MON – No imminent transfers – and addressing all rumours
After 4 years of MON at Villa we should be used to his comments and the way of thinking but these comments today whilst in Portugal I have to say I am not encouraged by the words but do they reflect the reality ?
ON TRANSFERS
On incoming activity, he added: “There’s nothing imminent – let me put it that way.
“We’re on the lookout and we’ll see what does develop.”
This will of course anger many as it is clear we need a few gaps filled with quality players. However with caution that MON could say this today and sign someone next week and to add that the number of current moves are very low.
DISMISSING YOUNG and PETROV RUMOURS
On Young “I had a bit of a wry smile about it. It’s part of the game, it’s just that some things go close to the knuckle, if there are certain things that are well off the mark and are detrimental to the football club and the way we’re running it of course I’ll get irked.
“But not those type of things.”
On Petrov “But that doesn’t mean that teams like Liverpool wouldn’t be interested in him because he’s a top quality player. But as we speak, no-one from Liverpool has contacted us.
ON PETROV CAPTAINCY
“Players will say things through him and he will voice that opinion to me, whatever that might be and from that viewpoint it works pretty well. He’s not frightened to put his own opinion across and he’s not frightened to act on behalf of the players. He’s been excellent.”
ON MILNER
“I’ve left that with the chief executive and the owner and I’m sure that they’ll fill me in with what might have developed.
“I think that there is some sort of dialogue going on and I think that you can see that Manchester City have made an offer which has not been accepted and it hasn’t reached the valuation that Aston Villa are putting on James. Who know what might happen in the foreseeable future? The answer is I’m not sure myself.”
This interview on the OS is one of the most comprehensive I have seen from MON for a long while addressing all the recent news and rumours and either dismissing or confirming them.
From this interview I can only conclude the future of Milner and the selling of the likes of Sidwell and Shorey is vital to our whole transfer policy. Also very noticeable is that every interview when asked about Milner he is making it clear he has nothing to do with whether he gets sold or not, which as I posted a couple of days is a major gear shift for MON.
Has there been a power shift at Villa
The following comments are from the BBC report on Milner talks having been stalled
“I think the owner [Randy Lerner] puts a price on players. Of course, he will have an idea on the price,” explained O’Neill.
“Negotiations are being conducted by the Villa chief executive [Paul Faulkner] and the owner and I will be guided by them.”
It has generally been thought that MON is in charge of everything regarding the playing side at Villa ,these comments suggest the financial side has moved to Paul Faulkner the CEO. Actually for many people this is good news as it allows MON to concentrate with team and set the parameters for which Faulkner can do any possible deal.
We are aware Randy and MON had a meeting at the end of last season and it does seem some items were agreed then which has had an effect on current transfer dealings
- High wage earners in the squad but who do not play have to be released to free up the wage bill
- The CEO takes over the money side of any financial discussions
- That we have fixed prices for any players others may want and no matter how much we need the money for other players we will stick to it
With the comments some have suggested that MON sounds resigned, I disagree, it sounds like they have come to a mutually agreeable relationship.
If not then knowing the record of MON would he not walk ?
CONFIRMED : Bid accepted for Luke Young
On the OS MON has confirmed a bid has been received for Luke Young and it appears that it has been accepted as Luke is mulling over the personal offer. whilst it does not say we have officially accepted the bid, you do not allow a player to speak to another club unless you are happy with a bid.
All but done except for the formalities.
O’Neill also confirmed the club have received an offer from an unnamed club for full-back Luke Young.
The former Tottenham, Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough defender is currently mulling over the offer.
Should he reject the move, he will join up with Villa for the Guadiana Cup.
“There has been an offer from a football club, which Luke is mulling over and if it doesn’t materialize then he would also join us [in Portugal] because he needs to play some football soon,” said O’Neill. “We will see how that develops.”
The press, Guardian and Mirror indicating the unnamed club is Liverpool with a £2,75m offer, so at long last things appear to be moving.
He commented on Milner but not earth shattering news !
Fonz rises to the challenge
In today’s U21 semi final England were thoroughly outplayed in a 3-1 defeat against Spain.
For the Villa lads, Baker was taken of early with an hamstring injury but the Fonz impressed everyone today against an excellent young Spanish side who look set to dominate for decades.
During the tournament even though the Fonz has failed to score he has looked the class of the England U19 side, Nouble despite getting goals as looked a lumbering oaf similar to Shrek ! His touch when getting the ball, his turns and clever movement indicates the quality of the guy and if only he had been sharper up front he could and should have 4/5 goals.
