M_Afro

What does whatbyiu mean? I think I’ll suspend judgement until it’s written in black and white none gibberish! On a more positive note, the odds on him staying are starting to shorten. That’s a much more positive sign.

If we are being honest, as enjoyable as it was winning those games, we were lucky to beat Arsenal, Leeds and Chelsea. We were dominated in all of those matches and were reliant on missed chances and good goal keeping/defending to win.

The biggest issue for me is how often they give the ball away needlessly. We are not always that great at winning the ball in the first place so then to just give it away is infuriating! McGinn and Luiz are both guilty of some shockingly poor passing at times. McGinn also gets dispossessed way too often whilst trying to arse his way out of trouble!

I have nothing against the guys in question and I am very grateful to them all for the part they’ve played in our renaissance but if we could get decent coinage for McGinn, Conor and AEG then I would not be against selling any of them. None of them are at the required level now and although they could play a part still, if we could get a decent return to re-invest in younger players then we should do it. They are all so wasteful in possession and it drives me mad!

He did. I am not trying to credit him. You are right to pull me up on it. There was a general malaise around the whole performance which was frustrating.

Feel for the big man. He’s had a really rubbish couple of years. Have some compassion people. For now, he is a Villa boy and he deserves a bit more of a chance before we all write him off. He did not channel it in the right way of course but he was literally the only person to show any passion today. The rest just strolled through the match.

This is going to be an interesting thread if we don’t sign any new midfielders for next season. We have some decent players but none of them are top half premier league yet! As many have said we need pace, power and physicality. The second Stoke goal today was a classic example of one of the key reasons that Emi had to make so many saves last season. Parting of the Red Sea!

100% correct. It is so obvious. I just don’t understand what Dean is seeing.

Interesting reaction from Wes! I am not sure what happened but the ref had no choice. The Stoke lad was lucky though.

Been terrible today so far

Agree with this. He is a great squad man. Always gives 100% and wins clubman of the year every season but he is not good enough for where we are now.

Very good so far. Looked much better than SJM

I think he’s been good so far. The goal was 100% on Steer

I am happy for AEG to be part of the squad but I would also sell if anyone offered £10m+. He is a good lad but my goodness he is limited. He gets turned over so much, rarely takes on his man and never passes if he gets a sniff of goal. It feels like a natural time for us to part to be honest.

We don’t need him having already convinced Young to Come Home

I saw that. I really hope it’s not true. The kid has no football brain in my opinion. Bailey is twice the player James will ever be!

Johan is obviously working hard on stuff in the background. As Dean said before the end of the season, a lot of work had already commenced on potential signings. I suspect the profile of player that we are now after will complicate and string out negotiations and we may face much greater competition. All of this will delay matters. We have to dig deep here people and trust the process. We have serious people in charge now.

We are in a good position with AEG. If a decent bid comes in we should sell him and cash in whilst he is possibly close to peak value. Otherwise let him be a useful part of the squad. He is a good pro and will continue to work hard even if he isn’t playing. It’s a pretty good position to be in.

Watch Ted Lasso and This Way Up. Both incredibly well written and performed and incredibly human.

The balloon commences it’s deflation! Come on man. Get excited and ride the wave for a bit before dousing us all with realism. Johan has got this!

Finally a trip to YouTube is due! Hoorah to villareport (the lying sod!)

Can’t believe I am going to take the bait but here goes! It’s not that we don’t think we need options. In a perfect world we would sign Tammy and be grateful to have him. However we have limited funding and need to spend it wisely in adding the greatest overall value to the team. If you played Tammy as a lone striker, with our current midfield, he would be totally isolated and frustrated. We get away with it at the moment because of the unbelievable work that Ollie puts in every week. If you played him up front with Ollie it would be even worse as we would be even weaker in midfield. We need to address the midfield before anything else. Maybe then we can look at the forwards in the next summer. Our midfield 3 do not work well together. It’s even worse when we play a 2. We also cannot be in a position that Trez and AEG are starting so many games for us. We also need another goalie and a centre back. Until this is addressed we will have to rely on Ollie and Wes with support from the other lads as required. This is not about Villa fans lacking ambition or having a small club mentality. It’s about appreciating the natural order of progression. That’s just my opinion. I respect yours, I just don’t agree with it.

Worst thread ever! That’s all.

Bettinelli would be a great signing. He is capable of being a number 1 and will provide competition to Emi.

I think that there’s a bit in this Will Hughes rumour. He only has a year left on his contract and is refusing to sign a new one. He is currently training away from the rest of the team according to a mate of mine who supports Watford. He is certain that Hughes is off to another PL club. It was reported that Shakespeare is a massive fan. Seems possible I think.