Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on November 27, 2012, 08:25:11 AM
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Available Tuesday evening.
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Scrappy game , poor performance but we got the win we needed, bent needs to be on the bench at least next game.
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Phew!
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thank fuck for that-we looked scrappy
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Oh thank christ. Shocking display and Lambert needs to stop being stubborn. Bent has to be in the squad and Ireland has to start.
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Sweet relief, but big questions need to be asked.
We're in a mess.
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Don't care in the slightest how we played. All that matters is we won. Onwards and upwards (hopefully).
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Delighted with the points, not impressed with the performance. We miss Bent
Q.P.R is huge
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Needed that! Like a long overdue shit. Feels much better now.
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Dreadful performance, right result. I'm happy for it to stay that way until we're safe.
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Phew. Ireland to start next game please. Deserved it just about, but need to gain a bit of confidence, another win at the weekend and things look a lot rosier.
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Terrible performance against a championship side . 3 points thou ;)
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Was always gone be tense. Reading were unlucky but we did have the better chances. Can't believe Roberts got taken off! Game CHANGER
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Despite the fact we won, can't believe I feel so flat. That was dire.
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Thank goodness for that, lots of work still needed.
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Bannan was very sloppy, we looked embarrassing up top
Another clean sheet without Vlaar, happy with that
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We were poor and Reading were laughably shit. But we won so I don't care.
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
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lacking a bit of composure but right now i'm just glad to get the 3 points, clean sheet an added bonus
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Ireland should play. Some nice through balls to Gabby who reads him.
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We were clueless. Very lucky to score, finally from a corner, and that it was Sunderland 0 QPR 0.
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Utter shite bar Benteke's goal. Three desperately needed points achieved. But we looked relegation fodder in all honesty.
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
And humour!
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Anyone wanting to see one of the most moany, poisonous match threads I can remember have a gander at tonights. Nightmare. Toys and prams all night.
We played poorly, but we ground out a clean sheet and created 4-5 very very good chances to score, and the Big man came with the winner.
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I think we can stay up If we play Reading every week .
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
And humour!
Did it work?
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Tense, nervous, headache?
Every time one of my mates sons is a mascot we win 1-0. Step forward Ethan Forester. We should start a campaign to get him in every week. I'm off to the bookies to collect £50.
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Ireland impressed me, good corner from Westwood for the goal, Guzan comanded the area brilliantly.
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QPR still aren't looking too hot, the new manager hasn't given them much of a lift. A win over them will give us a bit of breathing room.
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Nervous display.
Guzan, Lowton, Baker, Bannan, Benteke and Ireland when he came on can hold their heads up, not so good from the rest.
Three points,
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Never in doubt. ::)
Guzan and Benteke good.
Westy, Holman okay.
The rest were bobbins today. It was a game that needed a few men to take it by the scruff of the neck but we've got just babbys and not all of them are good enough.
That was enough indication for me that Bannan flatters to deceive. Not good enough. The odd standout game against one of the better clubs is no good if you can't do it in games like this too.
Adam was available in the summer. Back then I didn't think much of him to be honest. But in all honesty I think we missed something. He's not brilliant but his set piece delivery could really have helped us. It might make a difference if that can become a strength again.
Sign some quality in midfield and a few players with physical presence and we'll be stronger for it.
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
And humour!
Did it work?
Did for me!
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the kids are trying but we need some more experienced heads if we are to progress. We showed at the weekend what could be our future, but we'll have nights like tonight where a seasoned pro or three can make a big difference. If Bent, Hutton, Warnock, even Dunne are finished at the club so be it. Don't replace with only younger players but mix it up with pros that can help the kids along.
Delighted with the win. However it came.
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Benteke was our only bright spark in a game that we had to win. So, our centre forward won us the game with a well taken goal. He also got involved, tackled back, had a great first touch and appeared to care. An upgrade from Bent I'd say.
We won and that is about the best thing you can say about it.
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3 clean sheets in our last 5, and the other 2 were against the manc pair. Considering we're struggling to field 4 fit defenders that's not bad going.
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
And humour!
Did it work?
Did for me!
I vote me as MoM....
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Three points off 10th place so a few teams being dragged into it now.
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MAHOOSIVE 3 pts. Benteke is or will be a worldy player. Lots of praise to the young players, especially the back four. Still think Nathan Baker is better than Clarke and should partner Vlaar next weekend.
Congratulations lads. Thanks for the points
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Chosing a man of the match will not be easy with the shite served up by that
Reading haven't got a hope in hell of staying up judging by that
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
Hats off to you!
We'd have drawn that last year I reckon. Funny we are getting 1-0 wins this season, that's the silver lining I had been clutching when TSM was appointed yet with Lambert thought they'd be 3-2s etc.
Funny old game.
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We is flying up the table.
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Anyone wanting to see one of the most moany, poisonous match threads I can remember have a gander at tonights. Nightmare. Toys and prams all night.
I see match threads as the online equivalent of being at the game, and I can assure you that there would have been as many toys thrown at the ground because we were so bloody frustrating. At times we barely looked above League one level against an equally pisspoor Reading.
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you could see the nerves, theses lads just need a few more points to get their confidence up, what a good deal Guzan was
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Also - A GOAL FROM A CORNER!
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Well 4 points from 2 games. Wasn't pretty but a win is a win.
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I won that game with my positive attitude and faith in the VILLA.......
And humour!
Did it work?
It did for me, Ferg. Hats off. Wibble.
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Not a great display but its a game we got 3 points out of, we would have lost that last year.
We must remain positive, get rid of the feeling of doom, and we will climb up the table. Another couple of wins, a bit more confidence and we will be a different team.
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I thought we looked ok given the position we're in and how much pressure we were under to get a result. Not good, but not as terrible as some are suggesting. It was a poor game and we had the better chances and got the goal, exactly what was needed after the 3 games before.
Other than the goal I can think of 4 chances where we didn't hit the target and should have, Benteke and Weimann in the first half, Baker and Clark in the 2nd half. Bit more composure (particularly from Weimann) and that wouldn't have been so uncomfortable. Yes they missed 1-2 as well we definitely had the better of them.
We need to get the confidence up and a win with a fairly late goal is a good way to start. Another win at the weekend and we'll look in a much better place.
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Att: 28,692, lowest since the Bolton game under MON I reckon?
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I'd have taken that performance and result this morning. We need points on the board and if we have to scrap our way to getting them then so be it.
Sunderland v QPR sounds like a stinker. I couldn't care less about that saggy-faced ****** Redknapp, QPR are fucking shit. Think we'll spoil his party at the weekend, it's not like we don't owe him one.
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We is flying up the table.
You forgot the innit...
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Massive 3 points but it has to improve. Guzan continues to impress.
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Thank f... for that.
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The win is the most important thing by far, but god, that was excruciating to watch.
More than anything it showed the folly of relying on too many kids at once. It'll break the kids and it'll break the club, too.
We so need experience in the January window. If we don't get it, we are really going to struggle.
Benteke is our best player by such a margin, he probably claims second, third, fourth and fifth best, too.
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Benteke my MOTM followed closely by Guzan
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I would like to see Baker get a run in the side.
He is commanding, without the stupid fouling that Clark relies on to stop his man.
Thank feck for Benteke.
We need massive improvement in the transfer window.
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We were piss poor and need to be much much better than that. Three points is a massive relief, but Lambert has to get the experienced players like Bent and Ireland back in the team. It is patently obvious their quality is required.
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I predicted a crap performance and a draw or narrow win and that's exactly how it turned out. With more composure we could have had 3/4 goals. But we looked vulnerable against Roberts and at set pieces. Reading had some really good chances.
I thought benteke was good though not his best, an a few others were intermittently good: Lowton, Clark, baker, Westwood, bannan, Holman. Weimann, gabby and lichaj were poor I thought.
We really missed an experienced head or two tonight. Vlaar for example. Really hope he's back for Saturday. Nick a win there and we're rolling. We're actually only 3 points behind 10th place now, which seems odd.
I thought reading were awful. Awful.
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Another clean sheet. Another goal from our 21 year old striker. A hard fought win. 3 points from the top half having just played 2x Manc and 1x North London.
All with a team with average age 23.
Brilliant.
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Love the Goose. He made some brilliant takes to calm things down. Don't want to start a Given bashing because he's got his own strengths, but we wouldn't have had two clean sheets on the spin if he was in goal.
The defence is starting to look better. They're still riding their luck to be fair. Anyone bemoaning Gabby playing over Bent though should consider that without Gab's workrate and tracking back, Reading would have been on the front foot a lot more if we were carrying Bent.
For me it's a case of Benteke or Bent in the starting 11. Benteke is well worth his place. He looks special. He's young and sloppy at times but he'll be top class. Hopefully still with us down the line.
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Benteke my MOTM followed closely by Guzan
I thought we had agreed I was MoM....
Wibble
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We didn't play as poorly as some say, too nervously at times but we created chances and kept the clean sheet. The Unbelivable Bentekkers, Lowton, Ireland and Guzan were good again. For me it looked like they were a bit too nervous but that win should give them some confidence against QPR.
Holman was good too, we should look a way to get both Ireland and Holman playing.
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We played like a team that has very little confidence, that will come with a few wins. We do need to spend a few bob in January though...
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I think Ireland could step into Bannan's place.
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#wibble, the new orange dot!
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I'd bring Ireland in for Bannan on Saturday, and I'd get Bent involved too. Hopefully Vlaar will be back and then we look a lot more experienced.
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Slightly the better of two really poor teams.
Guzan, Baker, Westwood Ireland and Benteke were fine, and Ireland really has
to play next game.
And sadly Albrigton has to about the worst winger in the league.
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Benteke my MOTM followed closely by Guzan
I thought we had agreed I was MoM....
Wibble
We can't afford your wages so you're dropped next match thread.
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We had 8 players under the age of 23 yes? It was never going to be easy, I doubt there has been many less experienced defences ever put out in the Premier League.
That said, I saw that we played something like 85% of attacks through the middle in the first half. If you are going to play through the middle, you have to have some real guile in the final third and we don't have any with that team out. Lambert is right when he says you cannot fault the effort, they all gave it everything but Holman, Weimann and Agbonlahor are full of bluster and energy but not a great deal of composure and quality on the ball. I can't help feeling we need to mix it up and play with a bit more width in home games against the lesser lights, we are not good enough to pick them apart down the middle, our full backs are not attacking enough to get far enough forward and we end up in a situation where Bannan and Westwood (neither of whom had their best day today) are left to drift partially out wide and float in hopeless crosses from deep positions.
If we are going to play through the middle then Ireland has to play, he has been absolutely fine in 2012 and we always look far more of a threat when he is on the pitch. I don't really buy into the idea of him having a bad attitude either, he is working hard and I have seen more than one player say he is the best trainer at the club.
For all that, for such a young team to grind out a win is impressive and the big man up front made the difference. Baker and Clark stood up strong (although the former hoofs it a lot) and I thought Lowton was excellent defensively again. Guzan provided some positive goalkeeping in the last five minutes and in the end the big man up front made the difference. Just about deserved the win, let's hope we can build on it.
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The QPR game probably suits us more than having to win a game like this at home. I fancy us to win. Harry may well keep them up but I don't think he'll see a turnaround till he's signed a few players and shipped out some of the mercenaries.
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Ireland has the obvious class so badly lacking, it really pisses me off that he didnt start. Albrighton was terrible again when he came on.
3 points and i suspect that we can improve on the performance- we will have to- because I dont think playing that poorly will often be enough to win.
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Benteke my MOTM followed closely by Guzan
I thought we had agreed I was MoM....
Wibble
We can't afford your wages so you're dropped next match thread.
Feck off, I am only on 10 quid a week more than Heskey was...
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#wibble, the new orange dot!
Tell ya, we won due to the power of the WIBBLE.
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Another clean sheet. Another goal from our 21 year old striker. A hard fought win. 3 points from the top half having just played 2x Manc and 1x North London.
All with a team with average age 23.
Brilliant.
Feeling positive?
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It's all down to my Admiral's Pie. 3 times i've had one at HT this season when watching games, City and Swindon away in the cup and tonight. Do you reckon the staff at VP will cook me one next time i'm there?
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Brilliant to get the win, but by Christ that was another awful performance. We need experience in the team. No more kids!
