Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: Legion on February 23, 2013, 04:07:15 PM
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Available Saturday evening.
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Sad to concede another late goal which again cost us dear , we gave it a good go after conceding early and possibly unlucky not to get a draw - some positives to take from the game and plenty of hope still for the future - unlucky lads !
Eleven games to go and we are still in here fighting - can take heart from this performance.
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Point next week please.
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We'll be the third relegated team after Reading and QPR. To me, that looks more and more likely with each passing week
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*sigh* Same old same old.
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If we go down it will be because we have singularly failed to learn our lessons time and time again this season. It's so fricking annoying.
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Bollocks. Suicide tactics at 1-1 when we were getting ripped to shreds. Needed the back four and midfield to push up, instead they sat back and got absolutely hammered.
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Hmmmmm oh, fuck it !
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expected to lose
but gutted we could n0t hang on again
ffs Villa when you going to learn ;(
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Jammy fuckin arsenal ******. We deserved a point there.
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expected to lose
but gutted we could n0t hang on again
ffs Villa when you going to learn ;(
They won't learn as they don't have a very good teacher.
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Defend like school kids and cause the opposition goalkeeper too little problems will only result in relegation. The players are giving it their all, they just aren't good enough to stay up.
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Painfully predictable. We are not going to stay up
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Under the cosh for most of the second half so their second was pretty inevitable. When we did break the final ball was more often than not poor, and Weimann was careless to go offside when we had bodies forward towards the end. Thought Lambert got the sub wrong - needed to shore up midfield rather than a like for like sub. Just 11 cup finals to go then
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Jammy fuckin arsenal c***s. We deserved a point there.
er no,they were not jammy in any way, shape or form.
Look closer to home why we got nothing out of that.
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Nobody in their right mind would have expected anything other than a defeat here. That said, this is a vulnerable and below-par Arsenal side, which, with a bit of guile, could have been exploited. Unfortunately, we have far too many thickies among our personnel. We simply must start picking up points, after the next defeat, which I fear is a certainty.
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As we always roll over against anybody and everyone and give them the points anyway, cant we just fuck off to the championship and stop wasting everyones time playing any more games in this miserable season. spineless tossers
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Aaaaarrrgghhh! For fuck's sake!
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Played alright in first half. However the brutal reality is you can't play like we did in the second half and expect to get many points. We need to be a lot smarter, at least there's a degree of resilience but Arsenal deserved to win.
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I have no faith left in lambert. I'm just glad the stupid twat has championship experience, were going to need it. To everyone who thinks we should lose these fixtures just remember Blackburn won here a week or so ago
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If we do go down losing at Arsenal isn't going to be what does us. However holding on for a point may well have helped keep us up. If that makes sense.
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Villa could have won that. Why on earth sub Westwood for KEA after equalising?
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It's bonus points in games like these, which would keep is up and put less pressure on the 'must win' games. For the last 15mins he should've shut up shop and looked to counter rather than leaving gaps, inviting pressure and looking to counter. Being positive is all very well but you once you get into a position to take something from the game you have to be grateful and accumulate points the ugly way. I thought that was what PL alluded to a few weeks ago but he seems to have forgotten and gone for broke when there was no need. All these dropped points will lead to one thing since when we come up against the Readings of this world we will inevitably blow it.
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I understand the counter attack idea, but you still need to retain possession. As I said you can't expect to defend en masse game after game and get many points. It's no coincidence that we consider many late goals, it's a result of teams sustained pressure.
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when the chips are down, our defence are like a bunch of self harmers.
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Mate we were good for a point there on balance really.
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urgh I feel sick. why do always have to concede in the final few minutes. it happens every fucking game. a point today would have been big.
not sure why I bother with this pain anymore.
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just so very, very, very gutted.
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A good central defensive midfielder, and we would have got a draw today, won at Albion, and won at Everton.
Ho hum.
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If we do go down losing at Arsenal isn't going to be what does us. However holding on for a point may well have helped keep us up. If that makes sense.
Not picking up these points is the reason we're likely to go down, a point would have been a point more than most of us expected, but yet again when we need everyone to roll up their sleeves and shut up shop, we're incapable of doing it, Swansea away, Everton away and now Arsenal away, all games where we were in a damn good position to get more points out of them, with those five extra points we'd all be sleeping a lot more easily, but again and again this team throw it all away.
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Meh. Could have had a point but again wasn't to be. Those hinging relegation predictions on this game are going overboard, it isn't this game or next week that will decide if we stay up, it's the run of games after that.
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We can't shut up shop so we should attempt to do it from pretty much half time.
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In every game our defence and midfield get deeper and deeper leaving an ever growing gap to the forwards. Opposition mid-fielders sit in this gap, with acres of space, and dictate the game. We have to push up and close teams down.
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It is the mind-numbing & oh-so-desperate certainty that we KNOW we will throw it away in the final ten minutes that leads me to want to rip my hair out.....it really is so frustrating and we must be the most predictable team for shipping these late goals. It's been going on for decades!!!
Yes it was a battling display....yes there were SOME encouraging signs....yes Arsenal were there for the taking....and yes we lost. It's also annoyingly & wholly predictable.
I still fear we will finish third from bottom ahead of both QPR & Reading as we are running out of time & games; & as other people have so eloquently expressed, we're incapable of learning from our own (much repeated) mistakes.
Losing away at Arsenal (or at home to Manchester City) will not be the reason we go down....the dye was cast many moons ago and it feels right now that we are sailing headlong into the Championship
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We're only in the bottom 3 on goal difference, I'm not shitting bricks just yet. All we can ask for against Man City is a good performance and an endeavour to at least earn a point.
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In every game our defence and midfield get deeper and deeper leaving an ever growing gap to the forwards. Opposition mid-fielders sit in this gap, with acres of space, and dictate the game. We have to push up and close teams down.
Exactly, it's all about pressing the opposition when they have the ball.
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Defeats at places like Arsenal aren't the results that get you relegated over the course of a season.
It is doing badly against teams you should hope to compete against that dooms you, and sadly, we do plenty of that.
What you really have to do is fight and scrap when you see points here and there that people wouldn't expect you to get. That is an area in which we have been utterly pathetic all season long, and it shows no real signs of getting any better.
Whether it is throwing away two points at Everton or a point today, or in numerous other games this year, we seem to show no indication we're tightening things up.
Did anyone on the face of the earth really think we'd hold on for a point once Weimann scored? Really? We didn't, because yet again, we look frail and utterly, utterly brainless at the back.
I still can not believe the act of wanton, short sighted stupidity that saw us not get a CB in during January. God knows how much that is going to cost us in the long run, because in other areas, there are things right about this team.
Unfortunately, we'll continue showing the same fucking weakness week in, week out, and we'll get relegated - at which point all the players who have improved over the course of the season will want (and get) out, and all the work we've done this year will just get pissed away.
Fucking infuriating, and a big fuck you to Lerner and his little poodle for mismanaging our club to this level of rubbishness.
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Although we lost the defending seemed slightly better, we need to learn from our mistakes a bit quicker though.
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Good performance. We kept the ball better than we usually do and didn't get the tonking we could have got with Vlaar missing again. Crap result at Norwich though after it sounded like Everton were cruising at one point. Looks like it's down to 3 of 5.
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Nice to see our fans stayed behind to applaud the team today.
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Good performance. We kept the ball better than we usually do and didn't get the tonking we could have got with Vlaar missing again. Crap result at Norwich though after it sounded like Everton were cruising at one point. Looks like it's down to 3 of 5.
Three from four for me.
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I dont think I have agreed with a post more than I do with Paulies above.
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Good performance. We kept the ball better than we usually do and didn't get the tonking we could have got with Vlaar missing again. Crap result at Norwich though after it sounded like Everton were cruising at one point. Looks like it's down to 3 of 5.
I think its simply 2 out of 3, mate.
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Good performance. We kept the ball better than we usually do and didn't get the tonking we could have got with Vlaar missing again. Crap result at Norwich though after it sounded like Everton were cruising at one point. Looks like it's down to 3 of 5.
