Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on December 10, 2011, 10:27:44 AM
-
Available Saturday evening.
-
It was a lot more tense than a game against the worst team in the league should have been, but even in the last few minutes when we were stalling for time we never really looked like conceding.
Bent was a bit shit, and can't have any excuses about not getting service this week. He's not going to get many chances in this team, when he gets them he has to do better than that.
-
After the 1st half that should have been the first game I could watch and be relaxed for ages, predictably it wasn't. However it's 3 points and the big positive for me was that Albrighton showed signs that he may come good.
-
Give McLeish a knighthood.
-
A welcome 3 points. Should have been out of sight at H-T. Bent was not his usual clinical self. Albrighton and N'Zogbia impressed. Some good stuff from Guzan.
-
Has this site been down?
-
Well it's nice to win. When we passed it, we looked like a good side. Albrighton and N'Zog in first half were really good. However second half we resorted back to hoofing and it unraveled. I'm absolutely convinced we need rid of Collins and Dunne, they completely destroy our attempts to play football. We need to get Clark in and look for another centre half. Next season neither of those two should be at the club.
-
If Bent had his shooting boots on we'd have won comfortably. We lost faith in ourselves in the second half, and we're so fragil;e right now that the players themselves probably expected what we all expected. They stayed string enough to see the job through. It's a good win, lots to work on. N'Zogbia needs a goal in the worst possible way, and really happy for Marco.
-
Has this site been down?
yes, for what seemed like ages
-
An away win is an away win.
-
Phew. Good first half performance against a woeful team. Should have scored 5 or 6 today.
It does seem that when teams get on the front foot against us (any of the top sides, Everton away first half, QPR away first half, second half today) we really struggle to string two passes together.
Guzan - 6. Decent overall, and one very good save.
Hutton - 6. Actually decent today, though still doesn't look comfortable.
Collins - 7. Thought he did well.
Dunne - 8. Excellent leadership today. Very good.
Warnock - 7. Looked good: solid and dependable with good energy.
Albrighton 7 - impressed today. Would be good if his confidence came back. Worked hard. Good delivery though a little inconsistent
Herd 6 - battled away well and helped to provide security. Not the best at keeping the ball.
Petrov 7 - Scored, could have had another, should have had an assist.
N'Zogbia 6. Good in patches, one of his better performances. But disappeared for patches.
Agbonlahor 7. Good assist. Kept the ball and brought other players in well.
Bent 5. Poor. We'd have crucified Heskey or Delfouneso for a performance like that. Needs to get back into the groove.
Heskey 5. Frustrating. Ran around and hustled them a fair bit.
-
A win, away, however it comes, is something to be delighted with this season. Onwards and upwards, hopefully.
-
In fairness to Bent he's not been given much chance to get into form this season.
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
-
The thing that frustrates me is that it appears we will only try and win game against teams in the mid to lower half of the league and accept defeat against the upper half teams. Standby for 90 mins defending next week. Today shows what we can do when we get it down and pass. Herd was very good, Petrov gave us some balance, Gabby usual reliable self. Bent looks like a man who has had no service for 9 months and was therefore too shocked to score. Bolton look devoid of confidence and doomed.
-
Superb in the first half, slightly poorer in the second. Gabbs, Albie and the Zog were very good IMO and I hope the latter two draw confidence from it and become the players for us their ability means they should be. We were almost entertaining today and I sincerely hope it continues. McLeish deserves praise for that.
I just wish our defence would stop bloody hoofing it.
-
Does Gabby's yellow card mean a suspension? I think it was his fifth but I'm not sure.
-
In fairness to Bent he's not been given much chance to get into form this season.
It's been so long since he got a decent chance he's probably forgotten what to do.
-
We need to play to win games and try and play football, it's as simple as that.
-
I think Gabby misses the Liverpool game now.
-
Superb in the first half, slightly poorer in the second. Gabbs, Albie and the Zog were very good IMO and I hope the latter two draw confidence from it and become the players for us their ability means they should be. We were almost entertaining today and I sincerely hope it continues. McLeish deserves praise for that.
I just wish our defence would stop bloody hoofing it.
the fact that we hoof it so much will restrict our development as a team. When we keep the ball and quickly play it out wide then we are threat. We needlessly give the ball away too many times in every game, and it's why good teams beat us. You can get away with it against Wigan or Bolton, but not against the top 6 or 8 teams. Bent will fine. He had a bad day with some great chances, but if we keep creating like we did today he'll do just fine.
-
I think Gabby misses the Liverpool game now.
I thought that. We will miss his pace against their centre backs.
-
I think Gabby misses the Liverpool game now.
Bugger!
Every time I have seen us play this season he has been the highlight
-
Does Gabby's yellow card mean a suspension? I think it was his fifth but I'm not sure.
Gabby on 5th red card misses Liverpool game. Was unlucky. Battled well and other than the Sunday morning hoofing from the defence was not to bad to watch. Herd was ok but Gardner would be a better option ........
-
Much needed win, well done lads. No idea how we played. Anyone?
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
No one on here wants us to lose. That is a ridiculous statement.
Pretty decent first half where we should have lead by more. It's not rocket science, keep the ball on the ground and we aren't too bad. Second half not so clever, but we didn't throw it away late like in a couple of away games this season.
Overall a crucial 3 points against a team who are much poorer than I thought.
Well done, please do not revert to type next week.
-
Coventry have said we can't recall Gardner before the end of his loan month.
-
You will see Bent play better without Gabby. He needs to be the star. Marc Zog and Bent will be more than enough to see off Mrs Downing's XI.
-
Much needed win, well done lads. No idea how we played. Anyone?
Really well in the first half, both our goals came from good passing moves. However in second Collins and Dunne resorted to hoofing it and it ruined our play and we came under pressure.
-
Hell of a lot better than of late. very good in the 1st half,bit of a wobble in the 2nd.
but credit where its due, the defence stood up to them.
Can have a good Sat night for a change!!
-
Yes, looking at the likes of Bolton, Wigan, Blackburn and Wolves in particular, even when our form is poor we should still be absolutely fine with the players we have.
Feel sorry for Coyle; they've lost bundles of goals from Sturridge and Elmander; injuries to key players in Lee and Holden. Cahill almost certain to leave in a couple of weeks.
-
Goes to show there are worse teams than us in the premier. Slightley concerned about Bent, should of had a hat-trick, but any win is a good win at the moment.
-
Phew. Good first half performance against a woeful team. Should have scored 5 or 6 today.
It does seem that when teams get on the front foot against us (any of the top sides, Everton away first half, QPR away first half, second half today) we really struggle to string two passes together.
Guzan - 6. Decent overall, and one very good save.
Hutton - 6. Actually decent today, though still doesn't look comfortable.
Collins - 7. Thought he did well.
Dunne - 8. Excellent leadership today. Very good.
Warnock - 7. Looked good: solid and dependable with good energy.
Albrighton 7 - impressed today. Would be good if his confidence came back. Worked hard. Good delivery though a little inconsistent
Herd 6 - battled away well and helped to provide security. Not the best at keeping the ball.
Petrov 7 - Scored, could have had another, should have had an assist.
N'Zogbia 6. Good in patches, one of his better performances. But disappeared for patches.
Agbonlahor 7. Good assist. Kept the ball and brought other players in well.
Bent 5. Poor. We'd have crucified Heskey or Delfouneso for a performance like that. Needs to get back into the groove.
Heskey 5. Frustrating. Ran around and hustled them a fair bit.
id agree with the most of that. though bent was more of a 3. Dunne was excellent defensively but hoofed it too often. thought motm was between albrighton and dunne. Id go for albrighton. delighted for him. goal gave him a big boost and he was dangerous throughout. petrov was good going forward and on the ball. But without the ball he is lost in a 2 man midfield. gabby is creating chances for others but Id like to see him more in the centre running on to through balls. would like to see him hungrier for goals as he is certainly capable of it.
overall the performance was much better in the first half. Two widemen were very dangerous. But we kept it well most of the time.
to give bolton some credit they made a game of it in the second. but we defended well today. yeah we should have kept the ball on the deck more in the second half. Thats the way to take the sting out of the game rather than going direct. Going direct with Bent is pointless. In fairness 2-1 flatters Bolton. We were at least 2 goals better and it should have been far more comfortable if we hadnt missed 3 sitters.
we have beaten the muck so far this season - Blackburn, Norwich, Wigan and Bolton. Good to get the away win monkey of our backs regardless of how poor Bolton were. Points were pissed away at Sunderland and Swansea but hopefully the result today will see us seeing out these games in future.
-
We suffered like beasts against a very poor team, so the only good things of the day imo are the win in itself and the performance and the goal of Supermark, he showed that his place is on the pitch not on the bench.
-
In fairness to Bent he's not been given much chance to get into form this season.
It's been so long since he got a decent chance he's probably forgotten what to do.
Rooney scored a goal today the first in ages and also Suarez's goal was his first since September. Nothing wrong with Bent providing we dominate and create chances. He is a passenger when we don't and kick and hope.
-
They make you sweat for it. We should had more. Still a few points adrift of top lot. Better than nothing for sure!
Getting there I think. Need some more players in Jan!
-
I said this on the pre match thread:
'2-1 Villa win.
We will score our 2 goals from Bent and Gabby nice and early. They will score just before half time, and we will defend from our six yard line (successfully this time) for the whole of the second half. It will look more like rugby than football, but Villa will take the 3 points.'
Not a million miles from what happened by the sounds of things. Play hoofball against any team other than relegation fodder and you will lose. However Bolton sound like a terrible team and I'm looking forward to seeing our goals on Match of the Day.
-
Our away form hasn't been that bad apart from against the big sides. We should have won at Swansea and Sunderland; as well as at QPR although that would have been spawny.
I still expect us to look shit against Liverpool. But at least we don't currently look like being bottom 5 by NYE.
-
Thank McGrath for that. A win and that's all I'm bothered about at the moment.
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
No one on here wants us to lose. That is a ridiculous statement.
Unfortunately, DC5 is correct. There are a few muppets on here who would have liked us to lose in order to add fuel to the fire regarding McLeish. See the Pre-Match and the McLeish threads for examples.
-
Great 3 points, desperately needed.
N'Zog will come good, he's got the ability.
Passing still too anxious,often lacking in poise, thus giving the ball away far too many times.
Gabby's yellow was never a yellow, can this be contested ?
-
Good that other players scoredrather than Bent and Gabby. Albrighton performance is a massive needed boost along with 3 pts ...........
-
Delighted with the win.
Back in the title hunt.
-
Just got back from a wet and downright freezing Reebok.
I thought we were excellent value in the first half, keeping the ball well, pressing the opposition and stretching them with two widemen.
In the second Bolton came back somewhat and there was always a fear of their high ball, but we still created the better chances with Bent and Albrighton going close.
A good away win against a piss poor Bolton.
-
I do hope after this win Eck picks the same team with Gabby replaced by Heskey upfront (not midfield) for Liverpool and attack them relentlessly and if we lose we lose.
-
50% of possession was in Boltons third in the first half. Doubt we'll see that again this season.
-
Noticed both yellows came in injury time and to our wingers. Was this the result of desperation on behalf of Bolton's defenders, trying to get free kicks or were they just fed up of watching the lads cruise past and threw themselves dramatically over their feet? And can Marc and Gabby appeal?
-
Don't care if we only look decent against piss poor teams at then moment. If we do the likes of Bolton Blackburn and Wigan home and away that will go a long way to banishing any fears of the drop.
Really needed that today with the games we have coming up.
-
Think Mcleish has finally clicked he will not get such a bad reaction from fans if he picks and encourages the team to attack the opposition. Well i hope so anyway .....
-
I'm glad we have the 3 points can enjoy the weekend now.
-
Think Mcleish has finally clicked he will not get such a bad reaction from fans if he picks and encourages the team to attack the opposition. Well i hope so anyway .....
He said earlier today that he wasn't a negative manager. Today, I think he tried to prove that.
-
Delighted with the win.
Back in the title hunt.
No I don't think so. I know it's difficult to accept, at this stage, that title may not be a possibility this season but I will settle for the Champion's League and we are nailed on for that.
-
Also to add, a big pat on the back for the Goose with a fantastic one handed save down low to his right to stop that overrated pub player Cahill bagging one.
-
A well deserved win although if we had taken our chances it would have been a much more comfortable second half. It was great to see N'Zogbia and Albrighton both find some form and confidence at the same time. Then we had to defend we did it well.
Bolton are a struggling side so you can't draw any wider conclusions but as a one off performance there were plenty of positives.
-
I'm glad we have the 3 points can enjoy the weekend now.
Yes bring on the El Classico and we can measure our team properly tonight!
-
Cahill really isn't as good as some people think.
-
Just got back from the game.
Hugely encouraged by the offensive first half - with both Albie and Charles playing well and Herd looking good again in support of Petrov.
Second half was disappointing even though we held out. We stopped looking for the wingers and brought the pressure onto ourselves.
Encouraging; but against poor opposition.
-
Shame about the fight that broke out in front of me early in the second half - one set of Villa fans wiith another. No need and not clever ...
-
Well it's nice to win. When we passed it, we looked like a good side. Albrighton and N'Zog in first half were really good. However second half we resorted back to hoofing and it unraveled. I'm absolutely convinced we need rid of Collins and Dunne, they completely destroy our attempts to play football. We need to get Clark in and look for another centre half. Next season neither of those two should be at the club.
That's out of order concerning the centre halves. They are uncompromising defenders and that is what we need. No room for pussy footing about at the back.
-
I can watch MOTD without fast forwarding through the Villa match for a change.
Only 4 pages, 2 hours after the game? Must have won.
-
Noticed both yellows came in injury time and to our wingers. Was this the result of desperation on behalf of Bolton's defenders, trying to get free kicks or were they just fed up of watching the lads cruise past and threw themselves dramatically over their feet? And can Marc and Gabby appeal?
