Threadbare squad and more players leaving than coming, I say, so what!
Monday, 28 January 08, 05:16 PM
Yes, we only have a few days left of the transfer window and yes the only news we seem to be hearing at the moment is that of players signing for other clubs, going out on loan or bids been accepted for others, but I say, so what?
Yes, I can understand the somewhat negative feeling or the feeling that nothing is happening, but rest assured, Martin O'Neill is probably the busiest person at Villa Park at the moment and players are coming.
Not every player he wants will sign by the end of the month, in fact I'm pretty sure that not every player he wants will sign this year, but we're moving in the right direction - probably quicker than any of us really expected, despite our hopes.
But to use a football pun, at the end of the day, you have to look at what is black and white in football and the black and white right now is we've got a few days left and we're currently in fifth place - a place that would mean European football back at Villa Park next season and to make a few happy - surely an easier job for the manager at bringing in better players in the summer.
Sure, by the end of the month we could be in 7th place but that means Manchester City and Liverpool both have to win away from home and even if they do, we'd still be three points better of than Blackburn with a hugely superior goal difference and there is still a chance, I think, that 7th place could also bring European football.
I guess what I'm getting at is this; were doing okay, better than okay in fact, we're doing very well. I can understand the fear factor also, but I hope and based on past experience, expect players to come in and I fully expect us to be happy at the end of the season.
It's also worth remembering that this is only season two of the five year plan and if this position was offered to us, where we find ourselves right now at the end of January, at the start of the season, we'd have all accepted it.
It's sad to see the likes of Mellberg and Cahill leave, but there are also exciting times ahead and that's what we should concentrate on. Sermon over.
Comments (40)
Now thats more like it!! ;D
You said it..From start to finish
It is just a matter of being patient. I have never seen the club in good form both on the pitch and off it. It is important that we don't get over excited. Do you really think MON is not attempting to bring people in? He can't force players to come in but he will make a signing that will all make us proud..you can be sure of that..
keep the faith - up the villa
i agree let see what appens over the next few days.... and we can have this talk again on friday... but one thing is for sure he has proven that he knows what he is doing.....
>:(
Whilst I would have been more than happy with our current postion in the league at the start of the season....surely its time to push NOW not at the end of the season. Come on Martin get your finger out and strenghten the squad now. Who knows where we could end the season...Man City are a spent force, Everton like ourselves can't live with the top 4, Liverpool are in turmoil. Lets push on now and go for the 4th spot.
See you all at fulham, I'll be the one with the Irish and Villa flag flying....Terry
very well said sir! here's hoping that somthing does happen :)
I am overalll very pleased with the way things are turning out, but cant help but be frustrated at the lack of positive transfer activity. If we believe the hype Spurs are getting Hutton and Woodgate, signings that make people sit up and take notice. I want us to be there like that, the work done so far has been fantastic but we need to push on now, while we are progressing and make some quality acquisitions.
Damian, someone's hacked into your computer! Sorry, but this is about the most positive you've been for ages without playing devil's advocate. Though there is a slight tinge of resignation about it. Actually, there are a few players in the squad yet to be seen often or at all in the first team; Sali, Maloney, Taylor, Harewood, Moore, Osborne, O'Halloran, Berger... The point I make is that we can lose a player or two to injury or suspension and have people to come in, except defence, which is where I think MON would consider a short-term buy/loan. So why sell Cahill unless it's to pry another player loose? I'm confused, it's all so complicated, glad I'm just a simple fan!!
Nice article - hopefully it will bring some perspective to the doom merchants who, no doubt, will come on and complain bitterley at the end of the season, even if we finish 6th, with the I told you so routine or the, it could of been so much better.
Signings will not guarantee success. In fact, it could even spell disaster!! Be happy with where we are at and enjoy the moment, it's been a while!!
I'm ecstatic, it's everything I ever dreamed the club doing and more, maybe in europe, maybe signings, I'm so easily pleased but this season is beyond my wildest dreams 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn it just doesn't get any better than this
I came on just to pretty much mimic your second paragraph, but this new article saved me the hassle. It is remarkable, onl 3 points off relegation (Though some didn't realise) just a few seasons ago, and now, MON has instantly transformed us, if we finish 8th, 9th, or even 10th can people complain, not too much I shouldn't think. 5th after 23 games of whatever.
