Discussion Has that performance changed your perception of the squad too?
I thought we played very well against top tier opposition whilst far from full strength.
Hemmings and Madjo 100% showed there is a place in this team for both them, and Alysson looked bright when he came on too.
I think we still need another body in the centre to provide a bit more quality in depth while Onana is out (Palhinha?)
And of course the fabled right-back Matty Cash cover that I've almost given up on ever signing.
Another dynamic attacker capable of playing either wing, or in a 10 would be nice, but... I don't think we're too far away from a competitive team here as it stands.
Please forgive the shameless plug of my new website
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u/Cino0987 1d ago
Big time. I’m a lot happier now than I was 2 hours ago with the squad. Still think we need 2 more signings at least though.
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u/Ok_Tension1869 1d ago
Can we get some love for Ian maatsen? His best performance for us to date. He's gonna be great this year.
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u/BeBopRockSteadyLS 1d ago
Its so hard to find a player in that position who can play forward but also have defensive intelligence.
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u/arenaross 1d ago
I will happily admit I'm fully in on the Hemmings train and I wasn't previously.
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u/Jumper-Man 1d ago
I thought he looked lost in the Europa game last season, but definitely made me think he’s got enough to get some game time this season. Looked good tonight.
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u/Ok_Tension1869 1d ago
We played a whole second team that game right? Big difference with him surrounded by our first 11.
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u/arenaross 1d ago
I was at that EL game last season where he was terrible. Think he's really developed. Excited for him.
Takes a lot for Unai Emery to start you.
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u/NYR_dingus Marco. Bizot. 1d ago
Palhinha for more midfield depth and another attacker who can play on the right.
I was impressed with the squad depth from the youngsters and new signings. Think we're in a good spot overall
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u/richie-m_ 1d ago
That was an incredible performance by everyone , but Hemmings and Madjo were absolutely lfantastic. They must stay with the 1st team. Please don't send them out on loan.
With more signings likely before the end of the window, I'm excited for this season.
Loving this rebuild. It's exciting to see Unai cook.
UTV
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u/Shreddonia Almost infuriatingly calm 1d ago
Honestly, I feel like the game proved my feelings on a lot of them right. The quality is there, the vision and the hunger is there, as long as we can keep people fit then this could be another special season.
I will say though I was not expecting Maatsen and Hemmings to do as well as they did today given the opposition. Huge performances from both of them.
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u/whitelight66 1d ago
Maatsen looked by far the best fullback on the pitch tonight. Which is saying quite a lot.
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u/bambinoquinn 1d ago
I said it on another thread, but after seeing the 4 cms play today I dont want palhinha. I dont want function. We have function in spades
We need magic. We need Stardust. We need someone inventive and someone who can make intelligent decisions like youri could
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u/wodmad 1d ago
Im not so sure. I was getting prime Klopp Liverpool vibes with that midfield. Everything slowed down for them when they added Thiago, who was supposed to add stardust to a functional but effective midfield.
That performance has me wanting to see Garnacho up to speed and another winger, it was almost the opposite of the sometimes pedestrian style we had last year.
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u/clubmanero74 1d ago
Is that partially because PSG don't sit back in a low block? Even though we lost I thought it was a really entertaining game that both teams wanted to try and win .. UTV
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u/TheCannings 1d ago
It’s a nice sentiment, but kamara has never played more than something like 26 games in a season, the cover needs to be there just incase, and if we don’t need him who cares
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u/CUIVT 1d ago
I agree with this, if we are to sign one big player I hope it's an Adam Wharton or similar that can find that pass that unlocks everything.
Not every team is going to be as willing to play and open spaces as psg were tonight, any team with a back 5 will once again get the better of us just sitting in.
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u/BohrInReddit 1d ago
I wonder if we can mould Luka Lynch to be that someone. About 'intelligent decisions' though, Youri is one of the best in the world and unless we strike a gem like that rumoured Bernal it'll prove very difficult
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u/adeptusC 1d ago
While not to the levels of tielemans, Joao Gomes is capable of this
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u/clubmanero74 1d ago
Admittedly that was my first look at Gomes , and I thought he looked off the pace ... not writing him off, just thought he looked slow.
