[kurtsimonw]

The McGregor link has died down a bit, Rangers looking to extend his deal.

Did you hear today's story? Apparently we're in for taking Cuellar back.

Foster and Al Habsi are the only keepers we've been strongly linked with, at least by the papers here. Don't rate Foster, but the small heath fans will hang themself if we take him.

As for Cuellar, I'd be surprised if you could afford him to be honest. He's the best centre back at the club so under a new manager he'll be playing every week anyway.

[Kazdoodle]

Doubt cuellar would be going back to rangers. Hes gone too high up and at villa to simply contemplate going back to rangers. was a good player for them though.

[Danny]

Foster and Al Habsi are the only keepers we've been strongly linked with, at least by the papers here. Don't rate Foster, but the small heath fans will hang themself if we take him.

Good good, just as long as it's not McGregor.

As for Cuellar, I'd be surprised if you could afford him to be honest. He's the best centre back at the club so under a new manager he'll be playing every week anyway.

He wants to return...and remember we're under new ownership and have a few more pennies than we did.

[Danny]

Doubt cuellar would be going back to rangers. Hes gone too high up and at villa to simply contemplate going back to rangers. was a good player for them though.

No disrespect to Kurt, and he probably knows this; but Villa are nothing these days but an average EPL team. They don't win anything and they're miles off a CL spot. Maybe a new manager would do them a MON and take them a bit higher.

Cuellar himself says: "Then there is the Champions League and the chance to win trophies again. Who wouldn't be excited about something like that?"

That said he also swore he was staying at Ibrox for a long time.

We'll see.

[kurtsimonw]

No disrespect to Kurt, and he probably knows this; but Villa are nothing these days but an average EPL team. They don't win anything and they're miles off a CL spot. Maybe a new manager would do them a MON and take them a bit higher.

"These days"? Come on, we had 1 bad season where we lost our best player late in the transfer window and didn't have the chance to replace him. We had 4 different managers over the season and had the worst injury crisis in club history. Yet we still finished 9th, just a few points off Europe.

The previous 3 seasons we finished 6th. Finishing above Liverpool, billionnaire City and Spurs in the process. 3 teams that've qualified for the CL in recent years. Although I suppose the real question is, do you think Rangers are better than Villa?

[Danny]

"These days"? Come on, we had 1 bad season where we lost our best player late in the transfer window and didn't have the chance to replace him. We had 4 different managers over the season and had the worst injury crisis in club history. Yet we still finished 9th, just a few points off Europe.

The previous 3 seasons we finished 6th. Finishing above Liverpool, billionnaire City and Spurs in the process. 3 teams that've qualified for the CL in recent years. Although I suppose the real question is, do you think Rangers are better than Villa?

Well it's hard to estimate a comparison, but it's worth noting that only one team in the world managed a clean sheet at Old Trafford last season. And it wasn't Villa.

Truth be told, the SPL, outwith the OF, is somewhere between League 1 and the Championship - Rangers and Celtic are a fair bit better than that.

Honest answer, I don't know. Last EPL team we played was Man City and it was a 2-2 draw.

What do you think? Villa better than Rangers?

[kurtsimonw]

Well it's hard to estimate a comparison, but it's worth noting that only one team in the world managed a clean sheet at Old Trafford last season. And it wasn't Villa.

That's one isolated thing though. We beat Arsenal at the Emirates, we beat Liverpool, we beat Man City. In 4 games against Chelsea and United we lost 1.

What do you think? Villa better than Rangers?

I would say yes. It may seem biased of me to say that, but the way players perform says it all for me. Steven Davis, Alan Thompson and Tommy Johnson were all sold by Villa for not being good enough but then did well in their SPL careers (okay, not so much Johnson but his scoring record was good up there). On the reverse, the very best the SPL has had to offer over the years like Petrov and Cuellar have been very in and out of what you call an average Villa side. I imagine players like Downing, Bent and Young would walk into any SPL side, but I'm not so sure your top players would walk into the Villa side. McGregor obviously would seeing as we have no keeper, but Bougherra, Weir, Davis, Lafferty and co. wouldn't. I think Jelavic would certainly make the squad, but I can't imagine he'd displace Darren Bent.

I'm certainly not saying it's a fact, by the way. We play in a completely different league and as far as I know have never even played each other competitively. The above is just my opinion. You're more than welcome to argue it.

And we've apparently offered Rafa Benitez a deal. I'd be very disappointed if so, especially after the disgraceful way he treated our club during the Barry saga.

This post has been edited by kurtsimonw: Jun 8 2011, 05:31 PM

[Jack Sparrow]

You got stuffed my Newcastle!!! MY NEWCASTLE!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[Milan Are Brilli...]

I thought Martinez was getting linked in the main Kurt? You will also love the fact Birmingham are signing Marlon King, a club without class, obviously.

Some crazy transfers yesterday, Jordan Henderson to Liverpool for £20m and Phil Jones to United for £17m.

Seems more likely Young will go to United, at least Fergie won't ruin him.

In other news Bolt thinks he's good enough to play for United, no one would catch him anyway. He'd be a rich man's G.Bale.

[Danny]

That's one isolated thing though. We beat Arsenal at the Emirates, we beat Liverpool, we beat Man City. In 4 games against Chelsea and United we lost 1.

It's curious that you say all this which makes you sound like the bee's knees, yet you finished 9th. Or was it 10th.

I would say yes. It may seem biased of me to say that, but the way players perform says it all for me. Steven Davis, Alan Thompson and Tommy Johnson were all sold by Villa for not being good enough but then did well in their SPL careers (okay, not so much Johnson but his scoring record was good up there).

