Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: DangerousBri on August 28, 2014, 07:13:50 AM
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Now its looking like Delph has finally got his much deserved England call up, all i think is its going to put him in the shop window and alert clubs that he is in his last 12 months of his contract. Come January he can speak to any club, so hopefully they pull their fingers out and get him signed up to a good deal that he deserves.
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If you were Delph, would you sign a new contract down the Villa right now? - same goes for Vlaar.
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The thing is Delph has come out and said he wants to sign his new deal
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The thing is Delph has come out and said he wants to sign his new deal
This whole situation with contracts worries me greatly. Hopefully's it not the same case as Albrighton where the player wants to sign but the club are unwilling to meet his wage demands.
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It's going to be a concern - Delph is one of the few that are still left on O'Neill-style contracts.
It wouldn't be a massive surprise if he were on £40k per week, happy to sign again for that amount only for the club to be offering £20k.
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perhaps we have a new wage ceiling
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When does Fox take up his post? I'm certain that all these contract situations will be his major priority once he gets started.
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If you were Delph, would you sign a new contract down the Villa right now? - same goes for Vlaar.
I'm sure most professionals in his position would be thinking that a good season and possible England involvement would mean he could demand big wages on a Bosman transfer next summer.
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He's finally been named in the england squad. For some reason though so has Jack Colback.
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Happy for him being called up but not for us.
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5Live news at 12:30 named the new England squad members and included Newcastle midfielder Fabian Delph!!!!
Sums up the BBC's knowledge of clubs not in the top 6 or London.
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last time I looked Newcastle aren't top six or in fact, in London, so even more pathetic eporting from the beeb
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If you were Delph, would you sign a new contract down the Villa right now? - same goes for Vlaar.
The naive side of me would like to think that Delph owes the club a little bit of loyalty, but does that word exist in Football?
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I imagine a priority for Mr Fox even before he has cut himself a new arse groove in his chair is to secure Vlaar and Delph to new deals.
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If you were Delph, would you sign a new contract down the Villa right now? - same goes for Vlaar.
The naive side of me would like to think that Delph owes the club a little bit of loyalty, but does that word exist in Football?
No, from both sides of the coin.
If he'd been shit for the last two years rather than really quite good then we wouldn't want to offer him a new contract.
Villa (and any other club) are out for the good of the club, why shouldn't the players be out for the good of themselves?
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From the Telegraph story about Cleverley:
"...Lambert is also ready to speed up talks with Delph over a new deal after the midfielder
was included in Roy Hodgson’s senior squad for the games against Norway and Switzerland.
Delph, 24, has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and though he is settled at Villa
there is also a risk that his call-up could alert other clubs.
Talks are likely to start after the international break and, more pertinently, when the window closes.
Lambert said: “As soon as players get picked for England things escalate so we’ll have to sit and see what he thinks himself.”
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From the Telegraph story about Cleverley:
"...Lambert is also ready to speed up talks with Delph over a new deal after the midfielder
was included in Roy Hodgson’s senior squad for the games against Norway and Switzerland.
Delph, 24, has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and though he is settled at Villa
there is also a risk that his call-up could alert other clubs.
Talks are likely to start after the international break and, more pertinently, when the window closes.
Lambert said: “As soon as players get picked for England things escalate so we’ll have to sit and see what he thinks himself.”
Honestly. Why the fuck weren't we talking to him in the first place?
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From the Telegraph story about Cleverley:
"...Lambert is also ready to speed up talks with Delph over a new deal after the midfielder
was included in Roy Hodgson’s senior squad for the games against Norway and Switzerland.
Delph, 24, has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and though he is settled at Villa
there is also a risk that his call-up could alert other clubs.
Talks are likely to start after the international break and, more pertinently, when the window closes.
Lambert said: “As soon as players get picked for England things escalate so we’ll have to sit and see what he thinks himself.”
Honestly. Why the fuck weren't we talking to him in the first place?
Simply. This.
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Yup, basically that ^
If Delph ends up leaving, I'll never forgive Lerner & Lambert.
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From the Telegraph story about Cleverley:
"...Lambert is also ready to speed up talks with Delph over a new deal after the midfielder
was included in Roy Hodgson’s senior squad for the games against Norway and Switzerland.
Delph, 24, has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and though he is settled at Villa
there is also a risk that his call-up could alert other clubs.
Talks are likely to start after the international break and, more pertinently, when the window closes.
Lambert said: “As soon as players get picked for England things escalate so we’ll have to sit and see what he thinks himself.”
Honestly. Why the fuck weren't we talking to him in the first place?
Well indeed it's vitally important we tie him down to a deal.
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It's going to be a concern - Delph is one of the few that are still left on O'Neill-style contracts.
It wouldn't be a massive surprise if he were on £40k per week, happy to sign again for that amount only for the club to be offering £20k.
Really?
You really think that we'd be talking to TC if our wage levels were at Championship levels?
No, nor do I.
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It's going to be a concern - Delph is one of the few that are still left on O'Neill-style contracts.
It wouldn't be a massive surprise if he were on £40k per week, happy to sign again for that amount only for the club to be offering £20k.
Really?
You really think that we'd be talking to TC if our wage levels were at Championship levels?
No, nor do I.
To be fair, I did post that quite a long time before the Cleverley story arrived.
The suggestion that we're not paying such big wages as we were four years ago isn't particularly outlandish.
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If you were Delph, would you sign a new contract down the Villa right now? - same goes for Vlaar.
The naive side of me would like to think that Delph owes the club a little bit of loyalty, but does that word exist in Football?
Heh! Heh! your funny you are i like you, they expect loyalty from the mugs in the stands but would walk away in a heartbeat.
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Contracts tend to get sorted out once the transfer window is over. I have always assumed that agents advise players to wait until they see what new signings are offered before committing themselves.
I am sure that they will make him an offer.
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And there's no doubt we would have spoken with him or his agent regarding the intention of signing something or not.
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Shambolic once again….letting one of our best players run his contract down whilst signing Cole, Richardson,Sanchez…
Will anyone of those players bring as much to the team as Delph does.. if Cole is on the £25k per week which has been muted I would rather give that salary to Delph.
Lambert has been given enough budget so far in this window to have tied up the deal…. he probably wants to get rid as he didn't sign him
P**sed off from Saltley…
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Nice to meet you, P**sed off.
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Nice to meet you, P**sed off.
pleased to make your acquaintance BDS..... I hope the abbreviation meets your approval.... It seems less formal :D
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Oh well looks like he is off
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11214876/Fabian-Delph-deals-fresh-blow-to-Aston-Villa-after-revealing-he-is-unlikely-to-sign-new-contract.html
Fabian Delph has told Aston Villa he has no plans to sign a new contract and is set to leave the club in the summer, in another shattering blow for the manager, Paul Lambert.
Delph appears poised for the Villa exit on a free transfer at the end of the season, in a move which is likely to spark interest from Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, plus Tottenham Hotspur .
The England international has been offered an incentivised four-year deal worth around £50,000 a week by chairman Randy Lerner, as the club attempt to keep him in the West Midlands beyond this current campaign.
But Delph has given the clearest indication yet that he is keen to pursue a new challenge next season by informing Lambert, the manager, that he wants to keep his options open.
The 24-year-old midfielder’s current deal expires in June and Villa believe they are facing a losing battle to persuade Delph to sign another long-term contract.
Related Articles
Telegraph Sport understands Delph is prepared to see out the season with Lambert’s team, and he will be one of the most sought-after free agents of the summer after recently breaking into Roy Hodgson’s squad.
He made his senior international debut in the friendly against Norway in September and then produced a disciplined display in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland, playing the whole 90 minutes despite an early booking.
Signed for around £6 million from Leeds in 2009, Delph suffered two serious knee injuries early in his spell at Villa, but has since emerged as one of the club’s key players.
During the pre-season tour of America he told Villa supporters he owed the club for their unwavering loyalty during his injuries. However, three successive relegation battles – with a possible fourth this season – and his elevation to the England squad have convinced him that he will have to take the difficult decision of leaving Villa Park to advance his career.
Delph is unlikely to play for Villa until late December in any case as he is sidelined with a dislocated shoulder.
Villa could also lose Ron Vlaar at the end of the season, with the Holland international’s deal also running out in June. Negotiations with Vlaar are believed to be ongoing and, as yet, the centre-half has not indicated whether he sees his future elsewhere.
But after an impressive World Cup he is also likely to have interest from across Europe, with Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal known to be an admirer.
Villa travel to West Ham United on Saturday on the back of six successive defeats, their worst run in nearly 50 years. Lambert will attempt to halt the slump without Belgium international Christian Benteke, who is suspended for three games following his controversial red card against Spurs.
Benteke is unlikely to be fined by Villa as Lambert believes the punishment was harsh enough but his absence has come at a damaging time. The forward lashed out at midfielder Ryan Mason in retaliation and Villa contacted the Football Association this week in a bid to overturn the ban, but the appeal was thrown out.
