Nerding Out: Bradley Joins the AV Club.

Anyone know if there's a way to watch the Villa/Fulham match on TV? Dish? DirectTV? I know FSC has it on tape delay...but that used to mean some pubs would carry the game too. Was kind of hoping to see it live...

 

atdhe

 

foxsoccer.tv will have it live. It's a little pricey but I have been able to see many good games live and worry free this season. Worth it if you can spare the $.

 

Pretty sure Holden was injured when he first signed on with the team.

EDIT: Yeah... a niggle that kept him out of some games early on.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/preview?id=270003&cc=5901

 

Of course there will. That's one of the things BS/YAs does best!

 

I knew Homeland Security was a bad idea! Dammit!

 

http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2284752,00.html

Lots of quotes from him in that article too...

 

I think everything about the situation indicates it would have been even sooner had it not been for the injury.

We'll see how Bradley does at a better club.

 

What do the standings say?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-time_FA_Premier_League_table

 

Mikey has his international clearance, can debut tomorrow against Fulham

 

. . . Boom.

 

If you've been reading the villa website, you'll know they have really been hyping up Bradley. More evidence:

http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2285367,00.html

I just wonder if this loan is a mere formality, because all this promotion seems excessive for a loan signing.

 

Don't read too much into promotions. This ain't MLS. Everything will have to be earned between the lines.

 

Er, I don't think that was his point.

 

Thanks for that. I just don't remember a Villa loan signing getting this much hype. He's getting more hype than most permanent signings they've made.

 

Then what was his point? He wondered if the loan was a "mere formality" because of all this promotion. My point is, unlike in MLS, where Michael Wilbon went off when MLS "cheated the fans" by not starting Freddy Adu after all the hype, in the EPL, no one's going to run away from Villa Park feeling cheated tomorrow if they don't get to see the guy who was on the Match Day program.

 

That's still not the point. The point is about whether we should be interpreting Aston Villa's heavy promotion of Bradley as a sign that they consider him permanent. They are promoting him as if he's a new signing, not as a player who will be hanging around for three months. In other words, perhaps the "loan" is a mere formality ahead of a permanent summer signing, which Aston Villa regards as a done deal.

If you want to disagree with McGarnagle, that's what you have to disagree with.

 

Whatever the case, it seems like the fans are eagerly awaiting his debut, if message boards are any indication.

 

So you think putting him on the cover of tomorrow's program could possibly mean that AV consider Bradley a permanent player? OK then...

Maybe the pressure's off then. My bad.

 

Bradley in the provisional squad http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1353702/ASTON-VILLA-v-Fulham-Loan-signing-Michael-Bradley-line-debut.html

The Guardian has him on the sub's bench. [amendment: he is listed as a potential sub, not necessarily on the bench]

 

First of all, *I* don't think anything here. This was McGarnagle's observation. I was just trying to explain it to you, because you seemed to be misreading it.

And his post wasn't simply about a program cover. It was about "all this promotion." He said all this promotion has "seemed excessive for a (mere) loan signing."

I mean, if you want to dispute that, go for it. But you were instead disputing something nobody was talking about.

 

I said the combination of everything they have done with him on the website...they paraded him all around Villa park and took pictures and videos everywhere, had two long exclusive video interviews, had several behind the scenes videos, had other players on the team talking him up, are giving away a custom pair of Bradley boots and putting him on the cover of the matchday program.

It could be nothing, it's just interesting how much they're promoting him. Meanwhile Kyle Walker got almost no fanfare.

 

It reminds me of the heavy promotion Donovan got last year at Everton.