VillanousOne

more links to Acuna for 15 mil??? Guy is 32.... do we need more ageing left backs?

It's weird he looks aggressive and a player whom would win a lot of aerial duels and tackles, but aside from fouling people he doesn't really read the game well, to be honest there is only Konsa in that back line, does or did when playing at CB, it highlights how much we have missed Mings who at worst gambles and sometimes misses a key interception but most of the time gets it right. Whereas Torres, Carlos and Lenglet watch as players coast by them especially at set pieces. Torres does play out well and so can Carlos and I think the former can read the game but is just not that fast or aggressive, Carlos is but has no footballing brain. Ironically he wouldn't be that bad alongside Konsa or Mings.

I really hope Olson, Lenglet and he go as every time I see those names on our teams sheet I shudder 

he was lazy, didn't track back, watched games go by.

he's not been like that for Luton though

Free transfer, no brainer

But with a year left he could cost a chunkyish fee for someone who has a fairly iffy injury record and only really one good season to show for a career that should have seen him be an England regular.

70% of the time he was with us he was piddle, but class the other 30% and nothing inbetween

be nice to have someone who can take set pieces though as ours have gone to shite

17 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

He’s going to be immense for us this season… so long as we get him clear of his injury troubles and nibbles, get all that resolved and out of the way.

Still so young and full of potential, so impressive before his injury but many seem to have forgotten about that.

He’s one of our most prized and valuable possessions… and one of our own to boot!

Watch his value and importance skyrocket… Unai’s a big fan.

 

Nah mate, any player that gets injured for long periods becomes expendable, I've no idea about anything good he has done for us, get him sold for FFP, we've got Rogers now mate, don't need him, sack him off for 30 mil. He was sh*t anyway well probably, i only remember the players that are playing now and what they do. Buendia was cack aswell I think, Mings who? Rubbish! Carlos rubbish when he was injured, rubbish when not injured!

Kourtney Hause, KOURTNEY **** HAUSE!

Cameron who? RUBBISH!
 

52 minutes ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

How is everyone so confident he won’t be here next season? One year left on contract and buyers hardly queueing up.

Especially as he had chances to leave in Jan but wasn't going to quit his current pay check.

We may let him go to the Championship and subsidise his remaining wages, but he might be happy to get paid to do feck all for another year.

Just now, mrchnry said:

Say what you want about excuses but Olsen has shipped A LOT of goals 

He is not a good keeper at all and never has been

bring the kids on they can't do any worse

Just now, CVByrne said:

I always thought this thread would be funny today. Literally an irrelevant game to us and an Important game for Palace 

what is it important to Palace?

unfortunately as soon as you saw that line up you new this was going to happen

13 hours ago, TRO said:

I get your point, but negatives, presented constructively are important references, to show improvement.

Unai will address the so called negatives, that's what he does, to improve players.....and he has improved, all of ours.

your point, about does nothing for 90 minutes etc.........The very top teams, work feverishly for 90 minutes, watch Man City, constantly working the ball, to gain openings and space. You can't just rely on "moments" when you are the top.

If a player, scores a goal, but does nothing for duration of the game, it does matter....because that kind of play is not sustainable, for ambitious teams.

We are WIP....so players will have good bits and not so good bits to their games. The objective is to progress to a point, where they more consistent, and we will recruit, better quality too, to gain that consistency.

Currently, We can beat anyone, but can equally, get beat by anyone.....we have to become harder to beat, and consistency, will improve....that does not mean parking the bus, or deploying more players to defence. We have to become harder to beat in the confines of our attacking style.

Moussa, is still acclimatising to us and our way.... I think he will be the player we want him to be.

I agree with some of what you are saying, but I don't think Diaby is ever not working the ball to gain openings and space. But he does sometimes struggle with the physical side and decision making, sometimes I don't think we play to his strengths always and sometimes positionally I am unsure of where he is playing, but that is more about him adjusting to our system and what Unai wants.

Criticisms used to get thrown at Buendia because he would try a lot of things, get frustrated and get remembered by some for the things that didn't work, but for me personally i'd rather a player was in the game trying things than letting it pass them by.

but also by example Haaland for City trots around the pitch doing nothing for entire games, he doesn't track back and often doesn't close down, but is lethal in the box or with the ball in front of him. He does defend corners, but compared to Ollie he can literally watch 80 mins of game go by doing sod all. But no one complains about that, they only care he scores goals.

Matt Le Tissier used to do literally walk around the pitch doing nothing, but then score a 35 yard screamer (yeah I get the game was different then).