Villa and Spurs have also been charged with failing to control their players, after the fracas early in the second half, and have until Monday evening to respond.
Lambert said: “We thought the three-match ban was excessive under the circumstances but the FA have made up their minds. I’m certainly not condoning Christian’s reaction but we feel he’s paid a big price for it.
“The reaction of the players was normal after one of their team-mates was getting that done. Obviously Spurs were involved in it as well. Human nature will dictate that when one of your team-mates is treated like that everybody else will get involved.”
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The thing is Delph has come out and said he wants to sign his new deal
He said that quite a while ago though. If I were Delph I'd be looking at this mess and looking to move to a more stable club who might challenge for things. If he moves on a free he might have a pick of more clubs than he would if he moved for a fee.
Vlaar I'm not too bothered about because he's not as difficult to replace and has been largely average frankly.
If we survive this season, and there are no signs of a takeover I can see Delph and Vlaar going, and Benteke eyeing the exit door, and as the big man has shown in the past, he's not frightened of throwing his toys out the pram to get a move. We can't expect to keep our better players if we consistently finish in the bottom 6. We'll struggle even being a mid-table side to keep the likes of Fab and Benteke.
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More indicative of how little ambition there is left around the place. We don't even sell our best assets anymore - we leave them on the doorstep for anybody to take.
We're going down, aren't we? We're going to do a Leeds/Wolves/Southampton/Forest...
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It's not surprising really. I think the way we went about things was ridiculous. We should have tied him down sharpish in the summer. We didn't look like we were breaking our backs to try and keep him. Same with Vlaar.
We're gonna go absolutely nowhere (except the championship) while Lerner remains half heartedly in charge.
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No real surprise here.
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The only positive is that could be a further nail in the coffin for Lambert. fans will be mightily pissed off with Delph going and no-one can blme him. lambert will get the blame.
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We will be pretty fucked if we go down , we won't have anyone worth selling to get by losing some of the TV money.
Not surprised he is off,same as Vlaar the club is a shambles no direction from the top and a manager who is frankly hopeless.
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It's not surprising really. I think the way we went about things was ridiculous. We should have tied him down sharpish in the summer. We didn't look like we were breaking our backs to try and keep him. Same with Vlaar.
We're gonna go absolutely nowhere (except the championship) while Lerner remains half heartedly in charge.
That's what gets me about it. Mumbles kept saying we'll take a look at it, and we'll see if we can do stuff, and blah blah blah. If it was obvious even to us nurks on a forum that they were the most important players in the squad and needed to be at least offered improved deals as a priority, then it would have been advantageous to let Delph and Vlaar know how keen the club were to keep them. I know people may say that we don't know what was said behind the scenes, but a more positive public statement may have helped.
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It's ok, we have joe Cole.
Fucking hell!!
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Players we'd keep. I think.
Guzan
Lowton
Hutton
Cissokho
senderos
baker
Clark
Westwood
Weimann
Gabby
Grealish
With a new manager that's a decent enough starting point to make a realistic challenge next season. Play-offs at the bare minimum I'd venture. Loads of derbies though.
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I'm sticking my neck out now, and claiming we'll get nowhere near the play-offs. Relegation will knock seven bells of shite out of us.
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Randy's dithering over the sale of the club has cost us one of shining stars. He would have signed it last Summer I reckon. Missed the boat Lerner, your legacy is looking appalling. Cheers!
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need to make a brave decision on the manager though. Somebody with a bit of nous who knows the division, but could handle a big fish in a small pond. We're in such a position that even Allardyce is too good for us. What is Gary McAllister doing nowadays?
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I'm sticking my neck out now, and claiming we'll get nowhere near the play-offs. Relegation will knock seven bells of shite out of us.
Agreed look at Fulham ..
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If he is off, then it reeks of mis-management from the very top to let it get to this stage and situation.
In reality, he should have been signed up 12-18 months ago.
So, one of the Crown Jewels on the way out, with Vlaar and no doubt Benteke close behind.
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This shit never ends.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
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I thought Percy was pretty reliable? If not true the club should make a statement which of course won't happen.
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I'm sticking my neck out now, and claiming we'll get nowhere near the play-offs. Relegation will knock seven bells of shite out of us.
No one's ever been relegated in November. We're not yet a lost cause, there's plenty that can be done to stop the rot. The first thing Lerner needs to do is to remember he's running Aston Villa FC not some 2 bob outfit from the lower leagues, then he needs to sack the lamentable Paul Lambert. That's be a good start.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
So do you think he is going to sign a new contract? It doesn't take a genius to know there is more truth in this story than not.
Let's be honest, this is no surprise. Why commit to a new deal, when he is at his peak earning potential?
He's going.
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I know it seems like we're all predicting the end of days because of one rumour, but even the most blase of us would have to concede it's not been the most confidence boosting couple of weeks. A national newspaper lighting the touchpaper on another Villa crisis isn't going to calm the mood.
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I thought Percy was pretty reliable? If not true the club should make a statement which of course won't happen.
If they made a statement about every bit of speculation then they would be doing something wrong.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
So do you think he is going to sign a new contract? It doesn't take a genius to know there is more truth in this story than not.
Let's be honest, this is no surprise. Why commit to a new deal, when he is at his peak earning potential?
He's going.
I don't know if he's going or not but I'm certainly not going to start wetting myself about it.
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I hardly see this as news, once a player starts his last contracted season he is often on his way.
Why on earth would any one think that he would sign a contract right now.
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Delph. Neither a great passer, a great ball winner, a creative genius or a goal scoring midfielder. I appreciate this isn't going to be a popular opinion but, whilst I'd rather have him than not, what a state we are in if we are so very desperate to get Fabian Delph to sign a new contract. He's decent but he's no Sid, no Kevin Richardson, not even a Garry Parker. I don't want him to leave but I do wonder what type of player he is. Cue the 'he plays for England'. Please don't!
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He's easily one of our best players, and good enough to play at sides better than us, no matter how much people will no doubt decide otherwise to save face.
Sadly, I don't blame him for a second.
The club has absolutely no ambition beyond not getting relegated, which is just as well, as it looks like the management isn't capable of delivering much more than that. I find it hard enough to watch this unfold, there's no way I'd be happy to hitch my career to it as well.
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Delph. Neither a great passer, a great ball winner, a creative genius or a goal scoring midfielder. I appreciate this isn't going to be a popular opinion but, whilst I'd rather have him than not, what a state we are in if we are so very desperate to get Fabian Delph to sign a new contract. He's decent but he's no Sid, no Kevin Richardson, not even a Garry Parker. I don't want him to leave but I do wonder what type of player he is. Cue the 'he plays for England'. Please don't!
He makes very few mistakes and occasionally does something very good indeed. In fact, he does many more good things than he makes mistakes, I think. In particular he's very good at wriggling out of tight spots and into space, turning defence into attack. I wouldn't underrate a player who takes one touch before passing rather than two or three - the game today is so quick that little things like that make a lot of difference, and Delph tends to find the right pass with the right weight as well. Losing him would suck a great deal.
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Fair enough. I appreciate the difference of opinion. I hope he stays and goes on to be brilliant. Sadly, I just wonder if he doesn't want to play for this Manager.
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Not just the manager, but the whole club. I don't think there's much question than that he deserves better than where the Villa are at the moment, and I don't really blame him for doing the decent thing, seeing out his contract and giving himself as much free choice as possible over where he goes next.
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I've always believed that the club needs to provide a reason for a player to stay. No different to any other employer as it happens in another profession. The best ones want to have a reason to stay, and in Delph he can get paid with us or on the open market. Once he signs he is stuck with that decision for the most part so with things hardly looking rosy I don't blame him one second for considering his options. I completely believe that he wants to stay. I just think we are doing just about everything as a club to convince him otherwise.
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Agree he is not the greatest ever but he is the best midfielder we have right now. Lets face it we are not exactly over flowing with talent.
I hope he stays and goes on to be a great player for us.
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We're in a right shit pickle aren't we.
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Of course this could be his agent trying to up the ante in terms of contract value....
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I think the club have known this for a while and that's why they're going to spend £7m on six-months-left-on-his-contract Tom Cleverley in January.
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Bunch of ****** running the club. Fuck off Lerner/Lambert. It gets worse and worse.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
So do you think he is going to sign a new contract? It doesn't take a genius to know there is more truth in this story than not.
Let's be honest, this is no surprise. Why commit to a new deal, when he is at his peak earning potential?
He's going.
I don't know if he's going or not but I'm certainly not going to start wetting myself about it.
Based on what you do know, do you think he will sign a new contract or not?
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My immediate reaction when I saw this last night was annoyance/concern but in the cold light of day players come, players go, the Villa will go on. Twas ever thus.
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My immediate reaction when I saw this last night was annoyance/concern but in the cold light of day players come, players go, the Villa will go on. Twas ever thus.
In the Championship maybe.