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Ireland has the obvious class so badly lacking, it really pisses me off that he didnt start. Albrighton was terrible again when he came on.
3 points and i suspect that we can improve on the performance- we will have to- because I dont think playing that poorly will often be enough to win.
I wouldn't be surprised if we'd sell Albrighton to some championship side. Shame really, he was so promising in the first six season under Houllier.
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Oh and it does worry me that he brings on Albrighton, because he just isn't good enough. I'm not happy saying that, but it's true.
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It's all down to my Admiral's Pie. 3 times i've had one at HT this season when watching games, City and Swindon away in the cup and tonight. Do you reckon the staff at VP will cook me one next time i'm there?
I think it's down to a combination of my WIBBLE and the fact I sat in my hotel room naked apart from wearing only my left sock on my right foot and my right sock on my knob...
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Ireland has to start the next game, looked a different team when he came on, Albrighton shocking as usual, Wish bannan would try and stop his hollywood passing, which hardly comes off....
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Also - A GOAL FROM A CORNER!
It had been aeons.
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Dire. Depressing. Clueless. Hoofball.
But we desperately needed the 3 points so I'm delighted with them.
Actually thought Benteke wasn't that great tonight though he tried hard, can't actually believe his header made it into the net, seemed to go past about 5 players.
There was some hopelessly poor technique and decisions in the final third. I just hope the result spurs the performances on because Reading were very poor and we made very hard work of it.
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It's all down to my Admiral's Pie. 3 times i've had one at HT this season when watching games, City and Swindon away in the cup and tonight. Do you reckon the staff at VP will cook me one next time i'm there?
I think it's down to a combination of my WIBBLE and the fact I sat in my hotel room naked apart from wearing only my left sock on my right foot and my right sock on my knob...
Are you in the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
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QPR highlights v Mackems show that THEY USE THE WINGS AND GET CROSSES IN! FFS Lambert, why don't we?!
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Oh and we've got enough promising kids now. It's time to supplement them with quality experienced players and stop alienating the ones we already have.
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Wibble or not we aren't out of it yet are we. Everyone around us has the game in hand and we didn't look composed or threatening at all.
Still, lets enjoy those three points 'cos without 'em we would be having a real blood fest on here. It will do the lads confidence a power of good and I think we will beat QPR and the confidence will come. I hope.
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We are all together as a club tonight, that is what is important. I feared a loss could cause some splintering.....
Onwards and wibble.
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Wonder if the attendance was higher than the viewing figures for the second half?
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Result excellent. Performance very poor except Benteke-Guzan-Lowton. Baker great aerial presence. Albrighton-Sunday morning player. Terrible. Ireland a must against QPR. WTF is going on with Bent-Lambert ?
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Another clean sheet. Another goal from our 21 year old striker. A hard fought win. 3 points from the top half having just played 2x Manc and 1x North London.
All with a team with average age 23.
Brilliant.
Feeling positive?
Yep, I'm convinced that Lambert's attitude and approach is right. The team are working hard and learning.
It's hardly beautiful but we won.
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Looks like Rob Green could be in goals for the hoops on Saturday. Cesar went off at half time.
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Good result. We're just 3 points behind Liverpool and 7 behind arsenal in 6th now.
It didn't sound pretty judging by some of the comments on here. Although neither did the arsenal match last weekend - I watched it on avtv last night and thought it was quite entertaining. Disallowed goal and that effort from Holman tipped onto the bar by scezny near the end.
So difficult to tell from the match thread really.
On (another) tangent after the arsenal game they showed villa v qpr from 1996. We won 4-2 from being 1-2 down at one stage. Amazing how slow the game seemed compared to contemporary football and we must've created about 20 chances - milosevic and Yorke were class.
Hopefully we can now build on this result against reading and batter hang dog Harry's qpr losers next up. 4-2 would be a nice result.
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Good result. We're just 3 points behind Liverpool and 7 behind arsenal in 6th now.
On (another) tangent after the arsenal game they showed villa v qpr from 1996. We won 4-2 from being 1-2 down at one stage. Amazing how slow the game seemed compared to contemporary football and we must've created about 20 chances - milosevic and Yorke were class.
we lost 1-0 at Loftus Road that season....
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Good result. We're just 3 points behind Liverpool and 7 behind arsenal in 6th now.
It didn't sound pretty judging by some of the comments on here. Although neither did the arsenal match last weekend - I watched it on avtv last night and thought it was quite entertaining. Disallowed goal and that effort from Holman tipped onto the bar by scezny near the end.
So difficult to tell from the match thread really.
On (another) tangent after the arsenal game they showed villa v qpr from 1996. We won 4-2 from being 1-2 down at one stage. Amazing how slow the game seemed compared to contemporary football and we must've created about 20 chances - milosevic and Yorke were class.
Hopefully we can now build on this result against reading and batter hang dog Harry's qpr losers next up. 4-2 would be a nice result.
Nope, the performance against Arsenal was WAY better than tonight. Tonight was desperately poor but a very valuable 3 points. Let's not get carried away though eh? Playing relegation certs at home and it's like Rotterdam all over again ;)
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We simply have to give Benteke more support. I like Wiemann, but he's not the kind of forward who plays well as a wide type striker in a forward 3 he plays too far away from Benteke, the same with Gabby. Gabby needs to play between the midfield and Benteke, running onto his flicks and making runs forward. I thought Bannan put in a real Jekyl and Hyde performance tonight, some of his defensive positioning and interceptions were superb, however his passing was erratic.
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A cold and sore throat (picked up at the Arsenal game) kept me away tonite - still havnt seen Villa win since Fulham. Delighted with the result.
Meanwhile on the BBC webshite they are firmly up Arry's arse already "Harry Redknapp inspires an improved display from QPR in his first game in charge as they secure a goalless draw at Sunderland."
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So we got a much needed win and didnt concede a goal but that performance was truly dreadful against a very limited team.
I like a few others (I should imagine) am starting to have doubts about Lambert. Yes as we couldnt get David Moyes I thought PL was the best candidate available by a country mile. Indeed after the first 30mins of the West Ham game I was sure Lerner/Faulkner had got it right.
Then we never looked as good again not even in the Utd game.
Lambert strikes me as a difficult dour individual who is not at ease with the media and possibly the players. This is not good for the club.
The Bent situation is becoming more ridiculous by the minute and most of the Villa support are fed up with the rubbish coming out of the managers mouth as it makes no sense at all to leave out a player who has scored goals for the club and for that matter England.
I think Lambert has been told to get his wages off the payroll by those above and they are making sure he does not get injured before January. The same could apply to Dunne.
I think we may be in big trouble already and if Mr Lerner (remember him) is not willing to put any finance into the team I think we are a good bet to go down come May of next year.
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QPR highlights v Mackems show that THEY USE THE WINGS AND GET CROSSES IN! FFS Lambert, why don't we?!
Not sure highlighting that game is the strongest argument for wing play if I'm honest!
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Disappointed with Wiemann again today- despite a couple of decent goals and a lot of hard work, don't think he's good enough really. Hope im wrong.
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A cold and sore throat (picked up at the Arsenal game) kept me away tonite - still havnt seen Villa win since Fulham. Delighted with the result.
Meanwhile on the BBC webshite they are firmly up Arry's arse already "Harry Redknapp inspires an improved display from QPR in his first game in charge as they secure a goalless draw at Sunderland."
With O'Neill AND Harry there, I bet they had to swab the deck of the press area afterwards, it'd be inches deep in semen.
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We played well against Manure and got nothing out of the game. Tonight was all about the result.
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Reading played at their level, which is garbage. We played garbage, which is not our level. We're a little bit better than that.
3 huge points to relieve the stifling atmosphere at Villa Park. Understandable, but the run has been so bad this calendar year that it's a real Gorilla in the room now.
The longer it continues, the more nervous and restricted these kids become. With some confidence and freedom they will be far more convincing.
However, there are some alarming deficiencies. We need to pick up some point now and do some serious strengthening in January.
But there is a base to work with. Needs a touch of magic, class and experience in a few places though and I believe we'll get it.
Ireland has to play. I dont know why he didn't start but I consider him essential to this team.
Guzan 7
Lowton 7
Clark 7
Baker 7
Lichaj 6
Westwood 7
Bannan 5
Holman 6
Weimann 5
Agbonlahor 6
Benteke 7
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Agreed Chris, don't care how we get the points as long as we do.
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QPR defence looks well suspect. If we could put some quality in there (Bent) we could piss it Saturday ........
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Interviewed Harry chomping at the bit to fuck up Villa in his first home game on Saturday. Our kids may wilt.
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3 points phew
Performance was a bit of a shocker, Ireland improved us. Westwood and Baker did well. Clark battled Roberts all night. Hope we can kick on now.
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Keeping going is all that interests Lambo. We prefer creativity and goals.
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Actually atmosphere sounded best it's been in ages tonight which is strange considering there were only 28k there (not including me sadly) and that the game was a load of tosh. Credit to the fans, they were in good voice.
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North Lower were brilliant (sit down Banana man lol)
Holte got going in 2nd half, well done lads.
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I actually though Ireland looked half-arsed when he came on.
I know we need his quality on the pitch and he was screaming for him to come on but you can see why he doesn't start him, he doesn't put in much of a shift.
Mind you we have plenty of players who do but have little actual ability on the ball.
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Nervous, scrappy game but hardly surprising considering both teams were aware this was a 6 pointer. 3 points lovely jubbly!
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Two very poor teams. Three vital points
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Much as it was often poor, we do need to take the circumstances into account. I still worry that Gabby and Weimann don't have the real quality needed in their positions. Some fairly basic breaking today and we'd have had a couple of one on ones. Weimann in particular looks poor in terms of his awarness. Dare I say I think N'Zogbia would be ideal in one of those wide positions, potentially with Holman or Gabby the other side and Ireland in the no 10 role? When is CNZ back?
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Just got back in from the game and while it was a massive relief to get a win, we were very poor for large periods of that game, especially in the 2nd half. I personally would have brought Ireland on a lot earlier for Weimann and would have pushed Holman out wide. Not sure why Albrighton was brought on, as it is clear he has no form or confidence at the moment.
It might have been the pressure of the game, but I thought some of the old faults came out again tonight. Clark got bullied all night long by Roberts, Bannan gave the ball away too much and both Baker and Lichaj distributed the ball poorly. On the plus side, Guzan was solid, Westwood did well again (one or two stray passes aside), and Benteke was handful and got his goal.
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Just got back, for the most part it was terrible.
The result was massive, had we been playing a slightly better team it might have been a defeat.
Reading are awful.
I would struggle to name a Man of the match nobody really shone.
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Terrible performance, Weiman,Bannon just not good enough. Thought Gabby tried hard all game but Benteke is our main man. I hope we have got players lined up for January or we are in real trouble.
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Guzan , Westwood and Benteke did well . The rest were woeful - good job Reading were bloody awful.
If Bent can't get in that 16 then there has to be another agenda .
Ditto Ireland - surely has to be a better option than Holman.
Gabby - Captain - never . He was still trying to work out what the referee meant by heads and tails 30 mins into the second half ! Westwood a better option next time.
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we just beat Reading, a charecterless town full of Vauxhaull drivers. Thier team full of journeymen, play to stay in the game as long as they can and hope some freak happns like they score and then even more freaky they win. So they wait until the other team score before trying to score. We won a hollow victory.
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It was one of those games where the 3 points were the most important thing. That said, I thought we were awful. We won't win many games with Gabby and Weimann as our wide men.
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win was all that matters with that team. thought Bannan and holman were in wrong positions with B deep and defensively weak and H strong but ineffective behind christian. looked much better with Ireland.
desperate for some older heads
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I thought both teams looked like championship outfits. Was very surprised when we continuously played the long ball after playing some nice football in the past weeks.
Can only put it down to nerves.
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Ireland has to play. I dont know why he didn't start but I consider him essential to this team.
Agreed.
All three of Holman, Weimann and Agbonlahor were let down by their poor touch a few times. I'd go with Gabby and one of the other two plus Ireland.
Albrighton sadly looked like a lost cause. Did some decent pressing but nothing else.
Benteke sometimes sees himself too much of a creator for me. He usually has good vision and touch so it's very much ok to get involved in play, but at times I felt he could've been a bit more direct off the ball and just ran into the box.