Weimann had a quiet tournament with Austria but we know he could be quality and for Fonz it is time to give him some proper starts, for example he should start every single cup game this season. Weimann for me should be on the bench for most games, he has the handy knack of coring goals !
Time for brave decisions from MON, get rid of Heskey bring in Keane and leave the kids as 4/5th choices a risk because we know Carew will get injured, but could pay off handsomely.
England U-19 – Full Time – England 1 – France 1 – Fonz starts – England go through
In a game England have to win to Qualify at half time against the French we are 0-0 but France have been dominant
From a Villa point of view Nathan Baker has been dropped but the Fonz starts and has done well with whatever service he has had and surprising he is on the wing but has caused problems and forced one of the few saves.
Weimann starts for Austria who are out of the competition.
On 52 minutes Fonz gets clear from a good through ball and the kind of chance he normally puts away, under pressure he put wide.
Unfortunately for the Fonz, his miss was crucial as a few minutes later France went 1-0 up
The Fonz in the latter stages has had a couple more efforts as England as it stands press for the equaliser that will see them through as Holland are losing
And England through Phillips in the last minute scored to send England through to the semi’s to face Spain (who will win comfortably) which is good news but means that the Fonz stays away for a few more days.
His performances actually have been good in the group stage but whereas I have seen him to be very clinical he has wasted chances to cap the performances.
North Stand redevelopment planning documents
For those of you interested (geeky) enough to want to see the North Stand development application then Birmingham Council now have them on line.
The main feature appears to be that extra space is being generated by adding a floor where the North Stand super Box was thus giving much valuable space for fans to circulate.
The General returns with a strong message for the fans
First welcome back to General K after a well deserved break hope you are fighting fit !
He has picked the right day to come back and makes the following comments about the news today and the summer so far
2. As you all know, I do NOT do transfer talk but I do think it is important to note a few things:
a) Randy has NOT lost his passion for Aston Villa Football Club!! He has not lost his passion for his vision and goal. Randy has spent more time in the UK over the past two months than he has ever spent. He has been working many issues and has been at Bodymoor Heath often. I doubt if there is an owner in the Premiership that spends as much time, in person (not on phone) at the training grounds. He is Villa through and through!
b) I hope everyone knows that I have NOT lost my passion for the Villa and for what we are striving for!! Not in a heartbeat!!c) “Sell to buy” is too easy a sentence to say. In reality, it encompasses many things. At the end of the day, Football is a business and needs to make sense. The first issue on the revenue v. expenditure scale is wages…wages for the staff and wages for the players. These wages need to make sense and need to be looked at every couple of years. We are doing just that….just like almost EVERY Club in the Premiership is doing. Simply put, if we don’t look at those players who are drawing wages but not playing, we are making a mistake. This is just business. MON knows it, Randy knows it, the Board knows it and YOU all know it. In order to pay a competitive wage to those who are playing for the Club and to enable us to find and get new talent, this is necessary. It is also what football clubs have been doing over the ages. The transfer window is NOT shut…let’s see what happens.
The General for me has confirmed what I said in the earlier blog post and he is spot on.
How any fans can doubt Randy is beyond me. Maybe it is the fickle nature of fans that does this to people but sometimes the wider and longer term picture SIMPLY has to be taken into account. Don’t worry General here is one fan 100% behind Randy and his control of Villa, I support him 100% of the way and of course you !
As for the bit about to sell to buy I explained that before and makes total business sense and if some fans can not see that then maybe they should look at Portsmouth.
Before anyone says to me you did not say this about Ellis, well just look at how much Randy pumped into the club on and off the field before making that statement.
Get real some of you !
England disappointment for Fonz and Baker
Disappointing news for both Nathan’s that England U-19′s lost 1-0 to Holland in France needing a likely win against the exciting French to qualify for the later stages.
Both did OK and the Fonz had a clear goal ruled out for no apparent reason.
Both played OK but there was a gulf in quality between the more skilful Dutch and the physical English.
FINAL SCORE – Basingstoke 2 Villa 1 – 1st Pre-season game
First pre-season game is currently underway and we are losing 2-0 to Basingstoke.
The starting XI is
Parish, L Young, Shorey, Hogg, Cuellar, Davies, Albrighton, Osbourne, Forrester, Bannan, Herd.
Subs: Lichaj, Siegrist, Clark, Collins Jr, Berry, Deeney, Flanaghan, Halfhuid, Burke, Taylor.
Can be followed on the Villa twitter site
So basically a reserve side with some of the up for sale players playing and hardly stating a decent case not to be sold !!
