S-Clarke

He's not going to play second fiddle to an 18 year old. I personally feel we're after a utility defender, who can cover full back and CB. Would make more sense.

Was only saying that in jest. I'm in complete agreement with you, I even posted above my views on it.

Time.to.give.up.

All too similar to Gaston from last year. There were loads of articles about it happening, then not, then happening, then rejecting us, then we couldn't agree a % with another club, so it was over. Then Bologna wanted more money. etc. And all through that, it was pretty clear that he had already agreed to come here and that week of ''will he or won't he'' stories were basically non-stories, as all we were waiting on was work permit approval before it was announced. The translations from these Italian sites were shocking though, so much is being lost! (mainly context!!)

I don't think he's gay tbf.

Talk of anything between 100-250k. Hope they do get it, they were a huge part in his rise as well.

He's probably my favorite bloke in the entire world, ever. Hero of all levels.

Hi Jimmy, don't' take this the wrong way, as it's not directed at you personally - but the highlighted part is where the problem lies in my opinion. I don't believe you can have a forum moderated based on their individual opinions. Everyone's opinion is different, some will agree a thread is fine, others will agree it's not - therefore you have no consistency in the moderation of this place, and ultimately it leads to quite a few disgruntled members as we are starting to see. I know moderating is a very difficult job in most cases, but I think it would make so much more sense (and make everyone's lives easier) if you all had strict set guidelines to follow that you all agreed on. So threads and people are banned for consistent reasons, and not just based on peoples opinions at that time. In my opinion in the past, people have banned because the mod doesn't particularly like them - yet really annoying WUMs are allowed to carry on. Just my 2 pence and one way to improving things.

Wasn't the Daily star the report which also suggested the bid was £8m? When we've been rumoured all along to be looking at paying £17m ish. Would be pretty tempted to toss the Daily star article in the bin!

I don't think we'd still be pursuing him if it was that clear cut.

Would have to say so myself. International/CL quality added right down the spine of the team, whilst keeping everyone on long-term contracts. I'm sure there will still be moaners and WUM's, but there won't be many clubs that conclude that level of success in the transfer market this summer. Also worth noting that it would take our spend to around £40m again. (if Osvaldo is the rumoured 19/20m)

To be fair, this is pretty crap to be honest. Even if the admins are busy with their own lives, they have entered into a commitment with this site in terms of payments. If they haven't got the time anymore, then hand the reigns over to people who have. I'm sure there would be plenty of takers. They can't just let people pay and have it go down a drain. I'm due to renew, but won't be going anywhere near it.

I don't think we will necessarily be adopting a great deal of 'natural' width in our game.

I guess we want to know pretty quickly, so we can then kick on securing our next target. Pretty certain we'll see a new striker come the 2nd though.

Q1: What were your opinions of your first season back in the Premier League? It started pretty poorly to be honest, we were caught out like startled rabbits in headlights for the opening month or so. However, you have to say that our fixture list at the start of last year was awful. Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Everton...all within the first 6 (all bar one away from home). Bit of a baptism of fire. It was no surprise to see us pick up once we secured some more ''winnable'' fixtures, as I think as fans we always knew we had players who could step up to the level. 2nd half of the season was one of initial anger, which slowly turned into reluctant acceptance that the new manager was actually bringing fresh ideas to the table whilst taking the team up a notch. Overall, I think to finish 14th on more than 40 pts in our first season back in 7 years was a pretty decent achievement. Q2: What are your expectations for the upcoming season? I think we're all full of hope for the coming season. The signings we've made have taken the team up a notch and we've retained all of our ''sought'' after players. The way we ended last season has added to the positive feel, but there is a genuine believe within the fan base and the squad that we could do something a little unexpected this year. Q3: What are you expecting from West Brom this season? Personally, I think it will be a harder year for you this year. You cannot underestimate the impact Lukaku had on the team in the 2nd half of the season, and you won't be able to replace him with similar quality without spending a lot of money. As it stands, you don't seem to have really pushed on in the summer in terms of squad signings and additions - that could cause you to stagnate. I don't see you in any relegation bother, but I can't see more than mid-table as it stands. Q4: Happy with the clubs transfer business so far? Yep, pretty happy. We're still in the hunt for a striker (Osvaldo being strongly linked again). If we can secure Osvaldo, Wanyama and Lovren in a single window then that would have to go down as one of our best windows in recent times. Q5: What other positions need adding to before the close of the transfer window? I think we can all be a little greedy sometimes and want a little bit extra everywhere, but genuinely I think we're another striker short from taking us up to a top 10 position. If Luke Shaw's injury is as bad as feared, we could do with another left back too. Q6: Favorite memories of games against West Brom? The one that stands out was our draw up at your place back in the CCC (as it was then). Lallana got his first league goal and it gave us that point which enabled us to stay up against Sheff United on the last day. Although it was delaying the inevitable, as we were relegated the following year, it was still a decent away day. Q7: Worst memories of games against West Brom? If we're talking recently, both games last year. The game up at your place was horrific from our point of view and it had been a long time since we'd felt as despondent about our team. The home game wasn't much better either, especially given our position at the time. We didn't really turn up in either. Q8: The previous game between the sides finished 0-3. What were your opinions on this game? To cut a long story short, we simply didn't have it in us to deal with Lukaku. He tore us apart for the majority of that game and in the end it was probably the most comfortable away day you've had in a while.

We will not let this one drop will we? Perseverance at least. And if you try hard enough, it usually will happen. Still think this is weeks away from anything concrete though.

When he first joined Villa he gave an interview, which basically stated that he ''Never felt right here'' and ''didn't like it down here, it didn't work out with Beattie etc" TBF it wasn't anything earth shattering and a few of our fans got their knickers in a twist about it, but that's pretty much all that was said.

The 3 goals were down to errors unfortunately. The 1st was the worst, so many opportunities to clear it, yet it was panic stations - as we saw so many times last year.

I'd be tempted to throw Clyne in at LB and keep Chambers at RB. Although you can't be sure how fit Clyne actually is...he hasn't trained/played a game for weeks.

Just a damn shame he never got to see all the fun we've had. Don't think he could have wished it to go any better for us. Glad he got to see the start at Wembley though.

I think ''in the hunt'' is more of what was being banded around, which is kind of common knowledge anyway! Didn't hear any links to any bids or advanced talks. Just that we're still looking.

I want him to be a success so much, but I just can't see it. I don't know what he does, or what he can offer. He would be no where near my starting 11 at the moment, at least 2 players should be ahead of him. He has a lot of work to do. He doesn't even look interested anymore.

Sounds like quite a good pre-season in that case. Able to rotate the entire squad and give everyone minutes, exactly how it should be. Don't think pre-season games should be seen as a definite opportunity for anyone to get 90mins. The majority all have some mid-week minutes with their international sides as well. I think our pre-season has been very nicely structured this year. Good results, good prep, good teams, and a genuine improvement in the side from game to game.

Cardiff have shown a decent bit of ambition in this window, quite a tidy team they have there now. It's not been a case of throwing players at it either, just intelligent signings down the spine to enhance the quality. I think Hull have made a couple of good additions for a team at their status as well. If I were a Palace fan though, I would be absolutely bricking it. As it stands, they will do well to hit double figures. They look completely out of their depth.

Bit of a transfer update from our ''rivals''. It's not as straight forward for them, either. http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/west-bromwich-albion-transfer-update-5696072?