david-avfc

51 minutes ago, mikeyjavfc said:

I bet Purslow is raging. Badge rebrand was a major project for him that’s been massively undermined, presumably by Heck. Very strange all round. My guess is this will be the start of another rebrand process that will ultimately end with a stand-alone Lion. Not sure if facing left or right though!!

The risk with another rebrand process is we end up with something worse, especially if the yanks get their hands on it. Could easily turn into a disaster NFL style clip art logo 

Wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends with a contract termination in September after we fail to move him on in the transfer window. 

26 minutes ago, Paddywhack said:

I agree it's doesn't pop on that purple background, it would if it was white.

But that's been my issue with the crest really*, I think it'll look great on a white away shirt, but it looks dull on a claret shirt.

*that and the lion facing the wrong way

Yeah the old badge (if we’re calling it that now) actually worked well on the claret shirt as the sky blue badge contrasted nicely. But in isolation was a poor badge as there was nothing “villa” about it, not the right colours, not even our name was on it properly. 

I agree with some of the comments that going back to the 80’s style round badge was the easiest and safest option, but not necessarily the best option. We’re left with an OK badge, which by definition is OK for most fans, nothing to complain about but it’s not amazing either although not sure what an “amazing” badge could have possibly looked like. Seems like the club are having cold feet on the change, a bit of a shambles really. 

Really strange about the badge only being half implemented. The club needs to explain what’s going on because it’s a ridiculous to not really know which one is our badge or not 

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Question for the people who reckon having a gambling sponsor is going to turn everyone into zombies and addicts...

How many of you have ever owned a Mita copier, or gotten a car from Cazoo?

I got my car from Cazoo, £250 off discount for AV season ticket holders too. 

Will be great to see Pau Torres, Nico Williams and Harvey Barnes showcase the new kit at the launch event tomorrow. I can’t wait. 

Was a poor decision to renew his contract when he was clearly already surplus to requirements. The club probably over estimated his transfer value and thought they were being clever, the reality is he was a good squad signing at the time but we should have shaken hands and parted ways last summer when that option was on the table, as the club has clearly moved on from that first loan spell and subsequent permanent deal when we were first promoted 

13 minutes ago, MaVilla said:

maybe Bailey is better than many of us (inc. myself), think..........  

 

 

 

A case of selective stats, really. Are the likes of Saint Maximam, Adama, Bailey, and Murphy really in the best 5 wingers in the league? The chart effectively is showing directness rather than anything to do with quality, as per in Bailey’s case he statistically has poor pass completion and poor dribble completion percentage / times dispossessed per game  stats but this chart makes him look good because he also averages a very low number of touches per game 

17 minutes ago, mottaloo said:

It may probably just be me but I ain't all that taken with brennan johnson. 

We already have one raw forward in Duran and possibly Nico Williams. I'd rather splash the cash big time for a more established forward....whoever that may be.

Just my opinion of course....

Agree, think it’s a typical case of young British player looks decent in a very poor team. Considering it’s such a key position for us to upgrade, I wouldn’t gamble on him if it was up to me

12 minutes ago, PaulC said:

Depends on how many clubs are in for him. If reports are correct that both Newcastje and West Ham are interested that could make a bidding war.  If Newcastle paid 45 mil for Anthony Gordon than Barnes is worth more than that imo

Just because Newcastle spent an obscene amount on a very mediocre player doesn’t mean we should follow suit. I don’t think anyone knows why they bought him for that fee, he really isn’t that good. As for Barnes, £50m is still a huge transfer, would be a club record for well over half the teams in the league and by a long margin for most of them too. 

I wouldn’t be trying to force him out, but if offers were there we’d have to consider it. He’s a decent player but the central midfielders under Emery are crucial in our build up phase, and I don’t think Dendoncker is naturally comfortable enough on the ball to do the job to the same effect as Kamara, Luiz or McGinn or presumably now Tielemans 

We need x2 in every position, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all of the back ups have to be exactly the same quality as the first choice, trying to do that is just going to lead to more headaches. I think realistically we need around 15 interchangeable first team strength players and then 6 or 7 very reliable back ups and then a couple of 3rd choicers, who could be youngsters etc

23 hours ago, babyblue said:

Don't think it was ever 7th highest, Everton were always ahead of us. We started cutting back a season or so back due to the FFP changes on the horizon, so it was already coming down. Factor into that all players have a 50% relegation wage drop and the 9 players being out of contract is a god send. It means ALL of those high wages are off the books instantly. 

Not sure why you think the owners have money issues, they just wrote off £200m debt and were still pressing ahead with a massive ground revamp and the surrounding areas. Of course there were covid issues, but it had no impact on us financially. That was about us being at the top of our limit already in terms of what we could spend and pass FFP. 

