ZL-

Agreed. Sanson seems to fit into this system a lot better, deserves to play a part this season. On that note I feel there is the first actual competition for places for the 8 position. Before DL took up the 6 slot and Sanson was mostly not fit so McGinn and Ramsey were nailed on. With the addition of DL to one of the 8 slots and Sanson hopefully available for selection McGinn and Ramsey have a reason to compete now.

We played some of our nicest build up with Kamara, Carlos, Feeney at the back and Iroegbunam ahead. Kamara, Carlos and one of Konsa/Chambers would be an insanely technical back 3 should we use it. Overall whilst Kamara didn't look out of place at CB, it'll take a few months for us to see him at his best as our 6 - a lot of play revolves already facilitating others and for that he'll have to learn where our other players like to receive the ball etc. Was certainly an exciting dimension to add to our repetoire however, I can see it being a great formation for us to utilise KKH as he has a lot of wingback experience and we won't be risking his defensive faults as much as we would in a back 4.

What I found really interesting towards the end of the Rennes game was us going 3-5-2/5-3-2 to see out the game. Shifting Kamara back where he looked as comfortable as ever alongside our two existing CBs and bringing Tim on who I don't feel worried about stepping into the 6 role. We've complained about being married to the Christmas tree for too long and now I'm hearing complaints we don't know our best formation? I for one am enjoying the tactical flexibility we're seeing with 4-3-3, 4-3-1-2 and 3-5-2 all being showcased in pre-season in specific scenarios. Overall the biggest takeaway for me pre-season outside of the shapes has been our switch to a possession based style, we seem to be focusing on dominating the ball far more - and seem far more capable of doing so with the additions of Carlos and Kamara. We still haven't got it perfect in terms of playing out of the back yet but a switch from years of counter attack pace and power under Smith will take time to unwind. It reminds me a bit of when Arteta took over Arsenal and wanted to implement a far more ball dominant playing style. There was a focus on the build up from the back at first, which came at a detriment to actual chances created (just like us right now) but once they became comfortable with the build up they slowly started to get more creative with the ball whilst not sacrificing any security. Playing this way very well may highlight some deficiencies in some of our players that we've not seen before but it will require a 'trust the process' belief that Gerrard doesn't have the benefit of a FA cup in his first few months like Arteta did but the Rangers transformation on the CV means I will be happy to let this play out for the rest of this season.

Completely agree, feel as Villa fans we may be underrating Jaden quite a bit. Alongside Chuk he has been one of our most sought after academy players from clubs in Germany etc. As @Indigo mentions he was one of the most impressive in pre-season last year and seemingly looked very good at Stoke but unfortunately was unable to find a rhythm back into team selection after a fairly lengthy injury lay-off. Am hoping he manages to have an injury free season and get as much as exposure as possible, the only thing potentially holding him back is how late he was introduced to academy football, so he may need more minutes than his equivalents to get him to the same level but a player of his profile could definitely find game time with us if we manage to switch to the 4-2-3-1.

It's been really enjoyable watching the most recent academy generation progress, I'm naturally sceptical of how the talent progresses to proper premier league footballing careers for Villa but at the very minimum the FA youth cup team are indicating a very good hit rate. I'm not a fountain of knowledge in regards to all of our youth prospects but the likeliness of delivering value to the Villa first team I'd rank like this. Tier 1 - Jacob Ramsey (CM) (currently delivering for the first team on a regular basis) Tier 1.5 - Chukwuemeka (CM) Tier 2 - Archer (ST), Iroegbunam (CDM), KKH (RB), Tier 3 - JPB (RW), Aaron Ramsey (CAM), Barry (LW), Bogarde (CB), Chrisene (LB), Azaz (CAM) Tier 4 - O'Reilly (CAM), Feeney (CB) Tier 2 seem good enough for at least rotational minutes for us but if a top-level championship team with guaranteed starter position came I wouldn't mind too much to let them go. Tier 3 have either already left on loan or in my eyes are little bit off in terms of making an impact at premier league level. Tier 4 certainly showed enough talent but a tad younger and will likely still have u21 minutes ahead of them. I'm sure there are players I've missed but the above are ones I all have varying degrees of excitement and hope for and if even half of them turn out to be top flight level footballers for us or elsewhere it would be an absolutely outstanding outcome for Villa.

