Considering the position we were in a few weeks back, and a large part of our fan-base were understandably panicking, to be in the position we are now with Hugill and Wells is fantastic. Feel like Wells get's a bit of a raw deal from some. His performance up at Leeds away was nothing short of sensational, and if you think we'd still be in this league without him last season then you're utterly deluded. Some of the service he got in certain games was diabolical. Whether we play him in a 2 with Hugill or he's coming off the bench against some tired defences, he'll have an impact and we're a more dangerous team as a result. Well done Amit Bhatia, the scouting team and Warburton for making some tough decisions on sales and bringing in the necessary replacements and some.
please log in to view this image Premier League net spends this summer, imagine if Villa get relegated, they’ve already sold the ground once, can’t do it again.
Was thinking the same when I read it, sensible plan, accept relegation is a probability, don’t spend ridiculous money, take the £100m and have a great base to build stronger. If you don’t come back up, you also have the £80m in parachute payments.
Hopefully when (If!) we go back up, our spending will be somewhere between Norwich and Sheffield United’s levels, and plan to do the same! (Note, I’m not expecting us to do that this season!)
Wells started last season really well, but i think his confidence was shattered after missing that penalty v Birmingham that would have bought us back to 4-4, and McLaren wasn't the type of manager to put an arm around his shoulder and get him back on track. He never seemed to be the same player after that, and although he put in lots of effort, his final touch was gone. Hopefully Warburton will get him gee'd up for this season. He's in his last year of his Burnley contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season so has some options - rip this league up and put himself in the shop window for a potentially lucrative deal next season, have an average season and extend his deal with us, or have a stinker and disappear into obscurity......
Now that the transfer window is shut for Premier League & Championship teams we move into free agent time. Clubs can sign any player who was a free agent before the transfer window shut between now & January. With that in mind, here’s a selection of free agents available and potentially looking for new clubs. Anyone fancy any of these? Few ex players of ours are included ... Free Agents Gk – Michel Vorm, Jordan Holmes, Brian Murphy, Jared Thompson, Julian Speroni, Gabriel Rosario, Max Bramley, Adam Bogdan, Ben Williams, Chris Renshaw, Mark Bunn, Andy Lonergan, Jordan Archer, George Legg, Jakob Haugaard, Boaz Myhill Def – Danny Simpson, Fabio Coentrao, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Joseph Colley, Ashley Williams, Charlie Oliver, Tyrell Warren, Tommie Hoban, Vashon Neufville, Ben Hall, Alan Hutton, Andrew Taylor, Jack Hobbs, Marc Wilson, Chiori Johnson, Eros Pisano, Efe Ambrose, Marcus Olsson, Jordan Spence, James Collins, James Meredith, Joel Lynch, Paul McShane, Daniel Lafferty, Martin Olsson, Tyrone Mears, Jonas Olsson, Ondrej Mazuch, Danzell Gravenberch, Martin Caceres Mid – Yohan Cabaye, Claudio Marchisio, Danny Williams, Connor Randall, Moses Makasi, Harry Charsley, Ben Marshall, Birkir Bjarnason, Mile Jedinak, Glenn Whelan, Jack Rodwell, Ben Gladwin, Craig Conway, Will Buckley, Gary O’Neil, Lloyd Dyer, Josh McEachran, Grant Ward, Tom Adeyemi, Simon Dawkins, Matt Jarvis, Ben Pringle, Pawel Wszolek, Callum Harriott, David Meyler, Almen Abdi, David Jones, Marco Matias, Connor O’Grady, Darren Fletcher, Gareth Barry, James Morrison, Wes Hoolahan, Darron Gibson For – Lazar Markovic, Aaron Nemane, Callum Roberts, Botti Biabi, Daniel Sturridge, Franck Ribery, Mario Balotelli, Hatem Ben Arfa, Fernando Llorente, Jonathan Afolabi, Ross McCormack, Will Keane, Jamie Ward, Gary Hooper, Wilfried Bony, Benjamin Moukandjo
Can Ashley Williams still walk? If so, might be worth a punt. Get Pav back? We could get the three Olsson Sisters in defence.
Brian Murphy has the appearance stats that make me think I could have been a professional goalkeeper.