Transfer deadline: thanks heavens it has passed (with Villa and Liverpool losers)

Sixer by Jake

Pete Sixsmith breathes a huge sigh of relief as the window slams shut …

Six years ago, when Sky Sports News was on Freeview, I sat open mouthed as Roy Keane brought in 6 players on the same day. Connolly, Kavanagh, Miller, Varga, Wallace and Yorke all arrived in the proverbial frenzy of activity as the new manager realised that the likes of Arnau, Miller (T) and Caldwell were going to catapult us into Division One.

In subsequent years there has been a wee bit of activity on the last day. Gyan and Bendtner both came in with hours to spare as the previous regime tried to strengthen. Most would say that they failed to achieve this laudable aim.

Yesterday was a quiet day and the computer was rarely visited. We all knew that Richardson was heading off to Fulham and that Danny Rose was coming in as a replacement.

There were rumours that Clint Dempsey had been seen at Seaham Hall/ Ponteland Airport/ Park Lane Interchange, but I felt that he was not going to swap the bright lights of London for the rather dimmer and often broken street lights of Wearside.

In fact, most of the activity seemed to take place in London as Fulham and QPR vied for the title of most players in and out, with Tottenham a close third.

It now seems that London is an even bigger magnet for players than it ever was in the past. For this, I blame Boris Johnson. Who would not want to live in a capital city where shed loads of money can be earned and witness the witless buffoonery of the elected mayor?

Certainly the Olympics have made London a target destination for European players. Dempsey turned down Villa, wanted to go to a seemingly financially challenged Liverpool and probably had a glance at the Wikipedia page on Sunderland before trundling off to Spurs Lodge (is it a budget hotel?) for his medical and carrying a large sack for his money.

It looks as if Liverpool and Villa may well be the losers in this window. Both have ambitious young managers (yours truly tipped either of them as potential successors to The Geordie Martyr had he managed to see last season out) who wanted to strengthen desperately poor squads.

Liverpool managed to get rid of “Kevin Kyle with a pony tail” and Blackpool’s second best Premier League player, while Villa signed a child from Chesterfield and a Belgian, seemingly on the basis that every team has a Belgian, so we had better get one.

Once Dempsey had made it clear that Villa held as much attraction as a comeback concert from Bucks Fizz and that Liverpool had no money left – not even an extra couple of million to back their new manager – Spurs was the only destination.

The sad thing was that Good ‘Ol ‘Arry wasn’t there to sign him, laughing and joshing with the alleged football journalists who cover football in London. You can write the script for what would have been said; initial denial, followed by praise for Dempsey, followed by a little wink, soon backed up with a more knowing one and then rounded off with the player being paraded in front of GOA’s adoring fan club. It was the Fry’s Five Boys approach to football management.

Am I happy with who has come in? Yes I am.

Am I happy with those who have left the club? Yes I am.

Am I happy that a certain Beninese international has signed a new contract and kept the London based vultures away? Yes I am.

Will I be happy at 5pm today? I flaming well hope so.

32 thoughts on “Transfer deadline: thanks heavens it has passed (with Villa and Liverpool losers)”

    • I will try, and thanks, now you are a big Villa fan maybe you should change that name on your page to salut villa!… Just a thought.

  1. Oh dear, I really must stop expressing my opinions (for that is what they are) about Villa. It just upsets them so much. I promise never to write anything critical of them ever again.
    What tickles me is that some of their fans lambast his style of play and then play holy war about him leaving. Cake and eat it springs to mind.
    I’ll take MON over Houlier and McLeish. I happen to think Lambert is a good manager and he will do well at Villa. But he put the bid in for Dempsey.
    Hope they win at the Tacky Sports Shop Arena.

  2. It does seem to true that Birmingham people are a bitter miserable crowd, you were ever so happy with MoN when he was your manager now you turn on him like a pack of wolves, sad sad people. By the way I do not support Sunderland.

    • Of course you are not a Sunderland fan! You are the sad one! If you knew anything about what went on with villa and mon you would understand why we don’t respect him! Gimp.

  3. I can’t help but agree with the other Villa fans. MON signing strategy relies far too much on British players, who he pays too much for and are on long expensive contracts.

    The main problem with this strategy is they cannot be resold. If you look at the return on players he signed for Villa it’s pitiful. Other than Young, Downing and I suppose Milner there is no return of note.

    He will, as stated by others, get the most out of the players BUT he will overuse favourites and ignore or play out of position others. It’s frustrating and causes the team to run out of steam towards the end of the season.

    At Villa it’s a relief to see a different strategy. Young and hungry with bags of potential is the order of the day. Not all will work BUT the mistakes will NOT be expensive AND there will generally be money made on any gems found, if they’re sold on.

    This means the financial stability of the club is achieved. We were broke after MON left, if we’d carried on with his profligacy we’d be a Portsmouth in the waiting.

    Watch out Sunderland fans, this is very likely to happen. Fletcher for £12-14m is ridiculous. Adam Johnson is a great buy however.

    • Perhaps if other managers spent more money on English players instead of imports we might actually be able to produce a World cup team or one that could even compete in the Olympics

  4. I think the Villa fans comments are smack on. I am still a fan of MoN because he brings good football for supporters to watch. But don’t be fooled he works only for himself … Villa were 3rd in Feb 2009 and Martin started playing players out of position or ‘rested them?’, I spent money to watch Villa in Hamburg and Keiv in the Europa Cup (a cup we were capable of winning) yet Matin played 8 reserve players and 3 from the bench in both ties. In my opinion MON wants to take the clubs to the edge of greatness without delivering it, because he knows he would be found out and fail, which would affect HIS reputation. All I can say is enjoy it, but in two season’s with your finances in tatters and laiden with uninterested players on high wages bleeding you club dry, you might think was it worth it? As for Paul Lambert I feel he has removed the players that were milking our club and replaced them with 8 young hungry players that want to play for Villa. Hollman, El Hamadi and Vllar could have chose to play in the Champions League with their previous clubs … so they obviously want to play for us. I see Villa rebuilding – which I think I prefer to the MON false promise.

