Skruff

No idea why he's presisting with 3 centre backs.

He's been very solid and the Europa league qualifications as well. Your comment makes me wonder if you've ever seen him play. Better then Hangeland might be an exaggeration, but he's close to if not on par with Hangeland.

I think most people issue with Banan is that he missplaces about 10 passes each game.

You got 20million pund striker in a team that's struggeling who's not being used. It's been evident that Aston Villa FC are cutting costs for a few years now. The questions Chris Powell asked on the press conference, has been asked here by different poster for quite some time. Why on earth wouldn't a journalist ask these question at a press conference? He wouldn't need to be called up on a secret phone number in the middle of the night by Darren Bent to come up with these questions, some plain old reasoning would do it. The Mirror printed his salary? Really? And you know for a fact that they were spot on the numbers when they printed his salary? That it wasn't some speculative journalism? The numbers looked quite close to the numbers that's been thrown around here. Even if you're right, how do you know it's DB that's informing the press? Might be somone else close to him, friend, family, accountant etc. etc. Yet you post posts here as if it's all facts while in truth you're just posting some far out conclusions based on, well I don't know.

*Edit: miss post.

To be fair Con. They have the same amount of tackles. Westwood does an average of 2.3 interceptions per game while bannan has 1.3. Westwood also have a higher amount of average clearances and blocked shots. Westwood also have superior successful pass percentage to Banna's and twice the amount of assists. (These stats are the average per game and not per minute played though) I'm not expecting either of them to get many assists, and the difference in the two players offensive and defensive stats just underlines the difference in the role they play in our team. But aren't you ignoring some of the defensive statics when you state that "Bannan is generally betther in all of them"?

Are we back to discussing transfer rumors instead of connecting random dots on twitter with lazy journalism and turn it into some football conspiracy theory?

In the games he's been poor it's been a poor performance from the whole team and not just Bannan. He's played very well in a few games. People tend to forget that though. Played well vs reading, arsenal, liverpool and united. Was awful vs city and chelsea, and average in the rest of the games. I agree with the hollywood-pass critique though, he tries too hard at times. What he does very well is switching the play to another flank where there is room to play, when we're under a lot of pressure on one side.

I think the whole 18/19 points with Bannan on the pitch is a weak argument. He's the midfielder who has played the most in our entire team. What classifies as a key pass? Is the higher tackle rate tackles in total or successful tackles? Is the dispossession rate all over the pitch, middle of the pitch etc?

No link to Forren yet?

Everyone seemed to be hailing this signing at the beginning of the season. Got the impression that the most of us thought he looked good. Been really poor the last few matches I've seen him though. To me he looks like a different player, seems phased by the pace of the league. Anyone got any thoughts on what's happened to him? Did I completely misjudge him at the start of the season?

welcome

Where the **** was bennet before that cross into the box?

He was out 8 months two years back, and missed what, half a season last year due to his ankle injury. Has since then made 6 apps from start and 4 as a sub this season. While at the club he's made about what?, Half the appearances that Bannan has? Stewart Downing needed more then 10 games after his injury before he started to play well for us. I'm not saying he'll be as good as Downing eventually became for us though. Claiming that he's been given enough time and that his two severe injuries are nothing but an excuse just shows a lack of patience(imo). Yes, I know we're not in the position to be patient at the moment, but I rather see Delph given a run of the games then Bannan or KEA. He has more ability then the both of them. If he can sort the recklessness out of his game and gain the confidence to go forward more, he could be a decent player for us. But he needs a consistent run of games in order to do so.

Held back from injuries, suffers from over eagerness. Think he should be given a bit more time.

The term "agree to disagree" or "agreeing to disagree" is a phrase in English referring to the resolution of a conflict (usually a debate or quarrel) whereby all parties tolerate but do not accept the opposing position(s). It generally occurs when all sides recognise that further conflict would be unnecessary, ineffective or otherwise undesirable. They may also remain on amicable terms while continuing to disagree about the unresolved issues.

Thought he showed some talent today.

What happend to him? He started off so well, imo. But he seems to get worse for each game he plays.

All I want for christmas is a new midfield.

Got a feeling we'll win this one with good margin. However, the results always seem to end up opposite of what my gut tells me so. No matther the result, I look forward to watching us play!

I got the impression he does really well whenever he's in talks with the press, same goes for Lowton. It's a contrast hearing them speak compared to the usual "y'know... y'know...y'know" you usually get from footballers in a interview.

Fantastic player. I don't think he'll be sold if a offer comes in for him after 1 season. I Don't think any club that is in the positon to buy him, will buy him after just one good season either. He wants to play in the premier league and and I can't really see which big club who's in need of another striker right now, atleast not for the pricetag we'd put on his head. I'm quite confident that he'll be a villa player or at least 2 more seasons. If he goes sooner I'll gladly thank him for his great service. In the meanwhile I'll just enjoy watching him play in a Villa shirt.

Did you read the OP?

A offensive midfielder who plays facing goal with an eye for a pass and a good shot and the ability to arrive late into the box would be a welcoming addition. A new left back if Bennet doesn't come good, even though I think Stevens could do a good job as a wingback as long as we're playing with a back 3. If we're going to keep playing 3 center backs, another cb is a must in case of injuries. An aggressive and dominant midfielder could also prove to be very useful as I feel we're a bit lightweight in that department.

Think he got caught by surprise by liverpools high pressure early on. I think a lot of young players would get a bit nervous after that, afraid of keeping to ball, uneasy in possession etc. Yet he carried out the rest of the game with utmost confidence. To me thats a sign of a very strong mentality. Add that to his skills and consider his young age. It's without a doubt that we have a great player on our hands.