Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Villafirst on September 07, 2014, 09:03:23 PM
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Well, what's happened to new contracts for Vlaar, Delph, Gabby and Grealish? Nothing seens to be happening, which is a worry come January when they're free to talk to other clubs and indeed leave for nothing come next Summer...
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Misleading topic. I thought you were goin to give me good news
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Misleading topic. I thought you were goin to give me good news
I wish it was good news.....hopefully offers are on the table soon?
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Misleading topic. I thought you were goin to give me good news
I wish it was good news.....hopefully offers are on the table soon?
Grealish and Gabby (as I cant see a mad rush for him) will sign as for the others if I was them personally would wait now
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I thought Delph said only recently that he was happy to stay?
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I thought Delph said only recently that he was happy to stay?
Depends how much he is offered and he has played for England now
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I don't think we need to worry about Gabby or Grealish wanting to talk to other clubs, both love the club and aren't going to be eager to leave, and I don't think there's anyone above us who would take Gabby.
Vlaar and Delph... yeah that's a real worry.
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Well, what's happened to new contracts for Vlaar, Delph, Gabby and Grealish? Nothing seens to be happening, which is a worry come January when they're free to talk to other clubs and indeed leave for nothing come next Summer...
Are you expecting official updates on the website? The first thing we usually hear is once a player has signed a contract. In the absence of such, I would expect negotiations to be advanced by now.
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Well, what's happened to new contracts for Vlaar, Delph, Gabby and Grealish? Nothing seens to be happening, which is a worry come January when they're free to talk to other clubs and indeed leave for nothing come next Summer...
Are you expecting official updates on the website? The first thing we usually hear is once a player has signed a contract. In the absence of such, I would expect negotiations to be advanced by now.
I'd have hoped that they were advanced by this time last year.
Yet as recently as a week ago Lambert was saying "The way Fabian is his contract won't enter his head at the moment, we will have to sit and see what he thinks himself"
I appreciate that we're not going to hear intricate contract negotiations played out through the press, but if we were to hear anything then I'd have hoped that it were more than that.
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Well, what's happened to new contracts for Vlaar, Delph, Gabby and Grealish? Nothing seens to be happening, which is a worry come January when they're free to talk to other clubs and indeed leave for nothing come next Summer...
Now the transfer window is out of the way, I would hope new contracts for Vlaar, Delph and Grealish are the number one priority. I'm still unsure about Gabby, particularly as he is rumoured to be on big wages. Maybe a new contract on reduced terms.
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I would have hoped for them to have been at an advanced stage this time last year but this is Villa we're talking about.
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I've asked this in another thread. When does Fox takeover as CEO?
Because I should imagine that all contract talks are on hold 'till he comes in, and that will depend on how much notice he has to work at The Emirates.
Hopefully it will be soon.
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The trouble is, Vlaar & Delph can leave for nothing - how much will it cost to replace them - £15-20M? Plus wages....to me, why wasn't this sorted at the end of last season or last January?
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I've asked this in another thread. When does Fox takeover as CEO?
Because I should imagine that all contract talks are on hold 'till he comes in, and that will depend on how much notice he has to work at The Emirates.
Hopefully it will be soon.
If he`s on "Gardening Leave" as it`s known, he wont be able to do any work for his new employers IE us, until his contract termination date has passed, or Villa/Fox and Arsenal reach an agreement, either way, it wouldnt stall any new contract negotiations, after all, we`ve bought new players in the meantime, so someone must be handling the legalities somewhere.
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I think Fox starts today
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Unbelievable dithering to let Vlaar and Delph enter the final year of their contracts.
Depends how we do this season but I think Delph will stay, got a feeling Vlaar will leave on a free.
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Unbelievable dithering to let Vlaar and Delph enter the final year of their contracts.
Depends how we do this season but I think Delph will stay, got a feeling Vlaar will leave on a free.
You say unbelievable dithering by the club so I take it you know that Vlaar and Delph have not had contracts offered to them then?
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I don't think it's dithering as such.In the case of Vlaar up until his, let's be honest, surprisingly, outstanding World Cup he would have gone down in our recent history as part of one our worst defences ever and injury prone to boot.
Delph is slightly different, although injured for a chunk of his contract, he is our best current midfielder. He's not in the Young, Milner or even Downing category yet though so he can go if he wants, but I'd rather he stayed of course at our levels of affordability.
Grealish. Our latest next superstar. He's played one full game, which we lost against a lower league team. I can see his potential but I could see it in about half a dozen others. He's a Villa fan so he will play for free anyway won't he? Sign him up of course... We keep signing the next Gerard so why not Jack as well. Despite my sarcasm I do genuinely see him as a 'Good Un'
Gabby. He won't leave unless we offer him silly low money. So he'll be the next to Leicester then!
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I can see us sorting out a new contract for Hutton too to complete a complete reversal of policy.
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I think Fox starts today
Well, this better be sorted by 9.00 a.m. tomorrow then!!!
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can see vlaar going, it'll realistically be the last opportunity for a big move in his career.
think delph will stay and be given the armband.
grealish will stay.
gabby's not going to get any better. if he wants silly money, get rid.
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The trouble is, Vlaar & Delph can leave for nothing - how much will it cost to replace them - £15-20M? Plus wages....to me, why wasn't this sorted at the end of last season or last January?
Agreed, however I suspect we've offered them deals and they're understandably not prepared to commit themselves to the project when there is so much uncertainty. Just because we 'want' it to happen does not mean it will unless we offered irresponsible amounts of money.
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How can it not be dithering about if Delph our best midfielder by a street can leave for nothing
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If we've offered him a new deal which puts him on a par with Benteke (which might not be a huge lot more than his current contract given the deals we were handing-out under O'Neill) I can't see what more we can do. I'm a big fan of Delph but unsustainable wages are what's caused a lot of this misery this decade.
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I think Delph will leave but vlaar may stay.
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So delph is now a current England international in the last year of his contract on something like £40k per week. This is where the problems begin because we'll need to be getting back into bigger wages if we really want to keep him.
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Yep. His base value will be around 60k a week now for anyone signing him on a free next summer. Really can't see why we waited all summer. Just get it done.
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Yep. His base value will be around 60k a week now for anyone signing him on a free next summer. Really can't see why we waited all summer. Just get it done.
Looks like Lerner is leaving the bigger contracts to be sorted by the new owner, if he ever sells up.
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I hoped Vlaar and Delph would have signed new contracts by now. Grealish will probably stay. Can't see Gabby being offered a new contract. Lambert might get a one year contract.
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If we've offered him a new deal which puts him on a par with Benteke (which might not be a huge lot more than his current contract given the deals we were handing-out under O'Neill) I can't see what more we can do. I'm a big fan of Delph but unsustainable wages are what's caused a lot of this misery this decade.
Our problem has come from paying high salaries to players whose performance on the pitch didn't justify their salary. To keep (or have a chance of keeping) the likes of Delph/Vlaar, we've got to be prepared to pay the higher salary. If we don't, we face a choice of paying a hefty transfer fee for someone on high wages or replacing them with lesser players and probably seeing our on-field performance suffer and our off-field performance suffer as a result.
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Delph and Grealish are major priorities for me, both need to be put on new deals asap as that will mean our midfield will actually be in decent shape for the next few years.
I think Ron will leave even if we offer him a new deal. Gabby? Well let's see him play well again before xmas, make him earn this new contract.
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http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/398748/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-eye-up-Jack-Grealish-as-Aston-Villa-contract-talks-stall
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With the time getting tight, the agents for these players may be negotiating from a position of strength. Not good for the club to let it drag on so long. Delph and Vlaar could be two huge losses.
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Vlaar & Delph have now both showcased their talents internationally. Grealish is now apparently being monitored by Chelsea. The whole thing smacks of poor planning and management at board level.
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I still think Delph and grealish will sign on
Not convinced vlaar will as he could have one final move to a better team - he could sign with a foreign club in four months and there's nothing we can do about it
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Grealish would be mad to join Chelsea at this stage of his career. Money aside I suppose as I am sure they would offer him more than we would. I think Gabby will stay if we offer him a new contract. I think Vlaar will be off for one last big move. Delph I'm honestly not sure about. I suppose it depends on the other offers he gets.
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I wouldn't be the least surprised if we lost all three of them
I'm not normally so pessimistic, but it's easy to see how all of them would be financially better off away from Villa, we are not in a position of strength here, quite the opposite
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We need to get Delph and Grealish done asap. Hopefully with Fox starting this week in the next couple there will be positive movement.
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We need to get Delph and Grealish done asap. Hopefully with Fox starting this week in the next couple there will be positive movement.
We definitely do, and to a lesser extent Vlaar. It should be the most pressing business at Villa at the moment.
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I wouldn't be the least surprised if we lost all three of them
I'm not normally so pessimistic, but it's easy to see how all of them would be financially better off away from Villa, we are not in a position of strength here, quite the opposite
Only have to look back to Barry, Milner & Young to draw a comparison. All internationals and presumably were offered a lot more money than at B6.
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http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/398748/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-eye-up-Jack-Grealish-as-Aston-Villa-contract-talks-stall
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www.dailystar.co.uk
Enough said.
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Grealish wants to play for us, he will not go to chelsea
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Also the picture at the bottom is funny, caption is "Jake Livermore challenges Jack Grealish in the Premier League" when it should say "Livermore tried to break Jack's leg"
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
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If we want to put-off Grealish from considering Chelsea (if that tabloid talk is true), just show him the wikipedia page of how many players Chelsea have out on loan.
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Lambert suggested not long ago upon the appointment of Fox that essentially he was acting CEO along with being manager. One of the tasks that would have put on the back burner so to speak would have contracts negotiations. You have to think that the players and agents have all been at least kept informed of that. Now with Fox in place one would hope the negotiations for Delph, Vlaar, Grealish and Gabby are high on his agenda.
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
Exactly, will Delph, Vlaar etc. see any chance of silverware staying at Villa Park? Things won't really change until Lerner sells up and, hopefully, new AMBITIOUS owners takeover. The longer Lerner is in charge, the more this type of thing is likely to happen.
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
When you have valuable players it's best to get it sorted and discussed way before the last season of their contracts,
if they want to let the contract run out so we get nothing for them when they leave, you sell them on, reinvesting the money
Delph,Vlaar, Grealish there's approximately 30 million worth of talent we are potentially going to throw down the drain, it's a lot of money to waste
So all this ' we don't know what we have offered them' is a load of balls, it's a fuck up from start to finish
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Spot on John. I don't expect that any of them will be here next season. Still, at least we'll have saved the wages.
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It is vital in particular that we sign Delph and Grealish to new deals asap.
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http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/398748/EXCLUSIVE-Chelsea-eye-up-Jack-Grealish-as-Aston-Villa-contract-talks-stall
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London rag unsettling Villa youngster !
Does any one still believe any thing they read in these shit red tops ?
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We need to get Delph and Grealish done asap. Hopefully with Fox starting this week in the next couple there will be positive movement.
We definitely do, and to a lesser extent Vlaar. It should be the most pressing business at Villa at the moment.
Worth considering how much it would cost to adequately replace Delph and Vlaar, a lot more than just giving those two decent pay rises.
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
When you have valuable players it's best to get it sorted and discussed way before the last season of their contracts,
if they want to let the contract run out so we get nothing for them when they leave, you sell them on, reinvesting the money
Delph,Vlaar, Grealish there's approximately 30 million worth of talent we are potentially going to throw down the drain, it's a lot of money to waste
So all this ' we don't know what we have offered them' is a load of balls, it's a fuck up from start to finish
A bit harsh when the club had Delph on the payroll while injured or not up to it for the first three years of his time year. He fully deserves a new deal after last season, but up to that point most fans would have agreed that he still had to earn a new one.
Vlaar has had a mixed time at Villa and it's only after his fine World Cup that his stock is high. The only one I wouldn't cut the club much slack over is Grealish. We clearly saw him as one for the future when loaning him out to Notts County for much of last season so why we didn't do it then I don't know.
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
When you have valuable players it's best to get it sorted and discussed way before the last season of their contracts,
if they want to let the contract run out so we get nothing for them when they leave, you sell them on, reinvesting the money
Delph,Vlaar, Grealish there's approximately 30 million worth of talent we are potentially going to throw down the drain, it's a lot of money to waste
So all this ' we don't know what we have offered them' is a load of balls, it's a fuck up from start to finish
When would you have offered Delph and Vlaar new contracts?
Delph 2 years ago? When one person rated him the worst player to play for us and there was a Delph thread on here with the vast majority wanting him gone and would have snatched the hand off anyone offering a couple of mill?
How about a year ago? When after years at the club on big(ish) wages he'd finally played well for 6 months. I can just imagine this place if it had been a flash in the pan 6 months and we'd stuck him on a new 4 year deal on big wages. That would have been labeled "typical Villa" etc for lumbering themselves with him for years.
So until this year there wasn't really a time he deserved one. And I say that as one of the few who said there was a player there and stood up for him, but at the same time i'm not going to pretend he deserved a new contract until recently.
Vlaar. Last summer after a shambles of a season defensively and a player with an injury history had missed a over a quarter of the season injured? Vlaar had plenty of stick his first season and most on here would have shit a brick if we'd given him a new contract last summer. Then last season when he was out injured again? Or before he went to the World Cup when we were conceding 3 or 4 most games? It's only the World Cup that has really changed opinion on Ron from 'decent (but nothing more) and injury prone defender but far from irreplaceable' to us stressing over him going.
Hindsight is wonderful, but until recently neither player has deserved a new contract, and the club aren't blessed with hindsight. Having said that, they had better be busting their balls to get them signed up now.
As for Grealish, that is a fuck up as it must have been obvious to everyone on the coaching staff that he had "it". So letting him hit his last year when he was at an age to have a 'breakout' season was fecking stupid.
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PWS, we have concurrence.
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Delph 2 years ago? When one person rated him the worst player to play for us and there was a Delph thread on here with the vast majority wanting him gone and would have snatched the hand off anyone offering a couple of mill?
How about a year ago? When after years at the club on big(ish) wages he'd finally played well for 6 months. I can just imagine this place if it had been a flash in the pan 6 months and we'd stuck him on a new 4 year deal on big wages. That would have been labeled "typical Villa" etc for lumbering themselves with him for years.
Frankly, for Delph, last season, yes, then.
Or, alternatively, I'd have thought about finding the time to talk to him about it between May and September. He was excellent for us last season. We've arsed about and let him get picked for England and every week that passes puts us in a more difficult situation.
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Lambert suggested not long ago upon the appointment of Fox that essentially he was acting CEO along with being manager. One of the tasks that would have put on the back burner so to speak would have contracts negotiations. You have to think that the players and agents have all been at least kept informed of that.
Yes, but why should we expect the players to reduce or temper their expectations just because we've been appointing a new CEO? And how long was the gap between Faulkner going and Fox arriving in any case?
You make it sound like a case of we "inform" them, and they just fit in with our plans. That's not how it works, the players have the power, not the clubs.
We should have been talking to Delph by the end of last season. Lambert said this week "we'll talk to him towards the end of the month".
I am not the type to automatically look for fault in everything they do, but that to me sounds more than a little bit half-arsed and unhurried.
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Ideally we would have nailed him down at season's end when it was obvious he could sustain that form. I have no idea why we didn't, that's assuming we haven't offered him anything yet, apart from guessing that the behind the scenes stuff may have got in the way? But we are still in the realms of my original point that he didn't deserve a new contract until recently.
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Isn't the salient point that we should have talked to him months ago - he quite clearly was one of our best players pretty much right through last season. It's not like he's started to look worth a new deal in the last few weeks.
Why didn't we sort this in August? Or over the summer?
He played well for England last night, which is - if anything - just going to make the negotiations harder.
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Lambert suggested not long ago upon the appointment of Fox that essentially he was acting CEO along with being manager. One of the tasks that would have put on the back burner so to speak would have contracts negotiations. You have to think that the players and agents have all been at least kept informed of that.
Yes, but why should we expect the players to reduce or temper their expectations just because we've been appointing a new CEO? And how long was the gap between Faulkner going and Fox arriving in any case?
You make it sound like a case of we "inform" them, and they just fit in with our plans. That's not how it works, the players have the power, not the clubs.
We should have been talking to Delph by the end of last season. Lambert said this week "we'll talk to him towards the end of the month".
I am not the type to automatically look for fault in everything they do, but that to me sounds more than a little bit half-arsed and unhurried.
I don't disagree that this should have been dealt with before but I also don't just buy into what is said in public as 100% gospel. We're not past the point of no return in any of these cases and with a CEO now actually in place it allows him to concentrate on these matters as opposed to having the manager do it. It's not like it can't be resolved.
And as for who holds the power, if it is always the player as you are suggesting then Benteke would no longer be here, Barry would be at Liverpool and every player we ever had would have found a way to walk out on us for pastures new. No doubt players have a lot of power but while under contract the club has a say in the matter. Until such time that the players can talk to other clubs the ball remains in our court. I don't think Vlaar will be here next season as at 30 he'll want a go at CL football, and I don't could blame him. The other three I expect to sign new deals. I'm neither wrong or right in my opinion. Pretty much like everyone else who has an opinion on how this will play out.
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Isn't the salient point that we should have talked to him months ago - he quite clearly was one of our best players pretty much right through last season. It's not like he's started to look worth a new deal in the last few weeks.
Why didn't we sort this in August? Or over the summer?
He played well for England last night, which is - if anything - just going to make the negotiations harder.
And that falls into the recently category. And to be honest, after years of pissing money away on players who weren't worth it, i'd rather we had harder negotiations on a player that we now know is worth it than have spunked millions more on a new contract too soon on a player who hadn't done much for the first 3 and half years he was at the club and may have just hit a purple patch that he couldn't sustain.
The Vlaar and Delph situations are from ideal, but that's how it is at times in football without the benefit of hindsight.
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Delph 2 years ago? When one person rated him the worst player to play for us and there was a Delph thread on here with the vast majority wanting him gone and would have snatched the hand off anyone offering a couple of mill?
How about a year ago? When after years at the club on big(ish) wages he'd finally played well for 6 months. I can just imagine this place if it had been a flash in the pan 6 months and we'd stuck him on a new 4 year deal on big wages. That would have been labeled "typical Villa" etc for lumbering themselves with him for years.
Frankly, for Delph, last season, yes, then.
Or, alternatively, I'd have thought about finding the time to talk to him about it between May and September. He was excellent for us last season. We've arsed about and let him get picked for England and every week that passes puts us in a more difficult situation.
I think the most likely scenario is we did, or at least tried to, but the player isn't in any rush. We always seem to blame the club when these things aren't done, yet forget the gap between trying and doing. Ultimately, you have a player whose stock is rising at a relegation threatened club that's up for sale. If it was your career, would you sign or wait?
As soon as either player is ready to sign, I'm sure you won 't see the club hanging about.
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DM says we've offered Grealish an four year contract
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2749846/Fabian-Delph-set-new-Aston-Villa-contract-making-England-debut.html
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The Star is saying Fabian will get a bumper contract shortly thanks to Randy and him being pals!
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To be fair we don't know what the club have offered these players and there's no reason why we should. Contracts are personal matters between the player and club.
They will only get reported on as a PR exercise by the club or if the player's agent is trying to stir things up a little. Or by the press in pure speculation.
Supposing the players have been offered new deals and rejected them with the intention of seeing out their current ones it wouldn't be in anyone's interests to make this public knowledge.
At the end of the day though whatever Villa offer can be trumped by any club that can offer the incentive of Champions League football, or at the very least the possibility of winning medals.
When you have valuable players it's best to get it sorted and discussed way before the last season of their contracts,
if they want to let the contract run out so we get nothing for them when they leave, you sell them on, reinvesting the money
Delph,Vlaar, Grealish there's approximately 30 million worth of talent we are potentially going to throw down the drain, it's a lot of money to waste
So all this ' we don't know what we have offered them' is a load of balls, it's a fuck up from start to finish
When would you have offered Delph and Vlaar new contracts?
Delph 2 years ago? When one person rated him the worst player to play for us and there was a Delph thread on here with the vast majority wanting him gone and would have snatched the hand off anyone offering a couple of mill?
How about a year ago? When after years at the club on big(ish) wages he'd finally played well for 6 months. I can just imagine this place if it had been a flash in the pan 6 months and we'd stuck him on a new 4 year deal on big wages. That would have been labeled "typical Villa" etc for lumbering themselves with him for years.
So until this year there wasn't really a time he deserved one. And I say that as one of the few who said there was a player there and stood up for him, but at the same time i'm not going to pretend he deserved a new contract until recently.
Vlaar. Last summer after a shambles of a season defensively and a player with an injury history had missed a over a quarter of the season injured? Vlaar had plenty of stick his first season and most on here would have shit a brick if we'd given him a new contract last summer. Then last season when he was out injured again? Or before he went to the World Cup when we were conceding 3 or 4 most games? It's only the World Cup that has really changed opinion on Ron from 'decent (but nothing more) and injury prone defender but far from irreplaceable' to us stressing over him going.
Hindsight is wonderful, but until recently neither player has deserved a new contract, and the club aren't blessed with hindsight. Having said that, they had better be busting their balls to get them signed up now.
As for Grealish, that is a fuck up as it must have been obvious to everyone on the coaching staff that he had "it". So letting him hit his last year when he was at an age to have a 'breakout' season was fecking stupid.
Delph's been our best midfielder player for the last two seasons, Vlaar our best defender
And your taking notice of some nutty on here that didn't rate him,
They might not have been the world beaters they are today but the pair of them were the best we had, no doubt
Revisionism isn't all one way
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Ideally we would have nailed him down at season's end when it was obvious he could sustain that form. I have no idea why we didn't, that's assuming we haven't offered him anything yet, apart from guessing that the behind the scenes stuff may have got in the way? But we are still in the realms of my original point that he didn't deserve a new contract until recently.
PWS has a point with what he says. He even went back to Leeds on loan and no-one batted an eyelid. That said, i hope we get a deal sorted for him.
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He played well for England last night, which is - if anything - just going to make the negotiations harder.
An understatement there, Mr Nuts.
If - as I read in the online torygraph yesterday - the club are going to offer an extra £5k a week to Delph (from £40 to 45k) I suspect he will say: "thanks for the support over the last 3-4 years, but I'm off".
If the club get serious with him then I think he'll stay.
Either way, this should have happened over the close season.
Mad.
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He played well for England last night, which is - if anything - just going to make the negotiations harder.
An understatement there, Mr Nuts.
If - as I read in the online torygraph yesterday - the club are going to offer an extra £5k a week to Delph (from £40 to 45k) I suspect he will say: "thanks for the support over the last 3-4 years, but I'm off".
If the club get serious with him then I think he'll stay.
Either way, this should have happened over the close season.
Mad.
How on earth would the torygraph have that level of detail. Do people believe this bollocks?
However the point does stand that the club will struggle to get him into a new deal without putting him into the Upper bracket level of wages for the clubs better players.
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He's already in the upper bracket of wages at the club given the info from elsewhere last season for the sadly missed Mysteryman.
I found that hard to believe but remember when we signed him Man. City wanted him aswell so we must've offered him an attractive deal and he then got a new one during Houllier's time when the austerity measures had yet to kick in.
To me he needs to be kept as after years in neglect our midfield is starting to look decent again. Delph, Westwood, Sanchez, Grealish and possibly Cleverley could be our options for the next few seasons.
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I really don't buy into this claim that it's only since the World Cup that anyone has deemed Vlaar worthy of a new contract. It was obvious at the end of the season before last that he was by far and away our best centre-back and that we were a much better side with him in it. Yes, he's quite injury-prone, but he played 28 games that season and 34 last. It's not like he was AWOL. Regardless of how highly anyone rated him, you'd have to have been blind not to understand how important he was/is for us in our current predicament.
The same goes for Delph. His lack of form for the first few years was largely due to his injuries. Yes, it wasn't until last season that he really excelled. but it was clear in the previous year that he was an important player and, pertinently, one that we should be looking to keep long-term. I can't think of any reasonable justification for the club allowing it to get to the stage where he's in the process of establishing himself in the England set-up before offering him a new deal. It's just a massive lack of foresight.
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Didn't we dish out improved contracts to all those we deemed were worthy of such at the end the season before last? Who got them? I recall Benteke, Westwood and Lowton. Were there any others?
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Didn't we dish out improved contracts to all those we deemed were worthy of such at the end the season before last? Who got them? I recall Benteke, Westwood and Lowton. Were there any others?
Weimann and Baker as well I think.
As I've said before there's a number of factors that you have to consider here.
1. discussing contracts during a relegation battle is a bad idea, you run the risk of undesirable clauses and higher than reasonable wages being required and if you don't bow to it you could end up with a pissed of player in a key position.
2. with the world cup Vlaar wouldn't have been in any position to discuss things between the season ending and joining the dutch squad.
3. the takeover rumours started around the time that contracts could have been discussed before the run-in, the players would be aware of these.
4. our CEO left during the summer and we clearly needed signings to fill out the squad, they were given priority over new contracts given the limted staffing.
5. When the sale signs went up no one knew how long it would take, discussing new contracts with a takeover looming wouldn't be simple.
6. The performance comments made by PWS.
Add all this together and whilst not being happy about it it's clear to see that the circumstances haven't helped us here and I have sympathy over the Vlaar and Delph contracts. I have no sympathy over Grealish though, it should be a top priority to get him on a safer contract as soon as possible.
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Looks like Gabby might the first of the bunch to sign a new deal which I suppose is somewhat expected. I never got the impression Gabby ever wants to leave and will probably play for the club or have some role long into his 50's! At least these deals are starting to be addressed and while we all have our opinions on Gabby I hope after the Hull game he is starting to rediscover his form and appetite for the game.
