Adama Traore - Wrong Player, Wrong Time

With the news breaking that Adama Traore has submitted a transfer request, Villa fans have taken to social media to air their views on the situation.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the reaction has been largely indifferent to the Barcelona graduate wanting out. However, there are clear reasons why a large section of the support are nonplussed about losing Adama.

Most obviously is the fact that we have barely seen him feature. Due to a seemingly constant stream of injuries, coupled with simply being out of favour, Adama’s Villa career so far amounts to exactly 200 minutes. However, even so, there has been massive excitement about the Spanish U19 international. His first appearance at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace last season ignited real optimism about him. Coming off the bench, he terrorised the Palace defence and whipped in a cross which was diverted in for a an own goal. He was direct, he was strong, and he was perhaps the quickest player we had ever seen in a Villa shirt, even making Gabby in his prime look like a slouch. Adama would go on to pick up an ankle injury in the next game, a league cup tie with Notts County which would contribute to his fleeting role from the subs bench for the next few months. His momentary start had only whetted our appetite however, and in a dismal year where the supporters were subjected to defeat after defeat, we were desperate to see more of Adama and unable to fathom out why both Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde were reluctant to play him. He was a player who could make things happen. That raw excitement was, at one point, seemingly the only possibility of something exhilarating happening to make all of the miserableness that was being served up on a weekly basis more bearable.

Another cameo performance away at Sunderland at the start of the year would only fuel this further, where a direct and powerful burst forward saw three men unable to stop him before putting in an admittedly slightly wayward cross that Carles Gil did extraordinarily well to convert on the volley. In a match which perhaps best sums up Adama’s Villa career, he then promptly managed to break his ankle which would keep him out until April.

Despite his obvious talent though, there was also a growing frustration with Adama. Keen on playing football like a ten year old in the park who believes he’s better than all his mates, there was no positional sense to his game, there was no tracking back, and most of all, there was a reluctance to pass to any teammate. I’m only half joking when I say that I don’t overly blame him for this when his teammates last season were the worst group of players imaginable. Yet there has never, and will never be a player who can do it all on their own, let alone Adama. Teamwork is by far his biggest weakest in his game and there appears to be very little evidence of any sort of improvement being made. 

Then there is his contract. Last season, rumours were abound that clauses had been triggered which meant that Adama’s basic wage rose from around an already substantial £40k a week to reportedly anywhere between £60k-£75k. I can’t imagine which clauses had been triggered through playing so little, but it wouldn’t surprise me for Villa to have lost any sort of coolness in negotiations and caved into any demand his agent made. The last regime including Tom Fox were out of their depth and made extremely poor decisions, including this one. It’s an absolutely ridiculous contract and it’s not the players fault for the club being mug enough to grant it. However, it is a huge drain on resources at a time where it could be much better spent.

It’s a shame that the move hasn’t worked out. There is obviously talent there and ability of some description. But the player is so raw to such an extent that in reality we just aren’t in a position to develop him. The Championship certainly isn’t the league to do it in, where hard work and effort counts for so much more than talent. We have seen so little of the player that there is most definitely going to be a ‘what if’ factor when he leaves, especially if he goes to fulfil his potential.

I don’t blame Adama for wanting out. He isn’t getting game time and trying to see things from his perspective, this is a player who has been used to better things at Barcelona and even had Kieran Richardson was being picked on the wing ahead on him last season; from his view he must be wondering how it’s all gone so wrong. 

From our point of view, his style of play is a liability and will only leave other teammates over exposed when he dashes off in whichever direction he pleases. He just hasn't done enough to warrant a place in the side.

He isn’t getting game time and the fact that he wants to move on and start afresh elsewhere actually shows an ambition rather than simply being happy to pick up a hefty wage packet each week. I’ve seen many comments along the lines of that if he isn’t up for the fight then good riddance to him, which I think is a bit harsh – at least he isn’t prepared to simply steal a living from us as others have done and simply sit on his huge contract.

I like Adama, and I wish we could accommodate him. But the reservations about just how underdeveloped as a footballer he is are clear. It’s a shame it hasn’t worked out, and it's a shame he didn't even start a single league game for the club. But a parting of ways does seem to be a good option for all concerned at this moment in time. 

Why Villa Must Snap Up Moyes And Avoid Pearson

Remi Garde is clinging to the Aston Villa managerial position right now. Despite many reports saying he would be gone at the beginning of this week, we have gotten to Thursday with still no word on what is going on. It seems inevitable that an agreement between Villa and Garde will be reached sooner rather than later to terminate his contract and during the past week speculation has only intensified as to who the next man in the Villa Park hotseat will be.

