Villa, Villa, Villa

[little dave hedgehog]

no, obviously we don't ignore it, but it makes the quoted firgures for utd a little more believable.

[Rich]

no, obviously we don't ignore it, but it makes the quoted firgures for utd a little more believable.

You've lost me. You're saying what?

[little dave hedgehog]

in response to:

I cant believe Chelsea and Man Utd's figures.

i'm saying united's figures are skewed by the ronaldo sale. their net spend will be far lower than you'd think.

[Rich]

in response to:



i'm saying united's figures are skewed by the ronaldo sale. their net spend will be far lower than you'd think.

Ah right, yes Manchester United's net spend will be low thanks to the £80m that Real Madrid coughed up for the player.... gotcha

[little dave hedgehog]

Ah right, yes Manchester United's net spend will be low thanks to the £80m that Real Madrid coughed up for the player.... gotcha

finally.

[Craig_H]

don't believe those numbers for chelsea really. and the utd figures are skewed because of the ronaldo sale.

I dont see why they'd not be correct.

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and by 2006, most of their insane spending had been done.

[Craig_H]

Based on the figures on here about our own spend that can't be right.

Why cant it be?

[Lee]

United's lower net spend is believable when you think of the Ronaldo money. Plus Chelsea may have spent a lot more between 2003-2004, but they've also made some Bosman signings which I'd imagine had hefty signing-on fees.

Meh bollocks, spend / net spend aren't really worth looking at when none of us or the media know how transfers are conducted - agent fees, signing on fees, bonuses etc... I'm sure the table is fairly close to what the real net spend is, but how you can whittle it down to a couple of million is beyond me.

[red g]

in response to:



i'm saying united's figures are skewed by the ronaldo sale. their net spend will be far lower than you'd think.

Also they spent the huge money when others didnt, Ferdinand, Rooney and Veron thats a combined £90odd million there.

[-V-]

Obviously the news channels have their own agendas so conveniently chose 2006 as the year to start counting from as both Chelsea and Utd had done crazy spending before that summer

[red g]

Obviously the news channels have their own agendas so conveniently chose 2006 as the year to start counting from as both Chelsea and Utd had done crazy spending before that summer

I love a good conspiracy as much as anyone else, but in this case 2006 was when Martin O'Neil started at Villa..........

[-V-]

I know but its pretty stupid that they don't take into account that rival teams have already assembled their squads and done so expensively.

[Alex]

O'Neil is a bottler, unfortunately. Hes the new managerial equivalent to Keegan.

Keegan as a player was a totally different kettle of fish!

[-V-]

Ashley Young looks increasingly likely to remain an Aston Villa player, BBC Sport understands.
The winger and his advisors held talks with club officials, including chief executive Paul Faulkner, on Thursday.

Young is wanted by Tottenham and his possible departure was thought to be a factor in Martin O'Neill's resignation as Villa boss earlier this week.
But sources close to the 25-year-old have suggested that after "positive" discussions, he is now likely to stay.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is a long-term admirer of Young, and keen on signing him.
But Villa are believed to have made it clear they want to keep him, and the player's wage demands are also a stumbling block to any move.
For Spurs to capture Young, they would have to break their strict wage structure - something chairman Daniel Levy is reluctant to do.
Young, who played for England in the 2-1 victory against Hungary on Wednesday, has less than two years left on his Villa contract.
O'Neill had already admitted defeat in the bid to prevent James Milner moving to Manchester City, saying last week: "Losing your best players at the club obviously causes you a headache and it is a problem. "

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

Argentina legend Diego Maradona is interested in becoming the new Aston Villa manager, according to his European representative Walter Soriano.

Martin O’Neill shockingly resigned as Villa boss last week and Kevin McDonald led the team to an impressive 3-0 opening-day victory over West Ham United in the caretaker role.

Ajax boss Martin Jol and USA coach Bob Bradley have come out as front-runners for the job - but Maradona has revealed that he would welcome the chance to manage at Villa Park.

"I think Diego would be very open to the idea of coming to England and managing Aston Villa," Soriano told the Sunday Mercury.

"He is very attracted to English football and the way of life in your country and I know he would be very willing to move there.

"He loves the English countryside and your respect for privacy, so he would be very happy there, especially at a big club like Aston Villa.

"If the owner Randy Lerner wants to make him a serious offer, I am sure he would get a very positive response.

"Diego is currently talking with a number of clubs in Europe – including another one in England – about a management role and is looking at his options carefully."

Maradona was sacked as Argentina coach last month after his team played beautiful football at the World Cup until they were well-beaten 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals.