Written by Damian Tuesday, 20 October 2009 08:48
Morning all. Yesterday I went to a college in the morning to answer a few questions on English culture and in the afternoon I was asked to talk on a webinar about the impact of social media in the workplace. The first question I was asked after my little talk was 'how do you manage the use of social media in the work place' and if anyone can give me the right answer to that, I'll get you drunk.
Those are my excuses. That and there really was nothing to write about yesterday that you didn't already know and as it turns out it turned out quite a nice thing as every comment made yesterday was a positive one and I'm in a positive mood at the moment and it's all good.
But today, we've got a little bit to look at and while not all is directly Aston Villa, it's all football and I fancy there will be a fair bit if discussion over some of the points.
First up, to some news. Stewart Downing has said that he expects to be back training in mid November and he hopes to play about a month after that. It's good news, that he is coming back as he was an expensive player and I know some will say Webcam could probably do with a little break but we all know O'Neill doesn't like to drop players and I'm not sure where he is going to play at the moment.
As long as we keep winning, I can't see O'Neill changing anything. I think we might come unstuck with Wolves up next as they're not going to play like Man City or Chelsea - they will likely sit back and wait for us and we don't have the personnel to play that way. Has it all just made sense?
It could very well be that Downing is in the side to be that type of player. It might be. I'm not saying he is, but he might be. I'm not convinced that he is that type of player but if I were to have scored James Milner last season it would have been a five, today it is a seven.
I'd like a little more from Milner, but I'm now in the 'he's still young, it will happen' zone when it comes to his crossing, but he is like a faithful dog that you know will run and run for you. If you were to send him out to fetch something, you know he's going to get it eventually, even if he has to stay out all night in the rain without dinner, he'll search and search and you'll likely call him in to sit by the warm fire and dry off before he will give up.
Moving on and I've touched on Wolves. We'll have a match preview in a day or two so I won't go too deep into it, but it is going to be a different match, mostly because Wolves are playing for something else. If O'Neill changes things around, I think it would be a positive sign because we have to play differently against these teams, but we'll know on Saturday.
Statistics as of October 20th 2009
- 21st: Gabby Agbonlahor - 128 points
- 48th: Brad Friedel - 104 points
- 57th: Ashley Young - 100 points
- 58th: James Collins - 100 points
- 64th: Richard Dunne - 93 points
- 68th: Carlos Cueller - 90 points
Top 10 Keepers
- 2nd: Brad Friedel - 104 points
We don't have any players in the top ten for any other position this week, but we are close and I fancy James Collins and Richard Dunne are probably going to finish the season in it. Stan Petrov and James Milner have dropped out of the top 100 since the last time we did this on September 29th.
Right, it turned out to be all Aston Villa and while I could post something about Emile Heskey using his mobile phone during dinner or the rumour that some Chelsea players would be interested in him joining in Janaury (football really has gone mad if rumours like this are getting passed off and accepted), I won't, instead I will ask, was the Ridgewell tackle fair? I think so, but I'm from the time when football was football. But right now, I have pig or bird flu, so I must go back to bed.
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Chris Harper
said:
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... Downing- Can't wait to see him play. He's got a sweet cross on him and doesn't keep turning back and forth a dozen times (Young). That really annoys me. I bet the forwards are just thinking....'for f**k sake just get it in!' Petrov- How he's dropped out of the top 100 god only knows, he has been class last few games! Heskey- I'd laugh my backside off if he goes to Chelsea (and be happy for Chiefy, the chief Emule slater!)  |
Daniel Wilson
said:
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...I'd like a little more from Milner, but I'm now in the 'he's still young, it will happen' zone when it comes to his crossing but he is like a faithful dog that you know will run and run for you and when you send him out to fetch whatever he was sent out to fetch, you know he's going to get it eventually, even if he has to stay out all night in the raid without dinner, he'll search and search and you'll likely call him in to sit by the warm fire and dry off before he will give up. Well said that man, thats what I've thought about Milner since day one and he would be straight down on my team sheet before you could say 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogo goch'. I'm not sure where Downing is going to fit in either but isn't it nice to have that problem for a change instead of having to rely on an Osbourne or Salifou from the bench. |
Mark Johnson
said:
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... if and when DJ gets fit, I think we could have the start of a bit of rotation in the side, yes I know it's not Martin's style, but we still have Delph, NRC and Albrighton in the mix for 4 midfield spots. I can also see MoN buying a striker in January and NOT letting Heskey go. It is a squad game in this day and age and although we've only used a few players so far, we'll get to the stage where needs must. Collins & Dunne don't seem to be to bad do they? after all the moaning when we signed them UTV |
khalil
said:
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... Damian, I am not sure i can give you the right answer but i have access to research from UOL and gartner where i have seen this research conducted. |
JohnnyMcleod
said:
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... Downing straight in on the left, Ashley switch to the right, Milner (career average one goal every ten games, one assist every five games - for an attacking midfielder ?!!!) on the bench, although give me Albrighton any day of the week). Like your assesment of Milner Damian, can imagine him in the leading role if they ever did a remake of "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner". |
Damian
said:
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... khalil thanks, but it was more a throw it out there question. i dont think there is a way to manage it, unless you are going to ban mobile phones and restrict internet access ... and the question quickly turned round to 'using it in the workplace' which was mostly the point of the webinar |
Chris Harper
said:
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... This blog would be a quiet place if internet access was banned in the workplace!  |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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... JohnnyMcleod if you take out the dead ball stats from Ashleys stats what how would they read? Woudln't be much between them then. Going on performances over the last 10 months Milner is out ahead of Young (thats why he is in the English squad and Young is not) and it should be Young that drops to the bench. Downing will fit right into that role on the left wing where he will hopefully be far better in possession then Ashley has been. |
John Samuels
said:
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... ------------Friedel----------- Young--Dunne--Collins--Warnock ------------Petrov------------ Milner------Sidwell----Downing ------------------Young------- --------Agbonlahor------------ |
Daniel Wilson
said:
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...This blog would be a quiet place if internet access was banned in the workplace! Thats why god invented Firefox portable my good friend. Dan 1, Dans Workplace 0 |
John Samuels
said:
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... Johnny Mcleod, I disagree about Milner. At least the lad has improved gradually since we've had him and is as consistent as any player i've seen. Ahley Young is capable of a lot but his form is decidedly erratic. I would take Milner over and over again and agree with Damien's comment at the top. There is nothing that boy would not do for the Villa cause and if we can keep him will go down as a legend at this club. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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... JPA that is the team i would like to see out as well. Maybe rotate Gabby with Carew to suit the oppossition. Also Delph for Sidwell eventually. Saying that as much as i have slated Sidwell he does seem to being something to the team. I honestly can't see it but we do seem to do better when he plays. It must be some form of Ginger magic that is invisible to our eyes. |
Andi
said:
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... I know DJ can play on the left and all that but when he was signed didnt MON mention that he was the replacement for GB and if so wouldnt that mean Sidwell dropping to the bench ??? wouldnt be a bad thing. EMULE to CHELSKI nice all that money and they choose EMULE who makes up these rumours, this has come from when Terry said he would want him on his team more papers getting 2 + 2 coming up with 54 |
John Samuels
said:
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... ak, Nice to have you on side. I agree Carew or Heskey can offer a more physical presence in certain games depending on who is fit. I must say that I made a point of watching Sidders at the weekend and he is a really good player. He gets stuck in, he passes reasonably well over short distances, but I think it is his positioning that is his best attribute. He just seemed to constantly be in the right place at the right time. Not as industrious as Petrov, but improving. If he can just add a few goals to his game he could be a valuable asset to us. Maybe the threat of Delph is pushing him back to his Reading form. |
Eoin Greene
said:
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... AK - i know what you are saying regarding Young. 18 months ago I thought he was going to be a superstar! Now he seems to do absolutely nothing from open play. He's even beginning to annoy me with his constant throwing off himself to the ground, barking at the referees and these '5 minutes of limping' injuries. I know that practically all of his assists come from corners and free kicks - but I dont think you can merely say that 'someone else could do this'. Beckham made a whole career our of it. So I think we have to hope that Young gets back to his best form from open play and hopefully MoN gives him the kick up the arse he needs - maybe play him more centrally, possibly instead of Carew, with Downing on the left. As for Milner - he is growing on me. I have to admit that initially I was not impressed but he seems to be getting into better positions now to add to his workrate. |
