Alejandro Garnacho - Welcome to Aston Villa - Loan

[Dave]

If he's great, we'll want him. If he's great, others will want him. He may want others and deals may be done.

If he's *so* good that we need to worry about fancier folk wanting to take him off us, then the deal that gets done is us buying him from Chelsea as we have the right to do and then selling him to that other team, like the Roma -> Besiktas  -> Villa thing with Abraham.

Although we're probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves, being better than Sancho is the first step on the ladder.

[brontebilly]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

[olaftab]

We play Chelsea on match day 16 so hopefully by then he would have made more than 10 appearances and we will perm him and he can rip em to bits.

[Percy McCarthy]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

[villadelph]

If he's great, we'll want him. If he's great, others will want him. He may want others and deals may be done.

If he's *so* good that we need to worry about fancier folk wanting to take him off us, then the deal that gets done is us buying him from Chelsea as we have the right to do and then selling him to that other team, like the Roma -> Besiktas  -> Villa thing with Abraham.

Although we're probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves, being better than Sancho is the first step on the ladder.

Didn’t he turn down Bayern before he went to Chelsea?

[Dave]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

Given how important Rogers was to how we played, I'd expect a pretty different formation / style now that he's gone. We've always evolved season-by-season depending on who we retained / sold.

That first six months of 2023, so much went through Moreno and Ramsey and we never really tried to replicate it after Moreno's injury. When DL's position on the pitch was filled by Onana it wasn't to do the same job, it led to tweaks elsewhere with Tielemans and McGinn playing differently.

So I don't think it'll be a case of saying "Manzambi = new Tielemans and Garnacho = new Rogers", I think it'll look very different.

[Smithy]

Man, the media consensus about this lad is SO bad, that if he has even a HALF decent season, the legend of Unai Emery will go into the stratosphere.  He doesn't even need to be brilliant. He just needs to perform to a slightly above-average level to completely silence the doubters.

I would hope that as native Spanish speakers, he and Unai will have spoken at length about the move and his role in our squad, and that he'll be under no illusions as to what is expected from him.

I am hoping for the best.  A couple of decent performances early in the season would go a long way to silencing the critics.

[Smithy]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

Given how important Rogers was to how we played, I'd expect a pretty different formation / style now that he's gone. We've always evolved season-by-season depending on who we retained / sold.

That first six months, so much went through Moreno and Ramsey and we never really tried to replicate it after Moreno's injury. When DL's position on the pitch was filled by Onana it wasn't to do the same job, it led to tweaks elsewhere with Tielemans and McGinn playing differently.

So I don't think it'll be a case of saying "Manzambi = new Tielemans and Garnacho = new Rogers", I think it'll look very different.

Completely agree with this.  Our style has evolved each season, and I'm sure it will again.  One thing I love about Unai, is that he's not wedded to one style of play - he's pragmatic when it's needed, both in mixing it up in games, and also over the longer term.

I do think the addition of Manzambi, Garnacho and Gomes introduces quite a bit more pace and physicality in our side (Tielemens, Rogers and Sancho are all very good ball players, but none of them is what you'd describe as particularly 'quick'), so I'm intrigued to see how he uses the attributes of our new players. 

It might be that we're less patient in moving the ball around looking for an opening, and a bit more direct when the opportunity arises.  It would certainly be nice to have someone other than Ollie running in behind from time to time.

[paul_e]

If he's great, we'll want him. If he's great, others will want him. He may want others and deals may be done.

If he's *so* good that we need to worry about fancier folk wanting to take him off us, then the deal that gets done is us buying him from Chelsea as we have the right to do and then selling him to that other team, like the Roma -> Besiktas  -> Villa thing with Abraham.

Although we're probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves, being better than Sancho is the first step on the ladder.

I think the point Drummond is trying to make though is that, if he does do well, the press will already be picking out his next club before the permanent transfer is even complete.

[paul_e]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

Given how important Rogers was to how we played, I'd expect a pretty different formation / style now that he's gone. We've always evolved season-by-season depending on who we retained / sold.

That first six months of 2023, so much went through Moreno and Ramsey and we never really tried to replicate it after Moreno's injury. When DL's position on the pitch was filled by Onana it wasn't to do the same job, it led to tweaks elsewhere with Tielemans and McGinn playing differently.

So I don't think it'll be a case of saying "Manzambi = new Tielemans and Garnacho = new Rogers", I think it'll look very different.

Yep, I think we'll often be a lot more of a 433 than sort of asymmetrical 4231 we've gotten used to, if nothing else that takes a little pressure off Garnacho defensively which will allow him to stay up the pitch as the pacy counter-attack option, which is a better use of him than having him track back I think. That will mean someone a little more defensive working well on the other side so we can easily go to a 442 .

[Sexual Ealing]

It doesn’t matter whether the press does that.

[brontebilly]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

Moving McGinn out of his best position then which I'm not a fan of. AG might pad out his stats better on right but could leave Cash desperately isolated defensively unless he ups his work rate and tactical discipline significantly. Can't remember who played on right v Chelsea that night but Garnacho made hay v Cash precisely because they were constantly able to get 2 v 1s.

Maybe Emerys going to shift a bit more to 433 this season. Maatsen overlapping around Garnacho. Might see him at his best. Should be decent on the counter provided he actually passes the ball. Also continues our threat from outside the box.

[Dave]

Now that's AG has signed, where does he fit in our X1? Left side is his preferred spot - Buendia, Manzambi, McGinn (personally don't like him on left)

He might prefer it but he has better stats per-90 on the right. Not being snarky here, I’m aware that you put no trust in stats - I’m not a disciple myself outside of actual football results - I’m just saying it’s possible he could end up on the right if that’s where we end up short.

Given how important Rogers was to how we played, I'd expect a pretty different formation / style now that he's gone. We've always evolved season-by-season depending on who we retained / sold.

That first six months of 2023, so much went through Moreno and Ramsey and we never really tried to replicate it after Moreno's injury. When DL's position on the pitch was filled by Onana it wasn't to do the same job, it led to tweaks elsewhere with Tielemans and McGinn playing differently.

So I don't think it'll be a case of saying "Manzambi = new Tielemans and Garnacho = new Rogers", I think it'll look very different.

Yep, I think we'll often be a lot more of a 433 than sort of asymmetrical 4231 we've gotten used to, if nothing else that takes a little pressure off Garnacho defensively which will allow him to stay up the pitch as the pacy counter-attack option, which is a better use of him than having him track back I think. That will mean someone a little more defensive working well on the other side so we can easily go to a 442 .

Yup. Which is very reminiscent of Emery's Sevilla and Villarreal sides. Three solid-as-a-rock central midfielders who could all play a bit but weren't all that creative. A hard-working striker, a creative, passing type and a quick guy whose job was run at defenders and shoot.

[Mister E]

It will probably help that he will be around grownups like Mings, Watkins and McGinn who have had to graft to get to the highest level. Proper role models.

Well-made point, mate.

[Toronto Villa]

Based on the player we are now getting, Unai is evolving faster than maybe he would have liked from the previous system and structure to this new one. But the new one is one he is also comfirtbale with and bringing in players that will quickly adjust to it. It might take a month or two for this to properly bed in, but by getting players in and out early and having lots of friendlies he can hopefully hit the ground running with his new players and system as quickly as possible.