Gone: Downing shows real loyalty to us

[P3te]

Because we havent got the money!!!

we've seen nothing to suggest that though

all signs point to us having plenty

theres **** all you can do to stop players who want to leave from going though, it happens at every club in the world. all you can do is make sure you get as close to the terms you wanted for them

That was in context to hiring a top manager.

nothing points to that being true though. we just had a really shitty short list

[Woodytom]

I just cant understand how Downing is only worth 16m?! We paid 12 when he was crippled, nurse him bk to health, get him back into England team and his value only goes up by 4m??

That is a joke. Its usual villa though - pay over the odds for players and sell them for peanuts. Ill be disgusted if he goes for anything less than 20m after seeing some of the other fees liverpool have been paying lately.

He was never worth 12m, and still isnt tbh.

I agree though, hold out for 20m

If their daft enough to pay it - let them fill their boots

[TrentVilla]

£16M+ bid and I'd accept. That's good money, I don't think Downing is irreplaceable.

A £4m profit? That isn't good money especially without him making a transfer request.

So if he isn't irreplaceable who should we replace him with?

N'Zogbia is the name that immediately springs to mind. I'm sure there are players on the continent who are better.

So Liverpool want Downing why?

[P3te]

all signs point to us having plenty

out of interest (as I agree, we dont really know), what are the signs??

the fact that the owner has backed the manager every single window apart frm the one where mon walked due to throwing his toys out of pram

everyone was bleating on that we were broke and didnt have a pot to piss in this january, then we spend £30m

ive got no doubt itll be similar this summer

[ryanvilla_1994]

You can begin to understand why MON walked

Because he's a word removed?

[Woodytom]

£16M+ bid and I'd accept. That's good money, I don't think Downing is irreplaceable.

A £4m profit? That isn't good money especially without him making a transfer request.

So if he isn't irreplaceable who should we replace him with?

N'Zogbia is the name that immediately springs to mind. I'm sure there are players on the continent who are better.

So Liverpool want Downing why?

Come on Trent, You know there are better players than Downing. Weve just sold one for a start.

Kenny seems to like English, so I suppose that could play a factor.

Are you telling me Liverpool couldnt get better than Jordan Henderson for 16m??

[Bazdavies79]

£16M+ bid and I'd accept. That's good money, I don't think Downing is irreplaceable.

A £4m profit? That isn't good money especially without him making a transfer request.

So if he isn't irreplaceable who should we replace him with?

N'Zogbia is the name that immediately springs to mind. I'm sure there are players on the continent who are better.

So Liverpool want Downing why?

Because Kenny likes him.

[Stu_The_Villan]

I just cant understand how Downing is only worth 16m?! We paid 12 when he was crippled, nurse him bk to health, get him back into England team and his value only goes up by 4m??

That is a joke. Its usual villa though - pay over the odds for players and sell them for peanuts. Ill be disgusted if he goes for anything less than 20m after seeing some of the other fees liverpool have been paying lately.

He was never worth 12m, and still isnt tbh.

I agree though, hold out for 20m

If their daft enough to pay it - let them fill their boots

Oh he certainly wasnt worth 12 when we bought him, considering the bloke couldnt even fookin walk!! What an absolute tosser. Hes taken us all for mugs.

[gilbertoAVFC]

And as for Downing, for 20m he can **** off. He aint that good!

One good season, and that's good, not very good, not brilliant and way way from exceptional. His goals this season have taken away from the fact that he is a pretty average player, good at best. He can't take a man on and always shys from any tackle and his passing isn't anything amazing. Decent crosser of the ball and gets a few goals but surely a better foreign replacement can be found for less than £20m. We will miss Ashley Young far more than any of the players who have left us and 1 million times more than we would Downing. We payed an over the odds £12m for him when he had pins in his leg and had to sit and watch him play below average for most of his first season then he has one good season and wants out. Champions league quality? You're having a laugh!

Wow how very bitter. Yes he is hardly a world-beater but he was far-and-away our best player last season, surely then to call him "pretty average" is a sad indictment of how low we have sung as a football club.

If you think better foreign players are going to suddenly start to join us when our best players are leaving left, right and centre, then you are delusional. English players are over-priced and over-rated, but they are still the most suited to this league.

[Richard]

He will not be the last. I suspect we will see others leave this summer as our squad takes on a completely different look to match our ambitions. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bent leave in January either at this rate

Do you think its avoidable Richard??

Doubtful.

