eholm

9 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Poor performance, haven’t been too many of those from Dougie…. but… form is temporary, class is permanent and he has it in abundance.

He will return and hopefully fired up to perform and overcome what is quite a big challenge for him now… and I back him to overcome it and become even better.

I’m not going to lose faith in and turn on the players that are a massive part of our success and progress so far…

This 100%. I have heard some call his performance 'shameful'.....really?? He was poor, much like many others but lets keep some balance here. The guy has won us plenty of games this season and is having a run of poor form. Some people have very short memories. 

2 hours ago, tinker said:

No, it's measured by how well the teams did the previous year

Right. Thanks for the info. Good to see i was completly wrong!! FFS.

So the whole coefficient thing will be used every season to see who gets that extra place? My interest in it has just completely fallen off a cliff.

9 minutes ago, omariqy said:

It doesn’t really impact anything apart from if there is a tie and they look at the 5 year coefficient 

I understood it as if the PL gets an extra place this season, that extra place is permanent going forward. Is that not the case?

5 minutes ago, tinker said:

How? Chelsea maybe.......but the Financial pressure is only going to get worse, they have to sell players if they dont get Europe......Manure seem to have nowhere to go without spending 100's of millions and completely ripping the team apart.

Spurs and Newcastle will improve, Liverpool wont and Arsenal will probably stay more or less the same, without spending a £100m on a striker.

As a neutral looking in I'm sure Villa would be high on the list of teams who are going to challenge for the top, Emery will have some more players in and some players back from injury. Our squad will be very strong.

Yeah, so if Spurs and Newcastle improve and the others stay the same it is still a really difficult challenge to get CL. Irrespective of which teams improve and which don’t some will and my overarching point is about long term, regular CL qualification being more achievable if there are 5 places instead of 4…..that is why the coefficient is so important. 
 

3 minutes ago, duke313 said:

Was told this last season, and still waiting for it to happen.

True……but even if it doesn’t happen next season or the season after, it is fundamentally advantageous for us to have an increased chance of CL qualification every season going forward. 

1 minute ago, CVByrne said:

Well the difference about getting it this season is the financial aspect given our finances right now. The new format and the prestige it can give us. Plus looking at what Emery has done with Villareal going to semi final. It's more important right now as it's a kind of sliding doors moment for the club. If we don't get CL we need to sell a player like Luiz this summer so it's more the combination of losing it so late in season and the consequences of that which is why this whole run in has been so monumentally stressful unlike any other season as can see the two paths. Like our playoff final against Fulham there's a sporting prize and a financial consequence all on one thing

Agree with that completely. However, it is very shortsighted for people to say ‘forget the 5th place let’s just get 4th’. 
on season in the CL will make a significant difference to us but CL EVERY season would totally transform us a club. From next season onwards getting CL will be more difficult as Chelsea, Utd etc will improve. 
Having top 5 getting CL every season would be huge for us. 

8 hours ago, AshVilla said:

B 100%

Not having CL revenue next season will be a big setback in terms of the project.

I'd rather look at the bigger picture than win a 3rd tier trophy.

Of course i'd rather choose C and win ECL and finish 4th if that's an option.

Absolutely. Also, as per my previous post it’s not just about 5th THIS SEASON, it’s about getting the 5th place for EVERY SEASON going forward. That is why the coefficient it is hugely significant to us as a football club for the future - increases our chances of regular CL football season after season. 

7 hours ago, omariqy said:

We just need to win the next 3 games. Forget about anything else. 

It’s not just about THIS season though is it? PL getting the fifth place means we have a greater chance of getting regular CL football EVERY season going forward. This is the vital point for me - not just the impact on this season. 

5 minutes ago, omariqy said:

Great on the ball and you can see the talent. Definitely needs some work. Should have been sent off really. 

Agree. IMO, he's not a LW/LM and I don't think Unai sees him ending up there. Potential to be an excellent 10 but will do him good to get experience on the left as he develops and improves.

Good to see informed opinions from OPs on the latest UEFA document. We all kinda knew that the Grealish sale covered over a lot of financial mismanagemnt and now UE/Monchi have a lot of work to do to rebalance our situation. 

Even with the listed players mentioned, i.e. deadwood, being cleared, we just need to accept that at least one of our 'star' players WILL be sold this Summer. Even with CL revenue we will need funds to improve the squad and this will be the easiset way to do it within the timescales required. IMO, Luiz or Emi will leave in the Summer and I'd say Luiz is more likely.

On 15/02/2024 at 08:21, CVByrne said:

What's the point of ever having any hope for anything supporting Villa. All we get in the end is failure and each time it's served up in a way to maximise the pain too.

Being mid table for the season is far far more preferable than a Villa special of do well for first half and then collapsing. 

But being tricked into this shit over and over. **** hate this club for how much of a curse it is on those who are struck supporting it. 

Only pain and misery for decades now

Jeez man! Genuine question (assuming your post isn’t sarcastic)…..have you thought about stepping away from Villa for good? You clearly get absolutely no pleasure at all from supporting the club and seem to only focus on the downs and not the ups. We all know that supporting ANY club is the quintessential rollercoaster ride…..and if you cannot glean any joy from the considerable ‘ups’ we have had then surely time to step of the ride altogether. Your expectation of ‘decades of pain and misery’ is not worth putting yourself through it. 

