villabromsgrove

I'm still hopeful that SG/Lange/Purslow will work their magic on one more top quality CM. If they can't get there 'A' target over the line, then there's always January just around the corner. I've been encouraged by one particular aspect of our team play during pre season. I felt that when we used second half subs our performance actually improved rather than diminished as has usually been the case previously. This bodes well for our use of the five sub rule, and will especially benefit the midfield in my opinion.

We need to increase the regularity of the service they get. If you live in a small market town the buses are infrequent and if you have to catch a bus to somewhere you get nervous and uptight about missing it, because you may not get another one for ages. In the city you're far more relaxed, because if you miss one bus there will be another along in a minute. I think the lack of regular reliable service is a bigger problem than the quality of our strikers.

I've just been reading Scott Parker's comments when he was asked whether Bournemouth were ready for the first game of the season against Villa. Wow! Talk about doom and gloom! I'm not good at posting links (the last one I tried was years ago and it got me in trouble with the mods), but it's worth browsing for the article.

I've just watched the full 94 minutes on Villa TV and really enjoyed a positive Villa performance against one of the top four French teams. I was going to post about the excellent work from a number of players along with a couple of concerns that I still have, but have realised that I would be wasting my time. The match day thread is in danger of becoming a therapy group for angry depressives.

What I take from his interviews is that he is honestly and openly telling us what his thought process is going into this season. Whether you like SG or not you must surely still get the message that he is very much his own man and will do the things he thinks are necessary to make Villa more successful.

A simple but clever bit of finger pointing. Nice one VLV.

Five subs this season so may be SG has told Dougie that he intends to use him as a more attacking midfielder, where his lack of pace will be nullified by his excellent technical ability.

Gerrard said in his interview that he was excited about the start of the new season, the players are excited and he believes the fans are getting excited as well. I have to agree briny_ear, there are a small number of posters on VT that seem determined to take every event and opportunity to take a swipe at Gerrard and some of our players. We have to realise that VT is at best a microcosm of Villa fans opinions, hopes and feelings. A small number of 'fans' are successfully bringing down the excitement and optimism that I believe a lot of us feel, by constantly rubbishing the manager and to a lesser extent some potentially excellent key players. VT is in danger of becoming unrepresentative of the views of the majority of Villa fans. I personally love this forum, so I hope that we can bury the negative agendas and celebrate the very real and exciting possibilities for Aston Villa as we continue to stride forward. Onwards and Upwards .... UTV !

We'll have a match day squad of 20 players this season .... 11 starters and 9 on the subs bench. We've got some quality in the starting 11, and a number of impact subs. We've got new team leadership, a manager who's demanding more and not afraid to kick a*se if and when it's needed. Gerrard knows the 'honeymoon' is over and he's making sure his players know it as well. Last season is dead and gone. I still think we'll have a top quality CM joining us, but even if that doesn't happen I'm more excited about the next few months than I have been in a long time. Top ten is a must, and eighth would be brilliant progress, but would need us to be lucky with an absence of key injuries. (7th may be possible if we sign that top CM).

It had me clicking on my browser. A bit of 'spur of the moment' comedy doesn't have to be perfect. Nice one MattyGriffi.

I don't think we're done yet. Gerrard has identified the CM position as a weakness and I'm sure he's trying to turn that weakness into a strength. Gallagher would be SG's favourite (imo) as I think he sees a young version of himself in CG. Tuchel is very unlikely to let him go unless TT gets his way and signs two or three top names between now and the end of the transfer window. I've also been looking at Southampton's expenditure this transfer window which seems to be 60 million plus. Their income from sales is non existent and they appear to be a club stretching their liquidity. I wonder whether we may finally put in a really tempting bid for James Ward Prowse? He would be a great leader on the pitch both verbally and by example. At 27 he's in his absolute prime and will cover more ground in 90 minutes than any of our players including Ollie. He would also be a nailed on captain choice should JM struggle at any point. It's great that we're putting a load of money into a stadium upgrade, but we must also spend whatever it takes to complete our first team as soon as we possibly can. However, we may have to play a waiting game until the January transfer window if we are interested in the two players I've mentioned. The only reason for not signing a top CM will be if we can't get a real quality player and his club to do a deal with us, as has happened in the past. If that turns out to be the case then Gerrard is professional enough to wait, rather than go to a plan B or C signing as we have done to our detriment on a number of previous occasions.

