Cizzler

50 minutes ago, ender4 said:

That's a really good point. All the focus is on him, the other players can just get on with scoring their penalties. 

It obviously worked, but there was a point before Watkins' penalty where I felt that the whole pantomime could have hindered us.

Watkins had much longer to wait for pressure to build, because Martinez was engaging with the crowd/the ref was trying to assert control. 

Spent four years at Leverkusen... and the year they sell him, they win the title.

Not sure a Conference League winner's medal will mitigate that... but could soften it slightly!

3 minutes ago, tinker said:

Apart from away where Watkins scored,  guy might be quick but he can't turn, he's fell over both times , isak is a top top striker though. Great game BTW 

Agreed that Isak is class.

Tbf, VDW is not having a good game at all. I do still think he’s a good player though. He’s not “signing of the season” as the spurs fans crow - but he’s big, quick, left footed and comfortable on the ball. 

5 minutes ago, Zatman said:

This. Any defender that relies mainly on pace is not a good defender

11 minutes ago, jacketspuds said:

The fact that they go on about Van de Ven's pace points toward shit positional play more than anything else.

Spurs play with a really high line.

If you actually watch him play, can we he’s a really good defender, and decent on the ball too.

Managed to keep Watkins pretty quiet.

He’s a really good defender; and both those goals were hardly his fault. Squared up last man, I’m not sure Torres stops either….

Still, great result for Villa if it stays like this.

I’ve been a big critic, but fair play - great cameo.

Good to know he’s got that physicality in him. That’s how you need to be in this league. He saw that if you play with that intensity, the refs are actually a lot more lenient when you do go down under contact.

Some nice touches too.

My Euro 23 man squad would be:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope (if fit)

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James (if fit), Luke Shaw (if fit), Ben Chilwell, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa (although would've been Ben White), Levi Colwill

Midfielders: Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Jude Bellingham, James Maddison, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon

Forwards: Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney

Rogers was such a strange signing, has looked utterly appalling every time I’ve seen him.

Is he really any better than Aaron Ramsey or JBP?

Trampoline touch, scuffed shots, gives the ball away constantly. Had zero faith he’d fashion anything from that opening just before HT.

Why is he playing.

Lenglet, Duran and Rogers would struggle to get in Luton’s team 

Appreciate we have injuries, but Rogers and Duran are just miles off it. Nowhere near good enough for a team trying to challenge for CL. 

On 24/02/2024 at 19:46, Zatman said:

Another Burnley shambles today. Consideting the ridiculous hype they are easily the worst promoted team ever

Was there genuine hype?

They were a decent championship team - but they didn’t manage to keep Tella (went to Leverkusen) and Maatsen (Dortmund). 

Harwood-Bellis also started for them all year, but they didn’t manage to get him back on loan either.

Their first XI clearly went backwards year on year, so was always going to be a struggle for them. It would be like us not managing to keep Mings, El Ghazi, etc the year we went up.

Sheff Utd had a similar problem, losing Ndiaye to Marseille.

5 hours ago, Stevo985 said:

What the ****?  

If a parody account tweeted this it would be criticised for going too far.

Pre-facing this with the fact I've never voted Conservative in my life (and not singling you out - as the overwhelming response on the previous page was one of ridicule/ contempt for the policy - but had to quote one) but just hoping for some fair discourse on immigration, as maybe I'm missing something obvious. 

But, is it truly beneficial [long-term] for the U.K. to allow masses of cheap care workers and their dependents?

Do other major economies allow this? (Genuine question).

Is the benefit (cheap care labour) not outweighed by the cost on the public sector of the dependents? Public spending expenditure p/head in the U.K is approx ~£15k - therefore if you pay less than £15k in tax annually, presume (roughly) you cost, rather than benefit the state. Typically what tax are dependents of care workers paying (is it above or below this threshold)?

I think it's easy to dub 'anti-immigration' policy as right-wing/racist/Tory scum - but with crumbling public services and an ever-increasing population, surely there is some consensus that unless migration is skilled/net benefit to the state - public services will be increasingly stretched. There is only so much more we can be taxed.

Why is the correct solution not to pay care workers more, so current citizens are more willing to do it. Unless I'm missing something, importing cheap labour (and the family that comes with it) just kicks the can down the road. Years down the line, more people end up in care in this country - which means we will have to ship in more cheap labour again?

Back 4 and Kamara have been utterly awful.

Kamara has some credit in the bank at least. Carlos utterly toilet.

Zero composure in the final third. Snatching at chances. Bailey looks bright at least. Watkins looks up for it.

An early goal and it’s game on still.

Diego Carlos is woeful

He's gone from looking electric to a competition winner. Didn't want the ball at all today. Doesn't seem up to this intensity physically.

1 hour ago, mikeyjavfc said:

This has been coming, they have been spending heavily for the last 3 years with minimal outgoings. Without the dodgy sale of Saint-Maximin to Saudi they would really be in trouble. Not many bargains on this list:

Matt Targett for £14m lol

They’ve done very good business judging from that.

Isak and Gordon might not be “bargains” - but have both justified their fee.

Botman and Bruno have surely increased their value. Livramento is also looking like a very shrewd signing, even at that price.

Trippier and Pope are bargains at that price considering the level (until very recently) they’ve both been playing at.

Only shockers on there are Wood (but not sure how much they recouped from Forest? Most of it?) and Tonali (largely out of their hands due to the unforeseeable betting scandal - and could still come good). 

Willock isn’t a bad player at all, and would probably be in their first XI. Maybe a slight overpay in isolation, but was instrumental in them getting CL football.

2 hours ago, GlobalVillan said:

Duran being our back up striker is one of the main reasons I think we will finish 5th instead of 4th or even 3rd.

I wouldnt want him as a Championship side, never mind a PL club. Not at this stage anyway. He has shown nothing at all that makes me want to keep him as understudy to Ollie.

Nothing.

Not terrible as an inpact sub but if we ever have to start him, we sre in trouble.

EDIT: Said the same about Davis and Delfouneso and got laughed at so expect to again. Until he gets replaced and ends up back in the US or in the Championship or a midtable La Liga side and then people will conveniently forget they mocked someone for being right.

Take it you missed the Crystal Palace game.

2 hours ago, rjw63 said:

Sorry, just had to quote this

Also I'd wager the greatest bit of business ever conducted by Potato Head.

I’ve actually got even more embarrassing comments re: McGinn in here that could have been unearthed! At least the one you quoted was before I’d seen him play…

End of the Smith regime / during Gerrard’s - I was giving him pelters. Didn’t think he was good enough.

Well, massive slice of humble pie for me to scoff. Been truly excellent since Emery has come in and long may it continue.

(and I’ll lay off the player threads going forwards)

47 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

I suspect a number of our fans would consider this a foul if the shirt colours were switched 

 

It looks bad zoomed in and in slow-mo, because you can't see Diego is just stepping across his man and you just see Gil's theatrics. In real time, and if he didn't react like he'd been shot, it honestly doesn't look like a foul. He steps across him and brushes his forearm against a stooping player's face. I genuinely don't think I'd feel hard-done-by if we didn't get that decision. 

The Konsa handball two seconds later is more questionable in my opinion - I've given up trying to understand what's handball and what's not, but clearly hits his arm.

The Cash tackle on Bentancur was a bad one. I can understand why the Spurs fans are annoyed. Clearly heightened emotions because he's a key player who just got back from injury, and he's crocked him. It was correctly given as a yellow though in my opinion. It's rash, but he's not off his feet - he catches him with his shin, not his studs.

I think the ref got the big decisions right.

They were all over us for 30 minutes - but we still had chances (Pau from the Digne free kick, disallowed Watkins goal by milimetres). In hindsight, their only goal came from a wicked deflection and they were offside a lot. The fact the linesmen waits for the move to end (as they're instructed to do) makes it seem like we're under floods of pressure - when we aren't. The Chelsea game was similar. For Son's miss over the bar, Porro was clearly offside.

