Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: eastie on January 20, 2011, 03:57:12 PM
-
Interesting article from mirror website. -
Gerard Houllier's decision to spend a possible £24million on Darren Bent has surprised everyone, but it does actually make complete sense.
While he is an expensive addition, Bent's goal-scoring record should in the short-term end Villa's woes near the foot of the Premier League and safeguard their valuable top-flight status.
In the long-term, Bent's arrival for an initial £18m will enable Houllier to play 4-3-3, which I am told is his masterplan.
Houllier, previously technical director at the French Football Federation, believes the formation, as used by Barcelona, is the future.
Several sides at last year's World Cup, including eventual winners Spain, played 4-3-3 with a lone, mobile frontman.
Bent is well-versed in the role after excelling upfront on his own for both Sunderland and Charlton.
So, it would seem Villa will definitely be keeping star wingers Stewart Downing and Ashley Young this month and asking them to bomb forward either side of Bent.
Houllier also wants Blackpool's talented Charlie Adam to deliver the killer passes from central midfield.
Significantly, Adam, 25, already plays in a 4-3-3 formation and is familiar with the position, so could slot straight in.
New £5million signing Jean Makoun has been bought from Lyon to anchor the midfield.
The narrowness of the midfield three is designed to allow quick full-backs to attack into the space.
That's why Villa got impressive right-back Kyle Walker, who scored on his debut, on loan from Spurs and chased attacking left-back Wayne Bridge.
Gabriel Agbonlahor, who recently penned a new deal, could fill in on either flank if necessary and can deputise for Bent's up front.
The line-up is a tantalising prospect - one that should finally help Houllier shed his cautious image and give Villa fans the free-scoring football they crave.
And it will enable them to utilise some of their best assets properly, such as Downing and Young.
I don't think Young has performed to his potential this season as he has flitted between two positions, either playing wide or behind a striker. Maybe this new role will bring the best out of him.
Should Young leave in the summer - as appears increasingly likely as there will be just 12 months left on his contract by then - Villa have a ready-made replacement in the talented Marc Albrighton.
So, having been tipped off about Villa's new formation, I think the decision of Randy Lerner to spank so much money on Bent seems essential rather than a panic buy.
Bent has been on Villa's radar for two years - since Martin O'Neill first considered signing the star as MirrorFootball reported.
Adam is now the vital next piece in the jigsaw, because his clever passes are key to releasing the likes of Bent, Downing and Young.
I was at The Hawthorns last Saturday to see West Brom beat Blackpool 3-2.
Adam's vision and passing were extremely impressive.
He wasn't the quickest or fittest player on the pitch, but he hit two fabulous long-range passes with either foot to release wingers from near the halfway line.
Adam would certainly make a fine signing, judging by what I saw.
Given his £10,000-a-week salary at Bloomfield Road and the fact just 18 months remain on his contract, I reckon a cheque of around £6m should persuade Ian Holloway to sell, despite his protestations to the contrary.
That may be easier said than done, but a player of Adam's ilk will be essential to getting the best out of Bent.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see when Houllier deploys the system against Manchester City this weekend.
The other aspect of the formation is that against a top side it can easily turn into a 4-5-1 shape, as it is flexible, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Houllier use it this weekend.
Villa fans may also be interested to know the club have watched new Southampton wonderkid Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 17, several times.
Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/james-nursey/Revealed-Revealed-How-Darren-Bent-will-fit-into-Gerard-Houllier-s-Aston-Villa-tactical-masterplan-James-Nursey-column
-
With attacking wingers and overlapping full backs and a solid midfield it would see a balanced formation playing what should be a very exciting brand of football.
-
Intersting article however I wonder on how much / what information it is based.
I like the idea. I think it complements a lot if our current players, delph for example will sit comfortably on the left of the midfield three. Shame Milner is not around to play on the right of the three...
-
Have we actually signed Makoun yet? I heard there were problems with his visa/work permit or something?
-
Have we actually signed Makoun yet? I heard there were problems with his visa/work permit or something?
hes signed. and stretched the shirt but not got a visa. this has happened before with another club who had to sell the player as a result. man u regularly farm young players out to antwerp as a way of making them eu nationals after afew years. 4 or 5 i think
i hope we dont loose him as a result. I cant see it happening to us. we will be fine
-
i liked east19s post. one of hope unlike so many of the doubting thomas types on here. more of it please.
-
Have we actually signed Makoun yet? I heard there were problems with his visa/work permit or something?
hes signed. and stretched the shirt but not got a visa. this has happened before with another club who had to sell the player as a result. man u regularly farm young players out to antwerp as a way of making them eu nationals after afew years. 4 or 5 i think
i hope we dont loose him as a result. I cant see it happening to us. we will be fine
So can he play?
-
Your article makes sense i just hope we can get the Adams deal sorted soon as you have said his ability to pick a pass will be crucial in the way we play, i also think Makoun will get is visa just wish it was in time for the Man Shitty game.
-
The article was not mine , was from the mirror as linked at the end of the article.
-
The article was not mine , was from the mirror as linked at the end of the article.
Good article and I thought it was yours! Disappointed ;)
-
Good stuff. I'd go along with that. Get Ash out of that second striker role, because it aint working. Rotate Ash, Downing, Gabby and Albrighton as the two wingers. Gab played wide in a 4-3-3 to good effect in O Neill's debut season. We actually played some decent football when we had Moore and Gabby flanking JPA. Then we got Sutton in and switched to a 4-4-2 when Luke got injured, and the lumping started. Poor old Pablo got dropped for moaning Milan too.
