I thought I’d better come on and say something, just so you don’t think I’ve disappeared, given that I think it’s been over a month since the last post.
The problem is, there isn’t really much to say is there?
I could just repeat the absolute tosh that comes from the clickbait sites, but I really don’t see the slightest bit of value in that and I’d hate to insult you all by doing so.
In fact, my contempt of these sites has actually risen lately and an article from yesterday or today, talking about Trezeguet frankly had me fuming.
The headline was something along the lines of “get rid”, which led me to believe it was going to talk about a source of trouble. I immediately thought of Sanson and thought it might tell me something I didn’t know.
The article went on to quote some ex football player (not even an ex Villa player), whose name escapes me, saying that some players just have an attitude and need to be got rid of.
Imagine my anger, given that I think Trezeguet has been an absolutely model professional, who has never given any inkling of trouble as far as I know.
Oh, I’ve just had the misfortune to come across the article again and it’s Kevin Campbell talking.
Here’s the quote;
“If he’s not matched up to the standards Steven Gerrard has set then he won’t have him and he’ll cut his losses. Sometimes players are not playing well and they can’t be bothered, it’s better to just get them out the club and take half the money, get something back for him.”
How can that be related to Trezeguet?
It just goes to show that ex players don’t have a clue and even more so when they don’t even have any contacts at the club. It could of course just be the case that they’ve used his quote totally out of context and he may even have been talking about someone else, but who cares?
Ex players know nothing, imo, simple as.
Anyway, what isn’t absolute rubbish is that Trezeguet has moved to Turkiye (see how trendy I am really?) for 5 million Euros. I think that’s a pretty good for both clubs and I wish him all the best. He’s not Premier league material, imo, but I think he’ll be great in the Turkish league, as was demonstrated during his loan spell there.
What wasn’t such a good deal was Lovre Kalinic leaving a year early on a free transfer to Hajduk Split, his old club.
He cost us over £5 million and was paid around £15-16k a week. Not bad for hardly ever playing and being pretty poor when he did.
I’m definitely in the wrong game. I wonder if the Villa would be interested in a rubbish backup goalie for the bargain price of nothing and £5k a week? Let me know Stevie G!
Seriously though, I don’t quite understand what’s been going on with the Villa and goalies over the last few years.
It’s almost been some sort of obsession, given the turnover we’ve had.
When it comes to players coming in, I think it’s fair to say the media just don’t have a clue do they? Kalvin Philips has been spotted at Man Citeh before a medical. That for me has to be quite simply about the money and while I can understand he wants to set himself up for life, I wonder how much he thinks he will get to play in that side?
I quite rate the player, but I’m not regretting his not coming.
There’s also plenty of speculation about our younger players and what I think we can accept as the truth is that they’re in demand. Indeed I’m now seeing that Tim Iroegbanum has no less than six clubs after him.
I trust that the coaches and management will make the best decisions for them all.
The only constant transfer out speculation I’m seeing is about Douglas Luiz.
I’m still not convinced he wants to leave as much as we’re being told, but it now seems Roma and AC Milan are interested, along with Arsenal, Spurs and whoever else.
I just hope if he does go, we don’t sell him too cheaply.
And finally it was nice to see the “McGinn troublemaker” story debunked, even though it was (emminently sensible) speculation by MOMS. I never really believed it anyway.
Basically, given that the whole football industry has been on holiday, everything has been total and utter speculation really, hasn’t it?
But now I expect things to start happening and the real search has begun for quality at the right price.
Unfortunately, it seems to me that most clubs are not as generous as the Villa when it comes to letting players go cheaply and I can see things progressing a fair bit slower than we’d like.
Louie Barry has gone on loan to MK Dons;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62143491
Why do I suspect he’ll never get near the first team squad?
Possibly because he could be another one of those ‘wonder-kids’ who looked like the next Cruyff/Beckenbaur/Pele when he was 16 but is finding moving into the adult game a bit more diificult ? (& how many of those have we seen at VP over the years…)
I’m pretty sure that all the coaching staff at Bodymoor know exactly what he can and can’t do at this stage, and presumably judge that a season in League 1is what he needs.
