Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: usav on January 13, 2014, 10:01:37 PM
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Might as well start one......
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A fight, at least
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Much better second half, but still a lot to be desired.
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It's better when Legion does it,I don't like this one.
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First half: no fight. Second half: fight.
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It feels so good to be just shit as opposed to utterly shit. Well done for showing a little less shitness, Villa! Onwards and less-shitwards.
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The last 10 minutes shouldn't gloss over what was a bloody awful performance. Only plus point - A goal from the Beast.
Only hope is that they carry their performance from the last 10 mins into the Liverpool game.
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Do we win on aggregate?
As I said in the match thread lets hope that like the Newcastle game last year that last twenty minutes at least gives us a template for the rest of the season.
We weren't great by any means. But we were at least purposeful and vigorous.
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The second half is the bare minimum to expect at home, we gave it a go. Maybe Lambert will realise now you do actually need the ball and have the ability to pass it around, you also need to press the opposition. I don't want to see 5 at the back again it's defeatist from the off set. The second half can be a base for improvement, we were still well short of quality but we tried to be progressive.
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Wring tactics from the start was our downfall. They play one up front, so why do we play 5 at the back.
Good second half fight back.
Great to see Benteke score. Hope he goes on a run.
Better than I thought at half time
We go again...
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Lambert can't be allowed to let that last 15 mins paper over the gaping cracks. Abysmal again for most of the game. At least we stand a fighting chance of survival if Benteke's mojo has truly come back.
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Bafflement no other word for it.
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I predicted a loss and we lost.....again.
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I just dont like losing. Decent 10 mins at the end.
SPEND SOME FUCKING MONEY LERNER!
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Don't be deceived by a better 2nd half performance when Arsenal were coasting.
Midfield was a complete non-entity once again. Both full backs leave a lot to be desired from a defensive/positional point of view. Forwards isolated.
Nothing's really changed - unless the Benteke goal is a sign of things to come.
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20 minutes doesn't make up for the months of dross that has gone beforehand.
It's a start.
And Grant Holt isn't the answer to anything, ever.
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Suarez v our defence..only one outcome
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Benteke scoring is a massive plus. Get him confident, we'll be better for it. Be nice if we buy some players to consistently supply him with chances.
We got in their faces but was too little too late. Naivety to go 2 down so quickly
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Suarez v our defence..only one outcome
Oh, come on. Think positively = he could be injured in training.
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We have to have a go at teams at home and hopefully Lambert realises that now. We weren't great in the second half, but part of Arsenal dropping off was because we pressed them and tried to show a bit of ambition.
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Some excitement at last!!!!
Buy a midfielder, a bloody good one and the picture changes dramatically.
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Too many average, no wait, below average players is our problem.
Spend,spend,spend.
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there's no reason why this kind of performance needed to start in 60th minute. When you give everything and try to win and pass the ball then against any opposition you give yourself a chance. Had we played like that against Palace or Fulham we'd have won those games. Football is a difficult enough game without the tactics being employed making it more difficult than it needs to be.
I'm glad we proved to ourselves that we can play this way, but then again it was similar against Everton and we have fallen away. It shouldn't take a massive bollocking at HT or to be 2-0 down to be playing this way. It makes me angry just thinking of the wasted opportunities this season.
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Suarez v our defence..only one outcome
I'll put my winnings + my stake from today all on a Liverpool win. Sturridge is some player too.
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there's no reason why this kind of performance needed to start in 60th minute. When you give everything and try to win and pass the ball then against any opposition you give yourself a chance. Had we played like that against Palace or Fulham we'd have won those games. Football is a difficult enough game without the tactics being employed making it more difficult than it needs to be.
I'm glad we proved to ourselves that we can play this way, but then again it was similar against Everton and we have fallen away. It shouldn't take a massive bollocking at HT or to be 2-0 down to be playing this way. It makes me angry just thinking of the wasted opportunities this season.
Agreed our defeatist tactics have really fucked us since Everton.
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Went down battling and a goal for the Beast. Probably about as good as we would have expected. Beating the teams below us is key, as in the old cliche. (Bit worried that Baker is made of glass.)
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Wring tactics from the start was our downfall. They play one up front, so why do we play 5 at the back.
Except they didn't score during that time, only once we'd changed formation.
That goal and the determination the whole lot of them showed towards the end means they have got a bit of fight and I feel positive that with a couple of players we'll keep progressing.
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Fairly decent last 30 in terms of intent and desire. Still poor quality. The main positive is Benteke now looking like a player again. Hopefully he goes on a scoring run again because we need him to hit form.
Arsenal really let the ball drop. They should have had the game well and truly killed off. It's a habit they've had for 10 years now, and have appeared to be improving on it this season, but they don't want to slip back into old ways if they still want the title.
If there's one thing I learned from this game, more so than anything else, it's that Ozil has a really punchable face. Possibly almost more so than Wilshere. That prick was just really winding me up all game. He's also taking perhaps more credit than he's due for Arsenal being genuine contenders this season. He's been good, but not great and hasn't found a great deal of consistency for a 40 mill player.
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"Hopefully Lambert realises that now". Oh please. The man remains clueless and is only in a job because no one else would sell their principles as he is prepared to. At least we are away at the weekend! Was better second half but like the Newcastle game last year we shouldn't need ripping apart before we try and compete.
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Press high up the pitch, get in their faces, force mistakes - basically play with a bit of bottle and desire and we give ourselves a fighting chance against anyone.
Lets try it from the first minute rather than the 60th, ok villa?
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The problem is the last 15 minutes will allow the manager to say how terrific we were when for 75 minutes we were in fact garbage as usual.
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KEA is such a pedestrian player. It's not so much that he's really bad, it's just that everything he does is in slow motion. He slows down our attacks all the time, and he hasn't got the burst of pace to keep up when a player makes a darting run. He tries to press opponents, to his credit, but when he does it looks like a cow trying to harry a leopard.
And when is Lambert going to grasp that Westwood has no clue how to track back and no defensive instinct whatsoever, and actually play a holding midfielder in the holding midfielder role?
If we are signing Holt as short term cover for Kozak, I have no problem with that. He's experienced and Lambert presumably knows how to get the best out of him. But it's the midfield that needs boosting, and not with cover, but with first teamers, because the ones we've got make me pine for Gavin McCann, and that is just plain wrong.
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We MUST get a couple of midfielders in who will dictate play and get us on the front foot. Get them in and we will be a completely different team.
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We now qualify for the label "perennial relegation candidates". Sadly.
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I don't know the answer to this one but there is probably some clued up bugger out there who could tell me...What are the chances of a home team winning if they go 1 up as opposed to going 1 down..i know Lambert thinks statistics are irrelevant but I am sure the the statistics here would make for a pretty impressive case for going 1 up
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5-3-2 suits us as it can allow Lowton and Luna forward with some security behind them. 4-4-2 kills us because Westwood can track back and Lowton is not a good defender.
If we want to play 3 centre backs I have no issue with it, but we need to sign another one to allow us to do so, as Baker and Vlaar putting 10 fit games together is as likely as us turning to Gr...
Anyway, Benteke confident - Villa suddenly play.
Closing down was the key though, it is not rocket science. Close down, bust a gut, get there, make damn sure!
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I think the display was much better than what we have seen recently like against united palace and Swansea!
We played as a team much higher up the pitch carrying more of a threat putting Lowton in places where he could deliver a good ball!
We have to take this performance forward! Higher tempo passing forward passing quicker fullbacks bombing on!
We play much better when we get the ball forward quick!
There were positives and we need to take them and learn from it
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Agree with all on here. Better second half for sure but at 2-1 we still reverted to hoofing it in the air. It seems very much a designated tactic. Its snit.
Benteke played well today. Our defence is a shambles. Our midfield is powderpuff.
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5-3-2 suits us as it can allow Lowton and Luna forward with some security behind them. 4-4-2 kills us because Westwood can track back and Lowton is not a good defender.
If we want to play 3 centre backs I have no issue with it, but we need to sign another one to allow us to do so, as Baker and Vlaar putting 10 fit games together is as likely as us turning to Gr...
Anyway, Benteke confident - Villa suddenly play.
Closing down was the key though, it is not rocket science. Close down, bust a gut, get there, make damn sure!
Don't agree at all, 5-3-2 means we sit back pretty much on the edge of the area and just give the ball back to the opposition. We only started to put any pressure on them when we had 4 in midfield.
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When was the last time under this manager that we actually played well for 90 minutes ,time after time we only put a decent 45 minutes in
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We now qualify for the label "perennial relegation candidates". Sadly.
We've become Coventry City (1990-2001). We'll have enough in the tank to stay up again, though I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.
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Please tell me the Holt rumours are a wind-up?
We'd be a decent side with a strong midfield enforcer and somebody to help Vlaar at the back. Unlucky with injuries Iknow but there is some sort of losing mentality in this side that concerns me.
A good signing might give fans and players a lift.
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Westwood played much better in the second half when he started making some risky passes.
