GodsBarkeep

Done.

I dont know how Yeboah's goal is winning. IMO it'd be fifth best on that list

12 hours ago, mikeyp102 said:

I think we'll see more goals this throughout the team, especially from set pieces.

Terry -6

Chester -4

Samba - 4

Jedinak -3

Hourihane - 7

Lansbury -6 

Green - 4

Grealish -6

Elmohamady - 4

Gabby - 7

Hogan - 12

Kodjia - 21

I expect nothing less of Gabby, but hopefully not all players will finish the season in minus figures

Have to say I'm surprised. Didnt see as many games as I'd have liked to last season, but I was under the impression he was pretty solid alongside Chester.

This all seems a bit out the blue for me - were there rumors beforehand?

Agree with the idea that enough time has passed since Ross-gate for the staff to assess if he's worth keeping around now, in regards to his attitude etc. I was hoping he'd get his head together and integrate himself during pre-season, but it doesn't seem to have happened.

Yet again we'll take another hit in the transfer market, probably owing to poor due diligence, but can only hope the club are shrewder in future.

Perhaps there will be a loan fee, as well as getting his wages off the books for the season, allowing us some wiggle room to get another striker in, or an AM.

It seems only a 'big' championship club,(-or possibly Celtic? )would want to take a chance on him and afford his wages; all potential rivals in that case, but the drain on their wage budget could hinder them if he's still in decay. 

Sunderland have been as bad as us recent seasons and have a lot to sort, not to mention Defoe needing replacement. I'm not convinced they'll really be competitive rivals for us (assuming we're challenging for promotion)

Bacuna or Hutton?

Giant Douche or Turd Sandwich?

First pre-season game I've watched. Looking pretty good.

Hopefully this will calm some of the fans discouraged by other friendlies so far.

Took us a good 15 mins or so to get into the game, but after the goal pretty much bossed it

Just now, itdoesntmatterwhatthissay said:

So frustrating to sign another midfielder who is a bit of everything but not great at anything specific.

However, Terry and Whelan are two great spine players and we desperately need a spine. He's not as quality a midfielder as some oldies but he will surely be a worthwhile cover player at the very least. Plus, he won't last long which is good for younger players.

I concur. No doubt it's a good solid signing, but I'm concerned that if we do go up, assuming Terry and Whelan are key players in our promotion, we could be effectively be looking at replacing the 'spine' again when back in the prem

Ive read lots of nice and flattering things being said about him in a stoke Twitter feed 'describe whelan in three words'. Words such as 'legend', and 'god' have been bandied about by some stoke fans.

Also, it's worth noting that a couple have posted things like 'only passes sideways' and 'always passes backwards', so he should slot into our squad nicely 

1 hour ago, brummybloke said:

You can normally tell how good players movement it by throw ins.

Ours for the last 2 or 3 years are static and I would guess a large percentage of the throw ins get turned over into the opposition's possession.

 

Basic movement is needed in pretty much all aspects of football rather than relying on brute strength or large height difference.

 

Would like far more movement in the team now we have players who can pick the runs and pass accurately and quickly.

People talk about Brucey being 'yesterdays man's, I'm strongly beginning to suspect that all training is done on a fussball or subbuteo table.

How else can we explain the staticity of our play?! 

I'm not calling for a manager change  just yet. Ultimately SB is responsible, but you have to wonder what the rest of the coaching team are doing. Like many I'd hoped the backroom shake up would rectify the seeming tactical ineptitude of recent years, but it remains to be seen.

That being said everything is crossed for the new season (including my eyes), in the hope that it all magically comes together. 

Sup a cup-a-soup

Sup a cup-a-soup

Sup a cup-a-soup

Sup-a-cup-a-soup McCormack

4 hours ago, briny_ear said:

That sort of sums up our transfer market experience last season. Buy a bunch of players who were doing well for their former clubs and turn them into shite. 

Its the villa way. A-la Sasa Curcic, Steve Stone et al

Call me cynical, but I reckon Sevilla will try and haggle the price down now!

Not sure how much this screws up other transfer plans, but perhaps he's still to find his feet after such a lengthy injury, and could even provide decent cover, especially if we end up playing three centre backs as some have speculated

11 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

I understand where you're coming from but we wouldn't get away with it.

We're stuck with him, draining the clubs funds. I've seen this before somewhere...(about 10 times)

Agreed, we find ourselves in another costly and embarrassing situation thanks to our scouting and recruitment team.

Players have too much power. Shirley its only a matter of time before a club sues a 'lazy' player for loss of value when they decide they dont want to play anymore

3 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

What, so we'd rather just give him all his wages in one lump sum instead?

That wouldnt happen. If reports are true, he's breached his contract and villa could terminate it after going down the correct legal channels.

Of course theyre unlikely to do so as we'd be waving bye to the 12m we paid for him.

Well they say the proof is in the pudding, and today the pudding was a football.

'Won 18'

1 hour ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

Can I ask why we are all so focused on Bruce, when we have managers out there available to the caliber of Roberto Manchini!

 

I mean what next.. Ryan Giggs!

Behave!

1 hour ago, GREAT_BEARD_OF_ZEUS said:

Not saying you're wrong Hippo, but I would hazard a guess that there's a fair number of examples to suggest that a good no.2 can make a big difference.

Look at Pearson without his team at Derby... look how much Hull improved when Phelan came in to support Bruce.  A lot of people on here who were questioning RDM were (rightly in my opinion) much more comfortable when he brought in Clarke - and I think we're right to have expected more from him.

Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.

That's the second and last time I'll mention cloughie today

6 minutes ago, Genie said:

Sometimes I am lost for words...

Lets not hire the guy who has a great chance of achieving our immediate goal of getting promoted because he might not be the man for the phase after that?????

So whats the solution then?

There is some logic to this - say we do appoint Bruce, who has a poor record in the prem, and its determined sometime after promotion that we need a new guy, changing manager again would bring more instability, when really we should be focused on becoming an established team in the top flight once more.

Just now, alreadyexists said:

 

(I just said it because he looked like a snooker player in the waistcoat and shirt, hope no one takes it the wrong way!)

Not at all, made me chuckle.

- just using it as an excuse to quote partridge!

24 minutes ago, alreadyexists said:

Just before he played Steve Davis at the Crucible.

!

You daft racist