Tubby

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

This even suggests if he had the whole of last season he would have got 4th then too! What a manager!

Minimum same again next season then?

He's got a bit of the Balotelli about him.

Clearly a talent, but just pure chaos, both on and off the pitch.

4 hours ago, maqroll said:

It's controversial, but I kind of like this. It's clean. Everything is in scale. Every element is clear and contrasts well. The lion achieves its detail through the less is more concept. It has our traditional motto, which is unique. You could replace it with 1874 if you wanted to. The big yellow star looks nice. Fully spelled out name. And the shape of the badge is inoffensive.

39 minutes ago, MrBlack said:

But it can, as proven by the planning permission that was granted. And with the Whitton station redevelopment going ahead, it will be able to even further by the time the stand is done. Not to mention the warehouse development that's taking place at the same time that will reduce immediate post game transport demand. 

Maybe it was a bluff call because the Whitton station thing only got confirmed after he said this.

I guess if that is seen as a driver for the "pause" despite all the factors I mentioned,  then we're going to get left behind waiting for the infrastructure to catch up. And a pause for that reason isn't ever going to release itself.

I wasn't defending the action btw, just adding points to the debate.

We all want an increased VP, or a new-fangled state-of-the-art version. How the club get there won't be straightforward and requires alignment of a number of different factors. No fan would want to miss out on a seat for next season though, that's for sure.

51 minutes ago, MrBlack said:

4 minutes into the below...he doesn't say pause. He then implies that what they will do going forwards will be for all fans and not just one stand. 

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2023/december/19/chris-heck-interview/

His point about the fortress and not tearing a stand down when we are playing the way we are... when is the right time? When we're mid table? Has he said anything since this?

What he also says is that the infrastructure can't support an increased number of fans, which in itself is detrimental to the fan experience.

2 hours ago, Dante_Lockhart said:

RB: Frimpong

CM: Fofana

AF: Nico Williams

That'll be a solid start for our Champions League debut.

This is dreamy

3 hours ago, Risso said:

This appeared on Reddit last night, apparently found in a Turkish market. Obviously the spponsor is wrong. I hope to god that's just a guess by somebody, and not what the actual kit is going to look like, because it's terrible.

 

1 hour ago, TRO said:

What type of midfielder is he? or hasn't he determined that yet?

Self-determination is his generations favourite thing 

25 minutes ago, rubberman said:

I kind of get when you say 'barely a top 6 team' (previous post) and 'solid top 8 team', but we are still actually 4th by both of those metrics.

You're not wrong. 

WE are fourth, but we are competing with teams that are as good as us. We are in a group of teams that could finish 4th - 8th based on current performance.

We won't this season, but it is an indicator that we need to improve (or stay fit!), to be able to compete next season.

Kounde and Fofana would be exactly the right positions for our needs.

RB/CB and DM

36 minutes ago, Tubby said:

 

 

 

You can get a calendar year table on Transfermarkt. Injuries and suspensions plus a volume of games, have definitely impacted us; we're barely a top 6 team by the time all games are played.

Bournemouth's PPG since they won their first game (week 10 I think), would be enough to challenge for fifth.

A very useful resource

PPG form table still sees us fourth.

It doesn't weight for most recent form, but reaffirms that we are a solid top 8 team despite the injuries, suspensions and game volume.

1 hour ago, Sulberto21 said:

Chelsea have the 4th best overall record since the new year allegedly (?)

47 minutes ago, Nabby said:

Last  15 Games 

Arsenal 40

City  39

Liverpool 30

Chelsea 26

Villa 25

 

 

45 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

I thought i saw a table on MOTD last night that had City , Arsenal , Liverpool  , us  and then Bournemouth  in 5th , but i can't remember the timescale they were talking about 

You can get a calendar year table on Transfermarkt. Injuries and suspensions plus a volume of games, have definitely impacted us; we're barely a top 6 team by the time all games are played.

Bournemouth's PPG since they won their first game (week 10 I think), would be enough to challenge for fifth.

A very useful resource

1 hour ago, fightoffyour said:

If we beat Brighton, even just one draw for Spurs against Chelsea would leave them not only needing to gain 9 points in 2 games but also having to overturn a GD of at least 6 (assuming a one-goal winning margin in each of the assumed results) or more likely 7 with our GF. So they'd have to beat Sheffield Utd, City, and Burnley by 2 goals each on average.

Spurs could definitely put six past Sheff United alone. I don't think it will matter at that point however.

I'd be surprised if they take more than four points from Chelsea, Liverpool and Citeh. Four points would be enough for us if that's the case.

38 minutes ago, Exeter Fan Too said:

 

The future looks bright.

I've no issue with regularly farming a young keeper out. Of all positions, these guys need games given the likelihood of benchwarming behind an elite #1.

It would be good to give him another loan at a higher level next season and maybe even a PL loan the season after that. He'll be 25 y/o in the 26/27 season and could be pushing Emi (34 y/o at that point). Hard to say what will happen at that point, but it will be a nice problem to have.

29 minutes ago, Enda said:

Bruno Fernandes should be playing for a CL team.

Great player, shit attitude. Couldn't see his ego blending with the current team love-in.

19 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Id be amazed if the council would let us, they're redeveloping large chunks of the city, largely due to HS2, young professionals, businesses etc etc

football stadiums don't tick that box 

They're not pumping £2bn in to Smith fields to then put a stadium next to it 

Football stadiums might not tick the box, but multi-purpose, year-round venues, do.

FWIW, I don't see us moving to the city centre, but I do think the future of VP is more than just a football stadium.

After his success tonight, hopefully Emi has received a text from his good mate Leo.

If we win a European final and qualify for the CL, he'd surely be keen...

8 hours ago, Jas10 said:

 

"If the team are successful in their objectives, I will shower Unai with gifts"

6 minutes ago, Galway Lion said:

Well having checked out the new Olympic stadium in Egypt built by our owners company we certainly have the expertise to build a mega stadium.

Add to that the expertise on rail and mono rail we have just employed something is clearly in the pipeline.

Not just a stadium, they built a whole sports complex! 

Could you imagine what they might surround a new Villa stadium with?! The fan experience could be off the charts.

6 hours ago, fightoffyour said:

s a capacity of 2,100 people per hour (in both directions but most will be going to the city centre not the airport, though that could be used as a roundabout way to reach the city by train), which is clearly insufficient for a 60,000 seater stadium and the NEC car parks are an absolute disaster to get out off after a concer

Considering the board now includes the CEO of a construction company owned by NS and a person with past experience helping WE with a similar situation for the Milwaukee Bucks, I'd suggest that the expertise is there to take whichever approach is deemed most beneficial to the long-term viability of the club.

It goes without saying, a new stadium, with top quality facilities for all fans, usable all year round, amongst a redeveloped vicinity, in the second city... that's a very attractive prospect. However much Villa fans care for it, Villa Park will always have its limitations when compared to modern stadiums. If it can remain in the area, and Villa Park remains an icon e.g. a museum in the Holte and a public space to the Holte Pub, it might be the best outcome.

8 minutes ago, duke313 said:

You only have to look at the table to see the difference, the goal difference alone for City, Arsenal and Liverpool is way ahead of us and Spurs.  We're not at their level, we're just the level below though, which I'm fine with, we're still a working project under Unai.

Only because our defence has been porous at times, and that's only because we've suffered injuries (Ty, Cash, Moreno, Pau, Carlos, Ezri) across the back four and with Bouba. We don't have an issue scoring goals, so if the defensive structure had stayed injury-free, our goal difference would be much improved.