Gabby to sign new deal linky (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2750545/Aston-Villa-forward-Gabby-Agbonlahor-set-sign-new-contract.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490)
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skynews peteO ( who ever the f**k he is ) reporting their is some good news for villa fans
maybe delphs contract
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Well if it's Gabby I'm not too fussed at the moment. I'd like him to sign a new deal, but Delph, Grealish and Vlaar are much bigger priorities.
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He played well for England last night, which is - if anything - just going to make the negotiations harder.
An understatement there, Mr Nuts.
If - as I read in the online torygraph yesterday - the club are going to offer an extra £5k a week to Delph (from £40 to 45k) I suspect he will say: "thanks for the support over the last 3-4 years, but I'm off".
If the club get serious with him then I think he'll stay.
Either way, this should have happened over the close season.
Mad.
How on earth would the torygraph have that level of detail. Do people believe this bollocks?
However the point does stand that the club will struggle to get him into a new deal without putting him into the Upper bracket level of wages for the clubs better players.
That was my point **smiley thing**
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Well if it's Gabby I'm not too fussed at the moment. I'd like him to sign a new deal, but Delph, Grealish and Vlaar are much bigger priorities.
I think those are coming Paul. I think Grealish will realize he's in a good spot for his career and get paid accordingly. Delph has always struck as incredibly level headed, appreciative and loyal and I think he'll sign a new deal. Vlaar, not so sure.
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If Albrighton can get £40k a week at Leicester then I think Delph could easily demand £80k-week as a free transfer.
Would people offer him that? ...and more to the point what would they have realistically offered him the season before last?
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45k to 50k is a good offer for Delph
On terms with Benteke.
If he wants more, then he can leave. We have just spent years getting over paying people too much.
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45k to 50k is a good offer for Delph
On terms with Benteke.
If he wants more, then he can leave. We have just spent years getting over paying people too much.
No we've spent years getting over paying the wrong players too much. Delph is our best midfielder and is now an England international, he deserves a big pay increase.
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Delph and Vlaar due to sign new contracts imminently. Twitter rumours. Gregg Evans from Mail has tweeted good news coming out of Villa Park later.
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45k to 50k is a good offer for Delph
On terms with Benteke.
If he wants more, then he can leave. We have just spent years getting over paying people too much.
No we've spent years getting over paying the wrong players too much. Delph is our best midfielder and is now an England international, he deserves a big pay increase.
The issue is we can't offer him loads more than Benteke/Vlaar/Guzan earn or we'll have to give them a bump up as well, that knock-om effect, left unchecked, leads to Habib Beye on 40k a week to not even make the bench.
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Gabby signs four year deal then
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45k to 50k is a good offer for Delph
On terms with Benteke.
If he wants more, then he can leave. We have just spent years getting over paying people too much.
No we've spent years getting over paying the wrong players too much. Delph is our best midfielder and is now an England international, he deserves a big pay increase.
The issue is we can't offer him loads more than Benteke/Vlaar/Guzan earn or we'll have to give them a bump up as well, that knock-om effect, left unchecked, leads to Habib Beye on 40k a week to not even make the bench.
Agreed. I'd say that it's also pretty hard to say he "deserves a big pay increase". He was signed in the O'Neill contract days and was given new terms under Houllier (if I remember rightly) when we were still handing out silly contracts.
I'd put money that Delph is already amongst our top earners at the moment, so whether we can justify "deserves a big pay increase" on top of that is up for debate.
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Today Gabriel Agbonlahor is reported to have signed a new four year contract! Will this club ever learn. A one year maybe but four years. Its
mind blowing.
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Is there an echo on here?
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So Gabby has his new four year deal. I'm happy to have him around because i like him and he can still be very useful when used correctly (ie against teams that will push up and leave a lot of space) but given his inconsistency and our lack of money I hope he's taken a pay cut.
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Well let's hope he rewards us for giving him a long term deal, now Villa sign Delph, Grealish and Vlaar.
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Makes sense I think. Considering buying a replacement when his contract is up would probably cost us god knows how much these days. Jordan Rhodes untried in The Preemier League (c Doug) being touted for £12-14 million and Shane Long going for £12 million.
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Gabby signs four year deal then
Excellent news.
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Hopefully we'll do it like Man City did with some of their big players in the summer and announce new deals signed over a few days.
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There goes any motivation stick for a player in second gear for too long
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Good news IMO, and hopefully a good sign re: the others.
http://www.11v11.com/teams/aston-villa/tab/stats/option/scorers
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Suprised at that. Pressure's on him to contribute now.
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Excuse me if I don't whoop for joy. He's in even more of a comfort zone now.
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Think 'good news' is a matter of opinion, my idea of good news would have been one of the other three signing up with a line at the end saying 'Gabby has been told he will get one of these is he joins in more than four times this season & earns it'
Oh well, he's only one more 4 year contract away from being the 1st villa striker to score 100 Premiership goals for the club
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Think 'good news' is a matter of opinion, my idea of good news would have been one of the other three signing up with a line at the end saying 'Gabby has been told he will get one of these is he joins in more than four times this season & earns it'
Oh well, he's only one more 4 year contract away from being the 1st villa striker to score 100 Premiership goals for the club
Yes it wasn't the 'good news' I was looking for really. He needs to work up and his level of consistency.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
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Suprised at that. Pressure's on him to contribute now.
Yep massive pressure now he's signed that 4 year contract !
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
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Just make sure we're loud and vocal in wanting to sign Vlaar, Grealish and Delph up over the next few weeks. Sends a message we want them here if nothing else.
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
So why not leave it?
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
So why not leave it?
Why not just do it at the same time as all the others?
It's not a case of "finish one negotiation, start the next one".
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
Agreed on both fronts.
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
So why not leave it?
Why not just do it at the same time as all the others?
It's not a case of "finish one negotiation, start the next one".
As I say least important, better to get big ones done first. In my opinion anyway
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
Agreed on both fronts.
Yep, me too.
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
So why not leave it?
Why not just do it at the same time as all the others?
It's not a case of "finish one negotiation, start the next one".
As I say least important, better to get big ones done first. In my opinion anyway
If it were a case of we have one small meeting room for contract negotiations and we can only start the next one once the previous one has been sorted, then I'd agree with you.
But we don't, and we can discuss new contracts with four different players. And then those negotiations will take different lengths of time. This one happened to have sorted itself out quickest.
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Great news re Gabby. Our vice captain and talisman secured for more or less the rest of his career.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
Agreed on both fronts.
He has not been on the wing in any way, shape or form for the last 4 years. Indeed, his best form came when he was played properly out wide under McLeish until he got the hump that Bent was move loved than he was or some such rubbish.
He is essential to the way we play because he is strong and can run fast, but not as fast as he once could, and he played up front a lot last season. Even in the "wider" role in the front three though, his movement and application has been questioned a number of times, and his finishing has been way, way off what someone on his money should be capable of. Gabby is part of the furniture, but a player I hope in 4 years time is much more of a bench/ reserve option than a first team one. I also hope the club have not kept him on huge money, as his goalscoring record for someone in a forward position has been completely unacceptable.
He is though, essential right now because of that pace. Other pace options are needed to put pressure on him.
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I bet he can't believe his luck . 4 years ???
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I bet he can't believe his luck . 4 years ???
Yes, because in the era of Long and McCormack going for £12 and £11 million respectively, a bloke with 60-odd PL goals would have no chance of getting a good contract off anybody else as a free agent in the summer. I bet he's pinching himself that he won't be turning out for Sutton Town's reserves next season.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
Agreed on both fronts.
He has not been on the wing in any way, shape or form for the last 4 years. Indeed, his best form came when he was played properly out wide under McLeish until he got the hump that Bent was move loved than he was or some such rubbish.
He is essential to the way we play because he is strong and can run fast, but not as fast as he once could, and he played up front a lot last season. Even in the "wider" role in the front three though, his movement and application has been questioned a number of times, and his finishing has been way, way off what someone on his money should be capable of. Gabby is part of the furniture, but a player I hope in 4 years time is much more of a bench/ reserve option than a first team one. I also hope the club have not kept him on huge money, as his goalscoring record for someone in a forward position has been completely unacceptable.
He is though, essential right now because of that pace. Other pace options are needed to put pressure on him.
So, he hasn't played on the wing in the last four years, but his best form was on the wing at some point during the last four years?
ITK about the Bent stuff?
A wide-forward is, to me, at least some way, shape or form of being on the wing.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
I think its no surprise that his form has improved at the same time asbwe have started to sign better quality players. He can be frustrating at times but he has been playing in a very poor team over the past few seasons
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I hope there was a clause in his contract to lose the stupid facial hair and not to give any TV interviews. I still cringe at the thought of a monosyllabic interview he and Ashley Young did a few years ago.
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After the Hull game, he started a sentence with "Yeah I know but, well I think erm" or something along those lines. It makes you proud.
Percy - don't get me wrong, I would have him in the side because he has particular skills unique to him, but for what we pay him, and the talent he does actually possess, I think we should get a lot, lot more from him than we do.
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Out of everyone he was the least of our worries
And therefore probably the easiest to sort out.
So why not leave it?
Why not just do it at the same time as all the others?
It's not a case of "finish one negotiation, start the next one".
As I say least important, better to get big ones done first. In my opinion anyway
Maybe they don't want to sign new contracts. Why would they when in a few months they will probably have more lucrative career options to choose from, including staying here. Put yourself in the player's position and ask yourself how foolish it could be to rush such a decision.
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I knew people would be moaning about this. Most people would see a first team regular committing themselves to a new contract as a positive.
To me this sends a signal that we have opened contract negotiations with those whose contracts are running down and this just so happens to have been the first one across the line. Possibly suggesting that it was the easiest to get done. That may be because he was already on 'good' money so may have accepted the same terms whereas those others are negotiating pay rises.
Seeing as there's been an interview with him running on SSN, he obviously hasn't agreed to a condition preventing him from doing interviews.
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I think 68 goals is pretty good considering he's played most of the last four seasons on the wing in a shit team.
Agreed. It's not his fault he's been surrounded by mainly rubbish over the last 4 years. Hopefully this (and the signing up of Delph, Vlaar etc) is the start of better times arriving at the club.
Agreed on both fronts.
I look at it the other way, last season he had the opportunity to step up & show he had something, for me he went AWOL when we needed him.
They say you are only as good as your last game, against Hull I thought he was great, we need 20 not 4/5 of those performances a season....no room for passengers!
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No thoughts on your previous post then Ozz, on how he somehow managed to produce his best form under TSM on the wing when he has not 'in any way, shape or form' played on the wing?
Or why he sulked about playing wide (despite, according to you, not playing wide) of Bent, but not sulking when playing wide (despite, according to you, not playing wide) of Benteke?
On the seeming straightforwardness of negotiations, as I've said above he could have easily let his contract run down and become a tempting free agent for any club who fancies signing somebody who scores important goals in important games, but that was never going to happen with Gabby was It? So for those Villa fans who are upset that he's signed a new long-term deal, carry on wanking over Milner, Barry and Young and wishing they had his loyalty.
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Gabby signing for another 4 years is great for him and that's about it. I'm not a fan and would have preferred it if he was moved on.
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Delighted that gabby has signed and agree with everything Percy has said. Yes, he doesn't always play well, but who hase over the last 4 years. The soul was ripped out of a good team and only gabby remains. He now has to play a lot of the time on the wing and is usually up front as a lone striker when asked to play there. No John Carew to work off and no Ash Young to stick crosses on the nut for him. No Barry or Petrov feeding him, and no Milner working to get the ball back for him.
I'm not saying he has been our stand out player but if over the last 4 years there has been one player who has summed us up it is Gabby. Good, bad, and indifferent. But pops up when needed in big games and was brilliant in helping to keep us up two seasons ago. build a team that works for him and not one that he is just put in to run up and down the wing, or is expected to just hold up the ball, and he'll score a lot more. I think this is a good signing (contractual) and reckon he'll be in double figures for goals this season.
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No thoughts on your previous post then Ozz, on how he somehow managed to produce his best form under TSM on the wing when he has not 'in any way, shape or form' played on the wing?
Or why he sulked about playing wide (despite, according to you, not playing wide) of Bent, but not sulking when playing wide (despite, according to you, not playing wide) of Benteke?
On the seeming straightforwardness of negotiations, as I've said above he could have easily let his contract run down and become a tempting free agent for any club who fancies signing somebody who scores important goals in important games, but that was never going to happen with Gabby was It? So for those Villa fans who are upset that he's signed a new long-term deal, carry on wanking over Milner, Barry and Young and wishing they had his loyalty.
I think I put it badly, and it got misinterpreted. I said he has not spent the majority of his time on the wing which is the excuse peddled for his lack of goals. He has spent some time, but I would argue about, or less than half playing a wider role in a front 3, which should be ideal for him but he just does not have the ability to make it work consistently. He has had periods of 8-9 months without scoring a goal at Villa Park, and last season the big game goals just didn't happen. He can be brilliant and when he is it makes me even more frustrating. 3, 5, 9 and 4 are his goal returns for the last 4 years. That is nowhere near what I would expect for someone on 50k a week plus. Using the players that have left as an excuse for him not scoring is even weaker when you look at how many good chances he has fluffed, and how many goals Benteke and Bent scored without many of the players mentioned. I think he is excused a huge amount because he is Gabby. His movement as a striker is non existent unless he is in the mood, if he is not then he just doesn't get into the spaces that he should, and if the opposition play deep he is nullified quite easily. I sincerely hope he knocks in 15 this season and next and justifies a new big contract, but I also hope he is not kept in the side because he is Gabby when others could be more effective in the coming months.
