Kev, edited again mate .. but the message is the same.

my blind faith is running out and wearing way to thin.

MON is beginning to sound like a stuck record.

How many times does a top class keeper come on the market without the real big guns being in for him? Never. Apart from now and where were we? With respect to Sunderland, if we can't persuade someone to join us over them then something is seriously wrong. If we're lumbered with Sorenson for another season that's 10 points worse off that we'll be. We should have gone in for Gordon in July, paid the £10m (only £1m over the current price) and secured him. We'd have probably got him for £9m then anyway. I'd rather the Holte Hotel was still a wreck and we'd put that money into paying over the odds for Gordon.

I'm getting fed up. How we haven't signed a right-back and a centre-back by now is beyond me. Perhaps they should let the businessmen do the negotiating and leave MON to talk to the players - perhaps that way we might actually sign someone.

We've got the core of a fantastic squad which is why it's all the more frustrating that we'll probably lose 10 games in a row in November/Decemeber when we're forced to play our youth players.

Hopefully we'll get a few players in the next few days...

Up the Villa!

I think the main concern, apart from at right back, is strength in depth and that shouldn't be a problem during the first 3 games. I'm going for 5 points from the first 9, with our current squad.

MON will prove himself right.

im not guna believe mon has got 5 players lined up until they are paraded in a villa shirt,cause i have had weeks of false hopes thinking we were signing players and it hasnt happened so im not guna believe anything until i see them in a villa shirt with my own eyes!every other club managers to get the players in that they want before the season starts but for some reason mon doesnt belive in having his strongest team available for the first game of the season!!

drenthe is trying to sue his club over them not releasing him to real madrid, and following his performance against liverpool in the week he seems to be a bit too cocksure IMO

for me sneijder alone would have made it an amazing summer, same with the rumour of lucho gonzalez, i think that a average right back an average keeper and a world class player in any position and all the negativity would disappear from these boards

When are the club going to tell us that we've not got Gordon or that he is in fact having a medical and talking terms today.

It's not on the Sunderland website so the deal isn't dead, I just wish someone somewhere would tell us what is going on.

I have every faith in Craig Gardner doing a job at right back on saturday against liverpool.

"The deal isnt dead" That is assuming the deal was ever on. BBC sport said that understood that Sunderland & Villa were in for him but a bid was never confirmed by Villa. Thats why i dont get all these Sunderland fans coming on here saying he chose Sunderland over us. He never got a chance to come down here because either we never made a bid or (as many people have said) we werent prepared to pay £9M.

Damian, why is it that every article you write seems to attract negative comments about the regime? Not your fault mate, I can see you're being objective, but why does everyone keep going on about "false hopes" or being "fed up"? MON is in control - he's got rid of the 'fat', and now he's building, carefully, for the next 4 years - would these negative fans prefer him to do a Sven @ Man City job? No. Rome wasn't built in a day, and nor will our team....but patience, it'll come good....

Ps - if we get any kind of result v. Liverpool (which we will) then hopefully people will wake-up and get behind the club again.

I agree with all the optimists on this site, to an extent, meaning that Villa faithful should not lose faith at this stage at all. For two reasons 1) If we are truly supporters of this club then we have an obligation to create a positive atmosphere on the sites, at the ground to back the players and amongst us all 2) We have no real reason to lose faith in the new regime this early, O'Neill has done an excellent job in clearing out dead wood and whilst we haven't got all players we need yet, we still might! Having said all that, I think it is fair to say that a club with the purported ambition of Villa should have a recognised rightback for the start of a prem season and a backup keeper - I would like to post that question.

Keep the faith guys

I see words like false hopes and let down.

It's not September yet, keep the faith then break down over a few beers.

I remember being asked to comment on this site a few weeks back which goalkeeper we would prefer - Carson, Gordon or Itandje.

I said Carson and if i remember so did many others. Loosing out to Gordon who would prefer to be close to Scotland than improve his career is no big loss! £9million is stupid for him if Petr Cech is £7million.

I'd rather get Scott Carson in, bid £6-7 million and get the kid in, we all know what he can do. He proved it by getting player of the season at a relegated club last season along with being most capped U21 player ever.

In my eyes more potential and better value for money and i believe he is younger than Gordon!

