nepal_villan

Should we read anything in the fact that Buendia's training kit has #20 on it? If that is his squad number, then the #8 shirt is still to be filled.

1 minute ago, Mat Kendrick's Dentist said:

He doesn't shy away from pens. He grabbed the ball to take one against Southampton last season but those on the touchline instructed him to leave it for Watkins. As he said in an interview a couple of weeks ago, he'd happily take a pen at any time

I remember that. I stand corrected.

Moving forward, hope to see him take our penalties. 

Since he missed his penalty against Sheffield United two seasons back, Jack has shied away from penalties. That's why Watkins and El Ghazi took them last season. Leads me to believe (without knowing for certain) that Jack probably did not volunteer to take a penalty.

If Jack is to truly be a world class player, he needs to add penalty taking (and free kicks) to his repertoire.  Off-hand can't think of too many attacking greats who don't take them.

Did not know where else to put it, but I think we now have 2 extremely marketable players in Grealish and Martinez.  Surprised at how much chutzpah Emi has. Some of his posts on Insta getting close to and above 1M likes. I know Trez and previously Samatta also have their legions, but those seem much more confined to their homelands. 

Mods - can we maybe change this thread title to Marketing, Communications & Commercials? 

18 minutes ago, TomC said:

Strangely, neither Pele nor Maradona ever won a Copa America.

Strange indeed. Wonder if the tournament was not as important back then.  Frank LeBoeuf on TV the other day was talking about how the Ballon D'Or wasn't even a thing when he was playing, but today causes huge debate.

24 minutes ago, AlwaysAVFC said:

It will be interesting what the plan is for these players in terms of integrating them, loaning and selling. There's so many highly rated youngsters it will be difficult to manage if they fulfill their potential. A good problem to have though. 

We hired a Head of Emerging Talents & Loans and Mile Jedinak as our new Loan Player Development Coach, so looks like there is a clear game plan in place. 

Think we will go big or bust in our signings. Seems the moneyball dollars are being spent on Academy recruitment.  

The challenge is that it's not a perfect market. There are only 15-20 elite clubs today that can afford players at 40M+. Therefore, unless a player is an elite talent, their value will plateau at a certain point as there will be alternatives in the market.   

He's played 33 and 36 matches in the Premier League the last two seasons and is entrenched in the England squad. Impressive given how little he played in his 4 years at Bournemouth.

12 minutes ago, nick76 said:

So you are taking a risk, in a years or two time he could be worth 80m.  If Spurs had brought Jack for 25m, they'd now have a player worth 100m+.  It's a risk but the scouts evaluate the potential and thats what you pay for.  

More importantly they would have won more in the last 2 years.

He's just winding down his contract. Unless something clicks for him, think he'll struggle at the MLS level too. Scary to think he got a few first team minutes for us two seasons back.

Another great video by The Holy Trinity Show. Goes into the background of NSWE

2 hours ago, SirSteveUK said:

This is probably the most appropriate place to ask - but what was the final purchase price for us paid by NSWE?

60 mill?

 

Think that's close to the number. It was a distressed asset whose actual value should have been around 300M (what Newcastle is on the market for now). My take is that NSWE's business plan was to invest the 240M or so discount on building the squad and Academy. 

13 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

We are a vastly “healthier”, vastly more sensibly run club. We have NO debt.

We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk too…

We have owners willing to write-off our debts. Financially we are not a model club.

33 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I'm starting to think, what we see as  " Net Worth " of some people, is artificial.

It appears that our owners have SERIOUS Cash and Assets under their control ( Or at least have access TO ). 

Outside of " Net worth "

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the investment in Villa is individual and not as a part of one of their companies (e.g. FSG & Liverpool). This is ideal as there are no shareholders/board they will have to report to and please (i.e. no pressure to be profitable or payout some sort of dividends)

People hypothesizing about Arsenal's finances. Could just be a case of the kid wanting a change of scenery for whatever reason - professional or personal. 

CB is probably the only position where we must sign someone as we only have 3 squad members that can play there and no one in the Academy that can really step up right now. ACM, DCM and GK are needed, but we can make do with what we currently have.

I have not been to VP since 2006 when I was enrolled in an exchange program in nearby Leicester. Back then I was a member of a Villa Fans Email mailing list and quite a few supporters on the mailing list were kind enough to take me around Birmingham and meet-up on matchdays. One of the supporters was close to the club's directors and arranged a tour of Bodymoor Heath for me.  I'm really appreciative of all those who were warm to welcome me. Would be great if a group could be created to welcome international supporters, so visiting Villans can have a similar experience to the one I did.

It's turning into the cult of Grealish. 

Think some here just do not appreciate how loaded England are. Southgate is not choosing the likes of Trez and El Ghazi over Grealish!

Furthermore, you hardly ever see teams consistently playing sexy football and steam-rolling their way to titles in tournament football. Sides tend to be much more cautious and pragmatic in their play as one slip-up and you are out. France were drab in the group stages and against Belgium in the last World Cup. Portugal the most boring team at the previous Euros...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/sports/soccer/jack-grealish-england-euro-2020.html 
Interesting take on the Grealish hype in the New York Times.  He is turning into a global star.

2 hours ago, Skruff said:

All I'm seeing  is Greg Evans pushing clickbait through the Athletic. 

I was considering a subscription, lets just say im not any more.

 

 

I signed up as a tip of the cap to Dan Bardell

1 hour ago, DakotaVilla said:

Half the league is in turmoil with rebuilds or very recently appointed  managers. If we keep Jack and somehow give him a break post Euros and get him properly for the start of the season or add such depth that we can ease him (and Luiz post olympics) back in then this could be a very special season. 

At the same time ManUtd just signed Sancho and are likely to bring in Varane. Leicester have all their ducks in a row. The top 5 is pretty much set.  Looks like it will be 5-6 clubs (Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, Leeds, West Ham and Villa) fighting for the 6th position.

I've changed my mind. As long as we can match whatever salary City or PSG are prepared to pay him, don't let him leave.  Don't think he will be like Yorke and pout in the locker room (as described by John Gregory in his interview)