Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Our man on life after Barry for Villa
Thursday 4th June 2009, 1:00PM BST.
Villa correspondent Brendan McLoughlin gives his learned view on what it will take to replaced departed skipper Gareth Barry.
Martin O’Neill today finds himself picking up the pieces from Gareth Barry’s departure and facing up to the biggest test of his three-year reign as Villa manager.
He already had the huge void left by Martin Laursen’s retirement to fill. But it is the loss of the other bedrock of his side to Manchester City which leaves him with his toughest challenge to date.
O’Neill, like David O’Leary before him, has had to cope without Laursen before. But Barry? He has been a mainstay of Villa’s side for a decade.
In the cold light of day, £12million for a player with one year left on his contract looks like sound business – and it may yet prove to be so.
But in a market where £6million buys you an unknown Ecuadorian – see Christian Benitez, as Birmingham demonstrated – finding a match might not be as easy as you’d think.
Yet hat’s not all.
Supporters worried Barry’s defection to Eastlands represents Villa waving the white flag on cracking the Champions League will expect signings which are a statement of intent.
Having again finished sixth, it’s fair to say Villa will still be in the market for the same ‘B list’ of players.
First port of call could easily be White Hart Lane, with Harry Redknapp seemingly ready to return to his wheeling and dealing ways.
Rumour has it all but three of his squad are available for transfer, so midfield trio Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley and Tom Huddlestone will all be on O’Neill’s radar.
Young Fabian Delph has earned rave reviews at Leeds and is destined for a club of Villa’s size, while Barry’s move to Eastlands will have pushed Michael Johnson – a player O’Neill is known to admire – further down the pecking order.
Middlesbrough’s Tuncay and Portsmouth’s Niko Kranjcar are both potential ‘wildcards,’ having proven their class at Premier League level.
What you could see is a move away from the ‘buy British’ policy O’Neill has traditionally favoured.
He has recently been scouring the continent and, with his budget cut, he may look abroad for better value.
One player who continues to catch the eye is Standard Liege’s playmaker Steven Defour.
But while supporters will seek signings, recent bench-warmers Nigel Reo-Coker and Steve Sidwell will both see this as a chance to stake their claims.
The number of players linked could reach triple figures.
What will be crucial is getting the right one.
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If we finished the transfer window n weve signed owen, bentley n lescott along with 1 or 2 others I think therel be a few happy villa fans. And its realistic. Far more than some of the other rumors Ive been hearing today.
Carvalhio – worth a look, may be a bit of a risk
Defor – forget it. Aint gonna happen
Hleb – Forget it.. Aint gonna happen
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Aaron, Owen and Bentley, an injury prone nighmare and a Tottenham failiure, come on mate, we need more ambition than that.
With players like that, we could finish up being another Boing Boing club, jeesh we wouldn’t want that would we.
Dont let Sir Terry see this, he gets very upset you know!!!
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This so-called ‘story’ is lazy jounalism at it’s worst. Read Ian Taylors piece and you will see that this bozo has duplicated IT’s list 1 to 10.
Also, judging by some of his so-called ‘reports’ on Villa games last season, it was quite obvious that he either;
A. Wasn’t at the game and reported on MOTD highlights.
or
B. Spent the entire game in the press bar and nicked a fellow hacks report.
AS for my wanted AND gettable list, any 6 from the following should see us pushing the Sky 4 again;
Robert Green – Friedel is not the answer
Matthew Upson – Ideal replacement for Laursen
Micah Richards – O’Neill would improve him
Rafael Van De Vart – Better than Barry
Miguel Arteta – Classy, good touch and shoots
Michael Johnson – Mobile, but suspect fitness
David Bentley – Ditto Micah Richards
Adam Johnson – Young, but one for the future
Wesley Schneider – Pure Class, not in Madrid 11
Jason Scotland – A poacher, just what Villa need
Marco Pantelic – Ditto above, age may be problem
Michael Owen – Ditto above, as a last resort
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3.
Agree about the story.
Cant agree with your choice of Owen (too injury prone now) or Bentley, (if Redknapp cant turn him around, I dont think MON can either)
Totally agree on the Friedel comment, but have you seen that young guy who was on loan from WBA to Shrewsbury, his name has escaped me, but a good prospect.
Agree with the rest, but as we have seen with MON, his transfer dealings have been rather frugal, he has to spend whatever is available, were down to bare bones now.
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Oldburyite.
Fair enough.
Lets agree to disagree.
I would only go for Owen as a last resort. The one thing in his favour though is next years world cup. There are going to be something like 100 English players with a sniff of getting into the squad, including the likes of Owen and Bentley. Whoever gets in will need to have had almost a full seasons games behind them and in Owens case, scoring lots of goals. Just don’t be surprised if he goes mad next season, plays 40+ games and scores 15+ goals.
Luke Daniels is the keeper, but he made a real howler in the first leg of the play-offs. Admittedly, he got Shrewsbury through in the second leg.
What I DON’T want is for MON to buy players who cant get into the teams of our competitors as suggested by the Villa bozo reporter and Tayls ie: Jenas, Huddlestone, Kranjcar etc. Lets go for class, not average as some of the buys have been. We should be looking at quality, not quantity.
One thing I can see happening next season will be Milner moving infield to take up Barry’s old role. I honestly think he will be better suited there and seeing a lot more of the ball!
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“Life after Barry!!!”He wasn’t the second coming
was he ?. Just a player with an over inflated ego.
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