A lot of the problem is down to the media, they know that Aston Villa's new chairman is incredibly well off and so any player near the end of contract or put up for sale is linked with us; this coupled with scummy agents who link us to players so their own club gives them a bumper new deal leads to us joe blogs fans being told all kinds of stories.
I was beginning to believe that there was all this hype just to encourage season ticket sales, we do keep hearing about 'breaking the record' and 'villa fans optimism' I am confident in the squad we have, O'neill is building a team of england periphery players, all pushing for a chance to play wearing the 3 lions and that can only bode well for villa. Which makes me believe there might be some truth in the Hoyte speculation. but as with every link i'm not holding my breath until ITSONP (In The Shirt On The Pitch)
We'll do one over on liverpool on saturday then people can say what they like

yep carson would be a better choice gordon very over rated

perhaps we should all stop looking at the links we know by now most of them are false MON has no intention of telling us till there done i for one dont beleive we were in for gordon, think it was just paper talk. He said 2 weeks ago things were in motion and at the moment i have no reason not to beleive him.As for the players that have gone most were not good enough to make a differance if they were needed so was there any point in keeping hold of them

I can see it now....19 player squad...a few injuries in the early games..which is almost certain..and out with the excuses...but this time NO SMALL SQUAD CRAP...ITS GONNA HAVE TO BE MON ADMITTING HES GOT IT ALL WRONG...I know some of ya keep dreaming about 5 new players etc etc...But come on this is a joke now,,what has mon been doing all summer,hes had over 2 months to re-build and all hes got is 2 kids one of whom is injured a complete non entity in marlon and one decent player in okey coker...now if that is the work of a master technican,,of a manager who knows the game,,of an astute business man..then im very very worried...but waiting for a good laugh when he has to stand and give interviews on why he failed to rebuild the squad....YOU SEE IN MY BOOK,YOU CANT HALF REBUILD IN THE SUMMER THEN CARRY ON IN JANUARY..
I SAID IT AGES AGO...MON SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOOKING IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP,,THERE HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMPETE WITH THE LIKES OF CARDIFF,,COLCHESTER,,AND BRISTOL CITY..AND ALTHOUGH THE PLAYERS WE WOULD HAVE GOT,,WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WORLD CLASS,,WE MAY HAVE HAD PLAYERS TO FILL POSTIONS...AND A SQUAD THAT WAS NOT VERY VERY THREADBARE..
YOU KNOW ITS GONNA HAPPEN..A COUPLE OF OUR MAJOR PLAYERS ARE GOING TO GET INJURED..THEN EVERY ONE IS GONNA START SHOUTING..
I HOPE ITS ALL DIRECTED AT THAT SLOW MOVING TWAT MON..

i hope gardner doesnt play at right back. looks a bit shady in defence and we cant afford that. great in midfield though. i think cahill should deputise as he did well against inter.

OK lads I think its time we fully get behind O'Neill and Lerner and stop paying attention to the paper's. Everyone knows we have money to spend so were being linked with everyone. I prefer O'Neills ways of doing things look at Sven he's spent alot of money on players who may not be succesful in this league we know what NRC can do and if Harewood regains the form of two years ago it'll be hailed as a master stroke..... So lets drop all the negativiy and fill or stadium for every home game to show our support for the new regime.... Its down to the fans now to show there support if this was Deadly Doug and O'Leary being linked with so many players we'd be laughing knowing it wasn't true..... Maybe everyone will think Im mad but thats how I feel we should be patient instead of shooting them down so quickly

I reckon instead of checking NewsNow every 5 minutes for links of the same players by different sites, we should all just list who we'd like at the club (reasonable players, not Ronaldinho's and what-have-you) might make this afternoon a bit more interesting to see what the majority of our fans (or at least the ones who go on this site) are interested in.
List away people!!!!

RE HUGGY......I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU THINK MATE ,,,but aaron hughes would have been good at right back..and steve davis would have been good cover in midfield...and liam ridgwell would have been a nice back up in defence....These players didnt become crap over nite..I dont know about you,but as it stands at the moment i wouldnt mind having them in our squad

Craig Gordon - From Hearts

i etting bloody worried no. Ive heardumours about Danny Mills and Ghaly coming, i just hope its just rumour. id werally lose ouon Gordon or were we evr in for him at the death? Id like Jussi in and Glen Johnson for starters, and hopefully 1 big name like sneider.

