Shomin Geki

In response to the debate over the last few pages...

As much as I'd be over the moon at signing a bona fide superstar, I appreciate Aston Villa currently have something of a slim window when it comes to desirable players.

We're obviously looking for players that will improve us, but that in itself is a very nuanced task.  The criterion for a 'big' signing isn't simply plucking the best conceivable talent from a pile, although one can make a very genuine case for paying over the odds for a particular player.  It's complicated.  Which Villa seem to have grasped.  There will doubtless be consideration over wage structure, the careful integration of 'team players' with complimentary skill sets who are good characters, on top of factoring in the general uncertainty of the Covid-era.  Coupled with the much-mooted FFP restrictions on our wages and the subsequent restrictions on our pulling power, there will undoubtedly be a certain niche we're looking at.

From what I can see the likes of Morgan Sanson, who I couldn't have told you a thing about a week ago, seem to fit that bill.

I have every confidence that the top of the Aston Villa hierarchy will move intelligently and responsibly.  I would even go as far as saying, beyond being properly diligent and prudent, that there is a certain amount of excitement in, contrary to the actions of the bigger and dumber boys, having to use our chips wisely.  I'm enjoying watching Aston Villa evolve with a certain level of caution.  I say that in spite of the results so far being pretty darn spectacular.

But it's smart and dare I say very satisfying that Villa seem to be approaching ALL of the next steps we need to make with the required level of intelligence.  Retrace those steps over the past two years and have confidence in their upwards trajectory.

9 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Finally watched “Dead Man’s Shoes” last night.

I know it’s highly regarded on here so was glad to finally get round to it. 

Interesting. This sounds like faint praise but in places it felt to me what it would be like if Nick Love made a good film. It was curious as it felt like it was being shown more from the antagonists’ perspective. 

I like Toby Kebbell, if I’m honest, I wasn’t sure about his mentally challenged character. Not sure it would have been done the same way if they made it today.

Yeah, I can see all this.  I'm pretty ambivalent about Shane Meadows in general.  I liked his first run of features, pretty much up to this point, but have wondered if he has much more to say as he's not seemed to have developed like I feel he should have done (not seen the This Is England TV series).  Dead Man's Shoes could have been a turning point, a mix of his distinctive regional spark and social realist empathy with the greater impact afforded through more explicit 'genre' characteristics.  But it's one of those films that I recall being impressed by, possessing a depth of appreciation for all the miserable souls in this crap tragedy, that I really should revisit sometime.  I wonder about he Kebbell performance too, with the caveat that greater 'sensitivity' in portrayals of anyone with any disability does not automatically equal a treatment of greater depth.

And as for the notion of an elevated Nick Love film, well, Muscle, with Craig Fairbrass, who is excellent, is very much that!  And not in a bad way!  If you can accpet Gerard Johnson's somewhat nihilistic abrupt endings its a memorable wade into the slurry of modern, addled, masculinity.

Perhaps one for the punditry thread, but... anyone else see Stephen Warnock on Match of the Day the other night?  Looking about thirteen and sporting natty Clark Kent glasses.  I don't think I've seen him do any punditry before but was surprised by how articulate, thorough and insightful he was!  So much so that I spent the first four or five minutes thinking, 'that IS Stephen Warnock, right?'  It seems the new rising ex-player punditry class are learning to do their homework and realising they have to be proper smarties.  A good sign!

7 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Yes. Watching this match (against Chelsea), I have realised what it is I hate about it, and it's this: it has created a mentality - among fans, among commentators, among referees - of looking for 'reasons why not'. Villa fans looking for reasons why VAR should rule out Giroud's goal even though Chilwell is level. Chelsea fans looking for reasons to rule out El Ghazi's goal even though the ref had waved play on 30 seconds earlier. Commentators looking for both. '

It's crap, and it's ruining the sport. When someone scores, we shouldn't be first of all looking for 'reasons why not'.

I would like football fans of all clubs to come together to show they think this is rubbish.

This is an excellent point.  An astute reminder that whilst we focus incessantly on 'the rules' as they pertain to violations and misconduct we can often overlook that their real value lies in optimising and incentivising the game played to its fullest.

14 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Demarai Gray would be a very astute signing, for somebody. However I'm doubtful we will be in for a player like that in the forward positions, as in one who wants and needs to play every week. 

I would like to see the scouting department work it's magic for once and pluck a relatively obscure 22 year old forward for a few million from the Swedish leagues to provide healthy competition to Ollie et al. Same at left back.

I'm not sure how realistic this is, but it would seem unwise to be going all in on a player(s) we don't necessarily need this January. It's still not obvious to me where the next big signing needs to be, and might not be until the summer rolls around.

 

Demarai Gray is an interesting one!  In the 25 man squad but hasn't even made the Leicester bench this season, potentially on account of his likely transfer (out of contract this summer).  Apparently Everton and Tottenham are interested in one of those 'cut-price deals'.  Aside from surprise at how little he has featured for Leicester I can't say I could tell you much about the fella.  But was definitely feted pretty recently.  Any insights?

Yeah, really like the Leeds team!

I suspect my enthusiasm isn't too different from the gushing praise they get from the pundit class: The game now, for better or worse, is so densely tactical that matches can seem won through precise formations, game plans, tactical discipline and so on, and Leeds' gung-ho ballbattle is a pleasing reminder of the unruly, random joy of 22 players going sweatily toe to toe, as it were.  Leeds, to somewhat overdo the fighting parallels, are a wild streetfighter amidst a platoon of Klitschkos.  They're gonna at least bring some fireworks, probably end up punch drunk, but it'll be fun.

As for Leeds the place and the people, well, I once exited Leeds train station to an immediate vicious bottling and my stay didn't get considerably jollier after that...

Just seen on Match of the Day that West Brom had an XG of 0.05!  Surely one of the lowest ever.

3 minutes ago, darrenm said:

If that's offside I'm a llama 

 

 

The continuing, and confounding, mysteries of blurryland!

Has there been a precise nailing down of how accurate and 'scientific' these lines actually are?  Like, what are their properties?  Or is it just instructional MS Paint scrawls?  I mean, those seemingly different sized vertical dots don't interfere with the measurements right?  Right?

1 hour ago, HanoiVillan said:

I would also like to know the answer to that question, though I have some working hypotheses.

Please elaborate! 

Daria Nicolodi, 70.

A bit of a niche one here, but I trust among the classy aesthetes of Villa Talk her name won't be entirely unrecognised.

Former partner of Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, co-writer of Suspiria, and mother of metoo heel-turner Asia Argento.  It was noted, with some accuracy, that Nicolodi was killed off in an increasingly grisly and elaborate fashion in Inferno, Phenomena, Opera etc.  But she's still immortalised amidst dazzling colour and architecture in Argento's finest.

I think it's been a pretty miserable year for cinema, largely devoid of bite, provocation, ambition and wit.

However... I did like:

The Whistlers- An excellent and eccentric Romanian neo-noir, which was alternatively knotty and curiously heartfelt.  The kind of film that reminds you, quite vividly, of what a big, strange, beautiful world we lived in.  One driven, in many ways, by strong emotions barely expressed.  Which ties in perfectly with the bizarre code language of the film's title.

Bacurau- A little sketchier and rougher than his masterful Aquarius and Neighbouring Sounds, but nonetheless a feverishly aggressive work from Filho Mendonca.  A perhaps necessary response to the social and cultural privations of the Bolsonaro administration.  I would have liked a little more pulpy, punky flair, but there's a simmering, intoxicating fire to this film.

Vivarium- Strange, and strangely apropos viewing for the lockdown world, I understand the abstraction and archness has put many people off, but I think it's mixture of petit bourgeois nightmare and oblique comedy of manners is the perfect interrogation of our present conditions of barely-grasped madness roiling under the surface of compliant civility.  Imogen Poots is quick becoming very underrated and is typically excellent here.

A White, White Day- Deliberate Icelandic psychodrama of a middle aged man's unravelling psyche.  No, come back!  It's actually incredibly gripping, psychologically astute, and if perhaps the subject matter IS a touch overfamiliar, the odd notes of quiet grace and very dry comedy elevate it from its peers.  Also shot beautifully on film.  Also: Ends, rather charmingly, with a Leonard Cohen song.  Not that kind of Leonard Cohen song.  Those other ones.

And that's where I think I'll have to bow out, although I thought The Beach House did a surprising amount with a negligible budget.  Would go to bat for Underwater too, the Kristen Stewart creature feature.  Possibly the most unexpectedly pleasing cameo this year!

This from The Guardian MBM pretty much sums things up. 

7 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Hodgson and Bruce both shithousing this by the looks of it to earn me some profit

This is Shithouse Central.  The Fountain of Eternal Shithousery.

I'm at a loose end so I thought I would give this a watch.  Learn a little about two sides that I know very little about.

And what do I get?  Blind eunuchs at any orgy, flesh bumping against flesh, pointlessly, joylessly, interminably.

If the everlasting soul of Diego Maradona dragged this game down to Hell for sins against football I doubt Bruce and Hodgson could protest.  He should do it.  For all of us.

7 hours ago, Follyfoot said:

Looking forward to Dubois versus Joyce, This is not going to be as one-sided as a lot of people think

Absolutely.  I have to say I have seen a lot less of Joyce than Dubois.  What trouble does Joyce present?

The Van Damme of the North East, Lionel Perez, with his sexy hair and even sexier leg saves.

