Use our rumours form to send us aston villa transfer rumours.
31 Dec 2022 20:31:43
Happy New Year to all of you who contibute on this forum, obviously we don't all agree, however healthy debate is what makes it interesting, best wishes to one and all.
31 Dec 2022 23:08:04
Dave I echo the Happy New Year, be great to start it off with a win .
2023 where did that year go .UTV ?????
31 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 27th December 2022
30 Dec 2022 14:30:35
Italian press today suggesting that City are willing to offer Jack to AC Milan in exchange for Portugal forward Rafael Leao. Sounds a bit unlikely to me ?
30 Dec 2022 16:13:27
Give them couthinho straight swap lol
30 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 27th December 2022
29 Dec 2022 19:09:20
RIP Pele the worlds greatest
29 Dec 2022 20:15:26
Edson Arantes do Nacimento, Pele, the GOAT.
A football statesman beloved by every football player across the world.
Silky skills and amazing attitude. Makes the current crop of superstars look average.
The memory of watching you will stay with me forever.
What would your transfer fee be today?
The greatest is gone.
RIP master.
TOV
29 Dec 2022 21:32:13
5ft 7in and all packed with genius. Like you TOV I felt privileged to see him play.
He was priceless and the greatest of all.
RIP Pelé, you will never be forgotten.
30 Dec 2022 09:43:06
Could someone please confirm for me that Pele once played at Villa Park.
I am sure that it happened in the 80's
30 Dec 2022 11:51:44
Santos, featuring Pele, played a friendly at VP on the 21st February 1972. The attendance was 54,437 and Villa won 2-1. ?
30 Dec 2022 14:12:13
Hi Menace,
Thank you for the confirmation.
I think that I was there that night but I wasn't sure if I was dreaming. Long time ago
30 Dec 2022 22:16:56
I was 12 at the time and, as it would have been a Monday night, not allowed to go. McMahon and Graydon scored for Villa. Happy days ?
31 Dec 2022 14:03:15
Rest in peace, Edson Arantes do Nascimento. You are still my favourite player of all time!
29 Dec 2022 16:32:58
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new podcast entitled, New Ed1 Podcast on Youtube
29 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 27th December 2022
28 Dec 2022 23:48:00
Sell Courtino and send Bederank back to the saints to free up space sign a goal scorer and a centre back
28 Dec 2022 07:39:21
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 27th December 2022
27 Dec 2022 17:49:39
Norwich sack Deano while in 5th spot, bit harsh in my opinion, i could understand if they were like 9th or 10th and say like 10points from playoff places, Norwich will still be in playoff spots at end of season and could win playoff final, oh well that's football for ya.
27 Dec 2022 23:27:59
Last few times Norwich got relegated the are fighting to win the championship and automatic promotion but under smith they are not at the same level, Deano is 1 of our own but he’s not a top lvl manager and once again he’s being found out.
28 Dec 2022 08:20:46
Not sure where you got few times from Whack. Norwich have only bounced back once as it has been up, down, up, down.
Both Promotions they have had were by winning it but circumstances are different.
Under Farke they signed players, under Smith they are selling them and only giving him a couple of loans.
Norwich try to emulate Brentfords model without having the network capable of it.
Pukki and Hanley are 2 years older so less effective and a lot of the others have started to feel like it's their right to win it rather than work hard.
Smith is a great manager, his only dip has come since Shakespeare joined him. He needs to find a new assistant who gives him what Richard o Kelly gave him.
Norwich was the wrong job from day 1. Took it too soon just because it was technically Premier League.
Many Norwich fans forget they have been massively overperforming the last few years, 5th is still a good spot for a squad that is realistically closer to mid table.
28 Dec 2022 13:51:21
They have had 6 seasons in the championship since 2010, finished 1st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 2 seasons mid table, whatever the squad is they expect to come back up. if he was a great manager he’d have a job in the premier league, maybe Norwich didn’t back him in transfer window but villa did every time and we under performed for the most part.
28 Dec 2022 14:51:24
We finished 11th under him then had a blip. He would have got us higher in the table than Gerrard
28 Dec 2022 18:35:03
Problem was the blip lasted 10 months mate, would of had lots more blips if not for grealish carrying villa and smith.
28 Dec 2022 19:06:17
I think Deano will end up like Mick McCarthy and Steve Bruce in that he is seen as effective at a certain level but not beyond, which is a little unfair in my opinion. As Bucktooth said we had a blip under him and without resurrecting the old argument pulled the trigger too soon we would not have been in the position Gerrard left us in if Smith had still been in charge. I fear Villa Park will be the graveyard of Deano as a premiership manager it has been of others in the past.
28 Dec 2022 23:14:41
Gerrard was a bad choice to replace him for sure but hopefully we have the right guy now. I agree with most of what you said lord but January to October that year we were terrible I forget the stats but we won very little in those 10 months, blips don’t last that long imo. I wish him well but I can’t see him in the premier league again unless he gets a team promoted.
29 Dec 2022 08:44:54
I think your right Whack but let’s be honest it’s hard when you first go up unless your club has £100 million plus to spend and even then it’s not guaranteed we nearly went down when we first went up and Fulham did actually go down having spent in excess of £100 million. If you look at things in the round though I would argue Smith was a success, better style of football than under Bruce, Promotion and stabilisation in the premiership, one of the best results ever achieved by the club (Liverpool 7-2 sorry Ed!) and although Scotty won’t agree more incoming transfers right than wrong and finally overhauling the youth network which is starting to bear fruit not a bad record in 3 years in my opinion. The problem in this country is we don’t seem to value British coaches that highly if you look at the top clubs over the last 20 years how many British based coaches have occupied those jobs - very few.
{Ed001's Note - you had to mention that! Well that's my Christmas ruined, thank you....}
29 Dec 2022 12:05:28
Apologies Ed I was trying to make as many positives as I could before I get shot down in flames by those whose glass is half empty. Anyway you can’t begrudge us our 10 minutes of glory after all you tend to mullah us more often than not?
Happy New Year to you and the rest of the editors UTV.
{Ed001's Note - it's fine mate, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and all the posters (and lurkers) on here.}
29 Dec 2022 19:11:00
100% lord he was a success, big improvement on Bruce, brought stability to the club, improved the squad and the youth setup I cannot argue any of those things he left the club in a better position than he found it ? I just think he reached his ceiling and the next step was bringing in a coach proven at top lvl, we wasted a year but we are there now hopefully.
27 Dec 2022 15:29:28
Dean Smith's loyalty to Shakespeare is admirable but I suspect flawed. Hires him at the Villa and within months performances drop and eventually the sack follows.
Now the same at Norwich.
Never liked CS and he showed his true colours at Leicester.
DS is better off without him in my opinion.
29 Dec 2022 23:31:55
This I agree with 100%, thinks changed for dean when he brought him in
27 Dec 2022 12:49:17
Great that we created so many chances, but rewatching it last night I found it very embarrassing. I was thinking I would have liked to have seen Archer, have a couple of them, certainly a more natural striker .
