Transfer Window
Kinda like a belated xmas offering, football’s winter present comes in the form of the January transfer window. A chance for all clubs to realign their unbalanced squads and inject new blood for the second half of the season. But enough of the general stuff, I’m only concerned about 1 club and what Villa can do to improve on a frankly poor first part of the 2002/3 season.
There’s a doubt over the finances, as ever – yet another Ellis/Ansell money-vanishing trick. First it was an alleged £25M available when Graham Taylor first took over, then it was a concrete £5M available for Matt Holland, but the current smoke signals from the B6 offices are that less than that is available. If that’s true, then it’s unfortunately true – but why spin the earlier lies? – except to show the usual level of contempt for the men on the terraces.
Going out? Stone (already gone), Wright and Kachloul are clearly deemed surplus to requirements – and wouldn’t really be missed. The Alpay situation (refusing to play for the reserves, and being a liability when he’s played in the first XI) means he really has to leave a.s.a.p. The prospect of losing Hadji and Angel is galling, though.
I know the many and varied GT apologists over on the newspage will find it sacrilegious, but just why can’t he give Angel and Vassell a run together up front? (best whiney apologist voice) We thought he was leaving in the summer - well he didn’t, so why not make the best of it? We also thought Dion was leaving and it hasn’t stopped him from being continually picked despite a succession of shockingly bad misses (Blackburn, the WBA pen, W.Ham before the James blunder goal and most recently a completely free header from 6 yds against the Albion) and a complete lack of partnership with Vassell. A few (mainly meaningless) goals against lower league opposition in the League Cup doesn’t make up for the misses and, more importantly (if not entirely his fault), the way he makes the others play – i.e. hoofball. It took a while for Taylor to come back to 4-4-2, so there’s always the outside chance that he might re-instate the attacking partnership (key word – even if JPA isn’t at his best he helps DV’s game far more than Dion) he broke up for the Crouch experiment. If you want an up-to-date example – look at the first 20 mins against the Albion. Ball on the floor, scintillating stuff, Dion’s sole contribution was to miss a couple of headed chances. After that bright start a lot of balls were aimed at Dion’s head – and division one standard Darren Moore won virtually every one.
I’m not claiming JPA to be a world-beating messiah, I’m just hoping for a restoration of the best forward partnership we’ve seen recently – and it’s hardly at the expense of a player with a major future is it? (best whiney voice again) But Dion’s so important defensively - hmmm, so we’re picking forwards for their defensive abilities now. Whatever happened to we’ll risk losing games to win them, and what about the non set-piece factor where improved passing and ball retention (as we avoid hoofball) might actually avoid being under pressure in the first place?
And, as if to confirm GT’s supposed suspicion of flair players (far worse Dublin misses go uncommented, JPA’s header against the bar v N’castle gets highlighted e.g.) , Hadji is also marginalized. OK, so he hasn’t got the 110% Scandinavian work ethic of Leonhardsen (though he’s never looked lazy to me) but surely he’d be a more versatile bet for at least the bench rather than the usual 2-3 centre forwards option. He can do a job up front, he’d give us some much needed variation as a creative midfielder – esp with his ability to actually go past defenders out wide.
Coming in? Top of the list has to be a defender to replace Alpay. Johnsen is too injury prone to be relied on & Staunton is only good enough as stop-gap cover. Mellberg’s achilles niggle adds to the urgency in this area. A back-up right back would be nice but a combination of Samuel, UDLC and maybe Mellberg could just about see us through (behind a fit Delaney of course). My second choice would be a midfield destroyer. I know the popular call is for a creative midfielder to replace Merson but, in truth, Merson was already long gone. He was an ineffective right-sided midfielder last season (behind Hadji when fit). The player we haven’t replaced is Boateng. The nearest we have is the declining, injury prone Ian Taylor. You’re not convinced that we need a stopper rather than a creator? Do you want to guess how many domestic games we’ve lost when the (nearest we’ve got to a ) power pair of Taylor and Barry have both started in midfield? It’s zero – there’s clearly a place for midfield muscle. Make it a Marc Vivien Foe type holding midfielder (rather than a Boateng type headless chicken who insists on running forwards even though he’s useless in the final third) and all the creativity you need will come from the existing midfielders, freed up to attack more – esp if they can link up with channel running forwards rather than hoof long balls at a bald head.
OK, so we won’t get much for outgoing players (frees except Alpay, and Angel - if he leaves) but that’s balanced by incoming players being cheaper. Just 2 players (and a change of centre forward?  ) required for a happy new year?
Copyright 2008 - Captain Vulture
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