danceoftheshamen

Has to stay for me. It really is about time we stopped these clubs stripping us of our players when they see us looming on the horizon as any kind of threat to them. No surprise we take 4 points from them in the League for the first time in goodness knows how long and they start to look at weakening us the same week!!! It has to stop if we are serious about challenging these clubs. Man City have done it (Delph, Grealish) and of course Utd have in the past too (Yorke, Young etc). Tell em to do one is my stance on it. I know sometimes it is the players fault but we need to find a way to stop losing our best year in year out,

For me Ings is the more unselfish player and is more likely to play Watkins in if he had the chance to do so. Watkins however appears more likely to try to beat 3 players and shoot rather than play in someone else in a better position. You would also say that Ings is surely the better finisher. Watkins has missed a lot of very good chances recently and he seems to lack that killer instinct which Ings has. So looking at those things it becomes apparent why they don't work. 1. Watkins does get some service from Ings but usually misses the chances he gets as a result. 2. Ings is the better finisher by far but never gets played in by Watkins so he becomes much less effective. So for me personally it's more on Watkins being unwilling to play Ings in as he wants to hog the chances for himself which he usually misses. I feel it could work "better" but maybe not the perfect partnership we all crave.

Delighted to get a point after the two awful goals conceded. The first was just bizarre and set them up for a good half. The second was one of a few really poor / careless passes. The others we just about got away with but not that one. Cash also did a suicide pass as did someone else but didn't see who that was from where i was sitting. It's something we keep doing and it has to stop. The first half was pretty much wrecked due to that kamikaze goal but the second i thought we were much better (other than the said sloppy passes). Great to see the impact Coutinho made and i thought Digne looked so much better than Targett offensively although am still a little unsure of him Defensively. I thought our two strikers were pretty abysmal today. Watkins is just so slow & cumbersome on the ball and his finishing is woeful currently. Ings was anonnymous too. Decent result from a situation i had written off personally so feels a bit like a win tbh. 4 points from that lot though..... i'll take that for where we are currently. As for the officials?? Well, it was a bit like the Old Trafford game in that all they had to do was fall over with or without contact and they got a Free kick. Luckily none of the happened in the area so the Ref did not have a decision he could make & VAR did not have the chance to impose it's usual corruption / Bias. I did see Cavani pathetically attempt to make out he'd been fouled when he went down in the area as though in agony holding his achilles and grimacing for about 5 minutes but that was so blatant an attempt not even Mike Dean in the VAR room could take him up on it which is astonishing in itself Again though thye could have had another few yellows for fouls on Konsa (Which injured him) and about 200 on Buendia barely any with cards. So a pretty obvious bias was prevalent yet again and i do not think it was a Free kick which led to their firstl goal either but then in fairness i didn't get the benefit of a replay. I also felt Ramsey was clearly fouled on the edge of their area but the ref unsurprisingly waved play on. So no real opportinities for the corruption to truly show itself today.....but please don't forget Utd were winning after a few minutes and right up until 15 mins from the end it appeared they were going to win... It is in those instances that the officials tend not to intervene as it looks as though they are going to win with no need for corrupt decisions to come to their rescue All in all 2-2 I'll take it.

