Concrete Ron

[PeterWithesShin]

I would say he has been playing well for well over a season tbh. I agree he has had major injury problems, lets hope they have been sorted out now, though still worries me with some of his challenges.

He has, but that is my point. He played well for about 5 months of the first Lambert season but after 4 years at the club that alone wasn't worthy of a new contract when he still had 2 to run. He performed well last season as well which is where I mean he has shown he can do it consistently and now fully deserves a new contract. Which I hope to feck we offer him.

[villan from luton]

Last summer we gave out a bunch of new deals, which drew criticism from some on here. Neither Vlaar or Delph warranted one at the time. One was called as the worst defender ever to play for Villa and missed a third of the season, the other was described as the worst player to ever play for Villa, and finally put in a decent 6 months after 5 years at the club and who has admitted "he went missing for a few years".

We are now at the stage that both are deserving new contracts, let's see what actually happens.

Worst defender to play for Villa, that is some statement lol. As for worst player to play for Villa re Delph that is even more laughable. Not many clubs let their best players winf down their contracts, but such is Aston Villa these days

Such is Aston Villa that it hasn't happened yet so is there any chance you might save the hyperbolistic nonsense until it does?

Why is it nonsense and how am i exaggerating? We need to get our best players signed up before we lose them for nothing, surely?

Because what you're moaning about hasn't happened yet.

Not moaning at all, just stating fact in that the club is being run badly at the moment. Do you disagree?

Yes you are moaning and the reason you're giving hasn't happened yet.

Not moaning at all, just stating my views. You chose not to answer my question by the way but never mind

[john e]

Worth a read to remember what a lot here thought of Delph not so long ago.

http://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=44249.0

Risso didn't like him

[PeterWithesShin]

This discussion is quite specifically about the here-and-now of the club and this contract situation. What people thought of him before he'd had a real injury-free run in the side bears no relevance to what's going on now whatsoever. Unless I've missed people saying that he should have been offered a long term contract 2 summers ago?

It's also about when he actually deserved one. Up until about Christmas when he had shown he could perform at this level consistently he didn't deserve a new contract.

Unless i've missed something and we should automatically give a new contract to someone for playing well for 5 months. In which Ireland would still be here with a new contract signed after his performances for the last 5 months under McLeish.

[RussellC]

This discussion is quite specifically about the here-and-now of the club and this contract situation. What people thought of him before he'd had a real injury-free run in the side bears no relevance to what's going on now whatsoever. Unless I've missed people saying that he should have been offered a long term contract 2 summers ago?

It's also about when he actually deserved one. Up until about Christmas when he had shown he could perform at this level consistently he didn't deserve a new contract.

Unless i've missed something and we should automatically give a new contract to someone for playing well for 5 months. In which Ireland would still be here with a new contract signed after his performances for the last 5 months under McLeish.

As I mentioned earlier, in my opinion we should have been offering them both new contracts as soon as we were safe. Well in advance of pre-season and, in Vlaar's case, the World Cup.

[silhillvilla]

Ireland wasn't good for 5 mins let alone 5 months. Delph was ok amongst a bad bunch last season. He's worth keeping but not being held to ransom over any pay demands.

[villan from luton]

This discussion is quite specifically about the here-and-now of the club and this contract situation. What people thought of him before he'd had a real injury-free run in the side bears no relevance to what's going on now whatsoever. Unless I've missed people saying that he should have been offered a long term contract 2 summers ago?

It's also about when he actually deserved one. Up until about Christmas when he had shown he could perform at this level consistently he didn't deserve a new contract.

Unless i've missed something and we should automatically give a new contract to someone for playing well for 5 months. In which Ireland would still be here with a new contract signed after his performances for the last 5 months under McLeish.

As I mentioned earlier, in my opinion we should have been offering them both new contracts as soon as we were safe. Well in advance of pre-season and, in Vlaar's case, the World Cup.

Please stop talking sense

[dave.woodhall]

Last summer we gave out a bunch of new deals, which drew criticism from some on here. Neither Vlaar or Delph warranted one at the time. One was called as the worst defender ever to play for Villa and missed a third of the season, the other was described as the worst player to ever play for Villa, and finally put in a decent 6 months after 5 years at the club and who has admitted "he went missing for a few years".

We are now at the stage that both are deserving new contracts, let's see what actually happens.

Worst defender to play for Villa, that is some statement lol. As for worst player to play for Villa re Delph that is even more laughable. Not many clubs let their best players winf down their contracts, but such is Aston Villa these days

Such is Aston Villa that it hasn't happened yet so is there any chance you might save the hyperbolistic nonsense until it does?

Why is it nonsense and how am i exaggerating? We need to get our best players signed up before we lose them for nothing, surely?

Because what you're moaning about hasn't happened yet.

Not moaning at all, just stating fact in that the club is being run badly at the moment. Do you disagree?

Yes you are moaning and the reason you're giving hasn't happened yet.

Not moaning at all, just stating my views. You chose not to answer my question by the way but never mind

If that's not moaning I'd hate to see you when you are. I didn't answer your question because it had no relevance to the point in hand.

[PeterWithesShin]

We played 3 games in the last week of the season and then he went to the World Cup. It's not hard to see that talks can take a while and it's better to wait until he is back.
Look at it another way, we stick him on 45-50K a week for 3 years just before he heads off to the WC, and gets crocked there, or puts in the level of performance most of us expected. Would any of us have been shocked if either of those had happened? I doubt many would be praising the club for getting it sorted.

Delph is different as he wasn't at the WC but for all any of us know talks are underway and have been for X amount of time. I certainly hope they are.

[PeterWithesShin]

Ireland wasn't good for 5 mins let alone 5 months. Delph was ok amongst a bad bunch last season. He's worth keeping but not being held to ransom over any pay demands.

As big a twat as I think Ireland is, he had a good spell for us for a few months that season which is why he ended up Player of the Year.

[villan from luton]

player of the year he most certainly wasnt and I am sure you could drag up a thread saying that lol

[Villa in Denmark]

As soon as we were mathematically safe last season I would have offered them both new deals. I really don't see why anything else going on at the club should be an acceptable reason to neglect the contract situation of two of our best players.

And it's the assertion that you're somehow saving everybody the time and effort of the debate by telling us your opinion that I'm getting fed up with. It's almost as lazy as as the implication that those of us unhappy with the situation are just looking to criticise the club at every opportunity. It's just not the case.

Before we go any further can you confirm which version of mathematically safe we're using?
The point at which we'd beaten Chelsea and actually had the points we needed, even though we didn't know it at the time, or the point at which we couldn't be caught by 18th place?

Oh and lazy is not bothering to answer the second and most relevant part of the question, justify the timing of contract offer in the context of performances and other events around the club at the time.

[PeterWithesShin]

player of the year he most certainly wasnt and I am sure you could drag up a thread saying that lol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Ireland#Aston_Villa

"On 31 December 2011, Ireland scored his first ever goal for Villa in a 3–1 away win at Chelsea, scoring the opener and assisting the third goal in a man of the match winning performance. At the end of the season, after some impressive displays, Ireland was voted Aston Villa's Supporters' player of the season.[26]"

[Clampy]

player of the year he most certainly wasnt and I am sure you could drag up a thread saying that lol

He was voted player of the season by fans that season I believe.

[villan from luton]

He was, but was he really and know it was viewed by many as a strange decision. Probably shows how poor we were lol. Personally, I think he is a very good footballer, but his attitude is sooo poor