Summer 2010 Transfer Thread: B*llsh*t, Rumours & Wishes

[pauliewalnuts]

I dont give a toss if he never buys an overseas player again as long as they're good players.

Trouble with that Maz is that all the good ones are spoken for or will be paid massively over the odds to go to the oil barons.

I don't buy that at all. There are plenty of footballers both at home and abroad who are attainable and can improve us - there must be, unless you assume we currently have the best selection of players we can ever have.

I don't care if we buy players from the home market or from abroad, so long as we get the best players we can and the best value for money.

That doesn't mean a team full of UK based players, and it also doesn't mean a team of players bought in from abroad. It will ivariably be a mixture of the two.

Dogmatically sticking to just the one source for your players - home or abroad - makes no sense at all - and you could make the same assertion about Arsenal, for example, who, for sll their foreign flair, could do with a bit of British grit (if you'll excuse the cliches in that sentence.

[Somniloquism]

Strangely (or not) it mirrors his celtic dealings. 2 were signed from non-uk clubs as far as i can make out. Exactly the same as here.

Which one out of Carew, Guzan or Salifou aren't you counting?

[Matt C]

Alexander Hleb, Micah Richards & a striker please.

[*shellac*]

38 Stupid Referees.

Cup ties' one are optional.

[Lee]

Robbie Muchtravelled Keane would be a good start for me. The guy would offer us something different than what we have.

We've not had someone who can point his finger and shake his head quite so well since Mark Kinsella.

I'm not sure what else he'd bring though.

He's a finisher that's better than the players that we already have. He works well with a big striker and offers us something different. Don't think that he would be the complete answer, but he would be a start.

[Somniloquism]

Robbie Muchtravelled Keane would be a good start for me. The guy would offer us something different than what we have.

We've not had someone who can point his finger and shake his head quite so well since Mark Kinsella.

I'm not sure what else he'd bring though.

He's a finisher that's better than the players that we already have. He works well with a big striker and offers us something different. Don't think that he would be the complete answer, but he would be a start.

The trouble is he is a player that you build a team around to get the best out of him. I believe that is part of the reason he failed so miserably at Scouse. Should we be looking to do that on a 30-31 yo?

[Concrete John]

Keane is the only domestic striker I can think of that would improve us and we could realistically get.  But the age thing does concern me!

[SteveN]

Keane is the only domestic striker I can think of that would improve us and we could realistically get.  But the age thing does concern me!

Not for me thank you, and certainly not at the price Spurs would want for him and his salary demands.

I think we need a player of his ilk, but not him. At the moment I'm struggling to think of a suitable candidate.

[Bosco81]

If we are going for the Villa tradition of signing players who have played well against us, I'd go for Ollic of Bayern Munich, looks the sort of player who would do well in English football.

[jonzy85]

Olic would be a good shout, would he come to Villa though?

Also needed is, of course, a someone special in midfield...was talking to a Man U fan about this in work today and he said so do we, not too many about though...which is the problem.

[Monty]

If we could keep him fit, a player who would improve us no end IMO is Alberto Aquilani. He may need a fresh start after this year's debacle at Liverpool, who we could well finish above and be more stable than anyway, and MON could well know how to get the best out of him on a man-management basis (he's an intelligent lad who's English is very good, so there'd be no more communication difficulties than anyone else has with MON). He's a creative, one-and-two-touch player who can play a deeper role or more of a point-of-the-diamond role (both 'regista' and 'trequartista'), something we definitely need. At his best, he can control the pattern of games from the midfield, and is technically excellent. He's also surprisingly hard working (Roma fans used to call him and De Rossi "i Motori" - 'the engines').

The main problem is, as I say, the injuries, because, circumstances permitting, he's eminently gettable in my opinion. He's one the top clubs won't necessarily be after on account of this problem, but it's one of the best rules of how to work the transfer market, and one that MON has inherited from Clough - sign a player with problems and solve those problems.

[Greg N'Ash]

Think i'd lose the will to live if we bought Keane. Past it, let him rot in spurts reserves

[PeterWithe]

it's one of the best rules of how to work the transfer market, and one that MON has inherited from Clough - sign a player with problems and solve those problems.

Clough also said that you should always sign players for whom your club is a step up in terms of stature. I think MON has pretty much adhered to this so far but the problem is the players we will need now will already be playing for CL clubs and wont want to let that go.

[Monty]

it's one of the best rules of how to work the transfer market, and one that MON has inherited from Clough - sign a player with problems and solve those problems.

Clough also said that you should always sign players for whom your club is a step up in terms of stature. I think MON has pretty much adhered to this so far but the problem is the players we will need now will already be playing for CL clubs and wont want to let that go.

Which is why I use the example of Aquilani as someone who might be at a club above us in stature, but possibly below us in the league.

You're right though, even Man City have that problem. Here's another rule for you, though: the best time to buy a player is between the ages of 20-22. MON has also stuck to that one with the likes of Young and Milner, another one of whom would be a very welcome find. I refuse to believe that there aren't players out there of sufficient quality who'll come to us.

[KevinGage]

He's a creative, one-and-two-touch player who can play a deeper role or more of a point-of-the-diamond role (both 'regista' and 'trequartista'), something we definitely need.

That's what I was shouting at the f1ckle sugarbags who were leaving early on Saturday "I bet you wouldn't be doing that if we had a regista and trequartista, you soft cants,"  as I waved my fists menacingly.

OK, that's not strictly true. It was more of a stare.