'The second half was more how I wanna see it' 'People have really jumped out in that second half and let me know they want to be in the starting XI' Bailey goes without saying, I'd like to think Buendia too but I'll believe it when I see it. Apart from them two Luiz, Chambers, KKH?

Seems like most are in agreement of the above formation being the best for our players. Luiz definitely seems like our best fit in a pivot next to Kamara as Tim most likely still a loan or so off. I feel very good about the team above we just hope that SG is as positive about as we are. Looking forward I do still see the need for an 8 still but if the above becomes our default we look particular light on wing options?

Seems more and more likely this is our playbook, perhaps the diamond in games we expect to dominate more and can afford 2 strikers and the 4-2-3-1 when we need sit back and hit on the counter. One thing I've noticed in the pre-season games is how much we are switching the play. A big part of this seems to be Kamara and Carlos with Gerrard even mentioning Kamara has a passing range the team didn't have up until now. I think this will help us big time in the effectiveness of the diamond, it's very easy to just park men behind the middle vs that formation but quick switches of play mean the defending team don't have time to shuffle across so I'm not surprised now we are switching the play far more regularly we also want to persevere with the diamond as an option.

Looks like the 4-2-3-1 is going to be a genuine option for us next year. I'd be surprised if he doesn't go on loan but revisiting this Iroegbunam could be the perfect pairing in this pivot. A new CM that is comfortable in the pivot whilst Tim goes on loan could ideal, whilst preparing the squad for a long term partnership upon his return of what will be a 23 year old Kamara and 20 year old Iroegbunam dominating the middle of the park for us for years to come. 4-3-1-2 looks like our alternative approach given its success last year, this suits Luiz and Ramsey more as 8s ahead of Kamara. I think Archer and Watkins could be our best combination of strikers for the 2 up top. Archer's inexperience may show when it comes to leading the line on his own in the premier league so playing him in the 2 eases the burden as well as having Watkins underrated runs to drag defenders away and allow Archer to get off his now trademark snapshot. It slowly feels like we're moving away from the square pegs in round holes that a lot of last season felt like, and the early signs are we could finally have some formations that gets the best out of our players.

Digne's role in the team is one that really excites me, whilst it's not something we are accustomed to at Villa but I think he'll show himself to be a real star player for the team despite playing fullback. Not only has his defensive ability been far better than fans were led to believe when he first transferred, the technical ability on his deliveries far exceed anything in our team and is a truly unique weapon evidenced by the amount of goals he had a direct hand in towards our run at the end of the season when he was bedded into the team at full fitness. Most importantly however is his ability to get us up the pitch. The biggest thing we've lacked his Grealish's departure has this been this virtue - too many times we've tried to play out from the back only to be boxed in or ping up to Ollie for it to bounce off to the opposition. The outball from Martinez to Digne high up is one we clearly favoured at the end of the last season and is very reminiscent to how we played out with Grealish in the team, Lucas like Jack has the touch to completely trap the ball and help move us up the pitch from GK. With a growing French contingent Lucas is already being looked upon as as one of the leaders of our squad and given Gerrard's preference for proven world class performers I think Digne as France's starting left back and great application for the team is actually my outside shout for captaincy in the coming season.

