If Martin O'Neill wanted to keep Olof Mellberg at Villa Park don't you think it would have been sorted by now and not left until a few weeks before he can, in theory, sign for another club?

O'Neill has been saying pretty much the same thing about the Mellberg situation for nearly a year and nothing has happened. It means either Mellberg wants to leave or O'Neill doesn't want him to stay.

Either way, if Mellberg does leave, I suspect he'll get a wonderful send off and if he doesn't leave, well all this paper talk that Mellberg has agreed to join Juventus is just paper talk. The Sun claim the deal is done - I hope not, but I wouldn't be that surprised.

Just like I wouldn't be surprised if Maloney goes back to Celtic. The talk is he's going back in January if he can accept a pay cut and as long as Celtic pay back what he cost.

The Maloney situation still baffles me - why bring him to the club if you're not going to give him a chance. He must have been paid about a million quid since at the club and for the life of me I can't figure out why.

Anyway, it's all paper talk, but if the bookies would take a bet on these two things happening, I'd be putting quite a bit of cash on it.

Comments (18)

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Dizzy Mugs said:

I'd be annoyed if either were true, and i suspect at least one of them will happen, but Mellberg deserves Champions League football and Maloney clearly has a large fanbase over at Celtic.

December 07, 2007 | url

Villian of the North said:

Maloney clearly doesn't want to be here, let him go. MON only wants people here who want to be, i think we'll see him leave in the next 6 months or so. Be sad to see mellberg go, he's solid but he's not the world beater some people think he is.

December 07, 2007

Isbreen said:

MON transfer/signing policy was a constant frustration at Celtic. I can not remember one time he had a player lined up for the start of any transfer window. It always seemed to be a rush job as the window was closing. As for offering players extended contracts again it was always a long drawn out affair. IMO it's far too early to say Melberg or Maloney will leave.

December 07, 2007

danboo said:

Guys, A tim herte. Welcome to the wonderful world of MONs transfer dealings - total nightmare always last minuet stuff, it was particurally painful for us as we don't have alot of dough and alwys got in last minuet players , many were misses more than hits. As for Maloney - well, sorry he got homesick - hes a nifty player but obivously his temprament isn't the best. To be honest, he prob won't get a starting spot in the team as long as Nakamura is with us and McGeady is just top at the moment. He may not get a great welcome back - he was turned by the money and obivously, you have a great club with a great history (stand up for the european cup winners), but the thing that most knocked us was that he rarely got a start under MON and was a constant under Ghord.

December 07, 2007

davidb said:

Neither would be critically missed. Mellberg, trier tho he is, is no right-back. And MoN clearly doesn't fancy him at centre-half. So, I say "thank you and goodbye" to Ollie (usual caveats about not letting him go before we've signed a replacement aside). Maloney? He's obvisouly never settled here. He hasn't really shone in any of the admittedly limited chances he's been given (I saw him at Bolton when he stunk the house out and was rightly hauled off at half-time). I'd let him go. Preferably as a make-weight in a deal for Vennegor-of-Hesselink.

December 07, 2007

Dizzy Mugs said:

Yeah, i don't think Celtic really need Maloney anymore. Would be quite annoying for him if he went back and didn't get a game there either!

December 07, 2007 | url

kieran shortt said:

O`neill has already said if a player really wants to stay he will if the player doesn`t he won`t and hes right mellbergs been here for a long time now its not like o`neill has to sell the club to him he`s a grown man and no matter what martin says he will make his own choice.

December 07, 2007

Jenks said:

Do you not think that Knight and Davies were brought in as replacements, in readiness for the departure of Mellberg and Laursen?

December 07, 2007

weetin67 said:

To be honest, MON isn't doing anything with Villa he didn't do at Celtic. He always waits until the last second to tie the loose ends up. This is why we missed out on so many signing targets. It's also why we are still in this mess with Balde. He was given a ludicrous contract AFTER the signing deadline. Go figure!! MON is also unreliable. Watch for him never making a commitment to his club. Many people forget how he walked out on Leicester City, was copaxed back by his "friend" the chairman, then walked out again when Celtic came calling. I guess what I'm saying is, don't ever feel comfortable with him. He will let you down, it is just a matter of when.

December 07, 2007

Circus Bishop said:

I think Melberg will wait til the end of the Season to see if we qualify for Europe. If we dont, then all the best to him. But I we will get some sort of European football next year and he will stay. As for Malonely. He's a good little footballer, but I dont think he would be missed as like we'd miss big Olof!!!

