should we really be spending £24million on one player??

[Gazza1982]

Yes its a shit load of money, probably paid over the odds BUT, like many on here,its about time we had a proven goalscorer and even 20 goals a season will help. I think the signing is brave , ballsy,and fair play to Randy, he could see what we needed and dug deep.
Look at all the deadwood MON bought in that we can barely give away now, or get a third of what we paid for them. Can't wait to see him in action....COME ON !!!!!

[Merv]

Over inflated or not, worth every penny in my book if it keeps us up.

Agree; £24m is half what we'd lose if we dropped out of the league.

Also, the fee is being paid in installments, as most large deals are, I believe. So we'll be able to budget accordingly over the course of the payments, it's a certain £m now (financed by outgoing transfers), then it might be £5m (for example) spent in the summer, taken from the summer transfer budget, and so on. GH will have £5m less to spend in the summer because of it, but it's worth it to get this quality of player in now - when we need him most.

[jonzy85]

Im sure this stat has been bandied about all over the shop but in the last 5 years in the PL:

82 goals - Drogba, Rooney
81 goals - Bent

I think that says it all. Throw in the fact he played for Charlton, Sunderland (rarely give teams a hiding) and sat on Spurs bench for a lot of this time shows he is a goal machine.

Perhaps it's a year too late. If we had his goals last year we would have finished 4th comfortably enough.

[KevinGage]

£24m - all seems a bit desperate to me. May end in tears - still relegated and no money left.

Here's a scenario, you're stuck in a room with Black Country Villa.  There is one gun, one bullet. What do you do?

[Pat McMahon]

S

£24m - all seems a bit desperate to me. May end in tears - still relegated and no money left.

Here's a scenario, you're stuck in a room with Black Country Villa.  There is one gun, one bullet. What do you do?

Shoot the lock on the door and peg it...?

[Chris Smith]

We are in need of a striker. What should the club do?

(a) Back the manager with sufficient funds to get a man with a proven scoring record.

(b) Not do (a).

Seems to me if the player is available, wants to come to us and we can afford it we'd be stupid not to do it.

[Brend'Watkins]

£24m - all seems a bit desperate to me. May end in tears - still relegated and no money left.

Here's a scenario, you're stuck in a room with Black Country Villa.  There is one gun, one bullet. What do you do?

Phone up pmk1981 for a game of Russian Roulette?

[Stu]

Does anyone else think that we should be buying one player for this kind of money?
Surely we would  be better off if we were to bring in 3 or 4 players ........ if the "star player" get injured....there is no back up..... buying    sensibly is definitely the way forward.
Bent is good but is that overinflated price really worth it..... I doubt it.
Does anyone else agree..........thoughts please

No doubt this will be a story in one of the tabloids within the next day or so: 'Villa fans upset at mega-bucks Bent deal'.

[alanclare]

Does anyone else think that we should be buying one player for this kind of money?

Only if you're sure that this is the player is going to make all the difference to your team, bearing in mind the squad with which he's going to have to work. Darren Bent is not that player.

[WikiVilla]

Does anyone else think that we should be buying one player for this kind of money?

Only if you're sure that this is the player is going to make all the difference to your team, bearing in mind the squad with which he's going to have to work. Darren Bent is not that player.

Please tell me you're just on a wind up mission

[KevinGage]

We've needed a forward for God knows how long.

We look like we've secured the signing of an England international, a bloke with the third highest goalscoring record in the topflight over the past five years, and at 26 still has his best years ahead of him.

If not Bent, then who?

[Concrete John]

If not Bent, then who?

Still say we should have gone for Jermaine Beckford.....

[KevinGage]

John M's at it again, I see.   

I miss Coopers Head Injury. In a way.

[Mark H]

Yes absolutley right to spend this on one player rather than 2-3 middle of the road players - we have a squad full of them , this is the signing that puts bums on seats smiles on faces and gives all the players a lift

[dave.woodhall]

£24m - all seems a bit desperate to me. May end in tears - still relegated and no money left.

Here's a scenario, you're stuck in a room with Black Country Villa.  There is one gun, one bullet. What do you do?

Assuming you mean levico and Black Country Villa.

Myself, I think.