Rightdm00

5 minutes ago, AVTuco said:

He just tweeted a couple days ago that he's very close... he must've had a set back.

Hamstrings are like that so wouldn't be surprising. 

3 minutes ago, villalad21 said:

Harsh on Hause that.

Sends out the wrong message imo. No matter how well you play there are "certain" players that are undroppable.

No sh*t. If Jack gets a suspension or injured the squad player is going back to the bench when he returns. 

Losing your place to poor play is different but that's not what happened with Mings. 

The season is getting completed. Way too much money lost otherwise. 

21 hours ago, MaVilla said:

in a nutshell, this is the "culture" that Deano has spoken at length about developing over the last couple of years.

I applaud the coaches and players for developing the apparent culture at the club currently, honestly i can imagine that it must be a great squad for players to be in, they seem so together, and now they have a bit of leadership and street wise after last year.

wonderful stuff.

I would love to see an article piece, or 15 min youtube type vid on the culture etc within the club, talking to players, coaches etc etc, to get a feel for what its like internally.

Cant bode badly for new signings either, if as Ian Wright says, he see's us as "John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever" currently, the cool kids, hopefully players will look at us now and think.....yeah i wanna be part of that.

Men In Blazers a soccer podcast stateside calls us the frat house of the Prem. Honestly at first I didn't get it, but now you and that Ian Wright quote and I'm seeing it. 

Well that tweet has me counting down the days til ManU. I want him back in the middle with Jack out wide. I dare Ole to play a CB at right back again. 

16 hours ago, a-k said:

He's world class playing through the middle, but have to say that when we are playing the top teams (i.e., primarily on the counter) I still prefer him on the left with Barkley in the middle (when available). That's how I would go vs Man U on Friday, especially needing some fresh legs, although it's a tough call though with El Ghazi and Traore performing so well.

Was coming here to write this. I want him back around and in the box terrifying defenders. He just isn't the same goal threat from the middle. 

5 minutes ago, One For The Road said:

The last 4 games says hello.

No Mings yesterday, no Konsa for 2 games, no Trez, no Barkley. 11 points from 15.

I consider our key players Jack, John, Ollie, Emi, and Douglas. They go down and our quality level drops immensely. 

Bigger clubs have the same problem but on a much smaller scale. ManU has like for like replacements everywhere but for Fernandes. Liverpool, with Jota, could replace Mane or Salah long term. 

I don't feel the level of player we need can be found at a reasonable value during the winter window.  Definitely don't want the club overpaying on the hope we can make the top 4.  Just going to have to roll the dice.  We have been lucky so far, long may it last. 

Watch any interview, it's obvious these guys love each other. That by itself can lift the level of play within a team by so much. 

33 minutes ago, VillaFaninLondon said:

I definitely think we should keep tracking the Championship, there are some top talents there like Olise at Reading who is destined for great things, but I'd also like to think a top 10 finish this season will allow us to attract players from the top European leagues. Sides like Ajax always produce top talents and I'd like us to be seen as a good option for these players before making the jump to a truly top side (though obviously I hope we can become that in future). We certainly are playing the right sort of football to be attractive to these players, though playing European football will be a lot more of a pull. Leicester are a side who really exploit the European market well and I'd like us to do the same.

 

Interestingly, this link shows the league table compared to expected goals for and goals against: https://understat.com/league/Premier League/2020 

• Our expected points is 27.25 so we are actually slightly underperforming
• Man U (surprise, surprise) are overperforming as their expected points is only 22.28
• Southampton and Everton are actually massively overperforming despite the hype about them this season
• Both City and Chelsea are underperforming. 

 

That's why I think 50-55 points is a bit pessimistic. Keep playing the way we are and we could easily eclipse 60 points. I'd like to think we could beat our highest points total in a 38-game season (64) but of course I'm keeping my feet firmly on the ground at the moment.

I think the pessimism stems from the amount of variables needed to line up in our favor. Injuries are going to make or break us. We just don't have the quality to maintain our level of play if one of our key contributers went out long term. 

When leicester won the league they were able to name a unchanged starting 11 for the last 20 games or so. We would need that level of consistency for any chance at 60+ points. 

I sometimes get hurt by the harsh criticism thrown at some of then. Like how can you not love all of them. They are such a likeable bunch. 

4 minutes ago, Farlz said:

What a super group of players. 

Man if I'm willing to run through a brick wall for Deano how do the players feel. Love this team!

