Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: fredm on March 04, 2011, 03:24:23 PM
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Was brought to the club by GH. Played his first game as one of the 8 changes. Did not have a particularly good game (not saying he was any worse than some of the others).
Hearing the comments being spouted around me on Wednesday night, I fear he is the next Sidwell.
Some loudmouths were even telling him to f**k off back to Germany during the game!
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Jesus, give the lad some time to settle.
I think he will a decent player for the Villa
UTV
The Doc
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He needs a couple of games, however I had my concerns when a club propping up the Bundesliga were prepared to let him go
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It's a loan.
If Wednesday turns out to be his level then, we send him back. If he improves and looks a player, then we keep him.
Either way we'll find out between now and May.
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It's a loan.
If Wednesday turns out to be his level then, we send him back. If he improves and looks a player, then we keep him.
Either way we'll find out between now and May.
We got him from Sheffield Wednesday???
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I still like him. It will take time for any new player to settle, never mind one from overseas. If he's given enough time i think he'll do well.
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It's a loan.
If Wednesday turns out to be his level then, we send him back. If he improves and looks a player, then we keep him.
Either way we'll find out between now and May.
John thas not long for him to show what he can do
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We should definitely give the poor lad some time to settle in. He may well begin to flourish as a squad member.
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I must be in the minority. I saw a player in there, feel quite positive about him. I never expected him to boss a midfield of Barry, Toure and Vieira but he looked okay.
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There's another 10 games to play. Plus the coaching team can also evaluate him in training.
Short, long or just about right - it's what we've got!
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He had the look of 'The New Boy' on Wednesday, slightly unsure and in awe of the other players. (Reminded me a bit of G Barry when he broke into the more recent England team, a bit cautious - laying off simple balls to bigger name players and generally playing it all a bit safe.) Like Barry, I'm sure he'll get used to it all and start to assert himself. His uncertainty led to giving the ball away several times, passing it out over the line and sometimes just getting in the way of other players, or going for the same ball. At one point he was involved in three-man challenge but he resembled a removal man with one hand on a piece of furniture while his two mates did all the real work, if you know what I mean. Hopefully those misunderstandings between players can be ironed out the more he plays with them.
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Pick him ahead of Petrov every time.
Showed some good touches on Wens for me, would like to see him along Makoun for some games.
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its a bit early to start questioning him. Downing and Milner both took time to settle, and go on and be our best players. Mind you Ireland looked pap at the start, tailed off in the middle and the less said about his last few games the better.
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Definitely give him more time and I agree with him being in the side ahead of Petrov.
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I saw him play well for the USA
he has good feet and good vision/passing sense
Yank players tend to be good pro's -not on the pull/piss as much as some
It will be tough for him to get game time in our congested squad but GH might like the 'cut of his jib' in training and may fell he has more to offer than some others.
but who knows what the hell GH thinks??
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Make no mistake, he was shite on Wednesday. Early days for him though, too soon to judge him after one performance.
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Definitely give him more time and I agree with him being in the side ahead of Petrov.
Dream on, Petrov on his day is class
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Showed some good touches on Wens for me, would like to see him along Makoun for some games.
Exactly what I thought BLF. Bradley next to Makoun with Delph in front of them would be a great trio for me.
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Definitely give him more time and I agree with him being in the side ahead of Petrov.
Dream on, Petrov on his day is class
Unfortunately his day was in 2003....and not in England!
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err no thanks. Bradley & Makoun in the same CM would be ridiculous
I like the idea of Delph in the hole though
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err no thanks. Bradley & Makoun in the same CM would be ridiculous
I like the idea of Delph in the hole though
errr why ridiculous? Both play with an element of physicality and both have an excellent range of passing. Perfect IMO. Especially with the amount of creativity that would be infront of them.
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err no thanks. Bradley & Makoun in the same CM would be ridiculous
I like the idea of Delph in the hole though
I like the idea of Ireland in a hole.
