50% Villa: Assou-Ekotto on not becoming us

[CJ]

I think he referred to us as 'a half-assed place that used to be famous'.

Indeed he did

[oldtimernow]

My reading of it is that his comments are just preparing the ground for his next move to a more ambitious club that can match those of his own.......and he just used us as the prime example of a club preyed upon by those with bigger wallets....ie where he wants to be where he can grab even more money..

Tosser ....move along

[Brend'Watkins]

Sssou Ekotto for me is from the same mould as Pascal Chimbonda....totally unlikable and not as good as he actually thinks he is. 

A Hutton type tackle on him when we meet next would be most pleasing.

[Lambert and Payne]

I think he referred to us as 'a half-assed place that used to be famous'.
[/quote
Isn't that kind of what ass ekotto is saying here?

[JJ-AV]

He's absolutely correct.

Laursen was unfortunate. Barry was understandable. Milner was disappointing, but sensible.

Ash and Downing was just an acceptance of mediocrity for a couple of years, it was like Randy said we might as well sell 'em as we're gonna be midtable fodder for a few years until the finances sort themselves out, so might as well take the money while we can.

I don't mind really, I can see Randy doesn't have a limitless pot of money and a line has to be drawn somewhere, also if we're not big enough to make up the cash in terms of merchandise etc.) what right do we have to demand money from foreign waters to make us competitive again?

It's just frustrating because it feels like we've been lied to. Mostly by The General, granted, but I'm still left feeling a bit bitter towards the owner at the minute - despite all the good work he's done.

[JJ-AV]

I genuinely think you could build a top 4 side of players we've lost in recent years.

Friedel
Luke - Mellberg - Laursen - Bouma
Milner - NRC - Barry
Young - Carew - Downing

Only Nige would have been out of place in the Champions League. Probably need another forward too.

I know football isn't as simple as this, but compare those players to each of their replacements (I'll try and do it as fairly as possible with each individual)

Friedel - Given
Luke - Hutton
Laursen - Dunne
Mellberg - Cuellar
Bouma - Warnock
Milner - Ireland
NRC - Jenas
Barry - No obvious replacement, could be any of Downing, Milner, or Delph
Ash - N'Zogbia
Downing - Albrighton
Carew - Bent

Where have we improved? About even in goal, improved heavily with Carew for Bent. We adapted and got stronger without Barry, but the rest?

[UK Redsox]

Can't argue with anything that he's quoted as saying.

Spurs hung onto their best players, whereas Villa sold two of their's

[rutski]

What this player is really saying, though I doubt he has the intelligence to know the full implications of what he was saying, is you will finish up like Aston Villa (who are going through a period of retrenchment ahead of uncertain economic times).

If I owned a premiership club at the moment my first priority would be to see that the club can survive the economic firestorm which is blowing across europe.

Italy has a national debt of 1.7 trillion dollars.   What do you think is going to happen to Inter and Juve and Roma if Germany turns off the bail out tap?   And if Italy goes Spain will be right next in line.   Cesc Fabregas would be left dreaming of those golden days when his salary cheque did not bounce.

Players like Assou-Ekotto can holds forth like Joey Barton reading a volume of Pam Ayres poetry about clubs and ambition but what he really wants is the gravy train to keep on rolling.

excellent post brian. my sisters father in law(slightly tenuous) works for a big oil firm in london and he reckons if an oil field catches fire that could be the collapse of the UAE and so the end of Man city. isnt dubai having problems maintaining their wealth? the way the economies are in the world could randy be totally correct for tightening the purse strings? i dont know the answer.

[Jimbo]

Dubai has nothing at all to do with Man City. Abu Dhabi does, and there is so much wealth there that all of our dreams of them leaving City high and dry are just that, dreams. It won't happen.

[JUAN PABLO]

Dubai has nothing at all to do with Man City. Abu Dhabi does, and there is so much wealth there that all of our dreams of them leaving City high and dry are just that, dreams. It won't happen.

Ba****d  , I was just off to catch a flight with a box of Swan vestas

[rutski]

Dubai has nothing at all to do with Man City. Abu Dhabi does, and there is so much wealth there that all of our dreams of them leaving City high and dry are just that, dreams. It won't happen.

sorry quoted wrong place, still fragile economies

[Chris Smith]

Can't argue with anything that he's quoted as saying.

Spurs hung onto their best players, whereas Villa sold two of their's

This time they did but in recent times they've sold Berbatov, Carrick etc and unless something remarkable happens Bale and Modric will also leave.

[Dante Lavelli]

Can't argue with anything that he's quoted as saying.

Spurs hung onto their best players, whereas Villa sold two of their's

This time they did but in recent times they've sold Berbatov, Carrick etc and unless something remarkable happens Bale and Modric will also leave.

The key difference between us is that they have bought better than us and crucially continued to buy players.  You'll notice that Spurs, through Arnesen and Comoli had a much better scouting network than MON.

To be honest I do not mind Villa having a business model whereby we buy players of the Milner/Young/Delph/Downing ilk knowing that they will be sold at a profit later.  But for it to work the money has to be reinvested.

[Jimbo]

Dubai has nothing at all to do with Man City. Abu Dhabi does, and there is so much wealth there that all of our dreams of them leaving City high and dry are just that, dreams. It won't happen.

sorry quoted wrong place, still fragile economies

You could say all of the world's economies are fragile, prone to fluctuations, disasters, etc. Abu Dhabi has one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world at over $600 billion. There's not much danger of a collapse any time soon, unless the world really does end in 2012.

[brian green]

It is not a question of the economy of Abu Dhabi collapsing, it is a question of it taking flight.   There is a lot of purring and mutual back patting going on about the is so called "arab spring".   If the civil unrest spreads to the really big centres of oil wealth, especially Saudi Arabia, the ruling families will scatter, taking their money with them.   They will want their multi billion dollar nest eggs invested in something more secure than football clubs.