JPAngel

19 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Maybe JPA should have a quiet word with him. 

Not sure how I can help given my stance but sure, I can give it a go

I know many have moved on from "our Jack" but, even from just a VillaTalk standpoint, there would be something romantically nourishing about moving this thread back to where it belongs...

1 minute ago, sne said:

5ft 3, she'd be terrible in the PL. 

Far too top heavy, too.

I wanted to take a holistic view of the squad ahead of the summer and it's pretty clear that, before we even venture into the transfer market, there's going to be an awful lot of transformation in the next few months.

Our current crop of 18 available(ish) players could eventually be supplemented by 8 returning players depending on the fates of Philogene-Bidace (I'm unsure where we stand with him now Hull have missed out on promotion?), Cameron Archer and Lino Sousa (depending on whether he's seen as a backup to the first team or simply a youth player).

Lenglet, Zaniolo will likely return to their parent clubs unless we've triggered some kind of buyout clause for Zaniolo. Sanson has been sold. Olsen looks to be a safe bet to leave with the arrival of Gauci but he has been an important backup to Emi so there are no guarantees here. However, Chambers, Hause, Coutinho and Dendoncker all look like dead certs to leave - providing we can find buyers.

Then there are those on the "maybe" pile for outgoings... Carlos, Digne, Kesler-Hayden, Cash?

It's going to be very interesting and, most importantly, VERY exciting!

1 minute ago, wishywashy said:

I think he met the conditions for his loan to be made permanent about a week or so ago, even the Nice manager had confirmed signed: No idea why it was only announced now.

 

Gotcha. Just felt a wee bit odd that it was announced in the midst of our CL qualification hype.

2 minutes ago, wishywashy said:

 

 

Wow, interesting timing, no?

A couple have said it already but I've no idea why we specifically chose an Ozzy solo track when we have a whole catalogue of great Black Sabbath songs to choose from. Feels like the sirens at the beginning of War Pigs would be so perfect for walkout music.

That said, in this era, it really feels like we should have some kind of aggressive hip hop to motivate our much younger fanbase and players. You can't tell me Douglas Luiz is listening to Led Zeppelin on his AirPods on the team bus.

Also, while the intro riff in Crazy Train is good, the rest of it as absolutely w*nk.

It's clear to me that the Spursiest thing that could happen now is for them to beat Man City and then draw or lose to Sheff Utd.

Thinking about this logically, they've definitively informed the fanbase that we now have Adidas in place for our kit manufacturer next season with the teases on socials and at VP so there will 100% be more announced tonight (e.g. crest/kit). Otherwise, any announcement would just end up being a picture of the Adidas logo and I'm quite confident we've all seen that before.

It would make far more sense for them to announce the change of manufacturer alongside the new crest or, even better, alongside the crest AND a new kit showcasing all three.

I have a funny feeling we're going to pull off a surprise result here, as we have done this season a few times against "bigger" teams. I know it would defy all logic based on our recent performances but this team has a habit of turning up for a big occasion in the PL.

5 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

so are you projecting that if the remaining fixtures go like for like compared to last season, Spurs do finish ahead?

I have just realised I'm one point off in my calculations. Based on corresponding results last season, we would end on 70 points - dead level with Spurs.

However, that is far from the whole story for a few reasons.

• We are a far better and more consistent team this season when compared to last season.
• One of those upcoming fixtures is Palace away. Last season, we played that fixture under Gerrard and lost.
• Liverpool at home looks to be a very different fixture this season when compared to last.
• Last season, Spurs drew away at Chelsea and won at home against Man City. If they repeat this, I'd be shocked.

31 minutes ago, Pongo Waring said:

If you give me the choice of a fit Eze, Olise or Mitoma, I would choose Mitoma.
Who are you taking?

Probably Olise.

He's 3 years younger than Eze and 4 years younger than Mitoma. Eze is fantastic but can never seem to stay fit (though, Olise isn't great there either). Mitoma is 26 and, while commercially exciting, has only had one good season and has been pretty ineffective this season.

I'm always envious of people who can speak as eloquently and as confidently as Edens and this was a great watch. It's awesome to see his pride in what we're achieving this season and, hopefully, for many seasons to come.

He even somehow made me give a damn about rail infrastructure on the west coast of the US!

I'm not sure if it's just overexposure/oversaturation of so many badges in such a short space of time, combined with the desperation to FINALLY get this sorted, but I'm completely indifferent to the "new" badge now.

I couldn't stand it previously but if this is it, so be it. I'll get over it, I guess.

7 minutes ago, duke313 said:

	Villa	Spurs
18-Apr-24	Lille (A)
21-Apr-24	Bournemouth (H)
27-Apr-24	Chelsea (H)
28-Apr-24		Arsenal (H)
02-May-24	ECL (H)	Chelsea (A)
04-May-24	Brighton (A)
05-May-24		Liverpool (A)
09-May-24	ECL (A)
11-May-24		Burnley (H)
13-May-24	Liverpool (H)
14-May-24		Man City (H)
19-May-24	Palace (A)	Sheff Utd (H)
29-May-24	ECL Final

If we get to ECL semi finals, then the Brighton game will be moved to 5th.

Looking at the run in, if we can beat Bournemouth and Chelsea, we could be 9 points ahead of Spurs before they even play again, that is massive psychologically.

 

We have a psychological edge in having the opportunity to get points on the board for the vast majority of the run in. I'll take points on the board over games in hand any day of the week.

Spurs will constantly be trying to catch up with us if we do our jobs and we know how prone they are to bottling it in these situations.

People are arguing about whether it's better for us to finish in the top four of the Premier League or win a European trophy because, this close to the end of the season, both are still very much in our hands.

Just imagine explaining this to our fanbase when we were in the midst of Steve Bruce bringing on Chris Samba to play up front for our mid-table Championship side to try and grab a goal.