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err no thanks. Bradley & Makoun in the same CM would be ridiculous
I like the idea of Delph in the hole though
errr why ridiculous? Both play with an element of physicality and both have an excellent range of passing. Perfect IMO. Especially with the amount of creativity that would be infront of them.
I've only seen Makoun play 3 - 5 yard square balls so far, & as for Bradley's passing, probably best not discussed after Wednesdays showing
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err no thanks. Bradley & Makoun in the same CM would be ridiculous
I like the idea of Delph in the hole though
errr why ridiculous? Both play with an element of physicality and both have an excellent range of passing. Perfect IMO. Especially with the amount of creativity that would be infront of them.
I've only seen Makoun play 3 - 5 yard square balls so far, & as for Bradley's passing, probably best not discussed after Wednesdays showing
are you sure of this ? I thought he did the simple things very well in his last home game and he was certainly a lot more mobile that Petrov.
UTV
The Doc
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So Bradley ran around like a headless chicken on Wednesday and was inaccurate in most of his passes but that is Houllier's fault for picking the wrong team and the wrong game for his debut. Give him time.
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He looked a bit overawed on Wednesday but he wasn't helped by having the awful Petrov alongside him and two "wingers" in Gabby and Fonz who kept running into places where they were being marked or just simply running away! The only player regularly showing for a pass in good positions was Delph.
He'll be a good player for us I reckon.
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He looked a bit overawed on Wednesday but he wasn't helped by having the awful Petrov alongside him and two "wingers" in Gabby and Fonz who kept running into places where they were being marked or just simply running away! The only player regularly showing for a pass in good positions was Delph.
He'll be a good player for us I reckon.
I agree, we need to give him a chance. The three central midfielders thing just didn't work on Wednesday. Too crowded, too static.
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Yep, and as Dave said, with two 'wingers' rarely showing for a pass, options were limited. Even someone as gifted as Bannan on the ball was struggling to pick out a pass at times, there was such a lack of decent movement.
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He needs more time.
I really hope i'm wrong but sometimes you just look at a player and think he's not going to be good enough.
Like I said, I really hope i'm wrong.
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Yep, I am all for giving him time as I don't think we saw the real player on Weds. Unfortunately, as I have said, there were some who do not appear to want to give him that time and have already lined him up as the next scapegoat.
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I'll reserve judgement on him. People seem to have taken to Makoun after what i thought was a similarly below par debut, and rightly so as he then went on to put in a couple of excellent performances. Give the lad a chance to adapt and at the end of the season the manager will judge whether he is good enough.
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Yep, I am all for giving him time as I don't think we saw the real player on Weds. Unfortunately, as I have said, there were some who do not appear to want to give him that time and have already lined him up as the next scapegoat.
This. I watched the Citeh game with my brother and the old man on wednesday, and in the second half they were beginning to slate him, which pissed me off a bit.
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Yep, I am all for giving him time as I don't think we saw the real player on Weds. Unfortunately, as I have said, there were some who do not appear to want to give him that time and have already lined him up as the next scapegoat.
The scapegoat word being thrown around again. Brilliant.
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Give the guy a chance, he played 20 minutes at Blackpool and we had 10 men and were on the back foot. His first start is in a greatly weakened side away at Man City. We should give him a chance to settle in, and then judge him.
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The only judgement I would make about his poor debut was that Houllier must be barking if he thinks that was a good opportunity for his first game.
I reckon Messi would have looked a clown in that situation. No-one knew who was supposed to be where and we only got a shape in the last 15mins.
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I'm going to give him time he hasn't really played enough times to make a solid assessment of him.
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If he turns out to be as good as the player we saw in the summer I'll be happy.
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One game and he's got a thread! Give the lad half a chance before jumping the gun
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One game and he's got a thread! Give the lad half a chance before jumping the gun
Well said!
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He was poor on Wednesday but give him a chance ffs
Two appearances, one for twenty mins when down to ten men away from home and 90 mins with the reserves at man city is nowhere near enough to judge him on.
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One game and he's got a thread! Give the lad half a chance before jumping the gun
I'm pretty sure you will find there were people bashing him before he played as well.
