August Optimism Gauge

[limpid]

This poll will be open for the first week of the month

[sne]

I maintain I think it will be a difficult season.

Handling both the PL and the CL while missing both Kamara and Luiz in midfield is gonna be brutal. Long way to go in the transfer window so no worry yet but so far our starting 11 looks weaker on paper than it did at the start of last season. Squad possibly looks stronger, at least in some positions. Onana feels like a good signing and hopefully Maatsen too. The rest remains to be seen. New players gonna need time to settle so expect us to look better in 2025, around the time Kamara is back. Hopefully we are still fighting in the CL and withing reach in the PL at that time.

[AVTuco]

Villa will have to convince me again, I'm afraid. Obviously CL is great, but I was more optimistic last summer than I am now. Another European qualification would be a good season for me.

[Leeroy]

I just feel we haven’t done enough this transfer window, which sounds bizarre because we have been very active. I keep wanting to go 5-6 or even 1-4 but I just can’t justify it with the lack of business done in positions of need.

 

We’ve needed a central defender all summer, and a right back, neither one has come in. We have as many senior left backs fit as centre backs, as mad as that is.
 

We have lost Diaby and Luiz’s goals and assists, but not sufficiently replaced them. Onana is great but he replaces Kamara not Luiz. Philogene and Iling Jr don’t look up to it so far and replacing Diaby with either of them looks a bad move. Ramsey can’t stay fit and Buendia hasn’t played for a year. 
 

We have a moody backup forward who doesn’t want to be here and keep rejecting bids for him even though it seems we need to sell him to buy Felix.

 

I can’t make sense of any of it. We’re about to embark on our first Champions League campaign and look to be struggling in our recruitment, either in moving unwanted players on or getting in the quality required. We did a much better job last summer in all honesty and that was only with Europa Conference to offer new signings. I really hope the club can do something soon or I think we’re in for a 7th or 8th placed finish next season. 

[HeroesAndVillans]

The 'realist' in me is saying 5th or 6th, possibly even 7th, due to our business so far...

That can obviously change and I hope it does.

[Avfc96]

I think we'll initially struggle in the league before picking up in the second half of the season. Say a 6th place finish but not getting close to the top 4.

And we'll do f*** all in the domestic cups as always.

 

 

[Wurzel]

I can see no reason why we cannot repeat last season, we have arguably a stronger squad especially if we get a couple more in before the transfer windows closes. Looking at our opposition Man City and Arsenal will be the top two, but after that I see nothing to fear from the likes of Spurs or Chelsea, and Liverpool will be the great unknown and who knows it could all go belly up for the new manager. Not very often I am this confident but I fail to see why we cannot carry on in the top 4.

[Corleone]

Without a fit Kamara available, we are a mid table side

This is the form table from the start of the year, a couple of games before Kamara went and got injured

 

Edited August 2 by Corleone

[villa82]

22 minutes ago, Corleone said:

Without a fit Kamara available, we are a mid table side

This is the form table from the start of the year, a couple of games before Kamara went and got injured

 

Not that much worse than spurs, manu and Newcastle, that's the positive. But we have now also lost three players in Doug, Diaby and Duran who all contributed strongly at the end of the season. Let's hope that a bigger squad can give us some extra points. But at the moment we have a world-class goalkeeper and manager, a striker in top pl class, while the rest of the team maintains a good pl standard, nothing more. We need to strengthen the right side of the defence.

[Tayls]

We’ll lose our first 4/5 games I reckon. Might pick up a couple of wins in September. 

[Leeroy]

4 hours ago, Tayls said:

We’ll lose our first 4/5 games I reckon. Might pick up a couple of wins in September. 

We have Everton and wolves at home in our first five and Leicester away. If we don’t win at least two of those then something has gone seriously wrong.

 

First two games are tricky and could lose one or maybe both of them (I’d take 2 draws tbh) but we ain’t losing the first five games. Wouldn’t even have done that under Gerrard.

[Tayls]

14 hours ago, Leeroy said:

We have Everton and wolves at home in our first five and Leicester away. If we don’t win at least two of those then something has gone seriously wrong.

 

First two games are tricky and could lose one or maybe both of them (I’d take 2 draws tbh) but we ain’t losing the first five games. Wouldn’t even have done that under Gerrard.

I was only joking. GOD! Don’t take things so seriously. Was all for the bants. 

[Hughes]

 Top 6 and advancing in CL would be a very good season. I fear too many changes in the squad at once and playing CL will be issues for us. 

[delboy54]

I think we are in for a tougher season tbh.

I think a lot of teams have worked out how to play against us. Hopefully Emery is tweaking his system to counteract this for the upcoming season.

We have lost some players and bought in new players that may struggle initially to get up to speed with life in the premier league.

A good start is important to build up momentum, confidence and get some consistency in our play.

Prediction top 8

Out in the FA cup 3rd round away to man yoo

Out in the League cup (or whatever it's called now), round 4 home to a League 1 team (hopefully not small heath)

Champions League we will do reasonably well probably at the expense of the premier league

 

[AVTuco]

Shit end of season coupled with similar pre-season. Lost a ton of goals and assists with Luiz and Diaby. Defense a shambles, nothing done to improve there. Looks good.

[PaulC]

I am concerned that this season could go totally wrong. Think we are a bit short in certain areas.  We haven't replaced Diaby or Luiz with the same type of quality yer. Onana is a different type of player 

[neilski]

Although im a bit concerned with the losses in preseason so far(more the lack of goals or even shots for that matter), im feeling a bit more positive in that our best players are coming back now for the bilbao and dormund games. Emi instills more confidence in the defence and is basically like haveing a 3rd cb with his footwork. Add to that our best defender will sure up the defence, ollie can make it stick up their end and terrorise opposition defenders. We'll have rogers for a whole season who is definately worth 10 goals+,+ numerous assists. Buendi will come back into form and get similar numbers and bailey who hasnt had the best pre season will be back to his best in front of the villa faithfull so im very optimistic things will come good. Id expect at least a draw against bilbao and dormund as long as we give it a good go i dont care, they are the former champions league finalists after all, one of the best teams in the world.

[TomC]

On 02/08/2024 at 08:01, Corleone said:

Without a fit Kamara available, we are a mid table side

I only half agree...

Our success in the first half of last season revolved to a large extent around the Kamara-Doug double pivot. In my mind, this season hinges on (a) how well Onana fills the Kamara role until Kamara is fully fit, and (b) whether someone fills Doug's role...Tielemans? Barkley? Enzo? Big question marks here.

 

 

[PaulC]

Tielemans if he stays fit can do the Luiz job. Kamara is a huge loss but hopefully comes back as good as before. Big expectations on Watkins again and Bailey too..I think if we can progress to the knockout stages of champions league and finish top 6 that's a brilliant season 

[bannedfromHandV]

Must admit, I’m definitely feeling a bit more apprehensive about the coming season after the last ten days or so.

Terrible performances in the US, looks like we’re going to get stuck with Duran, which I’d have been more than happy with at the end of the season but not after this summer. Half the new signings have shown very little in the friendlies so far. Ongoing speculation about us still being in some PSR strife.

Hoping we play well and win tonight just to reinvigorate things a bit.