Sion Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Because all i read on that villatalk website is how they're going to over-take us next season, they're on the up, etc... Is it just me, or are Villa a lot further off breaking into 4th than their fans or certain parts of the footballing world may think? At the moment their squad, if you get rid of Barry, looks like this. 3 DF Wilfred Bouma 5 DF Martin Laursen 7 MF Ashley Young 9 FW Marlon Harewood 10 FW John Carew 11 FW Gabriel Agbonlahor 13 GK Stuart Taylor 14 FW Nathan Delfouneso 15 DF Curtis Davies 16 DF Zat Knight 17 MF Moustapha Salifou 18 MF Wayne Routledge 19 MF Stiliyan Petrov 20 MF Nigel Reo-Coker (vice-captain) 26 MF Craig Gardner 27 MF Isaiah Osbourne 28 FW Shaun Maloney That's just 17 players, with some of them either never having played for the club before, or a very limited amount of times. The only player they have left there that honestly I feel would make our first team 18 as it is now, is Ashley Young. Zat Knight, Marlon Harewood, Wayne Routledge, Stuart Taylor. Nigel Reo-Coker, Craig Gardner, Moustapha Salifou. Their squad is dreadful. They're about to lose their captain, have just spent most of the fee they'll get for him on Curtis Davies (who they had on loan last season so it's not exactly an improvement so to speak) and they haven't got a GK yet (worse off if they buy Robinson). It will take some serious spending, and wisely, for them to mount a top 4 challenge. Last season they were very lucky with injuries and this season i think they will struggle big time. They've got the intertoto cup which will mess up their pre-season, and then if they do get through, they've got a UEFA cup campaign, which we've all seen the effect it can have on teams with weak squads. Obviously it will depend a lot on transfer dealings in the next 7 weeks, but I honestly can't see any side challenging the top 4 for a prolonged period the forthcoming season. People will say 'Spurs, they've got Modric and Dos Santos', but they're likely to lose Berbatov and maybe even Keane, and there's no saying what impact their new signings will have on the PL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Palmer Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Slur Alex says no chance. I agree with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie H Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 spurs could be interesting, depends on who else they sell / keep. arsenal probably need to pull their finger out in the transfer market this summer, but if adebayor goes to barca then they'll have another 30m to play with. but flamini, hleb and adebayor would take some replacing. city could be worth watching. if they were to get ronaldinho and this lad jo kicks off then who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knox_Harrington Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 arsenal probably need to pull their finger out in the transfer market this summer, but if adebayor goes to barca then they'll have another 30m to play with. but flamini, hleb and adebayor would take some replacing.They needed to add about five players (to challenge) without losing any. Arsenal don't look healthy to me I must be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sion Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 They needed to add about five players (to challenge) without losing any. Arsenal don't look healthy to me I must be honest.We say the same thing every season though don't we.Although that said, THIS SEASON, if they don't do well in the transfer market, i think they'll struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Palmer Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 They needed to add about five players (to challenge) without losing any. Arsenal don't look healthy to me I must be honest. but they have the super kids coming through don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfar1 Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Ramos seems to know what he's doing and they have a solid nucleus of side with money to spend as well so i'll say Spurs. Everton should have a reality check this year and miss out on the top six (fingers crossed). Portsmouth and City to fill the next couple of spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hideNseek Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJS Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 It'd basically take a catastrophe for one of the top four, and for one of the rest to have what'd be effectively their best season in decades. Cant see it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John am Rhein Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Are any odds on offer for(a) Spurs to finish in the top 4?(b) Aston Villa to finish in the top 4? (I can't access betting sites at work) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sion Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 Spurs are about 6's, Villa 11's and Everton 16'sMan City 20/1Newcastle 25/1Hull 1000/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psl Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I've been amazed when looking on Villa and Spurs forums recently how vulnerable they think we are. Not sure if its us failing to note our own inadequacies or them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyds Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 spurs could be interesting, depends on who else they sell / keep. arsenal probably need to pull their finger out in the transfer market this summer, but if adebayor goes to barca then they'll have another 30m to play with. but flamini, hleb and adebayor would take some replacing. city could be worth watching. if they were to get ronaldinho and this lad jo kicks off then who knows?Goofy's brother says he won't play in England and a deal; with Milan is 90% done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sion Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 I've been amazed when looking on Villa and Spurs forums recently how vulnerable they think we are. Not sure if its us failing to note our own inadequacies or them. They've been saying that for years.''If Gerrard gets injured Liverpool will struggle''''Gerrard and Torres score all their goals'' (even though Ronaldo and Tevez scored a more larger % of United's total goals last season) Usual optimistic bulls***. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie H Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 if city had kept eriksson and added quality to their squad they could have been worth a punt at twenties. not sure about hughes taking them on to the next level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sion Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 I always thought Eriksson didn't have a clue. They were in relegation form for the last 5 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie H Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 he's a very good club manager. always has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulMcC Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I've been amazed when looking on Villa and Spurs forums recently how vulnerable they think we are. Not sure if its us failing to note our own inadequacies or them. Got a link to any of these forums saying that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hassony Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 he's a very good club manager. always has been. Wasted a lot of money, and their form was a disgrace in the second half of the season but like you, I am not sure Hughes is the right manager to take them to the next level Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunga Din Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 top 4 next season will be United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. probably in that order too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psl Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Got a link to any of these forums saying that? http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/...-view.asp?fid=2 http://www.glory-glory.co.uk/forums/10/ShowForum.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ostrich Man Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 top 4 next season will be United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. probably in that order toofingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floyd the barber Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 the top 5 will be.. mancschelsealiverpoolarsenalspurs Think the gap will be closer between those 5...still think it`ll be in the above order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John am Rhein Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Spurs are about 6's, Villa 11's and Everton 16'sMan City 20/1Newcastle 25/1Hull 1000/1 Not quite so unlikely, then. Betting barket gives Spurs a 1 in 7 chance of dojng the 'impossible'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budgie Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Not quite so unlikely, then. Betting barket gives Spurs a 1 in 7 chance of dojng the 'impossible'. Ya the mookies rarely get the barket wrong as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now