January Transfers 2019/20

[danceoftheshamen]

You really don't wanna see my dress pics at 16. Black spikey hair, chains and all sorts I remember i used to get picked on by the coppers due to my extreme look. Was at a game once at Villa Park in the Holte end (When it was terraced) and the whole crowd was swearing.... guess who got picked on & evicted.

To get back on topic re transfers...

Something is clearly not quite right in midfield, would like to see Nzonzi to add some grit and forward passing ability as those seem to be the missing ingredients.

Edited January 18, 2020 by danceoftheshamen

[M_Afro]

50 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

Is McGinn a snowflake? Is Heaton?

I’m sorry TRO but you’re talking complete codswallop. We have a relatively balanced squad, relative to the money spent. There’s just only so much proven quality you can add into a balanced squad when you have £120m

Who should we have signed, in your expert opinion? Perhaps a striker with character, grit & goals like Mitrovic... who got relegated.

Maybe we needed some Premier League experience... like Heaton, Targett, Mings, Taylor, Grealish and Elmo.

There’s a mix of premier league experience, character and quality in our squad. I don’t know what else you’re realistically saying we should have done/ or should be doing. 
 

The glaringly obvious failure was another option in the striking department. Most fans said that at the start of the season.

 

Blaming a bit-part squad player like Jota is a strange call. We clearly needed a squad. Hence why we brought in some cheap players (eg: Jota, Hause) and kept some players that are likely not Prem quality but will be Championship quality if we don’t stay up (eg: Hourihane).

I have to agree with TRO to be honest. All of our players are too similar. We desperately lack pace, size, physicality and experience. Our players aren’t bad players and I think some will go on to be very good but they need help. Think of the midfield two. No matter who we play in there we are always unbalanced.

[Rob182]

43 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I have to agree with TRO to be honest. All of our players are too similar. We desperately lack pace, size, physicality and experience. Our players aren’t bad players and I think some will go on to be very good but they need help. Think of the midfield two. No matter who we play in there we are always unbalanced.

We’re much more unbalanced since our injury problems, but prior to that, I’d say that McGinn was enough of a battler in our midfield,  our defence was sufficiently ‘sized’, and the forwards/wide players was a decent mix of flair/strength. Of course we’ve lacked a second striker, but as I’ve said, everyone knew that from the start.

 

It just sounds to me like hindsight is being used as superior knowledge. 

[M_Afro]

2 minutes ago, Rob182 said:

We’re much more unbalanced since our injury problems, but prior to that, I’d say that McGinn was enough of a battler in our midfield,  our defence was sufficiently ‘sized’, and the forwards/wide players was a decent mix of flair/strength. Of course we’ve lacked a second striker, but as I’ve said, everyone knew that from the start.

 

It just sounds to me like hindsight is being used as superior knowledge. 

Ha ha. Disagree I’m afraid. McGinn does not offer pace or height in midfield. He does his battling high up the pitch. We need a bigger, stronger player in the other two.

Our full backs are fairly diminutive. Only Elmo has any real ability in the air and he is far from dominant.

We have absolutely no pace in the forward line.

I have been of this opinion all season to be honest. Hindsight not required.

[M_Afro]

Get a quality centre midfielder or we go down. Simple. 

[useless]

Signing Nzonzi feels like a must, or someone similar.

[Tom13]

I don't wanna see another mention of Maupay in here. Such a horrible word removed.

[Farlz]

Maupay is one of those shithouse players you adore when he's on your team and despise if playing against you. 

[VillaHatesMe]

15 minutes ago, Farlz said:

Maupay is one of those shithouse players you adore when he's on your team and despise if playing against you. 

He's the kind of player we could use one or two of.

[TheAuthority]

8 hours ago, Mazrim said:

All about Farah. If you didnt have a pair of hideous "sports slacks" in 1987, you were nobody. Of course, you added Kickers clown shoes and a ski jacket to complete the look.

And drown yourself in Kouros so they can smell you from Lye to Merry Hill.

[A'Villan]

1 hour ago, M_Afro said:

Get a quality centre midfielder or we go down. Simple. 

 

1 hour ago, useless said:

Signing Nzonzi feels like a must, or someone similar.

Agree that midfield is lacking, to play the way Smith has in mind. That's the biggest plughole. If we don't sign competently, I'd be putting Grealish there as of next game.

We more than likely wouldn't get him, because it would mean that N'Zonzi would have to remain there, but I would love Oliver Torres.

Torres' defensive contribution is immense, his only fault being he won't win aerial duels. He's also sound on the ball with passing and close control.

He's incisive, and exactly the kind of well rounded midfielder we're crying out for to play in Smith's system, very capable at both ends.

