January 2019 Window

It's all gone quiet on the transfer front, I thought we might have seen some movement as a matter of urgency after our recent form. There's been a few tenuous links to Henry and Sawyers from Brentford, but looks like they're selling Mepham and Yennaris for big money, so they won't want to be losing any more defenders. Strange how they have so many highly rated players worth big money in the transfer market, yet they're seventeenth in the championship, and if they get anywhere near the play-offs it's seen as overachieving.

Green is back!

Foxy will be pleased?

May as well have him here as sat on the bench in Pompey? Cannot be worse than Bolaise or El Ghazi recently?

Plus a young Bulgarian keeper was at BMH with JT only 19yo but we have nearly as many keepers as RB now?

DelboyVilla wrote:Green is back!

Foxy will be pleased?

May as well have him here as sat on the bench in Pompey? Cannot be worse than Bolaise or El Ghazi recently?

Plus a young Bulgarian keeper was at BMH with JT only 19yo but we have nearly as many keepers as RB now?

Yes, excellent news! One of the most exciting talents in our squad. Now he just needs to put his money where my mouth is. It's genuinely like a new signing, specifically one who can work with Smith and his pass/move game plan. I hope we'll see him on the bench as am impact sub at the weekend, I can't imagine Smith will start him so soon but as someone to chuck on with 20 minutes to go when legs are tired...

For your pleasure, here's one of his goals from pre-season in July

And from the fourth minute on here (he plays really well the rest of the match too):



This is the kind of player we need in our squad, working with Smith. He's one of our own etc etc etc.

I know it's all about opinion, but I think he adds nothing more to our squad. He needs work and will hopefully get it with Smith and O'Kelly, but I am really underwhelmed by this move. He couldn't even get in to the Pompey side on a regular basis. Sorry Foxy.

STO67 wrote:I know it's all about opinion, but I think he adds nothing more to our squad.  He needs work and will hopefully get it with Smith and O'Kelly, but I am really underwhelmed by this move.  He couldn't even get in to the Pompey side on a regular basis.  Sorry Foxy.

Ok, well he was out and then recovering from an operation. Meanwhile Pompey's left winger has scored 9 and made 11 assists in 25 league matches. Would you kick out their winger and stick in someone who's missed a chunk of time from having an operation or would you keep things as they are? Because to be fair to Green while he was out having surgery and recovering from it he couldn't get into Man City's side either.

Besides, he's Smith's kind of player while Bolasie (and I suspect El Ghazi) isn't. And frankly if Bolasie is only good enough to play 10 matches for us we may as well send him back to Everton.

Smith and majority shareholder Sawiris met together with chief executive Christian Purslow in London on Wednesday, with the club’s strategy for the rest of January top of the agenda.

Villa are eyeing a number of targets, while it is also possible some players could depart should the right offers be received.

The boss is keen to correct the balance of a squad still heavy in attack but light in defence. But bringing down its average age is also now a cornerstone of the club’s policy, both in the short and long-term.

“What we want to do is have competition for places and find a better balance for the squad,” explained Smith. “That will be position-wise but also age-wise.

“We are a fairly old squad in this league. With Jack (Grealish) and Axel (Tuanzebe) out injured at the moment, we probably need to look at that and balance it with a bit more youth.”

Goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic and defender Kortney Hause, who joined on loan from Wolves, are Villa’s two additions to date.

Smith continued: “There are an awful lot of plates spinning, as I’m guessing there will be with a lot of other clubs.

“January is not a great window, it’s a seller’s market and prices are at a premium. To go and get some bargains is very tough to do.

“We’ll keep our business private as we always do and hopefully some of the deals can materialise.”

While keen to strengthen, Smith is also wary of “stockpiling” on top of what is already a sizeable squad.

Asked if any senior players could depart this month, he replied: “Possibly, but you always need suitors.

“We will listen but we don’t particularly want to push anybody out because it is a quality squad.

“People who aren’t playing will get frustrated. We certainly don’t want to stockpile players. What players want to do is play football.

“If you are carrying too many numbers in the team and they are not playing, they can certainly become unsettled.”

Villa have recalled winger Andre Green from his loan spell at Portsmouth. The 20-year-old is the third player Smith has be brought back to the club this month.

“We have a big 19 games ahead of us and I think Andre can help us,” he said. “I feel we haven’t been making as much of an impact from the bench as I would like. He gives us that opportunity.”

