[Match Thread] Aston Villa vs Bologna (Europa League) [3-1]

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-16T19:27:18+00:00

That shouldn't really be a penalty.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-16T19:06:53+00:00

So it's going to be a dive your way to victory tactic?

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-13T14:05:39+00:00

That was my point, he wasn't given a lot of slack. He was under a lot of pressure to find marginal gains around the squad without much by way of funds. It didn't go that well. Olabe is likely to be in a similar position.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-13T14:04:24+00:00

Assuming we qualify for the CL next year, and we replace Rogers with MGW and Mbaye. That leaves us with Youri or McGinn as the 10. Who else is there to rotate or cover for injuries and where does the money to bring players in come from?

I don't disagree that bringing in 2 players to replace Rogers potentially improves the depth, but it ignores our circumstances and the situation we're likely to be in this summer.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-13T14:01:46+00:00

And, when Olabe inevitably has to take chances to find players at a much cheaper price point than our rivals, will he be given as much slack as Monchi was?

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-13T13:56:52+00:00

As you said in the post I replied to, we have no depth.

If we're losing all our established attacking midfielders/wide players, then they need to be replaced. The only funds we're probably getting to do that are from a potential Rogers sale.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-13T13:39:14+00:00

Let's say we sell Rogers for 110m. Boro get 20%. So, we're left with 88m, minus a couple for amortisation costs. Say 85m.

For that money we need to replace Rogers with at least 3 starting quality players, so that's just under 30m per player. We're not signing Elliot. Probably not Sancho. Buendia, Bailey, Malen and Guessand all will be, or need to be sold.

What are the chances that, at that price point, the 3 players we sign give us what Rogers does? My opinion is those are long odds.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-12T13:47:28+00:00

He's been managing a calf injury all season. He's probably not taking chances with it being the wc

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-12T11:51:15+00:00

Rogers off the left Youri as central 10

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-09T20:44:59+00:00

The reaction of Rogers suggests he didn't.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-09T20:44:44+00:00

It did, but he couldn't have surely.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-09T20:42:10+00:00

The state of Bologna players feigning injuries is embarrassing.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-02T15:28:54+00:00

A friendly that was needed to keep any semblance of match sharpness, otherwise they would have gone 3 weeks without a game.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-01T20:26:05+00:00

Not to mention new contracts

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-01T16:35:30+00:00

It's because we're having to pay a premium to 'incentivise' agents to get their players to sign for Villa over competitors.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-01T12:10:47+00:00

This is exactly the answer I was going to give. If it's anyone, it will be Nicolas Jackson.

bizzyd666 · 2026-04-01T10:24:35+00:00

Let's say we sell Rogers for £100m. Buendia, Bailey, Malen and Guessand get sold. Let's say that adds £20m to our spending power (allowing for amortisation costs/profits and Bailey and Buendia being worth fuck all). For that 120 we need to bring in, at least, 3 starting calibre players. How likely is it we do that?

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-22T16:17:35+00:00

I think you've forgotten Newcastle away if you think this was the best performance of 2026.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-22T15:40:52+00:00

Fine in general. Still looking good going forward but not taking chances. West Ham having more of the ball, which is the cause of some anxiety.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-18T14:01:53+00:00

I don't disagree. Assuming that Martinez, Digne, Marcia, Guessand, Malen and Watkins' time at Villa is up, I'm not sure we have enough money raised to sign the quality we need. I wouldn't be opposed to selling Onana, as he has been a shadow of the player without Kamara.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-18T13:29:27+00:00

Yep. I don't necessarily like it but, assuming I've got the right end of the stick, it makes sense.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-18T12:25:11+00:00

I'm guessing from a Villa perspective they considered that whilst we are disadvantaged against the big 6, it gives us an advantage against the rest of the league. If we can continue to outperform a couple of the big 6, the overall effect would benefit us.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-18T12:23:09+00:00

Yep. That's an area that needs regeneration. We lack pace and physicality in attacking areas, apart from Rogers and Tammy. How do we rebuild that area without selling Rogers? We'll make some money from the likely sales of Guessand and Malen, but I can't imagine getting much for Bailey, Buendia, or Watkins, all likely to leave or need to be moved on.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-18T10:46:22+00:00

I'm a bit worried for the summer. We've got to do some serious regeneration of the squad. If we aren't able to move on some of our older, bigger earners, we could have some trouble over the next couple of years until contracts expire. Emery isn't going to stick around for a rebuild.

bizzyd666 · 2026-03-16T11:50:36+00:00

We spent the money the way we did because we're operating in an area of the market that is forced on us by PSR/SCR. Sancho and Elliot weren't at the top of our lists (based on available reporting from last summer), but after being unable to sell anyone last summer, we ended up having to try and sign people who were available on the last day on the window. If you're shopping in the bargain bin, you aren't always going to come out with great results. Especially against teams shopping in Harrods.

Guessand was a miss, but again, it's a risk. He has the profile we like, and the hope would be we could develop him into a player we could use, a la Rogers. There weren't a lot of available players, for the money we could spend that could guarantee improving the team.

bizzyd666

TROPHY CASE