Should not over react to these games though, but clearly the reserve forward strength is weakened by the absence of the Fonz and Wiemann on UEFA U19 duty.
A youngster who I never heard of – Graham Burke scored Villa’s consolation.
this report from Richard Moore on H&V
Just back, a relatively meaningless workout in the sun to be honest. 2-1 the final score, we dominated but had no one up front to put the ball in the net. The pressure on their goal increased towards the end and we could have had 3 or 4 in the last ten minutes, instead of just the one we did get. No one stood out significantly, though Shorey had a useful second half and was instrumental in most of our best moves. Our big centre forward – forgotten his name – certainly made an impression when he came on too in the second half and gave us much more of a focal point. Davies was pretty composed at the back and played the full 90 minutes. Good turn out from the Villa fans, plenty all around the ground and even some singing! When Carlos went off and walked around the ground, it took him about 20 minutes to get to the changing rooms for signing autographs and having his photo taken! The kit looks just ok in the flesh, I can’t abide claret socks and the top looks alright.
The big centre forward that Richard mentions I presume was Halfuid
Another report on VT from ‘Garethrdr’ here with some decent pictures.
He says Davies was very poor and this may be significant that he along with Young and Shorey played the whole game indicating they are not going to play against Peterbrough tomorrow, which is the proper first team squad start to pre season.
The new Villa Kit, looks good
From ‘soccerbible‘ who I must admit I have never heard of before
It is very similar to Stewart’s mock up he did and well done to him
got to say looks fine to me similar to the Le Coq sportif one we had in the early 80′s
From Richard from Counteract music magazine at the Symphony Hall
SPECULATION: Robbie Keane, was he at Bodymoor Heath
There are various rumours doing the rounds and hinted at on various forums that Robbie Keane may have been at Bodymoor Heath this week, possibly either Tuesday or Wednesday.
I have no definite links to this and therefore this is a very loose link and should be treated with caution but it is worth mentioning it.
For my part I am really ‘Keane’ (get it !!) to get Robbie in, even at his age. I believe he has the qualities we need not to only improve as a team but improve the likes of Gabby and Young as his passing and football brain would be far better than what we have now including Milner. To be honest I would love to see him and Milner combine feeding Gabby through the middle with his pace.
We will see
Lichaj to sign a new 3 year contract
On the Website ‘Yanks Abroad‘ Eric Lichaj’s agent is quoted as
“He is about to sign a new three year contact,” Lichaj’s agent Steve Kelly told YA. “He will train with Villa’s first team in the preseason.”
Hat tip : Villatalk.com
This is good news for Eric who impressed in last summer’s Peace cup tournament and then in subsequent loan spells at Lincoln and Orient.
MYSTERYAN on Villatalk says the club speak very highly of Lichaj and it seems the loan spells did him really good and is now challenging for a first team spot at right back. Maybe the reason Luke young can be risked and be let go. (Now cue the inevitable cries from some over MON’s RB selections).
Season Ticket Renewals going well
On Villatalk there is an excellent thread speculating about possible new season ticket sales and two pieces of gossip/ITK
MYSTERYMAN
16000 at last week target is 26000
Slightly up on this time last year not sure where we finished up to be honest last season .
HARRY
Last season we sold 27,000 season tickets and as of last Friday we had sold 20,000. I was at a meeting at Villa Park and was told those figures by a senior person at the club.
And before anyone has a go I am not in the know. The company I work for and the club may be working together on something. It came up in conversation as they knew I was a season ticket holder and asked whether I had renewed yet, which for the record I did a couple months ago
I would say that this is very good news, given the economic times and some people’s negativity about last season and well on target for 25-27000 again.
Fixtures out at 9AM – When do we play Blackpool Away ?
As you may know the fixtures for the 2010-11 season are officially out this morning and normally we would look out for the derby fixtures. For the first time since the early eighties the 4 big West Midland teams are in the top division and they would be the first to look out for.
However like with many other Premier league fans I suspect the first fixture we would look for is Blackpool away and just hope it is in August or September, Saturday 3PM KO and not moved for bloody TV.
Under stupid and pointless PL rules I can not reproduce the fixtures here but later today I will highlight the vital ones.
Two Villans in England starting XI
Heskey and Milner starts against the US
Green, Johnson, King, Terry, A Cole, Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard, Milner, Heskey, Rooney
No real surprise on team but there again I expect neither to be at VP in august
FxPro, a perfect fit for Villa
Following on from yesterday’s announcement a lot of people are unclear as to what FxPro are and what the company is like.
Various google searches have shown nothing on the web which can be interpreted as a negative against the company and we know Randy is very concerned to be a partner with a ‘proper company’.
