John McGinn - signed (Captain)

[aldridgeboy]

Brilliant. Thought he’d be gone this summer 7 months ago.  A fabulous bounce back.

[Brazilian Villain]

Signed four year contract

Great news, on his way to becoming a Villa legend especially if he lifts a trophy in the next year or two.

[eamonn]

Fingers crossed there's no release clause that can be met by one of the money-bags clubs once he's led us to a trophy and into the Champions League this season!

None of them would take him, they're too snobby and all they see is a big arse.
We know different, Unai certainly does. Meatball 4eva!

[Drummond]

A solid and brilliant quality midfield all on decent length contracts. Brilliant news.

He never quits, never stops, and with the right tactics and coaching he thrives.

[Ads]

His form from January 2022 until January 2023 was miles off the pace. I considered his ball retention a huge issue and would have ultimately been satisfied with him going.

But like so many under Emery, his performances have just gone through the roof. He's a better player now and probably one the best value players of the last 20 years.

[Steve67]

Great post Ads, fully agree. Terrific player, totally gets the club and the fans too.

[paul_e]

His form from January 2022 until January 2023 was miles off the pace. I considered his ball retention a huge issue and would have ultimately been satisfied with him going.

But like so many under Emery, his performances have just gone through the roof. He's a better player now and probably one the best value players of the last 20 years.

Yep, agreed. Under Gerrard he was regularly posting pass completion stats of around 60%, that's just not good enough in the premier league as a midfielder. A big part of the problem was the he seemed to have been told that his job was to do what Luiz is now doing for us, and it just wasn't suited to his game at all. That was the biggest problem with Gerrard, he seemed to make all of our midfielders worse by not letting them play their natural game.

[LeeB]

To borrow from the mighty Parliament, he's the Rumpofsteelskin

[dave shelley]

Great news.

[Monty]

Before Emery came in I was starting to come to the melancholy conclusion that he'd gone as far as he could with us. As with so many, however, it turns out this was not actually his fault, that maybe having an actual coach helps bring out the best in players. His performance against Newcastle was the best performance I've ever seen from a player's arse.

[usav]

Put me on the list of "had written him off".  If we get the latter half of the season John McGinn, we have a hell of a player.

Also, is he the best pound for pound signing since Paul McGrath?  2.5m - an absolute steal.

[Brazilian Villain]

Also, is he the best pound for pound signing since Paul McGrath?  2.5m - an absolute steal.

Can't think of many better if you exclude Barry. Mellberg for £5m might be in the conversation, but that was a decent fee back then.

[RamboandBruno]

Signed four year contract

Great news, on his way to becoming a Villa legend especially if he lifts a trophy in the next year or two.

Everything I was going to say. Just love it when SJM is on it, heartbeat of the team.

[Exeter 77]

This had never occurred to me.
https://twitter.com/gazswain/status/1672161363030933504?t=SPpRJIfUpfst7AyDRDo_KA&s=19

[Hookeysmith]

Before Emery came in I was starting to come to the melancholy conclusion that he'd gone as far as he could with us. As with so many, however, it turns out this was not actually his fault, that maybe having an actual coach helps bring out the best in players. His performance against Newcastle was the best performance I've ever seen from a player's arse.

Agree with all that as well as poor in all these areas.
Fitness levels
Ball retention
Failed Hollywood passes
Playing RB when Cash went forward  - WTF was that all about?

As for the game against the Geordies, Dan Burn must still be having therapy - SJM Tortured him so much in that game he should of been sent off for bullying