Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on November 04, 2011, 06:36:05 PM
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Available Saturday evening.
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season ticket holder working away anyone know where i can watch?
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Happy with the 3 points, not happy with how we let them back in it. If it weren't for Gabby we woulda lost that. Involved in all 3 goals. We have to step up and sort the defence out asap, were shocking defensively
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Only saw the second half and we should've scored 5. Our full backs are shit. Jenas look like he might give our midfield a bit of composure and hopefully some balance.
I'm worried about N'Zogbia. Despite being tidy on the ball he doesn't appear to be aware that he has 10 team mates to pass to. £10m is looking a shocking price right now.
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We needed that.
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Also, the table looks much healthier today. Much needed 3 points.
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Pleased with the win, Annoyed with square pegs in round holes, Heskey in midfield again? Jenas looked good when he came on, Agbonlahor man of the match, Herd did well, N'zogbia annoys me, He never passes the fucking thing to anyone, should have fed Ireland at the end, greedy ******
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Well, we showed all the positives and negatives of the current managerial regime at Villa. Against a spirited and neat Norwich side there were times when I was in a cold sweat. Some of the defending was comical – Dunne and Collins definitely are not the solid partnership of 2 years’ ago. The propensity to concede cheap free kicks is worrying, to say the least. The porous nature of having only two genuine midfielders cannot be the way forward if we expect to keep clean sheets.
The reality is that we have to have at least three genuine midfielders on the pitch: Petrov and Herd again looked excellent today and need to be joined by Jenas (whose eventual appearance in a Villa shirt showed some early promising signs) or Delph (who deserves more pitch-time to prove whether or not he is a Premiership player).
Playing 2 from Gabby, Bent and N’Zogbia (the latter of whom has yet to demonstrate genuine class) up front and a central midfield three then leaves a final slot for either JJ / Delph or Bannan / Albrighton – although clearly not in favour, Marc has the delivery to provide for Bent and his striking partner.
Defensively, Clark has to be given a run of games – otherwise we’ll be faced with another “Cahill problem”: a young player who thinks he should be getting more game-time. Clark is too good to leave festering on the bench. Overall, though, the real problem in defence is one of shape and communication. Both Hutton and Warnock have demonstrated some good attacking contributions so far this season, but without a solid midfield this is just cavalier. No wonder that Norwich ripped us a new hole down our right in the first half!
If we play so openly against the good sides, we will get mullered. We have to have a more solid midfield combined with changes at centre back. My team for the next few tough games? –
Given – Cuellar – Dunne – Clark – Warnock; Petrov – Herd – Jenas – Bannan; Bent – Agbonlahor.
Will it happen? – unlikely.
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I'm still waiting for Norwich's equaliser. We can't really have held-on, can we?
The game kind of reminds me of the Blackpool game at Villa Park this time last year. Looks like being be a similar, transitional season too.
Gabby was immense, after Rooney he's the best English attacker when on-form.
Encouraging signs from Jenas that he has the bit of composure and awareness of space we sorely need in the middle.
If N'Zogbia learned to look-up once in a while when running with the ball he'd be far more effective. That failure to square the ball to Ireland running clean-through could have been very costly.
Not sure what to make of the defence. The full-backs our probably our achilles heel. They can look good, especially when over-lapping at times but are liable to drop a clanger, Hutton in particular, when defending.
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thought that was a better performance....GA was my MoM...thought N'Zogbia and Hutton in 2nd half had their best games.
Bent back to predatory best
Herd & Heskey played reasonably well
Dunne looks to slow as with Petrov
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Some very fluid attacking at times.
Defence does worry me.
The thrown away extra two points at Sunderland would have us with a 4 point buffer.
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I thought we passed it well at times
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I'm still waiting for Norwich's equaliser. We can't really have held-on, can we?
The game kind of reminds me of the Blackpool game at Villa Park this time last year. Looks like being be a similar, transitional season too.
Gabby was immense, after Rooney he's the best English attacker when on-form.
Encouraging signs from Jenas that he has the bit of composure and awareness of space we sorely need in the middle.
If N'Zogbia learned to look-up once in a while when running with the ball he'd be far more effective. That failure to square the ball to Ireland running clean-through could have been very costly.
Not sure what to make of the defence. The full-backs our probably our achilles heel. They can look good, especially when over-lapping at times but are liable to drop a clanger, Hutton in particular, when defending.
It wasn't just N'Zogbia who picked the wrong option - from what I saw a least 3 others did the same thing. He seems to have close control and a good burst of pace, maybe he'll come good yet.
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Some very fluid attacking at times.
Defence does worry me.
The thrown away extra two points at Sunderland would have us with a 4 point buffer.
and QPR too
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And N'Zogbia needs to pass more, although for the third goal, his hanging onto the ball did draw 3 players in leaving space.
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Pleased with the win, Annoyed with square pegs in round holes, Heskey in midfield again? Jenas looked good when he came on, Agbonlahor man of the match, Herd did well, N'zogbia annoys me, He never passes the fucking thing to anyone, should have fed Ireland at the end, greedy c***
N'Zogbia clearly tried to make the pass but was closed down quickly, it was a tough pass to make. I was really happy with Jenas, finally we have someone calm and collective in the middle of the offensive third. I really hope he starts to feature more often, I think his offensive prowess will really help Bent.
I was super happy with Herd, I fancy him in our midfield for a while. He tackles hard, shields the ball well, can get forward and always gets back. As far as Heskey goes, I see his value in the side but I would opt for someone else seeing as Jenas, Ireland, Herd and Petrov are clearly the center midfielders who should be picked.
Gabby, incredible game. He's in top form and where would we be without him. I can't sing your praises enough. And Darren Bent, still a poacher.. we've just got to feed him.
I thought the defense played pretty well. I don't know why everyone is calling for their heads. Warnock was at fault on the back post goal but other than that he was sticking tackles and making clearances effectively throughout the entire game. Hutton got forward and played pretty well. Dunne and Collins were solid, to keep it simple. I think we should be more supportive of them, they obviously have the skill to be a top defensive unit but we bash them every chance we get. I think they performed well today.
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The moaning on here is relentless so I'll chuck in some positives.
First off, job done with a muched need 3 points against a side whose confidence was sky high. Our forward play seems to be improving nicely and Agbonlahor is absolutely on fire. Even Hutton showed some really good, positive runs and good forward play. With Jenas fit our midfield options look a lot healthier and I'd expect him to feature a lot more over the next few months. It was great to get see Bent bag a couple as well. Herd also deserves a lot of credit for his display, he's got the potential to be an upgrade on NRC if he continues likes this.
UTV
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Jenas, Barry and Herd :D
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I hear what you're saying villadelph I can't agree though, I don't think he had any intention of passing the ball, He doesn't any other time, He reminds me of a kid from School called Andy, Great footballer but no-one passed to him because he always tried to take everyone on! N'zogbia is EXACTLY the same, he wants to look like Pele when in fact he's more like Rodney Trotter
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Much and all as we have problems at the back, at least we arent Norwich :)
To be fair after a dire opening and then Norwich going ahead, things didnt look good but from then on we were the better side and deserved to win. We should have got more than 3 goals too. Bent missed a couple and Nzogbia was greedy on a few occasions.
Gabby was superb today and by a distance the best player on the park. He terrorised the Norwich defence who were exposed badly today. Bent will be happy to have got 2 but I thought he wasnt great again. Oh well 2 goals for him anyway. Nzogbia was decent, selfish at times but dangerous at the same time. Just needs that first goal.
Heskey was ok at times but it is pointless playing him. Thought Herd had a decent game and gives some badly needed pace and bite in midfield. Petrov to be fair was good again. Jenas and Ireland were tidy on the ball when they came on but Jenas is a long way off fitness and Ireland is afraid of physical confrontation.
Then the defence, first off Given simply had to come for the cross for the 2nd goal. The slightest touch he could have got on that would have saved the goal. The four defenders at various stages gave away stupid freekicks
Hutton came forward ok at times and there are signs that himself and Nzogbia are developing an understanding going forward. But his defending is piss poor really. Just gets in the wrong position continuously. Dunne I thought was sluggish today, gave away a couple of stupid fouls early on but wasnt as commanding as usual. Collins was shite and while I wouldnt be as critical of him generally as others here, I think its time for a change there now. In the last few mins when we were holding out he was running all over the place like a headless chicken. Every game he does something rash and it is worth considering Cuellar there next time out I reckon. Warnock made a couple of stupid mistakes as usual but wasnt too bad generally. But against better sides those stupid mistakes will see us drop points as they already have this season. His crossing is gash also. Same issue for Hutton.
Anyway as with Sunderland there was reduced hoofing today, we made it harder for ourselves than it should have been in the second half. Norwich play nice football but were weak in midfield, surprised they went with 2 up top. The likes of Barnett are muck. They will go on a very bad run I reckon at some stage during the season. Id be pretty confident we will finish higher than the 3 sides we have beaten this season.
3 points anyway.
