Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: kippaxvilla2 on August 30, 2024, 04:41:20 PM
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Not enough to challenge top three. Strange one for understandable reasons. Expecting another miracle again from the Manager. But on our best day we can still beat anyone. Not happy about right back options. Central defence still a concern.
6/10.
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I don’t think we’re weaker than last season in terms of first 11. We look more well balanced to me so far. We’ve beaten a decent kit stealers and should’ve beaten a very decent Arsenal. The signs are good.
But I was hoping for one or two top class players more than we’ve seemingly ended up with. I genuinely think we’re a slither away from challenging for a title under this manager.
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
Please don't encourage the fucker any further!!
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Did we really need another thread for people to moan about transfers in?
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It’s a tradition of mine.
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I’d be happy with going a long way in a domestic cup, having a decent first CL campaign so that we don’t look like day trippers and challenging for the top 6 places again. If we could actually win one of the cups I’d be ecstatic.
Can we do that with the current squad? If we get pretty much no injuries and the ones that are injured come back soon and well. Pretty disappointing transfer window but we don’t really know how much the financial fair play but not fair play rules have fucked us over.
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B-
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Underwhelming. I've gone from wandering if we could win the league to hoping we can still finish in the top seven.
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I’ll give it foive.
At the start of the window (with Doug and the Moose still on board I felt we needed:
CB/RB cover
Good GK cover
A DM starter.
And a different option directly up top.
We’ve only addressed one of those and lost two big players who contributed significantly to our goals and assists column last year.
A lot of churn, but we seem weaker overall compared to the start of 2023/24.
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Poor window , made worse by seeing other teams have stronger windows. The defence is no tighter and we have fewer options up top .
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Yeh certainly not an A. Started off on fire. But our inability to shift Duran and Carlos fucked our ability to get in some proper players. And it is ultimately down to PSR and the European rules. Chelsea sign player after player. They have 20 odd who won’t even get a game. They are about to sign Sancho who will be there 50th winger on the books. We are being stopped in closing the gap. Now we need to trust Emery to work his magic.
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Poor window.
Lost my faith in Monchi. Now wondering how long he will last. He doesn’t seem to have contacts.
Villa know it’s been a poor window and that’s why they did the expectation management exercise on TalkSport.
Still trust in Unai and hope he can overcome this.
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Emery has made it very clear all decisions on players are made collectively with Monchi and Damian Vidagany. Monchi is also Emery’s choice in this role. He’s not going anywhere.
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There were a lot of moving parts in this transfer window, with FFP and with the new added perspective of us being a club in the expanded champions league for next season. So trying to analyze whether it was a good transfer window or not I don’t think is necessarily an easy task.
You could take an FFP compliance perspective, overall ins and outs, new alternatives in positions that will be different to last season, addressing known deficiencies... Sometimes it’s not even a simple case of trying to plug holes because if a certain opportunity arises that may not come again (e.g., Maatsen when we already had two decent left backs) clubs have to consider acting on them if they don’t think they may materialize again.
Overall what I think is that in the short term, we’ve made some small, incremental improvement steps, but probably not enough to progress too much. But that may just be entitled football impatience and also being scarred by ‘jam tomorrow’ promises we’ve had in the past. Also not signing before we sell whilst it can be frustrating is ultimately prudent and a sensible, long term strategy.
In the long term, it’s difficult to say (such as the two lads we got from Juve), but I have total faith in our current football operation. Rodgers is already an absolute bargain and if we get more right then wrong, that’s all we could reasonable expect.
One thing is certain though; we’re relying on Emery working miracles again and to me, reducing that reliance indicates whether we’ve had a good window or not.
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Solid B.
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All clubs get their share of injuries but, for some reason, ours are always out for a long period of time. From that point of view we’ve underachieved and think that will be our downfall. Hopefully I’m wrong but can see us having a dodgy spell or two due to injuries.
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There were a lot of moving parts in this transfer window, with FFP and with the new added perspective of us being a club in the expanded champions league for next season. So trying to analyze whether it was a good transfer window or not I don’t think is necessarily an easy task.
You could take an FFP compliance perspective, overall ins and outs, new alternatives in positions that will be different to last season, addressing known deficiencies... Sometimes it’s not even a simple case of trying to plug holes because if a certain opportunity arises that may not come again (e.g., Maatsen when we already had two decent left backs) clubs have to consider acting on them if they don’t think they may materialize again.
Overall what I think is that in the short term, we’ve made some small, incremental improvement steps, but probably not enough to progress too much. But that may just be entitled football impatience and also being scarred by ‘jam tomorrow’ promises we’ve had in the past. Also not signing before we sell whilst it can be frustrating is ultimately prudent and a sensible, long term strategy.
In the long term, it’s difficult to say (such as the two lads we got from Juve), but I have total faith in our current football operation. Rodgers is already an absolute bargain and if we get more right then wrong, that’s all we could reasonable expect.
One thing is certain though; we’re relying on Emery working miracles again and to me, reducing that reliance indicates whether we’ve had a good window or not.
Take your reasoned nuance and be gone.
Emery / Monchi / Nas / Wes out.
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There were a lot of moving parts in this transfer window, with FFP and with the new added perspective of us being a club in the expanded champions league for next season. So trying to analyze whether it was a good transfer window or not I don’t think is necessarily an easy task.
You could take an FFP compliance perspective, overall ins and outs, new alternatives in positions that will be different to last season, addressing known deficiencies... Sometimes it’s not even a simple case of trying to plug holes because if a certain opportunity arises that may not come again (e.g., Maatsen when we already had two decent left backs) clubs have to consider acting on them if they don’t think they may materialize again.
Overall what I think is that in the short term, we’ve made some small, incremental improvement steps, but probably not enough to progress too much. But that may just be entitled football impatience and also being scarred by ‘jam tomorrow’ promises we’ve had in the past. Also not signing before we sell whilst it can be frustrating is ultimately prudent and a sensible, long term strategy.
In the long term, it’s difficult to say (such as the two lads we got from Juve), but I have total faith in our current football operation. Rodgers is already an absolute bargain and if we get more right then wrong, that’s all we could reasonable expect.
One thing is certain though; we’re relying on Emery working miracles again and to me, reducing that reliance indicates whether we’ve had a good window or not.
Take your reasoned nuance and be gone.
Emery / Monchi / Nas / Wes out.
I know. Very much head over heart.
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B
Hands were tied somewhat.
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
Do you mean Demitri_ 'I've got nothing to live for' C ;)
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I’ll tell you in May 2025
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Do wonder if Gauchi is our new reserve keeper as havent seen anything about whats up with Olsen.
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It's going to be awhile before we know whether this was a good transfer window or not. It depends on how players like Iling-Junior, Barrenechea and Philogene turn out; but with two of them out on loan, those signings will have little impact in THIS very important season.
It's possible that Juventus have done us over on the Dougie transfer.
We also lose marks for not managing to address how light we are on the right side of defence; and for not getting rid of Dendoncker and Olsen.
Onana and Maatsen have cost so much so HAVE to be excellent this season.
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I'll go with a B.
I think Morgan Rogers is a far more impactful player than Diaby, and because Bailey has the right locked up it forced Diaby to play off of Watkins. He struggled there and Morgan has excelled. I would take a healthy Ramsey over Diaby as well. We have to give Mochi credit for profiting off of our record signing.. something we've complained about for ages.
I think Onana will be a great signing for us. His age and profile are exactly what we needed in the middle of the park. Finally we've got a big fucker who can stick a tackle.
I thought the Maatsen signing was smart and will be sure up the left side for years to come.
Most of all, we're PSR compliant. Can't hold any animosity against the club. I'm more upset that these stupid, poorly-though out rules made us ship Tim and Kellyman.
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All depends on Emery's game management and our medical staff. Keep key players fit and energised and we should be fine: otherwise ... hmmm!
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I’m excited about Maatsen and Onana but disappointed with our business overall. We have not strengthened defensively in terms of a back four. But Onana will assist with a block in front of the defence. We haven’t replaced the fragility that is Diego Carlos, the liability that is Matty Cash. I still think we need another forward and a left-sided midfielder and a centre half. Monchi saying we need to compete in the Champions League and yet I think we’ve let Emery down a bit.
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4/10. Pants pulled down by Juventus, not enough quality added. Can’t see us having enough to trouble the top 4 and do well on the other fronts.
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There were a lot of moving parts in this transfer window, with FFP and with the new added perspective of us being a club in the expanded champions league for next season. So trying to analyze whether it was a good transfer window or not I don’t think is necessarily an easy task.
You could take an FFP compliance perspective, overall ins and outs, new alternatives in positions that will be different to last season, addressing known deficiencies... Sometimes it’s not even a simple case of trying to plug holes because if a certain opportunity arises that may not come again (e.g., Maatsen when we already had two decent left backs) clubs have to consider acting on them if they don’t think they may materialize again.
