MaVilla

9 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

On the one hand, we desperately needed another CB and preferably a left sided one and we needed a bit more physicality in Axel’s absence. That’s the positives.

The negatives, well there is only one really it’s a loan. Obviously they’ve been keen to point out the existence of the clause but that really offers little guarantee or comfort in my view. 

Lets face it, it’s not a loan like Woods from Brentford to Stoke designed to beat transfer rules.

Weve loaned this lad for one of the following reasons, we can’t afford him, we aren’t sure about him or Wolves aren’t keen to sell him right now.

Even if we have a clause enabling us to buy him for a set price come the summer so what? If we don’t go up and Wolves decide they want him back and he fancies playing in the PL that is what will happen. Or if a PL club come in for him it’s doubtful he is going to sign for us.

The only way it works for us is if we have a clause that enables us to activate a permanent move that doesn’t need to be negotiated with club or player. I will be surprised if we have that.

So good we’ve added him to the squad but I’m not at all convinced, yet again, with how we are acting in the market.

Ive really had enough of loans and instability.

The biggie for me is the option to buy, that's something.

Welcome To Hause, does anyone know if he's currently injured?, was that what all the foot stuff was about?

10 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Elphick

I think we should rename him El Phick, then ppl will think we have a ball playing Mexican in our squad, and when he plays, i have no doubt his foreign sounding name alone would make 50% of Villa fans saying he's the second coming of McGrath.

Defensive problem fixed...........

1 minute ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Would be bitterly disappointing if he's going to Wolves without them having the option to buy but indicative of his pure ambition to play at the top and lets face it, it's a much better opportunity than slugging it out for a playoff spot at a level he's too good for.

In terms of him being a 'premier league player', well the jury is still out, he misses a lot of chances and when you scale for the fact that he will be getting a lot less chances for Wolves than he does in the Championship for us, he may well be found wanting, as he did last season at Swansea. 

I don't blame him for leaving at all, most people on here would do the same, there's always an operational risk when you take a player on a straight loan at this level and this increases when he's among your very best players. Welcome to football.

has he definitely left?, as in confirmed he has?

3 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Absolute waste of time if there's no option to buy, we need to learn from the mistakes of past regimes, a straight loan deal for a player like this would indicate we're not.

i read that if it was a loan, it would have a buy option.

who knows for sure though......

Is this finalised yet?, this is dragging on worse than the 15 minutes I have to speak to my wife every evening......

25 minutes ago, Junxs said:

You realise what world class means right? the fact that I had to google his name to find out he's an 18 year old kid at Chelsea suggests he is nowhere near "world class". Why can't he get in the Chelsea team if he's "world class"?

but he's WORLD KLASS, WORLD KLASS i say, he's at least twice as good as the guy who delivers my milk in the morning!!!

I also heard the guy who delivers my milk might be my dad.....so he's obviously good at sticking it in the......net.

16 hours ago, brummybloke said:

No, people are judging that 1 performance on what it was, shit.

Not seen anyone doom mongering at all, and not read anyone saying he is shit.

Seen several people saying that performance was shit.

 

People and their made up points

even the best players can look not so good, when they are surrounded by dross.

I agree it wasnt a great debut, but i also have great sympathy for him, as the defence was shocking for at least 2 of the goals, totally shocking, i cant understate it enough, our defence is like a Sunday league amateur side.

two of the goals he conceded, they shouldnt have even had the chances.

7 minutes ago, holteend1982 said:

Davis does have ability, you can see that but problem is he doesn't score enough, we need a striker to come in and start scoring from game one. We are to far behind the play offs to give him time to settle in up front and maybe start scoring. Kodjia will replace tammy and whilst he's nowhere near as good he will score goals. 

yeah you could be right, but personally i dont think we will get promoted this season, and every minute lost developing the right side and mentality, is time lost for next season when we need to hit the ground running.

Personally i would prefer giving Davis some time to see if he can fit in the team. (if i had to choose between Hogan, Davis & Kodjia)

But thats just my personal opinion.

On another note, watching some of Hogan's goals at Brentford, the guy is a very good finisher and has very good movement (at Brentford), i honestly cant see a player becomes crap overnight, it just seems we ruin a lot of players for whatever reason. (could be us ruining them, or them not being able to handle the pressure of a bigger club, or a mixture of both, dunno, but regardless, watching some of his goals at Brentford the guy can/could finish).

If Abraham does go, i would love to see Davis given a prolonged run if we cant find a suitable striker to buy.

I think Davis has the potential to be a really good player, if nurtured correctly.

1 hour ago, jonjon said:

The only comparison between the two of them is they are about the same size, Maupay is a more skillful player, busier on the ball, aggressive, seems to find space out of nowhere,  great passer of the ball, runs the channels well, quick of the mark,  he can also head the ball as well,  his goal return is 16 so far, considering we haven't had a very good season so far it's a great return, he has become a bit of a cult figure with us and we would all be sorry to see him go, but we have got a couple of youngsters coming through our production line via the B team who look very promising as well, our scouting and recruitment system seems to work very well for us, and makes us a few bob when we sell on.

