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Goodbye JP Angel - And Good Luck

Looks like Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel is on his way to the US of A!

Reports today are suggesting the Columbian will be moving to the New York Red Bulls

Angel moved to Villa for a record fee of £9.5million from River Plate in January 2001 during John Gregory's reign in what became one of the most drawn out transfers in our history due to problems with an agent 'owning' part of the player....!

Apparently he is now close to signing a two year contract to play in the Major League Soccer although Villa have yet to comment.

The Red Bulls won't have to pay a fee but will have to take over the last year of the 31-year-olds contract which is said to be worth around £40 000 a week.

Angel has fallen totally behind in the pecking order of Villa, he managed 7 goals before Christmas but has hardly even made the bench in recent months.

There is no doubt Angel has struggled to repeat his 23 goals in 2003/4 when he partnered up with Darius Vassell but to be fair to the striker, who of the rest of our strikers also hasn't struggled to score in the last 5 years? It isn't all down to the front men, the service has been diabolical, something I'm sure Martin O'Neill will now be able to address as the club now have realistic funding to take us back up the league.

I loved watching an on-form Angel play and still say with the right service he would have continued banging them in for Villa.

If he does go, and lets face it as he isn't even on the bench these days he will, I wish him nothing but good luck. I hope he is a star in America, he so nearly was for us and will always 'feel' like ours because he was brought in around the time of major pressure on Ellis with the £ sign protests.

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Writer: J P Fear

Date:Tuesday April 17 2007

Time: 8:46AM

Your Comments

Good luck Angel if you do go. He's been one of the few players in the last few years to have shown true fight for the Villa. Given the nightmare first year he suffered for us, it's a wonder he stuck it out for 6 years, but I'll never forget his one wonder season. Did you see the Sky Sports headline? "Red Bull to give Angel Wings"... very good

claret&blue82

Best of luck to JPA! Hope we can give him a bit of a send-off before the game on Sunday.

pongogidman

Wish him all the best. Always worked hard - even when things weren't going for him - and never complained. Had the right attitude but couldn't find the consistency. Think he'll be remembered with a great deal more fondness than a number of our other departed strikers over the last ten years.

Alec

Good luck to the guy, he was a great player a few years ago but he was never the quickest and I think his legs have just desserted him now. Should still bang them in in the States tho.

DeanoVilla

On his day a great striker, but most of all seemed like a genuine nice bloke, who showed true passion and commitment to the Villa cause - something that can't be said of too many people over recent times! Goodbye and Good Luck JPA! This may be my only reason for keeping an eye out for whats happening in MLS though.

splatt

Good luck JPA. I really hope MON gives him the opportunity to say goodbye to Villa against SU

PaulG

Yes, there's every reason to wish JPA 'bon voyage'. He didn't seem to quite have the 'bite' in the last couple of years - possibly due to injury in 2004 - but knows his football and will entertain wherever he goes.

the_lergy

I wish him all the best - Ill always remember his screamer against Chelsea at VP!

xfranc

I would have liked to see how he'd play with carew.But I hope him and his family do well.

Pking

Thank you JPA for all you did for us, I would like him to stay but if he goes the very best of luck to him and his.

irish villa

Good luck to JP, as said he lacked service but when supplied by the duo of fellow S AmericanÃs (Nob-ed and Useless) and that terrific 23 goal season he showed glimpses and justified part of his price tag. I still remember sitting in the holte singing his name and what a goal against chelsea xfranc too i agree! He had a shocking first season so to achieve this was a miracle yet he still for the love of god could not hold up the ball which is why when carew arrived we all knew that the knell was rung.... just hope we can unearth a consistent 20 goal a season man. Fancy carew the target man but he is not a 20g a season himself. Want (but dont see just yet) villa to gamble on an actual out and out ST in the summer as we still dont have 1! (Yes that is right dion we could do with a spare centre half too lol) Still it would be harsh on the young lads and MON knows what he is doing as i see him looking at luke long term as he is a natural goalscorer if provided having watched him at reserve level plus he played with gabby for years at all levels like so many of the youth. Nice to ponder tho.... Anyway back to Angel he is a smahing bloke and a pro, he will go on and have a great send off to whichever club it was and he will do many great things in his time in the states. All the best JPA X

