Indigo

On 02/02/2024 at 15:23, Indigo said:

For me:

Martinez 

Konsa-Carlos-Lenglet-Moreno

Bailey-Kamara-Luiz-McGinn

Tielemans

Watkins

 

When you're good, you're good.

(Not my fault if it goes wrong though)

For me:

Martinez 

Konsa-Carlos-Lenglet-Moreno

Bailey-Kamara-Luiz-McGinn

Tielemans

Watkins

Really, really need a big performance and win as soon as possible. Have been sleepwalking since that City and Arsenal double in December but it hasn't bitten us as much as it could have. 

Big Fab with the exclusive yet again.

Not that there's ever a bad time, but really feels like a game where we could do with the boost of a good result and performance. At face value everything is still going well, but performances haven't been particularly good since early-December and with the Duran, FFP etc stuff in between the general mood seems to have dampened a bit.

Will always be tough against Newcastle but they've been ropey to say the least and it's the best home side in the league vs the second worst away side here so it's a prime opportunity to take advantage of that ahead of some winnable upcoming games with hopefully some key players returning in the process.

The issue with the suggestion of just moving on to Rowe instead is that I'm pretty sure he'll cost quite a bit more than Rogers (at least from some of the talk I've seen, could be wrong), so it's probably not much of a goer if it's the cost of this move that is stalling things.

Not hugely convinced by this one, personally. He seems to have some of the raw materials you'd need to succeed and if Emery wants a player I'd trust him to get it out of him, but the more the price goes up the more pressure there is for him to actually live up to it sooner than later, and his current record isn't the most convincing. 

Colour me unambitious, but I'm still just revelling in the fact that we're in punching as highly as we are this season, not being disappointed that rumoured signings aren't good enough on paper to consolidate the position relative to other sides.

You've got to be smart with signings, recent events with certain clubs are showing you can't just brazenly chuck money about and have it all click into place. If the numerous people that are involved in such decisions at the club feel that Rogers is or will be good enough, and has the raw materials that Emery and Co. can hone then I can't not at least be curiously optimistic as to what can happen if he were to sign.

Quote

 

Morgan Rogers:

One of the best youth prospects in the country when U16 which ultimately resulted in his move to Manchester City. 

Previously worked with Villa’s current academy guys when at West Bromwich Albion.

Physically he is perfect for the Premier League. Good size (6ft+), strong & quick once into his stride.

He is a v.good ball carrier & versatile. He can play wide (mainly left), second striker or even as the main CF. He likes to come short to link or turn and drive into the space.

He needs to improve around the final third (slowing down & making the correct decision etc) and has been a bit hit & miss this season

When it clicks - in game - he looks a real prospect. vs Villa he pushed away Luiz, drove forwards & put a decent cross in (if anyone has it )

Against Coventry he turned, close to his own box, & carried the ball the length of the field. Moments like that really catch the eye.

As always, it depends on the price.

If it all clicked - and he became consistent - then he could be a real handful in the Premier League.

Similar players…he has bits of a Watkins/Brennan Johnson about him when in the final third but he does like to drop deep. Maybe Semenyo (Bournemouth) type in that he started wide but could eventually play down the middle.

As I hinted this morning, it is vital to keep on top of home grown players. I think Villa only have space for one more Non HG (and if they moved a Chambers on they would be at/close to the limit) so all that is taken into consideration.

Let’s see. Rowe could be another option.

 

Saw this rundown of him on twitter that seems to be a decent summary.

Pretty shite game all in all. If you can't win away make sure you don't lose though, a point isn't the end of the world.

The other CBs are all good players but I do feel a bit uneasy whenever Konsa isn't in there as he's such a dependable presence. Still and all we're a better side and Everton have hit a bit of a rough patch of late, so need to keep that going and avoid anything silly early doors as has happened in certain away games.

That was some old school Villa bottling that you could see coming from a mile off.

On 17/12/2023 at 23:36, ender4 said:

Are there actually any better goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last 15 months?

And before someone says Ederson and Allison, they have better defences in front of them so do they have to make so many difficult saves every match as much as Martinez.

Alisson almost definitely does, in fairness to him. The amount of goals he's saved Liverpool over the past couple of seasons has been phenomenal and he's probably been the best on the planet in that time. Martinez is obviously brilliant in his own right though and it's fine margins.

