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

[Greg N'Ash]

Dunne was shit most of the time at Citeh - thats why they got rid.. He's also not getting any younger or slimmer probably. Collins is erratic at best. Warnock was bobbins before GH arrived so blaiming his form on GH is wishful thinking to say the least. Petrov struggles to last 90 minutes anymore. I really think we'll struggle to stay up with injuries and lets face it we don't need last years injury list to be down to the bare bones - we already are. The only upside is the youth players as i think some of them could step up this season but really again thats just hope.

dunne was player of the year in 2 of his last 3  seasons there and was loved by fans, hardly shit greg!
would you spend an extra £30m in the hope of getting to 6th and an extra £3m in prize money thereby losing £27m?

i wish we had an owner splashing millions but randys dream appears over and realism has set in.

one wide man coming in is ok as i doubt we will use 2 wingers in any case, and makoun on signing did say he is very effective as a defensive midfielder and can play either midfield role,

Look i was quite prepared for us to rationalise the squad, even in favour of it. But 14 players out (and 5 of them regulars) and only 2 in, isn't rationalisation its asset stripping.

[pedro25]

Reports in recent days seem to indicate we have accepted bids for Heskey and Cuellar, but all has gone quiet since.  Surely if we can shift these 2 and Beye we could get at least 3 permanent outfield signings and a decent young loanee?

[Mister E]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Apparently, he's quite keen to come anyway.

martinez didnt fancy it ,nzogbia may well be better seeing out his deal and having his pick of clubs on a free-i still fear his wage demands could scupper a move here too.

But it's been said several times above, Wigan cannot afford for him to run his contract down!

wigan cannot force him to leave either,he hasnt asked to leave and in a year would have many better options as a free and probably would make more money.

Wigan can force him to leave, by selling him to a club that will give him greater earning potential now. That's us at the moment.
The fact that the market ain't exactly queuing up to buy him now would suggest to his agent that a deal cut now is better than gambling on another 12 months in a shit team.

[eastie]

I took his comments to mean we will have one MAJOR signing such Nzogbia, then one or two at a couple of million. Im guessing he's got £12-13 million to spend plus whatever else he can generate through sales, which is why we dont want to pay more than the £9 million.

It will still leave us lightweight though.

agreed,

[Mister E]

Dunne was shit most of the time at Citeh - thats why they got rid.. He's also not getting any younger or slimmer probably. Collins is erratic at best. Warnock was bobbins before GH arrived so blaiming his form on GH is wishful thinking to say the least. Petrov struggles to last 90 minutes anymore. I really think we'll struggle to stay up with injuries and lets face it we don't need last years injury list to be down to the bare bones - we already are. The only upside is the youth players as i think some of them could step up this season but really again thats just hope.

dunne was player of the year in 2 of his last 3  seasons there and was loved by fans, hardly shit greg!
would you spend an extra £30m in the hope of getting to 6th and an extra £3m in prize money thereby losing £27m?

i wish we had an owner splashing millions but randys dream appears over and realism has set in.

one wide man coming in is ok as i doubt we will use 2 wingers in any case, and makoun on signing did say he is very effective as a defensive midfielder and can play either midfield role,

Look i was quite prepared for us to rationalise the squad, even in favour of it. But 14 players out (and 5 of them regulars) and only 2 in, isn't rationalisation its asset stripping.

3 regulars have gone - AY, SD and Friedel. NRC was not first-pick and certainly divided opinion on this site, to say the least. CC hasn't yet gone.
You're right: it's tough and we need to re-stock the squad. With 6 weeks of the Window left, I fully expect the first-team squad to be at 25, with a mix of youth and experience.
What's the big deal?!

*tongue slightly in cheek at the last comment*

[pedro25]

Dunne was shit most of the time at Citeh - thats why they got rid.. He's also not getting any younger or slimmer probably. Collins is erratic at best. Warnock was bobbins before GH arrived so blaiming his form on GH is wishful thinking to say the least. Petrov struggles to last 90 minutes anymore. I really think we'll struggle to stay up with injuries and lets face it we don't need last years injury list to be down to the bare bones - we already are. The only upside is the youth players as i think some of them could step up this season but really again thats just hope.

dunne was player of the year in 2 of his last 3  seasons there and was loved by fans, hardly shit greg!
would you spend an extra £30m in the hope of getting to 6th and an extra £3m in prize money thereby losing £27m?

i wish we had an owner splashing millions but randys dream appears over and realism has set in.

one wide man coming in is ok as i doubt we will use 2 wingers in any case, and makoun on signing did say he is very effective as a defensive midfielder and can play either midfield role,

Look i was quite prepared for us to rationalise the squad, even in favour of it. But 14 players out (and 5 of them regulars) and only 2 in, isn't rationalisation its asset stripping.

3 regulars have gone - AY, SD and Friedel. NRC was not first-pick and certainly divided opinion on this site, to say the least. CC hasn't yet gone.
You're right: it's tough and we need to re-stock the squad. With 6 weeks of the Window left, I fully expect the first-team squad to be at 25, with a mix of youth and experience.
What's the big deal?!

*tongue slightly in cheek at the last comment*

What Villa were you watching last season?  Cuellar was not a first pick but Reo Coker and Walker certainly were and they have both gone.

[pedro25]

Mcleish said one top signing before the start of the season, not before the end of the window, maybe one or two deals he feels can be pushed through at cheaper prices in the final few days of the window perhaps?

[Concrete John]

Dunne was shit most of the time at Citeh - thats why they got rid.. He's also not getting any younger or slimmer probably. Collins is erratic at best. Warnock was bobbins before GH arrived so blaiming his form on GH is wishful thinking to say the least. Petrov struggles to last 90 minutes anymore. I really think we'll struggle to stay up with injuries and lets face it we don't need last years injury list to be down to the bare bones - we already are. The only upside is the youth players as i think some of them could step up this season but really again thats just hope.

dunne was player of the year in 2 of his last 3  seasons there and was loved by fans, hardly shit greg!
would you spend an extra £30m in the hope of getting to 6th and an extra £3m in prize money thereby losing £27m?

i wish we had an owner splashing millions but randys dream appears over and realism has set in.

one wide man coming in is ok as i doubt we will use 2 wingers in any case, and makoun on signing did say he is very effective as a defensive midfielder and can play either midfield role,

Look i was quite prepared for us to rationalise the squad, even in favour of it. But 14 players out (and 5 of them regulars) and only 2 in, isn't rationalisation its asset stripping.

Is that your way of saying 'OK, Dunne wasn't shit for most of his time at Man City - I got that one wrong'?

[eastie]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Apparently, he's quite keen to come anyway.

martinez didnt fancy it ,nzogbia may well be better seeing out his deal and having his pick of clubs on a free-i still fear his wage demands could scupper a move here too.

But it's been said several times above, Wigan cannot afford for him to run his contract down!

wigan cannot force him to leave either,he hasnt asked to leave and in a year would have many better options as a free and probably would make more money.

Wigan can force him to leave, by selling him to a club that will give him greater earning potential now. That's us at the moment.
The fact that the market ain't exactly queuing up to buy him now would suggest to his agent that a deal cut now is better than gambling on another 12 months in a shit team.

in 12 months he can walk away with no club being asked to pay £10m fee -of course there will be more options , wigan cannot force him to leave and he can see it out if he wishes and negotiate a much better deal on a free,

he may see villa as a midtable option and decide its not for him .

[VillaAlways]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Didn't work when we were after a Wigan manager.

We dont need to do this again do we?
He wasn't offered the job and had already agreed to stay at Wigan.

He didn't want to talk to us about the job, even though we asked for permssion to speak to him.  We're not a big draw anymore.

Or was it because he felt the job was too big for him at this time in his career and he bottled it ?

[SHEPS]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Apparently, he's quite keen to come anyway.

martinez didnt fancy it ,nzogbia may well be better seeing out his deal and having his pick of clubs on a free-i still fear his wage demands could scupper a move here too.

But it's been said several times above, Wigan cannot afford for him to run his contract down!

wigan cannot force him to leave either,he hasnt asked to leave and in a year would have many better options as a free and probably would make more money.

Wigan can force him to leave, by selling him to a club that will give him greater earning potential now. That's us at the moment.
The fact that the market ain't exactly queuing up to buy him now would suggest to his agent that a deal cut now is better than gambling on another 12 months in a shit team.

How can Wigan force him to leave? He's under contract and he holds the cards.  Maybe Wigan can threaten him to play with the reserves but Wigan cant afford that luxury.  He will obviously be offered loads more money to join Villa but even more if he sits tight and goes on a free next year.  Multiply that excess over say a 4 year contract (and larger signing on fee) then that is attractive (risky for him yes, but attractive nevertheless).
My point is that many of us are assuming Zog will join.  We want him.  Wigan want him to join us (or someone else this summer).  I have reservations about whether he will want to join us...which is the only factor in determining whether he does or doesn't.

[eastie]

nicely put sheps and a very warm welcome to our family!

[VillaAlways]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Didn't work when we were after a Wigan manager.

We dont need to do this again do we?
He wasn't offered the job and had already agreed to stay at Wigan.

He didn't want to talk to us about the job, even though we asked for permssion to speak to him.  We're not a big draw anymore.

Or was it because he felt the job was too big for him and he bottled it ?

[Mazrim]

If you're Aston Villa and you're after a Wigan player, do you need a pitch?

Didn't work when we were after a Wigan manager.

We dont need to do this again do we?
He wasn't offered the job and had already agreed to stay at Wigan.

He didn't want to talk to us about the job, even though we asked for permssion to speak to him.  We're not a big draw anymore.

That's certainly how Whelan spun it and how anybody having a dig at us will including our own fans. They had an agreement whereas Martinez stayed if they stayed up. They did, so that was that.
Sorry, I'm not having it. Aston Villa are still a big club and a big draw. Bent thought so, Makoun thought so, N'Zogbia thinks so according to rumours and why not.
We're a big enough draw for him anyway.

[Concrete John]

I have reservations about whether he will want to join us...which is the only factor in determining whether he does or doesn't.

I think that in the modern game you know if a player is interested before you bid.  If we've bid I'd guess we've already spokne to his agent and had the reception been luke warm, we wouldn't have put the bid in.