Just like people were with Makoun after 2/3rds of the game at Wigan.
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One game and he's got a thread! Give the lad half a chance before jumping the gun
It's half a game more, than it took Salifou to get a song.
He obviously needs more time, Wednesday alone can't (shouldn't) decide if he'll be good enough.
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One game and he's got a thread! Give the lad half a chance before jumping the gun
It's half a game more, than it took Salifou to get a song.
He obviously needs more time, Wednesday alone can't (shouldn't) decide if he'll be good enough.
Salifou song was changed after a few games ;)
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I do hope he's given a chance, but not until we are safe from relegation. He looks a total liability at the moment - I can't remember a worse debut.
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I do hope he's given a chance, but not until we are safe from relegation. He looks a total liability at the moment - I can't remember a worse debut.
Bosko Balaban?
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he joined mid season and has been given run outs in very difficult situations, needs more time before i make any judgements on him
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He was poor on Wednesday but give him a chance ffs
Two appearances, one for twenty mins when down to ten men away from home and 90 mins with the reserves at man city is nowhere near enough to judge him on.
Some of the reserves, but at a count 6 regular starters.
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He was poor on Wednesday but give him a chance ffs
Two appearances, one for twenty mins when down to ten men away from home and 90 mins with the reserves at man city is nowhere near enough to judge him on.
He shouldn't be starting games though, let him get some sharpness in the reserves, or for 20 minutes at the end of games.
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Ok, so you have had him for 3 months now, are you going to play him, keep him or hide him in a skip behind the Holte?
We could have done with him back but it's probably too late now for us to survive.
Are there any rumours about what has happened to him?
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Ok, so you have had him for 3 months now, are you going to play him, keep him or hide him in a skip behind the Holte?
We could have done with him back but it's probably too late now for us to survive.
Are there any rumours about what has happened to him?
He didn't play for the reserves today so maybe he is going to play for the first team on Saturday vs Stoke
Either that or it doesn't look good at all
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Michael who?
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Michael who?
;D
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He's had two poor games but those were in difficult circumstances against Blackpool when we were a man down and against Man City where we played a weakened team. He looked tidy when I saw him against Liverpool Reserves. Some people have written him off but on the evidence so far I can't really say.
To all intents and purposes we are pretty much safe now so I'd like to see him get a run out in fair circumstances (unlike against Blackpool and Man City) where we can assess him properly.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
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He didn't make much impression while he was here, the manager who brought him over has gone, we don't know who the next manager will be.
Any move at theis point to sign him permanently would be a mistake.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
I reckon he will be good too.
Probably the reason why NRC was released.
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not seen anything is confirmed officially about him joining...
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5 million euro??
heaven help us
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I guess his financial demands were smaller than NRC.
Considering he's played at a World Cup, kind of shows you how highly Nige values himself.
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Who on earth are making these decisions... don't we learn anything!
Rightly or wrongly we should not be doing anything until a manager is installed... fullstop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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So, with no manager who did this deal this time?
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It's not official yet, is it? Can people please refrain from expressing their indignation until then?
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The new Mathieu Berson ?
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I liked the old Matthieu Berson, but we never gave him a chance. I reckon Bradley could make a decent player for about £4 million.
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It's not official yet, is it? Can people please refrain from expressing their indignation until then?
Or their approval?
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It's not official yet, is it? Can people please refrain from expressing their indignation until then?
Or their approval?
Quite and okay!
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With Bradley signing, Baker signing, no contracts to certain individuals re-newed, maybe Randy knows who is in charge and has done for the last few weeks?
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
I reckon he will be good too.
Probably the reason why NRC was released.
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My immediate thought.
I think some decisions have to be made now regarding players/contracts etc. Otherwise players will leave, and the next manager could come into the job with only half a squad left, and not enough time to sort it. I am sure decisions are being made on the basis of previous advices from GH and/or present advice from Macallister, Cowans etc.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
Based on what exactly?
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I've seen nothing for us, or when he plays for the USA, to convince me he's worth £5m Euros.
