peteyp

2 minutes ago, mrchnry said:

Thats confused me more, don't make me go to sleep confused. 

Allain Saint Maximan (sp?)

I doubt it will happen, but would be bloody superb if it did. God knows how much Ashley would demand...

3 minutes ago, TRO said:

I can understand the magnitude of the deal and the opportunity to play with players, he dreams of playing with, quite frankly its too lucrative to resist.

However, He has been toying with leaving for some time....Spurs, then Utd, now city......so its not city in isolation that bothers me, its the trend, its the pattern, that has been followed.

Meanwhile the club have busted a gut to build a team around him, and he has passified fans by telling them how much he loves the club, intimating his passion along the lines of Gabby and Gary Shaw...if only.

I can only guess what happened at the Euro's but my guess is Jacks passion for Villa was tested by cynical team mates, who advised him to move on, and to hell with loyalty....I am convinced Jacks head was turned, but not necessarily turned from such piety, as I have depicted.

I would like to know the real reason Jack signed that 5 year deal....what was his main motive ..money?...He looked disappointed to me when the Spurs and Man U deals never came off...and then slipped back to the status quo of "Villa til I die"

I feel sorry for his immediate family, where his dad took him to all the games in his formative years, and was understandably proud of his sons stature, Kevan is a genuinely devote Villa Fan and it must compromise his emotions.

I wish Jack well as he deserves it.....but I have a hunch, it could be a mistake.....Like Adam with the Apple.

Should have asked Zaha how he got on at United.

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...

2 minutes ago, MotoMkali said:

Does anyone else think Ings is more likely to make Grealish stay?

We have only spent about 80-90 million this window, which is what we spent last summer plus the sanson signing. So about 100 mil last season. But we also got about an extra 15-20 mil in prize money so does anyone else think we will spend an extra 30 mil before touching any money we might get from Grealish. 

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

11 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

McGinn would need to be disciplined if we want Jack in the number 10 role. If he plays like the almost support striker he was playing as at times last season, Douglas will get overrun.

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.

13 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Natural 10 in my opinion. Ideally for him, not sure if we've got the players to do it ourselves, he'd be in a free role behind one or two strikers starting central.

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.

24 minutes ago, useless said:

There's no way Grealish will be playing in central midfield for us next season, have no idea why people think he's better in that position, it's the biggest myth going.

Also there's no way that he will get in the England team playing as a central midfielder, that's precisely why he didn't get a call up at the start of the season. Not many teams play with a player in central midfield like Grealish, including England.

The calls for him to be picked for England came after he moved to the left wing, that's when his form and output picked up, he only missed out because he was injured for the next England game.

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.

1 hour ago, Mjvilla said:

If I can have my 2 pennies worth. I think the CM position isn't one of our weakest. So spending a large chunk of money on improving it isn't needed. Not when you look at the huge holes across the rest of the squad.

Can we add some decent options in there for a relatively small fee so we don't have to use Lansbury. Have a reliable option in the middle in case of injury for a small fee. Makes so much sense it hurts.

Leaving more money to spend on where it's needed more.

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.

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