Villa Agree Cuéllar Fee
Aston Villa have confirmed tonight that they have agreed a £7.8 million fee for Rangers defender Carlos Cuéllar. That figure is believed to have triggered a release clause in his contract and the Spanish centre-back is due at Villa Park for talks on Monday.
Cuéllar enjoyed a superb season for Rangers, making 36 appearances and scoring 4 goals. He picked up the Clydesdale Bank SPL Player of the Year award and was named the Scottish Football Writers Associations Player of the Year.
But this is a surprising move by Villa. Having signed both Young and Shorey to fill in the full-back postions, the signing of Cuéllar considerably boosts Villa in central defence and he is surely not being brought in to warm the bench.
With Laursen surely an untouchable after an hugely impressive season last time out, we can deduce that O’Neill doesn’t fancy Davies and Knight alongside him. Unless of course he is considering a 3-5-2 with wingbacks. That’s a tactic he’s employed at both Leicester and Celtic and it could certainly be on the cards.
It would be a strange one considering we haven’t seen any suggestion of a change in formation during the summer but then O’Neill’s resources have been stretched. If that is the case both Young and Shorey would seemingly be pushed forward as wing-backs which would further increase their appeal as fantasy signing.
Mark, Do you think Young is a safe bet as a starter for Villa then? A lot of us seem to have gone for him as his move from Boro to Villa made him a much more appealing investment.
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Reply by Swerve on August 12, 2008 5:04 am:
Young will start and probably play the lot, I reckon.
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Reply by John on August 12, 2008 11:31 am:
Defences are units and the best ones are based on understanding and teamwork. Four new players out of five. Two attacking full backs not renowned for playing in tight defences and a centre back who didn’t make it in Spain and has to prove himself good enough for the step up from the SPL. Friedel is a very good keeper but again it takes time to build an understanding with your centre backs and work as a unit. It may work but I cannot understand why everyone is convinced that Villa will automatically keep more clean sheets.
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Carlos Cuellar is a very, very good, no nonsense defender. He’ll plug many a leak in the Villa defence. However, it’s Laursen’s stock that rises the most. He’ll now be as productive this season as Lescott was last.
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Reply by Brooklyn on August 11, 2008 11:31 pm:
can you explain the logic re: Laursen, Stengo? is it because now Laursen will now be able to move up more often?
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Reply by Will on August 11, 2008 11:37 pm:
I think he means that Laursen will add a decent number of clean sheets to the goals and bonus points he got last season-villa only kept 9 clean sheets last time. Hopefully with the new recruits, that will be closer to 15.
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Reply by Mark on August 12, 2008 7:13 am:
All the Villa defence will benefit and Friedal, Young and Shorey all look stronger now. Laursen might lose out in the FPL though - he might find that Cuéllar starts picking up some his bonus.
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Where does A.Young slot into a team which playes 352 with wingbacks?
Presumably he’s the fulcrum of the diamond in midfield with Sidwell and Reo Coker sitting back. This could increase his output even further but it make take time for him to adjust to a ‘free role’ kind of position.
I’m seriously thinking about making A.Young Captain this year. He’s is villas creative outlet, he scores goals, takes free kicks, corners and pens and with players like Carew and Laursen in the team there are people to finish off his deliveries.
I think he should get 200-250pts this season if he has pens too.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 8:51 am:
Villa play 4-3-3. A.Young plays wide left in a forward position. Not as advanced as Carew or Agbonalahor, unless Villa have the ball. At the mo, it seems Barry will stay, with Sidwell & R-Coker in a midfield 3. Without Barry, i guess, S.Petrov and Gardner come into contention?
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 11:30 am:
Can’t really see o’neil changing to 3-5-2. His personnel doesn’t really lend themselves to it, unless he’s thinking of employing Ashley Young in a central position, with Carew dropping out. He could play Young behind the front two, but who would play LWB if Barry stays, or would villa play without reo-coker (so, no holding midfielder)? Confused.com!
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He’s definitely a must have, Doc, and he’s been in top form pre-season. But, will he score enough goals (8 last term), despite all the assists, to make him a viable captain. 1 point per clean sheet will add a dozen or so but . . .
Bale’s the guy I’m unsure about this season. Thoughts anyone?
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 10:00 am:
waste of 6m. He’s waaay to much of a gamble with not much of an upside.
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Reply by Swerve on August 12, 2008 10:14 am:
Yeah - it’s a big punt alright.
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When will this weeks scout picks be up?
