Isa Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) I see what Morpheus is saying but don't see why that would apply exclusively to KEA. None of our midfielders are anything special and our midfield remains one of the worst in the division but that's down to all of them, not just KEA. Edited October 7, 2013 by Isa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Although he has improved I am still undecided whether he is good enough to push us on. Delph definitely is. He is outstanding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 He's good enough for where we are right now, and probably for another season, but he'll need to be replaced in 2015, which is fair enough I reckon. Not everyone there now needs to be there for the long run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. He won't be good enough in your eyes because you wrote him off and it would be too much to admit that he is improving. Our midfield isn't weak at all, lack of creativity and goal threat possibly but weak no chance. No mate i will freely admit he has improved but he had such a low starting point that at his rate of improvement we might see a decent layer in 2020. Our midfield is weak on strength, creativity and as you say goal threat and we won't get anywhere with the midfield we have at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwan Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Shocker. Morpheus still thinks we suck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Please refer to my previous post on poster. KEA has clearly improved this year, but imo you could pinpoint almost every member of our squad and say a similar thing to what you've said here. None bar Benteke have shown they are capable of pushing us on a huge amount. Then again there are those displaying potential like Delph and Clark. I believe KEA's improved form can definitely push us on from last season however, but if we're talking about top 4 again we might need a few hundred million pounds of investment, or a good 4/5/6 years of team building and sensible transfer dealings. I actually think that if Lambert had been backed a little more by the chairman signing Moussa Sissoko in one window and then an creative mid in the summer our weaknesses in midfield would have been sorted and we could have pushed on at a much faster rate than we are now back into the top 7. While there would have been an obvious wage issue for our chairman to contend with, if we are to push on then those are the type of wages we will need to pay. The difference being that we'd be paying those wages to players on the pitch rather than those warming the bench and when you consider the wages that have left the balance sheet with an ambitious chairman it should have been done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Shocker. Morpheus still thinks we suck. Theres definitely an opportunity this season to move right up the table into the top seven as i don't think the overall quality is great and we didn't need to spend a massive amount to do that. With keeping Benteke and the addition of 2-3 better quality players to solve our weaknesses in midfield we could have been in a much stronger position to achieve that. The problem is i believe our chairman is happy with us staying in the Premiership while the club's finances are brought in line for a sale so signings such as a Sissoko or one of the other AMs we were apparently interested in maybe will have to wait until there's a new owner at Villa Park or our chairman falls back in love with the club again. Until then we'll all have to 'suck' on players such as KEA or wait on the windfall from the sale of Benteke to improve if Lambert gets all the revenue generated which i doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Although he has improved I am still undecided whether he is good enough to push us on. Delph definitely is. He is outstanding! KEA 4th in the league for most successful tackles. Delph is 10th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted October 7, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Although he has improved I am still undecided whether he is good enough to push us on. Delph definitely is. He is outstanding! KEA 4th in the league for most successful tackles. Delph is 10th Because that stat is the only stat that makes a good midfielder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Although he has improved I am still undecided whether he is good enough to push us on. Delph definitely is. He is outstanding! KEA 4th in the league for most successful tackles. Delph is 10th Yes but not sure football is a game where you can use stats to judge how good a player is. Cricket yes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isa Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. Although he has improved I am still undecided whether he is good enough to push us on. Delph definitely is. He is outstanding! KEA 4th in the league for most successful tackles. Delph is 10th Because that stat is the only stat that makes a good midfielder. Highest pass success-rate of any of our midfielders also if that helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozvillafan Posted October 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2013 Shocker. Morpheus still thinks we suck. Theres definitely an opportunity this season to move right up the table into the top seven as i don't think the overall quality is great and we didn't need to spend a massive amount to do that. With keeping Benteke and the addition of 2-3 better quality players to solve our weaknesses in midfield we could have been in a much stronger position to achieve that. The problem is i believe our chairman is happy with us staying in the Premiership while the club's finances are brought in line for a sale so signings such as a Sissoko or one of the other AMs we were apparently interested in maybe will have to wait until there's a new owner at Villa Park or our chairman falls back in love with the club again. Until then we'll all have to 'suck' on players such as KEA or wait on the windfall from the sale of Benteke to improve if Lambert gets all the revenue generated which i doubt. You're right about the opportunity to move up this season, I just don't think we were in the position to take advantage. We still needed some cover for a lot of positions (left and right fullback, for instance) and that is what constituted the majority of our off season purchases. At the end of this season, though, we have a squad that has adequate cover, fits the wage bill and is completely made up of Lambert's players. As such, we *should* be buying the Kiyotake's or the Sissoko's or whomever that would make the difference for us in the summer. I have a little more faith in our owner and am confident this is will take place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 (edited) I wish i had your confidence in the owner 'ozvillafan.' As i've stated many times before it is my belief that we're being prepared for a sale and consequently wages and expenditure will be kept at the level it is now until we have a new owner. Concerning your point on cover which is a good one. If we had just added the players you suggested