Cizzler

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+.

2 hours ago, DCJonah said:

He's always involved in things. He never shys away. 

I don't get why we haven't tried him on the right. 

Bailey didn't do anything when he came on. Diaby put in the worst performance since he joined us. 

I don't know why Zaniolo is becoming the man to hammer. 

Diaby wasn't at the races - but still could have grabbed a couple of assists. 

Zaniolo was really poor - that's why he's being hammered. Missed our best chance of the half when played in by Diaby (really sloppy first touch, a good player sets himself up to score there), fell over in the box under no contact - when there were great options square, muscled off the ball when tracking back which should have resulted in Forest going 2-0 up earlier 0 but their player skied it.

They were just the highlights. He was slow, lumbering, did nothing positive. 

Emery hooked him at 45 minutes, so clearly he thought so too.

What is Zaniolo good at? Slow, bad first touch, falls over after no contact.

A good player scores the chance Diaby gave him. Almost let them score another too with weak defending.

Hard to agree with Emery that he’s better than Bailey.

1 hour ago, mallett said:

No Villa players in the England U17 World Cup squad. Chelsea and Man City have a combined total of 10. How well is our academy strategy under Mark Harrison working?
 

The FA Youth Cup winning team, which helped give a very positive impression of the academy to us fans, was mostly recruited before our current strategy was in place. 

Ultimately U17 squads are not the measure, its youth players sold for a profit and players into the first team. 

But what sort of return are we getting on the youngsters we have recruited in the current cycle? Shakpoke didn’t work out. Kyle Pierre hasn’t been setting the world on fire, Louis Barry had turned a corner before his injury but it is by no means certain we’ll get a return on our investment, Lamare Bogarde jury’s out. Kellyman looks the most promising at this juncture. Perhaps like the first team we are looking for young prospects below the radar of the sky 6 clubs (particularly Chelsea and Citeh).

Any thoughts?

And 1 player between Man United, Liverpool and Spurs combined. Which is the same amount as Luton, Sunderland and Rangers - and two less than Southampton have (3).

It's great when our youngsters get international recognition - but hard to question Mark Harrison off the back of one world-cup squad. He's clearly driven our academy forward. 

45 minutes ago, ender4 said:

That's a lot of kids!  Is that even possible to achieve?  Each adult couple are having like 8 kids each?  Is that just bad maths by me?

 

If there are 60 adults : 40 children, and each adult was in a couple - there would be 30 couples : 40 children, so 1.3 children per couple. 

Obviously some 18+ will be children of the adults - so above is over-simplified, but nowhere near 8 children per adult couple. 

1 hour ago, villa4europe said:

He only got a run in the England team cos phillips was injured

He literally just turned 20 in June and already has 24 caps?

I’m all for bashing Southgate about being tactically limited and poor selection decisions at times - but find it pretty hard to criticise how he’s phased Bellingham into the England team. 

3 hours ago, villa4europe said:

Skipp, gomes, garner, Jones, elliot, JJ, gibbs white, ESR, Gordon all now left with no home internationally

None of these are currently good enough though. 

Only Gibbs-White, Gordon and Garner actually start for their club teams (and Garner + MGW are playing for two of the worst teams in the league). 

I don’t see the problem with not calling these players up. It’s not like any really play the same position as Maguire, Henderson or Phillips - which are driving most of the frustration. Maybe Jones could play in the midfield 3? But pretty sure he’s injured and am not sure how good he is anyway.

There’s still a competitive game to win and this is the squad for that.

I personally wouldn’t have chosen any of Maguire, Phillips or Henderson - but the other options haven’t done enough to justify the outcry in my opinion.

2 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

Probably just me having a brain fart, but which Jones?

 

Presume he means Curtis? Although think he’s only played 25 mins of football all season.

It’s the same, tired squad with a lot of turgid names - but not sure there’s truly anyone banging the door down.

Bowen / A. Gordon maybe unlucky. For all the clamour around Henderson and Maguire, there’s no one screaming out to replace them. Sure, I’d pick Konsa over Maguire but can understand why Southgate is trusting his man.

The first XI is full of very good players. The depth is pretty woeful and the style of football will be too.

9 hours ago, Wezbid said:

He was class apart from the goal

He got rinsed in the first half which led to a decent Burnley chance too, he rushed out and got absolutely skinned.

He read the game fairly well though - made some good interceptions, and obviously his passing is excellent. There was a lofted through ball to Digne that very few centre backs in the league would even attempt. Being able to pass through the lines/ beat the press will be such an asset.

Hopefully his defending can kick on. 

28 minutes ago, Amed said:

Been only 35 minutes of the Burnley game but I think I’m in love  

Still?

On 25/08/2023 at 14:17, HanoiVillan said:

It *is* depressing, but if we consider our peer group to be the best sides in the league, then a maximum of 1-2 academy players being prominent in the first team squad is the norm:

Man Utd: 2 - Rashford, Garnacho

Man City: 1.5 - Foden, Palmer though he's apparently being sold

Chelsea: 1 - James

Arsenal: 1 - Saka

Liverpool: 1 main one in TAA, they do have a few others (Jones, Bajcetic etc) but they're not starters in the strongest sides

Newcastle: 2 - Anderson, Longstaff, but neither start in their strongest XI

Spurs: 0 now that Kane is gone

We have 1. It's not out of step with the others. Having 3 or 4 would be the weird thing. 

Missed loads of players “in the first team squad”

United: Henderson, McTominay and Dalot all key members of squad

City: Rico Lewis

Chelsea: Gallagher and Colwill have started every game for them this season? Broja/Chalobah will be part of the first team squad this season.

Arsenal: Again, Nketiah and Martinelli have started every game this year. Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson are part of the first-team squad.

Spurs: Skipp started first game of the season, clearly key part of first team squad.

Will re-iterate it’s a massive shame we sold Aaron Ramsey - really thought he had a great chance at a crack here (especially with Buendia’s injury).

The Archer move I understand more. Played well in the Championship and clearly a clinical finisher, but I think our current system demands better hold-up play. I can’t see him being ready to play that role for a while yet (if ever).

I wrote off Moreno far too quickly - thought he was miles off Prem standard after his first few showings - but he obviously finished the season fantastically.

Will give Pau a few more months before judging him one way or another.

He’s played a couple of really nice passes - but also played a few shockers (but probably judging him harshly as he’s a “ball playing” CB). He’s obviously looked really slow on the half-turn at times - but it’s a new league, at a completely elevated tempo. Hopefully that will come.

Have to be honest, I do miss having Tyrone in that LCB slot. Big shoes to fill.

Imagine finding out after their FA Youth Cup win in 2021 that neither Chukwuemeka or A.Ramsey would be at the club in two years time.

Pretty crazy that (as of right now) no one from that successful youth team is remotely close to breaking into our first-team.