Agree with all of the above , I just have thought about Ramsey given we've had 2 years of McGinn and Luiz in a double pivot and it didn't quite work then. Ramsey may be even more less suited in a pivot right based on previous appearances but I do think given Ramsey's age he could surprise us with his adaptation but I would only expect the above formation in very specific situations post subs when we are chasing a game. All in all. given Gerrard's mention of still being in the market for a CM, I believe it to be one of the 8s with a defensive edge moulds that would complement Kamara in a pivot. Going to be interesting to see as pre-season develops

Interesting we played 4-2-3-1 vs Walsall, I know we had a group of CMs missing that maybe made either the 4-3-2-1 or the diamond too difficult to play but now Beale is going I wonder if the shape him and SG have played throughout their time together was MB decided. As SG has mentioned on numerous occasion that shape and coaching of it was MB domain. I can't see us dropping all of the work we've done on the shape from last season but it is a way we can get all of our most talented players on the same pitch at the same time should Bailey play his way into the team post-injury. Some of the recent SG comments about how we see Kamara as both a 6 and 8 makes me feel double pivot is something he will enable us to do unlike before. Granted I think the double pivot role will be a one Ramsey will need some accustoming too and it being comparatively lightweight, it does have a good blend of skill sets and with 5 subs next year have a feeling we might see this combination for a least some period of a game next season. If the feeling we are gearing up for a marquee b2b midfielder of a Laimer or Kone ilk is true then the fit would be even better without wanting to hamper Ramsey's development too much.

I'm really hoping we announce a Dougie extension as it will be as good as having a new CM for me. He isn't devoid of blame throughout his time at Villa as one of the longer serving members of the squad now in a position we have been notoriously weak at. However the difference with him as an 8 vs 6 really shows him as completely different player. I think he'll retain the combative nature from his time learning the 6 role but his best attributes is the ability to link play on the half turn and feed players such as Buendia and Coutinho without them having to drop too deep. We don't really have anyone of this passing profile in the squad and I really think he will combine very nicely with the possession comfortable Kamara, allowing Ramsey to focus on his main attribute of 3rd man runs into the box. The above highlight reel doesn't show the improvement to our possession play he brings but even for the increased output in final 3rd the role change will be much appreciated.

I've been thinking a lot about how we've handled the CC situation and can't help but feel it was an unfortunate season that probably isn't indicative of minutes in the future. We do have 5 subs coming in next year, I'm sceptical that will mean all managers will use all 5 but perhaps they will use 3 for tactical/minutes reasons and leave 2 spare for injuries. I want to highlight how key loans are in developing all of the top players, there is another level of elite player that skips the loan development phase completely but when you plot those break outs in every case they were bedded into the team at cup competitions. Saka in Europa League and Foden in domestic cups are perfect examples of this. Carney featured in both league cups games before we were unfortunately knocked out by Chelsea. There is a question mark why CC didn't feature vs Utd in the FA cup game. He did play in a few of the games leading up to it vs Norwich and Chelsea but was omitted for the shocking loss vs Brentford. Overall it is extremely unlucky we did met Chelsea round 2 and Utd round 1 of league and fa cup respectively, even though we were only narrowed defeated in both games had we a more fortuitous draws I think we would have seen considerable more minutes for Carney as no matter the level of player, without a loan spell it is nearly always best to bed players into senior football via the cups.

For those wondering if Kamara + Bissouma would be too defensive a midfield, when looking at the teams above us it is very common to have at least 2 players in the midfield who could be categorised as a 6 (even if they don't play that role in that game necessarily) Off the top of my head there is Liverpool - Fabinho and Henderson Chelsea - Jorginho and Kante Spurs - Hojberg and Bentancur Arsenal - Partey and Xhaka Real - Casemiro and Kroos I'm sure there players there people will argue our b2b and will no doubt play that role but all would still be very comfortable as the deepest midfielder. The modern game has so many attacking players with high fullbacks, two midfielders that are more 'solid' certainly won't make the team any less attack minded. With Ramsey and McGinn I don't think either fit into that category so the need for a 2nd defensively minded midfielder is certainly needed especially if Luiz is to be moved on as expected.

