David Villa

[melbournelad55]

whoever says villa has been a failure is absolutely kidding themselves. Whilst he wont have played the 10 games, the game he has played he has dominated periods and scored. His marketing effect has been amazing. You people dont understand the exposure Melbourne City and the A-League has been getting in Europe and NY. Stop acting like sooky brats and appreciate being able to go see him play for our team

[interstatefan]

He should've never been brought here in the first place.

Been a complete distraction to the team whilst he's been here, we should've tried to either sign Kennedy from the start of the season or another striker to avoid this circus.

Says he opened the David Villa thread lol

If he was here for the ten games like he was suppose to be then i wouldn't of had a problem with it.

What is the point of bringing this bloke across for 4 games? He would've been better off to stay in NY. The whole experiment has been a waste of time. Well said, distraction is the word. Hey, I'm a fan of Villa due to his Barcelona days and was excited by his arrival since the very day it was announced he was coming. However, the whole thing has been handled poorly.

If he had arrived a lot earlier the team would have really gelled with his inclusion in the side but at times in the last three weeks the connection playing with him just hasn't been there.

Edited October 27, 2014 by interstatefan

[Pete Heartspur]

whoever says villa has been a failure is absolutely kidding themselves. Whilst he wont have played the 10 games, the game he has played he has dominated periods and scored. His marketing effect has been amazing. You people dont understand the exposure Melbourne City and the A-League has been getting in Europe and NY. Stop acting like sooky brats and appreciate being able to go see him play for our team

Yay, we have exposure! Haven't won a fucking game yet, but who gives a shit! We're famous!

[strider]

 

whoever says villa has been a failure is absolutely kidding themselves. Whilst he wont have played the 10 games, the game he has played he has dominated periods and scored. His marketing effect has been amazing. You people dont understand the exposure Melbourne City and the A-League has been getting in Europe and NY. Stop acting like sooky brats and appreciate being able to go see him play for our team

Yay, we have exposure! Haven't won a fucking game yet, but who gives a shit! We're famous!

 

 

Hahahaha, when he leaves:

 

We're not famous,

We're not famous,

We're not famous anymore!

We're not famous anymore

[interstatefan]

What would my chances be of express posting my Villa Barca shirt to the club to get signed before he takes off?? I'm a member, surely they could get it done for me?

[lukesicari]

Well, at least he got us 2 points in his time here.

 

But seriously, this whole thing has had it's pros and cons. 

 

Look at the attention he brought to the game and look at what he has done to MCFC. The fanbase, membership etc has grew. I would say that about 5,000 of the 15,000 at the Jets game were there mainly because of him. Now the real challenge will be, will that fan support and interest for this club be there after he leaves? I would expect another 10,000 plus crowd on Friday night but the numbers after that game will be really interesting.

 

Then again, you can also say that Villa leaving after 4 games, makes the club, management, ownership look poor, as many people are shaking their heads saying, "How did City let this happen?" Which, is a fair question.

 

All in all, this has been fun. Will be interesting to see what happens Friday night. Hopefully a wonder strike or some Villa magic.  

[lukesicari]

And remember, playing with this team would have been a major adjustment for him. After playing at such a high level for so long, it must have been tough for him to come down here, pretty much miss the pre-season with his team and make an immediate impact. The fact the he saved us in two games, speaks volumes of his class 

[Murfy1]

Frank Lampard’s complicated loan deal at Manchester City impacts David Villa’s stay in Melbourne

 

DAVID DAVUTOVIC

 

OCTOBER 27, 2014

 

 

DAVID Villa will play his fourth and most likely final game for Melbourne City on Friday night.

 

Negotiations will continue over the next fortnight between The City Group officials about a potential return in December.

 

But it’s believed that Frank Lampard’s loan deal with Manchester City could be extended until late February, which would all but end Melbourne’s hopes of Villa returning.

 

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is desperate to keep Lampard — City’s September player of the month — to offset the loss of Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations (17 January-8 February).

