Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Match Threads & Player Ratings => Topic started by: PeterWithesShin on August 14, 2015, 09:36:09 PM
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Balls.
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Pretty disappointing. We looks miles short of match fitness.
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We need another striker.
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We go again.
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Dispiriting.Amavi class.Gabby crass.
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New players, same old Villa. So much wrong with our game tonight I can't be bothered to go into it. But Gabby is a waste of a shirt and we have to learn to kick the ball in the general direction of the opposition goal once in a while.
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Let's not bother playing this fixture any more. Long overdue for a win and I can't see it happening again in my lifetime. Early days for our team but we must improve our home record.
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Think Gil, Grealish and Traore will give us the dynamic edge we're missing going forward.
Schweinsteiger and Shaw look obese.
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I despise Man Utd and their wanky fans. They were utter shite tonight but they still managed to stroll away with 3 points as per
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same old, same old. :(
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Yawn.
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Same old. Hate it.
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Fucking shit. This was a good opportunity to finally beat those ****** at home.
Let's not start Gabby and Ayew in the same team.
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Guzan 6
Bacuna 6
Amazing 8
Clark 6
Richards 6
Gaga 7
Viertout 4
Westwood 6
Ayew 5
Sinclair 6
Gabby 3
Sanchez 6
Gestede 5
Early days lads... Early days!!
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About right. We didnt create anything and if we had Agbonlahor and Ayew wouldnt have stuck the ball in the net.
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20 fucking years is embarrassing.
On the plus side, we weren't out played. And I think with our full strength side we'd have got a result tonight.
Ayew and Gabby were the weak links tonight. Really at the stage where we aren't starting Gabby. No shots on target is poor. Can't help but think the Sinclair sub killed all our momentum.
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I will reserve any opinion on Ayew at the moment, but Jesus...how the fuck Agbonlahor still gets in the team I don't know.
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Always was going to be tough, another striker please!
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Early days but so far, of our new lads
Amavi - class
Richards - good
Gana / Gueye - decent
Ayew - jury's out
Veretout - not convinced yet
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Gabby - what does he see?
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Two poor teams who could hardly pass the ball to a team mate all game
Gave up my season ticket and no regrets based on that
Early days of course and we need to get more match fitness
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God I hate them. Bastards. Why is it almost always so pissing easy for them? They were poor and never got out of second gear.
Of the new boys, Amavi and Gueye played pretty well.
Ayew looked a bit lost again. Veretout doesn't look fit and really struggled to impose himself on the game.
Rudy won most of his headers. But if he's not getting the support or the service, what else can he do?
Richards was poor for their goal, but otherwise looked solid again. Bacuna frightens me. Westwood didn't impose himself on the game at all and his set piece delivery was disappointing once again.
Gabby looks like he runs through treacle now. And he also looks like he eats far too much of it. If his pace isn't there, what does he bring? Nothing.
Sinclair was poor.
What we've seen from the first two games is we have some promising players once things gel. We've also seen that we're sorely missing Grealish or Gil. Just someone a bit cultured and mercurial who can play between midfield and attack. Someone who keeps hold of the ball. We also lack a good option for the right hand side, which is something hopefully Troare can rectify.
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I thought Sanchez made a difference when he came on and I would start him next time. Veretout may need a lot of time and we could do with Jack to hold up and play clever balls. We will be OK and win more than we lose, I believe.
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Agree on the new striker being needed, Ayew and Gabby just aren't good enough. Amavi looks a good buy and looks to be the best left back we have had in years (since Bouma i would say). All in all though these will be top four this season so one nil isn't anything to be too disheartened about. Still only the second game of the season so once Ayew/Veretout/ Gestede are fully fit we will see a different villa, Gana looked well short of fitness today too.
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Looked on different wavelengths the players at times. Not overly surprising. Desperately need Grealish back to get a bit of creativity into the attacking midfield areas.
Gabby contributed everything I expected him to, fuck all. The decision to take Sinclair off, who had started the 2nd half well, and not Gabby was fucking ludicrous. If Agbonlahor starts next game I'll be fucking furious
Amavi looked a class above our other players and Gueye played well in patches. I suppose Richards and Clark did ok, but Man U weren't much better than average in all fairness.
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What was the point of taking Sinclair off when he was playing well?
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Why are those ****** 40% (I chose that percentage at random) fitter than us? What do they do in training and at home that we don't? Fucking hell!
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Agree on the new striker being needed, Ayew and Gabby just aren't good enough. Amavi looks a good buy and looks to be the best left back we have had in years (since Bouma i would say). All in all though these will be top four this season so one nil isn't anything to be too disheartened about. Still only the second game of the season so once Ayew/Veretout/ Gestede are fully fit we will see a different villa, Gana looked well short of fitness today too.
Funny you picked him.. I thought he had a good motor today. Ayew Gabby and Veretout looked tired to me.
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What was the point of taking Sinclair off when he was playing well?
I thought the same thing. He was one of the only players that looked dangerous on the edge of the box.
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I tell you what our two strikers may have stunk the game out but so did theirs, Rooney was fucking atrocious.
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Agree on the new striker being needed, Ayew and Gabby just aren't good enough. Amavi looks a good buy and looks to be the best left back we have had in years (since Bouma i would say). All in all though these will be top four this season so one nil isn't anything to be too disheartened about. Still only the second game of the season so once Ayew/Veretout/ Gestede are fully fit we will see a different villa, Gana looked well short of fitness today too.
Funny you picked him.. I thought he had a good motor today. Ayew Gabby and Veretout looked tired to me.
Verse tout was making a good impression of Joe Cole.... He looked fucked from the start
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Not sure the double training sessions are helping and I do wonder if our pre season schedule was a bit too relaxed/easy in terms of the opposition
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Different team same result. Man united not having to play well to win.
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Fixture came too soon for the new crop, but I'm glad it's out of the way. Bunch of bastards always find a way. Sounded like it was too easy.
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Is the 9 till 3 training too much for the players?
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Gabby was our only shot on target.
Ayew and Gabby kept on getting into the same spaces, so that should sort itself out eventually with more play time... or more likely one of them replaced with Traore.
I feel like if Micah didn't break out of the headlock and actually get his head on the ball we might have gotten the pen and that shits me to tears because it actively discourages players from trying to make the best out of a situation with illegal contact. When it is that blatant the player who is infringed deserves a double chance it isn't just "play on".
Gueye and Amavi are quality though and it's good that we have at least 2 fresh signings from the french league settling in straight away.
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What was the point of taking Sinclair off when he was playing well?
Tactics Tim.
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Listened to the first half whilst stuck in traffic on the North circular, got back in time for the second half, thought we were great in the first 15 mins, then their subs broke our rhythm. Still, not to disheartened, a draw would have been a fair result, and we showed enough to suggest we can beat enough sides to improve on last season.
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What was the point of taking Sinclair off when he was playing well?
I thought the same thing. He was one of the only players that looked dangerous on the edge of the box.
I've given Tim plenty of praise since he arrived, so time for a bit of criticism. He fucked it up with that sub. And last 10 mins or so when it blatantly wasn't working i'd have taken off Gabby or Ayew and stuck on Kozak and just gone for whacking in crosses. We had fuck all to lose and everything to gain.
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I thought amavi and Gana looked great
ayew was doing a nzogbia at times
gabby shit Im afraid
I think the sinclair sub did us , thought he was looking ok.
Need grealish and Adama in quick and a striker as well.
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I tell you what our two strikers may have stunk the game out but so did theirs, Rooney was fucking atrocious.
Richards did a great job locking him up. He had a good game overall, I don't remember any bad turnovers. The Januzaj goal was tough.
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Well, we've played a bottom 4 contender, and a top 4 contender and I don't think we've learned much to be honest. Amavi looks class though, and was our best player for the second game running I reckon.
I really don't see that Gabby brings anything these days, why we persevere with him I just don't know.
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oh sanchez looked great too
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As far as they go, they won't win the league with Rooney as their main striker. He's just absolutely shot to shit now. Always a little overrated but he doesn't have the same engine he used to and has lost any of the pace and vigor he used to have. Now he just huffs and puffs and moans a lot.
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Why are those c***s 40% (I chose that percentage at random) fitter than us? What do they do in training and at home that we don't? Fucking hell!
New players from foreign leagues getting used to the pace of the game is how I see it.
They're just taking a step up. Maybe that's another reason why Sherwood has extended training hours.
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Best football I have seen for a while from us. Sanchez surrounded by skilful players looks good. Looks like Tim knows what he is doing. Our no.23 looks good.
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Yorke- ' WE lost Falcao, WE lost van Perse" .... Fuck off
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The last 3 ManUre teams to come to Villa Park have been the worst since 1990 - and we still can't beat them. Says it all really.
Positives: Amavi, Gueye & Westwood.
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I think I can confidently predict that Man U will be nowhere near winning the league this season, they'll do well to finish top 4 with that team.
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The last 3 ManUre teams to come to Villa Park have been the worst since 1990 - and we still can't beat them. Says it all really.
Positives: Amavi, Gueye & Westwood.
We don't even try sometimes. I fucking hate it.
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Gabby - if his brains were dynamite he couldn't blow his hat off. A player with his experience should be able to position himself by now but he rarely creates an angle or gives an option. Must be dropped.
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I think what we mainly miss with Benteke going is a 'lightning conductor' player - not necessarily one who scores, or creates chance after chance, but one who disrupts the opposition because they never feel comfortable with them. Adebayor, for example, isn't the best finisher or even striker in the game, but he's tall, pacy and is a handful. The fact that he knows where the net is is a big plus. Maybe Traore will offer that, but it's a big responsibility for a nineteen year old to take two defenders out of the game.
Tonight, we seemed meek and unimaginative up front. I won't slag Ayew because it's his second game in the Premier League, but he's not our main striker, that's for sure.
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I thought there was some promise shown and Gueye, Richards and Amavi looked great, Veretout looked like he'll need a few games to get up to speed. Thought Westwood played well but we never looked like scoring.
I honestly don't know what Agbonlahor brings to the team, has been a mystery for a while, if we signed 30 new players he'd still somehow get in the side. He's simply not good enough.
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To quote the Duke of Wellington, "They came on in the same old way, and we beat them in the same old way". Nothing changes, 20 years of hurt continues.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
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Limited them to pretty much two chances all game. The defence and midfield have to be praised for that. Gueye, Richards, Clark and Amavi were all very good.
Going forward Gabby, Ayew and Sinclair were all shite. There's space for one of them in the side, not three.
After 60 minutes it was a nailed on loss. We were absolutely fucked. Gueye ran his heart out and could barely stand. Veretout was dead. Ayew completely forgot how to control the ball. All three of our forwards were within 10 yards of one another and there was no width whatsoever.
Without Grealish, Gil and Traore there's no link from our (pretty impressive) midfield and our dozy strikers.
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Agree entirely. Gabby is long past it now. Use as a last 15 mins sub run around a bit but that's about it. I think we have bought some good players but as much as I like Rudy, we are missing the key man upfront. Ayew has a bit of skill, but he's not an out and out striker. Traore is a winger not a striker, but I really think with that key player up front we will have a good season
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Yorke- ' WE lost Falcao, WE lost van Perse" .... Fuck off
Just spoke to my brother who watched the game on Sky, and he said that Shite Dork was the only one on the panel who said it was not a penalty when Richards was throttled in the area. Can't say I was in the least surprised, the bloke is a grade A ****. I prefer Delph to him, personally.
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Once LVG made his changes, our threat disappeared. Zee German ran zee game when he came on. Rooney was abysmal. As much as we competed well our threat up top and out wide was too easily contained. United tactically were very impressive but Rooney would want to get his finger out. Sherwood was owned tactically tonight, will be days like this I guess
Guzan 7
Bacuna 6
Richards 6
Clark 7
Amavi 7
Veretout 5
Gueye 6
Westwood 6
Sinclair 5
Gabby 4
Ayew 4
Gestede 6
Sanchez 7
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And I wish to god we would stop fucking about with the ball at the back. Every time I see us smacking it square or tapping it back to Guzan a bit of shit squeaks out
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I hope Kozak starts next game ( it's obvious Gestede is miles away from being match fit)
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Veretout looks a million miles away from match fitness. Gueye is closer and before he ran out of steam(very quickly) he looked good. With the exception of a couple of mistakes Amavi was excellent. Ayew needs a lot of work.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
Better team? Whoah there pardner.They were much better than us.Kept us on a leash and zipped it about when they wanted.And they are average.
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Same opinion as the Bournemouth game. I ain't influenced by the result, I just haven't been impressed by our cohesion or performance so far.
I like Richards.
I like Gueye.
I really like Amavi.
Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here. The coaching team and Sherwood are responsible for that.
Ayew. Omg. Not for me.
Veretout. Yeah he's neat but does he do anything Gary Gardner can't? AND Sanchez looked the better player in the time he was on anyway.
I'm no fan of Ashley Westwood, but he was smashing today. Played it forward more than usual but set piece delivery needs work.
Sherwood. hmmmmmm. Gestede and Kozak with a few high balls was worth a try with 15 minutes to go and he didn't go for it. I also worry about his organisation. It all looks a bit 'try hard' so far.
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On the plus side, if before a ball was kicked, someone had offered me 3 points after the first 2 games, i'd taken it without a second thought. So disappointed a bit by us not going for it as much as I thought we would under Tim, but after 2 games, i'm satisfied and think we will be a different proposition once everyone is up to speed.
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We need another striker.
Was really happy with how our back 4 looked, midfield still very much a work in progress but yes this for me and Grealish fit as too many balls hit in hope that Man. United were cutting out no problem.
We need more craft in the final third and another out and out striker.
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I've seen so many shit teams have no problems beating man utd over the years that for Villa to go 20 years without beating them at home is astonishing. It makes no sense at all. Every year they seem to get a bobble, a deflection, score a screamer...you name it. The madness will end at some point and the law of averages says we will go on a good unbeaten run against them too at some point in time, I just hope I'll be around to see it.
As others have said, some of the new boys looked knackered - especially Veretout. All being well they will get up to speed in the next few weeks. I'm not too down heartened with the team but I am majorly annoyed that this ridiculous run continues.
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Only 2 games into the season so way to early for despondency, so many new players trying to get used to playing together, trying to get used to the pace of the premier league and the fitness levels required, we lost a tight game 1-0, it will take some time for things to gel so lets not get on the teams back to early, it will take a while for Tim to turn things round but I am confident he will.
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It doesn't help when our most creative players are in the stands. Get one or two of Grealish, Gil and Traore on the pitch and we'll be fine.
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A striker and a right back and we're golden. I think the striker needs to be experienced at this level. At this stage I'd begrudginly take a punt on Adebeyor if we can get that deal through. Otherwise I'd blow some money on Austin and play a No 10 behind him or up with Gestede. He'd have a field day I think.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
I'm with you. Despite being a team that has been mostly slapped together in the last couple weeks and missing a few good players, I thought we looked to be the better team for the most of the match.
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Same opinion as the Bournemouth game. I ain't influenced by the result, I just haven't been impressed by our cohesion or performance so far.
I like Richards.
I like Gueye.
I really like Amavi.
Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here. The coaching team and Sherwood are responsible for that.
Ayew. Omg. Not for me.
