MJ_1874

Will always appreciate what Dean Smith did for us, he gave us our Villa back.

Unfortunately this is a results business and no one is safe.  I think he was unlucky losing Grealish for 10 games at the end of last season and all the injuries and disturbance at the start of this season but results are important and these owners will not accept failure.

The one man I definitely want is Graham Potter.  It would be a perfect appointment for both sides. 

Very good performance apart from the Mings mistake.  Martinez does not concede 3 in this game.  What I really hit me was how good our squad is now.  Sanson couldn't get on, Buendia to come back.

I've seen a few comments that we are in trouble this season, you people clearly no nothing about football.  Our transition was quality, we pressed them and won the ball high up the pitch many times and kept the champions of Europe pinned back for much of the game.  We could of easily scored 3 or 4 goals in this game and 18 shots away from home!

1 minute ago, Delphinho123 said:

Which is why several of our players need upgrading and why I’m a little concerned about this season.

Several of our players have been upgraded though and overall we may be stronger than we were last season when most of the time we were sitting between 4th-8th.  We started last season without Ings, Bailey and Buendia.  Sanson has yet to really show what he can do.  Ramsey has matured.   If we had sold Grealish and signed no one then I would agree with you.  I am still hoping for a solid DCM but don't understand your pessimism. 

15 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

It did, we finished 11th. 

Did you actually watch last season?   Until Grealish got injured we were looking good for a top 6-7 finish.

8 minutes ago, Rolta said:

It's all a bit subjective really. I don't really agree with any of this. Those players have all been very impressive at Prem level and I think they'd all be in our starting 11 and probably our best outfield players.

Stats are not everything but they can cut through personal opinions which (unless you watch every single game multiple times) are very subjective.  Everything I said is supported by stats.  Fbref (link below) provide a good summary.

https://fbref.com/en/players/6613c819/Tomas-Soucek

Tielemans - stats are about the same as McGinns (the disrespect on his name is criminal)
Maddison - A number 10 comparable to Buendia, we'll see who end up creating the most this year
Ndidi - Defensive machine would love him
Rice - Overated can tackle ok but no where near to Ndidi's level.  Doesn't really contribute much else. £100m for him a joke.  Would prefer Bissouma.
Soucek - Weird player, ok at tackling and scoring goals but that's about it.  
Benrahma - Comparable to Bailey/Buendia/Traore we'll see who scores/assists more come the end of the season

So no we are not a million miles away from these two teams.  We are lacking a true Ndidi type player which we all know.

I think we will have two main game plans.

1) Counter attack against strong teams using Bailey as a over-the-top out ball on the RW and Watkins as a hold the ball up/flick on out ball on the LW with Ings looking to score from either which means Buendia probably sits on the bench unless we go behind for these matches assuming everyone is fit.  Hopefully there are only 4 or 5 teams we would set-up like this against.

2) Possession focused against weaker teams where the front three will stay the same but Beundia comes in as a 8/10 to add some creativity to break teams down.  We might rotate Traore in to work some magic with Bailey/Watkins on the LW.

9 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

Why is everyone so excited about signing a player that hasn’t impressed in Serie A? 

He hasn't impressed enough to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

He has scored a relatively high number of goals and created a lot of chances considering his position, done a relatively high number of tackles and interceptions, high number of presses and he is good in the air.

He would be a welcomed addition but not our priority in my opinion.  He would be a Hourihane replacement.

Just watch the game back on Villa TV.

Ramsey/Mings/Ings/McGinn the obvious ones stood out watching live.  I never thought Ramsey was going to make it but the game today has completely changed my mind.  Happy to be proven wrong.

Watching back, I was impressed by Luiz and Young as well.  Luiz kept the ball moving nicely and made some key interceptions and tackles.  We missed him last week.  

Anwar, love him at the spot but he squandered 4 or 5 opportunities to break and set-up a big chance.  Bailey starting in that position gets us another 2 or 3 clear cut chances and we win 3 or 4 nil.

1 minute ago, est1874 said:

Not sure why we haven't tried for Donny Van De Beek personally. Surplus to requirements at United but hasn't become a poor player since starring for Ajax and stagnating on the Newton Heath bench since. Would be a great acquisition.

Need to think big. 

I'm not sure he is better than what we have.  Yes he did well in Ajax but can't seem to cut it in the premier league.