Like I say (Or you for that matter), I have full faith that we bring players in before window-close, and good players at that.
He could get players on Jan 1st, why wait? Talent, quality, commitment at a value is why.
Damien, it's good to have a positive post from you for a change, you been drinking? ;)
I like you am a little concerned about the lack of activity but everything surrounding the club right now is positive. Cahill needed football and he is moving because Curtis Davis is a better prospect. Cahill is decent but was never linked to Spurs or Arsenal was he? Davis on the other hand was and I think he will prove a shrewd signing. In MON we TRUST!
we should have more players in by now, full stop!while im delighted wit where we r in the league u cant butter up the fact that lack of signings is disappointing..i luv mon,good manager but he must get players in big time..he mite have 2 spend bit extra on players but we really need more players otherwise kiss european football goodbye..cum on marty make us proud!!
Well said, Damien. Reading about Derby's new owners, they said they wanted to emulate the Villa approach.
I know some are still a bit impatient, worried about injuries, or thinking 4th spot and CL are there for the taking. And there's merit to all these opinions.
But MON and RL are no fools. It might very well be the case, for example, that MON thinks CL is too much for the club at the moment. Obviously, qualifying would be nice, but I think it's probably much more sane to be in UEFA, where the chances of a good run are much better. We're starting to get results against the top four, but realistically, I'd be concerned about Villa being overmatched in the CL, and it would do none of the players' confidence any good, especially given the youth, to get demolished and dismissed from the CL. Better to acclimate to European football via a season in the UEFA Cup, I think. It really does seem they're trying to build a side from the ground up. They're only just learning how to get results in the Premiership. Don't run before you can walk.
One has to remember, the squad inherited was almost rubbish, the investment in infrastructure almost non-existent. Clearing it out, building a new foundation that is stable takes time. It might not be flashy and instant, but it's a much more assured way of conducting business than just signing up loads of un-invested players, slapping them together, and hoping for it to gel, then dealing with the egos and revolving doors and a shaky financial situation. Yes, RL has money, but I think MON and he seem to be in agreement that the club's long-term future depends not on RL's personal chequebook, but on the club generating revenue to pay for players.
Despite all the money, and all the "names", Spurs, Man City, Everton, even Liverpool, and whomever else are doing no better than Villa at the moment.
Nice to see some positivity Damien. Keep it up. UTV!
Surely we need to make some signings to bolster the squad if we expect to achieve a high position (4th-8th). We have been incredibly fortunate with injuries so far this season, how long can that last!!
If we want to progress we still need to finish in or incredibly close to the UEFA spots so we can attract big names or youngsters with high potentialin the summer transfer window.
Cahill is a big loss in my opinion. We need to buy not sell !!!
Poll needed IMO, sort some people out.
If you could choose honestly, with consideration.
Champions League or UEFA Cup?
I think my vote would be for UEFA...We don't wanna go and make ourselves look stupid.
ive trusted o'neill all the way, ive only got frustrated at the lack of involvement in the transfer window. its jus galling me to see pompey, spurs, and other clubs get linked to, and sign, players an we r really quiet.
i kno mon wud not be naive as to sell players without havin options lined up, but wit time runnin out, the size of our squad an the injury fear factor, im jus worryin.
this season has been the best so far in ages. there is genuine hope an optimism about where were goin. js dont wanna see this go to pot in the next few months.
Signings are coming in the next few days. MO'N has been saying all along that the squad needs strengthening not reducing and Cahill looks to be leaving and Moore could yet so that indicates players will be coming in.
sorry i Know i should be able to find this out myself but i cant be arsed! what is the official deadline for signing ?
january 31st at midnight .. is the official time
Makes sense i suppose :P,
i think tonight before we go to sleep we should spare a thought for all the Newcastle Fans! and thank the good lord above (whoever he may be?)that we're not one of them!
what are they Thinking!
hahah very true, wise as head of football? jeebus keegan is a nutjob, with very crap hair too
at myself!! have a day off mate - champs league over uefa every time!!! You cant honestly tell me if u were offered both u would take uefa cup? And u wont convince me MON would. Ok if we qualified our strategy over the summer in terms of buying players would change, but i think every fan would want to be in that position above uefa?