I thought the second half was very even. We both hit the post. Watkins missed two headers. Martinez made a great double-save. Not much in it.

10 hours ago, MWARLEY2 said:

With Kane they would have won 4 or 5 .but they dont have him anymore. Due to their money greedy Levy holding out for every penny for Kane and then replacing him with Manor Solomon amd then Brennan Johnson late in the window after any decent strikers had already moved. 

Being a good chairman is about timing alot of the time. Making the right decision at the right time. He made the wrong decision  when he reneged on the gentlemans agreement for Kane to join a big club 2 years ago and he made the wrong decision to hold out for every penny for Kane.

Look at their squad. They earn 100 mill more revenue  a year than us but their squad is arguably poorer than ours. 

I think it's really close - which shows how far we've come in a short space of time.

Their back 5 is excellent, they just have zero depth for it. Vicario is a massive step-up from Lloris. Porro and Udogie look like excellent full-backs (I think both would start for us - depending if Moreno can re-discover the form he finished last year in). Romero is a good CB (bit reckless, but a decent player) and they've been waxing lyrical about Van Der Wen all year as signing of the summer.

In midfield, Bissouma is now playing a lot better, Bentancur is a very good player and Maddison is class. That's a good midfield three, and Sarr and Lo Celso is okay depth.

They're probably weakest in the front 3. Son is an excellent finisher, but struggles to play wide and his hold-up play is poor. Kulusevski is decent, but quite slow. Brennan Johnson unproven and Richarlison was an over-pay.

A combined XI is tough - as a lot of the calls are 50/50, and each team's fans will just back the players they see every week.

I think only Martinez, Porro, Maddison and Diaby would be undisputed starters in both teams. All of the others are genuine coin tosses and a Spurs fan will go one way, a Villa fan the other (Konsa v Romero, Van Der Wen vs. Torres, Udogie vs. Moreno, Kamara vs. Bissouma, Douglas Luiz vs. Bentancur, Son vs. Watkins).

On 15/11/2023 at 09:49, sne said:

Pahlinha to Bayern sound like its actually happening this time 

Wasn't impressed by him at the weekend at all. He got completely sold for the McGinn goal and was largely ineffective, but appreciate must be difficult to look good in that current Fulham team.

1 hour ago, oishiiniku_uk said:

Yeah, there's definitely something with us not being able to perform at our best against physical teams like Newcastle, Forest etc. away from home. We're probably not as likely to get fouls called in our favour. (This definitely was the case at the City Ground this season) And that means our style gets disrupted/we turn the ball over more often in dangerous situations. I'm happy to keep having Brighton's number though (interestingly, they seem to see us as a 'physical' team filled with 'bruisers' like Luiz and Kamara who won't let them play their A game! ).

I remember we did get an incredibly generous foul on Kamara (possibly Luiz, but think it was Kamara) in the first half, when he collapsed under pressure, receiving the ball from Martinez - leaving them with a one-on-one. 

Not saying the ref was good at all, but that was a very favourable decision that prevented it from going 2-0 even earlier. 

10 hours ago, kidlewis said:

Watkins scores a boat load and assists as good as anyone…. Takes months and months for a call up. 
 

Cole Palmer scores four penalties…. Instant call up.

Watkins would have more goals than Salah if he took our penalties…

There's a reason he no longer takes them. Has a 40% record from the spot in his career. He's a bad penalty taker.

On 06/11/2023 at 17:40, Demitri_C said:

Accoring to some rumours in spain barce are not happy that lenglet hasnt been given much game time.

I have to admit why would he. Hw looks like a 4th choice cb behind carlos. Giving him game time midweek and the  cups has been good for us

Why on earth would they care - he's 28, we're hardly stunting his development. 

Can't imagine they loaned him to us thinking he'd be first choice - we'd just signed Torres for £30m+.