55 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

How come when I watch Traore, he looks so much more relaxed than I do?

He was good again today, but his body language is so relaxed it gives me the fear!

 

I love having a guy like that in the side. Played with a Cali surfer bro in school. We would go down and he would be like "chill bro it's all good we are still in it" and it would just level everyone out and let you get back to business. 

23 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

Excellent today, battled away against a very good Chelsea midfield and came out of it well.

There were a couple of tiny things he did that I thought were fantastic; the first was how much time he eked out of the foul on him very late on, lying on the turf with a wry smile and his eyes closed, but the one I really loved was a free kick that we got with about ten to go - Konsa was standing over it and looking here there and everywhere without being able to find someone to get the ball too - Luiz was offering some sort of instruction as he walked toward him, then took over - the first thing he did was look up, pick the ball up and move it two yards forward - every single Chelsea player fixated on him moving the ball immediately, and in a moment, three or four players became free - it allowed him to play a simple pass and get us moving - simple, streetwise and clever. 

I'm still convinced that at some point in his career he'll end up in a yellow shirt with an armband and a World Cup held over his head.

 

You saw that to. Chelsea had sussed out all the available angles for a pass so Luiz just changes it. Love that dude so much. 

You can see why Brentford drove such a hard bargain for Ollie. We absolutely stole Konsa. He's just 23. That's it. 

Just now, HKP90 said:

 

I think we’re talking about the difference between off target, and missing an elephant’s arse with a banjo.

Pretty much.  I just need someway to capture that McGinn shit for future generations. That thing was beautiful.  That's all I'm asking. 

3 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

 

 

 

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/football/55095090?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5fea37625afdc802c37f9e3f%26'Smith deserves a lot credit'%262020-12-28T19%3A52%3A41.114Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:e92f9503-4122-4a86-9a85-0af6cb486f3b&pinned_post_asset_id=5fea37625afdc802c37f9e3f&pinned_post_type=share

 

You should be banished from Villa talk if you ever, in sincerity, typed the phrase " He only put out the cones" or " He just handed out the bibs." 

1 minute ago, Kiwivillan said:

Oh boy. It's the debate that derailed the BM Claret and Blue podcast for several minutes after the Palace game

If it hits the post and goes in then it's on target but if it bounces away from goal then it's a miss. 

I just can't stand the idea that Werner's shot that ended in row z and Mcginns crossbar cracker are somehow treated equally. 

5 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

It's amazing that I'm finding myself now hoping teams in the top 4 drop points as opposed to those just above the drop zone. It's just been a year you know!

Honestly don't even know what the bottom of the table looks like. Who is there now, no clue, but I know liverpool and Everton (our CAZOO title rivals) are currently 1 and 2. 

That header to set up Ramsey was mint. I couldn't have rolled a ball out that well. Excellent game again. Just wish we could generate some more touches in the box for him. 

2 minutes ago, foreveryoung said:

Chillwell "They only had 1 shot on target and that went in".  Lessons from Lampard???

I hate how shots that hit the post are considered "not on target." 

Just now, Kiwivillan said:

He's playing in free role. Loads of times he ends up attacking from left anyway 

But it's so much further back from goal. It's not like he has been playing poorly. It just with watkins in a goal drought I think they can both get back in the goals of Jack goes back out left. 

7 minutes ago, Villarocker said:

Mings was only missed for his distribution from the back. Otherwise, Konsa and Hause were fine defensively.

Traore switched on more second half and did his job of defending, fair play to him. El Ghazi got his customary goal. 

Our full backs were solid - again. 

Martinez was solid as usual. 

Luiz and McGinn hot through some work with McGinn the more combatant and unlucky not to score - MOTM. 

Watkins had his usual busy game but had no sight of goal. 

Grealish had a quiet one by his standards but was still a threat when in the final third. 

Hause had a couple of bad passes out the back but all in all he performed well defensively. 

I'm ready for Grealish to move out left again. I want him closer to the goal. He creates for others but honestly our attackers aren't good to finish most of the chances he creates. Then when he does get a run on goal he has already sprinted 40 yards and he is spent before the shot. 

2 minutes ago, SuperTed said:

11 from 15. One goal conceded. Well worth a point today. 

Deano should be getting December manager of the month barring a horror show on Friday. Well Done Villa! 

That's a January fixture. He's got it in the bag. One goal conceded. Undefeated month. He's got it in the bag.