jackbauer24

This was the Championship team of the season for 15/16; GK- Tom Heaton (Burnley) RB - Bruno Saltor (Brighton) CB - Michael Keane (Burnley) CB - Michael Dawson (Hull City) / Daniel Ayala (Middlesbrough) LB - George Friend (Middlesbrough) Mid - Alan Judge (Brentford) Mid - Joey Barton (Burnley) Mid - Barry Bannan (Sheff Wed) Mid - Adam Clayton (Middlesbrough) CF - Andre Gray (Burnley) CF - Ross McCormack (Fulham) So if you take out the players who are now in the Premier League you're left with both the best players left in the Championship and an indication of what that standard is. With that in mind should we be looking at Saltor for the RB position? or Alan Judge in the midfield position? Neither player I know anything about but both areas we need significant improvement in. We've managed to get the striker...

Dr Xia is making a much worse first impression than Lerner did. When Lerner took over it was quiet confidence, universally approved Manager and real hope for the future. That continued for a few years with decent investment, projects like the Holte Pub and a dignified relationship with the fans who seemed to have some places to go to get the communication they needed. It was only after that it all went to sh*t. Dr Xia has come in promising the world, slating anybody who doesn't agree with him and, at best, making cringy worthy statements. He has employed a manager that somewhat splits the fan base and has made practically minimal input to the club as a whole or the squad. By the end of the week it's more than likely we will once again be in profit on player sales/purchases. HOWEVER it's not how you start it's how you finish. He's got off to quite a bad start truth be told but that doesn't mean it's always going to be that way, in exactly the same way Lerner's good start couldn't be maintained. The other problem is that Villa fans are definitely 'once bitten' so are treating any new owner with suspicion, never mind one that has an unknown and relatively secretive background. Dr Xia has a lot to prove. A lot. But that doesn't mean he's guilty of being a bad owner yet.

AS IT STANDS it's hard to argue Holloway's assessment. We had an awful squad that has not bern obviously enhanced. The biggest weaknesses have not been addressed as we lack any potency in attack. Even if our keeper is much better it just means we'll lose 2-0 instead of 4-0. However that doesn't mean relegation. The quality has dropped so we can expect to avoid relegation with relative ease, and 17th would be in a 24 team division. I personally think we'll finish marginally higher than that but still a way of playoff places. Unless of course we get some proper investment, but that is looking increasingly unlikely. Unfortunately most signs point to us not even being the third biggest team in the Midlands in five to ten years, never mind the world.

You're right... but. The difference between asking for the likes of Barry to return is a world away from wanting Benteke or Milner back. Unlikely those, Barry is a realistic if very ambitious dream. He's getting on, Everton have money to spend and we might have some historic pull for him - former Captain returns to save the fallen club; he'd cement hs place as a Villa Legend. For a time his exit was seen as a mark on his reputation but history has shown he was very wise, he ignored Liverpool for one more year and joined City. Getting Barry back would be a hell of a statement from the current owner. I doubt he'd drop down yet, there'd be a lot of interest for him if Everton dud release him but wating him back is just win win for us; captain, Villa, experience, intent.

No more signings and we have practically zero chance of making the playoffs. Defensively shaky, midfield is physically weak and our attack is impotent. Get a striker in and playoffs become possible. Get an attacking midfielder in too and the playoffs are practically guaranteed. Get a RB as well and we'll fight for automatic promotion with luck with injuries. Three signings needed at least. Lots to do and I'm very disappointed that a week tomorrow we kick off the new season and we're in this position. I can see now why 'prepared' was dropped from the badge! Bored of the talk/tweets, would like to see some action.

It's funny how people see different things. I'm a season ticket holder so I watched him every week (not saying that makes me opinion more valid though) and thought he ranged from on overly aggressive (as in dangerous) to sloppy and lacking awareness. The stat of him intercepting loads feels skewed - how is it worked out? Did it count every time he lost the ball and then tackled them back? That'd count for about half! Then it'd also take in to account the fact our midfield was constantly being attacked, is it pure numbers? The stats can say whatever you want but, in my opinion, he was a liability most of the time. He offered nothing going forward, was sloppy and seemed lost a lot of the time. I think midfielders especially can influence a game far more than most however bad you are as a team - an amazing striker in a rubbish team might get cut off but a midfielder should be taking a game by the scruff of the neck and I never saw Gana do that. He's better than Sanchez, he's better than Veretout perhaps. Doesn't mean he's good. I don't think he'll achieve anything in the Premier League, whichever team he's at. Not desperate for him to go like some but couldn't care less he may well be.