 

Lampard’s six-month loan deal from New York City ends in late January, with the 2015 MLS season due to kick-off in March.

 

This moving feast perhaps underlines the uncertainty surrounding Villa’s Melbourne deal, as they were initially confident he would play closer to 10 than four games.

 

Remember Lampard was signed, sealed, delivered to join Villa at Melbourne City, before FFA’s 11th hour loan rule change saw Pellegrini swoop.

 

Two goals and two points from three games appears an underwhelming return on the Villa investment.

 

John Kosmina argues it had been a success, even if Friday’s game against his former club Adelaide United turns out to be his last.

 

“I had Romario for a four-game stint in 2007 and he was shopping himself around and playing off his reputation,’’ Kosmina said.

 

“I was against it. It was a PR exercise generated by management.

 

“Romario upset the balance of team, he had one session before his first game and wasn’t physically able to play in the A-League.

 

“I took him off in game three with 30 minutes to go and luckily we were only down 1-0 and he didn’t even get changed, he just grabbed his bags and walked out the door.

 

“It’s been the opposite with David Villa. He’s fresh out of a World Cup and left on his own terms.

 

“Van’t Schip was wise in bringing him off the bench first game and you could see that he is a part of it when they celebrated the goal, he was right in there with them.

 

“Villa’s been good and if he has to go back it’s a pity. But if it’s four games then so be it, it’s been great for the game.”

 

How do you measure success? It’s not just titles — Western Sydney is yet to win one after all.

 

Crowds, memberships, atmosphere, culture are crucial in this fledgling competition and Villa is helping create something.

 

His arrival is not a one-off, with more superstars set to follow in his footsteps.

 

Crucially, Villa has enjoyed his time in Melbourne.

 

When Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso or Xavi Hernandez call him in coming years to ask for a referral, his response will play a crucial part in their decision.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/frank-lampards-complicated-loan-deal-at-manchester-city-impacts-david-villas-stay-in-melbourne/story-fni2wcjl-1227104127214

[malloy]

And remember, playing with this team would have been a major adjustment for him. After playing at such a high level for so long, it must have been tough for him to come down here, pretty much miss the pre-season with his team and make an immediate impact. The fact the he saved us in two games, speaks volumes of his class

When Kewell first signed on to play for the scum it took him almost two thirds of the season to adjust to the lower quality of play.

I genuinely believe that Villa is struggling to understand/read what his team mates around him are going to do as it is a significant level below what he is used to.

So instead of making runs on instinct from years of superior coaching, he now has to think what is this retard about to do? And, where do I have to position myself so that his inferior skills will still allow him to get the ball?

[Cinnamon]

And remember, playing with this team would have been a major adjustment for him. After playing at such a high level for so long, it must have been tough for him to come down here, pretty much miss the pre-season with his team and make an immediate impact. The fact the he saved us in two games, speaks volumes of his class

When Kewell first signed on to play for the scum it took him almost two thirds of the season to adjust to the lower quality of play.

I genuinely believe that Villa is struggling to understand/read what his team mates around him are going to do as it is a significant level below what he is used to.

So instead of making runs on instinct from years of superior coaching, he now has to think what is this retard about to do? And, where do I have to position myself so that his inferior skills will still allow him to get the ball?

The short answer for him atm is, right behind Ramsey. Sooner or later the ball will be there either in the possession of the opponent or because it's travelling in a backward passing motion

[lukesicari]

And remember, playing with this team would have been a major adjustment for him. After playing at such a high level for so long, it must have been tough for him to come down here, pretty much miss the pre-season with his team and make an immediate impact. The fact the he saved us in two games, speaks volumes of his class

When Kewell first signed on to play for the scum it took him almost two thirds of the season to adjust to the lower quality of play.

I genuinely believe that Villa is struggling to understand/read what his team mates around him are going to do as it is a significant level below what he is used to.

