itdoesntmatterwhatthissay

Exactly. A less petulant player would've remembered it was a team game. Sad but true.

Such a shame we didn't replace Bunn while we were at it. Nothing specific against him of Johnson (who looks a bit flustered of late) but there are plenty of old keepers who can pass on experience AND play well. I think it was a missed chance to really firm up the team, unless a kid will come through....

Ooooh all you guys are spot on! Hit the ball low!! Love it @dont_do_it_doug.

Ha @TRO, so true. Plus we have to be realistic. Back in the day we had players who could defend and attack which allow us to control games more efficiently; fans and the clubs expectations didn't change when we went mid-table. Now we have to have players for positions because the market, our league position and perhaps even the scouting/development system isn't giving us players who are talented enough to do both. It's not a wholly negative thing, it's the football experience for 95% of clubs and we have to accept we're not the team we once were.

Perhaps he was checking to see if the Ross had a problem, either mental health or addiction. In that light I don't think you'd say he did the wrong thing.

My brother thought he played terribly last game but I thought he was okay. Though nobody really played well. But was it me or did neither full back venture forward that much? Hutton is usually cruising up and down scrambling to be part of play but not in the last game. Tactics? Or maybe because I saw it on tv I didn't see enough of the game? He needs replacing but only because he's definitely on downslope of this career, he's still an adequate player....or am I going mad lol

Heard that too. Really need him back. Performances aside sometimes the positioning of a player is mightily important. If he'd have played in the last game his natural drop would have allowed other players to come forward and perhaps win a clearance or help the attack. Plus with his experience there's no way the middle would've been so flat. He's had some dodgy performances but he's a defensive player who was trying to start attacks. I think it all got a bit much for him so I'm bloody delighted we got him some attacking support. How many years have we gone without a hard tackling defensive midfielder? Lets not write this one off already.

We're clearing to nobody far too often. Someone needs to think about that and drop in the space a little more.

Looks up for it today. Hopefully his energy can last the full 90.

Berbatov is still on a free transfer! That would've been some fun!

I was just being facetious You started a conversation with yourself and never directly responded to anything I actually said!

I understand you completely but I never engaged you in that regard. I was merely pointing out we were making very different points. You talked about cover and I talked about the potential of a young player. You never asked whether I thought we needed more cover! Because of course we need more cover.....but again, tis frustrating that we can't put a youth player up for that position.

Maybe those glasses have fogged up! I said I am disappointed we don't have a Villa youth left back to come in instead. But perhaps you're in the new school camp of only buying players to fill positions. In which case we're clearly at an impasse!

He's the starter. Taylor hasn't been brought in for that role unless Amavi is being pushed up?..which would make some sense. It's a shame you're not disappointed that we can't promote a youth player we didn't pay £9m for. I think it's about time we gave players a chance. Though I don't blame Bruce.....this season

Yah

Really don't think this is a particularly amazing move if it goes ahead. Especially if it's £5m and Taylor for Ayew! Hard worker who has always come across a nice enough lad but isn't physically strong and it hampers him in the Prem. Though of course we're not in the Prem so maybe I'll shut up!!!! Also I've only really seen him against the bigger teams and for Wales as I rarely watch a Swansea vs Watford type of game. Perhaps a Swans fan will venture into the forum....though as I understand it they've moved him on as they have younger talent....tis frustrating that we can't put a youth player up for that position..... Potentially a commercially savvy move.

This could be the best thing for him and us. Needed to be out of the firing line and out of the team to improve. Perhaps it's a bit late for him but the time to rediscover himself is needed, either with Villa or somewhere else. Playing the position he should've been 3 years ago; squad player.

Agreed. This is the best squad we've had in years (which doesn't say much) and it's something to build on. Imo we're a few players away from being as strong as Newcastle and that would be quite an achievement considering what we went down with.

Or perhaps you lack one? Both lack pace. Like the ball to feet and to draw the defender in. Can play wide and behind the striker. Look like they have time on the ball. I'm not comparing quality but attributes and style.

I know that but you have to consider what player you're playing. Adomah loves to stick wide and burst forward but others go wide and then cut inside looking for an overlap or inside run. Too often than means the play stops and players end up holding their position and not being on their heels. Imo that's been a big problem for the last half decade and one of the reasons some of us have shown appreciation for Hutton's endeavour.

I think that's a nice balance with winger and wide/hole player (Grealish reminds me of Lallana in that respect), though I think Jedinak will end up playing a bit as he will actually be able to concentrate on being a defensive player and nothing much more. He's worked hard for Bruce, I think loyalty will be rewarded. I guess I just worry that the lack of width will hamper us and Bjarn will be a versatile enough to play the wide forward which will inevitably see us going narrow again. Too many teams play deep against us, we need some width to pull them out of position.

Maybe but we spent (not including signing on fees) over £30m on Gil, Tonev, Sinclair, Makoun, Ireland and Nzog. I'd have taken a player for a decade that played well instead.

Not sure you can say that at this moment. We've been playing a narrow front 3 for a while now and it seems our managers still like it. We only have Adomah to play wide so someone else will have to and has been. Why not a hard working all action player? If Hour sits along Jedinak and Kodija plays up top who goes out wide? I can't see us playing a narrow formation with 2 up top.

Because let's say he is an average player who never looks out of place and performs a 7 all the time. Imo that is worth an easy £30m and you also get the fact he is a Villa fan so that will add spice to his game. When you consider what we have wasted over a decade to get a player who plays a 7 every game, and we still haven't got him, then suddenly £30m doesn't seem that great. He might not make it but that's a judgement for the management and so in that regard your point makes sense, however at 21 I think that's a tough judgement to make even for a top coach.

He is. He's 21. He has a good 3 or 4 years to improve. In their own respective positions he's still been better for Villa than GG. But in what way does he seem a little immature? Tackling? Chasing the player? Making an early pass? Closing the gap? Holding his position in attack and defence? Dropping his head? Understand runs? Sorry, I still don't quite get it. Rodders0223 said he didn't think he was ruthless enough. And I wouldn't argue there. He misses passes and shooting chances, but again, he's 21 with very few games at either Prem or Championship level. This year he is ghosting past players and committing the tackle well and it was something he started understanding last year. I also like the way he holds his position when on the counter. You can also see he looks for the wide pass to nobody and so takes it through the middle a lot. In attack I feel he is maturing well and understanding how to build relationships. But he still hasn't quite worked out the timing of it all despite showing flashes of class.