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We may as we'll play 5.3.2 as our midfield is so so poor
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We have lost narrowly to the team top of the league, who could win it.
They were by far better than us for 70minutes, but as teams we have had different agendas for some years so I'm not going to cry over them having more possession and having better players - we actually had more shots on target for the stats fanatics.
A plus that Benteke scored, will not surprised if he goes and a scoring run now.
UTV and can't wait for the trip to Anfield.
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We lost at home again, playing like the away team again...
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Yet again Carragher and Neville get it spot on. Not enough effort from Villa, need to up the tempo and make things happen?
Why oh why can't our coaches see this/make it happen?
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Oh geezus.. MNF on Sky have just said they have news on a potential new signing at Villa after the break.
Looks like it could be true. FFS!
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For me it was more a case of Arsenal switching off and not being able to switch on again. Benteke scored from a good cross, it shows that if he gets supply he will do the job and he lifted the last fifteen miutes.As others have said our midfield is woeful, thats where the problem lies and it needs fixing.
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When was the last time under this manager that we actually played well for 90 minutes ,time after time we only put a decent 45 minutes in
How often under this manager do we perform well for 45 minutes?
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BBC say we had 36% ball possession ,we are getting better !
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An amazingly poor and passive 1st half, somewhat better in the second half when we actually pressed and tried to pass the ball a bit.
Lowton was partially responsible for both Arsenal goals, 1st he just let the player run off him on the wing, and Westwood should have tracked Wilshire. The 2nd he really should have got a better challenge in, but Delph lost the ball in a really dangerous area.
Other than that i actually thought Delph played well and actually tried to pick the ball up and take it forwards. The problem is i forget the amount of times i saw him, Gabby or Bacuna go on runs with the ball, but keep it too long and then lose it. Partly this was down to just not releasing the ball at the right time, but a lot of that seems to stem from them just having no options to pass to. I think all three ran their socks off but lacked quality with the final ball into the box.
I feel sorry for Benteke, great goal, and should of had a second, but his main role in the team seemed to be as a target man to knock the ball up to, to either hold the ball up, or flick the ball on. That's just not where we want him and an optimum use of his skills. We may as well buy and play Heskey if that is what we want. Or maybe Holt!
Luna didn't play too badly at all today, Guzan was solid enough and couldn't do anything about the goals.
Baker committed as always and i hope he recovers ok.
Clark and Vlaar looked relatively solid, though even they both throw up the odd potentially costly mistake.
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That 5 minute period after the goal. Shows to me we're a team with fragile confidence rather than a team with shit players. We looked like we did last season and at the beginning of this. Quick feet. Good quick crosses cross the box. Arsenal looked dazed.
Then the arsenal player went down injured. Took the momentum out of our play and we just went to default.
Why did we just spend the 6 minutes of injury time with route 1 hoof football??
We looked our best when we were playing it on the floor to feet.
Our team isn't poor, shit or championship level. It's a team with very low confidence. It's not the best villa team I've ever seen. But it certainly isn't the worst.
Don't agree with the cheering of our payers going off either when substituted. They're claret and blue and need to be supported.
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Two wasted chances at 0-0. A defender injured. A minute of madness. And a good go for the last 30 and a Benteke goal. And it got pretty cold second half.
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We are Wigan in disguise
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We have to take the positives from that! Restored some pride and had them running scared by the end. Benteke surely must finally draw some confidence. Surprise away win at Anfield to kickstart our season? Thats the kind of bet i prefer to put on personally.
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Lambo will use our 2nd half performance to say we did ok. The fact is we lost again and we didnt compete 1st half. the pace was ridic slow and the football and attempt to get back in match 2nd half was typical lambert. But also the facts are 2 errors and poor tactics as pointed out by carra and gnev on mnf after showed that villa need to imrpove it all round.
I loved that Benteke scored he deserves it !! I love gabby but wish he had more footballing nous!! Vlaar was solid and i do hope Baker will be ok he was brave.
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Not too bad in the second half. First time for a long time that we've actually competed with someone and demonstrated a bit more desire and invention.
We are a poor team with some below average players but as least we gave Arsenal a game. With a bit more quality in midfield alongside Delph, who for long periods was trying to play midfield on his own, we may have nicked something.
Simply due to the second half performance it was probably the first game they haven't deserved top be booed off since God knows when.
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Pretty much what I expected, a loss but a couple of positives with Benteke scoring and a bit of fight and effort towards the end of the second half.
We aren't a good side but everybody knows that so I am not beating myself up over getting beat by the top of the league.
As the saying goes 'We move on'.
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Looking at goal difference, only two of the teams below us have a better record so it's key we don't change that too dramatically on Saturday. Once Liverpool is out of the way we have the chance with WBA WHU and Cardiff and even Everton away to get some points on the board. It's those games more than tonight that will determine where we end up but like so many others I crave 90 minute performance
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Your were right Villa Kicks,he has just said exactly what you said he would !
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Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "Nathan Baker was concussed, he took a blow to the side of his head. That was dangerous and it rocked us a bit, we had worked all week on the system but thankfully he's a lot better. He throws himself into things, that's what he does.
"Second half we were excellent, we looked great and a real threat. We were lifted by the goal, it's not easy playing Arsenal, they are title contenders but everybody can see we gave them a game.
"You have to give us credit. We came into it but we might have snuck a draw."
Paul Lambert was also asked if he had any interest in signing Wigan striker Grant Holt - who he worked with at Norwich - and he smiled and said 'we'll see', calling Holt 'a proper man'.
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
Still we go again.
Anybody else getting really bored with all this?
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Fucking hell. 33 yr old holt from Wigan where he's scored twice this season. I'm going to cry.
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On the whole, we were shit.
We were lucky Arsenal didn't really bother in the second half so avoided a hammering.
The Benteke goal brought about some momentum and with some luck an equaliser may have happened.
Arsenal demonstrated they are the best team in the league when they play. They make it look so easy. Imagine watching that every week?!?!?
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
Still we go again.
Anybody else getting really bored with all this?
Not really no.
I will be going again on Saturday to Anfield.
Still better off points wise, goal difference and clean sheets than last season. After some key injuries too I will wait for the remainding 4 months of football to judge what progression is.
UTV
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If we had stuck with 5 at the back we would have lost and had nothing to show. Lambert has to learn from this we need to press teams high up the pitch and assert ourselves. That will help with our problems at home.
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
Still we go again.
Anybody else getting really bored with all this?
Not really no.
I will be going again on Saturday to Anfield.
Still better off points wise, goal difference and clean sheets than last season. After some key injuries too I will wait for the remainding 4 months of football to judge what progression is.
UTV
You are Paul Faulkner and i claim my £5!
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
He said two things that made me raise an eyebrow.
One was that Baker has done really well for us this season, which is a pretty remarkable assertion. The other was that we were the better team "in the second half", by which i take it he was referring to the last 15-20 minutes.
I know it's difficult to have to find something positive to say, but Christ, he pushes it to an extreme sometimes.
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
Still we go again.
Anybody else getting really bored with all this?
Not really no.
I will be going again on Saturday to Anfield.
Still better off points wise, goal difference and clean sheets than last season. After some key injuries too I will wait for the remainding 4 months of football to judge what progression is.
UTV
You are Paul Faulkner and i claim my £5!
I have already claimed my tenner on who you are.
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I just dont like losing. Decent 10 mins at the end.
SPEND SOME FUCKING MONEY LERNER!
Rumour has it Grant Holt is on his way.
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From the last twenty minutes:
- we started to harry them and press for the ball when we didn't have it. First time in ages, and look what happened. It created the chance for Lowton to cross for the goal, and we looked much better for it.
- we started holding the ball better when we did have it, FINALLY. That must be to do with confidence.
Doing it for 20 minutes once every now and then isn't anything like good enough, though. Lambert has got to get us doing that on a much, much more frequent basis.
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Possibly the equivilant of the home game with Newcastle last season. Garbage first half, but showed a bit more endeavour and fight in the second. We need to produce that sort of performance over the last 10-15 minutes for the rest of the season. As bad as we are, there are some rank awful sides down there with us.
Have to say I think tonight showed me why Arsenal won't win the league. A Man City or a Liverpool would have really hurt us after going 2 up. Arsenal in contrast took their foot off the gas and pissed about, and a better, more confident side would have nicked something.
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Pressing and upping the tempo for 20 minutes at home does not constitute an 'excellent' performance. At least Benteke switched himself on in the second half, though it was mostly route one stuff. If we do ever end up playing well at home, Lambert won't know what to say as he's used all his hyperboles to praise poor football.
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PL is so predictable. I knew when Baker went off that he would use that as an excuse if things went wrong. We'll they did and he did.
He said two things that made me raise an eyebrow.
One was that Baker has done really well for us this season, which is a pretty remarkable assertion. The other was that we were the better team "in the second half", by which i take it he was referring to the last 15-20 minutes.
I know it's difficult to have to find something positive to say, but Christ, he pushes it to an extreme sometimes.
He never criticises his players in public. It can be annoying but thats how it is.