Three from four for me.
Got to agree with you there Leeg, though saying that, there's still a lot of football to be played and I refuse to believe that Southampton are out of the woods yet.
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Defeats at places like Arsenal aren't the results that get you relegated over the course of a season.
It is doing badly against teams you should hope to compete against that dooms you, and sadly, we do plenty of that.
What you really have to do is fight and scrap when you see points here and there that people wouldn't expect you to get. That is an area in which we have been utterly pathetic all season long, and it shows no real signs of getting any better.
Whether it is throwing away two points at Everton or a point today, or in numerous other games this year, we seem to show no indication we're tightening things up.
Did anyone on the face of the earth really think we'd hold on for a point once Weimann scored? Really? We didn't, because yet again, we look frail and utterly, utterly brainless at the back.
I still can not believe the act of wanton, short sighted stupidity that saw us not get a CB in during January. God knows how much that is going to cost us in the long run, because in other areas, there are things right about this team.
Unfortunately, we'll continue showing the same fucking weakness week in, week out, and we'll get relegated - at which point all the players who have improved over the course of the season will want (and get) out, and all the work we've done this year will just get pissed away.
Fucking infuriating, and a big fuck you to Lerner and his little poodle for mismanaging our club to this level of rubbishness.
Exactly, the lack of a central defender coming in is just pure negligence.
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Sorry it has to be said - Feck off Lambert - you have had all season to sort out the defence and you have failed miserably.
Losing at home to the likes of Necastle, and Wigan will cost us - not losing at Arsenal.
Sick to the stomach tonight - how many times have we given up late goals?
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Painfully predictable conceding yet another late goal and throwing away a much needed point. This game was rightfully written off by most as an away defeat but hard to come bonus points like these could have proven to be vital if we do go down.
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ffs - that was coming. There is no way we are good enough to sit that deep and defend. Also I thought our left and right back were tucked inside too far which left acres of space out wide for them. Was it Delph who did not track Cazorla back for their second? That pass was always going to be pulled back to the penalty spot but we just decided to let him have a free shot at it.
Yet another bitter pill to have to swallow.
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I'm starting to worry again a bit. Wigan have probably got the easier run in with favourable fixtures... we all know what Wigan are like towards the end of the season not to mention how much better their GD is compared to our disgraceful GD.
:(
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Disappointed we couldn't hang on for a point.
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God it is looking ropey down there, I can only see Southampton or Wigan of teams not in the bottom 3 being relegated really.
And at some point, you suspect we'll have to win a couple of games in a row to stay up. I don't think we've done that in the league since Gary McAllister.
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But we held our own for most of what I saw of the match and should've had at least a point. There was a 5 min period after we equalised where we could've gone on to score again.
That was a battling performance against a top side despite their recent results. Still think we'll be ok.
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I thought we played very well today and deserved at least a point. In the last ten minutes the only way we could have kept it to 1-1 would have been through Arsenals incompentence because we stopped attacking and stopped defending upfield. N' Zogbia was disappointing today but can't fault the rest. Villa fans as usual were great.
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But we held our own for most of what I saw of the match and should've had at least a point. There was a 5 min period after we equalised where we could've gone on to score again.
That was a battling performance against a top side despite their recent results. Still think we'll be ok.
We didn't hold our own for the second half, we were under the cosh for nearly all of it.
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I feel like it's going to come to Wigan on the last day. With us needing a draw and them needing to win to stay up. Imagine the nerves before that one!
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Good afternoon brothers and sisters, having only just finished work I've only just seen the scores.
Was it as predictable as I imagine it to have been?
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
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I feel like it's going to come to Wigan on the last day. With us needing a draw and them needing to win to stay up. Imagine the nerves before that one!
What worries me is this.
Wigan won 3-0 away from home today. For all the improvement I can see in some areas, for all the promising football we can play, taking all that into account, I try to imagine us winning 3-0 away from home against any team, in any league, and it just seems to utterly impossible to imagine.
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Wasn't it nice to have a fortnights break before the Villa started ruining your weekends again. http://
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Sorry it has to be said - Feck off Lambert - you have had all season to sort out the defence and you have failed miserably.
Losing at home to the likes of Necastle, and Wigan will cost us - not losing at Arsenal.
Sick to the stomach tonight - how many times have we given up late goals?
Drink a cold glass of milk and lie down on a comfy bed.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
And also many of us are watching the rugby, trying to forget Villa and wondering whether we could ever wean ourself off the exasperating round ball game.
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Say you were a neutral you would have thought that was an entertaining game between two well matched teams. Ok so we lost as we expected might happen but gave a very good account of ourselves. Played some good stuff and didnt look bottom three at all.
Alan Smith on Fox was willing us to win from the kick off. Just fell short of a badly needed point . Dawkins in his cameo shows promise.
Benteke was not on his game today.
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I feel like it's going to come to Wigan on the last day. With us needing a draw and them needing to win to stay up. Imagine the nerves before that one!
What worries me is this.
Wigan won 3-0 away from home today. For all the improvement I can see in some areas, for all the promising football we can play, taking all that into account, I try to imagine us winning 3-0 away from home against any team, in any league, and it just seems to utterly impossible to imagine.
Yes any wins would be desperate hanging on at the end type games.
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Defeats at places like Arsenal aren't the results that get you relegated over the course of a season.
It is doing badly against teams you should hope to compete against that dooms you, and sadly, we do plenty of that.
What you really have to do is fight and scrap when you see points here and there that people wouldn't expect you to get. That is an area in which we have been utterly pathetic all season long, and it shows no real signs of getting any better.
Whether it is throwing away two points at Everton or a point today, or in numerous other games this year, we seem to show no indication we're tightening things up.
Did anyone on the face of the earth really think we'd hold on for a point once Weimann scored? Really? We didn't, because yet again, we look frail and utterly, utterly brainless at the back.
I still can not believe the act of wanton, short sighted stupidity that saw us not get a CB in during January. God knows how much that is going to cost us in the long run, because in other areas, there are things right about this team.
Unfortunately, we'll continue showing the same fucking weakness week in, week out, and we'll get relegated - at which point all the players who have improved over the course of the season will want (and get) out, and all the work we've done this year will just get pissed away.
Fucking infuriating, and a big fuck you to Lerner and his little poodle for mismanaging our club to this level of rubbishness.
Once i saw what the tactic was after that , no.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does no such thing. Most of the H&Vers recognise that the team did well today and were desperately unlucky to lose.
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I'm starting to worry again a bit. Wigan have probably got the easier run in with favourable fixtures... we all know what Wigan are like towards the end of the season not to mention how much better their GD is compared to our disgraceful GD.
:(
GD of Eight so basically the Chelsea result
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Same old, same old.
A mentally weak, leaderless team. The same old piss poor defending and poor decision making.
As full backs go, ours are both shite but I have a (maybe pretty much irrational) dislike of Lowton who is the weakest and frailest of the lot. Other than his powder puff crossing when we did manage to attack, he seemed to be having a competition to see how many preventable corners he could concede.
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Lowton is really starting to struggle now, the fact we have him playing all season is insane.
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No backbone..No backs!
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there aren't any positives apart from the fact that this match is now over. I just want the City game out of the way without destroying our confidence or injuring any players.
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I thought Arsenal were there for the taking and I stand by that. They huff and puff on your 18 yard line but not much else.
They are also fragile at the back and I thought we caused them a lot of problems out wide, especially Andi. Benteke and Charlie didn't come to the party, with the former being particually ineffectual.
I thought Sylla should have come on and not Dawkins, yes we could have hit them and won it, but shutting up shop may have been the way to go.
The first was such a bloody poor clearence from Baker and it goes straight back down his throat.
So frustrating not to hold on for a point, but there were plenty of positives to take.
Big H really got the crowd going second half. He is bloody huge and was on his seat whipping up a frenzy! Cracking atmosphere.
