The Aston Villa "lets not out stay our welcome and return to the premiership asap" thread.

[westisbest]

Ok, so writing this a little early, but in fairness we have been down for months.
Been an absolute shocking season to say the least.

With poitive talks of a new owner on the way, managers being touted about.
Pearson would be my choice, although hearing Di Matteo is now favourite.
Hopefully some good news comes out of this.

Players i hope leave in summer:-

Guzan, Lescott, Cissokho, Bacuna, Richardson, Sinclair, Gabby, Sanchez, Kozak, N'Zogbia, Westwood.

Thats alot of players to get rid of.

Players who have been out on loan.

Baker, can stay at Bristol City.
Bennett, back up to Amavi(if he stays).
Steer, can go.
Gardner, definatly keep, will be like a new signing.

Players in.
off the top of my head.

David Marshall, for me best keeper in champioship.
Cyrus Christie, every time i have seen him play for Derby and Ireland he has looked good. Need a new rb.
Alan Judge, had a great season with Brentford, would be a good addition.
Ross McCormack, his name has been touted around with us, could be a decent signing.
Wessi for the experience.
Will Grigg, scored a load for Wigan,  i know its a step up in leagues, but he could do well.


Just a few names there, again just off the top of my head.

Will be difficult, but we really need to keep hold of Ayew and Amavi.

Youngsters.
Andre Green, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Kevin Toner, Jordan Lyden.
These 4 our the main ones for the future. Had a taste of first team action. Hopefully continue to get some first team action next season.

I would take Petrov back, moreso as experience for the team, especially the youngsters. Maybe in a coaching role. I know he wants to play, dont think he would get much first team action.

So the squad would look something like:-

Marshall, Bunn
Christie, Hutton, Okore, Clarke, Toner,  Amavi, Bennett, Richards.
Judge, Wessi, Gana,  Veretout, Traore, Gardner, Gil, Lyden, Green, Grealish
Ayew, Gestede, Hepburn-Murphy, McCormack, Grigg.

Again, this is just off the top of my head, re signings/squad, am sure we may sign 'better players' whoever they may be.

I know the championship will be tough. Games come thick and fast.
Really hope Pearson is the next manager. He knows the league, wont take any sh1t and will get the players performing.

Its a sad goodbye to the premiership and hello champioship.

Here's to a short stay and boune straight back up(whatever the squad is)

[Guest]

Cyrus Christie is shocking

I think you've got the toughest job, out of the three going down, to bounce immediately back up

[westisbest]

Looks good from what i have seen, again, just throwing some names out there.

Read Matty James could be an option in midfield.

Reason we may have toughr job to get back up out of the 3, we have never been in the championship.

Norwich and Newcastle know about it. Used to playing those type of games.

Also the season we have had.

If we can get rid of pretty much all the above names to go in the summer, new takeover and say Pearson in charge, sign the right players, whoever they maybe, then i think we will do well.
Be up there in the mix of things.

To be honest cant really make a prediction till early september after the window has closed.

We shall see. Will definatly be tricky though, walking into the unknown.

[GSC]

Liams right Christie really isn't good.

Some bookies have stopped taking bets on RDM

[Guest]

Di Matteo achieved promotion with us, behind Hughton's Newcastle, so can see where Villa might be going. Still don't think he's a great manager or fit at Villa, was awful for us in the PL & was terrible at Schalke. He was basically living off that miraculous Champions League win he achieved with Chelsea & that pay off.

[westisbest]

Think Pearson is the man for the job.
Although if Karanka leaves Boro, reckon Pearson may go there, leaving the way for RDM, Moyes, or even Bruce.

[dyrewolfe]

Think Pearson is the man for the job.
Although if Karanka leaves Boro, reckon Pearson may go there, leaving the way for RDM, Moyes, or even Bruce.

Can't think why Karanka would leave when he's just got us promoted...especially if it meant going back to the Championship. He might go if a major foreign club made an offer, but otherwise I can't think of any incentive for him to leave.

[westisbest]

Only something I read dyrewolfe.
Agree would be strange for him to leave at this stage.

[Nico the gman]

Villa hierarchy should hang their heads in shame, the fans have been let down shockingly, good luck, I hope and I'm sure you'll bounce back pretty quickly, Pearson or Moyes I feel would be a good choice 2 no nonsense managers.

[westisbest]

Cheers Nico.
Been very bad in fairness.
The board were a complete joke.
I feel we have to come straight back up, or we could be there a while.

It's certainly going to be very tough.

I actually can't wait now for this takeover if indeed it does actually happen, then we can get new manager in and sell/sign some players.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Think you're right that it'll be tough for you not having played in the championship before, that's why I think you should be going full guns for a Pearson/Bruce who have experience of the league and will bring in players they know can do the job in this division.

[dyrewolfe]

Best of luck for next season. Hope you manage to get shot of Lerner and the other incompetents who got you into this situation.

