Summer Transfer Window 2022

[Zhan_Zhuang]

4 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I'm not having this notion that everyone was just giddy about Gerrard and Nakamba wasn't actually different, and or much improved.

Go back through the match threads and post match player threads for evidence.

Towards the end before this injury, Nakamba was even taking on more risky forward passes etc and actually making them.

Either way, people keep Lazer focusing in on Nakamba, when as we've noted many times, the most important element to all this, is a " Nakamba type " or better.

Basically someone with the same job who could perform it to the level Nakamba was at his best, at minimum.

As he is/was the best we seemed to have at the particular job, losing him might have affected us more than it might another team.

No one views Nakamba as a " saviour " as has been touted.

It seems as if we are trying to nitpick absolutely anything we can to discredit ANYTHING which may have been positive as a result since his tenure.

I think most people fail to understand that absolutely NONE of us are currently happy with our form and/or results either.

If Nakamba was fit and playing I think we'd be eighth at least.

It would have allowed us to rotate Ramsey with Luiz and McGinn for the two positions ahead of Nakamba. All three therefore playing in their more natural roles with his support and stability between defence and midfield.

Edited April 17, 2022 by Zhan_Zhuang

[IrishVilla10]

3 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

If Nakamba was fit and playing I think we'd be eighth at least.

It would have allowed us to rotate Ramsey with Luiz and McGinn for the two positions ahead of Nakamba. All three therefore playing in their more natural roles with his support and stability between defence and midfield.

We’d be higher up the table for sure 

[Zatman]

5 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

If Nakamba was fit and playing I think we'd be eighth at least.

It would have allowed us to rotate Ramsey with Luiz and McGinn for the two positions ahead of Nakamba. All three therefore playing in their more natural roles with his support and stability between defence and midfield.

So your saying Nakamba would have earned us 13 more points?

[Zhan_Zhuang]

1 minute ago, Zatman said:

So your saying Nakamba would have earned us 13 more points?

Single-handedly whilst also securing world-peace and quietening the same boring negative posters on VT too!

[Jas10]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

I fear many fans share your same doubts.....But may I remind you, many fans have voiced there scepticism over the last few seasons of our inability to defend adequately from midfield in particular....The club for whatever reasons chose to focus on other area's of recruitment.

I think this has come home to haunt us.....and right now has affected the whole team.

We will see this summer, whether we have woken up to the fact, its is now high priority.....I will wait and see.

Other clubs like Brentford, in particular, have addressed their soft under belly reputations by signing players such as Jansson, Janelt, Ajer, Norgaard, Toney.....Players with a physical presence, that have added that much needed resillience to their guile.....sure they are far from perfect, but they have helped themselves.

We can't play with a team full of Phil Coutinho's as good as he is....We need help in other area's....we relied on Jack for too long, before we realised we was, then panicked, in to " what do we do without Jack " half the team was dining out on his ball keeping skills.

Where we need to wake up, is in recruitment and get this Summers additions, the right ones, to blend a proper team, not a lop sided one.

We’ve both been banging that drum for quite some time but my more immediate concern right now is how we are going to attract any player/midfielder of the required standard (better than what we have) rather than just addressing the areas of concern - I’d like to believe we have at least come to that realisation by now, it’s so obvious that we need a proper DM. But I also don’t think that is the sole remedy to all our problems, work and improvement is required. Just spending money cannot be the solution, the manager has to be better than that.

We have to be careful we don’t stagnate or decline and be overtaken by rival clubs. How quickly fortunes or promise can change in this league… last season I was feeling excited and positive and thinking about us catching up with or even overtaking those top 6-8 teams but now we are so far away from that and I don’t feel any encouragement in that sense. Midtable alone is a struggle for us right now and we are at risk of being overtaken by other clubs if we are not careful. 

I keep saying it but it’s true, competition in this league is fierce (both on and off the field) and many clubs will be targeting the same players. It’s easy to get left behind… Right now, I don’t see what real advantage or allure we have/hold over others (for reasons previously explained) and that fills me with pessimism rather than optimism. What about us would attract players to us over the teams that are outperforming us and higher up that table?

E.g. if Newcastle and Brighton finish above us then why would the likes of Bissouma or other “rated players” want to join us and not opt for the more appealing options in terms of their views and ambitions…

Another thing I will repeat, I believe SG should EARN the right to splash the cash rather than be entitled to it… where are the guarantees he will be able to bring the best out of new players when he can’t even get a tune out of our existing ones? What if it’s £100-200m down the drain and we are no better off?