Overall what I think is that in the short term, we’ve made some small, incremental improvement steps, but probably not enough to progress too much. But that may just be entitled football impatience and also being scarred by ‘jam tomorrow’ promises we’ve had in the past. Also not signing before we sell whilst it can be frustrating is ultimately prudent and a sensible, long term strategy.
In the long term, it’s difficult to say (such as the two lads we got from Juve), but I have total faith in our current football operation. Rodgers is already an absolute bargain and if we get more right then wrong, that’s all we could reasonable expect.
One thing is certain though; we’re relying on Emery working miracles again and to me, reducing that reliance indicates whether we’ve had a good window or not.
Take your reasoned nuance and be gone.
Emery / Monchi / Nas / Wes out.
and Damian
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4/10. Pants pulled down by Juventus, not enough quality added. Can’t see us having enough to trouble the top 4 and do well on the other fronts.
This is a bit harsh for me, Risso (the pants pulled down part). We were in a difficult position wrt PSR and there apparently were no trading partners besides Juve who themselves were in a tough position. The alternative would then be to take a points deduction if I am understanding it properly. We were in between Scylla and Charybdis, it seems, and had to take what we could get. I am not saying that it is an amazing deal, but if the two players perform at their loan clubs, then we can either sell them for a profit or integrate them into the squad if they are good enough. Either option is good, but the tactic is not without risks, admittedly.
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Luiz wanted to go. And not for the first time. We got the best deal we could for a player that didn't want to be here, and at the same time it helped sort our PSR thus allowing us to keep all the players we wanted to and that actually wanted to play for us.
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We’ve been batting off approaches for Luiz for years, but then we have to accept the first bid that comes in, and includes two kids we didn’t want as much as Weston McKennie.
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6/10 really, but could ride to 7 if Onana keeps improving as we'd have then made the first team better.
We're still light in some areas though. What went wrong? Our packages weren't appealing enough? Our project not enticing? Our documents sloppily prepared? Who can say.
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We’ve been batting off approaches for Luiz for years, but then we have to accept the first bid that comes in, and includes two kids we didn’t want as much as Weston McKennie.
I guess that they are gambling that these two kids will fetch big profit and a way to get round this FFP issues or develop into first team players.
This FFP has really blighted us. Its rubbish.
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I doubt we'll ever have a thread like this which doesn't include a load of people moaning that we needed 1 or 2 more, or that we were risking things on 1-2 key players not getting injured, or that the person overseeing it is shit at their job.
For me we've got to the end of the window with 2 players in every position who either got us into the champions league or who have experience in the champions league, we have a good number of young players out on loan getting important experience. We have looked at the glaring weakness in the squad from last season and added someone in midfield to make us better at set pieces at either end, who offers better aerial coverage in front of the defence and who adds a huge amount of power into what was previously a technical but small group of players. We've also added 2 young fullbacks who look like they're will fit in perfectly with how we want to play.
All of that given to one of the best managers around who has already improved almost every player at the club and who is known for liking a slightly smaller squad with a few versatile players to cover the gaps.
If we added a Geertruida or someone similar in place of Carlos and if we could've got a versatile forward I'd have bene happier but both would've bene minor improvements rather than filling huge and obvious gaps. As such the window is a solid B for me and is evolution not revolution, which I'm always in favour of.
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However we dress it up it’s been a very poor window, but I guess our hands were tied.
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6/10.
Should we have the wiggle room wage wise, are there any respectable frees out there?
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The fact we were hamstrung by PSR, and the UEFA thingy, I think it’s been a decent window.
Both of the above have been sorted, so that must be a huge plus.
I’m pretty sure had the club been able to do more they would have
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We've always needed one or two more since Greggers tried to buy Muzzy fucking Izzet.
I worry a bit about our right side and whether Emi M or Ollie W get injured and if Tyrone M will be the same player he was but feck it, we've got some great players with a manager who improves almost everyone. It's gonna be another dazzler of a season.
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6/10.
Should we have the wiggle room wage wise, are there any respectable frees out there?
The big ones are Rabiot, Hermoso and Depay, none of which are really what we need.
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9/10 for financial reasons, 6/10 for practical and 4/10 for the buzz factor.
The fact that we have Ramsey and Buendia back and Mings and Kamara returning soon helps to fill the massive holes from last season and far better options than the loanees or reserves we had on the bench last season.
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We've been hugely constrained this window and had to juggle the figures. I'm praying Ned can do the biz for us on the right and I fancy he will, his pace is incredible, both getting up and getting back. I'll be so much happier when Kamera is back and hopefully Tyrone will be OK. I think it's a B....
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5 or 6/10 - we’ve lost a couple of important players, one very important. I really like the additions of Onana and Maatsen, and I think Barkley and Philogene are pretty astute additions. I understand the potential reasons, but we are left pretty exposed in defence and need luck with injuries. I also think we’re a bit short if we get injuries to wide players.
I also think the Doug deal looks like a mugging now as well - a relatively small sum, plus two players who are immediately loaned out in exchange for a player who in the first half of the season was one of the best midfielders in the league feels pretty galling. I accept his form tailed off, but bloody hell.
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I doubt we'll ever have a thread like this which doesn't include a load of people moaning that we needed 1 or 2 more, or that we were risking things on 1-2 key players not getting injured, or that the person overseeing it is shit at their job.
For me we've got to the end of the window with 2 players in every position who either got us into the champions league or who have experience in the champions league, we have a good number of young players out on loan getting important experience. We have looked at the glaring weakness in the squad from last season and added someone in midfield to make us better at set pieces at either end, who offers better aerial coverage in front of the defence and who adds a huge amount of power into what was previously a technical but small group of players. We've also added 2 young fullbacks who look like they're will fit in perfectly with how we want to play.
All of that given to one of the best managers around who has already improved almost every player at the club and who is known for liking a slightly smaller squad with a few versatile players to cover the gaps.
If we added a Geertruida or someone similar in place of Carlos and if we could've got a versatile forward I'd have bene happier but both would've bene minor improvements rather than filling huge and obvious gaps. As such the window is a solid B for me and is evolution not revolution, which I'm always in favour of.
Are people 'moaning', or simply taking part in a discussion? This is subjective stuff you understand?
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Not great but should be good enough for a top 7 finish. It does depend on how much longer Kamara and Mings are out for and how long it takes them to get up to speed however.
Also depends on Ollie staying fit for the entire season.
I can't see us making any signings.in January given our FFP position but I think we have enough to qualify for either the ECL or the EL next season. I suspect we will go out of the cups early to accommodate the CL, where I think we will surprise many and reach the QF.
6/10 as a rating for the window as a whole.
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I would also add that I don't think we have been mugged by Juventus. Those two boys have gone to a high standard of club on loan, which can hopefully help them kick on but Emri obviously doesn't think they are ready yet so it's a good move for all.
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I doubt we'll ever have a thread like this which doesn't include a load of people moaning that we needed 1 or 2 more, or that we were risking things on 1-2 key players not getting injured, or that the person overseeing it is shit at their job.
For me we've got to the end of the window with 2 players in every position who either got us into the champions league or who have experience in the champions league, we have a good number of young players out on loan getting important experience. We have looked at the glaring weakness in the squad from last season and added someone in midfield to make us better at set pieces at either end, who offers better aerial coverage in front of the defence and who adds a huge amount of power into what was previously a technical but small group of players. We've also added 2 young fullbacks who look like they're will fit in perfectly with how we want to play.
All of that given to one of the best managers around who has already improved almost every player at the club and who is known for liking a slightly smaller squad with a few versatile players to cover the gaps.
If we added a Geertruida or someone similar in place of Carlos and if we could've got a versatile forward I'd have bene happier but both would've bene minor improvements rather than filling huge and obvious gaps. As such the window is a solid B for me and is evolution not revolution, which I'm always in favour of.
Are people 'moaning', or simply taking part in a discussion? This is subjective stuff you understand?
Do you understand that my post was my subjective opinion?
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I think Maatsen will be a good player for us, but a LB would've been the last position I would've been looking to strengthen if I knew funds/wages were so tight due to wanky rules.
5/10.
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The alternative view is that Ned and Lamare get the chance of a lifetime and by the the end of the season we will wonder what we were worried about!
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I think we expected to do more than we did.
I am sure that there were many more deals being negotiated that never got finalised.
Overall flat for me, happy with Onana , Barkley and Maatsen but no Marquee signing.
I think we will struggle to be about 6th, don't expect much in domestic cups but really think it is balls to the wall for CL knock out stage.
5 out of 10. But not as bad as some other crappy windows.
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
Please don't encourage the fucker any further!!