Veretout. Yeah he's neat but does he do anything Gary Gardner can't? AND Sanchez looked the better player in the time he was on anyway.
I'm no fan of Ashley Westwood, but he was smashing today. Played it forward more than usual but set piece delivery needs work.
Sherwood. hmmmmmm. Gestede and Kozak with a few high balls was worth a try with 15 minutes to go and he didn't go for it. I also worry about his organisation. It all looks a bit 'try hard' so far.
I think it is way way way too soon to be making definitive judgements on the new players. They've never played together and they're clearly not match fit.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
Better team? Whoah there pardner.They were much better than us.Kept us on a leash and zipped it about when they wanted.And they are average.
Bullshite. They were fortunate enough to get the first goal. From that, rather than put us to the sword they continued in a similar vein and struggled across the line. Much better? Rollocks.
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Watched it in a pub full of cuntish manu 'fans'. Some dick hilariously sang 'walking in Memphis' every time depay touched the ball and some other twat did the same 'joke' voiceover with traore wanting to go home at least three times. You don't see rapier like wit like that everyday.
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I tell you what our two strikers may have stunk the game out but so did theirs, Rooney was fucking atrocious.
Yeah I said that in the match thread. England have no hope with him up front.
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I think Ayew needs to be down the middle not out wide. But I think we need a proven centre forward ideally. Adebayor would be a good addition with the players we have. I thought Gabby and Sinclair were very poor but then until Gil and Grealish are back they are all we have. I also think we are an attacking midfielder short still to bring on. The tempo we want to play we need another body on the bench to keep it going after 60 minutes but not a holding player.
Gil, Grealish Traore into the side and they will create chances.
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Same opinion as the Bournemouth game. I ain't influenced by the result, I just haven't been impressed by our cohesion or performance so far.
I like Richards.
I like Gueye.
I really like Amavi.
Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here. The coaching team and Sherwood are responsible for that.
Ayew. Omg. Not for me.
Veretout. Yeah he's neat but does he do anything Gary Gardner can't? AND Sanchez looked the better player in the time he was on anyway.
I'm no fan of Ashley Westwood, but he was smashing today. Played it forward more than usual but set piece delivery needs work.
Sherwood. hmmmmmm. Gestede and Kozak with a few high balls was worth a try with 15 minutes to go and he didn't go for it. I also worry about his organisation. It all looks a bit 'try hard' so far.
I think it is way way way too soon to be making definitive judgements on the new players. They've never played together and their clearly not match fit.
This
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Watching their goal again it was a pretty damn lucky deflection off Clark.
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The major difference between the two sides was ball control and passing ability. How many times did we get possession of the ball and then give it straight back to them because our pass was a poor one.
The other thing that disappointed me was an apparent lack of "getting in their faces". We seemed content to play the match at a fairly slow pace when by upping the tempo we might have ruffled their back four.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
Better team? Whoah there pardner.They were much better than us.Kept us on a leash and zipped it about when they wanted.And they are average.
Bullshite. They were fortunate enough to get the first goal. From that, rather than put us to the sword they continued in a similar vein and struggled across the line. Much better? Rollocks.
Can you illicit your thinking how we were the better team?
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The major difference between the two sides was ball control and passing ability. How many times did we get possession of the ball and then give it straight back to them because our pass was a poor one.
The other thing that disappointed me was an apparent lack of "getting in their faces". We seemed content to play the match at a fairly slow pace when by upping the tempo we might have ruffled their back four.
I don't think we were content to play at a slow tempo I just think we were really unfit.
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The major difference between the two sides was ball control and passing ability. How many times did we get possession of the ball and then give it straight back to them because our pass was a poor one.
The other thing that disappointed me was an apparent lack of "getting in their faces". We seemed content to play the match at a fairly slow pace when by upping the tempo we might have ruffled their back four.
I thought Amavi, Gueye, Richards and Veretout (in the first half) were pretty aggressive. Got stuck in a few times.
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We will be a very different side with Traore, Grealish and Gil in there. Fitness is also key, so is gelling the team. We were not outplayed but equally we didn't create a lot either. Even though it's only two games in, I continue to question what value Gabby offers to the side. Also, if Bacuna isn't getting forward, he is a liability defensively. We will be ok.
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Ayew had some poor moments, but he worked his nuts off and won the ball back for us on several occasions. When he calms down a bit and adapts to the league, I think he'll be just fine. But he shouldn't be playing alongside Gabby, as they clearly can't communicate well.
Amavi and Gueye look excellent.
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Thought we were competitive for the first 60 mins then ran out of steam. Gana & Amavi were great, Richards & Clark not far behind them. Westwood started nervously and grew into the game. Vertout, Gabby and Ayew were not good enough. Didn't see Gestede win a header either which is strange.
I also don't understand why Tim didn't bring on Kozak and put him on Smalling so Rudy could exploit the mismatch on Blind.
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I think Ayew needs to be down the middle not out wide.
Odd, I thought the opposite. I did not see anything to suggest that he can play off a defender's shoulder but was more impressed 2nd half when he was more involved and had the play in front of him.
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Surely it's a joke that people are criticising Sherwood after 2 games with an almost entirely new first team when we have 1 win and have only dropped points against manu, conceding one goal?
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We've got some quality players now, and when they're fully fit and have gelled we'll be capable of very good things.
But the tactics in these first two games have been awful. Starting with two players who are very alike up front, asking them to run the channels right from kick-off with no support, trying to find them with long balls from the back, when the opposition has had plenty of time to regroup and get their defence in position to just collect the hoofs and start building another attack... It's fucking stupid.
I hope Tim has got other plans for the team, because these direct balls are straight out of "Martin O'Neill's Football for Dummies, 1978 ©".
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We need a bigger presence up front, which Gestede might bring when he is fully fit, to hold up play and allow our wings to bomb forward. I think Gana is a very good player as is Amavi. I have some concerns about Veretout as he looked a step slow, but it might take some time to get used to the pace of the game and to get fully fit. Also, I am not sure that he really is a wing player, so maybe it is unfair to judge him on his performance in a position not his own. I would expect to see Traore out there instead. I think we are crying out for Grealish and Gil to come in and find those incisive passes. To be fair, Gana had a couple of looks at those today, but they did not come off. Had they done so, one of them would have seen Ayew through... but at least the thought was right. It is too early to judge these players, so let's give them time.
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Thought we were competitive for the first 60 mins then ran out of steam. Gana & Amavi were great, Richards & Clark not far behind them. Westwood started nervously and grew into the game. Vertout, Gabby and Ayew were not good enough. Didn't see Gestede win a header either which is strange.
I also don't understand why Tim didn't bring on Kozak and put him on Smalling so Rudy could exploit the mismatch on Blind.
Really?
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Just got back. Don't think we should be too disheartened. A draw would have been fair.
We''ll go again :)
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We didn't play direct balls in the first half hour. They tied badly and went long. Gueye and Veretout can clearly party but both look like they are 4-5 games from match fitness.
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
Better team? Whoah there pardner.They were much better than us.Kept us on a leash and zipped it about when they wanted.And they are average.
Bullshite. They were fortunate enough to get the first goal. From that, rather than put us to the sword they continued in a similar vein and struggled across the line. Much better? Rollocks.
Can you illicit your thinking how we were the better team?
There's really nothing illicit about my thinking. We played with tempo, were sharper in midfield and played in a manner that belied our newness.. United will be breathing a sigh of relief that they are fortunate enough to have obtained maximum points and we ahould be positive that we are in the very early stages of a positive transformation. N'est ce-pas?
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I wonder how different the night would have been if the ref wasn't a
cheat bottler?
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
Better team? Whoah there pardner.They were much better than us.Kept us on a leash and zipped it about when they wanted.And they are average.
Bullshite. They were fortunate enough to get the first goal. From that, rather than put us to the sword they continued in a similar vein and struggled across the line. Much better? Rollocks.
Can you illicit your thinking how we were the better team?
There's really nothing illicit about my thinking. We played with tempo, were sharper in midfield and played in a manner that belied our newness.. United will be breathing a sigh of relief that they are fortunate enough to have obtained maximum points and we ahould be positive that we are in the very early stages of a positive transformation. N'est ce-pas?
Now I see thanks.
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I could only see what was on telly, but I thought Bacuna was very solid as a right back. Memphis was pretty quiet except for the one shot on the counter where he ran the inside channel and became more Richards's to deal with. He also got forward pretty well, we were just too afraid to give the ball away by killer balls when we did venture into the forward third of the field. We held our position behind the ball a bit and we ended up just letting ourselves peter out. The forwards were putting effort in, they just kept running to the same areas and clogging up the centre by bringing all their defenders with them.
I know it's easy to blame Gabby, but it seems like he was named as the central striker and Ayew kept on getting in his space which made it difficult for either to be effective.
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I wonder how different the night would have been if the ref wasn't a cheat bottler?
His was pretty bad tonight. I remember a few Gueye and Ayew challenges that were fair.
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Well a first this one Friday night game at VP but inevitably an exercise in futility. Why oh why we keep losing to these fuckers? One day may be one day we will have a team to ......
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I was at the match and though we were struggling to keep up the pace and is lacking fitness.
Think Tim should have taken off Agbonloahor instead of Sinclair.
Ayew must replace Agbonlahor instead of playing both together.
Ayew look more hungry and work hard but need to show his talent more, I saw a shot of Ayew and it look very powerful but wayful.
Amavi look very good defender and got the skills but need to pass the ball a little bit better and don't give it away. He will be our best left back and I think he will be greatest left back in my lifetime for Aston Villa.
Gueye look strong and showing lot of promise but need more fitness and games.
Veretout look really struggling and lacking fitness. I fear he will be a flop, but it is too early to tell as I know nothing about him.
We also need to test Romero more often. If I was LVG after selling David de Gea, i would stick with Romero for the season.
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I took a lot of positives from that. One thing I always used to moan about with Villa teams since the departure of Big Racist Ron was that, when we're chasing a game in the last 5 minutes, we've always looked as vulnerable as we did when we were protecting a similar lead. I thought we were easily the better team in the second half tonight.
I think we ought to enjoy Amavi this season because he looks like he'll be a great addition to the Arsenal team to me.
Sinclair should never have been taken off with Ayew struggling as he was.
Gabby looked like a man with a moustache.
Gueye is a player.
The long-ball to Gestede ought to be an option on the menu rather than the recipe.
All my love,
VillaiNorseVillan, GCSE
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Encouraged, but we have to get fitter if we're going to press like we did at the start of both halves. Lucky deflection on the goal, it was going straight at Guzan. Definite penalty denied. Thought the defence looked okay, no panic for a right-back for me and the rest of the back four/five I'm pretty happy with, especially Amavi. That said, I won't be surprised by anything that happens in this transfer window.
Westwood and Marvin did well as did Sanchez when he came on. The front three were disappointing but none of them got played in by a midfield that is, temporarily I hope, lacking creativity. It's nobody's fault that possibly our three most creative players are all out. Veretout and Ayew were terrible I thought (early days of course). Replace those two with a couple of our missing players at their best and it would have made a big difference I reckon. Overall I think we will get better as we gain in fitness and familiarity. A few results to add a bit of confidence and we'll have a good season.
The standard of analysis from Redknapp and Yorke was absolute shit, as bad as anything you see on MOTD.
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Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here.
Fuck me I must have been at the wrong match. I didn't know we got beat 4-0!
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I think some people need to get real. To pull together so many new players that are new to this league an expect them to suddenly click was never going to happen. Add to this the lack of fitness and sharpness, together with a few injuries and it is going to tack 5 or 6 games to get anywhere near a cohesive team.
The new players need helping out by the more experienced and felt sorry for Ayew as he was getting no help from Gabby. I would be inclined to bring Sanchez in and play 4 in the middle until we get up to speed and get Grealish back. Although Sanchez has mad spells during games, he is quite a calm player and brings players into the game.
I still worry about Bacuna and would like to see a better RB come in that plays a lot tighter. An experienced central striker on loan looks needed.
Although disappointed not getting anything from the game, I can see promise in the shape the squad is taking. I do worry a bit about scoring goals though. I think we have to get more players into the box and get the ball forward quicker from the back.
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We are very,very toothless.
Adebayor looks like he was a good idea now.
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I'm fairly optimistic after that. I think we're decent enough and improving and there are a handful of players we've still not seen who can improve things too.
On the one hand I'm glad that this particular game is done and dusted for another season but frustrating that another mediocre Man U side have dragged us down to their level and escaped with three points. We only ever seem to put in a decent performance when they are really good or we are really bad.
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The last 3 ManUre teams to come to Villa Park have been the worst since 1990 - and we still can't beat them. Says it all really.
Unfortunately coincides with our 3 worst teams since 1990.
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Yorke- ' WE lost Falcao, WE lost van Perse" .... Fuck off
C***! If only I had a gun😁
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Same opinion as the Bournemouth game. I ain't influenced by the result, I just haven't been impressed by our cohesion or performance so far.
I like Richards.
I like Gueye.
I really like Amavi.
Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here. The coaching team and Sherwood are responsible for that.
Ayew. Omg. Not for me.
Veretout. Yeah he's neat but does he do anything Gary Gardner can't? AND Sanchez looked the better player in the time he was on anyway.
I'm no fan of Ashley Westwood, but he was smashing today. Played it forward more than usual but set piece delivery needs work.
Sherwood. hmmmmmm. Gestede and Kozak with a few high balls was worth a try with 15 minutes to go and he didn't go for it. I also worry about his organisation. It all looks a bit 'try hard' so far.
I think it is way way way too soon to be making definitive judgements on the new players. They've never played together and they're clearly not match fit.
Cohesion I accept.
Not match fit? Why the fuck not. When where they expecting the season to start?
I reserve the right to make a judgement on a player who appears unable to trap a ball. I'm not interested in could be or might be. That's a circa £10m signing who looks every bit a parks player up to now. And for the record, that's not a definitive statement for the future l. That's just an opinion on the evidence presented thus far.
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Loved the mosaic on thr Holte at the start.
Keep on doing that for the big games please.
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Thought amavi , Richards , gana and Sinclair did well .
Poor substitution from Sherwood .
Sick of the sight of Gabby strolling round in a villa shirt.
Usual woeful refereeing from Dean
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I reserve the right to make a judgement on a player who appears unable to trap a ball.
If you trap the ball surely that means it's stuck under your foot where you can't do anything with it?
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Oh, and Mike Dean is a stone-cold wanker... how that mugging of Richards was not given as a penalty is beyond me... except that it would have been making a call against ManUre and we would not want that now, would we?
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A bit annoyed by the despondancy here. Apart from a lack of cutting edge we were the better team. We played better than we have a right to expect given the dramatic change in personnel. We are certainly heading in the right direction which is a concept that has been absent for years.
I'm with you. Despite being a team that has been mostly slapped together in the last couple weeks and missing a few good players, I thought we looked to be the better team for the most of the match.
Ditto
Ditto
We are miles better than under Lambert and the other TSM - we will be OK just just need a bit more up front.
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The earlier season start with probably the same holiday period especially in a season break without international tournaments to worry about probably mean that our (and most teams) fitness is a couple of weeks behind where it would usually be at the start of the season, like it or not. Footballers would have holidays built into their contracts just like anyone else that they are entitled to and wouldn't be cut short just because the season is starting earlier than usual... that extra week or two of fitness can make a huge difference.