So instead of making runs on instinct from years of superior coaching, he now has to think what is this retard about to do? And, where do I have to position myself so that his inferior skills will still allow him to get the ball?

That's pretty much what I'm trying to say man. I've seen many times when Villa makes a perfect run but the ball just doesn't get delivered to him, leaving him frustrated. It's a bigger adjustment then people think.

[Kiro Kompiro]

 

And remember, playing with this team would have been a major adjustment for him. After playing at such a high level for so long, it must have been tough for him to come down here, pretty much miss the pre-season with his team and make an immediate impact. The fact the he saved us in two games, speaks volumes of his class

When Kewell first signed on to play for the scum it took him almost two thirds of the season to adjust to the lower quality of play.

I genuinely believe that Villa is struggling to understand/read what his team mates around him are going to do as it is a significant level below what he is used to.

So instead of making runs on instinct from years of superior coaching, he now has to think what is this retard about to do? And, where do I have to position myself so that his inferior skills will still allow him to get the ball?

 

 

 

Ha Ha.  Its funny 'coz its true.

[Parrot]

It's very simple, imo.
 

Villa found out that playing against a high tempo Victory was not a stroll in the park, but required high levels of fitness, hard work and plenty of intensity.

Was Villa physically and mentally ready for that challenge?

 

[NewConvert]

In any case this only points to the fact that although he had been announced early on for whatever reason he did not join his team mates until a few days prior to the first game. The lesson to be learnt (and geez it should not be needed to state the obvious) is that the club must assemble the team as soon as possible. Visa players need to get to Oz as soon as possible and then integrate with their team mates. I note that getting the visa paperwork and moving can take time but the concept still holds.

[mulhollanddrive]

Owners have not showed us a lot of respect so far.

[melbournelad55]

Although, this may be his last game this friday. I think we have all got to applaud Villa himself for his performances and the promotional work he has done for the club. If we compare him to Romario's guest stint for Adelaide United, then he has been a saint. He celebrates with the team, applauds the fans, signs autographs after the game etc.. He has been amazing and people have got to realise this. His first time living out of spain, without his young family, no english etc etc HE HAS BEEN GREAT and we should savour the moment and be very thankful to him on friday night

[Jovan]

Although, this may be his last game this friday. I think we have all got to applaud Villa himself for his performances and the promotional work he has done for the club. If we compare him to Romario's guest stint for Adelaide United, then he has been a saint. He celebrates with the team, applauds the fans, signs autographs after the game etc.. He has been amazing and people have got to realise this. His first time living out of spain, without his young family, no english etc etc HE HAS BEEN GREAT and we should savour the moment and be very thankful to him on friday night

Just ok, bit better than last seasons guest player.

 

 

MM.

[belaguttman]

Although, this may be his last game this friday. I think we have all got to applaud Villa himself for his performances and the promotional work he has done for the club. If we compare him to Romario's guest stint for Adelaide United, then he has been a saint. He celebrates with the team, applauds the fans, signs autographs after the game etc.. He has been amazing and people have got to realise this. His first time living out of spain, without his young family, no english etc etc HE HAS BEEN GREAT and we should savour the moment and be very thankful to him on friday night

Agree, he has been the best guest player the league has had in terms of on-field and off-field contribution. Don't confuse 'guest player' with 'marquee player' - different roles, different expectations

[interstatefan]

Although, this may be his last game this friday. I think we have all got to applaud Villa himself for his performances and the promotional work he has done for the club. If we compare him to Romario's guest stint for Adelaide United, then he has been a saint. He celebrates with the team, applauds the fans, signs autographs after the game etc.. He has been amazing and people have got to realise this. His first time living out of spain, without his young family, no english etc etc HE HAS BEEN GREAT and we should savour the moment and be very thankful to him on friday night

 

 

 

 

Can see your point, makes you wonder though how he'll cope in the states? I guess judging from his earlier social media posts over there before he arrived here that he was doing fairly well. 

