maqroll

Weird that Mendes played Villa and his good mate(?) Sawiris here...how does this work behind the scenes when personal relationships are involved?

If he's married, the wife would probably prefer Paris, it has to be said. Closer commute back to Spain as well.

He filled in with aplomb, but you could see that he started to run out of gas several games ago. It was an incredible second act with Villa to cement his legacy forever. Sadly, we need to get used to this type of dispassionate move by Emery. No room for sentimentality. I really hope Ashley gets his coaching badges and returns to the Villa fold. He'd make an exceptional youth team coach and in time who knows? Future Villa boss? I'd love to see it.

New Tapas bar in the Bull Ring?

Yep, we have to view Spurs and Chelsea as sides that we can and need to thwart next season. If we had Emery all last season, we might be in the Champions League. So we should be aiming for 4th, at the expense of Spurs, Chelsea and one of Newcastle, Man Utd and Arsenal. Is this a fanciful notion? Perhaps. But Emery appears to be full of piss and vinegar and if we get a few real impact players in this summer, we should set our sights on that tournament.

Exactly, and it's been done before at Villa. Does everyone forget Ross Barkley?

Can't trust you because you spell Villan incorrectly in your handle.

We are more attractive right now to major continental players from huge clubs than ever before, and the fact that Emery speaks Spanish and Asensio's agent is good friends with Sawiris, is very significant. I love that I'm reading tweets that mention us with Real Madrid, PSG and AC Milan. This is fantastic!

Anyone have concerns about his recovery from ACL injury?

Has he been a regular starter for Real?

He wears black boots. Sign him up.

We should never sign a player based on sentiment, quotas or marketing value alone. Even Messi. We should only sign players who fill a positional need, improve the team, align with long term strategy, and whose fee and wages are agreeable. If we can find an American player who checks those boxes, I'll be all for it.

As an American, I'm sorry to say that we should be looking at a higher calibre player than these two. And you can add McKennie to that. All not good enough for where we want to be.

I'd think the SF group is either bailing with immediate effect, or celebrating that they can get in on the club for less money. The fact that they didn't improve their defense over the last two windows is shocking. Their core players busted their asses for Bielsa and Marsch and yes, some of them aren't very good, but some are and they've been let down by the Leeds brass. As have their fans. They'll have a nice parachute payment and start over. I'd bet that they'll be back sooner rather than later, but I won't miss them at all. Pretty rancid fanbase and just a manic negativity hangs over the entire club and ground. They won't be missed.

I really dislike this type of stuff from clubs or businesses on Twitter. I'm sure some people at the club would cringe at this. It seems weird to give some random social media person the power to editorialize and not just post pertinent information. But it's Chelsea, so this is what they truly are, ultimately. A midtable "Banter Club".

I think it's more his age. He doesn't particularly care one way or the other. And that might have been fairly clear to the players. The Leeds board deserve this and if the owner smartens up, he should replace them all.

This will necessitate a bigger squad. It'll be interesting to see how this all develops in terms of personnel. Would love to see Archer And Kesler make the team, and I think the early round games could be a great opportunity for them to contribute while getting invaluable experience competing in challenging environments. Also solid options for early round cup matches. I really want Archer to get a shot at being an absolute assassin for us, even if he's not the first choice. He's earned the chance and I hope Emery is taking a hard look at match tape. I'd assume he's up to snuff on Cam, but you never know.

Sticking with Marsch was their best option. They sign his January targets and then sack him in a fortnight. Idiotic.

I guess not that frank But his assessment of the players and the club in general was very direct and blunt, if not scathing.

Pickford is a bit awkward in interviews.

Ramsey finishing the season with a bang. His miss was a harder chance to take upon replay. But sill a miss, and he's missed a few sitters now. Hopefully he can tighten that up and add to his Villa goal tally. But his overall play today was electric. The sky is truly the limit with him. I do worry a bit about his progress if he's on the bench more next season.

Allardyce very frank in post match interview. No bullshit and I like that.

Bamford back where he belongs.

Crushing for Leeds who thought they'd be challenging for Europe with Bielsa not long ago.