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I reserve the right to make a judgement on a player who appears unable to trap a ball.
If you trap the ball surely that means it's stuck under your foot where you can't do anything with it?
Not sure of your age there mate but we always used the word 'trap' to mean 'bring under control'
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Same opinion as the Bournemouth game. I ain't influenced by the result, I just haven't been impressed by our cohesion or performance so far.
I like Richards.
I like Gueye.
I really like Amavi.
Our back four is as disorganised as badly as at time since TSM was here. The coaching team and Sherwood are responsible for that.
Ayew. Omg. Not for me.
Veretout. Yeah he's neat but does he do anything Gary Gardner can't? AND Sanchez looked the better player in the time he was on anyway.
I'm no fan of Ashley Westwood, but he was smashing today. Played it forward more than usual but set piece delivery needs work.
Sherwood. hmmmmmm. Gestede and Kozak with a few high balls was worth a try with 15 minutes to go and he didn't go for it. I also worry about his organisation. It all looks a bit 'try hard' so far.
I think it is way way way too soon to be making definitive judgements on the new players. They've never played together and they're clearly not match fit.
Cohesion I accept.
Not match fit? Why the fuck not. When where they expecting the season to start?
I reserve the right to make a judgement on a player who appears unable to trap a ball. I'm not interested in could be or might be. That's a circa £10m signing who looks every bit a parks player up to now. And for the record, that's not a definitive statement for the future l. That's just an opinion on the evidence presented thus far.
Because half of the team are imported recruits who've only joined in the last 10-12 days and:
the players we've brought in from France would have been training for a league that plays it's first round of fixtures this weekend and operates at a completely different tempo to ours
It will be even harder for the recruits from Spain as their league doesn't start for another 2 weeks and tends to be played at an even slower tempo.
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We didn't play direct balls in the first half hour. They tied badly and went long. Gueye and Veretout can clearly party but both look like they are 4-5 games from match fitness.
Well my short-term memory must be buggered! I was sure Clark and Westwood started punting long balls towards the edge of their box within the first ten minutes. I remember remarking that it looked very deliberate, as if it was something they'd been instructed to do rather than a means of getting rid of the ball under pressure. And it was exactly the same as what they did against Bournemouth, and it didn't work then either, until Gestede came on.
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Oh, and Mike Dean is a stone-cold wanker... how that mugging of Richards was not given as a penalty is beyond me... except that it would have been making a call against ManUre and we would not want that now, would we?
He was in an ideal position to see it as well (like 42,000 fans in the ground!). Rednapp usually comes out with a load of rubbish but I thought his comment was right. He said that you get pushing and pulling in the area all the time and it is difficult to penalise one player but when a player gets away from another player and then gets pulled back, it has to be a penalty.
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Because half of the team are imported recruits who've only joined in the last 10-12 days and:
the players we've brought in from France would have been training for a league that plays it's first round of fixtures this weekend and operates at a completely different tempo to ours
It will be even harder for the recruits from Spain as their league doesn't start for another 2 weeks and tends to be played at an even slower tempo.
*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
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Not downhearted at all. Still seeing glimpses of passing and cohesion that we haven't seen in years. We will get better and we have some great options yet to come (Gil, Jack and Traore for starters). Amavi looked one of the best players on the pitch again tonight.
They are a different Man Yoo this year. Really tight, not adventurous and hard to break down I'm not too hard on us not creating too much. A few need match fitness but when you spend the night closing down and chasing the ball it's going to tire you. I thought Bmth tired second half against us doing the same.
It's still exciting time...give Ayew, Vertoute and Gestede 6 or 7 games...
Don't understand the Sinclair sub...but in Tim we trust. Gestede clearly isn't fit enough to start so he got that right...
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Because half of the team are imported recruits who've only joined in the last 10-12 days and:
the players we've brought in from France would have been training for a league that plays it's first round of fixtures this weekend and operates at a completely different tempo to ours
It will be even harder for the recruits from Spain as their league doesn't start for another 2 weeks and tends to be played at an even slower tempo.
*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
What's the BPL?
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The last 3 ManUre teams to come to Villa Park have been the worst since 1990 - and we still can't beat them. Says it all really.
Unfortunately coincides with our 3 worst teams since 1990.
I think you will find that was my point.
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No conclusions from that. Far too early. Gelling the squad will as I have said before be a major task .
Amavi looks like a player and Gueue showed promise .
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Well if you are 16 you know BPL!
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Thought we were competitive for the first 60 mins then ran out of steam. Gana & Amavi were great, Richards & Clark not far behind them. Westwood started nervously and grew into the game. Vertout, Gabby and Ayew were not good enough. Didn't see Gestede win a header either which is strange.
I also don't understand why Tim didn't bring on Kozak and put him on Smalling so Rudy could exploit the mismatch on Blind.
Really?
I was surprised when supertom said Gestede won all his headers as I saw him lose about three or four. Even the one he looked like he won and headed across the box, on the replay you could see that Shaw headed it.
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Watched it in box and felt like a pre season friendly. Thought we looked ok in parts but soft up front. Even the atmosphere seemed subdued. 1 win in 40 league matches means we don't believe we can beat them.
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Thought we were ok, not great and certainly lacking creativity again but not bad. Neither side created much and they will be thinking themselves fortunate to grab the win.
Richards and Amarvi were very good and Westwood and Gueye not too far behind.
Plenty of positives to take from the game but Ayew may need a lot of patience and time out of the side, wasn't over impressed with Vertout either but very early days.
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The last 3 ManUre teams to come to Villa Park have been the worst since 1990 - and we still can't beat them. Says it all really.
Unfortunately coincides with our 3 worst teams since 1990.
I think you will find that was my point.
Your point was far too subtle for me. I needed to spell it out😟
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*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
What's the BPL?
Barclays. Now, BPL is shite but not as shite as EPL.
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Because half of the team are imported recruits who've only joined in the last 10-12 days and:
the players we've brought in from France would have been training for a league that plays it's first round of fixtures this weekend and operates at a completely different tempo to ours
It will be even harder for the recruits from Spain as their league doesn't start for another 2 weeks and tends to be played at an even slower tempo.
*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
My mistake. I cocked up the form for "match day 1" on the ligue 1 website. The point about preparing for a completely different tempo still stands.
I think we're lucky with Amavi in so much that he just appears to be one of those annoying bastards that are naturally fit.
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Went to the game earlier and although it was a little disappointing, I think there were still some positives. I thought we defended reasonably well (just seen the goal again and thought Richards dived in though), Amavi and Gueye did well, and I thought Gestede did well when he came on. On the negative side, we didn't have a shot on target, Ayew and Veretout struggled at times, Agbonlahor and Westwood were pretty anonymous, Sherwood made a poor change taking Sinclair off and we looked exhausted for the last 25 minutes.
We've got to accept that we've got a young side who are going to make mistakes and need time to develop. Going forward, we need Grealish and Gil to come back, as they might give us the spark that was missing. Veretout looked like he might be more comfortable in a deeper position and Ayew probably needs to brought on gradually.
Team going forward:
Guzan
Bacuna Richards Clark Amavi
Sanchez / Veretout Gueye
Traore Grealish / Gil Sinclair
Gestede
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I didn't think there was much in that to be honest. I feel a bit for Moyes, they're no better than under him.
We are a bit disjointed at the moment with the players bedding and some being off the pace like Vereatout and Ayew.
It's going to take a bit of time, which is plain for all to see.
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Because half of the team are imported recruits who've only joined in the last 10-12 days and:
the players we've brought in from France would have been training for a league that plays it's first round of fixtures this weekend and operates at a completely different tempo to ours
It will be even harder for the recruits from Spain as their league doesn't start for another 2 weeks and tends to be played at an even slower tempo.
*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
What's the BPL?
A typo I reckon. Should be FPL.
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I think some people need to get real. To pull together so many new players that are new to this league an expect them to suddenly click was never going to happen. Add to this the lack of fitness and sharpness, together with a few injuries and it is going to tack 5 or 6 games to get anywhere near a cohesive team.
The new players need helping out by the more experienced and felt sorry for Ayew as he was getting no help from Gabby. I would be inclined to bring Sanchez in and play 4 in the middle until we get up to speed and get Grealish back. Although Sanchez has mad spells during games, he is quite a calm player and brings players into the game.
I still worry about Bacuna and would like to see a better RB come in that plays a lot tighter. An experienced central striker on loan looks needed.
Although disappointed not getting anything from the game, I can see promise in the shape the squad is taking. I do worry a bit about scoring goals though. I think we have to get more players into the box and get the ball forward quicker from the back.
I agree with every word. You are clearly a genius.
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Post match interview with Tim.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33938198
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Our last 40 league games against them:
W1 D10 L29
It really is shocking, even if we were skanked a few times in the past.
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I wonder how different the night would have been if the ref wasn't a cheat bottler?
The linesman in front of the Witton Lane in the 2nd half was awful. Caught the behind play numerous times and missed a number of offside decisions as a result.
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Just back from B6 , disappointed but not totally disheartened. We definitely lack an end product and I thought Gabby and Ayew were quite useless yet didn't have anything but scraps to thrive on.
We won't play teams as good as Yanited every week so that's a bonus.
Losing to them is still all so predictable .
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*pedantry alert* The French league started last weekend, same as the BPL.
What's the BPL?
Barclays. Now, BPL is shite but not as shite as EPL.
And both are better than people *still* calling it the Premiership.
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Thought we were competitive for the first 60 mins then ran out of steam. Gana & Amavi were great, Richards & Clark not far behind them. Westwood started nervously and grew into the game. Vertout, Gabby and Ayew were not good enough. Didn't see Gestede win a header either which is strange.
I also don't understand why Tim didn't bring on Kozak and put him on Smalling so Rudy could exploit the mismatch on Blind.
Really?
Yes. Really.
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Think I'm under some sort of curse this season. Last week, I'd just set my laptop up to watch the Bournemouth match and we had a power cut from 2.45 to 5.20, so missed the whole game and had to suffer 90 minutes of WM commentary. Tonight, having taken heed of warnings of fire and brimstone on the M6 I set of really early and went down the Hagley Road instead. An hour and a half to do one mile, total journey time 2 hours and 45 minutes instead of 45 minutes, and missed the first 20 minutes of the game. To add insult to injury just as I got there I heard that the M6 was in fact completely clear and had been for a couple of hours so if I hadn't heard the warnings about the M6 I would have gone on my normal route at my normal time and been blissfully unaware of any problems. Anyroadup...the game...
Can't recall a single shot on target. They weren't that good. Neither were we. Thought Tim got it wrong taking Sinclair off when he brought Gestede on - Amavi and Sinclair seemed to be combining quite well down the left and if anyone was going to get some service to Gestede it was more likely to be Sinclair. I would have taken off either Ayew (who still looks a bit lost to me and didn't offer a great deal), or Gabby who offered even less. He must be doing something really special in training or have a secret file on Tim 'cos for the life of me I don't know why he's in the team. Gana/Gueye and Amavi were the standout players for me, and when we get Grealish and/or Gil back to play just behind Gestede, and Traore out wide I think we'll have more bite. We certainly need it
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Have to say Ayew looks dreadful, absolutely no left foot and cannot control the ball.
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Our last 40 league games against them:
W1 D10 L29
It really is shocking, even if we were skanked a few times in the past.
All in the mind I'm afraid.
We competed very well tonight but it always seems such a struggle to even create chances against them and that was certainly a Man. United back 4 nowhere near the standard of what they were putting out 5 years ago even if they were solid.
I imagine our last 40 games v Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are much more pleasant reading. Man. City aswell we've beaten a few times in last 5 years.
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Gabby is a waste of space.
If Sherwood really wants to change this club for the better he needs to stop giving so many starts to such a disappointingly limited, half arsed waster.
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Went to the game earlier and although it was a little disappointing, I think there were still some positives. I thought we defended reasonably well (just seen the goal again and thought Richards dived in though), Amavi and Gueye did well, and I thought Gestede did well when he came on. On the negative side, we didn't have a shot on target, Ayew and Veretout struggled at times, Agbonlahor and Westwood were pretty anonymous, Sherwood made a poor change taking Sinclair off and we looked exhausted for the last 25 minutes.
Gabby had a header off a Westwood corner that ended up straight at their keeper, so we did have a shot on target. We were shot shy in general but we did at least have one.
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Gabby will not be starting when Grealish is fit/sober and Adama gets into the swing of things.
He's lead a charmed life here last few years in terms of how often he's started considering his output but life will start to get tougher.
I actually think tonight he's an easy target, he was better than Ayew and had our only shot on target. United know how to play him now Vidic isn't there, just get Smalling onto him who matches him for pace and strength.
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Gabby is a waste of space.
If Sherwood really wants to change this club for the better he needs to stop giving so many starts to such a disappointingly limited, half arsed waster.
I don't think he's even that good, you're being far too kind.
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
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Have to say Ayew looks dreadful, absolutely no left foot and cannot control the ball.
A bit early to say but we almost certainly got the wrong Ayew.
Amavi was the only good Jordan.
We exceeded them in our toothlessness.
Westwood played OK but is there nobody else who can take a set piece?
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We still need another CB, a RB and an upgrade on westwood . There should be money in the pot as we are only about +£10m net so far.
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was comfortably our best central midfielder today.
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Oh, and Mike Dean is a stone-cold wanker... how that mugging of Richards was not given as a penalty is beyond me... except that it would have been making a call against ManUre and we would not want that now, would we?
And the way he let them run the clock Dow, last 2 mins plus injury time and hardly any play.
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was comfortably our best central midfielder today.
All about opinions I guess but I feel that Gueye and Veretout will improve. While Westwood is really steady, I just don't think he will take us any further. I'm not saying he's a bad player but I would like a more forceful player in there. Hence, the upgrade.
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Ayew had a poor game, but let's not write him off yet eh? Some players start like a house on fire and are useless like Luna and some struggle to start but end up good like Ronaldo. It's way too early tool judge.
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I have no idea why people think we need another CB and another ST.
Clark and Richards are looking ten times better than anything we've had in the past five years. Why people want to upset that is beyond me.
With regards to a new striker. Nah. We need wingers and attacking midfielders that can give Ayew or Gestede some shooting opportunities. The fact that Ayew was coming into our own half or standing on the touchline for 90% of his touches is indicative that we can't get it up to him. Gestede didn't have a single cross from out wide to feed on. Gabby shouldn't be anywhere near our starting XI.
Grealish, Gil and Traore were what we were missing tonight. Ayew isn't a winger. If we had Traore romping down the right with Ayew up top we'd look far more potent. Also to be fair to Ayew, he did look pretty good in the air when we lumped it to him early on. There's much more to come from Ayew that isn't with his back to goal near the halfway line.
A new RB however? Now we're talking.
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I thought taking Sinclair off was a bad call, he was just starting to open them up a bit, Micah Richards was very good I thought, Clark solid but a couple of sloppy moments, we hoofed it a bit too much. Gueye looks quality good engine, Amavi so far looks the pick.
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After having calmed down a bit I feel less bad. We lost a game by a goal to a very expensive side. While clearly the inferior team we were not THAT far off. We felt a bit more solid mid table than relegation fodder.
