By Dave Woodhall.

Coming back from a fortnight of sun and high living I cast my eye around the Astonian happenings and, well, there’s not much going on. At least, not in the right direction.

Stewart Downing’s buggered off to Liverpool for £20 million and they’re welcome to him. I’ve never subscribed to the doctrine of “If they don’t want to play for the club get rid and bring in someone who does” – I’d rather find out why he wants to leave and try to do something about it. Saying that though, Downing joined Villa with a serious injury, was unable to play for us for several months, and when he did get into the side it took him some time to settle in. One decent season, where he still scarcely managed to go in for a challenge, and he’s away. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this time next year he’s making noises about wanting to play in the Champions League (which Liverpool won’t have qualified for) and talking hopefully about a move further along the M62. £20 million might not be downright robbery, but it’s definitely Villa who have had the best end of this deal.

Of course, the sales of Downing and Ashley Young have led to accusations, particularly in the national media, that Villa are a selling club. Of course we are – so is every other club in the world, with the exception of maybe half a dozen. Even Manchester City are having trouble holding on to Carlos Tevez. Football is a food chain – you sign players from clubs below you then they go to clubs above. The trick is to be able to pick them up cheaply and know when to sell them, then invest the profits wisely.

Also seemingly on his way is Carlos Cuellar, with Villa and Rangers reported to have agreed a £2 million fee for the defender. Cuellar has always confused me; he’s appeared to be a decent if not exactly top-rate player who has never let the team down whenever he’s been picked. However, if you include caretakers the four managers for whom he’s played have all seemed reluctant to use him, particular in his proper central position. They can’t all have been wrong.

Cuellar also didn’t appear too fussed about not getting a game. Either he was too polite and/or dedicated to the Villa to make waves, or he was content to pick up a hefty wage cheque without doing too much work. I’d like to think it was the former, but this is a Premier League player we’re talking about so I won’t hold out much hope. There certainly hasn’t been much interest in Cuellar since his Villa Park days have seemed numbered, which makes me think that it’s not just our managers who don’t rate him too highly.

All these departures mean that players should start moving in the opposite direction soon. Shay Given’s arrival from Manchester City is imminent, and if he can stay injury-free the experienced Irish keeper should provide a few years of reliable service which will make his £3.5 million fee a bargain. It seemed that Given would be quickly followed by Wigan winger Charles N’Zogbia but that deal appears to have hit a snag and Fiorentina’s Peruvian international Juan Manual Vargas has now been linked with a move to Villa. Scott Dann could also be the next target from the St Andrews fire sale. Given, Dann, a right-back and either winger for anything like the Downing money will be a very good piece of business. Signing both N’Zogbia and Vargas would show Villa still have ambition. By this time next week we should have a clearer indication of where we now stand in that food chain.