December 07, 2007 | url

JR said:

'I guess what I'm saying is, don't ever feel comfortable with him. He will let you down, it is just a matter of when' Five years at Celtic and he left because his wife had cancer. You should be ashamed mate.

December 07, 2007

Holteenders in the sky said:

O'Neills a loyal man and he is taking us places we want to be so instead of slagging off one of the best managers in the country lets get behind the man and get us back playing in europe once more

December 07, 2007

Villafan1887 said:

i cant ever really see what mellberg did for villa, he looks good on paper but hes really only an average performer. countless times when he was playing at centre back for villa he was muscled off the ball and conceded weak goals. i dont think he is commanding in the air and his distribution of the ball was never that good. captain of sweden big man looks good on paper but i struggle to remember a time in his villa career where i thought yes he is top class. look at laursen his performances have me drooling and hes head and shoulders above the rest in the premier league. il wish mellberg the best but he'll be relativly easy to replace. its a pity were not getting 4 or 5 million on him though. as for maloney i cant seem to understand his situation. he really looks livley when he comes on and i think he a different option for us. id have loved to see him given a run of 5 r 6 games. his demeanour on the bench is a little dis interested and when he comes on he looks to run it or shoot it all the time. not exactly a team player so i wonder maybe did he not click with his team mates and thus is homesick and regretfull he left celtic. if we had him fully motivated he could take the premiership by storm. its a pity to lose him but again because of his bit part appearances we wont miss him bu ti think we'll have wasted a good opportunity if we havent given him a run in the team. as to someones comment there about oneill i think we can have confidence in him that he is a loyal commited hard working and talented man. i dont think he ever walked out on anyone. hes building something great here and i think most of us have bought into him and have belief. we need to be gratefull in these promisng times.

December 07, 2007

oldman villain said:

melberg,to leave in the summer,ireckon as soon as we have a right back in place he will be surplus to requirements so he will see out the rest of his career in the sun,as for maloney well what can we say we dont seem to have had the chance to see how good he is maybe his face dont fit in the dressng room and hes a bit of a loner thats why he dont feel welcome, its also strange that its only celtic who the tabloids mention whats wrong with him going to another club if he dont want to play for the villa i mean lets face it what we have saw he can be a very good footballer and he can also take a very good free kick i agree maybe 4 or 5 full games might do him good,but if he does go i,m sure most people will wish him well along with melberg.

December 07, 2007

Isbreen said:

'I guess what I'm saying is, don't ever feel comfortable with him. He will let you down, it is just a matter of when' Five years at Celtic and he left because his wife had cancer. You should be ashamed mate. Here here, he might have been a bit of a dither afa signings went but disloyal???...hang your head weetin67.

December 08, 2007

kohoutek said:

As far as Maloney goes, it just seems like MON wanted to give him a shot, and he obviously must have not done enough in training to supplant anyone else. One the one hand, Villa fans say "Splash the cash," and that since RL is rich, it doesn't matter if we miss. Well, that's apparently what Maloney is, and at not much money in the end. He's been cover, but Villa haven't needed it, in the end, and he's not been impressive enough to break into the starting lineup. There's a balance to keep, and MON obviously doesn't think Maloney's upside is worth putting anyone else on the bench for. No matter how good the manager is, there will always be players who disappoint. Maloney seems to be a small wager that didn't pay off. And for all the homesickness crap, I say send him packing. What a child. Mellberg? Not as good as Laursen, obviously, but generally solid. He does get beaten, and hasn't much pace. At his age, probably best to let him go rather than overpay. We'll wish him well, he's been loyal and steadfast, if not always a world-beater. Davies and Knight were definitely brought in because of this possibility. Laursen's recovery has been so surprising that Davies hasn't gotten a sniff, and obviously isn't doing anything to push Knight. As long as we're spending Randy's money, Laursen is the one who needs to stay.

December 08, 2007

pazzler said:

hmm i guess the lack of games for shaun means that he is not really considered more then back up or a squad player. from wot i saw of him mostly, he is a tricky little player. be a shame to see him go, but thre must be a reason martin isnt playin him enuff. i can see olof movin too, davies's arrival wit the demands for a right back as well. always liked him tho.

December 08, 2007

McVilla said:

Has he secured Laursen yet? Surely thats a priority. The team overall is looking good from overseas, so much fight in the team than before

December 08, 2007

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