Written by Damian Sunday, 20 September 2009 08:26
Playing rubbish, which for the most part we did yesterday, but winning, is nice. Worrying to a point, but that doesn't matter, because all that really does matter in this game are the points, everything else is just a 'nice to have' and well, this might be a step towards the nice football.
The football really hasn't taken any new direction since O'Neill came in but he does have an entirely new starting eleven and a lot more determination and fight and I believe that this is just something we have to go through before it starts to really get good. Yesterday was one of those days.
I wrote this next paragraph three times and every time it turned into a little moan, so instead I'm just going to say that attendance was 35,979.
What The Papers Say
David Harrison, News of the World
Power, aggression and a belligerent streak were needed to break down Pompey's stubborn and spirited resistance - and Villa had those qualities in abundance. Subtlety and style? You don't get much of that at Villa Park from O'Neill's team at the moment, but never mind the quality for now.
It is points in the bag which count when you are building a campaign to challenge for the top six. Four straight wins have repaired the damage of their opening-day stumble against Wigan and they are moving up the table with a menacing air.
Ian Ridley Mail on Sunday
Still, the victory continued to rehabilitate Villa in the eyes of supporters who jeered them off on the season's opening day when they lost to Wigan Athletic but have now seen four wins in a row that have given them their best start to a Premier League campaign for a decade.
The only cloud on a sunny horizon at Villa Park was an ankle injury to Emile Heskey that meant he lasted only 14 minutes as a substitute. He has still played more minutes for England than Villa so far this season - 154 to 115.
The Manager
Martin O'Neill
They gambled everything. They enjoyed decent possession, won a lot of second balls and were playing through us a bit.
Brad Friedel then made a fantastic save and it was a big, big moment in the game. It might have been a really uncomfortable last 15 minutes in the match. Portsmouth kept pressing and we were unable to get a third goal. But we won and that will give us an extra boost of confidence. We wanted to press home the advantage in the second half. But, instead of starting on the front foot, we started on the back foot.
Our intention was to press on but we were unable to achieve that. That's something we can look at.But we won the game and I accept we can play much better.
Ever noticed with Martin O'Neill, when we lose, we played fantastically but when we win, we could always play better?
Some Statistics
Quite interesting to day as the football did go back a bit and the stats back it up. We had six shots on target to their 12. We made 275 passes of which 203 we successful and 72 failed. Less than last week but as expected with the way we play when lining up in a 442.
Man of the Match
For the firs time I can remember this happening, the vote is tied. With 27.5% of the vote each, James Collins and Gabby Agbonlahor share the award. Not bad and I can completely see why they both got the vote.
Final Analysis
I don't like 4-4-2 because it promotes long ball football and we lose the midfield battle. Both those things happened yesterday and had we been playing a team not so low on confidence or someone that knew what they were doing, the result could have been very different.
As it were, we played the team with the worst ever start to the Premier League and it ultimately showed. They battled and worked hard and had twice as many shots on target than us and more than double off target - how lucky do you want to get?
We have Cardiff in the League Cup next and then Blackburn away. Both are games we should be winning and I expect us to too.
I should also say, because maybe someone will bring me up on it, that we didn't play rubbish, like I wrote in my opening paragraph, but the football wasn't great either. What I mean is, for the most part the football is much the same as it was under O'Leary.
I haven't seen the football develop and while I appreciate that the football gets better with better players, we don't have the luxury to be able to go buy a £30mn player so we have to work on the game and I don't see it.
Live I've said, maybe we are working to it and one day it will just all fall into place, but it does ultimately worry me, because how we play football is part of the bigger picture and it needs to get better for us, as a club to move forward.
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Simon
said:
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... As you say, playing poorly and winning is OK, but we have a difficult October so our performances need to improve. |
Mostyn G
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... So glad we played 4-4-2 in the first half as we managed to get the early goals required. The long ball with this formation is a sound tactic, as opposed to using it when Gabby is up front on his own and seldom even gets a touch. Formations are flexible throughout a match and MON is getting it right most of the time. We were poor second half and appeared to lose a bit of interest. I can see Gabby scoring more goals with JC on the pitch, the pairing is looking strong. Back 4 still to be challenged by the big boys, but are looking solid. |
Simon
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... Still if we do well in October, November gets a bit easier, so who knows, come pre-christmas we could be top 4 by some margin  |
Damian
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... Mostyn G You wont leave it alone will you. You did this last week. We dont play the long ball when Gabby is up front by himslef, we pass the ball more. The stats proved that last week and even if you look at the passes for the match yesterday they prove it again. We make less passes and more unsuccessful ones (i.e. long balls). Just because you say it a week later doesn't mean it is going to change the history books. We only play long ball football when playing 442. Facts Mostyn. Move on. |
Bobby Park
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... It wasn't pretty yesterday but I think that will come especially if Delph gets a run and with the introduction of Downing. Collins and Dunne were terrific, and Petrov and Sidwell were tireless. Not a fan of Sidwell but he did the business. The introduction of Heskey was puzzling, Carew wasn't playing badly and is always likely to get a goal. Its almost as though the team can sense that they have to compensate for Heskey's ineptitude by trying to close the game down as in effect we're down to 10 men. I don't like to see anyone get injured but it could turn out to be a blessing if it means that Fonzie is getting more starts. Has anyone else noticed that when Gabby is on his game he falls over less and stops looking for fouls, he's giving 100% again and looking like the player from the first half of last season |
Lloydy
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... Want to give Collins a big shout today. He has come into the back four as a relative unknown and shone with man of the match performances. The football from Villa was very average the performance overall was good with 3 points. Its will get better!!! |
Mostyn G
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... Sorry Damian, you're always right. I seem to remember you praying that we didn't revert to 4-4-2 against Brum, but we did, and as a result we won. You've become obsessed with 4-5-1. Formations are not rigid. We played far too many long balls to Gabby against Brum, and they were totally fruitless. JC is able to hold up the ball and/or win headers - FACT! We were far more dangerous in the first half playing 4-4-2, limiting Pompey to mostly speculative efforts. We actually got progressively worse in the second half reverting to 4-5-1 and seemed to lose our impetus. My comment has always been that, we are better team with two recognised strikers. Gabby looks much happier playing up front with JC supporting. The goals this season prove that. He scored most of his goals last season playing with a strike partner. Stop bleating on about 4-5-1, it's boring. It's more like 4-2-2-1-1 if you want to go in to detail. MON must be doing something right eh? |
Mostyn G
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... We only play long ball football when playing 442. Facts Mostyn. Move on. What a complete and utter load of rubbish. Have you been to any games this season? That is an unsubstantiated load of tripe. Watch the Brum game again Damian and reconsider your verdict! |
Keith
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... Damian Come on mate just because someone disagrees with you, you cant get touchy. Mostyn G hasn't insulted you in his post, just offering his own opinion. I actually agree with him, 4-4-2 was the best option for that match. Playing 4-5-1, we would have struggled far more to score. We passed far more last week than this because Blues at least showed some attempt to attack. Pompey did nothing in the first half. Yes we probably could have adjusted it in the second half and play our counter-attacking game, but we won and kept a clean sheet. "The only cloud on a sunny horizon at Villa Park was an ankle injury to Emile Heskey" surely thats good news  |
Damian
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... Mostyn G I'm publishing your comments because you are not registered on the site but I feel quite sorry for you and if I were not to mention it someone else would. Against Blues, we started and ended the game playing 451. For 10 minutes we put two men up front and yes it would have been longer had we not scored, but the minute we scored we went back to 451. You ask me if I watched the game, Mostyn G, I don't think you even read about the game after, otherwise you would have known that. The facts are we do pass long when playing 442 - hell we even got a goal from it yesterday and when we play 451, we pass a lot more. It isn't the other way around and if you are only going to do today what you did last week, I won't publish your comments, because it is just childish. |
Jake Gardner
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... i'm quite pleased that we played badly and still one isnt that normally the difference between the top 4 clubs and everyone else that on a bad day they still win. |