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I wonder if the muted or less than positive response to Gabby signing his deal would be different had he signed after Delph, Vlaar and Grealish. It seems to me some of the apathy is because of the order of the signing and the concern that the others might not. While he might not be the Gabby we have seen in the past he's still got plenty to offer. We'd be nuts to let him walk for free. He'd be snapped up straight away by another PL club.
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Delighted that we have got Gabby.
Now for the others as well.
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I'm predicting now Gabby will score 6 goals or less this season.
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We'll need every one of them and he will get them at the crucial moment.
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Good news. One done, three to go.
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Watching the Hull game and when Gabby scored I said to my missus( she's Canadian and never watched football until we met in 06) " I can't imagine him playing for anyone but the Villa let alone scoring against us!!"
Her comment was " Yeah he's Villa through and through even I know that" bless.
Good luck to to him and us, good news I reckon.
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Well done Gabby. Good to have someone onboard that sticks with us through the good times and the bad.
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I'm predicting now Gabby will score 6 goals or less this season.
I will take that bet. He will score more than 6. A £20?
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Still my favourite player, despite his runs of poor form. He isn't absolutely top draw, but as others have said, he scores big goals in big games. Good news that he's signed.
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I liked his interview on the official site, whilst the news wasn't the good news I was hoping for it's still nice to have a loyal player.
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I thought he was great against Hull last time out. Whilst you could argue he hasn't done enough to earn a new deal, you couldn't really imagine him playing for anyone else. Let's hope he justifies it over the next few seasons.
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A couple of goals at anfield would be a nice way to baptise the new deal.
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Delighted that gabby has signed and agree with everything Percy has said. Yes, he doesn't always play well, but who hase over the last 4 years. The soul was ripped out of a good team and only gabby remains. He now has to play a lot of the time on the wing and is usually up front as a lone striker when asked to play there. No John Carew to work off and no Ash Young to stick crosses on the nut for him. No Barry or Petrov feeding him, and no Milner working to get the ball back for him.
I'm not saying he has been our stand out player but if over the last 4 years there has been one player who has summed us up it is Gabby. Good, bad, and indifferent. But pops up when needed in big games and was brilliant in helping to keep us up two seasons ago. build a team that works for him and not one that he is just put in to run up and down the wing, or is expected to just hold up the ball, and he'll score a lot more. I think this is a good signing (contractual) and reckon he'll be in double figures for goals this season.
I agree with Percy and you Pete. I'm happy Gabby has signed a new deal, hopefully he will now repay the faith Villa have continued to show in him.
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Some are saying that he has not done enough to deserve a new contract. However, if we had let his contract run down and he left, we would have had to spend money on a new player. A new player may be on less wages but this would not compensate for the fee. Now he's on a new contract there is nothing to say we cannot sell him.
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Some are saying that he has not done enough to deserve a new contract. However, if we had let his contract run down and he left, we would have had to spend money on a new player. A new player may be on less wages but this would not compensate for the fee. Now he's on a new contract there is nothing to say we cannot sell him.
he wasn't in danger of the contract running down tho was he? I read that he has extended by one year meaning that he now has 4 years to run. He hasn't done enough for me to warrant the extension - another 20 games like the one against Hull, this season rather than over the next 3 years, and then I would say he deserved the extension
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After the Hull game, he started a sentence with "Yeah I know but, well I think erm" or something along those lines. It makes you proud.
Percy - don't get me wrong, I would have him in the side because he has particular skills unique to him, but for what we pay him, and the talent he does actually possess, I think we should get a lot, lot more from him than we do.
maybe you'd have been more pleased if we had sold him and signed Graeme le Saux instead?
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Delighted that gabby has signed and agree with everything Percy has said. Yes, he doesn't always play well, but who hase over the last 4 years. The soul was ripped out of a good team and only gabby remains. He now has to play a lot of the time on the wing and is usually up front as a lone striker when asked to play there. No John Carew to work off and no Ash Young to stick crosses on the nut for him. No Barry or Petrov feeding him, and no Milner working to get the ball back for him.
I'm not saying he has been our stand out player but if over the last 4 years there has been one player who has summed us up it is Gabby. Good, bad, and indifferent. But pops up when needed in big games and was brilliant in helping to keep us up two seasons ago. build a team that works for him and not one that he is just put in to run up and down the wing, or is expected to just hold up the ball, and he'll score a lot more. I think this is a good signing (contractual) and reckon he'll be in double figures for goals this season.
be nice if he could break the 100 goals barrier before his contract expires
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Some are saying that he has not done enough to deserve a new contract. However, if we had let his contract run down and he left, we would have had to spend money on a new player. A new player may be on less wages but this would not compensate for the fee. Now he's on a new contract there is nothing to say we cannot sell him.
he wasn't in danger of the contract running down tho was he? I read that he has extended by one year meaning that he now has 4 years to run. He hasn't done enough for me to warrant the extension - another 20 games like the one against Hull, this season rather than over the next 3 years, and then I would say he deserved the extension
He was out of contract at the end of this season, like Delph, Vlaar and Grealish.
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I bet he can't believe his luck . 4 years ???
Yes, because in the era of Long and McCormack going for £12 and £11 million respectively, a bloke with 60-odd PL goals would have no chance of getting a good contract off anybody else as a free agent in the summer. I bet he's pinching himself that he won't be turning out for Sutton Town's reserves next season.
he wouldn't have been a free agent next summer would he? He has extended by one year meaning that he still had 3 to run
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A couple of goals at anfield would be a nice way to baptise the new deal.
I'll be more than happy if he plays as well as he did there last season (by far, his best performance in the last year).
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http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gabby-agbonlahor-signs-new-aston-7749700
maybe the mail got it wrong? wouldn't be the first time
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I thought he was great against Hull last time out. Whilst you could argue he hasn't done enough to earn a new deal, you couldn't really imagine him playing for anyone else. Let's hope he justifies it over the next few seasons.
He may not be the best player, but in a world where Shane Long/Borini/Fulham's recent signings cost in excess of £10m then it's good business. We can now spend that money elsewhere and also, if need be, sell him in the future rather than letting him leave for nothing.
Any rumours on whether we matched/increased/reduced his previous deal?
The opportunity cost of not giving delph a bumper deal also makes me more inclined to offer him stupid money or at least a decent signing on bonus (given for each complete year he stays, or something like that). To replace him would be £15m minimum and any £15m player will want £40-60k a week.
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Agbonlahor's agent, Tim Webb, commented: "Gabby could have utilised his Bosman status at the end of the season but he never considered that.
"Everyone knows his feeling for the club and he was keen to sign his new contract, demonstrating his loyalty, as has always been the case even when other clubs have come in for him."
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Agbonlahor's agent, Tim Webb, commented: "Gabby could have utilised his Bosman status at the end of the season but he never considered that.
"Everyone knows his feeling for the club and he was keen to sign his new contract, demonstrating his loyalty, as has always been the case even when other clubs have come in for him."
Nice to read. If only he was *slightly* better he'd be widely worshipped.
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Great news that Gabby has signed a long term deal.
I watched the one on one chance that Westwood created for Bent in the Leyton Orient game and thought, Gabby would be a 20 goal a season man if he was put through like that once a game. As it happens I saw almost all our games last season and don't think he got more than a couple of chances like that.
We've completely wasted him for the last few seasons.
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Great news that Gabby has signed a long term deal.
I watched the one on one chance that Westwood created for Bent in the Leyton Orient game and thought, Gabby would be a 20 goal a season man if he was put through like that once a game. As it happens I saw almost all our games last season and don't think he got more than a couple of chances like that.
We've completely wasted him for the last few seasons.
if only he had the thought to make the same movement that Bent made in the move that you refer to then he would be a 20 goal a season man. Unfortunately, when our midfielders look up, there is rarely any movement from the players further forward meaning that we don't create many chances like the Bent one and, I am afraid, Gabby is one of the worst culprits
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I'm predicting now Gabby will score 6 goals or less this season.
I will take that bet. He will score more than 6. A £20?
A fiver will do me?
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Great news that Gabby has signed a long term deal.
I watched the one on one chance that Westwood created for Bent in the Leyton Orient game and thought, Gabby would be a 20 goal a season man if he was put through like that once a game. As it happens I saw almost all our games last season and don't think he got more than a couple of chances like that.
We've completely wasted him for the last few seasons.
Please tell me you're taking the piss.
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Delighted that gabby has signed and agree with everything Percy has said. Yes, he doesn't always play well, but who hase over the last 4 years. The soul was ripped out of a good team and only gabby remains. He now has to play a lot of the time on the wing and is usually up front as a lone striker when asked to play there. No John Carew to work off and no Ash Young to stick crosses on the nut for him. No Barry or Petrov feeding him, and no Milner working to get the ball back for him.
I'm not saying he has been our stand out player but if over the last 4 years there has been one player who has summed us up it is Gabby. Good, bad, and indifferent. But pops up when needed in big games and was brilliant in helping to keep us up two seasons ago. build a team that works for him and not one that he is just put in to run up and down the wing, or is expected to just hold up the ball, and he'll score a lot more. I think this is a good signing (contractual) and reckon he'll be in double figures for goals this season.
be nice if he could break the 100 goals barrier before his contract expires
It will be pretty poor if he doesn't to be honest as he'll have been part of the first team for 13 years by then.
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Good news! A player who is loyal, wants to play for us, scores important goals and on his day can win a match on his own (here's to some more of those "on his day" matches).
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If we have a good season, Gabby will have a good season. Tis written in Villa law. Generally when we're in good form, so is he. When we've done well under Lambert, which is pretty much just 3-4 months in his first season, Gabby played very well.
I'm hoping with the signings we've made, and re-instating a bit more experience in the side, we'll have a reasonable season and we'll see more frequent appearences from the on form Gabby. In which case he'll go some way to earning his new deal. I'd still like to see him shift half a stone and regain another yard of pace. He's not quite the greased lightening he was a few years back.
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Delighted that gabby has signed and agree with everything Percy has said. Yes, he doesn't always play well, but who hase over the last 4 years. The soul was ripped out of a good team and only gabby remains. He now has to play a lot of the time on the wing and is usually up front as a lone striker when asked to play there. No John Carew to work off and no Ash Young to stick crosses on the nut for him. No Barry or Petrov feeding him, and no Milner working to get the ball back for him.
I'm not saying he has been our stand out player but if over the last 4 years there has been one player who has summed us up it is Gabby. Good, bad, and indifferent. But pops up when needed in big games and was brilliant in helping to keep us up two seasons ago. build a team that works for him and not one that he is just put in to run up and down the wing, or is expected to just hold up the ball, and he'll score a lot more. I think this is a good signing (contractual) and reckon he'll be in double figures for goals this season.
be nice if he could break the 100 goals barrier before his contract expires
It will be pretty poor if he doesn't to be honest as he'll have been part of the first team for 13 years by then.
Yeah, fancy breaking into the first team at 19, when most of our 'promising youngsters' have the good grace to be ready at 23.
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Gabby signing a new deal doesn't fill me with joy, but then it doesn't fill me with dread either. As long as he is used more as a squad player from now, and we have better options then it shouldn't be that much of a negative.
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He will score +14 goals this season.
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Great news that Gabby has signed a long term deal.
I watched the one on one chance that Westwood created for Bent in the Leyton Orient game and thought, Gabby would be a 20 goal a season man if he was put through like that once a game. As it happens I saw almost all our games last season and don't think he got more than a couple of chances like that.
We've completely wasted him for the last few seasons.
Please tell me you're taking the piss.
No. I'm deadly serious.
I see Gabby as a poor mans Anelka. Less technically proficient (and thankfully less of a dickhead) but a similar type of player. When he was played in a similar position or even wide in a decent team, he was scoring 10-16 goals a season. Once O'Neil left and we have entered the doldrums he has struggled for goals and his form has been less consistent.
You can criticise his movement like the poster above, and fair enough I'm not saying he's perfect, but that spell has coincided with the worst midfield that I can remember.
Since he's broken into the team he's been one of the more consistent forwards in the premier league outside the top teams. If you take out the top players, he's as good as players of his era like Carrol, Yakubu, Dempsey, Defoe, Crouch etc.
And he's one of ours who's come up through the youth team and looks like he might spend his entire career with us.
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He will score +14 goals this season.
He was the best he has been in awhile against Hull, besides that we will have to wait and see.
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
Maybe, in reality Gabby has never been in line for those moves. But I do respect his loyality. It is mostly his performances which have been critized I think. I do see him becoming like Gerrard for Liverpool, a one club man which is rare in this era.
