2021/22 expectations

[HalfTimePost]

1 minute ago, villalad21 said:

West Ham would struggle this season some people were saying 

Think it was on basis of the fixture pile up by being in Europe already. They clearly have a good squad, held onto their best players and are adding to it in small but important ways. Zouma will be a great addition for them.

Consistency in the squad is so undervalued. It's why Deans fighting an uphill battle this year with so much newness, give me consistency with a couple of key additions any day. 

They'll do well this year... Until the fixtures come thick and fast.. if they keep it up through that period then they can really build something

[villalad21]

1 minute ago, HalfTimePost said:

Think it was on basis of the fixture pile up by being in Europe already. They clearly have a good squad, held onto their best players and are adding to it in small but important ways. Zouma will be a great addition for them.

Consistency in the squad is so undervalued. It's why Deans fighting an uphill battle this year with so much newness, give me consistency with a couple of key additions any day. 

They'll do well this year... Until the fixtures come thick and fast.. if they keep it up through that period then they can really build something

How can they do well with such big and powerful units in midfield though. 

Such an outdated profile of player.. 

[HalfTimePost]

7 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Just out of interest (and this probably is really more for the expectations thread)…

Villa finished 11th last season, 7 points behind Spurs who finished 7th and qualified for Europe.

This season, if Villa finish 9th but we’re 10+ points away from 7th, are we happy with that? Is that progress?

Similarly if, say, Villa finish 12th but are somehow only six points off 7th place, would that be considered progress? 

Or are the above examples too much of a muchness?

It’s not a trap, I’m curious if it’s purely the league position and not really to do with points totals, how far off the pace we are. 

League position. United have won the title on 75 points before and City on 100pts. They both count just the same

[dont_do_it_doug.]

7 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Just out of interest (and this probably is really more for the expectations thread)…

Villa finished 11th last season, 7 points behind Spurs who finished 7th and qualified for Europe.

This season, if Villa finish 9th but we’re 10+ points away from 7th, are we happy with that? Is that progress?

Similarly if, say, Villa finish 12th but are somehow only six points off 7th place, would that be considered progress? 

Or are the above examples too much of a muchness?

It’s not a trap, I’m curious if it’s purely the league position and not really to do with points totals, how far off the pace we are. 

None of the above. Progress this season will be far less tangible. I am far more interested in how we end the season than how we begin it, even if that means we finish on a lower points total than last season. League position will be what it will be. 

[Monkeypuzzle]

To me, points are meaningless (avoided saying pointless). It's position in the table that determines success. I am hoping for a top ten finish. That in itself won't be easy, especially when losing our best player. However we have brought in great new additions and I think we have strengthened our squad far better than many of the teams who finished above us last year. If our team play to the level they are capable of we will probably get a European place. If they play like they did against Watford most weeks, or we suffer lots of injuries to key players then we will be lucky to match last year's position. However I am choosing to be optimistic and think we can improve on 11th place from last year!

[DCJonah]

West Ham a prime example of how finishing above multiple teams that finished above us last year is going to be incredibly difficult. 

Edited August 24, 2021 by DCJonah

[abdulaziz1]

3 hours ago, DCJonah said:

West Ham a prime example of how fi Islington above multiple teams that finished above us last year is going to be incredibly difficult. 

West Ham since last season were a very good team and consistent. You can’t compare them with Everton, Leeds or even Arsenal.
 

[Jas10]

Maybe I’m wrong but it seems like many are overlooking or disregarding how much of an effect losing a player we so heavily relied on could/will have on us… that is going to set us back a bit, only in the short term I hope. We can’t realistically expect the team to be “on fire” or on top form during the early period of this season…

This is a transitional time for us, it won’t be a smooth or easy ride. It won’t be predictable and it will take time for the team to settle, gel or find their rhythm or ideal style of play and system. The players we have brought in need time to understand the dynamic of the team and to make on field relationships and gain better understanding with/of their teammates…

Obviously, all of us are hoping we perform magnificently and finish as high as possible… 

But when looking at or considering things more realistically… it’s best to keep expectations in check and just try to enjoy the season, for all its potential ups and downs…

It would be excellent if we could get into those European places but I really don’t think we should expect it, nor get too annoyed or upset if we don’t achieve that, another 11th place finish would not be a disaster either. Hopefully we can do better, just depends on a numbers of factors.

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Jas10

[CVByrne]

I think if we can keep this squad fit for most of the season we'll be a better side than last season. I think some players played too many games and their form suffered, especially Luiz and McGinn. Aside from a few games at the start, Barkley got injured and then was close useless. Then Jack got injured. 