Albie's was for a lunge - youthful enthusiasm rather than anything - and was bound to attract a yellow. Gabby's was bizarre: the Bolton keeper, Jussi, kicked the ball from his hands and into the nearby Gabby, who was booked for obstructing the kick-out. No way was it a card!
But then Dowd is a joke.
-
The view from Auntie (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16015783.stm)
-
Surely we should appeal the Gabby yellow. Can we?
-
Only saw second half so can't really comment on the game as a whole. Pretty ragged second half and feared the worst when they scored. But we held on for a desperately needed and welcome 3 points. Bit of a worry that Bent isn't taking his chances.
-
Much better, nice to finally get an away win. The acid test will be whether or not we revert to type against Liverpool.
Pleased for Albrighton, hopefully that will be a huge confidence boost.
-
Surely we should appeal the Gabby yellow. Can we?
I should hope so. It will be highlighted by Kammy tomorrow on Soccer Sunday under the stupid refereeing section. Still, not like Dowd to make a stupid decision in a Villa match is it?
-
Surely we should appeal the Gabby yellow. Can we?
You can't appeal yellows, so I'm sure Mr Dowd's Christmas card from Merseyside will bulging this year.
-
Was only watching intermittently, but sounds like a better performance and a much needed win. Glad to see Albrighton on the score sheet.
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
No one on here wants us to lose. That is a ridiculous statement.
You can only speak for yourself. There has been loads of stuff, on nearly every thread, slagging the team and the manager. People using feeble excuses for 'never going again', the word 'hoof' becoming more regularly used than 'and' or 'the'. There are those who want us to lose and they know who they are.
-
Just got back from a wet and downright freezing Reebok.
I thought we were excellent value in the first half, keeping the ball well, pressing the opposition and stretching them with two widemen.
In the second Bolton came back somewhat and there was always a fear of their high ball, but we still created the better chances with Bent and Albrighton going close.
A good away win against a piss poor Bolton.
This, except we're not back home yet.
I enjoyed the first half, thought we played some good football. Nail biting at the end but we won!
-
Match highlights (http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/bolton-1-aston-villa-2/)
-
Also to add, a big pat on the back for the Goose with a fantastic one handed save down low to his right to stop that overrated pub player Cahill bagging one.
It was a great save. Well done to him.
-
There's lots still to work on, but our general attacking was far more positive than it's been for a while and the team was much more balanced.
Special credit to Warnock, who was excellent and especially to young Mark, who on back to that form gives us a dimension no other player we have provides.
Feel much more positive about us again.
-
Good stuff, it's results like this that make me think we'll be fine this season.
Keep the faith, as the people's poet Jon Bon Jovi prophetically wrote.
-
Surely we should appeal the Gabby yellow. Can we?
Yellows can't be appealed.
-
Three points, two good goals and one very happy Villa fan!
Hope this will give the team some confidence going into a tricky run of fixtures, same team next week with Emile in for Gabby please
-
I very much like this photo in The Daily Heil:
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/10/article-2072440-0F20D16C00000578-228_634x490.jpg)
-
Noticed both yellows came in injury time and to our wingers. Was this the result of desperation on behalf of Bolton's defenders, trying to get free kicks or were they just fed up of watching the lads cruise past and threw themselves dramatically over their feet? And can Marc and Gabby appeal?
Albie's was for a lunge - youthful enthusiasm rather than anything - and was bound to attract a yellow. Gabby's was bizarre: the Bolton keeper, Jussi, kicked the ball from his hands and into the nearby Gabby, who was booked for obstructing the kick-out. No way was it a card!
But then Dowd is a joke.
Thanks. There seemed to be a lot of injury time - but like the other posters on here I'm really pleased at the resurgence of the Villa attacking play and dead pleased we hung on at the last and won! Also, the 'away win hoodoo' has been broken at last so, onwards and upwards!
Didn't realise yellows couldn't be appealed! Still, it's only Liverpool.
-
Three Points!!!! yipeee!
The win is the most important thing, and the first half was quite impressive. Albrighton and N'Zogbia should start now on. They need to get a run to get the rhythm...
-
Dunne and Collins have played exactly the same way under every manager including Houlier,
so i dont know what people are expecting when they keep saying 'dont hoof it' all the time,
i think they do take the easy option far to much, but they will not change now, not for anyone, thats the way they play and defend, they probably cant do it any other way if they tried, so if we want more of a ball player in at centre half, we will have to look elsewhere.
having said that, i thought they both did good today.
MOM - Petrov
-
It was never going to be one for the purists but coming away from there with three points is a huge relief.At 2-0 up I'd have liked to have seen us more in control of the game and actually playing a bit.
I thought Albrighton showed some of the desire that we've been demanding from him for the best part of 12 months and that should be applauded. Herd was really impressive again - the run he made into the corner deep into stoppage time followed by a tackle and a sprint back up the pitch after putting the ball out for a goal kick showed incredible fitness levels and commitment.
I would, however, like to know exactly what a football has done to offend Richard Dunne. On almost every occasion that they find themselves in close quarters Dunne attempts to murder the thing with his foot. We need to have a bit of composure in situations like 2-1 up with a few minutes to go against a very ordinary side.
I whinge enough after defeats and I don't want to start doing the same thing after a good win so I'll just be happy with a performance that displayed some passion at last.
-
Villa win.
Baggies lose.
Wolves lose.
...not a bad weekend at all! :D
-
Dunne and Collins have played exactly the same way under every manager including Houlier,
so i dont know what people are expecting when they keep saying 'dont hoof it' all the time,
i think they do take the easy option far to much, but they will not change now, not for anyone, thats the way they play and defend, they probably cant do it any other way if they tried, so if we want more of a ball player in at centre half, we will have to look elsewhere.
having said that, i thought they both did good today.
MOM - Petrov
I would ask anyone 'would you like to play against them'?
Dunne has also shown some good ball control this season. I judge them on my own yardstick. They will do for me.
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
No one on here wants us to lose. That is a ridiculous statement.
Unfortunately, DC5 is correct. There are a few muppets on here who would have liked us to lose in order to add fuel to the fire regarding McLeish. See the Pre-Match and the McLeish threads for examples.
WM Interviewed members of the North West Supporters club after the game and one of them said he had wanted us to lose.
-
Three points, lots of positives in Zog, Marc and Guzan... lets build on this and if poss can we sell Heskey to Sunderland.
-
Didn't see or hear most of today's footy. But good work to the lads. An away win is an away win.
-
Great result. Promising play by N'Zogbia. Albrighton back to form. Shame for those who wanted us to lose.
No one on here wants us to lose. That is a ridiculous statement.
Unfortunately, DC5 is correct. There are a few muppets on here who would have liked us to lose in order to add fuel to the fire regarding McLeish. See the Pre-Match and the McLeish threads for examples.
WM Interviewed members of the North West Supporters club after the game and one of them said he had wanted us to lose.
Whoever it is should be banned from that club.
-
WM Interviewed members of the North West Supporters club after the game and one of them said he had wanted us to lose.
I can, sometimes reluctantly, accept other people's opinions on certain players and managers, even if I often don't agree with them. But anyone who wants us to lose is an arsehole in my book, and I will never take their views on any villa-related topic seriously.