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My immediate reaction when I saw this last night was annoyance/concern but in the cold light of day players come, players go, the Villa will go on. Twas ever thus.
That was my thoughts on it as well. The only bad thing about this theory is the players coming are on the decline in terms of quality.
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Hope this isn't true, because if it is it's a pretty poor state of affairs from the club and Delph.
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Well, Delph's done nothing wrong, has he? He's got a contract, played his best in a diabolical Villa side of late, got into the England team and he's off like a rat off a sinking ship and who can blame him?
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My immediate reaction when I saw this last night was annoyance/concern but in the cold light of day players come, players go, the Villa will go on. Twas ever thus.
That was my thoughts on it as well. The only bad thing about this theory is the players coming are on the decline in terms of quality.
Fair point, but I think we need to wait and see whether he goes and who we replace him with if he does before people start posting predictions about where we are going to finish in the Championship.
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Think it was mentioned but on top of the inevitable Delph news, Richard Keyes on Al-Jizz TV announced Vlaar "done deal" to Yanited in Jan.
The whole club is like a seeping mis-managed pool of puss. The Crown Jewels are lost while we reward Lambert and Gabby with big money long term deals.
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sad to say though it's a pretty tarnished crown, if those two are the jewels, just imagine the reaction to CB going in the summer! I think the guy owes us some loyalty even if it's just putting a one year extension on his contract with a realistic buy out fee. Shades of Downing otherwise
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Loyalty in the game died a long long time ago. As soon as he got called up for Engerland his fate was effectively sealed .
I agree Delph and vlaar are no great shakes but in our squad of overflowing averageness and mediocrity they are standout players.
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As soon as he got called up for Engerland his fate was effectively sealed .
Indeed. I think all these Baggies fans celebrating Berahino getting an England call up are going to be in for a nasty shock.
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Whilst I'll be unhappy if Vlaar, Benteke, and Delph leave I can't really see the attraction of being at Villa at the moment. We are showing absolutely zero ambition and the club seems happy to just about avoid relegation every season. Why would players want to stay here?
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Think it was mentioned but on top of the inevitable Delph news, Richard Keyes on Al-Jizz TV announced Vlaar "done deal" to Yanited in Jan.
The whole club is like a seeping mis-managed pool of puss. The Crown Jewels are lost while we reward Lambert and Gabby with big money long term deals.
While the story that's got so many people upset says something different.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
So do you think he is going to sign a new contract? It doesn't take a genius to know there is more truth in this story than not.
Let's be honest, this is no surprise. Why commit to a new deal, when he is at his peak earning potential?
He's going.
I don't know if he's going or not but I'm certainly not going to start wetting myself about it.
Basically 2 of our 4 pivotal players (Delph/Vlaar plus Bentekke/Guzan) are likely to leave for little or no fee because a lack of foresight at the club to arrange contracts 12 months ago and you aren't particularly bothered?
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I think it's harder for us as a club because of our history and heritage. Expectations / targets are skewed by this and it's hard for the clubs compass setters to know what to say do. For the Swansea's / Hulls of this world just being in the PL is a success . We are victims of our own former glories .
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That's the worst bit. The fact we will get no money for it.
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Think it was mentioned but on top of the inevitable Delph news, Richard Keyes on Al-Jizz TV announced Vlaar "done deal" to Yanited in Jan.
The whole club is like a seeping mis-managed pool of puss. The Crown Jewels are lost while we reward Lambert and Gabby with big money long term deals.
While the story that's got so many people upset says something different.
Are you saying the Delph story is probably incorrect Dave ?
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I don't know whether the Telegraph story is true or not but I'm looking at it like this. If we have offered Delph a new deal and he's turned it down then that's his choice and there's not a lot we can do.
If we haven't offered him a deal at all, then there's something wrong somewhere and fans have a right to question it.
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Think it was mentioned but on top of the inevitable Delph news, Richard Keyes on Al-Jizz TV announced Vlaar "done deal" to Yanited in Jan.
The whole club is like a seeping mis-managed pool of puss. The Crown Jewels are lost while we reward Lambert and Gabby with big money long term deals.
While the story that's got so many people upset says something different.
Are you saying the Delph story is probably incorrect Dave ?
I've no idea what's happening but by January the team's position will have improved or surely we'll have a new manager.
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But we've given the incumbent manager a new 4 year deal. Can't see him going anywhere soon and if he does it's going to be costly.
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But we've given the incumbent manager a new 4 year deal. Can't see him going anywhere soon and if he does it's going to be costly.
Bugger the cost !
It's not our money. Lets just get rid and then we can 'go again!'
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But we've given the incumbent manager a new 4 year deal. Can't see him going anywhere soon and if he does it's going to be costly.
Bugger the cost !
It's not our money. Lets just get rid and then we can 'go again!'
I know it's not our money but it will surely impact on future budgets for player spend /
Wages etc . It's all very well "go(ing) again" but money goes further
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I don't know whether the Telegraph story is true or not but I'm looking at it like this. If we have offered Delph a new deal and he's turned it down then that's his choice and there's not a lot we can do.
If we haven't offered him a deal at all, then there's something wrong somewhere and fans have a right to question it.
There's also the (most likely, in my opinion) combination of those - that we have offered him something but left it so long that he might as well wait.
And as most have said, it's hard to blame him if that's the case.
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One unattributed article, one "understands" with no basis in fact or hard evidence and we're headed for the Conference.
So do you think he is going to sign a new contract? It doesn't take a genius to know there is more truth in this story than not.
Let's be honest, this is no surprise. Why commit to a new deal, when he is at his peak earning potential?
He's going.
I don't know if he's going or not but I'm certainly not going to start wetting myself about it.
Basically 2 of our 4 pivotal players (Delph/Vlaar plus Bentekke/Guzan) are likely to leave for little or no fee because a lack of foresight at the club to arrange contracts 12 months ago and you aren't particularly bothered?
Not until it happens, no.
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We've managed to replace better players than all four of those, although, to be fair, the rest of the team at the times were probably a better standard than the current lot.
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To be honest Vlaar , I would not blame the club too much if he went . I imagine he wants big money and a long deal. He really has not earned it for villa. The World Cup show has no bearing on avfc
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Very good player for us, just don't think he is good enough for Chelsea/Arsenal/City. Probably an improvement for Man Utd, but still think they could attract better.
H will sign for one of those or Spurs, he'll get a stack of money and hardly play.
Perhaps that is a better prospect than the shambles of playing for us.
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We've managed to replace better players than all four of those, although, to be fair, the rest of the team at the times were probably a better standard than the current lot.
Not recently we haven't.
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Obviously we have no idea if any of this is true, but if I was Delph I would definitely 0121. If i was a bookies, i wouldn't offer you much on delph and vlaar (less bothered by) leaving in jan/summer.
Lucky bastards can jump ship. I can't.
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It's quite a U-turn from him saying he needs to show us someloyalty in the summer though isn't it.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
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Can't say that I'm surprised, that's modern day wankers I mean footballer's for you.
Having said that if he's got any ambition in life then Villa park isn't the place for him at the moment
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It's quite a U-turn from him saying he needs to show us someloyalty in the summer though isn't it.
It's hardly surprising
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
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Can't say that I'm surprised, that's modern day wankers I mean footballer's for you.
Having said that if he's got any ambition in life then Villa park isn't the place for him at the moment
When has it ever been any different? Good players don't want to play for the shit teams. I can't remember it being any different.
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It's quite a U-turn from him saying he needs to show us someloyalty in the summer though isn't it.
I reckon if we'd have offered him something at the point that he said that then I think he'd probably have signed it.
If I were him I'd be feeling pretty underappreciated that (based on Lambert's quotes) we've waited until he has nine months left before thinking about offering him anything.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
I wouldn't bet on that. If we were a top 8 team I'd bet Delph wouldn't be looking to leave.
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The only reason Delph loos so good is most of the rest are crap, he does some nice things granted but for a midfielder he scores few goals.
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Can't say that I'm surprised, that's modern day wankers I mean footballer's for you.
Having said that if he's got any ambition in life then Villa park isn't the place for him at the moment
When has it ever been any different? Good players don't want to play for the shit teams. I can't remember it being any different.
That's what I said. Just disappointed because it seeemed that he was making all the right noises about wanting to sign a new deal
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Can't say that I'm surprised, that's modern day wankers I mean footballer's for you.
Having said that if he's got any ambition in life then Villa park isn't the place for him at the moment
When has it ever been any different? Good players don't want to play for the shit teams. I can't remember it being any different.
Exactly, it is a relatively short career so it is only natural if you get the opportunity to play at as high a level as possible and perhaps win something. Of course the money helps but that tends to take care of itself if you are any good.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
I wouldn't bet on that. If we were a top 8 team I'd bet Delph wouldn't be looking to leave.
Just like Milner and Gareth Barry?
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Don't think he will go in January, but think he might in the summer. Partly depends where we finish this season and who comes calling.
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My only surprise would be if anyone was surprised.
