Summer Transfer Window 2022

[ender4]

1 minute ago, CarryOnVilla said:

Nice ingredients, what’s the recipe and chef like? 

Gordon Ramsey with Delia's cookbook.

[hippo]

4 minutes ago, ender4 said:

Well it because we all really want 7th (including the owners, Gerrard and Pirslow) and would be a little disappointed with 10th this season.

Thats what they all say.  

But don't think they seriously believe current squad is getting 7th. 

[tomsky_11]

2 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

I don't get why people think top 10 is so ridiculously hard to achieve.

In my opinion:

• there aren't 10 teams with better striking options with us
• there aren't 10 teams with better a better keeper than us
• there aren't 10 teams with better creative options than us
• there aren't 10 teams with better equipped squads than us
• there aren't 10 teams with a better DM than us 
• there aren't 10 teams with 2 first team quality players for more positions than us

Let alone all of the above.

This this this. Plus, since Gerrard arrived we've had the 9th best points tally in the league, the 8th best defensive record and the joint 7th best scoring record. We would have to take a big step backwards (with our signings so far we should have improved a fair bit already) or have multiple teams improved siginificantly over us (hard to see any teams below us in any of these measures doing better business this summer) for us to not make top 10.

[CarryOnVilla]

1 minute ago, ender4 said:

Gordon Ramsey with Delia's cookbook.

 

any excuse to pull this gif out 

[AshVilla]

A quality number 8 would completely transform us.

We saw against Leeds the difference Kamara made to our midfield if we could just get in a player of similar quality that can carry, press and pass the ball well we would be the real deal.

[Vive_La_Villa]

16 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

Do you still think they have better teams/squads than us? Our wages will definitely be higher than all 3.

No I think we have a better squad but I was responding more to how we should be finishing above them due to out outlay. It’s not like a massive amount more when you break it down and analyse where we had to come from.  It’s not like we have done a Man City.

I think the club has done superbly in getting this squad together in 3 seasons.   7th should be the aim.

[The_Steve]

2 hours ago, burchy said:

I kind of agree but I don’t think it’s Ings that’s the issue per se. It’s Watkins. Ings is not getting any younger and at this stage I’d say behind Watkins. If Watkins was more clinical then we wouldn’t be having this debate. 

What we need is a Star Trek transporter malfunction where Watkins and Ings are combined. 

If only we could do a Dragon Ball Z fusion dance with them. I think Ings and Ollie look very fired up so it’s going to be really interesting. Still think Ollie has major flaws (first touch and finishing at times), so I rank Ings more - but every player has patches of poor form and both still have much to offer. 

[ender4]

20 minutes ago, hippo said:

Thats what they all say.  

But don't think they seriously believe current squad is getting 7th. 

No, but i still think they (the recruitment team) plan to buy 1 more expensive player who will be a regular starter.  And that could be the difference between 7th and say 10th, as it can get pretty close on points between 7th and 10th some years.

[ender4]

24 minutes ago, Sam-AVFC said:

I almost said there aren't 10 teams with higher paid managers than us, but I thought it's not strictly relevant! If we can't get top 10 without spending another £80m on a starting midfielder and striker then imo he isn't good enough - would be great if we made these signings anyway. I really hope it does all come together this season.

In some ways that is also relevant. If we are paying a manager say 8th highest in the league, we are expecting (all other things being equal) that if we give him the tools (players) to finish 8th, then he would most likely finish 8th.   Of course, lots of varaibles, but manager salary is one of them.

[VillaFaninLondon]

1 hour ago, AshVilla said:

I still don't think were going to break into the top 10.

A midfielder and striker short and I'm also not 100% convinced the manager has it tactically.

You don't have to have a perfect first 11 to get into the top 10, that's not how it works. We probably have 7 or 8 players that wouldn't look out of place in a top 6 team now, with others like Bailey a potentially top player if we can keep him fit and get him into form.

 

Of course there are still some 'weaker' areas but in the striker department we are still stronger than pretty much all the midtable teams. Our strikers scored 18 between them last season, compare that to Wolves with Jimenez and Silva (6), Brighton with Maupay and Welbeck (14), Palace with Mateta, Benteke and Edouard (15), Newcastle with Wilson and Wood (10) it's better than all of them.

