Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Blackcountry Villa]

Very very poor.

It's all very well trying to play your way out of defence but whats the point if we can't pass a ball? We simply don't keep it for more than 3 or 4 passes.

We must have the thickest defence in the league, i've never seen a defence give so many needless, stupid free kicks away around their own box. What makes it worse is we can't defend the ball when it comes in either.

Warnock needs replacing, he's a liability. Every game he gives silly free kicks away and he just isn't very good.

Friedel should have saved their first and i hope we go for Given in January.

Ireland is dire. I honestly think he doesn't want to be here playing for us.

I don't think Hogg is good enough, he's only playing because of injuries.

Dunne still looks overweight and clumsy.

Ashley Young continues to frustrate and fail to deliver. He's so overrated it's unreal.

Agbonlahor was anonymous, that may have been down to the service but he hasn't got the football brain to know when and where to run.

I'm afraid we're in a bit of a relegation fight, we're so easy to play against and beat away from home, we're so fragile and weak and get bullied and when you never win away theres only one half of the table you're going to be in. Arsenal at home and Liverpool away next aswell, nil points and we'll be right in amongst it. I've got a really bad feeling about the Blues game aswell, i think they'll bully us and our players could shit themselves in that atmosphere and pressure.

[pauliewalnuts]

If we had only taken our chances when on top early in each half, the game would have been so different. Taking chances is once again our big problem. Robinson made some excellent saves at crucial times of the game. We have to be dissapointed with both our goals. Can't believe people are so critical of such a young team.   

More than anything we need a decent striker who can create space and provide options for those moments when we get ourselves into decent positions - and we do that very frequently.

Heskey and Carew aren't the answer, I suspect Gabby might not be either, but he's going to need some time to get fully fit in any case.

We've needed a striker for, what, three years, though?

[Fergal]

Warnock - Turning into a liability, needless free kicks. 4
Ireland - Oxygen Thief 2

Warnock - was playing like a player who has lost the plot. 
Ireland - Not worth the shirt he disgraced today, he should fall on his sword.

[alanclare]

It was a good job we got those contracts signed before this woeful performance took place.

[pauliewalnuts]

Blooming heck here we go.

Why should we expect to beat Blackburn away with ten yes TEN players out injured including five midfielders? This is a Blackburn side with 6 defeats in 35 or so home games?  Seriously, why?

We played all the football, any neutral would say we were the better side.  The word "naive" gets banded around all the time and is being here because we lost a couple of goals to set pieces.  It's not naivety, I'm sure we knew what was coming and were prepared for it.  It's just that our only two players over 6 ft are centre halves and one of them is a kid still developing physically.  They have about 6 or 7 players as tall or taller than our biggest.  Sometimes it's not naivety, it's just another team being bigger than you.

If Usain Bolt beat me in a 100 metre sprint, would it be because of my naivety?

The first goal was nothing to do with them having bigger players than us. It was to do with an experienced player acting in a brainless, utterly stupid, petulant manner and gifting them a goal.

Stupidity not naivety.  I agree Warnock was a complete idiot in that moment and for all I do think he is a good player, his brainless tendencies are costing us and someone should have a severe word with him.

I am just seeing a lot of predictably over the top criticism of the team.  Dunne didn't do anything wrong today in truth and looks to me to be in much better shape than he did a month ago.  Friedel had a thankless task - he clearly had been told (or decided) that he would have to come for every ball to compensate for the height deficit we were conceding to them and that's how he got caught out for the goal.  Warnock granted was poor.

But for me, given our selection problems, was one of the most difficult fixtures we could have faced - much more difficult than last week's.  Yet I think second half we played a higher line and put some decent phases of play together only to be denied yet again by the woodwork.  We test their goalkeeper, they barely had a shot on target.  Yes we lost.  Yes it's annoying.  Yes it's worrying.  But I'm just not sure what people expect at the moment.

You're getting all aereated about it, but most people on here are actually agreeing with you.

[PaulMcGrathsNo5Shirt]

Friedal - Not good enough. We need a new keeper. He's been slipping week by week over the last 12 months
Young - Poor, worked hard but not enough quality today.
Warnock - Fuckin brainless performance AGAIN!
Clark - Ok
Dunne - For some who has been a captain before I certainly didn't see any leadership. Not making a fuck up for a change is a bonus
A Young - His decision making is poor, passes it when he should run, runs with it when he should pass and still falls over too much looking for free kicks. Not good enough.
Hogg - Ok, he's a kid and Blackburn away is very different to playing at home. Didn't really see much of him.
Bannan - This kid needs to have better players around him and quickly otherwise I can see his confidence being shot. Playing well individually but because of the limitations of the players around him we struggle.
Ireland - Some nice touches in the first half made me think we might be seeing the better of him, but again he faded. I'm not sure that we don't try and get him in the game often enough. He worries me. Does he really want to be at Villa?
Downing - I can't fault his efforts today, but we struggled as a team.
Agbonlahor - Poor today I thought agianst the big men, but in truth the service to him was shit.

Pires - more touches in 15 minutes than Ireland had in 75
Herd - got stuck in
Defouneso - I think to get the best out him he needs to play up with someone. Tried hard again.

Tactics
Houllier ultimately is responsible, and the team at the moment is picking itself pretty much so there is little he can do. The mindset of the players does worry me, after a good performance last week I hoped we would build on that today but we struggled.

[taylorsworkrate]

If we had only taken our chances when on top early in each half, the game would have been so different. Taking chances is once again our big problem. Robinson made some excellent saves at crucial times of the game. We have to be dissapointed with both our goals. Can't believe people are so critical of such a young team.   

I think people are critical of the experienced players who are continually letting us down this season (Dunne, Warnock and Ireland for example)

[Richard C]

I'll leave the ranting to others but I will say this...why in hell can't Ashley Young settle on playing simple football? Why, when there's a logical 15 yard pass does he have to ignore it in favour of a Hail Mary 40 yard pass? Why, when there's a gathering of 3 opposition players does he feel the need to run at them? 
 
To me, he looks like someone who's trying to make himself a January-sale youtube highlight video. Either
that, or he's the old Golden Boy trying to show he's every bit as good as the new Golden Boy.

Yes and he gave BB a right mouthfull for getting a pass marginally wrong to him in the first half. I'm starting to dislike Ash.

God that was painful to watch. Especially after last week.

I'll leave the ranting to others but I will say this...why in hell can't Ashley Young settle on playing simple football? Why, when there's a logical 15 yard pass does he have to ignore it in favour of a Hail Mary 40 yard pass? Why, when there's a gathering of 3 opposition players does he feel the need to run at them? 
 
To me, he looks like someone who's trying to make himself a January-sale youtube highlight video. Either that, or he's the old Golden Boy trying to show he's every bit as good as the new Golden Boy.

God that was painful to watch. Especially after last week.

[Fingers]

We desperately missed Albrighton

[Lambert and Payne]

Friedel - Diddnt look comfortable, 1st goal was his fault  5
Warnock - Needless free kick week in week out, never learns 3
Dunne - Good challenge to prevent a 3rd, not much else to do after that 6.5
Clark - Diddnt really seem too have much to do but did what he had to do well 6.5
L Young - Diddnt have too much to do, but did it well 6.5
Hogg - Inaffective first half, came in a little more 2nd 6
Downing - Wasnt bad, couple of times he could have made a better choice when he was on the ball but looked lively 7
Bannan - Looked comfortable on the ball and pretty energetic 7.5
A Young - Unlucky with his header, set pieces were poor, diddnt really seem to be involved 6
Ireland - Im not wasting my time on him...
Agbonlahor - Never made the threatening runs and couldnt hold the ball when it came to him. Saying that he never really had the chance 6

Pires - Comfortable on the ball, not really given enough time 6.5
Delfouneso - Not enough time, got in some decent positions when he could though 6.5
Herd - Unlucky with his header, got stuck in, not enough time though 6.5

[pauliewalnuts]

I thought there was a pretty wide range of performances today.

Unacceptably poor: Ireland, Warnock
Poor but with a plausible excuse: Gabby, Friedel
Did well, considering lack of experience: Hogg, Bannan, Herd, Clark
Did OK: Ashley, Dunne
Did well: Pires
Did very well: Downing, Luke Young

[taylorsworkrate]

And I really wish commentators would get over Bananaman's stature.

David Pleat: "...he's only 5'5'' or 5'6''. He's about the smallest player in the premiership. He's built like a schoolboy. A primary-school boy."

Wanker!

Agreed, why do pundits think it is okay to be so insulting?

[JUAN PABLO]

Im still 50/50 If Fonz is going to make it , so If Gabby is not fit , I would have prefered him to start so I can find out....

[Nirog72]

I thought Pires was the best player on the pitch when he came on and Delfouneso showed an impeccable timing in his runs. Other than that, pffffffffffffffff. As for Ireland, when does he leave?

[KevinGage]

Looked for long spells that we were the only side trying to play football but you don't get bonus points for that. There has to be a happy medium between some of the dirge we last season and some of the pretty (but so far largely ineffective) stuff we play this year.

Some might be encouraged that we've played quite well again even if we've lost. I'm not. Pompey played quite well last year, plenty of plaudits for giving it a go et.c. OK, we're not as poor as them but we need to start playing effective football, creating chances and scoring goals.

Despite struggling to get the wins we should have in the three games prior to this, I felt we had turned the corner in that regard with five goals in the last two. Today was a return to our toothless worst. We just didn't look like we had a goal in us. That needs to change.

The consensus seems to be that this season is a write off anyway, so it probably doesn't matter. Personally I disagree, but even if we are saying 7th-10th is OK we'll need to put together a run of form, a run of wins and actually score a few goals to achieve even that modest target.

Oh and if I was GH, as well as looking at a decent forward this Jan I'd be keeping an eye out for any decent LB's or CB's that might become available too. A few of the regular candidates in that back four should be looking over their shoulder.