Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Nastylee on January 13, 2013, 12:32:18 PM
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There are other threads discussing the state of the club but I wanted to give my observations on the playing side. I have seen a lot of the team during the horrendous run and my views are as follows:
1) the dynamic of the team just isn't right. PL sets his teams up far too narrow meaning our inexperienced full backs are exposed far too often. It's been bordering on laughable how average teams such as Wigan, Bradford and Southampton have opened us up, seemingly at will at times. Why does he insist on this shape when it doesn't shore us up or assist with the goals for column?
2) AMc got stick last season for dour football but ultimately kept us safe and some could argue that had it not been for injuries to key personnel then we would have been much higher up the table. Some fans try to convince us that we're much more attractive this season but ultimately this is a results business and we are failing miserably. There's no doubt we are in a scrap so it it time to play differently? Do we need to start playing the ugly way to pick up points?
3) the experienced v inexperienced debate: some say we need guidance while PL points out that experience didn't help us last season. I believe in quality and we've lacked that in key areas for the past few seasons, age isn't really the factor. PL has probably tried to change thd ethos too quickly and by ostricising senior players he's not helped and burned bridges. People point to the Norwich model, but PL was able to mould a young team out of the spotlight in the lower leagues. They got used to winning and were used to playing with each other by the time they made the Premier league. We, on the other hand are trying to build one of the most unforgiving leagues and it's killing us. The strategy was right but the timing of its implementation has been wide of the mark.
In conclusion, we are in trouble but not cut off. We still can escape but something needs to change. Either RL helps us raise the quality of players or PL needs to admit things haven't worked and change his approach. Can you see either happening? If we continue as we are then there's no doubt relegation is a real possibility.
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Much easier to ask what's right with it to be honest , I would like to reply but I'm having dinner in 4 hours so have not got time .
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They panic in the final third. That's the main problem. They do play some very neat stuff in the middle third, and fashion some good chances to create chances (if that makes any sense), but there's clearly no confidence there, and the result is tentative, unimaginative stage-fright, and the final ball is almost always wrong.
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We play Narrow in midfield and expect FB to get forward problem is we lose ball and they left out of position.
We could do with better players for sure but they are set up and organized wrong
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We play Narrow in midfield and expect FB to get forward problem is we lose ball and they left out of position.
We could do with better players for sure but they are set up and organized wrong
You're so right about the full-backs. Time and time again we're exposed down our left hand side, and Lowton actually doesn't get forward that much on the right and we're clearly lacking variety.
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Everything. On and off the field.
Other than that, we're fine.
;D
No one seems to have any idea what they're doing on the pitch. There's no leadership on it, no organisation and there doesn't appear to be much in the way of game plan coming from Lambert. Our backline is ridiculous. Worst attack, worst defence. Poorest goal difference. That says it all really.
We want to pass it, or at least Lambert wants us to play that way long term. It doesn't always work out like that and aside from 2-3 teams who play more directly, like Stoke, every other team is trying to play the ball on the deck, and most of them are doing it far better than we are.
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No width. No experience. No leadership.
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We don't come out the blocks very quickly, we never take the game to the opposition from the whistle and seem to get hemmed back almost straight away.
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It's confidence. It's confidence that each of them have ability, and confidence in that ability that they are good enough to attack and confidence that in the face of adversity they can come back. The lack of experienced players in the side or squad that have strong personalities, or with a winning background compounds things. Under Houllier he at least had quality and leadership to draw upon. Under TSM there was less, and under Lambert there's almost none, and those who he could draw on have been unavailable or uninspiring.
Lambert knows that if he only brings in one or two they have to be the type of player to instill confidence in those around him. Won't be easy to find because those players aren't cheap
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Tactical discipline. We're not playing with any width, we can't man mark, the back four don't know when to drop off and get pulled out of position too easily, the wingers don't help the full backs, the full backs don't help the wingers, the midfield play too deep with no defensive shield. Blah, blah, blah...
What upsets me, really really upsets me is that with a bit of formation, tactical and personal direction we could address all of these things with our current team, sure they aren't the greatest but at the very least we'd be harder to break down, not concede as many and maybe just maybe at the very least turn those loses into draws.
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The other teams have better players than ours .
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We're particularly weak along our left side and championship standard across the rest of it. Some of the players aren't good enough for a club the size of Villa and the rest are low on confidence and form. Add to that we're unlucky like struggling sides always seem to be.
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I went with a Blackpool fan yesterday and the thing that struck him most was the lack of movement off the ball. It was apparent to both of us that players are hiding and don't want the ball, if someone gets in trouble in possession no-one helps them out, gives them a short option or a long ball down the line. No-one moves off the ball, players just stand there and seemingly hope they don't get it, even from throw-ins in attacking positions.
Maybe they are low on confidence but for goodness sake it was Southampton at home, not Barca. We also don't move the ball quickly enough, a couple of times Bannan was in acres of space in a dangerous position, the crowd were screaming for us to get it wide, but by the time we realised it the full back moved across to cover.
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No width. No experience. No leadership.
Says nearly all of it for me. I think we've been a little unlucky in terms of injuries to key players and PL been too stubborn to play players like Bent and Warnock who we need right now. Benteke should have had 7 altogether with Bradford and Southampton and thats not PL's fault. Utter inept defending and attacking from set pieces is though
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It's crap, case closed.
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The frustrating thing is hat it could be fixed, but it won't be. I don't subscribe to the theory that Lerner's business plan is to get us relegated but he will stubbornly stick to his plan of reducing costs and hat will see us down. Extremely short sighted given that the cash bonanza coming to PL clubs next year would more than address any cash injection now. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burns - he was mentally unbalanced too.
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3 things -
- Lack of leadership/experience
- Lack of quality
- Tactical naivety.
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No leadership at the top, on the sidelines and on the pitch - simple as that.
One thing I noticed yesterday was that all of the Southampton subs were being warmed up,coached and doing trainining drills at half time. Our lot were half arsedly kicking the ball amongst each other - like a pub team ( I am sure I spotted Peter Kaye at one point).
There is a lack of professionalism within the club - have we got a defence coach for example?
