Seconds out! Rafa v O'Neill

[Shanks]

Much ado about nothing IMO.

Could understand if we were raging about a world class winger who we desperately need,
but Barry??

Great player and all that but where is he going to fit in?

Do we need him??

and who is going to be benched because of him?

He could be wasted at left back and I would personally like to see Babel start a few more games next season.

Xabi, Lucas, Masch, Stevie, Plessis, Dirk, Pennant, Babel.

Yep , Barry would fit in there no probs..

[Johnny]

And that worked well didn't it

Naw seriously it's good to see, no more Mr nice guy, don't **** with Rafa

Yip,Agree,fergiescum gets his targets.

[MrMichael]

If parry had been mentioned at all in these talks this place would be going mental with regard to him

Sack Parry anyway

[Marky]

Yip,Agree,fergiescum gets his targets.

Exactly. Fergie always has got his way with his tranfer targets even if he's had to put up a bit of a fight(Saha, Carrick, Ferdinand etc etc) before and will so again.

[Johnny]

Sack Parry anyway

C`mon Mick,where`s your new Avatar????

New one due.

[Darth Marty]

I personally dont like this whole episode, it should have remained private and both parties are to blame, o'neill moreso as it was him who 1st publicly mentioned it.

Cut the **** lads, Barry wants out so iron out a price and destination and get on with it.

[Slinky Skills]

Yip,Agree,fergiescum gets his targets.

Exactly, Martin O'Neill say's that Rafa doesn't respect anyone....who gives a ****! Fergie hasn't so why should Rafa???

We're too soft as a club, we need some balls and Rafa is leading the way there. For too long we've been pissed on and laughed at by everyone.

**** it.

[MrMichael]

C`mon Mick,where`s your new Avatar????

New one due.

[Marky]

Exactly, Martin O'Neill say's that Rafa doesn't respect anyone....who gives a ****! Fergie hasn't so why should Rafa???

We're too soft as a club, we need some balls and Rafa is leading the way there. For too long we've been pissed on and laughed at by everyone.

**** it.

Couldn't agree more SS

We need to be more nasty on the pitch as well.

Masherano has added a bit of steel to our play which is why he's one of my favourite players

[Fiddy]

this **** is too funny, MON sounds like he's about to explode

[Johnny]

C`mon,we`re waiting.

[Slinky Skills]

Couldn't agree more SS

We need to be more nasty on the pitch as well.

Masherano has added a bit of steel to our play which is why he's one of my favourite players

Yeh man, the monster is going to be nailing everyone next year! We do need to be more nasty, the fact we have the best disciplinary record this year say's it all about us as a team.

I think we should concentrate on booting and kicking everyone, we're a team of fannies. Before anyone comes out and slates me and tells me the game has changed. I don't give a ****.

Just ask yourself....what would Souness do.

[Darth Marty]

Get sent off every game costing us points every week therefore banishing us to the depths of mid table obscurity. Good call fella.

[Vermilion]

Get sent off every game costing us points every week therefore banishing us to the depths of mid table obscurity. Good call fella.

It's a fact though, in todays game he would.

[bobbyfallon]

Can't see this posted anywhere...which is slightly amazing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7392723.stm

Furious Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has hit back at Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as the row over Gareth Barry threatens to turn ugly.

On Thursday, Benitez said he was surprised O'Neill was angry that news of Liverpool's £10m bid for Villa captain Barry, 27, had leaked out.

Benitez also said they had discussed the "idea" of a transfer "20 days ago".

Villa boss O'Neill said: "Rafa said he was going to respect my wishes. I am not sure he respects anything."

O'Neill insisted that suggestions they were having an on-going conversation about a Barry deal were "absolutely crazy".

He said: "He said he knew my idea and I knew his idea. What idea did I have other than getting off the phone after telling him the player wasn't available?"

O'Neill added: "It was not a prolonged conversation. 'No' doesn't take too long to say.

"It is any club's prerogative to put in any offer they see fit to put in, but it is also the receiving club's prerogative to say no. I would not then expect this to appear the following day in a newspaper for me to react to.

"The offer arrived on the Thursday and there was barely time for me to contact my chairman, barely time to get any sort of answer back, even if we wanted to give an answer, when it appeared in the local newspaper in Liverpool.

"My view is that Rafa called me on the Friday to cover his backside."

O'Neill was so furious about the situation that he cut short his weekly press briefing and walked out.

The Villa boss has always maintained that he does not want to sell Barry, who has become a regular England international since O'Neill took over at the club.

And he accused Benitez of making a derisory offer for his midfielder - especially in light of the £15m price tag the Liverpool boss has put on Peter Crouch.

"It is interesting to note that Benitez can put a price on a player (Crouch) who has got one year left of his contract because he plays for England," said O'Neill.

"I think he must have forgotten that Barry is playing more regularly for England than that player and yet he can come up and talk about a £10m offer which includes some money and some unnamed players which would make Gareth worth about £2m.
"It does make a laughing stock of what he was saying beforehand. Maybe he is trying to make a fool of us all. It is incredible. I couldn't have been more angry this morning."

On Thursday, Benitez said he and O'Neill would wait until the end of the season before discussing the transfer further.

"He [O'Neill] was telling everyone about our offer, but we are willing to wait and we will try to talk again about the possibilities," said the Spaniard.

"I had a private conversation with him 20 days ago. He knew everything about my idea and I knew about his idea. He said he wanted to talk with his owner.

"We needed to do an official movement and he knew that because I was talking with him."

O'Neill was angry that Benitez's remarks appeared to expose behind-the-scenes discussions to offload Barry.

"I'm absolutely astonished at this story: 'Rafa Exposes O'Neill'," he said.

"I've never denied speaking to Rafa Benitez so how can you be exposed for something you haven't denied?

"I think Rafa is being very clever here. He gives the impression that there's been constant dialogue. That's simply and utterly untrue.

"He made a phone call to me - I did not initiate the phone call. He asked about Gareth Barry and I said: 'Well he's got a testimonial and two years left to run and he's our best player.' So what would the reaction be?

"I said that I would speak to our owner - obviously, because he has a big, big say in the proceedings - and I assumed he would have the same answer as myself, that Gareth wasn't for sale.

"So I'm astonished to read this. The next conversation I had with Rafa Benitez was last Friday morning when Liverpool had put in a faxed offer to us which we received on Thursday afternoon."

could this mean carson plus 2 million for barry???

that would be good business

prob riise carson plus 2 million, still a good deal