Butterfingers

I would prefer an alternative to Gestede-The main target man type.

Excellent set of photos though.  I enjoyed scrolling through them.

5 minutes ago, useless said:

To be honest I can't imagine Hull being too upset with Xia mentioning that hernandez doesn't have release clause. If he'd have revealed that he's got one, then that might be a different matter. Hull fans are probably glad to hear it.

I have no issues whatsoever with Xia's tweets-I enjoy reading them.

If an owner of another club commented on one of our players like that, I would be very concerned.  Why would Xia know if Hulls striker had a release clause?  How many players in the championship does Xia have information regarding their contracts?  More to the point, how many of Hulls players does Xia have information on regarding their contract.

I would suspect that Hernandez is the only player that Xia has inside information on, concerning his contract and the reason is because he is trying to buy him.

2 hours ago, WAWAW said:

Hi Guys

He was very competent on loan for us last season.  He didn't play many games due to the excellent Pudil and then he got an injury.  However, when we play weekend then midweek then weekend Carlos likes to rotate his full backs.

He played in some tricky matches away at Hull and away at Brighton and we kept clean sheets in both of them and Bennett played well (against Snodgrass and Knockaert).

I don't think there will be many better back up left backs at Championship level and he certainly looks a better player than your left back on Sunday (admittedly just one match).

But if he isn't your first choice full back it could be a good move for both parties.

As the season goes on I suspect that you will realise that quite a few players are decent in this division that you considered not to be up to it in the PL.  Its just that this is their level.  I am convinced you will find this with Gestede.  Look at Jerome at Norwich, every time he scores goals in this division and looks out of his depth in the PL.

Bennett was woeful in his first season for us-He was young and had made the jump up to the prem for us.  It just didn't work out for him.  He seems to have found his level in the championship though.

From Villas point of view, we have Amavi at left back who is the best left back in the division by quite a distance.  He is way too good for the division and had he not have been just coming back from serious injury, it's doubtful we would have kept hold of him.  We were then faced with deciding who was best out of the other 2 left backs to keep as cover.  One of them was inevitably going to go.  One is the better defender, the other is better going forward.  I think our manager felt that for back up, it was best to keep the better defender.

4 hours ago, TrentVilla said:

 

Jack is another in a long line of players cut extra slack because he came through the club rather than via a transfer.

There is no reason why he should have been in the starting 11 on Sunday and he did little when came on to warrant a place in the next league match.

He really needs to up his game.

Spot on Trent

Nobody wants Jack to succeed here more than I do.  However, he seems to have lost the momentum slightly over the past year or so.

I would possibly have started him on Sunday as I didn't see that line up coming.  I would be looking to improve in that position though and don't think that jack warrants a start currently-He needs to find consistency from somewhere.

I was interested to hear Ray Wilkins say on the radio that he was going to recommend him to Mark Hughes.  Clearly he has something that others don't-He just needs to get that continuity somehow.

37 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

 I think his presence from the start was absolutely unnecessary. It should have been Ayew and McCormack up front. Gestede should only ever be a plan B, i.e. if we need to switch things up or are chasing a game then throw him on to give us a different dimension and long ball option. 

Wednesday actually did this to decent effect yesterday, they threw on that big lump with like 30 mins to go and changed the dynamic somewhat. 

Well we'd all probably pick a different side.  I don't think I would have stated Gestede either.  If we'd have won 1-0 through a Gestede header though,  nobody would have been complaining.

I liked yesterdays line up-It was brave for such a tough fixture.  When we get a replacement for Gestede on board and a couple more attacking options in midfield, we have the potential to be quite potent.

35 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

The 'Gestede role' lol. I don't think anyone can play the Gestede role, it's a very unique role indeed. 

That, I do not deny.  However, if a player needs to come off after 75 minutes, then you don't keep him on because another player is not performing well.

I think we all know that Gestede is not the answer and likewise that he will not be starting for us come September.  There was a valid reason why he stayed on the pitch for 90 minutes yesterday.  That is the point, not how specific the "Gestede role" may be.

1 minute ago, Supervillan78 said:

If we play 4-3-3, as we did today, we need wing backs who can get up and down, Hutton can't, and was hopelessly exposed numerous times.

If you think there are wing backs out there who bomb up and down more than Hutton and who will play in the championship, then I'd be interested to see who?

I would like to see Hutton replaced.  However, the point is that there are far more urgent areas that need addressing.

2 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

The vast majority of that squad are being shipped out let's not pretend bacuna is the sole victim here. If lescott had played today it would have been similar. 