As for his comments on the performance - this team is entirely reliant on confidence. Play without confidence (eg the first 60 minutes) and they play terribly. Play with confidence, and they do quite well (the last 30 minutes). Publicly slating his team is not going to do any good at all, he'll have done plenty of that at half time.
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
Brilliant
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
I didn't hear it and nobody around me commented on it, but that's not to say it didn't happen.
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Villa game plan: Ball gets played back, Guzan hoof, Benteke tries to flick on, Gabby hopefully somewhere near.
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat.................
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On the whole, we were shit.
We were lucky Arsenal didn't really bother in the second half so avoided a hammering.
The Benteke goal brought about some momentum and with some luck an equaliser may have happened.
Arsenal demonstrated they are the best team in the league when they play. They make it look so easy. Imagine watching that every week?!?!?
*Closes eyes*
...
Nope, still nothing
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There was a huge laugh around the ground when that 5 year season ticket prize was announced.
I've seen far worse than tonight but even with a spirited second half comeback this game just shows our issues. No creativity, schoolboy error of conceding two goals in a minute and just a lack of belief.
It was too easy for Arsenal at 2 nil up so much so that Carzola randomly started passing to our team for 5 minutes.
The reality is though 7 defeats from 11 home league games plus the two shocking cup defeats. A manager really shouldn't be surviving that wretched run of home form.
And Now I hear Grant fcuking Holt is turning up....please do one Lambert.
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I thought we were poor for most of the game and then Arsenal dropped a gear
we got a good goal ,give us a little confidence and then had a go for last 15 minutes even thou I really couldnt see us getting the second goal , still not enough quality
would have be nice to have a go a lot earlier or not been so negative from the start
The Benteke goal is a big positive thou , it might get him firing now
Benteke and Holt upfront then for Liverpoo
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Well it wasn't a 5-0 or 6-0 hammering that was being widely predicted before the game. Disapointing to have lost again obviously but encouraged by us getting at them and also good to see Benteke starting to look more like his old self. A three minute spell where we switched off has won them the game. Oh and the ref was dreadful.
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
He didn't swear. He was asked which prize he wanted (the ST wasn't mentioned as a possible prize) and he replied along the lines of "after watching that first half i'll go for the Xbox one"
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Shite. Grant Holt and wes hoolahan......Lambert has lost it, if he ever had it in the first place.
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
Yes he did.
Anyway, at the risk of going against the tide, I thought we were the better side for the second half. The didn't look like scoring and we did. They key was when Weimann came on, he pushed Lowton right forward, almost as a winger and had Bacuna covering in behind him. This looked much more effective, as Lowton had given a shocking defensive fullback performance in the first half as had his mate on the left. Luna had a much better second half too.
The second goal I felt was Luna's fault. He wanted rid of the ball in possession so quickly that hit a really strong pass to Delphi who miscontrolled it due to the pace on it. Two passes later it's in the back of the net. For all the Gooners saying they need a striker, Giroud had one shot tonight and scored a great finish.
Vlaar was superb and but for him we could have been 4 or more down at HT, but second half we really gave it a go and looked OK, I'll take the positives.
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Other than a spirited last 15 mins that was as bad as anything this season.
Seriously how long more do with have to put up with this shit? Sooner or later it'll end up in relegation unless Lerner comes to his senses. I'm sick to fuckin death of it.
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that we were the better team "in the second half", by which i take it he was referring to the last 15-20 mins.
On holiday in Australia, I got the time kick off time wrong for Fox Sports and only saw the second half.
I am seeing a lot of people commenting on this post match thread that we only played well for something between the last 15 minutes and half an hour, and I think that people's views may be coloured by an abysmal first half and for those who had sat through that, it was harder to begin to see the positives early in the second half. For those who are saying we only played well for the last 15 minutes, maybe they couldn't begin to see anything to be positive about until we scored.
We were better from the outset of the second half, even the commentators said so, so I am not imagining it.
In fact, I think our worst play in that half was after we scored, when we turned urgency into disorganisation, but I was still pretty pleased with the effort, and I thought Benteke looked better after his goal.
I noticed a major issue for us when attacking is that much of the time all our forwards seem to stand within a yard of each other. If the cross misses one of them, it misses all of them. If one of them gets a touch, it isn't going to drop to any of the others. There is no space between them and this leaves us no second chances. This does concern me - it's like watching 10 year olds.
The other thing is that the wide player is often moving no faster than the player on the ball so our 'counter attacking style' is more than a little stilted. Is this a lack of fitness?
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We weren't shit apart from the last 15 mins. We created the best two chances in the first half before they scored and were the better side in the second. Not a great performance by any stretch of the imagination but not as shit as people are making out either.
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fuck
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BBC say we had 36% ball possession ,we are getting better !
With Guzan as playmaker the ball spends a lot of time in the air and these precious seconds waiting for the long, lofted hoofs to come down push our possession stats up.
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This made me laugh. Is it true?
Nathan @GreavesAVFC 2h
In the HT comp, man was asked what he wanted to win, XBOX or 5 year ticket. Replies "After watching this shit I'll take the XBOX" over mic
Yes he did.
Anyway, at the risk of going against the tide, I thought we were the better side for the second half. The didn't look like scoring and we did. They key was when Weimann came on, he pushed Lowton right forward, almost as a winger and had Bacuna covering in behind him. This looked much more effective, as Lowton had given a shocking defensive fullback performance in the first half as had his mate on the left. Luna had a much better second half too.
The second goal I felt was Luna's fault. He wanted rid of the ball in possession so quickly that hit a really strong pass to Delphi who miscontrolled it due to the pace on it. Two passes later it's in the back of the net. For all the Gooners saying they need a striker, Giroud had one shot tonight and scored a great finish.
Vlaar was superb and but for him we could have been 4 or more down at HT, but second half we really gave it a go and looked OK, I'll take the positives.
Not Luna's biggest fan, but I didn't think he was too bad tonight. Lowton on the other hand defended terribly for most of the game and the way he was caught out for their first goal was really poor. Lambert still hasn't worked out that Westwood and KEA are too slow to play together and if one of them is going to play, they need to be alongside Delph and someone as equally mobile. A better second half and we actually looked like the team that ended last season well at times.
ps. I don't think I've ever seen a defender go off early in games as many times as Baker has.
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BBC say we had 36% ball possession ,we are getting better !
With Guzan as playmaker the ball spends a lot of time in the air and these precious seconds waiting for the long, lofted hoofs to come down push our possession stats up.
I'd bet there isn't another keeper in the land that sees as much of the ball than Guzan does.
Sideways, sideways, backwards HOOF!!
Sideways, sideways, backwards HOOF!!
Sideways, sideways, backwards HOOF!!
Sideways, sideways, backwards HOOF!!
Etc etc...
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Shot ourselves in the foot by letting them score again more or less straight from our kick-off, but having said that they passed us off the park for an hour and were probably good value for the two goal lead anyway. Why we left it til the last 20 minutes to have a go, get in their faces and force mistakes Lambert only knows - if we'd done that from the off we may have got more out of the game. Great to see Benteke break his drought, and the look on his face when he scored was priceless - is there such a thing as aggressive relief? Oh - and can anyone tell me how KEA continues to get a game - the cheer all round the ground when he was taken off was almost embarrassing
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This season's Newcastle?
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Great to see Benteke break his drought, and the look on his face when he scored was priceless - is there such a thing as aggressive relief?
I thought it was noticeable that the contrived celebration of last season came as an afterthought, his immediate reaction was genuine and you could see it meant a lot to him. Hopefully the start of a turnaround for him.
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Couple of other things - great cross from Lowton for the goal.
And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
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Couple of other things - great cross from Lowton for the goal.
And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Legion.
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Shocking first half, much better second. KEA offers nothing. Pleased for Benteke and I hope Baker is OK. I really hope this Grant Holt stuff comes to nothing.
Sorry for not starting the thread but was busy at work and left early to get to the ground on time to sell for Dave expecting to start it on my mobile. Unfortunately, Orange seem to have cut my mobile signal off since Saturday afternoon and I've only just noticed.
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How much longer must we suffer KEA? He's fcuking useless. Surely Lambert must see that by now.
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Couple of other things - great cross from Lowton for the goal.
And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Stranger!? I refer to that spot as the dead-zone. Got moved from my (semi)-regular spot outside the Trinity Road gates.
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Saddest thing tonight was Belgian Tele showing highlights of the 1-3 victory down the Emirates last August before the game. Yes, we were lucky that day. Yes, we easily could have lost that game. But damn yes we showed some fighting spirit and really believed we could pull that one off. Everything we lacked today, even after the 1-2...
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I didn't think we were too bad, as much as Arsenal had possession they didn't create too much. Lowton switched off for the first & Delph for the second. We lack bite / quality in midfield & any real width, but we all know that. Vlar was man of the match by a mile & it was good to see Benteke score. Thought other than the goals we defended well. Delph needs to understand he can't do it all by himself.
Thought the ref was poor, god knows what he would have done if we'd actual laid a finger on any Arsenal player. Whinger had set the agenda before the game by saying we are very physical, truth is I've never seen as less physical Villa side.
