TheMelvillan Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 cant wait til the window closes and we can focus on the players we do have rather than the players we dont 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 1 minute ago, Delphinho123 said: Perhaps ‘no chance’ is a tad strong but no, I don’t think we’re quite there yet tbh. We’re very close, I’ll just be very confused if we don’t add another 2 starters to this side, especially as we’re currently in net profit this Summer. I don’t rate players like El Ghazi or Traore so mentioning them as squad players is fine but they’re both largely poor in most of the games they play. Shit, really? Those two players alone were directly (goals or assists) involved in 23 of our 55 league goals last season. Instead of relying on them, though, we now have them as bench options and they're both good enough (in parts, consistency is their main issue IMO) to have an impact coming on. Both proved that last season - even if they were brushed off the ball too easily/ran into blind alleys etc. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 5 minutes ago, Lord Willard said: Squad has improved but the first 11 hasnt Yeh, that is kind of where I'm at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RichiBoi11 Posted August 13, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2021 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Lord Willard said: Squad has improved but the first 11 hasnt I think you could argue the opposite on the first 11. Yes there's no player of Grealish's quality anymore, but surely by having attacking threat across all three forward sections rather than just the left, that in turn improves the first 11. Sometimes a cohesive unit can be greater than a side built around one fulcrum. Edited August 13, 2021 by RichiBoi11 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam100 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, bobzy said: Shit, really? Those two players alone were directly (goals or assists) involved in 23 of our 55 league goals last season. Instead of relying on them, though, we now have them as bench options and they're both good enough (in parts, consistency is their main issue IMO) to have an impact coming on. Both proved that last season - even if they were brushed off the ball too easily/ran into blind alleys etc. Indeed! For all their inconsistencies and flakiness it was amazing how many goals they contributed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKP90 Posted August 13, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted August 13, 2021 1 hour ago, Villaphil said: Stoooooop, or at yeast make them funny !! Meh, i’ll take it. Better than the fish last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turvontour Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 8 minutes ago, Lord Willard said: Squad has improved but the first 11 hasnt I dont think the first eleven needed to improve. We were 5th or 6th for most of the season but then lost our main player. It was not being able to breakthrough and beat teams like sheff u, newcastle, wolves etc without grealish that was the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul514 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Everyone else think the link the Mail put out on Mario Hermoso is bollocks as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichiBoi11 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 2 minutes ago, paul514 said: Everyone else think the link the Mail put out on Mario Hermoso is bollocks as well? Considering noone is discussing it I'd say you might be on to something lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 I think our first XI is already stronger than last season. If we can add, two of JWP, Pape Sarr or Doucoure, it’ll be golden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May-Z Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 13 hours ago, HalfTimePost said: No point discussing Rice, he wouldn't come here Would've been good. Gonna cry into my pilau tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarryOnVilla Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Is it just me, or is the last couple of years of signings have mostly been English speakers, either natives or as a second language. Is speaking English more important than raw talent in our transfer activities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pez1974 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Quote from Deano in his press conference.... Obviously Jack going was a big loss - we wanted to keep him but we would have added more creativity and have added more creativity with Buendia whether Jack stayed or not So - Buendia might be part of the Jack replacement plan - but he was also part of the plan if we kept him. So he's not bought using the Jack money. Doesn't mean we're gonna spend another £40m - in the current financial climate, having money available so that we can take advantage of bargains is always wise. I trust the owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCollins29 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Emi emi Cash cash Targett targett Konsa konsa Mings mings Doug doug Mcginn mcginn Traore bailey Barkley buendia Grealish ollie Ollie ings 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, CarryOnVilla said: Is it just me, or is the last couple of years of signings have mostly been English speakers, either natives or as a second language. Is speaking English more important than raw talent in our transfer activities? I think Deano definitely likes English speaking players as the core of his squad. I suppose it’s easier to settle them and communicate quickly in situations (training or matches). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 5 minutes ago, CarryOnVilla said: Is it just me, or is the last couple of years of signings have mostly been English speakers, either natives or as a second language. Is speaking English more important than raw talent in our transfer activities? I would say there is a massive emphasis on character and personality. Maybe it’s easier for the club to make a judgment on this when able to speak directly with the player. Just a thought. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsky_11 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: I think the league has changed slightly and the gap between the top and bottom has widened. Teams like Watford, Newcastle, Norwich, Brentford, Southampton, Burnley will all struggle this season and therefore teams will take more points from them. I don’t see us getting anywhere near Europe with our current side tbh. Hopefully I’m proven wrong! Agree the bottom half was poor last season, but then top 4 were worse than normal. I'd expect some improvement from both ends this season. Will be important that this doesn't affect our points total though. Even if its the same as last season, flip our two defeats to West Ham to wins and we'd have been 7th. Doesn't feel like it would take much for us to be up there. Not saying we'll definitely be there, just the gap isn't that big. The biggest issue is obviously what wins out of loss of Grealish vs the new signings (and perhaps a base improvement in what is a young, developing existing squad) For me it looks like this: Buendia replacing Grealish - expect some drop in goal/chance creation but still pretty good, midfield to forward transition may drop a bit as well, but forward defence/pressing much improved Bailey replacing Traore/El Ghazi - should provide a more consistent goal threat and chance creation, added pace give more varied attacking options Ings replacing Barkley - much greater goal threat, better work rate and forward pressing, will maybe put more pressure on the midfield two assuming higher position taken (though better work rate may offset this) Beyond those changes, we've also got much better depth than last season - Young over Taylor, Guilbert over Elmo, Axel over Engels, El Ghazi and Traore back ups not starters, Watkins missing would mean Ings upfront with a better replacement elsewhere rather than Davis upfront. Then we've also got Ramsey, Chuk and JPB to come through. That to me looks fairly positive overall, but probably means greater reliance on the midfield two for transition to the forwards. I get the feeling we'll see an improvement from McGinn this season and a lot more of Sanson as well so one of the midfield positions is well covered. The other position is more of a worry, as we probably need a hybrid of Nakamba and Luiz rather than one or the other. But then links such as Doucoure seems to suggest that is exactly what we are looking for, so pretty confident we'll improve here before the window closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarryOnVilla Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Just now, ferguson1 said: I think Deano definitely likes English speaking players as the core of his squad. I suppose it’s easier to settle them and communicate quickly in situations (training or matches). Yeah I’m also feeling it’s a Dean preference. The ginger sod can’t be bothered learning new languages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferguson1 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Just now, CarryOnVilla said: Yeah I’m also feeling it’s a Dean preference. The ginger sod can’t be bothered learning new languages Strawberry Blonde? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarryOnVilla Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Just now, ferguson1 said: Strawberry Blonde? Ginger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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