All been rather interesting (and a bit tiresome, as well) as the transfer sagas of Moussa Diaby and Jhon Duran have progressed, which made me forget all about the machinations of the Luiz deal. Diaby, it seems, wants a bigger pay packet, and Duran thinks he should be starting. At least that’s the way it looks. Dougie? Dunno, really. I guess he wanted a change of scenery.
Diaby first: I know I’m echoing everyone in wondering why you’d turn down Champions League football for a stint in the desert, and yes, money is the most obvious element. I’m also wondering, though, if his time at Villa wasn’t a little sobering. While he had his moments and showed flashes of true quality (he did have 10 goals and 9 assists across all competitions), he didn’t really have the season-long impact one might’ve expected. While fast, it’s not world-record speed; while dangerous, he seemed gun-shy; while decent on the ball, no wizard. Add to that his slight stature and the way he needs to be played to to get the most out of him, I can see why, along with PSR, Villa didn’t stand in his way, and why he might’ve come away with his confidence a little dented. We all saw the hesitation that had crept into his game.
Duran: Well, he’s kind of been a pain since he arrived. Young, yes, but lacking the right mentality. Amadou Onana in extended comments detailed his conversations with Emery. How Unai pointed out his strengths and weaknesses. How Unai wanted to go about making him a more complete player. Onana, for his part, said yes, he wants to get better and Unai’s the coach he believes will take him forward.
Contrast that with Duran. A specimen, no doubt, a chaos agent for sure. But moody and for all appearances not really a team player. He wasn’t buying into Emery’s system and the work required. He wasn’t positionally disciplined. He had the nerve to remonstrate senior players who didn’t play him in. Always on the edge of a yellow from the minute he trotted onto the pitch. Signs of youth? Sure. But for a purported £30m+ fee and Lewis Orford, good business to get rid.
Can’t forget Dougie, either, who, once again, appeared to want the move and Villa sanctioned it after getting ~£50m and two players. Having thrived under Emery it seems a little odd, but there you go. Maybe it was the grind, maybe Italy was more appealing. I think Barkley, Barrenechea and Onana will more than make up for him.
So, seems to me Villa have been boxing smart with Monchi wheeling and dealing and he and Emery getting young players in whom they see potential. They’ve cleared the PSR hurdle and strengthened in depth.
They’ve also added height and strength, which were needed, and don’t seem to be done yet. While I’m as skeptical as the next fan about Felix, for example, I have to believe Emery knows what he’s doing. Naturally, it seems to be another difficult deal to get over the line, so might very well not happen at all. There’ll have been a new development before anyone reads this.
Overall, the first couple of preseason outings looked good for the new signings. Obviously fairly soft opposition, but I liked what I saw in terms of rhythm, quality on the ball, and range of passing. In particular, I really liked seeing Ross pinging smart little one-touch passes, the kind that keep possession and avoid stagnation. He looked very at ease. Given the senior players missing and all the new and young faces mixed in, I thought both matches were encouraging.
So, a fair amount of turnover, and we might all wonder if we gained more than we lost. But if the newest Duran wrinkle works out, I think Villa will have turned a profit on the summer, which was clearly needed, and I’m trusting Emery’s eye. The team had to get deeper and more robust, and it’s also getting younger, bigger and stronger. To me, that bodes well for the grind ahead.
Over to you.
The Author
John Clark
John is co-owner of AVL, and has followed the Villa since the '70s. A journalist by trade, he is, by most accounts, a very nice person. You can follow me on Twitter @JClarkKohoutek. It's an astonishing experience. Or a complete waste of time.Comments 10
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Thanks John, an excellent resume of the current situation. Agreed we are adding height and strength in no small measure. Badly needed. Depth of squad also improved. Quality improved too. It’s a shame about Big Jhon, there is a real player in there. Unfortunately his youth has led to immature stances which does his career no favours at all. If he’s too disruptive, offload. We’ll raise a profit on him but finding a replacement won’t be easy.
I too don’t think we’re finished yet but incomings will depend on any more outgoings. Things are changing, Unai is putting his stamp on the team and is showing a smart trading position. Felix won’t be coming for the money asked (purchase price and salary) because Emery considers them too expensive for the quality received. Those prices may change of course.
It’s also wonderful seeing Aston Villa run as a top quality football club off the field. We have the right people in the right positions. The possibilities for our club is endless. The video promoting the new club shirts with Ozzie asking Geezer if he wants to play VP and who replies only if he’s on the left wing……top stuff.
Its been awhile since I’ve been on the site, but I’m back and not doing so bad. I retired at the end of November and haven’t stopped since. We have been catching up on all those jobs you always put off while working. I had to hand in my lap top when I retied they wouldn’t let me buy it off them so I did a format “C” and of course lost every thing. Anyway we have new laptop at home in time for the new season!! Nice header again John. Personally still trying t make sense out of the Philoene and Archer senerio’s, didn’t want them to leave in the first place so glad they are back, but the money part makes no sense to me at all unless it was all to fiddle with the PSR numbers.
Plug,
Loved that video. Maybe some initial missteps on the commercial/badge side, but that is top quality.
Hey there, Canadian. Always good to see you, and happy retirement!
I’m pretty sure it was mainly PSR chicanery. Villa even had the sell-on clause inserted that ended up being to their benefit.
But I think there’s also the element that they wanted them to go out and prove themselves. It’s different when a club invests in buying a player rather than getting a body in on loan. So money games and motivation, seems like.
Not going to overreact (travel, heat & humidity, mix-and-match, playing a team 20 games into their season, players never having been on the pitch together), but I’m still personally insulted we conceded 4 against an MLS team, and I’m sure Emery will feel the same way.
Good goal by Archer, and the best thing was seeing Buendia back on the grass.
Yep, I’m not going to overreact to the result either but shipping 4 goals is a no no. I would be ashamed if I shipped 4 goals in a game of tiddly winks, never mind to an MLS outfit. I too am sure that Unai will feel the same. But it’s all about getting minutes into the legs of the players available. And it was good to see Emi back on the pitch. We move on.
4 goals were poor mainly individual mistakes,possibly var would have ruled a couple out
When you take missing stars plus mcginn tielmens stuffing faces in stand it was some crazy sides,impressed with few new signings not impressed with gauchi moreno, thought digne was a terrific pro playing centre half,
Fantastic to see emi back think read ramsay only started training with group last Monday, now get felix and Duran sagas put to bed
Great to see our owners are taking stand with clubs that didn’t back us in vote at end of season, pay our price or forget it
Sky are reporting that West ‘Aaamm are now looking at Fullkrug from Dortmund as an alternative to Big Jhon. Seems the gap between what Monchi wants and what they are prepared to pay for him is too wide.
So let them buy a 31 year old with low resale value instead of a 20 year old with huge potential. Well done Monchi. Sounds like Sullivan and Brady haven’t changed. If we can’t offload him for his true value, then we should keep him and hope he’s learned a valuable lesson in life and not publish himself giving the Hammers sign. Talk about counting chickens. It also means we won’t be signing Felix, which I don’t mind as I’m still to be convinced by him.
One day, Big Jhon will grow up and start to learn from a master coach. Alternatively, he won’t and therefore never reach his full potential.
We have had a strange summer,transfers saga continues
Definitely think think we need to replace diaby and even Duran
But I trust monchi and emery to get what we need
Match coming soon we need to soon see our main side out
Another damp squib, but we got to work on playing a man down.
Fresh post up.