To What End?

[dave.woodhall]

Agreed. I think they do get far too much flak for what is obviously almost a superabundance of goodwill, but my God they don't half make some daft decisions relating to the stuff on the pitch.

They do entirely, but try contacting a director at Spurs or Newcastle before criticising their lack of openness.

[Monty]

Agreed. I think they do get far too much flak for what is obviously almost a superabundance of goodwill, but my God they don't half make some daft decisions relating to the stuff on the pitch.

They do entirely, but try contacting a director at Spurs or Newcastle before criticising their lack of openness.

Oh indeed. This idea of aloofness mostly comes from the likes of Murphy or Nursey, who are just annoyed there's no 'Arry (or, dare I say it, Herbert) to feed them constant gossip. Villa have every right to keep schtum about as much as they like, really. We should only question it when we see the results - and, of course, that inevitably will lead to a lot of questions at the moment.

[eastie]

I am interested to see how much is spent this summer on players - if we finish midtable then it is an improvement but I think we are way out of the league of the top 6 and the likes of utd, Liverpool and spurs who will probably finish 4 ,5, 6 have far more to spend on players and strenghtening their squads.

Would it make sense for randy to perhaps invest say £30m to try and get the side up to around 7th place and earn an extra £3m in prize money or will he be happy enough with where we are - we are not going to catch the top 6 without considerable investment .

[paul_e]

Net spend of £15-20m is the sensible guess, that's been the average since Lerner arrived and there is no reason to think otherwise.  How that money gets spent is far more important, 3-4 okore/benteke style buys and we'll look a lot more capable.

[eastie]

Net spend of £15-20m is the sensible guess, that's been the average since Lerner arrived and there is no reason to think otherwise.  How that money gets spent is far more important, 3-4 okore/benteke style buys and we'll look a lot more capable.

That spend may keep us in a similar position but the gap between us and the top 6 will not decrease .
They tend to spend that sort of money on one player.

[Toronto Villa]

There will come a time where we no longer need to replace large chunks of the squad. We had to recently to exorcise the demons of the last few years. Over the new next few windows the goal will likely be to only add at most 4 or 5 players a season to account for turnover and the addition of better quality players. I believe we will move from spending £20-25m on 8 or 9 players to less players better quality.

[eastie]

There will come a time where we no longer need to replace large chunks of the squad. We had to recently to exorcise the demons of the last few years. Over the new next few windows the goal will likely be to only add at most 4 or 5 players a season to account for turnover and the addition of better quality players. I believe we will move from spending £20-25m on 8 or 9 players to less players better quality.

If he has £25m this summer I'd far rather it be spent on 3 quality players as you suggest tv.

[Ads]

It is coming across as all weepy though. People are saying they are resigned to it all. We're seeing lots of little yellow sad faces following posts and people getting more and more misty eyed about the past. With each loss some get more emboldened with their Ellis revisionism.

I see it as being resigned to the perception that we will be frozen in the form, position etc of the last defeat for now and all eternity. I see posts putting a lot of emotion into the analysis, I have taken it out. I am not being petty and I am not being dismissive of criticism out of hand, in fact, if you re-read your post, ignoring the first paragraph, you agree with me or at the least, share the same concerns.

It's not just weepy, we've also had references in the past to people wetting the bed / pissing themselves / whatever, it's just tiresome and not really needed.

I know I agree with much of what you say, I'm not disputing that, that's not the point, though, it's the way you say it - there's just no need for some of it. It doesn't add to the debate, and you're perfectly capable of expressing your point without it.

I wasn't trying to be arsey. It's just the mood I am sensing which comes after every negative result. It's like a lot of people sighing and looking solemnly into their pints.

[dave.woodhall]

There will come a time where we no longer need to replace large chunks of the squad. We had to recently to exorcise the demons of the last few years. Over the new next few windows the goal will likely be to only add at most 4 or 5 players a season to account for turnover and the addition of better quality players. I believe we will move from spending £20-25m on 8 or 9 players to less players better quality.

If he has £25m this summer I'd far rather it be spent on 3 quality players as you suggest tv.

I think - with nothing concrete to base it on - that this will be the plan.

[Toronto Villa]

If you have a solid base, (and in creating that it's impossible to get every player right) then the addition of quality propels you forward that much faster. We are approaching the tail end of a very difficult period for the club. I don't think anybody there wants to see it last forever, least of all the manager.

[Irish villain]

There will come a time where we no longer need to replace large chunks of the squad. We had to recently to exorcise the demons of the last few years. Over the new next few windows the goal will likely be to only add at most 4 or 5 players a season to account for turnover and the addition of better quality players. I believe we will move from spending £20-25m on 8 or 9 players to less players better quality.

If he has £25m this summer I'd far rather it be spent on 3 quality players as you suggest tv.

I think - with nothing concrete to base it on - that this will be the plan.

Excellent. It's what we need so badly. We have a decent sized squad, it just lacks that bit of quality in the first team.

[aj2k77]

I think there Will be a £7-10 million playmaker signed in the summer to excite us and it will be done early. The benefits of signing one available this window. Weren't strong enough to pursue a deal with an eye on a summer target. We will start the season at home and chalk up a resounding win and finally the corner will have been turned.

[eastie]

I think there Will be a £7-10 million playmaker signed in the summer to excite us and it will be done early. The benefits of signing one available this window. Weren't strong enough to pursue a deal with an eye on a summer target. We will start the season at home and chalk up a resounding win and finally the corner will have been turned.

Indeed, a 4-0 opening day home win against man utd will do nicely

[Toronto Villa]

I'm also not convinced Benteke is gone in the summer. We are in just as strong a position with his contract which also shows a commitment on the part of the player. I don't think for a second he was somehow hoodwinked into signing that length of contract. Naturally if the big is huge and it makes sense for the club then he'll be sold but I don't think anyone will match what we'll be asking. If you then start a season with the existing base, add Bertrand permanently and 4 or 5 players in the £5-7m range, or even a couple at £8-9m then we are so much better. We lack genuine quality in 2 or 3 areas to make a difference in games and that's what those types of player brings.

[eastie]

I'm also not convinced Benteke is gone in the summer. We are in just as strong a position with his contract which also shows a commitment on the part of the player. I don't think for a second he was somehow hoodwinked into signing that length of contract. Naturally if the big is huge and it makes sense for the club then he'll be sold but I don't think anyone will match what we'll be asking. If you then start a season with the existing base, add Bertrand permanently and 4 or 5 players in the £5-7m range, or even a couple at £8-9m then we are so much better. We lack genuine quality in 2 or 3 years to make a difference in games and that's what those types of player brings.

I think benteke well may stay unless he has a great end to the season and World Cup in which case he would maybe attract a bid too good to refuse - it's by no means a certainty that he will be gone as some seem to think.