Concrete Ron

[ozzjim]

He is shocking without it much of the time, especially when he is facing his own goal, he hasn't a clue who is behind him. I like him as a footballer and he seems a decent bloke, just not very efficient when building a side to have a guy who has to do 2 jobs doing 1, so you have to play a second player to do the other half, to the detriment of the rest of the side.

[john2710]

He is shocking without it much of the time, especially when he is facing his own goal, he hasn't a clue who is behind him. I like him as a footballer and he seems a decent bloke, just not very efficient when building a side to have a guy who has to do 2 jobs doing 1, so you have to play a second player to do the other half, to the detriment of the rest of the side.

I agree that's his main weakness, the defensive side. You'll see it every week where he points for other players to track the runners he should be tracking. He's neat & tidy with the ball but to be effective he needs to do be able to do both.

[Mister E]

He is shocking without it much of the time, especially when he is facing his own goal, he hasn't a clue who is behind him. I like him as a footballer and he seems a decent bloke, just not very efficient when building a side to have a guy who has to do 2 jobs doing 1, so you have to play a second player to do the other half, to the detriment of the rest of the side.

I agree that's his main weakness, the defensive side. You'll see it every week where he points for other players to track the runners he should be tracking. He's neat & tidy with the ball but to be effective he needs to do be able to do both.

agreed and Keane will either cure the problem quickly or Westwood may find himself on the sidelines.
Albeit, the latter point assumes we have alternatives; which, at the moment, we don't.

[ozzjim]

It is why I would have liked us to be in for Mbia on a free, as he is a genuinely strong, defensive minded central midfielder who could play in the back 3 too.

[Matt Collins]

It's not just 'better players' that would suit Westwood. His ideal position would (I think) be in a three with a physical ball winner doing a lot of the chasing up and down. There've been some excellent players (much better than Westwood) that this applies to - deschamps, pirlo, Gerrard.

If we did get ki it would be interesting to see how that works. Would ki play in a deeper role in place of Westwood - or would Westwood play on the right of a three? I can't quite imagine that. They could partner up as holding midfielders but that means Delph playing in an unusual more advanced position - could work in some games but can't see that formation week in week  out

[paul_e]

Our midfield worked perfectly for a few months when Sylla did the ball winning job at the end of 12/13. If he had become the player we wanted things might have been very different last season. We need someone to play that role but with the ability to do something with the ball as well.

That leaves us needing to add someone to make things happen from nothing but I would like that to be someone who can play in the gabby and weimann roles as well as a normal 10. Stirling is as good an example as I can think of.

[peter w]

It's also where getting someone like Ashley Young in on loan would make a hell of a difference to us.

But we know we're after another midfielder. Between the two of them I'm expecting Keane and Lambert to be able to knowe the player(s) that they are after. Just because we aren't hearing anything doesn't mean it's not happening. And, in any case, with the current regime you only get to hear about something teh day before its signed sealed and delivered.

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

He is shocking without it much of the time, especially when he is facing his own goal, he hasn't a clue who is behind him. I like him as a footballer and he seems a decent bloke, just not very efficient when building a side to have a guy who has to do 2 jobs doing 1, so you have to play a second player to do the other half, to the detriment of the rest of the side.

I agree that's his main weakness, the defensive side. You'll see it every week where he points for other players to track the runners he should be tracking. He's neat & tidy with the ball but to be effective he needs to do be able to do both.

I do feel that we are one of the better teams in the league for pointing

[rob_bridge]

He is shocking without it much of the time, especially when he is facing his own goal, he hasn't a clue who is behind him. I like him as a footballer and he seems a decent bloke, just not very efficient when building a side to have a guy who has to do 2 jobs doing 1, so you have to play a second player to do the other half, to the detriment of the rest of the side.

I agree that's his main weakness, the defensive side. You'll see it every week where he points for other players to track the runners he should be tracking. He's neat & tidy with the ball but to be effective he needs to do be able to do both.

I do feel that we are one of the better teams in the league for pointing

not forgetting both Bibs and Cones

And we are past masters - best part of two decades and being utterly shite at throw ins

[BubbleGum_McClure]

Thought i'd start my time on site by commenting on Vlaar but I see it's now the Westwood thread.

Concerning Vlaar he's going to leave isn't he. After a fantastic World Cup unless we are able to offer him a much improved long term contract which may not be to the benefit of our club due to his injury record, he like the rest of us will simply look after number one and jump at the best contract on offer for the long term security of his family.

I don't think in the present circumstances Lerner will sanction such a contract after getting his finger's burnt under O'Neill.

Personally i'd much rather we sell Vlaar now if we can get 8m-10m as we may have have already seen the best of him in a Villa shirt before further injuries take their tole.

That is of course under the premise that Lambert is given all of the fee to replace Vlaar with a younger fitter version.

[pauliewalnuts]

Should we be expecting to see Vlaar in the friendly at Groningen tomorrow or is he still on holidays?

[mr underhill]

the man himself said he'd be watching from the stands in an interview a couple of days ago.

[The Laughing Policeman]

Should we be expecting to see Vlaar in the friendly at Groningen tomorrow or is he still on holidays?

Apparently in an interview he gave a few days back he's going to be meeting up with the squad in Groningen, although I wouldn't think he'll play.
Maybe we'll see him on Tuesday at the Bescot.

[Surrey Villain]

Should we be expecting to see Vlaar in the friendly at Groningen tomorrow or is he still on holidays?

Apparently in an interview he gave a few days back he's going to be meeting up with the squad in Groningen, although I wouldn't think he'll play.
Maybe we'll see him on Tuesday at the Bescot.

Unlikely to see him in a Villa shirt again unfortunately and links with other centre backc are no coincidence, even if they are paper talk like Danny Batth from Wolves.

[adrenachrome]

Express

Juventus primed to battle with Man Utd, Southampton, Spurs and Lazio for Ron Vlaar

JUVENTUS are the latest club to enter the race for Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar.


By: Alex Harris
Published: Fri, August 1, 2014

The Serie A champions join Premier League trio Manchester United, Southampton and Tottenham in the chase while Italian rivals Lazio and Roma are also monitoring the Dutch defender.

According to reports in Italy, Juventus are in the market for a new central defender and have narrowed their shortlist to Vlaar and former Manchester City man Stefan Savic.

Despite facing a fight to keep hold of star players Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal, general director Beppe Marotta is pressing ahead with plans to strengthen the Old Lady's defence.

Manchester United are in the market for numerous new defenders due to their lack of back-line options and Louis van Gaal's preference for a 3-5-2 formation.

New Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has publicly declared his interest in signing Vlaar as he looks to replace the departed Dejan Lovren.

Mauricio Pochettino is also thought to be on the lookout for defensive reinforcements with doubts surrounding the future of Michael Dawson.

Despite Paul Lambert's desire to keep the Dutch defender at Villa Park, it is thought that Vlaar could be sold for a fee in the region of £10m.