Greenfly

26 minutes ago, PieFacE said:

I've always liked Everton and viewed them as a similar club to us.
Though, when we were really shit the year we went down, I remember Everton playing at Villa Park and their fans were all singing that wanky song 'You're **** shit, you're **** shit'. That put me off their fans a bit. It's petty I know, and chances are our fans would have done the same if roles were revereded but I know I wouldn't. 

It's just banter really. Shit banter, but banter all the same. That sort of behaviour doesn't alter my opinion of the club as a whole, or the majority of its fan base, with whom I tend to have great discussions about football for the most part.

1 hour ago, tomav84 said:

depends what you call mid table. the october optimism gauge has over 3/4 of us expecting bottom half still, so i doubt there's much pressure at all

offer us 13/14/15th now, with rarely any danger of relegation throughout the season, and maybe a cheeky cup run or 2, i'd wager most would take it

Then again, upper bottom half still counts as midtable. I think most of the fan base agrees that at the very least we should be out of the relegation picture and pushing up the table.

7 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

If you don't think repeatedly expressing your irritation about the 'issue' is complaining, you must be incredibly depressing company.

To be fair to him, his initial comment was a valid observation. Since then he's just been replying to all the comments that have been made since.

20 hours ago, MotoMkali said:

I mean he is though. Maguire is only good for an aerial threat but is shit at defending. Mings, tarkowski, Dunk, Mee and Holgate should be the England cbs. 

19 hours ago, rodders0223 said:

Mings is most definitely not a ball playing centre half. Not at this level anyway.

His biggest downfall last season was him thinking that he was.

Back to basics, organise his backline, read the game, get it into the channels, block anything that comes his way. That is his strength.

 

He seemed to have learned that by the restart. That's largely why our defence has improved I think.

Konsa looks like he might have the quality to be a ball playing CB though.

5 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Genuine question, what's the difference between a no.8 and a no.10?

If Barkley is the 8, does that mean McGinn is the 10 playing further up the pitch?

Taken from Dick's Sporting Goods:

8 – Central Midfielder (CM): Often considered the most hardworking role, this player has to be ready for action and can play both defensively and offensively, depending on where the ball is. They are responsible for distributing the ball to other players, so it’s vital that they have exceptional ball handling and passing skills. When on the attack, they often take long shots on goal to help the offense. To fit a team’s strategy, they will sometimes line up with the 6 in a more defensive position or with the 10 in a more offensive formation.

10 – Attacking Midfielder (AM): The attacking midfielder sits between the midfield and the offensive line. They must know how to score goals and dribble well to avoid the opponent’s defenders. They should attack the ball when the other team is in possession and not hang back like other positions on the field. This position is often seen as the conductor in offensive plays, directing the ball and creating scoring opportunities. They are the playmakers.

9 minutes ago, tomav84 said:

from the club's perspective if he's generally a good character to have around, it makes no sense paying him off. you only tend to do that with the disruptive players

Exactly. Squad morale is so vital, and at the moment it is high. By all accounts, Lansbury is well liked, has a good attitude about his situation and is a part of those good vibes, so disrupting that would be a very bad idea.

2 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I initially thought the 1st guy was Hogan

Wait, that guy isn't Hogan?

Does the fact I didn't know that say more about me, or his overall contribution to Villa?

1 minute ago, Awol said:

Cup tied. 

Oh yeah. I forgot about that.

1 minute ago, Awol said:

Was that not visa related, i.e. he had to play a certain number of games? 

We had to be able to prove he'd be an integral part of the squad in order for him to gain his work permit. It was more to do with the transfer fee in relation to the average amount we'd pay for transfers at that time though, which at the time was something like the third or fourth highest we'd ever paid for anyone. The idea was that we wouldn't pay such a high price for a squad player.

I think Ross starts against Stoke tonight, then comes off the bench around 60 minutes against Liverpool to score the winner.

Just now, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Did some lurking on the Bremen forum, seems they feel Bayern Munich could possibly be in for the Kosovan lad?

Apparently Bayerns Sporting Director met with their chief yesterday etc.

If that's true then fair play to him.

Gits.

6 minutes ago, ml1dch said:

 

 

DCL is turning into quite the player. Respect.

24 minutes ago, av1 said:

As great as this window has been, I think keeping Jack was always going to be the signing of the summer. I still can't believe we kept hold of him tbh. 

 

I can honestly say I didn't believe for a second he wouldn't still be here this season.

13 minutes ago, KMitch said:

For what it's worth, Everton supporters are not happy about this one.  They hate him even more than we hate Fabian Delph, over how he left them for Chelsea.  They've always been traditionally friendly with Villa supporters, but some are actively wishing us to go down now.  

A vocal minority, I'm sure. I didn't suddenly hate Man City when Delph went there, so I doubt they universally hate us for this.

I enjoy our friendly rivalry with Everton. It's better than the bitter ones we usually have with other clubs.

18 minutes ago, AVTuco said:

What we really needed was a new LB.

You mean, like, Leon Bailley or something?

I don't know man, I'd say we need a left back more.

8 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

All this talk of upgrading the stadium worries me a little. Look at it - it's a thing of beauty. I agree with upgrading the North Stand and maybe filling in the corners, but they shouldn't feel the need to do too much. VP is a huge part of our identity, and we shouldn't mess with it.

2 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

If Rashica does sign, all of a sudden, even as just a fan, I have serious selection headaches.

The bench instantly improves exponentially as well.

I'd be concerned at this point that it would be impossible to keep everyone content. There's good vibes around the club at the moment, and that's no small thing.

Just now, QldVilla said:

Happy to be proven wrong, but consistency has been his problem week in week out for several seasons.

True. If anything, that makes me happier that they've broken their stance on loans. I think it'll prove to be the wise decision.

1 minute ago, QldVilla said:

I’ll bite, it wasn’t developing players, it was we wouldn’t loan players, improve them and then have to give them back without a buy clause. It was in reference to Mings, Tuanzebe and Abraham.

I don't know, that was my interpretation. Either way, they were probably wise to realise that this could be a necessary signing, even if it's just to help us consolidate as a PL team.

4 minutes ago, QldVilla said:

Not a fan of Barkley, just my opinion. At the end of the day Smith sees something in him, happy for him to prove me wrong. It is a definite upgrade to our midfield, but will he be consistent over the course of a season to make the difference we need? Time will tell.
 

PS only took 12 months for the club to change its views about loan signings.

Their stance was to do with developing players for other teams, if I remember correctly. Barkley is very well established by now, so that's not really an issue. Arguably he can help us just as much as we can help him.

16 minutes ago, imavillan said:

The gift that keeps on giving 

 

How high was this lad when he wrote this list? I want some of whatever he's on.

20 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I think this puts an end to us signing raschica. 

I think the plan was sign 2 wingers and move Jack Central. Now I think we will keep jack wide left and barkley has come in to improve the middle. 

Sadly, I think you're right.

Saying that though, I think Barkley offers the same statement of intent as Rashica would've done, if not more. We have no doubts about how he can handle himself in the league and he'll almost certainly help us kick on.

I'd still love it if Rashica came as well, but if we've signed Barkley instead then we've done fantastically well.

I'd still be happy with a comfortable upper-bottom half finish that sees us nowhere near the relegation fight. I think that's at the very least what we have right now, although a top half finish is not beyond us.