Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on September 29, 2012, 06:41:04 PM
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Available Sunday evening.
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How much better we look. Optimism continues to grow.
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better team . should have got 3 pts . thank f**k we didnt lose.
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Need to tighten up at the back....BIG TME! Bent I guess has to start, deserved point if not 3....Holman put your feet up son.
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Deserved all three. Benteke should make way for Bent.
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thank f**k we didnt lose.
Amen to that.
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Benteke's lack of confidence a concern, but overall good to see some fighting spirit.
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Spurs theoretically should put 6 past us, but this is football we're talking about.
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Mostly good first half, mostly poor second. Deserved the draw.
We show some signs of quality but seem to run out of steam / ideas in the second half of games. Need to shore up the defence or we;re going to struggle more than necessary this season.
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First half, we had all the game after a wobbly 10 mins but just could not score. Second half, we forgot to come out of the dressing room and players started to tire like Marc, Gabby and Holman. Goal put us back and if Baggies had left Long on we might have lost it. But luckily Bent came on to score after another lucky block from the Baggies. Feel disappointed but we did not win but it is not going to be dull this season.
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Leaving Bent on bench was a mistake but at least we didn't lose. Benteke looks like he has some learning to do but didn't play badly on overall. Holman probably MOTM for me.
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Hmm...worst league start since tv invented football apparently. All well and good saying we looked ok but November is a bitch of a month so we're going to have to get a win or two on the board over the next few weeks.
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didnt think we did to bad. dunno what elsed to saY, holman was good. got 12 cans left, ryder cp n curry. . .
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Heart in mouth stuff all game. Great derby.
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Bit of a curate's egg that. Overall I'm pretty pleased though. The big concern is the defence which looks ropey against movement up front. More games together should help improve things.
I thought holman, kea were our best players. Nice to have attacking options on the bench. I thought all 3 did well in the end, though for a while it looked like we'd lost hope
I hope that Kneejerk 'shower of shit comments' like we had on the match thread don't become too prevalent. We've a very young team that's going to be up and down between and within games. On another day we'd have been one or two up earlier
Overall, I thought there was much to be pleased about and quite a bit to work on
And I love that we tried to win the game after we scored
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We need to defend better. We are not under a lot of pressure at the moment as the season is still young but come feb.&march if we are not in a good position the pressure on the defence will be immense as confidence will be low.
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I noticed this in the Graun's minute-by-minute report:
19 min: Stands that are more impressive than The Kop: The Holte End.
Damn right.
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Decent effort and commitment , deserved a draw at the least and maybe a win but good signs of progress.
Bennett and holman impressed today but Lowton and benteke were a bit below par - overall not a bad game though- onwards and upwards.
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Vlaar looking shakey again, excellent performance from Holman.
One more point to our safety figure of 40.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
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We need to defend better. We are not under a lot of pressure at the moment as the season is still young but come feb.&march if we are not in a good position the pressure on the defence will be immense as confidence will be low.
Yes and this stepping up for offside is giving me twitchers.
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There were a lot of positives to that game. Never mind the result, save for the first bit of each half we were easily the better team ans played some lovely football in patches.
It could have gone a bit Southampton after they scored, full marks to the team for stepping up and taking the game back.
It said it all at the end that one team was desperate to run down the clock the other to keep the ball in play.
If we keep on like this the results will come as the team/squad becomes better co-ordinated as a unit - not to mention the defence.
Nice to bring a player like Bent off the bench to get a goal.
Albion have a very strong defence but little else to offer. Fuck off back to Smethwick.
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I think we need to score more first-half goals.
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Benteke's lack of confidence a concern, but overall good to see some fighting spirit.
Lack of accuracy maybe but no sign of a lack of confidence... sees goal:shoots = confident in my book.
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Hmm...worst league start since...
I can't put into words how much I hate it when Sky, etc. reel this one out. How long is a "start"? 2 games? 5? 7? It's as many as it takes to fit their silly little agenda, the complete c***s.
Played quite well today, shame we didn't get the points at the end there but we looked really good at times.
Right, I'm off to watch the golf for 6 hours...
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Amazed at the comments here. I thought we were dire in that second half.
Time and time again the defence was exposed by Long and then Lukaku.
El Ahmadi was so slow and ineffectual, doesn't look the same player as he did pre-season.
Thought Gabby, Delph and Holman did well first half but sorry can't see anymore positives that that.
Thought we were outplayed.
Happy to accept ups and downs but thought we were as bad today as we were at Southampton to be honest.
As for "Concrete" Ron, billing him up as some sort of hard man, he barely won a header all day, Olsson showed him how it should be done. Long had him in his pocket all game.
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Hmm...worst league start since...
I can't put into words how much I hate it when Sky, etc. reel this one out. How long is a "start"? 2 games? 5? 7? It's as many as it takes to fit their silly little agenda, the complete c***s.
Played quite well today, shame we didn't get the points at the end there but we looked really good at times.
Right, I'm off to watch the golf for 6 hours...
First time I've really disagreed with the majority on H&V.
I didn't see much good stuff played at all today.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
I thought Delph was decent. Bannan was good when he came on, no question, and his set piece and wider delivery is a threat. But We played 442 at times and I think we'll struggle if we ask Bannan to partner KEA from the off in that system
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Good match to watch, but overall a mixed bag:
Wasn't impressed at all with Vlaar again, he just looks like Cuellar with better teeth and a cool nickname. He just switches off too many times. He was rubbish against Southampton and wasn't much better today. I thought Gabby (first half especially) was excellent, and Holman ran himself into the ground. Albrighton did quite well, but Delph for me showed why he'll never really make it at this level. I think it's dangerous having two such inexperienced full backs in the same side, although both were very energetic, and I thought Bennett had the better match. Benteke though, looks like a huge gangling donkey. Not impressed. Still, it was an entertaining game, and a point was the least we deserved
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I think we need to score more first-half goals.
I think we need better players.
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Roller coaster cliche applies. The next 6 fixtures look tough, bar Norwich. Our players need to apply Lambo's plan and not just erratically.
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Thought we were outplayed.
No we weren't. West Brom made plenty of chances but so did Villa and we deserved our equalizer.
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Should have scored more which would of seen us win probably.
Agbonlahor didn't produce as much as I would've hoped after his performance mid week... First half he did well getting in behind their defenders with his pace, not as good second half but he put the effort in. Benteke just lacked a bit of composure but you could see he was trying. Bent was the man to score that goal. Nice finish.
Overall I'm not too down, because I can see the positives. The performance was there today to get the win I think... We didn't play our best but we showed resilience and with 10 minutes to go I thought we might get a winner. West Brom are a well organized team who like to pass it around so we did well combatting what they wanted to do. Again, its just going to take time. I was really hoping for a win as 3 points would've been great but not going to focus on what could of been just take it game by game.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
I thought Delph was decent. Bannan was good when he came on, no question, and his set piece and wider delivery is a threat. But We played 442 at times and I think we'll struggle if we ask Bannan to partner KEA from the off in that system
Agreed. The biggest worry with Delph is that he disappears in games. I haven't seen him have a whole good game. He looks decent in patches. Same with a few of our players actually - their age maybe.
Bannan looked good when he came on but like you say, I don't fancy him in a midfield duo.
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Amazed at the comments here. I thought we were dire in that second half.
Time and time again the defence was exposed by Long and then Lukaku.
El Ahmadi was so slow and ineffectual, doesn't look the same player as he did pre-season.
Thought Gabby, Delph and Holman did well first half but sorry can't see anymore positives that that.
Thought we were outplayed.
Happy to accept ups and downs but thought we were as bad today as we were at Southampton to be honest.
As for "Concrete" Ron, billing him up as some sort of hard man, he barely won a header all day, Olsson showed him how it should be done. Long had him in his pocket all game.
I agree that at the start of the second we looked ropey at the back and lost confidence and shape. But I think that assessment is over the top. I don't think Vlaar lost too many aerial duels. I'm more worried by our offside trap and by Clark's positioning.
I thought Bennett was ok, not great, but ok. Lowton was inconsistent, though great to see him being so positive
I thought KEA played much better today than in recent games.
Work in progress. It's true we've got some tough games to come, but I think we are improving.
And we did play some really good, positive football at times. West Brom are a well drilled, in form, confident side. Give it some time
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Thought we done pretty well overall,apart from the spell they had after scoring.
The desire to win the ball back,and to keep was impressive,even Charles looked up for it when he came on. It's good that the managers got a few selections to ponder before the next game. Were slowly moving in the right direction. UTV.
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
I thought Delph was decent. Bannan was good when he came on, no question, and his set piece and wider delivery is a threat. But We played 442 at times and I think we'll struggle if we ask Bannan to partner KEA from the off in that system
Agreed. The biggest worry with Delph is that he disappears in games. I haven't seen him have a whole good game. He looks decent in patches. Same with a few of our players actually - their age maybe.
Bannan looked good when he came on but like you say, I don't fancy him in a midfield duo.