As you mentioned also in another post, we arent really known for our "passing to feet" etc, Brentford appear to have worked towards the style and the players suit it, you have a very nice outfit, i would imagine a lot of teams in the Championship and lower are quite jealous of your ability sign and bring through previously not well known players, and get them playing attractive football, i know i look at Brentford and wish our club had half the brains and forward planning a club like Brentford has, although i am hopeful with DS and the new structure at VP we have turned a corner finally, however only time will tell, as i imagine it will take a couple of seasons to bed in (if we are doing it right).

In terms of Maupay, i honestly think he wouldnt suit our team right now (even though i would still have him with a view to us being able to play a certain way in the near future), he does look like a very good player, but we just dont have the volume of possession based/skillful players to be able to pull off the right style of play to suit him i dont think, the only caveats to that are Grealish, and probably El Ghazi/Bolasie, and maybe Lansbury if he can ever get a run going and play to his potential.

The rest of our team are broadly hoof merchants and cravens who we as AV supporters tend to believe they are a hell of a lot better than they are.

I cant decide if Hogan is any good myself, but i also concede that whether he is or isnt, we probably dont have the players to work to his strengths, however, i do think we "could" possibly do so to some degree with a fit Grealish and other competent players, i fear that even if we signed someone like Maupay, we would suffer the same issues as Hogan, at least until DS manages to bring in quite a few of his own types of players and get the system working correctly, the problem is a large proportion of the VP fan base isnt particularly patient, and we tend to lose our s*** very quickly after one or two bad performances, however i also have sympathy for us as a club, having to put up with the dross we have the last 5 years, both on and off the field, even myself as a Villa fan who really wants DS to succeed, has trouble staying positive due to the steaming pile of mess we have been through the last few years, its been a dis-heartening few years, no doubt.

However, i do believe the best chance we have to correct that over the next 12-24 months is with DS, and the management team, if they do what they say they plan to do, we are finally on the right track, but only time will tell.

Also, i see zero chance of Hogan going back to Brentford as a transfer or as part of a swap deal, they developed him, got their profit and moved on, and are developing new players, i do not believe for a second they would take a player back on high wages, whom they sold to us for a pretty penny, it just makes zero sense and would go against everything the Brentford system appears to stand for, i think some ppl here are just more hopeful than thinking straight

I also tend to think we probably cant afford your best players currently, we cant afford to spend 10m+ on players as far as im aware, but i wouldnt be unhappy to have Maupay, Sawyers, Mepham and that other defender off you? (not Barbet, the other one who is good), you have a very impressive system and you should feel pride that you have such a competent bunch running things.

Obviously if we could get sawyers or any of your other good players for the 3-6m mark, then of course i would take them

Hopefully in a couple of years we will be developing and finding our own gems though..........

5 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

For this one I'd go:

----------------------------------Kalinic----------------------------------

Hutton-----------Chester-----------Elphick-------------Taylor

---------------McGinn----Lansbury----Hourihane------------

El Ghazi-------------------------------------------------------Bolasie

--------------------------------Abraham---------------------------------

Subs:

Steer, Bree, Bjarnason, Whelan, Adomah, Kodjia, Davis.

If Abraham isn't here then I think it's a straight choice between Kodjia and Davis and Elmohamady can come onto the bench.

 

 

 

this tbh.

I would debate Hutton/Bree, but ye, in principle i agree with this.

If we went for Maupay, we would need to learn to pass properly, he's only 5ft 7in, so no swinging high crosses like we do towards Tammy

One game in and we are already doom mongering, god help our players, and god forbid we give new players a little time rather than crucify them.

The guy is still living in a hotel, eating hotel food and trying to settle in, give him some time.

I also watched all 3 goals, I broke each goal down a page or two back, could he have done better?, possibly, were all 3 a direct result of the fact our defence couldn't stop a baby stealing a Lolly off them?, definitely.

6 minutes ago, sne said:

Yeah I know. But hopefully their wages won't be a stumbling block.  Think it might thou. 

I would take a wild guess, and propose that the wages of McCormack, Kodjia and Adomah are probably WAY more than any championship team are willing to pay them, especially McCormack.

6 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Linked with Bulgarian attacking midfielder.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/aston-villa-kiril-despodov-transfer-15636234?fbclid=IwAR0y8Z3qmZgn1TkXSaEzwTImyWIWoY5O0TY1yAZEPAO75ohTAOtM-RjtLOk

Kiril Despedov

Let's hope he's just like Tonev

39 minutes ago, sne said:

Cant wait to see the end of (as players here) the old guard including most of the late 20's players as well.

Bunn, Richards, Whelan, Jedi, Taylor, Hutton, McCormack, Adomah, Kodija, Elmo, (DeLaet, Thor, Elphick) and probably someone I forgot.

For senior players they all lack at least some of the attributes needed to be useful. Be it ability, mobility, desire or application.

And they all cost more than they offer.

There are other players that also has to go, but I have more patience with younger players not delivering than with seasoned pros.

The contracts of kodjia, McCormack, adomah, BB aren't up in the summer, so we would have to find a buyer for them to get rid, if that's what you wanted.

Thing is, Mcginn is a very good player but you wouldn't want 3 of him in our 3 midfield slots.

