villabromsgrove

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

Chukwuemeka is unfortunately for him just a small part of this scenario. It's all about the future of our 'Academy players development plan' which has been implemented by NSWE. CC has been badly advised to take on the might of two billionaires with a very well funded business plan which is now set in stone. There is only one winner here.

I have no insight into what Carney is being advised to do, but I do have a fairly decent scriptural knowledge due to my traditional upbringing in the 1950's. I wonder whether the issue clouding this contractual disagreement is down to Tithing. Pastors (especially a couple of well known Nigerians) have become very rich by insisting on this practice. Tithing is the biblical instruction that a proportion of a persons income should be given to the church. These Pastors quote the book of Malachi in the Old Testament saying if you're not giving your tithes to them you are disobeying God. They say that if you obey all the rest of God's laws, but fail to pay a tithe (usually a tenth of your income) to the church, then the gates of heaven will be closed to you. I really hope that Carney isn't being used as a Pastor's cash machine. This isn't an accusation, it's just a concern I have because of reading about how devout he his. I hope I'm totally wrong for CC's sake.

JWP must really love life on the south coast as he hasn't pushed for a move. I saw the odds on relegation earlier and Saints are in the bottom 6 or 7. There must come a time when Ward Prowse wants to have better players around him to help him out and up his game. That may be now in World Cup year.. I know there are absolutely no links with AV and JWP but I feel he could still be the most perfect round peg CM playing alongside Kamara. I obviously don't know the state of our finances vs FFP, but one expensive signing this transfer window, to complete what Gerrard is trying to do for the 22/23 season may be affordable. It would give us a diamond duo as our regular CM's as both of them tend to stay fit.

We were all asked about "Striker or CM though". I'll take a top quality CM please, and a chilli and garlic chicken curry with carrot and spinach rice.

We all have our opinions on McGinn but I think we need to accept that the only opinion that matters is Gerrard's. McGinn wore the captain's armband in the second half against Leeds, and it would be strange for SG to give the captaincy to someone he considered a possible bench sitter. That indicates he's in the first eleven for the opening game at Bournemouth. SG just said that he's already had to think about his first eleven for that match, to make sure they get enough minutes between now and August 6th.

I agree that he's a very good prospect but I'm concerned about his lack of work rate and aggression. These are attitude driven traits and if they don't come naturally then it could be a draw back. I watched Luke Moore a lot of times play for the reserves at Bescot and his talent was clear, but so was his lack of work for his team mates. Nathan Delfouneso was another that I saw many times, and he didn't work hard enough without the ball either. I think CC has a better work rate than the two I've just mentioned but he's still been average in that department each time I've watched him. What is your opinion of my two concerns useless.? You've obviously watched him a lot.

Reading OBE's recent insight into the pressure and influence of both family and church (Pastor) has made me wonder how CC will cope if he moves to another club, especially if he goes to another country. At the age of eighteen coming from a dominant patriarchal culture it will be a total change of lifestyle and he will probably need a lot of support. I'm sure the club have talked to him about this, but I hope he's thought this through very carefully and has someone impartial to seek advice from.

I've just done a bit of reading to remind myself of Carney's career and playing stats so far. He has played less than 300 minutes of PL football spread over 12 games. During that time he's had four shots, no goals, one assist, and averages a rating of 6.2 per game. His work rate is described as medium. The evidence of my own eyes tells me that he has good technique and a certain swagger in age limited games and looks good on the ball, but he's yet to impress me in the Premier League. I don't doubt that he has bags of potential if he fully applies himself.

Does anyone know the name of CC's agent? I may have missed it but we tend to refer to this anonymous individual without identifying him.

I won't criticise young developing prospects, and that is exactly what Carney is at the moment. However I am concerned about the advice he may be getting from his agent, family and friends. I've watched him stand out when he's playing 'age group' football and you can clearly see that he's a good prospect, but he's nowhere near the finished article. For example, Iroegbunam totally outworked him in the recent U19 tournament although CC's goals were well taken, and he sometimes looked like an 18 year old 'prospect' up against men when he played for Villa last season as a sub. This is the conundrum that the Villa bosses have to figure out. They've invested heavily, and if they allow one ill advised 18 year old to set an example for other good prospects then the Academy system can't function as planned. As much as I like CC I firmly believe that the way forward is for Villa to remind him that he still has a contract with AVFC for another year, and that they will fulfil their responsibility to him by coaching him and looking after his physical well being .... but there will be no game time for him during this coming season. I think Gerrard will already have told him that uncommitted personnel cannot expect to take a place from a committed player. It will send a loud and forceful message to the rest of our young players. How will his agent be able to promote the virtues of a still developing and unfinished prospect who has not played competitively for a whole season? It's harsh, but AVFC's future interests have to come before those of one individual.