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Sorry it has to be said - Feck off Lambert - you have had all season to sort out the defence and you have failed miserably.
Losing at home to the likes of Necastle, and Wigan will cost us - not losing at Arsenal.
Sick to the stomach tonight - how many times have we given up late goals? - VCTM
"Drink a cold glass of milk and lie down on a comfy bed". - Aftab
I refer you my 7th and 8th words above - I care passionately about this club as we all do and I desperately want us to survive - I am old enough to have witnessed this club in its murkiest depths and I am concerned we are heading the same way again.
I shall consume as much alcohol as my body will allow and go to bed when I am at that point...... oh and don`t be such a smart Arse ! ;)
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does no such thing. Most of the H&Vers recognise that the team did well today and were desperately unlucky to lose.
Each to their own. I thought Arsenal pissed all over us in the second half. The better side won.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does no such thing. Most of the H&Vers recognise that the team did well today and were desperately unlucky to lose.
Really? - My of my buddies has just text me from London on his way home and said we were lucky not to get stuffed -
so please consider your own advice ""Drink a cold glass of milk and lie down on a comfy bed" -
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I think we will be swapping places with Wigan regularly for the remaining 11 games then it will all be about who can win the last game at their place
Going to be a nervous few months
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there aren't any positives apart from the fact that this match is now over. I just want the City game out of the way without destroying our confidence or injuring any players.
I know what you mean. The "taking the positives" after yet another deafeat or draw where we've conceded with minutes to go is wearing thin. There are no positives to take unless we learn from our constant mistakes.
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Say you were a neutral you would have thought that was an entertaining game between two well matched teams. Ok so we lost as we expected might happen but gave a very good account of ourselves. Played some good stuff and didnt look bottom three at all.
Alan Smith on Fox was willing us to win from the kick off. Just fell short of a badly needed point . Dawkins in his cameo shows promise.
Benteke was not on his game today.
It was dean sturridge not alan smith - agree with your other points though, there were some positives today.
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The trouble with competing directly with Wigan is that they seem to be able to put bad results behind them. Ours hang around our neck like an albatross.
But I think that's right, we need to outperform wigan to stay up.
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Say you were a neutral you would have thought that was an entertaining game between two well matched teams. Ok so we lost as we expected might happen but gave a very good account of ourselves. Played some good stuff and didnt look bottom three at all.
Alan Smith on Fox was willing us to win from the kick off. Just fell short of a badly needed point . Dawkins in his cameo shows promise.
Benteke was not on his game today.
It was dean sturridge not alan smith - agree with your other points though, there were some positives today.
Was it. When I hear a Brummie accent I just assume its Alan Smith!!
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If we'd lost comfortably, say 2/3-0, then I don't think anyone would really be surprised or draw too many conclusions from a match against a comfortably superior squad. The thing is we just showed, again, exactly the faults which have dragged us down this season and will be the hallmark of our relegation (if we do go down). That is what is infuriating, not losing, and mersey's mate is right - we could have been hammered.
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Although i felt we played ok today the number of goals we concede in the last 10 minutes is far too many - i wonder where we would be if games lasted 80 minutes.
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Game of the day on Sky Football First, for the masochists amongst us.
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I feel like it's going to come to Wigan on the last day. With us needing a draw and them needing to win to stay up. Imagine the nerves before that one!
What worries me is this.
Wigan won 3-0 away from home today. For all the improvement I can see in some areas, for all the promising football we can play, taking all that into account, I try to imagine us winning 3-0 away from home against any team, in any league, and it just seems to utterly impossible to imagine.
It's not the first time Wigan have won three-nil away from home, either. Not only can we not win games convincingly - home or away - but we can't beat our rivals. We can't even not lose to most of them. And the same mistakes are being made ad nauseam.
People talk a lot about luck. True, we haven't had much, but we were not unlucky today. What happened today was totally predictable. But if we are to stay up this season, we're going to need a massive slice of luck, because we've shown consistently and emphatically that we're not up to saving ourselves without it.
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I can see why, it was very open. Everytime Arsenal got a corner we looked lile scoring.
I have just remembered that free header Clark ballooned over. Bugger.
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Paul Lambert on Arsenal loss.
Paul Lambert insists the 2-1 loss to Arsenal has done little to dent the confidence and belief in the claret and blue camp.
Lambert called the defeat at The Emirates "harsh" as his side played with gusto throughout.
And he says he won't need to pick his players up because the performance level was so high in an engaging contest in the capital.
He said: "The belief is there. We have been playing well for a number of weeks.
"We should have seen the game through at Everton and West Brom and we should have got something in the Newcastle game after the second half.
"The West Ham win then gave us a massive lift.
"We have been beaten today. But with the performance, we will take great heart from it.
"The confidence is there, that's for sure. And we are playing well enough. The way they are playing is a very, very high level.
"If we can keep playing like that? I don't need to rebuild the confidence after that. But I haven't for a number of weeks now. The confidence is there.
"The team were excellent against Arsenal. I don't think we deserved to get beat.
"We looked a threat throughout the whole game. In the first half we should have scored. But the way the lads played, I couldn't fault them.
"I thought they were excellent throughout.
"I felt we should have scored more than one goal. And I thought we should have been in front at half-time. I thought we were unlucky to be down.
"But we came out in the second half and went again - and got the equaliser. The equaliser was a brilliant finish, from a fantastic counter-attack.
"I then thought the one when Christian went through, he maybe should have slipped Andi in. A bit more care and we maybe would have got another one.
"But we certainly didn't deserve to lose the game."
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No mention of DEFENDING then, Lambo.
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We did deserve to lose Lambert, because we can't shut up shop and surely you realise that.
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I don't really understand the criticism of Lowton. I think he certainly did more good than bad, and was positive going forward. Yes, he conceded a couple of unnecessary corners towards the end, but I would have thought this was more to do with a lack of communication from others. Bennett was better than usual today, but does frequently get caught on the wrong side of his opponent.
I agree that Arsenal were there for the taking, and despite the fact that we played reasonably well, not enough of what we were trying to do going forward worked. Benteke and N'Zogbia in particular were both disappointing. There was lots of wasteful stuff like N'Zogbia running down blind alleys, and Benteke failing to hold the ball up - and generally poor decision making between the two of them.
I thought Delph looked good, apart from when he decided to do a Cruyff turn on the edge of the box when he was the last man. That said, he and Westwood as a unit struggled to exert their influence on the game. I really don't understand why we don't try to put more pressure on the ball. When they scored in the 6th minute, we had hardly touched the ball, and I'm fairly sure we hadn't been into their half. From then on we were chasing the game.
I had virtually no confidence that we would hold on for a draw. An unexpected point would have helped to keep a bit of momentum going. When the Arsenal fans were singing 'that's why you're going down' at the end, I struggled to disagree with them.
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No mention of DEFENDING then, Lambo.
Wash your mouth out. That word isn't in Paul Lambert's vocabulary.*
*See also 'corner', 'set piece', 'possession', 'passing', 'victory', 'safety' and 'next season's Premier league campaign.'
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Lamberts whole matra is 'coulda,woulda,shoulda'.
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I just watched some clips on youtube to cheer myself up, Rotterdam/shaftin the noses/Dwight Yorke etc`, what a big mistake THAT was.
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I was watching Final Score when they were talking about how to shut a game out in relation to WBA almost letting Sunderland back in. Matt Holland made the point that your two CBs are very important when trying to see a game out since they tell the FBs how far they can push up the pitch, direct the CM to protect them and so on. Holland went on to say they need to be very vocal in this situation and I think this is the problem. When I see our FBs losing the ball halfway up the pitch and the gaps in the centre of the park it makes you wonder who is directing. Yes, we carried a threat but our shape was all over the place at times and an Arsenal team with confidence would have tore us apart. As soon as we entered the last 10 mins we should have employed spoiling tactics to break their rhythm and see it through, taking off N'Zogbia and bringing Dawkins on did nothing to stem the tide. Personally, I just cannot see us winning enough games because we simply do no know how to win, which is why we have seen so many points slip in the final minutes of games.
