Re: peter couch

[Paradox 0]

He sounds just the type we are after. The big man to knock the ball down to little McVeigh. And at 22 he''s still so young, his footy can improve, as can his touch and mentality. If we don''t get him, then I pity my fellow yellows, who will once again feel let down.

Come on Worthy, show the colour of your cash, use your power of pursuasion, and pull the lanky plank from Brum.

[rich 0]

I''ve been thinking about that and maybe it might be a good pickup after all. I don''t rate him as a top league player, but in the first division even akinbiyi can score, so he might be ok.

And seeing as our main tactic is a big boot upfield then he should be able to win them easy and knock them down to mcveigh.

So I guess maybe he''ll be a good fit, just because of the way we play and he''ll be eager to prove himself. But mind you I''d still rather have horsfield, lua lua on loan or kevin campbell on loan. But he''s better than nothing, which is what we have at the minute.

[chipster 0]

after six and a half mil being spent on him,doing well in the under 21''s and a proven record in the division i would be a little slower to write him off if i was you,lets hope he does the job,he has the credentials.

[Tacklebury 0]

Rich, if we''re gonna be picky I''d rather see Morientes on loan - he''s out of favour in Madrid!! We needed a striker desperately, and to get one with a proven record at this level is, in my opinion, quite a coup. No defender should beat him to the aerial ball, giving us a serious advantage should one of Malky''s punts upfield actually stay in play!!! Whilst I''m sure there were a few better players out there that we should''ve made more of an attempt to bring to the club, we could''ve ended up with a lot worse. Imagine if Akinbiyi had a wanted a second chance to prove himself here! Or if Mike Sheron needed a club! It could''ve been a lot worse...

The weird thing is why we''ve only got him for 3 months. With Zema out for the season, and Iwan unlikely to be able to carry the attacks fulltime, we need another big man up front to help out. Are we just gonna loan people short term for the entire season? We need some consistency up there - the constant changing of strike forces last year was, I believe, a crucial factor in us not scoring enough goals and consequently not getting promoted.

[Blainsey 2]

Great signing...heres hoping he proves his worth and we make it a permaanent signing!!!

[ZippersLeft Foot 0]

A rare ''Well done'' to NW & the board for signing Crouch.

Whilst I would have preferred Horsefield for his experience Crouch does at least fit the bill for the type of striker we are looking for; a big target man who in theory should link well with McVeigh and hold onto the ball when the defence needs a breather. As its a loan perhaps the board can really make it a good few days by either getting a permanent striker (Horsefield) or a ball playing centre back with a bit of pace. He was not on my pick list and in an ideal world I would not want him at the club, but bearing in mind the limited strikers now available and our reluctance to pay either a transfer fee or wages in the circumstances this is a good deal.

Signing him just for three months may also be wise (high wages to sit on a bench if he doesnt fit in, play well etc) as he still has a lot to prove. However that should mean that he wnats to prove that he is not the flop he is perceived to be at Villa & as such he will want to play to his best whilst here. I just hope that if he is a success & we want to extend the loan to the end of the season we dont fall foul of the 91 day rule that got lumbered with when Healy was here at the end of last season - does anyone know what the rules are here?

A good day all round.

OTBC

[rich 0]

I still think there was better options out there and know I didn''t mean morientes. Realistic ones like Horsfield and lua lua, but there we go, I hope he does well. I got to say I''m not convinced, but I hope I''m wrong.

[Poringland canary 0]

For gods sake give him a chance he hasn''t kicked a ball for us yet and already people are writing him off,he is also pretty skilful on the ground for such a tall player and i am pretty
certain he played with Mcveigh in the Spurs youth+reserve sides in 1999/2000 so they
shouldn''t have to work too hard to develop an understanding.I for one think Worthy may well have got it right this time. OTBC

[0 0]

18 goals in 38 games aint half bad so i''m happy with the signing. i know alot of villa fans don''t like him and want him out so hopefuly we might beable to buy him or at least loan him untill the end of the season. 3 months aint enuff

[Away Day Specialist 0]

Signing any hungary 23 year old with something to prove cant be all that bad, it has to be better than signing an average 30 year old on a permanent deal (Gareth Taylor - Why was he our no. one choice???)

Roll on the burnley game, anyone know the bookies odds on a crouch brace on his debut?

[Tumbleweed 106]

Looks like a good signing to me, when Rivers gets back and we swing some decent crosses in he''ll be there or thereabouts. Shame, but Nedergaard would have thrived on having someone like Crouch to cross the ball to.

I just hope he''s not used as an excuse for a long ball game.

Other concern would be if he bangs in a few goals, his price may well rocket out of reach for a permanent deal.

By the way, what happened to Healy- he just drifted out of view when the loan ran out.

[we8wba 0]

mugs