skarroki

Cash is gonna score can see it coming. He's the RB equivalent of El Ghazi

Hopefully somebody in yellow turns up to play football second half and we can watch something vaguely entertaining cos this has just been 45 minutes of how to get away with leaving something in on the opposition

The rate this is going you'll have mentioned it so much nobody else needs to

Whilst I agree with this, I do think there's a weird self-fulfilling loop with this stuff. I am definitely a fan with a chip on their shoulder. I think a big problem is that we don't seem to be discussed as much as some other teams, which I think you just have to accept as it's always been that way, for example when Leicester were running towards the title the best coverage of it before it looked like it was genuinely happening was from fan outlets imo. But of course even then you've got a massive TV personality within football of Linekar drawing attention to it. When Newcastle got all the money you've got the likes of Shearer and Jenas all over it. It feels like most ex-villa players avoid mentioning that they played for the club. I think Dublin would say he's ex Coventry before he'd also talk of his time at Villa, Crouch covers our European games with Joe Cole but when they're not on that sofa talking specifically about our game you'd be forgiven as a casual fan for having no idea either of them played for us. The biggest ex Villa players in media are probably Merson and Agbonlahor who are both widely looked on as morons which doesn't help. I do like seeing Martin ONeill talk about us though so I'm hoping the more he's involved with media, the more they get his take on the club. TIFO football have only done three videos of us in over a year. One was basically explaining we have bad underlying numbers and we'll stop winning soon, that was back in like February. The next was an actual Villa fan saying that players like Diaby and Torres could make the team worse. Then they finally do one where they generally agree we might not have enough to get into the champions league, and also we'll have to give up on the league or the cup in March if we're doing well in both. Proper MON throw the towel in tissue scar there. The Athletic seem to be at pains to avoid talking about Villa even after amazing wins. They had a dedicated podcast to the Man City loss (not us winning) and even had a Spanish football expert on ahead of anyone remotely linked to Villa so that they could talk about Rodri being absent and how Guardiola reacts to losing. You think Villa fans would be used to it by now but it's infuriating if you follow English football generally across a range of football podcasts and radio shows and TV and finally we're the big talking point but no-one is talking much about us. So yeah thats roughly the size of the chip I have and that's very condensed, it's a wonder I can lift myself out of bed in the morning.

Marschall Cash Carlos Lenglet Moreno Tielemans Iroegbunam Luiz Ramsey Zaniolo Duran Happy to give Dendonker a run out or Chambers but think realistically it's best to give Kamara, Watkins, Martinez, Konsa and Torres a rest. Luiz suspended for Brentford so gets his rest at the weekend. Good chance to put Iroegbunam back in the shop window if we want to loan him out, if he can't get near the side for these kind of games we probably need to cut our losses and sell. Be good to give Diaby a start too but not sure if he's nursing something seeing as he's struggling so badly for form. I think Olsen is out based on the weekend bench but happy for him to play if he's not injured.

I'm delirious

Struggled was a bit harsh from me. I meant it as in he wasn't doing well for a spell, I know he kicked on towards the end of the season. He started 8 of Cardiff's first 21 games last season and he was subbed off every time he started and managed 2 goals and no assists in that spell. He's started 13 of 14 games for Hull and played the full 90 for 11 of them. 4 goals and 1 assist all season for Cardiff in 2,238 minutes. 6 goals 5 assists in 1,140 minutes this season. So coming into December he's already played half the amount of time he did at Cardiff and has contributed masses more. I just could easily see someone like KKH turning a corner like that soon and it would be nice to still have academy players throughout the squad. If Man City can still maintain that to a degree we should be able to as well rather than just having Ramsey as a link to the academy.

Feel the critisicm is a bit harsh. He's playing for a Plymouth side that are just looking to survive and he's learning new facets of the position. The manager and coaches are all young and tactically astute so he'll be learning all the time. I don't want to write him off at all yet. Think it's easy to forget this guy is only 8 months older than Louie Barry and he's already torn up league two and league one. Philogene struggled in the championship for Cardiff last season but came back a new player and was sensational in pre-season, now he's a key player for Hull pushing for the playoffs. He's 6 months older than KKH himself. He's not the answer at right back but he's not a write off either. Just requires patience I think. Unless a club comes in with a 10mil+ bid next summer. As long as he's playing weekly in the championship that's enough.

Great ball in by KKH there but and the finish was fantastic. Every time I come into this thread I think that I want to buy a Plymouth shirt, they look so good.

Well I have to say this seemed hugely inevitable. If Liverpool lose too though it's not terrible. The next two games are still massive and still at home. If we can sneak a point here and get something from the next two, after getting out the knockouts, it's not been a bad couple of weeks.

