50% Villa: Assou-Ekotto on not becoming us

[gervilla]

If the season continues in this vein we won't even be also rans.

[Shrek]

This is why I'm so depressed about Villa at the moment.

Alex Mcleish is a second rate manager, with second rate tactics, we are now just a Bolton, Wigan, West Brom level club.

[brian green]

What this player is really saying, though I doubt he has the intelligence to know the full implications of what he was saying, is you will finish up like Aston Villa (who are going through a period of retrenchment ahead of uncertain economic times).

If I owned a premiership club at the moment my first priority would be to see that the club can survive the economic firestorm which is blowing across europe.

Italy has a national debt of 1.7 trillion dollars.   What do you think is going to happen to Inter and Juve and Roma if Germany turns off the bail out tap?   And if Italy goes Spain will be right next in line.   Cesc Fabregas would be left dreaming of those golden days when his salary cheque did not bounce.

Players like Assou-Ekotto can holds forth like Joey Barton reading a volume of Pam Ayres poetry about clubs and ambition but what he really wants is the gravy train to keep on rolling.

[CJ]

This is why I'm so depressed about Villa at the moment.

Alex Mcleish is a second rate manager, with second rate tactics, we are now just a Bolton, Wigan, West Brom level club.

Even more depressing is we've lost to two of those clubs at home already this season

[Toronto Villa]

Assou-Ekotto might be right, but I bet he'll be looking for an exit sign too if Spurs don't make the CL this season, and suddenly Bale, VDV, Defoe, Modric all decide Spurs aren't good enough anymore.

Maybe he will. But whether they ultimately do or not, at the very least he'll see them having a damn good go.

unfortunately, as we've found out, having a damn good go isn't always enough. You have to have a go, and keep having a go and stay there for the players to stay there, and hope that much bigger cats don't prey on you along the way.

[gervilla]

Assou-Ekotto might be right, but I bet he'll be looking for an exit sign too if Spurs don't make the CL this season, and suddenly Bale, VDV, Defoe, Modric all decide Spurs aren't good enough anymore.

Maybe he will. But whether they ultimately do or not, at the very least he'll see them having a damn good go.

unfortunately, as we've found out, having a damn good go isn't always enough. You have to have a go, and keep having a go and stay there for the players to stay there, and hope that much bigger cats don't prey on you along the way.

Yup. Having a go, failing and then deciding you've spent way too much in trying and failing and won't be trying again for some time isn't going to keep a good squad together.
By the time Randy decides to give it another go ( if he ever does) we will be starting from scratch again .

[Dante Lavelli]

The key difference is that Spurs live and speculate within their means.  Whilst we have without doubt reined in our ambitions, all we are doing is looking to be sustainable rather than Leeds Utd.

The lack of apparent Plan B is my gripe, not the fact that we have stopped spending.

[Risso]

He's just stating a simple fact.  In recent seasons, we've sold a lot of excellent players and as a result have fallen away.

[Mike Jeffries]

It would be lovely to think that this would be on the wall (Flipchart stand/PowerPoint/IPad - whatever) in our dressing room, before we play Spurs.  You know as a motivational tool.

It would also be nice if we all had big rubber hands and pointed to the exit signs at the end of our two (Three if we met them in the FA cup) crushing victories over Spurs, to Signify where their "Big name players" will be headed if they fail to get back in the Champions Leauge at the end of the season.

............... All very unlikely I accept, but it would be lovely! 

[Dave]

Assou-Ekotto might be right, but I bet he'll be looking for an exit sign too if Spurs don't make the CL this season, and suddenly Bale, VDV, Defoe, Modric all decide Spurs aren't good enough anymore.

Maybe he will. But whether they ultimately do or not, at the very least he'll see them having a damn good go.

unfortunately, as we've found out, having a damn good go isn't always enough.

No, but it's still better than not even trying.

[KevinGage]

Problem is Mike, do you see the likes of Dunne, Ireland, Hutton and co getting vexed and busting a gut to ram those words down his throat?

They've come here to poodle about. 

[A|C]

Says the player who openly admitted that he only plays for the money!

Is that much different from most if us though, as long as he does his job well does it really matter?

[ROBBO]

I wonder if Randy realises that if we are in the shit in January it will be impossible to attract another quality player the likes of Bent, i doubt very much if he would have come to us if he had known the players we would be selling without replacing. The championship is looking reasonably attractive, at least every club has a chance of winning it.

[Dave]

Says the player who openly admitted that he only plays for the money!

Is that much different from most if us though, as long as he does his job well does it really matter?

Indeed.

Professional person in "motivated by their salary" shock.

[Matt C]

Unfortunately he's bang on the money.