villafan306

De Laet would be the signing of the window for me - especially if the rumoured price of £2.5m Is true.

I think he was our best player tonight. He looked good with the ball at his feet and did have a few good moments - hitting the post and the layoff for Tshibola's shot were the main two. I agree that he was very ineffective coming back and left Amavi exposed. Second half can't have been easy with Immobile...sorry, Gestede up front as that slowed down the whole attacking process.

Ok, let's start with the positives: - Now that's out of the way onto my thoughts. Bunn had a decent game and made a fair few saves. He was left over exposed by a woeful defence especially in the second half. He does not inspire any confidence though, I think Gollini is most definitely first choice. The less said about the defence the better. Amavi was at fault for the first goal, Richards is a shell of himself from last season (which isn't saying a lot), Baker did ok in fairness but I feel he needs to experience of Elphick next to him, Okore should never wear a Villa shirt again and Hutton should not be allowed near a football again. Lots of energy from Green and Tshibola but they were not able to convert that to end product. Gardner reminded me of Westwood, so much so that I forgot he was on the pitch. Grealish looked confident on the ball and was probably our best player tonight (again, not saying a lot). Ayew showed that petulant streak again and was lucky not to be sent off. I've never quite understood the buzz around him, personally I would be happy to see the back of him if a bid was made. McCormack didn't offer much tonight either and I fear that he will struggle without any service. I thought he had been sent off but apparently Gestede came on? Shame he didn't bother turning up! A lot of work needs to be done still. I'm not quite sure why RDM put out some of the players who had such a big hand in last year's downfall but hopefully this has opened his eyes and Xia's chequebook. A big reaction is needed here otherwise we will be playing Luton in the league soon enough.

Here is my guess for the line up: -----------------Gollini-------------------- Hutton---Elphick---Baker---Cissoko --------Westwood---Gardner----------- Bacuna---------Ayew----------Grealish -----------------Gestede------------------- It's hardly going to give Sheffield Wednesday sleepless nights or excite anyone on here but it is the logical line up. I can't see Amavi being fit enough to start this one. McCormack (assuming he signs) most likely wont start 4 days after signing - perhaps a cameo from the bench. As much as I'd love to see Tshibola start I think he will have to work his way into the squad. With another 3 games in the following 10 days (especially the EFL Cup game against Luton on Wednesday) there is plenty of time for Lyden, Okore, Green, Bennett, Tshibola and Hepburn-Murphy to get game time over the coming weeks.

I believe he is referring to Fourth Official on Twitter?

McCormack is exactly the kind of player who would we should be signing. A proven goalscorer in this league. He is 29, 30 next month. That is surely in his prime? I don't care if he costs 3 million, 13 million or 30 million. If we have the money to spend we need to spend it.

Meh. He wouldn't be the first player on my list to ship out but we can't control when bids come in. Not that we have a say over the fee if there is a release clause but £5m is a fair price. He has clearly stagnated here, a change of scenery might be what he needs to kick on but he will never be first name on the team sheet here.

I'm quite optimistic going into this season. Perhaps I've not learned my lesson from previous seasons but I think we will be at the right end of the table. Our best 11 would actually be capable of beating most teams in the league and with a couple of additions our squad will rival most in the top 10.

This is a tough call. £6m is a lot of money for a player like Westwood and is at the higher end of what we can realistically demand. That being said, I could see him being a very solid midfielder in the Championship. I guess a lot comes down to what RDM has seen of him and what system he wants to play. If Gana is going then I'd prefer to keep Westwood to play alongside Gardner/Tish (if he signs)

11 is Banfill, I believe this is Jamie Banfill who has been mentioned in the media today. He is an associate of Samuelson.

I can't see that being the case. With regulations so tight in China it would be a ludicrous amount of work to make Xia this kind of empty figurehead. Plenty of other millionaires he could have picked in the UK, USA if that was the game. He may well be involved with moving money out of China and disguising it that end.

The deal is very much on subject to a fit and proper persons test by the Premier League (as we are currently still in it) and the football league (as we are heading there). Not much is known about Xia wealth or actual business interests - this will all be disclosed during these tests. The tests are no different to the ones any new owner would take but as the Chinese people's business details are not readily available in the public domain, panic is setting in.

I was wondering how we know of his involvement too? That picture of Xia yesterday in the dressing room was odd. If Hollis flew to China then when was that pic taken? And if it is genuine is there only one person involved in football named Samuelson?

Unless that's the plan. Scout dreadful players and get other people to waste money on them, making them worse teams in the process!

The first half was the worst I'd ever seen live. Second half we looked a little more composed and were never in any real danger. Got the job done but this is definitely our second string.