Re: AVFC Takeover Thread, Rumours, Gossip and Hearsay...all goes here

[brummieboy]

The squad fly to Portugal today with CB amongst them, it must be unsettling for TS though because he can't really plan for the future with him or set up his tactics around him, because it's likely he will leave later in the transfer window especially now Sterling is forcing liverpools hand. Without CB we have no-one who will score regularly, Kosak, Gabby and a couple of youngsters aren't going to cut it in this league. Even if CB does stay we need a Charlie Austin type, so we should be going all out to address our poor goal difference at both ends. I haven't seen enough from this squad/manager to show me we will be anything more than relegation candidates yet again, a view that is backed up by all the bookies. There is still time to sort it out but we have to work harder to attract players, even our latest signings agent has said we are a small team and his client can use us to progress onto bigger and better things, describing the league like the NBA of European football, ie great wages even at the bottom clubs

This pretty much sums up my feelings - while I like TS and I like RW - I am yet to see anything that fills me with joy in TF (granted a lot of his work is behind the scenes). Also lets bear in mind we hardly flew up the table under TS did we?  Given resources I think he could do a good job.  Unfortunately at the minute getting rid of the losers mentality involves shipping out players.   I am sure I remember TS saying that he wanted transfer dealings done early, yet here we are with one free signing and a player signed after an agreement from the previous regime.

I have seen nothing at all this this off season to fill me with anything other than mild dissapointment.   Yes RW is a great appointment, however pretty sure plenty of us said "Keano will be a great assistant" - 2015 is just deja vu of 2014 so far for me, with a more personable manager.

Couldn't agree more so underwhelmed, can't see a takeover being close with the on-goings this week, the only straws to clutch at in the last week are the tweets from Collymore and Taylor all other rumours suggest it's fallen through or not even out of the starting blocks.
Even then the club could have persuaded them to put out some good news to increase the fans morale, but I'm hoping with those two that they have more respect for the supporters to do that.

I really think the squad needs major reinforcements this summer and is extremely weak and if a takeover isn't happening soon then I think both Delph and Benteke will leave crippling the spine of the team even further and Sherwood will have little more than the players sales fund to work with.

[kimbo]

Nothing wrong with Bunn's signing in isolation if it's part of a bigger picture. Unfortunately we have been down this road before.

Tbh I expected more of Ian Taylor (not Collymore) Surely he would realise tweeting the things he did would get people's hopes up. For a club that has put it's fans through hell for the last 4 years, a respected ex pro should say stuff about exciting times ahead. It just makes people thing something's happening.

At least he should have the decency to qualify his statements - does he not have aspirations to be some sort of ambassador the club.

I have to take issue here. Only people that seriously want to read something into everything, could possibly of taken Ian Taylor's tweet to mean anything significant. I know this has been thrashed out already...but it needs saying again in my opinion.

This is the tweet I believe everyone is referring to:

"This is a big big summer for us..... #AVFC #comingsandgoings"

I think people have thrown way too much weight at this to justify their own imaginations!
For me, this is simply him saying it's a big summer in terms of transfer dealings. Meaning that if we get it wrong, we are in big trouble. I would say it's a pretty innocent tweet and I imagine Tayls would be a little surprised by the reaction it has gotten!
I can't be arsed to go back a year....but I wouldn't mind betting he will have posted something similar last summer!

As for the Collymore tweet....how anyone can read that as transfer related is beyond me, but there you go!!

Why anyone gives a flying fuck about anything Collymore has to say about anything ever is beyond me, but there you go  :)

Anyway, yes, I agree on the Ian Taylor thing. It IS a big summer with comings and goings! I know people may think that meant boardroom level - and hell, maybe he did - but I'm surprised at how much fuss it caused too.

[brummieboy]

Bunn hasn't been signed to challenge whoever the starting keepers are, he's making up the numbers & will know that. He's an Andy Marshall type signing, nothing to fret about

Would be ok if we've completed a couple of these other signings we've supposed to be close to finalizing beforehand, but its just two free signings and an enforced signing from the previous managers loan deal so far..

