Aston Villa vs AFC Bournemouth pre match thread

[Pete3206]

Same team as last week for me

[Richard E]

It’s tempting to assume that because they’re not Spurs we’ll win, but Bournemouth aren’t mugs so there’s no room for complacency. The team’s attitude will need to be spot on and I’m confident it will be. 2-1 Villa but it’ll be close.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.

[brontebilly]

i've only got one point

that is we should play our best 11 players for every game in this league

that might change depending on the opposition, but i didn't think Taylor was good enough for us in the Championship so i certainly dont think he should be holding down a premier league birth
i suppose it all comes down to how high you rate him, Smith obviously thinks he's good enough so we have to go with him for better or worse

Smith has to weigh up the team he's facing, look to negate their positives, as well as pick a fluid, balanced team ourselves. I think this means we're going to use players that, on paper, stat for stat, aren't as good, but that will deliver more for the team in and the tactical solutions Deano is looking to deliver against a given opponent.

I honestly don't think there is night and day between Targett and Taylor, or Elmo and Guilbert. Experience, tactical awareness and work rate is a good top-up to lacking talent too.

It's a big melting pot of things isn't it.

If there isn't night and day between Taylor and Targett then we really have pissed £14m up the wall completely.

My thoughts exactly. To be honest I think Smith bottled his team selection with a late crisis of confidence. Maybe the Leipzig friendly played into that thinking as they seemed to get a lot of chances from our left back position. But Taylor and Elmo at their peak weren't good enough for this level and certainly aren't now. Lansbury ahead of Marvellous on the bench was very strange too.

If we are to be a ball playing side, all indications are that's the way Smith wants us to play, then we certainly need better footballers at full back than Elmo and Taylor particularly. For a home game v Bournemouth to play those two means restricting our ability to keep the ball.

Luiz has had a limited pre season so he won't be up to 90 minutes just yet, best to hold in reserve. Jota did nothing to deserve a start. A lot more needed from Grealish, El Ghazi and Wesley.

[KRS]

I disagree...I don’t think Dean bottled anything and made wise decisions with his team selection against Spurs.

Clearly Elmo and Taylor are experienced heads in this team, and more defensive minded than both Guilbert and Targett. Away at last seasons Champions League finalists and 4th best team in the Premier League on the first game of the season, it has to be about containing them and playing on the counter. It could have been a cricket score with Guilbert and Targett playing in an unfamiliar defence, and they will be introduced over several games until they are ready to start and play 90 minutes.

Similarly, Marvelous and Luiz only joined up with the squad a couple of weeks ago so they both need to settle and be introduced slowly into the team game by game. Throwing them into the firing line at Spurs would have been a mistake. Like you say, Luiz isn’t ready to start yet and clearly it was a step too far to have both new midfielders as options from the bench.

I think we’ll see a few changes to the starting lineup against Bournemouth and may be more game time for a couple of the new players depending on how the game plays out in the second half. If Dean plays the same starting XI then he clearly thinks they aren’t ready yet and we just have to be patient for them to get up to speed.

[Risso]

The starting 11 he picked against Spurs is for the large part a Championship team, and won't win many games at all.  Just doing 'alright' isn't going to cut it at this level.  Depending on Mings and Engels to repel attacks becaause the rest of the team aren't as good will just get us relegated.  To repeat myself, if Targett isn't ready to start ahead of Taylor, than we have wasted a huge amount of money.

[Chris Smith]

When you sign a player on a 3 year contract suggesting we might have wasted our money after one game seems a little premature. I suspect Targett will feature heavily over the course of the season but having two players competing for the shirt should keep both on their toes.

[Sexual Ealing]

Last week was an opportunity for players to go above their level and stand out in adversity - obviously most weren't going to because there was a pretty fierce opposition trying to stop them from doing so. Engels, Mings, McGinn and Trezeguet (fist half) did so - Heaton, as brilliant as he was, doesn't count because we know he can do it. The rest worked hard. I don't think we can judge anything meaningful about them based on last week. It starts now.

[SoccerHQ]

Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.

He's out for three months.

Their main strength is Calum Wilson, King and Fraser on counter attack. Keep those three quiet and I reckon we'll win the game as rest of team is as good if not better in other areas plus 40k VP crowd in bouncing mood which always helps.

Think Bournemouth had joint worst defence away from home last season so certainly a side we should be scoring a couple against.

[KRS]

We certainly have goals in this team so we need to go on the front foot and get at them from the off.

In the words of Monty Phyton..."Welease Wesley!"

[CT Villan]

Play on the front foot and we'll win and keep a clean sheet.

Sit too deep and we'll lose.

The only change to the starting XI I would make would be Guilbert in for Elmo, with a view to bringing Douglas on after 55-60 mins. I'd also have Marvelous and Keinan on the bench too.

[Clampy]

I was surprised as anyone at some of last weeks team but i'm sure players like Targett will be picked and it's up to them to make the position their own. Suggesting we've may have wasted our money just because he didn't start in the first match of the season is ridiculous and smacks of the impatience that is around nowadays.

[sid1964]

1-1 we will score early.

For me the changes would be Luiz for Hourihane and I would play the French right back

UTV

[Dazvillain]

Think Brooks was injured for their first game of the season.

He's out for three months.

Their main strength is Calum Wilson, King and Fraser on counter attack. Keep those three quiet and I reckon we'll win the game as rest of team is as good if not better in other areas plus 40k VP crowd in bouncing mood which always helps.

Think Bournemouth had joint worst defence away from home last season so certainly a side we should be scoring a couple against.

I’m sure Harry Wilson will be involved this week too, I do like him, but not tomorrow

[Risso]

I was surprised as anyone at some of last weeks team but i'm sure players like Targett will be picked and it's up to them to make the position their own. Suggesting we've may have wasted our money just because he didn't start in the first match of the season is ridiculous and smacks of the impatience that is around nowadays.

Except nobody said that.  You'd have to be of very limited intelligence to infer that from what was actually said.  Not that that's you of course.