Philippe Senderos

[Toronto Villa]

It'll be ace if we ever get round to signing players who can be considered starters for us.

It'll be just like old times, when they use to wheel out that "proud history" bullshit, when we used to show a bit of ambition, before it all got so unambitious and embarassing that they wouldn't even have the balls to roll out something like that any more.

Is it no longer possible for the club to buy squad players without people becoming angry about it? Every single Villa fan and their mum knows we need 4 or 5 starters, but it isn't the end of the world if we buy better depth than we have currently at the club. Senderos joining didn't send extra blood into my pants either but the way some are going on it's August 31st and the signing is a sure sign of the arrival of the Four Horseman Of the Apocalypse.

Well like you I am bored about all this pointless debate, but I have one question what makes you think he is a squad player?  Whose to say than Lambert hasn't thought we need another experience central back to play with Vlaar and Senderos is that man?  If he is a squad player then it is a bit more acceptable I will grant you.

My belief stems from the fact that prior to Okore's injury, Okore and Vlaar were set to become the established CB pairing. I think that is still what Lambert wants. Senderos will off course be expected to compete for one of those two positions. And while no pro should ever settle for a squad position, I think that the first choice pairing going into the new season is Vlaar/Okore. Yes, I am completely bored of this topic, but I will say that if it reduces the amount of Baker sightings then I am all for it.

[RussellC]

I also think we'll employ 3 centre-backs more often than we did last season. In which case you'd want at least 4 of them in the matchday squad.

[pauliewalnuts]

It'll be ace if we ever get round to signing players who can be considered starters for us.

It'll be just like old times, when they use to wheel out that "proud history" bullshit, when we used to show a bit of ambition, before it all got so unambitious and embarassing that they wouldn't even have the balls to roll out something like that any more.

Is it no longer possible for the club to buy squad players without people becoming angry about it? Every single Villa fan and their mum knows we need 4 or 5 starters, but it isn't the end of the world if we buy better depth than we have currently at the club. Senderos joining didn't send extra blood into my pants either but the way some are going on it's August 31st and the signing is a sure sign of the arrival of the Four Horseman Of the Apocalypse.

I'm not angry at the signing of Senderos, it's the other players I don't trust our leaders to pay for that worry me.

[Toronto Villa]

It'll be ace if we ever get round to signing players who can be considered starters for us.

It'll be just like old times, when they use to wheel out that "proud history" bullshit, when we used to show a bit of ambition, before it all got so unambitious and embarassing that they wouldn't even have the balls to roll out something like that any more.

Is it no longer possible for the club to buy squad players without people becoming angry about it? Every single Villa fan and their mum knows we need 4 or 5 starters, but it isn't the end of the world if we buy better depth than we have currently at the club. Senderos joining didn't send extra blood into my pants either but the way some are going on it's August 31st and the signing is a sure sign of the arrival of the Four Horseman Of the Apocalypse.

I'm not angry at the signing of Senderos, it's the other players I don't trust our leaders to pay for that worry me.

I'm hanging on to the hope that our current leaders won't be our current leaders come the end of the transfer window, and that being the case we will have signed some of what we actually need by that point. The signings of Senderos and Cole will become what they are and not players we will actually rely on.

[silhillvilla]

Pretty sad when we're all hoping our new signings actually don't get anywhere near the pitch

[pauliewalnuts]

Pretty sad when we're all hoping our new signings actually don't get anywhere near the pitch

One the one hand, that's a pretty doomish overreaction.

On the other, it's quite funny as gallows humor.

[Toronto Villa]

Pretty sad when we're all hoping our new signings actually don't get anywhere near the pitch

that's not all what I said or even suggested. Do you think when Man City bought now 33yrd old Demechelis he was seen as a starter? A team with more money than they know what to do with? They bought him as primarily and experienced squad player to assist in the CL campaign, yet over the course of the season he ended up playing in a lot of games and being better than what they had despite a couple of clangers in games. Worst case scenario is that Okore and Vlaar don't work out for whatever reason and Senderos becomes one of the starting CB's but I don't believe he has been bought with that in mind.

[hilts_coolerking]

What worries me is that TV, bless him, is one of our most positive and optimistic posters at the start of the season but is almost always as despondent as the rest of us come the end of the season.  Just once I'd like the team to live up his faith in them.

But, as walnuts says, Senderos wasn't signed because the club see him as a player who will radically improve us: worryingly it's the players we haven't yet signed who would fall into that category

[bobdylan]

I also think we'll employ 3 centre-backs more often than we did last season. In which case you'd want at least 4 of them in the matchday squad.

I agree, I don't think we'll see Weimann and Gabby wide very often, more likely 3 at the back, Bacuna/Lowton and Bennett wing backs, Delph and Westwood behind Cole with 2 up top, probably Kozak and one of Gabby/Weimann until the Belgian is fit.

[Toronto Villa]

What worries me is that TV, bless him, is one of our most positive and optimistic posters at the start of the season but is almost always as despondent as the rest of us come the end of the season.  Just once I'd like the team to live up his faith in them.

