Gary Gardner

[PauloBarnesi]

We can do better than Craig Gardner.

In the new age I am not sure we can.

[Killeen30]

I'd love it if Craig was signed up for the Villa again. IhDon the back of my 2009/10 home shirt and alway thoughtwe'd regret selling him. I knew he was a good player. Any more talk of this though, or just Villa Talk speculation?

[chappy]

I'd love it if Craig was signed up for the Villa again. IhDon the back of my 2009/10 home shirt and alway thoughtwe'd regret selling him. I knew he was a good player. Any more talk of this though, or just Villa Talk speculation?

Just keep quiet and pretend it was Gary's name you got on the back of your shirt.

[brummybloke]

theres **** all point in signing players to be subs

you sign players to be first team players and replace the players you have already there

signing subs or squad players, unless theyre kids with potential, is an utterly, utterly pointless exercise

yep, that was one of my main gripes with MON, sing BETTER than we already have and drop the ones they are better than to the bench, unfortunately MON did it the other way around and signed lots of players who never made it regualrly off the bench, and all for decent money and high wages.

that sort of madness was annoying fans when he was doing it in his first summer transfer window.

if we can **** collins off to sunderland or blackburn and get dann in, ideally swap collins for dann and also give them beye or heskey or both

then it clears away some of the hoof and wages

we should keep cuellar, we should also redo most of our decent players contracts to include an optional 12 month extension which WE can activate, so when a player does a downing, we activate the extra year and get more money for them.

it seems man utd have done it with berb

we need to sort this stuff out now before the rest of the semi decent players switch sides for not much money and we are still left with the same defence.

having gardener in the team till the end of the season is what SHOULD happen now, it is clear that despite our shit tactics and style of hoof, there are at least 3 teams even worse

so the kid needs to be given this next half season to get back up to speed, he would have been a first teamer along time ago but for nasty injuries.

i see him as petrovs replacement, now through playing style but taking on the role of midfield general

[AVFCforever1991]

He's signed up until 2014

Not long enough, he clearly has the potential to be a great player, thats only 2 years, i would sign him up till 2016 at least, im tired of villa players waiting till the last couple of years of their contracts, saying they want to move, and we don't get nearly as much as we should e.g. Ashley young ( He wanted to leave, ok i get that but we could have got alot more than 16mill if his contract didnt run out that summer...

[Stu_The_Villan]

we should keep cuellar, we should also redo most of our decent players contracts to include an optional 12 month extension which WE can activate, so when a player does a downing, we activate the extra year and get more money for them.

it seems man utd have done it with berb

Spurs have just done it with Pavlyuchenko too. Well, hes signed a new contract with them knowing full well that hes not gonna get many (if any) games for them. I dont know if it was something written into his contract or he did it off his own back, but its something our club should look at doing ALOT more often. Its called contingency and its something that EVERY business puts into practice on a regular basis.

Just think of the extra £££ we would have made from the sales of Barry Milner and Young. Not to mention some sort of contingency for when we signed Jenas incase it went tits up (just like we all knew it would anyway!!)

[brommy]

He's signed up until 2014

Not long enough, he clearly has the potential to be a great player, thats only 2 years, i would sign him up till 2016 at least, im tired of villa players waiting till the last couple of years of their contracts, saying they want to move, and we don't get nearly as much as we should e.g. Ashley young ( He wanted to leave, ok i get that but we could have got alot more than 16mill if his contract didnt run out that summer...

Players and their agents have the most control over contract length. I'm sure the club would have like to sign the likes of AY on a long term contract once they were proven to be 'doing the business' for the club. Unfortunately that's when some players and agents start looking ahead a couple of years and thinking about moves.

From my Villa memory of the last 30 years, nothing much has changed. There will always be a few clubs that are more attractive to certain players than the Villa. Having said that, I'm sure we've p!ssed off a few fans of smaller clubs who have lost their players to us!

I suspect the club will be talking to GG and his agent in the summer (still 2 years left on his contract) and I hope that GG sees sense that even if he has massive belief in his own potential, his next few years would be better at Villa.

Sometime this year I expect to read a "delighted to sign" statement in reference to a contract extension, even if it's just another year or two (2015-2016). Either way if GG continues to progress, it won't be the club that stalls over a new 5 year deal.

[brommy]

we should keep cuellar, we should also redo most of our decent players contracts to include an optional 12 month extension which WE can activate, so when a player does a downing, we activate the extra year and get more money for them.

it seems man utd have done it with berb

Spurs have just done it with Pavlyuchenko too. Well, hes signed a new contract with them knowing full well that hes not gonna get many (if any) games for them. I dont know if it was something written into his contract or he did it off his own back, but its something our club should look at doing ALOT more often. Its called contingency and its something that EVERY business puts into practice on a regular basis.

Just think of the extra £££ we would have made from the sales of Barry Milner and Young. Not to mention some sort of contingency for when we signed Jenas incase it went tits up (just like we all knew it would anyway!!)

