5 reasons why spurs will not be this season's villa (in a good way)

[simyid]

1. much bigger squad - we have 2 (in some cases three) top quality player in each position unlike villa who had a tiny squad so we will be less likley to tire out come the end of the season.

2. no uefa cup - means we can concentrate on the league unlike villa last season who were badly effected by their uefa cup campaign.

3. 4 international strikers - in keane, defoe, crouch and pav we have 4 great strikers who could walk into a hell of a alot of teams. villa had carew, heskey and agbonlahor who are nowhere near as good.

4. more creativity - in luka modric we have one of the most creative players in the league and also great pace in lennon on the right. villa's most creative player was young and considering he ain't that creative it suggest that we will create more chance.

5. palacios - nuff said!!

there are more reasons but can't be bothered to say them so this is why we will ( well should) go further than villa did last year

 

[epfou1]

4. more creativity - in luka modric we have one of the most creative players in the league and also great pace in lennon on the right. villa's most creative player was young and considering he ain't that creative it suggest that we will create more chance.

Villa had just as much creativity as spurs with Young, Milner and G Barry last season. But you four other points are spot on.

 

[EmperorKabir]

yea agree with a lot of that. agbonlahor is quality though but not quality enough for a top 4 sort of side to nurture him sadly. he is a little wasted at villa.

 

[walworthyid]

Villa had just as much creativity as spurs with Young, Milner and G Barry last season. But you four other points are spot on.

The creativity needs to be looked at in terms of the entire attacking unit and when making a comparison between the 2 teams you also need to take into account the fact that Villa gained an awful lot of their points on the road and that they were set up to play that way.

In that light the comparison should be Young, Milner, Agbonlahor and Barry vs Lennon, Modric, Keane and Lennon with Defoe as our finisher; The first thing you notice is that we play with 5 attacking players to their 4; the second is that we have 2 regular goal scorers (Defoe/Keane) to their 1; We play a controlling game they play on the break. We will create many more chances than they did and will put away more chances because we have 2 players to take advantage of them

As well as they did last season I feel that we are already a far better team than they were/are and that we have a far greater chance of maintaining it over the course of the season for these reasons and the reasons outlined in the thread.

We, are considerably better, than them!

 

[YEAST]

we dont have 4 strikers, redknapp would rather play 451 and shoe in his buddies before he plays the technically gifted russian

 

[lishiyo]

Agbonlahor isn't much different from Bent, though pacier and much more suited for his team, unlike Bent for us. He showed great form in the first half of last season, but didn't score in the second half. Well done agent Heskey :lol:

Villa's weakness last season came from their lack of plan B's - they are one of the lowest-passing teams in the league, but usually the pace and counterattacking threat of their starting XI can overwhelm most sides. Heskey messed up their usual game, and then Laursen retired, which was a terrible blow for their inexperienced defense.

Villa have spent about 40m this summer strengthening their squad depth esp defensively (unless Dunne fails to recover his form, in which case he is a liability), and they're already out of Europe, so I don't think they'll have another spectacular second-half collapse.

However, it'll be interesting to see what MON does when Downing gets fit - the suggestion is that Downing will play LM while Young plays centrally in the hole. This might be another tactical suicide a la Heskey, but could prove to be a masterstroke since Downing fits Villa quite well - pacy and better at keeping possession than Young, even if he has nowhere near his class - and Young might just fulfill the playmaking role they need.


I'm surprised many people have written off Everton and Villa as top 4 pretenders already in favor of us and Citeh. Villa have spent the second highest net amount this summer (after Citeh of course), and they've splashed out more us in recent years. They have a good squad that has simply lacked confidence for a while, and we know how quickly that can change.

Meanwhile, Everton had a rocky start last season too but finished fifth without much fuss (and without Arteta for much of the season, which would be like us losing Modric). They've traded an overrated defender for a good, if aging, Distin for an amazing profit. I think Bilyaletdinov will be a very good signing for them, though I don't think that highly of Heitinga. Very silly to write them off, esp if they are luckier with injuries this season.


