MaVilla

Abraham doesnt score another one......

i think the prob with Kodjia and Adomah on the wing/inside AM, they arent "intricate passers", so it kinda doesnt suit us overall i dont think, they arent bad players, i just dont see them fitting the AM role. Not impressed with Hourihane, at all! Nyland omg, is Surkic not close to being rdy for a jump from the U23s?

and ye, we made bolton look pretty decent in that half......

to be fair at least taylor and hutton are trying, Hourihane (so called DLP) is leaving them in the crap with no out all the time, really disappointed with Conor, no idea what hes doing.

for me in the first half, Grealish, Chester, Tuanzebe look decent. Nyland and Hourihane......why...........

McGinn seems a lot less aggressive as in hunting players down tonight.

not being funny but Hourihane has been about as much use as a chocolate fireguard so far.

OMG KODJIA WTHHHH

not being funny, but nyland, hutton and taylor are bad, and tbh Hourihane looks pretty terrible also.

Nyland omg......

also, not impressed with hourihane currently.

we are making them look good right now....

need that second goal.

what a waste by Hutton.

YEEESSSSSS!!!

no O'Hare on the bench Taylor still at LB, when Elmo is on the bench and could have been RB / Hutton to LB. Looks a forward thinkin lineup tho, Hourihane/McGinn and not Whelan or jedi in Conor's place.

Darn it, you're right!!! SMITH OUT, SMITH OUT, WE LOST 2 OF THE LAST 3, ITS OVER, WE ARE DONE, LEAGUE 1 HERE WE COME, OMG ITS OVER!!! that better??

To be honest i have always wanted AV to develop an "identity", a lot of the "talk" by Purslow and DS make me more optimistic than i have been in a long time, even accounting for the fact it may take time, and there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, i just hope we stick with it. By "identity", i mean the club has a "style of play", regardless of who is in charge, for example a "passing/attacking" style, that is implemented and coached at all levels within AV (junior/U23/senior etc), if a coach is replaced, all it means is slightly different coaching methods, but the core principles and playing style stay the same. Not comparing us to the following, but for example, clubs like Ajax, Barcelona etc are known for their "identity" or "style", as much as the club is known for its name in of itself, listening to Purslow he wants AV to develop a style that when you think AV, you think "good footballing side", and i hope we stick with it. One major positive is, that we hopefully will be seeking players to suit the system, and regardless of who the manager or coach is, that remains, we still look for players to suit the identity and system, too many times with AV (and many clubs), a new coach or manager comes in and all the players get thrown out with the dish water, rather than a steady, developing style and identity where the whole club is dedicated to developing a style and identity, in this scenario we dont need to replace the whole 11 whenever someone new comes in as there isnt an argument by a new coach of "well i play long ball, these ball playing players are useless to me", its more "the club plays X style, i just need to develop it further". I mean, looking at O'Leary, O'Neill, Houllier, McLeish, Lambert, Sherwood, Garde, Di Matteo, Bruce etc etc, how many new ideas did those managers bring and just keep recycling players and play styles, no consistency. In closing, im not saying we are Barcelona or Ajax, of course im not, but i only see positives in the ideas of Purslow and DS, the club developing an identity of possession based, attacking football, right down to the core, and having it run through the club, is a major positive to me, and even if it takes 2 years to develop and implement, i think the club will be better for it in the long term. Also, ironically, looking at the win % stats Bruce is the most successful AV manager since Graham Taylor lol (45.1% win rate), but in the championship ofc......all others were Prem/Old 1st Division.....still think it was the right decision to get rid tho, i'm 100% behind the new regime and what they want to achieve (assuming they actually do what they say, and it isnt just empty talk), if i am typing here in 12 months and we are playing BruceBall ima gonna be MAAAAAD :P.

I kinda hope this leads to Bree getting a chance, and O'Hare at the very least on the bench and actually used if at all possible. Will be very interesting to see if DS goes with Whelan or Hourihane in midfield. (......or Lansbury), due to Thor's injury.

I hope Bree gets a chance tbh, i also would like to see O'Hare on the bench (and actually used if possible).

Yep i saw that, but regardless the fact he specifically mentioned it caused me to have a single eyebrow raise I just thought if it wasnt something on his mind, he wouldnt mention it in the press conference.

looks like Adomah is fit, Thor isnt. Interesting that he commented that he was watching Bree, O'Hare, Lansbury and some of the U23's etc.

Possibly, but tbh i dont see DS dropping Elmo from the position he has been playing, only leaves one spot up top? (Kodjia?) For some reason i dont get the feeling that DS is feeling overly experimental, however much i would also like so Ghazi and bolasie to get a chance (even if i havent been that impressed with them so far), for Taylor to be dropped and for bree to be given a chance with cafu at LB, don't really see any of that happening Also i havent been overly impressed with abraham the last couple of games tbh, his touch is really heavy and for a big guy he doesn't shield the ball too well, I would almost be tempted to give kodjia a shot up front. But........abraham prob saves our asses at defensive set pieces....

Is Thor injured for the Bolton game?

im not sure Bolasie and El Ghazi could complete a full 90 mins between them right now.