Foxy1

So now he has let the cat out of the bag will PL leave him alone?

This is a worry. Don't think PL will be too happy about it.

I heard he had just been placed on gardening leave.

Would not take a single one of the QPR players. Absolutely no way.

Shaun Maloney would be great in our current side as one of the wide attacking players.

I think once he gets a goal he will start scoring more regularly.

Out of him, Westwood & Sylla he has the most flair and attacking potential and with those two in there can feel more confident in getting forward without leaving big holes.

Brilliant today. This guy could be some player for us.

What about Zog? Stay or Go?

Can you give a definition of "great goal"? Then it would be possible to reflect on this.

 

We are likely to have had more "great goals" in a season like 2007-8 when we scored 71 goals than 2012-3 when we have scored 35

Of course there is an element of subjectivity here in terms of what is great. I guess I'm talking about team goals with lots of preceeding passes and also shots from outside the box.

Under MON, such as the season you mention I don't recall so many goals of this nature. From memory we scored mainly from set pieces or crosses into the box.

When was the last time we had so many great goals in one season?

Lowton (twice), Weimann vs Lpool, Tekkers vs Lpool (both), Tekkers vs WBA, Weimann vs Utd, Zog vs West Ham, Holman vs Norwich.

All beauties.

I've probably missed some.

So his agent has now come out and said he is 'living the dream' at Villa.

Channelled aggression on the pitch is a big factor and this is what ND seems to lack. It's that determination to get to the ball first and shrug off your opponent.

Ohhh Christian Benteke. Ohhh Christian Benteke.

Sorry, I'm compelled to yell that at least 5 times a day.

Seems to be one of those players who has the drive and desire to get every ounce from his talent. Great role model for any of our younger players.

The best thing about Brad is his mental strength. He seems to really 'own' the pen area and his focus and concentration don't seem to waiver. These are the most important qualities in a keeper IMO.

Could be a very good signing for us. Don't think we will see best of him for a year or two yet but seems to have good physical and technical attributes which bode well.

We need a min 3 points on against city

But knowing us we will beat city then lose to qpr

Disagree. Given the results yesterday even a point would be good as a platform going into an easier run of fixtures.

this all talking in retrospect.

if we would let Bannan for example go today and he ends up at QPR, Wolves or West Ham, I 'm pretty sure that in five years, he'll be a decent (not top) premier league midfielder as well and we'll all say we shouldn't have let him go. It's just because he would build up experience. A lot of players don't have a good career based on talent alone. Experience is a big factor, something Davies or Ridgewell are good examples of.

 

I'm sure Clark or Baker will be solid defenders as well in a few years time if they keep playing regular games. They will not necessarily be wanted by the big clubs.

example: John O'Shea. good defender, but never a world class talent. He now has the experience to walk into our team.

Huth, Shawcross were both let go by top teams as they were not talented enough to play themselves in the team. How many PL sides would say no to signing them for a affordable fee right now?

 

I think Albrighton would benefit from a loan to a championship side, so he can be a starter for an entire season. Worst case scenario, that team is us next year. But he'll be a better player.

You'll soon realise that sensible posts like this are not well received on here.

His best game in a Villa shirt yesterday. The potential is definitely there.

if we went down I think Vlaar, Weimann and Gab would all want to stay and we would need them to bounce back.

As above we need to BELIEVE otherwise we may as well give up now. We have a lot of winnable games between now and season end.

Football managers are not generally very commercially astute. They are ex players who have limited business understanding.

Hence the financial parameters and player negotiations should be handled by someone else or at least signed off following some due diligence.

Seemingly this is what didn't happen under MON.

Baker is a clown, a fit Dunne should be in there instead of him, pronto.

Baker is 21 and very promising. Been one of our best players this season. He is learning and will make mistakes. To call him a clown is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself.

The issue is we shouldn't be relying on him at this stage in his career.

Yeah Ramsay goes on a lot for arsenal can't see him being sent out...

What about rodwell on loan, has been injured this season but was back on the bench yesterday, would do the holding role well and add added energy into the middle

Rodwell on loan is a great shout. Would suit both clubs.

That free role really suits him. He's electric when picking up the ball and running at the opposition.

Shame his decision making is poor though, that will always hold him back.

Is Glen Roeder looking for work?

Or is he still with us, I've no idea

Newcastle are a good example of demonstrating how quickly things change in football. Whilst everyone goes on about how far we've fallen, we can climb back just as quickly.

....and then fall again

it seems to be a continuing process - to always isolate the top earner at VP. Last season it was Heskey, Beye, Cuellar, that we needed to shift - then the wage bill would be manageable. This season its Given, Nzog, Ireland, Bent, - when they have gone - it will be some others. Its not a policy with an end date

We should now be getting close to a level that is sustainable. It will be interesting to see the next set of accounts to see what progress has been made (when are these due?)

The main issue at the moment is that we are not getting value for money from the more expensive players mentioned above. Some of them are not being used at all. Now there is a chicken and egg argument here - is PL forcing these players out to meet a wage reduction agenda? I really hope thats not the case otherwise we really are in 4/5 territory. However I don't believe this is true, they are just not delivering and contributing what they should be for the price. Otherwise we would be in level 2/3 territory.

Everton are probably at the other end of the scale of teams punching above their weight in terms of wages vs league position (that would be an interesting comparison table).