-
First 30 minutes was an affront to football from both sides - when we played some decent stuff on the deck we scored.
We sat back too much in the second and invited them to hit us - fortuntaley they were very poor.
Petrov, Herd Nzogbia and Albrighton all did well.
Ref was an absolute joke as were the linesmen.
Since when is it a booking when someone kicks a ball into your back?
Biggest disappointment was finding The Bromilow Arms shut !!
Oh and by the way, Heskey really is a useless ****
-
Dunne and Collins have played exactly the same way under every manager including Houlier,
so i dont know what people are expecting when they keep saying 'dont hoof it' all the time,
i think they do take the easy option far to much, but they will not change now, not for anyone, thats the way they play and defend, they probably cant do it any other way if they tried, so if we want more of a ball player in at centre half, we will have to look elsewhere.
having said that, i thought they both did good today.
MOM - Petrov
I would ask anyone 'would you like to play against them'?
Dunne has also shown some good ball control this season. I judge them on my own yardstick. They will do for me.
That's far too simplistic. 1 or the other would be fine but 2 centre halves who win the ball and then belt it long just means that we invite pressure back on us. Against the better sides winning the ball back is difficult at times, the cardinal sin therefore is to award it straight back to them by whacking it to their keeper. If you haven't got the ball you can't be a threat and if you're not a threat good sides can toy with you.
Our back 4 in general are all guilty of thinking once the ball gets into midfield their work is done. Warnock looked better today than he had for about 2 years, the main reason for it was that he actually went forward in support and helped make space for the midfield and attack. There's no good reason why 1 of the defenders can't step into midfield and help give the player in possession options. The best sides all do this (watch how Pique plays for Barca or how Rio plays for Man U) as it means either their attackers have to track back and work hard or you pull their midfield about and create space, both of which are preferable to the way we play.
Aside from that today was a good performance and they did a good job of keeping the ball in the first half, just needed to be more composed at the start of the 2nd half and slow the tempo and play keep ball. We didn't do this and if they'd been better we'd have paid for it.
-
Observation A- N'Zogbia is a left winger, observation B- Bolton's reserves are much better than the 1st team. Good win and in patches we showed we can play some decent football.
-
Played with a belief and purpose.
I thought Petrov was good, I really hope the stories about him leaving are false, he will be hard to replace. Guzan played well, Albrighton best game for a long time, NZog best game yet, Herd is learning well and is not as rash as he was, back four were solid and Collins actually played a long through ball for Gabby late on. Not quite sure why people want Heskey to replace Gabby for next week Gabby has been our best player this season and again provided the cross for Albrightons goal. Bent should probably have done better, not too concerned, if the team can feed him chances every game like today he will score, as they say form is temporary. Overall much better performance, same again next week please.
-
Played with a belief and purpose.
I thought Petrov was good, I really hope the stories about him leaving are false, he will be hard to replace. Guzan played well, Albrighton best game for a long time, NZog best game yet, Herd is learning well and is not as rash as he was, back four were solid and Collins actually played a long through ball for Gabby late on. Not quite sure why people want Heskey to replace Gabby for next week Gabby has been our best player this season and again provided the cross for Albrightons goal. Bent should probably have done better, not too concerned, if the team can feed him chances every game like today he will score, as they say form is temporary. Overall much better performance, same again next week please.
Gabby's got a one game ban thanks to Phil Dowd's powers of invention.
-
First half - much better, kept the ball, passed it around better. Should have been out of sight by the break.
Second half - disappointing by comparison, let them back into it and seemed to resort to hoofing it witlessly far too readily.
Great to see Albrighton get a goal, I hope that does him so good in terms of confidence. I also though N'Zogbia did very well.
Bolton are truly awful, but we need to take confidence from the result and the first half performance and build on it.
-
3 points thats all that matters,sounds as if we played a lot better though
-
We are the 3rd game on MOTD
-
Coyle's got to be gone after this surely? I thought we generally did alright but Bolton were absolutely appalling. Made me a feel a lot better about myself, first half in particular. Shit, even Hutton had a decent game.
-
Not quite sure why people want Heskey to replace Gabby for next week Gabby has been our best player this season and again provided the cross for Albrightons goal.
Because we think Gabby is suspended. I don't think anyone's calling for him to be dropped!!!!
-
A win's a win. 3 points nearer safety and that's all that matters.
-
Delighted with the 3 points Today.
How any Villa fan could want us to loose, for whatever reason is totally beyond me.
-
Whatever my reservations about the manager and players I want us to win, I want them to prove me wrong and when they do (like today) I'm delighted. Indeed, since Stan hit the second and I decided we were going to win I've had a warm glow following me around. I'd like to think the majority of folks on here feel the same way, Compass-types excepted.
-
A good win. We played decent football, especially considering it was an away game. This should increase our confidence ahead of the coming matches. Also the performance from Albrighton was encouraging.
-
The midfield looked a lot more stable with Petrov in there today. If we'd taken our chances that would have been a convincing win and we'd all be chuffed to the nuts. Thank the Gods for 3 points or we could have been looking at the trapdoor in 5 games time.
-
Good first half.
Did hang on in the second but at least we didn't concede that dreaded equaliser, chuffed to bits. Jingle Bells.....
-
Surely we should appeal the Gabby yellow. Can we?
Yellows can't be appealed.
Surely FA must show some consideration when the yellow is given by Dowd!!
-
Herd was fantastic again.
-
Didn't see any of it. I'm just happy we didn't let a 2 goal lead turn into a 2-2 draw.
We must build on it now.
-
Herd was fantastic again.
He was, look out for his 'slide rule' pass for the first goal on motd.
-
Not long got back from the game.
Can't remember the last time we looked so in control like we did in the 1st half. Can't remember if it was the 1st or 2nd goal, but we kept the ball and passed it around quite a bit before scoring - this included the defenders passing it and not being told by the Holte End to "GET IT FORWARD!", which was nice and goes to show the players can play a bit when they want to.
First part of the 2nd half was a little worry, but nothing to bad and we never looked like losing the match or conceeding.
They show the stats on the TV at half time in the ground and it said we had 64% of the possession and 12 shots, 8 on target - and that was just one half - we can do it!
If Bent had taken his chances, the score could've been greater and it would've been deserved.
Well played Villa. Play like this (especially the first half) next week, and we give ourselves a good chance. Keep it up!
-
That was better. We got it wide, we got crosses in, we passed it forward, it was just much more positive, which is what the keyboard warriors have been asking for.
I was convinced they were going to equalise, so fair play to the defence for keeping them out. On the down side, Phil Dowd once again gave fouls for things that only he must have seen and the linesman on the left hand side needs to find another job that he's good at, because being a professional linesman is'nt it.
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
Cheese Nan?
-
No it has a special name like a Naan with meat in is a Keema Naan.
-
3 points thats all that matters,sounds as if we played a lot better though
We did indeed.
-
A very big result considering the games we have coming up, 6 more wins should see us safe.
-
Very pleased to see the 3 point sin the bag especially with the impending fixtures. We'll be last on MOTD mind.