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It's ownership is shit, it's management is shit, it's leadership on the pitch is none existent, and it has a heavy smattering of shit players, and appropriately the whole lot is going down the toilet. We should be playing in brown just to finish the look.
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No leadership at the top, on the sidelines and on the pitch - simple as that.
One thing I noticed yesterday was that all of the Southampton subs were being warmed up,coached and doing trainining drills at half time. Our lot were half arsedly kicking the ball amongst each other - like a pub team ( I am sure I spotted Peter Kaye at one point).
There is a lack of professionalism within the club - have we got a defence coach for example?
Culverhouse was a defender - although a pretty average one.
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I went with a Blackpool fan yesterday and the thing that struck him most was the lack of movement off the ball. It was apparent to both of us that players are hiding and don't want the ball, if someone gets in trouble in possession no-one helps them out, gives them a short option or a long ball down the line. No-one moves off the ball, players just stand there and seemingly hope they don't get it, even from throw-ins in attacking positions.
Maybe they are low on confidence but for goodness sake it was Southampton at home, not Barca. We also don't move the ball quickly enough, a couple of times Bannan was in acres of space in a dangerous position, the crowd were screaming for us to get it wide, but by the time we realised it the full back moved across to cover.
I agree with this. Particularly players not wanting the ball for fear that they will make a mistake. It's why there is so little movement off the ball and it also shows itself in their unwillingness to tackle or at least harass the opposition when they have the ball. Instead they lay off them, scooting backwards several yards in front of the advancing forward, instead of putting pressure on him. Heads dropping after going a goal down, never mind totally capitulating as we have done on more that one occasion. It all adds up to lack of belief in themselves that I fear has reached a point of no return.
Shuffling the pack or changing tactics is not going to alter this. The players need to be motivated to believe that they can beat anyone whoever they are.
Put simply, it is the manager's responsibility to do this.
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No leadership at the top, on the sidelines and on the pitch - simple as that.
One thing I noticed yesterday was that all of the Southampton subs were being warmed up,coached and doing trainining drills at half time. Our lot were half arsedly kicking the ball amongst each other - like a pub team ( I am sure I spotted Peter Kaye at one point).
There is a lack of professionalism within the club - have we got a defence coach for example?
Culverhouse was a defender - although a pretty average one.
It looked like he was having an argument with some fans behind the dugout yesterday.
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The biggest problem is that we dont have a single player to take charge and take responsebility in the midfield to build up the play and urge players to work and hassle. This should've been completely clear for Lambrt in preseason but he didnt do anything about it.
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The most amazing thing of all is how we all can see the problems, here on this thread and on the others covering the same analysis of our downfall and the manager and his staff seem blind to them. Take Barry Bannan for example. He is not a top class player but he can do a job for us. He needs to be told to keep it simple. Just that. Keep it simple. Fabian Deph needs to be told to stop giving away stupid free kicks. Play the game more calmly. Just that. Baker and Clark need to be told to talk to Lowton, Bennett, Stevens and Lichaj. Talk to each other. Bollock each other if they stray out of position and leave acres of space for the opposition. Whoever has the captain's armband has to be told to be constantly communicating with the rest of the team, directing them, encouraging them, organizing them not just occasionally clapping his hands. N'Zogbia needs to be told to stop shooting from stupid positions and not be allowed to take corner kicks.
The list goes on and on but they are all simple, glaring faults which should be able to be remedied instantly by the manager and his coaching staff. The players are either not being told or alternatively refusing to take any notice of what they are being told. Either reason is totally unacceptable.
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The biggest problem is that we dont have a single player to take charge and take responsebility in the midfield to build up the play and urge players to work and hassle. This should've been completely clear for Lambrt in preseason but he didnt do anything about it.
No, he signed a Fabian Delph clone from the Dutch league, another lightweight no mark in a squadfull of midfield lightweight no marks. He didn't do enough defensive re-shaping either, he added several players with no premier league experience to an already atrocious defencive 'roster'. I was reasonably happy at the time with many of the gambles, but it was obvious to anyone that we lacked real proven players who could strengthen the spine of the team. And really, they were the most important signings we needed at the time, and of course still are.
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No width. No experience. No leadership.
that sums it up for me with the addition of no physical or mental strength
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The most amazing thing of all is how we all can see the problems, here on this thread and on the others covering the same analysis of our downfall and the manager and his staff seem blind to them. Take Barry Bannan for example. He is not a top class player but he can do a job for us. He needs to be told to keep it simple. Just that. Keep it simple. Fabian Deph needs to be told to stop giving away stupid free kicks. Play the game more calmly. Just that. Baker and Clark need to be told to talk to Lowton, Bennett, Stevens and Lichaj. Talk to each other. Bollock each other if they stray out of position and leave acres of space for the opposition. Whoever has the captain's armband has to be told to be constantly communicating with the rest of the team, directing them, encouraging them, organizing them not just occasionally clapping his hands. N'Zogbia needs to be told to stop shooting from stupid positions and not be allowed to take corner kicks.
The list goes on and on but they are all simple, glaring faults which should be able to be remedied instantly by the manager and his coaching staff. The players are either not being told or alternatively refusing to take any notice of what they are being told. Either reason is totally unacceptable.
Indeed and it also goes further up the club. It's alarming that most fans can see we are crying out for experience and you can't just throw in a load of untried players in together all at once. However we have done and there doesn't seem to be a realisation from the board or management team that it isn't working.
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The biggest problem is that we dont have a single player to take charge and take responsebility in the midfield to build up the play and urge players to work and hassle. This should've been completely clear for Lambrt in preseason but he didnt do anything about it.
Exactly. What is needed is a Mellberg type player, or two, or three, someone with a bit of experience behind their belts and good leadership qualities. We need to improve defensively, stop making so many sloppy mistakes and end the hoofing of the ball up the pitch - which lets face it, all of our recent opponents have identified as our weakness.
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We have 2 major issues.
