The transfer itself isn't anything special (you could argue that Bent isn't worth that much but that's what you have to pay these days if you want a striker with such great stats). What bothers me is that a club who's been at the same level as Everton over the last years (and struggling against relegation this year) can spend that much money in January for one player, however Everton can't even spend 10-12m for Donovan (who wants to play for this club and has proven that he'd help the team). What makes Villa more attractive than Everton for investors? Why did Randy Lerner buy them and not us? They share the city with another PL club just like we do, we both have an American goalkeeper, both are clubs with great tradition. So what's the difference?