Aston Villa Thread

Agooner wrote:Luke Moore > Carew

nah. moore's a better finisher, but carew is far more effective than moore, who tends to drift out of games. carew brings others into play, and is just a better foil for agbonlahor.

@ lrd and debaser

I see both of u don't agree with me that Moore is better . I understand why u think carew is the better foil for gabby and young because players can easily hit it long to carew and those players will feed of those knock downs by him, but u are too talented a side to play that way. That's not making optimum use of the talent that's in the villa side and that's a tactics most pl side can deal with because almost every team has got 2 big strong CBs who are good in the air.

Moore is better than carew in every aspect except going up for those 50-50 balls: he's got better technique, skills, finishing etc He's clearly more talented than carew. Playing him in the side ahead of carew would mean players will be less tempted to hit it long almost everytime and u'll be far better to watch and i also believe will get the best out of the talents in the side.

i think you underrate what carew brings, he's not just a big man up front. you make him sound like harewood. carew is good on the ball - and i'd say he's a more intelligent player than moore in terms of seeing opportunities and taking the better option. i like moore, but he can be frustrating. he had a long run in the team earlier, but was very inconsistent. carew's return has certainly been a factor in our recent form.

however, i agree we do hoof it too much to carew - all our defenders are predominantly hoofers, which is a weakness of the side. but then with the point about every team having 2 strong cbs, the importance of carew there is also to draw at least one and often both of these defenders in, giving the space for gabby/young.

i have hopes for moore that he will start scoring consistently and really cement himself into the side, but as it is, he's dropped behind gabby in his development. signed a 1 year extension this week, but there is a sense of unrealised potential about him.

I don't necessarily think it's the way your defenders are...it's probably what O'Neil tells them to do. I've seen him play like that at all his clubs.

kas wrote:I don't necessarily think it's the way your defenders are...it's probably what O'Neil tells them to do. I've seen him play like that at all his clubs.

o'neill does seem to prefer defenders who are defenders first and foremost, that is true. but then mellberg and bouma have always been hoofers. zat knight, i hadn't seen all that much of before, but he is not renowned as a ball-playing defender, nor laursen. obviously as its o'neill picking these players and who hasn't signed any defenders who are better ball-players, then it is ultimately down to him

it can be an effective, if rather blunt way to play, but we could definitely improve on the distribution from defence - particularly when it comes to the full backs. i'm expecting a new right back, at least, in january.

meanwhile in the centre, curtis davies still hasn't started a league game, which is a big surprise to me, considering he's touted to be joining permanently in the summer. knight's been generally solid, but hardly undroppable.

Zat Knight = Bobo Balde

stat of the day: aston villa have only lost 1 in their last 15 away trips in the premier league.

compare this to man utd who have lost 1 in their last 1

3 days to the end of the window. acknowledged by everyone - including the manager - to have a tiny squad, which would be trashed with a couple of injuries.

transfer action:

Ins: none

Outs: Cahill set to join Bolton, plus Mellberg confirmed to be off in the summer.


hoping for a busy last couple of days. Onouha and Routledge the current links. will be more than a tad annoying if we don't sign anyone then get a few injuries...

A little sad to see Cahill go, it's nice to have local lads succeed in our team - but in O'Neill we trust.

Good on Mellberg, he's stuck with us through some pretty shitty times where he must've felt his career was going nowhere. He has some exciting years ahead of him, and he's served us well.

I agree with your comment about the distribution, Mellberg is always likely to give the ball away. Bouma is just odd, why does he always have to make last ditch tackles? Why does the man always get past him? Now we have to make do without young or indeed Berger on the left, I'd imagine Bazza will fill in.

We're doing much better than I'd have imagined at the start of the season, but now is the time to push on with some much needed transfers and do our best to get a European spot.

edit: looks like we're gonna get a decent wad of cash for Cahill though eh!

Which team loves ice-cream?

Aston Vanilla.

Cheers.

Dunno if its been announced yet but it looks more likely that Cahill is joining the Blues!!

I'm confident there will be 2 players coming in but don't know who or where they'll play. MON likes to keep his cards by his chest so you never know who we're actually going for. No one expected Carew, Knight, Harewood, Maloney etc until the day(s) it happened.

Hopefully we'll have a winger in place to combat the loss of Young at the weekend, maybe Giles Barnes??

Barnes would be a good buy, but he's been linked with Newcastle. I'm not sure if he's particularly effective in wide positions either; I thought he was more of an AM?

Onouha would definitely be a good replacement for Olaf.

Calidad wrote:Barnes would be a good buy, but he's been linked with Newcastle. I'm not sure if he's particularly effective in wide positions either; I thought he was more of an AM?

Onouha would definitely be a good replacement for Olaf.

Not really sure where he plays, its just that we need another creative midfielder. With Young out of the team, we look very one-dimensional. We need an alternative so that we're not just relying on Young.