The players aren't confident in themselves or the rest of the team. Defensively this means we have a tendancy to back off to the edge of the box and then go completely the other way and get drawn to the ball, mainly to cover each other. On top of that none of them is willing to take command which leads to things like the baker/stevens none clearance before the penalty. The biggest problem this leads to is that we end up with 6 at the back so the only way out is a punt to Benteke. Once that happens the attacking support players all get up closer to him which causes us to be 6-0-4, leaving their midfield with acres to play in. From an attacking point of view we're taking too many touches or trying to overplay it. Check how little space there is when we get the ball into the box, it's generally because we've fannied around with somewhere 'safe' before we put it in the box. The attacking players we have would all look much better with space to break into. Oddly the only one who's trying to do that is Benteke and he's being slated for being caught offside because of it. a lot of the time if the player with the ball was more aware he could put Benteke clean through.
We don't have leaders on the pitch. Clark tries and Weimann is very vocal (too much so at times) but the rest of the team are too quiet. Getting a leader in there to kick them up the arse and get them playing in the right areas is the key to turning things around.
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Oh and our movement off the ball is atrocious, they all just stand there. That's why we're struggling to create.
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We have 2 major issues.
The players aren't confident in themselves or the rest of the team. Defensively this means we have a tendancy to back off to the edge of the box and then go completely the other way and get drawn to the ball, mainly to cover each other. On top of that none of them is willing to take command which leads to things like the baker/stevens none clearance before the penalty. The biggest problem this leads to is that we end up with 6 at the back so the only way out is a punt to Benteke. Once that happens the attacking support players all get up closer to him which causes us to be 6-0-4, leaving their midfield with acres to play in. From an attacking point of view we're taking too many touches or trying to overplay it. Check how little space there is when we get the ball into the box, it's generally because we've fannied around with somewhere 'safe' before we put it in the box. The attacking players we have would all look much better with space to break into. Oddly the only one who's trying to do that is Benteke and he's being slated for being caught offside because of it. a lot of the time if the player with the ball was more aware he could put Benteke clean through.
We don't have leaders on the pitch. Clark tries and Weimann is very vocal (too much so at times) but the rest of the team are too quiet. Getting a leader in there to kick them up the arse and get them playing in the right areas is the key to turning things around.
Thank god we have Vlaar back for the next game who will be leader in the defense but we need replacement for Petrov ASAP.
We might not be out cold yet IF Vlaar and Dunne can instill some foightin' spirit into our players in next three-four league games.
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This thread accurately describes the issues on the pitch. I'd just love to know what's going through the minds of Lambert and team today and what they plan to do to rectify these problems. Furthermore, what do the players think? Are they really only bothered about being paid and don't care about getting us relegated? For once, I'd just love an insight into what they are really thinking because to me it doesn't look like many of them give a shit.
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Another issue is that a lot of these young players have always been in a losing Villa side. Ever since Bannan, Clark and the like have started playing we've lost a lot more often than got any other result. They are conditioned to accept defeat, which is why we can never bounce back.
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Another issue is that a lot of these young players have always been in a losing Villa side. Ever since Bannan, Clark and the like have started playing we've lost a lot more often than got any other result. They are conditioned to accept defeat, which is why we can never bounce back.
That is a very good point.
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A ridiculously disjointed and unbalanced squad;
Younger players, who either lack confidence, experience or talent or a combination of all three. Mixed with overpaid seasoned pros who either cannot be bothered, have been frozen out or are injured.
Lowton, Bennett or Stevens, Clark, Baker or Herd is not a premier league standard defence.
Westwood, Bannan, Delph, Albrighton is not a premier league standard midfield.
Benteke & Weimann probably will be a premier league standard attack given time and support from the rest of the team.
Hutton, Warnock, Dunne are all seasoned premier league defenders who have offered nothing to the team this season, one who has been injured with the others on loan or training with the kids.
Ireland & N'Zogbia supposed flair players on well over £100k a week between them, are offering nothing to the team.
Makoun is never coming back, El Ahmadi & Holman flatter to deceive, Vlaar is injured a lot and we still conceded goals with him in the team.
Petrov is critically ill, and probably our biggest miss this season, and someone should have been brought in to cover his absence.
Bent and Lambert are not working for whatever reason, and he has been injured for most of the season.
Gabby has been injured more this season than most others, he has also flattered to deceive in his time on the pitch, tries really hard for the team, but just does not have the quality.
The scary thing is even with players back from injury I do not think we have a strong enough first 11 to win a sufficient amount of games to stay up.
I cannot remember a worse Villa squad in all my years supporting the club.
Criminal for the money we have spent over the last 6 years.
Everyone at the club from the board down shares a portion of the blame, we are nowhere near good enough at the moment as a premier league side, and if we do go down we will fully deserve it.
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In no particular order
Leadership
Experience
Quality
Tactics
Luck
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Leadership
Experience
Resoluteness
Nous
Endeavour
Robustness
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
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Leadership
Experience
Resoluteness
Nous
Endeavour
Robustness
Clever.
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
Correct - I just hope that Lambert / Lerner see it the same.
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The lack of off-the-ball movement is because only player we have like that is N'Zog. Gabby suits only direct style, Ireland and Bannan are the players who would spread the ball to the players who move around and none of Benteke, Bent and Weimann are not that maybe with exception of Benteke who is alone since Nzog is mostly shit.
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Leadership
Experience
Resoluteness
Nous
Endeavour
Robustness
Clever.
Cunning
Understanding
Nerve
Talent
(Ok not so clever)
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I expect us to sign two or three players by Wednesday. The time is for action now, the club needs to stop fucking around.
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I think part of the problem is the 4 different styles of manager we have had in the last 3 years.
O'Neill brought premier league experienced British players who suited a direct counter attacking style of game, with large wages and purchased a few gems who have since left for greener pastures.
Houiller had one transfer window and broke our transfer record on a poacher who thrives on service, from said gems purchased by O'Neill. He also purchased Jean Makoun a continental lightweight style midfielder who wants loads of time on the ball and cannot tackle for toffee (See Karim El Ahmadi)
McLeish who purchased Given who was 35-36 at the time and gave him a 5 year contract, brought in N'Zogbia (McLeish tried to sign the same player at Blues, who upped his wage demands and the deal never went through, might have seen his temperament at that point) a player who was supposed to replace the departed Ashley Young, never going to happen and Wigan saw us coming and stung us for £10 million. The less said about Alan Hutton the better.
