Summer Transfer Window 2022

[Peter Griffin]

Just now, MWARLEY2 said:

Yes this is true. We are always held up by many as one of the transfer window winners but results do not follow. The covid season is the only one where we saw the influence our transfers had on results. 

I do agree with you, but in defence of the club's transfer business. We got promoted and invested in players to keep us in the PL it worked (just about). We are now in a position where not one single pundit / media outlet / bookie has us anywhere near being a relegation candidate this year. So at a high level, we are getting a certain amount of our transfer right. Yes, we have spent a bit over 300m on players since we came up (on this occasion net spend is the correct one to use) and we have had revenues of over 400m. Yes I know we have wages and other fees but I think NSWE and Purslow will be quite happy with what we have achieved. Also, we have now got quite a valuable team. When we were promoted there was only Jack and McGinn that had any resale value. When we were promoted the two teams that got automatic promotion are now back in the Championship (Norwich & Blades)

[paul514]

26 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

I don''t think Gerrard will go in the 18 month timeframe. If he is not up to the job he will be gone at the WC break imo. If he lasts for the next 18 months then I am thinking he will be doing a lot right and wont be sacked and will be here for a few years

up to 18 months.

Anyway I largely keep it quiet as I know my opinion matters little and very few agree with me.

[Peter Griffin]

Just now, paul514 said:

up to 18 months.

Anyway I largely keep it quiet as I know my opinion matters little and very few agree with me.

yes i know u said, up to 18 months, it was difficult to get across my point without sounding like a dick. I am just trying to say I think he will be gone in 6 months or we will have him for a few years imo 

[ciggiesnbeer]

2 hours ago, Sulberto21 said:

Did you use safestyle windows??

I bet there was some grouting involved anarll. Woof! 

[TRO]

39 minutes ago, Xela said:

Different times then though. People weren't obsessed with the transfer market. Now, its got its own industry with Sky Spurts and all the rumour websites, and in some fans eyes, winning the transfer window trumps everything else. 

The Industry surrounding Predictions are bigger than the game itself, nowadays.

[TRO]

17 minutes ago, paul514 said:

up to 18 months.

Anyway I largely keep it quiet as I know my opinion matters little and very few agree with me.

Its your opinion, thats what the forum is for......but it seems like you slipped up today, then, by declaring it.

Being Inquisitive, I am just wondering what you do, in the meantime, waiting for him to go?

It might be a race, with the New Stand......what happens first?

Edited August 3, 2022 by TRO

[allani]

1 minute ago, Peter Griffin said:

I am not trying to pin you to name players as that is daft, Lange and co must do that.  But what type of players would u see as the missing link. I would like Sangare or similar. I don't think we need another striker now that Archer has been confirmed as 1st team

OK so this is a massive oversimplification but bear with me.  I think a midfield like Hamann / Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard is probably as close to being an almost ideal midfield 3 as you can get.  Pigeon-holing them into a kind of warrior, conductor and hero category is far too limited.  They were all pretty well-rounded players in their own right.  But as a trio they offer real balance - good at defending the ball, good at winning the ball back, good at retaining possession, good at passing the ball and controlling play and then obviously you have Gerrard arriving from deep and providing a real goal / attacking threat.  Now obviously they were three of the best midfielders in the world at the time so I am not suggesting that we are trying to replicate them or sign world beaters!!!  That would be crazy!

