However Barkley perceives himself, I would argue he is a) no longer the player he was b) not a team player c) needs to grow up.

His ‘look at me’ tactics when he was subbed spoke volumes and was disgraceful.

I am really at a loss to understand why Barkley keeps playing. Either he is not fit, not interested, has it written that he must play at least 60 mins or thinks he is owed a living. When he went off SJM started to run the show. Keep playing Barkley and kiss goodbye to any lingering hope of a Euro place. 

4 minutes ago, Uncle Albert said:

I actually found out yesterday but didn't want the hassle of putting it on here and getting bombarded!  It's a stress fracture so I'd say at least 6 weeks

Is this straight up?

On 06/02/2021 at 20:45, Delphinho123 said:

I don’t know about you, but I feel this is a problem area for us at the moment and one that seems to have developed more as the season has gone on. I thought Luiz and McGinn started the season pretty well but both have tailed off in my opinion. 

One thing I’ve noticed in the last few matches is how easily teams are playing through us. I watched Barkley closely against West Ham and Arsenal and he literally jogs around, not tracking men and marking space. Could this be the reason it looks so unbalanced at the moment? Is Ross under instruction not to track back. 

I can’t quite put my finger on it but that area of the pitch seems a problem for us and I’m not sure who our best three are to start matches. 

Persoanlly, I’d like us to go with Luiz, McGinn and Sanson/Ramsey next match as I don’t think Barkley is up to it nor do I think he deserves a start. He seems to make us worse as a unit in there. 

Don’t really want to turn this into a Barkley criticism thread but interested to see what everyone thinks. 

We have a thread for Summer speculation but I’d put a big, strong defensive midfielder at the very top of the list. 

UTV.

Haven’t been on VT for a while but said exactly this to some friends during tonights game. Clearly the emphasis on an attacking midfield and breaking football has worked quite a few times this season but arguably we have been found out now. Over several games Barkley has been a passenger (I know he scored but that was it) who when involved invariably complicates things - I am not sure what he adds. Targett and Grealish have a good understanding, when Barkley gets involves he overplays and almost slows Grealish up.. For a guy who is known to be skillful on the ball, at times his short passing and speed on the ball is terrible. As the OP suggests, I agree it is time to try three in middle, maybe pushing SJM more forward, with Luiz and Sansom.

Villa fans need to stop obsessing over what manure or others think of our players - we are no longer a feeder club. Over the next few seasons with the right investment and kids coming through we could easily be among the top 4-6 and challenging for more. The current ‘top 6’ (whoever they now are) do not have a divine right to be there.

Huge praise for the lad in todays Times

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/carney-chukwuemeka-aston-villa-confident-their-rising-star-17-has-what-it-takes-to-be-next-big-england-thing-czz9mccxg

Carney Chukwuemeka: Aston Villa confident their rising star, 17, has what it takes to be next big England thing

Carney Chukwuemeka, 17, is widely considered to be not only one of the best players coming out of Birmingham but the entire country. The attacking midfielder’s swift progression to the first team, training under the head coach Dean Smith since last summer, meant that Chukwuemeka was part of the group that went into isolation for the third-round tie after a Covid-19 outbreak.

Last year Christian Purslow, the Villa chief executive, described him as “probably the best 16-year-old in England”. Having represented England at youth level, Chukwuemeka is believed to have the potential to follow in the footsteps of the club captain Jack Grealish by breaking into the first team.

He is also the latest on a conveyor belt of talent coming out of the Midlands. Chukwuemeka is in the year group below Jude Bellingham, the former Birmingham City midfielder who moved to Borussia Dortmund last summer. It is understood that Chukwuemeka has had offers from the Bundesliga but believes that his talent will help him to break through in the Premier League.

At 6ft 1in, he has the physical presence of a dominant box-to-box midfielder. Yet he is deployed as a No 10 for the under-23 side because of the outstanding technical ability that grabbed the attention of staff four years ago.

Chukwuemeka has been with the club since the age of 13, having been spotted by Villa when rising through Northampton Town’s academy sides. His older brother, Caleb, also played for Northampton and is still at the Sky Bet League One club.

