And there off! The race to the exit door at Villa Park is louder than Stewart Downing squeal when confronted with a fifty fifty challenge.

Poor Darren Bent, when he signed for the Villa he waxed lyrical about playing with Ashley Young and Stewart Downing and now we’ve sold his supply chain.

But both are different cases.

Good Luck to Ashley Young. He earnt his transfer to a team that can offer him Champions League football which he deserves.

Ok he didn’t play that well last season, he was learning his trade as a second striker, a stronger manager would have kept him on the wing where he was an impact player.

Ashley Young always reminded of drug-dealing crime king pin Marlo from The Wire.

As well as both having eyes that are unnaturally far apart and both liking birds they both came in mid-season and though didn’t make a massive splash straight away you could tell they would be the main man before long.

We had one wonderful season with Young when he was supreme, winning games by himself, who can forget that winner against Everton at Goodison Park?

The next season every defence was set up to stop him and then last season well he was in a rubbish team and seemed to spend half his time on the floor and the rest arguing with officials.

However, it seemed to me he gave his all every time he put a Villa shirt on. And when it was obvious the club had been blown out of the water by Man City and Champions League became a distant dream, he always was going to leave.

He just said I’m not talking about my future and that was that. No insincere declarations of love, promises to stay and no playing his face either. In fact when he was captain his problem was that he was trying too hard.

So who can blame him for going to Manchester United? I dont. And we made a healthy profit. About as good as it gets for a top class feeder club like us. Like Marlo he’s gone on to better things.

Now Stewart Downing is a different matter. We bought him when he was injured. Not a little injured, massively injured. We paid his wages for months knowing that even when he was fit it would take time to get back to his best.

“He needs a full pre-season,” was the mantra at the Villa and when he had one he was our best player for first 20 games last season and then he faded.

I’ve seen some bottlers down the Villa in my time but none as bad as him, it was like watching Willow the Whisp enter a tackle, a jellyfish has more of a spine than him.

And he missed some glaring chances in big games. And he liked to talk. About either unhappy he was or how he’d stick with the Villa if we got relegated.

When he got a regular spot in the England squad, which shows the weakness of our national team, he started making noises about bigger clubs. And sure enough, when Liverpool came in for him he’s made it clear he wanted to go showing no loyalty to the club who had faith in him when he was injured.

Liverpool are mirroring our recent history, an optimistic American owner trying to buy his way into the Top Four, they will fail, their billionaire isn’t as rich as Man City’s and Chelsea’s and they are streets behind Man Utd.

But thank you very much for taking the lightweight off our hands for an inflated price. He wont be a Liverpool legend, he’ll be sold within two years because he’ll be found out up there.

Have they signed his invisible friend too? You know the one he kept on passing to.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Up the Villa

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