I think Kamara gives us the Hamann type player - he looks like a good tackler, but can also spot a good pass and is good on the ball meaning that he can play his way out of pressure. McGinn / JJ are our Gerrard types - pain in the **** when the opposition have the ball (probably a bit better suited to pressing higher up the pitch rather than on the edge of our area) but always looking to join the attack.  JJ is probably more of a ball carrier looking to burst past the front 3 so maybe slightly more Gerrard like.  So I think we need an Alonso type - great passer, strong at holding onto the ball and controlling the pace of the game under the press.  And I guess that last thing is the crucial part.  Luiz and McGinn are not good at resisting the press and either give the ball away cheaply or rush into trying an ambitious pass that 99% of the time ends up either out of play or with the opposition.  Luiz would be the obvious current answer in our current team - but for me there are question marks defensively and I worry about the pace that he (doesn't) inject into play in either direction.  My main issue is that Luiz and McGinn is that I don't think they complement each other very well.  If Luiz is struggling to get his passing game together then you don't give the ball to McGinn and expect him to take over.  Similarly, if McGinn is struggling to run at the opposition back line then Luiz isn't going to do that.

So I think what we need is someone between the skill-sets of Kamara and Luiz to fill the "Alonso role" if you like.  Someone whose main job will be to get the ball off Kamara and look to link with McGinn or our attacking players, but who can also control the ball, battle to get the ball back, etc.  Bit more importantly someone who can also effortlessly cover Kamara if we need to change shape slightly or if Kamara misses a couple of matches.

I can almost hear people saying "ah yeah well of course if we could sign one of the best players in the world we'd be better but it won't happen" so just to reiterate I am not proposing signing the current or the next Xabi Alonso.  I am just using those players as an example of three players who really complemented each other and provided great balance and obviously picking players that played with our current manager provides a neat symmetry.  I think we can achieve that balance at the level at which we are recruiting.  Kamara is a great first step.  Tim, JJ and AJ all have great promise.  My issue is that I don't think that any combo of McGinn, Luiz and Sanson gives us that balance.  All good players in their own right and all with a part to play across the season and certainly at times we could play with two of them on the pitch at the same time.

In terms of up front - I think ultimately we need someone who is sharper around the edge of the box, able to link up with our attacking midfielders and who has the vision to spot the runs of our fullbacks, AMs or JJ / McGinn.  Ollie just plays with his head down too much.  That player might be Archer in a season or two.  The question is can we persist with Ollie whilst we wait to find out whether we have his replacement here already?

[Peter Griffin]

8 minutes ago, allani said:

OK so this is a massive oversimplification but bear with me.  I think a midfield like Hamann / Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard is probably as close to being an almost ideal midfield 3 as you can get.  Pigeon-holing them into a kind of warrior, conductor and hero category is far too limited.  They were all pretty well-rounded players in their own right.  But as a trio they offer real balance - good at defending the ball, good at winning the ball back, good at retaining possession, good at passing the ball and controlling play and then obviously you have Gerrard arriving from deep and providing a real goal / attacking threat.  Now obviously they were three of the best midfielders in the world at the time so I am not suggesting that we are trying to replicate them or sign world beaters!!!  That would be crazy!

I think Kamara gives us the Hamann type player - he looks like a good tackler, but can also spot a good pass and is good on the ball meaning that he can play his way out of pressure. McGinn / JJ are our Gerrard types - pain in the **** when the opposition have the ball (probably a bit better suited to pressing higher up the pitch rather than on the edge of our area) but always looking to join the attack.  JJ is probably more of a ball carrier looking to burst past the front 3 so maybe slightly more Gerrard like.  So I think we need an Alonso type - great passer, strong at holding onto the ball and controlling the pace of the game under the press.  And I guess that last thing is the crucial part.  Luiz and McGinn are not good at resisting the press and either give the ball away cheaply or rush into trying an ambitious pass that 99% of the time ends up either out of play or with the opposition.  Luiz would be the obvious current answer in our current team - but for me there are question marks defensively and I worry about the pace that he (doesn't) inject into play in either direction.  My main issue is that Luiz and McGinn is that I don't think they complement each other very well.  If Luiz is struggling to get his passing game together then you don't give the ball to McGinn and expect him to take over.  Similarly, if McGinn is struggling to run at the opposition back line then Luiz isn't going to do that.

