Wainy316 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Best English centre back in the league? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Just looks commanding and composed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zab6359 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: We have one hell of a defensive unit in the works. Another who I never thought had this level initially. I don't think he is anywhere near his prime either but he is so bloody intelligent in defence! Have to agree on all points, considered him nothing but a stop gap, but he has developed so much and is only going to get better, he's on a pretty shitty contract really hope we get him on a wage that reflects his ability and new 5 yr contract if we don't other teams will be sniffing come the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam2003 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Wainy316 said: Best English centre back in the league? Arguably the best centre back in the league full stop this season. Don’t get me wrong he needs to keep that form up to be considered at the standard of the very best but no-one has outshone him since September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozvillafan Posted January 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 Interesting fact raised by the commentators during the game tonight: Konsa has been "dribbled around" exactly once this season. ... not sure who by, mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysAVFC Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 minutes ago, ozvillafan said: Interesting fact raised by the commentators during the game tonight: Konsa has been "dribbled around" exactly once this season. ... not sure who by, mind. It was none until recently I think, so possibly someone in the Man City game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul514 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Kinda has been great this season and he is still young so could still significantly improve. I always think he doesn’t look composed with his feet though, not that it is the most important attribute of a centre back. He has this uncanny ability though that I have notice, he manages to just nick the ball with a random part of his foot in tight spaces to move the ball just enough out of danger. It’s not something I notice many players doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan-scott Posted January 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 28 minutes ago, ozvillafan said: Interesting fact raised by the commentators during the game tonight: Konsa has been "dribbled around" exactly once this season. ... not sure who by, mind. According to the Guardian article a few pages back it was Bernardo Silva the other night. Konsa is looking so, so good now. A real fine defender, seems to be able to do it all. Carries the ball out of defence really well too. Carragher was full of praise in the commentary for him. Recognition is on the way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilko154 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 10 hours ago, Villarocker said: I remember these: Young, Mellberg, Lauren, Bouma Now I am remembering these: Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett. What was she like? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkiller1981 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Reminds me in his movement of Paul McGrath. Obviously not anywhere near that level as a player yet but the way he carries himself gives that air of McGrath about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 4 hours ago, punkiller1981 said: Reminds me in his movement of Paul McGrath. Obviously not anywhere near that level as a player yet but the way he carries himself gives that air of McGrath about him. he said he has been watching videos of the great man as recommended by Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Cant be many better cbs in the Premier League this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onmeedson Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 It's a sign you are a decent player when like Mcgrath we just expect you to do it. Has had a very good season so far and the whole defence is starting to shape up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumstopdogs Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Interesting article on Konsa and how he has developed. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jan/23/ezri-konsa-i-havent-got-any-secret-its-just-about-learning-my-trade Quote A weird thing happened on Wednesday during the match between Manchester City and Aston Villa, and it had nothing to do with an obscure loophole in the offside law. In the 52nd minute of City’s 2-0 win, Bernardo Silva dribbled past Ezri Konsa. No other player has managed to do that this season. “I don’t even remember it happening,” says the Villa centre-back of Silva’s feat, but Konsa was well aware of his pristine record up to that point, which had made him unique. “It was a good thing to carry, the only defender [to have played at least 10 matches] in any of Europe’s top five leagues not to have been dribbled past. Bernardo Silva has broken it, but I’ll try to keep it to one.” Asked why opponents find it so hard to get past him, the 23-year-old laughs modestly. “I haven’t got any secret – it’s just about learning my trade.” The dribbling statistic is more than a piece of trivia; it is indicative of Konsa’s contribution, in only his second campaign in the top flight, to one of the stories of the season: Villa’s transformation from relegation candidates to challengers for the European places. From having the second-leakiest defence in the Premier League last season, they have one of the most secure, having kept clean sheets in half their matches. Konsa’s undemonstrative excellence at the heart of their rearguard has led Dean Smith to compare him to Paul McGrath, the Villa and Republic of Ireland luminary voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1993. Konsa is not the sort to hype himself up, and is quick to explain his progression over the past three years from League One tyro to Premier League stalwart owes much to the positive influences around him, from Smith, John Terry and Tyrone Mings to footage he has studied of past greats, including McGrath and Rio Ferdinand. And also to his older brother, Antonio Konsa, who steered Ezri away from harm during a difficult childhood in a crime-ridden part of east London. There is a good reason Konsa has the word “blessed” tattooed on his left hand. “I got it in my second season at Charlton,” he says. “It’s always there and it reminds me how far I’ve come and how blessed