Promotion 2016/7

[hippo]

1 minute ago, theboyangel said:

because we were the wurst team in the prem last year?

I assume it's to get a bit of fitness and team building going and a good chance for RDM to assess the current squad members

Couldn't he have done that at bodymoor heath ?

[sparrow1988]

13 minutes ago, hippo said:

Why are we are going to Austria out of interest ? 

Haven't a clue. Wales went there before the rugby world cup for training and spent the time lifting tractor tires (although I suspect that they are available more locally) - maybe they're doing this.

Maybe RDM decided there's no way anyone is going to touch some of the players that he wants rid of and some parts of Austria are pretty remote and Mountainous obviously so - easy to "lose" people. He could possibly have devised a mountaineering exercise where the players are split into groups and have to fend for themselves and find their way back to a base camp over a number of days.

Gabby, Lescott, Richards, Bacuna and Guzan are all in the one group. And hey presto, we've "lost" a group of squad members who nobody wants. That's a shame.....

More likely but less satisfactory: fitness, team building, and assess the current squad members as mentioned above.

Edited July 8, 2016 by sparrow1988

[theboyangel]

8 minutes ago, hippo said:

Couldn't he have done that at bodymoor heath ?

At bodymoor heath, the players would all slink off after training to go home etc - RDM would only see them at meal times and training.

Whilst away however, RDM will be able to see and get to know more about them as a collective and individually. I feel this is pretty important for a new manager to assess what he has already and which characters are either not up for it skillwise or interested in being here.

It's a good thing IMO.

[hippo]

10 minutes ago, theboyangel said:

At bodymoor heath, the players would all slink off after training to go home etc - RDM would only see them at meal times and training.

Whilst away however, RDM will be able to see and get to know more about them as a collective and individually. I feel this is pretty important for a new manager to assess what he has already and which characters are either not up for it skillwise or interested in being here.

It's a good thing IMO.

I suspect unless he was on Mars for the 12 months he would already know that !

[Gary Thomas]

28 minutes ago, hippo said:

Why are we are going to Austria out of interest ? 

Crystal Palace were at an Austrian training camp in 2014, so maybe has good facilities.....interestingly they also played GAK and battered them 13-1. Expect a tighter game with Villa!

[sparrow1988]

Meanwhile in Austria. An attacking move has broken down during training. Richards busting a lung to track back as per usual...

 

Richards busting a lung to track back as per usual...

[1958Villan]

Because of the amount of rebuilding that needs to be done within the club but, specifically within the first team playing squad, I would think that promotion this season is really too big a step. I understand, of course, why our new owner would mention it as this season's target, sort of a reach for the stars but accept the moon as the realistic prize.

I fully expect the serious end of our team rebuild to be done in the winter transfer window.

[gaffmaster]

Are they training at altitude? Might be handy. It'll help prevent the nosebleeds the players could get from being TOP OF THE TABLE!!! 

[AshVilla]

The players look wiry and fit already i think the Sheikh is doing his job superbly

The sight of Richards training makes me cringe especially after what i seen last season it's as if he has cement in his boots can we revoke his passport and leave him in Austria

Edited July 8, 2016 by AshVilla

[brommy]

22 hours ago, sparrow1988 said:

Maybe RDM decided there's no way anyone is going to touch some of the players that he wants rid of and some parts of Austria are pretty remote and Mountainous obviously so - easy to "lose" people. He could possibly have devised a mountaineering exercise where the players are split into groups and have to fend for themselves and find their way back to a base camp over a number of days.

Gabby, Lescott, Richards, Bacuna and Guzan are all in the one group. And hey presto, we've "lost" a group of squad members who nobody wants. That's a shame.....

Our very own tragedy. Play it right and we could gain a few million fans.

[Godders]

23 hours ago, hippo said:

Reportedly we were interested in Gayle amd Mccormack. Both pretty much proven at this level - yet we missed out on Gayle and seemed to have cooled on Mccormack in favour of a loan deal for Bamford. Could funding be the issue ? - a distinct possibly in my book

That would mean Xia would have had to have blatently lied when he said the manager would have as much money as he needs this window. That would be suicide for a brand new owner trying to win over the fan base.

There's any number of reasons why interest could have cooled. That's assuming that interest has indeed cooled- there could well be ongoing negotiations behind the scenes that won't be in the press.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, so unless there's a strong argument to the contrary, I'm going to take Xia's words at face value and assume that we have a significant transfer budget.

[honest_bertie]

Think we have to take Dr T's optimism and tweets as excitement and fair enough. As long he's good at the ownership stuff which at the moment seems to be the case by the management teams he has got in under him so far and as long as those teams then do what they are supposed to then we good to go. He needs to be careful what he says and maybe he might still be a bit naive still how his words will be analysed over here and outside China. He said we have about 30-40 mil to spend did't he at first. I guess we on track for that. 2.5 signings so far which will total about 10m and rumour of prob at least 3/4 more coming in and at least one being a stricker. With current inflated market prices  I reckon we on track to spend at least 30 this summer.

[TRO]

I don't see the amount of money we spend on players as the main Barometer for promotion or success....when players like Moussa Sissoko can be signed for £1.5 mill it indicates to me that it is the ability to talent spot that has been the missing ingredient at our club, for sure Benteke was a good shout and it proves even we can do it.... we need to do it on a more consistent basis, easily said I know, but that must be the aim.

