Taylor Harwood-Bellis

[Saint_lambden]

48 minutes ago, dsrdorset said:

is he injured??

Bruised ego I heard. 

[Turkish]

 

[Disco Stu]

I don't think there's any truth to that.

[suewhistle]

Don't know if any add ons are involved but looks like Saints better not budget for them..

[UpweySaint]

I wonder what THB and his agent were told when he signed? I know Emery likes to ease players in, maybe after time on the training pitch over the international break he’ll start making the match day squads. 

[Midfield_General]

Cash, Maatsen and Pau Torres are all injured now, and Villa have got a Carabao game away at Coventry tomorrow night, so you'd think that THB would almost certainly feature in that.

If he still doesn't get any game time in a lower priority fixture with half their defence unavailable, then it would appear that something is definitely up. 

Edited September 15 by Midfield_General

[Holmes_and_Watson]

21 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Cash, Maatsen and Pau Torres are all injured now, and Villa have got a Carabao game away at Coventry tomorrow night, so you'd think that THB would almost certainly feature in that.

If he still doesn't get any game time in a lower priority fixture with half their defence unavailable, then it would appear that something is definitely up. 

Seems like he'll be getting his chance, as you say.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c6wyzg91zm4wo

[Midfield_General]

Starts tonight

[Willo of Whiteley]

Panic over….

[Pengi]

THB said recently on Facebook"Hopefully, I will get a few more games and try to get myself into the team, which is difficult with the standard of players that are here, but I will keep working and, obviously, I won't stop until I get my run of games." Cheeky loan back to us in January?

[BotleySaint]

14 minutes ago, Pengi said:

Cheeky loan back to us in January?

Would be great but can't see it happening.

THB was obviously bought in as a squad filler for them, to cover injuries and rotate during a long season.

Whether he understood that when he signed remains to be seen.

He has sacrificed being the main man here and regular football for the hope of Premier League action and Europe.

If it doesn't work out I'd gladly have him back at Championship level. If we're in the Premier League by then, question marks would still remain if he's up to it.

Hope it works out for him eventually. 

Edited yesterday at 11:28 by BotleySaint

[beatlesaint]

21 minutes ago, Pengi said:

THB said recently on Facebook"Hopefully, I will get a few more games and try to get myself into the team, which is difficult with the standard of players that are here, but I will keep working and, obviously, I won't stop until I get my run of games." 

In other words "bugger, I've made the wrong move"

[Gloucester Saint]

25 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

In other words "bugger, I've made the wrong move"

Earning more but missed out on days like yesterday which he’d have loved. 

[bugenhagen]

Mabye it's like when Villa loaned Bednarek, or when we signed Vegard Forren.

You instantly see in training that the player you thought was ready to compete (or go straight into the team) is nowhere near and far behing your existing options?

Edited yesterday at 12:27 by bugenhagen

[saintant]

1 hour ago, BotleySaint said:

Would be great but can't see it happening.

THB was obviously bought in as a squad filler for them, to cover injuries and rotate during a long season.

Whether he understood that when he signed remains to be seen.

He has sacrificed being the main man here and regular football for the hope of Premier League action and Europe.

If it doesn't work out I'd gladly have him back at Championship level. If we're in the Premier League by then, question marks would still remain if he's up to it.

Hope it works out for him eventually. 

Not to mention the small matter of much more money which is probably quite important when your father-in-law is Roy Keane.

[Willo of Whiteley]

He isn’t coming back ffs 😂

[Farmer Saint]

I have a friend who works at Villa - they were expecting him to be much better than he is. He is not an upgrade on Mings and that is a big issue.

[The Kraken]

Can’t see him coming back on loan. Maybe a loan to another PL club in January if he’s still frozen out at Villa. But back here, nope, not unless it’s next summer and we get promoted. And even then I reckon Tonda would probably hope to recruit someone himself instead.

[suewhistle]

I'm not saying this in a disparaging way, but I haven't thought about him since he left and haven't really missed him. Not to say that we wouldn't be better with him and I couldn't think who the alternative was when I saw Stephens playing yesterday, but no gaping hole left. Schlotterbeck and the other defenders really proved their worth yesterday with all the blocks they made.

Farmer Saint, what aspect of his game are they disappointed with? Surely extensive scouting covers the main attributes?

[Holmes_and_Watson]

25 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I have a friend who works at Villa - they were expecting him to be much better than he is. He is not an upgrade on Mings and that is a big issue.

While I thought he'd got better with us last season (under Tonda anyway), it was going to be quite a step up after our last PL experience. Even if he's not gone in and impressed them enough for immediate contention, their manager does take a while to bed in new players and he can always improve now he's at that higher level. 

That improvement should mean we've got a better loan player, when we go back up. 🙂 

[Toadhall Saint]

4 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

While I thought he'd got better with us last season (under Tonda anyway), it was going to be quite a step up after our last PL experience. Even if he's not gone in and impressed them enough for immediate contention, their manager does take a while to bed in new players and he can always improve now he's at that higher level. 

That improvement should mean we've got a better loan player, when we go back up. 🙂 

I’ve said it before (and got shouted down) that he lacks Genuine pace. Without that he will struggle against PL strikers.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I’ve said it before (and got shouted down) that he lacks Genuine pace. Without that he will struggle against PL strikers.

Curses. I've been comparing his mobility to that of Vestergaard's. 🙂 

[Kenilworthy1959]

38 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I have a friend who works at Villa - they were expecting him to be much better than he is. He is not an upgrade on Mings and that is a big issue.

Anyone is an upgrade on Mings

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

5 hours ago, bugenhagen said:

You instantly see in training that the player you thought was ready to compete (or go straight into the team) is nowhere near and far behing your existing options

Good point. His performances under Tonda were often either our MotM or right up there but there's a gulf between us and top premier league players and he hasn't yet bridged that gap.

