Stoke City v Aston Villa Pre-Match Thread

[Somniloquism]

1-1. Crouch 90+4. Bent 79.

Fixed

[gervilla]

2-0 stoke as we revert to type. He seems to be picking teams to match the oppostion when we haven't got the squad to do it.  He should pick his best team and stick to it.

MON used do that. Same 11 every week. Same subs, same time every game.
Cue much moaning and groaning when we won again but it wasn't pretty enough.
Another bloody 6th place finish.
Oh Santa baby, I'm sorry, please return me to those days.

[VancouverLion]

1-2 Crouch 11. N'Zogbia 36, Bent 68.

Just hope we don't resort to hoofing with Collins back in the center, hope Herd's fit and can slot in at right back. I know they'll be a threat with the aerial bombardment as per, but I just don't want to Collins back in, I enjoyed watching last nights game.

Up the Villa!!

[Toronto Villa]

McLeish has to resist the urge to throw Collins back into the fold to counter the obvious threat of Stoke at set pieces. Good teams that play good football can beat Stoke without having to out duel them at their game. I'd rather we went there trying to play the football we saw last night than try and out Stoke Stoke.

[dave.woodhall]

2-0 stoke as we revert to type. He seems to be picking teams to match the oppostion when we haven't got the squad to do it.  He should pick his best team and stick to it.

MON used do that. Same 11 every week. Same subs, same time every game.
Cue much moaning and groaning when we won again but it wasn't pretty enough.
Another bloody 6th place finish.
Oh Santa baby, I'm sorry, please return me to those days.

Give him £150 million and I'm sure he will.

[The Left Side]

2-1 to Stoke, they always squeak a win over us.

[Matt Collins]

McLeish has to resist the urge to throw Collins back into the fold to counter the obvious threat of Stoke at set pieces. Good teams that play good football can beat Stoke without having to out duel them at their game. I'd rather we went there trying to play the football we saw last night than try and out Stoke Stoke.

I don't see how we have any real choice. Cuellar is the only option at right back and we don't have a real alternative to Clark as a defensive midfielder. I wouldn't want to play Delph and Petrov.

[pedro25]

4 centre halves, 2 wingers, 2 strikers, say
Guzan
Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock
Albrighton Bannan Clark N'Zogbia
Bent Gabby
Subs Marshall Stevens Gardner Petrov Delph Ireland Heskey

Gabby to drop wide and N'Zog push inside to help out at times.  Clark over Petrov for height, Bannan over Ireland as he wont tire soo quickly, bring Ireland on for last half hour.

2-1 Villa, Clark and Bent.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

I cannot think of a more different style of opposition to face than Stoke after Arsenal.
Having said that I think we should set up with a similar formation, filling the midfield and two in form wide men to get the crosses into the box.
Did anybody else get the feeling on Wednesday, oh if only Bent had been on the end of that ? However, if he had played up front with Gabby then maybe we would not having been producing so many chances ?
I love Gabby, but I suggest he starts on the bench at Stoke if Bent is fit and we set up the formation as we did on Wednesday. 

[CJ]

Hate to say it but I'd bring Collins back in for this one, move Carlos to RB, and keep Clark in midfield to shore up our defences for 90 minutes of aerial bombardment. So I'd go:

                       Guzan

       Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock

                    Petrov  Clark

       Albrighton    Gabby       N'zogbia

                              Bent

Still think we'll only get a draw - 2-2

[Dave Clark Five]

http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~2556016,00.html

According to this it is Collins in at Centre Half and Cuellar at Full Back.
Suits me as I prefer to see Clark in midfield at the moment.

[Chris Jameson]

3-0 Villa win. Heskey hat trick and answer his critics...blah...blah...blah...

[PaulWinch again]

Bloody hell Collins back.

[Matt Collins]

Hate to say it but I'd bring Collins back in for this one, move Carlos to RB, and keep Clark in midfield to shore up our defences for 90 minutes of aerial bombardment. So I'd go:

                       Guzan

       Cuellar Collins Dunne Warnock

                    Petrov  Clark

       Albrighton    Gabby       N'zogbia

                              Bent

Still think we'll only get a draw - 2-2

I think that's the team I'd pick. The only real choice being whether Ireland or Bannan could replace Gabby or  Bent.

On balance I think I'd go with this one. We should still be able to get a good deal of possession even without 3 in the middle. We need lots of good movement from the front four though. And it's a toss up with Ireland in particular. And I'd pick Gabby over Bent for the lone front man role if  we did go that way.

[LamBeast]

This is as near to nirvana as McLeish can attain.Stoke,the bruising type of encounter that he understands and relishes.

We will win by the odd goal.