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Lord of the Mings's rumours posts with other poster's replies to Lord of the Mings's rumours posts
16 Mar 2026 15:26:51
I think we all can agree that whatever happens, the squad will need refreshing come the summer, and I think the club is at a bit of a crossroads, and have two options. Option 1. Build a squad around Rogers. The consequence being we sell squad players, but given our financial position, our ability to spend big will be strictly limited and we will probably end up using the free transfer market for some acquisitions.
Option 2. We sell Rogers plus squad players which will give us more spending power and enable us to buy better players.
If I’m honest, I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision, as I’m not sure which way to jump.
06 Mar 2026 18:38:16
Just had to put up with some stick from mates of mine who unfortunately are Chelsea fans and boy did they enjoy highlighting how bad we were on Wednesday. Not only did I have to put up with that grief, they then shared some information which is doing the rounds amongst Chelsea fans, so I thought I would share if nothing more than for a ?. Apparently Chelsea have agreed terms with Rogers representatives for a move in the summer, Villa are allegedly prepared to sell but want Nicholas Jackson as part of the deal.
The problem is the valuation placed upon the player by Chelsea is much higher than Villa’s. At the moment allegedly neither club is prepared to budge but the Chelsea lads are confident a deal will be done in time for next season.
1.) 07 Mar 2026 12:49:59
Don't fancy Jackson tbh, although I'd heard we were having 2nd thoughts due to issues with his temperament.
2.) 07 Mar 2026 14:14:39
Certainly not at £60 million which is what Chelsea value him at apparently!
3.) 07 Mar 2026 15:50:05
Didn't Chelsea fans claim the exact same thing last summer? I suspect Chelsea are the same as every other club, and don't tell fans about any transfers until there's actually something to tell them.
4.) 07 Mar 2026 16:36:41
Apparently Rogers is changing his agent and moving to the same one as Cole Palmer, and they are good mates. People may be putting 2 and 2 together to get 5, but we have a history of selling for big money, and Emery is confident stars can be replaced, so it wouldn't be a total surprise if this had some legs, but, as with all these things, time will tell.
15 Feb 2026 22:18:21
I have to hold my hands up and say when I heard we had signed Victor Lindelof I was seriously underwhelmed I thought he was slow had the turning circle of the Titanic and I couldn't see how he would fit into an Emery side. How wrong was I! Whilst he isn't the quickest he certainly isn't slow he reads the game well is good in the air and probably what I like the most is he doesn't try to do things he knows he can't so we don't have him trying to do Cryuff turns or playing 60 yard cross field passes he just keeps it simple and what he is good at.
In many ways you could argue he's been our most effective centre back.
1.) 16 Feb 2026 00:20:18
This season I thought victor and Ezri were our best paring, I know we lost the 3 guys in midfield but he lost his place around the same time and results have slipped. obviously not all because of him but I do believe it had some impact
13 Feb 2026 22:53:22
This is probably a daft question so bear with me. So we remain in financial difficulties and last year we managed to dodge a bullet by the club effectively selling the women's team to themselves.
My question is with the shirt sponsorship deal coming up for negotiation could the club not effectively do something similar this year by effectively sponsoring
itself?
Basically sell the rights for an over inflated price to one of your subsidiaries and make some of our financial worries disappear? You probably can't do this and even if you can it's at best practice but we need to find ways to remove the financial straight jacket that's being applied to clubs other than the big six?
1.) 14 Feb 2026 06:41:19
This would be great if we could wrangle it, I do think there are some restrictions though, I’d imagine it’s a bit like selling the stadium and the women’s team where we had to stick to market value. I do think we will have a juicy sponsorship deal if we can get top 5
2.) 14 Feb 2026 08:11:45
Like Whack said, any deal with related parties is subject to independent review. Man City failed with their bid to scrap that rule and I agree with the decision.
10 Feb 2026 15:27:11
Going back to the Morgan Rogers position if you look at players we are being linked with a large number the likes of Julian Brandt, Thiago Almada, and now MGW all are attacking midfielders, we currently have Buendia and Rogers occupying those positions so why would you need to sign another of this type of player? Makes no sense to me.
I think all the links would seem to suggest one of the attacking midfielders are on the move.