Had to laugh very loudly at this spite ridden article in the local Brighton rag regards us being after Bissouma!!! Belittling our club as much as they possibly could by headlining us as "1996 coca-cola cup winners" and intimating our fan base are deluded as to the potential of the club whilst going large on the fact that their sole achievement over us is finishing higher than us in 5 of the last 6 seasons! No mention of anything else prior to that as it would not suit their one eyed agenda to try & big up their poxy little club to look on an even keel with us. .... Jokers. They have even set up their local readers with the "the only reason he would possibly go to Villa for is ££££'s" illusion. I throw it back at them Delusion on a MASSIVE scale They are that clued up on the football World that they even called our owners "Chinese" Bunch of muppets CLICKY Here it is... Why losing Yves Bissouma to 1996 Coca Cola Cup winners Aston Villa is not as unlikely as it may sound Those of you who have not heard where the rumour mill is sending him may be surprised by the destination. Over the past year remember, Bissouma has been linked with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain. So, who are the gossip pages saying is going to be his next club? Aston Villa. Yeah, that Aston Villa. The Aston Villa below Brighton in the Premier League table. Who have finished lower than the Albion in the footballing pyramid for all but one of the past six seasons. And whose fans believe they are one of the greatest clubs in the country still despite their last piece of silverware being the 1996 Coca Cola Cup. It is easy to scoff at the idea of Bissouma moving to Villa. I have just proven that in the previous paragraph. Many Albion supporters have done a passable impression of the Laughing Policeman, guffawing at those pushing their Bissouma to Villa narrative. Why would be go there?! But the worrying, uncomfortable truth is that there is every chance Bissouma could move to Villa, if not in January then in the summer. The Malian is out of contract in June 2023. If no new deal is agreed, then Brighton have only two-and-a-half transfer windows in which to sell before they risk seeing a player who could fetch them tens of millions of pounds walk away for nothing. Brighton fans have put forward many reasons as to why Bissouma to Villa is a non-starter, all of which can be dismissed quite easily. First, the comparisons to the Ben White situation in the summer of 2020. The theory goes that Tony Bloom would not sell White to Leeds United as they were a direct rival. Why then would he sell Bissouma to Villa who are similar? White was under a long-term contract with three years still to run when Leeds came bidding. Brighton had no need to sell no matter what Leeds offered. If Villa come in with an offer of £40 million in January – something they could easily afford thanks to their Jack Grealish windfall and rich Chinese owners - Tony Bloom has a very different decision to make. Bloom faces a difficult choice. If Bissouma has shown no indication of signing a new contract for Brighton, does Bloom extract the maximum he can for Brighton's star player as soon as possible? Or keep him, watch his contract run down and with it the amount a buying club will be willing to pay? Foreign clubs can open talks about a free transfer when a player enters their final six months, so if Real or PSG retain an interest then they could begin negotiations direct with Bissouma this time next year. For a player the Albion might have received £60 million for if a bid had been forthcoming last summer, Bloom will surely not take the latter of those options. Better to get £40 million in the bank now and reinvest that in reinforcements than nothing at all. Say Brighton do accept a bid from Villa. The next argument about him leaving stems from it looking a sideways move. As already noted, the Albion are above Steven Gerrard’s mob in the table. Brighton are also the club who gave Bissouma his chance in English football, turned him from a rough diamond into one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League. They have stuck by him through publicised off-the-pitch issues, which may yet be suitably off-putting to potential suitors that none decide to follow up their interest with a firm bid. That adds another layer of complication to the situation. Given all of that, you would hope Bissouma retains some loyalty to Brighton. No doubt Southampton fans felt exactly the same about Danny Ings. The striker had revitalised his career at St Mary's, becoming a regular in the England squad after an injury hit time at Liverpool. Ings thanked them by leaving for Villa Park in a cut-price sale the Saints were pressured to make as he entered the final year of his contract. A familiar story could play out 96 miles along the south coast in Sussex. There is the Gerrard factor too. Graham Potter is clearly liked by his players and an up-and-coming young coach. Might though the opportunity to work with one of the finest midfielders of the past 50 years be a draw for Bissouma? If Gerrard has the coaching ability to impart his knowledge and playing talent onto Bissouma, then it could be the catalyst he needs to take the next step and become one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world. Ultimately, Bissouma’s decision is most likely to come down to cold, hard cash. Villa have much more of it than Brighton and that makes them an attractive proposition. Football fans tend to have a more romantic view beyond a bank balance, forgetting that most players have no attachment to the club they play for. They are here to take a wage. It is an employer-employee relationship. With Bissouma away at AFCON for the next few weeks, it seems unlikely that his situation – be it a new contract or the Albion reluctantly agreeing to sell – will be sorted until towards the end of the January window, if it all. Bissouma joining Villa is obviously the worst case scenario for how this situation pans out. The best is that he signs a new Brighton deal, respecting what Brighton have done for his career and that they have supported him in every way possible. The most likely? Villa make an offer for Brighton and it sparks a bidding war. The likes of United, City, Liverpool and Arsenal decide they cannot pass up the opportunity to get a player of Bissouma's quality at a cheaper price compared to the fees being bandied about last summer. If Bissouma is to leave, nobody would begrudge him a move to one of the biggest clubs in the world. He has earned it and he deserves it. To lose him to Villa though would be disappointing, but a sign of the times – where cold hard cash (and the 1996 Coca Cola Cup) remains the biggest draw of all.

