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West Ham Cast Off To Villa?

The official site have confirmed that we are in talks with Marlon Harewood.

:-(

The Birmingham Mail report says Villa in talks with 'star player'.

Sorry, did I say 'star player?'

The 28-year-old striker was thought to be on the way to Wigan in a £3.7million but the Mail say he is now at Bodymoor Heath talking over terms. Manchester City were also linked but now they have Sven, I'd suggest they might have bigger fish to fry?

Not really the sort of signing to get the juices flowing is it? His record is 56 goals in 170 appearances, not that bad a score ratio but....?

His recent record at West Ham isn't that bad actually unless you concentrate on last season.

03-04 West Ham 13 goals, (28 appearances)
04-05 West Ham 17 goals, (45 appearances)
05-06 West Ham 14 goals, (37 appearances)
06-07 West Ham 3 goals, (31 appearances)

Got to back the manager I guess, it is his job that is on the line, but I thought we'd be going for top quality, not average players, maybe we are struggling to attract 'big names' without the prospect of Europe.

Harewood, an improvement on Luke Moore, Shaun Maloney or Gabriel Agbonlahor?

Still, like my mate says, everyone was asking 'who the hell is Peter Withe' all those years back when he signed for us. He soon showed us who the hell he was, and then some!

Martin O'Neill told the official site: 'We've been given the go ahead to speak to the player and we'll take it from there.'

Hope they both ram the words back down my throat, but this IS NOT what I had expected to be coming into Villa, I thought the days of cast offs was long since gone.

Our latest poll asks what you think of this.

Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco

Writer: J P Fear

Date:Monday July 16 2007

Time: 3:13PM

Your Comments

People are being way too negative, replacement for Sutton and cover for Carew.

tarzan

Seem like we starting to get desperate!!

Hoss The Villain

I so want to trust MON, and I still do, but this is a strange one! Agree with the article that those players named are better and I would even throw in Ashley Young who started off alongside Carew. Does this mean that Defoe is off the menu? The two players most lambasted during WHU's poor run last season were Harewood and a certain Mr Reo Coker. I think it's time to trust MON and rely on his man management techniques to get the bet out of both. I feel a bit like NU fans and WHU fans suffering from that Viduka/Bellamy feeling...

VillaYamYam

Ring-ding-ding-dom-dom he is the CRAY FROG! Can we have a comparison please photo of harewood next to a crazy frog picture. Because its laugh or cry at this stage me thinks. And mr fear can you really mention harewood and withe in the same article!?

tylervilla

Go onto Villatalk and see there reaction boys. They are not happy at all and who can blame them. We were told 'top class signings' and look what we end up with. If this is a sign of things to come then we are right up the ****! This is not a good day for Villa fans!

PaulG

Nice one Villa, we already had one strong as an ox forward who cant score (Heskey) you saved us from having two. Thanks again

worbo

I'd prefer a Spurs cast-off up-front me'self. Maybe we'll get one of those as well and then it won't seem too bad...

LeoTheLion

Just squad cover, £3.7m is nothing. MON took a look and thought why not. Don't be so negative......I'd wish we had him in November, even if he only scored four goals !! we may have had an extra eight points from four draws.......get the drift ??

astonmilan

While I trust MON absolutely it does show how much further Villa have to travel to attract the really top players. By any stretch of the imagination on his past performances Harewood is only adequate. I know MON has a reputation for making silk purses from unpromising material, so perhaps he is going to do it again. I do hope though, that this is not the level of any other signings we have been promised. In my book Harewood is only squad strength not a future star. I hope I am proved wrong.

