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barry'sboots

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    Hagley
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    Villa, running, football, holidays and three young boys

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  1. HE is my favourite Villa player now. Real quality on the ball and has really been released by the signing of Kamara.
  2. Seemed like a nice bloke/good club man and he may well have been giving 100% all of the time, but I'm with thabucks, I don't remember him being great for us, particularly towards the end of his spell (can't properly remember - did he have a bad injury?).
  3. I don't necessarily disagree. I think Brighton have been smart - aided by Chelsea's idiocy - and also have really good recruitment. Dan Ashworth is a super administrator in this area and set them up brilliantly (as he's now proving again at Newcastle) and they seem, so far, to be carrying on his work. Losing Caceido and Macalister in the same window will be a real test though. I agree that status quo is underrated. I think our starting XI only needed one upgrade - a replacement for Bailey done with Diaby - and this summer was more about quality depth and challenge so we can rotate/make subs without a large drop off in quality and compete on four fronts. I think we have largely done that - our signings to date have been top notch - but injuries to key players have set us back. I don't want to sell Kamara - he has been great for us - but I didn't want to sell Jack either. Sometimes your better players want to move on to "bigger" clubs - many obviously don't have the same emotional attachment to Villa that we have - and even Citeh recognise that if a player really wants out it's best to allow that and rebuild stronger. I think we panicked after Jack's departure - Ings was not the right man for us (fortunately Wet Spam's panic has partially bailed us out) - and I think you always have to have a plan because these things happen. My question was, if Kamara went, would Amrabat and Adams work whilst still creating a surplus to invest in a top LW (as I said, this would be added to, say, the £20m that we might have earmarked for that spot). I don't think Amrabat or Adams are better than/have the same potential as Boub (although, again as I said I haven't seen enough of them to really judge) but was looking at the squad as a whole.
  4. I think Brighton, who are upwardly mobile, do recognise this and their replacements/targets are moving up a notch. They are also getting better players, in front of maybe bigger clubs, because they see Brighton as a strong developer of talent and a pathway through to a big 6 club.
  5. You've obviously seen a lot of Adams then? He seems to get a good press. Why would you be so against him?
  6. I didn't say I would do the deal ... I was asking if you, or indeed others who may have a greater awareness of Adams and Amrabat, would consider such a deal. They are both experienced and seemingly highly regarded internationals who are supposedly available at a seemingly known price. I have seen them both but not as much as others might (my viewing is restricted to Villa, MoTD and world cups). I like Kamara a lot but there are always option to trade and, if done smartly (like Brighton) this can produce a better team.
  7. I didn't say you could only spend the 30m, I said put it into the purchase - we could spend 50m, as with Diaby, but the net spend would be 20m. Haven't watched enough of Adams or Amrabat to judge them but the latter looked pretty good in the WC and has big clubs sniffing and Adams would certainly be an upgrade on Dendonker if he's second choice.
  8. So if you could get, say, £80m for Kamara and £10m for Dendonker and replace the two with Tyler Adams and Amrabat for a combined £50m to £60m, leaving you £30m to put in to a top left winger would you consider that?
  9. Lots of players to get out .... Olsen (if replaced), Hause, Chambers (if replaced), Dendonker (if replaced), looks like Aaron is going, Coutinho, Traore, Bailey (if replaced) and Davis. That's a big job. We probably need NSWE to open up a Saudi franchise.
  10. I see Guendouzi as an 8 (from what I know of him) and think we have an abundance of them - Luiz, Tielemans, JJ and SJM - and, as such, I don't see why we'd put more budget (fee and wages) into him?
  11. The only obvious hole in our squad at the minute is RB where we only have one recognised RB but arguably two who could cover, especially if Emery wants to play a lot with the three CBs in possession. However, there are a number of places we could do with squad upgrades if (1) we really want to push on all 4 fronts and still want to target CL; and (2) we can get the incumbent moved on: We could do with upgrading Olsen with a footballing back up GK. I think everyone would agree with this although UE seems happy enough/is saying otherwise. I doubt anyone has seen much of the young Utd keeper we are being linked with? Whilst Dendonker seemed pretty good cover to me at the back end of last season, his progression stats are poor and I think there are options to upgrade, e.g. Adams or Zakaria, with a relatively low net spend. Not sure any of us know how close Tim is to filling this void or whether he needs another loan? A quality replacement for Bailey - if the Saudis are interested - would also be great. Someone like Torres or Johnson could also play "9" if needed. Also others that would ideally be cleared out to make headroom/reduce the net spend - Chambers (if we get a RB); Davis and Coutinho and even some of the youngsters like Aaron - which seems like the current focus/an important job.
  12. I could see that - a reserve GK to replace Olsen, a back up right back, a left back to replace Digne (if he were to move on), a DCM (Adams, Jessie, Zakaria type) to replace/upgrade Dendonker, a number 10 (like Lo Celso) to compete with SJM and another wide player (possibly replacing Bailey). This would give us the desired two players per position but wouldn't necessarily impact/disrupt a first 11 but rather upgrade the squad/provide rotation options.
  13. He was fantastic in the WC. Shift out Dendonker and bring in Amrabat (or Zakaria/Adams) and we would have a really strong four for the two double pivot positions with Tim as back up just as we have for the CB positions. We are pulling together a squad to compete on all fronts!
  14. I thought it only applied if you are in the same continent/competition so we could still own a Senagalese club?
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