I reckon Randy is so tight he's probably waited a few extra months to save in the increase of wages. Now Delph doesn't want to know as he relalises we're shit, the manager is clueless and the owner really couldn't give a fuck.
If I was a footballer with real ambition I'd run a mile from Villa Park. Same goes for a Manager, we' ve been nothing but a graveyard for managerial careers for the last 25 years.
We're not the worst run club in Birmingham but fucking hell there's not a lot in it.
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For all we know his new contract might have a clause in it that cuts his weekly wage if we go down - after all we would be pretty stupid not to put these sorts of clauses into new contracts...............
I don't blame him at all.
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its all very well bleating on about us loosing a player who makes a cdifference. But we have signed the main man up for another four years, i say sign him up for forty years. oh Randy what are you doing to my club.
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We'll see anyway. A lot can change between now and the summer.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
I wouldn't bet on that. If we were a top 8 team I'd bet Delph wouldn't be looking to leave.
Just like Milner and Gareth Barry?
He isn't anywhere near as good as that pair.
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Most of us if we were in his position would probably think along the same lines. At the moment there is nothing positive about the club. We have an owner who wants to sell but it appears he cannot find a buyer. A manager who attracts derision from many of the support. And we have a squad very much short on quality in several positions
Delph who does possess some quality seems a level headed bloke and has realised it would be better financially and careerwise to seek an upgrade while he still can.
Good luck to him.
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Don't think he will go in January, but think he might in the summer. Partly depends where we finish this season and who comes calling.
Let his contract run down and make a fortune in a signing on fee elsewhere.
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My probably unreliable crystal ball says;
Vlaar might go in January if Man Utd are still desperate, else he's certainly off for a free in the Summer.
Delph is off for a free in the Summer.
Benteke won't attract large enough bids in January that would mean we'd sell but Randy could either get spooked by losing Vlaar and Delph and sell in the Summer or we sell out of necessity after relegation, again in the Summer.
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As I said whilst it would be ideal if players remained loyal, have Aston Villa really got anything to offer at the moment? Obviously we're all fans and support the club, but most players aren't like that. We don't appear to have any plan for progression and seem happy to muddle around just avoiding relegation every season. There is nothing other than historically being a big club that Villa offer at the moment sadly.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
I wouldn't bet on that. If we were a top 8 team I'd bet Delph wouldn't be looking to leave.
Just like Milner and Gareth Barry?
He isn't anywhere near as good as that pair.
Who said he was? That's a seperate argument, and not one I am raising.
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You can't really blame him for wanting out though. This is what happens when your club becomes a perennial relegation struggler - the best players want out.
Its what happens when you're anywhere but the Champions League places.
I wouldn't bet on that. If we were a top 8 team I'd bet Delph wouldn't be looking to leave.
Just like Milner and Gareth Barry?
He isn't anywhere near as good as that pair.
Who said he was? That's a seperate argument, and not one I am raising.
Well the difference is that Barry and Milner wanted to move for Champions League football. Delph on the other hand will probably leave for a team in a position Villa are usually in, ie a top 8 team.
Whatever way you try and dress it up, Ads, it doesn't look good for Aston Villa.
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We'll have to wait and see where he ends up and if he does indeed go.
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He's looking after his own interests, in many ways just like people who give up their season tickets. When push comes to shove, it's all about personal choice, although I'd like to think that the club did all they can to try and keep him. These things happen.
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I fully expect Delph to become the next Scott Sinclair/Jack Rodwell at Manchester City.
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if you were a talented young international footballer, would you want to stay at our club in the direction its clearly heading?
delph joined a different very aston villa. an aston villa with ambition.
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I've not seen enough from Delph to get too emotional about him leaving. He's made it into the worst England squad I can remember yes , but so has john stones . If some idiots want to pay him£80k a week or more then more the fools them
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Delph is our best midfielder by a distance but he's still mid-table quality to be honest. Until he improves his passing and ball control (which if they're not there naturally to him, is hard) he'll not be of the required standard for a top three side.
A club like Spurs might take him, or Everton or Utd. Liverpool perhaps. If a club like Chelsea took him I suspect it would only be similar to the Sidwell deal. They'd do it because he's free and there'd be a chance to make money selling him back to a club of his level, whilst using him sparingly here and there to cover their better players.
He shouldn't be irreplaceable, but in the current set up with our budget and our manager, he kind of is. I'd have no faith we could get a player to fill the void.
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if you were a talented young international footballer, would you want to stay at our club in the direction its clearly heading?
delph joined a different very aston villa. an aston villa with ambition.
About sums it up.
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Can understand why people are pissed off by this story, and let's face it, it is only a story. But we shouldn't be surprised.
The club is up for sale and no money will be injected until a sale happens and we have new owners. Lambert has got a new contract to basically caretaker manage us for the next few years until a deal is done. You need a manager, however shit, to keep things going. Players are different though. If the likes of Delph and vlaar don't want to sign, then if you're Lerner you're not going to offer them silly money as you'll be increasing your liabilities and ultimately losses when you do sell. If you're any of the players like Delph, vlaar, Guzan, Benteke, why would you commit to new deals now, when you'd be limiting your options in the summer?
It's fucked, but that's the reality. I honestly don't think Lerner gives a fuck anymore if we stay up or go down. If we stay up, he'll get a better price, but may have to wait ages for a sale. If we go down, the price will be cheaper and as a decent club on paper he might get a quicker sale. When you look at the big picture and everybody's situation involved in the club, manager, owner and players, whilst we as fans may not like what's happening, it's pretty inevitable when you look at it from their perspective.
Best thing we can hope for is a sale this season, sooner rather than later, to someone with cash and brains.
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To be honest, I've still not got over Andy Gray going to Wolves.
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humph Gerry Hitchens and Tony Hateley were my biggest losses
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Torygraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11216121/Aston-Villa-determined-to-reject-bids-for-Fabian-Delph-and-Ron-Vlaar-in-January.html)
Aston Villa determined to reject bids for Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar in January
Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner will not sell Fabian Delph or Ron Vlaar in the next transfer window despite their contracts expiring in June
By John Percy 1:40PM GMT 07 Nov 2014
Randy Lerner is ready to resist any offers for Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar in the January transfer window.
Lerner, the Aston Villa chairman, has assured Paul Lambert that he is not prepared to sanction the sales of the two key players, despite their futures remaining uncertain.
Delph and Vlaar are both out of contract in June and already on the radar of rival Premier League clubs but Villa will turn down any offers for the pair in the New Year.
Relegation would be a nightmare scenario for Lerner, with the club still up for sale, and he recognises losing Delph and Vlaar would significantly weaken the squad ahead of a likely fourth successive battle for survival.
Delph has been offered a new deal worth £50,000 a week but Villa are growing increasingly resigned to the midfielder leaving in the summer on a free transfer.
The England international has told Lambert he wishes to keep his options open and Villa fear Delph’s next career move will not be motivated by money but a desire to test himself at a bigger club.
Delph is not expected to return until late December after suffering a dislocated shoulder and Villa are only focusing on him returning to boost their squad.
A Villa spokesman said: “The club has made a strong offer to Fabian to keep him at Villa beyond this season and our clear desire would be that he remains at the club.
“He and our medical team are working hard to expedite his return to action, ideally before the end of this year, so he can continue to contribute over the remainder of the season.”
Vlaar, the Villa captain, is considering a contract offer with a number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Arsenal monitoring his situation.
But Lerner will not entertain offers for either player, despite the prospect of receiving transfer fees before they become free agents at the end of the season.
Villa are considering taking up their option to sign Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley permanently in January, with a £7.5million fee already agreed.
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Forgive me but isn't this the same John Percy who less than 24 hours ago was telling us Delph categorically would not sign a new contract? Now he's "keeping his options open."
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humph Gerry Hitchens and Tony Hateley were my biggest losses
I still havent come to terms with Harry Burrows being sold to Stoke....and then Hateley....oh god!
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So we've made him a strong offer then? Sounds like him keeping his options open probably is true.
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I'm not sure whats worse ..losing Vlaar and Delph for nothing or paying £7.5mil for Cleverly ...
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£7.5 M for Cleveley with 6 months left on his contract..... sounds barmy, just the kind of mad decision we'd make.
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£7.5 M for Cleveley with 6 months left on his contract..... sounds barmy, just the kind of mad decision we'd make.
I wonder if we might in theory work out a similar fee for Vlaar to them, working something close to a straight swap for all intents and purposes.
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If we spend £7m on Cleverley then I think I may give up!
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If we spend £7m on Cleverley then I think I may give up!
In todays market it's probably a bargain. And I say that fully aware that he's average at best.
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Withdraw the medical help, don't play him for 9 months and wish him luck.
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£7.5m for cleverly with just 6 months left of his contract. God I hope that's a wind up. He looks exactly what we don't need so far from what I've seen .
I'd rather Ashley young in a swap and cash deal for vlaar
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agreed i dont see a 7.5mil player in him either
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£7.5 M for Cleveley with 6 months left on his contract..... sounds barmy, just the kind of mad decision we'd make.
