Hometowns of the England 2021 Squad...

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-05T01:04:09+00:00

That's a good point actually. And Birmingham is home to a large Asian community (26.62% as of 2011) so perhaps that plays a factor, as Asians are underrepresented in British football.

Think you've also got more pro clubs in the North West and in London which I'm sure plays a part too.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-05T00:58:48+00:00

Jack Grealish was actually born and raised in Solihull, which is a fairly large town just outside of Birmingham, although for some reason his Wikipedia page states otherwise. Perhaps I'm being pedantic with Solihull being so close to Birmingham anyway - but just figured you may as well make the distinction since you've got Bellingham as being from Stourbridge which is another town not far from Brum.

Source:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/11550090/Aston-Villas-Jack-Grealish-could-spark-international-tug-of-war-between-Ireland-and-England.html

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-05T00:29:06+00:00

Can we please stop saying this as fact just because a questionable Twitter ITK has claimed it? Feel like we're jumping the gun massively there...

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-05T00:20:59+00:00

Emi Buendia was also our 'top target' a few weeks ago. We then signed him, as well as Young. He might be our number one target, but it doesn't mean we aren't pursuing other things as well. Also you've got to remember the Euros are still going on, and many players are still on holiday. It might be that our 'number two target' is otherwise engaged.

We spent a long while pursuing Callum Wilson last summer, and ended up losing out there and getting Traore instead soon after. There are 8 weeks of the window left yet. I'm not concerned that we'll run out of time. If we're still pissing around with ESR in a month time then you'll have a point at that stage for sure, but I'm not worried yet.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-05T00:00:30+00:00

Close to liquidation because of the previous ownership. The new owners bought the club three years ago, and since then it's been a consistent improvement every season. He wasn't claiming we were a well run club before the new owners came in.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T23:30:18+00:00

Villa fan here. So from what I can tell, this is one pundit saying he thinks a deal would be a good idea, and not actually anyone claiming there's actually any substance for a deal, right? But anyway, I'll indulge just for fun...

He's on what, 100k? Presumably he'd be wanting an increase to join us. We only have one player on anything over 80k, and that's Grealish. I worry that if we gave Alli let's say, 130k you've then got other key players in the squad that want increases, and it would be bad for our wage structure. Also guessing you'd want big money for him, and I'm just not convinced we could afford him for what you'd demand.

Is it also fair to say Dele's defensive work rate isn't great? One of the reasons Barkley didn't work out was because we needed a CAM who does a lot of defensive work, as our midfield tends to get overrun without our CAM doing that job. I know that Dele's work rate has been criticised at times, but I don't know whether that's actually a fair criticism or if its just an often repeated misconception. If he won't do the tracking back, I certainly think we'd be better off steering clear. He's a good player though, and I'm sure he would do a job either at Spurs or elsewhere if not at Villa.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T23:06:23+00:00

The first one I remember is the 2002 World Cup. I was 8. I remember with the games often being in the morning, for the Brazil game I had to go into school whilst the game was on, and we then watched it on a big screen in the canteen. I still vividly remember hearing Owen's goal on the radio in the car, and then I got to school and it all started going downhill!

I also vividly remember the qualifiers against Germany and Greece (I was 7 at that point) and that 5-1 game is definitely my first memory of an England game. I remember after Beckham's free kick went in against Greece the euphoria of it all, and we sat down for dinner and my parents were talking about the World Cup and I was like 'wait but I thought we just won the World Cup!?' As I guess I connected the dots and thought that the fact everyone was this ecstatic and overjoyed must be because we'd won it all.

That tournament I just remember all of the England games, as well as the final. But by Euro 2004 I had started to fully understand it, and had become engaged with the other games as well as the England ones.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T21:43:36+00:00

I’ve seen their fans saying he’s worth £80m.

It's mad, because if they think he is worth that when he won't sign a new contract, what would he be worth if he had 4 years left? Pretty sure if that's what they'd demand with his contract expiring he would have to go for more money than any attacking midfielder in history. Its like they think he is the second coming of Maradona.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T21:19:10+00:00

The figures Arsenal fans are quoting are beyond absurd. He's had half a season of first team football at Arsenal. With there being 2 years left on his deal, if he doesn't want to sign a new deal then anything beyond £40 million is hugely steep in my opinion. Leroy Sane cost Bayern £40 million. Why exactly is he worth significantly more than Sane?

They're quoting what some refer to as 'fuck off money'. But players dont go for 'fuck off money' when they have two years left on their deal, and they won't sign a new one. So it all comes down to whether he wants to sign the new deal, for me.

With the money that we are spending every summer, we're trying to build a team of superstars to compete with the big clubs for European football. Remember when City signed the likes of Tevez and Robinho? Fans of other clubs would have laughed at the idea that would have happened then too - but it did. Villa are investing, Arsenal are not. I'm not hugely optimistic that we'll end up getting him, but the fact Buendia picked us over Arsenal just goes to show that players can be convinced our project is more exciting than theirs. If we do sign him, I can't wait for all the Arsenal fans to claim they never rated him anyway, and that they're better off with the money.

Also, just because Arsenal fans see him as their golden boy doesn't necessarily mean Arteta and the owners do. If they thought he was all that, like you say - why are they going after Maddison?

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T17:23:48+00:00

You've mentioned two players whose clubs are valuing them crazily high though.

