Aston Villa News 24/7Writer: caymanvillain 
Date:Monday February 2 2009
Time: 5:49PM
UK time is: 13:13:18
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Martin O'Neill's Squad Re-building
caymanvillain on the re-building of the squad.
Looking at our squad shows that MON has completely remoulded it since he became manager. I have indicated who signed the player or whether they are youth product.
1 Brad Friedel Goalkeeper MON
2 Luke Young Defender MON
3 Wilfred Bouma Defender DOL
4 Steve Sidwell Midfielder MON
5 Martin Laursen Defender DOL
6 Gareth Barry Midfielder BL
7 Ashley Young Midfielder MON
8 James Milner Midfielder MON
9 Marlon Harewood Striker MON
10 John Carew Striker MON
11 Gabriel Agbonlahor Striker YOUTH
13 Stuart Taylor Goalkeeper DOL
14 Nathan Delfouneso Striker YOUTH
15 Curtis Davies Defender MON
16 Zat Knight Defender MON
17 Moustapha Salifou Midfielder MON
18 Emile Heskey Striker MON
19 Stiliyan Petrov Midfielder MON
20 Nigel Reo-Coker Midfielder MON
21 Nicky Shorey Defender MON
22 Bradley Guzan Goalkeeper MON
24 Carlos Cuellar Defender MON
26 Craig Gardner Midfielder YOUTH
27 Isaiah Osbourne Midfielder YOUTH
29 Stephen O'Halloran Defender YOUTH
46 Barry Bannan Defender YOUTH
47 Ciaran Clark Defender YOUTH
48 Nathan Baker Defender YOUTH
49 Chris Herd Midfielder YOUTH
51 Shane Lowry Midfielder YOUTH
Of the current squad, MON has signed 16 players. Considering that he didn't have much opportunity to sign players in Summer 2006, that is an average of about 3 signings per transfer window.
Of his signings Salifou, Shorey haven't worked out, but the rest including Sidwell, Kinght and Reo-Coker have done at least all right in my book.
Murph, I think your problem with MON is that he hasn't bought the players that YOU would have bought to the club. But the players he has bought in have done extremely well.
It is easy to sneer at MON's achievements in the transfer market. But his players and his motivation have got us within touching distance of 2nd place.
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Your Comments
within touching distance of 1st place. The man is as big as it's dreams :)
Poncho
Touching distance is not quite there though is it? We wont find out till May but this WAS the best opportuinty to bring in players and see off the challenge from Arsenal while still trying to win one of the 2 other competitions we are in. Only time will tell, the proof is in the pudding and all that but I cant shake this feeling we have missed a big opportunity here.
Tez86
tez86 what the hell do you want after 2 and a half seasons, to win the bloody league?We didn`t need to sign anyone so we didn`t end of story.
lerneravfc
Love Mon but still gutted
medzy
of course we want to win the league why wouldnt you?
avflell
i think if we could all manage our club we would do it in different ways. granted i would of liked to have seen a bit more activity in the pen to paper department but it was not to be. im sure that it is alot harder to pry players away from their clubs in this window than the summer. in my opinion we are ahead of schudule and will still be happy if we finish 5th this year. although i can see why some are frustrated as no-one except man u seem to be playing well this year and it would be great to nick one of those champions league spots.
1982benny
lerneravfc it seems we have very different opinions. I think with the size of our squad it goes without saying we need more bodies. We are short in fullback positions and on the wings. I also think we need more of a goal scorer up front as I dont think Heskey will goive us anything Carew doesnt. As avflell said of course I want to league ahowever unlikely, realistically I want us to have a squad that can compete in every competition we are in, I just cant see theis squad last the distance in them all. I dont think we have ever been in a better opportunity to attract quality players, we will just have to wiat and see what the end of the season brings I guess.
Tez86
"We didn`t need to sign anyone so we didn`t end of story.". A bold statement, did MON tell you that he didn't want to sign anyone? That is very worrying if true.
Hoss The Villain
Have to agree with Tez, with the exception of Sat I think we've looked tired in recent weeks. Heskey has added a bit of a bounce in the step but feel a couple more players would have equipped us a lot better for the next few months. Its not a question of wanting to win the league its a question of matching Arsenals results for the next 16 games, a tough ask if they sign Arseshaving as well!!!
We're still in with a great shout though if we get behind them every week and the dickhead "boo-boys" keep quiet. (having said that I couldn't hear them from the Holte!)
pjvilla
A lot of people's opinions on MON's transfer activity are still based on assumption. You assume he hasn't gone in for certain top quality players, you assume he hasn't offered the money we can afford and you assume that the players would want to come to us. The truth of it is, we don't know what's been done behind the scenes.
