Adam2003 Posted Tuesday at 11:39 Share Posted Tuesday at 11:39 3 hours ago, HKP90 said: See I thought that, but looking back through this thread, and people were not happy with him. To be fair you can look at any player thread on this forum, up to and including John McGinn, Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings (as our last three captains) and find people saying they aren’t good enough for the level we were at that time… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaParkAvenue Posted Tuesday at 12:38 Share Posted Tuesday at 12:38 2 hours ago, Villan_of_oz said: He was absolutely terrible for 2 or 3 performances in a row, when our early season form started to wilt .. absolutely shocking passenger of a fella he was, and then when he was finally dropped from the first team he came off the bench for the majority of the remaining season. He may have been decent in a couple of cameo appearances but his body language and at visible on field efforts were a disgrace at times. In saying all that, the reason he upset so much is I believe he's better than a good player. I'm excited he is back and I would not be surprised at all if he isn't signing of the season by seasons end. There was also that tabloid story about how he after being an unused sub on Villa’s bench went to London and got wasted. I didn’t like this signing at first but am onboard now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted Tuesday at 12:47 Share Posted Tuesday at 12:47 If I remember correctly he started well, got injured and then never seemed to return to form. Maybe he needs crowds on his back to keep him honest during games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PaulMcGrath_5 Posted Tuesday at 13:41 Popular Post Share Posted Tuesday at 13:41 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam-AVFC Posted Tuesday at 14:04 Share Posted Tuesday at 14:04 19 hours ago, Czarnikjak said: He’s got questionable fitness history, giving other players like that longer contracts didn’t usually work out well for us. Without wanting to dig up another long running debate of the past, my understanding is if he retires from injury it will be covered by insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan95 Posted Tuesday at 14:07 Share Posted Tuesday at 14:07 In his first spell here I thought he often looked lazy, not coming back to defend. But he looked anything but at Luton, very much all action. It makes me think what we saw from him here, just wandering about out of possession with no defensive responsibility was tactical (or lack of) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keener window-cleaner Posted Tuesday at 21:39 Share Posted Tuesday at 21:39 I'm very happy with this signing! He was great this season but I think he can go on to be one of the very best holding midfielders in the PL next season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tubby Posted Wednesday at 09:11 Popular Post Share Posted Wednesday at 09:11 19 hours ago, PaulMcGrath_5 said: Meanwhile, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have been at a training camp in Germany. 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Panto_Villan Posted Wednesday at 09:23 Popular Post Share Posted Wednesday at 09:23 19 hours ago, villan95 said: In his first spell here I thought he often looked lazy, not coming back to defend. But he looked anything but at Luton, very much all action. It makes me think what we saw from him here, just wandering about out of possession with no defensive responsibility was tactical (or lack of) There was an interview posted a month or so ago in this thread where he said he hadn't been comfortable going into hard tackles for pretty much his entire adult career, having suffering a really nasty injury from a tackle early in his career. But the Luton boss helped him work through it, and that new mindset is what turned him into an effective 6. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MrBlack Posted Wednesday at 09:25 Popular Post Share Posted Wednesday at 09:25 (edited) To repeat something posted before, that lots still don't seem to recall. He was once a defensive midfielder, this side of the game is natural to him. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68499477.amp From the man himself: Quote "When I was younger, I was more of a holding midfielder, making tackles and similar to how I'm playing now but still taking some risks. "Then once I broke my leg and came back, I had no confidence in tackling or leaving my leg in for challenges. It took me a couple of years because every time I saw someone go in for a 50-50, I thought someone could have broken their leg. "Of course it affected me mentally, so I got moved further forward into more attacking positions because my decision-making when I was younger wasn't as good as it is now. That comes with experience." Last season with Luton and Rob Edwards seems to have unlocked the skillset and confidence playing that role again, as he also said: Quote "I knew I could play in that position, but sometimes all it takes is a manager to trust you in a certain role." Add to this natural ability, his learnt trade at the other end of the pitch, his time learning in France for Nice after us, and we should be getting a player far better than most people's expectations. Maybe finally living up to his hype. Edited Wednesday at 09:25 by MrBlack 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted Wednesday at 09:40 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:40 (edited) Sounds like credit to Rob Edwards. One of our own. Edited Wednesday at 11:17 by Vive_La_Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PaulMcGrath_5 Posted Wednesday at 09:41 Popular Post Share Posted Wednesday at 09:41 Just now, Vive_La_Villa said: Sounds like credit to Rob Edward's. One of our own. Rob Edward's what though? 1 1 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted Wednesday at 09:49 VT Supporter Share Posted Wednesday at 09:49 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Tubby said: Meanwhile, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have been at a training camp in Germany. They've been at a camp of sorts, but I don't see any evidence of much training being done. Edited Wednesday at 09:49 by fightoffyour 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steero113 Posted Wednesday at 09:50 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:50 1 minute ago, fightoffyour said: They've been at a camp of sorts, but I don't see any evidence of much training being done. Might as well be band camp for all the good its done them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMcGrath_5 Posted Wednesday at 09:52 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:52 1 minute ago, Steero113 said: Might as well be band camp for all the good its done them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightoffyour Posted Wednesday at 09:52 VT Supporter Share Posted Wednesday at 09:52 1 minute ago, Steero113 said: Might as well be band camp for all the good its done them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMcGrath_5 Posted Wednesday at 09:53 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:53 Just now, fightoffyour said: Great minds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPAngel Posted Wednesday at 10:02 VT Supporter Share Posted Wednesday at 10:02 36 minutes ago, MrBlack said: To repeat something posted before, that lots still don't seem to recall. He was once a defensive midfielder, this side of the game is natural to him. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68499477.amp From the man himself: Last season with Luton and Rob Edwards seems to have unlocked the skillset and confidence playing that role again, as he also said: Add to this natural ability, his learnt trade at the other end of the pitch, his time learning in France for Nice after us, and we should be getting a player far better than most people's expectations. Maybe finally living up to his hype. Interesting, cheers for sharing this. I had no idea he'd broken his leg before. It takes some serious mental fortitude to come back from something like that so I really do hope we see the best of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted Wednesday at 10:06 Share Posted Wednesday at 10:06 He has always had the right attributes to be a class midfielder. Height, strength, pace, can tackle, shoot, pass etc. I think his career really stalled in the last year at Everton when he was injured and left under a bit of a cloud to go to Chelsea which was the wrong move in the end. He barely played and people forgot about him. Along with the rest of the team he had a good start with us but got injured and tailed off. And seemed to do little in France. So you have to give him massive credit in re starting his career last season at Luton. Statistically he was one of the best midfielders in the league in a poor side. Perhaps at age 30 we might get to see a more mature rounded player to finally deliver on his talents all those years ago at Everton. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted Wednesday at 10:09 Share Posted Wednesday at 10:09 (edited) 47 minutes ago, The Fun Factory said: He has always had the right attributes to be a class midfielder. Height, strength, pace, can tackle, shoot, pass etc. I think his career really stalled in the last year at Everton when he was injured and left under a bit of a cloud to go to Chelsea which was the wrong move in the end. He barely played and people forgot about him. Along with the rest of the team he had a good start with us but got injured and tailed off. And seemed to do little in France. So you have to give him massive credit in re starting his career last season at Luton. Statistically he was one of the best midfielders in the league in a poor side. Perhaps at age 30 we might get to see a more mature rounded player to finally deliver on his talents all those years ago at Everton. He also has a reputation of being a party boy for a large part of his career. Not growing up until he turned 30 might have affected his career. Edited Wednesday at 10:54 by sne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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