It's been a good morning so far. I've had my coffee made, not brought to me, but still freshly made and I've had an extra hour in bed, which basically means two extra hours in bed and to top it all off, it's looking like it's going to be a nice day outside, which is where I plan on spending most of it.
Then I read that Chelsea are interested in Ashley Young and while I fancy he's having fun at Villa, he's an ambitious young man, who wants to win stuff and the £100k a week they may very well offer him will be too much and I suspect he might like the move.
Like I said, it's not that he probably wouldn't want to stay with us, but there is quite a big difference in earning £2.5mn. a season and £5mn. a season and the pull of silverware is also very appealing. But it is just a rumour, so I'll leave it at that but I will mention something else quickly.
If we finish fifth but Martin O'Neill had his players lined up, so basically the week after the season is over, he signs them all and they're all quality and you can clearly see they're going to make us much much stronger, that may very well be enough to keep the likes of Young from even thinking about a move and you never know, for those of you that are big fans of Barry, if he sees that, for the first time in his ten season at Villa, it might very well be enough for him to think that maybe, next season, Villa are really going to give it a proper go.
These are all maybe this and maybe that, I know, but maybe that is just what it will take.
In other speculation today, we've got the above mentioned Barry moving to Anfield in the summer for £8mn. and he's going to go there to be a utility man, covering a few positions, we've seen him play at Villa Park over the years. Now, I've got no special skills that allow me to see into the future but if Barry is going to Liverpool to be the utility player, isn't that like a demotion?
Don't get me wrong, Liverpool, right now, are better equipped to win things than us, but if he's going to play one of three positions, it doesn't sound like he's going to make the first team stronger, instead he's going to sit on the bench in case someone gets injured. Like I said above, I can't see into the future but I know what I'd prefer.
But when if these two players go, we've got their replacements lined up according to the papers. The Steven Defour rumour, that really isn't much of a rumour any more gets a mention today as does a new one, a certain Daniel Aquino from Real Murcia.
Aquino is 18 years old, apparently a raw talent and he plays on the left wing. So, if Barry and Young do go, we've got replacements lined up, but like I've suggested above, if Martin O'Neill just did his business early, gave a list to Lerner and told him these are the players, then surely if players believe that something might happen next season, they might actually want to stay and be part of it?
All rumours like I've said, but still, we like rumours and they're good for a Sunday morning.