Leandro Bacuna - Sold

[oldtimernow]

from GB's wiki entry

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Spurs, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more offensive player.

Otherside I know but mmmm

[Walmley_Villa]

A friend of my son's has done some work or delivered something at Bacuna's house. apparently it is covered in Villa memorabilia - he loves the club.

[brontebilly]

Was impressed with Bacuna v Sunderland. Hutton might struggle to win his place back.

Sherwood likes attacking full backs, which means we'll see less of Cissokho.

Wouldnt be surprised if we never saw him in a Villa shirt again.

[chrisw1]

I'm not ready to ditch Hutton yet.  He has been our player of the season by a country mile and he fully deserves to be our first choice at the moment.  But if Bacuna keeps the pressure on him or adds an extra option, then that is great too.

[dekko]

I like Bacuna a lot but I'd still prefer it if he only played RB in games where he isn't likely to do a lot of defending (eg against a terrible Sunderland side, and at home against teams managed by Tony Pulis).

[passitsideways]

Yeah, in his first season he'd come in as RB and look good for a couple of games and then teams would catch on and start exposing him. Not saying that trend will definitely continue under Sherwood but I certainly wouldn't be upset if he and Hutton rotated depending on the opponent.

[Diablo]

I'm not ready to ditch Hutton yet.  He has been our player of the season by a country mile and he fully deserves to be our first choice at the moment.  But if Bacuna keeps the pressure on him or adds an extra option, then that is great too.

I agree. Hutton has been a revelation this year and showed amazing character, he stood up when the majority of players went missing in matches before Sherwood's arrival. He's helped with some assists (the last being cross for the penalty against WBA for example) as well as being solid at the back too.

That said Bacuna has been excellent and brought a real threat going forward. Long may it continue.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

His performance on Saturday was genuinely "excellent"...but I would have Hutton back in there for Swansea and some of the tough away games coming up. I just think Bacuna plays better further forward which he was allowed to do on Sat because Sunderland were so poor.
Hutton's not too bad going forward himself and he's solid defensively.

[Damo70]

I would have Hutton at RB and Bacuna in front of him on the right side of midfield.

[JUAN PABLO]

I thought he was brilliant Saturday

I had a moan at him earlier on when he shot instead of passing which I apologize for because the rest of the game he was immense, he worked brilliant with Charlie and TC .

[Holte L2]

I would have Hutton at RB and Bacuna in front of him on the right side of midfield.

Not leaving out N'Zogbia.  he was outstanding on Saturday, and against West Brom.

I'd keep the same team against Swansea.  Bacuna was fantastic.

[tomd2103]

His performance on Saturday was genuinely "excellent"...but I would have Hutton back in there for Swansea and some of the tough away games coming up. I just think Bacuna plays better further forward which he was allowed to do on Sat because Sunderland were so poor.
Hutton's not too bad going forward himself and he's solid defensively.

I'm not sure I would change things for the Swansea game, as I think the players who played against Sunderland deserve to keep their places.  It makes a nice change to be talking about selection dilemmas though!!

[JUAN PABLO]

His performance on Saturday was genuinely "excellent"...but I would have Hutton back in there for Swansea and some of the tough away games coming up. I just think Bacuna plays better further forward which he was allowed to do on Sat because Sunderland were so poor.
Hutton's not too bad going forward himself and he's solid defensively.

I'm not sure I would change things for the Swansea game, as I think the players who played against Sunderland deserve to keep their places.  It makes a nice change to be talking about selection dilemmas though!!

I agree

Especially at home against Swansea

You can't drop a player who played that good.

[myf]

Think you are all getting carried away. He had one good 45 mins. There have been plenty of dire performances over the last 18 months. I prefer Hutton for his defensive strengths

I've liked Bacuna from the start, he does need to work on his concentration in defence but otherwise he's ideal for a fullback, he can run all day, he's fast (both over a couple of yards and longer distance) he's willing and capable with the ball at his feet, he's got a decent cross and scores the odd goal.  Add in the fact he'll get 2-3 free kicks a year and he's definitely worth sticking with, I think he's a better long term option than Hutton who I still think is a liability because he loses his temper.

Same here.  He scored about 5 goals last season as well? 

[dekko]

Think you are all getting carried away. He had one good 45 mins. There have been plenty of dire performances over the last 18 months. I prefer Hutton for his defensive strengths

I've liked Bacuna from the start, he does need to work on his concentration in defence but otherwise he's ideal for a fullback, he can run all day, he's fast (both over a couple of yards and longer distance) he's willing and capable with the ball at his feet, he's got a decent cross and scores the odd goal.  Add in the fact he'll get 2-3 free kicks a year and he's definitely worth sticking with, I think he's a better long term option than Hutton who I still think is a liability because he loses his temper.

Same here.  He scored about 5 goals last season as well?

I've been looking for an excuse to repost this: