Transfer Window - Satisfied or Not?

[DeKuip]

i just dont understand why we need so many centre backs, its MON all over again

We've only got four fit ones even now with Okore injured and Senderos not wanted. At least we now have two players for every position.

[LukeJames]

Someone wrote that the window slammed shut in our faces again....
...eh..I think the door FINALLY closed so not every average Joe looking for a paycheck could sneak in!

But overall years of neglect on the transfer-market has been patched somewhat mostly with the money for Benteke.
Honestly I think we got more then he was worth...he was amazing that spring 2 seasons ago but after the injury he has faded somewhat.
 I rather take the players we got for the Liverpool money then have Benteke back if given the choice.

Gestede, I think will be effective but not until later. I hope he is used as a sub early on but when winter is coming and the games switch from pace to physical, the championship experience will start to work in his favor and he will have adjusted to the game in the Premier. He doesn't have to do it all...creating space for Sinclair, Grealish and Traore will be just as important.

All the recruits in the defence are solid. Amavi, Richards and Lescott.

I think we got two duds though : 1) Ayew , is far worst of all our forwards. 2) Veretout, doesnt really bring anything to the midfield.

Think we miss Delph more then Benteke this season...dont think Gana is the playmaker Fabian was. Gil sure isn't....an uneven  Lambert budget buy, talent but with questionable work ethic. Westwood is stable but uncreative and like to sit back. Prefer Sanchez over him.

Traore, Amavi and Lescott. Thats the gold in this transferwindow for Villa IMHO. With Gestede as a lurker...

Delph was in no way, shape or form a creative midfielder.

[tomd2103]

Someone wrote that the window slammed shut in our faces again....
...eh..I think the door FINALLY closed so not every average Joe looking for a paycheck could sneak in!

But overall years of neglect on the transfer-market has been patched somewhat mostly with the money for Benteke.
Honestly I think we got more then he was worth...he was amazing that spring 2 seasons ago but after the injury he has faded somewhat.
 I rather take the players we got for the Liverpool money then have Benteke back if given the choice.

Gestede, I think will be effective but not until later. I hope he is used as a sub early on but when winter is coming and the games switch from pace to physical, the championship experience will start to work in his favor and he will have adjusted to the game in the Premier. He doesn't have to do it all...creating space for Sinclair, Grealish and Traore will be just as important.

All the recruits in the defence are solid. Amavi, Richards and Lescott.

I think we got two duds though : 1) Ayew , is far worst of all our forwards. 2) Veretout, doesnt really bring anything to the midfield.

Think we miss Delph more then Benteke this season...dont think Gana is the playmaker Fabian was. Gil sure isn't....an uneven  Lambert budget buy, talent but with questionable work ethic. Westwood is stable but uncreative and like to sit back. Prefer Sanchez over him.

Traore, Amavi and Lescott. Thats the gold in this transferwindow for Villa IMHO. With Gestede as a lurker...

Agree with a lot of this, but have to disagree with the two points in bold.  I think Veretout will be a useful addition once he is up to speed and think he could be an upgrade on Westwood in time.  He is undoubtedly a good player, but Delph offered little in terms of creativity and goals.  His main strength is receiving balls in tight spaces and keeping moves going, something Gueye looks equally adept at and I think he also offers more defensively than Delph does.

[silhillvilla]

I imagine after 2 full years under Sherwood we will have a decent team to support again.
Next few months are critical though .

[olaftab]

Marton let me have a puff of whatever you are smoking please?

[ktvillan]

Whilst Ayew and Veretout have been a little underwhelming so far it's daft to be saying they're duds after a couple of outings. I think there have been glimpses of talent from both.   It's all a bit tense from Ayew.  Hopefully with more game time he should settle down and become more composed.  He should certainly be in ahead of Gabby for me.   

[PeterWithesShin]

I don't think we'll miss Delph, we'll miss Benteke for a while though. Imagine him on the end of Amavi crosses, and Gil/Grealish/Traore crosses and passes! That said, we're hopefully going to be a stronger team now, and rather than just stop Benteke, the opposition have more than one player to worry about.

[SoccerHQ]

Considering the car crash we had of Delph and Benteke leaving within 24 hours and at the time we'd only signed Gana I'm delighted with what we've signed by and large.....

However not getting in an experienced striker is an error imo so I can see us panic buying an expensive on in January like we did with Darren Bent to keep us in the league.

[Toronto Villa]

Relatively speaking Darren Bent wasn't expensive.

[SoccerHQ]

Relatively speaking Darren Bent wasn't expensive.

O.k he was a short term fix e.g. unlike the players we are signing now we weren't going to get our money back or indeed make a good profit from him although I don't think anyone expected us to have to let him go on a free.

There also didn't seem to be a plan on how to use him post Young and Downing and so even though he still scored at a reasonable rate in the McLeish season his impact on games declined and that continued into the Lambert era and him then falling well out of favour.

At least with the signings now we'll be fine finacially with them. We signed Amavi, Richards and Gana for 20m this season. If we had to sell them next season we'd get 40m for them no problem. Amavi (20m), Gana (10m +) and Richards would probably be near that bracket given his age and experience.

[ozzjim]

Really think it will be that drastic Soccer?

I can't recall a Villa squad that has so much potential in it in the last 20 years maybe, since Sir Brian was walking upon water. We all know we are a proven striker short and still clearly looking for a keeper of quality but everywhere else on the pitch you could not argue that we are not better than we were by some considerable distance.

Richards, Lescott, Clark, Okore, Ilori looks an incredibly well balanced and potentially useful group of centre halves, with Okore able to take his time and get his knee spot on before returning which is a bonus after playing through it last season for us. Richards I think is proving to be an excellent signing already for me, and has the potential to be a bit of a maverick but his run out of defence at the weekend when he could have won us the game shows what else he brings to the side.

Amavi looks like he is a genuinely class act on the left, the best we have had there possibly since Staunton in his first stint, or Bouma when he was at the height of his powers. Going forward excellent and defensively decent, but will improve as he adapts. We have seen little of Crespo, and may not, but at right back I have a feeling we may see some of Ilori before long. Fast, good on the ball and an eye for a pass, I can see him being converted.

Gueye in my opinion has been better, and more consistent in his play over the first 4 games that Delph was. He looks an absolute steal to me, and we will be fighting to keep him next summer I am sure of it. His turn to lose the man and then play in Amavi for the second at the weekend was brilliant, but he did it again for the Richards chance too, he weights his passes well and breaks the play up like a terrier, fast becoming my favourite player in the side. Vertout looks classy to me. Give him 6-12 months and he will be ace, he has that bit of something about him. A bit Petrov like when he first arrived at the moment, given a few months I think he will show why the French analysts though he was the biggest coup of our French escapades.

Sanchez deserves a mention for how he seems to have now settled, I thought he was really great at Palace and again against Sunderland, and Westwood seems to be relishing getting forward more too, so the midfield looks transformed compared to last season, and I have not once sat watching us thinking mmmm, I wish Cleverly was out there.

Up front Gesete is a horse for a course quite clearly, and will need time to adapt. Great threat in the air and will score goals if we give him chances I think, and maybe deserves a bit of patience from us. Ayew likewise, I don't get how easily he has been written off and I hope he adapts in time. I think a bit more upper body strength and he has all the attributes to do well. Sinclair could easily be bargain of the season at 2.5m though, always finds space in the opposition box and seems to just sniff out chances. Add in Traore, who I doubt there is a defender in the league that really fancies playing against him, and we have got some good attacking talent. Even more encouraging is that Grealish looks like he is adding a final ball to his armour, and he looked a different class in the Palace and Notts County games. Plus Kozak is fit, still here, and does score goals if the others are failing to do so, so we have got options.

All in all you can't really argue with the business we have done, and not all will come off, but you have to be pretty satisfied to have got in the potential we have. There will inevitably be growing pains though.

[tomd2103]

I don't think we'll miss Delph, we'll miss Benteke for a while though. Imagine him on the end of Amavi crosses, and Gil/Grealish/Traore crosses and passes! That said, we're hopefully going to be a stronger team now, and rather than just stop Benteke, the opposition have more than one player to worry about.

Agree, but I just can't help but think what our team would have looked liked with those two alongside our current signings.

                       Guzan

Bacuna      Richards    Lescott    Amavi

                 Gueye       Delph

 Traore             Grealish        Sinclair

                         Benteke

Top ten side no problem.

[enigma]

I reckon we'd have been pushing top ten with someone like Charlie Austen who would consistently put away the chances we create.

I just can't understand how a proven Premier League goalscorer has been left stranded in the Championship.

[Axl Rose]

Very satisfied. Would have been interesting to see Adebayor, but the bloke seems to have a screw loose-not what we need in the dressing room. I think Gestede will prove a lot of people wrong. give him time. Same with Ayew.

I'm satisfied mainly, because having watched every game so far this season, there have been points where I've genuinely enjoyed watching us play again. This has been an absolute rarity over the last 5 years.

Well done to all involved for what they've brought in.

[Toronto Villa]

Truth is it was never going to get completely fixed in one window but we've taken a huge step forwards especially when you consider we also lost two key players. Overall we are in much stronger position today than how we ended the season which ultimately is the objective after every transfer window.