Jas10

Na, surely not… is he even that good? Where would he fit in? Other than last season, his stats in terms of goals and assists are very underwhelming over the years… Surprised he’s only 26 though… If Unai wants, Unai gets… but does he?

Make sense, it’s not exactly a necessity… I just wonder if someone could do something similar… and I do think we could bring in a perceived “top player” before the window closes… If Buendia hits top form and consistency, and Ollie and/or Diaby are on his wavelength and able to control and take on those threaded through balls…he could get a high return…. But yeah, it’s a team game and better if more players are contributing and sharing the load…

I think we’ll do better this season, play even better and have most players contributing more… With better or more in form players around him, Ollie could really thrive this season… if he continues as the main man and signs a new deal (hurry up!)…

Bloody hell, lighten up mate Could one of our players, existing, new or incoming beat or match that?

We’re not done… Unai’s been quite open in his pressers during preseason. We are working on outgoings and are ready to act if good opportunities arise, in terms of incomings, particularly toward the end of the window. Some deals are easier to negotiate than others…

Yeah, a spread of goals and assists is preferable and more beneficial as a whole… I do wonder if someone could compare though… We could see more goals from our defenders this season too… Unai’s been at the defenders for not scoring enough! I think Ty said he would’ve killed him if he didn’t score against Fulham More Konsa wonder goals would be nice Pau and Diego score goals too…

I think Diaby’s known as more of a creator/assister but he scores plenty of goals… he will create for Ollie too… Yeah, I think the current candidates are: Luiz (especially if he plays further forward/attacking) Diaby Buendia Possibly Tielemans Moreno?? JJ and McGinn possibly… Bailey (on form)? But I can’t see them getting as many as 14! We may yet bring in another top player to help out in attack, I think we need more of a goal getter and ruthless finisher than a creator though…

Just checking out his stats, goals and assists over previous seasons, very impressive for such a young player and he’s only 22! But, looking at Diaby’s (better), I’m even more excited about him…

What do we reckon? 14 is a LOT

How good is this Szoboslai kid? Think he’ll make a big impact?

Like I said, they’re obsessed with us but we don’t give a shit about them. Send them the way of Leeds…

Yes, I would be delighted if we gave them a good hiding! I don’t know exactly what’s going on there but they’ve brought in a lot of money with their sales and I’d be surprised if the manager stuck around without any signings of his choice. Dodgy agent dealings, dodgy Chinese owners… their arrogance has been off the charts… time for it to bite them back in the ass! Funny how quickly they turned on Nuno after obsessing over him too… I think the “rivalry” extends to the players who seem to bring a more aggressive and competitive approach when they face us… It’s time to put them in their place and visibly outclass them…

Wolves please… sick of their dumbass fans and the “faux rivalry” they constantly bang on about… we don’t give a shit about them!

He will kick on under the king/maestro this season, I’m sure of it. As well as a few others. Again, this is Unai’s first preseason and first complete season with the club… that’s cause for excitement and enthusiasm alone… is this being forgotten/overlooked perhaps? Due to the scale of his impact? There’s definitely a raising of expectation levels and demands due to that as well… I think it’s important to not make drastic judgements during preseason too… especially based on those US games in sweltering heat and on shit pitches… they were for trying things, upping fitness/sharpness, working off rust and sharpness… we’ll be ready when the real kick off arrives… We’ll get more insight as to Unai’s plans in the Lazio and Valencia games I believe too..