He is all action and fairly good on the ball, but he isn't a Grealish in terms of passing and ball retention ability.

Lansbury is a players witg some vision and passing ability IF he can stay fit AND play to his ability.

Granted they are some big IFs, who knows.

While Grealish is out injured i would be seriously tempted to try a midfield trio of Hourihane, Mcginn and lansbury.

8 minutes ago, 7392craig said:

To be fair, we say that with every single manager. We’ve had failure after failure since MON. Whilst it’s still true that he needs time, you can see why people aren’t too optimistic given our track record of managers and the way the team seems to be going.

I agree, its hard to have faith with the multi year s*** show we have had at VP.

However, i am hoping that this time, we are on the right track, it looks like we are, we will have ups and downs as we fix the steaming pile of doo doo, and for that reason i will support DS and give him a lot of leeway at least until the end of next season, and by that i mean i dont think we can judge DS's actual impact, or the impact of the new management team etc, until the end of next season after a couple of transfer windows and time to implement styles and ideas, they need time to implement what they want to implement, and fix the huge almighty mess.

Time will tell if it works this time.

Just watched the highlights, these are my observations:

Goal 1 - the Swansea player gets to the ball first (it doesnt bounce off Kalinic from him not collecting it), so the initial tap from the player, Kalinic saves, the rebound goes straight back to the players and he scores, not sure Kalinic can really be to blame for that. (it actually looks more unlucky the way it bounces back, then the shot goes between his legs while he is lying down from the first save, all happened in a split second, could just of easily hit his torso/legs a second time.....but it didnt)

Goal 2 - firstly how they passed through numerous players i dont know, terribel defending, Kalinic was exposed, the only thing i could possibly say was he looked like a huge man trying to get down to a ball placed low to his right but strangely close to him, and he is a huge fella...so yeah? (it looked like as the player was quite close to Kalinic when the pass came through, and the Swansea player semi placed it low to his right, he was just too big to get down to his immediate right, and his right leg was a split second late poking out)

Goal 3 - In fairness to Kalinic again, the ball bounces twice off Hutton as he mostly falls over trying to stop the ball, Kalinic notices and tries to get to the ball as he and a Swansea player are running for it, Kalinic realises he wont get it, sets himself for a second expecting a shot, it doesnt come, Kalinic starts to move back towards the centre of his goal, but doesnt move far enough before its passed accross the goal and the Swansea player taps in.

Again, kinda like goal 2, what on earth the defence was doing i dont know, Kalinic only came for it in the first place because Hutton decided to ping pong it between his legs, fall over, and give it to a Swansea player?, not sure kalinic can be blamed, he was just trying to react to a terrible terrible bit of defending.

Overview:

"Could" Kalinic have done better with any of the goals?, "maybe" slightly better with all 3, but a) its his first game, b) he wasnt helped by the defence for any of them, and finally c) 2 of the goals he was specifically sold in to a s*** storm by our own defence being blatantly terrible.

Trying to consider how our starting 11 and each backup position might look ideally for the 2019 season?, "xxx" is need to purchase imo.

Obviously this team doesnt include Abraham, El Ghazi, Bolasie, or any other loans, as unless we purchase them, they wont be here next season? (i also havent included players whose contract expires this summer, or players i would just release or sell )

Anyone have any thoughts?

Team & Backups

                                      Kalinic/Nyland

Bree/XXX  -  Chester/Revan  -  XXX/XXX  -  Taylor/XXX

  Hourihane/XXX  -  Grealish/XXX  -  McGinn/Lansbury

          Green/O'Hare  -  Davis/XXX  -  Kodjia/XXX

Possibles to keep/sell

- Hogan, BB, Adomah, Kodjia ?

- i make that 8 signings required minimum?

Honorable mentions (of possible players to develop/integrate/give some exposure/loan out - whichever is best)

- Sarkic, Bazeley, Bedeau, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Mitchell Clark, RHM, McKirdy.

Agree?? / Disagree ???

1 minute ago, sir_gary_cahill said:

I was at the game today, I’ll have to watch the highlights again to judge properly 

Oh, you said in both posts "I was at the game"

1 minute ago, sir_gary_cahill said:

I was at the game today, I thought he was fine, considering it was his first game in a new country, he’ll improve over time, he’s probably still living in a hotel. I think and hope he will keep his place for the next match, he made some nice saves today and looked commanding at times when he came for crosses etc. It was the second time I had seen him play after seeing him for Croatia against England on tv, I think over time, he will be an outstanding for us, I think he is our most expensive goalkeeper of all time at the reported £7m, maybe someone can correct me on that, I’ll shut up now

so you dont think he was responsible for one or more goals?, some ppl seem to comment that he was?

I hope you are right!!!!

Just now, av1 said:

I would have an incredible amount of sympathy for any keeper that makes his debut behind a CB pairing of Tommy Elphick and Alan Hutton. 

i assume that sympathy would be founded in that Elphick and Hutton are so good that Kalinic wouldnt get chance to showcase his skills due to them shielding/protecting his goal so well?????

Last two posts are polar oposites describing his debut, which one is closer to the truth????