The Accounts are out.

[supertom]

I'm glad we didn't piss away money on another average player. Hoolahan wouldn't have change anything that's happened to us since January came to a close. Very average player indeed. That we didn't spend on a different target is frustrating, but again, we could have made a couple more Sylla-esque signings, but that would have done us no good at all either.

The summer is key. We're clearly on the right track financially. Still a way to go, but with the expected outgoings in the summer, I'd imagine that we'll be able to buy 3-4 better players who could make it, as opposed to 7-8 who are mostly not anywhere near good enough and probably never will be.

[PeterWithesShin]

Never mind the other clubs, we were desperate for quality players. What did we get, a past it striker from the Championship. Thank you Randy!

What about Bertrand?

And I was about to make the same point as Dave, how do we know Lambert doesn't know the MF player(s) he wants, he may even have deals partially set up, but they won't be available until the summer. It is pointless spending £5m on a player just to drop him him on the bench in the summer. It would make the Hoolahan deal more logical as it would have been low cost and low risk as a short term fix.

[Mazrim]

Ok, let's ask another question. What if we get relegated because we didn't sign that one player we desperately needed?

[saunders_heroes]

There is a difference between, for example, spending £10m on a player we think is worth £10m and spending it on a player we value at £6m. As Chris says, over paying is what got us in the mess in the first place.

But we're talking about Wes Hoolihan here, and he was hardly going to break the bank even if we offered over the odds.

One minute you're calling him 'bargain basement stuff', now you saying we should have maybe paid over the odds.

He is bargain basement stuff! We were desperate for a midfielder and we couldn't even raise the funds to buy such a cheap player. It's pathetic.

Every indication was that we could pay for him but Norwich didn't want to sell him.

So why not set your sights elsewhere? No plan B. Sums up Villa over the last 4 years.

How do you know they didn't try to sign someone else?

Well if we did we didn't try hard enough.

Maybe, or maybe the player wasn't available in January but will be in the summer. Would you want us to spend a few million on someone who will play a dozen games then not get a sniff next season, and would he want to join anyway?

I'd hate to think we'd be going in for Hoolihan in the summer. If that is the case then next season will be nothing more than the same as the last 4 seasons. There has to be some big decisions made at the end of the season to where this club is going.

[supertom]

Ok, let's ask another question. What if we get relegated because we didn't sign that one player we desperately needed?

That's the gamble I guess. I think we should have signed a good midfielder. If that's out of our price range right now, particularly in the inflated Jan window, then so be it.

We may well have the same problem in the summer, but we'll see what we'll see.

However, Hoolahan would have little or no bearing on our outcome this season IMO. I don't think he's anywhere near good enough to come in and have our midfield looking more efficient and retaining the ball better.

For me the major problem is still Lambert. The guy could make Messi look bad the way we set up and play at times.

[saunders_heroes]

Never mind the other clubs, we were desperate for quality players. What did we get, a past it striker from the Championship. Thank you Randy!

What about Bertrand?

And I was about to make the same point as Dave, how do we know Lambert doesn't know the MF player(s) he wants, he may even have deals partially set up, but they won't be available until the summer. It is pointless spending £5m on a player just to drop him him on the bench in the summer. It would make the Hoolahan deal more logical as it would have been low cost and low risk as a short term fix.

Yeah Bertrand is decent I'll give you that, but it's the midfield that really pissed me off. I've never seen a poor midfield at Villa in all my years, and what did they do about it? Absolutely nothing. It was criminal.

[PeterWithesShin]

Then it could be a calculated risk that didn't pay off in in the worst possible way. But it's all guesswork. I remember last year we were nailed on for the drop because we didn't sign the players we desperately needed. It's guesswork because we have no idea of what the plans are, or indeed aren't. Or what RL or PL are planning. All we can do is guess.
Maybe my scenario above is correct and Lambert believes we have enough about us to stay up until then. Maybe we don't have a pot to piss in and Lambert has no one lined up, none of us know.

[saunders_heroes]

Then it could be a calculated risk that didn't pay off in in the worst possible way. But it's all guesswork. I remember last year we were nailed on for the drop because we didn't sign the players we desperately needed. It's guesswork because we have no idea of what the plans are, or indeed aren't. Or what RL or PL are planning. All we can do is guess.
Maybe my scenario above is correct and Lambert believes we have enough about us to stay up until then. Maybe we don't have a pot to piss in and Lambert has no one lined up, none of us know.

