Poetic license taken with Aston Villa takeover situation already
With Christian Benteke injured we’re thankfully spared the usual transfer rumours surrounding the Belgian forward, but it’s pretty obvious what will replace them to drive Villa supporters mad. If only Lerner had a buyer in place when he made his recent statement declaring his intention to sell the club. Thanks Randy for the BS we’re going to be fed over the next few days, weeks and months by the Media Muppets.
Steve Bates @ Sunday People
Headline:
Newcastle lining up £15million double swoop for Aston Villa duo Fabian Delph and Andreas Weimann
Spiel:
Newcastle are eyeing a £15million double raid on Aston Villa for Fabian Delph and Andreas Weimann
Geordie boss Alan Pardew believes the Villa pair could give his team a boost after a poor season and is seeking owner Mike Ashley’s backing to pursue both players.
A move for the pair would represent a shift in policy, with most of Toon’s recent signings coming from France.
Pardew has been impressed with 24-year-old midfielder Delph’s commitment to Villa’s fight for survival and is a long-standing admirer of winger Weimann, who has also been watched by Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton.
Villa rate 22-year-old Weimann at around £9m but boss Paul Lambert wants him to stay.
Evaluation
1. In terms of Delph at least, this seems to be a rehash of a story that was doing the rounds in the last transfer window where Delph was pitched as a replacement for Cabaye
2. Weimann is hardly hot property at the moment having bagged only six goals in a season as a striker. I’m sure the Geordie faithful wouldn’t be too impressed.
3. If Villa let go of Delph and Weimann, they’d be relegated next season, unless a new owner comes in and splashes the cash. There’s no way Villa would ship those two players at this moment in time without a new owner confirmed
4. The reason the Toon’s transfer policy has been focused abroad in France is due to the value. They would be able to get much better value than £15 million for the Villa duo with overseas purchases, so don’t expect a ‘shift in policy’ just yet.
5. Considering Villa’s unpredictable situation at the moment, any transfer rumour is bound to be guess work at this stage.
Media Muppet Rating: 9/10
Dr Steve McCabe Business Expert on ITV
Headline
Business expert: New owner [of Aston Villa] will have to be rich
Spiel:
Dr Steve McCabe, from Birmingham Business School, believes any new owner of Aston Villa will have to be very rich, highlighting Randy Lerner’s £200 million expenditure, with little to show for it.
Evaluation
1. We posted this pick on MOMS facebook page, but couldn’t resist putting it in Media Muppets. ITV obviously tried to go for a ‘serious business’ angle to the Randy Lerner is selling Villa news. If you watched the footage of this, the ‘expert’ clearly knew very little about football, as he just named major English cities as teams. Apparently there is a football team called ‘London’.
2. Hey, but at least his conclusion was spot on. Yes, the new owner will have to be rich.
3. No s**t Sherlock.
Media Muppet Rating: 8/10
James Nursey @ The Daily Mirror
Headline:
Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner puts the club up for sale, blocks new contracts and transfers
Spiel:
But Villa have now ruled out any major purchases until the club changes hands.
Villa are effectively in limbo as they also intend to defer all contract negotiations until a new owner comes in. That could still be months away which will frustrate stars like Fabian Delph and Gabriel Agbonlahor, who have just one year left on their deals and were hoping for fresh terms.
A Villa source told Mirror Sport: “The best policy when a club is to be taken over is to do nothing until the new owners come in.”
Evaluation
1. The ‘Villa source’ (or voice in Nursey’s head) should realise that the best policy is to do nothing until the new owners come in, only if there is actually a new owner to come in! Yes, they will not spend big in the meantime, but the club will have to maintain a bottom-line of Premier League existence to attract a buyer. If the process does drag out to next season (god help us, if it does) then certainly players would be brought in. Season-long loans would be the most likely way forward.
2. There’s a certain about of attention-seeking to the headline suggesting that Lerner is blocking contracts and transfers. Other journalists have rubbished such a notion and ‘business will be done’ was what MOMS was informed when we spoke to the club earlier in the week. As we’ve said elsewhere though, the club is in a far from ideal position going into a summer transfer window with it cloaked in uncertainty. Sadly, it’s hard to think of a worse scenario.
3. ‘Villa have now ruled out any major purchases’ – they haven’t, it’s just common sense that they won’t be splashing the cash at this stage.
4. Nursey echoes MOMS ‘limbo’ description of the club, so points back for that.
Media Muppet Rating: 7/10
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