Remi Garde - Departs Aston Villa

[Risso]

Guzan better than Bunn? Do me a favour. Neither the stats nor the evidence of my own eyes back up that assertion.

[Dave]

Guzan 2012-2015 is a better keeper. Guzan 2015-16 is quite clearly not.

That's pretty much fair.

[paul_e]

Guzan 2012-2015 is a better keeper. Guzan 2015-16 is quite clearly not.

That's pretty much fair.

I'd go with that as well, I'd suggest this season Guzan is the worst keeper in the league, his confidence completely abandoned him when Sherwood dropped him and then tried to replace him and he's been terrible ever since.  I don't rate Bunn very highly at all but at least he looks like he believes he deserves to be there, Guzan has been playing like he's wanted to hide all year and a keeper just can't do that.  The nerves transfer to the defence and everyone looks on edge.  I don't think they entirely trust Bunn but at least they can see that he's willing to stand up with them.  A new keeper really is a requirement for next year, if we do go down I'd put it at the top of the list because as poor as we are up front I think Kozak and Gestede will both score goals at that level and Ayew will be a class above anyone  in the league.

[ozzjim]

It worries me that Kozak has fractured a bone in his ankle and is out again though. I don't know how much meaningful football we will get out of him.

[Holte L2]

Schmeichel, Huth, Vardy, Drinkwater, Inler

You're joking aren't you?! Anyone suggesting Vardy got booed off on this site when it was floated that we buy him. Schmeicher would have been too if anyone would have even thought of him. Huth has always been considered a donkey on here, and to have suggested signing him would have only pointed to how low we'd sunk...

I've been suggesting  Schmeichel as an upgrade on Guzan for a couple of seasons on here........

[PaulWinch again]

Guzan 2012-2015 is a better keeper. Guzan 2015-16 is quite clearly not.

That's pretty much fair.

Yep I agree. I think ultimately we need a much better keeper. Bunn has done ok so far, but he's not a long term number 1.

[KevinGage]

Guzan 2012-2015 is a better keeper. Guzan 2015-16 is quite clearly not.

That's pretty much fair.

I'd go with that as well, I'd suggest this season Guzan is the worst keeper in the league, his confidence completely abandoned him when Sherwood dropped him and then tried to replace him and he's been terrible ever since.  I don't rate Bunn very highly at all but at least he looks like he believes he deserves to be there, Guzan has been playing like he's wanted to hide all year and a keeper just can't do that.  The nerves transfer to the defence and everyone looks on edge.  I don't think they entirely trust Bunn but at least they can see that he's willing to stand up with them.  A new keeper really is a requirement for next year, if we do go down I'd put it at the top of the list because as poor as we are up front I think Kozak and Gestede will both score goals at that level and Ayew will be a class above anyone  in the league.

Steer is doing OK in that league and Bunn is adequate for lower PL>Championship.

If we stay up, yes, a keeper would be a priority.  But if we go down, I suspect there will be plenty of other holes to fill first. The likes of Veretout and Ayew will be gone almost as soon as we are.

[Risso]

The whole defence is looking much more robust and far less prone to calamities in recent matches.  Whether that's down to dropping Guzan, picking Bunn, the Okore/Lescott partnership or a combination of all of them, it's at least given us a platform to pick something up from every game.  In my opinion Guzan has that perpetually haunted look that you saw on the face of Enckelman post-Blues game, or Scott Carson post-England cock up. I think 4 years of stuffings have knocked the erm, stuffing out of him, and he needs to move on to try to rebuild his career elsewhere.

[Villa in Denmark]

The whole defence is looking much more robust and far less prone to calamities in recent matches.  Whether that's down to dropping Guzan, picking Bunn, the Okore/Lescott partnership or a combination of all of them, it's at least given us a platform to pick something up from every game.  In my opinion Guzan has that perpetually haunted look that you saw on the face of Enckelman post-Blues game, or Scott Carson post-England cock up. I think 4 years of stuffings have knocked the erm, stuffing out of him, and he needs to move on to try to rebuild his career elsewhere.

Agree with all of that. 

If I'd got to guess, I'd say it was the happy combination of Okore and Lescott both reaching proper match fitness and the dropping of Guzan all around the same point giving everyone a let's actually try something new kind of lift.

[paul_e]

Guzan 2012-2015 is a better keeper. Guzan 2015-16 is quite clearly not.

That's pretty much fair.

I'd go with that as well, I'd suggest this season Guzan is the worst keeper in the league, his confidence completely abandoned him when Sherwood dropped him and then tried to replace him and he's been terrible ever since.  I don't rate Bunn very highly at all but at least he looks like he believes he deserves to be there, Guzan has been playing like he's wanted to hide all year and a keeper just can't do that.  The nerves transfer to the defence and everyone looks on edge.  I don't think they entirely trust Bunn but at least they can see that he's willing to stand up with them.  A new keeper really is a requirement for next year, if we do go down I'd put it at the top of the list because as poor as we are up front I think Kozak and Gestede will both score goals at that level and Ayew will be a class above anyone  in the league.

Steer is doing OK in that league and Bunn is adequate for lower PL>Championship.

If we stay up, yes, a keeper would be a priority.  But if we go down, I suspect there will be plenty of other holes to fill first. The likes of Veretout and Ayew will be gone almost as soon as we are.

Lets not assume the worst in terms of players leaving before it becomes clear they want to go, we have no idea whether they'll want to go or if they'll feel responsible and give us a season to get back.  On that basis we should be picking the squad that we want to keep to get ourselves back and looking to plug the gaps in that and, as I say, the glaring hole is goalkeeper for me because Guzan is gone (as Risso says, he has a bit of a PTSD look to him) and I don't see Bunn as being a first choice right now so that leaves us either getting someone in or trusting Steer and having seen Steer a couple of times I'm not sure we should do that just yet.

[Risso]

I tend to agree Paul, but I'm prepared to wait and see with Bunn.  So far, he's had a few flappy moments, but they tend to not have cost us games, and if we do achieve the improbable and stay up, just imagine how high his confidence will be.  Whatever though, I don't think finding a decent keeper for whatever league we find ourselves in August will be as hard as sorting out the striking options.

[pauliewalnuts]

In my opinion Guzan has that perpetually haunted look that you saw on the face of Enckelman post-Blues game, or Scott Carson post-England cock up.

I know what you mean.

Guzan was at most two more cock ups away from getting lumbered with this expression for the rest of his career.

[LeeB]

In my opinion Guzan has that perpetually haunted look that you saw on the face of Enckelman post-Blues game, or Scott Carson post-England cock up.

I know what you mean.

Guzan was at most two more cock ups away from getting lumbered with this expression for the rest of his career.

You've Googled "Thousand Yard Stare" there, haven't you?

[ASHTONVILLA]

The results and lower goals against tally post Guzan speak for themselves and Garde would have to insane to put Guzan back in at the moment.

Bunn has made a big difference. Not because he is a great keeper, he is barely adequate, but bareley adequate is a big improvement on being terrible!

[ASHTONVILLA]

As for Vardy, I regularly saw him playing at Fleetwood and saw nothing that made me think he could make the grade in the Prem.

Good luck to him and to Leicester for taking the punt on him.