Some players are more happy than others to take a huge wage and sit on the bench of a big club.

Others players want more first team football or are confident of their ability to earn more money elsewhere. They also get a huge 'signing on' fee when they leave on a 'free' in lieu of the buying club paying a large transfer fee. These are the players that won't sign contract extensions just to keep a fee for a club they want to leave.

[Demitri_C]

to be fair to mclesih he did get best out of craig i would take him

[Si.]

I´m starting to warming to the idea of having two Gardners in midfield.

----Gardner------Gardner----

N´zogbia----Ireland-----Gabby

-----------Bent--------------

Two box to box rather than one def and one off.

Of course there is better players than Craig, but Craig and Gary should be able to get a good understanding going.

Do people forget that Craig is a bluenose? Why would you want him anywhere near Villa park?

[quizme]

I´m starting to warming to the idea of having two Gardners in midfield.

----Gardner------Gardner----

N´zogbia----Ireland-----Gabby

-----------Bent--------------

Two box to box rather than one def and one off.

Of course there is better players than Craig, but Craig and Gary should be able to get a good understanding going.

Do people forget that Craig is a bluenose? Why would you want him anywhere near Villa park?

Well in my case its because I think Craig and Gary would form a good partnership in CM.

And Bent is a Arsenal fan, Petrov likes Liverpool etc etc etc.

[Shillzz]

Don't really see the point in taking Gardner back at the moment, perhaps if Delph leaves permanently then it could be worth doing.

[PauloBarnesi]

I´m starting to warming to the idea of having two Gardners in midfield.

----Gardner------Gardner----

N´zogbia----Ireland-----Gabby

-----------Bent--------------

Two box to box rather than one def and one off.

Of course there is better players than Craig, but Craig and Gary should be able to get a good understanding going.

Do people forget that Craig is a bluenose? Why would you want him anywhere near Villa park?

He is, but I wouldn’t think for a second that he would put in a sub standard performance because of that.

[coda]

Don't know if this has been posted. Gary on Craig:

"We still speak every day and we're really close. He came back over last weekend.

I would love for him to come back to the midlands with Aston Villa and play alongside him but who knows? There are six brothers altogether and we're a close family. We all see each other almost every day. I didn't think Craig realised how hard it would be to pull away from that.

I think he does find it hard, but he is the type of lad to get his head down and just keep fighting. I am sure he would want to come back to the midlands but he is a Sunderland player at the moment and I'd imagine the fans would want to keep him there."

[PauloBarnesi]

That sounds like a “go and get him boss, else I am off to join the Sunderland revolution”

[Si.]

And Bent is a Arsenal fan, Petrov likes Liverpool etc etc etc.

True but that is abit different. When he joined SHA he claimed it was a dream come true to join his boyhood club. Kissing the badge when he scored etc..

The tought of him in claret and blue after that makes me sick!

[Killeen30]

Who gives a shit who he supports, wind your neck in. He's not the type of player to go into games half arsed. He's a battler who'll give his best anytime he pulls on the shirt. He did the first time round and he's doing it now for Sunderland even though he is home sick.

If we have any money get him in Eck.

[cheltenham_villa]

He's signed up until 2014

Not long enough, he clearly has the potential to be a great player, thats only 2 years, i would sign him up till 2016 at least, im tired of villa players waiting till the last couple of years of their contracts, saying they want to move, and we don't get nearly as much as we should e.g. Ashley young ( He wanted to leave, ok i get that but we could have got alot more than 16mill if his contract didnt run out that summer...

we tried to get Ashley to sign with two years to go, he didnt want to and left with a year left. Not sure what else we could have done.

We cant offer players longer contracts, on more money and talk about cutting the wage bill. It takes a balance. Gardener needs to be kept within a couple of years, until he has proved he is ready to make the grade and play a bigger part. The his contract should be altered accordingly but we cant afford to go throwing big money and long contracts after every kid with promise.

[briggaman]

Who gives a shit who he supports, wind your neck in. He's not the type of player to go into games half arsed. He's a battler who'll give his best anytime he pulls on the shirt. He did the first time round and he's doing it now for Sunderland even though he is home sick.

If we have any money get him in Eck.

I couldn't care less who he supports to be honest. All I care about is the fact that he's shite and we did well to get rid of him in the first place. Average player at best and I see no benefit in signing him. If the argument is to use him as a squad player then it's a waste of space and money. We already have better midfielders than him (including his brother) and some promising midfielders coming through the ranks (like Johnson etc).

I really don't see the point in taking two steps back and signing Craig. I can't see any logic from those who actually want him back either. It would be a pathetic and pointless piece of business for us...

[MMFy]

I said it at the time: Do you really reckon he is a lifelong Bluenose? Moving to your stupidest rivals will take something to win the fans over. Claiming an allegiance to them will do that, while also making the fans think they are a bigger club than the Villa.

I doubt he was telling the truth when he made that statement but I also doubt we will ever know the truth. Like Robbie Keane has done so many times though, I reckon it was a PR stunt...