I'm going to make up for the fact that I'm usually a late entrant into the transfer debates by getting the bandwagon rolling myself this time.

There are just over two weeks until the January sales start. Given a summer which most Villa fans would have described as disappointing, and the fact that O'Neill must have been cute enough to gain some leverage with Randy Lerner from his refusal to entertain the England post, I think we have the right to expect some eyebrow-raising activity this winter. Especially as Villa have weaknesses which competing sides are starting to know and exploit.

I'm going to take this position by position, looking at it as a sort of review of the season so far and giving my own - personal and subjective - views on what we should be doing to strengthen and push on for that UEFA Cup spot.

Goalkeeper: this is a no-brainer. The books are closed on Sorensen leaving next month, and good luck to him, but - if he hasn't done so already - O'Neill must move decisively to agree a fee with Liverpool for Scott Carson and offer him a good contract.

His game isn't complete, and he has his shaky moments, but he remains the brightest of England's young goalkeeping prospects despite being criminally over-exposed by McMuppet against the Croatians. If O'Neill is as determined as he seems to build a young side with a core of British talent - and I take no issue with that - then to me the permanent signing of Carson is a must. Buy one.

Right Back: Early in the season, Craig Gardner filled in energetically in this role, winning himself the position for the England U21's in the process. Ollie has done his level best since, but his pace, positional sense and distribution would only work as the right-sided member of a back three supported by wing-backs. That isn't going to happen.

To me, MON's biggest clanger of his reign so far is coming into a defining season without a real right back - whether or not deals fell apart at the eleventh hour at the end of August.

This is a key signing: you only have to look at the contribution Glen Johnson made for Pompey last Saturday to see what a difference a versatile right back can make. I've kept an eye on Bosingwa this season, and he is a very fine player indeed: could he be tempted to Villa Park? I hope so.

Otherwise, if O'Neill continues to target the best of young British, then it may be possible to tempt Justin Hoyte away from Arsenal or even Wes Brown from United, if the rumours about his unwillingness to commit to a new contract are correct.

My greatest preference, now that Glasgow Rangers are out of the Champions League, would be to fork out for Alan Hutton. But that may be a real long shot. Twist.

Left Back: Freddie Bouma is having a good season, staying as fit and sharp as he looked last season but I don't think Freddie should be in O'Neill's longer-term plans, but with Gareth Barry always available as cover, I think this is more of a summer than a January priority.

One thing O'Neill might like to consider is giving Steve O'Halloran a blooding - he's looking better and better in the reserves and has had exposure to top level competition with Ireland already. If O'Neill disagrees with me, of course, then he may fancy doubling our Norwegian contingent by bringing John Arne-Riise from Merseyside. Stick.

Centre Back: Zat Knight has had a mixed start, looking cool and imperious at times and soporific at others. He should be grateful for O'Neill for sticking with him when there is nine million quids worth of Curtis Davies on the bench.

I wonder whether a stronger debut for Davies against the Foxes might have seen a different story, and many of us are a tad frustrated that we haven't seen more of the ex-Baggie.

Laursen has been fantastic, and will keep his place unless his knees give in. Providing we secure the services of a decent right back, and Ollie can be persuaded to see out the season, January shouldn't need any more investment at centre back. But if Ollie goes, we may need to bring in a squad player: it would all look a bit stretched with Mellberg gone and Laursen on the treatment table, especially as there are no players in the reserves ready to make the step up yet. We shouldn't forget, either, that Gary Cahill can be recalled at any time from Sheffield United. Stick unless Ollie goes.

Right and Left Wing: With John Robertson as Assistant Manager, I'm certain Villa are going to look to play with two wingers. Teams are beginning to recognise that Villa currently only have pace, skill and the ability to get behind defences on one flank - and switching Ashley Young from left to right doesn't cut it.

I don't care whether Ashley plays on the right or the left, but a second winger is a priority. I'd love Villa to take Shaun Wright-Phillips off Chelsea's hands - but he is starting to settle at the Bridge and I think it unlikely. Celtic's qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League makes my dream signing of Aiden McGeady look very far-fetched now.

I wonder, though, if James Milner is Allardyce's sort of player - especially with Damien Duff on the way back -and whether a deal for the Yorkshireman could be revived. I imagine he'd be welcomed back with open arms at Villa Park.

However, the favourite on the bush telegraph seems to be Giles Barnes. I've seen him play a bit, and he's a very useful young player - even if he does need a firm hand on his shoulder. Derby are going down, and maybe they should be looking to cash in on the lad now. Twist.

Central Midfield Anchor: Nigel Reo-Coker has taken his time to settle down at the Villa, but there are signs that he is starting to produce performances and, at his best, he can be dominant in this role. With Gareth Barry and Stan Petrov both fine players in the same position, and with both Craig Gardner and Isaiah Osbourne good young squad players, there is no need for investment here. Stick.

Attacking Midfield: Alarm bells are ringing for me here, and a lot of it has to do with us failing to make the most of the millions we have given Gordon Strachan. Stan Petrov arrived as a playmaker but, lacking confidence, slow to settle down and needing to deputise on frequent occasions in an anchor role, he has never really produced playmaking form.

