sir_gary_cahill

Someone that we’ve been linked with Stefan De Vrij previously is playing for Inter Milan v Juventus in the Coppa Italia final on Freesports channel 65. He looks excellent so far

4 hours ago, gwi1890 said:

Definitely need a right sided central defender, wonder who thought?

Feeney

On 04/05/2022 at 10:46, Zatman said:

But only 3 years away from being written off by posters on this forum

I think you are joking but he won’t be written off by me, he’s a fantastic player 

2 minutes ago, useless said:

By football people in general, he was one of the most highly rated youth strikers in the country, I think his strike rate at U23 level was very similar to Abraham's, and was being linked with Man City and Rangers. I'm pretty sure that at that stage it would have been expected that by now he'd be playing at an higher level than the Cypriot First Division.

I think Hepburn-Murphy can still have a good career at a high level, Hepburn-Murphy was great in our u18s and u23s. I would’ve put decent money on him making it in our first team, they all are SGC, they all are!!

1 minute ago, useless said:

Last I heard from Hepburn-Murphy he had just returned from a lengthy injury. To be fair to him, he's playing at an higher level than most academy players go on to play at, as most end up in either non league or disappear from the game completely. Just not playing at a level anywhere near that was expected of him when he was an academy player.

Expected of him by who? 

7 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

RHM who's now a ball boy in Cyprus is a bad example... 

he was brilliant in our u23s and u18s, I thought he had a real chance of making it in our first team. For a young lad, he’s had a lot of injuries in his short career so far, they have hampered his progress 

3 hours ago, useless said:

Quite a few players from that era look like they're doing well for themselves, Green, Blackett-Taylor, Doyle-Hayes, O'Hare, Davis, Sulliman, Šarkić, McKirdy and so on. Really probably should have made more money off them, as it is I think they all left on frees, still, that they're doing well is a good advert for our academy.

As for Patterson I was really impressed with him today, looks even better in midfield than he does at left back, because he started playing for the U23s at the start of this season and has even played against first team oppostion in the EFL Trophy easy to forget that he's still only sixteen, just a couple of months older than Kadan Young.

You didn’t mention Hepburn-Murphy there!

2 minutes ago, Zatman said:

nothing wrong with that. He has just won the league and hit double figures for the season with 5 in Europe

I don’t think there is either, it is a growing trend among young English players these days

11 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said:

Don't be sad for him SGC, he's living the life! Just won the Slovak title, and a key player in their side. Think they had a little run in Europe too.

Thanks HanoiVillan, I didn’t know that, these days young players find their feet abroad and then come back to this country,  I don’t know why that is

8 minutes ago, MWARLEY2 said:

Really liked the look of him today in the U23s . He is still at school but you can see some real technical quality alongside a good physicality . I understand now why he is playing for England age groups and has since he started. Is he is a brummie ? Anyone know ? 

Did he play in central midfield today? Maybe, the coaches are just easing him in. Versatility is a good trait to have in the modern game I think

On 14/08/2021 at 06:34, sir_gary_cahill said:

I remember Andre Green playing for the u23s when he was 15 years old. In the highlights on Quest, he seems to seems to be doing quite well for Sheffield Wednesday 

He’s now at Slovan Bratislava  

7 minutes ago, STO said:

Hopefully goes out on loan next season to a decent club so he continues his progress.  

He’ll only be a first year scholar next season, it is very rare that first year scholars are loaned out regardless of how good they are. Even Jack Grealish was a second year scholar before we loaned him out to Notts County

He’s a skilful winger, an u16 who scored for our u23s today, whenever I’ve seen him, he has impressed me. He’s very quick and jinky and likes to run at the opposition and to take players on. He has a chance I think, I don’t know if he is related to Ashley before anyone asks!

4 hours ago, desensitized43 said:

And we’d have not addressed centre back issues.

The way Mings is playing at the moment, we don’t have centre back issues. Him and Chambers have got a nice little partnership going there

He was excellent today, he’s been brilliant for the past few matches, let’s hope he can keep it up. If he makes one mistake, the moaners will be out in force again. For me, he is a great player and well worth the £20m we paid for him, £20m is nothing in today’s market 

On 25/04/2022 at 20:24, OutByEaster? said:

2-1 down, which is a shame as it sounds like we've had more of it in the second half.