Agree on Rodgers, absolute shit show that bloke and sticking with him when it was obvious to all fans sealed our fate. I lay the blame almost entirely at his door, despite his PR team wanting everyone to think otherwise. 

The wage bill has been confirmed as 7th highest in 2021,  at £192m, closely followed by Everton at £185m. 

It seemed like the financial model was to overspend, and then recoup the difference by making big sales like Maguire, Fofana, Chilwell etc but for whatever reason they couldn’t shift anyone on last summer. 6 or 7 first team players leaving on frees this summer sums up the failure on getting players out, but that could turn out to be a positive though as mentioned, getting them immediately off the wage bill whilst there will still be big incoming fees presumably for the likes of Maddison and Barnes. 

Perhaps the bigger issue is that they’ve entered a financing agreement with an Australian bank, secured against future Premier League broadcast / prize money, which I don’t think is going to put the club in serious jeopardy but might restrict them in what they can or can’t afford in the future

Tielemans looked like he was destined for the top a few years ago, but he hasn’t been as good recently. He should be a top player but instead has been relegated with a whimper and has been singled out for a lot of criticism for appearing to down tools. I think there’s a question of his mentality to be honest, and he’s probably on a huge wages too as Leicester had the 7th highest wage bill in the league and he was their record signing so presumably one of their biggest earners

The problem is the "terrace view" is actively taking away facilities for other season ticket holders who will be crammed into a smaller area with much worse facilities - held to ransom an extra £500 a year if they want to use a toilet at half time or get a drink without queuing for 30 minutes. No doubt the concept if successful will grow to something bigger - more areas of the stadium, more mandatory, more angles to charge premium add-ons, pricing more fans out or forcing them to relocate out of seats they've had for decades

14 minutes ago, Zatman said:

Said before would be like re-signing Neil Taylor at full back

But he plays for man United so he must be the best right back in the world according to some

I’d say no to Felix in all honesty. I’m always sceptical of these big reputation style players who have actually consistently disappointed and underachieved despite their status as apparent top players. He might have great technical ability but i think typical arguments of “doesn’t fit the system” are often synonymous with just not being effective enough on the pitch.

24 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

It's been reported by ALOT more outlets and journos than just Marca though?

The problem is there are a few decent journalists out there with credible information, but as soon as it gets reported all of the fake journos, aggregator sites, click baiters and fan pages jump in and start repeating it in an ever loudening echo chamber until no one can tell how legit some of the stories are. Presumably there has been some initial contact at least between us and Asensio’s camp as it’s been reported by decent sources but beyond that I doubt any one much knows what’s going on.

23 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Think i've got actually some reliable ITK on this from a good mate... who has a good mate...

And ...... all i can say is ...

 

He’s going to do a David Unsworth and we’re all going to riot 

Just now, HKP90 said:

If his announcement is just that he is leaving, I'd be concerned that he's trying to drum up additional interest. I would hope it's more substantial, or accompanied by a statement from us that he's signed.

I think that’s just how they do it in Madrid, they have player conferences for arrivals and departures, it’s normal for them

1 hour ago, Pinebro said:

Did you watch Cash against Brighton?

Extremely worrying.

Agree he looked very rusty but apparently he was on injections to manage his recent injury which does go in his defence to be fair. I don’t think he’s a bad player, but out of the current back 4 I think he looks like the one who could be upgraded considering he was already struggling to maintain his place over Young at times this season 

11 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said:

So has the ECL resulted in more teams playing in Europe, or just a slimmed down Europa League?

I read on Wikipedia (so could be wrong!) the Europa League was basically split in two for the inception of the Conference, so effectively the same number of teams give or take overall 

49 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I think you're being a little too lenient with fees there mate.

I think Marvelous would command £15m alone in today's market, even with only a year left on his contract.

Personally, I would keep him here for this season as a squad player since we have the league and 3 cup competitions on the go.

I can't see us getting £15m for him, he's done OK for us but never established himself as a first team regular at this level which I think caps his value, as does the fact he's only got 12 months left and doesn't appear to have a place in our squad, plus he's 30 next season so no resale value for whoever buys him.

With him being a Luton fan favourite perhaps that could help us pressure them into a few more million than otherwise but I think £5-10m is the most likely outcome, unless we are able to pull their pants down like Bournemouth did to us over Mings (great signing but we paid double what he was worth at the time). I reckon Luton will be looking at the PL money as a means to finance club improvements such as their new new stadium etc rather than to blow all on players, could be wrong though. 

There were times this season when he was one of our best players and he usurped Cash as first choice right back at one point - at 38 he needs careful management but he can still contribute and his experience is so invaluable