Aston Villa v Newcastle United Post-Match Thread

[Greg N'Ash]

Delph - i still don't get him and i think its a case that we spent so much on him people don't want to admit he's limited.

I think Delph shows glimpses of his potential, but his injuries have limited his progression: he is still raw talent. Relying on him to run the midfield together with the tiring legs of Petrov isn't the answer, allthough I realise that McLeish doesn't have many options. Plus, he doesn't have the qualities to work as a holding midfielder (which it, at times, looked as he was supposed to be yesterday).

Even though Young and Downing were far more talented, it's not inconceivable that NRC will be the midfielder we'll miss the most this season.

Aye, lets hope Jenas will shore things up when we get him fit.

[Risso]

People are saying N'Zogbia needs time and i agree but by the same token, Makoun put in much better performances in the short time he was here and he apparantley was'nt good enough.

I know, after about 7 appearances some experts decided Makoun hadn't adapted and wasn't PL standard. Despite giving one of the best passing performances I've ever seen from a Villa player at OT.   And now almost everyone is whinging about the dearth of talent in centre midfield.  Some fans get the team they deserve I guess.

I thought that Makoun was mostly as bad as N"Zogbia's been.  What's the point of Makoun?  He had no pace, couldn't tackle, and Bannan is a much better player than he is already, and is only going to improve further.

[Greg N'Ash]

The fixture list has been kind to us so far and i'd have hoped for more points on the board to be honest.

I've been happy with the points we've picked up away from home, and the Wolves game was always going to be tough, Derbies normally are, but i was expecting a win yesterday so 9 points would have been a decent start. 7 points is not too bad though. If we can pick up a point next week and beat Wigan before the international break, then hopefully we can push on from there. 

As for Delph, there's a really good player there, he was fantastic against Blackburn, he just needs to add consistency to his game and has he gets older, hopefully that will come.

yep i'd expect us to beat qpr. I know they won yesterday but still we should have enough for them. Wigan, you never know what to expect from them but this could be N'Zogbia's 1 in 10 game. 4 points minimum from those 2 i'd say.

[Eigentor]

People are saying N'Zogbia needs time and i agree but by the same token, Makoun put in much better performances in the short time he was here and he apparantley was'nt good enough.

I know, after about 7 appearances some experts decided Makoun hadn't adapted and wasn't PL standard. Despite giving one of the best passing performances I've ever seen from a Villa player at OT.   And now almost everyone is whinging about the dearth of talent in centre midfield.  Some fans get the team they deserve I guess.

I thought that Makoun was mostly as bad as N"Zogbia's been.  What's the point of Makoun?  He had no pace, couldn't tackle, and Bannan is a much better player than he is already, and is only going to improve further.

Even though he was brought to the club by your nemesis Houllier, Makoun wasn't a complete donkey. Another midfielder who couldn't tackle wasn't perhaps exactly what we needed, but it's difficult to see the footballing reasons why McLeish preferred Delph to Makoun, apart from the vague desire to give youngsters a chance. Makoun closed down opponents quite effectively, was a reliable passer of the ball, had decent positional sense and was more consistent than Delph currently is.

[not3bad]

People are saying N'Zogbia needs time and i agree but by the same token, Makoun put in much better performances in the short time he was here and he apparantley was'nt good enough.

I know, after about 7 appearances some experts decided Makoun hadn't adapted and wasn't PL standard. Despite giving one of the best passing performances I've ever seen from a Villa player at OT.   And now almost everyone is whinging about the dearth of talent in centre midfield.  Some fans get the team they deserve I guess.

I thought that Makoun was mostly as bad as N"Zogbia's been.  What's the point of Makoun?  He had no pace, couldn't tackle, and Bannan is a much better player than he is already, and is only going to improve further.

And N'Zogbia still managed to put one on a plate for Bent.  If that one had been put away the tone of this thread would be very different.

[TheSandman]

What is it with managers of this club and midfielders who can tackle? We've needed one for years. At least earlier on we had NRC who whilst limited and could have done an acceptable job there. Now when our need is urgent we sign an attacking box-to-box midfielder and rely upon the 60 minute man and an out of position and still raw youngster. It's unbelievable.

If we got a solid, quick and energetic presence in there we would be able to play some more footballers and be a much better team to watch. I don't know whether it was McLeish's decision or a product of our financial policy but it is a big miss.

[barrysleftfoot]

  Have only seen the extended highlights, watching them after reading the comments on here.

  Few points, I think we have to give Mcleish an opportunity to get his own players in before we can start judgeing.If we are still playing like this in 12 months time, then for me we can start complaining about the style and players.

  Delph...i think we have to play him, and see what we have.He showed yday his abilities, and hid frailties.For me he is a good footballer, who always tries to be positive, has good acceleration, can get away from players, and is looking for a pass,....but he is a bit weak physically.Needs a stonger player alongside him than Petrov.

