Mjvilla

24 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

 

It interests me and makes me wonder if you would have made the same post had the scoreline been Everton 2 - Villa 1?

 

It's a fair point, but the performance was very good and a few commented in the match thread that they were satisfied. Before we had scored the winner. 

On a similar note, if you flipped our season around and we were poor to begin with but excellent in recent weeks, would the frustration be there with Smith? 

It's funny isn't it, just a couple of weeks ago, a number of posters expected us to finish 14th. And how disappointed they would be with that after the start.

Id be amazed if we finish below 11th now. I said after Liverpool we were starting to look better. Culminating in last night. Hope for it to continue. 

Consistent Leeds struggling to a limp defeat without their best player today. 

Welcome to midtable lads, this is what it looks lads. It might not be glamorous, but it's a damn sight better than the last 10 years! 

24 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Maybe it's because it never gets answered. just that Smith has got us midtable so all is good and our recent form don't matter.

Except things have been answered, in many informative posts, across many repeated points on many different pages. 

If you don't agree or those opinions differ to yours, it doesn't mean it hasn't been answered. 

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Does anyone know what Teun Koopmeiners and Owen Wjindal are like at AZ.......are they any good?

@paul514 has an opinion on Koopmeiners. Not sure if it's good or bad though!

2 hours ago, sharkyvilla said:

It's weird to see these expectations and also see several people losing their shit at us just missing out on it this season at the current rate.  

I expect us to add a few more quality players in the summer and sustain our good football for a few more months.  Not in the numbers many of the doom-mongers say we need, just two or three targeted positions.  Then Chukwuemeka to have a breakout season linking up with Jack in midfield.

Excellent point. 

Potentially not even missing out on it! 

44 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

McNeil rumours seem to be gathering pace

I'm not a social media type but do find these kind of rumours exciting so can you post some of these rumours for me please JV? 

25 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Some context is needed.

If you heavily rely on one player in order to create chances and play good football then there is a coaching problem imo. Chances created is your bread and butter. If you don't create chances you don't score goals, and without Jack we've massively struggled in that department. We are boring to watch, a lot of fans aren't even looking forward to  our games anymore because we are so dull to watch at the moment.

We should be a weakened side without him but we shouldn't look like a Steve Bruce side. That is my argument. We should still look like a Dean Smith side, but we're not.

Were we good to watch in Jack's last few games? Southampton away, Brighton away, west ham at home come to mind. I've seen you criticise the arsenal win too. Those are the last 4 games before Jack's injury. 

I won't talk about the game before that (which we lost) away at Burnley because I though we played really well. 

You're clinging to this theory about Jack, but the disappointing results and performances started before Jack's injury. 

It's the inconsistencies of a newly built young squad, for me. 

Seems like the general consensus is for a 10th -  6th placed finish for next season. I would completely agree with that. Consolidation in these places is huge progress. 

If we don't see us near that, then I think we would rightly begin to start questioning the manager. Not bloody now! Next season will probably be deans biggest, in terms of pressure on his job.

23 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

That's what I mean with unfortunately most of them already play for a "big" club in the CL or have been linked with moves to huge clubs

Both of those played CL this season, ajax will again next year, camavinga was linked with a mega money move to Real Madrid and now bayern, Gravenberch is a bit more made up media garbage but you can see links to Liverpool, Chelsea, barca, both are full internationals at 18 years old

They don't come to villa 

These 2 along with players like oyarzabal amongst others mentioned and you can really see why what Dean has done isn't enough for some supporters.

We were a championship side 2 years ago and now we are expected to be interested in the best young players in the world? Realism on this forum has hit a new low. 

Disappointed that we didn't go for Bellingham is another one.

Is there a video of the tackle which caused his injury as I still haven't seen it?

20 hours ago, TRO said:

and what position does he play?

What point are you trying to make? 

3 hours ago, It's Your Round said:

No. He did not. And I suspect he only apologised for the El Ghazi dive because he was caught out. 

Exactly, and someone like that would do it again if they thought they could get away with it. 

2 hours ago, TRO said:

I will be bitterly disappointed, if he is made to go, which I don't think he will.

But I do expect a behind the scenes, open debate from all concerned in to how to improve the consistency of the team.

Personally, I don't see a clamber for players like Matteus Periera, to do this, (albeit I expect to be in the minority on here,) despite his eye catching moments in a game.

 

The last thing we need is players that drift in and out of games. Pereira certainly looks the sort that can be brilliant one minute and terrible the next.

1 hour ago, TRO said:

I don't think anyone other than Keinan, would have scored that goal, it was a Burnleyesque......Wood, Rodriguez or Barnes, would be reminiscent of that, even Vardy with his tenacity.

