Written by Damian Sunday, 13 September 2009 13:59
They couldn't even sell out their own stadium for arguably their biggest game of the season and it was quite clear to see from the first few moments, that they were more interested in not conceding rather than scoring.
It was made more evident when they brought off second half substitute Lee Carsley after going one down from a well worked free kick, that we all saw coming, apart from that is, the Birmingham City defence.
We saw a bit of it in pre-season and it is quite a simple one; play deep and look for Carew to head back into the danger area and hope that someone gets on the end of it and Gabby did, with only a few minutes left.
Some of you might be surprised by what I'm about to say but with 20 minutes to go I was screaming for Carew to come on and us go 4-4-2, because Birmingham City just sat back and were more interested in defending. If they continue to play like that this season they will be relegated.
Anyway, more tomorrow with the post mortem and a man of the match poll will be up any minute, but a fantastic result and while expected, it was made difficult, but our quality, literally man for man, won it in the end.
Before I go, in case some were not aware, that moves us up to 6th place with a game in hand. Not bad that and when you consider it is against West Ham and for a moment add the three points, with a 2-0 win, we'd be 4th, just above Spurs.
Before I go, a video for you, just in case you haven't seen it .
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Steve Badger
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... The result is all I was interested in. MON made changes I wouldn't have so fair play to him. SOTC |
Steve Badger
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...but our quality, literally man for man, won it in the end. Which has been my point  4-4-2 can beat 4-5-1, if the players are good enough. |
david English
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... happy with the result, but more than happy that (hopefully) our major failing (defence) may have been sorted |
Mike Carter
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... Great win, not a great performance. I think on the overall balance we can say we probably did deserve it because of the chances we created. But to see us waste so many of those chances was a little worrying. Highlight of the match for me has to be the new centreback pairing.Sure, they'll face much tougher opposition than that, but today they passed with flying colours. Great to see defenders who love to jump and head the ball, I think Dunne and Collins won just about everything that was thrown at them. Lowlight is undoubtedly the lack of creativity yet again, and the wastefulness of the 3 attacking players. Milner had a terrible day by his standards and Young couldn't get stuck in. Gabby didn't do too badly, and may be on the verge of becoming a proper goalscorer finally. Carew changed it all. Sidwell was absolutely anonymous for 90 minutes and Nigel Reo-Coker can feel extremely hard done by that he was subsituted. Vivavilla's match ratings sponsored by Castrol GTX: Friedel 6.5 Warnock 6.5 Dunne 7 Collins 7.5 Cuellar 6 Petrov 6.5 Reo Coker 7 Sidwell 5 Milner 5 Young 5.5 Agbonlahor 6.5 |
Steve Badger
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... Defence looked way more assured and that's the best thing about the whole game, imo. I'm even more encouraged now, as we have serious strength in depth in most areas. |
Rob healey
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... fantastic defence today just need young at right back when di we ever see a partnership click in so fast today great just great rob |
VillaNick
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... I was shocked he gave Collins his debut, I was half expecting Dunne & Warnock. I noticed we look excellent in the air (at the back) not since Laursen's injury have we looked that comfortable. I think Curtis Davies might be stuck on the bench if this continues. UTV UTV |
Allblacks
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... We play best as a 4-4-2 its Official! All you 4-5-1 boys just shut up and carry on with your manager football etc. Great result for us over a hard team who did the same against man u. Up the Villa! |
David Smith
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... Defence looked solid today. Very good dealing with set pieces. We never settled in this game, that was the problem. Looked uncomfortable throughout. But who cares!! We beat the blues!!(again!)  |
david
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... vivavilla. Agree about the centrebacks. Collins in particular I thought did well and also had him as MOTM. Also agree that Milner had his worst game for ages. I'm not so sure about your judgement on Sidwell though. I thought he played well today. Closed down lots of spaces and even came close to scoring having done really well to get into the position then outjumping the defender. |
Damian
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... Allblacks Did you watch the match? If you did, you would have seen that pretty much for game, they sat back and waited for the counter attack. We had to play 451 to combat that .. In the same breath, because we wanted to win it, we had to try something but if you also watched the match you will know that when we scored, we also went to 451 ... Did you watch the match? |
Steve Badger
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... VV, NRC took a knock. It was probably precautionary. Totally agree Sidwell was mostly anonymous though again. Is he similar to Heskey, in that I just don't see it? |
Stathis
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... Didnt expect Dunne with Collins to work it out so good, im so pleasantly surprised and happy! Warnock made his runs, looked good, crossin can improve Only a couple players were tryin for the scum, no chance Overall they should have played a lot more openly, but it was apparent they didnt really wanna win the match. And when they did play openly pushin forward in the end, we coupld have scored two more easily Good win lads, feels great winnin the city derby and we keep up our good run, UP THE VILLA HERE WE COME!!!! |
Aaron Wilson
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... Do you think MON will stay with Collins and Dunne at CB when L.Young is back? Or will he put Cuellar back in the centre?... L.Young-Cuellar-Dunne-Warnock i have a feeling he will drop Collins to the bench... |
kieron
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... We need to be playing Collins and Dunne at the back week in week out, they looked solid and Collins is my man of the match. |
Eoin Greene
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... I think Vivavilla summed it up well although I would have given Dunne, Collins and Gabby higher marks. As I said in other post - 4-4-2 and Carew made all the difference today. I am not a 4-4-2 merchant but I believe the 4-5-1 has its time and place and its not against poor teams who set themselves up to defend - especially seeing as we have no chance in hell of passing it through them. I would say 4-5-1 always against the top 4 - home and away and against the other strong teams away from home.....but otheriwse we need 2 up front to press the opposition up the pitch and to win some of our 'long passes'. Finally - good debut from Frodo and although Cuellar was solid in defence - we really need a right back playing right back!! |
Tommy
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... Credit to MON for the way he went about todays game. I thought Collins and Dunne looked really good. Thank God we didnt concede the equalizer after those golden chances. |
kieron
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... I also think we will eventually see Delph taking NRC's or Sidwells place. Much more potential in the lad! |
Damian
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... I thought Collins and Dunner were fantastic today. Hard pressed to find an argument for playing Carlos and Curtis again at centre back, but could it be that one makes the other look good? It certainly means that we have cover. Saying that also - they really only had one man to deal with - not the most difficult thing to ask of two central defenders. |
Stuart Kinane
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... What a win! Thank God O'Neill put Carew on for Reo-coker though, I thought he may have gone with Heskey. Gabby is a legend, it was almost a carbon copy of his goal at St Andrews 2 years ago. And on the 451 or 442 debate, I think it's safe to say that neither trumps the other completely. 4-5-1 is excellent if the other team are really going at us (Liverpool). 442 is way more effective if the other team are sitting back and playing 451 themselves (Birmingham). I know im sitting firmly on the fence but I think MON demonstrated the point perfectly today. Fair play to him for making the chnage when we needed it. UTV! |
Stathis