Today our shape did not work vs Viera's change to 3-5-2. Palace could defend our balls over the top to Watkins/Ings comfortably with 3v2 advantage. We needed to take advantage of the middle, Gallagher was full of energy but Luka next to him should have definitely been worked more by our diamond. Nakamba, McGinn, Luiz was not a midfield to choose when we need to demonstrate superiority in midfield on the ball, it's functional in a game vs Liverpool but you could see the value of a stronger short passer when Nakamba came off. We are going to have to switch seamlessly between the 4-3-1-2 and the 4-3-2-1 if this style is going to work going forward. Today was one of those days that we need two 10s to take advantage of the space in the middle. Even though Buendia was not fit to start I honestly thought today we could have seen Chuk start.

Palace going 3 at the back has rendered the ball over the top to watkins/ings pretty useless. Rest of midfield so deep, Coutinho is having to drop so deep to help - this sort of play doesn't play to his strengths at all. Shape needs a complete change to get through today.

https://www.sofascore.com/player/yves-bissouma/844842 file too big so cant paste but heatmap is there It's clear positionally he plays as a more traditional box to box CM but Brighton do play with a flat 2 making it harder to ascertain. https://fbref.com/en/players/6c203af0/Yves-Bissouma Even if his nominal position is not a sitter, it is clear his skill set is more defensive - his progressive carries are very helpful but I wouldn't be surprised for us to use Bissouma as a 6 in games we expect to dominate more the ball and Bissouma as an 8 with either Tim or a new player as 6 to shore up defensively against the tougher teams.

I have a feeling Bissouma is our most likely CDM this window. Kamara is my preference given his specialism in the role and his predisposition to drop between CBs but I think it's likely he will go to a club in european places. Phillips is just too expensive for what we are getting unless Leeds get relegated - and if they do there will be a lot interest from other clubs. Regardless YB will hugely upgrade our midfield, there is a question whether he is a natural 6 or 8, which is exactly what held us back with Luiz for so long. I do think Bissouma will still be very successful as a sitter but perhaps is signing opens the door for Iroegbunam to get even more minutes, as it is far less risky to rely on Tim as the 6 if Bissouma is one of the more defensively minded 8's that are next to him. With Canciedo (YB's touted replacement) now fully hitting the ground running and one year left on Bissouma's contract this seems like the deal that makes most sense

Extremely excited about this both for the commercial deal we got, and for the sheer fact of signing Coutino permanently. I think some aren't quite as excited as they were because of the blocking of Buendia. I'm as big a fan of Emi as they come but there will be plenty of game time for both. It seems guaranteed SG and his staff will return to 4-3-2-1 at more points next season, we've got a faint feel recently for how much betters Gerrard's style of play is better with a proper 6 and I'm sure that will also make the two 10 formation far more feasible to play. Coutinho is having to drop far too deep to get on the ball for him to most effective in his most recent run, a big problem is our ball retention in midfield - Coutinho is easily our most comfortable player with that alongside Luiz but with another technically secure 6 like rumoured Kamara or Bissouma I think we'd see far more of the prime Coutinho. You can see from the graphic we're not getting him attacking the box as much as we should so next season could be really exciting. Despite his recent goal contributions Coutinho has still been an extremely good chance creator since he joined.

Not a fan of posting on here to dig out players but last night really exemplified how much SJM has fallen down my pecking order of our midfielders. As part of a pivot or even 6 (please don't remind me that game) it has clearly been a failed experiment that lasted far too long. We have seen a relative uptick in his performance when we've seen him alongside a proper 6 and SG's comments about 'giving him some freedom' acknowledges that. However out of our 8s I'm not sure what attributes he brings that make him first choice: Ramsey - Elite ball carrying and final 3rd contributions Luiz - Possession retention/link play Chukwuemeka - Proxy 10, final 3rd combination play Sanson - Expecting to leave If as rumoured we might bring a Bissouma type play but actually as an 8, we would have another option at 8 that is more defensively sound against better opposition. McGinn seemingly we want to get on the pitch for what he can do in an attacking sense but his contributions have been minimal, whilst it is fair to let him have more gametime with a proper 6 behind him at this point we have had a great run with SJM and it is a long-shot to expect a player that was great for us in the championship to be just as effective pushing for top 7. I wouldn't be against keeping him in the squad for when we need some extra energy/fresh legs but in the possession style of football SG plans to employ we can no longer have him starting games in my opinion.