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They are ******
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After having calmed down a bit I feel less bad. We lost a game by a goal to a very expensive side. While clearly the inferior team we were not THAT far off. We felt a bit more solid mid table than relegation fodder.
Still too early to call. We started 13/14 by beating Arsenal away and losing narrowly to Chelsea and Liverpool with better performances than tonight. We finished 16th, it's a long season for a reason.
I think a decent time to do an early judgement will be after West Brom at home. I would expect/like 10 points after that (7 points from Leicester/WBA/Sunderland). Can nick a point at Palace aswell.
For me this season is all about avoiding a relegation battle and producing a good style of play. If that can get us 10-12th in the league then that's something to build on at long last.
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Next 3 games will be more telling as to where we are , palace (a), Sunderland (h) Leicester (a)
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Thought Amavi looked a different class, Gueye very good. Veretout - you can tell there's a player but looked unfit and slightly lightweight. Ayew scatty and unintelligent.
Bacuna our biggest weakness, Gabby poor. Richards decent.
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I've heard a few suggestions recently that we're a better team without Benteke. Anyone still think that after tonight?
I'm not making any judgments on the new guys (apart from Amavi and Gana/Gueye being class), just saying we badly miss the goals Benteke guaranteed us.
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Oh, and Mike Dean is a stone-cold wanker... how that mugging of Richards was not given as a penalty is beyond me... except that it would have been making a call against ManUre and we would not want that now, would we?
And the way he let them run the clock Dow, last 2 mins plus injury time and hardly any play.
I chuckled at just 3 minutes injury time...yes there wasn't any goals or many stoppages but if we were winning 1 nil with exactly the same game flow it would've been 5 minutes minimum.
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benteke would have made no difference tonight as we created sweet FA
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This team will be better in the second half of the season than the first. I think we'll be fine in mid table or just below for the first couple of months but as we bed in we will have a good second half to finish 8th or 9th in the end. No team in the league will have gone through the number of changes we have so even next week when we go to Palace they are a relatively settled club. It won't be easy and will get better every week as the chemistry improves. That and proper creative players like Grealish, Traore and Gil to come in.
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Just read the last couple of pages here and comments elsewhere and amazing how they differ. Personally, I thought we were average and they were just above us until they scored and it was fairly comfortable for them then. I thought Ayew was average, but showed more than Gabby who I have to say was awful. Vertout was very poor but is he a right midfielder and I think his touch at Bournemouth showed he is a proper talent, looked tired but the pace is different. Gureye wasn't as bad as Neville said, but will learn and looks a good prospect. Richards was good, should have done better with the goal IMO. Amavi I really like. Lets give the players a few games to gel and see how we go please, Man Ure were pretty poor themselves tonight as well until the German captain calmed things down
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benteke would have made no difference tonight as we created sweet FA
Benteke got us a goal out of nothing v Man. United last year. These sort of games where we're creating little ansd he'd get a goal out of nothing.
Such a brilliant forward, Gestede is too limited to do it on his own so with Kozak not rated we need another striker in before August 31st.
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Weimann scored v Yanited the other season too, do you want him back too
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Oh, and Mike Dean is a stone-cold wanker... how that mugging of Richards was not given as a penalty is beyond me... except that it would have been making a call against ManUre and we would not want that now, would we?
And the way he let them run the clock Dow, last 2 mins plus injury time and hardly any play.
I chuckled at just 3 minutes injury time...yes there wasn't any goals or many stoppages but if we were winning 1 nil with exactly the same game flow it would've been 5 minutes minimum.
Rooney must have spent more minutes moaning than my missus does to me on a sober night (her sober, not me lol)
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Guzan - Not really had much to do.
Bacuna - If he is going to be our right back then i'm going to make a return from retirement. Poor decision making, poor positioning - He ain't a right back!
Amavi - A couple of errors, but looks the business going forwards and backwards
Richards - Shouldn't have gone to ground for their goal, that aside I thought he looked good
Clark - Did well when called upon. Distribution average at times when going long.
Vertout - Ineefective and off the pace - needs time and more fitness work by the looks of it.
Gueyes - Very good on the whole, worry about the amount of bookings he'll get
Westwood - Did well on the whole, neat touches and held the shape of the midfield at times.
Sinclair - Didn't really get much service, didn't really deserve to go off either
Gabby - Personally I'd give him until November to find some form or sell him in January. His pace doesn't even frighten teams now as he doesn't do much when he does get behind. His cross when out wide in the second half is my example.
Ayew - Obviously needs time, didn't really see him do anything of any quality. Didn't like the dive either.
Gestede - Did ok, but surely when he plays we need to have him up with a striker and two wide players to get in crosses? 4-3-3 allows us no width and doesn't play to his strength.
Sanchez - Did well I thought, maybe needs to start instead of Vertout who needs more time to get used to the pace, maybe in 20/25 minute patches this will help.
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Far too slow, sloppy and a lack of ideas...all indicative of a team of new players that need time to gel, used to playing the game at a much slower pace and general lack of fitness. They aren't going to become a good team over night, and time on the training and more games are the only things that will improve us.
I have concerns over our forward options...only Gestede looks like he can score a goal. Ayew hasn't shown anything but needs the benefit of the doubt, Kozak isn't good enough...and Gabby "HeDoesFuckAll"...well, he's just a shit waste of space. We need a genuine quality proven striker to compliment the rest of the potential in this new young team.
Amavi, Gueye and Richards are the stand out players so far...Veretout needs to get fit and up his game.
Looking to the positives...we will carry so much more of a goal threat with Adama and Jack on the pitch.
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I've heard a few suggestions recently that we're a better team without Benteke. Anyone still think that after tonight?
I'm not making any judgments on the new guys (apart from Amavi and Gana/Gueye being class), just saying we badly miss the goals Benteke guaranteed us.
Let's see if we can finish sixteenth. Then we'll know for sure that we're a better team.
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Just got back to Bedfordshire after the match having taken 4 hours to get there, got a parking ticket outside the Kababish pre match, missed the kick off and the mosaic, saw a fairly ordinary game but not too disheartened until I got back to the car to find window smashed and trivial items stolen. Drove back with plenty of fresh air and bizarrely a degree of optimism, early days but I know this is going to be a better season.
The Kababish was, suffice to say, at its usual high standard.
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Just got back to Bedfordshire after the match having taken 4 hours to get there, got a parking ticket outside the Kababish pre match, missed the kick off and the mosaic, saw a fairly ordinary game but not too disheartened until I got back to the car to find window smashed and trivial items stolen. Drove back with plenty of fresh air and bizarrely a degree of optimism, early days but I know this is going to be a better season.
The Kababish was, suffice to say, at its usual high standard.
Sorry to hear that pal, can I ask where you parked? We had a spate of this last season too
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Just got back to Bedfordshire after the match having taken 4 hours to get there, got a parking ticket outside the Kababish pre match, missed the kick off and the mosaic, saw a fairly ordinary game but not too disheartened until I got back to the car to find window smashed and trivial items stolen. Drove back with plenty of fresh air and bizarrely a degree of optimism, early days but I know this is going to be a better season.
The Kababish was, suffice to say, at its usual high standard.
Can I ask in Bedfordshire you are please? I live just north of Luton, from Brum originally.
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Guzan - Not really had much to do.
Bacuna - If he is going to be our right back then i'm going to make a return from retirement. Poor decision making, poor positioning - He ain't a right back!
Amavi - A couple of errors, but looks the business going forwards and backwards
Richards - Shouldn't have gone to ground for their goal, that aside I thought he looked good
Clark - Did well when called upon. Distribution average at times when going long.
Vertout - Ineefective and off the pace - needs time and more fitness work by the looks of it.
Gueyes - Very good on the whole, worry about the amount of bookings he'll get
Westwood - Did well on the whole, neat touches and held the shape of the midfield at times.
Sinclair - Didn't really get much service, didn't really deserve to go off either
Gabby - Personally I'd give him until November to find some form or sell him in January. His pace doesn't even frighten teams now as he doesn't do much when he does get behind. His cross when out wide in the second half is my example.
Ayew - Obviously needs time, didn't really see him do anything of any quality. Didn't like the dive either.
Gestede - Did ok, but surely when he plays we need to have him up with a striker and two wide players to get in crosses? 4-3-3 allows us no width and doesn't play to his strength.
Sanchez - Did well I thought, maybe needs to start instead of Vertout who needs more time to get used to the pace, maybe in 20/25 minute patches this will help.
Nail on head pretty much. Only disagree on the fact that gabby has had plenty of opportunities in the last 18 months and has done next to nothing, why waste another 3 months. On the whole there were more positives than negatives out of today's game.
For palace I would swap Gestede for Gabby, sanchez for Westwood and hope to have one of gill, Grealish or traore in for Ayew. Ayew to replace Sinclair after an hour or so.
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Gestede, Sanchez, Grealish for Gabby, Veretout, Ayew for me. Leave Sinclair in and give Ayew and Veretout some time coming from the bench.
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Just read the last couple of pages here and comments elsewhere and amazing how they differ. Personally, I thought we were average and they were just above us until they scored and it was fairly comfortable for them then. I thought Ayew was average, but showed more than Gabby who I have to say was awful. Vertout was very poor but is he a right midfielder and I think his touch at Bournemouth showed he is a proper talent, looked tired but the pace is different. Gureye wasn't as bad as Neville said, but will learn and looks a good prospect. Richards was good, should have done better with the goal IMO. Amavi I really like. Lets give the players a few games to gel and see how we go please, Man Ure were pretty poor themselves tonight as well until the German captain calmed things down
i thought the same. I didn't watch the match, but it's nigh on impossible to infer how we played from the comments on this thread. According to you lot we ranged from shit to very good. Just goes to show how perspectives can differ between different people I guess.
Thought we'd lose and we did, but 1-0 against Man Utd doesn't sound too bad to me. Early days for us and here's hoping all the new arrivals can bed in a bit over the next 4 or 5 games.
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I thought there was some promise shown and Gueye, Richards and Amavi looked great, Veretout looked like he'll need a few games to get up to speed. Thought Westwood played well but we never looked like scoring.
I honestly don't know what Agbonlahor brings to the team, has been a mystery for a while, if we signed 30 new players he'd still somehow get in the side. He's simply not good enough.
Can't argue with this summary. Defence looks good+solid. Midfield looks decent, and I'm very impressed with Gueye. A poster commented on his fitness? He has a great engine, and will score a few, I reckon. Veretout would look better at the tip of a diamond, perhaps?
We lacked a creative spark more than anything. Something that Gil, Grealish or Adame will no doubt provide.
Gabby has gone. Ayew looked slow, but you can see there is talent there. His ambling style reminded me a little of Savo.
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So what was the difference in that performance to a Lambert team performance?
I could not see any.
Few chances created, sloppy in posession, no real drive.
We were shit and got beat by a very average Manure team thart did not have to break sweat.
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So what was the difference in that performance to a Lambert team performance?
I could not see any.
Few chances created, sloppy in posession, no real drive.
We were shit and got beat by a very average Manure team thart did not have to break sweat.
That's just stupid.
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So what was the difference in that performance to a Lambert team performance?
I could not see any.
Few chances created, sloppy in posession, no real drive.
We were shit and got beat by a very average Manure team thart did not have to break sweat.
That's just stupid.
so please tell me the difference
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6 players making their home debuts in a transfer window where we have transformed the squad with 10 signings is the difference.
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Man U were broadly crap, but their defence was very good. It's the one thing Van Bighead has got working properly, and they had us in their pockets all day. They handled Rudy very well to be fair.
I think it was a mistake to play a midfield three that are very similar type players and a front three who are also rather samey. Needed a bit of variety.
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After having calmed down a bit I feel less bad. We lost a game by a goal to a very expensive side. While clearly the inferior team we were not THAT far off. We felt a bit more solid mid table than relegation fodder.
Still too early to call. We started 13/14 by beating Arsenal away and losing narrowly to Chelsea and Liverpool with better performances than tonight. We finished 16th, it's a long season for a reason.
I think a decent time to do an early judgement will be after West Brom at home. I would expect/like 10 points after that (7 points from Leicester/WBA/Sunderland). Can nick a point at Palace aswell.
For me this season is all about avoiding a relegation battle and producing a good style of play. If that can get us 10-12th in the league then that's something to build on at long last.
Agreed.
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6 players making their home debuts in a transfer window where we have transformed the squad with 10 signings is the difference.
with the same result
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I thought we looked good compared to how we were a year ago, there's a long way to go but we'll be fine.
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It was always on the cards those fuckers would beat us. Positives to take: we never got annihilated; we've had a good clear out and brought a number of fresh faces in; we look to have finally after (how many?) years, got a decent off the field set-up.
Give it a bit of time I reckon and we'll be out of sight by Christmas on where we were last season at that time.
Standing by my prediction pre-season of 9th.
Ya gotta believe.
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the sad thing is no matter what team, what the manager or what the tactics we have failed to beat them at home in 20 meetings. That's pretty shit really
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It's worse than that mate, you're being kind there
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6 players making their home debuts in a transfer window where we have transformed the squad with 10 signings is the difference.
with the same result
Do you really not think there is a difference between a manager that was in his third season, grasping for some sort of style and one where half the team hadn't completed 90 minutes in English football?
Man United are apparently the biggest spenders and yet it was their functionality rather than class or style that did for us. They've had three shots on target in two games and have won both. Moyes bust be wondering what he did wrong.
We lacked a cutting edge and a cohesion. Do you not think that comes from Veretout only being here 10 days and being short of match fitness and a measure of the pace of the league? Apply the same to Ayew. Potentially the same to Adama too.
I think that Gana and Amavi look like upgrades on what went before, significant ones in the case of the latter suggests the benefits of bein in country a month or so longer.
Yet for all that we matched them in a sloppy game, lacking in any real sort of attacking quality from either side.
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Will be interesting to see what the experts say about the Man U performance. If Moyes had been manager with their performance over these two matches, with 3 shots on goal, and two goals scored, an o.g. And a deflection which would otherwise have been saved by the keeper, then I think there would have been uproar.
As to Villa we need more forcefulness going forward plus a bit of inventiveness. Hopefully we will become sharper with more playing time and when players know each other better. Personally I cannot see how Gil and Grealish can be both integrated into the team as it would leave us too lightweight. Think it may have to be one or the other, especially if Traore is selected.
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I heard Steve Froggatt on WM after the game. He thinks Ayew will be a good signing given time. He mentioned Benteke as being like a "bambi on ice" for the first 3 months - remember the sitters at Spurs & Fulham he missed?. It'll take a couple of months for players to get used to the pace of this league.
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A typo I reckon. Should be FPL.
I reckon Sky will insist it's called SPL from next season!
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6 players making their home debuts in a transfer window where we have transformed the squad with 10 signings is the difference.
with the same result
CL if this match was played say after 10 games than yes but it's difficult to make whole sale and necessary changes like Tim has done and expect a cohesive performance.
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After having calmed down a bit I feel less bad. We lost a game by a goal to a very expensive side. While clearly the inferior team we were not THAT far off. We felt a bit more solid mid table than relegation fodder.
Still too early to call. We started 13/14 by beating Arsenal away and losing narrowly to Chelsea and Liverpool with better performances than tonight. We finished 16th, it's a long season for a reason.
I think a decent time to do an early judgement will be after West Brom at home. I would expect/like 10 points after that (7 points from Leicester/WBA/Sunderland). Can nick a point at Palace aswell.
For me this season is all about avoiding a relegation battle and producing a good style of play. If that can get us 10-12th in the league then that's something to build on at long last.
Agreed.
Yes, I agree with that. I do think however we need another striker - an experienced one as well. People may not like the idea of Adebayor per se but we certainly need someone like him to come and use their experience to link up play and to add some guile and movement. We saw last night how thin we are when it comes to real goalscoring options
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Usual win for united, was too pissed off to post last night but I'm not a fan of the 3 upfront with gabby Ayew and Sinclair, no height or anyone able to hold the ball up.was disappointed with Veretout and Westwood. Hopefully Gil Traore and Grealish can bring something to the team, Gabby got to go now.
Not too downhearted Amavi looks world class as does Richards. Gueye looks quality, why does he have Gana on his shirt?
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People on here seem to think we played 4-3-3. It looked like a standard 4-4-2 to me, unless Ayew was told to drift and Sinclair wasn't. Veretout hugged the right touchline and it clearly isn't his position, and we didn't have enough bodies in midfield, resulting in us constantly having to turn backwards or go long. The system wasn't working at all, it looked more like a 4-3-3 as the game wore on and certainly when Sanchez came on, and we looked better for it.
United looked terrible on the ball but they were organised at the back and worked very hard when they didn't have the ball, constantly hounding Westwood and Gueye when they picked up the ball deep. It nearly led to a goal when Westwood had a pass blocked and Guzan had to rush out and make a great tackle. The first twenty minutes were terrible from both teams, then they improved for ten minutes and you could see a goal was coming. If we had survived that period, we might have been ok because I am not sure United would have offered much more with Rooney and Depay looking completely out of sorts.
Veretout needs to play in his correct position, but I wonder if Sherwood is worried about his fitness at the moment so has stuck him out wide and out of the way. If that's the case, he can't play at the moment. I thought he struggled. Marvin is confident and willing, he did some good things and some bad but you can see he will get better and better. Amavi is great, so much purpose going forward and a good defender. Considering Ayew, Gabby and Sinclair could all very easily be replaced by returning players, none of them have done much to give Sherwood a selection headache. Ayew needs time of course, Gabby - well, you want him to come good again but it doesn't seem to be happening. Sinclair did show signs of decent link up with Amavi but he lacks a bit of belief, Man City have taken a lot out of him. He is another who needs time, but we can't afford all these players to take 6 months to bed in.
Strangely, I wish we had the horror fixture lists of previous starts to the season in some ways. While these players are finding their feet, it might have been worth throwing the usual three points to Man City, Arsenal and the like, as well as Yanited. All things considered, the team did well to dig out three points last week and give us a bit of a cushion but they need to gel quickly over the next four games and get us plenty more.
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Football on a Friday stinks.
It just makes being miserable on the weekend longer.
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Lamberts performances were like that after a good while... Thst was first home performance of newly put together team
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was our best midfielder tonight. Some sublime passes.
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I am reading lots of negative comments on here this morning after a 1-0 defeat
Lets look with some sense ....the team had only played together one match before - not even in pre season
We don't know how much pre season training the new signings had ....some tired badly last nite which indicates not a lot
There is still some quality to come into the team - then we can judge fairly
Yes there are some question marks but lets see what the team is for the next home game
Its the likes of Sunderland who we have to take apart which we don't normally do (apart from the 6-1)
Lets be positive ...the team is no worse than last year
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was our best midfielder tonight. Some sublime passes.
Agree about Westwood, he was by far our best midfielder last night.
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was our best midfielder tonight. Some sublime passes.
Agree about Westwood, he was by far our best midfielder last night.
Gave away far too many passes for me, and made too many bad decisions i.e when we had a counter attack on and he could have either slipped Gabby or Ayew through, or give it Sinclair breaking down the left. He passed it behind Sinclair, who had to run back to get the ball and the attack was killed by ourselves
also his set piece deliveries were awful
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I think that if we fob off gabby, Ayew will be fine. He just needs to settle - and have a better strike partner.
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I thought Westwood was really decent in the second half. Bacuna did a decent job at right back.
Amavi and Gueye were good, Vertout and Ayew not so much.
Gabby getting a lot of stick but I think he offered more than Ayew, Rooney or Depay. It wasn't as if he was being put through by incisive passes.
The whole team needs time to settle down and establish a way of playing, until then it's pointless judging the new signings. Pleased we have options.
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To be greedy, if there is any money left in the pot, an upgrade on Westwood and Bacuna would be great. Neither are bad players, but, if we are to improve, we need to be more forceful in these areas. Gabby out too please.
I thought Westwood was our best midfielder tonight. Some sublime passes.
Agree about Westwood, he was by far our best midfielder last night.
Gave away far too many passes for me, and made too many bad decisions i.e when we had a counter attack on and he could have either slipped Gabby or Ayew through, or give it Sinclair breaking down the left. He passed it behind Sinclair, who had to run back to get the ball and the attack was killed by ourselves
also his set piece deliveries were awful
Gave away to many passes? He gave away possession twice, as for the awful set pieces, his free kicks all bar one were put into the danger areas with no forwards making runs. I watched the game again this morning and he always manages to look twice where he is about to pass the ball before it has even reached him.
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Games like that at this time in our development are inevitable. Pity that a game that means so much to us came when we are still getting fit and working things out. We began much too conservatively and Brad Guzan in particular seems unable to change to the absence of Benteke. With Rudy on in the second half we lapsed back into target man football. Benteke is gone we need to play quicker, darting, quick footed football. I think Grealish would have made a significant difference because he does the unexpected and makes holes for runners. They have to get fit and up to the pace quickly and we need to keep off their backs for a couple of months.
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Usual win for united, was too pissed off to post last night but I'm not a fan of the 3 upfront with gabby Ayew and Sinclair, no height or anyone able to hold the ball up.was disappointed with Veretout and Westwood. Hopefully Gil Traore and Grealish can bring something to the team, Gabby got to go now.
Not too downhearted Amavi looks world class as does Richards. Gueye looks quality, why does he have Gana on his shirt?
I think you must have watched a different game to me in a couple of respects. I thought Westwood was probably our best player and looked to me to be responding to the confidence given him by the 5 year contract. Richards and Amavi, good though they are, do not look world class. Yet. You are right about the front three. Jury out on Veretout as he is not fit but I do not think he was that bad. He needs to cut out that Ashley Young behaviour though, his rolling around pretending to be kicked in the chest was very embarrassing indeed.
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Games like that at this time in our development are inevitable. Pity that a game that means so much to us came when we are still getting fit and working things out. We began much too conservatively and Brad Guzan in particular seems unable to change to the absence of Benteke. With Rudy on in the second half we lapsed back into target man football. Benteke is gone we need to play quicker, darting, quick footed football. I think Grealish would have made a significant difference because he does the unexpected and makes holes for runners. They have to get fit and up to the pace quickly and we need to keep off their backs for a couple of months.
In what way, Brian?
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Usual win for united, was too pissed off to post last night but I'm not a fan of the 3 upfront with gabby Ayew and Sinclair, no height or anyone able to hold the ball up.was disappointed with Veretout and Westwood. Hopefully Gil Traore and Grealish can bring something to the team, Gabby got to go now.
Not too downhearted Amavi looks world class as does Richards. Gueye looks quality, why does he have Gana on his shirt?
I think you must have watched a different game to me in a couple of respects. I thought Westwood was probably our best player and looked to me to be responding to the confidence given him by the 5 year contract. Richards and Amavi, good though they are, do not look world class. Yet. You are right about the front three. Jury out on Veretout as he is not fit but I do not think he was that bad. He needs to cut out that Ashley Young behaviour though, his rolling around pretending to be kicked in the chest was very embarrassing indeed.
Broadly agree with all that, but I thought Amavi was great. All of a sudden our left-back seems to be our most potent attacking threat, while still being pretty solid defensively. From what he's shown so far, it wouldn't surprise me if he is next summer's Benteke/Milner/Downing/Young/Barry.
Although he did give the ball away a few times under no pressure at all, so it's not all perfect.
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I thought we played ok without creating very much. A few positives though, Amavi and Marvin look quality and Westwood seems to have stepped it up a gear. There's a decent player in Veretout but it may take a while for him to settle. Ayew looks like he needs a goal already and the game did seem to pass him by at times but it's early days.
A 0-0 draw would probably have been fair overall but Man Utd were there for the taking, they looked very average.
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Although he did give the ball away a few times under no pressure at all, so it's not all perfect.
Yes Amavi made some very measured passes directly to their player on a couple of occasions. Otherwise it was almost a perfect performance.
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The game was ok and when the squad settles down and Grealish and Gil get fit we will see some decent football. Last night, there were one or two occasions when I thought we had the Mancs on the ropes but we could not deliver the final blow.
Gabby is totally spent and should be nowhere near that team. Plaudits for Westwood, Gana, Bacuna and Clark.
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Usual win for united, was too pissed off to post last night but I'm not a fan of the 3 upfront with gabby Ayew and Sinclair, no height or anyone able to hold the ball up.was disappointed with Veretout and Westwood. Hopefully Gil Traore and Grealish can bring something to the team, Gabby got to go now.
Not too downhearted Amavi looks world class as does Richards. Gueye looks quality, why does he have Gana on his shirt?
I think you must have watched a different game to me in a couple of respects. I thought Westwood was probably our best player and looked to me to be responding to the confidence given him by the 5 year contract. Richards and Amavi, good though they are, do not look world class. Yet. You are right about the front three. Jury out on Veretout as he is not fit but I do not think he was that bad. He needs to cut out that Ashley Young behaviour though, his rolling around pretending to be kicked in the chest was very embarrassing indeed.
No Richards is most certainly not world class as Phil has suggested,neither as a captain nor as a central defender. He is though a very good english player who may get a recall to the national team in time. I too thought Westwood had a very good game apart from his dreadful free kicks. Sherwood/Wilkins must have cottoned on to the fact that he is not the man to take them. Bacuna should have taken them and in time (when he is fit) Veretout. Ayew, despite the critisism he rightly received for not doing better with his only chance has good movement he could be the one to watch this season.Sanchez when he came on didn't waste a ball. All in all not too bad,and as a former manager was apt to say.
We go again.
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Sanchez and Gestede should start the next game in place of Veretout and Ayew/Gabby and Gil, Traore and Grealish should give us more attacking options from the bench. We will be fine.
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Must admit, not a fan of Friday night football, makes the weekend much more unbearable if you lose.
Still unsure what to make of last nights game.
positives - I still hate United, full house with great support, Amavi, Richards, Gana look very promising, Sherwood looking well pissed off at end( he hates losing ) as much as we do.
Negatives - we couldn't beat a shit yanited side, worrying with ball being played backwards to often, how long before players start to gel, bacuna and Gabby ( Nuf said), poor sub, Sinclair at least was having a go.
Overall - I hate to say it, cos Gabby will always have a place in my claret n blue heart, but your time is up son.
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Usual win for united, was too pissed off to post last night but I'm not a fan of the 3 upfront with gabby Ayew and Sinclair, no height or anyone able to hold the ball up.was disappointed with Veretout and Westwood. Hopefully Gil Traore and Grealish can bring something to the team, Gabby got to go now.
Not too downhearted Amavi looks world class as does Richards. Gueye looks quality, why does he have Gana on his shirt?
I think you must have watched a different game to me in a couple of respects. I thought Westwood was probably our best player and looked to me to be responding to the confidence given him by the 5 year contract. Richards and Amavi, good though they are, do not look world class. Yet. You are right about the front three. Jury out on Veretout as he is not fit but I do not think he was that bad. He needs to cut out that Ashley Young behaviour though, his rolling around pretending to be kicked in the chest was very embarrassing indeed.
Broadly agree with all that, but I thought Amavi was great. All of a sudden our left-back seems to be our most potent attacking threat, while still being pretty solid defensively. From what he's shown so far, it wouldn't surprise me if he is next summer's Benteke/Milner/Downing/Young/Barry.
Although he did give the ball away a few times under no pressure at all, so it's not all perfect.
Veretout will come good. He looks like a class player finding his feet.
I couldn't say the same of Ayeh, although the balls into the front runners were generally poor.
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The positives, I suspect we have just been beaten by this years Champions elect. Yanited have a very good squad and you can see they are going to gel and get better and better . To only narrowly lose to them is a good signal. I didn't see their wanky fans spill onto the pitch either.
Guzans kicking was decent, amarvi is the best LB we have had in decades. Richards is the best CB we've had probably in 10 years and a real captain.
GANA has a robust engine and will be good.
Spend the other funds now to sign a RB, another CB (lescott ??) and a top class dcm and we are in business .
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Westwood was the best player for us.
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Westwood was the best player for us.
In a game we lost the middle of the park mostly ? No.
Richards for me or Amavi.
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Westwood was the best player for us.
In a game we lost the middle of the park mostly ? No.
Richards for me or Amavi.
Those three players were my picks.
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I'm in the camp where I am very optimistic for the future.
Barring the goal (I'll put this down to new player miscommunication), and the Depay chance (which came as the result of a mistake), I thought out defence played well.
I was concerned that we sat too deep, which made our out balls turn into speculative long balls. It's no wonder Gana and Veretout were dead on their feet before long. Yanited's strength is their midfield, and their team last night was pretty much their strongest, whereas as still have a couple to come in yet.
It will be interesting to see how and where Tim will play Veretout and Grealish in the team, as I think they will work together excellently, moving forward.
For me, there are echoes of Big Ron's team prior to signing Deano. Hopefully, Adama, Grealish and Gill (tho I can't see all playing together), will enable the team to push onto another level.
I've put cash on us in the Paddy Power handicap, as they gave odds of 11/1 to finish within 43 points to the champions. I'm confident this will come in.
Nick
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To be honest I think the rest of the team is passable, the Defence looks a bit more solid with Amavi and Richards being big upgrades, Gueye looks good and Sanchez looks a lot better with a season in him. It's up front where I worry about us, and Traore could take a while to develop, he's an enigma and still very very young. If we have any pennies left, get in a Striker. Ayew looks unconvincing to me, I'm not going to write him off after a couple of games but so far he's been poor and Gabby, well, thanks for the Derby winners and what not but the guy is not going to get goals, again, and with no Benteke we can't be carrying passengers up front.
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Disappointed with the result but I'm optimistic for the future. Negatives from last night; Veretout, he looks unfit, Westwood's wastefulness from set pieces, we played too narrow without width and were pretty toothless up front. Positives were Richards and Ganna who were excellent, and a special pat on the back for Amavi who looks the real deal. He's going to be one hell of a player.
Roll on next week at Palace.
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Play ayew in a Defoe role next game , Sánchez for veretout and hopefully Adama for gabby . Gaby can not be in the starting 11 if we are going to improve there is better players in the squad now . If we are to bring in a striker I reckon Kazak will be the sacrifice and not gabby.
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Sinclair has goals in him, we need to find him his best position.
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I have no idea how Sherwood is going to line us up with Gestede, Ayew, Gabby, Traore, Sinclair, Gil, Grealish and another forward he's been wanting to bring in. With Veretout, Gueye, Westwood and Sanchez that's 12 players for 6 positions.