It seems a few big clubs have joined villa in the chase for itjande who we had on trial. Ive seen nothing of him.

I think Davies at this stage is a must for us
Hoyte would be a very good signing at right back, bit like a J Lloyd samuel in his hay day only with more potential and consistency.

Going forward we look strong enough to score goals, and to be honest our biggest weakness was scoring goals. We will always create chances whoever were playing against. In Gabby and Moore we have 2 prolific goal scorers at youth and reserve level.

Everton were expecting alot of good signings this year, they have only signed 2 players like us and 1 on loan. There fans are just as mistified however they are not moaning, and are thoroughly backing their team for the coming season, lets do the same shall we.

carson, hangeland (whos penciled to be unvailed tomorrow) hoyte, olofinjana (wolves) id like wittingham back from cardif, saha, bardsley did ok for us, shorey, kasper schmichael

im a celtic fan, MON was always very slow to sign new player sin the summer, we spent all summer worrying that noone would come in and then on the final transfer day he would sign 3 or 4, he found some great players for us and some really bad ones too..but keep the faith im sure he knows who and what he wants

Who would you like Dizzy?

To be fair, the main chunk of the player we have been linked with consistently I'd be happy with, I mean the likes of SWP, Davies, Carson/Gordon, Hoyte... so on, so on.

But they are only links/pres/paper talk!

As long as we dont end up with someone shit like Marlon Harewood...... WHAT? HE'S OUR NUMBER NINE????? :'(

Somersetvilla - that is one of the most poorly constructed and negative arguments I have seen on this site...are you the eternal pessimist or something?

19 is a small squad no doubt, but O'Neill isn't a mug and will definitely be looking to bring players in. As for your point about looking in the championship to compete against the teams you listed, everyone apart from yourself recognises this is a path towards disaster....there is no point at all in having three places in each position if they are all the quality of 18th-20th place - NONE, you still go down anyway and in the meantime bring down the average quality of the player at the Villa and then where would our chances of signing anyone of quality be.

As for your comment 'waiting for a good laugh' when things go wrong about Villa - I hope you leave that attitude at home if you ever come to VP.....noone cares what's in your 'book'!

I heard Gordon was due to visit both VP and Stadium of Dark, but sent his representative to talk to MON, MON took this as an indication of his commitment and broke off the deal. Sounds fair enough to me if this was the case.

I'd like to see Hoyte, Davies and Rosenior coming in £14mn all up, lets get this season going

i still cant believe anyone is willing to pay 9mil for gordon! hes nower near that quality of keeper

Wht effin wait till sept? wev'e had 3 months to buy, or is that not long enough? even ellis gave us angel and yorke!

Get Boswinga in! Ever since the rumour broke i've been able to see more and more of him (on internet etc) and i think he'd be a great signing! Scott Carson would be brilliant and i would dare say MON could guarantee him 1st team football! I still think Wes Sneijder may be a bit ambitious as i think he'll want european football but have we even bid for him? I doubt it! It even looks like Man Utd interested in signing Itandje? Dunno much about him but if Fergie sees something in him he could be worth a go! Hangeland (excuse the spelling if its wrong)by all accounts is a decent player whats happened with that rumour?
I honestly think there wouldnt be so much negativity towards MON if it looked as though he was really trying to sign players but because of the clubs silent policy i reckon that if he doesn't turn the situation around quickly fans may start to turn on him!
I really dont want to see that cos i rate him highly as a manager but at the moment seems like he cant handle the big budget he's got. PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG!!!

yorke was down to Taylor's opportunism and vision.....not Ellis....

All you bangin on about get behind villa, what have they done for you this summer? have they told you what's going on? have they kept you in the picture? If not then why not? who pays their wages ? WE DO we have the right to expect from them we bloody pay for it all!

Taglor is right lets all not go to the Liverpool game, tear up your season tickets, we need some answers, we have rights

somersetvilla, stop giving us somerset folk a bad rep, you're comment was a load of bollocks and way out of order, MON a "twat" come-on give me a break, who would you rather have in charge?