Many a counter attack chance was wasted because a lack of vision/belief/drive or whatever. Taking too much time and making the wrong choices.
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we just beat Reading, a charecterless town full of Vauxhaull drivers.
Ha ha ha, I don't know why, but I almost choked laughing on that.
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Massive relief to take 3 points and the team are working their socks off, but the lack of experience and quality has to be addressed in January, if we can come away from Loftus road unscathed I will start to believe a little bit more, well done to the crowd for sticking with the team in difficult times.
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Anyone wanting to see one of the most moany, poisonous match threads I can remember have a gander at tonights. Nightmare. Toys and prams all night.
We played poorly, but we ground out a clean sheet and created 4-5 very very good chances to score, and the Big man came with the winner.
The thread wasn't that bad.
I stand by all my comments, which in a nutshell were: defence panicky, nice movement forward, Bent being sidelined (I'd go so far as to saying he already is sold. I don't trust the integrity of the Prem anymore).
I really enjoyed our forward movement.
Guzan is now number 1. Spotless performance.
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We simply have to give Benteke more support. I like Wiemann, but he's not the kind of forward who plays well as a wide type striker in a forward 3 he plays too far away from Benteke, the same with Gabby. Gabby needs to play between the midfield and Benteke, running onto his flicks and making runs forward. I thought Bannan put in a real Jekyl and Hyde performance tonight, some of his defensive positioning and interceptions were superb, however his passing was erratic.
Mostly this. Bannan got caught out a couple of times but was put in trouble as well. Can we have Ireland on from the start please? The Guzan ----> Benteke bomb seems our only outlet from defence that does anything.
Mad thing is we could easily have won 4-0 tonight. Reading are dire.
Reminded me of the Fulham (H) match last season
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I'd stand by what I said in the match thread, too, which was that we played dreadfully, struggled to create chances, that Reading were also dreadful, and that if we find ourselves relying on that many kids too often this season, we are going to find it hard not to get relegated.
None of that has really changed - the three points are the most important thing right now, yes, but christ, we so need a considerable injection of experienced talent in January, or we're fucked.
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I also thought our defence looked considerably happier once Jason Roberts had gone off. He gave them a bit of a Bentekeing.
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Reading were so open in the first half that we had about 5 chances to have a one on one. Weimann completely fucked two of them. I think he's looked weak in recent games. I'd play Holman in that position and Ireland in the hole.
Defence is where we look weakest squad wise though. Really could do with vlaar and at least one of our other injured players coming back. Lichaj looks crap to me. Stevens looks much better.
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Ireland has to play. I dont know why he didn't start but I consider him essential to this team.
Agreed.
All three of Holman, Weimann and Agbonlahor were let down by their poor touch a few times. I'd go with Gabby and one of the other two plus Ireland.
Yep, Gabby and Holman wide with Ireland in the attacking midfield role this coming weekend.
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As a performance it was utter dross. Baker looked shakey, Bannan showed about as much touch and guile as an arthritic elephant and Weimann was a liability - let's not even get to Marc Albrighton whose crossing ability has completly and utterly vanished.
However, there are two major plus points.
A) We got the 3 points.
B) Hopefully Lambert can see that Ireland needs to start and that Bent has to be atleast on the nech - personally i'd prefer him in the side.
If he works this out it could be a major turning point for us. IF.
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It was a mostly shit performance in a terrible game - that's why the match thread was the way it was. For 80 minutes it was painful to watch and for the rest it was nerve-wracking to watch.
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
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I'd stand by what I said in the match thread, too, which was that we played dreadfully, struggled to create chances, that Reading were also dreadful, and that if we find ourselves relying on that many kids too often this season, we are going to find it hard not to get relegated.
None of that has really changed - the three points are the most important thing right now, yes, but christ, we so need a considerable injection of experienced talent in January, or we're fucked.
.
I agree there was a lot to worry about. But not that we struggled to create chances. Benteke, Clark, baker, weimann, Holman all had excellent chances. In the first half we played quite well in spells I thought. Then we got desperate.
I would have thought that a more experienced loan signing or two might be a good call in January?
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The match was shite, both teams were dreadful, and people on the match thread said so, that's all.
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I also thought our defence looked considerably happier once Jason Roberts had gone off. He gave them a bit of a Bentekeing.
Thought Clark had a torrid time up against him and really struggled tonight. If Dunne goes in January, then I think we are going to have to add an experienced CB to the shopping list.
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The match was shite, both teams were dreadful, and people on the match thread said so, that's all.
In a nutshell, this is the truth.
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Well the only thing I can say about that is the most important thing is the 3 points as in so many ways that performance just wasn't good enough tonight and I wouldn't have complained with 0-0 as Reading had as many chances as we did.
They are the worst team in the league imo. Just a poor game.
It picked up when Ireland came on as from being arguably the best player on saturday, Bannan was one of the worst tonight wasting so many balls, and he never cost us a goal in the first half when he was messing about on he edge of the box.
Gabby has certainly turned into a hardworking but non goalscoring forward and Weimann had his poorest game of the season so good job Benteke played well yet again, this boy is some play as he's still not at 100%.
Thought Holman was decent again and he's usually involved in our better attacking moves so maybe slightly better technically than given credit for.
Word on the defence aswell, 3 clean sheets in 5 league games.
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I actually though Ireland looked half-arsed when he came on.
I know we need his quality on the pitch and he was screaming for him to come on but you can see why he doesn't start him, he doesn't put in much of a shift.
Mind you we have plenty of players who do but have little actual ability on the ball.
Harsh and I'm no Ireland fan but he was a class above when he came on.
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
28,692
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Att: 28,692, lowest since the Bolton game under MON I reckon?
Correct, 16/12/2006, 27,450.
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The plus points for me tonight were the win and clean sheet, plus decent games for Lowton, Baker and Benteke, plus Ireland when he came on. The negatives were a dreadful performance and the continued pig-headed refusal to even put Bent on the bench.
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I too thought Baker did very well.
I'd say the four Risso mentions above plus Guzan.
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Lowton is a good player, I don't think people should go into shock every time he has a decent game (unless you're Saunders heroes).
He's the sort if Swansea or WBA picked him up for 3m, we'd be asking why we never sign these types of players.
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The howls of frustration when Albrighton hoiked a cross miles too long were a sad reflection of how badly he's gone backwards. It's a real shame because for a few months he was outstanding.
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The plus points for me tonight were the win and clean sheet, plus decent games for Lowton, Baker and Benteke, plus Ireland when he came on. The negatives were a dreadful performance and the continued pig-headed refusal to even put Bent on the bench.
The only thing i'd possibly disagree with is Bent. And that's mainly because I have no idea why he isn't included so there could be a valid reason if he's turned into Steve Hodge behind the scenes. That said if he hasn't then it's baffling why he's not included but until we know (if we ever do) it's hard to know what to say on it.
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
28,692
Pre Xmas
Midweek
On telly
Weather
Poor form
Reading
Economy
Masterchef semis on telly
I'm a celeb as above
Hardly a surprise
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Ireland made the difference when he came on, he has to start on sat. Bannan was awful
Hollman was poor too and Albrighton should be nowhere near the first team, he had pne cross to put in and fucked it up big style & offered nothing else. Our defence did well considering the players out.
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
28,692
Pre Xmas
Midweek
On telly
Weather
Poor form
Reading
Economy
Masterchef semis on telly
I'm a celeb as above
Hardly a surprise
you forgot to add, shit football, no entertainment, fans disilusioned
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I too thought Baker did very well.
I'd say the four Risso mentions above plus Guzan.
Yes, sorry, missed Guzan from my list. His handling was top notch.
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It's quite sad seeing how backwards Albrighton has gone. I'm beginning to seriously doubt whether he has a future at this level. A shame considering how he looked for those few months a couple of years ago.
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I won't be harsh on Weimann. Sometimes a young striker gets too long think in front of goal. It may be a split second, but...
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Brilliant to get the win, but by Christ that was another awful performance. We need experience in the team. No more kids!
What do you mean by that though?
Recall Hutton and Warnock?
Sign half the QPR team?
Must say I'm happy with the Lambert signings, Vlaar, Lowton, Guzan, Westwood have all been good recently.
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The howls of frustration when Albrighton hoiked a cross miles too long were a sad reflection of how badly he's gone backwards. It's a real shame because for a few months he was outstanding.
That was damn awful. There's no evidence Albrighton is anywhere near Premership class.
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The howls of frustration when Albrighton hoiked a cross miles too long were a sad reflection of how badly he's gone backwards. It's a real shame because for a few months he was outstanding.
That was damn awful. There's no evidence Albrighton is anywhere near Premership class.
There is, but the evidence is 2 years old now.
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
28,692
Pre Xmas
Midweek
On telly
Weather
Poor form
Reading
Economy
Masterchef semis on telly
I'm a celeb as above
Hardly a surprise
Except for the telly bit, and swap reading for qpr, and the same applied to Sunderland. They got 36,000.
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I also thought our defence looked considerably happier once Jason Roberts had gone off. He gave them a bit of a Bentekeing.
Roberts went into Clark every single time on high balls, Clark struggles against the physical forwards really.
We need Vlaar back for Stoke really as they will really target us, if not hope Herd is fit and I'd pair him with Baker.
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Yeah but they're football mentalists up there.
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Newcastle only got 21k for the europa league game last week.
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Wouldnt swap Guzan for any keeper in the league at the moment.
Lowton, Baker & Westwood did well...Benteke ok....Ireland livened them up a bit....
Was all about the 3 points, well done lads.
Bannan / Holman & Weimann werent great
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Lots of empty seats (m'lord) anyone know the official attendance - didn't hear it announced tonight. Very poor game - looked like 2 Championship sides, but we desperately needed those points and from that point of view job done (just). And we scored from a corner! Our midfield will get heavily dominated by QPR and Sterk, and we really need to get some experience in there in January.
28,692
Pre Xmas
Midweek
On telly
Weather
Poor form
Reading
Economy
Masterchef semis on telly
I'm a celeb as above
Hardly a surprise
Except for the telly bit, and swap reading for qpr, and the same applied to Sunderland. They got 36,000.
And the capacity for the SoL is 49000, so the Stadiums were comparatively empty.
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Just grateful for 3 points but a generally woeful performance against a very poor opponent. I'm afraid we looked as poor as our position suggests tonight.
I have to say my support for Lambert and his approach is waning slightly. He seemed to have hit on a good formation and then decides to mess about with it. Ireland is just about our only genuinely creative player in the final third and has to play in the home games at least. I'm getting a bit fed up with the lack of width, the full backs aren't really up to providing it. As for his passing based game, it seems to have been largely replaced with the long punt up to big Benteke, who continues to be very impressive, especially for his age. The Bent situation is also frustrating but it's hard to see where even he would get goals with very little being created. Still a long way to go and a lot of improvement required. Some experienced signings in Jan are a must.
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We were woeful I thought. Guzan was solid as was Baker but the rest were poor. The football played was absolutely shocking too. Route one Wimbeldon style tactics, hard to watch. Bannan wasnt great to still think he offered more than Westwood. Cant see why he is getting good reviews. Think he has been anonymous the last 3 games. Gabby is turning into another Heskey. Thought Benteke despite his goal was poor enough again. But its midfield where the problems are. Difficult for any forward considering the lack of quality we have in midfield.
Ireland was good when he came on alright. These are the kind of games we need the likes of him, Bent and Nzogbia on the pitch for. Albrighton on the other hand..... Feel for the lad at the moment as he looks so far out of his depth its frightening
Scarcely deserved 3 points in a half empty Villa Park but we will take it. Lambert needed that as the way he has handled the Bent situation, the way the team is set up and the football he has us playing all warrant huge criticism imo
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I reckon the performance was poor, but I think that P.L. is doing what he can with young, inexperienced (and probably also overrated) players.
I think the starting XI was correct. Weimann had done very well with Man Utd. why shouldn't he do the same with Reading?
Plus, Bent can't play in Lambert's system (4-2-3-1) because Lambert obviously choose Benteke as a central forward, and Bent hasn' the charateristics to run up and down the flanks like Weimann and Gabby do, working and sacrificing themselves for the team.
Banann and Westwood were the best of the midfield with Arsenal, so why should they be dropped for Steven "Lack of consistency" Ireland?
El Ahmadi was awful and was rightly dropped for Holman.
