Greenfly

I think saying he hasn't been super amazing is a fair assessment. He's been good though, and what he's brought to the team seems to have freed up Luiz and McGinn to do what they do best. For that reason, Ramsey has been a revelation.

Mad as it sounds, to be 65 minutes in against Arsenal and only be 1-0 down is very impressive. The gulf in quality is clear as we essentially haven't been in their defensive third at all this half, but they're defending very very well. Hampton is playing like prime Martinez here.

Is it bad luck if it keeps happening?

Who cares what other club's fans feel about anything?

I was just reminded that Thiago Alcantara plays for Liverpool.

There's no way it's true. It's an insane question for a journalist to ask, for one. Funny, though. I can imagine him saying it.

This can only be a good thing.

High praise given he shares a pitch with Watkins. We have a lively front line.

That's exemplary for a centre back. What a threat to have in set piece situations.

I think there's a certain nuance to it myself. For example the way Watkins positioned himself to restrict De Gea's movement but moved away long before Hause touched the ball. It looked deliberate. Football is simple in essence, but small margins make a huge difference. MacPhee's presence alone is proof of that.

Buendia was the signing that excited me most right from the get go, and that hasn't changed. His quality is not in doubt at all. Once he settles and finds his role, he'll absolutely kill it for us.

I'm not sure that's exactly right. He said Leon was frustrated about not playing more, and Butler told him to make an impact that cannot be ignored when he gets the chance. All players like to play as much as possible, being frustrated about not playing isn't necessarily the same as being unhappy. Unless you're referring to a different quote that I haven't seen?

He came on around the 60th minute, forced an own goal, scored a belter then waltzed off in the 80th minute as MotM. Not sure why we're talking about Bailey in the Grealish thread, though.

I like Jiminez, but his attempt at a rabona today was pure comedy.

We were incredibly lucky they both happened to be looking for a football club to buy at that exact moment. When a club with PL pedigree, rich history, PL quality infrastructure already in place, a global fanbase, a solid foundation to build upon and, at the time, a potential megastar on the books to catapult the club forward, all available at a knockdown price, who could possibly turn that down?

If this is the case, it may explain why a compromise was reached on the first place. Losing them for one game would've been unavoidable.

"It was a fantastic team goal. Iroegbunem passes upfield to Thorndike who beats his man, lays it off to Chukwuemeka who has a little one-two with Chukwuemeka before crossing it right onto the head of Kthaw'keth, Scourge of Yaksh. Liquid football."

I'm absolutely convinced that if ever I'm actually watching Villa play, they're going to lose. Seeing as I can't not watch them, I'm afraid we're destined to have a crap season. Sorry guys.

"He'd be worth money if he was any good."

They didn't. But the narrative being pushed by some is that the two Emis were refused permission but have traveled anyway. This isn't the case; we know a compromise was reached that suits everyone. We know Smith is a good man manager. He'll know that allowing them to go will build trust and keep their morale up, which is only a good thing in the long run.

Can't help but feel a little proud about this.

The idea of noses boycotting that competition is hilarious. There was a debate over what the point of the League Cup even is on their forum. It's literally the only thing they've ever won in their entire existence and their fans think it's pointless.

I was excited when we signed him and I still am now. He's clearly not up to scratch just yet considering the major disruption to both his and our entire pre-season, but we've seen glimpses of his quality. Some of the passes he pulled off in the Newcastle game were sublime. I can't name another player in our squad who could make passes like that with such consistency. He's a proper rottweiler off the ball, too. We've had issues with our wingers rarely tracking back to help out the fullbacks the last couple of seasons, but there's no danger of that with this fella. I think it's more likely he'll snap someone in half by accident than leave his fullback exposed. In short, I'm looking forward to seeing him in full flow and he's still for me our signing of the window.

They made that look hilariously easy.