Transfer Speculation / Gossip

[hilts_coolerking]

I make it four in eight years. We've sold two to Manchester City, one to Manchester United and one, hilariously, to Liverpool. Three were for seriously big money and one should have seen us wear a mask, a striped jumper and carry a big bag marked 'Swag'. At no point in his two seasons with us have I ever seen anything in Ron Vlaar that makes me think he's in that league.

There may only have been four but they were our biggest assets and the effect of selling them and, as TV said, not replacing them adequately is plain for all to see.  As you say, we got big money for those four but where has it all gone?

[Gregorys Boy]

Another point is that we were not left with such a dire squad when we sold those players as we would be if the likes of Vlaar and Delph left now (and weren't replaced). 

Gabby can go as far as I am concerned, we should have enough striker options to cover him, and he is past his sell by date and we need to cash in while we still can.  But if we lost Delph or Vlaar then that could be the difference between us staying up and going down.

[Toronto Villa]

I make it four in eight years. We've sold two to Manchester City, one to Manchester United and one, hilariously, to Liverpool. Three were for seriously big money and one should have seen us wear a mask, a striped jumper and carry a big bag marked 'Swag'. At no point in his two seasons with us have I ever seen anything in Ron Vlaar that makes me think he's in that league.

There may only have been four but they were our biggest assets and the effect of selling them and, as TV said, not replacing them adequately is plain for all to see.  As you say, we got big money for those four but where has it all gone?

I think the important piece for a club of our current stature is the replacement bit. I stand by my statement that pretty much every club sells their best players. There is almost always a bigger fish out there wanting what you want to keep. But when you are middle of the table club which on average we have become over the past 10 years its even more important to replace those prized assets properly. If we can learn to do that with the next ownership group then we will be able to compete consistently without needing to break the bank. There are number of teams not called Bayern, Barcelona, Man City, Man U, Chelsea etc who have won trophies in european and domestic leagues in that space of time.

We need a consistent plan at board level including a sustainable level of investment on scouting and player acquisition. A committment to the academy and player development. And importantly stability and patience regarding the philosophy for the type of manager for the club. The chaotic switch from MON to Houllier to TSM is still difficult to comprehend. Then ultimately the ability to think steps ahead when players are sold. That we are not scrambling and panicking because we already have the next Milner/Young/Benteke on the radar when inevitably the likes of Milner/Young/Benteke are sold.

Above all things with the next owner I hope that upon acquiring the club they study why Lerner sold beyond his loss of desire. Because our future success will be in large part dependent on avoiding many of the mistakes that need not ever have occurred to begin with.

[brian green]

Good post TV. You use the word  which scares me. That word is planning. In my time of following the club I cannot say in all honesty that there has been a period of serious forward planning. Like many I hoped it had arrived with Randy Lerner but that dream evaporated with the chaotic shambles which followed the O'Neill flounce and the reactive system of running the club has never been more evident than it is at this time.

[Mister E]

Good post TV. You use the word  which scares me. That word is planning. In my time of following the club I cannot say in all honesty that there has been a period of serious forward planning. Like many I hoped it had arrived with Randy Lerner but that dream evaporated with the chaotic shambles which followed the O'Neill flounce and the reactive system of running the club has never been more evident than it is at this time.

Planning, foresight and balanced risk-taking were the issues that people slated HDE for (if you look at the press releases and documents generated by the AVST over the period between the late 1990's and 2006, you'll see the very clear theme). It really isn't that difficult but typically football clubs either have owners that are blinded by the light of owning a football club or solely engaged in making as much out of it as possible before buggering off.

[dekko]

Look at our win/loss ratio when Vlaar is in the team and when he isn't.  There is no way in hell the club is going to sell him this season, he is literally more important to us than Benteke was last season when he tried to get a transfer, and we know how that turned out.

Delph and Vlaar will both be here next season unless somebody offers stupid money for them (which they wont because they could get them for free next year).  Stop worrying and enjoy the summer.

[Dave]

As has every team. We are not in an exclusive club when it comes to selling our best players. We've just done a piss poor job in replacing them.

That doesn't alter the fact that generally speaking we sell our best players.  If every other team does too, which I don't agree with actually, then that only increases the chances of Vlaar going because other teams will need to replace those who have left.

I make it four in eight years. We've sold two to Manchester City, one to Manchester United and one, hilariously, to Liverpool. Three were for seriously big money and one should have seen us wear a mask, a striped jumper and carry a big bag marked 'Swag'. At no point in his two seasons with us have I ever seen anything in Ron Vlaar that makes me think he's in that league.

He's not, but the rest of the squad isn't as good as the squad that those four played in.

When we sell Vlaar (even if it's not this summer) it won't be for anything like as much as those four players - but that doesn't mean he isn't still one of our most important players at the moment.

[silhillvilla]

The av. PL salary is now £3.5m a year. I doubt we will offer "Roncrete" anything like that. Some idiots will though.
Tarra Ron.

[Dave]

The av. PL salary is now £3.5m a year.

According to whom?

[Ger Regan]

Where did you get that stat from, because I find it very hard to believe that the average wage in the prem is almost 70,000 a week. If it is, which I very much doubt, that's because man city and possibly Chelsea are pushing it up so much, and neither of those teams are going to sign him.

[LeeB]

I wonder if we will sign a player this summer which all of us agree is a good signing?

Has that ever happened?

Stephen Ireland was universally popular I recall. Shows what we know..

No he wasn't.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Still if Southampton have made mega bucks this Summer, we can charge them the Earth for Vlaar 

[paul_e]

The av. PL salary is now £3.5m a year. I doubt we will offer "Roncrete" anything like that. Some idiots will though.
Tarra Ron.

That stat is completely misleading.  There are 6 clubs in the league with a wage bill high enough to be paying that wage or higher to their entire first team.  If you take those 6 away the average is actually around £2m pa (you can prove this pretty easily with the accounts for each club) which is almost exactly where we are.  That would be £50m on first team wages, with the FFP cap being set at £52m for the whole club so it's not like they can increase by much either. Man City are a big part of the problem that causes this 'bloat' to the average with a wage bill of over £200m and Chelsea and Man U aren't far behind.

Blind acceptance of stats like this is what causes so many problems, we see that £70k pw is the supposed 'average' and think Villa are tight when we won't offer more than £35k-£40k but in actual fact there are only a handful of clubs who can afford to offer more than that regularly.

[Clampy]

I think if anyone does leave next it might be Vlaar. Being part of a World Cup squad that's having a bit of success and being amongst a group of players who are with successful clubs may make him re-evaluate what he does next. I'm not suggesting that he'll slap in a transfer request when he returns but he might not be in any hurry to sign a new deal either.

[RussellC]

I make it four in eight years. We've sold two to Manchester City, one to Manchester United and one, hilariously, to Liverpool. Three were for seriously big money and one should have seen us wear a mask, a striped jumper and carry a big bag marked 'Swag'. At no point in his two seasons with us have I ever seen anything in Ron Vlaar that makes me think he's in that league.

I think the point is that when we sold Barry and Milner we were a top 6 team. When we sold Young and Downing we were a top half team. We're now talking about losing our Captain (and arguably best player) when we've only just narrowly avoided relegation.

You're right, he's not comparable to those players, but equally, we're not comparable to the teams that those players left.