Gallowgate Toon

There's some on VillaTalk who think they're superior to us (inc. squad wise) and we're nothing to be afraid of. Hope we absolutely disgrace them. Nee offence, Brummie.

People will always find something to complain about Rafa has worked this out fine. We were more open in the first 2 games and looked really shaky. He knows we need points, confidence and momentum (which often starts with the defence) so has us playing more conservative to start building a platform. We're not a 'Rafa' team yet, but we are on the way.

I'd argue that Hayden and Colback is a very big drop off mind. Yeah, it is. Doesn't render the whole team shit though

Isn't that largely the side that beat Brighton? Colback aside, it's fine. Would like to see some newbies but international duty for some etc.

I think Ritchie/Diame as RW & AM really aren't much worse than Townsend/Sissoko. Ritchie just put in a more consistent Premier League season than Townsend ever has & Diame looks like he could be more equipped to play as a 10 than Moussa, IMO. Wijnaldum wasn't even a winger and he was flanked by Paul Dummett to give us offensive width I'd take Gayle any day over 15/16 Cisse. I feel as though we've upgraded the full back positions and Hayden is an improvement on both Tiote & Colback as a box-to-box centre mid. It's close but, crucially, we now have more balance. Current best XI would win. The squad is no contest, though. We're more equipped to deal with a PL campaign now than we were last season.

Some folks do seem to want to find reasons to not enjoy the current situation, like. It rubs because it sometimes comes across as some kind of intellectual superiority/looking down on people for being positive. Simply put; we've spent a good wedge on recruiting what's needed to achieve the task at hand, whilst building foundations for the future and getting rid of deadwood. There's still progress to be made but who was truly expecting everything to be solved in one window? We could've scrimped more. Far, far more.

He’s still a good player and I expect Koeman will get the best out of him. He’s someone that simply needs lots of direction in his play. He might think he should be a side’s fulcrum but he’s far better at having a specific role and sticking to it. If Everton get him in a midfield 3 with the main aim of opening up teams in the middle the pitch and creating more space for creative players in the final third then he’ll do great. If he’s required to have a more expansive job than that then he’ll generally be shit and will only perform in really open games. Koeman’s a very good manager, like, I think he’s too smart to not know how to use the bellend.

Holy shit

Got to admit, I’m pretty ecstatic with the window. We’ve bought good quality in relation to our current level, with a good proportion of those imports able to be part of an average (at least, I’d argue) Premier League squad. The fact that the new players are here for much more genuine reasons can’t be overstated either. There’s a few obvious fillers in there to get us through this year, yeah, but I have no issue with that at all – there needs to be an element of short-termism to this process. The likes of Clark (if Rafa doesn’t improve him) and Murphy can easily be cast off after this year, as it’s likely their stock will be ‘decent’ while we likely win the league. I know Hanley isn’t the most fashionable of defenders but he seemed to have a very decent season last year and I think he’s got enough to be a fine 4th choice CB in the Prem. Another winger and CM and it’d have been absolutely perfect. Best window we’ve had in how long? Thanks, Rafa

It's amazing to have 2 genuine senior wingers in the squad who have different styles and can actually swap positions mid-game

If he can stay fit, he'll hammer this division, IMO.

He had some promising appearances early on at Everton, iirc. Going by his performance levels at Vitesse, he should be fine here. Just needs to stay fit. Caught him playing for Malaga once and he looked decent.

More reserved in his role today than the last couple. Definitely think he's more than a DM; he loves a solid challenge, aye, but impressed with some of his bursts and passing.

Assuming this lad (and Murphy) have been doing their nufctv interviews tonight, judging by how late the post match videos have been

We didnt really create much to be fair. Ritchie from Diame's pull back is the only other great chance I remember us having in open play. Not that they had too many either though.. Gouffran should've scored from about 8 yards out and Shelvey hit the post.

It wasn't just his passing that was good today, tbf. He'll never be the quickest but he's got a neat turn in him and enough of a stride to drive forward from it. He's looking more complete with his play.

Their fans seem to like him a lot. Sounds very much like a target man. As long as we have the goals from midfield or he's partnered with someone decent, he could be really useful during the year.

He was too close to the 'keeper for it to be a block. It was a late foul and you see yellows for that all the time. They created one chance of note when it actually mattered. They were in no way, shape or form unlucky. We should've been 2 up at half time.

He's got much nicer technique on the ball, IMO. Seems to have much control in tight spots. Not as explosive an athlete but I don't think we quite need that so much. Reckon he's got more of an eye for a pass too.

He's the most talented central midfielder in the division, IMO. Should be absolutely pissing it.

Fine as a 3rd choice stand-in/filler but should be no more than that.

They were also the division's joint top scorers in 15/16 too.

They were unbeaten in the league (obvs not playoffs) since Feb, apparently

You can see improvements each week.

Best thing about the last couple of games has been the commitment from the players to do the shitty work well.