However maybe this paragraph below from their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) page indicates why they are the perfect fit after Acorns.
We have been actively involved with several registered charities – both on a local basis in a country where we have a presence, as well as on an international basis – and we are working to change the lives of children in need. We believe all children and young people have unique potential and that they should have the support and opportunities they need to reach it. FxPro hopes to help children develop within their communities through support in activities relating to education, food and better living conditions.
Almost the perfect fit after Acorns because it seems they have a company ethos that does care and are willing to share with Acorns. This partnership as Villa call it, not sponsorship, could prove to be very lucrative for all the parties concerned.
OFFICIAL – Villa announce new sponsor – FxPro
Aston Villa have announced their new sponsor and it will not surprise anyone who it is
FxPro of course (so leak yesterday was 100% genuine !!) in a three year deal which from the OS
Aston Villa Football Club is pleased to announce our new partnership with FxPro Financial Services Ltd, a leading global retail broker in Forex (foreign exchange) markets and CFDs (‘buyer’ and ‘seller’ contracts).
FxPro will become the club’s principal commercial partner from July 2010 following agreement of a three-year deal – the biggest in the club’s history.
The groundbreaking association between Villa and Acorns – the largest provider of hospice care for life-limited children in the UK – will remain, with Acorns becoming the club’s official charity and FxPro making a strong commitment to supporting our joint endeavours.
The new shirt for next season will be unveiled on July 15 in Birmingham.
And very good news for Acrons, still retaining Official charity status and working with FxPro as well.
Well done to Villa with what seems a good partner with strong links in sport sponsoring Virgin F1 racing and in the World Rally Championship and being totally loyal to Acorns.
Top class from Randy and nothing less than I would have expected.
Marshall gone so chance for Siegrist or Parish
So yesterday’s news that Andy Marshall has been released may not have shocked anyone or disappointed anyone but it could be significant for the future of Villa.
One area we have done very well in at Youth level is the goalkeepers and in Elliot Parish and Benjamin Siegrist we have high quality youngsters who have represented England and Switzerland at U-18 level. Siegrist in particular at 18 is already 6ft 3 and a very imposing figure and was voted of course player of the tournamanet in the U-17 World cup which the Swiss won. This is a tournament that the likes of Ronaldo starred is and is a clear sign of quality of the player.
How many times would a third choice keeper be expected to play ?
Is there any point spending wages on a older player ?
Siegrist in particular should be given the confidence to be the number three Villa keeper, he should be the first choice the reserves as he is too old at academy level and elevating him to number three will give him this. We should not be afraid to give youth its head and one of main criticisms of MON is that he failed to give the likes of Albrighton, Clark, the Fonz enough playing time.
Maybe the release of Marshall signals a change of thinking towards the quality youngsters we have.
Rafa offered chance to go, cue the endless MON links but remember what Randy said
The Times are reporting that the Liverpool board are offering Rafa £3m to leave
of of course a quick link by MON’s mate Henry Winter on Twitter
End-game for Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. Had to happen. Club moving against him. He’ll always have Istanbul. Martin O’Neill & Roy Hodgson will be linked with Liverpool. Good managers, warmer men than Rafa Benitez. LFC dressing room needs warmth
I guess over the next few hours we will hear a lot of these links and some Villa supporters will delight in this but remember what Randy said, the guy does not lie
Let me say again, Martin O’Neill will be the manager next season. He has definitely agreed and I wasn’t worried that might change. In fact, I would say our working relationship is as close as ever – if not closer.’
And for these reasons below as well
1) MON not finished job at Villa Park
2) MON stated he would be staying in the summer
3) MON was at the meeting with Milner yesterday and would he try and persuade Milner to stay knowing he was going to go
4) Why would he go there if their best two players are almost certain to leave ?
5) Swap Randy for those two idiots, Liverpool have in charge ?
6) The whole club is built on Rafa and his ethos, from the doctor’s, physion, youth team coaches and every single player with a massive squad MON dislikes
7) We have plans for the stadium and building now, they have well, the dreams.
8 ) The way Liverpool acted over the Barry attempted deal
For MON it would make no sense at all, at his age trying to reconfigure the whole club with no money, owners who could sell up to anyone at any time and a squad in serious decline. People may argue that is how he joined Villa but he knew the owner then and his plans, not now.
So for those dreamers wishing MON to go, the small majority he is is STAYING.