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... Dunne looked too comfortable, as if he was playin in this team for ages Class defendin, i think he is the reason that made Collins look so good |
david
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... Damian, I've felt that you've been too dogmatic about 451 but having read your summary above I'm completely with you now. I felt we were pretty safe whilst we were playing 451, particularly with the extra solidity in the back 4. It isn't the answer for every situation though and Mon made the right (brave) call to switch to 442 towards the end. There's no doubt that switch won us the match. Maybe if the back 4 really gel then maybe they'll need slightly less protection than before and we'll be able to use 442 more often than we could afford to previously? |
Stuart Kinane
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... Aero 4 villa, I was thinking the same thing. I would say he will drop Cuellar to the bench as the Dunne-Collins partnership looks excellent. The defence was brilliant today but the only weak link there was Cuellar (not really his fault to be fair as it's not his position). Warnock-Dunne-Collins-L Young looks very solid. |
Damian
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... r0bb0 Had The Clowns been looking for a goal and he changed, we'll never know what would have happened, but it is fair to say we might have been weaker. Making the change when he did, was a very good move, simply because they were not looking at getting forward and it made sense ... I'm a huge fan of 451, but it isn't to say 442 doesn't have its place and I even wrote I fancied we'd beat them playing 442, but it could have been different had we started that way. It looks like O'Neill has settled on it now anyway .. which I think is positive. |
Mark Sheasby
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... A big victory for MON today. At 4-5-1 we should have had two goals; bringing on carew on and reverting to 4-4-2 changed the game and we dominated. The boldest manager won the game and MON showed he can make both formations work. |
lucky4
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... What a win! Another late winner always feels good! Check out the birmingham city website called singing the blues! They have about 15 photos of gabby scoring and celebrating from about 10 different angles! They must love the villa! |
Halfwit
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... Bringing carew on was the turning point he came on and the game changed big time they also got tierd which helped Cant wait to get them at villa park now give them a nice stuffing 4 or 5 nil |
Damian
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... Halfwit I cant wait either .. if they play like that this season, I can see them going straight back down. No footballer in the team, just a very poor attitude to the game. They didn't try to beat us today, they tried to not get beaten and even failed at that. |
Stathis
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... Who voted Milner for man of the match? How does creatin many chances but losin all of them as well as missin easy passes give u man of the match? |
Mark Sheasby
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... I thought they looked like a decent team. I think when they gel they will be a tough proposition. I still think it was MON being tyhe most bold and going for the victory that made the difference. |
david
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... We haven't signed THAT many extra players this year but suddenly we seem to have FAR more depth. Even at centre back, where we felt very vulnerable last seeason we now have Cuellar, Davis and Clarke available to step in (assuming we stick with Dunne and Collins and Luke Young steps back in at right back). All three of our back up players are stronger than last season's number one back up Zat Knight. |
Eoin Greene
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... Damian - not trying to be argumentative, but as I allready said - I think there is a time and place for BOTH 4-5-1 and 4-4-2. But your implied criticism of Birmingham could be leveled completely at the feet of Villa. 'they really only had one man to deal with - not the most difficult thing to ask of two central defenders', 'If you did, you would have seen that pretty much for game, they sat back and waited for the counter attack.' - you could say that about Villa every time we play 4-5-1. If anything for the first 70minutes - Birmingham slightly shaded it. Irregardless - great win and big three points!! |
David
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... Took a huge gamble on giving debuts to three defensive players & playing a centre half at RB! But it worked!Collins & Dunne were great! If that's how they play as strangers I can't wait for them to gel!! Felt sorry for Cuellar having to play at RB, and for NRC who always seems to be the one sacrificed for substitution. But, an unspectacular performance only upping the tempo when necessary which was still more than enough to be the first team to record 5 victories in a row! 4-4-2 won it for us Damian! Seems we're more flexible & able to adapt to ongoing situations. 4-5-1 isn't the silver bullet to success, being able to switch & have the right players to adapt is a prerequisite of todays modern game. |
Simon
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... Missed first 50-minutes of the game and by the looks of it did not miss much. Predicted a hard faught 1-0 win, but we should have buried the game 3-0. Gabby missed what i consider an easy chance and Carew had a similar chance and decided to square it to Milner when it would have been easier to shoot. Still pleased with the result but we must improve if we want to be considered top 6  |
Andy Pepper
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... Great result,in reply to the defence being solid lets just wait and see when they are up against class forwards and there are 2 of them.Gary O Conner is not the most feared striker but to start with encouraging,get Luke back in at right back and i think we have a solid base,still lacking a bit of creativity though.But wot the hell thats for the futre today is all about beating the clowns!!!! |
Cian Donaghy
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... i think mon is exactly right with what he's doe formation wise listen to what he has said. he's playing down formations now because some 'experts' are pressuring him into 451. he wants to, as he has said before, switch between 442 and 451 effortlessly. to do this he has to get his team used to playing both. the reason we did better away from home last season than at home is obvious. 451 is great when teams come at you, but as we saw today, not when you try to break them down. so let him at it. he knows far FAR better than anyone on this site. |
Damian
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... eoin1981 had milner got his shot on target, or gabby got his header on target, or sidwell not got blocked by joe hart .. we could have been 3-0 up playing 451. did they even have a shot before that? i for one have no complaints about today. we did everything we had to, as the away team and while not having many shots on target - did have quite a few half chances - i think if anything most people would have to hold their hands up and say how surprised they were at how the clowns came out that, for me, was the real shocker from today. i didn't expect that .. which sort of changes things but the last throw of the dice for o'neill was to go 442 (because we could afford to) and he did it and it paid dividends .. great result and great all round performance. absolutely nothing to complain about - apart from maybe making the keeper make a save |
Nick
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... James Collins was superb ... did all the basics, looked comfortable on the ball, won everything he went in for and Dunney was great alongside him. Solid performance from the back line as a whole really. Want to mention Reo Coker who i thought played really well and made up up Sidwells performance. Yet again Carew comes on and the game changed, just concerned hes gonna walk if he doesn't get the starts he wants. Another 3 points and alls good!  Up the Villa! |
Nick
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... Milner didn't have a good game, his passing was wayward and shooting no better. You could tell it was having an effect on him, but fair play to MON to sticking with him. He had one good shot, and towards teh end, as City were tiring, he managed to put in some alright crosses. I thought Dunne and Collins were great, but Collins wins my Man of the Match because of a cross he made to Warnock. Can't remember what time of the match it was, but he made a cross from the right hand side all the way over to Warnock, inch perfect cross. I haven't seen a Villa central defender distribute a ball like that in years. Hopefully those two will form a good partnership, though I don't know how long Cuellar and Davies will enjoy not playing CB. |
Halfwit
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... My man of the match would be carew i thought we played rather rubbish today carew changed the whole game when he came on |
peter haworth
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... Really impressed with James Collins,a great debut,together with Dunne.They seemed to gel very quickly.Hopefully,with Friedel we will have a solid defencieve unit with good players to cover injuries and suspensions over a long season.I thought playing 451 or 433 worked well and MON changed it at the right time,and Carew made a difference,its all about being flexible and having a squad to to suit the opposition.Hopefully,Fabian Delph will emerge as a threat in future games,its nice to have options on the bench. |
david
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... Some have said that Delph should have been playing instead of Sidwell. Today was no day for Delph and If he'd started I reckon we'd have up ended up playing with 10 men. He's going to be fantastic for us but today Sidwell and Reo Coker were both much better bets. |
mjasghar
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... To be fair to the Blouses if they have the guts to play Benitez from the start they might win a few games .... bets on which proper club will go for Chubby when the Scum go down again? |
Eoin Greene
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... Damo - I think you vastly overestimate how we played in the first 70 minutes. Birminham had just as many half chances as we had and were pressing us more than we pressed them. I dont remeber Hart making any save before the goal went in either. If we played like that - 9 times out of 10 we would not win. But again my point would be that 4-5-1 is not set up for these type of matches - against teams whose first priority is not to concede and play on the counter. We are good at that exact style ourselves as we have players who have pace and are excellent at counter attacking. The problem is when other teams dont attack. Anyway - great win, well done MoN for making the change. W ecan all agree on that. |
VillaNick
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... I think Downing or Delph will probably get ahead of Sidwell, who looks a bit out-of-sorts on occasions. He has some ability but looks quite uncomfortable at times, Jose Mourinio thoght he was worth a big transfer fee though, and he know alot more about |
david
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... Damian, looking forward to next weekend now. Against a team like Portsmouth who will be desperate to steal a single point at Villa Park should we start with Carew in a 442? |
caleb williams
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... please stop debating the validity of 442 vs 451. especially when we've beaten the scum! |
David
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... "Mommy! Mommy! If we lose to Liverpool we could be bottom of the table!""MON out!" You t**ts! We're 6th in the table with a game in hand! Liverpool & Arsenal have already lost 2 games & many 'fans' think their season is over! Shut up complaining about nowt you jessie boys & get behind the team!Or....bugger off! |
cockneyvillan
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... Agree about collins, looked solid and excellent on the ball . I thought cueller would be second choice but on this performance hes third and davis forth. Good start to the season now and lets hope we can create and score goals , if we can we could do well because we definitely look solid. |
Daniel Wilson
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...how about 451 with carew up front and gabby out wide on the right? Wouldn't mind Gabby on the right, although Milner is an untouchable in my eyes. First bad game for an enternity today. What for instance does Shaun Wright Phillips have that Gabby doesn't? he can run in a line fast, thats pretty much it! |
david
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... Damian...I like that to start with. If we need to step it up do you then move Gabby more central up front and bring Delph into midfield, or leave the midfield and bring on Heskey? |
david
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... Dan, I agree about Milner being a must for every game so does he go over to the left and move Young to the centre or move Milner into the centre? |
Damian
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... r0bb0 lots of options .. i think gabby is the best option myself but you also have to try others .. it is also worth noting that pompey wont perform like blues and maybe us lining up as 451 against pompey will be more like 433 .. still, will be interesting to watch |
Steve Badger
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...how about 451 with carew up front and gabby out wide on the right? And leave Milner out? No, imo. It's only one game, as someone said. The defensive pairing seemed to work, but as has been said, would it be as good with a top side playing us? No doubt we'll see. I was disappointed with MON's choice to play Collins for Cuellar, with the latter moving to RB. What does that tell Beye and Cuellar? It seems pretty obvious that MON would be happy to see Shorey gone and that's a shame imo. NRC must have been an injury problem, I'd have subbed Sidwell, if indeed it was going to be a midfielder at all (I'd have left it 4-5-1 and took the point). But whatever, MON was bold and got it right this time. I'm glad, because I can guarantee he'd have been ripped to pieces by most on here if we'd lost this game. |
Steve Badger
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... Damian, We will beat pompey by two clear goals, no problem  And I normally hate predicting. |
Jointash
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... I think our Center Back had done a fantastic job today, although our midfield hand't quite. We lack of creativity in the midfield, esp. in the center of midfield where all players NRC, Sidwell, and Petrov. They all had done a good job defending but non of them could give us a creative killer-pass through. Hope to see delph develops as a proper player in the future |
david
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... Badger, agreed....can you imagine what it would have been like on here if they'd scored when we went to 442. That's one of the (many)things I about Mon, he knows his own mind and will do whay HE thinks is right. Maybe one of our jobs is to have faith and trust him? |
Steve Badger
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... I forgot to say, why am I not so as elated as I should be? Don't get me wrong, I'm chuffed and have been singing anti blues songs to myself since the finish. But it just seems it was expected somewhat. Which is probably a sign of how we've improved. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that, tbh. |
Brandon Clements
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... Actually, you know what I'd like to see when Downing get's match fit? Cuellar - Dunne - Davies/Collins Milner - Warnock/Petrov - Delph/NRC - Downing Gabby - Carew/Heskey - Young Yeah, I'm saying it. Play the 3-4-3; it'll whack the shit out of stubbourn defences, allow us to keep width, and give everyone something to think about. |
Mike Carter
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... Alan Smith said it during the second half, you just have to look at our bench to see where the real progress had been made during the Summer. Gardner, Guzan, Shorey, Carew, Beye, Delph and Heskey That, in my mind, is a very strong bench. With the exception of probably only Gardner, you've got 6 players who could conceivabley be starting most games for us. With Downing to come back we'll be stronger still. I'm looking forward to that more and more each week, perhaps that's where our lack of creativity might be filled. Plus we don't have anyone capable of crossing the ball at the moment unless it's a set piece. |
Steve Badger
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... Robbo, Badger, agreed....can you imagine what it would have been like on here if they'd scored when we went to 442. That's one of the (many)things I about Mon, he knows his own mind and will do whay HE thinks is right. Maybe one of our jobs is to have faith and trust him? It's a funny thing. As the expectations get higher, so the room for error becomes less. It's the way of the world that you have to win every game now. We've seen it with Wenger and Benitez, even SAF. The game is worse for it, imo. But yes, your last line is especially pertinent. |
Paul King
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... Things are going to get quite difficult for MON when downing comes back and i am sure delf will only be getting better and better in training, things are looking promising. Also we have every chance of getting 12 points from our first 5 games, with the benefit of all the talk being about the yids or man city so we can quietly go about doing our business. 451 or 442 we have to trust mon will choose the right formation for the rigth occasion today his change won us the game. UTV |
Mike Carter
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... Spaniard You're dead right, should be beat Portsmouth then 12 points from 5 games has to be seen as a superb start. Though, with Wigan, Fulham, Birmingham and Portsmouth from those opening 5 games we'll still be waiting to see if that win over Liverpool was a fluke or not. |
TrueVillan
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... good to see that with the current defence 4-4-2 works! shows how bad davies is in the centre, pretty impressed with collins, won everything in the air touch wood now, heskey asks for a jan transfer to save his england hopes, then we should be set! |
Steve Badger
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... Viva, Gardner, Guzan, Shorey, Carew, Beye, Delph and Heskey And none of them big time charlies, is the major point. Well Carew slightly, but you get my point, I'm sure. I love this. We look very discreet when you compare Spuds and Citeh etc. |
Scrumpy
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... Isn't it good to have a team that can play several ways, and have a bench of good players who you can bring on and change things if necessary. MON should be applauded for going to 442 to win the game rather than settle for a point. When we play 451 we are unlikely to lose matches or concede many. But then if you play 451 for 70mins against some teams, as they tire, you can afford to go to 442 and still keep control of the midfield. In other games starting at 442 to keep teams playing a deeper line and have it more equally balanced in midfield (by that I mean not dominating the midfield) and then switching is an option. What I'd really like to see is us also being able to adapt the 451 when we need to (it not just playing 433 in attach and 451 in defence). At present we are playing effectively 4231 with the 2 holding players Petrov/Reo. I think Sidwell may have appeared anon today as he is playing in that hole between the holding two and the front 3. He was though the first to get a shot (header) on target with a break into the box. Id also like to see us be able to play the diamond better when playing 442. Against Wigan I don't think Petrov and Delph quite worked, but had some promise. It needs the two wide midfielders to be able to tuck in and offer a hand in holding the defensively line in the midfield. Id also like to see us playing 4321 (the old christmas tree) but I'm not sure who really fits in the front 21. I don't think its gabby/carew/heskey it may be gabby/young/carew or heskey when downing is fit to play as the wide player in the 3 with Milner on the other side. I think the front 3 today worked well with young/milner/gabby causing some problems. If Milner had his shooting boots on today he could have had 3 by half time. I also think that we shouldn't over look the fact that Young isn't in his best form yet, but his contribution is very similar to Heskey's for England in that he keeps several players occupied (at one count he was surrounded by 4 today, meaning there should be space for others around him). Two of the England goals this week were due to heskey being marked by two (leaving Gerard for his back post header etc) and creating space for others. I even think with the CBs we have now, we could even consider 352 at some point. I'd like to see us be able to play any one of four, five or more different ways and be able to switch to those during matches. I think that could be the way to break the top four by having a team that can play a specific way to contain and beat any team. |
Paul Gough
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... Yes no doubt about it we have a decent squad this season and with no European matches plenty of rests while our competitors are busy. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work we will have a shout at top four this season. I just think that top four will be about 6 points less than last season. If we just keep within 5 or 6 points of the top four and then a good run of wins at the end should be enough. Keep dreamin! |
Steve Badger
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... Bloody hell Scrumpy. Good points, but any chance of paragraphs? I know it's not an english lesson, but it makes it miles easier to read mate. |
Steve
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... Great result, thought we never looked like conceding and to be honest missed a few half chances before scoring. One slight concern, is why does Reo Coker constantly get subbed, he is our only centre mid who has the mobility to get around the pitch and put tackles in. How sidwell wasnt taken off instead I will never know, plus Milner was dreadful today. Got a feeling 4-4-2 will be played against Pompey, J Carew will really cause havoc against their defence. My only fear is that Reo Coker will drop out, even though he is a MUST particularly in a midfield 2 as Petrov is too slow to protect the defence and sidwell is limited. Good Result, and how immense does Warnock look? Class on the ball and loves a challenge, plus hats off to Dunne and Collins, and even Cuellar (who has been class at centre half) looked alot more composed at right back than he did last year, tho i would pick young-cuellar-dunne- warnock when all fit! UTV Made my day! |
david
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... It's hard to understand how some fans still feel the psychological need to have a dig at something or someone even when we've beaten the blues and won our last 3 games. Truevillan said: shows how bad davies is in the centre, touch wood now, heskey asks for a jan transfer to save his england hopes, then we should be set! Don't forget that Davies has been playing with a dislocating shoulder so we can't yet judge just how good he's going to be. The fact is, he was good enough for Capello to bring him into the England squad. As for Heskey, if you take a look at Nan's forum thread you'll find lots of reasons to want to keep Heskey in the hope that as the rest of the players and team develop we'll find a way of using him for Villa in the same way that Capello has been able to for England. |
Brandon Clements
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...I just think that top four will be about 6 points less than last season. If we just keep within 5 or 6 points of the top four and then a good run of wins at the end should be enough I agree, to wit: -United, while still very good, aren't the same without Ronaldo and the very underrated Tevez -Arsenal can be shut down if you can mark Arshavin or if he's not in the side -Liverpool miss Alonso (a very bad sell, no matter the money if there ever was one; Aqualanii is good but it will remain to be seen if he'll be able to cope with the more physical nature of the English league). -Chelsea are still my pick to win the league, but are going to miss Essian, Mikel, to a lesser extent Drogba during the African Cup of Nations campaign in January. I don't think there's going to be a lot of daylight between the top 6 or so this year. |
david
said:
|
... Jonny carew wrote i would pick young-cuellar-dunne- warnock when all fit! It really is a tough call isn't it. Luke Young did well for us last year and it's hard not to put him straight back in. I thought Collins actually won more ball than Dunne today though and would be extremely unlucky not to get another run out next week. Does that mean that Cuellar misses out just when he's starting to show what made him such a favourite at Rangers? Let's not forget how composed Clarke looked in his one game for us either. |
Paul Gough
said:
|
... Good point r0bb0. I wonder how long Capello will pick Heskey when he is on our bench? Didn't he say he would only play players on club form? I think MON will use Heskey only occasionally this season. Carew is ahead of him at the moment. |
david
said:
|
... ARVillan, let's also not forget that the 'top 4' (and Everton) will be distracted by Champion's league (Europa) commitments so there has to be a huge chance that the top 4 will be looking different at the end of this season. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... ARVillan, Spot on assessment mate, imo. One of the top 4 will tumble this time, without a doubt. |
holte end paul
said:
 |
... i will take a massive step back now and put my hands up and say a big sorry to james collins because he was a colosus at the back today and may prove to be a real buy if he contiues to play the way he did. very much man of the match display along with king carlos who had a very decent game aswell. |
john franey
said:
 |
... A great win today collins and dunne looked like they were having a stroll in the park.Only little negative would be friedel being to slow coming off his line.I booked a flight today to go over to see villa v man city on 5 oct so im happy as larry.Cmon the villa.Yes we can |
dominic elmer
said:
 |
... I thought the defence looked solid today, was impressed by Dunne. He looked like he would head away a jumbo jet if it came into the area! Loved the villa fans with the surgical masks on the visit to the sty! Bring on Portsmouth. UTV |
Michael
said:
 |
... We started with 3 new defenders today I think all 3 impressed and cuella wasent to bad either! We didnt play particully well but defended very well. I can see villa up there with the "Top four" and the likes of Tottenham, Man City and Everton Come the end of the season. Damian what do you think? |
adam
said:
 |
... loved the result but pissed off cuz forgot to bring ash and gabby off the bench on my dream team oh and used the wrong adhesive on me floor tiles in the kitchen so got to start all over again but im still smiling UTV |
Rick Lawrence
said:
 |
... Just watched a recording of the game (still morning here on the west coast of Canada) and have followed up by reading your piece, Damian. Have to really disagree with your headline. In many ways it was a typical gritty derby game in which form can often go out the window. However, I feel that Birmingham made a real attempt to play an open attacking game and let's face it, we can count ourselves a bit lucky to take all the points. Not complaining though! By the way, I though the new back 4 looked quite good, Collins especially. |
david
said:
|
... Not a good time to be an Everton fan, 19th in the table and third worst goal difference in the league......Ouch! So, who do the doom mongers prefer now? Kenwright and Moyes or Lerner and O'Neill? I know it's still early on and last year Everton started badly and finished well but it's certainly looking brighter than it did to many on here just a few weeks ago. Everyone is allowed an opinion and it's good to see some on here admitting they made mistakes in criticising specific transfers but it would be nice to see that some of the worst doom mongers come on here now and show that they're enjoying the good times with the rest of us. |
Martin Clabon
said:
 |
... Still got a shit eating grin on my face, looking forward to seeing some blue noses and pretending it's no big deal, will realy wind them up Great news that the defence looked good but let's not get carried away as it was only a very unimpressive attacking force we were up against - but it does look much more solid on paper now. Our squad also looks much sttronger because there is good evidence that the kids can step up and do a job should there be an injury crisis beyond the very strong senior back up. This is my only cocern at the moment as I just can't see where Clark, Albrighton and fonzi will get a look in (maybe even Delph though he at least is on the bench and came in for good money) never mind the rest of the kids. I'm not saying we should drop any of the seniors but these 3 in particular look like they could develop in to top, top players given the right opportunities and I just don't see how that happens now. Still nice problem to have I guess. No more squad filler signings now, magic players only need be considered Everton lose again and I really don't think they are going to do much this season (Sorry Steve the Toffee), I know they came good last season but I'm not convinced by the balance of their squad and they have a number of ageing and injury prone players Holteendpaul, well done for putting your hands up to a mistake, I respect anyone with the balls to do that, many on this site think every word that comes out of their own mouths are gospel. May be we all need to reserve judgement on signings before we stick the boot in unless we really have seen a lot of the player up close. Even then I question whether getting stuck in to a Villa player is ever a good idea. |
robb david
said:
 |
... Fantastic result today, cant wait for work tommorow now, nothin better than laughing at the noses. To the game: im not o'neills biggest fan, and i thought it was a mistake changing the defence around as much as he did, but i though the switch to 442 was excellent. I thought when he did it we may be at risk of being over run in the middle, but credit o'neill for spoting the fact that the blues were complete crap, and two school girls could have done a job in the middle for us today. Obviosly we got the goal, and then moving back to 451, i thought worked well with carew dropping off. Top tactics from O'Neill today, so credit were credit is due. Dunne looked fantastic today i thought, is he the new martin laursen? strong powerful, wins every header, We wont know until we see him agaist some proper players, but i thought he looked awsome. Collins looked solid also, our defence looked pretty sound. My only concern about todays performance was Warnock who did ok, but because he was pushing up so much he was leaving space behind which bowyer managed to exploit a little. Hopefully O'Neill will spot this and sort it out, make sure that we have cover in place when he adventures forward. Just wish carew or gabby had managed to put one of the chances away at the end so the scorline was as comfortable as the performance today. |
david
said:
|
... Oh....the last comment was not about gloating by the way, I just think if ALL Villa fans can't come together and enjoy the moment now...when can we? That's two away wins now and let's face it, at venues where we may well have come unstuck. We now need everyone to get down to Villa park and sing their hearts out to make sure we improve our home record this year. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... R0bb0, I don't believe there's anyone who won't have enjoyed this. Derby's are about results and nothing else |
pete
said:
 |
... wot can i say . back four never looked like conceding strong and commited and everyone played as a team all your super stars does not mean you will win things a unit does |
Mark Sheasby
said:
|
... r0bb0, Agree totally. Time to be positive. MON showed his worth today. The two much discussed formations were p[layed and worked - both producing chances. The change to 4.4.2 was the bold move that won the game. The defence looks really solid, Dunne gets the attention because of his reputation but Collins will prove to be a real find. I felt really confident every time a cross went into our box & I haven't felt like that for a long time. The team looked v good today and MON deserves the credit - we will surprise a lot of people this season. |
Mark Sheasby
said:
|
... villabiker, right on - at last we seem to be developing a really solid back 4. Two clean sheets - many more to come hopefully. |
robb david
said:
|
... I agree about collins he looked good in the air, our whole defence looked good in the air. IT was nice to see us building from the back Dunne and Warnock looke especially comfortable on the ball and thats nice to see, defenders who are thinking about what pass to play, rather than just lumping it up front. |
pete
said:
|
... ronrabbit if you look at all your modern day teams that have won things they all build there attack from the back |
Aaron Wilson
said:
|
... I never thought id be able to say this but... our defense is pure quality! LB:Warnock, Shorey, Bouma RB:Young, Beye, Lichaj CB unne, Collins, Davies, Cuellar, Clarke, Lowry Im excited and we are sorted! |
James
said:
 |
... Defence is sorted. Bench is great. Milner just lost a bit of confidence, but boy does he keep running. Had we been clinical in front of goal, would have been 4 or 5. Only concern today was Brad. Why will he not come off his line? Oh and get Delph in the middle for Sidwell. |
Darragh
said:
 |
... I agree with everybody that Collins looked very good on the ball and got his head on anything that came near him, as did Dunne. But, I think he was caught out positionally a few times but that's simply down to not knowing Dunney. GREAT RESULT! |
vdv
said:
 |
... all we need now is keane in january and defour and tim cahill in the summer. villa are being writen of by everyone but we will be 6th or higher this season. add these three and for two seasons at least after this one we will be very succsefull. |
satheeish
said:
 |
... I think I can finally understand what West Ham fans have been sayin all along.. Collins really must be the most under-rated CB in the league! From that first appearance, I cant see him being benched even if luke young returns to RB. Solid. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...Only concern today was Brad. Agreed. I don't see it with him. He knocks it away when he should collect comfortably, imo. Safe? Maybe, but not my cup of tea. |
James Goddard
said:
 |
...Only concern today was Brad.yeah cos we were much more secure with scott carson. I dont't see what he did wrong today, or infact for any game we've played recently. |
OneVilla
said:
 |
... Defence EXTREMELY SOLID! Just need to add Rafael van der Vaart in january and we will be sorted |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...SHIT ON THE CITY, SHIT ON THE CITY TONIGHT! UTV. Er, just wanted to agree with that |
nigel
said:
 |
... Can't help but stress that I am 100% in agreement with Damian when it comes to the 451/433. We contained them with that system without breaking sweat. It was a brave move bringing Carew on, but it was important to start with a 451/433 in order to stamp our authority. Once we done that we had them mentally defeated. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... JimmonyG, My mate is a Stoke fan, who played at junior/reserve level. He says Friedal is a crap goalie. Shot stopper, yes, but that's all. My instinct agrees, in that he doesn't come out and is too slow. Guzan seems a better goalie to me, given that he's still learning. |
RAZ
said:
 |
... I thought the defense were fantastic today. Stood up to everything. was great to see how good Collins actually is. Never thought he could be that much of a bargain!! definately in the mould of a laursen figure and dunne was fantastic too. fout milner ran his socks off albeit some poor finishing at times but the effort was there for all to see. and GABBY IS A LEGEND NOW FULL STOP. Carew made a difference but should have taken his chance at the end.. nevertheless a fantastic three points against our bitter rivals. THEY REALLY ARE NEVER GOING TO BE AS GREAT AS ASTON VILLA!!! |
jay76
said:
 |
... been 2day guys!! n got 2much 2 say, the scum are shite in every way!! fans shite, 26,000!! empty seats my lord empty seats!!! shite game but we got the win!! up the villa!!!! |
jay76
said:
|
... look at the top 6 now! thats the premier league 2 a tee!! none ever been relegated, all be in the mix cum end ov season!! utv!!! |
Jinksy
said:
 |
... Just got in was at the game today and boys this 4-5-1 rubbish was again proved to be rubbish. Against a team that attacks it's a great counter attacking way to play but against a team sitting deep with the same 4-5-1 formation it just doesn't work. It didn't today or against Fulham in both games playing this formation we produced 1 shot on target and that was from distance. Today also proved that a - Reo-Coker is crap full stop the bloke is usless & b - you don't leave your best player on the bench, Carew completely changed the game. in my opinion 4-5-1 should have Carew as the striker & Gabby supporting from midfield you need an outlet & Carew gives you just that. Big up to the defence today Collins & Dunn were brilliant & big up to MON for having a plan B for a change. Build the team around Carew & get rid of Coker & we'll finish top 6 easy. |
Jake Gardner
said:
 |
... Badger i also played football at a similar level and i beg to differ friedels positioning is second too none and that is what goalkeeping is about, as of late he is abit slow coming out which is letting him down abit. |
dan price
said:
 |
... Anyone lese think we would have been better off with Delph today? Either from the start instead of sidwell or coming on for Nigel? Carew not starting is a crime, allbeit he f**ked up a great chance... |
Jinksy
said:
|
... Nigel - Rubbish the game was going to be 0-0 until Carew came on we hadn't stamped any kind of authority on the game at all & 4-5-1 was just not working. |
moggy
said:
 |
... They will go down. Again. It was like playing an early round cup game against second div opposition. SMA first half- fire and brimstone, second half - cramp. For us, well I do like the power and management of the new(?) back four. Dunny was not quiet was he, Collins impressive. Could have, should have, been four. However, our passing at times was woeful. They tried to play five in midfield to match us - at home! ( Damian's fault for telling them) and couldn't. Will sleep well tonight, oh, and well done all Villa fans at game. Hope you got back safe considering there was more of us in the sty at the end. Pathetic, plenty of seats, in their only important game and they were leaving five minutes before the end of 90. Fickle?!!! |
Jinksy
said:
|
...Allblacks Damian i was at the game & 4-5-1 just didn't work & if you couldn't see that then you are blind the game was awfull and drifting to a bore draw, we hadn't had 1 shot on target. So what is your point about 4-5-1? You bang on about it but in my opinion haven't a clue what you are banging on about. We won the game because we went 4-4-2 & that's a fact. Did we go 4-5-1 after going 1 up? i didn't notice but if we did it was because we didn't need a goal. |
david
said:
|
... Badger. There was one point where the ball came into the box and as Friedel hung back, Dunne had to clear it for a corner. At that point I think we were all wondering why he hadn't come to collect the ball. Hopefully as the understanding between the two of them grows we'll see fewer of those types of misunderstanding. Your Stokey mate is grossly overstating things though when he says that Friedel is 'crap'. There's no way I'd want us to take Sorensen back in place of Friedel! |
david
said:
|
... Jinksy, nice to see you on here enjoying the result with the rest of us. Why the vitriol towards Reo Coker though? Don't just say he's crap.....he isn't. Don't just say he can't pass...today his passes went to feet just about every time. He works hard and breaks up opposition play time and time again. The team tends to get good results when he's playing for us. What is it specifically about him that winds you up? |
moggy
said:
|
... God, they are awful. I keep thinking of that idiot with his blue tattoo upside down. Imagine, re; the PR video, how bad they would have been without that special blue running track "and everything". Sums them up Any new ideas on an anthem for us? |
ruffy
said:
 |
... Today wasn't pretty and Brum scuppered MONs plan with their own defensive system, so no complaints there. It was all about the result and getting the 3 newbies settled in. This will have done wonders from Dunne, Collins and Warnock who all played well enough considering. There was a lack of understanding in some areas but that was to be expected. I personally would have subbed Milner instead of NRC as Milner was having a mare, NRC always seems to be the one even when he is playing well. But you have to say what a great move at the right time by the boss. He took the initiative, showed he wanted 3 pts not 1, and it paid off. I would like to see maybe Delph team up with NRC and Petrov at the expense of Sidwell at some point, to see how that looks. Also maybe give Albrighton a go, especially when someone like Milner is having a Mare. Gabby is well beefed up this year and looks to have more strength, he is really going to be handful for defenders this year. |
david
said:
|
... Jinksy, you make a fair point about us neding to go to 442 to open up their defence...MoN saw that and Damian has said the same. The point is that we now have the players to enable us to be effective with different formations. In the first half today Birmingham were closing us down and really pressuring every player as soon as they received the ball. If we'd played two up front there is a real risk that their passion may have broken open our defence if we'd had one less player behind the ball. 451 absorbed their efforts which made it possible for us to go to 442 in the second half when we had more space and the threat at the back was reduced. |
Adrian Ullah
said:
 |
... 4-5-1 4-4-2 who gives a f**k get in Villa. Some games we need the five in midfield some we need that extra man upfront. Whats important about this game is that we won and MON actually made the right change something he failed to do at times last season. We are slowly creeping up the league, with none of the so called pundits really giving us a hope in hell of top 4/5 which suits me fine. All the emphasis is on Man City or Spurs breaking up the big boys but you never know what we could achieve. I think the gap between the current top four and the teams just below is getting smaller. With more teams beating the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool i think the league will be well open this season, let just hope we can go on a bit of a run. Bring on Pompey !!!!!! |
Jinksy
said:
|
... r0bb0 - Read my coments don't just pick up on the negative bits. What's my problem with coker...errrrrrrrrr let me think??? The fact he is a complete load of....errrrr.....waste of.........He is crap & for you to say we get good results with him in the team is bollox. I Don't want to fall out with anyone i have praised loads of things about today, i have praised MON, the defence, Our best player Carew. But todat Coker was awfull couldn't pass wind, tackle curry. Was it a supprise the game changed when he came off? Why did MON bring him off if he was so great? Why not bring Sidwell off? Why because he was having a mare that's why. |
James
said:
|
... Jinksy Not having a shot on target does not mean the system didn't work. If Milner had his boost on the right feet we'd have been out of sight before half time. It worked. |
moggy
said:
|
... "Not having a shot on target does not mean the system didn't work. If Milner had his boost (BOOTS?) on the right feet we'd have been out of sight before half time. " Well said Jinksy. And McLeish configured to match our expected line up. Not we theirs. At home they were frightened of us. |
FatKevs
said:
 |
