1958Villan

interesting post but gotta add someone from the Swiss league cuz there on the up And have been playing decent football for a few years 666 but, yes, this is the type of league we should be looking at in our present situation.

Charlie should get a mention being the longest serving player i think! So yes he should get the best ever left back spot,.Still can't decide between Gidman and Swain though, but I also could never decide between Gray and Withe for best centre forward! Gerry Hitchins left both Andy Gray and Peter Withe far behind when it came to being a centre forward.

From the Lerner years the award has to go to Nigel Reo-Coker. Slated by the vast majority of fans for being unable to hit 40 yard defence splitting passes, although that wasn't his job. He did the 'dirty' work so effectively. Defending the defence. Allowing the more attack minded players the chance to get forward and play, safe in the knowledge that if they did lose the ball, the gaps were covered by NRC. Pre-Lerner I would say Keith Leonard was never appreciated for the work he did or the skill he had, in his all too brief a career.

John Gidman at right back. Charlie Aitken at left back. Paul McGrath at centre back. Leighton Phillips as sweeper.

Really impossible to compare players isn't it unless you define which part of midfield you want to compare, otherwise it's like comparing Claude Makelele with Lionel Messi.

Taking into account our withdrawn financial position, spending as little as possible, making it impossible for us to compete with teams like WBA, Stoke and Norwich for players. I would suggest we should be looking at the leagues in Hungary and Austria. These leagues are full of young, hungry players, who have experience of playing Champions League, European football but, who would love to play in the 'best' league in the world. Players like Phillipp Hosiner a 24 year old centre forward for Austria Vienna, who has scored 9 and creted 4 from 18 games. Kevin Kampl a 23 year old attacking midfielder from Salzburg, who has scored 7 and created 10 from 17 games. Patrik Hidi a 23 year old defensive midfielder from Honved, who has scored 3 and created 1 in 17 games. Burgstaller a 24 year old leftwinger of Rapid Vienna, who can play right wing or centre forward as well and is into double figures this season.

Frimpong hasn't been the same since petrov broke him Frimpong has been coming back from the nasty injury he got playing for Wolves. Prior to that, he was putting in some decent performances, in what was to be honest, a really diabolically bad team. If we could get him playing anything like his best to date, remembering his age, I think we could have a player who would do our team a great deal of good. If we could use Benteke as a lure to get de Bruyne to join us for the last half of the season, I think our midfield would be better equipped for the run in to the seasons end. However de Bruyne himself does favour Wolfsburg, actually I think he would favour any German club over even an Athletico. He just seems at home in the German leaque.

Helenius just isn't the type of forward who fits into the way we play at present. He would be more likely to get some game time if we played a 4-4-1-1, as the first 1 after the midfield 4. For a biggish lad he definitely has great control in both feet and he looks like he would be able to pick out a pass in or near the box. Where he falls down somewhat is in his speed or quickness of movement. Given time I think this lad will be making a good contribution to our team.

Wolfsburg have a good 23 year old defensive midfielder, who can also play comfortably at centre back, in Slobodan Medojevic. Wolfsburg also have a promising young attacking midfielder in 19 year old Maximilian Arnold. Leverkusan also have a 24 year old defensive midfielder, who can also play as centre back in Stefan Reinartz. Arsenal have a young defensive midfielder who they might either loan or sell to us, in 21 year old Emmanuel Frimpong.

NO THANKS. a pile of shit that isnt good enough for the Championship, id really question Lambert if we signed shit like him Ridiculous statement. He would get a start in our team at the moment and plenty of other Premier League teams too. However he is probably out of reach financially and if we did have that sort of budget we could probably get better for the money. no way. I would actually prefer Albrighton or Brett Holman on the wing than McGeady. absolute dreadful player with zero talent at all. Even Stephen Hunt was a better winger for Ireland I lived in Glasgow and Aiden McGeady had no real idea. He used to keep on and on running into deadends. His natural game was like a ten year old plays, keep the ball for himself and never pass to someone who is better positioned. He was also totally absent when it came to working back for the team. He would have to have improved a great deal, mostly mentally to get anywhere near being good enough to play in the premiership. His present club would also want double digit millions for him in compensation for the money they paid out for him.

But then our best (i know, hard to believe) available left back, Hutton, is completely frozen out, and we were reduced to playing Clark in that position. If Lambert is not happy with you, he's not happy, and he really will cut his nose off to spite his own face. But Lowton hasn't been frozen out as he's on the bench. Just Bacuna has done such an excellent job at right back and doesn't deserve to be dropped. And since when has Hutton been a left back?

I woudn't mind seeing a decent young defensive midfielder come in to be honest. There are quite a few around who are worth a good look;- Medojevic of Wolfsburg, Can of Leverkusan, Cisse of Standard Liege, Hyland of Genk, Trompet of Lokeren, van Roose or van Acker of Cercle Brugge, are just a few examples. A good defensive midfielder can allow you options for the whole team set up, allowing a back line of three to be utilised. A good DM can also allow seven or eight other players to get forward because he offers protection. A good DM has good lateral movement, to go with his good central defensive abilities.

villan_007 has it right about the amount of moaning that 'supporters' do. I think that most of the problem is to do with people wanting it all now, not in two or three seasons time, never mind in ten years from now. People want results, no matter how the team play and yet, when the team get a result people want to see a well crafted game. That all comes in time and supporters have to be patient, ready to take the downs with the ups. I have no worries about the manager we have at the present time. I am sure he will get things wrong sometimes but, I'm equally sure that he will get things right the majority of the time. My suggestion is to sit back and enjoy the ride.

I don't think Clark will ever be a stand out centre-back. I don't think his physicality is the problem either, I think his problem is mental. I don't doubt that he will have very good games at centre-back for us but, he will revert to type in games where he is pressured. By revert to type, I mean he will continue to dive in and spend most of his time on his backside, instead of shepherding players into non-productive area's. He could learn from someone like Jores Okore but, the question is, is he willing to learn from someone who is two or three years his junior, somehow I doubt it.

All this praise for Guzan and yet two seasons ago, he was being slagged unmercifully by 95% of supporters on various sites. Brad has always been an excellent shot-stopper, hence his amazing record in penalty saves. I always thought that his problem was in not shouting orders at his back-line, or commanding his area. He has obviously worked at commanding his area,ie coming out for crosses. I think his initial reluctance in shouting orders at his back-line, could be put down to his age and the ages and experience of his then back-line. It takes a big ego to shout at experienced international defenders when you are in your early twenties. So having replaced Dunne and co, with younger players, has probably done Guzan a world of good.

Actually I wouldn't mind seeing Marc being given a chance of filling the attacking midfielder role. Marc, I believe, is a confidence player and his confidence was shot to pieces under our last manager. Hardly surprising when he was playing right midfield and publicly blamed for a goal that came from our left. I think it will take time and a lot of arm on shoulder to get him back to what he was achieving, whether it is possible or not, I am unsure.

While Gareth Barry is a good player and will do a good job for any number of premier clubs, I don't think Villa is one of them. Yes he does play in the position we need but, his lack of pace has become more noticeable lately and while playing in the City team, he is surrounded by players who can cover him, at Villa he wouldn't be. We need some one with that bit more mobility I'm afraid.

I'd love to see Anderlecht's Lucas Biglia at the Park. He can play either defensive midfield, or the more advanced central midfield role. Playing defensive midfield he scored 5 and made 9 goals in 36 games last season. He is 27 and would cost between £5 and £10 million. He is an Argentine international but carries an Italian passport. He has vast experience and stays calm under pressure. Every transfer window he is mentioned with Clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham, AC and Inter Milan etc but, I could see him buying into the club with the manager we have.

I am waiting to see what Helenius does when he's given a chance, probably in the cup games. He is a big guy with what looks like good ball control and an eye, not only for goal but, for playing in players better positioned than he is. He could very well become the Beneteke replacement, when Beneteke leaves. I am also looking forward to seeing Okore play. He looked quite pacy playing in his home league but, it is hard to judge when he didn't play against players who we know are speedy. I think of the five, Tonev will settle quickest of them all.

Honda is a freebie. His contract expires at the end of the month. Even so I can't see him going to anything but a Champions League club.

I will only repeat what I said about Clark last year. For a player so many rate so highly, CC ends up on his backside far too easily and far too often, trying to make last ditch tackles, most of which he misses. On the other hand Baker stays on his feet longer and only goes to ground when needed. Clark is not now and probably never will be, a central defender. He does however show some intelligence and could develop into a useful defensive midfielder, in a few years time. As for the comparisons to Cahill, as defenders they are probably on a par. Cahill had great status at Villa because of one game where he scored against the new enemy, I refer to B'ham City. I am of an age to remember when our rivals were WBA.

Agreed Morpheus. Lucas Biglia of Anderlecht provided more assists, 6, from a defensive midfield position last season, as well as more goals.

As a few have said, this is a non-starter, especially after PL signed Bacuna, both of them being attacking midfielders.

It would be nice to get the Benteke situation sorted as soon as possible, thereby giving PL as much time to get a replacement as possible. I actually like the idea of us signing Wilfried Bony whether Benteke goes or not. Bony can play as the out and out striker, as a second striker and as an attacking midfielder. Much more versatility to his play. Other than that, I'd be quite pleased if we went for Phillipp Hosinger of FK Vienna. He scored 32 goals in 36 league matches last season, so at least he knows where the net is.

Sounds like a Dutch Holman Bacuna has been played mostly as an attacking midfielder, although he can play on the right wing or at rightback. His play as an attacking midfielder, does at present, leave a lot to be desired, especially as he only created two assists all last season. I heard he only cost £850k+, so I don't suppose he will be too much of a gamble, especially if he doesn't work out as an AM and gets converted to a winger or full/wing back successfully.