Lerner's Driver Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Just now, Kiwivillan said: I feel so old Ahh, Shu-duppa-ya-fayce. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugzy1991 Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 21 minutes ago, wilko154 said: It's funny how last season we slated Steve Bruce when we were massively short at centre back. This season we're about to play our 3rd game in a row without a recognized striker and Dean Smith hasn't taken much flak. Not that I want Smith to get slated... just think it's a little odd. It's pretty embarrassing for a PL club to be in this position. Crossing my fingers we sign a striker today, a 4.5 hour journey each way to Brighton on Saturday without having a striker is not the weekend plan I was looking for. Maybe it's not Smith fault? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MaVilla Posted January 16, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2020 16 minutes ago, wilko154 said: It's funny how last season we slated Steve Bruce when we were massively short at centre back. This season we're about to play our 3rd game in a row without a recognized striker and Dean Smith hasn't taken much flak. To be fair, we have 3 strikers for a lone striker role, it's just that all 3 are injured. I don't think that's anything like Bruce leaving us in the state he did with centre backs. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kiwivillan Posted January 16, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, Bugzy1991 said: Maybe it's not Smith fault? It's Ben Mee's fault. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichiBoi11 Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, MaVilla said: To be fair, we have 3 strikers for a lone striker role, it's just that all 3 are injured. I don't think that's anything like Bruce leaving us in the state he did with centre backs. This is a fair point. I think the bigger argument going in to the season was the quality of the players. Wesley, Kodjia and Davis looked a weak set of options and we were really relying on Wes hitting the ground running. I think that is more short sighted than the fact none of them are currently available. Injusries are part and parcel of football, and unfortunately they've hit us hard, but if you only plan on 1 up top, starting a season with 3 recognised forwards isn't unreasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted January 16, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, MaVilla said: To be fair, we have 3 strikers for a lone striker role, it's just that all 3 are injured. I don't think that's anything like Bruce leaving us in the state he did with centre backs. Not unless we loan Kodjia out on deadline day without bringing anyone in! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyAnty Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 17 minutes ago, MaVilla said: To be fair, we have 3 strikers for a lone striker role, it's just that all 3 are injured. I don't think that's anything like Bruce leaving us in the state he did with centre backs. Kodja and Davis weren't getting starts in the championship, so to classify them as premiership strikers is wrong. In my mind we only had one striker going into the season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herman22 Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 21 minutes ago, HeyAnty said: Kodja and Davis weren't getting starts in the championship, so to classify them as premiership strikers is wrong. In my mind we only had one striker going into the season. I've said this many time but I'll say it again. The way the upfront 3 works in the system DS was playing previously (4-3-3) the front 3 were interchangeable. I think DS and the recruitment team would have looked at the 6-7 players they had to fill those three spots (Wes, Kod, Davis, Jota, ElGhazi, Trez, Jack) and thought they had enough. No doubt DS would have preferred more cover because, as you say, none of those players have played in this league before. For me I think this is a real shame for Davis, he could be getting an extended run in the team right now if he was fit. I do fear injuries might mean we never see the best of him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomav84 Posted January 16, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2020 22 minutes ago, HeyAnty said: Kodja and Davis weren't getting starts in the championship, so to classify them as premiership strikers is wrong. In my mind we only had one striker going into the season. elphick was/is an atrocious player, yet was still an experienced CB that could have been called upon (certainly would've done a better job than jedinak) and was let go on loan on deadline day. so it is slightly different circumstances. also bruce was in charge of the lot, whereas our model is left to suso...so it's not smith's fault, it's his. and i'm a bruce supporter by the way...but letting elphick go was criminal, in spite of how utterly dreadful a player he is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStagMan Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 3 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said: This going down to the wire would be total mismanagement and heads should roll in the recruitment department. Ok mate, because it is dead easy to get suitable strikers in, the moment you want them. I'm sure that they havent even tried yet, that's why we haven't signed one. They have not noticed the problem. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post praisedmambo Posted January 16, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2020 4 minutes ago, tomav84 said: elphick was/is an atrocious player, yet was still an experienced CB that could have been called upon (certainly would've done a better job than jedinak) and was let go on loan on deadline day. so it is slightly different circumstances. also bruce was in charge of the lot, whereas our model is left to suso...so it's not smith's fault, it's his. and i'm a bruce supporter by the way...but letting elphick go was criminal, in spite of how utterly dreadful a player he is ...and then he bizarrely played Tuanzebe at right back and Jedinak as CB. He'd lost the plot. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomav84 Posted January 16, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2020 3 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said: This going down to the wire would be total mismanagement and heads should roll in the recruitment department. i know you're an FM fan as I've discussed it with you on it's own thread previously, but surely you know that it's not that easy to sign players in real life? in Football Manager i could wrap up 6/7 signings in a single game day. in real life that would be physically impossible. do you have any idea the complexities involved in an actual football player transfer? smith himself has alluded to the number of stars that need to align in order to get a player in this window. not to mention any half decent striker that's available and affordable is going to be wanted by most teams in the bottom half on the basis that none of these teams are safe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 We messed up with the attacking recruitment in the summer, no doubt about it. Wesley was a gamble, Kodjia was never going to made it in the PL and Davis is still young and not a goalscorer. The wide options were also gambles, El Ghazi I think is a good rotation player but Jota was never going to handle the pace and Trez was also a here's hoping signing. Now with the summer being like it was with a mad scramble to get players in at all positions it's not really that hard to see why it turned out like it did. But even before Wes got injured we desperately needed a striker in so I was hoping we had one lined up straight away and then add another one (possibly on loan) due to the injury. All difficulties aside, going January without a striker would be unacceptable job by the board 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post A'Villan Posted January 16, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2020 N'Zonzi would be most welcome. I would be so pleased with Smith and the recruitment team if we got him. N'Zonzi, Drinkwater and Luiz in midfield would dramatically improve our chances of winning the ball and retaining it. McGinn was a catastrophic loss as he was so influential in both winning the ball back for us and also getting on the front foot. I know we're crying out for a striker, but adding quality that allows us to be a better team overall is first priority. You never know, with the above mentioned midfield, and Grealish as part of a front line, we might be able to create enough without a prolific striker. People are talking about embarrassing and all the shortfalls of the regime for being so ill-prepared. I just don't share that view. I am actually proud of the efforts so far, given the challenges we've faced. Take a step back from the expectations and look at what we've actually been through. And without wanting to sound like I'm looking down on other supporters, I'm astonished that as people who follow Villa so passionately, you aren't the first to notice! We've spent a decade without anyone of serious capability at the helm of this club, no one driving it forward with vision that would allow for success. It's been the opposite. Now we have a number of leaders who are trying to piece together a rise in standards, but who must navigate the barriers and restraints that are consequence of our demise. Don't assume that if we fail this season to maintain PL status, that it must be by default a poor reflection of the decision making from those in charge of our club. If we look at what really constitutes for the difficulties we face and the apparent struggle to ascend beyond our current position and predicament, then we can begin to offer insight. I get that football is about winning, and ultimately that's what we want to do, but if you neglect the process and simply expect the outcome, you're bound to lose. I'm not suggesting by any means we give up hope and aspirations for bettering our position on account of us being at a greater disadvantage to our rivals. I'm just saying don't be so hasty to have a critical and judgemental disposition towards those who you think responsible for our plight, when it doesn't go our way. We've had a decade of shortsighted thinking from leadership, do we really need our supporters to do the same as a consequence? Before we go on a song about opportunities lost, just remember that some teams will spend on two players what we invested in a SQUAD. And we're not even down and out yet, so as far as I'm concerned, we have much reason to be hopeful that the current regime can rise above this. Just remember that an outcome or result is just a snapshot in time of an accumulation of moments and a myriad of facets. So again, if you focus on the outcome, losing sight of the process, then you're neglecting all those necessary moments required for the result to even become a snapshot in time. It's easy to evaluate a result. It's getting familiar with the process that takes effort and which is most challenging. So in a very long-winded way I'm saying before we conclude that we have something to be disappointed about with what's current at Villa.. Let's be true to the club we all love, and take the time and effort to try and understand what's really going on within it's walls, and be patient when we can't. We might just find that we look back on this transfer window five years from now and think, woah, Smith and the leadership team really pulled one out of the hat that year. 19 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 1 minute ago, tomav84 said: i know you're an FM fan as I've discussed it with you on it's own thread previously, but surely you know that it's not that easy to sign players in real life? in Football Manager i could wrap up 6/7 signings in a single game day. in real life that would be physically impossible. do you have any idea the complexities involved in an actual football player transfer? smith himself has alluded to the number of stars that need to align in order to get a player in this window. not to mention any half decent striker that's available and affordable is going to be wanted by most teams in the bottom half on the basis that none of these teams are safe. it's a wasted effort mate. people who are determined to be outraged, angry, pissed off aren't going to be reasoned out of their emotional frustration. ITS OUTRAGEOUS is a more comforting cloak to wear than accepting it's a complex process. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 6 minutes ago, tomav84 said: elphick was/is an atrocious player, yet was still an experienced CB that could have been called upon (certainly would've done a better job than jedinak) and was let go on loan on deadline day. so it is slightly different circumstances. also bruce was in charge of the lot, whereas our model is left to suso...so it's not smith's fault, it's his. and i'm a bruce supporter by the way...but letting elphick go was criminal, in spite of how utterly dreadful a player he is Elphick was shit. Him and Hutton getting injured coincided with winning streak that got us in playoffs. I think Elphick played first of winning streak. Jedinak played CB the season before at the end where we beat the top teams in quick succession and 3 CS from memory. Elphick had 1 great game away to Middlesbrough that I recall but was a car crash waiting to happen most games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Pretty inspiring @A'Villan. Good post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinRichardsonsMoustache Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 @A'Villan : what an incredible post. I might have that read at my funeral. Thank you for inserting some sanity. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 If Jedinak was deemed OK as a CB option then El Ghazi is a valid striker option. Neither are competent enough to be relied on in those roles. Chris Samba was a better striker than Jedinak was a CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 8 hours ago, deeps said: 3rd time lucky... Today is the day Bloody jinx 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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