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Is Laursen Villa captain this season? So he is guaranteed to start providing he is fit? In the Telegraph game, he was still one of the top scoring defenders last season despite Villa keeping comparatively few clean sheets. I am sure the additions to the Villa defence this season, e.g. Shorey, Young will mean Villa keep more clean sheets coupled with Laursen’s threat from Ashley Young’s set pieces!
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Definately agree about Laursen. Am now having a major rethink as I’m really starting to think Villa could have a great season, particularly strong in defence.
Just who to choose….Laursen or Shorey?
or both??
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Reply by Cerberus on August 12, 2008 9:14 am:
Or even Cuellar?
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Reply by James on August 12, 2008 9:43 am:
Cuellar isn’t much of a scorer, but like what has already been said, his influence on the Villa defence will improve everyone else’s clean sheets. I suppose it depends on what price he comes in at, but if Young is a definite starter then he’ll be ploughing in plenty of points from clean sheets at only 4.5m.
I suppose it remains to be seen what price Cuellar will be dropping in at.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 10:03 am:
L Young, Shorey and Laursen all look good in their respective price brackets….hmmmm….maybe Laursen and Young, as Shorey won’t take free-kicks like at Reading?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 10:18 am:
i dont think its a good idea to have two villa defenders… why not have one villa and one pompey
everton players look expensive this year, only baines offers value if he gets a start
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Reply by Cerberus on August 12, 2008 10:31 am:
I think Jagielka might be good value, if he stays in midfield. He certainly did well in that position at Sheffield United.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 10:38 am:
don’t think it’s too bad to do that. If you’re going for Young & Laursen, you’re picking them for different reasons. Young as a cheapo who’ll be good value, and Laursen as your defender who’ll grab some goals from set-pieces - both valid reasons. Doesn’t mean you’d play both, other than when villa have a nice fixture.
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As far as I’m concerned Laursen has an unbelievable knack for getting on the end of a ball and putting it in the net, for a defender anyway! But I agree there are enough quality players in the back 4 now to start taking away bonus points from him. Still think he’s great value at 6m in the FPL.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 10:12 am:
Yeah, it’s strange how Laursen is 1.0m cheaper than Lescott. I expect Villa to keep more clean sheets while Everton will be about the same as last season defensively, but there is no way that Lescott will score 8….5 maybe.
I’m actually considering getting rid of Dossena and replacing him with Laursen. With Jagielka moving into Midfield as well there is a resonable chance of picking up points, other than with clean sheets from those 2.
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What are thoughts on the hoo-ha at Man City? This was raised in the comments of another item but didn’t get much response. The only City player I am really conisdering is Petrov, but with rumours this morning suggesting Hughes may even leave is this enough to give caution to starting City players?
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Reply by Swerve on August 12, 2008 10:25 am:
Great buying regardless.
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Reply by Cerberus on August 12, 2008 10:32 am:
I’m with Swerve
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Reply by Al on August 12, 2008 11:00 am:
Thanks all for replies. Think i’ll stick with him eh.
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It’s worth starting with Petrov as the guy is outstanding, especially at 7.5m. If stuff starts to hit the fan at city it won’t be too hard to swap him out for another 7.5m mid… Arteta, Downing, Modric? Nasri?. Plenty of options.
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Who has doubts over Gerrard this year? He didnt score a great deal in 06/07, he didnt score much more in first half last season. He really picked up the points as 2nd striker last year but with Keane there that wont happen unless they go 4-5-1 with Keane out wide.
What do we think rafa will play?
At the moment im torn between Gerrard, TAylor, De rid
vs
Bentley, Downing, Malbranque
I reckon the 2nd combo is sick, but would like to play 1st combo in first few games to see if i can make money from the investments. Also, it always easier to downgrade then to upgrade.
2nd combo is more flexible - for the 8mln berth u can have nani/bentley
whilst for 7.5 you can have arteta, rosicky, babel, pertov etc
for 6.5 u have players like malbranque and bullard or opt for a cheapy and bolster elsewhere
just have a feeling the fixtures favour the first combo early doors
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 11:11 am:
hmmm, Gerrard. Difficult to tell what his role will be at this stage. Liverpool have quite good first 8 fixtures, but the fact that he’s 11.5m will put many off. May prove a must once people’s budgets have gone up a bit.
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In the Telegraph game, you cannot begin to make transfers until 27 August, yet Pompey - despite their difficult start on paper - make up the most popular defender (Johnson) and James in goal?! Am I missing something or do Pompey have a good chance of keeping clean sheets against away at Chelsea, then home to Man Yoo!? Stevie b, providing Dossena comes through the Champions League game injury free, he is a must surely to start in the frequently rotated Liverpool back four??
In midfield, I’m going with Osman to free up funds elsewhere till Cahill returns. Osman will be playing just off the Yak and Everton play all 3 promoted sides, albeit away from home.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 10:56 am:
ppl just look at scores from last season rather than the fixtures thats why. a lot of ppl are casual managers too and pick for the season not for now.
look at meite in fpl - loads of people picked him and its solely because when u filter defenders for 4mln he was last seasons top scoring 4mln defender, next popular is mcshane who was 2nd highest scorer (and hes not featured in preseason!)
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Dr Rog I don’t think Gerrard will be as effective this season.
His stats looked good last year because he was playing as that 2nd striker so to speak, keane will be doing that this year so Gerrard will be more restricted I think.
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Don’t think many will plump for Cuellar. If he’s 5m, then he may tempt one or two, but L.Young’s arrival kinda makes Cuellar a nothing buy.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 11:51 am:
Just thinking about defensive pairings. At the end of the season there’s normally 2 or 3 from the same club at the top end, Portsmouth, Everton etc, so, if you think a club will do well, it is safe to go for 2 from the same club. Surely it’s no more of a chance than having one from 5 different clubs? The upside of pairings is excellent, surely?
I was looking at Baines & Jagielka, AND L.Young & Laursen. It could cause problems in weeks where both clubs have a tough match, but Jagielka & Laursen are good bets for goals/assists/bonuses, while Baines and L.Young look like bargains…your thoughts please….
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Reply by James on August 12, 2008 11:56 am:
The downsides are terrible though. When you hit a patch of tough games where you’re not getting clean sheets, then you’re not getting them double. If you’re playing FPL it’s easy to shuffle one from each team in and out each week to satisfy the best fixtures, but having two from the same team makes that more difficult. It’s all an extra gamble too… what if Villa or Everton don’t fulfil defensive expectations? You’re taking an early hit and having to waste transfers dealing with it.
Used to play this way, and it never worked out that great. I’d only do it with defenders from the top three, but the financial impact doesn’t make it viable imo.
Saying that, I would be tempted to do it with Everton’s kushy starting fixtures, then transfer one out. I had Howard and Neville for a while, but I’ve decided against it. Baines is a more attractive prospect however.
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 12:13 pm:
But are the downsides really that bad? Everton & Villa are both big clubs. I mean, how many times will they concede 4 or more in a game? Once in the whole season? I can understand it’s a risk if we’re talking about pairings from less capable teams like bolton or newcastle or sunderland.
Actually the defenders from the likes of Everton offer excellent value, seeing as how they don’t tend to rotate their players. Defenders values tend to be quite stable as well, so GOOD pairings can only give your squad greater value, as the prices only really go up, not down for good mid-price defenders (richards, laursen, the portsmouth defence, all being good examples).
I understand what you mean about not getting clean sheets: double. BUT, you get clean sheets double, plus i’d only play 3 defenders most weeks, so you’ve still got the keeper plus the other defender to come good with some points.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 11:56 am:
stick with the bargains and spend your money on Triforce defenders who are guaranteed regular points or bolster elsewhere
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Reply by Alexi on August 12, 2008 11:59 am:
Baines looks a sure starter now with Pienaar injured as well…So ive got him and im gonna switch from Cahill to Young after first few games or so…cant ignore such great bargains if they both play!
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Reply by CK on August 12, 2008 3:10 pm:
Will Baines play midfield?
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 5:56 pm:
no. LB. Jagielka will play midfield.
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Dr Rog u at home again? or is the missus out? hehe
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 12:02 pm:
i’m at work - its not busy
how about u?
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yeah same here…at work and not too busy-u know what that means! Fantasy Football!!…how things shaping up with your side Dr. u happy?
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 12:32 pm:
very happy indeed - looking forward to another year of mediocraty and regrets
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Reply by Alexi on August 12, 2008 12:48 pm:
lol well said…thats exactly how its been for me last 2 seasons!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 12:53 pm:
the tinker-ometer has been stable for a few days now - made a couple of changes today but the core of the team is complete now.
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I think Baines and Luke Young are great value, I’ve still got carvhalo and Ferdinand for the security over the long haul.