I'll predict another pathetic, dodgy decision riddled defeat. That is not a tough prediction it's literally like taking candy off a baby it's so obvious what will happen.

As a club DJ of many years, YES they are completely dead on that scene.

Fact is yet again we lost to that lot by the odd goal due to the intervention of the officials. It appears dubious & unclear at best & so, as has happened in the entire rest of the season, it should have stayed with the onfield refs decision.... But nope. 3 1/2 minutes to find a dubious offence which is still being debated even now which not only killed our momentum but also should clearly have stayed with the onfield decision as it was not a clear & obvious error. Of course, as per normal there is not a cat in hells chance they disallow that goal if Utd had scored it. Corruption / clear bias continues to rule at FA towers. I have zero doubt it'll be the dodgy penno & more of the same at the weekend.

I have noticed which is why I will not be renewing my Sky contract when it runs out. I would gladly do it earlier but am unsure how much they charge to end early? Anyone know? Would love to phone them & cancel stating their biased, awful coverage as being the reason and specifically the disgraceful disrespect they have shown in this which is clear evidence once again of the Scummy 6 protocol they have signed up to along with the FA & VAR.

The thing is this would, provided of course we got the player we were thinking we would, effectively replace grealish on that left side of midfield but actually with even more likelihood of goals as i always remember him finding that top corner quite often & certainly more often than Grealish did. As for whether he is that player still? Well you'd hope Stevie G would know surely? A new LB too for him to link with with a bit more attacking ability and pace hopefully & i think we could truly have improved on the Targett-Grealish thing? I'm on board for the ride regardless!

Exactly, & Ellis would let the deal collapse even if they we were the only bidders and all they wanted an extra fiver!! All fully in the knowledge he had gone in deliberately £5 under their absolute minimum asking price.

He's a wild card all right but for me he makes things happen...He's unplayable sometimes. Made the difference for them at Old Trafford at the weekend and caused us loads of issues when they beat us. I realize his flaws of course having said that.

Hmmmn, not so sure i agree with that tbh. A lack of grit basically means they are just not determined enough to win the game. A bit half cocked so to speak. Not busting a gut to win their battles and basically being too passive. I don't quite see how a lack of grit is every player running at 100 MPH for 20 mins? If you mean they are going in at 100% for 20 mins & burning themselves out rather than pacing themselves over the course of the game then that may be a lack of fitness & or guile/intelligence in respect of not picking their moments properly & going gung ho i guess but it looks like they sometimes think they can win a game easily, get 1 or 2-0 up (Chelsea, Wolves, Brentford) and they then go into second gear when they then get outdone by the basic desire & determination of the other team to win. This happened against Brentford from what i saw. We had the players on the pitch to win, indeed even during the game Brentford lost a couple of the few better players they actually had to injury and we still had clearly lost focus and lost the game really poorly. It looks like they just switch off or often fail to get going until they get roasted at half time. This has happened several times already under Gerrard. All signs of a lack of focus & desire to me. If we had more leaders & burning desire to win on the field that roasting could happen in game when needed thus reducing the spells of mediocrity & hopefully improving results...Small margins & all. If they are only working properly or hard enough for 20 mins then that would show a possible lack of fitness, determination, desire. It may also show that they lose focus quite quickly which again to me would say desire is questionable or they simply mentally give up which can of course be affected by confidence too. That is where the leader(s) need to step in. Of course i say all this in the knowledge that the Premier League is the peak of World football so the margins between success & failure are tiny. Of course they want to win, of course they try but to be the best of the best they need to find that extra 10% as that makes all the difference between success & failure. It needs World class grit & leadership, average or just very good simply doesn't cut it as they all have that at this level.

Well i think it's clear from SG's comments post that appaling Brentford performance, that the issue we have is the players keep dropping into this "too passive" mode. A "Lack of grit" i believe were his own words. That makes a whole lot of sense as we saw this same lack of "drive" very often with DS in charge too. To me that says we desperately need more leaders in the team. We have bought good players but the stats men cannot see Grit or drive in the same way that they can see number of passes, goals or assists. I think we have to also take into account that the Premier League is full of gritty/ tough players & teams. Moreso than for example France, Germany or Belgium etc. So whilst stats for a player in France may look great they are simply not playing against the same level of gritty highly driven player and often die rather than fly as a result when they come over here. Some adapt, many do not. To be passive & careless with the ball has been rife in this Villa team far too often for my liking for many years. It smacks of a distinct lack of drive in the team. If SG can sort this out he may just be onto something! The big issue is those are the players who will want to get the the most successful teams to quench their desire to win. One thing I used to coach people in business was "Skill can be learned but that "buring desire" or "drive" needed to truly succeed cannot, or someone with a lack of talent/skill but plenty of grit & determination will be more successful than someone talented who lacks focus/desire" For me this is what happened at Brentford for example. It appears this is the issue here. If you can find true talent coupled with that drive to succeed however....... Well that's a true recipe for success. Over to you Stevie G