Agree with Nico that you could do a lot worse than Pearson or Moyes to get you back up. Neither tolerate prima donnas and demand 100% from their players.

Will be keeping one eye on the Championship to see how the promotion race pans out and hope you're in the mix.

[westisbest]

cheers dryewolfe.

good luck to boro to, always good to see the 3 teams that come up stay up.

[westisbest]

Takeover imminent then.

Dr Tony Xia.
I just hope this guy actually comes and watches villa.
Showed some interest.

RDM meant to be named as new manager by end of the week.

Would have preferd Pearson.

If RDM is new manager can't really judge him till at least 10 games or so into new season.

Be interesting to see how much money we have to spend on players.

Good to see it finally done.
Just hoping for better days ahead and that this wont be a shambles.

Also I do t want to see any of this nonsense of changing the name of the stadium.

[Nico the gman]

Takeover imminent then.

Dr Tony Xia.
I just hope this guy actually comes and watches villa.
Showed some interest.

RDM meant to be named as new manager by end of the week.

Would have preferd Pearson.

If RDM is new manager can't really judge him till at least 10 games or so into new season.

Be interesting to see how much money we have to spend on players.

Good to see it finally done.
Just hoping for better days ahead and that this wont be a shambles.

Also I do t want to see any of this nonsense of changing the name of the stadium.

New owner talking about £50 mill transfer budget, if the new owner is true to his word I'm having a good wedge on you for promotion, you won't be far away.

[Guest]

I wouldn't get carried away, with the media headlines of £50m being spent. Highly unlikely to spend that amount in the championship.

The media went with the headline -  New Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia has said the club's next manager will be given up to £50m to spend to get the club back into the Premier League.

He actually said - "We will have a budget from £20m to £30m to £40m to £50m,". So in reality, he doesn't really have a clue about footballing costs or what he's really going to do this summer, in terms of spending.

[westisbest]

I actually read the guy was under investigation that he was not totally legit.

Something to do with Recon Group.

Hopefully just paper talk.
He talks a good game, but then any owner coming in would.
He's a footballing man, supposedly a villa fan for some time, not sure about that.

Wants Villa to be biggest supported team in China.
Not fussed about that tbh.

Aim is to get back to the prem at the first time and then maintain a top 6 finish in a regular basis as we did at times before.

Either way I think we will be in the mix next season.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Seems to me like he's more interested in using villa to promote his products in China, talk of renaming the stadium etc

[GSC]

Gotta skirt FFP somehow.

[westisbest]

Lotus Villa Park is what they want to name it.

Always be Villa Park to me.

Like St James Park. Dean Court etc.

RDM having talks with Lazio.

[dyrewolfe]

I wouldn't get too upset about renaming the stadium tbh.

We had to put up with having the Cellnet Riverside Stadium for a few years, but sponsors come and go. In the end, your ground is whatever you want to call it, regardless of who pays to have their name plastered on it. If the additional income helps to pay for a promotion-winning squad then its not all bad.

Of course, our ground is pretty new, compared to some, but we've already generated some history in it.


Hope your new owner turns out to be legit (financially, at least anyway). Would be very surprised if he is a serious football fan, but as long as you appoint good people to actually run the club, you should be okay.

[Guest]

Moyes rules himself out, probably doesn't fancy working for this owner

[Guest]

The last Chinese owner of a Birmingham club was Carson Yeung.

[westisbest]

Moyes rules himself out, probably doesn't fancy working for this owner

Nope, nothing to do with that from what i hear.
As far as im aware he's not even had talks with Xia.

He doesnt want to work in the championship.

I wont be to quick to judge the bloke until he has been at Villa for some time.

[Guest]

Rander Lerner has a good reputation for philanthropy supporting the local children's hospice, Acorns.  He also said he would ensure he would sell the club to someone who had the clubs best interest at heart.  It would be a surprise if there was a problem with the proposed new owner. The problem with Lerner was that he was an "absentee landlord".  

The set up at Leicester City has worked well.  The Thai Owner's son is running the Club and he came across well in his BBC interview.

[Guest]

Lerner had no interest in Villa, hence the 'absentee landlord'. He had no interest in investing in the club & he was desperately trying to sell the club for a long time, so to think he suddenly cares about the new owners is delusional. He's a businessman, interested in money, not the future of Aston Villa. He would of had no interest in who he sold it too, he just wanted out ASAP.

[Guest]

Following on from that, the Villa takeover now looks like it will collapse. What a mess.

[westisbest]

Apparently Xia is on standby to fly to uk to have an interview with officials. Deadline is the 8th June.

The final part of the process. Steve Hollis will attend as a villa representative.

Wouldn't rule it out just yet, but also wouldn't surprise me if it does fall through.

If everything goes to plan, then RDM is to be announced as new manager.

What I've read. It's one of those, I'll believe it when I see it.