[The Utterer]

I think Ian Taylors tweet is nothing more than a "This NEEDS to be a big summer for us" In other words he's not saying anything other than it's a big summer for us because if we don't have major dealings to improve the team after last seasons somewhat fortuitous "scraping safety by finger nails" saga, then we are in deep ****!!

So yeah, i agree with him...This is indeed a BIG summer for us!


On Mark Bunn i'm fine with it, a very able replacement who is still young (for a keeper) at 30 and known by our keeper coach well. He has also enabled us to replace a declining wage sucking player with a fresh developing talent freeing up much needed manouvre room on the wage bill!.. Good business as i see it?!

[Villa_Dan]

Norwich fan just said Bunn is better than we'll be expecting and covered for Ruddy more than adequately

[andrew24561]

The squad fly to Portugal today with CB amongst them, it must be unsettling for TS though because he can't really plan for the future with him or set up his tactics around him, because it's likely he will leave later in the transfer window especially now Sterling is forcing liverpools hand. Without CB we have no-one who will score regularly, Kosak, Gabby and a couple of youngsters aren't going to cut it in this league. Even if CB does stay we need a Charlie Austin type, so we should be going all out to address our poor goal difference at both ends. I haven't seen enough from this squad/manager to show me we will be anything more than relegation candidates yet again, a view that is backed up by all the bookies. There is still time to sort it out but we have to work harder to attract players, even our latest signings agent has said we are a small team and his client can use us to progress onto bigger and better things, describing the league like the NBA of European football, ie great wages even at the bottom clubs

This pretty much sums up my feelings - while I like TS and I like RW - I am yet to see anything that fills me with joy in TF (granted a lot of his work is behind the scenes). Also lets bear in mind we hardly flew up the table under TS did we?  Given resources I think he could do a good job.  Unfortunately at the minute getting rid of the losers mentality involves shipping out players.   I am sure I remember TS saying that he wanted transfer dealings done early, yet here we are with one free signing and a player signed after an agreement from the previous regime.

I have seen nothing at all this this off season to fill me with anything other than mild dissapointment.   Yes RW is a great appointment, however pretty sure plenty of us said "Keano will be a great assistant" - 2015 is just deja vu of 2014 so far for me, with a more personable manager.

With reference to TS wanting transfer dealings done early may I remind you we are only just over a week into the transfer window!!!!!!!!!!!!! all the doom mongers need to show a little patience IMO.

[George]

I have no problem at all with us signing master Bunn but with all the uncertainty I think the sooner we see the completion of Idrissa Gueye and one of the other bigger names touted the sooner we'll be a happy family again.

[snitum]

I think Fox will use the excuse that Randy is looking for a buyer to explain another year of inactivity in the transfer market, and then by the end of summer will come out and say "he hasn't found a suitable buyer yet, so let's just focus on the season ahead, there is a lot of work to be done, yada yada yada".

Bill Kenwright has been telling Everton fans for about 10 years he's trying to sell the club and look at them. Randy has been doing it for 2 years now and counting...

Just my opinion based on the impression I get that Tom Fox is here to stay; he seems confident in his position (which would be strange if there was a takeover coming), and from the fact there is no news whatsoever that anyone wants to buy us...

[B62 Villa]

I'm not sure it's a case of being a doom monger, and yes the transfer windows only been open a week, with the squad now flying out to Portugal for a week. Giving us a couple of weeks on there return before the season starts. It's not a lot of time to significantly overhaul the starting 11 which is needed especially if we do lose FD/CB. I know we have 3 weeks once the season starts and usually there is a late flurry of deals, but given how close we came to being relegated I'd prefer we didn't leave it that late, or lose key players that late, if they are going, go now so we have a fighting chance at replacing them. This summer seems almost worse than last, as there was/is far more optimism a takeover is happening, hence the disappointment at the way things are panning out( or as it seems from the outside looking in). As it stands today I would realistically say this squad would finish 14/15th or below

[omariqy]

The likelihood is that we won't get taken over this summer with strong rumours that we are on the hunt for a new chairman. I am however hopeful that Fox, TS, PR and co can get deals done in good time for us to have a decent start to the season. The issue is that the season starts early so really we want the majority in before that otherwise you are playing catch up. Especially when it comes to our defence. You want the goalkeeper and defenders working together in pre season as a unit.