The front runner appeared to be Nigel Pearson. As short as 1/4 with the bookies at the start of the week, the ex-Leicester manager bizarrely appeared to have a large section of the Villa faithful behind his seemingly impending appointment.

Incredibly, Steve Bruce somehow made his way into second favourite position with the camel coats, however thankfully, seemingly had zero popularity with the fans.

I understand the idea behind Pearson and Bruce; people are looking at managers who have taken teams up from the tough Championship division. However, this surely cannot be the only pre-requisite for managing such an illustrious club as Aston Villa.

Bruce has limited success in a managerial career now in its 18th year. Finishing as runner up in the Championship with both Birmingham City and Hull City, and also gaining promotion again with Blues via the playoffs is about it. You can throw in an F.A Cup runner up medal if you like, but Tim Sherwood had one of those also. Bad football and mediocrity is the norm and several relegation's are part of his CV also. Surely best avoided and completely uninspiring.

Pearson is the one which really troubles me however. Despite having promising signs as a manager, gaining both League One and Championship promotions with Leicester City, and guiding them to a great escape from relegation last season, the fact remains that this wouldn't necessarily translate over to Aston Villa. There seems to be a train of thought which everyone appears to be boarding, and that is that we should bring him in to save us as he did Leicester. If this applies to you, please realise that Leicester's escape was a freak occurrence in football. Pearson would not replicate this in our situation and also we are far worse off than Leicester ever were - despite similar positions, they were never as cut adrift and the table was much more congested and gains out of the bottom three could be made more easily. As for leading us back with immediate promotion, yes, he is a candidate based on this. However, there are far more pressing concerns which cannot be overlooked with this man. Namely, he is a lunatic. And there are examples aplenty to back it up

How about getting into a confrontation with a supporter and telling them to 'fuck off and die' and then refusing to apologise for it later on?

Or maybe the touchline incident with James McArthur after an accidental collision, in which he pinned the player down and then refused to let go of his shirt as McArthur tried to return to the playing field. When asked about it, a grinning Pearson simply exclaimed 'I can look after myself, don't you worry about that'.

Several prickly press conferences provide an insight into the nature of the man; labelling one reporter a 'prick' for asking a perfectly reasonable question about Leicester's position in the table. And to top it all off, the infamous 'Ostrich' press conference it which Pearson unmercifully berated a younger reporter.

This is not a man in control of his emotions. Can you imagine if he came under the pressure that Villa supporters have (rightly) been putting on the club this season. He would likely explode.

The very good news is that Pearson is no longer favourite. Step forward David Moyes.

When Sherwood was dismissed, I was not keen on Moyes. His reputation at Everton was solid yet relatively unspectacular and many Toffees had wanted him out for two or three years. A failing at Manchester United can be somewhat mitigated and it was an unenviable task on his hand to take over from the successful Ferguson era and the transition would've seen any manager in the world struggle at that time with the players at his disposal especially. Yet further failings at Real Sociedad, which eventually culminated in his sacking have seen his stock fall from it's once fairly lofty heights.

However, he is by far our best option at this point. Despite a lack of managerial honours, he has worked in the lower leagues successfully, albeit a long time ago now, with Preston North End. But he has achieved enough with his continuous galvinisation of Everton over many years, and the fact that he was even in a position to land the United job, to command a certain amount of respect that I don't believe other candidates have, or even Remi Garde has mustered. He is steely enough to not be overrun by our mutinous dressing room and he represents less of a gamble than other options available to us.

The rumours are that he would be prepared to drop down into the Championship with us. If this is true, it gives us some credibility and optimism back also - we are still a big draw. If the decision to sack Garde is already made, we should bite Moyes' hand off to get him in as soon as possible. Celtic are reportedly also sniffing around and we can't afford anyone else to turn his head at this moment in time.

It may just end up being a perfect match; a once lauded manager and a once great club, both damaged and in need of each other to get back to where they want to be.

Hopefully the incisive action shown by chairman Steve Hollis so far continues and Moyes is appointed without any further delays.

Perhaps Not A Window of Opportunity This January

The bookies don’t usually get too much wrong, and with odds now floating around of 1/12 about Aston Villa being relegated, it’s looking more and more likely that we are going to drop out of the top division of English football for the first time since 1986/87.

The looming January transfer window therefore poses several problems and dilemmas. Most crucially, do we still attempt to try to save ourselves this season, or begin to build a squad that will be competitive in a tough Championship division next year.

Unfortunately, it’s a choice which we may not even be in a position to make.