Given 5
Hutton 5
Dunne 5
Collins 4
Warnock 5
Herd 7
Petrov 7
Heskey 5
Nzogbia 7
Gabby 9
Bent 6
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Positives:
Gabby and Herd
A win
Bent found his scoring boots
Negatives:
The defence (2 goals per game is getting beyond stupid now)
Still hoofs
McLeish bringing in Ireland when we're winning by 2 goals (wtf, he did something similar with Albrighton last week)
The win against Norwich doesn't change my opinion of the manager though even though I'm surprised he managed to actually win us a game. The true challenge is next week.
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Pleased with the win, Annoyed with square pegs in round holes, Heskey in midfield again? Jenas looked good when he came on, Agbonlahor man of the match, Herd did well, N'zogbia annoys me, He never passes the fucking thing to anyone, should have fed Ireland at the end, greedy c***
N'Zogbia clearly tried to make the pass but was closed down quickly, it was a tough pass to make.
He did eventually, but a few seconds earlier while he was running into the box was the perfect time to release it to the on-rushing Ireland.
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you give Bent service he'll bag lots of goals. Don't expect to do a lot more because that's not what he does. Gabby is sensational so I expect he won't be picked again for England along with Sturridge at Chelsea. We don't look secure at RB at all and teams know it. That is a massive concern. Still Herd was superb, and JJ looked very promising when he came on. N'Zogbia a lot better and I think he's really trying so hard to get going that it's frustrating him. Once he gets his first I expect the clouds to lift and he'll be the player we thought we bought.
Tough, tough game next week now, but better to go into on the back of a win. A really hope AM gives Cueller or Clark a chance soon.
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Thank Christ for that. Much needed win, and rightly so against the likes of Norwich. Still a mountain to climb defensively, but Gabby and Bent are showing some great form to keep us looking lively up front.
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Brontebilly mate, how harsh are you being on Bent?! He scored two goals, and got into the kind of positions where he could have had more. Isn't that what we bought him for? He ain't a Rooney-type player, he's not going to track back or hold it up. He just scores goals. So when he gets a brace, I say: job well done Daz!
And he's allowed to miss sometimes too. Funnily enough, when the Villa match ended my stream switched to the end of the Blackburn-Chelsea game, just in time to see Torres shin one into row Z from all of three yards out. Even the really pricey boys miss sitters.
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Gabby is already player of the season! Yet another outstanding performance.
N'Zogbia is starting to come good. Some good quick passing. Could of passed for bent, but could of scored too. Not upset with him in the slightest. He is entitled to have a go. And at Least the kid is trying. He really seems to be settling in.... Finally!
Bent, another good game, got chances. Scored some. Missed some. Typical striker in that you won't score them all. It shows though he gets into the right areas. And with service he WILL score goals. Surely this alone is enough to show long ball isn't the way!!
Herd was solid, Jenas looked lively when he came on too. Lots of quick passing and switching play.
Worries are still the defence. Hutton and warnock are frightening. Warnock especially. Does the hard work well. Messes up the simple stuff. Doesn't close down quick enough or lunges in.
Over all a good performance from villa. But Norwich were poor at the back. And a very well taken free kick for their first goal.
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Gabby for England.
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The win against Norwich doesn't change my opinion of the manager though even though I'm surprised he managed to actually win us a game.
Yeah, it irks.
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Gabby for England.
Shhhhhh! Gabby for Villa!
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Brontebilly mate, how harsh are you being on Bent?! He scored two goals, and got into the kind of positions where he could have had more. Isn't that what we bought him for? He ain't a Rooney-type player, he's not going to track back or hold it up. He just scores goals. So when he gets a brace, I say: job well done Daz!
And he's allowed to miss sometimes too. Funnily enough, when the Villa match ended my stream switched to the end of the Blackburn-Chelsea game, just in time to see Torres shin one into row Z from all of three yards out. Even the really pricey boys miss sitters.
My usual, boring repetitive statement re Bent
"Bent will score us 20 goals a year. The trouble is he should have 40".
I'm happy to take the 20. That would be amazing for us. Gabby has stepped up and is looking something else this year too.
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The win against Norwich doesn't change my opinion of the manager though even though I'm surprised he managed to actually win us a game. The true challenge is next week.
So a win against Norwich is expected (tell that to King Kenny and his £100 mil of spending) but if we lose to Spurs, then the manager is shit.
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Gabby has stepped up and is looking something else this year too.
Is he playing so well because he is really happy at the moment, or is it because he has seen his best mates all move and on wages he could only dream of at Villa and wants to show the top teams what he can do?
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That was a game we simply had to win and we did.
I do not understand how some can say this player was superb/sensational or that player was crap/useless. I did not see those extremes today. There were some good performances and some poor performances. In the PL there is a thin dividing line between success and failure. To be successful you require not only ability but workrate and unselfish running off the ball and you have to put this in for 90 minutes.
I thought we were very good for the first 20/25 minutes of the 2nd half but what about the rest. The Norwich defence was dicey at best and crap at worst, as was proved in that period. If we had put in that effort for the majority of the game, we would have scored 5 or 6. As it was, we had too many players standing waiting for things to happen, rather than making them happen. The result of this was that we allowed Norwich to get at us too many times and conceed, what is becoming customery, a couple of goals from set-pieces or high balls into the box.
I was pleased to see some of the players that have been struggling for form so far this season have better games but, against that, I was disappointed to see so much complacency, especially from the more experienced players. If they think they are here just for the ride, they should be shipped out.
Gabby has looked very good this season and the pace he has shown when put through has been one of our few shining lights. I think it is no coincidence that he looks to have lost a considerable amount of weight. Last season he looked sluggish and I believe this was due to niggling injuries and being overweight. Perhaps GH was right in his assessment but there again, I suppose some of his critics will say it was due to Gabby not being interested because of the manager.
Back to todays match, very good it parts but allowed a game Norwich side to run us closer than they should have. Pleased to see us have more possession today than normal.
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More dynamic attacking display today with some good moments for all the front players. N'Zogbia is improving, a bit too selfish though. Three goals is a decent return.
Herd adds some steel and composure in midfield and he can pick out a pass. With Bannan's creativity hopefully to come back in we should look better overall.
We do concede too many soft free kicks and corners which puts us under more pressure than we should be. Hard to criticise the defence for the last goal as Hutton was injured and Ireland's attempt at covering the right back position left a lot to be desired.
Overall very happy with three points, I had us down to lose today. Special mention for Heskey, he's no Zidane but he really works hard and makes a nuisance of himself.
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The Norwich defence was dicey at best and crap at worst
You're right, but it is substantially the defence that only conceded 1 against Liverpool at Anfield and held ManUre for large parts of their game at Old Triffid (before, admittedly leaking 2).
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Brontebilly mate, how harsh are you being on Bent?! He scored two goals, and got into the kind of positions where he could have had more. Isn't that what we bought him for? He ain't a Rooney-type player, he's not going to track back or hold it up. He just scores goals. So when he gets a brace, I say: job well done Daz!
And he's allowed to miss sometimes too. Funnily enough, when the Villa match ended my stream switched to the end of the Blackburn-Chelsea game, just in time to see Torres shin one into row Z from all of three yards out. Even the really pricey boys miss sitters.
My usual, boring repetitive statement re Bent
"Bent will score us 20 goals a year. The trouble is he should have 40".
I'm happy to take the 20. That would be amazing for us. Gabby has stepped up and is looking something else this year too.
The thing is about Bent is that it's his movement into space which creates a lot of his chances. As you say he should have 40 but I don't think his finishing is actually that great, just his movement which especially for both of todays goals was class.
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The Norwich defence was dicey at best and crap at worst
You're right, but it is substantially the defence that only conceded 1 against Liverpool at Anfield and held ManUre for large parts of their game at Old Triffid (before, admittedly leaking 2).
You're right, but not having seen those games, I am not sure how!
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Well apart from the fingernails at the end I did enjoy that game. Best home game since Man Utd last season. A good open game and fair play to Norwich's open approach which made the game. You can analyse tactics etc but I just want to be entertained.
Gabby and Herd were tremendous today.
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He ain't a Rooney-type player, he's not going to track back or hold it up. He just scores goals.
Bent's game is to play on the last defender and that is how he runs into space from long passes. In these positions he should not be looking to hold the ball up. The times he does hold the ball up is when he runs wide and then usually plays a controlled ball back to the supporting fullback before running into the box. Granted, tracking back is not part of his game and he needs to track across the halfway line better when the opposition central defenders have the ball.
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Didn't think we'd win. We were comfortably the better side overall.
Gabby has matured so much, he's a joy to watch. Our most important player by far. I'd consider giving him the captaincy after Stan.
Nice to see us coming from a goal behind, the team does have a bit of fight about it.
The first goal was special, the second goal Hutton was injured and Ireland (covering right back) didn't get tight to the lad putting the cross in.
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Very enjoyable game, Norwich play nice positive football, they are poor in defence but good going forward. We decided to do the same with good attacking play and some woeful defending, chances for both teams and a nice three points for The Villa.