Chukwuemeka, 17, competes for the ball with Mark Duffy during Aston Villa Under-21’s defeat by the League One side Fleetwood Town in the EFL Trophy in October

PAUL CURRIE/BPI/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

The pair were born in Austria to Nigerian parents and moved to England at a young age. It was clear to Northampton that Carney had more talent, with Manchester City among the clubs looking to prise him away. Chukwuemeka chose Villa with the belief that the pathway to the first team would have fewer obstacles.

He signed a three-year deal at Villa Park in October when he turned 17. “We have been really pleased with his development and feel this contract will provide him with the platform to become a first-team player,” Mark Harrison, the academy manager, said at the time.

Yet, because of Chukwuemeka’s vast potential, City have kept tabs on him, as have Manchester United and Liverpool, while Juventus and Bayern Munich have monitored his development closely.

At Villa, there is little doubt that Chukwuemeka will be the next big thing out of England, following in the footsteps of Bellingham and Jadon Sancho. They just hope it happens in claret and blue.

Hope I have done this right.   Very sad to say the Guardian is reporting the passing of former Villa Manager Tommy Docherty  RIP Tommy you gave me one of the best years ever as a Villa fan

“He’s up Mrs Brown.... “

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/31/tommy-docherty-former-manchester-united-and-scotland-manager-dies-aged-92

Tommy Docherty at the centre of Manchester United’s celebrations after winning the 1977 FA Cup final. Photograph: Allsport Msi/ALLSPORT

Docherty died at home in the north-west on 31 December. A family spokesperson said in a statement released to the PA news agency: “Tommy passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at home. He was a much-loved husband, father and papa and will be terribly missed. We ask that our privacy be respected at this time. There will be no further comment.

small heath getting smaller by the day. (if that is possible)

0-3 in 25 minutes at home. Hopefully Derby can make it 0-6 or 0-8 would be even nicer.

1 minute ago, DCJonah said:

He's ill.

He didn’t mention specifics. Commentator said earlier he was ill

Quite funny that Amazon could only find a female footballer who is a bluenose as a pundit for our game. 

In the reactions thread  I said that Jack is the best Villa player I have seen during my 61 years watching the club and I stick by that despite my hero worship of Brian Little. However, unsurprisingly there are those that dispute this and credit Paul McGrath aka God as the best ever. Obviously it will not be possible to get a consensus but could Jack be the Son of God? After all like Jesus (and Brian Little) he walks on water and is working miracles at AVFC  

Incredible performance. Grealish is the best Villa player I have seen in my 61 years following the club. 
 

Hopefully some time this season we will get full credit rather than the constant claims that we won because our opponents were poor.  

Rough with the smooth. 

44 minutes ago, MadridVilla said:

Great piece in the Spanish media: The Villans revolutionise the Premier League.

https://as.com/futbol/2020/10/19/internacional/1603129935_830235.html

To see an unbeaten start like this from Aston Villa, you have to go back to the 1930-31 season. Then in the old first division, the Villans of Birmingham were again in second place, only behind Arsenal who also started with 4 wins.

Now, 90 years later, they have equalled this historic start after making an unbeaten start in the Premier League. 1-0 against Sheffield United, 0-3 against Fulham, 7-2 against Liverpool in a scoreline that went around the world, and 0-1 against Leicester to complete their winning start. In total, they have 12 points from 12 possible, scoring 12 goals and conceding 2. Villa are second behind Everton, with Ancelotti, James and co.

You shouldn't forget that 3 months ago, Villa managed to save themselves on the last day of the Premier League. It was a resurrection that came just in time, after seemingly being destined for the drop and it seemed their days were numbers in their first season back in the top flight. It was 4 games, paradoxically, that changed their destiny (2 wins and 2 draws) and was enough to secure their ticket for the Premier League next season.

To change the dynamic, the success in the last transfer window has been key. And they invested almost 85 million euros. Firstly, there has been a jump in the quality of the goalkeeper and defence. Emiliano Martínez, who arrived from Arsenal having won two trophies as the Gunners keeper (and still couldn't secure a spot in the starting XI), has elevated the level between the sticks for Aston Villa. 3 clean sheets in the 4 games they have played leaves him as the best keeper in the league. Also, alongside the partnership of Konsa and Mings and Targett, they added the right back Cash, who arrived having been the player of the season for Nottingham Forest.

