Pez1974

He will never face us. He is off the the land of Scott Cason and Stuart Taylor; where the the removal of splinters from bum cheeks is a 9:00am appointment every Monday. But good luck to him - he came in did a good job, got injured, and was replaced by someone who was better. No hard feelings.

That thread was total pollocks (Sorry - I remember the thread, but the only content I can recall was the silly stuff)

Thank you. I was wondering is the Kenneth WIlliams gifs were broken.

We do our business early. I'm convinced Sanson was a summer '21 target who we got in really, really early - for a price we liked. He has 6 months to settle and get up to speed. The Spurs approach, of wheeling and dealing, might look good, but it doesn't allow time to settle into the team and can effectively waste the first years wages, and contract depreciation.

As others - Top 8 is good progress, with more points than this season. We might not get some of the results we had this season against the amazing and mighty Sky6, but need to improve results against the likes of Burnley to make up for it. Also - want to see continued development of the wider playing squad. Whether it's youngsters out having successful loans, or making a impact in the first team - both are good next season.

I think he's above that level now. Walsall as a minimum, but I'd like to think a League 1 club might take him on for a bit, especially if we can give then the full season. Suspect Championship is a little high for him to get the games required, unless its a shit team - but we want him to get a few goals too, not just kicked about.

I know exactly what you are saying. What I would point out from yesterday was his awareness. He broke their offside trap so often that the commentators made a point of it when he finally got flagged offside in about the 80th minute. That sort of timing and awareness from an 18 year old is great. He's also a worker - maybe the closest to Watkins that I've seen at the club, and we know the difference that has made. He's 6 foot tall - who wouldn't like an extra couple of inches. And as you say, he isn't slow, but could do with work to add a little pace, which can be trained to a degree, but he'll never be lightening fast. Last year, I saw him as another who will move out on loan a couple of times, then leave on a free. Now, I expect him to make first team appearances, and we go from there. Good luck to him.

He's head and shoulders above Alan Wright. As are most adults

Staunton in his first stint with the club - good defender and quality going forward - might be on a par. For me, he is better than Bouma due to his delivery. Alan Wright was solid, but not as good as Targett this season.

Key questions around the squad for our youth team - who can become a genuine squad player next season (or even better)? Kesler, Chuk, Ramsey the younger, Young, Barry, JPB, Marschall? Plus out on loan (so perhaps out of view) we've got Sinisolo, Revan the elder and Tyreik Wright. There are others, but I am guessing these are our best hopes, for next year with the likes of Revan the younger, Chrisene, Raikhy, Swinkels and Bogarde progressing well but perhaps a year further back. Clearly loans may benefit some, but we need to make sure that we aren't spending a fortune on a player to come in and stifle these guys progression. Perhaps a couple of freebies would help? Just off the top of my head, Cahill and Benteke are out of contract at Palace. Rather than a big fee, maybe a short term deal for these would give us time to develop these players. And this would leave the big money available for that DCM so many of us want - but doesn't seem to be at the club at any level at the moment.

I can still remember reading comments when we were signing some of these kids, along the lines of "we don't need them, we need {add name of rumour of the week player} to keep us up". Clubs can do more than 1 thing at once, and I can't believe the progress already. We know they won't all 'make it', and given where we want to be as a club in a couple of years, that will be even more difficult. But I can't remember seeing a youth team where I can make a case for almost any one of them to progress so well.

2 starters; 3 squad players; hundreds for the academy. £92m gross spend (I reckon we'll bring in £15m-£20m in sales, with 1 or 2 outgoings surprising some).

Ah. This again. It feels like a measure of progress that suddenly £14m is considered very cheap, and for a bit of a 'back-up' signing, when last year he was being thought of as the saviour by some. To be asking whether he's much of an upgrade on El Goalzi shows how far the squad have progressed (I don't know if he is; never seen him play).

Yep. My (second) wedding was meant to be on a cruise ship - but it caught fire just before we were due to fly out, so we rearranged for a few months later. Still had the bash in the UK though, even though we now weren't married. As I was living away from Brum, my mates all came up and stayed at the hotel. My (soon to be) wife was running around putting things in place whilst I got hammered. I'm told I made a speech that evening, which was news to me. Most memorable part of the weekend? Cahill volley against the Scum the next day.

In training, I think he has. As fans, a lot of us moan about 'giving kids a chance', but it has to be really hard to judge. A few minutes in end of season games sounds OK, but if we get stuffed, how does it actually help them. Look at how Pep has managed Foden, and for a couple of seasons he was criticised at his lack of game time, but he seems to have got it spot on. Hopefully Dean and co know how to do this with each of them. And if he does - the savings will be measured in £100m's.

Fans are in. Go. Sing. Cheer. Sound like 50,000 are in the ground. And don't moan at the first misplaced pass! Make these guys desperate to play in front of a full Villa Park, not scared shitless of making a mistake.

Exactly this. Same can be said for a lot of leagues, including the Championship. Get the right players with the right coaches in the right system, and it all works. The right players, with the wrong coach (sometimes) in the wrong system - England national team over the past 25 years.

He can cover RB and LB He's had a good loan - which will help retain his value. He can fight for his place next year, which allows us to rest the 'Mattys' if needed. What's not to like? And if this means that Kessler can go out on loan and get a season of first team football under his belt - perfect.

Not for me - he's about 5'10", and pretty solidly built. And very mobile - like Cash. He's only 18 still, so may grow a bit more. He might just end up being the best out of all of them, albeit in a less high profile position.

The real issue this summer is how highly the manager thinks the U23s are ready. The likes of Kessler, Barry, Carney and JBP all seem very close, and with Ramsey already a first teamer, and his brother and maybe Young looking the part too, I feel we have these as second choice. With Heaton seemingly certain to leave, is Steer enough with a kid as 3rd choice or do we need to get a professional sub goalie in? Steer always seems injured, which is a worry. Guilbert should be back to cover FBs, along with Kessler. Feel we need rid of Engels, and bring in (or through from the U23s) another CB, if we stay 4-4-2 as our plan A. We need a proper defensive midfielder, with Nakamba as back up. This would leave Luiz, McGinn, Sanson, Ramsey, and perhaps Carney fighting for the other places. They're all young so rotation will help - particularly as McGinn plays every second for Scotland, and Luiz will have plenty of long trips for Brazil. I feel the lack of rotation hurt us after Christmas. We need another winger - even with Jack and Traore. JBP and Barry can both do a job out wide, and so I think can all the FBs and Watkins. It wouldn't surprise me if El Ghazi left, as I think we could get decent money, but with Trez out for the season, that might complicate that. Up front - Watkins, Wesley and Davis is OK, providing Wesley is properly recovered. If they think Barry (and/or maybe Young?) is ready to step up, it gives us an option, so maybe Davis finally gets a loan, even for the first half of the season. So for me - we must get a DCM and a winger with proper money - and probably another CB and reserve keeper from the bargain basement. We have a few leaving, and a couple we can sell, so it probably won't need anythign like £100m again. Of course, all dependent on whether the youth are ready.

How am I the first to mention a certain game in May 1982? That was OK. Not talked about enough.

Sheffield Wednesday away - Big Ron's first game. 2-0 down to winning 3-2, after he'd left them for us. So drunk. Barcelona at home in the Super cup 1983. No Maradona, but wow. Amazing game. Had it all.

This. In the past we'd have signed this player permanently, and be left with the wages and no sell on fee when no-one else will touch them. Be thankful that Drinkwater and Barkley have simply been returned to their rightful owner. We'll always have Leicester away and the 7-2, and for that I am grateful.

Think this summer is the end of the clause. People seem to forget he has just turned 23 - and younger than Callum O'Hare. He played a year in Spain in a team which got relegated, and then last year for us, when he stepped up project restart. He's still learning, and as we improve, I think he will. In modern terms, he didn't cost us a lot (£15m?) and is probably worth double that now, or more. I don't think he is a DCM, in the sense of what we need right now. And in the team which is too often on the back foot, we need someone better in the DCM role (i.e. a better Nakamba) and then Luiz can be a normal CM and I think he'll flourish. I think in a top side he could be a DCM, as they are under the sort of pressure we are most games.

My response was to a point that Busquets could be blown down with a feather. He could - when he choose to. But he could also mix it. Not an argument. I never made a comment about last nights game, but I do think that there were a few challenges which 'smarter' players/teams would've made a bigger fuss over. It's perhaps not the best example, but I thought Wood was pulling shirts all game in every tussle; and there was a blatant one when he won the corner with Mings which they scored from. I think we should've been pointing this out to the ref from the start, and it may have got us a free kick, instead of them having a corner. Doesn't excuse the defending; I don't blame Mings or the ref - but it is my opinion that 'smart' teams get these things more often, and leads to the perception of referee bias. On this score, I think we are a bit 'green' - but we have got better over the past 12 months. With regards the 'writing off' - a few have said that Luiz isn't a DM because of {add a variety of comments} - I say give him time, as I'm sure many others think too.