qwertyell

And rightly so. Why pay a penny more than they have to? If Villa want to turn down cash they desperately need to stay afloat, under the deluded impression that they're in anything other than a weak negotiating position, more fool them. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Diop's going to be a monster of a CB. £17m for a 21 year old who will go for £60m+ in a couple of years. Very good business. Disappointed we haven't seemingly been sniffing around. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

A mid table club making noises about having realistic European asperations. The secret's out now - we're just happy to survive. That surely makes us a far less attractive proposition. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

CA: 119 PA: 120 Is that easier to understand? Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Well, he was with us for half a season and - presumably based on something - not considered better than our available starting options for all bar one game. He's only made 20 starts for Verona since joining them last summer - the majority of them at right back. I'd speculate that we didn't keep him on because A) he wasn't the centre back we needed and B) high wages for a 30 year old squad utility player didn't seem like great business. Obviously in retrospect he might've suited our late season back three, as he's kind of an in between right back and centre back player, but he wouldn't have added the aerial strength or physicality we sorely lacked. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Gosh, what a minimal effort design. I suppose it's in keeping with the general "whatever, that'll do" indifference of the new Chairman Gao era. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I don't think it's a case of "leaving Cedric alone" to guard the back post - it'd just be weird positioning for a centre back, when facing a cross from the right wing, to completely abdicate the centre (and any forwards that might be lurking there) to become an auxiliary right back. The Arsenal goal you mention was scored by Welbeck, running in from the left wing. The centre back in that situation can't abandon his station (and any forwards that might be lurking there) to go and mark a left winger. Cedric's job is to cover the back post. He just isn't very good at it. Blame it on his height if you like, but many similarly statured full backs seem to cope okay. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

100 Kenyan shilling is about 74p. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Lookman. No-one else suitable for us/worth having. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I guess Villa's £40m valuation of Grealish will come down to something more realistic as the transfer window and their financial crisis ticks on. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

He's only played about six games - and all of them as part of a very defensive back five. In a back four for the u23s he looked very poor - certainly not better than his centre back partner Alfie Jones. He doesn't move well when isolated one on one with attackers. Over time that will become obvious. I think it's a bit premature to be suggesting he's been our best defender on such slim evidence. He did okay, and in our dire situation that was good enough, but let's not get carried away. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

You could say inSane... He's not played very well for the national team yet. Unlike England, they have options and can afford to be choosy rather than just picking someone because they're on the staff of a big club. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Brilliant bloke. His deadpan "well done, he's 13" response to Michael Owen celebrating like a cock after scoring past a kid in a training drill still tickles me. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Also, we need to sell because our squad is too big. Something like 32 players over the age of 21, all therefore needing to be registered in the final 25 man squad. There's a lot of dead wood to move on, assuming the club's fiscally responsible approach considers spending wages on multiple players who can't play to be foolish. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

We won't sign anyone - the squad is already good enough for top eight, some would have you believe. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Perhaps his name has been tainted by how he peed away his own promising career by dossing around and generally being an unprofessional knob. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

How many RBs do they need? Spurs have Trippier, Aurier, and just locked down Walker-Peters on a big new contract. Arsenal have Bellerin and are about to sign the experienced Liechtensteiner on a free as back up. I'd be amazed if Cedric turned up in North London. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Are we just disregarding Chelsea being unable to finalise a £50m move for him in January? I feel like there's a small chance Champions League semi finalist Roma's player of the year might have better options than joining Saints for a relegation fight. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I think you're allowed to strengthen more than one position. Emre Can out, Fabinho in. That's a great upgrade. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Didn't say what division... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Getting back to potential cheapish options if we're being tight: RB: Ryan Fredericks, 25 (Fulham) and Achraf Hakimi, 19 (Real Madrid) - both out of contract. CM: Oguzhan Ozyakup, 25 (Besiktas) - free Winger: Jonathan Bamba, 22 (St. Etienne) - free. Striker: Mario Balotelli, 27 (Nice) - free. Probably not realistic, but I'd doubt a massive club will take a punt on him now. Seems to have matured and has certainly got quality. Weirder things have happened... Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

If we're doing things on the relative cheap: CB: Hegazi, £2.5m AMC: Max Meyer, free Winger: Shaqiri, £12m Striker: Find a loan somewhere. Maybe use Les' Liverpool club card to get Solanke or Brewster for a season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

It's hard to quantify what's realistic anymore under the present regime, seemingly committed to scaling back our ambition. Assuming sold starters like Bertrand and Cedric will be replaced and discounting them from the four hypothetical signings, I'd say we need: a CB, a midfielder who can go forwards, a wide attacker and a striker. CB: Issa Diop (Toulouse). Absolute beast. Lots of big clubs are looking at him, but is it beyond the realms of possibility that we couldn't pull off a "stepping stone" transfer for a young talent who is going to be a star, but isn't there yet? AMC: I think Grealish or Maddison would fit the bill lovely. Nick Powell would also be very realistic. We can't keep playing three holding midfielders, Ward-Prowse is pony and Hesketh isn't going to make the grade. Someone's got to pass forwards. Wide attacker: Sisto and Promes have been linked. Of the two, I do like the look of Sisto and - given that Promes is supposedly priced around £30m - I'd say the younger, probably cheaper and therefore more realistic option. Striker: Tammy Abraham. Pushing the limits of what is realistic, perhaps, but I think he's a brilliant player in the making - and more importantly, possibly open to persuasion with his pathway at Chelsea perennially blocked. If we're counting pennies, maybe we could wrangle a one or two year loan. Tall, strong, mobile, technically good with fantastic movement - Abraham's what we hoped Gallagher would be. I wouldn't hold a tough season at Swansea against him. Even in that crap side he scored more goals than our strikers managed. Assuming we'll keep at least one experienced quantity (Gabbiadini would be my choice) and reintegrate Gallagher, I think that'd leave us with a reasonable, though not groundbreaking, set of options up top. But typing that all out makes you realise just how much money we'd have to find for not exactly top-shelf players, just to keep moving forward. I reckon we'd do well to sign the above for under £60m. Do we have that? I suspect it's going to be a chastening off season. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Shocking? Sides were quoted £25m+ for him. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

I was hoping we were dragging things out because we were working on a surprise announcement of someone a bit less underwhelming than Hughes, but it turns out it was just boring old ineptitude. Fingers crossed he can keep us up. I don't see it getting any better than that. This time last year the club pursued Thomas Tuchal. It's been a chastening 12 month journey to simply being happy to survive. Oh well, at least we know now. Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk