Summer transfer rumours, speculation and out-and-out b*ll*cks.

[Dave]

I think the Bradley "loan" is the same as the way we loaned Curtis Davies from Boggies.

It's not - we've got the option to sign him if we want.

[eastie]

I'd hope Bradley might get at least a couple of games to impress before the season ends, I was pleased with his arrival but he doesn't seem to have progressed as much as I'd hoped, would be nice to see Gardner get a game too before the season ends.

[Concrete John]

Warnock being linked with £2m move to Bolton, Stoke and Liverpool.

I'd be expecting more than £2m for him.  Signed for £7.5m(?) and then got into the England squad whilst a regular for a top 6 team does not equal £2m after only 1 season out of the limelight, IMO.

[garyshawsknee]

Warnock being linked with £2m move to Bolton, Stoke and Liverpool.

Would Bolton be dumb enough to do a swap for Cahill,including Warnock,Dunne and Ireland?......no,didn't think so.

[eastie]

I'd be more than happy to take the £2m and get rid of him- sometimes you have to cut your losses and this is one of those cases.

[Concrete John]

I'd be more than happy to take the £2m and get rid of him- sometimes you have to cut your losses and this is one of those cases.

Agree we'll take a loss and am OK with that, but I think he should still fetch around the £4m mark.

[Mazrim]

Warnock being linked with £2m move to Bolton, Stoke and Liverpool.

Would Bolton be dumb enough to do a swap for Cahill,including Warnock,Dunne and Ireland?......no,didn't think so.

Bolton probably would go for that I'd imagine.
But I'm not that fussed with Cahill. Clark will be better than him if he isnt already. We need somebody better to lead the line in the meantime.

As for Warnock. He's made such a bell end of himself that he'll be hard to shift.

[garyshawsknee]

Warnock being linked with £2m move to Bolton, Stoke and Liverpool.

Would Bolton be dumb enough to do a swap for Cahill,including Warnock,Dunne and Ireland?......no,didn't think so.

As for Warnock. He's made such a bell end of himself that he'll be hard to shift.

There's always some mug who'd be willing to buy him,just look at us and Ireland!

[Irish villain]

The parallels with 94/95 are clear. An underperforming squad that has served us well in previous seasons is in need of major surgery.

As in the summer of 1995 we all expect the deadwood to leave and lots of exciting new players to arrive.

It's always sad to see an era come to an end and I think we can all say it's been one with more highs than lows. Players like Carew, NRC, Friedal, Petrov have been with us through our best few seasons since the mid 1990s and we'll all have happy memories of the past few years. Who knows what might have been achieved if we could have got an extra season and a half out of Martin Laursen....

But we do need change and I'm excited about the new look villa that's already emerging (Bent, Albrighton, Clark etc). Three or four good signings in the summer and we should be back in the top 6 this time next year.

For me the priority needs to be our defence and in particular a new goalkeeper, new centre back and a new left back. I'm not sure I like Walker as a right back so maybe Luke Young should slot back in there next season. I'm not that keen on either Collins and Dunne anymore but I still like Cueller. If we could find Cueller a partner with  pace and leadership qualities at centre back I think that would improve our defence. Clark would be my back up. We'd then need a left back unless of course Walker signed up in which case Luke could do the job.

In midfield we need to keep Downing. He has been class this season. We all hope Ashley stays, we'll have to wait and see. We have a lot of central midfielders so I expect a couple to leave. I think Makoun will need a really tough and athletic player alongside him. I'm not sure Petrov fits the bill (even though I hope he stays) so the chequebook will need to come out again. Our youngsters will surely provide cover so we won't need any squad players to come in.

Up front we are well covered with Bent and Gabby. We can play 4-4-2 or variations of 4-5-1 with Gabby on the bench as an impact sub. I hope the Fonz makes a bigger impact this year. Maybe we will need a squad player to replace Carew?

All in all, a new keeper, at least one new centre back, a new full back, a new central midfielder and possibly a striker look like the priorities (that's if we hold Downing and Young). A minimum of four first team arrivals will be needed to really improve the team. A lot of dross will need to be shipped out (Dunne, Warnock, Ireland etc) and a new look villa will emerge.

[The Man With A Stick]

The parallels with 94/95 are clear. An underperforming squad that has served us well in previous seasons is in need of major surgery.

As in the summer of 1995 we all expect the deadwood to leave and lots of exciting new players to arrive.

That's a very good point, I hope we're in for another season like 95/96.

[Irish villain]

The parallels with 94/95 are clear. An underperforming squad that has served us well in previous seasons is in need of major surgery.

As in the summer of 1995 we all expect the deadwood to leave and lots of exciting new players to arrive.

That's a very good point, I hope we're in for another season like 95/96.

Me too, that remains my favourite season.

[JUAN PABLO]

Tevez will sign for Inter Milan ( rumours flying round ) .   Shame , I could see Bent and Tevez being a great partnership  ;-) 

[gervilla]

The parallels with 94/95 are clear. An underperforming squad that has served us well in previous seasons is in need of major surgery.

As in the summer of 1995 we all expect the deadwood to leave and lots of exciting new players to arrive.

That's a very good point, I hope we're in for another season like 95/96.

Me too, that remains my favourite season.

I think I'd prefer one like 1980-81

[cdbearsfan]

Fuck that. I'm not settling for anything less than a repeat of the 1896/7 season.

[Irish villain]

Some of us aren't old enough to remember 1980/81 or 1896/97 but , if we can't repeat that kind of success next year, 1995/96 wouldn't be a bad consolation prize!