TRO

6 minutes ago, sidcow said:

I seem to remember in the early days something about them being acquaintances at some billionaires club and started watching The World Cup together where they each recognised their love of sport and hatched a plan to buy a football club together. 

A bit like your mates might decide to buy a few shares in a racehorse together in order to enjoy the sport more, only costing a few hundred million extra. 

The Billionaires Boys Club eh!

I will say, he will be a full England player , at some point.

So he's big pals with Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham.

Chooses his pals, wisely.

47 minutes ago, Villatillidie95 said:

An extremely knowledgeable man, I’ve seen him on Bloomberg a few times and you can see how he came to run money and build up fortress, a very analytical and strategic mind. As mentioned upthread, his long term approach/patient capital will Reap rewards in multiple industries, notably Aston Villa! 

How did he and Nass come together?

21 hours ago, striker said:

Great for club and manager so he can continue to build his own dynasty while interested parties now know they'll have to pay a fortune to prise him away.

Have to admit I had more than a little trepidation when he was announced as Villa manager due to opinions from Arsenal supporters. However, I'm very glad to say I was very wrong about him.

Fantastic manager!

I had no idea, he would be this good.......I just defaulted to my usual stance.....give them a chance, and see what they can do.

Its like ..."open the box " on "take your pick show"......you never know whats inside, it could be a booby or a star prize.....but we do now....Unai is our Star Prize.

2 minutes ago, tinker said:

I'm convinced that once this season is over we will have some big announcements that are the building blocks to bring our revenue up to match our on field performance.

NWSE are no fools , they have the opportunity to cement us as top 4 challengers season after season and they Will not let the commercial side fall behind, its their area of expertise.

It will make it much easier, for the commercial dep't to do that, with Unai raising the profile.

There is a close relationship, between football performance and commercial revenue.....Unai is making their job, much easier, and in turn, that will make his job, much easier....in theory.

Its synergy.

19 minutes ago, Xela said:

You are right, but up until a month ago or so I would have said A Ramsey and Rogers were in the same boat - lauded as elite academy players, but yet to make a mark in the big time. Rogers has taken that chance brilliantly, aided as you say, with a bit of luck with injuries. Thats all you need sometimes. 

I was just merely musing if AJ had stayed, whether he would have had chances after Buendia ad JJ's injuries, and Philogene's sale. Who knows? Sliding door moments are everywhere in football. 

I do see your point, and I agree.

I know, I will get criticised for this, but teams like Bournemouth, Brentford and others....won't let you play, so you have to have sufficient muscle to fend them off in addition to the necessary skill to play the game. Officials won't protect players anymore, you have to fend for yourself.....they will just read it as going to ground too easily.

Morgan has proved he can, and he won't be bullied off the ball, without attracting yellows for the aggressor.....sadly, thats where football is.....and physical prowess is not a fancied feature....it's a must.

There are plenty of fine young players, with bags of skill, who will not make the top flight, because of their inability, to let that skill, feature or take effect....they get negated, by stronger players.

Our boys showed on Sunday, they will not be bullied out of the game........that was not the case a while back.

It's all well and good, us all being attracted to the frills of the game.....but it has to be accompanied, by a robust mentality, as we did.

We all know our team is talented.....but, they are now applying it, through a refusal to be out muscled....I say Bravo.

4 minutes ago, rodders129 said:

Does anyone know where he’s settled in Brum? I know a lot of the players live in Little Aston and Four Oaks etc. 

Yes, he lives by the old crown four oaks, but I can't say the name of the road, it's unfair.

I want him to have plenty of sleep, and peace of mind....there would be grown men, "doing trick or treat"

I think, he is having a house built on BMH, to save travelling time.

Ps I could just imagine, when it's done,  Ollie throwing stones at the window, to get him up.

Just now, villabromsgrove said:

TRO .... In all the time I've known you this is the first time you've upset me .... Give him your season ticket if he asks .... take one for the team!

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Its my baby.

1 minute ago, MWARLEY2 said:

Morgan has McGinn strength in a longer frame. Which is a pretty scary proposition for opponents. Thats why in the Pitchside cam you can see Bournemouth resorting to rugby tackling him to stop him.  He has had 3 years out on loan and at Boro. Now he is in an elite set up again i expect him to get far stronger working at BMH. 

.

I think moving forward, our team will become, more powerful.

Morgan relieves that bit of pressure off Ollie, and acts as a decoy, they could become a very formidable duo.

7 minutes ago, MWARLEY2 said:

He is 5 inches taller probably 3 stone heavier and is a far stronger runner on the ball. Aaron is a very good footballer. So is Philogene. But for the left hand side / number 10 Emery has specific requirements. 

It makes a huge difference.

if you don't have that....you have to be extremely exceptional.

27 minutes ago, Xela said:

I look at Rogers and think is this what Aaron Ramsey should have been? Or could be? I know why we sold him, but could he have flourished in the same role? He was more effective than Rogers at Boro by far. 

Not knocking Rogers at all, he's been wonderful. 

It might sound so blindingly obvious....but at some point, potential has to be proved.

Its fine, folk saying this player will be this, and that player will be that.....but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The amount of times, I thought, this or that player, would make it....and they didn't.....some did obviously.