 

CM is probably still a bit weak, Luiz, McGinn and Ramsey are all decent but none of them are top class (Ramsey and Luiz might be) and all a bit inconsistent. Again though, compare to other teams we're looking to overtake and Palace and Brighton have both lost key CMs this summer. Wolves still have better no 8 options than us but a lot of that will depend on if they keep Neves, Moutinho doesn't really have the legs any more. Newcastle signing Guimarães has made their midfield much better but the other players he is playing with in that midfield we wouldn't want here.

 

I think a starting 11 CM and ST, providing they didn't flop, would push us into top 7 category. We're already at top 10 level and finishing 8th, 9th or 10 has to be our aim. 

[burchy]

This is just a hypothetical question but if we went all in on someone like Paqueta would Buendia in a midfield 3 work, Say Buendia, Ramsey, Kamara?

Paqueta is a SS/CAM/CM but more the former than the latter. He does have good pressing stats though and likes a tackle. 

[Demitri_C]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

that should be the bare minimum expectation, unless its like 2 seasons back when we had a great points total and didnt crack it

Yea i agree thats the minimum i am expecting. Hoping for a better cup run too

[PaulMcGrath_5]

1 minute ago, burchy said:

This is just a hypothetical question but if we went all in on someone like Paqueta would Buendia in a midfield 3 work, Say Buendia, Ramsey, Kamara?

Paqueta is a SS/CAM/CM but more the former than the latter. He does have good pressing stats though and likes a tackle. 

I think Paqueta is quality but we would be trying to force either him or Buendia into a position on the pitch that just doesn't suit them. I'd rather spend on an actual CM.

[sne]

Not sure how correct it is. Not doubt there are also performance bonuses we don't see.

Claims there are 6 managers earning more than Gerrard. With the signings we've made there will be deserved pressure to get results and he is earning (just below) top manager money. But a lot less than the world class ones.

Still think/hope we want to get another player or two in to maximize our chances to get those results, whatever the aim now is.

MANAGER	CLUB	ANNUAL SALARY
Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	£19.5 million
Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool FC	£15 million
Frank Lampard	Everton	£5 million
Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	£13 million
Erik ten Hag	Manchester United	£9 million
Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	£6 million
David Moyes	West Ham United	£5 million
Brendan Rodgers	Leicester city	£5 million
Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	£7.8 million
Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	£5 million
Thomas Frank	Brentford	£1.5 million
Scott Parker	Bournemouth	£5 Million
Bruno Lage	Wolverhampton	£2.5 million
Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	£4 million
Graham Potter	Brighton	£1.7 million
Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	£3.5 million
Eddie Howe	Newcastle	£3 million
Steve Cooper	Nottingham	£1.5 million
Marco Silva	Fulham	£4.5 million
Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	£5 million

https://www.footballboast.com/2022/04/all-new-english-premier-league-manager.html

[burchy]

2 minutes ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said:

I think Paqueta is quality but we would be trying to force either him or Buendia into a position on the pitch that just doesn't suit them. I'd rather spend on an actual CM.

Like I say, a bit of a daydream of mine but It would be nice to watch Coutinho, Paqueta, Buendia and Ramsey tearing it up.  

[PaulMcGrath_5]

Just now, burchy said:

Like I say, a bit of a daydream of mine but It would be nice to watch Coutinho, Paqueta, Buendia and Ramsey tearing it up.  

Oh definitely--all fantastic players. I did think Buendia was out of sorts at the weekend though, hopefully a start on Wednesday to get back on track. 

[Tommo_b]

12 minutes ago, sne said:

Not sure how correct it is. Not doubt there are also performance bonuses we don't see.

Claims there are 6 managers earning more than Gerrard. With the signings we've made there will be deserved pressure to get results and he is earning (just below) top manager money. But a lot less than the world class ones.

Still think/hope we want to get another player or two in to maximize our chances to get those results, whatever the aim now is.

