How Many More Players Do Villa Need?

How nice it is to be back in ‘sunny England’ and back at the computer. Oh joy, I really am not missing Portugal and all those lovely beautiful beach bodies (sadly not mine) at all!

Vital Villa asked, in a poll suggested by col8:

How many more players, following the arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker from West Ham, do you think Villa need?

51% voted 5 or more.
21% said we needed 4 or more.

That left 17% saying at least six, 8% just 3 more and 3% 2 more.

With the departures of Gavin McCann, Aaron Hughes and Steven Davis, plus the cropping of the already small squad following Jlloyd Samuel and Lee Hendrie (currently being linked to Middlesbrough) bosman exits, we surely have to get at least 4 or five to just stand still?

Last season Martin O’Neill, much like the season before under David O’Leary, spoke of the problems of having such a small squad, hence the raised eyebrows at the summer activity thus far equalling more exits than arrivals! Hughes and McCann might not have lit the Premiership up or promised great things when (when) we qualify for Europe, but they were 100% players who – especially Hughes – had versatility and added bodies to a threadbare squad. On Davis, I was surprised to read whilst sunning myself last week, that he had been allowed to leave because only the season before last he was being touted as a target for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and was being given extended contracts at Villa to secure his future. Now he has gone to Fulham. Funny old game really! Think about his performance against England wearing a Northern Ireland shirt. Was there a better player on the pitch that day? I hope we’ve not sold a gem. Still, at least Martin O’Neill has denied any talks of loaning Isaiah Osbourne and Gary Cahill as part of a deal to buy WBA player Koumas, that really would have taken the biscuit!

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