We should all get a chance to voice our frustrations mate, but we were all singing when he took charge, and since he's been here he's got rid of 10 players and signed 6 replacements.

I like most am getting a little frustrated but at least we have an incredibly good man-manager, who will always get the best out of players.

Everyone says we have no right-back, am I the only person who has seen Mellberg play regularly at right-back for Sweden?

Come on MON and Randy, i've still got the faith, please prove me right.

Would you all feel alot better if MON told you every player he was going for and bid for yet failed to get even tho we would still be in the same boat?

MON has a silent policy he likes to get the job doen then unveil.

Keane at Sunderland and Curbishley at West Ham, like to shout from the rooftops at who they are signing and then the signings break down. For all we know we could have bid for Nugent and been rejected, only sunderland were shouting it out.

So would you all feel alot better if you knew all the players we failed to get?

West Ham lost out on Dyer because they were bragging before the deal was done.

to taglor
I really thought you were the most negative person i'd heard on this blog and really couldn't wait to blow it all back in your face come the start of the season when we'd be seen as real european contenders after a massive spending spree in the summer!
Alas! This is not the case and i find myself becoming equally as frustrated as you re our transfer activity (or lack there of!) BUT i am prepared to wait till the window closes and see if MON comes through for us before i call for his head! I think you should aswell! Believe me if MON doesn't come up with the goods in the next few weeks i'll be right behind you baying for blood!

Ayersey
I'd be much happier if MON told us that he'd bid for a player then failed then not tell us anything at all. At least we would know he's trying!

Damnnnn theres some angry fans out there now lol

M.O.N created his own fan hate base by the look of it some people been calling for his head on the villa message board lol

Liverpool game wont sound to good i think theres going to be pleanty of booing now

Someone needs to get on the phone to him and tell him his value for money policy dosnt work in the slightest

da coasts
people like you are the reason we as a club have been standing still for 25 years..always happy with second and third best..
if thats all your happy with mate..then i feel sorry for ya....dont tell me...you was a doug suporter too

Utterly ridiculous.....it is embarrassing to be associated with Villa fans who are 'baying for blood' already!! The only right we have, unless you are a shareholder, (which you're not) is to watch a team out there and you make that choice when you pay for a ticket/season ticket...if you are that ready to boo at this stage then you are miserable people...

What is the worst thing that someone (who doesn't support your team) can say about your club? In my book it is when someone criticises the fans....saying things along the lines of 'singing when winning etc' - lets set a good example for the team and get behind the lads who we love who are already at the club rather than berating them for people who aren't there.....this negativity is embarrassing. Frustration, I can kinda understand, but the rest is too much!!

MON's got till 1st September to come up with goods, if has'nt delieverd by then, then he can go back to scotland and manage in the mickey mouse league again for all I care, we may finally get a top manager then who has actually won real trophies.

I really do hope he proves me wrong

I would be another much happier knowing who we bid for regardless of whether we got them. I think MON is a great manager, but maybe it just hasn't worked out him having to do all the work for signings. Someone else mentioned that at the start of Aug the villa site had an interview with the lady that looks after our new signings, what a joke! I am sure we will have new signings by Sept, but I do think if we want to compete with the top 4 and why not then we can't look like amateurs not even having a full squad pre season, I mean can you really imagine ferguson, benitez, mourinho, jol or wenger making that kind of mistake? for me it's just a wake up call that we aren't there yet and have a couple of seasons until we are. Every year I feel optimistic and get carried away, it's just 1 to many and now I'm trying to be realistic, top 8 if lucky!

MON could of maid some great signings
Ljunberg 3mil
Luke Young 4mil
Danny Murphy 2.5mil
Leroy Lita 6mil much better than harewood
Alan Smith
keiron dyer 4.5mil

MOAN MOAN MOAN MOAN, MON is a top man get of his back,yes he could go out and spend loads on players and find out there all crap, let him carry on and get the players he wants, i agree with him, he now has the nuucleus of a very good team, lets add quality not quantity

AVFCMAD Harewood is only backup for Carew. I dont think any of those attackers would have improved our squad and Murphy is past it (dropping down to the Championship) and Lundberg isnt going to get back to his best and is 70grand a week which is a waste.