27 Dec 2022 16:05:22
This is the second manager who isn't using Archer Dave, that indicates to me that he isn't ready and will probably be sent on loan in January. Agree we need a more clinical striker however, we are creating chances and really need to start converting them!
27 Dec 2022 17:26:07
BK, it's rumoured that Archer will go out on loan in January, its probably the right thing to do. My Brother in law is a season ticket holder at Preston and doesn't think Archer is any better than championship level. Until he gets a run of games its difficult to judge his true ability, obviously he has age on his side, unfortunately how is going to get that run to prove wether he has it ir not.
Emery has surprised me with his selections but obviously he sees the players every day in training, he likes Bailey, which i find strange, he doesn't seem to like Dendonker, Chambers, Cash, Ings which you have to respect, he obviously sees more than we do. I think we will buy a right back, central defender, attacking midfielder, striker and winger and maybe goal keeper, in the January window. If he doesn't i think we will continue to struggle. We are definitely short of the talent that Emery needs that will enable us to push on.
27 Dec 2022 17:32:54
BK said Archer, because the times I've seen him, he’s an instinctive finisher, doesn’t ness about just puts his foot through it .
27 Dec 2022 17:46:47
I can’t see us signing 6 players in January Scotty, I think we will probably sign 3 at most with a winger central defender and a striker being the priority positions for me.
27 Dec 2022 19:40:15
Loti you are probably right and the three you mention would be my starting point, however i think we need more. I just get so frustrated watching, Bailey, Luiz, Konsa, constantly giving 5 out of ten performances, which has happened consistently under previous managers and yet they Continue to start, whilst they are continually picked we are never going to improve.
27 Dec 2022 23:05:37
Scotty you must watch different games to me
28 Dec 2022 01:54:30
Bucky, did you not watch yesterday's game then, all three i mentioned were rated as an under performing 5/10 and this is not the first time.
28 Dec 2022 11:50:10
Whoever writes some of those ratings are either trying to stir up a conversation or shouldn't be a sports journalist.
Bailey obviously loses a point or 2 for the fluffed chances but the rest of his game was still worth a decent 7.
Dougie gave the ball away a couple of times with lazy passes but grew into the game and got the assist, more like a 6.
Mcginn had moments like the first cross to Warkins but was always going to be difficult with how up for it Robertson and Nunez were. I'd say 5.5 or 6 only because he wasted possession smashing long shots into opponents who were directly in front.
28 Dec 2022 12:53:00
According to the Fotmob app I use for latest scores, stats etc Luiz was rated 7.5 assisted for Watkins, McGinn 6.6 and Bailey 6.2. If they were no good why are there rumours Chelse want Bailey and both Liverpool and Aresnal bid for Dougie?
28 Dec 2022 13:31:54
If we could get good money, i would sell both of them. Just remember neither have been guaranteed starters under previous managers, and remember this was in a bottom half table side, so what chance would they have to start in a Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal side. Both players are far too inconsistent to be a regular starting asset to any decent team.
28 Dec 2022 20:22:34
To be fair to you Scotty you have been consistent in your criticism of Luiz, Bailey and others but I think you are in a minority most on here appreciate what they bring and as others have said other teams like Roma have shown interest particularly in Luiz and Mourinho doesn’t tend to sign crap players
28 Dec 2022 21:11:51
Loti, quite a few on here have agreed with me in the past and many many on other platforms are equally as critical. i'm not sure exactly what they bring, Luiz passing is poor at best and Bailey can not keep the ball, all of which do not add up to the quality needed in the premier league.
29 Dec 2022 19:06:27
Bailey is starting to come good to be fair, he looks like he can do something when he’s on the ball and he’s our biggest threat going forward, luiz I’m not fond of he’s very average at best I’d take anything over 20 million if it was offered.
29 Dec 2022 23:09:38
Bailey can be frustrating but he's getting better and gives us a little bit of an X factor going forwards. Too many steady Eddie's won't give you a cutting edge.
Luiz has a passing range that could make him the next Pirlo but he's a bit too arrogant for his age which leads to him not taking due care and attention at the right times.
Outside of operation restart I've never been Dougies biggest fan but I do think with the right coaching and team setup, him and Bailey could be 2 of our big hitters.
30 Dec 2022 11:43:50
RK, that's my issue, they both have caveats to most peoples comments, most though don't see the issues as deep as i do. I will be very surprised if both are regular starters once emery has finished building his side.
30 Dec 2022 14:47:12
That's because you seem to refuse to acknowledge the good things they do, no player is perfect.
Salah lost the ball or took the wrong option pretty much every time he got it against us but you'd 100% take him.
Bailey is growing into the team now that he's getting a run of games. His output is improving constantly and he's been pretty much our best player this season.
As signings will be costly and there will be a limit to spending he will play regularly for at least the next 2 years in my opinion considering he's currently the only winger we have.
Dougie has more work to do to avoid being replaced but the ability is there and its up to Emery as to whether or not he can get that out of him.
DMs are normally more experienced so it may be a case of Emery not wanting 2 young ones and currently Kamara wins that battle.
27 Dec 2022 12:12:22
A couple of things stood out for me from last nights game.Firstly we need an out an out goalscorer if we had one we would have at least been level at half time if not in front. Secondly we need some defenders with out an out pace, I knew Salah was quick but the way both he and Nunez outpaced our back line was frightening whilst I knew Mings and Konsa are not lightening quick I didn't think they were slow but they were certainly made to look like that last night. If we need pace at the back and I think we do then I'm not sure Pau Torres is the answer he is good in the air and reads the game fairly well but he seems to me to be a bit one paced.
The other thing I wondered about was Liverpool's second goal, the ball played through to the Liverpool forward was offside he then crossed the ball which was kicked out by Digne (I think) and VVD scored from the corner admittedly we should have defended the set piece better but the corner came from a player who was offside I take it that's now ok?
27 Dec 2022 13:38:21
100% agree, a more natural goal poacher is an absolute must - I wonder who we will get?
On Pau Torres, I think a defender who reads the game well negates the need for extreme pace but I agree if we intend to play such a high line another CB to partner Costa is a must. Maxence Lacroix perhaps?
27 Dec 2022 14:52:38
Don’t know anything about Lacroix but personally I quite like Tomori
26 Dec 2022 20:49:13
I have been consistent in my views on players just not good enough to start if we are to progress and push for European football. Mcginn, Luiz Konsa, Young, Bailey, Cash, Watkins, Ings would not get in a top six side, which is the level required in order to compete with the best. I know its not a popular view, however its my honest opinion and consistent.
26 Dec 2022 21:31:23
With the exception of Young and Ings each of those players have the potential to improve with the correct coaching. They are all comfortably top half premier league players. Why wouldn't they improve? We need to add another pacy dribbler up front.
