Just copied this from the net looks like Benty may be playing championship football next season Gerard Houllier's law at Aston Villa casts shadow over future of eight players By John Edwards Last updated at 3:56 PM on 25th March 2011 Comments (36) Add to My Stories EXCLUSIVEAt least eight senior players are considering their Aston Villa futures after details emerged of Gerard Houllierââ¬â¢s attempts to arrest an alarming slump in the clubââ¬â¢s fortunes. It is understood several senior figures are disgruntled enough to be giving serious thought to their futures, including Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stiliyan Petrov, Richard Dunne, James Collins, Brad Friedel, Ashley and Luke Young and Stephen Warnock. Sportsmail can reveal that, apart from banning mobile phones in the dressing room, Houllier has imposed severe financial penalties for any breach of rules and has introduced a procedure for any player wanting to contact owner Randy Lerner. First again: How Sportsmail broke the news on Wednesday Revolt: (Clockwise from top left) Ashley Young, Richard Dunne, Brad Friedel, James Collins, Stephen Warnock, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Stiliyan Petrov and Luke Young There is a sliding scale of fines for players who break the rules. Latecomers for training, meetings or pre-match gatherings will be fined 10 per cent of their weekly wage for a first offence, 20 per cent for a second and 30 per cent for a third. Any grievances will have to go through Houllier, after he stipulated that players wishing to speak to Lerner must seek his permission. The Villa boss is hoping the crackdown will reverse the drop in morale that has accompanied the teamââ¬â¢s decline in the Barclays Premier League. It could backfire, though, with rumblings of discontent coming from almost the entire first-team squad. Villa are hovering close to the drop zone, and despondency seems to have deepened since the new rules were introduced. According to sources close to the squad, there is resentment at the changes coming so late in the season, when they need to stand united to fight relegation, and at being ââ¬Ëtreated like schoolkidsââ¬â¢. Lerner is backing Houllier but is bound to be perturbed by further signs of team spirit unravelling at the start of an eight-game run-in that ends with a trip to Arsenal and a home match with Liverpool. Houllierââ¬â¢s brief reign has been beset by problems, with just six wins from 25 Premier League games leaving Villa one point above the bottom three. Troubles: Gerard Houllier is attempting to keep his players under control A disheartened Ashley Young has given up hope of a Champions League place with Villa and will seek a move to a top-four club at the end of the season, as revealed in Sportsmail. Manchester United are leading the chase, with Liverpool and Tottenham also monitoring the situation. Agbonlahor and Petrov have both had spells on the bench of late, while Dunne and Collins were involved in a drink-fuelled fracas at a health spa. Chief executive Paul Faulkner reiterated his support for Houllier, saying: ââ¬ËOur best chance of staying up is with Gerard.ââ¬â¢ But the rules have done little to enhance harmony, with at least two players seeking advice on whether to follow them.
While i very much doubt that Villa will go down, there's too many bad teams down there at the minute. It would be nice to see what Bent's reaction would be if they did but then again he only went for the money anyway so he'd probably still be smiling.
Yea Syd in his own words he was moving to a bigger and better club, now in a relegation dogfight with disharmony in the team it doesn't bode well, So that's why Ben Turpin was picking all the youngsters. Still recon the Skunks will move for him close season
Bill if they did go down due to the disharmony in the team, do you think he would want to come back, would the fans accept him back after his antics, and there would also be a rush of mid table teams vying for his services.
i'd bloody love it if they went down. nothing against villa per se, but i'd love to see the look on his ****y little face once he realised his "big club" would be off to scunthorpe.
I don't think he will be going to Scunthorpe. They look like one of the teams that will be going down at the end of the season. Still he could be facing the delights of Doncaster or Barnsley.
Don't mind Villa like the rest on here and don't think they'll go down but, as for Bent no qualms about him going the journey can we not relegate single players?
Roger, so they should be ****ing arse wipes. If they do go down (hopefully) Bent should be made to play for Spennymoor United for a season for being a useless ****..Im sure his butt will be a good bite for the Middlestone Moor brigade..
Okay so most agree Villa have enough and will do enough to avoid relegation. A few weeks battling against relegation would be enough for me and leave the bent boy with plenty of egg on his face.
I saw a photo in Nov or Dec. Bent had just scored for us, all the players were gathering round him, and he was looking up at the crowd. His eyes were a bit blank, and puzzled. I've never figured out what he was thinking. Whether it was 'why did you turn against me just because of a few poor games after injury?' or 'I'll miss you lot but I've got to go', I can't really say. But that lad was being got at long before the window opened. Niall Quinn said his attitude began to change five or six weeks before he went, and that just about tallies with the photo. So, whilst I think it unlikely, I'd be very pleased to see Villa go down. I don't believe they were straight with us. Bent himself? Well, I've mixed feelings about his part in it. But the facts are, we can't score goals, and that's the one thing he certainly can do. Feelings or no feelings, I'd take him back for the good of this club. Sod it, when you're fainting from hunger and someone you don't like is selling food, you sometimes have to swallow a little pride. Come the event, we'll have to think this through logically and sensibly. And logic says he scores goals.
Come on cutey, he's hardly sit villa on fire......... what is it 3 goals since he buggered off................. also went off the boil before he f'd off....... you could not guarentee find his form again.........
I'd be pleased to have him back for 5 mil, grievances aside he was class for us and would score a goal or two
Nothing against Villa, they're one of the great traditional clubs. I used to go there with my son when we lived in the West Midlands and its a good football area. I saw Bent in Newcastle a week or two before he put in his transfer request and he looked elated. I've wondered since if he had just come from a meeting with his agent and had got the word about the big hike in his money. I don't think there is any chance of him returning to the SOL even if Villa did get relegated.
Hang on, if the lead article in this thread is correct, a nuclear bomb would find it difficult to set Villa alight right now. For us? It was an awkward situation when you think about it. Gyan didn't come on stream till about October and shortly after that Bent was injured. So they never got to play alongside each other to any great extent till mid-November or so. Now read my post again r.e. Nov-Dec. I think it would be better to look at Bent's record over the last five years rather than what's been an awkward season all round.
I question his character more than his ability.The odds are pretty good that he was tapped up by the Villans as far back as our win at Villa Park.With hindsight was he really trying that hard since for us? No. He was'nt that clever at Spurs either when Saggy chops left him out of the side. I would'nt trust him now and would like them cheating Villans relegated.
