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Marka Ragnos

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Everything posted by Marka Ragnos

  1. Marka Ragnos
    And ... easy, brainless, effortless attention, too. The kind that requires disposable money more than anything else. I hope the parents put aside a few bob for the future psychotherapists some of their kids are going to need. Might be hard to grow up in a family like that.
  2. Marka Ragnos
    Good points. I admit I’m enjoying and learning more about women’s football as it becomes more widely accessible. It’s interesting to watch. Hannah Hampton is something of a role model in our family because my child has strabismus and multiple eye surgeries etc.
  3. Marka Ragnos
    I don’t think it has to be either/or. Getting the Villa name in front of people is part of the project, and all our players who engage the public help the cause. Lehmann is an excellent player who happens to have a high profile. I’m grateful she’s here.
  4. Marka Ragnos
    Pau needs a few months to get bedded in. He's very skillful. I'm rightly sceptical about oversimplifying comments suggesting as settled "law" that the PL is somehow too "physical" for a Spanish player. The reality in comparing the leagues in terms of overall physicality is much more complicated, and there are different kinds of intensity, according to the little research data we have. A lot of the reputational stuff is based on silly stereotypes, but of course, that doesn't mean some of it isn't true. I don't know. Pau needs time to learn the PL, too, and have his defense and midfield settled. It's been musical chairs for weeks now due to injuries.
  5. Marka Ragnos
    Interesting. Thank you. Would love to see how that compares to Marcus Rashford in the same years. They seem very similar to me in terms of ups and downs.
  6. Marka Ragnos
    And weren't Arse in sixth place when he left, too? If that's "unsuccessful," I'll take it lol. But I totally agree with you. He's the right manager at the right time for us, too. Unfortunately, I also think he's a manager whose skills and approach do expose some of our PL mid-table weaknesses in terms of personnel depth. But that's not his fault, and I'd rather have a manager who is overqualified than one underqualified, any day.
  7. Marka Ragnos
    And ... we lost our core centre back after 16 minutes. Sort of important.
  8. Marka Ragnos
    Yes, rip to the poor pilot. But who cares about your baby's biological sex? Why do some people do this shit? Also, the pink and blue ... way to start the kid off on the road to conformity. (Also, side note: Aren't wings the main thing you expect to stay attached to planes?)
  9. Marka Ragnos
    Good article on socialised narcissism behind gun violence in the USA ...
  10. Marka Ragnos
    Respectfully, I think any Villa supporter who believes Unai is going to change his basic approach will find out that's not going to happen, and personally, that's fine with me. He doesn't change tactics due to injuries or fan complaints. End of story. He would be more inclined to coach a younger player into a role and re-constitute his system after an injury, if that makes sense? I feel like one has to look at the man's career very closely. That means listening to his interviews in Spanish, where you get a far more complete picture of just who Unai is. I think, in English, Unai can come across as a kind of gentlemanly genius who likes to talk about the Villa "family," etc, but in Spanish, you really get the force of his ambition and self-belief and also the highly structured way he thinks of every inch of the pitch. He's so unlike Gerrard! He never uses "vibes" or "belief" or "playing freely" as substitutes for meticulously detailed planning -- and that perhaps is his Achilles heel, too, but I'll take it. Even if he didn't use a high line, he will still be thinking through how every tooth on every cogwheel matches up with every tooth of every other cogwheel on the pitch. I like it. It's a challenging approach, but with where we're at as a club, overall, I think it's a perfect fit for us.
  11. Marka Ragnos
    Largely correct if not the whole story. Diego went out after 16 minutes. It was a massive blow and you can see it, as clear as day, on the Liverpool replay. There was a change in tone, a lowering of aggression levels, and players losing their composure. Not saying your and @IrishVilla10's assessments aren't right, but that conditions and general team vibe were all **** up, too, once again, after losing a centre back against strong, organised opposition.
  12. Marka Ragnos
    Great to read this -- I mean, not great in terms of the facts but clear and honest. Really appreciate your perspective. Hot takes based on screens often just seem to get it wrong. To me it seemed like the injury of Carlos really shoot them up again -- echoes of Mings at Newcastle. What shit luck we've had with key players and injuries at exactly the wrong time.
  13. Marka Ragnos
    Thanks for the game report. It's so different to hear from someone on the ground. Relieved somewhat to hear about Duran. May I ask you two questions, since you were there?: Did it seem to you that our team wasn't making a full effort after the Salah goal? There were quite a few remonstrances by fans towards Duran's behavior, along the lines of "he's bit immature still," etc. Did you see any of that? Can you offer any details? Thanks!!!!
  14. Marka Ragnos
    Yes, definitely, but I guess what I was hearing from the journalist -- Jon Townley in this case -- made it sound like somehow it was just very obvious to anyone what was lacking in JDP, and all I'd ever seen from him amazed me. But yes, I trust our staff, for sure. Clearly they saw something I couldn't or wouldn't. Anyway, I wish him best. Exciting player! He was an incredible pest to a hard-charging Newcastle in the pre-season. He kept them on the backfoot constantly and his work rate was like Mitoma, and I just felt like, wow, we need that.