Gabby was awesome, Heskey worked his socks off, Herd had a good second half, N'Zogbia is getting there, needs to get his head up a bit earlier.
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Brontebilly mate, how harsh are you being on Bent?! He scored two goals, and got into the kind of positions where he could have had more. Isn't that what we bought him for? He ain't a Rooney-type player, he's not going to track back or hold it up. He just scores goals. So when he gets a brace, I say: job well done Daz!
And he's allowed to miss sometimes too. Funnily enough, when the Villa match ended my stream switched to the end of the Blackburn-Chelsea game, just in time to see Torres shin one into row Z from all of three yards out. Even the really pricey boys miss sitters.
My usual, boring repetitive statement re Bent
"Bent will score us 20 goals a year. The trouble is he should have 40".
I'm happy to take the 20. That would be amazing for us. Gabby has stepped up and is looking something else this year too.
The thing is about Bent is that it's his movement into space which creates a lot of his chances. As you say he should have 40 but I don't think his finishing is actually that great, just his movement which especially for both of todays goals was class.
That's exactly it JR.
His finishing looks close to woeful at times, but credit to him he doesn't duck out and try to avoid the ball (as I've seen other forwards in a Villa shirt do) if things don't go his way. He puts himself back in the mix, will nick a yard or so on the last defender or outfox him with a sudden change of movement and will always get goals at this level because of that.
Good win today. Herd looks a find, Jenas got valuable game time, Gabby is in good nick and Bent has the taste for goals again. Would be nice if we could put a decent run of form together now, but with the set of fixtures coming up that will be easier said than done.
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Really entertaining game much helped by Norwich coming to play and not 'park the bus' - wouldn't mind seeing Paul Lambert at VP tbh.
Lots of positives today. 3 vital points obviously; Gabby clearly man of the match - superb throughout (although much helped by Leon Barnett being shit); DB doing what we bought him for; Chris Herd very good again; N'Zogbia showing more signs of what could be - pity he didn't either shoot or get his pass through to Ireland towards the end; Given kept us alive after a lively start by Norwich; Jenas looks much more composed than anything we currently have in midfield, and now that he's fit maybe McLeish can find a midfield which doesn't include Heskey (although to be fair I though he did OK today).
On the negative side - I wish we'd stop giving silly free kicks away; Hutton is poor and it's no coincidence that a lot of Norwich threat came down our right side - I'd rather see Herd at RB ( was brilliant there against Wolves) and maybe bring Clark or Gardner in if extra strength needed in MF.
As an aside - the minute's silence was impeccably respected by all.
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Hopefully McLeish will change the defenders. Bring in Cuellar at right back and Clarke at left back. Yup, that's four central defenders, but it seems that both Collins and Dunne need an extra central defender to cover for them. If we concede two goals against WBA, Sunderland and Norwich, we need to do something different to do better against Spurs, Chelsea and ManU.
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Just got in, im buzzing, it's my Borthday tomorrow and I've just watched a really enjoyable game.
N'Zogbia was really involved if only he would just pass.
Gabby was quality, nailed on for England squad I'd say.
Hutton is rubbish and Warnock is dodgey at times but much improved. Clark has to replace Collins.
Overall a good result heading into a international break.
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Pleased with the win, Annoyed with square pegs in round holes, Heskey in midfield again? Jenas looked good when he came on, Agbonlahor man of the match, Herd did well, N'zogbia annoys me, He never passes the fucking thing to anyone, should have fed Ireland at the end, greedy c***
N'Zogbia clearly tried to make the pass but was closed down quickly, it was a tough pass to make.
He did eventually, but a few seconds earlier while he was running into the box was the perfect time to release it to the on-rushing Ireland.
N'Zogbia had about a week to make a perfect lay off to his right in the path of Ireland however as usual he found some defenders before attempting a pass. It was too late.
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Very good game to watch today.
More importantly 3 vital points.
Gabby really is transforming into the player he's always threatened to be, but has just been unable to make the breakthrough. He is a nightmare for defenders currently. Also great to see Bent get some goals. He hasn't been at his best this season, yet has 5 in 11 league games.
Some poor defending at times, which is becoming somewhat of a trend, and failing to extend our lead are the negatives for today. (Don't think theres much more to be said in the Heskey in midfield situation).
As a side note, I quite like Norwich, and in particular Paul Lambert.
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Really enjoyed today's game apart from the last 10 mins. First time I've thought we've played some decent football throughout the game as we did it against Blackburn and Wigan but both are desperately poor teams, Norwich are a lot better than either.
Positives were the front two, Petrov and I thought N'zgobia built on his decent performance last week although I wish he'd bleeding shoot a bit earlier sometimes rather than try to beat 2-3 men all the time.
The less said about Stephen Ireland's 5 second cameo at right back the better.
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Very positive today except for the final 10 mins that I found difficult based on our recent habits.
Gabby is turning into a very composed player. He was superb today.
N'Zogbia had his best game for us today however still disappointing. Our coaching team need to do some work here on how not to run into the nearest defender at every chance.
Pleased that Benty got a brace.
Petrov with Herd was good combination and from what I saw of Jenas in the period he was on the pitch he added composure and a touch of class to our midfield.
Good turn out from Norwich. Best away attendance so far this season.
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Positives, after their goal we played some lovely stuff. Gabby was immense, every Norwich player seemed to shit themselves as soon as he got the ball. Bent missed another great chance but didn't let it get to him and showed what we paid £18m for. Herd looked good again. Zog looked a lot more up for it and showed hints of the player he could be for us. Heskey was an unsung hero. Won nearly every header, held the ball up well and played some nice passes.
We could easily have scored half a dozen or more and at 3-1 started passing the ball around very tidily.
Negatives. The first 15 mins or so when we could have been 3 down. The defence. Thats 10 conceded in 4 games. While Norwich may have shit themselves every time Gabby got the ball, I shit myself every time Norwich did. They could have scored half a dozen as well.
I can see why so many can't be arsed going to VP these days, it was dead boring today! *winky*
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No praise for AM I notice ....must be his fault that .....
Signed Given - excellent signing
Warnock - playing 100 times better than for past 2 seasons - not perfect
Petrov - seems fitter and scoring more than in past
Gabby - totally different player this season
there are other positives and yes some negatives too but I feel some praise is due
Lets remember any person in any job can only work with the tools available to them - not his fault lost AY or SD etc
I thought that was an entertaining performance than I have seen from Villa at VP for quite some time today
Lets give praise where due and moan when deserved
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N'Zog played well today, but he is just too desperate to score.Needs to pick a pass better, on another day with a bit more composure, we could have had 5 or 6 goals today.
Good signs.For me the playing of Herd has completely changed the character of the team.He has given us a bit more balance.
Anyone else think Given should have done better for both goals?
Thought Collins was poor , but Warnock and Hutton was ok.I agree with playing Clark.He plays the ball out of defence well, keeps the ball better, and is not partic defensively inferior to Collins.
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We played well. We were still a little sloppy at the back with needless freekicks, and their 2nd was poor play.
Gabby was brilliant. He had pace, power and lots of quality end product too. He looks a class act right now. Bent played well too and looked more confident after his first. He'd just been a little jaded in recent games until then.
Petrov solid.
Herd excellent.
N'Zogbia had his best game, but at the moment he's having no luck and just doesn't have any confidence with his final delivery. Right now if he fell into a barrel of boobs, he'd come out sucking his thumb!
Also, aside from giving away that freekick for their first, I thought Hutton had his best game for us. He made some good runs down the right and linked well with Charles.
Much better, but we're still too sloppy. Better teams will punish us, and also, not offer us so much time on the ball.
Next game I'd go Herd, Petrov and Jenas in midfield. That'll work quite well I think.
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First and foremost - I thoroughly enjoyed the game today. Credit to both teams for trying to win the game (though we should be anyway as we're at home to Norwich.
After about 15-20 minutes, I thought we were going to get hammered.
Gabby has the player of the year award nailed down already. Great game for him.
Herd played well, as did Petrov and Bent did what Bent always does.
I'm looking forward to Jenas starting instead of Heskey next match. Jenas came on a looked like a player who has just come from a team high on confidence and that pass the ball. In his little time on the pitch, he looked very interested. Much the same way that Kyle Walker did actually.
Mention to N'Zogbia as well, who showed some of the signs of why we bought him AND he put lots of effort in today as well. When he finally scores or gets a great assist, then I think we'll see him really fly.
One moan (there always is)...why can't our fans just let the team try and pass the ball without the fear of being moaned and whinged at. I think that's half the problem, a lack of confidence when trying to pass the ball or try something different. The guy next to me is always shouting "DON'T TIPPY-TAP ABOUT WITH IT - GET IT FORWARD", then he'll moan when it does go forward that it hasn't gone to anyone and we lose the ball. I really would like us to support the team and give them the confidence to try things.
Still, very happy today because I enjoyed the game and we won (it doesn't happen often!).
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Oh, I almost forgot, it's no coincidence that Ireland came on and they scored shortly after. The lazy git could've done a lot more to prevent the cross that lead to their 2nd goal. Why do we bother with him?