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I don't understand where the "we weren't creating chances" argument is coming from at all. Our problem is consistently putting them away (and the shocking reaction of the crowd at times tonight, esp in the 2nd half). In the 1st we played some OK stuff - Westwood and Bannan excellent, and there were at least three great chances that should have resulted in goals - Weimann's panicky shot over the bar, Benteke's poor effort after Holman's excellent run and pull-back, and Baker's header into the ground off a Bannan corner. All three of those came from fairly young and inexperienced players, and the "Pro-Bent argument" certainly holds weight here. If one of those had gone in then it would hopefully have resulted in a less nervier second half.
But they didn't, and then throughout the second period the crowd began to get itchy, particularly where I was in the Trinity, and Nathan Baker began to put on his best James Collins impression. We started to go longer and more direct and the game became a lot scrappier, which was exactly what Reading wanted (who really were terrible). I think we, the fans, have to take some of the blame - it's a very young side out there, and getting angry at them isn't going to help whatsoever. If we want to have any hope of challenging higher up the table in the next 5 years a change in style is going to have to happen, and if that means we only put 1 past Reading instead of 3 then it's a sacrifice i'm willing to make. I mean, it's hardly the Scottish Manager's football. (I do agree that Albrighton was dreadful though-really not sure if he's got what it takes...)
So I don't think it was as bad a performance as people are making out - the second half became scrappy as we all began to get impatient, and if we'd taken one of the many chances we created earlier on in the game hopefully we wouldn't have HAD to resort to the Guzan ---> Benteke route. Westwood, Guzan, and Benteke top notch tonight. Bannan mercurial and frustrating as ever - but the Westwood-Bannan partnership in the CM looks to be really useful. Worrying from Albrighton, and Baker/Holman didn't have their best nights (although i'm fans of both). The Darren Bent affair is a debate for another time - although it's true that Benteke certainly offers more than Bent in a 1-striker formation, which I think we look most fluid in. We certainly have to get less impatient with them, and accept that nights like this are going to happen - it's a change for the better and it will take time (as we've said many times before). UTV
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
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13 points down, 27 to go.
Also, a goal from a corner and we had gone close on a few corners before that. Funny that the goal was Westwood's first corner.
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I reckon the performance was poor, but I think that P.L. is doing what he can with young, inexperienced (and probably also overrated) players.
I think the starting XI was correct. Weimann had done very well with Man Utd. why shouldn't he do the same with Reading?
Plus, Bent can't play in Lambert's system (4-2-3-1) because Lambert obviously choose Benteke as a central forward, and he hasn' the charateristics to run up and down the flanks like Weimann and Gabby do, working and sacrificing themselves for the team.
Banann and Westwood were the best of te midfield with Arsenal, so why should they be dropped for Steven "Luck of consistency" Ireland?
El Ahmadi was awful and was rightly dropped for Holman.
Archie i agree, great post mate
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A massive three points in the context of our season; the performance was pretty average but a win is a win
Benteke is a real handful and Ireland looked lively when he came on but we do not look a good side
Really pleased with the win though so no point dwelling on our shortcomings this evening; let's enjoy the win and look forward to smashing QPR
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
So these people who've been saying we've been getting bad results despite good performances have been vindicated tonight - when the exact opposite happened - how exactly?
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
That's a nail being firmly fucking smacked on it's head.
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
Agreed we've come off the back of 3 games without a win, one where we lost 5-0, dropped into the bottom 3, with everyone including the players knowing its a must win game Id bite your hand off for that game tonight.
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
So these people who've been saying we've been getting bad results despite good performances have been vindicated tonight - when the exact opposite happened - how exactly?
I dont even know what point your trying to make?
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
Spot on mate, we got 3 points without playing well, so what, I'm over the moon.
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For weeks now, some have been saying that, despite some bad results, performances have been decent, only to be met by a torrent of righteous anger from critics who say that performances don't mean shit - results and our position in the league are all that matter.
Well, those critics have certainly changed their tune tonight - we got the result and they're all on about the fucking performance!
Too true. The match thread comment was the frustration that although the performance was poor, we were still getting forward, and were, in the large part creating enough good chances to score, but it descended into the usual snore fest that the owner is not interested (no proof of that anywhere) we are all shite and might as well shoot ourselves in the head now before the chance has gone, or that will be a failure too. A few kept their perspective in fairness. And Fergal, you deserved the goal, and the MOM award, although I have already given it to Benteke, so you might have to wrestle him for it. And he has not been fed tonight.
The performance was not really more than I expected. Jittery in front of an expectant Villa Park, missing the captain, not real leader in the side as Gabby for all he is is not a leader, and it showed. Their more experienced players made it difficult for us, but we kept a clean sheet despite losing another defender and having to have 2 players on their wrong foot at the back.
Bannan is taking pelters, but after a very poor first half was much better second, Westwood gave it away 2-3 times early on which showed how nervy it was I thought, but did pretty well by the end. Holman I thought justified the shirt on Saturday so would have been in over Ireland anyhow, and did well first half, our brightest player.
Benteke was hit and miss as they cleverly bought a big bugger into the side to try and negate his threat. Clark and Baker also went long far too much, again a sign of nerves more than anything.
The delivery from corners was much better than normal IMO, both halves we had 2-3 chances from them that we could easily have scored from before the goal.
Weimann is the worry for me in the side, he brings a genuine goal threat, because he drifts in from wide and finds pockets in the box, but he needs to finish the chances he gets because his all round game is nowhere near good enough to warrant a place. Albrighton unfortunately needs to go on loan for 12 months to really sort his confidence and form out before getting another shot. Calling him a ****** for a poor cross is harsh though IMO.
In Jan we need an experience quality central midfielder, who can sit deep with Westwood or Bannan, a wide forward, as I agree with others that NZogbia is made for the Weimann role if he can find form, and he has got much more pedigree than the other options there, an experienced centre half cover if Dunne is not going to get fit and a couple more attacking options to challenge from the bench.
We won tonight though. Not happened much this year and we got the job done.
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I dont even know what point your trying to make?
I'm asking a question.
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I don't understand where the "we weren't creating chances" argument is coming from at all. Our problem is consistently putting them away (and the shocking reaction of the crowd at times tonight, esp in the 2nd half). In the 1st we played some OK stuff - Westwood and Bannan excellent, and there were at least three great chances that should have resulted in goals - Weimann's panicky shot over the bar, Benteke's poor effort after Holman's excellent run and pull-back, and Baker's header into the ground off a Bannan corner. All three of those came from fairly young and inexperienced players, and the "Pro-Bent argument" certainly holds weight here. If one of those had gone in then it would hopefully have resulted in a less nervier second half.
I don't think we created that many clear chances tonight, certainly not enough against a team as poor as Reading. And we've hardly been carving them out for fun in other games. That said Benteke and Weimann both missed very presentable chances an Bent may well have done better with both.
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It was all about the result tonight - particularly with the added pressure slef-applied by PL re Bent.
I enjoyed alll the goal-chance creation in the first half against a very poor opposition; pity the finishing did not match it.
Second half was tedious but ultimately rewarding.
I thought Baker was outstanding today; had to be to cover for an uncharacteristically jitttery Clark.
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I didn't say anything about anyone being vindicated. I just find it amusing that those who had been saying performances don't mean shit have suddenly gone apoplectic about our performance.
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QPR highlights v Mackems show that THEY USE THE WINGS AND GET CROSSES IN! FFS Lambert, why don't we?!
And it was 0-0...FFS I am glad we don't do that!
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Just got back now,that was a dreadful game and performance but the 3'points are all that mattered tonight,hope we play a lot better Saturday an pick up at least a draw!
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I don't understand where the "we weren't creating chances" argument is coming from at all. Our problem is consistently putting them away (and the shocking reaction of the crowd at times tonight, esp in the 2nd half). In the 1st we played some OK stuff - Westwood and Bannan excellent, and there were at least three great chances that should have resulted in goals - Weimann's panicky shot over the bar, Benteke's poor effort after Holman's excellent run and pull-back, and Baker's header into the ground off a Bannan corner. All three of those came from fairly young and inexperienced players, and the "Pro-Bent argument" certainly holds weight here. If one of those had gone in then it would hopefully have resulted in a less nervier second half.
I don't think we created that many clear chances tonight, certainly not enough against a team as poor as Reading. And we've hardly been carving them out for fun in other games. That said Benteke and Weimann both missed very presentable chances an Bent may well have done better with both.
There were at least four or five chances that should have been goals though - three of which I named - Benteke cut in from the left in the first half and sent another tame effort at federici. Clark had a header which was half a foot wide from a corner in the second half too...
It's very difficult to carve open a team who sat as deep as they did, especially in the circumstances of the 2nd half where most of us started whinging and we began to go long. We certainly need more options though, and Zog would be a good fit for the current Weimann role...
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I dont even know what point your trying to make?
I'm asking a question.
I know but the question doesn't make any sense regarding Percy's statement
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I don't understand where the "we weren't creating chances" argument is coming from at all. Our problem is consistently putting them away (and the shocking reaction of the crowd at times tonight, esp in the 2nd half). In the 1st we played some OK stuff - Westwood and Bannan excellent, and there were at least three great chances that should have resulted in goals - Weimann's panicky shot over the bar, Benteke's poor effort after Holman's excellent run and pull-back, and Baker's header into the ground off a Bannan corner. All three of those came from fairly young and inexperienced players, and the "Pro-Bent argument" certainly holds weight here. If one of those had gone in then it would hopefully have resulted in a less nervier second half.
I don't think we created that many clear chances tonight, certainly not enough against a team as poor as Reading. And we've hardly been carving them out for fun in other games. That said Benteke and Weimann both missed very presentable chances an Bent may well have done better with both.
There were at least four or five chances that should have been goals though - three of which I named - Benteke cut in from the left in the first half and sent another tame effort at federici. Clark had a header which was half a foot wide from a corner in the second half too...
It's very difficult to carve open a team who sat as deep as they did, especially in the circumstances of the 2nd half where most of us started whinging and we began to go long. We certainly need more options though, and Zog would be a good fit for the current Weimann role...
Plus the break where Weimann didn't pass quick enough.
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We DID have loads of chances. Benteke scored, had two other great chances; weimann missed a sitter and twice should have played Holman in on goal, Holman almost scored, as did Clark and baker. I agree it was a poor performance, but there were still aspects of promise. Roll on QPR and let's play with a bit more composure. Ireland has to start for me
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QPR highlights v Mackems show that THEY USE THE WINGS AND GET CROSSES IN! FFS Lambert, why don't we?!
And it was 0-0...FFS I am glad we don't do that!
ha-ha that made me chuckle
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I didn't say anything about anyone being vindicated. I just find it amusing that those who have been saying performances don't mean shit suddenly becoming apoplectic about performances.
I might equally say that those who were less concerned about recent results because performances had been decent are, tonight, suddenly less interested in the performance than they are the result.
Which ever way you choose to look at it, it was a very welcome three points from a poor performance in an awful match.
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Yeah, the match-thread is a bit of a fright to read after the game. I'm sure I was effing and blinding at the telly but when poor Albrighton skyed that cross I did think of the pelters he would have been getting on here.
We've entered an era now with a young manager who wants to slowly build a young side - and I think that's crucial. He, not Lerner's budgetary policy, Lambert himself, wants to build a team of hungry, hard-working, flexible players which seems to be the explanation for Bent's omission - and we are really just going to have to be patient with all the errors and inconsistencies that go with that.
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I know but the question doesn't make any sense regarding Percy's statement
I'm sorry you don't understand it but I can't put it any plainer than I already have.
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I don't think we created that many clear chances tonight, certainly not enough against a team as poor as Reading. And we've hardly been carving them out for fun in other games. That said Benteke and Weimann both missed very presentable chances an Bent may well have done better with both.
Disagree, kt: the first half should have put the game to bed, really. Weimann's was very scorable (despite the defender's attention); Benteke could have placed the ball to the keeper's right where there was much more space. Baker's header was excellent, just bounced too high.
And those were the clear-cut opportunities.
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Brent's 3 games away from his 50th appearance & a £6mil payment to Sunderland. This along with the fact that he goes missing far too often means he won't be playing for us again and come Jan he'll be gone.