Hopefully it all goes well. This is Villa so not holding my breath.

[GSC]

Apparently its not due to collapse at all and hes demonstrated he has the funds required

[westisbest]

BBC saying RDM has been appointed, with Clarke as his assistant.
Clarke has experience as a manager so should be a good thing.

Couple of other things to sort out and we can crack on with the business of sorting the squad out.

Looking forward to see who goes and who stays.

[westisbest]

Looks like Tommy Elphick could be RDM's first signing.
Quite pleased with that.

[westisbest]

Elphick has signed.

Pleased with that.

Good player for us next season hopefully

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Good signing that West

[NickisBHAFC]

Wasn't good enough for us.

[westisbest]

Well, was good for Bournemouth.

Hopefully will do a job for us.

You seem to think that just because a player wasn't good enough for Brighton, they won't be a good player elsewhere, eg Gardner.

[Fernando]

Tommy has fitness issues. When came back wasn't really good enough for the PL. Even Francis who is a RB was preferred at CB.

[westisbest]

Wasn't the same player after his injury, am told he struggled in the prem.

Should do well for us.
Dropping down a division probably a good thing for him.

Anyway pleased with the signing.
Hopefully more of the same to come.

[westisbest]

Wednesday away on a Sunday
Tricky start.

[westisbest]

Westwood wanted by Burnley  for around £6m according to reports.
Would be happy with that.

Looks like we are on the verge of signing Pierluigi Gollini from Hellas Verona.
21 year old keeper.

Cant say ive heard of the bloke.

[westisbest]

Nice start to pre season. 8-0 win over Gak 1902.

Two different teams in each half so the whole squad got a run out.

Great to see Stan back playing.
Dont think he will feature much next season, but good all the same.

Could get rid of Lescott, Bacuna, Cissokho, Guzan, Westwood.

Read that Amavi wants to stay, which if true is a huge plus.
Team spirit seems to be high in this very early stage.

Tshibola due to sign.

Probably do with another forward even if Ayew stays.

Really hoping there is no long term injuries before the season starts.

[Guest]

Read that Amavi wants to stay, which if true is a huge plus

If he comes back & plays to the level he was prior to the injury, he will probably be the best left back in the league this season.

[westisbest]

Yeah hopefully he will have a good pre season.

Really hope he does stay (and Ayew) our 2 key players.
Hope its not another Delph situation.

[westisbest]

Shame to see Gil go out on loan to Deportivo.

Would have liked him to stay, think he could have done well in championship.

Couple of others to leave in the next week or so i think.

[westisbest]

Linked with Bammou of Nantes.

Hopefully we can offload Richards and Sinclair to Sunderland and Celtic £5m each.

N'Zogbia may get a contract at Sunderland.

[Rowley]

Have been impressed with Di Matteo so far. Has not bought loads but all three are in positions we need desperately. Also think he has been realistic. Nothing would please me more than never seeing the likes of Lescott and Gabby never wear a Villa shirt again, but in reality they are probably on wages that makes shifting them unlikely. As such trying to reintegrate them into the squad makes sense. If you're stuck paying them, may as well see if they have anything left to offer.

[westisbest]

Well, not a great start.
Always going to be a tough game.

Unlucky with the goal, mistake from keeper, then a bit of luck for wednesday, good finish though.

We had our chances and had a good spell in the second half.

Dont want to see Cissokho play another league game, he is so bad.
Would have liked to see Bennett start today, hopefully Amavi wont be to far off full fitness.

Also Ayew is wasted out wide. Thought he played well at times.
McCormack was pretty quiet. Good defending from wednesday though.

Thought Elphick had a decent game and is correct choice for captain.

Green looked up for it when he came on, good young player who i hope we see alot of this season.

Only the first game and a very tough fixture.

Stuff to work on, but if we get a couple more players in, another midfielder.

Wasnt great, but as i say only 1 game gone.

Dissapointing, but very early days.

Luton away in the week, then Rotherham home on saturday.
Hopefully 2 wins this coming week to get our season up and running.

[westisbest]

Sanchez gone, Bennett to follow.

Been strongly linked with Abel Hernandez, who according to reports is keen to join.
Read that he scored 21 league goals for Hull. Decent strike rate.

If we do sign him, then have read Gestede will be going the other way.

Really hoping Grealish, Gardner can step up and do the job this season.
If he can remain injury free, then hope Traore can have a decent season.

Ayew is wasted out wide. Would be very surprised if he is still a villa player come September.

[westisbest]

Good team tonight, c'mon lets get the win.

[westisbest]

Well that was frustrating to watch to say the least.

McCormack needs to get in the game more.

Ayew looking to be sent off.

We need a more solid midfielder who isnt afraid to get stuck in.
Gardner is having a mare.

Would bring on Gestede for Ayew, change it round a bit up front.

[Guest]

Villa are used to losing, it's a difficult habit to get out of.

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