Tonebone I can see why Myself has said UEFA over CL because we would get spanked in the CL. A UEFA run to the latter stages would be more beneficial for our young team than 3 or 4 hidings in the CL unless we get Sparta Prague and Sturm Graz in our CL group.
I can't beleive anyone would rather us qualify for UEFA than Champs League and as for not wanting us to go and make ourselves look stupid, you just did!! Truly unreal!! I suppose we should be grateful we didn't progress in the cup competitions cos we might have got ourselves turned over in the final anyway, that would be embarassing!
I'm sure Taglor would have something to say about not wanting to knock the confidence of the young players, what with their weekly wage and all that. If we qualified for Uefa and then got knocked out in the early stages what would that do for their confidence then?? Don't get me wrong, I'd be very, very happy with UEFA qualification but I'd be ecstatic with Champs League qualification.
Been visiting this site for a few months. Started posting a few weeks ago. How long has all this madness been going on? is it too late to get out? Do we ever find any answers? Right back... UEFA cup.....
Club website, no news..... 5th not good , need 7th........Don't sell, Learner tight MONn won't spend. Don't leave, stay , please help......nOn...noi
Been visiting this site for a few months. Started posting a few weeks ago. How long has all this madness been going on? is it too late to get out? Do we ever find any answers? Right back... UEFA cup.....
Club website, no news..... 5th not good , need 7th........Don't sell, Learner tight MONn won't spend. Don't leave, stay , please help......nOn...noi
lets hope there's along term plan here , there is optimism and blind faith, if we dont strengthen in thext 4 days we will not qualify for europe....in fact if laursen gets injured we'll struggle to come 9th . read the evening mail tonight and mon sayys players are not available , i suspect he means they're not available at a price he's prepared to pay. does anyone remember when we were 2nd in the leage under john gregory and deadly refused to strengthen the squad at christmas ??? no wonder deadly signed mon , the're brothers under the skin.
I've been bangin on about the squad depth (or lack of) for days now but i've promised myself that MON is doing the biz as we speak.
Hope thats the case or we will be seeing a little more of Salifou and Osbourne, talented but very inexperienced players as the season draws on. (MON stopped Osbourne going on loan to Leicester last week cos' he was worried about cover and he must see something in Sali to have made the bid for him in the first place !)
Admittedly, Olly and Cahill leaving is a big blow but Olly deserves a swansong and i wish him all the best for the future...villa legend !
I may anger a few now but if we can get £5m for Cahill, i think it is a good move for both player and club. MON must see Zat and Curtis ahead of him so IMO thats good money especially if he goes to Bolton. If he'd gone to Blues, i'd have felt a little different !
If we could get around £4m for Luke Moore as well, i see that only as good business and progress...PROVIDING... we buy players of better quality to replace them in the squad !
By the way, if the new keeper rumour is true, it might not be too much of a bad thing. Apparently, Scott Carson is just waiting for Rafa to do one before he returns to Pool to try to be their No1.
Dunno if it's just me, but when he saved the penalty against Blackburn, i think Curtis Davies gave him a congratulatory smack round the back of the head and Carson gave him proper daggers ! Didn't seem like there was much harmony and togetherness put it that way !
God i hope we sign some players...be nice wouldn't it.
UP THE VILLA ;) ;)
im from the scum fan side of brum and would like to take my neutral (glory hunter) mates, to a decent pub around the city centre with a proper villa "atmospheric" (if thats a word) place can ne1 plz gimme a gimme sum options.
New to this sorry if i have changed subject cheers
Good to be optimistic and all that but I still find it unnecessary and stupidly risky to sell players all over the place and either not replace them or leave everything to the last minute. Sorry to spoil the wave of glucose regarding the Villa but given the small squad, players regularly playing out of position and the competition's quality out there I don't find MON's transfer policy funny or reassuring, not one bit. And the refrain about waiting for the summer in order to poach the players MON really wants..wasn't that what we said last January?