Fair enough MON has a less than sparkling attitude to glitzy type players but the league position we're in speaks for itself. Maybe he did all he could to bring players in and simply couldn't get the clubs to release them. He himself said he wanted to strengthen but didn't know if it were possible. What's the point in signing make piece signigs if they don't work? Would you prefer we go and slap 8mil in for titus bramble so we can make sure we have the numbers?
johnnyuk
Perhaps we are assuming a lot johnnyuk, but I cant think of many reasons why Villa Park isnt a great place for players to come at the minute. Richards and Bent surely would jump at a chance to reignite thier career if we were after them. I think if spurs can manage to be as active while in a relegation fight surely we can? And before every jumps on my back saying players dont make a team and Spurs have been doing that for years and achieved nothing, who would turn down Defoe and Keane for Villa?
Tez86
I believe that the main plan was always to try and finish in one of the top four spots this season without spending stupid amounts of cash. This would mean that we would be able to attract real tallent in the summer and consolidate our possition because people would then think we could do it again. This is insted of spending and spending then falling away from the top. I agree with Tez's comparison with spurs. I think if we get champions league the movements will come in the summer when we can attract better quality
overlooked_villan
Well Tez86 I would have turned down Defoe and Keane, which isn't that important except that it appears that MON did as well. Personally I would have tried to buy Bent but it appears as if MON wasn't interested. As for Richards what you say may be true but why would Hughes think of getting rid of him now? They have no replacement, have sold an understudy and certainly don't need the money. We all like to see new signings (even MON I imagine as he looked very pleased when Heskey arrived) but the players that he wished to sign were not available so we get on with it. Many of us accept it, others continue to moan and 3 more new signings wouldn't have change that one way or the other.
pongo wearing
I think the reality is that the PL is so tight this year that no-one wanted to sell players of any quality.
Why would we want to sign players that can't get into the team of bottom half clubs?
And why would any club want to sell their first teamers?
In truth, we have Carew back and Bouma back soon, coupled with the freshness of most of the players not in the first eleven we should have enough legs to last until the summer, then hopefully Richards, Johnson and Sturridge will come in.
Don't forget, we have some good young players in the reserves that will need to be blooded sooner or later.
keithlees1978
It all sounds very worrying that people have such high expectations. We are doing absloutely brilliantly. Man Utd, Chelski, and Arsenal with 60,000 regular punters paying London prices have miles more potential and along with Liverpool remain the Big 4. City next year threaten to eventually intevene and join them if they can get their act together. Liverpool could go the other way if they louse it up but their past goes before them, plus their support and they are still bigger than us. All this means that rather than kicking on next year, we will have to do brilliantly again to even remotely do as well as we are doing now. We do have a chance of 4th, even 3rd this yeaer, but fair competition and the Premier League are words that have never gone together and it is getting worse. All this, as I said, still leaves what MON has achieved as brilliant, and he is a talisman for Villa fans as well as potentially everyone else's favourite intruder into the big 4 with a predominantly English and committed and talented if not worl beating players.
As for now, with Ash back, Heskey signed, Carew fit and Bouma back that is like 3 or 4 new players so we can dream and maybe we could have a good run in, maybe not - but it won't be for the want of trying. Come next season, please keep real - we are doing, and MON is doing his best and doing us PROUD. I would hate to think gates would drop back and fans become moaners about underachievement if we came 6th again next year. I hope for over-achievement again and gradually maybe building upwards myself, but please be fair and look at the realities of the relative resources and therefore potential of our rivals. WE HAVE ALREADY CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN.
stennyvilla
LOL. U DISSING MURPH VIA MAIN ARTICLE? ahahahh
Gruck
Well i for one have to stand up and admire the achievements of Lerner, MON and the players have done so far...
This is a different kind of squad to that of under Gregory. Everyone wants to succeed and everyone knows its gonna take alot of hard work and a monumental effort.
In 2 and a half seasons MON has transformed AVFC from relegation fodder into outside title contenders, in a league that has become tougher each year with the spending power of teams such as Spurs, Man City, Sunderland, Newcastle, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd.
I dont believe MON has the funds available that everyone assumes. Its definately not a bottomless pit like Spurs, Man City and Chelsea of previous seasons.
I for one am more than happy to just get Heskey in as i believe the players we have here are capable of achieving at least 4th spot this season.
Anyway, who's to say Arshavin will even perform. He's another cry baby with ability. But what use is ability with no desire?!
Hitman
well said hitman,
Astonian Villan
I said it on the forum, and I'll say it again. Damn good piece of well researched writing caymanvillain.
glensider
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