Aston Villa v The Blues Post-Match Thread

[tonyh]

I thought the first half was dire.  All hoof and hope. 

Second half was better, more passing football.

Clark played well in his midfield role and I thought Bannan played well and hope he starts against Fulham.

It is watching a football match sober that makes you talk a lot of sense.

PS I agree with your comments,

apart from our couple of chances I liked the lads header for the throw in and The Bannan vs Zigic halfway line header challenge

[N'ZMAV]

The BBC's Phil McNulty said: "Gerard Houllier's assessment of Stephen Ireland was brutal - non-selection & message afterwards a wake-up call."

Have I missed something? What was the message after?

[Legion]

By Phil McNulty
BBC Sport at Villa Park

Aston Villa and Birmingham City shared the points after they fought out a dour midlands derby deadlock at Villa Park.

Gerard Houllier had set his sights on victory in his first confrontation with arch-rivals Birmingham since his appointment as Villa boss - and saw his side waste the best of the chances in an encounter that was high on endeavour but desperately lacking in serious quality.

Ciaran Clark almost grabbed a late winner for Villa when his close-range header was only inches wide, and Ashley Young came even closer seconds later when he hit the woodwork with City keeper Ben Foster beaten.

But Blues boss Alex McLeish will feel his side's defensive discipline and work ethic, with Roger Johnson outstanding, made them worth a point, and it was clear the visitors were happier with the result at the final whistle.

And Birmingham will also state a convincing case that they could have had more rewards, with referee Howard Webb ignoring a clear handball by Villa captain Nigel Reo-Coker in the first half.

Birmingham still nurse a sense of injustice after losing to a late penalty at Villa Park last season, and they clearly felt the fates were against them again here.

Villa boss Houllier gave Clark a midfield role in the absence of Stilyan Petrov, but after a bright opening the game swiftly became a war of attrition so often associated with derbies.

Emile Heskey was only inches away from getting a crucial touch on to Ashley Young's shot and Reo-Coker almost charged down Foster's clearance, the rebound dropping narrowly wide.

But Birmingham's gameplan soon reduced Villa to too many long balls aimed in Heskey's direction as the early creativity all but disappeared from their play.

And the away side were rightly infuriated nine minutes before the interval when referee Webb, despite looking right at the incident, ignored Reo-Coker's obvious handling offence inside the Villa penalty area.

Chances were once more at a premium after the break, but Reo-Coker tested Foster with a shot that the Birmingham keeper was able to collect with the minimum of fuss.

McLeish introduced Cameron Jerome for the subdued Alexander Hleb with 19 minutes left, and his impact was almost instant as he outmuscled Richard Dunne - no mean feat - and worked his way into the area, only to hit his cross straight at Brad Friedel with Nikola Zigic unmarked and waiting for a simple finish.

Reo-Coker had been having an eventful afternoon in an uneventful game, and he was eventually successful in earning himself a booking for a flare-up with Craig Gardner, who had been shown a yellow card early on after the pair clashed.

Villa substitute Barry Bannan had been lively, and his 20-yard effort brought a fine diving save from Foster with only nine minutes remaining.

John Carew was eventually introduced for Reo-Coker with nine minutes left, and his header set up a chance for Clark, who could only direct his finish wide under heavy pressure from Foster, sustaining a nose injury for his bravery.

Villa were ending the game the stronger side, and Ashley Young almost made the decisive contribution in the final minute with a rising drive that crashed to safety off the angle of post and bar.

It was the final act of a colourless game - although there was still time for Reo-Coker to re-enter the pitch looking for an argument after the final whistle. As with his earlier efforts, he had little satisfaction.

[Toronto Villa]

6th, 6th, 6th. Now we are 3 points off relegation after 10 games. Work it fucking out.

I've just worked it out.
If your manager leaves you five days before the start of the season, you cannot strengthen because of this and then you get injuries to key players, you tend to struggle.
Is that the answer?

And your chairman waits until the transfer window closes before appointing a new manager

Yeh, I can just see Randy checking his watch every few minutes making 100% sure he didn't appoint anyone during the window. What a load of complete bollocks. And as for 3 points of relegation (in October FFS), how about saying we're 3 points off 5th, and that Spurs are 6 points off relegation. I despair sometimes at the melodramatics.