Villa fans prove it is not doom and gloom
The Evening Mail have released their annual survey of Villa fans and there are some very interesting results
88% of fans rated the season as Excellent or Good
63% of fans rated the lowest point as the inconsistent home form
78% of fans rated MON’s performance as Excellent or Good
87% of fans are happy with the direction the club is going
92% of fans happy with the way the club is being run
93% of fans back the Villa board
70% of fans think the ticket and season ticket prices are about right (not moved in one year)
So contrary to what you may read on a lot of forums and some real vocal anti MON feeling and a lot of negativity actually the reality is that a lot more are happy with what is happening at Villa Park under Randy and MON.
Maybe those being the most vociferous on the boards should reflect on this and reflect that it could be the majority of fans are far more patient than they are for what is defined as success. Maybe the majority of fans see we are making year on year progression and that the steady approach is far more beneficial.
Tattum is not telling the TRUTH – no wonder Blues fans fell for it
The Evening Mail editor needs to have a serious look at Tattum’s future. As reported on this blog yesterday what he said was such an obvious ploy to curry favour for Zigic with the Blues fans and they fell for it big time because they are desperate to have one up on us.
Well the Villa’s OS just have totally denied the story with the following strong denial
Aston Villa did not make any “11th hour” attempt to contact the Serbian striker’s representatives.
No contact was made by the club on the day that Zigic arrived in Birmingham – or at any time before or after.
We should sue the Mail for printing these untruths and the Blues fans should reflect with themselves on their bitter jealously with us.
Their story that the Blues hierarchy (amateurs), Tattum and the agent dreamt up was just going to incite us as they knew it was not the truth and everyone else should have known it when Man City were mentioned.
The bigger the lie it seems the more Blues fans lap it up.
28 Years Ago – Never forget Rotterdam
We all know happened then
At the time of writing this we were 30 minutes or so into kick off into Villa’s greatest day. I was just 10 years old and remember watching the whole game on TV with Butler and Gavin on in the background for BRMB.
Even then I knew what a great day it was and it is still with me even now. Some supporters of the smallest team in Birmingham (not Sutton Coldfield Town) go on about how we are ‘history’ boys but it is history which defines Villa from our very core and even now with Chelsea and Arsenal having a decade of attempts we are one of the chosen few.
It showed at the Sheffield game in 2007 that we never have forgotten those men of true Claret and Blue Blood
stand proud
Jimmy Rimmer
Nigel Spink
Kenny Swain
Gary Williams
Ken McNaught
Allan Evans
Tony Morley
Des Bremmer
Gordon Cowans
Dennis Mortimer
Peter Withe
Gary Shaw
Colin Gibson
Pat Heard
David Geddis
Andy Blair
Roy McClaren
and of course
SIR Ron Saunders and SIR Tony Barton RIP
Milner Starts for England and has a decent game, eventually
Still Aston Villa player starts for England tonight against Mexico at Wembley
Green
G.Johnson, Ferdinand, King, Baines
Walcott, Gerrard, Carrick, Milner
Crouch,Rooney
He appears to be starting on the left and I am sure he will have a decent game to help seal a starting place against the US in a couple of weeks or so.
Whether we need him to have a decent game from a Villa point of view is a rather mute point.
EDIT: appears Milner is playing central midfield over and above Gerrard, Capello really does rate him
However has to be said that Milner has been average at best and playing too deep when compared to Villa
2nd half Milner had finally looked better moved to the left and showed much better for the performance as the whole team seemed so much more balanced. His natural position at international level should be as the supporting attacking midfielder.
Luke Young shouts his mouth off, is he right to do so
By now you would have read what Luke Young has said about leaving Aston Villa and after this quote it is obvious all bridges have now been burnt.
“It just seems that however hard I work in training or however well I do in games that I don’t get judged by the same standards as some players.”
It is clear MON has fallen out big style with Young, something that was rumoured one year ago because Young had been forced to play left back and it was said he was not happy. Now some fans on forums have taken what Young has said to be true, MON said a week ago some had not impressed him enough. Here we have a disillusioned player coming out and suddenly for some he is totally right because it fits their image on MON and their own agenda’s.
I have no doubt many fans will disagree with me but if Young was really as good as people said how come with him missing for large parts of this season we had the best defence in the division. As soon as he came back, we saw what happened at Chelsea. OK you can write that off for many reason, not least lack of game play but maybe the fact is he was not as good as some thought.
Maybe that is why MON did not play him (leaving aside the sad news about Young’s brother), maybe he just felt Young was simply not good enough for RB, not the argument many fans believe, I accept.
Well as he is that good and lets see who he goes to and bet it will not be any of our direct competitors or those above us. Maybe the reality is that quality of English right backs is so damm poor that Young stood out better than what he really was.
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