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'Bent' even
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Brent's 3 games away from his 50th appearance & a £6mil payment to Sunderland. This along with the fact that he goes missing far too often means he won't be playing for us again and come Jan he'll be gone.
Why on earth would a 50th appearance trigger an additional £6mill when for £18million i'm pretty sure you'd expect the player to manage less than a season and a half of appearances?
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Brent's 3 games away from his 50th appearance & a £6mil payment to Sunderland. This along with the fact that he goes missing far too often means he won't be playing for us again and come Jan he'll be gone.
...any advance on six million?
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That Ricky Gervais is fucking raking it in. No wonder thay stopped it after two series and a two-part special.
And Gareth was funnier.
Hilts: I got the impression that some people thought performances were irrelevant. I don't think anyone praising performances thought that about results.
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I know but the question doesn't make any sense regarding Percy's statement
I'm sorry you don't understand it but I can't put it any plainer than I already have.
Erh ...their was no vindication read Percys comments again is that plain enough for you?
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Keeno,
I love your positivity and genuinely get what you are trying to say.
But we were at home against a very poor team and the last stats I saw ( well before full time) showed that we had 3 shots on target. We were nervy and inexperienced, but at the moment we are not creating any concerted pressure and don't look like scoring. The goal really was out of the blue. And long may this pleasant surprise continue!
I am hoping that this was a performance like those we saw prior to Xmas 2003 which were followed by a wonderful resurgence leading to a top 6 finish.
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Got back awhile ago been reading the post match comments, just a few observations, the best players tonight where all Lambert's signings, Benteke, Westwood Lowton and Guzan ! The fans particularly the Holte end stayed behind the team right through and you can feel the difference from the last two seasons .Ireland bannan and Westwood is our best midfield till we sign better ( a must ), It's an either/or re Weimann and Holman. Reading were absolute rubbish. Bent must have done something behind the scenes, how else can Albrighton and the young kid Bowery be on the bench ahead of him ? So nice to drive home after a win , only our third this year !
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I feel sorry for Albrighton, I'm not sure whats gone wrong is it a confidence thing or is he trying too hard?
he has been terrible, I agree with the earlier comment about him going on loan although we have a thin squad as it is.
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Not great, but three very welcome points. Ireland should start against QPR as he made a big difference when he came on. Bannan was poor. Don't know what's gone wrong with Albrighton. The Bent saga is inexplicable. Pleased with Westwood. Guzan was outstanding. Benteke holds the ball up so well. I think Weimann tries too hard sometimes. The nutter was not present. However, all I felt when we scored was relief. Not joy. Not ecstacy. Not exhilaration. Just relief.
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Very pleased with the result.
Where is N'Zog?
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Very pleased with the result.
Where is N'Zog?
Injured
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There's no question that Christian Benteke was the star man with fans after the 1-0 win over Reading.
But it wasn't just his goal that singled him out for credit.
His stats back up the big man's influence in the game as a whole.
Benteke was No.1 for shots with six in total, four on target, two blocked and one goal.
He was also No.1 for attacking third passes, making twenty-six in total including fourteen successful.
He was No.1 for aerial duels, winning eleven out of nineteen attempted.
In other stats, Ashley Westwood, unsurprisingly, was No.1 for passes, making forty-six successful ones out of fifty-four attempted - a success rate of 86%.
Barry Bannan was No.2 with forty-four successful ones out of fifty-five attempted.
Brett Holman was No.2 for attacking third passes with fourteen successful ones out of twenty-six made.
Bannan was No.4 with thirteen of twenty attempted.
Westwood was No.1 for chances created while Bannan was No.2 and Holman was No.3.
Matt Lowton was No.1 for tackles, winning six out of six attempted, with Bannan No.2 with three out of three and Westwood No.3 with two out of four. Nathan Baker was No.4 with two out of two.
Lowton was No.1 for interceptions with six in total while Gabby Agbonlahor was No.3 with three and Holman was No.5 with two.
Ciaran Clark was No.1 for clearances with ten successful out of twenty-five.
Interestingly the No.1 pass combination during the game was Matt Lowton to Ashley Westwood with fifteen while No.3 was Ashley Westwood to Matt Lowton with thirteen.
Brad Guzan to Christian Benteke and Ashley Westwood to Barry Bannan were joint No.5 with twelve.
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Pleased with the three points, even if it wasn't the best game. Thought we were the better team and deserved the three points, and was pleased with the number of chances we created (pity about the finishing).
I really like Benteke, he has all the makings of a proper Villa player, unlike Bent who has never really clicked with the club despite having a good goal record for us. Westwood looks like he will turn out to be a decent find too, as does Lowton. Baker played well in defence (rate him better than Clark), and Guzan continues to show why Given isn't getting a game.
Next game I'd like to see Ireland and N'Zogbia start.
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Firstly it was a poor performance - I'm sure everyone who either was there or watched it would agree - against a team who were there for the taking. We were static, passed erratically throughout and our decision-making was awful at times.
BUT you could tell straight away that the pressure/nerves were getting to the players, and I think this has a worse effect with our young team. Actually in light of this I thought Bannan was one of our better players - ok he makes some bad mistakes, gave the ball away, sometimes in bad areas as well etc, but at least he had the balls to demand the ball and try and make something happen.
Also he wasn't helped by the complete lack of movement from our front four (one thing you can say about Bannan is he does try to pass into space if he can, just Benteke apart the forwards never moved into any). Tonight was the first time I've seen Westwood in the flesh and I have to say I was disappointed by him, as I was by Lowton and Lichaj who barely offered the width we so clearly lacked throughout. Bannan and Benteke took responsibility, which for me gets them marginally higher marks in a poor set than the ones who didn't.
Credit to the defence, especially Guzan, but Clarke and Baker were unconvincing. I actually disagree with the posters saying Baker had a better match - he does all the basics well (and crowd-pleasing sliding challenges) but his positioning is suspect and he allows strikers to run the wrong side of him, this happened a few times in the match. Roberts did the job you would expect him to against two fairly inexperienced centre-backs (though Clarke is fast approaching the stage where he can't use this excuse), and in the end only had one half chance.
Still just glad to be back at Villa Park and see us win.
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Think N'Zog on form could make a real difference to the attacking aspect of midfield, so I hope he's not long away.
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Think N'Zog on form could make a real difference to the attacking aspect of midfield, so I hope he's not long away.
FWIW he's down as no return date on Physio Room. We're joint top of the league there, for players injured.
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Interesting stats there, PeterWithesShin, I think they back up the case for Bannan not having the awful match some here and in the stadium would claim.
Have to say I was surprised, if not shocked, by the crowd's reaction to every misplaced pass/decision to turn and hold onto the ball etc.
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That must be one of the most frustrating places to be for a professional sportsman. Get well soon, Charles and all the other Villa players in the physio room.
Otherwise, don't lose heart, Albrighton and others mentioned negatively in dispatches.
Anybody can have a bad day at the office. Just do better next time.
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I don't understand where the "we weren't creating chances" argument is coming from at all. Our problem is consistently putting them away (and the shocking reaction of the crowd at times tonight, esp in the 2nd half). In the 1st we played some OK stuff - Westwood and Bannan excellent, and there were at least three great chances that should have resulted in goals - Weimann's panicky shot over the bar, Benteke's poor effort after Holman's excellent run and pull-back, and Baker's header into the ground off a Bannan corner. All three of those came from fairly young and inexperienced players, and the "Pro-Bent argument" certainly holds weight here. If one of those had gone in then it would hopefully have resulted in a less nervier second half.
But they didn't, and then throughout the second period the crowd began to get itchy, particularly where I was in the Trinity, and Nathan Baker began to put on his best James Collins impression. We started to go longer and more direct and the game became a lot scrappier, which was exactly what Reading wanted (who really were terrible). I think we, the fans, have to take some of the blame - it's a very young side out there, and getting angry at them isn't going to help whatsoever. If we want to have any hope of challenging higher up the table in the next 5 years a change in style is going to have to happen, and if that means we only put 1 past Reading instead of 3 then it's a sacrifice i'm willing to make. I mean, it's hardly the Scottish Manager's football. (I do agree that Albrighton was dreadful though-really not sure if he's got what it takes...)
So I don't think it was as bad a performance as people are making out - the second half became scrappy as we all began to get impatient, and if we'd taken one of the many chances we created earlier on in the game hopefully we wouldn't have HAD to resort to the Guzan ---> Benteke route. Westwood, Guzan, and Benteke top notch tonight. Bannan mercurial and frustrating as ever - but the Westwood-Bannan partnership in the CM looks to be really useful. Worrying from Albrighton, and Baker/Holman didn't have their best nights (although i'm fans of both). The Darren Bent affair is a debate for another time - although it's true that Benteke certainly offers more than Bent in a 1-striker formation, which I think we look most fluid in. We certainly have to get less impatient with them, and accept that nights like this re going to happen - it's a change for the better and it will take time (as we've said many times before). UTV
Some sense being spoken here with some good points made.
If anyone thinks we were dire tonight they must have forgotten about last 2 seasons pretty quick where we truly did witness some dire performances.
We did not play as well as we've shown we can but when going into the game in a pressure scenario where only a win will do its always going to be tough and it will show in the performance, especially when you're playing opposition in a similar situation.
We looked quite good opening 25-30 minutes passing it around with purpose but maybe faded a little towards the end of the half. They had a couple of close chances too and I could see the defense tonight didnt look as assured and confident with the absence of Vlaar probably showing. Roberts made our defense really work at times and although we won plenty of headers we were not so dominant when it came to dealing with the physicality of him.
It was frustrating at times and as the game went on it felt like I could only hope for a goal because I thought it would be a disappointing draw. Up stepped Benteke and that goal was a big relief.
We lacked the cutting edge and with that final ball with that extra bit of quality when needed wasnt quite there. I think expectations were that this should be an automatic win against Reading. Although I knew we absolutely needed to win I still knew it was going to be tough because all the pressure was on as was it for Reading but we were at home. It's also harder when playing in such a scenario, its not always going to go how you expect. We had enough opportunities tonight, we just didn't quite take the game by the rough of the neck when there was the chance too.
Like others I'm baffled with the exclusion with Bent. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought as the game went on that if someone was going to come off the bench and change the game around who could get us a goal it was Darren Bent. Fortunately Benteke stepped up when needed but that's beside the point because I would of had Bent on the field before that.
We had opportunities tonight but it wasnt an all round good performance from the team which we've seen in previous games against tougher opposition where we didn't win, but with the scenario we are in the win is that matters right now. I think its important to realize how the players were playing with added pressure and when you're playing with pressure it will show, especially when only a win will do.
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Weimann gives his all and gets into good positions but dont think he has the quality to be a regular in a decent EPL side. Think Gabby has been playing poorly for a few weeks now. Both could really be dropped. Is Carruthers or some other kid ready to come in and play wide for a few games?
Bannan forced it too much tonight but at least he was trying to do the right thing like getting on the ball and trying to find a colleague to feet
We desperately need better quality players to be brought in during the transfer window. The bench tonight had the likes of Lichaj, Delph and Albrighton who arent going to improve matters either
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Utter relief at the win, if we can conjure something up at the weekend down at the tax avoiders that'll help massively.
I can see what people are saying about Bent and getting a goal. The problem is with the system we are playing there isn't any room for him. He would be at best an ornament attempting to play the role that Benteke has and doesn't have the work rate to do the jobs that Weimann or Gabby are playing and it wouldn't be much use playing him in that withdrawn a role either. If he is going to play then you've got to get him and Benteke playing together.... which means doing away with a midfielder and given how weak our midfield is I don't think we will be seeing Mr Bent anytime soon. Personally it wouldn't surprise me to see him out of the door in January.
As for the match... mentions for Guzan, the back four. Westwood for finally telling Bannan bollocks i'm taking the corner and putting a decent flat cross in and Benteke for finally heading it in the right direction! I'm not sure what Lambert sees in Bannan and Albrighton personally but there we go i'm not in charge (thankfully!).
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A game we desperately needed to win and we won, that's the main thing.
It was a nervy game with both sides desperate not to make mistakes and you could feel the VP tension as the second half wore on from 5,500 miles away. It wasnt pretty at times but we created enough chances to have won. Westwood & Benteke stood out, both look like fine players in the making. Ireland made a difference when he came on. Credit to the defence - cant have played 50 PL games between them but they did alright.