above plus one over two windows to what we have now then we would have been in a much better place to take advantage and it wouldn't have taken massive expenditure to do that. I'm not suggesting top 3-4 but certainly 6-7 which would have been seen as a massive improvement over the last 2-3 seasons. Who knows with more expenditure in January we still might surprise everyone by doing that but with just a little bit more ambition shown by Lerner in backing Lambert on all of his targets we would have been in a much stronger position than we are now. Edited October 8, 2013 by Morpheus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Let's all just be happy in the fact that Morpheus's ability to spot a player is already proven to be sh1t! he he I still rate him, I think has the ability, willing to give him this season to really see what he has got, as coming from the dutch league it's a touch change of pace to adjust to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. he is no Charlie Adam after all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulC Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I wish i had your confidence in the owner 'ozvillafan.' As i've stated many times before it is my belief that we're being prepared for a sale and consequently wages and expenditure will be kept at the level it is now until we have a new owner. Concerning your point on cover which is a good one. If we had just added the players you suggested above plus one over two windows to what we have now then we would have been in a much better place to take advantage and it wouldn't have taken massive expenditure to do that. I'm not suggesting top 3-4 but certainly 6-7 which would have been seen as a massive improvement over the last 2-3 seasons. Who knows with more expenditure in January we still might surprise everyone by doing that but with just a little bit more ambition shown by Lerner in backing Lambert on all of his targets we would have been in a much stronger position than we are now. Really I don't think top 6 or 7 was ever going to be achievable, not this season. We are some way behind Liverpool and Everton. I still think we can finish 8th. We're progressing the right way . Long term development with managing the wage bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 Let's all just be happy in the fact that Morpheus's ability to spot a player is already proven to be sh1t! he he I still rate him, I think has the ability, willing to give him this season to really see what he has got, as coming from the dutch league it's a touch change of pace to adjust to. Unfortunately Bond i went to the same school as GH and AmC so i can't help myself. For me still not good enough to push us on and one reason why our midfield is so weak. he is no Charlie Adam after all No he certainly isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I wish i had your confidence in the owner 'ozvillafan.' As i've stated many times before it is my belief that we're being prepared for a sale and consequently wages and expenditure will be kept at the level it is now until we have a new owner. Concerning your point on cover which is a good one. If we had just added the players you suggested above plus one over two windows to what we have now then we would have been in a much better place to take advantage and it wouldn't have taken massive expenditure to do that. I'm not suggesting top 3-4 but certainly 6-7 which would have been seen as a massive improvement over the last 2-3 seasons. Who knows with more expenditure in January we still might surprise everyone by doing that but with just a little bit more ambition shown by Lerner in backing Lambert on all of his targets we would have been in a much stronger position than we are now. Really I don't think top 6 or 7 was ever going to be achievable, not this season. We are some way behind Liverpool and Everton. I still think we can finish 8th. We're progressing the right way . Long term development with managing the wage bill. If we had purchased Sissoko and the Karate Kid do you not think that a 6-7 finish would have been the expectation of the fans? I certainly feel with a midfield containing those two and maybe Delph in conjunction with our forward line that certainly no less than 7th would have been the expectation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozvillafan Posted October 8, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted October 8, 2013 If we had purchased Sissoko and the Karate Kid do you not think that a 6-7 finish would have been the expectation of the fans? I certainly feel with a midfield containing those two and maybe Delph in conjunction with our forward line that certainly no less than 7th would have been the expectation. Perhaps. It certainly would have made us that much more competitive. But it was too expensive for our wage structure and the fee was more than the owner would put up in the last window. Having said that, Lerner has backed Lambert in both off-seasons. Seeing as we have a full squad now, the next season should see us able to "splurge" our small amount of transfer budget on a more expensive acquisition or 2. Hopefully more if we sell Benteke for the motza he is worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SikhInTrinity Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I wish i had your confidence in the owner 'ozvillafan.' As i've stated many times before it is my belief that we're being prepared for a sale and consequently wages and expenditure will be kept at the level it is now until we have a new owner. Concerning your point on cover which is a good one. If we had just added the players you suggested above plus one over two windows to what we have now then we would have been in a much better place to take advantage and it wouldn't have taken massive expenditure to do that. I'm not suggesting top 3-4 but certainly 6-7 which would have been seen as a massive improvement over the last 2-3 seasons. Who knows with more expenditure in January we still might surprise everyone by doing that but with just a little bit more ambition shown by Lerner in backing Lambert on all of his targets we would have been in a much stronger position than we are now. Really I don't think top 6 or 7 was ever going to be achievable, not this season. We are some way behind Liverpool and Everton. I still think we can finish 8th. We're progressing the right way . Long term development with managing the wage bill. If we had purchased Sissoko and the Karate Kid do you not think that a 6-7 finish would have been the expectation of the fans? I certainly feel with a midfield containing those two and maybe Delph in conjunction with our forward line that certainly no less than 7th would have been the expectation. You would think that Sissoko is doing fantastic at his current club, he's a good player but do you honestly think he'd be worth 70k on a 6year contract. Along with all this French buddies playing for Newcastle, we'd have had to have offered him more. The players who we could and should have been looking at was Capoue or even Fer, to give us a bit more physical strength in the middle of the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts