Yannick Bolasie

[Vive_La_Villa]

8 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said:

What's wrong with impact sub running at tired legs? In Bolton game he was guilty of not tracking back in defence. Do we want that for 90 mins?

Nothing wrong with that at all. Also wouldn’t want a player that doesn’t track back for 90 minutes either. 

I would however like to see a top Premier league player (if fully fit) starting games for us so the damage to the opponent can be done in the first half. 

[sir_gary_cahill]

3 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

Nothing wrong with that at all. Also wouldn’t want a player that doesn’t track back for 90 minutes either. 

I would however like to see a top Premier league player (if fully fit) starting games for us so the damage to the opponent can be done in the first half. 

Absolutely 

[TrentVilla]

1 hour ago, sir_gary_cahill said:

I can’t understand the negativity from most in  this thread, he’s a proven Premier League footballer. Yes, he had a bad injury but he seems over it now to me. If he wasn’t over the injury, I don’t think we would’ve signed him in the first place even when Bruce was in charge

I don’t see any. 

[AvfcRigo82]

1 hour ago, sir_gary_cahill said:

I can’t understand the negativity from most in  this thread, he’s a proven Premier League footballer. Yes, he had a bad injury but he seems over it now to me. If he wasn’t over the injury, I don’t think we would’ve signed him in the first place even when Bruce was in charge

I wouldn't say 'negativity' as such but I think most posts are written with a bit of hidden caution from where we have been burned before when it comes to 'signing permanently' these types of players.

Now, nothing against Bolasie here and the thing for me is that yes - he may have got over his last injury, yes - he may be a proven premier league footballer etc.

However, the reality of the situation is that he is now looking fantastic as he has dropped a league, the competition is slightly easier over a longer duration and I expect that at this level as a minimum. 

I don't feel he would be able to play constantly like this again in the premier league, if we go up this season he would be 31 by the time we came to offering him a contract and at a stage again where he would be prone to injuries where he will be playing in a different, higher tempo league and I personally would not expect us to be offering a 31yr old who's had an injury plagued career a contract that would demand a big wage over a long duration.

Another loan then yes all day long.

Fwiw, he has showed encouraging signs so far and it would be interesting to see him over 90 minutes eventually but so far his cameos have been very good and we have a great player at this level for this season atleast.

[Kiwivillan]

Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Impact sub is a legitimate role

[Dave-R]

He's a good player but at 31 if we do go up, the style we play I do not think he could cut it again but I maybe wrong. I  do hear what people are saying as a caution and I agree somewhat with them and I don't think he would carry on with us if we entered the premier, think he would be sold on.

Our squad would change alot upon entering the premier anyway, the owners want young meat on the field and to play the way Smith wants us playing requires extreme stamina/physicality. Running around the pitch flat out for 90 minutes playing the smith way is very intense and gruelling, don't think 30+ year olds doing that In the premiere is a good idea.

But I do also understand what others are saying, as a sub Bolasie poses a threat, he can burn whatever he has in the tank over the last 30 mins or so. Having a Bolasie on the bench coming on after half time as proved he can do some damage with his crosses and pace. Bolasie can cause problems to opposition very quickly as he has shown time and time again what he can do, bringing him on as a starter mite make him much less affective.

[lexicon]

His assist the other day shows what a player he is. Excellent on the ball and crosses better than anyone else we have at the club - light years ahead of Adomah in terms of ability. 

[rodders0223]

50 minutes ago, lexicon said:

His assist the other day shows what a player he is. Excellent on the ball and crosses better than anyone else we have at the club - light years ahead of Adomah in terms of ability. 

Agreed, that I think is the best aspect I have seen so far. i haven't seen many people cross the way he does with both feet. Albert's is your usual floaty shite but Bolasie's have this weird stab technique that just makes them pick up pace and missiles them into an area. Left and right foot. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by rodders0223

[terrytini]

11 hours ago, Kiwivillan said:

Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Impact sub is a legitimate role

Alun Evans got there first 

[terrytini]

5 hours ago, lexicon said:

His assist the other day shows what a player he is. Excellent on the ball and crosses better than anyone else we have at the club - light years ahead of Adomah in terms of ability. 

Indeed. One is Premier League Top 10 quality, the other is Championship Top 10 quality. Albert is what he is. He’s never going to be Bolasie. But, he does his bit as best he can. No comparison in terms of ability.

[lexicon]

50 minutes ago, terrytini said:

Indeed. One is Premier League Top 10 quality, the other is Championship Top 10 quality. Albert is what he is. He’s never going to be Bolasie. But, he does his bit as best he can. No comparison in terms of ability.

Oh for sure. Albert is an immensely likeable hardworking winger who is good at this level and has contributed a lot since he arrived. Bolasie on the other hand,  has no business being in the Championship at all. We're lucky to have him for the season, but very lucky to have both at our disposal. 

[The_Rev]

Express & Star reporting that Bolasie wasn't even fit enough to participate in full training until after Bruce had left the club: 

 

Quote

Yannick Bolasie is targeting a first Villa start in Sunday’s Second City derby as the winger finally looks to put his injury torment in the past.

 

The 29-year-old has revealed he is only now beginning to feel confident in his body again, nearly two years on from the serious knee injury which threatened his career.

Bolasie has so far been limited to appearances from the bench since joining Villa on loan from Everton in August.

He arrived having done no pre-season work and after steadily building his fitness only began full training with Dean Smith’s squad earlier this month.