[De Kuip]

As it stands today I would realistically say this squad would finish 14/15th or below

I've got to say mate - and I'm sure someone will say "congratulations on having your expectations well and truly managed" - that in the absence of any takeover and with pretty much this squad, I'd take 14/15th next year if I saw we were on the road to improvement.

I do still firmly believe a takeover is on the cards though.

[B62 Villa]

DK
Whilst Lerner remains we will never be on the road to improvement, every time we see the green shoots of recovery the rug is pulled.
Ever Since MoN Walked/pushed, we have been on a downwards spiral, each season believing things would bottom out and then improve and we could progress on wards and upwards, but it hasn't happened and we have got worse year on year. It is now TS turn to try and turn things around, but he's not a miracle worker, this squad needs massive investment into it, and RL won't do that, and I feel he will be here for a while yet( or at least to collect another massive TV cheque for minimum outlay). It's not a case of having your expectations managed, it's a case of been worn down watching years or turgid shite, I thought TS may have turned us around, but the Saints game and cup final have shown me yet again we are in for a struggle with these players

[Suits]

As a few other posters have already said, a takeover is definitely going to happen. Even if the current front-runner pulls out for whatever reason there is another group that want to buy the club. It's just a case of being patient although I know how hard that is. We appear to be spending more money than we have done in the last three summers, we're being linked with a much higher quality of player and also the set up at the club is probably as good as it's been since the MON days!

[villabromsgrove]

My own reading of the 'evidence' tells me that it's currently Plan B and an attempt is being made to get it right this time.

However, I've heard enough whispers to think that things are still happening in the background to turn Plan B into Plan A.

Whether or not those efforts will result in a sale needs to be addressed by someone in a much better position than me. So I intend to assume that it's more of the same for now, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if something 'great' happens.

[De Kuip]

DK
Whilst Lerner remains we will never be on the road to improvement, every time we see the green shoots of recovery the rug is pulled.
Ever Since MoN Walked/pushed, we have been on a downwards spiral, each season believing things would bottom out and then improve and we could progress on wards and upwards, but it hasn't happened and we have got worse year on year. It is now TS turn to try and turn things around, but he's not a miracle worker, this squad needs massive investment into it, and RL won't do that, and I feel he will be here for a while yet( or at least to collect another massive TV cheque for minimum outlay). It's not a case of having your expectations managed, it's a case of been worn down watching years or turgid shite, I thought TS may have turned us around, but the Saints game and cup final have shown me yet again we are in for a struggle with these players

Just to be clear B62 - the expectation managed bit in quotes was what I was expecting someone to say to me, not what I was saying to you. I can see from a lot of your posts that you are at the end of your tether, who wouldn't be?

I'm just cut from a slightly different mental cloth from you I guess, and as someone who has recovered from serious injury using positive thought strategies, which I'm absolutely convinced sped up my recovery from a broken spine/fractured neck/broken ribs, meaning I was back cycling after 7 weeks rather than the 12-15 predicted, I try at all times to refrain from negativity - it's properly bad for your health.

My feeling is we hit rock bottom just before Lambert went, yes we had some embarrassing disasters under TS (drinking champagne to celebrate safety after a 6-1 defeat still ranks as one of my wierdest Villa moments) but I genuinely, genuinely believe we're on the road back, but I'm not delusional enough to think it will be a smooth and easy one.