He didn't do well for a struggling Borussia team either.
This could turn out to be an unholy Trinity of Hughes, Green and Bradley - Cack!
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
So do I. We can't judge him on last season in my opinion. He came in at a difficult time, and the club, once senior players were fit again, fell back on those that were already established.
Bradley has done well wherever he has been. He is the right age, and has the right attitude. He captains the US team, and has been very influential for them. Give him some time, and whether we have a manager or not, he's a good player to tie up. This isn't anything like Ireland as Bradley comes without any baggage. The same couldn't be said of Ireland at the time, and quite frankly most of us saw that as a good deal at the time too.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
Based on what exactly?
Why do you think he's crap might be an equally pertinent question. One substitute appearance when we were down to ten men, an appearance in an absolutely ridiculous shadow team (where Petrov was also incredibly poor) and a couple of tidy cameos do not really make much basis to judge a player. Especially when compared to how highly the BM fan who came on here spoke of him and how people on here raved about him during the world cup or US games. It's a bit like a jury coming to a verdict after only listening to the prosecution.
I'm with Dave on this one. Given time he may be a good player for us. Perhaps a better one than Makoun (though I know I'm in the minority on that one).
Anyone else think that this deal was done from the off though? Like with Davies where we have signed a player but took him on loan initially. Maybe it was to do with budgets with GH having spent on Makoun and Bent he was not allowed to spend any more so set up this deal for the summer?
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Makes sense - Bradley Sr. as manager ;)
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He has received rave reviews in the past and I wouldn't rule him out based on a poor performance for Villa Reserves at Man City. I'd be more than happy to give him a chance. He's still young, so even if it doesn't work out, we'll get our money back. Plus, coming from the Bundesliga, he's unlikely to be on exhorbitant wages. A much better option than Hitzlsperger.
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I watched him play a few times in Germany and he was pretty good. I thought he did well at the World Cup, too.
Has he definitely signed, then?
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shouldnt be buying a player without having a manager in place.
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shouldnt be buying a player without having a manager in place.
I see your point. However, there was a rumour when we got him on loan that the permanent deal was non-negotiable... like when we got Curtis Davies from Albion. Maybe that was the case in which case it makes no odds who our manager is? Or maybe Randy just wanted to buy one of his country's star men and didn't care what the manager thought?
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I'm sure he can offer something. I was impressed during the world cup. Other than that, I've seen little of him. But with Coker gone, he's a combative midfielder, so he could potentially fill the gap left by Nige.
We didn't see enough of him to make an informed opinion. With a full pre-season we'll see just whether he's Sidwell mk2 or not.
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If he has signed, I'm quite pleased. He's 23 years old. Didn't see much of him last season but, at international level, he's looked good. And we need midfielders.
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If we're looking to buy players to give strength in depth, he's exactly the sort we need. Young and hungry as opposed to old and wealthy.
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ITSOTP, that's when I will believe it!
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
Based on what exactly?
Based on the fact that I think he's a good player.
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ITSOTP, that's when I will believe it!
Does that work when we've already seen him ITSOTP? Maybe change it to ITNSOTP (In The NEW Shirt On The Pitch).
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Bradley, Makoun, Delph, Petrov, Ireland, Bannan, Hogg, Herd and Gardner for 2/3 starting berths, can't see anymore centre mids coming in this summer.
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He's shit! send him packing! was a bizarre [loan] signing to begin with
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I haven't changed my mind. I think he's a solid player that could do well for us. We haven't really seen it in a Villa shirt yet but there's been limited opportunity for him and Makoun. Both will benefit from a full pre season and after having been exposed to what this league is all about.
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Came to us with the reputation of being a bit of an athlete. But he seems to lack pace from the bit I've seen of him in a Villa shirt. A slow athlete, maybe?
If other parts of his game are strong enough it's not necessarily a huge issue. But I'd have to be honest, based on his run outs with us to date I wouldn't have been pushing to do a permanent deal. Maybe as cdvillafan says though, perhaps it was part of the conditions for the loan.