dan
said:
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... Dropping Ashley will be a very tough decision for oneil.. 10 Months ago Martin O'neil was saying that Young was world class and Martin isn't the sort to drop someone once he has labeled someone like that(stubborn)I'm guessing Sidwell will be replaced by Milner moving into the middle and Ashley moving to the right.. It will be interesting to say the least.. I think in January a striker is needed, and not some mediocre crap.. A 20 goal a season striker which will cost us 15 million or more. About time we started getting noticed and making ourselves real contenders. |
Andi
said:
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... Chelski dont want him paper rubbish, I think DJ will play in the middle in Barrys position MON said so when he signed. If not DJ on the left, Milner on the right diamond in the middle with Petrov holding and Young behiind the front 2 ????? how do you like them apples ? |
Luke
said:
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... it's east to see what will happen when Downing returns, Downing in the team on left, Ash to the right, with Milner replacing Sidwell in the middle of the park, Milner is gonna be the next Paul Scholes (fact)!! Team : (GK)Friedel (RB)L.Young (CB)Dunne (CB)Collins (LB)Warnock (RM)A.Young (DCM)Petrov(c) (ACM)Milner (LM)Downing (Fwd)Carew (Fwd)Agbonlahor Bench :- (GK)Guzan (D)Cuellar (D)Davies (M)Reo-Coker (M)Sidwell (M)Delph (Fwd)Heskey Decent Reserves:- (D)Bouma (D)Beye (D)Shorey (D)Clark (M)Gardner (M)Albrighton (Fwd)Delfouneso Pretty handy looking team, UTV!! |
mikey18
said:
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... Eoin 1981 ashley young is starting to annoy you? players come in and out of form, Since hes signed hes been quality for us. He has one of the best crosses in the prem on left or right foot. Last season he was the best winger in the prem with 7 goals and 9 assists. Better than modric better than downing better than lennon, SWP Bentley Joe Cole etc etc. The guy is under extreme pressure, about 80% of villa's play is through him. Hes confidence is probably low after missing out on the last england squad and could probably do with the FANS SUPPORTING him rather than putting the boot in while is down! |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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... Thats fair enough Eoin but are his corners even that good or is the way we have Collins and Dunne will attack anything in the air? Beckham did make a career out of that but his delievery was consisitantly good (both from the dead ball but also very importantly from open play as well). Youngs is not. His crossing into the box has been absoultely brutal for a long time now. I know people say its all about confidence but how much confidence does a so called top class footballer need to do the basic skill of whiping a ball into the box? I have never rated him as a good winger to take on players as he really isn't that good at going past full backs so if his delievery from play is gone what does he bring to playing in that position? He is getting most of the ball yet doing very little with it. He is selfish on the ball and lacks vision out there. Honestly i don't think he is really a winger. He is just too predictable. Now in a free role behind a striker is where we could really the best of Young where his could start getting balls in the more dangerous positions in front of goal and hopefully he will become a goal threat again which he hasn't for a long time. |
Andi
said:
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... ak_27 -- the free role has youngs name all over it think he would do great behind gabby and carew and i think that with milner and downing they could swap between themselves during the game which would drag the opposition defence all over the place living massive holes |
Mike Carter
said:
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... Milner's been a poor crosser of the ball for 7 years now, what makes you think he'll get any better... ever? |
John Samuels
said:
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... Viva, I'd argue that with someone with the delivery of Young or Downing on the left means you can get away with Milner on the left. Milners strength is turning the full back inside out and knocking low balls across the face of goal. He is also useful at running into the box and getting the odd shot off or passing the ball into the corridor of uncertainty inbetween the keeper an CB's. Couple that with his ability to tuck in with midfield during attacks dwn the left and his engine allowing him to put in challenges like the one on Drogba? at the weekend and he warrants his place on the right. A different sort of player to Youg or Downing. Young is quality, he is just out of sorts and being dropped for a game or shifting his position a bit may see him regain his confidence and his best form. I just want to see him asserting more of an influence on a game like he was last year. |
Andyb
said:
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... Have to agree with JPA re the formation,exactly as I would play when Downing is available. Milner reminds me alot of Barry and I believe will follow a similiar groth pattern through thier careers. Both started young, good solid players no real pace though, solid passers but nothing spectacular but able to compete from an early age. Then just get better and better until they reach 26 or so and (all of a sudden for a lot of people) become really top class players who play centre mid and control games. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... I was thinking about the Wolves game yesterday. Why do I have a nagging doubt about this one? My immediate reaction was that it should be a shoeing, as they're rubbish (imo), but I suspect we're going to struggle as you suggest Damian. Which led me to thinking maybe we should do a total revamp of the team for these types of games? Probably not, but it niggles me when you look at who we've beaten and then gone and lost too. |
greg1982
said:
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... Ashley Young is our best player by a country mile. The very first name on the team sheet and the only player we have who would be on the team sheet of all the top 5 clubs. He can do things that others can’t. We wouldn’t have won without him on Saturday. So many Villa fans, currently and historically, have a work ethic not a class base response to what matters in football. This man is gold dust. more of these please MON. |
John Samuels
said:
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... Downing may eventually play in a different position, but given Ashleys form it makes sense to try him somewhere else and Downing has been out for a while so let him play his way into form in a position he knows inside out and then when his confidence is high think about moving the midfield about. We have three brilliant attacking wingers, all with the promise of playing in different positions. This is the benefit of buying footballers as opposed to specialised players with minimum flexibility. Badger, I am a little worried too, but Wolves have hardly been prolific in front of goal so i'd hope we have enough at the back to keep them out. They don't have the physical threat of Rovers and I think it's fair to say we didn't turn up for the Wigan game. Despite being at home they will sit back I think and we will need to break them down so I fancy a physical presence up front, maybe Heskey or Carew will play. If we get an early goal and they are forced to play I fancy we'll get a hatful. I Live in Colchester were Elokobi started his career and he is a pretty suspect defender, they don't have much quality although Mcarthy is a wiley old fox and it could be a tricky one. |
Mike Carter
said:
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... You have to give Wolves at least a little bit of credibility for getting a draw at Everton. That was a good result, no doubt. They frustrated Everton and they'll probably try and do the same to us. This is a game where I think we need an early goal. If we get that, it should be fairly plain sailing. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
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... Badger its these games that this team (And MON) will be judged on as this is actually where it has failed since MON took charge. Its againest 'weaker' teams who won't play into our hands and where we may struggle to get as up for the games againest the likes of Chelsea. It really would be such a kick in the teeth to drop points here after picking up 3 at home to Chelsea. Wolves are no push over as their perfomance away to Everton showed last Sat. This is where i just fear our CM just isn't good enough on the ball to really hurt them bar from dead ball situations. I have a nagging feeling about this game too. |
jerry
said:
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...It must be some form of Ginger magic that is invisible to our eyes. Red hair is a gift from God. Treasure Sidwell and Collins, and pity less fortunate teams who have no 'gingers'. |
JohnnyMcleod
said:
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... An off form Ashley Young is still the most exciting player we have, and wasn't it him that took the 2 corners that lead to both goals on Saturday ? As much as I love us to win I also want to be entertained, can anyone honestly say that they get excited about the thought of seeing Milner or Sidwell in action. I appreciate every team needs a workhorse or 2, if that's the case make it a class workhorse like Ian Taylor (Who we've never replaced) a great defensive tackler who could break up play and still get forward to knock in 6 or 7 a season. Where anyone gets the idea that Milner is some sort of wing wizard or match winner completely baffles me. Could anyone honestly imagine him scoring the 2nd goal Ash got against Everton last season, not in a million years. |
robb david
said:
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... I really like milner alot, he works really hard, has a decent cross and a decent shot, and he can beat his man. He also tracks back really well. He gives options, alot of people talk about class and quality, but those players need players like milner backing them up, doing the donkey work while players like Berbatov just laze around waiting for that 1 moment when they get to shine. Top sides are built of consistancy, milner gives you that, he will always work hard, and he will always create at least 2 half chances a match. young on the other hand will create 3 stone wall chances one match, then nothing for the next two. I guess what im saying in around about way is that milner is one of the most important parts of our side because he gives us consitancy, he is the player who agaist stoke will work his ass off, get kicked round the pitch but still get us the opportunity to stick the ball in. young on the other hand cant be relied on every match. To downing, for me i see the formation liek this: friedal young collins dunne warnock sidwell petrov milner young dj gabby a sort of 442 formation with young playing in the hole behind gabby, milner and dj on he wings, with petrov and sidwell holding. I then think you will see alot of switching between gabby, ash, milner and dj in a barca fashion. i reckon that could be pretty effective, with a plan b of carew up top lots of crosses in. We also will always win alot of free kicks, i think dj will make us even more dangerous from set plays as each kick we have ash and dj whow can either bend it away or towrads goal depending. I see big hauls for dunne and collins this year. The one thing i fear is that we will have carew, gabby, young, milner and dj on the pitch together, if we do that in a 442 we will have problems being outnumbered in the middle constantly which will promote long ball tactics to carew, negating our players ability on the ball. For me one of these has to be on the bench, which is a good thing giving us options if we need to change. |
robb david
said:
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... JohnnyMcleod: Could anyone honestly imagine him scoring the 2nd goal Ash got against Everton last season, not in a million years. His goal againt blackburn last year was pretty special, but thats beside the poitn. How many times has young done that? he doesnt perform consistantly, we need to win every match, not once a year. Milner is not a match winner on his own, but neither is lampard, neither was scholes, neither is essien, neither is ballack or giggs. these players work hard for the cause they allow sides to have luxuray players like ronaldo, drogba, or in our case young. that blow hot and cold, you still need to win when your marque player isnt fireing, and when young isnt fireing milner will at least produce something. |
Car Frost
said:
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... Damian - allow internet access but use firewall rules to block certain sites and IP addresses - that should solve the internet issues. |
GPalmer
said:
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... Good point about Wolves - we're good at keeping teams out when they're intent on attacking but we're not as good at opening them up now they've all sussed out Young. Delph & Downing will help in that department eventually but for the moment we have to rely on set-pieces & determination... though Gabby & Petrov showed some really classy touches on Saturday. Maybe Albrighton deserves a run out instead of Young? |
robb david
said:
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... Oh and wolves, easy win, it better be i work with mainly wolves fans, and i have already told them they are going to lose badly. I cant see to many problems to be fair i think dunne and collins will take care of doyle and ebanks blake pretty comfortably, our attack will be to much for them young will get fouled all the time letting us get some decent balls in the box where carew, dunne, collins and cuellar will be able to nob a couple home easily. 3-0 villa. |
Villa_til_I_die
said:
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... I said on here last year when Damian was complaining about his price tag that Milner will be our next 'Gareth Barry' and I'm still sure of that. His work rate and desire are second to none - passing/shooting still need a little polishing but he will get there. As for Ash - he has never been the same since that red card. I think it is a confidence thing that he will hopefully get over soon. |
Mike Carter
said:
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... Ashley Young hasn't put in a performance that has excited me for a long time. I'd say Gabby was our most exciting player at present time, since he's far more likely to run at players with the ball and can actually stay on his feet when he does so. |
John Samuels
said:
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...Red hair is a gift from God. Treasure Sidwell and Collins, and pity less fortunate teams who have no 'gingers'. Scholes is an excellent exponent of ginger magic  With Milner and Young they are completely different players so you can't compare them. Milner is valuable because of his workrate, his abilty to win the ball, read the game & tackle, he also has a pretty decent head on him with regards positioning and has a really hard shot when he connects. Ash has a few tricks wins countless free kicks, is the best deadball kicker in the tam by a mile and on occasion can simply carve a team wide open. He IS our best player ON HIS DAY... if Young had the consistency of his right sided counterpart he'd be on of the best players in europe. Hopefully the competition from Downing will help him up his game as he seems to have either got too arrogant thinking he can go past anyone which he can't or his confidence is down and he feels he needs to prove himself, in reality all he needs to do is get the ball in the box more instead of trying to beat everyone all the time. I was screaming at him to dleiver numerous times on sat and lo and behold he gets a chance to cross at a corner and it's straight on a claret and blue head. Every player goes through difficult patches i.e Rooney, Owen, Giggs, Andy Cole, Carew, etc etc. Stick by the young lad, he'll come good. |
robb david
said:
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... Ive got alot to say today, we need a song for our new centre backs: to my old mans a dust man our center backs called collins he weres a villa hat (any player from the other team, i will do wolves) doyles running at him he'll paralyze that t**t he'll take the ball off him, he'll kick him in the shin, he doesne give a f**k, as long as villa win. our centre backs called dunney he weres a villa hat (any differnt player from the other team, i will do wolves) kightly's running at him he'll paralyze that t**t he'll take the ball off him, he'll kick him in the shin, he doesne give a f**k, as long as villa win. |
Steve Badger
said:
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... ak_27, JPA and Viva, I was thinking the same, we need an early goal to make them come at us, so they play into our hands. If we don't get it, I don't see what option we have, is what I'm getting at, hence a total revamp crossed my mind. Ie a totally different way of playing. We certainly have enough players to change things around and even our squad players would be on a par with Blues, say. I don't know, I'm just thinking aloud and probably talking rubbish. It's just that I know at the end of the season I'm going to be saying to myself "My god, think of what could have been if we'd beaten x, y and z". Pretty much the same as I did at the end of last season  |
peter haworth
said:
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... It seems that many Villa fans did not realise what a great defender James Collins was before he signed for Villa.Living and working within the sound of Bow bells I can tell you that when Zola sold him the Hammers fans were distraught. All the fans knew the club was in financial trouble due to the Icelandic owners but were hoping that the club would sell Upson for around 15 million not Collins for 5 million. They were angry that he was sold cheaply as he was their best centre back and much younger than Upson. |
John Samuels
said:
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... Viva, would you say that when everyone was on Gabby's back last year Ash was playing well and this is a perfect example of how players drift in and out of form? Stick by the lad, he has quality in his locker, he just needs the right coaching and a bit of confidence. If we keep winning games it's sure to rub off on him. |
robb david
said:
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... 'how do you manage the use of social media in the work place' and if anyone can give me the right answer to that, I'll get you drunk Firstly you need to block out any incoming communication radiation from the outside world, to stop the use of mobile phones, or radio modems. TO do this the whole of the workplace needs to be covered in ~ 1 inch thick lead criss cross grid with gaps of about 1.2cms. Then yoiu just have no internal internet. If the internet is needed for work, you can start with a filtering system. of course this is easy to get round by using a proxy server, so what you do is use screen watch technology, where you have a room that shows what every computer screen in the workplace is doing. Then employ someone to watch what people are going on through the day, and sack anyone who is going on socail netwoking sites. fortunaly that system is not set up where i work so im on this blog right know. |
Mike Carter
said:
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... JPA It's an interesting one because Young seems to have been off-form for so long now. It's getting on for a year or so - that to me doesn't sound like form at all. I do like Young a lot and I do back him to come good once again, all I'm saying is there's a part of me now worried that Young isn't suffering a dip in form, but infact had a flash in the pan moment and has gone back to his fairly average self. |
Eoin Greene
said:
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... Mikey18 - I actually think that Ashley Young has an unbelievable amount of potential. However, when is the last time he was outstanding in a game? Everton - almost a full calendar year ago? I think Milner has got about 25% of Youngs potential but he produces his best almost every game. I dont like it when he mouths off at referees, limps every single game for five minutes. But just cause I dont like this doesn't mean I dont rate him or support him. How many people like Ronaldo? I think Gabby is our most important and most exciting player. I have said it for a few years now - but if we could get him some decent ball he would be unplayable. Anyone see his cross for Sidwell in the first half last week or how he waltzed around Ashely Cole (one of the best left backs in th world) a few times - and yet people think he is just fast - amazes me! |
John Samuels
said:
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... Viva, Don't worry mate Young is exactly his namesake he is Young and inexperienced. He just needs a bit of time and confidence and he will come good again. It's obvious that his delivery is still excellent it's the way he over complicates everything at the moment that is causing him trouble. He needs to pass the ball more rather than try and take people on and he needs to get the ball in the box more rather than try and beat the same player three times and lose it down the side of the box. It'll come, imagine if the whole team suddebnly clicks with Milner, Sidwell, Young and Gabby all suddenly finding their best form, we'd be awesome. The beauty is that we have a couple of our more integral players not playing well and we are winning games abnd not just any game seither, big games. This is the benefit of having really good players in the team, rather than just decent players playing out of their skin. |
