I think the key is not to panic when we face adversity and in game and result setbacks. That means all of us - fans, players, manager, back room staff, board, local media. Have I left anyone out?
Not sure I agree with Matt's comment: "Similarly, whoever sits in the holding roles in Farke's preferred formation will be equally important. Privately, he will probably be wishing we had James Maddison going into this season; he had an uncanny ability to control and dictate the tempo of a match, without either a Maddison or a Wes Hoolahan there's a big gap that City are yet to fill." Maddison, who I admire hugely, tended to control the tempo by slowing things down. Leitner, as a deep playmaker, is capable of speeding things up as well with his incisive passing, which ranks with Madders and Wes IMO. I'm hoping that he'll form a good partnership with Amadou as the season goes on. Yes we'll take some tonkings, but DF and the players are strong enough to pass through those and still pick up points along the way. Freezer says 15th. I've gone for 14th because of the depth of quality in the squad and the clear system DF has created and embued in the players. When a player is injured there's ready made replacement or two ready to fit seemlessly into that system. It's not mechanical tika-taka, but a way of playing that makes decision-making easier and still leaves room for individual innovation. The new players are already picking that up and DF's options are far greater now.
The system is the key based on the togetherness of the squad and their belief in the system. That formula to me has a lot more going for it than the wild spending by many other clubs because there is also a production line to reinforce the way we play. Relying on 2 or 3 big name players is a bigger gamble and if they do not fit into their particular team, either through their playing strengths or egos, then there is a disjoint which is not easily fixed. In terms of position at the end of the season, that is very difficult to judge and the difference between say 10th and 18th could be as marginal as say just 6 points. I will settle for safety, hopefully with a game or so in hand before the end of April. Ultimately I am really looking forward to what we might do and that was not the case always in other premier league seasons. COYY
This is what I've felt throughout this window. Much of Villa's big spending has been on permanent deals for Championship players they had on loan when they finished 18 points behind us. Other new signings will need to settle in and avoid being flops. Our 5 new players are all from top level teams with considerable experience. The fact that none of them are likely to start at Anfield goes to show how much quality we already had and all of those players are fully integrated into DF's system and ready to go.
As the season kick-off approaches this from Paddy Davitt on the perspective needed: "Lavish spending is no guarantee of success, as Fulham proved 12 months ago. The Cottagers appeared to abandon the guiding principles which saw then cut a similar swathe through the Championship. Everything Webber and Farke have engineered since lifting the title at Villa Park focused on refinement and reward. To hastily jettison the vast majority of a squad who sealed an improbable promotion would essentially have revealed a lack of faith in the plan as much as the players. It would have smacked of a club who knew they had got lucky and aimed to plug the gaps in pound notes." Not sure if he intended Villa in that last comment, but it does seem to fit as they crept into the play-offs and then discarded 8 of the players who got them there. That's football, some would say, but it's noticeable how different SW's approach is, based on incremental improvements which have produced a solid, integrated squad ready to move on. We've added 5 senior players from top level teams for around £1m spent, but their current values total around £35-40m. It isn't he money spent, but the value added. My guess would be that the value Villa have added is probably around half of the £140m they spent. You then need to deduct the value of the 8 discarded players and the difference isn't that great. Still the pundits only see the money spent. The telling thing is that it's probable that none of our new 5 quality players will start at Anfield, thus indicating the quality of the team which came up as champions. This may change as the season goes on as none of the new players would be considered 'squad players' and there's intense competition at every position. In spite of that, there's a team spirit which puts the team first. That's a brilliant accomplishment by SW and DF.
Interesting PL look at our chances this season: https://www.premierleague.com/news/1302687 Unlike most pundits, they actually bothered to do the research.
True Thai, but it may also hit West Ham's confidence when we play them in the 4th match and we should have our other CBs and Amadou available when Citeh roll into town. I wonder what Karen Brady is thinking about that this afternoon.
Don't laugh, please, but when I look at Pukki, I see the player we thought we had bought when we got the Wolf. Pukki's whole game is based on his movement, reading where he needs to be, and then being there when the ball arrives so that he can score. I don't want to revive the old arguments, but I seem to remember everyone talking in the first half of the season about the runs the Wolf was making, and how no one in midfield was picking up this movement. Pukki may be a lot better (I think he is), but he benefits from having a manager like Farke rather than Hughton and people behind him like Buendia, Vrancic and Leitner rather than Snodgrass. Ah well, all water under the bridge now, and the future looks bright.
TOTALLY agree re the Wolf and Snodgrass was indeed the main culprit. Also, we are out of the relegation places.
Nevertheless, West Ham ( not thrashed) Watford (not thrashed) Southampton ( not thrashed) Norwich (thrashed)
So glad Villa lost, and I loved the Guardian live report which said that 'Grealish dawdled' for Tottenham's equalising goal. Surely not! Not glorious Grealish, who we were told last year existed on a loftier level than anyone in the Norwich side, and who could, indeed, take on the entire Norwich side single-handedly and win. Sorry if this sounds bitter but I am sick, as I'm sure most Norwich and Sheff Utd fans are, of being told how wonderful Villa are just because they spent £120m, and how therefore they should not even be considered for relegation, unlike Norwich and Sheff Utd, who finished 18 and 13 points respectively above them during the season, and both of whom won promotion fairly comfortably in the end, unlike Villa, who had to scrape up via the play-offs and would have been in deep FFP-**** if they hadn't. Rant over
I believe Villa spent in excess of £140M, but what's £20M at the end of the day - it MIGHT just buy you one of Aarons, Lewis or Godfrey.
Interesting that PD has now picked up on the possible pairing of Leitner and Amadou in the Liverpool 'pointers': "But with Ibrahim Amadou in the wings there will be many who feel a coupling between the two could offer the footballing diversity City will need in a vital area of the pitch. Leitner has looked like a man keen to make a point and re-assert his hegemony after injury curtailed his frontline involvement last season. This was a compelling argument." I'd love to see a Leitner-Amadou pairing against Newcastle.