I like Onouha and we've been linked with Chimbonda too but both are likely to cost more now than in the summer so i have a feeling that MON will persist with Mellberg for the time being and pray he doesn't get injured. One major reason for our great season is our astounding luck with injuries to key players!!

borocooper wrote:Which team loves ice-cream?

Aston Vanilla.

Cheers.

Shabbabrain wrote:

Calidad wrote:Barnes would be a good buy, but he's been linked with Newcastle. I'm not sure if he's particularly effective in wide positions either; I thought he was more of an AM?

Onouha would definitely be a good replacement for Olaf.

Not really sure where he plays, its just that we need another creative midfielder. With Young out of the team, we look very one-dimensional. We need an alternative so that we're not just relying on Young.

I like Onouha and we've been linked with Chimbonda too but both are likely to cost more now than in the summer so i have a feeling that MON will persist with Mellberg for the time being and pray he doesn't get injured. One major reason for our great season is our astounding luck with injuries to key players!!

too right. shame berger hasn't figured this season, he was real good at the tail end of last season, but the usual injuries have kept him out- and the few times he has played, he's been poor.

then there's maloney. but he's a bit of an enigma. done well as a supersub here and there, but doesn't seem to impress when he starts. i don't really know his best position, to be honest.

although we do have the possibilities of the 'togolese zidane', if he ever gets in the team

all in all, another creative midfield player would certainly be a good purchase. preferably a right sided one.

Maloneys a tricky one, there is only one real area he can play well in and thats playing just behind the front one or two. But we don't tend to play like that so he doesn't really impress. Every game that Berger has played, he's been poor so he ain't the answer. I don't even know whats happening with Salifou!!

Its gonna be an interesting next 2 days. A right sided midfielder is a must, or a left sided one and move Young to the right. Either would be perfect and the most vital of all positions we need to strengthen. A RB can wait for the time being, especially now its Mellbergs final season.

agree, although i'd far prefer a right sided midfielder than moving young - i think he's much more effective on the left, in general (although his ability to switch does come in handy).

Very true. Someone like Milner would be good, who also has the ability to switch sides, but Newcastle won't sell him now. Also like the look of that Dyer for Southampton but don't know whether he's cut from the Premiership just yet.

What do you think about the keeper situation?? Many Villa fans are now doubting whether Carson is really the answer, he doesn't really impose himself in matches like other keepers. I still think he's the best option, still only 22 but is he worth £10m?? Not too sure.

i'd be happy if we signed carson, but do have the suspicion we could get better elsewhere for that kind of money. i'll sit on the fence with that one

wait and see time now. i really can't believe after all O'Neill's said about the squad size that he won't sign anyone, especially as he's selling Cahill. as we haven't really had any strong links over the last few days, it could mean a surprise or two in store.

MON always surprises us, he does tend to sign players out of the blue rather than after weeks of rumours in tabloids, internet etc. I can understand selling Cahill, he's 22 and wants first team footy. MON can't guarantee that so its bye bye Cahill. I do think he wanted to keep him, maybe send him out on loan but with Laursen and Davies, who are both better than Cahill, playing, he wasn't gonna get a chance. Plus Knight is content to be the 3rd choice, it is his boyhood club after all.

The main action will be in the summer, where you can see the likes of Mellberg, Berger, Sorensen and Moore leaving. However he needs at least 7 players from this window and the summer to have a team capable of competing for Europe on a regular basis.

I think you should sell Petrov and buy someone more effective. Sell Maloney too.

MON is terrible in the transfer market. He has a psychological phobia re the transfer market! He dithers too much. Like a lawyer - law being his chosen field of study - he deliberates for far too long over his potential signings. Just do it, Martin!

7, easily. if you look at who we've got now and who will be here next year:

gk: carson?, taylor, sorensen

df: bouma, laursen, davies, mellberg, knight

mf: young, barry, reocoker, petrov, gardner, osbourne, maloney?, salifou?, berger

st: agbonlahor, carew, harewood?, moore

there's a possibility of the likes of Steiber, Delfouenso, O'Halloran joining that list, but it's scarily lacking in depth.

debaser wrote:7, easily. if you look at who we've got now and who will be here next year:

gk: carson?, taylor, sorensen

df: bouma, laursen, davies, mellberg, knight

mf: young, barry, reocoker, petrov, gardner, osbourne, maloney?, salifou?, berger

st: agbonlahor, carew, harewood?, moore

there's a possibility of the likes of Steiber, Delfouenso, O'Halloran joining that list, but it's scarily lacking in depth.

Woah! That's a weak squad. Some good players scattered throughout - but weak nonetheless.

Randy needs to tell MON to stop messing around and actually buy quality players.

Sometimes MONs judgement is, er, a tad odd. During WC06 he stated that Ribery wasn't for him - too raw, etc...

