USA Tour Summary

[Dante Lavelli]

It certainly is interesting times.

From what I've heard of Lowton he has a reputatiopn for getting forward and scored a fair few goals last season for a defender.  Offensively, our wide players were largely poor last season, so it could well be that Lambert is looking to solve that with FBs rather than new wingers, which means playing narrower in the midfield, which in turn negates the possibility of getting out numbered 2 against 3 if we want to play both Gabby and Bent upfront.  Also, you could get Gabby pulling wide of Bent, thereby adding to the width of the team.  A diamond means the guy further forward, presumably Ireland, then has the opportunity to get in the box and support Bent from deeper.  Lots of interchanging of positions and attacking intent:-

                     Given
Lowton - Clark - C. Ron - Cresswell
                     Kea
      Holman     -      Bannan
                   Ireland
         Gabby   -   Bent   

     

As a rigid formation that looks pretty shit to me, but most of those players have the ability to play in other positions so the team would hopefully have a fluidity to it.  Attacking fullbacks, Gabby pulling out wide and a midfield that is almost entirely inter-changeable.

The rigid players, the CBs and probably Bent and KEA, would provide a spine/pivots that the rest could work off.

It could be a huge disaster but I like the ambition of it and it is likely to lead to an exciting/unpredictable brand of football.  ...and why not.

[fredm]

Hasn't Bent(?) said in an interview that PL is setting them up with a back four; two sat in front and then the other 4 have licence to attack?

[peter w]

One of the most noticeable thing from last season was the lack of over-lapping seen from the full-backs. A flat back 4 still allows for the full-backs to do this and was a huge departure from our attacking under McLeish.

[Matt Collins]

I've watched all 3 games too (tho only highlights for game 3). I don't think we've been playing a diamond, more a sort of 4-2-2-2, with Ireland and Holman / N'Zogbia in the attacking positions, but plenty of fluidity. Looks good in friendlies, though it will depend highly on good attacking play from the full backs and the ability of at least one of the forwards (eg Gabby) in pulling wide.

I've been really pleased with us in patches, particularly the movement and the passing, and the willingness to accept the ball in tight positions. The midfield 4 all did well, as did Clark and Gabby. I also thought the Fonz looked decent, if not great, but he certainly played better than Weimann.

But I think the things to be cautious about are primarily:
- defence, we looked vulnerable when the ball was thrown forwards. I really like Clark but he needs to play alongside a dominant centre back and I'm not sure Collins / Dunne can perform that role adequately. And while Lowton has done quite well, I'm not convinced any of our full back options are strong enough.
- attack - the final ball and decision taking wasn't the best at times. If Gabby and Bent aren't in form, then we'll really struggle. So we're relying on them coming back from injury. Bent in particular didn't look to be on form yet.

[OCD]

As posted above, it does seem to be a 4-2-2-2 with a heavy emphasis on pressing high up the pitch, keeping the ball and winning it back as quickly as possible. It sounds very much like a Barcelona-esque (or Spanish) style of play so I think its going to be very interesting. The full-backs are going to be crucial for providing width in that formation with 4 midfielders being condensed into the centre a lot of the time. We have Lowton and I think this strategy will push Warnock out of the door. I can well believe there being something in the Cresswell link.

Based purely on the pre-season tour, my take on how we might line-up at the start of the season -

Guzan - I'm probably on my own but I think Lambert will prefer Guzan over Given
Lowton
Collins - it sounds like he's been playing well and he might have done enough to persuade Lambert to keep him. In which case it might be Dunne that's sold
Clark - his comfort with the ball at his feet really fits into the new style of play. I think Baker might be the better defender though
Warnock - but I suspect he will leave and someone like Cresswell will replace him
Al-Almadi
Bannan - Al-Almadi both sitting in front of the defence, winning the ball back and starting attacks
Ireland
Holman - Ireland and Holman spending a lot of time in centre also but with much more license to get forward
Bent
Agbonlahor - 2 up front

Last season Norwich made use of their full squad and tactics/formations were changed depending on the opponent and match situations so we could see a few different things. It sounds like they've only used the 4-2-2-2 so far though. Albrighton and N'Zogbia will certainly be hoping for some flexibility as they might not get many opportunities otherwise.

[Londonvilla]

What the hell does Paul Lambert think he's doing the man is a disgrace

http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/07/match-replay-watch-full-archived-match-timbers-vs-aston-villa-jeld-wen-field

I've just been watching Aston Villa v Portman timbers (see link above if you want to watch the full match) and I am disgusted that Paul Lambert has decided to throw away the legacy that was left in place by Alex McLeish. Paul Lambert has the nerve to try to play football, I'm a Villa fan I'm not used to seeing Villa players passing the ball to each other and as a result I was unnerved to find in the first half of this game that there were passages of play where the villa played the ball to each other with a succession of interlinking passes sometime numbering over 10. I'm not used to seeing passing football, no one has prepared me for it. What has happened to the Alex McLeish brand of football where we launched the ball forward aimlessly giving possession back to our opponents as quickly as possible, what has happened to players attempting to hoof the ball into the mixer before any of our players can get into the box. The hours that Villa players have spent on the training ground with Alex McLeish learning these skills appears to have been wasted now that Paul Lambert has abandoned this approach. The question for me is why is our goalkeeper now rolling the ball out to one of the defenders when he can boot the ball back to the opposition? Why is Collins not attempting to boot the ball over the heads of our wide players? Why has Barry Bannon given up trying to play a killer ball with every pass in favour of retaining possession and building up play? Even Charles “insomnia” appears to have given up running into dead-end and is starting to look up and pass the ball.

