Michael118

I agree with a lot of this. Bruce probably deserves some credit for Grealish's improvement - I actually think they're on a similar wavelength. I also think having so many leaders and solid and reliable players and characters around him, in particular Terry and Jedinak, but also Snodgrass, Hutton and Chester can't be underestimated. It will be interesting to see if Grealish continues to improve this season in the absence of Terry and Snodgrass. Terry seemed like a mentor for him and Snodgrass for me was kind of the glue which held us together offensively. For me, Chester could struggle without Terry. Some vital and dificult to replace cogs in the wheel will be missing so it will be a massive test for Bruce if he doesn't replace them with some real quality.

Do you really think that if an attractive offer came in for him from the Premier League or La Liga he would be making those comments? If there was no interest in him from La Liga clubs when we were relegated I'm sure we would have heard something similar.

I'd be very wary of Leeds under Bielsa. He's genuinely a top quality manager and I'm not too familiar with their squad but I'll be surprised if he isn't able to get them challenging at the very top of the Championship before too long. Middlesbrough under Pulis too I assume would have been in the automatic promotion spots last season if you took their results from after he joined and spread them over a whole season.

I haven't seen a lot of him but he caught my eye when I watched Chelsea's youth team play a couple of seasons ago. I wanted us to try and sign him as well but not sure he would have come with Lampard at Derby and his links to Chelsea. He's definitely a player to watch though for this season and the future.

Like I said, Bacuna is carrying an injury and wasn't expected to play... https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/8/3/17648530/reading-fc-vs-derby-county-match-preview-royals

9 with him and 1 without him. Reading with Bacuna - 9 wins, 8 draws, 15 losses (11 of these came from Wolves x2, Fulham away, Villa away, Boro away, Preston away, Sheffield United x2, Bristol x2 and Millwall on their unbeaten run) Reading without Bacuna - 1 win, 5 draws, 7 losses

He's carrying an injury. Reading only won once without him last season. If he stays on the bench and they can get up it will be their first win without him in 11 and a half months.

https://www.elidealgallego.com/articulo/deportes/gil-jugar-segunda-nada-supone-problema/20180720003705379058.html

It looks more like Conor Hourihane.

#Overhyped

Looking at Kozak's stats from last season, he featured for more than 70 mins in only 4 games and scored in 2 of those games. 3/3 so far this season from friendlies. His goal scoring record when you look at it from the number of mins he's played is still very good.

I still believe he can turn it around to an extent. He's always been an intelligent player and has never been overly reliant on pace. I think confidence was an issue for him as it was for a number of his teammate when he was playing for us. If he can get that back and get some momentum going, you never know.

Libor Kozak moves from Bari to Livorno. https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/sport/fotbal/378527-kozak-po-presunu-do-livorna-letosni-sezonu-beru-jako-posledni-sanci/

Nice work. I haven't seen Burke play but wouldn't be surprised at all if Donacien kicks on even further once he settles in. Will be interesting to see how he goes.

What's funny is your inability to address the point objectively without feeling the need to counter-attack. My post wasn't intended as an attack on you. A shocking batting average?

@HanoiVillan posted on Dec 26, 2016 https://www.villatalk.com/search/?&q=donacien&page=1&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11455636/ipswich-sign-janoi-donacien-from-accrington-stanley http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/16389379.accrington-set-for-club-record-sale-as-defender-joins-ipswich/

I can't stop laughing.

I was certain I read an article earlier in the season which claimed Bruce had not beaten Pulis up until they met each other in Pulis' first match in charge of Middlesbrough earlier this season. The same stat was posted by DaveAV1 a few pages back. The scorelines are all correct but I got those 3 results the wrong way around. I did it in a rush to be honest. I have an injured arm which I really shouldn't be using.

Steve Bruce vs Tony Pulis - Head to Head 06/07 - Championship Stoke 0 - 0 Birmingham Birmingham 0 - 1 Stoke 08/09 - Premier League Wigan 0 - 0 Stoke Stoke 2 - 0 Wigan 09/10 - Premier League Stoke 1 - 0 Sunderland Sunderland 0 - 0 Stoke 10/11 - Premier League Sunderland 0 - 2 Stoke Stoke 3 - 2 Sunderland 11/12 - Premier League Sunderland 0 - 4 Stoke 13/14 - Premier League Crystal Palace 1 - 0 Hull 14/15 - Premier League West Brom 1 - 0 Hull West Brom 3 - 2 Hull (League Cup) 17/18 - Championship Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Aston Villa

Gil > Grealish Clark and Okore > Terry and Chester Amavi > Taylor Traore > Adomah Westwood > Hourihane Bacuna > Snodgrass Hutton > Elmohamady Sanchez > Whelan Gabby (fully fit and under a decent manager) > Kodjia

100%.

He's a number 10 so his main competition would be Grealish. I'd have him in ahead of Grealish, but they could play together if we wanted to go with 2 number 10's or play one out wide. Gil played on the right a few times with Deportivo and did well there. I definitely think he's best suited to a central role though. For me, Gil is head and shoulders above all our current players in terms of ability and would be the first name on the team sheet if we got him back,

Yes, he had the same number of assists as Messi and more than Ronaldo around half way through last season.