I wonder if we might in theory work out a similar fee for Vlaar to them, working something close to a straight swap for all intents and purposes.
I can see this happening.
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Delph would be a good signing for Spurs I reckon. Poccetino likes quick players who can press opposition high up the park. Delph is good at that and running with the ball. Not sure why it has happened for Dembele at Spurs, he seems a similar player.
Re Vlaar, yes he is better than our other centre halves but is a woeful captain. The last thing Man Utd need is another overrated injury prone centre half in January, if he ends up going there it will only further my belief that United are on a downward spiral reminiscent of Liverpool at the start of the 90s. Cleverely hasn't done the business for us yet but Id keep faith in him. They have a number of other cast offs that Van Gaal seems to have made his mind on already that would improve us - Valencia, Young, Evans for example
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If we spend £7m on Cleverley then I think I may give up!
In todays market it's probably a bargain. And I say that fully aware that he's average at best.
When he wouldn't cost anything six months later?
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If we spend £7m on Cleverley then I think I may give up!
In todays market it's probably a bargain. And I say that fully aware that he's average at best.
I think I'd rather take the chance and go for someone from abroad, £7.5m for an average Man ure reject doesn't bear thinking about
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If we are playing swapsies with Yanited then Valencia and Young for vlaar would be where I'd be pitching if I was in charge . Instant width and creativity and a diving twat to win us some pens.
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I'd have Young back. I don't see what the fuss is about Valencia.
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I'd have Young back. I don't see what the fuss is about Valencia.
Two years ago he was the most effective winger in the league but he's very one dimensional. I would probably take him though.
Young for Vlaar and maybe £5m on top. Would take.
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I'd have Young back. I don't see what the fuss is about Valencia.
I beg to differ with you Clampy. I like Valencia. He would improve our forward line no end. But its all pipe dreams. We might let Vlaar go to United or even Arsenal but I doubt if we will get much out of the deal.
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Knowing how we do deals we will probably let vlaar go and we pay £8m for Jonny Evans
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Knowing how we do deals we will probably let vlaar go and we pay £8m for Jonny Evans
I've not long finished Roy Keane's book. He tried to buy Johnny Evans for Sunderland but he was quoted £12m.
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Thing with Cleverly is we were set to sign him perm in the summer so fee was agreed then, the loan only came about due to some messing about by his agent so if we look at it like that then 7mil with a year left isn't so bad ...
Still I think given our budget it's alot to spend on him especially as I don't a midfield 2 or 3 with him and Westwood is all that effective
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Knowing how we do deals we will probably let vlaar go and we pay £8m for Jonny Evans
I've not long finished Roy Keane's book. He tried to buy Johnny Evans for Sunderland but he was quoted £12m.
Jonny Evans reminds me of a Villa player some of you will remember. Ian Ross was a centre back who looked quite good at times but only at a certain level. Against a skilful opponent he struggled to dominate. Never worth 12mil. 5mil maybe.
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I quite like Cleverley. Not for seven and a half mill, but I'd keep him. And that's from someone who was very much against signing him.
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I like him too - slightly surprised by the negativity towards him.
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I don't understand why we'd pay £7m for a player who'd be free in a few months. I don't want us to buy him at all, but that's not the point. Surely Lerner/Fox/Lambert/whoever wouldn't agree to that?
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I don't understand why we'd pay £7m for a player who'd be free in a few months. I don't want us to buy him at all, but that's not the point. Surely Lerner/Fox/Lambert/whoever wouldn't agree to that?
If its a really bad decision they will go for it.
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I don't understand why we'd pay £7m for a player who'd be free in a few months. I don't want us to buy him at all, but that's not the point. Surely Lerner/Fox/Lambert/whoever wouldn't agree to that?
Man Utd have probably told Randy that if we don't coff up Everton will have him just to get the cash
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Cleverley has done nothing to justify being signed IMO.
Takes the easy crab pass too often for my liking.
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I don't understand why we'd pay £7m for a player who'd be free in a few months. I don't want us to buy him at all, but that's not the point. Surely Lerner/Fox/Lambert/whoever wouldn't agree to that?
Man Utd have probably told Randy that if we don't coff up Everton will have him just to get the cash
That would probably work too. They could get Ferguson on the phone to say a quick hello and Lerner would end up paying double!
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Cleverley has done nothing to justify being signed IMO.
Takes the easy crab pass too often for my liking.
I'd like to see us being a bit braver with him. Push him up to play more of a number 10 role. Get him instigating things in more dangerous areas and perhaps make runs into the box too. He's got more in his locker to play there than Westwood for example, and the legs that Cole doesn't have left.
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Having a middle three when can actually keep the ball is something we shouldn't be too keen to discard. The problems lie elsewhere now, for the first time in years.
out wide being the main issue.
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
I'd love to have Young back. Particularly if we had a manager not adverse to playing a winger.
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
Best centre half in the league is somewhat far fetched. To put it mildly.
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
Best centre half in the league is somewhat far fetched. To put it mildly.
Which league?
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Cleverley has done nothing to justify being signed IMO.
Takes the easy crab pass too often for my liking.
I've also noticed he doesn't have a left foot
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I'd keep Clevs.
If we wait for his contract to run out, he'll go elsewhere. Sad but true.
As for Delph. It's difficult. He's our best midfielder, and I really like him. He isn't staying though, he'll be off. It bugs me, obviously it does. However.. he doesn't score a lot. Or assist a lot. So we won't miss any game winning statistics. We'll miss his play, his running with the ball and his ability to glide passed players with ease.. but we can get that from elsewhere and maybe get someone who scores goals from midfield.
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
Best centre half in the league is somewhat far fetched. To put it mildly.
Which league?
Coronation
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Evans was the best centre half in the league only two seasons ago. Valencia was a very solid player in the same side. That same side walked the league that year.
It goes without saying they would instantly improve us as would Young.
Best centre half in the league is somewhat far fetched. To put it mildly.
Which league?
Coronation
F**k off.
That was me!
Jones wouldn't last 45 minutes in the Coronation League!
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As good a player as Delph is, I'd struggle to think of 10 occasions where he's made a goal or scored one in all his time here. I'd still be hugely disappointed in him but he's not irreplaceable. The one think he has got that few midfielders have is the ability to glide past people.
If / when he goes I think he'll disappear quickly. Bigger teams will want more than what he offers.
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At least they sorted lamberts out , hey ?
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Agree , in his 4 years odd here we've since rare flashes of a decent player. Nothing like the hype when we signed him.
He won't last long at a higher level or on the international scene in my opinion as he always gets carded and will see a few reds at that level .
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A bit disappointed that its took him a long time to find his form and had a lot of injuries on the way and now he's offski soon as he gets into the England side, even thou I can't blame him as we are falling dropping faster than Kelly brooks knickers.
And then not to get any money for him he's a right passer , he could have maybe signed something just so we get some pennies
, nailed on liverpoo for me to replace Joe Allen/lucas in the squad. In fact Lucas would be ok for us.
I saw a post about villa drawing 2-2 with the hammers and saw the players at the time , in fact Delph wouldn't even get in that team yet he's one of our better players today shows how shit we have gone.
Sad times at villa.
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The aforementioned 2-2 was Petrov's debut. Great game great debut.
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2-2 today
Be like winning the cup ;)
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People are right, he is in inconsistent and doesn't regularly make goals or score them, while he isn't anywhere near as good as Barry, Young, Milner etc, but then neither is this Villa side anywhere near as good as that one.
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It would be nice to get a bit of money for him wouldn't it. He's definitely replaceable, 3 league goals in 5 years is crap but I have no faith in the club spending any significant amount to do it.
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I'm guessing the club have been making him offers but him and his agent have just said No, No , No?
No way would the club let him walk for free without even trying , would they ?
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Whether he's replaceable or not isn't the problem as far as I see. The main issue that bothers me is that we're letting Vlaar and Delph go at the peak of their fame for fuck all. Given our financial dire straits and lack of funds then to let £15m+ of talent go for nowt is pathetic management by all concerned. I've never felt so much indifference about Villa as I do at the moment.
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Whenever I feel indifference coming on it seems to be overtaken by anger.
UTV!
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I'm guessing the club have been making him offers but him and his agent have just said No, No , No?
No way would the club let him walk for free without even trying , would they ?
No club would give Lambert a four year contract
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I don't understand why we'd pay £7m for a player who'd be free in a few months. I don't want us to buy him at all, but that's not the point. Surely Lerner/Fox/Lambert/whoever wouldn't agree to that?
Because he may go to someone else for free in the summer. I'd also sign him up. Like him to be trained harder to alter his crossing technique though.
