A Look At Martin O'Neill's Transfers

Well Mr avfc48, You have been waiting for this dip in form to inflict us with your negativity. I asked you a question many months ago, which you failed to answer. I ask again! Who do you realistically want to manage the club? Because almost as soon as the ink had dried on MON's contract you were sniping. Why?

i would say it has been steady progress to get us this far in 3 years , are things not better now ? you can look at transfers anyway you want has fergie not made any bad/dodgy signings at his club ? this is our club one which we spend money and time on , so why all the negativity the last 6 weeks or so , anyone would think we are world beaters , managers talk of 5 year plans and if mon had any such plan i would say we are on target utv

ballers is probably a lot like picking horses or stocks. There is a lot of luck involved. I don’t have the time, but I could probably put together a pretty good list of players that didn’t meet expectations that were bought by Ferguson or Wenger. And I think both are far better managers than MON. I think you have to look a little deeper. Steve Sidwell – You’re right, he hasn’t as well as hoped. At this point he is looking like a miss. Luke Young – A Premier-level right back and left back. There aren’t too many of those around. I would put him as a hit. Brad Friedel - Obviously not a long-term solution, but he is better than Carson. L2.5 is chump-change for someone who can come in and play at a fairly high level. I’d say he’s a hit. Nickey Shorey – Probably the biggest miss MON has had. Because he can’t or doesn’t get the chance to play, our whole back-line gets jumbled around every game or so. Its tough to win when your backline is in as much constant change as ours. (For now, I don’t want to talk about the manager’s decisions on who to play where. Suffice it to say, MON didn’t buy enough or good enough cover for the fullback positions.) Brad Guzan – who knows is right Carlos Cuellar – Not as good in the air as he needs to be to play centerback. Not skilled enough to play outside. He’s more on the miss side right now, but let’s give him some more time. James Milner – Solid, if unspectacular player. He plays hard and has more skill than most give him credit for. L12.5 seems high, but that’s roughly what RM were going for last summer. I think the price was somewhat inflated because MON waited til Bentley and SWP were already sold. I’d say he’s a hit. Curtis Davies – Had a pretty good partnership going with Laursen. Seems to have had some injuries lately. I say he’s more hit than miss, but not necessarily a star. Emile Heskey – He is what he is…A cheap stopgap. We’ll see where we end up this summer. John Carew – MON traded someone who didn’t want to be here for someone who was powerful and hungry. Sadly, Carew lost a lot of the power and hunger this year. I’m starting to think there may be more to the fact that he’s played for so many teams and never settled. Still, I think you’d have to say he is a hit. Styliyan Petrov – A year ago, I’d say he was a miss. Now he’s a hit. This talent-evaluation is tricky isn’t it? Marlon Harewood – He was bought as a squad player. He is that and nothing more. Zat Knight – Again, he was bought as a squad player. He’s played that role marvelously in my opinion. Moustahpa Salifou – Why did we buy him? Why do people play the lottery? More often than not, you pay your dollar (pound, whatever) and you get the brief hope of millions before tearing it up and moving on. But…every now and again, you win and once in a lifetime you might win big. MON gambled; he got a less-than average squad player. He’s a miss. Oh well, I think most expected him to be a miss, but I don’t think is a huge miss that should be counted against a manager. Wayne Routledge – See above. Shaun Maloney – See above. Scott Carson – Not a premier-league level keeper. Maybe in the future. Definitely a miss. Ashley Young – A good buy that turned out to be a fantastic buy. He and Barry are our only world-class players. I doubt if even MON thought he would be this good. Nigel Reo Coker – For L8, you probably have to say he’s a miss, but he plays so many positions reasonably well, he is a very valuable squad player. I bet there are a lot of managers that would like to have a player like him on their team. If he cost L6, most would say he was a hit. So what do we have? Some good, some bad, one great. The biggest miss has probably been a backup right back. With a decent premier-level right back, I think Villa would be several points higher than we are now. Another good striker would make us less dependent on Gabby’s goals. Instead of him being in a drought causing the whole team to be in a drought, someone else could step in a score a few goals. Unfortunately, that player was not bought last summer or this January. Ah…what might have been!

I sometimes wonder what those who constantly harp on on this site have ever achieved themselves? Love to have a resume of AV48 from his past employers/ employees. Now that would be interesting reading me thinks.

never question o'neill or a thousand ancient plagues will rain down upon you culminating with your knob dropping off. be warned.

Too many of his signings have been hit or miss, or he plays them in mad positions.8 games to change it Mart, stop being a stubborn fool.

Nani - £17m, not Ronaldo Mk2
Anderson - £17m. Ineffective, slow and a poor passer. Yet to score. What's the point?
Berbatov - £32m. Certainly not the return I would expect from a £32m player.
Tevez - £32m. £32m for a player that starts from on the bench more than in the starting XI. Why buy him if he's no better than we've already got?
Hargreaves - £17m. Why when Carrick plays the same role more effectively? And he's injured all the time.
Tosic - £10m. Who? Another winger, yet Rooney plays ahead of him in that position.

See, you can do this with any squad, any manager, any club. It's how you look at the facts, not the facts themselves that determines how they are judged.

what a waste of time article. on a positive note though it shows how far we have come when we have whingers slating our manager and his desicions due to a bad run. sure it looks like 4th might be a reach now but for most of the season we have competed with the top teams in the league and held our own. we seem to of ran out of petrol in the homestrech but lets not forget what we have done. lets turn this season around... poor start few games without a win, sitting around the relegation zone then a great run in the 2nd half of the season see's us finish 5th or 6th i think alot of the views would be different. rome wasnt built in a day but foundations were layed. thats what we are doing.

That is an interesting question gordonsleftboot re: achievements. I'll start that one off. I came second - two years in a row mind you - in the Ley Hill Junior School decorate an egg for easter competition. Proud moments in the Fear family believe me.

Holte End Hero: I have questioned avfc48's allegiance for as long as i have been frequenting this site.

not really my place to defend others but gappy, holte end hero, you'd be wrong questioning his Villa allegiances, his opinions on the other hand, obviously feel free! Remember folks, I'll take contributions from all fans with all different opinions, the opti's are more than welcome! :o)

The Fear: I'm affraid I do have to question avfc48's allegiance, and here is why! If a supporter just sits, waits and relishes a dip in form, with the sole purpose of bolstering an arguement. Then that in itself brings his loyalty into question, IMO. If your dislike of the manager overides your love of the club, then your loyalties are very much in question!!!! Or have we all missed the point and avfc48 is just playing devil's advocate?

No Probs TF; We all have opinions and we all disagree from time to time. I would just like avfc48 to explain why he dislikes MON so much. I assume you know him better than I, given I don't know him at all. He is clearly a passionate man if a little misguided but passionate no the less. We all have a common ground and that is the club we all love, and we just want what's best for it!

agreed, we all want the best, guess that is why things get so heated at times! Adbo9..... eh?? What?! Whoosh and over my head anyway!

I dont for one solitary New York minute dispute or question '48's Villa Park knowledge or loyalties, but he would be the first to admit I would imagine, that MON has never been a favourite of his. Virtually from day one he's sniped and bitched at every MON twist and turn. There's no balance in his writings, its always venom dispatched at each and every opportunity.