Summer Transfer Thread and Gustavo Cisneros Type Rumours.

[SoccerHQ]

If we don’t sign anyone I can only think that he’s going to play the four attacking players and 2 midfield but I shudder at the thought of any of those in a midfield 2 except McGinn. We’ll be in for some high scoring games that’s for sure, not sure if we’ll be on the right end of them. It’ll be like when Spurs had Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Bent and the manager at the time trying to fit 3 or 4 in at a time. He didn’t last long from memory.

Poor from Dean if that's the case. Got to be more creative than just putting them all out on the pitch and crossing his fingers.

Bit like Solskjaer having a front 4 of Rashford-Ronaldo-Cavani-Sancho and then having Pogba and Fernandes as middle two, it won't happen as they'd be ridiculous unbalanced and picked apart so 2-3 will go on the bench so same should happen here although AEG and Traore are easy picks for impact sub option.

[robleflaneur]

As we were supposedly interested in Rafinha,Thiago's brother,at PSG and Cheick Doucoure,a young Ligue 1 midfielder,I'm hopeful ,well praying actually,that we'll bring in a DCM.
If we wanted a cheap upgrade on Nakamba,then I would suggest Milner,Milner and Young..what's G.Barry doing ? And also,Matt Grimes of Swansea,reads the game well,decent tackler and accurate passer.Not sure about other countries ,not a Sky subscriber.

[not3bad]

I agree we need a central midfielder but if the right deal was not there it wasn't there. I'm still feeling positive about the new season and think we could see some great performances from Villa.

[john e]

If we don’t sign anyone I can only think that he’s going to play the four attacking players and 2 midfield but I shudder at the thought of any of those in a midfield 2 except McGinn. We’ll be in for some high scoring games that’s for sure, not sure if we’ll be on the right end of them. It’ll be like when Spurs had Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Bent and the manager at the time trying to fit 3 or 4 in at a time. He didn’t last long from memory.

Never going to happen Smith is not that sort of manager
This is the guy who when we were 1-1 at home against a newly promoted side his first change was to bring on a defensive midfielder who is more defensive than the one he took off
So any talk of him going all Kevin Keegan is very misplaced

Gung ho and cavalier are not a part of Smith make up
Against Watford and Brentford we went behind, I don’t know why we can’t start on the front foot and attack teams like they do us, we stroll around thinking we are better than we really are then get caught
It’s the managers job to get them firing straight away from kickoff I haven’t seen it very often

[sickbeggar]

I agree we need a central midfielder but if the right deal was not there it wasn't there. I'm still feeling positive about the new season and think we could see some great performances from Villa.

The whole squad is looking a bit threadbare now though. I understand getting rid of squad players the manager doesn't fancy, but take out the kids and there's not much there really. Lots of players filling more than one role, a loan centre half, presumably Watkins and ings playing together so only kids for cover there.

[Monty]

Personally I shudder most at the thought of McGinn in a deep midfield two. Luiz makes clear sense in one - McGinn is basically ruined there.

But, to be honest, get used to it. The more you look at it, not just who we've signed but who we've gone for (i.e Ward Prowse as well as Ings), it looks like the plan is to replicate the Southampton high-press low-retention 4-2-2-2. That's why the two big money centre forwards, that's why the inside forward and the wide-right playmaker, and frankly that's why we've looked so planless, disjointed in the 4-3-3 and incoherent in midfield. The plan isn't too be coherent playing through the middle - it's to prioritise energy and overloads in the final third. I personally think this is a bit of an all or nothing, let's-hope-to-God-the-first-eleven-is-fit kind of strategy. But that's what I suspect it is, and maybe it'll work.

[PaulWinch again]

Squad is too thin to loan out the likes of Conor and Guilbert if we can’t find the right deals for players. The start of the season with injuries and COVID should have made it very clear we’re light. Ash is a fine signing as a left back, but there are no circumstances where he should be starting left wing and especially centre-mid. That screams of a lack of depth.

[ASHTONVILLA]

There does seem to be a degree of a post Grealish existential crisis going on, that was delayed to an extent by the surprise signing of Ings, but now after a poor performance to Watford and a meh performance to Brentford with more than half the first team out, seems to be gathering pace. Areas of the team team that did well last season , such as Cash and even Martinez are being over analysed as somehow lacking. The midfield is the same midfield as last year, except Ramsey has a year more experience and we simply don’t know what Sanson can or can’t do. I would suggest the axis of Bailey, Buendia, Watkins and Ings is key to where we will finish this season.