I felt the writing was on the wall against Chelsea tbh. We were very similar in that game. Went 1-0 up (Very fortuitously) and then were so passive it was embarrassing to watch. It was literally like taking candy off a baby for Chelsea we never laid a glove on them all game. I thought then the New manager bounce bubble had burst but was unsure whether it was down to Gerrard being absent..... Clearly not!!!

I agree with this. Just would add that it has been the same pattern all season regards Targett & Cash's inability to cross / pass or shoot in the opposition half. If they could cross a ball straight we would be flying this season with the number of chances they get to do so each game. Frustrates the heck out of me every game! I await the new signings with interest and i'm almost certain a fullback or two will be high on the list.

So here is my view on the team thus far this season. Martinez: 8 /10 I feel he lost his mojo slightly amid the argiegate stuff and his concentration maybe wavered slightly for example West Ham (H) But a great keeper and happy he's here and looking back to his best under Gerrard. KEEP Targett: 4/10 occasionally he puts in a strong tackle defensively....but isn't that surely what any Premier League LB should do as an absloute minimum? Otherwise for me personally he needs replacing as the number of attacks which break down due to his shocking use of the ball is incalcuable. REPLACE Cash: 6/10 I do like Matty but he is just so rash and always liable to give away a Penno or over commit. He carries the ball forward well enough and is quick but again his end product final ball is woeful 19 times out of 20. DECENT BACK UP Mings: 8/10 He can be a colossus and has saved our bacon a lot more times he has cost us with his occasional amatuerish lapses. For me about as good as we could get at this time. KEEP Konsa: 8/10 I like him a lot. Still learning but very happy with his progress. KEEP Nakamba: 7/10 So unlucky to get injured badly just as he found his moment here. KEEP McGinn: 7/10 There is a very good player here although he can be expensive with the ball posession wise. He is the guy who goes for the juggular if the opponent but occasionally it backfires, he commits in the wrong situation and we lose posession needlessly. Maybe Gerrard can help him with this. KEEP Ramsey: 8/10 I was unconvinced earlier in the season, now i'm convinced. He is still raw & will make mistakes but a real player here for the future. KEEP Sanson: 5/10 Way to early to call, not enough appearances to tell still so at the moment KEEP Buendia: 4/10 Very disappointing thus far. Has moments of brilliance in him but at what cost? JURY IS OUT Bailey: 5/10 Looked so good against Everton but then what happened? Clearly needs time before judging him KEEP Watkins: 6/10 Looks out of sorts to me this season. I just get the feeling he'll be off at the first chance. His finishing is pretty average and he needs to work hard on it like Lukaku did. He also needs to learn when to pass more. Still a tough guy to play against but could do better for me. KEEP Ings: 7/10 I like him a lot, a true predator but needs to learn how to play with Watkins. KEEP. Traore: 4/10 Way too expensive with posession for me. Has the odd trick and goal in him but again, like Buendia, at what cost? SELL Elghazi: 5/10 He's had way too many chances here for me and is so frustrating. One chance too many though SELL Trez: 2/10 Tries but not up to the required standard: SELL Hause: 5/10 Simply ridden with mistakes and struggles so badly when pressed. SELL Luiz: 6/10 Another frustrating player. Can be very solid & physical but offers nothing going forward and disappears now & then like against Brentford. OK SQUAD PLAYER Young: 6/10 Has quality on the ball and can cover various positions. I thought DS misused him badly which exposed him but an ok squad player OK SQUAD PLAYER FOR THIS SEASON Steer: 5/10 Not premier league standard for me. SELL Tuanzebe: No point commenting as he's already off. As for the kids, Chuk, Archer etc of course they all need games to develop, so KEEP