Whats the fucker done to you 😂
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
Please don't encourage the fucker any further!!
Whats the fucker done to you 😂
Bitched and moaned and gone on and on and on and on and on ... ;D :( ;D
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We’ve been screwed by PSR/the UEFA thing. I swear it’s forced us to sell Dougie against our will, let Diaby go before we’d got a replacement lined up (the offer was too good to risk not having it) and then caused us to fall short of Gertrude and Felix - we just couldn’t offer competitive wages & transfer fees.
With that in mind it’s hard to be too angry. I think Onana and Maatsen are both brilliant signings, and I think Iling Junior will become more of a force next summer, when I expect we’ll jettison Digne in favour of him - it’s a season too soon for him but we couldn’t turn the chance down with him. Also chuffed we’ve got Jaden back. Barkley seems a decent signing at the price.
Barrenechea seems an odd one, given his age and that we’ve sent him out on loan. Feels like perhaps a player we’ve bought in to farm out on loan then sell him. But yeah, curious one.
Dobbin feels similar, at his age if the best he’s doing is a loan to the Championship then he feels very much like a player who’ll never see our first team. Maybe one we’ll sell for £15m or so to a newly promoted team.
Overall, it feels to me like we’ve done as well as we could in some pretty awful circumstances. I think as a squad we’re significantly stronger than we were 12 months ago, but the first team is around the same or slightly weaker.
I still think we’ll do alright this season though. Another top 4, decent run in Europe, maybe get a couple of rounds deep in to both cups. Tbh I don’t see either of the cups as a priority this season. They both come a very distant third to the league and European Cup for purely practical reasons. I don’t like it, but if we’re ever going to be more than just a flash in the pan we have to make sure we’re in Europe and doing well enough that we aren’t fighting against these daft FFP type rules like we have been this summer
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Does anyone know how Demitri feels about the window? ;D
Please don't encourage the fucker any further!!
Whats the fucker done to you 😂
Bitched and moaned and gone on and on and on and on and on ... ;D :( ;D
Take it you havent been on a football forum very long as thats what we do 🤪
Just being honest- not happy with our dealings in the window and i have explained in depth why so wont repeat it.
But its a 4/10 for me
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6/10.
Our first 11 looks fine currently but let's see how we do when we're juggling CL/Prem with injuries hitting.
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6/10.
Our first 11 looks fine currently but let's see how we do when we're juggling CL/Prem with injuries hitting.
Its a wierd one. As i was happy with the squad depth eith enzo and illing jr here. But with them both being loaned out thats why i have given a lower score as i think only improvements are maatsen and onana.
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Improving a Champions League side is very hard to do, as the pool of players capable of doing that and in the Premier League, is finite.
Add on the complexities of not 1 but 2 rigorous sets of PSR to comply with and you're looking at very narrow margins.
The club has a long term plan to widen that margin. We've signed players this season who will likely replace some first teamers in the windows to come. Tielemans appears to have been that for Luiz, with the midfield style changing again this season. It helps having a genius for a manager.
Onana adds legs and strength defensively that Luiz couldn't. He's the percentage ball in the box that's already paid off. While he doesn't look as attacking, he's just as adept at beating the press. Him and Kamara would be defensively formidable in the double pivot. Barkley seems a smart pick up to add to the squad to cover either Tielemans or Onana.
Maatsen is a very exciting talent and an upgrade on the departed Moreno, who didn't look the same post injury. He adopts a position higher than Digne and has a real quality about him. The perfect touch to JJ a case in point.
We're not going to be about that right hand axis of everything through Bailey or left back plus JJ from the season before; the January signing of Rogers has to be one of the most exciting purchases that we had no idea of at the time. That's what gives me hope my skepticism of Philogene is misplaced.
He is clearly very highly thought of by Emery, who was bemoaning his sale weekly to all who'd listen. Can he cover for Diaby? We'll have to hope so, although it's all a bit irrelevant as neither would be getting a look in over Rogers.
What we have has also impacted the window. A fit again JJ after an awful year of injury and set back. What a player he is and will contribute with his...direct ball carrying (a pattern is emerging). Buendia is back too, last seen looking twice as strong in pre-season 2023. Let's hope Emery continues to do what he does best; improve everybody.
Duran, the crank, has stuck around. Probably for the best as he's dripping with talent, if only he could harness it.
Mings back in training. Hopefully we'll see him before the pumpkins are fully ripe. A certain upgrade on Lenglet. I hope he's as good as we remember, as centre half could feel very light otherwise.
I'd have liked another attacking player and another centre half. It's not feasible financially. Maybe after we've scooped £50m in Champions League prize money, the 10s of millions in extra sponsorship and associated revenue, shed the contracts of Dendonker et al, we can flex a little further in 2025.
Whether we're ready to cope with the extra demands of Europe, nobody really knows. But I have a supreme confidence in Emery. I think, largely thanks to the trio of ACLs returning, that we're stronger than last season. The benches so far are witness to that.
I find it difficult to reconcile the 4/10 scores in the context of what we have had to do. Not much needed doing fortunately, as we were excellent.
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I think we’ve been hamstrung by Monchi. He’s not remotely on the same level as Unai.
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Improving a Champions League side is very hard to do, as the pool of players capable of doing that and in the Premier League, is finite.
Add on the complexities of not 1 but 2 rigorous sets of PSR to comply with and you're looking at very narrow margins.
The club has a long term plan to widen that margin. We've signed players this season who will likely replace some first teamers in the windows to come. Tielemans appears to have been that for Luiz, with the midfield style changing again this season. It helps having a genius for a manager.
Onana adds legs and strength defensively that Luiz couldn't. He's the percentage ball in the box that's already paid off. While he doesn't look as attacking, he's just as adept at beating the press. Him and Kamara would be defensively formidable in the double pivot. Barkley seems a smart pick up to add to the squad to cover either Tielemans or Onana.
Maatsen is a very exciting talent and an upgrade on the departed Moreno, who didn't look the same post injury. He adopts a position higher than Digne and has a real quality about him. The perfect touch to JJ a case in point.
We're not going to be about that right hand axis of everything through Bailey or left back plus JJ from the season before; the January signing of Rogers has to be one of the most exciting purchases that we had no idea of at the time. That's what gives me hope my skepticism of Philogene is misplaced.
He is clearly very highly thought of by Emery, who was bemoaning his sale weekly to all who'd listen. Can he cover for Diaby? We'll have to hope so, although it's all a bit irrelevant as neither would be getting a look in over Rogers.
What we have has also impacted the window. A fit again JJ after an awful year of injury and set back. What a player he is and will contribute with his...direct ball carrying (a pattern is emerging). Buendia is back too, last seen looking twice as strong in pre-season 2023. Let's hope Emery continues to do what he does best; improve everybody.
Duran, the crank, has stuck around. Probably for the best as he's dripping with talent, if only he could harness it.
Mings back in training. Hopefully we'll see him before the pumpkins are fully ripe. A certain upgrade on Lenglet. I hope he's as good as we remember, as centre half could feel very light otherwise.
I'd have liked another attacking player and another centre half. It's not feasible financially. Maybe after we've scooped £50m in Champions League prize money, the 10s of millions in extra sponsorship and associated revenue, shed the contracts of Dendonker et al, we can flex a little further in 2025.
Whether we're ready to cope with the extra demands of Europe, nobody really knows. But I have a supreme confidence in Emery. I think, largely thanks to the trio of ACLs returning, that we're stronger than last season. The benches so far are witness to that.
I find it difficult to reconcile the 4/10 scores in the context of what we have had to do. Not much needed doing fortunately, as we were excellent.
Brilliant summary.
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For all the talk of our incomings don’t forget we have 3 players who were 1st team regulars previously and pretty much missed the whole of last season back.
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Isn’t it just typical of the villa to finally reach the champions league against all of the odds only not to be able to go mad in the transfer Martin to make something of it. In theory at least.
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Isn’t it just typical of the villa to finally reach the champions league against all of the odds only not to be able to go mad in the transfer Martin to make something of it. In theory at least.
I don't think Risso replacing Monchi in theory or in practice would be a good idea.
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Isn’t it just typical of the villa to finally reach the champions league against all of the odds only not to be able to go mad in the transfer Martin to make something of it. In theory at least.
I don't think Risso replacing Monchi in theory or in practice would be a good idea.
Schoolboy error no recovering from that.
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Isn’t it just typical of the villa to finally reach the champions league against all of the odds only not to be able to go mad in the transfer Martin to make something of it. In theory at least.
I don't think Risso replacing Monchi in theory or in practice would be a good idea.
I’ve got miles more hair. But don’t speak Spanish, so swings and roundabouts.
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It's hard to make a full assessment without knowing the full extent of the financial constraints we were operating under. It does feel like we have left ourselves weak in a couple of areas, but it may have been the case that we needed to ship some more out before we could bring others in.
