The Midfield

[Nastylee]

We missed a trick in not getting another midfielder in. We need someone with athleticism. Tish has it but looks injury prone and Westood, Jed and Gardner are too immobile, especially when we are under the hammer. We're too top heavy and in trying to accommodate them all we are making an already weakened midfeld even weaker.

[tomd2103]

I think we dominated against forest no?

I wouldn't say to the point where we totally controlled the tempo of the game and it felt really comfortable.  I count myself lucky enough to have seen some Villa sides over the years capable of doing that to teams and there was always that good balance and bit of quality in midfield. 

[WarszaVillan]

It's a shame we didn't keep one of Vertout, Gana or Sanchez.

[Gareth]

It's a shame we didn't keep one of Vertout, Gana or Sanchez.

I'd say it's a bigger shame that when we signed Gana we never game him a midfield partner of the quality that he has now grrrr

[PeterWithe]

Gana would be an ideal solution but let's not cry over spilt milk, we need to get by then loan a player in Jan

[Risso]

It's a shame we didn't keep one of Vertout, Gana or Sanchez.

The one being Gana.  The other two were shite.

[AndyB6]

We need to press the ball much higher up the pitch (but I'm not sure that we have the personnel to do it). We allowed Brentford to settle on the ball and play in our half for virtually the whole of the second half. We weren't playing Arsenal! Why are we showing 'respect' to teams who we shouldn't be? We should have been penning them into their half and winning the ball much further up the field. Sitting deep and defending from the 18-yard line is really asking for trouble. We need at least one, if not two combative midfielders in January. A simple 'give and go' should be enough to set up most pf our attacks as long as we can win possession!!

[KRS]

There is no way any manager should consider playing a midfield 2 if it consists of any combination involving Gardner and Westwood...there needs to be at least one more in there just to make up for them being next to useless. Another experienced dominant midfielder needed to come in but didn't, and this good haunt us for the first half of the season. We've got plenty of attacking options but that is meaningless if we're weak at the back and can't provide the service to the forwards...Grealish, Ayew, Adomah, Gestede and McCormack should be competing for 3 places in the team at most, not trying to accommodate 4 of them.

[Louzie0]

I don't get that.
Four strikers. You'd think that two or three would score.
But they have to be over the halfway line to do that, and causing the oppo defence some problems.
Leave the midfield alone, give the strikers some grief! Apart from young Jonathan, they've been going missing, especially in the last match.

[brian green]

Agree Lou. McCormack looks seriously unfit, Gestede is Gestede namely Ian Ormandroyd in disguise, Ayew continues to deserve the reputation he built in France for having the worst shots to goals ratio in Ligue Un.  That leaves Kodjia and that is what you get.  One effective striker.  Behind our poor, unreinforced midfield you have Elphick and Chester both of whose brains appear to be still on a beach somewhere.

The midfield is rubbish but they are not exactly the sole reason for our shameful ineptitude.

[Mister E]

Perhaps with Adomah in the side we will have more of an 'out' ball which will bring our strikers into play a little more and enable the MF to make up the space between them and the front runners ....

.... Ok, I admit that I'm clutching at straws.

At the moment we are somewhat relying on Jack or Ross to play a dynamic #10 role in front of two decent midfielders.

[olaftab]

And no  team needs 4 strikers on the pitch.  Play your best two, one out of Kodjia/Gestede and Ayew/McCormack, and make the rest of the team work correctly. It's not rocket science ...

[oswald funkletrumpet]

And no  team needs 4 strikers on the pitch.  Play your best two, one out of Kodjia/Gestede and Ayew/McCormack, and make the rest of the team work correctly. It's not rocket science ...

as you say it should be straightforward but we have to make things so difficult

[Monty]

It's a shame we didn't keep one of Vertout, Gana or Sanchez.

The one being Gana.  The other two were shite.

They were better than Westwood, though, and might have been okay at this level.

[brian green]

I am sorry to seem so negative but I think clutching at straws is what do these days.  We pin our hopes on players when they come.  They fall short of expectations and the same level of poor performances becomes a loop.  Elphick is a typical example.  We desperately need leadership on the field.  He is going to be the man to provide it.  Not yet he hasn't.  We need a goal poacher.  McCormack will fill that role. Not yet he hasn't.  We need a goalkeeper who is blunder free and inspires confidence in the defence.  Gollini will do that.  Not yet he hasn't.    Of course we are only seven league games into the season.  We assume that we have plenty of time for the "gelling" and the "bedding in" process to take effect.  Maybe.  But what if it doesn't? 

The big picture is that since MON we have sold our best players and replaced them with inferior ones.  We have to clutch at straws because we suspect - at least I do - that our midfield and our defence and our attack are, bearing in mind the amounts of money spent, nowhere near as good as they need to be.  Again, apologies for the negativity.  It is the way our start to the season has made me feel.