I’m just taking a pragmatic view here, based on current events. Makes more sense to be a realist rather than an optimist - and even pessimism is holding more credence right now.

But I would love nothing more than for us to rise and become a formidable force next season (I want us to finish this season well though, not wait for the next in hope of us to start performing), however, I need signs and evidence to encourage that belief and there just hasn’t been enough of that… for me… nothing is giving me faith in SG and making me feel enthused about him and his tenure here but we are stuck with him and can only hope for the best… it’s just quite frustrating.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

4 minutes ago, Zatman said:

So your saying Nakamba would have earned us 13 more points?

By the way, putting it more into a more reasonable context we are four points off ninth...

[VillaParkAvenue]

21 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I'm not having this notion that everyone was just giddy about Gerrard and Nakamba wasn't actually different, and or much improved, as well as Ramsey, McGinn and Cash.

Go back through the match threads and post match player threads for evidence.

Towards the end before this injury, Nakamba was even taking on more risky forward passes etc and actually making them.

Either way, people keep Lazer focusing in on Nakamba, when as we've noted many times, the most important element to all this, is a " Nakamba type " or better.

Basically someone with the same job who could perform it to the level Nakamba was at his best, at minimum.

As he is/was the best we seemed to have at the particular job, losing him might have affected us more than it might another team.

No one views Nakamba as a " saviour " as has been touted.

It seems as if we are trying to nitpick absolutely anything we can to discredit ANYTHING which may have been positive as a result since his tenure.

I think most people fail to understand that absolutely NONE of us are currently happy with our form and/or results either.

But I just said most players were lifted during that time, Cash, McGinn, Nakamba and so on. You also say that having a player with Nakamba’s skills is important and I agree.

Nakamba will most likely return as the solid defensive mid he’s been for a long time. Expecting something else seems unfair to him.

I really don’t see how saying Nakamba wasn’t transformed is somehow miscrediting Gerrard. He lifted everyone when he came like new managers often, but not always, do.

[HalfTimePost]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Newcastle have had a headstart on us in the League, their squad isn't exactly Norwich level. A few of the players they have signed are actually match winners and game changers.

For example, Trippier scored the only goal freekick against us which they won by.

Maybe, but they were destined for the drop following years of underfunding and mismanagement. None of our fans had Newcastle as a team to watch out for this year.

Buendia, Bailey, Coutinho, Ings are all capable of winning or changing games.

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Guimares is a player they also really had no business signing, he scored the double today

They're the richest club in the world. They're going to be making signings like that a lot. This is what we wanted others saying about Villa with Buendia, Bailey, Ings, Coutinho and our chase of ESR and JWP. It's also true of Newcastle now.

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

he scored the double today, which sent them above us ( Having played a game more ) which has re inspired the frenzy.

Since the window closed Newcastle are 3rd for points earned behind Liverpool and Spurs. It's justified.

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

People keep mentioning , like in the post you repsonded to that " Deano got much more out of the squad "... However if this were true, there wouldn't be an SG thread or debate in the first place, as he wouldn't be here.

Please read my post again. I didn't say this.

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

There might be Teams which wish they had all our attacking talent, whilst we might wish we had their midfield or defence.

This is the crux of it though. We haven't made the most of our envious attacking talent. We actively gave up competition in defensive areas and struggle to improve our midfield. All of those things would be fine if we were seeing improvement on the pitch with what we do have, but we aren't

[VillaParkAvenue]

David Michael was at one of those fan consultation meetings with Purslow recently, this is some of what he wrote about the coming summer window (no great surprises imo, maybe some people had been expecting more turnover in the squad?)

”Purslow admitted, that the window would not be one of wholesale change like the initial seasons under Dean Smith back in the Premier League. Yet, at the same time, he said, it wouldn’t be a case of just getting one or two in.

The approach to this summer’s window will very much be about rejuggling the squad. It was pretty clear supporters can expect several players to be moved on, to make way for what you’d expect to be an incoming four or five players.”

Edited April 18, 2022 by VillaParkAvenue

[sne]

Players the media will try to sell us:

• Suarez
• Wijnaldum
• Joe Gomez
• Bissouma
• Kalvin Phillips
• Oxlade-Chamberlain
• Neco Williams

Examples of players I hope we try for:

• Boubacar Kamara
• William Saliba
• Aaron Hickey
• Karim Adeyemi

A couple of players where there is obvious interest from the club:

Coutinho, Bissouma, Phillips...

Be an interesting summer but my excitement for it has slowly disappeared compared to how it was a couple months ago.Hope we don't hamstrung ourselves with too many big contract to 30 y.o or so players directly linked to Gerrard. Nothing yet apart from paper talk that says this will happen.