A couple of years ago I got royally slagged off for suggesting that we had to keep spending big money in order to fulfill any ambition of top four and if Randy didn't have that money he should find someone who did. I still believe that to be the case.

To compete at the top end you need the better players and they cost money

Even to stand still in this league takes money and it now looks as if we are unable to do that without selling off the better players we have. How does that stand still? I'd argue it actually takes the club backwards.

When this sell to buy policy came out some said "brilliant it means we can get a handle on wages what is wrong with that?" Well in order to actually buy decent players you need to generate sufficient cash. Do you get that cash from selling Habib Beye ? Steve Sidwell ? Warnock ? Richard Dunne ?

No you get sufficient cash and reduce the wage bill by selling off your most saleable assets , the players other teams want.

That is nit standing still or showing decent ambition.

Then you find the club instead of competing at the top 6 end of the table and in a market with a few clubs for some top rated players that we are then competing at the mid table and in a bigger market of clubs for players. A market with 15 or so other clubs that players can chose from and that makes it even more difficult for us to attract them.

Top 6 and the odd good cup run was the best that we could ever hopr for under Randy Lerner. Now even that is an unrealistic ambition.

[briggaman]

I think Downing will be a bigger loss than Young in all honesty. I will also feel more bitter towards Downing if he goes as we nursed him back to fitness and took our time with him. Where is the loyalty nowadays?! Makes me sick...

[Richard]

You can begin to understand why MON walked

At the time MON left I totally believed he did so for no other reason than a change in club stance regarding the direction we were taking and a lack of resources to achieve the goals he was set at the start of his tenure.

I still do.

I also believed then, as I do now, that the vitriol that was directed his way by the fanbase was as a result of an unwillingness to accept any blame on Randy for that, and maybe even not wanting to believe what the evidence was pointing to what that meant in terms of Randy Lerner.

[Stu_The_Villan]

I think Downing will be a bigger loss than Young in all honesty. I will also feel more bitter towards Downing if he goes as we nursed him back to fitness and took our time with him. Where is the loyalty nowadays?! Makes me sick...

This is whats pissing me off. I seem to remember lots of clubs sniffing around downing when he was at boro. Liverpool were definitely one of them aswell. Then he got injured and nobody would touch him with a bargepole. Except aston villa of course. We get his career back on track and the first sign of interest from elsewhere and he cant wait to get out. Shocking behaviour from a horrible little cretin.

I actually want him gone now, smug little shite. I just want decent money for him and not see the club get shafted again.

[billy_loes]

A couple of years ago I got royally slagged off for suggesting that we had to keep spending big money in order to fulfill any ambition of top four and if Randy didn't have that money he should find someone who did. I still believe that to be the case.

What you fail to accept is that there are no oligarch's, Sheik's or Columbian chemist's forming an orderly que to buy Villa, so we're better off with Randy Lerner.

[Stu_The_Villan]

And he reakons that photo was a fake?? Was it fook. He got caught with his pants down and cant even admit it

[mosch1one]

SiDanger wrote:

nik986 wrote:

And as for Downing, for 20m he can **** off. He aint that good!

One good season, and that's good, not very good, not brilliant and way way from exceptional. His goals this season have taken away from the fact that he is a pretty average player, good at best. He can't take a man on and always shys from any tackle and his passing isn't anything amazing. Decent crosser of the ball and gets a few goals but surely a better foreign replacement can be found for less than £20m. We will miss Ashley Young far more than any of the players who have left us and 1 million times more than we would Downing. We payed an over the odds £12m for him when he had pins in his leg and had to sit and watch him play below average for most of his first season then he has one good season and wants out. Champions league quality? You're having a laugh!

Wow how very bitter. Yes he is hardly a world-beater but he was far-and-away our best player last season, surely then to call him "pretty average" is a sad indictment of how low we have sung as a football club.

If you think better foreign players are going to suddenly start to join us when our best players are leaving left, right and centre, then you are delusional. English players are over-priced and over-rated, but they are still the most suited to this league.

Glad someone has some sense. Yes, he ducks out of challenges/headers and is holistically a coward but he was by far our best player last season. He has a great footballing brain coupled with great balance/composure.He will no doubt be a massive loss. Shame he seems to want to leave, very ungrateful for what we did for him.

I would like us to sign Zig Zog anyway as a replacement for Young.

[Richard]

A couple of years ago I got royally slagged off for suggesting that we had to keep spending big money in order to fulfill any ambition of top four and if Randy didn't have that money he should find someone who did. I still believe that to be the case.