Who claimed we were nailed on to go down last season?
These relegation battles are too close for comfort, and 4 consecutive ones are beneath a club as great as Aston Villa. The most damning inditement is that some fans just plod along like nodding dogs and never question the chairman who has presided over our decline.

[Clampy]

I think our midfield is very poor as well, there's just not enough energy in there. I hope it's addressed in the summer and I wish we'd brought a couple of players in January who could have made a difference in there, but if who he wanted wasn't available then other than paying over the odds or bringing in a 3rd or 4th choice, there's not much you can do.

[Clampy]

Then it could be a calculated risk that didn't pay off in in the worst possible way. But it's all guesswork. I remember last year we were nailed on for the drop because we didn't sign the players we desperately needed. It's guesswork because we have no idea of what the plans are, or indeed aren't. Or what RL or PL are planning. All we can do is guess.
Maybe my scenario above is correct and Lambert believes we have enough about us to stay up until then. Maybe we don't have a pot to piss in and Lambert has no one lined up, none of us know.

Who claimed we were nailed on to go down last season?
These relegation battles are too close for comfort, and 4 consecutive ones are beneath a club as great as Aston Villa. The most damning inditement is that some fans just plod along like nodding dogs and never question the chairman who has presided over our decline.

Just because people don't agree with you dosen't make them nodding dogs.

[saunders_heroes]

I think our midfield is very poor as well, there's just not enough energy in there. I hope it's addressed in the summer and I wish we'd brought a couple of players in January who could have made a difference in there, but if who he wanted wasn't available then other than paying over the odds or bringing in a 3rd or 4th choice, there's not much you can do.

I tell you what, if the standard of our number 1 choice is Wes Hoolahan then it's time to start worrying.

[saunders_heroes]

Then it could be a calculated risk that didn't pay off in in the worst possible way. But it's all guesswork. I remember last year we were nailed on for the drop because we didn't sign the players we desperately needed. It's guesswork because we have no idea of what the plans are, or indeed aren't. Or what RL or PL are planning. All we can do is guess.
Maybe my scenario above is correct and Lambert believes we have enough about us to stay up until then. Maybe we don't have a pot to piss in and Lambert has no one lined up, none of us know.

Who claimed we were nailed on to go down last season?
These relegation battles are too close for comfort, and 4 consecutive ones are beneath a club as great as Aston Villa. The most damning inditement is that some fans just plod along like nodding dogs and never question the chairman who has presided over our decline.

Just because people don't agree with you dosen't make them nodding dogs.

I've seen people called "idiots" on this thread for criticising Lerner. Did you pull them up for that as well?

[Dave]

I've seen people called "idiots" on this thread for criticising Lerner. Did you pull them up for that as well?

People were called idiots for saying stupid things, not for criticising Lerner.

[Chris Smith]

Then it could be a calculated risk that didn't pay off in in the worst possible way. But it's all guesswork. I remember last year we were nailed on for the drop because we didn't sign the players we desperately needed. It's guesswork because we have no idea of what the plans are, or indeed aren't. Or what RL or PL are planning. All we can do is guess.
Maybe my scenario above is correct and Lambert believes we have enough about us to stay up until then. Maybe we don't have a pot to piss in and Lambert has no one lined up, none of us know.

Who claimed we were nailed on to go down last season?
These relegation battles are too close for comfort, and 4 consecutive ones are beneath a club as great as Aston Villa. The most damning inditement is that some fans just plod along like nodding dogs and never question the chairman who has presided over our decline.

What a ridiculous statement, as if somehow because you spend all of your time complaining on the Internet it makes a jot of difference.

It's perfectly normal that different people will have a different take on the situation and just because they don't chime with yours does not make them 'nodding dogs'.

[saunders_heroes]

I've seen people called "idiots" on this thread for criticising Lerner. Did you pull them up for that as well?

People were called idiots for saying stupid things, not for criticising Lerner.

Like daring to criticise? Whatever they said they still don't deserve to be called idiots.