Written by Damian Thursday, 11 February 2010 09:51
Let's get one thing out of the way to begin with; a point at home against Manchester United is a result most teams would be happy with and we are most definitely in that group that should be happy with it.
I don't think anyone is actually unhappy with the result and when I say most teams would be happy, I include the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool in that, but at the same time, there would be a few teams that would be unhappy with the performance if that was their team playing last night.
So, a result we would have all accepted this time yesterday and we have it, so nothing, result wise, to be disappointed about. Now to the football; that wasn't very promising was it, but can you say, hand on heart, that you are surprised?
What the Papers Say
Kevin McCarra, guardian.co.uk
There are games that gleam in the memory of champions. Should Manchester United take the title for a fourth consecutive season, they will relive this result with relish. A draw is not normally a cause of jubilation for them but they had been reduced to 10 men against Aston Villa by the dismissal of Nani when more than hour of the game remained.
Sam Wallace, Independent
It is a simple principle of Sir Alex Ferguson's and it holds true at this stage of the season more than any other: his teams always believe they can win no matter how unpromising the circumstances. As his players tried to force the issue so their manager sent on Antonio Valencia and then Dimitar Berbatov, so United very nearly did it.
The Manager
Martin O'Neill, Club Site
When they had the man sent off, I was hoping we'd be able to take the initiative. But in the second half, we didn't create enough really and didn't make enough use of the extra man.
The Players and Some Stats
Brad Friedel, Luke Young, Ricardo Dunne, Carlos Cuellar, James Collins, Stewart Downing, Webcam Young, James Milner, Fabian Delph (John Carew, 59), Stiliyan Petrov (Steve Sidwell, 65) and Gabby Agbonlahor.
Apart from the goal, we had one shot on target in ninety minutes but our passing number went up a bit. We had a total of 351 with only 55 failures. Manchester United on the other hand had 408 passes with 68 failures. When a team with ten men, any team, pass it around more than you and create more chances, you have to start to ask why and you have to start trying to fix it.
Man of the Match
It goes to Carlos Cuellar and he deserves it. He is getting played at right back, putting in man of the match performances week in week out and he got a great goal. It wasn't a great goal created by us, it was an opportunity from a lucky break, but the header was sublime and I am please he got it.
Click here to get a King Carlos desktop wallpaper.Final Analysis
It was nice to see Delph start. Not nice to see him go off when I thought he did better than one or two others on the pitch. I think Milner needs a little rest or we play with another man in the middle on a more regular basis and Gabby, despite his one shot on target getting saved, also looked good spreading the traffic wide. If we could create more chances, I fancy he can put more away.
However, we failed to beat ten men. We beat eleven men back in December and I think if United had had eleven for ninety minutes we might have had a better chance - if only because they might have taken more risks and committed more players and we would have been able to play our more direct, counter attacking style.
As it turned out, United still pushed forward but they lacked the extra man to make it count and we couldn't make our advantage count.
But and I am going to stress this until the cows come home, we would have all taken a point. We got it. I'm not going to dwell on the reasons, I think we all know them now. This summer is going to be hugely important, if we do not finish in the top four.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Comments (156)
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Rob
said:
 |
... I think that was a good point considering half our team didn't turn up! Milner, Downing, Young all off the pace. Carew has completely lost interest and Sidwell, well, he's just shit isn't he!! I'm finding it really hard to criticise Young at the moment. At the start of the season he did look lazy and above himself but he's working so hard at the moment. The downside is all his work is tracking back and on the defensive side. He/the team just hasn't learnt how to deal with teams doubling up on him. 9/10 against one man he will beat them and do something positive but 9/10 teams double up on him. That's where we should be taking more advantage. The play should be switched more quickly to Downing (who really needs to start stepping up) and Milner. We lack someone with the range of passing to do this. Rather than working together Downing, Young and Milner seem to try and do it by themselves and if that doesn't work then they just pass it on to the next guy to have a go. The worrying thing at the moment is how very few chances we're creating. It's not that we're not taking them! Oh dear, this is starting to sound negative... On the upside, we're usually on a horrendous run at this point so things are looking up! Also, how much better does Gabby look when playing up top by himself!! Thought his hold up play was really good last night and he was looking sharp. |
Christian
said:
 |
... Well, I'd have taken a point before kick-off without a doubt. But i'm just a bit disappointed that we got bossed when they only had 10 (for an hour!) and they had a makeshift back 4 again. The passing and movement of their players is fantastic, always active and lively- we seemed so static and constantly forced backwards and sideways- how can this happen with the extra man?!! I don't really understand why their players keep the ball so well, find space so easily and always have an option, whilst we were left being closed down and having to hoof it again? The reason I don't understand the gulf in competence on the ball is because I really don't think their midfield (particularly when a man down!) is any better than ours, Is Fletcher really better on the ball and at finding space than Petrov and Milner? Perhaps he is. Scholes and Giggs are old men, how can they waltz around picking passes and finding space when we had Milner in there? I'm not a manager, so I'm not paid to understand these things, but for me it could be down to a few reasons: Poorly-coached players? Poor players? (I don't think they are) Alex Ferguson is fantastic at polishing the turds that are currently in his squad? We don't have a striker who finds intelligent space and whom when receives the ball can make it 'stick'. Look no further than Rooney for what I mean... |
Christian
said:
|
... Agree with everything you wrote Rob, but I can't agree with the Gabby comment- I know he doesn't exactly get much service from our midfielder's but he doesn't do enough for me. |
Adey Stuttard
said:
 |
... What would I give to have Rooney in our team? I think we would be damn near complete - he gets slated as being "fat", etc, but his work rate is phenomenal, if he is fat, I want to be fat too!! |
Damian
said:
 |
... Christian1983 re. Gabby - i think, when playing 451, he is a much better. i think as a team - we are much better playing 451 or call it 433 if you want nothing changed when carew came on last night apart from gabby having to drop much deeper to get the ball and ask yourself this; who would you pefer up top with space. gabby or carew? |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
 |
... When we needed somebody from the midfield and forwards to step up last night nobody had the balls(or perhaps ability) to do so. Milner was poor but he is entitled to a poor game here and there but Downing and Young went hiding if you ask me. Gabby was ineffective as he is only really a handful when he has space to do so and last night Utd gave him no space whatsoever and Carew well was his usual waste of space. |
Christian
said:
|
... 1874AVFC, yeah Rooney is immense. What a luxury to have a guy you can pick out whenever you want? And if he gets ANYWHERE NEAR the ball you play to him he'll always get it under control, protect it and if you let him turn, well... |
BobbyPark
said:
 |
... Very dissapointing 2nd half, despite the win at Old Trafford we still look like rabbits caught in the headlights against Man U. Can't fathom out the 2nd half tactics, Milner and Downing were both having stinkers so he takes Delph off who'd been our most creative midfielder. To add insult to injury we then have to put up with the introduction of Sidwell with his comical headers, and token off target effort on goal, he really is a strong contender for MON's worst signing. Oppurtunity wasted I'm afraid and typical negative MON when we have a chance to push on, I fear that we will be perenial 6th placers under his leadership. On a more amusing note, good to see the Mancs keeping their cup final fans under wraps by shipping in a few coachloads of Norwich fans to give them a taste of the premier league. Arsehole of the night: the bloke behind me who shouted 'Giggs you're shit', when he came over to take a corner. |
oldvillan
said:
 |
... once again the football was crap but i suppose things could be promising if we play crap and still dont get beat by arsenal,man u,spurs etc,so it proves we just need a couple of top quality players to move us forward.disapointed in downing he seems to have lost a bit of pace so the jurys out on him,delph needs to play as more of an attacking midfield role as he can see a pass and has the legs to get up and down. |
Adey Stuttard
said:
|
... BobbyPark, Yeah he was behind me as well I think - how can people boo the guy, what he has done for Man Utd and football in general, he is the model professional. Yeah, boo Lampard, Terry, Gerrard, etc, but ffs, or is that just me?! |
Christian
said:
|
... Damian, I fully agree that Gabby is better in a 4-5-1, he relishes the extra space it gives him. But, when you play 4-5-1, surely your striker has to be alert in and around the box? He spends all game running the wings and stretching the defence- I'm not criticising his workrate, but if he's out wide- who is in the box to stick the ball away? Sidwell?!! When Liverpool go with Torres up front alone he doesn't spend all game out on the right flank- he's frightening the central defenders to death in the middle. Drogba too, when alone up front, isn't working his arse off down the wing. Maybe this is a criticism of the midfield, they dont exactly give Gabby much of the ball to feet in the box- but could that be because Gabby doesn't find the space in the box to receive it? I dunno! |
Christian
said:
|
...'Giggs you're shit' I agree, he's been very fortunate to ply his trade at the top level for 20 years  |
Tom
said:
 |
... Need to practice passing and moving a bit more in training. Sometimes a player passes then just remains static. Also, Gabby needs to vary his runs a little more (as sometimes he just runs forward in a straight line, then stops). HOWEVER, this could all be down to fatigue. Think most of the midfield need (and deserve) a break. Still got a lot of faith for a third place finish and I think that Everton may soon join the party for 4th (remember last season). |
