January 2017 transfer window

[Xela]

2 hours ago, striker said:

I would like to be a fly on the wall if Xia informed Bruce on Monday morning that he will not finance anymore signings until the summer.

While it would no doubt be interesting to be a fly on the wall, a fly only has a lifespan of 28 days (in optimum conditions) so get working on that bucket list.

Yes, I am bored today! 

[TRO]

1 minute ago, Xela said:

If you want the best, you have to pay. Making sure its the right character is the hard part. 

The top teams pay the biggest wages and they win things. 

But in realistic terms, the position we are in, the best won't come.....we have gone way past that point.

We need to find a more pragmatic answer......we need a mixture of money and other things.....we need the scouts to come up with a few gambles from the lower leagues other clubs have been procrastinating on.

this boy Roofe on our door step for god sake as was Troy Deeney as was Calum Robinson....just the ones I know off my head.

i don't think we fans have any idea of the extent our demise had reached.

[TRO]

11 minutes ago, KSV said:

Pretty much this. I've given up on it this year. Two years in the championship and counting. Sad time to be a villa fan. Hopefully we will be back sooner rather than later. I guess after last season's shambles it was always going to be tough to rebuild a squad capable of returning straight away.

I guess it will take him 3 years of various wheeling and dealing in the upper & lower markets to get the right characters.....not triers, fighters.

for us to see anything of any significance, that how I see it.

we all want it sooner, but only stability, will get anything at all.

Edited January 15, 2017 by TRO

[Xela]

21 minutes ago, KSV said:

That's the difference though. We aren't getting top players. Were attracting average or players past their best for top dollar. Or players who only come for the money and just happy to collect.. whether we lose or not.. they don't care.

That's where Bruce and Round need to earn their corn. Chester was a great signing. Come from the Premier League and probably on a very good wage to drop down but you can't question his commitment. 

Hourihane is not past his best and Lansbury, well, I'm don't know a lot about him, but he's better than what we have at present (I would assume!) That's a start. We still need a winger and a striker IMO. Say for instance we got Brady and Rhodes as well then I think we would look miles better. 

Edited January 15, 2017 by Xela

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

10 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

I'm starting to think we need a whole new midfield. Not just 2 central midfielders.

The defence is ok, and with Kodija up front we are a threat, but Jedinak is too slow and can't pass, Tshibola looks bang average, Westwood and Gardner just aren't footballers, Bacuna is a right back at best, Adomah blows hot and cold and Grealish seems to be an impact player from the bench.

Worrying.

 

And vice versa, I'm still absolutely sick about missing out on Darryl Horgan, exactly the type of player villa need in a position where there is no natural alternative apart from an 18 year old Andre Green.

[ferguson1]

Tin hat time, but what about either Crouch or Walters on loan from Stoke for six months? Either one along with Lansbury, Hourihane and perhaps Bree. 4 players in for under £10M.

[KHV]

32 minutes ago, Xela said:

If you want the best, you have to pay. Making sure its the right character is the hard part. 

The top teams pay the biggest wages and they win things. 

We are not getting the best though are we? We are just blindly throwing money about paying far too much for bang average players or huge amounts of money for massively crap players over 30.

We are going to allegedly quadruple Hourihanes wages if he comes from Barnsley. Watch him sign for us and **** all like the majority of all our players. Only Chester and Kodjia have looked good so far. Adomah is meh and everyone else we have signed is wank but we are spending fortunes to be in the bottom half of the championship.

We are still pissing money away like nobody's business which is going to massively bite us on the arse when we are still bumbling about in the championship in 2019

[VillanousOne]

5 minutes ago, ferguson1 said:

Tin hat time, but what about either Crouch or Walters on loan from Stoke for six months? Either one along with Lansbury, Hourihane and perhaps Bree. 4 players in for under £10M.

Sadly Crouch has just signed a new contract and is scoring goals again

[KHV]

47 minutes ago, KSV said:

Pretty much this. I've given up on it this year. Two years in the championship and counting. Sad time to be a villa fan. Hopefully we will be back sooner rather than later. I guess after last season's shambles it was always going to be tough to rebuild a squad capable of returning straight away.

We can't afford to be paying what we are paying for long either

[ferguson1]

Just now, VillanousOne said:

Sadly Crouch has just signed a new contract and is scoring goals again

Damn, hadn't realised he had.

[Hoof hearted]

54 minutes ago, KSV said:

And that's how we've got relegated paying big money to shit players who lack fight for the club.

I've never got this big money argument concerning Villa, yes we've payed (obscene amounts to you and I) money to bang average players in most cases for the last 10 years or so but with our wage cap and in footballing terms (sickeningly) we don't pay "big money" to players, we pay average wages so all I expect is average players with the odd gem who joins another team that do, if we payed "big money" we'd have a squad of players who wouldn't be languishing in mid table championship mediocrity and players like Benteke wouldn't be at Crystal Palace earning £100k + a week, they'd be here, where they belong. Breaks my heart.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Hoof hearted
Grammar

[VillanousOne]

Cissokho apparently signing for Olympiakos, i know he could be a liability at times but we now have no left back cover whatsoever!