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Couple of other things - great cross from Lowton for the goal.
And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Stranger!? I refer to that spot as the dead-zone. Got moved from my (semi)-regular spot outside the Trinity Road gates.
Funny - didn't notice any unnatural disasters happening at the time ;)
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How much longer must we suffer KEA? He's fcuking useless. Surely Lambert must see that by now.
i said after the game, I cannot imagine what chain of events contributes to Lamberts thought process when he is writing out the team sheet that culminates in puttin KEA's name anywhere near it. The cheer was embarrassing when he went off, but my goodness we were all relieved.
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Same old 1st half. A bit more self belief after we got one back.
I thought Wilshere was lucky to stay on the pitch.
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Disappointed to lose ...again however very encouraging performance. Team could have capitulated after that mad one minute but didn't. Confined Arsenal to almost no chances in the second half and came back strong to score one and deserved a draw at the very least against a team who have been top of the table all season. It all bodes well for the next 16 games.
I thought Benteke showed signs of getting back to his best and the defence payed very well in the Escondido half.
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A lot of harsh stuff on here. They did nothing with the ball while we had three at the back with Baker - admittedly neither did we but we had the odd chance even then. Baker's injury was fairly key, did force us to change the shape and allowed them in to score the goals. The first was soft but the second was an absolute gift from Delph and then lucky woth the ball bouncing off Giroud's knee. unlucky to be two down at half time and I think we did boss parts of the game in 2nd half. yes their football is pretty but we threatened more. Not good but a lot better. Let's give them a bit of credit.
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And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Also who was the young female selling opposite DW?
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Saddest thing tonight was Belgian Tele showing highlights of the 1-3 victory down the Emirates last August before the game. Yes, we were lucky that day. Yes, we easily could have lost that game. But damn yes we showed some fighting spirit and really believed we could pull that one off. Everything we lacked today, even after the 1-2...
Honestly I think fighting spirit was the one thing we did show tonight.
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And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Also who was the young female selling opposite DW?
Jas. She's a new recruit.
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And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Also who was the young female selling opposite DW?
That was me. I've had an operation.
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Delighted to see us finally score a home league goal against an English team; the first since September.
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Saddest thing tonight was Belgian Tele showing highlights of the 1-3 victory down the Emirates last August before the game. Yes, we were lucky that day. Yes, we easily could have lost that game. But damn yes we showed some fighting spirit and really believed we could pull that one off. Everything we lacked today, even after the 1-2...
Honestly I think fighting spirit was the one thing we did show tonight.
You might have a point on this one. We tried, but lacked the quality tho. There's a team in there somewhere. I really believe that. I used to be a big Lambert fan in his Norwich days (and Hoolahan fan for what it's worth) but he has to let his team play footy with confidence. I recall Norwich playing 4-4 (?) away at Arsenal thinking if only...
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Is there any news on Baker?
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5-3-2 suits us as it can allow Lowton and Luna forward with some security behind them. 4-4-2 kills us because Westwood can track back and Lowton is not a good defender.
If we want to play 3 centre backs I have no issue with it, but we need to sign another one to allow us to do so, as Baker and Vlaar putting 10 fit games together is as likely as us turning to Gr...
Anyway, Benteke confident - Villa suddenly play.
Closing down was the key though, it is not rocket science. Close down, bust a gut, get there, make damn sure!
Agree with this. Both Lowton and Luna look OK on the ball and are probably better suited to playing further upfield. Let's face it - they are both lousy as 'normal' full backs.
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I never, ever want to see Karim El Ahmadi in a Villa shirt again.
I honestly can't think of one Premier League player I wouldn't take over him.
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5-3-2 suits us as it can allow Lowton and Luna forward with some security behind them. 4-4-2 kills us because Westwood can track back and Lowton is not a good defender.
If we want to play 3 centre backs I have no issue with it, but we need to sign another one to allow us to do so, as Baker and Vlaar putting 10 fit games together is as likely as us turning to Gr...
Anyway, Benteke confident - Villa suddenly play.
Closing down was the key though, it is not rocket science. Close down, bust a gut, get there, make damn sure!
Don't agree at all, 5-3-2 means we sit back pretty much on the edge of the area and just give the ball back to the opposition. We only started to put any pressure on them when we had 4 in midfield.
Really? We only put them under pressure when we had 3 in midfield and put Wieman on.
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I remembered how much I despise Arsenal fans, fucking Tarquins with their Soccer AM songbook of 'footie' banter wind up chants. Utter post Fever Pitch fakes.
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I remembered how much I despise Arsenal fans, fucking Tarquins with their Soccer AM songbook of 'footie' banter wind up chants. Utter post Fever Pitch fakes.
I'm sick to death of seeing away fans deliriously celebrating at Villa Park, spilling onto the pitch and generally taking the piss out of us. It's demeaning to us. These last few seasons have been quite humiliating for Villa fans.
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How much longer must we suffer KEA? He's fcuking useless. Surely Lambert must see that by now.
i said after the game, I cannot imagine what chain of events contributes to Lamberts thought process when he is writing out the team sheet that culminates in puttin KEA's name anywhere near it. The cheer was embarrassing when he went off, but my goodness we were all relieved.
Have to disagree with an earlier poster, and say I'm bloody glad to hear we cheered that clown coming off. He "earns" in a week what many of us earn in a year, by jogging about pretending to play football. I cannot now resist winding myself up when watching the game by paying special attention to KEA and his special skill of moseying about looking vaguely interested, about 3-4 yards off the play. There's the occasional accidental interception, perhaps an additional 10 seconds' effort some 2-3 times a game that results in a half-tackle or a shot bouncing off the shin. That's it.
And it takes something special to be booked after one minute of the match, in the centre circle.
Sylla (and every other non-playing midfielder on the books) really must be looking piss poor for this guy to get anywhere near our team.
Pretty crap again for too long tonight; we have a serious inferiority complex which is all the more ridiculous when you see how much better we fare when we play football and get about teams. Better performance than Sheff U, Palace, and Swansea is the best you can say - thought we were fckd when their 2nd went in but we did come out looking more purposeful after the break and got some reward.
Will the club need to get a bend on with signing some quality and experience? Can't really believe we are going after Grant bloody Holt, but from Lambert's comments tonight it sounds all but certain.
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We seem pretty clueless at times - eg: when Delph broke on the right 1st half not a single Villa player went with him/wanted the ball, so from a really promising attacking break we ended up giving it away, Delph totally isolated!
Salvaged a bit of pride late on, great to see the Beast score, and why didn't we press them from the start? When we did it 2nd half their passing game almost collapsed! That's how we beat them up their end in August! Benteke's 2nd half chance would have been buried this time last year - hope he is starting to get back to the way he was last season!
Blindingly obvious - we need to work more closely as a team, not run away from each other when we get the ball so that we're 25 yards apart, making passing to a team mate difficult!
Blindingly obvious - we need at least one creative/calm midfielder - Dembele, Parker, Tiote etc.
Strangley looking forward to the trip to Anfield on Sat - if we can reproduce the form of the last 30 mins!
Wilshire was a tosser, as was the ref - if you give a free kick early on for a high foot you have to give them all, not set the standard then change it cos it's the Arse!!!
UTV!
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Is there any news on Baker?
Mild concussion.
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We didn't play badly, we just needed a little direction for our efforts from the manager. We didn't get it and the aimless hoofs started again.
I've lost my faith in him.
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Grant Holt?
F**k my old boots!
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KEA is just a negative selection at Villa Park. In fairness I think he's done o.k away from home this season but in home games seeing him on the team sheet just sets a negative tone.
Really Delph and Westwood sitting infront on the back 4 should be enough, enough have Bacuna as a defensive wide midfielder and then play a creative mid....oh wait we don't have one as Lambert is busy buying more 6ft 4 in lumps upfront.
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Just back from the game,was a dire first half,typical of us to only start playing once the game has gone from us. Why don't we get stuck into them from the first whistle,drives me mad. But at least there were some positive sighns in the second half and of course great for Benteke to score,hopefully the first of many between now and may
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KEA is just a negative selection at Villa Park. In fairness I think he's done o.k away from home this season but in home games seeing him on the team sheet just sets a negative tone.
Really Delph and Westwood sitting infront on the back 4 should be enough, enough have Bacuna as a defensive wide midfielder and then play a creative mid....oh wait we don't have one as Lambert is busy buying more 6ft 4 in lumps upfront.
If only. I think Holts 6ft1, so not huge and add in the fact he probably can't jump higher than 2 inches off the ground (luckily for the VP foundations). I can't see Holt winning that many headers to be honest. The only thing he'll win is a hotdog eating competition, but him and Weimann will be the sole competitors unless Dunney comes round for a visit.