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
Maybe, in reality Gabby has never been in line for those moves. But I do respect his loyality. It is mostly his performances which have been critized I think. I do see him becoming like Gerrard for Liverpool, a one club man which is rare in this era.
I seem to remember around 2008 there were rumours of Arsenal's interest. I have no idea whether that had any basis in fact, but he probably wouldn't have looked out of place in a side like that.
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He'll do a job for the next couple of years. After that, he could change games stepping up from the bench after 60-70 minutes.
As long as we're not paying him silly money, it seems like a good deal. Maybe he'll even do his coaching badges for the longer term.
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
Maybe, in reality Gabby has never been in line for those moves. But I do respect his loyality. It is mostly his performances which have been critized I think. I do see him becoming like Gerrard for Liverpool, a one club man which is rare in this era.
I seem to remember around 2008 there were rumours of Arsenal's interest. I have no idea whether that had any basis in fact, but he probably wouldn't have looked out of place in a side like that.
I doubt any bigger club has even come in for Gabby.
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I doubt anyone bigger has. If he reaches 100 prem goals this contract we will have done well from it.
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I'm not in the habit of giving players a benchmark of how much they 'owe' the club, but if Agbonlahor sees out his Villa days with a hundred goals scored for us, I'd say he'd given exceptional value. He's on sixty eight, so four seasons where he scores ten goals apiece would be extremely valuable.
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Anyone got the time to guess what he has pocketed in wages during that period?
...and including the new contract?
I suspect he will look amazing value by comparison to most players we've had.
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I'm not in the habit of giving players a benchmark of how much they 'owe' the club, but if Agbonlahor sees out his Villa days with a hundred goals scored for us, I'd say he'd given exceptional value. He's on sixty eight, so four seasons where he scores ten goals apiece would be extremely valuable.
Gabby's the man.
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I'm not in the habit of giving players a benchmark of how much they 'owe' the club, but if Agbonlahor sees out his Villa days with a hundred goals scored for us, I'd say he'd given exceptional value. He's on sixty eight, so four seasons where he scores ten goals apiece would be extremely valuable.
Gabby's the man.
Anybody with a basic grasp of arithmetic will note that forty goals will take Agbonlahor beyond the 100 goals marker discussed. Luckily, my job involves Excel doing sums for me.
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Agbonlahor's agent, Tim Webb, commented: "Gabby could have utilised his Bosman status at the end of the season but he never considered that.
"Everyone knows his feeling for the club and he was keen to sign his new contract, demonstrating his loyalty, as has always been the case even when other clubs have come in for him."
First time I've ever seen that agent's name, in fairness I didn't have a clue who represented Gabby...and still don't!
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
I'd say quite the opposite.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
Shall I put out a story you're not happy?
Nah.
Do you want to let your contract run out and go on a Bosman?
Nah.
You want to stay here then?
Definutlay.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
Shall I put out a story you're not happy?
Nah.
Do you want to let your contract run out and go on a Bosman?
Nah.
You want to stay here then?
Definutlay.
And that will earn him how much? Crazy really isn't it.
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
You can look just don't touch!!
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
Shall I put out a story you're not happy?
Nah.
Do you want to let your contract run out and go on a Bosman?
Nah.
You want to stay here then?
Definutlay.
And that will earn him how much? Crazy really isn't it.
Not as much as the first two options.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
Shall I put out a story you're not happy?
Nah.
Do you want to let your contract run out and go on a Bosman?
Nah.
You want to stay here then?
Definutlay.
And that will earn him how much? Crazy really isn't it.
Not as much as the first two options.
I don't think he'd get much more elsewhere, he'd hardly be in demand.
Personally, I'd have let him go, but so long as we're not paying him stupid money, am not too worried about him staying.
I just want us to sort Delph and Vlaar out as quickly as we can.
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Same feelings Paulie. If he went he would be on a lower wage at a newly promoted side or a lower mid table, which is our level right now I guess.
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Anyone got the time to guess what he has pocketed in wages during that period?
...and including the new contract?
I suspect he will look amazing value by comparison to most players we've had.
he will look good value if he achieves it. Though that says more about the exceptionally high rewards available to very mediocre players since the sky money and the era of the aggressive agents. He's been a good player for us - better than average, but not exceptional. Therefore pretty good value in the scheme of things, like you say. Aswell as 100 goals, a winners medal of some sort would be nice.
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Without wishing to stir the hornet's nest what is the value of the contract? Has he took a cut in wages?
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What do they call that thing on the Beeb that has replaced teletext?
Any way I was just looking at the football section and according to the Beeb The Sun online is saying that the boy Jack has been offered a four year contract.
I hope that's true, but as it comes from the Sun we'll have to take it with a pinch of salt.
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I hope that's true, but as it comes from the Sun we'll have to take it with a pinch of salt.
They're probably just quoting from the Birmingham Mail article from a couple of days ago which says the same thing.
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Anyone got the time to guess what he has pocketed in wages during that period?
...and including the new contract?
I suspect he will look amazing value by comparison to most players we've had.
Average Roughly £2M a year since 2006 at a guess.
£2M a year to live all of our dreams. The bastard.
I fink yeh, definutly, yeh, I fink.
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Re our Jack, the hype commences:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/12/jack-grealish-real-deal-aston-villa
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Gabby takes a lot of unfair shit on here. People forget he stuck around when all the other mavericks sniffed money elsewhere, Gareth, James, Stewart, Ashley, I'm looking at you.
Maybe, in reality Gabby has never been in line for those moves. But I do respect his loyality. It is mostly his performances which have been critized I think. I do see him becoming like Gerrard for Liverpool, a one club man which is rare in this era.
I seem to remember around 2008 there were rumours of Arsenal's interest. I have no idea whether that had any basis in fact, but he probably wouldn't have looked out of place in a side like that.
I doubt any bigger club has even come in for Gabby.
At his best when he looked like he could become a real special prospect I can someone like Arsenal being interested then, think he would have been their sort of player more than Chelsea's for example.
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Being Gabby's agent must be one of the easiest jobs in football.
It would mean having to explain everything to him.
Shall I put out a story you're not happy?
Nah.
Do you want to let your contract run out and go on a Bosman?
Nah.
You want to stay here then?
Definutlay.
And that will earn him how much? Crazy really isn't it.
Not as much as the first two options.
I don't think he'd get much more elsewhere, he'd hardly be in demand.
Personally, I'd have let him go, but so long as we're not paying him stupid money, am not too worried about him staying.
I just want us to sort Delph and Vlaar out as quickly as we can.
I'd have let him go too. Four years seems excessive to me for someone who is a passenger in the majority of games. I suspect it's more to do with service and sentiment now than talent on the pitch.
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Disciplined, battling performance today. Nullified Gerrard, got the winner, ran his legs into bloody stumps. With no Benteke and Kozac he's been worth his weight in gold so far this season.
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Disciplined, battling performance today. Nullified Gerrard, got the winner, ran his legs into bloody stumps. With no Benteke and Kozac he's been worth his weight in gold so far this season.
I agree. Great performance and got the goal to celebrate his new contract (now 2 goals in 4) get in!!
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Shouldn't Hutton's new 3 year contract be on this thread? You know, "New Contracts?"
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Lambert't three year deal will be the next one...
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Lambert't three year deal will be the next one...
Good work!
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Jack next.
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Then Delph. Interesting that none of the big clubs went for Vlaar in the window - he should just sign a new deal with Villa; at least he'd then play week in week out.
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Right Delph, Jack and Vlaar please.
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Right Delph, Jack and Vlaar please.
How ironic it is the important ones that we still haven't tied down (yes I Know me saying that could be ironic in itself!) typical Villa!
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Looks like we're knocking in the easy ones first...
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''We have a long-term vision for Villa and Paul is completely integrated into our plan to manage the club carefully and ambitiously back to a position in the Barclays Premier League appropriate to our history and collective expectations."
This is a very interesting comment from Tom Fox, particularly 'long-term vision' and getting back to a position 'appropriate to our history'. Does this suggest there has been a change?
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Right Delph, Jack and Vlaar please.
This.
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''We have a long-term vision for Villa and Paul is completely integrated into our plan to manage the club carefully and ambitiously back to a position in the Barclays Premier League appropriate to our history and collective expectations."
This is a very interesting comment from Tom Fox, particularly 'long-term vision' and getting back to a position 'appropriate to our history'. Does this suggest there has been a change?
I didn't think so. The word which jumped out at me was carefully, meaning not spending much. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that the statement is (deliberately) vague enough to mean a number of things.
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i think the purse strings are going to loosen, but when citeh, chavski, red bindippers, yanited come poaching players the price goes up, Randolf i think is back in with us and is just trying to play a cunning plan. ie clubs for sale and im not a mark.
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''We have a long-term vision for Villa and Paul is completely integrated into our plan to manage the club carefully and ambitiously back to a position in the Barclays Premier League appropriate to our history and collective expectations."
This is a very interesting comment from Tom Fox, particularly 'long-term vision' and getting back to a position 'appropriate to our history'. Does this suggest there has been a change?
A 20 year plan where each year we finish one place above the previous season is my guess.
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With this latest recurrence of the calf injury & each time it seems to take forever to get fit I think we can see why the deadline passed & Vlaar was still a Villa player
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Lambert saying he knew it would happen suggests its a problem that won't ever really go away too.
We need to get Delph and Grealish sorted, and offer Vlaar a decent deal to keep him and then wrap him up.
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With this latest recurrence of the calf injury & each time it seems to take forever to get fit I think we can see why the deadline passed & Vlaar was still a Villa player
Yep. Equally you can see why we may not be offering earth moving amounts to keep him (if indeed that is the case). With age, you can only see the frequency of injuries increasing aswell as the recovery times.
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Mirror
Aston Villa are battling to keep Fabian Delph.
Arsenal and Everton are among those closely monitoring the situation of the new England midfielder.
The 24-year-old has been offered a new deal by the Villans to prevent him leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season.
But he has yet to sign the bumper contract – a fact noted by the Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger and Roberto Martinez, his counterpart at the Goodison Park club.
Wenger has an abundance of midfielders, but his squad – Mathieu Flamini apart – lacks an energetic, ball-winner such as Delph.
Wenger will try to bridge that gap in January. He is also impressed by Southampton’s Victor Wanyama and Morgan Schneiderlin, as well as Borussia Dortmund’s Sven Bender of Borussia Dortmund.
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Impossible to know if that is Delphs agent or genuine. It'd be pretty galling to lose delph to the likes of Everton. Or anybody else as it goes.
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Delph is energetic certainly, but I don't see him as much of a ball-winner. His tackling is Scholes-esque. I don't think Arsene would find space for Delph in his side.
Everton however, is a different story. They could do with Delphs pace in midfield.
I hope we keep him though. I think we'd suffer a lot losing Delphy. At our best this squad is solidly mid-table, but lose 1-2 of our better players and it's a relegation scrapping side.
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After comments from Delph last season and in the summer, and how much time and effort the club have put into him, to lose him from a position that looked unlikely would be pretty galling.
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I still have faith Delph will stay - can't say the same about Vlaar though.
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After comments from Delph last season and in the summer, and how much time and effort the club have put into him, to lose him from a position that looked unlikely would be pretty galling.
It would be a massive massive error.
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I'd be hugely disappointed in Delph if he left us in a Bosman. We've waited patiently for 5 years for the player we know to come through, so I'd be gutted if after all that he went to someone like Everton. After his comments about the club & Lerner's support during his injuries I'd be very disappointed, to say the least, if he left us. However, professional footballers are a law unto themselves.
Vlar is different, he's at his peak, injury prone & nearly 30, he''s got one last big pay day. Will we invest in a big contract with the knowledge that he's likely to miss 2-3 months every season & that that his injury record may worsen?
If neither show any indication that they will sign over the next few weeks, we'll be forced to sell in January.
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I'd be hugely disappointed in Delph if he left us in a Bosman. We've waited patiently for 5 years for the player we know to come through, so I'd be gutted if after all that he went to someone like Everton. After his comments about the club & Lerner's support during his injuries I'd be very disappointed, to say the least, if he left us. However, professional footballers are a law unto themselves.
He could also point out that if we're not going to bother offering him anything until he's seven or eight months from his contract expiring then we can't be that concerned about whether or not we keep him.
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I'd be hugely disappointed in Delph if he left us in a Bosman. We've waited patiently for 5 years for the player we know to come through, so I'd be gutted if after all that he went to someone like Everton. After his comments about the club & Lerner's support during his injuries I'd be very disappointed, to say the least, if he left us. However, professional footballers are a law unto themselves.
He could also point out that if we're not going to bother offering him anything until he's seven or eight months from his contract expiring then we can't be that concerned about whether or not we keep him.
Indeed and that's my concern.
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He'll bugger off and we'll sign someone new. Never mind hey.
Fuckwits the lot of them.
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I think the mirror article is based on absolutely fuck all, I think he'll sign a new deal and so will Vlaar, hasn't Vlaar already said he's ready to stay, Although it is quite ironic that we were blasting southampton and calling them relegation favourites and they look really good thus far.