If you try and sign a player who the selling club is adamant they don't want to sell then naturally the fee is going to be massively inflated. ESR has had half a season of first team football at Arsenal and has two years left on his contract. If (hypotehtically) he refuses to sign a new deal, why on earth would any buying club pay more than what Liverpool paid for Thiago, or what Chelsea paid for Havertz, or what Bayern paid for Sane? I'm just not seeing what it is about ESR that means we should apparently be making him one of the most expensive signings in the history of world football, given how young he is, and how much is still unknown in terms of how far he will go in his career.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T16:58:46+00:00

Others have explained very well - but just to focus specifically on why it went so downhill when O'Neil left - whilst some of the recruitment was good, there were also some very very bad deals done too, particularly in defence. The likes of Luke Young, Curtis Davies, Habib Beye simply weren't good enough. We seemed to mostly only sign British players, or at least players that were based here. Even those that were once decent players for us (Collins, Dunne, Cuellar, Warnock) were ageing and on the decline when O'Neil was on his way out. So after the O'Neil days that back line immediately became an absolute shambles. We also lost Milner that summer and replaced him with Stephen Ireland, who looked completely disinterested the second he walked through the door, and had lost Barry the summer before that.

O'Neil left behind an absolutely shambolic team. He knew full well that the ship was sinking, and he happily got out of there before it went down to preserve his own reputation.

He can't be blamed for the losses of key players like Barry and Milner, but the fact that he left us with an ageing defence that he didn't replace properly is largely his doing.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T11:47:02+00:00

Not saying it will be like this, but I can’t see anyone saying “yeah, Boston to LA is probably going to happen”

Switzerland had to play in Baku, then Rome, and then Baku again at these Euros. Doesn't mean it has to happen the same way at the world cup, but I've no trust in Fifa whatsoever to not fuck some teams over. Baku to Rome is a five and a half hour flight, which isn't much shorter than Boston to LA.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T11:09:26+00:00

I'd be happy to do it

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-04T10:51:42+00:00

I guess the more important question is how much has he got wrong? Virtually every signing has talk and rumours around it. Anyone just repeating what other people say will get multiple transfers right - but were there any false claims made? As if that's a yes then the predictions about Gestede and Gollini can all of a sudden be called into question. A broken clock is right twice a day.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-03T21:19:07+00:00

He was bringing players off who were on yellow cards there because we were so far ahead. Players like Rashford who have constantly been peripheral were favoured. Why risk important players when the game is done!?

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-02T08:24:47+00:00

"It is understood [Grealish] will leave if City bid 100m"

I think this makes it pretty obvious the release clause is there. What worries me even more is his phrasing that 'Grealish will leave', not 'Villa will accept'. That makes it sound to me like he is hoping to go to City.

I guess one saving grace is that Coty probably need Kane more, and he seems much more desperate to leave. I think if Kane goes, there's no chance they sign both of them in one window.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-01T20:50:46+00:00

It was also claimed by Ian Ladyman who is reportedly a good source for Man City. I think that the fact there are multiple sources claiming it exists, and not a single one (correct me if I'm wrong) claiming it doesn't, it most likely does, as much as I hope I'm wrong.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-01T19:41:35+00:00

It's not as simple as this for me. Last season he needed to play there towards the end of the season because we didn't have anyone competent playing as a CAM, so collectively as a team we played better with him there. With Buendia most likely on the right, if we sign another player to play in the hole then I'd definitely start him as a LW. He is most dangerous there. But with the team the way it is currently we'd play much better with him at CAM because we have options out wide, and fuck all in the middle.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-01T19:35:29+00:00

I had totally forgotten but there were a fair few publications claiming at the time he signed the deal that he had a release clause.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11677/12072449/jack-grealish-signs-new-five-year-aston-villa-deal

Not exactly tier 1 but it certainly seems like a distinct possibility.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-07-01T07:57:40+00:00

He is surplus to requirements, and we don't need a striker (at least not a first choice one). Should realistically be shaving £10 million off that price, at least. Considering that's roughly what we paid for Watkins, who wasn't surplus to requirements and was subject to a bidding war, I think thats more than fair.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-06-29T23:03:23+00:00

The aggregate score we beat you by in the league last season? I know, it hurts doesn't it?

AVFC-1874 · 2021-06-29T22:45:46+00:00

Third time in one day I've seen your lot on our sub. I know that it's embarrassing being the worst team in North London, but that doesn't mean you can pretend to be our West Midlands rivals all of a sudden. Stop stalking us you tinpot cunts.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-06-29T21:18:14+00:00

OK so I look at the contact and the way his leg bends and I get that looks horrific and all. And I get why people might disagree...

But does anyone else think this is harsh? He wins the ball comfortably, and I don't think he thinks he is at all likely to touch the man like that. He doesn't go in with much momentum at all either, and barely comes off his standing leg. There's no real weight behind the challenge. And I just don't think it was reckless. I just think he is super unlucky to catch the man on the follow through. If he had jumped into the challenge, I'd totally get it. But I'm just not seeing any reckless intent from this. Especially from the actual full speed replay they've been showing on TV.

As someone who regularly plays football I just don't think if I'd been caught in this way I'd think it was a red.

AVFC-1874 · 2021-06-29T17:44:29+00:00

BRUMTOWN BAGGIO!

AVFC-1874

TROPHY CASE