I wouldnt have minded Luke Young and he would have only cost £2.5M. I think if MON had wanted him we would have got him.

We need to focus on a goalkeeper and some defenders.

Id love Carson but i cant see Liverpool selling us him before the game on saturday if ever.

GOD some of you guys have got the wool well over your eyes...its ok..ive just heard that manu chelsea spurs liverpool arsenal and all the other teams have promised that next season they will all stop team building and wont spend any money on players till the villa have got who they want and will keep doing this for a couple of years so mon and his five year plan can catch up..
really guys...to me MON is just another bloke in charge he is not god..hes got a lot to prove...when and if he does i will eat lots of humble pie..but till then i feel as a villa fan of over 30 years i have the right to call the bloke what i want.
but to any villa fan whos happy with mid table i apologise.sorry to upset you..after all MON has done so much for us its untrue..i just dont no where to start..keep up the good work..another 11th place will be fine

Dont lose faith he could turn this hole around
Jaskeleinen and boswinga and hoyte could be salvation but still there are some other good players
I think oneill over rates these players what his intrested in davies gordon are not worth what he wants to pay for them
reo coker over paid for aswell lets see what happens beetween now and liverpool
CMON THE VILLA

Towards the end of o'dreary/ellis reign we were playing slow, flat, defensive tripe, week in week out!! total dross!! Within that squad, we had players who were not prepared to play for the club - instead picking up their monthly fat cheque - and were not interested in the Villa. i.e. samuel, angel (only had one good season in 5/6), Barry (was playing poorly at the time and nearly left for spurs)etc. etc.

Davis and Ridgewell looked good in that team.

One year on, we are faster paced, utilising attacking football!! Within out squad, we have young, hungry players who want to achieve at the highest level. Barry has never looked better and this is down to one man alone!!

Davis and Ridgewell do not really warrant a place in this team if they are not prepared to fight for their position. They obviously do not have faith in their own ability to hold down their respective positions - a sign of lack of ambition to play at the top level.

Yes, there is a need to strengthen,and possibly before the start of the season, but as it stands we should be pleased with PROGRESS - we have PROGRESSED under o'neill!

See, there is a difference after a year, when will you doubters ever be happy - maybe when we spend loads of money on a crap player who will do nothing but sap wages from the club.

RE AVFCMAD
Danny Murphy is rubbish, if you keep name dropping him you will start a bad rumour

Stanley it is not down to one man, those young players were already at Villa apart from reo and young! and to be honest petrov and maloney have hardly shown anything world class yet, so MON holding on for the right players he's not exactly got us a tevez/torres yet

Taglor - you are more disillusioned than I thought if you expected Villa to capture a Tevez or a Torres this year!

taglor - the reference was meant for Gareth Barry alone! He would have left if it had not been for O'Neill - am pretty sure he has said this himself!! Barry played the best football of his career last season without a doubt

Agreed, the young players were here, and some were playing but the team as a whole did not function anywhere near as well as it does now - that is the point i am trying to make.

Torres/Tevez would never come to Villa while they are not in Europe - Tevez only went to West Ham as a step, as did Mascherano! That type of player - and the over-linked schneijder - will not come to VP at present until we qualify for the UEFA Cup at the very least!

I just don't agree with negative comments, when there has been a noteable improvement - both in terms of league position and overall performance of the team.

I understand some fans are frustrated at the lack of transfer activity - myself included - but to call o'neill a twat (somersetvilla) is just ridiculous!!

I will back whoever wants to play for our club, who we all want to see achieve. In MON, we have a manager who will improve us year on year - for now we have to remain patient.

UTV

;)

Give it a rest! Talk about running around in a panic. MON has stated repeatedly he knows the squad is small, and that it's not an acceptable situation.

The only true verdict of MON's first true season in charge will come with the final standings. I understand the frustration, but it sounds like a lot of old women.

Fans are entitled to say whatever they like, obviously. But running around with your knickers in a twist doesn't reflect well on you. Being upset with MON right now is just silly. Let him do his job. If he doesn't get it right, then complain away. But the measure isn't this transfer window, it's where Villa end up in the table.

And I'm willing to wager that MON wants to be as high up there as any of you.