Couldn't care less if Gana leaves, he's the epitome of why stats don't win you matches. .. Get Barry as part of the deal. He's exactly the type of player we need in the middle of the park and would be brilliant experience and calming authority in the Championship. Do that and we've by FAR got the better end of the deal. They think they have a promising midfielder who intercepts loads whilst they offload their aging player. We know they get a player who intercepts so many because actually he can't control a ball to save his life and we get the perfect player for the Championship... Won't happen, but it'd be nice...

So Villa get relegated and N'Zogbia stays in the Premier League? I like you football, why do you have to push it so much?! Why?!

Gestede worries me. He's clearly rubbish at Premier League level but I keep hearing he's proven at Championship level. However, when performing in the Championship he was full of confidence, striving for promotion or a move to a Premier League club. Now though he knows he's not cut out for that level, so confidence will be low as he hit his glass ceiling and he knows even if we do get promoted he's unlikely to be coming with us. I can't see him leaving now but I doubt he'll score many for us and think he'll be dropped in the second half of the season. I might argue that Hepburn-Murphy will have more impact on our first team this season. If people hope Gestede will do the job in the Championship then I get a feeling we're all going to be very disappointed. I'm not against giving him a chance to prove this theory wrong but I can't see him having another season like he did with Blackburn, especially because we're not set up to supply him in the way he needs, using his height. Even then, his heading technical ability (direction/timing) seems average at best, his height just wins him a few extra balls. And, for a big guy (!), his touch is awful!

Evaluating the squad; Goalkeepers - probably an improved area. Guzan needs to be sold now he's been replaced. Gollini has looked solid in preseason. Right Backs - first choice is Hutton? Richards as back up? Weak in this area. Centre Backs - between Okore, Elphick, Clark and Baker. Lescott needs selling. Is this strong enough? Personally I'm not sure, Elphick has looked ropey in preseason however good his attitude and leadership skills are, not awful but certainly not great. Baker made of glass still? Left Backs - Amavi first choice when fit, Bennett as back up? Sell Cissokho? Probably our strongest area. Defensive midfielders - between Gana, Tshibola, Westwood and Gardner. Should be good enough for division. Sell Sanchez. Attacking midfielders - Grealish, Traore untested really. Veretout needs selling. Gil gone. Needs urgent investment. Strikers - Ayew, and I'm not he'd class as an out and out forward. Gestede as desperate back up? Another area that needs urgent reinforcements. Misc - Bacuna, Sinclair, Gabby, Kozak - big question marks. Youth - Green, Hepburn-Murphy, Lyden - Will hopefully get some game time. SO... GK sorted, RB needed, CBs ok, LB sorted, DMs sorted, AM Urgent, ST Urgent. MINIMUM of three players needed to make us competitive in my opinion. Can 'afford' to sell at least seven players though to achieve squad trimming that RDM wants - Guzan, Lescott, Cissokho, Sanchez, Veretout, Sinclair and one of Gabby/ Kozak. So much work to do. Less than two weeks to do it.

Squad hardly changed, Villa play basically as awful as usual. Not exactly a shocker there. Poor amount of possession, no ideas when we did have it and very few shots. Deja vu. There is ZERO threat going forward, this squad is going to find it hard to score goals unless we get reinforcements in quick. The entire midfield is weak and easily pushed off the ball, they also can't take a player on. The attackers (especially Ayew and Grealish) offer promise but have such poor decision making. The defence still look shaky and I don't think Elphick looked anything special at all. Positives; Gollini looks solid, is vocal and commands his area. Green looked energetic and showed some good touches. Then there was... err... it was sunny...the stream didn't crash - well done Villa! We are a million miles away from being ready. It's what I feared, there is so much to do and a simple change of manager and atmosphere isn't enough to turn crap in to diamonds. I sincerely hope Amavi and Traore are closer to fitness than it seems. I also hope we have at least three first team players on the verge of signing, preferably a two strikers and a creative midfielder. No, you can't read too much in to a friendly but that was terrifying - anything like that in two weeks and we're certainly not going to be contesting even playoff places. Scary. Not sure if Nantes are a good team or that was even their first team, but Villa made life very easy for them. I hope it's an eye opener to those people who still think it's only tweaks we need.

