Player Tom Cleverley

[andyh]

For what it's worth I have a feeling he will turn us down.......

Let's hope so.

[AVFCRAMTIN]

 

Makes you wonder..

 

Not really mate.  I know what you're getting at but Alonso is a 32 yr old who will probably still be getting £100,000 a week minimum

 

I thought about it too but still, Xabi has been great even being 32 years old! Somethings telling me Cleverley is going to be a hit for us. At least I hope so..

[VillanousOne]

it amuses me that Man Utd are trying to use Cleverly as a scape goat for how crap they were last season.

 

also laughing about the fee potentially being paid when they've just blown 60 mil on Dobby from Harry Potter.

Edited August 28, 2014 by VillanousOne

[Mantis]

It doesn't make you wonder at all. There's far more to these deals than just the transfer fee.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Mantis

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

I don't know why people are getting their knickers in a twist over the price for. It's not their money.

[Spoony]

Tom Cleverley is so terribly average. No one would bat an eye if he was signing from a team that doesn't have the status of Man Utd. He isn't worth £8m. Not being negative for negative's sake, but I really don't think he is any good at all. He has never impressed me.

[Vive_La_Villa]

I actually wouldn't mind this signing. Was an England regular not long and has been another victim of Man U turning to shit. I actually thing he could probably secure a better move.

[Dodgyknees]

 

For what it's worth I have a feeling he will turn us down.......

Let's hope so.

 

 

I bet the money suddenly goes missing if this is the case.

[Condimentalist]

Thanks Trent. Tend to agree on the fee, but I would imagine it wouldn't be too far off for an English player in this market.

[thunderball]

Can only improve us. Who cares how much, it's Randy's money, rather risk 8mil on TC than the £5/6m we spunked out on Tonev et al who are now all loaned out because they were utter rubbish, or £1m on that Aquafresh fella.

[troon_villan]

Thanks Trent. Tend to agree on the fee, but I would imagine it wouldn't be too far off for an English player in this market.

 

Then you have to ask why?  Why spend that on an average English player?  He's not a game changer in any way shape or form.

[troon_villan]

Can only improve us. Who cares how much, it's Randy's money, rather risk 8mil on TC than the £5/6m we spunked out on Tonev et al who are now all loaned out because they were utter rubbish, or £1m on that Aquafresh fella.

 

You pretty much just trebled his transfer fee.

[PompeyVillan]

This is a good signing, I hope we can get him. Anyone remember what happened when Westwood got injured last season (was it against Newcastle?)? We sucked balls.

He adds depth and competition. And he's not as bad as the naysayers make out. With less pressure on his shoulders he could thrive here and will bre good for whoever he moves to.

[daz316]

Does anyone else find that one we are strongly linked to a player every if you don't particularly rate him that you start to want it to happen? Cleverly doesn't bother me but now I know we have had a bid accepted I would be disappointed if it didn't happen as it's obviously in the managerd plans does that make sense? Also I do think he'll end up at Everton which makes me sad for the points above! I really don't belive that 8 million is actually there!

[Ginko]

I don't know why people are getting their knickers in a twist over the price for. It's not their money.

 

You do really though, you're a smart chap. First off this kind of money spent on a single player is a rare occurrence for us nowadays, and secondly, people don't see Tom Cleverley as either a good player or the right player for what our team needs right now, so if there's the reported £8million to spend then many fans would like to see that put towards a more creative, flair player, a winger, or another striker.

 

I personally think the abuse he's gotten recently is way over the top and that he's pretty good and has the potential to be a great player. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Villa shirt, but to paraphrase one of the best movies in the last decade, 'he's the player we deserve, but not the player we need right now.'

Edited August 28, 2014 by Ginko

[VillanousOne]

ignore the opening paras, there are some decent points in this: 

 

http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/28/aston-villas-bid-for-tom-cleverley-another-attempt-to-rehabilitate-a-reputation-at-footballs-answer-to-the-priory-4849543/?

