Pressing matters

[N'ZMAV]

Well we finished 9th last season. We're certainly not a better side on paper to the one which finished the season so i'm not sure where this improvement is coming from.

I can see why you believe this. We're pretty much the same in terms of goalkeeper, one in one out. Basicially I see it as Ireland & N'Zogbia have replaced Downing & Young.
Warnock has come back in to replace Walker and we've gained Habib Beye. And I wasn't ever that fussed with Reo-Coker, maybe Makoun as bought in as Reo-Coker was alwas expected to leave.
Looks pretty much the same to me. However, we had a huge injury list at times last season, which I doubt we'll experience again.
I think 8th place would be about right, and don't forget, we've now got a proper goal scorer.

[Greg N'Ash]

well lets hope your right and GH and Gary Mac were responsible for all our ill's. If not, there's going to be a lot of unhappy people on here.

[QBVILLA]

Given the quality of the squad and the resources available to McLeish I think we should be looking at vying for 7th with Everton.Anything lower than 8th means we'll be finishing below a Fulham/Sunderland/Stoke etc.That would equate to underachieving IMO.

Love the optimism QB. We all need to be positive and hope that we hit the ground running.
(Think Everton will struggle this season - my scouse mate/Toffees fan Frank isn't impressed with things so far)
Unfortunately, it looks like we're in for another season of transition. I just hope it's not as shite as the last one!

In that case 7th is in the bag then We're nowhere near Chelsea,Man City,Man Utd or Arsenal.Spurs and liverpool look stronger but after that the league is much of a muchness.We have the greater resources, no one else could match the terms we've given to N'Zogbia and Given.So my prediction is 7th (now Scouse Frank has spoken!) with a  return of 53pts, that'll be 15pts off relegation and 35pts off the title.

[Chris Smith]

Well we finished 9th last season. We're certainly not a better side on paper to the one which finished the season so i'm not sure where this improvement is coming from.

The same side, more or less, finished sixth the season before so it's not a great leap of faith to say that ninth was below what we were capable of given we lost Milner but gained Bent. Outside of the obvious candidates I don't see a lot to be scared of so we should definitely be looking at top 8 as a starting point.

[Greg N'Ash]

Well we finished 9th last season. We're certainly not a better side on paper to the one which finished the season so i'm not sure where this improvement is coming from.

The same side, more or less, finished sixth the season before so it's not a great leap of faith to say that ninth was below what we were capable of given we lost Milner but gained Bent. Outside of the obvious candidates I don't see a lot to be scared of so we should definitely be looking at top 8 as a starting point.

too simplistic IMO. you could say on paper that Ireland is on a par with the players that have left, but the reality is he's not ever shown that form. Milner was a big big loss i think - i don't think people realised how integral he was to the side so i wasn't in hindsight that surprised how far we fell from the season before. Personally i think the articles prediction is about right but a lots going to depend on that defence and the protection it gets from the players in front.

[Concrete John]

That was a decent piece in the Guardian.  They seemed to pick up all the relevant points, even if I do disagree with their conclusions.  It actually says 12th is an average of their reporters and not necessarily the opinion of the writer, who I think would fancy us for higher.

As to the strenghtening/weakening from last season, I thought we were all of the opinion that 9th an underachievement for us?  Since then, we've lost the following who had any impact:-
Walker
Freidel
NRC
Ash
Downing

Our post Jan form was top 6 calibre, so that was with Bent, Walker and a limited input from Makoun.  Bent was the biggest influence obviously, and having him for the whole year improves us straightaway.  You'd also hope for a bigger impact from Makoun, but Walker is a loss.

We've swapped keepers and not lost out quality wise, plus N'Zog makes up for one of Ash or Downing, who are our biggest losses.  For the other we need Ireland or Albrighton, preferrably both, to have good seasons.  NRC is the only one where you can't see even an indirect replacement either signed or emerging from the existing squad.

And I'm pretty confident we'll be tighter at the back than last season.

So I think our aim should be top 6, which is pretty much how we finished form wise.  We'll need Ireland to keep his head on straight and some luck with injuries, as those really did for us in the first part of 10/11.  Even if those things don't happen, I still thing we've enough for top half.
 

[Brend'Watkins]

Well we finished 9th last season. We're certainly not a better side on paper to the one which finished the season so i'm not sure where this improvement is coming from.

