Digavilla

Yes I agreed he’s more a number 10. A good number 10 is a rare find nowadays, as I think it’s normally the smaller stature players is more suited eg Eriksen/Silva/ Coultino etc. Can anyone recall if we ever had a good no 10( besides Grealish)? I can only recall Houlier tried Young in that role , but without much success.

Think Green & O hare are different type of players. It will depend what kind of game we play. If we don’t have a target man type striker , Green would be less effective as traditional wingers game is going to line to cross. O hare has better close ball control & beats his man more with skill / sharper turns due to his lower gravity , composure , rather than speed & strength. However, he will need teammates with similiar wavelength to move into space to receives his pass & vice versa . In fact , think he looks more suited to Wolves/ Fulham style of play.

Honestly think he’s good enough now , maybe not as regular but good enough on the bench. However , got a feeling Bruce prefer more traditional winger like Green, rather than O Hare.

He’s has great potential! Hopes he’s given a chance next season !

That’s teally sad news. RIP

Deepest condolences to Steve & his family ... sad

Thanks. Yes I am based in Shanghai & Singapore. Used to support Villa from afar & sometimes I can’t understand why certain decision/ directions our club is taking , but thanks to VT I am beginning to understand more. Cheers !

https://www.google.com.sg/amp/www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/31969/11274999/thierry-henry-i-learned-how-to-play-football-again-under-pep-guardiola Read the above recently , maybe be old news. Just felt that if even an old experience player like thirrrey Henry who’s played all life under Wenger , can still learn something new , this current City set up is definitely onto something. If Areteta made good use of the 2 years under him, that would help him in his development. Forgive me sometimes if our views are different , but thinks its natural as we are in totally different countries / culture & even time zone haha. But one thing is clear , I am a true Villa fan & wants them to do well & also to play a more progressive/ attractive football in order to increase fan base especially in new market like ours.

Yes I agreed he have not managed before. But among the hype of all the ex player eg Veira/ Yorke etc , I feel Arteta make the most sense. If we are not promoted , the chances of us attracting an establish progressive manager say like Wolves/Nuno etc will be slim. We in China follow lots of different league games :Premiership /La Liga/ French league etc. We do feel the most improved team this season is City. The way the players worked for each other , the movenent etc.I am sure a lot of this is due to Pep but the coaching team which Arteta is part off , definitely play a part too. On the other hand , don’t think he will drop a division to join if we are not promoted though.

I agree Areteta maybe a risk. If I recall Mourino was assistance manager for Barcelona /Porto etc & won CL with after becoming their manager a year or two later. Areteta too have worked under Wenger & Pep, think that would have help.

Yes if we managed to get Arteta or similar type manager , I feel its the right direction to take. Wolve’s Nuno only need a season or 2 to make the change from Lambert & look where they are now.

I think so too. Many teams now will see how Wolves/Fulham did it & will emulate. Not sure how’s Wolves / Fulham playing style last season ? If they only change it this year & found such success over a season, than I am really worried. There maybe 2 or 3 similiar “ wolves “ next season. As I know it ,WBA owner Lai is a shrewd guy & has deep pockets , not difficult for them to be another Wolve next season...

I agreed that the 3 relegated teams from premier league this played a similiar style to Villa , even their managers are alike : Lambert / Hughes, Pullis, Pardew. I am sure there maybe other underlying reasons for their relegation, but I would say the main reason would be their style of play.. If we wish to be stay up if promoted & avoid the same fate as those 3 coming down, shouldn’t we be changing our current style our play, to a more progressive one ? As I am a Chinese Villa Fan, just want to understand from a local prospective why there’s seemed a strong support for this direct style of football , despite lots of evidence suggesting these will not succeed in current Premier league. Pogba recent double against Citeh is the only exception in my view, but it don’t happen often. Just want to understand more. Sorry if my post offend anyone. Cheers.

Oops... Typo mistake. Sorry

Agree, we are definitely getting more procession, especially after Grealish returned to the from injury. Hopefully we make those procession count in the playoff !

I maybe wrong , the way I see it we are considered a big gun in the championship, if opposing team like Derby/ Bolton/ Cardiff score first it’s considered a great result, thus they defend deep & give us procession , knowingly we do not have nippy/skillful/ quick midfielders to break them down, and try to hit on the break.Thus our procession stats % show highs against those team. Also in our last 4 wins, 2 of the teams got players send off if I remember correctly ? It’s natural to have high % against 10 men surely ?

Very very true.. but knowing Bruce even if we got Salah, he would have numerous crosses into the box & after half a season we would have a similar Hogan thread & many would agree he’s waste of money & should get rid....

I personally feel Hogan is the one we should keep, if we are getting rid of Bruce & appoint a modern manager for eg Marco Silva , Smith who plays the ‘pass & move’ game..None of our midfielders/wingers are playing the ball on the deck & are only crossing the ball to him, which is not his strength. He need to play with quick thinking /quick feet midfielder , similiar to players like Eriksen/Silva /Dele Ali etc who can release ball better , I am sure he will do well. O’Hare comes to mind..

Yes, our players definite do not show enough fight today. Most of them basically has passed their peak in their career to be honest & bar the younger ones . Its so clear to see all the older Terry, Adomah etc are running on empty. At their age there’s no way they can play 3 games in 9 days. why can’t Bruce understand that & freshen things up with Bree/Davis/ Green etc ?? I would rather see these young ones given a go & lose, rather than the rubbish we witnessed today.

Every modern managers will tweak / change during matches in response to opponents tactics. It’s a must, like s chess game.

The main problem I think is Bruce is trying to built a team like based on his beloved Man U trebled winning team in 1999.. but most modern teams , even in Championship are emulating the playing style of the Barcelona team that gave Man U a football lessons in the Cl finals 2009 & 2011...Look at what Wolves has achieved this season & I know with their current playing style , they have captured many new China / Asia fans. All the new money will depend if team can get a big following in China / Asia & i am sure Wolves Chinese owners will have big sponsorship deals line up once they are promoted. WBA can’t cut it due to their dinosaur football under Pulis/Pardew and won few fans but I am sure Wolves won’t repeat the same mistake. That’s why i think Bruce should go , even if he’s take us up.

Exactly .. no way Adomah/ Snodgrass etc can play 3 games in 9 days. Bruce should recognized these & gave the youth a chance. But he’s too weak to make that decision.

Most of our players are late twenties/ thirties , no way they can play 3 games in 9 days without severe drop off in performance. I don’t remember seeing Adomah/ Snodgrass perform so badly it’s 100% fatigue .These shouldnt affect the 18-22 yr old too much. Davis / Bree /O HARE etc they all should be in the team today.. How Bruce can named an unchanged side from Reading’s game is beyond me...

If a manager only depends on individual brilliance ( aka Kodjia today trying to beat the whole defense himself) , Bruce may fluke some results if our team are flesh playing only once a week. But if r playing a games every 3 days , your individual players will be too tired to come up with any magic/ brilliance. Teams with more tactical senses/ & with more passing etc will be much suited in such mad rush of games. We had the same poor run of results during Xmas Dec period too.. Bruce never learn..

The football scene is evolving.. more teams are playing expansive / pass & move / high pressing / players with technical skills , These are teams audience will pay to watch world wide, especially in Asia. In Asia we pay about USD 800 a season to watch a season. Considering the size of the Asia markets & in China, it’s important not to miss out. Bruce’s brand of football will not get us far. Even if he got us up , his brand of football will make us a laughing stock.