Chris Harper
said:
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... eoine1981 I agree with everything you said about Gabby. Against Chelsea he was brilliant, especially in the first half. When he put that ball in for Sidwell, the first thought was 'what a f**kin cross!' followed by 'He should treat Young a thing or two'. I agree, Young hasn't been on form since he came back from getting sent off last season. Before that he was superb. Its frustrating watching him sometimes, purely for the fact that you know he has it in him. His crosses/free kicks are pretty awful. People say he's not a winger but if you watch him, he picks the ball up near the centre of the pitch and always runs out wide into the corner. Thats wing play to me?? I also wish he would just get the ball in the box quicker, instead of turning inside n out about 6 times. |
Deano-avfc
said:
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... What's all this Milner on the bench? His work rate and commitment earns his place on the right. I agree once Downing gets fit again, he needs to be played on the left with Ashley having a free role up and around the front. I cant understand how people slate Milner, he doesn't score a lot but tackles, gets back, gets forward, cuts inside, can score with both feet and can play anywhere. UTV |
Andi
said:
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... lookslike Gardener is off in January price tag of around 5million potato head up at Sunderland and the small heath branch of wing wah want him |
Chris Harper
said:
|
... 5 milllion is a good price for him. I would rather him go on loan though. Want him to get some time on the pitch, he deserves it. Just don't see him getting in front of anyone in the Midfield at the moment (although he could probably do a better job than Sidwell? Who knows) |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Gardner's time is up now by the looks of it, with Delph in front of him he doesn't really stand much chance of playing for us. |
Andi
said:
|
... But with Lerner saying we got to sell to buy and us crying out for a creative man in the middle i can see Gardener (never really got a fair crack), Shorey (is on crack), Salifou (ashame to see his silky skills go), Osbourne (why?) and maybe EMULE (if we are lucky) i can see these lot or some of them being sold on to generate some funds and get the wage bill down a bit |
robb david
said:
|
... the way i see january panning out is as follows: we need two players for every position, and o'neill likes to play 442 therefore: lb, bouma, warnock cb, collins, dunne, cuellar, davis rb, young, beye lm, young, downing cm, petrov, sidwell, coker, delph rm, milner, albrighton? s, gabby, carew, hesky, fonz? anyone not on that list is potentialy for the chop i reckon. two positions we need, right midfield, or basically a forward thinking midfielder, and a forward. becasue we are playing 442, i reckon he will look at a link player from midfield to attack, A tevez type player. I would imagine any other signing will be just cover untill the summer. If anyone off my list gets sold, i would hope a suitable replacment was lined up. |
peter haworth
said:
|
... Mon just said that we do not spend too much time on practising set pieces.!!!!! Can this be true? It is said that Clough never practised set pieces so maybe its true,although I am sure that at Leicester MON"s team scored many goals from set pieces,maybe he is trying to kid opposing teams not to take us seriously at set pieces. In Ash we have the best delivery in the premiership. However,below is an interesting stat. Scored Conceded Liverpool 6 9 Chelsea 5 6 Arsenal 4 5 Man U 7 0 Villa 9 0 |
John Samuels
said:
|
... qashai, It may just be that ashley Young knows if h drops it on the right spot someone will be there to nod it in. Dunne and Collins didn't do anything special, it was just two good deliveries to the back post and awful awful marking. Young's delivery is just that good and that's why even though he is playing badly at the moment he is still a valuable asset. Dunne and Collins are brave guys and love attacking the ball, more so than Carlos and Davies and they obviously employ this marvellous talent in the oppositions six yard box as well as thoer own. No one has been there to do this for us since Laursen and Mellberg. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... ron, I believe that leaves Gardner(£5m), Salifou(£200,000?), Shorey(£5m), Harewood (£2m), Osbourne(£1.5m). I'd keep hold of the other youngsters at the moment. This could hopefully net us somewhere in the region of £10m-£15m if there is any interest (I don't think my valuations are that unreasonable). It would also chop a load off the wage bill allowing us to sign one or two new faces in Jan or next summer and would also keep the squad looking lean and mean. There is no point having players at the club who are rubbish. Personally I will be sorry to see Gardner and Shorey go, but deep down I know they aren't good enough. They both may do really well elsewhere and I hope they do as long as they don't score against us. MoN has been told to sell before he buys, but that's assuming he actually wants to buy. He' never liked buying in January as he's said it many times and he also said recently that this is the strongest SQUAD he's had at Villa since he's been there. He may feel this squad is close to the finished article and it may be that his preferred targets may not be available till the summer. We all know that if the right players aren't about he'd rather just muddle through until they are. Chiefy, I think we'll keep Coker, I don't know why but I think O'Neill likes him as a player. He shot himself in the foot really cos he was playing well in the middle. Who would have thought we could beat Chelsea without him and now he is really gonna struggle to play his way back in, but I think he will stay. |
gazza01
said:
 |
... Someone mentioned signing the red beachball from Liverpool. Comparing minutes on the pitch to Heskey, its scored more goals. |
robb david
said:
|
... JPA 15million is not that much, i would be surprised if we got 5 for shorey also, but saying we have 15million available, i would like us to bring in one player. like i say the link up forward, to play in the hole. My pick would be vagner love, dont think it will happen, but i really like him. He has that touch of class, that i think we lack. I mean dont get me wrong we have classy players, but i ust think we lack that bit of magic, a player who can flick the ball over a defenders to an on rushing gabby who smashs it in (or over the bar). i think we have plenty of grafters and hard work and i reckon we need that one player who has that bit of arogance to play that fancy ball, make a defender look stupid, i think love could be that player. If money wasnt an issue i would like berbatov, who i think is brilliant when he plays that drop off role for man u, he always looks like he has an age on the ball, he hasnt hit top form there but as the well known footballing genius darren gough says, hes got the x factor. I hope we can bring a player with this x factor into to vp, and i think love could be that player. Also i would only sign him on condition he makes his dreadlocks claret and blue, not just blue. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... MON might want Reo Coker to stay, but will Reo Coker want Reo Coker to stay? If he's a sulker then probably not. He could hand in a transfer request and there's little MON could do about it. |
Andi
said:
|
... Are we also not forgetting that DAVIES could have his arse in his hands about his contract and we could sell him wouldnt get nothing like the 10 we paid for him but 6-7 maybe, i wouldnt lose any sleep if he went |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...MON might want Reo Coker to stay, but will Reo Coker want Reo Coker to stay? If he's a sulker then probably not. He could hand in a transfer request and there's little MON could do about it. I have a feeling he did just that in the summer. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Chiefy, I'd like Davies to stay. i wouldn't be surprised that the whole contract thing is more to do with his agent trying it on. He'll get his raise and i think he has the character where he'll want to stay and fight, which might just be the making of the lad. He's a bit soft and watchin Collins and Dunne kick the s**t out of forwards mat be just what he needs. Viva, I think Coker is the sort of lad to want to fight for his place, after the West Ham thing when he left he probably feels like he has something to prove. I hope he stays as I think he has something to offer. If he does go we'll need to sign a replacement. Ron, That's why I said 10-15. I think we should spend the money if we have it, but not necessarily in Jan. I would like a striker too, but would prefer to wait until we are in a position to sign someone of Torres quality and i'm not joking...we could be there by the end of the season. I think Gabby will be good enough very soon and Ash as a forward excites me. We have more than enough in the current squad to do very well this year barring catastrophic injury problems, just think of the squad next year if Delph comes on and with Downing, Ash, Milner and Gabby all having another year in the team with all the experience it brings. The back four will have a seasons experience together and Guzan hopefully will come into the side more regularly. Love and Berbatov will never play for Martin O'Neill at any club. I think you'll agree with me and you know why too. |
Car Frost
said:
|
... "Anybody who can do anything in Leicester but make a jumper has got to be a genius." Brian Clough on Martin O'Neill. Well it made me chuckle.. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... frosty, i've heard that before, bloody excellent. Classic clough if you ask me. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... I think we're some way away from a Torres type player just yet. That's a totally different league to anything we've had before. You don't get that unless you splash out £20m+. |
rocky marciano
said:
 |
