Rich192

Finally managed to catch up in full on this thread, it’s took me 10 days on and off, so good work! I still can’t quite believe he’s here, and of course he got the equaliser. Incredible, the atmosphere in the Holte, and the ground in general was insane when he scored, and for the remaining minutes after. Make no mistake, this signing is massive. On and off the pitch. I’m like a kid, can’t stop smiling. What a time to be a Villa fan!

Surprised, but very happy about the reaction in here. Up until his mistake he was our best midfielder. Really good game, and looks like he’s getting used to the demands of the league. I’d like to see him have a prolonged run in the team.

Biggest signing we’ve ever made. Absolutely buzzing.

Hickey has Covid, as do many of the Bologna players, which is why the game didn’t go ahead.

From the four left backs that have been linked so far, Sosa is the one I’m not intrigued by. I’ll caveat that by saying I’ve not seen much of any of them, apart from Digne, who is good, and an upgrade on Targett, but not worth the total financial package with no resale value.

This lad has been really reliable, so mostly to be trusted, I’d say. A loan until the end of the season for Coutinho would be incredible, but unlikely.

The good thing about Brazil as well, is the first four-five months of their season (which starts in January) is a regional division setup, so whoever he’d sign for, he’d be playing against a majority of lower league teams, which would be great to get his fitness and match fitness back up, before the proper league starts in around May.

I mean that’s about as disastrous as it could be. Who’s your source? Reliable?

An idea could be for all TV money made from the FA Cup to be distributed to all teams lower than the Premier League/Championship, based on their performance (i.e which round they got to). That £85k we get for being on TV means absolutely nothing to us in reality, but if the £1m or so TV money going to all clubs this round was split from League One down, for example, that’d be just over £50k per club. Might be a shite idea, but it might encourage lower league clubs to try even harder to get to the next round, and might bring back some of the magic of the cup. We do need to get creative on how we level up the leagues, as the gulf now is greater than it’s ever been. We’re in a fortunate position, and we were recently one of those clubs needing a handout. We should 100% be doing much, much more to funnel more funds down the league, and if the Premier League can’t come up with a fair solution, then absolutely bring in someone independent to do it.

No to Trippier for me. Would cost a lot for his age.

Hope you enjoy the day. Buzzing we won at the weekend, you were one of my first thoughts at full time whistle. You see so many horror stories of long distance travel for matches only for the team to lose (my mate once flew back from South America to watch Cambridge United lose in the Conference Playoff Final), so I’m delighted you were a success story! Enjoy the experience tonight, I hope we’re in full voice for you and it’s a night you’ll never forget. Best of luck buddy.

Wesley can’t as he’s already played for two clubs this season. So he’ll either have to stay there or come back here.

MacPhee works for Scotland in the international break.

Remember when we used to sing the songs for each player pre match? How many years ago was it now? Either way, would be good to get that going again, as I think it helps build rapport between the players and the fans. I do like Allez, but we sing it during the match anyway.

We have enough players in the squad, what we need to add is genuine, real quality. I’m sure Kamara and Kent are decent players, however I would be very underwhelmed if we signed them. Some great players have come from the SPL in recent years, but we can’t afford to take a punt on one, we need real quality, which means signing players from the top leagues.

Romero who was just voted best defender in Serie A last season? Sure, it’s no Stones and Maguire.

After reading about how he plays, I think we’ll line up something like this: - - - - - - - - - - Martinez - - - - - - - - - - - Cash - - Konsa - - Mings - - Targett - - - - - - - - Douglas Luiz - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sanson - - - - - - - McGinn - - - - Buendia - - - - - Ings - - - - - - - Bailey Sanson and McGinn will almost play like wide defensive midfielders when required. That team would have a lot more balance to it than what we’ve seen for most of this season, and you’d have the likes of Traore and Watkins to bring in depending on the opposition. Suddenly, after putting it down it doesn’t look like such a bad team. I’d still like a top class midfielder to come in to the team, to replace either Sanson or McGinn (hopefully McGinn as that would mean Sanson has been a success), but I do believe that team would be more than capable of a comfortable top 12 finish. How Cash and Targett get on with the new formation is anyones guess, but both how showed they’d be able to do it over the last 50 league games or so.

Probably his best game of the season. Think you’re all being harsh tonight.

He was class tonight. Ran and pressed so hard, and was quality with the ball. Man of the match for me.

If he’s not picked Sanson on the bench tonight for personal reasons, rather than fitness, then it’s a bad error. Can’t be having this kind of thing when we’re struggling. Was really looking forward to seeing him get some minutes tonight.

Good to see some common sense in here at last. He’s been underwhelming so far, sure, but his quality is evident. Give him time, in his own position, and we’ll see him flourish. It’s a big step up to come from Norwich, with no disrespect to them. It’ll take time.

With the players available, I’d go: Martinez Cash - Konsa - Mings - Targett Ramsey - Douglas - McGinn Buendia - Ings - Bailey If Bailey can’t start, then I’d swap him for Watkins.

We went to the Prince George last time. Quite near the stadium, and was decent enough.

If he doesn’t start, it’ll be disappointing, but as long as we play the right formation, I’m okay with it. Can’t wait for him to start a game though.

What a great guy. Flying halfway across the world just to give his dad a hug. My guy.