Just before his injury, I felt that at Ewood Park - in particular - Stan was beginning to show us what a dangerous and skilful player he can be. Patrik Berger is off the pace, and was frankly embarrassing against his old club Portsmouth. To Shaun Maloney; why we haven't seen more of him, I can't imagine: a cheeky, jinky little pickpocket with skill and attitude in equal measure, and an eye for goal to boot, he looks to me like a bargain at a million. But let's face it, the signs are that he's back off to Parkhead.

Villa need emergency surgery in this position, and I'm not altogether sure where it's coming from. Harry Kewell may be tempted from the Reds, Shunzuke Nakamura may swop places with Super Shaun, although the favourite seems to be Nicolae Dica from Steua Bucharest.

I've watched clips on YouTube which suggest he might be a decent signing, with a handy goalscoring record. Twist.

Striker: Gabby gets better and better, and the priority must be to secure his long term services. If Luke Moore is to leave, and I for one won't be losing any sleep over it, then we must strengthen in this area. Must. I like Jermaine Defoe, but with two wingers, we really do need a real centre-forward - and I'm not sure Carew cuts the mustard.

He's strong, he's awkward, he's a handful, and he gets to the ball hit long down the channels. But the problem is that he's not so clever with his feet, and so he tempts Villa into a long-ball game from the back which I don't like. Darren Bent may be available from Juande Ramos' Spurs, but the Yids wouldn't want to lose to much of the reported £18m they paid for him in the summer, and he's likely to be ring-rusty and low in confidence.

There is a striker with real pedigree, a centre forward's presence and great feet too - not to mention a superb goalscoring record. And that is Peter Crouch - my preferred forward signing, if Rafa will let him go.

Now, I don't expect Randy to free up the cash to bring in all the players I've highlighted. That's dreamland. But I wanted to give you an insight into my thinking and my hopes.

Let the bandwagon rumble.

Comments (25)

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MON is going nowhere said:

Some interesting points, butI have to disagree with a few. Centre Midfield - I feel we are consistantly over run in this position to the point where they often don't seem to exist. The Barry/NRC combo has failed over and over again as neither really manages to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. NRC is getting better but ponders too much and gets caught in posession. My recommendation - go out and get Diarra and Sidwell. Also, now I know a few may laugh at me, but with Spurs apparently throwing their hat in the ring for David Villa I think we shuld have a punt. Now, don't jump on me here - I think we have about a 0.1% chance of signing him, but why not show our intent that we're up for competing with the big boys again. Apparently we have all this cash and I'd like us to start raising our profile in the transfer window with a couple of big bids.

December 16, 2007

Rob Satchwell said:

I'm not a Carew fan but it's MON style to have a big centre forward and they don't get bigger than Carew. He is growing on me but I'm not really sure if I know of anyone better that Villa could afford and would attract to the club. I've heard people mention Crouch well I have to say he was good at pompey, didn't really perform well at Villa plus he has been off/on for Liverpool and England. I would be disappointed if he came he doesn't have that clinical finish we need.

December 16, 2007

Kieran McGrath said:

keep shaun maloney by all means, david villa would be a massive achievement but not impossible, iv heard of reports of freddy adu and would love for this to happen even just for commercial reasons. let luke moore go, id love to see a hitzlsperger type of player come in, and maybe atleast one big name player, not in the beckhams or the ronaldo big name league. but more like the riquelme or the saviola. come february i have a feeling we will have a bigger squad but alot of fans will be disappointed or puzzled to why martin o'neill has bought another marlon harewood (maybe heskey)

December 16, 2007

#1Villan said:

Again, I must say McGeadey is a clown, don't be fooled by the brief flashes of brilliance, he is s**t more often than not in 90 mins. I would love a bumper bid for Karim Benzema at lyon, 21 and a leathal prospect, check him out at the link in the forum. Could be looking at about 15-18 million though, could be tempted by the prem but the big guns will be sniffing around soon.

December 16, 2007

NH1985 said:

For right back i'd look at Francois Clerc from Lyon if the Boswinga deal doesn't pull through. He's not their first choice right back anymore but he's very good going forward as well as defending. I think we'd do good to raid PSV too, they have two young Morrocan/Dutch players, Ibrahim Allefay (central midfielder) and Ismael Aissati (left midfielder) who look good going forward, and then Jefferson Farfan who's scoring a lot of goals and is still young. Though they might only be tempted by bigger Champions League clubs, maybe MON can work his magic to show them his desire to make Villa constantly play in Europe. If I was to be having delusions of granduer i'd love to see Van Der Vaart and Huntelaar arrive but even i don't think we could pull that off!

December 16, 2007

celtic_villan said:

dont be silly crouch is not good enough. if u want a good striker, why even think english? villa would be tempted if the pun prospects are explained 2 him...