 

(full article)

 

Maybe he will come good, but he's been trying to come good for two years now. I'm sure he was confident of his fitness before he broke down last time too. He's an exceptional talent but it seems like a crazy signing at this point. Are we going to get a run of 20+ games out of him or will the rest of the season be as stop-start as it has been so far? 

[Dave-R]

He is one players that maybe we can prize away from his club and he would be worth it, hesalready shown he is worth it.

If we went up back in the premiere I feel by then he would be ready, providing he doesn't get hit with another bad injury. Bolasie is a sharp player and as someone pointed out has accurate,fast missile like crosses. I also think those that are saying he would be 31 or over and worrying could he handle the premier again, well I think he could with out a doubt, but it all rests whether Bolasie can remain injury free from now on.

There are however plenty of Bolasie like players out there, question  is does the club risk trying to take him on permanent if we go up, it is a risk. If we go up he could get injured in a few games then it's all over, spose it's like anything really I could go outside at anytime and get run over, this sort of thing can't be predicted.

If he keeps playing the way he is, I'd say it would be worth the risk..

Edited November 19, 2018 by Dave-R

[KentVillan]

3 hours ago, The_Rev said:

Maybe he will come good, but he's been trying to come good for two years now. I'm sure he was confident of his fitness before he broke down last time too. He's an exceptional talent but it seems like a crazy signing at this point. Are we going to get a run of 20+ games out of him or will the rest of the season be as stop-start as it has been so far? 

Yeah, not saying this is definitely the case with Bolasie, but there's a huge financial incentive for a crocked pro in his late 20s to drag out his career for another few years, picking up good pay checks because of his old abilities, and occasionally managing a run of games.

The problem is that after an ACL and knee reconstruction, you're not getting the same player. The player you do get depends a lot on their ability to adapt. Players who rely on explosive pace are affected the most. There are some reassuring examples like Pires, Overmars or van Nistelrooy, who all dribbled at speed, and came back from mid-career ACL injuries as similar players. But there are a lot of players who had to stop trying to beat men and rely on other skills - worked fine for Shearer, Xavi and del Pieiro, but destroyed Michael Owen's game (in fairness, he had loads of other problems besides ACL).

So I reckon we can either enjoy occasional bursts of Bolasie as a lightning fast winger who is clearly Top 10 PL standard, but he will be playing on borrowed time. Or we can get a more conservative ball-playing midfielder, who can last 90 mins and play a full season - but not sure how useful Bolasie will be in that role? Could still be a strong Championship player... hard to tell without seeing him try it.

[TrentVilla]

3 hours ago, Dave-R said:

He is one players that maybe we can prize away from his club and he would be worth it, hesalready shown he is worth it.

If we went up back in the premiere I feel by then he would be ready, providing he doesn't get hit with another bad injury. Bolasie is a sharp player and as someone pointed out has accurate,fast missile like crosses. I also think those that are saying he would be 31 or over and worrying could he handle the premier again, well I think he could with out a doubt, but it all rests whether Bolasie can remain injury free from now on.

There are however plenty of Bolasie like players out there, question  is does the club risk trying to take him on permanent if we go up, it is a risk. If we go up he could get injured in a few games then it's all over, spose it's like anything really I could go outside at anytime and get run over, this sort of thing can't be predicted.

If he keeps playing the way he is, I'd say it would be worth the risk..

I couldn’t disagree more with your opening lines he certainly hasn’t demonstrated he is worth signing permanently should we go up.

He has shown glimpses of his talent in his limited game time to date. Yes he has made some telling contributions but he has hardly played.

By his own admission he has only really started training properly this month, which frankly only makes me question the sanity of those who sanctioned taking on his £80k wages but that’s another discussion.

He might go on to be a great addition for us this season, the signs are certainly promising and we might be begging to sign him in the summer but he certainly hasn’t demonstrated currently that he is worth it.

[villa89]

2 hours ago, TrentVilla said:

we might be begging to sign him in the summer 

Very unlikely. He's 29, bad injury record and is on £80k a week. He's the type of player you take a gamble on with a loan but not one you ever want to sign permanently.

But this is Villa so break out the five year £65K a week deal!

[rodders0223]

Well that explains a few things, hopefully now it's full steam ahead and getting match fitness. He will have a huge part to play if he can now just get himself fit.

Really though, can we please just start acting like a proper football club again? This deal SHOULD NOT have been signed off, whether he goes on to have a major impact or not. Stop taking needless risks and spending ridiculous money on questions marks. FFS.

[wilko154]

I hope he goes on a decent run this season now and fires us back to the Premier League. By the sounds of it he seems to think he is back to full fitness and ready to go, he could rip it up on Sunday for us.

However, next season even with promotion I wouldn't want us to sign him unless we can offer him a 2 year (at most) deal. We need to start being sensible with signings and contracts, a few years ago we would have signed him on a 5 year contract.

[sir_gary_cahill]

3 hours ago, wilko154 said:

I hope he goes on a decent run this season now and fires us back to the Premier League. By the sounds of it he seems to think he is back to full fitness and ready to go, he could rip it up on Sunday for us.

However, next season even with promotion I wouldn't want us to sign him unless we can offer him a 2 year (at most) deal. We need to start being sensible with signings and contracts, a few years ago we would have signed him on a 5 year contract.

Agreed 

[westholmevillan]

I think we should use him as often as we can for now.  I would start him in most games to get opposition defenders on the back foot and asess his fitness at half-time with Albert ready to step in if necessary!  Given our defensive problems we need someone like Yannick to keep the ball in the opposition half as much as we can!