Nigel

Did he have the potential to be as good as the London media would have you believe?

At least he has a good grasp of the plight of electrical retailers!

Most havn't heard of him...got to be Lambert!

Great little description of him here.. The Spanish press wire is rife with the news that Sevilla left-back Antonio Luna is set to sign for Aston Villa, after Marca reported Villa have had a €1.7million offer accepted. The 22-year-old spent half of the 2012-13 season on loan at Mallorca in an effort to find regular first-team football, but did in fact start and win the Copa del Rey final vs. Atletico Madrid in 2010. At €1.7 million, it represents another Paul Lambert bargain, but what can we expect from the little-known Spaniard? Here’s a breakdown of his style, strengths and weaknesses. Luna plays primarily as a left-back, but has been known to cameo at left-wing due to his attacking tendencies. He’s as you would expect from a Spanish U21 international on the ball—calm, composed and eager to drive forward. His quick feet allow him to play smooth give-and-goes, while he’s always looking for the positive ball. Sometimes he comes across as too eager, perhaps forcing passes between the lines that carry a high risk factor or don’t look fully “on.” He’s great in tight spaces, trusts his ability on the ball and rarely panics by lumping it; his inexperience is both a positive and a negative here, as there are some cases when he truly should be getting rid of it Alan Hutton-style. When his teammates are on the ball, he provides an outlet. Happy to get his foot on it and get involved, he is adept at creating angles for his centre-backs to use. He does this by drifting forward 5-10 yards ahead of the ball player when possible, stretching the marking system the opponents use. Mallorca favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation, but their avenue for attack depended largely on which flank Giovani dos Santos was on. Favouring the right more often than not, it was Hutton who saw more of the ball in attacking areas, not Luna. Even still, he was adept at keeping the formation balanced and wide, stretching the pitch and creeping forward when possible. Villa currently host a similar situation, with Matthew Lowton heavily favoured going forward. When given time in possession, Luna is adept at cutting inward to find space, starting attacks and playing cross-field balls—the latter being a valuable trait given that Lowton can do the same. Defensively, he was work to do. He represents the polar opposite in tendencies to current incumbent Joe Bennett, and while many Villa fans will draw positives from that, he represents an incredibly raw and instinctive project. When his side retreat off the ball, Luna’s a little rash in stepping out to meet his marker. Rather than hide behind the nearest centre-back á la Bennett, he steams forward and engages too early, leaving holes. A dedicated defensive midfielder will be able to plug the gap, and the similarity in systems should help, but Luna can find himself a whopping 10-12 yards too far forward. Lucky he has the pace to recover. At 5’9″ he’s understandably shy in an aerial sense, but holds his ground well nonetheless. Squawka clocked Luna at an average of seven defensive actions per game, a 73 percent pass success rate and a total of eight chances created throughout his time on loan at Mallorca. Battling in a relegated side, the team’s downward trajectory affected his score. But he always came across as a confident, positive, creative outlet. Luna appears a summer of defensive coaching away from being a truly all-encompassing prospect at left-back for Villa. http://blog.squawka.com/2013/06/17/antonio-luna-scouting-aston-villas-latest-reported-signing/2013061710932

I would absolutely bloody love to turn into the next Arsenal. I'm past caring, little England can swivel. It's just the Villa for me now. OK maybe Arsenal was a bad example, what about turning into the next Wigan? I'll still go to the games, so we only need one other (and a dog) and we're already beyond Wigan. If the question is do I want us to be shit then the answer is no. But I'm not entirely sure what the nationality of our players has to do with that. My point (and I guess my question) is I dont want us to lose the English backbone we have, Im quite proud of it. I believe that any team should retain a strong element of home based players, they simply have a better understanding of the uniqueness of the countries game. Its no coincidence that the best teams recognise this. At the moment we are in the process of diluting our English presence, which is fine as we were well catered for in this department, however I dont want us to continue this movement over the years till we lose this identity. I understand that you would lose this in an instant for success, as would any sane fan, however this is no guarantee of success simply another gamble.

Its not really going to be a contest though is it.

Broadband is currently running at a respectable 11.14 ATM. This could have been low as it was a Sunday afternoon; However id say the lagging issue is still quite common, looking at other forum posts. 'Wanky' sounds about right!

I would absolutely bloody love to turn into the next Arsenal. I'm past caring, little England can swivel. It's just the Villa for me now. OK maybe Arsenal was a bad example, what about turning into the next Wigan?

Just watched my first film on Now TV last night (Spiderman BTW)...... very disappointing experience! First the film is quite obviously not in HD (going to be a long time before this is fixed apparently too). This would not be too bad if the film was at least a consistent picture quality, which unfortunately it wasnt. It kept jumping from okish to downright terrible, only to be made worse by the constant buffering. The final nail in the coffin is that there are no TV shows on this service...how does it hop to compete with the other streamers without this? I have signed up for 6 months (£15 deal) but tbh I doubt ill use it again. Was thinking of signing up to Netflix, anyone use this?

Pretty sure he's getting anybody he wants from abroad in first so they get to settle in a bit easier. English signings will come later, plus English teams seem to hold out as long as possible to get the best price they can. Thats a fair point! Also I suppose the competition would be fiercer for those already bought in.

TBH I hope the last one is English. Flooding the team with good foreigners is fine with me, up to a point, but I dont want us to turn into the next Arsenal.

Hmmm interesting Its Samaras, I can feel it in my bones!

When did this happen? Dont remember hearing anything about it, but I suppose thats more to do with his age than anything.

What ever happened about that Danny Crowley to Arsenal story that was doing the rounds a few months back? Anything in it?

This is scandalous...we are actually going to use a pre-season for what it should be used for!

Ooops, ignore me....just noticed Jenny posted same deal last page.

Agreed, especially with the Euros at the end of the season, and a last realistic chance of a birth.

It's quite a good incentive that. It's a far cry from McLeish's beaten before we even turn up stance against the likes of Utd. I wonder is it a named top six (as in the top six from last season) or is it the top six on the day of any particular game? I could imagine all the Villa connection in the room sniggering when he demanded this clause.

Was hoping for a disastrously timed 50% off voucher in the express!

Pray do tell!

First time Ive seen that Chelsea game....I see what the fuss is about now! The speed of the guy!

Out of all our shirts the one with Acorns across the front is my personal favorite. Raising awareness for a charity whilst simultaneously sticking 2 fingers up at other teams commercial greed made me proud to be a Villa fan. Real shame it could not have continued; However you are right, really glad they are still being considered!

10th of Sept will be where its at! Have we ever qualified easily from a group? You could line us up in an under 10s tournament and we would still have an all or nothing game come the end of qualifying.

You want the main board mate!

Would have loved to have read this when I was a kid, in fact there are loads i wish I had read. True escapism is wasted on the young!