Villa currently have a frankly pathetic total of 7 points. This consists of one solitary victory which came way back on the opening day of the season against Bournemouth (it is important to take points of your relegation rivals...). With 21 games to go, there is still time to turn things around. But realistically, out of the remaining 63 points on offer, We are looking at trying to snaffle 33 of those points - that means winning 11 of those 21 games. A tall order for a team with a 1-in-17 win ratio.

Even faced with such diversity, it surely can’t be an option to simply accept relegation at this point. Whilst most supporters feel at this time that we are pretty much doomed, where there is life, there is hope. As one of the grandest clubs in the whole of the game, we have set many firsts and hopefully being the first team to escape this sort of predicament will be another achievement for us.

In order to do so, reinforcements are compulsory. The big problem is that we are not in any sort of position to be a viable option or attractive proposition for the type of player we would ideally like to take on board. Or sadly, even players we would deem suitable to help us battle back from relegation.

If I see another suggestion for us to sign Charlie Austin, I may very well bang my head against a wall until I pass out. There is zero chance of this happening. And for once it isn’t down to just finances. Austin is a proven Premier League goal scorer. I personally think we should’ve paid the £15 million to sign him back in the summer. After all, that is a drop in the ocean compared to what we are about to miss out on next season. But now, there is absolutely no benefit for Austin’s career in joining us. Despite a queue of clubs ahead of us in the pecking order anyway, Austin is effectively a symbol of a greater problem that we are facing.

Aston Villa, in its current position, is not even a viable option for so many Championship players. Due to the fact that we are so far adrift right now, we look nailed on to be relegated. With the Championship being notoriously tight, at this point in the season, as it will be throughout January, it is feasible to suggest that any team from Fulham upwards, who currently occupy 18^th place on 24 points, still have a chance of at least making the playoffs. The Cottagers are 10 points behind 6^th placed Ipswich Town and a run of two or three wins on the spin brings them right into it. That means that any of the decent players in these 18 teams who we might be looking at will be harbouring hopes, at this point, of potentially being a Premier league player next year. We can currently only offer a 4 month relegation fight and a strong possibility that they will still be a Championship player next season, whilst their current team mates make a step up into the big time should they achieve promotion. This rules out players such as Austin, Ross McCormack, Sam Byram, Demarai Gray and a whole host of other promising options.

Other, more established, experienced and impact options will also prove incredibly difficult to land and probably would see our hands severely tied in the process. For example, a strong link has been a move for Everton’s Steven Naismith. On the face of it, a decent acquisition. A player who will run all day which is something we are desperately missing, and is also capable of scoring. But what can Villa offer him? First team football, but with the very real possibility of Championship football next season. Not exactly a enticing proposition. Indeed, if regular action is our only selling point, there is a very real risk that our offer would be gazumped by any one of our rivals who could put a more attractive package on offer. It comes to something when the likes of Bournemouth and Norwich could be preferable destinations over Villa Park, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves any longer into thinking that simply being Aston Villa is enough to give us the edge over the small fry that has, in fact, already overtaken us.

Should we choose the strategy to attempt to salvage this season, the potential danger in all of this is that our only option left is to offer obscene wages to entice our targets. Players will literally be able to bend us over with their demands. This will see our wage bill rise considerably just at a point where have managed to balance Randy’s books to a certain degree. After an exercise in cost cutting which has taken five years to clear the likes of Darren Bent and Shay Given off the roster and has landed us in this position in the first place, we may have to completely undo all of this austerity to be able to sign players who will give us a chance of escaping. Relegation release clauses with either huge payoffs or low sell on transfer fees will be written into contracts. Five year contracts of £50k, £60k, £70k a week or even more would be the minimum to attract the players wavering at the thought of joining us. And make no mistake, we aren’t talking world beaters here - we could have Steven Naismith on our books for the next 5 years on upwards of £50k a week! Mind you, if he kept us up, he’s more than welcome to it.

We are in an extremely fragile position. We could end up being football's bitch. Whichever way this goes we are in very real danger of a future with more average players on huge wages, or a squad of players not equipped or good enough for a Championship season. Although we may already have that anyway of course.

There is talk of clearing out the remaining deadwood on huge wages such as Gabby Agbonlahor and Charles N’Zogbia in order to free up some cash to bring in improvements in January. Easier said than done. Neither exactly has a reputation worth scrapping over and both are sitting pretty on their current contracts. N’Zogbia reportedly is generating interest in the USA and maybe a move abroad is Gabby’s only chance also, but mutual termination of their contracts, especially in N’Zogbia’s case, is the likeliest outcome if we want to rid them; a significant outlay which would render the whole point of freeing up wages pointless.

