Martin O'Neill has been given a relatively easy ride by Aston Villa fans who have generally kept faith with the Ulsterman's management style.But his move to sign Darren Bent from Spurs could tip supporters over the edge.
O'Neill is apparently ready to pay in the region of £12m for the striker Harry Redknapp simply cannot wait to see the back of at White Hart Lane and the grumblings of discontent are already circulating around Villa Park.
After missing out on the free transfer of Michael Owen, who understandably chose Manchester United instead, O'Neill knows signing a striker of proven pedigree is of crucial importance.
John Carew, Gabriel Agbonlahor and the incredibly fragile Emile Heskey are the only experienced forwards in his squad.
The pertinent question Villa fans are asking is where does Bent fit into that mix as they look to make another bid this season to gatecrash the Premier League top four.
He may have finished as the 17-goal top scorer at Spurs, but with a salary of £90,000-a-week that also will be way beyond Villa's wages structure, meaning the striker would have to take almost a 50 per cent pay cut.
If waiting for the notoriously hesitant O'Neill (now being referred to by Villa fans as Martin No'Deal) to move in the summer market is becoming something of a theme, Villa supporters are now torn between wanting action soon and avoiding a growing list of transfer bloopers that have done little to improve the quality of the squad over the last two seasons.
O'Neill spent £23m on Marlon Harewood, Nicky Shorey, Zat Knight and Carlos Cuellar and all are now viewed with, at best, suspicion and, at worst, downright derision. The supporters fear that Bent will fall into the same category.
Much of their frustration is also centred on O'Neill's failure to conclude a deal for Standard Leige's highly-rated Belgian international Steven Defour, who has been on the club's wanted list for over 12 months and is available at a similar price to that of Bent.
With the loss of Gareth Barry, sold to Manchester City and Martin Laursen, who has been forced to retire with a degenerative knee injury, O'Neill is under no illusions that he needs to strengthen a squad that fell away so lamentably over the last two months of last season.
"We are looking forward to the new season very much and I am fully aware that I need to strengthen and supplement the squad to make it stronger this season," said O'Neill.
"We have lost a couple of key players so there are obvious and immediate replacements that we are looking to bring in. I am hoping that we will be able to add to the squad over the next couple of weeks.
"It is not that easy to do. We want to bring in quality players to make sure we improve. There is money to spend, but it will have to be spent correctly and not just for the sake of it."