Lambert who went for the young and hungry lower league players route, different to the 3 previous managers and left us with a vicious mixture of four managers ideals and no consistency.
This all stems from the owner having no clear plan in his mind of what the strategy on the football front should be, hoping that this scatter gun approach to managerial appointments would work without destabilising the team. It was never going to happen, and we are now left perilously close to the precipice.
I do not think this would have happened had we had anyone with football experience on the board making decisions.
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No width. No experience. No leadership.
thats about it.
I keep hearing kids all the time , they are not kids. Too many inexperience players at the same time.
They were talking about Zaha today ( £12 million pound player ) , saying he will be a top player for England but would not have the experience of playing in the Prem yet , but we throw in the likes of Stevens , Bennett , Westwood , Lowton , Bowery , Benteke , Baker , lichaj etc etc etc all at the same time . Its not going to work.
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It's all very well blaming the constant changes in management but this doesn't excuse the seemingly total lack of tactics or playing within an understandably formation for more than 2 games in a row.
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So, in summary we are buggered?
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One of our major problems is that we have no flair or physical prowess. So we can't play it round the powerful teams and we can't try and out strength the skillful teams. We don't have any real attributes.
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Where do you start ?
No leadership on the pitch
Very little actual quality on the pitch
No leadership on the sidelines
No tactical nous
Not getting the best out of what we have
Not strengthening with experience and quality
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So, in summary we are buggered?
Not quite, there is still 18 days left to get 3 or 4 decent players in.
Unlikely, but all relevant parties at the club have to give it their best shot.
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I used to play a boxing game against my mate on the playstation (bear with me) it was pretty simple, a couple of buttons, mainly about timing, not really any skill involved. We'd play for money, and although we would win roughly the same number of games I would always end up owing him the money at the end of the night. When it came to it he just wanted to win more and it made the difference, he was a winner and I wasn't.
That's a big problem with Villa, we don't seem to have that competitive mentality. Simply, we have too many players who are losers rather than winners. If you planted a couple of the right players/personalities in among them it might change the culture, but we have a team of people who have grown together and somehow haven't developed a winners mentality. Into that we have added other young players who look short of fight, and all our senior players, Gabby, NZog, Bent, Ireland, Warnock, Given are, in current political parlance, shirkers rather than workers.
I know they will get annoyed when we lose, like it used to piss me off to lose money to my mate, but not in the same way it would matter to someone like Craig Bellamy or Steven Gerrard, irritating cocks as men but people where you can see a desire to win dragging them beyond what is expected of them. I see it in Weimann, but i'm not sure who else we have who has got it in them.
Our current battle is to make up ground and keep ahead of other teams who have limited players like we do, and QPR apart have limited resources like we do. What they do seem to have that we don't are players who are prepared to cheat and foul in order to stay up. Or are prepared to battle in ways that we don't.
It could be that none of the last 3 and 2 half (K and G Mac) managers we have had do any coaching/preparing the players, but it seems the common link is the players themselves and I've seen them all do enough good things to think the problem is as much mental as technical.
The only way I can see this changing is by bringing players in, or if we aren't able/willing to do that, then we have to hope beyond reasonable hope that Vlaar and or Dunne can return and bring a bit of that spirit with them. Otherwise we're doomed, doomed I tell ya!
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More than anything, it's Lambert's team selections and tactics that are the problem. Of course we were all tired of TSM's sefensive football but Lambert has gone to the other extreme with his gung-ho approach.
As has been mentioned on here by a few, it's like we play 6-0-4. We don't attack as a team, even with 4 up front we don't get enough players in the box. Yesterday was a classic example, a ball came in from the left, Benteke was in the box alone surrounded by 5 Southampton players, plus their keeper. He may be good but he's not that good.
We don't defend as a team. As others have mentioned, teams attack us at will, we have no midfield, so they simply walk through us. As we've seen, the better teams don't need two changes to put the ball away, they punish us time and time again.
Simply put, our tactical approach leaves us far too open and until Lambert learns that you have to win the midfield before you can win the game, we'll continue to struggle. Why the hell go head to head playing an open game against Chelsea, Spurs, even Wigan? yes, it's very entertaining for the neurtral but bloody painful if you're a Villa fan.
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When you cannot manage a point against Wigan and Saints you have issues. I've just looked at the remaining fixtures and it gives me nightmares. I can't see us getting past 30 let alone 40. With away games against arsenal, everton and united, plus home games against city, Liverpool and chelsea I can see a few more humiliations along the way meaning when we do play the winnable games we'll be in no mental state to do the business. We need to play ugly and by that I mean become hard to breakdown, park the bus and fight to put some points on the board. We are certainly not going to win many games giving teams, no matter how shit they are, a goal or two start.
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We need to play ugly and by that I mean become hard to breakdown, park the bus and fight to put some points on the board.
That's my point, Nasty. We only have one way of playing right now and that's an open game. Lambert doesn't seem to do 'caution'.
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Tactical discipline. We're not playing with any width, we can't man mark, the back four don't know when to drop off and get pulled out of position too easily, the wingers don't help the full backs, the full backs don't help the wingers, the midfield play too deep with no defensive shield. Blah, blah, blah...
What upsets me, really really upsets me is that with a bit of formation, tactical and personal direction we could address all of these things with our current team, sure they aren't the greatest but at the very least we'd be harder to break down, not concede as many and maybe just maybe at the very least turn those loses into draws.
Completely agree.
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We need to play ugly and by that I mean become hard to breakdown, park the bus and fight to put some points on the board.
That's my point, Nasty. We only have one way of playing right now and that's an open game. Lambert doesn't seem to do 'caution'.
Even if you want to play an attacking game, the team needs to be organised and a relatively compact unit. If there is to much space between the different parts of the team, then you are very vulnerable when the other team is attacking. Too often the team just look to be scattered all around the pitch without any sort of shape. That doesn't work whether you want to play cautiously or attackingly.
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We need to play ugly and by that I mean become hard to breakdown, park the bus and fight to put some points on the board.
That's my point, Nasty. We only have one way of playing right now and that's an open game. Lambert doesn't seem to do 'caution'.
