Aston Villa v Southampton Post-Match Thread

[curiousorange]

Here's a link to my match report for today: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/12-01-2013/aston-villa-vs-southampton. As it seems to wind some up when I don't post the text here, i've done that as well, but if I can ask all of you a favour - can you click on the link and rate the players via the site (you can rate the manager and the ref too) as Sean and I are getting good numbers and people from here have played a part in that.

Needless to say, feedback is appreciated:

Aston Villa Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Southampton 1

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the same old tired themes. I'm impatient of shambolic defending, hacked off with unstructured midfield, dissatisfied with overcomplicated attacks and spitting fire with incompetent officials.

I hate having my weekends ruined following a team with no desire, management with no tactical ability and an owner who must have a long-hidden vendetta against the club that's finally too overwhelming to rein in.

Needless to say, Aston Villa lost again, and it was down to a combination of slapstick and the kind of luck you get when the world isn't finished with the joke. The situation's not even worrying: let's just assume we're going down, and hold a wake for the rest of the season.

Today was the ideal opportunity to punt ourselves slightly ahead of the relegation pack and the pressure was too much. A great start went unrewarded and settled the game down in Southampton's favour, leaving them to exploit the space left by Villa's narrow midfield. Saints' full-backs were excellent and Jason Puncheon was a constant menace, but this is nothing new: it was the same when they thrashed us at St Mary's. Jay Rodriguez deserves a ban for his dive, which he won't get, but that'll be a footnote seven days from now.

Villa did play energetically and saw a late flurry create a header for Nathan Baker that hit the bar, but for the majority of the game it was piecemeal and frustrating. In flashes there were pelting runs that excited the crowd but no end product.

The amount of corners we had that didn't beat the first man was horrific, and Southampton picked up where Bradford City left off in terms of luck: they waited for Villa to retreat into the dark cloud that envelops the club and earned a relatively easy win. The fact that they didn't have to work for their winner was a welcome bonus.

It was a better second-half performance but the same frailties are massively obvious: Villa are spirited yet limited. We're now back in the bottom three and 18 goals have been conceded in five league games. Somehow it feels like a script is being played out because all the elements are there: no confidence, no luck, little money for new players, no signings on the horizon, fans against the owner, people turning on the manager. This isn't Roy Of The Rovers, and in real life there are no eleventh hour heroes to come off the bench and save the day.

Mathematically, there's a way to go before Aston Villa are out of touch. But there are no signs our luck might be changing. The imminent returns of more experienced players might surprise us all, but currently we're sliding out of the league with a whimper.

Every corner Villa turn leads to a cul-de-sac, and if there were other options, the sack might be what Paul Lambert would get. But a key decision like that is no guarantee of a positive outcome, and results like today confirm when everything's against you, the only thing you get is nothing.

[adam#1]

This is the watershed I'm afraid, we either make a decision on the manager now or we are preparing for the Championship.
Everyone can see we need experience, Lambert has no money but he spent £20mill in the Summer on crap, he will spend it just as badly if you give him more.
.....

Presumably he spent on 'crap' because he was instructed to buy players on low wages with potential to increase their transfer value. An excellent business strategy to buy objects that have low maintenance costs and potential for large capital gains. Unless you're a football club which needs a business strategy significantly more complex and sophisticated than that being delivered by the current business crew who'd do better pursuing their business plan in the bullring market.

[black pearl of inchicore]

Failure is directly linked to Leadership...Look no further than Lerner.

[Ron Manager]

I believe that Lambert will sleep on it overnight and if he knows already he's got very little money to play with and it appears reading between the lines that is the case he will tender his resignation.

Which doesnt help in any way at all because the incoming candidate will be in the same position and will find improving the team a thankless
task probably beyond him.

Whose fault?  Lambert's if Faulkner told him exactly what he could have in terms of finance when he accepted the position

or Lerners if he changed the goalposts(as Doug would have) as the season progressed.

The only hope we have of escaping relegation is that Darren Bent is selected and goes on a scoring run which he is quite capable of doing.

No other hope at all.

[neo_Villan]

While Delph did ok today it was an insult to all the fans that went to Bradford on Tuesday to see the pairing of Delph and Bannan in the centre again today.

It was actually Delph/Westwood today.

[SoccerHQ]

The "penalty" was a total shambles even before the diving.

It was actually our corner but N'zogbia (who in fairness I thought did o.k and workrate was better than usual. He's also vastly experienced in relegation battles through playing for wigan) failed to even beat the first man. Puncheon then broke away but we actually intercepted it just as he got to the box. Must have been 3-4 opportunites to kick it upfield but no communciation at all and they all left it to each other which enabled the Southampton player to get it back and led to the penalty.

[PeterWithesShin]

Just back after some retail therapy, feck me it was cold down B6 today. So, was it a penalty as I haven't seen a replay of it?

[Lambert and Payne]

Just back after some retail therapy, feck me it was cold down B6 today. So, was it a penalty as I haven't seen a replay of it?

Check page 16

[hawkeye]

Here's a link to my match report for today: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/12-01-2013/aston-villa-vs-southampton. As it seems to wind some up when I don't post the text here, i've done that as well, but if I can ask all of you a favour - can you click on the link and rate the players via the site (you can rate the manager and the ref too) as Sean and I are getting good numbers and people from here have played a part in that.

Needless to say, feedback is appreciated:

Aston Villa Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Southampton 1

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the same old tired themes. I'm impatient of shambolic defending, hacked off with unstructured midfield, dissatisfied with overcomplicated attacks and spitting fire with incompetent officials.

I hate having my weekends ruined following a team with no desire, management with no tactical ability and an owner who must have a long-hidden vendetta against the club that's finally too overwhelming to rein in.

Needless to say, Aston Villa lost again, and it was down to a combination of slapstick and the kind of luck you get when the world isn't finished with the joke. The situation's not even worrying: let's just assume we're going down, and hold a wake for the rest of the season.

Today was the ideal opportunity to punt ourselves slightly ahead of the relegation pack and the pressure was too much. A great start went unrewarded and settled the game down in Southampton's favour, leaving them to exploit the space left by Villa's narrow midfield. Saints' full-backs were excellent and Jason Puncheon was a constant menace, but this is nothing new: it was the same when they thrashed us at St Mary's. Jay Rodriguez deserves a ban for his dive, which he won't get, but that'll be a footnote seven days from now.

Villa did play energetically and saw a late flurry create a header for Nathan Baker that hit the bar, but for the majority of the game it was piecemeal and frustrating. In flashes there were pelting runs that excited the crowd but no end product.

The amount of corners we had that didn't beat the first man was horrific, and Southampton picked up where Bradford City left off in terms of luck: they waited for Villa to retreat into the dark cloud that envelops the club and earned a relatively easy win. The fact that they didn't have to work for their winner was a welcome bonus.

It was a better second-half performance but the same frailties are massively obvious: Villa are spirited yet limited. We're now back in the bottom three and 18 goals have been conceded in five league games. Somehow it feels like a script is being played out because all the elements are there: no confidence, no luck, little money for new players, no signings on the horizon, fans against the owner, people turning on the manager. This isn't Roy Of The Rovers, and in real life there are no eleventh hour heroes to come off the bench and save the day.

Mathematically, there's a way to go before Aston Villa are out of touch. But there are no signs our luck might be changing. The imminent returns of more experienced players might surprise us all, but currently we're sliding out of the league with a whimper.

Every corner Villa turn leads to a cul-de-sac, and if there were other options, the sack might be what Paul Lambert would get. But a key decision like that is no guarantee of a positive outcome, and results like today confirm when everything's against you, the only thing you get is nothing.

please can some one tell me what is the point of this.If I want to read a badly written match report there are lots of other options.

[bertlambshank]

Here's a link to my match report for today: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/12-01-2013/aston-villa-vs-southampton. As it seems to wind some up when I don't post the text here, i've done that as well, but if I can ask all of you a favour - can you click on the link and rate the players via the site (you can rate the manager and the ref too) as Sean and I are getting good numbers and people from here have played a part in that.

Needless to say, feedback is appreciated:

Aston Villa Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Southampton 1

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the same old tired themes. I'm impatient of shambolic defending, hacked off with unstructured midfield, dissatisfied with overcomplicated attacks and spitting fire with incompetent officials.

I hate having my weekends ruined following a team with no desire, management with no tactical ability and an owner who must have a long-hidden vendetta against the club that's finally too overwhelming to rein in.

Needless to say, Aston Villa lost again, and it was down to a combination of slapstick and the kind of luck you get when the world isn't finished with the joke. The situation's not even worrying: let's just assume we're going down, and hold a wake for the rest of the season.

Today was the ideal opportunity to punt ourselves slightly ahead of the relegation pack and the pressure was too much. A great start went unrewarded and settled the game down in Southampton's favour, leaving them to exploit the space left by Villa's narrow midfield. Saints' full-backs were excellent and Jason Puncheon was a constant menace, but this is nothing new: it was the same when they thrashed us at St Mary's. Jay Rodriguez deserves a ban for his dive, which he won't get, but that'll be a footnote seven days from now.

Villa did play energetically and saw a late flurry create a header for Nathan Baker that hit the bar, but for the majority of the game it was piecemeal and frustrating. In flashes there were pelting runs that excited the crowd but no end product.

The amount of corners we had that didn't beat the first man was horrific, and Southampton picked up where Bradford City left off in terms of luck: they waited for Villa to retreat into the dark cloud that envelops the club and earned a relatively easy win. The fact that they didn't have to work for their winner was a welcome bonus.