Damian
said:
|
... Christian1983 he does and i agree with everything you are saying - i'm not convinced that players get much one on one coaching or that they practise certain things - i think maybe certain things are taken for granted when a player becomes a professional at our club. professionals in every trade occasionally need training or to work on the basics just so they dont forget and because they can get better |
Car Frost
said:
 |
... From the posts over the past 12 hours ... Sidwell - Just Awful Downing - Went Missing Milner - Went Missing Young - Went missing Collins - Should of been replaced by Cuellar at CB Gabby - Lazy Again Carew - Not interested Thank god for the other 4 out there eh? |
Damian
said:
|
... frosty i think it is fair to say that maybe, they are all feeling a little tired or jaded - mentally and/or physically if o'neill isn't going to use his squad - these things will happen |
villacraig
said:
 |
... Does anyone else think that we would probably benefit more by moving milner back to the wing, and giving downing a break? Downing doesn't seem too bothered with anything, whenever he gets the ball, he always plays it out wide or sideways (remind you of anyone else, sidders!!!). I've seen Delph play a couple of times now and he seems a fantastic prospect. Milner runs at defenders when he's on the wing and 8 or 9 crosses out of 10 are fairly decent. Downing probably doesn't have that many crosses in a match. I think it would be quite interesting to see how many crosses our players have put in when they've played on the wing, and how successful the crosses were. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...Does anyone else think that we would probably benefit more by moving milner back to the wing, and giving downing a break? How about giving Albrighton a chance? I thought Delph showed last night he is ready and Albrighton should also be seeing some time now on the pitch. |
paul mclafferty
said:
 |
... i am still upbeat about last nights result as i think taking 4 points off man utd in a season is brilliant ask any chelsea,arsenal,or poo fan if they would accept it and i know they would bite your hand off. also it was nice to see saf with a smile on his face knowing he knicked a point against us because if a manager like saf is giving us praise then all is not wrong in the claret and blue half of brum. but even with my tints on, even i can see its time for shitwell to be moved on... |
GPalmer
said:
 |
... Yeah, strange feeling after that game. It shows how far we've come in a couple of years to be disappointed that we only took 4 points off Utd this season instead of 6! It's just frustrating to have created so little playing against ten men for over an hour. I was hoping for more from Downing by now. Him, Ash & Milner just weren't fully present last night, so why MON took off Delph is beyond me. Let's face it, on present form neither of our wingers are going to the World Cup, so why have both of them on the pitch when Delph gives us something different AND looks to have more hunger for it? On the other hand, watching Utd, how many of their players would actually improve our squad? I'd have Rooney & Carrick (and maybe Berbatov on a good day) but otherwise none of them impress me more than most of ours. Goes to show how close we are to being right up there challenging. If only Gabby could pinch some of Rooney's attitude & conviction! |
Damian
said:
|
... ak_27 i think albrighton will get his chance as soon as he is cleared as fully fit again what he did in just a few minutes against brighton should warrant him getting 90 minutes against palace and maybe even a start against burnley - to give either young or downing or milner a rest - after those two games we have a very important game and a little rest for some players we are reliant on would be, i am sure, much appreciated - the fonz for gabby and delph for stan would be nice too now is the time to use the squad properly - 2 games we really should win not needing to play our full strength side |
rocky marciano
said:
 |
... downing is the proof that mon will run the players into the ground before using the squad,he spent months out injured had one or two practice matches and has played every game since.the fonz up top with gabby against palace please mon. |
doubledown9
said:
 |
... I'm happy with the result but obviously disappointed we did not go on to win the match. However, like many have said I would have taken the point before the match and honestly feared a hiding ( after years of it, I do fear the Utd game ). That said, I think MAn U will take more from this then we will going into the final. I would like to think we have seen the last of Carew, if he cannot get motivated against Utd, with a place in a cup final team up for grabs, then he should not be a footballer. Get £5m from some Turkish outfit for him and we have done well. I think MotD had it spot on, we had too much to risk to attack all out. Ok you can say they were down to 10, but with Rooney in the form he is in, in particular last night, he is worth 3 players, even the pessimists amongst you must have understand that we have gained a point, not lost 2; on a night we were a) expected to loose and b) our competition lost. As for those of you saying Lerner should "transfer the debt into more shares in the same way the Man City guys have" or "invest heavily"; for the last time HE IS NOT, NOR HAS EVER BEEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. He was a DOLLAR ($1.5 bn) billionaire when he bought the club, in other words the purchase price over here is quoted at £64 mil, but in the US it is quoted as $120 million, roughly 10% of his net worth. The guys who bought Man City are worth $33 billion, 22 times the amount our chairman is worth, so that 10% of net worth becomes less than half a percent when looked at through their eyes. Face facts people, we have to build slowly, because we are not loaded, yes it is unfortunate that the city takeover happened and changed the game, but you must realize, the top 4 is a glass ceiling. Once broken, it will become easier for other clubs to get into. Think about it, If City get top 4, do you really think Liverpool will just 'go quietly in that good night'. I think not, they will come back strong. Despite their money trouble they were still able to spend £20mil on one player last summer. This will make the top 4 more fluid and with the ongoing turmoil at Man U things will change ( whoever buys man u, will have to take on the best part of a billion pounds of debt, thats a kick it the gut even for someone as wealthy as the City guys), I'm not saying Man U will fade completely, just that their dominance will be reduced. They will have to become more realistic, ie. not spending 30 mil on one player just to sit him on the bench. Damien; I noticed you dug up that quote from the 'former player' about MON's training system. I'm sure I read somewhere that MON only takes the team on Thursdays and it is Robertson for the rest of the week. The idea that a club do not run passing routines or even 5 a sides (effectively the same thing) is laughable. Maybe MON does not do that kind of thing on a Thursday, but I doubt it is not done at all. Read the discourse not just the statement and you see it is a personal attack. Get behind the team for gods sake. I will be at the Burnley game and do not want hear moans and groans for 90 mins, if I did I would simply watch a porno, It would cost less and always has a happy ending. |
Damian
said:
|
... GGGG i dont think anyone is disappointed at only picking off four points off united. i think people are disappointed at the performance |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...i dont think anyone is disappointed at only picking off four points off united. Exactly. |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... i wonder if gardner would have been on the bench last night instead of salifou if he was fit? |
Adey Stuttard
said:
|
... I would go with (for the Palace game): Guzan Beye Cuellar Collins Bouma(?) or Young Delph Sidwell Salifou Young Delfouneso Heskey/Carew with a bench of Friedel, Davies, Downing, Petrov, Gabby, Milner, Young L (if Bouma fit) |
SuperBox
said:
 |
... Damian According to the BBC it was 6 attempts on target a piece. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/h...501875.stm There are lies, damn lies and statistics! |
Damian
said:
|
... SuperBox well - i can only say, i don't remember them and i go by this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/foot...t40X4cFLWM |
GPalmer
said:
|
...i dont think anyone is disappointed at only picking off four points off united. That's what I meant - when Nani was sent off, it looked like a great chance to do the double over them, so we went home thinking it was great to get 4 off them.... but had we played as well as we could've played, it could so easily have been 6. To be in a position to even think that is great! |
Adey Stuttard
said:
|
...SuperBox No match information available! I'll go with SuperBox link then  Any chance of getting the links as a pop-up Damian? |
James Collins is the ginger Paolo Cesare Maldini
said:
 |
... I'd go with... Guzan Beye Cueller Davies Bouma(if fit) Albrighton(if fit) Delph Sidwell Downing(needs more confidence) Carew(needs to sort himself out!) Fonz Fridel L Young Dunne Milner A Young Gabby Heskey |
GPalmer
said:
|
... fromhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/foot...ter-united: Wayne Rooney has scored five more league goals than Villa's three frontline strikers together. I think we need a plan B! |
Damian
said:
|
... 1874AVFC maybe yes - i know you have asked before. but we are looking at a new comment system. it is up here to play with: http://www.worldcup2010southaf...n-scandal/ |
doubledown9
said:
|
... Damien On the chalkboards it shows that United had 15 shots in total to our 10, a difference of 5, 4 of which happened before the sending off. I know this does not excuse our second half no show not putting the best team in the country to the sword, but kind of shows that stats of this kind are meaningless. |
Damian
said:
|
... doubledown9 they are not meaningless - what they tell you is what you want to take from them. what it tells me is that against ten men we didn't create enough chances but it isn't just against united. go back to other matches and you will often find we didn't create enough chances also - the data from those chalkboards come direct from opta - something clubs pay an awful lot of money for to get more in depth information - i am not sure where the BBC get their data from |
Bev
said:
 |
... I was at the game last night, and was impressed with villas start. But please tell me why MON took Delph off?? I think petrov was struggling in the first half, so why didnt they take him of earlier, and why not take off Downing. I really rate MON, but it seems sometimes he sticks with players, even when they are playing crap. Unless there is some major change next season, we shall be forever 6th or 7th finishers, and i am not sure how many villa fans could cope with that! |