It's still a step backwards in my opinion
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I'd be hugely disappointed in Delph if he left us in a Bosman. We've waited patiently for 5 years for the player we know to come through, so I'd be gutted if after all that he went to someone like Everton. After his comments about the club & Lerner's support during his injuries I'd be very disappointed, to say the least, if he left us. However, professional footballers are a law unto themselves.
He could also point out that if we're not going to bother offering him anything until he's seven or eight months from his contract expiring then we can't be that concerned about whether or not we keep him.
Yup.
If we still haven't offered him anything, then that is fucking nuts.
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There will be interest in Delph for sure. Someone who's been playing consistantly well in the league for 18 months, just made his England debut and will be on a free in 6 months. Why pay 10m for someone like Rodwell when he'll be on a free.
I think Vlaar will leave, unsure on Delph but as the weeks pass by it looks more unlikely.
Grealish deal seems to have gone quiet aswell although his comments recently indicate to me that's pretty much done but hasn't been signed for some reason.
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Obviously I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but I hoped when Hutton and Lambert signed new deals it was a precursor to Delph, Grealish and Vlaar. However that growing gap between the former and the hopeful latter makes me wonder. The deals for the first two are absolutely vital.
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My fear is Delph will have had his head swayed whilst at the England camp. It's happened before to us.
Re vlaar these long lay offs due to injury concern me . When he's available he's good but when he's out it's a massive loss. We need some proper cover for vlaar either way.
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Obviously I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but I hoped when Hutton and Lambert signed new deals it was a precursor to Delph, Grealish and Vlaar. However that growing gap between the former and the hopeful latter makes me wonder. The deals for the first two are absolutely vital.
Lambert probably thought he would be sacked in the summer so couldn't believe his luck at four more years as a premier league manager or plenty of compensation if the new owners don't like him.
Same with Hutton, in exile, gets back in the team so three more years of premier league wages, thank you very much!
Fair to say Delph and Vlaar will be a touch more difficult.
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I think Delph and vlaar will both stay and deals will be done by December.
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I'm sure the players in the last year of their contracts & the manager were told at the start of the summer that no new contracts would be offered until the 'sale' was sorted out. Once the season started things started to role into place.
However, since June Vlar's had a great World Cup, Delph is now an England international (so what) & Grealish is the 2nd coming (potentially). These three are likely to have other options, whereas the others would not. I'd be as confident as I can be that since August Vlar, Delph & Grealish have been offered new improved contracts. At this point in time it seems they are either trying to squeeze a bit more out of Lerner or they are buying time until January. That's the risk of letting it run this late. To players it's just a job & by nature they're ambitious. Like most of us if we get the offer of a better job & more money we'll take it & quite often it turns out to be a big mistake.
Grealish would be an absolute fool to go anywhere elsewhere, but if he's been treated as special he might just think he is.
Delph is not yet good enough to play for a top 4 club but in a year or two he might be.
Vlar is injury prone & not irreplaceable.
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So lets see how good Mr Fox is, Delph is imo a very important part of our building a team, if one of the big clubs come in not a lot we can do, Delph is a winner and deserves to be winning things.
Where do "we" want to go?
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It's a fine line between selling the club's ambitions to a player whose next contract will likely see him at the peak of his career as well as earnings potential, and dismissing 3-0 hammerings to Arsenal and Chelsea as normal events that we can't do much about, no matter how true it may be.
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We need to wrap Delph and vlaar up ASAP. The longer it drags the more I'd be inclined to say they're off.
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We need to wrap Delph and vlaar up ASAP. The longer it drags the more I'd be inclined to say they're off.
I don't disagree, but worth noting that we're currently seeing a reminder of one reason why there won't be a multi-club scramble for Vlaar. He's injured so frequently and rarely just for a game here and there.
Shame, really.
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We need to wrap Delph and vlaar up ASAP. The longer it drags the more I'd be inclined to say they're off.
I don't disagree, but worth noting that we're currently seeing a reminder of one reason why there won't be a multi-club scramble for Vlaar. He's injured so frequently and rarely just for a game here and there.
Shame, really.
As i've mentioned before, it could also be a reason we haven't given him a new contract yet. He's missed a quarter of our league games through injury since joining us.
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I think it's more important that we wrap up Delph's and Grealish's deals quickly.
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I think it's more important that we wrap up Delph's and Grealish's deals quickly.
Grealish is in for 4 years isn't he?
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Nope runs out in the summer I think.
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Seemed odd to me that Westwood was captain yesterday over Delph.
Could this be telling of his contract 'situation' ?
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Seemed odd to me that Westwood was captain yesterday over Delph.
Could this be telling of his contract 'situation' ?
I wouldn't read too much into it. Westwood is clearly rated very highly by Lambert, largely for his no-nonsense approach and just doing the simple things. He's also skippered Crewe at a young age, and he's had the armband for us in pre-season, so it's not entirely out of the blue.
I suppose also being that deep lying midfielder right in the heart of the side is possibly an ideal position for a skipper.
I'm not Westy's biggest fan but one thing he does seem to have is a stable demeanour. He just carries on doing what he does, where-as Delphy for example can sometimes go a bit frantic. He gets a rush of blood at the end of a barnstorming 30 yard power run and then he'll over hit a pass, or rush a pass, or scuff a shot. Or conversely throw himself into a Scholes-esque tackle that gets him booked.
That being said, were it my choice, I'd have given Delph the armband, because of his passion. I like Westwood but he's as good as he's ever going to be and if his aspiration is to be like Michael Carrick, he's succeeded, but he won't get better unless he aspires to be. I do wish Pirlo was his role model.
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Grealish has pulled out of Irish u21, speculation he is holding contract talks. On news now, but on tablet so dunno how to link
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Gareth Southgate has revealed England have not given up hope of tempting the Aston Villa starlet Jack Grealish away from the Republic of Ireland.
The Birmingham-born Grealish had been preparing for the Republic of Ireland’s game in Norway on Thursday but was withdrawn by Aston Villa on Monday afternoon. Last week Ryanair offered free flights to his family for the 19-year-old’s senior debut, should it happen.
He has been playing for Ireland since he was 14 but is yet to decide on his senior future and Southgate hopes it is with England.
“The family and Jack are aware of our interest,” said Southgate before Friday’s Euro 2015 play-off with Croatia at Molineux.
“Jack is somebody we have spoken to over the years, him and his family. He has been in our younger development teams.
“Up to this point they have preferred to remain with Ireland. These things are quite fluid at younger ages, it happened with Michael Keane and his brother [Will] and Jonathan Bond came from Wales.
“Lots of other home nations are running development camps at a young age so players develop an allegiance quite young. You are allowed to switch once when you are a young player and Jack is someone we are monitoring and we’ll keep our eye on that situation.”
The Ireland No2, Roy Keane, is also assistant manager at Villa Park and the national coach, Martin O’Neill, made a personal check on Grealish in Villa’s development squad’s 3-0 win over Bolton last week.
Grealish, who is in talks with Aston Villa over a new contract after breaking into the first team, qualifies for Ireland through his grandparents.
Southgate will not put any pressure on the Villa academy graduate, though, insisting it is up to him to decide his future.
He said: “I haven’t spoken to him personally but certainly people from our organisation have kept in contact. We have been monitoring him but in the end it’s up to the player.
“He’s going to make his decision on where he wants to go. More and more, because of the nature of society, there are several players in our system who are dual nationality and had that choice to make.”
Meanwhile, the former England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce believes Southgate should get the pick of the talent for the games with Croatia.
They play the return leg in Vinkovci on 14 October and the current Nottingham Forest manager believes it should be a priority over the senior squad.
He said: “If it was me and I was in charge of the senior side, I would turn round to the Under-21 boss and say ‘you pick everyone age appropriate you want; we’re playing San Marino and Estonia, and we have also beaten Switzerland away. I will take anyone you don’t want after that’. That’s what I would do for the personal development for the country.
“I really wish them well next week. Gareth’s a really good friend of mine. I’m a patriot of this country and I’m desperate for England to do well.”
Luke Shaw, the Manchester United left back, has said that he would be happy to represent the Under-21 side despite having previously been called up to the senior squad for the World Cup.
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Cheers.
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Twitter rumours he's agreed a new deal. Is this right? Who knows, but fingers crossed. Major talent.
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Good on Southgate for not presuing the issue. I always thought it would be best for Grealish to stick with Ireland. I think he is one who will sign. He has grown up at the club, seems quite level headed, and his whole career to seek glory elsewhere.
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Good on Southgate for not presuing the issue. I always thought it would be best for Grealish to stick with Ireland. I think he is one who will sign. He has grown up at the club, seems quite level headed, and his whole career to seek glory elsewhere.
I don't think I've ever seen a youngster coming into the first team that has been so roughly treated by the opposition - that must be a good sign
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I think we should also get Guzan signed up to a new contract, Saturdays game was a reminder of just how good he is
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I'm more concerned that Delph hasn't signed a new contract. I appreciate he's a very down to earth lad but we're now into October and we're still not hearing anything.
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Something happening with Grealish it seems: http://t.co/yaqRywmGYV (via Sky)
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Something happening with Grealish it seems: http://t.co/yaqRywmGYV (via Sky)
Seems to be taking a long time to conclude the new contract considering this has been 'close' for a while now. Could be that Chelsea's agents have been in touch?
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Grealish expected to sign a new 4yr deal this week and Delph has one on the table which I reckon he'll sign. Vlaar would be the obvious doubt and I imagine there is doubt on both sides. Vlaar as it will be his last major contract in his career, Villa in tying themselves to an excellent but injury prone player. I'd expect Villa to have offered him a shorter 2-3yr deal with a number of clauses related to appearances and Vlaar will likely want more security than that like 4 years with compensation guarantees.
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Grealish signed up to the same agents as Cole and Bale. Enjoy him while we can.
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Heard something on the radio tonight about Villa offering to double Vlaar's wages in an effort to keep him at the club.
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Bye Ron.
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Aston Villa have made a formal new contract offer to Fabian Delph as they try to keep the England midfielder.
Delph, 24, is in the final year of his deal at Villa Park after joining from Leeds in August 2009.
Following a slow start to his time in the Midlands, he is now in demand after his superb form in the last two seasons earned full England recognition.
Villa’s player of the year last term is on good Premier League money in his existing deal from when American owner Randy Lerner was splashing the cash.
But Villa have offered him a new four-year terms after boss Paul Lambert visited Lerner in the USA.
Delph is now considering his options as he knows he would be much sought after on a Bosman transfer next summer.
If he refuses to sign the deal, Villa will face a dilemma in January over whether to cash in on their star.
One player is definitely staying at Villa, for the time being at least. Fellow midfielder Jack Grealish, 19, will sign a new four-year contract with Villa this week.
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Jack Grealish is poised to sign a new £20,000-a-week contract at Aston Villa after joining Stellar Group, the football agency which represents Gareth Bale and Ashley Cole.
Grealish, the highly-rated teenage winger, is expected to conclude talks in the next 48 hours over a four-year deal that will land him a significant pay increase and kill off interest from clubs including Chelsea and Manchester City.
The 19-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising youngsters in the Premier League and had been at the centre of a fierce battle between a number of leading agencies for the past few months.
But Stellar, who are co-owned by Jonathan Barnett, have won the chase to sign him up after reaching an agreement with Grealish’s father Kevin this month.
It is thought that negotiations with Villa have been conducted through Stellar agent David Manasseh. Grealish has only made four appearances as a substitute for Villa this season but has been on the radar of clubs including Chelsea and City for a number of years following his progress at academy level.
Chelsea had identified him as a potential target and were encouraged by his contract situation, with his current £2,000-a-week deal expiring at the end of this season.
However, talks are understood to have progressed rapidly over the last 24 hours and Villa are expected to announce Grealish has committed his future to the club in the next few days.
Paul Lambert, the Villa manager, has frequently insisted Grealish’s career would be best served staying in the West Midlands and the club were always confident of retaining him as his association with the club began when he was only six years old.
Grealish is also considering a decision on his international future, with England and Ireland both keen on taking the Birmingham-born player. He has played for the Ireland under-21s but Gareth Southgate wants him to choose England.
Roy Keane, the Ireland and Villa assistant manager, insisted last week that too much pressure was already being heaped on the youngster’s shoulders.
“He’s done very little in the game yet. People are getting a bit carried away, he’s not started a game in the league for Villa, he’s not scored a goal yet, he’s not got an assist yet,” he said.
“If he wants to come and play for Ireland, we’ll be delighted but we can’t be begging people either. If they want to play for Ireland, fantastic. If not, we’ll have to accept it.”
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Grealish signed up to the same agents as Cole and Bale. Enjoy him while we can.
If he goes on to be something special somewhere else he'll need to be special with us. The job of the club is to not only develop him but develop around him so he won't feel that he has to leave. We've lost so many very good players because we couldn't offer them a future that was anything beyond what they had already achieved. That has to change.
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Whatever happens, It would be special to see 'one of ours' at the top of the game.