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Reading the medi reports this morning it appears most choose to ignore the volume of change in the Vila team and usually ignore the Richards incident. Don't know why I'm surprised by that but we all know if that was the other way round it would have been a different story.
I won't panic too much YET. I would like to see some return from the next few games but feel we are unlikely to see a true reflection of the new players until at least half a dozen games in.
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Sinclair has goals in him, we need to find him his best position.
Actually the best bit of play for us was when Sinclair found Amavi with that clever ball and Amavi whipped in that perfect cross for the forwards
to connect with. The forwards were somewhere else unfortunately. At that point Sinclair was playing very well and there was no reason to take him off. Mr Sherwood please explain.
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Strange feeling on a Saturday morning. Normally my sausage and fried onions ( with brown) sets me up for a journey towards Villa Park looking forward rather than a deflated its all over. Friday night games ummmm not sure. I guess we will probably have two more of these this season?
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Man U were broadly crap, but their defence was very good. It's the one thing Van Bighead has got working properly, and they had us in their pockets all day. They handled Rudy very well to be fair.
I think it was a mistake to play a midfield three that are very similar type players and a front three who are also rather samey. Needed a bit of variety.
Completely agree.
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Have to say I felt a bit deflated watching that. Watching two teams who had chucked lots of money at players this summer, Yanited just doing it in a flasher version of Monopoly but the lack of composure we showed in possession, everyone playing rush-football, losing possession immediately and then having to chase like dogs to win the ball back again, it just felt a bit...dis-spiriting after all the exciting talk of the new signings. Obviously it will take time for us to look cohesive but another home defeat to them and a performance as limp and blunt as Lambert... I think my early-season enthusiasm has taken a bit of a whack.
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I have no idea how Sherwood is going to line us up with Gestede, Ayew, Gabby, Traore, Sinclair, Gil, Grealish and another forward he's been wanting to bring in. With Veretout, Gueye, Westwood and Sanchez that's 12 players for 6 positions.
13. Kozak
14. Gardner
Both of whom should probably go on loan.
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I love the way Kozak has been written off and not given a chance. Right now I'd rather see him out there than Ayew who already looks like a poor signing.
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Strange feeling on a Saturday morning. Normally my sausage and fried onions ( with brown) sets me up for a journey towards Villa Park looking forward rather than a deflated its all over. Friday night games ummmm not sure. I guess we will probably have two more of these this season?
No, I think that's it until next season when it properly comes in. Last night was a one off.
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I love the way Kozak has been written off and not given a chance. Right now I'd rather see him out there than Ayew who already looks like a poor signing.
Writing off a player after two games in a new league?
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He's been poor In 2 games yet Kozak had an encouraging pre season yet Kozak is being written off.
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I thought Westwood was really decent in the second half. Bacuna did a decent job at right back.
Amavi and Gueye were good, Vertout and Ayew not so much.
Gabby getting a lot of stick but I think he offered more than Ayew, Rooney or Depay. It wasn't as if he was being put through by incisive passes.
The whole team needs time to settle down and establish a way of playing, until then it's pointless judging the new signings. Pleased we have options.
Yes, Gabby getting stick but nobody seems to have noticed that as well as being asked to play up front he was also detailed with marking Carrick and taking him out of Man Utd's attacking play. Anyone notice Carrick?
Despite this, as you say, he was no worse if not a little better than the other forwards on the pitch. Some people might as well have 'Gabby was shit' as their sig.
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He's been poor In 2 games yet Kozak had an encouraging pre season yet Kozak is being written off.
Yes, he's struggled in his first two games but classing him as a poor signing is ridiculous.
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He's been poor In 2 games yet Kozak had an encouraging pre season yet Kozak is being written off.
Kozak and Ayew have goals in them. You know who doesn't. Send him out on loan Mr Sherwood!
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Gabby is getting pelters but won't be playing in a month or so when the others are fitter and bedded in. He'll be an impact player from the bench. Sherwood is playing him now because he knows what's he getting (so do we unfortunately😀) and can rely on a certain level of performance as he's not sure if all the newbies are ready.
He has to play against the bogeyes though having said that.
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A tough game to review really. It was quite bitty and scrappy from both teams in all honesty with them having marginally more luck and a tiny bit more cutting edge being enough to steal all 3 points.
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see similar performances throughout the season. We just need to hope, a little like last weekend, that more of those games fall in our favour than against - most definitely a season of transition, which will probably frustrate a number of fans but it is incredibly refreshing to finally see that there is a plan, some renewed vigour and a manager who is desperate to win, not just "go again".
Guzan - 6 - Didn't have a lot to do in all honesty other than a couple of decent claims from crosses. His kicking looked better but he still looked nervous with it (or maybe that was just me that was nervous).
Bacuna - 7 - Solid performance from the right back. I thought he was a little less suspect defensively as well tonight but then United played far fewer of those balls inside the full back than other teams might. In a one on one situation he is ok, certainly enough to slow the attacker down but his positional awareness sometimes lacks but this wasn't put under much pressure last night. Didn't do as much going forward though.
Richards - 7 - Another good performance from Richards defensively. I like him bringing the ball out although Gueye/Sanchez/Westwood will need to be aware if he does this as he's going to lose it at some point. His distribution needs improving as well.
Clark - 7 - Another solid game for Clark, who is really maturing into a decent player. I don't think we are in much need of a new centre back to be honest now, just need to ship Senderos out.
Amavi - 8 - Another good performance from Amavi. Created our best opening where he fizzed one across the box, only to see Ayew and Gabby run to the same place. One mistake in the second half where he tried to run the ball out and got robbed and a couple of misplaced passes but he is a class act.
Gueye - 8 - My man of the match. Thought he worked his socks off, breaking play up but also quick with the pass. Given that he is probably still getting up to speed (although seems to be closer than others) I think we have a very useful player on our hands here
Westwood - 7 - Thought Westwood, set pieces aside, had a good game. He moved the ball a bit quicker than normal and played a couple of excellent cross-field balls. I feel he will ultimately be replaced though by Sanchez once he is back up to speed.
Veretout - 5 - Largely ineffectual. One of the signings I was most excited about but he clearly isn't both fit or up to Premiership speed yet. He shows some good touches but I think he is one that will either take a while to settle or will never quite adapt, which would be a shame as I think there is a good player there.
Sinclair - 6 - Worked hard, had a good spell just before being subbed (an incorrect decision in my opinion) but, overall, lacks an end product. If he is to play out wide on a regular basis, he needs to ensure that he either delivers a cross or plays an incisive pass on a far more regular basis. Too often does he go on a dribble, either get tackled (eventually) or turn back and play to Amavi/a midfielder.
Gabby - 4 - I will always have a soft spot for Gabby and while I understand people's view that he isn't necessarily that loyal given that it has never truly been put to the test he does obviously genuinely care for the cause. Nevertheless, he just isn't good enough. His movement is poor, first touch shocking (certainly when playing as a loan striker) and he blistering pace seems to have deserted him these days. Sad but he should be an impact sub at best now.
Ayew - 5 - Another one that will take a while to settle I suspect, although I also feel the lack of play between the midfield and forwards (missing Gil/Grealish) will also have hindered him. He looks like he could have something about him but I suspect he will be one that flatters to deceive more often than not and will almost certainly one that drives the Villa faithful mad (CNZ mark II he may well be, although an upgrade on him for sure)
Subs
Sanchez - 6 - not on long but, as with Bournemouth, came on and impressed me. He should start next week instead of Veretout if Gil/Grealish are back or Westwood if they aren't.
Gestede - 5 - Not as impressed this week with Rudy, although I think that was largely because United dropped a bit deeper and handled him much better than Bournemouth did. What we failed to realise was that space opened up between him and the midfield but without genuine attacking midfielders on the pitch (just forwards playing out wide) we lacked someone to realise this and pick up positions in the space.
Overall, it wasn't a dissimilar performance to the Bournemouth match really but we were playing a better team. Both sides looked disjointed, especially in the final third but they created the best two openings of the match and so probably just about shaded it. Very much a work in progress but one that we probably won't know how it is going until after about 10 games - seen enough to suspect we won't struggle but not much to suggest we will prosper either. I think goals will be an issue this season.
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Strange feeling on a Saturday morning. Normally my sausage and fried onions ( with brown) sets me up for a journey towards Villa Park looking forward rather than a deflated its all over. Friday night games ummmm not sure. I guess we will probably have two more of these this season?
No - Friday night football is next season. Last night was a one off due to the EDL march. Next season there will be a max of 10 (if i remember rightly) so we may have one next season but could, quite easily, not have one at all
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Kozak has not had a good pre season. At Forest he was terrible. As DW would say another case of a player being rated better and better the less he plays. I really was dreading this ripping into players like Ayew and Vertoute because was don't smash our way into a ten point lead at the top of the table by Christmas. This next two months is going to be the miserablists' Christmases all coming at once and coming really early. If you want instant glory go and join that crew we hosted last night.
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http://outside90.com/player-ratings-aston-villa-0-manchester-united-1/
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Kozak has not had a good pre season. At Forest he was terrible. As DW would say another case of a player being rated better and better the less he plays. I really was dreading this ripping into players like Ayew and Vertoute because was don't smash our way into a ten point lead at the top of the table by Christmas. This next two months is going to be the miserablists' Christmases all coming at once and coming really early. If you want instant glory go and join that crew we hosted last night.
Kozak has played about a dozen games for us yet you want him out on loan. No real difference.
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I think that was the kind of game we have to take on the chin while the team settles in and players come up to speed. Had a couple of good spells when we passed it well. Thought Sinclair was coming into the game when he got taken off.
Gueye was excellent in spells, once he gets his stamina right he's gonna be a hell of a players, Amavi showed really promising signs, Veretout started well but looked knackered and will take him time to get up to speed. Ayew was in and out, feel he will do a lot better with a focal point up front, as will Grealish and Gil when they are back, that focal point isn't Gabby.
This was a pretty average Utd side, that the disappointing thing about the match, neither team deserved to win, they will get a lot of wins that way this season.
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I refuse to relinquish this feel good factor. I was hoping we'd be a bit Messi last night and I was almost right.
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Kozak has not had a good pre season. At Forest he was terrible. As DW would say another case of a player being rated better and better the less he plays. I really was dreading this ripping into players like Ayew and Vertoute because was don't smash our way into a ten point lead at the top of the table by Christmas. This next two months is going to be the miserablists' Christmases all coming at once and coming really early. If you want instant glory go and join that crew we hosted last night.
Kozak has played about a dozen games for us yet you want him out on loan. No real difference.
Ayew has played two games for us and you reckon he looks a poor signing. No real difference.
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not sure we are playing him (Ayew) in his best position.
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Next season there will be a max of 10 (if i remember rightly) so we may have one next season but could, quite easily, not have one at all
Oh ok in that case it's all set up for one of those pointless stats in fees time "Villa have not won a Friday night game for 10 years" when we probably only played 2!
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Kozak has not had a good pre season. At Forest he was terrible. As DW would say another case of a player being rated better and better the less he plays. I really was dreading this ripping into players like Ayew and Vertoute because was don't smash our way into a ten point lead at the top of the table by Christmas. This next two months is going to be the miserablists' Christmases all coming at once and coming really early. If you want instant glory go and join that crew we hosted last night.
Kozak has played about a dozen games for us yet you want him out on loan. No real difference.
I don't think Brian has suggested a loan, that was me, or at least it was about 10 posts ago.
I do not see loan as a failure, it is more about getting players fit and improving. That is less likely to happen when their only game time is 10-20 minutes from the bench.
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I love the way Kozak has been written off and not given a chance. Right now I'd rather see him out there than Ayew who already looks like a poor signing.
I love the way Ayew has been written off and not given a chance.
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I want Libor Kozak out on loan for two reasons, firstly fully to reestablish his fitness after an horrendous injury and over a season out of the game and secondly to find out whether the goal scoring ability he appears to have can outweigh his lack of pace which on everything I have seen he comes up short. If for no other reason than respect for a player we should allow them to show what they can do and that goes for Ayew. I could give you a yawn inducing list of poor debutants at Villa from Johnny Dixon (flat feet) Peter McParland (can't dribble) Tony Hateley (Douglas Bader) Andy Gray (too short) Gerry Hitchens (too flash) to Christian Benteke (Bambi on ice) but I won't I refer you Allan Evans who got slated as a centre forward but became a fantastic, full blooded Villa hero as a centre back. Talent will out.
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Toothless up front but Sherwood would see what we see, Gabby can still play a part but not leading the line far better on a wing. I think we expect too much of players not used to the pace of the premiership, would like another centre forward before the close.
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A tough game to review really. It was quite bitty and scrappy from both teams in all honesty with them having marginally more luck and a tiny bit more cutting edge being enough to steal all 3 points.
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see similar performances throughout the season. We just need to hope, a little like last weekend, that more of those games fall in our favour than against - most definitely a season of transition, which will probably frustrate a number of fans but it is incredibly refreshing to finally see that there is a plan, some renewed vigour and a manager who is desperate to win, not just "go again".
Guzan - 6 - Didn't have a lot to do in all honesty other than a couple of decent claims from crosses. His kicking looked better but he still looked nervous with it (or maybe that was just me that was nervous).
Bacuna - 7 - Solid performance from the right back. I thought he was a little less suspect defensively as well tonight but then United played far fewer of those balls inside the full back than other teams might. In a one on one situation he is ok, certainly enough to slow the attacker down but his positional awareness sometimes lacks but this wasn't put under much pressure last night. Didn't do as much going forward though.
Richards - 7 - Another good performance from Richards defensively. I like him bringing the ball out although Gueye/Sanchez/Westwood will need to be aware if he does this as he's going to lose it at some point. His distribution needs improving as well.
Clark - 7 - Another solid game for Clark, who is really maturing into a decent player. I don't think we are in much need of a new centre back to be honest now, just need to ship Senderos out.
Amavi - 8 - Another good performance from Amavi. Created our best opening where he fizzed one across the box, only to see Ayew and Gabby run to the same place. One mistake in the second half where he tried to run the ball out and got robbed and a couple of misplaced passes but he is a class act.
Gueye - 8 - My man of the match. Thought he worked his socks off, breaking play up but also quick with the pass. Given that he is probably still getting up to speed (although seems to be closer than others) I think we have a very useful player on our hands here
Westwood - 7 - Thought Westwood, set pieces aside, had a good game. He moved the ball a bit quicker than normal and played a couple of excellent cross-field balls. I feel he will ultimately be replaced though by Sanchez once he is back up to speed.
Veretout - 5 - Largely ineffectual. One of the signings I was most excited about but he clearly isn't both fit or up to Premiership speed yet. He shows some good touches but I think he is one that will either take a while to settle or will never quite adapt, which would be a shame as I think there is a good player there.
Sinclair - 6 - Worked hard, had a good spell just before being subbed (an incorrect decision in my opinion) but, overall, lacks an end product. If he is to play out wide on a regular basis, he needs to ensure that he either delivers a cross or plays an incisive pass on a far more regular basis. Too often does he go on a dribble, either get tackled (eventually) or turn back and play to Amavi/a midfielder.
Gabby - 4 - I will always have a soft spot for Gabby and while I understand people's view that he isn't necessarily that loyal given that it has never truly been put to the test he does obviously genuinely care for the cause. Nevertheless, he just isn't good enough. His movement is poor, first touch shocking (certainly when playing as a loan striker) and he blistering pace seems to have deserted him these days. Sad but he should be an impact sub at best now.