I am. It was difficult growing up where I grew up. There was a lot of crime and violence, but I am lucky to have an older brother who kept me out of trouble and kept me grounded. It’s always important to have support. It was tough, but me and my family and friends dealt with it and we got out of it. Hopefully what I’m doing now can inspire the next generation.” Konsa joined Charlton in his teens from Senrab, the junior club whose alumni includes Sol Campbell, Ledley King and Terry. From Charlton he joined Brentford, where he first came under the wing of Smith. Before the start of last season Smith signed him for a second time, bringing him to Villa for £12m. The manager says Konsa is one of the young English talents around whom Villa can build a team that could compete regularly for honours. “I’m very grateful to have a manager who believes in me so much,” says Konsa. “He has always said to me that he believes I can go to the very top. When he signed me at Brentford he threw me into the team straight away … and now I’m playing in the Premier League week in, week out. It’s important for a player to know your manager backs you all the way.” At first Konsa, like most of his teammates, found the going tough in the Premier League. “For me the biggest thing to get used to was about getting punished for mistakes. Because that’s what happens when you make mistakes in the Premier League, whereas in the Championship you can sometimes get away with it. It’s not just mistakes on the ball, but off the ball as well. “There was a game against Watford last season where Troy Deeney scored and my positioning wasn’t great. In the Premier League as a centre-half you always have to be looking over your shoulder and that’s something that I’ve really learned and has really helped. My mentality and reading of the game have really improved and that is also with a lot of help from the gaffer and John Terry. “To have Terry working here with the defenders is a privilege. With the trophies he has won and the experience he has, it’s a no-brainer to go to him and ask for advice.” While lessons learned on the pitch will always be the best, Villa are where they are now partly because they made the shrewdest use of last season’s lockdown, with Smith becoming an online tutor. “The gaffer used to make us defenders watch clips of teams that defend well, like Liverpool, Lazio and Atlético Madrid. And then I used to go away and watch my own clips as well, of [Nemanja] Vidic, [Rio] Ferdinand and Terry. The gaffer also showed me clips of McGrath. He could do it all. “My mentality just changed. Just defending for my life, putting my body on the line, blocking shots, blocking everything. Becoming a real centre-half.” That development was mirrored across the team. “We really tightened up as a unit, everyone defends for everyone.” Konsa’s central-defensive partnership with Mings has become a formidable unit. Mings has been dribbled past twice this season, the next best in the Premier League (with Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma). Konsa is grateful to have the England international alongside him. “Throughout my whole career I’ve been guided by senior players who’ve guided me the way Tyrone does now,” he says, namechecking Jason Pearce, Naby Sarr and Roger Johnson at Charlton and Julian Jeanvier at Brentford. “Tyrone is always talking to me, which I appreciate a lot. We get on well off the pitch, too, and it’s important to have that chemistry.” Villa’s evolution has been about more than gaining solidity. This season they have also attacked with pizzazz. Konsa has two goals thanks to his power from set pieces. “I got one goal last season and I wanted to do better. I’m aiming for five. Hopefully if I keep showing the dedication to attack the ball, I’ll get another three this season and possibly more.” There is no limit to Villa’s ambitions. “It’s really enjoyable here – we’re in a really good place right now. We always believed that if we stayed up last season, then we would be much better. We are proving that. How high can we go? As high as we want. If we keep doing what we’re doing and keep trusting each other, I think we’ll go far.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 So much for Brentford always getting top dollar for their players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loxstock92 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Villa Twitter have latched onto this tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 16 minutes ago, av1 said: So much for Brentford always getting top dollar for their players. think he had a release clause Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom13 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Class act. Reminds me of Ricardo Carvalho in a way, although Konsa is more athletic. But in the sense that he's not an imposing CB, but very intelligent with excellent positioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 (edited) I know I'll get jumped on, but he reminds me a little of God himself, and I think it's why he's probably underrated in the press. In England we tend to like our Terry Butchers, flying in to last ditch tackles, dripping in blood, "a proper man" at the back. There is this mythical madness about center halves, I guess like props in rugby that we love. But Konsa, like god, isn't like that. His reading of the game means that problems are snuffed out before the need for 16 stitches. He is cool and calm, with a brilliant understanding of the game. Having had the pleasure of watching him many times, Konsa isn't at Paul's level yet, but the similarities are there imo and in a few years time who knows, we could be talking about this kid in the same way. Edited January 24, 2021 by av1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 5 minutes ago, av1 said: I know I'll get jumped on, but he reminds me a little of God himself, and I think it's why he's probably underrated in the press. In England we tend to like our Terry Butchers, flying in to last ditch tackles, dripping in blood, "a proper man" at the back. There is this mythical madness about center halves, I guess like props in rugby that we love. But Konsa, like god, isn't like that. His reading of the game means that problems are snuffed out before the need for 16 stitches. He is cool and calm, with a brilliant understanding of the game. Having had the pleasure of watching many times, Konsa isn't at Paul's level yet, but the similarities are there imo and in a few years time, who knows, we could be talking about this kid in the same way. He also has Mings to do the more physical jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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