Aston Villa v The Blues Post-Match Thread

[hilts_coolerking]

Pretty sobering account from the Telegraph.  I agree with their assessment of NRC: aggressive and dynamic he might be but he can't pass and he can't shoot.  Sadly for us, with Petrov crocked, Ireland out of favour already, and Sidwell truly useless, NRC's probably our best bet in central midfield.  Which says more about the alternatives than it does about him.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/7943526/Aston-Villa-0-Birmingham-City-0-match-report.html

[olofmilosevic]

heskey is the most pointless dickwad in the game

what utter shite that is! yes he was caught offside often today but held the ball up well (as he always does!) thats his job! he did alright today!

[N'ZMAV]

heskey is the most pointless dickwad in the game

what utter shite that is! yes he was caught offside often today but held the ball up well (as he always does!) thats his job! he did alright today!

Yesterday was one of his poor games, however the system we played and the lack of support didn't do him any favours.

[richard moore]

Awful awful game. Credit Bham and McLeish, they came for a point and deserved it. With Larsson's deliveries they threatened too. Granted Heskey and Clark missed great chances and Young had a great effort but our attacks were isolated and there was never any sustained pressure. Main problem was our midfielders whose passing lacked any tempo and was so predictable. Sidwell and Reo Coker are just not comfortable in possession when the opposition presses them. Clark was a bit better but hid for a while too I thought. Difficult for our attackers today but Downing and Heskey were diabolically poor I felt.

Friedel 6 - nothing to do
Young 5 - not great in possession and had absolutely no understanding with downing
Collins 7 - our best player but Zigic is pretty crap
Dunne 5 - a quiet day too but was so lacklustre that time with Jerome
Warnock 5 - stupid booking, poor in first half but alright in second
Downing 3 - absolutely awful. I hate when he plays on the right.
Reo coker 4 - won a share of ball but got involved in a lot of stupid stuff and could have seen red
Sidwell 5 - won a good bit of ball too I felt but so predictable on it. Harsh subsitution perhaps
Clark 6 - started well and finished well. Should have scored and was the only midfielder with a semblance of composure on the ball. That he is a centre half says it all about the other two
Young 6 - generally shit but still provided the only two moment of quality in the game. Great pass for Heskey and brilliant run and shot near the end.
Heskey 3 - hopeless. held up the ball alright sometimes but lack of pace is a huge issue - Bham just pushed up. Caught offside stupidly on numerous occasions and never a threat in the box. We badly need Gabby back.

Bannan 6 - alright. at least looked for ball, had a shot, tried to be creative. very lightweight but promising enough.
Carew 6 - won a great header for Clark's chance. To be honest, even at his laziest and most frustrating he is more of a threat than Heskey.

thought for Bham, their centre halves did well, carr was very good in the first half, larsson has a great delivery and barry ferguson played his role well and was my MoTM. Ridgwell wasnt great and Gardner didnt get on the ball much. Zigic was hopeless. If your playing with a lone striker they need to be mobile.

For those of us stuck listening to it on the radio, how nice to read a fair assessment of the actual football and players on show, including their lot. Thank you!

[alanclare]

Why was Collins man of the match?

[shipscat]

I thought Heskey worked his knackers off,held it up as often as possible considering the quality of ball played upto him(mostly 200 mph and diagonally aimed or looped at him).Also I agree with Peterwithes assesment ditto Sidwell,he put himself about and broke it up.I too was in the majority of one amongst post match drinking buddies.

Thought we were set up to counter their formation,however,we had the quality wide players,whom were never utilised or were on their game(messrs Young,Downing).Ditto our fullbacks,on paper they should be better supporting.

We had the last 10/15 mins mainly because they took Hleb off and it slightly opened up in midfield.With regard to the cup game,can't see the Heathens being quite so defensively set up,which'll help us.

[Mazrim]

Pretty sobering account from the Telegraph.  I agree with their assessment of NRC: aggressive and dynamic he might be but he can't pass and he can't shoot.  Sadly for us, with Petrov crocked, Ireland out of favour already, and Sidwell truly useless, NRC's probably our best bet in central midfield.  Which says more about the alternatives than it does about him.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/7943526/Aston-Villa-0-Birmingham-City-0-match-report.html

Ironically, NRC was one of the few that had a shot on target. I agree with the paucity of options in midfield. I was calling for Collins to do a job in Sidwell's place but as it turns out Clark was chosen to play in midfield and did really well. But alongside Sidwell.

I would like to see Clark used alongside NRC with Ireland in front of them. I think that could work at times.
Until we get a chance to address the midfield problems anyway.

[tarzansbrother]

Maz, some of Collins passing out of defence was terrible. He is our best centre half and Cuellar should join him instead of Dunne.

[Mazrim]

Collins is usually pretty good on the ball in fairness.

I agree about Cuellar and Collins being the centre halves. Dunne is looking something short of sharp this season so far and Cuellar seems in great form.

[Chris Smith]

After the game on Wedenesday I was worried about this game. Our best football this season has been when we've had Young behind Heskey, with Downing and Albrighton providing width and allowing him the sapce to play. With Petrov also missing it meant Sidwell and NRC had to play and I don't think either can be trusted fully.

We probably did go a little too negative but I can see why he did it. Hleb got rave reviews last week for them and he wanted to negate that. It worked as far as that went as they rearely threatened but it meant that we struggled with our own creative side. When Carew came on we had three decent chances to win in but a draw was a fair result and it was the score both me and my mate (a nose) had predicted on Friday night.

[Concrete John]

It was a poor game all round I thought.  They were happy with a draw and we, mainly due to fear of losing it, were as well.  And a draw was a fair result on the balance of play. 

They'll now fancy their chances in the cup, but I expect it to be a different game if Gabby is back. 

[Pete3206]

I'm astonished that Steve Sidwell draws a wage for playing football.

[PeterWithe]

Awful awful game. Credit Bham and McLeish, they came for a point and deserved it. With Larsson's deliveries they threatened too. Granted Heskey and Clark missed great chances and Young had a great effort but our attacks were isolated and there was never any sustained pressure. Main problem was our midfielders whose passing lacked any tempo and was so predictable. Sidwell and Reo Coker are just not comfortable in possession when the opposition presses them. Clark was a bit better but hid for a while too I thought. Difficult for our attackers today but Downing and Heskey were diabolically poor I felt.

I make that about spot on although I thought Downing, in the rare moments he got the ball in the final third, looked the player most likely to make something happen.

[*shellac*]

I'm astonished that Steve Sidwell draws a wage for playing football.

I'm amazed he's still at our club.

[Hookeysmith]

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

Load of bollocks