The way I see it is we have Bent for the full season that's a major plus.  Zog I feel will contribute as much as Downing if not more, we will miss Young but not the Young of last season.  We will be stronger defensively because that's what AM is good at.  That's where I see and expect improvement.  I also think we might even for the first time in decades have a side/set up that can close out games from a winning position.

[Greg N'Ash]

Well we finished 9th last season. We're certainly not a better side on paper to the one which finished the season so i'm not sure where this improvement is coming from.

The way I see it is we have Bent for the full season that's a major plus.  Zog I feel will contribute as much as Downing if not more, we will miss Young but not the Young of last season.  We will be stronger defensively because that's what AM is good at.  That's where I see and expect improvement.  I also think we might even for the first time in decades have a side/set up that can close out games from a winning position.

I've gotta pick you up on this AM is better at the defensive side theory as i keep hearing it on here from various people What is this based on? Our defence was bobbins last season but it still only let in 1 more goal that AM's Blose side. he plays a more defensive system than GH granted, but i'm not sure he's some sort of defensive genuis.

[UsualSuspect]

Upson?? No thanks, and nothing to do with his past employers, he's been on a rapid downward spiral for the past two years.

have to agree there

having watching him and green at VP on the opening game of the season I couldn't believe how utterly shit they were.

Agree with most of the article

[Concrete John]

I think of you looked at the defensive records of Villa and the Scum last season, up until the point Dann got injured, you'd see a different picture.  Yes, he set Blues up defensively, but that's because he had shit forwards.  So teams saw less of a threat from them and committed more men forward, which we didn't get with the likes of Ash and Bent in our side.   

Guess what I'm getting at is they had more defending to do than we did.

[UsualSuspect]

Given the quality of the squad and the resources available to McLeish I think we should be looking at vying for 7th with Everton.Anything lower than 8th means we'll be finishing below a Fulham/Sunderland/Stoke etc.That would equate to underachieving IMO.

Quality of our squad?

Are you mad?

We had no squad depth last season and even less now

[Greg N'Ash]

I think of you looked at the defensive records of Villa and the Scum last season, up until the point Dann got injured, you'd see a different picture.  Yes, he set Blues up defensively, but that's because he had shit forwards.  So teams saw less of a threat from them and committed more men forward, which we didn't get with the likes of Ash and Bent in our side.   

Guess what I'm getting at is they had more defending to do than we did.

i think it evens out when you see the defence we had to put out at one stage. It's a bit worrying if one injury to a player turns his whole defence to crap.

[QBVILLA]

Given the quality of the squad and the resources available to McLeish I think we should be looking at vying for 7th with Everton.Anything lower than 8th means we'll be finishing below a Fulham/Sunderland/Stoke etc.That would equate to underachieving IMO.

Quality of our squad?

Are you mad?

We had no squad depth last season and even less now

Don't believe i'm mad but then again i would say that I suppose.As i've repeated throughout this thread we're not as good as the top 6, however we have internationals in every position with some quality back up in reserve.Anyway forgive my madness for a moment and tell me in your honest opinion which clubs have better squads than Villa?

[Concrete John]

I think of you looked at the defensive records of Villa and the Scum last season, up until the point Dann got injured, you'd see a different picture.  Yes, he set Blues up defensively, but that's because he had shit forwards.  So teams saw less of a threat from them and committed more men forward, which we didn't get with the likes of Ash and Bent in our side.   

Guess what I'm getting at is they had more defending to do than we did.

i think it evens out when you see the defence we had to put out at one stage. It's a bit worrying if one injury to a player turns his whole defence to crap.

Dann was the linchpin and organiser, so was a major loss, and they had nobody even close to his quality in reserve.  As things stand we have Clark and Cuellar in reserve, so are much better able to absorb that injury that fucked them up last season.

[Dave Cooper please]

Poor old Sheffield Wednesday - I've always preferred them to Sheffield United 

United are closer to the pubs.

United are a bunch of thugs, Wednesday have got a band. They can both fuck off.

I want Sheffield and Hallam promoted in their place.

Well, Sheffield FC have got lots of money, they have been cashing in on the whole 'oldest club in the World' thing recently, prestigious friendlies against the likes of Inter Milan and they are putting the first set of official rules up for auction which is expected to sell for well over £1million. So if they invest wisely and Wednesday continue to commit financial suicide, one part of your wish may happen!