Philippe Coutinho

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

I think the argument is less " should we sign him " and more should he be starting ahead of Buendia.

On current form? NO

Having said that, if anyone had told us a couple of years ago that we'd be debating whether to start Buendia or Coutinho we'd tell them to lay off the shrooms.

I'm hoping SG is just giving him extra game time so he feels " loved " and gets his confidence and flow back.

I personally don't think there are any questions marks over Buendia from the Management and hierarchy at all.

Similarly to how even Bailey was starting over him, nothing to do with us thinking Bailey is in better form than Buendia.

( Bare in mind, both Coutinho and Bailey have had a rough time albeit in different scenarios and time frames, and probably lack a bit of belief even though the quality is there )

I reckon we know Emi is more than capable here.

I think it's all attempts at strategic man management and asset preserving, all be it at a cost to the team IMO.

It's a slippery slope though.

From next season onwards, it should be whoever is in better form, or both.

I think an outstanding defensive spine will allow them all to flourish. Hopefully we will have more games to play too.

Edited May 10, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[est1874]

I am still failing to see why we should spend a fortune on this guy's wages at the expense of Emi Buendia and potentially younger, hungrier players that might break through for us.

Bar a couple of good performances at the start of his loan with us, has he been great? Not really.

I'm extremely hesitant for obvious reasons to draw any comparison between the two, but the fact remains that even Ross Barkley made an immediate initial impact when he arrived here, before petering out into nothing. We could have signed him permanently too, but Smith and Purslow and Lange looked at the overall picture and rightly determined that it wasn't nearly worth it.

What's different here? That him & Gerrard are mates? That other clubs are sniffing? 

It's a no for me tbh. Clearly a tidy player, looked magnificent once upon a time, will never hit those heights again. Let's get real, even if he had it in him, he surely isn't going to do it at Villa.

[rodders0223]

He got involved more. Was dropping in early and trying to be that link man. Few nice touches but again I don't think he impacted the game I'm not sure he made a single key pass.

If he starts over Emi again on Saturday questions should be asked.

[MaVilla]

1 minute ago, rodders0223 said:

He got involved more. Was dropping in early and trying to be that link man. Few nice touches but again I don't think he impacted the game I'm not sure he made a single key pass.

If he starts over Emi again on Saturday questions should be asked.

Recently, i think Coutinho is making the same mistakes Grealish used to make early on.

By that i mean, he realises a few players arent at his level, and he wants to drop too deep to try and impact the game/pick up the ball, rather than staying forward a bit and trying to impact the game where it matters.

Hopefully, if we do sign him, and we sign some more players who are more capable on the ball, we will see the best of him.

 

[Zhan_Zhuang]

The flick over Alexander-Arnold was spectacular and the shot was close....if he'd stuck that away it would have been goal of the century!

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

19 minutes ago, est1874 said:

I am still failing to see why we should spend a fortune on this guy's wages at the expense of Emi Buendia and potentially younger, hungrier players that might break through for us.

Bar a couple of good performances at the start of his loan with us, has he been great? Not really.

I'm extremely hesitant for obvious reasons to draw any comparison between the two, but the fact remains that even Ross Barkley made an immediate initial impact when he arrived here, before petering out into nothing. We could have signed him permanently too, but Smith and Purslow and Lange looked at the overall picture and rightly determined that it wasn't nearly worth it.

What's different here? That him & Gerrard are mates? That other clubs are sniffing? 

It's a no for me tbh. Clearly a tidy player, looked magnificent once upon a time, will never hit those heights again. Let's get real, even if he had it in him, he surely isn't going to do it at Villa.

You ruined some valid points with:

" Younger, hungrier player who MIGHT break through "

" Even Ross Barkley made an immediate impact "

" What's different here, that him and Gerrard are mates? "

Because in your heart of hearts, i'm sure you know some of that is bollox.

What happens if Buendia happens to be injured, suspended or loses form, the " younger hungrier players who MIGHT break through ", don't etc?