Even if you want to play an attacking game, the team needs to be organised and a relatively compact unit. If there is to much space between the different parts of the team, then you are very vulnerable when the other team is attacking. Too often the team just look to be scattered all around the pitch without any sort of shape. That doesn't work whether you want to play cautiously or attackingly.
Indeed, Eig. Considering how far we are into the season and even taking into account the number of injuries we've suffered, there's next to no organisation about the team, something even Bradford managed to show. We look more and more disjointed with each and every match. His team selections play a big part in this.
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We need to play ugly and by that I mean become hard to breakdown, park the bus and fight to put some points on the board.
That's my point, Nasty. We only have one way of playing right now and that's an open game. Lambert doesn't seem to do 'caution'.
Even if you want to play an attacking game, the team needs to be organised and a relatively compact unit. If there is to much space between the different parts of the team, then you are very vulnerable when the other team is attacking. Too often the team just look to be scattered all around the pitch without any sort of shape. That doesn't work whether you want to play cautiously or attackingly.
Indeed, Eig. Considering how far we are into the season and even taking into account the number of injuries we've suffered, there's next to no organisation about the team, something even Bradford managed to show. We look more and more disjointed with each and every match. His team selections play a big part in this.
Yup. Even though I still have some faith in Lambert, it is discouraging to see the players not even getting the mere basics right half a year into his reign. If he was a really good manager/coach, he would have accomplished that even if the players are sub-standard. However, I still feel that if we get in a decent central defender and a decent defensive midfielder (both with Premier League experience) we will manage to paper over the cracks made by our lack of tactical organisation sufficiently to stay up. Then, in the summer, Lambert needs to bring in a new defensive coach.
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This page of this thread should be microsprayed on Lambert's eyeballs. Every word of it.
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The squad does not contain enough quality or experience.
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We need a nasty, horrible dare I say it, dirty bastard in midfield. Someone who'll scare and kick the shit out of the opposition's main man in midfield before giving the ball to a colleague to create something. There must be like that in the Championship who's desperate to mix it in the prem. We are in a scrap and need fighters because right now we have fcuk all.
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If we somehow get Vlaar and Dunne fit, maybe we can stick Clark in the middle with Westwood. We need more physical presence in the team. Left back is a big issue, Bennett has to step up to the plate.
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
This was evident from the first 45 minutes at home against Everton. Occasionally a midfielder looks OK then turns in a rubbish performance next time around. Delph surprised me yesterday with an OK game, but next week?
I was fearful from the start that the midfield was not up to it but hoped Lambert would bring one or two of them on, it just hasn't happened.
Unfortunate enough to have witnessed the slow decline and relegation in the 60's and 80's, now convinced it is a certainty this time. Only getting midfielder(s) in THIS WEEK will give me renewed hope.
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
I'd stick Vlaar back in the defence ASAP and move Clark in midfield.
He's way better there. The problem is, I watched PL's radio forum shortly after he arrived, and he was very dismissive of the idea of Clark as a midfielder.
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
This was evident from the first 45 minutes at home against Everton. Occasionally a midfielder looks OK then turns in a rubbish performance next time around. Delph surprised me yesterday with an OK game, but next week?
I was fearful from the start that the midfield was not up to it but hoped Lambert would bring one or two of them on, it just hasn't happened.
Unfortunate enough to have witnessed the slow decline and relegation in the 60's and 80's, now convinced it is a certainty this time. Only getting midfielder(s) in THIS WEEK will give me renewed hope.
I'd also add that, of all the signings PL made, the most important one was KEA, and he, sadly, is looking like one of the worst signings.
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I agree Clampy, and it is not fair that he has the responsibility of being the leader of the defence during this period. However, I think he could do a real good job in the middle and will put his foot in
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
I'd stick Vlaar back in the defence ASAP and move Clark in midfield.
He's way better there. The problem is, I watched PL's radio forum shortly after he arrived, and he was very dismissive of the idea of Clark as a midfielder.
True, but he also made Bent captain, so he's shown a willingness to change his mind on very important issues.
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
I'd stick Vlaar back in the defence ASAP and move Clark in midfield.
He's way better there. The problem is, I watched PL's radio forum shortly after he arrived, and he was very dismissive of the idea of Clark as a midfielder.
I agree. That was what Lambert said but what did he really know about Clark at that stage? I think it is definitely worth a go otherwise we will reach a point where Clark won't get selected at all. He has always had a lot of promise and he may thrive in a new role. We still need more defenders and midfielders though.
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I think Clark and Westwood could be a good partnership
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Clark alongside Westie would provide much better cover for the defence and strengthen the midfield, now Vlaar is fit surely lambert will see this.
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
This was evident from the first 45 minutes at home against Everton. Occasionally a midfielder looks OK then turns in a rubbish performance next time around. Delph surprised me yesterday with an OK game, but next week?
I was fearful from the start that the midfield was not up to it but hoped Lambert would bring one or two of them on, it just hasn't happened.
Unfortunate enough to have witnessed the slow decline and relegation in the 60's and 80's, now convinced it is a certainty this time. Only getting midfielder(s) in THIS WEEK will give me renewed hope.
I'd also add that, of all the signings PL made, the most important one was KEA, and he, sadly, is looking like one of the worst signings.
remember watching the you tube clip of his outstanding performance against Ajax. What I saw was exactly what we need but he hasn't been able to produce it in the premiership.
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
I'd stick Vlaar back in the defence ASAP and move Clark in midfield.
He's way better there. The problem is, I watched PL's radio forum shortly after he arrived, and he was very dismissive of the idea of Clark as a midfielder.
I agree. That was what Lambert said but what did he really know about Clark at that stage? I think it is definitely worth a go otherwise we will reach a point where Clark won't get selected at all. He has always had a lot of promise and he may thrive in a new role. We still need more defenders and midfielders though.
I also think he could weigh in with a few goals from midfield.
If we're not buying a midfielder, we MUST try new options there, because it is the factor most influential in whether we survive or not.
Carry on as we have, and we are doomed. And i hate saying that.
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The midfield is weak, and that in turn puts pressure on the defence, which is young and still learning.
This has been a pretty horrible season, but whatever is wrong with the side, a decent left back, centre back and midfielder would improve it significantly.
