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As you’ll be aware, Barry Bannan has joined Leeds on loan for the rest of the season with the option of an extension should they make the play-offs. Who knows, maybe he’ll end up repeating the trip he made to Wembley with Blackpool last year. There’s probably a quiz question in that if he does.
As ever, not everyone is thrilled by this move and it provides another convenient stick to whack the manager over the head with. Personally, I think Bannan’s an excellent young player, but he’s not quite there yet and the extra playing time he could get at Leeds at this stage of the season can’t hurt at all.
Besides that, I also think his best position is where Ashley Young is currently playing and he struggles to give a decent account of himself in a deeper position where he would have to compete with Petrov, Reo-Coker, Makoun, Bradley and Delph for time on the pitch anyway.
It’s what they call a no-brainer.
So, with Bannan now out on the loan list, and Brad Guzan also going back to Hull, I make it 24 23 players left for Houllier to call on in the final games excluding Stephen Warnock and Habib Beye. Edit: Nathan Delfouneso has now joined Burnley on loan until the end of the season.
There won’t be universal agreement on who should be in each of the first three columns below, it’s more for demonstration purposes than anything else, but when you look at it like this it’s not difficult to see how little value there would be in Bannan hanging around for the rest of the season.
| Team | Bench | Rotation | Out on loan |
| 1 Friedel | 12 Marshall | 19 Parish | 27 Guzan |
| 2 Walker | 13 Cuellar | 20 L Young | 28 Lichaj |
| 3 Collins | 14 Petrov | 21 Baker | 29 Lowry |
| 4 Dunne | 15 Bradley | 22 Herd | 30 Hogg |
| 5 Clark | 16 Pires | 23 Salifou | 31 Osbourne |
| 6 Reo-Coker | 17 Agbonlahor | 32 Bannan | |
| 7 Makoun | 18 Heskey | 33 Ireland | |
| 8 Albrighton | Out of favour | 34 Carew | |
| 9 A Young | 25 Beye | 35 Weimann | |
| 10 Downing | 26 Warnock | 24 Delfouneso | |
| 11 Bent |
Houllier thinks we need 43 points for safety and I wouldn’t argue. That’s 10 points from nine games, or it might be wiser to target it in seven since Liverpool and Arsenal await in the final two matches of the season.
So, that’s Wolves (H), Everton (A), Newcastle (H), West Ham (A), Stoke (H), West Brom (H) and Wigan (H) and the 24 23 players above to get it done.
No problem.
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12 Comments to “Nine games to go, Bannan heads out on loan, 23 left to get it done”
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“No problem”, no but then I hoped that about Bolton! Love this site, keep up the excellent work
true, i’ve thought that about many games. we can’t keep playing well and losing though, surely?!? and thanks!
Houllier is useless – employed to take Villa into Europe not into a relegation struggle. Yes sounds easy – but as we know relegation fights are tough & his team selection is bizarre. Many players will be heading for the exit door as he has lost the dressisng room & the fans also will vote with their feet. Pity he does not recognise the talent he hasin some players. All we can expect next season is an influx of French 2nd raters,
i wasn’t aware of that brief. many players will head to the exit door because a) they’re second rate and b) we need to cut the wage bill.
I bet Salifou dreams about being on the rotation list!
let’s just says this was almost published with only 23 players listed… then i remembered sali-salifou! i didn’t want him to be the only one excluded. poor old fella.
I keep saying this but i’m happy with the season we’ve had. I know it could’ve been a whole lot better this season but when you look at the disruption we’ve had to deal with it’s been ok. I haven’t been stressed out at all and that even includes that short moment we spent in the bottom 2.
We are a top side. We will be a much improved team next season once everything settles down and the manager gets a proper run at it. GH has been under pressure from day 1 and I think most of the critisism has been unwarranted. He had no time to gets things the way he wanted. He had to run with things the way they were while also trying to change the mentality of our senior players who all seemed against him. GH has made a couple of real errors during the season but he’s only human and I’m sure he’ll get the best from a good squad next yr.
We have to be patient with what GH ius trying to do at our club. He is trying to completely change a mentality and it btakes time. For 4yrs under MON we kicked and chased everything. That’s how bad it got but GH is getting things sorted out. We’ve produced some brilliant performances this season even when we have lost ganes. Our players aren’t afraid to pass the ball about now and that has taken time to introduce into this squad with certain players fighting GH ‘s every move. GH is the man for our club!
GH will take us back up the Lge if we give him the time to get it right. He’s trying to instill a new mentality at the club where we keep the ball even when it’s not going right on the pitch. We saw that against Man City at Eastlands in the FA Cup recently. I’m really happy to see this patience coming through in our young players now. GH has been great for our young lads breaking through.
I’m gonna keep singing the mans praises! WE ARE GETTING THERE! Up The Villa!
i’ve said from the beginning, i think houllier brings a more scholarly approach to the game & that won’t sit well with everyone, players & fans alike.
i’m all for a more sophisticated brand of football, but it won’t happen overnight.
that said, i’d hoped for a little more building on what was already there and a more gradual transition. he’s taken a sledgehammer to crack a walnut at times, which is bound to put a few noses out of joint.
I have no problem with the young players going out on loan to give them game time and improve their awareness and sharpness. I do hope that in time they don’t want away and we lose them, they are our future and a damn good future too, we only have to look at our youth team successes to know that.
After all, our senior players are struggling to step up to the plate at the moment, in fact i would suggest that one or two of them should be loaned out too.
it’s a fine line between controlling their development and getting them competitive playing time i suppose.
but the number of players out on loan now compared to the past reveals a change in approach. the wage bill probably influenced that, but it has to be better seeing players with no future shifted elsewhere and youngsters with a future given experience.
How about Gary Gardner? Wasn’t he on the bench at one point or is he still injured?
he’s fit again, he travelled with the team to manchester, causing rumours that he’d be included in the squad, but he wasn’t in the 18 in the end.
he was in action again with the reserves today. as was stephen warnock.