Queens Park Rangers v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Rudy Can't Fail]

What has happened to the Mark who used to weep salty tears for weeks watching MON's Groundhog football?

What have you done with him?

Good question.  I haven't seen a more obvious and flawed attempt at reinventing one's image since Joey Barton started quoting famous philosophers.

It may have escaped you both but we've lost Young, Downing and NRC, our three best players last season. What do you think I should do, throw the towel in and give up? I prefer to support a team that shows battle and grit, basic, traditional Villa values. There was enough today in the second half to give hope that we can finally step up, despite the financial cut backs.

I also have confidence in Sid and especially Kevin McDonald to get us playing the right way, even with our restricted squad. I do wonder what would have been the response on here today if we'd won. My guess is some would have pissed off in a sulk.

[Monty]

Whenever we got the ball down and played through the midfield, we looked fine. The problem is, that was embarrassingly too low an amount of the time.

Whenever the ball went back to Given, you knew where it was going: right over the heads of our talented midfield, towards Gabby who would bee surrounded by two players bigger than him, who probably wouldn't win the flick-on and, even if he did, the ball would end up with their defence. I don't know if this is the fault of the defenders for running away from the keeper, or Given's fault for not telling them to stay put. However, you'd like to think that if McLeish told them to pass it out they would, which seems to imply heavily that he's not.

When the equaliser happened, flukey as it was, it was what you get from not keeping the ball and inviting a home team onto you, something even more criminal when you consider they were down to ten men. We're still unbeaten, but another way to look at it would be that if we'd lost one and won one more we'd have more points than we do now. This was meant to be McLeish's forgiving, easy start as well, and he's won a single game.

[Villan For Life]

I thought that we were poor in the 1st half. If we play like that against better teams we will be destroyed.

In the 2nd half we were much better and at times pretty good to watch. Wee Barry was immense and Gabby had a good game. N'Zogbia showed signs of a return to form and our defenders threw themselves at everything (OG aside).

I'm concerned by the differences between the 1st and 2nd half performances. Is the manager sending them out to not conceed in the 1st half and hope to nick one in the second? Or are our players incapable of stepping up a gear without a bollocking from the manager?

[andyh]

The second half was infinately better than the first, but only because the first half was totally and utterly inept.
Lets face it, QPR are not Barcelona. They will struggle this season, yet we made them look like worldbeaters.
I really, really worry about what will happen to us this season. 
   

[Legion]

I'm really struggling to find reasons to carry on supporting the Villa at the moment. I've been a massive fan all my life but its getting to the point where I'm thinking whats the point. Awful football, know for a fact that we won't win anything and at the best will be mid-table. The players clearly don't give a crap, the owners have sold our best players and to top it off for the first time in 137 years we have an ex Blues manager in charge. And as fans theres nothing we can do about it except for coughing up more money to pay for idiots like Beye to sit on the bench every week and for the others to produce turgid Football every week.

I've got a ticket for Wigan next week but why should I bother going?

To support the team you say you love so dearly? So what if he's ex-Blues? He's someone doing his job, he's hardly a die-hard Bluenose. What would you have said about Peter Withe? There have been far worse times than this in our proud history.

[Compass]

Warnock (N) looks and acts like a pantomime dame

Maybe he's a closet Villa fan. Yes darlings, you know who you are.

Aren't you tired of this act yet Mark?

Absolutely, can't you and others just save it for the traditional pantomine season?

Try and get behind the team, they were throwing bodies in today like real warriors, fighting for the cause. Our fans there were superb too. We're in a difficult place at the moment, it might help if we all go behind the lads. Confidence in football is massive.

You were as critical of the team as anybody under the later days of O'Neill, and yet these days you seems to have appointed yourself as the new Chris Smith.  Your choice of course, but calling other fan "drama queens" every other post is deeply pathetic, even more so given your record.

Hardly as pathetic as some posts on here. If it helps, I'll refrain from using the term 'drama queen' and replace it with 'eunuchs', as it seems obvious some need to grow a pair. As for Chris, yes it does concern me, we're talking about a bloke that always defends the indefensible but after only 6 games, I think he may finally have found solid ground.

