Written by Damian Saturday, 28 November 2009 20:20
This is a news post. I am not going to delve into the game just yet but I am going to read what you guys have to say as the basis for my post tomorrow.
You see, in the second half we touched the ball 18 times. Okay, that isn´t actually true, but it wasn´t much and well, there is only so much you can hope to achieve playing that type of football.
Yes, we took a point and for that you have to be happy, don´t you? Or you could say that maybe we should have won. You could say that if we had aspirations we should have attacked Spurs. You could say a lot today.
All I am going to say is that Spurs got the equaliser because of a hand ball, they actually shouldn´t have got it but, they did.
But we got quite a fortunate one too and well, one point against Spurs. What can I say. It is a point.
Man of the match vote tomorrow and post-mortem on Monday.
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Alex Glynn
said:
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... Wish we'd won, last thirteen minutes handball [ish] goal. Great. But the second half we were so far outplayed that we were almost lucky to get that. It's a fine result tbh. |
Cian Donaghy
said:
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... you cant expect to win a game if you go a half without showing any desire to score. eventually the opposition will break you down. poor dunne must be sick that happening to him twice. 2 names should only really appear as motm today; halib baye and carlos cuellar were excellent |
Craig Elliot
said:
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... Man of the match, Cuellar without doubt. First half we were ok, second, terrible. We need a player like Kranjcar then we will be fine. Thank f**k we got a point in the end. |
VillaDude
said:
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... We should have brought an extra midfielder on after 60mins... Last year we lost this 2-1, so an improvement? What i saw in spurs, is that they had a plan A,B and C. Hit it long to crouch. Creative midfielders trying to play Defoe through And Lennon down the right. We had - Hit and Hope to Gabby - Thats it! Heskey to start next game, I think Carew is just not consistant enough... |
scott harwood
said:
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... cuellar immense,beye was good aswell imo.what a terrible 2nd half devoid of ideas,lack of cutting edge,reaaly poor.it was horrible to watch! |
colm tarpey
said:
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... has to be a concern that we are playing at home against a good but not great side and we are pinned back like that...we cant go on like this...we dont seem to have a plan B... Kanjcer had the run of the place and seemed to shake off the markers easily Great game from Carlos, underrated and has never let us down |
Craig Elliot
said:
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... Defensive headaches for O'neil. Who plays right back when warnock is fit again ? Beye or Young ? Who is our centre-half pairing now after today ? Now we need the same competition up front and centre mid. Give him time, one stage at a time, he will bring in the right players. |
Mike Carter
said:
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... This performance has resulted in a massive shift in opinion for me today. I've always been a massive MON fan and I think what he has done for the club in just a few years has been fantastic. However, today we saw a re-occurance of a problem that is holding us back from becoming a bigger team. Going in at half time I was confident we would win that game. 1-0 up and for the most part, we'd matched Spurs in pretty much every department. All we needed was more of the same, and we'd be home and hosed. So what happened? That second half performance was absolutely woeful, and in my mind can only be the fault of one individual. We had the same 11 players on the pitch, they weren't any less able or fit, so why did they put in a collectively shocking performance for 45 minutes? The answer is of course O'Neill. He tinkered with the tactics and obviously changed the mental attitude of the players. The result? Thousands of Villa fans feeling mighty relieved we managed to scrape a point. Whatever he said at half time, it wasn't right. And I wouldn't be so annoyed if this was the first occurance. Far from, we're seeing this on a regular basis now. A team with top four aspirations should not be sitting back resting on a single goal lead, especially against one of the best attacking forces in the league. Martin, you've got a lot to answer for. |
neil spurs fan
said:
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... Good game the result everyone predicted before, dont agree the goal was handball it was clearly above the elbow man of the match cuellar he was brilliant closely followed by kranjcar, thought we were gonna steel it i reckon top 4 could be anyones even top 3, well played guys |
islingtonyid
said:
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... spurs fan in peace here - why did you lot settle for a 1-0 after 30 minutes? we both want to be in the top 4 yet we have to beat each other and you gave up (the manager did anyway) 17 shots on target to your 4!!!!!! dont understand it if i were u lot i would be asking the question of MON |
Steve Badger
said:
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... A point is better than none? Well yes, I suppose it is. But on the whole game we didn't deserve it. I hold my hands up and have to admit I can't try and explain what happened. We were the better side first half and basically had our arses smacked in the second. I really don't know what to say. |
Yidd09
said:
