Popular Post villa4europe Posted October 21, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted October 21, 2021 (edited) 54 minutes ago, foreveryoung said: Signing Bailey to replace Grealish does not mean we are in transition. Yes we have Buendia and Ing's, but I hardly think we need a transition period to bed them in. This is down to the manager to sort the system a.s.a.p. If anything, injuries to Bailey is the only excuse at the moment. If bringing in a few of the youth is going to drop us a few places at the end of the season, I doubt this is a good idea, although it's down to Smith to manage this. no it doesnt still having to use the players that we had in the championship (el ghazi, hause) and players that we bought to fight a relegation battle (nakamba, trez) and gap fillers until we find someone better (young, tuanzebe) and players that just arent good enough (davies, steer) means that we are still in transition we may have a couple of top 7 players, but its only a couple, we have a mid table squad sat in mid table, we still need to transition to a top 7 squad, we're not there yet, it still needs another summer and maybe another year or 2 of the youngsters progressing before you can say this is top 7 squad Edited October 21, 2021 by villa4europe 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykeyb Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 3 minutes ago, villa4europe said: we may have a couple of top 7 players, but its only a couple. 2........really? If Purslow put the starting 11 up for sale tomorrow I think more than 2 would be bough by top 6 clubs. I could make a case for nearly everyone apart from our fullbacks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 1 minute ago, mykeyb said: 2........really? If Purslow put the starting 11 up for sale tomorrow I think more than 2 would be bough by top 6 clubs. I could make a case for nearly everyone apart from our fullbacks. martinez and bailey are the only two id be 100% sure of being a 1st choice starter for some of last years top 7 luiz, konsa, mings, watkins and ings would make benches and get games at a few of them martinez at man utd is the only player that i would say would be a guaranteed starter for a top 4 club, he's better than de gea but no one else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mykeyb Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 2 minutes ago, villa4europe said: martinez and bailey are the only two id be 100% sure of being a 1st choice starter for some of last years top 7 luiz, konsa, mings, watkins and ings would make benches and get games at a few of them martinez at man utd is the only player that i would say would be a guaranteed starter for a top 4 club, he's better than de gea but no one else a valid opinion, I disagree. I think that once we work out the system thats fits the players we have rather than picking a formation and trying to accomodate signings you will see better results. A team is as good as the sum of its parts, a good manager makes it better and a poor manager makes it worse. Dean is a very good coach, not sure where he is as a manager. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 25 minutes ago, foreveryoung said: I'm still not convinced we have made many players any better than when they were first brought in, Grealish aside. I can’t disagree more but I’m not sure how we’d convince you otherwise because there are always stats both ways but a lot of it is about opinion. I think the likes of Luiz and Konsa are undoubtedly better players than when they first came in for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Griffin Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 7 minutes ago, nick76 said: I can’t disagree more but I’m not sure how we’d convince you otherwise because there are always stats both ways but a lot of it is about opinion. I think the likes of Luiz and Konsa are undoubtedly better players than when they first came in for example. I was going to say those two have improved too but being devil's advocate. The have changed from 20 and 21 years old when they joined us. Is their improvement significantly greater than the normal expected improvement in a professional football player with potential at that age? I think Konsa has probably improved very well, I am not so sure about Dougie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said: So our team was under performing in relation to the players we had? I think if you look at our strongest team now and our strongest team then. Only Mings, Konsa, Luiz, Targett and Mcginn remain. I think that answers the question. Edited October 21, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Looks like 352 again vs Arsenals and if a Bailey cameo doesn’t save us this board will be fun after the game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 1 hour ago, VillanousOne said: Looks like 352 again vs Arsenals and if a Bailey cameo doesn’t save us this board will be fun after the game. What makes you say that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyp Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 We need to utilise our width more. We landed on the 3-5-2 for a few games, got lucky but it’s not sustainable. Can’t be leaving attacking talent like Traore on the bench. And if it means going one up top so be it, can’t fit everyone in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Afro Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 1 hour ago, nick76 said: I honestly never look at Villa or football like that I look over at least slightly longer periods because anything can happen in one or two games. We do have a habit of taking results against the 'considered' bigger teams and slip up occasionally against smaller teams. So