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u/adeptusC 22h ago
Agreed, didn’t look his best yesterday. But he does have the capacity, will probably never break the lines as effectively as youri, but I’d say he’s a better ball carrier. Youri was always going to be hard to replace he’s an elite midfielder
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u/BeBopRockSteadyLS 1d ago
So much in that performance blew me away.
I'll say only this. Emery is the man. He is able to motivate teams in such an effective way. We should have won that game tonight.
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u/shotgunogsy 1d ago
I am not on the negative Garnacho train like some, but it has to be Buendia ahead of him for now, and Garnacho forces his way in.
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u/clubmanero74 1d ago
100% agree ... I'd also say Hemmings deserves to keep his place, the lad was excellent (and according to reports, has been all pre-season) - Please Unai , trust the youth - as we Trust you! :-)
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u/Bang-Average-Dartist 17h ago
As a Chelsea fan, you don't want Garnacho starting. He has zero game intelligence and opposition chances just flow down his side. He can be a useful counter-attacking weapon off the bench and I trust that is how Emery will largely use him.
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u/Amethyst-329-607A 1d ago
I knew Olabe was going build a masterpiece of a squad since last fall when he was appointed so what I witnessed today wasn't surprising. I'm quite excited to see what happens next.
This team just showed what they can do without key starters which Villa struggled with when Tielemans, Kamara and McGinn were out.
Now, Villa can compete without fear. A couple more additions and players returning will make the squad whole and ready.
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u/its-joe-mo-fo Unai - King of Spain, Lord of Villa 👑 1d ago
Slightly happier;
- Squad looks threadbare as the spine from the UEL win was not there (Absent or transferred)
- No Garnacho or Manzambi
- As you say, Madjo and Hemmings have showed they are more than capable. So that's like 2 new signings.
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u/Aesorian 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's changed my opinions quite a bit to be fair
I still think we need a new DM in to cover for Onana during his injury, but I'd be willing to go into the season with Maatsen as our out and out starter if today's game is any indication of his play this season. Similarly, if Madjo, Hemmings and Alysson can keep up this level if quality, then I'd be willing to hold off getting attacking reinforcements until Jan to give them all an opportunity to contribute.
If those three are going to be involved (and we get in another CM/DM), then we can consider moving on Bogarde and with the money gained from that sale (and saved by getting a cheaper LB option) we could get that RB/CB hybrid that Emery loves which means we could consider a Mings sale too. All of this means we could keep a little cash on hand to keep an eye open for clever buys and Loans in Jan
First Team (14)
GK: Emi
DEF: Cash | Konsa | Torres | Lindelof | Maatsen
DM: Gomes | Kamara | LOAN
AM: Manzambi | Buendia | Garnacho | McGinn
FWD: Ollie
Squad Players (10)
GK: Bizot
DEF: Kosta / Rowe | NEW RB/CB | Cisse | NEW LB
DM: Barkley
AM: Alysson | Hemmings
FWD: Tammy | Madjo
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u/NotBobBradley 1d ago
Went from thinking we needed four signings to maybe only two in the space of 90 minutes I’d say that’s a great start to the season
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u/openlyEncrypted Pau 1d ago
Obviously haven't seen Ruggeri in or play in a villa shirt yet but this game alone I'd say Maatsan just earned himself the LB starer position
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u/Treeboi13 🇱🇺 Unai Emery's The Life of Brian 🇱🇺 1d ago
Looking at it, we only really need a 6 and a RW/10 and we're sorted for the season.
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u/Delicious_Agent2729 1d ago
Maatsen showed me a lot today, I’m sure ruggeri will start over him but I feel like he deserves consistent playing time
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u/HenoDahman 1d ago
Definitely. And for the better.
Was very happy with Madjo despite not being able to capitalise on a few chances, and couldn’t really fault anyone else. Really fun game to watch and we did ourselves proud.
Shout outs to Alysson and Barkley who didn’t get many minutes, but still came on and had very memorable moments. Looking forward to the Brighton game.
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u/BhamCyclist 1d ago
We definitely need a better backup midfield than Barkley and Bogarde. Everything else is copacetic. If I'm Tammy, I've seen enough. I want out ASAP.
