Player's Champions League ambition

[Salsa Party Animal]

So many bigger name is always looking for champions league football. Is it that important ? What wrong with playing for a good big club.  Is it better to play for Aston Villa instead of say Villarreal for regular champions league football.

If I were to leave Aston Villa I would want to play for Barcelona / AC Milan / Real Madrid  instead of say Florentina or Valencia. I wouldn't want to play for Manure or Chelsea or Liverpool lol.

If you play champions league football, you are unlikely to be a first team regular like Lionel Messi of Barcelona. Would you want to travel to europe 6 times a year for champions league away matches, and 5 matches away all over the world for England and also pre season training / friendlies. You won't get time to spend with family.

[Damo70]

It's just a fashionable cop-out these days for players to say they want to play in the CL. It sounds better than I want to play for a bigger or better club or I want more money. They mean they want to go to Man Utd or Chelsea ideally. Can you see Ash or Stu going to Rubin Kazan or FC Copenhagen?

[Summers]

You're a Villa fan, not a professional football player who is making a living playing. If I were a pro playing for a club like Fulham or Sunderland then a bigger club came along where I'd earn more and play at a higher level and win things, I'd be off. Downing and Young don't love this club like we do, so of course they wont share our genuine loyalty. Look at Wayne "Always a Blue" Rooney for an example of player loyalty.

[mattjpa]

Roughly translated it means "my agent has been blowing smoke up my arse and i now think im maradona. I want more money.

Well fuck you downing. Ash, you may leave with our blessing IMO as despite everything you have given 100% everytime ive seen you. Downing, you bloody well owe this club you mercenary. We pluck you from the champo with a broken leg, pay you to get fit, sit you in Capellos favourite ground and give you the freedom to perform as you like. And after 10months of good performance you decide you are better than us? I will two foot you next time I see you, see if Liverpool will buy you with a 6month injury and no guarantee you will reach your previous level again...

[darren woolley]

I would reckon with todays footballers all they see is the holy grail that is champions league football I would like to think they would stay with us for a few years to see if they could achieve there target with us first.

[MoetVillan]

Nice one Mattjpa.  Im sure that will entice Downing to change his mercenary ways.  Is "Two foot you" something like a ninja sky kick out of interest?

[itbrvilla]

Roughly translated it means "my agent has been blowing smoke up my arse and i now think im maradona. I want more money.

Well fuck you downing. Ash, you may leave with our blessing IMO as despite everything you have given 100% everytime ive seen you. Downing, you bloody well owe this club you mercenary. We pluck you from the champo with a broken leg, pay you to get fit, sit you in Capellos favourite ground and give you the freedom to perform as you like. And after 10months of good performance you decide you are better than us? I will two foot you next time I see you, see if Liverpool will buy you with a 6month injury and no guarantee you will reach your previous level again...

Love it and is also very true.

[luke25]

Can you see Ash or Stu going to Rubin Kazan or FC Copenhagen?

That would be fantastic, call Downing into the managers office, tell him we've had a bid from Rubin Kazan, we don't want to stand in his way of Champions league football so have accepted the bid, watch his bottom lip tremble and his eyes water, ******!

[pablopicasso_10]

personally, i am sick to death of english players...

as soon as they get a bit of form they go away with england, get "tapped up" by another over rated over paid wanker and then think they are gods gift to the world and their attitude stinks until they move to another club for a huge payrise and get lauded as the biggest and bestest player to ever grace the game by a clueless and delusional media...

this despite the fact that they cant trap a bag of sand...

i want villa to bring in more foreign players...

[AsTallAsLions]

Dear Downing and Young. In the words of the great Mike Patton:

You want it all but you can't have it.

[alanclare]

Do these people live on the same planet as me? Do A Young and Downing really believe that they're good enough to play Champions League football?

I don't think so.

[Dave]

Do these people live on the same planet as me? Do A Young and Downing really believe that they're good enough to play Champions League football?

I don't think so.

Of course they are.

Michael Carrick, Denilson, Salomon Kalou, Jonny Evans and Nickolas Bendtner were all good enough to play Champions League football this season and Downing and Young are far better than any of them.

[AlexAlexCropley]

I don`t begrudge Downing moving in a way,but  Young is seriously deluded if he
a) Thinks he`s good enough
b)Thinks it`s a given that Man U will walk into the final .Their time is up both tactically and squad age wise.
Why doesn`t  he just stay and try and make us top 4 material.He could be a hero instead of a plank.

[TheSandman]

If I was in their position I'd do the exact same thing.

Not so much for the Champions League football but to play for a bigger club with a chance of winning things. Sadly, even a Liverpool or a Spurs are much closer to that than us and in Liverpool's case there is definitely more of a prestige there than with us. There was a time when we could have done it but we pissed away two more than decent opportunities which we are unlikely to get again. Whereas at the point Barry and Milner left we were probably in a better position which makes their leaving worse than Ash or Downing.

Furthermore whilst both Spurs and Liverpool can look to the new season with some element of positivity we are in a situation where we are looking at losing two top players and have no manager. If you were a player at Newcastle, Sunderland or Everton who were in that situation you would do the same thing.

And as for us taking a chance on him when he was injured. It was our player who injured him. He'd have probably been on the move to one of them had it not been for that injury.

[mattjpa]

Hence why I don't begrudge young. It's his time-he has seen his contract into it's last year and I have never expected anything other than this moment for him. But downing has started whoring himself around after ten good months of service. He has been saying the opposite for the last few Months. His agent must be sitting there like a little devil on his shoulder