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Gabby changed the game - when we went 1 down it looked ominous.
Gabby started to create chances for Bent and eventually he put one in.
N'Zog started to look like he could do something to make a difference - just didn't get the breaks.
Herd sat in front of defence and was so commanding it let Petrov have time to encourage others to go forward.
Gabby was a constant threat and made the Norwich defence panic every time he got the ball. Thankfully the sponsors got the MOM decision right.
Not sure they will do as well when we play teams who know how to defend but at least we can enjoy Saturday night for once. It will still be a long hard winter I'm afraid.
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Jenas cant play next game - loan deal and against parent club
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Just got home. Gabby was a joy to watch. Zog has the infuriating habit of shooting when he should pass and passing when he should shoot. I think Heskey did well within the parameters of being our anywhere any place any time man. He looked genuinely pissed off that he had not bundled the whole of the Norwich defence and the ball over the goal line in the later stages. Stylian stayed the pace a lot better and Herd had a bit of the James Milner about him - muscular, bold and committed.
Alex McLeish has not got the hang of substitutions yet.
Met up with some Norwich fans at a filling station of the A14 on the way home. Good lot. All agreed it was a good game of football
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Just home after a post-match meal and a few drinks. If Norwich had equalised, which I was expecting, would be feeling gutted right now. As it was, they didn't, and consequently today's game with the nail biting tension of the expectation of the non-existent equaliser equalled entertainment.
Some lively calls on 6-0-6 tonight as well.
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Oh, I almost forgot, it's no coincidence that Ireland came on and they scored shortly after. The lazy git could've done a lot more to prevent the cross that lead to their 2nd goal. Why do we bother with him?
To be fair to the guy, defending is not his strong point. I thought he deserved praise for attempting to fill in for Hutton who was still recovering from the earlier challenge. Could have easily scored today had N'Zog got his head up earlier as well.
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Oh, I almost forgot, it's no coincidence that Ireland came on and they scored shortly after. The lazy git could've done a lot more to prevent the cross that lead to their 2nd goal. Why do we bother with him?
Exactly. Criticism of Ireland is harsh. He's not meant to be a right-back, Hutton the dunderhead was down after taking a knock.
To be fair to the guy, defending is not his strong point. I thought he deserved praise for attempting to fill in for Hutton who was still recovering from the earlier challenge. Could have easily scored today had N'Zog got his head up earlier as well.
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No praise for AM I notice ....must be his fault that .....
Warnock - playing 100 times better than for past 2 seasons - not perfect
He's not. The season before last he was very good.
Last season he was gash in the games he played.
This season so far he's been hit and miss.
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An entertaining game that I felt we just about deserved to win. The midfield was a lot better balanced than it's been so far this season. Petrov was always looking for the ball, Herd put in some great tackles, and N'Zogbia, while still not quite clicking in an attacking sense worked very hard defensively. Gabby was inspirational. He was everywhere - up front, popping up on both flanks, and helping out in midfield. I've never considered it before but I can see him becoming a future Villa captain if he maintains this form and influence.
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Oh, I almost forgot, it's no coincidence that Ireland came on and they scored shortly after. The lazy git could've done a lot more to prevent the cross that lead to their 2nd goal. Why do we bother with him?
Exactly. Criticism of Ireland is harsh. He's not meant to be a right-back, Hutton the dunderhead was down after taking a knock.
To be fair to the guy, defending is not his strong point. I thought he deserved praise for attempting to fill in for Hutton who was still recovering from the earlier challenge. Could have easily scored today had N'Zog got his head up earlier as well.
He's meant to be a midfielder who, so we've been told by many, is very talented. Talented players know when to cover and work hard. Fair enough he can't defend, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be busting a gut to stand in front of someone about to cross a ball - you don't need to be able to defend to do that. Anyway, I'd rather not dwell on it, I enjoyed today.
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Great game for the neutral!
I'm not a neutral and although it was our best performance of the season you know things aren't quite right when your best full back is Warnock. Hutton is a liability, an accident waiting to happen, Cuellar would be a far better option but not the answer. We need to sort our defence above all else.
On a positive note there were many players who played well today, Gabby naturally, Herd, we should stick with him in midfield as he has that energy and ability to tackle well. Given looked assured and Petrov is playing like a captain should. The Zog looks better than of late but he needs to reverse his decision making.
Happy with the 3 points but we could and should have made it far more comfortable.
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There were a lot of positives from today, the negatives were the same old same old.
Thought we were rampaging down the left in the first half after Norwich scored and could easily have gone in 3-1 up at half-time. There was some close passing that came off where before we lost the ball easily.
Are Norwich "neat" or just ineffective? Thought the latter myself.
Defence was worrying at times but this is to be expected it seems.
Midfield was good when we linked up and moved the ball quickly.
Strike force excellent! I want to see us pushing into the box and putting close pressure on the oppsoition goal. We looked like scoring every time we got into the penalty area.
Gabby is just superb at the moment - he showed his physical strength today holding off challenges and keeping the ball.
We counted how many dead balls made it past the first defender - counted 2 out of 9? Poor.
When we put it in quickly to feet casued problems
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Enjoyed it. Gabby was brilliant again.
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Oh, I almost forgot, it's no coincidence that Ireland came on and they scored shortly after. The lazy git could've done a lot more to prevent the cross that lead to their 2nd goal. Why do we bother with him?
To be fair to the guy, defending is not his strong point. I thought he deserved praise for attempting to fill in for Hutton who was still recovering from the earlier challenge. Could have easily scored today had N'Zog got his head up earlier as well.
Completely agree. Ireland wasn't to blame. Thought he actually tried to cover well for Hutton going in for the earlier challenge.
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I really didn't expect us to hang on in those last 15 minutes.
An alternative to Hutton, who seems to be getting a lot of stick which I don't think is all deserved as he offers a lot going forward, is Lichaj but I'm not sure how much longer he will be out.
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Excellent game, my first trip to VP this season. Gabby was pure class, and I actually thought Heskey was pretty good today (which I was pleased about because of the constant sarcastic remarks made by people sat around me). I also thought N'zogbia was pretty good today. He could have laid the ball on for Ireland late on, but I think his pace and directness caused Norwich a few problems.
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3 points in a good open game of football, yes we should have seen the game out but a win is a win and lots of positives with Jenas, Gabby, Bent and Herd. All nice before an international break!
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3 points. The only thing that matters today.
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Herd looks fantastic. Bent eventually doing the business. Gabby is rampant, easily our talisman. Petrov looking good still. Jenas showed good touches and composure when he came on. Zog needs to look up sometimes. Defence needs working on in training.
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Just seen the goals on MOTD, Gabby brilliant for all three. Also Benty great positioning. Loved that Gabby pointed to the badge when he scored.
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Good result today. We've got some tough games coming up so this puts us in a stronger position.
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Gabby class,warnock and hutton not class,they should only be allowed out at halloween.
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Enjoyed the game today, first & last 10 mins were a worry, but overall we deserved the win.
Given - good early saves, first goal was his side of the wall
Hutton - good performance, got no support from N'Zogbia for first 20 mins
Warnock - thought that after Gabby he was MOM
Collins - root cause of our defensive problems. 1st half run to cover Hutton while leaving 2 unmarked in the centre was astounding. Not good enough.
Dunne - unsteady at first but improved
Petrov - another good performance
Herd - good, tenacious performance. Does simple things well
N'Zogbia - improving with each game, needs goal
Bent - great movement for goals
Heskey - only in the side for physical presence
Gabby - outstanding
Jenas - composure & experience is just what we need
Ireland - a luxury we can't afford
Ahead of the next 5 games, 3 points was a must today to take some pressure off.
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Finally a bit of excitement, a very entertaining match.
I thought for the first 20 odd minutes we looked atrocious, pinned in our own half. We grew into the match, though, and played some decent stuff at times.
I was utterly convinced we'd throw it away in the last ten minutes or so, so was happy we didn't do so.
Gabby was utterly unplayable. The defender he was up against most often was clearly shitting his pants every time he got the ball. I also thought that Petrov had his best game for a very long time.
Heskey in midfield I will never get, but I'll admit he wasn't as disastrous as I thought he'd be.
Herd looked composed and comfortable, and Jenas looked good when he came on.
Hutton and Warnock both looked rubbish again. Those two scare me to death.
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Herd had a bit of the James Milner about him - muscular, bold and committed.
That's exactly what I said to my friend today, that there's s a little bit of James Milner about Herd.
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Thought Gabby was outstanding today. Petrov also had a good game, but then he normally does anyway.
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Herd had a bit of the James Milner about him - muscular, bold and committed.
That's exactly what I said to my friend today, that there's s a little bit of James Milner about Herd.
Make that 3 of us because I also said the same to my mates as well.
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Stayed up till crazy O'Clock to watch this one, great game.
Petrov ran the show, Heskey put in a good shift but surely can't play that role all season, Jenas looked good and Bent proved once again what a terrific goal scorer he is. MOTM Gabby, back to his best and put the fear of McGrath into Barnet all game long (similar to what he did to him at The Hawthorns a few years back iirc).
