hippo

2 minutes ago, duke313 said:

Agreed, 10th is minimum this season.  We finished 6 points off 10th last season, so with a pre-season and improved squad, SG has no excuses.

Don't forget though we added players and had a 3 week break in January - with little effect on results 

10 minutes ago, nick76 said:

I don’t believe that to be true.  Under less ambitious owners I would maybe concede but under these owners fans are more ambitious so I don’t agree with your point and 15th wouldn’t be acceptable to most fans with a cup.  They would be delighted with a cup but would want the manager out,

Whilst I not a fan of  Stevie G - If he achieves mid table and that is deemed not good enough - who do we get in to better that ?. Just replacing him with a similar calibre coach achieves nothing. 

8 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Would the owners? Massively increasing the wage bill to get further away from Champions League

Depends on how much you buy into the owners ambitions - sure the stated aim is Europe - but is that realistic ? - they publicly say that - but are they honestly expecting Europe anytime soon ? - if they do they are misguided IMO.

For us to achieve Europe - it has to be that our team is greater than the sum of all the parts - it has to be a cohesive unit that just clicks.

As it stands I think the amount of sheer talent on the books means we will pick up most of points by outgunning the smaller clubs   

12 minutes ago, nick76 said:

Just a quick thought.

Based on everything we are likely to finish around top ten, maybe a few places higher, maybe a few places lower.  That’s the 90% likely to happen scenario.

 

My question though is which, if you were a betting company, was “realistically” more likely from a pure betting point of view rather than hope…

1) Gerrard achieves a top 7 finish next season

or

2) Gerrard gets sacked at some point next season

Again this is not your personal hope view but a betting view.

I'd bet on neither.

Mid table ish finish and Stevie G keeps his job.

5 hours ago, Marka Ragnos said:

From 1992, during a previous, much less intense heatwave. Long story short: the author presents climate change as a "debate," and doesn't take it too seriously. Wonder what he would say today. Hope this is legible at the low-res. I suppose it must make painful reading today.   

Well the daily mail reckons were all a bunch of snowflakes .......the evidence ????

Prince Charles wore a jacket and tie today!!!!!

Mordaunt out to 5-1 with the bookies now.

Just now, Tomaszk said:

Absolutely no doubt we can push Man Utd and Arsenal all the way. As can West Ham, Brighton, Leicester. They are far from the secure in their "top six" status.

City and Liverpool obviously miles ahead of us, Spurs will be the ones closest to them this season. Chelsea are the fourth best, but are losing some key men, wouldn't be surprised if they missed out on Champions League.

Just look at Arsenal's XI (with no Ghana players in their XI) and see who you'd swap for our team. There isn't many at all, same with Utd; and they both have Europa League to content with.

We have the players - but are they a cohesive unit ? 

I still think we will be relying on our big hitters to blow the lesser teams out of the water - there where our points in the main will come from.

I'm really not sure another midfielder alters that 

2 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

I think it’s a bit of a myth that the votes move about in neat blocs. MPs have lots of motives besides ideology/policy to back certain candidates. You can see that already with how votes have transferred in the earlier rounds.

No they won't move in near blocks. 

But I still think Truss will hoover up a good whack of the Badenoch vote.

Does anyone disagree that the Badenoch vote will go to Truss?

Less sure that the members will choose Truss over Sunak  but a distinct possibility.

49 minutes ago, ml1dch said:

Anyway, moving on from people waving their fists at clouds...

Truss / Sunak looking more and more nailed on. Although the next home for Tugendhat's votes are probably the least predictable to er...predict.

The power of the daily mail.

Heaven help us all.

2 hours ago, avfc1982am said:

I'm going to give the lad the benefit of the doubt for the time being. As with Bailey and several others in the past we've found out that many of the foreign players need quite a bit of time to adjust. Especially physically which is why many of them have periods of niggling injuries until their personal physique undergoes something of an alteration for the intense demands of PL football. 

I think if he get's himself into tip top shape, match fit with a good pre season behind him we may finally see him settle down and become a valuable asset. I haven't given up on him yet but it' on him to start delivering when he gets minutes.  

Problem is will the coaching team/ selection bods at villa give him the benefit of the doubt. ?

1 hour ago, The_Steve said:

None of that is remotely true. 

What you think Newcastle have more standout players than villa ?