Rowe on for Afoka, who missed a chance just before their second goal.

Is this Triston Rowe? Am I right in thinking he’s only an u16 centre back that we bought from WBA? I remember Andre Green and Jake Walker both making their debuts for the u23s as u16s. Andre Green is now at Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Super Liga and Jake Walker is now at Newtown in the Welsh Premier League but I also remember Jack Grealish making his debut for the u23 debut as an u16 and even being named in the first team squad against Chelsea at home that same season, look at him now

36 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Because his game has been awful for a long time.

9 goal contributions as the No.1 striker is woeful.

Ings has 10 with a lot less minutes by far. I also think he's link up play is better, his touch is better, his strikers instincts are better

Watkins is quite a lot younger than Ings and Watkins works a lot harder than Ings. As a fan, I like both, they are very different, I think you are right, Ings has a bit more class on the ball than Watkins and more footballing nous

It is hard to compare them both, I just googled Ings, I was surprised to find out that has only scored 5 goals in 24 matches in the Premier League. He played 1 cup match without scoring, when I watch him, he doesn’t bust a gut for the team like Watkins does

Both of them have their own individual positives and negatives. Personally, I’d like both to still be at the club next season with Keinan Davis and Cameron Archer to come back and add competition to the forward line. 
 

Edit- this is probably the longest post I’ve ever written on villa talk 

59 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Really surprised at the line ups with Watkins in them.

 

May I ask why? He scored 14 Premier League goals last season and 8 Premier League goals this season and his intense work rate alleviates pressure on the rest of the team. For me, he starts but you obviously think differently 

21 minutes ago, 7392craig said:

@sir_gary_cahillDo you think any of the current crop of youngsters look like they might be ready to start for us next season?

Different players develop at different rates, no 2 players develop at the same rate. Even the great Jack Grealish went out on loan to Notts County before establishing himself in our first team. Our current set of young players are probably the best I’ve seen but I remember saying that about the Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Easah Suliman, Andre Green, Matija Sarkic, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Keinan Davis and Mitchell Clark group. The likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Aaron Ramsey, Louie Barry all have a real chance, I find myself saying that about a lot of young players. What about you craig7392? Do you think any of our current young players might be ready to start for our first team next season?

3 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

I've only seen his first team apps, but seen nothing 'special' from him yet.

As soon as I saw Tim yesterday, I saw straight away that he's the kinda player I love to watch.

Carney Chukwuemeka is a great player, he is special, we have lots of competition for places. Our current young players are probably the best group I’ve seen but at the same time, I don’t want to put too much pressure on them

19 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

I don't see it with Carney either, definitely saw it with Jack though.

Why not with Carney Chukwuemeka? For me, he is a great talent, I’m surprised that he hasn’t played for us more

4 hours ago, Zatman said:

They are happy to sell in the summer if we had waited like with Guilbert 

Instead we blew 25 million on a poor alternative

You think Digne is poor? Why? He has played for top European clubs like PSG and Barcelona. I don’t think we’re in a position to be turning our noses up at him

I think he’s a fantastic player, his hold up play is the best at the club. If he could finish, he’d be at Man City or someone like that but he can’t, even in The Championship. It’s the harsh reality of the situation  If we did let him go, I’d be sad, he has a lot of talent 

4 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

I think the loans are part of that, and I think that bringing in more and better young players is, but I think then not taking them to away games is a bit strange - I get that it's about developing players, but surely a place on the bench would give Delaney some options and some opportunities to some of the youngsters.

Do you mean a place on the first team bench?

I think we have shown great trust in Iroegbunam, he’s been given a new 5 year contract and a place on the first team bench. I haven’t seen him play but Noel has given me glowing reports about him

9 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

We have got a lot of good players on loan, but we're also missing Appiah, Barber, Bogarde, Afoka, Chrisene, Chukwuemeka, Hart, Iroegbunam, Munroe, Reddin and Thorndike who have all been involved this year and aren't out on loan - they can't all be injured or involved in the first team - we seem to have more players than we've ever had and smaller matchday squads - it's a bit odd.

 

Why do you think it’s odd? In my opinion, it’s part of the evolution of becoming a top club