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On my way back from the Emirates. The side reeks of relegation, full of players just simply not good enough. My heart is broken at what we have become.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does not. Most H&Vers recognise that the team played well today and there is no point in making doom reddin comments on here. We need to hold our nerve and we will be ok.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does no such thing. Most of the H&Vers recognise that the team did well today and were desperately unlucky to lose.
Desperately unlucky my arse. It was men against boys second half.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does no such thing. Most of the H&Vers recognise that the team did well today and were desperately unlucky to lose.
Desperately unlucky my arse. It was men against boys second half.
Yep it wasn't unlucky, it was a result of our tactics being trying to just defend from our own box which was never going to work and it never fucking does.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does not. Most H&Vers recognise that the team played well today and there is no point in making doom reddin comments on here. We need to hold our nerve and we will be ok.
Too much Prozac again.
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I'm not interested in gallant performances, hard luck stories or displays that bode well for the future, I'm interested in results.
And once again the manager has delivered a negative one.
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On the plus side only 11 games left of this diabolical season. Stay up or go down, I think my main emotion come May 20th will be relief that it's over.
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Good effort but so predictable .
Crying out for an old head in the middle of the park . Pig headed tosser should have got one in on 1st jan -and el Ahmadi is shit , never tracked cazorla for their winner - lazy twat.
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does not. Most H&Vers recognise that the team played well today and there is no point in making doom reddin comments on here. We need to hold our nerve and we will be ok.
Too much Prozac again.
As opposed to the noose around your neck.
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Just got back from town.. Well after reading some on here you would think we got clattered. Time to have abit of faith.
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On the plus side only 11 games left of this diabolical season. Stay up or go down, I think my main emotion come May 20th will be relief that it's over.
It feels like that bit in `Saving private Ryan' where the Jewish GI is having a bayonet slowly pushed into him and the German is urging him to just relax and die. Part of me just wants to stop struggling and stop hurting.
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frustrated, all season i have been saying we arent far awy and we havent played that bad. i say it again tonight, i am fed up saying it! we have some important home games to win, but i can see us doing that!
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The fact that the post match thread is not yet running to a dozen or so pages, suggests a certain resignation as to our fate.
No it does not. Most H&Vers recognise that the team played well today and there is no point in making doom reddin comments on here. We need to hold our nerve and we will be ok.
Too much Prozac again.
As opposed to the noose around your neck.
The wife has banned bread knifes in the house,
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I just watched some clips on youtube to cheer myself up, Rotterdam/shaftin the noses/Dwight Yorke etc`, what a big mistake THAT was.
I did the same, went for the '96 league cup final. Little, Ellis, McGrath, Taylor... that is AVFC to me. Lambert, Lerner, Dunne, Ireland... no thanks, not fit to be associated with the club.
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Still trying to work out how we manage to have Vlarr and Bent out injured despite not playing for nearly a fortnight and and according to our clueless manager having had a much needed break .Arsenal have played three games in a week and yet still looked fitter than us.
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Unfortunately, we have far too many thickies among our personnel.
Starting with the manager.
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Our season won't be defined by what we did today nor next week, it will be the 6 games that follow where we need to win at least 3 of them. Problem is I can't honestly see us being 'man enough' to achieve it.
The best we can hope for is going into our last game at Wigan needing to win to stay up.
Individually we are good enough, but collectively we are not. There are just so many occasions, in every game, where we are crying out for an old head to organise the team.
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Still trying to work out how we manage to have Vlarr and Bent out injured despite not playing for nearly a fortnight and and according to our clueless manager having had a much needed break .Arsenal have played three games in a week and yet still looked fitter than us.
On extra fm whatever they call it nowdays, they said Bent wasn't injured but dropped. Anyone know for sure?
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We haven't been able to defend since the start of the season, and things have not improved. Vlaar is our best (and only senior) defender, and is incredibly injury-prone. Lambert chose, for some reason which escapes those of us with a brain, not to enlist any experienced cover. Our full-back positions are porous, our midfielders do not track back, when we lose the ball the whole team spends its time bouncing on its heels staring fixedly at the ball and totally ignoring the opposition runners...and it all means that if our forwards don't score at least three goals per game, we usually end up losing.
We are fucked. Thanks Lambo. Would it really have hurt to sign another decent defender?
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couldn't get a ticket from Villa and it's my traditional away game as I live just down the road. So I sat high up with the Arsenal lot who by and large thought played poorly and had hearts in mouths every time we attacked. Got the impression they thought they had got away with it. And the noise from the Villa fans down to my left was impressive.
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Feels like we've got a bit of fight about us again which is at least a little encouraging.
Hope Vlaar isn't out for long.
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It has come as a genuine surprise to me how thick Lambert is. I should have suspected it because stubborn, inflexible people usually are thick.
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In the past twenty five years we have won four times at Arsenal, including Dalian's winner in the cup.
Losing there has never been a barometer for either success or failure.
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how the feck can he say "The confidence is there" our defenders are terrified when put under any pressure. We as fans know it and the opposition managers really know it.
Somebody else said we'd be better with somebody like Shittu and they were right. Being a world beater isn't important in defence for us now - we just need people with bottle.
Too late though isn't it.
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Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.
And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.
.....yet again!!
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I don't post here as much as I used to because I have been saying the same things for the past two years.
it really is depressing that the club haven't tried to address those issues, the footballing and non-footballing things that have been dragging this club to the relegation places since August 2010.
Time is running out. Everybody needs to quickly address the on-pitch lack of stomach, stupid unforced errors and ridiculous inability to either defend or attack set pieces. Off the pitch, the lack of ambition, investment, direction and pride needs to be sorted this summer for once and for all or we will definitely go down next year. That's provided we haven't already dropped this season which is still a big if.
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Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.
And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.
.....yet again!!
We should stick with Lambert regardless. The problems at villa run much deeper than the man in the dug-out. Imagine who the board would appoint to replace Lambert?
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Paul Lambert on injured trio.
Paul Lambert is sweating on the fitness of Ron Vlaar , Darren Bent and Shay Given after the trio missed Villa's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Skipper Vlaar sat out of the clash at the Emirates after picking up a calf injury in training earlier this week.
Darren Bent missed out on the Gunners encounter too because of a bruised foot.
Shay Given was also absent for the trip to the capital, with Andy Marshall taking the injured keeper's place in the squad.
Lambert gave no time frame for the injuries but he will assess the fitness of the trio this week.
"Shay has a little strain," said the manager.
"Darren got a kick on his foot. Ron got a knock on his calf early in the week."
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Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.
And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.
.....yet again!!
And who do you suggest we get in for next season if that happens? Maybe we can chant for Martinez last game of season and then moan next season at the same time of season
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Norwich and fulham winning today gives them quite a cushion and it means 2 more wins should be enough for both - i think we are probably looking at 3 from the bottom 4 .
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Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.
And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.
.....yet again!!
We should stick with Lambert regardless. The problems at villa run much deeper than the man in the dug-out. Imagine who the board would appoint to replace Lambert?
Why should we stick with him? He and his coaching staff after six months in the job have been an unmitigated disaster.
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"The confidence is there, that's for sure. And we are playing well enough. The way they are playing is a very, very high level.
While i thought we played ok and there were some positives i cant quite see how lambert can think we are playing at a very very high level ?
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depends what happens tomorrow. Newcastle or southampton winning will drag them clear for the time being. At the moment i'd say its 3 from 7 (sunderland downwards)
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"The confidence is there, that's for sure. And we are playing well enough. The way they are playing is a very, very high level.
While i thought we played ok and there were some positives i cant quite see how lambert can think we are playing at a very very high level ?
Name me one positive from today.It was the same old shit again.
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"The confidence is there, that's for sure. And we are playing well enough. The way they are playing is a very, very high level.
While i thought we played ok and there were some positives i cant quite see how lambert can think we are playing at a very very high level ?
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133991.html#9Qzx7SZg1ujgZEAE.99
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
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I thought we created chances and looked bright on the break, and gave arsenal a decent game , far better than the shit we saw against wigan , southampton bradford and millwall.
We defended too deep at times and again conceded late on , defensively i thought bennett wasnt too bad against walcott and although i have been very critical of lambert i think we gave a reasonable account of ourselves today.
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
heh. bet that went down well.
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Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.
And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.
.....yet again!!
We should stick with Lambert regardless. The problems at villa run much deeper than the man in the dug-out. Imagine who the board would appoint to replace Lambert?
Why should we stick with him? He and his coaching staff after six months in the job have been an unmitigated disaster.
Because we have had an awful lot of instability since 2010. Also, I don't trust Randy when it comes to appointing managers. I do feel Lambert could get it right eventually whereas bringing somebody in means we will be in transition yet again, re-assessing players, perhaps changing our recruitment policy yet again. At least we have some clarity with Lambert. he won't tolerate the Ireland's of this world whereas a new manager will have to give everybody a clean slate. let Lambert clear the place out in the summer and maybe if Randy opened up the chequebook Lambert might find a few more Bentekes.
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
Well said.
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Anyone know what was up with Vlaar?
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I thought it was just about the right result today but we did ok, but some careless defending let us down. I don't know why but i think we'll be ok.
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Christ. Chocolate Concrete Ron. What a waste of space.
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Paul Lambert on injured trio.
Paul Lambert is sweating on the fitness of Ron Vlaar , Darren Bent and Shay Given after the trio missed Villa's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Skipper Vlaar sat out of the clash at the Emirates after picking up a calf injury in training earlier this week.
Darren Bent missed out on the Gunners encounter too because of a bruised foot.
Shay Given was also absent for the trip to the capital, with Andy Marshall taking the injured keeper's place in the squad.
Lambert gave no time frame for the injuries but he will assess the fitness of the trio this week.
"Shay has a little strain," said the manager.
"Darren got a kick on his foot. Ron got a knock on his calf early in the week."
1. Why was this kept secret until then and 2. Real footballers would play through such insignificant non injuries. Especially after a fortnight off. Vlaar in particular comes across as a nonce.
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Performances matter not one jot at this stage.
Didn't expect.anything, didn't get anything.
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Paul Lambert on injured trio.
Paul Lambert is sweating on the fitness of Ron Vlaar , Darren Bent and Shay Given after the trio missed Villa's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Skipper Vlaar sat out of the clash at the Emirates after picking up a calf injury in training earlier this week.
Darren Bent missed out on the Gunners encounter too because of a bruised foot.
Shay Given was also absent for the trip to the capital, with Andy Marshall taking the injured keeper's place in the squad.
Lambert gave no time frame for the injuries but he will assess the fitness of the trio this week.
"Shay has a little strain," said the manager.
"Darren got a kick on his foot. Ron got a knock on his calf early in the week."
1. Why was this kept secret until then and 2. Real footballers would play through such insignificant non injuries. Especially after a fortnight off. Vlaar in particular comes across as a nonce.
1. To keep our team selection a secret from Arsenal. If they'd known Vlaar was missing they could have done specific training to target Baker, for instance.
2. You win by playing your best team. Players with 'injuries' and are not as good as players without them.
They had a fortnight off, but that doesn't mean they sat around doing nothing, they will have done a lot of training, which takes its toll on the body.
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Bruised foot my arse. As for Vlaar, well bollocks to his shit cardboard leg.
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If someone has an injury such as Vlaar's, playing with a calf injury can aggravate it further and mean in him missing a number of games
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Performances matter not one jot at this stage.
Didn't expect.anything, didn't get anything.
I would have to agree; if we are using the twelve cup finals line then it is all about winning/picking up points from here on in and playing well and losing counts for jack shit
We look like we are starting to play well but the damage has already been done with the absolute dog shit served up over the first 25 or so games this season
Oh well another late goal, another defeat and another Saturday ruined
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Christ. Chocolate Concrete Ron. What a waste of space.
That's him out for the season, it was his bloody calf before.
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Christ. Chocolate Concrete Ron. What a waste of space.
That's him out for the season, it was his bloody calf before.
I severely hope not.
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Well he shouldn't take his cattle to training with him
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Well he shouldn't take his cattle to training with him
Haha. Very good.
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Well he shouldn't take his cattle to training with him
His calf contains 70% pony.
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Well after the first 10 minutes I thought we were going to get battered...maybe not Chelsea level but certainly either 3 or 4 nil. I also thought Lambert had horribly misjudged it by going with just Delph and Westwood centrally against Arsenal's three.
In fairness we regrouped very well (Weimann was my MOTM and I also thought Bennett had his best game defensively for us today) and were unlucky not to nick a point in the end although Arsenal's second was coming as they'd have two previously run across the six yard box without anyone tapping it in just before.
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Was Zog injured ?
If not, Lambert should know by now that taking him off does not lead to good things
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Well after the first 10 minutes I thought we were going to get battered...maybe not Chelsea level but certainly either 3 or 4 nil. I also thought Lambert had horribly misjudged it by going with just Delph and Westwood centrally against Arsenal's three.
In fairness we regrouped very well (Weimann was my MOTM and I also thought Bennett had his best game defensively for us today) and were unlucky not to nick a point in the end although Arsenal's second was coming as they'd have two previously run across the six yard box without anyone tapping it in just before.
Nice to see someone giving a good honest view of the game without going overboard
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
Christ. Chocolate Concrete Ron. What a waste of space.
That's him out for the season, it was his bloody calf before.
Don't worry my good friend, that's why we strengthened the squad in the transfer Windo......
OH FUCK!!!!
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Fed up of hearing all the positives we must take from another defeat, the simple fact is we won't have won enough games to stay in the Premier League.
People have said it's not the games like today that will seal our fate but games against our nearest rivals that are coming up, but apart from the squeaky 1-0 against Reading, we haven't won any of those either, and I can see maybe only three points from the double header of Reading/QPR that is coming up, we haven't got the steel or determination to win those sort of games in this pityful excuse for a Villa side.
I've said for ages that this side is the worst since Billy McBingo's, and I'm afraid our fate was sealed quite a while ago.
Just heard Lambert saying we were unlucky and played well, I'm sorry that is total bollocks.
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Oscar Arce you are right, we have not played well enough all season and this is defo they worst team since 86-7. Possibly worse in fact.
I am sick of hearing people say it was Arsenal away we could not expect to win etc. Do yu think Southampton said that before beating Man City at home 2 weeks ago? Or QPR at Chelsea before their win? We are too meek on the pitch and too accepting of our fate.
They should be fighting like rabid zombies with cucumbers up their Arses.
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Thought we played well in the first half against the worst Arsenal side since the Bruce Rioch days. All composure went out the window in the second half though, the trio of Nzogbia, Gabby and in particular Benteke went missing. After the equaliser we were gutless, conceding unnecessary corners and hoofing to nobody. Lambert should have withdrawn Benteke,who was hopeless throughout, when El Ahmadi came on.
Centre backs did reasonably ok. Bennett did a lot better defensively than I expected. Lowton is a fairly hopeless defender really. Positionally all over the place and was targeted successfully by Arsenal. I thought Delph was very good in the first half but lost his head in the second half. Westwood needs to play in a 3 man midfield. Weimann gave his all and deserved his goal. Gabby and Nzogbia were very good in the first half but anonymous in the second
Arsenal were so poor today really, Wenger's time does seem up. The amount of space we had on the counterattack was ridiculous. Wilshere and Cazorla seemed out of place with the rest of the mediocrity they had on show. I'm disappointed as Arsenal were truly there for the taking but we didn't have the courage or quality to take advantage.
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Do you think we were better last season?
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I sincerely hope that Lambert doesn't believe his post match comments. If he really believes that we were unlucky to lose that match then he is either more deluded or stupid than I thought.
Can't see anything other than us going down with Reading and QPR.