robb david
said:
 |
... christ we were playing against the best team in england, we are in with a good shout at pushing for forth, we are in cup final going to wembeley, and we are still in the fa cup. For me this has been an excellent season so far, and it could prove even better when may comes. Our finances are secure, we have the best defence in the league, we have a promising midfield, that are all still relativly young, we have a young forward who has played for england and is still learning his trade. seriosly how can we be negative about the team or this season, of course we would all like a 20million striker to partner gabby, but wouldnt every team? Only arsenal, liverpool, chelsea united and man city have a striker of that quality (van persie, torres, drogba, rooney, tevez.) if we make it to champs leauge im sure we will get the forward we all crave. |
Damian
said:
|
... ronrabbit i dont think anyone is negative about this season - i think everyone is ecstatic that we have made a final - even more so today with the news that ferguson has hinted that he will be resting a few players i also dont think anyone is negative about the players. i think some might be frustrated that some are looking tired i really dont think anyone is being negative. i think people are frustrated that we seem to be very much reliant on teams attacking us and our style of play is very much focused on direct counter attacking football personally, i want to see the football develop and it isn't. i dont think it is negative to say that. i think it is real, it is what is happening. for me, its a fact, not just an opinion and many football pundits are now saying the same thing |
Tj
said:
 |
... We miss a barry type of player to open up teams with good long range passes.. now we just got to play around everyone, goes to slow forward.. thats why young dont hit his peak atm.. we need a midfielder with a good pass and eye |
villarobin
said:
 |
... Damian - Actually yes i am seeing serious investment in the club, and serious improvement in the team. We dont have Abramovich, so for the owner we have and size of the club there has been serious investment. Also are you blind ?? Do you not think the squad is not better than 3 years ago, 2 years ago, even last year ?? So yes Im afraid we totally disagree again Damian - To progress the way we have over the last 3 years and then say we are not improving is definitely NOT 'Realism' I find what you say totally unrealistic 3 years ago we would have lost both matches against Man U and wouldnt have even had a glimmer of hope going into the games. Dont forget that !! |
WinsforVilla
said:
 |
... Let's hope that MON sees fit to start Delfonso and Delph in the cup, and use Albrighton in place of Downing if he's fit. |
robb david
said:
|
... Its starting to get silly on here, lets face some facts: Learner has been nothing but fabulous for this club, he has invested substantially, he has freed up funds for the club to spend on transfers. He is building the club properly, keeping it financaly viable so we dont do a portsmouth, what exactally is wrong with that? MON like it or not is doing an excellent job, im not a fan of o-neill, but he is getting results, we are challenging for honours, we are as close as we have ever been to the champions league. Sometimes he seems to make strange decisions, I think they are strange, but ive got a theory on why they seem strange to us: He is a profesional, highly sought after, manager who knows more about football than all of us on this blog put together, his decisions seem strange because we dont understand them, but other managers/pundits/players never talk about MON's strange decsions, so maybe they seem strange to us, because we all know a collective f*** all about football, and should stop moaning about a manager that has dragged us into a position where we can challenge for silverware, challenge for a champions league space, and be disapointed we didnt beat man utd. |
Christian
said:
|
... Damian, have you got a link for Ferguson saying he might rest some players for the final? I hope he does?! |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... ronrabbit we are discussing last nights performance not where we are right now. By the way if we had Torres or Drogba up front im not sure what difference it would have made. The problem wasn't finishing it was creating and being comfortable and composed on the ball. Our midfield was well beaten last night as it was on the Sat before at Spurs. Now perhaps a part of this is down to our front men's lack of close skill, technical ability or creativity also but to get played off the park for so long in that second half againest a team with 10 men is a bad indictor in my eyes at least. |
Damian
said:
|
... villarobin yes, we have progressed in terms of where we were when lerner took over but finishing 6th isn't a new thing for us. we finished 6th under o'leary - so you could argue that while we have improved we have also just come back to where we were but yes - the squad is better than it was last year and the year before so why didn't we do better last season that the one before and does, because our squad is better, directly mean we will finish better this season? no it doesn't - becasue the football isn't getting better. it isn't just about buying players that are better - it takes more than that you can have the best squad in the world but if it isn't used properly and the football is fairly one dimensional and you continue to not develop, where does that leave you? when i talk about not progressing, i am very specifically referring to the football that is getting played. i dont think anyone can disagree with that or say that the football is getting better you can say that workrate is fantastic and determination is great and that no player ever stops running. all those things i would say are improvements under o'neill and they are a necessary step. i dont think anyone is saying either that it wont get better with o'neill. maybe, with 2 or 3 'top class players' coming in, it might get better. but he needs those top class players and if lerner can not provide them, because as you say 'we dont have Abramovich' then maybe something has to happen in terms of developing the football |
villarobin
said:
|
... ak-27 SO WHAT WITH THE MIDFIELD!! Sometimes they will have a bad game, they dont always get dominated. We drew at Spurs and we Drew last night , we didnt loose , much as im sure you would have liked it if we did... |
Tj
said:
|
... Damian - don't u agree we miss the barry type of player and that is the reason we are out of ideas sometimes? we need mor creativity in midfield! |
villarobin
said:
|
... This was MAN U with 10 men not Burnley. If we were playing Barcelona with 10 men would you take a draw ?? |
Damian
said:
|
... Tj i dont think we miss barry but i think we are missing a robbie keane type player villarobin it doesn't matter who it was with 10 men. we beat manchester united with 11 in december - surely it should be easier against ten men? |
SuperBox
said:
|
... Damian According the Guardian offical match "facts" it was 2 attempts on target for Villa, 3 for United. How many games were going on and were the BBC being generous? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/match/1350960 Time for a spreadsheet to collate the shots data...ohh I've gone cross eyed!  |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...We drew at Spurs and we Drew last night , we didnt loose , much as im sure you would have liked it if we did... Im not the one who is over joyed with a draw againest a 10 man team. Im the person who is annoyed that we couldn't beat them. Those kind of stupid comments by you is just your attempt to avoid discussing the teams performance. Yes or no was it a good performance last night? |
villarobin
said:
|
... Damian - football doesnt work like that and you know it ! Just because we beat them before doesnt mean we should beat them again even with 10 men. |
davidc
said:
 |
... Was it Jorge Valdano who once famously described watching the Chelsea v Liverpool CL semifinal as equivalent to "watching sh&t drip off a stick"? Did the fans of Liverpool or Chelsea care? Of course not, as one of them was going to the final. Its the same with us. Its a results business. I couldn't care less if we bore the pants off people as long as we are keeping clean sheets and doing well (ie getting to a final, still in the fa cup, and only 2 points of 4th place). We need to keep perspective. We've progressed year on year. We will continue to do that. The evidence is there - just open your eyes and see it. |
Damian
said:
|
... davidc absolutely agree with you apart from the year on year progress. we finished 6th the last two seasons. however do you not accept that with our style of football it is only going to get us so far? that to be able to beat teams that are going to sit back, we need to be able to do something else other than wait for them to attack? i am all for results and would happily take 1-0 wins every week - the thing is, we are not getting 1-0 wins every week. we've only had 1 goal since before christmas in the league |
Tj
said:
|
... Damian - we need to have the one that can pass some long passes thats creative and can give us a break, we could also need robbie keane, but we need someone that just can make 1 pass to break up a defence |
GPalmer
said:
|
... Ronrabbit, I think being a Villa fan at the moment is a bit like climbing a bloody great cliff. We've come a helluva long way since we finally got Ellis out, but we seem to be stuck about 10 metres from the top and can't see a route up. We tend to forget what it was like with O'Dreary! Last night was another perfect example of an opponent being able to stop us through knowing exactly how we want to attack. Rather than just swapping wings, I'd like to see Downing & Ash rotating positions with Milner as well during a match. Or pull one of them off and have Delph hit teams through the middle. At least it'd mix things up a bit and make us less predictable. |
Nathan Price
said:
 |
... Anyone else wish we had gone for Adam Johnson instead/aswell as Downing? Still I do think last night was a good result if not a great performance. We now have 39 points left to play for, to be honest we should be able to pick up 30 points from them, theres only Everton (H) Chelsea (A) and Citee(A) that should worry us, the rest we 'should' be able to beat 9 times out of ten. Lets say we pick up 30 points, we would finish on 72. We'd be very unlucky not to get 4th with 72 points, and it would represent a significant improvement on last season. Lets not be so down, we still have a great chance to get 4th, Carling Cup Final and a fantastic chance to go a long way in the FA CUP. That'd be a blinding season! |
rocky marciano
said:
|
... we`re really really close to being a very good side we just need a ....new manager.  only kidding. |
Nathan Price
said:
|
...