[Legion]

We're 3 points off 5th, as are Liverpool, and Spurs are 6 points off relegation.

[darren woolley]

We were poor today no idea's against also a poor team apart from the Bannan effort and ashley coming close there was nothing really so dissapointed.

[TaxDodger]

As soon as the teams were read out it was blatantly going to be 0-0. This may well have been mentioned lots but there seemed to be a bit of trouble just outside the away end about 20 minutes before kick off. Not sure exactly what happened, I thought it might be best to take the long way round to the Holte and avoid it.

[LeeB]

On a slightly positive note...we looked the more likely to score in the last 15-20 minutes, but as also pointed out by GH, we are completely clueless upfront and dont even look like putting the ball in the back of the net.

How long is Gabby expected to be out?

We miss Gabby for sure - but is he really the answer - sure he as close to prolific as we have but - we need a poacher (who's name is not Michael Owen or Robbie Keene) and some creativity in the middle.

For me (watching on an ALbanian stream which was a treat) is was a typical derby between two sides lacking real quality.

Couple of things i noted:

 - Bannan looks comfortable - was much more visible and effective that Sidwell when he came on - needs to be given a run in my opinion while Petrov gets fit
- Clark looks capable and will turn into something very good indeed
- NRC was combative which is perfect for the game today - would have loved to have seen a Dublin on Savage when Ferguson rushed in (nasty ineffective little jock twat)
- Heskey is pointless when the gap between midfield and him is 30 yards (which is an improvement on Heskey is useless - which is what i would have posted previously)
- Did anyone else think that Sidwell trudging off slowly head down was the last we will see of him - no confidence at all, if i was him i'd be onto my agent - Villa has not worked out on any level for him - Villa and he need to part company for the good of all concerned
- Thanks goodness we didn't spunk any cash on Hleb
- Dunny ?? Hmmmm
- Gardener is a tosser

Could have been worse - if Emily has connected in the first half from Ash's through ball, if Clark has been an inch to the lest before Foster took his swede off - if Barry had got a bit more power behing the shot etc- only real scare for us was when Jerome got in - so in a way it was ugly but comfortable - we were not going to lose  - but back to the real issue, goals - we have scored less goals than everyone bar Blackburn and WEst Ham i think - which is a worry - ans we don't look threatening at all - even from set pieces these days.

GED has got some big work to do in Jan else we will be looking over our shoulders rather than the other direction come second half of the season.

My 2p's worth

Pretty much summed up my thoughts there mate.

[nick harper]

Their game plan stopped Brad rolling the ball out to help us retain posession. As a result it went long to Heskey time after time and the midfield and wide players never got close enough to him. As a result, we lost too many second balls and consequently posession.

The changes made in the second half coupled with the game getting more stretched improved things but we lacked quality and a bit of luck in the final third.

Of the side today, five - Heskey, Young, Clark, Sidwell and Reo-Coker, wouldn't have played under O'Neill. We are going through a period of change and transition and have to accept that we need to be patient and that Houllier needs time to put his stamp on the side.

In the circumstances, a draw is an ok result. We need to get through to the New Year, with a couple of fresh faces and our injued players back and see how the second half of the season pans out.

The one big positive - Ciaran Clark reminded me of a young Gareth Barry today. Nice first touch and a composed left foot amongst the hurly burly of a derby.

[Shrek]

Mate has just txt me asking if it was true that Reo broke Gardner's nose in the tunnel? Anyone heard anything?

[Legion]

I don't think they get on very well.

[TimTheVillain]

We had one corner all game ffs, says a lot that does.

If only Clark's header or Ash's shot had landed in the back of the net - it would be a much happier claret and blue mood.

[markus209]

Mate has just txt me asking if it was true that Reo broke Gardner's nose in the tunnel? Anyone heard anything?

Please let this be true!

[PaulWinch again]

I hope it's not, because he'll be banned for ages if it is.

[Legion]

Mate has just txt me asking if it was true that Reo broke Gardner's nose in the tunnel? Anyone heard anything?

Please let this be true!

Please let this be bullshit.