Did you not see his sprint back from the Man City penalty box in December? He over took the breaking city player like he was standing still .... then he pulled his hamstring! He has real undeniable pace.

I was an athlete many decades ago. Sprinters have a much higher percentage of 'fast twitch' muscles. They deteriorate with age but at Bailey's age they should recover completely after injury.

This is a signing that shows we are finally thinking about round pegs. It may be unpopular with twitter fans because he's not a player they can brag about, but he ticks a box that we currently have unticked. 28, experienced international with enough pace, but not a challenger for Digne and obviously happy to be back up for the season, so he won't be complaining about bench time. Nailed on LB cover without dipping into the "one more quality CM pot". Spot on Lange. As for Young, I think that squad unity is going to be an important feature this season, and Ash has shown that his presence is important on a day to day basis. He makes the BMH experience a top environment as evidenced by every training picture and video I've seen. Respected senior players have that effect.

I'm also "glad we've got Stevie", but Potter was my first choice after Deano's sacking before I was aware that Gerrard was up for the Villa job. GP may not be fashionable or have SG's worldwide rep and player 'signing" pull, but he's very good at his job.

Good post. Brighton are an example of a team and manager fully optimising their potential. Potter is a very good coach and an excellent man manager.

Sorry it's taking me so long to spot this .... between you and I, it was indeed. We had some fantastic cohorts of students at that time and that created a real purple patch for us both educationally and as a school community.

We need to put a nailed on points scorer into to Douglas Luiz's position. It seems clear that he doesn't see his future at VP, so his commitment if he stays for one more season has to be called into question. I've looked at the "points possibilities" of those players who could play alongside Boubacar Kamara and come up with a brief rundown of key contributions last season. 2021/2022 season. The base line is Douglas Luiz's own stats .... goals scored 2, assists 3. Jacob Ramsey .... goals scored 5, assists 1. John McGinn .... goals scored 3, assists 4. Tomas Soucek .... goals scored 5, assists 1. Conor Gallagher .... goals scored 8, assists 3. James Ward Prowse .... goals scored 10 (4 penalties), assists 5. On the basis that goals and assists can add to a teams points total, we need to factor the added (possible total points) value into filling the key position of CM. We need the roundest peg we can afford for this very round hole.

I love you to bits Mazrim, my feisty heavy rock maestro. I'm only giving my honest opinion. If we absolutely needed him next season then I agree with you about his quality, but I would like to see him given a little more time to become the finished article. He will be great in 12/18 months, and ready to take on the world, but let's get him tied down to a contract extension and let his physical and mental development ensure he can hit the ground running without any glitches or stutters. He could become a Villa icon if someone can sort his Agent out.

He's not ready yet imo. He's confident against players of his own age, he knows how good he is and has physical advantages .... but, in the PL he has looked distinctly nervous and aware that he's playing against "men".

You're entitled to your opinion Tom but I disagree with you about him not being brave. Trezeguet never ducked a 50/50 tackle unlike AEG and to some extent Traore and would press more than any other midfielder when he played. Trez could never be accused of giving less than 100%. He's not the best technically and his passing accuracy leaves a bit to be desired, but he's a battler not a bottler. In my opinion of course.

I don't know how much money we can or are willing to spend to finish this Summer's transfers. For me if we can only afford one absolutely key player it would be JWP. If we can afford JWP and one more it would be Calvin Bassey because of his physical capability and willingness to cover many positions. I wouldn't buy another striker because I believe the service and support that both Watkins and Ings will get from the new arrivals will make them both dangerous strikers again. Cameron Archer as a 15/20 minute sub would torment tired defenders.

Very true TRO, I'll miss Trez though. I always got a buzz when he came on as sub and we needed a goal. He may or may not do it for us, but he'd die trying. I wish him all the very best for the future.

Try googling Tommy O, then try googling Tommi O. It's a new generation. (and I'm an old bloke mjm)

I've watched him as much as I can because he's been a favourite of mine for years. His work rate is phenomenal with both pressing and getting back to help out the RB as well as patrolling CM, he regularly covers some of the greatest distances in the PL. His passing is usually pin point accurate and briskly delivered, and his vocal leadership makes him an effective and respected captain. He also has a "bit of attitude" which makes him feisty on occasions. Southampton are an average team who are light in some key positions. Their continued presence in the PL owes a lot to JWP imo, which is probably why his price is high.