Lets just look at the last 4 seasons... 05/06 16th - 42 points 06/07 11th - 50 points 07/08 6th - 60 points 08/09 6th - 62 points This season we only need 20 points from the last 13 games, to better last seasons total. Thats pure stats, not conjecture, not opinion, just fact. Thats not even talking about cup finals or european football. Thats progres surely? |
Damian
said:
|
... PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL unfortunately it isn't about how many points you get it is where you finish in the league as in final position. we could get more points than we did last season and still finish 6th. hell we could finish 7th - would you see that as progress? |
Tim Hodgetts
said:
 |
... I think the football is developing and that at times this season, especially since Milner has moved into the middle, we have passed through teams really well. I also don't think there is anything wrong with playing a lot of counter-attacking football - can't hear anyone (apart from Wenger) moaning too much about the job Chelsea did on Arsenal. Arsenal had virtually all of the possession but never really looked like scoring and just got picked off. Same thing happened against United. I think the football we are playing now is as good as it has been for a long time. It's a fallacy to suggest that we have ever been some kind of Barcelona or Arsenal type team. Under Saunders our method was based on hard work and pace - we certainly weren't thought to be the best footballing side when we won the league in 1981. Likewise the European Cup win. The next real success we had after that was under Taylor in the early 90's - he always played a very physical "up and at'em game" - not for the purists. Under Little we generally played 5-3-2 and it was very much safety first. When was this time when we apparently played the beautiful game?? I absolutely agree that we still need to add more quality and that we are far from the finished article but I just think it is a delusion to suggest that a) there was some time in the past where we were some amazing footballing side and b) that we are not developing as a team. I also agree that last night's second half performance was perhaps a bit timid but I can see why they were cautious. We are right in the mix for top 4, have a reasonable run in (much better than City's), and are seeing Tottenham start to wobble. Liverpool still very dependent on two players. I don't get what there is to be so downbeat about. |
Panos
said:
 |
... Damian, we could get more points than we did last season and still finish 6th. hell we could finish 7th - would you see that as progress? More points than last season, we managed to beat ManU after 26 years or so, same applies for Liverpool, qualified to the League Cup Final, and don't forget only wins against the blues since O'Neill took over. With all due respect, I'd see that as progress compared to O'Leary years. |
Nathan Price
said:
|
...
Yes because we dont have any influence on how other teams perform. If we finish on 64 points and finish 7th we will be a) very unlucky b) still improving. Next season if we dont improve on that then yes you may have a point, until then how can you say were not progressing? |
martins glasses
said:
 |
... listen the premier league is a tough league proberbly the toughest in the world, what do you think the spurs fans and the pool fans are saying this morning! We are not doing badly at all, no game is a forgone conclusion, every team has matchwinners in their squad, even the noses! so if you can grind out points when you are not at your best, that's what this league needs . |
Villatx
said:
 |
... Damian, I do tend to agree that this type of football can only take us so far.. But I do think that it can take us into the fourth spot, however where we go from there is a different story.. So maybe if we get top 4 and attract better players the football will change however if it doesn't what do u suggest we do... Do you think it would be smart to hire a new manager and perhaps break up the chemistry? If we got top 4 or 5 I don't see any way in he'll that would happen. So I guess I'm asking is which do you see is more likely?...MON leaving and someone else coming in to takeus furthur? Or MON changin the way villa plays football? |
Damian
said:
|
... Villatx the more likely, i suspect is martin o'neill leaving and someone else coming in but i cant see that happening for 2 or 3 season of continuing to finish 6th or lower - if we continue to not develop and we start to accept 6th is all we have then we are just turning out like leicester under o'neill with the odd cup run but improvement can come if he has more money. i think it is the wrong way of improving to a degree - because the fundamental problem - our style of football - isn't getting fixed and we would just be throwing money at something to try and cover it up however - i'd love for o'neill to change things about a bit but he is nearly 60 and this style of football has been his trademark and i suspect he is too stubborn to change |
Proxopera
said:
 |
... Damian , a question for you .. if , for the sake of argument, we could have started this season with Wayne Rooney and no other changes to the present squad, would we be in the running for the title ? |
Villatx
said:
|
... Damian, ya I agree that he wouldn't be sacked unless we have 2 or 3 seasons like that and sadly I don't think he would change his style either... I think in his mind...if we can beat Manchester united at old trafford with our stlye of football, then why couldn't we beat teams in the champions leauge...I mean isn't man u one of the best in the world.. And depending on the day I tend to agree with those thoughts or laugh them away champions leauge is about beautiful flowing football and we don't do that often even though we show glimpses of it but on the other hand i think...well hell...if we can beat Chelsea man u and Liverpool with a rock solid defense and counter attacking play, then why couldn't we beat the like is Lyon or Wolfsburg or teams like that I guess we have to take a sort of wait and see approach...if we get top 4 this season it will be with our style of football... Where we go from there is a different story |
Damian
said:
|
... Panos i'm on record, several times, as saying i'd take winning silverware over finishing 5th and even that if we finish 6th or 7th - winning silverware would make this season acceptable if we went backwards and it would be a fantastic feeling however, it is only covering over the cracks, if we do end up standing still or going backwards in terms of final league table individual results against manchester united or any of the top four are insignificant when you lose to wigan but we have only been beaten 5 times this season so it is good but progress, when playing in a league, can not be based on individual performances - only really on where you finish at the end of the season PaulMcGrathsGoneAWOL sorry - i really dont understand how you can say we would be progressing if we finished 7th i understand what you were saying and if the league table was all about how many points you got as an individual tema based on last years points, sure, but that isn't what it is about. it is about where you finish in the table so, if we finish 5th on less points than last season - would that be seen as not improving? Proxopera i dont know. would he have stayed fit? would he have scored the 21 league goals he has scored? would we have played a similar formation to manchester untied? what answer do you want me to give? rooney is a fantastic player, no doubt about it, but he has a midfield behind him that create space, keep the ball, see opportunities that our players might never see, even if they were watching a replay but you want an answer and i'd say no - only because it isn't just about players |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...the more likely, i suspect is martin o'neill leaving and someone else coming in but i cant see that happening for 2 or 3 season of continuing to finish 6th or lower - if we continue to not develop and we start to accept 6th is all we have then we are just turning out like leicester under o'neill with the odd cup run I do think MON will actually try (as he is doing right now) to move us more towards playing like Utd do. But he will do this by bringing in personnel alone and not by perhaps bringing in a different type of coach to help our players become more comfortable on the ball. A lot of Utd fans think that since they lost Queiroz that their team's ability on the ball has actually lessened. I said this last year and I’ll say it again I think we could possibly have coaching issue's. Last night our movement when we had the ball was poor. We created no space and we basically just went over and back across the field like a rugby team with the ball without ever going anywhere. Bringing the right players in will obviously help us in this regard but that is only part of the solution. Coaching and tactical influence from MON during matches also has a big part to play in the improvement of this team. |
Damian
said:
|
... ak_27 that is what i mean about it covering over the cracks. it will help but it isn't going to fix it. |
Proxopera
said:
|
... Damian , my point is that we dont have marquee players to lead the line and maybe our style of play would be different if we had a focal point like Rooney /Torres/Drogba or even Henrik Larsson (in his day) . We play to our strength and we just cant afford to be as cavalier as the likes of spurs & city. What top tier striker is going to pick Villa over our more illustrious rivals and do we risk the current spirit and work ethic within the squad ,(not to mention financial stability )to parachute in some star who could end up like Nilis or worse ...Collymore. Would villa under a pre-utd SAF be any different? |
JR 27
said:
 |
... Good arguments on here today as to whether we have progressed or not. I think that the difference now is that we are capable of attaining 6th at least every season and indeed challenging for 4th; whereas in the past we flirted with 6th and then started to go backwards again as in David O'Leary and Brian Little. I think that Martin O'Neill is building a solid club system that will get better. UTV. |
John Clark
said:
 |
... I think the style of football is one thing. And the players you have playing it are another. Villa are very much the same style as Chelsea, but they have better players overall, hence better results. It wouldn't be the style (it's worked a very long time for the Italians) that fails to take us forward, but the players. And yes, if you're setting out your stall with an Italian philosophy, there will be draws, games where teams pack it in and don't accept the invitation to stretch themselves out. We won't dominate the passing stats. We're still a couple players away, as we all say. When you counterattack, you have to take your chances. There won't always be that many. But if you can defend and keep clean sheets, you don't need many goals. We don't take enough of our chances, and I'd like to see more shots launched and a few better chances created. But this is down to those two players we still lack. |