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I thought bannan's corners were very good last night. We should have scored twice from them. He was a bit enfuriating, but he was progressive in his passing. He's certainly playing several levels above albrighton. I'd love it if albrighton could come roaring back but I suspect he's finished at tha level. I just don't see what qualities he really has, now that the surprise factor has gone and he no longer seems able to cross.
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Sorry if it has been mentioned earlier but this was our youngest ever PL team. The back four in particular are inexperienced - average age just over 22, average number of PL appearances less than 20.
We got a clean sheet and won the game.
It wasn't a great game by any means, or a particularly good performance. We will get better.
We do need upgrades and will in all probability see some in January. I don't expect Lambert to go all O'Neill and suddenly decide to buy every clapped out plodder who appears on the market.
It still feels like we are laying foundations for a good squad to develop. Poor game or not, it feels a world apart from last year and different to anything we have done for quite a while.
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I also thought Roberts was best player on pitch, why wasn't Ireland playing. I'm just relieved
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I thought bannan's corners were very good last night. We should have scored twice from them. He was a bit enfuriating, but he was progressive in his passing. He's certainly playing several levels above albrighton. I'd love it if albrighton could come roaring back but I suspect he's finished at tha level. I just don't see what qualities he really has, now that the surprise factor has gone and he no longer seems able to cross.
I could be wrong, but didn't we score off the only corner he didn't take.
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Forgot to mention last night - great to see Martin Laursen in the Sky commentary box. He acknowledged a rousing chorus of 'one Martin Laursen' from the Holte near the end of the game - how we could do with him in the team right now!
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I thought bannan's corners were very good last night. We should have scored twice from them. He was a bit enfuriating, but he was progressive in his passing. He's certainly playing several levels above albrighton. I'd love it if albrighton could come roaring back but I suspect he's finished at tha level. I just don't see what qualities he really has, now that the surprise factor has gone and he no longer seems able to cross.
I could be wrong, but didn't we score off the only corner he didn't take.
I think it was the only corner we had from the right hand side which Westwood took.
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Really would like to see bent on the bench at least and also Carruthers- albrighton seems to have lost his way and Carruthers offers far more than him.
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Reading set themselves up to frustrate us, try not to lose and maybe even nick one towards the end. But even nicking one disappeared when Roberts was taken off
Thought the crowd were pretty good last night. A performance like that last season would have been met with boo's mixed with silence.
That was a young, inexperienced team out there last night, guys. The nerves were there and got clearer the longer the game went.
If ever we needed that 'early goal' to settle us down it was last night.
Thought Baker was probably my pick, don't think I've seen him have a poor game at center back. Stevens, again, was doing okay, until his injury.
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I thought it was fitting that we scored a 'Martin Laursen' goal in front of him, great to get the chance to give him that reception at the end.
Would agree with a lot of people on here, yes it was a poor performance but it was the youngest team we've ever fielded in the Prem, and we were under a lot of pressure. In fact you could say that we had to beat Reading and Sunderland and we did, so criticism seems harsh.
Lambert will have learnt a lot these past few months and should know now where to strengthen. The spine of the team looks ok, some specialist wide forwards would be useful as to be fair Gabby and Weimann are strikers.
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Sorry if it has been mentioned earlier but this was our youngest ever PL team. The back four in particular are inexperienced - average age just over 22, average number of PL appearances less than 20.
Does anyone know whether it was the youngest PL team ever for any side?
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I thought bannan's corners were very good last night. We should have scored twice from them. He was a bit enfuriating, but he was progressive in his passing. He's certainly playing several levels above albrighton. I'd love it if albrighton could come roaring back but I suspect he's finished at tha level. I just don't see what qualities he really has, now that the surprise factor has gone and he no longer seems able to cross.
I could be wrong, but didn't we score off the only corner he didn't take.
I think it was the only corner we had from the right hand side which Westwood took.
It wasn't because I was moaning in the first half about Bannan out swinging one which was easily cleared.
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Strange kind of flat feeling after winning such a vital game, very disappointed with last nights performance after the effort put in against the gunners.
We can't seem to play well more than 2 games in a row but lets hope we can go to qpr and get a win, we are only 3 points off the top 10 so there are a few teams being pulled into the scrap now .
Ultimately the result was the most important thing and the win was vital.
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Surprised people were flat. I was elated. Such a big win.
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Surprised people were flat. I was elated. Such a big win.
I'm elaflated. Elated that we got 3 points, but deflated about the real lack of quality we've got in midfield. Jan can't come soon enough for me.
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Surprised people were flat. I was elated. Such a big win.
I'm elaflated. Elated that we got 3 points, but deflated about the real lack of quality we've got in midfield. Jan can't come soon enough for me.
Yep, but ireland has to start. As with any young players, they may have the talent but the decision making at times was poor. How many times was a simple ball on but they tried the Hollywood ball up to the front 2? That may have been down to PL tactics too though. I would still drop Hollman and/or Bannan.
Is anyone in the treatment room going to be fit for Sat?
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Surprised people were flat. I was elated. Such a big win.
I'm elaflated. Elated that we got 3 points, but deflated about the real lack of quality we've got in midfield. Jan can't come soon enough for me.
Yep, but ireland has to start. As with any young players, they may have the talent but the decision making at times was poor. How many times was a simple ball on but they tried the Hollywood ball up to the front 2? That may have been down to PL tactics too though. I would still drop Hollman and/or Bannan.
Is anyone in the treatment room going to be fit for Sat?
Ireland came on and looked lively. So did Holman on Saturday.
We've got lots of players who look good for half an hour when the opposition are tired, but when they get the start they flatter to deceive.
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Bannan made too many mistakes early on. Mainly trying to pass the ball out of our own box. Sometimes the big smash down field is needed.
We need a real ball winner along side Ireland and Westwood IMO.
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The point about us beating Reading and Sunderland is a good one. Getting points against the bottom six is our route to getting up the table. It's an easy 36 points and if we can get 25-30 points from these fixtures it makes things so much easier.
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Another concern was that Baker and Lichaj and to an extent Clark's distribution was fucking terrible. We can't afford that from 3 of the back 4. They should not be hoofing it, and it's notable that our couple of good chances came from the ball being on the deck.
We desperately need experienced quality in January or we're fucked. Ireland must play and Bent must be in the squad.
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Huge sigh of relief at the win. Reading were utter dross. The frightening thing was we aren't far behind. Great delivery from Westwood for the goal.
Bannan was so frustrating last night. There were some wonderful passes going on. He would open up the defence and just ping a pass through. But for every great pass there were just as many wasted and shocking ones too. Ireland coming on for me really changed the dynamics of the midfield. Great movement and vision for some of his passes.
Weimann had a shocker too. His first touch was pub player quality last night. The trouble I think at the moment is playing our three strikers all at the same time and not having bent as a sub doesn't give us options off the bench
If bent isn't to play for us again any time soon then N'Zogbia can't come back quick enough. Having him start and maybe weimann on the bench gives us that option of changing tactics.
Glad we won, much needed result. But it wasn't a convincing win against a weak and poor reading side.
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
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I prefered it when we had Big Ron or Sir Graham as manager you knew you could be in for some excitement both home and away.
But those days are far gone. We have a Chairman who makes less appearances than Howard Hughes and a manager who believes in the work ethic totally rather like Howard Wilkinson did and sod the skill.
All well and good if it works...but if it doesnt?
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I prefered it when we had Big Ron or Sir Graham as manager you knew you could be in for some excitement both home and away.
But those days are far gone. We have a Chairman who makes less appearances than Howard Hughes and a manager who believes in the work ethic totally rather like Howard Wilkinson and sod the skill.
All well and good if it works...but if it doesnt?
I loved the good old days too Ron, but I remember watching some shit in front of 16000 during those days as well, and not being able to score a goal for about 6 months in Ron's first year.
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I prefered it when we had Big Ron or Sir Graham as manager you knew you could be in for some excitement both home and away.
But those days are far gone. We have a Chairman who makes less appearances than Howard Hughes and a manager who believes in the work ethic totally rather like Howard Wilkinson and sod the skill.
All well and good if it works...but if it doesnt?
I loved the good old days too Ron, but I remember watching some shit in front of 16000 during those days as well, and not being able to score a goal for about 6 months in Ron's first year.
Yep and the Holte End singing ''we'll score again'' to Vera Lynn. I'm sure Mr Woodhall will confirm exactly how many games we went without scoring, but it was quite a few and I remember it becoming a running joke with the press.
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I prefered it when we had Big Ron or Sir Graham as manager you knew you could be in for some excitement both home and away.
But those days are far gone. We have a Chairman who makes less appearances than Howard Hughes and a manager who believes in the work ethic totally rather like Howard Wilkinson and sod the skill.
All well and good if it works...but if it doesnt?
I loved the good old days too Ron, but I remember watching some shit in front of 16000 during those days as well, and not being able to score a goal for about 6 months in Ron's first year.
Yep and the Holte End singing ''we'll score again'' to Vera Lynn. I'm sure Mr Woodhall will confirm exactly how many games we went without scoring, but it was quite a few and I remember it becoming a running joke with the press.
And the green sand!
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
Yes, which is lovely but we played fucking shite.
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I thought Bannan aside, we had a hard working team, that never gave up. Centre backs played well against tough opposition. We have to remember that Reading saw this as a winnable game, and how many saves did Guzan make? And I thought Roberts was a nightmare to mark last night. Midfield worked well, and Benteke and Gabby gave good outlets. I thought Wiemann was a little unlucky not to score. Great win in terms of what it does for confidence, two clean sheets, and builing a record. thats what counts. beat the team in front of you. I thought we were much better in terms of quality against United, and ended with nothing. Well done Villa. And Westwood is our best player now over the past four games
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
Yes, which is lovely but we played fucking shite.
I've seen worse, from better sides.
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Would be great if Albrighton could go out on loan to somewhere like Derby or Forest for a few months, to see if he can get some confidence back. There's a good player in there somewhere. He's only going to improve if he gets a regular starting place though and we can't afford to do that in our position.
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Interesting stats there, PeterWithesShin, I think they back up the case for Bannan not having the awful match some here and in the stadium would claim.
Have to say I was surprised, if not shocked, by the crowd's reaction to every misplaced pass/decision to turn and hold onto the ball etc.
BB was my MOTM for the first half (perhaps along with Holman): his game seemed to tail away through the game (not helped by Roberts' forearm smash midway through the 2nd half).
EDIT: okay, I forgot about his attmept at dribbling out of his own box which nearly resulted in a goal for Reading. However, he learned from that and cleared his lines well the next time!
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BB that thought he was playing for Reading for the first half? That BB? The crowds reaction was not shocking, as they gave him time, but as you rightly said "every misplaced pass, decision to turn etc", because thay were pretty much all wrong, certainly at pressure points (either on the break, or when Reading were pressing. He may well have hit accurate passes when he wasnt under pressure, but even Marc can do that
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We have all seen we can pass the ball well, yet we stop passing when a few passes go wrong and the crowd get on their back. They look shot of confidence when something does come off for them. I remember a while back when Brendan Rogers, whilst at Swansea, commented something on the lines of how he didn't mind players losing the ball if they were trying to pass the ball - but our fans are nothing like Brendan Rogers. So what if a pass goes astray, give them a chance, don't get on their backs after 1 or 2 mistakes, encourage them to keep trying, because they've shown they can do it.
As we stopped passing it, we hoofed it many a time to Benteke and hoped something would come of it (he seemed like he was everywhere tonight and deserved his MOM award).
Westwood and, particularly, Bannan, came in for some stick last night when some passes went a bit wrong. When they make a good pass, nobody is shouting out loud what a good pass it is.
Having said that, when Albrighton blasted a cross over the bar, I did call him a useless ****** and a Championship player at best, but he's shown this for the last 2/3 seasons, so I'm exempting myself from my own critisicm of the fans here ;-)
Need to do better, need to be more confident.
I can imagine with PL's Norwich, having come from where they were (Division 1), they were much more prepared to let their team play and make mistakes, but unfortunately PL won't get that here, but then we are in a totally different position to where he took on the Norwich job.
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
Yes, which is lovely but we played fucking shite.
IMO, the result was far more important than the performance last night.
What would it have been like had we ripped them apart and lost 1-0?
Reading came not to lose and frustrated us, they very nearly succeeded against a very young, inexperienced team.