Randy Lerner has some big decisions to make. Whilst I have always stood by my gratitude for not leading our great club into the sort of debt that Leeds faced after over-spending and trying to keep up with the big boys, the balance hasn’t been struck and we are now in an all or nothing last roll of the dice. Millions will be wiped of the value of the club he wants to sell if we are relegated, whilst the expenditure needed to keep us in the Premier League, or even to prepare for relegation in a positive manner, will be vast.

Either way, Randy is going to be counting the cost of tightening the reins a tad too much over the last few years.

Any thoughts or comments? Please let me know here or @lovespud83! Thanks for reading!

Libor Kozak. What More Can He Do?

When Remi Garde was asked last week about Libor Kozak's continued absence, his answer revealed extremely little. In fact, it only served to fuel the conspiracy theories surrounding the big Czech striker even further.

Garde noted that 'he was no better than the current forward line' and that 'he needs to be better'. Without any expansion upon that, the plot thickened as to what Kozak is/isn't doing in training or in and around the club to be given a chance in a side that is struggling to score goals.

It perhaps shows a touch of desperation amongst us that we are so keen to see Kozak given a chance. After all, he has only ever featured in a handful of games, thanks to a huge layoff due to a broken leg with which followed complications in recovery.

Further to this, Kozak's career goalscoring record is patchy at best. A decent return of 19 goals in 41 games in two seasons for Czech 2nd division side Opava earned him a move to Lazio as a 19 year old. In his first couple of seasons in Italy, Kozak featured just 3 times. A promising third season however saw him bag 7 goals in 22 appearances which then dipped down to 5 goals in 24 games the following campaign.

His final season at the Stadio Olimpico before Villa came calling was the most baffling of all - 19 Serie A appearances with 0 goals to show for it. Yes, zero. The bizarre flip side of this was the fact he scored 10 goals in 11 Europa League fixtures, which meant he finished as the tournament's top scorer.

Before Ciaran Clark nobbled him in a training session, Kozak had delivered 4 goals in 14 league games in his first season at Villa Park. Fairly meagre and nothing to be overly excited about. However, he never struck me as a poor player. He was decent, fitting in, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't Christian Benteke. Now, however, there is certainly an air of wanting to find out more about Kozak.

During this year's pre-season, Kozak featured fairly heavily and grabbed himself a few goals. Whilst we can't read anything into these games, it was promising to see Kozak back around and as an option, especially with Benteke departing.

Yet, despite our continued inability to score, Kozak has not featured at all in the Premier League so far and has amounted just 48 minutes in the League cup against Notts County. 

The timing of this article comes as during the U-21's game against Derby County on Monday evening, Kozak bagged himself a couple more goals and added to the fervour to give him a chance in the first team. Interestingly, before this game, Kozak had also scored in an U-21's game against Blackburn but Garde had confirmed that Kozak wouldn't be involved at all for the upcoming Southampton Premier League game. Which seems like a strange thing to have already decided.

Obviously the competition for the 'big man up top' position is between himself and Rudy Gestede. Garde seems to rate Gestede above Kozak, as did Sherwood. We know Gestede was one of the players that Sherwood definitely wanted to bring in, so that explains that to an extent. But is there something deeper about Kozak that we don't know about, apart from a lack of match practice? Does he not work hard enough? If that is the case, then how is Gestede getting a regular run out?! Kozak was fit for pre-season and contributed, but since then has completely fallen away from selection again. It cannot simply be a case of fitness at this point? Kozak seems to deliver in these friendly's and reserve fixtures, so what else is going on? The quality of opposition is a million miles from a Premier League fixture of course, but if they are his only chance to impress, then surely he is taking those chances and deserves a run in the first team. Especially as Gestede is not performing.

Kozak, to me, has more ability than Gestede and is a more complete player. For a start, Kozak has shown he can use his feet rather than just score with his head. The problem for Gestede, especially with Jordan Amavi now injured, is that the supply of crosses needed are not materialising, leaving him floundering trying to get into the game and being able to offer little else. Kozak would be a better option to try and link up play whilst still having a presence in the box.

Villa fans may be getting carried away with the growing support for Kozak, and seeing him as some sort of saviour, which in itself says so much about the state of our plight. Whilst he may not be the man to save our season, he has certainly earned himself the chance to have a go at doing so.

With rumoured interest mounting from Celtic, who came in for him in the summer, and also Birmingham, I would hate Kozak to leave and then blossom into a regular goalscorer elsewhere, without being given a chance to show what he can do at Villa first.

Mind you, wouldn't that be just typical of us.

 Any thoughts or comments? Please let me know here or @lovespud83! Thanks for reading!

A Crossroads For Jack Grealish?