There was one move where Delph let the ball run across his body and then accelerated into space, before finding his man with a crisp pass. I thought he looked full of promise in that moment and the player I thought we were getting.
Games ebb and flow. I imagine baggies fans were worried at half time. And of course if we'd scored 2 of our very good chances in that half, then the Baggies would have been whining just like some of our fans were on the match thread when we were losing!
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
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We were the better side overall. When you look at the last few games between the clubs they are not a better team than us.
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We are work in progress but there's a need to be more creative to break well organised defences down and we found that hard to do today. On the showing so far, we look a mid table side at best, so if we can hold that through the season hopefully we willbe much stronger for the next one.
Without a doubt Holman our best player today, could have scored with a bit more luck
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With only 5 points from 6 games after a relatively easy opening fixture list I would normally be very concerned, especially if TSM were still in charge. But you can see a lot of positives in what Lambert is trying to do so it doesn't feel so bad. We dominated possession again and just need to convert that into goals, and cut out the defensive gaffes.
Vlaar is playing like Richard Dunne, great for most of the game and then ruins it all by giving a goal away. Needs to cut it out. I quite like the look of Bennet. Though he's still very raw it seems like he can play a bit.
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First half we were very good, but needed to score. Took too long to get into the game in the second half. I wish Delph would settle, and he played okay but he isn't commanding enough really. Holman was brilliant today. Hard working, always moving.. just really fantastic.
Benteke is raw, very raw. He'll be a great signing for us though. Thought Albrighton could have done better, was pleased when he came off. Vlaar & Clark are still impressing me as a partnership. KEA is a great pivot for the midfield. Always makes himself available.
Thrilled we got back into, felt we could have got a win though.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
I thought Delph was decent. Bannan was good when he came on, no question, and his set piece and wider delivery is a threat. But We played 442 at times and I think we'll struggle if we ask Bannan to partner KEA from the off in that system
Agreed. The biggest worry with Delph is that he disappears in games. I haven't seen him have a whole good game. He looks decent in patches. Same with a few of our players actually - their age maybe.
Bannan looked good when he came on but like you say, I don't fancy him in a midfield duo.
There was one move where Delph let the ball run across his body and then accelerated into space, before finding his man with a crisp pass. I thought he looked full of promise in that moment and the player I thought we were getting.
Games ebb and flow. I imagine baggies fans were worried at half time. And of course if we'd scored 2 of our very good chances in that half, then the Baggies would have been whining just like some of our fans were on the match thread when we were losing!
That was the only thing he did. He got shoved off the ball a few times and didn't really contribute.
We need to keep the ball better, as said we are still learning with the new manager & players.
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
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Funnily enough I though Delph looked good today and he's someone I've never really thought was any good.
Would love to see a stat on Vlaar, everyone seems to be raving about him but I think first and foremost he needs to win his headers and clear his lines, the fancy turns can come later.
I think Long won more headers than he lost.
And I don't agree with KEA, thought he was very sluggish and gave the ball away numerous times.
Bennet and Benteke, very young, very raw, they'll obviously get better with games.
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Puzzling game that and a sign of a team still finding its way under a new manager. Major positives are that we retained a lot of possession and that Bent is starting to score goals. We just need to tighten up at the back and take more of our chances.
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I think we'd have won that if we'd scored first....or started Bent as Benteke was woeful but in fairness I wouldn't criticise Lambert too much as we scored 4 at Man. City without using Bent.
Much the better team in the first half but poor to lose that goal as we'd have a let off from Long just a minute before. At this moment in time conceding goals really seems to knock this team as we struggled to really get back into the game until the goal.
Draw probably fair in the end. How many times though did a simple throughball from WBA beat our defence, which was very square on a lot of occasions, that is a concern for me.
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Hmm...worst league start since tv invented football apparently. All well and good saying we looked ok but November is a bitch of a month so we're going to have to get a win or two on the board over the next few weeks.
That's true but I reckon this season will be a bit like O'dreary's first season when we were in the bottom 3 in December and were top 6 at the end.
I doubt we'll finish as high as that but I expect us to really kick on in the second half of the season when the run of games looks easier.
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The thing that pissed me off with their goal (apart from our defending) was they won the ball at the start of the move by someone jumping into the ball with both feet before catching KEA. Normally I wouldn't be that bothered but it was in the exact same spot that the same ref gave a freekick and a booking against Delph when he won the ball and caught the guy without studs showing and only going in with one leg.
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I think we're clutching at what our best midfield is at the moment.
I would agree that the defence needs to wise up and quickly.
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Fair result today. Thought Bennett looked decent, also thought Delphi did ok. Holman very good again. We needed to get Gabby running at them a bit more. Baggies deserve credit, Long was a handful and they have a good solid look to them so a draw is no disgrace. I did think they had won the CL the way they celebrated the goal though!
Also, why do Albion fans dress like its still the 1970s?
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
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Tought we should have won that. Not impressed by Albion at all. They looked the same as a Mobray side.
If Benteke had taken his chance just before HT and Bent had kept his head down just before the end this would have been relatively easy.
Boy do those Baggies hate us - only just stopped laughing as we de-boinged them ;-)
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Good team effort if lacking a little quality. Enjoyable to watch. Should have won it but will take the point.
Not bothered about bad starts etc - we are work in progress and we should be judged over the 38 games.
Contented and getting happier.
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Just got home, thought we played very well in patches such as the majority of the 1st half and in periods of the 2nd half. We are very much a work in progress and I doubt there was a younger starting line up anywhere in the country over the weekend than what ours was today. I thought Holman and Delph were very good, but I was shitting myself everytime Lukaku got the ball, he's a beast. First time i've seen Benteke in the flesh and he was pretty awful but at 19 theres a lot of time for him. Over all happy not to lose and signs are promising for the future.
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
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Just got home, thought we played very well in patches such as the majority of the 1st half and in periods of the 2nd half. We are very much a work in progress and I doubt there was a younger starting line up anywhere in the country over the weekend than what ours was today. I thought Holman and Delph were very good, but I was shitting myself everytime Lukaku got the ball, he's a beast. First time i've seen Benteke in the flesh and he was pretty awful but at 19 theres a lot of time for him. Over all happy not to lose and signs are promising for the future.
Benteke is 21, Lukaku is the 19yo Belgium striker. One cost £7mil and one cost £13mil.
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This looks like a bunch who will put on the Villa shirt, play for the manager with enthusiasm and effort and give it a go.
Won. lose or draw I will always applaud that.
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I did get a bit worried when they managed to play those thru balls into their forwards. Lukaku looked good for them when he came on. He did cause our defence one or two problems... I thought his shot that eventually clipped the post was going to drop in.
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Just got in. Was very impressed with Holman, he has a great engine. KEA did all the little things right and is very astute. Bennett I'm not sure about and I thought he was at fault for their goal. Benteke had a poor game; he had the first touch of Heskey and his decision making was not up to scratch.
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
The graphic novel version had me hooked. By the way, I'm female - er, I button my shirts the other way - but we scientists are above such mundane distinctions, I'm sure.
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My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
Sir? Louizie0? Well I do wonder how manly she does look as she doesn't seem to get many takers on here. <wink>
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Kea had a 90% pass success rate and I think he did well
Delph was 93%
Also, I really think Morrison is an excellent player and would very much like him at villa
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
*claps*
We were alright, even very good in parts. Good spirit. Woefully toothless though. Which is a bit of a worry?
Btw, read recently that some scientists think the Uncertainty Principle is bumkum, but the same can be said of my opinion when it comes FTP football.
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Just got in. Was very impressed with Holman, he has a great engine. KEA did all the little things right and is very astute. Bennett I'm not sure about and I thought he was at fault for their goal. Benteke had a poor game; he had the first touch of Heskey and his decision making was not up to scratch.
Not sure what Bennett could do. He had to front up the attacker coming in with the ball, and Morrison made a very good run. (Just a shame Lowton didn't stop a second earlier.). From that point onwards it was all down the the central defenders.
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My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
Sir? Louizie0? Well I do wonder how manly she does look as she doesn't seem to get many takers on here. <wink>
*looking for a picture of WonderWoman in her earthbound identity of labcoat and glasses*
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
The graphic novel version had me hooked. By the way, I'm female - er, I button my shirts the other way - but we scientists are above such mundane distinctions, I'm sure.
My sincere apologies madam. Yes, in the arena of science we are all scientists devoid of gender distinction
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Just got in. Was very impressed with Holman, he has a great engine. KEA did all the little things right and is very astute. Bennett I'm not sure about and I thought he was at fault for their goal. Benteke had a poor game; he had the first touch of Heskey and his decision making was not up to scratch.
Not sure what Bennett could do. He had to front up the attacker coming in with the ball, and Morrison made a very good run. (Just a shame Lowton didn't stop a second earlier.). From that point onwards it was all down the the central defenders.
Hard to say as I haven't seen any replays but at the time I felt he gave him too much space.
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My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
Sir? Louizie0? Well I do wonder how manly she does look as she doesn't seem to get many takers on here. <wink>
Yeh, screwed up, but it could have been bloke called Louie. I'm massively clutching at straws right now.
