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

[Toronto Villa]

Pay up or fuck off is the simple answer, and say what you want about Randy/Faulkner they haven't let us down at all when selling our better players.

Crikey. That's the faintest of praise, is it not?

They keep selling our best players, but hey, they get top dollar. Wiganesque.

Why grade the praise? The players in question wanted to leave and we got good money for them as opposed to bending over and taking it to go along with the news that the players wanted to go. I'm not happy about those players leaving, but in three years, if Man City with a bottomless pit of cash come calling for 2 of the 4 players, then there isn't much any team can do. It's no more Wiganesque as it's Villaesque, Barcelonaesque, Wolfsburgesque and Arsenalesque because all of those teams have lost very good players to Man City.

I have no idea why Downing would you want to go to a team outside the CL? What if they don't make it into the top 4 next season? They're not even in Europe this season. He sees them making that jump before us and I get it, but there is no guarantee at all they'll be any closer to getting in despite their extravagance this summer.

yeah but lets be fair if you had to bet on us or liverpool you wouldn't be putting any money on us unless you're delusional.

of the two, I agree. But then again, it's not just Liverpool vs us for 4th is it? Don't get caught up in some of the "Liverpool are back" and "King Kenny" bollocks. Let's see them play up to CL standard for a full season with the pressure on, as opposed to playing for nothing really at the back end of a season.

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

I know we have heard nothing from Downing. But if all reports are true, would love to know why he is so desperate to leave.

1/ He has been tapped up ?

2/ He has seen the appointment of Houlliers replacement. And thought. No
    ambition ?

3/ Straight wages increase ?

That is the really strange thing. I have a hunch that a lot of this stuff emanates from Liverpool or Liverpool-friendly journalists and is an attempt to unsettle our player and make us turn on one of our own.

But surely Downing or the club would come out and say something, after this constant reporting of him wanting to leave. Even to the extreme of "Downing to hand in transfer" ??

[Redman]

Hands up, who's in the mood for bindippers coming here and telling us what our players are worth and what their piss taking club will or will not pay?
Oh yes, delightful.

As always, if I'm not welcome, I'll leave.

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

Hands up, who's in the mood for bindippers coming here and telling us what our players are worth and what their piss taking club will or will not pay?
Oh yes, delightful.

As always, if I'm not welcome, I'll leave.

Your opinions have generally been fair and honest. No complaints from me ..........

[TheSandman]

One thing I would say is that there seems to be an opening for the top four. Arsenal are going to struggle a bit after losing two of their top players in Nasri and Fabregas who seem certain to go.

I just can't think who will replace them. Both us and Spurs seem to be in a similar situation to Arsenal of looking like losing our best players and Liverpool seem to be buying a number of players who are not quite top class.

I reckon it is going to be a poorer division next season with at best a top three miles ahead of the others. Maybe even a top two if the Villas-Boas experiment doesn't work (You can see that happening especially with some of their aging players and if Torres keeps failing to fire).

What this has to do with transfers I don't know.

[pauliewalnuts]

Pay up or fuck off is the simple answer, and say what you want about Randy/Faulkner they haven't let us down at all when selling our better players.

Crikey. That's the faintest of praise, is it not?

They keep selling our best players, but hey, they get top dollar. Wiganesque.

Why grade the praise? The players in question wanted to leave and we got good money for them as opposed to bending over and taking it to go along with the news that the players wanted to go. I'm not happy about those players leaving, but in three years, if Man City with a bottomless pit of cash come calling for 2 of the 4 players, then there isn't much any team can do. It's no more Wiganesque as it's Villaesque, Barcelonaesque, Wolfsburgesque and Arsenalesque because all of those teams have lost very good players to Man City.

I have no idea why Downing would you want to go to a team outside the CL? What if they don't make it into the top 4 next season? They're not even in Europe this season. He sees them making that jump before us and I get it, but there is no guarantee at all they'll be any closer to getting in despite their extravagance this summer.

yeah but lets be fair if you had to bet on us or liverpool you wouldn't be putting any money on us unless you're delusional.

of the two, I agree. But then again, it's not just Liverpool vs us for 4th is it? Don't get caught up in some of the "Liverpool are back" and "King Kenny" bollocks. Let's see them play up to CL standard for a full season with the pressure on, as opposed to playing for nothing really at the back end of a season.

It's not us versus anyone for the champions league. That's the salient point.

It's all very well listing players who left other clubs but the fact is, it is hard to make yourself out as anything but a selling club, an also-ran, if you sell four of your best players in three years. I don't recall any of the clubs you mention doing that.

As for grading praise, come on, how do you expect people to react to "say what you like about Randy and Paul, but they never let us own when it comes to selling our best players"?

I wouldn't have thought that five years in we'd be saluting our chairman for being like Dave Whelan.

[KevinGage]

Hands up, who's in the mood for bindippers coming here and telling us what our players are worth and what their piss taking club will or will not pay?
Oh yes, delightful.

It's the curious logic of it all that I find most enjoyable.
 
Overpaid. But 'on their terms.'  Confused, much?

Downing is not the equivalent of Henderson and Carroll which is why Liverpool won't overpay.

I agree with the first part, which is why the second part makes no sense.  Absolutely 100% spot on that Downing isn't the equivalent of Henderson or Carroll.  He's infinitely better - to date. As far as potential/ resale value goes too, It's not as if he's on his last legs either, with no room for improvement. He's 26.

