Leon Bailey

[MotoMkali]

Something interesting I've noticed is that whoscored lists his passing accuracy at 78.1% but fbref lists it as 70%

And fbref lists his attempted passes per 90 as 40 and I calculated that whoscored says it is only 32.3. So I'm curious as to what is happening there.

Potentially whoscored doesn't count set pieces and maybe crosses as well. I think that is the answer. Because if you add his deadballs and crosses together it adds up to 7.5 which makes up the difference pretty much.

If that is the case baileys pass accuracy is much better than it appears and is right around Sanchos as well. On top of directly superior goal creation as well. 

[maqroll]

2 hours ago, omariqy said:

This is a player on the radar of clubs like United, City, Liverpool etc. With our coaching he could be world class.

It seems we've pulled off a bit of a coup with this signing. 

[Jas10]

How have we managed to get this kid for £30m-£35m? That’s an amazing deal tbh… and clearly demonstrates how much value is out there… I hope we continue to do similar business…

Bailey has been highly rated and followed by some of the biggest clubs, considered one of the hottest prospects and one of the most highly rated young players for a while now… with huge figures being bandied about or rumoured in the past. This is an excellent move and genuine statement of intent. Exciting… this is the kind of signing that explicitly shows that we “mean business” or have genuine ambition…

There really is such greater value to be had out there, especially in the top leagues of Germany, Spain, Italy & France (less risk, mainly due to the players having played at a higher level/standard. Even more so when they have played in European competitions)…

These are the kind of moves I like to see personally…. to me, it makes so much less sense to overpay for British or PL based players (particularly English, crazy premium), especially when your team already has a good base and you really just need to add genuine quality, players with superior technical ability and output/contribution.

I know what the usual response is, such as experience of the league and easier to settle etc. but they are overused and tired statements imo and don’t always apply, nor are they as consistently relevant as some people think.

Been over this before and given examples of how some of the greatest ever players in this league came from abroad or outside the league… don’t really want to regurgitate that and I realise blanket statements don’t apply, but it’s important to acknowledge that there have been plenty of “British failures” too, you can’t just say “only foreign players are risks”… that’s just how I see it anyway but there is plenty of evidence too…

We’ve had more than our fair share and suffered badly or had moves that didn’t work out welll, for whatever reason.

For every Curcic, Balaban, Djemba-Djemba, Nzogbia etc. there is a Collymore, Ireland, McCormack (must be our worst overall), Lescott, Richards, Drinkwater, Barkley and more…

You’ve got to get the scouting right, it doesn’t really matter where the player comes from as long as the quality, personality and value is there… do your research…

There isn’t really any “value” in buying from within the league, you’re usually going to overpay and by quite a lot…

Bailey for £35m(or less)… compared to the likes of McNeil and JWP (bare minimum £40m valuation, for each. If true, that £25m JWP offer is embarrassing and seems out of touch or unrealistic)…

And don’t get me started on Todd f****** Cantwell or even the likes of Winks & Alli

I know what I prefer… look at the output too. This guy got 15 goals & 11 assists last season…

Anyway, this is a very positive moment for us and also very encouraging.,.

Welcome to the Villa Leon, looking forward to seeing the part you play in our future success…

Edited August 1, 2021 by Jas10

[Dave-R]

2 hours ago, Keyblade said:

Can't believe we've signed him and Buendia. We just level up every year.

Level up?

If this was in gaming terms we just glitched the system and skipped ahead some levels 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Dave-R

[Dave-R]

5 hours ago, Jas10 said:

It’s finally done… YES!!! 
Looking forward to some crackers like this:

 

What I loved unthat video is not just his speed and his positioning but there was one instant where he screwed up on the left of the goal inside the box and the way he corrected that and sent the ball back outside the box to a team mate who then scored was amazing.

[Dave-R]

I can't believe we've pulled this off and actually got someone I wanted from seasons ago. I had been shouting for seasons Ince our arrival back in the prem to get this guy so I'm am absolutely over the moon by this signing.

If Jack stays by God we have a very capable team who can go compete for a European place and I feel that all we need to finish it would be to sign a much better quality striker now to aid Watkins.

What's left for me that I'd like to see would be a midfielder and striker and that's enough for the window I believe.

[Farlz]

Is he due a rest because of the Gold Cup or is it expected for him to play a part against Sevilla? 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Jesus what a life story Bailey has.

Also, another shout out to this Villa blogger, he is outstanding!

[Dave-R]

21 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Jesus what a life story Bailey has.

Also, another shout out to this Villa blogger, he is outstanding!

That was a wicked watch, I enjoyed it.

Loved how he said this isn't just speed Villa are getting but this is world class speed Villa are getting.

Then he said Leon can use his thought process fast while at full throttle.

Also stated Leon is a Dangerous weapon, so does this mean we now have to call him Lethal Weapon lol.

I seen the video that Jas posted earlier on and in there you can see how he speeds up and roam into the box, screws up but somehow manages where most wouldn't to make something of the attack and make a wonderful stunning pass off.

I can't wait to see this guy in action.

I was well impressed by how farBailey has come as well, he has had it tough and he stuck to it and made something of himself. That story is the kind of story you know when you hear that the player won't ever take his life in football for granted and he will work his socks off to achieve his goals.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Dave-R

[ThunderPower_14]

I love that he's coming from a high quality, tough, physical league. It'll make the step up so much easier than it is for some of our signings from the Belgian and even French leagues. 