I would have left the captaincy with Mings, but I haven't a clue what goes on behind the scenes at BMH. After thinking about the news for a few hours I can see that a change was needed, and now is the right time for it. I know that from a fans perspective I was concerned about the regular on field complacency that was obvious at certain times in many matches. We often looked like a soft touch. That has to change and if SG thinks that he needs a compete change of hierarchy on the pitch and around the club then it's his call. Mings struggled with his CB partner giving him less than adequate support on many occasions. He needs to up his game and regain his focus if he's to keep his position. We gave away soft goals and he was complicit in some of those situations. McGinn had an equally worrying time with his wayward passing causing a lot of turnover ball, but it appears that SG feels that extra responsibility might be the focus he needs to up his game in this coming season. At his best he's a real asset. Martinez as vice captain means that McGinn isn't guaranteed a start every game unless his form deserves it, because Emi will be on the pitch all the time ready to take the armband. Ashley Young as club captain is a top appointment. He's a leader by example, an old head who's seen and done it all. Well respected and a great lifter of spirits. A perfect choice. Gerrard has clearly lost his patience with what he probably sees as a malaise afflicting the match day team. He's not trying to be popular, he's shaking things up to get a positive reaction. He will live or die by results this season, so he's obviously determined to do so on his own terms with his own leaders. Good luck to him.

Mings and Carlos should be our CB pairing barring injuries. It takes time to forge a rock solid understanding but they have the ability and physical presence to build a formidable partnership. Both are leaders and captaincy material and neither will go missing during matches. Mings should retain the captain's armband imo.

I don't see us signing a new striker, I think we'll go with Watkins, Ings and Archer. At their best Watkins and Ings are as good as we can reasonably expect to get at this stage in our 'project' imo. Archer is a breath of fresh air at just the right time and should be used regularly as an impact sub against tiring defences. The reason why I'm hopeful that our strikers will score more this coming season is because I think Gerrard is pushing hard for a quality CM partner for Kamara. I think most of us would agree that the lack of pass completion from both McGinn and Ramsey cost us dearly last season. The number of times we gave away possession because of sloppy passing by McGinn,and the general lack of passing and completion by JJ, was a source of great frustration and a serious points limiter. A solid CM base with two technical and physical athletes will add balance and accuracy which will increase our striking opportunities. So c'mon SG .... One cracking signing and we're good to go!

Division one would be ideal for a quality developing lb/wingback. At eighteen years of age he needs to experience the week to week competitiveness of 'mens' football.

Twenty minute cameos (70 t0 90) will be great for Archer and hopefully a pain in the arse for tired opposition defences. I'm up for that.

I agree with you TRO, except I would like to see us put all our available cash into buying one top quality CM partner for Kamara. I hope that a rock solid CM duo with quality technical and physical ability would allow our attackers and striker/s to anticipate good service, rather than believe we'll yet again lose the ball due to sloppy build up play out of midfield. Our inability to press consistently when we're out of possession and pass accurately when we have the ball, compromises us as an attacking force. A rock solid CM pairing would also cut down on the wobbly defending that we are still seeing. Lacking that final perfect round peg in the remaining unfilled CM round hole will make 7/8th unobtainable imo. I see tenth as our most likely finishing position with our current squad.

How will he get picked for the England U20 team if he's missed a total season of competitive football at the time selection happens?

If I were advising him then still being here on September 1st with the intention of running his contract down would be the one thing that I would urge him to avoid. Players can be flavour of the month for the media which he has been recently, but sports media is fickle and soon moves on. A season without competitive football and no way to put himself in the 'shop window' would considerably damage both his development and future prospects. Sign a new contract or get a decent move sealed this transfer window, are his only positive options in my opinion.

A major consideration for NSWE and Purslow has to be the knock on effect of giving an inflated "unearned" contract to CC, or even a verbal guarantee of increased playing time. Playing time has to be earned, not demanded. It seems that our owners are doing exactly what they have to do to prevent other young player's Agents/Parents rocking the Academy boat. Losing CC because his demands haven't been met or he thinks the grass is greener elsewhere, would be a small price to pay for the smooth and hopefully profitable running of the Academy.

Practically everyone has to 'earn' a living, and more money is earned by moving up the job ladder based on performance and experience. Carney is a good young developing footballer. He looks as though he could go a long way but at eighteen that's not proven, and he still has a lot of improvement to make in certain areas. He's not yet good enough to be a starter in the Villa first eleven on a regular basis. Five/ten thousand per week is more than enough for a teenager who is no more than a squad player currently and probably still living at home. He and his advisors appear to be demanding wages and playing time that he hasn't yet earned.

I totally agree, we need to get better ball around and into the opposition box more frequently and then we can choose from three decent strikers to either put it into the net or free up space for attacking midfielders to have more shots on target. As you say TRO it comes down to the "TEAM" and imo our team is one player short of considerably increasing the number of our key goal threats. A top quality disciplined CM partner for Kamara is more important than another striker at this moment in time. Without that CM any incoming striker would still suffer from the breakdown in service through constant wayward passing. Needlessly giving the ball away killed us last season.

I love it when this happens and then you search Google and find that there are actually eleven people with the surname Beundia in the world! Five in the Philippines, four in the USA, one in Colombia and one in Spain.

What about when he's out of possession and is unable to catch an opposition or forward when tracking back? I thought it was his only weakness last season.

Are you not concerned by his lack of pace in this key position?