  15. Marka Ragnos
    I love this ...
  16. Marka Ragnos
    Wow, almost perfect take on things. I would shave off 2 across the board, apart from Martinez. We were woeful. Yeah, maybe Kamara would be 4 with me. Whole team did seem off it somehow, too ... lacking in the liquid movements we've come to expect and relentless energy. Don't know what's going on, but the lack of energy and willingness to let Liverpool coast to victory after Salah's goal is piercingly disappointing.
  17. Marka Ragnos
  18. Marka Ragnos
    I think Jhon is only going to improve. He's a mighty and strong forward. He wasn't great today. Stating that shouldn't make people angry. I wish we'd bought another striker so he wasn't getting put on the spot in such high-pressure games. Age 19. Wow. I don't care about his mild theatrics deeply one way or another if he's contributing positively to the squad, but it's not a great look if we're losing -- still, who really cares? It's irrelevant, if he's not carded. Plenty of melodramatic players out there, but ideally, as with someone like Super Mario, you also get goals along with the laughs. Either way, Jhon's now a core player for us for the next three months at least, and that's that. I'm going to choose to be supportive (I say sententiously) -- not that that matters either.
  19. Marka Ragnos
    I wonder if anyone who is better at assessing players can help me understand why we parted ways with JPB. Setting aside the financial reasons -- I understand those enough -- but in terms of talent. I was listening to a Villa pod yesterday, and a reporter was just like, "Well, we all knew he wasn't Premier League-level," like it was something anybody with a brain and eyes knew a long time ago, like there wasn't even a question. And yet, to me, he seemed incredible. Crazy energy, crazy versatile, able to score goals, very young with years ahead of him. I've been left scratching my head. I'm not saying this because I think I know better. I really want to understand what things were apparently so obvious to everyone else. Thanks!
  20. Marka Ragnos
  21. Marka Ragnos
    But complicated, too. Those defensives are very carefully choreographed, down to the most minute detail. Kneecap the prima ballerina (Carlos, in today's case), and they don't work -- understandably. To mix metaphors, the falcon cannot see the falconeer, the centre cannot hold, and things fall apart.
  22. Marka Ragnos
    Not sure those three things can be simply pulled off the tangled pile and set aside on three neat little dishes. Bad luck and tactics and mental deflation and giving up all feed off each other. But we can't give up. Even neutrals said we capitulated after the Salah goal. That's 90% on the players.
  23. Marka Ragnos
    Absolutely. And I find myself brushing off some of the player side shows as the sting of a bad loss recedes a bit. I keep looking -- maybe too much? -- at Emery's high-line, aggressively winged Yellow Submarine peak era at Villarreal, and it's patently obvious that it worked really really really well most of the time BUT not without healthy, fit defenders. I mean, does it even need to be said? And Liverpool know exactly how to beat that approach, but that doesn't mean every other team can or will replicate Liverpool. Again, injuries change everything. They just do.
  24. Marka Ragnos
    Couldn't have said it better, I think. In a way, you're stating the obvious, but it's a welcome acknowledgement of reality and a savvy identification of a fundamental problem. I do think Unai will adapt but it won't be a simple either/or adaptation. He doesn't strike me as stubborn, and he's certainly not stupid, but plan was a bit high-risk in this match, as it turned out. Once again, it just has to be said that in both the matches you mention, we once again lost our defensive core player. This is really so **** up. It's so unlucky!!!!!!!!!! The injuries do change the dynamic. I mean, when they're training, they're not like, "OK, use this system and if we lose a key player, please adapt quickly." Unai will get his shit sorted. The conventional wisdom is that Villa were punished for being way too open at the back by an experienced, skilled squad. The match tells a more complicated story. I don't think Unai will simply have a low-block "optional set-up" to apply against certain teams. I think he will remain committed to an overlay of a high line, but the challenge will be to get the line-up practised in it and trained and healthy because a structured process of playing out of the back REQUIRES not simply skill, but rock-solid, step-by-step build-up totally based on the plan.
  25. Marka Ragnos
    Well, no players should ever be scapegoated. What an odd term to use in professional sport fan context, anyway. I mean, it's from the Bible. It carries a lot of moralism & very harsh, gouge-out-your-eyes judgment. I don't want to be grouped into some "camp" if I want to critique a player's playing or unprofessional behavior. Why do people feel so compelled to create little imagined fan factions? This is a Villa fan forum, right? It's kind of the raison d'etre of the thing, isn't it? It's not Putin's Russia. Based on what I saw and read today, I have some legit concerns about unprofessional behavior among a couple players. It's no big deal. Doesn't mean I "hate" them or think they should be axed or sold or any of that bullshit. Surely there's a range of critique allowed where every criticism isn't somehow evidence of some kind of deeper disrespect or betrayal or, conversely, that praise means we need to canonise someone.
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