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East London Villa

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  1. East London Villa
    I think we'll have a complete overhaul at full back this summer. I wouldn't be surprised to see us replace Cash with a first choice right back and either loan out Kesler-Hayden or let him go permanently. I expect Kosta will replace Kesler-Hayden as our back up option, with Konsa capable of stepping over if he's not ready. Then we have Triston Rowe as our other excellent long term prospect in the U21s. At left back I can see us having another attempt to replace Digne. Moreno will probably stay and we'll hope for a stronger season without injury disruption. Chrisene Revan Sousa will all go out on loan again, maybe Munroe too, with Travis Patterson emerging as a really promising attacking left back in the U21 side.
  2. East London Villa
    Just don't look up who won the UEFA Youth League last season Here are the rules for next season: https://documents.uefa.com/r/Regulations-of-the-UEFA-Youth-League-2024/25/Article-28-Player-eligibility-Online A few highlights: 35 of the 40 players in the overall squad have to be born on or after 1 January 2006. 5 of the 40 players in the overall squad can be born on or after 1 January 2005, but only if they have been in the Villa academy for the past 2 years, or 2 of the past 3 years with 1 loan to another English club. Villa must select a match day squad of 20 the night before the game. 14 of those 20 must be players that have been at Villa for the past 2 years, or 2 of the past 3 years with 1 loan. So 6 players can be newer signings, e.g. Aidan Borland. Only 3 of those 5 older players registered in the overall 40 can be picked in your match day 20. Any player who plays in 3 or more Champions League matches is no longer eligible to play in the Youth League.
  3. East London Villa
    I believe our Champions League qualification means we are also in the UEFA Youth League next season! It will be interesting to see how the extra games and experience against different types of opposition will impact our decision to send players on loan. I think the criteria will be players born after 1st January 2005 + up to 5 players over that age.
  4. East London Villa
    Right then!
  5. East London Villa
    Incredible achievement from Emery, the players, the coaches and everyone involved. Absolutely brilliant. Can't wait to see how the squad shapes up in the summer and then to see us test ourselves next season. UP THE VILLA!!!
  6. East London Villa
    Not much point selling him now as we wouldn't get much for him. A pretty average loan at Plymouth, followed by a handful of minutes off the bench for us in low risk situations. Hopefully a few months training under Unai has helped him to improve. Now he needs another loan to the Championship. This time he needs to hold down a starting role and impress more. Otherwise I think he'll be gone the following summer.
  7. East London Villa
    It will be interesting to see what Feeney and O'Reilly have picked up from their experience at Real Union. Obviously very little playing time but assume they've been training with the seniors every week (when fit) and having to properly fight for their place in the side. I wonder who we'll see go there next season. If we let Olsen's contract expire and bump Gauci up to second choice, I think there's a chance we go with Zych as third choice next season. He's made a couple of high profile mistakes but has largely been very good in Poland, clear 1st choice for his team and starting every week. Sinisalo is ready for Championship level, or something similar abroad, so it would be a waste for him to sit in our reserves when he could increase significantly in value if he proves himself at the next level. Marschall really needs another successful loan to get back on track. Wright has trained a lot with the first team and performed well for the U21s, now he needs his first loan experience.
  8. East London Villa
    The season ends with 16 defeats and 1 draw in the last 17 games for our U18s: https://www.avfc.co.uk/Matches/u18 I know we moved a lot of players up to the U21s, but that's still a bit surprising isn't it? Don't other teams do the same?
  9. East London Villa
    Or, Unai being a sensible football manager, probably doesn't decide a player's entire career on 2 passes.
  10. East London Villa
    We go full strength of course, but Unai's definition of full strength will depend on exactly what his better players can put out on the pitch after Thursday. If they're not capable, then Duran Lenglet Iroegbunam Chambers are there to step in. I doubt we would see Kesler-Hayden or Kellyman from the start, but they'll probably feature in the 2nd half. I expect whichever team we pick, we'll sit deep and use our limited energy reserves on the break - similar to first half against Chelsea. Need to score the first goal or we're cooked, really.
  11. East London Villa
    2-3 months ago not many of us would have expected to see Fin making his debut in a European Semi Final away leg! He's probably 6th choice left back on the club's books (Digne Moreno Chrisene Revan Sousa) competing with Patterson who has played in midfield as well and rotated with him lately for the U21s. I think you take that debut however you can get it, it's still a proud moment even if the team is suffering. Hopefully he gets a first taste of first team football on loan next season.
  12. East London Villa
    Honestly? I don't see there being much youth involvement next season. Our new signing Kosta Nedeljkovic may come in as reserve right back. Kellyman might be kept around the fringes of the team or might go out on loan. I can see one of our talented young keepers (Sinisalo, Zych, Wright, Marschall) as third choice if Gauci steps up with Olsen out of contract. That's about it. I think the rest will be out on loan or still learning their trade in the U21s. Maybe a few very short cameos like Kellyman lately, but not significant minutes.
  13. East London Villa
    I see he's in another first team "training" video from this week, along with Kellyman Patterson Borland and Wright in goal. Trust me don't watch it, they just stand around and do a couple of warm up jogs! Clearly very talented for Emery to be picking him on the bench at 16 just a few weeks after he walked through the door. When he gets his chance I hope he smashes it and comes into contention at Villa in future.
  14. East London Villa
    Linked yesterday with a Bundesliga loan for next season: https://www.footballinsider247.com/aston-villa-sensation-kadan-young-expected-to-join-bundesliga-club-sources/ (football insider is generally a poor source, but they seem to be more accurate with exclusives on youth transfer news). Has he been impressive lately since returning to the U21 setup after injury? A possible move to first team football at this stage would be a surprise to me, since the stats don't exactly have him pulling up trees.