Obediah

Do you think harewood is one of the signings that MON was talking about when he said we'd laugh if he told us who they were targeting? I'm beginning to wonder if we misinterpreted what he meant.

johnnyuk

I'd love to see who they thinkwe should sign, Defoe for 18m? No way, I'd rather stick with Luke. Get behind the manager and show some patience, some fans are acting like spoilt children who don't like the present they've been bought.

tarzan

Disappointed, but he hasn't signed yet, and if he does we MUST give him a fair chance. Perhaps 'physical' cover for Big John as both Gabby and Luke are better playing off a big striker. I still hope we are interested in Defoe, but if we got him (fingers crossed) that would give us five strikers.

krfeskivilla

Have we been led up the garden path or are we all deluded individuals?

bazzah

Can't see why we need squad cover up front, we have Young, Moore, Maloney, Carew, Agbonlahor and you can bet one of them will want out if they can't get in the side next season, maybe Luke Moore who I think is a far better, younger and hungrier player than Harewood. This move is not a quality signing surely?

The Fear

there are a lot of players around with a strike rate as good as harewoods, but if youre aiming for the top 6, and you should be, you need some strikers who are more prolific than harewood.

Dales_Dad

Chill, he is strong powerfull pacey forward who will give us cover upfront.Look he can't score any fewer goals than Angel.

OneloveVilla

Defoe will never come to Villa, he would rather sit on the bench and get the odd run out in Europe.....he's a flyboy and it's never gonna happen. MON will mould our own youngsters into players as good as Defoe. Thats what he's there for, to man manage and get the best from players....did anyone go to the last 10 games last year and watch it unfolding ?

astonmilan

Who the f***k is Dales Dad anyway?

Jon.H

tylervilla was a difficult one to mention both but just a comparison of where fans have been up in arms before.... no I'm just trying to justify this in my own little head I think!

The Fear

I think we're all agreed that Harewood will be without doubt a squad player IF he signs for us. So when was the last time Villa payed £3.7mil for a player that was going to be used purely as back-up? I see this as progress. He's cover for Carew and that was needed as Angel and Sutton are now gone. Let's give him a fair crack of the whip!! There will be bigger signings to come i'm still sure!!

Mylerneredfriends

and here comes Harewood, he skips past one, dances past the second, steps over and megs the third. He looks up ......he's going to try and chip the keeper from 60 yards....he hits it.....and its......its in!. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL Harewood.

tylervilla

to be fair, look at his record, it is better than any of our strikers over the last few years, so maybe we are all just getting ahead of ourselves?

The Fear

im never going to see a goal like that down the villa, i have now realised it.

tylervilla

...maybe i can pre-order my new nike kit with Harewood on the back? ha ha ha come on you gotta laugh it up. Fear you are a shining light of hope in the murky world of being a villa supporter.

tylervilla

One word boys.. .LOL! You won't find Man City sniffing around the dregs. You'll not go down this season though so chin up lads!

Aston Smithy

sorry went a bit post crazy - that was my last

tylervilla

honest no more

tylervilla

Honest question guys. Have you run out of money? I know Wigan fans who are doing cart-wheels they didnt buy him. Surely this is the kind of signing Derby/Brum/Sunderland would make?

cropped

Oh how times change so quickly. Those who were quick to bash any Celtic fan who questioned MON's abilities seemed to have spun around rather quickly.

Lots of us warned you to be careful of him, that his judgement is suspect, he pays too much wages, signs odd players, bottles the league on the last day, has bad tactical awareness. But no, no-one listened.

For some reason you all thought MON was God. Well, he's not. And you all pointed to his great record. Which was basically his record at Celtic - and then in the next sentence you all slated Celtic. Hence he has no record.

MON has been out of the game for too long, out of the English game far too long, and is now starting to look like a turkey.

Be warned, it won't get better - despite whatever spin he or your board stick on it.

All the best though, I'm not anti-Villa, just anti-O'Neill.