paul mclafferty
said:
|
... i think i am going to have to stop reading this blog as it iritates me, it has become very clear to me that even if we won the bloody league, champions league cup double, there would be people on here asking why we didnt win the f.a cup aswell!! i am going to say it again as i did pre season, if we finish 7th this season and win a cup, then we have still made forward steps given man city and spurs energence and everton doing what they always do and put in a good second half to the season. the only thing i am worried about however was the bench for cm cover having salifou and shitwell as our only cover was worrying. lets rejoice a bit more lads instead of lambasting all the time.. |
Rob
said:
|
... Here's the remaining games we have to play. Provided we avoid our usual horrendous end of season form then that looks pretty good. We can definitely get a lot of wins out of that! Burnley Hull City Sunderland Stoke City Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers Chelsea Bolton Wanderers Everton Portsmouth Birmingham City Manchester City Blackburn Rovers Question, do you think our recent lack of interest in games is down to the final coming up? Perhaps some players are trying to save themselves for that and are trying to avoid getting injured or busting a gut. |
doubledown9
said:
|
... Off topic a little but, how much do we think Landon Donovan would cost in the summer? |
Paul Theiss
said:
 |
... All of us, including MON, appear to be dissapointed with a draw. United were there for the taking, and we failed to capitalize. But, make no mistake, we're right in the race for fourth. Over the last week, City has lost to Hull, and Spurs have lost to Wolves. We just need to avoid those same sorts of losses. Also, Delph---he is the real deal. I thought he looked fantastic last night. I always felt confident when he got on the ball. |
Aaronstud
said:
 |
... I think people are making WAY too much out of United going down to ten men, have a look around and you'll see that the big teams don't seem to be affected by the loss of a player unless they're against other big teams. Madrid seem to win every time Ronaldo gets sent off, I believe Barca won the other day with 9 men, and United have won this season whilst being down to ten men. All it does is stunt their attack slightly, if they don't lose a defender then it doesn't somehow become easier to breach their defence, and the players on the pitch are still more than capable of out-passing most teams in the league. They still had an entire defence and 90% of their midfield to pass it around, not to mention Rooney. I fail to see how United is a game we're expected to win, 10 men or not, the remaining 10 are all still quality, if anything they got rid of the deadwood in Nani. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...Also, Delph---he is the real deal. I thought he looked fantastic last night. I always felt confident when he got on the ball. I thought he did very well. He kept things simple which was right for his first game againest such oppossition but you can tell he has far more in his arsenal. But how will MON fit him inot the team when Heskey is back? Id be happy if he has at least made himself the 60min sub instead of Sidwell. |
Nigel
said:
 |
... I do honestly believe we have progressed, but not at any significant rate. MON needs to see that we need to invest in a little more quality if we are realistically going to challenge the very best. My problem maybe that I lived through the championship and European Cup winning years, which has set the standard for me. Maybe I'm being a little un-realistic because of our past. Aim for the stars, and you may reach the moon! |
davidc
said:
|
... Some very reasoned arguements on here - which is refreshing to see. I can't understand those who say MoN cannot/will not/is too old to change. From what I can see, last year we were excellent going forwards, scored a lot of goals (especially away from home), but lost points due to conceding silly goals. MoN and his staff obviously saw this, addressed it brilliantly by buying/building the best back 4 we've had down the Villa for 10 years+. Now, the point is, its all about balance. Yes, the balance isn't perfect currently. But, as the league table and our cup results show, we're a lot closer to being the finished product than some people will allow. My view for what its worth, is the clamour for a creative midfielder is misplaced. We've been crying out for one of those since Sid hung up his boots. The broken link in the chain is a uninterested/underperforming Carew. Solve that conundrum and top 4 is a shoe-in. |
Greg Hill
said:
 |
... Just thawed out from last night. It was freeeeeezing. But… At last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, at last, Mon plays a three man central midfield with Delph in it. Euuuuureka. Had to wait since the Wigan disaster when Delph was hung out to dry for MON to see this. I still I agree with the points about the performance that have been well put by Ak. But a ray of hope here for me. Delph is the real deal. He’s Sidesque in some of the things he does. But it’s taken an Heskey injury to have this forced upon him so I’m not sure whether to praise, not praise or issue feint praise. For me the game was ruined by the sending off. Initially we had a plan and were passing better. Afterwards the players didn’t know what to do and were more likely to be beaten as the game progressed. Mon gave no leadership. They didn’t know what to do. We weren’t playing particularly badly – simply had no brief. BFR would have had his players scampering after them. Terrible entertainment, and certainly not worth my 200 mile round trip. Save for the fact that here, perhaps, we had stage one. Delph in a three man midfield. |
Andi
said:
 |
... News flash harry up to his old tricks: Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric have been released on unconditional bail after being charged with tax evasion. taken form skysports |
VillaDude
said:
 |
... GIGGS OUT OF LEAGUE CUP FINAL... Bit of good news..he played really well with Rooney yesterday... |
Darragh McGeown
said:
 |
... It may be premature of me to be looking ahead to next season but I really think that Downing will come in his own (remember young took a season to settle), delph will be a regular starter as will the fonse, Davies will be coming back as good cover across the back, brigthers will be good cover on the wing, bouma back fit again. Replace sidwell, carew and salifou with a bit more quality. I have to say, I'm quite happy with that. MON is building a strong squad which builds from the back and on that basis, he's done a great job so far and anyone who says otherwise is blind. Yes, this run we are on has been littered with poor performances but, and its a big but, we are still picking up points. In seasons gone by this sort of run would have lead to us plummetting down the table, but not this year. 2 points off 4th with a game in hand. Surely you can't say that that's not progress. |
StickyAV
said:
 |
... Sidwell??????????? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH your shit. As much as i love mon and stick up for him, I hate sidwell and do not understand what he sees in him. His passing was poor, defending was poor, he gives away free kicks. He is crap. And I tipped him to be a great signing for us. How wrong I was. A draw is a good result though. I know everyone moans about subs but I think I'd rather we kept the team in the first half. Delph has some skills. Needs to eat some pies. Someone get that boy on Gabby's diet. |
VillaDude
said:
|
... Poor Sidwell, everything he tried yesterday failed. I even thought he was trying to foul on purpose! He really has no motivation at villa - 50k a week and happy to just sit there. Why MON thought Sidwell was worth keeping and sold Gardner was crazy! |
Steve Oldaker
said:
 |
... dissapointing performance last night and in general the last few weeks have not been inspiring but we did'nt lose last night so 4th is still a possibility . cuellar superb again but so was freidel (he has to play in the final) and delph very unlucky to be subbed too oh by the way my wembley tickets have arrived ! |
Paul Theiss
said:
|
... doubledown9: Off topic a little but, how much do we think Landon Donovan would cost in the summer? Here, he is the face of the league, which is loath to sell him. He also just signed a new contract. So it would take the right offer, plus a bit more---probably about 8-10 million. He is quality, though--easily the best American player. People seem to like Dempsey a bit over in England, and we do here as well, but he isn't on Donovan's level. Frankly, I would prefer Donovan to Downing. |
Rob
said:
|
... A lot of people are forgetting we have a game in hand over Spurs and Liverpool. We just need to keep pace and avoid our usual horrendous run. We've just got through two very tough months, from here on in the fixtures are a bit easier (on paper!). |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
...Delph has some skills. Needs to eat some pies. Someone get that boy on Gabby's diet I don't think he really needs to bulk up that much. He reminds me of Diarra or even Claud Makelele that played for Chelsea. They weren't huge but had the heart and bite which Delph seems to have. |
Steve Oldaker
said:
|
... the cross field ball that delph played in the first half last night was superb |
BobbyPark
said:
|
... Getting to the Champions League is one thing but doing anything when we get there is another. In many ways we are a very static team with players having to think to long when playing or receiving a pass. CSK Moscow and Rapid Vienna both played a very quick short passing game like Man U and Arsenal and we couldn't cope with it. Although not strictly long ball MON has an old fashioned way of playing football which is unlikely to succeed in European competition, even with better players, if he gets us top 4 (I have my doubts) we could be in for a rude awakening in the Champions League. think cup runs is as good as it will get with MON, and if its 6th again this year and no progress next it may be curtains for him. |
OhioVillan
said:
 |
... Giggs out of Carling Cup Final with a broken arm.....and who said Sidwell was useless!!!?? |
frem
said:
 |
... a midfielder with a good eye. how about ozil, ireland or vandar vaart. we also need another winger. someone with pace who can take on 1 or 2 players. shaun wright philips or even walcot. and 2 strikers. someone with pace, runs the channels and works hard. vagner love or rodeaga from wigan. |
Proxopera
said:
|
...MoN and his staff obviously saw this, addressed it brilliantly by buying/building the best back 4 we've had down the Villa for 10 years+. Whats our best CH pairing ever ?? McGrath/Teale Calderwood/staunton Southgate/ehiogu Dunne /Cuellar Ok ..I'm takin the piss with Calderwood/staunton |
Proxopera
said:
|