rob hathaway
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... I think more should be made of our start to the season. People seem to forget the comments made pre season and post wigan game. This is a great start under mon and his poor transfer dealings. Now it could all fall apart but credit where credit is due mon and the boys deserve a real praise for the way they have quietly started to amass points. and against teams that are no mugs and a derby as well. We are the underdogs just going about their business. Teams like spurs have been getting the headlines and let them but we are level with them and a game in hand. If we can keep this going now until november and a quiet cold night when we are struggling against a team we should beat. 20 minutes to go. A shining light emerges from the dugout. dj downing pulls on his shirt and turns the game with two great crosses onto the head of carew. and we win 2-0. anyway special praise for mon, collins, dunne (who looks like laursens ideal replacement) and gabby who is born again. well done. job done. |
Damian
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... keefvilla it isn't because someone disagrees with me. you do and so do many others but Mostyn went down this route last week about long balls and how that is all we do when playing 451 when in fact it isn't what we do and we got the stats out to prove it to him yes, a week later, its like those stats never existed. it's just frustrating that he can have the facts in front of him and just ignore them. opinion is great and i love it, but at the end of the day facts are facts and while you might think we play long ball football to gabby when 451 - the stats, i.e. the facts, say we don't but he passes it off as we do. it is wrong and bloody frustrating and keefvilla, we could have played with 10 men and won yesterday - pompey just don't have any luck. it isn't many matches where you will have 12 shots on target and not score one |
Mostyn G
said:
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... Damian, You're missing the point. The formation changes throughout a match. We had two strikers against Brum and won as a result. It's obvious the formation will likely change to a more defensive role to consolidate the lead. I'll give you the fact that at the moment Gabby has scored more as a lone striker this season, but if he continued to play him on his own, he'd be lucky to score as many goals as he did last season. My dream team has JC, ROONEY, DEFOE etc all down as strikers. Call it what formation you like, whether someone plays in the hole or as an attacking midfielder, it amount to the same - two recognised strikers on the pitch. In Villa's case, Gabby clearly benefits from support from JC or HESKEY. Don't just take my word for it - I'm sure you've got contacts that can ask him? |
Keith
said:
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... rob h When Chelsea win today, we will go above Spuds in the league. I wonder if the London press will start talking about us as possible title contenders then? I won't hold my breath! Damian I dont think we play a long ball game in any formation we play. We don't play possession football, we play fast, direct, counter-attacking football. Long passes as opposed to hoof it up long ball. |
Mostyn G
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... Damian, Please don't misquote me. I did not say that we play the long ball all the time when utilising 4-5-1, I said it is over used. People would fully expect the long ball to be played more when you have a 6'7" striker playing alongside a nippy striker. It's called playing to some of your strengths - As was evident against Brum. Stats is all you seem to rely on Damian, but they don't tell the whole story. Pompey had 12 shots on target, yet most were speculative efforts from a long way out. They had better efforts in the second half ironically. |
Damian
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... keefvilla that is most certainly one way to spin it i dont have the stats to hand at the moment but who do you think were the teams that finished in the number of passes and % of successful passes league last season by a very long way. you guessed it, the top 4. there is a reason why they dont play 'fast, direct, counter-attacking football' |
Simon
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... I don't get MON sometimes, Friedel Gabby Collins etc do well and he says they have done fantastically well, but we have the best start to a prem campain in 10-years and he says weve got off to a reasonable start. I'm sorry but i don't have a degree in psychology  |
cavan
said:
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... i was at the match yesterday, and when we play 442, we do play bloody long balls up to carew, (collins had a great right foot btw, can pick out great 50 yrs passes) when we play a team who have the extra man in midfield, we just by-pass the midfield all together as when ever we do pass to stan or sidds they always have a man on them so they just give it back to the CBs who then hoof it up field, we scored our second goal from a long ball.. however when we have the 5 in midfield we pass it around more and get it too our wingers more who are our best players, this is why this tactic for villa works, as young n milner are our best players, when we play 442 the ball just goes from defense to the strikers and where always looking for the carew flick on to gabby. ps i hope heskey is out for the season.. harewood is better than him, and so it the fonz. |
Joe Meredith
said:
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... All this formation talk is boring. I don't think we win, or lose, due to formations. Rather down to how we play. Do you think we would have beaten Wigan playing 4-5-1? No, because we were crap. I agree with what Mostyn is saying, but I don't think he will ever win the argument because the 'facts' and 'stats' can be manipulated. We look more dangerous with Agbonlahor and Carew on the pitch together, that is FACT! |
Carl Main
said:
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... Its hard to play 'nice' footbal when teams like the clowns and Pompey put the gates up. So many teams are playing for a point nowadays and it causes ugly, direct football. We are not the only team who struggle in closed games. I really hope we go back to 4-5-1 now as we pass the ball around nicely and build up attacks rather than hoof it up field! All things good though points wise and defensively we look solid! I no longer think we can concede at any point in a game now!...It feels wierd! Heres to kicking it up a gear now and continuing our best start to a season in 10 years! COYL! |
Damian
said:
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... Rowley Villain It is boring. So for the rest of the day I'm not going to think about it. Instead, I'm going to go hunting for something to watch on TV |
Woodinho
said:
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... Damian, just a quickie, I never got my t-shirt for winning that comp a while back, anything I should know? Cheers |
Damian
said:
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... Woodinho can you email me. I will forward it on to the supplier, copying you in. Cheers |
greg1982
said:
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... 36000 at the game says it all. There just isn’t enough excitement. Sidwell was ok yesterday and he would have made a difference if he had started against Wigan. When he leaves and plays regularly elsewhere he will improve. That said. I can’t see what the fuss is about. Regardless of formation there’s not enough class in midfield That’s the centre of midfield – not the wings. There is too much conflation about where midfield is. It’s semantics. In the old days you would have called us 424 yesterday (on TV last week we were called 433). I was bored watching yesterday. But make no mistake both Fulham and Pompey gifted us goals to get us going. When that doesn’t happen it will be back to the Wigan scenario. The defence is looking ok now but a huge cost and after much rethinking. So we’ve used the cash we could have spent on a Sid/Mers/Dennis. No creativity and poor possession gives us little going forward. That’s why we can’t get the support. |
Mike Carter
said:
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... I don't neccessarily agree that 4-4-2 promotes long ball, infact I'd say the opposite - I think you tend to see most teams pairing up 4-5-1 and a long ball approach to the lone striker. I do agree that more often that not we lose more possession in and around midfield though. Fortunately yesterday it didn't matter. I hate to say it but Tottenham are winning games and playing some fantastic football at the moment. Between us and them, I'd say they are a better long-term prospect to finish in the top 6 than we are, simply because our approach of playing poorly and winning can't be relied upon. |
Jonathan
said:
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... missed MOTD last night, anyone got a link? ( someone posted one in the past when i missed it) Cheers lads, aint been to sleep yet UTV |
RAZ
said:
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... I dont get what "will get better" with some of these "villa fans", its a given that we had a poor start to the season with the poor performance and defeat to wigan BUT since then with or without a "poor performance" against all the other sides we have still managed to pick up maximum points. How do you think the likes of man united, chelsea etc won the league?? playing fantastic all season and winning every game?? if you think that you aren't a football fan. Every team has to dig out results, and to be fair i dont think the performances can be that bad if we are winning at anfield, winning local derbies and beating a team already in europe and beating a team who could quite easily have been a potential banana skin. Stop moaning about stuff and enjoy the victories while they last... until MON decides to jack it in because of the pressure of aston villa supporters!!!! UTV!! We're nearly top of the league!!! |
Damian
said:
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... RAZ the liverpool performance was special, granted and i think most agree that performances haven't always been veyr good. against fulham and pompey yesterday, we won but didn't play great i think the hope is, belief for me, is that we will actually get better too and when that happens it will be even better and like you see, teams win the league by winning and playing poorly - and there is a trick to doing that. maybe we have figured out how too ... |