  Bannan, as above, has a lovely pass, and is always looking to be positive.Not sure you should play him on the right though.

 N'Zog...Not at his best, but we need him, as he offers something that nobody else in the squad.

 Bent and Gabby.......from the highlights, these 2 gave the ball away more than anybody else.Just a thought but if you want to play a passing game, which is all about keeping possession, and playing flowing football, can you play both Gabby and Bent, neither of whom, despite all their other undoubted strengths, could you call good footballers.

 Albrighton and Ireland..........Albrighton is an enigma.A great cross last week for the equalizer last week, this week, 2 good positions, 2 poor decisions.Ireland deserves a run for me.

 Hutton...on the highlights looked ok, certainly has a reasonable cross, needs to buck up a bit defensively, but for me better than LYoung.

 Shay Given.......great signing.

[Vanilla]

It is still on reflection hard to establish if there was anything exceptional to analyse the performance. I think that it was a pretty standard showing. Not excellent, but not dreadful, which is just about where Villa are at the moment.

The sad thing is, apart from Jenas, this is the squad which is going to take us until the end of the season. We are not waiting for any game changers to come back from injury or suspension, we are just waiting for certain players to 'come good'.

[pauliewalnuts]

The sad thing is, apart from Jenas, this is the squad which is going to take us until the end of the season. We are not waiting for any game changers to come back from injury or suspension, we are just waiting for certain players to 'come good'.

And that is the frightening thing. It's not nearly strong enough, in my opinion.

[VillaAlways]

Sunderland 4-0 up.That will put Stoke back in their place

[fredm]

  Have only seen the extended highlights, watching them after reading the comments on here.

  Few points, I think we have to give Mcleish an opportunity to get his own players in before we can start judgeing.If we are still playing like this in 12 months time, then for me we can start complaining about the style and players.

   Bent and Gabby.......from the highlights, these 2 gave the ball away more than anybody else.Just a thought but if you want to play a passing game, which is all about keeping possession, and playing flowing football, can you play both Gabby and Bent, neither of whom, despite all their other undoubted strengths, could you call good footballers.

This for me is a very relevant point and one which a lot of people have missed.  Yes, Gabby did do a lot of good work but his ball control was very poor yesterday, as was Bents, neither held the ball up which meant that Newcastle were coming straight back at the midfield.  They both must learn how to hold it and keep possession or we will spend every game chasing shadows.

[The Situation]

People are saying N'Zogbia needs time and i agree but by the same token, Makoun put in much better performances in the short time he was here and he apparantley was'nt good enough.

I know, after about 7 appearances some experts decided Makoun hadn't adapted and wasn't PL standard. Despite giving one of the best passing performances I've ever seen from a Villa player at OT.   And now almost everyone is whinging about the dearth of talent in centre midfield.  Some fans get the team they deserve I guess.

I thought that Makoun was mostly as bad as N"Zogbia's been.  What's the point of Makoun?  He had no pace, couldn't tackle, and Bannan is a much better player than he is already, and is only going to improve further.

Not sure if serious or just trolling...

[Ads]

I think the biggest problem yesterday, more so than NZogbia and Bent being poor/unfit/injured, was the midfield being too deep.

I'd like to see a box-to-box player like Jenas come in for QPR and Ireland to start with Stan sitting. The balance just isn't quite right as it is.

[PaulTheVillan]

I think the biggest problem yesterday, more so than NZogbia and Bent being poor/unfit/injured, was the midfield being too deep.

I'd like to see a box-to-box player like Jenas come in for QPR and Ireland to start with Stan sitting. The balance just isn't quite right as it is.

Exactly my thoughts.

[Villanation]

The reason Newcastle kept coming back at us is because we couldn't clear the ball to the middle third, because we don't have a midfield, its noting to do with Bent and Gabby, if people expect Darren Bent and Gabby Agbonlahor to hold up play and contain in the midfield area and get up and score it simply isn't going to happen, unless you are going to engage in a long ball game whereby you are literally playing from defence to the front cutting out any passing game in the middle area's then there is no way Bent and Gabby should be holding up play to that extent.

Another reason why they shouldn't be doing it is because the very essence of a player like Gabby is about pace and getting forward fast, that indeed maybe what Bent is suffering from, he's never played with a player like Gabby, so for them to be in midfield holding up play is a contradiction, once they are forward and around the box they can bring other players in, but not way back in the centre midfield.

The reason Newcastle had total control of the midfield is because every time we cleared the ball it was going to a Newcastle player, they where playing with 5/6 players across the middle, Delph was useless and losing possession all over the shop, N'Zogbia was a luxury we couldn't afford v Newcastle, Bannan didn't have the experience in defending so that leaves Petrov to shore up the area in front of the back 4.......No chance. Then as players like Gabby and N'zogbia started to drop back further and further, Bent then gets less and less supply.