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... If I were a Villa fan I would be ashamed of my manager's tactics. I thought I was watching Spurs vs Birmingham City out there. If you refuse to play the game at home against teams in direct competition for you then your downfall this year will come much earlier than it did in March of last year. I normally like watching your team play, but let's be honest, that was pathetic. |
Craig Elliot
said:
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... What a load of balls vivavilla, spurs upped their game something awful and we didnt have a response. Don't believe Mon would tell them to sit back, otherwise why bring on heskey for Carew? You need to think about things a bit more. |
Eoin Greene
said:
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... That second half was frankly embarassing. I take my hat off to Spurs and Rednapp who has his team playing great football. They were away from home and played 45 minutes of football from a different planet to anything we are capable of. The funny thing is Villa vs Spurs player for player are quite similar - so how come they play like that and we play anti-football. I'd also point out that for the second half we played 4-5-1 to all of the 4-5-1 merchants. This formation at home, holding a line at the edge of our box just invites the opposition on to you. Under Mon we will have spirit and fight but we have huge limitations that he wont be able to cure - because he and his philosophy are the root cause of them. I've been saying this for 2 years now. We will never ever be top 4 under him. |
jiaahaaaaia
said:
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... god Spurs looked good in the second half. Some of the passing right from the back was scintillating to watch. Kranjkar and Lennon are amazing. Modric, King and Woodgate still to come back. Imagine an attacking trio of Kranjkar, Modric and Lennon creating chances for the premier leagues best finisher? its going to be awesome. |
Villa_For_Life
said:
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... Will take a point, think we could of attacked more especially with Young down the left. As for Spurs goal, can't say it was a handball.. happy to take a point away  |
VillaDude
said:
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... See how much of the ball Lennon had in the second half - why cant we ever get Young that much the ball... Answer - our centre midfielders are not good enough.. Kranjcar is the signing of the season - mom today.. |
ph4qqinyidz
said:
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... you lotdid good!! knew it was gonna be hard even after the 9-1....defoe not as sharp..if HR didnt take Krancjar off who knows, as he was on it.....still, well done Villa, you dont want less than a point at home! # |
Craig Elliot
said:
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... Villadude you are on the right track, we need another quality midfielder to play with Petrov so wehave 2 centre mids who are comfortable on the ball |
islingtonyid
said:
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... clearly the administrater cant take the oppo fans wishing to talk in a footie way ....... |
totspur
said:
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... I have to agree with vivavilla. You guys (villa) probably would've won if you showed any sort of desire to get a second goal. The second half was spent with really negative tactics, and I was a bit disappointed that MON didn't have a go. The first half you were in our face and ready to attack, second half was a completely different story, which let us settle into the game |
Daniel Wilson
said:
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... I see England doing the same thing every time they go up, sit back and invite the pressure for the rest of the match regardless of how far in it is. It's a shame because had we played like we did for the first half I thought we would run out 2-0 winners. Subs today pretty much amazed me. Reo is poor going forwards but works so hard in the middle and that was paying dividends. Swapping him for a player not quite so good at the same job had me scratching my head. As did the Heskey sub when to me it was pretty obvious we were being over run and needed an extra man. Downing will change things a lot, I can't see Martin keeping him benched and I can't see him starting with both Reo and Sidwell on the Bench, to me it has to be a very attacking 4-5-1 from here on in. On a plus point Luke Young was great today, as was Beye. We were without 3/4 starting defenders and in the first half we were the better team. Hats off to spurs after the break, they ran us into ruin but like the title suggest, a point is better than none. Not happy but not unhappy either, match of the day tonight? hmmm we'll see... |
yas
said:
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... Spurs fan here, lets be honest boys, we looked a much better side than you over all. It wasn't a question of no plan B, but you were pinned back by a better team who were looking to equalize and then win the game. I gotta say, you were very strong defensively, and you had marked Lennon out of the game, with both Youngs pairing up on him. Dunne done a great job on Defoe too. Friedel is world class. If it weren't for your defense and goalie, we would have scored more. |
VillaDude
said:
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... If im honest, I think we are 2 signings off spurs quality - let alone top 4. Central Midfielder and Top Striker - I think defensively we are good enough... |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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... We got a point we did not deserve. That was actually embarressing. We are about a championship level with regards to passing and keeping the ball. WE were given a lesson by a team that will also fall well short of 4th this season. Pathetic. By the way please stop referring to Young as a class player. He ain't. He is quick with a good delivery and thats it. For a player who so much ball goes through he falls well short in a lot of skills in my opinion for a club with top 4 aspirations. Today should be a reality check for some. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... Craigy, What a load of balls vivavilla, spurs upped their game something awful and we didnt have a response. Yes they upped their game, but we should have been equal to it. We sat back and it was so obvious we would concede, it was frankly embarrassing. Go look at the previous thread. |