 

Aston Villa’s bid for Tom Cleverley another attempt to rehabilitate a reputation at football’s answer to The Priory

 

Thursday 28 Aug 2014 10:31 pm

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Tom Cleverley celebrates his goal against Aston Villa in December (Picture: Getty Images)

The old Aston Villa transfer policy is dead – long live the new transfer policy.

Where once Paul Lambert chased ‘young and hungry’, he’s now turning Villa Park into the footballing equivalent of The Priory.

People scoffed as Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson and Aly Cissokho arrived – but it all seems part of a broader plan. And if you followed with the punchline, ‘what, to get relegated?’ then you’ve kind of proved the point.

Those four may not be young but they’re certainly hungry – to rid themselves of battered reputations and revive flagging careers. On the evidence of the first two Premier League games, Senderos, Richardson and Cissokho are all showing signs of recovery from error dependency.

The next to be rehabilitated at the Lambert Clinic appears to be Tom Cleverley, after Manchester United reportedly accepted an £8 million bid from Villa.

Plenty have had some fun at our expense but, rather than making us the laughing stock of the league, this tactic of providing a fresh start to players down on their luck might have something to it.

With wages tight at Villa, the club needs a different USP to attract players.

In the last couple of seasons, we’ve sold the club to starstruck youngsters from the Football League and Europe but many were underwhelming.

This summer’s signings boast more impressive CVs and, rather than big contracts, have been lured with big promises – Cleverley, for example, may well see a move as a platform to relaunch his England career.

He’s a better player than his critics make out. He was in the top 20 for pass success rate in the Premier League last season (89.6%) and while he may not take the risks of the likes of Mesut Ozil (88%), Gareth Barry (86.7%) and Steven Gerrard (86%), retaining the ball is crucial to adopting an easier-on-the-eye style at Villa Park.

Philippe Senderos is slowly restoring his reputation at Villa Park (Picture: Getty Images)

Cleverley’s biggest problem is shattered confidence. At Wigan on loan and in his early days in the United team, he looked to have great potential – but irregular football, injuries, some iffy performances and mocked England appearances have made him a scapegoat amid the sudden Old Trafford malaise.

Now he’s being told he’s an £8 million player – and yes, that fee is far too high, by about £2-3 million – it may give him a feeling of self-worth.

The money supposedly being splashed on Cleverley poses a couple of questions.

Has Randy Lerner ‘re-engaged’ with Villa and therefore prepared to keep up with the spending of mid-table rivals such as Hull, Stoke and Swansea?

Or is this simply the last of the budget pledged to Lambert when the owner refocused on the club after his attempts to sell up failed?

It’d be nice to think Lerner has loosened the purse strings a little and Lambert is currently scouring the market for a winger and/or a striker to sharpen up our very blunt attack.

If, however, Cleverley is the Scot’s idea of ‘the final piece of the puzzle’, then I would be, well, puzzled. A good player, a slight upgrade, but we still have other areas in need of improvement.

We’ll know the answers by the time we wake up on Tuesday.

After that, Lambert must focus on establishing a system to best suit the squad he’s assembled and play the sort of football befitting the storied claret-and-blue shirts.

MORE: New-found resilience the key as Aston Villa show first signs of emerging from their sick bed

[useless]

He'll be what the team needs if something should happen to Delph or Westwood. Not saying he'd be here as an understudy but it's good to have the extra option. With time I think he'd prove to be one of our better players.

[Kingman]

I don't know why people are getting their knickers in a twist over the price for. It's not their money.

Season tickets, away games, travel and merchandise totalling thousands every season... it fcukin is our money!

[Vive_La_Villa]

He'll be what the team needs if something should happen to Delph or Westwood. Not saying he'd be here as an understudy but it's good to have the extra option. With time I think he'd prove to be one of our better players.

I actually think he is probably better than Delph and certainly Westwood.

[APearson]

I don't get this adds depth and competition, we should be looking at improving the starting eleven not adding players for the sake of it. I'm more than willing to give him a chance but there's so many better options out there that we could spend the money on. We desperately need a flair player who can unlock a defence and has great vision and I don't think Cleverly will provide that. The fact that so many Man united fans are so desperate to get rid of him pretty much sums it up.