27 Dec 2022 11:12:54
If our team was full of top 6 players we would probably be in the top 6. What we are looking for is a team that's better than the sum of its parts. Hopefully Emery can achieve this transformation. The right tactics can make average players over achieve and we will need to do this to attract top players
27 Dec 2022 11:16:49
I think to beat Villa players with the "wouldn't get in a Top 6 side" stick is a bit unfair Caffu - We aren't near to being a Top 6 side yet but what we are is a team a few signings away from being in the "best of the rest" conversation. We now have an elite level coach who will improve all of those players and see Villa push up the table. Look at Newcastle, at the start of the season how many of their side would you have said would get in the Villa 11? 3 maybe? That's what a top coach can do and we now have that, we need to give him time to work with the squad and bring in some new bodies in January. I've already seen a massive improvement in McGinn, Luiz and Bailey and yes long term they may not be what we need to make the jump into the elite but they are very good players and starting to show what they can do working under a manager like Emery! The future is bright mate :-)
27 Dec 2022 12:05:00
100% correct BK
26 Dec 2022 19:35:35
Really need to shake up that defence, I know mings gets a lot of stick but our CB's just not good enough if we are to push up the table, I know Olsen didn't help the situation but realistically both mings and konsa need upgrading imo, also not sure why Emery left it so long to make changes, I know we were on top but that was the time to get ings on the pitch imo. we are playing some good stuff and creating under Emery but defending and finishing is costing us. hopefully we see some new faces in January
26 Dec 2022 20:22:53
We have Diego Carlos to return who will make a massive difference to our defence, especially in this system. I'd be amazed if Emery doesn't look go bring in another CB in the summer as well Whack. That being said, for me that is not priority number one, we need a striker ASAP, I love Ollie but he needs 4 chances before he scores and against the top sides that will be punished (as you seen tonight). I think Danjuma is a banker signing on the left in January but we need to go big on a striker. CB in the summer then!
26 Dec 2022 20:31:05
Whack, it was a similar defence performance to that under Smith and Gerrard, Emery will definitely have to change things, we were vulnerable to the ball over the top. I thought Buendia had a poor game, I also thought Dougie gave the ball away too often, Liverpool were waiting to hit us on the counter. Obviously some positives, we were the better team in the second half, but you can't give teans like Liverpool a two goal start and expect to win.
26 Dec 2022 20:50:55
Whack main problem was,we stood off their midfield,allowing them to pass us to death .Their wide players wide open every time,we where to narrow .
On the plus side,how often do you create Five chances against Liverpool in the first half .At least Ollie managed one,took him five chances . He showed our main problem, that we’ve all known about for ages . Olson after a nervy start,at least made some decent saves, not his fault he’s just not good enough .
Better second half,had more of the play,but left the subs to late .
Onwards&Upwards Villaforever
27 Dec 2022 01:57:58
Very little point in overanalysing that game. Tactically we didn't do much wrong (other than in my view making changes too late) but the law of averages caught up with us and better players delivered on the day. It really shouldn't be a surprise or reason to slate anyone, it's just a fair reflection of where we are - a mid table team with potential. You always hope for an upset but the reality is it played out pretty much inline with what you'd expect.
The gap will close soon though.
27 Dec 2022 11:23:48
There will be times where it doesn't go to plan and Yesterday was one of those.
2 years ago Watkins scores that first header and Bailey has normally scored with the chances he had. One or 2 of those chances go in then it could have been very different.
It's still very early days with the change of tactics but there were promising signs despite the loss. We just need to press better if we're going to play that high line.
25 Dec 2022 16:03:19
Many reports that Emery wants Martinez out of VP for several reasons which don't need repeating.
Evidence suggests that he didn't like him at Arsenal and will use the recent complaints to get him out.
If he does succeed it will be a massive blow for the team and a replacement will need to be signed quickly.
The Moroccan keeper was excellent and along with him the guy Arabanth would be a good addition to the team.
25 Dec 2022 18:30:47
Sorry TOV whilst I agree it would be a massive blow to lose Martinez I don’t agree that Bounou the Moroccan keeper was excellent, he might have had a good penalty shoot out performance but other than that I thought he was distinctly average, didn’t command his box and looked suspect under the high ball. I think the Croatian keeper looked better.
25 Dec 2022 19:33:13
I think we all need to relax about Martinez, he's recently signed a new deal and the only clubs that can realistically afford and attract him are the elite. If that happens then so be it, Villa will most likely receive a world record fee for a goalkeeper and we move on. The club needs to become more self sufficient and less reliant on our owners and unfortunately that sometimes means selling assets and reinvesting accordingly.
26 Dec 2022 01:04:22
Bk we will always be reliant on our owners, no matter what the circumstances, that's modern football
26 Dec 2022 10:44:05
Agree Caffu, but we need to become less reliant and more self sustainable and that sometimes means selling prized assets on occasion - I'm not worried about Martinez leaving anytime soon but if he does then we'll make a massive profit with will allow us to be invest in other areas of the squad. The aim needs to be to keep our top players but if a mega offer comes in and Martinez wants to go then the club will accept I'm sure.
26 Dec 2022 18:33:20
I’m with loti on the keeper bono, he was average if you ask me, had a very organised and hard fighting defence in front of him, found out by the French when defence was hit by injuries, I also would like the Croatian keeper even if emi is staying we need a better backup cause Olsen stats don’t lie he let's in 3 or 4 every time he plays, like others have said if emi leaves we get huge payout and if he stays we have a top class keeper do it’s win win.
25 Dec 2022 10:46:11
Merry Christmas to you all and especially the Eds
{Ed001's Note - Merry Christmas daz and all the posters on here.}
24 Dec 2022 15:54:22
if villa were to get 3 players in this window who would you sign?
mine would be pau torres,isla sarr,and felix if we could pull it off,if not felix zaha
24 Dec 2022 18:24:10
If we are talking ambitious but (somewhat) realistic signings then mine would be Pau Torres,Leandro Trossard and Jonathan David.
25 Dec 2022 09:57:41
For me again trying to be realistic about who we might attract I would go for Schick/Abraham, Sarr, and Neves.
25 Dec 2022 19:25:39
Neves from Wolves LOTI? Would be an incredible signing.
24 Dec 2022 15:07:04
Patrick Viera, has used the sky platform to highlight what sour grapes taste like. Unsurprisingly the French have found it extremely difficult to accept defeat and have used thier FA their press to belly ache about Emi, i'm sure he won't lose any sleep especially when looking at his winners medal.
23 Dec 2022 10:20:09
Tis the season of goodwill to all men.
So reflecting on the cheating players, who do you think is the player that cheats the most in the current Prem league.
The list is long but my nomination as "Cheat of the day" would go to Fernandez of Man Utd.
Who do you nominate?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all
TOV
23 Dec 2022 16:01:33
TOV, Fernandez would be my first, second, third and so on choice, we obviously were victim of his cheating, he was at it every game in the world, Christmas wishes to one and all.
22 Dec 2022 15:25:40
hows every1 doing and happyxmas and to the edds aswell. looking forward to boxingday watching the villa
{Ed001's Note - merry Christmas to you too jonny and all the other posters and lurkers on here.}
22 Dec 2022 17:53:16
Merry Christmas one and all here’s to a great New Year with some real quality coming through the door at VP.
