4 hours ago, bose said:

First season with the team, think he's been decent. Started well but faded.

He didn't really hit his stride with Leverkusen until his third season really. Next season is big for him.

No chance he's going in the summer IMO. Can't write him off, 100% confident Unai wont.

 

Diaby's early form showed he has the ability to do well here and I'm reasonably confident he will shine like Bailey has done.

On 28/04/2024 at 12:00, Callum said:

Bailey was hindered by injury and still showed way more promise than Diaby

I don't think that's true. Just look back through the bailey thread from last season. Most fans wanted to get rid ... Even JV was coming to the realisation!

10 hours ago, Davkaus said:

They almost always just give it to the manager who wins the league, with 1 exception in the past decade

If Pulis can win it for finishing 11th on 45 points then unai should be a shoe in.

12 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said:

The plethora of young players we have, but not one we can call upon with confidence to come into our midfield, or indeed in goals.

We will need to buy for those positions, and indeed in other positions, for instance up front.

So what is our youth system - an expensive hobby? - a sop to FFT? 

Its mainly going to be a revenue generator for FFP, with the occasional gem coming through who is good enough for the first team. 

Given how competitive matches are we can't afford to develop a lot of youth players with first team opportunities unless they are exceptional.

Well the first half couldn't have gone much better! Worst case scenario is that spurs scrape a point, but even then that's a long shot. Hopefully arsenal get a few more goals to extend our goal difference advantage.

Just now, Stevo985 said:

From a situation he created

Had a lot more to do with Carlos losing his mind for a moment.

Are we really blaming Olsen for a poor second half performance by the team?! VT really does love a scapegoat!

I thought he did ok and won us a point with the save he made from Palmer.

Just watched MotD and this must be the worst of the season. Literally spent one minute analysing the VAR decision for Chelsea's third goal and then moved on without even commenting on the rest of the match. Maybe they should rename the programme VAR of the Day.

9 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Only issue is I earmarked us hopefully winning our Home Games at minimum, even if we lost the others.

Either way, you are right it's still a decent return.

Need at least one more win and a draw now.

The best teams to play towards the end of the season are those in mid table whose seasons are over. We have two of those teams coming up, so we don't necessarily have to win our home games.

3 minutes ago, AshVilla said:

Liverpool will just do what Chelsea did to us tonight and grind us out i can't see us winning that one.

I wouldn't be so sure. Their manager is leaving and they have nothing to play for. Looking at their last few results Liverpool are struggling and it's hardly a full gone conclusion that they beat us.

7pts from the last 3 games is more than most people would have predicted at the start off this run. Its a decent return so I'm still feeling positive.

4 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Diaby must have shit in Emery's cornflakes.

Diaby should have offered Emery Coco Pops as there would have been less chance of being found out.

4 minutes ago, Brumstopdogs said:

 

As expected. I'd probably have started Diaby over Bailey, as it probably doesn't help his confidence or rhythm to keep swapping out.

Villa 2 Cole Palmer FC 2

35 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I have full on man flu today but after watching that I feel like I could run a marathon!

Easy to say now the London marathon has just been and gone!

1 hour ago, Ingers said:

 

 

Don't show this to Heck as we all know that he loves to have multiple crests in play at the same time. He will think it's countdown and ask you for 3 from the top, 2 from the middle and 4 from the bottom.

5 minutes ago, MWARLEY2 said:

A.matchwinner as much as Ollie  

Saves are the equivalent of shots on target BUT goals prevented is the equivalent of goals being scored. 

Its the most relevant stat out there for me, and if you are backing it up with commanding your box and commanding the space behind your teams high line then surely it means you are the best at what you are asked to do. You then add in most time on the ball in the whole of the Prem which allows Villa to conserve energy . The greatest. 

Watkins and Emi are the only 2 first XI players where we don't have backup without there being a big dropoff in quality. It is essential that they stay fit until we can get a new backup GK and Duran develops.

52 minutes ago, Captain_Townsend said:

I'm not trying to be smart but the current location has been home to a large stadium for 125 years, at times, when it was one of the largest grounds in England.

Villa park was very different back then. It could hold twice as many people as it can now and there was no need for it to be bringing in revenue from other sources. We now need it to be multi-use with a large capacity.

The current site is sandwiched between two roads with residential housing in close proximity, limited parking  and is in an area which has one of the highest crime rates in the city. Its not really conducive to attracting masses of the paying public to fund the club's growth.

Heck has a pretty easy task of improving commercial revenue as it was pathetic under purslow. In the 22/23 season it was about 18m, which was half of what Leeds earned that season... And they were in the championship for about 20 years prior!

26 minutes ago, brummybloke said:

Need 3 more for arsenal this half and a couple cheeky yellows /niggly  injuries to Chelsea key players so they are out of the villa game but ok for their remaining games.

What are the winning euro million numbers this Friday?

23 minutes ago, bobzy said:

I like the round badge with the upside down lion. 

It's certainly unique!

22 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

how about we dont put pressure on ourselves, lets just do our business and not worry about whats next,

every time we have done it this season (spoke about expectations/wanting to do X or Y), we effed up. (ie: the twice we could have gone top etc etc)

I think mcginn especially benefits from being more relaxed going into games. Like you said, performances seem to drop when a game gets overly hyped.

8 minutes ago, imavillan said:

John Percy has written a pretty good article about it.

clicky clicky

Unai Emery can be Aston Villa’s Sir Alex Ferguson – instead of following him

A one-year option will keep Emery at Villa Park until 2027 as the club eyes to built on its astounding progress over last 18 months

Unai Emery is on the brink of leading Aston Villa to the Champions League and will now be asked to build a legacy to become the club’s version of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Emery has triggered a one-year option to his current contract until 2027 as ambitious owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens move to keep the highly-rated Basque coach at Villa Park.

Sawiris and Edens have driven the decision to discuss new terms with Emery, with further negotiations planned for the summer over a lucrative, long-term deal.

NSWE want to offer Emery the platform to lead the club towards an even brighter future, with regular excursions in the Champions League regarded as just the start.

 

The huge commitment to Emery is viewed as essential and deserved, after a remarkable transformation in 18 months.

Suggests that it was an extension option on his existing contract rather than a brand new one. Makes sense to announce it now, as speculation on summer managerial vacancies is ramping up, and Emery won't want the distraction of media speculation about his job affecting the players.

Sounds like he will get a brand new deal in the summer, which will no doubt come with a pay rise and maybe a (formal) increase in his responsibilities.

The new badge has disappeared

15 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

Well clearly he must have shown something before, hence why we signed him.

Its similar to Martinez. Emi was not high on up on the list of targets based on his stats, but clearly he had ability. It was only when the'eye test' was used Emi became a top target. Rogers's stats were not exceptional but unai saw his potential. Most clubs prioritise stats to focus their search, so Rogers (and Emi) would not be high up on clubs radars.