Matt Targett set to miss remainder of season with hamstring injury (Howe)

[Guest HTT II]

2 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

Good set piece delivery as well. I think he’s fine going forward 

Lovely ball in for Wood to get onto which he put wide and then a free kick which Joelinton really should have buried. 

[Guest HTT II]

Just now, ManDoon said:

You need key, solid guys in any team. Even superstar teams have “boring” guys. If you can lock off your entire left side with one full back that gives an attacking player so much freedom. 

Exactly, look at what Burn and Targett alone have done to our first-team. Man Had plenty of players like them during their dominance, Liverpool have Milner and as good as Henderson has been, he’s more in the Targett mould than say a Bruno (world-class). He should be our first signing if the summer and a nice little message to others to say look, we can buy this and that player, but we want professionals, solid 7/10 players with good character. 

[macphisto]

21 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

You need key, solid guys in any team. Even superstar teams have “boring” guys. If you can lock off your entire left side with one full back that gives an attacking player so much freedom. 

But if you look at a lot of the top teams, the creativity and attacking play often comes from the fullbacks, Liverpool the prime example. The Hendersons of this world are there to allow the fullbacks to bomb forward.

 

I agree about the balance of players but if Howe sees attacking fullbacks as key players in his system then I can see why he might look elsewhere. Maybe Howe wants the solid players in other areas of the team. 

 

I do think people are underestimating Henderson, he's several levels above Targett. He's not the most glamorous  player but look at his England caps, player of the year, captain of Liverpool (after Gerrard), etc.

 

As I say, happy for Targett to stay but if it is key attacking position for Howe then I can understand him looking elsewhere.

 

 

[James]

Targett is better than Bernard, Elliot, Santon, Domi and Enrique.

 

I therefore see no reason to upgrade 

[olliemort]

3 minutes ago, James said:

Targett is better than Bernard, Elliot, Santon, Domi and Enrique.

 

I therefore see no reason to upgrade 

Dont think hes better than enrique in his latter NUFC days tbf

[Conjo]

Difficult to say who's best between Bernard, Enrique and Targett since they have/had so different qualities. It comes down to what type of player you prefer or what type of system you play imo.

F.ex Targett wouldn't perform as well as Bernard did in SBRs system. Bernard woulnd't perofrm as well as Targett is under the current system Howe plays.

[Big River]

this guy fucks.

[macphisto]

8 minutes ago, ManDoon said:

They do yeah but football is very cyclical, the current penchant for this high press, insanely high fullbacks can always change. Players like TAA and Robertson aren’t that easy to find. While in a rebuild, a player who defends as well as Targett is essential, imo. 

All true but that doesn't change the fact Howe might be after a different type of full back. Targett has played every game apart from Villa and he hasn't scored a goal or had an assist. Some managers would be happy with that if the player is defensively sound whilst others would prefer more of an attacking threat at the cost of the odd defensive lapses.

 

In all fairness to Targett we don't know his instructions, maybe he's been told to hold back because of ASM. I am convinced that if ASM left this summer then we wouldn't sign Targett. 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, macphisto said:

But if you look at a lot of the top teams, the creativity and attacking play often comes from the fullbacks, Liverpool the prime example. The Hendersons of this world are there to allow the fullbacks to bomb forward.

 

I agree about the balance of players but if Howe sees attacking fullbacks as key players in his system then I can see why he might look elsewhere. Maybe Howe wants the solid players in other areas of the team. 

 

I do think people are underestimating Henderson, he's several levels above Targett. He's not the most glamorous  player but look at his England caps, player of the year, captain of Liverpool (after Gerrard), etc.

 

As I say, happy for Targett to stay but if it is key attacking position for Howe then I can understand him looking elsewhere.

 

 

 

That's also why Gerrard was willing to let Targett go despite being an excellent defensive full back. He wanted to upgrade in order to take Villa to the next level. I'm with you, I'd be happy to sign Targett, but at the same time I would expect Howe to want Tripper's equivalent down the other flank. I still think we'll sign Targett for what it's worth, but eventually we will be looking for an outstanding attacking LB.

[David Edgar]

Leicester won the league with Danny Simpson.  

 

We can be flexible here.  If Targett is available and relatively cheap, it seems a no brainer.  You're getting pure reliability at the expense of being rock solid but not elite.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, macphisto said:

But if you look at a lot of the top teams, the creativity and attacking play often comes from the fullbacks, Liverpool the prime example. The Hendersons of this world are there to allow the fullbacks to bomb forward.

 

I agree about the balance of players but if Howe sees attacking fullbacks as key players in his system then I can see why he might look elsewhere. Maybe Howe wants the solid players in other areas of the team. 

 

I do think people are underestimating Henderson, he's several levels above Targett. He's not the most glamorous  player but look at his England caps, player of the year, captain of Liverpool (after Gerrard), etc.

 

As I say, happy for Targett to stay but if it is key attacking position for Howe then I can understand him looking elsewhere.

 

 

I think people underestimate how good he is going forward. Think people have been conditioned to having Dummett so long that good defensively = shit offensively. He can defend but he can cross a decent ball too, overlap (shame ASM underuses that outlet) and can be a threat too, he could have scored two at Brentford the other month.

[macphisto]

28 minutes ago, David Edgar said:

Leicester won the league with Danny Simpson.  

