Hughes

1 minute ago, Stevo985 said:

Do people not watch us play anymore?

That was the formation we played for the entirety of last season. Apart from the couple of games where we tried 3 or 5 at the back. You might call it a 4-5-1 depending on where you place the wide players, but it was the same formation.

As for pre-season, Bruce has said that he wants us to work on 3-5-2 but that we're not ready to play it yet. I'm not sure about it myself but we do lack a plan B at times so if that helps then I guess I'm ok with it.

Whatever. Watched most games last season but as you tell me I am wrong I must bow to your superior football knowledge. Apart from that I was not even referring to last season but this pre-season, but hey I am sure that is just an irrelevant detail to you anyway. 

37 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Yeah we only played it for, ohhhh I dunno, about 45 games last season 

Oh so we did? 45 games? Really? Nonsense. Absolute tosh.  And even if we did (which we did not) we have not been close to that in pre-season. You know, the period where we prepare for the new season.

Only at Aston Villa would you see 3-5-2 being played in pre-season, even having the club promoting it, for then to turn up at the first game of the season and play a 4-3-3 which they have NEVER PLAYED BEFORE.  unbelievable. 

Not officially confirmed yet, though. But surely just a matter of time. 

Nyland is a Villa player... if his potential comes out we have a monster of a goalie for years. He needs some love and care though.... but my oh my, what an incredible athlete and talent.

2 hours ago, Okonokos said:

I hate social media.

You are being ironic, for sure?

On ‎27‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 21:28, sidcow said:

He owns 45% of the issued share  capital. He will always own 45% of the company. 

However the other 2 can buy those shares off him for whatever he is willing to sell them for. He can sell them for £1 or £1bn if they offer it. I suspect however the price is pre agreed and written into the deal. 

Sorry but not correct. If the new owners invest 100 mill in new equity (and not new debt), they will receive new shares and Xia will not (as he is not investing). This leads to a dilution of Xia and hence a reduction of his ownership stake (i.e. it becomes significantly lower than the current 45%).

I am not a big Bruce fan. I mean, I think he is a genuine , honest and very nice guy who really wants the best for Aston Villa, not doubt. And I also believe he is working very hard to make this club successful. However, the way I see it, he has his limitations and is not at all a long term solution, although I can concede the point that he perhaps was the right guy to come in and "steady the ship" when we were basically sinking. So, no big fan but I still see the absolute rationale in keeping him in charge for now. 2 weeks to the season starts, and what this Club desperately needs is a bit of stability and sensibility. Bruce to me is the godfather of that - not exciting, maybe not even very successful, but still stable and sensible. That will do for now, and then if/when we are mid table come November the new owners will do what they have to do... If we keep the current Squad and add a few, we will be competitive, I have not doubt. Bruce or no Bruce, Henry or no Henry.   

4 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Imagine if after all this it just turns out to be a large covert loan clouded as "investment".

Could very well be, e.g. in the form of a loan with high interest convertible into shares at the lender's option, or a loan at high interest coupled with a large number of warrants (rights to subscribe shares at a predetermined price) (both structures pretty similar). Such instruments give the lender the option to chose repayment (in case of no success) or shares (in case of success). Assuming, of course, no administration or bankruptcy of the debtor....

1 hour ago, jimcohen said:

OK, so the thing with Jack is that he is by far our best player, a talent that will only get better, and one of our own. BUT, controversial comment I know, will we be better off without him? I am not convinced on this point myself, just putting it up here for debate. Most points are tenuous, I am clutching at straws as I am just go gutted about this all like most and trying to plan for the worst. 

1. Limited suitable formations - When we play with Jack, he is wasted out wide, and probably still a little too light weight to play in a 4-4-2 in the middle, so he has to play off the front man, meaning we can only play 1 forward and leave big gaps between the midfield and striker. Or we play 4-3-3, again with only front man. The only formation I see working with Jack and two forwards is a 4-3-1-2 which we haven't done much of and is obviously limiting. I like many others, want to see us play 2 forwards a lot more often this season. 

2. One man team danger - When we play with Jack, everything goes through him. Will others players become tired of giving it to him all the time. And what when it doesn't work? yes he can draw 2-3 men to him opening space for others, but teams may work this trick out and it will become a mark jack out the game and beat Villa. 

