Our defence

[rougegorge]

I appreciate they are injured but I'd like to see Onana and Kamara as our midfield two with Tielemans pushed further forward, Rogers and Ramsey as the wider players who perhaps mix and match their play.  As for the actual players who call themselves defenders, I haven't been impressed with Torres, other than his passing, Carlos is built like a wardrobe and, sadly, plays like one.  Maatsen will be fine but needs games.  The dutch kid isn't up to this level as yet.  Thank goodness for Emi, that late save was world class.  Steve, the Dutch kid IS Maatsen.

If you're referring to the Serbian kid (Nedeljkovic), he's a full Serbian international and needs games. If we want our fullbacks to be a little more attacking, with pace, then Maatsen and Nedeljkovic outside Mings, Torres and Konsa would be fab!

I think the 'Dutch kid' here is Bogarde

[VillaTim]

Emery set us up to be hard to beat in his first 3-6 months.  Maybe we need to re-learn that again and omit an attacking player? 
However it's hard to judge exactly where we are without Kamara providing the safety net.  Both Luiz and Tielemans have struggled without him.

----------Martinez-----------
Konsa - Mings - Pau - Digne
----Onana------Kamara-----
-----------Tielemans--------
Bailey----Watkins-----Morgan

If everyone was fit and available the above is what I would start.

First off the bench:

Maasten
Cash
McGinn
Barkely
Buendia
Duran

Im not sure about buendia mate. He has been dire every time he has come on. The injury looks to ahve finished him

I didnt really rate him that much as others before the injury but he does look worse than before for sure. The limited game time i think unai agrees

Thought Buendia looked lively when on v Palace , better than Rogers on the day

[Dante Lavelli]

I forgot about Ramsey - who would be before Emi2, but who else as the option to replace Tielemans?

Ramsey > McGinn > Buendia

it’s actually thr position where I think we have most cover.  Whereas I think Bailey is being selected as he’s basically our only winger.

[Accent Guy]

Just came across this shocker of a stat:

"Only Brentford, West Ham, Wolves and Sheffield United (genuinely impressive) have conceded more Premier League goals in 2024 than Villa (53), who have scored 52 in that time."

We really do need to stop conceding silly goals.

[Drummond]

Maybe we should go Bruceball; tighten the defence so we don't concede and try and nick one.

[PaulWinch again]

The defence is part of the problem, but it’s the midfield that is causing the problems. If you track back performance and personnel it’s pretty clear where it started to go wrong and that the defence is a symptom rather than the specific cause (acknowledging there are individual cock ups being made as well).

[PaulWinch again]

And there you go - the defences isn’t incompetent,  once the midfield starts doing its job it looks much more solid.

[Demitri_C]

Can we please translate this to the league?

[itbrvilla]

Can we please translate this to the league?

No. We'll be 1 down after five minutes when I check my phone in Aldi. As is the norm.

[Risso]

Helps a bit though when your opponents don't have any fit strikers.

[Smirker]

This has got to stop.

[Footy-Vill]

Toronto provided some insight given by Transwell at the Athletic and the pursuit of defenders.

Shared here for discussion


Intentions to sign a central defender grew through January.

Villa were open to selling Diego Carlos over the past year, but a move away this winter felt unlikely given he was a regular in Emery’s side.

What could not be accounted for was Diego Carlos’ desire to leave. He had found Fenerbahce as a buyer and made it known he wanted to go. A week before a €10m (£8.4m/$10.5m) agreement was finalised, he said his goodbyes to staff and team-mates despite Villa rejecting the Turkish club’s opening proposal.

Although Villa received external criticism for allowing Diego Carlos to depart without sourcing a replacement, senior figures felt they could do little to keep him. Those frustrations were crystallised in the 2-0 away defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Boubacar Kamara, a key midfielder, moonlighting in central defence.

Difficulties with Diego Carlos were exacerbated by the pursuit of Loic Bade. He was a target of Monchi’s, having signed him at Sevilla in 2023. Villa made a series of offers, with the final bid worth €23m plus €3m in add-ons, which was thought to be around Sevilla’s asking price.

Bade, however, had doubts concerning game time and the presence of Ezri Konsa in the right centre-back position. Paris Saint-Germain’s Milan Skriniar was looked at briefly until his prohibitive salary became apparent.

Relying on a network of contacts was demonstrated in Villa’s interest in Juan Foyth. Emery worked with Foyth at Villarreal and has wanted to be reunited, citing his tactical intelligence and versatility. Foyth became aware of Villa’s advances, though no agreement was close. The defender’s injury record — missing 42 games across the previous two seasons — gave concern and by the final week of the window, there was no chance of his signing.

[Monty]

Transwell!

[Footy-Vill]

I feel mostly for Martinez. He deserves more clean sheets

[VillaTim]

Disasi / Mings / Konsa , that's a top table set of defensive CB's