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I would also add that I don't think we have been mugged by Juventus. Those two boys have gone to a high standard of club on loan, which can hopefully help them kick on but Emri obviously doesn't think they are ready yet so it's a good move for all.
For starters, they aren't the most corrupt club in Europe for nothing. If you can ignore balance sheet trickery, we have sold them one of the best midfielders in the PL and their two makeweights have been sent out on loan without kicking a ball for us. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.
On the rest, our hands were severely tied by FFP and ahead of the CL that's dispiriting. Failing to replace Carlos is a big issue, we are already in trouble at the back with Cash and Mings injured. I like the early signs from Maatsen, should be a big improvement on the Moreno from last season. Onana doesn't have Luiz playmaking skills but his presence alone gives us different options now. Especially with Rogers, nobody is knocking those two about. I don't rate Barkley one iota, think that was the strangest signing in years considering his previous history with us. Despite a good start, I'm sceptical about Tielemans ability to perform consistently in a 2, to the levels Luiz did under Emery. Let's see.
Get Ollie fully fit, matched up with likes of Rogers, Ramsey, Bailey, Duran etc and we are still top 6 strong anyway. Maybe higher again if likes of Mings particularly, Kamara and Buendia get back fully fit. But as it stands centre mid and centre back Id worry about us.
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I doubt we'll ever have a thread like this which doesn't include a load of people moaning that we needed 1 or 2 more, or that we were risking things on 1-2 key players not getting injured, or that the person overseeing it is shit at their job.
For me we've got to the end of the window with 2 players in every position who either got us into the champions league or who have experience in the champions league, we have a good number of young players out on loan getting important experience. We have looked at the glaring weakness in the squad from last season and added someone in midfield to make us better at set pieces at either end, who offers better aerial coverage in front of the defence and who adds a huge amount of power into what was previously a technical but small group of players. We've also added 2 young fullbacks who look like they're will fit in perfectly with how we want to play.
All of that given to one of the best managers around who has already improved almost every player at the club and who is known for liking a slightly smaller squad with a few versatile players to cover the gaps.
If we added a Geertruida or someone similar in place of Carlos and if we could've got a versatile forward I'd have bene happier but both would've bene minor improvements rather than filling huge and obvious gaps. As such the window is a solid B for me and is evolution not revolution, which I'm always in favour of.
Are people 'moaning', or simply taking part in a discussion? This is subjective stuff you understand?
Do you understand that my post was my subjective opinion?
Yep, it’s the way you made it that I was referring to.
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I would also add that I don't think we have been mugged by Juventus. Those two boys have gone to a high standard of club on loan, which can hopefully help them kick on but Emri obviously doesn't think they are ready yet so it's a good move for all.
For starters, they aren't the most corrupt club in Europe for nothing. If you can ignore balance sheet trickery, we have sold them one of the best midfielders in the PL and their two makeweights have been sent out on loan without kicking a ball for us. At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.
On the rest, our hands were severely tied by FFP and ahead of the CL that's dispiriting. Failing to replace Carlos is a big issue, we are already in trouble at the back with Cash and Mings injured. I like the early signs from Maatsen, should be a big improvement on the Moreno from last season. Onana doesn't have Luiz playmaking skills but his presence alone gives us different options now. Especially with Rogers, nobody is knocking those two about. I don't rate Barkley one iota, think that was the strangest signing in years considering his previous history with us. Despite a good start, I'm sceptical about Tielemans ability to perform consistently in a 2, to the levels Luiz did under Emery. Let's see.
Get Ollie fully fit, matched up with likes of Rogers, Ramsey, Bailey, Duran etc and we are still top 6 strong anyway. Maybe higher again if likes of Mings particularly, Kamara and Buendia get back fully fit. But as it stands centre mid and centre back Id worry about us.
Good summary. The only thing I’d add, is the Emery factor, in terms of him being in the top drawer category, so we have a head start on most clubs because of that.
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See we are predicting top 6 or 7. Isn’t that a massive backwards step from last season or is the thoughts that we overachieved in getting to the CL? I do think we won’t be at the dizzying heights of last season but don’t see what choice we had with PSR. Will have to wait and see I suppose
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Isn’t it just typical of the villa to finally reach the champions league against all of the odds only not to be able to go mad in the transfer Martin to make something of it. In theory at least.
O'Neill?
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I'm predicting 4th because our first XI is just as strong and our squad is stronger. Plus we have Emery and short of the 115 Club nobody in Europe can say they have better, never mind in this league.
Now time for some Oasis tickets, an hour of crippling training and then off to hammer those East Midlands mutants. If I've made any mistakes in my above analysis, it rests only in the folly of leaving petrol till the morning. Up the fucking Villa.
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I suppose if you look at the 26 player squad list on the OS and also consider that we may not try to play 3 forwards all of the time, depending on Unai’s tactics then we look pretty strong. I’d be happier if Mings and Kamara come back soon and come back strong though.
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As Villa fans, we watched what Chelsea did in 2003 and what Man City did in 2008. They leapfrogged us and brought in mega stars. All through that time we were told that Champions League was the golden ticket. Then, when we finally make it through very hard graft we see that the goalposts have shifted and we can't do what those two clubs did. It is unfair on us but that's the rules. We have to cut our cloth.
In that context, we have done well this window. We still have Martinez on a new contract, we still have Watkins, we still have Konsa, Pau and Bailey. We have added Onana who is a different player to Luiz. Morgan Rogers came in January and is fast becoming one of our star players. We have Mings, Buendia and Kamara to come back into the squad and cross all our fingers they come back at a similar level to when they got injured. Ramsey looks like he is back at his best after more or less missing a season
My one gripe is left back. I know Maatsen is quality but we had two good left backs. If money was tight I would have gone for a right back or a number 10.
If you want to feel better about our window just look at the windows Newcastle and Spurs had
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We now have the strongest squad of players we've ever had in my lifetime, and that's including the league and European Cup ones. When you consider where we were as recently as two years ago our squad building progress has been remarkable. Yes, it would have been great to have got in another defender but our reserve right back now is a current international and our fourth choice centre half is a player of vast European experience. PSR constraints are a reality we have to accept but the future has never been brighter. We will strengthen further next summer, guided by the best manager/coach we could only have dreamed of having two years ago, and backed by the most supportive owners who will do as much as they are allowed to do. We have so much to look forward to now. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
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C+ for me.
Don’t get the bringing in of players to loan out again, unless they had to also go for financial compliance.
The squad is stronger, but that is more the return of previously injured players.
Thank god we have an elite manager.
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A 7/10 for me. Like i said yesterday, maybe another defender would have been useful bearing in mind Mings hasnt kicked a ball for a year but he must have some faith in Bogarde seeing as he's still around.
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I find it difficult to reconcile the 4/10 scores in the context of what we have had to do. Not much needed doing fortunately, as we were excellent.
Well reasoned view that. The worry I have is the bit above though; pre-Christmas we were astonishing last season but the form after that was distinctly middling. We will get some long-term injuries this season too - everybody does - and I fear a repeat of last year's performance curve but with some close competitors improving on us.
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As ever, time will tell. I'm pretty happy tbh. Emery will be the key to getting the best out of the squad as a whole. A few teams have improved more than us, but as long as we continue to develop I won't panic if we don't meet expectations this year. Would love to win a trophy though and don't see why we shouldn't.
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Sky Sports reckon we made a £6.9M profit on this window - so sold more than we bought - seems odd given we shouldn't be worried about balancing the books (outside of the PSR universe) with our ownership model.
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I still remember the days when we sold our best players and although Luiz was one, think we have swiftly replaced him with a different, but equally good player.
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Sky Sports reckon we made a £6.9M profit on this window - so sold more than we bought - seems odd given we shouldn't be worried about balancing the books (outside of the PSR universe) with our ownership model.
Are you suggesting moving to another universe to get around FFP?
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Seems to work for Man City and Chelsea LOL!
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The summer window: It is what it is and we are where we are. (runs away to hide)
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Take it you havent been on a football forum very long as that's what we do 🤪
Just being honest
Yeah, I've only been on here for about 25 years!! ;D
I wasn't being entirely serious and I get your passion to emphasise your views to us all, Dem, me ol' mate!! 8)
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I'm glad it's over.
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I've just scrolled through the Grauniad's summary of transfers done during this window and - apart from not recognising quite a few of the incomers from other leagues - feel that there's been 3 types of window: the first, like ours, has been careful to manage money and not overswell the squad (see also Arse, Liverpool and Citeh); the second, for the 3 new clubs in the division, is one of packing their squad with players with some Premier League experience in a slightly manic manner; for the third, there's been a sort of transfer madness - Chelsea, Brighton and Forest spring to mind.