So I think what we need is someone between the skill-sets of Kamara and Luiz to fill the "Alonso role" if you like.  Someone whose main job will be to get the ball off Kamara and look to link with McGinn or our attacking players, but who can also control the ball, battle to get the ball back, etc.  Bit more importantly someone who can also effortlessly cover Kamara if we need to change shape slightly or if Kamara misses a couple of matches.

I can almost hear people saying "ah yeah well of course if we could sign one of the best players in the world we'd be better but it won't happen" so just to reiterate I am not proposing signing the current or the next Xabi Alonso.  I am just using those players as an example of three players who really complemented each other and provided great balance and obviously picking players that played with our current manager provides a neat symmetry.  I think we can achieve that balance at the level at which we are recruiting.  Kamara is a great first step.  Tim, JJ and AJ all have great promise.  My issue is that I don't think that any combo of McGinn, Luiz and Sanson gives us that balance.  All good players in their own right and all with a part to play across the season and certainly at times we could play with two of them on the pitch at the same time.

In terms of up front - I think ultimately we need someone who is sharper around the edge of the box, able to link up with our attacking midfielders and who has the vision to spot the runs of our fullbacks, AMs or JJ / McGinn.  Ollie just plays with his head down too much.  That player might be Archer in a season or two.  The question is can we persist with Ollie whilst we wait to find out whether we have his replacement here already?

Thanks for the detailed response, it makes a lot of sense. It is sort of what I am thinking but your knowledge of the game clearly exceeds mine and you got your point across in much fewer words than I would have. From what I have seen of Sangare he may be a step in the right direction to that Alonso role. It also makes me think that Gallagher would probably be a little too light weight and not the right type of player, yet there are many calls for us to get him.

 

Again, thx for putting the effort into the response

[Tayls]

4 hours ago, joshharris12 said:

Looking like our window is done 

Tayls likes this. 

[allani]

51 minutes ago, Monkeypuzzle said:

I see lots of people talking about Douglas Luiz or Sanson needing to move on before a new player can come in. I find that very strange as surely Nakamba is bottom of the pile when it comes to our midfield six? McGinn, Ramsey, Luiz, Kamara and Sanson are all surely rated higher? Any new incoming midfielder I simply see as a Nakamba replacement. Worst case scenario if we sign a defensive minded midfielder who can go straight into the starting lineup once settled is that Nakamba doesn't make the squad for this season as we continue to look for somewhere to move him on. People sound very hopeful that Luiz is going to sign a new contract too.

Exactly!  I think Luiz and Sanson coming off the bench show a HUGE strength in depth and offer us plenty of options to try and change the flow of a match / react to different opponents.  I would be looking to keep them both.

[CVByrne]

48 minutes ago, MWARLEY2 said:

Yes this is true. We are always held up by many as one of the transfer window winners but results do not follow. The covid season is the only one where we saw the influence our transfers had on results. 

Well last summer they said we spent the money well replacing Grealish. It was more what they did from a bad situation was good. Bailey spent the season injured essentially. Buendia had niggling injuries at the start but got going after a few months and Ings didn't score as many as we all know he can. I still think we'll look at all three players as successful signings come end of this season. 

The summer before we had a blinder in the transfer market. Especially when you add in Barkleys form before he got injured. 

We almost "did a Fulham" the summer before.

[CVByrne]

53 minutes ago, Monkeypuzzle said:

I see lots of people talking about Douglas Luiz or Sanson needing to move on before a new player can come in. I find that very strange as surely Nakamba is bottom of the pile when it comes to our midfield six? McGinn, Ramsey, Luiz, Kamara and Sanson are all surely rated higher? Any new incoming midfielder I simply see as a Nakamba replacement. Worst case scenario if we sign a defensive minded midfielder who can go straight into the starting lineup once settled is that Nakamba doesn't make the squad for this season as we continue to look for somewhere to move him on. People sound very hopeful that Luiz is going to sign a new contract too.

We all see Naka as good to have around for the season as Tim finds his feet. We have our two longer term 6s at the club so selling Naka to sign another doesn't make sense as it would block Tims path. 