Ayew - 5 - Another one that will take a while to settle I suspect, although I also feel the lack of play between the midfield and forwards (missing Gil/Grealish) will also have hindered him. He looks like he could have something about him but I suspect he will be one that flatters to deceive more often than not and will almost certainly one that drives the Villa faithful mad (CNZ mark II he may well be, although an upgrade on him for sure)
Subs
Sanchez - 6 - not on long but, as with Bournemouth, came on and impressed me. He should start next week instead of Veretout if Gil/Grealish are back or Westwood if they aren't.
Gestede - 5 - Not as impressed this week with Rudy, although I think that was largely because United dropped a bit deeper and handled him much better than Bournemouth did. What we failed to realise was that space opened up between him and the midfield but without genuine attacking midfielders on the pitch (just forwards playing out wide) we lacked someone to realise this and pick up positions in the space.
Overall, it wasn't a dissimilar performance to the Bournemouth match really but we were playing a better team. Both sides looked disjointed, especially in the final third but they created the best two openings of the match and so probably just about shaded it. Very much a work in progress but one that we probably won't know how it is going until after about 10 games - seen enough to suspect we won't struggle but not much to suggest we will prosper either. I think goals will be an issue this season.
Would agree with most of that. I didn't think the 'Cleverley' role really suited Veretout and he would be better suited to a more defensive role alongside Gueye. I thought Gestede did OK last night and held the ball up well. Agree that he had little support though and would like to see Grealish or Gil play off him when they return.
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I have no idea how Sherwood is going to line us up with Gestede, Ayew, Gabby, Traore, Sinclair, Gil, Grealish and another forward he's been wanting to bring in. With Veretout, Gueye, Westwood and Sanchez that's 12 players for 6 positions.
When everyone is fit and up to speed I would like to see:
Sanchez / Veretout Gueye
Traore Gil / Grealish Sinclair
Gestede
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Guzan - Not really had much to do.
Bacuna - If he is going to be our right back then i'm going to make a return from retirement. Poor decision making, poor positioning - He ain't a right back!
Amavi - A couple of errors, but looks the business going forwards and backwards
Richards - Shouldn't have gone to ground for their goal, that aside I thought he looked good
Clark - Did well when called upon. Distribution average at times when going long.
Vertout - Ineefective and off the pace - needs time and more fitness work by the looks of it.
Gueyes - Very good on the whole, worry about the amount of bookings he'll get
Westwood - Did well on the whole, neat touches and held the shape of the midfield at times.
Sinclair - Didn't really get much service, didn't really deserve to go off either
Gabby - Personally I'd give him until November to find some form or sell him in January. His pace doesn't even frighten teams now as he doesn't do much when he does get behind. His cross when out wide in the second half is my example.
Ayew - Obviously needs time, didn't really see him do anything of any quality. Didn't like the dive either.
Gestede - Did ok, but surely when he plays we need to have him up with a striker and two wide players to get in crosses? 4-3-3 allows us no width and doesn't play to his strength.
Sanchez - Did well I thought, maybe needs to start instead of Vertout who needs more time to get used to the pace, maybe in 20/25 minute patches this will help.
Pretty much how I saw it as well.
Main negative was the lack of through-balls when a forward was in position to run onto them (very frustrating), some bloody awful passing (basic stuff) and delaying crosses into the box (due to no target man I suppose)
Positives were the close-control skills of some of our new boys which nearly unlocked the Manure defence in the second half and having Amavi looking to take on defenders. Gana/Ghana (?) nice player.
They looked a group of individuals but tried some decent moves especially second half - keep it up and we will be OK
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We were hoping for a season of mid table anonymity and so far have beaten relegation candidates and lost to top four candidates. So on a purely statistical basis we have done as expected.
We are obviously a side in transition so any attempt at a wider judgement is pointless.
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Guzan - Not really had much to do.
Bacuna - If he is going to be our right back then i'm going to make a return from retirement. Poor decision making, poor positioning - He ain't a right back!
Amavi - A couple of errors, but looks the business going forwards and backwards
Richards - Shouldn't have gone to ground for their goal, that aside I thought he looked good
Clark - Did well when called upon. Distribution average at times when going long.
Vertout - Ineefective and off the pace - needs time and more fitness work by the looks of it.
Gueyes - Very good on the whole, worry about the amount of bookings he'll get
Westwood - Did well on the whole, neat touches and held the shape of the midfield at times.
Sinclair - Didn't really get much service, didn't really deserve to go off either
Gabby - Personally I'd give him until November to find some form or sell him in January. His pace doesn't even frighten teams now as he doesn't do much when he does get behind. His cross when out wide in the second half is my example.
Ayew - Obviously needs time, didn't really see him do anything of any quality. Didn't like the dive either.
Gestede - Did ok, but surely when he plays we need to have him up with a striker and two wide players to get in crosses? 4-3-3 allows us no width and doesn't play to his strength.
Sanchez - Did well I thought, maybe needs to start instead of Vertout who needs more time to get used to the pace, maybe in 20/25 minute patches this will help.
Pretty much how I saw it as well.
Main negative was the lack of through-balls when a forward was in position to run onto them (very frustrating), some bloody awful passing (basic stuff) and delaying crosses into the box (due to no target man I suppose)
Positives were the close-control skills of some of our new boys which nearly unlocked the Manure defence in the second half and having Amavi looking to take on defenders. Gana/Ghana (?) nice player.
They looked a group of individuals but tried some decent moves especially second half - keep it up and we will be OK
Agree with all of that pretty much.
If a few of those potential through balls had actually happened - and a bit quicker; we do seem to take an age to spot a pass at times - we could have seen a very different result.
I am hoping that Gil, Grealish and Traore can provide that bit extra that we - and ManU - were clearly missing last night.
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God almighty we lost 1-0 to Man Utd, some of the reactions to the new players are like we've lost ten on the spin. These players need a chance to gel as a unit, get used to the league and get match fit. Writing off Ayew after two games is genuinely insane. As I stated earlier in this thread Ronaldo struggled at first in this league, but he ended up doing fairly well for himself.
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We were hoping for a season of mid table anonymity and so far have beaten relegation candidates and lost to top four candidates. So on a purely statistical basis we have done as expected.
We are obviously a side in transition so any attempt at a wider judgement is pointless.
The next 4 games are probably more meaningful in the sense they are teams probably in and around where we are in terms of league within a league - palace, Leicester , Sunderland , WBA
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God almighty we lost 1-0 to Man Utd, some of the reactions to the new players are like we've lost ten on the spin. These players need a chance to gel as a unit, get used to the league and get match fit. Writing off Ayew after two games is genuinely insane. As I stated earlier in this thread Ronaldo struggled at first in this league, but he ended up doing fairly well for himself.
Totally agree. Some of the criticisms of one or two of the new guys after 180 minutes of football is just ridiculous.
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When is Jack N Gil going to be fit?
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In two-thirds of the pitch we look pretty good. My first viewing of the new boys.
Richards, a massive step-up on what we've had in that position of late.
Amavi, bloody hell, I hope we're scouting his replacement, cos I can't seeing it being too long before one of the moneybags lot come sniffing.
Gueye, quality, energy, intelligence, looks tailor-made for a PL midfield. Impressed.
Veretout, hmm, a bit early Cleverley-ish, didn't influence the game, I thought he struggled to get involved. Judgement reserved.
Ayew, again I'll wait. Doesn't look like someone to lead the line.
Gestede, I think he'll get a fair few once we're gelling, a bit like his predecessor in that he won't get many with his back to goal on the halfway line.
The last three, imo, were all hampered last night by our lack of a creative spark. With Gil, Grealish and Traore to come in, this'll hopefully change very soon. I remain optimistic, and look forward to being entertained.
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Brian Green, I love your posts fella. Spot on IMO
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It was an awful game. Both teams looked unfit and sluggish. Rooney was abysmal. One of the worst Utd teams I have ever seen and one that wouldn't have beaten many teams playing like that. Like so many Villa sides of the last 20 years we looked happy to lose 1-0 against them. That is worrying for us. We looked like a team of strangers and very light weight in midfield and attack. We had no creativity. Their goalie, (who is a bag of nerves) only had to throw his cap on one Gabby header. This was despite Man U presenting us with the ball in their half on 6 to 8 occasions. Like everyone else I am mystified what the manager sees in Gabby. Years ago he was young and rubbish, now he is old and rubbish and a stone overweight by modern footballer standards.
Albeit early days, I am not wowed by Ayew for the money we paid, (his brother looked better for Swansea last week on a free). The other 2 midfield players we have bought were no better and I remain unconvinced. I hope they are not Jean Makoun and/or Yacuba Silla revisited. Bacuna is not good enough. I like Gestede & Richards and the left back looks very good. We definitely need better players or the best we can achieve is bottom half of the table. I would have liked him to try & get Huddlestone from Hull. we will wait & see...
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Wasn't as bad as some are making out.
Richards would have got a penalty if he'd gone down and not tried to get his head on the ball. 10/10 for tenacity, but you can't do that against Man Itd. Or any team really.
Amavi looks great.
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the sad thing is no matter what team, what the manager or what the tactics we have failed to beat them at home in 20 meetings. That's pretty shit really
They should open up this fixture to let 11 lucky fans turn out for ManU. I mean, if they picked 11 people at random off the street we'd still find a way not to win.
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Why did we bring a target man on in replacement for the only player likely to provide him with decent service? Ayew should have been subbed IMV, not impressed with him so far.
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I think it's a little premature to make judgements on new players yet! I agree that gabby is shot, but frankly any talk of Tom Huddlestone joining is madness. This window, if it represents anything, is a complete repudiation of signing that type of player.
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lets give Ayew a chance to settle ...seem to recall not that long along a striker just sold for 32.5 million was dire for about 6 weeks when he joined and the same comments were being made
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God almighty we lost 1-0 to Man Utd, some of the reactions to the new players are like we've lost ten on the spin. These players need a chance to gel as a unit, get used to the league and get match fit. Writing off Ayew after two games is genuinely insane. As I stated earlier in this thread Ronaldo struggled at first in this league, but he ended up doing fairly well for himself.
Absolutely agree! Getting used to the pace of this league is no easy thing and trying to judge players based on seeing them yourself for the first time is not very reliable. I remember seeing Ehiogu have a mare (was it Norwich?) and Luna play well against Arsenal, neither of those performances were much use in judging how their Villa careers would pan out.
I was talking to an elderly guy this morning on the train who had been last night. He was a Man U fan and thought we had more to be pleased about than they have as we now have a new group of players who will improve us where as they (in his opinion) haven't improved enough. I have always thought that six games in is the time to form an opinion on how the season is likely to pan out, not one or two.
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Watched the game back and interestingly G.Neville noted how knackered our midfield looked after just half hour...Gueye and Veretout were visibly struggling with fitness and the pace of the game. Its going to take a while for these pair to get up to speed.
Any forward line with Gabby as the main goal throat is going to struggle to score...throw in the inconsistent Sinclair, new guy Ayew and a midfield thats blowing out its arse less than half way through a game, then its obvious that this team needs time and patience.
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Watched the game back and interestingly G.Neville noted how knackered our midfield looked after just half hour...Gueye and Veretout were visibly struggling with fitness and the pace of the game. Its going to take a while for these pair to get up to speed.
Any forward line with Gabby as the main goal throat is going to struggle to score...throw in the inconsistent Sinclair, new guy Ayew and a midfield thats blowing out its arse less than half way through a game, then its obvious that this team needs time and patience.
Exactly. Gueye started too fast to continue that way without a breather, and he will have to learn to manage his stamina through a faster pace, while Vertout looks like a guy who has hardly played pre-season. Westwood on the other hand was still going strong late on, it shows that with time in this league they will learn. Curbing the enthusiasm on your home debut under lights against Man U is not really and easy thing either.
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I must have some sort of Stockholm syndrome - I just don't get upset at the result of this match anymore.
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Managers come and go, players come and go, even the ownership changes, but 20 years pass and it is the same old story.
Even with the new French connection. So:-
'Plus ca change, c'est la meme chose'
(the more things change, the more they stay the same).
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People on here seem to think we played 4-3-3. It looked like a standard 4-4-2 to me, unless Ayew was told to drift and Sinclair wasn't. Veretout hugged the right touchline and it clearly isn't his position, and we didn't have enough bodies in midfield, resulting in us constantly having to turn backwards or go long. The system wasn't working at all, it looked more like a 4-3-3
it looked like 4 3 3 to me with occaisionaly going 4 4 2, i do not like the system it looks the way we played under Lambert. again we appear to surrender the middle of the park. which makes it impossible to get any foothold in the game.
Add this to some poor passing and lack of movement and we are back to squre one.
i hope that it will improve with other players commming in and some of these getting better but i am not convinced.
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A lot has been posted about lack of fitness and stamina. Perhaps inspired by athletics and cycling the players could try 'blood doping' !
Joking !! :)
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I'm not going to criticise TS for his formation...for me, its just a formation to accommodate the players available at the moment, so essentially it should be a short term thing. Realistically what other formation and combination of players could he have used against Bournemouth and Man Utd?
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I'm not going to criticise TS for his formation...for me, its just a formation to accommodate the players available at the moment, so essentially it should be a short term thing. Realistically what other formation and combination of players could he have used against Bournemouth and Man Utd?
Kozak or Gestede instead of Gabby or Ayew, and Veretout playing much more centrally than that slightly strange defensive inside-right weirdness he's stuck in at the moment.
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There's no point arriving at any conclusion from this match, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, if we looked like a bunch of players who hardly know each other, that's because that is what we are.
Secondly, it's Man United we lost to. Not thinking of the fact we never beat them, more that they are a much better side than us. If we want to improve to be a mid table side, it isn't going to depend on how we do against the top sides, it is going to be about how we do against the crap sides, the same ones who handed us our arses so frequently the last few seasons.
Thirdly, some of the players are not only just starting to gel with the squad, they were playing in just their second match in this league. That doesn't happen overnight.
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I'm not going to criticise TS for his formation...for me, its just a formation to accommodate the players available at the moment, so essentially it should be a short term thing. Realistically what other formation and combination of players could he have used against Bournemouth and Man Utd?
Kozak or Gestede instead of Gabby or Ayew, and Veretout playing much more centrally than that slightly strange defensive inside-right weirdness he's stuck in at the moment.
Kozak and Gestede aren't match fit either so unfortunately those changes wouldn't have made us anymore of an attacking threat or force a change in formation. I think its literally just a case of playing a formation to accommodate the players available rather than selecting the players to play a formation at this stage.
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Wasnt much difference between manure and Bournemouth really .
I'm just happy we got the typical manure lose out the way while we get everyone settled and fit thou gabby has had enough chances. He's a poor player now.
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i do not understand why we are not playing Sanchez ahead of Gabby or Ayew,
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Wasnt much difference between manure and Bournemouth really .
I'm just happy we got the typical manure lose out the way while we get everyone settled and fit thou gabby has had enough chances. He's a poor player now.
I think that says more about Man Utd than us or Bournemouth.
Either Bacuna has suddenly morphed into a top class right back or Memphis Belle is shit.
