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

[dave.woodhall]

If you can bring through the equivalent of two Gardners every two seasons you've done well. They'll give you a few years of steady squad membership and something like £5 million a year in transfer revenue.

[Greg N'Ash]

I hear what you're saying Greg and pretty much agree. My point is that OUR kids (couldn't give a sh*t about anybody elses's) are not being given the experience/opportunities early enough IMO. I try to get to as many reserve/youth games as I can and see the good ones coming through who I think would benefit themselves and the club/team by being involved sooner rather than later. We know now that Gardner and Johnson have the skill and potential, so let's make the most of it (to be fair I think AM is already doing that).
Our kids were great kids in MON's time but he simply didn't use them.
C Gardner was best player for THEM last year and top scorer. If he was still with us would we pick him over Stan/Makoun/Delph/Ireland/Bannan?

yeah, MON should have picked them more., but playing devils advocate at where we were a few seasons back, would there have been a groundswell to play say the Fonz for 10 games and drop gabby while we were chasing a european place? If he'd struggled the knives would have been out for MON.

We all know MON's lack of variety in team selection and we've probably all had a moan about it at the time - there were chances to ring a few changes with younger players rather than just bringing Heskey/Carew on. When he did include the kids it was in a sort of total change and he sent them to Russia to get stuffed! Knives were drawn then if I remember. The kids need to be managed, not just thrown in at the deep end once or twice a year and told to sink or swim knowing it won't make any difference cos they won't be playing next game anyway.
Include them in the squad and play them when possible.

Totally agree as its a different situation now with finances. Still the same problems will rear their heads. IF things goes well with Bent and Gabby/Heskey, is AM going to drop one of them to give the Fonz a runs of games? I doubt it. Likewise if we struggle for goals and are floating near the relegation area, are we gonna throw in the Fonz to score in a losing side. Personally i think the Fonz has to get a runs this season as we still don't know if he can do it, but picking the right time is the problem.

[Merv]

That team would be relegated IMO.

Ha! Maybe, maybe not. What if I put Osbourne into the midfield?

Be interesting to see what that kind of 'youth X1' would look like compared to, say, what the rest of the PL has produced over the last ten years. I'll wager we've got a better-than-most line-up.

The other thing, of course, is that the players in the line-up who have since left Villa were sold for just over £28 million.

[Concrete John]

Totally agree as its a different situation now with finances. Still the same problems will rear their heads. IF things goes well with Bent and Gabby/Heskey, is AM going to drop one of them to give the Fonz a runs of games? I doubt it. Likewise if we struggle for goals and are floating near the relegation area, are we gonna throw in the Fonz to score in a losing side. Personally i think the Fonz has to get a runs this season as we still don't know if he can do it, but picking the right time is the problem.

That's actually very true.

If you look at the Man Utd model then Fergie uses true rotation and will leave Rooney out to give Wellback a game.  He can get away with that as Rooney knows he'll win things there, which can't be said of Bent with us.  And it's also easier to blood them in a good team playing well, as we found out last season.

It's a balancing act and one AM will need to get right.

[ROBBO]

The younger players have to shine enough in their time given on the pitch to warrant an extended run in the senior side. The Fonz has had ample game time to prove he should get a starting spot but hasn't delivered.
United have the luxury of showcasing their kids who won't make it then selling them on. I think AM will have a fair idea right now who are worth keeping.

[Salsa Party Animal]

How would you improve our youth set up to make genuine star quality players which make the like of Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan interested in buying. is Gary Shaw and Gordon Sidney Cowans are our last home grown superstar from the Midlands from academy.

[Dante Lavelli]

And wasn't Beckham a Man Utd fan as a kid aswell?

Anyway, the original point has become lost in another blast of 'The World According to Greg'.  We have a good youth system that's produced numerous PL level players in recent years:-
Gabby
Vassell
Cahill
Barry
Samuel
Gardner
Ridgewell

Not all of top quality admittedly, but the thing we're looking for is them to be as good or better than the likes of Beye, Sidwell and Harewood, so that our funds can then be more focused on the Bent's of this world with the youth fleshing out the squad.

DING! is the correct answer.
Myhill and Davis should be added to the list as well.

[Shrek]

That's spot on!

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Forgot about Davis...always liked him and thought he would develop into a really good player. He did, even if it was in the SPL.
Bannan reminds me a bit of Sid and I keep wondering how Gary Shaw would play with (ooh er Mrs!) Bent!?

[richardhubbard]

Well i agree that Cahill is probably the biggest transfer mistake of the last 30 years by a Villa manager, but the rest? There's a few that have made a career at lower premiership level like Gadner (so far) and Ridgewell, a splattering who are decent championship or lowers players but thats about it really. The problem is, the best young players do generally get hoovered up by the big clubs. Even the mancs with their feted youth team of beckham giggs etc.. stole most of them .The world and his wife knew about these players before they were at ManU so rather than them being proof of some great youth set-up by Ferguson, its more a gauge of how big the brown envelope he left at their parents was.

You've come up with some classics before, but this one is right up there.  The world and his wife knew about the likes of Beckham and Giggs before Man Utd signed them, which happened when they were 15 tops?  In the mid to late 80s before Sky TV and the internet??   

you underestimate how good clubs youth set-ups are. They KNOW who are the most talented kids. I'd be gobsmacked if Villa weren't aware of him.

United youth policy Greg in the late 80's if you knew anything about what shite. Ferguson completely overhauled it with Harrison in charge

Scholes was an Oldham born lad, Butt from Greater Manchester , the Nevilles are from Bury and Beckham was from London but a red since birth and Giggs was being raised in Manchester and on Man City books and they spotted him in a friendly for fucks sake. The current academy system only started in the 90's

[richardhubbard]

Even the mancs with their feted youth team of beckham giggs etc.. stole most of them .The world and his wife knew about these players before they were at ManU so rather than them being proof of some great youth set-up by Ferguson, its more a gauge of how big the brown envelope he left at their parents was.

They didn't, but let's not have the truth getting in the way of some more Nashonian idiocy.

depends on your definition of stole. giggs was at citeh until his mum suddenly got a new washing machine. Bechkam, all the london clubs knew about him. the nevilles were at bury and Lancashire i think with one of them classed  as future england cricketer according to dickie bird. Even the likes of John Terry got an invitation to meet the mancs 1st team just before he was due to sign his first professional contract with chelsea

Giggs and Beckham signed for United when they were 14. All the London clubs might have known about Beckham, but he signed for United. The rest were with United as schoolboys.

Not sure what the age has to do with it. bottom line is they'd been found and targeted by manu long before 14.

How the fuck do you know this?

[cdbearsfan]

And wasn't Beckham a Man Utd fan as a kid aswell?

Anyway, the original point has become lost in another blast of 'The World According to Greg'.  We have a good youth system that's produced numerous PL level players in recent years:-
Gabby
Vassell
Cahill
Barry
Samuel
Gardner
Ridgewell

Not all of top quality admittedly, but the thing we're looking for is them to be as good or better than the likes of Beye, Sidwell and Harewood, so that our funds can then be more focused on the Bent's of this world with the youth fleshing out the squad.

We nicked Barry from Brighton!

...and nicked Ridgewell from West Ham. We developed Liam a fair bit though... Barry was in our first team within six months of signing so I guess Brighton must have done most of the work.

[spangley1812]

from BBC Sportsday...........

Thomas Hitzlsperger has signed for Wolfsburg, three-year-deal.

[cdbearsfan]

Good luck to him. Didn't want him back at Villa Park though.

[Mazrim]

Good luck to him. Didn't want him back at Villa Park though.

Agreed.