Not happy, M. Houllier

[Chris Smith]

People keep banging on about these injuries, the fact is most if not all of the players who are missing are either average or shit and wouldn't make any difference.

The fact is that is an opinion, not a fact.

Until he's had the opportunity to pick the team he wants and to stick with it for a couple of games I don't think we're in a position to properly judge him.

[usav]

People keep banging on about these injuries, the fact is most if not all of the players who are missing are either average or shit and wouldn't make any difference.

So, if everybody was fit, your first choice midfield pairing last night would have been an 18 year old and a center back?

Thank God you aren't anywhere near the coaching staff.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

The defence has been woeful, but let's be honest, they get very little protection from a baby faced central midfield.

Roll on Petrov and NRC's return.

[PaulWinch again]

He's clarified his comments, I think we should move on. He did not intend any offence.

[barrysleftfoot]

  Hopefully his Lpool love in is over now, a bit embarassing, and humiliating tbh.

  Regardless of your views about MON, i don't think that set of players would have put such a lacklustre, spiritless performance as the team did last night.I think that raises questions about GHs motivational skills, as someone suggested earlier.MON organized teams, i'm not sure yet what GH does.

  Reincarnation of Venglos?

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

We will have Ashley, Bannan, a fit Albrighton and probably Heskey for Saturday. Give the bloke a chance. MON never had injuries like this and Houllier has not even seen Gary Gardner and Delph play yet. He has got to get the January window right with players of high quality .......

[TopDeck113]

Reincarnation of Venglos?

That thought has crossed by mind more than once today.  Possibly the right man, but at the wrong time.   Venglos also inherited a team that was built to do the job that his predecessor wanted it to do, but never managed to get it to change to play the way he wanted it to.   It also seemed to lose the battling qualities it had had.     

We just need a Gary Prenrice-esque  signing in January to complete the analogy.

[pedro25]

Not seen Gary Gardner play yet, so what nor have any of us, don't even think he has a squad no., he's a kid from the youth team, missing him can hardly be an excuse for our pathetic form.

[Holte L2]

I'm never a pannicker or a negative Villa fan, but the current run of forms tearing the life out of me. 
Our injury reccord has been catastrophic, but in the long run I can't see GH  taking us forward as a club.  I think the only solution is to act fast and get a forward thinking manager in.  I.E Di Matteo, Coyle.

Thanks Houllier, but he's clearly not at the races anymore.

[usav]

I'm never a pannicker or a negative Villa fan, but the current run of forms tearing the life out of me. 
Our injury reccord has been catastrophic, but in the long run I can't see GH  taking us forward as a club.  I think the only solution is to act fast and get a forward thinking manager in.  I.E Di Matteo, Coyle.

Thanks Houllier, but he's clearly not at the races anymore.

So which non-injured players would you have picked over the last few weeks instead of the ones Houllier has?   

I understand that we are all pissed off with the run of results, but what exactly could be done by a manager who hasn't had the opportunity to buy anyone yet and has 12 first team players injured? 

Ah I see, the answer is Owen Coyle.  Right.

[Dave]

Regardless of your views about MON, i don't think that set of players would have put such a lacklustre, spiritless performance as the team did last night

Well this set of players put in a pretty shocking performance on the same ground only a year and a half ago.

Why didn't MON motivate them?

[Ian.]

Short memories, was it only a few months back when we lost 7 goals to Chelsea?

And by the way I was very much in MON for camp.

[BannedUserIAT]

With Petrov and NRC in the squad, you have two players that, even though they're no the most dynamic getting forward, will break opposition momentum. When teams run at us, like Liverpool did, they look like they'll score every time. When teams have to try to 'pick the lock', our defence is a little sturdier.

Only a little, mind.

I do think there's been some kind of shift in the methodology of defending. And I don't mean the emphasis and trying to walk the ball out. I suspect there's a new style of defending being employed in regard to positioning and marking and I think Collins/Dunne are really struggling to change their natural game.

And, perhaps Houllier won't give up on them any more than he'd give up on a midfield that's been asked to pass the ball about rather than hoof. He'll persevere until the players 'get it' and can play in a way that he expects them to play.

Maybe. Perhaps. Who knows?

[pauliewalnuts]

I don't think he's anytihng special as a player, but the one thing we get back when Petrov returns, which we desperately need in the middle, is experience - and tons of it. You could say we have that with Pires, but he's not a viable option to play anything like 90 minutes.

The defence are all over the shop at the moment, but their frailty is being exposed by an inexperienced / lightweight central midfield. Clark and Hogg are players we'd barely seen before this season, but we've played them centrally against teams like Man United and Arsenal. Not just inexperienced, but one of them is also playing out of position. Barry Bannan has done very well, but he too is incredibly inexperienced.

In an ideal situation, there is absolutely no way we'd be relying so heavily on such inexperienced players while we're struggling for form so badly.

That more than anything is what we'll benefit from when we have players like Petrov back. Reo-Coker as well. It's almost enough to make you pine for Sidwell.

[usav]

The perfect summation, Paulie.