In the middle, Dean Smith maintains the 2 midfielders with the brazilian Douglas Luiz and the scot John McGinn, who after his injuries will return to be one of the faithful squires of Villa Park. Playing the 'enganche' role, another quality reinforcement: Ross Barkley. The ex-England international arrives on loan from Chelsea, where his importance gradually fell and he finds himself aiming to relaunch his career (he scored the winning goal against Leicester).

On one of the wings they have kept the Egyptian Trezeguet. On the other, their main star Jack Grealish. With hair slicked back in the style of the Peaky Blinders and socks rolled down showing his shins, he shows quality in abundance. After nearly 5 seasons knocking on the door for England selection, Gareth Southgate gave him his debut after his impeccable start to the season: 4 goals and 3 assists were enough to pull on the 3 lions shirt. And upfront, Ollie Watkins is the gunner of the team. 5 goals, including a hat-trick against Liverpool in 35 minutes, are starting to pay off the 30 million fee that Villa paid to take him from Brentford.

A story that many have found similarities with is that of what happened with the fairy tale of Leicester City: from avoiding relegation at the last moment, to winning the Premier League. However, you have to remember that Aston Villa were European champions in 1981-82, as well as winning 7 league titles, 7 FA Cups, 5 League Cups and a European Super Cup. It's a more than enviable honours list of a team looking to return to being the true villains of England.

Good article but not impressed by the last line ‘...a team looking to return to being the true villains of England.”  

As a few have said, Jack wasn’t quite on the money tonight. Some great dribbles but he should have passed it sooner a few times rather than take it on. However, we still won and imagine how well we will do when he does click. 

Pinch me!! Frustrating at times but we well deserved that. We are no flash in pan. 

2 hours ago, It's Your Round said:

I put a few quid each way on Watkins being top scorer this season, 40-1, but each way pays out top 4 places. I really believe he will score a lot of goals for us, maybe not enough for the golden boot but you never know. 

It’s a bit scary when Villa fans start talking about golden boots for Villa players. FWIW I think he has great potential, but.... we’ve been here so many times before! 

4 hours ago, YouUnastanFren said:

Depending on the FA the managers job can be more like a political post than a coaching role.

Southgate was a political appointment after the Big Sam scandal but he's such a muppet that he thinks he's there for his coaching acumen.

In his post match interview yesterday he was talking about how the players had all learned and improved technically and tactically over this international break.

As if a squad of elite and world class players who are coached by elite/world class managers 90% of the time would improve after working with the worst Middlesbrough manager of the last 30 years for a week and a half.

Hopefully Mings and Grealish haven't regressed too much

Excellent post. Go back all the way to the 50s when Hungary were playing ‘total football’ and smashed England 7-1. English football was all about stamina back then and on into the 60s, 70s. Creativity was a dirty word and flair players were seen as luxuries. Now it is about players being ‘tactically and technically’ correct - in other words emulating the Germans. Creativity is still imo a dirty word for England managers like Southgate. 

As it is black history month and this story is Villa Park history, hopefully it is in the right place. Mods, if not please move accordingly. 

From 1911-1947 British Boxing operated a colour bar. To fight for a British Championship, the boxer had to have two white parents. When the ban was lifted in 1948, a guy from Leamington Spa, named Dick Turpin who had a British Guyanese father and an Irish mother became the first Black British boxing champion at Villa Park in front of a 40,000 crowd. 

In 1951 his brother Randolph beat Sugar Ray Robinson becoming world middleweight champion. (Many consider Robinson to be the best pound for pound boxer of all time.)

Interesting times. I always begin every season as an optimist, more in hope than anything else. However, this season, I am a bit more hopeful than I have been for over ten years. I’ll stick my neck out and say that our current midfield is the best since 2007/8 (with Grealish probably better) Goals have been a huge problem for years and Watkins could become one of our most prolific goal scorers in decades.  I still have some worries about the defence, particularly Matt Targett and because Mings tries to be to too clever. 

While i am not daft enough to forecast we will attain a high position, I reckon we will finish top ten, give a few more teams a hammering and prove the Liverpool result wasn’t a flash in the pan,

I am glad Jack didn’t play. We don’t to waste his talent of such a sh*tty competition. It will also drive Jack to do his utmost for Villa to show what England is missing.