VillaFaninLondon

Stupid decision. And now means McGinn will never get dropped and we aren't signing another CM or probably anyone else. May as well lock the summer transfer window thread. Not sure what this means for Luiz whose contract situation still rumbles on, he'd be starting alongside Kamara for me with a new 5-year deal but with this decision it's almost certain to be Kamara-Ramsey-McGinn every week unless Gerrard is prepared to drop and rotate Ramsey which based on last season is unlikely. Mings wasn't exactly successful as captain given we finished 14th last season but he is more of a leader than McGinn. Martinez would have made more sense as captain. Another odd decision by Mr Gerrard.

Nope, it would more reflect reality because there is no way on Earth 94% of Villa fans have confidence in Gerrard. Most of the arguments about this squad (on this forum and other Villa ones) are it is easily good enough for top 10, maybe even top 8, but it is held back by a rookie manager who is obsessed with playing an odd formation at the expense of the team.

Seems far too high, Everton fans seem happier with Lampard than we do with Gerrard. Given Gerrard's mates in the media I wouldn't be surprised if those figures are purposefully misleading to make him look more popular than he is.

You've missed the point but oh well.

According to the Sky Bet Fan Hope Survey 2022, Gerrard is universally backed which I find totally confusing. How he's above the likes of Vieira, Conte, Potter, Frank and Rodgers I don't know given what those managers have achieved with their clubs. I'd have him down there with Lampard on about 75%, had pretty much similar form to them in the second half of last season but with a better squad. We must have one of the lowest expectations as a fanbase in the league, I don't think it's anything to do with spending time in the Champ either because clearly Wolves and Leeds have higher expectations as a fanbase.

Changed the game today and been one of our brightest players preseason. Hopefully Gerrard scraps this 2 up front nonsense and starts Bailey against Bournemouth as could be a big season from him if he stays fit.

Great goal by Bailey. Should have started.

This is horrendous. Can't defend despite adding Carlos and Kamara and still can't attack. Can't pass and move and constantly lump it upfield. Gerrard looks more and more like a poor manager but it's evident we also haven't done enough in the transfer window which I've said all along. What another awful season we've got to look forward to by the looks of things.

It's only a friendly but Gerrard still looks like he doesn't have a clue with how he has set us up. Keeps persisting with this Ings-Watkins nonsense, yes we may have had some decent results on occasion last season playing with them but they have never worked consistently with one another and never will. A good manager would be getting this team at the minimum playing slick football and setting us up correctly to bring the best out of our most talented players. Under Gerrard we do neither of those things. I could see him losing his job at some point during the season if we don't improve because we don't look any better than last season on today's evidence and have looked pretty poor in all our other preseason games too against weak opposition.

Gerrard still continuing down the Watkins-Ings route I see. Luiz and Buendia or Bailey should be in our first 11 most of the time next season but looks like they won't be. United have ben good in preseason so far but that first 11 still looks very average in places. Should be looking to get a decent result.

First three games we have to be aiming for 9 points, at the very least 7 points, that sets us up nicely for a relatively tough run where we play West Ham, Arsenal, City and then Leicester. I want us to turn up and batter Bournemouth on August 6th which we are capable of doing, Watford was horrendous last season and I don't want a repeat. We didn't do well last season against the top 6 sides, or even the top half teams, and we need to improve on that next season. We also had a poor record against the relegated teams last season, winning three and losing twice, this season that needs to be at least 5 wins if not winning all 6. To finish top half and maybe push for the top 7, we should be looking to take around 40 points from the bottom half teams and 15-20 points from the top half teams.

Around 60 points should be the aim. I've been going through the fixtures and I think 60 is achievable, although that is +15 points on last season which doesn't happen too often. At the minimum I think 55 points is what this squad is capable of. I've gone through the fixtures and I have us winning 17, drawing 9 and losing 12. I have us picking up 28 points from 16 games prior to the break for the World Cup which is four more points than we managed in those equivalent fixtures last season when we finished 14th so a fairly reasonable expectation given we want to do much better than last season. My predictions are fairly obvious ones, I haven't gone for us to beat any of the top 6 only taking a couple of draws against them, and got us drawing 4 times and losing twice against West Ham, Leicester and Newcastle. I think if we get the lower of what we should be aiming for (55) we should finish top half, if we get the higher (60+) then top 7 is achievable. So my predictions are obviously quite optimistic and as this is Villa then you can almost be certain they'll fail to live up to expectations, but based on what we should be looking for points-wise, 60 is absolutely not out of the question.

