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Which three former players would you sign in this window (if you could)?

John

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CVByrne Grand Master

CVByrne

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On 26/06/2022 at 09:22, CVByrne said:

Only Grealish

I didn't read the OP so assumed it was any former player only playing right now and at their current level. Grealish is only former player I'd take back. Maybe Idrissa Guye too actually. While Milner would be good to have around the squad and team. 

If we can go back in time to pick players at their peak. I would still only look for players who could play the modern game. So like McGrath wouldn't be able to thrive in modern football if we took him at his peak to Villa right now.

Shortlist is really Milner, Barry, Benteke, Grealish, Gueye and Pires, assuming Young is excluded. I think Laursen, Mellberg probably not as good as Mings / Carlos if they had to be dropped into the modern game. 

I'd probably go with Milner and Grealish for sure. I don't know how peak Pires would get on in modern game. So it'd be between Gueye and Barry and I'd probably side with Barry. 

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John Grand Master

John

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39 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

I didn't read the OP so assumed it was any former player only playing right now and at their current level. Grealish is only former player I'd take back. Maybe Idrissa Guye too actually. While Milner would be good to have around the squad and team. 

If we can go back in time to pick players at their peak. I would still only look for players who could play the modern game. So like McGrath wouldn't be able to thrive in modern football if we took him at his peak to Villa right now.

Shortlist is really Milner, Barry, Benteke, Grealish, Gueye and Pires, assuming Young is excluded. I think Laursen, Mellberg probably not as good as Mings / Carlos if they had to be dropped into the modern game. 

I'd probably go with Milner and Grealish for sure. I don't know how peak Pires would get on in modern game. So it'd be between Gueye and Barry and I'd probably side with Barry. 

We often hear that players from the past wouldn't be able to adapt to football today. I'm of the opinion that if they were good enough then, they would (having worked on their fitness levels, taken on new ideas and trained with their new teammates for a pre-season) have soon be able to adapt to the modern game. I know there have been changes in football, over the last 50 years and I've seen them myself. I also think that, I would have been able to play football at the same level now as I did as a youngster, given a quick crash course in the changes in the game (albeit as badly now, as I did back then, in my case;)). I would therefore back the likes of Rioch, Little, Gray, Mortimer, Morley, Shaw, Saunders and McGrath, to soon become as effective now as they were back then. Sadly without one of these we won't be able to know for sure, which one of us is actually right about this:

image.jpeg.4f5bc5dd3eed03a3f260ddd4dee0eb2d.jpeg   

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CVByrne Grand Master

CVByrne

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3 hours ago, John said:

We often hear that players from the past wouldn't be able to adapt to football today. I'm of the opinion that if they were good enough then, they would (having worked on their fitness levels, taken on new ideas and trained with their new teammates for a pre-season) have soon be able to adapt to the modern game. I know there have been changes in football, over the last 50 years and I've seen them myself. I also think that, I would have been able to play football at the same level now as I did as a youngster, given a quick crash course in the changes in the game (albeit as badly now, as I did back then, in my case;)). I would therefore back the likes of Rioch, Little, Gray, Mortimer, Morley, Shaw, Saunders and McGrath, to soon become as effective now as they were back then. Sadly without one of these we won't be able to know for sure, which one of us is actually right about this:

image.jpeg.4f5bc5dd3eed03a3f260ddd4dee0eb2d.jpeg   

I totally agree if many of those players were around in the modern era and went through the modern systems from a young age they would probably still be great players. But we are asked in the OP to take a past Villa player at their peak, so that would be transporting that player from the year we deemed their peak straight into modern times to have as part of the squad. So no ex Villa players players from the 1990s for example have the tactical upbringing, fitness levels and diet required for modern prem football. 

This is why the answer for me is Grealish, Milner and Barry

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YLN Mentor

YLN

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4 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

I totally agree if many of those players were around in the modern era and went through the modern systems from a young age they would probably still be great players. But we are asked in the OP to take a past Villa player at their peak, so that would be transporting that player from the year we deemed their peak straight into modern times to have as part of the squad. So no ex Villa players players from the 1990s for example have the tactical upbringing, fitness levels and diet required for modern prem football. 

This is why the answer for me is Grealish, Milner and Barry

So smart

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John Grand Master

John

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23 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

Jack Greelish...Fabian Delph...Tony Hateley.

That brings to mind a couple of quotes from Tommy Docherty on his passes, which he thought should be labelled "To whom it may concern" , on his ball control, "This boy can trap a ball further than I could kick it" and his overall opinion, of him "Tony Hateley had it all. The only thing he lacked was ability". :D  That said, he might just have kept us up in 1966/67, had the board not accepted £100,000 for him in October (with 5 goals already scored for us, following 28 the previous season) from you guessed it, Tommy Docherty. 

image.jpeg.8c45608952603d19a2362ce2a5d515ab.jpeg

 

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TomC Veteran

TomC

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Players from any era? I'd try to upgrade one each in defense, midfield, and attack.

Defense: As much as I rate Mings, and suspect that I'll rate Diego Carlos, McGrath is an upgrade on either.

Forward: Billy Walker, because you just know that he'll score more goals than Ings or Watkins.

Midfield: It's tempting to say Sid Cowans, but only if Kamara is getting the job done as a DM...otherwise, Sid would unbalance the midfield even more than it already is. But if you want a DM, what past star can we say was truly a DM in the modern sense? Frank Barson was a centre-half when centre-halves played in midfield in a 2-3-5, so maybe he's the closest thing. Or maybe I'd go with Mortimer as an all-rounder.

Players still in the game, in their current form? Grealish, Milner, Gueye. Benteke isn't scoring like he used to, and Milner & Gueye would upgrade the midfield, even if Milner isn't going to play every game.

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