General Transfer speculation thread with guff from Twitter

[Big_John_10]

If this is the approach he really wants and these are the players he wants will we be after lower league players next season?

I have a feeling that if the limitations and budgets are better next year Lambert will be signing better quality players.

[PompeyVillan]

Well if we go down, we go down. It won't be Lambert's fault. The board dictate his budget and financial strategy and he has to work within that.

[Boumasbabies]

Got an awful feeling we'll be trotting out the 'we tried, but we ran out of time' line of bullshit come Saturday am

We've had all **** summer to get folks in and now with less than 24 hours to go we're up shit creek

And we'll probably end up panic signing some turd like Doyle for 8m or something equally daft because of it

I am going to bed and I will dream that tomorrow we complete the signings of

Christian Benteke......£7m

Jordan Bowery...........£600k

Charlie Adams...........£5.5m

Yossi Beneyoun.........Season Loan

Emmanuel Frimpong.....Season Loan

**** I would be happy with that.

[KHV]

I agree with Peter. Maybe on paper the window has been underwhelming, but the shift in philosophy and Lambert being willing to drag the club into the 20th century is enough to convince me that we're heading in the right direction.

We're so desperately in need of a change in philosophy that I'd accept failure from Lambert if it meant that in the future, we won't be playing the brand of direct football that has cost us a fortune and been largely unsuccessful. For us to remain a top flight team it needs to happen.

I honestly think we will go down under Lambert. This change of philosophy cannot work with the players we have. Houllier tried this change and had to buy in Darren Bent to survive. He also had Downing and Young at his disposal. Unless Lambert brings in 4 or 5 players tomorrow and I am not on about players from Charlton or Chesterfield either then we are doomed to failure.

Our defence and midfield are among the worst in the league.

Don't know why you're using the Houllier example - by the end of his reign we had adjusted more or less and were playing well and winning games. Lambert is getting in the players he wants and it's ridiculous to write it off so soon.

the team was much better when houllier was here. Downing,Young,Reo Coker,Petrov,Friedal,Luke Young,Cuellar. Quality and experience makes a massive difference

[Big_John_10]

Well if we go down, we go down. It won't be Lambert's fault. The board dictate his budget and financial strategy and he has to work within that.

I think most fans realise this.

And if the atmosphere at the everton game is anything to go by i don't think it will take long for the fans to turn on lerner this season.

[kevangrealish]

I agree with Peter. Maybe on paper the window has been underwhelming, but the shift in philosophy and Lambert being willing to drag the club into the 20th century is enough to convince me that we're heading in the right direction.

We're so desperately in need of a change in philosophy that I'd accept failure from Lambert if it meant that in the future, we won't be playing the brand of direct football that has cost us a fortune and been largely unsuccessful. For us to remain a top flight team it needs to happen.

I honestly think we will go down under Lambert. This change of philosophy cannot work with the players we have. Houllier tried this change and had to buy in Darren Bent to survive. He also had Downing and Young at his disposal. Unless Lambert brings in 4 or 5 players tomorrow and I am not on about players from Charlton or Chesterfield either then we are doomed to failure.

Our defence and midfield are among the worst in the league.

Don't know why you're using the Houllier example - by the end of his reign we had adjusted more or less and were playing well and winning games. Lambert is getting in the players he wants and it's ridiculous to write it off so soon.

If i remember correctly we had gone from doing horrendous to okay... then McAllister took over and won 3 on the trot.

Houllier made some good signings and could have been good long term ( providing he was well enough ) but short term he was nothing short of a disaster with the players he had.

[PompeyVillan]

A big part of that Big John is shifting the likes of Warnock and Hutton and eventually Dunne. They offer no value for money to the squad, and when they're gone you'd hope Lambert will be able to replace them with 4 or 5 players of equal or better quality. If he had shifted them this window, I think we would have seen more spending.

[Big_John_10]

A big part of that Big John is shifting the likes of Warnock and Hutton and eventually Dunne. They offer no value for money to the squad, and when they're gone you'd hope Lambert will be able to replace them with 4 or 5 players of equal or better quality. If he had shifted them this window, I think we would have seen more spending.

With our wage bill at a good level and our squad looking poor i don't think the failure to shift warnock and hutton should have effected us.

The risk of relegation is far too strong to worry about the wages of 2 players for 6 months or a year.

[KHV]

I agree with Peter. Maybe on paper the window has been underwhelming, but the shift in philosophy and Lambert being willing to drag the club into the 20th century is enough to convince me that we're heading in the right direction.

We're so desperately in need of a change in philosophy that I'd accept failure from Lambert if it meant that in the future, we won't be playing the brand of direct football that has cost us a fortune and been largely unsuccessful. For us to remain a top flight team it needs to happen.

I honestly think we will go down under Lambert. This change of philosophy cannot work with the players we have. Houllier tried this change and had to buy in Darren Bent to survive. He also had Downing and Young at his disposal. Unless Lambert brings in 4 or 5 players tomorrow and I am not on about players from Charlton or Chesterfield either then we are doomed to failure.

Our defence and midfield are among the worst in the league.

Don't know why you're using the Houllier example - by the end of his reign we had adjusted more or less and were playing well and winning games. Lambert is getting in the players he wants and it's ridiculous to write it off so soon.

If i remember correctly we had gone from doing horrendous to okay... then McAllister took over and won 3 on the trot.

Houllier made some good signings and could have been good long term ( providing he was well enough ) but short term he was nothing short of a disaster with the players he had.

you forget the massive injury crisis we had in the middle of the season when we had about 7 players out.

By the end of the season everybody was back fit and he playerd Friedal,Cuellar,L Young,Collins,Dunne,Reo Coker,Petrov,A Young,Downing,Bent,Gabby. 7 of those people have left and Petrov was struck with illness and we have not really replaced them with any quality. Most have been replaced by young players who are not up to it or useless lazy words removed like Ireland and Nzogbia

[barry'sboots]

I don't see it that way, though I understand and respect why others do.

Since O'Neill left, we've been thinking it was "a season of transition". It never was though, just season after season of confusion and treading water, slowly sinking.

This actually is a season of transition. The signings we are making, and the players we are letting go, signify a change at more than a superficial level.

O'Neill left, I suspect, because the funding wasn't there to sustain a money-fuelled lunge for the PL, because for all his best efforts his approach on that budget wasn't going to deliver it, and because the game had changed to make that approach on a limited budget perhaps forever impossible where it might have worked a couple of years previously.

Since then, there has been no strategy, no vision, no real idea about how to move on.

In my view, we now have a manager who does have a clear view about what to do. He has been given a different and more limited (but perhaps harder) remit than O'Neill, to cut running costs but deliver performance better than those spending equivalent amounts. On the evidence of a couple of months, he knows what he's doing.

I'm quite content to let him play this out for a couple of years, and not judge according to whether clubs like Gent do or don't make a certain decision in the next few hours.

There's a strategic direction (even if it's not to win the league), there's some well-informed decision-making taking place, there seems to be some alignment between the manager, the board, the finance, and implementing decisions.

Which is not to say it will all fall into place quickly. Few things do. But we might just possibly have made a key appointment, which will shape our future as Wenger's appointment shaped the Arse all those years ago.

Lerner may not know his arse from his elbow, but he may have made a good appointment here. Raging against the approach may be justified on the basis of the last three years, but would be massively undermining and distracting for Lambert. Let's give it a few months at least before we start with the pitchforks and torches.

Good post. Some sensible points made here.

Seconded.

Thirded. Can't understand why there is so much negativity at the minute. Granted, we will not be competing for CL spots but I do think Lambert has started a complete overhaul and I am liking the players that he has bought in given the budgetary limitations. KEA and Vlaar look good, Holman is an asset and Lowton and Bennett look to be good signings for sensible money with real upside.

The key for Lambert, IMO, is to get the legacy assets/experienced players playing to their potential: NZogbia, Ireland, Dunne, Given, Gabby and Bent need to fire for us to have a strong season. It looks like Ireland has started well, carrying on from his form in the second half of last season. We now need NZogbia to join the party. If we can get those two working together we will have a creative axis that is as good as any teams outside the top 6/7.