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I know he divides opinion but we'll look better at the back when Dunne returns. The defence lacks experience. Long gave Clark the runaround - he really struggles at times and we get opened up far too easily.
Can't fault the spirit of the side and the substitutions were good and gave us momentum.
We actually looked more threatening when we went a bit direct - sometimes feels like we overplay in our own half.
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We're playing the right way, everyone's getting some games and we'll just get better the more we play together.
The way we're trying create angles and the movement of players, in particular how a player is moving after he's passed the ball is going to bear fruit.
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Good derby game I thought. Either side could have won it but we were finishing in the ascendancy and thought we were going to nick it. Point each was a fair result on balance of the game I guess. The substitutions changed the game and for me the 11 that finished for us should be the starting 11 next week, with the possible exception of Delph for CNZ
Much debate on Radio WM on the way back about the relative merits of Bent/Benteke/Gabby and whether Lambert had made the wrong choice for who started today. For me I was more concerned with our MF when I saw the starting line up, and thought a fairly lightweight midfield of Holman/KEA/Delph/Albrighton would struggle against a fairly well-drilled Olbyun 5 midfield, and I think periods in the game reflected that, with them seeming to find players in space in MF fairly easily. Be interesting to see who he puts there next week
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The thing about this season we are going to win, lose or draw games we don't expect to. Now and then we'll even win, lose or draw games we expect to.
1 win in 6 so far. Any chance we could win a few more games, whether we expect to or not?
Yes, I'm sure we will
Bound to, according to the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle.
'The more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vice versa.[1]
(Werner Heisenberg, 1927)
Substitute 'player', 'pass', or even 'Villa in the Premier League table' for 'particle' and Toronto's point is proved. QED.
My point exactly. Sir, I see you too have read The Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory.
The graphic novel version had me hooked. By the way, I'm female - er, I button my shirts the other way - but we scientists are above such mundane distinctions, I'm sure.
My sincere apologies madam. Yes, in the arena of science we are all scientists devoid of gender distinction
Accepted. See you at the beach party er symposium on the 'goal potential of Brownian Motion in the 18 Yard Box'. With beer and sandwiches.
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I know he divides opinion but we'll look better at the back when Dunne returns. The defence lacks experience. Long gave Clark the runaround - he really struggles at times and we get opened up far too easily.
Can't fault the spirit of the side and the substitutions were good and gave us momentum.
We actually looked more threatening when we went a bit direct - sometimes feels like we overplay in our own half.
I agree. Dunney has his faults and a Vlaar-Dunne combo does look pretty pedestrian but he will at least organise the back 4 a little better.
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Just got back, Albion look a stronger team physically than we do,but we matched them at the passing game and showed good character to come back when we could have buckled. Good attacking substitutions from Lambert .The defence does worry me a bit Clark is a good footballer and hopefully he will get better (still wouldn't mind seeing Dunne there though) I thought Bennett was really good considering it was his home debut.I thought we missed Ireland in midfield ? Left a lot happier than I thought I would with 15 minutes to go.
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I was quite impressed with West Brom, thought they played it around quite well.
Villa were neat and tidy but there was little interchanging between the strikers and the attacking midfield.
For the third match running I thought Lowton has been lacking a bit of confidence, thought he was the weakest of the back line today. From the initial match at West Ham, where Vlaar was getting too close to the attacker i wonder if he has been told to calm it down a little. I saw him allow Tevez to bring the ball down too often without a challenge on Tues, and today with Long. Clark is really growing into the centre half role in my eyes - his positioning was great on Tues, and i thought he did alright today, winning more headers. Needs to cut out the cynical ones - the one at the end of the first half was poor and a goal from that would have been harsh. I thought Bennett was excellent today for a young lad making his home debut. I think he will become a very good player for us from what i've seen upto now.
KEA is always available to receive the ball, which is what i like to see. The overplaying in deep areas can and will cost us at times but i like him. Delph had a good game also i thought, thought he was more impressive in the mid-week. Holman will always keep going, another great trait. If we improve our movement up front I think Holman will do an awful lot for us. Albrighton - i'm not entirely sure what Lamberts instructions were for him. I didn't think he did too bad and he is getting his fitness back. Will be great to see him firing on all cylinders again this year and will hopefully get those balls in the box for the strikers to pounce.
Gabby looks much happier up top than he does on the left and he whipped two great balls in early on. Benteke started okay but lost his way. I think he could do with dropping deeper at times, encouraging the midfield to move more into offensive positions. He had a great game at City, so i'm not too concerned at the moment. Once he gets to grips with the league more he will become an asset for us (I hope!)
CNZ was unlucky not to start after Tuesdays game I thought, and i hope he can finally turn the corner now to become a good link player for us. Bent will surely be gutted not to be starting so i'm hoping this might kick him up the arse to start performing. Bannan did well when coming on also - plays the intelligent ball if the run is made (which hasn't been the case in recent seasons).
Great to see us continue to press forward - think the subs made by Lambert were spot on too. The defence seemed to sit too deep again second half though, which is a bit of a worry.
My mate was relying on us to win today to win his accumulator, so i'll not text him for a bit ! ha
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We were poor 1-1 was a good result for us.
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I thought we did OK. Fair game, fair result. I enjoyed it anyway.
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Back to the drawing board eh? At least they didn't get the killer in the dying minutes. progress there anyway.
We can beat Citeh and we get the run around from the Bags.
Once we click they had all better watch out!
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Was the initial pass played to someone in an offside position? (http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/shane-long-west-brom-1-0-v-aston-villa/)
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We were poor 1-1 was a good result for us.
We were not poor. Me thinks you are lacking in experience. It was a million miles from what we saw last season.
Just didn't find a way to deal with the Tesco Baggies tactics. We certainly didn't deserve to lose. There are some very encouraging signs - just be patient it will come.
Despite what some were saying on the radio on the way home - Lambert was right to keep Bent on the bench - he needs to know he is not an automatic choice. Keep him on his toes and he will score goals.
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I am still not entirely convinced by Vlaar. I think we all want him to be the new Laursen, and boy god he's a million miles from that. I think he really needs the experience of Dunne alongside before we see the best if him, that said, I wouldn't be averse to seeing Dunne and Clarke together because Clarke is a player.
I think a Bennett deserves a special mention. I thought he was excellent considering the massive step up in class and it being his home debut. I thought he looked like he had being at this level for ever and coped very,very well.
Thought Lambert left it a touch too long to make the changes, but fair play to him and the boys, they kept going till the end, we'd have lost that game last year.
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Bizarre reading the BBC report, they reckon it was a game of few chances?!
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Benteke seems to run quite hot and cold
Superb v Swansea, poor v Southhampton, I gather he looked good v Man City and today he just didn't seem to have his shit together.
Hopefully he'll have a blinder next weekend...if he gets a game.
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Just got back, my thoughts.
Guzan.....ok, not really a save to make, dealt with crosses ok.
Bennett.......will be ok, plenty of pace, with confidence and belief will be a good attacking FB.Got caught out by the pace of the game, but at 21 is fine.
Clark.....for me a defensive liability, does'nt read danger, has'nt got the pace to cover his lack of anticipation, left Long wide open for the "offside" goal.Not sure he is better than Baker, certainly not better than Dunne.
Vlaar.....i thought was steady today, most of their danger came doen Clarks side, and unlucky with the goal, as he actually hit it against Long.
Lowton, was ok, needs to close down quicker and be a bit more aggressive.
KEA......for me had a good game, won a lot of the loose balls, and kept the ball well.Needs to speed the game up a bit, but will come with confidence.
Delph.....for me had a reasonable game.Good bursts throughout the game, drawing defenders out of position, but still prone to the odd mistake.If he could regain his confidence, he could be a very good player.
Holman.....again for me MOM, the goal come from him closing the LB down, going out for a throw to them right by th corner flag, us getting the ball back, winning a corner, and scoring.Not the most gifted, but tries things.Played well.
Albrighton......completely devoid of confidence.Needs to go on loan to a Championship club, to see if he can develop some character to be the player he threatened he might.Should'nt be in the 1st 16 on this performance.
Gabby, and Benteke.....similar games to me, show flashes, show aggression, but don't look like scoring.Benteke to be fair is young, and i think will be a very good player for us.Gabby need s to be a bit more adaptable, and learn how to utilise his strengths more.Should be England C/F , but is a long way off.
Subs.......every sub worked, Bannan played well, N'Zog made a difference, and Bent scored.Well done Lambert.
Overall a game we didn't deserve to lose, but probably didn't do enough to win.We will get better, and at least we have a team now that doesn't lie down and die.We would have lost that last season.
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I thought Smethwick bossed the midfield for long spells. I like the look of El Ahmedi, but i'm not convinced he's a central midfielder in a 2 man central midfield, he looks better in a 3 to me. I would have liked to have seen us play with Gabby, Bent AND Benteke when chasing the game with Gabby playing wide. I wasn't convinced by the Ollbeyun full backs and I think he could have got at them a little.