[Attack11]

Villa has been good in terms of marketing the club even though the media have always said his only a guest player. But I honestly think the Villa at Melbourne City has been spoiled by the clubs inability to handle curtain expectations and I think they have made a real mess of the situations around him leaving and his arrival...

[interstatefan]

 

 

Villa has been good in terms of marketing the club even though the media have always said his only a guest player. But I honestly think the Villa at Melbourne City has been spoiled by the clubs inability to handle curtain expectations and I think they have made a real mess of the situations around him leaving and his arrival...

 

 

Would I be drawing a long bow if I said they have done a bad job due to him not being able to speak English? Just a thought I had just now...

[belaguttman]

I think that its a lot harder for Villa here compared to the US as there are a lot more Spanish speakers there than there are here, and he's managing without his family here as well. it must be quite tough for him as he's never ever played outside Spain before.

[interstatefan]

I think that its a lot harder for Villa here compared to the US as there are a lot more Spanish speakers there than there are here, and he's managing without his family here as well. it must be quite tough for him as he's never ever played outside Spain before.

 

If only Lampard came, thanks FFA!

[NewConvert]

I think that its a lot harder for Villa here compared to the US as there are a lot more Spanish speakers there than there are here, and he's managing without his family here as well. it must be quite tough for him as he's never ever played outside Spain before.

 

Technically incorrect - he has played with Barcelona, Atletico and the national squad in other countries (including South Africa). But I get your gist that he has never lived and played club football outside of Spain. However, given the amount of money he has I would be surprised if he has never holidayed outside of Spain.

The English speaking bit and being away from the family is likely to have hit hard. Every time I have heard him talk in Spanish, his prose is very humble for a Spaniard. Even slightly uncomfortable. And then there are his team mates...

[belaguttman]

Yes, he's certainly traveled outside Spain but traveling with your Spanish team, surrounded by support staff and team mates or traveling with family is very different from being on your own in a strange culture where you are socially isolated and only have SBS Spanish news for company.

[belaguttman]

great article on Villa from The Guardian today

 

 

Melbourne, as any Melburnian with functioning vocal cords will tell you, is the sporting capital of the known universe. And we’d be right too — Sir Donald Bradman, Rod Laver, Ron Clarke, Roger Federer, Dawn Fraser, Betty Cuthbert, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi and Graeme Souness, to name but a handful, have all expressed their talent here to capacity crowds. But never in this city’s 179-year history has it been home to a truly world-class practitioner, at or near his prime, of what is by any measure the world’s most popular game — association football — plying his trade at a competitive level for a local club. Until now.

For most of the past decade, David Villa has been the obsidian spear tip of, arguably, the greatest international sports team in the history of the world. It was Villa who, more than any other individual, was personally responsible for converting the sublime, symphonic, collective passing artistry of Spain (circa 2006 to 2014) into the hard currency of goals which won matches and tournaments. For all the justifiable praise heaped upon the artists who saw and made those passes — Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Cesc Fàbregas and Xabi Alonso — their works of art would have signified nothing in the absence of the finishing touches of Euclidean precision applied by Villa. 

No-one knew this better than Pep Guardiola, the man widely regarded as most responsible, in an immediate philosophical sense, for the recent flourishing of that Spanish passing art. In April 2012, after his Barcelona side, deprived of the services of Villa through injury, blew a truckload of goal-scoring chances in the first away leg of their Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, Guardiola observed — presciently, as it turned out — that: “The game is about putting the football in the goal. It is the most difficult thing in the game.”

Villa did that thing better than anyone else in the world, quite possibly better than any other human being has ever done. And he’s here, a stone’s throw from the Yarra, to do it for Melbourne City Football Club on this spring evening. According to the early June announcement on Melbourne City’s official website, Villa “will play, train and contribute to Melbourne City FC-s Hyundai A-League campaign between October and December 2014”.