I think we've done okay, and I'd lean more to Ads' view above than to Bronte's which is typically skeptical (in the nicest possible way!).
In the end, the things that will define our season - at least until January - are (i) avoiding injuries, keeping players fit and fresh, (ii) re-integrating last season's long-term absentees (the management team obviously thinks these players are fit, strong and able to recover their former influential impact), (iii) rotating Tielemans to ensure he doesn't drift away from his currently-high levels of performance, (iv) supporting the young new players (Maatsen and Kosta particularly) to thrive and grow.
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Poor window.
Lost my faith in Monchi. Now wondering how long he will last. He doesn’t seem to have contacts.
Villa know it’s been a poor window and that’s why they did the expectation management exercise on TalkSport.
Still trust in Unai and hope he can overcome this.
He might have good contacts but if the club are strangled by PSR what can he do? It is the lack of a level playing field that has held us back rather than the owners tight control of the purse or I suspect the lack of players willing to join us.
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I'm predicting 4th because our first XI is just as strong and our squad is stronger. Plus we have Emery and short of the 115 Club nobody in Europe can say they have better, never mind in this league.
Now time for some Oasis tickets, an hour of crippling training and then off to hammer those East Midlands mutants. If I've made any mistakes in my above analysis, it rests only in the folly of leaving petrol till the morning. Up the fucking Villa.
If mings buendia kamara and JJ stay fit -can find their best form we will definitely be in the mix.
How you get on with oasis tickets?
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Oasis, isn't that something you find in a desert?
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Feels like 6.5 or 7/10 to me.
We are obviously under the pump rules wise so had to wheel and deal, Luiz clearly wasn’t signing a new contract, whether there was a buyer out there in June with 60m for him I doubt, a lot of that deal will be judged in long term by the values of Illing Jnr / Barrenachea and whether they play for us or how their values changes on loan.
Overall it’s a get on with it window rather than an excitement window but I’d rather have done our business than the likes of Newcastle who clearly had 60m+ to spend on Guehi but ended up spending none of it.
Fitness of Mings / Buendia and Kamara is massive in the coming months
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Oasis, isn't that something you find in a desert?
Na its a drink mate where you been ? Its very refreshing
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Poor window.
Lost my faith in Monchi. Now wondering how long he will last. He doesn’t seem to have contacts.
Villa know it’s been a poor window and that’s why they did the expectation management exercise on TalkSport.
Still trust in Unai and hope he can overcome this.
He might have good contacts but if the club are strangled by PSR what can he do? It is the lack of a level playing field that has held us back rather than the owners tight control of the purse or I suspect the lack of players willing to join us.
All the incomings are from England apart from the two cast offs from Juve.
When we took on Monchi the hope was he was going to bring in stars of the future from Spain etc
Hard to see what value he adds.
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Agree Jon. Feels a bit like when we had Houllier. Meant to have a great knowledge of European football and signed Darren Bent.
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Poor window.
Lost my faith in Monchi. Now wondering how long he will last. He doesn’t seem to have contacts.
Villa know it’s been a poor window and that’s why they did the expectation management exercise on TalkSport.
Still trust in Unai and hope he can overcome this.
He might have good contacts but if the club are strangled by PSR what can he do? It is the lack of a level playing field that has held us back rather than the owners tight control of the purse or I suspect the lack of players willing to join us.
All the incomings are from England apart from the two cast offs from Juve.
When we took on Monchi the hope was he was going to bring in stars of the future from Spain etc
Hard to see what value he adds.
One of them is from England.
Edit: I have no opinion on the transfer window, I was just being pedantic.
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When we took on Monchi the hope was he was going to bring in stars of the future from Spain etc
But why? At both Roma and his second spell at Sevilla his MO was buying players, mainly from the same league for massive transfer fees.
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He has 500 players on a list for each position. And resigns Jaden Philogene from Hull.
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He has 500 players on a list for each position. And resigns Jaden Philogene from Hull.
Who the manager specifically asked for.
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He has 500 players on a list for each position. And resigns Jaden Philogene from Hull.
As opposed to Chelsea, who just have 500 players.
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He has 500 players on a list for each position. And resigns Jaden Philogene from Hull.
Who the manager specifically asked for.
And really didn't want to sell last year.
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He has 500 players on a list for each position. And resigns Jaden Philogene from Hull.
Like it or not that one's on Emery.
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Forgive me if this has been answered already but does our number of homegrown players mean we have to name the smaller squad size for Europe?
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Can't see us troubling the top three unless we ditch the domestic cups, which might happen.
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I always think that there are so many issues that we as fans just aren't aware off. We begin to understand the limitations of PSR (PL/CL), there is also the personal issues at stake, I think UE is a real gent and treats the players really well. Maybe Mings will come back... What does it say if sign another expensive CB? I love that Bogarde is there (the lad looked class). It is frustrating that we can't get bigger names but it feels like the owners/UE treat the club and the team like a family. Maybe some of those loaned out really need game time to develop. Many angles to consider.
I know UE will disappoint us in some games. He will make mistakes. We may get found out short in some games. But I genuinely feel like there's a phenomenal (compared with the clown shows we had in the past) foundation being built: financial, ethical, style. It may take time. But I see us moving in the right direction. And above all - we are not cheating our way to the top. UTV
PS - considering not just the footballing element but also the financial one - I'd give the window an 8/10
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Forgive me if this has been answered already but does our number of homegrown players mean we have to name the smaller squad size for Europe?
I'd assume so. In the squad of 25 we need to include eight association developed players, of whom four need to be club developed.
So I reckon Philogene / Ramsey count as the second, and we don't have any others, so we'll be naming a squad of 23.
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Forgive me if this has been answered already but does our number of homegrown players mean we have to name the smaller squad size for Europe?
I'd assume so. In the squad of 25 we need to include eight association developed players, of whom four need to be club developed.
So I reckon Philogene / Ramsey count as the second, and we don't have any others, so we'll be naming a squad of 23.
I thought that might be the case, and wondered if that might have had something to do with the decision to send Iling-Junior and Enzo out on loan. I remember someone doing a list for the larger squad and thinking they might be the players on the fringe if we had to go smaller. That was dependent on everyone staying fit, obviously.
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10/10 saving Bogarde for right back was the best signing of the summer.
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I feel underwhelmed overall, but there are some major positives when you take stock.
Martinez new contract
Konsa/Watkins still here as well as JJ
Left back has been upgraded
The underwhelming side has been for me that we haven’t got a new right back, would have loved Dumfries or similar. Also no statement signing either, Chiesa would have been a great option for the money he has cost Liverpool, even Sterling on loan for a season just to give us another option attack wise.
But after all is said and done, we have Unai and a great team of coaches, so expect someone like Rogers will turn in to the superstar we all think he can be. Also I think Ned/Jaden/Bogarde will all impress if given the chance.
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Look at the bench today and we only have a few injuries. Think that tells you how this season is likley to pan out when we pick up injuries. The squad depth is a myth im afraid.
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Look at the bench today and we only have a few injuries. Think that tells you how this season is likley to pan out when we pick up injuries. The squad depth is a myth im afraid.
Olsen, Cash, Carlos, Mings, Kamara and Philogene missing, that's a quarter of the squad.
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Look at the bench today and we only have a few injuries. Think that tells you how this season is likley to pan out when we pick up injuries. The squad depth is a myth im afraid.
Olsen, Cash, Carlos, Mings, Kamara and Philogene missing, that's a quarter of the squad.
The thing is paul two of those are long term injuries and gauci is good cover for olsen. In fact i think gauci will be our no 2.
Its three injuries maninly. If we didn't loan out enzo and illing jr one of those would have been on the bench. I think the enzo one could cost us if we pick up further injuries
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
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Club has to balance things though, a week ago neither of them could even make the bench. And that's with Mings and Kamara to come back. It's a fine line between having enough players and also paying players to not play, which could also hamper their development.
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Look at the bench today and we only have a few injuries. Think that tells you how this season is likley to pan out when we pick up injuries. The squad depth is a myth im afraid.
Olsen, Cash, Carlos, Mings, Kamara and Philogene missing, that's a quarter of the squad.
yes if the entire squad gets injured it'll be a problem. figure that one out all on your own?
The thing is paul two of those are long term injuries and gauci is good cover for olsen. In fact i think gauci will be our no 2.
Its three injuries maninly. If we didn't loan out enzo and illing jr one of those would have been on the bench. I think the enzo one could cost us if we pick up further injuries
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Look at the bench today and we only have a few injuries. Think that tells you how this season is likley to pan out when we pick up injuries. The squad depth is a myth im afraid.
Olsen, Cash, Carlos, Mings, Kamara and Philogene missing, that's a quarter of the squad.