It was a better second-half performance but the same frailties are massively obvious: Villa are spirited yet limited. We're now back in the bottom three and 18 goals have been conceded in five league games. Somehow it feels like a script is being played out because all the elements are there: no confidence, no luck, little money for new players, no signings on the horizon, fans against the owner, people turning on the manager. This isn't Roy Of The Rovers, and in real life there are no eleventh hour heroes to come off the bench and save the day.

Mathematically, there's a way to go before Aston Villa are out of touch. But there are no signs our luck might be changing. The imminent returns of more experienced players might surprise us all, but currently we're sliding out of the league with a whimper.

Every corner Villa turn leads to a cul-de-sac, and if there were other options, the sack might be what Paul Lambert would get. But a key decision like that is no guarantee of a positive outcome, and results like today confirm when everything's against you, the only thing you get is nothing.

Did you read it back to yourself before posting?
It's a bit of a mess.

[eastie]

Just back after some retail therapy, feck me it was cold down B6 today. So, was it a penalty as I haven't seen a replay of it?

Clear dive, but dreadful defending in the lead up.

[PeterWithesShin]

Just back after some retail therapy, feck me it was cold down B6 today. So, was it a penalty as I haven't seen a replay of it?

Check page 16

Cheers. Just looked at it, the cheating twunt. We'll get some good luck one day.

[eastie]

I believe that Lambert will sleep on it overnight and if he knows already he's got very little money to play with and it appears reading between the lines that is the case he will tender his resignation.

Which doesnt help in any way at all because the incoming candidate will be in the same position and will find improving the team a thankless
task probably beyond him.

Whose fault?  Lambert's if Faulkner told him exactly what he could have in terms of finance when he accepted the position

or Lerners if he changed the goalposts(as Doug would have) as the season progressed.

The only hope we have of escaping relegation is that Darren Bent is selected and goes on a scoring run which he is quite capable of doing.

No other hope at all.

Why would he resign and lose a pay off ? Maybe mutual consent could be trotted out though I guess.

[Lambert and Payne]

We should have battered their right back, he looked shaky and brittle, they were utter gash particularly at the back. How we never scored or even really looked like scoring I'll never know, sign of relegation I fear

[hawkeye]

Here's a link to my match report for today: http://pickourteam.com/premierleague/aston-villa/fansverdict/12-01-2013/aston-villa-vs-southampton. As it seems to wind some up when I don't post the text here, i've done that as well, but if I can ask all of you a favour - can you click on the link and rate the players via the site (you can rate the manager and the ref too) as Sean and I are getting good numbers and people from here have played a part in that.

Needless to say, feedback is appreciated:

Aston Villa Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Southampton 1

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the same old tired themes. I'm impatient of shambolic defending, hacked off with unstructured midfield, dissatisfied with overcomplicated attacks and spitting fire with incompetent officials.

I hate having my weekends ruined following a team with no desire, management with no tactical ability and an owner who must have a long-hidden vendetta against the club that's finally too overwhelming to rein in.

Needless to say, Aston Villa lost again, and it was down to a combination of slapstick and the kind of luck you get when the world isn't finished with the joke. The situation's not even worrying: let's just assume we're going down, and hold a wake for the rest of the season.

Today was the ideal opportunity to punt ourselves slightly ahead of the relegation pack and the pressure was too much. A great start went unrewarded and settled the game down in Southampton's favour, leaving them to exploit the space left by Villa's narrow midfield. Saints' full-backs were excellent and Jason Puncheon was a constant menace, but this is nothing new: it was the same when they thrashed us at St Mary's. Jay Rodriguez deserves a ban for his dive, which he won't get, but that'll be a footnote seven days from now.

Villa did play energetically and saw a late flurry create a header for Nathan Baker that hit the bar, but for the majority of the game it was piecemeal and frustrating. In flashes there were pelting runs that excited the crowd but no end product.

The amount of corners we had that didn't beat the first man was horrific, and Southampton picked up where Bradford City left off in terms of luck: they waited for Villa to retreat into the dark cloud that envelops the club and earned a relatively easy win. The fact that they didn't have to work for their winner was a welcome bonus.

It was a better second-half performance but the same frailties are massively obvious: Villa are spirited yet limited. We're now back in the bottom three and 18 goals have been conceded in five league games. Somehow it feels like a script is being played out because all the elements are there: no confidence, no luck, little money for new players, no signings on the horizon, fans against the owner, people turning on the manager. This isn't Roy Of The Rovers, and in real life there are no eleventh hour heroes to come off the bench and save the day.

Mathematically, there's a way to go before Aston Villa are out of touch. But there are no signs our luck might be changing. The imminent returns of more experienced players might surprise us all, but currently we're sliding out of the league with a whimper.

Every corner Villa turn leads to a cul-de-sac, and if there were other options, the sack might be what Paul Lambert would get. But a key decision like that is no guarantee of a positive outcome, and results like today confirm when everything's against you, the only thing you get is nothing.

Did you read it back to yourself before posting?
It's a bit of a mess.

I think it started badly, dipped in the middle and the least said about the ending the better.