Seems that the Noses I talk to have got it spot on (well even a broken watch is right twice a day) - McLeish will play positively in games he thinks we can win which basically means w/o all away games v Top6. How we change his mindset to think otherwise is another question? At least let's start with home games v Bindippers and Arsenal - not as if either havbe proved to be infallible this season.
Well done Villa
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
Probably no help here but anytime I order it I just ask for naan bread with cheese in.
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
Probably no help here but anytime I order it I just ask for naan bread with cheese in.
Paneer Naan.
-
A very big result considering the games we have coming up, 6 more wins should see us safe.
What a depressing line for an Aston Villa fan to read before half the season is complete. Sadly, I agree. The only games we can win with McCleish's tactics, are against poor opponents. Luckily for us, there are enough of them in this league.
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
Cheese Nan?
No it has a special name like a Naan with meat in is a Keema Naan.
There is no special name. It's an innovation in UK just like tikka masala. paneer nan is a fresh cheese nan available in india but here it's just called cheese nan similar to keema nan. keema is the hindi/urdu word for mince meat.
-
Delighted with the team selection and mentality in the first half. AM will win my respect if he continues with that attitude.
Happy for Marc, he proved the doubters today. I have to say Bolton were shocking though.
-
Compass-types excepted.
Villa winning will have spoilt his weekend, along with a few others.
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
-
Good first half should have scored 4, 2nd half made mega hard work of it. Was certain we'd concede, too much hoofing from back 4 but glad to get 3 points
-
I don't know what happened at the start of the second half but we definately were defending deeper and it put the defence under pressure. You can have one hoofer in defence but it seems all the back four were doing it the second half. Albrighton had his best game for a long time shows what a goal can do for your confidence, Zog started well but disappeared the second half, that could have been the consequence of playing deeper.
-
What a horrible goal to concede.
Pleased for Albrighton. Bent needs a goal.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
-
Looked great going forward with immense pace, plus Guzan had a good solid game which impressed and admittedly suprised me.
All the people claiming Big 'Eck can only play defensive football surely should have shut up now, albeit if we sat back in the opening of the
second half a bit too much.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
We're not struggling, plain and simple. We currently sit eight, with every team above us deservedly so and without a doubt a better team than us at the moment. Too many comparisons are being made to the MON era where top 6 is minimum expectation, this is an incredibly competitive league this season, and quite frankly sitting in Eighth heading into Christmas is a great achievement for McLeish, and if we can remain here untill the end of the season, then I back him completely to stay with the club for a while longer, and perhaps even another punt at the Europa League.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
Funny, a lot of external people were saying it after the Manure game. Also most of us have seen most matches this season and have seen that most performances have been poor. 3 wins against teams that have been bottom when played and one against a newly promoted team is not the best.
Although saying that it looks like we appear to be the best of a bad bunch and if we are allowed to get some players in improve (or to at least replace Jenas), Albrighton, Bent and N'zog get their confidence back and the manager plays with more attacking intent against some of the bigger boys, we should be close to this position or better by the end.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
That simply isn't true.
-
Off topic... But what is a naan bread with cheese in called? Its doing my head in and google wont tell me.
Probably no help here but anytime I order it I just ask for naan bread with cheese in.
Paneer Naan.
I think its Puneer but pronounced Paneer.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
That simply isn't true.
You're right. They're not supporters.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
That simply isn't true.
You're right. They're not supporters.
Clever. But you clearly don't get out much if you think that other supporters don't think we're poor.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
That simply isn't true.
You're right. They're not supporters.
Clever. But you clearly don't get out much if you think that other supporters don't think we're poor.
Let's say then that the most irrational, hysterical whining comes from amongst the ranks of our own.
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
-
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
Being fairly detached from things up here I can guarantee you that it isn't the case, i'm forever being told by various people that Villa are their outside bets to go down this season. I'm fairly confident Villa will establish themselves as a lower mid table side this season and in the years to come.
-
Let's say then that the most irrational, hysterical whining comes from amongst the ranks of our own.
Yes, and you get fans of Arsenal saying Fergie or Wenger should now leave whenever they lose a match. There is always the lunatic element in any support, but as I mentioned earlier, home fans see more of their own team so will be more critical if they think they should. DCF says Bent should be dropped as he is lazy, yet most outside of the Villa will say why drop your top goal scorer?
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
-
Compass-types excepted.
Villa winning will have spoilt his weekend, along with a few others.
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
Maybe AM has become aware of our problems in recent games?
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
Bloody right. Those figures don't account for any of the condescending, repetetive inferences that hint at, but never prove, inside knowledge.
-
A must win game given our next four fixtures and we did just about.
I would like to think this game will give McLeish ideas we can actually pass the ball and create problems and chances against Arsenal and Liverpool but not holding my breath.
What I do predict is we'll continue getting results against the worst teams in the league and McLeish will limp through to the end of the season.
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
Bloody right. Those figures don't account for any of the condescending, repetetive inferences that hint at, but never prove, inside knowledge.
Oh dear, you've caught me out. How clever you are.
-
Dave, there were a number of articles last week that criticised McLeish's tactics and inferred we are strugggling. Ray Stubbs started it off, then there was a Guardian Article. The fact that he has been forced to defend his apparent reputation as a negative manager hints that there has been a bit of a backlash outside the main fanbase.
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
Bloody right. Those figures don't account for any of the condescending, repetetive inferences that hint at, but never prove, inside knowledge.
Oh dear, you've caught me out. How clever you are.
I wasn't trying to catch you out, nor to appear clever; I haven't got an internet playground to bully thick kids in so you carry on. I bet it's a right laugh.
-
...
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
We're not struggling. We ought to be, but we are not. The current PL is probably the weakest it has been for years.
We are currently 8th because we have been the best of the dross so far, despite poor football. Whether we stay there or thereabouts is anyone's guess.
This season was always going to be about how many teams are worse than us. So far it seems that there will be quite a few.
It doesn't matter whether being the best of a bad bunch means we finish 8th, 12th or 17th. We should be doing a lot better than we are, we should be playing a lot better than we do.
-
As delighted (and relieved) as I am that we won today, I think it's a bit overboard to say that playing reasonably well against the worst team in the division is a sign that things are ok down VP and there's no chance we will struggle.
I'm hoping we don't struggle, we have the players not to struggle but i'm still concerned over whether we will struggle or not based on our 15 games so far. Does that mean i'm not a fan all of a sudden?
-
Looked great going forward with immense pace, plus Guzan had a good solid game which impressed and admittedly suprised me.
All the people claiming Big 'Eck can only play defensive football surely should have shut up now, albeit if we sat back in the opening of the
second half a bit too much.
The only games we haven't played horrible, defensive football have been against Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton who are pretty much the 3 worst teams in the league. We played o.k at Sunderland who aren't far off those three.
If McLeish can conjour up a good passing attacking game against either Liverpool or Arsenal then he'll start getting more goodwill from me and others on this forum.
-
1st half best performance of the season minus the two dickheads in the centre of defence. 2nd half, we panicked a bit,. Overall well happy. BOLTON WERE PISH BUT YOU CAN ONLY BEAT WHAT'S AGAINST YER.