22 Dec 2022 23:00:57
Well LOTI, I’ll be coming through the VP door on a regular basis. Not sure I count as ‘real quality’ though ?. Merry Xmas ?
23 Dec 2022 08:15:35
Oh, I don’t know Menace ?Happy Christmas to you and yours
22 Dec 2022 09:53:13
Just spent a few weeks in Spain watching W/cup and enjoyed the banter with lots of people from European countries.
Biggest talking point was all about Martinez. Was he cheating, was he play acting, was it fair?
Regardless of opinion, he was the outstanding keeper and values varied between £50m and my Grealsh track of £100m to see off Spurs, Pool,Magpies and even R/Madrid.
It appeared that he would be welcomed by supporters of most clubs.
As for his "cheating"
Do you remember Grobellar for pool at the Euro cup final when he was almost falling over standing on the line.
Rules say that the keeper must stay behind the line when taker is ready.
Well done Emi. let's see you back at VP with your medal.
£100m to release him.
22 Dec 2022 13:42:59
Cheating is probably a bit harsh of a word for it, it’s his job to distract and put off players and keep the ball out of the net, he does it brilliantly we seen it last year with Bruno, history books remember winners, if he done that in a cup final for us I’d have absolutely no problem with it, nothing in the rules say you have to be nice to penalty takers and make them feel comfortable, England won the award for fair play but nobody will remember that, they will remember Messi and Martinez winning it for Argentina. they will probably remember mbappe scoring a hatrick in a WC final and still losing.
I will say 1 thing negative about Martinez, he probably is taking it a little bit to far with the trolling of mbappe but then mbappe did get the ball rolling on that in the lead up to the final so there probably are mixed opinions on that one.
For what it’s worth I think mbappe will win another WC with France, he is twice the player neymar is and Neymar is also the biggest cheat I’ve seen in years.
22 Dec 2022 15:23:09
Football is lacking in characters nowadays and Emi has that in abundance.
22 Dec 2022 17:56:43
I love to hear ex pro’s criticise modern day players particularly Roy Keane when he talks about Martinez behaviour, at least Martinez antics were never intended to ‘do’ a fellow professional, unlike Keane’s challenge on Alf Inge Haaland. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
22 Dec 2022 19:47:26
Loti, it angers me so much when i listen to the likes of Souness, Keane, Barton, Carragher and the Cetic thug who think players should get "stuck in", thank god there is no place for thugs in the modern game. I agree sometimes tough honest players are unfairly penalised, players acting have made it extremely difficult for referees to officiate, however for the aforementioned thugs to criticise the way things currently are is completely wrong.
22 Dec 2022 23:50:59
Everybody is so eager to be offended these days, it's in one ear and out the other for me, especially from "experts" on TV - And I can guarantee you one thing, Martinez will absolutely LOVE the noise at the moment, he is living rent free in the heads of every penalty taker from now on.
23 Dec 2022 16:04:57
Martinez can dine out for the rest of his international career after his world cup all round performance,I just hope his club career is with us.
21 Dec 2022 15:24:44
Seems like Martinez agent is starting to stoke things up by saying Emi wants Champions League football
21 Dec 2022 16:51:33
Lori, I sincerely hope Santa delivers a GK to Emery for the Liverpool game otherwise we’ll have to flinch every time Olsen gets anywhere near the ball.
21 Dec 2022 16:51:49
Lori, I sincerely hope Santa delivers a GK to Emery for the Liverpool game otherwise we’ll have to flinch every time Olsen gets anywhere near the ball.
21 Dec 2022 16:59:59
I hope we didn’t put a release clause in his contract, he’s under contract for 5 years it should take 100 million to buy him out.
21 Dec 2022 20:10:58
Sadly Whack this isn’t a Grealish situation a player who loves the club and therefore wouldn’t rock the boat to secure a move whereas Emi doesn’t have the same link with the club and I think he will probably push to secure a move. I also don’t think he will command a £100 million goalkeepers don’t attract that type of fee but we should certainly be looking at £60-70 million minimum after all that’s the fee that Chelsea paid for Kepa and Martinez is a better keeper than him.
22 Dec 2022 13:24:41
Grealish may have loved the club but we have had this discussion before, he was on his bike to spurs when he had the chance only for levy trying to pull our pants down and new owners coming in just in the nick of time, then he wanted to go to united the following year only they didn’t bid for him so he signed a new deal insisting on a release clause inserted so he could go without us having any say in the matter, Barry, Delph, young, Milner, benteke they all leave no matter how much they love the club. if Martinez has no release clause we hold all the aces, 4.5 seasons left on contract, as you say he’s better than kepa and prices have inflated a lot since kepa was sold to Chelsea, I’m not full sure but it’s at least 4 years ago maybe even 5 and Martinez has proven his qualities on the biggest stage of them all, kepa won nothing of note before his sale. Martinez certainly won’t be going anywhere in January but rumours will be rife between now and the summer, it would b naive for me to think he won’t move in the next season or 2 if we don’t get Europe but we can extract every last penny we can get for him, getting in a solid number 2 has to be a real priority now.
22 Dec 2022 15:49:50
Villa can't lose. If he goes we get a hefty profit, and if he doesn't, happy days. Good as he is, we shouldn't think any player is the be all and end all. To improve the team we need all our players to improve, and hence increase in value. Then by good trading we can keep improving quality without falling foul of FFP rules.
22 Dec 2022 19:27:16
I think he will go, more likely in the summer although it depends how desperate Bayern are to replace Neuer. His contract runs to 2027 so on the one hand we hold all the aces however if he plays up then who knows we don’t want a destabilising influence hanging around but hopefully it won’t come to that. My bigger concern is who comes through the door to replace him.
22 Dec 2022 23:57:19
I don't think he'll be going anywhere - His agent is making noises because his client is probably the most talked about player on the planet (bar Messi) since the WC final, if I was his agent I'd be doing the exact same thing, doesn't mean he is leaving and if he does it'll be for big fee.
21 Dec 2022 11:57:57
Just watched the 2009 cup final against Man U again .once again left wondering how Vidic didn't get sent off .Shows how bad refs isn't a new thing . When you see the players we had then,if we could of kept them together, we had the making of a good side .
Onwards&Upwards Villaforever
22 Dec 2022 13:26:13
Ref was a sham in that game Dave, vidic is the thing that sticks most in my mind it was ridiculous
21 Dec 2022 00:51:02
Well, our strikers may not be as prolific as Toney, but at least they're not facing charges of 262 individual breaches of betting rules. A little suspension on the horizon methinks ?
20 Dec 2022 16:02:09
It seems as though Emi is unlikely to feature on Boxing day, which is a shame, i'm sure he would have enjoyed the villa fans warm response to his wonderful achievements in Qatar.
20 Dec 2022 18:12:13
Obviously would have been better for us if he were to play but he deserves a little break after such a demanding schedule.