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A few observations:-
That was the first time this season we've played poorly and managed to get a positive result. There have been plenty of times (Man Utd and Newcastle immediately spring to mind) where we've played well and deserved more, so I'm not going to get too down about the overall performance.
Is it me or is Bannan becoming a PL 'favourite'? All managers have them and he had a stinker last night and I still can't believe he stayed on the pitch when we made that double substitution. I also noticed his set peices were awful and we waited too long to switch Westwood onto corners and guess what happened when we did?
Over the last 5 games we've picked up 7 points and kept 3 clean sheets. When you factor in that the only goals against and losses came against the top 2, then it does look like our form has picked up.
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That had occured to me too, which is why I'm not too concerned about the performance. We've played well this season and not won, last night we played poorly and won. You need to be able to get results when you're not on top form and we managed that. There are much better performances in the tank. However Ireland and Bent should be involved.
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We have all seen we can pass the ball well, yet we stop passing when a few passes go wrong and
I can imagine with PL's Norwich, having come from where they were (Division 1), they were much more prepared to let their team play and make mistakes, but unfortunately PL won't get that here, but then we are in a totally different position to where he took on the Norwich job.
Quite right, the dynamics of a bigger club on a downward slope, trying to stay safe are totally different from a newly promoted one doing the same.
In terms of the crowd, I thought it sounded supportive last night. Sure, there were times when they'd get on players backs if they misplaced passes, but lets not forget, this is a crowd which had seen their team win twice in very nearly a year.
The days of 60,000 people packed into a ground, sucking the ball into the net with their support are over, football has changed.
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Bannan's corners were pretty good at times and had Clark and Baker been a fraction closer with a couple of them could have resulted in a goal or two. But his overall play was hit and miss. That's what you get with Bannan though. I like his attitude in that he won't let it get to him too much and will keep plugging away.
But I'd go with Ireland, Westwood and one of Delph or KEA against QPR personally.
It's a shame Gardner and Johnson are injured because they would be featuring too and would do well in Lambert's system.
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Where is N'Zog?
Who gives a fuck?
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Cracking stuff
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Bannan's corners were pretty good at times and had Clark and Baker been a fraction closer with a couple of them could have resulted in a goal or two. But his overall play was hit and miss. That's what you get with Bannan though. I like his attitude in that he won't let it get to him too much and will keep plugging away.
But I'd go with Ireland, Westwood and one of Delph or KEA against QPR personally.
It's a shame Gardner and Johnson are injured because they would be featuring too and would do well in Lambert's system.
Bannan did lose possession on several occasions but to be fair to him he is always looking to create rather than pass for the sake of passing. I don't mind that at all. In my opinion Ireland coming on really improved us last night as he brought some craft to accompany the graft.
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Bannan was hit and miss, he wasn't awful. The crowd tends to over emphasise the importance of him losing out in a 50/50. I'm not saying he wasn't frustrating, but he also set up some good chances with forward passes to Benteke and Ireland. He's offered more than delph and kea for sure. It's working we'll with him and Westwood. They're going to make mistakes here and there but overall that partnership has been a success. I concentrate more on getting the triumvirate in front of them right. I'm not sure it's suitable for all our games. Nzogbia and Ireland have to come into the reckoning, potentially with a new signing
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
Yes, which is lovely but we played fucking shite.
I recorded the game (because I can never watch properly the first time, too nervous and/or distracted by match threads!), and have watched it through this morning. It really wasn't that bad, plenty of promising forward moves spoilt by one bad pass, plenty of chances spurned by Benteke and Weimann and solid defence in the main. We were very nervous though.
It wasn't pretty and the frustration caused by the misplaced passes was what caused such a furore on the match thread I reckon, but there's plenty to work on in such a young side.
The two previous games showed we can play decent football, we just need to put the decent football and the result together in one go! It'll come, I'm convinced of it.
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Was that our first league goal from a corner since about 1994?
I know Lowton's goal earlier this season could have been one, but didn't his ping around a bit before coming to him to hit?
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I honestly can't believe some of the shite I've read on this board this morning.
I went last night, and came home happy seeing a very young side get a vital win under pressure, yet because we didn't rip apart a team one place below us we're going to hell in a handcart and the manager doesn't know what he's doing because he didn't pick someone who by conventional wisdom should play.
We fucking won.
Yes, which is lovely but we played fucking shite.
I recorded the game (because I can never watch properly the first time, too nervous and/or distracted by match threads!), and have watched it through this morning. It really wasn't that bad, plenty of promising forward moves spoilt by one bad pass, plenty of chances spurned by Benteke and Weimann and solid defence in the main. We were very nervous though.
It wasn't pretty and the frustration caused by the misplaced passes was what caused such a furore on the match thread I reckon, but there's plenty to work on in such a young side.
The two previous games showed we can play decent football, we just need to put the decent football and the result together in one go! It'll come, I'm convinced of it.
We need a little more composure and a bit more quality with the final pass.
Every game Weimann carries the ball forward on a break and holds onto it a little too long.
Decisions like that will come with experience.
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Bannan was poor yesterday but he was still better than Delph's last two performances. And everyone has poor games from time to time, I thought the crowd's reaction was a touch OTT.
Anyway, against United and Arsenal we put in good performances and didn't win. Yesterday we put in a poor one and won - the luck finally went our way. Our most consistent players are at either end of the pitch: Guzan takes just so much pressure off the defence all the time with his catching (put Given in that team yesterday and we might have lost), and Benteke is a real gem. There was a lot of huff-and-puff and not much calm yesterday. For every good thing Bannan did he did one or two pretty shocking things, Westwood didn't look as unrufflable as usual, and though both centre backs were individually fine we missed Vlaar's experience at the back.
In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
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It may be worth noting that the high energy game we played against Arsenal probably took a bit more out of inexperienced teams legs than Reading's game did against Wigan. We struggled to find rhythm and any sort of tempo and made Reading look a bit more composed than us. That leads to mistakes - its also where we would have been crying out for a Petrov. A wise, experienced head in midfield knowing when to break, when to hold, when to calm things down when things aren't going as planned.
Yes, we were poor last night. Of that I don't think anyone can doubt but to get the win was vital. It allows the players to get some rest in their legs with a little bit more of a positive outlook.
I think we're being a little bit unfair to Bannan also. Since Sunderland away him and Westwood have been two of our better performers. Yes, he didn't do particulalrly well last night but his corners were always on the money and at least he didn't hide. Again, he, and we, just needed a calm head next to him. Whether on the pitch or not, ireland isn't that player.
Not crticising Lambert but at half-time I would have changed our formation. Gone to the now much derided 4-4-2 and push someone (Gabby) closer to Benteke. Morrison was winning just about everything in the air and we had resorted to hoofing it every time. Although to be fair, it wasn't a hoof, as they were good balls up to him. he rarely won a harder, or made the ball stick though. having another option up there would have been useful. I would have also taken Holman off for Albrighton, though, and watching the second-half progress, in hindsight I don't know if that would have worked.
Also, what the f*ck have the injury Gods got against our left-backs this season. Feel for Stevens as he's looked good when I've seen him. Thought Lichaj was okay but he pushed too far up and we were left with 2 against two far too often.
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
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It may be worth noting that the high energy game we played against Arsenal probably took a bit more out of inexperienced teams legs than Reading's game did against Wigan. We struggled to find rhythm and any sort of tempo and made Reading look a bit more composed than us. That leads to mistakes - its also where we would have been crying out for a Petrov. A wise, experienced head in midfield knowing when to break, when to hold, when to calm things down when things aren't going as planned.
Yes, we were poor last night. Of that I don't think anyone can doubt but to get the win was vital. It allows the players to get some rest in their legs with a little bit more of a positive outlook.
I think we're being a little bit unfair to Bannan also. Since Sunderland away him and Westwood have been two of our better performers. Yes, he didn't do particulalrly well last night but his corners were always on the money and at least he didn't hide. Again, he, and we, just needed a calm head next to him. Whether on the pitch or not, ireland isn't that player.
Not crticising Lambert but at half-time I would have changed our formation. Gone to the now much derided 4-4-2 and push someone (Gabby) closer to Benteke. Morrison was winning just about everything in the air and we had resorted to hoofing it every time. Although to be fair, it wasn't a hoof, as they were good balls up to him. he rarely won a harder, or made the ball stick though. having another option up there would have been useful. I would have also taken Holman off for Albrighton, though, and watching the second-half progress, in hindsight I don't know if that would have worked.
Also, what the f*ck have the injury Gods got against our left-backs this season. Feel for Stevens as he's looked good when I've seen him. Thought Lichaj was okay but he pushed too far up and we were left with 2 against two far too often.
Exactly this, the players had just two full days off between last night and Arsenal game in which they ran their socks off so they probably weren't completely recovered. The tiredness probably got some players thinking "How well we're gonna play since we're not 100% and we must win!", also due being not completely recovered it probably took it's toll on the sharpness of the mind (like Bannan, Weimann and Benteke who all obviously weren't at their best physically and mentally).
People should get some fookin' perspective, we've had three very tough games in a row, and just two days off after the last of those so it's no wonder that playing was nervous and a bit sloppy.
Although gotta say that Ireland should've started even though Holman didn't play badly, I think it'd be a good experiment to play Holman deeper with Westwood and play Ireland in front of them.
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I'm not sure why some people are so grumpy. We faded after a bright start but kept at it, got the result and kept another clean sheet on a night when the result was the most important thing.
Were you really expecting a new manager with a new team, few of who have experience in this league, to be turning it on for 90 minutes every game? It's a big learning curve for all of them and I'm encouraged by what I am seeing.
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It may be worth noting that the high energy game we played against Arsenal probably took a bit more out of inexperienced teams legs than Reading's game did against Wigan. We struggled to find rhythm and any sort of tempo and made Reading look a bit more composed than us. That leads to mistakes - its also where we would have been crying out for a Petrov. A wise, experienced head in midfield knowing when to break, when to hold, when to calm things down when things aren't going as planned.
Yes, we were poor last night. Of that I don't think anyone can doubt but to get the win was vital. It allows the players to get some rest in their legs with a little bit more of a positive outlook.
I think we're being a little bit unfair to Bannan also. Since Sunderland away him and Westwood have been two of our better performers. Yes, he didn't do particulalrly well last night but his corners were always on the money and at least he didn't hide. Again, he, and we, just needed a calm head next to him. Whether on the pitch or not, ireland isn't that player.
Not crticising Lambert but at half-time I would have changed our formation. Gone to the now much derided 4-4-2 and push someone (Gabby) closer to Benteke. Morrison was winning just about everything in the air and we had resorted to hoofing it every time. Although to be fair, it wasn't a hoof, as they were good balls up to him. he rarely won a harder, or made the ball stick though. having another option up there would have been useful. I would have also taken Holman off for Albrighton, though, and watching the second-half progress, in hindsight I don't know if that would have worked.
Also, what the f*ck have the injury Gods got against our left-backs this season. Feel for Stevens as he's looked good when I've seen him. Thought Lichaj was okay but he pushed too far up and we were left with 2 against two far too often.
Exactly this, the players had just two full days off between last night and Arsenal game in which they ran their socks off so they probably weren't completely recovered. The tiredness probably got some players thinking "How well we're gonna play since we're not 100% and we must win!", also due being not completely recovered it probably took it's toll on the sharpness of the mind (like Bannan, Weimann and Benteke who all obviously weren't at their best physically and mentally).
People should get some fookin' perspective, we've had three very tough games in a row, and just two days off after the last of those so it's no wonder that playing was nervous and a bit sloppy.
Although gotta say that Ireland should've started even though Holman didn't play badly, I think it'd be a good experiment to play Holman deeper with Westwood and play Ireland in front of them.
Agree on the energy levels having played Arsenal (late) on Saturday evening. Even a few hours can make a difference to fitness levels these days. Also, why do we play on Tuesday nights? Surely that extra 24 hours would be beneficial to energy and fitness levels - who knows, Vlaar may have made it if the game was tonight. One of the reasons for the low crowd was the fact we've had 2 televised games in 72 hours which is hard on people's pockets in these austere times. Why can't the fixtures be home, away, home away instead of these stupid 2 home games or away games together?- surely it's not rocket science!