[eholm]

26 minutes ago, allani said:

OK so this is a massive oversimplification but bear with me.  I think a midfield like Hamann / Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard is probably as close to being an almost ideal midfield 3 as you can get.  Pigeon-holing them into a kind of warrior, conductor and hero category is far too limited.  They were all pretty well-rounded players in their own right.  But as a trio they offer real balance - good at defending the ball, good at winning the ball back, good at retaining possession, good at passing the ball and controlling play and then obviously you have Gerrard arriving from deep and providing a real goal / attacking threat.  Now obviously they were three of the best midfielders in the world at the time so I am not suggesting that we are trying to replicate them or sign world beaters!!!  That would be crazy!

I think Kamara gives us the Hamann type player - he looks like a good tackler, but can also spot a good pass and is good on the ball meaning that he can play his way out of pressure. McGinn / JJ are our Gerrard types - pain in the **** when the opposition have the ball (probably a bit better suited to pressing higher up the pitch rather than on the edge of our area) but always looking to join the attack.  JJ is probably more of a ball carrier looking to burst past the front 3 so maybe slightly more Gerrard like.  So I think we need an Alonso type - great passer, strong at holding onto the ball and controlling the pace of the game under the press.  And I guess that last thing is the crucial part.  Luiz and McGinn are not good at resisting the press and either give the ball away cheaply or rush into trying an ambitious pass that 99% of the time ends up either out of play or with the opposition.  Luiz would be the obvious current answer in our current team - but for me there are question marks defensively and I worry about the pace that he (doesn't) inject into play in either direction.  My main issue is that Luiz and McGinn is that I don't think they complement each other very well.  If Luiz is struggling to get his passing game together then you don't give the ball to McGinn and expect him to take over.  Similarly, if McGinn is struggling to run at the opposition back line then Luiz isn't going to do that.

So I think what we need is someone between the skill-sets of Kamara and Luiz to fill the "Alonso role" if you like.  Someone whose main job will be to get the ball off Kamara and look to link with McGinn or our attacking players, but who can also control the ball, battle to get the ball back, etc.  Bit more importantly someone who can also effortlessly cover Kamara if we need to change shape slightly or if Kamara misses a couple of matches.

I can almost hear people saying "ah yeah well of course if we could sign one of the best players in the world we'd be better but it won't happen" so just to reiterate I am not proposing signing the current or the next Xabi Alonso.  I am just using those players as an example of three players who really complemented each other and provided great balance and obviously picking players that played with our current manager provides a neat symmetry.  I think we can achieve that balance at the level at which we are recruiting.  Kamara is a great first step.  Tim, JJ and AJ all have great promise.  My issue is that I don't think that any combo of McGinn, Luiz and Sanson gives us that balance.  All good players in their own right and all with a part to play across the season and certainly at times we could play with two of them on the pitch at the same time.

In terms of up front - I think ultimately we need someone who is sharper around the edge of the box, able to link up with our attacking midfielders and who has the vision to spot the runs of our fullbacks, AMs or JJ / McGinn.  Ollie just plays with his head down too much.  That player might be Archer in a season or two.  The question is can we persist with Ollie whilst we wait to find out whether we have his replacement here already?

Superb post, sir. Perefectly encapsulates our current CM deficiencies and the type of recruitment we need. 

[MWARLEY2]

2 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Well last summer they said we spent the money well replacing Grealish. It was more what they did from a bad situation was good. Bailey spent the season injured essentially. Buendia had niggling injuries at the start but got going after a few months and Ings didn't score as many as we all know he can. I still think we'll look at all three players as successful signings come end of this season. 

The summer before we had a blinder in the transfer market. Especially when you add in Barkleys form before he got injured. 

We almost "did a Fulham" the summer before.

I am not knocking Villa at all. I can see why every player was bought. They are really good signings. They just didnt dramatically effect our league position last summer or the jan window. But that was the Jack effect. 

