Kuwabatake Sanjuro

No complaints with his performance today, looks a good signing.

He is solid enough but about the same level as Yacouba Sylla.

Bruce better beg Pochettino for a loan signing or 2. Onomah would be a welcome addition but N'koudou looks class. There are probably better players in spurs 3rd team that would improve Villa. The difference being a well run club makes.

What sort of wages is he on does anyone know?

I think the job he did at Hull was decent given the lack of funds for transfers and small squad they have there. The players definitely played for him and cared.

Hull have sacked Mike Phelan, would be a great addition to the backroom assuming he doesn't want to be a number 1 again.

Celtic have had a £3m offer for a young Ivorian midfielder playing in Russia accepted. Given their generally good record at spotting talent would it make sense for Villa to hijack the bid? It is not as if this club has any proper scouting network in place.

He'd probably have put an effort into defending if he was playing for Allardyce though, what was seen yesterday was something like a cross between Richards and Lescott in attitude.

He played well towards the end of last season and got a contract extension, so I don't think he is finished as a player. He did his cruciate 3 years ago and missed a bit of time with a metatarsal fracture too but he wouldn't seem to be a crock. Apart from a groin strain has not been injured much this season, just not being picked by Koeman this season. Matty James would be good but might take time to get up to speed after a serious injury. Alan Judge would be in a similar boat if a move was made, out of contract in the summer but back in full training now. Conor Hourihane would be worth the gamble too a he is also out of contract in the summer and can't be on huge wages at Barnsley. Robbie Brady I like as a player but don't think he would be value for money.

I'd take Darron Gibson on loan as he seems to be completely frozen out at Everton, but he could be frozen out for a reason.

You would probably put together a midtable Championship side from all the players Villa have developed in the last few years. Could have saved plenty of money that was squandered on poor squad players.

He looked good in England when playing for Rodgers too to be fair. He is no world beater but his form for Villa was definitely not a fair reflection of his ability. Similar to a few others at the time.

I wonder how Nasri will get on with the doping thing and whether City had any prior knowledge of it. He is still their player.

It is approaching 4 years since he scored a league goal and he has generally played more than 30 league games a season in that time. He can provide width and balance to the team (Pellegrini's 4-4-2) and he still has some pace remaining but he is nowhere near the player he was at Sevilla though.

They will need Gabriel Jesus to hit form quickly when he joins, their bench was pathetic enough today (Iheanacho aside) considering the money they have spent in the summer and over the years. Jesus Navas is worse than Adama Traore.

No matter what cross he delivers it will always find an opposing player, hopefully more opposing hands can be found. Maybe if there were 2 upfront he could be more effective but that would require a proper midfield to be installed.

Look where Drogba was at his age.

They sacked Monk when they thought they had Bielsa lined up, that would have been fair enough had it not fallen through. Guidolin was a solid appointment but the summer transfer window was a disaster and he was undermined early in the season with the Giggs thing. Bradley might not be a bad manager but was the wrong man at the wrong time for Swansea and could not sort out their defence. Jaap Stam would probably be the best possible appointment for them to get back to what they are good at but there is no reason he will leave Reading for them.

A singing/ultras section in part of the Holte end would possibly be worth implementing at some stage. I know it it can be a little cringeworthy but in general Villa fans can come across as very negative/depressed (with some justification). A section of positivity could become infectious to the rest of VP and who knows maybe an anthem could develop. More Steel Pulse needs to be played in the ground too,

Barry Bannan is badly missed.

It only cost $1.4b, the fact that the city has about 10000 people sleeping homeless doesn't matter when they can have a stadium as obscene as that.

The cause of poor strength and conditioning is probably down to the number of changes in management, poor investment is sport science from the Lerner era, poor coaching structures under Lambert and Sherwood and a large turnover of players. The club needs to take a long term approach to maximising player fitness.

He might have done better for the goal as it wasn't the most powerful strike in the world but he is looking a lot more impressive now. The quick clearance that got Adomah killed was excellent too.

Fitness was definitely an issue but even if Villa were fitter there still would not be a big difference in quality between the two teams. Apart from Kodjia, Amavi and maybe Ayew not many Villa players would be considered better than their Birmingham equivalents on that pitch today. Forget price tags. The only complaint I could have with Steve Bruce today was not changing things up in the 2nd half when it was clear how badly we were struggling especially in midfield and with Ross McCormack being completely ineffective on the RW, Options available to him weren't great though.

He wasn't that bad today as he worked hard and tried to get forward to support Kodjia but it really isn't his role. When he was a half decent player he played as a deep lying playmaker in the mould of Leon Britton and did a reasonable job when paired alongside Delph & KEA, however that is a long time ago now and his lack athleticism was evident today especially when compared to Davis who dominated him in a couple of 50/50s. Tshibola sould have came on around the hour mark.