Much needed and overdue 3 points.
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Herd had a bit of the James Milner about him - muscular, bold and committed.
That's exactly what I said to my friend today, that there's s a little bit of James Milner about Herd.
Make that 3 of use because I also said the same to my mates as well.
Well as we are in agreeing mood I said this on the Herd thread:
Yes he did. He covers the pitch and tackles superbly. This kid could be Milner with class added.
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Heskey in midfield I will never get, but I'll admit he wasn't as disastrous as I thought he'd be.
As far as I could see got a good ovation when he came off. I don't like him playing in midfield, but he definitely had his uses today.
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Finally a bit of excitement, a very entertaining match.I thought for the first 20 odd minutes we looked atrocious, pinned in our own half. We grew into the match, though, and played some decent stuff at times.I was utterly convinced we'd throw it away in the last ten minutes or so, so was happy we didn't do so.Gabby was utterly unplayable. The defender he was up against most often was clearly shitting his pants every time he got the ball. I also thought that Petrov had his best game for a very long time.
Heskey in midfield I will never get, but I'll admit he wasn't as disastrous as I thought he'd be.Herd looked composed and comfortable, and Jenas looked good when he came on.Hutton and Warnock both looked rubbish again. Those two scare me to death.
I agree with all of that. I am not a petrov fan- but concede he did well today.
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Just watched game on TV. I'd go for a steady display. I think our defending especially once we have given the ball away, concede throw in or corner, so naive sometimes. I noticed Jenas asking the bench where to go for a corner???
stand-outs where Stan, Herd, Gabby, Bent (Should have had hat-trick)
7/10 rest (Including Hutton & Warnock)
Heskey & N'zogbia - Please drop for next game.
Not sure if any one else has mentioned it, BUT Hutton looks bad ,cos dear N'zogbia does not tracK back and help Hutton. So he has Herd, Petrov and Heskey giving him a hand, but in different manners. so he's never sure what to do, 'cos a) he has no help, b) he's never sure who's coming to help him.
Think people give Hutton too hard a time.
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I really enjoyed the game (apart from the finger nail biting at the end)
Herd was great, Gabby was fantastic and him and Bent are working really well together
Zog played the best I have seen him in a villa shirt, JJ had some really good touches and showed some much missed poise and calmness on the ball.
The only slight moan is the amount of free kicks in dangerous places we give away.
Having said that... I had a good entertaining afternoon out.
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Good game.
We started the game poorly, but settled just after they scored and pretty much dominated the large middle part of the game...until they scored again. I was shitting it for the last ten.
I didn't think it was a free-kick for their first goal, that shithouse Holt just lumbered into Hutton and went down like a sack of spuds. However, we got a well deserved break for our first with the Warnock handball. Still think we're due a few more 'favourable' decisions over the next few weeks to make up for WBA and Sunderland (x2).
Given - solid, personally don't think he was at fault for either goal. The free-kick was on his side, but credit to the powerful, curling, accurate strike.
Hutton - started very poorly and does 'doze off' now and again, letting his runner go in between him and Collins. Grew into the game and offered some strong forward running.
Collins - some good blocks and clearances, as usual.
Dunne - after a slow start, I thought he played pretty well. Strong.
Warnock - I thought he had a really good game...except for their second goal. That's the problem with him, his mistakes nearly always lead to goals against us.
N'Zogbia - a bit better, but his touch is still unreliable when under a bit of pressure. Also, his shooting so far has been awful. Like he's got a spoon for a foot. That said, he was very close to providing his first assist to Bent in the first half.
Petrov - really good.
Herd - excellent tackling and workrate, started to look more comfortable on the ball in the 2nd half. Looks a good midfield option.
Gabby - 10/10, fantastic performance.
Heskey - actually played well, I can see why he gets picked. Workrate, size, positional sense.
Bent - looked sharp, 2 goals, good striking.
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Bloody brilliant. Gabby was amazing.
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Highlights (http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/aston-villa-norwich-15652245/)
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Will the "X for England" brigade ever learn?
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Oh, and Jenas looked very good when he came on. Intelligent use of the ball, cool head.
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MotD Highlights (http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/aston-villa-norwich-motd-15654141/)
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Heskey in midfield I will never get, but I'll admit he wasn't as disastrous as I thought he'd be.
As far as I could see got a good ovation when he came off. I don't like him playing in midfield, but he definitely had his uses today.
Not his fan but I thought he was part of our solution after the first 15 mins or so specially moving in from wide to receive Given kicks and setting up our play makers.
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Will the "X for England" brigade ever learn?
Exactly, it always ends in tears for us.
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Most enjoyable game for quite some time.
Credit to Norwich for having a real go and making for a really open game.
N'Zogbia is slowly but surely starting to settle, he showed signs last week and made further progress yesterday. In fact 2nd half he was combining very well with Hutton going forward. However, Hutton has too many `J Lloyd Samuel` moments which need to be eliminated or it will cost us points.
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Excellent game, my first trip to VP this season. Gabby was pure class, and I actually thought Heskey was pretty good today (which I was pleased about because of the constant sarcastic remarks made by people sat around me). I also thought N'zogbia was pretty good today. He could have laid the ball on for Ireland late on, but I think his pace and directness caused Norwich a few problems.
Lower North?
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I am still not sure what to make of the game yesterday. For the first 20 minutes It seemed worse than I feared and to be honest I was expecting a two or three goal drubbing. The catalyst seemed to be Norwich's first goal and I am not sure it was a case of Villa stepping up their game or Norwich thinking 'this is going to be easy'.
Fortunately, Gabby began to get into the game and their full back and the centre half Bennet was even dodgier than our back four. Chris Herd was prominent in being the only midfielder to go looking for the ball and looking to fill defensive gaps for others. Zob not only drifts away from his defensive position but only half follows his man when he is in the right place. He seems totally unaware of his defensive role.
After Bent scored our first it was a very good game but ultimately unconvincing.
I would settle for this though to the previous turgid displays, so some improvement. God help us though if we don't get more of the squad playing well.
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
I agree, he tried to play the ball out of defence properly rather than just hoofing it which stands out in our defence. I think he made one mistake all match conceding possession on the halfway line which led to a Norwich counter attack but apart from that I thought he was great.
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The win against Norwich doesn't change my opinion of the manager though even though I'm surprised he managed to actually win us a game.
You must be gutted.
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Really enjoyed yesterday
We played a really attacking lineup and while Norwich were cutting us to shreds in the first 10 minutes, we still created a few golden chances on the counter. It's the quickest I've seen us move the ball on the deck.
As nervous as I was for the last 10 minutes, we defended well. I don't think we gave one free kick away (apart from offsides) in the closing stages which was good to see.
More of the same please.
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The win against Norwich doesn't change my opinion of the manager though even though I'm surprised he managed to actually win us a game.
You must be gutted.
Fair's fair - at least he's turned up on a post-match thread after we've won.
Blackcountry villa and greg don't seem be that fussed about turning up this week.
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Herd had a bit of the James Milner about him - muscular, bold and committed.
That's exactly what I said to my friend today, that there's s a little bit of James Milner about Herd.
Make that 3 of use because I also said the same to my mates as well.
Well as we are in agreeing mood I said this on the Herd thread:
Yes he did. He covers the pitch and tackles superbly. This kid could be Milner with class added.
Make that four of us. Although to be fair, I only said it on the way back to the car !!!. Obviously he hasn't got Milner's goal threat or possibly his range of passing (yet) but he does tackle a lot better. For workrate and energy though, he is Milner re-incarnated and something we have badly missed over the last year or so.
Shame JJ can't play v Spurs, so for that game presuming everyone is fit, I would bring in Delph as a midfield three with Herd and Petrov and N'Zogbia, Gabby and Bent up top. He will pick an unchanged team though.
UTV !!
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
I agree, he tried to play the ball out of defence properly rather than just hoofing it which stands out in our defence. I think he made one mistake all match conceding possession on the halfway line which led to a Norwich counter attack but apart from that I thought he was great.
Warnock is excellent, I rarely notice him during a game. Defensively speaking, the full backs who stand out are those making mistakes.
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Shame JJ can't play v Spurs, so for that game presuming everyone is fit, I would bring in Delph as a midfield three with Herd and Petrov and N'Zogbia, Gabby and Bent up top. He will pick an unchanged team though.
UTV !!
I agree - maybe Bannan instead of Delph, but I think that's definitely the way to play at the moment.
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I was convinced at HT that we would go on and win but we could have done without the last 10 nervy minutes.
N'Zogbia is starting to look the part, but he needs to start looking up more in the final third and passing the ball, he gets in good positions then runs into people, but he seems to be gaining more confidence which is good.
Herd and Petrov were great again and Jenas looked good when he came on. My only gripe was McCleish putting on Ireland when Petrov had to go off, he was'nt the right player at all.
All in all, a much needed win and a better perfomance. Let's enjoy it.