Unless he is sensible and leaves one of that four on the bench each game then I would suggest it is the axis of McGinn plus one from Luiz/Sanson/Nakamba that will determine where we will finish. Which will be bottom half without addressing the midfield.

I still think we will sign 1 or two decent players tomorrow though.

[Ian.]

I must admit I really hoped and thought we may get JWP. I was convinced he would be a perfect fit for our style of play. Since then it’s gone so quiet and the rumblings to seem to suggest Smith is happy. I’ve said it before but a signing of his calibre could really life the morale of the fans after losing Grealish.

[Clark W Griswold]

If we don’t sign anyone I can only think that he’s going to play the four attacking players and 2 midfield but I shudder at the thought of any of those in a midfield 2 except McGinn. We’ll be in for some high scoring games that’s for sure, not sure if we’ll be on the right end of them. It’ll be like when Spurs had Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Bent and the manager at the time trying to fit 3 or 4 in at a time. He didn’t last long from memory.

Never going to happen Smith is not that sort of manager
This is the guy who when we were 1-1 at home against a newly promoted side his first change was to bring on a defensive midfielder who is more defensive than the one he took off
So any talk of him going all Kevin Keegan is very misplaced

Gung ho and cavalier are not a part of Smith make up
Against Watford and Brentford we went behind, I don’t know why we can’t start on the front foot and attack teams like they do us, we stroll around thinking we are better than we really are then get caught
It’s the managers job to get them firing straight away from kickoff I haven’t seen it very often

I hope you’re right. :-)

[ROBBO]

The whole situations puzzling to me, there is something going on behind the scenes, the players we have bought in were probably earmarked anyway, Buendia was already here, it looks to me that Grealish leaving has had more impact  on the club not just the fan base. In net terms we have spent nothing and yet with one or two quality players we could still be a top six contender, to me there seems a disjoint between team manager and club management which doesn't bode well for DS should we begin to struggle.

[Steve67]

John McGinn and Douglas Luiz are now the mainstay of our midfield.  Two very inconsistent players who get booked a lot, don't carry a particularly good physical presence and in McGinn's case, give the ball away far two often. When they are good, they can be great but how often does that happen? And it might be as a two this season as we may end up playing with two wingers and two forwards in Ings and Ollie?   Sanson is untested, Nakamba simply isn't good enough.  Ramsey and Chuck will be very good but are young and players they can learn from, playing next to them.  If we are playing a two, then I understand why we are not in for anyone as we are stacked in the centre of the park.  However, if we are to continue with 4-3-3 then we need a classy, influential head in the centre of midfield.

[tomd2103]

I hope I am wrong but I have a really bad sense of foreboding that I just can't shake off about this season.

j

I think it might be a bit like the Houllier seaso, in that we have a lot of absences and are a bit all over the place in the early part of the season, only for it to come together as players return later on and have a fairly strong finish.

May be completely wrong, but something just doesn't seem quite right at the club at the moment.

[brian green]

My thoughts exactly.

[robleflaneur]

If we don’t sign anyone I can only think that he’s going to play the four attacking players and 2 midfield but I shudder at the thought of any of those in a midfield 2 except McGinn. We’ll be in for some high scoring games that’s for sure, not sure if we’ll be on the right end of them. It’ll be like when Spurs had Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Bent and the manager at the time trying to fit 3 or 4 in at a time. He didn’t last long from memory.

Never going to happen Smith is not that sort of manager
This is the guy who when we were 1-1 at home against a newly promoted side his first change was to bring on a defensive midfielder who is more defensive than the one he took off
So any talk of him going all Kevin Keegan is very misplaced

Gung ho and cavalier are not a part of Smith make up
Against Watford and Brentford we went behind, I don’t know why we can’t start on the front foot and attack teams like they do us, we stroll around thinking we are better than we really are then get caught
It’s the managers job to get them firing straight away from kickoff I haven’t seen it very often

This is rather unfair.Nakamba for Chuk was the right call as the game was passing him by and we needed to get hold of midfield. Difficult to attack without the ball.
Smith in his first year pre lockdown in the PL had us too expansive and open.  Slow starters. After the restart we were more compact and resilient.Can you describe a manager who oversaw a 7-2 slaughter of the league champions as being timid ? His Brentford team played fluent and expressive football.Slow starters ? Last year early on  took Burnley apart and Spurs the previous year  but lost both.Contrast last year v Spurs away,lost an early goal but with a solid base provided by Nakamba and a good defence,we played them off the park.
Without a solid defence and a midfield able to provide some protection then PL sides can take you apart as Eddie Howe found out to his cost when his forwards for  once could not compensate for the defensive weaknesses.