Tbf, I think Poch will get more out of those players than previously seen… probably already seen it during preseason. He’ll definitely do a better job than ol’ Frank (Potter’s stock has dropped drastically, no one seems interested in him either…) I can’t understand how they can manage and be allowed to have such a huge squad or “roster” though… should have to offload a few (Saudis helped out with that )… and did they only have to pay a £10m fine for breaking ffp??! WTF? We’ll see a better Chelsea this season but I obv don’t know exactly how much of an improvement there will be… With our progress and momentum under Unai… we could do really well and upset that established order. If everything goes well, I can only see City and Arsenal as “dead certs” to finish above us… but I’m not saying we’re finishing 3rd! Liverpool but it depends on whether they sort their midfield out… and aren’t too disrupted, they surely won’t be as bad as last season…. Probably Man U if Ten Hag works things out… but let’s kick their asses good and proper this season!!! I’m feeling confident about finishing above Spurs, possibly Chelsea if they struggle through some sort of transition… I think we can finish above Newcastle and are better… Brighton are always a problem and a bit unpredictable… Anyway, I think the aim could be 5th but I don’t want to add any pressure or raise expectations… 5-7th is a good and reasonable aim imo… Happy to have stability and steady progress with Unai… Maybe the first step is just to try and establish ourselves as a top 6 team and regular European qualification… it’s not going to be easy but Unai is the man! I’ve read that his “real aim” for the near future is CL and a trophy… he is very ambitious… some more business in this window will only help…

Far too late/early for this nonsense mate

I think a lot of teams will be active at or right up until the final hours of the window… Some scrambling around in desperation to get deals done, others maybe surprising a few with the players they manage to bring in… It’s too early to call as to who will end up strengthening sufficiently or doing good business… who’s succeeded, who’s failed, who’s weaker, who’s much stronger… there’s still time and a LOT of business tends to get done toward the deadline… I’m glad we’ve started living up to our PREPARED motto again… we are already stronger… anything else would feel like a pleasant yet welcome “cherry on top”… I do feel, if we can get even stronger or more formidable/dangerous… we should take advantage of opportunities to sign players that will give us even more of a helping hand… but I’m also quite happy with where we are at atm…

Where would we have finished if Unai had joined us for the beginning of last season, had we sacked SG at the end of the prior season or during preseason….. ? 5th/6th could have been possible… hard to say really, we would have been more active in the market too… and probably won some games we drew/lost… With more time with the players and new additions…. I can see the aim being 5th this season … especially if it results in CL qualification… I’ve read that this is something Unai is determined to achieve asap, as well as winning a trophy… I wouldn’t be overly fussed about the ECL in that case… I’d rather finish high in the table… but I’ll take a cup win of any sort but not in exchange for a low(er) standing in the table… Progress… steady, stable, sustainable/consistent progress…

Crazy guy but so talented…

Well… there was a guy on Neil’s podcast (love of Paul McGrath) who twice messaged in that a signing was likely in the next few days… and Neil was quite vocal about how he tends to be correct or spot on - has good information… so maybe we should ready ourselves for an announcement in the next few days… I just think a “big” signing is more likely toward the end of the window and Unai has said we’re monitoring the market and will be ready to act at that time, if an opportunity arises… Maybe we’ve managed to negotiate something earlier or it’s more of a “squad” signing…

You lucky sod Glad you’re enjoying it! Batistuta was awesome! One of the best strikers ever! I’d love us to sign a similar player he was quite unique though… Yeah, I’ve found that many Italian players seem to struggle to settle abroad and are quite “homely”… not that I blame them at all! I’ll throw a random name out there too, Enrico Chiesa… scored some sumptuous goals, what technique! I adored Benito Carbone too, particularly his goals (and that wonder strike) vs Leeds in the cup… another sort of player I’d love back at the Villa I just love technical prowess and skill, elegance and flair. Pirlo I think Italian football and the national team have suffered quite a long and major decline, which I found sad to see… they still managed to win the Euros though and one player in particular shined brightly The national side has been nowhere near the quality of that 2006 WC winning team/squad ever since though… Glad to hear there’s a good crop of youngsters coming through… They always had such an unbelievable selection of players to choose from, so many top class strikers (spoilt for choice!) back in the day but no longer…

Bring back this lad

Are you Italian or just live/moved there? I am a 90s Serie A obsessive (as everyone probably knows by now ) and always been an Italy fan… Del Piero, Totti and Pirlo are my faves… along with many others One of the reasons why I would have loved to have signed Chiesa, one of my favourite players right now… that ship has sailed though…