The College Dropout

Sure. But I don’t see him developing more aggression. It’s a major character flaw for a striker. I don’t see how he leads the line for any top club regularly unless something pretty fundamental changes.

Gaining muscle is much easier than gaining aggression at 24 imo

Larsen is far more mobile and still pretty shit.

Absolutely no denying Emery know ls how to navigate league and European competitions. Quietly part of the strategy is not emphasising domestic cup competitions. FA Cup semi aside I remember a lot of early domestic exits. You can’t have it all. Us going 3/4 strength for all domestic cups backfires. If you’re going to throw it at the Quarters throw it in R3.

This article was written mid Villa winning streak. After Gw21 they had 42 points - borderline title challenging form. They’ve picked up 20 points in the last 16 games which is firmly mid table form. Supporting the idea that the underlying data was unsustainable. They’ll end the season with the same points or less than Forest last season with an inferior GD and a similar season arc. Europa League win and it’s the best season for Villa in my lifetime so it doesn’t matter.

In terms of performances and xg vs xga. How do you rank the performances va previous seasons - just on performances? Often when I’ve watched a game live, Villa haven’t been very good even with games you’ve won. For us the season we finished 4th with 70 points I think - was our best year performance wise. Every unit was top. Last season felt more dependent on individuals and being red hot in crucial moments.

No top level club that operates properly would let a manager dictate who the club spends big money on so I don’t care about all of that. We signed Woltemade because we didn’t have a proper scouting, transfer committee and DOF system in place. Thats on ownership.

They’ve been lucky this season mind Villa.

Overall last year they coped well with CL football though. And that was the opposite of your claim.

Villa got more points last season while in the CL. They were a better team last year imo. Marmadash has looked ropey whenever I’ve seen him

Came in here to post that same thought. Villa were a better side last year and finished 6th. This year they’ll likely finish 5th with less points than last season. And win a trophy. they desperately need CL. All the money they’ve spent it’s a super old side. Rogers aside there’s not a great deal of saleable assets at good prices. Thank God the Ashworth era prioritised players 25 and under.

And then he played a too-weak team against City at home in the Cup. Didn't make any sense. Why go so (relatively) hard early... to ease off (relatively) when it matters most? The Barca away game was the most naive i've ever seen him. Poor idea from the start, Unbelievable setup and stayed with it way too long.

I don't expect Anderson to go for the figures quoted. But he's linked to Prem teams which drives the price up. And he would compare more favourably in stats models. And for some reason PL CMs are going for more than wingers. Release clause or otherwise top wingers have been going for £60-80m: Kvara, Olise, Raphinha, Eze, Diaz, Semenyo etc. I expect Gordon will land £65m-75mish.

I'm praying Howe can evolve. Or scouts can uncover creative workhorses like Bruno or Szoboslai that can play wing or 8. He's gone 5 at the back but we need a genuine 4 ATB alternative to the flat 4-3-3.

Man City have spent 750m euros in 3 years. They have the highest wage bill in the league and top 3 in Europe. They also have a top 3 academy in England and a top 10 academy in the world.

How many £400m revenue companies would run without a CEO for a year? An interim would be placed. Most companies would have a succession plan. Theres really no justifying it.

This is where I disagree. Under a proper structure we don't sign more expensive players because the manager prefers PL experience or whatever. Particularly not for multiple transfers.

But we did. Being slow is a choice. Letting a manager and his nephew deal with transfers is a choice.

And that was a mistake on behalf of the ownership. There's evidence that Howe can work well enough within a structure. Not providing one was a mistake. And it was obvious it was a mistake in June.

But what does this mean? For most clubs it means the manager agrees to the transfer but not that they chose who is signed. E.g. Arteta may have preferred Sesko but he still approved the Gyokeres transfer. I don't believe Hall was Howe's first choice for LB, but I expect Howe still greenlighted the transfer because his ideal profile wasn't on the table (still maintain Howe would prefer Antonee Robinson who we were linked too at the time). I believe a good transfer committee pulls out of Elanga deal at £40/45m. Then they have to find Howe an alternative that suits and up to him to approve or not knowing Elanga is not an option. Most likely that player wouldn't already be in the PL.

I do now question how Howe views the game and squad management mind. Like no plan to make 2 forwards in the same team work the way Pep would play Alvarez with Haaland. He just wants one to sit on the bench. Wants a football team with barely any playmakers. Just direct pace on the wing no guile. How is this meant to scale?

We got to where we did because Eddie worked with a DOF and other voices. Sure there was tension but it worked. Ashworth advocated for Man U to hire Howe - they could work together. Hiring a bulldog like Mitchell was a misstep but that doesn’t mean you hand over all power to Howe. ownwrship is responsible for structure.

By all accounts Nickson was sidelined. At functional clubs the DOF has final say over transfers and contract - that is ultimately their responsibility even if there’s a committee. We know Ashworth was the only reason Joelinton was not given a new contract because that is ultimately within his remit. We know that Berta chose Gyokeres over Sesko despite Arteta preferring Sesko. We know Edwards chose Salah or Brandt despite Klopp wanting Brandt. This is how elite football clubs are ran. If a clubs ownership decides to over empower a manager, that is their poor decision making because club structure is ultimately their responsibility.

I’m of the view that everything that happens on the pitch the manager is ultimately responsible and accountable. Good or bad. likewise I’m of the view if a club has multiple years of poor transfers, sales, contract renewals that is the responsibility of the owners and leadership team. I’m never blaming the manager for transfers. Functional clubs do not let managers dictate transfers or the fees.

The owners didn’t know the star player wanted out or the extent he was serious. The owners didn’t know a lot of things. Because they were distant.