Typical....corresponding fixture last year he made his debut and arguably his best performance http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19615244
One does get the sense that Gaston will be ruled out with something in each game until the January window. Cannot be a healthy scratch, because there's leverage to maintain, but we're about two games away from him being unable to play owing to split ends.
Poch tends to play with 1 out and out CDM- Wanyama. Since his arrival he has pushed Morgan up, hence his goals. Hence why with Wanyama involved cork wont start, unfortunately posh doesn't see him as a player to push forward. Davis JWP et al offer more coming forward.
Mauricio Pochettino on Paulo Gazzaniga: “We have full confidence in him. We’re really happy with the work that he’s been doing ever since I arrived. We do think he’s a better goalkeeper [than last year] – he’s progressed and he’s learnt a lot. He, like the rest of the the squad, has the full trust of the manager. We’re very happy with him.”
Agree, he's doing and saying what he should do as the team manager. Would hope Gazzaniga gets a good reception from our ends before the start too.
Vaguely worth reading - http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/fourfourtwo-preview-southampton-vs-aston-villa
Worth reading if only for the sentence "Nil-nil specialists Aston Villa were involved in one of the most nil-nilly nil-nil draws of all time against Sunderland on Saturday" Vin
Mauricio (on Player) pointed out, when asked about Dani, that he had watched some Italian league football recently which demonstrated how hard it was to move into the Premier League. Also mentioned that Dani had been nursing an injury and had also been held back from training with the Italian squad because of his allergic reaction. Arsene Wenger said recently that some players can take 6 months to settle into the PL. Mauricio added that Osvaldo plays as part of the collective (presumably he has been assimilated ).
Giroud took a whole season, so it's said. Soldado is having the same problems, though some of them are not of his own making, imo.
On the subject of our goalkeeping issue, if we play to our full potential Gazza will not be tested that much. Just look at games such as Fulham and Hull where our keeper hardly had a save to make Villa are not a high scoring team so hopefully our style of play will once again suppress any attacking ideas they have and mean Gazza will have a relatively easy ride.
Good point DL. Let's hope he has an early save to make though as that will give him confidence. Have to say he looked more composed when he came on at Chelsea. Impressive given the circumstances.
True, but along with the keeper change, we also have a forced change in midfield, so I don't expect us to be quite as cohesive as usual. Still a winnable game, but we are going to have to work very hard for it.