The thing is paul two of those are long term injuries and gauci is good cover for olsen. In fact i think gauci will be our no 2.
Its three injuries maninly. If we didn't loan out enzo and illing jr one of those would have been on the bench. I think the enzo one could cost us if we pick up further injuries
It doesn't matter if they're long term injuries or if Gauci is better than Olsen. We're allowed to name 25 players and all 6 of those are probably going to be available before the registration reopens in January so will have been named.
We also have Dendoncker who is in a bit of a weird position where we may well have named him even though there's still a good chance he'll be going because the alternative is that the loan falls through and we spend 4 months paying him with no option to use him.
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Why not keep enzo until January then see how the injured boys are then consider a loan in jan?
Just dont get it. Didnt expect to see two keepers on the bench on our 3rd game!
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You do have to count them as we still pay them. And when they are back they would be pushing 2 players that couldn't make the bench last week even further down the pecking order.
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Why not keep enzo until January then see how the injured boys are then consider a loan in jan?
Just dont get it. Didnt expect to see two keepers on the bench on our 3rd game!
because we expect them to be available before January and if there weren't enough spaces in the squad to register them we'd have them fit and available but wouldn't be able to select them.
As I said in the match thread it sounds like Philogene dropped out pretty late which gave us very few options to fill the bench beyond picking the guy who was there anyway.
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Of course I can. Because they are Villa players who are injured. So when working out a list of injured Villa players, they are on that list.
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Should know by now that Mings, Buendia and Kamara have never counted for injuries when judging us against other teams.
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Looking a good call to not replace Diaby.
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Of course I can. Because they are Villa players who are injured. So when working out a list of injured Villa players, they are on that list.
On the list but doesnt change the fact that they were playing today and probably wont for another good 4-8 weeks if we are lucky.
Hopefully sooner rather than later
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Of course I can. Because they are Villa players who are injured. So when working out a list of injured Villa players, they are on that list.
On the list but doesnt change the fact that they were playing today and probably wont for another good 4-8 weeks if we are lucky.
Hopefully sooner rather than later
Which is before January, so we had to name them, so they count towards the squad numbers, how is this so difficult?
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Its three injuries maninly.
It's not, it's six. Well, five injuries and an illness in Philogene's case.
You cant classify mings and kamara though dave come on. We know they are not back for a while.
Of course I can. Because they are Villa players who are injured. So when working out a list of injured Villa players, they are on that list.
On the list but doesnt change the fact that they were playing today and probably wont for another good 4-8 weeks if we are lucky.
Hopefully sooner rather than later
Which is before January, so we had to name them, so they count towards the squad numbers, how is this so difficult?
Nothings difficult - but you dont know for sure they are 100% coming back do you?
Its all ifs and buts at this stage.
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Nothings difficult - but you dont know for sure they are 100% coming back do you?
Its all ifs and buts at this stage.
Calling the manager a liar?
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jesus demitri, honestly you've made your point over and over again now
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In fairness as we saw last season with JJ there's no guarantee how players come back, but i'd trust the club medical team to have a good idea how things are going.
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Nothings difficult - but you dont know for sure they are 100% coming back do you?
Its all ifs and buts at this stage.
Calling the manager a liar?
Where in the post do you see i have called the manager a liar?
Please stop trying to provoke a reaction it really is quite sad
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Can't see us troubling the top three unless we ditch the domestic cups, which might happen.
As if the usual top 3 have been ditching domestic cups. We just have to keep building squad strength and keep improving.
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With Enzo gone, there's a concerning lack of depth in central midfield.
Until Kamara returns, we only have 4 senior players for those 3 positions; and even with Kamara - that's 5 players having to cover 3 positions for possibly 50-60 games.
Getting a long-term injury to one of them would be bad, two would be terrible; or two being suspended for a crucial game could cost us.
We have similar issues in central defence even when Mings is back.
I can see the sense in Iling-Junior going out on loan, as we are strong on the left side, but Enzo is probably someone we should be using to get 10-15 games in his legs (and out of the legs of our other midfielders).
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With Enzo gone, there's a concerning lack of depth in central midfield.
Until Kamara returns, we only have 4 senior players for those 3 positions; and even with Kamara - that's 5 players having to cover 3 positions for possibly 50-60 games.
Getting a long-term injury to one of them would be bad, two would be terrible; or two being suspended for a crucial game could cost us.
We have similar issues in central defence even when Mings is back.
I can see the sense in Iling-Junior going out on loan, as we are strong on the left side, but Enzo is probably someone we should be using to get 10-15 games in his legs (and out of the legs of our other midfielders).
I thought the only reason we loaned enzo was because dendonker was staying but he has also gone on loan!
We are short there thats for sure. If onana gets injured we are in trouble. Guessing mcginn would fill in there... but don't like him in that position tbh
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With Enzo gone, there's a concerning lack of depth in central midfield.
Until Kamara returns, we only have 4 senior players for those 3 positions; and even with Kamara - that's 5 players having to cover 3 positions for possibly 50-60 games.
Getting a long-term injury to one of them would be bad, two would be terrible; or two being suspended for a crucial game could cost us.
We have similar issues in central defence even when Mings is back.
I can see the sense in Iling-Junior going out on loan, as we are strong on the left side, but Enzo is probably someone we should be using to get 10-15 games in his legs (and out of the legs of our other midfielders).
We don't play 3 in centre mid. Right now we're playing a 4411 with McGinn and Bailey starting wide of Onana and Tielemans and Rogers sitting in front of them as a 10.
For those 2 central spots we have Barkley and Kamara as backup options and then McGinn and Bogarde who are options if we're really short.
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With Enzo gone, there's a concerning lack of depth in central midfield.
Until Kamara returns, we only have 4 senior players for those 3 positions; and even with Kamara - that's 5 players having to cover 3 positions for possibly 50-60 games.
Getting a long-term injury to one of them would be bad, two would be terrible; or two being suspended for a crucial game could cost us.
We have similar issues in central defence even when Mings is back.
I can see the sense in Iling-Junior going out on loan, as we are strong on the left side, but Enzo is probably someone we should be using to get 10-15 games in his legs (and out of the legs of our other midfielders).
I thought the only reason we loaned enzo was because dendonker was staying but he has also gone on loan!
We are short there thats for sure. If onana gets injured we are in trouble. Guessing mcginn would fill in there... but don't like him in that position tbh
Can't wait for to read for the 856th time that Demitri thinks our squad is thin. Riveting stuff though
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From The Athletic - A bit lengthy but a pretty fair summary of what we did, and why
ASTON VILLA’S TRANSFER WINDOW REVIEWED: A MIXTURE OF DELUXE AND LOW COST SIGNINGS MAKE EMERY HAPPY
“Financial fair play?” said Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, repeating part of a question posed to him in Friday’s press conference. “I don’t understand a lot. I am asking, asking Damian (Vidagany, the director of football). But I accept it.”
Every machination, decision and action of Villa’s summer window centred on staving off profit and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches. Speak to those in charge of safeguarding Villa against the threat of such sanctions and they will explain how close the club were to facing possible points deductions.
This meant Villa had two deadlines this summer: pre-June 30, which was the end of the previous PSR accounting period, and August 30, officially the final day of the transfer window. Villa staff worked tirelessly to shapeshift and navigate the complexities and contradictions of PSR, having to sell homegrown talent for pure bookable profit while adhering to European football governing body UEFA’s rules of having ‘club-trained’ players.
It is little wonder that only after Villa’s third game of the new league season, a 2-1 away win against promoted Leicester City, on Saturday and heading into its first international break for the next two weeks, were Vidagany and Monchi, their president of football operations, going to be afforded the chance to take their summer holidays.
Injuries have plagued Villa in the past 12 months and with Matty Cash now out for a month, Jaden Philogene also missing against Leicester, and Leon Bailey substituted with a hamstring issue early in that game, their squad depth is already being relied on. Cash was replaced in the starting XI by Lamare Bogarde, a 20-year-old who spent last year out on loan in English football’s third tier but has impressed Emery with his tactical intelligence and ability to learn multiple roles.
With three games gone, Villa have won two and lost one in the 2024-25 Premier League, but fully gauging their summer transfer business was not possible until now. Here’s how it went…
Was this window a success or a failure?
Senior figures at Villa regarded this summer as the most challenging window of their careers. Yet, ultimately, they see it as successful, largely because the way that the squad was built placated manager Emery. Pertinently, among Villa’s chief intentions was to lower the group’s average age while adding greater depth.
There is disquiet about how PSR is enforced, with Villa believing they are at risk of being restricted from challenging the established domestic ‘Big Six’ long-term, due to the financial limitations placed on them. From their standpoint, PSR puts the club at a disadvantage because their revenue is far inferior to not only the Premier League’s elite but also teams such as West Ham United, who have larger attendances at a stadium that holds 20,000 more fans than Villa Park. As a consequence, Villa’s sharp trajectory on the pitch cannot be mirrored by spending the fruits of their labour off it.