1.) 11 Feb 2026 20:24:08
Yep because Emery rang around all the news outlets and informed them what he’s planning to do in the summer. or maybe it’s just made up rubbish. every tabloid going will try sell Roger’s in every window, yet not one bid we have received for him
Lord of the Mings's banter posts with other poster's replies to Lord of the Mings's banter posts
20 Mar 2026 07:51:10
So reflecting on last night’s performance, it wasn’t the best game you’ve ever seen us play, but we were a hell of a lot better than we were against Utd and Chelsea. We mixed the play up, going long as well as playing it out from the back. Sancho had his best game in a Villa shirt, Lindelof was solid (Konsa needs to be looking over his shoulder), and Watkins looked more like his old self in the time he was on the pitch.
So was it perfect? No, but let’s celebrate the fact we won and take that into Sunday’s game with West Ham. UTV.
14 Mar 2026 18:10:28
I’m starting to despair of football. I’m watching Chelsea v Newcastle and Reece James manhandles Malick Thisw to the floor. Not looking at the flight of the ball, just intent on stopping Thiaw. VAR looks at it. No penalty yet, the slightest of touches to a player running into the box appears these days to be an automatic spot kick, which is bizarre.
You are never going to stop players manhandling each other in the box unless you start giving penalties that will stop it quick enough.
13 Mar 2026 09:21:13
Does anyone know if ourselves and Roma get through whether Malen is eligible to play against us?
1.) 13 Mar 2026 09:45:21
He plays the same as Assensio played for us against PSG. Euro rules are not like the league with on loan players.
2.) 13 Mar 2026 11:01:21
I just wondered whether we had put a clause in the loan deal because I'm pretty sure that at that stage the possibility of us facing each other was known.
3.) 13 Mar 2026 14:14:50
As far as I know, those clauses are not allowed in Europe.
05 Mar 2026 09:10:25
I think we need a little perspective here. So we are on a bad run, no question, and the football isn’t great but we were on a bad run at the start of the season and the manager turned it around and we went on that amazing unbeaten run who's to say we won’t do that again when Tielemans, and McGinn come back into the starting XI. Apart from say Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal if you took your first XI’s midfield out of any of the other Premiership sides would it affect results? Without a doubt it would.
I really don’t get the criticism re the manager's transfer business; sure, some of it hasn’t been great but then no manager ever gets it right 100% of the time, but Unai is responsible for Tielemans, Rogers, Duran, Diaby, Malen, Torres and in three years that’s not bad business in my opinion. As for the view that we won’t win anything with Emery in charge, he is recognised as one of the best coaches in world football.
He is operating in a market where one hand is tied behind his back because of PSR/SCR issues and yet we will have qualified for Europe every year the guy's been in charge, sure we want to win things but we are competing with clubs whose financial clout is much greater than ours and if we are honest we have been punching above our weight every year Unai has been in charge. We need to remember where the club was heading before Unai took charge and be careful what we wish for. You only have to look at what’s happened to Spurs to see what can happen if your managerial appointments don’t work! I don’t believe if you put Arteta, Pep or Klopp in charge of us they would achieve more than Unai has done. The team needs us all to get behind them between now and the end of the season. In Unai we trust (At least I do) UTV.
1.) 05 Mar 2026 09:47:44
I agree, Mings.
2.) 05 Mar 2026 10:51:55
Mings, I was just going to post a similar thing. The break has come at a good time for us. Ginny should be back and Tielemans not long after; it gives us time to regroup. Once again, results in a way have been going our way. If they hadn’t, we really could be in trouble.
Emery surely must realise that plan A, without essential players, is not working at the moment.
Against Wolves, then again last night, there was just no bite in midfield. Both teams had more urgency, got to 50-50s first. Hopefully Ginny will bring some of that fight and urgency back. Tielemans, as we know, will bring back his range of passing we have missed.
Regroup, rethink and get some urgency back. UTV
3.) 05 Mar 2026 13:21:26
This is 100% Lotm. I cannot wrap my head around some of the "Emery Out" nonsense I've seen over the past week or so.
Villa have to be perfect, on and off the pitch, to compete, and currently we are trying to be perfect without our Rice, Zubamendi and Odegaard, or our Caicedo, Fernandes and Palmer, or our Casimero, Maino and Bruno.
No team would avoid struggling without their 3 core midfield lieutenants, and those teams have built massive squads and outspent Villa ten fold.
