January Transfer Window - The Verdict.

[Exeter 77]

To add to the list: Juninho, Benni McCarthy and, from my vague recollection, David Swindlehurst.

You've made that last one up surely?

I remember Sir Graham wanting Lineker but Doug said something about us not being able to make a signing for two years if we did.

Thinking about it signing Lineker in that case would have meant not signing Cascarino and then having two England players at the Italia 90 World Cup. Doug's shortsighted foresight again!

[LeeB]

To add to the list: Juninho, Benni McCarthy and, from my vague recollection, David Swindlehurst.

You've made that last one up surely?

I remember Sir Graham wanting Lineker but Doug said something about us not being able to make a signing for two years if we did.

Thinking about it signing Lineker in that case would have meant not signing Cascarino and then having two England players at the Italia 90 World Cup. Doug's shortsighted foresight again!

I remember the talk was something like a £4m deal, which even with Doug's parsimony was a fuckload of money at that time

[eamonn]

I met Christian Vieri on top of the Empire State Building (he’d recently signed for Inter Milan, possibly as a world record fee, and was wearing their training kit, the tight bastard), he confirmed that Villa had tried to sign him and that he would’ve joined.  I didn’t pester him enough to find out how the deal fell through.

I'd have been tempted to throw him off.

[LeeB]

I met Christian Vieri on top of the Empire State Building (he’d recently signed for Inter Milan, possibly as a world record fee, and was wearing their training kit, the tight bastard), he confirmed that Villa had tried to sign him and that he would’ve joined.  I didn’t pester him enough to find out how the deal fell through.

I'd have been tempted to throw him off.

Good luck with that, he was a unit.

I seem to recall he was a big cricket fan and fancied moving to England so he could play that as well.

[eamonn]

Ha, I was going to add that you'd probably need back-up to shift the bugger, alright.

[pauliewalnuts]

I met Christian Vieri on top of the Empire State Building (he’d recently signed for Inter Milan, possibly as a world record fee, and was wearing their training kit, the tight bastard), he confirmed that Villa had tried to sign him and that he would’ve joined.  I didn’t pester him enough to find out how the deal fell through.

I'd have been tempted to throw him off.

Good luck with that, he was a unit.

I seem to recall he was a big cricket fan and fancied moving to England so he could play that as well.

He was actually Australian, wasn't he?

[Martin Carruthers]

He grew up in Australia, he's got a really good Aussie Italian accent.

[eamonn]

It's been said Villa tried to sign  Alan Shearer?! Michael Owen,
Frank Lampard, and Robert Carlos?!!! At one time or another over the premier league years.
Is there any more information on those and how accurate this source is?

Definitely remember the Lampard talk at the the time but Les Ferdinand is the one that springs to mind for me.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11601534/les-ferdinand-on-aston-villas-ridiculous-offer-kevin-keegan-and-newcastle

The article got the year wrong in which we tried to sign Les. It would have been summer 1995, not the following year.

And considering that Doug was ready to throw as much cash as Ferdinand wanted at him, I wonder did that money then get spent on Savo (on half the wages/transfer fee). I also wonder how a Yorke/Ferdinand partnership would have looked like and whether it would have propelled us even higher in 95/96.

[LeeB]

It's been said Villa tried to sign  Alan Shearer?! Michael Owen,
Frank Lampard, and Robert Carlos?!!! At one time or another over the premier league years.
Is there any more information on those and how accurate this source is?

Definitely remember the Lampard talk at the the time but Les Ferdinand is the one that springs to mind for me.
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11601534/les-ferdinand-on-aston-villas-ridiculous-offer-kevin-keegan-and-newcastle

The article got the year wrong in which we tried to sign Les. It would have been summer 1995, not the following year.

And considering that Doug was ready to throw as much cash as Ferdinand wanted at him, I wonder did that money then get spent on Savo (on half the wages/transfer fee). I also wonder how a Yorke/Ferdinand partnership would have looked like and whether it would have propelled us even higher in 95/96.

As Brian said around the time, that signing would've spunked our budget and we wouldn't have signed Draper and Southgate, so although he was a wonderful striker we may not have been the force we turned out to be.

Ferdinand and Yorke though would've have been pretty lethal.

[eamonn]

A bit wreckless then, considering Draper and Southgate were the spine of the team that season.

[LukeJames]

The only thing I remember of nearly signings was Dougs list of potential strikers that was leaked on the back of the papers. Nobody with half a brain would ever have been gullible enough to believe any of them. Me on the other hand? I immediately started editting Veiri and Shevchenko into my Pro Evolution Soccer Villa squads.

[Exeter 77]

To add to the list: Juninho, Benni McCarthy and, from my vague recollection, David Swindlehurst.

You've made that last one up surely?

I remember Sir Graham wanting Lineker but Doug said something about us not being able to make a signing for two years if we did.

Thinking about it signing Lineker in that case would have meant not signing Cascarino and then having two England players at the Italia 90 World Cup. Doug's shortsighted foresight again!

I remember the talk was something like a £4m deal, which even with Doug's parsimony was a fuckload of money at that time

I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek. I can't quite remember the timeline of the summer of 1989 but signing Lineker may have meant no Paul McGrath or Kent Neilsen either. Slightly ironically we signed very few players after that summer until BFR came in two years later - Cascarino, Cox and Penrice are the only ones which come to mind easily.

[Footy-Vill]

Roberto Firmino is available on a free in the summer.
I think he's the sort of quality professional and an intelligent player. We should look to get in.

[Drummond]

No.

[LeeB]

No