Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Legion on September 20, 2014, 10:19:27 AM
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WAR.... huh..... what is it good for ?
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One shot, we only need one shot.
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Without putting a complete dampner on things, stats like these dont matter when things are going well, 3 or 4 bad results and we will be back to beating the manager over the head with them. He really does need to address this and fast, I dont think it is sustainable and we are quite reliant on luck at the moment.
Surely there is enough talent in the squad to improve this!?
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Without putting a complete dampner on things, stats like these dont matter when things are going well, 3 or 4 bad results and we will be back to beating the manager over the head with them. He really does need to address this and fast, I dont think it is sustainable and we are quite reliant on luck at the moment.
Surely there is enough talent in the squad to improve this!?
Said the same in the Liverpool match thread. We have started well but our actual play hasn't been that great imo. First half against Hull aside.
We have had a few players out though and have Sanchez and TC23™ yet to establish themselves so I'm not really too worried.
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One shot, we only need one shot.
And We'll be top by 5 o'clock
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Thing is the games against Liverpool and Stoke we went to keep it tight and try and hurt them on the counter. That's going to result in low possession stats. Our last home game in the first half we battered Hull, had a fair few chances and scored twice. Yes we sat back in the second half but even then we could have scored once or twice more. I think once the run of really hard games is over we'll see us being much more attacking at home on a regular basis. I hope so anyway! Until then long live ruthless efficiency.
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BBC Football "expert" Robbie Savage blurted
Aston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.
Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.
He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.
Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.
In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.
They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.
And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.
Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.
The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.
The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.
Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.
And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.
A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.
It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.
The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.
That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.
What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.
They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.
I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.
Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.
But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.
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BBC Football "expert" Robbie Savage blurted
Aston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.
Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.
He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.
Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.
In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.
They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.
And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.
Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.
The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.
The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.
Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.
And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.
A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.
It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.
The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.
That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.
What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.
They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.
I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.
Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.
But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.
So he did tip us to go down, he just changed his mind. The bloke is an absolute twat.
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He talks so much shite does Savage.
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BBC Football "expert" Robbie Savage blurted
Aston Villa have surprised a lot of people, including me, with the way they have started the season, but if you look at their statistics their success might come as even more of a shock.
Villa, who take on Arsenal on Saturday, are unbeaten and second in the table after taking 10 points from their first four games, including a victory over Liverpool at Anfield last weekend.
When Villa boss Paul Lambert signed a new contract this week he said his team were making progress, and put that down to their hard work.
He is definitely right about the hard work, but any 'progress' is more debatable.
Results have improved dramatically but the team is not doing anything differently to last season when they struggled, and Lambert was under pressure after losing a club-record 10 league games at home.
In fact, in almost every other way, Villa are doing worse.
They have won three out of their four games despite managing a total of only six shots on target all season, the fewest in the top flight. They have scored with four of them.
And their stats for passing, passing accuracy, possession, total shots and shots on target per game are all worse than last season, in the bottom three of the Premier League in every category, and the lowest of any point of Lambert's time in charge.
Lambert's tactics have always been to be well-organised at the back, to get men behind the ball and then look to hit teams with pace on the break or threaten from set-pieces.
The way they play is not pretty and it has not changed during Lambert's time in charge.
The reason it is working better than ever is down to their players. Individually, they are flourishing.
Ashley Westwood and Fabian Delph have emerged as key figures with their passing and tackling ability and it is no surprise Westwood is being tipped to follow Delph into the England squad.
And with the arrivals of Tom Cleverley and Kieran Richardson, Lambert has built a squad full of hard-working and energetic midfielders, who are crucial for his 4-5-1 system to work by limiting space for the opposition and stopping them from creating clear chances.
A perfect example of that was at Anfield last weekend. Liverpool had lots of possession and 18 efforts on goal. Only one of them was on target.
It was no fluke - Villa keeper Brad Guzan has only faced 10 shots this season, and only Stoke (with six) fare better in that category in the top flight.
The reason Villa are so well-drilled is the work they are doing on the training ground.
That is where they have made the progress that Lambert refers to, not with their playing style.
What the statistics do not show you is how Lambert has given them a system they believe in, and one that gets the best out of his players.
They bring their work ethic as well as a never-say-die attitude and, when you put all that together, it means that, despite creating so few chances, Villa are proving so hard to beat.
I want to get one thing straight - I have not tipped this Villa side to go down.
Before a ball was kicked this season, I looked at who they had signed, which at that stage was Philippe Senderos, Joe Cole and Kieran Richardson, and, with Christian Benteke out with a long-term injury, I thought they would end up in the bottom three.
But after the transfer window had closed, when the likes of Tom Cleverley and Carlos Sanchez had been brought in, I tipped them to finish 15th.
So he did tip us to go down, he just changed his mind. The bloke is an absolute twat.