20 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
19 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
18 Dec 2022 22:16:14
the vultures will circle now for emi hope we keep him,all going to come dwn to emi and emerey hopefully they can resolve there differences
19 Dec 2022 18:53:19
Where is all this stuff coming from? Martinez was at Arsenal for 8 years, Emery 12 months, seems like people putting 2 + 2 together and getting 5. I haven't seen anything to suggest they are not aligned since Emery arrived.
19 Dec 2022 22:22:31
It's either pure speculation or there were problems with training. Martinez was never going to be Arsenal number 1 under Emery, he had practically no experience at the time and they were expecting Champions League.
I'd assume it would be Arteta he'd have the problem with by not backing him after his incredible run during Leno's injury.
19 Dec 2022 23:27:38
I haven't seen anything concrete RK, I'm guessing it's pure speculation - We need Martinez back ASAP, I don't fancy Liverpool and Spurs without him.
18 Dec 2022 20:37:57
So there was much previous discussion about the relationship between Emery and Emi and how that might play out. Clearly it would be utter madness to think that Emi might go because Emery couldn't cope with his 'eccentric' personality. Thoughts ??
18 Dec 2022 18:00:09
The best final since,Will Young and Gareth Gates .
What a game that was,glad Argentina won,for Messi,what a player .Martinez at his best,I dread to think of the teams after him now .
18 Dec 2022 18:12:34
Who else would you want between the sticks he is pure class, the full package he has everything, passion, leadership, top class shot stopper and mind games in abundance i'm delighted for him and Messi.
18 Dec 2022 18:34:26
He’s won everything at international level here’s hoping that will satisfy him and he doesn’t want to replicate his success at club level if he does we will probably not be able to keep him
18 Dec 2022 19:53:12
but we will get a shed load of cash lord,we have to set wr price for a gk 70/80mil
18 Dec 2022 19:53:54
If he does go we’ll get top dollar for him.
Not that I want him to leave but if he is going, better to sell him while his stock is Sky high.
What is he worth? £50, £60, £70m? More?
He’s priceless to Villa though.
18 Dec 2022 20:45:19
Loti, if we keep emi, i would be amazed, golden glove world cup winner playing in Aston, not getting on with the manager, not looking good for us. I sincerely wish him well for his future endeavours, big money champions league in the twilight of his career who wouldn't want that.
18 Dec 2022 21:20:29
I think he will go probably in the summer though. I think we should look to get top dollar for him so certainly in excess of £50 million, but my concern is who you replace him with? a top quality keeper is worth an additional 8 to 10 points a season and I don’t see anyone who I would fancy as a replacement to be honest and certainly not Bounou.
19 Dec 2022 08:55:33
croatia s gk is good,and jurgen sommer
18 Dec 2022 17:56:30
congrats to emi proud we have a gk like him ?
18 Dec 2022 17:44:46
what a gk we have,that save outstanding
18 Dec 2022 14:13:19
History will be made today. Villa will have a player in a World Cup final for the first time in our 148 year history ? Good luck EMI ??
18 Dec 2022 16:49:58
France may or may not win the World Cup but you have a clear example of a coach who can change a game which is running away from his team through effective use of substitutes that’s why teams like France are successful and teams like England with Southgate in charge are not
18 Dec 2022 11:00:32
So, Boregate gets to keep his job ? well at least it will continue to give us something to complain about on here ??
18 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
17 Dec 2022 07:39:15
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
16 Dec 2022 15:45:04
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new podcast entitled, New Ed1 Podcast on Youtube
16 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
16 Dec 2022 00:31:26
Watched most of the first half tonight on u tube . We played some nice football,same old problem putting it in the net .Didn't see second half,but it looks like we lost it when new defence came on .Considering they where in champions league, it's not a bad result .
Onwards&Upwards Villaforever
16 Dec 2022 23:51:17
Yeah, it's clear we need another striker Dave, I'd imagine Emery will target a striker and Winger in January.Hard to know who they'll be though? A lot of noise around Thuram, I must admit I haven't seen much of him beyond his appearances at the WC, is he any good? Joao Felix is another name, IMO we have zero chance of this happening sadly. Wouldn't be surprised if we waited until the summer, January very hard to get big signings in.
17 Dec 2022 15:25:45
Thuram is decent, played in French and German leagues and over the last 3 seasons he scores about once in every 3 games although I think he has got 10 in 13 this season. He can play anywhere across the front line but primarily likes to come in from the left side. I am not sure as an out and out front man he is the answer but if the rumours are true that he is available for £10 million because of the contract situation then I think he’s worth a punt but bigger sides than us are interested.
17 Dec 2022 16:16:58
Hard to know who we'll go after LOTI, Emery seems to be playing a sort of 4-2-2-2 recently so I wonder will we look for a wide player at all in January? Or perhaps that's the best formation for the players we have? Can't wait for the Prem to be back and then straight into January which I think (or hope) will be exciting for Villa.
15 Dec 2022 07:39:26
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 14th December 2022
14 Dec 2022 20:11:44
morrocos number8 is class player like the look of him and amrabet there dm both quality and would be good at villa
14 Dec 2022 11:16:01
Against Chelsea it was nice to see Maginn played more advanced and of course he scored .
14 Dec 2022 13:59:41
Dave, it was like watching him play for Scotland, where he is easily their most effective attacking player, scoring more than the strikers.Quality Attacking midfielders are hard to come by, if we can make it Work Mcginn could change our attacking fortunes.
14 Dec 2022 15:29:14
This is where some difficult decisions are going to have to be made.Assuming that 4 2 3 1 is Emery’s preferred formation it would appear Kamara and at least until the window opens that Luiz will fill the other holding role. We also know that the manager likes to play two wide players as part of the midfield three one of whom is likely to be Bailey and given the number of wide players we are being linked with I would expect one of our January signings will fill the other berth. That leaves McGinn, Coutinho and Buendia fighting for the central midfield berth behind the striker, I can’t see whoever loses out in that battle being happy to sit regularly on the bench so I think the January window will be not only interesting in terms of incomings but outgoings also.
14 Dec 2022 16:57:31
Loti, do you think Martinez will still be with us next season, i think the writing is already on the wall for his exit.
15 Dec 2022 08:00:24
The honest answer is I don’t know, but given the fact that the rumours about his relationship with Emery won’t go away which is definitely a worry. World class keepers don’t come along that often and I can’t remember the last world class keeper we had (if indeed we ever had one!) but if he does go we should demand a hefty fee and not entertain the nonsense being touted around a straight swap with McKennie from Juventus. Also I am not convinced by Bounou who is being touted as his replacement he might be ok in a penalty shoot out but in the games I saw to me he didn’t seem that comfortable under the high ball and didn’t really command his area.