... excuse my ignorance lads but where was it said that lerner said that mon had to sell before buying? |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... I just found this article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/spo...eight.html Apologies if it's been thrown around before, I'd not seen it until now. It's great to see Gabby giving himself a goal of being able to compete physically with some of the best defenders in the world. I'm just shocked at how he managed to do it so quickly! |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Viva, Indulge me. We have the biggest and strongest squad of MoN's reign so far. Most will agree that maybe we need a CM and a Striker and not really much else. If we were to generate say £10m of revenue through transfers in Jan and trim the wage bill down we would have the money and space, given that Lerner seems to give O'Neill £20m - £30m each summer for transfers we could justify buying a Striker for upwards of £20m quite easily if MoN considered him to be the right one. Lerner has siad he will always back O'Neill in the transfer market if the money is there, and MoN has said he doesn't mind paying over the odds for a player if it is the right one. If we finish 4th or 5th this year it's going to take a world class addition of huge proportions to cement ourselves in the upper reaches of the league and allow us to compete in the CL. This could be next summer. The club is working on a five year plan and we are already in year four. The only problem will be convincing him, whoever he may be, to sign. I am convinced we tried for Schneijder this year and how were we ever going to compete with Mourinho's Inter? Had we been in the CL we may have got him and it's players like him that allow you to stay up there. For this reason I would leave the Jan window and only sell at that time when you can get a Kings ransom for average players because of teams recruiting out of desperation and paying over the odds to stay up. If brum want Gardner with their new money in Jan why not try and get £6m or £7m for him instead of £5m, they'll probably pay it because they'll probably be in the bottom half with relegation on their minds. I'd rather wait till the summer and see who is available and who goes down or doesn't qualify for the CL, there could be players available you wouldn't even consider possible targets right now. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... rocky5, It's been speculated in the rags and came from a 'club source' so could be cr*p tbh. I can believe it though, there is a bit of fat round the squad which could be trimmed away in the next two windows allowing us to add some reall steel to the first team and we all know Randy doesn't have the cash he did when he first came. He is looking for outside investment and possibly a new sponsor so this may be true too. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Viva, that said Santa Cruz cost Rovers £3.5m so there is always a chance we might find a rough diamond. |
George Templeton
said:
 |
... JPA I love the lineup you posted earlier, its very attacking and would be great against the teams that sit back against us. But I would be worried about Aston Villa getting stretched against the other parts of the top 6 and Liverpool. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... JPA I don't argue with your logic or your numbers at all. I quite agree that theoretically, there is nothing stopping us from gathering the money required to buy a top player. But the question is, would MON do that? Probably not, is the most likely answer. It's kind of a chicken and egg scenario. We need bigger players to achieve better results, but those players won't come until we start achieving the results. Don't forget Everton broke the top 4 a few seasons back and it didn't really do them the world of good we all predict it will for us. Ok, they didn't qualify for the Champions League proper but we'd face an equally difficult task doing so. I don't think we should be thinking about doing much in January unless we can get very good prices for our deadwood. It's a sellers market and I agree we should milk every penny we can. If Delph is worth £8m, Gardner should be bare minimum £6m. If Newcastle want Harewood, they should stump up at least £4m. These are the times we live in, if we're not trying to rip off the buying clubs then we're not doing our job. Trouble is, that's never been O'Neill's approach. |
Ammar
said:
 |
... Defensively once L.Young plays on the right we have one of the best defensive units in the premiership. Midfield we have Milner & A.Young and hopefully Albrighton as some of the best and up coming wingers in the league. Downing when fit will hopefully play a versatile role of either in the middle or alternate with A.Young & Milner and hopefully Albrighton. Were we really need to strengthen and is still of major concern is in the middle and up front. Heskey needs to be replaced by christmas whilst Carew will need replacing for the next season with a quality striker that fits into the formation and team. Latest reports suggest that MON needs to sell to buy which is not really a bad thing considering dead wood we have at the club. By dead wood I mean players who do not look like they will feature heavily in any future plans. 5 Million = Gardner ( How Many games has he played in the last 2 seasons) 3 Million = Shorey ( Not Required) 6 Million = Curtis Davis ( Days are numbered with what we have in that position ) 2 Million = Heskey ( Nothing else to be said on this) 3 Million = Beye ( Waste of money ) 8 Millon = NRC ( On his way out. ) 27 million on the sale of these players. If RL can add 13 million on top of that it means we could have 40 million to spend in january and surely we can get a quality midfielder and striker with that money then we can give it a serious go for CL football this will of course be relative to what Man City spend. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... I certainly don't think there's any need to sell Davies, a player I still believe will one day be Villa captain. He's been out of form but let's give him the benefit of the doubt and see how he plays once he's 100% again (which he hasn't been for a long time). |
John Samuels
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1 if you sell Davies and Beye what happens if Cuellar breaks his leg and Dunne picks up a red card. Beye cost sod all and is back up at RB I would want to keep him, just in case. Davies could be useful and we should not offload him untill his form and fitness have been assessed after his injury. This is a decision which should be taken in the summer. If NRC goes I will be sorry, but who would you sign as a replacement who would be about in Jan? It is unlikely that many quality CM's will be available during the season run in. I would not want to buy in the Jan window as we will get ripped off and the likliehood of real quality being available is so low as clubs want to hang on to their best players to ensure a strong finish. Look at Pools bid of £18m for Downing being turned down by Boro last season and then they sell him to us for £12m. I do however agree that Shorey, Gardner, Salifou, Harewood and Osbourne should be offloaded to make funds and space available for maybe one player in Jan if we really need one or someone falls out with their club and is suddenly available, then spend the rest in the summer and make our final year of the five year plan a huge push for top four. |
Ammar
said:
|
... VivaVilla ,Juan Pablo Angel We have Cueller and a so called player who did not look to bad in the summer or in his last match when he played. Mr C.Clark. Davis will not stay as a backup and considering we have Cueller and Clark who can play in that position then is he really required ? I would like to see a player like S.Defour come in to provide that creativity we so desprately need. I reckon we could get him for 15 million in January. If Beye has not played now i cannot see him getting a game at all to be honest. If we do lose Cueller and Young then surely we can get one of our potential younger players come in and fill the void otherwise how else are our youngsters going to develop. If there not good enough then sell them. Its not about quantity but quality if we really want to move to the next level. |
rob hathaway
said:
 |
... been absent for a while guys. but back now! great from and performances from the boys well done. Are we a force? yes. Onto this ashley young debate thats going on. He was awesome at times last year. and he is struggling this term. I have no doubt his confidence is shot at the mo. Seeing milner replace him in the england side has hit him hard. I think young believed his oen hype too much and felt he was the best villa player by a mile and deserves the highest wage, the most pundits and soon a huge move away. Capello has probably seen this and the milner replacing him will make ash a stronger player and more level headed. He will see the bigger picture. If we can win without ash on form then things are good. right? There will be one defining moment and probably against wolves where ash will receive a ball from the back after a corner, knock it past the full back sprint dwon the line, play a one two with carew and score a screamer from the edge of the box. And this will ignite the ashley fire and all hell will break loose. then dj will come it and teams will be seriously scared of us. albeit most teams are already pretty scared of us i would presume. Onto milner, he may not have a wonder cross yet but didn't mr giggs get slated for his delivery at milners age. and he turned out half decent. There is more of a comparison with giggs tho. They both have that talent that you cannot train and that is desire and commitment. milner will run all day, lead by example, fight for every ball and support all his team mates till the end. This makes him a perfect player for our team and mons style. a future captain of club and country if i ever saw one. Just to round up we a mean in defence, solid in midfield and dangerous going forward. question is...... is top 4 the goal or are we going for the title? |
John Clark
said:
 |
... On Ash, I think the solution is rather simple. He keeps having a go at players, and trying to get round them. This isn't working anymore as now the FB shades him to the touchline, and the CB or a midfielder is shading him from coming back across the middle. He's simply trying to do too much. I don't think it's 'form' it's simple decision-making, and realizing that he's going to have to change his approach now that teams are deliberately looking to negate him. He either needs to be able to get it deep, then lay it back for Warnock, or when he has the space, square up, and put it across the midfield for someone to run onto in front of the box. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, Your argument is valid, I see beye as a stop gap brought in while L. Young was unavailable. However to sell him so soon would be silly and he may be let go in the summer if he has no further part to play. Cuellar offers nothing going forward which Beye does. I agree that if Davies wants to leave we have Clarke and it is far more likely we would offload a CB than a FB given our new strength in that positon. On Defour, I read an article that he received a personal get well message from SAF this week so he may be off to United very soon. It may be that we'll have to find another target. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
 |
... Damian, should your spell checker have corrected you to type WINEBAR instead of WEBINAR? |
Ammar
said:
|
... Ashley Young is quality. He just needs to develop his game and most players around his age will most likely go through this phase. He has set the standards his which is why he gets analyzed more. He'll be back to his best by the end of the season form is temporary class is permanent. |
Richard Dunne my lord, Richard Dunne!!