Rashica and chips with curry sauce

before the windows closes I hope we purchase

• A new ethos
• A new identity
• A bucket of mental toughness 
• some balance

and anything else pundits \ commentators talk about when not much is happening on the pitch. 

9 minutes ago, maqroll said:

I think a major stumbling block for Villa recently has been psychological. Erratic mentality week to week. Can't close out games, soft goals, too timid, low energy. 

Gerrard has to find the answer for this. We need to reach and maintain a consistent winning mentality. 

Better organisation would help.

Mental weakness is just a buzzword - you don't get to be an international calibre player if your mentality suggests otherwise. The idea that we have somehow selected 11+ players who are mentally weak is a non starter IMO. 

Hes a squad player - and his CV suggests a pretty decent one. Injuries, periods of non selection  have limited his chances to show what he can do.

After his initial batch of injuries hes done ok (but no more than that) when called upon.

I think we need to stop over egging him - hes probably not going to step in and set the world on fire - but certainly has a role to play - Perhaps as a fresh pair of legs in a game we are hanging on.

6 minutes ago, a m ole said:

Yes…

Why would he start there and not here if he’s currently good enough to play in a team chasing european football?

And if that’s the case, they’re less likely to play him

I just think Newcastle look more of a blended team - not as many stand out as players as we have - but a more cohesive unit. I think CC could slot nicely into their system. 

2 minutes ago, a m ole said:

Haha it’s just funny how they’ve suddenly become an elite team poaching top rated  players along with the biggest names, they’ll have to earn that right not buy it with journalist blood.
 

Also from Carney’s perspective, what reason would he have to move there over staying here? There’s an argument for moving to a big name team challenging for the top 2/3 places. Struggling to see what they would offer him that he’s not going to get here over the next 3 years.

Seriously ?

I think he could easily start a decent quota of games for Newcastle over that period. As things stand I think Newcastle will closer to European football than Villa over the next 3 years.

47 minutes ago, Sulberto21 said:

Dean Smith in various interviews after Jack left said “we tried to convince him to stay but unfortunately we felt we were 18 months away from giving him what he wants” 

The thing Jack craved most? Champions League footy. 

So I think the target is European football minimum this season. 

The players we’ve signed are good. And a few gaps have been plugged. The biggest limiting factor will be the coaching /management team.  

Gerrard has the tools but he needs to be able to use them effectively. Going to be a very interesting season and I’m looking forward to it.

Agree.

But we do have that limiting factor.  So 10th for me - at best.

I don't really see another big signing in midfield pushing us on - thats midfield is already pretty crowded - and Coutinho + Mcginn look nailed on starters.  

55 minutes ago, ender4 said:

No, but i still think they (the recruitment team) plan to buy 1 more expensive player who will be a regular starter.  And that could be the difference between 7th and say 10th, as it can get pretty close on points between 7th and 10th some years.

Im guessing - but I think the board would want to see some improvement in what we have before bringing in £35m+ player.

FFP maybe an issue too 

4 minutes ago, ender4 said:

Well it because we all really want 7th (including the owners, Gerrard and Pirslow) and would be a little disappointed with 10th this season.

Thats what they all say.  

But don't think they seriously believe current squad is getting 7th. 

33 minutes ago, burchy said:

Depends on timeframes I guess, all the talk at the end of 21/22 was we were disappointed with our league position. All the players are talking Europe this time around. 

To get Europe this year, what with all the improvements the Sky 6 have made, we definitely need a quality starting CM minimum. If Carney goes we need some depth too. 

If the owners are happy with top 10 this year then these plans can be relaxed but I don’t think top 10 is enough for them. 

The squad is decent - certainly enough for top 10.

Not a dig at NSWE - they have been great for us - the new stadium plans show long term commitment.

However as things stand I don't think we are getting much above 10th. 

Personally I would rather see a stonking first 11 - than taking delight at cover in various positions. perhaps its an age thing. ! 

7 hours ago, Lichfield Dean said:

Don't know if it's just my reading of it but he didn't exactly seem bouncing with enthusiasm in the post-match interview.

He hasn't had a full pre season yet.

19 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Quite interesting this. He mentions " This has been an opportunity to really revisit our style and philosophy, and how we want to play " " We will be trying things, and tweaking things " etc.

Also reckon this will have been a vital bonding experience for the lads.

And he's a man of his word

Just tell me god isn't his agent