... Defence looked better today, Calmity curtis just does not install any confidence, nice bloke but a waste of money. I too would like to see if young Brad can improve as BF aint the player he was & will not be again so lets look to the future. |
david
said:
|
... Jinksy, anyone who's read this blog for a while knows that for some reason you have a real downer on Reo Coker. If you've read all the comments on here you'll know that your opinion of him being 'crap' puts you into a minority of err...one? So tell me...what makes you so certain that you are right and everyone else is wrong? (is there a medical definition for that maybe?). |
david
said:
|
... Oh...and Jinksy, unlike you, I do read and consider other people's views. If you look again you'll see that I said you made a fair comment about our goal coming as a result of the switch to 442.....I didn't justpick up on your negative comments. |
james
said:
 |
... i was slightly worried when i heard saw the line up at the start of the game with 3 new defenders playing together for the first time, but our defence was awesome, esp dunne........another shrewd signing by MON.........he could be our new laursen. just thing what our defence will be like when they've played together for a couple of months. were going to surprise a few teams this year!! |
Dave
said:
 |
... I agree with Jinksy to an extent about NRC - I think we can do better than somebody who can't pass the length of himself and can't shoot. However, he has had a few decent games this season but as a marauding box to box midfielder type he's certainly no Ian Taylor.. |
Jinksy
said:
|
... r0bb0 - Fair play mate but lets get something straight i was at the game today and every single person around me some i know some i don't agreed that Coker doesn't do himself any favors with awfull performances like today. I agree you are correct you didn't pick up on just the negative points so sorry for that but you are so wrong if you think i'm the only Villa fan who thinks Coker isn't good enough there were at least 10 around me today. Perhaps they just can't be arsed to come on here and say it? Like i said i don't want to fall out with anyone just making my point & it is only an opinion., |
Jinksy
said:
|
... I agree with Jinksy to an extent about NRC - I think we can do better than somebody who can't pass the length of himself and can't shoot. However, he has had a few decent games this season but as a marauding box to box midfielder type he's certainly no Ian Taylor.. r0bb0 - That makes 2 buddy......... |
Nick Gray
said:
 |
... Totally disagree with the article. I thought the blues played some good football. The got the ball on the ground and played it around nicely. They dominated for long periods of the game. If they had more quality up front we would have been lucky to come away with a draw. In contrast for much of the game we played the ugly long ball game. I think on the day, they were the better team but we got the points.. so ultimately who cares. But i think to say that they set out to draw is disrespectful. They bombarded our goal and our defenders stood strong, which appart from winning of course, was the highlight of the day for me. With a bit more time this back four will be very strong. What happened to Beye at right back? Is that him on the bench for the rest of the season now? Anyway,unlucky blues, but lets look forward to beating them more convincingly at our place, UTV!! |
david
said:
|
... lol jinksy...yep..you have a mate....there are at least two of you who are unimpressed by Reo Coker! I'm not saying he's the world's most skilful player or Villa's best passer of the ball, but I (and I think most other Villa fans) think that he is a valuable member of the team. I guess we'll just have to agree to differ on that as I don't want to fall out over it either. |
nigel
said:
|
... Opinions are just opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs. I remain firmly in the 451/433 club as I feel it best suits the players we have. Check out last seasons stats and contrast the the times we played the two different systems. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
 |
... Look todays game for me brought uo both positives and negatives. We played a very average team today. In fact im certain they will go down after watching them today. I thought our defense was as solid as it has been for many a year(prob since Southgate and Co). Collins was emmense, Dunne was solid and i thought Warnock looked very comfortable throught and will only improve. But this game also just inforced in me MON's slowness in making obvious tactical changes is still there. He should have gone to 442 at HT not on 70mins. It was obvious as hell that they were there for the taking and the moment Carew came on the game changed. What exactly is the point of having an extra man in midfield if all we do is launch it over them? Seriously Sidwell is a non existant player in our team and has been since he joined. Damien yes maybe 451 works but not with Sidwell. We are really playing a 441 when he plays. Im sounding negative here but im being realistic. Our midfield today was very poor againest a very poor team and if they can't improve drastically then we have no hope of challenging for a CL spot. Also playing Cullar over Beye really inhibited our ability to attack today as it always does but MON just doesn't seem to care about a full back who can only hoof it up field. Im locked right now but today just showed me both MON's strenght's and weaknesses in one game. Im staying grounded at the moment as many of my doubts i have on MON and the way he sets his team out are still there and were very evident today regardless of he good result. |
bradz
said:
 |
... Reo-Coker next Villa captain...hes no Lampard or Gerrard but will mature into holding midfield role...watch this space! |
Paul Theiss
said:
 |
... I was dying for MON to bring on Delph for Sidwell at the half. It would've bolstered our attack and improved our passing and ability to retain possession---both of which were at times rather dodgy, to see the least. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Badger, your normal wisdom has deserted you, Big Brad may be getting past it but he has been a great keeper even if now on the decline. Jinksy, you are a bit harsh on NRC in my opinion. Not the best going forward but has some great qualities as well and I didn't see him displacing too many passes today (admitttedly just from the extended highlights on Sky). I don't expect him to be a regular 1st teamer with us for long with Delph, Downing and Albrighton all pressing for srarting positions by the end of the season Sidwell will also be sruggling to stay in the side as the bar raises again. I also think we will finally get round to buying a class attacking midfielder along the lines of a Schneider or VDV. This will however leave a difficult to fill NRC shaped hole which hopefully will not be as serious as I fear as we relax the battling blood and guts approach for a more cultured game built around ball retention and cleverer passing. This is a stage in our evolution towards becoming a top team. We are not there yet but I sure am enjoying the ride |
robb david
said:
|
... Jinksy i dont know what your problem is but you want us to play 442 and not play reo coker? So who is going to be the hard working industrial midfielder that any 442 system needs to win the ball in the middle? we have seen petrov and sidwell and they cant do it, and delph is forward thinking midfielder anyway. If we had not played 451 today we would have been over ran in the middle of the park and would have been lucky to get a result. We have seen this countless times, you only need to look at wigan, 442 does not work against 451. Thats why as soon as we scored we went back to 451, if we had kept with 442 we would have been at risk in the middle and blues could of got into the game. Surely we have done this 451 vs 442 thing to death know, the facts are we win more games when we play 451, it easily adaptable to be offensive or defensive. Nearly all of the top teams in Europe play 451, most of the top managers in the world prefer 451, and nearly 90% of the people on this blog say we should play 451. |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... OMFG...if ever thier was a boring subject and being thrashed to death its this bloody 4-5-1 4-4-2 thing. i dare you to think of something origanal to discuss, ive also noticed brad comming in for a bit of stick aswell today after keeping a clean sheet, my mind boggles it really does |
TrueVillan
said:
|
... robbo its not negative, its facts! plain to see, yet you would have them both back in the squad! neither heskey or davies are any good, i know a football scout who worked for albion, he said way back when we bought davies that he was a waste of money, and would always make mistakes, he is and was right! as for heskey, i cant be bothered to argue with anyone who thinks he is any good, needs so much top quality around him to look any good, but sorry, maybe he gets assists, but a striker that cannot score! also see results since he arrived, and when they picked up again! i.e. he was dropped! |