What Emery is doing with this team, under these circumstances, is a miracle, and we'll regret it if we hound him out of our club.
4.) 05 Mar 2026 13:31:05
Lots of what you guys say is true, but there is nothing making Emery start Watkins and Bailey when he has other players, only Emery. That is where the frustration is coming from, and that is 100% Emery.
You also mentioned 6 successful transfers, 3 of which he has sold, and 2 of which wanted to leave because of Emery's insistence on sticking with a striker who can't score goals.
5.) 05 Mar 2026 15:00:15
Watkins has been absolutely integral to our shape since Emery has arrived, Whack, so I can understand why he is being selected to a certain extent and Bailey hugs the touchline (which none of our other players do). Personally, I wouldn't start either, and I'd add Buendia to that list as well (he's better off the bench imo).
But I expect Emery to get this right eventually. Seems like McGinn is back soon, and Tielemans not far behind; they will make a difference. Whether that is enough this season to secure CL football, who knows, but I'm not ready to give up on this team and manager yet.
6.) 05 Mar 2026 15:19:13
Watkins frustrates the hell out of me, because he works hard and creates mayhem amongst centre backs, but his first touch is poor, and just recently he seems to be getting caught offside a tad too frequently for my liking. Malen was never going to be a like-for-like replacement; he doesn’t hold the ball up as well, and isn’t big enough to fend off those big, ugly centre halves that most teams have. He is better coming in off the left-hand side, so I get why Unai didn’t start him that often.
However, now we have Abraham, who’s a big guy and does hold up play and brings others into the game, so I don’t understand why there is reluctance to start him. With regard to Sancho v Bailey, both are poor in my opinion, so if the view is Allyson isn’t quite ready to start as yet, then we have got a lot of options now that Guessand is at Palace.
7.) 05 Mar 2026 16:39:24
I get that Watkins has been integral to how far we have come, but he's done as a top level striker. He wasn't great last year and just terrible this year, but our midfield were carrying him with goals outside the box when we were on the great run. Those goals have dried up and exposed Ollie for what he currently is (one of the worst strikers in the league).
I agree about Bailey and Buendia not starting.
At the end of the day he can't hide behind psr when he has players fit that can be used instead.
Luiz is not a defensive midfielder, Bogarde would be better there in my opinion. Put Luiz in the 10 position and leave Rogers on the left where he's more effective. If we haven't the players to put someone different on the right, then fair enough, use Bailey or Buendia, but we can't afford 3 passengers, we might get away with one.
Even try Ollie on the right wing, he can't be any worse than as a striker. And, as you say, he's an honest lad, he works hard for the team, but you can't have all our chances falling to him because even when he was scoring regularly he missed 3-4 good chances every game.
If Emery insists on starting him, the rest of the guys need to start ignoring him and just shoot from further out like we started doing in September. We won't score them all, but if the alternative is give it to Ollie so he can dither on it and lose possession, then I know what I'd be doing.
27 Feb 2026 23:17:29
Regrettably I can see us coming away with nothing this season and whilst in the past I have supported Emery in his decision making I think he now needs to have a re think. Watkins is shot Abraham needs to start. Sancho and Bailey offer nothing out wide so we may as well give Allyson a run out he could do no worse.
Buendia has lost his spark over the last few weeks and I thought we looked better when Barkley came on.
What this run has confirmed though which is something we all suspected is that the squad depth is not strong enough for us to compete across multiple competitions
1.) 28 Feb 2026 12:52:41
I think the biggest problem we have currently is the fact we are relying on impact players to influence the game from the start - Buendia is not a starter at this level, neither are Luiz, Sancho, Barkley, etc. Having John McGinn back and, soon afterwards, Youri Tielemans will have a big impact on this team, as it'll allow us to bring those players off the bench, and I'm convinced it'll have an impact on their performances. And I agree, I think this now applies to Watkins.
Tammy needs to start. We've had poor runs of form under Emery throughout his tenure, and he has always fixed the issues - we are third and still in Europe, we'd have all taken that at the start of the season. And yes, people will say "we don't look like scoring a goal, nevermind winning a game", and they aren't totally wrong, but I'll be putting my trust in arguably the best manager the club has ever had to turn things around. UTV!!