Come on mate, pop over to DK towers and grab a bite of optimism, I've got home made cider as well, what's not to like  

[DN1982]

People have been banging on about how good Guzan is and how he should be No1 now we get an experienced back up keeper there's outrage! FFS you need 3 keepers a no1 a young deputy and an experienced one Steer and Bunn being the latter. We may still get a new no1 so what's the problem? It's a free transfer who's wages will be a fraction of the bloke he replaced.
As for the takeover this time last year Lerner shelved looking for a buyer to concentrate on the season. This year he can't really do that as we have interested parties but we still need to be prepared for the new season so implementing a version of the so called plan B is necessary. LERNER never bought us until mid August and MCFC was virtually the last day of the window. Things can move pretty fast once everything is sorted so no need to panic especially if we keep strengthening.

[villainjock]

i think its time the club gave us an update on all the speculation.
There has been quite a lot of media attention regarding a takeover and it would be nice if they could confirm or deny it. I know they don't have to, but out of respect to the fans. It's like there too important to let us know, the secrecy at the club is pissing me off big time. By the way I have already renewed for next season along with my son.

[omariqy]

The club are so quiet that it creates this vacuum which has to be filled with nonsense. It's frustrating for us fans to not know where we stand and where the future of our club lies. I think we all know that their are parties interested in buying us. How close we are to being sold is anyones guess but my guess would be not close. Maybe towards the end of this year.

[B62 Villa]

DK
Love a bit of home made cider

[VillaBill]

Don't shoot the messenger, but my Facebook feed has a rumour about the Nike guy being announced as our new owner tomorrow, & yesterdays meeting included the fact we had sold our stadium naming rights & that Villa Park was soon to become The Nike Stadium!

At this point I want to stress I am not ITK, and a death warrant should not be issued if any of the above turns out to be complete & utter tosh! UTV !

[villabromsgrove]

The club are so quiet that it creates this vacuum which has to be filled with nonsense.  It's frustrating for us fans to not know where we stand and where the future of our club lies. I think we all know that their are parties interested in buying us.  How close we are to being sold is anyones guess but my guess would be not close.  Maybe towards the end of this year.

I think communication is AVFC's weakest area. I'm not talking specifically about takeover info which if it were happening would be covered by NDA's. I'm talking about the obvious attitude (policy?) that the fans don't matter. It's a weird mindset for a business that is largely dependent on it's fan base.

The Official Site and AVTV should be a conduit to all Villa's customers. The fact that both are probably the shoddiest load of trash that has ever represented a club, indicates that fans have a very low priority in the Lerner/Fox mindset.

[jvilla]

Well the longer it goes without lerner appointing a replacement chairman the more likely it is we are awaiting a takeover to complete.

[De Kuip]

Don't shoot the messenger, but my Facebook feed has a rumour about the Nike guy being announced as our new owner tomorrow, & yesterdays meeting included the fact we had sold our stadium naming rights & that Villa Park was soon to become The Nike Stadium!

At this point I want to stress I am not ITK, and a death warrant should not be issued if any of the above turns out to be complete & utter tosh! UTV !

Bloody hell - the goddess of victory - we could do with a few of those.

Glad I gave her tits a squeeze when I went to Ephesus last year - I knew I hadn't lost my touch

[danclare82]

Don't shoot the messenger, but my Facebook feed has a rumour about the Nike guy being announced as our new owner tomorrow, & yesterdays meeting included the fact we had sold our stadium naming rights & that Villa Park was soon to become The Nike Stadium!

At this point I want to stress I am not ITK, and a death warrant should not be issued if any of the above turns out to be complete & utter tosh! UTV !

Bloody hell - the goddess of victory - we could do with a few of those.

Glad I gave her tits a squeeze when I went to Ephesus last year - I knew I hadn't lost my touch

But hasn't he left nike so he wouldn't have the rights to call VP the nike stadium?

[DelboyVilla]

Don't shoot the messenger, but my Facebook feed has a rumour about the Nike guy being announced as our new owner tomorrow, & yesterdays meeting included the fact we had sold our stadium naming rights & that Villa Park was soon to become The Nike Stadium!

At this point I want to stress I am not ITK, and a death warrant should not be issued if any of the above turns out to be complete & utter tosh! UTV !

A team playing in the Nike Stadium in a shitty Macron kit? I can't really see that one happening?

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