The third block is the youth. Big season for Delph but I think this kid really has it BUT he needs to be used in the right way, as a deeper lying playmaker playing alongside another deeper lying CM'er (KEA). I am hoping that Lambert can get Marc back on the right track after McTool did his best to ruin him. Baker looks promising and I am really excited by Carruthers from the brief sightings I have had. I am uncertain about Bannan and not sure about Clark as a CB, with the latter being a magnet for cards.

It would also help, obviously, if we could off load the freeloaders - Warnock and Hutton.

[ClaretMahoney]

FFS I Just want the club to show some **** AMBITION and BALLS in the transfer market. Lerner has the money to sign some players he just made a billion dollars, no? I know most would disagree but I think Berbatov still has it and I don't see why we weren't after him. He's the kind of experienced player we should be after. Even Owen FFS. Kranjcar is available no? VdV? QPR get Granero, who the **** do we get?? What about Charlie Adam or even trying for Milner again? It just pisses me off that we're not after some real pedigree and PL experience.

[mcben]

I don't see it that way, though I understand and respect why others do.

Since O'Neill left, we've been thinking it was "a season of transition". It never was though, just season after season of confusion and treading water, slowly sinking.

This actually is a season of transition. The signings we are making, and the players we are letting go, signify a change at more than a superficial level.

O'Neill left, I suspect, because the funding wasn't there to sustain a money-fuelled lunge for the PL, because for all his best efforts his approach on that budget wasn't going to deliver it, and because the game had changed to make that approach on a limited budget perhaps forever impossible where it might have worked a couple of years previously.

Since then, there has been no strategy, no vision, no real idea about how to move on.

In my view, we now have a manager who does have a clear view about what to do. He has been given a different and more limited (but perhaps harder) remit than O'Neill, to cut running costs but deliver performance better than those spending equivalent amounts. On the evidence of a couple of months, he knows what he's doing.

I'm quite content to let him play this out for a couple of years, and not judge according to whether clubs like Gent do or don't make a certain decision in the next few hours.

There's a strategic direction (even if it's not to win the league), there's some well-informed decision-making taking place, there seems to be some alignment between the manager, the board, the finance, and implementing decisions.

Which is not to say it will all fall into place quickly. Few things do. But we might just possibly have made a key appointment, which will shape our future as Wenger's appointment shaped the Arse all those years ago.

Lerner may not know his arse from his elbow, but he may have made a good appointment here. Raging against the approach may be justified on the basis of the last three years, but would be massively undermining and distracting for Lambert. Let's give it a few months at least before we start with the pitchforks and torches.

Good post. Some sensible points made here.

Seconded.

Thirded. Can't understand why there is so much negativity at the minute. Granted, we will not be competing for CL spots but I do think Lambert has started a complete overhaul and I am liking the players that he has bought in given the budgetary limitations. KEA and Vlaar look good, Holman is an asset and Lowton and Bennett look to be good signings for sensible money with real upside.

The key for Lambert, IMO, is to get the legacy assets/experienced players playing to their potential: NZogbia, Ireland, Dunne, Given, Gabby and Bent need to fire for us to have a strong season. It looks like Ireland has started well, carrying on from his form in the second half of last season. We now need NZogbia to join the party. If we can get those two working together we will have a creative axis that is as good as any teams outside the top 6/7.

The third block is the youth. Big season for Delph but I think this kid really has it BUT he needs to be used in the right way, as a deeper lying playmaker playing alongside another deeper lying CM'er (KEA). I am hoping that Lambert can get Marc back on the right track after McTool did his best to ruin him. Baker looks promising and I am really excited by Carruthers from the brief sightings I have had. I am uncertain about Bannan and not sure about Clark as a CB, with the latter being a magnet for cards.

It would also help, obviously, if we could off load the freeloaders - Warnock and Hutton.

Fourthed. I have struggled with the fact that West Ham and Fulham - smaller clubs than Villa that we should be finishing above - are showing greater ambition and are likely to finish above us. I make MC, MU, Arse, Chelski, Liverpool, Spurs, Newcastle, Everton as certainties to finish above us. The rest we can compete with, even if we don't finish 9th - best of the rest.

