Our strategy

[Marlon's Hairy Wood]

If I was Darren Bent I'd be thinking about getting out of this sinking ship.

without a doubt

what an epic mistake he made coming here.

The way so called poorer teams are building and looking to improve where as we can't even afford players wages is pretty embarrassing

getting rid of Makoun is absolutely mindboggling, even more so if he's replaced with Jermaine feckin Jenas

[NeilH]

The strategy is cost cutting as deep and as quick as we can in order to reel in the excesses of the failed CL bid under MON. We are going to have to, for the time being, get used to the fact that we need to cut our cloth accordingly and except our place in the pecking order. That means that for now, we are a selling club who will be looking to blood youth players and hopefully develop enough in a few years to move back up the pecking order. We've been here before under Doug, so none of us should be particularly surprised by the turn of events.

[Irish villain]

Delph after a storming season will be gone for 15-20 million next summer. Trouble is we were still acquiring good players before that would have good sell on values, we are not now.

Wise words.

Reluctantly, I accept the inevitability of the Downing/Young moves.My concern is that we are not recruiting the next wave of talent.

Without Bent we would be in serious trouble this season.

We are in serious trouble even with him.

[TheTimVilla]

My strategy will be to put my head in the sand and hope it all works out in the end.

If we sign Jenas,my head is going in the oven.

Me too but mine is a fan assisted electric oven.  Anyone got any experience with these as a tool for suicide ?

Stick it in the bath?

I can only guess that spudzzzzz will be paying part of his salary?

[Billy Walker]

The transfer policy objectives should tie in with the Villa company objectives.

If the Villa objective was to finish in the top four then you would expect the transfer activity to reflect that objective.

The only objective I am aware of is to be in the top 20 richest European clubs list.

Finishing between 8th and 12th may not effect that objective, but reducing the wage bill and selling players will effect the profit and loss and help to achieve the objective stated above [at least in the short term]

If I was being sinical then it is what I would do with a company that I was preping for sale [make it look as profitable as possible on paper]

I think Randy and Paul have shot themselves in the foot with this aim, alas.  I just can't see us making the top twenty with our current strategy of down-scaling.

[PaulWinch again]

You flat out will never ever make the top 20 richest European clubs unless you have success on the pitch.

[The Moose]

Definition of strategy: A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.

I can't see anything we have done in the last three months that even approach the above - especially if the desired option is to be a Top 20 Euro club!

Utterly baffling.

[JJ-AV]

What an absolute joke. 2 players who are never going to amount for being anymore than average.

Santon and Cabaye at Newcastle. Young, promising and full of potential. We've a team of experienced 'steady' players, why not look further afield and try and unearth a gem?

Given, N'Zogbia, Hutton and Jenas?

Reserves from teams above us, best player from a team below us.

[hawkeye]

Sell sell sell, get as much cash in as possible and try and stay in PL on as little money as possible.

[PeterWithesShin]

Right now the strategy seems to be, close our eyes, pray, and hope.

[Villanation]

I think the Bent problem will be more about how Villa play and the effect that will or is having on his game, said this before when people where saying thank god we've signed a 25 goal a season striker, he maybe 25 goals elsewhere but he will do well to get upwards of Gabby's or Carew's total, that will be the straw that breaks the camels back, bent will get to Jan with about 10 goals and he will think phuk this the club don't have the players and this is to dam hard, I'm of.

[TheSandman]

I don't think we have one.

I'd rather we took chances on young players (like Newcastle have with Santon, Cabaye, Marvaux and Tiote) than sign mediocre (at best steady eddies) from lesser leagues abroad and add them to our own young players and I always have preferred for us to do that. Okay these players might not make it but we might have fun along the way rather than knowing we are going to have mediocrity and getting it.

[Big Dick Edwards]

Newcastle and Fulham are signing promising players for relatively low fees from Ligue 1 and the Erividisie respectively. Why aren't we doing this?
Newcastle reportedly are well respected in France (due to the way they looked after Ben Arfa after his injury and their dealings with Clubs over there) - and now they're competing (and in some cases beating) Arsenal and Liverpool to players.

And yet we'll finish above Newcastle again this season..

[TheSandman]

They might have a more interesting and occasionally entertaining season than we will though. It's not like we will get a trophy for finishing above them or anything important.

Look at last season we had a horrible season with few genuinely enjoyable games and they enjoyed inflicting some outright thrashings on teams as well as a fantastic 4-4 draw with Arsenal. They will certainly have enjoyed that more than we did finishing 9th rather than 12th or wherever.

And if just one of those young players proves to be good their investment of a few million will be returned a few times over. I doubt ours on Alan Hutton will.

[hawkeye]

Newcastle and Fulham are signing promising players for relatively low fees from Ligue 1 and the Erividisie respectively. Why aren't we doing this?
Newcastle reportedly are well respected in France (due to the way they looked after Ben Arfa after his injury and their dealings with Clubs over there) - and now they're competing (and in some cases beating) Arsenal and Liverpool to players.

And yet we'll finish above Newcastle again this season..

I doubt it, in fact I am struggling to work out how many teams we will finish higher than, it wont be that many