*dionforengland*

Oh what could have been. If the rumours are true then we treated him like ***** when his wife got ill and he still stayed producing his best season in 2003/4. I have lots of time for JPA and hope that he goes on to better things in the US of A. Good luck to ya Juan

nottinghamvillain

Good luck juan pablo, love the name to be honest .. never really had the service like he had in his wonder season, but he has scored some good goals like the chelsea one and bolton in the cup. lets hope he says goodbye to the fans before he goes , he gave 100% thats all i ask for because some just dont give that much . good luck juan pablo

meakers

Agree wtih you Pking, would have been very interesting to see Angel play with Carew and especially once our supply is sorted, but it is obvious MON didn't fancy it! I do think the bloke is quality and has been let down by poor service. We could have put van Nistelrooy in our team and even he would have struggled to score.

The Fear

I agree with you fear

meakers

All the best Juan Pablo, you have been a tremendous servant to the club and given your best every time you've pulled on the Claret and Blue. I too would have liked to see a Carew/Angel partnership up front - especially as nobody seems to pick up the loose balls that Carew picks up in the air - but now that the team have discovered that playing the ball to feet works better, this might not be such an issue now. I hope he does get one last run out as it would be good to give him a great send off - let's not forget that besides the 23 goal season, his first two goals for the club sent local rivals Coventry down! ;-)

jeffg_utv

reading the above almost brought a tear to my eyes, almost. but the fact is, he just has not been doing it for us, we paid a lot of money, he gave us one blistering season, and then trailed off, yes he had a hard time with his family problems and got little support (apart from his 40,000 a week) but in a results driven league he just didn't do his job, when all is said and done I will miss him, he had passion and ability, on top of that a realy nice guy with time for the fans, I wish him all the best with his life and career.

steff_the_villan

i second all yr words steff. jpa's attitude always professional and a warmth for the fans that was returned. all this in a time at villa that was a little pear shaped. good luck to him and i hope he gets a decent send off.

leftfoot

best of luck to you JPA, loved seeing you in the villa colours xx

villapeach

Good luck Juan Pablo Angel, i wish you and your family all the very best for the future in America. He was a true gentleman who conducted himself impeccably on and off the pitch whilst playing for Aston Villa FC.

deemz

Remember seeing him in the warm up to a game this season. Every shot he banged in the net whilst his team mates were firing wide. A natural goalscorer. I wasn't too long ago that Arsenal was interested by him. His legs have gone now and it's time for him to move on. Good servant.

Gazvilla

There's been certain players over recent seasons that we as supporters couldn't wait to see the back of. JPA is very definitely not amongst that category. Good luck to him as he now exits Villa Park.

glensider

Agree with everone. JPA has not had the chance to play along side Hulk. MON is building for the future and JP's age has made the choice. Having said that, would you rather keep Berger or JPA?

morky13villa

I'll always have a soft spot for JPA. He was the one player over the past 6 years who showed real quality but was let down badly by those around him who were always on a totally different wavelength. If he'd gone to Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea or L'pool I have no doubt he'd have been a 25 goal a season striker. It's all been said before on earlier messages but he showed such passion and even after the GT season where he never got a look in he never once moaned, the likes of JLS could learn a thing or two about how to conduct yourself from him. I wish him and his family all the best and will now be a fervent supporter of the NY Red Bulls. I hope we do get a chance to sing him out off VP

villatillidie

I'll truly miss him to death and wish him nothing but good luck. I remember when we just bought him and seeing him sitting in the stands watching the game against liverpool (which we lost) i wondered if he could make a difference. He did a damn good job and i guess it was his time to go. A new dawn for all of us

AussieVilla

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