What you fail to accept is that there are no oligarch's, Sheik's or Columbian chemist's forming an orderly que to buy Villa, so we're better off with Randy Lerner.

How do we know until we start looking? I mean how were they available for Citeh? The Inidan bloke who has just pulled out of QPR is worth a bob or two I believe.

How do you know there are none available? Just wait for the next club to bought out and come bak and tell me there are none

[SiDanger]

And as for Downing, for 20m he can **** off. He aint that good!

One good season, and that's good, not very good, not brilliant and way way from exceptional. His goals this season have taken away from the fact that he is a pretty average player, good at best. He can't take a man on and always shys from any tackle and his passing isn't anything amazing. Decent crosser of the ball and gets a few goals but surely a better foreign replacement can be found for less than £20m. We will miss Ashley Young far more than any of the players who have left us and 1 million times more than we would Downing. We payed an over the odds £12m for him when he had pins in his leg and had to sit and watch him play below average for most of his first season then he has one good season and wants out. Champions league quality? You're having a laugh!

Wow how very bitter. Yes he is hardly a world-beater but he was far-and-away our best player last season, surely then to call him "pretty average" is a sad indictment of how low we have sung as a football club.

If you think better foreign players are going to suddenly start to join us when our best players are leaving left, right and centre, then you are delusional. English players are over-priced and over-rated, but they are still the most suited to this league.

Not down to bitterness at all, if you notice I have praised Ashley Young in the same post, if it was just bitterness I would be calling him crap too like a lot of people have once they realised he was leaving. Downing is not as good as any of the players that have left us, Barry, Milner or Young in my opinion. Of course I'm bitter that he has one good season after we forked out £12m for him when he was on crutches and then he wants to leave but my assessment of him as a player is just an honest one. If it was just down to bitterness I would be saying the same about Barry, Milner and Young but I think they are all a class above Downing.

[Woodytom]

He will not be the last. I suspect we will see others leave this summer as our squad takes on a completely different look to match our ambitions. Wouldn't be surprised to see Bent leave in January either at this rate

Do you think its avoidable Richard??

Doubtful.

A couple of years ago I got royally slagged off for suggesting that we had to keep spending big money in order to fulfill any ambition of top four and if Randy didn't have that money he should find someone who did. I still believe that to be the case.

To compete at the top end you need the better players and they cost money

Even to stand still in this league takes money and it now looks as if we are unable to do that without selling off the better players we have. How does that stand still? I'd argue it actually takes the club backwards.

When this sell to buy policy came out some said "brilliant it means we can get a handle on wages what is wrong with that?" Well in order to actually buy decent players you need to generate sufficient cash. Do you get that cash from selling Habib Beye ? Steve Sidwell ? Warnock ? Richard Dunne ?

No you get sufficient cash and reduce the wage bill by selling off your most saleable assets , the players other teams want.

That is nit standing still or showing decent ambition.

Then you find the club instead of competing at the top 6 end of the table and in a market with a few clubs for some top rated players that we are then competing at the mid table and in a bigger market of clubs for players. A market with 15 or so other clubs that players can chose from and that makes it even more difficult for us to attract them.

Top 6 and the odd good cup run was the best that we could ever hopr for under Randy Lerner. Now even that is an unrealistic ambition.

I think your being too negative Richard I really do.

We couldnt carry on spending, because in hindsight, the bloke spending wasnt spending wisely. Furthermore, he wasnt using most players to make them saleable assets in the future.

Now, I firmly believe that (because we havent got a bottomless pit) that we need to get to a position where we can start again - That means a couple of shite transition seasons whereby we sell lots and dont buy much. Its crap, I know. But if in a couple of seasons, it means we can have another decent go at it then so be it.

Its simple - a business like Aston Villa at 90% wage to turnover is simply unsustainable. We were going to hell in a handcart.

Whos at fault? Randy Lerner

Who stopped it? Randy Lerner

Then came the new goals which in time will lead to the previous goals imo

Now, MON clearly couldnt be arsed with that, and thats fair enough.

I agree , to get top 4 we needed to spend more, but had we failed - theres a chance we would no longer exist.

[OnlyOne]

Downing wants to leave because we're a sinking ship with no hope of any decent future.

The money we'll get from him won't even help either. McLeish won't attract any quality to fill the void of Young, Downing and Milner so Randy is trying to recoup his loses before he departs. That won't stop the fans on here still thinking he's God's gift after the laughable mickey mouse manager search, the lies they've been fed to and actually being shit on in general. No hope for them.