It’s October now. And Villa has already scored a goal in each of his first two games for Melbourne City. As I walk down Harbour Esplanade towards Docklands Stadium, I hope he can make it three (or perhaps even four or five) from three in this evening’s Melbourne derby. The sun is setting low on the horizon over Victoria Harbour, its light reflecting fiercely off the still water. Thank Jebus I remembered to bring my sunnies. All around me I see people clad in navy blue Victory shirts — crossing the road, milling about the stadium, and drinking (lawfully) and talking loudly in an outdoor bar on the stadium’s outer edge.

The match is a sell-out and the atmosphere is one of audible, palpable excitement, but sans the mildly dangerous edge that accompanies so many of the derby games that I’ve been to in Europe over the years. I spy a grand total of one divvy van cruising down Harbour Esplanade, but no horse-mounted riot police or armoured military trucks à la the CSKA-Spartak derby at Arena Khimki on the outskirts of Moscow in late 2010. That’s a good thing. I’m all for passion in football, but wanton acts of violence — not so much.

In order to avoid the queues at the general admission gates, I flash my press pass to enter the stadium via the outdoor bar on its outer edge. For the first time in my life, I find myself in what looks like a members-only area of Docklands Stadium. I think it might be a Melbourne Victory members’ or Medallion Club members’ lounge/bar/casual dining area. I’m not entirely sure. What I am sure about is that, in a town where even a scoop of ice cream or a coffee can now set you back four bucks, $11.50 for “Herb and spice rubbed Gippsland beef erved in a crusty roll filled with Etihad coleslaw” sounds like a bargain. No wonder there’s a sizeable queue leading up to the stylish counter where a professionally attired chef slices up the delicious-smelling beef. I abstain on the basis that, like any self-respecting freelance writer, I fully intend to gorge myself on the free grub in the press box.

I exit the casual dining area and go for a stroll around the general admission areas. What I see is this: the FFA’s dream of an inclusive, multicultural, multiethnic, family-friendly national football competition made flesh. There are pre-teenage kids and families everywhere, way more than I’ve ever seen at a European derby. I nearly trip over a team of under-11s who’ve come from their Saturday match straight to the stadium, still dressed in their red kit. There are Australians of all colours and backgrounds here — Anglo-Celtic, south and central European, east Asian, south Asian and African. It’s not hard to work out why — the slightly dangerous edge felt at so many European derbies is absent here, but not at the cost of genuine passion and excitement.

City are warming up at the Lockett End (otherwise known as the South End). Victory are warming up at the Coventry End (otherwise known as the North End). It seems fitting that Villa will make his Melbourne derby debut at a ground where both ends are named after legendary AFL full-forwards, pure goal scorers. It’s a Victory home game so, naturally, I expected Victory fans to outnumber City fans, but not quite to this degree. Victory fans own both ends behind the goals and the only group of City fans that I can see in the entire stadium is the small cluster situated on the left wing near the Coventry End where the City players are warming up.

Yet, it is the City fans who look more pumped. As their players warm up in front of them, they sing, chant, clap and wave their scarves. They only quieten down after the City players move over to the opposite wing to continue their warm-up. The famously vocal Victory fans are strangely subdued. 

The City players move onto the final stage of their warm-up. They split into three groups. The forwards trot off towards goal to work on their shooting. It doesn’t take me long to find Villa — like an American football quarterback in a team training session, he is wearing a bright-coloured bib (in his case, yellow) that distinguishes him from his colleagues. The forwards take turns playing the ball to the feet of a coach with his back to goal on the edge of the box, then dashing forward to receive the return pass and unleash a shot at goal. Even during this simplest of training drills, the gulf in quality between Villa and most of his colleagues is evident. Whilst most of the City players, including the Premier League-winning winger Damien Duff, fail to score with a substantial proportion of their shots, Villa calmly (and successfully) works his way through his full repertoire of finishes, scoring at the first attempt with almost every one.