3. No back up in his position - An injury hits Jacks, and the team starts to worry as we have built the team around him, and currently have no one to replace him. Last season when he got injured, we loaded Onomah to replace him and that didn't exactly work. We have no ready made replacement here, maybe O'hare is the closest, Adomah could play centrally and likes a dribble, but they are not Jack's level. 

4. Too deep. I have noticed Jack has been pickling the ball up very deep recently, end of last season and pre-season so far. He is so keen to influence games and be the main man, I sense he is coming too deap to get more of the ball, affecting our shape and reducing his influence by making him do the good stuff he does in an area that wont hurt the opposition as much. 

5. Lack of stats - yes he has played amazingly, but stats wise, goals and assists, it isn't that impressive. Do we get deceived by the drop of the shoulder and mazy runs, and let off the odd scuffed shot or poor cross?

6. Free kicks - Jack gets fouled a lot. Free kicks are handy, but how many goals did villa get from set pieces last year? 17, which is joint 6th in the league, so obviously important,, but without Snoddy to take them this year, oh forget it, this is clearly a massive loss, Connor can whip them in and this is all just a bit gutting! DON'T SELL HIM! Lets all as fans just pay £1,000 each, 40,000 of that and we can keep him right? I got a tenner. 

 

Good effort but unfortunately I think, yes, you are clutching at straws... 

1 hour ago, NeilS said:

Copy and pasting that into google brings up the following website

Looks liek a business rather than a person

 

Built from a single vision

Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. 

A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to ‘create great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 15 international markets, employing more than 40,000 people, and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately-held corporates in the region. 

Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 21 shopping malls, 12 hotels and three mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and four community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company holds exclusive rights to the Carrefour franchise in 38 markets across Middle East, Africa and Asia, and operates a portfolio of more than 210 outlets in 15 countries. 

Majid Al Futtaim operates 318 VOX Cinema screens and 32 Magic Planet family entertainment centres across the region, in addition to iconic leisure and entertainment facilities such as Ski Dubai, Orbi Dubai and Ski Egypt, among others. The Company is parent to the consumer finance company 'Najm', a fashion retail business representing international brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, AllSaints, lululemon athletica, Crate & Barrel and Maison du Monde. In addition, Majid Al Futtaim operates Enova, a facility and energy management company, through a joint venture operation with Veolia, a global leader in optimised environment resource management. The Company also owns the rights to The LEGO Store and American Girl in the Middle East and operates in the food and beverage industry through a partnership with Gourmet Gulf. 

It is actually both... The owner of the corporate shopping mall and retail (not far away from Xia's primary focus) Group is the Al Futtaim Family headed by one Majid Al Futtaim, the second richest guy in the Middle East. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majid_Al_Futtaim So probably not true or if true, their interest is Villa Park and the sourrounding area just as Xia has been interested in. High level and complex real estate development in and around Birmingham will be a gold mine for the years to come.  

Just now, mikeyjavfc said:

Very good point that, it does look weird. On the flip side you could say we are putting them in the shop window to drum up interest in a sale. I imagine the crowd at this game is half made up of scouts watching our players 

Yeah that would be the argument but really? There is no need to showcase Grealish Kodija and Chester in a friendly against Walsall -any interested parties would not make a decision on today's game anyway.... and, BB and MJ are not involved despite of not confirmed sold. Surely that is because they are close to finalising a sale and the club does not want take any risks? Then again, this is Villa after all!

Probably nothing in it but today's line up to me is strange. Starting/ risking all three of Jack, Chester and Kodija from start. Why do that if they soon are on their way out? If selling Grealish is REQUIRED to SAVE THE CLUB starting him in a friendly at Walsall and risk him being injured for 12 months is just silly. Starting all three apparently being on the top of the sales list is just reckless. But that's probably it. Silly, I mean. Fits the MO. 

IF 5.4 million is correct, obviously we have to snap their hands and drive him to Turkey. Now, I like him and he is giving his all every time but surely that is an offer which cannot be refused. Seeing how we are run as a club, I am confident we will...