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I like Delph as a player - one of the few in the current squad who can actually get past players and look to create something. Sadly the paucity of talent in the rest of the squad limits the potential for him to have more goals or assists. I'd be sorry to see him go but can well understand the reasons why he might be off at the end of the season - we may be relegated; if not relegated this season, and the Lerner/Lambert axis is still in control, the likelihood is we'll be in for yet another year of dross and relegation battle next season, and why would he stay in either of those scenarios? On the other hand, if Lerner manages to sell the club, and/or Lambert is off, and/or an owner looks to invest in the squad so the future looks rosier, he may stay. Sadly I can't see any of those things happening before the end of the season, by which time he'll be off.
As to where - although he'll look a different and much better player in a decent team, he's not a top 4/CL player, but I could see him rocking up at maybe Spurs or Everton, or, perhaps more likely, Southampton who are starting to look like a decent top half team playing good football under a second good manager in spite of losing a number of their better players after a good season last time out. Not so long ago we were on a par or better than these sort of teams, and that just shows how far we've fallen under Lerner and Lambert
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I swear players get worse in the eyes of some fans at the faintest whiff of them moving clubs. Delph is an excellent player for us and we'd be worse when he leaves.
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Yeah, been a while since I've seen so much criticism of Delph as player over the last couple of pages on here. It's good for the blood pressure to pre-empt another shit thing happening at our club but the fact is he's our best player after Benteke and we're likely to lose him for feck all.
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I like Delph as a player - one of the few in the current squad who can actually get past players and look to create something. Sadly the paucity of talent in the rest of the squad limits the potential for him to have more goals or assists. I'd be sorry to see him go but can well understand the reasons why he might be off at the end of the season - we may be relegated; if not relegated this season, and the Lerner/Lambert axis is still in control, the likelihood is we'll be in for yet another year of dross and relegation battle next season, and why would he stay in either of those scenarios? On the other hand, if Lerner manages to sell the club, and/or Lambert is off, and/or an owner looks to invest in the squad so the future looks rosier, he may stay. Sadly I can't see any of those things happening before the end of the season, by which time he'll be off.
As to where - although he'll look a different and much better player in a decent team, he's not a top 4/CL player, but I could see him rocking up at maybe Spurs or Everton, or, perhaps more likely, Southampton who are starting to look like a decent top half team playing good football under a second good manager in spite of losing a number of their better players after a good season last time out. Not so long ago we were on a par or better than these sort of teams, and that just shows how far we've fallen under Lerner and Lambert
best read on here ive had in a long time, 100% agree sorry for us.
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Well we were talking about a spine of the team being Guzan, Vlaar, Delph and Benteke being a good foundation for a decent manager to build from, most likely we will be losing half of that spine for the princely sum of fuck all, another case of Lerner fiddling whilst Villa burns.
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It just simply defies belief that we can - as is looking likely, let our best players/most saleable assets go for free and yet give probably the worst manager we`ve had in a generation a new four-year contract. has anyone traced back RLs family tree?, does he come from a long line of Birmingham city season-ticket holders by any chance because he is doing a fantastic job of wrecking the club from within.
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I knew he was a plant all along.
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Plank surely?
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Delph is probably the best of a a fairly modest bunch of players and not as good as we kid ourselves he is, goes missing in some games, has had injury problems at times, and only gets in the England squad because everybody else is French/Argentinian/Dutch/Brazilian/from Mars etc`, i`m not so sure there will be a huge queue to sign him apart from the fact he`ll probably "Bozzie" us, and fuck off on a free.
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To be fair its a huge decision for him. He's 25 this month and his next contract should see him playing at his peak. does he want to commit to Aston Villa, where I think he would stay, if he thought it meant the same as we have had for the last 3 years? He may simply be keeping his options open. I think he is fairly level headed from listening to him so i don't think he's just chasing money. He knows he can get more elsewher but is already on a decent wedge at Villa.
I don't see him as an Ashley Young type to just fall for the Man Utd hype but he'll judge the move and whether its the right thing for him. I seriously doubt whether he'd go to a Chelsea or a Man City but how could you turn them down? What does that say about you as a footballer and your ambitions? That you don't think you're good enough to compete in a big pond? How many of us in whichever profession we may be in would turn down the chance of a big move up the ladder just because it would mean we aren't relied on as heavily?
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Disagree, I think it will simply come down to a cold decision around money. Whoever offers the most is where he will go.
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Delph is probably the best of a a fairly modest bunch of players and not as good as we kid ourselves he is, goes missing in some games, has had injury problems at times, and only gets in the England squad because everybody else is French/Argentinian/Dutch/Brazilian/from Mars etc`, i`m not so sure there will be a huge queue to sign him apart from the fact he`ll probably "Bozzie" us, and fuck off on a free.
Being on a free will probably significantly increase his suitors. Clubs who probably wouldn't have been interested this summer, will consider a freebie worth a gamble with Delph. If only because, as Chelsea did to us with Sidwell, they can sell him for a fee back to a club below in a year or two.
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Disagree, I think it will simply come down to a cold decision around money. Whoever offers the most is where he will go.
I don't think it'd be that simple.
I think he'll be looking to play somewhere where he can compete for silverware, play in the Champions League, too. Two things which he clearly has zero chance of doing here.
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Hope i'm wrong but i think young Mr Delph has already played his last game for the club as if he does refuse to sign a new contract we will
flog him in January at least to get some sort of cash for him, he is still out for another month isn't he which takes us till mid December then
he has to get match fit.....
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Disagree, I think it will simply come down to a cold decision around money. Whoever offers the most is where he will go.
I don't think it'd be that simple.
I think he'll be looking to play somewhere where he can compete for silverware, play in the Champions League, too. Two things which he clearly has zero chance of doing here.
Really don't see him as a top 5 player. Probably 6th -12th PL type player.
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Disagree, I think it will simply come down to a cold decision around money. Whoever offers the most is where he will go.
I don't think it'd be that simple.
I think he'll be looking to play somewhere where he can compete for silverware, play in the Champions League, too. Two things which he clearly has zero chance of doing here.
Really don't see him as a top 5 player. Probably 6th -12th PL type player.
I think being a free agent will see him get a top 5 move probably. But I suspect he'll go the way of Sinclair, Johnson, etc, as opposed to Milner and Barry. Ultimately he'll be back at a 6-12 club in a couple of years. His touch and passing have to be much better to stay as a top 4 player.
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Agree, that first touch often gets him a booking. Liability at a higher level and in any proper England game too.
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Agree, that first touch often gets him a booking. Liability at a higher level and in any proper England game too.
It's still a shame we can't lock him down and sell him on our terms. Were he under a longer contract and wanted to go we'd be looking at 10-15 for him, even given the fact he's not top 5.
I hope he stays but unless a takeover seems liklier he'll go, and good luck to him. Can't blame him at all.
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Absolute incompetence that contractually we've let him slip for free.
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You couldn't blame him for moving on, we've waited until he has less than a year left on his contract to offer him a new deal and the club has been crap for about 4 years, with no sign of improvement.
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It's funny, his first touch. I've rarely seen a player who has such a bad first one but otherwise has lovely control of the ball.
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He's a Pochettino type player if ever i saw one.
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Absolute incompetence that contractually we've let him slip for free.
Take our Milner /Downing /Young /Barry ( and even the profit on them was not huge ) and our outwards dealings have been appalling it's no wonder we have no bloody money season after season now.
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Absolute incompetence that contractually we've let him slip for free.
Take our Milner /Downing /Young /Barry ( and even the profit on them was not huge ) and our outwards dealings have been appalling it's no wonder we have no bloody money season after season now.
On what planet didn't we make a big profit on those four?
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Absolute incompetence that contractually we've let him slip for free.
Take our Milner /Downing /Young /Barry ( and even the profit on them was not huge ) and our outwards dealings have been appalling it's no wonder we have no bloody money season after season now.
On what planet didn't we make a big profit on those four?
We certainly mugged off Liverpool with Downing. I suppose you could argue had we sold Ash Young a season sooner he'd have been over 20 million. Possibly a similar argument with Gareth Barry.
Compared to their costs though, we did well. The replacements is another matter of course.
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
I'm more concerned about not making anything on transfers since 2011.
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
I'm more concerned about not making anything on transfers since 2011.
If we sold players on for profit, wouldn't we be accused of being a selling club?
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Absolute incompetence that contractually we've let him slip for free.
Take our Milner /Downing /Young /Barry ( and even the profit on them was not huge ) and our outwards dealings have been appalling it's no wonder we have no bloody money season after season now.
On what planet didn't we make a big profit on those four?
We certainly mugged off Liverpool with Downing. I suppose you could argue had we sold Ash Young a season sooner he'd have been over 20 million. Possibly a similar argument with Gareth Barry.
Compared to their costs though, we did well. The replacements is another matter of course.
Therein lies the problem. We did well out of the four sales - Downing was a rare example of Scousers being the victim of a mugging, Barry was probably the only one who justified his eventual fee but at that point it was a buyer's market, Milner's a good player but never worth £26 million and if we'd got any more for Young the bastards would probably have took us to some sort of Trading Standards tribunal where we'd have had to give them their money back. The problem occured when it came to replacing them.