I think Martinez's outside the penalty area save from Maupay yesterday, and my general belief that keepers that are 'good with their feet' could be so more robustly and tenaciously, must have triggered foolishly fond memories.

Perhaps this is somewhat off topic but the subject of Engel's curious injury habits got me thinking.  How detailed would the precise medical care and appreciation of a player's physiology be for Aston Villa?  Could this be studied before a player is purchased?  I'm guessing a player's development would intersect quite heavily with a thorough medical analysis, but how thorough is that?

For example, my physio's identification of tight hamstrings and underdeveloped knee caps has helped me adapt my running and training style considerably with far less risk of injury.  Do players get similarly tailored advice?  Are there any examples, apart from extreme cases like Mario Gotze (which isn't really what I'm talking about anyway), wherein some less evident physical anomaly has forced a player to make major changes in their approach to the game?

The boy has the energy of a pup on Red Bull!  Energy that is as infectious as it is merciless.  Like a right back Vardy.  Cash is everywhere.  Incessant, demanding, indefatigable.  I really like him.  There's also a sense of responsibility and discipline about him too though.  Your average sheep-herding all action Action man can get a bit carried away with yapping at the heels of his foes.  Crazy handball aside, he seems a sensible lad who knows not to get too carried away his considerable motor.

And I think he can definitely go up a gear or two.  I feel as we get better, or hopefully as we stay comfortable with how good we can be, Cash will get better too.

6 hours ago, YouUnastanFren said:

I thought he'd be off and primed to take the Juve job. They'll continue to play well under him but the whole project just seems a bit stagnant at the minute.

Doesn't it just!

I wonder if there is a touch of the Wenger about him, this desire for his troops to perfectly aestheticise his untouchably perfect 'vision' of football?  Even if the tides appear to be turning somewhat.  I wonder if deep down he finds all this speed metal sturm und drang Klopp hyperfootball to be a bit vulgar, a bit gauche, and he's waiting patiently in the wings for things to calm down.  And then his elven army can swoop majestically to save us all over again.

Or, I don't know, middle age can be a bitch.  But. certainly, Pep's Man City have a bit of a Last Year's Model quality.  Will be intriguing to see how Pep responds to no longer being best in show.  Does he stick or twist?  Can he fight dirty in dirtier times or can his origami football somehow regain its edge?

5 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

Pretty big news from the enquiry today:

I don't think it's anything we didn't already know, or at least strongly suspect, but it's now out in the open. Extract:

'In evidence to Grenfell inquiry’s examination of the manufacture, testing and sale of the largely plastic materials, Roper said the firm had been “dishonest” by “over-engineering” a cladding fire safety test to achieve a pass.

A first test in February 2014 failed in 26 minutes, with flames engulfing the rig. But after changing some of the materials used around the insulation, including adding concealed fire-retardant panels, a second test three months later passed and was used to market the foam boards as safe for high-rise buildings.

Roper was asked to produce slides for the sales team that would not include mention of the earlier failed test or the fact that the magnesium oxide board had been added in the second test. The slide was “downright misleading” and “intended to mislead”, he agreed under cross-examination by Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry.'

They literally altered the insulation in the test by hiding fire-retardant materials in them. This should surely be legally actionable.

Whilst acknowledging that this may sound pompous or insensitive, this tragedy is becoming a huge piece of grim literature warning us of so much that is shameful about this country.  It's like a goddamn Hogarth of modern elite indifference and venality.  The popular government mantra of 'lessons to be learned' couldn't be more starkly urgent when it comes to Grenfell.  And yet the lessons keep coming...

I was living not too far from Grenfell when it burned.  It still haunts me.

1 minute ago, villa4europe said:

I don't think they linked that well but what it must be like as a striker knowing that if you make a run he'll try and find you

The crazy thing is that will be said tomorrow is that we look better with 2 proper pacey wingers who run the channels

The fact that that's shit 101 basic garbage football will lost

Grealish, sterling, then sancho maddison mount take your pick with kane ahead of them take on the world 

Yeah, largely agree.  Kane can obviously appreciate another player that shares his vision and intelligence.  I would imagine Kane can see himself not having to playmake from so deep with Grealish.  I imagine the boy is excited at the possibilities.

Kane talking about how much he likes playing with Grealish.  I'd be demanding he plays if I were him.  Two highly intelligent players.

Jack aside this performance is very Stewart Downing.

Anyone else dying to know if England get their own slice of popular 90s dance if they score?

If we conjure up a nifty passing move they can do ''I like to move it, move it''.  Bobby Brown's ''Two Can Play That Game'' can be blasted when that mythical Grealish Mount team-up happens. 

I vote for Renegade Master or Ebeneezer Goode.  EMF's Unbelievable for the stunning comeback winner.  Although that is stretching the dance remit.  We shall have to see.