On a side note, I couldn't help but laugh at the TEN coaches of Ollbeyun fans who paid £10 to travel how many miles down the road?
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I thought Smethwick bossed the midfield for long spells. I like the look of El Ahmedi, but i'm not convinced he's a central midfielder in a 2 man central midfield, he looks better in a 3 to me. I would have liked to have seen us play with Gabby, Bent AND Benteke when chasing the game with Gabby playing wide. I wasn't convinced by the Ollbeyun full backs and I think he could have got at them a little.
On a side note, I couldn't help but laugh at the TEN coaches of Ollbeyun fans who paid £10 to travel how many miles down the road?
We counted eight. £1.80 on the bus.
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I thought Smethwick bossed the midfield for long spells. I like the look of El Ahmedi, but i'm not convinced he's a central midfielder in a 2 man central midfield, he looks better in a 3 to me. I would have liked to have seen us play with Gabby, Bent AND Benteke when chasing the game with Gabby playing wide. I wasn't convinced by the Ollbeyun full backs and I think he could have got at them a little.
On a side note, I couldn't help but laugh at the TEN coaches of Ollbeyun fans who paid £10 to travel how many miles down the road?
We counted eight. £1.80 on the bus.
It never fails to amaze me how many coaches Albion and Blues bring.
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Was the initial pass played to someone in an offside position? (http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/shane-long-west-brom-1-0-v-aston-villa/)
No Lowton on the far side played him on. It was highlighted by Neville on the Sky commentary.
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I thought we did OK. Fair game, fair result. I enjoyed it anyway.
To be honest this is my take. Shame one of the good first half chances didn't go in, Benteke should have scored at the end of the first half. Then it would have been a different game. They aren't a bad side
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Was the initial pass played to someone in an offside position? (http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/shane-long-west-brom-1-0-v-aston-villa/)
No Lowton on the far side played him on. It was highlighted by Neville on the Sky commentary.
Thanks. From where I was sitting I was convinced he was off-side. Having watched it again I can see I was wrong.
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I also agree Bent shouldn't have played, Benteke & Agbonlahor were excellent mid week and didn't deserve to be dropped
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didn't see game but 1 win in 16 is desperate. good signs but we've had an easy start and need to start winning
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didn't see game but 1 win in 16 is desperate. good signs but we've had an easy start and need to start winning
Exactly. All this promise is great but we need some points because that's how they work out who gets to stay in the Premier League.
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That James Morrison, he's a more than decent player.
I think we should take him off them in January.
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Lambert has 1 win in 6, not 16.
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I thought it was a good game and was quite impressed with some of the football. Holman was excellent again, thought the two lads in the centre did quite well, even if they were overrun at times. Am still not convinced by Clark, though Long bullied him a bit at times. Gabby did well first half. Benteke had a bit of a mare, hopefully that is a one off. Thought all the subs made a bit of a difference, Bannan especially showed some nice touches. Bennett showed some potential, thought Lowton was lacking in confidence a bit.
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Bit of trouble outside the away exits at the end. Smoke bombs thrown. Truncheons drawn.
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Lambert has 1 win in 6, not 16.
But is it not win in the last 16 PL games irrespective of manager?
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The record of TSM no longer bothers me. I'm looking to the future.
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Lambert has 1 win in 6, not 16.
But is it not win in the last 16 PL games irrespective of manager?
Half the squad and back room staff have changed since last season.
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
That was pissing me off, Gabby did it once and got flagged straight away.
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I thought we did ok, on the the plus side we have bags of spirit and I really like the look of Holman, I also thought Bennett looks a good prospect, defensively were a bit hit and miss but its almost a completely new back 4 so they need time to gel but I do think when he is fit I would bring Dunne into the team as we need every bit of experience we can get, I think we could be around the bottom 6 till xmas but pull away when we settle down as a team, a really good midfield leader is needed in Jan to ensure that happens.
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Before I give my thoughts on the game, I can safely say that I have not felt that excited and tense at Villa Park for a very, very long time. Thank-you Paul Lambert.
Good first half, some nice passing and a few chances. Liked the way Guzan played it short and the midfielders come to get it and turn round and go forward. Benteke looks similar to Carew.
Second half didn't go so well for a while, but we kept at it, PL made the three changes and they more than played their part.
We seem to be quite narrow when defending and they had moments where they had two players attacking our full-backs, so thus I'd something PL needs to work on, but I'm sure he knows this.
The most pleasing aspect I found was after we equalised, we went looking for a winner, knowing they could catch us on the break and score. Playing for a win feels good and is enjoyable.
We'll be fine this season and I think we'll have some fun along the way. Some great play, some bad errors, but always trying to win.
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With every passing game I'm getting less convinced that Clark is a centre back.
Competent DCM maybe but centre back, I'm not too sure.
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Guzan - 6 - didn't have a great deal to do but one rush out to try and catch the ball sticks out because he missed it by a mile. tidy otherwise.
Lowton - 6 - was quite ineffective today.
Bennett - 6 - Great free kick that was just a shade wide. I've only marked him down for no overlapping.
Vlaar - -7 - Didn't think he was as bad as some or saying.
Clark - 6 - A bit quiet.
Albrighton -7 - Some good crosses.
Al-Ahmadi - 8 - Thought he was very good first half.
Delph - 6 - Not too bad. Stayed in his position better than usually seen.
Holman - 7 - Good all action first half with a couple of good digs.
gabby - 7 - Didn't stop running.
benteke - 6 - i thought he slotted in nicely and was a nuisance first-half. He'll get better
Subs:
N'Zog- 6 - Thought he did well when he came on.
bent-7 - Scored.
Bannan - 6 - Good energy.
Surprised by a lot of what I've read here. yes we didn't start as well second-half but what did you expect? they didn't sit as deep and after a half time rocket would have come out all guns blazing. vlaar was unlucky with the goal, very unlucky as it just hit Long and went in. What i liked is that with the 3 subs we changed and went to plan b and din't look for the big man to to play attacking possession football. it was like a ManU lite when they were losing a few years ago and just kept coming at you.
We deserved 1 but could and should have had 3. Onwards and upwards.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
That was pissing me off, Gabby did it once and got flagged straight away.
You can't be offside from a goal kick. It was a clever tactic and caused us plenty of problems.
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The record of TSM no longer bothers me. I'm looking to the future.
Me too. No point in getting agitated over something you can't change, imo.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Completely disagree, I think we controlled the game apart from 20 minutes around their goal.
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
I thought it was just me that spotted that. He was offside for every goal kick, and was never flagged even when the ball went straight to him, which it did on many occasions. Has there been a change of rules or something?
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
That was pissing me off, Gabby did it once and got flagged straight away.
You can't be offside from a goal kick. It was a clever tactic and caused us plenty of problems.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Completely disagree, I think we controlled the game apart from 20 minutes around their goal.
Without beating around the bush, in my opinion, to suggest we are a Championship side who were lucky to draw is complete bollocks. What game were you watching?
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
You are Radio WM and I claim my prize.
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The record of TSM no longer bothers me. I'm looking to the future.
I was only clarifying myf's post. You can make what you want out of stats. It's the teams performance & effort on the pitch that is most important to me.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
We were by far the better team in the first half.
Started slowly in the 2nd and went behind,
Fought back admirably and were unlucky not to win it.
Delph did o.k. but still a liability with his crazy attempts at tackling. If he doesn't injure someone, he will injure him self.
So, ya, I disagree.
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The record of TSM no longer bothers me. I'm looking to the future.
I was only clarifying myf's post. You can make what you want out of stats. It's the teams performance & effort on the pitch that is most important to me.
I thought our performance and effort were great today.
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Thought Bannan did well when he came on. Not normally a fan of his but credit where it's due. Holman, man of the match for me though. Reminds me of Des Bremner.
We should have won today. We played the better football and made the most and best chances of the game.
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The record of TSM no longer bothers me. I'm looking to the future.
I was only clarifying myf's post. You can make what you want out of stats. It's the teams performance & effort on the pitch that is most important to me.
I thought our performance and effort were great today.
Indeed.
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You can't fault our energy and commitment at the moment. Something that has been missing over the past couple of years. We also played some good football in parts. I just hope we get enough points on the board before Christmas to make sure we aren't struggling towards the run-in and the lack of Premiership experience may cost us.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
You are Radio WM and I claim my prize.
It's all doom and gloom with the Villa at WM. You should have heard them celebrate when the Baggie goal went in.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
You are Radio WM and I claim my prize.
It's all doom and gloom with the Villa at WM. You should have heard them celebrate when the Baggie goal went in.
On the way home I heard their roving reporter telling some Stripeds they had world-class support and deserved to win.
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I gave up listening to the post match stuff because of the work experience kids interviewing "footy fans" after the "big match" to ask who was "top dogs". It gets more and more cringeworthy.
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Doubt if many will agree with me but I thought we looked like a Championship side grinding out a plucky draw against a superior PL side.
