Fulford
Vital Football Legend
Neither flirted with relegation though.
Proof How Big Aston Villa Are/Should Be
- Thread starter The Fear
- Start date
Neither flirted with relegation though.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
We haven't done a Fulham, they didn't have to replace 50-60% of the squad yet chose to. As for Man City blueprint I was on about investment/growth worldwide, I can confidently argue in yr 1/2 they did a Fulham with the likes of Robinho etc.
A manager known for working and getting the best on a shoestring, and whilst at Brentford knowing he had to work 24 months ahead because his best players would be sold from underneath him every year once they had a proper value.
He also had Rosler/Warburton's work to lean on with the system fully in place in the way Benham operates.
We had nothing, you're right when you say we wouldn't have gone bust, but given all the hocking Xia was doing to keep the lights on we could've very easily gone into admin and as you know yourself, the Academy was being sacrificed.
It's a rebuild. Some players will work, others won't, others will take longer to settle.
It's where we are. No point being frustrated. We could've brought experience, paid twice as much and had the next round of Collins and Dunne et al. The way we didn't go, isn't automatically a better option.
I meant the finished product crack to mean if Purslow/Suso/Smith don't act in January they sign their own P45s.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
If you ever talk about Fieldy like that again, you will be banned.
Years of me being abusive to him have been undone with those careless words.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
Really?
I seem to remember City's saviours not coming in until Shinwata was effectively broke but after re-establishing themselves in the top flight?
Our owners have us up in yr 1, this year it's all about planning and survival so we're on the track to be where we want to be.
The Fear
A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
Your other points. You are basically agreeing Smith isn't good enough because he needed the others behind him.
And whether Fulham chose to and we had to, we have both done the same thing.
Off now, losing like fannies never puts me in a good mood and I should just switch off. Especially when so many fans accept mediocrity or make excuses for it (and that bit isn't aimed at you)
And whether Fulham chose to and we had to, we have both done the same thing.
Off now, losing like fannies never puts me in a good mood and I should just switch off. Especially when so many fans accept mediocrity or make excuses for it (and that bit isn't aimed at you)
Fulford
Vital Football Legend
We bought one player with PL experience and without doubt he's been our best signing.
Bonker
Vital Football Hero
I can't disagree on some experience mate but that would almost certainly have cost us another £30m perhaps and then the cupboard is empty for any contingencies.
As I've said a number of times now, you can't look at what we did in isolation as any kind of ideal situation but we did what we had to do - buy a whole new team and leave a few quid over knowing we'd likely want to add again from a position of knowing how the first ten players were shaping up - plus of course, adding if we got injuries and we've got plenty of them!
Imagine if we'd blown the lot and then get three top players out with no cash to spend in January to fill the gaps - we'd be all over them calling them muppets with me at the front of the queue!
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
Sorry dude - I'll include both years as not sure which transfers Soccerbase will apportion given timing of takeover.
2007
English/Prem experience -
Benjani? From Portsmouth can't remember were they were then.
Non-
Bianchi, Geovanni, Martin Petrov, Vedran Corluka, Javier Garrido, Elano, Valeri Bojinov, Felipe Caicedo - all abroad.
2008
English/Prem experience -
Tal Ben-Haim, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Shay Given.
Non-
Jo, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Glauber Berti, Robinho, Nigel de Jong.
They gambled as well.
Fulford
Vital Football Legend
Heaton cost us no more than the average goalkeeper.
We didn't need a complete team with PL experience and for example we could have got someone like Ings for less than we paid for Wesley.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
No I'm pointing out we had no structure (let alone squad balance) and that's had to be worked on as well which requires greater input from him than would otherwise be needed.
Know it's not aimed at me dude, never worry there!
I didn't see the game so probably in a better mood than most from the sound of it, but I see us on the first step and I'd still take goal difference this year, that's my only hope.
Bonker
Vital Football Hero
The Fear
A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
As they started to build, they built with pl quality MF. We brought in one who had played in the PL and he was injured half the time. Keep going as they pushed onward, then they also brought in top class. We have brought in average. And what do you get with average?
Us.
Us.
The Fear
A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
Difficult to be pointing out people are wrong when you've not seen it though MF. Be fair. A lot of games this year, I've been absolutely gutted seeing our lack of shape, structure, tactics, tempo etc. Today was just yet more average on top of average.
It shoudln't but it breaks me.
As I said earlier, might just be time to call it quits because so many accept average now, after all the attempts to push us away from being just that.
It seems even the fans are accepting total mediocrity and making excuses for it. Losing fine, not trying and not having a clue, not fine.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
No we couldn't, can we stop the Ings love in dude.
His loan last season was an automatic and obligated £20m buy last summer. Basically the same we paid for Wesley but Ings is loads older and extremely injury prone. Fans would've been in uproar at that deal.
I do agree, Heaton was a bargain and we certainly should've looked for more like that with his experience (and that was a failing) but in some ways that's the problem with looking for players with resale - it adds money.
Fulford
Vital Football Legend
The Fear
A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
Not really, sinking down the well of modern football. I don't get why people can't see what an utter mess this is?
We might scrape survival, hope we do, and push on, hope we do. I might then be more relaxed. But all in all, this season has been a pathetic effort so far and I am not sure I have much faith in it improving.
Not helped by my brain aches maybe, or being told to feck orf by the PL after all those years, that has perhaps tarnished things a little. With that said, I have a better view of the matches now than when I was pitchside and we are a mess formation wise, we run around like kids on a playground all grouped together and poor old Jack is meant to do the job of 2 players. He'll get injured or just burn out having to do that. Coaches should be protecting him.
Bonker
Vital Football Hero
You can't keep reaching for the extremes (Heaton's value, Ings sudden burst of goal scoring - he's scored 2x as many goals per game as last season) and using those as what could/should have been applied to any other player as it's not that simple.
Wesley I'll grant you, I don't see the £22m there at all, said so on day one and still have the same view but that's just one player.
I do agree, and again said so at the time, that we should have two older heads in the first team - maybe we'll fix that over the coming weeks.
mike_field
Vital Football Legend
Not in the first six months JF is my point. This window should tell us more about the owners, and as said here or another thread, next summer (subject to survival) should definitely tell us their better ambitions as we will FFP wise be in a far better place again.
I know it's a bit apples and pears but comparing to Man C's first 12/24 months is a bit spurious as there was no FFP then as well, and as you know, Randy was one of the few to vote against its introduction as it naturally holds us back.
I'm not talking about today's performance here though, so not seeing the game is irrelevant other than saying I'm probably not as pissed off as those that did lol We're not going to be a drilled consistent outfit with half a squad not 6 months in, and the other half of the squad deemed not good enough for the Championship.
It's not accepting mediocrity, it's just patience.
I know it's a bit apples and pears but comparing to Man C's first 12/24 months is a bit spurious as there was no FFP then as well, and as you know, Randy was one of the few to vote against its introduction as it naturally holds us back.
I'm not talking about today's performance here though, so not seeing the game is irrelevant other than saying I'm probably not as pissed off as those that did lol We're not going to be a drilled consistent outfit with half a squad not 6 months in, and the other half of the squad deemed not good enough for the Championship.
It's not accepting mediocrity, it's just patience.
The Fear
A Wise Man (once sat next to him)
Hope so, could save the season and we can start again next year pushing to try to show our aim truly is to be a big club again.
Hope so even more, because it would prove my point.
And on the small money they would have needed to keep them, wouldn't have hurt to keep Hutton and Whelan, for coaching, spirit in the dressing room, their experience and to make an impact off the bench.
Couldn't be any worse than a lot of the junk / or averageness we have bought?
