Player Tom Cleverley

[YLN]

I'm tired, this isn't perfect.

 

Previous to this I had already spoken to Phil for a good 40 minutes, so I apologise if there is no flow.

 

D: Do you mind if I ask you about Tom Cleverley?

 

P: No, not at all, fire away.

 

D: Phil, it has been tremendous chatting to you. Good luck for the rest of the season.

 

P: Aye, you too.

 

I much prefer this

[rodigan]

Couple of comments on this one - completely agree with StanB's points a page or so back - I think the news about wanting to come or not and wage demands relate to his agent trying to get the best deal for his client (and biggest fee for himself), and are likely to a large extent to be going on with the player blissfully unaware on the most part of what is being said....

 

Cleverley's first choice is to be a starter at Man U - failing that, I understand him wanting his agent to get the best deal he can get for him out there - in terms of clubs and in terms of financial package. Once the deal is cut, he can then worry about rebuilding his career to the best of his ability and I would guess that he would consider that he would add value to the starting teams of any of the clubs supposedly in for him - everton, villa, hull and perhaps Valencia. As such, he was probably agnostic as to where he ultimately ended up.

 

Does it make him a mercenary to think about developing his own career and securing the best financial package he can? I'm not sure any of us approach our jobs any differently - if we had several employers looking to employ us, we would look to see what the best possible deals we could get from each employer was, and then sit and pick the best.... I don't hold that approach against him at all...

 

Secondly, as to whose place he is going to take in the team, if any.... Perhaps i'm a glass half full guy, but my view is that he will take the place of the weakest player in the midfield, if he is better than them in that position.... he doesn't replace Richardson, n'zogbia, or westwood unless he is better than them in that position.... imagine if we thought about playing our best players, rather than our least bad ones....

 

finally, as to whether we have any chance of keeping him after the end of a loan period, to me the answer is simple - if we're progressing and competitive, playing good football  and he is comfortable with the opportunity he has been given to restart a floundering career, I think that we have every chance of keeping him.... we're villa, we're sitting third and I, for one, am comfortable that we are as good as any team outside the big five or six clubs....

 

welcome to the club, tom - earn your place in our starting XI, and the fans will do right by you....

 

UTV

[maqroll]

 

I'm tired, this isn't perfect.

 

Previous to this I had already spoken to Phil for a good 40 minutes, so I apologise if there is no flow.

 

D: Do you mind if I ask you about Tom Cleverley?

 

P: No, not at all, fire away.

 

D: Phil, it has been tremendous chatting to you. Good luck for the rest of the season.

 

P: Aye, you too.

 

I much prefer this

 

[Vincenzo]

Can't help remembering that I thought "that's how sh!t we are..." When he scored against us last year

Hope u prove us all wrong TC

[AVFCRAMTIN]

What number is he going to wear?

[TrinityRoadSteps]

What number is he going to wear?

 

I think he should wear 80k

For shits and giggles

 

So it's looking increasingly likely it was his agent that caused most of the problems here. They really are a bunch of leeches.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

I'm tired, this isn't perfect.

Previous to this I had already spoken to Phil for a good 40 minutes, so I apologise if there is no flow.

D: Do you mind if I ask you about Tom Cleverley?

P: No, not at all, fire away.

D: Phil, it has been tremendous chatting to you. Good luck for the rest of the season.

P: Aye, you too.

I much prefer this

But it's Phil! Phil the United season ticket holder and we now have his expert opinion!

What number is he going to wear?

Maybe Phil knows?

[heid3ster]

Very interesting, honest piece about Tom on Stretford-End.com:

 

This move, assuming it’s a stop-gap between United and a permanent move elsewhere, is a chance for him to reluctantly draw a line under his United career. He’s become the butt of many jokes with a worrying number of United fans seriously believing he’s not even good enough for the Premier League. He needs to rediscover his inner belief and play regularly with freedom to express himself, potentially in a three man midfield. In the right team he may be able to unlock the Cleverley we briefly saw in August/September 2011 and thrive again.

[sharkyvilla]

I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with a bit more attacking responsibility. I don't think his England call ups did him any favours and he suffered at Utd because I think they just saw him as the workhorse amongst the more exciting players, when in reality it was a very mediocre midfield they had in general. He seemed to be the butt of all their jokes. I wouldn't say it's more than 50/50 that he will be here next season, if he does well for us then he can pick from a few clubs. This is just a marriage of convenience really.

[SeanO]

Welcome Tom, fu.....forget Utd stick two fingers up to the arrogant fans you have left behind and welcome to the next lot of arrogant fans, US! Just remember though if you mess us around again we can soon start booing and maybe even bring out "we're not fickle" banners lol.

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing this guy really give it a go for Villa as after the treatment off Utd my guess is even if Villa wasn't his 1st choice he will want to show them what they are missing. If he is only here for a season then so be it as long as he gives his best then that's all anyone can ask.

[Dodgyknees]

 

I'm tired, this isn't perfect.

 

Previous to this I had already spoken to Phil for a good 40 minutes, so I apologise if there is no flow.

 

D: Do you mind if I ask you about Tom Cleverley?

 

P: No, not at all, fire away.

 

D: Phil, it has been tremendous chatting to you. Good luck for the rest of the season.

 

P: Aye, you too.

 

I much prefer this

 

 

Sounds better. Nice work!

[dont_do_it_doug.]

Thanks dodgy.

Has it altered your own opinion a little?

[CVByrne]

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11071474/Tom-Cleverleys-agent-tests-patience-of-Aston-Villa-and-Manchester-United-as-deal-goes-to-the-wire.html

Interesting read

Bloody agents, money grabbing B@#tards!