Digne  Chambers Olsen Coutinho Kamara Carlos Augustinson to add to Buendia Ings and Bailey is brilliant work . 

If we can get a system to get the most out of them then i would put our players up against anyone outside of the top 6 . Its just consistnecy thats lacking   not ability

[thabucks]

I know we don’t urgently need a striker but I’d Chuck £40mill plus at Salzburg for Sesko and drop similar on Matheus Nunes and then the squad is complete . Won’t happen I know but think we have ambitions above our current station and you never know 

[allani]

20 minutes ago, Peter Griffin said:

Thanks for the detailed response, it makes a lot of sense. It is sort of what I am thinking but your knowledge of the game clearly exceeds mine and you got your point across in much fewer words than I would have. From what I have seen of Sangare he may be a step in the right direction to that Alonso role. It also makes me think that Gallagher would probably be a little too light weight and not the right type of player, yet there are many calls for us to get him.

 

Again, thx for putting the effort into the response

Didn't see enough of Gallagher last season to be 100% convinced but my impression is that he would be a McGinn replacement rather than a fit for the role that I think we need.  And in that regard I would agree with what I think @CVByrne said (at least I think that is who said it) - an upgrade from McGinn to Gallagher would be a small upgrade whereas I think the right midfielder would (like Kamara will be) a step change capable of taking us to the next level.

[Peter Griffin]

10 minutes ago, allani said:

Didn't see enough of Gallagher last season to be 100% convinced but my impression is that he would be a McGinn replacement rather than a fit for the role that I think we need.  And in that regard I would agree with what I think @CVByrne said (at least I think that is who said it) - an upgrade from McGinn to Gallagher would be a small upgrade whereas I think the right midfielder would (like Kamara will be) a step change capable of taking us to the next level.

Yeah, Gallagher as a McGinn upgrade makes sense. 

I just watched the transfer show on Sky where they were saying Man Utd should have bought Kamara and in 3 weeks time people will realise just how good Kamara is 

[VillaFaninLondon]

The problem is, whilst we had a great start to the window, other teams that we will be hoping to compete with have now caught us up. West Ham have signed 3 players now for big money who all look like they could really improve them (and they were already finishing 7th), Newcastle throwing bids at Maddison and will surely make another 1-2 big signings before the window closes. I really thought we would have a window like Spurs have had, with 3-4 potential first team players coming in, instead it's only 2 (Kamara and Carlos), and Spurs achieved their objectives last season whilst we fell well short.

 

I don't need to say what a great job our owners have done so far, but net spend recently has been really light. We made a surplus last summer, so far this summer we have spent around 5m net, and given we play in such a strong league where everyone is spending and we want to finish 7th I really thought we would be investing more. I know we want to move more players on, but that hasn't stopped other teams investing despite having players on their books they don't want. 

 

I will be really disappointed if we don't sign another player for the first team. As we stand now we've had a decent window and probably the 8th or 9th best out of all PL teams, but I feel the top 6 and West Ham have done better and Newcastle will (once they confirm another couple of top signings which I am expecting to happen). And based on that it's very hard to say we'll finish much higher than 9th or 10th. If they want to continue saying we want to finish top 7 and get this club back into Europe, fine, but actually back that up by investing in the areas that need strengthening.

[Vive_La_Villa]

If the club has 40m to spend I think they should give a million or two to me. I’d do great things with that money. 

The remaining 38 million can be used to sign this great number 8 everyone is craving for or a new striker that is apparently going to score more goals than Watkins or Ings ever could. 
 

Come on Villa, pull your finger out!

Edited August 3, 2022 by Vive_La_Villa

[PaulMcGrath_5]

8 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

If the club has 40m to spend I think they should give a million or two to me. I’d do great things with that money. 

The remaining 38 million can be used to sign this great number 8 everyone is craving for or a new striker that is apparently going to score more goals than Watkins or Ings ever could. 
 

Come on Villa, pull your finger out!

What would you do?