Glad we got a point but I'm concerned about this squad. And Delphi - just shocking IMO.
You are Radio WM and I claim my prize.
It's all doom and gloom with the Villa at WM. You should have heard them celebrate when the Baggie goal went in.
On the way home I heard their roving reporter telling some Stripeds they had world-class support and deserved to win.
Yeah I heard that prat as well. I think there's some kind of "positive discrimination" going on at WM to employ as many yam yams on that station as possible.
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Outside the West Midlands though, Villa are still world beaters and Baggies still pretenders for a season until they go back down again. Just saying. from my informal interviews with people in the pub I am in (in Wanstead).
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I was watching the game on TV with a stripey-filth supporting mate...we both agreed that Villa should have won the game and Baggies should be grateful for the draw. We bossed the game and outplayed Baggies in the first half and should have created more chances and scored to take advantage of the possession (at one point we were over 70% possession). I felt the 2nd half was quite evenly matched with both teams taking control and we could have taken all 3pts in the last 10 minutes.
Villa fans should be disappointed by the result but not the performance; Baggies fans should be very happy with the draw.
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I was watching the game on TV with a stripey-filth supporting mate...we both agreed that Villa should have won the game and Baggies should be grateful for the draw. We bossed the game and outplayed Baggies in the first half and should have created more chances and scored to take advantage of the possession (at one point we were over 70% possession). I felt the 2nd half was quite evenly matched with both teams taking control and we could have taken all 3pts in the last 10 minutes.
Villa fans should be disappointed by the result but not the performance; Baggies fans should be very happy with the draw.
That's how I saw it.
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Delph is lightweight, I'd go with Bannan next match and Bent for Benteke. We are still learning...
I thought Delph was decent. Bannan was good when he came on, no question, and his set piece and wider delivery is a threat. But We played 442 at times and I think we'll struggle if we ask Bannan to partner KEA from the off in that system
Delph was always going to struggle after picking up an early booking.
Agreed. The biggest worry with Delph is that he disappears in games. I haven't seen him have a whole good game. He looks decent in patches. Same with a few of our players actually - their age maybe.
Bannan looked good when he came on but like you say, I don't fancy him in a midfield duo.
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
I thought it was just me that spotted that. He was offside for every goal kick, and was never flagged even when the ball went straight to him, which it did on many occasions. Has there been a change of rules or something?
Nope, you've never been offside from a goalkick.
Sadly, Clarke appeared to think you could and so didn't mark Long for a single goal kick.
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Don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but can someone point out to me how Long was allowed to stand in an off-side position at every goal kick or clearance from the keeper, then run into an on-side position and challenge for the ball. Surely he should have been flagged as being off-side?
I thought it was just me that spotted that. He was offside for every goal kick, and was never flagged even when the ball went straight to him, which it did on many occasions. Has there been a change of rules or something?
Nope, you've never been offside from a goalkick.
Sadly, Clarke appeared to think you could and so didn't mark Long for a single goal kick.
You live and learn...
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Oh Bollocks. Colin Murray looks like he's at the Black Country Museum.
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To me, it is pretty obvious that we're making progress. Slowly, maybe too slowly, but the progress is definitely there. We're starting to hold onto the ball far more, we finally seem to understand that holding on to it and using it properly is the way to play the game these days.
We had just short of 60 percent possession over the match, something I doubt we ever did with any frequency under MON, GH or AM. Look at how hard we work to get the ball back when we don't have it. I can't remember the last time we did that.
Results have been iffy, but you have to see the wider picture. The results will get better, much better, but we are starting what is going to be a long process of improvement. It won't be easy, we'll have some mental results (look at the last seven days for an idea of this), and plenty of downs as well as ups, but we just have to keep our nerve.
it won't be easy, we'll have spells like today after they scored where they outplayed us, but we just need not to panic and keep our heads. The pain will be worth it in the end.
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The fans are going to play a big part in this. We need to stay with and get behind the team and manager all season.
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The fans are going to play a big part in this. We need to stay with and get behind the team and manager all season.
Absolutely. I think they will.
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54% posession today and some good attacking play from Holman. Like it or not you've got to give credit to Smethwick. Well organised and a good footballing team. I heard it said that they haven't changed from the Mobray days but their results so far this season make a mockery of that view.
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Like it or not you've got to give credit to Smethwick.
You haven't.
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Which is why some posts on here have me scratching my head. We've kind of agreed that we'll be up and down against everyone this season. today we were for the most part good. Compare today to West Ham and Everton to see how far we've come already. Get through this season and we'll build to be bigger and bigger.
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I'm starting to see what Norwich fans used to say about not getting Lambert's tactics.
Against Everton he went a standard 442 first half and we were absolutely overwhelmed in midfield. Today he used a diamond-based 442 and left our fullbacks quite horribly exposed at times.
All-in-all we might just have done enough to win today but his tactics don't half confuse me during the course of the game.
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I'm starting to see what Norwich fans used to say about not getting Lambert's tactics.
Against Everton he went a standard 442 first half and we were absolutely overwhelmed in midfield. Today he used a diamond-based 442 and left our fullbacks quite horribly exposed at times.
All-in-all we might just have done enough to win today but his tactics don't half confuse me during the course of the game.
I know what you mean, but I'd say at least we've got tactics these days, whatever they are, and however much they vary. Under McLeish they seemed to be based upon losing by as small a margin as possible, under Houllier it was hard to discern what they were, and under MON, even in the halcyon days, they were exactly the same, week in, week out.
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Match of the Day - 40mins long with only one game.
They spend 2-3 mins fucking about in the Black Country Museuem and show about 12 minutes of the game. What a load of bollocks
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Plus far too many visuals [or whatever the word is] of Colin Murray sitting in the dugouts.
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I'm starting to see what Norwich fans used to say about not getting Lambert's tactics.
Against Everton he went a standard 442 first half and we were absolutely overwhelmed in midfield. Today he used a diamond-based 442 and left our fullbacks quite horribly exposed at times.
All-in-all we might just have done enough to win today but his tactics don't half confuse me during the course of the game.
I know what you mean, but I'd say at least we've got tactics these days, whatever they are, and however much they vary. Under McLeish they seemed to be based upon losing by as small a margin as possible, under Houllier it was hard to discern what they were, and under MON, even in the halcyon days, they were exactly the same, week in, week out.
Or maybe he's just trying to work out what his best team is. There's more than a few places in the team that's not cemented and he's trying out a few things to see what works/doesn't work.
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I'm starting to see what Norwich fans used to say about not getting Lambert's tactics.
Against Everton he went a standard 442 first half and we were absolutely overwhelmed in midfield. Today he used a diamond-based 442 and left our fullbacks quite horribly exposed at times.
All-in-all we might just have done enough to win today but his tactics don't half confuse me during the course of the game.
I know what you mean, but I'd say at least we've got tactics these days, whatever they are, and however much they vary. Under McLeish they seemed to be based upon losing by as small a margin as possible, under Houllier it was hard to discern what they were, and under MON, even in the halcyon days, they were exactly the same, week in, week out.
Or maybe he's just trying to work out what his best team is. There's more than a few places in the team that's not cemented and he's trying out a few things to see what works/doesn't work.
I trust him (I imagine he's forgotten more about football than I'll ever know) but it isn't half confusing to watch at times.
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
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Like it or not you've got to give credit to Smethwick.
You haven't.
Agree.
boing, splat.
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What got me more about that was that it was another caller that had to point the irony out, not "Rego".
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Just got home after the game. Typical local derby. A game to be endured rather than enjoyed. We are very raw and rough hewn at the moment but there is clearly so much potential there that we simply have to hold tight and enjoy the ride. Highlight for the day for me was to walk across the park to the game with a woman a third my age and to be impressed by the clarity and grasp she had of Villa fundamentals as they are at the present time and how they came to be so. Very refreshing.
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Match of the Day - 40mins long with only one game.
They spend 2-3 mins fucking about in the Black Country Museuem and show about 12 minutes of the game. What a load of bollocks
Did they get some of them nice chips i've heard about?
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Was a decent game to watch, probably a fair result overall but if anyone deserved to win it, it was us. A sloppy start to the second half cost us the chance of the win, their goal was their first shot on target.
Big thing for me was the complete difference in attitude when we went behind compared to last season when we just gave up. It's going to be a slow, and at times rocky process, but we are moving in the right direction.
And fair play to them, it looked like most of them joined in the 19th minute, and thankfully it was noticed as there was no embarrassing "no respect" afterwards.
And was nice to, very briefly, to meet a bunch of posters from here in the Bartons after the game.
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What got me more about that was that it was another caller that had to point the irony out, not "Rego".
that was me!
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
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What got me more about that was that it was another caller that had to point the irony out, not "Rego".
that was me!
Good lad!
The left hand wing of the upper Holte is full with an empty section closer to the centre, similar in the Witton Lane, where the block next to the away fans in full and the rest of the stand half empty.
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First half decent, second was patchy and we were 2nd best for long periods. Just glad we got the point.