His defensive contribution is what is lacking from what I understand.

CDM aside, would anyone take Lingard on a loan with an option to buy?  If he can hit his West Ham form, he would be a decent addition.

Definitely need a strong DCM, Nakamba was bullied all game.  Buerndia was not fit and Bailey did well but obviously had little time.  Also Ollie was a big miss.

I think we need to play a new DCM behind McGinn/Luiz and Buendia/Sanson with Bailey on the right and Ollie on the left.  

It's mad, European football is bankrupt and in meltdown just as we are loaded, this transfer window could go up another gear!

38 minutes ago, LondonLax said:

It seemed like that with the timing and ESR fits the mould.  

Jack confirmed he wanted to leave on Monday, I don't see how ESR, Buendia or Bailey related to Jack leaving to be honest.  Ings is the first signing with the Grealish money.  

Now he has gone though we can probably bring in another 4 or 5  x  30m players over the next three years and more if we sell a few fringe players like El Ghazi, Wesley and maybe Luiz.

Neves would also be a decent option in my opinion.  He quietly had a great season for Wolves last season.

5 minutes ago, allani said:

I have a feeling that if he goes Doug will be one of those "I can't believe we let him go" types.  I just think that in the right set-up and with the right partner(s) he could be an awesome player.  His ceiling is, in my opinion, considerably higher than McGinn's.  That said I can see McGinn's character and experience being really useful this season and, as much as I think he has limitations as a player, his off-field contribution is huge.  I'd love McGinn to be coming on after 60 minutes and just being on turbo charge for 30 minutes.

I like Luiz but think we can get better, sell Luiz for £25m and buy Bissouma for £35-40m for example.  Alternatively, someone like Denis Zakaria or even push the boat out and go for Camavinga.

9 minutes ago, Laughable Chimp said:

Emi had 1 goal and 7 assists that season. Still quite a bit far from Jack's 6 goals and 10 assists.

 

Talking more about chances created, I think it went KDB, Emi, Jack.  Not his fault he was setting up Pukki and not Aguero.   

Just now, allani said:

Me too.  We've disagreed on a few things recently but I can't see how anyone can be disappointed with our attacking signings so far:

Emiliano Buendia - 236 matches, 41 goals, 56 assists

Leon Bailey - 233 matches, 54 goals, 47 assists

Danny Ings - 297 matches, 106 goals, 29 assists

 

For those struggling with the maths those three players have contributed 201 goals and 132 assists (so 333 goal contributions) in 766 matches or 0.43 goal contributions per match before you even look at the other 7 outfield players on the bench.  If you just take last season it is 43 goals, 32 assists in 114 matches or 0.66 goal contributions per match.  Even if you take the pessimistic view and say that Emi was playing in a lower division - his stats from the season before in terms of chances created were staggering.  Ollie made the step up last season and Emi has played at this level before.  So I would be very surprised if his goal contributions are not more similar to last season than the season before.  I think you can easily argue that all three are now playing in a better team and so are more likely to get more chances than before.

 

I would like to see a bit more steel in midfield now (assuming that AT is arriving on loan to add depth to our defensive line) because even though our front 4 all work and press hard, I am worried that McGinn, and Dougie might get over-run.  Would be an amazing summer if we ended up that one or both of them mainly started from the bench - especially considering the vast improvement ahead of them.

Emi in his last season in the premier league pretty much matched Jack's attacking output alone, add Ings and Bailey and we are already stronger.  

We may sell Luiz to Roma for £25m so can see two new midfielders coming in if we do.

Morning Villans who are we signing today?

Just now, Eastie said:

What Norwich want and what Norwich get are not the same thing - I think similar fee to buendia gets him due to his contract situation 

That would be a really bad deal, Cantwell is no where near Buendia's ability.  I'm not sure he much better than El Ghazi.

There is no way we are paying what Norwich want for Cantwell.  

3 minutes ago, Herman22 said:

BS link but talk of Leon Goretzka on Twitter! 

Stop it!

That would be crazy....

Last year of his contract and won't sign a new one. 

Just now, Villan4Life said:

if true! Yes, Yes please, I really rate Damsgaard

 

 

 

Is he really that good?   His defensive stats looks amazing but attacking not so much.  Looks like a Trezequet mk2.