We are once again linked with Robbie Keane, a report from the Mail Online state that Keane was offered to Aston Villa as a makeweight for a 14 million bid for Ashley Young. Although Keane might be more interested in moving to St. James Park for regular football.

Its said that Harry Redknapp wants this move to happen so he can generate more money for his own transfers, which includes bring in a new striker to White Hart Lane.

Don’t know if anything will happen since we have no permanent manager, and the chairman can’t make any of his own transfers. If we get an appointment on Monday or Tuesday, we might have a new face. But many fans feel as though we will not have any new faces until January.

We are linked with another Tottenham player, this time Jermaine Jenas. He is set to stay at Tottenham until at least January as proposed moves to Inter Milan or Aston Villa both fell through. Jenas is valued at 8 million.

Fair enough, he has been linked with us for quite some time. Don’t know if we made a bid for him but concerning our current situation I don’t expect us to be making such a move as we have just brought in Stephen Ireland which is meant to be James Milner’s replacement.

It seemed that he loved this club so much, that he built it with his OWN players, and that he truly enjoyed his time with the club; but perhaps the relationship on the inside, did not reflect what we all viewed from the outside. Perhaps there was turmoil and drama brewing from the owner, players and Martin himself. Either way, this is a new chapter in our Clubs fine history, which scares me some, but excites me a lot.

I’ll admit that for about 6 months I’ve been on the “we need a new manager” bandwagon. I believe MON has done a magnificent job, but it would truly be close to impossible to go much further with as a club with him at the helm. I didn’t agree with his tactics, but I couldn’t argue with the results. Cup finals and top 6 finishes are quality and the consistency is what kept my confidence in him to a point. People complain about not progressing under him, which I do agree with to a point, but people need to realize how difficult it is to hang around the same place in the league three years in a row. Grabbing 6^th three years in a row wasn’t progressing up the table, but more important to me, it was declining down the table. Not many teams outside the “top 4” can say the same thing. The Premier League is so ever changing that to be that consistent is a success in its own right.

I’m scared at his departure for a few simple reasons. First, I think it was classless to leave when he did, and if it had something to do with transfers and him not getting his money to spend then I have lost a bit of respect for him. He has had his money to spend and at points he has spent it very well. But then again he has wasted a lot of money on players like Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Davies, Beye and Shorey. I’m not saying he wasted money on them because of the players’ lack of quality; I’m saying he wasted money on them because after all the transfer fees and wage agreements, he didn’t even give these guys a good chance to prove themselves that they can play. Curtis Davies even came out today and said that he didn’t give them a fair chance, and if reports are true, then maybe players like him are glad to see him go. I hope it’s a motivator rather than something to hinder our success this season.

I’m also scared because of the money situation. I in no way blame Lerner because to this date he has funded us immensely, but it does scare me if we become a selling club. I think the Milner deal, if we get Ireland too, is good business. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t make a deal if it is a good one for your club. What scares me however is the reports of guys like Young, and Friedel, as well as the “un-played six” being sold and having none of that money used on transfers. I realize we need some cash to balance our books, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all of the money in the Milner deal was needed to do just that, but if we sell all the others and can’t use the money for replacements then we are in fact a “selling club” with no good intentions for the next season. Do I think that is how this transfer season and season is going to play out? No, I don’t,  but I scare quite easily.

Aside from all of the things that make me wee my pants a bit, I’m very excited for what this might do for Villa. What excites me the most is it is a clean slate once the new manager comes in, and every player has an equal chance to be in the starting 11 on the weekends. I’m sure this excites the players as well, and may give them reason to stay and fight for their place knowing that MON isn’t here anymore to play favorites. Beye and Young can work harder and be more motivated knowing the new manager wont (hopefully) play center backs and right back. This is exactly what excites me. If everyone has a fresh start maybe they will play that much harder and give a real competitive spirit to this squad. Maybe the new manager will also bring new tactics where Villa can actually play attractive football. Maybe he will also bring a shrewd knowledge of the transfer window, with a good scout in him to find that hidden European gem that hasn’t been discovered yet. Maybe we will hire Gareth Southgate and get relegated. Candidates aside, I am very excited about this season and the next upcoming weeks. Hopefully we find a manager soon so he can start his job, and hopefully it works out.

