TRon

Let Chelsea have the RW hopefuls they can only dream of our options.

We just need to sign players first and then open the threads

It's not just one thing, it's a culmination of how things have panned out. He was fantastic for most of the season but his form has dipped. Our football has been disjointed and Howe himself used those words, and that doesn't do a footballer like him any favours. I'm just running through a few things which might lead to these rumours that he's considering his future. That's not to say they are true, but it's not impossible his agent is trying to turn his head.

See above.

And losing his England spot in the world cup as a result.

It's not accepting 7-10th bracket, it's accepting the reality of the situation and making the best of it. We can offer a path to the first team for the best youngsters in the world that the cartel clubs can't. We buy them up and in the not too distant future we will have at least some of the best players on our books.

He's not, but I can imagine he wasn't that happy at losing his England spot for the world cup and he might feel what happened at Newcastle affected that.

Possession for it's own sake is useless. But even having the ability to keep possession instead of sending the ball into touch Anthony Elanga-style is worth quite a lot.

We should have been moving like this last season, would have saved us a lot of pain. Go into fights you can win instead of getting your arse kicked by the big boys and ending up with nothing.

Yohanna on the right, Eze E on the left, and I'm a happy man.

Making up songs to sing for him at the Gallowgate already. We really are desperate for some crumbs.

Jump the gun why don't you.

Feels like we are being used to flush out other clubs. I am sure we have interest but not sure why we are hearing Chelsea or Real being linked.

It might be us trying to hijack their deal tbf. If we were in first I doubt he would be even looking at them.

More chance of competing with Brighton than Man U or Chelsea tbf.

He did play a big part in keeping us up tbf. Our defence was outstanding second half of that season.

No idea how good he is but he must be about 45 by now. Seem to have been hearing his name mentioned every year for over a decade.

3-5 years is a long time in management tbh. I think he's happy at Villa but if a top tier club with no spend restrictions came in then he'd most likely leave. Managers aren't much different to players in that respect, they want to be at the best clubs and earning the biggest salaries. I do think that is one big plus for Howe, he has more loyalty baked in than most foreign managers would ever have.

We could agree contracts now tbh, same way as Gordon has done for Barcelona. No need at all to wait for any poxy official opening days. Crack on Wilson, nee sitting on your hands in this job.

Tbf, a manager only cares about immediate results, not the club's balance sheets. Why wouldn't he want Barnes? It's up to the Villa board to make sure they have a financially viable club going forward. They don't have to sign 28 year olds because the manager would like it.

Tbf, I watched them gun down Liverpool at the end of the season, and their football was very slick. Not easy to open teams up enough to get clear shots at goal, you do need to move the defenders out of their comfort zones.

I wouldn't be surprised if we haven't already moved onto someone else by now if it looks like the agent is trying to start an auction.

I think they are not that different to Man City's owners. If they were allowed they would definitely want to be a top team because it reflects more glory on them. The money spent on a football club is like a drop in the ocean to them.

That's sort of what I'm saying as well. I'm on the fence a bit because even if Wilson buys more technical players I'm not sure Howe will want them if they don't fit his system. Take Woltemade as an example. I hope it goes well but until we start buying players and seeing how they set up, very difficult to know what's coming next season.