Stoke City v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[VillaBoy_23]

More of a lurker than a poster on here but you guys must have been watching a different game to me tonight... I thought we were awful.

[Small Rodent]

Watching on TV in a pub, I was quite impressed at certain points. Thought Heskey had some lovely knock-downs etc. in the first half.

Thought the substitution for Delf was very good too.
Thouhht Guzan looked very confident.
Thought we were happy with possession and a draw.

My mate, Jedi (yes ...real name) a scifi fan who is not interested in football, kept saying "where is the support when they go forward? Villa are so much better".

Which sums it up.

[Percy McCarthy]

VillaBoy23: we are pretty awful but, speaking for myself, I'm just pleased we seem to be improving a bit.

[john e]

More of a lurker than a poster on here but you guys must have been watching a different game to me tonight... I thought we were awful.

For me awful was the spurs and Liverpool games, tonight was our best ever performance at the Britania,
I know that's not saying a lot judging by the total shitness that has gone before, but that still remains the case

[Steve kirk]

We were far from awful, we all know how tough it is at Stoke so to take a point there is pretty good and we did try and play some football but just lack that cutting edge in the final third.

[olaftab]

I hope Stoke falls into a sinkhole and through the planet into a supermassive black hole.

That is not far enough...a Delap throw will get them back.

[villajk]

Got back to knowle just after 11 pm to find all the pubs closed or closing. Grrrrrr

I didn't think it was that bad a game.  Obviously we need to create more goal scoring chances but it certainly wasn't the worst game I've seen this season.

Atmosphere was good.

[brontebilly]

Awful game but a clean sheet anyway. all our players competed well. just we lacked quality in the final third and any play we did put together was predictable in the extreme. Stoke are awful to watch. To be honest the two sides are probably the two worst on the eye in the league so it wasnt a surprise.

The positives for me were Clark who was much better than against Arsenal. He gave us a real physical presence in midfield and won some tackles. He just needs to be more decisive in his passing. Guzan too did well. Was brave enough to come for a few balls aswell. Cuellar was very strong defensively at right back. The less said about his efforts on the ball the better. Dunne was very solid again. Collins bar a daft error in the first half was solid too. Warnock had one of his better games defensively.

With the ball we were pretty poor. Our full backs certainly didnt help our widemen. But it was all very predictable. Gabby has gone off the boil a bit though he did well for Fonzies chance. Nzogbia put in a good shift defensively but has got to start hitting the target. He can beat players one on one but his shooting has been dire for Villa thus far.

[Dave Clark Five]

More of a lurker than a poster on here but you guys must have been watching a different game to me tonight... I thought we were awful.

Please explain.

[phantom limb]

A good point against the Stoke Intercontinental All-In Wrestling Federation. They do know that you're allowed to kick the ball to each other, right? Someone should probably tell them.

[D.boy]

Gabby flattening Clattenberg was amusing.

[Toronto Villa]

we were a long way from being awful. We had no cutting edge in the final third of the pitch, and no midfielder willing to run with the ball through the middle. Something I believe Mcleish really values thus his interest in Jenas. But awful? This wasn't the Spurs game or anything close. We battled hard, defended really well and got a well deserved point.

[KevinGage]

Very impressed with Dunne and Collins tonight. Maybe they were assisted by having the likes of Cuellar and Clark around them to mop up, but if it fixes an area that has been an Achilles heel for the best part of 18 months now, then so be it.

Couldn't fault the defence at all tonight, they concentrated and looked switched on from the first minute to the ninety third. 

A bit more concerned about our invention and ability in the final third though. Not many sides other than Stoke will let us have so much possession, and we really should have done more with it.  The ball broke kindly for us in a few dangerous areas, yet we lacked that killer instinct, be it picking the final pass or the actual finish.

N'Zogbia's workrate was better than other times I've seen him, but his end product was pretty woeful. Again. The Fonz had an opportunity to really stake a claim for a place, but -neat touches and control aside-  he doesn't look like a forward who wants to get into the box and make things happen.   He'd rather come short and link up the play rather than get in behind and look to gamble on where the ball might break in the box.

[Toronto Villa]

I thought Cuellar was very solid, and while he won't give you Hutton's attacking intent he's a better defender. I hope McLeish doesn't toss him to the side as soon as Hutton is available again.

[D.boy]

Re the Fonz, there were times in the game where he had drifted too far out to the wing and and was only a couple of yards from the winger so that limited our options up front. I like the fonz and hope he comes good when he gets opportunities.