I did start out weeks ago aiming for a strong defence with all 5 players being from the top 4 but then it became pointless when someone like Phil Neville scored more points then Carragher and was cheaper.
Both Everton and Villa should just be outside the top 4 so both sets of defences must be the next best option outside the big 4.
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i think Spurs are offering great value as well. Dont expect the Spurs of old guys…Ramos has got this team ticking even at the back.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 12:59 pm:
i think eveton will finish behind spuds, villa and pompey this year… i think those 3 teams offer better value.
pompy defenders are 5.5 so a little rich but i think i will have one in my team later in the season
spuds also 5.5 although just noticed Assou Ekoto is 4.5 (anyone?) with a reasonable shout of playing
villa offer young @ 4.5 - defo for me
baines at everton worth a punt for 5 but the rest are 6+ and not worth it, for me
laursen/bale are worth 6 for their goalscoring + clean sheet potential
from the top 4 i think you have to be looking at bosingwa and neville/brown (Depends who starts) to make up your cheap but solid defence
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Reply by Joe on August 12, 2008 1:42 pm:
I considered Assou Ekoto yesterday when Mark said that he had been playing regularly in pre-season at left back ahead of Bale. He is certainly a cheap option if he is playing regularly, but I’m not sure about risking it with my starting line-up.
I have Gary Cahill for Bolton’s kind early fixtures and it’s a simple swap if Assou Ekoto has that left back spot nailed down a month into the season, when Bolton’s fixtures get harder.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 2:03 pm:
yeah i dont understand why they dont start bale as left back - isnt that what he is anyway?? could be a new stuart peace, what with him being left footed and taking free kicks and whatnot… shame he’s welsh though
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 1:11 pm:
Nope, spurs defence will be a bit better than last, but still not as good as Evertons. I expect spurs defenders to score about the same as west hams did last season - about 105. Everton 115, Villa 115 too, Portsmouth 120. Cheap is cheerful, unless they offer something a bit special.
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i have to say im torn between 4 solid defenders, or two solids and three potential appreciaters that will get a decent few cleansheets. i wont do what every sap does..(this is my team, i shat it out last night, dont it smell good blah blah blah, im a muppet that actually thinks someone gives a shit), but what i will do is call those people annoying….YOU ANNOYING KNOBS,STOP POSTING YOUR TEAMS!!!.
now, that’ll learn em. Back to topic- 4 solids v 2 and 3 appreeciaters..its a tranny of a thai brasser!
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 3:31 pm:
here here… its got incredibly annoying… hopefully it will stop once the seasons started
2 solids, 2 appreciators, 1 bench warmer. i only play 3 at the back anyways
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Reply by stevie b on August 12, 2008 6:02 pm:
bench warmer? surely all your back 5 can be useful, even if you do only play 3 at the back (you’ll need to play 4 occasionally), because for 4.5m you can get some decent buys. At 4.0m you’re very limited.
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Reply by Dr. Rog on August 12, 2008 6:12 pm:
figeroa, pantsil to name a couple - benchwarmers who get drafted in on friendly fixtures
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Reply by James on August 12, 2008 3:33 pm:
hear hear.
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Reply by Al on August 12, 2008 4:42 pm:
Cummon guys, don’t be mean. If some folk want to post their teams and some folk are interested to reply then so be it. Bored of them? Skip them. BTW, here’s my latest eleven:
GK: god, god
DF: god, god, god, god
MID: god, god, god, god, god
F: god, satan, god (you just KNOW he’ll try harder with those two next to him.)
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Reply by James on August 12, 2008 4:53 pm:
Fair enough, but with the wealth of information already available it’s as though some people want the game played for them.
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Reply by Guy Incognito on August 12, 2008 9:27 pm:
Are you are Dr Rog’s foul-mouthed brother?
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Jim you know you are itching to tell us your team.
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Cuellar’s been added to the FPL game now folks…. he’s 5.5 mil.
so thats dashed my hopes of picking up another 4.5 mil bargain a la Luke Young, the swines :\
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Reply by Joe on August 13, 2008 2:03 pm:
The only reason Luke Young is such a bargain is because he was priced as part of a defence which is going to struggle, as part of a team expected to battle relegation.
Cuellar has been given the price he is worth.
At 5m he would have been a decent mid-price option, at 5.5m I think there are better alternatives, not least Nicky Shorey, whom he is easiest to compare to.
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Reply by Holmesy on August 13, 2008 8:50 pm:
Do you think Cuellar will play RB? That would mean young isn’t so much of a bargain anymore????
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