 

This story is way more believable than the one Sky are reporting, in all fairness.

Where agents are concerned, they're strictly interested in one thing...and that is what lines their pockets.

 

 

From reading that it does make a good deal of sense. Cleverly wanted a new club. He was happy to join when he met Keane and Lambert. He would have been happy for a late switch to instead join Everton which is close to his home and with a manager he knew. 

 

The agent went a bit to far on the brinkmanship to get the most money. Seems from the article Everton were willing to pay Cleverly but only a loan deal, which understandably United rejected. With all the frantic dealing on their end this whole thing must've been a head wrecker for officials at United. 

 

So the old deal Villa, United and Cleverly thought they had done was resurrected at the death, hence we still agreed to pay United the transfer fee we agreed. I'd be stunned if Cleverly transfer wasn't all wrapped up well before his loan deal is finished. 

 

To be fair to Cleverly, this is his first experience of a transfer, he has a family, he's only 25 after all and only knows football. Really grinds my gears some of the stuff said about him in this thread. Agent went a bit mad trying to squeeze extra money out of Villa (while probably doing the same on Uniteds pay off fee side too). 

 

Agent made the mistake. He is the one who deals with the clubs. Player just gets fed the info from his Agent

[Dodgyknees]

 

Now a dwarf Christmas tree.

 

Just trust me, I took Chimp XI to the semi-finals of the SIFF World Cup and won the unofficial third place play-off.

 

 

I think that formation could work. When I did get to sleep (about 4am), I had the words ringing in my head about playing Cleverley further forward alongside Delph.

 

I've got some ideas for formation too. I'll chuck them in the strongest line up thread.

[CVByrne]

So, can anyone clear up as to why it's being reported that we have a £7.5m option in January, when he can sign for any club he wants on pre-contract? Why would we pay £7.5m when we can continue our season long loan and sign him on a contract for free?

 

To try clear this up once and for all. Essentially it is there because when the deal was revived at the absolute death it wasn't possible to do the permanent signing. So we submitted a loan deal, got him. Inserted the option with the fee we'd already had accepted by United. 

 

So essentially ourselves and United had a deal agreed and we stick with it. That gives us the time to get Cleverly and his agent back in and sort out the personal terms (I'd imagine we'll stick to our original ones we thought we'd agreed) then everyone will have it all agreed and signed up I'd imagine this week. The deal will officially go through on 1st Jan but essentially it'll all be wrapped up in the next few days.

 

The agents actions meant we simply hadn't the time left to sort the deal out before the window shut. The loan gives us the added few days to do that. 

 

I really doubt Cleverly and his Agent will now wait until January and see if they can get a better deal etc.. it could be career suicide. As Lambert (and especially Roy Keane) would feel the player is now deceitful and using Villa, in which case he is now a cover player for the departed KEA. This will massively damage Cleverly as he won't get the game time. 

 

 

So essentially, this isn't a loan deal really, it's a signing he is our player now. The paperwork just goes through on Jan 1st 

[Dodgyknees]

Thanks dodgy.

Has it altered your own opinion a little?

 

It was nice to hear somebody quite passionate about him. If we can unlock this player he mentioned, he'll be an asset. Hope we can... As with any signing I will back them. Senderos has already started winning me over as an example of me changing my mind based on evidence of player a/b being good for us. It would be wrong of me to change my mind just because he has signed though. My comments are there for all to see, I haven't rated the player in years, this doesn't mean I won't support him and accept as/when/if he shines that he was a good signing.

[itdoesntmatterwhatthissay]

Didn't take long to find a replacement for Cole did it?! I'm really happy about this move and Lambert has done a fantastic job this window getting in some good players and ones with potential.

I can see Cleverley working really well with Westwood, similar players but 15 yards apart, and I think Benteke and Weimann will really benefit from his ability to spot a pass and play lovely one touch football.

 

With options so limited at United he did the right thing by coming to Villa and I think he'll be part of our good play and quality goals....lets hope it's an immediate impact and not a long drawn out struggle.

[Bunnski]

I find it strange how so many people rate this guy and have him down as a definite starter. He will have to earn his place like everyone else in the squad. On current form our midfield is beasting so he shouldn't be starting until he proves himself to be better than one of our current midfielders.

What's he done in the past couple of seasons to be so highly thought of?

[Dodgyknees]

I find it strange how so many people rate this guy and have him down as a definite starter. He will have to earn his place like everyone else in the squad. On current form our midfield is beasting so he shouldn't be starting until he proves himself to be better than one of our current midfielders.

What's he done in the past couple of seasons to be so highly thought of?

Well this is it, a lot of people on here (myself included) have been berating Cleverley for a long time. It wouldn't be right to suddenly rate him because he signed (personal feeling for myaelf).

Of course he has to earn a place in the team, I just think he will come in for Richardson.

[itdoesntmatterwhatthissay]

I find it strange how so many people rate this guy and have him down as a definite starter. He will have to earn his place like everyone else in the squad. On current form our midfield is beasting so he shouldn't be starting until he proves himself to be better than one of our current midfielders.

What's he done in the past couple of seasons to be so highly thought of?

The same as Gabby, has hype behind him, plus I think he came to play games not sit on a bench.

It's a fair question though.

 

I just think there is little attacking quality between midfield and attack, the reason Cole came in, and I think Cleverley has the ability to provide us with that tactical necessity, especially if we're continuing to play 4231.

In 433 he might struggle to cover defensively, he was poor at that while with United, but any formation that requires someone to play the link man and I think we have our man, for those reasons I think he'll get chances/starts to impress.