All fair points. However, I think that we probably have more players that would feature in a top 6 side/squad than our peers in and around us. Leicester and West Ham might have more. I think the league will be tight from 7th or 8th down to about 13th, but even though there will only be a few points difference I still believe we should be near the top of that group based on the quality of our squad. I think that is where the manager comes into it, managers like Lage, Potter, Vieira, Frank arguably got the absolute maximum out of their squad last season which is why they finished where they did whereas Gerrard fell short (although took over a team that was doing really quite badly). One of the things used to defend Gerrard was his lack of experience and he will get better, but those other managers don't have much experience at this level with the possible exception of Potter. Gerrard will definitely be judged favourably if he gets us in the top 10, and if he doesn't I think he'll be judged unfavourably. Maybe it isn't as black and white as that, but that's football and it's up to him to extract the very best out of this squad.

Well I did say wouldn't look out of place in a top 6 team, implying they could be part of the squad not necessarily the first 11. Do you not think Digne would get in Arsenal or Spurs' team? Spurs were playing Sessegnon there last season and Reguilon has flopped. My dad is a Spurs fan and when we signed Digne he said himself he'd get in Spurs' team. I also think Digne is better than Tierney myself. Cash could also get in both of their teams IMO, certainly based on last season. Carlos has played for a top 4 team in Spain who had the best defensive record over three seasons, but we have to see if he performs over here. If he does he's a top 6 player. Likewise have to see with Kamara, but the Kamara that shone for Marseille the last few seasons would definitely get in Man U's midfield. Coutinho maybe isn't the player he was four years ago but he would at the very least make the bench of a top 6 team. Add in Martinez that's 6, and given Arsenal wanted to sign Buendia (as did Atletico) and the technical quality he possesses I think he would also make at the least a top 6 bench. In fact some Villa fans think he is our best player on ability alone and better than Coutinho. Then there's Bailey who could be a top 6 player IMO and Ramsey has the potential to be one. I agree that the strikers are probably more midtable standard than top 6 and so is someone like McGinn who is too inconsistent to be a top 6 player, but I don't think on the others I have been too optimistic. Maybe I slightly overrate a couple of our players but I definitely feel you underrate a lot of them. What I would say, though, is that we're probably not the only midtable team who has a fair few top 6 players. The league is becoming stronger in the middle so teams now compared to say 10-15 years ago do have better players. I think the team and squad we have now would probably make the top 6 in the late 2000s (we've definitely got more depth than we had under MON) but because the league is so much stronger than then we are floating around in midtable.

You don't have to have a perfect first 11 to get into the top 10, that's not how it works. We probably have 7 or 8 players that wouldn't look out of place in a top 6 team now, with others like Bailey a potentially top player if we can keep him fit and get him into form. Of course there are still some 'weaker' areas but in the striker department we are still stronger than pretty much all the midtable teams. Our strikers scored 18 between them last season, compare that to Wolves with Jimenez and Silva (6), Brighton with Maupay and Welbeck (14), Palace with Mateta, Benteke and Edouard (15), Newcastle with Wilson and Wood (10) it's better than all of them. CM is probably still a bit weak, Luiz, McGinn and Ramsey are all decent but none of them are top class (Ramsey and Luiz might be) and all a bit inconsistent. Again though, compare to other teams we're looking to overtake and Palace and Brighton have both lost key CMs this summer. Wolves still have better no 8 options than us but a lot of that will depend on if they keep Neves, Moutinho doesn't really have the legs any more. Newcastle signing Guimarães has made their midfield much better but the other players he is playing with in that midfield we wouldn't want here. I think a starting 11 CM and ST, providing they didn't flop, would push us into top 7 category. We're already at top 10 level and finishing 8th, 9th or 10 has to be our aim.

