January Transfer Window - Rumours, Links, B*llsh*t and Made-Up Nonsense

[Concrete John]

If we WERE paying the going rate, then surely there would have been a reasonable re-sale value?

Well, we do have to remember that the global economy has taken a hit, so that has a large bearing on re-sale of assets bought at a time before. 

A prime example of this was Harewood, who surved a purpose for his first year, but then it was clear he needed to move on, yet didn't.  Had the market been as buoyant as it was when he signed, we would have got a million or two back and saved a couple of years of his wages, making him a reasonably low cost and short term signing, similar to Zat Knight.

I do think it's true that we paid these players too high a wage, as that would be a bigger block to an outgoing transfer than the fee we'd be looking for.  But again was the (I think) £30,000 Marlon got paid totally out of line with a reserve striker at a top half club?  Not at the time, IMO.

Sidwell is another example as he got £50,000 as a free transfer to Chelsea, so we needed to match that to get him.  At the time it looked like Barry was off to Liverpool, so he would then have been a regular for us and his wages would not have looked as daft as they do now.  Yes, I know he wasn't good enough, but he was hardly signed with that knowledge at the time.  And then when we probably wanted to offload him, that became an impediment as the clubs he was likely to go to were starting to feel the pinch.  Had he been playing regularly, or the market made maintained it's level, those wages would have been much more likely to be paid by someone.   

   

[JUAN PABLO]

Although there’s more chance of me having a threesome with Rachel Stevens and Keeley Hazell than Villa getting Benzema .

well Ive never giving up on that threesome ...  so you never know

[Concrete John]

what signings during the MON era have come close to either maintaining or increasing their market value? I'm struggling to think of any. Downing, perhaps.

Although not a signing, I'd say the progress Gabby has made has vastly increased his transfer value.

I'd also add Collins to it and say that Delph, once back from injury fully, will more than pay for himself.

Plus, lets not forget some have been good for us and it's more age than lack of ability that will see us take a loss, such as Petrov and Carew.

[JUAN PABLO]

Aston Villa are eyeing a shock move for Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose but may have to challenge Real Madrid for the Germany star.

Villa manager Gerard Houllier wants to add a proven goalscorer to his struggling side in the January transfer window and Klose looks to be on his way out of Germany after dropping down the pecking order at Bayern this season.

The 32-year-old was linked with Real Madrid earlier this week and his agent Alexander Schuett revealed there was "a certain amount of interest" from the Spanish giants. Klose is available for a minimal fee as he has just six months left on his contract at the Allianz Arena.

Villa are desperate for a recognised finisher and have been linked with a bid for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and a loan move for Real Madrid misfit Karim Benzema.

[Concrete John]

Where's that piece from, Juan?  A reliable source?

[WarszaVillan]

what signings during the MON era have come close to either maintaining or increasing their market value? I'm struggling to think of any. Downing, perhaps.

Although not a signing, I'd say the progress Gabby has made has vastly increased his transfer value.

I'd also add Collins to it and say that Delph, once back from injury fully, will more than pay for himself.

Plus, lets not forget some have been good for us and it's more age than lack of ability that will see us take a loss, such as Petrov and Carew.

Milner. In fact if you add Barry to the mix, who MON helped turn into an international centre-midfielder from being a fringe wide player, then he brought a lot of money into the club.

[Bosco81]

As much as I liked MON, whenever you mention the signing of Marlon Harewood, the only response can be WTF, and it's very hard to justify it.

At a time when Randy's cheque book was relatively new, why we went out and bought this guy I'll never know, and then to compound it all by buying Emile 18 months later is something I'll never quite understand.

Both as honest as the day is long but not what we needed when we were trying to get into the top 4.

[garyshawsknee]

As much as I liked MON, whenever you mention the signing of Marlon Harewood, the only response can be WTF, and it's very hard to justify it.

At a time when Randy's cheque book was relatively new, why we went out and bought this guy I'll never know, and then to compound it all by buying Emile 18 months later is something I'll never quite understand.

Both as honest as the day is long but not what we needed when we were trying to get into the top 4.

And the fact that we just beat Wigan to his signature said it all.

[WikiVilla]

SSN Now, Harry giving update on Becks

[Rip Van We Go Again]

SSN Now, Harry giving update on Becks

Ohh, faulty hair dryer?

[pablopicasso_10]

SSN Now, Harry giving update on Becks

i got so excited about that, i dropped the remote trying to turn over from the cricket!

[Concrete John]

And the fact that we just beat Wigan to his signature said it all.

In fairness, we had just finished 11th and them 17th, so we weren't far away from being in the same market in terms of who we could attract.

[Merv]

There will be loads of players bought for big fees 3-4 years ago that many clubs will never get money back on. Same for wages, I think we'll see a gradual down-scaling all round over the next few years.

As well as Downing and Ashley Young, I think Collins has held his value, maybe slightly increased given his age and raise on profile since being at Villa. Dunne also would still fetch a decent fee, even though he's past 30 he's done himself a lot of good since being at Villa. Cuellar would still fetch around £5m and I still think Warnock has retained most of his value. He's under 30.

It's not that easy to make decent money on players you sign, unless you get them for bargains. Spurs have done that pretty well in some cases, but then again, how much of a hit will they take on the likes of Bentley, signed for £15m?

Our clutch of kids could prove profitable - either by becoming established first team stars or by selling those who don't quite hit the standard.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Klose would be a fantastic signing and should solve the striker problem. Although I think the board may now be wary of signing players over 30, this is the kind of player that would be good for the club on a relatively short term deal while we look for a younger long term prospect or bring Delfouneso and Wiemann through.

[Blackcountry Villa]

Not a chance of Benzema and Klose, they're good.