said:
 |
... Anyone got any news on Wilf or L Young? A bit worrying that they played last week but then didn't yesterday?? I struggling to think where MON really needs to strengthen. I believe the back 4 plus keepers are sorted, with cover. Midfield has good cover and once Downing returns, he will play centre mid, with 2 holding players. Petrov plus one of Sidwell, Reo or Delph. And then that leaves one to pick from Gabby, Carew or Heskey. I agree we are missing that world class striker but Gabby is coming of age this season. Downing will be majestic in that attakcing midfield role. He has great pace, skill and can unlock defences. My starting 11 plus bench is as follows, come 1 December... Fridel L Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock Milner Reo Petrov Young Downing Gabby Subs - Guzan Cueller Bouma Delph Sidwell Heskey Carew With Petrov and Reo sitting, it leaves Downing, Milner, Young and Gabby running riot...frightning!! |
John Samuels
said:
|
... Kohoutek, I agree and you'll see in this in my posts above. He over complicates things at the mo and just needs to get back to basics. Either get into the box or offload it. Just make sure you don't give away posession is the most important thing. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Mon 4-5-1 I wouldn't get too carried away with Clark. He had one decent game but that doesn't make him a senior player. He's still massively unexperienced and he won't be called upon ahead of a fit Davies, that's for sure. As for Defour, he's already been earmarked by SAF. Apparently writing players personal letters to players essentially telling them you plan on signing them soon is acceptable these days? |
John Samuels
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, Spot on, he'll find his shooting boots again soon, it's just a blip. The boy is class. When he's on song he is unplayable. |
John Samuels
said:
|
...Damian, should your spell checker have corrected you to type WINEBAR instead of WEBINAR? |
Steve
said:
 |
... Get off AY's back, for 2 years now he has been a class act. The opposition now knows that and is doubling up on him and he is going through a lull at the moment for the first time since joining. Yet in our 2 biggest wins of the season despite not playing well he crossed for lucas' own goal and scored a penalty against liverpool and got 2 assists against Chelsea. Lets be honest, if you stop Ashley in open player you stop Villa. As much as i like Milners work rate, he isnt exactly threatening down the right wing and the opposition doesnt fear him and dont feel the need to double up on him. The other problem AY has, is that we never give him the ball when he is already moving, he gets given the ball when he is stood still on the touch line with 2 players around him. I do agree though, that in some ways he is trying to hard to do something special and needs to sometimes just lay the ball off simply. Once Warnock gets fully settled in and starts bombing forward on the overlap, it will open up more space for AY. Lets get behind the boys. I find it encouraging that AY and Carew havent looked massively threatening going forward and arent on top form yet we have still made a decent start! |
Ammar
said:
|
... vivavilla said: ... Mon 4-5-1 I wouldn't get too carried away with Clark. He had one decent game but that doesn't make him a senior player okay fair enough he is not experienced then how does he gain that experience ? surely he is good enough to be back up to collins dunne & cueller ? if not then he is not good enough to be at Villa. You only get experience by playing. S.Defour is a example i gave and if we cannot get him there are others that we can go for. How many games do you really think NRC or C.Davies are really going to be involved in this season ? Do you regards them as key players for us ? |
John Samuels
said:
|
... johnnycarew, I pretty much said this above and completely agree. I don't think anyone really is having a go at him, we just want to see himteraing teams apart again and I think he just needs to simplify his game at times and just get the ball in the danger area more rather than trying to do the spectacular. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1 I agree you need playing time to develop, but not at the expense of results. If you give more time to youngsters, then surely your chances of winning games decline. I would rather have my strongest and most experienced side playing at all times, than give a chance to a youngster. If that means players like Clark have to move on, then so be it. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...maybe one player in Jan if we really need one or someone falls out with their club and is suddenly available Like Bentley, as cover for Milner? |
rocky marciano
said:
|
... cheers juan pablo, hadnt seen anything about it,good point about trimming the fat though |
Ammar
said:
|
... Juan Pablo Angel,jonnycarew totally agree he is the most creative player we have by a long way and will only get better. It would be nice to get another creative player in the team to take some of the burden off him. He is our Gerrard and without him would leave a huge hole in the team. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, Another creative player eh? Doesn't he resume full training next month? |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...As much as i like Milners work rate, he isnt exactly threatening down the right wing and the opposition doesnt fear him anddont feel the need to double up on him. I'm not sure about that. I remember 3 Chelsea players surrounding Milner on at least one occasion. I know what you mean though. I think it's true though that everyone knows if you can stop our wide threat, we have little in the middle. |
Andy Scarborough
said:
|
... I have not had a chance to read this properly, so I may be linking something already discussed. Anyway; http://www.chelsea-mad.co.uk/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=468838 |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... The reason Ashely gets doubled up is that he often very slow at taking on the full back and often lets the defenders get back into shape. If you look at how Petrov, Lennon and SWP operate they will very quickly and more directly try and go and go past the full back which makes it far harder to double up. |
Ammar
said:
|
... Juan Pablo Angel said: ... mon 4-5-1, Another creative player eh? Doesn't he resume full training next month? He did come to mind and hopefully he may be able to fill that void...Though i have only ever seen him play on the wing or off the striker so not sure how he will be in the middle on midfield if that is were he is likely to play... |
Ammar
said:
|
... ak_27 e is going through a blip. Apparantly i was watching sky sports this morning and the spanish media were having a moan about Messi not playing to his full potential. Just made me laugh...if Messi can have a blip so a A.Young. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... Just a question is Young really creative? Is whiping the ball into dangerous area's really creative or just playing the intelligent % game? For me we really don't think we have any creative player and by this i mean a Merson, Fabregas, Huddlestone, Alonso, Lampard etc. Even Sunderland have Andy Reid who is a very creative player on his day. Someone who can pick that pass at the right time and deliver it with the right weight. Petrov is probably the closest thing to that player at the moment. I think the last creative player we had was Berger and to be honest the last time i really remember Villa playing really attractive football was the day we thumped Sheff Utd at home a few years ago. It is the obvious weakness to this team at the moment. Hopefully it will be solved come Jan(Defour, Janovic) but unless MON goes in Europe to find this player i can't think of a getable playmaker that we could buy in England. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... ak, Wasn't Andy Cole's blip like two whole seasons? It might have been longer actually! |
Ammar
said:
|
... ak_27 its a good point and he i guess he is creative for the position he plays in. Yes it would be nice to get a creative midfielder in the middle of the park to supply to our forwards not just from the wings but also through the middle. I reckon Downing when fit may be that player but never seen him play in the middle so will reserve judgment on that. I reckon your right Europe is most likely of places to get this type of player. |
Steve
said:
|
... Personally i think we have the creative player we need but at the moment he is too raw and inexperienced. The times I have seen Delph, he is nippy, good running with the ball, has an eye for a pass and a shot on him. I think with maturity we may well have the next best English centre mid. Also what teams do have that creative centre mid?! Man Utd certainly dont, Chelsea have Lampard (but hes not creative just very effective), Liverpool play Gerrard off the strikers but mascherano/lucas arent creative. The only team that do is Arsenal for me and possibly Arteta at Everton, Ireland at Citeh, other than that it is sparse. The creative centre mid is dying out in English football because you cant afford to just have one ball winner in the middle or you play a 5 man midfield and only have one up top. |
Ammar
said:
|
... ak_27 said: ... 10 months is not a blip. The difference is he has not played badly just not to the high standards he has set...so now he is playing below those standards but still assiting in goals. To me that is a sign of quality. On the other have if sidwell did not play to 99% of his potential he would be awful... |
Steve
said:
|
... AK 27, I disagree regarding the reasons Young gets doubled up on. I sit on the touchline about 6 rows in and the number of times AY is free in space hugging the touchline with his hand in the air is remarkable, but everytime, the passing goes like this. Cuellar lays it to petrov who gives it to dunne who lays it to warnock and eventually to Young, by which time his space is gone and the momentum is lost. Fortunately and i never thought i would say this, but Collins looks like he has an eye for a cross field pass and may well help cure this. Ie our switching of the play partic at home can be bloody slow! |
John Clark
said:
|
... ak: A fair point, I think. He does tend to hold up at times, looking to fake out that FB without directly going deep to the touchline, giving that second player time to cover the cut-back. Although I do wonder how often he has more than one target, such as Gabby, in position to do anything with a more quickly delivered ball. It's the link-up thing, in other words, I'm often wondering. |
John Samuels
