M_Afro

Very soon Steero. Very soon indeed!

I’ve just watched his press conference. Where you get that from I’ve no idea! He is remaining tight lipped but said that we are working hard behind the scenes.

Nope because if we get a bit of luck we could do better. The point is, it wouldn’t necessarily be awful because our squad, in my opinion, is not as good as some make out. It may only take a couple of well thought out signings to change that but we aren’t there yet.

Gerrard has repeatedly stated that he wants an 8. He identified this very early. It’s Lange’s job to get that done. So far, in the 2 transfer windows that Gerrard has been in charge, plus some during Dean’s tenure, he has failed. Gerrard has also stated that McGinn being captain does not make him an automatic starter.

We don’t have an incredible squad in my view. We have been awful for a long time because our squad isn’t very good. Apart from a weird period when the world went mad during the initial lock down, we have consistently been relegation fodder. Most of our players have never performed consistently well in the PL. If we sort out our midfield with 2 quality players then I would say we have a starting eleven that is somewhere between the 9th and 14th best starting eleven in the league. We do have a bit more depth now but the starting eleven hasn’t really improved that much.

If we sacked him now, what do you think that prospective replacement managers would think? I suspect that any decent ones would avoid us like the plague. They are not risking their reputations on a club with a long history of under performing and an ownership with no patience. Fortunately our owners are patient and intelligent. Gerrard is not getting sacked anytime soon. Maybe if things are looking truly disastrous at the WC break, then they may consider their options but ahead of that nothing will happen and I really believe that our time as supporters would be better spent really getting behind the team. The overwhelming negative energy is really destructive.

Blimey! I like your confidence but I’ve thought the same for more windows than I care to remember only to be left disappointed and bewildered! Despite both Dean and Gerrard identifying it as a priority it just hasn’t happened so far. I wonder if Lange has a different view and refuses to put much effort into it. Whatever the truth is, I think it’s Lange who should come under pressure if it doesn’t happen.

I think it’s clear that Villa like a bargain. We have our valuation for players and if they become available then we will swoop. The problem with this is that if they do not come available at the right price, then we seem to do nothing! We simply cannot end another window without fully addressing our pitiful midfield. To me that means 2 more midfielders. If we have to pay over the odds to get it done, then that’s what we must do. It’s simply not acceptable to let another window drift by without fully addressing this major weakness. I would be looking to go for two physical, big, athletic players similar to Sangare. Get these in and I’m sure that in time, the defence and attack would look much better without any further additions. It would be nice to get another centre back and another pacy forward but the priority has to be the midfield. Anything else would be a massive bonus. The support that we have had from NSWE has been fantastic but I really feel we are at a critical part of our progression. If they are really serious about their intentions then now is not the time to back off. We must go for it! Hopefully this will happen over the next few days. If it doesn’t, then it’s going to be another very disappointing season, regardless of who the manager is.

At least we’ll be on TV

Away yet again!!! Do we ever get drawn at home? Good job Utd are rubbish!

To be fair. I like Hause but Bednarek is much better than him.

Could be. Bednarek plays on the right and the other links were left sided. I’d be happy with Diallo on a permanent deal and Bednarek on loan. Of course it’s all fairly immaterial if we are still starting SJM and JJ as our engine room.

If we don’t sort the central midfield out in this transfer window, then this guy has some serious questions to answer. It’s been an issue for his entire tenure and still we wait. It’s all very well waiting for the perfect midfielder (JWP, Bissouma, Phillips) but if we can’t get them, it’s his job to sort suitable alternatives. There are plenty of options available. Lots of people questioning the players that he has bought in but it’s the ones that we haven’t bought which is more damning in my view. Sort it out Johan!!

I can’t believe the amount of love this guy gets for doing absolutely nothing for us for nearly two years. Do you really think he wouldn’t be playing if he was any good?! Compare that to the amount of abuse that McGinn gets and it makes me sad. McGinn has given everything to our club, every single day, for 4 years and he gets pelters and this chump gets heralded like some kind of deity! Villa Social Media needs to take a long hard look at itself.

That’s interesting. We had our best run of form under Gerrard when Nakamba was starting, before he got injured. Gerrard even said that he was an important player for us. Since then he hasn’t been given a sniff! I actually don’t think that he is the answer. He is just not PL standard but he certainly offers more physicality, energy and passion into the middle of the park. I think we need a bigger, better version of Nakamba. I thought that this would be the first purchase we made in the summer and yet we still wait. I did wonder whether Tim had progressed so much in the summer that Gerrard thought he was ready and yet he isn’t even making the squad! It’s all a bit odd and very frustrating. I will remain in hope up until the end of the window but if this is not properly addressed then Gerrard will be gone before he gets chance to address it again.

I am warming to the Sarr signing which does make a lot of sense but please, please, please, please ffs sign a big, strong, athletic, powerful, ball winning, destroyer of a centre mid too. I can’t watch another game where I spend 90 minutes wondering if JJ and SJM have slipped down a wormhole into another dimension, only to realise that they have both been chasing shadows on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes (not their fault as they are both being asked to do something totally unsuited to them!)

Not sure how this kid keeps escaping criticism. I just don’t see a PL full back at all. He just doesn’t know how to defend and he has zero football intelligence. Nice hair though so that must count for something!

He is absolutely nowhere near good enough to play in the Prem. It’s odd that Gerrard picks him ahead of Chambers. I still support Gerrard but even I’m not going to bother trying to defend that one. Konsa is so weak, half asleep most of the time and awful with the ball. I would 100% pick Hause ahead of him because he is at least brilliant in the air and hard as they come.

I agree with much of your post but the highlighted bit is just not true. Hardly any of our players have any history of performing consistently in the PL. I rarely look at our 11, compared to the team we are playing and think we look better. Our midfield is the worst in the PL. Even an utterly awful Bournemouth bossed us a couple of weeks ago. I’m amazed and appalled that we have only signed one centre midfielder so far this summer. I would have signed three before even considering anybody else.

Would love Poch but there’s no way he would come. I doubt Potter would come either. We could maybe tempt Rodgers given the current shit show at Leicester. I know it’s hard but we really need to back Gerrard for now. I admit that it’s been poor for a while and he’s been making some utterly mind baffling decisions but we just need to get behind him and hope he comes good. Changing the manager is not going to change the imbalance in our squad. Let’s keep behind him until the WC break and then reassess. Surely we can do that?!

He always looks much better when used as an impact sub. I think it’s the same for Bailey too. The problem is, we don’t really have anybody better to start. I can actually see why Gerrard prefers to start him as a sub though. Particularly away from home, I would play an extra midfield player to try and contain the opposition and then introduce Emi later on in the game.

Sarr is big, strong, fast and athletic. We need more players with these attributes for sure. If we could get at least one centre mid and a centre half with the same attributes then we would certainly become less like a kitten rolling over to have his tummy tickled when we play. I am warming to this but we must get at least two more, otherwise the gain is marginal at best. Just to be clear, Bednarek does not fulfill these criteria.

I like Sarr. He is a good player…………but please sign some midfield players ffs!!!!! Our forwards are ok. Not brilliant but ok. We desperately need two central midfield players. Buy those and the season will take care of itself. Even the defending would improve significantly by getting the right people in front of them. This is so frustrating now,

True mate. I think we need to start Tim and Bouba every match from now on. Tim is young but he gives us presence in the middle and he is brilliant at protecting the defence and winning the ball back.

The thing is. With our chosen formation and especially away from home John (and JJ) should only play as one of the 10’s. We need a solid midfield, ie Bouba and two more and then one of Phil/Emi, one of John/JJ and Ollie.