Greenfly

He seems to have a good sense of when to travel and when to just lay the ball off fast. I like the amount of times he just passed it with his first touch, and they tended to be good, brave passes too. Even Jack doesn't do that very often.

This is why I think the term "striker" should be retired. It implies emphasis on goalscoring, but a well rounded centre forward offers so much more than that.

Who?

Surely it'd be Grealish?

I agree. He could find himself with a red at a very inopportune time if he's not careful.

Maybe it could be raised the next time there's a fan consultation meeting. They have those fairly regular, or at least they did before covid.

Imagine these guys at Villa Park. I bet they could create a hell of an atmosphere.

It's a great podcast. I've tried to get into quite a few, but most of the time I can't listen to an episode all the way through. I'm yet to have that problem with this one. Gonna settle in and listen to the Fulham episode in a bit

I'd argue it's more to do with how long they spent down there. They've always been knocking around the top of the Championship, and they've been slowly building the team that got them up for ages now. Bielsa obviously has a major role, but they've essentially done what Sheffield did. All they need to do now is survive, then consolidate their position. Can they do that?

Aren't they the ones who are one mediocre season from financial disaster? We've got the fifth (?) richest owners in the country, and they're talking about us going under? Weird.

I think it's less that the Championship is crap and more that the gulf in quality between it and the PL is just too massive. Most teams aren't ready for it, and don't have the backing to properly prepare.

I'm not saying I expect us to win or anything, nor am I implying that I'd be disappointed if we didn't. I know what people mean when they say a game is a free swing; they outclass us, the odds are stacked against us and nobody would have us down as winning. Still though, going into any game already knowing you'll lose is not how to approach them. You need to try and win every game, no matter how David-and-Goliath it might seem. They're very good, but they're not invincible. To that end, we shouldn't use the game to blood a raw midfielder for 90 minutes. We should use the team that is working so far, and if the game is lost by the 80th minute, then it wouldn't hurt to let Ramsey have a go, see what it's like playing against world class players.

I don't agree that any match is a free swing. We gave them a really good game last season with a worse squad than this, so why not try and get the win this time?

This is the sort of thing that happens when you show patience and allow a culture to show through. Villa have lacked an identity and basic stability for so long, and now we have it. We're reaping the rewards, and we could continue to do so for ages.

He looked as though he was surprised it got as far as him in the first place. I'll chalk this one down to miscommunication.

At this point I don't even care if Rashica is overrated. This has just gone on for so long now that I'd be genuinely gutted if he wound up at a different team in the PL. If we end up lining up against him this season I think I'll actually cry.

Put in a couple of sumptuous crosses. Didn't really get much of a chance to do anything else. Edit: the cross weren't into the box or anything. I should point that out.

Agree. Would've loved to see him have more minutes. His cross to find Watkins was sublime.

How so?

Konsa and Mings are looking like quite the pair. Mitrovic never had a chance in truth.

His movement is great. I like the way he roams around the front three too, it's hard to pin down what position he's actually playing a lot of the time.

McGinniesta is back, lads.

We've already seen him pull wide against Sheffield too, pushing Jack into midfield and making room for Davis. I suspect this will happen a lot, and is at least partly why he was signed in the first place.