This was evident from the first 45 minutes at home against Everton. Occasionally a midfielder looks OK then turns in a rubbish performance next time around. Delph surprised me yesterday with an OK game, but next week?
I was fearful from the start that the midfield was not up to it but hoped Lambert would bring one or two of them on, it just hasn't happened.
Unfortunate enough to have witnessed the slow decline and relegation in the 60's and 80's, now convinced it is a certainty this time. Only getting midfielder(s) in THIS WEEK will give me renewed hope.
I'd also add that, of all the signings PL made, the most important one was KEA, and he, sadly, is looking like one of the worst signings.
remember watching the you tube clip of his outstanding performance against Ajax. What I saw was exactly what we need but he hasn't been able to produce it in the premiership.
Mind you, players take a while to settle.
Look at Petrov. How much have we missed him? So much. And other than his debut at West Ham, I thought he was hopeless for at least one entire season, and most of the next. It sometimes takes time to settle.
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
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I do quite like the idea of Clark in midfield but he could do with a break, he's played nearly game this year i think.
I'd stick Vlaar back in the defence ASAP and move Clark in midfield.
He's way better there. The problem is, I watched PL's radio forum shortly after he arrived, and he was very dismissive of the idea of Clark as a midfielder.
I agree. That was what Lambert said but what did he really know about Clark at that stage? I think it is definitely worth a go otherwise we will reach a point where Clark won't get selected at all. He has always had a lot of promise and he may thrive in a new role. We still need more defenders and midfielders though.
I also think he could weigh in with a few goals from midfield.
If we're not buying a midfielder, we MUST try new options there, because it is the factor most influential in whether we survive or not.
Carry on as we have, and we are doomed. And i hate saying that.
One thing that's been a puzzle for a couple of seasons is how ineffective our central defenders have become at corners. We weren't free-scoring under Houllier but Clark, Dunne and Collins all managed goals if not efforts on target from set-pieces. This season, you pretty much know that Clark and Baker heading forward is a fool's errand.
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
Take it you have had your family meal then eastie ? ;D
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
Take it you have had your family meal then eastie ? ;D
Yes thanks dan, need to fill up before the snow arrives , unlike you basking is the lanzarote sunshine!
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
not done too well in the recent 'must win or we are buggered' games, to be honest confidence is already rock bottom isn't it? Well mine is
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
not done too well in the recent 'must win or we are buggered' games, to be honest confidence is already rock bottom isn't it? Well mine is
True, but imagine he boost that getting to Wembley could give us , defeat and it could be goodnight Vienna.
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With the ball on the deck we look good. Unfortunately most of the time it is the air and we look shit.
Basics-how many times yesterday did i see us take a throw in to someone's midriff ,taking three touches to get it under control.
In short, we're playing too frantically.
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With the ball on the deck we look good. Unfortunately most of the time it is the air and we look shit.
Basics-how many times yesterday did i see us take a throw in to someone's midriff ,taking three touches to get it under control.
In short, we're playing too frantically.
Agree entirely. No calm heads, not enough playing to our own strengths, all very up-for-it but not much bottle (if that makes sense).
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I really see the bradford tie as massive , get to Wembley and the lift throughout the club could see a new impetus and results improve whereas lose to bradford and confidence could be rock bottom and very hard to recover from.
not done too well in the recent 'must win or we are buggered' games, to be honest confidence is already rock bottom isn't it? Well mine is
True, but imagine he boost that getting to Wembley could give us , defeat and it could be goodnight Vienna.
It would give us all a lift. Looking forward to the game, hoping for the best but getting used to disappointment! If we could just score first........
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The answer to the question is quite simple; we're shit
Not particularly insightful but based on observations this season it's a recurring theme
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We weren't shit against Swansea (at Home) or Liverpool (away).
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The answer to the question is quite simple; we're shit
Not particularly insightful but based on observations this season it's a recurring theme
Holmes you have done it again ;)
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No width. No experience. No leadership.
That's it in a nutshell. The age issue is not the key issue. Quite apart from PL's highly questionable choice of formation, this team plays with absolutely zero assurance in areas of the pitch where its so desperately needed i.e. in the middle of the park and at the back. There's not one side in the league I feel confident of beating at the moment. If he fails to act positively (whether through acquisition or using what he has more effectively) we are destined for the Championship.
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With the ball on the deck we look good. Unfortunately most of the time it is the air and we look shit.
Basics-how many times yesterday did i see us take a throw in to someone's midriff ,taking three touches to get it under control.
In short, we're playing too frantically.
Our habit of giving the ball away from throw ins has been driving me mad for as long as I can remember, it's just such a stupid way to give up possession. Surely this is something that can be coached into professional players? but it's been happening under about the last 10 managers so what do I know?
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We weren't shit against Swansea (at Home) or Liverpool (away).
Agreed but I said our 'shitness' has been a recurring theme not a constant
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I still fail to see how this isn't Lambert's fault.
We can point out that we're short on talent yet we come across worse teams, who cost a fraction of what ours has and they tactically out-manoeuvre us.
Bradford, Wigan, Southampton have vastly inferior squads than Lambert's and yet we bang on about how Lambert has no chance of turning things around.
I'll admit I've given him more time as I like the guy, like his nature and like what he announced on arriving here. I'd like to give him a chance to see it a build but I'd totally admit that overall he's doing a poor job at getting his squad playing decent, effective football.
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With the ball on the deck we look good. Unfortunately most of the time it is the air and we look shit.
Basics-how many times yesterday did i see us take a throw in to someone's midriff ,taking three touches to get it under control.
In short, we're playing too frantically.
Our habit of giving the ball away from throw ins has been driving me mad for as long as I can remember, it's just such a stupid way to give up possession. Surely this is something that can be coached into professional players? but it's been happening under about the last 10 managers so what do I know?
Lack of movement, lack of wanting the ball. I agree entirely.
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I forgot, Ciaran Clark scored a great header at Newcastle this season. But not from a corner.
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Quite simple, we are young, naive and lack experience and confidence. We have taken such a battering our heads have dropped and we need some big characters, leaders if you like and also good intelligent players to help lift us out of this mess.
