Stottie

I think that makes 6 goals and 5 assists in 12 games for Harvey Barnes versus Villa. They're the Villians but he's the Archvillain! Got the celebration to match too!

Great performance lads! Didn't expect that of Tonali. He came with pedigree, but has clicked straight in.

Shame for Mings. Looked like a bad twist. Long break here, so need to keep the concentration.

Aye, shouldn't be difficult if you've played local derbies as semi-finals in the Champions League. GO SANDY!

Christ almighty. Comedy refereeing in the Brighton game. This season could actually be worse than last. Brighton were the biggest victim last year in that game at Spurs, so its nothing personal against them.

Isak gets the nod. Wilson and Barnes on the bench is CL level.

Brighton game ref is a total homer. Completely hopeless.

Wow, go Sandy!

Getting back to Top 4/5 ometer but.... No preseason or early season for Hojlund No Nkunku for months. Even if Caicedo comes in, the whole thing will likely take time to settle. Time that Potter was not given. Liverpool new midfield with no DM. The sweeper-up is the one you want to bed in first. Kane finally off to Bayern, taking 25 goals with him. Villa with no Ramsey for a while and Buendia for longer. We'll start without Willock. I love him, but he plays in a position where we have a lot of depth. Not a bad place for us to be as things kick off.

Only saw the highlights. I liked the "delay the ball in" corner routine, which reminded me of some of ours, except the finish which we never manage. Haarland's second, the definition of clinical. Away at a promoted club is a classic banana skin as an opener, so I'm pleased we didn't get that fixture.

Our lot pre-Ashworth got Dan Burn from Brighton for 13M in the first window after the takeover, with Staveley and Howe himself having to handle the transfer. Is that the best value anyone's had recently buying from Brighton?

Barnes' record against Villa is five goals and four assists in 11 games.

Sorry if Giggs in the previous 15 pages, but this is what happened the last time Harvey Barnes played Villa in a competitive game. Its more recent than our defeat at Villa Park. https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12850168/look-at-that-first-touch-harvey-barnes-scores-in-style-for-leicestre-against-aston-villa

I quite like Caicedo to Liverpool for many reasons. Firstly, the crazy fee is another nail in the coffin about them being resourceful. Record goalie, record CH, record midfielder, near record striker, almost the full set. Secondly it exposes Klopp to pressure in getting as much out of him as Brighton did, which is not a given given the huge differences in stature and playing style. Lastly, he was Chelsea's big summer target and weakens them. With 5 CL places, we likely only need to finish above one of Chelsea and Liverpool. Liverpool could be there already with their attacking talent, so anything that weakens Chelsea is good. In the game at SJP, Caicedo at LB got square on to Almiron, who simply knocked it past him and fed in Wilson for our third. It was the kind of non tackle and non foul that would have folk screaming at us to bin Dan Burn. A boo boy target would not get away with it. The kid is the new transfer record for a midfielder. So it goes. Just for fun, but even after a fuckton of spending Bruno > Caicedo Joelinton > MacAllister when not taking penalty kicks Tonali >= Szobo (both unknown, Tonali has the stronger career) Willock > Jones

This was me passing on a Michael Caley theory, so credit to him. Anyway Spurs are fecked, so we can recalibrate season predictions for them. My advice would be to play Richarlison for four months while the team as a whole is transitioning and spend the Kane money on Toney to aim for a strong finish. Toney will get a damaged goods discount, which matters all the more with the crazy fees knocking about.

There are massive parallels between us in the second half of 21/22 and Villa in the second half of 22/23. Effect of new manager, similar results and points totals, new found defensive stability, lots of points with overperformance of xG for and against, eyecatching wins against top teams like our home win against Arsenal.... The differences I see between summer 22 NUFC and summer 23 Villa are that we had a key player to return from injury as effectively a new signing (Trippier), the then-most expensive player ever bought by a non Sky team in Isak, and a big step up at goalkeeper and Botman to shore up the defensive stability. Villa are going into this season with injuries, including a key one to Ramsey, but so did we with the Wilson injury that inspired the Isak purchase. If Diaby can be Isak and their new defenders, returning Carlos etc. can be Botman, and others can step up and chip in, that lad who was at Boro etc., they have a chance. They'll have to do it with European football though, and are starting with injuries already and no WC break this time.

The final piece in the Arsenal jigsaw. Why spend 600M when you can spend 700M!

Kane may just be prodding Bayern for a last-minute wage hike. A Man U of the past would have got it done, probably years ago for a world record fee, but too much of a shitshow now.

Understat last three seasons. Maddison's are all in the PL. Sofascore (Paqueta in green, Maddison in blue) Unless you see and want Paqueta as more box-to-box, I don't see why you don't buy Maddison for half the money. The only logic to Paqueta is if you see him as a proto Bruno 6-8 to replace Gundogan. You buy him for the feist. KDB is missing more games with injuries, CL final included. If that is the concern, Maddison scores highly as a final ball merchant/assist monster to help replace him.

The Spurs lads reckon Levy will not sell Kane to Man U. Dunno if Kane could force it by rejecting both Bayern and a new contract. That would of course be a massive, burn his bridges with Spurs move. The potential ace up the sleeve here is that Spurs could offer him a huge-money, multiyear deal on the assumption, or possibly even pre-agreement, that he buggers off to Saudi when its no longer value for money for them. If "we can just dump him on Saudi" is an option, a megacontract would not have the normal potential millstone type risk.

It was in a way, them not scoring from corners or free kicks in spite of lots of fine deliveries. Their defending however was top notch.

Toney?

Shame for the lad, who is a real handful and seems to thrive against us. A few players going down already, and that's before we start playing 100 minute plus games. Villa are potential conference league winners, esp. with Emery, so they'll need their full complement. Us too of course, though our European adventures are likely to be harder but shorter. Fingers crossed our lads stay fit.

Has Lavia to Chelsea been facilitated by us buying Livramento? It means money has to pass from Southampton to Chelsea for his sell-on clause, unless a player goes there instead. With taxes, FFP or whatever, it might be easier to send a player. Or easier for Chelsea to outbid Liverpool for a Southampton player, given the credit they have the Southampton bank and what can be submitted to the authorities on paper as the price. fwiw, I think Caicedo is probably overrated. I suspect the safest bet to buy from Brighton would be Mitoma, the player with the highest individual skill that would be replicable in any system. I like Caicedo to Liverpool as a transfer, because its going to be Declan Rice money and all that bollocks about moneyball and "ceilings" goes out the window.

Is Longstaff doubtful? I think he plays if fit/ready. I wouldn't move Burn and play Targett in the same game against a probably very good opponent. Keep Burn LB and bring in Lascelles is one fewer change. Its SJP and I expect a far different game to what happened at Villa Park. We'll still need an emphasis on solidity, so Bruno Joelinton Longstaff midfield (no Anderson) and Almiron Isak and probably Gordon front three. Gordon played at Villa Park but looks a completely different player now. Howe likes Wilson, so he may get the nod. If neither starts, Barnes and Wilson would be the most two-player fret we've had on the bench in donkey's years. Liverpool/Man City level.