The Takeover Thread - Recon Group - NOW WITH NEW POLL

[Villafirst]

I should add why bitterness and rancour beset my love of Aston Villa. It can be summed up in two departures. I truly believed when Doug Ellis went whoever replaced him would be an improvement and I believed when Alex McLeish left whoever replaced him would be an improvement. Hope in both cases burned brightly for a brief time but died. Cue the onset of bitterness and cynicism.

Very well put. Lerner is acting with disregard for the club's future - he's certainly lost any interest and is just trying to recoup his losses no matter how this affects the club's long term future. You can just see a disaster unfolding before your eyes over the coming months.

[Clampy]

As someone who only occasionally browses TBAR, has the takeover talk died down over there.

I went and had a look earlier and couldn't really see anything.  I know they prefer positivity over negativity (good luck with that one - we're Brummies) but has Admin disappeared or is it still imminent?

The site is dying on it's arse by the look of it.

[silhillvilla]

We've been making eyes at relegation across the dance floor for 3 or 4 years now. I've a horrible feeling we've pulled and this season it's over.

[Chris Smith]

We've been making eyes at relegation across the dance floor for 3 or 4 years now. I've a horrible feeling we've pulled and this season it's over.

People keep saying that and I just don't see the logic of it. If we take the squad as it is now with two additions and important players returning from injuries then we are already stronger than last season. Even if the £10m limit is true that should still enable us to make a couple more signings. It's not going to help us to take the league by storm but it should be more than enough to keep away from any threat of relegation.

Of course if we sell half the team that is a different matter but we can only work with what we know.

[RussellC]

We've been making eyes at relegation across the dance floor for 3 or 4 years now. I've a horrible feeling we've pulled and this season it's over.

People keep saying that and I just don't see the logic of it. If we take the squad as it is now with two additions and important players returning from injuries then we are already stronger than last season. Even if the £10m limit is true that should still enable us to make a couple more signings. It's not going to help us to take the league by storm but it should be more than enough to keep away from any threat of relegation.

Of course if we sell half the team that is a different matter but we can only work with what we know.

But that's disregarding the fact that the teams that finished in and around us last season are strengthening, and looking to do so more than we are. However people have come to accept the signings of Cole and Senderos, they'd have both been ridiculed had anyone suggested them on this thread a few weeks ago.

As for the players that are coming back, we still have no real idea on what impact Okore will have, and have already seen that Benteke took a while to really recover after his previous injury. We also have to work on the assumption that we'll lose key-players to injury as we did last season.

[Chris Smith]

We've been making eyes at relegation across the dance floor for 3 or 4 years now. I've a horrible feeling we've pulled and this season it's over.

People keep saying that and I just don't see the logic of it. If we take the squad as it is now with two additions and important players returning from injuries then we are already stronger than last season. Even if the £10m limit is true that should still enable us to make a couple more signings. It's not going to help us to take the league by storm but it should be more than enough to keep away from any threat of relegation.

Of course if we sell half the team that is a different matter but we can only work with what we know.

But that's disregarding the fact that the teams that finished in and around us last season are strengthening, and looking to do so more than we are. However people have come to accept the signings of Cole and Senderos, they'd have both been ridiculed had anyone suggested them on this thread a few weeks ago.

As for the players that are coming back, we still have no real idea on what impact Okore will have, and have already seen that Benteke took a while to really recover after his previous injury. We also have to work on the assumption that we'll lose key-players to injury as we did last season.

I still don't see it. To my mind a side with a spine of Guzan, Vlaar, Delph and Benteke will have enough to stay up. If we assume we will lose key players to injury then don't we also have to assume that others will as well? This isn't rose-tinted happy-clapper stuff, just a pragmatic assessment that we will have enough in the squad to keep our heads above water.

[RussellC]

I still don't see it. To my mind a side with a spine of Guzan, Vlaar, Delph and Benteke will have enough to stay up. If we assume we will lose key players to injury then don't we also have to assume that others will as well? This isn't rose-tinted happy-clapper stuff, just a pragmatic assessment that we will have enough in the squad to keep our heads above water.

The injuries point is a fair one, but that's still the spine that has struggled in the Premiership for the past 2 seasons. I also think that our biggest downfall, tactically, last season was that we were so utterly predictable to play against. I know I've mentioned it several time before, but the leaked scouting report from Palace proved that. I don't see anything happening this summer that will change that, and we'll struggle even more to break teams down going forward.

Personally, my fear is also due to the fact that I think there will be a lot of money splashed around this summer and we'll be reigning our spending in at exactly the worse time to do so.

[silhillvilla]

Benteke is out til when ? Dec ?

[RussellC]

Exactly.  Until when we're relying on Wiemann, Kozak and Agbonlahor to score the goals...

[Villafirst]

It's seems to be acceptable to 'keep our heads above water' now....is that all the ambition the club is now showing? I find it depressing that we've sunk to these levels - new owners with drive, ambition and enthusiasm can't come fast enough.

[Ads]

We've been making eyes at relegation across the dance floor for 3 or 4 years now. I've a horrible feeling we've pulled and this season it's over.

People keep saying that and I just don't see the logic of it. If we take the squad as it is now with two additions and important players returning from injuries then we are already stronger than last season. Even if the £10m limit is true that should still enable us to make a couple more signings. It's not going to help us to take the league by storm but it should be more than enough to keep away from any threat of relegation.

Of course if we sell half the team that is a different matter but we can only work with what we know.

Agreed. The options available now compared with what we had post-Benteke's injury make the squad a lot stronger.

[Ads]

Exactly.  Until when we're relying on Wiemann, Kozak and Agbonlahor to score the goals...

Kozak is a good player with an eye for goal. With somebody actually creating in the middle for him, I think he will do well. For me, N'Zogbia and Cole in the midfield offer a lot more creativity than Albrighton. It might not be the level of where we would like to be, but its still an improvement on last season.

[BoskoDjembaSalifou]

We'll get £5m for Vlaar when he goes so there's some more for the kitty...

I am as negative as the next man, but am I alone in thinking Ron has looked pretty much, well, "meh", in this tournament?

That's how he always looks. He's our best defender though, which says a lot about the state of our squad.

[RussellC]

Exactly.  Until when we're relying on Wiemann, Kozak and Agbonlahor to score the goals...

Kozak is a good player with an eye for goal. With somebody actually creating in the middle for him, I think he will do well. For me, N'Zogbia and Cole in the midfield offer a lot more creativity than Albrighton. It might not be the level of where we would like to be, but its still an improvement on last season.

N'Zogbia hasn't played football in almost a year and Joe Cole was deemed surplus to requirements in a West Ham team in a poor West Ham team. I'm sorry, but I really don't see either of those being anywhere near a solution for us.

[mattjpa]

Gutted, I came on and saw the latest post bit was full of posts on this topic and hoped something had happened! alas....
Re the comment about assuming that if we get injuries to key players others will, I dont think that is the issue. For me the issue is our over reliance on our key players. I cant decide if it is due to us being set up to play to our key players strengths or the inexperience/lack of ability of our back up players but we really do turn to shit when we are missing 2 or more key men in a way that no other club does.

Maybe the large percentage of our squad are hiding behind the really good players?