Yesterday I'm sure Benteke would have buried those chances and the defence would have cleared the ball before the dive happened if there was an ounce of belief in the team.
Our team is so young and is out of it's depth, no coach in the world can do this alone. We need to buy some players now.
We are not crap, there is talent there.
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Can someone compile these points into a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation and send it to Lamber and Faulkner.
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
100% agree, although the manager has limited ability to influence things once the players take the field which is why a few more older heads bringing a calming influence and direction to proceedings wouldn't go amiss. I know it's been mentioned many times before, but what strikes me about top teams like Barcelona, with all their so-called superstars, is how hard they work to close down the opposition and win back possession when they lose it. It's as plain as dogs balls that that facet of our game is woefully lacking at the moment.
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Not one players takes the game by the scruff of the neck.
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N'Zogbia playing anywhere but where's supposed to. Against Southampton, he seemed to be playing down the middle instead of being out wide where he should be. He might be under instruction to do that from Lambert and if he is, then it's a waste of time and it won't work.
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We have too many players who don't have enough Premier League experience in terms of games played. Added to that their individual and collective confidence is shot to pieces. We need to get Bent fit and back in and bring in a midfielder and defender with top flight experience who can talk and organise.
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N'Zogbia playing anywhere but where's supposed to. Against Southampton, he seemed to be playing down the middle instead of being out wide where he should be. He might be under instruction to do that from Lambert and if he is, then it's a waste of time and it won't work.
Wasn't he central for Wigan for the last few months before we signed him?
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
It's also the role of us to keep offering encouragement even if a pass goes astray or a sitter is missed. Constant encouragement from the Villa Park crowd will give them that extra yard and edge at home. (By the way, I'm not having a go at our fans here, I think the patience and understanding that's been offered to the manager and the team so far has been brilliant. We need to keep it going and even raise it a notch or two in the weeks and months ahead.)
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
It's also the role of us to keep offering encouragement even if a pass goes astray or a sitter is missed. Constant encouragement from the Villa Park crowd will give them that extra yard and edge at home. (By the way, I'm not having a go at our fans here, I think the patience and understanding that's been offered to the manager and the team so far has been brilliant. We need to keep it going and even raise it a notch or two in the weeks and months ahead.)
I really admire your enthusiasm billy walker and I like your style but its hard to continually try and get behind players when some of them stroll around looking as if they couldn't care less.
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
It's also the role of us to keep offering encouragement even if a pass goes astray or a sitter is missed. Constant encouragement from the Villa Park crowd will give them that extra yard and edge at home. (By the way, I'm not having a go at our fans here, I think the patience and understanding that's been offered to the manager and the team so far has been brilliant. We need to keep it going and even raise it a notch or two in the weeks and months ahead.)
I really admire your enthusiasm billy walker and I like your style but its hard to continually try and get behind players when some of them stroll around looking as if they couldn't care less.
I don't think they couldn't care less. I think they're shitting themselves.
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One other issue that I've noticed in the games we've played since the wheels well-and-truly came off is how ineffective we are out of possession. When we beat Swansea at Villa Park earlier in the season, the thing that struck me was how we stopped them playing - we were in their faces, we hassled and harried them and hunted them in packs. In the Spurs, Wigan and even the game on Saturday against Southampton, we always seemed to be half a second too slow to close opposition players down when trying to win back possession. That's more than enough time for decent players to settle on the ball and pick their next pass. There doesn't seem to be any co-ordinated effort to press opposition players in numbers whilst maintaining our overall shape, hence the reason we appear to be all over the shop a lot of the time and decent (or even average) opposition can pull us apart at will. I think lack of experience across the entire team is mostly to blame for this - there are no wise heads directing traffic thus our kids are running around like headless chickens as a consequence. I can't believe our lack of concerted pressing is due to a lack of fitness (although mental and physical fatigue could certainly be playing its part). Our kids are running hard but not playing smart due to the lack of experience and guidance in the team.
I agree with your point, although the lack of closing down on Saturday was really much worse than half-a-second-too-slow. The contrast with Southampton was embarrassing. Whereas they were in our faces the moment they lost the ball, we often laid off them and retreated to the edge of our penalty area before even thinking about putting in a challenge, by which time the momentum was with them and the job was ten times harder.
It's all part of not wanting the ball in case they make a mistake, which is a direct result of not having confidence in themselves. It's the manager's job to give them the confidence that's needed and right now he just isn't managing to do it.
It's also the role of us to keep offering encouragement even if a pass goes astray or a sitter is missed. Constant encouragement from the Villa Park crowd will give them that extra yard and edge at home. (By the way, I'm not having a go at our fans here, I think the patience and understanding that's been offered to the manager and the team so far has been brilliant. We need to keep it going and even raise it a notch or two in the weeks and months ahead.)
I really admire your enthusiasm billy walker and I like your style but its hard to continually try and get behind players when some of them stroll around looking as if they couldn't care less.
I don't thin
k they couldn't care less. I think they're shitting themselves.
I'm not thinking of the younger lads but the likes of Ireland and nzogbia.
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These kids try their best but no matter how much they give, they're never going to be good enough. They are NOT Premier League standard players, and that's why we're in the relegation zone.
Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
It's a conspiracy, I tells ya.
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Composure, lack of.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
How many British players actually come through the ranks at the PL clubs above, say, 7th position. There are very few. Look at Spurs now, both fullbacks brought in from a lower league club. The difference is that they have slowly been integrated into the side after periods out on loan, rather than being thrown straight in at the deep end.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
It's a conspiracy, I tells ya.
You can lead a horse to water..
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
Most of the big earners of the last 5 or so years are now off the books. The remaining ones are either out of the team or out of favour and looking to be shipped out. The replacements are relatively low earners. It doesn't take a genius to work out where Lerner is taking the club, but if you think it's all Lambert's idea then good luck to you.
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Ciaran Clark - 'Our luck will turn if we keep showing fighting spirit.' Two things wrong with that Ciaran, it's not bad luck that has us down where we are, it's playing abysmally badly most of the time. Also I've seen barely any fighting spirit from the side, in fact I've never seen a side surrender like ours on several occasions.