We wont fold at Spurs again anyway, I'm convinced of that.
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First half decent, second was patchy and we were 2nd best for long periods. Just glad we got the point.
We wont fold at Spurs again anyway, I'm convinced of that.
I don't remember us being 2nd best for long periods. They had their moments, but for long periods of the game? Na.
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Didn't deserve to lose the game. Didn't lose the game. Great and move on to next week and we will be a little bit better team for it.
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They opened our defence way too easily,Clarke is just too slow and the queen Mary can turn quicker. Looked forward to this after the City win and was left a tad disappointed. The effort cannot be faulted and Lambert has them playing a better brand of football i just worry that we do not have the quality to stay up. Holman was very good and Gabby at times held the ball up well, it is a young side that will improve but may run out of legs towards the end of the season.
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We've improved massively since Everton - and that was, what, four weeks ago? We'll be fine, and the best thing is it'll at least be worth turning up to watch. I only have one mildly negative thing to say about today; is it just me, or did Vlaar go with the wrong foot for their goal? He knew Long was the other side of him, must have been able to see no one ahead, why didn't he swing his left peg and lump it back where it came from? In going with his right and trying to help it out for a corner, he just played it straight onto Long's foot. Is that harsh? Maybe he was worried about scoring a Keowngoal...
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
I was looking around the ground just after half time and thought to myself this must be a 37-38k attendance, was surprised it was only 34,500.
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
I was looking around the ground just after half time and thought to myself this must be a 37-38k attendance, was surprised it was only 34,500.
Upper tiers of both the Trinity and Witton Lane had a lot of empty seats.
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Didn't think we were too bad today. We were the better side in the first half, but struggled a little after half time, only to come back strong in the last 15 minutes. I still think the midfield looks unbalanced and we lost the ball in that area a little too often, but on the whole felt it was a decent performance.
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
I was looking around the ground just after half time and thought to myself this must be a 37-38k attendance, was surprised it was only 34,500.
Upper tiers of both the Trinity and Witton Lane had a lot of empty seats.
Aaaaagh, I'm in the top of the Holte and can't see the upper Trinity, anyway i'm glad that the Holte lower is full... VP looks awful when its half empty.
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Quick Jar McGrath: spot on. Even if he didn't want to swing his left, Vlaar could have poked it out for a corner with his right. Your namesake would have back-heeled it to the half-way line of course.
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
It's probably something to do with how bloody expensive football is these days and people are taking the cheap(er) option of tickets. That said, me and the lad were sat in the Family area of the Trinity Road and I paid a 'combo price' of £33. Had I have sat in the Upper Witton near the Holte it would have cost me £39 by myself. No brainer really isn't it?
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Indeed. Due to cost i'll probably miss the Manure and Arsenal games unless prices drop down a bit. I was thinking i'd be swerving today as well until I grabbed a £12 ticket in L5 earlier in the week. Not easy going to games when money is tight.
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Quick Jar McGrath: spot on. Even if he didn't want to swing his left, Vlaar could have poked it out for a corner with his right. Your namesake would have back-heeled it to the half-way line of course.
QJM, Percy, having played in defence all my life, filling in at centre half on occasions, I have scored a few own goals from that position!
When running to your own goal like that there is a string chance you will actually score an own goal if it comes off the toe of your left foot. If you can get your instep on it then you have a fighting chance of clearing for a corner. My guess is that Vlaar feared he would only get his toe on it or could not change his stride pattern in time to use his left foot and so tried to sweep it away with his right. It was a great ball in from the right - Lowton's position and reading of the line was awful though.
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It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
£295 season tickets behind the goal in the Holte, that's why it's full
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First half, we were excellent and should have been at least 1 goal to the good.
Second half, the oppo exposed us down our left flank and between our centre-halves (note how Southampton, and then Ballotelli and then Long have managed to exploit the gaps between Vlaar and Clarkey).
Our 'out' ball - the full backs - was ineffectual yesterday because of the lack of runs ahead of the FB: Bennett passed back to the centre-back almost every time he had the ball because of poor movement ahead of him.
We certainly deserved our point and possibly all three. But we need to get more movement in our game and more incision up front. Also, the CB need to tighten up.
I'd add that I think we've been really watchable for most of this season, and we will continue to improve, I think.
Pride is flowing back into the club ...
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I thought we played some lovely stuff at times ... a dramatically different Villa to last season's shyte ...
More clinical in taking chances and we would have won by 2 goals yesterday ..,
I'm FAR more happy than this time last season :)
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Thought it was a decent game of football, end to end at times.
Thought not starting Bent was a mistake, so glad he came off the bench to score.
Benteke needs to sit a few games out. Again he couldn't score from a couple of yards.
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i like the way the team is shaping up and the way we are playing football,
still room for loads of improvement which is the really exciting thing
not convinced about Benteke, he's still very young but has a piss poor touch which puts me of him,
its probably been said before but if Heskey had the exact same game as him last night he would have been heavily criticized, obviously its different circumstances with Benteke as he still has so much to prove, but the signs arnt great for me to be honest
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I don't think it's the space between centre backs that is the problem as much as the space between full backs and centre backs, especially on the left hand side
Clark is however getting tougher which is good. One reason do the problem is the relative lack of protection from midfield. Kea was good yday but isn't really a screener. And because we're narrow in midfield our full backs can be exposed
I thought the midfield worked well yday from an attacking sense tho. Holman was excellent for the second home game running. I think he loves the crowd. Let hope he can do that again next weekend
And signs that n'zogbia is sparking into life a bit? I thought he looked a threat yday. Especially receiving it and turning
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Thought we played well. I was most impressed with (the first half especially) the way we never seemed to panic on the ball. There were times the back four would win the ball back and pass themselves out of trouble, keeping their nice little triangle shape and moving the ball. It wasn't that long ago it would have been hoofed away by either Collins or dune only for the opposition to set up another attack.
I was disappointed with Benteke. His touch was woeful. Could have and should have layed the ball of to gabby for potentially out first goal in the first half. When N'Zogbia and Bent came on I though we were much, much better up front. There was so much more movement and we looked like scoring again. N'Zogbia looked lively, running at the baggies and causing trouble.
Delph also looked lively I thought. He just needs to cut out the silly challenges... How many times does he do this?? It's crazy!! But e was starting to show glimpse of why we bought him.
All in all, not a bad performance at all I thought. Massive improvement from Everton (I missed the Swansea game) and almost unrecognisable from last season.
We've got a long way to go but we've also come along way too.
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Sitting right next to the filth in the upper Witton you really got to see them at close quarters.
When they scored they were literally foaming at the mouth, spit and flem flying everywhere!
I needed a wash when I got home
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Lack of width costs us at times. Especially leaving the full backs wide open. I'd probably go Holman right wing and 'Zogbia left wing next time with Bannan and KEA in the middle. Bent and Gabby up top.
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I don't think I can remember a post-match thread with such a wide spectrum of opinions.
I didn't see the game, I was pacing nervously round central London, stopping every 45 seconds to refresh the match thread on my phone. I guess if nothing else we didn't follow a good performance with a stinker.
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A very good game, Albion are a good side and the fact we matched them and more for most of it shows we are going in the right direction. I would reintroduce Dunne when he is fully fit as we need to shore up that defence, we look a bit all over the place at times, his experience would help.
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A draw was probably the fairest result.
Where I think we could have won the game is our attacking midfield players, who seemed to struggle with the final ball yesterday. The WBA defenders did well at times, but ultimately we had enough of the play in that first half to have got a goal or two, but actual attempts seemed limited as we weren't supplying the strikers enough in the box. A bit of better movement from Bent may have made a difference, but he did his job when we were toiling a little after going a goal down.
Defensively we have to tighten up if we're going to do anything special this season. I think the defence that started yesterday will become Lambert's first choice back 4. There's three young players and three new to the club, so my hope and expectation is that we'll improve at the back as they settle in.
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Bit worried about Vlaar and Clark.
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I would reintroduce Dunne when he is fully fit as we need to shore up that defence, we look a bit all over the place at times, his experience would help.
I wouldn't.
Dunne is our past and Clark & Concrete Ron are our future. They, and the rest of what is a young defence, won't get up to speed and used to each other's games by not playing.
Dunne stays as experienced cover for when we need him, but right now are best way forward is through sticking with what Lambert is trying to do and wait to reap the rewards.
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Like it or not you've got to give credit to Smethwick.
You haven't.
They were stuck in their own box for half an hour before the break, couldn't string two passes together, played with ten behind the ball all game, got a lucky goal with Ron's clearance, nearly got another due to an inept linesman at the death.
Only one team was genuinely set up to win that game and, it wasn't West Barcelona Arsenal.
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2 weeks running Vlaar has been outplayed & bullied by a CF
Last week lambert fair enough but yesterday he should not be losing header after header to the diminutive Shane Long.
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Colleague just emailed me a joke to the effect that Sky Sports should drop the `Super' from `Super Sunday' when Villa are playing. He came over to try to tease me about it.
`Ha ha Villa are rubbish.'