Scrumpy
said:
|
... Did anyone notice towards the end, Dunne was passed on the right, left for a little bit of pace, but rather than dive in and give a penalty/get a red, pulled back, knowing that others would be racing across to cover him. [new para]Hopefully thats a sign that his red cards were a result of last ditch efforts as last man in a shabby defence. [new para]Sure Dunne may be caught a little for pace given his age, but most of the time the experience will get him a yard or two ahead to make up for it. [new para]Badger, I hope I passed your english gammar test :-) I was a little excited today and so just typed in one long stream. And besides Damian edits all my comments, removes the new paragraphs and puts in loads of spelling and typo mistakes :-) If we count Scum as the equivalent to Newcastle last year (on assumption/hope they too will be going down) for comparison sakes, then we lost one point on Wigan at home, gained three on Liverpool away, gained two on Fulham at home, and gained three on scum/geordies away. That's seven points ahead of where we were on equivalent games last year. A win against Pompey (rather than the home draw last season) and we are nine points up which is almost the gap between us and fourth last year...add into the mix that the second four are already taking more points off the top four, and the threshold to get into the top four this season has to be lower this year, and we take out those exhausting and distracting trips to Europe.... i may just start to get excited again.....come on VILLA!!! |
Mostyn G
said:
 |
... We were a completely different outfit when CAREW came off the bench. Gabby could have got a hat-trick with him on the pitch. This is definitely our best pairing (Big man and wee man). Call the formation what you like, but it's two strikers on the pitch who compliment each other. Long may it continue. The only danger we really created up until JC came on was from set pieces. Those slating Sidwell - At least his effort was on target! I particularly liked Warnock today, he looked composed and assured. Dunney and Collins also made good debuts although Dunney can't afford to get isolated as his lack of pace was quite evident. If we keep burying the crap teams like we did today, it takes a bit of the pressure off for the big boys. The pressure is on the top 4 to beat us. We clearly have the armoury to beat anybody. My only slight criticism, in an otherwise professional performance was the excessive use of the long ball when Gabby was on his own. |
stephen
said:
 |
... CITY SCUM......CITY SCUM....KAREN BRADY=SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG PORN MERCHANTS F.C GABBY LOVES THESE DERBYS BOYS |
Jake Gardner
said:
|
... why on earth are people moaning about friedel??? clean sheet and he had nothing to do, you lot really get on my nerves you have to find something to moan about. just be happy for once SOTC WAHBS! |
limerick villan
said:
 |
... What to say well here goes,great result was up in offaly today visiting the parents thought id be able watch the match,but instead the fecking junior all ireland camogie final was on,and as it happens local girl on the team,now ive never in my life thought i cud hate a woman but today i did,i didnt get to see us beat the scum,but i got an apology off the most unlikely of people this girl that was playing and won her all ireland medal by the way has an uncle bout 70 said to me theres 2 of us then ,a little bemused and very pissed off i said wat r u on about.Under his WHITE shirt was the new away jersey,it made my day.I asked him why he followed the mighty villa he told me all his family were utd so he rebeled and he stuck with the villa,that was 50 years ago he was there in 82 wen we won the the cup and always will be, did i enjoy this day by god i did i missed the match but ive probably met a mate for life larry thanks mate |
Faccundo
said:
 |
... Damo r0bb0 This is exactly what I proposed before the Birminham match What a win - still celebrating |
Mostyn G
said:
|
... Damian said: ... My biggest fear is he changes from 451 to 442 ... we will find out soon |
Ramon Maklouf
said:
 |
... Haven't read all the comments, and didn't get to watch the match but a win is a win. Just a quick question tho: Why was Cuellar playing at Right-Back? If you want to start with Collins, that's fine, but I'd be hardpressed to find anyone willing to argue that Cuellar is a better rightback then Beye? I'd like to see Carew up top behind Milner, Delph and Young, with Petrov and Reo-Coker working the ball through the channels and limiting any potential counter attacks tbh. With that said, Gabby is doing a fantastic job as the lone striker, and I think works very well with Carew. 442 with Carew and Gabby sees us attack very well imo. Amazing the change in attitude arund here after the first week. I prefer Villa out of the limelight though. If we can just keep digging in, winning matches and gaining some momentum at home more then anything, I think we might be in for a shock this season. I know we've lost arguably our 2 best players, but I'm optimistic at what this season can bring. UTV! |
Ramon Maklouf
said:
|
... Just to bring up a thought reading some of the comments on here. I can appreciate that 451 has brought very good results as it did last season and in MON's first two seasons but 442 is not that bad a system. If we were to compare 442 [Carew and Gabby] with 451 you'd find that the results, I think, would not vary too much. We had a solid start to the season last year playing both Carew and Gabby in a 442, so much so that it established our fantastic run of 13games unbeaten or whatever the stat was. I understand that there is arguements for both sides, but it is important to appreciate that when played properly, 442 can be an effective system as demonstrated today. Our strength is our counter attack, and I believe that is better suited to a 451 which allows our wingers to exploit gaps on the flanks. With that said, I believe our best striker is Carew, and when goals are necessary he needs to be on the paddock as was the case today. Whether it's 451 or 442 so long as Villa keep gettin the job done, then that's all that matters. |
colm tarpey
said:
 |
... Ramonicus, I thought the same thing about Cuellar when i saw it but then i realised it was the right decision, City were not about to engage in any kind of wing play, They were just gonna bombard the box all game hoofing it into O'Connor...so to have three big big men in there just made sure theeir threat was nullified...and it was, they did'nt when a header all game... |
Dave
said:
 |
... Milner couldn't make a pass, dissapointing Gabby is looking good, ever since the holte started to sing his song, he's looked an improved and confident player. I really think if the boo boys reappear Gabby will slip back to medeocrity. Sidwell was absent, which is a shame as he looked better against liverpool. Back row was tight, Carlos was consistent (if not particuarly creative) at RB. UTV |
Dave
said:
|
...Carew had a similar chance and decided to square it to Milner when it would have been easier to shoot. Jou could see what Carew was trying to do though, unselfish play really as far as i'm concerned. |
Ronan Kenny
said:
 |
... 4-5-1 would have worked great in this game if Sidwell would get his finger out, again another game passes him by, the lad is simply not good enough. |
Michael panizza
said:
 |
... Awful game,brought me back to the dark, post-Heysel days of English football. Congratulations to Birmingham Shitty, I doubt even the likes of Real Madrid could string together anything remotely attractive in terms of football against such destructive, agricultural opposition. Three huge points but we still lack quality as a team in terms of passing and overall technique. UTV |
meangene
said:
 |
... We have the Barry shackles off and it looks like king Laursen has finally been replaced. Onward and Upward. Delighted Dunner is a Villa player. UTV |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
 |
...meangene said: Good Shout |
Andy Young
said:
 |
... Dubai Dave, I think Sidwell kept confusing himself with Collins. He was reluctant to get forward because he felt he had defensive duties to attend to. I concur though, Delph should have replaced him. I agree with most of the comments. Bloody awful game. Birmingham didn't want to score, they were just intent on keeping us out, poorly I might add. I've got to say too that I was mightily impressed with Dunne and Collins, and I was very dubious about us signing both of them. It was the first time in ages that we didn't go into panic mode for the last 5 minutes. UTV |
John R
said:
 |
... What about that then. Great result should have been at least 2 nil. Our defence looked realy solid though in truth they were'nt tested too much. The other thing I really liked was that Mon made the decision to go for the win and brought Carew on.UTV |
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