But, as walnuts says, Senderos wasn't signed because the club see him as a player who will radically improve us: worryingly it's the players we haven't yet signed who would fall into that category

I'm just not as down on things before everything has played out. A million things will happen between now and the end of the transfer window so why get fired up about what we don't know for sure until then? Find me again on September 1st if Okore isn't fully fit, Vlaar has gone and Senderos and Baker are trying not to fall over each other as our starting CB pairing and I might have a toaster in the bath with me. Until then I'd rather stay as calm as possible and not look at things from the bleakest perspective.

[hilts_coolerking]

I'm just not as down on things before everything has played out. A million things will happen between now and the end of the transfer window so why get fired up about what we don't know for sure until then? Find me again on September 1st if Okore isn't fully fit, Vlaar has gone and Senderos and Baker are trying not to fall over each other as our starting CB pairing and I might have a toaster in the bath with me. Until then I'd rather stay as calm as possible and not look at things from the bleakest perspective.

I wasn't having a pop TV.  The way I see it is that at then end of last season things looked very bleak, then we got a minor boost when the club was put up for sale, then it looked bleak again when we realised it wasn't going to be sold for quite some while, that Lambert would be staying, that we'd be shopping in the bargain basement again and that we'd probably be looking at another season of struggle.  If any of those things change before now and August 31st then I'll be enthused and positive.  But I find it difficult to be that at the moment.  After all we've still got all the muppets in charge who are responsible for this mess, and most of the under-performing squadmuppets.

[Toronto Villa]

Hilts, you were correct on me being thoroughly pissed off at the end of the season and you're right there is huge concern at how things ended. However, a small percentage of that is that things just went downhill so quickly on numerous front that it almost felt as though everyone, including the players and club just needed to get to the finishing line. Now that we are there, if nothing else changes, we can only hope that injured players get back to fitness, the integration of some of the unwanted has some short  benefit albeit short term in many cases, the new coaching staff is better than those we fired, and that we can all start with a bit more optimism than how it ended. I want to believe it can't get worse.

[hilts_coolerking]

Hilts, you were correct on me being thoroughly pissed off at the end of the season and you're right there is huge concern at how things ended. However, a small percentage of that is that things just went downhill so quickly on numerous front that it almost felt as though everyone, including the players and club just needed to get to the finishing line. Now that we are there, if nothing else changes, we can only hope that injured players get back to fitness, the integration of some of the unwanted has some short  benefit albeit short term in many cases, the new coaching staff is better than those we fired, and that we can all start with a bit more optimism than how it ended. I want to believe it can't get worse.

That's a fair point.  Okores, Benteke and Kozak getting fit will be a boost, as will getting rid of C & K presumably.

[paul_e]

What worries me is that TV, bless him, is one of our most positive and optimistic posters at the start of the season but is almost always as despondent as the rest of us come the end of the season.  Just once I'd like the team to live up his faith in them.

But, as walnuts says, Senderos wasn't signed because the club see him as a player who will radically improve us: worryingly it's the players we haven't yet signed who would fall into that category

I'm just not as down on things before everything has played out. A million things will happen between now and the end of the transfer window so why get fired up about what we don't know for sure until then? Find me again on September 1st if Okore isn't fully fit, Vlaar has gone and Senderos and Baker are trying not to fall over each other as our starting CB pairing and I might have a toaster in the bath with me. Until then I'd rather stay as calm as possible and not look at things from the bleakest perspective.

I agree with this.  The other thing to keep in mind is that last time we were taken over we had no time to look for new players, etc and ended up just getting Petrov in at the end of the window and relying on what we had until January.  The same happened to Man City with Robinho in the first window for the current lot.  I don't mind a couple of cheap stop gaps in positions where we've had major issues even if they have to be replaced in 6-12months.  I suspect we'll see a left back before long as well.

[Toronto Villa]

Hilts, you were correct on me being thoroughly pissed off at the end of the season and you're right there is huge concern at how things ended. However, a small percentage of that is that things just went downhill so quickly on numerous front that it almost felt as though everyone, including the players and club just needed to get to the finishing line. Now that we are there, if nothing else changes, we can only hope that injured players get back to fitness, the integration of some of the unwanted has some short  benefit albeit short term in many cases, the new coaching staff is better than those we fired, and that we can all start with a bit more optimism than how it ended. I want to believe it can't get worse.

That's a fair point.  Okores, Benteke and Kozak getting fit will be a boost, as will getting rid of C & K presumably.

You have to think that pre-season will include Okore, N'Zogbia, Kozak, Bent, Senderos and Cole. Even Hutton as big a liability that he is should be pushing Lowton and Bacuna. Let's say Keane comes in as a coach and Lambert brings in another then we should be better off. The optimism of it being a fresh start for all concerned, possibly new owners on the horizon or even a done deal (yes that likely changes things for Lambert), and things are better than they were in May when the roof had fallen in. A few faces will be gone that did nothing. It's not completely nuts to think that group is better than the one that ended the previous campaign and with Benteke to come back around October/November.