Tomaszk

It's harder to press in a 4231. Ive seen a lot of people saying they want to have two holders but press the game better. It's very difficult to do both, that's why all the top sides have moved away from 4231 and towards 433.

Up the Bertrand.

Traore starts for Trez. Only change.

More to do with quality than being established really. Southampton are comfortably better than all those sides IMO. I agree.

Yes. Yes. Huh? Think that's wishful thinking to be honest. Established PL side who whipped us twice last season. This would be a fantastic three points to get. And a very good point.

Watched him at Man City in the FA Youth Cup last season and he really did stand out. Pleased in the interview on the website he said he compares himself to Pogba because that's exactly who he reminded me of. Bit of filling out to do but he's very tall, can never be a bad thing in the middle of midfield. Incredibly composed in possession, worked space when there was none to be made and used the ball positively. He was playing against a predictably excellent City side featuring a few players that are now in first teams around Europe, and he was two years younger than them all. One to watch.

He needs to be incredibly aggressive when he plays, was often much too ponderous with everything he did. It'll take extra months for him to be ready mentally as well. I would imagine he won't be ready to start a PL game until March or April.

We? Who do you support again?

Lundstram's got some blood and thunder we definitely don't have. I quite like him. Limited on the ball but makes loads and loads of good runs off it. Would depend on the money. If he was in our squad now, he's exactly the player that would have made a big difference for us v Leeds instead of Barkley or McGinn.

I'd start him the next three regardless of his performance. Let's see what he's got. A new £19m winger shouldn't need to be at the top of his game to be better than Trezeguet. Saints home, Arsenal away, Brighton home. We can score against all those sides. Fill your boots Bertrand.

He's incredible for his age. Doesn't turn 21 until May and has it all physically. Get him in at 20 where he can be a good backup for the main lads. Then we're in a strong place when Chelsea come knocking for Konsa in 18 months. Has played RB a bit but will definitely end up a CB. Bad knee injury a year ago which we'd need to check out fully.

I agree. Look forward to people panning Smith for picking Ramsey when not ready if we don't win every game.

Any result that keeps Ole there is a good one. Wasn't the funny home loss I was hoping for but it puts more credit in Ole's little piggy bank. That's funny in a different way.

I agree. Barkley or McGinn unfit and injured are comfortably more use than Hourihane. Ramsey could have been tried maybe? He may have been steamrollered and had his confidence knocked. Balancing game. With so many off it, getting anything from that game was unlikely. And yet, we had one off the line and should have made it 2-0 with Grealish's run of the Gods.

Nakamba tries but is so limited on the ball. We need someone who can use the ball back there. If we're going to be knocking it round from Martinez, I trust Luiz more than anyone bar Grealish probably. Definitely more than Konsa and Mings who see the most of it back there. Luiz is a brilliant player, he's waaay down the list of issues with Aston Villa.

Oh, he's already started. There's no fans allowed in the ground. Who is saying "You don't know what you're doing" to you Steve? Are you sending your children round the internet again?

Great post, especially this bit. Especially especially the bold bit. It's still plenty of the posters that defended Steve Bruce for losing games in the Championship who are the most up for picking holes in Smith's game. Interesting. Footnote: I do like Bielsa, and Leeds' recruitment was outstanding this summer. If their top boys can convince Bielsa to have a larger squad they might be an excellent side at the end of the season as well as in the first half of it.

I understand what you're saying. I disagree. Wolves at Leeds is not a good enough performance to try and replicate. Mourinho's Chelsea they were not. Leeds mauled them first half. They didn't restrict them of chances or the ball, if they had, I would probably agree with you it would be a good idea. Luckily for Wolves, Leeds didn't score, and they nicked a deflection at the other end. Lovely stuff for Wolves, doesn't mean everyone should go to Leeds with that plan. Here's your problem. No it doesn't change the result, but you need to look at all matches from multiple angles, not just the final score. 1-0 win good. 0-3 loss bad. That's not groundbreaking. Remember the 3-2 win at Goodison? Ashley Young. Is that a good performance for team's to use as a blueprint? You battered us for very close to 90 mins, we deserved nothing yet stole three points, great for us, crap for Everton. I wouldn't recommend other sides go to Goodison and get thumped for 90 mins thinking they'll pull out a 3-2 win because Villa once did.

At matches they weren't, no. Villatalk threads don't need to be dissected. Not until the very end did he get any stick. Even then it was results based. Wasn't as though we were racking up wins and people were chanting Bruce Out. He could see trouble coming and went at the fans first. Which is what he always does. He'll do it at Newcastle if fans are ever let back when they eventually start earning the points they deserve which is hardly any.

That would be the nuts. Great to get a guy like that in at this stage when he can learn for a while.

As has been said, at games it was minimal. He was looking for criticism so he could try and turn the media onto the fans instead of himself. I'm honestly stunned he's got decent jobs at Wednesday and Newcastle after Villa. The pattern repeats everywhere. Admittedly he walked out on Wednesday before the Bruce scenario played itself. They hate him for a different reason.

Incapable people who are a bad judge of character and player gave him a contract well above his station. Why should he turn down money Keith Wyness and Steve Bruce gifted him? He'd never had that money before, it wasn't the precedent to do so.

He got minimal criticism at games until the very end. Comparing again with McLeish, Lambert, take your pick, they had months and months of fan unrest. It only started when Bruce put us back in the position we were in when he arrived. Bruce was inventing it before it was there. Or going looking for it. We know his children sit and scour the internet for jabs at him and report back. If he's going looking online he's only got himself to blame, I could go and find Liverpool fans criticising Klopp right now if I wanted. "If I go, who are they going to get who's any better?" is probably one of my favourite quotes in football. What an arrogant arsehole. Newcastle the biggest game of the season for me while he's there.

I can't help you clearly. You don't get it. Is there only one way to beat a side? Ever? You have to copy the team that last beat them? Tottenham had a good blueprint for playing away at Southampton. 5-2 win, comprehensive. Not a 1-0 grub with a deflection. Ancelotti really shit the bed, he must be "totally stupid" to not adapt and copy that actual good plan.