even if we smash both Arsenal and West Ham I will still try and be calm and look at the bigger picture that while that may happen we'll probably still end up around midtable. Likewise if we lose to Arsenal and West Ham I will be bitterly disappointed and likely keep away from this site but still think we'll end up midtable. Obviously 5 minutes before the game I will be saying to my family this is a must win game and will be jumping for joy or about to kill somebody during the 90 minutes and for the rest of the night depending on the result but that's in the heat of the moment. I just look over a period and assess, I dont know why I do that and I know some people do that and some people dont, I've had many discussions about that on here.... I really hope we backlash against Arsenal to be honest and give them a kicking like we have done recently over the last year or so....we'll see. I think the bold bit above is right. The thing is, if we lose at least one of the next two matches, we will have lost at least half of our first ten matches. That is a reasonable period to assess form and that is not a good stat. Lose both and Smith will be under massive pressure. I have said before that I love smith and desperately want him to succeed but he has never truly managed to convince me. I think our recruitment in the summer has unbalanced our team and I really think he is struggling to get to grips with it. I hope that he soon reverts to 4-3-3. I hope that he strengthens our midfield soon (although it may be worth waiting until the summer now). Even he acknowledges that we are a top half squad but we haven’t really played like that yet this season. Our losses to Watford, Wolves and Spurs were all really poor performances and although we played well in creating chances against Chelsea, our defending and finishing were awful and thus you can’t really call it a good performance. Much to ponder. Hopefully we will respond with a few wins on the bounce. I know we won the last two of last season but we have really struggled to get a run of wins together. Three or four wins on the bounce would make the world of difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 48 minutes ago, Johnnyp said: We need to utilise our width more. We landed on the 3-5-2 for a few games, got lucky but it’s not sustainable. Can’t be leaving attacking talent like Traore on the bench. And if it means going one up top so be it, can’t fit everyone in. But that because Bailey and Traore have been injured and even Traore wasn’t 100% on the bench Saturday. I agree we need to go 433 but attacking players are only just coming fit to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 (edited) 9 minutes ago, M_Afro said: I think the bold bit above is right. The thing is, if we lose at least one of the next two matches, we will have lost at least half of our first ten matches. That is a reasonable period to assess form and that is not a good stat. Lose both and Smith will be under massive pressure. I have said before that I love smith and desperately want him to succeed but he has never truly managed to convince me. I think our recruitment in the summer has unbalanced our team and I really think he is struggling to get to grips with it. I hope that he soon reverts to 4-3-3. I hope that he strengthens our midfield soon (although it may be worth waiting until the summer now). Even he acknowledges that we are a top half squad but we haven’t really played like that yet this season. Our losses to Watford, Wolves and Spurs were all really poor performances and although we played well in creating chances against Chelsea, our defending and finishing were awful and thus you can’t really call it a good performance. Much to ponder. Hopefully we will respond with a few wins on the bounce. I know we won the last two of last season but we have really struggled to get a run of wins together. Three or four wins on the bounce would make the world of difference. I think you have some good points but slightly unbalanced argument. Not having most of our attacking talent for most of that time through injury with Ollie out for games, Bailey and Traore barely been fit, Buendia the same and Sanson not featuring. I want us to revert to 433 and I think we will when we have the players back and fit. I also think we need more strength in the middle of the park in summer just gone but didn’t so we go with what we got. I don’t understand not being convinced by Smith but that’s always a personal view so I respect your view on that. Edited October 21, 2021 by nick76 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Griffin Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 23 minutes ago, nick76 said: I want us to revert to 433 and I think we will when we have the players back and fit What players did we need fit to play 433 against Wolves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 22 minutes ago, M_Afro said: I think the bold bit above is right. The thing is, if we lose at least one of the next two matches, we will have lost at least half of our first ten matches. That is a reasonable period to assess form and that is not a good stat. Lose both and Smith will be under massive pressure. I have said before that I love smith and desperately want him to succeed but he has never truly managed to convince me. I think our recruitment in the summer has unbalanced our team and I really think he is struggling to get to grips with it. I hope that he soon reverts to 4-3-3. I hope that he strengthens our midfield soon (although it may be worth waiting until the summer now). Even he acknowledges that we are a top half squad but we haven’t really played like that yet this season. Our losses to Watford, Wolves and Spurs were all really poor performances and although we played well in creating chances against Chelsea, our defending and finishing were awful and thus you can’t really call it a good performance. Much to ponder. Hopefully we will respond with a few wins on the bounce. I know we won the last two of last season but we have really struggled to get a run of wins together. Three or four wins on the bounce would make the world of difference. The encouraging thing for me is....We managed to score goals in all those 3 games you have picked out....scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in this league.....only once in the league have we failed to score and that was against the reigning European champions. I say this guardedly, but I think we might be barking up the wrong tree....We are scoring....What we struggle with is controlling the game, we are too easy to play against....we have to find a way to improve that. we are generally win one, lose one,draw one, win one, lose one.....in batches of 5 will always contribute to our inconsistency....that gives us around where we finished last season....it only needs tweaking to improve....3 more wins on top of last years 16, gives us real tangible progress 64 points....we can really only afford another 8/ 9 defeats.....we have to find a way of not being beat, and still scoring goals in games like we are, clean sheets are key, to all this. If we can keep a clean sheet against Man U and Everton....its doable, its within our capabilty, whether its in our sustainability is another question....that for me is another key part to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 44 minutes ago, nick76 said: I think you have some good points but slightly unbalanced argument. Not having most of our attacking talent for most of that time through injury with Ollie out for games, Bailey and Traore barely been fit, Buendia the same and Sanson not featuring. I want us to revert to 433 and I think we will when we have the players back and fit. I also think we need more strength in the middle of the park in summer just gone but didn’t so we go with what we got. I don’t understand not being convinced by Smith but that’s always a personal view so I respect your view on that. Like you Nick, I think we do too. What we don't know is: a) Does Dean agree with us, but hasn't got around to it ( strengthening other area's and balancing budgets) and intends to. or b) Just doesn't agree with us and thinks midfield is no issue. If its the later, that might be the reason some folk are not convinced. Personally, I have always felt Brentford was a bit on the soft side....But Thomas Frank et al has added steel to the side and is getting, his just rewards.....I get, he has to continue to do it and its early days, but so far he has shown a marked shift in Brentford for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Griffin Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Just now, TRO said: a) Does Dean agree with us, but hasn't got around to it ( strengthening other area's and balancing budgets) and intends to. or b) Just doesn't agree with us and thinks midfield is no issue. That is something I would love to know the answer to. A caveat to b) would be that he may agree it is an issue this season but could believe he has the youth coming through and we should be okay next season and he is also potentially relying on Sanson's fitness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 20 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said: What players did we need fit to play 433 against Wolves? We could’ve played 433 no doubt but I don’t think it’s the players that are fit the he wants to play it. Bailey was out, Traore and Sanson were on the bench and not 100% and definitely not match fit. We couldve moved Buendia up front to play with Ollie and Danny, dropped Axel and brought in Ramsey or Nakamba I suppose. Given the rhetoric on here this last week how lesser quality those two are I hadn’t mentioned that. Or leave Buendia in midfield and drop Axel and bring in AEG upfront but AEG has been questioned on this forum as well. So who knows! I think once Bailey is fit to start (I assume tomo he’ll come as sub) we’ll definitely move to 433. What he does tomorrow I don’t know. I would like to move to 433 and I think he might but I’m guessing some on here will be complaining that while they are happy Axel would be dropped, we move to a 433, they can’t believe XXX player (Insert AEG, Ramsey, Nakamba or whoever) has been picked. He may stick with the 352 and while I wouldn’t be in favour of that I’ll have to judge how the game goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 7 minutes ago, TRO said: Like you Nick, I think we do too. What we don't know is: a) Does Dean agree with us, but hasn't got around to it ( strengthening other area's and balancing budgets) and intends to. or b) Just doesn't agree with us and thinks midfield is no issue. If its the later, that might be the reason some folk are not convinced. Personally, I have always felt Brentford was a bit on the soft side....But Thomas Frank et al has added steel to the side and is getting, his just rewards.....I get, he has to continue to do it and its early days, but so far he has shown a marked shift in Brentford for me. We did try pretty hard to sign JWP this summer and Kalvin Phillips the year before that which suggest otherwise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Just now, sne said: We did try pretty hard to sign JWP this summer and Kalvin Phillips the year before that which suggest otherwise. and those French league players…I think it was Sarr and Doucoure I think their names were. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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