8 hours ago, cyrusr said:

So what a fun month... No transfers in and serious lack of cash... From what I said before, there are 1 or 2 differences due to lack of movement on our part... From my list last month: 

New GK -  Henderson/Hart/Westwood/Hennessey however Henderson has now gone to Sheffield Utd, Hennessey has signed a new contract, Westwood appears to be settled well into Wednesday's preseason and given our financial issues we probably couldn't afford. Hart same issue but depends on how keen Man City to get rid? Myhill is available though possibly? With Bunn signing more likely to be Steer/Sarkic/Bunn though I suspect... Just bloody hope Steer can stay fit... 

New LB - Henry/Clark/another - Clark has gone to Vitesse in Holland... Henry we probably couldn't afford... Hutton has resigned - probably the alternate choice for LB? 

2 New CBs  - Tuanzebe/Huth/someone else - Tuanzebe is looking more likely. Huth - being linked so we shall wait and see... Elphick more likely to stay but would he be content being 3rd or 4th Choice? Bedeau and Suliman possibly brought in as well? 

New RW (Bayliss/another) - Bayliss still possible and could be relatively cheaper! Could also be a good shout for the central midfield spot that seems to be imminently vacated by someone leaving... 

New LW (Shipley/Hoilett) - Shipley is still at Coventry, see Bayliss above. Holiett has signed a new contract with Cardiff... 

New ST (Grabban/Hernandez) - Grabban has gone to Forest, though for a relatively big fee for a player the wrong side of 30... Hernandez still available but likely to be out of price range for wages now... 

Team to look something like this now?

GK: (New GK)/Steer/Sarkic/Bunn
RB: Elmohamady/Bree/De Laet
LB: Taylor/Hutton/(De Laet)
CB: Chester/(Tuanzebe)/(Huth)/(Elphick/Suliman/Bedeau)
DM: Jedinak/Whelan
CM: Hourihane/Lansbury/Bjarnason 
RW: Adomah/(Bayliss)
LW: Green/(Shipley)
AM: O’Hare
ST: Kodjia/Hogan/Davis/(RHM) 

Plus Richards, Tishbola & McCormack because quite frankly I expect no one to take them... One most likely being Tishbola...

 

Overall, if we only end up selling Grealish of the 1st team, then we can still maintain some competitiveness, however, it requires some clever spending and a bit of luck... GK and AM main concerns, if Steer can stay fit, I don't have an issue. Hopefully O'Hare can make the step up and if we sign Bayliss/Shipley could they possibly take up that role as well? Green I am pretty confident well shore up the LW spot. 

So then, who's in charge of all this??? 

So, applying this and taking into consideration that BB and MJ seem.to be leaving AND assuming that all of JG, Chester and Kodija will be leaving we could still have a starting 11 of Steer / Bunn  - Elmo, Tuanzebe, Elphick, Hutton - Adomah, Hourihane, Lansbury, Whelan, Green - Davis/Hogan. Subs Bree, Taylor, RHM (IF he stays fit he could be sensational), O"Hare. While not creating an orgasm, and clearly lacking in depth (we will bring in one or two more loans?!) this is IMO far from a relegation team. Far from it. 

On 07/07/2018 at 06:22, Robbie09 said:

I think we’re the same generation Mark and as far back as the late 70’s we’ve seen players like Gray, Gidman, Platt, Yorke, and more recently Milner, Barry & Benteke leave for various reasons, either ambition or for financial gain.

Jack leaving us a bigger kick in the balls for me than any of the above names. In previous years we’ve used transfer fees to replace outgoing players, this season it’s just to keep Dr F***wit’s ego going.

Watching Jack go is, to me, far worse than all of Platt, Yorke, Barry and all the others the last 7-8 years. A true Villan who last season showed his true level. Jack is in my opinion good enough to play at the absolute best level as it is. Apparently PSG is paying 100 million for Kante FFS...