MANAGER	CLUB	ANNUAL SALARY
Pep Guardiola	Manchester City	£19.5 million
Jurgen Klopp	Liverpool FC	£15 million
Frank Lampard	Everton	£5 million
Antonio Conte	Tottenham Hotspur	£13 million
Erik ten Hag	Manchester United	£9 million
Ralph Hasenhuttl	Southampton	£6 million
David Moyes	West Ham United	£5 million
Brendan Rodgers	Leicester city	£5 million
Thomas Tuchel	Chelsea	£7.8 million
Mikel Arteta	Arsenal	£5 million
Thomas Frank	Brentford	£1.5 million
Scott Parker	Bournemouth	£5 Million
Bruno Lage	Wolverhampton	£2.5 million
Patrick Vieira	Crystal Palace	£4 million
Graham Potter	Brighton	£1.7 million
Jesse Marsch	Leeds United	£3.5 million
Eddie Howe	Newcastle	£3 million
Steve Cooper	Nottingham	£1.5 million
Marco Silva	Fulham	£4.5 million
Steven Gerrard	Aston Villa	£5 million

https://www.footballboast.com/2022/04/all-new-english-premier-league-manager.html

Bloody hell, check out Scott Parker, he’s done alright for himself!

[sne]

1 minute ago, Tommo_b said:

Bloody hell, check out Scott Parker, he’s done alright for himself!

Was thinking that too. Must have had a hefty promotion pay hike in his contract.

Hasenhuttl also stood out to me. Probably shouldn't the the number as gospel thou. But ball park they might be right.

[Anything11]

Why is that list not in any sort of order by name or salary or even club? A crime against humanity.

[Philosopher]

46 minutes ago, ender4 said:

Yes agreed. First season spending felt huge at the time because we had just come from the Championship. However, looking back, we really only spent 1 Jack Grealish and half a Maguire building a full squad that survived in the PL. 

Compared to the big 6 teams we are trying to (eventually) catch, we are still spending a lot less than them.  It just doesn't seem excessive for them because they have so much more turnover that they can easily spend £50m on a player and have it not work out. 

And for the 3 teams that we need to overtake ASAP, we started with a worse team than them, so we have to spend more than them to overtake them.

Actually we signed 12 players not a whole squad. We already had Grealish, and McGinn, and we added a top half prem CB (Mings),  2 decent prem CB'S (Konsa and Hause), one decent prem LB (Targett), a good prem midfielder (Luiz), and a decent prem DM (Nakamba). So we got 6 prem players 2 good enough to still be first teamers, we already had two quality prem players. 

The business was generally good. We built on that really well with Cash, Martinez, and Watkins. A world class keeper and two top half prem players. We also added a midtable RW in Traore. At this point we had a midtable first team. 

We were a midtable team in terms of playing staff two summer windows ago. 

We will have had 2 more summer transfer window since to make that a top half of the prem team, with only one major outgoing in Jack. 

At this point we have added a top half striker (Ings) two midtable at the worst, but probably better creative players ( Buendia and Bailey). A top class creative player (Coutinho), and we have added a top class LB (Digne), and a solid back up keeper.

Now we have to see how our 3 unseen signings (in a Villa shirt) will fair, but we all believe two of them are also top class.

So to say we should be aiming for 7th or 8th is very realistic IMO.

Last seasons 14th place was down to many factors, most of which could have similar effects on at least 14 teams in this league. Injury crisis at the start along with losing our only established quality creative player. Change of manager, changing tactical direction, bedding in a new attack.

Last seasons 14th simply wasn't a true reflection of the squads capabilities. I would say the team that finished last season would with stability get 10th comfortably. I would say our squad is on West Ham, Wolves, and Leicester's level now. If we managed to poach Tielimans for example we'd have the best midfield outside the top 6, along with IMO the best defense outside the top 6, while weakening a direct competitor.

A conservative estimate of first team quality:

GK - world class

CB's - Top Class, Good Prem Player.

RB - Good prem player.

LB - Top class 

DM - Top class.

CM - 3 good prem players

Creators - Top class, 2 good prem players.

Striker - Two good prem players

Even all the squad players now are premier league level. Add to that some precocious talent as well, we are in a good place. It can always be better, but we have come a long way. The balance is looking good too. 

Like everyone else I believe a top class CM that will blend in well with what we have would really set us up nicely. And a top class attacker would be the icing on the cake. But as we are now is good.