Oł est Johnny Deux?

[Nastylee]

How many appearances does he have for Villa? Fair to say he needs a few more before he's written off.

[PaulWinch again]

How many appearances does he have for Villa? Fair to say he needs a few more before he's written off.

7 and agreed, I think he deserves a chance.

[TopDeck113]

I liked what I saw when he came.  Looked comfortable of the ball, could pick a pass and had good positional awareness.  Accept what has been said about pace and tackling, but whether those are necessesities depends on who he is paired with.  I'd be happy to see him given a second chance.

I really think you've hit the nail on the head there. He can pass and works hard, so Lambert will like him. Certainly deserves a second chance.

In what way does he work hard?

In the sense that from the limited time I saw him in a Villa shirt I thought that without "putting himself about" (his "tackle" at Blackpool notwithstanding) his receive, hold, release style of play required him to be constantly looking for the space in midfield to fulfill that role. 

[PaulWinch again]

I don't see from his time at Villa how anyone can say he either definitely will succeed or definitely will fail, he hasn't had anywhere near enough opportunity. So by that definition he deserves a chance to give it a go at Villa.

[Percy McCarthy]

Agreed. It amazes me how posters can have such faith in their opinions about things nobody really knows yet. They're like Evangalists, some of them.

[Cenotaff]

Good news for JDII fans

I'm one of them! I don't think he's a tackler by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly looked to me a player who's capable of playing possession football. Alongside an all-action, tough-tackling type (which I hope/think El Ahmadi is) he could be a real asset. At least worth another try anyway, I'd say.

I agree completely, I think KEA, Makoun and Ireland would be a midfield full of energy and the ability to knock the ball around at pace with excellent movement off the ball. When Makoun last played for us I think he was seeing passes that were on should the other players have had the initiative to move off the ball. I remember him playing for Lyon and absolutely destroying Man Utd in one Champions League game. I think he's worth a sustained look at and if he's still not delivered much by January then see if there are any takers in the January window. He's been given up on way too soon imo.

[peter w]

Thing is Perce, that works both ways. i'm not a fan from what i've seen of him and think he's lightweight, can't tackle and cannot impose himself on a game, or be a vital cog in the midfield engine room. Basically, not good enough. Thos ethat think tehr eis something there are just espousing their opinions also based on the same 7 games that I'm commenting on and think he could be a player.

i'll bet I'm right though.

[Ger Regan]

Thing is Perce, that works both ways. i'm not a fan from what i've seen of him and think he's lightweight, can't tackle and cannot impose himself on a game, or be a vital cog in the midfield engine room. Basically, not good enough. Thos ethat think tehr eis something there are just espousing their opinions also based on the same 7 games that I'm commenting on and think he could be a player.

i'll bet I'm right though.

Except that you're wilfully ignoring the "give him a chance to prove himself" argument that is entirely valid as he's only played 7 games. He looked very good at Old Trafford, but that wouldn't be enough for me to say with certainty that he should be a starter, no more than his performances in a limited number of games are enough to convince you that he's crap.

[peter w]

very good - Old Trafford

Okay to average - everywhere else.

Its seems impossible for those bigging him up (or just wanting to give him a chance) cannot say anything other than he played well at Man U as the reason for thinking he is good enough. Crawley played well at old Trafford. Exeter played well at Old Trafford, as did Dennis Bailey. Just because players can raise their games for one of games at the biggest stages it doesn't mean a great deal. He was seen in training by managers, on the pitch, and he didn't look good enough to them, or to some fans.

He may come good. Clearly I hope he does. But I don't think he will and would cut him loose ratehr than waste wages on a player who i don't think is good enough.

[pedro25]

His passing is an upgrade on Petrov's, especially the tempo, he needs to improve on his ability to win the ball back imo.

[Concrete John]

Anyone know if he was back for pre-season today as planned?

[Ger Regan]

very good - Old Trafford

Okay to average - everywhere else.

Its seems impossible for those bigging him up (or just wanting to give him a chance) cannot say anything other than he played well at Man U as the reason for thinking he is good enough. Crawley played well at old Trafford. Exeter played well at Old Trafford, as did Dennis Bailey. Just because players can raise their games for one of games at the biggest stages it doesn't mean a great deal. He was seen in training by managers, on the pitch, and he didn't look good enough to them, or to some fans.

He may come good. Clearly I hope he does. But I don't think he will and would cut him loose ratehr than waste wages on a player who i don't think is good enough.

So are you advocating getting rid of any footballer who doesn't play consistently well in their first half a dozen games at the club?

There are a number of potential reasons why he may not have performed brilliantly for us so far.
1. Playing in a struggling team that was not geared to the sort of possession football that I imagine would suit him.
2. Injury and his family being involved in a car crash curtailing the end of his first season.
3. TSM being his manager last year.

I don't buy your analogy with Exeter or Crawley. This is someone who regularly played in the Champions League, not some lower league clogger. Performances like that are often based on them defending bravely and then possibly nicking a chance if it comes their way. His passing and movement was superb throughout the game.

[villastikz]

Anyone know if he was back for pre-season today as planned?

Dunno, haven't seen anything saying he is back - it seems Matt C has the inside info on this.

[Dave]

Its seems impossible for those bigging him up (or just wanting to give him a chance) cannot say anything other than he played well at Man U as the reason for thinking he is good enough. Crawley played well at old Trafford. Exeter played well at Old Trafford, as did Dennis Bailey. Just because players can raise their games for one of games at the biggest stages it doesn't mean a great deal.

How about the fact that he has played in more Champions League games than the rest of our squad combined?

He's not Salifou, he's not been plucked from obscurity and hasn't made the grade - he's an experienced player and just the sort of player who you wouldn't expect to flourish under last season's style of football.

He might not work out, but getting rid of him after seven games just to take a punt on a less experienced player from the same league (which seems to be the most likely suggested replacement) would be ridiculous.

[KRS]

Personally I havent seen anything from him to impress me or think hes good enough for Premier League...despite showing a few good touches, he always looked lost out on the pitch and couldnt tackle. A liability we cant afford to carry in a tough season.

It would be extremely naive to right him off though and not give him a chance, and I would expect the management team to be able to identify this in training with the rest of the squad. If he can prove himself to be a player then I'll be delighted as it will be like having a new player in the team which needs investment in other areas now.