I am more pleased, with HOW Keinan scored that than anything else.

I talk sometimes of us being short of weapons, like a long throw, or blistering pace or a set piece specialist, or a prolific header.......That qualified for a weapon, in my eyes, the sheer determination, aggression and alertness to the situation.

very pleased for the boy.

It was bloody god damn awful defending is what it was. He ran past 3 defenders to get a foot on the ball.

A weapon is something you can rely on throughout the course of a season, you cannot rely on 3 defenders switching off in 1 move throughout the course of a season. 

When Watkins wins the header, he isnt close enough to Watkins, for me. He should have been busting a gut to get into that area the ball drops before he does, or even be in that area hassling the defenders already. That natural instinct as to where he should be is why he isn't and won't be a regular scorer.

He took it really well, but the 2 other chances we created for him before that, he couldn't finish. One of which, the one where he turned the defender, I'd expect a premier league striker to finish. 

10 minutes ago, lexicon said:

I think we need guile, creativity and technical ability moreso. I'd much rather have a Buendia than an Adama, for instance. 

Or, and I think it's what the original poster is suggesting, we need a Neto or ASM type rather than a buendia. And I'd rather both of those to Buendia too.

17 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

The fear for me is that villa see him as a ball playing number 10, playing on the ground, off grealish on the left and on to Watkins making movement in front of him, smart tight space passing in to the box creating and taking chances 

Neil Warnock takes a look at him, sees a big athletic kid and thinks he's the next Patrick Vieira and can sit deeper winning the ball driving forward and spreading the ball to the skilled players rather than thinking that he is the skilled player, boro play long, play with width and work the ball in from the wings rather than through the middle (I don't know if that's the case) 

He's starts for them, Warnock realises he's not what he really wants so he ends the season with 30 appearances, most from the bench 

Is that really that good for his development? 

Which is why we've employed a loan manager in jedinak to make sure that this sort of thing doesn't happen.

2 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Now who is throwing future scenerios around? I bet Southampton fans were saying the same after they sacked adkins and replaced him with poch. 

Thats a myth you dont know that for certain just  like i dont if a replacement would do any better.

For me, this is a very key point. And one, for now, to stick with our trusted hand in Smith. 

After so many years of mismanagement, we really need to stabilise in the mid table growing to top half/top 6 area. We know Smith has progressed us, and he's got us into midtable. We know he can do that. 

Can he take us further? Could someone else do it better than him? We don't know, but the grass is most certainly not always greener. 

We need stability, to build the project, to grow on and off the pitch. We are doing that. In all areas. 

If we get to the point, where it clear that Dean can't take us further, then questions will be asked. But, he's a manager that has taken us further year upon year, he's proven us all wrong a number of times. 

Replacing him now could potentially be great, but it could also undo the last 2 years of hard work on and off the pitch. This is a long term project, were only just beginning our journey.

Just now, KenjiOgiwara said:

The Ajax fullback? Is your point that you need a different manager to sign international players at Ajax?

Or foreign names?

Or a CL player?

Or that we don't spend €15 million?

I'm confused.

Is he any good? Has anyone ever seen him play? Is he suited to the premier league at all?

3 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I think you could even think back to the MON era, his final years and since then have been short term thinking with short term goals. 

First time in a longtime that we've started on a journey.

Well, summer of 12/13 we signed Benteke and Vlaar so I suppose you'd have to answer my question with that year. But the rot had set in that summer to be honest when you look at the other signings we made. 

It's why this 'weve spent £200m' thing is a null and void for me. £200m doesn't fix 10 years of completely bad signings and bad management. I'd like to know how much the rest of the top 10 has spent in the 10 years we have been completely mismanaged. 

Of course, in these 10 years the other sides will have made bad signings. It's football, it happens. But there will be players that have been at the other clubs in the premier league for years and years. We don't have anyone. Unless you include Grealish, but he was how old when we were relegated.

54 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

How many clubs in this league have squads that allow them to be consistent? 

When you find the answer, check how long they've been in the league for and the level of constant investment they've had. 

This got me thinking, apart from Mcginn... Who was the last permanent player we bought which was good enough for us long term and to go alongside our hoped progression and succeeded in helping us with our progression? 

This question goes for before Smith. So, before summer 2019. I'd like to know how far people think we need to go back to see how badly managed it was before Smith came in and sorted out the mess.

I thought we were much better last night. Created loads of chances. Had enough chances to win 3 or 4 games. The softest penalty this season and a slip and OG did for us. 

Still gave the ball away very cheaply at times, but it was much better. I think we followed on from slightly better against Fulham and Liverpool (forget man city, it wasn't good.)

We're getting there, in my opinion.