VUSA Pod #80: Jamie Kemble joins Robin and Allen to talk Villarreal

Jamie Kemble joins Robin and me to chat about Villarreal... we of course have to begin with the draw against Atleti in all its last-second Keystone Kops goal horror, but we move on to look at Villarreal’s transfer window and how Unai Emery can best deploy the squad he’s got on the pitch.

We seem to have a lot of attacking options—where will they all go? But Dani Parejo seems to be irreplaceable, even with our larger roster.....we discuss why that might be and what players are likely to struggle for playing time.

Plus, three left backs, still! And three right backs, if Juan Foyth continues playing there! Nice to have cover for injuries but could some of those fullbacks play elsewhere?

And of course there’s the old formation conundrum. 4-4-2 or 4-3-3....

And just when we’re all thinking we’ve said all there is to say, Robin surprises us by analyzing his fellow commentators through asking for their favorite Villarreal players. We have a lot of fun on this podcast!!

Endavant Villarreal!

Since recording this pod it has become official that Villarreal’s match with Alaves will be postponed due to players missing from CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying and the fact that Villarreal plays in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, thus not allowing for a Sunday match. Our next match will be against Atalanta at home in what should be a spirited return to Europe’s top club competition for the Yellow Submarine. It remains to be seen who all will be healthy for that match, and several key contributors face a race to fitness.