El Ghazi / Trezegeut played too many games last season and are not to the level we need. Traore got up to speed and improved, his attacking output was great for a first season. We also had no real options off the bench especially up front to get a goal. We now have top top class strikers in Ings and Watkins. We now have Bailey/Buendia/Traore as wide options. 

Sanson got injured and it's tough coming in when he did to impact last season. Ramsey looks like he's stepped up this season and with McGinn feeling like he's as fit as ever and not chasing fitness like he felt he was coming back from his broken leg. Luiz has won the Olympics and hopefully the competition for places pushes him on too. 

Then in defence we've Axel back who is a big improvement in Engles and can cover DM, RB, CB and allows us options. Young will push both full backs to higher levels and is a great addition to the squad. 

This squad and thus the strength of the teams we put out on average vs last season are much better. How quickly we gel is the key and especially the attacking quartet. We will be top half this season and get higher points and then another summer of 100m investment looms

[villa89]

Aston Villa Football Club Union of European Football Associations Conference League Winners 2022/2023.

#Daretodream.

[villa4europe]

42 minutes ago, villa89 said:

Aston Villa Football Club Union of European Football Associations Conference League Winners 2022/2023.

#Daretodream.

id take it to be honest

spurs lost to pacos who are currently 12th in the Portuguese league, lost at home yesterday to estoril, im not going to say its the equivalent of playing Barrow but next year games like that where we can start with chuk, ramsey, barry, kesler etc it would be absolutely **** huge for their development 

in the mix at the moment are spurs, union berlin, roma, basel, feyenoord, anderlecht so there'd be enough decent fixtures to not completely belittle it but there's also the team who finished 4th in the cypriot league, the team who finished 5th is israel 

i think it could be a better competition for us and development than the proper EL....and id want to win it

[PussEKatt]

On 23/08/2021 at 08:04, Czarnikjak said:

For me to asses progress I would look at things like points tally, goal difference, possession stats (shows how well we control games) and xG.

league position alone can sometimes be a bit misleading. Ie historically 55 points is normally enough for 8-9th place.

Last term we finished with 10 teams above us.Irrespective of league position/points the way we played etc etc.If we finish with 9 teams above us,thats progress.However that is very slow progress and I personally would be looking at 6th or better.

[ender4]

22 hours ago, Keyblade said:

I think we should go hard for the FA Cup. First time winning it since 1957 notwithstanding, it's a direct route into Europe. I think we have the squad for it.

The trouble with that is that we could meet Man United in the 3rd round and then Man City in the 4th round, etc.   You need some luck as well as skill to win the FA Cup.

[Keyblade]

2 hours ago, ender4 said:

The trouble with that is that we could meet Man United in the 3rd round and then Man City in the 4th round, etc.   You need some luck as well as skill to win the FA Cup.

Only team I'm worried about is City. If we draw them, then we're as good as out. Everybody else though is game on, mostly because they don't take the cups seriously (apart from Arsenal maybe). The problem with City is, even if they take the piss and play their 3rd team, that team is still comfortably world class.

[CVByrne]

19 hours ago, villalad21 said:

West Ham would struggle this season some people were saying 

Beat Newcastle (who re terrible) then won at home to 10 man Leicester. It's only 2 games in. Long way to go before we know who will do better or worse than last season

[villalad21]

35 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Beat Newcastle (who re terrible) then won at home to 10 man Leicester. It's only 2 games in. Long way to go before we know who will do better or worse than last season

They're an extremely powerful team and they've got flair too.

The full package imo. Will be interesting to see how they cope with Europe though.

[nepal_villan]

After the first three matches, and with all the injuries and disruptions we are facing, it's quite obvious this will be a transitional year. I'm recalibrating expectations to somewhere between 10th - 12th in the league table.  Still feel we have a very good young nucleus and can make the jump to Europe in the 2022-23 season with only 1 or 2 additions and a couple of the  Academy players maturing.  

[maxjackle]

10-12 is about as high as I see us going. Lower if these injuries and players missing due to internationals continues.

[Sulberto21]

After yesterday's performance and resilience I'm more confident about this season. If McGinn or Ramsey started yesterday we'd have probably won 'easily'. 

Konsa's injury looks like a concern though.

[NoelVilla]

Transfer window over and we know what the squad is until January. I expect a finish between 8th and 12th. Probably in the lower end of that. Wish we could have done more but I can be a bit patient. Have numbers in the squad now IMO and then we should try and get the specific targets we have. I can buy in to that strategy. We have lost a 100M player and if we are in the same position with money in the bank I can live with that season.