[Caddy]

All of the Jack nonsense aside... if we as a club parlayed that money into Buendia, Bailey and another 30-40m attacking mid/winger I really can't say I'd be too fussed about it. That's high quality business and should put the fears of us pulling a Spurs (spending the cash out on dross) to bed

[QldVilla]

I was excited when the rumour first surfaced and very happy to see it nearly finalised.

The signing gives us quality and depth in the wide areas and we will be very difficult to set up against.

[Adam2003]

4 hours ago, Jas10 said:

Bailey has been highly rated and followed by some of the biggest clubs, considered one of the hottest prospects and one of the most highly rated young players for a while now… with huge figures being bandied about or rumoured in the past. This is an excellent move and genuine statement of intent. Exciting… this is the kind of signing that explicitly shows that we “mean business” or have genuine ambition…

I hope this is right. Devil’s Advocate is his stepdad, a dodgy character and his agent, has tried for years to manufacture PL interest and failed… so in December he switched agent (though still with his stepdad involved) and the new agents have found a PL buyer. I am very much hoping you are correct but a United fan I know who is involved in the game (and who has in the past given me information I think has been 100% accurate on Heaton and Southgate and some others) span it that way to me when we were first linked. I hope it’s just him being a dickhead because the videos look really exciting.

Edit: what I am saying here is not to question his quality as such, just to note this guy was saying to me there is a reason that ‘interest’ from United etc never went anywhere. Hopefully it’s a bit of sour grapes

Edited August 1, 2021 by Adam2003

[Adam2003]

1 hour ago, Caddy said:

All of the Jack nonsense aside... if we as a club parlayed that money into Buendia, Bailey and another 30-40m attacking mid/winger I really can't say I'd be too fussed about it. That's high quality business and should put the fears of us pulling a Spurs (spending the cash out on dross) to bed

I’ve said all along (as have others) that all we can do is buy quality… either that convinces Jack to stay or means we are set up to cope with him going. Despite my word of caution in the post above this I think we have done some great business so far this summer.

[Greenfly]

6 hours ago, MaVilla said:

Thought this was interesting, all bailey's touches etc versus Stuttgart in during a game in Feb 2021, i think he's going to fit right in with Grealish & Buendia.

 

 

That was saucy. Especially his goal - everything about it was exactly the sort of thing I want to see us do.

What is it the kids say? Inject it in my veins

[DCJonah]

2 minutes ago, Greenfly said:

That was saucy. Especially his goal - everything about it was exactly the sort of thing I want to see us do.

What is it the kids say? Inject it in my veins

I think that's just the kids who are heroin addicts. 

[Greenfly]

6 hours ago, MotoMkali said:

Something interesting I've noticed is that whoscored lists his passing accuracy at 78.1% but fbref lists it as 70%

And fbref lists his attempted passes per 90 as 40 and I calculated that whoscored says it is only 32.3. So I'm curious as to what is happening there.

Potentially whoscored doesn't count set pieces and maybe crosses as well. I think that is the answer. Because if you add his deadballs and crosses together it adds up to 7.5 which makes up the difference pretty much.

If that is the case baileys pass accuracy is much better than it appears and is right around Sanchos as well. On top of directly superior goal creation as well. 

Something to add is that a large amount of his passes are risky forward passes in the final third and cut-backs in the penalty area. One thing you don't get from stats is how much better it is to have players who try that sort of thing, and how much more likely that are to be defended.

[allani]

37 minutes ago, Adam2003 said:

Edit: what I am saying here is not to question his quality as such, just to note this guy was saying to me there is a reason that ‘interest’ from United etc never went anywhere. Hopefully it’s a bit of sour grapes

Also with the "top tier" / CL teams you have to bear in mind that (usually) they are trying to build on top of top end quality already and they need to be convinced that major signings will be an almost instant success.  This gives clubs like us a massive opportunity to step in and appeal to players that maybe the top teams rate as an 85% chance of being successful and giving them a platform to realise that success.  It all matches the model of buying good, young players with a high potential upside - IF (and it is an if - probably a big IF) Bailey performs as well as he has done to Germany then £30-35 million is suddenly closer to £50-60 million.  I don't think that means that our owners have a "buy to sell" attitude.  But clearly if you repeatedly buy "cheap" and have assets whose value increases then the overall club / investment becomes more valuable even if you don't cash in.  Obviously the end game is that qualifying for Europe / winning or competing deep into domestic competitions increases the value much more (as well as being enjoyable to watch your club be successful).  But also the reputation you build makes you more attractive to domestic / foreign TV audiences and potential new signings.  Italian TV for example last season waxed lyrical about our style of football last season (even in our dodgy patch after January) - I can only imagine that that reputation will improve still further given the type of signings so far.  It is interesting how deep the knowledge of English football is in places like Italy - where the commentators seemed to have a pretty decent handle on Villa's main players, fringe squad players and even some of our high potential youth players (meanwhile I suspect most English commentators would struggle to name 2 or 3 players from say Sassuolo - who are possibly the Villa equivalent in Seria A at the moment).

[Lord Willard]

When he dribbles with the ball into space the defenders get further away, what is this trickery and why doesnt that happen to Traore or AEG

[MaVilla]

1 hour ago, Lord Willard said:

When he dribbles with the ball into space the defenders get further away, what is this trickery and why doesnt that happen to Traore or AEG

El Ghazi is a real man and just prefers to go through people, it doesn't work.....but he prefers it anyway...