I'll be fairly confident about our chances though if our first-choice back 5 get back soon and stay fit for most of the season. Our good form in the latter half of last season depended mainly on keeping clean sheets and a run of 1-0s. In attack we're fairly strong in depth on paper, but I'll always be slightly worried without a backline of Gomes, BAE, King, Woodgate, Corluka.

 

[hybridsoldier]

For me, Aston Villa are really over-rated.

They have Plan A, which is get it to Young andhope for the best, and Plan B usually involved getting it on the head of Carew or Heskey which is why Abonglahor's form has dipped horribly.

All last season I said this, and that they were a flash in the pan and wouldn't last - mostly cos my mate is a villa fan.

Also they have lost 3 leaders in the last 2 years - Mellberg then Laursen now Barry. Curtis Davies has just been sidelined and Dunne hasn't been at his best over the last 12 months, also the squad is tiny and the CM is relying alot on Fabian Delph.

Villa for me will be between 8th and 10th.

In a world cup year we have more players than anyone that want to prove themselves, I really do feel that we can secure 5th place....4th we are close to...the defence is the issue

 

[SpurSince57]

we dont have 4 strikers, redknapp would rather play 451 and shoe in his buddies before he plays the technically gifted russian

Utter rubbish.

 

[simyid]

Villa had just as much creativity as spurs with Young, Milner and G Barry last season. But you four other points are spot on.

hudd, keane, luka and even kranjar are way more creative individually than any of those players.

 

[nferno]

The creativity needs to be looked at in terms of the entire attacking unit and when making a comparison between the 2 teams you also need to take into account the fact that Villa gained an awful lot of their points on the road and that they were set up to play that way.

In that light the comparison should be Young, Milner, Agbonlahor and Barry vs Lennon, Modric, Keane and Lennon with Defoe as our finisher; The first thing you notice is that we play with 5 attacking players to their 4; the second is that we have 2 regular goal scorers (Defoe/Keane) to their 1; We play a controlling game they play on the break. We will create many more chances than they did and will put away more chances because we have 2 players to take advantage of them

As well as they did last season I feel that we are already a far better team than they were/are and that we have a far greater chance of maintaining it over the course of the season for these reasons and the reasons outlined in the thread.

We, are considerably better, than them!

u mentioned lennon twice, so its 4 v 4 lol :razz:

 

[Rackybear]

Probably meant Defoe smartass ;-)

 

[guy]

no-ones mentioned Styliyan Petrov.

He was their players' and fan's player of the season last year. I would like him in our MF alongside Wilson.

We have a far superior squad on paper, and now that we have some real team spirit and unity we are a much better team to them. i have no doubt in my mind that we will finish higher than them this season. Id also guess that everton will be above them too.

 

[bomberH]

we dont have 4 strikers, redknapp would rather play 451 and shoe in his buddies before he plays the technically gifted russian

That's twice you've mentioned Redknapp's fondness of his old players in a negative manner. Hasn't worked out too badly so far has it?

Redknapp's old players aside from Defoe, Crouch & Kranjcar (all of whom are quality players by the way) include Diarra, Joe Cole, Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Muntari, Johnson etc etc etc. You seem to be one of those Redknapp haters no matter what. Nice :-|

 

[lishiyo]

I have no idea where Redknapp's supposed liking for his own players comes from. For one thing, his old players are actually quite good. And they're available and love to play for him, and Pompey are desperate to get rid to lower their wage bill. For many of them we'd be a step up, though some could do better (eg Diarra, Muntari, the West Ham lot). Given the circumstances, signing three of his old players is not exactly unusual.

The old players of his we've signed so far are Defoe, Crouch, and Kranjcar. Defoe is clearly in the team on merit, and so far he's earned it. (I'll also note that he was the only available prolific, PL-proven striker in January when we were desperate for goals. And he was desperate to come back. No brainer there.)