Bulk - that's bizarre, I can only assume he based his opinion on Ribery's WC '06 performances alone (which weren't as good as everyone said).

The Krauts wouldn't water the pitches you see and they were too dry - hence we didn't see any decent dribbling at the WC.

Maloney just isn't a modern Premiership player.

How is Nakamura doing at the moment ?

The Bulk wrote:

debaser wrote:7, easily. if you look at who we've got now and who will be here next year:

gk: carson?, taylor, sorensen

df: bouma, laursen, davies, mellberg, knight

mf: young, barry, reocoker, petrov, gardner, osbourne, maloney?, salifou?, berger

st: agbonlahor, carew, harewood?, moore

there's a possibility of the likes of Steiber, Delfouenso, O'Halloran joining that list, but it's scarily lacking in depth.

Woah! That's a weak squad. Some good players scattered throughout - but weak nonetheless.

Randy needs to tell MON to stop messing around and actually buy quality players.

Sometimes MONs judgement is, er, a tad odd. During WC06 he stated that Ribery wasn't for him - too raw, etc...

exactly. clubs with 'injury crises' often seem to have more players available than we do when fully fit.

o'neill's yet to show much sign of being interested in players from overseas, which is something of a disadvantage when looking at the clubs around us. can't fault the progress we've been making, it just seems an un-necessary risk to not have a decent sized squad.

I don't think we should sell Petrov, he's had a pretty decent season so far, even though he's playing at the right side of midfield which is not his strongest position. I'd probably keep Maloney too but he's a specialist player more than anything.

Its a well known fact that MON isn't a master in the transfer market. His way of dealing with transfers can be very frustrating, as many Villa fans are finding out right now!! But he likes to buy players he know will do a job for us and is willing to wait to get that player in. He doesn't panic buy, which i'm very grateful for because who knows what we could end up with (think Villa 6 years ago, Boulding, Leonhardsen etc). Im willing to trust his judgement, he hasn't gone wrong so far.

Looking at our squad, it is scarily thin. Just imagine if we'd have had a West ham style injury crisis!! Doesn't bare thinking about. But as ive said, MON wants to buy players he know will do well and succeed here, not someone who can just do a job.

Its possible there will be some youth being brought through, after all we are top of both the reserve and academy leagues so there must be some good'uns. I think Steiber will be part of next seasons squad, doing very well for Yeovil at the moment. Delfouneso is too young at the minute, only just broke into the reserves, although it wouldn't surprise me if he has a Gabby style inroduction during the latter half of next season. O'Halloran probably won't make it. Unsure about Mikealsson, he's not really doing much at Port Vale at the moment. Im looking forwards to seeing Forrester, heard very good reports about him. Also like the look of Ciaran Clark, who i think is England U18 captain. But we can't get too reliant on the youth breaking into the first team, we need to buy players asap. If we don't buy anyone by 1st Feb, then i think Europe will be out of our reach.

Pierre Littbarski wrote:Bulk - that's bizarre, I can only assume he based his opinion on Ribery's WC '06 performances alone (which weren't as good as everyone said).

The Krauts wouldn't water the pitches you see and they were too dry - hence we didn't see any decent dribbling at the WC.

Maloney just isn't a modern Premiership player.

How is Nakamura doing at the moment ?

He's been injured for a while. He's been pretty poor this season when he has played, however. Hopefully the arrival of Koki Mizuno will inspire him to find his form again.

MON mentioned that Ribery kept running into blind alleys during matches, or that he tried to be direct at the wrong moments. Still, that was something other than his lack of ability and perhaps MON should have realised that?

The Bulk wrote:

Pierre Littbarski wrote:Bulk - that's bizarre, I can only assume he based his opinion on Ribery's WC '06 performances alone (which weren't as good as everyone said).

The Krauts wouldn't water the pitches you see and they were too dry - hence we didn't see any decent dribbling at the WC.

Maloney just isn't a modern Premiership player.

How is Nakamura doing at the moment ?

He's been injured for a while. He's been pretty poor this season when he has played, however. Hopefully the arrival of Koki Mizuno will inspire him to find his form again.

Is that a done deal ?

The Bulk wrote:
Woah! That's a weak squad. Some good players scattered throughout - but weak nonetheless.

It can't be that weak can it? I mean, we're not doing too bad. We have a good 1st team, granted we massively lack strength in depth and could also do with a couple of replacements in the 1st team.

I disagree about selling Petrov and Maloney also, I think they're decent and Petrov especially has had a rough time off the boo boys when he hasn't done much wrong.

I agree with Shabba though, I we don't get anyone in before the end of the month we probably won't get into Europe - but...if O'Neill CAN'T get the people in that he feels he needs, then I would rather wait till the summer than get the wrong people in.

A season of positive football and good vibes around the park is still a big step in the right direction for Villa!

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3091930,00.html

Wayne Routledge having a medical at Villa - I can't remember seeing anything of him since he was at Palace.