Are you alright? You think what you wrote is a clear articulation of the certain future? If we finish top 4 we're guaranteed to keep hold of all our players and manager and also bring in better players and then win lots of trophies? If we win a cup instead it'll doom the club into a spiral? This is supposed to be a bit of fun, you don't need to suggest that people who want to win a cup this year are mentally unwell. People are allowed to think different things.

Yes it is haha.

Sounded like it was an injury. If it was I'd leave him out against Bournemouth too. I'd rather have him for the double header of City and Arsenal.

People saying we need champions league as if they haven't been watching football recently. Chelsea spend a billion pounds with no champions league revenue. Leicester win the league and still have money problems and end up relegated after a little go in the champions league. Portsmouth, Bolton, Blackburn examples of EUFA cup to bust. Everton most recent example I think other than Leicester or Newcastle in champions league. It's almost impossible to break in, noone does anything groundbreaking when they do and in order to try maintain that it usually ruins a club. We can be better than that. It might not turn out that way. But if you're saying top 4 cos it means we'll continue to grow then I'm afraid there's no evidence of that in the past and a lot of evidence of the opposite. Unless you count Man City but they've broken rules so many times they gave up counting and they are owned by a country.

Very simply, we could lose our best players or our manager regardless. We could bring in the best player the clubs ever seen also. We could get relegated next year. Luiz or Martinez could get a career ending injury within the next hour. All I know is I love being a Villa fan now more than at any other point in my life, this is my favourite team and favourite manager and if I have the choice of 4th place, or watching them win something at Wembley and lift that trophy, I'm picking the second option all day long. However, if this was a weird wish-granting reality I think I would let the season play out. We're riding such a wave at the moment I feel like anything is possible. I wouldn't rule out both a trophy and top 5 finish the way things are going.

I dunno your question seems a lot more loaded. It makes it sound like you only want people to pick top 4/5.

I think looking at 3 years with our current knowledge looks wait and see. I don't think that was his thought process in the way this insinuates. It looked like he'd have more of a role at a club performing much better than we were and we refused to let him leave and then also didn't play him. Anyone in that scenario would be mad to double down and fully commit to the project. I'm not entirely sure I could speculate what his thinking was, but 3 year extension at a club near the bottom of the league with a clueless manager who isn't playing you - that is a hell of a commitment. Especially after a situation where others in the professional could have stank the place out and gone to that Arsenal team flying at the top of the league instead. My assumption would be that the Arsenal contract was all drawn out between his agent and Edu, then we refused to sell, he's threatening to kick up a stink when he's not been sold and not playing. Then we agree to match the deal Arsenal offered him if he extends, but his agent knocks a couple years off the deal to make it more favourable for him. Even if there were no assurances given by anyone I'm sure they both were well aware Gerrard was a bad result from leaving and the club would be going all out for a dramatic improvement.

Still got a sneaky feeling Wan Bissaka will be a villa player by the end of 2024

I know it's been hit and miss but when you look at the side today, five years ago Cash, Konsa, McGinn, Watkins, Emi were all in the lower leagues of English football and then we've got a couple academy players on the bench and some young talent. Think it shows even when some transfers havent hit, personalities have been spot on and the dressing room harmony seems to have been strong throughout NSWE era. I feel confident that whenever we stop going for a player we're linked with it's because we've uncovered something that makes them a bad fit for the squad.

Ange needs to look at his medical team or his recruitment team for the answer to why his entire squad is made of damp cardboard.

This ref is probably one of those middle aged men with daddy issues that goes out of their way to tell you he'd love to go for a pint with Postecoglu every time he gives a string of cold and distant putdown answers to journalists questions. You're doing great ref, dad I mean Ange thinks you're doing great

Big credit to Carlos imo. He's come into the side and is showing superhuman awareness. I'm getting heart palpitations another day we'd be 3-0 down but we're not, need to ride our luck further I think till half time and have a rethink. Spurs look brilliant unfortunately for us but that defence is sellotaped together.

Crunch time

Thing about Andre is he's extremely defensive and when you're going with a front 4 you need that in the middle. However I would probably pick him over Bruno but a lot of people cream themselves over Bruno ever since he joined Newcastle and he stood out in a team getting top 4. But Luiz is (somehow) younger and I think better all-round. Brazil is always a difficult nation to get picked for in any generation so it's no slight on him but the worry as others have said, there's always the coach or player or manager who says "you'd be starting if you played for X instead of Villa"

The complete nagging pessimist in me thinks we'll beat Spurs and then suddenly everyone will start paying attention to us. Then we'll promptly lose to Bournemouth, then get humiliated by Man City and Arsenal and scrape a draw against Brentford and suddenly somehow we're 9th and in danger of not qualifying for the ECL knockouts. Go into January with the FA Cup the only thing to play for and we draw Man Utd away.