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Is there any news on Baker?
been eaten by Grant Holt
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Is there any news on Baker?
been eaten by Grant Holt
Lol
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A lot of harsh stuff on here. They did nothing with the ball while we had three at the back with Baker - admittedly neither did we but we had the odd chance even then. Baker's injury was fairly key, did force us to change the shape and allowed them in to score the goals. The first was soft but the second was an absolute gift from Delph and then lucky woth the ball bouncing off Giroud's knee. unlucky to be two down at half time and I think we did boss parts of the game in 2nd half. yes their football is pretty but we threatened more. Not good but a lot better. Let's give them a bit of credit.
Pretty much my take on it as well. The injury and mistake killed the game.
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Christ I hope he doesn't sign Grant f**kin' Holt. In fact, calling Holt a 'proper man' pretty much ruined his evening.
Anyway, we lost, but two silver linings: first, every time both Chelsea and Man City drop a league place there's hope in the world; second (and more seriously), that second half was a real performance. People have gone on about the fight, but sod the fight, anyone can fight - they actually moved off the ball, passed, stayed calm, stayed a danger and pegged back title contenders and gave them a real game.
As for players, Benteke looks nearly there and got a good goal, Vlaark looked pretty good and, most importantly to me, Westwood shook off another dreadful first half to produce one of his best performances in ages in the second. It's a virtuous circle: the players move off the ball, Westwood has options, increases in confidence and passes well, encouraging the players to move off the ball. There was plenty of encouragement in that second half.
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The morning after and looking for positives. Benteke scoring and looking like he had found renewed confidence and vigour. Not sure I saw the same game as some other posters who believe Arsenal did nothing with the ball in the first half. Yes I thought Giroud got a very fortunate double bounce for his goal but I thought Arsenal always looked like getting a third or more. We did play better second half - partly because Arsenal sat back - but thee was a step up in effort and effect and at 1-2 we could have got something out if the game with more craft.
My big worry remains that after 18 months into the Lambert era I can't remember a single game where we have come out, played to a game plan, dominated for a sustained period, taken a lead and gone on to look comfortable. Not one game.
I still live in hope there and three worse teams than us and generally I believe there are. At the moment though I won't be renewing my three season tickets at VP. Give us a performance Lambert. Just one to give us a reason to believe.
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cant see us winning another game this season at home I didnt go and couldnt even give my ticket away says it all.
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well we have to believe we can, and do, otherwise we're down
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That last 25 minutes or so needs to be applied more consistently, it shows with a bit of confidence we can play. I have never know a team so reliant and void of confidence. I know everyone suffers from it but we do massively as a whole unit for some reason.
We do have a team capable at times to really play and scare the opposition and score goals. What I really don't get is when we have not got the ball we do not press and harass enough. You don't need to be extremely high on confidence just a will to win.
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i hope that everyone has not got neck ache this morning!
Benteke must wonder why on earth he stayed with us (apart from the money), I bet he needs a packet of neurofen after each game.
We may as well have a Giraffe up front as we keep launching the ball so far up in the air, I reckon that we must launch long balls forward than any other team
It is bloody awful to watch....and I thought when Lambert came he was going to get us playing more passing football (bring back Big Ron at least his teams played the right way)
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That's 7 defeats out of 11 matches at home. Only 8 home points out of 33. Shocking stats. Season tickets are such poor value - I won't renew for the championship next season.
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We do have a team capable at times to really play.
Maybe, but with another manager.
To launch long balls from the keeper forward and from the right back in the air is not what I call to play football.
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Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "Nathan Baker was concussed, he took a blow to the side of his head. That was dangerous and it rocked us a bit, we had worked all week on the system but thankfully he's a lot better.
The system that they "worked on all week" had Villa hanging on by their figure nails even before the injury and goals. The system that actually worked was the one with Bacuna in a free role. He has far better vision and passing ability than Westwood.
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Guzan - Our most threatening forward player
Lowton - Good cross for goal
Baker - Always gets stuck in but made of glass
Clark - Thought he had a pretty decent game
Vlaar - My MOTM - whole team looks better when he plays - played last 10 minutes breathing out of his arse as expected
Luna - He has no positional sense whatsover - teams are now targetting him as he leaves so much space on our left side
Westwood - Once he got going his range of passing in 2nd half kicked in and he looked like the player we knew he was
Delph - fuck up for goal aside worked his nads off - 1st half chance would have been a lovely goal
EAH - I really do not know what he brings. Cannot head, poor vision, cannot tackle how the hell he sits in our midfield is beyond me. Ironic applause each time he is subbed must tell PL something?
Gabby - Thought he was a ghost most of the game, continues to run into blind alleys. There is a decent player in there just not sure if he or anyone else knows where he should play
Benteke - Until he scored he was the recent moaning, whinning not interested player we have worried about - once he scored the beast was back
Subs:
Bacuna - dont rate this guy, free kicks apart but he settled into the "hole" quite well and it confused Arsenal
Weinmann - high energy kept Arsenal on back foot for last 20 minutes
Overall
It does seem that with such a young team its all about confidence as evident when Beneteke scored. A few of them upped their games once we started to have a go at them. I think we all sometimes forget the collective ages and lack of experience at this level
Two other things that are not meant to be excuses but observations over last few weeks
1/ The standard of ref last night again was appalling - he allowed them everything and for Wiltshire to control the game
2/ Every miss kick of ours or deflection or miss control is seemingly punished where as it seems that the same for the opposition slips inches away from being advantagous for us by falling to one of their players or to safety
As for Grant Holt - oh dear
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The Vlaar tackle on Monreal at the Witton End was a corker.
We need more of that.
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Vlaar is quality, unfortunately he is another player, who I cannot see staying with us for next season!
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I thought Arsenal were fairly poor and in Jack Wilshere they have a player who is rapidly becoming an easy one to hate, the fat arsed short legged overrated dick. The final 20 minutes reminded me of a lower league side in a cup tie, the continuous high balls into the box and very little signs of any skill but plenty of 'passion'. Is there a worse midfield than Villa's? I think every single one of ours would struggle to make it into most teams in the Premier League and El Ahmadi wouldn't make most Championship squads.
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I must confess I turned over at half time, only turning back when I heard we'd scored. A poor show I know but I'm so uninspired by this team I can barely bring myself to watch them.
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I thought Arsenal were fairly poor and in Jack Wilshere they have a player who is rapidly becoming an easy one to hate, the fat arsed short legged overrated dick. The final 20 minutes reminded me of a lower league side in a cup tie, the continuous high balls into the box and very little signs of any skill but plenty of 'passion'. Is there a worse midfield than Villa's? I think every single one of ours would struggle to make it into most teams in the Premier League and El Ahmadi wouldn't make most Championship squads.
What is it about Wilshere that people rave about him? I've never seen him do anything out of the ordinary.
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That's 7 defeats out of 11 matches at home. Only 8 home points out of 33. Shocking stats. Season tickets are such poor value - I won't renew for the championship next season.
I won't renew unless we are in the Championship
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That's 7 defeats out of 11 matches at home. Only 8 home points out of 33. Shocking stats. Season tickets are such poor value - I won't renew for the championship next season.
I won't renew unless we are in the Championship
If we stay up I'm not sure I'll be renewing either, I've had one since the mid-80s but don't think I can shell out more good money and stomach another season like this (and the last 2 seasons) - is this 'project' really going to be any further forward and win more home games than I can count on one hand?
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From the last twenty minutes:
- we started to harry them and press for the ball when we didn't have it. First time in ages, and look what happened. It created the chance for Lowton to cross for the goal, and we looked much better for it.
- we started holding the ball better when we did have it, FINALLY. That must be to do with confidence.
Doing it for 20 minutes once every now and then isn't anything like good enough, though. Lambert has got to get us doing that on a much, much more frequent basis.
But that's just it, people have been saying for months in order to successful long term you need to hassle the opposition and you also need possession of the ball. It seems to be only our manager that is unaware of this.
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I thought we showed some fight in the second half.
The full backs got forward and Lowton stuck in two sublime crosses. We lacked that cutting edge that could have helped in midfield, as Arsenal began to start bottling it; hoiking the ball away, 10 men defending their own 18 yard line, players screaming to get out.
Delighted that Benteke scored and looked more of his old self, jumping into the opposition.
Midfield is still a major problem and you have to look at Lowton for being at fault for both goals. He started a chain reaction with the first and just didn't commit himself to making a challenge with the second.
But we gave it a go and the crowd responded. We need players in, but as I said at the game, some perspective; these are top of the league and spent more on one player than we have on 16 over three trasnfer windows. Some people joked that we wouldn't be playing the same game as Arsenal, well, those people are correct in one sense.
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That last 25 minutes or so needs to be applied more consistently, it shows with a bit of confidence we can play. I have never know a team so reliant and void of confidence. I know everyone suffers from it but we do massively as a whole unit for some reason.
We do have a team capable at times to really play and scare the opposition and score goals. What I really don't get is when we have not got the ball we do not press and harass enough. You don't need to be extremely high on confidence just a will to win.
Thats what happens when the Arse took their foot of the gas. We were luck they only wanted 2, as they could of steam rollered us if they wanted to.