Of course luck plays a part and of course being in the right place at the right time along with being well connected are all components.....but its just like the Carrs the Walshs and the Bartons of this world thats what we have to aspire too.

We have regressed at such a rate it will be difficult to get players that are ready made to blow teams away ....to some degree we have already tried that and ended up with primma donna's whose only interest is the Birmingham Night life or London and Harvey Nichols.

It doesn't matter whose money is being used no owner can/will waste it on slouches......Bill Gates or Carlos Slim would baulk after too much of it and we have had our unfair share of it.

The way forward as I see it rests with the skill of RDM and his coaching staff, its the blend that is key for me. Players that can do their individual jobs with competency and contribute to the togetherness of a team effort.....RDM is the conductor and we will see if he can get a happy tune from his players.

This post is not a dismissal of of spending big its the reality of trying to get back to having a team.....The best individual players may not get promotion, but the best TEAM will.

I will watch with interest of who comes in, not getting depressed if the fee's are not headline news with Sky, but Interested in the other contributory factors, like stature, attitude, age....

Its not always easy to judge until you have seen them, but I do know this much.....If they are small in stature, they need to be remarkably good in ability and in our case they are hard to attract.

I think on occasions we sometimes think that other coaches know more than we and that if they don't fancy a player he can't be any good......Vardy, Mahrez,Sissoko,Huth,just a few off the top of my head.....these players are around and we must find a way of finding them.

In short, RDM and his coaches/scouts is the key to all this, I just hope we can find some round pegs in round holes etc and build a team that resembles a TEAM and not a collection of 11 individuals that just look to each other for an answer.

If we can do that.....WE WILL GO UP

[Daweii]

On 08/07/2016 at 09:35, hippo said:

I suspect unless he was on Mars for the 12 months he would already know that !

There are a lot of variables that are to play last season..

I mean you may not believe it when I say it but our players when taken as individuals are good enough for the Premier League. Mismanagement and absurdly low confidence is what killed us off in the end.

Tim Sherwood did a terrible job in pre-season. I don't know if training in pre-season was just sit down and play FIFA 16 or what, but our fitness levels and cohesiveness as a team was not there. When you consider that our starting eleven was basically completely new, not having a good pre-season was absurd and set us on the track we find ourselves now. 

We were on a huge losing streak thanks to good ol' Sherwood and confidence was so low it likely couldn't get any lower. At this point we needed a top quality man manager like Martin O'Neill to build them back up, but instead we made the next huge mistake of our season hiring the spineless Remi Garde.

Aston Villa was a side summed up as a team weaker than the sum of its parts. You give these players playing with confidence to a good manager with a good pre-season under their belt and they will likely perform well. Lescott isn't a great player but he's also not as bad as last season made out, none of the players we have are bad players but a perfect storm of poor form, low confidence and mismanagement was enough to sink us. 

So yes RDM could just watch us last season and sell the whole squad, but he's likely smarter than that and realises there is quality in this squad if he can boost their confidence. 

[Jareth]

So Amavi pretty much stated he is staying. Players like him do not belong in the championship so if RDM can get them all playing as a team Villa could be a bit good at this level.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

3 hours ago, Godders said:

That would mean Xia would have had to have blatently lied when he said the manager would have as much money as he needs this window. That would be suicide for a brand new owner trying to win over the fan base.

There's any number of reasons why interest could have cooled. That's assuming that interest has indeed cooled- there could well be ongoing negotiations behind the scenes that won't be in the press.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, so unless there's a strong argument to the contrary, I'm going to take Xia's words at face value and assume that we have a significant transfer budget.

Also , Pat Murphy came out yesterday and said we were interested in NEITHER, and that other irons were in the fire.

[TRO]

4 hours ago, Godders said:

That would mean Xia would have had to have blatently lied when he said the manager would have as much money as he needs this window. That would be suicide for a brand new owner trying to win over the fan base.

There's any number of reasons why interest could have cooled. That's assuming that interest has indeed cooled- there could well be ongoing negotiations behind the scenes that won't be in the press.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, so unless there's a strong argument to the contrary, I'm going to take Xia's words at face value and assume that we have a significant transfer budget.

The owner could very well being telling the truth when he says that the manager has as much money as he wants.

equally the manager will know that he has the responsibility of using it and will be answerable to the owner,in the fullness of time....... Conversely if he spends it well, the resistance diminishes ( there isn't any at the moment due to it being new)where the owner gains confidence in the prudency.....Its early days so, Tony X will be feeling him out and monitoring the progress accordingly.

RDM will be balancing his thoughts on this.

It follows that the more money a manager spends, the more pressure he piles on himself.

[Jareth]

Saw this line up on Twitter, gotta say I'd love it if it worked - promotion in style - 

Golini, new RB, Elphick, Okore, Amavi, Tshibola, Veretout, Gana, Grealish, Ayew, Traore

[Zatman]

I dont think that team would get promoted and be lucky to make play-offs

[Daweii]

4 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I dont think that team would get promoted and be lucky to make play-offs

It likely would. You have to remember that we have a new manager and world class coaching staff now. A lot of those players in that line up were above average for us on occasion last season they were just brought down by the rest. We'll be fine with that squad if managed correctly.. Our main issue now is adding a bit of squad depth so we don't have to rely on Lescott, Richards, Gabby on the bench each game.