My concern with the situation, and Dr Xia in particular, grows every day. Maybe it's that 'once bitten' thing but we seem to be doing a LOT of talking yet doing very little. Three ins all of which are unproven, either with league/country (Gollini), fitness (Elphick) or simply game time (Tshibola) and now the talk, and RDM, have said the focus in on exits. I doubt anyone on here could say they're not at least nervous by the state we currently find ourself in. We've seen no big improvement in the likes of Lescott, Gabby etc, Amavi/Traore aren't yet fit but only our better players (as to be expected) are being linked away. Our preseason performances indicate the same issues persist (taking care not to read to much in to performances) as we struggle to maintain focus and give away easy goals and are failing, oter than Ayew, to show any ability in front of goal. In fact, Bennett is having the best preseason - that's terrifying! Some people are saying the transfer window doesn't close til September, but I think it is absolutely imperative that we start well. We can not afford to maintain the loss, draw sequences we were experiencing in the Premier League. If we don't get a win in the first two or three games that inertia will set in very quickly, the confidence will once again drain from the fans and it will become a toxic environment. Again. We MUST look like promotion contenders by August 7th, not after 5 games have already gone. Which means we have just over two weeks to stop tinkering with the squad and start making a bigger impact. I won't slate Dr Xia yet, but my unease is growing. A lot needs to happen in the next two weeks. If we get to Sheffield Weds with this squad (even minus a few players) then I'll be in full panic mode and quite firmly under the belief we've got another dud owner. There's no excuse not to be ready before August 7th - it's been nearly two months since the takeover and lots of promises, we need action now.

Most accept Newcastle are currently miles in front of us. They started miles in front of us and have significantly invested to improve further. If they lose some of their bigger names that may change but as it stands they will walk the league - a good manager who's been in place for a while, with a very good squad and lots of money to invest. Furthermore, they have recent experience of this league so that gives them a small advantage too. So that leaves us fighting for one automatic promotion spot and the lottery of the playoffs. We have hopefully improved our goalkeeping situation, marginally improved our defensive situation, added another player to our midfield and significantly improved our management setup. As it stands, is it enough? Personally I can't see it. With weeks left until the season starts we still seem a long way off where we'd need to be to gain promotion. Momentum is with other teams, we haven't seen a massive jump in performance from Richards, Lescott, Gabby etc and none of those players have gone. Furthermore we will be a big scalp because of our name and we have loads more derbies to contest. Everything currently points to a season of hugely underwhelming disappointment. I think we're currently good enough to be in a battle for playoff places, but certainly not guaranteed one. However, I won't fully make judgement until the transfer window closes. Then we'll know where we are and what we've got. Last year that's when it became apparent to me that we were screwed, hopefully this year I'll come to a different conclusion but tinkering needs to become full-on repairs quickly or the Aston Villa engine will once again stall.

For me, Amavi is the symbol of how serious/ able Dr Xia is at getting us back up and making us as good as he suggests. If we can't convince a player who has been out with injury for so long not to give us another six months (by Jan we'll have a good idea if we're going up) then we stand no chance of selling the same vision to players who aren't at the club. Even more so than Ayew as he would expect to play immediately. If Amavi is happier trying to prove his fitness/ ability on the bench elsewhere for a few months rather than give us a chance to match his ambitions then, for me, it'll speak volumes about our immediate to long term future. I recognise it's overly sweeping, but we have little else to go on. Amavi stays and I believe the dream is possible, Amavi goes and it was once again all talk.

There's little doubt this was always going to be the outcome, it's a shame but any 37 year old is going to struggle to maintain a decent level of performance, never mind one who's not played for four years and definitely not one who's had a life threatening illness. HOWEVER, having given him the chance why not let him play the home friendly against Boro, even if only for last ten minutes, and then announce this decision. Would have been a nicer way to finish it than a quick tweet before an away friendly. Seems like a missed opportunity. Let's hope he stays with the club in some capacity going forward. Well done Petrov, good luck for the future.

The problem Dr Xia is going to have is he is too willing to communicate, inevitably there will embarrassments, mistakes and quite likely a few overly optimistic statements that will come back to haunt him. I don't think undertaking the complete lack of communication his predecessor took is the route to take but more structured, careful communication needs to be considered otherwise people are quickly going to get irritated, frustrated or simply angry at his ownership. If we look at the short term he promised three new players imminently, then it was that patience was needed. A few weeks back it's that we would spend £30/40/50m on players. Now the transfer market is a tricky beast but if we get to September having bought only a new striker, offloaded a few players and having spent £15-20m he's going to have opened himself up to criticism, rightly or wrongly. There will be people who will be disappointed but others, still wary due to past owners, that believe he is a liar and chancer who spouts off without substance. If he'd just said, "the manager will be backed with whatever he needs" that covers both eventualities but doesn't leave him open to the same criticism should squad restructuring be more difficult than first assumed. Personally speaking I think he may be being too excited/ optimistic about either his plans and/or his means to improve our club. I can forgive that as long as his intentions remain true, but a lot won't if all they see is broken promises. Dr Xia needs to make sure his PR setup is as professional as every other aspect of his business.