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
Bloody right. Those figures don't account for any of the condescending, repetetive inferences that hint at, but never prove, inside knowledge.
Oh dear, you've caught me out. How clever you are.
I wasn't trying to catch you out, nor to appear clever; I haven't got an internet playground to bully thick kids in so you carry on. I bet it's a right laugh.
Sure is. And incidentally, it's 'repetitive.'
-
Looked great going forward with immense pace, plus Guzan had a good solid game which impressed and admittedly suprised me.
All the people claiming Big 'Eck can only play defensive football surely should have shut up now, albeit if we sat back in the opening of the
second half a bit too much.
The only games we haven't played horrible, defensive football have been against Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton who are pretty much the 3 worst teams in the league. We played o.k at Sunderland who aren't far off those three.
If McLeish can conjour up a good passing attacking game against either Liverpool or Arsenal then he'll start getting more goodwill from me and others on this forum.
This is where I am at. We have become a bigger version of Blues. If we stand up against the big teams we'll start being described as plucky. Something a lot of us hadn't bargained on during the post Ellis years.
-
Well, when you think that people who don't share your view on things aren't "supporters" then any claims to be rational aren't really based on much. And you should really have a read over your own posts, I'd say a good 90% of them are you whining irrationally about other posters.
The first sentence is not what I said at all and the second is a lie.
Bloody right. Those figures don't account for any of the condescending, repetetive inferences that hint at, but never prove, inside knowledge.
Oh dear, you've caught me out. How clever you are.
I wasn't trying to catch you out, nor to appear clever; I haven't got an internet playground to bully thick kids in so you carry on. I bet it's a right laugh.
Sure is. And incidentally, it's 'repetitive.'
It certainly is.
-
Today was a start i reckon. twats in defnece hoofing it, but overall we kept it down on the floor 1st half. that wasn't the formation of a phillistine today and it only started going pear-shaped when petrov ran out of puff near the end. TOP TOP MARKS TO AGENT GINGER
-
Compass-types excepted.
Villa winning will have spoilt his weekend, along with a few others.
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
Where's our next win coming from then? Four wins against piss poor opposition is nothing to crow about. I want McCleish to succeed at Aston Villa, but let's get real, it's never going to happen. He's a nice man who's totally out of his depth.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
Funny, a lot of external people were saying it after the Manure game. Also most of us have seen most matches this season and have seen that most performances have been poor. 3 wins against teams that have been bottom when played and one against a newly promoted team is not the best.
Although saying that it looks like we appear to be the best of a bad bunch and if we are allowed to get some players in improve (or to at least replace Jenas), Albrighton, Bent and N'zog get their confidence back and the manager plays with more attacking intent against some of the bigger boys, we should be close to this position or better by the end.
The highlighted text is the most important factor here. Before todays result the table showed that we were just a few points above 15th place...the fact that after todays win we are still only 4 points off 15th place shows that we are fortunate to be in a group of so many other bad teams who are indeed worse than us.
Having watched the highlights, we showed some good attacking play and we should have closed the game out earlier if we'd put our chances away. The bottom line is that a team with the likes of Bent, Gabby, Albrighton and N'Zogbia shouldnt be "struggling", but if other teams around us do start putting some results together then we could well be.
I dont want us to lose, I dont want us to go down...but for all his passion on the touchline and the unfortunate circumstances he's found himself in, I dont think AM is a capable enough manager to string together a decent set of results and because of that I dont want him as Villa manager anymore.
Villa fans arent the only ones who think we are struggling...its been all over the media, but a lot of it is also condescending along the lines of "those Aston Villa fans need to know their place...who do they think they are expecting better results and being in 8th position in the league". Forget the league position for a second...we've won 4 out of 15 games against Bolton, Norwich, Wigan and Blackburn...not exactly great reading when 3 out of 4 of those teams are currently in the bottom 4 of the league table. Fortunately for us, those 3 teams are far too bad and too far behind for us to be relegated, but are we really supposed to accept avoiding relegation as being good enough?
If AM can keep us in the top half of the table after the next 3 games, then I will be very surprised to say the least.
-
Today was a start i reckon. twats in defnece hoofing it, but overall we kept it down on the floor 1st half. that wasn't the formation of a phillistine today and it only started going pear-shaped when petrov ran out of puff near the end. TOP TOP MARKS TO AGENT GINGER
I was mightily pissed off after last week, and the two previous performances, but the manner of our performance yesterday gave me much hope and gave me some confidence in the manager again.
It may only be shitty Bolton, but in 25 years of following us I've never taken an away game as a given.
-
I don't know what happened at the start of the second half but we definately were defending deeper and it put the defence under pressure. You can have one hoofer in defence but it seems all the back four were doing it the second half. Albrighton had his best game for a long time shows what a goal can do for your confidence, Zog started well but disappeared the second half, that could have been the consequence of playing deeper.
What happened was Bolton started playing long balls and by-passing the midfield which forced us to defend a bit deeper. You should always expect periods when you have to defend when you're away from home but other than a scrappy goal we coped well. Even after that we still made the better chances and if Bent had been his usual self we'd have won much more decisively.
I've been saying for some time that the problem was with the balance in midfield, yesterday it worked, all 4 of them had good games and we looked so much better for it. Definitely something to build on.
Well done to all concerned.
-
Biggest disappointment was finding The Bromilow Arms shut !!
Yeah but the Buccaneer was open ...
-
A very welcome 3 points, but I can't get carried away by a win over probably the worst team in the league.
At 2-1 we semed to be doing our very best to let them back in it. I think the injury to their main man 15 mins from the end propably saved us because Bolton went to shit again after he went off.
Still, to protect me from being accused of not being a true fan, I'll declare contentment with the win and see how we fair in a stiffer test next week.
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
-
For me Petrov was mom he seems to be playing better every time I see him.
As for winning against teams at the bottom, we have to to stay up.
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
Can you appeal against a yellow card? Watching on Football First the co commentator was flabbergasted that Gabby got the card when their keeper kicked the ball at Gabby! Dowd was a complete twat throughout the game - he shouldn't ref any of our games after the Carling Cup Final Vidic incident. Didn't he send Herd off against West Brom which proved an incorrect decision?
He's a shit referee!
-
Delighted with the win.
Back in the title hunt.
Just say no, kids.
-
I do like seeing Stan playing further forward. Frankly given his composure and technical ability, we need him to do that. Herd allows him that freedom. Stan hasn't got the legs to play the defensive midfield role. He'll be fucked after 60 minutes. With Herd taking on the running more so, Stan lasts a little longer. He can't do 90 at top gear, but at least by the end we don't have to strether him off the pitch with an oxygen tank.
Yesterday was promising but we can't get ahead of ourselves like we've turned a corner. We've only won 4 game, 3 against the shittest teams in the top flight, whilst Norwich aren't very solid away. When we start getting results, or at the very least, competing with the top 6 clubs, then we'll get behind McLeish.
