Jas10 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, gwi1890 said: But why do people hate Craig Butler so much? The man took a load of kids of the street taught them to read and write put a roof over their heads built a football academy and worked night shifts cleaning toilets to provide for them. It’s a very fair point… maybe it’s his demeanour or a touch of arrogance that he exudes… but no one can deny the work he has done and what he has achieved… Leon wouldn’t be here with us otherwise would he? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 5 hours ago, ChesterDad said: Come on JV - you know exactly what I mean? For two years for whatever reason - he offered us very little, put your hand on your heart and tell me - if he had left in the summer, would you have been bothered ?? 6 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Yes. And as I said it was two years before anything but glimpses were seen. This is a very boring conversation isn't it. Some people think he was OK/good, some people think he wasn't very good. Right now he is brilliant. I'm enjoying it and I'm sure you are as well. Sign da ting Leon. He had 8 goal contributions in 22/23 season whilst being out injured for a chunk as well as in low form. He was also player of the month in December 2022? He signed for us in summer 2021 and has been on fire in 23/24. So even when he was in shite form and out injured, inferring he did " nothing " for two years is gross exaggeration. Note: Even i publicly gave up on him at one point. Edited February 7 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted February 7 VT Supporter Share Posted February 7 I'll admit I was ready to cut this guy loose. I thought he was shit to be honest and would have got rid in the summer. He's certainly changed my mind. I've gone from wanting him sold to being happy that he's getting a new contract as one of our top earners Fair play to him 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwi1890 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 7 minutes ago, Jas10 said: It’s a very fair point… maybe it’s his demeanour or a touch of arrogance that he exudes… but no one can deny the work he has done and what he has achieved… Leon wouldn’t be here with us otherwise would he? Maybe he’s just a good dad/coach/mentor that backs his clients not sure if that’s the right word to succeed and defends and sticks by them no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I never thought he was shit, just extremely inconsistent player. Just shows what good coaching can do.Along with the rest of the squad. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan95 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Probably the player I most enjoy watching in our team at the moment. Always feels like something is about to happen when he gets the ball. A fantastic turnaround from a player that I think most of us had almost given up on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 2 hours ago, gwi1890 said: But why do people hate Craig Butler so much? The man took a load of kids of the street taught them to read and write put a roof over their heads built a football academy and worked night shifts cleaning toilets to provide for them. Because he's outspoken and he's an agent. Either one of these things is enough for people to hate him, but in tandem? Might as well be the devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 You know what’s kind of amazing? Or so pleasing to see? Not so long ago… we only had one “star player” and one who we overly relied on (arguably to the detriment of the rest of the team or players)… Now… we have multiple key players… who are also stars in their own right… Where there was one player we relied on (while fighting off the threat of relegation), we now have several who have taken us to much higher levels and degree of competition: * The world’s best goalkeeper * I would say Mings was key but the injury has sidelined him and Konsa has stepped up incredibly well, Ezri is hugely important to us now. * Pau has shown his class and what we miss when he’s not in the side. Elite. * Kamara is essential to us and we don’t have an alternative or replacement - again, we suffered for his absence when was suspended… * Luiz is our playmaker and makes us tick, simply superb. We struggle to create when he’s not in the side… * McGinn is our heartbeat, our energy, our fire, our fight - when he is on it, the whole team thrives… we do struggle without him too. * Bailey is our most potent attacking threat and probably our most entertaining player… he helps us win games… what a turnaround… * Watkins…. top class CF who works tirelessly and continues to improve… Tielemans is showing his worth now too… And there are others who will join this list (Moussa will shine soon, Ramsey will be back to his best - superb last season alongside Moreno on that left hand side)… We’re just a much, much better team and it’s all thanks to Unai… we’re only going to get better… Great times… UTV 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayEm Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 When he received the ball in that position against Sheffield United I was so sure he was going to score. Never had such a strong sense of that with a footballer before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChesterDad Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 3 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: He had 8 goal contributions in 22/23 season whilst being out injured for a chunk as well as in low form. He was also player of the month in December 2022? He signed for us in summer 2021 and has been on fire in 23/24. So even when he was in shite form and out injured, inferring he did " nothing " for two years is gross exaggeration. Note: Even i publicly gave up on him at one point. JV - This one could go around and around. Suffice to say, he is now playing really well and long may it continue. We disagree on his past, but if he keeps performing like he is now, this will soon become a distant memory to even to past doubters like myself 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rightdm00 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 A player having a poor performance does not trigger some requirement for people to spam their negative energy all over social media. Also, you know it never stops at the performance. Eventually you get poster(s) who slander the character of the player. Calling him lazy, or something else along those lines. Do you get a prize for being the first to call a player sh*t, maybe I'm unaware. Then eventually the player comes good and now you have to write a lengthy post about how you were right then but also right in the present as well. No "mea culpa" or "my bad" to be seen. We've seen this now with any number of players since our promotion. El Ghazi, Mings, McGinn.... Probably at least half the players in the squad have gotten this treatment. Leon is just our most recent example. Maybe just sit on that negative opinion longer than one game. Maybe, I know this is mad, give the player time to get up to speed with the most competitive football league on the planet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 22 minutes ago, ChesterDad said: JV - This one could go around and around. Suffice to say, he is now playing really well and long may it continue. We disagree on his past, but if he keeps performing like he is now, this will soon become a distant memory to even to past doubters like myself It goes that way because you don't address any of the points refuting your objectively wrong claims. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChesterDad Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 9 minutes ago, lexicon said: It goes that way because you don't address any of the points refuting your objectively wrong claims. With respect - we see things differently, that does not make you right and me wrong and vice versa. When it comes to this topic, maybe we agree to disagree ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 His new contract being signed in the new 3 days apparently, a deal till 2027 is expected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 3 hours ago, Jas10 said: You know what’s kind of amazing? Or so pleasing to see? Not so long ago… we only had one “star player” and one who we overly relied on (arguably to the detriment of the rest of the team or players)… Now… we have multiple key players… who are also stars in their own right… Where there was one player we relied on (while fighting off the threat of relegation), we now have several who have taken us to much higher levels and degree of competition: * The world’s best goalkeeper * I would say Mings was key but the injury has sidelined him and Konsa has stepped up incredibly well, Ezri is hugely important to us now. * Pau has shown his class and what we miss when he’s not in the side. Elite. * Kamara is essential to us and we don’t have an alternative or replacement - again, we suffered for his absence when was suspended… * Luiz is our playmaker and makes us tick, simply superb. We struggle to create when he’s not in the side… * McGinn is our heartbeat, our energy, our fire, our fight - when he is on it, the whole team thrives… we do struggle without him too. * Bailey is our most potent attacking threat and probably our most entertaining player… he helps us win games… what a turnaround… * Watkins…. top class CF who works tirelessly and continues to improve… Tielemans is showing his worth now too… And there are others who will join this list (Moussa will shine soon, Ramsey will be back to his best - superb last season alongside Moreno on that left hand side)… We’re just a much, much better team and it’s all thanks to Unai… we’re only going to get better… Great times… UTV What I like most about it, is that they are organically developed " stars " as well. We didn't go after them chasing stars, they've grown into stars here and with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: What I like most about it, is that they are organically developed " stars " as well. We didn't go after them chasing stars, they've grown into stars here and with us. Absolutely… it’s crazy to think how well Mings and McGinn (both club legends afaic) have stepped up, for example, considering they were part of our journey and rise back to becoming an established and competitive PL side… and how highly a world class coach and manager as Unai rates and respects them… they even commented on both how luck they feel to be educated by him but also regret that they didn’t get this level of coaching earlier in their careers… then we have the players that joined us ahead of our PL return such as Konsa and Luiz… what fantastic players they have become! Just shows what can be achieved with good coaching and patience and how much you can bring out of players, not even just young(er) ones… I think attitude/personality (desire, workrate) plays a huge part aswell… it’s why someone like Ollie is doing so well and was well identified as someone to help us and fill that CF spot that we have regularly failed to get right over the years… We did make some good signings during Dean’s time… and well done to Bruce for bringing in McGinn too… Maybe Emi just needed the responsibility but I doubt anyone could have predicted him becoming this good and winning the World Cup at the point of his signing… So pleasing and something to admire… Back to Leon… pleased, yet surprising, to see you state that he’s looking better than he did at Leverkusen now… that is some upturn! Hail King Unai and well done Leon… keep going. Edited February 7 by Jas10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, AVFCforever1991 said: His new contract being signed in the new 3 days apparently, a deal till 2027 is expected That’s not a very long extension really, only 2 years longer than current contract, I was expecting until 2028 or 2029. Hopefully it will be longer than that as rewarding Leon with a big pay increase you’d want a commitment to 4 or 5 years really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejoker Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 11 minutes ago, Leeroy said: That’s not a very long extension really, only 2 years longer than current contract, I was expecting until 2028 or 2029. Hopefully it will be longer than that as rewarding Leon with a big pay increase you’d want a commitment to 4 or 5 years really. He’ll be down to 12 months this summer I think, so it protects his value from Villa’s point of view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 50 minutes ago, thejoker said: He’ll be down to 12 months this summer I think, so it protects his value from Villa’s point of view. No I get that, I just don’t know why it isn’t longer. When Martinez signed a new deal in 2022 it ran to 2027. Konsa signed a new deal last year to 2028. We shouldn’t be renewing Bailey until 2027, it should be at least a year longer than that if not two. Put it this way if we were signing a new player tomorrow we wouldn’t put them on a 3 year contract. It would typically be 5 years, or at least 4, unless we were signing a player nearing the end of the career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWARLEY2 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 hour ago, Leeroy said: That’s not a very long extension really, only 2 years longer than current contract, I was expecting until 2028 or 2029. Hopefully it will be longer than that as rewarding Leon with a big pay increase you’d want a commitment to 4 or 5 years really. Probably forms part of the Craig Butler big clubs line. Without getting him on a 5 year deal he can negotiate a deal with a " big club" if someone does come in. As we wouldnt put a release clause in . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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