Gerard's gaffes

[pauliewalnuts]

We will sort the defence out in the summer = fine, so long as in the meantime, the defence doesn't get us relegated.

[Mazrim]

Couldn't give a flying toss about the Europa. I'd sooner not be in that joke competition to be honest.
But blaming O'Neill for buying a load of shit is what the fans have done almost constantly and yet as soon as Houllier does it it's a no no. I do think he should leave it though and concentrate on the job at hand.

But in Houllier's defence, and christ knows someobdy should defend him, he has had an unfit (until recently) Dunne, a hopeless pair of gobshites in Beye and Warnock, injuries to Cuellar, Young and Collins. All that's left is promising young players, which he's had to use.
It's not all MON's fault but I think Houllier would have done far better with the money he spent on basically two complete defences. Despite inheriting some good defenders and buying two back fours, only managed one season of respectable solidity at the back.

I think now the problem with playing us is that teams never believe they can't score. When you go a goal down at Man United or Chelsea you think "uh oh, this is tricky" whereas when you a goal down against Villa (and many have) they dont ever think they're out of it and more often than not, too often, they aren't.
It does make a difference.

So we need a few new players, a better system and a bit of that reputation for keeping it tight. All of these things I think Houllier can and will deliver in the summer. He has before so why not?
I at least want to give him that chance.

[Concrete John]

The lack of fit senior players is one thing, but then the lack of any organisation and understanding at the back is another.  Now, I'm open to the theory that one may lead to the other, but it's still been a very weak area for us that he's ultimately responsible for.

[darren woolley]

GH will sort it out in the summer i am sure of it.

[TonyD]

I seem to be liking Houllier more more each game.

He has brought loads to the club so far an will sort the defence in the summer. That's good isnt it?

It would be good if it was true.  The bloke's a clown.

Exactly.    Brought loads of misery, shame and frustration to the club so far,  tempered with playing well in a handful of games that we ended up drawing or losing.

[Risso]

Why are people so sure he'll sort the defence out?  I accept that he's had injury problems and the issues with Warnock etc, but he's clearly not even coaching the players he has t do the basics right, like standing on the back post from a corner.  Blaming O'Neill's zonal marking makes him look a right twat.  Firstly that system delivered a very good defensive result last year, and secondly he's had 2/3 of a season to coach the players in the system he wants to play.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

I think the problem with the defense, especially from set-pieces, comes from having a panic. Like the fans, I think everytime there's a set-piece they're going into it thinking they could conceed a goal. It's more of a mental issue with the players than anything. If we could get through a couple of games without conceeding from a set-piece, then I think we would not see many for the rest of the season. It's a confidence thing. We've seen what confidence can do to passing a ball, we look good doing this, but that's come from having the confidence to do it.

[Risso]

What has confidence got to do with just not doing basic things right?

[German James]

I might be being a bit naive here, but surely a manager/coach can only set out the  tactics and pick the team. Granted we have important players out (again) but the players have to think for themselves during a game as well and unforced errors aren't solely Houllier's fault. I can't think he says "I've got an idea: don't put anyone on the goalline for corners".

[Mr Diggles]

Couldn't give a flying toss about the Europa. I'd sooner not be in that joke competition to be honest.
But blaming O'Neill for buying a load of shit is what the fans have done almost constantly and yet as soon as Houllier does it it's a no no. I do think he should leave it though and concentrate on the job at hand.

But in Houllier's defence, and christ knows someobdy should defend him, he has had an unfit (until recently) Dunne, a hopeless pair of gobshites in Beye and Warnock, injuries to Cuellar, Young and Collins. All that's left is promising young players, which he's had to use.
It's not all MON's fault but I think Houllier would have done far better with the money he spent on basically two complete defences. Despite inheriting some good defenders and buying two back fours, only managed one season of respectable solidity at the back.

I think now the problem with playing us is that teams never believe they can't score. When you go a goal down at Man United or Chelsea you think "uh oh, this is tricky" whereas when you a goal down against Villa (and many have) they dont ever think they're out of it and more often than not, too often, they aren't.
It does make a difference.

So we need a few new players, a better system and a bit of that reputation for keeping it tight. All of these things I think Houllier can and will deliver in the summer. He has before so why not?
I at least want to give him that chance.

Hurrah for a voice of reason.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

What has confidence got to do with just not doing basic things right?

A lot.

[eastie]

The keeper is the main problem here, a keeper who stays rooted on his line when crosses come in his 6 yard box is a liability- get a touch on it that close and you will probably score, the keeper should take care of the 6 yard box and the defence are under huge pressure because of it.

This was clear to many of us and should have been adressed in January, guzan is just as bad , and friedal also infuriates me by pushing shots out in front of him rather than turning them wide of goal- sort the keeper and he will sort the defence.

[KevinGage]

He also made some pop about the result owning to the previous manager selling Cahill - and he wouldn't have done that. Might have been a lighthearted response, but it all comes across a bit as "don't blame me!  blame the other guy." Generally it's an unwritten rule that you don't mention what a previous manager did or didn't do.

Whether he likes it or not, the other guy did leave him a competent outfit who had consistently finished in the higher reaches of the table and actually had a decent defensive record. He's also had the benefit of spending far more than any of the other sides around us in Jan, so he's not exactly had to rough it.

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Article from Daily Mirror website:

"Gerard Houllier claims he will not be able to fix Aston Villa’s leaky defence until the end of the season.

Houllier blamed the zonal marking system he inherited from Martin O’Neill for the defeat.

Villa’s defending from set-pieces was abysmal and Houllier said: “We were naive from set-pieces and it’s not the first time we have conceded from them.

“The players have had certain habits for four years and I’m not going to change them in the middle of the season.

“But next season it is something I’ll address.”


OK, so no mention of blaming MON for the defence. He's right in saying that the players had got into certain habits, not passing the ball to another player was one of them, which GH has now rectified. Unless I'm missing something, GH has not said anything about zonal marking and/or blaming MON.

Apparently he "blames" it, but there's no quote from GH to say that.

As far as I can see, he's made a valid point about the players getting into a habit, which is only natural when you've had the same manager for four years. GH wants to do it differently to MON, and so change will take a longer period of time to go from MON football to GH football, but the signs are there that we're getting close to being a good side, especially going forward.

[TonyD]

I am quite worried that he feels he cannot address the defending problems now or at least try to.

Sounds like he has given up for this season.