VillaJay Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 1 hour ago, Nigel said: Really hope it doesn't come to that, there will be enough pressure as it is! I'd take that now if you gave it to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allani Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 2 hours ago, fightoffyour said: This only shows currently injured players: And this, while not giving a number, shows everything you need to know (except the key which didn't copy): One thing that the table doesn't quite factor in is that we've had to play players before they've fully returned to fitness. For example, it implies that Moreno and Digne getting injured only impacted one or two matches - whereas in reality Moreno shouldn't have started at least 4 matches when he came back from injury but we had to play him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJay Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 1 hour ago, GlobalVillan said: I really think we need to match Spurs' result this weekend. If they win and we lose then I think we are done in the race for 4th, given they will be 3 points ahead with a game in hand and a far better goal difference. Added to that Burnley and Sheffield United are their last 2 games whilst ours a Liverpool and Palace, I dont think we would be able to make up the ground required during their difficult run of games. Huge weekend ahead. Realistically to keep us in a shout with 4th place, Newcastle need to win this weekend, if Spurs win, they most likely will get 9 points minimum bringing them to 69 and a better goal difference. I can see us getting another 6-7 points, if we were to beat Arsenal I could see us getting 9-10 points and even then that might not be enough for 4th if Spurs win this weekend. 5th and qualifying via co-efficient seems to me the most likely scenario for us to get CL football and in truth that would be preferable if it meant we win the conference league too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 24 minutes ago, juanpablosaliceband said: It was actually 84% this time yesterday. Still, 57% is better than 43%! 'The horse doesn't know the odds' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarnikjak Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 52 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: 'The horse doesn't know the odds' Thank you sir, voice of reason. You only need to look at how these odds change massively after every week to come to the conclusions that we shouldn't pay any attention to them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted April 12 VT Supporter Share Posted April 12 1 hour ago, VillaJay said: I'd take that now if you gave it to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 2 hours ago, allani said: Don't they also still have the Top 3, Newcastle (a) and Chelsea? There's plenty of scope for them to drop points and if they don't and instead win most of those five then hats off. Yes and I covered that in my earlier post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Xela Posted April 12 Popular Post Share Posted April 12 7 hours ago, The_Steve said: I want us to win the conference so bad and we are a in strong position to make the semis. It’s in our hands still. The seeding is secondary, let's focus on our tasks first. Amen. If we win the ECL and finish 5th, and still don't qualify for the champions league, it'll still be an amazing season and I'll be thrilled. Being a token entrant into the champions league isn't the be all and end all of football. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCollins29 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 41 minutes ago, Xela said: Amen. If we win the ECL and finish 5th, and still don't qualify for the champions league, it'll still be an amazing season and I'll be thrilled. Being a token entrant into the champions league isn't the be all and end all of football. I would agree with this if it wasnt for the looming PSR issue we clearly have. Champions League qualification (imo) is essential for revenue building, keeping our best players, which then means being able to launch a similiar challenge for top 4 next season. Fail to qualify this year and we will certainly lose 1 if not 2 of our key players, whilst other teams strengthen. It would be devastating not to qualify after the season we've had and would leave so much uncertainty aboit the squad for next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBOB Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 I wouldn't necessarily say it was devastating if we didn't make UCL, but I really think people underplay the jump start of funds and recognition (especially with the new format) we could get if we qualified for UCL this year. The good thing is that we're about halfway through dropping some of these atrocious contracts that have been signed over the years and have locked up long term futures of a lot of key players (Watkins/Emi/JJ/McGinn/Konas/Pau/Diaby). Unai doesn't like operating with a huge squad anyway and likes to give youth a chance so Europa league is not the end of the world. If we can find a way to move a lot of the dead wood and high wages (sorry Digne!), then I think we can still make 