This is our 2nd season of mediocrity in a decade.
Quote from: pauliewalnuts on May 19, 2022, 10:09:00 PMQuote from: Risso on May 19, 2022, 10:08:31 PMToo many ordinary players. Watkins, McGinn, Luiz, nowhere near good enough. If we get offered stupid money for those, I'd let all three go.Me too, although I like McGinn and Watkins they are being linked with moves for fees way above their value. Luiz I do not rate, and would take the money and run if anyone offered to buy him.Think the real challenge is in shifting on Wesley (surely our worst ever big money signing), Trez, El Ghazi, Traore, Sanson and other fringe players that are unlikely to see much gametime next season.
Quote from: Risso on May 19, 2022, 10:08:31 PMToo many ordinary players. Watkins, McGinn, Luiz, nowhere near good enough. If we get offered stupid money for those, I'd let all three go.
Too many ordinary players. Watkins, McGinn, Luiz, nowhere near good enough.
Listening to Garry Thompson on WM last night on the way back from the ""bore fest" he said that for Villa to progress they need a whole new spine of the team, Centre Halves, DM and a striker - that is going to cost a lot of moneyThe players we have now are okay for mid table to 15th in the league, if we are to really have a go at getting into a European competition in the next 2 seasons (5 year plan) we do need far better quality than we have.Hopefully the owners will back the manager in the transfer market.
Quote from: Ads on May 20, 2022, 01:48:54 AMThis is our 2nd season of mediocrity in a decade.Beautifully concise and entirely accurate. If anything, the first half of last season was against the trend. Like it or not, we're still re-establishing ourselves in the top division.After Gerrard's initial success, some people were posting that they expected a top 8 finish. It's not been three years since the PO final. We have made huge progress.
Quote from: Rory on May 20, 2022, 02:20:49 AMQuote from: Ads on May 20, 2022, 01:48:54 AMThis is our 2nd season of mediocrity in a decade.Beautifully concise and entirely accurate. If anything, the first half of last season was against the trend. Like it or not, we're still re-establishing ourselves in the top division.After Gerrard's initial success, some people were posting that they expected a top 8 finish. It's not been three years since the PO final. We have made huge progress.I'm not a fan of using one of our historic low points as a barometer. It's a bit like comparing ourselves to the Blues. However it did get me thinking about how we have performed compared to other promoted teams. Based on last five years:2017 Newcastle 10th 13th 13th 12th 10th-13thBrighton 15th 17th 15th 16th 9th-13thHuddersfield 16th 20th2018Wolves 7th 7th 13th 8th-10thCardiff 18thFulham 19th2019Norwich 20th Us 17th 11th 14thSheff U 9th 20th2020Leeds 9th 17th-18thAlbion 19thFulham 18th2021Norwich 19th-20thWatford 19th-20thBrentford 10th-12thSo while we have clearly made a better fist of things than most it is quite sobering to see we are about the level of Mike Ashley's Newcastle and worse than Wolves.
We've finished with our 2nd highest points tally since 2011. We've finished midtable for the 2nd time since then and achieved a boring end of no relegation fight and no European fight.The club has to now kick on. But the idea we have been mediocre for years is fanciful. We've been shit for a decade, following a brief bit of mediocrity, before being pretty good actually.
Maybe only a minor point but I thought it was really poor that Purslow and Lange didn't stick around to watch the lap of appreciation last night. They disappeared in about a minute after the final whistle, having sat there looking glum all evening. The only club related person who waited and applauded the players was Sir Brian.