  15. East London Villa
    Kosta has been injured ever since he signed for Villa, which is very unfortunate. Hopefully he'll be learning English (if he didn't already speak it well) and I wouldn't bet against Unai sending him a few hundred gigabytes of tactical videos to pore over. I highly doubt Kesler-Hayden will be at Villa for the long term, Nedeljkovic already seems to have a lot more of what Emery is looking for (pace, height, physicality, decision making).
  16. East London Villa
    I think we'll go Martinez; Konsa Carlos Pau Moreno; Bailey Iroegbunam Luiz Ramsey; Tielemans Watkins. But I wouldn't be surprised by any of Lenglet for Carlos, Digne for Moreno, Diaby for Iroegbunam with Tielemans deeper, Rogers for Ramsey if he's not ready. 7 games in 23 days, would become 14 games in 44 days if we qualify for the semis in Europe. I'm glad we've got Unai at the helm because we're going to have minimal time to prepare, have to adapt to injuries and tiredness very quickly.
  17. East London Villa
    Good news that he is training. Whether he's ready to start against Wolves or Man City is another question. Would be huge for us if we can keep him fit for the run in.
  18. East London Villa
    Ezri played perfectly to his own strengths in that position tonight. Defended very well, stayed deep to cover all their best attacking threats lurking on his side, kept the ball moving without attempting anything risky so that the more talented passers could take possession. It sounds like Southgate was pleased with him and I imagine he did exactly what was asked of him. So happy for him to finally get his chance. Well deserved!
  19. East London Villa
    My best guess... Start: Martinez; Cash Carlos Lenglet Moreno; McGinn Tielemans; Diaby Rogers; Zaniolo Duran. Bench: Olsen Gauci Pau Kesler-Hayden Digne Iroegbunam Luiz Bailey Kellyman Watkins. Luiz and Watkins could barely move by the end on Sunday. Bailey also looks very tired. Iroegbunam isn't fit enough for 2 starts in 4 days, so he'll be saved for West Ham with McGinn in for Ajax.
  20. East London Villa
    Also I want to flag that Kaine is eligible and on List B for the Conference League knockouts. So is Kellyman. You can make unlimited changes to List B throughout the season, unlike List A. They were both on the bench for the first leg and will be again for the second leg. https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaconferenceleague/clubs/52683--aston-villa//squad/
  21. East London Villa
    If Kesler-Hayden is ever going to get minutes this season, it will be on Thursday. Cash played the full 90 against Spurs. Konsa is suspended. Chambers is ineligible. So if Cash has emptied the tank at some point against Ajax (likely), Kaine is the next best option. Emery is not going to pick a half fit Carlos at right back, or a left footer, or move one of the centre mids out there. Kaine has been training with the first team for 2 months now and on the bench for the past 8 games. If he gets a chance, I hope he grabs it.
  22. East London Villa
    Our kids beat their kids 2-0 away from home the other day (and deserved it): https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/march/03/u21s--liverpool-0-2-aston-villa/. Including a few of theirs that featured in the League Cup Final and beat Southampton in the FA Cup. We have talent coming through our youth system, though of course there would be no shame in Liverpool having a better system than us. Bringing it back around to Iroegbunam...I think after injury problems in 2023 he needed an extended period to recover and start training with the first team again. I'm not sure he would have been fully ready for a loan by January, so it was the right choice to keep him at Villa. Clearly we needed to reduce the wage bill, hence letting Dendoncker leave and putting more immediate trust in Tim. Of course nobody expected Kamara's ACL, so he will get more opportunities than Emery intended. Tim showed at QPR and in youth football that he is very talented, but the position he's being asked to play is tactically very important and difficult within Emery's system. It will take him more time to adapt than your average youth player thrown into the team, told to go out and express themselves.
  23. East London Villa
    Great to see we have another strong group coming through. Our U21 side is now full of our best U18s and they are on a good run. Our U18s are struggling a little more now picking the less experienced players and some U16s, but they came very close to beating runaway league leaders West Ham before a stoppage time implosion. The talent is clearly there. We're starting to reliably produce strong sides at each level, great news for the long term future of the club.
  24. East London Villa
    I reckon we start with McGinn Tielemans in the middle against Ajax (take off Tielemans after 45 or 60 minutes), then Luiz Iroegbunam against West Ham. Luiz was out on his feet understandably at the end today, having played 90 minutes on Thursday and again today with 10 men for a significant spell.
  25. East London Villa
    The fact Emery trusted Tim to do that job in that atmosphere in a knockout game is a really good sign for his development. That was by far the biggest game he's ever played. McGinn had a knock but even if he wasn't an option to start, Emery could still have picked Tielemans alongside Luiz in the middle with Zaniolo Bailey Kellyman options higher up the pitch. Or rewind a few weeks, at the start of February he could have registered Chambers as his backup holding midfielder after Dendoncker left (he won Fulham player of the season playing there in 2018-19). Something that has also been overlooked - Tim has played hardly any football over the past 12 months. His last first team start was for QPR in April 2023. This season he has only played 3 games for the U21s and before last night, 37 minutes across 5 sub appearances for the first team. So he's not only inexperienced, he's rusty and hasn't been able to find a rhythm. No surprise he went down with cramp after 70 minutes. His biggest issues appear to be those associated with most young players (concentration, fitness, positional awareness) but also confidence. If last night doesn't give him the confidence and drive to push on, nothing will.
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