Aston Villa v Sunderland Post-Match Thread

[olaftab]

When Albrighton learns to  cross properly and N'Zogbia stops running into cul de sac's we might have a decent attacking threat.

[andyh]

why wasnt the goalie sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area...........

That was a shocking decision. Refs n general have been shit recently

I don't thnk it was shocking.
He collcted the ball in the area but his momentum and the wet surface took him outside of the box, where he did try to release it.He did not come out of the area and deliberately handle the ball. Ref made the right decsion IMO.

[bertlambshank]

Can anyone confirm what our tactics are? We do often seem to have a decent start, then drift badly. This leads me to believe that we push for an early goal, which we then aim to defend until the end of the game. If we don't score, it seems to be a 'make it up as you go along' approach.

The manager doesn't know,what chance have we got?

[UK Redsox]

Wiemann MOTM says it all really what a player in the making!

Personally I thought Herd was MotM.
But there were good performances from plenty of players. We just haven't got that cutting edge at the moment.

Herd was MOTM by a mile, with Lichaj in second place for me.

Andreas got into some good positions but his finishing (and more worryingly, reluctance to finish) was woeful today.

[UK Redsox]

When Albrighton learns to  cross properly and N'Zogbia stops running into cul de sac's we might have a decent attacking threat.

Marc gets my award for most disappointing player of the season.

Following the departures of Young and Downing he was virtually guaranteed a starting place and I really expected him to take this season by storm.

However, his crossing has got worse and he doesn't seem to track back as well as he did. When he does get back, he doesn't seem to have the leg strength to clear the ball any distance.

[Dante Lavelli]

I don't agree with those saying Ireland had a really good game.  I'm still not sure that he is that effective in central midfield and think he is much better in the "hole".           

I thought he did okay today, some good through balls and clearance off the line at least justified his inclusion.

I strongly agree that he is better playing in the “hole” as his biggest skill is finding space between the lines of midfield and attack.  He is not really able to do this in a 442 as it’d leave the centre exposed.

[eamonn]

Offside was the correct decision I think. He looked offside to me even though the replay was from a sympathetic camera angle.

Cameras have compassion?

[eamonn]

Oh goodie, now QPR have won. When the chips are down, almost all of our rivals can be relied on to pull a result out of the bag. The five teams below us have all won plenty of games over the past few weeks. The best we can muster are fucking stalemates. Sheer ineptitude.

Regarding the game, Cuellar had McLean in his back pocket for the first half despite playing out of position (he's been put there so often that maybe right back is his actual position now, no? Didn't Percy argue this about Mellberg before or summat?). Hutton struggled against McLean big-time in the second half when Carlos switched to the centre.

N'Zogbia is like a headless chicken. Plenty of dangerous running but he rarely looks up.
Albrighton worked tirelessly but his crosses just weren't up to scratch. Can we not try playing these wingers on like, their better sides? An awful habit Marc has is of doing some diligent defending and then almost without fail every time clearing the ball straight to an opposition's player.

Oh and I've just seen O'Neill's interview on Sky. He was asked a few Villa related questions and couldn't resist getting in a bit more self-preservation. He dismissed the notion that he left us in the lurch by saying ''They didn't do too badly winning two out of their first three games after I left'' and how he'd inherited a side who had narrowly avoided relegation and turned them into the best counter-attacking side in the country after ManUre.
Well, it's widely accepted that O'Dreary underachieved hugely in his last season and you had millions upon millions to spunk on whoever you wanted, Mart, so don't big yourself up too much.

[CJ]

Haven't read rest of the thread yet so apologies if these questions have been answered already.. On the way back WM were saying their goal wasn't offside - was it? Also when Gardner got sent off we (obviously) all cheered and called him a wanker but sections of the ground stopped that when he took his shirt off - did he have a 'Get Well Stan' t-shirt on?

As for the game - started brightly but seemed to run out of ideas especially when in and around their box. Some weird ref decisions. Would have liked to see Carruthers on for Albrighton. Another point as we limp towards safety - and with more injuries (Gabby and Collins) it's just as well the games are running out for other teams to sail past us.

[UK Redsox]

In the post-match interview on da Beeb, Pat Murphy told MON that the goal was onside because Bendtner was level.

Yes, Craig did have on a "Support Stan" shirt. When he was sent off, there were initial jeers that turned to polite applause when he took off his stripes to show the Stan shirt.

I'd start Samir ahead of Marc at the moment

If it was still a 42 game season, we'd be fecked

[tomd2103]

I don't agree with those saying Ireland had a really good game.  I'm still not sure that he is that effective in central midfield and think he is much better in the "hole".           

I thought he did okay today, some good through balls and clearance off the line at least justified his inclusion.

I strongly agree that he is better playing in the “hole” as his biggest skill is finding space between the lines of midfield and attack.  He is not really able to do this in a 442 as it’d leave the centre exposed.

Agree with that summation Dante.  I thought he did OK, just didn't agree with those that said he had a really good game.  I don't think he is dynamic or active enough to play CM in a 4-4-2, but is probably better than the other options at the moment.  His clearance off the line today was superb. 

[Villanation]

Heard somebody on the TV state that Villa should now have enough to creep across the line, can't imagine how they would come to that conclusion, yes Wigan lost but Bolton also got a point, but, and this is the important thing both Blackburn and QPR have got points closer to us after there wins.

By my calculation that means we now have more teams closer to us that can pip us at the post than at the start of play today.

The Bolton game is what I feared it would be and that is a decider that could well see the loser going down.

Today's game, we had to win it, didn't, as for what happened, should we be surprised, isn't this what's been happening all season long.

There is only one possible solution to this and its what most of us have been saying for most of the season.

[dutchvilla]

They tried hard, but there's no coherence going forward at all. Even given the number of injuries, it all comes down to the tactics and attitude of McLeish. I don't see how next season isn't going to be worse.

[Fin Feds Dad]

There is absolutely no enjoyment going to the matches any more.

The team is clueless - and cannot do even the basic things right.

Pass and move ?  Support the player with the ball ? Show for the ball to make the pass easier ? Put someone on the back post / far side of the area at corners ?

Even if we survive this year-  by the skin of our teeth - we will be certs to go down next year.

[TopDeck113]

Another yawn-fest at B6.