Dawson
said:
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... Handball? C'mon, it hit shoulder and dropped straight down and I just whacked it past your sorry defence, count yourself lucky to get one point. We were camping in your half, just like we did against Wigan, the only difference is you parked the bus in front of goal and dont wanna play. Top 4, Villa? No way. |
Ian Hammond
said:
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... Is Delph not the quality midfielder we need? He must be given a chance surely. He's not even getting five minutes as a sub. |
Car Frost
said:
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... FFS MON out blah blah blah.. I'm starting to hope he gets sacked ( or more likely gets fed up and fu*ks off as I would )just to open some peoples eyes. Spurs have turned into that exciting team we were last year at this stage, I'm jealous but thats life. I don't know why we lost it but we did, just as Spurs will, they're not top 4 material either, Arsenal proved that the other week for many reasons. Forget all of the defensive headaches, the irony for me is that they are causing the problems as we're leading from the back rather than from the front. Liverpool to finish top 4, easy money once they get the big players back and must be great prices now .... |
jiaahaaaaia
said:
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... im so angry Spurs have a better side than us that Im going to childishly rule out their top 4 chances in indignation!!! Liverpool please finish above spurs. |
Nigel
said:
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... Have to agree with Spurs fans, they were a cut above us. Thought we were exposed as a good defensive team, but that's it! We needed to put our foot on the ball in the second half instead of playing like we were the away team.  |
Mike Carter
said:
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... Craigy1874 If that's the exuse you want to go by, then that's fine. But like I say, that's hardly the first time this has happened. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... Ian Hammond, Is Delph not the quality midfielder we need? He must be given a chance surely. He's not even getting five minutes as a sub. I said the same, as did others. I'm so behind MON, as I really do think he is the man. But having watched that, it's like being tested by God |
Oscars Arse
said:
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... Atrocious! Look totally bereft of ideas going forwards and are too predictable. To play like that at home is embarrasing. |
caleb williams
said:
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... ESPN showed a caption for completed passes, Villa 170 Spurs 394. Well and truly outclassed. So frustrating... |
Spurs Fan
said:
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... Happy with the point, even happier with the performance. Struggling to see where Modric will fit in once he's fit again. Frosty and co. stop calling for MON to be sacked, crazy, have you forgotten how bad you were when he took over, stop being fickle - thats our job haha |
rodin
said:
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... Where are those so-called "positive " people on this blog?They were expecting us to beat a quality spurs side today, who clearly looked like the only side out of the two ,with desire to be in the top 4.I still don't understand on what basis do these people in "delusionville " predict us to beat a team brimming with quality by 3-0,especially after they mop the floor, 9-1 ,with a side that embarrassed us on our home turf!!Ridiculous!! Today spurs showed how to stage a comeback ,in spite of being under the cosh in the first half.All in all,we were lucky to get a point.Now,still,i'm sure the "we will still be positive even if we play shitty football" brigade will predict us to thump the next team we play by 3-0.  |
scott harwood
said:
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... NAME im pmsl to the fact we played diabolical in the 2nd half and u still couldnt beat us.if we had replicated our first half performance we wouldve won no doubt.i look forward to your inevitable rough patch because we r going through ours now and we r still in touch. |
Eoin Greene
said:
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... We should have got 0 points today and we didn't even deserve that. But if you want to bury your head in the sand, avoid all the evidence of how poor we are - then what an outstanding result. We should be delighted we have MoN because United and Liverpool want him based on the exact same job he did with the mighty Leicester and Villa. Top 4 challengers (lol) playing at home and having 10 players within 30 yards of your own goal for 45 minutes - pathetic. Where is the bloody ambition. We are not Leicester. I am sick of people accepting rubbish performances. As for man of the match - Krankjaer probably did more than our 11 players combined. |
rodin
said:
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...Badger said: So,mr badger,one of the "positives" on here.What happened now,got nothing postive to say anymore,mate? |
Mike Carter
said:
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... I don't think O'Neill has any kind of killer instinct. He's too nice, too polite. It's almost as though he's afraid to take a two or three goal loead because he'd be too embarassed. Why else would you sit back on a frail 1-0 lead? Jokes aside, I'm serious about the lack of killer instict. A manager like Redknapp will persist for goals, O'Neill apparently will not. |
Car Frost
said:
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... Spurs fan - quite clearly they don't teach the 3 r's in London, re-read my post it was a dig at fickle fans rather than joining the bandwagon |
Mike Carter
said:
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... And before anyone mentions it, I'm fully aware we put 5 past Bolton. That's an entirely different scenario. |
rocky marciano
said:
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... divine islet, Badger usually says it how it is so u are been unfair there mate |
rodin
said:
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...By the way please stop referring to Young as a class player. He ain't. He is quick with a good delivery and thats it. For a player who so much ball goes through he falls well short in a lot of skills in my opinion for a club with top 4 aspirations. Took the words out of my mouth.Wasn't it MON who said that the price tag on Ash was 75 mill pounds,when it was reported that Real Madrid were after him?LOL  |
Agbon-the-whore
said:
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... Spurs upped their game in the second half, and I'm unhappy we didn't end up taking all 3 points from a good Villa side. It's always good to take a point away from home, but we could (and maybe should) be 6 points clear from you. Without scoring, Defoe is still on fire. Your goalkeeper kept you in the game today. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... divine_islet, This post by SCOTT1, has just cheered me right up and is actually quite true; NAME im pmsl to the fact we played diabolical in the 2nd half and u still couldnt beat us.if we had replicated our first half performance we wouldve won no doubt.i look forward to your inevitable rough patch because we r going through ours now and we r still in touch. The fact is we aren't playing very well. But we're still taking points. Yes, I'm disappointed, but it's about where we are at the end of the season that counts. And even though I've said we might collapse at the back end of the season, we do look a lot more gutsy this time. As has been said, we lost this one last season, so it's yet another point gained on last time. Cheers Scott, just what was needed |
Eoin Doyle
said:
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... To be honest I knew that would happen in the second half, because I've seen it so many times before. It was embarrassing in the second half to play at home like that, we looked like a League 1 team holding on for a huge scalp in a cup tie. Pathetic. Frustrating. Of course Spurs had all the possession, it's not bloody rocket science, that's what happens when you constantly give a team the ball back, this punting up field to a lone striker is a joke and I'm sick of it. I'm not calling for MON's head, because I know we are so much better at playing "football" than that second half showed. But it's frustrating how much we blow hot and cold week in week out. Cuellar was MOTM in my opinion, and I think someone has replaced Ashley Young with some kind of double. I just never see him doing anything anymore. |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
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... Dire ! We got the goal by pressing them and going for it. Why didn't we play the whole game like that ? Dire ! |
Steve Badger
said:
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...I'm not calling for MON's head, because I know we are so much better at playing "football" than that second half showed. But it's frustrating how much we blow hot and cold week in week out. Spot on GG |
Eoin Doyle
said:
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... On the BBC website it shows we had 54% to 46%. Does possession mean "not having the ball"? I'm confused. |
Steve Badger
said:
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...divine islet, Badger usually says it how it is so u are been unfair there mate Well, thanks Rocky I do try to keep a neutral POV, but it's difficult sometimes when it's in the blood |
Steve Badger
said:
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...divine islet, Badger usually says it how it is so u are been unfair there mate Well, thanks Rocky I do try to keep a neutral POV, but it's difficult sometimes when it's in the blood |
oldvillan
said:
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... just shows what an average FOOTBALL team we are,no problem with the workrate but shocking performance.we were lucky not to get stuffed today. |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
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...Genital Grinder said: Possession of what ? Are they taking into account the amount of time the ball was in the air after a hoof to Gabby ? It's got to be a confidence thing don't it ? Neither the players or MON had the confidence to either press for a second goal, or close the game out by keeping the ball in midfield. Dire ! |
sean
said:
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... our midfield worries me. time after time we get over ran. we couldn't handle spurs movement and had it not been for the defence, yet again, we would have lost that game. we can't keep the ball for any amount of time to relieve pressure and if it weren't for set peices we wouldn't score atall. the only person who can take any credit out of that performance is habib beye. spurs are miles ahead of us in terms of footballing ability. we, aston villa, represent why england will never win the world cup- we simply can't keep the ball. yes we have passion and fight and all that but it's just not enough at the top level. shocking decision with their goal, they talk about henry- that was disgusting as was the ref phil dowd, the closet spurs fan. i'm not calling for martin's head but the central midfield has to be sorted and when are we actually gonna start playing well? |
