Aston Villa Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2017

Easy Rod

Panrich wrote: »

Mathematically sums to 0 I'm afraid

Ha, I'm getting a sum of 100%. I feel like this is one of those puzzles you see on LinkedIn where a load of Indian marketing guys abuse each other about how stupid the other one is.

Corholio

Not sure Snodgrass is the type of striker the team would need tbh. While he's a quite a decent player, he's another guy who plays from outside the box, even as a striker. It looks like Kodjia will potentially play up front and he hasn't always been great up there but hopefully will a better midfield he'll get more chances, but he's another one who's come towards the ball most of the time he's played up there.

LeBash

Corholio wrote: »

Not sure Snodgrass is the type of striker the team would need tbh. While he's a quite a decent player, he's another guy who plays from outside the box, even as a striker. It looks like Kodjia will potentially play up front and he hasn't always been great up there but hopefully will a better midfield he'll get more chances, but he's another one who's come towards the ball most of the time he's played up there.

Think he can do a job up there. Yes he's done better from the left but when he's up front the left is covered by a donkey who has no interest or a young lad who has seriously gone downhill in the last 2 years. Or Bacuna who looks like a lost child on the left since Kodjia went to the acn

CSF

Wouldn't be fond of Grealish being let go for anything other than the unrealistic fees that young English players with lots of potential are going for these days.

Anything short of 15 mil and I think we are opening ourselves upto looking silly in a few years if he ends up fulfilling that potential.

Walter H Price

A striker in and this has been an excellent window , if we land Rhodes with the supply we now have from midfield we could be well looking at the playoffs again.

McCormack needs to go now cant see anyway back for him , Bruce has even managed to rehabilitate Gabby and has't given up on Richards yet so that says everything for me about how awful McCormacks attitude must be. Westwood could do with moving on too, i think as much for his own career as anything no way he will make a starting 11 again this season unless there's injury's.

Wouldnt be keen on Grealish going theres allot of potential there but he's along way to go to fulfilling it , got to wonder is he a luxury we can't really afford at this level.

matrim

I would hope that with a stronger midfield someone like grealish could shine. His best period for us was when he had Delph and Cleverly behind him and making runs for him to play off. I don't think he's the kind of player to make things out of nothing. He needs other players moving around him and he will bring them into play.

CSF

I think he is a luxury we can afford. New contract or no, I doubt he is that well paid. If in 2 years time we're still talking about him as untapped potential, I think you could still sell him off fairly handy.

Look at the kind of prices the likes of David Livermore go for. Now imagine what he might be worth if he did fulfil some of that potential.

Now I'm not saying I'm sure he will, but it seems like a low risk high reward kind of situation.

Walter H Price

matrim wrote: »

I would hope that with a stronger midfield someone like grealish could shine. His best period for us was when he had Delph and Cleverly behind him and making runs for him to play off. I don't think he's the kind of player to make things out of nothing. He needs other players moving around him and he will bring them into play.

totaly agree i think as an impact sub in the new midfield he could really thrive with the protection of Jedinak and Lansbury behind and the creativity of Hourihane in there , he needs to kick on and toughen up a bit soon though.

Bounty Hunter

Not suggesting he should be sold but...

If he was to be sold I would like to see the club put in a big sell on fee in any deal, If he does go on to big things he won't be playing for a club like Boro for long

pavb2

With respect to Grealish every player has his price other than Kodjia possibly Chester and Baker I wouldn't be bothered if any player (new signings obviously excluded) left as i don't think any of them do enough to influence the team and can be easily replaced.

Walter H Price

pavb2 wrote: »

With respect to Grealish every player has his price other than Kodjia possibly Chester and Baker I wouldn't be bothered if any player (new signings obviously excluded) left as i don't think any of them do enough to influence the team and can be easily replaced.

i think your right i mean if Boro were to come in with a decent cash offer plus Rhodes then realistically it would be a bad move not to take it , for all his potential , Grelaish will be a sub in that new Midfield whatever way Bruce lines it up 4-4-2 , 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 ... on the wings he's now behind Adomah and Bjarnsson , Hourihane and Lansbury will be preferred creative options in midfield and if we got Rhodes and played two advanced attacking wide players hes probably behind Kodija and even Ayew for one of those roles

sc86

grealish is the most over rated player i have saw in a long time
sell him but cant see people paying much
hes just never gona cut the mustard imo

Corholio

I wouldn't be selling Grealish at all, even though he has still a lot to prove. He's going through various stages now where he has to turn it around. When he was younger he wasn't playing enough games to fully judge him, he's now played plenty of games and a lot of the time has disappointed in the Championship. Villa may have a better footballing side now with the new players coming in and he needs to grasp that, because the likes of Bjarnason certainly didn't sign to be on the bench.