The Victory fans at the Coventry End hoist up three signs directed squarely at the City (nee Heart) fans: “Change your name”, “Change your colour$” and “This city will always be ours”. Cheeky, but not nasty. Are there flares? Hell yeah. Yellow and red to be precise. The Victory team walk out onto the pitch to the strains of Ben E King’s Stand By Me. The 43,729-strong home Victory crowd hold their scarves up and make a decent fist of singing the song. I’m a tad (pleasantly) surprised by their vocal efforts — most Australians (myself included) can’t even sing the second verse of the national anthem.

The match itself — a rollicking seven-goal affair — is a neutral’s wet dream. City dominate the opening exchanges. Within five minutes of kick-off, City win the ball back in midfield and play a quick ball out to Villa on the left. He glides inside onto his favoured right foot and spreads the ball out to Duff on the opposite right wing who drives towards the right byeline then cuts the ball back towards the penalty spot — just out of Villa’s reach. This is pretty much City’s Plan A: playing quick balls to the feet of their world-class wide forwards then encouraging them to get to the byeline and cut the ball back to a teammate to slam home. That’s precisely how City created Villa’s equaliser against Sydney FC.

Two things are immediately apparent about Villa when you see him play in the flesh: his speed and his technical economy. Despite being middle-aged (32) for a modern professional footballer, Villa is still so much quicker than his opponents, gliding effortlessly across the pitch like a stream of water down a hill, that he reminded me of Fred, the Brazilian star of Victory’s first double-winning side, who used to just pick up the ball and run past defenders. Villa does dribble, but he does so efficiently — he does what is necessary to get past the defender, no more no less; there are no extravagant flourishes. 

Villa’s first shot on target comes as early as the seventh minute: a left-foot shot from an acute angle on the left, after wriggling and spinning through a quartet of Victory defenders, that is saved by the Victory keeper, Nathan Coe, at his near post. Three minutes later, City play the ball quickly to Villa’s feet and he tries to chip the Victory keeper with a four-iron from 30 yards out. His shot’s on target but Coe comfortably gets back in time to make the save.

Villa is excellent in the first half. He is a constant, reliable outlet on the left, always willing to get on the ball, and makes intelligent vertical runs in behind Victory’s defence to receive diagonal balls. But for Coe’s perfectly timed interception one such ball would’ve put Villa clean through on Victory’s goal. As the first half draws to a close, City are leading 2-1 and banging on the door to add more — a Villa back-heel deep on the left-wing starts a gorgeous, flowing move that nearly results in a tap-in for Duff, and Duff curls a ball just outside Coe’s far post. 

The match turns on its head deep in first half stoppage time when four City players, including Villa, try and fail to win the ball off the irrepressible Kosta Barbarouses as he bustles into City’s box from the right flank. Victory score, then score again in the first 30 seconds of the second half to go 3-2 up and, from that point on, as City manager John van’t Schip himself practically admitted in the post-match press conference his team had been mentally defeated — “just after half-time, immediately, the 3-2, the boys didn’t recover from that”. Victory ran out 5-2 winners and it could easily have been more.

After sparkling in the first half of the derby, Villa has little impact on the second half. When the full-time whistle blows, Villa carefully unwinds his wrist tape, picks up a drink from a runner then walks impassively down the tunnel. The rest of his City teammates stay on the pitch to shake hands with the Victory players.

Perhaps Villa was discomforted by the sudden, awkward announcement, just three days before the Melbourne derby, that he would be leaving for New York just one month into his scheduled three month stint in Melbourne in order to fulfil marketing commitments with his club New York City FC and help his family settle into New York. Perhaps there was a language communication difficulty of some kind. At half-time, van’t Schip’s team talk was beamed live onto a TV in the press box. Villa was seated in the front row. There was no translator in sight, which might have been problematic given that Villa’s English is so non-existent that his friend Cesc Fàbregas once joked that he couldn’t even say hello in English.

