Jas10 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Demitri_C said: How is gonçalves doing? We were hevaily linked with him in summer wonder if we will go back in for him I think they priced him out of a move… Sporting’s demands were way too high. Sold Ugarte to PSG so less of a need to sell too. Maybe a ship that has sailed… 5 goals and 6 assists in 20 apps this season so far… not quite as prolific as previous ones but he seems to play in a variety of positions now… certainly not a CF, hasn’t played there this season - mainly on the wing. I don’t think we’ll be spending massive fees on any player unless they are almost guarantees or have world class talent or potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Demitri_C said: How is gonçalves doing? We were hevaily linked with him in summer wonder if we will go back in for him Not sure if it was ever a genuine link or whether we had genuine interest either… hard to tell these days. Too many rumours and BS floated and spread around. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMkali Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 14 minutes ago, TheMelvillan said: I think January signings can really only be players Emery has worked with before if we want them to make an instant impact. Emerys style is highly complex so to expect a player to come in and fit in seemlessly is a huge ask. I would say an average player who has been in a round Villa training over the last 12 months is arguably more valuable to us than a better player who has to come in and learn it all I disagree we as a team were immediately better as soon as we hired emery. There is an international break between the 14th and 28th of Jan (for Afcon and Asia Cup). If we bring in someone in the early days of the window say 6th-10th, Emery has 2 weeks to get them up to speed. And since the goal isn't necessarily to have them start immediately it's fine. We can continue with Torres, Carlos, Konsa or play cashy at RB if necessary. Alex Moreno also had an instant impact coming in during January, so I don't see any reason why thy couldn't be true for any RB we sign. And with the CDM it's even easier they wouldn't be first choice as they'd be behind Kamara and Luiz. They'd get minutes ofc but we aren't relying on them to be tactically astute for 90mpg immediately just the 30mpg we bring them on for and vs whoever we might play in the conference league r16 and FA Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdulaziz1 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 I think we have to be clever again this winter, we’re in a position were it’s not easy to upgrade, and we’ll need to improve the squad. Not many will come knowing they won’t feature. If we continued our form and became at the top end of this month. We really need to push for it (while not forgetting ECL or FA cup). How to do that without affecting our future plans? We still need to be sustainable. If Emery can get his players knowing how he’ll give them minutes then great. We’ll probably need a backup for Luiz and Watkins (assuming Dendonker stays). People might not like what I say, but getting someone like Martial on loan from Utd could really work. We shall use loans properly, this would mean sending Zaniolo back. Who can be someone like Martial? Wether as a striker or 8. Will Barca leave Ferran Torres to come? I doubt that especially with Lenglet limited time. Until then, I’d hope Emery to give Tim a chance to see if he’s ready for the current system or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBOB Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 5 hours ago, DakotaVilla said: David Ornstein on the Athletic pod specifically said our focus in Jan will be on RB and on upgrading Donks. As long as a RB gets in, I think that would be good enough for me. Not 100% ideal but January business is almost never good save for Moreno last season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MotoMkali Posted December 12, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 12, 2023 Conversely a quality backup CDM is by the far most important thing for us imo. With RB cash and Konsa are serviceable there even if it isn't ideal. But as we get more fixtures from the conference league and a potential FA Cup run we desperately need to be able to rotate Dougie and Kamara out of some games and sub them off when they are flagging in others. We saw vs the arsenal game how much we struggled because those 2 were flagging and how the game changed when Dendoncker came on for Kamara. Having a better player in that situation would open so many doors for us imo. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Jas10 said: I suppose we are well stocked with forward players… maybe we will look to move some on before bringing any more in and upgrading. Regardless of FFP or finances, it does seem like we will do that (free up squad places) before or while bringing new players in. I think Unai will continue to prefer a smaller or tighter group as he has discussed… But I’ll still hold some hope for one top class signing like that I think we can offer even more of an attacking threat and, especially, a more clinical and ruthless edge if we do good business and identify the right player. I think it’s always possible to upgrade but it’s about attracting that player too - we are certainly more appealing in that sense now! Attackers: Ramsey, Zaniolo, Bailey, Diaby, Traore, Tielemans now too… Strikers: Watkins, Duran Buendia on the way back… We have the numbers but… we can also improve. We could even play Bailey and Diaby in the same side if we wanted… McGinn can play pretty much anywhere Who knows on Zaniolo, I still hope he can hit form and show his quality, Berty will be gone soon but needs to keep fit to help us out, great to have JJ back (aided by Moreno), Bailey is playing so well and with a smile on his face, Diaby has a fight on to get back in the side and motivation to show his worth and quality, Tielemans is doing really well now… It’s intriguing at the very least… Mentioned in another thread , I wonder if Champs League qualification would give us a boost big enough to BOTH keep our best players ( on improved contracts ) and make one or two big signings. Add to that moving on the fringe players as we say, basically move on say 4 - 5 " fringe " players and replacing with 1 - 2 high quality players. Bare in mind, Unai doesn't necessarily need big " names ". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DakotaVilla Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 The answer to that is hell yes. Minimum 8 games and a probable 10. Probably a minimum 15m participation bonus with extra 2m per win and then all the commercial revenue on top of that. Then all the extra sponsorship etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 4 hours ago, MotoMkali said: I disagree we as a team were immediately better as soon as we hired emery. In the two games after Gerrard we averaged 1.5 ppg compared to the 0.8 to 0.9 with Gerrard.* * Not statistically significant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: Mentioned in another thread , I wonder if Champs League qualification would give us a boost big enough to BOTH keep our best players ( on improved contracts ) and make one or two big signings. Add to that moving on the fringe players as we say, basically move on say 4 - 5 " fringe " players and replacing with 1 - 2 high quality players. Bear in mind, Unai doesn't necessarily need big " names ". What do I know but… I’m just not concerned about our key players. We’re in an amazing place under an amazing manager… I’m sure they’re all engrossed in our “project” or vision/plans and thoroughly enjoying this journey… our important players seem happy and fully “on board” with eyes seemingly set on our objectives and goals… Recent results and performances only help, greatly so. No one needs convincing anymore. I think anyone who would want out, would be stupid really… especially right now. But I don’t believe thats the case anyway. Ollie signing a new deal was a great sign also. Other than those players that are relatively sidelined or uninvolved… I feel quite confident that, as a collective, manager, coaches and players are fully focused and engrossed in what we are doing and trying to achieve. To respond to your question… absolutely. It’s the best way for us to progress at an even faster rate and much more important in that regard compared to winning a trophy such as ECL or even FA cup. Like it or not, CL really is the be all and end all for the most successful and richest teams… it would gives us an incredible boost in all ways… We can still make big signings if we don’t make it (we managed to get Pau and Diaby, or scratch that - Bailey ) but if we do, we can set our sights even higher and there is much less “book balancing” to do… For me, it’s only the fringe players that are likely to leave and be replaced. That’s where we can free up room and a bit of money (mainly wages) in order to bring in much better players that can make more of an impact and contribution. I just have no fear as long as Unai is with us… the most important person at the club. As long as he gets what he wants but… as you kind of pointed to… his demands aren’t similar to the massive egos around… he knows how to get the very best out of the players at his disposal. Certainly not a chequebook manager… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thats2 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 10 hours ago, Leeroy said: I always liked Jonathan David but after a great season last season he’s been mediocre so far this season David might be a bit too high profile for a January move, but I think we should be looking at this type of player. Someone with a good reputation who's lost his form. Maybe we can find a January bargain. Given what Unai has done for the players he inherited, I have full faith he can bring out the best in a talented but out-of-form player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 5 hours ago, Jas10 said: Percy seems a lot less informed these days Perhaps his source is no longer at the club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoVillan1983 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 55 minutes ago, Thats2 said: David might be a bit too high profile for a January move, but I think we should be looking at this type of player. Someone with a good reputation who's lost his form. Maybe we can find a January bargain. Given what Unai has done for the players he inherited, I have full faith he can bring out the best in a talented but out-of-form player. Team 100% strikes me as value guys. I say take fliers on players in a bad patch - it's clear that Unai can turn anyone around. Look how bad Tielemans look for Leicester last year. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBOB Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Thats2 said: David might be a bit too high profile for a January move, but I think we should be looking at this type of player. Someone with a good reputation who's lost his form. Maybe we can find a January bargain. Given what Unai has done for the players he inherited, I have full faith he can bring out the best in a talented but out-of-form player. He's struggled a bit in front of goal and his numbers last year were inflated by 10 penalties. Fair enough he buried 10/11 of them, but he's one of those that can't create a lot by himself either and is not nearly as good of a hold up player as Ollie. Lille also played with two up top but Yilmaz left this year and David has also struggled being the single striker. So there's some questions about his ability to fit into our system there too. Nothing that Unai probably couldn't coach but I don't think we're going to churn out the money we need for David when we have some other areas that need to be addressed first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thats2 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, DJBOB said: Nothing that Unai probably couldn't coach but I don't think we're going to churn out the money we need for David when we have some other areas that need to be addressed first. Fair and to be honest, I'm not advocating for an approach for David specifically as much as I am a player like David - a talented player in poor form. Honestly I don't know enough about David one way or the other to back his signing, so perhaps I erred in calling him "talented." But there are loads of good players out there in bad form for one reason or another, I think that might be the best way to find a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulberto21 Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 Dani Parejo on a short term loan till end of season would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 (edited) Onana might be available in January as GK backup but I think he's downgrade on Olsen Edited December 12, 2023 by Kiwivillan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MaVilla Posted December 13, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 13, 2023 9 hours ago, abdulaziz1 said: People might not like what I say, but getting someone like Martial on loan from Utd could really work. We shall use loans properly, this would mean sending Zaniolo back. Who can be someone like Martial? Wether as a striker or 8. Martial? Are they putting stuff in your food mate? The guy has been a super turd, in a team of turds, he's captain turd, Master and Turdmander, Captain Francais - the Turd Avenger. He needs flushing down the toilet, not coming on loan to ruin the Villa. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoVillan1983 Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 1 hour ago, MaVilla said: Martial? Are they putting stuff in your food mate? The guy has been a super turd, in a team of turds, he's captain turd, Master and Turdmander, Captain Francais - the Turd Avenger. He needs flushing down the toilet, not coming on loan to ruin the Villa. Buy a turd. Give him to Unai Polish it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul514 Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 13 hours ago, Jas10 said: No idea on RB, but we could really do with a high quality one, and ideally suited to Unai’s system and style. For DM I’ll just throw out these names: Mikel Merino & Martin Zubimendi. Maybe we don’t really need any/many signings but… a boost to our attack is always welcome… could there be a surprise in the works? We are certainly an exciting and attractive proposition… I’d love to see a demonstration of our ambitions and aspirations… let’s make the most of this moment and the staggering progress we have made so far… we can really achieve something of major significance… Let’s see, we do need depth in midfield and the ability to rest or rotate an integral player such as Kamara. I think that’s very important… with Tielemans playing in and more suited to an attacking role (and Dendoncker’s limitations)… it’s where we have the least depth or options really. I’d sooner put Super John McGinn in the middle over anyone else whenever Doug or Bouba need a break… in monstrous form. Bailey’s form (lovely to see) has shown just what an asset genuine competition can be… who would’ve thought Diaby would be fighting for a place in the side? Expect him to get back in there but he has a battle on his hands… motivation… It’s what we want/need all through the team to be as competitive and progressive as possible really… how high are our ambitions? Regardless, it’s a hugely exciting time… We’ve come such a long way in such a short time… thank you so much King Unai. I hope he is given all of the tools he wants and needs… Zubimendi would be my pick to for the Kamara role, Frimpong for Cash, a back up keeper and if there is change from 100m (that is what I think we should spend) then I would go for Cherki he is clearly available on the cheap this January as a bit of a wildcard. All the obvious ones can go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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