As always, UTV.

Despite West Ham declaring that all there players have a price except Scott Parker apparently we are ready to test there resolve by making a £10 million bid for the England International.

Parker, in my opinion is a fantastic player and one I wish we took full advantage of when he left Chelsea but I think the greedy Hammers owners will demand to much for a player reaching the later years of his career.

Tranquillo Barnetta

Tranquillo Barnetta is a Switzerland international who played a big part in the Switz World Cup Campaign even though they were sent packing in the group stages.

I don’t know a lot about the midfielder except that he’s 25 years old and that he helped Bayer Levukusen to a fantastic early season run last season – courtesy of Wikipedia of course.

Apparently we will make a £4million offer for the player, which does sound like the kind of cash Martin O’Neill likes to splash around but he doesn’t have the British pedigree that he tends to go for.

Eduardo

Now we was linked with Eduardo earlier in the summer and over the past few days the rumour has come back from nowhere with Talksport announcing it yesterday.

There is no doubt he is a quality player but I’m pretty sure a lot was made about songs sung about him at the Emirates by Villa fans when he broke his leg which would make me question why he would have any interest in signing for Villa at all?

Never the less despite him not regaining the form he had before his injury I still think he could be a fantastic player with a new club and a fresh start so I would welcome the move.

Now they are touting the Brazilian defender as a possible replacement for Luke Young who’s future looks virtually anywhere but Villa but after checking out his Wikipedia player it states he’s a left back.

He has had two decent season’s in Portugal and has been linked with many clubs but as you can tell I don’t know much about the player, so I can’t really comment.

Carlton Cole

The Carlton Cole rumour has resurfaced once again as apparently we will do battle with Spurs and Bayern Munich for his signature.

I wouldn’t lose much sleep if we lost out in the battle for him or if there was no truth in this story what so ever. He’s never really impressed me and at the moment he just looks like a decent player in a very poor West Ham side.

Reminds me of when Juan Pablo Angel was linked with a £20million move to Liverpool because he had one decent season at Villa – mainly press talk.

2010/11 Fixtures

This is just a head’s up really, the new Premier League fixtures are out on Thursday and with the World Cup taking centre stage at the moment you probably won’t hear much about them but they are still a priority for me and the future of our club so be sure to check back here for who will be first up at Villa Park and when we will meet the smelly neighbours.

Incase you wasnt already aware we will be covering games on Avillafan.com that features Aston Villa players so this place will still be active.

If you havent already check out and join our brand new World Cup Prediction League where you have the opurtunity to win a World Cup replica shirt of your choice, sponsored by Soccerpro’s World Cup Jerseys

Transfer Rumours

As I already stated there isn’t a lot to write about on this front. We have been linked with a possible move for Martin Petrov who has been released from his contract at Man City – a player I wouldn’t mind being given a short term contract.

‘Arry Redknapp is reportedly willing to offer around £10million and Robbie Keane to take Gabby Agbonlahor of us which I don’t think will be happening any time soon seeing as Gabby is one of O’Neill’s golden boys.

England v Allstars

James Milner, Stephen Warnock and Emile Heskey all featured in Englands 3-0 victory over local South African side Platinum Allstars yesterday afternoon.

All three played the second half and now many believe Heskey will be the player to start along side Wayne Rooney against the USA on Saturday.

England’s goals come from Jermaine Defoe, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney.

First of all it is not good when a player of our own club comes out and states that he believes we will lose James Milner this summer.

It make’s me wonder if he’s heard or seen something in the England Camp this past week or so for him to believe this but he should be keeping his mouth shut and concentrating on trying to force his way into the England setup especially after Leighton Baines poor performance last night against Mexico.

I often wonder why players are aloud to talk so much in the press and it annoys the hell out of me, but eh? I’m just a football fan and I don’t run a football club so what do I know? Saying that it gives me something to write about here I suppose.

Stephen Ireland

Now there are rumours around that Stephen Ireland has handed in a transfer request to seek first team football elsewhere but I have searched everywhere and I can’t seem to find anything official on this.