But yeah, right now the 4-2-3-1 isn't really working. That may change with Makoun and Bent in their respective roles, but I'd prefer to go 4-3-3 in all honesty. If we don't sign Adam, I'd give Bannan that playmaker role. The boy can pick a pass. Give him Makoun and Nigel/Fabian for protection and he'll do well I think. Or
-
It all sounds very exciting
I doubt that is what's going to happen though :)
-
I like the 4-3-3 formation too. I prefer 4-2-3-1 but not sure its working.
But 4-3-3 would pose us new problems:
- 2 new full backs assuming walker doesn't stay
- probably more of a play maker. I think Petrov's best position is anchoring between two up and down midfielders, but he may be over the hill.
- even if Delph makes it, we probably need another central midfielder.
- and even with Bent, we need goals in the team. Downing, Young and Albrighton would have to step up, but you'd probably need a central midfielder to break fwd and get a few too. That might cost a few bob, or Gardner might need to be as good as some think he is
-
is Gerard Houlliers is taking a leaf out of Sir Ron Saunders book :) We erm win the league cup, league, and European Cup and trash European Cup winner 5-1 :) in that 45 minutes.
-
Much as I like appreciate that we're getting some positive press (that's two positive articles in a row from Nursey, of all people), the idea that '4-3-3 is the future' is enough to make you cringe as a supporter and follower of English football. It's like Kenneth Wolstenholme eulogising when he saw the Hungarians doing a few casual kick-ups before the game as though he was bearing witness to the greatest physical feat of all time. 4-3-3 and it's variants superceded the straight-laced, orthodox, predictable MON-ball 4-4-2 formation at the top of the game about twenty years ago. It's worth noting that there has never been a single World Cup winning side who have played the orthodox 4-4-2 - England's wingless 4-3-3 ironically enough being one of the best examples. The closest were the Brazilians of '94, but while they had an orthodox, if incredible, front 2, they had no out-and-out wingers and central midfielders whose job was solely to sit and launch counter-attacks.
As for Villa, I think this is our future, but he's planning for life without Petrov and Young as well. Young will move onto bigger and, debatably, better things at some point soon enough, and Petrov can no longer be the lynchpin of the midfield - useful squad player, without a doubt, but no longer the core of the side. That's where Adam comes in, as that deep-midfield passer capable of controlling the game in the middle third and making the 40-yard pass that opens up the pitch. Makoun is a straightforward upgrade on NRC in my view, but the interesting thing is the other midfield place. With Albrighton and Downing as wing-forwards (you'd hope there'd be enough fluidity that, if Bent drifted wide, the winger on that side would head for the middle), who replaces Young's role in attacking mid? My preference is Bannan for this role, but where does this all leave Delph and Gardner? The truth is I don't know the answer to that question, other than I suspect we'll have quite a good choice in midfield in years to come - something we'd never have seen under MON.
-
Options in formations are starting to look more exciting in some ways. It can deffo be mixed up now for certain opponents.
4-3-3 sounds good on paper but would Bent need to be assisted with another striker? I don't know, either way you can fit the players you want into either formation. We'll see what happens though, either formation would work I think although the extra man in the midfield would certainly benefit us at the moment I suppose. Makoun - Adam - Delph = looks very promising (on paper lol).
-
Just finished watching a re-run of the Sunderland- Newcastle game, it may be that he was just having an off day but Bent looked sluggish and miss timed a lot of jumps.Must admit i havn't watched him a lot of late and i know how good his scoring record is, can anyone give stats as to his last two years and is he the forward we've all been waiting for?
-
Let's assume for a minute then that this 4-3-3 is the way Ged wants to go, this is what we've got -
-----------------Anchorman---------------
---Playmaker---------------BoxToBox---
----------------------------------------------
---InForward--------------InForward---
----------------Targetman-----------------
Anchorman (Not Ron Burgundy)
Makoun
Petrov
Hogg
Herd
Playmaker
Delph
Bannan
Petrov
Box To Box
Delph
Reo-Coker
Gardner
Inside Forward - 2 From
Young
Downing
Agbonlahor
Albrighton
Bannan
Delfouenso
Target Man
Bent
Heskey
Agbonlahor
Delfouenso
So as it stands we've got enough numbers to play this and if we don't sign anyone else in January we should be fine, but I'd still like a Playmaker brought in (Adam)
Assuming though that we don't sign a player, and everyone above is fit/available I'd go for -
------------Makoun----------
---Petrov-----------Delph--
--------------------------------
---Young-------Downing---
-----------Bent---------------
Subs - Agbonlahor, Heskey, Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Defender, Keeper
-
Interesting and exciting thread.
I like VS's idea of how the current squad fits the 4-3-3 formation, if this is indeed what Houllier plans. Its a bit of a pity for Albrighton, who has been one of our two or three best players so far this season, but if we only play with 3 up front, you've got to go with Young and Downing, and make sure Downing plays on the left for the majority of the game.
My concern would be that Bent is more prolific playing off a target-man forward, such as Heskey. Can he play the spearhead role himself? Also, as noted in the article, you really need good attacking fullbacks, and a good midfield screen for the defence. It remains to be seen if Walker is going to be bought after the loan, we need a LB and I was hoping J2M was going to be more of a dynamic player than the holding mdifield general for us.
-
Just finished watching a re-run of the Sunderland- Newcastle game, it may be that he was just having an off day but Bent looked sluggish and miss timed a lot of jumps.Must admit i havn't watched him a lot of late and i know how good his scoring record is, can anyone give stats as to his last two years and is he the forward we've all been waiting for?
He has scored 4 goals since September. So he has been on abit of a drought for him. But I'm not concerned at all.
-
Well if we shift into a Barcelonaesque style, I'll be pretty happy.