Fair enough. I accept your opinion about finishing places, though don't agree on that one. I think the board will want to see improvement of at least 3-4 places on last season even if no one else comes in, they backed Gerrard very heavily in January remember and since he's joined as our manager they have effectively added four new players to the first 11. I really, really want to see another CM come in, someone like Sangare (or maybe someone more box to box) but it's not all about spending money and bringing players in, a good manager will get the most out of his existing resources and IMO he has a top 10 squad at his disposal if he manages it correctly. There are players like Bailey being written off but what happens to him will tell me how good a manager Gerrard is, IMO Bailey is potentially one of our best players but he has to be managed correctly next season. Same with Buendia and even Ings. We need more out of these players and it's up to Gerrard to make them play to their full potential. As I said, I do believe we underachieved last season, but to add to that I feel pretty much every team that finished above us up to Brighton (other than Newcastle) is either weaker or no stronger than last season while we are stronger. Brighton have lost their best player and could still lose Cucurella, Palace have lost their second top scorer (Doucoure is a decent signing, but more defensive), Brentford lost Eriksen. Wolves maybe aren't worse than last season but aren't much better, Collins is a decent signing but they already had a strong defence, their attack is still below par. One good thing for them is Neves is still there because they will be much weaker without him.

I agree a lot with what you are saying, signing a new starting CM would make me much more confident of a higher finish and Luiz signing a new deal would also add to the optimism. Another CB and ST would be a bonus but I actually think waiting another season to fix those two positions would be fine despite my reservations over Mings and Watkins/Ings. The bit I have underlined is somewhat inaccurate though - we finished above all three of Wolves, Palace and Newcastle the season before last and the season before that we were newly promoted. West Ham also only finished above us in our first season back (by one place) then jumped to 6th the following season. I do genuinely feel we underperformed quite significantly last season much like West Ham did in 19/20. It is possible to jump many places in one season and there is evidence of that from other teams too (Brighton last season for example going from 16th to 9th). I also think it is slightly inaccurate to say we can't hope/expect to go from 14th to 8th "based on signing one midfield player" because the midfield player we signed is an absolutely exceptional talent. We have also upgraded at CB quite significantly if Carlos is as good as he was in Spain, I think he made La Liga team of the year last season and was picked over his team mate Kounde who is supposed to be one of the best young CBs in Europe. La Liga also has a lot of other brilliant CBs. We finished 14tth last season but I don't think that reflected the squad's ability, we really shouldn't have been below the likes of Newcastle, Brentford and Palace last season but most of our players performed below what they are capable of, the only players who could really come out of last season with any credit were Cash and Ramsey, everyone else was below par. It's all ifs, buts and maybes but should the new signings bed in quickly (signing them early should help), and we see much better from the likes of Bailey, Buendia, Ings, Coutinho for a full season, Martinez back to his form of 20/21, then top 10 should be the minimum expectation and maybe even an outside bet of challenging for a European place. I think the only caveat to that is Gerrard as manager, can he make the step up to being a potentially top manager, the second half of last season was a real disappointment and he has a lot to prove, he talks a good game but has a lot to prove tactically to get the best out of a talented squad.

Take a look at the Wolves forum, most of them are concerned they'll be in a struggle next season as are many neutrals, I think many on here are overrating them. I also think Palace are a bit overrated, they do have some exciting youngsters and an interesting squad, but as much as everyone hyped them last season they still only just finished above us and we were really poor for most of last season. I think they'll end up 12th/13th personally as will Wolves.

Well you seem to think that Palace and Wolves have better squads than we do (a ridiculous statement IMO) but yet they also have weaknesses in key areas - neither have a great striker (in fact, they are both worse than us here), Palace's GK is pretty weak and Johnstone won't do much to rectify that (and they've lost Gallagher), Wolves barely score goals and have a soon to be 36 year old central midfielder starting regularly for them and serious doubts about Neves' future - plus have only signed a CB this summer. How you can honestly say we shouldn't be expecting to finish above those teams is beyond me and I'm half wondering if you are on the windup. I agree that Leicester and West Ham probably have stronger teams and Newcastle might (depends who else they sign) but Gerrard should be finishing top 10 with this squad absolutely no question. If he finishes 12th we'll have underperformed yet again.

