Jump to content

peteyp

Full Member
  • Posts

    9
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

peteyp's Achievements

Rookie

Rookie (2/14)

  • Reacting Well
  • First Post
  • Week One Done
  • One Month Later
  • One Year In

Recent Badges

26

Reputation

  1. Allain Saint Maximan (sp?) I doubt it will happen, but would be bloody superb if it did. God knows how much Ashley would demand...
  2. I think he signed the deal because no clubs came in for him last year, despite all the gossip. So he took a massive payrise with a getout clause should a 'big' club show interest. He's basically left the first time someone showed serious interest in him. It shouldnt really be a surprise but it's still irritating, especially with lots of commentators commending his 'loyalty' for staying with us up to this point. That's football (and life), I guess...
  3. Lol mate let it go. It's the hope that kills you. Unfortunately, he's gone. Fortunately, we have (for the first time in my villa supporting life) owners who seem to both know how to run a football club AND have ambition. All things considered, I think we'll be fine, even if our progress is set back a year or two. I'm assuming Ings signing may mean Watkins will occasionally be moved out to the left, to fill the Jack-shaped hole
  4. I haven't posted on here for a while but felt like a rant and need to let it out somehow... Firstly, I'm 36 years old and I can't be arsed to hold a lifetime grudge against Jack. I won't boo him. On a human level I can appreciate how tempting a move to City may be. I appreciate the role he played in helping to get us promoted and stay up. He's undoubtedly one of the most talented players I've seen in a Villa shirt - a generational talent. On the other hand, f*ck him. One of the things that bothers me most about the general narrative in the media and online right now is the idea that he was doing us a favour by staying this long; by signing a contract last year he was somehow throwing us a bone to ensure we got a big fat paycheque this year. Firstly, Spurs are the only club who have come in for him before now and they thought so little of him as to bid £5 m and a part ex-change deal. Since then, we've given him the captaincy, built a team around him and played our part in developing him at pace, year on year, into one of the best midfielders in Europe. He's hardly been stagnating the last few years - he has constantly improved and been able to play pretty much however he wanted to. If he had gone to Spurs, I highly doubt he would be the player he is now, nor would he be earning 250K plus a week with the reigning PL champs. Him being at villa the last few years has been mutually beneficial for both parties, and I don't think that many people outside villa appreciate that or the role that we've played in his development. Secondly, would he have signed that contract last year if United (or anyone else) had come in for him? With hindsight, I doubt it. No bids came in, so he signed a contract for 125K p/w (not bad for a 24 yr old with one full season of prem experience), and obviously had assurances built in (either through a minimum release fee or gentleman's agreement) that we wouldn't stand in the way if an offer came in. It's hardly the act of altruism and loyalty that some make it out to be. He simply didn't have other options, so agreed to a massive pay rise and has, essentially, f*cked off the very first time a serious offer came in. I'm pragmatic, and realised that sooner or later we could lose him, especially if we had made no progress last season. But for large parts of the season we looked like challenging for the top 7, and this season could have pushed on even further. He's 25 years old. Undoubtedly a move to City is a great opportunity in many ways, but its highly unlikely to be his last. At the very least, I was hoping he could stay for another year, help us challenge for Europe and become established near the top end of the table, and if he still wanted to move he would have other opportunities with his prime years ahead of him (and leave with villa in a much more secure position). Instead, he's left a week before the new season - a potentially crucial season in which we could either push on, or slide back down the table. I'm **** annoyed. I think he's tarnished his legacy and it's a d*ck move. Maybe my mood will soften over the coming days... Sincere apologies for the long winded rant!
  5. Yes he would. I think he could adapt to though, especially if we buy a better front 3 to alleviate some of the attacking responsibility currently on Jack and McGinn. Having said that Dean knows and likes the 433, which is his right, so probably won't change it. Maybe he'd switch to 4231 depending on the opposition or if we were chasing the game and need some goals.
  6. Agreed. I know Dean favours the 433 but if we are able to sign a quality CF plus some wingers on either side I'd love to see a 4231 with Jack in the no 10 role and McGinn and Luiz behind him.
  7. I respectfully disagree with this assessment. Grealish is naturally a central player in the no. 8 or 10 roles. He was a 8 when he almost single-handedly dragged us up from the Championship, except at that time he had Tammy ahead of him, and (for that level) relatively decent wingers to play off. The problem last season was that he was our only attacking threat. In the 433 central role he would receive that ball too deep and would have to run the length of the pitch in order to get anything going, but would inevitably get hacked down. When he moved out to left wing he was much more influential as he received the ball in a much more dangerous position higher up the pitch and was able to start moves, win free kicks, create or score goals. As for England, there's much less competition in the central area. Who else is there? Mason Mount, James Maddison, Ross Barkley? WInks, Henderson and Rice are more defensive players and aren't vying for the same roles as Jack. On the wings he's competing with Sterling, Rashford, Sancho, Hudson Odoi - all of whom Southgate specifically mentioned as reasons for excluding him last November.
  8. I agree. I understand that our midfield played a part in our defensive frailties at times this year, but I'm a little confused by the prevailing opinion that this was the sole reason. We had the 2nd worst defence for multiple reasons. We shipped a ton of goals through set pieces, and through our defence's individual errors or inability to mark players. Even Mings has dropped a few clangers. Konsa has started to deliver on the promise but is still young and learning. I don't rate Hause and am unsure of Engels. Yes, we improved massively after the restart but I think it would be unwise to assume our defensive problems are now gone. I'd prioritise a CF and two wingers. If we get those first, our midfield 3 (assuming we play Dean's favoured 433) would be Grealish, McGinn and Luiz, which is pretty strong, certainly much stronger than our first choice back 4. We definitely lack depth in midfield, but personally I'd rather sign a first choice level CB or LB first.
  9. peteyp

    Hello

    Hi all, I've been a Villa fan for 25 years. Currently based in Derbyshire. Work and family take up most of my time these days but I try to get to Villa Park whenever I can - I've been averaging around 4 or 5 home games plus a couple of away games each season the last few years. My fave Villa Park memories are still probably two games from the 97/98 season - the 3-2 win v Arsenal (aka the santa game) and the 2-1 QF win over Atletico. Fave villa players? When I was growing up it was probably McGrath, Deano and Yorke. I also had a soft spot for Ugo. Of more recent years...probably Milner, Laursen and Grealish. Anyway, hope that's enough of an intro cos I can't think of anything else to say! Cheers
×
×
  • Create New...
Â