Jesus Garcia Pitarch

[MadridVilla]

56 minutes ago, DaveAV1 said:

I agree that there has to be harmony with in the higher echelons of the club. In fact throughout the entire club from Doris down . 

I have to admit I have doubts about Purslow. Nothing specific, just a feeling that he’s a bit too attached to the limelight. However if that doesn’t get in the way of him doing his job well, then that’s fine. My concern is when the football men play second fiddle to the money men. Now I know that the money can’t be ignored, but we must put the right DOF in charge and he must work within whatever monetary restraints there are. However the driving force should always be the football team on the pitch. The quickest way to lose money is to get relegated, we have to primarily look to build a good team, then a better team and ultimately a great team. 

I’m not advocating short term thinking and spending £50m a pop on a load of 35 year olds, but a good team needs a bit of everything. If the driving force is to become a footballer production line to sell on, then that just doesn’t work for me. Yes grow the team and sell some on when we can develop better players, but ultimately we have to me a strong team on the pitch, then everything else will be a hell of a lot easier off it. 

I think it's quite clear from the moves they've made with the academy that the new strategy is to develop the best young talent they can, buying in youth prospects on the cheap and developing them from hot prospects to breaking into the first team, which I don't think anyone would disagree is a good idea.

The interesting part is whether Villa will keep these players and try to build a squad of homegrown players who are on the level of Grealish and challenge in the top half, or whether they look to sell them on for a large profit to then reinvest on the next gamble. My concern is that given the stature of the club in football's pecking order we are always likely to end up becoming a selling club like we have been in the past. And just like Brentford now who have had some great players over the years, they will fail to meet their potential as every year their best players leave and they have to rebuild every summer. 

It has worked with some success for Ajax in the past, but selling top players for a profit has hurt Villa in the past, and it would likely hurt them again if that is their new strategy. 

I 100% agree there is something about Purslow that makes me feel a bit uneasy - to hear he's been bypassing the sporting director to work with Smith on transfers seems like he is a bit of a control freak who doesn't trust those around him to be as good as him. But of course that judgement is for the owners to make, and they will know Purslow much better than the snippets us fans get to see.

Edited July 28, 2020 by MadridVilla

[Dom_Wren]

17 hours ago, KMitch said:

HAHAHA! bloody brilliant !!!

[Dom_Wren]

9 hours ago, villa89 said:

Do you know why I like this? He was rubbish at his job.

I think were on the same page mukka!!!

[DaveAV1]

19 minutes ago, MadridVilla said:

I think it's quite clear from the moves they've made with the academy that the new strategy is to develop the best young talent they can, buying in youth prospects on the cheap and developing them from hot prospects to breaking into the first team, which I don't think anyone would disagree is a good idea.

The interesting part is whether Villa will keep these players and try to build a squad of homegrown players who are on the level of Grealish and challenge in the top half, or whether they look to sell them on for a large profit to then reinvest on the next gamble. My concern is that given the stature of the club in football's pecking order we are always likely to end up becoming a selling club like we have been in the past. And just like Brentford now who have had some great players over the years, they will fail to meet their potential as every year their best players leave and they have to rebuild every summer. 

It has worked with some success for Ajax in the past, but selling top players for a profit has hurt Villa in the past, and it would likely hurt them again if that is their new strategy. 

I 100% agree there is something about Purslow that makes me feel a bit uneasy - to hear he's been bypassing the sporting director to work with Smith on transfers seems like he is a bit of a control freak who doesn't trust those around him to be as good as him. But of course that judgement is for the owners to make, and they will know Purslow much better than the snippets us fans get to see.

As you say, developing young players is extremely important. Equally important is what we do with them. It should surely be part of the plan that we try to keep the very best and move those on that aren’t quite so good or that aren’t a good fit for our first team. We don’t want to be a selling club but almost all clubs lose players that they’d rather keep. As always it’s a matter of balance, add quality to the playing squad but at the same time be good at the selling on too. Brentford but with financial muscle, so that we sell only when it benefits the club moving forward, but not out of necessity to survive.

At the top end of the game Juventus have won the league for years and then sold their top players and gone on to win the league again. I’d settle for that!

[KentVillan]

A useful scapegoat for this season, probably slightly unfairly thrown under the bus by Purslow, who always seemed to me to be the one who really pushed the “no loans, no experienced players” philosophy to its extremes.

I suspect that strategy was as responsible for our struggles in the transfer market as Suso’s decisions.

Hopefully lessons have been learned and we move on. I’ll always be grateful to Suso for bringing Douglas Luiz to Aston Villa.

[villalad21]

55 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

Never filled me with confidence and cannot say I am sad to see him gone.

Suso not the only problem.

I have my concerns about Purslow. Had in a while now.

[GENTLEMAN]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

Oh dear.

Not seen you since Smith kept the villa up fella.

[GENTLEMAN]

3 hours ago, rodders0223 said:

Although I can see Purslow appointing a Gerrard based on his name. He just seems very enamored sometimes with "big" players.

That is a worry I have for the future.

I get that vibe too. Perhaps coming from a non-football or athlete background, he is sometimes in awe. Hence why DoF is an important appointment, someone he can see through the footballing rhetoric and not be so weak at the knees to big names in the game.  

Edited July 28, 2020 by GENTLEMAN

[ciggiesnbeer]

Cheers Suso. You did a decent job but we need something else right now.

We all move on.

[flashingqwerty]

8 hours ago, villa4europe said:

drinkwater was a smith signing yet didn't make the bench post lockdown...

I don't think so

also the stuff about the owners not being over here is largely irrelevant and so is where purslow lives

sounds like balague protecting a mate as him leaving rather than being sacked means his reputation is some what intact 

Dean Smith made a point of saying Drinkwater was signed off the back of a meeting DS had with him as a result of the hunger in his eyes.  Drinkwater was 100% DS signing, from his own mouth.

Edited July 28, 2020 by flashingqwerty
Typos

[TRO]

4 hours ago, GENTLEMAN said:

Not seen you since Smith kept the villa up fella.

You need to keep up.....I posted my congrats.......and moreover, relief.

What do you want me to say?.....my beef was with the results, not Dean Smith personally....but he has to do better next season.

mission accomplished......next mission to make sure we are not in such a precarious situation again.....lets see how we deal with that.

there you've seen me.....thanks for the interest.

Edited July 28, 2020 by TRO

[Hornso]

As I've said on here before, from things I've read, I'm concerned about Purslow eagerness to have his say on football department matters which was apparently a major issue during his time at Liverpool.

As for Suso, not sure how much of what was said is true, but it's obvious he's in damage control trying to prevent his reputation from taking too much of a hit.

[blandy]

11 hours ago, flashingqwerty said:

Dean Smith made a point of saying Drinkwater was signed off the back of a meeting DS had with him as a result of the hunger in his eyes.  Drinkwater was 100% DS signing, from his own mouth.

Not quite sure it's as clear cut as that, (though you're probably right that he was a DS signing). But in terms of the evidence from that quote, not so much.

Quote

"Everybody knows about him from his Premier League-winning season with Leicester," said Smith. "He got the move to Chelsea and it probably didn't work out the way he would have liked. "Then he had a loan move to Burnley this season and he probably hasn't played as many games as he would have liked, but from meeting him I liked the hunger - I saw it in his eyes. "He has a lot to prove now because it hasn't happened for him at Chelsea. We're going to give him an environment where he can flourish and he looks really hungry."

 

[TRO]

4 hours ago, blandy said:

Not quite sure it's as clear cut as that, (though you're probably right that he was a DS signing). But in terms of the evidence from that quote, not so much.

 

Its fair to say every manager/club, makes iffy signings.....its the amount, that raises eyebrows.

We need to be making more, better ones.

We don't know the full implications of what happens behind the scenes and they don't want us to...mistakes will inevitably happen, with any administration, the trick is, to limit them.

I'm not sure, we should care there will always be ego's at a place like Villa.....we just need to have a team that can hold its own and be able to compete in this league and not capitulate in games.

if the right decisions are made, I think we have a golden opportunity ahead....however if is a little word with a big meaning.

 

[Tomaszk]

On 29/07/2020 at 00:39, Hornso said:

As I've said on here before, from things I've read, I'm concerned about Purslow eagerness to have his say on football department matters which was apparently a major issue during his time at Liverpool.

This is an issue.

Does he he want a brilliant DOF who will disagree with him to sign the right players. Or one that will sign players he wants.

[DCJonah]

On 28/07/2020 at 13:37, Farlz said:

Interesting this.

"It may seem strange that Suso García Pitarch leaves Aston Villa after ascending to the team two years earlier than planned, taking him to a cup final and guaranteeing his presence in the Premier League (i.e., sporting success is undeniable), but it is not gold all that glitters...

CEO Christian Purslow did not always willingly accept the owners' relationship with the sporting director. In case Dean Smith had to be replaced, he was asked for advice (Suso suggested Javi Gracia, Chris Hughton, Bruno Lage, Purslow wanted Steven Gerrard or John Terry)

Without the presence of the owners (they haven't seen the team for seven months), Purslow (who doesn't live in Birmingham) spans a lot of fields. So Drinkwater's signing was his and Dean Smith's (Suso was in London signing Nzonzi)

The owners asked Suso for a leap of quality on the roster and bench for the following season. Contacts were established with high-level trainers eager to get in the car. But the CEO felt on the sidelines and the relationship with Suso deteriorated

Smith and Suso have received media criticism because interested information is passed protecting Purslow. Difficult to work in these conditions. Suso has preferred not to continue despite having one more year of contract, and so he told the owners a while ago."

I didn't like Suso and blamed him for our struggles that first year back. 

But this is an interesting read 2 years later. 

 

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

29 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

I didn't like Suso and blamed him for our struggles that first year back. 

But this is an interesting read 2 years later. 

 

I know it wouldn't have been a great long term transfer but getting Nzonzi in ahead of Drinkwater might have made survival a lot more comfortable that first season.

[NoelVilla]

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

I didn't like Suso and blamed him for our struggles that first year back. 

But this is an interesting read 2 years later. 

 

That is like signing Heskey instead of Falcao

[The_Steve]

Balague was Suso's media mate so I always took those statements with a big pinch of salt.

[Hornso]

8 hours ago, DCJonah said:

I didn't like Suso and blamed him for our struggles that first year back. 

But this is an interesting read 2 years later. 

 

I've repeated this a few times since Purslow came on board, so sorry if anyone is sick of it...but I read a Liverpool book a while back and the main take on Purslow from it was that he was very good at the business side of things, but got too involved in the football side of things. This tweet and and the Gerrard hire could be examples it is happening at Villa also.