That's fine if you don't think it will work but there's no better time to try it in preseason which is the best time to try out different ideas. Buendia works hard and tracks back, gives the ball away much less now than he did when he first signed, and would still be able to get forward and create with Kamara in there alongside Luiz/McGinn/Ramsey. The only issue is his tackling which is a bit weak like Burnley at home where he gave away a pen or City away where Zinchenko just waltzed away from him too easily. I still hope we sign a CM either way but it's an option. And I think we have to find a way of playing Bailey without dropping Coutinho or Buendia.

Oh I agree but I also feel that in certain areas (e.g. CM) we see the same inconsistent performances and struggles to control the game which will mean the same issues again. It is a shame the situation with Carney because I really believe he will become a top, top player. We do have other good youngsters though and it will be interesting to see if players like Aaron Ramsey and Archer can put themselves in line to be part of the squad this season. I'd like to see Gerrard try some new things in preseason. If we aren't going to buy a top quality CM then try Buendia as a number 8 in preseason as he is more likely to dictate the tempo in that area than Ramsey or McGinn will and it would also mean he can get Bailey, Buendia and Coutinho into the same team.

We are not being linked with anyone whatsoever, even for a club like us that keeps things under wraps you would expect there to be something but there isn't, I'm sorry but I just don't see it but let's wait to see what happens. If we move a few on it obviously becomes more likely.

It really depends on how players perform. Given our key signings have mostly come in the defensive positions (Carlos - CB, Kamara - DM) you would expect us to concede less next season. We conceded 54 goals last season, I think we'll almost certainly concede less than 50 and our aim should be to concede at least 10 fewer goals than last season. We scored 52 goals last season but this was with many of our attackers underperforming (Bailey, Ings, even Watkins and Buendia didn't score as many as we'd hoped) and Coutinho only played half a season. I am hoping we can score at least 60 goals next season, if we can do this and concede around 10 goals less you'd think we would be at least in the top half and maybe top 8. I think PL goals as below is a fair expectation (some may even be an underestimate) and we might get a few more out of Archer, Traore, Konsa etc. Watkins: 15 Ings: 10 (maybe less depending on how much he plays) Coutinho: 8 Buendia: 6 Bailey: 5 Ramsey: 5 McGinn: 3 Cash: 3 Kamara: 1 Luiz: 1 Mings: 1 Carlos: 1 Digne: 1

Basically only a backup GK (Olsen) and a backup LB (Augustinsson) that has come in since we signed two players less than a week after last season ended. Said that we were probably done once we signed a backup LB all along and I think that is going to be the case. Kind of a bittersweet feeling about it all. Don't want to be over-dramatic because Carlos and Kamara should (in theory) be two top signings given the level they have played at, but it just again feels like we are one or two quality players short of where we want to be (European challengers) and 9th or 10th is probably the best case scenario for next season unless every player plays to their full potential which is rarely the case with Villa. I can understand us needing to sell players before bringing anyone else in as we have quite a big squad, but it is still a frustrating situation to be in. We're clearly strugging to sell players with El Ghazi, Sanson, Davis, Hause and Guilbert still on the books and none of them (with the possible exception of Sanson) will get many minutes next season. Luiz signing a new contract would be good news but still heard nothing on that front and Carney will almost certainly be on his way so hopefully we get a good fee for him.

Disappointing news. People who say he's not a 'generational talent' are possibly right if the definition of that is a Messi or Ronaldo or even a Michael Owen, but he's definitely the most naturally talented in our Academy and I'm pretty certain he will go on to become a top PL footballer and quite possibly have the England team built around him if he progresses as expected. Compare him to Grealish at the same age and he's a fair bit better for me, Grealish was on loan at Notts County in League 1 at 18, and add to that Grealish indulged in an unhealthy lifestyle whereas Carney seems the complete opposite to that. It's probably harder breaking into a team compared to when Grealish broke through because the amount of money top-level clubs spend in this country has gone through the roof, but even so I'd expect Carney to go on to be a better player. I think those not accepting that he has huge potential are in denial. Then again, not much we can do on our side. He's the one dragging his heels on this. Gerrard is right to leave him at home I feel, and if we don't get an offer we deem to be acceptable this summer it could mean a year wasted for Carney because there is absolutely no point in developing a player that is going to leave on a free in 12 months time. Strange that Luiz is out in Oz and still in the plans, whether that suggests he is about to sign a new contract I have no idea.