Always felt he cared about our club and never say never to his return. He would certainly have appreciated our derby win yesterday.  

[Farmer Saint]

10 minutes ago, Kenilworthy1959 said:

Anyone is an upgrade on Mings

Not in Emery's eyes at the moment.

[Jack]

33 minutes ago, suewhistle said:

I'm not saying this in a disparaging way, but I haven't thought about him since he left and haven't really missed him. Not to say that we wouldn't be better with him and I couldn't think who the alternative was when I saw Stephens playing yesterday, but no gaping hole left. Schlotterbeck and the other defenders really proved their worth yesterday with all the blocks they made.

Farmer Saint, what aspect of his game are they disappointed with? Surely extensive scouting covers the main attributes?

Credit due to the recruitment team and to Schlotterbeck for coming straight in and looking just as capable as THB was. Shame that we didn’t get to see the two of them play together, that would be unreal for this level. 
 

£30m is a hell of a price tag for a squad filler CB. 

[SuperSAINT]

Big fan of THB, but never imagined a top half prem side would come in for him.  

[Holmes_and_Watson]

34 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Not in Emery's eyes at the moment.

Mings is Villa's Stephens 🙂 

[Gloucester Saint]

19 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Mings is Villa's Stephens 🙂 

#TyroneMinging

[Roo1976]

8 hours ago, Pengi said:

THB said recently on Facebook"Hopefully, I will get a few more games and try to get myself into the team, which is difficult with the standard of players that are here, but I will keep working and, obviously, I won't stop until I get my run of games." Cheeky loan back to us in January?

As a side note ,quite alot of players who left us under the impression they are better of away from the club,it hasnt really worked out well,has it...........

[Holmes_and_Watson]

44 minutes ago, Roo1976 said:

As a side note ,quite alot of players who left us under the impression they are better of away from the club,it hasnt really worked out well,has it...........

As long as other clubs believe that they're better than they are, at the same time, and give us large fees, I don't mind so much. 🙂

[Willo of Whiteley]

2 hours ago, Roo1976 said:

As a side note ,quite alot of players who left us under the impression they are better of away from the club,it hasnt really worked out well,has it...........

You’d think after ten+ years of evidence they’d realise.

I suppose notable players that moved on to better things include Lallana, Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Shaw, Mané, Tadic - they won trophies.

Wanyama and Schneiderlin’s careers stuttered somewhat.

Did Lovren and Clyde win anything at Liverpool?

[Whitey Grandad]

10 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

You’d think after ten+ years of evidence they’d realise.

I suppose notable players that moved on to better things include Lallana, Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Shaw, Mané, Tadic - they won trophies.

Wanyama and Schneiderlin’s careers stuttered somewhat.

Did Lovren and Clyde win anything at Liverpool?

Virgil Van Dyke

[Fabrice29]

We currently have a couple of signings waiting for their chance ourselves. It’s almost as if a couple of months is not enough time to judge anyone and being an immediate success is not a necessity. 

[saintwbu]

56 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

We currently have a couple of signings waiting for their chance ourselves. It’s almost as if a couple of months is not enough time to judge anyone and being an immediate success is not a necessity. 

You don’t think it’s unusual for a club to sell its main CB, sign a replacement, lose another starting CB to injury and the new CB to not even make the squad?

He was good for us for the unbeaten run last season, but Villa’s interest was very surprising to me personally - i thought he might get a newly promoted side if he was lucky. Just hope he knew what their plans were for him when he went there, maybe he did.

[hypochondriac]

20 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Earning more but missed out on days like yesterday which he’d have loved. 

Such a shame. Him and Schlotterbeck would have been a hell of a partnership in this league. 

[Fabrice29]

46 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

You don’t think it’s unusual for a club to sell its main CB, sign a replacement, lose another starting CB to injury and the new CB to not even make the squad?

He was good for us for the unbeaten run last season, but Villa’s interest was very surprising to me personally - i thought he might get a newly promoted side if he was lucky. Just hope he knew what their plans were for him when he went there, maybe he did.

Do you remember Ronnie Edwards?

I don’t know enough about Villa to try to understand but I don’t think it’s unusual that a young player stepping up has to bide his time before getting into a successful side. Not entirely sure why this place cares either but given the RM is 400 pages long I’m sure this still has plenty of legs in it left 😂

[saintwbu]

1 hour ago, Fabrice29 said:

Do you remember Ronnie Edwards?

I don’t know enough about Villa to try to understand but I don’t think it’s unusual that a young player stepping up has to bide his time before getting into a successful side. Not entirely sure why this place cares either but given the RM is 400 pages long I’m sure this still has plenty of legs in it left 😂

How did it work out for Ronnie Edwards here? THB is nearly 25 with almost 250 games under his belt, he’s not some kid making his way. 

[Fabrice29]

23 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

How did it work out for Ronnie Edwards here? THB is nearly 25 with almost 250 games under his belt, he’s not some kid making his way. 

He’s 24 until he’s 25 😉

Again, my point is it’s okay for people to not be an immediate success. Don’t really care for THB scenario specifically but the season is long and squad building in a transfer window to have options later down the line seems perfectly sensible and part of a players career. October isn’t the time to judge signings and that’s very relevant here too.

Maybe it doesn’t work out for him. Or players in a similar situation here (like Ronnie Edwards) but time and opportunities will dictate that. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Fabrice29

[Gloucester Saint]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Such a shame. Him and Schlotterbeck would have been a hell of a partnership in this league. 

It is indeed, but possibly the club needed the fee from Villa.

The Abbott loan is still a bit mysterious but maybe Fabrice gets proved right if Stephens/Wood get injuries or bans and he establishes himself nearer Christmas.