Badger and friends
Actions speak louder than words. Carney Chukwuemeka has not signed a new contract. I don’t know the ins and outs of the impasse. Therefore, get rid of, full stop and no debate.
It appears that if we sell him it will be for £m’s rather than £000’s development, if he sees out his contract.
If CC is as good as he thinks he is, why has he not permanently dislodged Ramsey, Luiz or McGinn? I’d remind him of Daniel Crowley. Perceived to be better than Jack Grealish and decided the grass was greener at Arsenal. Didn’t make it there and has become a journey man, who never fulfilled the promise we felt he could have achieved at Villa.
Just to help CC move on, I’d tell him that he would go back to his age group for the remainder of his contract and would be a substitute. That would give him the incentive to move.
From a speculation point Bankruptcelona are apparently interested in him. As they are so broke, why not sell CC to them in exchange for paying off Coutinho’s outstanding debt?
Carney Chukwuemeka Should remember Villa have a tradition of giving young players the opportunity achieve. Please shut the door on the way out of Villa Park.
Great summing up Sid
Carney Chukwuemeka has been left out of the tour squad and is apparently wanted by Arsenal.
He’s rated at £30 to 40 million!
Who writes this crap?
Unbelieveable indeed, in every sense;
https://tbrfootball.com/club-leaves-unbelievable-40m-midfielder-out-of-their-pre-season-tour-squad-after-reports-arsenal-want-him/
It seems if they let his contract run down and he moves to another club Villa will only be able to claim a development fee which has been mooted at £345k.
I suspect they will try and sell him in this transfer window and ask a great deal more but clubs might play hardball and wait until January when he can agree to join a new club for the nominal fee.
It’s pretty clear he’s not going to sign and sees himself as the new Bellingham!
And as I type, Talksh*te report Villa are asking £20m for him. Good business if they can get it. No point in having players who are so full of themselves they think they are better than the club!
He’s become a distraction.
Done nothing (as far as I’ve seen) to justify all the hype when he’s been in the 1st team.
Just put in some proper sell-on/buy back clauses and ship him out…
TBF Barry has just turned 19. He looked a bit lightweight to me but by some accounts he has bulked up a bit. Bear in mind Archer is 18 months older. Next season is a big one for him. Moving up a division will be a step change so we might have a better idea where his career is headed then.
For comparison Grealish was 19 before he became a regular and I would argue the squad is better now than back then.
Time will tell but I guess many more fail than succeed.
Sorry to post this here but cant find the info I need anywhere else……..
I am wanting to ditch Virgin Media and I am starting by changing email address but cant see how to do it for this site……unless I can do it when I post comment….lol
Cheers
Keith
Sorry to post this here but cant find the info I need anywhere else……..
I am wanting to ditch Virgin Media and I am starting by changing email address but cant see how to do it for this site……
Cheers
Keith
Looks like you’ve done it 🙂
All it needs is for me to approve your post.
I’ll be asked to do it if you mis-spell a letter in any of your details, so it’s quite easy.
Thanks Badger…sent it twice on each email lol
If Barcelona are bust and in breach of every known financial regulation in football, how can they pay £97m for Raphina and Lewandowski?
Just shows how bent football is.
You have to laugh Hitch :-/
It’s just a joke.
Villa beat Leeds 1-0.
Dirty game by all accounts and Villa not entirely innocent. We got two penalties, Coutinho missed, Ings scored!
No love lost between these two sides and Leeds will, no doubt, continue playing rough football.
Nice to hear we appear to have toughened up, it would seem.
I don’t like it, but it’s been long needed and perhaps a sign that we’re joining the rest of the modern, cheating scum (also known as winners).
Can’t argue with that Badger.
Leeds fans are complaining that Villa players were all piling in after ‘a fantastic’ challenge (by Archie Gray). Of course they appear to have overlooked the fact that the ‘fantastic’ challenge went straight through Buendia and earned him a yellow card and might well have seriously injured him.