Truly a Villan. Huge potential for a few, past years but wasting them with so- so attitude and being unlucky with shit managers and injuries. This season (and regardless of manager) he came back from a serious injurury as a completely new man, player and team mate. No doubt he has spent a lot of  time in the fitness room, he has bulked up a lot and the result is he has become a much better player. For sure, he is not another Stefan Moore or Darren Byfield. Grealish is the biggest talent since, well for a long time, at the Villa and he no shit could have played for Liverpool at the Champions League final. I hope he never signs for that absolute bullshit club, though. He may be gone soon but he will always be a true Villan. One more year Jack, please! 

7 minutes ago, Michelsen said:

Some said it wouldn’t be an easy game. Boy, did Sunderland prove them wrong. That was the easiest three points we’ll ever get. I can’t remember seeing a worse team than Sunderland. 

Still, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and we did our job. I suppose it’s a good thing when the game ends and you’re a bit annoyed we didn’t get a fourth or a fifth goal. 

Grabban was lively, and it was a pleasure seeing Jack back on the pitch. 

Hogan wasn’t great, however. No doubt in my mind who should be first choice up front. 

Good to see you involved my friend! 

On 24.1.2018 at 16:41, Brumerican said:

Da Bears are my NFC team (Chicago is twinned with Brum)  (I "follow" the Cubs and Bulls in baseball and basketball)

Do you support two football (as in soccer) teams? Course not. Neither do you swap teams (or "franchises").

Amusing to me that Kirk Cousins may end up with Jets or even Browns. Good riddance, if expectations of him being the best paid player in NFL history becomes correct, clearly the Skins made the right call (although they should have made that call last year already). Smith may provide what we need; more consistency and proven ability to take your franchise to the playoffs (but I question the 5 year  contract). HTTR! 

James Maddison at Norwich. No shit, easily one of the best players in the Cchip and only 21. Sign him up Bruce. 

11 hours ago, praisedmambo said:

If we did that we'd have to give him all the money we owe him from his whole contract, making him absolutely minted while giving him a free transfer to go to another club and make even more money. It's not really showing the world what you want. 

Not if you sack him, that would be kicking him out with no pay. We should do that but we will not as it also means we will waive any possibility for a transfer fee. 

1 hour ago, markavfc40 said:

I think we'd be stupid to sell him unless for silly money and we'd be absolutely barmy to consider swapping him for Jordan Rhodes even with a couple of mill on top coming our way.

He is 21 years old and has shown that in terms of natural ability he has more than anyone else at the club. At 21. That tells you that there is more to come from him.

I get that some will say that he hasn't really kicked on since getting into the side under Sherwood two years ago. Lets look at the reasons why that might be though. Over those two years he has played under 5 managers. Has been part of a squad that had the worst season in our history. Part of a squad with senior players in Gabby, Richards, Lescott setting a diabolical example. Hardly an environment for a young player still developing trying to flourish in is it.

I haven't forgotten he has been a pratt by the way but under a strong manager with good senior influences I don't believe that would have happened. Regardless though it happens.

This season despite playing much of it under a manager without a clue and being pushed from wide midfield to the centre and with in an unbalanced team I think overall he has done ok and been involved with many of our few positive moments. At times he has looked unplayable and has been kicked from pillar to post because of it. I think his work rate has improved as well and he tracks back much more and is happy to put a tackle in. He has also at times been anonymous.

I want to see him in a team that is winning games. In a team that is balanced. In a side with players around him that can help get the best out of him. In his short career he hasn't ever had that yet as still at times stood out like a sore thumb in terms of how natural he looks on the ball and how much natural ability he has.

Just as we have gotten a manager who knows what he is doing which hopefully means some stability in the managerial and coaching staff, just as we look like we have finally gotten a balanced squad do some seriously think this is a time to let a player like Grealish go? I think we now have the perfect environment for a player like Grealish to gain confidence and really flourish. At the very least we have to allow ourselves the time find out.

Absolutely spot on and again you are the voice of reason.

7 minutes ago, Michael118 said:

Bielsa was ready to join Swansea when they were in danger of relegation but he wanted a 2 year contract and they were only willing to offer him 1. It's not a huge leap to think he would consider joining Aston Villa even if we are in the Championship and Hiddink is currently being linked with a job in the A League.

If we couldn't get them then I thought Francesco Guidolin, Quique Sanchez Flores or Sam Allardyce were the next best choices.

Double post....