What’s new rumour-cat? Tuesday’s latest Villa transfer gossip
Martin O'Neill has an itchy-biro-finger over Randy Lerner's cheque book
The transfer window is so close that you can feel it’s smelly breath on the back of your neck. So it’s no surprise that there are loads of rumours around linking us to all and sundry. Some will come true, some will nearly happen and some are just made up by someone wishing to shift papers or get pageviews 
Here at AVB we like to go through them all and try to give a little info on a player and open it up to debate on whether you want them at Villa or not. Yesterday we saw a nice response in agreement with me that Senderos would be a poor signing, or to correctly quote what is one of the funniest comments we’ve had on here for a while:
As for Senderos, I’d rather have sex with a lawnmower than sign him
And on that bombshell, let’s dive into today’s bunch:
- Giles Barnes is a young pacy winger for Derby County, who has been on an unsuccessful loan to Fulham for part of this season. I say unsuccessful because he hasn’t made a single appearance. Roy Hodgson either doesn’t think he is cut out for the Prem or doesn’t see a way to fit him into his team. Now, I’m a big fan of Roy Hodgson, I think he’s doing a great job at Fulham, but I must admit that when I first saw him interviewed I judged the book by it’s cover and said “What’s that old fanny gonna do with Fulham?”. He proved me wrong and I respect that. Anyway, we’re talking about Barnes, not licking Hodgson’s bum-ring, so back to the matter at hand; we are more suited to Barnes’s style and he may well go fairly cheap, so don’t rule him out but he’s not going to set the club on fire and may well prove to be another Wayne Routledge.
- Fulham’s keeper Mark Schwarzer is next up, having been mentioned as someone we have been sniffing around, but I can’t really see O’Neill buying another aging keeper when we still have Friedel. I think MON will keep his faith in Friedel for at very least one more season, so I can’t see where this rumour has come from. A younger keeper maybe, but I just can’t see it with Schwarzer.
- Stewart Downing looks destined to get relegated with Boro so will almost definitely be moving on this summer. He will be far from cheap though and isn’t an area of urgency (like centre back and centre forward are) so I don’t see this happening either. It may do, he is certainly a talented player, but I doubt it. If it does tho, I’m going to take a positive stance and say that if we spend big on a midfielder/winger, we also plan to spend big up front and at the back too. Cuz if he splashes £12m+ on a winger and gets some mediocre centre back then I’m right on that O’Neill-hating bandwagon. And I don’t want to get on that wagon. I like O’Neill.
- Man City’s Joe Hart is again being linked with us and if we do buy a keeper I fancy him as the favourite. He will very likely move on after having had his progress disturbed by the arrival of Given. The lad is definitely a big prospect and may well go on to be a regular England keeper if he finds a team where he’s number one choice. He probably needs to learn to make ridiculous mistakes if he wants to play for England tho
- Along similar lines to Downing is David Bentley. He is also a talented player but he has gone seriously off the boil. He never plays for Tottenham so will most likely move on in the summer but they will want to recoup as much of the £16m they wasted on him as possible. Again, it’s not an area we are screaming out for new players in but if we do make the step up to serious European contention, then we need some rotationability (<– nah, it’s probly not a real word!).
- A quick note on Thomas Vermaelen, who we have been linked with; apparently Arsenal are now interested too.
- Finally, Rabiu Afolabi of FC Sochaux is on our radar. He is a tall central defender with plenty experience but like many of the rumours that are now surfacing, he is unlikely to be of the mould we need to replace a player as influential and significant as Laursen.
Deadline day transfer gossip
The transfer window closes at 5pm this afternoon, giving Martin O’Neill very little time to secure any of the signings he (and we) was hopeful of making before the window slams closed and shuts the cold and snow outside and all the Premier League players in. The final day is rapidly becoming known for its madness and rushed deals, and also for a LOT of money changing hands.
What does this mean for Villa? Well as everyone knows; Villa are very secretive in their transfer dealings. They keep it as secret as they can and then once the deal is done, they never admit the fee, preferring to label it ‘undisclosed’. This practice resorts the press, the Villa blogs and the fans to speculate. Speculate to accumulate they say, and that’s what we wish to do. Accumulate a squad big enough and good enough to compete at the level we have recently found ourselves.
So in the last chance we’ll get before the summer, let’s dive deep into the transfer rumours and discuss who we do and don’t want at the club. Read more
D’ya want the good news or the bad news?
Filed under: Ashley Young, Aston Villa, International Football, Match Previews
Ok, I’ll make it short for this one, but I’ve just read the starting line-up that Fabio Capello has chosen for the Germany game and at first delight spread across my face when I saw Gabby Agbonlahor’s name up front… but then I saw another name and I swore out loud! Don’t worry I was alone, my four month old daughter wasn’t subjected to my double four-letter display, when I saw the name Downing in the line-up. Argggggghhh!!! What has Ashley Young got to do to prove himself?!
Let me state why I feel Young should be starting tonight; he has played outstandingly all this season and most of last; he makes the rest of the team play better due to his positive attacking play; he creates goal-scoring opportunities with his selfless passing and crossing game; he keeps possession of the ball better than Downing and his passes and crosses are much more accurate and decisive; blah blah blah… because he’s the dog’s banana’s! That’s enough!
I’m sure plenty of Middlesbrough fans out there would leap to their boy’s defence (and as hardened fans, so they should), but bear these 2 points in mind:
1. Read more
Gardner plays superb for England U21s, Agbonlahor and Young now with good chance of senior England action… at last and Barry remains regular in the national side
Filed under: Ashley Young, Aston Villa, Craig Gardner, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, International Football, Match Previews, Match Reports, Player Profiles
Last night saw an England international friendly take place, not quite to the same media frenzy as tonight’s senior game against Germany, but successful all the same. Stuart Pearce’s U21 side took on the Czech Republic U21 at Bramall Lane and triumphed 2-0, thanks to goals from Manchester United’s Fraizer Campbell, currently out on loan at Harry Rednkapp’s Tottenham Hotspur, and none other than Villa’s own home-grown talent; Craig Gardner.
Campbell opened the scoring ten minutes into the game with a deftly taken goal, played through by Peterborough goalie Joe Lewis, who had a great game till he went off injured. The second goal came at the same length into the second half, from a free-kick by Gardner that you couldn’t quite tell if he meant it or not. It was a low free-kick, that went under the wall and into the bottom corner of the net. Through pride for one of our own, we’ll say: Played for… and got! Well done Craig.
In addition to the goal, Gardner also played a good commanding role in the midfield for the side, showing he could have potential to get back in the Villa side, but with our current crop of players you can only see him making it if injuries help him out. A loan move would certainly benefit him, but I doubt O’Neill would sanction letting players go when we still don’t have the largest of squads.
On to the senior England team Read more
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