It's still too soon, to say will Aaron make it or not....but at some stage, he has to prove it.

I have always thought, the first team, is the only place for potential to be born....Morgan has been lucky, to get his chance, and he has proved he can do it....I don't see any going back for this boy.

I think JJ was lucky to to get his chance, ( meaning an opportune time at the club) and he too, took it.

It's make or break, to get those chances, and luck plays a part too.

I think Morgan has more physicality, to ride the challenges and resist the bullies.....its hard to find the spaces to showcase your talent, with muggers around your neck...Morgan seems to have the necessary frame and feet to do that.

I too was very hopeful of Aaron, but injuries, have derailed his progress.....we will see if he manages to fulfil his promise......I think Morgan is well on his way now.

If he said, I will leave, if you don't give me your season ticket.....I would tell him to **** off.

there is always a red line.

ps the wins are making me silly.

7 minutes ago, ender4 said:

The King of Kings Heath.

The Prince of Perry Barr.

The Emperor of Erdington. 

The Ruler of Redditch. 
 

 

you tinker.

1 minute ago, ender4 said:

Let’s just buy him the whole of Aston as his own kingdom. Emeryville.

maybe Sutton Coldfield eh!

On 22/04/2024 at 15:11, BOF said:

We've 101 goals in all competitions so far this season. To put that into perspective that's our joint 9th most prolific season in our history.

Given that we've 6 games left and possibly 7 (Olympiakos pending) ... we have a fairly decent chance of catching the 2nd most prolific season of 116 goals (1928/29).

Here's the top 10.

1. 1930/1931 : 131 goals
2. 1928/1929 : 116
3. 1960/1961 : 115
4. 1974/1975 : 110
5. 1931/1932 : 107
6. 1912/1913 : 106
7. 1976/1977 : 105
7. 1929/1930 : 105
9. 2023/2024 : 101
9. 1891/1892 : 101

Pongo says......leave it out.

you rats.

34 minutes ago, Mantis said:

I wonder how deep Unai's control goes and how much he's allowed to micromanage? Like if he said "I want Pepsi served in the concession stands and not Coke", would the club comply?

I think..................he has team selection now....isn't that a dandy

27 minutes ago, allani said:

My gut feel is that Emery's "reward" will be less about pay and more about further cementing his commitment to Villa and Villa to him - as in I can see him getting some level of "ownership" within the club / VSports.  I'm sure his pay will improve but I've said for a while that I think the club and Emery are looking longer-term and more interested in a Wenger style legacy.

I agree....I think the next move, is a buying in, syndrome.

My only concerns are that he doesn't burn himself out...He is obviously massively committed to his work....and we are all grateful for that....but he has to look after himself too.

Like Klopp, it's hard to keep working THAT hard.....I hope he is slick/ savvy at delegation.

There will come a time, when he will want to return home....I hope he is able to construct a structure to follow on from that time, and recruit his own successor in the process.

my suspicion is....Unai will not want to see all his hard work washed away, after his departure.....which I hope is a long time from now.

3 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said:

Try telling that to the conspiracy theorists. 

They wouldn't believe you

On 22/04/2024 at 12:54, Mantis said:

Absolutely crazy that we spent a combined £20m on our 4 main central midfielders that have gotten us to the cusp of top 4, and the vast majority was spent on Luiz. Tielemans and Kamara didn't cost us a penny in transfer fees. What a bargain.

That's what shrewd management does.

We can look at Brighton, Bournemouth etc.....but we are doing it ourselves.

It just seems strange that modest signings, seem to work out better for us, generally.....maybe because the whole club hasn't got a primma donna mentality.

I think we are canny with our model. it breeds players who want to prove, want to improve, and want to push back the boundaries.

Under the guidance of UE, they know, with their togetherness they can achieve more than they imagined....it really is an amazing time.

On 22/04/2024 at 07:58, cb_82 said:

Been great last couple of games and love his crowd interaction

 

I think he plays with Luiz Saturday and Mcginn will play up with Watkins

He seems to be really enjoying himself.

7 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

He's getting bigged up all over the Sports internet and Media today for the job he's done here.

Well deserved!

The penny, does take a time to drop with us and the media.

They sometimes have to go around the wrekin, to get to us.

He was instrumental, at his time with Leicester, for those slick passes, between the lines to Vardy.

I think it's starting to happen with Ollie.

21 hours ago, T-Dog said:

His link up with Oli yesterday gave me a semi. They looked like they'd played together for years, not just for 4 months. I can see them becoming a ridiculous pairing for many years to come.

????????????

On 19/04/2024 at 09:24, Tom13 said:

He must have one hell of a sweet spot as most say he needs to play himself into form, now he's playing too often

I love Youri, I love watching clever players, but there are games when he struggles.

That can be labelled at many.....consistency is very hard to achieve, but we have managed to improve it.

With more team strengthening, it will improve more.

I think there has been times this season where we couldn't play much better......but consistency is the next challenge.

We can also improve by narrowing the gap, between best and worst performances.

back to Youri.

I think Youri has been amazing in some games, and like you, love to see players with guile.

When he is on it, he is surely on it(ask the England team).....been very good for us lately.