Remi Garde this morning has confirmed that Jack Grealish will not be in the squad for the forthcoming visit of Watford in this weekend's vital game in which Villa must surely collect 3 points to kick start a dismal season so far.

The emergence of pictures of Grealish from the weekend has once again propelled him into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, and opinion on this matter seems to divide supporters massively. However, Garde has labelled his behaviour as 'unprofessional' and has taken decisive action accordingly.

From what I can see, there are two main ways of looking at it; firstly, he is a 20 year old kid and he is doing what any 20 year old kid should be doing. Secondly, he is a professional footballer and should act as such.

However, there are many other factors involved in this, and I have to say I am completely behind Garde in his decision to banish Grealish for this game.

Over the coming weeks, possibly even days, we are going to find a lot out about what sort of character Jack Grealish possesses. None of us know him personally and so we can't judge. However, I am concerned that there is a spoilt kid mentality about him and I hope that is not the case, as his career will ultimately never reach it's potential if so.

Garde is obviously unimpressed so far with Grealish. The assessment that Grealish has skill and quality but is 'unfinished' is absolutely fair and spot on. Having dropped Grealish for his first game in charge against Manchester City, Garde, perhaps surprisingly, recalled him for the next game against Everton. There was an obvious message; don't think you've made it already, but here is another chance. Garde was obviously looking for a reaction in the Everton game, yet Grealish failed to deliver and didn't work anywhere near hard enough. That isn't to single the lad out or lay the blame solely at his feet. Yet, despite a challenge from his manager and being given a chance to come back in, Grealish failed to seize his opportunity to prove his point to Garde. A poor team performance is no excuse for an individual performance which lacks effort.

Now, on top of this, the story emerges of Grealish being out on the pop in Manchester on Saturday night and again on Sunday in a Birmingham hotel. Whilst there are no pictures of him partaking in anything, the Daily Mail video and images that came out certainly suggests he is not sober. Not by a long way. 

Villa fans are sick to death of having their weekend's ruined every single week for the last 4 months. Personally, the last thing I want to see is any of our players jollying it up, especially straight after such an embarrassing performance and especially when we are in the midst of a run of 5 points from our opening 13 games.

The argument is that he is a 20 year old kid who is entitled to live his life still. 

Wrong. He isn't just a 20 year old kid. He is a professional footballer for Aston Villa F.C. His age is completely irrelevant. He isn't a youth player, or just breaking through any more. He is an established first team player.£20,000 a week is the price for not living life as an ordinary 20 year old and getting smashed at weekends. At least during the season. 

Whilst I do think he is getting unfairly targeted by the press, he has to realise now that his card is marked due to him having talent and being fairly high profile, in terms of a potential hope for English football. The previous incident involving him this summer is something I don't want to re-visit or link to this as I believe off season, he is entitled to do what he wants - within reason of course. He has been tarnished by that whole episode however, and then with the whole 'hippy crack' nonsense also which was dug up by the press going even further back in time to get mileage out of the story. Grealish needs to be way cleverer than letting them control the image that is portrayed of him.

Garde may get pelters from some sections of supporters for banishing Grealish, but this kid needs some discipline. I think it's probably come as a shock to him, to have Garde not completely flailing over him in the way that Tim Sherwood did. It was telling when Grealish posted this on Twitter when Sherwood was sacked.

It would've been interesting to see how Sherwood had handled this latest breach by our young playmaker, but you can't imagine him taking a hard line. Rather, a nudge and a wink and a 'don't do it again'. Maybe that is how to get the best out of Grealish, but long term it isn't doing him any favours, and Garde is right to try and begin instilling some discipline both in Grealish and around Villa Park in general. It's been too long in coming and whilst it may put some people's noses out of joint, professionalism is absolutely key and he'll soon find out which players he can trust and which he can't.

Grealish would've been in no state for training on Monday morning, and thinking he can wing it is simply not good enough. Whilst a 20 year old can probably run off a night out or two fairly easily, Grealish needs to realise that supporters are counting on him to be in peak condition and totally committed in helping our club, his club, out of this mess.

It will be very interesting to see how Grealish responds to this. We can't afford any sulky and stroppy immaturity. He needs to become a man, and show some determination. And quickly. I've said in previous posts that we, as supporters, are now expecting more from Grealish; more goals, more assists. At the moment he is standing still in his development. 

I personally think Garde is spot on this time. He hasn't fined him or gone over the top in his punishment. But a breach of club rules and procedure simply cannot be left to go without consequence. The next step is now up to Jack Grealish and every single Villa supporter is hoping for a positive and mature response rather than a potential personality clash with Garde.

Any thoughts or comments? Please let me know here or @lovespud83! Thanks for reading!