Express and Star

FoxyAV wrote:I hope we'll see him on the bench as am impact sub at the weekend, I can't imagine Smith will start him so soon but as someone to chuck on with 20 minutes to go when legs are tired...

“We have a big 19 games ahead of us and I think Andre can help us,” he said. “I feel we haven’t been making as much of an impact from the bench as I would like. He gives us that opportunity.”

Deano, while you're here, can we give Blackett-Taylor a run on the right wing too? That pair coming on as second half subs would cause havoc.

Andre Green recently had an op on a long term niggling knee injury.
It may be that he was not kicking on because he was not properly fit.

TBF I'd rather read all that from Deano than read about expensive, aged, loans coming in.

As Jarvis Cocker sang: just pretend that you've got no money....

Please sign a couple of full-backs and midfielders before the next game.

No one even remotely exciting being linked? Doom and gloom all round!

I was quite critical of Nyland and welcomed a replacement first choice keeper but going back and watching the highlights from yesterday Kalinic has got a long way to go to prove he's worth £7m and picked ahead of Nyland. You can put some of the issues down to the defence sure, but the guy doesn't have the presence of an international goalkeeper, not to mention the number of goals he's shipped already.

So it seems that anymore incomings are going to be at the end of the window, not surprising but we really could’ve done with a couple more in early. Also think we will see one or two moved out that might surprise some people. Kodjia I think will leave, shame as I’d rather keep him over Bolasie. We’ve a few out of contract in the summer and so I assume we’ll be stuck with them until then. We’re still crying out for a pair of fullbacks and DM, fingers crossed something gets done and we’re able to make a later run at the playoffs.

Bolasie going back to Everton. Good.

Green back in, Bolasie back to Everton. Best news all season (well, apart from the new owners coming in to save us from disaster and Bruce going).

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/01/21/aston-villato-end-yannick-bolasies-loan-deal-send-back-everton/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_fb&fbclid=IwAR2E5mpXivqsyk_Vk7_f2R3D2k6624Qbg1rszUIZN3luQQm0uO9bFoiZCC0

Dazzle wrote:Bolasie going back to Everton. Good.

Please stop preempting my posts!

I see "Gates" McCormack has been shooting his big mouth off while still getting obscene amounts of money from the club
Surely he must be in breach of contract slagging off the club. Can his contract not be cancelled?

FoxyAV wrote:

Dazzle wrote:Bolasie going back to Everton. Good.

Please stop preempting my posts!

Sorry. I shall leave a half hour gap before posting from this point onward! Good news though. Wish him well but he’d just disappeared over the last month and a half, and Villa can’t afford luxuries like that anymore. Not at £70k pw. We need the budget for a DM & LB, minimum. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later

Amusingly, he's more upset that reports state Villa ended the loan rather than him being the master of his own destiny.

No doubts this story will be used for a bit of Villa bashing. That would be completely unfair given how very little Bolasie has given the club for his enormous weekly wedge. He should be ripping up the Championship, instead, he's been distinctly average at best.

Another Bruce mistake sorted.

Running the ball straight out after seven seconds of the game Saturday will live with me forever, thanks Mr Bolasie

Dazzle wrote:

FoxyAV wrote:

Dazzle wrote:Bolasie going back to Everton. Good.

Please stop preempting my posts!

Sorry. I shall leave a half hour gap before posting from this point onward! Good news though. Wish him well but he’d just disappeared over the last month and a half, and Villa can’t afford luxuries like that anymore. Not at £70k pw. We need the budget for a DM & LB, minimum. Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later

Any chance you do lottery numbers?

And yes, it took weeks for him to get up to fitness and then he just failed to do what was required. He's not been producing the goods in attack and hasn't got his head round the idea of tracking back to help his LB. It's easy to say Taylor and Hutton have been crap at LB but with no DM in front of the defence, Chester naturally out of position and little cover from the winger you can see why it starts to fall apart. Even more, you can see why it's easier to target our left flank.

On top of which, we have Green, Adomah and El Ghazi to cover two places, we just don't need someone not willing or able to work his arse off for the club.

From what we have seen of Yannick he is a spent force after that long term injury and I bet the Toffees are pissed off that they have to pick up those ridiculous wages he is on again?

Not many rumours about today?