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
That's not what I was saying, but fair enough if it came across that way. What I meant was that there are some people who's default word appears to be 'but': the performance was good 'but' we lost; we won 'but' the performance was poor. There's a determined-to-be-miserable streak, and its criteria are inconsistent.
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Indeed ideally you want a combination of both, a la Swansea. In the long run it's good performances that will lead to consistently good results.
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I also thought Roberts was best player on pitch, why wasn't Ireland playing. I'm just relieved
I hope it wasn't down your trouser leg!
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Indeed ideally you want a combination of both, a la Swansea. In the long run it's good performances that will lead to consistently good results.
Key phrase being 'in the long run', this lot have been together for 5 minutes.
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Indeed ideally you want a combination of both, a la Swansea. In the long run it's good performances that will lead to consistently good results.
Key phrase being 'in the long run', this lot have been together for 5 minutes.
Problem is we may not have 'the long run'
Although I am happy with last nights result there was nothing that really left me feelling like we have turned a corner and will start to climb out of trouble.
We laboured against a very very poor Reading we strugle to convert the few really good chances we get and look like we could concede against a concerted attack.
Had Reading been a slightly better side then there is a huge chance we would have lost, I hope things will get better I am just concerned that we are still too weak in the midfield and dodgy at times going backwards.
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Was that our first league goal from a corner since about 1994?
I know Lowton's goal earlier this season could have been one, but didn't his ping around a bit before coming to him to hit?
Wasn't the goal against WBA as a result of a corner? From the corner it went back out wide for another cross and Bent scored - am I right? Does that count?
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I notice Reading have lost 1-0 away to West Brom and Liverpool this season, too, and they beat Everton at home 2-1 a couple of week's ago. Looking at their other results, no team has actually gone out and given them a thrashing this season which would suggest they are a solid enough outfit set up not to get beaten.
Given the circumstances, this was a very good result for us. Some folk say the sign of a good team is that it will get a win even when not firing on all cylinders and that's exactly what we managed to do last night.
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I'm pleased with another clean sheet and we got the win just hope we play better against QPR I would also start with Ireland.
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I notice Reading have lost 1-0 away to West Brom and Liverpool this season, too, and they beat Everton at home 2-1 a couple of week's ago. Looking at their other results, no team has actually gone out and given them a thrashing this season which would suggest they are a solid enough outfit set up not to get beaten.
Given the circumstances, this was a very good result for us. Some folk say the sign of a good team is that it will get a win even when not firing on all cylinders and that's exactly what we managed to do last night.
It's true, I think I'm right in saying they haven't lost by more than the odd goal all season? As much as we really needed to win last night and anything else would have been unacceptable, it was never going to be easy.
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Spot on Paulie
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Spot on Paulie
Still not what I was saying though. I know the performance yesterday was pish. My point was directed at miseryarses, not at people criticising the performance.
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I notice Reading have lost 1-0 away to West Brom and Liverpool this season, too, and they beat Everton at home 2-1 a couple of week's ago. Looking at their other results, no team has actually gone out and given them a thrashing this season which would suggest they are a solid enough outfit set up not to get beaten.
Given the circumstances, this was a very good result for us. Some folk say the sign of a good team is that it will get a win even when not firing on all cylinders and that's exactly what we managed to do last night.
It's true, I think I'm right in saying they haven't lost by more than the odd goal all season? As much as we really needed to win last night and anything else would have been unacceptable, it was never going to be easy.
Chelsea (a) 2-4 and 1-3 v Spurs (h) are their only defeats in the league by more than 1 goal. And the 7-5 v Arsenal in the LC.
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I notice Reading have lost 1-0 away to West Brom and Liverpool this season, too, and they beat Everton at home 2-1 a couple of week's ago. Looking at their other results, no team has actually gone out and given them a thrashing this season which would suggest they are a solid enough outfit set up not to get beaten.
Given the circumstances, this was a very good result for us. Some folk say the sign of a good team is that it will get a win even when not firing on all cylinders and that's exactly what we managed to do last night.
It's true, I think I'm right in saying they haven't lost by more than the odd goal all season? As much as we really needed to win last night and anything else would have been unacceptable, it was never going to be easy.
Chelsea (a) 2-4 and 1-3 v Spurs (h) are their only defeats in the league by more than 1 goal. And the 7-5 v Arsenal in the LC.
That's it. They played pretty well in those three games as well, especially the Chelsea one (the Arsenal tennis set was farcical).
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I think a lot of the problem lies with the fact that "It's only Reading". Well in all fairness we've played all three of the promoted sides and we've lost to two of them. A lot of teams will be looking at a fixture with us and thinking there are three points to be won. Personally I think we had enough clear chances to have won 3-0 last night and then the performance would've been heralded. Our finishing wasn't up to scratch and the pressure told on the young players as the game wore on at 0-0. Positives being unbeaten in two, back to back clean sheets and a goal for Benteke.
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Spot on Paulie
Still not what I was saying though. I know the performance yesterday was pish. My point was directed at miseryarses, not at people criticising the performance.
Hmmm
*wink*
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In conclusion, thank fuck we won. All the people complaining about the performance - after the United game, YOU were the people refusing to take any positives from the performance, insisting that the result was all that matters. You should be happy now then.
in fairness, that's nonsense.
There were plenty of us who thought last nights performance was poor but saw positives in not just the Man U game, but lots of other games, too.
It's not some Lord of the Flies arrangement with two opposing camps, style v results.
Spot on Paulie
Still not what I was saying though. I know the performance yesterday was pish. My point was directed at miseryarses, not at people criticising the performance.
Hmmm
*wink*
It made sense in context! Honest guv!
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Ha ha, fair enough!
(I hadn't read your reply on the previous page, either, in fairness)
I think, generally speaking, we did well considering how many kids we had last night. Average age 23, youngest starting XI we've ever sent out in the PL etc etc, they were always going to be somewhat nervy, which didn't help.
It was a poor performance, but as mentioned, there have been plenty of indicators this season that progress is being made. I imagine the likes of Enda Stevens learn a bit from every match at this point in their careers.
My only concern is that the weakness of the squad means a possible over-reliance on young players, which risks being detrimental both for the club and the players, and that the progress we make is going to be "drowned out" by poor results and a spiral of doom.
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On the flip side it could be the making of them as well. A sense of 'in this all together' and growing in ability and confidence as a group.
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The point about depth is a valid one, and there also isn't a huge amount of variety in the squad at the moment either. We essentially have about one type of midfielder, and we need a bit more in there.
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result was all important - Performance pretty average but on the plus side another clean sheet thats 3 from the last 5
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I thought bannan's corners were very good last night. We should have scored twice from them. He was a bit enfuriating, but he was progressive in his passing. He's certainly playing several levels above albrighton. I'd love it if albrighton could come roaring back but I suspect he's finished at tha level. I just don't see what qualities he really has, now that the surprise factor has gone and he no longer seems able to cross.
I agree with Bannan - some good passes/corners but obviously the crowd focuses on his stray passes which put us under pressure. Not sure why he was playing so deep either as he offers nothing defensively.
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
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Delighted with the win.
Its pretty ironic that the game in which we play our poorest out of the past 5, is the second one we win. We were miles off how we played at Sunderland, against Man United, the first half at City and against Arsenal.
After some very nice play in the first ten minutes, the game bogged down into what a lot have described as, and I would agree, a very scrappy affair.
Reading defend really well. They tuck their full backs in, squeeze the space between midfield and their back four and make it difficult.
That said, we created quite a bit. Baker and Clarke went very close from a couple of corners and I thought Weiman should have buried his chance.
Finally a goal from a corner! Excellent delivery from Westwood.
Beneteke was once again excellent.
We desperately need an inside forward and I think Ireland has to start. He’s not the answer, but he does show for the ball and offers a bit of something extra. We say it every week, but the spine needs to be strengthened, with a centre half and a huge central midfielder.
I think perhaps the reason for the poor display is that for the first time in a long time, we were favourites to win a game and that is a new pressure for some of our youngsters.
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
I think we will need to scrap for every single point. We are 17th and I think opposition fans will look at us and think "It's only Villa"
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
I certainly don’t buy into this ‘only Reading’ stuff. Many of the teams that go down do so as they can’t scrap for points among the teams in a similar position. Yes the game was awful, but we won and got 3 vital points. Do that again against similar opposition and we can believe that we can scrape our way out of this.
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We have played better and got nothing, and we do need the points.So I am happy, and these points mean a bit more as they are taken from one of our rivals for staying up (for now)
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
I think we will need to scrap for every single point. We are 17th and I think opposition fans will look at us and think "It's only Villa"
One point off Newcastle.
There are a lot of poor sides in this league.
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
I think we will need to scrap for every single point. We are 17th and I think opposition fans will look at us and think "It's only Villa"
One point off Newcastle.
There are a lot of poor sides in this league.
Yep, we have to be the best of the rest and not look at anyone as being inferior.
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I notice Reading have lost 1-0 away to West Brom and Liverpool this season, too, and they beat Everton at home 2-1 a couple of week's ago. Looking at their other results, no team has actually gone out and given them a thrashing this season which would suggest they are a solid enough outfit set up not to get beaten.
Given the circumstances, this was a very good result for us. Some folk say the sign of a good team is that it will get a win even when not firing on all cylinders and that's exactly what we managed to do last night.
It's true, I think I'm right in saying they haven't lost by more than the odd goal all season? As much as we really needed to win last night and anything else would have been unacceptable, it was never going to be easy.
They lost to Chelsea and Tottenham by a couple of goals in the early part of the season. From then onwards they seem to have worked on tightening things up. Like I say, taking everything into consideration, fair play to the lads for getting that win.
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I still think these lads will get better and better...
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go
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Nerves must have played a big part in last night's game for the kids as this was a game we needed to win, the pressure was on the team for the first time and they came through.
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The other thing about it being 'only Reading' is that this is the sort of team many of us thought we wouldn't have the bottle to beat in a relegation scrap. It's early days but I think we are seeing that this side will scrap for points when they need to.
I certainly don’t buy into this ‘only Reading’ stuff. Many of the teams that go down do so as they can’t scrap for points among the teams in a similar position. Yes the game was awful, but we won and got 3 vital points. Do that again against similar opposition and we can believe that we can scrape our way out of this.
If you are going to get relegated, it is the games against the poor teams that you fail to win that do it, not the ones you're expecting nothing from.
You're right, beating similar opposition again would also give us the leeway and, crucially, confidence to carry on building without looking over our shoulder too much.
So long as we don't go down, the strides made in building the club are way, way more important than whether we finish 10th or 15th.
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I think what's needed is confidence, there has been a low factor at the club results wise and if we could win at qpr and beat stoke next week lifting ourselves up towards mid table I think the players would play with more freedom and less pressure - the next 2 games could be the the impetus to kick our season onwards and see a real improvement .
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In a season where many of us predicted ups and downs, this was a down with an up ending. If that makes any sense at all.
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Delighted with the win.
Its pretty ironic that the game in which we play our poorest out of the past 5, is the second one we win. We were miles off how we played at Sunderland, against Man United, the first half at City and against Arsenal.
After some very nice play in the first ten minutes, the game bogged down into what a lot have described as, and I would agree, a very scrappy affair.
Reading defend really well. They tuck their full backs in, squeeze the space between midfield and their back four and make it difficult.
That said, we created quite a bit. Baker and Clarke went very close from a couple of corners and I thought Weiman should have buried his chance.
Finally a goal from a corner! Excellent delivery from Westwood.
Beneteke was once again excellent.
We desperately need an inside forward and I think Ireland has to start. He’s not the answer, but he does show for the ball and offers a bit of something extra. We say it every week, but the spine needs to be strengthened, with a centre half and a huge central midfielder.
I think perhaps the reason for the poor display is that for the first time in a long time, we were favourites to win a game and that is a new pressure for some of our youngsters.
Summed up perfectly, Ads.
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Any news on Enda Stevens?
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I still think these lads will get better and better...
Here we go
Here we go
Here we go
I know we won but there is no need to sing the national anthem.
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3 points up for grabs and we got them. Not a good game, but it was never going to be.
3 points ladies and gents. Saturday is now a massive game, again. If we can win that then confidence will start to rise and it could be a different picture by Christmas. UTV.
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Hope it's OK for me to move this to the Match Threads and Player Ratings section of H&V. If not, please PM me.