15 Dec 2022 11:26:46
Scotty, Martinez just signed a new long term contract. He's very grateful for Villa giving him his chance, same as Dougie. It's all worked out for him very well since joining us. He's going nowhere. He loves it at Villa. He's getting linked because he is a very good goalkeeper so other clubs are getting envious. Bound to happen, and a good sign. We should get used to it as we improve our squad. :)
15 Dec 2022 11:38:48
I hope you are right 56 but whilst he may well love it with us if the rumours are true that he dislikes Emery because of how he treated him whilst they were at Arsenal, and add that to the fact clubs who are regularly competing for the Champions League are interested in him may lead him to think differently. If you really dislike your boss then it wouldn’t be a surprise if you wanted to get away and as his stock will have undoubtedly risen because of his performances in Qatar this might be his ideal opportunity, although if he does go I don’t think we would be prepared to do business until the summer.
15 Dec 2022 15:49:51
Loti, that's definitely how i see it and so do quite a lot of journalists, let's all hope he stays, however Champions league has great appeal and features highly in all top players considerations across the worlds talent. Champions league is not on our radar anytime soon.
15 Dec 2022 23:14:14
No way Martinez leaves, I don't see him pushing to leave and I don't see any clubs paying what we would demand. He'll be at Villa next season for sure and these rumours of a falling out with Emery are just that, until I hear it come from Emery or Martinez I'll take it with a pinch of salt.
14 Dec 2022 07:39:15
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 9th December 2022
13 Dec 2022 20:22:00
The number of times I have heard over the last couple of seasons how including ex players at Stockley Park would help improve VAR decision making and reduce the number of perverse decisions being made. Well tonight's Croatia - Argentina match and the decision on the Argentine penalty decision highlights exactly why with what are subjective decisions ex players are no more likely to come up with the 'correct' decision than anyone else. Roy Keane, Gary Neville, and Ian Wright saying no penalty, Ally McCoist and Lee Dixon saying it was. For what it's worth it was a penalty all day long in my opinion but what this shows is ex players will not necessarily make the decision making process any better
14 Dec 2022 14:12:33
It needs a team of three, majority rule. Ex referee not an active part of PGMOL, ex player/manager and an independent.
As long as all keep up to date with the rules and agreed interpretation then there should be a balanced decision not affected by allegiances.
14 Dec 2022 17:04:32
I don't think you need to be an ex player to understand the game and interpret the rules.if the standard of punditry is anything to go by I'd say keep ex players a mile away from officiating. Most of the ex players turned pundits can barely string a coherent sentence together, let alone be objective or offer any insight. Imagine Wright,McCoist or Savage trying to analyse an ingame decision whilst trying to use a computer and communicate effectively. Terrifying.
14 Dec 2022 17:09:34
Not sure that solves the problem rk, last night you had 1 ex ref and five ex pro players split 3 -3 on whether it was a penalty or not. Personally I would rather scrap VAR and go back to refs making the decision as they see it on the ground but I know that won’t happen.
14 Dec 2022 18:19:01
If you find the right people I think it does and if nothing else it's easier to accept a decision that has been made by at least 2 out of 3 people with no affiliation to anyone on the pitch, especially the massively under qualified people wearing black.
Most of the pundits are either just dim or sensationalist idiots but they are hired for those roles due to those traits because they're considered more entertaining.
There are definitely enough level headed people within football that we don't hear about every week that they could get a couple to sit in a room each week.
14 Dec 2022 23:57:14
I see where you're coming from RK and don't necessarily disagree in principle, but the fact is those making the decisions right now are the most qualified. Now you can dispute the end result in terms of quality and speculate as to whether a different character profile (eg ex pro's) would change that end result, but as some have already pointed out, many decisions are subjective interpretations and so will never please everyone.
I've posted on here before about this but seems appropriate to bring it up again - it baffles me how we (fans, pundits, media etc) are complicit in a culture of cheating and deception in our sport and yet spend so much time criticising officials. Don't get me wrong, they make some howlers, but for every bad decision you can pretty much guarantee there will be 10 clear cases of attempted cheating during an average match. Any other sport would be up in arms, but football is apparently different. The bar is so low now and we all know it, but nobody ever seems to call it out. Change the culture of the sport and 90% of this debate becomes redundant. If only the governing bodies had a backbone eh.
15 Dec 2022 09:24:29
I agree that if the players weren't trying to gain that edge by going down too easy or slyly tryi g to injure opponents then we probably don't need VAR as long as refs grow a pair an don't let noise influence them.
Don't for one minute though think this isn't going on in other sports in some way. Snooker considered to be the most honest sport/game is in turmoil right now, tennis has several players using gamesmanship tactics. Rugby fans are blinkered and show everyone the times that the ref is assertive and players respectful but overlook many instances of foul play in their sport.
13 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 9th December 2022
12 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 9th December 2022
11 Dec 2022 19:09:32
Watched the Villa v Chelsea game, good result,played some decent football . The young lad,Kaden Young,looks a real prospect,very mature for 16 .
11 Dec 2022 15:37:02
Reading the papers today, Emi seems to have got into hot water over comments on and off the field, it would be sad if fifa sanction him by banning him from the semi final. I do however think he is getting too big for his boots with some of his antics. Confidence is great, arrogance is not so good. I raise this point and just hope he does his talking with his goalkeeper performances and doesn't come back with his excellent record in the world cup, only too think he is bigger than the club and locks horns with Emery, because there can only be one winner.
12 Dec 2022 14:28:38
Im not worried about that he's a very humble guy who let's the adrenaline get the better of him utv
11 Dec 2022 07:39:11
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 9th December 2022
10 Dec 2022 23:07:04
As a nation we're always looking for someone to blame - usually claiming a couple of grand erroneous whiplash compensation from someone who accidentally touches our bumper in a traffic queue. At the Euros, it was the lads who missed the penalties. However today, it seems, it's shared responsibility. But didn't someone blaze a fairly straightforward penalty into orbit? ? ⚽️ Emi's still in it though, but potentially banned for Ref abuse.
10 Dec 2022 21:53:55
We complain about our refs,but the one tonight was an utter disgrace. The two pens we did get,he didn't want to give us .England played well,but finishing let us down .
10 Dec 2022 22:13:34
Most people on here know that I am no fan of Southgate’s but fair play to him he didn’t revert to type by going to play 3 at the back we concentrated more on how we could hurt France rather than worrying about what they could do to us.
Although we started slowly, we did play well in the second half and poor refereeing cost us but that said we still moved the ball too slowly and passed the ball sideways and backwards far too often. It will be interesting to see what Southgate does now.
11 Dec 2022 01:34:19
England played pretty well when they were behind but when they got the equaliser they reverted back to boring Southgate tactics, slowing play right down at every chance, then improved again after going 2-1 down, they need to pit on their big boy pants, Jude and slab head say the ref gave them nothing the whole game? He gave them 2 penalties, the first one instantaneously the second after looking at the monitor, I’ll admit the ref wasn’t great but neither were England they had 100 minutes and couldn’t score a goal from open play, France didn’t play well but scored 2 goals from open play, were England going to score a goal in either of the 2 penalty incidents? I don’t think they were to be honest. However if stones and maguire had of done their job defending then they wouldn’t of being in that predicament in the first place, they need to look at themselves instead of looking for excuses, this was their first real test in the competition and they rubbish the bed, buying into their own hype, all the talk of Bellingham and imo saka was twice they player throughout the competition, I’m not a lover of France either since Henry cheated us a few years back playing basketball in the box but they look like the team to beat, would love to see Morocco win it out but injuries going to hurt them.
11 Dec 2022 10:02:13
Totally agree, Whack. Another choke at the big occasion. It's like we are happy at level and only step up when we are behind. Nothing has changed for thirty odd years, and until we get a proper world class manager nothing will. Southgate talks well and has brought the players together, but that's where it ends. I am hoping for Pochettino in the near future.
11 Dec 2022 11:43:50
I couldn’t believe it when saka came off he looked like doing something every time he ran at them, surprised to see sterling coming on he added nothing, big late with grealish aswel I can’t remember him getting to touch the ball, as a nation England have some serious amount of talent available to them and a blind man can see Southgate will never get the best out of them.
11 Dec 2022 12:07:45
What a load of rubbish. Maguire and stones were solid enough, England controlled much of the game and were unlucky. We've had so called world class managers before with supposedly our golden generation and Southgate has out performed them all. If the 2nd penalty goes in we would've probably gone onto win. We had to play the ball around because France were dropping back. Whack and 56 you must've been watching a different game/tournament
11 Dec 2022 14:06:59
Buck agree completely, as you say, second pen goes in and we would of gone on to win . With the subs I think Southgate was worried about extra time .
11 Dec 2022 17:44:10
Southgate will stay in charge as long as he wants too I’m afraid, in fairness he has a number of positive attributes, so from the FA perspective he is great PR, takes the heat off the top guys and is not going to end up in hot water a la Sam Allardyce. He is also well liked and it seems respected by the players and he certainly seems to have the whole squad pulling in the same direction which is something that we haven’t had for quite some time if ever at all. But here’s the problem tactically he is weak yesterday’s performance was better in that he seemed to be prepared to let the team play more offensively but we still moved the ball sideways and backwards far too much, when the French threatened you could see how much more quickly they moved the ball creating gaps which runners could exploit. So we have competed in 15 World Cups and got to 3 semi finals, Croatia a country with a population of something like 3 million people have competed in 6 World Cups and got to 3 semi finals. Our record is piss poor, we beat who we are expected to beat but when we come up against sides who are on paper the equal of ours or potentially better we continually fall short I don’t see that changing with Southgate in charge.
11 Dec 2022 18:54:13
2 center backs giving up 2 goals is not a solid display in my book lads, even Iran scored 2 goals against them they were always going to cost ye in this tournament. and sure if the penalties had of went in back in the euros you would of won aswel but they didn’t, Harry spent to much time fixing his thigh high socks I thought I was watching WSL there at 1 stage ?? can’t have any complaints when you can’t score from play in my book, the best team in the world at any given time can defend well and score goals against good opposition and this England team can’t do either. They have the players so it’s obviously the manager and tactics, and a bit of arrogance to top it off.
11 Dec 2022 20:24:08
We finished with 57% possession 16 shots with 8 on target. With xg 2.41 compared to Frances 8 shots and xg of 1. We were unlucky. If this was Villa you'd be bemoaning the refs decisions especially the foul on Saka before Frances 1st goal.
11 Dec 2022 20:39:14
Whack,this is coming to someone who is also Irish you need to get over the green eyed
11 Dec 2022 20:49:29
Bloody pressed the wrong button?
I agree to a certain extent about Southgate but come on you have to admit England played well against a good French team, we scored plenty of goals from open play in the tournament you can’t do that in every game, and we didn’t get the rub of the green when it came to refereeing decisions. The game could have gone either way but England lost again having said that though I do think Southgate again made some unfathomable decisions ie why did Saka come off he was our most dangerous player? Why on earth was Mount brought on he has done nothing all tournament, and why bring on a player who has just flown in from England after a burglary at his home when his mind is probably elsewhere. And why bring Grealish on with 59 seconds left? That is why England will never win anything with Southgate in charge.
11 Dec 2022 22:16:24
If you look up through the thread I did say England played pretty well when they were behind and they had to go for it.
RE the foul on saka yes it may have being a foul but are they always given? Answer is no not always and it was at the opposite end of the pitch so it had no bearing on the goal in fairness.
buck those stats just consolidate Southgate’s failure and no other proof needed that he hasn’t the pedigree to win a major tournament, you scored goals against poor teams but not against the more elite sides, how bad were results in the run up to the tournament? This has not come as a surprise.
10 Dec 2022 10:03:46
If the rumours are true re Emery and Martinez then they need to patch up whatever issue they have pdq we do not want to be selling Martinez you do not get quality keepers like him very often and I don't see too many around that are better than him that would be willing to come to us.
10 Dec 2022 07:39:24
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 9th December 2022
09 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 6th December 2022
08 Dec 2022 20:32:32
I like Amarbarat of Morroco and Saiss
09 Dec 2022 00:28:59
He was outstanding against Spain, seems destined for Liverpool though if you believe the reports. Looks a real hidden gem, has been excellent at the WC
09 Dec 2022 12:07:41
I tend to agree with Wenger that’s it’s not advisable to base your future recruitment strategy based purely on what you see in tournament football. You ought to have scouted the guys you are interested in for at least half a season before committing to spend significant sums of money. Without trolling out the same old names the guy who I think is worth keeping an eye on is the Iranian centre forward Taremi who plays for Porto I think, based on the limited amount I have seen of him, he works the centre backs runs the channels well and seems to know where the back of the net is.
11 Dec 2022 01:40:52
Morocco have only conceded 1 goal so far and that was an own goal, their defence can’t be to bad in fairness, and having played Belgium Spain and Portugal that’s quiet an achievement. worth a sneaky bet at 10-1 now to win it out, reminds me a bit of the Greek team who won the euros.
08 Dec 2022 07:39:17
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 6th December 2022
07 Dec 2022 07:39:25
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 6th December 2022
06 Dec 2022 07:39:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 2nd December 2022
06 Dec 2022 01:02:00
So, Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr have apparently made an offer to sign Ronaldo after the World Cup for about 200m euros a year. What's in it for them? Not on telly outside Saudi Arabia, presumably limited ticket sales (no girls allowed), definitely not in the Champions League and certainly not allowed to continue as a lucrative Gay icon? ?
{Ed001's Note - they are not run like that in the Gulf. Football clubs are there as a play thing for a rich sheikh and also they are there to try and lower the obesity rate amongst children by getting them along to play in the youth teams. They don't run them as businesses, so business considerations are irrelevant.}
07 Dec 2022 01:38:53
Looks like it may be the best place for him then after tonight’s latest petulant-baby behaviour. No one needs him. There’s now a million miles between him and Messi as the GOAT
06 Dec 2022 00:47:00
Everybody's wetting themselves because Brazil won by a 3 goal margin. Haven't we done that twice so far in this tournament? ⚽️
06 Dec 2022 08:38:32
We have that’s true Menace, but it’s the way Brazil won that generates the excitement, they move the ball quickly and incisively and even when they move the ball from side to side you always feel there’s a purpose to it rather than the pedestrian way other sides do it. They are good to watch.