Eoin Greene
said:
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... I'll say this again because its important. We had 10 players within 30 yeard of our goal for 45 minutes. Is there any possible way to make things easier for he opposition short of playing 'lets see who cn score the most own goals'. Spurs have the whole pitch to keep posession and when we get the ball back the spurs players are all over us. This situation happens in practically every single game we play. Why cant a coach or MANAGER say - MOVE UP HE PITCH! Todays game reminder me of a team in a lower division playing at home against a good premiership side in an FA cup tie. Embarassed. As for us blowing hot and cold - when did we last blow hot? |
oh dear villa
said:
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... 64% possesion to Spurs ,dominated in own ground! still good luck for the rest of the season |
Another Spurs Fan
said:
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... Another Spurs fan here. I think you're all a little too down on MON and yourselves. Spurs typically don't cope well against teams that put 11 behind the ball and counter down the wings with pace. (lost 3 pts to Stoke this year and 6 to Bir 2 yrs ago). It's our weakness. And we don't defend corners and set pieces that well either. From that perspective, the game plan garnered plenty of corners and a few decent counters down the wings. Yeah, we pass thru the midflield better than Villa, no doubt. And Villa aren't going to start passing better thru the mid playing their current style. But MON's stratedgy typically works against us, and levels the playing field agaisnt the Sky Sports Big Four. I think where it hurts is when you suddenly need to attack a real ant-football Big Sam type side and you run out of ideas. I gather you think MON will hinder Villa from "getting to the next level." But what does that mean? Those are just a silly words that usually fall out of Spurs supporters mouths when taliking about their own team. Fact, the table shows which clubs are in 4th and 5th. And imho those two teams have the most realistic chance of getting the fourth spot. |
Steve Badger
said:
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...As for us blowing hot and cold - when did we last blow hot? Bolton? (walks away whistling as if to say "it wasn't me"). |
andrew
said:
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... Shows how far behind spurs we are, seen a stat on tv we had completed 179 passes to spurs 389 shocking. |
keith
said:
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... still top 4 surely a lot of you should be pleased emule and shitwell didnt start the game badger keep the faith |
rackface
said:
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... I agree with VivaVilla. Appalling 2nd half tactics. It's fine when you are 2-0 up but not 1-0. I thought Luke Young did very well playing out of position and Cuellar and Beye were excellent. Carew won everything in the air and was great until we decided to stop playing as a team. We totally lost our shape for no good reason. It's just not good enough. Let's be honest and accept we were 2nd best today in terms of quality and tactics. O'Neill is great for Villa and a superb manager but today he was rubbish. |
rocky marciano
said:
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... to get outpassed by more than 200 completed passes at home is astonishing,this is with two england internationals and a bulgarian international in midfield. its not a one off though is it. |
David Griffin
said:
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... Hey I didn't see the game how badly did Spurs beat us? Judging by the comments we must have lost by at least three or four. |
VDV
said:
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... petrov passed the ball backwards every time he got it, carew and gabi are never near each other. there link up if terrible. young hardly touched the in the second half and we just sat back at home for 80 minutes. we need a top center mid who can find quick short passes, switch the play, looks to go fowards and finds paces through the back four. A top striker is needed as well. |
bradz
said:
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... Habib beye - Man of the Match, 2nd Cuellar!!! Spurs cudda one it, but only when Reo-Coker was taken off for Sidders!!! actually for once in my life glad Carew was taken off for Heskey! |
Steve Badger
said:
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... Keithj, still top 4 I'm still there mate. Whilst we're not winning, we're not losing either |
fatkevs
said:
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... I have had enough of irish managers, today was dire yes we got a goal. once we had ran out of energy we offered nothing there is no atmosphere ay VP honest fans will admit we are shit & will always be shit with such a negative manager & a chairman who is never at the club. I am sure Ash was told to stay deep today to counter the spuds threat does o dreary i meam okneel & surrender not remenber how there full back was taken off last year after being terrorised by Ash. OK Ash has not been the same since since he was sent off but the teams tactics must support the player |
sasa
said:
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... £100 odd million spent for hoofing, the thing is we can't even hoof anymore. Spurs knocked it about like it was a training match, thank god they don't have any spine otherwise we would've got ruined. Petrov, the greatest backpasser in footballing history. |
neil57
said:
