Our last pacy centre-back?

[ktvillan]

Yep Curtis is reasonably quick which is why I thought a move for him in the window might be an idea.  We really lack pace all over the pitch, Gabby apart.

pushing water uphill wth a fork? I can well believe it.

Thanks for your contribution Roger Irrelevant.

and yet you think Davies is a Premier League quality centre half.

Perhaps you could point out above where I've said that he's Premier League standard.     

[placeforparks]

John Sleeuwenhoek.   Built like a greyhound ran like whippet.   Great lad.   Martin Keown was quick but I air brush him from my memory because he has airbrushed Villa from his.

he mentioned he was in the last villa team to be relegated last week on radio 5.

[Grande Pablo]

Alpay didn't stick around, in more ways than one.  Unsworth was also pretty quick, especially up the M6 to Everton.

[usav]

Look at McGrath, Laursen and Mellberg - none of them were particularly pacey but they knew where to be and when to be there.

Actually, McGrath was very quick over the first 10 yards or so, which is all he needed to get the ball in row z or to another Villa player.

[cdbearsfan]

James Cowan... he won the Powderhall Sprint.

[N'ZMAV]

Dunne when fully fit isn't as slow as he looks.

[mal]

Yep Curtis is reasonably quick which is why I thought a move for him in the window might be an idea.  We really lack pace all over the pitch, Gabby apart.

pushing water uphill wth a fork? I can well believe it.

Thanks for your contribution Roger Irrelevant.

and yet you think Davies is a Premier League quality centre half.

Perhaps you could point out above where I've said that he's Premier League standard.     

Have we been relegated already? I don't wish to be rude but that is a foolish comment.

[supertom]

Dunne when fully fit isn't as slow as he looks.

3 years ago yes. But I'm not sure he'd be able to hit the same sort of majestic speeds he used to after mounting years and injuries, and pie girth. But yeah, I do fondly remember a handful of storming runs from the back with the ball by Dunney in his first year.

[supertom]

Mellberg aswell.

Laursen was amazing at many aspects of defending but I don't really remember him as quick.

Yeah Laursen wasn't that quick. In comparison to our current bunch probably, but more so he just had the knack of always being in the right place at the right time.

[ktvillan]

Yep Curtis is reasonably quick which is why I thought a move for him in the window might be an idea.  We really lack pace all over the pitch, Gabby apart.

pushing water uphill wth a fork? I can well believe it.

Thanks for your contribution Roger Irrelevant.

and yet you think Davies is a Premier League quality centre half.

Perhaps you could point out above where I've said that he's Premier League standard.     

Have we been relegated already? I don't wish to be rude but that is a foolish comment.

I don't think so.  At least half of our current defenders clearly aren't premier league standard - Clark, Bennett, and Stevens for starters, possibly Lichaj and Baker.  I'm not that convinced about Vlaar either.   The point is he  doesn't necessarilly need to be premier league standard to improve on what we have.   He's better than Clark (indeed Bette Davies would be better than Clark), he gets his head on things in both boxes,  he's very vocal on the pitch, and he would add some pace.   Qualities that would improve us.  Just my opinion.

[Fergal]

Yep Curtis is reasonably quick which is why I thought a move for him in the window might be an idea.  We really lack pace all over the pitch, Gabby apart.

pushing water uphill wth a fork? I can well believe it.

Thanks for your contribution Roger Irrelevant.

and yet you think Davies is a Premier League quality centre half.

Perhaps you could point out above where I've said that he's Premier League standard.     

Have we been relegated already? I don't wish to be rude but that is a foolish comment.

I don't think so.  At least half of our current defenders clearly aren't premier league standard - Clark, Bennett, and Stevens for starters, possibly Lichaj and Baker.  I'm not that convinced about Vlaar either.   The point is he  doesn't necessarilly need to be premier league standard to improve on what we have.   He's better than Clark (indeed Bette Davies would be better than Clark), he gets his head on things in both boxes,  he's very vocal on the pitch, and he would add some pace.   Qualities that would improve us.  Just my opinion.

Just to add that not only are some of our players not Premiership quality, some would struggle in the Championship.

[glasses]

I think the last one that was quick was Davies. Knight wasn't too slow either, or even Cahill. I never thought Mellberg or Laursen were quick in general, but had that 'quick over 10 yards' thing in their favour. Dunne I always thought the opposite, in that once he got moving could shift a bit.

The Davies situation annoyed me. Yes there were some clangers, but there were some very good performances from him. I think he and Dunne could have made a good partnership in Houlliers season, had we not decided to never play him due to the clause. We should have kept him.

[neo_Villan]

I think Davies might be Prem quality now. Nothing special, but good enough for bottom-half teams like us. He has improved since leaving us.

[ktvillan]

I've said it before, Davies had a few shockers for us and a lot of people judge him only on those.  That's their right I suppose, but the fact is that for the majority of his games he was at least steady, and sometimes very good.  And he was only 22 or 23 when he signed with the pressure of a huge fee around his neck, but seems to have been cut none of the slack that players like Clark get because they're "still learning".

[Brend'Watkins]

I think the last one that was quick was Davies. Knight wasn't too slow either, or even Cahill. I never thought Mellberg or Laursen were quick in general, but had that 'quick over 10 yards' thing in their favour. Dunne I always thought the opposite, in that once he got moving could shift a bit.

Mellberg when he first came was  the quickest defender I have seen in my 40 odd years of supporting Villa.  It was also one of his best attributes.