So in short that's bollocks Clark and if you truly believe that's the problem we're fucked.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
Most of the big earners of the last 5 or so years are now off the books. The remaining ones are either out of the team or out of favour and looking to be shipped out. The replacements are relatively low earners. It doesn't take a genius to work out where Lerner is taking the club, but if you think it's all Lambert's idea then good luck to you.
So it's not Lambert's idea not to play Given, Hutton, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland and Bent? He's really nasty, that Mr Lerner.
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It's Pravda's media spin, not Ciaran spouting that bullshit. They take it in turns to attribute quotes from our players.
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Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
You'd think Lambert would have a word and tell Lerner that he wants to buy his own players and won't work with a chairman that chooses who to buy and sell, not to mention picks the team.
Most of the big earners of the last 5 or so years are now off the books. The remaining ones are either out of the team or out of favour and looking to be shipped out. The replacements are relatively low earners. It doesn't take a genius to work out where Lerner is taking the club, but if you think it's all Lambert's idea then good luck to you.
So it's not Lambert's idea not to play Given, Hutton, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland and Bent? He's really nasty, that Mr Lerner.
As I said, good luck to you.
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It's Pravda's media spin, not Ciaran spouting that bullshit. They take it in turns to attribute quotes from our players.
I wonder if there's fans out there that read the guff spouted by Villa and are taken in by it?
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Fair enough, but it's absolutely shocking.
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These kids try their best but no matter how much they give, they're never going to be good enough. They are NOT Premier League standard players, and that's why we're in the relegation zone.
Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
I seem to be seeing a post from you in every thread saying the same thing, specifically pretty much the entire squad is shit and it's all Lerner's fault.
It's not all Lerner's fault, he takes an element of blame but you don't get into the problems we've got purely by the owner deciding he doesn't want to pay our running costs out of his own pocket.
Lambert has been naive at times.
The senior players have not earned their money.
The kids have had their confidence destroyed and their game has deserted them because of it.
We don't have a leader on the pitch with Vlaar out.
We've had a stinker of an injury crisis, not total numbers so much, but that it was all forwards and central defenders.
We've bounced from manager to manager all with different ideas on how to play (this is lerner's fault).
We've replaced good players who left with overpaid players who on paper were suitable but in practice have been a huge backwards step.
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These kids try their best but no matter how much they give, they're never going to be good enough. They are NOT Premier League standard players, and that's why we're in the relegation zone.
Lerner's deranged plan of selling your best players and replacing them with cheap players from the lower leagues and abroad is absolute madness. It's suicide for a Premier League football team.
I seem to be seeing a post from you in every thread saying the same thing, specifically pretty much the entire squad is shit and it's all Lerner's fault.
It's not all Lerner's fault, he takes an element of blame but you don't get into the problems we've got purely by the owner deciding he doesn't want to pay our running costs out of his own pocket.
Lambert has been naive at times.
The senior players have not earned their money.
The kids have had their confidence destroyed and their game has deserted them because of it.
We don't have a leader on the pitch with Vlaar out.
We've had a stinker of an injury crisis, not total numbers so much, but that it was all forwards and central defenders.
We've bounced from manager to manager all with different ideas on how to play (this is lerner's fault).
We've replaced good players who left with overpaid players who on paper were suitable but in practice have been a huge backwards step.
Come on now.
This is no time for sensible posts.
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So it's not Lambert's idea not to play Given, Hutton, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland and Bent? He's really nasty, that Mr Lerner.
Are you saying that Given, Hutton and Ireland would improve the current team?
Or the an unfit Dunne should be playing?
I agree that not finding a way of playing Bent and freezing out Warnock is a mistake.
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Worst midfield i have seen in my lifetime.
The midfield offers neither defence shielding for the back 4, or any creative edge for our strikers.
Bannan, Delph, KEA, N'Zog, Albrighton are all Championship quality, and if you have a Championship quality midfiled, eventually you will end up there as a team!
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Our left back options are truly chronic, which makes us really susceptible to crosses and then we panic. It's an easy route for other teams to attack.
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Bannan, Delph, KEA, N'Zog, Albrighton are all Championship quality, and if you have a Championship quality midfiled, eventually you will end up there as a team!
Though ironically it was N'Zog who saved Wigan from the championship a couple of years back
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I think all of them except Nzogbia can form part of an effective midfield.
Albrighton shouldn't be on there as he's not a central player, he's a genuine winger and should only be played as such. If we're not going to play then he should be sold.
Kea, Delph and Westwood are all very similar, they are all best suited to playing alongside a big aggressive defensive player that we don't have.
Bannan is slightly different in that we've not really seen him have a run of games in the position he should be playing. When he came on in an 'inside left' role at the weekend he was great, used the ball well, created chances and made us look a lot more potent in attack, then we moved him deeper and he faded.
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So it's not Lambert's idea not to play Given, Hutton, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland and Bent? He's really nasty, that Mr Lerner.
Are you saying that Given, Hutton and Ireland would improve the current team?
Or the an unfit Dunne should be playing?
I agree that not finding a way of playing Bent and freezing out Warnock is a mistake.
Warnock was a shambles last season. He is a championship left back.
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I think Bent and Ireland should play.
Herd in midfield until we get a proper midfielder.
N'Zogbia wide.
Vlaar and Baker at the back.
Fuck knows who at left back.
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I think Bent and Ireland should play.
Herd in midfield until we get a proper midfielder.
N'Zogbia wide.
Vlaar and Baker at the back.
Fuck knows who at left back.
Warnock.
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I think Bent and Ireland should play.
Herd in midfield until we get a proper midfielder.
N'Zogbia wide.
Vlaar and Baker at the back.
Fuck knows who at left back.
Warnock.
training cone
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Bib.
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So it's not Lambert's idea not to play Given, Hutton, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland and Bent? He's really nasty, that Mr Lerner.
Are you saying that Given, Hutton and Ireland would improve the current team?
Or the an unfit Dunne should be playing?
I agree that not finding a way of playing Bent and freezing out Warnock is a mistake.
Warnock was a shambles last season. He is a championship left back.
He might have been a shambles at left back last season, but was ok in midfield and at least has some decent seasons on his CV - which makes him potentially useful.
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No width. No experience. No leadership.