Regardless, Emery insisted he was “very happy” with the business done, recruiting a combination of low-cost players such as Ross Barkley — who he personally pushed for — and deluxe talents such as midfielder Amadou Onana, who fielded interest from some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs but was convinced by Villa’s manager to join them instead.
Villa took a long-term approach to Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior, who were signed before being loaned back out. Both are regarded as assets, either in the squad or in terms of selling them further down the line.
Barrenechea, who has joined Spanish side Valencia, was close to staying and was felt to be near the requisite level to compete in Emery’s first team. This led to Villa delaying negotiations while they were in two minds. The hope is the 23-year-old defensive midfielder plays a significant number of games in La Liga and will return to his parent club next summer as an improved and serious talent.
Competition is rife down the left flank at Villa and Iling-Junior needed minutes. The 20-year-old forward either hits the ground running next year or, if he does well on loan at Bologna of Serie A, can be moved on for a profit.
How much did they spend and how much did they bring in?
By July 24, Villa had spent more money this summer than any other club in Europe (around £150million), enabled by player sales and accessing Champions League riches via last season’s fourth-place finish. This was in part influenced by the need to be proactive to guard against PSR, and get a large chunk of their business done before the end of June.
This coincided with the £42.3million sale of Douglas Luiz to Italy’s Juventus, while Barrenechea and Iling-Junior, in a separate transaction, moved in the opposite direction from the Turin side for £18.6m combined. Cash reserves were then boosted by Omari Kellyman going to Chelsea — another PSR-related decision — and Moussa Diaby joining Al Ittihad of the Saudi Premier League for £50.6m.
Overall, Villa spent around £150million and recouped between £100m and £110m, with Cameron Archer’s move to Southampton worth £15m plus potential add-ons.
Teenager Kellyman’s departure cut the deepest as Villa did not want to lose such a precocious youngster, but they had little alternative.
Who seems like the standout signing?
Onana.
Of all Villa’s incomings, he was the player signed for the here and now; to come straight into the team immediately, replacing Douglas Luiz and, as his Premier League debut for the club last month against West Ham demonstrated, fit seamlessly into Emery’s system.
The 23-year-old Belgium international’s fist-pumping celebrations after wins are becoming increasingly familiar to supporters and indicative of the goodwill he has swiftly built up. Onana, having scored his second goal of the season, was the last player off the pitch at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, serenaded by the travelling support and wearing a wide grin.
Onana wants to inherit the level of responsibility and leadership Emery looks for in midfielders. It is early days, but his presence, figuratively and literally, is proving influential. He has scope to improve Villa and compensate for the loss of Brazil international Douglas Luiz and can, crucially, serve as both the deepest-lying midfielder and a partner to Boubacar Kamara, as the latter nears a return from long-term injury, but it will not always be straightforward.
Who could be the surprise package?
Philogene.
Four of their eight signings — if you include Archer, who was obligated to rejoin Villa this summer a year after leaving following Sheffield United’s relegation to the Championship — have left again, mostly on loan. So, in truth, it is only Onana, Barkley, Philogene and Ian Maatsen who are immediate potential starters, limiting the options for a surprise package. In any case, Philogene came through Villa’s ranks before moving to Hull City last season, so is less of a surprise package and more a source of intrigue as to how he returns after playing 32 games, and scoring 12 goals, in the second tier.
Philogene is one of Villa’s few out-and-out wingers, which should, in theory, provide directness and pace on the flanks. Bearing in mind Villa’s congested schedule, his sharpness may become incrementally prominent as the season wears on.
Will any of the exits hurt Villa?
Douglas Luiz will be the biggest miss.
He fulfilled Emery’s wide-ranging remit and was among Villa’s leaders, while his goal contributions were improving every season, helped by an impressive penalty record, and he was their chief set-piece taker. He had the quality to unpick the lock against deep-sitting defences and the deftness of pass for balls over the top.
The 18-cap Brazil midfielder was accomplished, especially alongside the defensive anchor of Kamara, and was Emery’s best performer in the early part of last season. However, his decline in Kamara’s absence from February on was concerning and it was felt he needed a fresh start.
Are there still any obvious gaps in the team, and what are they planning for January?
Villa are light in defence but still tight on PSR restrictions. Cash has had increasing injury issues and Kosta Nedeljkovic, 18, and Bogarde are his deputies at right-back. With Emery rewiring Villa’s build-up shape to play with two archetypal full-backs and preferring not to parachute Ezri Konsa in there, the position may require further strengthening in January.
There are unknowns as to how Tyrone Mings will return following the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury suffered in the first game of last season, which could determine whether Villa sign a centre-back. Presently, they have Pau Torres and Konsa, with Diego Carlos — who the club wanted to sell this summer — and Mings as other senior options. A lack of defenders meant highly-rated youngster Sil Swinkels stayed at the club, despite interest in the last 48 hours of the window. The Dutch-born 20-year-old is left-footed and seen as a stylistic backup to Torres.
Some might argue Villa have not replaced Diaby, despite the return to full fitness for Jacob Ramsey and an emerging Morgan Rogers playing in that position. Joao Felix naturally fitted the bill, but arranging a requisite financial package to sign him from Atletico Madrid was protracted and he’s ended up at Chelsea. Adding another forward will reduce the pressure on Ollie Watkins to stay fit and in form.
What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?
Emiliano Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Onana; Bailey, John McGinn, Rogers; Watkins.
The full list of ins and outs
INS
Ross Barkley (£5m) — Luton Town
Ian Maatsen (£37.5m) — Chelsea
Cameron Archer (undisclosed) — Sheffield United
Lewis Dobbin (£10m) — Everton
Samuel Iling-Junior (£9.25m) — Juventus
Enzo Barrenechea (£9.25m) — Juventus
Amadou Onana (£50m) — Everton
Jaden Philogene (£18m) — Hull City
OUTS
Morgan Sansom (nominal) — Nice
Douglas Luiz (£42.5m) — Juventus
Tim Iroegbunam (£9m) — Everton
Calum Chambers (free) — Cardiff City
Philippe Coutinho (loan) — Vasco da Gama
Moussa Diaby (£50.6m) — Al Ittihad
Dobbin (loan) — West Bromwich Albion
Viljami Sinisalo (£2m) — Celtic
Filip Marschall (loan) — Crewe Alexandra
Kaine Kesler-Hayden (loan) — Preston North End
Lino Sousa (loan) — Bristol Rovers
Archer (£15m+2m in add-ons) — Southampton
Alex Moreno (loan) — Nottingham Forest
Iling-Junior (loan) — Bologna
Barrenechea (loan) — Valencia
Leander Dendoncker (loan) - Club Brugge
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With Enzo gone, there's a concerning lack of depth in central midfield.
Until Kamara returns, we only have 4 senior players for those 3 positions; and even with Kamara - that's 5 players having to cover 3 positions for possibly 50-60 games.
Getting a long-term injury to one of them would be bad, two would be terrible; or two being suspended for a crucial game could cost us.
We have similar issues in central defence even when Mings is back.
I can see the sense in Iling-Junior going out on loan, as we are strong on the left side, but Enzo is probably someone we should be using to get 10-15 games in his legs (and out of the legs of our other midfielders).
I thought the only reason we loaned enzo was because dendonker was staying but he has also gone on loan!
We are short there thats for sure. If onana gets injured we are in trouble. Guessing mcginn would fill in there... but don't like him in that position tbh
Can't wait for to read for the 856th time that Demitri thinks our squad is thin. Riveting stuff though
Cant wait for you stop posting on poster for the 857th time.
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From The Athletic - A bit lengthy but a pretty fair summary of what we did, and why
What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?
Emiliano Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Onana; Bailey, John McGinn, Rogers; Watkins.
Up for debate, but I'm not sure I quite agree with this. Much as I like both Kamara and Onana, I think our strongest team must have a more progressive passive alongside one of them - for now Tielemans is doing a great job.
Otherwise I think I agree. McGinn vs a fit Ramsey may become debatable, but SJM is a talisman for us and needs to start.
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Cant wait for you stop posting on poster
Am I on Villatalk?
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I always think that there are so many issues that we as fans just aren't aware off. We begin to understand the limitations of PSR (PL/CL), there is also the personal issues at stake, I think UE is a real gent and treats the players really well. Maybe Mings will come back... What does it say if sign another expensive CB? I love that Bogarde is there (the lad looked class). It is frustrating that we can't get bigger names but it feels like the owners/UE treat the club and the team like a family. Maybe some of those loaned out really need game time to develop. Many angles to consider.
