Villa 0-0 Wolves: Verdict Thread

[Tony Towner]

I think what I actually said was it was worth a look, not a certainty... and that a replacement wouldn't be cheap, and that splashing on a player isn't really what we do.

"I'd be willing to give him a pre-season to get used to a two with Boly, build that partnership and sign a younger CB who can wait in the wings."

 

[Wolvensam]

Early season form?

We were just as bad then as we were now.

Our performances in the first 1/3 of the season, the bad patch and now aren’t really any different. We won the fine margins in the first third, wrong side of them in the bad patch and we’ve benefited from a degree of luck recently. All just regressing to the the mean of a lower midtable team.

And it’s been highlighted we don’t need to break the bank and sign Dias....

The performances we turned out in the early parts of this season were better and suggested there was a change in the style of play to something more possession based/overloading rather than counter-attacking.

As I said on the suggestions: I'd only take Dunk, Tarkowski and Konsa. As for the rest I don't think they're either better or would come here.

"I'd be willing to give him a pre-season to get used to a two with Boly, build that partnership and sign a younger CB who can wait in the wings."

Yep. Because I think that's what we'll do. I'm not saying it's what I want - just that I would be willing to see how it went.

 

[Freddeno]

..or we do like Sky Sports and check the ability in Football Manager

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Filter by -> Serbia + Croatia

Yep, can't fail.

 

[prawnking]

And it’s been highlighted we don’t need to break the bank and sign Dias....

We didn't break the bank signing Rui, Moutinho or Jonny, and I'd expect that if the right player was available we'd be willing and able to make a signing in the Raul/Semedo/Fabio price range

 

[Freddeno]

Anyway my point is, search outside of england, you can get much better value for your money

 

[Wolvensam]

We didn't break the bank signing Rui, Moutinho or Jonny, and I'd expect that if the right player was available we'd be willing and able to make a signing in the Raul/Semedo/Fabio price range

Yep - and this is what it is about, the right player being available. My European football knowledge is poor so I'm open to suggestions on who that could be.

 

[YoungWolf]

I think they are better in a 4 over Coady. Bar is pretty low.

Yeah but whether they are or aren't I definitely don't want them here!!

 

[redvictor]

Early season form?

We were just as bad then as we were now.

Our performances in the first 1/3 of the season, the bad patch and now aren’t really any different. We won the fine margins in the first third, wrong side of them in the bad patch and we’ve benefited from a degree of luck recently. All just regressing to the the mean of a lower midtable team.

And it’s been highlighted we don’t need to break the bank and sign Dias....

Ruben Dias who plays for Man City?

 

[YoungWolf]

Anyway my point is, search outside of england, you can get much better value for your money

We've been doing just that pretty much exclusively for a while now tbf!

 

[prawnking]

Yep - and this is what it is about, the right player being available. My European football knowledge is poor so I'm open to suggestions on who that could be.

I don't think he's a CB but I've heard that Terry Taylor at Burton is pretty good

 

[Wolvensam]

I don't think he's a CB but I've heard that Terry Taylor at Burton is pretty good

Get Dion Sanderson back.

 

[PuntsWolf]

The performances we turned out in the early parts of this season were better and suggested there was a change in the style of play to something more possession based/overloading rather than counter-attacking.

I don’t agree.

I even sadly broke down every single game we’d played post lockdown highlighting that nothing really had changed.

People were using “transition” but we weren’t. We did actually transition to a 4, thats literally our best performances of the season even if results didn’t necessarily follow. Unfortunately losing Donck, Boly, Marcal, Podence, Raul in the space of a few weeks meant it was abandoned.

I’ve been voicing my displeasure for months. Nothing is changing my mind. As other people have said, 20 games to show something (regardless of recruitment), literally has a free pass due to historic results, Covid and the “benefit of doubt”.

 

[Wolvensam]

Anyway: my point is, I don't think Coady-Boly is the answer, I'd just have no problems with trying it and seeing, and I think that's the way we'll potentially go, at least at the start of next season. They've only played three times together, and two were absolutely appalling team performances against Liverpool and WBA.

That's it really.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Anyway: my point is, I don't think Coady-Boly is the answer, I'd just have no problems with trying it and seeing, and I think that's the way we'll potentially go, at least at the start of next season. They've only played three times together, and two were absolutely appalling team performances against Liverpool and WBA.

That's it really.

And that’s fine. It not like he’s a conference player!

I don’t think our performances are down to personnel. We are performing at a level way less than the sum of our parts. That is the manager. Better players help but plonk Lewis Dunk in this team and not really much changes. Our issues are deeper than Coady/Saiss/Donck or whoever.

 

[Freddeno]

We've been doing just that pretty much exclusively for a while now tbf!

yes, but maybe look outside of portugal too, not too young(if not played enough senior games) and not mendes related

 

[Wolvensam]

And that’s fine. It not like he’s a conference player!

I don’t think our performances are down to personnel. We are performing at a level way less than the sum of our parts. That is the manager. Better players help but plonk Lewis Dunk in this team and not really much changes. Our issues are deeper than Coady/Saiss/Donck or whoever.

To be honest I'd be tempted to try them for our run of games after Liverpool. Boly is back, there's a couple of weeks' gap - let's get the 4-2-3-1 bedded in and see if it's a sustainable partnership.

We've all had this argument a thousand times over and yes the manager plays a part, but there are other factors too that we all bang on about. And as I've said elsewhere, the way we play currently absolutely cannot be our mentality in the first game next season - and I don't think it will be.

 

[redvictor]

Just a point. Remember our usual port of call (Portugal/Europe) isn't going to be as easy now. Players have to have a certain amount of points to be eligible for transfers here. That will mean premium prices for the ones that have the points.
South America is much easier, but i don't think there's a glut of world class defenders there.
Getting them from the UK is infinitely more expensive, as it's always been. I think we have the defenders at the club. They need to play together. Dion Sanderson is a great prospect. It's whether he can do it at PL level. Only playing him will we find that out.

 

[Jabbawolf]

yes, but maybe look outside of portugal too, not too young(if not played enough senior games) and not mendes related

We have also had French, Belgian, Brazilian, Moroccan, Spanish and Dutch in our back line this season.

 

[YoungWolf]

Just a point. Remember our usual port of call (Portugal/Europe) isn't going to be as easy now. Players have to have a certain amount of points to be eligible for transfers here. That will mean premium prices for the ones that have the points.
South America is much easier, but i don't think there's a glut of world class defenders there.
Getting them from the UK is infinitely more expensive, as it's always been. I think we have the defenders at the club. They need to play together. Dion Sanderson is a great prospect. It's whether he can do it at PL level. Only playing him will we find that out.

I don't think that affects us too much. I know we signed some young players last summer, but we have tended to sign players from fairly big European clubs (mainly from Portugal or Spain), especially since Nuno arrived. If they have played enough games in those leagues, it shouldn't be an issue.