James Milner joins Aston Villa - £12m!

[DJ_NUFC]

Nope but to be fair if that is true then fine. However, its well reported that MO pussy foots around when it comes to transfers. How much did the lad from WBA cost you, 8-10m?? I am concerned at the penny pinching at out club  which includes the likes the of coaches leaving and not being replaced. Seems daft IMO but like I said I reserve judgement till the window shuts.

 

I guarantee you that if you stopped 10 Villa fans in the street and asked them what they thought about our transfer activity, 8 of them would say that MON needs to stop fucking about and start spending.

 

Last year we hardly pushed the boat out. Our net spend was pretty small, certainly lower than most. This year we've spent a little more  but the fact is we are still at the very least 4 players short of what we need to get by.

 

The fact is it is very, very hard to sign players these days. If you're not in the CL, you're competing against a lot of other clubs. Having the money is no guarantee that you're going to get what you want.

 

Much as people talk about crowds or tradition or potential or anything, for the majority of players there's not a whole lot between clubs like Villa, Newcastle, Everton, Spurs, even Portsmouth, Blackburn and West Ham. They're all competing for the same players.

 

If you think Ashley isn't prepared to spend money, then why did you offer what you did for Modric? Why would he have spent so much on the club and sorting out the debts only to watch it stagnate?

 

Having a lot of money behind you these days is not enough. You can't go out and buy success of the shelf. Everyone has money these days, things are an awful lot harder.

 

 

Having witnessed the many battles of wit in this thread I think it's clear that brummie is actually the smartest poster about.

[Mick]

 

Yep - barring Faye the numbers going out so far had very little, if no, impact on the first team last year.  It's just that the sqaud was painfully thin last year an still needed building up this summer.

 

 

The quality of the squad has improved, that is more important because we've got kids who are a year older than this time last year and a year more experienced.  We've got to give kids a chance or they will never improve so we can't block them by bringing in mature players who aren't good enough and only get games because of injuries.  We still lack a bit of quality in midfield and are thin up front because two of our best 3 forwards are suspect when it comes to missing games due to injury but we're not short of numbers.

[Spider Jerusalem]

Does it end Monday night? I thought it ended at dinner time.

 

We're just getting pissed up on Monday night to forget our woes and fears.

or the foes and wears

 

That's at 1 a.m.  Weh Hey!  By then it won't be painful until Tuesday morning and that's ages away.

[Nobby]

What's the most we've ever sold a player for, by the way?

 

Woodgate £9.6m? Probably missing someone really obvious here

 

Woodgate was to Real Madrid for £13.4m

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/5288358.stm

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/astonishment-as-acircpound134m-woodgate-joins-real-madrid-557336.html

 

 

Was that the final figure or what the papers are quoting, I am pretty sure it only went to that fee with add ons.

 

 

Woodgate was sold to Real Madrid for £13.4m

Woodgate joined Real on a four-year deal from Newcastle United in August 2004 for £13.4m despite suffering from a serious thigh injury when he was signed.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/astonishment-as-acircpound134m-woodgate-joins-real-madrid-557336.htm

 

Jenas was sold to Tottenham for £9m

On August 31st 2005 he joined Spurs for £7 million' date=' which rose to £9 million when Tottenham qualified for Europe. He is under contract to Spurs until 2012.[/quote']

He was sold to Tottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline day of August 31' date=' 2005 for an initial fee of £7million,[4'] which rose to £9million after Spurs successfully qualified for European competition.

 

It still means the figure was £13.4m, BBC don't lie very often

[Mick]

 

Yes but now all you need is a few injuries and we will be playing the kids. I am not a pessimistic person by nature but keegan is saying the players want more bodies in, so does he so we'll wait and see,

 

We've got to give the kids a chance to progress as long as we're not playing too many at once, they need to be involved with the first team and they need to get games to move forward as players.  We've got some kids who look like they will make it in the game and the only way they can show that it to gain the experience which will only come with minutes on the pitch. They also need the incentive of knowing that they will get a chance from time to time, the more experience we bring in the lesser the chance of that happening and they'll suffer for it and so will the club in the long term.

 

[Spider Jerusalem]

 

Yep - barring Faye the numbers going out so far had very little, if no, impact on the first team last year.  It's just that the sqaud was painfully thin last year an still needed building up this summer.

 

 

The quality of the squad has improved, that is more important because we've got kids who are a year older than this time last year and a year more experienced.  We've got to give kids a chance or they will never improve so we can't block them by bringing in mature players who aren't good enough and only get games because of injuries.  We still lack a bit of quality in midfield and are thin up front because two of our best 3 forwards are suspect when it comes to missing games due to injury but we're not short of numbers.

 

I'm agreeing with you - unfortunately the kids have not proved that they have any of the skills required to survive at this level - Lua Lua has not appeared when called on and if I recall correcly Carroll didn't manage to put the ball in the net last year in the lower leagues on loan.  They cannot be relied upon when squeaky bum time comes.  The good news is that Viduka's contract is coming up so he will no doubt go six months or so uninjured and knock in a few goals on the way.

