kkr Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Id prefer Reo-Coker to Barton, id be happy with either so maybe ill settle for both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin@villatalk Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 My understanding Top Class - Carew, Keane, barry ( i know these arew debatable but i'm just giving quick examples) World Class - Ronaldo, Henry, Drogba, Gerrard etc I cant see world class players coming to villa when they can be picked up by one of the top 4 premiership teams or bigger clubs in europe. I would be happy with a team full of Top Class players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocafella Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Agreed - because world class players cost 20M minimum and I don't think we are there yet, we have to generate more money during a season Top class ones are very approachable and will cost everything from 5M to 20M and most likely at 10-15M to be very accurate. Darren Bent and Sneijder are both top class and would cost around that amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggaman Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 yakubu may be a lazy shit, but he scores goals when given the chance but how many of those are from open play? Look at AJ, Everton buy him for 8mill for his goalscoring record in the Prem the previous season. 9-10 of those were pens That's true, but in all honesty AJ is a constant threat for Everton. He's a quality forward in my opinion. We've got a similar player in Gabby. I think what we need is another big player upfront. We've got pace in Moore and Gabby (and Young if you include him as a forward), plus the size of Carew. That means too small(ish) pacey forwards, and one big target man. So in my opinion we need another target man. Klose anybody? In my dreams. But, I just feel it would be nice to have a more powerful forward to compliment the ones we already have. In that sense maybe Yakubu is the ideal option. Although, I still believe we should be aiming higher. I personally would like to see Ashton, Keane, or Bent. Although these are not exactly huge target men, they are different to what we have in certain ways, thus adding an extra dimension to our attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberVillan Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 yakubu may be a lazy shit, but he scores goals when given the chance but how many of those are from open play? Look at AJ, Everton buy him for 8mill for his goalscoring record in the Prem the previous season. 9-10 of those were pens You can't score over 15 goals a season for three years running and depend on pens all the time, he's proved he knows where the back of the net is and i think Mon would improve him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted May 22, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 22, 2007 yakubu may be a lazy shit, but he scores goals when given the chance but how many of those are from open play? Look at AJ, Everton buy him for 8mill for his goalscoring record in the Prem the previous season. 9-10 of those were pens You can't score over 15 goals a season for three years running and depend on pens all the time, he's proved he knows where the back of the net is and i think Mon would improve him. I think Martin prefers em a bit busier than Yakubu. He's a goalscorer alright, but I don't think he's MON's type, Defoe has more hustle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlitobrigante Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 i think the boards comments about world class players has been taken out of context.. i think he meant to get to where we want to be (i.e in champions league) will take getting world class players, however we are still building towards that so I dont think he meant we would be neccesarily seeing them this summer but more like over the next 2-3 years... hopefully im proved wrong. I cant wait to see what MON has up his sleeve this summer.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 i think the boards comments about world class players has been taken out of context.. Can I just say that Fitzgerald actually said 'top class' and not 'world class' before a debate kicks off about what defines 'world class'. Top class just means good players IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Expect Top Class Signings New CrestRichard FitzGerald has told Villa fans to expect 'top class' signings this summer as Martin O'Neill prepares for his second season at the helm. And the Villa Park chief executive believes the new state-of-the-art £13million Bodymoor Heath training complex will help recruit the players to take the club onto another level. FitzGerald is understandably proud of the new facility and reflected: "It's a very important part of the overall package as a player, not only in attracting new players but retaining the ones we've got. "From an agent's perspective, clearly the environment the players operate in is absolutely fundamental and it's an important part of the infrastructure in place. "Our number one objective is to have a winning team and for that you need winning players and winning players need to be treated correctly." He added: "I certainly hope it's a real statement of the club's ambition. If you bring someone here, then clearly this is a deciding factor. "It's about building a solid base because ultimately it's about winning consistently - it's not just about building one team for one cup run. "It's about building an infrastructure that supports a top team if we're going to achieve what we want to achieve. "We all feel very positive about this but it's also about the togetherness - the football side are appreciative and I think we'll see some good results. We're certainly expecting some top class players here in the summer." Clicky... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozzy Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 However, I suspect that aside from the goalkeepers who are probably the two best currently playing in Britain. Boruc better than Cech? Hyperbole? :? Very good point, Cech aside. :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozzy Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Craig Gordon has shone at international level and in the last year has attracted interest from Bayern Munich, Man Utd and Arsenal not to mention praise from Buffon. Boruc has performed admirably in the Champions League and has had a great season in the SPL. Naismith, I admit has not proved he is of Premiership class as he has only done it at SPL level. However, I suspect that aside from the goalkeepers who are probably the two best currently playing in Britain. MON has bigger fish to fry over the summer. Remember with those bigger players O'Neill will have to take his time making his decision , attempting to convince them Villa Park is the place to be next season. I'm certain the early player rumours are nowhere near the extent of O'Neill's ambitions - people just need to be pateint. What I am saying is that assessing those players that do shine is difficult. Is such a player truly PL standard? or are they good because they scored a hatrick/kept a clean sheet against Dumfermline? Its a far inferior league to the dutch, german leagues, and probably the scandinavian ones aswell. It is difficult with players like Naismith but not so difficult it comes to the top players. As I said, Craig Gordon has proved his worth at International level as well as club level. Boruc has proved his worth in the Champions League as well as club level. The German league is definitely better , the Dutch league similar maybe a bit better. The Scandinavian leagues are definitely not better their teams are populated by Old Firm rejects like Tore Andre Flo , Harald Brattbakk and even middle of the raod Scottish players like Robbie Winters and Charlie Miller. This will be my last post on this theme as I use this messageboard as an Aston Villa fan but feel as if all I'm doing is defending Scottish players' ability and that's not what this thread is about. I apologize to anyone who's bored reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-savman Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Confirmed - Sidwell gone to Chelsea. Did I hear a toilet flush? Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell. Sidwell will join The Blues on a free transfer following the expiry of his Royals contract on 1st July. Jose Mourinho has always been in the box seat to land the former Arsenal trainee, who also interested Newcastle. Sidwell passed a Chelsea medical this week and will now return to Stamford Bridge for pre-season training at the beginning of July. Sidwell could be the first of three new faces at Chelsea this summer. Chief executive Peter Kenyon revealed recently that the club are also in the market for a defender and a striker LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted May 22, 2007 Moderator Share Posted May 22, 2007 Is it time for the "date of first signing" sweepstakes yet ? I say 8th June ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Presuming the window opens on 1st June Ill say ............................ 3rd July Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olejniker Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 We won't sign Yakubu this summer. I assure you of that. We would be daft to do so. He's got the ANC next year, so, if we do get him, he won't feature for two months of our campaign, and who knows, he may also pick up a knock at the tournament, so its not really wise to purchase African players this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberVillan Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 We won't sign Yakubu this summer. I assure you of that. We would be daft to do so. He's got the ANC next year, so, if we do get him, he won't feature for two months of our campaign, and who knows, he may also pick up a knock at the tournament, so its not really wise to purchase African players this summer. Why should we not sign a quality player because of the African cup?, so are you implying that you'd turn down Drogba, Essien, Appiah, Etto, Toure ect too? :roll: , the Yak scores goals and that's what we need from a forward, we've got the two young lads who are more than capable of covering for him if he does sign for us, going away for a few weeks is not like missing a whole season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deko1970 Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 At the moment I cannot see Barton signing for anyone with the impending criminal charges hanging over his head, as I believe he is currently on bail whilst investigations continue. Why sign someone who may end up in prison for 6 months of the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blittle Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Is it time for the "date of first signing" sweepstakes yet ? I say 8th June ! My guess is 25th May Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidsnose Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 July 3rd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condimentalist Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Sneijder link has appeared again today, this time in the Guardian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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