Rob182

If only we had players of 6ft or taller that could chip in with some goals, like Ezri ‘6ft, 2 goals’ Konsa or Tyrone ‘6ft5 1 goal’ Mings.

I watched a lot the Den Haag v Heerenveen game from the Dutch league at the weekend, and 21-year-old Mitchel van Bergen looks like a quality attacking prospect, very much in the same mould as Jack. Low centre of gravity, very creative, good skills with the ball at his feet. Everything that Heerenveen did in that game went through him on the left wing. (Saying that, they drew 1-1 in a game they should have won, but Den Haag defended really well). His YouTube highlights leave a lot to be desired, and admittedly I've only watched him in one game, but I just thought I'd throw a random name into the thread. Snap him up Villa. He should cost about 4 bags of Wotsits and a pack of facemasks.

Three oftens? That's VERY often!

Yes, but because he's not taller and wider, he immediately becomes a player that can't read the game and isn't robust. Feed him a load of pies and give him a 2ft hat and suddenly our defensive woes will be someone else's fault.

Me too. I feel like Engels has been given a rough ride by a lot of our fans. His injury problems do seem a worry, but forgetting 3-4 bad games he had last season, for the first 2 and a bit months of the season he looked solid and everyone was raving about the ‘Mingels’ partnership and there was talk of him getting into the Belgium set-up. For a while he became our defences scapegoat. Just like Reina was after he had 2 bad games..... then Project Restart came along and soon everyone loved Reina again. Engels isn’t a bad player (but his constant injuries are looking a worry), and Hause is fine for a squad option, imo.

I’ve got to agree with this bit. I remember they signed that player from Ajax (Veltmenn?) for less than a quarter of a million and loads of fans (our included) were saying what a great signing it was. Then I read a few opinions from some Ajax fans who said he’s incredibly slow, and that being in one of the top teams in the league really benefitted his playing style. I think he’s only come into the team since Dunk was suspended a few weeks ago. Hardly a £2m McGinn bargain really. More of a Bacuna in terms of value.

I had a 25/1 bet land on that game last night. Around half time I bet that there wouldn’t be a goal for either team, 2+ bookings for either team or 3+ corners for either team. £125 off a fiver. I wish there was an option for “a successful pass” or “shot on target”. I could have cleaned up!

Almiron's agent must not put a good selection of biscuits out when they have meetings.

Is that true? I was just checking it out (because I was genuinely interested), and I think he’s played 630 mins for Villa and 621 for Scotland

I expected Lampard to come out with something like that. But I don't think it really changes our chances of getting Ross, or will even change Ross's mind about his future prospects at Chelsea. It's not like we've suddenly taught Barkley a load of new tricks to improve his form. His good form is a consequence of being an important cog in a system that works well. If he has a bad game, he knows that he's probably not going to be dumped from the team. That's encouraging for a player, and results in a more relaxed Barkley on the pitch. Does he really think that if he goes back to Chelsea (or another 'top 6' team), he'll be allowed quiet games without being replaced by one of their £40/50/60/70m players? Unlikely. It'll only take a few 'off' games for him to be dumped back onto the bench, having to prove himself in 30-minute spells again. That ultimately leads to a player trying too hard to impress, and essentially not being given the freedom (and time) to play their natural game. He'll go back to being the 60/70 minute sub that comes on and tries to fire some long range shots in, just to get back into the team. If we continue to bounce around the top 8, then I think we have a realistic chance of keeping Barkley on a permanent. I could only really see us not getting him if 1) Chelsea price him out of a move, or 2) if we end up finishing in a poor position and a club in Europe, but below the 'top' clubs, comes in for him. (Like a Wolves/ Southampton etc etc, if they get a European place).

Thanks. I knew you’d have seen him

@Villan4Life Have you ever watched El Bilal Traore? He’s a 17 year old forward that plays for Rennes and Mali (he’s actually just scored a penalty for Mali). He seems to have notched up a good handful of senior appearances even at his young age.

After seeing how Cash, Konsa & Watkins have performed this season, we may aswell just unsettle a bunch of the Championships better players and put in bids, tempting them to request a transfer to us. Brentford would have us over a barrel for someone like Ivan Toney, but I’m sure there’s a few more Konsa/Cash types down there whose clubs couldn’t turn down a move for £10-12m

So Ake goes off injured for Holland, and Gomez is injured at the England camp.... our title hopes just keep getting better and better

If we had a big squad of equal quality, I’d agree. But whenever you have a squad that needs changes, you need to assess how you‘re fading in the league in January. Let’s say that we manage to keep up this good form and we’re sitting in 6th, only a handful of wins off 1st. Surely it’d make sense to dip into the market if something became available? Just because not every season is like this season, where it feels like any of the Top 12 could feasibly finish in European places. Personally, if we’re in that kind of position, I wouldn’t be against us spending another £50-60m on 2-3 players just to add a few options or curveballs to our team.

With how well we’re playing lately, plus all of the plaudits we’ve been getting in the media, as well as Mings, Grealish, Martinez and Luiz all moving forward in their international careers under us, you’d think we’re a really attractive option for players to sign for. It’ll only take a little bit more of this form for Watkins, Konsa and Barkley to break in (or break back in, in Barkley’s case) to the England squad. That’s really positive for us as a club, when it comes to signings. We could realistically now be looking at a market of players a level higher than we’ve shopped in for a long, long time.

Once again, I don’t understand the fascination with wanting a powerful, strong DM. We seem to be getting on okay with a defensive midfielder of relatively smaller stature that has excellent technical ability. If it’s to offer an alternative for games when we’re ‘under the cosh’, then I suppose I see the logic, but then again we’ve done fine against some great teams without a battering ram in the middle.

Try -> eplfootballmatch.com They usually upload full games either the day they've finished or the next day. I always watch games on there.

I love him. His hold up play is great, he's strong, he's quick, he can finish, he joins attacks and passes well most of the time. But my favourite thing about him, is that he has that anticipated movement that top strikers have. The ability to see where a ball is going before other players, giving him that extra second to react to a cross or pass before an opposition defender. I love that about him, because I don't feel like that's a skill that most players have. Some strikers get by on strength, some on pace, some on a bit of trickery or just finishing ability, but Ollie has all of that in differing amounts, but also has that anticipation that top strikers have. it's early days, but if he keeps up this level of performance then he should easily get between 15-20 goals.

I'm not one to gloat... ...but on February 27th in the transfer thread I called for us to sign him as a Grealish replacement if Jack was sold. Two excellent football brains in @VillaChris and @Danny_Villaman84 liked that post.

I hope we bring in a big, strong, tall defensive midfielder in January. Because I was lead to believe by many in the summer that we'd be relegated this season if we didn't get one.

MOTD is on at 11pm

100%. But we shouldn’t complain. The better Bruce does, the longer he will be kept in a job where Ashley’s sole aim is to keep them in the league. He still won’t get anywhere near Europe, so will keep one of our rivals battling for mediocrity while us and others strive to improve long term.