Gallowgate Toon

Villa under Emery are just a weird side. Current GD of 4, last year it was 7. Whenever I watch them, they just aren't very impressive but they seem to be very good at just getting things done. They've scored less than us this season too. Transfer record is very patchy as well.

I'd really like to see us push him up the pitch, tbh. He's improved a lot defensively but I still just don't feel he's a totally natural defender. He'd be an amazing LCM for us imo.

I think RB is still a great position for his development for now. Next season, it's about staking his claim as a starting midfielder. His ability to find cute little passes from FB is great for us. Tino isn't great at it.

Our xg today was almost 4, btw. We weren't lucky or whatever, we had loads of chances. Certainly not a perfect performance but good stuff to build on. Howe went with those who set basic standards well and it worked. Effectively played a 4-4-2 as well, the 4-3-3 obsessed creep.

Hopefully, he channels his frustration in the right way. I really like him as a player but even as a fan of his I wasn't quite sure if it was the right situation for him to come on. Players have often dropped away from the selection and then come right back into the fold suddenly.

Great win. Missed this feeling and chuffed for Howe. Some really good performances in there imo. Not sure Miley will get loads of plaudits but I thought he was very impressive again.

His lack of any kicking ability is a huge problem when we're under it. It's more than it's just completely aimless, he makes no attempt to play it anywhere useful.

He does seem to be developing really nicely.

Chuffed for him

Old school performance and, honestly, quite enjoyable. Committed, physical, some great rotation and transitions.

His stats for passes forward/progressive passes and passes into the final third are top 5% out of midfielders for this season, tbf. He's certainly been more than an average water carrier this campaign, he's been much more of that tempo setter type. He shows Bruno levels of getting out of tight spaces with some ludicrously good skill too.

Another game of 100% pass completion? That's quite mad, even if there's a decent chunk of safety in there.

Wilson was our main striker when we finished 4th though. A very good striker, absolutely, but not a unicorn.

I don't think a system change is suddenly going make us amazing. It might be worth trying something else to close out the season though considering how wank our wingers are, all of our striking options need real support, and how dodgy we can be defensively. Felt for a while that 3-5-2 might be the best bet for this current squad. Maybe 3-4-3. But then I inherently just don't like going 3 at the back for some reason so I don't know I just can't be arsed to see Elanga or Murphy on the right for Brighton. I'd honestly put Osula there above anyone else.

Thought it was massively evident yesterday how much we'd missed him until he gassed out. He is an elite progressor of the ball.

Lush pass, like.

He seems to attempt his sweeping when it just isn't required. It's bizarre.

For the second goal, we had 9(?) players in the box to their 2.

He knows that Bruno is half-fit there, it's his man to track. He was just happy to pass the responsibility on. What a leader.

Second goal summed it up. Couldn't be arsed to track a simple run and left a man free in the six yard box. Unprofessional shite. Did bugger all the other way too rather than a couple of moments. Rancid.

So many gutless twats on show. Our wide play is horrendous. Overwork the triangle every fucking time, don't they understand that just sets the defence? Get the ball in early FFS. Nobody there taking responsibility other than Miley.

IF true, I'm happy for him to move on. If it was just a case of him feeling like he wants a change, fresh challenge, to try another league, sample life abroad with his family etc. then I'd be totally fine with it. However, there's just this snidey undertone with him that is hard to shake. Between his reaction from the other summer, effectively refusing to play RW, the Isak stuff... it just feels like he's a bit delusional Either way, his open play output for the last 2 seasons has bee very average. We can do better from a starting winger. Actually, we need better.

He looked absolutely useless. Movement was incredibly half-arsed.

If Bruno's out, I think a Ramsey-Tonali-Miley midfield could be a really nice combination.

He absolutely is. Why aren't people gasping for Regis le Bris? More wins, more points, better defensive record, less developed squad. He MUST be class.