Aston Villa v Wolves post-match thread

[ozzjim]

It is a solid performance, in a game we lost last season. We created a lot of chances to shoot, some very good ones, and on another day may hove got our noses in front. The idea that we are not defensively better but offer nothing going forward is flawed. We scored 3 last week, and have players who all threatened today. Sure Bannan in for Heskey may make us creatively better, but would weaken us defensively especially at set plays, where we conceded every week last season. Solid foundations, then build the creation in behind Bent. It is sensible, and will be effective on the counter away from home. I am sure Eck would love to spend 20 million replacing Downings creativity, but he has not been given the money and this has his hands tied.

[Chris Jameson]

Us     - 17 shots with 3 on target
Them - 3 shots with 2 on target

What do we make of thise stats?

Did Heskey have 14 of our shots?

[Muscle-Dolphin]

We need someone who "sees the field" that can set up plays and feed Bent and Gabby the ball.  Ireland should of come on for Heskey in the second half.

[Villanation]

It is a solid performance, in a game we lost last season. We created a lot of chances to shoot, some very good ones, and on another day may hove got our noses in front. The idea that we are not defensively better but offer nothing going forward is flawed. We scored 3 last week, and have players who all threatened today. Sure Bannan in for Heskey may make us creatively better, but would weaken us defensively especially at set plays, where we conceded every week last season. Solid foundations, then build the creation in behind Bent. It is sensible, and will be effective on the counter away from home. I am sure Eck would love to spend 20 million replacing Downings creativity, but he has not been given the money and this has his hands tied.

Good point, but, you can only mould a midfield to benefit the front men if you have the players to do it, seem's to me we have players sitting on the bench who didn't even get a look in or be considered as a possibility in a very average game against a very average side, and just perhaps the reason RL is giving no money to AM is because he has players like Ireland (correct me if i'm wrong one of Villa's highest paid players) doing nothing, we could go for a player like Parker, West Ham are prepared to get rid but only for 8ML, lets trade.

[brontebilly]

Think its worth giving Ireland a start against Everton. Having Heskey, Gabby and Bent on the pitch just wont work.

[The Situation]

I agree it wasn't the worst performance in the world. We used to have plenty of performances like that under Brian Little and finished 4th (not that I'm suggesting we'll do that this season) it was just that we had the likes of Dwight Yorke.

Stick one of our very good chances - Heskey's just past the post, Bent's header, N'Zogbia from the corner - and we'd be saying hard fought win.

I can imagine the Everton game being similarly unispiring stuff. Luckily I'll be getting married at the time so I don't have to ensure it!

Excuses excuses....tut tut.

But its somewhat true. Any one of those chances scored and we would be saying how we deserved to win after playing much better in the second. Like I said, we did not play great at all, but if one of those chances went in we wouldn't be saying how we were lucky to win. We were the better team, we looked better going forward, we should of scored and we probably should of won. Everton will be a testing game next week.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Uninspiring, boring we had so much of the play but created nothing. I didn't see anything that would encourage stay away fans to come back. Nzogbia is a greedy fucker as is petrov, if either of them had passed instead of going for glory we may have won 2-0 ..poor

[andym]

just like the last 4 or 5 years, if a team comes to VP and is organised and solid in defense, we struggle to break them down. its not a problem that has suddenly come about due to mcleish, or selling young and downing. even with young, downing, milner in the team we would play poorly quite often. difference was back then we would have one of them somehow nick a goal and we would scrape a result, so the performance was overlooked.  the problem for mcleish is that given where he has come from and his reputation, he cant afford to play poorly at all, and failing to win just compounds it.

that said, i thought we created enough openings, but as happens all too often with us, the final ball was dire. too many of our players lack the footballing brain to make the right decision on when to pass and shoot. see petrov failing to play in a completely open bent 18 yards out, and choosing one of his pathetic scuffed shots instead. all of the crosses that we put straight to the keeper instead of finding the open man for the tap in.  too many of our players also displayed poor shooting skills today. nzogbia was very good running at the defence, but his shooting was all over the place.  that one from the short corner - he had an absolute age to set that up. 

i dont think mcleish is helping himself by continuing with heskey though. cant fault his workrate, but hes meant to the link guy. yet he spends all his time on the halfway line leaving bent isolated.  it took till 85 minutes to put a decent ball in for bent and that was bannan. i refuse to believe that ireland or bannan playing instead of heskey couldnt suit us better. still, the defence looks more organised, build from the back and all that. and herd did well, actually provides an attacking threat from open play and set pieces as well.