`What team do you follow, James?'
`Charlton.'
`When were they last on telly?'
(silence)
`Fuck you then' (stomps off)
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Anyone see the violence outside doug Ellis ?
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Thought we were ok in the first half, but should have played with more pace. Got lulled into stroking it around at pedestrian pace which let the Albion midfield 5 cover each other. On the odd occasions when we moved the ball quickly we opened them up and really should have scored at least one in the first half. I think if we had done we would have gone on to win comfortably. The other two things which I am concerned about is the central defence - Clark is always on his heels and gets caught out too often and the other is that with this system the full backs really have to push forward more to give width. Saying that they are both young but need to learn quickly in this league.
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Anyone see the violence outside doug Ellis ?
I saw a flare and people standing behind a wall of police men attempting to look intimidating.
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Anyone see the violence outside doug Ellis ?
I saw a flare and people standing behind a wall of police men attempting to look intimidating.
A flare? We've gone hardcore since the sausages against Blues.
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57% possession and 21 shots according to SSN game stats.
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Off one of their forums
"Most Villa fans on their site think they thoroughly deserved to win, in spite of missed penalty, missed sitter and disallowed goal. I dispare"
Sorry I must have fallen asleep when they got awarded and missed a penalty and the goal was offside therefore not a goal.Don't get me started on the spelling of the word despair.
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I would reintroduce Dunne when he is fully fit as we need to shore up that defence, we look a bit all over the place at times, his experience would help.
I wouldn't.
Dunne is our past and Clark & Concrete Ron are our future. They, and the rest of what is a young defence, won't get up to speed and used to each other's games by not playing.
Dunne stays as experienced cover for when we need him, but right now are best way forward is through sticking with what Lambert is trying to do and wait to reap the rewards.
Can't agree I'm afraid. We lack experience at the back and a more clinical side than Albion would have scored more than once. Clark gets caught ball watching - Lukaka's chance in the last minute was because he completely lost him. Shane Long caused more problems than he should of considering he was playing up front on his own.
Dunne divides opionion but he is experienced and a communicator. Lowton, Bennett and Clark all need that help at the moment.
Ciaran Clark still has a long way to go before he can be considered a centre half at this level.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
We are where we are but were improving all the time.We'd have lost that game last year,we were unlucky not to get all 3 points
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
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So far we've been either fantastic or shite so its good to see us play averagely and not get beaten.
I thought we were slightly the most likely to win it. Oh, and if Albion are so fucking fantaastic and are 'pride of the midlands' why were they celebrating a point at lowly, youthful, Villa like they'd just won the league?
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
I'd rather comment on the progress made in the last 4 months than the backwards steps the previous 3 years
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Coming from behind to take a point is always a better feeling than losing a lead, it does feel like 2 points dropped though. However, knowing Villa we'll now go and win at Spurs, draw at Fulham and lose at home to Norwich.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
I am disappointed in you for that remark.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
The attendance yesterday showed how much damage has been done over the last few seasons, and it's going to take a sustained period of improvement to tempt many people back. As far as the football goes, it was probably a fair result and either side could have won it.
West Brom are a decent, well-drilled outfit with a couple of really good players. They have the benefit of having been playing a particular style for a few seasons and have a reasonable amount of experience in the side. Contrast that to our very youthful and inexperienced squad who are adapting to a different style of play and a draw isn't so bad after all. In fact, we dominated much of the play and it bodes very well for the future.
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I haven't seen many folks pleased with a point. More that it was a fair reflection on the game.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
I'd rather comment on the progress made in the last 4 months than the backwards steps the previous 3 years
But in so doing you have to acknowledge the regression in those three years that has prompted the levels of optimism we are now seeing.
I am not a pessimist, just a realist. I think it's fantastic that I can see a positive road ahead, albeit from a much lower base than I think a lot of us would have anticipated.
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The criticism of Benteke's first touch in my mind is heavily influenced by Gary Neville's criticism at almost every opportunity during the commentary.
Is Bent's hold up play any much improvement,in fact I think Benteke helped Gabby much more in the few minutes they have played together than anything Bent has achieved in all the time they have played together?
Give the guy a chance please
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The criticism of Benteke's first touch in my mind is heavily influenced by Gary Neville's criticism at almost every opportunity during the commentary.
Not really - thankfully you can't hear that rat-faced eejit's gob when you're at the game and I'd decided before half time that yesterday Benteke wouldn't have been able to trap a bag of cement.
That said, talk of him 'needing a few games out' so early in his career with us is ridiculous. He's a young lad, in a new country, in a new league - let's give him the chance to settle and show what he's capable of before we judge him.
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You can see a player in Benteke for definite which is more than you cold say for Balaban at the time. Just needs to calm down and get a bit of experience in the league and he will be a real handful I am convinced of it.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
I don't think people are pleased we got a point, I'd say the majority are pleased we didn't either roll over and capitulate, or worse still look like we were happy to only lose 1 nil, as per the TSM's reign.
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You can see a player in Benteke for definite which is more than you cold say for Balaban at the time. Just needs to calm down and get a bit of experience in the league and he will be a real handful I am convinced of it.
Did anyone see Balaban play? John Gregory included.
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You can see a player in Benteke for definite which is more than you cold say for Balaban at the time. Just needs to calm down and get a bit of experience in the league and he will be a real handful I am convinced of it.
Did anyone see Balaban play? John Gregory included.
I saw him play for Waseley Hills United a few years before he joined.
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I saw him, v Sheff Wed in the cup I think. One day that game will take on the status of the Pistols at the 100 club.
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I was looking around the ground just after half time and thought to myself this must be a 37-38k attendance, was surprised it was only 34,500.
Obviously Lerner and Co are "fiddling" the taxman!
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Do you exist in a vacuum? Have you not realised what's happened at the Club in the last two years?
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Classic call on WM after the game. Caller came on bemoaning (amongst other things) the fact that there were only 34,400 for a local derby game.
Mark Regan (?) " Were you at the game today?"
Caller: " I went to the Tranmere and Swansea games but I listened to this one on the radio"
*sigh*
It's weird this season, the Lower Holte has been full for every game, but our attendances have been pretty poor. It's almost like there's been a mass migration from the side stands into the Holte or something.
I was looking around the ground just after half time and thought to myself this must be a 37-38k attendance, was surprised it was only 34,500.
I think they've been more tactical in terms of the seats that have been made available cheaper. Seems the Upper Trinity and Upper North had loads of empties but the Holte was full. Made for a better atmosphere. Looks better on the telly too.
Also, empty claret seats are a lot less noticeable than empty blue seats.
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Tweets on yesterday's match nicked from Vital Villa:
James Nursey @JamesNursey
...my #AVFC player ratings: Guz 7, Low 6, Vla 6, Clark 6, Ben 6, Alb 6 (N'Zog 6), El Ah 7, Del 6 (Ban 7), Hol 8, Ben 6 (Bent 7), Agb 6.
James Nursey @JamesNursey
#AVFC 1-1 #WBA Mirror report http://bit.ly/Sx7L8Y 'Hell Bent On Making Point' says our headline in paper
James Nursey @JamesNursey
Bent clearly cheesed off being dropped. If Lambert was trying to fire him up it has DEFINITELY succeeded!!
James Nursey @JamesNursey
#AVFC 1-1 #WBA think fair result after chances for both sides. Albion & Morrison were quality but Villa, epitomised by Holman, battled back
Timothy Abraham @TimothyAbraham
FT #AVFC 1 #WBA 1 - Pulsating game at Villa Park but expect all the headlines to be about Darren Bent.
Ian Taylor @IanTaylor7
#Luvit Bennnnnnnnntyyyy!!!! 1-1!!!! Come on!!!! #avfc
brad guzan @bguzan
good point today,thought we were going to get all 3! great support at Villa Park, have too keep pushing forward! now to some Ryder Cup#USA!
And later on the Ryder Cup:
brad guzan @bguzan
shocked at what I just saw! #europe deserved it after the day they had, but #USA didn't help the cause! #rydercup
Mat Kendrick @MatKendrick
Villa score from a Premier League corner for the first time since November 2010 #avfc
Tom Ross @thegoalzone
Well done to Baggies fans for joining in with Villa fans on 19mins for applause for Petrov
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Watched yesterday, now to vent my spleen. Actually it's not all that bad, but just concerned how difficult we're finding it to break this terrible form from last season. 1 win in 6 league games isn't good enough. Yesterday we had enough of the ball to win, but didn't get enough clear chances.
Benteke was a bit nervy, rough around the edges. Bent's reaction to being dropped was excellent and precisely what Lambert probably wanted. He's had a rocket in him now and he just seemed more determined and buzzing. Could have had a couple.
Gabby held the ball up very well. Good stuff. Actually Bent would have relished the work Gab put in last night.
Albrighton had his best game for us I can remember since the Houllier days. Great delivery throughout and finally we were getting good set piece delivery in. We need to capatalise better though.
Holman was excellent. Really like him. CNZ looked better than normal. Seems more confident and was pro-active. Good to see.