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McLeish sort of said in his MOTD interview that the substitutions he made disrupted villa's rhythm. That in itself reflects an refreshing change from the embarrassingly arrogant Houllier and MON. How many times did Houllier publicly hang players in media last season?
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On the whole a good performance. Gabby was outstanding, Bent did what Bent was paid to do, Herd and Petrov looked like they are forming a good partnership and N'Zogbia had his best game for us.
Warnock was good although, having watched it again on MOTD, lost his man far too easily for their 2nd goal.
Oh and the comedy "football gods irony" was the dogs abuse a guy infront of us got for defending Bent for Bent to score 3 mins later and all the abusers having to apologise. Very Funny.
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
Credit where it's due, I think overall he's been one of our best players so far this season.
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
Credit where it's due, I think overall he's been one of our best players so far this season.
I agree with both of you. He's close to being back to his best as far as I can see. He still has a slight tendency to 'dive in', but overall he's playing well. His positioning seems to be a bit better currently, too.
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I'm struggling to get the Warnock stuff.
I thought that after Gabby and Herd he was our best player yesterday.
Credit where it's due, I think overall he's been one of our best players so far this season.
Ditto.
I think Warnock plays with his heart on his sleeve.
To me, he plays with gusto and is always fully committed.
He may not be the most graceful of players, but because he is full blooded, he is prone to making the odd mistake, or finding himself out of position.
Given his effort and commitment ,I can forgive him that.
Remember, we used to have Nicola Shorey !!!
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A good 3 points,shame we had a very nervous last 10 minutes. Gabby was brilliant. Nzogbia,Herd and Warnock played really well aswell.
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I actually thought Warnock played well.
Nzog is trying to hard to score the 25 yarder to get the fans on his side , instead of the simple pass to a team mate , but he is improving.
Heskey played well to be honest , I just think its a wasted postition .
Jenas looked good , I saw him hit a brilliant ball across the half way line , and thought nobody in the team could do that..
Bent , does what we pay him to do , score goals , I love him.
Gabby , class yesterday , caused problems , the Gabby of old but with more of a brain in there . I love him too.
Herd , a bonus for me , didnt expect him to play regular at the beginning of the season , I do .
In fact , a very enjoyable game .
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Not far off our best performance, and lets face it we really needed to win this one to give us some breathing space. Downside is the defence again - we're gonna struggle if we have to score 3 every week to win a game
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Really enjoyed it yesterday, tbh we looked very shaky at the start as Norwich came out of the traps like a greyhound but we found our feet after about 20 odd minutes and the really encouraging thing for me over the whole game was the number of chances we created, there were balls flashing across the box all game, meat and drink for Benty, and Gabby in a loose support striker role was a revelation as he popped up here there and everywhere. Scores on the doors:
Given - 6.5 - bit flat footed for the free kick but some excellent stops and confident keeping second half
Hutton - 6 - looked a bit lost at first but grew into the game and became an attacking threat second half
Collins - 6 - I can't make my mind up but for such a big bloke he doesn't half get bullied by big lads up front for other teams
Dunne - 7 - Thought he had a good solid game
Warnock - 7.5 - Getting back to what we know he can be he isn't ever going to be Cole, Gibbs or Clichy but i srtill like his whole hearted approach
Herd - 7.5 - Very accomplished, lost in the first 15 mins but then got his foot on the ball and started covering his back 4 superbly especially the full backs
Petrov - 7.5 - Workrate excellent and really good use of the ball
NZogbia - 6.5 - Its starting to happen, looks more settled, starting to run with purpose and if he could look up a bit more....
Agbonlahor - 8 - MOM - Superb, constant threat.
Heskey - 6.5 - After an awful first 15 minutes suddenly realised he could contribute and had a good game until he was taken off.
Bent - 7.5 - Did what he's paid to do, on a better day (!!) could have had 5.
Jenas - 6 - Patently not match fit but looked assured and composed on the ball, crossfield ball to Hutton a delight
Ireland - 5 - Not really long enough but a couple of intelligent runs but at least he was covering the right back position even though they scored
McLeish - 7 - Seemed to have them up for it and after a shaky start got them to start causing Norwich problems. Ireland for Petrov was a mistake, and we need to defend slightly higher up the pitch when we don't have the ball. He needs to solve (?) the Heskey conundrum or hope someone else steps up to the plate to challenge for that place.
Fans - 7 - Well L1 and 2 were in good voice and the boys upstairs seemed to keep it going but hats off to the North Lower who seemed to be having a laugh with the Norwich fans.
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I would give N'Zogbia lines. Write out "You've got to hold or give but do it at the right time" 1000 times.
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James Collins. He is a bit like Eddie Stobart. He delivers long distance anywhere all the time!
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I've only seen the highlights but from them it does look like Hutton is a very poor defender. Needlessly conceded the free kick that led to the first goal, hours after the ball had gone, and it looked as if everything Norwich created came down his side. He seemed to often be wandering around watching their players stroll past him and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
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I've only seen the highlights but from them it does look like Hutton is a very poor defender. Needlessly conceded the free kick that led to the first goal, hours after the ball had gone, and it looked as if everything Norwich created came down his side. He seemed to often be wandering around watching their players stroll past him and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
He was injured for the 2nd and it was Ireland filling in, although I do agree that there game plan seemed to be to get at him.
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Norwich looked shoddy defensively, and it seemed to take us a while to realise this. However, to be honest, we didn't look fantastic off the ball either, and the game, as I predicted, could really have gone either way, but our superior forwards made the difference. If it weren't for Gabby in particular we'd be absolutely nowhere, and we needed this win considering the run of games we have coming up.
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James Collins. He is a bit like Eddie Stobart. He delivers long distance anywhere all the time!
Unlike Eddie Stobart, they don't arrive at the right destination.
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I've got a few more comments to make. I would have bought Clark on instead of Ireland yesterday. Not that Ireland was bad in the time I saw him but Clark would have solidified the defence more and keeping a two goal lead would be very good for Villa confidence wise. Did enjoy myself yesterday though and I spent some money at the shop afterwards with that 20% discount.
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It seems to me that quite a few posters did not go to the match, so how you can give an opinion on anyones performance based on the MOTD highlights is beyond me.
The game was an exciting one, with mistakes all over the pitch, but overall I would say this is our best game this season. We have a long way to go before we can start having the high expectations some of you guys already have, and in the meantime I suggest we enjoy the games for what they are.
It IS actually ok to have a smile on your face and enjoy a game!
I have been disappointed with N'Zogbia because we have not seen anything of the player he was at Wigan, but the last two games are very encouraging so lets get behind the lad. Hutton showed something going forward, but still worries me with his defensive positioning. I though Jenas looked like a class player, and we do need somethiing creative in the middle, he seems to see the simple pass and uses both feet. Warnock makes mistakes, he always will but his effort this season is worth supporting.
Obviously Gabby was class. Darren Bent may not appear to do much when you only see the camera's view, but watching his movement from where I sit, you can see he puts a shift in. He is always around the six yard box and testerday he read Gabby really well. His strenghth is putting the ball iin the net, and thats a commodity we have had very little of in recent years.
Rant over, but if you want to see the whole game rather than highlights or a crappy feed why don't you get down Villa Park and support the team. We need to get behing the team, Norwich fans outsang us except when we were winning and thats embarrassing.
UTV
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Missed all footy yesterday but great to see 3 points on the board. Hate to think where we would be without Gabby.
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I've only seen the highlights but from them it does look like Hutton is a very poor defender. Needlessly conceded the free kick that led to the first goal, hours after the ball had gone, and it looked as if everything Norwich created came down his side. He seemed to often be wandering around watching their players stroll past him and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
TBF, he got very little cover initially, but it is telling that both NC goals came from our RHS.
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I've got a few more comments to make. I would have bought Clark on instead of Ireland yesterday. Not that Ireland was bad in the time I saw him but Clark would have solidified the defence more and keeping a two goal lead would be very good for Villa confidence wise. Did enjoy myself yesterday though and I spent some money at the shop afterwards with that 20% discount.
At the time I rather hoped that Delph would come on and get some more pitch-time; someone to tighten up the MF (so Clark would have been an option too). Anyone but Ireland, basically.
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It seems to me that quite a few posters did not go to the match
Is this a veiled "I'm a better fan than yow!" post? :o
You obviously weren't at the game - you're on your way back from Rotterdam ;)
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Ha, nice one ;)
Yes I was there, but certainly not being superior in any way, just get a bit fed up of such strong opinions from people who don't see the full picture..Think we need to have a balanced view, good and bad.
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The Norwich City fans were a credit to their club.
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They were indeed a credit.
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Stubbsy Andy I clearly stated my opinion was based on the highlights only so it's clearly a qualified opinion. Why is that so difficult for you to grasp? And it was mainly that Hutton's defending looked suspect, and having seen the whole game, you actually said the same thing.
I don't get down to see many games because I live on the other side of Europe. Sorry about that, but it doesn't mean I'm not entitled to an opinion. If you don't like it don't read it.