...Giggs out of Carling Cup Final with a broken arm.....and who said Sidwell was useless!!!?? I said it Ohio .. he was sent on to get Rooney !! |
THE AV VILLAN
said:
 |
... Frem really another winger and 2 strikers?????? Have some faith!!!! We have 3 of the best English wingers and Gabby for pace upfront. UTV!!!! |
Rattus NorVillicus
said:
 |
... I'm as frustrated as the next man. Yes, I'd like to see MON do this, that, and the other, and i complain about it like a good'n. But getting in the top four is a nigh on impossible task. Only Everton have ever done it, and they then promptly went into meltdown for a season. To say MON has taken us as far as he can based on the premise that we know more about football than he does, is not realistic. |
robb david
said:
|
... I really don't get this blog sometimes, it was man utd last night, the champions of england, who got to the champions league final. They have wayne rooney up front, the player nailed on to get premiership player of the year. When Nani went off man utd went defensive, evra and rafeal never went forward in an effort to stop our wing play, and it worked. Both teams cancelled each other out, and yes they had ten men, but look at the quality of those ten men, they finished the game with rooney and berbatov up top, that is 60million pounds worth of attacker, that utd payed. They could sell rooney for 80million easy, that makes a front line worth 110million. OF course we had to surrender some of our attacking play to stop them from scoring, if we hadnt then we would have seen a repeat of anfield last year, when we decided to attack and let our centre backs deal with gerrard and torres, 5 goals latter and we all moan and say we should have looked after gerrard better by getting the midfield to track back more. MON knows what he is doing, all those who say he has taken us as far as he can, who would you prefer? By your logic it has to be a proven champions league manager who will be willing to come and manage at villa park |
robb david
said:
|
... a midfielder with a good eye. how about ozil, ireland or vandar vaart. we also need another winger. someone with pace who can take on 1 or 2 players. shaun wright philips or even walcot. and 2 strikers. someone with pace, runs the channels and works hard. vagner love or rodeaga from wigan. Is this the most unrealistic list of players we have ever had posted on here? All those players are either on to much money, or are simply not that good, milner, young and downing are all better than swp. rodeallga? seriously? Vagner love as discussed before would be awsome only on the basis he could die his dread locks claret and blue. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
 |
... ronrabbit, I agree. Last night I posted that i thought MoN got it absolutely right. He must have said to the lads when a man up; "don't do anything silly". After all ManU are one of the best three teams in the world even with 10 men. When you have an hour to play against 10 men your first priority is to not concede (always number one in any book). The second would be to tire the opposition so that if a goal is required you can go all out for it in the last five to ten minutes. Sralex used his subs to good effect in keeping their attacking momentum going right to the end, fortunately they were unsuccessful. The game last night was quite wonderful to watch, tactically MoN got the better of Sralex. Player for player we were their equals at least, in fact many of our players were head and shoulders above theirs. If we carry on like this we will be challenging for the title next year or the year after. As someone asked above; where do we go from there? I suppose we will just have to win it then. |
frem
said:
|
... how can u say that downing is better than swp ronrabbit ? downing has no pace, not much skill, cant beat his man and his crossing has been disappointing. swp gives hell to wing backs. vagner love is a top striker and if villa want to go places we need to pay higher wages. rodeaga is more effective then carew and heskey. vdv, a star player we need. 70 odd grant a week, probably more, one player on this wont hurt. i know you will go on to say ' it will upset the dressing room''  but they have to realise that some players are on more then them and better. |
African Lion
said:
 |
... AK-27 said: I said this last year and I’ll say it again I think we could possibly have coaching issue's. Last night our movement when we had the ball was poor. We created no space and we basically just went over and back across the field like a rugby team with the ball without ever going anywhere. Now here is a bit of insight. Most of us are happy with Lerner and the general direction of the club. We feel it is being solidly managed financially. As a businessman myself I can see it anyway. MoN is recognised in the game as a good 'man manager' getting the most out of his players etc. I mean just how brave and committed are our defenders? Tactically however... I said it before too I feel that there is a feel of the Cloughy Nottingham Forest about us. Fine, OK, BUT times have changed. It just don't work beyond a certain level any more. Is Robertson, who after all spends the most time with the players really good enough for Champs league competiion, players and tactics? |
frem
said:
|
... ronrabbit - if we are playing sidwell 50 grand a week, why cant we pay 70 or 80 grand a week. if sidwell is worth that much, vdv or ireland are worth double it. |
OhioVillan
said:
|
... Giggs out of Carling Cup Final with a broken arm.....and who said Sidwell was useless!!!?? I said it Ohio .. he was sent on to get Rooney !! Fingers crossed "Shrek" pulls a hammy or something before the final... |
robb david
said:
|
... swp gives hell to poor full backs against a player that can defend he is poor, why do you think a actual world class manager (mancini) hasn't started him a single time. To the wages, because we have a wage structure, which is what keeps us from going the same way as portsmouth or leeds. Vagner Love is not that good, Cska have loaned him out twice, and he has been sent back because he hasn't cut it in some really poor leagues. How can you talk about wanting some class players, and then go on about a very average forward in rodallega, just because he offers more than carew atm or hesky doesn't mean he is champions league quality. van der vaart has already said he will only move to germany because of his wife, he is also not the player we need. IF vdv came in it would just put, young, milner or downing on the bench, what we really need is a partner for gabby, a link forward, like tevez or arshavin. The only player i can think of who would be a realistic target is krasic from cska, although i dont think he is a MON type player. |
robb david
said:
|
... Tactically however... I said it before too I feel that there is a feel of the Cloughy Nottingham Forest about us. Fine, OK, BUT times have changed. It just don't work beyond a certain level any more. Is Robertson, who after all spends the most time with the players really good enough for Champs league competiion, players and tactics? Name one single realistic management target with the champions league experience you so crave. Every manager at one time had no experience at building a league winning side, should man utd have over thrown their back room staff 4 years after fergy came in because he had no experience at winning the premiership? If that happened their would never be any new managers in the champions league |
African Lion
said:
|
... Ronrabbit; Now now. I am on your side in many ways. I am very positive about us and our growth. I am behind MoN because I have supported the club since 1960 and I have seen very little to give me as much long term( not Docherty, BFR) confidence as I have now. We should stick with him. Mon is in a difficult stage. In short, as we discuss it here. Top four = Champs league= cash and kudos =A list players= success and the cycle is self supporting. Hence the continuing "sky four". But on the downside their financial fears.Out of Champs league is a disaster for them. Over leveraged. My point is that our style of play which has been sussed, at the present time, is over playing our squad and is lacking in creativity. We are over achieving at the present because of man management but we will need to change if we are to progress. By change I mean be more tactically creative. E.G.Currently we have some promising youngsters but not using them at the expense of our fixed eleven. It seems that the coaching staff have a fixed approach and if one player is more experienced, or trusted to fulfil a DESIGNATED role he gets the nod. Why not change the role? To counter your Fergie analogy Fergueson used his youngsters and bloodied them alongside his experienced players. We do not. Why? I hope that clarifies my view. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
|
... Hey guys, I just saw this on another villa fansite: http://astonvilla-views.com/20...obs-nose/? This bloke says it how it is. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
|
... Ha ha ha, it would appear that Villa have really caught peoples' attention, click the link. http://www.101greatgoals.com/a...ns/47630/? |
robb david
said:
|
... I just wrote a really detailed post, and it came up as that above, i really cant be arsed to retype it, please fill in gaps with a very articulate post, that put all your arguments straight to bed |
Steve Badger
said:
 |
...Hey guys, I just saw this on another villa fansite: Dead right, because it's a proper fan saying it. But because it's on our side, it'll probably be dismissed as "PR". I've kept my nose out today because I'm f**king sick to death of hearing how shit we are. We play shit and will never be any good unless we risk all and invest stupid amounts of money. Bollocks. I asked a question last night. It was "when was the last time you were happy with the Villa?" No answer said it all for me. I'll say it again. League cup final, possible semi in the FA cup, as good as we've done against Manure in 54 years and still in with a shout of CL. Best season for ages. But we're still shit. Ron and Andy, keep up the fight, but I suspect you're banging your heads against a wall on here. I feel the only good thing about Damian lately is he has the sense to not ban people too rashly. As you can see, I've got the right hump  I'll be back, but I don't see me debating much in the next few days. It's a waste of time when the blogger is so one sided in setting the tone |
neil-bangor
said:
 |
... I agree, Badger. Too much arsehole comments. Best team and manager in ages. Dunne will be player of the year  |
John C
said:
 |
... I think some of you need to lie back and enjoy the rest of the season. We have a cup final and a really enticing run of fixtures til the end of the season. A good run of form will take us very close to 4th place. 4th place can open up massive revenue streams that could provide the opportunity to move the squad to a higher level. A high quality striker is the key. Peter Withe completely changed the dynamic of the team in 1980. The year before the team were very hard to beat, but did not score enough goals. However the premier league is much more difficult than the the old 1st division, where our main challengers at the time were Ipswich. Considering the fixtures we have played we are in a stong position. It probably will not happen but, we have a realistic chance of making a breakthrough this year. Even Damien will be happy then. |