 

 

[theboyangel]

2 minutes ago, VillanousOne said:

Cissokho apparently signing for Olympiakos, i know he could be a liability at times but we now have no left back cover whatsoever!

 

 

Reading the avami thread, several posters already think we don't have any left backs at all! 

Good luck to cissokho, not the greatest player we've had but not the worst by far (and he could defend)

Edited January 15, 2017 by theboyangel

[Xela]

17 minutes ago, VillanousOne said:

Cissokho apparently signing for Olympiakos, i know he could be a liability at times but we now have no left back cover whatsoever!

 

 

Given the choice between Cissokho and nothing, I might just choose the latter

[VILLAMARV]

1 hour ago, Grasshopper said:

We need to offload IMMEDIATELY - Hutton, Richards, Cissokho, Westwood, Gabby and if possible Bacuna, Gardner & Kozak. Sell Amavi & Ayew if we can get 20mill+

Then BUY/LOAN the f*** out of the market. The later we start afresh the more seasons we'll be down here. It was now or never at the beginning of the season. We started with a fake manager and the shit still in the squad. It's no longer a case of "oh we can expect this, that or the other", it's time to wake up and just do! Whatever it takes and whatever it costs, or we pay in the long run. Enough is enough, and for anyone who that's not clear as day to by now, sorry, but I can't help them for thinking like that.

It really is time to just do it!

I'm sure they're trying, and I can't help but nod my head in agreement. But then we've been saying the same for years. Selling Gabby is a no brainer but to who exactly? that's the issue. We can all get emotional about cancelling contracts and releasing people on a free. In the real world though it's just loads more complicated. We can only speculate on the wage bill but rest assured it's massive for the division we're in. Including the 3 on loan there are 9 central midfielders at the club and we all know we need 2/3 of those. It is ridiculous to think we can ever be in a position where 11 or 12 first team squad members are fighting it out for 2/3 positions every week and afford it. Likewise with the strikers - including RHM we have 6 first teamers and have just sold Gestede. Of those 7, 1 is/was a functioning member of the team. We cant simply go buying striker number 7 and or 8 just because 5 of them are next to useless and pray we go up. I wish there were clubs lining up for Bacuna/Cissokho etc thinking they could snap up a bargain but I doubt any of them will get wage parity anywhere and I cant see them having much incentive to leave. Half a squad of Stephen Ireland's basically.

[Supervillan78]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/2618798/aston-villa-transfer-news-villa-to-raid-watford-for-midfielder-adlene-guedioura/

Aston Villa transfer news: Villa to raid Watford for midfielder Adlene Guedioura

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce is making a £3 million move for Watford’s Algerian star Adlene Guedioura in a massive shake-up.

Bruce hopes to agree a fee with the Hornets and sort out personal terms in long-distance talks, with Guedioura at the African Cup of Nations.

Guedioura has been in and out of the Watford side and the arrival of Tom Cleverley pushes him further down the pecking order.

Bruce is desperate for extra quality in midfield after trying out moves for Tom Cairney, Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane.

The Villa chief knows his squad needs changing and the heart of the side has to improve after some disappointing displays.

Villa are 13th in the Championship, a point behind bitter local rivals Birmingham City, but more importantly 10 points off Sheffield Wednesday in the final promotion play off spot.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Supervillan78

[LakotaDakota]

12 minutes ago, Xela said:

Given the choice between Cissokho and nothing, I might just choose the latter

I would rather have Cissokho at LB and Amavi on the wing in front of him.

[Xela]

4 minutes ago, LakotaDakota said:

I would rather have Cissokho at LB and Amavi on the wing in front of him.

I'd rather have a proper left back and a proper left winger but I see where you are coming from 

[dudevillaisnice]

Don't buy the money argument to be honest. We had to replace most of the squad as some simply weren't good enough. I don't think we have spent enough let alone too much for what is required. Could it have been spent better? Sure. Other teams haven't needed to take a drastic overhaul like we have. Leeds, Wednesday etc have spent years in the championship we are coming off the worst season in recent years can we have some perspective.

[Xela]

12 minutes ago, Supervillan78 said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/2618798/aston-villa-transfer-news-villa-to-raid-watford-for-midfielder-adlene-guedioura/

Aston Villa transfer news: Villa to raid Watford for midfielder Adlene Guedioura

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce is making a £3 million move for Watford’s Algerian star Adlene Guedioura in a massive shake-up.

Bruce hopes to agree a fee with the Hornets and sort out personal terms in long-distance talks, with Guedioura at the African Cup of Nations.

Guedioura has been in and out of the Watford side and the arrival of Tom Cleverley pushes him further down the pecking order.

Bruce is desperate for extra quality in midfield after trying out moves for Tom Cairney, Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane.

The Villa chief knows his squad needs changing and the heart of the side has to improve after some disappointing displays.

Villa are 13th in the Championship, a point behind bitter local rivals Birmingham City, but more importantly 10 points off Sheffield Wednesday in the final promotion play off spot.

Can't say that inspires me to be honest. Probably BS though