Luke Shaw for £18M or Amavi for what was it 8M euro?
Darmian at right back 14M what? I hope it was Turkish Lira because it was £ or euro they've been mugged.
Rooney. Hasn't score a goal away from Old Trafford since November. 1 touch in our box all night and that was to kick the ball out for a throw in to prevent a goal kick. This the man that Admiral Akbar thinks can score all the goals that they need.
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We need a proven goal scorer relying on Gabby, Ayew , Kozak and Gestede is a high risk strategy
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i do not understand why we are not playing Sanchez ahead of Gabby or Ayew,
Well lets see. Sanchez is a defensive midfielder and Ayew and Agbonlahor are forwards.
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i do not understand why we are not playing Sanchez ahead of Gabby or Ayew,
Well lets see. Sanchez is a defensive midfielder and Ayew and Agbonlahor are forwards.
yep and we get over run in midfield with 2 players ahead of them doing fuck all
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Turned 65 in May, wonder what are the odds of me seeing us beat United again, before I kick the bucket. Probably pretty high!
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Turned 65 in May, wonder what are the odds of me seeing us beat United again, before I kick the bucket. Probably pretty high!
Are you a smoker?
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
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I drove past the aftermath of this event. Worthless scum.
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Turned 65 in May, wonder what are the odds of me seeing us beat United again, before I kick the bucket. Probably pretty high!
Are you a smoker?No but under Lambert I regularly felt like having a smoke to calm my anger.
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
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We played like we did in the FA Cup final, no threat whatsoever and a bit lifeless in general
But we were playing a team no where near as good on the day as Arsenal, which was reflected in the scoreline respectively
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
I know free country, everyone entitled to a point of view and all that, but when I see that kind of thing I have an urge to fly them all off to a remote uninhabited island, having first revoked their passports.
This would in my Utopian dictatorship achieve these benefits.
1. Allow the rest of society to get on with life without this particular hassle element.
2. Test the theory that most of these are founder members of "The Brains Trust" and see how they get on when they can't order the Indian takeaway they enjoy so much, despite despising the people who cook it and serve it.
3. Hopefully cause The Sun, The Mail and The Express to go out of business when a good chunk of their readership disappears.
However I can't shrug the nagging reminder of the parable of how the earth was populated according to the good book (Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, not the other shorter, more fanciful one) and one of them will turn out to be the telephone cleaner.
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Why take a villa flag on an EDL march ? Gormless pricks.
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
I can count the brain cells from here. It's like walking into the reception area of my local Kwik Fit.
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
Intelligent looking bunch.
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Thought it was an awful match last night. We had decent spells but never really looked like scoring, some decent approach play, but I think we over played and once they got in front looked clueless in how to break them down. They weren't much better, and although they got the job done I look a long way off title contenders to me.
As for us up front? I think we should wait a few games before judging, although I do think Gabby needs dropping to the bench. Having scored last week I was surprised that Gestude was only on the bench.
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Soon come. Movement will help Ayew and his own runs. Hopefully.
Gana Sanchez / Westwood
Traore. Grealish. Gil/ Sinclair
Ayew
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
I can count the brain cells from here. It's like walking into the reception area of my local Kwik Fit.
Should there be a nuclear holocaust, the only life form that will survive will be Kwik Fit fitters.
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I'm not going to criticise TS for his formation...for me, its just a formation to accommodate the players available at the moment, so essentially it should be a short term thing. Realistically what other formation and combination of players could he have used against Bournemouth and Man Utd?
Kozak or Gestede instead of Gabby or Ayew, and Veretout playing much more centrally than that slightly strange defensive inside-right weirdness he's stuck in at the moment.
Kozak and Gestede aren't match fit either so unfortunately those changes wouldn't have made us anymore of an attacking threat or force a change in formation. I think its literally just a case of playing a formation to accommodate the players available rather than selecting the players to play a formation at this stage.
Yeah but you could use the same set of players but shift Veretout more central (or play Sanchez). That would have strengthened the centre of the pitch which might have allowed us to play off the front foot more.
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We need a proven goal scorer relying on Gabby, Ayew , Kozak and Gestede is a high risk strategy
On the evidence of last night, I think adding more young and unproven players would be a mistake.
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We need a proven goal scorer relying on Gabby, Ayew , Kozak and Gestede is a high risk strategy
On the evidence of last night, I think adding more young and unproven players would be a mistake.
Strikers will only score if they're given service. Based on the first two games, that is our real problem.
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We need a proven goal scorer relying on Gabby, Ayew , Kozak and Gestede is a high risk strategy
On the evidence of last night, I think adding more young and unproven players would be a mistake.
Strikers will only score if they're given service. Based on the first two games, that is our real problem.
Looked to me that there wasn't anyone to aim for in the first half at least - several times a wide ball could have been crossed into the area but was delayed for want of a target man...
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Following on from the point about the match being hard to judge from the posts on here, some of the opinions of our players seem hugely split too. None more so than Bacuna. He seems to completely divide opinion.
The one player that most people seem to be unified in their opinions on is Gabby. Sounds like the main threat he once had-his pace- is on the wane and that's not something that will ever return. He's not the sharpest in terms of his intelligence, but he's a seasoned premier league campaigner and he would probably be in the side predominantly for his experience I reckon. With a team half full of new players, you need a bit of experience to hold things together. Gabby probably offers that and will probably keep being picked until someone else forces him out of the side.
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Following on from the point about the match being hard to judge from the posts on here, some of the opinions of our players seem hugely split too. None more so than Bacuna. He seems to completely divide opinion.
The one player that most people seem to be unified in their opinions on is Gabby. Sounds like the main threat he once had-his pace- is on the wane and that's not something that will ever return. He's not the sharpest in terms of his intelligence, but he's a seasoned premier league campaigner and he would probably be in the side predominantly for his experience I reckon. With a team half full of new players, you need a bit of experience to hold things together. Gabby probably offers that and will probably keep being picked until someone else forces him out of the side.
Experience for the sake of experience is pointless. Gabby contributes absolutely nothing to the team.
Hopefully with Traore and Grealish now fit, he'll be cast aside
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So the match was moved to let the grand total of 160 stomp around Walsall today (EDL). Pictures in express and star show one of their fold with villa top on and England/AVFC flag, Wanker.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11891163_10153568996737658_1338561840286093252_n.jpg?oh=f1bf599c22cd46e64ac42c9e9824f6c9&oe=564C17AC)
I can count the brain cells from here. It's like walking into the reception area of my local Kwik Fit.
Should there be a nuclear holocaust, the only life form that will survive will be Kwik Fit fitters.
Looks like a shot from the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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When the subs were warming up during the game gestede, baker, Kozak etc, who was the tall bald guy warming up with them ? I initially thought senderos but obviously he's gone and wasn't on the bench, was this just one of the fitness coaches ?
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Following on from the point about the match being hard to judge from the posts on here, some of the opinions of our players seem hugely split too. None more so than Bacuna. He seems to completely divide opinion.
The one player that most people seem to be unified in their opinions on is Gabby. Sounds like the main threat he once had-his pace- is on the wane and that's not something that will ever return. He's not the sharpest in terms of his intelligence, but he's a seasoned premier league campaigner and he would probably be in the side predominantly for his experience I reckon. With a team half full of new players, you need a bit of experience to hold things together. Gabby probably offers that and will probably keep being picked until someone else forces him out of the side.
Experience for the sake of experience is pointless. Gabby contributes absolutely nothing to the team.
Hopefully with Traore and Grealish now fit, he'll be cast aside
It is just not true to say he does not contribute. On Friday he worked his socks off. Admittedly most of it was in a defensive capacity by nullifying Carrick so not eye catching but important nonetheless.
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I thought Gabby was one of our better performers on Friday night.
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When the subs were warming up during the game gestede, baker, Kozak etc, who was the tall bald guy warming up with them ? I initially thought senderos but obviously he's gone and wasn't on the bench, was this just one of the fitness coaches ?
Hutton
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I thought Gabby was one of our better performers on Friday night.
😱
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Watched the game today.
Defensively we'll be alright, I think we are way better than last season. Bit lightweight in midfield but with everyone settling in this will improve, especially with players coming back.
We need a poacher in he box though and hopefully we'll ditch Gabby, with Troare on board he's not our future anymore. Ideal signing for someone like Wolves.
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While all the pundits on the radio were saying how great Friday night games are for the fans, I was experiencing one of the worst journeys to villa Park in nearly 40 years. Nearly 5.30 hours from my house. A journey we often do in 3. Unfortunately the game couldn't change my mood. Both teams were poor. I just hope the new players gel quickly.
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Give them time to gel and understand each others game & movement and there's a pretty decent team there.
Yes we need more up front, Rudy winning knock downs but no-one there to pick them up is an example of where we need to get understanding.
Lets see what were like once the others join in (grealish, gil and traore) and I reckon after 10 games we'll look a different team.
And gabby needs to be dropped for sure, offers nothing and seems to spend his life offside
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I could give you a yawn inducing list of poor debutants at Villa from Johnny Dixon (flat feet) Peter McParland (can't dribble) Tony Hateley (Douglas Bader) Andy Gray (too short) Gerry Hitchens (too flash) to Christian Benteke (Bambi on ice) but I won't I refer you Allan Evans who got slated as a centre forward but became a fantastic, full blooded Villa hero as a centre back. Talent will out.
I'm slightly too young to comment on most members of your yawn list but Andy Gray? IIRC his debut was a 2-1 home league cup defeat to the glory hunters. I was only about 16 but I remember being equally impressed and excited by his aggression and the trouble he gave the United back line that night. Plus he scored our goal with a header.
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Benteke also scored on his debut
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Following on from the point about the match being hard to judge from the posts on here, some of the opinions of our players seem hugely split too. None more so than Bacuna. He seems to completely divide opinion.
The one player that most people seem to be unified in their opinions on is Gabby. Sounds like the main threat he once had-his pace- is on the wane and that's not something that will ever return. He's not the sharpest in terms of his intelligence, but he's a seasoned premier league campaigner and he would probably be in the side predominantly for his experience I reckon. With a team half full of new players, you need a bit of experience to hold things together. Gabby probably offers that and will probably keep being picked until someone else forces him out of the side.
Experience for the sake of experience is pointless. Gabby contributes absolutely nothing to the team.
Hopefully with Traore and Grealish now fit, he'll be cast aside
I thought we really missed a Grealish or Gil type player on Friday night. We have got some decent attacking options now, but think we need a player who can get on the ball in the final third and link things up.
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Down to the law of averages, they won't all do well but if 5 of the new outfield players do well, Guzan does well and say 3 from Sanchez, Westwood, Gill, Cole, Clark, Okore and Grealish show a marked improved contribution from last season, we could have 9 players performing well enough to keep us well away from the bottom. Add to that another couple in and I think Sherwood will gel us a half decent team.
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Looked to me that there wasn't anyone to aim for in the first half at least - several times a wide ball could have been crossed into the area but was delayed for want of a target man...
But after Gestede came on and we started aiming for him we were putting balls into the box too early and abandoning the build-up play, which had been pretty effective. It needs to be a combination of a good build-up and a decent cross. We also need someone other than Westwood to take free-kicks in dangerous areas.
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I thought the mosaic looked good
(puts on dads old ARP helmet and hides under table)
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Was pretty much the ideal away game from Man Utd's point of view. They got the goal and contained Villa during our 'lively spell'.
Villa will get better.
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I could give you a yawn inducing list of poor debutants at Villa from Johnny Dixon (flat feet) Peter McParland (can't dribble) Tony Hateley (Douglas Bader) Andy Gray (too short) Gerry Hitchens (too flash) to Christian Benteke (Bambi on ice) but I won't I refer you Allan Evans who got slated as a centre forward but became a fantastic, full blooded Villa hero as a centre back. Talent will out.
I'm slightly too young to comment on most members of your yawn list but Andy Gray? IIRC his debut was a 2-1 home league cup defeat to the glory hunters. I was only about 16 but I remember being equally impressed and excited by his aggression and the trouble he gave the United back line that night. Plus he scored our goal with a header.
I think Brian is trying to make a salient point. Surprised he didn't include Trefor Ford (not aggressive enough)
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Dwight Yorke. Complete bell end.
That is all.
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Dwight Yorke. Complete bell end.
That is all.
Yep. As a childhood hero of mine, he's a real disappointment.
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I could give you a yawn inducing list of poor debutants at Villa from Johnny Dixon (flat feet) Peter McParland (can't dribble) Tony Hateley (Douglas Bader) Andy Gray (too short) Gerry Hitchens (too flash) to Christian Benteke (Bambi on ice) but I won't I refer you Allan Evans who got slated as a centre forward but became a fantastic, full blooded Villa hero as a centre back. Talent will out.
I'm slightly too young to comment on most members of your yawn list but Andy Gray? IIRC his debut was a 2-1 home league cup defeat to the glory hunters. I was only about 16 but I remember being equally impressed and excited by his aggression and the trouble he gave the United back line that night. Plus he scored our goal with a header.
I think Brian is trying to make a salient point. Surprised he didn't include Trefor Ford (not aggressive enough)
Didn't Ugo have a bit of a mare on his debut for us?
And on the other hand, the legend that is Simon Stainrod scored 4 goals on his debut. Nigel Callaghan scored on his debut iirc.
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Ugo made his debut long before that Norwich game.
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Ugo made his debut long before that Norwich game.
Ugo made his debut vs Arsenal August 1991 as full-back. Looked shaky that game aswell.
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Just re-watched the game and it's left me feeling a lot more positive than i was beforehand
Amavi and Gueye look as though they're going to be successful signings
I'm reserving judgement on Ayew, he did better than i initially thought, but didn't get given the ball enough to show what he can do
Sanchez looked impressive when he came on too, his passing abilities are underrated
Having such a good left back really shows up how limited our right backs are though. You have Amavi dribbling, making by line crosses, starting attacks, tracking back and winning the ball, where as Bacuna's generally okay defensively, but going forward only really attempts crosses from deep. The same energy isn't there
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What I noticed about Yanited is as soon as the wide midfielder gets passed the ball the fullback is turning the afterburners on to make an overlapping run.
Something we just don't do.
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I want Libor Kozak out on loan for two reasons, firstly fully to reestablish his fitness after an horrendous injury and over a season out of the game and secondly to find out whether the goal scoring ability he appears to have can outweigh his lack of pace which on everything I have seen he comes up short. If for no other reason than respect for a player we should allow them to show what they can do and that goes for Ayew. I could give you a yawn inducing list of poor debutants at Villa from Johnny Dixon (flat feet) Peter McParland (can't dribble) Tony Hateley (Douglas Bader) Andy Gray (too short) Gerry Hitchens (too flash) to Christian Benteke (Bambi on ice) but I won't I refer you Allan Evans who got slated as a centre forward but became a fantastic, full blooded Villa hero as a centre back. Talent will out.
Agree with you on the gist of your post that debuts are not always telling on how good a player will eventually prove. I liked the look of Gestede - he seemed to do the simple things well. Amavi showed a lot got forward.
Having said that, the others were worrying.
Veretout - unfit and out of his depth.
Guye - too many mistakes, looked like another Sanchez.
Ayew - slow of mind/too many touches.
We'll need them to gel/improve soon to avoid being serious relegation fodder.