I'm more confident AM can get us playing some decent football, as we witnessed in parts during the second half today than I ever was under the jurrasic approach of MON. Time will tell but at least I'm prepared to give him a few games before casting my judgement, unlike the moronic approach of some who only hate him because he came from the Rags or played shit football at the Sty. We both know even Ferguson couldn't get that lot playing anything but shite football. It is who they are and always have been.

Yeah, just ignore the fact he has 2 Premier League relegations and had a higher net spend than Wigan who played more attacking and open football.

Oh, at least he won the Carling Cup last year. Where are we in that cup again?
Oh, at least he won stuff at Scotland. Any Mickey Mouse manager who manages Rangers or Celtic in the Scottish League can win stuff.
Oh, at least we're unbeaten in the Premier League under him. Yeah, 5 draws and 1 win against no top 6 teams is really top 10 material isn't it? Newcastle are a better example of having a GOOD unbeaten run. Man City will end it anyway so no point banging on about it.
Oh, at least he got us playing good attacking football in the second half. Oh yeah, for about no more than 15 mins where somehow we got magically got a pen and decided to sit back deep allowing QPR to attack, attack, attack. Never seen that before. Oh wait, Newcastle rings the bell.

The fact is in time you and others in time will be fickle when we find ourselves in the bottom half of the table by winter for not picking up enough wins, where as the losts start to mount up with harder fixtures. And I expect you to apology in particular for sterotyping and throwing random insults because YOU THNIK that the reason why we don't want McLeish is due to coming from our neighbours. The same unbelieveable lazy argument that's been used for months now. I can understand the board thinking that way due to them being clueless, but the fans? Unforgivable.

[richard moore]

The second half was infinately better than the first, but only because the first half was totally and utterly inept.
Lets face it, QPR are not Barcelona. They will struggle this season, yet we made them look like worldbeaters.
I really, really worry about what will happen to us this season. 
   

I too fear we could be in a very bad place come 1st January and when the fixtures have evened themselves out. I cling to the hope that Jenas might come in and strike up an understanding with Bannan and Ireland, that N'Zogbia will find some form and we might just start to create enough chances for Bent to keep us lower mid table rather than in the relegation zone. I am not that confident however at this moment in time I have to say...

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Warnock (N) looks and acts like a pantomime dame

Maybe he's a closet Villa fan. Yes darlings, you know who you are.

Aren't you tired of this act yet Mark?

Absolutely, can't you and others just save it for the traditional pantomine season?

Try and get behind the team, they were throwing bodies in today like real warriors, fighting for the cause. Our fans there were superb too. We're in a difficult place at the moment, it might help if we all go behind the lads. Confidence in football is massive.

You were as critical of the team as anybody under the later days of O'Neill, and yet these days you seems to have appointed yourself as the new Chris Smith.  Your choice of course, but calling other fan "drama queens" every other post is deeply pathetic, even more so given your record.

Hardly as pathetic as some posts on here. If it helps, I'll refrain from using the term 'drama queen' and replace it with 'eunuchs', as it seems obvious some need to grow a pair. As for Chris, yes it does concern me, we're talking about a bloke that always defends the indefensible but after only 6 games, I think he may finally have found solid ground.

I'm more confident AM can get us playing some decent football, as we witnessed in parts during the second half today than I ever was under the jurrasic approach of MON. Time will tell but at least I'm prepared to give him a few games before casting my judgement, unlike the moronic approach of some who only hate him because he came from the Rags or played shit football at the Sty. We both know even Ferguson couldn't get that lot playing anything but shite football. It is who they are and always have been.

Yeah, just ignore the fact he has 2 Premier League relegations and had a higher net spend than Wigan who played more attacking and open football.

Oh, at least he won the Carling Cup last year. Where are we in that cup again?
Oh, at least he won stuff at Scotland. Any Mickey Mouse manager who manages Rangers or Celtic in the Scottish League can win stuff.
Oh, at least we're unbeaten in the Premier League under him. Yeah, 5 draws and 1 win against no top 6 teams is really top 10 material isn't it? Newcastle are a better example of having a GOOD unbeaten run. Man City will end it anyway so no point banging on about it.
Oh, at least he got us playing good attacking football in the second half. Oh yeah, for about no more than 15 mins where somehow we got magically got a pen and decided to sit back deep allowing QPR to attack, attack, attack. Never seen that before. Oh wait, Newcastle rings the bell.

The fact is in time you and others in time will be fickle when we find ourselves in the bottom half of the table by winter for not picking up enough wins, where as the losts start to mount up with harder fixtures. And I expect you to apology in particular for sterotyping and throwing random insults because YOU THNIK that the reason why we don't want McLeish is due to coming from our neighbours. The same unbelieveable lazy argument that's been used for months now. I can understand the board thinking that way due to them being clueless, but the fans? Unforgivable.

If the cap fits..

[waringpongo]

Thought their penalty appeals were unjustified. The first Barton was completely impeding Given and the ref should have blown for that, the second was non existent. For our penalty there was a pull on the shirt and therefore a pen. For their goal we should have had a corner and we would have tun down the clock. Although we were shit in the first half we looked good in the second and very good in patches.
We were robbed.

[Villanation]

@villaboy:

Because the Wigan game is massive, i appreciate the instant response is that its Wigan, but after nearly lifting all 3 point today will we take anything from that 2nd half into the Wigan game and build form there, have the players now got a groove they can work on, do they now have an empathy with the manager because they absolutely responded to him the minute they walked on the pitch for the 2nd half.

So, the Wigan game has become a benchmark point in the season, is this the start of the season or was this just a quirky 2nd half that will be forgotten.

Has McLiesh just found his team in terms of understanding, are we going finally to see players like Stephen Ireland hit some kind of form, Barry Bannen IMO has just stepped up a level, this Wigan game is a must win for Villa.

If for nothing else there is lots of reason's to get down there and see how this unfolds.

[Mister E]

6 yellow cards and countless fouls says it all: we will not defend slim leads if we keep giving possession away in the form of set pieces. Very frustrating, really.

[Lambert and Payne]

Yeah, just ignore the fact he has 2 Premier League relegations and had a higher net spend than Wigan who played more attacking and open football.

Oh, at least he won the Carling Cup last year. Where are we in that cup again?
Oh, at least he won stuff at Scotland. Any Mickey Mouse manager who manages Rangers or Celtic in the Scottish League can win stuff.
Oh, at least we're unbeaten in the Premier League under him. Yeah, 5 draws and 1 win against no top 6 teams is really top 10 material isn't it? Newcastle are a better example of having a GOOD unbeaten run. Man City will end it anyway so no point banging on about it.
Oh, at least he got us playing good attacking football in the second half. Oh yeah, for about no more than 15 mins where somehow we got magically got a pen and decided to sit back deep allowing QPR to attack, attack, attack. Never seen that before. Oh wait, Newcastle rings the bell.

The fact is in time you and others in time will be fickle when we find ourselves in the bottom half of the table by winter for not picking up enough wins, where as the losts start to mount up with harder fixtures. And I expect you to apology in particular for sterotyping and throwing random insults because YOU THNIK that the reason why we don't want McLeish is due to coming from our neighbours. The same unbelieveable lazy argument that's been used for months now. I can understand the board thinking that way due to them being clueless, but the fans? Unforgivable.

Stay well away from sharp objects

Do you go to games these days?

[Holtenderinthesky]

McCleish has turned into Wenger,

And the award for the most bizarre statement of the year goes to...................

[Somniloquism]

McCleish has turned into Wenger,

And the award for the most bizarre statement of the year goes to...................

And if you had included the rest of my quote?

[Eigentor]

The match was dire for most part, but an away match against a newly promoted team managed by Neil Warnock is never going to be pretty.

In the end it's a decent away point, but I fear that our lack of organization and composure will cost us against better teams. Sometimes effort isn't enough.

As for the Alex McLeish arguement: It seems as if the players work hard for him; he is probably a good motivator. Yet, the fact is that we are scrapping for draws against mediocre (at best) teams. He is yet to put out a team that looks like a coherent unit. I feel that the signs aren't too promising.