ForeverHoop

Back again. Don't get me wrong. I have a soft spot for Villa, my girlfriend is a Villa fan, but one thing I must say is when the half-time scores are announced at Edgeley Park, one team and only one team has a nickname. I always rail against it but maybe there is more truth in it that I had first imagined. The nickname....? Average Villa. Tell me this is wrong!

cropped

Will be A good squad player but not cant see him starting a game...... Well i hope he wont be. We need some quality and we need it quickly as the season is getting to close to quickly

kentvilla

He'll be good for 5 goals a season for you.

greyhound

We were always going to struggle to sign world class player without that lure of European Football. But FFS! Marlene Harewood would be a step backwards surely! I know his record doesn't look too bad with double figures every year except for last year. I think part of the problem is that we expect bigger better signings not this *****

nottinghamvillain

This is such a big name signing that it isn't even on the BBC site yet.

notthedougellisstand

trust the manager?? how can you when hes making joke signings?? we only need one striker, we have luke moore, agbonlahor, maloney, carew and young who all play up front! surely harewood would be last choice striker if signed, because he will be holding up moore and gabby from developing into quality. this is a joke

groseyboy

He'll just be a squad player. He's a back up for Carew. I expect a few bigger signings to come in shortly. Harewood offers something that Young, Gab, Moore and Maloney don't really have. He's powerful and strong. Not what we were expecting but he's just a replacement for Angel/Sutton who were never going to be starters.

weller77

To get a world class player you have to have a world class team, playing in world class competitions, with a world class manager ie Milan, Inter, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd, Bayern Munchen, etc.....aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves ? lets just get out of being average and try and have a little fun competing with Spurs and Everton etc for some European cup action. I've been a villa season ticket holder since I was a kid, I also go out to watch Milan 7 or 8 times a year as my family are from there and believe me they didn't get where they are with a five year plan !!! lets be realistic and aim for the top six and get a cup run or two going....listen to foreverhoop....MON isn't a god, he's a football manager and most of his success was at Celtic, and lets hope he has learnt from past mistakes, as all good pro's do. He knows the game, but don't expect Messi and Kaka, because it just ain't gonna happen.

astonmilan

I think I'm, going to wait until the end of the week before judging this situation. If, and it's a big if, we also sign 2-3 'genuinely' top class players, I'll accept the arrival of Harewood as what I hope it is - a relatively low-risk squad addition. However, I don't believe he brings anything that will improve us and he's not as good a player as either Agbonlahor or Moore. If we don't bring in bigger and better names, I will be extremely disappointed. If he is elvated ahead of Agbonlahor or Moore in the pecking order and subsequently hinders their development, I will be extremely disappointed. And what worries me is MO'N tends to be loyal to the players he brings in (see Petrov last season), so I have to ask has he really been brought in as a squad player? I've been one of the 'keep the faith' brigade that has continually held the steadfast belief that MO'N nows what he is doing and things will ultimately come good this summer. I have to admit I'm now starting to get worried as this signing sends out a terrible signal at a time when we are trying to re-establish ourselves as a force, as a 'big' club, as an attractive brand name that is going to compete. Frankly, I don't know what to think right now. I'm keeping the faith - but it feels like it's really being put to the test today.

Alec

I think Bill Howell is taking the Michael, he's obviously in jocular mood today. Back up for Carew weller77? Why would he come onboard if that were the deal, the masterplan? He'd surely opt for Wigan or whoever, somewhere that regular premiership football would be the norm rather than the exception. I think he's here to help further the growth and development of Luke and Gabby, who lets face it, if they are all that we crack them up to be, then they'll be regular starters next season. Harewood (if he signs) will just take a little bit off pressure off of them, particularly now that the Defoe deal looks dead in the water. Why oh why though did we not make more of a play for David Nugent?

glensider

Some people on here believe they are the Villa faithfull then make comments that show no faith at all.Who needs Defoe when we have Gabby & Luke who can only become proven goalscorers if not playing second fiddle to an overpriced Tottenham bench warmer.Harewood is obviously cover for Carew and if you look at his stats excluding last season (obviously a bad year)He has a goal ratio of nearly one every two games.Too many people equate cost =quality,as any tradesman will tell you its not how much you've paid for your tools the important thing is knowing how to use them.MON is a master craftsman and I have every faith that next season Villa will be a masterpiece.UTV.