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Whatever happens, It would be special to see 'one of ours' at the top of the game.
As long as they're still playing for us. They're no longer one of ours when they move on.
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Grealish signed up to the same agents as Cole and Bale. Enjoy him while we can.
If he goes on to be something special somewhere else he'll need to be special with us. The job of the club is to not only develop him but develop around him so he won't feel that he has to leave. We've lost so many very good players because we couldn't offer them a future that was anything beyond what they had already achieved. That has to change.
Let's hope he signs on for the next four years and does amazingly well for us. Then if and when he leaves it'll be for a lot of money that will benefit the club.
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Aston Villa have made a formal new contract offer to Fabian Delph as they try to keep the England midfielder.
Delph, 24, is in the final year of his deal at Villa Park after joining from Leeds in August 2009.
Following a slow start to his time in the Midlands, he is now in demand after his superb form in the last two seasons earned full England recognition.
Villa’s player of the year last term is on good Premier League money in his existing deal from when American owner Randy Lerner was splashing the cash.
But Villa have offered him a new four-year terms after boss Paul Lambert visited Lerner in the USA.
Delph is now considering his options as he knows he would be much sought after on a Bosman transfer next summer.
If he refuses to sign the deal, Villa will face a dilemma in January over whether to cash in on their star.
One player is definitely staying at Villa, for the time being at least. Fellow midfielder Jack Grealish, 19, will sign a new four-year contract with Villa this week.
I really hope Delph has been offered terms which reflect his status and also that he remembers that the club did give him a contract when he was struggling with injuries.
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Whatever happens, It would be special to see 'one of ours' at the top of the game.
As long as they're still playing for us. They're no longer one of ours when they move on.
disagree with that, but there you go.
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Aston Villa have made a formal new contract offer to Fabian Delph as they try to keep the England midfielder.
Delph, 24, is in the final year of his deal at Villa Park after joining from Leeds in August 2009.
Following a slow start to his time in the Midlands, he is now in demand after his superb form in the last two seasons earned full England recognition.
Villa’s player of the year last term is on good Premier League money in his existing deal from when American owner Randy Lerner was splashing the cash.
But Villa have offered him a new four-year terms after boss Paul Lambert visited Lerner in the USA.
Delph is now considering his options as he knows he would be much sought after on a Bosman transfer next summer.
If he refuses to sign the deal, Villa will face a dilemma in January over whether to cash in on their star.
One player is definitely staying at Villa, for the time being at least. Fellow midfielder Jack Grealish, 19, will sign a new four-year contract with Villa this week.
I really hope Delph has been offered terms which reflect his status and also that he remembers that the club did give him a contract when he was struggling with injuries.
You're of course assuming footballers have any loyalty whatsoever and can think for themselves and not via their agents. It's a lovely thought.
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If he didn't sign I would be disappointed, Would I be surprised? Not at all.
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Looks like Grealish will sign either later today or tomorrow.
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I hope Delph thinks sensibly about this. Obviously if he moves on a free this summer it may open up doors to clubs who might not have wanted to pay a fee for a player like him, but would gamble on a freebie. I don't think a top 4 club would ever come in for him and say here's 10 million. However, much like Sidwell, if he's on a freebie, I could see one of the big boys going in for him just to have him on board. He can offer something to them or alternatively be sold on in a year or two, back down to a club of our level again for a tidy profit.
Delph needs to play week in and week out though. He could probably do marginally better than us in that respect. I think he'd get into Evertons side for example, or perhaps Spurs or Southampton (who appear a level over us right now). He'd be very much in the Rodwell, Sinclair department at a top 4 side though.
I want him to sign. He's one of our best players. But he's at the right level for him, which is a stand out player for a mid-table club. Obviously certain things let him down in his game, like his passing, touch and decision making. That will hold him back from moving onto a top club and excelling, if they come in for him at all. I want him to stay with us and be a fulcrum of our side for the next few years. Rather than disappear for financial reasons.
Plus I hope he gambles on us taking an upturn should a takeover happen in the next year or two (please McGrath make it so).
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Grealish has signed a 4 year deal this afternoon apparently.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bz6jhOeIgAAUIOM.jpg)
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Grealish has signed a 4 year deal this afternoon apparently.
"A dream come true to commit my future to my boyhood club"
Like it
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bz6jhOeIgAAUIOM.jpg)
He's holding that pen a bit wonky
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Just signed, great news Villa & Jack
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Lets hope he doesn't get a case of the Hendrie's now.
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Lets hope he doesn't get a case of the Hendrie's now.
Like
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Lets hope he doesn't get a case of the Hendrie's now.
Yeah i'll be gutted if he makes over 300 first team appearances. *winky*
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It must be me, I'm glad he signed I think, but I'm yet to see what everyone else must be seeing. It's all a bit Gary Gardner at the moment. As it stands we've just made another young man a millionaire.
Oh well good luck to him and let's hope we get a golden season or so from him. And golden to me means not just 10th, but if we must have 10th, then let it be with an FA Cup please.
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Good news. Agree with the general sentiment on here that it's silly money given what he's achieved but it's the way of the world at the moment and I'd prefer for us to sign up our youth prospects than have them walk away for very little. I do have faith in the Villa academy and really hope he turns into the next Sid but more than that I hope we treat him right (not just the money) and ease him into the team slowly and try to keep him away from the many pitfalls that throw a young and impressionable young player off track.
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Excellent stuff. I like this kid. I reckon he'll be undroppable by the end of this season.
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Oh, and...
FUCK OFF CHELSEA.
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It must be me, I'm glad he signed I think, but I'm yet to see what everyone else must be seeing. It's all a bit Gary Gardner at the moment. As it stands we've just made another young man a millionaire.
This.
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If he could get it elsewhere, its not unreasonable money.
He's forced his way into the first team squad and he's got a couple of national teams wanting to tie him down. I'm very pleased with this news.
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Lets hope he doesn't get a case of the Hendrie's now.
Yeah i'll be gutted if he makes over 300 first team appearances. *winky*
And plays for England.
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And gets referred to in autobiographies of his peers as being the best of the bunch when they were kids, yet ended up pissing undoubted talent away for whatever reasons.
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If Grealish does as well as Hendrie I'll be happy.
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Lets hope he doesn't get a case of the Hendrie's now.
Yeah i'll be gutted if he makes over 300 first team appearances. *winky*
And plays for England.
Grealish is gonna play for Oirland, isn't he?
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He'll have wasted God given talent if he only does as well as Hendrie. Much like Lee Hendrie.
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Excellent news, now if Delph signs up that'll be brilliant.
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Well he's certainly worth watching, that's worth a few quid to me.
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If Grealish does as well as Hendrie I'll be happy.
I'd hope he has the talent but I'd hope he does more with it.
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Well thats good news. Better news would be Delph sorting out his contract.
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I am happy with this.
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Good news, he looks decent and wants to be here. I just hope we give the lad time to adjust and not get on his back if he has a few bad games.
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Prediction - Delph will be at Everton or Arsenal in January and Vlaar at ManU.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bz6jhOeIgAAUIOM.jpg)
The smile of a 19 year old who has just had someone promise to give him £1m a year for four years.
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Good news but I wish it was Delph signing a new contract.
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Excellent news, now lets get the other two sorted.
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Jack's got so much composure and ability on the ball. I'd be looking to put him in from the start for the next three games. He could act as a good link-man between midfield and attack and offer some guile. We don't need to carry on with this 9 men behind the ball for 90% of the game nonsense. We've got games we can win if we express ourselves a bit.
Good on him for signing and not allowing his head to be turned by whisperings of interest from the likes of Chelsea. I think he's gonna be a big player for us. He's not too young either. Play him.
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Prediction - Delph will be at Everton or Arsenal in January and Vlaar at ManU.
I think Delph would struggle to get in Arsenal's starting line up. He'd be a squad filler at best there. Though I suspect Arsene prefers more technically adept footballers. Though in actuality a player like Delph would be ideal for them. Just don't think he's the type Arsene likes.
Looking at Evertons line up, he could certainly get into theirs so I'd be worried if they came sniffing round. They've started shitly but they'll improve and be miles ahead of us by the end of the season I suspect.
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Prediction - Delph will be at Everton or Arsenal in January and Vlaar at ManU.
I think Delph would struggle to get in Arsenal's starting line up.
Well everyone seems to think that Wilshere is extremely shit and he starts more often then not for them.
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Good news!
Our brightest prospect wants to stay with us.
(Someone at the ManCi£y game told me this would happen...and that he'd stick with RoI)
Now....Delph and Vlaar...PLEASE!
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I can't see Vlaar staying. We cannot offer the money that he would like for the length of contract he would like, plus I don't see his injury record getting any better.
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Great news.
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Good news!
Our brightest prospect wants to stay with us.
(Someone at the ManCi£y game told me this would happen...and that he'd stick with RoI)
Now....Delph and Vlaar...PLEASE!
If he does stick with RoI he's lost a couple of games because O'Neill wanted him involved earlier.
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I can't see Vlaar staying. We cannot offer the money that he would like for the length of contract he would like, plus I don't see his injury record getting any better.
That could easily be the case. If so, I hope Man U are suitably desperate and offer silly money. Depending on what happens between now and then - form wise - I could easily see them offering Cleverly and some cash, as it would effectively rid them of one problem and solve another.
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Prediction - Delph will be at Everton or Arsenal in January and Vlaar at ManU.
I think Delph would struggle to get in Arsenal's starting line up.
Well everyone seems to think that Wilshere is extremely shit and he starts more often then not for them.
If I was offered a choice between the two I'd pick Delphy. Not that I think Wilshere is shit. He's an okay player he just got overhyped and isn't nearly as good as people hoped when he was 19-20. And he's a pillock too. But he's comfortable with the ball and a tidy passer which makes him prime Arsene fodder.
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Prediction - Delph will be at Everton or Arsenal in January and Vlaar at ManU.
I think Delph would struggle to get in Arsenal's starting line up.
Well everyone seems to think that Wilshere is extremely shit and he starts more often then not for them.
If I was offered a choice between the two I'd pick Delphy. Not that I think Wilshere is shit. He's an okay player he just got overhyped and isn't nearly as good as people hoped when he was 19-20. And he's a pillock too. But he's comfortable with the ball and a tidy passer which makes him prime Arsene fodder.
I can't see the Arse being interested - they have a surfeit of midfielders.
Barcodes, Everton and ManUre might be interested though.
My gut-feel is that we'll keep him but see Vlaar hang out for a contract elsewhere. I'd like to think Lambert has got his eyes on another dependable (and more injury-averse) replacement ...
.... step forward, Nathan Baker.
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If Lambert is in the market for a replacement for Ron if he's looking in the similar market to his ability then we'll be ok. Lambert's pretty good in that market. It's his punts in the lower leagues I'd worry about.
I like Ron but having to rely on him is not good, we certainly miss him in so many ways.
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From 8k to a Reported 80K a month not bad ey.
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Hopefully Okore can now step up and replace Vlaar....
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Good news on Grealish, now we are nearly out of the mad stretch I look forward to seeing him properly blooded against our 'peer' teams
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From 8k to a Reported 80K a month not bad ey.
I wouldn't have been too unhappy about £8k a month to be honest, especially if I were 19 years old at the time.
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It must be me, I'm glad he signed I think, but I'm yet to see what everyone else must be seeing. It's all a bit Gary Gardner at the moment. As it stands we've just made another young man a millionaire.
Oh well good luck to him and let's hope we get a golden season or so from him. And golden to me means not just 10th, but if we must have 10th, then let it be with an FA Cup please.
Christ, you don't want much.
If he wins us the FA Cup single-handedly they'll be naming stands after him.
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From the Mirror
Double Vlaar vision
The Daily Star reports that Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar wants DOUBLE his current contract to remain at Villa Park - or he'll look to move to Old Trafford.
The Dutch defender, 29, is not among the highest earners in the Midlands and his long-term future is up in the air as he's out of contract during the summer.
And if the Villa hierarchy doesn't look to hand their skipper a new double-your-money deal soon, then United will look to move for around £4million in January
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-news-transfers-cut-4439885#ixzz3GCnIuuJz
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook
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I wouldnt offer Vlaar anything like this with his injury record.
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I wouldnt offer Vlaar anything like this with his injury record.
agreed and I would take £4 million for him right now.
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What's he being paid now? I can't open the link. If he's on relatively low wages then double might not be that unrealistic.
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Seeing as we signed him at the height of austerity mode, I'd say £40K tops. Bent, Given and CNZ are reportedly still the highest earners. Parity with them might be fair. But more than that -circa £80k- would be a risk, with his record.
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Seeing as we signed him at the height of austerity mode, I'd say £40K tops. Bent, Given and CNZ are reportedly still the highest earners. Parity with them might be fair. But more than that -circa £80k- would be a risk, with his record.
I'd go with that.
If he was on, say, 20k now, I'd consider doubling that, but if he was on 40k now (which, in fairness, I doubt), there's no way I'd double that - and there's no way we would, either.
