Philosopher Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 2 minutes ago, daggy_333 said: Or it could be that he's finally being coached properly? No need to be negative for the sake of being negative. He is confident that's the difference. Injuries and playing for Gerrard caused him to doubt himself. Now he is confident and feels loved his happy and is playing with freedom. It's not complicated. Obviously the team playing well and winning gives him motivation too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philosopher Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 2 minutes ago, Zatman said: Has now got more goals and assists in the league for us than Grealish has for City On current form he will surpass Grealish's best numbers for us. But Grealish is far more than assists and goals. But for pure excitement, players like Jack and Leon are who we love to watch the most! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philosopher Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 4 minutes ago, Xela said: Where is he going to go? He's in a top 4 team in the Premier League. The teams above us won't be in for him?. I'm delighted he is performing now... makes us look far more dangerous. City, Arsenal, and Liverpool have Doku, Saka, and Salah so they won't be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 2 minutes ago, Philosopher said: He is confident that's the difference. Injuries and playing for Gerrard caused him to doubt himself. Now he is confident and feels loved his happy and is playing with freedom. It's not complicated. Obviously the team playing well and winning gives him motivation too. I think he lost confidence in his body after he tore a muscle, which took a while to heal. It always seems that when players are at their absolute peak of fitness, they are vulnerable to muscle tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philosopher Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 34 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said: I think he lost confidence in his body after he tore a muscle, which took a while to heal. It always seems that when players are at their absolute peak of fitness, they are vulnerable to muscle tears. Exactly right. When you are at your peak physically, it's very easy to push yourself a step to far and end up overworking or training. If that happens injuries are more far more likely. When you're as explosive as Bailey is that gets magnified even more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 On balance I'd give him a new deal. His form certainly merits one and he has excellent european experience playing for Genk and Leverkusen. We make CL and we can't really afford to sell those types as we get a few injuries at the wrong time and suddenly Tim and Kesler Hayden might be needed to start a big CL match and that would make little sense as to how we've built the squad up over last two years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 42 minutes ago, MakemineVanilla said: I think he lost confidence in his body after he tore a muscle, which took a while to heal. It always seems that when players are at their absolute peak of fitness, they are vulnerable to muscle tears. If you look back to 21/22 he pulled up after that amazing Everton cameo which was a big blow and probably cost DS his job. Then he got injured early on under Gerrard and was out for a couple of months. Then pulled up v Norwich and season over. This is why we need to give Diaby more time. He hasn't had the injuries Bailey did but it's still trying to get up to premier league intensity. Second season you felt the lift off was him scoring that nice goal v Man. City but think he was still in and out of the team until Emery can in. Like for so many of the squad Emery is just the perfect manager for him at this point in his career. If we'd cut our losses in summer 2022 you could easily have seen him go to a Villareal type club and be amazing. This is the player I watched for years at Leverkusen so delighted he's finally showing that form most weeks for us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Some player when he is on it. A little inconsistant when he's given 90 minutes, although Emery knows to play him for 60-70, which is great management. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWARLEY2 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Little shin pads work just as well for him as they ever did for Grealish. Wouldn't swap him for Saka , Bowen or at this moment even Salah . He is coming into his peak 3 or 4 years with any luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 (edited) I ask myself....is it confidence or is it just settling in, and feeling a part of it all. sometimes, when you are on the peripheral of something, like a group and feel others are the louder voices, you can work within yourself......over time, you find yourself, in amongst the voices, your opinion is valued, and you feel a sense of responsibility to the group and the outcome of the shared objectives. The boss seems to talk to you differently, in a way, he values your contribution and it resonates with you. I feel that could be the change in Leon Bailey....but these things take time. Leon, to me looks a bit more responsible.....its in his play, its in his runs, and its in his shots. I could be dreaming, but I feel, I see it. Edited February 5 by TRO 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 7 hours ago, TRO said: I ask myself....is it confidence or is it just settling in, and feeling a part of it all. sometimes, when you are on the peripheral of something, like a group and feel others are the louder voices, you can work within yourself......over time, you find yourself, in amongst the voices, your opinion is valued, and you feel a sense