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
I'm more concerned about not making anything on transfers since 2011.
If we sold players on for profit, wouldn't we be accused of being a selling club?
Possibly, but even some of our mid-range players we probably should have sold for more (or in some cases anything).
Trouble is if you're not Chelsea or Man City, and possibly Utd you're basically a selling club.
Sometimes you have to shift someone on whilst they're sellable, and use it to try and further your squad. Sometimes it works (Southampton) and sometimes it just turns out badly (Spurs).
It's all retrospect but had we sold Benteke in 2013 we could probably have bought 3-4 good players for what we'd have got. Whether we could trust Lambert to get adequate replacements is another argument though (of which the correct answer is no).
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
I'm more concerned about not making anything on transfers since 2011.
If we sold players on for profit, wouldn't we be accused of being a selling club?
Accused by whom? And who would really care if we were accused of that?
If N'Zogbia, Hutton, Okore and Cissokho had turned into amazing players and we sold them for three times what we paid then I'd be absolutely over the moon.
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It's all relative. If you're comparing it to the profit that Spurs made on Bale or Man Utd made on Ronaldo then it wasn't huge.
If you're comparing it to 97% of transfers made then all four were pretty good.
In financial terms at least, it doesn't even bear thinking about what we did with the monies we received.
I'm more concerned about not making anything on transfers since 2011.
If we sold players on for profit, wouldn't we be accused of being a selling club?
Possibly, but even some of our mid-range players we probably should have sold for more (or in some cases anything).
Trouble is if you're not Chelsea or Man City, and possibly Utd you're basically a selling club.
Sometimes you have to shift someone on whilst they're sellable, and use it to try and further your squad. Sometimes it works (Southampton) and sometimes it just turns out badly (Spurs).
It's all retrospect but had we sold Benteke in 2013 we could probably have bought 3-4 good players for what we'd have got. Whether we could trust Lambert to get adequate replacements is another argument though (of which the correct answer is no).
I hate to think what this site would have been like had we sold Benteke after one season.
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The one that always gives me a cold sweat is Cahill sold for £3m and Curtis Davies coming in for £10m.
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The one that always gives me a cold sweat is Cahill sold for £3m and Curtis Davies coming in for £10m.
Didn't Cahill go for £5m?
It's still a shit deal mind.
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The one that always gives me a cold sweat is Cahill sold for £3m and Curtis Davies coming in for £10m.
Didn't Cahill go for £5m?
It's still a shit deal mind.
Really shit. Mind you I did have Curtis Davis in my dream team up until this week.
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Cahill, we never thought of a sell-on? We never do, although maybe it's more of a ''small club'' thing to do.
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Davies being sold for a small fee also looks a bit daft now too.
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MON was mental when it came to defenders.
Bought pretty much an entire defence one season, then the next season, bought another entire defence.
He must have spent over £30m on defenders.
Knight
Friedel
Collins
Dunne
Warnock
Beye (remember him?)
Shorey (or him?)
Luke Young
Cuellar
Curtis Davies
... all in the space of two seasons. Insane.
EDIT I make that just under 50m.
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All on very high wages (average of £50k a week?) due to the premium you pay on paying players who are already British-based and therefore on a lot more money than players of equivalent talent on the continent. But O'Neill and buying from abroad did not make easy bedfellows. We have his successor GHou to thank for signing Carew.
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back on topic, I'm really worried about Delph's contract. I hope somebody gives him enough money to buy Jay Lloyd's shoe collection.
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back on topic, I'm really worried about Delph's contract. I hope somebody gives him enough money to buy Jay Lloyd's shoe collection.
I wouldn't bother if I were him, Jay Lloyd apparently took to playing in said shoes after an excellent breakthrough season for the rest of his career.
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typical footy money rules bye
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as opposed to the rest of us who would turn down a big salary increase to move jobs, especially if we had a 15 year career and no qualifications
I don't think I'd stay if I were him - but I really hope he does
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The stupid thing is we could be selling him for £25m instead it looks like he will go for the square root of fook all
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My strategy with Delph would be to convince him that after one more season playing at his current level with Villa and (importantly) England then he'd have a much higher profile. He could still go to a big club but be considered first team player rather than a 'free' who will help comply with the homegrown rule. If he went this summer he'd be on "Arsenal's" bench and lose his England place. To persuade him that this is a good deal we'd probably have to agree a (low) fee for a future sale, but at least we'd get something.
In the meantime we get bought out and buy players that would convince him to commit beyond one more season.
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Delph will probably go to Spurs no matter who their manager is next season. So we will lose Vlaar and Delph and Benteke might clear off as well.
It's deeply worrying.
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To persuade him that this is a good deal we'd probably have to agree a (low) fee for a future sale, but at least we'd get something.
Unless his agent is a complete idiot, then he'll realise that that low fee would basically be added on to Delph's signing-on fee if he didn't sign a new deal.
As I see it, the only reason Delph would sign a new deal is if he is worried about his injury and thinks that he's better off with the bird in his hand rather than the two in a better-off club's bush, and risking how his various ailments are in July.
I can't see why any other reason why any player would sign a contract now.
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MON was mental when it came to defenders.
Bought pretty much an entire defence one season, then the next season, bought another entire defence.
He must have spent over £30m on defenders.
Knight
Friedel
Collins
Dunne
Warnock
Beye (remember him?)
Shorey (or him?)
Luke Young
Cuellar
Curtis Davies
... all in the space of two seasons. Insane.
EDIT I make that just under 50m.
And as a consequence sold our young hero Gary Cahill!
Oh, MON, how could you?
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Selling Cahill was the one thing I'll never forgive O'Neill for.
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Selling Cahill was the one thing I'll never forgive O'Neill for.
I agree we should have kept him, he needed first team football and MON seemed to have tunnel vision as far as using his squad was concerned. Cahill was not ready for regular starts at the level we were aspiring to but a more enlightened manager might have found a way to keep him happy and involved.
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He bought all those defenders and still played £8.5m midfielder Nigel roe cocker at RB
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To persuade him that this is a good deal we'd probably have to agree a (low) fee for a future sale, but at least we'd get something.
Unless his agent is a complete idiot, then he'll realise that that low fee would basically be added on to Delph's signing-on fee if he didn't sign a new deal.
As I see it, the only reason Delph would sign a new deal is if he is worried about his injury and thinks that he's better off with the bird in his hand rather than the two in a better-off club's bush, and risking how his various ailments are in July.
I can't see why any other reason why any player would sign a contract now.
So spot on, but still so damned depressing at the moment!
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Selling Cahill was the one thing I'll never forgive O'Neill for.
Yes, and if I remember correctly, MON was prepared to sell him to SHA! At least Cahill had the sense not to sign for them...
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Delph will probably go to Spurs no matter who their manager is next season. So we will lose Vlaar and Delph and Benteke might clear off as well.
It's deeply worrying.
Still, the wage bill will be nice and low once they've left :-/
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http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/transfer-zone/2014/11/23/6378411/delph-to-run-down-aston-villa-contract-amid-liverpool :'(
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Delph will probably go to Spurs no matter who their manager is next season. So we will lose Vlaar and Delph and Benteke might clear off as well.
It's deeply worrying.
Still, the wage bill will be nice and low once they've left :-/
Yes, AND we are carbon neutral.
Things are never as bad as they seem!
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As I've said with Delph I'm not particularly impressed given that we stood by him through injury, but at the same time why would any player with any ambition want to stay at Villa at the moment.
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The club may well have made him an offer but they've also shown they've no other ambition other than finishing 4 th from bottom and keeping cup runs to a minimum.
Decent players won't hand around for that and the club only has themselves to blame. Driving what quality we have away seems another of Lamberts tricks.
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The whole (alleged) states of affairs pisses me off. Him big-timing the club after having stuck by him after injuries and shit form, us beng so utterly shite that such conduct is understandable, and the fact that he'll fuck off in the summer to Liverpool or Spurs and immediately be lost in the shuffle of those two shambles and slagged for being shithouse like Barry, Young, Downing and Milner before him
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I won't shed any tears to see him leave. He's had a decent year and a half, and only stands out because of the rest of the midfields full of dross. If he thinks he can get a better pay day elsewhere, good luck to him.
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I won't shed any tears to see him leave. He's had a decent year and a half, and only stands out because of the rest of the midfields full of dross. If he thinks he can get a better pay day elsewhere, good luck to him.
I agree that he's not actually that good, but he's still our best midfielder. It's not like Lerner will provide funds to replace him with anyone better anyway, and that the worry. The problem with the club over the last 5 years is that we've sold our best players and replaced them with inferior ones. That's the problem in a nutshell.
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I won't shed any tears to see him leave. He's had a decent year and a half, and only stands out because of the rest of the midfields full of dross. If he thinks he can get a better pay day elsewhere, good luck to him.