[eric woolban woolban]

Yawn, glad I relinquished a season ticket after nineteen years loyal service.

Although I watched the game today, I haven't missed going down.

[Villanation]

Think its worth giving Ireland a start against Everton. Having Heskey, Gabby and Bent on the pitch just wont work.

Something needs to be done, this could be a snapshot of what we are going to have to endure and the Blackburn game is purely down to the fact that Blackburn are utter sh1te, I know there are good and bad points to Heskey's game, personally looking at him at the end of that game he was blowing and puffing like a steam train, for me I would have let him go in this window and got someone else in and build the side we need rather than fitting round pegs into square holes.

[BedsVillain]

Firstly well done Chris Herd, very good solid game for the lad and a well deserved MOTM award.

I think obviously AMc is persisting with Heskey because he wants that extra physical presence in the team, but it's obviously negating the creativity going forward. We need that physicality, but slightly further back for me, the midfield general role, protecting the back four, breaking up play and starting attacks. Then we would be able to play Ireland or Bannan in the middle or maybe with two wingers in N'Zogbia and Albrighton.

[taylorsworkrate]

It is a solid performance, in a game we lost last season. We created a lot of chances to shoot, some very good ones, and on another day may hove got our noses in front. The idea that we are not defensively better but offer nothing going forward is flawed. We scored 3 last week, and have players who all threatened today. Sure Bannan in for Heskey may make us creatively better, but would weaken us defensively especially at set plays, where we conceded every week last season. Solid foundations, then build the creation in behind Bent. It is sensible, and will be effective on the counter away from home. I am sure Eck would love to spend 20 million replacing Downings creativity, but he has not been given the money and this has his hands tied.

Take your point but McCleish has had a decent amount of time with the squad now.  We shouldn't be still putting things in place.  We should know which formations and which players give us the best balance of attack and defense.  A game at home to Wolves, improved slightly though they may be, should be an opportunity to be more adventurous.

I accept that we aren't going to be challenging in the upper reaches of the league, those days are gone for a while, but I would at least like to be entertained.

[Toronto Villa]

I hope AM gets some backing next week in bringing in a player or two. We lack the spark that both Downing and Ash gave us, and until N'Zogbia gets up to full speed we're going to be very short in the creativity department. Defensively we'll be fine for the most part, but unless we can score goals, and create more chances for Bent, it will put a lot of pressure on our back four to keep clean sheets.

I think that's spot on: the goals and assists from Barry, Milner, Downing and Young just haven't been adequately replaced.  N'Zogbia will get a period of grace while he adjusts to the club but even then he's more of a goalscorer than creator, I reckon.  Benching Heskey and finding a way to get Bannan, Ireland and Albrighton involved is a must.

Can't see any sense in letting Young go, other than saving money.  I know he wanted to go because he wants games, but the point is he should be getting games here.

Young seems to have been angling for a move for a while since MON, and even though he has featured again, he has moved his family back to London. He's almost 32 so the club and player (and his family) must look at it as just the right time to do this. McLeish has said that we're short on experience and hinted at there being more than one in which is critical. He also suggested they have targets picked out so one can only hope that we're doing things very quietly. The next couple of days will be very interesting indeed.

[pooligan]

Boring but predictable. For me,our manager was more interested in not losing than trying to win the longer the game went on.Not hard to see why Small Heath scored so few goals while he was their manager.As someone else said,i think we are going to see Aston Villa 0 a lot this season.

[Villanation]

I would have Gabby and Bent right up top playing of each other, have to say you wouldn't want anybody else to pick a goal once the balls at his feet within the box than Darren Bent, but if you are going to stick him in there on his own with 2 wide players, you''ll wait all year for him to get his next goal, old style Centre Forward that needs a link player at his side.