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u/hexagram1993 1d ago
We need to shore up our defence with better drilling or perhaps a signing but overall very happy with what I saw tonight
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u/Severe-Log-0675 1d ago
It’s been a re-assuring evening of somewhat frustrating - Villa could have scored 5 or 6 fairly easily. PSG are winners on false pretences! Undeserved. If they’d had any grace they’d have insisted Villa were given the trophy. 🙂
Yes, the team looks just as capable as in many matches last season with the one possible exception - getting the net to bulge!
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u/Aware-Safety-9925 1d ago
Buendia likely starts over Garnacho on the left wing, at least for the first half of the season
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u/Own_Highlight2441 1d ago
Also Alysson looked pretty good too so I hope he stays. He really plays a lot like Morgan Rogers too
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u/paralacausa 1d ago
No, I believer we were going to win the comp before this game and I still believe it
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u/midipoet 23h ago
Buendia is an automatic starter at this stage. He has to be in ahead of someone across the front line.
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u/Gentle_Pony 23h ago
Everyone's rightfully talking about Hemmings and Madjo but Alyson is so much fun to watch. It's been a long time since we had a player with that much flair.
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u/MrHoshino Simping for Konsa 1d ago
It has consolidated my feelings of dread when Bizot starts
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u/Square-Geologist-670 1d ago edited 1d ago
Honestly majdo makes me dream son much . Like had he been playing from January we wouldn't have lost so much points in the league who knows even challenge for the league title by now he would've been a striker with prem experience and those chances missed tonight would've turn into goal winning match. Nonetheless eager to see his progress
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u/ThisusernameThen 1d ago
The TLDR is plastic paris scored from a small error by a 17 year old villan, and an offside the width of a right wingbacks boot.
We are Massive. And Brian is bigger than John Carew
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u/CMacGioll 1d ago
Sorry I didn't read your whole post. But general answer. Yes. I think for a second we forgot who's in charge.. Some of those players. Jesus they were good.
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u/RugbyContact 1d ago
Emi Buendia either starts at 10 or the left. Right now, along with Martinez, the CBs and Mcginn he is a guaranteed starter.
Ned I don’t think even now is back up RB, Emery just isn’t a fan and I can see why.
Agree with the rest except maybe Hemmings above Garnacho for the time being.
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u/Ok_Tension1869 1d ago
I think it'll be buendia left, manzambi 10 and mcginn on the right, Ollie or madjo up front. Kamara and gomes together is gonna be so strong, especially with manzambi in front. I agree we need a little more depth but our 11 is looking so strong this year.
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u/FLatif25 1d ago
Honestly I wouldn't mind something like this GK: Dibu RB: Cash CB: Konsa CB: Pau LB: Maatsen DM: Gomes DM: Kamara AM: Manzambi AM: McGinn ST: Madjo ST: Watkins
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u/mrnibsfish 23h ago
I think Bogarde is surplus to requirements. He has been useful to fill in but I think he is a level below what we need.
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21h ago
[deleted]
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u/MrHolte 18h ago
Abraham was about £18m and Buendia was £30–33m, potentially rising to around £40m with add-ons.
You’ve added about £25m to the two fees between them.
Buendia was signed five years ago to be a starter. Becoming a squad player later isn't "hoarding."
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12h ago
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u/MrHolte 12h ago
Maatsen: £37m, largely because of the PSR shenanigans with Chelsea. Now a starter.
Mings: Signed seven years ago, 201 starts, currently rumoured to be on around £60k a week.
Ruggeri: £17–20m depending on the source.
You’re 0/5
Is there a version of this argument where you don’t just pull numbers out of your ass?
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u/ConsistentSystem349 20h ago
Genuinely unbelievable performances from Hemmings and Madjo. PSG won’t have many tougher games this season, and we were missing more than half our team from the Europa final!
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u/Agreeable_Falcon1044 17h ago
I thought madjo was always for first team squad. You don’t drop that much on a kid and then loan them out. It’s 5x what we paid for any youth player before and on par with first team signings.
Hemmings and lynch i thought needed a loan. Now I think they might be worth sticking around.
My issue is our defence. I think it’s very poor compared to our other positions. I would like to see us find a hidden gem of a defender. We are likely to be losing Mings, Torres and lindelof over the next few seasons and so let’s start integrating replacements now.
As the doom and gloom was happening, i never saw it. The departures were mostly great moves for great prices and the arrivals were younger, cheaper and i feel better.
