January Transfer Window - The Verdict.

[pauliewalnuts]

Whatever way we wrap it up, if Watkins gets injured we are fucked.

It's not like it's likely to be raining goals with him, either.

[pauliewalnuts]

Just glad it’s over.

This I do agree with.

I was watching the SSN coverage last night and felt dirty for doing it. Like I do after giving in to temptation and eating a KFC mighty bucket for one. Guilty.

It's so mind numbingly fucking crushing and hyped beyond belief, I hate it.

But I can't help getting reeled in like the weak spirit I undoubtedly am.

[simboy]

Whatever way we wrap it up, if Watkins gets injured we are fucked.

It's not like it's likely to be raining goals with him, either.

remind me, the last time it did?

[LeeB]

I think it was about 2008

[manic-road]

Looking at transfers made across the month of January I don’t think that many top players have moved as clubs don’t want to sell half way through a season. Only Chelsea seems to have got players that they wanted, and they have spent way overt the odds to get them.

Getting rid of fringe players is fine by me, it doesn’t look like our targets were being allowed to leave in January. If we were to buy any players, I want them to be an upgrade on current first teamers.

I hope that the managers targets are being persuaded in the background to move in the summer to Villa when clubs are more likely to sell.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I’m torn. Whist on the one had it seems ludicrous to let 2 of three centre forwards go, I’m also glad we aren’t just buying people for the sake of it.

I’d have kept Ings , even it wiped a chunk off he’s value in the summer. Or even loaned him with a view to buy in the summer ( assuming a recall was  possible )

Maybe Uni can get a tune out of Bert. But really he’s more cover for Bailey than a striker.

Hopefully we get lucky with injuries for the next few months

For me the big question is can Emery get a tune out of Ollie Watkins. If he can return Ollie to getting the goals he was getting a couple of seasons back, we'll be fine providing he avoids the obvious injuries that would leave us relying on playing false nines.

[old man villa fan]

How you view where we stand now after Emery's first few games will probably define how you rate the transfer window.

Have we under achieved, achieved what we should have or over achieved.  If the latter, there will be more players that will need replacing than look apparent.

My first impressions are that he is working on units around the pitch.  He has started on how to defend and play the ball out from the back with focus on the actual defenders and how they work with the midfield.  I think the next phase is the midfield working with the forwards.  Once that is firmly established it will by the type and quality of forwards we need.

For me, the jury is still out on a number of players that are in the first team if we are going to be a team that is consistently above 8th in the table.  Football is not about individuals it is a team game and how those individuals complement and combine with others.  Getting it right and building that sound base takes time due to not everything working how you expect or want it to work.

I was talking to a Wolves fan at work yesterday and discussing the year they played in Europe.  His view was that it screwed them up for a long time because of the amount of games that had to play and the very early start to the season.  You have to be ready for it with an established squad of players.  Even with a couple of extra players in the window just gone and a few players in the summer,  I do not think we would be ready.  We have been fighting an uphill battle since we were promoted with it seeming as though every game was a must win game.  One of the reasons why I believe we have not been able to develop young players around the first team.

[murgsy]

Looking at Ollie's stats - they seem consistent over the last 6 seasons about 1 goal in 3 games or below. His last season at Brentford was the exception. After that it went back to 10-14 goals a season. Maybe he is a wide player who had a freak good season as a makeshift striker?

 

I’m torn. Whist on the one had it seems ludicrous to let 2 of three centre forwards go, I’m also glad we aren’t just buying people for the sake of it.

I’d have kept Ings , even it wiped a chunk off he’s value in the summer. Or even loaned him with a view to buy in the summer ( assuming a recall was  possible )

Maybe Uni can get a tune out of Bert. But really he’s more cover for Bailey than a striker.

Hopefully we get lucky with injuries for the next few months

For me the big question is can Emery get a tune out of Ollie Watkins. If he can return Ollie to getting the goals he was getting a couple of seasons back, we'll be fine providing he avoids the obvious injuries that would leave us relying on playing false nines.

[Baldy]

If there was a quality player out there who we could of got in January to strengthen our squad, I would seriously question his mentality, attitude and commitment if he was prepared to abandon his existing club to join us mid season. We don't want 'me,me,me' players at the club. We want team players.

Would you want Anthony Gordon next to you in the trenches? Me neither

Newcastle fans never seem to stop whinging about the mentality and attitude of Trippier and Guimares.

For all we know Trippier could be shagging a Geordie lass and Guimares hairdresser moved to Newcastle!!   They are exceptions to the rule, obviously lured by tonnes of blood money and have no moral scruples.

Newcastle are 'one headline' away from disaster. Let's see how Trippier/Guimares/Newcastle fans handle that situation.

[not3bad]

Some Aston Villa fans were frustrated by the club's underwhelming final weeks of the January transfer window, but it wasn't for the lack of trying.

Unai Emery is determined to build a team which is capable of consistently challenging for European football. That will only happen if Villa improve their first XI, allowing the overall squad to improve with more competition for places following the arrivals of quality individuals.

There was money available for Emery to spend last month and he will be backed heavily in the summer window by owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. But shelling out huge transfer fees just because Villa happen to be three points from the top six is a short-term approach which the club's ownership do not want to be tempted into.

Granted, if Villa broke their transfer record twice last month, Emery's squad would have improved, but simply put, every club is reluctant to sell their top players halfway through the season. An experienced striker was of interest after the sale of Danny Ings, but Emery doesn't want to stockpile players who he sees no use for in the long-term.