I know UE will disappoint us in some games. He will make mistakes. We may get found out short in some games. But I genuinely feel like there's a phenomenal (compared with the clown shows we had in the past) foundation being built: financial, ethical, style. It may take time. But I see us moving in the right direction. And above all - we are not cheating our way to the top. UTV
PS - considering not just the footballing element but also the financial one - I'd give the window an 8/10
Agree 1000% with this.
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Cant wait for you stop posting on poster
Am I on Villatalk?
Yes, it appears you are...
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Cant wait for you stop posting on poster
Am I on Villatalk?
Yes, it appears you are...
👍👍👏👏👏😃😃😃👍👍
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Cant wait for you stop posting on poster
Am I on Villatalk?
I think the hints in the title - heroes and villains
It was a joke by the way 😄
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Re The Athletic's article, Durán deserved a paragraph of analysis plus Sanson being sold for a "nominal" fee is lazy research, we got £4m for him, didn't we?
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Starting team Vs West Ham
Martínez
Cash
Konsa
Torres
Digne
Onana
Tielemans
Bailey
Rogers
McGinn
Watkins
Substitutes
Diego Carlos
Barkley
Durán
Buendía
Gauci
Philogene
Nedeljkovic
Maatsen
Ramsey
So when everyone fit who is dropped to accomodate Kamara / Mings / Bogarde. Mings / Kamara only weeks away as well.
It is no wonder the two Juventus lads went out on loan. WE could not just keep stock piling players - we are not the mad house that is Chelsea
Plus SUE likes a tighter, compact squad
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Cant wait for you stop posting on poster
Am I on Villatalk?
Yes, it appears you are...
😂😂😂😂 👏 had a few of those before
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Starting team Vs West Ham
Martínez
Cash
Konsa
Torres
Digne
Onana
Tielemans
Bailey
Rogers
McGinn
Watkins
Substitutes
Diego Carlos
Barkley
Durán
Buendía
Gauci
Philogene
Nedeljkovic
Maatsen
Ramsey
So when everyone fit who is dropped to accomodate Kamara / Mings / Bogarde. Mings / Kamara only weeks away as well.
It is no wonder the two Juventus lads went out on loan. WE could not just keep stock piling players - we are not the mad house that is Chelsea
Plus SUE likes a tighter, compact squad
Oh how that made me laugh. Cheers Hookey
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It is no wonder the two Juventus lads went out on loan. WE could not just keep stock piling players - we are not the mad house that is Chelsea
Plus SUE likes a tighter, compact squad
Would it not have made more sense to keep at least Barrenechea around until January? I don't think we'll see Kamara on the pitch until getting towards Christmas going off usual Villa bad injury timelines, and there's no guarantee Mings will be back at anything like his previous level either. And as for everybody being fit, that's very rarely the case with Villa as this weekend just showed.
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Re The Athletic's article, Durán deserved a paragraph of analysis plus Sanson being sold for a "nominal" fee is lazy research, we got £4m for him, didn't we?
Sanson transfer fee reported as €4m = £3.3m.
Re the lack of discussion about Duran, if it had discussed him, then for balance it would also have had to have covered Carlos's non-move to Fulham as well as the rumours about Cash and Bogarde.
The article was a review of actual comings and goings and not might have beens.
Furthermore, the original story didn't include the departure of Dendoncker- presumably because it was written before his move was confirmed. I added it at the bottom of the list for completeness.
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It is no wonder the two Juventus lads went out on loan. WE could not just keep stock piling players - we are not the mad house that is Chelsea
Plus SUE likes a tighter, compact squad
Would it not have made more sense to keep at least Barrenechea around until January? I don't think we'll see Kamara on the pitch until getting towards Christmas going off usual Villa bad injury timelines, and there's no guarantee Mings will be back at anything like his previous level either. And as for everybody being fit, that's very rarely the case with Villa as this weekend just showed.
The counter arguments to that are that by going out on loan they play games rather than 5 minutes here and there which helps us in the long term and they don’t get bored and start agitating for a transfer due to lack of involvement.
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It is no wonder the two Juventus lads went out on loan. WE could not just keep stock piling players - we are not the mad house that is Chelsea
Plus SUE likes a tighter, compact squad
Would it not have made more sense to keep at least Barrenechea around until January? I don't think we'll see Kamara on the pitch until getting towards Christmas going off usual Villa bad injury timelines, and there's no guarantee Mings will be back at anything like his previous level either. And as for everybody being fit, that's very rarely the case with Villa as this weekend just showed.
The counter arguments to that are that by going out on loan they play games rather than 5 minutes here and there which helps us in the long term and they don’t get bored and start agitating for a transfer due to lack of involvement.
It's one of those that can only really be judged in January. If we lose all of Onana, Tielemans and Barkley over the next month and Kamara isn't back until January, then it will have been a terrible decision to loan him out.
If we don't lose those players and Kamara is back on the pitch in November, and Barrenechea plays regularly for Valencia then it will have been a good decision.
My gut feeling though that if they weren't expecting to see Kamara within the next couple of months then we probably wouldn't have done it.
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From The Athletic - A bit lengthy but a pretty fair summary of what we did, and why
What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?
Emiliano Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Onana; Bailey, John McGinn, Rogers; Watkins.
Up for debate, but I'm not sure I quite agree with this. Much as I like both Kamara and Onana, I think our strongest team must have a more progressive passive alongside one of them - for now Tielemans is doing a great job.
Otherwise I think I agree. McGinn vs a fit Ramsey may become debatable, but SJM is a talisman for us and needs to start.
Ive noticed Onana doesnt get all that involved in general play. He's tidy and knows his limitations by passing it quickly. Kamara has a lot more in his locker technically but wouldnt have the power Onana has when he breaks from midfield or in both boxes. It might take time for Kamara to get back fully fit, last thing we need is another Ramsey situation from last season. Tielemans has started well and surprised me so far.
McGinn isnt suited to the left, he hasnt the pace to go around the outside and his right foot is more for standing on. I think Ramsey automatically comes back in there. I prefer McGinn cutting in on the right, challenging Bailey. Good to have options. McGinn probably an option at 10 too though from memory he hasnt impressed there for us really.
Im a bit surprised Buendia hasnt seen a minute of action yet. Emery likes to include players on the bench even if they are miles off being fully fit, like with Torres last season so maybe there's an element of that. Could have easily given him 10 mins v Arsenal with the game done and the way Rogers played the last day, Buendia certainly couldnt have been any worse.
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The Athletic rank us as having the sixth best window;
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/ (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/)
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The Athletic rank us as having the sixth best window;
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/ (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/)
Article beyond the Paywall
https://archive.ph/vSzLK
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The Athletic rank us as having the sixth best window;
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/ (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/)
Article beyond the Paywall
https://archive.ph/vSzLK (https://archive.ph/vSzLK)
Pretty weird and inconsequential article.
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Yeah but they're paying salaries to a lot of football writers so there will be slow days especially during the international break.
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The Athletic rank us as having the sixth best window;
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/ (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5735669/2024/09/03/premier-league-clubs-transfer-window-ranking/)
Article beyond the Paywall
https://archive.ph/vSzLK (https://archive.ph/vSzLK)
Pretty weird and inconsequential article.
Yep, any article that seriously thinks Man U have done the best business this transfer window isn't worth the time of day.
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On paper they have done good business with De Ligt, Ugarte etc. However in practice, none are experienced in the prem and they are walking into a mess of a backroom at the club.
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Yes I think they needed a no nonsense Centre Half and Ball Winning midfielder and they seem to have bought them in. I think they will be safe for this year at least.
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They've looked exactly the same as they did last season.
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Aside from paying well over the odds for Yoro I think their signings are all very good. The real issue is that it's the 4th season in a row where they've had a net spend of over £100m.
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Aside from paying well over the odds for Yoro I think their signings are all very good. The real issue is that it's the 4th season in a row where they've had a net spend of over £100m.
Jury's out for De Light, binned off by Juve and lost his place at Bayern to Eric Dier.
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Aside from paying well over the odds for Yoro I think their signings are all very good. The real issue is that it's the 4th season in a row where they've had a net spend of over £100m.
That's not an issue for a club that generates £600 mil a year or whatever it is. Their income is several times higher than ours and would remain so even if they finished mid table for the next 50 years. That's what's wrong with the FFP system.
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On paper they have done good business with De Ligt, Ugarte etc. However in practice, none are experienced in the prem and they are walking into a mess of a backroom at the club.
Agreed, there just seems to be a wider malaise at the club. Even if they'd signed Morgan Rogers he'd have turned into Jadon Sancho.
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Not sure I agree with West Ham at 2.
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Re The Athletic's article, Durán deserved a paragraph of analysis plus Sanson being sold for a "nominal" fee is lazy research, we got £4m for him, didn't we?
£3m I think. €4m?