Doesn't Paul Lambert understand as a Villa fan I've been brought up on a diet of safety first, we must not lose, boring unadventurous football, where the ball spends more time in the air than on the ground. I'm not sure I can survive on a diet of pass and move football where the fullbacks play like wingbacks and we pack the middle of the park with enough shirts so that we can retain possession of the ball.

A diet of this type of football cannot be good for me as I'm not used to it. Alex McLeish's lasting legacy will be that he gave a number of the Villa youth the opportunity to play in the first-team. Paul Lambert's legacy will be that he gave these youth the opportunity to play football.

Clearly Paul Lambert has not yet found the correct balance between those players who want to pass the ball to death and those players who play a more direct style of football but once he has, I fear the Villa fans will have to put up with entertaining football at Villa Park. It will be just like watching Spain. Who wants that hellish type football at Villa Park when we can play like England, a proud football nation that hasn't won anything since 1966?

As a Villa fan I have no patience with this passing football I'm not used to it and I'm sure that the Villa fans will get on the back of the players when they string together 10 passes and  only move forward by 5 yards. How long before fans start moaning because someone has missed places a pass?

Hoofing the ball in the channels on the break as we did under Martin O'Neill or hoofing the ball back to our opponents as quickly as we possibly could as we did under Alex McLeish is what I've been brought up on and I fear that under Paul Lambert we can expect good days and bad days in this coming season, but in the long run if Villa have patience and give him time we are/will be the top 6 team in the making. If this happen what the hell will I have to moan about? As a result, can I say that having watched these preseason games and found that we have taken huge steps forward in terms of delivering a passing game we need to start a campaign to get Lambert out or else he will ruin the proud legacy left to us by Alex McLeish

[VILLA MOLE]

here bloody here

[Toronto Villa]

Great summary - except it was Marshall, not Guzan in nets for the first game.

No he wasn't. Guzan was in goal for most of this tour including the first game in Philadelphia.

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't think we can really learn a great deal from the earlier pre-season friendlies. Didn't we do pretty well in HK last summer, for example? Well, at least against Blackburn.

For me the most important thing is that I have hope again. I can remember Villa sides worse than last season's, but I can't remember any really matching last season for utter spinelessness. They were the first Villa side to make me actually embarassed of my club, something I didn't think I'd ever feel. I expected last season to be bad the minute we made the still unbelievable decision to appoint McLeish, but I didn't know just how depressing and frustrating it would be.

I hope, and think, that in Lambert we now have a progressive manager, who is looking to build something. McLeish was a relic. Houllier had his own issues and was undone by his health. Even under MON who did well with us, we had a manager who was very much a traditional manager - he knew how he liked to do things, and that's what he did, all the time.

The most encouraging thing about Lambert I heard was shortly after he joined, and it was a Norwich fan saying how the way he'd send them out to play was frequently totally different from one week to the next, to match the opponent they were playing. Halle-fucking-lujah, that's one of the major things that has been missing from the way we play for a very long time now, a bit of tactical nous and flexibility.

So, let's not get carried away with what we've seen so far, it really doesn't mean a great deal, but at the same time, lets be happy that we've seen nothing which makes us question what we see as the main things Lambert is bringing to the table for us.

[hilts_coolerking]

Spot on, walnuts.  O'Neill and Houllier certainly had qualities but also had significant limitations.  And the last guy had nothing but limitations.  The Villa job is a significant step up in terms of scale and expectation for Lambert so it's not going to be easy for him, at least early on, but he seems to be a modern, flexible and sophisticated manager which is basically what we've been crying out for for ages.  So I'm in the cautiously optimistic group and, more importantly, looking forward to the new season - as walnuts says - with renewed hope.

[tomd2103]

Last season Norwich made use of their full squad and tactics/formations were changed depending on the opponent and match situations so we could see a few different things. It sounds like they've only used the 4-2-2-2 so far though. Albrighton and N'Zogbia will certainly be hoping for some flexibility as they might not get many opportunities otherwise.

Playing as one of the two front men might be a better move for him.  He didn't look like he wanted to play out wide last season and just might be more effective in a central role.  I hadn't seen any of the games until I watched the Portland game on the link in one of the posts above, but thought Weimann and Fonz offered little threat.  We are going to need more options up front if we are going to play two up there, especially if Bent and Gabby are struggling to be fit, so it might be worth giving N'Zogbia a chance.  We looked fairly solid in the other departments in that game.   

[Matt Collins]

With gabby looking like he may miss the start if the season, I wonder if either n'zogbia or Holman might get the support striker role. Holman played a bit if one game there. N'zogbia hasn't, but it should mean he gets the ball with fewer players boxing him in. His decision making can be bloody terrible though.

[Hookeysmith]

I think a striker must be on the cards although Fonz not only got game time but scored a very decent goal as well - pity Weinmann was not so impressive

I honestly think that if PL cannot get N'Zogbia playing then he is finished with us

[Concrete John]

If we're playing the formation we expect, than N'Zogbia could easily slip into the Gabby role of a striker pulling wide of Bent.  Although Holman could do it as well, I think Bertie may favour N'Zog as it gets more pace into the side in Gabby's absence.

I haven't seen any of the pre-season games yet, so can't really comment on the 4-2-2-2 formation.  However, in essence it does much of what I was suggesting with the diamond, which is have a narrow 4 in midfield and look to get width from the FBs and one of the strikers.

[teamvillage]

Great summary - except it was Marshall, not Guzan in nets for the first game.

No he wasn't. Guzan was in goal for most of this tour including the first game in Philadelphia.

Sorry. I'm clearly getting to the age where the pre-season games blur into one. Whichever continent they are on.