Ok, that means i'll be at work so will miss our FA cup exit most likely down to some dodgy Penno in the last minute as normal. In fact shall we start a sweepstake for fun? I'll go the 92nd minute, dodgy Penalty to Maunre

Both teams were poor today, you guys had more excuse to be so than ours in my view. That was really poor from Villa today compared to recent performances (Pre Chelsea). Personally i don't think there is a chance we will push the top 6 this season but hey ho. As for the clubs i guess a lot of fans still see you as at the high point in your history but tinpot i agree is unfair whereas i think it's fair to say we are still early on the road to recovery from one of the darkest periods in our history so a lot of fans alive today simply have never seen Villa in their pomp (Largely due to a Mr Doug Ellis but that's a whole other story) Good luck for the rest of the season.

Lost shamefully to Brentfords reserves. Need you really say more apart from this team are a million miles off being in Europe. Targett his usual awful self. Countless chances to deliver good ball but everytime looked like a school kid just kicking it to absolutely nobody or more likely straight at their keeper, out for a GK or straight to one of their players. Troare was abysmal Hause looked like a disinterested bloke who hadn't played for 5 years. And as for Luiz? What on Earth was that today. Appaling performance and lost to a team who played abysmally themselves. Says it all. New signings clearly needed. Get rid of Traore, Trez, Targett, Hause & back to school for a few others. Shocking perfomance, an utter disgrace to the shirt to lose to their reserves like that. Call themselves Premier League footballers?!

Doesn't fit the mandate! It's all about the Scummy 6 clubs don't you know!.... Have to keep the clueless (Because all they ever hear about is those 6 clubs), glory hunting, top wearing swathes in the far east & Asia interested!!! Afterall why would they tune in and pay their PPV fees otherwise? Same reason half the results are tilted in favour of those clubs.... or had none of us noticed the annual Christmas tinkering and mass penalties going in their favour!? Happens every season always around December onwards. Anyhow it really is a test of the squad today. Good to see the youngsters coming in and fingers crossed we get something from the day points wise. Looks like both teams are weakened... Not just the brenford one!!!

Cue 100,000 Headlines about him (Watkins) being off to Arsenal

No definately not, he looks like someone crossed Shane Warne the Aussie cricketer with Wayne Rooney

Is it me or do we seem to be lacking physically in a lot of games. The ones against the likes of West Ham, Chelsea the other evening & the Watfords of this World? We seem to have a lot of players who are very easily knocked off the ball. I feel Elghazi, Traore, Buendia, & a few others are constantly struggling to keep the ball when in good positions purely down to lack of strength. The other night Chelsea bullied us all over the pitch in that second half. Watkins & Ings, Elghazi, Buendia & even Mings, Konsa & Cash were very often second best in their personal battles physically. Even Chuk got the same when he came on but you can expect that with his age of course so thats nothing against him. I thought of our players Sanson, Luiz & Targett stood their ground reasonably well but the rest lost their battles for me. Especially in that second half. I know it's Chelski & they cost ££££££'s but i don't see why our players should be outmuscled as easily. It was so easy for Chelsea to defend us in that game, they were simply too strong for us from what I saw & it needs to change. So a few tough nuts to balance the team would be a good shout in my view and i still feel we need a true Captain to stop these half arsed periods we see in games too often.

I was somewhat disappointed with that second half. First half I thought we did well albeit ruined by another rash tackle by Cash. What a difference though in the second. Partly down to the changes Chelsea made but largely down to our sudden inability to pass the football properly and thus getting pushed further & further back until we conceded. One thing which really annoyed me was the dog awful delivery into the box even in the first half which killed our attacking threat. Even our goal was basically a misshit cross which got deflected. The delivery from out wide was abysmal. The through balls from the centre were woeful too and as a result we created practically nothing against a resolute but nothing special Chelsea team. Negatives: We clearly Missed McGinn. Buendia tried but just kept giving the ball away. Watkins was totally anonymous as was Ings and again the opportunities to deliver the ball in from wide usually fell to Targett & Cash and were all spurned....aside from the misshit from Targett which fortuitously got deflected in. Positives: Traore, Sanson, Chuk & Ings all getting minutes and even Trez getting on the bench. Some decent passing (In our half) in the first half in which we matched the European Champs (Albeit with both teams weakened)

I too don't see much happening in Jan, two at most you would think, if that. I don't feel we are strong enough for Europe either and it'll take more than a January to bridge the gap. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas.