Czarnikjak

Let's be honest, since Bielsa arrived, this average group of players was over achieving season after season. Dip had to come, sooner or later. I fear for them when Bielsa leaves, they may crash down to earth... They also have terrible luck with injuries to their central defenders, which doesn't help.

Wise words Everybody has the tendency to get too high after victories and too low after defeats. Any talk of Europe is premature. Let's wait and see if we are anywhere near 6th position after Christmas.

Why do you think so? They are rich enough to afford VIP treatment at any premium golf club they want, including Belfry

Not sure, it looked like a rushed job. They threw money at Southampton and Ings to get it done quickly and have him announced before Jack left.

You need a House to keep bad wolves at bay, not against United maybe, but against dog heads. 'Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!' said the wolf. And he huffed, and he puffed and he blew but nothing happened. So he huffed and he puffed and he blew again, even harder, but still nothing happened. The brick house stood firm.

Against United? I am pretty sure Smith will stick with 3-5-2 with House replacing Tuanzebe

His limitations were clear to see yesterday. Let's hope Bailey fitness record improves so we don't have to rely on AEG too much

His set piece delivery was very poor, I noticed that in other matches too. Hopefully he improves with time, probably didn’t do enough today to deserve starting place against United though.

James Rodriguez gone to Qatari league, such a fall from grace.

Well done, and a right back as well! Anyway, looks like Cash is definitely happening, his father confirmed in interview with Polish media. - Matty chciałby się sprawdzić na poziomie międzynarodowym. Gra już drugi sezon w Premier League, a występy w reprezentacji byłyby kolejnym krokiem do przodu. A zatem: jeśli polska federacja wyrazi zainteresowanie, to syn jest na takie rozwiązanie otwarty - stwierdził ojciec piłkarza Stewart Cash w rozmowie z WP Sportowe Fakty.

Is he gonna be first ever Polish national to play for Villa? I don't recall anyone before.

are there many premier league teams with more than 4 senior CBs? I am happy to be corrected on this point. I don’t think we will sign anybody this winter, unless there is a long term injury in the squad or other crisis. We are mindful of stockpiling players to keep wage bill down and give space for youth to progress.

20/21 accounts are not published yet, It’s on page 7 of 19/20 , under post balance sheet events.

Page 2 and 7

If you don't want to go through full accounts Swiss Ramble has a good summary: https://threader.app/thread/1386924270526341122 £80-90 was spent on player aqusitions this summer. Obv not "net" spend. I think we can settle that gross spend was over £350m and net spend ~£250m

Apologies to be padentic, but the actual figure will be much higher. According to latest published accounts, £156m was spent on acquiring players registrations in 19/20 season and further £109m in 20/21 season. This will include agent fees etc. I estimate another 80-90m was spent this Summer. Adding up pretty closely to the £350m figure. The source is published on Companies Houses, if you would like to check yourself.

I don't think our wing backs (especially Target) provide enough of a threat going forward to warrant playing 3-5-2 against average/weaker opposition. I know Cash scored in this game, but he is better defensively than in attack. The midfield 3 of JJ-Doug-SJM seems to have a very good balance and I wouldn't tinker with it. For most matches i would sacrifice one striker, switch to 4-3-3 and play Bailey, Buendia on the wings. PS. All the above assumes everyone is fit and available

Dean Smith is very big on xG, you should tell him that it's a pile of shit and not to look at it anymore.

I don't think they would get that much for not qualifying. Reading the document you linked here it's only €140m to be divided between all non participating clubs.( Coefficient money distribution is still a sham mind you. It's a Super League in all but name) 3. Solidarity payments to clubs not participating in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League The payments to non-participating clubs through their national associations amount to 4% of the overall gross revenues of the three competitions. Before taking into account the COVID-19 impact deduction, a forecasted total of €140m was expected to be distributed to national associations for their clubs.

I thought we performed better against Chelsea, if you consider the level of opposition. Everton were depleted without DCL, Richi, Coleman and Pick Ford. It's like us without Watkins, Ings, Martinez and Cash. We would also struggle without these 4 players. There was nothing in the game until the 60th minute, when we could call on Bailey and Everton were left without a single striker on the pitch. 3 points most welcome but we need to play much better against United to get anything.

Nuno? Spurs have 9 points but they’ve been atrocious in most of their games.

I believe that Mel had good intentions, he did invest over £200m of his own money ( bending the ffp rules on the way) to get them into Premier League, but ultimately failed. He kept loosing money at a rate he couldn’t/wouldn’t sustain anymore and had to sell. Tried to sell the club, but no suitable buyer could be found due to ongoing litigations with EFL and COVID. In the end, administration might be the only way for someone to buy the club and move forward. Sad story, but Derby will recover and find their feet again under new ownership.

Every pen decision gets checked by default. The question is what happen to clear and obvious rule.

Lol, that's why we have VAR, so it can be looked at from many angles to make correct decision. Not just limited to refs angle

It wasn't a stone wall penalty. Armstrong is already going down before Walker arrives. You could argue through that it's not a clear and obvious mistake by the referee and the VAR should not get involved. Is the "clear and obvious" rule still a thing?