RE Meangene

>:( i think yu have unfairly miss judged danny beacuse had some very good seasons and at the moment we need every player we have got
Hold on villians were goin through whats called a rough patch

The best way to judge a manager is by results. Bottom line is MON improved on the finishing place from the season before and whilst that might not have been too difficult, it's still an improvement. Whilst we would all dearly love to be finishing top 6 this season, so long as we improve again and maybe finish 9th or 10th it's still a step in the right direction. Under DOL we were going the wrong way so at least the rot appears to have been stopped. Hopefully, and I believe we will, we will continue to improve our football playing and, therefore, our position in the league. I am frustrated at the fact that we have not got any new players in and could easily turn that into anger at MON but you don't win things by simply buying loads of players (look at Newcastle!!). I'm not saying that you can win without spending money just that there's more to it. I sincerely don't beleive that MON and the others are just sitting around waiting for some devine inspiration with regard to signings and it's imperative that, if we don't sign anyone else, we have a 'team' that can play good football. It'll be an interesting season!!

YU KNOW i just had a blast from the past and i think you would agree with me hear i wish we could of held on to hitzelberger

Does anybody know if we really did bid for Gordon or was it the usual media dross?
It still hasn't appeared on the offical Sunderland website that he has signed.

What do you Villans think to Gardner playing at right back simply because M.O.N has just realished he has a player missing in that position?
Its no good him keep saying he is waiting for right player, surely he must have know he needed a right back the moment he realished Aaron Hughes wasn't the right man for the job.
Perhaps he missed out on the players he wanted, but i haven't seen that many quality right backs being signed.

I have had a chat with a number of my footie mates & all of them are surprised by the lack of signings by Villa but all agree we have a quality manager & think Villa will go well this season.

I didn't mean tevez/torres would sign for Villa, that was my whole point that we are so far off the others that we can't get carried away and that for all MON bangs on about holding on for the right players I was drawing a comparison that even if he gets who he wants they are not exactly that brilliant anyway, so what's the point in waiting and keeping secret if the ones we hold out for aren't that good (RC) or shite (MH), I don't see that there is anything amazing going on and they don't want to up the price by saying who, every bloody team knows we are desperate and will up the price anyway, the reality is they ballsed it up, we will do ok till sept and have a few more players then but no one that will make us smile that much or take our breath away, even if we got davies today, so what, he's ok, now go buy 7 more players with the money we plough into the business. Honestly I love some of the optimism, but sometimes it just seems to be for the sake of saying I'm a better fan by not moaning than actually looking at the reality of another humdrum so so season with 1 or 2 good wins. I can criticise the club because I'm a supporter and they wouldn't exist without us and the bloody salaries these people are on we have given each and every one of them a lottery ticket win so I do expect my team to win things and not just compete. rargh rargh rargh ;D

I agree with stanley 75 and DaCaosts exept i think Angel was un lucky to be in his prime with muppets like o leary and taylor in charge if he was 25 now mon would have him playing like a god.Also AVFCMAD i agree letting Der Hammar go was a big mistake would love to see him back.

does any one know were i could see highlights of inter milan and wasall on the internet

no way gordon hasnt gone to sunderland yet
;D

Reading MON comments today,"Ideally I would like to go back to the size of squad that we had at the end of last season. We’ve lost six or seven players and only improved it by two so far."
Ideally?????? I thought(and MON said) that we had to small a squad last year so why is it ok now?
Even I am getting worried about him.
I really can't 5 in this week never mind the player mentioned

When team performance and league position declines, i for one will start to moan about MON. Until then, whilst the team improves, i will continue to be optimistic about MON.

so there! :D

I think some people are going OTT if MON buys 3 more players we will have about 2 verry good players for each possition.When he came the squad did not have as much quality as it does now and the window IS NOT closed yet.

People are forgetting that its a "longterm" plan, people aint gona sign for a mid-table club these "world class" signings are gona take time

I agree that there are a few weeks left of the transfer window, so not to panic now. However, if Villa go in for a player with 3 days of the window left the selling club know that we are desperate and so will add a million or two onto the price. It's a risky game and it's certainly how you end up paying over the odds. Then it will take a few weeks for the player to get used to our fitness and and then a few weeks for them to gel with the team, taking us to November! Remember Berson anyone?