I also think the "or he'll move to Old Trafford" line doesn't even stand up to the slightest scrutiny. For a start, if he really had a chance to move to Man United, there's both no way he'd be considering staying with us, and no amount of money we could offer him to make him stay.
His major problem is his injury record. He picks up so many knocks, and they never seem to be the "miss one match" sort.
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If he was on, say, 20k now, I'd consider doubling that, but if he was on 40k now (which, in fairness, I doubt), there's no way I'd double that - and there's no way we would, either.
I also think the "or he'll move to Old Trafford" line doesn't even stand up to the slightest scrutiny. For a start, if he really had a chance to move to Man United, there's both no way he'd be considering staying with us, and no amount of money we could offer him to make him stay.
I agree. Although of course it would be in his agent's interests to talk up the possibility of this happening as a negotiating tactic with us.
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If he was on, say, 20k now, I'd consider doubling that, but if he was on 40k now (which, in fairness, I doubt), there's no way I'd double that - and there's no way we would, either.
I also think the "or he'll move to Old Trafford" line doesn't even stand up to the slightest scrutiny. For a start, if he really had a chance to move to Man United, there's both no way he'd be considering staying with us, and no amount of money we could offer him to make him stay.
I agree. Although of course it would be in his agent's interests to talk up the possibility of this happening as a negotiating tactic with us.
I doubt it. If so it's a very bizarre negotiating tactic from his agent. It'd be like telling ASDA that if they don'y give you more club rewards you're off to shop at Waitrose.
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See I suspect he's on about £20K too, and I wouldn't be against us going to about £35-£40K to keep him. That's not particularly big wages for the captain of the club.
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There's sure to be a nugget of truth at the bottom of this but when its the Mirror quoting the Daily Star as their source, you have to be a little skeptical.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
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See I suspect he's on about £20K too, and I wouldn't be against us going to about £35-£40K to keep him. That's not particularly big wages for the captain of the club.
Not sure we'd have been able to get a Dutch international at the peak of his career for 20K - even with his injury record.
He does miss games, but it's not as if we're talking about an Owen Hargreaves or Joe Cole-style injury record either.
The logical thing to do might be to offer him around parity with our current top earners. He has contributed more to the side than they have, for a start. And then weight the rest in favour of bonuses linked to appearances.
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See I suspect he's on about £20K too, and I wouldn't be against us going to about £35-£40K to keep him. That's not particularly big wages for the captain of the club.
Not sure we'd have been able to get a Dutch international at the peak of his career for 20K - even with his injury record.
He does miss games, but it's not as if we're talking about an Owen Hargreaves or Joe Cole-style injury record either.
The logical thing to do might be to offer him around parity with our current top earners. He has contributed more to the side than they have, for a start. And then weight the rest in favour of bonuses linked to appearances.
I doubt Feyenoord were paying all that much, that's one of the reasons we went to Europe to buy players.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Fair enough, I haven't actually read it for years.
But again, in their story they don't even use the 'insiders claim' or 'sources in the Villa/Vlaar camp' kinda language its just 'reportedly'.
That said, if he's on 25-40K now, him asking for double is both plausible and a pretty fair request given his importance to the team/club captain/what other players are on etc. If he wants 50-60k and a 3 year contract I'd probably give it to him.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Eleventh most accurate out of fifteen major newspapers (http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx). With the Express twelfth out of fifteen.
The Guardian are the most accurate of the English papers by a fair margin.
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Ron was on £15K at Feyenoord, 25-30K with us.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Eleventh most accurate out of fifteen major newspapers (http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx). With the Express twelfth out of fifteen.
The Guardian are the most accurate of the English papers by a fair margin.
I haven't clicked on that but I assume that's the transfer links link? What I'm talking about is different. They have a decent set of football correspondents who seem to have a good knowledge of what's going on. Not just links of who is buying who as that is mostly guesswork by papers to sell just that. Didn't Brian Woolnough (?)the one that died fairly recently) have a column with them for a while? I liked his insight.
As fpr Vlaar didn't he sign for us after having one season back with feyenoord after a lengthy injury lay-off? Also, he wasn't an established international when he joined either, was he? I'd be surprised if he was on a lot. Especially given the brief that Lambert had regarding signings and wages. If it was the O'Neill era he would have been picking up anywhere between £40-£65 000. As it is he's probably on 25-35 now. I doubt it's a double your money contract that he wants and the fact that he hasn't signed for anyone after his WC probably suggest there aren't too many takers.
I doubt Man U want him and I reckon the stalling is because we've offered only a 3yr deal on slightly more money and pointing out that we won't pay a lot more because of his injury record and age. I'd go to 40-45 but no more.
Anyway, it's Delph I'm still holding out for. One by one they've all signed new contracts with the final 2 to go. Now talk is out there regarding Vlaar I guess he's nearest to a decision and so we're hearing more about it than Delph which clearly isn't anywhere near completion.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Eleventh most accurate out of fifteen major newspapers (http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx). With the Express twelfth out of fifteen.
The Guardian are the most accurate of the English papers by a fair margin.
I haven't clicked on that but I assume that's the transfer links link? What I'm talking about is different. They have a decent set of football correspondents who seem to have a good knowledge of what's going on. Not just links of who is buying who as that is mostly guesswork by papers to sell just that. Didn't Brian Woolnough (?)the one that died fairly recently) have a column with them for a while? I liked his insight.
Surely, though, in the context of this thread, it is about who is buying who - hence your reply to dekko's suggestion there'll be no truth in the story?
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Without knowing his base wages then its hard to tell how unreasonable he is being. Still if he is "DEMANDING" then thats good news. I would sooner re-sign him than not.
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Maybe double his money for the weeks that he plays and pay him similar to the current deal for the games he does not?
Some deal like that should protect all parties.
I like the guy. I think he is a good character to have around the place (based on not much) and could easily play till he is 34 or beyond at his current level (i.e. a good player but hampered by injuries). In many ways I think that his injury record was already factored into what we paid.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Eleventh most accurate out of fifteen major newspapers (http://www.footballtransferleague.co.uk/newspaper_statistics.aspx). With the Express twelfth out of fifteen.
The Guardian are the most accurate of the English papers by a fair margin.
I haven't clicked on that but I assume that's the transfer links link? What I'm talking about is different. They have a decent set of football correspondents who seem to have a good knowledge of what's going on. Not just links of who is buying who as that is mostly guesswork by papers to sell just that. Didn't Brian Woolnough (?)the one that died fairly recently) have a column with them for a while? I liked his insight.
Surely, though, in the context of this thread, it is about who is buying who - hence your reply to dekko's suggestion there'll be no truth in the story?
I wasn't making that point though. Certain football reporters have an inside to what is going on not just the random shouting out of names and clubs. My actual point was that just because the Daily Star reported the story shouldn't take away from them having some decent football people working for them.
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My actual point was that just because the Daily Star reported the story shouldn't take away from them having some decent football people working for them.
They may have any number of brilliant journalists working for them, but the facts suggest that when it comes to stories of the type "club X want to buy player Y" (of which this is one), then their record doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. And that most other newspapers report said stories with more accuracy.
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Ron was on £15K at Feyenoord, 25-30K with us.
Whether its £20k, £25k or £30k, doubling his salary for his last big contract sounds about right. When we signed him he was unproven in the Premier League and hadn't looked too good playing for Holland. Since then he's become our captain, is a genuine leader around the club and was one of the best defenders at the World Cup. People will point to his injury track record (which is strengthened with him being out right now) but without seeing the stats, I would guess he's played around 75% of our games since he joined. If we don't pay it, our rivals will. How much would it cost us to replace him? What message would not signing him be sent to other players? If his agent is trying to barter salary negotiations, that can only be a good thing as it shows an intention to stay.
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I don't know, the daily Star's football coverage and reporters are actually pretty good and accurate. Are they still tied in with the Express?
Yes, both still owned by Dirty Desmond I believe. Says all you need to know.
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Ron was on £15K at Feyenoord, 25-30K with us.
Whether its £20k, £25k or £30k, doubling his salary for his last big contract sounds about right. When we signed him he was unproven in the Premier League and hadn't looked too good playing for Holland. Since then he's become our captain, is a genuine leader around the club and was one of the best defenders at the World Cup. People will point to his injury track record (which is strengthened with him being out right now) but without seeing the stats, I would guess he's played around 75% of our games since he joined. If we don't pay it, our rivals will. How much would it cost us to replace him? What message would not signing him be sent to other players? If his agent is trying to barter salary negotiations, that can only be a good thing as it shows an intention to stay.
I want us to keep Vlaar too, but surely there's a pretty big difference between doubling his salary if he's on 20k a week and doing it if he's on 30k a week? It also isn't just about what he's going to be on, it is about what it does for the general salary framework of the club.
I can't be arsed to work out how many games he has missed through injury, but he has appeared in 62 PL games for us, and we've played 85 since he has been here.
That means he has missed 27% of the league games in the time he has been here, so your guess is probably about right.
He has never really been dropped, and has always been "a starter" - at least I don't think so - so it is pretty safe to assume that was down to injuries.
I agree with you, it looks more notable because he's injured at the moment, but that is enough games missed for his injury record to be of some concern, in my opinion.
I totally agree, if you look at the £4m or so we would probably get for him, and the hassle involved in finding a replacement for him, and the question of whether we trust Lambert to do that in January, then all of those things are arguments against selling him.
However, if, say, his agent wanted a four year deal on 60k a week (and that's just a figure picked at random, but one which isn't totally unimaginable) at the age 29, then with the age factor and the injury record, I wouldn't want us to pay that.
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Might as well offer Warnock a new contract now
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Any further news on a new contract for Delph? He will have time on his hands to contemplate the situation with his recovery from surgery.....
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Out till January according to Sky.
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Out till January according to Sky.
Oh shit that is a blow.
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I reckon Delph is gone. We have left it too late to be in a bargaining position. Red Scouse etc. will be sniffing around at this stage.
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Well when you're talking of trying to relieve people of their contracts there's no point in talking about your best player(s) having new contracts because they won't sign them.
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I think we need to resign ourselves to both Vlar & Delph going during January & that could well be a fatal blow.
They will attract better offers then what we can / are prepared to give them. Saying that I'd still be disappointed in Delph, after all the support he had during the first 3 years where he did feck all.
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We'll keep them until the summer. Maybe not Vlaar but Delph definitely.
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Well, that's ok then.
I can imagine Delph is feeling conflicted as he's a good lad. I think the best we can hope for is he signs a long term deal with the assurance that he can go in a year if he wants provided our valuation is met (wouldn't be surprised if there is a similar agreement with Benteke). His star might not be as high in a year to 18 months time though so his agent is probably pushing him into leaving.
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I think we need to resign ourselves to both Vlar & Delph going during January & that could well be a fatal blow.
They will attract better offers then what we can / are prepared to give them. Saying that I'd still be disappointed in Delph, after all the support he had during the first 3 years where he did feck all.
His comments in the summer as well. Said he wanted to sign a new deal. I would be pissed off if he leaves but I'm expecting Delph, Vlaar and Benteke all to go.
Disappointing.
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
Absolutely, I wouldn't sign right know if I were them.
With Vlaar's WC behind him he'll be looking for a bigger Club in the Champions League or Man Utd.
Benteke probably needs a move to kick on by playing with better players that provide better service.
Delph might be the best bet to stay but he'll be easily tempted if a Club with any semblance of ambition comes calling.
Plus Lerner might just want to cash in anyway regardless.
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I see Vlaar has admitted talks have taken place over a new Contract and the situation is ''on-going'' according to the B'ham Mail today.
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
Indeed.
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
Indeed.
Looks like vlaar's agent is pushing for a move too - confirmed southamptons interest
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
Indeed.
Looks like vlaar's agent is pushing for a move too - confirmed southamptons interest
It would be a sad day for Aston Villa if and when we start losing our best players to the mighty Southampton.
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If were them, I would be telling my agent to get me to a club who have the slightest bit of ambition.
Indeed.
Looks like vlaar's agent is pushing for a move too - confirmed southamptons interest
It would be a sad day for Aston Villa if and when we start losing our best players to the mighty Southampton.
Just add it to the fucking list.
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I couldn't blame any of our better players for wanting to leave, we are a shambles run by bufoons with a style of play that would be laughed at in the Highland League.
Sad to say but this club is dying on its arse, its like watching a fatal car crash in slow motion.
Surely someone must be telling Lerner that if we go down, we're the next Leeds, Sheff Wed or Southampton (circa 5 years ago) waiting to happen, crying shame, even worse is that I just find myself not caring where as ten years ago I would have been beside myself with anger.
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I see Vlaar has admitted talks have taken place over a new Contract and the situation is ''on-going'' according to the B'ham Mail today.
In today's news, said agent has stated Villa have never held talks and they're still waiting.
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I see Vlaar has admitted talks have taken place over a new Contract and the situation is ''on-going'' according to the B'ham Mail today.
In today's news, said agent has stated Villa have never held talks and they're still waiting.
That sounds more plausible. I'd imagine similar is true of Delph.