What happens when we have a cup run, and want to play a strong enough squad to progress, as well as compete strongly in the PL?

What happens if we happened to get Europe? ( Which we won't get with the scared to have more than one quality player in a position mentality either )

You say he has done nothing, and even though it seems a distant memory, I remember him bossing a game. He always shows flashes of brilliance even when he is poor.

Comparing Coutinho and Ross Barkley is ridiculous as you half pointed out.

Also, if you think the board and even Gerrard would sanction a signing purely due to someone being his " mate " I don't know what to say.

Why are people shit scared of having multiple quality senior players competing for places?

We have seen the rumours of what he might cost, and it isn't outlandish.

Do you remember how long it took Buendia to get to where he is now?

Edited May 10, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[A'Villan]

Guy was really good today in the first half when we had the ball, and just about equally off it. Yes, few errors leading to turnover in possession. Just as many moments of brilliance.

I'd love to have him here beyond this season.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

It's a confusing one. Conventional logic suggests that players that are world class should raise the level of performance of players around them. Therefore should be expect Coutinho to improve the midfield around him? 

Or is it that we won't see the best of him until the rest of the midfield is sorted to get the balance right? 

I genuinely don't know what to think which on the face of it seems ridiculous!

[rodders0223]

You can be the most technical player in the world if you aren't impacting games you're not worth anything.

He's not impacting games and hasn't for a fair old time.

Looks he's Brazilian. He was a world class player. He can do things we've not seen since Merson. He's exciting and there's always the chance he MAY do something spectacular.

He's not impacting games.

[ozvilla28]

To be honest was brilliant at the start , but if his going to be our main signing and maestro in the middle we need more for him on a consistent basis.

[DCJonah]

6 hours ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

The flick over Alexander-Arnold was spectacular and the shot was close....if he'd stuck that away it would have been goal of the century!

It would have been but also I'd have hoped for more composure from someone like him. Watch that chance again and he's got ings and Watkins in the box with one defender between them. 

[Demitri_C]

I didnt thinknhe was that bad to be honest.  Played some nice through balls through. There was one to ollie but he made a complete mess of it.

Im still in the sign him up camp definitely 

[Keyblade]

Imagine telling someone from 3 years ago when we were losing to Wigan that in 3 short years we'd be debating whether a 29 year old Philippe Coutinho is good enough for us.

[theboyangel]

Gutterpress suggesting Newcastle want to scupper our deal and sign him.

I think he’d rather sign for us, with Gerrard in charge. 
 

 

[duke313]

2 hours ago, theboyangel said:

Gutterpress suggesting Newcastle want to scupper our deal and sign him.

I think he’d rather sign for us, with Gerrard in charge. 
 

 

Just them trying to generate clicks.

[WallisFrizz]

 

[Keyblade]

Even if he ends up not being the main man, what a player to have on your books. Prospective transfer targets will see such a high profile player at the club. That in itself probably pays for the transfer, it'll help grow the club's profile immensely. Way more than signing Buendia, Ings and Bailey combined, even if their improvement of Villa on the pitch is more significant.

[leemond2008]

All depends on his wages

[ferguson1]

42 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

 

Well I for one will be chuffed if we wrap this signing up soon. I’m sure we can find a way play him and Buendia together ( especially at home). 

Major profile signing and will no doubt help to attract other big names over the summer. 

Imagine watching the World Cup later in the year knowing that the Brazil no10 is ours. It’s just a dream come true.  

[Rustibrooks]

20 minutes ago, Keyblade said:

Even if he ends up not being the main man, what a player to have on your books. Prospective transfer targets will see such a high profile player at the club. That in itself probably pays for the transfer, it'll help grow the club's profile immensely. Way more than signing Buendia, Ings and Bailey combined, even if their improvement of Villa on the pitch is more significant.

In a way it's similar to when Man City signed Robinho, you could say that signing changed everything for them.