 

We can be flexible here.  If Targett is available and relatively cheap, it seems a no brainer.  You're getting pure reliability at the expense of being rock solid but not elite.

It's not about the level of player but more type. Do you buy a player that is not the type you're looking for? This is not about Targett as such but more the principle of buying players to fit a system. 

 

If there is someone out there more suited to what Howe is looking for then it would not make sense to buy Targett; that is if Targett isn't the type of fullback Howe's looking for. The next few years are going to be so crucial to embedding a style of play in the team and it looks like fullbacks are going to be crucial in Howe's style of play.

[greydos]

Even if we want a progressive left back for turning 1-0 wins against “the other 14” into more comfortable 2-0 and 3-0 wins, our team will still need Targett against the top 6.
 

Even with 4 quality signings in the summer, you can’t tell me we can defend better against Man City and Liverpool with a Gosens/Digne at left back rather than Targett. 
 

He’s literally a must sign for me. Plus, Trippier’s a passing attacking fullback, not so much a marauding one. Targett could well get to that level in the next 5 years when he’ll be Trippier’s current age.

 

Get him signed ffs!

[Groundhog63]

Sheer coincidence but I'm watching the 2018 play off final on Sky. 

Wor Matt putting his usual steady shift in for Fulham against his next employers. 

Mitro, having scored 26 (?) goals that season then went on to score......3 in the subsequent relegation from the Prem. 

Rinse, repeat

[SUPERTOON]

I don’t think there is much wrong with his attacking tbh, he has excellent delivery and I think his attacking plat will look better with better attacking players in the side that we will most likely sign in the summer.

[macphisto]

7 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

I think people underestimate how good he is going forward. Think people have been conditioned to having Dummett so long that good defensively = shit offensively. He can defend but he can cross a decent ball too, overlap (shame ASM underuses that outlet) and can be a threat too, he could have scored two at Brentford the other month.

He hasn't scored or had an assist in 11 matches for us. 

 

Villa 2019/20= 28 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists

Villa 2020/21= 38 matches, 0 goals, 2 assists

Villa 2021/22= 17 matches, 1 goal, 1 assist

 

Those figures tell you why he's available for £15 million. Good defender but offers little going forward.

 

[PauloGeordio]

1 minute ago, macphisto said:

He hasn't scored or had an assist in 11 matches for us. 

 

Villa 2019/20= 28 matches, 1 goal, 2 assists

Villa 2020/21= 38 matches, 0 goals, 2 assists

Villa 2021/22= 17 matches, 1 goal, 1 assist

 

Those figures tell you why he's available for £15 million. Good defender but offers little going forward.

 

He had a winning goal assist in the Leicester game ?

[STM]

Find me a left back who defends like Targett but also gets elite level goals and assists and we can talk.

 

Unless someone comes along and says "X player can do both", it's a pointless conversation.

 

I'd be gutted if we regressed defensively.

[SUPERTOON]

If we didn’t sign him for whatever reason, I would go for Cucurella.

[Happinesstan]

He rarely wastes the ball. That's good enough for me.

[STM]

It's like trying to run before we can walk. This is an issue I'd hope to have in 2 years time, when we are playing passing, progressive football.

[Happinesstan]

I actually thought he was better with Murphy or Frasier in front of him. He was a constant threat. He did tire quicker, which led to him playing a couple of stray passes, late on. If he and ASM can work it out it will be great for both of them.

[STM]

4 minutes ago, Happinesstan said:

I actually thought he was better with Murphy or Frasier in front of him. He was a constant threat. He did tire quicker, which led to him playing a couple of stray passes, late on. If he and ASM can work it out it will be great for both of them.

 

I was saying the other day that I'm convinced he's been told not to overlap when ASM is in front of him, in order to allow ASM to hold his position on the left flank without worrying about tracking back.

 

It's an entirely different conversation but it's stunning how much more dangerous we looked down our left with Fraser and Targett, West Ham, Brentford and Southampton games come to mind.

[PauloGeordio]

10 minutes ago, STM said:

 

I was saying the other day that I'm convinced he's been told not to overlap when ASM is in front of him, in order to allow ASM to hold his position on the left flank without worrying about tracking back.

 

It's an entirely different conversation but it's stunning how much more dangerous we looked down our left with Fraser and Targett, West Ham, Brentford and Southampton games come to mind.

Fraser is drilled and follows instructions. Maxi God love him is Maxi! 

[macphisto]

If he is not what Howe is looking for then you are essentially espousing a philosophy of putting individual players before the system of play which almost inevitably leads to dysfunctional clubs (Everton, Man U, PSG). Yes, Targett is a great defender but he offers little going forward, you can't get away from his stats. I would much rather have a player who is not as solid a defender but offers more going forward if he fits more into Howe's style of play (the system of play is more important than any player). That way the club gets used to a style of play and when we do upgrade, we are only upgrading the player and not upgrading the player and changing the style of play at the same time.  

 

To be fair to Howe, his priority next season should be developing Willock, Joelinton and ASM and seeing if they can be incorporated into his system of play in the future. Essentially we already have enough players who need to adapt to what Howe is after without buying new players unsuited to his style of play (if that applies to Targett). 

 

@greydos We don't need to be afraid of the top six if we had more of an attacking fullback, only the top two. Take away Man City and Liverpool and I would fancy our chances against any of the other teams next season, particularly at home.