I agree that he's not actually that good, but he's still our best midfielder. It's not like Lerner will provide funds to replace him with anyone better anyway, and that the worry. The problem with the club over the last 5 years is that we've sold our best players and replaced them with inferior ones. That's the problem in a nutshell.
Don't worry, at least we've got Joe Cole.
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I think he's a very good player and expect him to flourish in a better side
I'm actually resigned to him leaving now and have no hopes of him staying
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He was publicly asking us for a new contract towards the end of last season. As far as we know he was put on hold as Randy decided whether or not the club would be sold.
I would prefer he signed now but I really don't blame him for saying "lets wait and see" himself now that Villa is in a rush.
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He should've been offered a new deal around this time last year, around the time he scored that great goal at Southampton. He'd been playing well in the league for a good six months at that point so if we give Lambert a new 4 year deal for 3 decent games, I'd say Delph was well worth a contract offer at that point.
It's a funny one. I should be raging with Delph like I was with Downing (I understood Milner and Young going) but we're just so poor consistantly nowadays I don't blame any decent player not wanting to fight relegation battles every year particularly as he's started to play for England now.
I can see him ending up at an Everton or Liverpool, just below the top 4 but still significantly better than us.
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Erm, controversial I know, but do we really miss Delph? We still don't protect the defence or retiain the ball with him in the side, he doesn't create much and doesn't score lots of goals. Yet he gets talked up. Decent player but not a great player. Just shows how low our expectations have got I suppose.
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I would be happy to get Holtby out of any deal in January that is for sure.
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Erm, controversial I know, but do we really miss Delph? We still don't protect the defence or retiain the ball with him in the side, he doesn't create much and doesn't score lots of goals. Yet he gets talked up. Decent player but not a great player. Just shows how low our expectations have got I suppose.
I think we do in as much as we have no one in CM who can pick the ball up and run with it. I also think we miss an alternative option that he'd give us because TC and Westwood are essentially the same player, doing largely the same thing (which is passing it sideways).
Over the course of a season, without a suitable replacement, we'd see a difference. And yet he is just a good player and nothing that special, but sometimes he's that scruff of the neck dynamic midfielder that we really need. No one else does it and I suspect any subsequent replacement Lamberk brings in won't either.
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I think he's a very good player and expect him to flourish in a better side
I'm actually resigned to him leaving now and have no hopes of him staying
Same here, John. Only a new manager that would signal a massive change in direction gives me the fainted hope of him re-signing.
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I can't believe people only think he's average
Just look at the praise he gets from some top professionals (lineker, terry, Ferdinand, Murphy)
Very high passing stats, goals to his game now, can beat a man, much better on his right, really quick feet, very competitive
Bloody hell we're far too shit a side not to really miss a player like that
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It is probably just the money that Delph and Clarity want out but could also be the manager/staff?
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Erm, controversial I know, but do we really miss Delph? We still don't protect the defence or retiain the ball with him in the side, he doesn't create much and doesn't score lots of goals. Yet he gets talked up. Decent player but not a great player. Just shows how low our expectations have got I suppose.
100%
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I can't believe people only think he's average
Just look at the praise he gets from some top professionals (lineker, terry, Ferdinand, Murphy)
Very high passing stats, goals to his game now, can beat a man, much better on his right, really quick feet, very competitive
Bloody hell we're far too shit a side not to really miss a player like that
Well he's youngish and English and playing in the Premiership, so it kind of comes with the territory.
I think he's good. I think he'll get a move to a top 6 club in the summer, but he'll be there 1-2 years before dropping back to a mid-table side. A pretty decent player, but he'll never be a very good player until his ball control and passing range improves. He's got a long way to prove he's added goals to his game too. He got 3-4 last season but hasn't look like scoring in this one (well...neither have the side in general). Either his goals and assists need to improve, or his defensive side needs to.
I see Delph as one of those players whose peak is to be 6th-10th player. That still makes him far and away the best midfielder we have. By a country mile frankly.
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Good to hear Lambert continuing to spin the positive message, so Delph might leave in January.
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He should've been offered a new deal around this time last year, around the time he scored that great goal at Southampton. He'd been playing well in the league for a good six months at that point so if we give Lambert a new 4 year deal for 3 decent games, I'd say Delph was well worth a contract offer at that point.
It's a funny one. I should be raging with Delph like I was with Downing (I understood Milner and Young going) but we're just so poor consistantly nowadays I don't blame any decent player not wanting to fight relegation battles every year particularly as he's started to play for England now.
I can see him ending up at an Everton or Liverpool, just below the top 4 but still significantly better than us.
Yep, this is pretty much where I am on this.
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Good to hear Lambert continuing to spin the positive message, so Delph might leave in January.
From that, I take it that it is a done deal that he is going. One thing you cannot accuse Lambert of is pessimistic comments. He puts a positive spin on everything, regardless of how absurd it sounds.
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Erm, controversial I know, but do we really miss Delph? We still don't protect the defence or retiain the ball with him in the side, he doesn't create much and doesn't score lots of goals. Yet he gets talked up. Decent player but not a great player. Just shows how low our expectations have got I suppose.
Totally agree
If he was really that good we would be creating more chances when he played
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I can't believe people only think he's average
Just look at the praise he gets from some top professionals (lineker, terry, Ferdinand, Murphy)
Very high passing stats, goals to his game now, can beat a man, much better on his right, really quick feet, very competitive
Bloody hell we're far too shit a side not to really miss a player like that
Goals. Not sure on his ratio but i suspect it will be rubbish
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What we will miss is the drive he gives us and the odd finish that will get you 9 poins or so a season. Crucial when you're fighting it out where we are. Take that away and who else have we got to do the same job and nick a win for us?
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I rate him quite highly, and don't think he will vanish into the unknown like many think at a better club. People say he stands out because of the utter dross around him (true), but playing with far superior players could up his game enormously. He's not looked out of place in his first England games at all.
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Looking at our midfield at the moment it is static and I think Delph adds a bit of drive and energy. He is also a tough tackling who can make things happen. Yes his goals record could be better, but I still think he does enough to warrent a place in the side.
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Paul Lambert fears he may lose prized asset Fabian Delph in January as the England midfielder’s contract situation still remains unsolved.
The 25-year-old’s deal expires at the end of the season and if an extension is not agreed soon, Villa may decide to cash in to avoid losing him for nothing in the summer. The club have previously said he would not be offloaded when the transfer window opens.
Lambert insists that Delph’s recovery from a dislocated shoulder is his main priority but admits that a potential departure in the New Year is a concern.
When asked if he was worried about selling him in January, Lambert replied:
“When people are going into the last year there is always that case. You are never sure what can happen.
“With the Bosman ruling the player holds the cards. I know that because I’ve done it myself.
“I know exactly what the Bosman ruling can do. Fabian’s been playing really well and I’m pretty sure he’s feeling good - other than the injury.
“We will speak when it’s time.”
Asked if there was any chance of keeping him, Lambert added:
“The door never shuts. We will just have to see.
“The main concern is getting him fit.
“You’re never sure what happens, you can never predict what will be said in meetings. The door’s never shut.”
Last season’s player-of-the-year is making good progress in his recovery, though.
“He’s doing alright and because he’s a fit anyway that won’t be affected too much.
“It’s just the actual contact he won’t be able to do because of the shoulder.
“I can’t put a timeframe on his return but we will want him back as soon as we can.
“Fabian will know himself and be ready ... he will be itching to get back in.
“There is no chance he will be out until February or March, no, no. I hope not anyway.”
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Where to start with pile of typical gobbledygook?
I will leave it to others with lower blood pressure.
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Paul Lambert fears he may lose prized asset Fabian Delph in January as the England midfielder’s contract situation still remains unsolved.
The 25-year-old’s deal expires at the end of the season and if an extension is not agreed soon, Villa may decide to cash in to avoid losing him for nothing in the summer. The club have previously said he would not be offloaded when the transfer window opens.
Lambert insists that Delph’s recovery from a dislocated shoulder is his main priority but admits that a potential departure in the New Year is a concern.
When asked if he was worried about selling him in January, Lambert replied:
“When people are going into the last year there is always that case. You are never sure what can happen.
“With the Bosman ruling the player holds the cards. I know that because I’ve done it myself.
“I know exactly what the Bosman ruling can do. Fabian’s been playing really well and I’m pretty sure he’s feeling good - other than the injury.
“We will speak when it’s time.”
Asked if there was any chance of keeping him, Lambert added:
“The door never shuts. We will just have to see.
“The main concern is getting him fit.
“You’re never sure what happens, you can never predict what will be said in meetings. The door’s never shut.”
Last season’s player-of-the-year is making good progress in his recovery, though.
“He’s doing alright and because he’s a fit anyway that won’t be affected too much.
“It’s just the actual contact he won’t be able to do because of the shoulder.
“I can’t put a timeframe on his return but we will want him back as soon as we can.
“Fabian will know himself and be ready ... he will be itching to get back in.
“There is no chance he will be out until February or March, no, no. I hope not anyway.”
Er wasn't that about 6 months ago?