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, The thing about Downing, and this is why I think a lot of managers like him, is that he is a footballer. By that I mean he looks very comfortable on the ball, he has an assured touch, keeps the ball very well and has the ability to cross brilliantly and pass well over short and long distances. Gareth Barry is a Footballer which allowed him to move into the middle so effectively and I think the same could be true of Downing and even Milner who can play in a number of positions. I think Stewart Downing has the attributes to do a job in there and with Petrov behind him or Milner tucking in he'd be well protected. With the emergence of Johnson at Boro and the sale of Cattermole and Boateng last year we saw Downing coming inside and playing in the hole and in the centre towards the end of last year. Despite Boro struggling to pick up results he still managed to win rave reviews and it was enough to convince me that he could definitely offer more than just wingplay. The other option is to play 4-4-2 and move Ash into a second striker role or behind a front two leaving Downing on the wing or switching Downing to the right and playing Milner in the middle. The fact is that there are plenty of options in the middle for us once DJ is fit and I am not going to clamour for a new signing in the middle until we can see what this lad can do for us. MoN has a plan I imagine, but things don't always go to plan as we've seen with Shorey and the way Petrov ended up in a slightly different role than the one he was bought for. Simply put, if there is quality in the squad, which there is, then there is always going to be an option whether it's the obvious one you expected or the pleasant surprise you didn't see coming. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... When I say Ashley Young is off form, I don't mean he's playing every game badly, just that most of the time he's either anonymous or contributes very little. That to me sums up his performances over the last year - contributing very little. No way is Young like our Gerrard. Liverpool are a poor team without Gerrard, I for one think we can still win without Young. He may get the odd assist here or there, but a player of his supposed "potential" should be doing so much more. As has been pointed out, 10 months is not a blip. If come the end of this season Young has not improved, I don't think it's unfair to begin wondering if he's a bit of a bust. And to those who fall back on the excuse "he's still young" or "give him time to develop" - he's 25 next Summer. He's not going to do much more developing at all now. |
Ammar
said:
|
... vivavilla Liverpool are a poor team without Gerrard, I for one think we can still win without Young. The question is are we a poor team without A.Young ? I am sure Liverpool can also win with out Gerrard. I for one think we have a much less chance of winning a game if Young is not playing. |
Ammar
said:
|
... Juan Pablo Angel, i hope your right and wait with eager anticipation of seeing downing play his first game for us... |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... I disagree. I don't believe Young has contributed enough over the last 25/30 games to suggest that we would be a considerabley poorer side without him. If I were to rank the Villa players in order of importance, or in order of how much they have contributed to our cause in that time frame, Young would not feature in the top 5. |
Ammar
said:
|
... vivavilla said: If I were to rank the Villa players in order of importance, or in order of how much they have contributed to our cause in that time frame, Young would not feature in the top 5. Thats one way of looking at it i suppose So who would be the top 5 ? and what position would Young fit in ? |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... My top 5 would be something like this: 1. Gabby 2. Petrov 3. Milner 4. Carew (indispensible towards the backend of last season) 5. Collins Perhaps you could make an argument for Friedel, our best keeper since Bosnich? Maybe Luke Young as well, a key figure for us in defence last season? Dunne & Warnock? Both contributed more this season? You see where I'm going. There are lots of Villa players who have stood up over the last few months and some have done a superb job. Again, I reiterate that Young hasn't done a bad job by any means. He's a good Premiership footballer. But when you think about how highly he's rated and how he's supposed to be our most "creative" player, I can't help but think he's been lacking in a big way recently. |
Scrumpy
said:
 |
... Its a simple fact that Ashley Young is not as "on fire" as the middle part of last season (during the seven away wins run)...That said, his delivery is still very good. The guy behind me in the Holte End was saying he would put him on the training ground and make him practice his deliveries for a solid week... then Ash goes and delivers the perfect corner, asking to be attacked by Dunne. I think he also took the second corner which left Cech in no mans land. He was also responsible for the cross field ball to Milner which should have been number three. For a guy that probably by his own admission isn't on top form, thats still a pretty good contribution to a result. I think both Ashand Milner, have during the last two matches have also been asked to perform defensive duties, with both tucking in to crowd the midfield diamond against Chelsea, which worked well. We also saw Warnock able to overlap well with Young, so it maybe that Young isn't the sole outlet that he used to be. On the otherside of course, Carlos isn't as good going forward but the extra stability at the back is probably a price worth paying at present (but something that Luke Young could add when he comes back). I agree that at times I'd like to see Ash whip in crosses first time (but are our front two predatory enough to be awake to this?). Maybe MON could spend the next few weeks just coaching Heskey, that as soon as the ball is going to Milner or Young, make a strong run and attack the front post. At worse even if the ball isn't played it should create space behind in the box (I just don't see Gabby, despite his pace, or Carew, as a near post poacher, the sort who gets goals only from within 8 yards), but Heskey did this during the Peace Cup. I still think we should better exploit the space that gets created when either Ash or Milner are double/treble-teamed. This was something that the runs of Barry used to do well. Sidwells runs are more direct into the box, not always into spaces in advanced positions - this may be because both he and Petrov share the defensive duties where Barry was more free to be just attacking. Maybe this is something that still needs time to develop. Allowing players to make runs knowing they are being covered. Maybe for the time being, whenever confronted by two or more Young should be laying it back to Warnock for that first time cross, as he also has a good delivery of the ball. Not sure what Milner does on the other side as Carlos isn't as comfortable with the ball I'd also like to see Milner and Young played in behind the defence, by playing the ball between the full and centre backs...Maybe this is something that Downing or Young in a central role could provide.... but its something you very rarely see at Villa. Maybe with an attacking three in midfield, we might see a few more central runs by Milner, where he takes on the defenders, ball glued to his feet (like his England run that hit the post) reminded me of a bit of Waddle, where the guy doesn't look too fast but his control and touch can take him past players, be it centrally or out on either wing. Still lots more to come, which is really promising. UTV!! |
Ammar
said:
|
... vivavilla... i see your point but i do think he does add value to the team and is a key player. Some stats EPL 08/09 A.Young ====== 7 goals 9 asists Gabby ====== 11 goals 7 assists Carew ===== 12 goals 3 asists Petrov ===== 1 goal 4 asists Milner ====== 7 goals 10 assists |
afvcbob
said:
 |
... Why are some of you having a go at Ashley Young. Its starting to feel like last year witch hunt against Gabby. All players have drops in form but some Villa fans still need to gripe even when the player is contributing towards the overall success of the team.Young won the PFA young player of the year last season in what was his first full season for the club and his still one of the players that most fans get out of their seat to watch .So I know it is so easy to pick on certain players when the team is playing bad - but when we are winning games. But for f**k sake can we stop been so over critical of Ashley Young and give him some support if he isn't playing well You don't become a bad player overnight imo UTV  |
henrydouble
said:
 |
... I suppose all u 'supporters' bashing Ash would've been happy for Spurs to have had him then?? Bad Patch = 1 goal + 5 assists in 8 games if this is his bad patch then imagine wen he gets back to his best. Stop being so pathetic and give some SUPPORT, he's our best player. Also this confidence thing annoys me. Which player plays well without it,, really?? Oh and ak_27 I have never rated him as a good winger to take on players as he really isn't that good at going past full backs so if his delievery from play is gone what does he bring to playing in that position? He is getting most of the ball yet doing very little with it. He is selfish on the ball and lacks vision out there. Honestly i don't think he is really a winger. He is just too predictable ak i think you need to have a lie down |
James
said:
 |
... Young IS important because teams have to think about him. Petrov and Milner get space and time on the ball because teams are scared of gabby and Young. Even when teams shut Young down, they create opportunities for us elsewhere. All PL teams would prefer us to line up without Ash. The problem we have now is, too may good players. the squad is TOO good. hahhahahahhahahahaha. MON wins. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1, Blimey, I didn't realise Milner had better stats last season. AVFCbob, Why are some of you having a go at Ashley Young. Its starting to feel like last year witch hunt against Gabby. I don't think anyone's having a go as such and no-one has said he's playing badly. I just think that the extremely high standards he has set make it seem like he's not playing as well, when in reality it's probably not so. I said yesterday (or Sunday) 2 assists in a game will do for me everytime. Fwiw, Ash, Milner, Gabby and Petrov would be the first names on the teamsheet for me atm. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Slight change of subject, but I've got to watch the pool game tonight. It turns out Glenn Johnson is out and they're playing a kid at RB. It's great watching them worry about this game. Man U at the weekend too. Their whole season could totally go up in smoke this week. I think they really might be there for the taking this season, as their squad is not as good as ours, imo. (trying to keep it Villa related there) |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... Stats can be misleading. How many of those stats and goals are from play? For many of these assits he is just hitting area's with his corners and free's and hoping that someone gets on the end of one. Thats more about playing the % games rather then Ashleys vision or creativity. For those assits how many crosses has he attemted all season. I would like to see that stat. Look there is a lot more to Ash then he is showing but at the moment he hasn't been any better then decent in any game and he is suppossed to be our number one player in reality. The ammount of ball that goes through him without him doing that much is shocking. Time for him to step up and start delivering a bit more. A move into the centre could really recreate him as a top striker and a top player. |
Ammar
said:
|
... Badger, yes Milner is very much underated but in a way you can see why Capelo has such a high regard for him. AK_27, in a way i think you have answered your own question. "A move into the centre could really recreate him as a top striker and a top player. " He plays on the wing so is likely to create from set pieces but should not have to be main person for assists. Having said that he is not doing to bad for a player that is not on top of his game. Stats for this season are Steve Sidwell ========== 0 Goals 0 Assists Petrov ==== 0 Goals 0 Assists So as our centre midfield has not really created anything as of yet think Ash,Gabby,Milner,Carew have done brilliantly. |
Mike Carter
said:
|
