Avcol Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 To be honest I've always felt quite nervy whenever Elphick has had the ball at his feet, but seeing the success at Bournemouth and listening to his interview he seems very confident he can fit into the style so maybe it was all just a lack of confidence and pressure at Villa. Seems like it went really well at Hull so hopefully he comes back with renewed confidence and may get a solid run in the team to show the player we all thought he might be. I'm not convinced though and would hope we'd still be bringing a CB in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 16 minutes ago, MaVilla said: i honestly cant see that to be honest, him and Chester are now our only two fit CB's, and Chester is carrying an injury and playing through it, common sense dictates we must be looking for at least one more CB. Chester might need a rest to assist his recovery, or god forbid Chester or Ephlick get injured, we are back down to one CB? I would bet money we sign another CB in Jan (subject to when Axel is out until - as i dont actually know?) It may not turn out to be the case but he mentioned quite a few times that he was happy he isn't returning as a stop gap, how the manager could sign another center back if he wanted with the backing of the owners but instead wanted him back. I really got the impression from that interview that Smith had told him he is going to be first choice. I also found it strange that he constantly talked about making his mind up quickly after talking to Smith, almost like he was signing for a new club and had a choice in the matter rather than simply being recalled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 He certainly looks in better shape than the hull game. Lost a bit of weight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 12 minutes ago, Avcol said: To be honest I've always felt quite nervy whenever Elphick has had the ball at his feet, but seeing the success at Bournemouth and listening to his interview he seems very confident he can fit into the style so maybe it was all just a lack of confidence and pressure at Villa. I think that is a real issue to be honest with Tommy, his confidence. He's too confident in his (limited) abilities and it leads to sloppy mistakes, giving the ball away in poor positions and getting caught on the ball too much. Listening to that interview I also get the impression Smith has told him he is going to be a main man from here on in. That does concern me tbh, short term it's necessary but the whole season.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, av1 said: It may not turn out to be the case but he mentioned quite a few times that he was happy he isn't returning as a stop gap, how the manager could sign another center back if he wanted with the backing of the owners but instead wanted him back. I really got the impression from that interview that Smith had told him he is going to be first choice. I also found it strange that he constantly talked about making his mind up quickly after talking to Smith, almost like he was signing for a new club and had a choice in the matter rather than simply being recalled. He was probably asked and made to feel like the club really want him rather then being told he had to back because we had no defenders. Can only go on past interviews so will never know the truth but it does seem he wasn’t treated too well by Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyp Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 18 minutes ago, rodders0223 said: I think that is a real issue to be honest with Tommy, his confidence. He's too confident in his (limited) abilities and it leads to sloppy mistakes, giving the ball away in poor positions and getting caught on the ball too much. Listening to that interview I also get the impression Smith has told him he is going to be a main man from here on in. That does concern me tbh, short term it's necessary but the whole season.. I dont think we have an option to be honest. Axel is crocked for a while. I know we got it right with grabban last january but bringing in a centre half in january and getting it right is a different ball game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 The things is that Tommy always talks a good game and is a real professional, but so far bar the odd game I have yet to be convinced. Hopefully he will change my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Villa Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) Did well when he came in for Terry last season but I suspect the relationship with Bruce meant he was going to be pushed out regardless. We can only hope we're getting the composed organiser from Hull rather than the overly nervous player with one bad mistake per game guaranteed. I'll reserve judgement but genuinely hope he does enough to earn a new contract as I can't help but admire his professionalism. Let's see what Smith and Terry can do with him... Edited December 30, 2018 by Darth Villa Typo fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo_b Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Elphick was a top defender for Brighton at this level, granted that was probably 5 years ago now, but he was highly rated, I do think Bruce probably knocked his self belief and I hope he comes back good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 I think Elphick needs to be liked and wanted to get confident performances out of. When he came here he started well and also at Hull he seems to be wanted by manager and is playing decent Bruce I think really didnt fancy him from the start 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaVilla Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 6 minutes ago, Zatman said: I think Elphick needs to be liked and wanted to get confident performances out of. When he came here he started well and also at Hull he seems to be wanted by manager and is playing decent Bruce I think really didnt fancy him from the start why do you think SB didnt fancy him?, was it a personal clash or do you think SB didnt like him as a player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, MaVilla said: why do you think SB didnt fancy him?, was it a personal clash or do you think SB didnt like him as a player? dont know but very quickly Bruce took captaincy off him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted December 30, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 30, 2018 12 minutes ago, Tommo_b said: Elphick was a top defender for Brighton at this level, granted that was probably 5 years ago now, but he was highly rated, I do think Bruce probably knocked his self belief and I hope he comes back good. Yep, I think he was in the Brighton team that won promotion to the Championship (back in 2011 was it?), and then he was in the Bournemouth team that won promotion to the PL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post AvfcRigo82 Posted December 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) 39 minutes ago, alreadyexists said: Yep, I think he was in the Brighton team that won promotion to the Championship (back in 2011 was it?), and then he was in the Bournemouth team that won promotion to the PL. Yes. Yes he was. Brighton - promoted with them 2011. Bournmouth - promoted with them 2015. Aston Villa - promoted with them 2019?? It would appear that every 4 year cycle Elphick is part of a team that conquers promotion. He has been recalled just in the nick of time if you ask me. Edited December 30, 2018 by AvfcRigo82 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newry_Villan Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 He's been thrown a lifeline by the club. Hope he takes it. The second coming of Tommy Elphick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 11 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said: Yes. Yes he was. Brighton - promoted with them 2011. Bournmouth - promoted with them 2015. Aston Villa - promoted with them 2019?? It would appear that every 4 year cycle Elphick is part of a team that conquers promotion. He has been recalled just in the nick of time if you ask me. You’ve cracked the code Andy. 4 was never 4 times promoted Brucie, it’s always been every 4 years promoted Tommy! You’ve never worked at Bletchley Park have you? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 13 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said: He was probably asked and made to feel like the club really want him rather then being told he had to back because we had no defenders. Can only go on past interviews so will never know the truth but it does seem he wasn’t treated too well by Bruce. You'd have thought that Bruce would use him a lot, being a centre back and with Bruce's tactics of defending leads. The fact Bruce didn't rate him, even enough to cover during the first half of this season, is a worry in itself. Either Bruce was totally delusional or, he made a bad decision purposely or, he just didn't think Elphick was any good to us at all. Personally, I'm hoping it's not the latter of the above, especially if we're going to be putting all our eggs into that one basket. I hope we bring in an other natural centre back during January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 31 minutes ago, villarocker said: Either Bruce was totally delusional or, he made a bad decision purposely or, he just didn't think Elphick was any good to us at all. You'll find that it was infact all three. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted December 31, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 31, 2018 12 hours ago, AvfcRigo82 said: Yes. Yes he was. Brighton - promoted with them 2011. Bournmouth - promoted with them 2015. Aston Villa - promoted with them 2019?? It would appear that every 4 year cycle Elphick is part of a team that conquers promotion. He has been recalled just in the nick of time if you ask me. Hull were about to put some run together! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwdriver Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 15 hours ago, MaVilla said: why do you think SB didnt fancy him?, was it a personal clash or do you think SB didnt like him as a player? I imagine Steve bruce would be from the gordan strachan school of "fancying players" Elphick doesn't have the "genetic gifts" of a top centre half ie 6ft 4 brick shit house, ugly. chester got away with it because of he's a full international Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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