I didn't expect many to agree as it has felt off for me also, ultimately we have not improved since the last window despite the incomings. However my post is more to point out I would say the footballing talent of our squad has improved quite a bit. The signing of Ings without an understanding of how he would integrate with Watkins was a mistake and the signing of Bailey without usage of wingers seems criminal. Ings recent contributions and partnership with Watkins would make me feel the first point is not quite as important and I would argue the Bailey signing has fallen foul due to the change of manager out of Lange's hands (also feel that given Baileys actual gametime, 7 starts is still too early to write off his future under SG). There can be some other arguments leveled at Lange, some might have expected a Moneyball style given his experience but there has been little evidence of gems a la Brighton/Brentford. Again perhaps that is simple as style for more cash constrained clubs and spending bigger on more guaranteed quality is the safest way of progression. Admittedly maybe the level of 'hit' signing might be a low bar, with some expecting a huge hit by now taking into account fee spent. I still feel Martinez and Cash may fit into this category, but whether they had Lange's involvement or not is to be questioned. Overall it feels fair to say the individual talent selection has worked but the fees may have outweighed the perceived contribution to the team, which is something that might more fitting to fall on Purslow's dock rather than Lange's.

I haven't been't bowled over by Lange but I was thinking about the actual players that have been recruited under him and I would say the majority have been a successful (although I'm sure everyone has their own measure of success...) Most of the discussion has been moreso around if the players fit into the playing style / formation of the club and a lack of joined up thinking in how they impact other players in the squad. However it seems that Lange doesn't take the role that other Sporting Directors in instilling a philosophy of playing and recruiting for that, instead on evidence it has still been up to the manager be it Dean or Gerrard to chose the style of play. Given the more recent form of both Ings and Buendia, I think you could argue only Bailey has been a miss out of class of 21/22, some may go further and add Coutinho but on a loan more risk can be taken. The intake of 20/21 is hard to directly attribute who to Lange given his late arrival in the summer but again most would agree only Traore or Sanson could be categorised as flops. Some may call it stretching , but given the commercial negotiation is something that is in Purslow's remit, we can judge Lange scouting by the confirmed targets that we didn't land such as Emile Smith-Rowe and James Ward-Prowse whom both went onto have even better seasons than their previous - even Bentancur has taken to the prem with ease since joining Spurs in January. It seems likely Lange will have a big budget once more given Gerrard's demands alongside the likely exits, this summer feels like the weight to get the targets identification spot is larger than ever, but maybe looking at Lange's track record we don't give him enough credit for the part he seems to responsible for and that's player scouting.

Exciting stuff, I remember a comment last season that out of the FA youth cup winning team internally Chrisene was regarded as the most talented of the lot I'm sure I also read that longer-term potentially his role being more of a number 10 / LW? Great to have another youngster blooded but for those who have watched him closely, doesn't he represent the same pros/cons of Targett currently? (technically sound but perhaps lacking physicality for modern day attacking fullback). Interesting to see if LB develops as a long term role for him based on the above.

I'm not sure many could have forecasted how well JR has stepped up this season and certainly forced himself to be an equation in our midfield conundrum. However for me he is not a RW, the last two outing for him being played there have been his more disappointing appearances of the season. He is increasingly having fewer and fewer touches in that role (which is somewhat a given for a winger vs midfielder) but his ability of being able to dribble out of tight spaces isn't really used to the same extent on the wing. Most notable is in both games he played RW you would assume as a defensively minded midfielder he would provide more cover than a traditional winger but in both cases Cash was extremely isolated and most of Leicester and Liverpool's joy came from Barnes and Robertson respectively. Understand with current injuries it has been needs must situation but he needs to return to CM if he returns to the XI for me.