Birmingham Mail and Villa coverage

[Damo70]

Joey Barton having a medical today at West Ham apparently.

apparently Gold's son who's on the board tweeted that they aren't going to sign him.

Smarter than they look.

Otto, Pennant, Bowyer. I think Sullivan and Gold take a bung from the probation service to employ/rehabilitate offenders.

[thick_mike]

Can we just post a cut and paste of these articles here? Posting links just increases their click count and does their snide jobs for them.

[in exile]

Can we just post a cut and paste of these articles here? Posting links just increases their click count and does their snide jobs for them.

Better still, just ignore them

[saunders_heroes]

Joey Barton having a medical today at West Ham apparently.

apparently Gold's son who's on the board tweeted that they aren't going to sign him.

Smarter than they look.

Otto, Pennant, Bowyer. I think Sullivan and Gold take a bung from the probation service to employ/rehabilitate offenders.

Has Barton ever done time in prison like Sullivan?

[Toronto Villa]

Joey Barton having a medical today at West Ham apparently.

apparently Gold's son who's on the board tweeted that they aren't going to sign him.

Smarter than they look.

Otto, Pennant, Bowyer. I think Sullivan and Gold take a bung from the probation service to employ/rehabilitate offenders.

Has Barton ever done time in prison like Sullivan?

Rhetorical question?

[Risso]

Has Barton ever done time in prison like Sullivan?

Yep, 6 months for battering a teenage lad after a skinful.

I never knew that David Sullivan's girlfriend was Mary Millington for a while (don't Google her at work).  Almost have a new found respect for him.

[in exile]

How can anyone respect that tacky little shit?

[tomd2103]

I am not sure whether I find it pathetic or respect the clear cut editorial policy of anti Villa. It is genuinely surprising though, I just don't know of other local papers that hate their biggest club so much.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/joey-barton-aston-villa-v-9819388#rlabs=1

That's not a genuine article surely

Our good friend Steve -Villa fans should be grateful to Delph and Benteke for leaving- Wallaston.

Yet in an article about Berahino possibly leaving, he included the following:

"Stay put Saido!

Former Baggies striker Kevin Campbell has urged Saido Berahino to stay at The Hawthorns.

Speaking to talkSPORT he said: "He could be a success at Tottenham but a lot of these young players tend to move a bit too quickly.

"He is playing in a Premier League side, he is getting games and experience is everything.

"He is only young so the more you play and the more you experience, then maybe later on in your career, two, three years down the line, if he wants to move then it is fine because he will be established."

Very different tone to the articles he wrote about Benteke and Delph.  There have been a couple of articles like that now (one with Tony Brown), but I'm still waiting to see an article with the thoughts of an ex-Spurs player saying what a good move it would be.   

[LeeB]

Has Barton ever done time in prison like Sullivan?

Yep, 6 months for battering a teenage lad after a skinful.

I never knew that David Sullivan's girlfriend was Mary Millington for a while (don't Google her at work).  Almost have a new found respect for him.

Until you realise he attempted to profit from her suicide.

[PeterWithesShin]

Gregg Evans

Aston Villa comment: Jordan Amavi is making a real impression - but already fans are concerned about his future

“Jordan Amavi should be playing for a top four club, fact.” said one Aston Villa fan to me at the weekend.

“It’s only a matter of time before he leaves for a bigger club,” said another.

Quote one shocked me. Quote two saddened me.

Amazingly, after just two games, the 21-year-old left-back who was signed for £10million this summer is already receiving such rave reviews.

Can we really judge a player after just 180 minutes?

More importantly, can we say so definitively that he won’t be a part of Villa’s long-term future after just ONE MONTH at the club? I think not.

It’s a sorry state of affairs that so early into his claret and blue career, supporters already feel he will inevitably move onto better things.

The Villa faithful have become so accustomed to losing their prized assets in years gone by that fears instantly creep into their thoughts when a player starts to shine.

Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph continued the worrying trend of departures this summer by joining Liverpool and Manchester City respectively.

Before that Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, James Milner and Gareth Barry left for better things.

And even further back, the likes of Dwight Yorke, Mark Bosnich, Gareth Southgate and Ugo Ehiogu couldn’t resist the lure of competing for trophies on what they thought would be a more regular basis.

With that in mind it’s little wonder that fans are already concerned given the long list of departures.

The Villa hierarchy are not fazed, though.

They predict brighter times ahead and are exciting with the current crop.

Owner Randy Lerner handed over the money to snap up Amavi and was more than happy to write up a five-year contract.

Jordan Veretout, Jordan Ayew, Rudy Gestede and Adama Traore also signed similar lengthy deals while key performers Ashley Westwood and Ciaran Clark are now tied down until 2020.

Gana, Nathan Baker, Carles Gil, Scott Sinclair, and Micah Richards all have four years to run on their contracts after so any short-term exits appear very unlikely.

Villa appear to be learning from their mistakes in the past.

Delph’s contract should never have gone down to the last six months and Ron Vlaar should have been offered a healthy new package when he was performing well.

But with that in mind, long-term contracts were handed out to the new arrivals and the core of British players that Sherwood wanted to keep have been rewarded with bumper new deals.

In these very early stages of the season Amavi has been a stand-out star.

What’s certain is that should he continue to perform well, he will leave for much larger sum than the fee that was paid to Nice last month.

That shouldn’t be a thought right now, though.

The Frenchman is part of a new-look Villa team hoping to buck the trend of fighting against relegation in recent years.

The average age of Villa’s nine summer outfield recruits comes to just under 24 which shows how the club is building for the future.

Amavi will be a vital part of that.

Going forward he’s a joy to watch and if he can sharpen up his defensively play in times ahead Sherwood could have a real talent on his hands.

Of course, results will dictate his future, Villa must out-perform the tally of recent seasons in order to keep hold of their prized assets going forward.

Already Amavi is deemed one of those and he’s expected to get even better.

[Billy Walker]

Nursey levels of shit-stirring there from Gregg Evans.  I don't know who the two fans are he is quoting but they certainly don't represent my thoughts or fears.  What a ridiculous piece of small-time nonsense.

[peter w]

So why bother reading what they write? They do it just to get the responses they are getting. It sells advertising if they know that they will get  (horrible word) clickbait from prodding the biggest club with most fans. No point saying that we are great because we won't bother with it then. Annoy the fans and you're more likely to respond or at least read an article.

Ignore them and they'll go away.

[dave.woodhall]

I doubt there's a single club in Europe who haven't sold ten high-profile players in almost twenty years.

[peter w]

Alloa?

[PeterWithesShin]

So why bother reading what they write? They do it just to get the responses they are getting. It sells advertising if they know that they will get  (horrible word) clickbait from prodding the biggest club with most fans. No point saying that we are great because we won't bother with it then. Annoy the fans and you're more likely to respond or at least read an article.

Ignore them and they'll go away.

It's why I quoted it rather than use a link, at least the tossers get a few less clicks from us.