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... Was on plane from luton. Listened to 606. Mostly about the weather at plymouth Man City fans seem to want MON As Jimmy S would have said,"Hows about that then?" Our 2nd string defence did well today. Why do we want Miguel? Is Young going? It was a hard earned point. Dont be nasty to the well mannered Yids, they seem to respect Villa more than most on this blog. UTV |
EUSSR
said:
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... WE are in need of a new dangerman in the middle. "Get the check book out in style and get a genius"! Why shouldn't we have a hard working world class player from the UK? Please help me though, because a goal machine is needed, who you gonna choose fellow Villians? EUSSR |
robvilla
said:
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... I'm not going to repeat what everyone has said about our second half 'performance' as everyone is pretty much right: there wasn't one. I just want to praise Luke Young for once again doing a great job in a position he isn't happy playing and justifying (in a roundabout way) MON's decision to farm out Shorey on loan when Bouma isn't close to match fitness. Mainly though I wanted to congratulate Carlos Cuellar on an absolutely wonderful and thoroughly deserved man of the match performance. It is in no way certain that Collins will walk back into the first eleven regardless of how impressive he was before injury. Well done Carlos and I for one hope he gets a good run in his favoured position for the first time alongside a centre half that suits his play (Dunne OR Collins). Special mention to Big Brad as well, another who kept us in it when we should have long since been dead and buried. UTV. |
Ammar
said:
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... Don’t know what was more depressing the second half performance or the post match match interview. Apparantly usual excuse Beye and L.Young looked looked tired because they have hardly played enough this season. Who’s fault is that ? MON do you not realise that if you do not have possesion of the ball and spend most of the time running after the ball and defending, players are going to get tired. Funny Fatknapps comment were he thought that Spuds were unlucky and should have taken all 3 points. He did not mention that any of his players being tired yet they played in midweek. As usual a shocking 45 minutes this time it was the second half. In a way you could see that Fatknapp was going to iron out the gremlins and Spurs where going take control of the game. Signs were there at the end of the first half. Sat to deep in the second half again midfield was almost on top of the defence and defence was almost on top of Brad. Milner & Ash playing as secondary fullbacks longs balls hoofed up on most occasions to no one just pathetic. No plan B when Spuds put the pressure Sidwell and Heskey were bought on as a impact subs. Where were Downing Delph just so predictable. What a joke Liverpool, Man City and Everton must be quacking in there boots after that performance. Man of the Match for us I thought should be Cueller followed closely by Beye. Had to be a defender after all.. |
Nick
said:
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... Carlos motm for me. The only good players today were the defence and Milner (still can't cross though). Gabby didn't look very interested, Carew did alright but nothing special. Emile looked good when he came on. The most entertaining part of the match was the broken pipe just above Trinity C1, a load of people had to evacuate the area just so they didn't get soaked! |
Mike Carter
said:
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... How about targetting Scott Parker in January? I think he's been superb for West Ham so far this season, a player with a bit of class and clout about him, would be a massive upgrade over Sidwell or Reo in my opinion. Plus West Ham would probably be more than willing to sell, seems ideal to me. |
Steve Badger
said:
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...Milner & Ash playing as secondary fullbacks longs balls hoofed up on most occasions to no one This is hard to argue against, imo. I've said before, I think it's killing Ash's game. |
Ammar
said:
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...Petrov, the greatest backpasser in footballing history. Have to agree. Very much overrated if you see what he contributes through the game. |
david
said:
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... Well....some things hardly need saying...sitting back in the second half and giving the ball away etc..... so I'll just mention some other things instead. Habib Beye: After the first few minutes it was not looking good. The first 5 things he was asked to do...he did wrong. It now looks as if that was just game rustiness because after that he really came into his own. He defended well, he started to make himself available, he played some great passes and frequently he even managed to prevent Crouch from getting the ball in the air. Carlos Cuellar: Did he do anything wrong at all? Bearing in mind how short we looked in defence a year ago it's good to know that even with 4 defenders out injured or sick we still did really well in defence...I just wish we hadn't needed them quite so much! Emile Heskey. Ok, he wasn't on for that long, but what he did, he did well. Sorry Heskey haters but it's true. |
david
said:
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... No point trying to pretend the second half was anything but awful today(except for the defence) but I suppose we should be pleased that we've now played 4 of the top 6 teams, not lost to any of them and are still lying 5th in the table. |
James
said:
 |