Me too. Even if I haven't closed my browser and am simply returning to the site, I'm logged out. Only started happening in last day or two. Using Android tablet in 'desktop' mode.

There is no way that Stan is going to want, or accept, a 'pity' contract. He will earn it on merit or won't take it. If he gets a playing contract then we will see him play at times, even though a 'normal' 37 year old wouldn't expect to play every game, but a contract will mean him being named in the squad regularly. I assume most people hope that's the case. If it is a case of him not meeting the grade, or feeling it's for morale rather than his ability then I strongly suspect Stan will make that call before RDM has to. He'll either take a coaching role on (woukd be great alongside te youth team to begin with) or he will drop down another division - we know he just loves playing football. I don't think anyone needs to fear him being offered, or him accepting, a contract based on sentiment. I just can't see that happening. Hopefully he earns that year contract, 99.9% of fans will be backing him all the way. Come on Stan, we're behind you...!

So Marseille wanted Gana (a largely underwhelming player) and have now decided they want Sanchez (an awful player). Can we just send them the wiki pages of Lescott, Bacuna or Gabby? You know, just in case they really are as insane as they seem!

Yes, had an email about it - new codes being emailed next week apparently. Have to hope Dr Xia ups the freebies next year!

Mine arrived today. Trinity Road Lower. Very simple this year; the fixtures and the card! No car stickers, badges or postcards etc.

£7.1m for him? So we paid about £0.4m + wages? Good deal! He wasn't exactly a disaster but he's not worth anywhere near the money we paid for him. English football is clearly not for him which is why French teams are after him and not even newly promoted sides. Actually I'm pleased if this happens truth be told; I'd say our midfield was equally as culpable for our demise as any other area in our team. I'd like shot of most of our defence (Lescott, Bacuna and Richardson etc) and most of our midfield (Sanchez, Veretout and Gana). And seeing as the last two who have any resale value I'd happily see the back of them first. I know nothing about Tshibola but I don't think replacing Gana will be hard at all.

Di Matteo has been talking about reducing the squad now (I hope that doesn't mean he's finished buying) so who gets the chop? I think the easiest thing to do is look at having two players for each position and then seeing where we're at; GKs Gollini (& Bunn) LBs Amavi (& Bennett) CBs Okore (& Clark) and Elphick (& Baker) RBs NEW PLAYER (& Hutton) DMFs Tshibola (& Westwood) and NEW PLAYER (& Gardner) AMFs Grealish (& Traore) and NEW PLAYER (& Sinclair) STs Ayew (& Gestede) and NEW PLAYER (& Gabby) So, by my reckoning, we need four first team players with those in brackets able back ups for various formations and injuries. That's 22 players, throw in the likes of Petrov, Richards and youth players and I think we're set. So sales could be Guzan, Cissokho, Lescott, Sanchez, Bacuna, Gueye, Veretout, Gil and Kozak. The sales of these players should easily pay for the four first team players we need and reduce wages. I know there are a few names that are controversial but Richards and Sinclair will hold their own in the Championship as back up, and Gabby also might find his level. On the sales side, Gueye, Veretout and Gil might get defended but their sale values are too high to justify keeping them when they've shown so little. This is a squad for the Championship.

I'm trying to be patient, but the season starts in a month. I'd hoped we'd have had a few more faces in and out by now but I'm not exactly panicking either. Yes, I know the transfer window technically only open a week ago and there is nearly two months before it closes, but I think most would agree that we need to hit the ground running and have arguably the most to do with our squad out of any team who is serious about promotion. We need to be making somewhat of a statement to both the fans and the current squad that we are serious about promotion - this squad wouldn't make playoffs as it stands. Our fellow relegated teams were miles better than us, the teams that missed out on promotion need tweaks - we need an overhaul. On the plus side we've currently held on to a few players I suspected would have gone by now. Keep Amavi, Ayew, Grealish etc and it greatly reduces the amount of transfers we need but we still need at least another three or four first team players. However, I'd hope by the Middlesborough game that 90% of our transfer business is done so that makes the next three weeks crucial. I have patience, but I am a little worried that the season starts in a month and we've just taken a poor senior squad on a week long training camp to Austria, it doesn't mean transfers can't happen in that time, it's just that they're much less likely to. Come on RDM/ Dr Xia, show us your serious about promotion.

We should be selling quite a few midfielders before we get to Westwood. Sanchez for a start or Gana who doesn't want to be here or Veretout who's shown next to nothing. Everyone is replaceable or can be improved on but we have significantly bigger problems than Westwood. I'd prefer him as a squad player than the other midfielders mentioned, so unless we are selling them all, he should stay in my opinion. His work ethic will be far more value to us than a sulking Gana, Veretout or useless Sanchez.