Summer 2025 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[VILLA MOLE]

It highlights what a good job Dean Smith did to keep us up with what was a pretty ragtag squad that first year back.

Really? I guess McGinn was injured a lot of that season but we still had likes of Grealish and Mings. Chelsea brought back Tammy didn't they due to a transfer ban? He was a massive loss, poor old Wesley and Samatta were beyond awful. I think Deano was lucky to hold onto his job after Xmas, the covid delay probably saved him from the chop. Personnel aside, we were all over the place tactically and the Drinky signing might have been the final straw for him...

What ? Samatta ?  last Wembley goal scorer ?

[brontebilly]

It highlights what a good job Dean Smith did to keep us up with what was a pretty ragtag squad that first year back.

Really? I guess McGinn was injured a lot of that season but we still had likes of Grealish and Mings. Chelsea brought back Tammy didn't they due to a transfer ban? He was a massive loss, poor old Wesley and Samatta were beyond awful. I think Deano was lucky to hold onto his job after Xmas, the covid delay probably saved him from the chop. Personnel aside, we were all over the place tactically and the Drinky signing might have been the final straw for him...

Wesley was bad although I think he was finally getting more upto speed and the he was Mee'd. Would definitely have had him scoring more the 1 goal second half of the season anyway. But  apart from Grealish and Mings, and a young and not as good Luiz, the rest of the squad was still Championship players at best, and even the two we mentioned were not much better at that point. Remember Mings used to regulalrly have his brain farts and we were really reliant on Grealish to do something.

Maybe you are right, Mings was definitely poor that first season back up. Grealish carried us from memory, he scored some absolute worldies. Luiz picked it up big time after the covid restart too.

I guess the key for teams coming up is to have a solid and experienced spine that the rest can learn from, not the likes of Lescott who were finished. I'm not sure what chance the likes of Soton and Ipswich gave themselves.