ExiledGeordie

I agree another attacker would be good but with the players we've signed, Taylor back fit and given Colo is staying til the end of the season we really should have a much more miserly defence. We won't necessarily need to score bucket loads of goals to win games. We were impotent against Norwich but we created bags of chances/goals against Man U/Arsenal and really should've been out of sight against Reading by half time. I'm confident Cisse will still get goals and Gouffran will chip in with a few too. But the movement in the team should be a lot better in the near future and that means the likes of Sissoko/Cabaye/HBA might way in with a few goals too.

If you've got Sissoko bombing on and Cabaye spreading balls around and sliding through balls for runners its going to be very difficult for midfields/defences to pick people up. That'll also only mean more space for HBA to operate in when he comes back too. Stop with all those attacking options The combination of HBA and Debuchy down the right could be a corker too because people will quickly realise you can't leave Debuchy alone like they could Simpson. Not so easy to double up on HBA then really is it.

If you've got Sissoko bombing on and Cabaye spreading balls around and sliding through balls for runners its going to be very difficult for midfields/defences to pick people up. That'll also only mean more space for HBA to operate in when he comes back too.

This......could be an interesting few days before the window shuts

Bit strong.

Taylor can play with Colo, I'd be fine with that as it's a tried and tested solid partnership. If we play a midfield 3 and Sissoko is fit and ready to play, what are the options instead of him, Perch or Jonas? I wouldn't mind seeing a 3 of Anita, Cabaye and Sissoko to be honest.

9 league games if you include Villa and Chelsea. While hamstring injuries are notoriously difficult to gauge I do find it strange that they brought him back for the Fulham, reported he'd had a "set back" but then realised that the damage sustained was enough to keep him out for months rather than weeks. Were the signs not there (scans/physio reports) that he was still very much touch and go and that a real set back was on the cards if he played? If it had meant he was out another 2-3 weeks I could understand as it would show only a minor ste back but definitely a cock up a long the line there somewhere it seems.

Right, I'm at 10. Keeping Colo + new signings, I'll go to 8/9. I must be interpreting this thing differently to everyone else. If it's a scale of 1-10, surely 10, 'doomed' means 95-100%, definite. If the rest of the season was played out 10 times, on every occasion we'd be relegated. In a best case scenario, it would be played out 20 times and once we wouldn't. Voting anything like 9 now is ridiculous. Apart from maybe Derby and those two mackem record breakers, probably no team has warranted a 9 in january. Sorry for derailing and taking the relegationometer too seriously, but I'm just a bit baffled. I'm on a 3 after the signings. From me at least. I don't take 10 to mean relegation is a mathematical/statistical certainty (or near to that). I take it to mean that without intervention, I'm strongly convinced we would go down. For me, at least, the relegationometer does not take into account managerial changes/new signings/player exits/en masse injuries (other than those already known to us)/en masse recoveries or other similar events. It's how I see the season playing out if such elements don't change. Things have changed so much this past week. Haven't had time to really think about the implications of it all. Still very worried about relegation and I don't think any such fears will be assuaged until I start to see points on the board or the team demonstrate the capacity to put points on the board. So many unknowns atm. It's a very interesting time. Yeah I feel the same as the last paragraph. My hope is that by the time we get to the last 10 games (and lets hope we've picked up some decent points by then) the side will be pretty settled with the new players bedding in. We should by this point be able to cause some real damage to teams giving the really good sides a proper game at home (Pool/Arsenal) while also giving ourselves to pick up some wins away from home.

I agree but also have the feeling that if Taylor is fit he might be swayed to go with something thats tried and tested. I'd like to see Mbiwa play fwiw plus Taylor has had a long hamstring injury so would be better to ease him back into it.

Yeah I've been watching some clips of him this morning, unbelieveable pace, touch and finishing. Defenders nightmare.

Made me laugh. I've spent most of the week laughing hysterically in disbelief tbf, a new class signing every day and keeping Colo too? FFS, where's the kick in the bollocks coming from? I'm looking everywhere and I can't see it yet. And I've got this funny feeling the end of the world may not be nigh. What is that called? I'm so confused. Villa away .

I'm going to nail my colours to the mast in a totally unsubstantiated prediction and say that we'll sign him this window

Well if the lad sees who we've been signing as I'm sure he has it'll be a tempting option. Could be one for the last day of the transfer window this one.

Well really he should've had a brace against Reading last sat. He's getting chances and that'll only improve with the new signings. Be great to see him bag one against Villa.

Where?

Worse than us? Truly dreadful. Honestly, we are shocking. In the space of five weeks, I have lost all faith in the chairman, and am pretty much at breaking point with the manager. We are pathetic. We are not only going to get relegated, we will finish bottom. I am aware how s*** you have been of late, I have seen some of your matches, and really, right now, I'd back Sandwell and District Paper Boys XI to cause us havoc at set pieces. Honestly, I am so angry right now, I could punch a hole in the f***ing wall. I have known some terrible Villa sides, but the last five or six weeks or so is the worst spell of utter, utter s**** I have ever seen. It is pathetic. Not only that, we are now getting the crowd turning on the team. 2,000 of them trekked to f***ing Milwall tonight to be subjected to that s****, at the end of the game, the players come to applaud the fans, the fans apparently waved them away. It's utterly, utterly wretched. To be fair mate Agbonlahor and Benteke on the day can still cause anyone problems. I think the home pressure is a big factor though in the same way it affected us 2nd half against Reading. Pardew brought it on himself but once it started to slip away you could feel how predictable it all was.

Bobby Gould saying on talksport that at set pieces Villa are "putrid"

That is priceless Fastforward to today and its all "sorry,who?" and "all these unproven French players"

That's a good side there. Do you reckon he'll start the 3 of them though?

Yeah they're completely shot to bits aren't they

Steady on....I'll take 3 points anyway they come. If its tight until the 88th minute and a deflected shot goes that wins us the match then that'll do. People expecting us to go there and walk all over them underestimate the magnitude and pressure of this game. ...EDIT saw the face after so realise you're taking the piss :lol:

It might still be a few weeks of grimness though. We're still in a scrap and we'll have to fight our way out of it but the extra quality and numbers we have now certainly makes that much more possible and seem less desperate. The lift the new players will give the squad can't be understated and football can change pretty quickly when confidence builds. Thats why Ando just sits there quietly saying nothing at the moment while Gary Bennett sits there smugly dropping the odd comment on total sport. There's 15 games still to go, a good way yet......and things can definitely turn around quickly in this league.

They really are so bitter and mental. Every single player we have or sign is apparently s***, just know it's gonna come back to bite them. Yet they think their players are fantastic. I just don't get why they seem so bitter, if they had a decent player I would acknowledge it, their keeper has been pretty decent - the rest of them are functional footballers in the bang average bracket, not totally horrific but not pulling up any trees. We have some clearly above average players when on form in Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Colo and Krul and arguably Cisse (Who I still believe will start scoring) and some massive potential in Anita, Santon, Debuchy (Who they say has been s*** in our 2 games - he just simply hasn't been), Sissokho, Mbiwa. I honestly believe we will start to show what a team we can be with these additions as we should no longer see Williamson/Simpson and Shola every game. It should make a massive difference to our build up play with that Sissiokho, Debuchy and Gouffran in the team - I hope it all takes off, I feel quite confident we are now in a good position to kick on It's just constant aggression on that board and mindless insults.

Well summed up

I'm confident that once the players bed in a bit and things settle down this side will beat teams. You put Mbiwa, Sissoko into that side to go with Debuchy and bring a fit again HBA and we're a totally diffferent prospect 2nd half of the season. I think we'll win enough games to stay up.