... I seriously think MON's subs are based on this Blog. Who can I send on that will reeeeeeally piss them off? I watch the game with my Liverpool supporting elder brother and he was genuinely calling for Heskey at 'pool. I pointed out that MON was going to be crucified if we got a draw/loss having brought on Heskey and Sidwell. He was amazed, and I mean amazed, at the response when I showed him the match thread on this blog. Also, look at the posts by Spuds fans on here. I am pissed and angry. Spurs (for many) are the role-models for what Villa should become. They drew. With a shit team. Like Villa. They could not outwit a shit manager. Despite our shit midfield. Despite our overpaid, underskilled workforce. Points drops by Harry's army. Toss. (Villastreams is excellent by the way) |
david
said:
|
... Errr...Nan...you're one of the more lucid and amusing posters on here, so I can only assume that it's my poor comprehension that's stopping me from seeing and agreeing with your comments tonight. |
kevin gibson
said:
 |
... sorry villa ! but you were crap today it was like you were the away team how can you be proud of the way you played today ? (you fans deserve better ) |
kevin gibson
said:
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... im a yid !! and i know you love you club which i respect ,but you was so crap today we are so much better than you . yid ary |
marty
said:
 |
... we failed when we brought on sidwell....the guy was walking back on defense couldnt pass out of his own half and couldnt win a header in the midfield to save his life...... heskey has honestly won me over....which i thought i would never say sidwell has been given to many chances already, get on delph or downing |
marty
said:
|
... btw the backline with beye looked great.....midfield killed us.....milner/young need to start putting shots on goal to help with the flow of the game |
Ammar
said:
|
...I'd also point out that for the second half we played 4-5-1 to all of the 4-5-1 merchants. This formation at home, holding a line at the edge of our box just invites the opposition on to you. Eion, did not realise we played any formation in the second half. From what i saw it was 10 and sometimes 11 men behind the ball sitting just outside the penalty area. When Carew came off and we were being completely overun surely that was the time to bring on a Downing or Delph and take some of the initiative back in the midfield. |
Matt Brookshier
said:
 |
... Okay, I just finished watching the game off my DVR -- mixed feelings like many. I really had hoped for a win but have to say that I'm okay with the draw. First, everyone seems to be focused on the dreadful 2nd half performance. We were excellent in the first 45 minutes. Anytime the Spurs got the ball we had a man right on top of them. They didn't have room to breathe much less pass the ball -- they turned it over to us so many times it was embarassing for them! So we can play good football. Rewatch the first 45 minutes again and you can see realy quality there. What worries me is why we can't maintain it for a full 90 minutes, much less two games in a row. I really think there are two major issues holding us back: 1) Attitude - against the weak teams we don't show up (we expect to win) and when we are up we try to "hold on" for the win instead of putting them away. I blame a mix of MON and the young team. MON needs to stamp an attitude on the team of attack, attack, attack. Fly to the ball anywhere and everywhere. If someone is lagging then bench him -- MON tries too hard to let players play through a slump when it is an attitude adjustment that is needed. 2) Lack of quality in the midfield. Like many I think we are good but are missing a creative midfielder. NRC did very well solidifying the defence but his passing is piss-poor. I'd take Cuellar going forward on attack over Reo-Coker. |
James
said:
 |
... I think this game illustrates how much we need Downing to get full fitness so it can give us an extra 'top 4' style dynamic. Ashley needs the free role as he's constantly being stymied by either defensive responsibilities as mentioned by some above or by multiple opposition defenders. The balance in the centre midfield is affecting him somehow. Or perhaps he's just off-form? And echoing what Idaho said above, NRC tends to work better when all he has to do is protect the defence (in a 5 man midfield perhaps?! Am I the first to ever suggest that? I think I am... ). Sidwell just doesn't tend to work at all. After some of his misses recently I'm not really surprised to see him on the bench. Still think there could be more to come from him though... All the same, there's still plenty to look forward to. Not sure the doom and gloom is justified right now, particularly as we just played a Spurs team in top form. |
Rios.Jockstrap
said:
 |
... How is it that Martin cant see what 35,OOO other people can? There goal was on the cards, we all knew it was coming, but what does martin do? Persist with a formation that had our midfield overun. Worse still was the tactics. Make no mistake about it, in the second half we played for the draw. Martins substitutions told us that he was happy with the formation... In fact, every time that either gabby or carew recieved the ball in offensive areas, Nobody was busting a gut to make a run or give options. This is because they were told to sit tight. Ive been a big fan of Martin, but i can no longer see him taking us any further than he has. Today showed us all his tactical failngs. Before someone shouts fickle or accuses me of wanting the gaffer to go, well i dont want him to go. But i want him to see what we all see, and i want him to bring in some real quality over the next 12 monthes. If he does that, then we will progress, but any more heskies or sidwells, then we will all have to admit that Martin is not the one. 35,000 PEOPLE CAN NOT BE WRONG. |
Craig Elliot
said:
|