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Hey Kt I meant no offence, you did say you didn't get down, but my comment was a general one not aimed at you. I am just disappointed at so much negativity when there are plusses too.
The important thing for me is we support the team, whichever eleven play. Of course we are all entitled to opinions that's true, but the team need us to get behind them right now so i was trying to look for positives.
One thing I noticed on Saturday was that we were starting to play with less fear and that can only be a good thing.
Keep the faith, UTV
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Fair enough StubbsyAndy. It's fair to say there were plenty of positives from yesterday as well. It's encouraging to hear people say it was far from the dour football we'd almost come to expect.
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and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
It was Ireland. Hutton was in a heap on the ground for the 2nd
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I went to the game yday, and quite frankly the Norwich fans were a pain in the arse........i almost never got my customary pre-match game in the Bartons because there were so many of them in there.
I do think Ireland, Hutton and Warnock get a lot of undeserved stick though.Irelands running off the ball is quite fantastic,and with better passes yday he could have scored at least 1.We did'nt moan about Plattys lack of defensive work, and Ireland is that kind of player, granted not up to Plattys quality, but Ireland offers us something no other Villa midfielder offers atm....i would keep him tbh.
Hutton is just ok to me, as was Lyoung, but hes quicker, better going foward and younger.He looks what he is , a £3m player.
Warnocks distribution was the reason why Gabby had such a good game yday, gave it him early, and accurately.Could have done better for the 2nd goal, but again an ok player.
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I think the main problem with N'Zogbia is that at Wigan he had what appeared to be an entirely free attacking role - could go wherever he wanted, pick up the ball, run at the opposition, shoot at goal etc. No defensive duties to worry about.
At Villa we seem to play a much more structured game and he is predominantly playing in a wide right role with the added responsibility of tracking back as necessary. As I see him, he seems to be having difficulty adjusting to this, let's hope it becomes easier to him as time goes by.
Unfortunately in the meantime Hutton, who granted is not the best defender, is often left exposed plus, I believe, the opposition have seen the way N'Zogbia is playing and is targetting that area.
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and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
It was Ireland. Hutton was in a heap on the ground for the 2nd
I hadn't realised till i saw MOTD that it was Hutton's arrival a few minutes too late in a pointless challenge on the edge of our box which gave away the free kick from which Norwich scored.
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I went to the game yday, and quite frankly the Norwich fans were a pain in the arse........i almost never got my customary pre-match game in the Bartons because there were so many of them in there.
I do think Ireland, Hutton and Warnock get a lot of undeserved stick though.Irelands running off the ball is quite fantastic,and with better passes yday he could have scored at least 1.We did'nt moan about Plattys lack of defensive work, and Ireland is that kind of player, granted not up to Plattys quality, but Ireland offers us something no other Villa midfielder offers atm....i would keep him tbh.
Hutton is just ok to me, as was Lyoung, but hes quicker, better going foward and younger.He looks what he is , a £3m player.
Warnocks distribution was the reason why Gabby had such a good game yday, gave it him early, and accurately.Could have done better for the 2nd goal, but again an ok player.
Agreed on most points except Ireland.
He's a liability, his wank attemp at cutting out the pass and even wankier jockeying cost us their 2nd, and that shit nothing pass when through at the end summed him up.
He's useless to us, whenever he comes on I feel we're suddenly exposed. We'd be better off with Stephen Hawking.
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Great to hear so many of you enjoyed the game. What a difference it makes to come away from Villa Park having been entertained. Also Lambert (a thinking man's MON), mentioned how difficult it was for Norwich to play when we had the fans behind us. Long may it continue.
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I think the main problem with N'Zogbia is that at Wigan he had what appeared to be an entirely free attacking role - could go wherever he wanted, pick up the ball, run at the opposition, shoot at goal etc. No defensive duties to worry about.
At Villa we seem to play a much more structured game and he is predominantly playing in a wide right role with the added responsibility of tracking back as necessary. As I see him, he seems to be having difficulty adjusting to this, let's hope it becomes easier to him as time goes by.
Unfortunately in the meantime Hutton, who granted is not the best defender, is often left exposed plus, I believe, the opposition have seen the way N'Zogbia is playing and is targetting that area.
I think the problem with Nzogbia is that people were fooled by some decent highlights and probably had never seen hip play a full game, now that we have we realise that he is a flash in the pan type player.
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and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
It was Ireland. Hutton was in a heap on the ground for the 2nd
I hadn't realised till i saw MOTD that it was Hutton's arrival a few minutes too late in a pointless challenge on the edge of our box which gave away the free kick from which Norwich scored.
It wasn't a free kick. The players follow through took him into Hutton, he's getting a lot of unfair criticism.
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I didn't think it was a free-kick, either.
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didnt think it was a free kick either and i thought ireland got fouled on the build up to their second.
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I think the main problem with N'Zogbia is that at Wigan he had what appeared to be an entirely free attacking role - could go wherever he wanted, pick up the ball, run at the opposition, shoot at goal etc. No defensive duties to worry about.
At Villa we seem to play a much more structured game and he is predominantly playing in a wide right role with the added responsibility of tracking back as necessary. As I see him, he seems to be having difficulty adjusting to this, let's hope it becomes easier to him as time goes by.
Unfortunately in the meantime Hutton, who granted is not the best defender, is often left exposed plus, I believe, the opposition have seen the way N'Zogbia is playing and is targetting that area.
I think the problem with Nzogbia is that people were fooled by some decent highlights and probably had never seen hip play a full game, now that we have we realise that he is a flash in the pan type player.
To me he's steadily improving, along with the team as a whole. His biggest problem is that he is replacing Ashley Young who even on a bad day almost always created chances.
In Bent and Gabby we have the best attacking options outside the top 6, if N'Zogbia continues to improve then they'll be a handful for most defences.
I was also very pleased with Jenas. The pass inside the full back to Gabby with, I think, his first involvement was class, delaying it long enough to almost force the run.
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and gave the crosser plenty of time and space for the second goal. That said, I guess he should be getting support from N'Zogbia, who was usually nowhere to be seen.
It was Ireland. Hutton was in a heap on the ground for the 2nd
I hadn't realised till i saw MOTD that it was Hutton's arrival a few minutes too late in a pointless challenge on the edge of our box which gave away the free kick from which Norwich scored.
It wasn't a free kick. The players follow through took him into Hutton, he's getting a lot of unfair criticism.
I didn't think it was at the time, and I certainly didn't think it was seeing it on the telly.
I thought Hutton was sound yesterday. He works hard and he gets stuck in. It's a good platform from which to improve and he will.
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I'm pleased with the win I thought Gabby was immense and Bent was back to his best it's nice to look at the league table now.
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And Jenas had a swagger in that midfield that we've missed for some time.
If that promise is fulfilled, we might actually be in for a decent season.
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I think the main problem with N'Zogbia is that at Wigan he had what appeared to be an entirely free attacking role - could go wherever he wanted, pick up the ball, run at the opposition, shoot at goal etc. No defensive duties to worry about.
At Villa we seem to play a much more structured game and he is predominantly playing in a wide right role with the added responsibility of tracking back as necessary. As I see him, he seems to be having difficulty adjusting to this, let's hope it becomes easier to him as time goes by.
Unfortunately in the meantime Hutton, who granted is not the best defender, is often left exposed plus, I believe, the opposition have seen the way N'Zogbia is playing and is targetting that area.
I think the problem with Nzogbia is that people were fooled by some decent highlights and probably had never seen hip play a full game, now that we have we realise that he is a flash in the pan type player.
To me he's steadily improving, along with the team as a whole. His biggest problem is that he is replacing Ashley Young who even on a bad day almost always created chances.
In Bent and Gabby we have the best attacking options outside the top 6, if N'Zogbia continues to improve then they'll be a handful for most defences.
I was also very pleased with Jenas. The pass inside the full back to Gabby with, I think, his first involvement was class, delaying it long enough to almost force the run.
Improving???? He was awful yesterday, didn't do anything,when he had the ball he just got his head down and lost it. If that's an improvement I shudder to think what he was like before.
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Yes, improving. Hard working, always trying to make things happen and making runs to make space for others.
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Improving???? He was awful yesterday, didn't do anything,when he had the ball he just got his head down and lost it. If that's an improvement I shudder to think what he was like before.
How many times have you seen him play live to make that call? I have been very disappointed with N'Zogbia so far this season. I have seen him in all home games and two away fixtures and yes he has been terrible but yesterday I thought it was his best game, albeit with no end product, for us. So I think he is improving.
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And Jenas had a swagger in that midfield that we've missed for some time.
If that promise is fulfilled, we might actually be in for a decent season.
Not to pick on you, these are my sentiments too. But speaking from my own stand-point, one weak I think we're comfortable top 8, the next that we'll be fighting relegation! We have a lot of potential, let's hope we fulfil it as there will be plenty of others sniffing around the top half.