December 16, 2007

Betting Villain said:

I agree with the Sidwell and Diarra comment MON, though we may be restricted to just the one. A Reading fan once told me he was over-rated, but it wouldn't be like Mourinho to buy someone he didn't think was worthy of playing for Chelsea. Well, I suppose he didn't really play him... and he did buy Ben Haim! I do think the midfield can be over-run at times. Quite an inconsistent partnership Barry and Reo-Coker, though I still want them both in the team. If we can sign a right-back (Bosingwa would be a good buy) then we have a decent side. However, if we want to push for UEFA Cup spots etc. we need to build further than this.

December 17, 2007 | url

Geo said:

Villan - McGeady is the most talented non Englishman out there right now and tbh i think he's a hell of a lot more talented than some of our lot. Ive been living in glasgow for three years, since he was 18 and have watched his progress. The boy is going to be a superstar.

December 17, 2007

Jeremiah said:

I agree with most of the post, though I'm not entirely sure about the midfield. Barry is good, but Reo-Coker is off and on. It's nice that he's willing to tackle and stuff, though. I like Carew. He's not a great finisher, but as Rob said, MON likes to have big target guys, and I think he'd perform that task better than Crouch, who I think fancies himself as more of a Rooney-type stuck in a giant body. Which isn't to say I'd be opposed to getting Crouch, I'm just not sure he'd score the goals his price tag would suggest.

December 17, 2007

ConVilla said:

How can you not be a Carew fan!? His ability to hold the ball off and flick it on to the likes of Gabby and Ashley is absolute class!

December 17, 2007

Kieran McGrath said:

i say we sign 2 strikers, baliban and baros, 2 midfielders hendrie and hitzlsperger, 3 defenders alpay, hughes and jloyd samuel and forget carson sign enckleman

December 17, 2007

Kieran McGrath said:

just watched the video at the side and i have to say it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, proud history bright future

December 17, 2007

Chrisodon said:

Woooo looks like Maloney is staying after his recent comments on the Villa website.

December 17, 2007

SMIT101 said:

There is one natural goalscorer who ticks all the boxes for me and plays for a lesser club than Villa. He scores for fun, is good in the air and on the ground, he's a big, strong targetman and has bags of skill to boot! NICOLAS ANELKA!!!!!!!!!

December 17, 2007

joe heath said:

yes apparently maloneys out but i avent checked the website yet attacking midfeild look at ballack not playin 4 chelsea although he is injured at the mo. right back look french they create the best foreighn players

December 17, 2007

flabster_returns said:

here are a few rumoured players set to return to villa park: Mark Draper, Luc Nilis, Steve Stone, Alan Wright, Benito Carbone, Moustapha Hadgji and hasson Kaushloul...up the villa

December 17, 2007

Paresh said:

get boswinga in. this guy looks quality

December 17, 2007

chefdoc2000 said:

I have to say Freddie Bouma has been fantasic for Villa this year and he is one who I would hate for us to lose, his passion & presence on the pitch is fantasic, the highest on the pitch I think. Plus bring on David Villa has been my dream for the last couple of years.... Maybe one day

December 18, 2007

robvsn said:

What everyone seems to be forgetting is, no one wants to sell in january, its very difficult to get top quality players in January. We may be forced to get Stop Gap player, and i hope people dont start whining again about Martin ONeil.

December 18, 2007

the_flabster said:

Obviously we need a RB very badly in January but to me the next highest thing on the list is a striker. Its a shame really, Gabby was on fire and him and Carew both came into some form but now gabby seems to be tired. I think that is one of the most direct reasons to why we have not done so well in the last two games. When Gabby is playing well he scores but in the last few games he has looked off the pace abit and pretty tired. The lad needs a rest. Id love to see Anelka at Villa but if you believe the papers one of the Big 4 are going to try and get him away from Bolton and if that happens we dont stand a chance. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens in january. UTV

December 18, 2007

Oscar said:

James Milner is perfect. If we get him I will happily p**s myself, maybe even on purpose

December 18, 2007

HT said:

I Say: bring on Johan Elmander,Superswede in Toulouse. Hes 26 years and have speed,technique and power!

December 18, 2007

Eli said:

Doc, waddaya think? and a christmas list: bosko/allback back one of them iphones yilmaz gio dos santos karim benzema lahm maicon or maxwell johan elmander

December 18, 2007

remolds said:

I would love to see David Villa play for us. He is a class forward but to the bargain you could actually then buy a villa shirt with the words VILLA on the back. Gr8 is this not a sign

December 20, 2007

Tom Parry said:

why not go for Brown? We could sign him in January for a nominal fee (due to his contract situation) and then sign a more classy, attacking full back in the summer for next season. Brown would give us experienced cover at right back and centre half for the 08/09 season (with Mellberg leaving and Davies still only here on loan). We need to have players like Brown to make up the numbers. However, at the moment we only have 1 real winger in Ashley Young (i know maloney can play there but I think he is more of an impact substitute who can come off the bench to win a game or pull us back from 1 down) so the priority should really be 2 wingers as well as a cheap bid for Brown in January. Also, still think we need to add a third striker, Harewood and Moore (as much as I love him) just don't cut it.

January 03, 2008

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