We'll never get him, but accompanied by Luiz or McGinn, or both, would make for excellent partners in crime, opponents wouldn't know what hit them as we'd wreak havoc.

Grealish would now be on the receiving end of good supply and delivery from a midfield mentioned above. He'd have license to roam free in a forward role.

The most important thing about this, also mentioned above, opponents wouldn't know where to look, as Grealish would no longer be sole focus in attack, for us or them.

We could depend on having adequate players to fulfill the needs of the system we employ, and Smith's work would actually become an entity of it's own and make us dynamic.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by A'Villan

[Guest av1]

57 minutes ago, VillaHatesMe said:

He's the kind of player we could use one or two of.

Yep, can't remember the last nasty sod we had. We've been soft for years. 

[LondonLax]

2 hours ago, M_Afro said:

Get a quality centre midfielder or we go down. Simple. 

The return of McGinn?

[DaveAV1]

3 minutes ago, av1 said:

Yep, can't remember the last nasty sod we had. We've been soft for years. 

I’m not sure we’ve ever had a nasty sod in my Villa lifetime going back to the early 70s. But we have had plenty of hard men who took no nonsense off anyone. Macca is always remembered for just being so good and reading the game just incredibly well, but he was also hard as nails. No one messed with Alun Evans, Ken McNaught or Peter Withe. Frank Carrodus, Alex Crowley and Sid Cowans weren’t hard men but were just tough and would run through brick walls for the team every game.

More recently we’ve had Martin Laursen, Olof Melberg, Carlos Cuellar etc. None of these players were nasty but they were rock solid and refused to yield in the face of any opposition. For me that is what the current team lacks. The opposition need to know they’ve been in a game win, lose or draw. 

We don’t need nasty and we all remember what Dion did to that nasty little cowardly sh1t, who’s name I won’t mention, but we do need tough. 

[Thug]

24 minutes ago, av1 said:

Yep, can't remember the last nasty sod we had. We've been soft for years. 

Mings.

 

[Guest av1]

1 minute ago, DaveAV1 said:

I’m not sure we’ve ever had a nasty sod in my Villa lifetime going back to the early 70s. But we have had plenty of hard men who took no nonsense off anyone. Macca is always remembered for just being so good and reading the game just incredibly well, but he was also hard as nails. No one messed with Alun Evans, Ken McNaught or Peter Withe. Frank Carrodus, Alex Crowley and Sid Cowans weren’t hard men but were just tough and would run through brick walls for the team every game.

More recently we’ve had Martin Laursen, Olof Melberg, Carlos Cuellar etc. None of these players were nasty but they were rock solid and refused to yield in the face of any opposition. For me that is what the current team lacks. The opposition need to know they’ve been in a game win, lose or draw. 

We don’t need nasty and we all remember what Dion did to that nasty little cowardly sh1t, who’s name I won’t mention, but we do need tough. 

Fair point mate, difficult to disagree with any of that. 

Maybe nasty wasn't the right work, but I think we need to change the mindset. Watching Man City still hacking down Grealish everytime he got the ball, even at 4/5-0 was an eye opener. We just don't have that "win at any cost" mentality that I think all top sportsman/women have 

[DaveAV1]

8 minutes ago, av1 said:

Fair point mate, difficult to disagree with any of that. 

Maybe nasty wasn't the right work, but I think we need to change the mindset. Watching Man City still hacking down Grealish everytime he got the ball, even at 4/5-0 was an eye opener. We just don't have that "win at any cost" mentality that I think all top sportsman/women have 

Totally agree. 

[sir_gary_cahill]

46 minutes ago, av1 said:

Yep, can't remember the last nasty sod we had. We've been soft for years. 

Edit- Just seen Thug’s post 

Edited January 18, 2020 by sir_gary_cahill

[astondalston]

1 hour ago, av1 said:

Yep, can't remember the last nasty sod we had. We've been soft for years. 

 

[Rob182]

6 hours ago, M_Afro said:

Ha ha. Disagree I’m afraid. McGinn does not offer pace or height in midfield. He does his battling high up the pitch. We need a bigger, stronger player in the other two.

Our full backs are fairly diminutive. Only Elmo has any real ability in the air and he is far from dominant.

We have absolutely no pace in the forward line.

I have been of this opinion all season to be honest. Hindsight not required.

I don’t disagree with the pace part. I, and many others, have also said that from the start of the season. I was talking about McGinn being a battler. 

We need a bigger, stronger player in the other 2 centre midfielders? I see a lot of people saying this, like it will suddenly solve all of our problems. I’ve got news for you. It won’t. We’ll still be a squad cobbled together on a budget due to years of squad mismanagement. The only difference is we’ll have some lumbering lump in the middle, picking up yellow cards and being the next scapegoat when they don’t suddenly inspire us to a Watford-esq winning run.