Concrete Ron

[Tuscans]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11677/9815682/aston-villa-defender-ron-vlaar-may-stay-at-club

Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar may stay at club

Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar has revealed he may sign a new contract to remain at the club beyond this summer.

The Netherlands international is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and was expected to be on his way out of Villa Park, with Manchester United among the clubs linked with his signature.

Tim Sherwood’s side secured their place in the FA Cup final after defeating Liverpool 2-1 after extra-time at Wembley on Sunday but their Premier League survival is not yet guaranteed.

Ron Vlaar admits it is hard to appreciate how big the semi-final win is for Aston Villa.
But Vlaar, who joined the club from Feyenoord for £3.2m in August 2012, admits he can now see a future for him at Villa after battling back from calf and knee problems earlier in the season.

"Things have changed for me in the past few months since (Tim) Sherwood took over,” he said.

"It's been a hard season for me with all the injuries. Now I just want to play and be important for the team. This helps - you can trust me on that.

"I don't know about my future but to be part of this feels so good, to feel the joy and relief after the West Brom game (the FA Cup quarter-final). So many people came on the pitch.

"The impact for the fans, how big this club and what it all means. I called my dad and said 'This really means something'. It's great. Everything helps."


   

[brontebilly]

Hope Vlaar plays a starring role in our cup final victory but no way should we be considering giving him a new deal. Concerning that Senderos, Baker and even Okore are injury prone. We should probably be looking for a quick physically imposing right sided centre back to partner Clark in the summer. Okore has been decent but still a bit off the level required.

[thick_mike]

Pay as you play?

[PeterWithesShin]

We'd be mad to put him on a 3+ year contract with his age and injuries, he'd be mad to sign a shorter one for the same reasons. Is my expert opinion anyway.

[ozzjim]

All depends what is on offer to him. I think we will offer him a 2 plus 1, but I also think part of the about turn is the attitude Sherwood has taken to his fitness, which he said a few weeks back is that it is up to Ron to manage himself, train when he can and be ready for the weekend. If Vlaar is offered a deal with say a proviso that he will play only 1 game a week, and does not have to train full tilt a bit like Ledley King was doing at Tottenham when Sherwood was coaching, you could see it possibly working quite well. We might even get more games at a higher level from him.

[Toronto Villa]

I'd love Vlaar to stay at the club. Pay as you play won't ever work, but a deal that gives incentive to performance might be an option. Also, a phone call to Sir Graham on how he handled the great one might not be a bad idea. Train only when needed and play every week. We have been so much better since he has come back in and shown himself to be fit.

I knew the impact of the pitch invasion had wide reaching affects 

[supertom]

Maybe a two year deal and we can sell him for a few quid next summer if he's not playing enough. But I think as long as you can get at least 20 games a season out of Ron and play him when he's fully fit, then he's worth having around. He's a good player. We now have options at CH and should he be missing it's not quite the disaster it used to be. Clark and Baker have both matured fantastically this season. Okore looks good. Senderos is useful (though even more injury prone than Ron).

I think giving him a deal makes sense. Otherwise we have to spend valuable transfer budget replacing him. Fullback and midfield are the key areas we need to invest in this summer.

[PeterWithesShin]

This summer is going to be very interesting, and when you consider all the players due back from loans what will TS think of them as he hasn't had chance to work with them.

[Toronto Villa]

one thing that has come over with Vlaar is that he is a big family man and maybe he didn't actually want to go at all. But the dire situation at the club was forcing his hand. Now with everything looking so much rosier he realizes that staying is also a good option for him and his family. I think he has also been blown away by what he has seen from the fans over the past few games, and namely Albion and yesterday. That maybe all the doom and gloom masked what a massive club we actually are and how immensely passionate we are. That we just needed to believe again. It can't have been easy for any player to have played through the tail end of the Lambert era. Nobody wants to go to work and be miserable, and especially our players who have to go and train despite yet another defeat. Looking at those pictures of our players in the dressing room after the game is such a universe let alone world away from how it was just a few weeks ago. They look so close and together. Brilliant.

[supertom]

This summer is going to be very interesting, and when you consider all the players due back from loans what will TS think of them as he hasn't had chance to work with them.

Certainly. I think Tonev will have to be moved on. Even if we have to give him away back to Bulgaria.
As for the rest, we'll see. Given Lamberts ability to make players decline the more he played them, I will be interested to see what Sherwood makes of them. I mean for a couple of months Sylla looked alright. For his first few games, Tony Moon looked okay. I don't think he ever recovered from his murdering by Ben Arfa.
Helenius has got good technique (though still seemingly hasn't recovered any confidence back in Denmark).
Bennett has done okay for Brighton.
Gardner I really hope gets a chance and Robinson may well get more game time.

[Matt C]

I think Gardner & Robinson will be  guaranteed a chance under Sherwood next season, not sure about the rest of those loanees though.

[supertom]

I think Gardner & Robinson will be  guaranteed a chance under Sherwood next season, not sure about the rest of those loanees though.

I think he'll make his mind up on those loanees by the end of July and get them out the door in the next month if he can and wants to.

[ciggiesnbeer]

He was great in the semi, bloody hell he can run fast can't he? I would be happy if we signed him up on a 2-3 year deal. He is only 30, thats a fine age for a defender in his prime.

Also this bit.

"This feels really great and I also feel things have changed at the club. You never know. I can’t tell anyone too much about it right now.”

I am not saying its a takeover hint. ... but its a takeover hint

[PaulWinch again]

I think a 2 year deal would be good. When fit he's a quality player.

[dekko]

Even if he is only fit half the time, you should never let a good player walk away on a free.  Obviously there'd have to be something in the structure of the contract to make up for the way that he's likely to miss a lot of games, but its a no-brainer for me.