7 minutes ago, Teale's 'tache said:

I think it will be Tim or move McGinn back, those seem to cause the least upheaval.

Sometimes an injury can give an opportunity that sparks a career, if it is to be Tim I hope he grasps the opportunity and makes a name for himself.

Exactly this re injury opportunity…..see Miley at Newcastle, Mainoo at Utd, Bradley at Liverpool.
Maybe, just maybe Tim…. go well young man. 

Bailey was struggling to get back to help Cash and Unai wanted to solidify the midfield with Kamara off. So choice was to keep a fresh Diaby on or a tiring Bailey?  I can see his logic tbh. 

Quite telling that UE specifically mentioned Casemiro twice in his press conference as a very important player.

I have a feeling he may bring Ramsey back on the left and push McGinn up off Watkins instead of Youri. McGinn’s energy and fight in midfield would very much be needed in there, up against Casemiro

Kamara  Carlos. Lenglet Moreno

Bailey Luiz McGinn Ramsey

                             Tielemans
                Watkins

(assuming Pau not fit to start)

14 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

Konsa is the Foyth in this team. But the fact is Ashley Young got it when playing last year Cash simply doesn’t.

Cash will be sold in Summer and replaced with another RB/CB hybrid…….but I’ll stop there as that’s another thread. 

56 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think he has lost trust in starting Zaniolo, plus Ramsey and Diaby are currently not in great form and that has taken a lot of pace from our attack

I think the bigger issue is that he has lost trust in Cash to play the 3rd CB role, resulting in Kamara having to drop in and the midfield then losing all its shape and not being compact.

Wouldnt be averse to seeing Kamara at RB on Sunday tbh. Cash just doesn’t have either the footballing intelligence or defensive capability to play the RB/RCB role which is essential to the system. 

3 hours ago, Tomaszk said:

Thought this immediately.

Where the **** is Cash going.

His brain. Jesus.

Yep. I just don’t think he’s got the footballing intelligence to play how Unai requires. He cannot adapt his natural inclination to drive forward and, as we can see, it leaves us exposed and out numbered. I can really see now why Foyth was such a good fit for an Emery team. 

3 minutes ago, eholm said:

Absolutely. Konsa missing at RB hurts us  both defensively AND offensively. Kamara at RB should not be totally discounted……

Or a regular back three of Carlos - Lenglet-Pau until Konsa is fit. 
 

Whatever the best option is, it is NOT Cash at RB unfortunately. 

25 minutes ago, DJBOB said:

By deeper, it’s just kinda shit we have our backup CB pairing. 
 
But I truly believe that a lot of our build up problems are waiting for this Cash and Kamara rotation. 
 
The simplest of football axioms is to have a system where everyone knows where the other players are at. 
 
When we do this Kamara dropping to CB, Cash as RW, it often ends up with Cash in the same spot as Bailey, nullifying any of Baileys threat. 
 
It also tends to make us very right side heavy with Moreno super isolated on the left. This in turn makes us very susceptible to the counter on the left hand side. Lenglet too slow to make challenges up the pitch. Luiz covering acres of ground by himself. McGinn and Moreno stuck tracking back from a high position. 
 
This rotation cascades problems all around the pitch. 

Absolutely. Konsa missing at RB hurts us  both defensively AND offensively. Kamara at RB should not be totally discounted……

10 hours ago, CVByrne said:

He's hopefully back for Luton or Tottenham games 2nd and 10th March. Ezri seems to recover quickly remember last time he injured his knee?

Agreed. I defo remember him getting back after a couple of weeks when expectation was 4-5, iirc. 

23 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

I agree but I’m hoping that Torres retuning sort of balances out the loss of Konsa.

Great to have him back to start vs United. Yeah, with Kamara dropping back it does improve our passing into the 10s. 

25 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Tbf didn’t Konsa play right back when we got done 3-2 at OT? Issue was more how easily they bypassed our midfield in the second half. 

True. Personally, I just feel we are more secure overall with Konsa at RB and also better offensively for the reasons i've mentioned and gives us the best chance of winning matches. No guarantees, obviously. Time for Cash to prove me wrong i guess.

3 hours ago, Mic09 said:

I like Cash and think he gets a lot of stick but last thing I trust him to do is to win a 50/50 ball against a solid PL striker. 

Sorry, my post wasn't clear - I meant Cash as RB who then acts as the 3rd CB (RCB) when we are in possession...

1 minute ago, Kiwivillan said:

No different to Young playing there before. Emery getting the RB to tuck in and Moreno bomb forward. People complaining Cash passing backwards at every opportunity but he said after Boro game he has FB coaches giving him instructions. It's like his go forward has been trained out of him

Agreed, however, I dont think Unai now sees Cash as being defensively good enough to act as that 3rd CB/RCB, hence why he opts for Konsa....and with Bailey ahead of Cash we do not want Cash looking to get forward anyway. Lets hope that Konsa's knock isnt too bad as I'm sure we can both agree we are a weaker team without him in it.