2.) 28 Feb 2026 13:17:05
Agree with you, BK. I have supported AV since I was 8/9 and I have turned 76 today, and Emery is one of the best, if not the best, managers we have ever had, and I still trust him to recover this for us.
3.) 28 Feb 2026 13:38:43
Wow. Happy birthday, Aka! Many happy returns!
4.) 28 Feb 2026 14:40:47
. ??????
5.) 01 Mar 2026 13:54:25
Hi Guys, For me, Ron Saunders springs to mind. We played fast efficient football. At the moment, we dawdle at the back with players that confuse each other. They fail to clear the ball and get caught waiting for the ball to arrive. But, we are still in 3rd. Our usual winter c*** ups could be over and we could spring back into life. We have seen the doldrums so many times before, and a good end of season brightens the days.
I am still genuinely optimistic that we will be in the top 5 come the end of the season. Friday night, Wolves wanted it much more than we did and played like many teams against us, with fast clearance and willing runners. Top 5 still available. Good job that we had points in the bag, or we would be looking to points to avoid the drop. Tov.
6.) 01 Mar 2026 14:08:52
Hey Tov, good to see you back.
Lord of the Mings's rumour replies
08 Mar 2026 15:54:26
I think the problem we will have is shifting some of those on your list, so, whilst I think Ollie and Emi will attract decent offers (£30-35 million), the others will be much more difficult to shift because they are all on big money, and I don't see too many takers, certainly not in the PL, if I'm honest.
07 Mar 2026 16:36:41
Apparently Rogers is changing his agent and moving to the same one as Cole Palmer, and they are good mates. People may be putting 2 and 2 together to get 5, but we have a history of selling for big money, and Emery is confident stars can be replaced, so it wouldn't be a total surprise if this had some legs, but, as with all these things, time will tell.
07 Mar 2026 14:14:39
Certainly not at £60 million which is what Chelsea value him at apparently!
01 Feb 2026 17:19:28
Funnily enough Trinity I’ve heard much the same thing. Apparently whatever we achieve be it qualification for CL winning the Europa League we are still going to be in difficulty financially and dependent on our level of success we will have to sell 2 maybe 3 current first teamers. In terms of incomings we will look at free transfers and players from abroad as the salary demands aren’t as great as established PL players. I was told we have offered contracts to 2 Bundesliga players and 1 La Liga who are free in the summer no names were mentioned and apparently the players concerned are keeping options open before committing to anyone.
As a consequence Emery is frustrated however the board have drawn up a list of potential replacements should Unai leave. I accept this is purely speculation and obviously time will tell whether any of this is accurate or not but you could understand if what was shared contains a grain of truth.
22 Jan 2026 17:21:22
Having seen the teams I worry about tonight, particularly the Duran/Asensio link
Lord of the Mings's banter replies
20 Mar 2026 07:41:13
So, we lose and Emery and the team are rubbish, win after a rocky period, and we are no good either! It reminds me of the old adage you can't please all of the people all of the time. In your case, Scot, they can't please you any time.
19 Mar 2026 08:13:22
No manager ever gets all his transfer business right. To say it's poor based on one bad signing isn't fair, and incidentally he isn't a bad player in my opinion. He has got more right than not in my opinion.
What I do think is that our summer business needs to focus more on younger players. We have an ageing squad and need more pace, particularly at the back.
18 Mar 2026 18:04:37
I think the criticism of Emery's transfer business is a little unfair. I think he has made somewhere in the region of 20 signings whilst he has been in charge at Villa. Of those signings, I would say Duran, Diaby, Rogers, Tielemans, Onana, Torres, Malen and, much to my surprise, Lindelof have been good signings. The next group, I would say, have been ok: those are Barkley, Maatsen, Moreno and even Bizot.
Players like Barrenchea, Nedjelkovic, Gauci, Illing-Junior and Garcia have never really been given a chance, although Barrenchea has done well at Valencia and Benfica. The only ones I would categorise as out and out failures would be Guessand and Elliot, and in fairness, in the latter's case, it isn't his fault.
15 Mar 2026 22:36:12
Duran is a decent player, however, this season he has 6 goals in 25 games, hardly an example of a deadly finisher and definitely not prolific.
15 Mar 2026 21:37:01
Malen didn't fit how Emery plays. He's a very good player in a team that plays to his strengths, which we didn't, unfortunately.