For those that feel we would be better in the UEFA Cup over the Champions League, please consider the following:
1. Celtic
2. Rangers
Pound for pound in terms of personnel, Villa are no worse a side than these two, but they consistently perform well in the CL.
This is because they have an expectation that they will deliver, plenty of heart, and stands full of rabid fans scaring the pants off the opposition.
There is no reason Villa Park and its fans can't emulate that type of atmosphere.
A trip to the UK for these fancy, suntanned Italian & Spanish teams is no picnic.
PLUS: When you're in the CL, a summer move to Villa is much more appealing for players from the better end of the system.
Then the 'dream' signings start to become reality.
UTV
Looks to me that it is unlikely we will sign any players before the summer. We can only go on what MON has said and here it is.
'We wouldn't be the only team looking to make moves. Whether it becomes an eventful last three days or not, is really in the lap of the gods. It genuinely is.
'It is a difficult time. Premiership sides are looking to push on and want to supplement their squads. I hear Liverpool say that they want to push on and add players to their team.
'We are, in terms of numbers, a little bit short. What we want to try to do is safeguard the situation.
'If you could tell me that we could go through the whole season without injury, now that we are down to one game a week, then fine, but you could lose three players in a week.
'It is a tough old time but I am not asking for an ounce of sympathy because it is a tough old time for all the Premier sides.'
O'Neill added: 'Will I sign no-one at all? 'Anything is possible. We are looking every single day. New names are thrust upon us every day.
'But what I don't want, generally speaking, are new names that I don't know an awful lot about - unless they are short-term affairs, players in on loan where there is really no risk.
'Loans can supplement the squad, boys who have got a wee bit of quality.'
Should have posted the source. Here is the full article.
LINK
it turns out we put a bid in for woodgate. the guy is as injury prone as darren anderton used to be for gods sake so we are willing to pay for people to sit on the bench, it gets worse by the minute.
errrrr champs league or uefa eh thats like lucy pinder against jo brand cant believe its being questioned????? :o
'if' we made it into Europe, then I am sure we would then build on a great season and push forward. If we buy for the sake of it in order to get there, it won't work and the team will lose its shape. For the smallest squad in the league, I think we have been the luckiest with injuries.
I would be gutted if Hutton went to Spurs - he would be a great signing. I for one will be glad to see the back of Moore. I was at the Wigan game and the guys body language was disgraceful...Even worse than Berbas! 4.5 million for Cahill is great business and as for Olly..well he can do what he wants..he gave his all for 7 seasons.
If we go on a bad run, pick up a few injuries, don't bring in the necessary additions, slip down the table and miss out on Europe - I would never turn on MON or blame him for not doing enough this month..he is the man
UTV
I am shocked but have now accepted we are not going to sign anyone!!
It is going to cost us a place in europe come the end of the season. The bolackburn game highlighted this forme. Gabby was shattered, Barry didnt look fit, neither did Petrov or Carew. These players need a rest every now anad agin but we dont have that option due to lack of depth. I am sure we have had to play a number of players when they were say 80% fit this season. We have been so lucky with injuries and suspensions. to put us in that posisiton when we rely on luck once is unproffessional twice is plain stupidity!!! by his own admission MON has said if we had had injuries like other teasm we would not have been able to cope!! so why risk it happenning not once but twice!!!????
Is the story about us signing Wayne Routledge true? The Mirror said we HAVE made a 2 year contract with him and he's accepted. Also, we attempted to sign Johnny Woodgate last night.
anyone who is scared of villa being in the european cup//champs league is a complete muppet..
what a joke some villa fans are...so what if we dont make the second group stage....so what if we get beaten ...god whats the matter with you lot..ive said it before..i dont remember wanting ipswich to win the title in 81..cause i was scared,,nor did any villa fan..spoke to my uncle whos a villa fan for 50 years and he cant believe that fans are worried about finishing 4th..he thinks im taking the piss....