JPAngel

Our fans in the ground have definitely grown and embraced the way Emery plays and those rumbles of nervousness when playing around the back seem to have dissipated massively which is great. That nervousness within the crowd definitely makes it's way onto the pitch and doesn't help the team. My only gripe with some fans, and this may just be me, is screaming at certain players the first time they do something "wrong". I sat by the touchline a few weeks back and a few lads in particular were absolutely battering Bailey with insults about his work rate and I just can't imagine how that could be helpful to anyone. This, coupled with brain dead comments like "switch on!", "wake up Villa!", and "get it forward!" always annoy me. At 34, this is the best I've ever felt about a Villa team and, while no team is beyond criticism, I'd love it if more fans could just enjoy the moment without hammering certain players like we're back in the Remi Garde era.

The high line will end up being the reason we don't earn a lot of clean sheets this season and there will be teams (see: Newcastle and Liverpool) that have the right players to dismantle it. These are the games where we'll ship goals and "experts" will tear the us to shreds. However, it will also be a major factor in the vast majority of wins this season as we catch teams offside, compress the pitch and break through teams at incredible speed resulting in scoring a boat load. These are the games where the same "experts" won't even mention the high line as they focus on the individual performances of our forwards. In short, pundits haven't got a damn clue on what to focus on. It's dangerous but ultimately incredibly exciting and has resulted in our most successful period in years. Enjoy the ride.

Seeing this thread pop up to the top of the list got me so excited. Why would you do this to us on deadline day?

Matheus Nunes with one final parting shot at Wolves in his City interview: "It's a dream come true, I've always wanted to play for a big club in England." Ouch.

Really pleased with this one. Zero risk attached as there is no obligation to buy. Lenglet was very recently regarded as a top defender and one iffy season in a (crap) Tottenham team shouldn't change that. Very similar profile to Pau so gives us a fantastic rotation option for those tricky midweek games as and when required.

Man City have agreed their deal for Nunes, then. I'm very intrigued to see how they as a club react to this...

Aye, I've just edited my response. Who feeds these guys this stuff

Sky reporting that Emery managed Lenglet at Sevilla where they won the Europa League together. This move is making a lot of sense! EDIT: Did some fact checking and this is a straight up lie.

As someone alluded to earlier in the thread, this feels a lot like our Bednarek signing last summer. We're signing a solid player for the squad who can step in as and when required to do so. We're competing in four competitions this season so having good backup options is absolutely essential. The difference is Bednarek is now playing in the Championship and Lenglet is at Barcelona and has 15 caps for France. We've stepped up massively in the last 12 months and this is another indication of that fact. Sounds like it's a loan with an option to buy, too, so this feels like a no lose situation to me.

James Beattie, anyone?

This guy feels like a bit of a highlight reel player, to me. I'm getting some real Allan Saint-Maximin vibes in that he's ocassionally utterly unplayable but is constantly injured so can never be relied upon for a sustained period. I love the idea of this being an internal leak to encourage a deal with Leverkusen for Diaby, however.

I like Diaby a lot but as far as I'm concerned, if he chooses money and goes to Saudi, he's not the kind of player/person we need at the club anyway.

Am I missing something with regard to his scout report? I think a common thread on VT is that people would like a designated defensive midfielder but, based on the below, Weston is not that man.

I think it's a decent top but it's basically further solidified the fact that I just can't get behind a shirt that has CAZOO written on it. I know it's probably super petty, but it just looks like a bit of a joke.

If JWP does leave Southampton I will honestly feel a little sorry for them. Losing Vestergaard, Ings and JWP would be identical to the summer we lost Vlaar, Benteke and Delph and we all know how that panned out. Freakishly similar.

By that same logic @alex7783, does that make Leeds among the favourites to win the league?

Correct me if I'm wrong but my biggest problem with this midfield three (or any other combo of Mcginn, Nakamba, Sanson, Luiz, Hourihane or a new DM) is that this effectively means that one of Watkins, Ings, Bailey or Buendia will have to be dropped to the bench. Maybe my brain can't process all the talent we have on our books at the moment but as soon as we don't have a classic "Number 10", we would have to lose one of those four players. Unless we see Buendia as an 8 and I think that's unlikely (IMO).

I feel that our fanbase needs to see this video and other pieces on Sanson to realise how important he could actually be for us when he's at full fitness. The stats on pressures and successful pressures alone mean that he could be super important to our midfield. In games where we're expected to be on the front foot and don't necessarily need constant protection in front of our back four, I feel the below could be one way we could set up to maximise our attacking threat. While I admit there are concerns around defensive responsibility in the above, it does feel a little bit Harlem Globetrotters with all that attacking potential

While I think he'd be a top class signing, I just can't see Southampton selling him. I think it'd be suicide for them this season. Hasenhuttl has already intimated that the money for Ings will likely be spent on two players so it's clear they're not in a position to spend big on replacements. Gems aside, we know how tricky it is to operate in that "£10m/£12m per player" bracket.

Cringe.

We've just gotten rid of one player who sulks and throws his arms in the air when things don't go his way, let's not replace him with this guy.

Can't see him playing left back.

How have you gone from "worst signing in the club's history" to this in 24 hours? Damn, I guess David O'Leary was right

Yep, I highly doubt Man City are looking to spend circa £150m on Harry Kane to try and turn a profit on him. This is just how transfers work at times.

There’s a really nice side note here in that Ings’ age shouldn’t necessarily hold him back after he hits 30 as he’s not the type of player that relies solely on pace. While he does have that quick burst of acceleration when required, his game is more about quality off the ball movement, excellent technical ability and (IMO) world class finishing. I still have no concrete idea how we’re going to fit all of these players in to one team by who care? What a headache to have!