Your last point I kind of agree with and I think could be bad for us. That's why I think we should get rid. He's not good enough for fans to forgive him. 

He's on a 4 year contract and the new manager appears to want to involve him.

Maybe getting rid isn't an option?  Maybe getting rid of others is priority?

It is highly unlikely that Bacuna will be starting for us come September.  If the manager sees him as an asset to the club then we should support both the manager and the player.

5 minutes ago, guyavfc said:

Can anyone slightly ITK ease my fears that a RB is being looked at? ...please?

Why?

When we have so many mediocre to poor players in other areas, why are you so bothered about a RB?  Hutton did nothing wrong today and if you think replacing him is easy then lets hear your suggestions.

A RB is one of the very last position we need to be worrying about at present. 

2 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

A good player would have seen McCormack in space and passed it, sadly Bacuna isn't a good player. 

Do you realise how perfect the weight of the pass would have had to have been in such a short distance?

I'm not claiming Bacuna is a good player but I don't blame him for shooting in that position. I'd add that there are not many players on the planet, let alone the championship that could have made a better chance by passing in that situation.

42 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Excellent. Let's hope that one cross 18 months ago can be the inspiration for our promotion

It wasn't 1 cross.  He was instrumental in that mini revival under Sherwood.

Benteke was raving about him.  Have a look at the Sunderland 4-0 and see the damage he caused.

44 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

By his standards it was a decent performance but he demonstrated no quality or cutting edge. In particular the moment where he cut inside and shot he should have pass the ball square to McCormack who was not only in a better shooting position but is also a better finisher - brainless. 

It happened in a split second.

It might have looked the obvious thing to do, sat watching on Sky Sports 1 but they were almost on top of each other immediately.

I wouldn't blame him for that personally.

6 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

 

I think you just answered your own question there.

 

Shame for the lad as he was generally impressive so hope this doesn't dent his confidence.

Okay-It wasn't really meant to be a question.

I'll re-phrase it.  Outfield players all mis-hit balls and slice balls.  They are also expected to be more comfortable on the ball than keepers are. 

We see these mis hits by keepers every week-9 times out of 10 they go unpunished and are forgotten, just like the outfield players gaffs are. Today it went against us, in our favourite final 10 minute period as well.

Glad I'm not the only one who was impressed today

Here's hoping he can get rid of the potential to make a mistake on a regular basis.

Would have him ahead of Clark all day long.

3 minutes ago, Gary Thomas said:

Thought he had a very good game, barring the error.

Excellent debut, tarnished by the error.  Was it any worse than a forwards mis-hit strike though? other than it proved costly?

I'm gutted for him-It was almost a culture shock to watch someone who actually resembled a goalkeeper playing between the sticks for us.

2 home games coming up.  Unlucky today and the team came into the game 2nd half.  But for the mistake,  it would have been Wednesday who were more happy with the point.

The season we got promoted under Saunders, we started with 3 draws.  lets keep things in perspective here.

39 minutes ago, villarocker said:

Why take off McCormack for Grealish and leave on Gestede? That's pure madness right there! 

Because McCormack only had 75 minutes in him and Grealish couldn't play the Gestede role.

I thought he id OK today.  However it is a position that I would hope we can improve on.

If he got any abuse today, it was well out of order 

Looked dangerous to me.  I was surprised at his creating chances for others-I'd been led to believe he was very individualistic.

He will become better with a run of games under his belt.

No complaints rom me, very pleased in what I saw of him today 

Not sure why the negativity with the line up-It's very positive and looking at the bench, there were little options, given that Amavi is still a little way off.

What it does show is just how far we have still to go in terms of rebuilding this team. The defence still needs work and the midfield needs a complete overhaul.

The fixture list hasn't been kind to us here.  It is always nice to get points on the board from the opening fixture but Wednesday away is as hard as it comes for us on the opening day.  They are a good side and will be chomping at the bit following last seasons disappointment.

I expect them to come out of the blocks attacking us and full of confidence.  I know it's corny but we need to stand firm for 20 minutes here,  although I think Wednesday are going to have the lions share of the ball over 90 minutes as well.

There are several weak points still in our team and it will probably take us until September at the earliest to pick up any form of rhythm given the changes that are going to take place over the next few weeks.

If someone offered me a draw here, I'd snap their hand off.

We signed at least 8 last summer that I can think of, off the top of my head

8 this time is the very least needed.

With the doctors figures suggesting another 5 on top of the 4 already in, I'd be happy and confident that we will be pushing for promotion.  Newcastle showed last night that money isn't everything in this division though-The calibre of players is important as well.