Walter H Price

Corholio wrote: »

I wouldn't be selling Grealish at all, even though he has still a lot to prove. He's going through various stages now where he has to turn it around. When he was younger he wasn't playing enough games to fully judge him, he's now played plenty of games and a lot of the time has disappointed in the Championship. Villa may have a better footballing side now with the new players coming in and he needs to grasp that, because the likes of Bjarnason certainly didn't sign to be on the bench.

that's my point i thinks hes going to seriously struggle for game time now again , impact sub at best in that midfield

CSF

Walter H Price wrote: »

Corholio wrote: »

I wouldn't be selling Grealish at all, even though he has still a lot to prove. He's going through various stages now where he has to turn it around. When he was younger he wasn't playing enough games to fully judge him, he's now played plenty of games and a lot of the time has disappointed in the Championship. Villa may have a better footballing side now with the new players coming in and he needs to grasp that, because the likes of Bjarnason certainly didn't sign to be on the bench.

that's my point i thinks hes going to seriously struggle for game time now again , impact sub at best in that midfield

There isn't that much competition in the wide positions just yet. We've no idea how good this Icelandic guy is going to be really.

Walter H Price

CSF wrote: »

There isn't that much competition in the wide positions just yet. We've no idea how good this Icelandic guy is going to be really.

His work rate alone will get him ahead of Jack , but hes a pretty decent attacking wide man from what I've seen and read from the Basel fans , Adomah , Bjarnsson , Kodija , Ayew , Green all wide options if we let jack go and bring in another center forward.

I expected allot more from Jack this season i though last year he needed a season in the championship to push on but if anything hes gone backwards, His goal against Wigan , which i had the pleasure of being at VP to see live , showed what hies capable of but in far to many games hes been an absolute passenger and you cant afford to carry players in this league

Corholio

He's some man for one man :pac:

https://twitter.com/Dr_TonyXia/status/825008347359252480

Only thing I can work out fully from that is that someone (-95%) has almost left the club.

sc86

grealish looked crap most of the time in the premier league
now in championship and hes still strugglin
people need to take there villa tinted glasses off and see him for what he is

Corholio

sc86 wrote: »

grealish looked crap most of the time in the premier league
now in championship and hes still strugglin
people need to take there villa tinted glasses off and see him for what he is

Walter H Price

Corholio wrote: »

He's some man for one man :pac:

https://twitter.com/Dr_TonyXia/status/825008347359252480

Only thing I can work out fully from that is that someone (-95%) has almost left the club.

my best attempt here is of the 3 strikers we were looking at early in the week we still only want 1 , one of thees deals is 75% the way there but would involve a player out + X in cash (thinking Rhodes/Grealish), the other two still 50%. Two are going one 95% dead cert the other half why there , i'd imagine one is Ross. Possibly a swap deal in place too also half complete (no ideas on this one) and one deal half way there im assuming the young Burry defender we've been after

My best guess at three strikers are Akpom, Rhodes and Ulloa

Corholio

The Dr. liked this tweet so that would suggest Grealish won't be leaving perhaps.

https://twitter.com/___Swift___/status/825008654848032774

matrim

People need to remember that Grealish is still only 21 and in reality this is his second season in the first team. At times he's been good, at times poor and at times bang average. But he has plenty of time to improve

CSF

matrim wrote: »

People need to remember that Grealish is still only 21 and in reality this is his second season in the first team. At times he's been good, at times poor and at times bang average. But he has plenty of time to improve

Yup, this basically. I'm not worried he is going to go to Middlesbrough and turn into a superstar overnight.

I'm worried he'll go there and in a few years we'll be regretting letting him go as much as we ended up doing with Cahill. As long as he is eager to stay he isn't expensive to keep, so what's the big risk in keeping him?