Davis' Villa career I know little about, other than he was voted YPOTY during his time there. It was Fulham we bought him from. Thompson cost Celtic about £5M - which back then was a lot of money, even in England. Tommy Johnson was tripe in Scotland.

On the reverse, the very best the SPL has had to offer over the years like Petrov and Cuellar have been very in and out of what you call an average Villa side.

Isn't this the same Petrov you made captain? And didn't Cuellar become a first team regular at RB until Houllier took over?

I imagine players like Downing, Bent and Young would walk into any SPL side, but I'm not so sure your top players would walk into the Villa side. McGregor obviously would seeing as we have no keeper, but Bougherra, Weir, Davis, Lafferty and co. wouldn't. I think Jelavic would certainly make the squad, but I can't imagine he'd displace Darren Bent.

Oh he would. Jelavic is outstanding - and he doesn't miss open goals. Bent's the most overpriced player ever. McGregor would, even if Friedel was still there. Bougherra's average, I don't rate him. Weir's at the end of his career but played for Everton for years so I think it's safe to say he's an EPL old boy. Davis on current form would. Lafferty maybe not.

I'm certainly not saying it's a fact, by the way. We play in a completely different league and as far as I know have never even played each other competitively. The above is just my opinion. You're more than welcome to argue it.

The one advantage is Rangers have held their own very well at the level of the CL - Villa have never even entered it. CL is of course even higher than the EPL.

This is not proof of anything, and as such I think we should arrange a competitive fixture between the two.

btw, did you know we're playing Blackpool and Chelsea this summer? Might give some idea...

[Milan Are Brilli...]

Bent's the most overpriced player ever.

Kurt won't let you live that one down (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[il_diavolo_mtl]

Premier League clubs post all-time high losses of £445m despite generating record income of £2 billion
*Pre-tax losses total £445m in 2009-10 *Premier League's total wage bill was £1.4bn, a record high of 68 per cent of revenue *All top seven clubs made losses except Arsenal

The Premier League's 20 clubs lost close to half a billion pounds last year despite income soaring past the £2 billion barrier for the first time, according to a report by football finance experts Deloitte.

The clubs in the top division in the 2009-10 financial year generated total revenues of £2.03bn in the face of the economic downturn. This was principally due to broadcasting revenue increasing by seven per cent to £1.04bn to become the first £1bn revenue stream of any domestic league in the world.

However, pre-tax losses deepened by 62 per cent to £445m as 16 of the 20 clubs were in the red, with only Arsenal and the three promoted clubs - Birmingham City, Wolves and Burnley - generating profits.

The Premier League continues to be at the forefront of the global obsession with football as it maintained its dominance as the richest league in Europe, followed by Germany (£1.4bn), Spain and Italy (£1.3bn each) and France.

The record revenues in England's top flight, which increased by two per cent year-on-year, were mostly used to pay ever-escalating players' wages and transfer fees. The Premier League's total wage bill in 2009-10 was £1.4bn, accounting for an all-time high of 68 per cent of the clubs' collective income, an increase of five per cent compared to the previous year.

The 20th Annual Review of Football Finance from Deloitte explains that cost control remains the key test for English clubs.

"The challenge for clubs continues to be converting impressive revenue growth into sustainable profits that allow for investment in both infrastructure and talent," noted Alex Byars, Senior Consultant in the firm's Sports Business Group. "The record pre-tax losses are a concern, particularly as credit is likely to remain less available to football clubs than it was two or three years ago.


Revenue-generator | Emirates Stadium helped Arsenal buck the loss-making trend in 2009-10

The continued reliance of clubs on owners such as Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea once again highlights whether they can reform in time to meet Uefa's financial fair-play rules, which came into effect at the start of the summer window last week. Clubs will be permitted to record losses of only €45m (£40m) altogether over the three seasons from 2011-12 to 2013-14, and cannot rely on owners' subsidies, if Uefa is to sanction their participation in European competitions.

The figures in the report illustrate the lengths that the clubs must go to comply with financial fair play and come close to breaking even. The biggest loss was at Manchester City, where Sheikh Mansour bankrolled a £121m deficit to push for a Champions League place that they narrowly failed to achieve, while Chelsea posted the next most substantial deficit, £78m.

Double winners in 2009-10, Chelsea also spent the most on wages (£174m) with Manchester City (£133m) replacing Manchester United (£132m) as the next highest spender. Although there continued to be a strong correlation in the Premier League between finishing position and a club's ranking in terms of wages expenditure, there were exceptions.

Tottenham (£67m) came fourth despite having the seventh highest wage bill in the top flight, which was nearly half that of Liverpool (£121m), who ended up seventh in Rafael Benitez's final season in charge.

The Premier League remained the second most profitable league in the world, increasing slightly by £4m to £83m, but still some way short of the Bundesliga, which made operating profits of £113m.

[Danny]

Kurt won't let you live that one down (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I suppose I say that in the knowledge that 2 fairly average players yesterday sold for something approaching £20M each in the EPL. So Bent isn't alone on this.

[Milan Are Brilli...]

I suppose I say that in the knowledge that 2 fairly average players yesterday sold for something approaching £20M each in the EPL. So Bent isn't alone on this.

Everyone here thinks they are both overpriced, I did, a few posts back I said about it. Bent is starting to prove himself though, when you look at Torres for £50m with one goal, Sheva wasn't as bad. But he's not English so I guess that is a blessing in disguise for him around the globe.

[il_diavolo_mtl]

Everyone here thinks they are both overpriced, I did, a few posts back I said about it. Bent is starting to prove himself though, when you look at Torres for £50m with one goal, Sheva wasn't as bad. But he's not English so I guess that is a blessing in disguise for him around the globe.

that move alone has shifted liverpool ahead of chelsea.