  5. Yeah gotta agree with the other two villa boys on here. Think you’ll do well, challenge the top 6 places in the league, may even flirt with the champions league like villa did. The current team has all the hall marks of an MON team, good wingers supply good balls into a striker who’s good in the air. Johnsons a great signing and I think Danny rose will do well.

    However with all at said and done, MON is still paying waaay too much for English players, putting them on ludicrous wages and long term contracts. You’ll do well away from home, and probably struggle to break teams down at home as visiting teams are wise to the teams counter attacking tactics.

    Good luck to you, but in a few years time when he goes and your left with a few quality players and some average players (Beye, Collins, Warnock, Dunne anyone) draining your clubs resources, don’t say we didn’t tell you so!!

    UTV

  6. Good luck with the one dimensional tactics which given a season every team in the division will work out, it does work initially as it did for Villa. By the way dont expect rotation and if a player or two get injured prepare yourself for players being chucked in out of position and the results to tumble. Been there seen that and not one single fan who has had Oneil as a manager would want him back, vastly over rated. Oh and yes says me but based on 1st hand experience. Enjoy the moment whilst it lasts thankfully thats a chapter in my clubs history ill never have to endure again as our team is being built on good ethics In this transfer window I have seen little in Oneils purchases to suggest he has changed..

  7. Wish Sunderland well, slightly harsh calling Villa losers based on the fact the author has no knowledge of football in lower leagues, by the same premise he must have been gutted when you picked up Kevin Philips from non league football.

    They might all turnout to be flops but it’s a sad endeitment of football and indeed fans when someone’s only considered good enough if they’ve been a star in a world cup (Batisuta, Postiga..both flopped in premier League) or establsished journeymen taking a wage…Bendtner..Heskey, Collymore!!

    I’m willing to take a gamble after all O’Neills signings seem content with picking up their wages..and that’s the most excursion we see.

  8. Under Martin O’Neill you can expect to see a small squad of average players on huge money and long contracts – they will overperform and you will do well. Very well, probably. And you will love him. But when that day comes that he leaves you…you will have an enormous mess which will take years and years to clear up.

    As the previous post suggests – seriously, enjoy it while it lasts.

  9. Liverpool may not have signed anybody on the final day but we’ve added to absolutely top class players in Joe Allen and Nuri Sahin. They’re far above in class than Henderson and Adam. We signed a winger who has amazing skill. I’d like to tell you his name but I can’t spell it.

    Joe Allen at 15m is a bargain. He’s better than Mascherano who we sold for more.

    We’ll be alright.

  10. What a twat you are mate got a gold star on your shirt……………no didn’t think so and the funny thing is you never ever will.
    It’s Grimm up North.

  11. ‘Colin is a freelance journalist’ no wonder?!? He has very limited football knowledge and talks utter shit. I have a soft spot for Sunderland as my mate is a season ticket holder. The Villa fan above however is quite correct about MON. Although maybe as he is actually a Sunderland fan maybe he will care about the long term future of the club?

    • He was a big Celtic fan too and a big fan of Villa when he was a boy …….. he’s full of shite mate, his CV is the only thing he cares about ….. thinks he’s gonna be the next UTD manager !! lmao

  12. Managers perform differently at each club because the blend of characters is always different, David Budden sound grudging in his praise and mealy mouthed in his forecast for our future.

    Support a club as long as some of us have with all the roller coaster rides with various managers and MON sparkles like a diamond with the potential to do well. Perhaps he will turn into a Zircon but so did Wenger for Arsenal so has Baggyface for Spur but both clubs for a long time enjoyed the ride.

    Look world wide at all the clubs vying for money to buy players and just how few top class managers there are to lead them. Hells teeth time and again Chelsea get a manager some clubs would die for and because their owner wants instant success another one bites the dust.

    Savour the moment lads very few clubs are Manu or Barca other than for a fleeting period of history.

    Enjoying football is not always about personalities or prizes.

    MON will do me for the next phase of our history

  13. In my honest opinion I think we made the Dempsey bid to scare Genk into thinking we had lost interest on their striker Benteke …. Dempsey doesn’t fit in with Lamberts philosophy of young hungry players, and I think it worked. All our other signings are good buys and will be molded into quality Premier League players. Achmadi and Vlaar are top quality, Lowton and Bennett too …… the young lad Westwood is also a player in the making, so all in all we are very pleased and looking forward to Lamberts rebuild, …… O’Neill on the other hand is still up to his old tricks of paying over the odds for average players and giving them long term high salary deals that they can sit back on and secure their financial futures with. He’ll split the dressing room into favorites and then the last half of every season fade away from a promising gung ho start.

  14. Wait and see about villas signings,may suprise you.As for Sunderland I wish you well,however I can already see the signs of the mess your manger left Villa in.You will finish about 7th for a couple of seasons, playing old fashioned football, with mainly english players,however your manager WILL leave in a fit of pique when your owners realise hes not the messiah, and cuts off the money supply,and asks him to actually manage and implement modern tactics.You will then be left with a couple of decent players,and loads of ageing average prem players on long contracts at stupid wages..which no one else wants….Ask Celtic fans,ask Villa fans,enjoy the moment,but I fear it wont last.!

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