[Greg N'Ash]

Again, get rid. what's the point keeping him for another year and losing him next summer for 15m? We can no longer keep english internationals for any length of time as we don't match their goals.

If this goes through (and I'd say it's about 60/40 - unless the bindippers play poor mouth again) we need to re-evaluate our future buying strategy.

MON shouldn't be blamed at all for targeting young English players who then go on to become regular internationals. In any era, if you can point to a number of your players who are featuring at that level, chances are you're in pretty good shape.

But as we've seen, English players are at a premium and if we don't make the transition to CL ourselves, this shite will just go on and on. If our better players are foreign, there is still a decent chance that they'll leave if we're not progressing. But they won't be as attractive to the sides directly above us -the knock on effect being that we might have a better chance to keep a team together for a while and develop some cohesion. Rather than facing this scenario every bastard summer.

I think this is the future strategy sadly. AM for all his faults and positives is never going to attract big name players, or keep ones we develop. All the public utterances this summer have been "money's tight" or "looking to the youth players", as well as daft statements from faulkner about following various foreign club's strategy's (basically developing players and flogging them for a profit). The trouble is the clubs he mentioned are big clubs in small ponds while we are a small fish is a big pond.

[Karl Bridges]

I think the point that was being made was that Doug would have taken the first offer on the table, at least this lot don't roll over and take whatever is on offer.

[Redman]

Pay up or fuck off is the simple answer, and say what you want about Randy/Faulkner they haven't let us down at all when selling our better players.

Crikey. That's the faintest of praise, is it not?

They keep selling our best players, but hey, they get top dollar. Wiganesque.

Why grade the praise? The players in question wanted to leave and we got good money for them as opposed to bending over and taking it to go along with the news that the players wanted to go. I'm not happy about those players leaving, but in three years, if Man City with a bottomless pit of cash come calling for 2 of the 4 players, then there isn't much any team can do. It's no more Wiganesque as it's Villaesque, Barcelonaesque, Wolfsburgesque and Arsenalesque because all of those teams have lost very good players to Man City.

I have no idea why Downing would you want to go to a team outside the CL? What if they don't make it into the top 4 next season? They're not even in Europe this season. He sees them making that jump before us and I get it, but there is no guarantee at all they'll be any closer to getting in despite their extravagance this summer.

yeah but lets be fair if you had to bet on us or liverpool you wouldn't be putting any money on us unless you're delusional.

of the two, I agree. But then again, it's not just Liverpool vs us for 4th is it? Don't get caught up in some of the "Liverpool are back" and "King Kenny" bollocks. Let's see them play up to CL standard for a full season with the pressure on, as opposed to playing for nothing really at the back end of a season.

I can't say you would be wrong to believe Liverpool's improvement at the end of last season was anything more than the Dalglish honeymoon. But equally, you can't say anybody else would be wrong to see Liverpool as an ambitious and exciting new project under new leadership.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think the point that was being made was that Doug would have taken the first offer on the table, at least this lot don't roll over and take whatever is on offer.

They still take the money, though. That's the problem.

[Toronto Villa]

That's not even close to what I'm doing or saying paulie. We've lost 4 good players in 3 years. It's shit, but if it's going to happen despite having a very good manager like MON in place and a very supportive board, then I want that board to get the best deal possible. I'm sorry that you think or are suggesting it somehow defeatist, but last I checked all of the top clubs have lost very good players.

You seem to make out that it's some kind of Villa disease that we lose good players. Arsenal are about to lose 3 or 4 of their best players in one summer. Is that any different to us? They've won fuck all more than us in the past 5 years unless you're about to consider CL qualification as some sort of trophy. Man U lost Ronaldo and got top money, Spurs got great money for players they lost. That's all I'm pointing out, that at least our board when faced with our best players wanting to leave have at least held their ground in those negotiations. We're no more a selling club than almost every other club in Europe. You're starting to sound like the back page of The Sun. Our problem isn't selling, it's what we do next. That's where we've failed.

[Karl Bridges]

I think the point that was being made was that Doug would have taken the first offer on the table, at least this lot don't roll over and take whatever is on offer.

They still take the money, though. That's the problem.

As has been pointed out before, for players that want out.

[KevinGage]

One thing I would say is that there seems to be an opening for the top four. Arsenal are going to struggle a bit after losing two of their top players in Nasri and Fabregas who seem certain to go.

I just can't think who will replace them. Both us and Spurs seem to be in a similar situation to Arsenal of looking like losing our best players and Liverpool seem to be buying a number of players who are not quite top class.

I reckon it is going to be a poorer division next season with at best a top three miles ahead of the others. Maybe even a top two if the Villas-Boas experiment doesn't work (You can see that happening especially with some of their aging players and if Torres keeps failing to fire).

What this has to do with transfers I don't know.

I agree Sandie.

Which makes the McLeish appointment all the more baffling. A decent appointment - even if there were financial challenges to be met- could have galvanised the club and put us back in amongst it. Say it had been Hughes or even Fat Benny and they were only allowed to bring 2/3 players in, combined with the squad they'd have have inherited it might well have been enough.

But that's by the by. Big Eck might surprise us all yet.

[hilts_coolerking]

... say what you want about Randy/Faulkner they haven't let us down at all when selling our better players.

This was intended as irony, surely?