Also, allow me if I may to lament the fees supposedly being spent on Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson. One senior England cap between them yet both apparently worth more than Manuel Neuer. Good grief.

Also, allow me if I may to lament the fees supposedly being spent on Phil Jones and Jordan Henderson. One senior England cap between them yet both apparently worth more than Manuel Neuer. Good grief.

I cant believe some of the prices being quoted for these two, can you imagine how much top quality internationals be worth now.

I rate both players, don't get me wrong, and for all I know they both may end up being brilliant internationals with unbelievable careers but Christ almighty you used to have to have done something a little bit more to be worth nigh on 20 mil than play in Blackburn's four game undefeated end of season run-in. You know the minute one of them delivers a bad pass they'll be reminded of how much they cost by every tabloid hack and phone-in Neanderthal 'til their ears bleed. The same ones that mocked a certain football club when they purchased Darren "unproven" Bent.

No doubt they may go on to be great players, we may look back and see them as bargains and of cause their both English which means a huge premium, but you have to say at those prices you would like proven rather than potential.

Rafa to the Villains!

'Young, gifted and English' has long been a ridiculously costly transfer policy and on the face of it, this is a tremendous deal for us. I have little doubt though that at some point in the next couple of years, Henderson will start banging goals in ala Gerrard in his prime, and make the fee look like a pittance.

Unless the club spend the money wisely, I shan't be going back next season.

Does anyone want David Ngog on loan?

So Fred, do you want Hughes or Moyes (or neither)?

Like everyone, I wanted Gerard to gracefully exit from the stage (though we all know that's not how it was) but to be honest I find myself whimpering away from the conversation whenever it comes up. I like the fact that we rang Ancelotti, presumably just for the sheer hell of it, but really none of the seemingly obtainable candidates stand out. For me the most important thing is to get it sorted quickly. Selling our best player with no manager in place, two summers in a row = doom.

Any truth to the rumour that the Villa fans' reaction on the official club forum put Lerner off moving for Steve McClaren?

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez chooses to remain at Wigan after Aston Villa make an approach for his services.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez chooses to remain at Wigan after Aston Villa make an approach for his services.

Could prove a lucky escape for Villa, that one. Wigan's late rally and subsequent survival last season seemed to mask what has been a mixed couple of years for Martinez. There's no doubting his potential to be a decent manager, but he looks far from the finished article at this point.

£16m for Henderson. I haven't seen him but that is a ridiculous fee for an 20 year-old that has one cap. How does he compare to Wilshere, M*?

Freddy, love your tribute to Giggsy.

Yes, we won it!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm a little late but HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!

EPL transfer fees are pure absurdity. If you are betting on future potential buy Brazilians/Argentinians for half those amounts. Lamela for example can be had for 15million or less and that's euros not pounds.

£16m for Henderson. I haven't seen him but that is a ridiculous fee for an 20 year-old that has one cap. How does he compare to Wilshere, M*?

It's tricky to compare the two, really - immense technical gifts like Wilshere's are in short supply and as is the case with most English players, Henderson lacks that natural swagger and confidence on the ball. That being said, if you were going to design the ideal high energy, high impact footballer, you could do a lot worse than to use Jordan as your prototype. His movement is spot on, he possesses limitless stamina, tenacity and pace, controls the ball well and passes it with deceptive subtlety. Weaknesses at this point would be tackling (which I've quite literally never seen him do), delivery from set pieces (I'd happily throttle whoever had him taking all our corners last season) and shooting from distance. If he keeps up his current rate of development though, I suspect that he'll look every inch a £15-20m player within the next year or two.

Freddy, love your tribute to Giggsy.

And there I was thinking yoga was Giggsy's secret. I shudder to think what his next 'workout' video might look like.

I saw a youtube video of him and was impressed by some of his passing. Then again, I've seen a youtube video that made Pascal Cygan look god-like in defence

How do you think Giggs pulls off those moves at his age without some Yoga training :| Apparently Silva took up yoga as well with Giggs' instructor. Wonder when that video will make its way onto the interwebz...

I can't honestly say I ever saw that much of Cygan at the time, though I did read once that he was voted the worst Arsenal player of the modern era by the fans. Presumably, this was before they saw Sebastian Squillaci or Lukasz Fabianski.

And on a completely unrelated note, Seattle Sounders fans look to be an interesting bunch...

What are they referencing?!

For me the most important thing is to get it sorted quickly.

For the record, the second most important thing is to not hire the guy who relegated your local rivals twice whilst playing the worst 'brand' of football in the history of the universe.

What are they referencing?!

Not 100% certain but I think it's Conan the Barbarian.

For the record, the second most important thing is to not hire the guy who relegated your local rivals twice whilst playing the worst 'brand' of football in the history of the universe.

There seems to be a general consensus in the media that McLeish hasn't been backed by the owners during his time at Birmingham, when in actual fact nothing could be further from the truth. He spent £40m over a two year period and filled the squad with Championship-quality journeymen, expensive flops and unmotivated posers. I can't believe Lerner is even considering this guy for the Villa job.

For me the most important thing is to get it sorted quickly.

For the record, the second most important thing is to not hire the guy who relegated your local rivals twice whilst playing the worst 'brand' of football in the history of the universe.

Are we talking about McLeish?