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Poor first half and decent final 20 minutes or so - we must play for 90 minutes and not in dribs and drabs - so many times this season we have a poor half and a good half - the last 20 minutes may paper over the cracks for some but I believe we are in real trouble and will struggle to survive .
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Another 1-7 defeat and this time at home. I am not going to be pleased when we get beat 6-0 on Saturday.
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with the exception of 2 x lowton crosses and the benteke goal, thought we were awful and the football played was predictably offensive.
would love to know how many times guzan booted the ball forward from open play.
i dont expect much better from many of the players we have but thought delph was atrocious and his first touch routinely made his second a tackle. his form is disintegrating.
benteke got a visible boost from the goal, should have scored the second too.
if he gets into a run of goals it will save us from the drop but the football we play is an insult to the game and our club.
paul lambert will be another ex villa manager heading for the managerial graveyard when he is put out of his misery at villa park, any manager that puts together that rabble is clueless.
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The Vlaar tackle on Monreal at the Witton End was a corker.
We need more of that.
Yes we loved that as well. He stayed tackled! I know it's not much but for me one of highlights of the evening.
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We're so awful that we should have drawn against the current best side in the league?
The Dippers up here have two great phrases "turn it in" and "you whopper".
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Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "Nathan Baker was concussed, he took a blow to the side of his head. That was dangerous and it rocked us a bit, we had worked all week on the system but thankfully he's a lot better.
The system that they "worked on all week" had Villa hanging on by their figure nails even before the injury and goals. The system that actually worked was the one with Bacuna in a free role. He has far better vision and passing ability than Westwood.
I agree that going to back 4 and Bacuna in "free role" was better however Arsenal did not have a shot on goal before Baker went off and it was set up for a 0-0 or breakaway 1-0. Very legitimate ploy against possibly the best football team in the country.
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Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "Nathan Baker was concussed, he took a blow to the side of his head. That was dangerous and it rocked us a bit, we had worked all week on the system but thankfully he's a lot better.
The system that they "worked on all week" had Villa hanging on by their figure nails even before the injury and goals. The system that actually worked was the one with Bacuna in a free role. He has far better vision and passing ability than Westwood.
I agree completely on the system, Baker's injury actually helped us. However I actually thought Westwood was much better in the second half and his passing was good.
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I remembered how much I despise Arsenal fans, fucking Tarquins with their Soccer AM songbook of 'footie' banter wind up chants. Utter post Fever Pitch fakes.
You can spot Tarquins a mile off even without any hint of colours. There were a couple walking behind us on the way back to the car and there description of play and players was straight out of Sky School of football.
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However I actually thought Westwood was much better in the second half and his passing was good.
Yes he was however I wish he had been a bit closer to Wilshere for their first. He let him go.
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Lambert's article on the OS about Benteke's goal smacks of straw clutching.
It might be the jolt Benteke needs, but the service he receives is also a big factor and a creative midfielder is critical if we are not to drop into the battle at the bottom of the table.
We need someone who can put his foot on the ball and has the vision to see a pass, but our running off the ball also has to improve along with retaining it. When we had possession in their half last night only to give it away was appalling.
Arsenal's off the ball movement was something we can only dream of.
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Poor first half and decent final 20 minutes or so - we must play for 90 minutes and not in dribs and drabs
Someone says this after every game. The players aren't good enough for a proper solid 90.
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with the exception of 2 x lowton crosses and the benteke goal, thought we were awful and the football played was predictably offensive.
OK remind me again as to other than benefitting from two mistakes and scoring twice what did the best football team in the Country do last night?
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Poor first half and decent final 20 minutes or so - we must play for 90 minutes and not in dribs and drabs
Someone says this after every game. The players aren't good enough for a proper solid 90.
How many teams play for 90 minutes?
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The players aren't good enough for a proper solid 90.
I agree.
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The Vlaar tackle on Monreal at the Witton End was a corker.
We need more of that.
Yes we loved that as well. He stayed tackled! I know it's not much but for me one of highlights of the evening.
Although I've heavily criticised Lambert (with justification), I do think he's been very unlucky with not being able to play Vlaar and Okore together as a first choice CB Pairing. With those two playing we would probably have 4 or 5 more points on the board and a better GD which would put an entirely different perspective on the situation.
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with the exception of 2 x lowton crosses and the benteke goal, thought we were awful and the football played was predictably offensive.
OK remind me again as to other than benefitting from two mistakes and scoring twice what did the best football team in the Country do last night?
Win?
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
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Win?
Yes you are very smart and I nominate you as the prize winner of the obvious.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
He was poleaxed.
I don't think he was acting.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
Silly comment Bren'd. I expect better from you. He was hit full on head with a ball prob travelling at 70MPH.
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Win?
Yes you are very smart and I nominate you as the prize winner of the obvious.
I could elaborate further on your post, but you made the point why we are so shit so eloquently.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
Well - he was unconscious for a while.
He also went off with a neck brace and what looked like a bag-mask on his lap.
Of course the paramedics over react in these situations. I can't see any reason why he didn't simply run it off.
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But we're not shit though are?
In the rush to wank ourselves fucking senseless with even more hyperbolic nonsense about just how utter fucking shite we are, we cannot escape the fact, that there are a good chunk of sides who must be even more apocalyptic than us.
This of course can be brushed off by the "yeah we're 11th now, but will will sink!!!!1111!!!" catch all, yet despite being apparently utterly atrocious (although Benteke unlucky not to "grab a second" apparently and therefore a draw against the league leaders) here we sit. Mid-table, enjoying poor home form and poor football, but 11th nonetheless. Exactly where most predicted we would be. No hope, no ambition, seas boiling, cats marrying dogs, plagues killing the first born. 11th, mid-table.
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We MUST get a couple of midfielders in who will dictate play and get us on the front foot. Get them in and we will be a completely different team.
Totally agree with this assessment. We've looked lightweight in midfield for ages.
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The last 15 minutes, after Benteke's goal infuriated me last night. Yet i've had conversations with mates since who thought it was great.
To my eyes, we got back into the game from a wonderful cross into the danger area that was put away perfectly. Instead of building on that with a good amount of time left we then just proceeded to just launch the ball forward at every opportunity in the hope of causing a scramble instead of trying the route that had just been successful again. Hoofing it doesn't work for us, getting some decent delivery into the box (more than once or twice a game) just fucking might.
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When was the last time under this manager that we actually played well for 90 minutes ,time after time we only put a decent 45 minutes in
Not just this manager but for quite a few years now.
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Why do we need to play well for 90 minutes? Which side plays well for 90 minutes?
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But we're not shit though are?
In the rush to wank ourselves fucking senseless with even more hyperbolic nonsense about just how utter fucking shite we are, we cannot escape the fact, that there are a good chunk of sides who must be even more apocalyptic than us.
This of course can be brushed off by the "yeah we're 11th now, but will will sink!!!!1111!!!" catch all, yet despite being apparently utterly atrocious (although Benteke unlucky not to "grab a second" apparently and therefore a draw against the league leaders) here we sit. Mid-table, enjoying poor home form and poor football, but 11th nonetheless. Exactly where most predicted we would be. No hope, no ambition, seas boiling, cats marrying dogs, plagues killing the first born. 11th, mid-table.
We are shit though. That entire bottom half is made up of hopeless drek to be honest. We're part of that. We're not going to stay 11th that's for sure. There's gonna be a lot of chopping and changing of order in the next 5 months I think. If we're back in 11th by the end of our final game then we'll have done okay.
Everyone from Hull down is fighting for survival. We've been quite fortunate that we seem to lose games and without falling down the table, or falling too far. We lost 4 on the Spin and only really dropped 2 places IIRC.
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Why aren't we going to stay 11th? Is all that "hopeless drek" going to put a run together? All of them? While we, who have managed to be the 11th worst team thus far, suddenly fall dramatically?
I am struggling with the contradiction in your argument.
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The last 15 minutes, after Benteke's goal infuriated me last night. Yet i've had conversations with mates since who thought it was great.
To my eyes, we got back into the game from a wonderful cross into the danger area that was put away perfectly. Instead of building on that with a good amount of time left we then just proceeded to just launch the ball forward at every opportunity in the hope of causing a scramble instead of trying the route that had just been successful again. Hoofing it doesn't work for us, getting some decent delivery into the box (more than once or twice a game) just fucking might.
Couldn't agree more.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
He was poleaxed.
I don't think he was acting.
Maybe he was poleaxed. All I can say is from the many years I've played football I've coped the ball in the face plenty enough times to know it can knock you for six if it hits you with enough force. You're out of it for a minute or two but that's it. You're then back playing. I don't know what it is with Baker, he puts himself about well enough and doesn't shirk tackles but virtually every game he plays there's a problem. The Man U game where he passed the ball to Giggs which resulted in a goal, he tried to make out there was something wrong with his leg, as if to suggest, the shit pass I just made which resulted in a goal is because there was something wrong with my leg. Everyone knew there was nothing wrong with him, no physio' attended to him, nobody took any notice. Miraculously his leg was okay a few minutes later.
I think he lacks bottle, all the more evident when we play the bigger teams.