... Stop moaning about people "bashing" Young. Nobody is saying he's crap or we should sell him. It's called constructive criticism. Just because you highlight something negative about someone, it doesn't mean you're having a go at them. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...Look there is a lot more to Ash then he is showing but at the moment he hasn't been any better then decent in any game and he is suppossed to be our number one player in reality. The ammount of ball that goes through him without him doing that much is shocking. I do agree to an extent, but think you're being harsh. As said earlier, Beckham made a career out of set pieces and SFA else. Imo, Ash is already better than him, in that he tracks back better. You can say what you like about stats, but if he were to keep that up, it would work out at 25 assists in 40 games. Hardly rubbish (and yes, I know it's not going to happen). |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... mon 4-5-1 our whole game plan is to get it out left to Young. Most of the play is directed at him and his main preferred option is to cross in into the box. He rarely plays it inside unless he can't get a cross in. That really doesn't give the 2 CM much of a chance tp pick the ball up outside the box as it is normally hit in diagonnally from Young. I just don't think Young is as 'creative' as many keep saying. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... Badger Beckham was just as good from play with regards to his deliverys and was able to give that killer pass. I think Beckham in fairness was just better in possession of the ball. Thats the difference for me. Just watch Arshavin, Van Persie and Fabregas on tv right now for the real defination of creative. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Gerrard off, Aurelio on, Pool looking poor  Just tell me if you don't want to know and I won't mention it any more, but I'm quite interested. |
Adrian Kilgallon
said:
|
... What happened to Steve Gerrard? I guess another defeat at home to Utd would be a good thing for us this weekend if we can go and get 3 points at Wolves. |
Ammar
said:
|
... ak_27... maybe he not as creative as some say... and maybe he has his faults... and maybe he could be more involved... but he is by far the most creative player we have and i would not like to put a bet when MON picks the team he is the first name on the sheet. Gerrard off after 24 minutes... |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...What happened to Steve Gerrard? Not sure, I'm watching with no sound. Pool have just scored. Balls  |
Ammar
said:
|
... What happened to Steve Gerrard? taken off as a precaution looks like he was not fully fit to start off with... |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... HT 1-0. Just watch Arshavin, Van Persie and Fabregas on tv right now for the real defination of creative. Don't talk to me about Arshavin. He was the one we needed, imo. I was gutted that we never got him but you're right, he's the sort we need, imo. I wonder if we even tried though? I suspect not. Has MON ever really had that sort of player under him? |
Ammar
said:
|
... Has MON ever really had that sort of player under him? I suspect not but if we really are to move to the next level MON will have to bring a player of that calibre that is for sure. If Spuds were on the verge of getting him we were well in with a shout if we were really interested. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Coincidently, as soon as they scored, the link's gone down. I guess someone has the hump |
Martin Clabon
said:
 |
... MON 451 where are you getting your stats from. Milner has never scored that many goals in any premiership season. I am suprised at (sorry do not believe) the number of assists either but would not swear to that Talking of players who never score goals I am not sure why so many seem to think Downing is the answer to our problems. He scored very few for Boro and not that many assists either. I know they were sh1t but still |
keith
said:
 |
... badger im sure like me you remember when best was playing for united against us and we would shout for any villa player near him to break his legs, same with ronaldo recently but they still managed to win because all the others players were capable just not the superstar. ay is now receiving this treatment so its up to the others to take advantage. i look forward to the day they try to double up on ash gabby and milner. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... All over and I have to say pool were crap  I guess it's a bit wrong for me to not want an english side to win, but I didn't want them to have any sort of confidence boost. |
Ammar
said:
|
... SidCowanslovechild, i stand corrected your right its Goals = 3 assists = 10 should have read the chart in greater detail 3 goals in the FA Cup and 1 in the Carling cup Still impressive figures though if you compare what Lennon of Spuds got last season Assists = 5 Goals = 5 Anyway here is the link :- http://www.statbunker.com/football/btb/index.php?PL=player&PlayerID=17813&PlayerCompType=2008&StatType=bySeasonMatches |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Sid, Talking of players who never score goals I am not sure why so many seem to think Downing is the answer to our problems. He scored very few for Boro and not that many assists either. I know they were sh1t but still I don't think it's about him scoring goals, it's about bringing the midfield to attack. I don't know if he's the total answer, but he'd be better than any of our midfielders at a guess. Or maybe it's more as has been suggested, in that Downing goes left, Ash in the middle and Milner on the right, with the switches. You have to admit that would be interesting to see. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... keithj, we would shout for any villa player near him to break his legs, same with ronaldo recently but they still managed to win because all the others players were capable just not the superstar. Absolutely. That said, I really don't think we're far away from that |
Steve Badger
said:
|
... Nan, I know you don't like the bloke, but do you think it would be harsh, if they got rid? I think it would. I don't like FSW, but at least he's won the CL for them. It does seem the pool fans would prefer the prem though. I've never quite understood that 100%, myself. |
Martin Clabon
said:
|
... Badger, we need goals from midfield and if Downing is to be an attacking midfielder for us we need him to be getting a few for us - 7 should be a minimum really - here's hoping MON 451 - that is an impressive number of assists for Milner - more than I expected. Not slagging him by the way I just think we are really lacking goals in midfield and need them. Bring back David Platt, Paul Merson and Ina Taylor |
Andy Scarborough
said:
|
... Top man, Nan. A few years of turmoil in the mid-table wilderness beckons for 'Pool if they sack the waiter. Trouble is, we need Arse to drop out for a while so that ManCity and us can enjoy a tilt at the Prem/CL. Wolves on Saturday; do you reckon that we'll go 4-5-1 with MRC or Delph brought in? I would be quite pleased if we do that and win well. It would certainly reawaken the formation debate, Damian has been a bit quiet of late. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...Bring back David Platt Now you're talking. I thought Sidwell was going to do that though. |
Cian Donaghy
said:
 |
... i meant to say it actually JPA, i think sidwell did wuite well too against chelsea. though it must be said, it high time he got the finger out. and again JPA, im a big milner fan. honestly think he's one of the first names id have on the teamsheet |
Ammar
said:
|
... Badger said: Now you're talking. I thought Sidwell was going to do that though. lol...Yep we are all waiting for Sidwell to deliver those goals. I wonder what a Ian Taylor , David Platt or Paul Merson would be worth in the current market. |
James
said:
|
... No, I hope they keep him. He is a good tactician. I am not being sarcastic. In all the debate about MON and transfers, Rafa was rarely mentioned. Now he is a guy with a European scouting network - that failed. All managers have their weaknesses. Not all teams can win the league. I think we've been over this. However, I think the fans at 'pool have seen enough. He'll go after defeat by Man U. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...Wolves on Saturday; do you reckon that we'll go 4-5-1 with MRC or Delph brought in? 2 up for me and attack all the way. |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...A few years of turmoil in the mid-table wilderness beckons for 'Pool if they sack the waiter. Trouble is, we need Arse to drop out for a while so that ManCity and us can enjoy a tilt at the Prem/CL. I suspect you're right. However, I think the fans at 'pool have seen enough. He'll go after defeat by Man U. Weird that, I was reading a comment somewhere about the pool fans being incredibly loyal to the manager. I've always thought FSW is Marmite though, from what I've read of their comments. I think he's in serious trouble, but won't have a problem getting a job. Later, lads, I'm knackered |
david mc gorrian
said:
 |
... i read ur comments all day long and have to say its really quite interesting not to me but to my boyfriend dave leaves me read this to see if i can get it but as he told me i never will,anyway some mad names up there, |
david mc gorrian
said:
|
... sorry boys was at the jacks.. women ehh aw well cud be worse think she thought i was on facebook..lol |
walshy
said:
 |
... ---- Friedel---- young-dunne-collins-warnock young-petrov-milner--downing gabby--carew |
Nick
said:
 |
... I think Ashley will be on the right, Downing on the left and Milner down the middle behind the striker(s). We are already seeing MON putting James down the middle late in games, a sign of things to come I believe. agbonlahor downing milner young petrov sidwell warno dunne collins young friedel |
James
said:
|
... I've just woken from a dream in which we signed Gerrard in January. Now I can't focus on the day. IMagine us with him at our heart. Maybe Torres up front. We WOULD win the league. NO DOUBT. Now, is this just silly dream nonsense. No, it just shows how close MON is to building the ultimate fighting machine. 2 players. How many do Liverpool need? |
Damian
said:
|
... nan nice dream. andy5759 iv'e not gone quiet on the formation debate. for me and big john carew we've played 451 (or a variation of) the last two games - its just that some think with two strikers on the pitch is is 442. i've just fed up having to explain it and point people to john carew talking about playing as a midfielder |
Chris Harper
said:
|
... Well said nan, MON will take us to the next level, its just a matter of time.... |
Steve Badger
said:
|
...Now, is this just silly dream nonsense. No, it just shows how close MON is to building the ultimate fighting machine. 2 players. How many do Liverpool need? Going by the game last night, they need a load. I'm convinced we'd have beaten both those teams. Pool look so poor and can hardly string two passes together. It doesn't look to be just poor form either. Just shows how Alonso was pulling all the strings, imo. They really need to turn this around fast, but I can't see it happening. I'm going to predict they are going to drop out the top 4, even though it's early days. Arsenal have made a good start, but not really played anyone yet. January will be the big test for them as they have an extremely tough set of fixtures; Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Everton, 15:00 Saturday, 16 January 2010 Barclays Premier League Bolton v Arsenal, 15:00 Wednesday, 27 January 2010 Barclays Premier League Aston Villa v Arsenal, 19:45 Saturday, 30 January 2010 Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Man Utd, 15:00 Saturday, 6 February 2010 Barclays Premier League Chelsea v Arsenal, 15:00 Tuesday, 9 February 2010 Barclays Premier League Arsenal v Liverpool, 19:45 All to play for imo |
Panos
said:
 |
... Damian, It looks to me like a 4411, a variation of 451 as you say, but some would argue it's also a variation of 442 But I really don't care what it is, as long as we keep winning. |
cyprusvilla
said:
 |
... milner and petrov give there all and are all heart why not put them at the heart of the team in central midfield and ashley with stewart on the wings up front fonz with gabby |
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