Nathan Price
said:
|
... Badger Im with you as I said above, comment 61, I think theres a great potention for this to be one of our best seasons in 20 years. |
Adey Stuttard
said:
|
... Badger, Ouch!! I might be an eternal optimist but I agree with every word you say, there are far too many negative posters on here (maybe kids that have only known the last few years?), but I for one am ecstatic with our last couple of seasons. I remember walking out early at 2 D'OL games (Wigan and Boro) at home in 2005 and I thought my club was going to be relegated - it ain't that long ago, and things have changed so much WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD TO SUPPORT VILLA in these times. Wemberley, come on let's get some positive vibes going!! |
Pat The Rat
said:
 |
... Really who care's what why Villa PLAY,yes it would b great if we could walk the ball into the NET every game like Arsenal do,but me,i'd rather b in CUP FINALS & wandering what's going 2 happen next,eg the B,burn game.What would u guys Really WANT??? |
Damian
said:
|
... Badger who has said we are shit? you are the first person to use that word to describe the team that way today - nobody else, just you. i dont think anyone would say we are shit. i think what some woudl say is martin o´neill has taken us as far as he can, but we are 7th in the top flight - that is a long way from been shit i answered your question last night, 14 minutes after you asked it and i had already answered it in the original post. feeling happy about aston villa, for me, isn´t dependent on 90 minutes of football. and nobody is saying we wont be any good unless we risk aĺl either - you again are the one saying that - nobody else. as for investing stupid amounts of money - what, you dont think it is all stupid amounts of money already? look - nobody is unhappy about our progress in both the competitions and nobody would be unhappy if we won our game in hand and ultimately finished 5th in the league but some dont think it is going top happen with the style of football that is getting played - are people not allowed to have that opinion? you clearly do, but a lot more people every match are getting more and more frustrated with the football so there is every possibility that after a game or two more you might become a little disillusioned also and you cant deny it as a possibility, because if you did, then you position would be made perfectly clear the thing is, most, if not all want it to work with o´neill but some accept that it might not unless some things change. you dont seem to be able to accept that it is even possible that o´neill has taken as far as he can and that is just blinkered but why get so stressed over it - just wait until the end of the season and when we have finished 5th - you´ll be able to act all smug and tell us all you were right |
rocky marciano
said:
|
... the worst thing about this blog is if you are remotely negative you get attacked by the positive crew,thought the point on here was to discuss etc. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Damian, you just can't see it mate, imo. I don't have a problem with critisising the Villa, I've done it myself many times. But when do you actually post anything positive to balance things? i answered your question last night, 14 minutes after you asked it and i had already answered it in the original post. feeling happy about aston villa, for me, isn´t dependent on 90 minutes of football. You'll have to quote this one, because there's no way I'm going back to reading that. I wanted to top myself, when I was originally pretty happy. The odd couple of words that suggests you are happy is not enough. Nowhere near, imo. How about just for once, you say something along the lines of "Well it was shit, but what a result!"? The only time I've seen you anywhere near that is when we qualified for the LC final (which imo, is nothing compared to top 4, but there you go). but a lot more people every match are getting more and more frustrated with the football Really? Go and look on other Villa sites. Whilst it gets mentioned, it's very much secondary to the results. No one goes on about it as much as this site and you should ask yourself why that is. You start it all the time. Yes, we were shit in the second half last night but you never mentioned that we were better than them for a good part before the red card. Why? I'd suggest it's either because it doesn't suit your agenda or it's because you simply don't see us as being any good at all. There is a third option there, but I hope it's not true and won't say it. |
Simeon
said:
 |
... "When they had the man sent off, I was hoping we'd be able to take the initiative." Martin O'Neill. Says it all really. 'I was hoping...', as opposed to 'I changed things around so that...'. Even if it was a case of 'I was believing...' then we would have probably won, because Man Ure, contrary to the received wisdom, really aren't all that, and when you have a team that, at the kick-off is, man for man, stronger than the opposition (as we were), and then is given a man advantage on top of that, it will take a fairly almighty cock up not to win. But, as expected, an almighty cock-up is exactly what we got from O'Neill. Tactically inert and tactically inept, with no belief, but only 'hope', whatever that is. And who looked more likely to win? Had the Red Scum won, 'almighty cock-up' wouldn't even have come close to describing the horror. Martin O'Neill said he was "hoping we'd be able to take the initiative" when Nani was red-carded. My guess is that he was really hoping we wouldn't lose, and from what we saw in the second-half, it would make perfect sense if O'Neill's teamtalk was, verbatim, "I hope you don't lose this one lads". You have to laugh. |
Damian
said:
|
... rocky5 some people call them the o´neill apologists but i suspect badger is having a bard time at work or home or something isn´t going to plan because he seems to be getting increasingly frustrated. or it could be that he knows the football could do with getting better and he doesn´t want to admit it after putting so much faith in o´neill either way, come the end of the season, if we are 5th or higher he will be a smug git. if we are not, i will be asking him if he is happy standing still or going backwards and asking him how he thinks it could get better it is open and it is for debate and everyone has a unique opinion but the football last night was poor - even badger would have to admit that |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Rocky5, the worst thing about this blog is if you are remotely negative you get attacked by the positive crew,thought the point on here was to discuss etc. That's utter rubbish imo. Look at our position atm. Re-read this bit; League cup final, possible semi in the FA cup, as good as we've done against Manure in 54 years and still in with a shout of CL. I think I'm a postive on the whole, but have dished plenty of negative stuff out too. Go and look if you like. MON has lots of faults, Sidwell is shit, as is Heskey imo. But look at our actual position in that quote. Man U, Arse and pool are not in the position we are in. Some of you need to get real. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...something isn´t going to plan That's really weak Damian. You and I both know that offered this position at the start of the season, you'd have grabbed it happily. I'm tending to that third way atm. With that, I'm off, hoping that you might give us that encouragement we could do with imo |
robb david
said:
|
... I used to be on the band wagon with ak and taglor and i had detailed arguments with people on here that we didn't show any progress last year, ill still argue that point. What is getting to me is that we know have made progress and people just don't appreciate it. I was with the moaners complaining about summer signings, but i know hold my hands up and say MON knows best, we might not have brought the marque player, but we have brought the best defence in the league, and an attacking unit full of pace and power. I have confidence o-neill will address the gabby partner issue in the summer, just the same way he addressed the defensive issue, and the squad size issue. Maybe he doesn't do it with the haste some would like, but get this novel idea, maybe football management isnt as easy as it is on championship manager, where the world is denoted by arbitrary values between 1 and 20. We are a quality side, we are in a good league position, we are in both cup competitions still, we are on our way to wembeley, we have finally started to play against the top teams. Ive said it before if all you care about is pretty football, go and support arsenal. For me football is about my team, and watching my team win. Thats all i really care about, and i dont give two shits about how many passes we put together. No real fans care about style because at that moment when gabby smashes the ball past van der saar in the 94th minute at wembeley to secure our cup victory, no one thats ever been to villa park will give two f**ks about the long ball hoofed up by ricky dunne, or the botched flick on by hesky, because they will be overwhelmed by undescrible emotions of joy. |
Simeon
said:
|
... According to the Daily Mail (the closest thing we have to a football Oracle by the way...) Gabby was sent for a scan on a foot injury. He is, by a million miles, our most important player, because every single other player we have is replaceable from within the squad. Gabby isn't, and if he is injured, it will expose the myth that we have a strong squad. We might have decent cover in goal, two (count 'em!) right backs, more centre-backs than O'Neill knows what to do with, and a bunch of average central midfielders, but what have we got up front? Heskey (which is surely now an adjective as well as noun), a unfit/demotivated (delete as applicable) Carew, and a kid with enormous talent in whom O'Neill apparently has slightly more faith than in Marlon Harewood. |
Damian
said:
|