of responsibility to the group and the outcome of the shared objectives. The boss seems to talks to you differently, in a way, he values your contribution and it resonates with you. I feel that could be the change in Leon Bailey....but these things take time. Leon, to me looks a bit more responsible.....its in his play, its in his runs, and its in his shots. I could be dreaming, but I feel, I see it. For me he must be one of the most difficult wide men to mark in the lesgue. His first touch is simply divine. He has thst swagger about his game now. Incredible player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rightdm00 Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Sent someone to the shadow realm for the second game in a row. 1st half near the corner flag. I've been looking for the highlight but haven't seen a good angle yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 17 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: Bloke asked him about the new contract new etc. He said " Well I did my job, I negotiated a lovely contract for him, Leon is happy, and the club is happy, the news will come out in the following days, if a big club comes in we will also still have the options the same " Yeah it's not things we want to hear, but I'm wondering if that is pointing to some sort of release clause or Gentleman's agreement in new contract etc Definitely some sort of clause it sounds like. Which is fine for both parties I think. If we're paying him good money, I'd expect a clause around £75/80m? If he plays like this every week, £75m is a bargain for someone. I would pay £1,000 to watch Monchi and Butler negotiate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinRichardsonsMoustache Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 (edited) 12 hours ago, Rightdm00 said: Sent someone to the shadow realm for the second game in a row. 1st half near the corner flag. I've been looking for the highlight but haven't seen a good angle yet. Sheff Utd YT has you covered (if the embedded vid doesn't work, it's at 5:06) Edited February 5 by KevinRichardsonsMoustache 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 (edited) 15 hours ago, PaulC said: For me he must be one of the most difficult wide men to mark in the lesgue. His first touch is simply divine. He has thst swagger about his game now. Incredible player When he is on it....he is poetry in motion. His shots with that left peg, are sublime. Edited February 5 by TRO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMelvillan Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 23 hours ago, MWARLEY2 said: Little shin pads work just as well for him as they ever did for Grealish. Wouldn't swap him for Saka , Bowen or at this moment even Salah . He is coming into his peak 3 or 4 years with any luck. Big shout. I reckon all three of those are possibly more effective and proven but Leon is so goddamn fun to watch right now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 23 hours ago, TRO said: I ask myself....is it confidence or is it just settling in, and feeling a part of it all. sometimes, when you are on the peripheral of something, like a group and feel others are the louder voices, you can work within yourself......over time, you find yourself, in amongst the voices, your opinion is valued, and you feel a sense of responsibility to the group and the outcome of the shared objectives. The boss seems to talk to you differently, in a way, he values your contribution and it resonates with you. I feel that could be the change in Leon Bailey....but these things take time. I think it's all of this, yes. Modern football is all about the immediate impact (managers getting sacked after half a season, players deemed not good enough after a handful of games et al) but any player - particularly younger ones, I imagine - uprooting to a completely different country and way of life is bound to take time to settle in. I think we (fans as a whole) often completely overlook non-football related issues. It's vital to get players settled and feeling like they belong somewhere; the club, the city, all of it. The South American contingent we have in the squad is probably a decent example of this; and it's probably helped Diego Carlos deal with his injury and come back into the fold. Bailey - as with many players - seems to be a confidence player. When he's not confident, it doesn't happen for him and he looks far slower and more timid. Now, we're seeing the confident side. He's Robben-lite; you know he'll cut in on to his left foot the vast majority of the time but he has the ability to skin you and cross with his right, too. What are you going to do? At the moment, the answer for those defenders is "struggle". Delighted for him, though. Been a tough year or so but he's a key player now. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted February 5 VT Supporter Share Posted February 5 23 hours ago, MWARLEY2 said: Little shin pads work just as well for him as they ever did for Grealish. Wouldn't swap him for Saka , Bowen or at this moment even Salah . Now we're just getting carried away 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 3 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: Now we're just getting carried away A year ago he wasn’t good enough for this league and now he’s better than Mo Salah 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MWARLEY2 Posted February 5 Popular Post Share Posted February 5 18 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: A year ago he wasn’t good enough for this league and now he’s better than Mo Salah Thats what being a fan is all about. Irrational statements and total love for your players !! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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