Can't wait for this miserable season to end, whatever the outcome.
Wouldn't it be great to go to a match with some hope of getting a result? Having said that, with Lambert at the helm we could be in a Wolves-type scenario in a years time.
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Do you think we were better last season?
I don't know. I actually think something is fundamentally wrong at the club. It's not a happy place and so it is impossible to compare this season with last.
In my view, we should have been more comfortable last year than we were. Instead of trying to draw our way to safety, we should have been going for wins. This year we have less experience but a more positive manager.
I'm just trying to be positive because I got very down about the situation last year and it did me no favours.
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Do you think we were better last season?
We only had five more points at this stage last season I think. Basically where Sunderland are now.
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Just seen the highlights, Delph left his man. No positional sense and not good enough.
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I sincerely hope that Lambert doesn't believe his post match comments. If he really believes that we were unlucky to lose that match then he is either more deluded or stupid than I thought.
Can't see anything other than us going down with Reading and QPR.
Can't wait for this miserable season to end, whatever the outcome.
Wouldn't it be great to go to a match with some hope of getting a result? Having said that, with Lambert at the helm we could be in a Wolves-type scenario in a years time.
Allardyce said they dominated us last game, so don't pay attention to any post match comments.
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Do you think we were better last season?
We only had five more points at this stage last season I think. Basically where Sunderland are now.
Five more points, but playing gradually worse and worse. We are actually improving now, though God knows that's not saying much
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Do you think we were better last season?
I don't know. I actually think something is fundamentally wrong at the club. It's not a happy place and so it is impossible to compare this season with last.
In my view, we should have been more comfortable last year than we were. Instead of trying to draw our way to safety, we should have been going for wins. This year we have less experience but a more positive manager.
I'm just trying to be positive because I got very down about the situation last year and it did me no favours.
It is very clear there is a massive problem at the club, essentially an absent board who are negligent.
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Do you think we were better last season?
We only had five more points at this stage last season I think. Basically where Sunderland are now.
Five more points, but playing gradually worse and worse. We are actually improving now, though God knows that's not saying much
Yep thats it for me. And running out of games and potential points
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We need to play four teams as bad as West Ham were the other week. Fulham, Sunderland and QPR at VP and either Reading/Norwich away surely?
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Bruised foot my arse. As for Vlaar, well bollocks to his shit cardboard leg.
As someone so eloquentley put it, it's time for Vlaar to stop looking like a hard bastard and start acting like one.
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We need to play four teams as bad as West Ham were the other week. Fulham, Sunderland and QPR at VP and either Reading/Norwich away surely?
Yep let's hope so. There is a half decent team in there technically speaking but lacking leaders everywhere on the pitch.
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Oscar Arce you are right, we have not played well enough all season and this is defo they worst team since 86-7. Possibly worse in fact.
I am sick of hearing people say it was Arsenal away we could not expect to win etc. Do yu think Southampton said that before beating Man City at home 2 weeks ago? Or QPR at Chelsea before their win? We are too meek on the pitch and too accepting of our fate.
They should be fighting like rabid zombies with cucumbers up their Arses.
Well, for those who say we should not expect anything from games against Arse. etc, there is a simple answer....
we probably wont have to worry about it for a while as we might not be playing them again for a very long time.
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
(http://d22zlbw5ff7yk5.cloudfront.net/images/cm-36243-050bffabb05dbf.gif)
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
(http://d22zlbw5ff7yk5.cloudfront.net/images/cm-36243-050bffabb05dbf.gif)
Well fucking said - bunch of Jonny Come Lateley Areshold fuckwits who haven't the first clue about football.
Piers Morgans - hello.
Fuck right off the lot of them. Rival ManUre and Chelsea for annoying offensive Celebrity Fans. At least with the latter 2 teams no-one can ever take them seriously. And no-one should epect them too
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Out of interest Paulie, did they post it?
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Vlaar got a knock on his calf in training
That sounds like Bull shit!
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Sounds a bit like 'he has a calf strain' and then was out for 3 months with no explanation.
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We were five ponts better off last season from comment tonight, I have to say I would rather be where I am now under Lambert than last season. We look like we have the potential to score goals, not like at the same stage last season when Keane left. Others agree it is bad, but it has been coming. Is that Lamberts fault then? He has made mistakes, no doubt about it, but he is trying to get them playing football. He needed help in January to sort defence out
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
The thing is, there's probably a load of fans from lower divisions saying the exact same things about us.
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Reading the comments of Arsenal fans on the Guardian report of the match, all bemoaning how tough it is following Arsenal etc etc, I snapped.
"Oh, it's so hard, supporting Arsenal"" ... why is following this club so tough?" yada yada yada, as you all compose angry tweets to share with Piers Morgan.
Take a look at the majority of the other teams in the various levels of professional football, especially since the introduction of the Champions League, the golden teat you suckle off year after year.
Ninety percent of you haven't got the first idea what "hard" or "tough" is in following a football team, you bunch of cossetted, moaning Tarquins.
Not the first idea.
The thing is, there's probably a load of fans from lower divisions saying the exact same things about us.
Yeah that's what I thought. It's all relative.
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I'm a bit surprised at all the negativity on here. I think the general consensus pre-match was that anything other than a defeat in this or the Citeh games were bonuses despite Arsenal's form. Difficult then to read "It's not games against Arsenal that will relegate us it's the ones against Reading, QPR, Wigan..." OK, well please hold your fire until we play those games (we lost to Wigan I know, I mean the away one).
I watched the game amongst the Arsenal fans today (and Christ, we moan about a lack of atmosphere at VP? Try spending every home game alongside these dullards) and I was pleasantly surprised at our play for most of the first half after a poor start. Lengthy spells of possession and working two or three very good openings. More impressive than most away sides manage there. Second half, Arsenal had more chances but it wasn't until our equaliser (from an Arsenal corner! Stitch that, cornalty!) that they turned up the heat - again, as you would expect from a team that still has some really talented players. We don't play in a vacuum so it's not as easy to say stop defending so deep when the opposition have players with better retention who can press for long spells. Set-pieces were largely meat and drink for us at the back but we got away with a couple of scares before the winner and yeah, there was a bit of inevitability about the timing of it. But I wouldn't get so down on it being another late goal conceded and a point dropped - it was sustained pressure at that stage and a game lasts for 96 minutes (today), that's the way it goes.
On the plus side we really look like hurting teams every time we counter and that's a big positive we need to take into the remaining games. I do fear for us a little at taking the game to teams at VP where the onus will be on us to force the issue in the upcoming home games against QPR, Fulham and Sunderland. Defensively we are still far too open to play against and it's been Lambert's biggest failing. A designated defensive coach would make a hell of a difference. Even fatty Dunne's presence would help a lot but neither of those things are going to happen now so we have to take confidence from the attacking and set-piece defending today and hopefully turn it into a bonus point or three against Man Sheikhy next week. I actually feel more confident after today that we'll stay up then after the West Ham game. We looked far more dangerous, more fluid with the ball and better at defending corners today.
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Taking Westwood off for El Ahmadi is just plain stupid.
We look a better balanced side with Westwood on the pitch.
El Ahmadi is truly shambloic.
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John Matson, BBC Match of the Day commentator:
"Goodness me this was not a convincing performance from Arsenal and it nearly wasn't a victory. Arsenal had so much of the play but Aston Villa, who were so bright on the counter-attack, will consider themselves unfortunate to lose. The end of an extraordinary week at the Emirates."
That's an independent view.
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John Matson, BBC Match of the Day commentator:
"Goodness me this was not a convincing performance from Arsenal and it nearly wasn't a victory. Arsenal had so much of the play but Aston Villa, who were so bright on the counter-attack, will consider themselves unfortunate to lose. The end of an extraordinary week at the Emirates."
That's an independent view.
I disagree with it unfortunately, we countered nicely in places but we played far far too deep and it's why we always concede goals late.