Corholio

John Percy is reporting that Villa are in talks with Swansea for Neil Taylor and Modou Barrow, with Ayew possibly going the other way as some part of the deal.

They would be 2 pretty good signings.

Sono

Surely Grealish won't be going anywhere, would be sickened if we let him go.

CSF

Corholio wrote: »

John Percy is reporting that Villa are in talks with Swansea for Neil Taylor and Modou Barrow, with Ayew possibly going the other way as some part of the deal.

They would be 2 pretty good signings.

Yeah I could definitely live with that. Ayew is a talented lad but how often have we seen the benefit of that this season.

LeBash

Was ready that Xia is seriously worried about ffp and that's part of the Grealish + cash for Rhodes. Apparently that puts us back in line.

Personally I think Villa as a club are more than capable of producing young talented players but they never make it at Villa.

Even Barry who was bought as a nipper only got a real shot when Undsworth fecked off to Everton at the last second without playing a game.

We could all name 20 players who were going to be the next big thing at Villa and didn't get a shot or make it at the club.

CSF

I'd rather keep Grealish than sign Rhodes.

Patser

Sono wrote: »

Surely Grealish won't be going anywhere, would be sickened if we let him go.

Lot of talk on this thread about Grealish but I see no links or bids for him on news. Is this just chat or is there interest in him?

matrim

LeBash wrote: »

Was ready that Xia is seriously worried about ffp and that's part of the Grealish + cash for Rhodes. Apparently that puts us back in line.

Personally I think Villa as a club are more than capable of producing young talented players but they never make it at Villa.

Even Barry who was bought as a nipper only got a real shot when Undsworth fecked off to Everton at the last second without playing a game.

We could all name 20 players who were going to be the next big thing at Villa and didn't get a shot or make it at the club.

I remember doing a team of former villa youth players a couple of years ago and it was a bottom half of the PL team. But many of those players didn't progress until they dropped down a level and got game time.

CSF

Patser wrote: »

Sono wrote: »

Surely Grealish won't be going anywhere, would be sickened if we let him go.

Lot of talk on this thread about Grealish but I see no links or bids for him on news. Is this just chat or is there interest in him?

It's been reported online a lot. I very much hope it's not true. While I'd like Rhodes, we have Kodjia so I don't think we need to completely go all out to sign him.

Particularly if we end up bringing in another wide option like Barrow.

Panrich

Been out of the loop on this one but has it been seriously suggested that Boro want Grealish AND cash for Rhodes?

Panrich

Bury fans seem to think we've signed Jacob Bedeau a17 year old defender

http://www.gigglane.com/index.php?/topic/28293-bedeau-3rd-offer-accepted/

Sono

Panrich wrote: »

Bury fans seem to think we've signed Jacob Bedeau a17 year old defender

http://www.gigglane.com/index.php?/topic/28293-bedeau-3rd-offer-accepted/

Tony follows him on twitter so I guess that's as good as confirmed.

Welcome!

Raven Runner

I wouldn't like to see Grealish go especially if we end up still having McCormack on the payroll

CSF

Panrich wrote: »

Been out of the loop on this one but has it been seriously suggested that Boro want Grealish AND cash for Rhodes?

That would be insanity!!

sc86

nathan delfouneso was the next micheal owen on this thread a few years back - look where he is now
we could all list a few
when we had strong teams 8 to 9 years ago - grealish wouldnt get close to a start - even now in championship with a mid table team hes in and out

sadly a very high percentage of our next best thing kids end up nowhere
i think its a major issue in our acamedy
why are they looking so good at youth level - u21
then the make senior debut and go backwords

id be take the hand from anybody with a serious offer for grealish
we need proven players to get us back up - we dont have time to wait on what ifs

CSF

Comparing Delfouneso, a youth player who never even really made any impact in the first team to Grealish, a player who has been MOTM at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final, aswell as putting in plenty of quality performances (to go with some equally sh*t ones) this season in an abysmal Villa midfield is just nonsense. I mean if he leaves he's going up a division, not down.

I'll be the first to admit that Grealish has not improved consistently, and has much to improve on. But he is 21 and being treated with the same expectation level of performance as an Ayew or Adomah (arguably the critical eye seems to stare at him that bit longer) which is just crazy.