05 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 2nd December 2022
04 Dec 2022 19:58:57
job done now,made hard work of them for 30 mins,need to be on it from mineute 1 against france on saturday
04 Dec 2022 22:41:42
Don't think we made hard work of it. They came with a plan to get stuck in with high tempo. We weathered the storm then our quality shone through. Good performance without hitting top gear.
05 Dec 2022 16:34:25
Once we got into gear we were fine, my concern was the first 30 minutes, if we play like that against the French we will find ourselves one or two behind and we can’t afford that. The other thing is we need to play Dier instead of Maguire, I get that Maguire is a threat in the opposition box but he is a liability in our defensive third he is one paced and slow on the turn he also conceded possession too often trying to play incisive balls which aren’t really on we have got away with it up until now but turning over against the quality teams will cost us long term if we don’t address the problem
05 Dec 2022 21:31:27
Loti, Southgate is not stupid he is however stubborn, Maguire showed his weaknesses in abundance last night, but he will almost certainly be in against France. I just hope Maguire doesn't make mistakes that cost us the game, because his future in the premier league could be extremely difficult as many fans from many clubs won't forgive him.
06 Dec 2022 09:21:29
If Deschamps switches Mbappe and Dembele then we're toast.
Luckily I think he's too stubborn to do that which means it could be a close game.
04 Dec 2022 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 2nd December 2022
03 Dec 2022 07:39:26
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 2nd December 2022
02 Dec 2022 07:39:15
{Ed's Note - Thestigno1 has posted a new article entitled, Should Glasgow Rangers Keep Alfredo Morelos?
01 Dec 2022 18:47:49
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new podcast entitled, New Ed1 Podcast on Youtube
01 Dec 2022 16:56:20
how can martinez not win a euro,or wcup with belgium I've thought he's overated fluked a fa cup win with wigan and that's it,glad villa never got his as manager years ago
01 Dec 2022 17:57:40
Not really that straightforward is it, Capello never won the World Cup with our golden generation didn’t make him a bad manager
01 Dec 2022 18:19:14
im not saying he's bad lord just overated mate 8yrs ago belgium players were fav for wcups n euros now look at them,i must admit thou something isn't right in there camp
01 Dec 2022 21:43:20
They're still ranked 2 in the world. I personally don't like him but games and tournaments aren't won on paper.
01 Dec 2022 16:04:13
Sixty quid a pop for a ticket for the Boxing Day game against the scousers? Sadly, the club have overestimated both my enthusiasm and level of insanity if they think I'll be paying that. I shall be taking my £180 elsewhere this Christmas ?? Don't they know there's a recession on?
02 Dec 2022 22:49:15
Got myself 2 tickets for it mate I think that is good value for money UTV
03 Dec 2022 23:16:40
Really? That £180 will pay my electric bill for almost a week ? Plus it’s on telly and, as Purslow has already pointed out, the entire transport infrastructure around VP is so crap that there will be no trains or buses so unless, like my old grandad used to on Christmas Day afternoon, you are able to walk down from Kingstanding, it’s not worth the bother. Once the redevelopment of the North Stand starts, there will be no spare tickets for any game at all, as all the existing season ticket holders will be relocated to the current ‘vacant’ seats
04 Dec 2022 18:17:31
Yeah I get what you are saying mate, but it’s not often I get to go to the games this year or in the future from working shifts, so once in a while it’s not bad value with everything else going up too
04 Dec 2022 23:51:34
Enjoy it Tom. I’ve been to most Boxing Day games recently so I’m happy to give this one a swerve given the financial circumstances. I’ll be tucked up at home with my post-Christmas pork pie and pickled onions. It’ll be interesting to see how Mattie has developed his defensive technique having been most recently up against Mbappe ?
01 Dec 2022 14:48:51
he should just do his job in my opinion,i don't like my boss but i'm paid to do my job,if we sell him it would be for a huge fee,plus we also have a top young gk at our club in sinsalo the finnish gk would be my choice to replace him if emi goes but its all rumours at the mo
01 Dec 2022 15:33:14
Although Sinisalo is a great prospect he is nowhere near premiership ready
01 Dec 2022 22:05:11
Emi is great at the mind games in the big games aswel, we would need a world class replacement if he go’s, we have nothing anywhere near good enough at the club.
01 Dec 2022 08:22:11
I don't like the stories that Martinez and Emery do not see eye to eye an issue that dates back to there Arsenal days. It seems clubs like Spurs,Napoli and Athletico Madrid are poised to make a move in January. I hope we don't sell, he is a class keeper on a fairly long term deal and we don't need to sell. Letting him go would be a big mistake in my opinion.
01 Dec 2022 10:55:20
While there are some good shot stoppers out there, there aren't many keepers who can control their area the way Emi does.
With our susceptibility to set pieces his anticipation and strength to collect those balls is worth more to us than any offer we'd get.
Anything less than a world record fee for a goalkeeper and it's just not worth the risk to us.
We've been linked with Bounou who I'm definitely not convinced by with his performances at this tournament.
01 Dec 2022 12:30:38
I agree totally, however the rumours are that Emery and Martinez do not get on at all and consequently Martinez wants to move on which will be a massive blow to us irrespective of whether we get a record fee or not. I also agree re Bounou he doesn’t look a patch on Martinez
01 Dec 2022 14:37:15
Any really deep rooted issue in any walk of life, is usually difficult to overcome. Emery left Emi on the bench during his tenure at Arsenal so obviously didn't fancy him, for whatever reason. We all know he is a great keeper and it will be a big loss, but if Emi can't get over the past then both parties could well agree to part company. It will be interesting if very senior people behind the scenes manage to broker a settlement, somehow i think it my be too acrimonious to solve, sad as it is.
01 Dec 2022 14:48:01
Sadly Scotty I think you may well be right I just hope if it is then the replacement is top quality. I have been left seriously underwhelmed by what I have seen of Bounou
02 Dec 2022 06:52:45
Let's not get carried away, it could just be wild speculation to attract clicks.
Nothing in the stories has more basis than Emery not playing him at Arsenal.
Circumstances are different now though. Leno had already had many successful seasons as a number 1 goalkeeper so it would be tough for any manager to drop him.
At Villa Emi has established himself as one of the best in the world and currently there isn't anyone in the squad at the level to replace him.
It's possible Unai looks at another option from elsewhere but, considering the priority is 1 or 2 wide forwards, a ball playing CB and possibly another midfielder I think there's at least a year until those discussions.
I think being guaranteed number 1 for a Champions League contender is only reason Emi asks to leave and they've all got world class number 1s already.
01 Dec 2022 07:39:28
{Ed's Note - Thestigno1 has posted a new article entitled, Should Glasgow Rangers Keep Alfredo Morelos?