Youri Tielemans

[Risso]

The trouble is, he's basically behind Luiz and Kamara for a spot, and while Kamara has the odd dodgy game, those two are very much Unai's preferred central midfield two, in the same way that Watkins and Diaby are the preferred duo up front. Barring an injury (please god no) or a sustained drop in form, he's always going to be a sub in league games, and potential starter in Europe only. He doesn't really seem to have it in him to play in one of the wide places.

[AV84]

I get the impression that Emery would like to have options for the starting 11, and that ideally Tielemans would offer something different to Luiz or Kamara, and depending on the opposition he'd be starting some games.

It's a difficult position to be in, I suppose, given the opportunities he's had to start have come in very disjointed lineups. Luiz is, I think, one card away from a suspension, so it's possible he'll get an opportunity soon to start a league game, and it's potentially against Luton or Forrest, so you'd really be looking at that being an ideal opportunity for him to stake his claim.

[brontebilly]

The trouble is, he's basically behind Luiz and Kamara for a spot, and while Kamara has the odd dodgy game, those two are very much Unai's preferred central midfield two, in the same way that Watkins and Diaby are the preferred duo up front. Barring an injury (please god no) or a sustained drop in form, he's always going to be a sub in league games, and potential starter in Europe only. He doesn't really seem to have it in him to play in one of the wide places.

Agreed and that was my concern with signing him from the start. Think we should have brought in someone capable of playing on the sides of midfield to cover McGinn and Ramsey. As it is we have no one and Tielemans is competing with our best player. Luiz is one of the best midfielders in the division, it's going to take an injury to give Tielemans a proper run. Tielemans has been better last couple of games but strikes me as kind of guy better cycling down wind.

[Clark W Griswold]

The trouble is, he's basically behind Luiz and Kamara for a spot, and while Kamara has the odd dodgy game, those two are very much Unai's preferred central midfield two, in the same way that Watkins and Diaby are the preferred duo up front. Barring an injury (please god no) or a sustained drop in form, he's always going to be a sub in league games, and potential starter in Europe only. He doesn't really seem to have it in him to play in one of the wide places.

Very true but if he’d continued playing like he did in a couple of the pre season games I think he would have been rotated into the bigger games and played more than he has. Since the season started he’s played like a stand in, so that’s what he is, as you rightly say.

[OCD]

I thought Tielemans had a good second half in the last conference game. The kind of performance where you can see positive signs that he might be starting to settle in.

[Dante Lavelli]

The trouble is, he's basically behind Luiz and Kamara for a spot, and while Kamara has the odd dodgy game, those two are very much Unai's preferred central midfield two, in the same way that Watkins and Diaby are the preferred duo up front. Barring an injury (please god no) or a sustained drop in form, he's always going to be a sub in league games, and potential starter in Europe only. He doesn't really seem to have it in him to play in one of the wide places.

Very true but if he’d continued playing like he did in a couple of the pre season games I think he would have been rotated into the bigger games and played more than he has. Since the season started he’s played like a stand in, so that’s what he is, as you rightly say.

An in form Tielemans would fit in a 433 formation so should be considered an alternative for McGinn and Ramsey too.
Hopefully he quickly reaches the point where he is trusted and we can properly rotate a bit more, reducing the risk of burnout of Kamara and Luis.

[SamTheMouse]

Well that article puts to bed any doubts about his attitude. He's just struggling to get to grips with Emery's style, which is understandable, as it is very *demanding*.

He'll come good.

[tomd2103]

The trouble is, he's basically behind Luiz and Kamara for a spot, and while Kamara has the odd dodgy game, those two are very much Unai's preferred central midfield two, in the same way that Watkins and Diaby are the preferred duo up front. Barring an injury (please god no) or a sustained drop in form, he's always going to be a sub in league games, and potential starter in Europe only. He doesn't really seem to have it in him to play in one of the wide places.

He must have known that there was a chance he wouldn't be in the first choice pairing to.begin with, unless of course someone sold him.a complete crock during discussions.

[AV84]

He must have known that there was a chance he wouldn't be in the first choice pairing to.begin with, unless of course someone sold him.a complete crock during discussions.

I could be wrong but, again, I think Emery's aim when adding players this summer was that we really wouldn't have a starting 11, bar a handful of players, and there would be a lot more rotation between games and competitions. But between injuries and players not meeting his high standards, we've ended up having to stick with the same 9 or 10 players for league games, and wholesale rotation in the other competitions has been dodgy, at best.

It's not too hard to belive that Tielemans was sold the idea of there being room for several players in similar positions and everyone getting lots of game time, but that's not how things have played out. Although, and he kind of admits it himself, he has a part to play in that too.

[jwarry]

I think the article Amy’s a lot about Brendan Rogers and that he’s not as good as he thinks he is

[JD]

I think Unai is probably teaching him to become more adaptable, like he has done with Doug. The players need to be more adaptable to what Unai wants.
Risso is right, he is behind Kamara and Luiz and when he has had a chance to start he hasn't really taken the opportunity. It's still good as a Villa fan to have someone like Tielemans as a squad player though. It's a sign of how far we have come in the last few years,   

[Drummond]

Agree with that JD. Days gone by he'd have been a shoe-in to start, regardless of performance levels.

He's a talented player taking time to adapt, and it's clear he feels he's learnt a lot in just a few months. I look forward to him coming on strongly after Christmas as we're continuing our challenge for three trophies...

[AV82EC]

Agree with that JD. Days gone by he'd have been a shoe-in to start, regardless of performance levels.

He's a talented player taking time to adapt, and it's clear he feels he's learnt a lot in just a few months. I look forward to him coming on strongly after Christmas as we're continuing our challenge for three trophies...

This seems to me the most sensible take on the situation. Emery is an elite coach and it may take some players time to adapt to his methodologies. Our tendency as fans to massively overreact in our analysis to any performance that’s not 100% perfect is imv the issue here.

[astonvilla82]

Agree with that JD. Days gone by he'd have been a shoe-in to start, regardless of performance levels.

He's a talented player taking time to adapt, and it's clear he feels he's learnt a lot in just a few months. I look forward to him coming on strongly after Christmas as we're continuing our challenge for three trophies...

This seems to me the most sensible take on the situation. Emery is an elite coach and it may take some players time to adapt to his methodologies. Our tendency as fans to massively overreact in our analysis to any performance that’s not 100% perfect is imv the issue here.

Reason we massive overreact is because we read or listen to shit in the media, which I try to ignore now

[Mister E]

...  Tielemans was sold the idea of there being room for several players in similar positions and everyone getting lots of game time, but that's not how things have played out. Although, and he kind of admits it himself, he has a part to play in that too.

He has an overwhelmingly large part to play in that! - up his game, become more team-focussed and offer something different. No player has a divine right to play every week, and I'm convinced that when he really gets with the UE programme, he'll be adding some really good value to the squad's success this season.