Aston Villa v Arsenal Post-Match Thread

[dave.woodhall]

Well done for the performance. We showed we can play a bit. I think most of us accept that we are not going to win anything for a while and will welcome some entertainment at least.

Yup.

[eamonn]

What? I thought 2012 was our year for the cup?

And if Ireland has done his calf how long will he be out for?

[Mike Jeffries]

Well done for the performance. We showed we can play a bit. I think most of us accept that we are not going to win anything for a while and will welcome some entertainment at least.

Indeed, we're quite easy to get on side in truth and more performances like tonight can turn things around.  Enjoyed it and thought Albrighton was everything I want from a Villa player tonight - gutsy, energetic, committed and possessing no little skill and great composure to take his goal.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but I thought our fans were bloody brilliant.

[olaftab]

Fuck off Arsenal you classless fucks. We didn't deserve to lose, if we play like that in future the fans will be fully behind Mcleish. N'Zog was fantastic today, Hutton was really good until his red card at the end. Dunne looked a different player and we really tried to pass the ball. Must continue to play like that in future, no Heskey or Collins please.

Walking away from VP and those were exactly my thoughts. Zoggy was brilliant and Marc full of zest. Very proud despite the defeat

[Shoody]

No Collins and Heskey made such a big difference. So little hoofs were hoofed today. Clark on the pitch did that. The parts of the game I could watch he would get the ball from Cuellar and pass it forwards, the whole team was passing it and we retained possession really well. To have such high possession over an Arsenal team is fucking fantastic. If we did that with Bent or a more potent Gabby on the pitch we'd have won comfortably.

If McLeish brings Heskey and Collins in again now though and reverts to type. He will be in for a world of hurt. Because today proved he can fucking do it! I hope he can bring that out of us for the next however-many matches. He got it spot on today. (apart from set-pieces). But if he reverts back to normal it just says to me that he is scared. And PL managers cannot be scared of matches and keep their job. I get why he would be worried. But surely, surely, today showed him that we are happy enough if we attack and pass. Hopefully today he realised we aren't booing him just because its him. He was being booed because of the way we played. (prior to this match)

Please let this be a corner we've just turned.

[ROBBO]

I thought Cuellar really steadied the back line and he's fater than Collins. The reason Zog and Albrighton had better games was that we played high up the field instead of saturating our back line, i hope Mcleish has learnt something from this. Maybe Collins is off in January thats why Cuellar got his chance who knows.

[brian green]

Sorry lads but a defeat is a defeat.   When you are on a bad run not getting reward when you have earned it is as demoralizing in its own way as getting away with a narrow defeat when you should have been stuffed.

I do not think we have bottomed out yet.   I think we will get one or maybe two more wallopings then start to pick up.

A football team at Premiership level is like a Formula 1 car engine.   We showed last night that it can run sweetly on full throttle for 87 minutes.   There is more coughing and spluttering and stalling to come (the muscle and size of Collins and Heskey will be irresistible to McLeish against Stoke) but we have at least shown that there is power and performance there.   My fear is that the end of the season will come too soon.

Basically Alex McLeish is learning how to play football in the employment of Aston Villa Football Club.   I hope he appreciates it. 

[bertlambshank]

What concerns me more is how long it has taken for the penny to drop about Collins.
If Carlos is going he has to be worth more if he is playing?

[Matt Collins]

Herd won't be fit for stoke so that almost certainly means cuellar to right back. I think we really need Clark in midfield so ironically I hope Collins is fit.

The other major challenge will be what to do if bent is fit. We can't drop any of the front 3 from yday but I'd be reluctant to change the shape given how we looked yday.

[tsvet]

Collins was not dropped due to Alex realising anything, but for a knee problem.
Not sure if it was mentioned before but what annoys me is that Arsenal had score just one goal from more than 200 corners before last night.
Still I agree our performance was really good. And personally I don't think Hutton's challenge was a yellow card one.

[andyh]

You know, I came away from last nights game 'almost' as euphoric as if we'd won.
After months of watching shite, it was superb to see a Villa team play with pride, passion, determination and a bit of flair.
Sure the late goal was galling, but if we continue in that vein, we will be ok.
Special mentions to Dunne who was magnificent. Charlie actually looked like a player and Clarke MUST now be a regular starter.
Hopefully this signals the begining end of the end of Heskey and Collins.

1 game and 1 performance does not change everything, but bloody hell, they have set their standard now.
As for Gabby, I though he only looked poor in the second half, because he ran his kanackers off in the first.

   

[MarkM]

I was allot more content with the poerformance last night, and I think the team gave it a very good go.

However....

Looking at the league table makes depressing viewing, we are now 5 points behind Stoke and only 5 points ahead of Wigan [who are in the relegation zone]

We could find ourselves 8 points behind Stoke after boxing day with Chelsea to play away.

If results go against us we could be very close to the bottom three come the Swansea game.

Last nights game was an improvement, but we need to stop the drift downwards

[Risso]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but I thought our fans were bloody brilliant.

It was certainly noticeable from the stream I was watching.  We're not fickle, we just want to watch a decent side having a go at playing decent football.  The result isn't usually all that important.

[Brend'Watkins]

We'd have won that game with Bent playing.  Albrighton provided plenty of service that he would have lapped up. 

There's not a lot wrong with that side if they can perform like that week in week out.  Keep Cuellar and Dunne together and employ two new quality full backs and the side would be improved immensely.