Willa

if he is really just a squad player why is he being bought ahead of players we need in vital positions RB, CB etc etc

VillaMalta

Alec how the hell are we supposed to sign "2-3 'genuinely' top class players?" No one outside th top 4 has done this in the closed season - and I include Spurs in that one too. The Champions League rules everything and the top 4 get the pick of everybody (the odd exception being Berbatov).

tarzan

Astonmilan you make excellent points. It's clear from the signings the top 4 have we're not on the same planet never mind the same league. I do see this as cover for Carew and I don't rate the unproven Nugent. MON has always liked a strong target man. I had hoped for something better and don't know what's available abroad, but 15 Mill for Defoe, 20 Mill for Crouch (added to the 5 Mill we already paid). Alec I hope you're right about adding some other quality but I see Young coming in and being priced out by Chelski for SWP.......mmmmm

Gazvilla

You can decide which order you buy your players VillaMalta, you just have to take them as they become available. MON's obviously thought that Harewood can do a job for us, seen that he's on the verge of moving to Wigan, so realised that he's got to make his move now or lose out on him. that's how it goes...

Mylerneredfriends

There's no point at all paying more than 10m for average players no way.

tarzan

Completely agree with Weller77 - Harewood is not the 'big' signing we're all waiting for, but he is going to be a good backup squad player to cover for Carew.

Canuck_Villan

This signing, if it happens, bores the crap out of me but, and its a big BUT, we have Carew, there is no way that Harewood and Carew will be starting a game together and who do you think will be first choice of the two. Surely Harewood must realise that he'll be a bench warmer for Carew if he signs and if that's the case then I say brilliant, we need a player of his ilk as cover and there are not many (or even any) better that are available for that price. Don't loose faith guys, not an inspiring signing but it's M'On's job to win football games not to wow us with signings. If Harewood comes in and does a competant job when Carew is off form or injured then which of us wil complain?

Villain Of The North

^Tarzan and Gazvilla - I did say it was a big 'if'. Like I wrote earlier, I really don't know what to make of this signing (if it happens) or what it holds for further business. I hope we will still see a couple of big hitters - and I've been convinced all summer we would eventually get them. But all we can do is continue to wait. I can't deny I'm slightly worried at this juncture. What I'm curious to know is how the club will handle Harewood's signing - they're obviously aware of the level of anticipation among the fans and so they will know this signing will come as a surprise and a disappointment. They obviously can't come out and say "Marlon is our 3rd/4th/5th choice but we weren't able to agree fees for our primary targets". But they've made big noises about top class additions and they will surely be savvy enough to know they can't herald this signing to be of that standard. I think it's gonna be an interesting week - I just pray we're all feeling a little happier and more confident by Friday.

Alec

Can't believe you lot are moaning. Just think about this - we need 6 or 7 players including replacements for Angel and Sutton and cover for an an injury prone centre forward. So we spend 3.5mil on a guy who has not a bad scoring record. He is cover for Carew and means we still have some £22m left for the forward, play maker and right back we need. Gabby, Luke and Ashley are not robust centre forwards. Harewood is. I think this is a good bit of business. We need a strong squad. What is the problem?

Gordonsleftboot

Everyone stop moaning, a players a player for god sakes. Id rather have him than not. I doubt he'll even make the bench most weeks. We will sign some quality before the season starts.

son_of_cher

well mylerneredfriend he's let 7 go and brought in one and we dont have a recognised right back at the club at this point i dont think we should waiting for players to "become available" but rather forcing clubs to make players available with strong bids. how is it that players that other clubs are after are all becoming available but none that we're after. for example did the Reo-coker deal need to take that long to complete

VillaMalta

Monday and MON is on the case, let's hope this is the start of a busy week, as he can't do much signing of players in the US. I am expecting some real action.