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From what I've seen of him he looked a bit lost in our midfield.
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He looked lost against Man City which made him fit in a treat.
I thought his few cameos since have shown promise. He is what the general would describe as a 'horse' and tidy on the ball usually.
We need a squad and Bradley is way better than the likes of Salifou, Osbourne and so on. Although I must admit I'm suprised. I thought he'd be heading back to Germany after Houllier calling it a day.
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Apparently we've taken up the option to buy him for 5m euro... LINK (http://www.rp-online.de/niederrheinsued/moenchengladbach/sport/borussia/Bobadilla-will-neue-Chance-nutzen_aid_1005198.html)
Good. I think he'll be a good player for us next season.
Based on what exactly?
Based on the fact that I think he's a good player.
Hooray, somebody who knows what a fact is! If you see hilts....
Only joking.
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Once he's fit & is used to the pace & physical game here I think he'll be a good player.
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Yes, I believe he will be very useful. Seems to have impressed in training, and I thought he looked good in the reserves at Liverpool.
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Sorry for being lazy and not reading the preceding pages but has anything happened. A contract signed, been released or are we just bored of talking about managers.
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For someone who has a reputation of a natural athelete he seems amazingly slow. He might pick up the pace in pre season but i think this is a Lerner based decision. Think Gary Gardner will be ahead of him for a place next season ............
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no idea. if he has signed with no manager in charge then its a waste of money.
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I'm all in favour of this. Not only has Bradley got a great hairstyle, he also looks like Michael Stipe
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He's got a lionel Blair cut like mine. Don't see the harm its a low fee, he's impressed in Germany he's no mug
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Maybe he was really impressive in training and is simply yet to find his form in first team games? I'm assuming Houllier has advised Lerner at some point on which players to keep and which ones to get shot of.
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david moyes likes him!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport-old/football/2008/01/26/everton-in-for-michael-bradley-115875-20298923/
http://www.footballtransfertavern.com/2011/01/premiership/everton-sunderland-to-splash-some-of-their-cash-on-usa-international
:-X
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Michael Bradley: Bradley provided a calming influence in the midfield and showed — as he did in March against both Paraguay and Argentina — that he is without a doubt the best defensive midfielder on the team. Rating: 6
So says NY Times in its report of USA 0 Spain 4
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Maybe he was really impressive in training and is simply yet to find his form in first team games? I'm assuming Houllier has advised Lerner at some point on which players to keep and which ones to get shot of.
Don't go spoiling a good moan with your fancy 'simple explainations'.
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We don't know the ins and outs of the deal, his financial package etc. But £4m seems shockingly low for a player with his experience so maybe it's a case of taking a calculated risk.
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according to the os in the international round up he is a FORMER loanee. still dont mean a thing tho.
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We havent signed him. Dont think we should until a new manager decides who he wants and doesnt want.
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According to Mat Kendrick, the loan period has been extended so that the new manager can decide whether to take up the deal permanently or not. Which seems fair enough.
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I think he can be very useful, depending on the price. But we have to be careful we already have Makoun, Petrov, Delph and Bannan tied for next season. Not to mention Hogg, wich will probably loaned to a Championship team. We don't need more than 5 midfielders in that position. And Bradley is just a rotation player. If Young leaves, we will probably use some of the money for a more than decent player at the MC position.
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He doesn't offer us much in my opinion and will not be here long. Very much a meh meh signing
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He doesn't offer us much in my opinion and will not be here long. Very much a meh meh signing
would love to know what meh meh means. his last few appearances have been decent. Im sure he'll do alot better next season. his price would be around 4-5 mil
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He doesn't offer us much in my opinion and will not be here long. Very much a meh meh signing
would love to know what meh meh means. his last few appearances have been decent. Im sure he'll do alot better next season. his price would be around 4-5 mil
As most Red Scouse fans will tell you today, you can never have too many midfielders.
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tommy_boy - that assumes none of those are leaving. Maybe he is a Petrov replacement?
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quite simple reo coker left and bradley if signed is a direct replacement