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by sne
For clarity

[VillaParkAvenue]

10 minutes ago, sne said:

Players the media will try to sell us:

• Suarez
• Wijnaldum
• Gomez
• Bissouma
• Phillips
• Oxlade-Chamberlain
• Neco Williams

Examples of players I hope we try for:

• Kamara
• Saliba
• Hickey
• Karim Adeyemi

A couple of players where there is obvious interest from the club:

Coutinho, Bissouma, Phillips...

Be an interesting summer but my excitement for it has slowly disappeared compared to how it was a couple months ago.Hope we don't hamstrung ourselves with too many big contract to 30 y.o or so players directly linked to Gerrard. Nothing yet apart from paper talk that says this will happen.

 

Assume you’re talking about Boubacar and not the Gerrard-connected Kamara?

Nice suggestions there, would like to add Laimer from Leipzig as well.

[CVByrne]

I do worry that our first targets will go to our premier League rivals and thus we are getting 3rd and 4th choice players while they get the priority targets. This puts us at a further disadvantage going into next season.

Wide players and 10s are now competing for the same number of positions in the team. Which was 3 or 2 before it is now 2 or 1 and Coutinho will always be occupying one of those. 

I think we need to have the two 10s / wide forwards be one and the same and they use movement. This allows us to get the best out of two of Coutinho Buendia and Bailey with one CF while also being able to use the one 10 option if we want to. 

[Zatman]

If we do go on this runoured stupid rebuild this will be the 4th time since 2015.

2015, 2016, 2019 and potentially 2022. Other clubs dont do this as often

[CVByrne]

Big worries are, the persistence with a formation which is not suited to the Premier League with the players we are able to have next season. That could paint us into a corner without an ability to switch to 4 3 3 or 4 2 3 1 as wide players are eradicated from the squad.

Next is a poor finish this season like 13th or worse. This hurts us in a few ways, firstly it impacts Gerrard and his reputation as a quality manager. It also impacts us in terms of how players see the club and chances of European qualification. It also hits us financially dropping our income by millions in prize money and thus less finances for transfers and wages.

I don't see recruitment as bad in terms of our ability to shift our players. All the signings over the last 5 windows are saleable assets at profit Vs the remaining amortisation on their contracts for sure. Ings for 17m would be the trickiest maybe.

I also feel momentum is key. We finished the season before last well and stayed up which lead to a glut of form last season. While last season's drop in form at the end lead to a poor start to this. If we can't get another 3 wins and crucially back to back ones in our last two home games against Burnley and Crystal Palace. I really worry.

I think we all need to reassess what success is for us. If we can be with a chance of top 7 in April next season and end 9th in the end. That is the new bar for success. We make up the numbers in the league.

 

[jacketspuds]

1 hour ago, sne said:

Players the media will try to sell us:

• Suarez
• Wijnaldum
• Joe Gomez
• Bissouma
• Kalvin Phillips
• Oxlade-Chamberlain
• Neco Williams

Examples of players I hope we try for:

• Boubacar Kamara
• William Saliba
• Aaron Hickey
• Karim Adeyemi

A couple of players where there is obvious interest from the club:

Coutinho, Bissouma, Phillips...

Be an interesting summer but my excitement for it has slowly disappeared compared to how it was a couple months ago.Hope we don't hamstrung ourselves with too many big contract to 30 y.o or so players directly linked to Gerrard. Nothing yet apart from paper talk that says this will happen.

 

Some class suggestions there. The likes of Fofana at Leicester, and Guimaraes at Newcastle, prove that there are players out there that you can build a team around for the long term. It’s about finding that balance I guess.

If we could complete deals for the likes of Hickey and Boubacar Kamara, plus a bit of experience with Bissouma, that would transform our team.

I wouldn’t be against us bringing in Tarkowski if we could, to play alongside Mings. If the alternative is Joe Gomez.

Karim Adeyemi looks like a future star, but he will probably end up at Dortmund once Haaland goes to Man City in the summer.

I wonder if we could convince Darwin Nunez or Aleksander Isak to come here. Probably not, but either would be great as a focal point for our attack.

[TRO]

14 hours ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

But Brentford have been poor for most of the season and what turned things around was signing a technical player.

A bloke with so limited physical presence, he was actually declared dead once.

I disagree, sure a player of his class will make a difference, but watch them play, they are stronger.....The team under Dean Smith would not have gone up, bar for their strengthening under Frank......It is their first season, by the way.

Thomas Frank made them more resillient. and less hit and miss.