Liverpool and Chelsea are both enduring poor seasons, so far, but Villa can forget about competition for the top seven - if they get their own house in order and trust Emery's decision making, they'll get there, just like Leicester City and West Ham have done in recent years. Villa will then become the latest club to threaten the upper echelons of English football.

The difference is, Villa intend to stick at the top, not only qualify for European football one season and struggle to cope with those demands in the years to follow. Therefore, Emery will only sign the players who he knows will improve his squad, rather than plug gaps for short-term gain.

By John Townley Football writer

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/nswe-avoided-aston-villa-transfer-26126543

One thing, if this is "the official line from the club" and there is that feel to it, then they have stated they are going to heavily back Emery in the Summer so that's something to keep in mind.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Looking at Ollie's stats - they seem consistent over the last 6 seasons about 1 goal in 3 games or below. His last season at Brentford was the exception. After that it went back to 10-14 goals a season. Maybe he is a wide player who had a freak good season as a makeshift striker?

His current stats are every one in 4.2 games (4 goals in 19 games), decent numbers for a centre half but not your only striker. We've all seen him lead the line, score some cracking goals over the years, more recently we've all seen the ball bounce off him, look like he's wearing Ronald McDonald's shoes and run around like an excited labrador. Maybe Ollie's strengths were not lost on Emery and realised we needed wingers and attacking full backs to get the crosses into the box early for him to attack. It was top of his shopping list afterall.

If we can speed up our passing game and play to his strengths I reckon we'll see a return of the player that joined us from Brentford. Slow build ups, passing it back and forth by our central defenders to either hoof it up front or play it into Luiz or Kamara won't bring us the required results. Counter attacking and early balls into the box are what Watkins thrives on. At least until the end of the season we'll have to adapt to his strengths.

[paul_e]

Looking at Ollie's stats - they seem consistent over the last 6 seasons about 1 goal in 3 games or below. His last season at Brentford was the exception. After that it went back to 10-14 goals a season. Maybe he is a wide player who had a freak good season as a makeshift striker?

Split the difference and say 12 a season. Get that regularly and you'll be consistently in the top 15 scorers in the league, the idea that it's not good enough is some bizarre myth based around the idea that you need a 20 a season striker, which hasn't been true for ages, it's probably 20 years or more since every team in the title race had a player like that. Even if you allow people that aren't strikers. Almost all of the top sides across Europe in that time have had ~10 goals from 3-4 players and that's exactly what we should be aiming for.

For the rest of this season, if I were Emery (well, a different Emery), I'd be challenging Watkins, Bailey, Traore and Buendia to get 5 each and Ramsey, McGinn and Doug to get 2-3. If they all meet those targets, and no one else scores, we'd average 1.5 goals a game and will be well in the mix for the top 7. The worst thing is, if that happens we will still have people moaning that if Watkins scored more we'd be better and we'll start the summer with the same arguments about needing a 'goalscorer'.

[Toronto Villa]

I’m torn. Whist on the one had it seems ludicrous to let 2 of three centre forwards go, I’m also glad we aren’t just buying people for the sake of it.

I’d have kept Ings , even it wiped a chunk off he’s value in the summer. Or even loaned him with a view to buy in the summer ( assuming a recall was  possible )

Maybe Uni can get a tune out of Bert. But really he’s more cover for Bailey than a striker.

Hopefully we get lucky with injuries for the next few months

For me the big question is can Emery get a tune out of Ollie Watkins. If he can return Ollie to getting the goals he was getting a couple of seasons back, we'll be fine providing he avoids the obvious injuries that would leave us relying on playing false nines.

I think we need to make sure Ollie has plenty of support around him. The goal we scored at Spurs when he seized on the error and laid it off to Emi is exactly what he needs to contribute. If you can’t score look up and find someone who can. Too often Ollie gets into great positions and tries to do too much. The balance of the season is a dress rehearsal for him for next season but a pressing need to keep getting goals from others. And it would be fucking useful if the real Philippe Coutinho showed up. That would be a game changer.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I’m torn. Whist on the one had it seems ludicrous to let 2 of three centre forwards go, I’m also glad we aren’t just buying people for the sake of it.

I’d have kept Ings , even it wiped a chunk off he’s value in the summer. Or even loaned him with a view to buy in the summer ( assuming a recall was  possible )

Maybe Uni can get a tune out of Bert. But really he’s more cover for Bailey than a striker.

Hopefully we get lucky with injuries for the next few months

For me the big question is can Emery get a tune out of Ollie Watkins. If he can return Ollie to getting the goals he was getting a couple of seasons back, we'll be fine providing he avoids the obvious injuries that would leave us relying on playing false nines.

I think we need to make sure Ollie has plenty of support around him. The goal we scored at Spurs when he seized on the error and laid it off to Emi is exactly what he needs to contribute. If you can’t score look up and find someone who can. Too often Ollie gets into great positions and tries to do too much. The balance of the season is a dress rehearsal for him for next season but a pressing need to keep getting goals from others. And it would be fucking useful if the real Philippe Coutinho showed up. That would be a game changer.

True and as Paul said, there are others that need to chip in too. The point is Emery has got to find a way to maximise Watkins as well as those around him obviously.

[murgsy]

Thinking of Ollie's stats - looked up Dembele's - not thta impressive apart from one season at Lyon - and not great recently....could have ended up with a panic buy