VillaHatesMe

I respect the amount of research you did here, but coaching in the NBA is a lot different than managing a soccer club. The NBA is very much a player's league. It's not about tactics as much as it's about having the better players. The biggest different between Milwaukee being 15-67 one year and 41-41 the next wasn't Jason Kidd. It was Giannis, Khris Middleton and Michael Carter-Williams all making a big leap in their second professional season. The next season, when Milwaukee didn't catch anybody by surprise anymore because Giannis became a known commodity, Kidd's coaching wasn't worth anything. It's also important to point out that Giannis was the 15th pick in the NBA Draft as a rookie and seen as more of a project because not much was known about him and how he'd acclimate to the NBA. Then in that second season, it became pretty clear that Milwaukee won the lottery with him.

No idea who the next manager will be, but if this club's ownership is serious about what it has said about it's vision and plan, I can't imagine it'll be a manager without UCL experience. That's why I think we're more in the Favre/Fonseca pool than the Gerrard/Hassenhuttl pool.

I think it's pretty simple. It'll look something like this Watkins Buendia Bailey/Traore Ings All four rotating spots based on who has the ball and where they have it. Positional play/fluidity. The modern game.

Now that we have the money from Grealish we're going to have agents telling everybody we're interested in their player.

If we're going after Frankfurt players, this is the one I want. Djibril Sow. He's a young Kante.

Ings often plays something of a false 9 role with Southampton so I can see him and Ollie both being in the center playing off one another with Buendia and Bailey/Traore on the wings.

Don't blame the player for the system.

Or it's that his ultimate desire is global superstardom rather than local legend, and it's more attainable at Man City than here. And while I'm not happy about it, I respect the choice, and frankly I'm somewhat ashamed of the way some fans are slagging him off for it. I've seen a lot of Villa fans -- here and elsewhere -- behaving just like the fans they mock today. It's a shame.

One of the more overrated players in recent memory. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but he's still paid and perceived as the player he was for a few weeks during the 2014 World Cup. The other 99% of the time he's a fairly creative player who is never healthy.

I watch a lot of Serie A. The Damsgaard we saw at the Euros was the dream of what he could end up being, but it's hard to say that's who he is now. What I saw at Sampdoria is a smart, gifted player who gets a bit loose with the ball at his feet, but never stops pressing when he doesn't have the ball. You're buying on potential. If he joined Villa he'd be in the squad but not necessarily playing every week.

I wouldn't have him ahead of Konsa and Mings, either. My contention was with your assertion that he isn't worth £25 million. That's the going rate for a starting caliber CB these days, and just because he wouldn't start here doesn't mean he can't start elsewhere.

Maybe Jack is staying and already has his new contract signed, but the club doesn't want to announce it because they want to keep City in a holding pattern and disrupt any other possible business they would get done if they miss out on Jack. To be clear, that's not at all what I believe is happening, but it'd be funny if it's what was happening.

Going to have to disagree with you here, mate. Milenkovic was Fiorentina's best defender by far last season and at times it felt like he was the only one who knew what he was doing back there. This chart from FBRef.com shows how his performances last season compared to centerbacks from the top five leagues.

Numbers from FBRef.com. All per 90. Pass comp rate Winks: 72 passes, 89.1% completion Luiz: 44.6 passes, 82.7% Short passes Winks: 28.6, 92.6% Luiz: 14.9, 87.8% Medium passes Winks: 30.1, 92.5% Luiz: 18.4, 87.3% Long passes Winks: 11.4, 77.1% Luiz: 9.87, 71.1% Essentially, Winks is a better passer, while Luiz's numbers have shown to be he's better carrying the ball. Defensively their numbers are similar, though Doug's a bit more active pressing the ball and tackling. Still, in possession, with players like Buendia, Bailey and (fingers crossed) Jack, we have plenty of forwards who can carry the ball and dribble. It's possible Dean would see Winks as a better fit than Doug because of his passing ability to get those guys the ball better than Dougie does.

I think the things he's good at would make him a good fit for us.

Might have been doing background work in case Buendia didn't pan out, but I can't imagine this happening now. He's a very good player, though. Will likely be playing a lot of minutes for Italy this month.

They are rather similar. The numbers suggest that Bissouma is a slightly better passer over longer distances, and is better at carrying the ball. He's also more successful at disrupting when pressing, but he was asked to press less with Brighton than Dougie was here, so that could just be a result of a smaller sample size.

We are so lucky to have them. What a welcome change from our recent history.

No inside information here. Just an educated guess based on the hires we've made, the needs we have, and the things we look for. Just calling my shot. https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/evander/profil/spieler/323874

What if we skip the third and just go straight to the fourth?

I don't think the Josh King bit was posturing. I think that's legit and could still happen. King and Watkins don't cancel each other out. There's room for both.

I'm not excited about having to spend money on another keeper, but it's hard to argue that we could use all the help we can get after allowing 67 goals last season.

Looking at the schedule, it seems we're due for an argument over nothing in particular for the next.....five to seven hours.