact or some form of calculated opinion, you can literally make up whatever the hell you want and it sells.

Did anyone see the skysports article a few days ago titled "Lambert rules out spending" or something along those lines. Dirty bastards take everything out of context and put words in peoples mouths. **** hate the media