A bit like that WSC article absolutely destroying Tim Lovejoy, please read this by Jonathan Liew in the Telegraph.......
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jonathan-liew/11054176/Match-of-the-Day-Robbie-Savage-represents-the-triumph-of-personality-and-opinions-over-perceptiveness.html
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I don't think we've ridden our luck at all so far this season. Aside from the woodwork giving us a hand, the sides we've beaten have created just as little against us as we apparently have against them. Shots on target can also be a bit misleading too, as an example, Senderos had too gilt edged chances against Liverpool which he really should have buried, the first in particular. We could have been 2-3 up at half time. I don't think luck was involved at all. Likewise the defensive organisation has been very good.
We had games last season where no small amount of luck was involved and often the defending was a little bit last ditch, and obviously our poor play almost caught up with us.
This has been a tough start though. The only side we might have expected to beat was Hull, but other than that we've improved on results in terms of the respective games last season. Newcastle slaughtered us at VP last year. We got a point. Stoke twotted us in two games, and we beat them comfortably, and we beat Liverpool, who created very little.
We're second completely on merit. I'd like to see where we stand on shots on target against too (ah just read Savages article, largely against my better judgement). But the only stats that matter are that we're 2nd in the table with the best defensive record.
As for these stats. If they don't start improving in that run of fixtures we have over October and November, then I'll start worrying. But they probably will. We've got better footballers and more nous so I suspect the possession and seeing games out will improve. But we've got 4 games on the spin now where the opposition are a level above. Are we going to get the lions share of possession? Probably not. Will we pick up results still? Probably.
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Those stats are correct. I think they will bite us on the arse sooner or later.
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I think we definitely need to address our attacking play, but to say we haven't changed from last season is bollocks. Our defensive play as a whole team was atrocious last year, but it's much better now.
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If we keep restricting the opposition to barely anything, we will do fine.
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Yeah but that's probably unlikely, we do need to offer more going forward.
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I don't think we've ridden our luck at all so far this season. Aside from the woodwork giving us a hand, the sides we've beaten have created just as little against us as we apparently have against them. Shots on target can also be a bit misleading too, as an example, Senderos had too gilt edged chances against Liverpool which he really should have buried, the first in particular. We could have been 2-3 up at half time. I don't think luck was involved at all. Likewise the defensive organisation has been very good.
We had games last season where no small amount of luck was involved and often the defending was a little bit last ditch, and obviously our poor play almost caught up with us.
This has been a tough start though. The only side we might have expected to beat was Hull, but other than that we've improved on results in terms of the respective games last season. Newcastle slaughtered us at VP last year. We got a point. Stoke twotted us in two games, and we beat them comfortably, and we beat Liverpool, who created very little.
We're second completely on merit. I'd like to see where we stand on shots on target against too (ah just read Savages article, largely against my better judgement). But the only stats that matter are that we're 2nd in the table with the best defensive record.
As for these stats. If they don't start improving in that run of fixtures we have over October and November, then I'll start worrying. But they probably will. We've got better footballers and more nous so I suspect the possession and seeing games out will improve. But we've got 4 games on the spin now where the opposition are a level above. Are we going to get the lions share of possession? Probably not. Will we pick up results still? Probably.
Once again, Tom, your post is excellent
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We've played 4 and we've scored 4. Yeah, it could be better but it's not that bad. The one thing missing against Liverpool was someone to hold the ball up and once Benteke's up and running that will help.
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The fact that we are missing our most influential player and one of the top young forwards in Europe seems to have eluded a number of these experts. Nobody is denying that we have room for improvement, but needs to be tempered given where we are coming from and who we've been missing. It's like any club threatening the established top sides. Some pundits are just waiting for the moment it falls apart so they can be the first to say they knew all along it would happen.
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I also think it comes down to the way you want to play though. Lambert, whether we agree or disagree obviously has his ideas on the best way for this team to play to achieve our highest possible placing.
The thing about our counter attacking style of play is that being solid at the back and grabbing the first goal in games is massively important to us. Unfortunately we've not had a solid defence for a lot of that time until this season. We conceded 61 goals last season. So far, we've conceded 1 in 4 games. I think the manager's philosophy is definitely up for debate but I don't really buy into this start being in any way down to 'luck' when all that has happened is the way the manager wants to play has been executed far better than we've previously seen it. I can't see him changing his philosophy any time soon considering what we've witnessed since he's been here.
It's probably worth considering as well that the reason for the low shot count is down to us and our system doing so well. Against Liverpool we got the goal and pretty much shut up shop. We'd probably have quite a few more shots on the board if we'd have gone behind in any of the games this season as we'd have had to change our style to try and get back in the game.
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I wonder how the stats will read if we are sitting on 13 points later today?
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I wonder if Robbie Savage will change his mind again and tip us for relegation after yesterday?