... Badger - what is the positive you want me to post about from last night; that until they had a player sent off, we were doing okay? Okay, hands up, I didn´t post that, I commented on it and Tweeted it, but I didn´t put it in my post last night. What other positive from last night have I missed and why is it that it has to be either positive or negative - isn´t there a middle ground? About me quoting my response to your question, I´m not going there. You made a statement in your comment earlier I asked a question last night.when you didn´t even have the decency to check if I had answered and just assumed i didn´t, when i did, 14 minutes after you asked it - why should i show you the respect to go copy and paste it for you? but i think i have identified where our differences are. you seem to be happier with top four while i am happier with silverware. i think that is why you are frustrated and why you bring up my ¨agenda¨. i dont have an agenda, but i have a desire to see aston villa win the league in my life time and win as much silverware as possible - you will be happy breaking into the top four. sure you will argue that it is a stepping stone but that is just another excuse for me but take that all away. the football, when you look at the teams like united, chelsea, aresenal and liverpool - the teams i think will finish in the top four places - they all play much better football even man city are playing better football and everton are starting to look much better now. if it clicks again for spurs - who knows where our brand of fooball will find us. but chill out. wait until the end of the season. we have a league cup final coming up and while your focus is very much on the league - for me, winning sivlerware will make my season, because i accept we wont get top four with the football. and when you look at it that way - i cant be disappointed - you can and chances are you will. now, what would you prefer at the end of the season? |
rocky marciano
said:
|
... no its not rubbish badger and i wasnt aiming a dig at you i know your usually on a level but not everyone is happy with the shower of shit we see week in week out .joke badger. i was happy with a point last night and against spuds but i don`t enjoy watching the way we`re playing |
Damian
said:
|
... Badger as for me not seeing it - it isn´t just me and i actually think it is you not seeing it. marky mark said we are one dimensional alan hansen said we play a direct counter attacking stlye andy gray said long ball on sky the other night these are football pundits all saying pretty much the same thing and that is we are playing a style of football that really doesn´ work - certainly not against the teams that dont come at us - we have no alternative - that was shown to us last night when we were playing against 10 men for an hour and we had 1 shot on target arsene wenger has said it this season and two mangers, zico and the west brom manager, said it last season ... |
robb david
said:
|
... but take that all away. the football, when you look at the teams like united, chelsea, aresenal and liverpool - the teams i think will finish in the top four places - they all play much better football Im sorry did you see the liverpool game last night? Did you see the liverpool game agaisnt stoke? Did you see liverpool against us? They play terrible football, they basically have a goal keeper 8 defenders, gerrard and torres. When Chelsea won the league they played boring football, so boring abramovich got rid of 'the special one' because the football wasnt exciting enough. Arsenal play good football, very good football, but when did they last win anything? oh i remember when they had henry up top who they played long balls over the top to, vieria and petit in the middle to break up play (which seems to now be deemed dull). this football argument is bollocks, Oh my god we didnt beat a ten man man utd side, its the end of the world, we will never be a league winning side if we cant beat man utd week in week out. Its time to can this stupid football argument, this is the only blog where anyone goes on about it. Also the bloody football has improved this season, its far better than last year. Jesus f**king christ, we are nearly 3/4 way through the season and we have been beaten convincingly once at the emirtates, due to a master class by one of the best players in the world. that is it, sure we haven't got the results we would want every time, but the only match where we have been really outplayed was arsenal away, now if that's crap boring football, go and watch ice hockey, maybe that will be exciting enough for you. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Damian, This was your response to the question "when was the last time you were happy with the Villa?". strange question, but the answer is tonight. my happiness isn´t reliant purely on success or final league position. my happiness doesn´t just rest on 90 minutes of football. like i suggested above - it is more than that Like I said, no answer. I'll ask the same question again. When was the last time you were happy with the Villa? Maybe you can clarify. As you suggest, it's not about 90 mins either, I'm on about generally. |
Damian
said:
|
... ronrabbit the season isn´t about individual games and yes, i did see the liverpool arsenal match today - it was a very entertaining match when i say it is not about individual games, what i mean is, it is about a season and at the end of that season, the league table doesn´t lie. if you win the league - you deserve to. if you come second, third or fourth - that is exactly where you deserve to finish lets just wait and see who finishes in the top 4 shall we. it might even be man city and if that happens, well, i will be wrong, but if they do, liverpool will be 5th so the best we can hope for would be 6th and well, we just have to hope that everton dont catch us and spurs dont start to click again |
Damian
said:
|
... Badger it was an answer - just not the one you wanted to hear but, i was happy last night - i said so in the post. i was happy this morning - i said so in my post. i was really happy when we beat blackburn. i was happy, really happy, watching the reserves beat chelsea when was the last time you were happy? |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... ron, but take that all away. the football, when you look at the teams like united, chelsea, aresenal and liverpool - the teams i think will finish in the top four places - they all play much better football Amen mate. Us Villa fans are a mixed bunch, but all the negs congregate here. But of course, they get picked on |
rocky marciano
said:
|
... if the only match we`ve been outplayed in was arse away wouldn`t we be top of the league |
Proxopera
said:
|
...70 odd grant a week, probably more, one player on this wont hurt. i know you will go on to say ' it will upset the dressing room''smilies/cry.gifsmilies/cry.gifsmilies/cry.gif but they have to realise that some players are on more then them and better. Frem , this is the type of logic that has fooked up Leeds ,portsmouth and possibly Liverpool. Villa are doing it the right way and wage structures are important for the good of the entire squad. Look around you man at whats happening to the glamour clubs. Its easy to say pay them the wages they want when you're not signing the cheques . Would Villa fans pay 20- 30% extra on tickets , and merchandise to fund the shenanigans of spoilt chavs ,...i think not. Oh and by the way , I warned you before about steven ireland , seriously mate he aint playing with the full deck , he's a liability . |
African Lion
said:
|
... ...Ron rabbit said: I just wrote a really detailed post, and it came up as that above, i really cant be arsed to retype it, please fill in gaps with a very articulate post, that put all your arguments straight to bed Brilliant! I am humbled by your cogent debate. |
www.weneedastriker.com
said:
 |
... The last time i was happy as an Aston Villa Fan was when we beat Blackburn 6-4 and i ran on the pitch, running straight to the Holte end, with 'Que Serra Serra'' playing on the tannoys. Magic We all want progress. Thats what being a fan is all about, but the teams above us have fantastic individual players, which we do not possess. Until MO'N signs players like them, we will always be a very good team, not a great one.That is where we are lacking. That aside, it's the best bunch of players we have had in years Im over the moon we are going to Wembley ( i have a ticket woo hoo ) and we are in the mixer for the 4th Champs League space. So to summarise, i am a happy Aston Villa Fan. |
Rod Bentley
said:
 |
... Stephen Warnock for England, vote here http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/poll/2010/feb/11/left-back-england-world-cup |
Rod Bentley
said:
|
... "Away from White Hart Lane they have played Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal 66 times without victory" Try being a Spurs fan Damien There's something to be miserable about. The record books won't remember how you played, just whether you won, pretty, ugly, lucky, effective, fluked - ain't in the stats. |
James
said:
 |
... ronrabbit is my new hero. He bases his opinions and judgements on what he sees. Simple. But unsusual on here. He is not selling his line. (And I am as guilty of this as anyone) He made demands of MON and Villa as he says. MON/Villa met them, so he is happy. There are not many like him. Not many of us are big enough for that. Respect. |
Nathan Price
said:
|
...Im sorry did you see the liverpool game last night? Well said Ron Rabbit, I read a review of Arsenal (v Lpool) which said they were as pleasing on the eye as conjuctivitis. Chelsea play the same way as us but are just better at it than we are. Manure played how we play for about ten seasons but won everything. I cant understand why people on here think we will alsways be garbage until we play like Barcelona, they are the only team in the world (xpt brazil) that can play like that every week and still win. But just look at their midfield and you'll see why they can play like that. |
Write comment
Latest Aston Villa Wallpaper
Follow Us
More Posts
- New kit coming and Laursen on Gabby
- Milner back, Webcam staying and we are drawing a line
- The sun is shining, time to cash in on James Milner
- James Milner wants to be Citeh’s Habib Beye
- Peterborough video and Aiden McGeady rumour quashed
- Keane in talks, Petrov talking McGeady, warning for Milner from Downing and fantasy football time
- Sell to buy might not be so bad, new rumours, some news and a new kit
- New kit, Gabby talks the talk and Ashton and Bentley
- Pre-season, speculation, Martin O'Neill and Steve Froggatt
- Someone is in trouble: Aston Villa show interest in South Korea international Cho Yong-hyung
Lucozade Sport on Facebook
Lucozade Sport loves Football as much as we do. They’ve been fuelling Aston Villa players for over 15 years and using this expertise to support amateur Footballers across the country. Visit their Facebook page for expert advice, video clips and Football chat. 
Login
Latest AVFC Blog Tweets
AVFC Blog
avfcblog
- follow:
- updates:2942
- followers:496
Loading...
Last 4 tweets in past 30 days from avfcblog:
People talking about '@avfcblog':
Leaving Comments
Only registered users can post comments without the need for it to be approved. Registration is free and takes two minutes so if you want your comments to show up straight away click here to register.
Get your online avatar
This blog is Gravatar friendly. That basically means, if you use Gravatar and leave a comment, as long as it's the same email address you registered at both sites, we'll show your avatar. It's a cool little site, we like it. Register here! The Internet is Changing
Featured on Aston Villa Central