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But we're not shit though are?
So you are entirely happy with the dross served up week in week out? Having a clueless manager that sets up a team with 5 at the back knowing very well Arsenal only have 1 fit forward in there entire fucking squad?
And it takes a kick up the arse at half time to remotely get the players to shift into another gear.
I'm sorry, I've seen some crap in my time over the years since the Tommy Cummings days, but never a Villa side so devoid of tactics and a manager to deliver any.
I want him gone.
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He lacks ability, not bottle and I would like to say that I find it staggering that we're now bemoaning a player who has been knocked unconscious for not just "brushing it off", but to be honest, nothing that is posted on here anymore, no matter how ridiculous, shocks me.
When did H&V become Villa Talk?
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I must admit my first thought was 'the ball has only hit you, get on with it'. However, he didnt seem to move for a considerable amount of time and concussion can be dangerous.
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But we're not shit though are?
So you are entirely happy with the dross served up week in week out? Having a clueless manager that sets up a team with 5 at the back knowing very well Arsenal only have 1 fit forward in there entire fucking squad?
And it takes a kick up the arse at half time to remotely get the players to shift into another gear.
I'm sorry, I've seen some crap in my time over the years since the Tommy Cummings days, but never a Villa side so devoid of tactics and a manager to deliver any.
I want him gone.
Just because I don't think things are the worst they have ever been (because they're plainly not) does not mean I think things are great either.
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He lacks ability, not bottle and I would like to say that I find it staggering that we're now bemoaning a player who has been knocked unconscious for not just "brushing it off", but to be honest, nothing that is posted on here anymore, no matter how ridiculous, shocks me.
When did H&V become Villa Talk?
it's an observation about one of our players is all it is. He's injury prone to an extent where it's a gamble playing him.
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But you're saying he got hit in the face and thought "I'll just stay down here".
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But you're saying he got hit in the face and thought "I'll just stay down here".
That's a distinct possibility. It wouldn't be a revelation that a player who doesn't fancy it on a day makes out he's hurt more than he actually is.
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
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You can question Baker's ability but not his courage.
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
This.
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I must admit my first thought was 'the ball has only hit you, get on with it'. However, he didnt seem to move for a considerable amount of time and concussion can be dangerous.
I don't think its his first concussion either, I'm sure in American football recently there's been some research showing that
one concussion can make you far more likely to get another.
Could be a worry for him in the long term.
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
That's your opinion, I have mine. I haven't actually said he faked anything either by the way. I know what I seen him do against Man U so it's been on my mind since then. It's a shame for the lad really as I think he's been thrust into the top flight too soon for his development. But the one thing that is a fact is that he is a particularly injury prone player.
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Couple of other things - great cross from Lowton for the goal.
And who was the stranger selling H&V at the Holte gates where Mr Whitehouse normally sells?
Stranger!? I refer to that spot as the dead-zone. Got moved from my (semi)-regular spot outside the Trinity Road gates.
Don't worry, I sold bugger all there anyway.
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That's your opinion, I have mine. I haven't actually said he faked anything either by the way. I know what I seen him do against Man U so it's been on my mind since then. It's a shame for the lad really as I think he's been thrust into the top flight too soon for his development. But the one thing that is a fact is that he is a particularly injury prone player.
Wait, hold on, is he injury prone or just pretending to be injured?
I must say, he must have really, really not wanted to play, what with having the medical staff in on this elaborate scam as well.
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The bit where he faked being unconscious for a minute or so was my favourite. He had all the medical staff tricked, the big bottler.
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Baker is very injury prone but that's more because he always tends to dive head first into challenges and clearences so picks up knocks. But yeah given it was down for about 5 minutes and there were plenty of paramedics down there I think it's fair to say they viewed it as potentially a serious injury aswell.
Brend is a great long term poster but strange thing to say.
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In fairness there are 8 good teams in the league and the rest are scrappers who can occasioningly string a result together, us beating Man. City and Stoke being Chelsea, both 3-2 are examples of this. Half of a game where it all came together.
Maybe that's harsh on Swansea, they'd probably have 4-5 more points if they didn't have europe but the reality is they're below us.
It could be the sort of season where the 10th team finishes on something like 43 points, that could be us. Other some on here don't think we'll even get another point this season but really look at Fulham, Norwich, West Ham, Stoke, Palace, WBA, Hull, how many of those are even going to reach 40 points this season?
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Stop using logic and reason SHQ.
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O.k, our defence is far and away the worst in our history even though it's only actually the 10th worst in the premier league this season.
That better Ads?
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I love it when you talk dirty.
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
+1
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I seem to remember that if you have lost consciousness, you have to be substituted. Even if you don't want to go off.
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Not on the coaching course Andre Vilas-Boas went on.
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Maybe it's Rugby I'm thinking of. But can you imagine the inquest if a player was knocked out, carried on and then collapsed with a brain injury?
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The obvious thing that lets this suggestion down is that, of all our defenders, Baker is usually the one throwing himself in, head first, to block the ball.
If he was really secretly a gigantic man-baby afraid of physical contact, he wouldn't be like that.
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My concise match report:
Good for a bit, crap for a bit then good for another bit.
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Crap for 80 minutes, decent for the last 10.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
Silly comment Bren'd. I expect better from you. He was hit full on head with a ball prob travelling at 70MPH.
And actuall;y only came round when back in the medical room in the tunnel
He was on oxygen when he left the pitch - it was a bad one
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Vlaar is quality, unfortunately he is another player, who I cannot see staying with us for next season!
big club wont sign him , hes injury prone . maybe Hull ;) Soton
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The last 15 minutes, after Benteke's goal infuriated me last night. Yet i've had conversations with mates since who thought it was great.
To my eyes, we got back into the game from a wonderful cross into the danger area that was put away perfectly. Instead of building on that with a good amount of time left we then just proceeded to just launch the ball forward at every opportunity in the hope of causing a scramble instead of trying the route that had just been successful again. Hoofing it doesn't work for us, getting some decent delivery into the box (more than once or twice a game) just fucking might.
This. Exactly this. Dismal.
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Did anyone really think Baker was that hurt?
I've lost count of the amount of times this player has had to go off for one reason or another. He maybe incredibly unlucky or it might be that he just doesn't fancy it. I think that's more likely the case.
He was poleaxed.
I don't think he was acting.
good job they dont use the same balls of the 40s, 50s and 60s etc , you know the sort . His head would end up in smethwick
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
This.
Agreed.
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Which ever way you look at it, Baker sure is cack. I hope he makes a quick recovery and can be available for selection soon... but then not actually selected.
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Nathan Baker may lack certain qualities we would like to see in a centre half but courage isn't one of them.
It was a case of too little, too late last night. At least our goal difference didn't take a pounding.
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I thought Baker was coming on well at the back end of last season but he has been garbage this season.
Mind you Clark looked terrible this time last year and has been much better this season. Centre halfs mature at funny rates.
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The last 15 minutes, after Benteke's goal infuriated me last night. Yet i've had conversations with mates since who thought it was great.
To my eyes, we got back into the game from a wonderful cross into the danger area that was put away perfectly. Instead of building on that with a good amount of time left we then just proceeded to just launch the ball forward at every opportunity in the hope of causing a scramble instead of trying the route that had just been successful again. Hoofing it doesn't work for us, getting some decent delivery into the box (more than once or twice a game) just fucking might.
agreed 100%.
its hard to be a football fan and a villa supporter right now. I cant recall a worse style of football from any club or international side in my memory. Trappatoni's Ireland could be awful at times but Lambert's Villa is a whole other level. Stoke, Wimbledon etc were at least set up for direct football.
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The idea that Baker faked concussion to get off the pitch - by the way, when it was still 0-0 and Arsenal hadn't threatened much despite their possession - is astonishing, and frankly stupid. And I don't care if I insult anyone by saying that, because it is a really stupid, malicious, arseholish thing to say. Baker is many things, but a bottler and a coward he is not, and to question the validity of his concussion is just pathetic.
This.
Agreed.
Yep
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I take the positives from last night.
1) It wasn't the hammering many of us (including me) feared it would be.
2) Vlaar was back and did well.
3) Tekkers back on the scoresheet. Will do him a power of good.
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I take the positives from last night.
1) It wasn't the hammering many of us (including me) feared it would be.
2) Vlaar was back and did well.
3) Tekkers back on the scoresheet. Will do him a power of good.
I'd agree with that.
Got the points tally I expected, and were truly shit for far too long last night, but a bit of self belief after Benteke scored, and a much improved last 20 minutes.
I hope we take something from that into the next match.
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We need a Vlaar in the midfield too. Somebody who can be constantly on Westwood and Delph, while of course brining a quality of his own to our play.
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
Impersonating a footballer.
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I take the positives from last night.
1) It wasn't the hammering many of us (including me) feared it would be.
2) Vlaar was back and did well.
3) Tekkers back on the scoresheet. Will do him a power of good.
4) Bacuna didn't look too bad in a free role.
5) When Delph gets his head down and goes for it, he can get forward well.
