wict01

Getting beaten 3-1 at Villa Park by a pre-money Man City in O'Neill's first season was pretty grim. Think Sylvain Distin ran the length of the pitch to score the third.

Whispers got lots of stuff bang on during the ill-fated 2015 summer transfer window I believe, never had a reason to doubt them, even if their messages were a bit cryptic!

This is the way I see it too. Being on the right side of a deal like this for once would be us laying down a really huge marker.

Don't think it's necessarily a poor German team, but definitely one that has come to the end of its' cycle with Low.

"Semi finals in 2018, everyone loves him" That would be Jack Pitt-Brook then, hasn't got a clue.

Part of me thinks this is purely to just piss Arsenal off, and even if that is all it is, I'm 100% here for it

Milka for me is the best but mainly because I associate it with going on holiday as a kid!

I have a soft spot for Roma, and would love to see them do well....but I don't think this is the way. Afraid the Friedkin's have been hoodwinked by a big name.

Go back in for Hiroshi Kiyotake IMO. #BringHimHome

For me we absolutely need some physicality in midfield in front of the defence. Somebody in the mould of Zakaria/Kondogbia, to line up alongside one of McGinn or Luiz instead of using them both. After that, pace out wide would be my next priority, followed by a number 10/tricky type who is comfortable on the ball and in possession in tight areas to alleviate some of the pressure off Jack. Buendia is often touted and I think he'd be ideal, although not sure how much he'd cost now that Norwich are on their way back up. In terms of pacey wide players, I think we could do worse than look at clubs just outside of that top European bracket, like the top 3 in Portugal or Lyon/Monchengladbach etc type of clubs. We could probably offer decent, competitive wages to their kinds of players with a 3rd successive year of prem money further alleviating FFP constraints.

Strikes me as a player who shines with other creative, technical players around him. Given we've been quite static and turgid without Jack, he's found it hard to shine, but when I think back to that December period when we were really playing well, Bert looked great flourishing in a confident attacking side. I think he's been decent for the price, and certainly better than Lyon fans would've had us believe.

I have really enjoyed liked having Matty in the team this year too although, as with the rest of the team, I do feel he's lost a bit of that dynamism since the Covid outbreak. It's a shame that the season appears to be fizzling out, but I think it is important to remember this is our highest premier league points total for about 10 years - Cash has contributed to that magnificently along with the rest of the back 4 for much of the season. Expect to see him kick on next year in the same way that Targett and Konsa have done.

The lad didn't take it down, and seemed to be reveling in his notoriety. Thinks he'll be a legend at school lunchtime now, however "One-Eyed Baz" has apparently been in touch with him and offered to err...."teach him some respect" so there's that bizarre element of self-policing going on I guess?

I'm Tom - long time lurker, first time poster. Been a villa fan since '98 - my first game was the 3-2 v Arsenal with Santa hitting the top of the Trinity Road stand. Hoping to just join in the thought-provoking discussions that have entertained my work lunch breaks for the last 6 months!