We are in a genuine transition as Lambert plays such a different brand of football to the most recent three managers.

I believe in Lerner's project with Lambert, mainly because I believe in Lambert's ability as a man-manager, as a tactician and as a football person. We will succeed but as others have posted, this will take time.

To finish on an interesting stat - Villa are ranked 8th in terms of net transfer spend this summer. Chelsea 86m, Man Utd 46m, Liverpool 33m, Southampton 19m, West Ham 18m, Sunderland 16m & Norwich 9.2m beats out our 9m. Link: http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/premier-league/transferuebersicht/wettbewerb_GB1.html

So to say Lerner isn't backing the project is crazy.

[HEAP]

FFS I Just want the club to show some **** AMBITION and BALLS in the transfer market. Lerner has the money to sign some players he just made a billion dollars, no? I know most would disagree but I think Berbatov still has it and I don't see why we weren't after him. He's the kind of experienced player we should be after. Even Owen FFS. Kranjcar is available no? VdV? QPR get Granero, who the **** do we get?? What about Charlie Adam or even trying for Milner again? It just pisses me off that we're not after some real pedigree and PL experience.

Say your running a company for x ammount of years, i am a bank; you owe me quite a bit of money, ive given your company many chances to improve revenue by granting additional funds, yet i see improvements on my end when expenditure is reduced...

Why would i front you extreme finances yet again when im seeing no return on my cash?

Owners dont give clubs money, like the bank doesnt give you a mortgage without a return.

Now just ease up and dont worry about who's being looked at and what is happening behind closed doors, the lambert era isnt over till skysports sings .

Dont take me wrongly too! I can empathise with your fustration, but we have to progress from here and do the 5year plan like a functional business this time around; maybe then when football devours itself in consumerism and expenditure we will still remain The Villa one of englands most prestigous clubs.

[8pints]

I am going to bed and I will dream that tomorrow we complete the signings of

Christian Benteke......£7m

Jordan Bowery...........£600k

Charlie Adams...........£5.5m

Yossi Beneyoun.........Season Loan

Emmanuel Frimpong.....Season Loan

Sounds like a good dream. I'm going to have a similar one but mine will be like this -

Christian Benteke......£7m

Jordan Bowery...........£600k

Ronaldinho..........Season Loan

Mauro Zarate.........£14m

Emmanuel Frimpong.....Season Loan

Clint Dempsey.....£8m

and

Warnock and Hutton leaving.

(It is a dream after all )

I do hope we sign someone completely unexpected that makes us fans go "Whoa! What?" but in a good way.

[Czechlad]

I really hope Lerner would let us spend that kind of money on players. We have sold plenty of players in the last years to cover those fees. Having the likes of Dempsey and adams here would make me happy. I would also love Benayoun. Still a good player.

[KSV]

We need parker or frimpong alongside kea and Ireland

[DelboyVilla]

I really hope Lerner would let us spend that kind of money on players. We have sold plenty of players in the last years to cover those fees. Having the likes of Dempsey and adams here would make me happy. I would also love Benayoun. Still a good player.

I personally worry that CA is too slow for league but would still prefer to give him a go over a complete unknown from the lower leagues. We need some experience to go with our young players. I am getting worried now that Lerner brought in PL because of his record of success on a shoestring with poor quality players??

[Mattyp_avfc]

Pete O'Rourke ‏@SkySportsPeteO

Sky Sports understands Aston Villa are considering a move for Millwall ace Liam Trotter. #AVFC #MFC

24 year old CM...... Could be the demolition man to play with KEA?

Also some people saying Ryan Babel??? :S hmmm

[quizme]

Pete O'Rourke ‏@SkySportsPeteO

Sky Sports understands Aston Villa are considering a move for Millwall ace Liam Trotter. #AVFC #MFC

24 year old CM...... Could be the demolition man to play with KEA?

Also some people saying Ryan Babel??? :S hmmm

Trotter looks big on youtube. We could do with some muscle in the middle, is he any good at playing football?

[tomaspg]

go on now lambert, get us some signings!