We too have a player similar to Eriksen, in Phil.....but its not where our main problems lie.

Edited April 18, 2022 by TRO

[VillaParkAvenue]

17 minutes ago, TRO said:

I disagree.....The team that came up would have gone straight back down, bar for their strenghtening......It is their first season, by the way.

Of the five players you mentioned only Ajer was signed after promotion.

Not sure what you disagree with, is it the importance of Eriksen or technical players in general? In my view Brentford have become almost a new team after Eriksen came, winning five of their last six games. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by VillaParkAvenue
Ajer, not Janelt

[Villa Stu]

Make coutinho and Olsen permanent. I would love it if we could get Nunez. We would have to go big but if we are clever with the other incomings and manage to get a few out it would be worth it. There’s quite a few very good players with contracts expiring. Hopefully we can take advantage and bring a couple in. Ginter, Tarkowski or Saiss for cb, Kamara or Grillitsch - we could do with both

Finally and most importantly we could get Januzaj

[Zatman]

We have zero chance of signing Nunez. Benfica will demand big money like they did with Joao Felix. 

Plus he will have zero interest to come here 

[TRO]

12 hours ago, Jas10 said:

We’ve both been banging that drum for quite some time but my more immediate concern right now is how we are going to attract any player/midfielder of the required standard (better than what we have) rather than just addressing the areas of concern - I’d like to believe we have at least come to that realisation by now, it’s so obvious that we need a proper DM. But I also don’t think that is the sole remedy to all our problems, work and improvement is required. Just spending money cannot be the solution, the manager has to be better than that.

We have to be careful we don’t stagnate or decline and be overtaken by rival clubs. How quickly fortunes or promise can change in this league… last season I was feeling excited and positive and thinking about us catching up with or even overtaking those top 6-8 teams but now we are so far away from that and I don’t feel any encouragement in that sense. Midtable alone is a struggle for us right now and we are at risk of being overtaken by other clubs if we are not careful. 

I keep saying it but it’s true, competition in this league is fierce (both on and off the field) and many clubs will be targeting the same players. It’s easy to get left behind… Right now, I don’t see what real advantage or allure we have/hold over others (for reasons previously explained) and that fills me with pessimism rather than optimism. What about us would attract players to us over the teams that are outperforming us and higher up that table?

E.g. if Newcastle and Brighton finish above us then why would the likes of Bissouma or other “rated players” want to join us and not opt for the more appealing options in terms of their views and ambitions…

Another thing I will repeat, I believe SG should EARN the right to splash the cash rather than be entitled to it… where are the guarantees he will be able to bring the best out of new players when he can’t even get a tune out of our existing ones? What if it’s £100-200m down the drain and we are no better off?

I’m just taking a pragmatic view here, based on current events. Makes more sense to be a realist rather than an optimist - and even pessimism is holding more credence right now.

But I would love nothing more than for us to rise and become a formidable force next season (I want us to finish this season well though, not wait for the next in hope of us to start performing), however, I need signs and evidence to encourage that belief and there just hasn’t been enough of that… for me… nothing is giving me faith in SG and making me feel enthused about him and his tenure here but we are stuck with him and can only hope for the best… it’s just quite frustrating.

It is very frustrating and I share your thoughts.

I honestly believe, if the main problem is fixed " defensive midfield" many other things that are not right now, will come right, with work at BMH.......right now, its clear, its dragging the team down.

You only have to look at Brightons approach to stopping Kane and Son......and our "open Plan " reception we gave them.

I too, know  up front is not right either, but I believe it all stems from the defensive weakness of the team..... we are so much better on the ball, than without the ball where we look lost.

The defensive capability is the bedrock of getting a team right....Newcastle have added defensive additions in Burn, Trippier, Targett and Guimares ( defensive midfield)....its not the attack they have strengthened, but they are winning games and scoring goals.

Not getting the defensive side right, leads to other area's of the team, and that is whats happening.....and left too long confidence, everywhere, drains.

You say, we have both been banging the drum, for quite some time.....but for an ambitious club like ours, it should have been dealt with way before now.

I cringed after the January window, not because Phil and Lucas are not fine players......but because the very ones we needed, were once again overlooked....sure Chambers was a help, but a token gesture......we need proper first team quaility to come in, who can show authority in the middle.

I do think our recent setbacks has not helped convince any would be targets of our intentions to kick on....We just have to wait and see what the club and SG can muster in that direction.

I don't think our play is bad at times, bar a few lapses of concentration in front of goal, with the ball, we can muster some decent passages of play.......but without the ball, I genuinely fear for us.

Edited April 18, 2022 by TRO