1 or 2 astute signings in the summer. If you had asked me 3 years ago if there was a possibility that Real Madrid or Barcelona or either of the Milan clubs would be playing at VP next season, I would have called you absolutely delusional. But that's a real possibility now. So imagine 3 years from now what we could do if we cut the line into UCL and what kind of players Unai could attract and build around. Europa League would still be good and give us a chance at the competition, but I want to reiterate that Unai puts us in a way better position to maintain UCL and continue gaining ground as compared to Howe or Reneiri with Newcastle and Leicester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 19 minutes ago, GingerCollins29 said: I would agree with this if it wasnt for the looming PSR issue we clearly have. Champions League qualification (imo) is essential for revenue building, keeping our best players, which then means being able to launch a similiar challenge for top 4 next season. Fail to qualify this year and we will certainly lose 1 if not 2 of our key players, whilst other teams strengthen. It would be devastating not to qualify after the season we've had and would leave so much uncertainty aboit the squad for next year Wouldn't we have a PSR problem anyway? Talk of Newcastle having to sell to balance the books. What does it come down to in pounds and pence, the difference between the champions league and the europa league? Genuine question, as i'm not sure? I think most teams needs to sell players and balance books... even Man City (Cole Palmer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Delphinho123 Posted April 12 Popular Post Share Posted April 12 13 minutes ago, DJBOB said: I wouldn't necessarily say it was devastating if we didn't make UCL, but I really think people underplay the jump start of funds and recognition (especially with the new format) we could get if we qualified for UCL this year. The good thing is that we're about halfway through dropping some of these atrocious contracts that have been signed over the years and have locked up long term futures of a lot of key players (Watkins/Emi/JJ/McGinn/Konas/Pau/Diaby). Unai doesn't like operating with a huge squad anyway and likes to give youth a chance so Europa league is not the end of the world. If we can find a way to move a lot of the dead wood and high wages (sorry Digne!), then I think we can still make 1 or 2 astute signings in the summer. If you had asked me 3 years ago if there was a possibility that Real Madrid or Barcelona or either of the Milan clubs would be playing at VP next season, I would have called you absolutely delusional. But that's a real possibility now. So imagine 3 years from now what we could do if we cut the line into UCL and what kind of players Unai could attract and build around. Europa League would still be good and give us a chance at the competition, but I want to reiterate that Unai puts us in a way better position to maintain UCL and continue gaining ground as compared to Howe or Reneiri with Newcastle and Leicester. Agreed. It’s a weird one for me is the UCL. I almost care more about what comes with qualification than the tournament itself. I mean, I couldn’t tell you the last time I watched a CL game that wasn’t the final - and I miss most of those too. Everybody knows there is the potential for us to be very borderline when it comes to FFP this summer and there is talk that we may need to lose a player or two to stay compliant. Nobody can argue against the financial boost the CL will give us and Id feel a lot more secure as a fan knowing we have that money and we may not need to sell players in order to compete with the big boys. Or certainly forced to sell anyway. Our revenue is poor and our wage bill is high. If we go out in the group stages, fine, but the cash that comes with qualification is so important in our trajectory. Its fundamental. From a fan perspective, given we’ll be in the lowest pot, there will be some great days out to look forward to. Madrid, Bayern, Barca, PSG - home and away. Even if we only qualify once, it would be great for the fans to experience the chance to see these teams play Villa. For me, I’ll be devastated if we don’t qualify. I feel there is much riding on it. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dog Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 6 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Agreed. It’s a weird one for me is the UCL. I almost care more about what comes with qualification than the tournament itself. I mean, I couldn’t tell you the last time I watched a CL game that wasn’t the final - and I miss most of those too. Everybody knows there is the potential for us to be very borderline when it comes to FFP this summer and there is talk that we may need to lose a player or two to stay compliant. Nobody can argue against the financial boost the CL will give us and Id feel a lot more secure as a fan knowing we have that money and we may not need to sell players in order to compete with the big boys. Or certainly forced to sell anyway. Our revenue is poor and our wage bill is high. If we go out in the group stages, fine, but the cash that comes with qualification is so important in our trajectory. Its fundamental. From a fan perspective, given we’ll be in the lowest pot, there will be some great days out to look forward to. Madrid, Bayern, Barca, PSG - home and away. Even if we only qualify once, it would be great for the fans to experience the chance to see these teams play Villa. For me, I’ll be devastated if we don’t qualify. I feel there is much riding on it. Mate, home and away nearly every single game and I feel exactly the same. The qualification feels more significant than the tournament, but I guess that's football these days. Awarding the 4th best team in the league with a big payday, as fantastic as it would be for the club, isn't really football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBOB Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 8 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: Agreed. It’s a weird one for me is the UCL. I almost care more about what comes with qualification than the tournament itself. I mean, I couldn’t tell you the last time I watched a CL game that wasn’t the final - and I miss most of those too. Everybody knows there is the potential for us to be very borderline when it comes to FFP this summer and there is talk that we may need to lose a player or two to stay compliant. Nobody can argue against the financial boost the CL will give us and Id feel a lot more secure as a fan knowing we have that money and we may not need to sell players in order to compete with the big boys. Or certainly forced to sell anyway. Our revenue is poor and our wage bill is high. If we go out in the group stages, fine, but the cash that comes with qualification is so important in our trajectory. Its fundamental. From a fan perspective, given we’ll be in the lowest pot, there will be some great days out to look forward to. Madrid, Bayern, Barca, PSG - home and away. Even if we only qualify once, it would be great for the fans to experience the chance to see these teams play Villa. For me, I’ll be devastated if we don’t qualify. I feel there is much riding on it. Yeah we always say Villa are a big club and sleeping giants, but going away to Qarabag or LASK isn't exactly prestigious. There's still your Shakhtar's of the champions league but with us being low in the pot - we would be in for some blockbusters. Who doesn't want to see Villa vs Bayern again? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 I know there was a lot of talk about United catching us and they would have to an achieve championship winning form and how we would have to drop to relegation from. Well the latter is happening and will probably continue on Sunday. We are averaging 1ppg in the last 5 and not looking like we will pick up too much from there. That should be more than enough to get to 66 points and see off United easily but unless Spurs implode I just don’t see how we get 4th. I imagine we finish 6 points short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 I would love to be in the CL for the spectacle of it of course, but oddly I'm more concerned with our finances and how simply being in the competition can help us to that end, hopefully in the medium term as well. I would forego all of that to win the ECL though of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viivvaa66 Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 55 minutes ago, DJBOB said: Yeah we always say Villa are a big club and sleeping giants, but going away to Qarabag or LASK isn't exactly prestigious. There's still your Shakhtar's of the champions league but with us being low in the pot - we would be in for some blockbusters. Who doesn't want to see Villa vs Bayern again? In the new CL format the level of opponents will be the same for everybody, no matter what pot the you are in. Everybody will play one home match against a team from each pot, and one away match against a team from each pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvonVillain Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 6 hours ago, allani said: Don't they also still have the Top 3, Newcastle (a) and Chelsea? There's plenty of scope for them to drop points and if they don't and instead win most of those five then hats off. Completely. I think we'll get 4th simply because of the more difficult fixtures remaining for Spurs. If Spurs get 4th, then fair play to them, they deserve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 18 minutes ago, AvonVillain said: Completely. I think we'll get 4th simply because of the more difficult fixtures remaining for Spurs. If Spurs get 4th, then fair play to them, they deserve it. I remember thinking this about Brighton last year and they managed to beat the likes of Man City (albeit they got batted by Everton) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvonVillain Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 4 minutes ago, omariqy said: I remember thinking this about Brighton last year and they managed to beat the likes of Man City (albeit they got batted by Everton) They'll surely be unexpected results, starting Sunday! Newcastle would have to have a big off day to lose tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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