Martinez cash/Livramento is prob 50/50 Torres Botman Maatsan Bruno G Tielemans Onana Watkins Isak Gordon
They probably have a stronger underbelly than us. Get through our veneer of quality players and we have nothing near the same level to rely on. I'd agree with most of the others that our first 11 is probably slightly better though. Botman, Livramento, Bruno, Tonali, Isak and Gordon. Joelinton and Pope, possibly.
The league table after 4 games is pretty meaningless. The squad depth is ahead of Newcastle's mate and that's the difference maker over a full season. Aston Villa were years ahead of Newcastle in their business plan, so it's not something we should be surprised about. Newcastle will go again next summer and they'll probably get stuck in psr.
None of our so called elite players are performing at the moment either. I don't care what anyone says about results because individual moments of quality won't keep dragging them out the mud. The fixtures until end of November are pretty serious, so they'll probably decide Newcastle's season in terms of where they are likely to compete in the table. I don't think they'll win many games in that period unless they suddenly click..... they've been riding their luck so far. Every game I keep hoping to see some evidence of the Newcastle we've seen under Howe and it's not there yet....hopefully that happens Saturday.
As we all know, Villa got a big, money-backed takeover and didn't have a decade of neglect to deal with. They also managed to sneak some good sponsors in before the PL's oppression kicked in. That we have a marginally better first team is impressive. Our squad's crap, but our propensity to continually bringing in "better" subs is a stupid transfer policy and one Villa aren't guilty of. That said, we're also stuck because our academy was just as neglected so we've had no Grealish to sell.
he’s played 3 games of football in a year? Can’t say ever saw him at Milan. Not sure what or how can judge tonali against anyone on current form. Potential? Maybe…
Tielemans was excellent at Leicester prior to the season they were relegated. Since then he has flattered to deceive, from what I've seen. If he plays to his best and puts in the effort he can be a great player. Problem is he so often drifts out of games and just wanders about.
It's emotional decision making ... I would make a case that Watkins is as good as Isak. Fans tend to overrate their players and everything about their clubs, but at the very same time they underrate other clubs players and everything about those clubs. I would say Villa are a better squad than Newcastle, but the situation is arguable in terms of the best 11. One thing is for sure and it's that Villa are the bigger club.