-1) Nobody was up there with them both creating space and movement.
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The full backs finally started getting forward and putting crosses in.
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I missed the first half but one thing I did notice during our good spell for the last half hour or so is that we were playing on the frontfoot and largely keeping the ball for a decent amount of time. True, Arsenal had retreated a little and were happy to play on the break themselves but it was really uplifting to see us drive at them quickly without the move breaking down straight away as it invariably does in games where we try to impose ourselves slowly.
We're effective at counter-attacking as everyone knows but last night we also looked dangerous when attacking against up to ten men in the opponent's half, enjoying lots of possession when momentum and pace are added to the mix.
Clearly a lot of these players play off instinct more than know-how. It's when we toil in first gear and try to open up a team before losing the ball after two passes that we look woeful. Lambert has to make them realise that if they are accurate with their passing when playing frenetically, in theory it should be easier when there's more time to think about the pass. And if we could start games with that pressing and pace in the opponent's half at VP (I realise we only employ it when the "Shit, we're losing at home again, better go for broke" mentality kicks in) it mightn't always work but we'd sure have a damn sight more than one first-half VP goal all season to show for it.
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But we're not shit though are?
In the rush to wank ourselves fucking senseless with even more hyperbolic nonsense about just how utter fucking shite we are, we cannot escape the fact, that there are a good chunk of sides who must be even more apocalyptic than us.
This of course can be brushed off by the "yeah we're 11th now, but will will sink!!!!1111!!!" catch all, yet despite being apparently utterly atrocious (although Benteke unlucky not to "grab a second" apparently and therefore a draw against the league leaders) here we sit. Mid-table, enjoying poor home form and poor football, but 11th nonetheless. Exactly where most predicted we would be. No hope, no ambition, seas boiling, cats marrying dogs, plagues killing the first born. 11th, mid-table.
Stop it! The truth hurst and this kind of sensible balance look at how we played is not what I read the match threads for! Where is the wailing and the gnashing of teeth? Where is the hyperbole about the end of the world happening in the next 10 minutes because we're not top of the European leagues and undefeated for a whole century? Whare are the complaints about what Lambert has done for us? Your're a very naughty boy Ads, don't do it again.
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I watched the game with 2 mates last night, neither of whom had really seen us this season. Their take on things was that we are compact and hard working without the ball but utterly devoid of creativity with it - no off the ball movement or players able to take on opponents being the main criticisms.
They honestly thought that the passing among the back 4 and ensuing hoof from Guzan was a premeditated game plan, since the obvious thing to do was exploit Lowton's ability to deliver excellent centres.
They were both complimentary about our crowd, expressing amazement at our gates given the quality of football served up. However one of the two said he could watch that at Bristol Rovers for cheaper prices.
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Basics would be a start; like when a player has the ball in the opposition half having players in front of him to pass to, or overlapping into space... when we did that we looked "ok"
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Last night's gate was the first that was below where they normally are for the big teams... 36000 vs Arsenal is probably our lowest gate against them for at least 10 years...
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The full backs finally started getting forward and putting crosses in.
Yes.
It looked as if a few players got there mojo back last night.
Lowton had a very good game, particularly in the second half.
Luna had his best game for several weeks, if not months.
We started off with a 5-3-2 and seemed to be holding our own.
When Baker went off we went to 4-4-2 and they scored their 2 goals
We were excellent in the second half.
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We were excellent in the second half.
"I've told you a million times, do not exaggerate"
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Last night's gate was the first that was below where they normally are for the big teams... 36000 vs Arsenal is probably our lowest gate against them for at least 10 years...
I blame the Chinese and Japanese tourists. They are caught out by Monday night football.
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I watched the game with 2 mates last night, neither of whom had really seen us this season. Their take on things was that we are compact and hard working without the ball but utterly devoid of creativity with it - no off the ball movement or players able to take on opponents being the main criticisms.
They honestly thought that the passing among the back 4 and ensuing hoof from Guzan was a premeditated game plan, since the obvious thing to do was exploit Lowton's ability to deliver excellent centres.
They were both complimentary about our crowd, expressing amazement at our gates given the quality of football served up. However one of the two said he could watch that at Bristol Rovers for cheaper prices.
As the kids will say lol! I think you and your mates are bang on. It's so much better when Lowton is over the halfway line with the ball at his feet.
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We were excellent in the second half.
"I've told you a million times, do not exaggerate"
We played better in the 2nd half no doubt but we were a long way off excellent.
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Last night's gate was the first that was below where they normally are for the big teams... 36000 vs Arsenal is probably our lowest gate against them for at least 10 years...
Or even 1 year! We got just 34,000 against them last season.
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Which ever way you look at it, Baker sure is cack. I hope he makes a quick recovery and can be available for selection soon... but then not actually selected.
I'm glad I'm not you, you must live in a joyless world.
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The full backs finally started getting forward and putting crosses in.
Yes.
It looked as if a few players got there mojo back last night.
Lowton had a very good game, particularly in the second half.
Luna had his best game for several weeks, if not months.
We started off with a 5-3-2 and seemed to be holding our own.
When Baker went off we went to 4-4-2 and they scored their 2 goals
We were excellent in the second half.
Except Lowton was ball watching and lost his man completely which resulted in them scoring the first goal. The one that was always going to be important for our belief that we could perhaps match them.
Second half when we were attacking and not having to defend nearly as much, yes he was good.
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We were excellent in the second half.
"I've told you a million times, do not exaggerate"
We played better in the 2nd half no doubt but we were a long way off excellent.
we were ok for 20 minutes only because Arse had done the job and dropped a gear , we deserved nothing from the game. the goal lifted us a little but theer was still no cutting edge and guile and the last 8 minutes or so we went hoofy hoofy again.
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
Impersonating a footballer.
Had me fooled.
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
Existing within 100 yards of Jack "Blue Eyed Boy" Wilshire, it appeared.
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
The first time the ball went in the air he jumped for it with his arm raised and caught one of their players, I didnt see who.
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We got into the ground 2 minutes in last night, can anyone tell what KEA was booked for after a whole minute into the game?
The first time the ball went in the air he jumped for it with his arm raised and caught one of their players, I didnt see who.
I think it was Jack Wilshire, Arsene.
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Have we played a team full of more runty little whinge bags than Arsenal so far?
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Have we played a team full of more runty little whinge bags than Arsenal so far?
The Stripeys.
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Have we played a team full of more runty little whinge bags than Arsenal so far?
The Stripeys.
I cannot think of the Pride of the Midlands without hearing "it bay fair!" in my head. Bless em.
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Have we played a team full of more runty little whinge bags than Arsenal so far?
No. The Arse are without compare in the areas of runtiness and whinging.
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I really dislike Wilshere for that, every time anyone dares challenge him he looks at the ref with his "he's just killed my puppy" eyes. I'd never wish a bad injury on anyone but i really wouldn't be surprised if has a career full of injuries because of people giving him a kicking over it.
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I really dislike Wilshere for that, every time anyone dares challenge him he looks at the ref with his "he's just killed my puppy" eyes. I'd never wish a bad injury on anyone but i really wouldn't be surprised if has a career full of injuries because of people giving him a kicking over it.
He really takes an age to get up from any sort of challenge too, always acting as if he's been hit by a lorry.
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My favourite thing about him is when he said if he was eligible to play for Spain he wouldn't ever play for them. Youre right there Jack.
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Nathan Baker may lack certain qualities we would like to see in a centre half but courage isn't one of them.
It was a case of too little, too late last night. At least our goal difference didn't take a pounding.
Agreed. BUT imho perversely if we'd been hammered last night then surely some one in the inner sanctum would of had to say , "were aston villa" and this does not happen to us! I fear relegation. forget Saturday red bin dippers have got at least one striker.
On to the olbion , I fancy they'll be up for it, oh and btw they've got a midfield, wtf have we got.
Prediction we loose and then we will see the Holte turn trust me. another point the date of that game gives little time for panic buying.
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Last night's gate was the first that was below where they normally are for the big teams... 36000 vs Arsenal is probably our lowest gate against them for at least 10 years...
I should really use Google more...
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Last night's gate was the first that was below where they normally are for the big teams... 36000 vs Arsenal is probably our lowest gate against them for at least 10 years...
Or even 1 year! We got just 34,000 against them last season.
See above.
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I don't think 36000 is that bad on a Monday evening in January, I'd be surprised if that's not pretty close to our average Monday night attendance.
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I don't think 36000 is that bad on a Monday evening in January, I'd be surprised if that's not pretty close to our average Monday night attendance.
Especially as the bloody date was only confirmed a week earlier.
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One thing no one can complain about this season is our attendances. They've been fantastic considering what they've had to put up with at home.
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There is that 'Newcastle at home' feel about last night's game. Looking back, we gave it a good go in the second half and Benteke scoring is indeed huge. I just hope he gets them to play like that more often.
Counter-attacking is a very limited way to play. If the other team nab a goal or two first, as happens with out defence(!), you are forced to attack anyway and we showed last night that we can attack quite well. Lowton's cross was real quality.