If he wants to put it about expect some back – end of.
Wish I could post the pictures from my niece and family who was at the game and met Peter Withe in Australia they have bought tickets for ever match . All seven are Villa mad and they are saying the atmosphere was brilliant with the supporters enjoying the game, had tackles from both sides Bamford being his normal self a proper arsole. Watkins missing chances and us a penalty but Ings getting one .
Maybe email them to Badger and he can uplaod them????
I bet it’s strange it’s hotter here than in Oz!!!
By all means, send them Bill and I’ll see if I can get them up.
Amazed at the amount of Villa fans and there did seem a great buzz. Definetely not a “friendly”. Anyone with IPTV they are showing it again at 1930pm on Portugal TV. Eleven 1HD.
Louie Barry will benefit from a season in League 1. His problem is he is not going to grow much taller, or much heavier, so he needs to learn how to play the game against taller and heavier opponents. It can be done, Luka Modric an example from the very top. And in Louie’s position was Michael Owen.
Two reports on Chukweumeka’s contract demands.
Football insider claims he’s asking for £100k per week whereas Mirror says he wants guarantees over playing time. The latter is more probable I suspect and aligns with a comment Agbonlahor made about earnings being related to playing time early in his career.
He’s 18, hence he won’t get anywhere near either, in my opinion.
I’ll repeat what I said before.
He needs to prove himself first, as although I’ve raved about him previously, he’s done nothing to convince me at top level yet.
As much as I believe Carney will be a star in the game in a few years, £100k a week is a joke at his age and experience. He wont get that anywhere else either IMO i’m sure that would be a red flag to all the clubs I’ve seen mentioned. I do think if he was given more game time though (and I mean serious time not an extra 5 minutes here and there) we would all get to see how good he is and the sort of form he shows for England U19’s. But, if he cant be realistic about his wage demands or is becoming petulant about playing time trying to make demands etc then we should just cut him off and let him go when his contract expires and let another club deal with it. In that time he may just grow up a bit and see sense, who knows, what I do know is the endless clickbait/speculation is becoming very very tedious!
Have just watched Villa beating Brisbane Roar 1-0. Archer scored in the second half. It was a training game. Brisbane could not get the ball off Villa for long periods and Villa were trying the ’15 passes and a tap-in’ routine which the surface did more to disrupt than the opponents. I wondered where all the flat-face metal goals went – Australia obviously.
Just watched England win the QF against Spain who were arguably the better side but failed to take their chances.
Tbf England just didn’t give up though.
Very good entertainment – loved it.
https://www.myoldmansaid.com/the-nonsense-surrounding-this-summers-most-boring-aston-villa-transfer-saga/
This is an excellent article from MOMS that puts the Chukweumeka situation into perspective and the overhyped media click bait reporting in the shredder where it belongs.
Still we all read it though – even if it’s only occasionally.
UTV
Excellent piece.
I just wish that the people at “B’ham Live” who like to put yet another headline out about the player at least twice a day, would read it and take note.
Nobody seems interested in him, and the longer that his agents keep putting out more ‘rumours’ about it, the less chance he has of actually playing any football this coming season.
There is nothing better than a comeback game in a knockout competition. Spain had some seriously tough cookies. The gap narrows.
How do you guys interpret Gerrard’s comments on Luiz? Sounds to me like a contract was offered and he’s refused to sign it. Could be losing the likes of him and Carney on a free – not good.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/douglas-luiz-aston-villa-contract-24550498
It doesn’t come across well, does it Tex?
I found this line caught the eye;
“We totally respect Douglas’s situation, I love him as a player.”
That sounds to me like doesn’t like him as a person for some reason. Probably because, as you suggest, he won’t sign.
While I seriously rate him as a player, I don’t think it would be the end of the world if he went.
I’m minded to agree with how Gerrard surely thinks;
“If you aren’t committed, I don’t want you here”.
Villa down 2-0 in Austrailia friendly. Pretty poor from Villa in seriously heavy rain. Total fluke second for MU