ewerk 30656 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Leaving Juventus for an unknown location knowing that if he doesn't fancy anyone coming in he'll still have to move since Madrid will want rid. It just seems odd to me, 0 guarantees for him if he goes for it and heads over to Madrid. I'd assume he'd have a move lined up before he would agree to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayatollah Hermione 13891 Posted May 13, 2016 Share Posted May 13, 2016 Giroud (21/53) is in the squad, Lacazette (23/42) is not. You can never say that Deschamps doesn't have his favourites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wykikitoon 20216 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Fuck me, Darren Anderton, Sorry, I mean Jack Wilshire picked for the England Squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21963 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 you can never say that roy doesn't have his favourites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30656 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 42468 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 "> Where's the cripple, then? Eh? EH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew 4772 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Villa have confirmed their sale to a group of Chinese Investors.Could have a big impact on the league next season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5226 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Balls that's not good. Although hopefully the total revamp they'll need to do will be beyond them for promotion next season. That club needs a lot of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew 4772 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Well, they don't have a manager at the moment, though Roberto Di Matteo is being bandied about.So when Rafa confirms he's staying and that happens there will be 2 champions league winning managers in the championship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30656 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 It's Villa. They may get promoted but they'll always be a deathly dull non-entity of a club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howay 12496 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 I'm not all that worried about them tbh, they're a fair way behind us imo. It'd take a decent overhaul in the summer just to be on level footing with us now, let alone if we manage to confirm Rafa and allow him to buy the players he wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10872 Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Could go either way to be honest, they could be sensible investors who've bought into Villa on the cheap and who have a plan to return the club to the top flight, or the could Venky the place up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonatine 11405 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44988 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Christ, hope that's not true. I know he's a tabber but he's always looked a picture of health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1245 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Hope he's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Hog 523 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Christ, hope that's not true. I know he's a tabber but he's always looked a picture of health. John Gregory once dared to question his fitness and he did this: Reports now saying he fell ill at a charity golf thing after playing in high temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpirlo68 0 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Get well soon Ginola :c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 7034 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Looks like from 2019 we are going to have 5 professional leagues with 20 clubs, rather the current set up of 24 clubs in Champ, Lg1 and Lg2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5226 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Interesting, bet that's going to chafe when it goes through. The Championship is going to relegate 8 teams presumably... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21963 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Let's hope we're not still down there then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10872 Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 Mates who follow lower league clubs are saying this is blatantly a way to create room for B teams in the league. One says "it would end the conference, arguably allow a more sensible regional semi-pro setup". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5226 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Villa have confirmed their sale to a group of Chinese Investors. Could have a big impact on the league next season This is from the Ft today... looking like it's going to be a standard Villa affair after all: The Chinese business group which has agreed to buy Aston Villa football club admitted on Friday that it controlled only one listed company, not the five previously claimed in a press release. The admission raises questions about the due diligence on Tony Xia, the businessman behind the deal. He is chairman of the Recon Group, a Beijing and Hangzhou based private holding company which controls 75 per cent of Lotus Health Group, a large producer of the food additive MSG. On the website of the Aston Villa football club, a biography of Mr Xia — posted on May 18 when the sale was announced — reads: “Recon Group is a privately owned holding company that owns the controlling interest in five publicly listed companies on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock exchanges.” The Recon Group website appears to show the group has several listed subsidiaries, however stock exchange filings show that Recon Group only has a significant stake in Lotus Health. A Hangzhou-based spokesman for Recon reached by telephone on Friday, who identified himself only as Mr Jin, admitted the company “currently only has controlling share in Lotus Health”. Meanwhile, he said: “The acquisition deals for the remaining four companies are still being finalised and should come out soon.” He declined to name the companies. The Recon Group said the mistaken information contained in the press release had been the result of a “miscommunication” with Aston Villa, and they would ask the football club to change the wording of the statement. The information raises questions not just about the truthfulness of the claims surrounding Mr Xia’s business dealings, but about the financial health of Mr Xia’s business group, which agreed this week to pay an undisclosed sum for Villa. Last month, Lotus — Recon’s only verifiable asset — announced it had made a net loss in 2015 of Rmb508.5m ($77.6m) on revenues of Rmb1.7bn, compared with a net profit of Rmb23.9m the previous year. Lotus produces 150,000 tonnes of MSG, exporting to more than 70 countries every year, according to Shanghai stock exchange filings, as well as other food additives. Recon Group’s other revenues were unclear as the group does not appear to have ever published an audited financial statement. In addition Mr Jin denied an assertion by Steve Hollis, Villa’s Chairman, who was quoted on Thursday saying that Mr Xia had helped to build the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing. “Again, you need to ask him but he is responsible for the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and some of the other major iconic developments in China” Mr Hollis was quoted in an article in the Birmingham Mail. “Xia was never involved in the planning or designing of the Bird’s Nest stadium. Xia’s expertise is in urban design” said Mr Jin. A spokesman for Aston Villa confirmed that Mr Hollis was accurately quoted, but said he was not sure what information Mr Hollis was citing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 42468 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Excellent, hope it all goes disastrously for the Beige club. John Gregory once dared to question his fitness and he did this: Reports now saying he fell ill at a charity golf thing after playing in high temperatures. Also, John Gregory-what an absolute weasel of a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44988 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 The Pardew of his day. All bravado and hair gel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35113 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Excellent, hope it all goes disastrously for the Beige club. Also, John Gregory-what an absolute weasel of a man. Ask Ron Guthrie about John Gregory if you get the chance. Proper tart apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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