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Norwich looked shoddy defensively, and it seemed to take us a while to realise this. However, to be honest, we didn't look fantastic off the ball either, and the game, as I predicted, could really have gone either way, but our superior forwards made the difference. If it weren't for Gabby in particular we'd be absolutely nowhere, and we needed this win considering the run of games we have coming up.
Quite a good summary Monty
A good win, good for morale with 2 tough away games coming up and then nightmare December
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His biggest problem is that he is replacing Ashley Young who even on a bad day almost always created chances.
Maybe a few Young doubters are beginning to realise what he gave to the side. We could always just ping the ball his way, and Young would do something with it - N'Zogbia's not the same type of player. But I agree, the last two games, he's looked brighter. I'd like to see a third midfielder brought into the side, which might then allow N'Zogbia to ease off his defensive duties a tad and concentrate on working the final third.
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Terrible first half hour though.
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Herd was excellent. He gives Petrov a bit more license to get forward and dictate the play a bit. Which, he did well. Gabby was first class. He gave Norwich all sort of problems, playing either on the left or through the middle.
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His biggest problem is that he is replacing Ashley Young who even on a bad day almost always created chances.
Maybe a few Young doubters are beginning to realise what he gave to the side. We could always just ping the ball his way, and Young would do something with it - N'Zogbia's not the same type of player. But I agree, the last two games, he's looked brighter. I'd like to see a third midfielder brought into the side, which might then allow N'Zogbia to ease off his defensive duties a tad and concentrate on working the final third.
I liked Ashley Young and what he did for us. But one thing I have noticed since his departure is that Gabby has blossomed. I think that has happened in part due to Young's absence from the side. We look stronger as an attacking force. Maybe it's because Gabby has been given more responsibility which he is relishing.
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Told you it would be "squeeky bum time" near the end. Good match though and a decent attendance.
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N'Zogbia was trying too hard. If he keeps things simple he will do well.
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N'Zogbia was trying too hard. If he keeps things simple he will do well.
Absolutely.
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Probably the best we've played attacking wise this season, but we still look woeful at the back. I'm not sure why though, as I think both fullbacks are improving and the CBs should be a good pairing, plus we were much tighter at the start of the season. For me it seems to be a lack of organisation/communication, which is pretty much the one thing we thought AM would bring us.
Gabby was excellent and Bent showed that with service he'll score. Herd seems to be improving game by game. N'Zogbia, like the fullbacks, is playing himself into some sort of form - needs a goal to settle in fully, though. Although far to early to draw any meaningful conclusions, I thought Jenas did well when he came on.
If we can start getting the defence right, we might turn out to be a much better side than a lot of us thought!
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Looking at the fixtures, we'll be doing well to have gained six points on where we are now by 1 January 2012. Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U and Chelsea all to play.
I would f*****g love it if we, somehow, whipped Liverpool though.
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Don't actually think we were woeful at the back v Norwich, not saying we haven't been before though. Their first was an unstoppable free kick and their second was when Hutton was out of the game and Ireland, having only just come on, made a pretty piss poor attempt at stopping the cross coming in. First 20 minutes weren't great but after that thought the defence was OK
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I personally thought Hutton got fouled in the lead up to their second but MOTD didn't really show it clearly
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Don't actually think we were woeful at the back v Norwich, not saying we haven't been before though. Their first was an unstoppable free kick and their second was when Hutton was out of the game and Ireland, having only just come on, made a pretty piss poor attempt at stopping the cross coming in. First 20 minutes weren't great but after that thought the defence was OK
Each to their own, but I thought it was a soft free kick to give away and we did that quite a few times, thereby inviting pressure on us. They cut us open too easily early on and although I agree about the Hutton/cross thing, we still ended up with a man unmarked on the back post.
I was shitting myself everytime they came near our box in the last 10 minutes.
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I personally thought Hutton got fouled in the lead up to their second but MOTD didn't really show it clearly
I did too.
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I just fucking hate corners against us.
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I personally thought Hutton got fouled in the lead up to their second but MOTD didn't really show it clearly
I did too.
He dived as he got tackled, no-one in the Trinity complained... he was back up on his feet pretty quick too.
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I personally thought Hutton got fouled in the lead up to their second but MOTD didn't really show it clearly
I did too.
He dived as he got tackled, no-one in the Trinity complained... he was back up on his feet pretty quick too.
Ah right, fair enough. I couldn't see clearly from the Holte, it just looked like a foul, but I hadn't seen a replay.
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another good thing is we have two goalscorers in the top ten and high on the english scorers . gabby is also high on assists . keep it up lads ...
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N'Zogbia was trying too hard. If he keeps things simple he will do well.
spot on , he attracts about 3 players to him sometimes and then still ends up trying to beat them all and losing it , he just needs to pass to that Villa player at the time who has no opponent near him because they are all glued to Nzog.
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I agree with those on here who say that N'zogbia is making steady if not spectacular improvements.
He's a much more direct, go for goal sort of of winger than AY or SD and that is something that has pros and cons. I have a feeling he's trying a bit to hard to do something special at the moment but when one finally does fly in the top corner for him we may well see a different player.
And on Herd...
Even after his good performance at right back against wolves and his other decent sub appearances I've never thought Herd was good enough to start. However after his recent performances I think he should be the man anchoring our midfield. He tackles strongly but cleanly, keeps it simple and screens the back four with astute defensive covering. This also takes defensive pressure off petrov so we don't end up with our midfield camped on the edge of our own area when the other team has possession as often as when Delph and Petrov play together. I think those two and Jenas as a 3 and we would have a premier league central midfield for the first time in a year and a bit.
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A view from a Norwich fan
I loved Villa Park right off.
It was the first time I'd been, it's a proper ground, you can almost taste the history there. We had a good view as well, even though we were near the front. Also, the stewards seemed alright despite us standing all game, they didn't ask us to sit down once.
The only negatives for me were the lack of pints and the strangely silent Holte End.
Oh, and the result.
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I agree Ryu, but that would mean Heskey being benched and i think Mcleish would be reticent to do that.
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Five things we learnt from Villa v Norwich:
1) Fabio Capello should consider replacing Rooney with Agbonlahor for Euro 2012. I can’t recall him playing this well before, even under O’Neill and he creates chances for Bent every game.
2) Maybe Alan Hutton will turn out to be a good right-back now that he has got some games under his belt. Aside from giving away the free-kick from which Norwich scored, he had a very solid game defensively (making a couple of key headers at the back post) and got forward well (with a lovely ball chipped over to an offside Bent) which is supposed to be his unique-selling-point.
3) Jermaine Jenas will quickly become a first-team regular. Ok, a cameo is not nearly enough time to base any kind of assessment upon (remember Sasa Cucic’s debut?), but he looked tall, powerful and skilful and I like players who run with upright heads-up postures.
4) I’d rather play with ten men than Stephen Ireland. He nearly cost us the win with shocking defending when covering for a stricken Alan Hutton for Norwich’s second goal and I hate watching midfielders who let players run off them. McLeish diplomatically noted that the substitutions took away the team’s impetus but I bet he said something else to Ireland.
5) American billionaires have firm handshakes. I know this because I shook Randy’s hand through the railings when we arriving 30 minutes before the game. He detoured to sign everyone’s autographs and chat to fans, I got the impression of a really nice guy.
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I agree Ryu, but that would mean Heskey being benched and i think Mcleish would be reticent to do that.
Then why did he put in all that time and effort to sign Jenas?
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I keep hearing this silent Holte End.
Yes we are not what we were under Oneil, but we are not silent.
Is it the open design of the stadium, because I can never hear the away fans unless we stop singing for abit?
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I keep hearing this silent Holte End.
Yes we are not what we were under Oneil, but we are not silent.
Is it the open design of the stadium, because I can never hear the away fans unless we stop singing for abit?
It's the acoustics. The Holte End is hardly silent.
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I keep hearing this silent Holte End.
Yes we are not what we were under Oneil, but we are not silent.
Is it the open design of the stadium, because I can never hear the away fans unless we stop singing for abit?
I sit Upper Trinity right opposite the away fans and most matches all you can hear is them. I think it's partly the acoustics as I can only hear the Holte on the occasions that more than a few dozen people are singing.
I can often see the L1 guys going for it but can never hear what they're singing when it's just them and L2 giving it a go.
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I sat in the Upper Holte for 12 straight years and can hardly hear the away fans, did the seat exchange last season against Wolves, sat rite next to the tunnel opposite them and they're all I could hear, it must be the way the stadium is built.
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I keep hearing this silent Holte End.
Yes we are not what we were under Oneil, but we are not silent.
Is it the open design of the stadium, because I can never hear the away fans unless we stop singing for abit?
It's the acoustics. The Holte End is hardly silent.
From the Witton End it looks and feels like a library!
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"I agree Ryu, but that would mean Heskey being benched and i think Mcleish would be reticent to do that."
You're probably right about Mcleish liking having Heskey in the side but I'm sure we didn't loan Jenas not to play him. So with the good form of Herd I guess this gives the manager a decision to make. And I hope he comes to the conclusion its better to play midfielders in midfield, even though Heskey actually did pretty well on Saturday.