I don't see the difference between a player coming on and scoring a goal in a 10 minute cameo from the bench, or a player scoring after 80 minutes having done little in the previous time on the pitch.

Obviously I am talking about wingers and strikers, not midfielders and defenders who do need to play a vital role for the full 90. 

But as I said before Diaby is decent at tracking back and working hard (mostly). Sometimes misplaced passes can be costly when we lack the solid structure we had when Kamara was available and weren't constantly rotating players due to injury. Just an opinion though.

people always focus on the negatives, amongst the poor performances where he has been ineffectual have been really top drawer performances where he has been quality.

I remember the bizarre argument around El Ghazi and even Trez where somehow goals and assists weren't enough from a winger/fwd- (and yes I think Diaby is levels above them) but the fact is if a player does nothing for 89 minutes, but scores a goal or gets a vital assist in that one minute does it matter? If he costs us possession and we lose because he is crap those 89 minutes, then yes a good point to say we need better.

But the fact is, he gets subbed if he is poor, and even when he is poor he is still tidy and works hard. Usually he creates chances.

I know he is frustrating and can get bullied out of games, but he can also be sublime and has all the attributes to be the player we think he can, coming to a new league and get heavily marked and press takes any players time to adjust to. He's not Bailey Mk 2 he's just a player that needs time to adjust to the best league in the world.

'pah he can only score goals and create chances, he's sh*t'

 

5 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

Bayern, Madrid, juve, benfica, celtic, Prague away, Monaco, Prague away again 

beautiful

I thought after the MON era we'd never come close again, how great it feels to be wrong

1 minute ago, Genie said:

Who is ready for the greatest comeback of all time?

Fury Vs Usk? 

16 minutes ago, avfc1982am said:

He can, however, I think we were a lot more defensively sound last season, with very little injuries during the run in and we also had Ramsey in there who is a little more accustomed to playing in the 3 and supporting role.

I think the problem is having Diaby, Bailey and Rodgers in there where none are great at the defensive side out of possession. Add that to the continual changes in defence and we are far more stretched this season. We've also played significantly more games so everyone is running on empty.  

Yep he can and sometimes we have the players around him to pull it off, sometimes when we play with a three man midfield. But it is not his best position just like Doug isn't as effective playing a holding role. McGinn on multiple times let the ball over the top as he has no height to win headers. He has been quality when played wider and further forward though under Emery.
 

Rogers has been awesome, but i don't think we have enough steel when he plays with Bailey and Diaby. It's not about blame, the balance is wrong and that is due to injury.

he can't play centrally with Doug, our midfield disappears as soon those two start there

3 hours ago, Villaphan04 said:

He’s also only missed 7 league games since 2021 which is pretty astounding for a center mid.

I think it’s also clear that McGinn and him don’t work as a midfield partnership 

They never have, and McGinn isn't a defensive or even a holding central midfielder who can play centrally with anyone we have other than maybe Kamara.

the one regrettable decision is letting Donk go (which isn't terrible in itself) without getting a replacement at the time, not saying January is easy for this, but Tim and Tielemans were never going to be Kamara stand ins, despite Youri actually playing pretty solidly.

The drop off in form is strange, 50% it's injuries around him and playing out of position and 50% a sudden inexplicable loss in confidence. Still love him, but he is having a negative impact on the team right now.

1 minute ago, Pinebro said:

I know he hadn't missed a pen for us before but I knew he was gonna miss when I saw him step up today

same, was praying Watkins would take it

We had a Rolls Royce, got suspended, came back a beaten up ford escort with bald tyres

McGinn is utterly ineffective in a deep midfield role just as Diaby is wherever it is he is meant to be playing

we've also seen 'Peak Doug' at times this season, showing some of his best form for us, form that again had him linked to all the big boys.

he just doesn't adapt well to playing in roles he is not as effective in, putting him in the defensive holding role in front of our defence has never been where he shines.

But now Tielemans is out, we have no choice but to play Doug and McGinn, neither of whom play the defensive role well and not sure Emery can risk starting Tim in high pressure games.

It's a shame Zaniolo is injured, though wildly inconsistent, his ball retention and physicality are missed. Emery needs to put an arm round Doug and try and find a way of settling that midfield down so that we can get through the final games of this incredible season.

But really does show we need better midfield back up options. You'd think we honestly had one more central midfielder from the youth we could call on right now, rather than just Tim who isn't a defensive midfielder either.

anyone know what happens with Archer now Sheff Utd have been relegated?

he maybe tall but he's not a very defensive player, he can't really shore up a midfield in the way people expect him to, but it's not like we have a choice at the moment