We played 2 wingers yesterday and 2 forwards and created more. 4-4-2 isn't the most stylish formation but probably, at this time, the best for us, and something simplistic enough to fit a McLeish game-plan. We look clueless and lost playing a 4-2-3-1.
-
Tom, I think to expect us to be competing with the top 6 given the cost cutting that has been going on is unreasonable.
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
Can you appeal against a yellow card? Watching on Football First the co commentator was flabbergasted that Gabby got the card when their keeper kicked the ball at Gabby! Dowd was a complete twat throughout the game
No, you can't contest a yellow card. I don't remember the incident but it does sound like typical Dowd fuck up. The free kick he gave Bolton on the edge of their area in the first half was baffling. He really is a dire referee. He needs to ref in the lower leagues, the games are a bit slower down there, he might understand what he's doing a bit better.
-
Tom, I think to expect us to be competing with the top 6 given the cost cutting that has been going on is unreasonable.
Just in terms of game to game. I don't expect us to get close to finishing top 6, but even Houllier had us pull off results against those teams and at least give them a game. Spurs probably won't have an easier time all season than what we gave them.
Actually more so, we need to stamp our authority more on the teams around us, particularly at home. Most of the games we've drawn, we've probably been outplayed and out passed.
Fingers crossed we can wheel and deal successfully in January. I think McLeish is here for the foreseeable future given how much it cost to get him, and vacate space for him.
-
Ah, with you now. I agree that as the season progresses I'd like to see us putting up more of a show in every game, however, one a step at a time. It was a decent performance and the result exceeded the majority prediction on the pre-match thread so we should take some positivity from it.
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
Can you appeal against a yellow card? Watching on Football First the co commentator was flabbergasted that Gabby got the card when their keeper kicked the ball at Gabby! Dowd was a complete twat throughout the game
No, you can't contest a yellow card. I don't remember the incident but it does sound like typical Dowd fuck up. The free kick he gave Bolton on the edge of their area in the first half was baffling. He really is a dire referee. He needs to ref in the lower leagues, the games are a bit slower down there, he might understand what he's doing a bit better.
I thought AM could ask Dowd to reconsider his decision - like you can with a red card? It was a howler to give Gabby the yellow when their keeper kicked the ball at him! This could have serious implications for the Liverpool game. I hate Phil Dowd!!
-
Ah, with you now. I agree that as the season progresses I'd like to see us putting up more of a show in every game, however, one a step at a time. It was a decent performance and the result exceeded the majority prediction on the pre-match thread so we should take some positivity from it.
You right about it being "one game at a time" (Sweet Jesus) but I was concerned that we withdrew into our shell so rapidly yesterday and allowed a poor side to dictate the gameplay from the start of the second half. Had we continued to find our wingers as we did in the first half, Bolton would have completely capitulated.
But enough for now; a win's a win.
-
Credit where it's due. Saw the extended football first highlights and villa played well. The midfield clicked which helped take the pressure off the back four.
It shows the frustration for us all and why we all blow up on here because we all know we have players that can play football and are capable of playing much better than they currently have been. We know even with losing our star players we still have a good squad.
I'm certainly not getting carried away but for me it was an unexpected win up at Bolton and I'm glad all the guys that went to the game have been rewarded with our first away win of the season!!
Oh yeah and phil dowd is a dickhead
-
Compass-types excepted.
Villa winning will have spoilt his weekend, along with a few others.
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
Where's our next win coming from then? Four wins against piss poor opposition is nothing to crow about. I want McCleish to succeed at Aston Villa, but let's get real, it's never going to happen. He's a nice man who's totally out of his depth.
There's a lot of people talking about the prospects over the next few games but these have always been difficult for us. Pity that Gabby will be out but Albrighton and N'Zogbia are looking good. We played so poorly against Utd with most players out of sorts. Yesterday was completely different. The midfield is ticking along nicely. We might surprise someone soon.
-
Guzan impressed me. He's a quality keeper in the making. It was a shame that the Blackburn games a couple of years back really hammered his confidence, and more so our confidence in him. I remember being really impressed with him against Juve in the Peace Cup in that pre-season. He really evoked Bosnich in that game, and then against Sunderland in the League Cup.
Hopefully he's learned how to handle physical tactics in his own box. He's an excellent shot stopper. I do think he's too good to stay a number 2 for too long. Given's got 2-3 years left though, so maybe he'll have to move on to further his career and international aspirations. But I'd be confident of him being a long term number one for us, if he bides his time.
-
Long live McLeish as Villa manager.
"We're going up, we're going down,
Going up, we're going down"
...no thanks!
Nice bloke and he's been proper dropped in the shite, but the odd win against other struggling teams doesnt paper over the cracks that AM is out of his depth.
McLeish has not had much time to put his best team out.
There have been occasions when the general attitude of the players has been deplorable. That seemed to have changed yesterday. Maybe the disciplining of N'Zogbia has shaken him up. We are finally starting to get value for money with him.
With O'Neill it was always 'wait for the transfer window'. Let's at least give McLeish
that opportunity and hope some money is forthcoming.
-
Didn't see the game but sounds like we were much better.
Happy for the players and McLeish, this should take some of the pressure off and allow us to have a go a Liverpool next time out. At least it's something to build upon.
-
One thing I did notice was the players coming over to the fans after the game - even Dunne !
They seemed pleased with the day`s work and acknowledged the fans part in it.
They did show some fighting spirit and resilience - add some guile and we can all relax a bit.
-
I watched most of the game on a live feed.I thought apart from the goals, Albrighton and Petrov gave the ball away too much.
Robinson is the worst FB in the Prem, and yet i don't think Albrighton took advantage of him.The reason why the defence was hoofing the ball is because the midfield kept giving the ball away.N'zog was our best player, kept the ball well, looked dangerous and created chances.Gabby was hot and cold, brilliant for the 1st goal, and gave the ball away far too much.
A poor Bolton team was allowed into the game too much, but overall ,partic in the 1st half, we played some good football.We are not far away, but we do need a really good CM.
-
How many did we take yesterday?
-
How many did we take yesterday?
I believe it was 2700.
-
First half, we looked good whenever we passed it, but the amount of unnecessary hoofing was still greatly frustrating. Whenever we passed it, exploited their weakness at full back with our advantage on the wings, tried to play the ball on the deck with a bit of patience we looked dangerous, and the fact that they were also playing 4-4-2 meant we weren't outnumbered in the centre like we can be in that system (although Bent up front really didn't do much at all).
However, second half, as soon as we were put under pressure, we reverted to type and started panicking. We weren't terrible, and clearly the two goal cushion gave us the belief that we could hang on, but we should never have been in a position where we were hoping to just hang on. Make no mistake, Bolton were horrible yesterday, and while the win is good I'd still be worried about our prospects going forward. That said, there are definitely three teams at least who are worse than us in this division.
-
How many did we take yesterday?
I believe it was 2700.
I thought our fans were brilliant yesterday. Loud and proud.
-
Got a Bolton mate who was at the game yesterday. He said our fans were the loudest and happiest at the Reebok this season. Well done lads ..........
-
How many did we take yesterday?
I believe it was 2700.
2,604. Ten ejections and one arrest.