David
said:
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... According to the press this is our best start in a decade! Where are all the boo boys who wanted MON out & Martinez of Wigan in?! It's time some of you stopped your constant moaning about certain players just for the sake of it! It'd be awesome if we played 'Brasilian style' footy & won by massive scores each week..but we don't! Winning ugly or by the odd goal is fine by me as we are an evolving unit. We're sitting pretty at the moment, & correct me if I'm mistaken but won't Adebayour still be suspended when we play? That'd be a massive bonus for us as we'd be psyched up for the return of Barry anyway! Good times are around the corner! Also, does anyone want to rub their eyes? Interesting article in the Times about Torress' hardest opponents he's come across! http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...41392.ece |
desmond tutu
said:
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... too much bitterness for a sunday morning here,,, if you were a winger you'd like to see two strikers in the box- and it's true that we relinquish momentum for a lot of the match this way, but you will always get a period when you're knocking it about well,, yesterday it just took 15 mins of the good stuff to make all the difference. it's three points for a win, and you've got to roll the dice and think lucky sometimes. plus our attackers will be happy to play the team game against stronger sides. and as for that comment about spurs,,,,,,  |
Woodinho
said:
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... Ok cheers damian, will do it Monday as the original mail is on my office computer. |
Dirty Villaboy
said:
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... In my humble opinion, formation wise, it has to be horses for courses. MON will look at the opposition, his available players and then make a decision on how best to line up - both 442 and 451 have the ability to win us games - Why? Because our players are good enough - players win games and there ability to adapt to different situations. If every team played 442 then the League will still look roughly the same as it does now because the best teams and players will always rise to the top! UTV and see us rise to forth when Man U and Chelsea win today! |
jerry
said:
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...and had we been playing a team not so low on confidence or someone that knew what they were doing, the result could have been very different. With respect, Damo, when you play the better teams, the result can always be different. It was always going to be tricky against a team on the threshhold of a record new run of defeats. It's still eleven against eleven and they fought bravely to avoid defeat. They never gave up. eoin, (from the previous thread) Collins and Dunne look the real deal, Warnock is a proper full back and again Gabby was excellent - i'd probably give Collins MOM though. Did anyone else see his crossfield pass from right to left in the first half - touch of class... Good summary for me, especially about formation. Collins was immense - he passes the ball like Barry. You have to feel a bit sorry for Cuéllar and Davis (when he returns) because I can't see them getting their places back in in the centre. Some people expect us to thrash the poorer teams and it's unlikely to happen. They'll concentrate on defence and make life difficult. Poorer teams tend to drag you down to their level and it's hard to impose your will on them which, I've no doubt, is what O'Neill wants the team to do. Every team has to dig out results, - RAZExactly. This defence inspires confidence. The hammers must feel sick about Collins - they could have done with him yesterday. Torres and Gerrard - can we have a whip round? £90 mill would probably get them both. |
Tjeiken
said:
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... As everybody can see we aren't playing brilliant at the time, but this is the worst we have played for a long time, and milner and young can do MUCH better, the same with Carew, Heskey, Sidwell, they can all play much better. And then we get Downing back soon. We are getting 3 points when we are out of form and as i see it, it can only get better! UTV |
greg1982
said:
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... Raz I was at the Liverpool. Fantastic. Loved every minute. But if we replayed the game 5 times on current form we’d lose 4. I witnessed the one!! But we were under the cosh for long spells. I want us to dominate a game. Any game. But we won’t without a MIDfield. Yesterday was so tedious. We might be up in the table but the football is poor and fans are voting with their feet. And don’t put “Villa Fans” in quotes. It’s unfair. It’s people who aren’t uncritical who drive the mighty lions forward. Not the sycophants. |
keith
said:
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... 2 points 1/ there are moans about playing 2 up front because we play the long ball but if we play 1 up front we dont have creative midfielders ,,,,, catch 22 2/ drogbhas goal was world class? imo gabbys was better |
greg1982
said:
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... Churchill ‘You have to feel a bit sorry for Cuéllar and Davis (when he returns) because I can't see them getting their places back in in the centre.’ Quite right. So just imagine if we had never bought them. We could a have bought a good Centre midfielder for that price… MON’s seen the light with the defence now get some midfielders in and then we’re talking. Yesterday was like watching paint dry. It’s unbelievable that some fans blame other fans. Build it and they will come. |
david
said:
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... Whether we play 451 or 442 we seem to be trying to pass the ball a bit more this year (what's the site where you check the number of passes made Damian?). I hope Villa fans learn how to be a bit more patient though. Some fans have become hooked on the excitement of the hopeful hoof upfield followed by a Gabby chase, and they groan or shout abuse as soon as a sideways or backwards pass is made. The ball is being passed backwards more often this year as we wait for gaps to open up in the opposing defence. Isn't this what you see the top sides both here and in Europe doing? The fans do have a part to play and surely MoN and the team have earned the right for some unconditional support in our transition from relegation contenders to Champions league hopefuls? |
Daniel Wilson
said:
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... Have been thinking (ouch) about Cuellars application at right back. Is it possible that due to Milners work rate mon feels like he can almost play 2 positions at once, giving Cuellar the chance to be a third man in the centre whilst old Jimmy drops back and defends wide? I havn't been to any games this season so far, have only been watching on tv and computer but Cuellar regularly seems to be central although he's down as a right back? Wonder whats going to happen when Luke Young comes back into the equation?? |
david
said:
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... Yesterday the formation was so flexible it was hard to be sure just what formation were were playing. It certainly started 442, but it shifted to 451, 433 and even 442 at various points in the game which makes it difficult to state with absolute certainty which formation was responsible for which statistics yesterday. Having said that, I agree with Damian that in previous games we have seemed to pass the ball around more when playing 451. I don't know enough about it to confidently say whether the two facts are inseparably linked or coincidence though. You probably need statistics from more than 5 matches before you can 'rest your case' one way or the other. |
George Templeton
said:
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... Sidders only fan said: Just back from the game. I thought that this was a brilliant post so I wanted to ask you (and anyone else that wants to answer) what do you all think is our best 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 lineups. Here is my 4-4-2: Warnock, Dunne, Cuellar, L. Young (when fit), A. Young, Sidwell, Petrov, Milner, Agbonlahor, Carew Here is my 4-5-1: Warnock, Dunne, Cuellar, L. Young, A. Young, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Gardner, Milner, Agbonlahor Then the question becomes, when Downing comes back how should Martin O'Neill adjust it. |
jerry
said:
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...Quite right. So just imagine if we had never bought them. We could a have bought a good Centre midfielder for that price… If I'm going to be brutally honest with myself, Davis looks overpriced at the moment. £17 mill ( which I believe is what they cost) would indeed have bought us a good CM. At the time he bought them, I think O'Neill had different priorities. He'd bought Coker and Sidwell and needed to strenghten the defence. He went to a lot of trouble to prise Davis away from the Baggies - with hindsight, could have done better. |
jerry
said:
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...The fans do have a part to play and surely MoN and the team have earned the right for some unconditional support in our transition from relegation contenders to Champions league hopefuls? Amen |
Mark
said:
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... I would just like to say that the improvement of Milner since he rejoined us is quite spectacular. There were many that berated him and thought he cost too much etc.. It looks as though the confidence MON has put in to him has rubbed off and is now taking more responsibility in making the team click. He is a fantastic inspiration to his team mates and any young footballer with his work rate and sheer determination to win. We are missing creative flair, but are making up for it in other ways. Stick to our strengths for now and don't worry about what other teams are doing. |
Ronan Ward
said:
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... 3 points. Not the best game ever but it's 12 points going into today's games. Happy days! UTV |
Freelancelot
said:
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... There's nothing the Villa Blog to put a spring in your step after a good win ... It seems to me that most of the commentary here displays the infexibility that MON is frequently criticised for. There are a few who have quite rightly seen that there is an increasing fluidity in our play that makes much of the debate about formations a sideshow. Stats tell you some things but not everything: number of passes means nothing if you don't do anything with them. 451 can generate more short passing because there are less outlets. You could go on. The top 4 last season scored more goals than anyone and conceded (with the exception of Arsenal) less than anyone. Are we playing in the English Passing League? No. And if I read again that we are no further on in our football than the O'Leary days I may need to climb on to the gantry over the Aston Expressway and hold a one man demonstration. There's nothing like picking up 3 points. We are not a long ball team. So a bit less bellyaching would be appreciated. |
Simeon
said:
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... We'll have a better idea of what the season holds after the next few fixtures, in terms of where we finish. Obviously, we know that the season ahead holds no attraction in terms of quality of football. We have yet to play anything but very poor teams yet (and I include Liverpool in that because, in that match, they were dreadful, as were Fulham a couple of weeks ago, although they will struggle to repeat last season's success, so arguably didn't underperform). Good news that we have four wins out of five. You can only beat what's in front of you and all that (although we were miserable against a Wigan team who will quite possibly be relegated. What might save them is that there are three teams even worse than they are!). But what has been in front of us has been garbage, and we have hardly been impressive. Interestingly, how many points would we have if it weren't for Gabby? In my view, if O'Neill had handled him in any kind of competent fashion last season, he might well be England's first choice striker given his ability to play up front on his own, and obviously given his quality as a player. Unfortunately, given Carew, and particularly Heskey, are too often injured, the likelihood of Gabby being burnt out again is high. |
Mark
said:
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... We've got some interesting fixtures coming up soon which may put a dent in our momentum:- 05.10 - Home to citeh 17.10 - Away to Chelsea Moderate opposition until:- 12.12 - Away to Man.U 26.12 - Away to Arsenal 28.12 - Home to Liverpool So long as we are beating the lower ranked clubs, these games can be approached a bit more relaxed, as it will be up to the big guns to come after us. It is imperative our heads don't go down if we get a couple of bad results - It will happen. Hopefully we can add a creative midfielder in Jan to push on again for the remainder of the season. We've got a fairly good run in on paper from early Feb. |
Daniel Mckay
said:
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... Mostyn G I would agree with what you have said today. Damian as a 4-4-2 the stats would show we have more shots on goal ourselves? does this mean you think we are a better attacking team with that formation? so for the lower teams this would be our better option against them and then going 4-5-1 against the top teams and just go for the counter attack? Think some weight to this maybe... great start to the season from the boys |
Mark
said:
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... All Blacks, Damian is always right mate. In his earlier blog he prayed that we didn't revert to 442 against the Clowns. We did, scored and then reverted back to 4-5-1. He made light of this by saying, "yeah well, it was only for 10 mins." It was the difference between 3pts and 1 or no points. |
Daniel Mckay
said:
|
... Yes i agree. Damian has got a very strong/stubborne stance on this formation thing i have noticed for many weeks, but at the end of the day i think we all have the same thing at heart... the LOVE for our club! Its good to see such strong opinions on our club direction and play . As much as i think MON can be slower than some to change things/tactics i think he is the best thing to happen to our club for years and long may it continue. |
Edward Riordan
said:
 |
... We are already 6 points up on our respective games from last year. -1 Wigan +3 Liverpool +2 Fulham +0 if you swap Blues for WBA +2 Pompey That is a great improvement. We may not be playing great football but great teams win when not playing well. October looks a tough month against Citeh(h), Chelsea(h), Wolves(a) and Everton(a). The better performances will come and I feel 2 wins a draw and a defeat in October would be satisfactory. UTV |
gareth horton
said:
 |
... aahhhhh how boring still goin on about the formation we all know we r more effective playin a 541 but how about playin a 145 just so we could talk more about formations jesus as long as we win does it really matter |
Doc
said:
 |
... 442/451 I'd think that probably the sensible answer is the team needs to be flexible. There's nothing wrong with having Plan A, Plan B etc. If 451 isn't working in a game then try 442. It's the reliance on the long ball game in both formations which is more of a worry. Both goals came from defensive errors yesterday otherwise it could have been 0-0 and two points dropped. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Raz How do you think the likes of man united, chelsea etc won the league?? playing fantastic all season and winning every game?? if you think that you aren't a football fan With respect, that's a pretty dumb thing to say. What defines a football fan is a little more than you realise, obviously. The point is Man United and Chelsea play a hell of a lot better football than we ever do. Though that's a slightly unfair comparison as they have much better players than us. A better comparison is Tottenham, who I mentioned earlier have played some excellent football so far this season. If I had to hedge my bets at the moment on who will finish in the top six between us and Spurs, currently I'd have to say Spurs. Obviously there's plenty of time for that to change though. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Incidentally, is anyone watching the Manchester derby? City have a better midfield than United if you ask me. |
peter haworth
said:
 |
... 1. Back 4 great performance 2.Gabby on fire 3.Midfield. Oh Dear. 5 will always beat 4.Hopelessly outnumbered by Portsmouth 5 who dominated and overun our 4. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... What an absolutely amazing game, that really did have it all! Fantastic stuff. |
scott harwood
said:
 |
... what a disgrace at ot 4 mins of injury time and they get 6.i remember last season when the same linesman give us offside 3 times when we were clean through and they were obviously on.might hurt u guys but i hate man u a lot more than i hate the scum!!! |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... I don't hate United anymore. Infact of the big 4/5, I probably only prefer Chelsea more. I'm over the moon they beat City today, a team I'm truly beginning to dislike. I'm also enjoying the equisite irony - City spend the best part of £40m overhauling the centre of their defence and get beat in the air twice thanks to lazy defending. We take Richard Dunne off them who I don't think has been beaten in the air once for us yet. |
scott harwood
said:
|
... vivavilla im the opposite.of the top 4 i prefer liverpool and arsenal.i love watching liverpool at home in europe and being in my 20s arsenal have treated me to the best football i have ever seen without any doubt.man utd just always seem to get the big decisions all the time and the players and especially af(i dont call him sir)have an arsehole mentality.i support any team thats playing them even in europe!! |
Chris Platt
said:
 |
... Off topic I know. This article was in my local paper yesterday. Thought you guys may want to read it. A browns fan perspective http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/09/18/sports/nh1450572.txt |
trustme
said:
 |
... Greg/Churchill= Where were you two last week when I was getting abuse for saying Davies was not worth 10m and one of the worst players Ive seen in 50 years of following the Villa , I think now after seeing real defenders in Collins and Dunn some fans will see what I was moaning about , And Cuellar is not a full back , but MO'N bottled it in not leaving him out and playing a right back , We now have 5 full backs and he only plays one. why?. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... trustme We now have 5 full backs and he only plays one. why?. That's a very misleading statement, considering 3 of them are left backs. Since you're on about the right back position; we only have 2 options, and one of those still isn't fit yet so really we only have one player to play there: Habib Beye. As has been said before, Cuellar is a better defender than Beye so it's not really that surprising O'Neill chooses him to play there. |
Andy Young
said:
 |
... I'm happy that Citeh were beaten today, but if I were Mark Hughes I'd be feeling well agrieved with the referee's timekeeping. They scored the winner in the 6th minute of injury time when there was only meant to be about 4 minutes to play. Echoes of Steve Bruce scoring against Wednesday in the 98th minute to stuff up our 92/93 campaign? |
trustme
said:
|
... viva / Fair enough but I believe in playing players in there own positions not accomadating them , what will he do when Youngs back. |
Car Frost
said:
 |
... First time I have ever wanted Man U to win, it felt odd but needed to be done s City are ruining our beautiful game. Barry scored 1 but was at fault for 2 IMO ( both Fletcher headers ) I think they look weak at the back and hopefully we can exploit that, we will have to if we want anything from the game as they've got plenty of goals in them. |
RAZ
said:
|
... Having read some of the comments, its clear Martin O Neills wasting his time at this football club. 4 wins out of 5 games and some of you still can't find your arse from your elbow. Thats why villa park is empty on match days... Fickle Fans UTV!! |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Yes, it's encouraging to see Spurs knocked back down to Earth in the last two games. Still, we'll see what we can do in similar circumstances soon enough. |
Steve Coyne
said:
 |
... we will , but i aint gona bleep on about how good we r and how we're gona challenge the top 2 lol and i really hate harry bloody redknapp ! |
James
said:
 |
... Sorry, what was that Harry? Top 4, you say? Really? Leave the challenging of the top order to the big boys. |
Andy
said:
 |
... To poster number one.Playing like that and winning is ok,playing like that against a decent team,suicidal. |
John Clark
said:
 |
... Four wins out of five, and on the trot, and not a sellout at Villa Park for what was almost a guaranteed win? That's disgraceful. Especially with the critics on here constantly saying, "Football is about winning things." Well, we are winning things...matches. And the ground isn't full. Pathetic. As to the quality of the football, I do think it's quite obviously improving. What we're seeing now is some new faces, a slow, but successful, start, and the emergence of a more passing-oriented game. We may not look like Arsenal just yet, but you can see they're paying attention. I personally like that we're starting slowly and winning, because I do think the football is only going to get better as the season moves along. Winning is a habit, and Villa are getting the habit. Since we're not full of world superstars, these grubby games are always going to happen against lesser teams whose only intent is to drag you down to their level. Portsmouth fired off a bunch of rubbish from well outside, started playing openly when the game was already over and Villa had lost interest. And you could see what the game was about whenever that Pompey cheap-shot artist kept deliberately putting his knee into our players' kidneys when he got a chance. It was a competent, workmanlike performance that yielded a clean sheet and three points. That's the only way Villa can be in contention at the end, winning these games, and doing it however it needs to be done. Formations are being switched up as the situation requires, there's been lots of lovely little bits of play that only just failed to come off. We're getting the penalties and free kicks that come from applying pressure and having dangerous players that rattle defenders. We're not shipping late goals, we're not defending like headless chickens in the last 15mins. Of course it'll be tougher against the top4...But look at Tottenham, remember the whinging about signings, blah blah, and realize that we're probably expecting to do better than 1-3 and 0-3. It doesn't look to me like we've fallen terribly far behind, City are doing what you might expect with that sort of astronomical expenditure, and so on...Sure, it'll be tight over the 38 games. But we knew this. And Tottenham are proving that style points over lesser opposition mean SFA. They're still gutless. |
Damian
said:
|
... somebody above has just given me a fantastic idea for the blog tomorrow thank you while we are all fans of aston villa, we also love football. the post tomorrow will have an aston villa feel, but will very much be football |
Billy Villa...
said:
 |
... Is it me or did you move above the Spuds without kicking a ball.......normallity is restored.... |
the villa don
said:
 |
... they might av ad more shots but nearly all of them was from long range. We really neva got out of 1st gear and feel especially in 2nd half it was just a case of seein the game out. we did wot we ad t and no more which is fine by me. carry on like this and i'll b very happy. Glad t c the defence lookin good aswell |
TQ villan
said:
 |
... I honestly now believe that the Premier League is fixed so that ManUre always qualify for the Champions League and pretty much always win the league. The timekeeping issue at Old Trafford needs to be looked at, how many times have they been allowed to play until they score the winner/equaliser? How many dodgy penalties have they been given at OT and how many blatant pens have been denied? I agree with odesseynumberfive about the Bruce goal against us and it has happened many times I just wish I could find out how many more exactly. I am certainl;y not a Man Citeh fan but feel they were hard done by. ManUre have a strong enough side without help from the people who govern the game so please let us a have a level playing field. Back to the boys who matter! I was very sceptical in the summer regarding MON's lack of purchasing but believe he has signed a couple of gems in Collins and Warnock. I will reserve judgement on Dunne until his disciplinary record shows us whether he plays a whole season or only half because of suspension. I am stunned that the floodgates opened for the fans with 10 minutes left! Why did they leave early instead of celebrating another victory? How did the players feel leaving the pitch with the ground half empty after scoring and keeping yet another clean sheet? Will they start to believe that it isn't worth staying at the club with fans who cannot be bothered to stay until the final whistle? Anyway, let's hope the boys keep up the good work! UTV!! |
greg1982
said:
|
... Kohoutek ‘and not a sellout at Villa Park for what was almost a guaranteed win? That's disgraceful. … And the ground isn't full. Pathetic.’ ‘the game was already over and Villa had lost interest.’ You’ve answered your own question here. You would think that getting paid 50k to entertain for 90 mins would mean 100% effort?? I go, and I’ve even been at a first team league game at VP with only 12000 there. But the football isn’t what it should be for the money spent. Yesterday was poor football for long spells. At any club the gate will tell you how the club is doing (or rather ‘playing’). |
Martin Clabon
said:
 |
... Kohoutek spot on as usual. I hope we are tying to move to a more passing orientated game but I think what is holding us back is the quality of our central midfielders (except Delph who is going to be great but needs time) as I have said many times before. In my opinion we must not drop Collins, he should be 1st choice at Centre Half as he is the only really good passer of the ball amongst the 4 seniors, I have been very impressed. Warnock can also pass which puts him ahead of even big Billy Bouma when he is back. L Young can also pass reasonably welland we are sorted for wingers so 1 or 2 excellent clever passing central midfielders would be the finishing touch (bar a Torres/ David Villa Upfront). Easier said than done now but with no other transfer priorities we can expect something in Jan or next Summer. This would allow us to play proper passing football and create threats from the centre of midfield as well as wings. This would make us pretty formidable and exciting to watch. Easier said than done but not impossible at all |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
 |
... Nigel Reo 'The hokey Cokey' Coker must surely be made captain against Cardiff. Yes indeed. The Coker must be in the midfield against Man city. He surely must ! |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Greg1982, I respect your views which are nearly always well though through but I'm sure you will agree that (as so often happens with some of the depressives on this site) demanding more can easily slide into moaning the second anything goes wrong. Some of the more positive posters are not accepting mediocrity or even unrealistically hoping for the best but are aware that creating a negative vibe around the club is exactly what holds us back. This is in no way a dig at you Simeon, you really are changing the past to fit your personal vendetta with MON, Liverpool are a rubbish team now apparently. Still I guess you and I are never going to see eye to eye, at least until you get your wish and drive MON out of Villa Park. This is a dig at you, although I am aware you ain't too bothered! |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Pancho, Nigel will come back snarling and spitting blood, the only danger is he kills someone in the 1st 5 monutes which I believe is at least a yellow card offence. Let's hope it is an opposition player not a team mate, innocent bystander or a 57 year old bespectacled manager! |
david mc gorrian
said:
 |
... evening all,blonde moment here maybe its the booze but what does imo mean?? told ye its a blonde moment ill be fine tomorrow lol |
david mc gorrian
said:
|
... nice 1 sid thanks mate,well on yesterdays match not a great display of football but 2 goals and none conceded ill take,realistically id hate to play great football and lose a game.imo(thanks sid) |
neil57
said:
 |
... I agree. A win is a win. Pompey's shots were from long range and, apart from maybe one, didn't trouble Friedel. We deserved the win. Davies injury was a blessing in disguise. MON would not have felt the need to buy Collins. BTW (by the way!) I feel sorry for Ciaran Clark, who looks a great prospect. Hope he gets a run against Cardiff. Our 2nd choice team should beat them. Looking forward to tomorrow's post. UTV |
Trevor
said:
 |
... i think the league is opening up now and started to take shape. Looks to me we have two way fight fo the title man u and chelsea, i even think arsenal are out of it at this early stage. 9 points behind already and i cant chelsea or united loosing 3 games, what u guys think??? |
John Clark
said:
|
... ^^ I've been to plenty of games in many sports where the outcome has long been decided, and the stands remain full all the way through. And these are 75-80k seat stadiums. I think there was enough effort to keep the clean sheet, which obviously counts toward goal differential. Villa being "disinterested" only referred to the fact that Pompey looked much better once the game was over, and Villa were simply content to preserve their lead. There are only 19 home league games. And this is a chicken-egg argument, admittedly. "If they win, we'll come." Then, "If they play better, we'll come." And on and on. Perhaps if the ground was full and rocking every one of those 19 home games, they'd win more, play better, and so on. Perhaps the relative interest/disinterest of the fans has as much to do with "fortress Villa Park" as anything. A full house equals more turnover, equals more money for the exciting players everyone feels we lack. It also equals encouragement to the players, MON, and not least RL in terms of investment. I'd be a bit disappointed that success on the field wasn't being met with better attendance, especially since he's deliberately charging less than he could for tickets. Moreover, there's no real home-field advantage if the stands aren't full and the supporters aren't in full voice. Might as well go play in the park.
Since we're not among the four most expensive tickets in the league, then the money charged is in alignment with the results. And if you're saying the attendance will only reflect the club's results or "style," then it is indeed rather fickle "support." Winning isn't good enough...yawn...we don't look like Arsenal. I simply find it hard to believe that a top-six team in England's second-biggest city, so proud of its tradition and continually thinking we're still a big club, can't fill 45k or so seats when they're on a four-game winning streak. Perhaps it's the economy, which is understandable. If Villa were in the Championship, okay. But if it's not that, then 5-10k empty seats are voting for what? We could go round and round. There isn't a "right" answer. And I do agree, that if Villa were losing, going backward, then fans might indeed choose to vote with their feet. But if Villa fans claim to be so proudly claret and blue, then there seem to be only really 35k of them that can say that as the team seek to consolidate themselves behind the top4 in preparation for the push toward the top. Doubtless, the fair-weather fans will fill the ground once all the hard work has been done. |
Simeon
said:
|
... Sid, I didn't say that Liverpool are now a rubbish team. What I said was that their performance against us was rubbish. Despite this, we were still fortunate to win, and having watched the game, I wouldn't have been surprised to see us throw away the 2 goal lead we'd had after Torres got one back, had it not been for Gerrard's crass stupidity in bringing down Reo Coker and gifting us a penalty. I will freely acknowledge that I am opposed to O'Neill's management - or mismanagement - of Villa, and a few wins against very poor opposition aren't going to convince me that the innmunerable stupid mistakes O'Neill makes are in fact master-strokes. Obviously, nothing O'Neill does in the future can rectify the mistakes he's made in the past. The best that could be hoped for is that he's learned from his mistakes and will now manage in a manner fitting for a Premiership club. However, I don't believe O'Neill recognises his actions as mistakes, and so he won't therefore learn. As such, I will not waste my time hoping that O'Neill becomes a good manager. I hope every single day that Villa will progress. Being a Villa supporter I want the best for my club. I'm delighted that Milner is having a real go at making it into the World Cup squad. I will be disgusted if Gabby doesn't go to South Africa with both Milner and Ashley. And I will not understand if Luke Young doesn't go as well. But I am absolutely certain that, under O'Neill, Villa are going exactly nowhere. And by nowhere, I mean mid-table in the Premiership. And by mid-table in the Premiership, I mean no chance of finishing in the top four (which of course is only important because it gives us access to the necessary funds to build a club that is capable of winning the league). I am absolutely certain because, last season, we finished a whole ten points behind an Arsenal side who had their worst season ever under Wenger, largely as a result of injuries, but also in part because of weaknesses in their team. We had the best chance we are likely to get for the forseeable future, and O'Neill cocked it up. And he didn't just cock it up to the extent that we missed out by a point here or there. He missed out in such style that, had our season gone on for another three months whilst Arsenal's ended early, we still wouldn't have finished above them! I believe O'Neill has had his chance. Others, you among them, are generous enough to happily see him have another chance. But I've accepted this. I am resigned to mediocrity, a least until there are dramatic changes. |
Steve Badger
said:
 |
... Tonebone, I'm posting this now as there's more chance you'll read it, given the time difference. I can only apologise again mate. I really don't know what it is, but everything you post gets right up my nose. It probably stems from the fact that I've spent months reading you slating everything MON has done. I'm one of the most positive posters on here, as you know. But I can also weigh in with a bit of criticism at times. It's called balance. And I just don't see much of that from you. Although, tbf, your posts were a bit more positive than usual, so I was out of order calling you. I'll promise to try and ignore you, if you can just for once say something really positive. At the end of the day, it's 4 wins out of 5, we beat a shite team by 2 clear goals (which I predicted, I got one right) and didn't concede. I'm not looking forward to your posts when we hit a sticky patch though. And yes I was pissed. I'll really have to try not to post after a game  |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Oh, fwiw, tone, I wanted to pull my post as soon as I hit the "enter" button. Damian Any chance of an edit option? |
fastbackace
said:
 |
... damian, im looking to write a piece for thew villa blog, and would like an email to send it too. thank you. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Ah shoot, I know it mate and want to give it to you, but seeing as it's not available anymore, I don't think it's fair to hand it out. I can only imagine Damian has had loads of abuse  |
Simon
said:
|
... For many a season the joke has been "how long is a game of football". The answer - 90 minutes or until Utd get a winner. So the 96th minute is not something new. I have seen linesmen pressured into decisions at VP with 35,000 screaming penalty, so what a poor chap to do when that is increased to 76,000 |
Mark
said:
|
... They calculated the exact amount of extra time on MOTD and showed the ref only actually played 1 sec of extra time. Chelsea are now the worst culprits. |
DavidC
said:
 |
... I think, based on what I saw on Saturday, in conjunction with everything else so far this season - that we will certainly finish in the top 6 again this year. I'd say our defence is certainly stronger than last year. For which MoN deserves a lot of credit. There's not many teams who can lose their best defender for 10 years and come out stronger collectively. I'll be first to admit we don't knock the ball around as fluently as the likes of Arsenal. But what we are is effective. And our effectiveness will be more than good enough to beat 95% of the teams in the league. I genuinely think we'll finish above Spurs, and on a par with Man City and Arsenal. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Simeon, I respect that you want the best for Villa. I do think now you are so far down the anti MON road now that you find it hard to acknowledge when things are actually going well. I would say thyat we now look solidly defensively and dangerous going forward, have depth and youth but lack craft and guile, yet. 3 out of 4 not bad? |
Mark
said:
|
... vivavilla said: ... Spurs now have 4 crocked centre backs, which is quite funny I find. It's fair to say they've crashed to earth with a hefty thud. Simeon - I feel sad for you. AVFC has continued to progress under MON and Lerner. What is worrying is the apparent lack of support and/or dissatisfaction. I would say Man.U, Chelsea and Arsenal are still a couple of notches ahead of us, however, anyone else is fair game IMO? The top 3/4 only need to consolidate every season yet we are still in the throes of assembling a squad. Ask Man.U or Chelsea supporters whether they relish playing us? We are dark horses. All the focus has been about Spuds and Citeh. The MOTD pundits don't care much for us. Confidence, spirit, pride and togetherness is being instilled and this is being transferred on to the pitch. Kohoutek - Good insight youth! |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Mostyn, not sure I agree with the measurement of time method/ arguement. It is a well known fact (rounding) that a football match in EPL only has ball in play for around 60 minutes. So if during normal time we were to apply the same measurment as MOTD did (presuming it was based on time ball was not in play) then every half should have 15 minutes of injury time. They do not yet for some reason, for certain teams especially, wasted time in injury time is always added on fully. We would be playing all day if we applied this rule to the whole game, how do we get 3 minutes injury time over 45 minutes then another 3 over 3 minutes? If Man U were 2 up I bet the game would have come to a swift end Any way, conspiracy theories are fun! |
greg1982
said:
|
... Sid ‘creating a negative vibe around the club is exactly what holds us back.’ I don’t agree. It’s about positioning a bar. Unless you call, it as it is, game by game, my view is that progress will be slower. If a team like Man U / Barca or Chelsea or any ‘top’ team have a bad run there will be calls for a change. They must just have a higher set of standards. I’m fed up of giving people, history lessons but we have not had an ongoing decent team ay villa park for 80 years. Enough is enough. We’ve been in the doldrums for too long and for me it’s now or never. And MON keeps making mistakes when buying players. I love the man but he is clueless on purchases (and tactics cf Wigan which made me laugh out loud). Kohoutek ‘And if you're saying the attendance will only reflect the club's results or "style," then it is indeed rather fickle "support."’’ There will always be a core of us who always go. But all clubs also rely on some fans who haven’t got our commitment but who want to be ‘entertained’ and Saturday was a day to put Pompey to the sword or at least go at them. Playing defensively against them for long spells was a crime. It is an entertainment business and 50k to give your all for 90 mins isn’t too much to ask. R0bb0 greg...just seen today's stats..we had 55% posession. It seems you are watching Villa play through black tinted spectacles. I was late back from the game and was only going by my own assessment initially. Today’s Guardian confirms my view on the day: The stats were 48/52 against us. So that is, indeed, the 5th game in a row. Eventually, if this continues, the results will reflect the stats. (and so will the gates). C’mon you lions |
John Samuels
said:
 |
... Damien, would you rather we played decent passing football like West Brom last season and went down? I don't see the problem myself, we aren't good enough to play the Arsenal passing game and look at the good it's doing them at the minute. If we manage to scrape into the top four playing the kind of football we are then perhaps we will then be able to get in the sdort of player that can move our game on. I am just happy to keep winning. We would have drawn this game last year and while the football is similar to that of the O'Leary reign I personall y think we have a much better side than we did then. It is a much younger, hungrier side and we have dashes of undoubted quality, and a strength right through 25 players. How much quality did we have on the bench under O'Leary? |
leeowen1
said:
 |
... To true, we now have one of the best deffence in the league, and not playing that bad, also was asked the other day were do you think you would be if Randy had not taken over the club. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Greg, I agree we should call it as we see it but sometimes it really takes the piss on here. The history lessons work both ways, if we haven't had a decent team for 80 years it clearly is not as easy as all that. In my opinion MON is moving us towards a sustainable success and hence I am generally behind him. If you do not agree then criticism is the natural response but nevertheless, as I say it can be ridiculous on here at times We were never in any danger against Portsmouth whatever the stats may say. I would like us to be much more aggresive in going for the jugular when opposition are down but that will come, I hope. In my opinion we are certainly no less entertaining than, to give a fair conparison, Everton. As I've said before we are on a journey with a good number of the components in place. If we can upgrade central midfield to add quality and guile we will be a very decent team and may play more posession football and be more pleasant on the eye. 2 facts though which I don't think many will argue with: - Our counter attacking style getting the ball forward quickly encourages low possession stats, it is quite easy to play a more possession orientated style without getting anywhere - There are some (plenty?) at Villa Park who claim to want to play better football but if the players do pass it around the back scream get it forward so are we a very educated, accepting crowd? I'm not sure we are |
Chris Atkins
said:
 |
... I have to say I'm really pleased with the start we have had. 4 wins out of 5 is great. I think the difference is all down to not drawing. You can afford to lose the odd game, so long as you win the rest. We drew 11 last year - that gave us 11 points. Even if we have lost 5 of those games, but won 6 we would have had 7 extra points which would have put us above Everton and within 3 points of 4th place. |
Car Frost
said:
|
... Referees have to use common sense, he might of been able to find 6 minutes in that second half ( although no major injuries or incidents ) but it's very extreme. Do you really think we would of got 6 extra mins at Villa Park? I would bet my house on us not getting 6 minutes all season unless there is a major injury. The ball is out of play for almost as long as it is in play in the average game now but you don't get 20mins stoppage time now do you? And why - common sense. Alan Wiley clearly likes to see Ferguison happy as do most in the game. |
DavidC
said:
|
... "There are some (plenty?) at Villa Park who claim to want to play better football but if the players do pass it around the back scream get it forward so are we a very educated, accepting crowd? I'm not sure we are " Spot on. Much as it may grate, apart from the glorious BFR years, we have absolutely no history of playing possession/pretty football at VP. Even under Sgt Ron we were a team based on counter-attack, hard work rate, and Peter Withe's flick-ons. |
GPalmer
said:
 |
... RAZ is right - how many times have you seen a pundit parrot come out with, "the sign of a good team is to win when you play badly"? The results are what matter when you're coming out of the horrible run we had last season. This game confirmed how dodgy our midfield looks without NRC, but it also showed how much our defence has improved. 4 wins out of 5 is great stuff, regardless of the opposition, and Gabby's returning confidence is great to see. The big four are defined by how many more goals they score than anyone else (compare the for & against columns already). We've matched them the last two seasons but our defending let us down. This year it looks like it could be the other way round until Downing's available. (Still wish we'd bought Owen or Bent!) |
Simon
said:
|
... A lot has been made of the recent displays from the villa back 4 and no wonder when you see we have the best defensive record in EPL along with Chelski (3 goals conceded). This appears even better when you consider we conceded 2 of thyese in our first game. To appease all the negative Villa fans though, we have the worst scoring record in the top 8, but if we become the next Arse winning 1-0, then i for one will be extremely happy or as MON would say, Fantasically so. |
Simeon
said:
|
... Sid, we undoubtedly have more strength in depth, which would be an entirely good thing if O'Neill was capable of rotating the squad. As it is, it is only a partially good thing, as players aren't rested but dropped. Eg. Shorey expressing his surprise and disappointment at being dropped (his words). And to be fair, he had a point; even if he was never of the requisite quality in the first place, having played and done nothing wrong, why can he be dropped? I have very little confidence in O'Neill keeping a big squad happy. (Which isn't to say that we didn't need more players, but rather that we also needed a new manager in the summer!) The Reo Coker situation is a real concern. The Telegraph has an interesting take on Petrov and Sidwell's comments on it. But leaving aside O'Neill's possible failings in this particular instance, if Reo Coker is to be frozen out, which is possible, and/or bombed out in January, which is also possible, he'll have to be replaced. Though Reo Coker has his limitations, he is crucial to our chances of success against competent football teams because he is our only midfielder capable of prevailing in a midfield battle. Without him we are ridiculously light-weight in the middle of the park. Now, maybe Reo Coker will rejoin the squad and all will be forgiven, but even if that's so, there are still questions to be answered concerning our ability to compete effectively with football teams who have a clue. You say we look solid defensively and dangerous going forward, but again, we haven't played anyone yet, and to be fair, I'm not convinced that we have looked like a fearsome attacking force. Also, so much of our defensive capability depends on the complexion of our midfield, and in almost every instance, a 4-4-2, especially one not featuring Reo Coker, will certainly be overrun. In the end, time will give us a clearer picture. I would suggest that, by Christmas, we might have some idea of how things stand, but then last season's experience suggests one would be wise not to draw conclusions as soon as that. |
robb david
said:
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... This o'neill bashing is geting a bit silly know. I dont like i think he makes bad tactical descisions. I think half the time he picks the wrong players in the wrong positions in the wrong formation. I think there are better managers but he deserves the full backing of the villa fans so that is what he gets from me. He deserves this chance because he has lead us from the brink of relegation to 6 place finishs and a challenge (a very poor challange) for a champions league place. He deserves the villa fans backing because he is producing results, and at the end of the day that is all that should matter. As for the attendance, yeah its not great but a three game winning streak in the league is not that special. The problem is that we seem to be playing for a top 6 finish, which is not exciting, no we are up there and looking decent i reckon The next home game will be better i would expect near full, and if we keep pushing for that top 4 spot all year the attendance will be good for the rest of the year. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... This write up of the training ground incident made me laugh; Martin O'Neill is known for his meticulous preparation and so it proved even during his training ground barney with Nigel Reo-Coker on Thursday. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.u...66007.html |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... Simeon, we will have to wait and see, I still think you are too harsh on MON though |
greg1982
said:
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... Sid I don’t disagree with any of your points but your posting name says it all. A Sid sitting in the middle would make a vast difference. We’re spoiling the ship for an halfpenny of tar And I just don’t think MON realises it. It’s one push and we’re almost there. But the team will fall apart before MON gets round to it. Then Delph will come on line just as Ash goes to Man U etc etc. The defence is, at last, looking much better but what a spend to achieve it. If you took the wasted money we could have paid (even over the price) to put the big missing part of the jigsaw in place. I don’t want to be negative but I travel a 200 mile round trip regardless as it’s in the blood. But if I did have regard, as some of the non-core fans do, then why would you go to watch on Saturday? You can salivate at the result etc sitting at home and tuned to the radio but the game was poor. And it is unacceptable that Pompey should have more of the ball. I can see the issue that we risk losing the ball when we are using our counter style but we cant do keep ball even when we’re not trying to attack! |
Mark
said:
|
... greg1982 Chelsea and Spuds had about equal possession, yet there was a gulf in class between the teams. Stats can be misleading at times as they don't paint the whole picture. We had Pompey in the back pocket and no requirement to move up the gears. Spuds look like Brazil against the likes of Hull, but limitations exposed against decent opposition. |
Tim Wood
said:
 |
... To all those knocking MON. The grass is not necessarily greener on the otherside!!! We could end up with another Dr No. |
Mark
said:
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... Sid, I'll tell you what's injustice. Bellamy will get a slap on the wrists for assaulting a supporter who had already been detained by stewards. I'm guessing the 'emotional' fan will receive a public order charge, fined and banned from attending any football matches (incl his 12yr old son's cup final in Eccles) for the next 10yrs. These criminal charges will be with him for life - for one moment of stupidity. I do not condone the action of the fan, but I reckon he will feel aggrieved compared to the punishment or no punishment Bellend will receive. Hughes claimed he never saw the incident, despite it being the centre of attention at the time, and actually hinted that Bellamy should be lauded for his actions in similar fashion to Mr. Clough some years ago. Hmmm! not quite the same is it Hughesy - hundreds of supporters running amok compared to defenceless male restrained by stewards. I'm glad Citeh have employed the likes of Bellamy, as he is more than likely ruin your season than make it. He should be whipped in to shape for his thuggish behaviour (bit like MON and Coker), not encouraged that he is some kind of hero. Maybe it's a height thing? |
Mark
said:
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... Further, Hughesy's ironic defence was that Bellend had pulled it back to 3-3 and was probably highly emotional. Hmm! just as well he wsn't near a 7 iron! |
greg1982
said:
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... Mostyn Yep but it comes out in the wash. That’s what happened against Wigan. And who have we look like Brazil against? |
david
said:
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... greg1982 Just to show that you can prove anything with statistics.... I have used the BBC for my statistics as I (wishful thinking) assume they are accurate and unbiased and they have the resources to get it right. You said that we've had less posession than the opposition in all of our first 5 games. According to the BBC our percentage of the possession has been: Wigan, 42%; Liverpool, 52%; Fulham, 54%; Birmingham, 51%; Portsmouth,54%. I don't think you'd have seen those figures (from any source) last year. I have definitely noticed an intention for us to play it around more, particularly when playing 451. and I welcome it. I hope that the Villa crowd start to see it as a good thing and actually come to enjoy this style of football which I think is more likely to bring us the results we want even if there's a little less 'blood and thunder' on the way! |
Car Frost
said:
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... Does this remind you of anything? ( 2nd para ) Aston Villa boss O'Neill said: "I remember saying to him if Nottingham Forest didn't match my ambition I would be off. "He told me to f**k off then. I f****d off to the reserves and he called me back about four months later and said: 'Are you still here' Reo Coker is in for a hard day IMO.. |
Mark
said:
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... greg1982 What comes out in the wash? I don't want us to play like anyone other than Aston Villa. We play to our strengths, keep perspective, push on and don't pretend to be better than we are - aka Spuds. |
Martin Clabon
said:
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... Mostyn, I think the people who have taken over Man City are honourable men who put reputation and honour above pretty much all else. What they are doing to football may not be positive but that is another story. The biggest chance of the Man City machine coming off the rails is for knob heads like Bellamy and Adebayor to act like complete tossers and blacken the reputation of the club and the sponsors, so keep up the good work both of you cos otherwise Man City are going to be a massive force for years to come. Greg, I think we are very much agreed that the middle of the park is where we need to improve and this will allow (but not ensure) we play more attractive and positive football with out relying on the wings or long balls. We disagree on 2 things, I think MON is making good progress but in an uphill battle whereas you think he has made serious errors and you think we play boring football whereas I think it could be more attractive but is not as bad as you make out. I don't think we'll ever get definitive proof either way (unless Villa suddenly become the next Brazil) but we both desperately want the club to succeed. It is possible I am looking at the world through Claret and Blue specs but I am trying to be objective and even those managers who got us close to where we are now (Ron, Taylor) I don't think ever had us on a sustainable path - built the team but not the club. For now I remain cautiously optimistic |
Car Frost
said:
|
... 2 points I'd like to make on all this talk about stats ... 1. Be wary of comparisons. Two things happening at the same time are not necessarily related, though statistics can be used to show that they are. This trick is used a lot by politicians wanting to show that a new policy is working. ( 451 and 442 debate? ) 2. Be aware of numbers taken out of context. This is called 'cherry-picking', an instance in which the analysis only concentrates on such data that supports a foregone conclusion and ignores everything else ( ie total passes completed and lost may ignore set pieces won ) Stats prove nothing unless unbiased, it would take someone whos worked with them for years to gain any defiante correlations, we should stick to drinking beer and watching the game I think |
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