Anyway, Richard Dunne has stated that he would welcome Stephen Ireland to Aston Villa with open arms and If Martin O’Neill is interested I think Dunne could just be the reason why Ireland joins Aston Villa.

But you have to question at what cost though? Would Man City want to sell to us unless we allowed James Milner to move in the other direction? They have been linked with a move for Mikel Arteta today and again it makes you wonder if they have given up on Milner and are looking elsewhere but I can’t see Arteta leaving Everton as he seem’s to be very loyal towards David Moyes.

So as much as we keep talking about in’s and out’s and our neighbours across the City look to be on the verge of signing there second player already this summer we still sit around waiting for some kind of news to come out of Villa Park.

Valencia Pair

The News of the World are linking us with Valencia pair Nikola Zigic and Miguel. Now I could be wrong here but I’m pretty sure we was linked with both these players last summer and nothing ever come of it. The deal is set to be around £9.5million and Zigic’s a big Serbian Striker who has scored 176 goals in 276 games which isn’t to bad of a record. While Miguel is a highly rated 30 year old Portuguese right back.

Robbie Keane

The Mirror are stating we are about to splash out £15million on soon to be 30 year old Robbie Keane who will no doubt want a big wage so could cost the club up to another £10million. I can’t see there being to much in this one as I don’t think any club, especially Martin O’Neill would part with that kind of money for a player of that age.

Other Stories

- News of the World: Sunderland and Aston Villa will both do battle for Nedum Onouha’s signature this summer. Another that I can’t see being very true as I believe Man City will want to keep hold of him.

- The Mirror: Stephen Ireland will be used as bait as part of the James Milner deal as Man City continue to pursue the England international.

- Sunday Mirror: A host of clubs including Aston Villa will do battle for Newcastle defender Steven Taylor

Sky Sports are reporting Manchester City defender Micah Richards is being linked with Villa, along with a host of other clubs including Spurs and Arsenal. Richards is a player I admire immensly and would welcome any move for the young defender. His past season or two he seem’s to of fell out of favour at Eastlands but just like Richard Dunne I think he’s a player who needs a fresh start at a new club with new management.

Radio Cadena Ser are claiming that Villa are to do battle with Blackburn over the possible signing of winger Andres Guardado of Deportivo La Coruna. I’m not going to make up some rubbish and say I know a lot about this player apart from he’s decent on Football Manager. Having taken a look at his wikipedia page, he’s only 23 and has already nearly clocked up half a century of apperances for his country.

The Mail are reporting that we are interested in Stanislav Manolev and will have to fight of competition from Manchester City for the Bulgarian full back. He has apparently taken Dutch football by storm since his £3million move to PSV last summer and both English clubs are set to pay around double that to bring him to the Premiership.

Its a shame for such a player, who clearly wanted to play some part at the World Cup, and probably more than most do. He’s a true legend and always will be in my eyes.

Now onto the rumours, Villa have been linked with a move for Fenerbahce striker Dani Guiza. The striker has made it clear he wants to quit Turkey, but he has been rumoured with wanting to return to his homeland Spain.

The striker has scored 19 goals in 45 appearances in Turkey and has a record of scoring where ever he goes.

Now Thomas Kuszack is another apparently on Martin O’Neill’s radar and the Daily Star are today suggesting that Martin O’Neill will try to persuade the unsettled goalkeeper to move to Villa Park, and become the number 1 goalkeeper.

The 27 year old has played second fiddle to Edwin Van De Sar since he signed from West Bromwich Albion and he recently stated that he may have to quit Old Trafford if he is to fur-fill his Premiership ambitions.

I would welcome the move for Kuszczak who i rate very highly and would love to seem him take over Brad Friedel in the Villa goal.

The rumour mill kicked back in today when Villa was linked with a move for Belarus and former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb.

Hleb has found it hard to settle in Spain and has since been loaned out to German side Stuttgart. However, any signs of that deal becoming permanent were in doubt when he had a bust-up with Stuttgart Coach, Christian Gross.

It has been said that he wants to return to the English Premier League and Villa could be just the side to open the door for him.