Why couldn't we go in for players in July, use our financial muscle and just get them? Man City have bought 7 or 8 players in a week, yet it's taken us 2 months to get 2! I am seriously worried. The lower teams have all strengthened a lot and, whilst our core 11 is excellent, the back up is threadbare. It was proven last night, as we managed a 1-1 draw with Walsall because we had to rest 4 or 5 first teamers. With no new additions I could see us having a season identical to the last one - good start, shocking middle, good finish after some frantic buys in January. If we could strengthen now and have a good middle of the season we could make top 5.

If the rumour is true that we lost out on Gordon because we were haggling over the fee it is ridiculous. To lose out on one of Europe's top keepers over £1m is a joke. It reminds me of the Robbie Keane farce - we'd all like him now wouldn't we...

The club should come out and tell us what happened - at least it will stop us wondering.

I know this sounds negative, but there's not a massive amount to be positive with at the moment - just lots of false hope and 3 days before the season with only 2 signings.

I'll still be there cheering them along on Saturday though...

Get Danny Mills on a free. At least he is a proper right back!

I have faith in M.O.N but i would of liked the new signings b4 start of the season.
Carson would be a safer bet then gordon as carson proven at this level. But if hearts got 9mil for him how much would liverpool want?
Curtis Davies 8mil,hoyte 2mil, boswinga 4mil and maybe nigel de jong5 just what we need yound hungry players.

As a vila fan of many years i am totally stunned and disgusted by the negativity of some of the fans on this and other message boards. 1 of the main reasons why we have declined to where we needed a rich buyer to buy us out was because of the lack of stabitlity. How ridiculous to start calling for MON's head. Anyone who boos on saturday should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. I seem to remember a certain Man u manager on the brink of the sack. and look what he did because he was given the time. so all those Villa fans being negative, Think on and be careful what you wish for.. you may live to regret it....

teddy, if we try for that usless *"!@:*^ danny mills, there will be 4 season ticket from my house going straight back to villa park. for god's sake don't come up with these suggestions, we're all feeling like crap as it is, i'd sooner have mick mills, he might be twice as old be he's twice as good

Teddy,

Let's see how many of Man City's signings set the world alight. Let's also see how many are there in, say, 2 years time when MON's Villa kids have gelled and grown and been under his tutelage for a decent amount of time.

how about DANNY MILLS!!
he's a proper right back and right wing back!
;D

Ok it's now time to cut all the crap. Lets get behind our claret & blue heros and cheer them on to a famous victory over the mighty Liverpool......Come on you Lions!!!

Let's get one thing straight - I don't want MON out. Far from it, as I think 99% of fans feel. I think he's a fantastic manager and is doing a fantastic job. My point was that by now we should have at least got a proper right back in and have suitable cover for centre back and a decent keeper. Carson is a good start. Hopefully we'll get some more players over the next week.

The fact is that we have a young midfielder playing right back this weekend against one of the top teams in the country and a fantastic centre back (Laursen) who might well be injured soon with only one player as cover. It also takes Gardener out of midfield where he has the potential to do excellently. Surely that's not what we wanted. But hopefully they'll do a job and the reinforcements will be in soon!

Danny Mills has a bit of tongue in cheek humour, although on reflection would it be that bad as a bit of cover? Surely he would be better cover than nobody...

Like I said - I'll still be cheering the boys on at the weekend and will be there every week, whoever we do or do not sign.

Martin O'Neill works in his own quiet way; no fuss. Look at the other lot; they had a spurs player already training with them who didn't like what he saw on the training ground and wasn't prepared to stay, so Bruce has the audacity to say 'I threw him out'. It was his panic buying in the first place that got him into trouble. tonight he says he can't get any British players so he's had to go abroad; well we know how they got on with too many of them in the past, as we did. Martin has brought in Nigel & Marklon from the Premiership while Bruce is trawling the lower leagues. We'll see who comes out on top in the end. Shades of the old peterboro boss across the city. Franksie pitches us 8th to blues 15th; 3 places better for us and worse for them will suit me fine. Must attach some analysis of 4 West midland clubs from 1887/8 -very interesting reading.
Jim T Newgardens. ;)