-
Important win. Don't see much coming our way in the rest of December so vital we picked up three points yesterday. Pleasantly surprised to see us start with the same front six I'd suggested in the pre-match thread - it allowed us to get at Bolton from the go and begin a game on the front foot. Albrighton and N'Zogbia looked comfortable in traditional winger roles. Won't work in every game - 4-4-2 - but a good decision to go with it v Bolton.
-
Nice to see three points on the board. But that's enough about the game. Did we establish what a cheese naan is?
-
A naan with cheese in/on it.
-
...
The only people who say we're struggling are Villa supporters.
We're not struggling. We ought to be, but we are not. The current PL is probably the weakest it has been for years.
We are currently 8th because we have been the best of the dross so far, despite poor football. Whether we stay there or thereabouts is anyone's guess.
This season was always going to be about how many teams are worse than us. So far it seems that there will be quite a few.
It doesn't matter whether being the best of a bad bunch means we finish 8th, 12th or 17th. We should be doing a lot better than we are, we should be playing a lot better than we do.
There's not a huge amount to moan at in the league position, really.
The quality of the football, though, has been a different thing altogether, there's plenty to grumble at there.
It's true, there's an awful amount of dross in the PL this season, and we're currently top of the dross, but I wouldn't expect us to stay there. As the season goes on, we'll pick up injuries, and we're going to have to start beating some non-dross teams pretty soon, too.
-
I dont think we are in trouble because as pointed out there are quite a few ordinary teams, it would not take much for us or any of the teams around us to get dragged into it though, a run of 7 or 8 bad results would do it. The difference yesterday was that we got some decent performances from the likes of Nzogbia and Albrighton and the rest of the team were decent to good except Bent who is looking lost at the moment.
-
Very important we got the 3 points.
-
How many did we take yesterday?
I believe it was 2700.
2,604. Ten ejections and one arrest.
That would probably be the muppet who walked outside the barrier and acted like a dickhead shouting abuse at police officers and stewards. He was swiftly taken to the ground and dealth with appropriately. What a moron. Why do these people bother???
-
This season was always going to be about how many teams are worse than us. So far it seems that there will be quite a few.
It doesn't matter whether being the best of a bad bunch means we finish 8th, 12th or 17th. We should be doing a lot better than we are, we should be playing a lot better than we do.
A painfully accurate assessment.
There's not a huge amount to moan at in the league position, really.
The quality of the football, though, has been a different thing altogether, there's plenty to grumble at there.
It's true, there's an awful amount of dross in the PL this season, and we're currently top of the dross, but I wouldn't expect us to stay there. As the season goes on, we'll pick up injuries, and we're going to have to start beating some non-dross teams pretty soon, too.
[/quote]
-
How many did we take yesterday?
I believe it was 2700.
2,604. Ten ejections and one arrest.
That would probably be the muppet who walked outside the barrier and acted like a dickhead shouting abuse at police officers and stewards. He was swiftly taken to the ground and dealth with appropriately. What a moron. Why do these people bother???
There was also a big punch-up in the row in front of me early in the second half; police involved and lots of bollox going on ... sad between Villa fans.
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
Can you appeal against a yellow card? Watching on Football First the co commentator was flabbergasted that Gabby got the card when their keeper kicked the ball at Gabby! Dowd was a complete twat throughout the game
No, you can't contest a yellow card. I don't remember the incident but it does sound like typical Dowd fuck up. The free kick he gave Bolton on the edge of their area in the first half was baffling. He really is a dire referee. He needs to ref in the lower leagues, the games are a bit slower down there, he might understand what he's doing a bit better.
He can't see past his gut :)
-
The food in The Beehive was shite. The beer, on the other hand was excellent. The football was like the curate's egg - good in parts. Our first away trip of the season and we saw us win. Need to go on more away trips!
-
Gabby suspended for Liverpool I think.
Can you appeal against a yellow card? Watching on Football First the co commentator was flabbergasted that Gabby got the card when their keeper kicked the ball at Gabby! Dowd was a complete twat throughout the game
No, you can't contest a yellow card. I don't remember the incident but it does sound like typical Dowd fuck up. The free kick he gave Bolton on the edge of their area in the first half was baffling. He really is a dire referee. He needs to ref in the lower leagues, the games are a bit slower down there, he might understand what he's doing a bit better.
He can't see past his gut :)
Dowd is a useless ref, its as though he makes it up as he goes along, how the hell he got to this level is astounding. watched the games on TV today and both refs were poor.
-
The food in The Beehive was shite. The beer, on the other hand was excellent. The football was like the curate's egg - good in parts. Our first away trip of the season and we saw us win. Need to go on more away trips!
In the inimitable words of Detective Chief Inspector Morse:
"Beer is food Lewis!".
-
TOP TOP MARKS TO AGENT GINGER
Who are you and what have you done with Greg?
-
First half, we looked good whenever we passed it, but the amount of unnecessary hoofing was still greatly frustrating. Whenever we passed it, exploited their weakness at full back with our advantage on the wings, tried to play the ball on the deck with a bit of patience we looked dangerous, and the fact that they were also playing 4-4-2 meant we weren't outnumbered in the centre like we can be in that system (although Bent up front really didn't do much at all).
However, second half, as soon as we were put under pressure, we reverted to type and started panicking. We weren't terrible, and clearly the two goal cushion gave us the belief that we could hang on, but we should never have been in a position where we were hoping to just hang on. Make no mistake, Bolton were horrible yesterday, and while the win is good I'd still be worried about our prospects going forward. That said, there are definitely three teams at least who are worse than us in this division.
Sums it up for me . I thought nzog was really good first half and then second half we stopped giving it to him and we went back to the hoof. We could have easily won 5-1 to be fair thou and 3 points is great .
-
First half, we looked good whenever we passed it, but the amount of unnecessary hoofing was still greatly frustrating. Whenever we passed it, exploited their weakness at full back with our advantage on the wings, tried to play the ball on the deck with a bit of patience we looked dangerous, and the fact that they were also playing 4-4-2 meant we weren't outnumbered in the centre like we can be in that system (although Bent up front really didn't do much at all).
However, second half, as soon as we were put under pressure, we reverted to type and started panicking. We weren't terrible, and clearly the two goal cushion gave us the belief that we could hang on, but we should never have been in a position where we were hoping to just hang on. Make no mistake, Bolton were horrible yesterday, and while the win is good I'd still be worried about our prospects going forward. That said, there are definitely three teams at least who are worse than us in this division.
Sums it up for me . I thought nzog was really good first half and then second half we stopped giving it to him and we went back to the hoof. We could have easily won 5-1 to be fair thou and 3 points is great .
Despite how we played poorer in the 2nd half, if Bent had his shooting boots on we still would have won 5-1!
We're a team low on confidence right now, so it's at least understandable how he got nervous as they bombarded us in the 2nd half. The ability to absorb that, which we mainly did, and still play our football will come with a bit more confidence that a few more wins gives you.
-
Didn't see the game or any of the highlights, but an away win is a good result regardless of the opposition. We certainly needed it with our fixtures this month.