Whatever the reason for Villa’s walk-off, it was a deflating way to end what looks to be his second-last game for Melbourne City. It’s a shame really — if he gave Melbourne a proper go, he’d find that Melburnians would be happy to embrace a world-class footballer of humble mining stock whose original goal-scoring celebration was to mimic the distinctive cider-pouring action of his native Asturias.

[markn]

If Vila plays in the MLS the same way he has here, he will be in for a very frustrating season.

 

Get rid of guest signings - they do nothing but hinder the team.

 

Please never again.

[interstatefan]

If Vila plays in the MLS the same way he has here, he will be in for a very frustrating season.

 

Get rid of guest signings - they do nothing but hinder the team.

 

Please never again.

 

Amen, i've never been a fan of the idea. Sure its great to see if you are lucky enough one of your favourite players play in your own backyard but if its not a permanent move then its just a distraction as you know they will be on there way after the contracted time. 

[Jovan]

 

If Vila plays in the MLS the same way he has here, he will be in for a very frustrating season.

 

Get rid of guest signings - they do nothing but hinder the team.

 

Please never again.

 

Amen, i've never been a fan of the idea. Sure its great to see if you are lucky enough one of your favourite players play in your own backyard but if its not a permanent move then its just a distraction as you know they will be on there way after the contracted time. 

 

Disagree slightly. The main problem has been such an unbalanced squad to begin with. If we had a 2 more forward options and then used Villa as an additional player then different story. We actually have been using Villa as a locked in starter. Going forward I don't mind the guest player coming in adding to a balanced squad, and preferably later in the season. It is what is and I think jury will be out for some time on weather its been successful or not.   

[Attack11]

The English thing is a valid point, every time we have heard Villa speak it's been through interpreters. I also think that Villa is more of the "old school" professional were he isn't comfortable in the spot light and doing media... Like Duff...

I disagree with the point made about the MLS ... If he plays in the MLS like he did in the Darby he will be a superstar there coz it's a shit league...simple...

[Dylan]

Listening to the Fox Football podcast they seem pretty convinced that this was New York pulling the plug without warning and seemed to think that because Pellegrini wants Lampard to stay at man city longer was the main reason why they want him back. They said that when Davutovic did the interview with Villa last week, Villa wanted the point explicitly made that he is happy here and its a decision between the clubs. 

 

I wanted the club to be more transparent but maybe now they never saw it comming and were blind sided. So I can understand their reaction of trying to wiggle around it although I hope in the future they are more honest about everything. 

[melbournelad55]

Listening to the Fox Football podcast they seem pretty convinced that this was New York pulling the plug without warning and seemed to think that because Pellegrini wants Lampard to stay at man city longer was the main reason why they want him back. They said that when Davutovic did the interview with Villa last week, Villa wanted the point explicitly made that he is happy here and its a decision between the clubs. 

 

I wanted the club to be more transparent but maybe now they never saw it comming and were blind sided. So I can understand their reaction of trying to wiggle around it although I hope in the future they are more honest about everything. 

well thats good that Villa is enjoying himself, coz this will set the precedent to other big names playing for us as Villa will go a very good reference

[interstatefan]

 

Mark Rudan going hard there on the way the whole villa situation was handled and good on him. 

[stewmac]

bottom line is ,we never won a game with him in our team ,speaks volumes of where we are as a club , in my eyes no further on than last years wooden spoon !!

[mus-28]

Poor bastard is probably on wikipedia deleting any reference to having played for this utter hopeless case of a club.

[interstatefan]

 

He couldn't wait to get off the pitch, probably at Tullamarine as i type this. 

[loriente]

Good riddance imo.

[Jake]

Poor he didn't do a walk around. Time to move on.

[interstatefan]

Poor he didn't do a walk around. Time to move on.

Fresh start next week, lets never mention his name again. Not on here anyway. Great player we know that but it just hasn't worked.

[Jovan]

/thread