Everyone else was okay.
Positives, negatives, probably in equal proportions. The game was good in parts. Very open. In others, your typical 100mph, not very attractive derby game. WBA look a solid side in fairness. Not spectacular, but they'll probably finish mid-table, and seems they've got themselves a decent young manager.
Now we've got to pick up for a hard run of games. Unfortunately this was a match where we really needed 3 points.
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Had a quick on some other teams Other Games,the general consensus was that we were absolutely dire!! I was quite shocked because I thought we played some nice football especially in the first half,we're not kidding ourselves are we.Practically every forum said the same.
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Attendance: I was in the upper Trinity A3( first time ever in the 'new' stand!) and although I struggled to find two seats together on the website when buying- it was almost empty high up.
Is this because of season ticket holders not attending? If so we include those ST held seats in the attendance figures so actual attendance could be worse than stated.
BTW fantastic views up there, not as far away as I feared but can hardly hear the Holte unless in FULL voice and the Tannoy is absolutely useless.
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Albrighton was tut yesterday, final ball is just not good enough. Thought Delph had a pretty good game, although he does play himself into trouble sometimes. Undecided on his yellow, looked like a really good tackle from my seat. Lowton and Bennett show real promise, and Clark and Vlaar are starting to work well together, great late tackle on when Lukapoo looked like he was through on goal. Pleased to see us work back to a point, coming from a losing position its a step forward (in my head) from taking a lead and then blowing it. I think WBA are a useful team, a win would have taken them second, so a draw is no shame.... that said, we are, as the song goes "The greatest team the world has ever seen" so hoped for more.
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Had a quick on some other teams Other Games,the general consensus was that we were absolutely dire!! I was quite shocked because I thought we played some nice football especially in the first half,we're not kidding ourselves are we.Practically every forum said the same.
It's the image we've got from the past few years. And as has been said many times before, we're too big to be patronised and not big enough to be respected.
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Thought Delph had a pretty good game, although he does play himself into trouble sometimes. Undecided on his yellow, looked like a really good tackle from my seat.
Was hoping they'd show this on MOTD.
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im guessing its not on then. He looked like he was in control (unlike a tackle about 5 mins earlier), i get frustrated with card happy refs.
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It looked good to me as well, and all the people sitting around me.
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It looked good to me as well, and all the people sitting around me.
He did get the ball but it was his follow through as to why he was booked. The modern game really does suck in this regard. How he was supposed to halt his momentum is anyone's guess.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
I am disappointed in you for that remark.
What do you expect me to say - three cheers for the miseryarses?
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
I am disappointed in you for that remark.
What do you expect me to say - three cheers for the miseryarses?
HIP HIP ...
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Did any one else think Fosters antics were annoying and the fact the referee was reluctant to book him annoyed the f*ck out of me aswell!
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Did any one else think Fosters antics were annoying and the fact the referee was reluctant to book him annoyed the f*ck out of me aswell!
He was only doing it to play to the crowd, the ref should've just booked him the 1st time and told him to stop being a twat.
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Did any one else think Fosters antics were annoying and the fact the referee was reluctant to book him annoyed the f*ck out of me aswell!
He was only doing it to play to the crowd, the ref should've just booked him the 1st time and told him to stop being a twat.
Someone made the good point to me that he was timewasting when they were looking the more likely team to score so he may have done us a favour.
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Did any one else think Fosters antics were annoying and the fact the referee was reluctant to book him annoyed the f*ck out of me aswell!
He was only doing it to play to the crowd, the ref should've just booked him the 1st time and told him to stop being a twat.
Someone made the good point to me that he was timewasting when they were looking the more likely team to score so he may have done us a favour.
Thats a good point, he repeatedly slowed the game down for that 15-20 minute spell that they had, nice one Benjamin.
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I also thought that it helped get the crowd going again which helped build the pressure on them.
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He also seemed to be doing it in the first half when it was 0-0.
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He also seemed to be doing it in the first half when it was 0-0.
Yeah i noticed that aswell just got frustrating when we had that spell after the 3 subs come on and we wanted to keep the game at that tempo and that bellend was fucking about in the 6 yard box
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
I am disappointed in you for that remark.
What do you expect me to say - three cheers for the miseryarses?
No, just that I do join in with the good news sometimes, just I was washing my hair on Tuesday. I have always attempted to call it straight in my view - when they play well, and when a touch of realism is required.
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Quick Jar McGrath: spot on. Even if he didn't want to swing his left, Vlaar could have poked it out for a corner with his right. Your namesake would have back-heeled it to the half-way line of course.
The pace the ball was coming, the angle of the ball, the slide he had to put in meant that the correct decision was the one he took. Long was lucky. End of.
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Yes agree Long got lucky but I do think Ron was being too clever. It was a simple touch for a corner and that's where the ball should have gone.
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I watched the game and thought we played some good stuff, positives were the midfield and the way we played the ball around and kept possession. Benteke still needs time and hopefully with time he will be more Yorke than Heskey, Albrighton and Bent did well and Vlaar was a little unlucky for the goal but it is all positive. Shame we couldn't put more than 1 goal in but we would have lost this game a year ago.
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That it has come down to us being pleased with a point at home to the Throstles shows how far as a club we have regressed in recent years.
Welcome back. I see you were quiet on Tuesday night.
I am disappointed in you for that remark.
What do you expect me to say - three cheers for the miseryarses?
I tend to agree with Kippax on this -Happy with a draw at home to the Baggies - ecstatic over a home win against Swansea - My god how low have we sunk?
For me the jury is out on PL - I shall reserve my judgement until seasons end - I still think we are looking at 3 poorer teams out there for us to survive. A mid week win in the League cup does not mean we are on the way up - a good as a result it was.
As it stands we have lost to West Ham and Southampton for goodness sake !
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The worry is that after a relatively easy set of fixtures, we've only won one game. It's alright playing better football if it leads to the results to keep us up. I'm not sure the players we have, for all their youthful exuberance, are very good.
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I tend to agree with Kippax on this -Happy with a draw at home to the Baggies - ecstatic over a home win against Swansea - My god how low have we sunk?
For me the jury is out on PL - I shall reserve my judgement until seasons end - I still think we are looking at 3 poorer teams out there for us to survive. A mid week win in the League cup does not mean we are on the way up - a good as a result it was.
As it stands we have lost to West Ham and Southampton for goodness sake !
Ten years ago we'd have been happy with a draw against Leeds, 15 years ago with one against Blackburn, 30 years one against Ipswich. Other teams do get better.
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The worry is that after a relatively easy set of fixtures, we've only won one game. It's alright playing better football if it leads to the results to keep us up. I'm not sure the players we have, for all their youthful exuberance, are very good.
Alternatively, you can look at it as we've lost 1 of our last 6. W3 D2 L1. These include a Swansea side who were flying, Newcastle away who are no mugs, Man City away and Albion, who much as it pains me, are full of confidence and looking a more than decent side.
We also lost all 3 of those league games last season.
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I watched the game and thought we played some good stuff, positives were the midfield and the way we played the ball around and kept possession. Benteke still needs time and hopefully with time he will be more Yorke than Heskey, Albrighton and Bent did well and Vlaar was a little unlucky for the goal but it is all positive. Shame we couldn't put more than 1 goal in but we would have lost this game a year ago.
I have to disagree Left Side and think the midfield looks a little disjointed at the moment. Can't fault the effort and commitment, but we give possession away a bit too much in there and tend to leave our defence exposed at times. It is the area of our team that most concerns me at the moment and we might need to invest in January to strengthen that part of the team.
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Enjoyed what will most likely be my first and only trip to VP this season. When you've been away from it a while the change is more noticeable, it'll take some time for the scars of the last couple of seasons to heal though. There's still a sense of anxiety about the place, evident when we went behind so all the more pleasing we rallied and got the equaliser. Holman the stand out player for me.
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Had a quick on some other teams Other Games,the general consensus was that we were absolutely dire!! I was quite shocked because I thought we played some nice football especially in the first half,we're not kidding ourselves are we.Practically every forum said the same.
It's the image we've got from the past few years. And as has been said many times before, we're too big to be patronised and not big enough to be respected.
General opinion over here is that it was an average game for a neutral. We played better in the first half but hardly made Foster work. Albion were better for than us for the first 25 minutes of the second half and then we upped our game and the final 15 minutes were exciting.
Fans of other teams here tell me we look competent on the ball but have little incision and our defence looks creaky. They all agree we look miles better than last year but hink we will be 14-16th and Bent will be our saviour. They acknowledge how far we have fallen in two years.
Generally this seems fair comment to me.
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As an aside, does anyone know the chap who sells the selection of largd Villa badges opposite the church (just before the bridge)? They're about 10inches big and presumably plastic or acrylic, I noticed some up on the wall behind the bar in the adventurers and thought they looked smart and would adorn my living room.
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the standout difference between the 2 teams was albion were physically much bigger and stronger on the ball than us,but full marks to villa for effort and keeping going to the end