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Drummond, we are doomed, awful, lost 2-1 at Arsenal, that must mean we are relegated lol. What a load of tosh, did we show fight, do we look like the team of 86-87 as some suggest? No we dont IMHO, we can score goals but have to stop the nonsense at the other end. Lets back the team unless we know they are shirking and have not seen that
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I disagree with it unfortunately, we countered nicely in places but we played far far too deep and it's why we always concede goals late.
Paul not sure if you were at Emirates but I was there and in the first half after the opening first ten minutes we were the better side. Arsenal did not create any clear cut opportunities and we could have easily had two goals from Weimann's attacks on the right hand side. The second half started just as the first but we got back into it and equalised. It was than that we stared playing like muppets by dropping back to the edge of our box. This is not Lambert's fault it is due to lack of experience. We did not play deep as a matter of course. Overall we did not deserve to lose this game.
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If it's us vs Wigan for the last spot then we're going to lose that battle. If nothing else Martinez/Wigan have experience in the latter part of the season of finding results to do enough to survive. My concern is the gap between us and the others will be too large to bridge and like sinking into quicksand we won't have anything to grab onto.
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Taking Westwood off for El Ahmadi is just plain stupid.
We look a better balanced side with Westwood on the pitch.
El Ahmadi is truly shambloic.
I would have thought sylla would have been a better than kea , most of lamberts substitutions this season have been poor and i dont really think kea is anywhere near good enough.
The 2 players who he has bought both cant get into the team when it was clear we needed to bring in someone who could go straight into the side.
I was encouraged by the display in some ways but as others have pointed out time is running out and we must stop this habit of defending so deep and inviting pressure as well as conceding late goals.
Bennett seemed better yesterday although lowton looks like he maybe needs to be rested , central defence is not good enough even with vlaar and although we seem to have sorted the front four the defence should have been strengthened last month.
If we have to go to wigan on the last day needing a result i do not fancy our chances , we must start winning games asap and back to back.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
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John Matson, BBC Match of the Day commentator:
"Goodness me this was not a convincing performance from Arsenal and it nearly wasn't a victory. Arsenal had so much of the play but Aston Villa, who were so bright on the counter-attack, will consider themselves unfortunate to lose. The end of an extraordinary week at the Emirates."
That's an independent view.
John Motson is a Spurs 'fan' so hardly independent
I disagree with it unfortunately, we countered nicely in places but we played far far too deep and it's why we always concede goals late.
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Motson is correct in his summary.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Fair enough I will watch it again.
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If it's us vs Wigan for the last spot then we're going to lose that battle. If nothing else Martinez/Wigan have experience in the latter part of the season of finding results to do enough to survive. My concern is the gap between us and the others will be too large to bridge and like sinking into quicksand we won't have anything to grab onto.
Agreed Wigan although always down there play some lovely football at times which I admire them for.
I felt yesterday that although we knew what was coming, we were playing a top 4 team and inevitably at home a team like that will grind you down regardless of the fact that we struggle in those areas.
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Taking Westwood off for El Ahmadi is just plain stupid.
We look a better balanced side with Westwood on the pitch.
El Ahmadi is truly shambloic.
Westwood looked knackered when he came off. I'd have probably taken off Weimann towards the end and thrown another midfielder like Sylla on.
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Taking Westwood off for El Ahmadi is just plain stupid.
We look a better balanced side with Westwood on the pitch.
El Ahmadi is truly shambloic.
Westwood looked knackered when he came off. I'd have probably taken off Weimann towards the end and thrown another midfielder like Sylla on.
This is another problem with young players, westwood , lowton are both beginning to look tired and there is nobody any good to replace them with .
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No manager, barring Ossie Ardiles plays away from home with 4 out and out attackers, especially not against a team such as Arsenal. I'm afraid Lambert is as naive as Graham Turner, who also liked the 4-2-4 formation.
Arsenal were much poorer than in usual seasons, but we should have limited space, minimising their runs off the ball.
I feel a little sorry for Delph as he and Westward had to cover an awful lot of ground.
To say I was flabbergasted when he brought Dawkins in, when a defensive body was required, was a understatement.
I would also say that by the time we play Wigan, they will be long gone from our horizon.
As well as we played at times, this was an utterly naive team formation.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Surely it is not Weimann's job to track back. He should work from the halfway line forwards.
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No manager, barring Ossie Ardiles plays away from home with 4 out and out attackers, especially not against a team such as Arsenal. I'm afraid Lambert is as naive as Graham Turner, who also liked the 4-2-4 formation.
Arsenal were much poorer than in usual seasons, but we should have limited space, minimising their runs off the ball.
I feel a little sorry for Delph as he and Westward had to cover an awful lot of ground.
To say I was flabbergasted when he brought Dawkins in, when a defensive body was required, was a understatement.
I would also say that by the time we play Wigan, they will be long gone from our horizon.
As well as we played at times, this was an utterly naive team formation.
I can only guess the idea with Dawkins was to run with the ball upfield and provide an outlet for the pressure, but we also needed a defensive midfielder sub. If Sylla wasn't good enough or fit enough to be that sub then he shouldn't have been bought.
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No manager, barring Ossie Ardiles plays away from home with 4 out and out attackers, especially not against a team such as Arsenal. I'm afraid Lambert is as naive as Graham Turner, who also liked the 4-2-4 formation.
Arsenal were much poorer than in usual seasons, but we should have limited space, minimising their runs off the ball.
I feel a little sorry for Delph as he and Westward had to cover an awful lot of ground.
To say I was flabbergasted when he brought Dawkins in, when a defensive body was required, was a understatement.
I would also say that by the time we play Wigan, they will be long gone from our horizon.
As well as we played at times, this was an utterly naive team formation.
I can only guess the idea with Dawkins was to run with the ball upfield and provide an outlet for the pressure, but we also needed a defensive midfielder sub. If Sylla wasn't good enough or fit enough to be that sub then he shouldn't have been bought.
Very true sir.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Surely it is not Weimann's job to track back. He should work from the halfway line forwards.
I agree - but he was there with the Arsenal forward, and just let him go past him.
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Benteke was rubbish. Might as well have played Bowrey for the last 20 minutes for all he did.
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If only Benteke had released that ball earlier to Weimann , he could have probably made it 2-1.
The big man's touch was shocking yesterday.
I was not expecting anything from Arsenal and $itty , even thou I am hoping for a point next game , its the QPR and Reading game we have to get 6 points but its so disappointing to keep dropping deeper and deeper to eventually let the other team score its late goal.
and Lambert's subs don't get much better .
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Watching the highlights, how bad was the defending on the corner where Giroud had a free header. It was absolutely criminal and shows we're not learning. Our marking is awful.
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I actually think yesterday was a missed opportunity. Arsenal have been all at sea, and their defending was abysmal. With Gabby in particular running into the wide open spaces, we were all set for another counter-attacking win, like those we've had at the Emirates in recent seasons.
All it needed was a solid defensive platform.
Oh dear.
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That's the worse Arsenal team have put out in the league for donkeys years. Toothless up front and a wobbly defence.
Our own defence is a big worry. Late November/early December we conceded just 3 in 6 games, and it seemed as if we could at least shut teams out. Then came the Chelsea games and our defenders are still jumping at their own shadows.
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If only Benteke had released that ball earlier to Weimann , he could have probably made it 2-1.
The big man's touch was shocking yesterday.
One of the Things Benteke needs to work on is his laying off of the ball, its rubbish.
I think he's thinking ahead of himself of what run he will make and inevitably he lays a really sloppy ball off.
I can forgive him for this aspect of his game as I'm sure it will improve and once he has the ball and drives at the defense he is excellent.
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That's the worse Arsenal team have put out in the league for donkeys years. Toothless up front and a wobbly defence.
Our own defence is a big worry. Late November/early December we conceded just 3 in 6 games, and it seemed as if we could at least shut teams out. Then came the Chelsea games and our defenders are still jumping at their own shadows.
yep. we can all see it, presumably Lambchop can as well but it doesn't improve. I'm guessing he's spending every moment on the training pitch trying to drill the defence but its not working. You don't need a defence of world beaters to stop making balls-ups every game.