13 hours ago, El-Reacho said:

We’d need to spend big money to get someone who can play right back better than Konsa right now. I think Ezri is exactly what Emery wants in that position.

Maybe! I think Konsa has looked great in some games there and less so in others, he's definitely at his best at centre back anyway. I just think if I'm looking at area of the starting XI that can be elevated as opposed to just the depth of the squad then that side of the pitch is where I'd be looking at, as when we've struggled in certain away games that side of the pitch with Cash playing higher up has caused some issues. It's tough to be so nit-picky though considering the position we're in.

Thought it was silly to the point he can't really complain, but at the same time it was pretty soft. I don't think VAR would have overturned it had the ref not given a red card in the moment, to put it that way. It felt like there were worse infractions committed by others in the two scraps that broke out but by that point all control was lost by both players and officials and something like that was bound to happen.

Annoying to lose him as his role in the team is an important one that not many others in the squad can replicate. 

1 hour ago, romavillan said:

Top class RB needed really. Then anything else (poss DM, poss 10, deffo GK) is a bonus. 

Agree with this. I think RB is the most obvious position you'd improve in the starting XI rigjt now, and relative to other positions isn't generally the most costly to do so. Otherwise if you look at Villa's bench relative to a lot of other sides we're actually doing quite well really, 

Think this guy has flown under the radar as being quite impressive now that he's finally settled in, error(s) for that Bournemouth goal aside.

One of the funniest halves of football I've seen in a while, descended into utter lunacy but as much as that is the antithesis of what Emery probably wants we do have a few players that seem to revel in that environment like Martinez, Zaniolo, Duran and in a low-key way Konsa. 

That's the kind of game we've been losing this season so just delighted to get the win, they're struggling bad in terms of the availability of key players but they'll always be so difficult to get a result against at home.

Kamara being out now is a killer though as soft as it was. The team doesn't function nearly as well without him.

I like Cash and think he's improved a lot under Emery, but I'm yet to be a fan of him playing in this position yet. Good physical sides like Brentford find it too easy to press him and that's where their chance came right from as he just hasn't got the quality in possession that most players playing in this position would.

Just shows how much of a difference confidence and all that comes with it can make. The ability has always been there, he was just showing it too fleetingly and I think he let it affect him too much. He wears his heart on his sleeve and you can tell he beats himself up about things when they're not going well, but he got off to a good start this season and he's only grown with it which has been great to see. It's the difference between over-thinking things, taking too many touches etc and a performance like this where it all clicked for him. Even when being used as an impact sub he still looked like he was loving it, he deserved to have it rewarded with a game like last night's.

Side note but I watched this short interview he did after the game and him having zero frame of reference for who MON was or when he was at Villa cracked me up. He just assumes he "wasn't born yet or was one or two years old" at the time (2:30).

Thought he was wonderful last night, not that there weren't a whole list of candidates but for me he was the best player on the pitch. They just couldn't get near him and he was the personification of the difference in the two sides last night, which was one side actually played midfielders while the other played a mix of defenders and attackers.

That was unbelievable. Even a weakened City don't get walked around like that, we've absolutely dicked on them for the entirety of that game. In a completely different manner it's up there with the 7-2 in terms of how blown away I am by the performance. 22 shots to 2 and the game reflected it.

No idea how far we can go this season but I'm just enjoying the ride, what Emery is doing is nothing short of incredible and every passing week is justifying the level of trust the club has put in him. What a season.

On the game, tough to single out any one player in that performance but I thought Kamara in particular was absolutely phenomenal. He looked like the kind of player that City were crying out for out there.

42 minutes ago, Indigo said:

City are a brilliant team that you can never really be confident of getting a result against, particularly if you're a Villa fan that has had a wariness of good things beaten into you, but if there's any chance of getting one it's now.  Team and manager as high-quality as they've been in this league, riding an immense wave of home form while City have been hit and miss by their own enormous standards and are without some of the most important cogs in their machine. The opportunity is there.

Just realised...Haaland vs the dreaded high line.

6-1 City.

City are a brilliant team that you can never really be confident of getting a result against, particularly if you're a Villa fan that has had a wariness of good things beaten into you, but if there's any chance of getting one it's now.  Team and manager as high-quality as they've been in this league, riding an immense wave of home form while City have been hit and miss by their own enormous standards and are without some of the most important cogs in their machine. The opportunity is there.