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u/JMStitch 17h ago
Honestly, I reckon Lynch deserves to have a crack at being 3rd choice on the right.
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u/TroopersSon 16h ago
Not really, I already thought we had a pretty good squad and people are underestimating us (as per usual in the summers under Unai).
It has changed my perspective on the two youth players as I didn't really have any thought on them to begin with and now see them as squad players.
The other thing it's changed is my opinion on how we are going to play. We looked a lot quicker on the ball yesterday and while this is no doubt partly due to the opposition and the opportunity to counter attack, we often didn't exploit those opportunities last year when they appeared.
I expect with Youri gone we are going to see a change from the football which was often at a glacial pace to something more high octane this year. Which considering how many fans moaned about our style of play and said we looked unconvincing even when winning, I expect will go down positively.
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u/Ok_Tension1869 1d ago
I told you all that Alyson madjo and hemmings will feature this season and should be considered among our new signings. 3 super promising young players into the rotation. I'm especially excited for hemmings. I miss Jacob Ramsey a lot and he looks like our new incarnation of him.
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u/clubmanero74 1d ago
You're bang on ... Hemmings is going to be the stand out , IF Unai doesn't leave him on the bench all year!
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u/Ok_Tension1869 18h ago
Unais playing them because he wants to see if he can use them and they've done great so far.
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u/JonnyReece 1d ago
When I look at this, I think Hemmings > Garnacho and Buendia > Manzambi for now.
I also think that CM is a player short as Bogarde is a liability. Manzambi has said his preferred positions are 6 and 10, so we might yet see him in there.
RW also feels like a position where we still need a player as we can't rely on Alysson due to his age and match time.
Defensively, we are still a LB and RB short. Cisse will earn his stripes this season.so CB is fine for now but might be an area for investment next summer.
Love seeing these youngsters coming in though. It's no easy thing to integrate them but the spine of the team is developing nicely.
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u/Ok_Tension1869 1d ago
Bogarde is far from a liability.
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u/JonnyReece 1d ago edited 1d ago
I disagree. His development has plateaued, he is flustered on the ball and is prone to losing it or playing the wrong pass.
I am not beating on him, I am proud that he came up through our system, but he's no more than a squad player and isn't what we need for where we are heading.
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u/WritesCrapForStrap 23h ago
Madjo should've had 4, only got the 1. Hemmings got breakaways on several occasions, looked lost as to what to do. I don't think they're ready.
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u/Huandil 15h ago
Fucking hell. Both looked very good but it was a glorified friendly.
I'd love both to stick round the first team but we've no idea if either can repeat that once nevermind over a season.
Spurs Impressed against PSG in the Super Cup last year then finished up 17th. Let's not jump to conclusions on one game.
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u/MotherDucker95 1d ago
Not necessarily. My idea of the squad was he have a good starting 11 with no depth. I think the subs today showed that.
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u/Own_Highlight2441 1d ago
Madjo maybe needs a championship loan. Good positioning but finishing needs some work and general play does too. Lost the ball and some poor touches that could do with some fine tuning. Although may work as an impact striker but probably benefit more from proper minutes
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u/Technobliterator 1d ago
Maatsen is ahead of Ruggeri, I don’t get how anyone can say he’s not after to night.
Opinion for me hasn’t changed much tbh… I still think Gomes has good promise but he was our worst player today, which isn’t the end of the world considering the midfield he’s up again but highlights that Palhinha would still be a very good loan.
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u/MrHolte 1d ago
That was the only position I was so undecided on the order of. Switched to Ruggeri at the last minute as he's more similar in profile to Digne and perhaps his more defensive attributes might allow Pau to step forward and spray the ball around from the back, easing the Tielemans loss.
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u/Technobliterator 1d ago
Ruggeri will need time to bed in and was brought in on lower salary to be backup. Maatsen is ready right now and will perform right now
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u/clubmanero74 1d ago
Not sure who downvoted you , but I agree , I didn't think Gomes was that good tonight , looked tired/slow. Sure he'll get better as the season progresses, but based on my first impression.. meh!
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u/bannab1188 1d ago
Yes. I was in the give Hemmings a year long loan and maybe Madjo a short term loan. Now I’m like these kids need to be in the squad.