OneloveVilla

Hmmm...i would love it if he turns out to be a Peter Withe type capture....but does it mean he comes in at the expense of young Luke? I cannot see MoN letting go of any of our current strike options and he should'nt. I'd rather have a squad full of depth. As for Maloney - i feel he'll come good this season. We still need a right back and cover at left back as well as another midfielder. I can't see us chasing after Defoe now if Harewood comes our way. Young at right back ...erm...yes..ok. SWP ...hmmmmmm yeah ofcourse....

reza

Gazvilla, I just want a little pride back at our club and have a crack at the FA Cup and a EUFA Cup spot, win most home games and have a few corkers away, the top players want european football so MON will have to do a lot of selling to get them at VP, but if he can get a strong squad and entice a few younger players here for the future then great, maybe he can get Sneidjer, maybe he can convince Defoe, I don't know. Players like Defoe andSWP want money and glory and I'm afraid we will struggle to tempt them to come, its all down to Gabby, Young, Moore, Gardener etc.... to become class players and put the spotlight on Villa this season. We may get a couple of foreign players of decent quality yet, who knows. We have a decent young squad who are hungry, so lets take it slow. If we had £200m to spend, players aren't just gonna come walking into Aston Villa, it will take time. I've waited 25 years, another two or three won't hurt, as long as we don't go backwards.

astonmilan

don't get me wrong i think harewood would be good back up for carew but we are in much greater need of strenghtening in other positions. at the end of the season we were being linked with sneijder and drenthe now we're being linked with vassel and on the verge of signing harewood not exactly what i was expecting

VillaMalta

If he wants first team footie i doubt he'll even come to villa.

son_of_cher

I suppose this means we have to keep Ridgewell now? Who else is going to make him look good in training??

PatMcMahon

Villamalta, Carew £swap, Maloney £1m, Young £8.5m, Petrov £6.5m, Reo-Coker £8.5m and now Harewood £3.7m when was the last time Villa spent £26m on players in 11 months ?? answer = never. There will be a few more yet, have faith.

astonmilan

and it would appear we won't be buying defoe or any more strikers for that matter with carew harewood agbonlahor moore young and maloney thats 7 players who can play up front so it looks like gabby and moore will be getting their chance afterall

VillaMalta

Another thought for everyone.All these bit part players who are being promised games during the course of the season may be happy now.But come January, the Euro's 5 months away and they have managed 10 games-If they got on the bench at all! January could be a far more interesting time to get the players you need than now.We still have just under 6 weeks and most of Europe is getting back to training and the friendlies are starting.All good things come to those who wait! UTV

OneloveVilla

We are a joke. The laughing stock of the premiership. Harewood and Gardner. Please shoot me.

evoflash

Have to say i`m very disappointed and my fears are coming true,however on a positive note if MON cannot get his 1st/2nd choices then at least he`s willling to shop around ( unlike DOL ) and if this is as back-up to Carew i guess we can all understand due to the physical presence he`d bring ( plus he has a point to prove )Certainly not the market we were promised though but hey,ho what can ya do ?

ASPINALL

one thing i will say is a big indication will be what number he is given, i sincerley hope its not no 9, if it is we arent signing another striker.

Stig

im gonna cry.

Eaton_thevillafan

We know the General dosnt deal with transfers, he does however pass on the feelings of the fans to Randy and MON, soooooo leave hime a message.... Say NO to Harewood. HE did score a hatrick against us though.

MOGVILLA

Numbers needed , what is available for Christs sake the guy has been lambasted before he even signs (if indeed he does), There are times a big strong striker is required to ***** up a back 4 and with JC's injury record back up is needed we are far from being the biggest physically anyhow, we have been clamouring for signings a sniff of one (admittedly not one to excite) and we all freak out...

fatloser

i'd rather have vassell

fullygrownman

No one ever said who is Peter Withe - Don't ever compare this useless lump from West Ham with Peter Withe.

myleftfoot

He haven't signed him yet. Can't we leave the doom and gloom til we do and he doesn't play well for us? You never know, he might be useful.

CLVilla

Its not as if hes ****, but not what i expected. There is better that i think we should be chasing obviously. If he does sign, he'd be nuthin more than a cover, last choice striker and for a last choice striker, id take him

AussieVilla

We still need another 5 or 6 players in to compensate those that have been sold/released just to have the same numbers as last season. do we all believe that we will get them before the season starts...? i think it looks unlikely

deemz

No blag, I'd rather have Beattie, he was scoring more in the respective seaons....cheaper too.

koolbill

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