[Andy]

Fucking hell, I nearly collapsed at the thought of getting £8 million for him.

 

£12 million will send me into a fucking coma.

[Kev]

I would be in dream world if we give Everton Milner AND Smith for £12 million then signed Joaquin for £10 - £15 million

[LooneyToonArmy]

I would be in dream world if we give Everton Milner AND Smith for £12 million then signed Joaquin for £10 - £15 million

 

are you joking? Joaquin in his Betis days looked great but he`s been one of the most expensive flops in La Liga when he signed for Valencia

[mrmojorisin75]

this shouldn't even be a matter for thought or discussion imo, 10m+ for milner and four days in which to spend that on a superior player

 

if our scouting/transfer people can't rustle up a better player than milner for 10m in four days they want fucken shooting, the lot of them

 

and no, i have no idea why everton and villa seem to rate him so highly or why they wouldn't spend their money on a better winger elsewhere if there was one, that's their problem as far as i'm concerned but there are better players around for that money i have no doubt in my mind

 

[mrmojorisin75]

I do agree with some of that but the fact that our board has let so many players go without having deals lined up. It wasn't like it was a last minute thing we knew they going.

 

The last 72 hours of a transfer window are always when things happen. There are some big deals waiting to go through still, and there will be some which will happen which nobody saw coming. I'm actually going to book Tuesday off work so I can watch the coverage throughout Monday night with a few beers

 

Final word of consolation - you, Villa (paper thin squad), Everton (more than anyone), Spurs (strikers), West Ham (anyone), Blackburn (sold their two best players and not replaced them properly), Portsmouth (spent all their money), City (spending money they dont have) - all in a very similar position going into the last few days of the window.

 

All will become much clearer by Tuesday morning.

 

brummie, great balanced and reasoned post...you can always be relied upon to play devils advocate on NO

 

as a means to balance your thoughtfulness i'd just like to echo afar and say i don't give two fucks about the bit in bold really, nor should anyone else NUFC-related, it's worst argument i hear on this board; "well we desperately need an ACM (for example) but look at everton, they've found it difficult to get one too so it makes us not having one OK"

 

i struggle to find a comparable argument people would deem acceptable in any other walk of life, i don't know; "i need to meet my mortgage repayments but they're a little higher than i'd like due to interest rates and seeing as other people aren't paying theirs for some reason i'll default on mine too 'cause it must be OK"? 

 

doesn't work does it?  look that's a stupid, facetious argument but it makes my point quite well

 

we have to look after ourselves, as you point out yourself other clubs are having trouble and have thin squads or other problems - i see that as an opportunity to exploit, not an excuse for mediocrity

[thomas]

A much more accurate analogy would be calling car dealerships, looking for a relatively popular model that they likely have in stock, but they're outright refusing to sell to you or want a massively inflated price.  You hear from other people that they're trying to buy the same model and meeting similar obstacles and so you say "oh, right, not just me then."

 

Granted, nothing in the real world quite matches the strangeness of clubs owning player registration and contracts, but this is a lot closer than someone defaulting on their mortgage just because they want to. 

[Guest sittingontheball]

If players are hard for other teams to get, it must be a good time to offload Smith and Duff.

[mrmojorisin75]

A much more accurate analogy would be calling car dealerships, looking for a relatively popular model that they likely have in stock, but they're outright refusing to sell to you or want a massively inflated price.  You hear from other people that they're trying to buy the same model and meeting similar obstacles and so you say "oh, right, not just me then."

 

Granted, nothing in the real world quite matches the strangeness of clubs owning player registration and contracts, but this is a lot closer than someone defaulting on their mortgage just because they want to. 

 

i did say it was a stupid analogy mate

 

using yours though, what if you had the money and really needed that car for work? 

 

you could buy a cheaper car that would get you to work but you already have one of those anyway and it's not very good, the one you want will do the same job only a lot better and might well end up getting you a promotion 'cause it creates a better impression

 

wouldn't you pay the going rate for that car?  i would assuming i had the money, which returning to non-bullshit land for a minute we're told is no issue for NUFC right?

 

everything has it's price

[LooneyToonArmy]

If players are hard for other teams to get, it must be a good time to offload Smith and Duff.

 

 

hoping there will be some last minute panic buying for Smith and Duff....saying that we can`t afford to lose more bodies without any replacements though

[thomas]

A much more accurate analogy would be calling car dealerships, looking for a relatively popular model that they likely have in stock, but they're outright refusing to sell to you or want a massively inflated price.  You hear from other people that they're trying to buy the same model and meeting similar obstacles and so you say "oh, right, not just me then."

 

Granted, nothing in the real world quite matches the strangeness of clubs owning player registration and contracts, but this is a lot closer than someone defaulting on their mortgage just because they want to. 

 

i did say it was a stupid analogy mate

 

using yours though, what if you had the money and really needed that car for work? 

 

you could buy a cheaper car that would get you to work but you already have one of those anyway and it's not very good, the one you want will do the same job only a lot better and might well end up getting you a promotion 'cause it creates a better impression

 

wouldn't you pay the going rate for that car?  i would assuming i had the money, which returning to non-bullshit land for a minute we're told is no issue for NUFC right?

 

everything has it's price

I reject the entire "if you want* a player bad enough then pay whatever you have to" school of thought. 

 

We don't know exactly how much money is there but there's no sense in spunking, say, 40m on Arshavin or 30m on Turan just to get them through the door.  I question the mental faculties of anyone who thinks otherwise.

[mrmojorisin75]

A much more accurate analogy would be calling car dealerships, looking for a relatively popular model that they likely have in stock, but they're outright refusing to sell to you or want a massively inflated price.  You hear from other people that they're trying to buy the same model and meeting similar obstacles and so you say "oh, right, not just me then."

 

Granted, nothing in the real world quite matches the strangeness of clubs owning player registration and contracts, but this is a lot closer than someone defaulting on their mortgage just because they want to. 

 

i did say it was a stupid analogy mate

 

using yours though, what if you had the money and really needed that car for work? 

 

you could buy a cheaper car that would get you to work but you already have one of those anyway and it's not very good, the one you want will do the same job only a lot better and might well end up getting you a promotion 'cause it creates a better impression

 

wouldn't you pay the going rate for that car?  i would assuming i had the money, which returning to non-bullshit land for a minute we're told is no issue for NUFC right?

 

everything has it's price

I reject the entire "if you want* a player bad enough then pay whatever you have to" school of thought. 

 

We don't know exactly how much money is there but there's no sense in spunking, say, 40m on Arshavin or 30m on Turan just to get them through the door.  I question the mental faculties of anyone who thinks otherwise.

 

you were doing so well too!  then you retreated into the fallback position of jumping to the massive conclusion i must be demanding we spend 30m on one player, far from it actually as i truly believe there has to be a balance struck between prudence & extravagance

 

i'll get crucified for it again but as it stands our net spend this summer is <10m i'd say without having exact figures of course and that is not a good balance really is it?

 

to me spending 20m on 2 more players (ST & ACM) for example who are genuine class the likes of colo & jonas would be a nice balance between being financially prudent & extravagant with signings, now if to make both of those deals happen before monday we have to increase say up to 22m then i think it needs doing because the alternative doesn't really bear thinking about

 

alternatively if we could get the same two players for 10m combined, or 5m or whatever i'll be as happy as anyone but it's pretty fucking unlikely isn't it?

 

we need players and only ashleys people can do anything about it

[Guest gggg]

Take it and buy Fernandes. 

[mrmojorisin75]

Take it and buy Fernandes. 

 

fuckn right man...for 10m someone remotely competent should be able to get us a quality player

 

i like fernandes personally as well, would fit in well with our game imo

[Guest Brazilianbob]

Doesn't anyone pause to consider there are some very shrewd and successful football managers out there (i.e. O'Neill, Moyes, Rafa etc) who seem perfectly willing to stump up in the region of £12m for Milner.  That being the case I would question the football nous of those who think we should snap their hands off.  Personally I think every team needs a Milner, he keeps going for the whole game regardless of how he is playing, and that is a quality much admired by football managers because it's the 94 minute players like Milner who conjure up the last minute winners/equalizers.

[junkhead]

sell the fucker and be done with it already.

would any of you honestly feel sorry when you see him in a Villa shirt, stepovering the hell out of the ball and constantly crossing without looking?

cut the drama.

 

[hakka]

sell the fucker and be done with it already.

would any of you honestly feel sorry when you see him in a Villa shirt, stepovering the hell out of the ball and constantly crossing without looking?

cut the drama.

 

 

http://silvexis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/no-drama.jpg

[cubaricho]

Doesn't anyone pause to consider there are some very shrewd and successful football managers out there (i.e. O'Neill, Moyes, Rafa etc) who seem perfectly willing to stump up in the region of £12m for Milner.  That being the case I would question the football nous of those who think we should snap their hands off.  Personally I think every team needs a Milner, he keeps going for the whole game regardless of how he is playing, and that is a quality much admired by football managers because it's the 94 minute players like Milner who conjure up the last minute winners/equalizers.

 

He would fit in great at a team like Liverpool, playing 120 minutes to pop up in the 119th minute and play the cross in to score the all important CL goal.  It's a quality many top European/PL clubs would pay for.  When everyone else has tired, Milner will be the one going strong and assist/score the all important goal.

[alpal78]

Doesn't anyone pause to consider there are some very shrewd and successful football managers out there (i.e. O'Neill, Moyes, Rafa etc) who seem perfectly willing to stump up in the region of £12m for Milner.  That being the case I would question the football nous of those who think we should snap their hands off.  Personally I think every team needs a Milner, he keeps going for the whole game regardless of how he is playing, and that is a quality much admired by football managers because it's the 94 minute players like Milner who conjure up the last minute winners/equalizers.

 

How many last minute winners/equalizers has he scored for us?

[cp40]

sell the fucker and be done with it already.

would any of you honestly feel sorry when you see him in a Villa shirt, stepovering the hell out of the ball and constantly crossing without looking?

cut the drama.

 

 

 

for me hes like a less injured kieron dyer,...promises much, never seems to truly deliver it.