Crouch, despite being signed twice by Harry, has yet to start a game in the league for us. (And I think it's clear he was not our first choice striker option this summer, given how long we waited, with Sunderland and Fulham buzzing around him, until we made a move for him.)

Kranjcar hasn't played yet, but for 2.5m - forget about Harry, Levy would bite Storrie's arm off for Niko. :lol:

It's not like Harry has sold half our squad to bring in his old buddies. He's actually shown quite a bit of faith in the team he inherited, esp given our dire form just prior to his arrival. Out of all his signings, only Defoe, Keane, and Palacios right now would be in the starting XI most of the time, and only Defoe has worked with Harry before. The rest of his signings have either improved squad depth or are looking towards the future (Naughton and Walker).

There are some squad players who I'd like to see more, but I understand that we shouldn't be changing a winning team unless we're actually winning in spite of an individual. If we build up bigger leads early or happen to be chasing games in the last 20 min, then we can take more risks with our other options.

 

[nferno]

Probably meant Defoe smartass ;-)

but he did mention Defoe straight after if u read wiseass

 

[walworthyid]

u mentioned lennon twice, so its 4 v 4 lol :razz:

No, I actually meant Modric/Niko!

So 4v5!

 

[nferno]

lol, nice recovery

 

[Spurs_Bear]

we dont have 4 strikers, redknapp would rather play 451 and shoe in his buddies before he plays the technically gifted russian

Everything about this post, literally everything......is rubbish.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I have no idea where Redknapp's supposed liking for his own players comes from. For one thing, his old players are actually quite good. And they're available and love to play for him, and Pompey are desperate to get rid to lower their wage bill. For many of them we'd be a step up, though some could do better (eg Diarra, Muntari, the West Ham lot). Given the circumstances, signing three of his old players is not exactly unusual.

The old players of his we've signed so far are Defoe, Crouch, and Kranjcar. Defoe is clearly in the team on merit, and so far he's earned it. (I'll also note that he was the only available prolific, PL-proven striker in January when we were desperate for goals. And he was desperate to come back. No brainer there.)

Crouch, despite being signed twice by Harry, has yet to start a game in the league for us. (And I think it's clear he was not our first choice striker option this summer, given how long we waited, with Sunderland and Fulham buzzing around him, until we made a move for him.)

Kranjcar hasn't played yet, but for 2.5m - forget about Harry, Levy would bite Storrie's arm off for Niko. :lol:

It's not like Harry has sold half our squad to bring in his old buddies. He's actually shown quite a bit of faith in the team he inherited, esp given our dire form just prior to his arrival. Out of all his signings, only Defoe, Keane, and Palacios right now would be in the starting XI most of the time, and only Defoe has worked with Harry before. The rest of his signings have either improved squad depth or are looking towards the future (Naughton and Walker).

There are some squad players who I'd like to see more, but I understand that we shouldn't be changing a winning team unless we're actually winning in spite of an individual. If we build up bigger leads early or happen to be chasing games in the last 20 min, then we can take more risks with our other options.

That's a brilliant response to YEAST's original statement, but I feel it will be wasted on him.

I literally sit shaking my head at the screen in disbelief when I read some of the shit that people write. I mean surely he cant be serious...?

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I think Villa will be there or there abouts this season again and anyone that writes them off does so at their peril.

Creative/attacking players they have are (regulars):

Young
Milner (excellent and very underrated)
Downing
Heskey
Carew
Agbonlahore


Agbonlahore is another Bent.
But the others are all quality players. Milner for example made 8 assists last season & 3 goals (lennon 4/5). Young 7/7.


And in Stilian Petrov they another of the leagues vastly underrated players. The fella put in 110 tackles last season (palacios 86) and can also play a bit (1200 passes to palacios 1000).

Martin O'Neil is one of the leagues best motivational managers. His tactics are rarely complex but he has good team balance and players who rarely underperform.

They will be in the top 6-8 IMO.