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Forgot to mention, I saw Houllier in the concourse at the Emirates yesterday. Goodness me, he looked very frail indeed. The health setback that curtailed his time here must really have affected him. He waddled up to a tv gantry or somewhere. Seemed a bit daft, I can't imagine his missus is best pleased he's still working. Looks fit for rest, relaxation and little else.
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Forgot to mention, I saw Houllier in the concourse at the Emirates yesterday. Goodness me, he looked very frail indeed. The health setback that curtailed his time here must really have affected him. He waddled up to a tv gantry or somewhere. Seemed a bit daft, I can't imagine his missus is best pleased he's still working. Looks fit for rest, relaxation and little else.
Woodward was saying how well he looked, i saw him at the spurs game on tv last week in lyon and thought he looked well and was smiling and laughing .
@JackWoodwardAV: First person I exchanged pleasantries and a firm handshake with on arriving in Emirates press room? Gerard Houllier! Looking well #AVFCLIVE
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Taking Westwood off for El Ahmadi is just plain stupid.
We look a better balanced side with Westwood on the pitch.
El Ahmadi is truly shambloic.
Agreed, surprised we didn't see Sylla as all KEA does nowadays is give pointless free kicks away.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Surely Lowton? Anyone have a clue where he disappeared to for the second goal?
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Out of interest Paulie, did they post it?
Yeah. Well, I added it to the comments section. Has had quite a few clicks of agreement.
It certainly cheered me up shouting at someone else.
Mind you, I was in Coventry this morning - never a reason for cheer - and I started thinking about how I was sure I remember their fans holding a "we'll be back" banner when they went down, and thought to myself "ha ha, yeah right".
Then I thought about our current situation and stopped laughing
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Out of interest Paulie, did they post it?
Yeah. Well, I added it to the comments section. Has had quite a few clicks of agreement.
It certainly cheered me up shouting at someone else.
Mind you, I was in Coventry this morning - never a reason for cheer - and I started thinking about how I was sure I remember their fans holding a "we'll be back" banner when they went down, and thought to myself "ha ha, yeah right".
Then I thought about our current situation and stopped laughing
yes, it kinda makes you think, I guess
*pensive emoticon*
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Here's my take on the game, though our match reports seem to be becoming as worn as the post-match threads.. Only so often you can keep saying the same things.
Have a read and rate Lambert's performance.. (http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/23-02-2013/arsenal-vs-aston-villa)
And here's a quick snippet..
Villa proved to be the perfect comeback opponents for Arsenal; though the first half performance offered promise, if marred by our now customary defensive hesitancy, the second was a muddled mess which lurched from amateurish to inept.
Time after time this season we've seen our side become a punching bag, dropping towards the so-called 'sanctuary' (it's anything but) of our six-yard line while the opposition pour forward in wave after wave of virtually unbroken attacks
Read more: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/23-02-2013/arsenal-vs-aston-villa#ixzz2LpkfShmo
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Surely Lowton? Anyone have a clue where he disappeared to for the second goal?
It's Weimanns job to track the full back, he got lucky a couple of times when the ball was overhit but it was an area where we were wide open all game. Our full backs were tucked in around the edge of the box leaving the space that Arsenal eventually exploited.
Our defenders are continually being sucked to where the ball is or where they thinks it's going to be, they never ever cover the man.
It's OK playing four attacking players but it's detrimental to our defense & asking players like Gabby & Weimann to track back constantly means they only have to switch off momentarily & the opposition are in.
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Here's my take on the game, though our match reports seem to be becoming as worn as the post-match threads.. Only so often you can keep saying the same things.
Have a read and rate Lambert's performance.. (http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/23-02-2013/arsenal-vs-aston-villa)
And here's a quick snippet..
Villa proved to be the perfect comeback opponents for Arsenal; though the first half performance offered promise, if marred by our now customary defensive hesitancy, the second was a muddled mess which lurched from amateurish to inept.
Time after time this season we've seen our side become a punching bag, dropping towards the so-called 'sanctuary' (it's anything but) of our six-yard line while the opposition pour forward in wave after wave of virtually unbroken attacks
Read more: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/23-02-2013/arsenal-vs-aston-villa#ixzz2LpkfShmo
Good report, can't argue with any of that!
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i thought we were unlucky not to take a point yesterday. when they scored after 5 minutes, i thought we were going to get another battering, but they showed a bit of grit and kept their head.
benteke was anonymous, but i thought wiemann was superb. bennett looked more assured.
i was more annoyed that wigan turned over reading so convincingly. if they start to pull away we're fucked.
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I know somebody has probably posted this already earlier in the thread but watching it again this morning the second Arsenal goal was totally the fault of Fabian Delph who didnt track back as he should have done.
I thought, as did MOTD, that Weimann was at fault for not tracking back.
Surely Lowton? Anyone have a clue where he disappeared to for the second goal?
It's Weimanns job to track the full back, he got lucky a couple of times when the ball was overhit but it was an area where we were wide open all game. Our full backs were tucked in around the edge of the box leaving the space that Arsenal eventually exploited.
Our defenders are continually being sucked to where the ball is or where they thinks it's going to be, they never ever cover the man.
It's OK playing four attacking players but it's detrimental to our defense & asking players like Gabby & Weimann to track back constantly means they only have to switch off momentarily & the opposition are in.
In fairness we got in loads down Arsenal's left aswell in the first half, Moreal went walkabout loads of times. The key yesterday was not playing 3 centrally in midfield for the last 15 minutes, I would've put Sylla on instead of KEA and taken Gabby off instead of N'zogbia (bizarre Lambert never trusts him to last a full 90 minutes).
I reckon Gabby will be taken out for Man. City. We can't go in 4-2-4 against them as they're so strong in central midfield and don't offer much width. Surely even Lambert isnt even that tactically stupid?
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I've been away all weekend and just noticed that Vlaar is injured, again. What's the matter with him now?
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I've been away all weekend and just noticed that Vlaar is injured, again. What's the matter with him now?
He's hurt his calf.
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I've been away all weekend and just noticed that Vlaar is injured, again. What's the matter with him now?
He's hurt his calf.
We should change his name to Farmer Ron.
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They thought it was his calf but they tested it and it was his foal. He had to be withdrawn on health and safety grounds.
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They thought it was his calf but they tested it and it was his foal. He had to be withdrawn on health and safety grounds.
When asked if he was fit enough to play he said Neigh
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His foot and mouth flared up
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Vlaar fit or not makes no odds, were as down as Stewart Downing in Downing Street watching an episode of Downturn Abbey or whatever the f*ck it's called.
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That's the worse Arsenal team have put out in the league for donkeys years. Toothless up front and a wobbly defence.
Our own defence is a big worry. Late November/early December we conceded just 3 in 6 games, and it seemed as if we could at least shut teams out. Then came the Chelsea games and our defenders are still jumping at their own shadows.
yep. we can all see it, presumably Lambchop can as well but it doesn't improve. I'm guessing he's spending every moment on the training pitch trying to drill the defence but its not working. You don't need a defence of world beaters to stop making balls-ups every game.
Yep, apologies for stating the bleeding obvious.
It was a rhetorical whinge.
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That's the worse Arsenal team have put out in the league for donkeys years. Toothless up front and a wobbly defence.
Our own defence is a big worry. Late November/early December we conceded just 3 in 6 games, and it seemed as if we could at least shut teams out. Then came the Chelsea games and our defenders are still jumping at their own shadows.
yep. we can all see it, presumably Lambchop can as well but it doesn't improve. I'm guessing he's spending every moment on the training pitch trying to drill the defence but its not working. You don't need a defence of world beaters to stop making balls-ups every game.
Yep, apologies for stating the bleeding obvious.
It was a rhetorical whinge.
no need to apologise. I'm fulling intending to state the bleeding obvious at every opportunity :0)