Let the kid remain a squad player and improve at Villa, rather than someone else. Genuinely believe he'll be a star player for Villa by the age of 25 but people are too focused on the here and now.

LeBash

sc86 wrote: »

nathan delfouneso was the next micheal owen on this thread a few years back - look where he is now
we could all list a few
when we had strong teams 8 to 9 years ago - grealish wouldnt get close to a start - even now in championship with a mid table team hes in and out

sadly a very high percentage of our next best thing kids end up nowhere
i think its a major issue in our acamedy
why are they looking so good at youth level - u21
then the make senior debut and go backwords

id be take the hand from anybody with a serious offer for grealish
we need proven players to get us back up - we dont have time to wait on what ifs

Couldn't agree more. We should surely look at having 1 or 2 kids at least on the bench every game and give them time. Other teams do it and it works. For the most part we keep them to a point they end up having nothing more than a lower league career. Players need 70-80 games under their belt in a position by the time they hit 21 or 22. It's not a big ask. From 18, 15 games off the bench in the league and starts in cup games and it's done and the odd start to cover an injury.

When we look at Grealish he has 2 position that he kind of plays in and even with the really good performances he had under Sherwood, he still wasn't getting regular game time.

Gardener was unlucky with injury but even without it he would still only be on 50 to 60 games at 24 imo.

Chill couldn't get a run, Clark got a run but we tried to replace him plenty of times. Baker similar, he's just been lucky that Elphick has been so poor.

Lee Hendrie is the only player I can think of (I'm sure there's more) in a long time that got a decent run at a young age, I know he ruined him self but that's a risk with a youth player or a guy that cost 12 million.

GHOST MGG

Grealishs father has confirmed he is staying at villa on twitter.

CSF

Excellent.

JPA

Grealish is a player who needs his team to be dominant to allow him to express himself.
A strong defense and midfield behind him is what he needs.
This type of player can split opinion, he is a proper playmaker but can look totally out of a game at times. Of course this is on him at times, eg not being able to pass 10-15 yards sometimes.

I'd be disappointed if he was too leave, I have a lot of hope for him, whether it'll ever be fulfilled I don't know.

Sono

Panrich wrote: »

Bury fans seem to think we've signed Jacob Bedeau a17 year old defender

http://www.gigglane.com/index.php?/topic/28293-bedeau-3rd-offer-accepted/

And now Bedeau follows Tony, this one is done. Don't know anything about the lad, one for the future hopefully.

GHOST MGG

I think we will see a new improved grealish with the new midfield and defensive options we have now.

CSF

I think this season I'd be in favour of Grealish rotating largely with Jedinak. Grealish doesn't seem too much use when we're up against it and Jedinak isn't great on the ball and doesn't offer too much when we have the ball.

They'll both have their games and times in games where both become necessary.

CSF

Can't see us signing anyone now that will be starting Tuesday. With that in mind id go: Johnstone, Bree, Baker, Chester, Amavi, Jedinak, Hourihane, Lansbury, Bacuna, Adomah, Kodjia.

My guess is we may see Hutton and Gabby instead of Bree and Bacuna though. Bruce has a strange crush on Gabby.

Sono

CSF wrote: »

Can't see us signing anyone now that will be starting Tuesday. With that in mind id go: Johnstone, Bree, Baker, Chester, Amavi, Jedinak, Hourihane, Lansbury, Bacuna, Adomah, Kodjia.
.

Would be very happy with this line up, a big performance needed and a few goals would be nice. We have to go on a 7/8 game winning streak to have any chance for the playoffs, lets hope it starts on Tuesday.

LeBash

Where does Bjarnason play? Centre Mid or winger?

basillarkin

LeBash wrote: »

Where does Bjarnason play? Centre Mid or winger?

I think he is a predominantly a left sided winger but can also play on the right.

CSF

basillarkin wrote: »

LeBash wrote: »

Where does Bjarnason play? Centre Mid or winger?

I think he is a predominantly a left sided winger but can also play on the right.

I read he plays in the middle a good bit too. I can see him being eased into English football early on. Substitute appearances until he can stake his claim to a spot.