... Some of yooze are a fckin joke. you moan about punting the ball then moan when petrov plays the ball backwards to keep possession when there is nthing on in front of him. what would you rather he done, play along ball, for f**k sake think about what you are saying, the way etrov keeps possession of the ball is pure class. yooze are embarassing. |
Peter Hall
said:
 |
... Why is everyone obsessed by statistics. At the end of the day its how many goals you score more than the opposition that counts. If Spurs had 17 shots at goal in the second half and only scored once that is pretty poor. Who cares how many passes you have or how much possesion. If you score the goals thats what counts. I dont see any additional points added for passing, possesion or how many corners you have. Our midfield need to get their shooting boots on thats the key to a top 4 finish, Milner, Young and Petrov have as yet not delivered. |
neil57
said:
|
... It is silly blaming MON. We do not have the ability in centre midfield. I hope Downing and Delph will be the answer. If we buy in Jan, no more defenders, please. MOTD said City's new defence will take time to accustom to each other, that's a laugh as our's gelled right away Lucky draw IMO UTV |
fatkevs
said:
|
... The way we play now reminds me of one of my worst memories as a Villa Fan the the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup. I cannot deny we put in effort now a days, but once we are knackered from running around like chickens on speed, all we are fit to do is keep our possession % up with airtime (HOOF). |
fatkevs
said:
|
... Yesterday we unveiled the statue to the founder of the football league how proud he must be of how we play the Game. The Yank is full of publicity stunts, he should show some interest in the day to day running of the club. I hope he looks hard at the Statue the next time he graces VP to remind him of his respnsiblity |
fatkevs
said:
|
... Ferdinand i bet your bird looks forward to bedroom if you only think its about scoring a goal. Football is so much more than that |
Daniel Wilson
said:
|
...Yesterday we unveiled the statue to the founder of the football league how proud he must be of how we play the Game. What else could he do exactly? Other than ploughing more money into the club I can't think of anything? and it's not like he's been tight fisted? Surely what goes on on the pitch actually has very little to do with the chairman? Sounds like your just searching for more reasons to feel down which seems pointless. We played a very poor second half, but in the first half we more than matched a Spurs team, second only to Chelsea on current form, were sitting 5th and were picking up points whilst not playing to the standard that the quality of player we have would suggest we should be at. Come on folks, this thread has got to be the biggest over reaction i've seen for donkeys years. USVILLADAVID summed it up perfectly above - Hey I didn't see the game how badly did Spurs beat us? Judging by the comments we must have lost by at least three or four. |
bobvillian
said:
 |
... MY VILLA TEAM TO PICK FROM WHAT WE HAVE GOT ON BOOKS IS AS FOLLOWS; GUSAN; L YOUNG DUNNE;COLLINS;WARNOCK;ALBRIGHTON MILNER PETROV  ELPHOWNING GABBY. 4-5-1 SUBS;FREIDLE;QUELLAR;REO-COKER;A YOUNG;FONZ;CAREW;BANNAN.TELL ME VILLA FANS WHAT DO THINK???? |
PLAYED IT LIKE A SET
said:
 |
... People slagging of Young! He's still got it. Near the end of the game he took possession, skinned a few Spurs defenders and sent in the perfect cross for Heskey. Heskey read it well, and did very well, and nearly nicked the win and 3 points. |
FatKevs
said:
|
... Dan to me my club is more than just chucking a £ here & there like christmas is not just handing over a tenner. Publicity stunts count for little in my eyes. Running the football clud attracting inventment into the club working daily behind the scences. His loyalties to this club are divided & he is harldy in this country. You my son can be bought But Aston Villa deserve much more |
FatKevs
said:
|
... In the UK there have been 3 teams of note for wining things Liverpool Machester United & Arsenal we cling onto 4th spot by the seat of our pants due to past glories. It looks like we will will not be there for much longer when we have a chairman that does not have the commitment & drive to help us challenge for anything unless we have to add an award for works outside the club for self promotion |
sasa
said:
|
... 'when petrov plays the ball backwards to keep possession when there is nthing on in front of him.' I see where you're coming from, but there are options in front of him but (unlike Barry did) he chooses not to take them. Petrov attempted one through ball and it got blocked by Dawson I think with consumate ease. The thing with Petrov is that he doesn't have the b0ll0x to play a forward pass because of the higher risk of failure. There's no doubting he has the best techincal ability of our midfield but without the courage to use it in an advancing position it's a waste. As for Sidwell, a terrific passer at Reading, but what can you do if the ball by passes you evertime as the defence hoofs it to Carew or Gab? How can a midfielder influence a game if the defence do not marshall the ball out a pass it on the floor to the oncoming player? It is clear that MON tells the team to hoof it. Our team has the ability to knock it about but the gaffer does not want them to do it. Our efficient football requires NRC and Downing, but it will not be good enough for 4th, though it can get 6th. |
afvcbob
said:
 |
... It looks like some of you were happy with the point yesterday but again we gave too much possession away and were holding on for the point This is just not good enough imo for a team trying to break into the big 4 Why did we not take the games to Spurs in the second half and why did MON not take the warning to change thing around when Defoe's goal was disallowed - We were totally crap in the second haff and its just not good enough |
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