Aston Villa v Southampton Post-Match Thread

[Bottom Right 89]

one  good point , thats the first Prem game we have lost since last year .

and we restricted them to one goal, that's almost a clean sheet. The only way is up......

[john2710]

Yes 4-2-4 doesn't work or supply chances.

Didn't play 424,played 4-2-3-1 in the first half,then in the 2nd became 424. First half a shambles.

Whatever formation we play we are far too open. The problem is that the full backs get no cover, countless times over recent matches we see the full backs exposed which drags a centre half over to cover them. On other occasions we see the full backs in the centre or being caught too far forward. Whatever team we play or formation we need to be set up correctly. Every point gained now is vital.

[JUAN PABLO]

Can Holman grow some bollocks please , that half hearted challenge from Villas corner before soton got the dodgy pen was pathetic.

[saunders_heroes]

Delph improved 2nd half but I just can't forgive him for failing to clear the ball at the penalty incident. The ball was at his feet and he dithered. Unforgivable fuck-up.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Just play 4 4 fucking 2

Lowton Vlaar Baker Warnock
N'Zogbia Westwood Ireland Agbonlahor
Weimann Benteke
.

That's a good attacking formation and a good selection.
The only thing I would change is Ireland for an incoming 'Midfield General.'

[danlanza]

Watching the penalty live I thought it was a penalty. Watching the replay I could see it was cheating of the highest order.

The trouble is these things are done at speed  and I didnt see Halseys position. But he gave it and thats that.

We have in 2013 the technology (I think) for the ref to carry a device that would enable him to get an instant reply of a contenious incident.

The ref would hold up, say a green card, to inform the players that he is going to do this and that the players must not come within 20 feet of him whilst he reviews said incident.

But it would seem the Refs do not want any technology interferring with their job. This is wrong.

Rodrigrez is now a marked man, like Bale is, in the refs little black book

He should have been sent off (not just booked) and banned for a month.

I dont believe anything will ever be done about blatant cheating .

If nothing is done about blatant cheating then are the fans who pay a lot of money to follow their team just paying to watch people throw themselves to the floor ? It has become a disgraceful part of the game and something needs to be done about it. The ref alone cannot have his eyes on everything and he should be backed up by some sort of technology. It was posted earlier that if it had been Benteke then we would have taken the win. It would have left a sour taste in most Villa fans mouths though, i am sure.
If we want to watch people throwing themselves to the floor and feigning injury then why don't we watch fucking wrestling ffs. Thousands of pounds a week in wages, to decieve a ref, the fans and the game of football, every game has one or more of these incidents and it should be stamped out. It is ruining our game and it is a disgrace.

[Fernando Partridge]

Delph improved 2nd half but I just can't forgive him for failing to clear the ball at the penalty incident. The ball was at his feet and he dithered. Unforgivable fuck-up.

Well quite right he did dither and provide a sjhocking attempted clearance  however I also saw  Stevens who was an offender at dithering in clearing the ball as Rodriguez came in and fell to ground.

http://www.footytube.com/video/aston-villa-v-southampton-151696?ref=wv_relbox

I think retrospective bans-a 1 match suspension- can come in for such incidents. I also thought he-stevens- must have touched him. When its clear dive like that players be brought to book. In that way at least blatant diving will be reduced.

[andyh]

Diving, cheating, penalties are all part of the modern game. You get some for you, you get some against you.
Don't let yesterday's incident conveniently cover over the fact that we are shit and in the shit.
Don't let if deflect from the fact that we have put ourselves in this position, not dodgy refereeing decisions.

[PeterWithe]

Benteke has, in the last few games, done some horenous diving, we didn't get them, Soton did.

[supertom]

Our defence was typically piss poor. As awful as the penalty decision was, if our backline are gonna run around like headless chickens, you're more prone to giving the ref the option to give a poor decision like that, or indeed give away a warranted pen. Everyone, to a man, for their goal, was poor. Spinning around dizzily like it was Lionel Messi weaving his way through the defence. Anytime you go to ground in the box you risk a decision like that. It was a dive, it was a poor decision but we put ourselves in that position and we didn't play well enough against Southampton to warrant anything less than what we got.
I really can't complain. It's just dire at the moment.
Even under McLeish we've never ever looked as disorganised as we have this season. I mean defensively we were great last season but largely it was down to our fullbacks and Collins persistently giving away set pieces and Pens in dangerous areas or just diving around like maniacs. It was more personel than organisation IMO.
We've got no leaders on the pitch and no leaders off it. Lambert can't organise. There's no coaches who can organise and right now we look by a long way the most poorly put together shambles of a side in the top flight. QPR are improving now under Redknapp. Southampton and Reading have championship sides and will struggle, but at least seem well drilled in what they're trying to do. Wigan look haphazard at the back as always and their system leaves them prone, but Martinez always seems to do the business in the final stretch.
We're in trouble. To be honest I think we're going down. I'd sack Lambert in and bring in someone more experienced in the interim to try and pull us away. If it doesn't work, it makes little difference. We can't get any worse. At least if someone can come in, bring in 1-2 players before the windows out, it'll give us a shot.

[JUAN PABLO]

Delph improved 2nd half but I just can't forgive him for failing to clear the ball at the penalty incident. The ball was at his feet and he dithered. Unforgivable fuck-up.

it did differ and the reflected shot was a little unlucky but Stephens touch was awful and to come from a Villa corner is shocking.  How bad were our corners , I thought Nzog looked a threat when he had the ball outside the box but his corners were shocking.

[lordmcgrath5]

I would take soton's manager over PL at this rate

I was already thinking this before the game....

[Risso]

I would take soton's manager over PL at this rate

I was already thinking this before the game....

I'd take any other Premier League manager, and most from the Championship too.

[brian green]

What it boils down to is the grip the FA has on the game and which it will not see threatened.   They oppose any form of technology which does not involve more referees because the referees represent the FA where it really matters, on the field of play.   They see technology as a watering down of their authority.

It would be the easiest thing in the world to have the ultimate referee in the stand with a bank of monitors able to make a sound audible to the whole crowd indicating a second look at an important decision like a penalty or a sending off or a Suarez hand ball.   It would only take seconds and it would cleanse the game of referee conning which is ruining the modern game.

In horse racing "winners" can be disqualified and prize money and trophies removed retrospectively.   Photo finishes take a few seconds in all but a tiny minority of cases.   Because of these things, horse racing which has the potential to be totally corrupt is kept clean.   The Jockey Club (latterly the British Horseracing Authority) embraced technology.   The Football Association resists it.

[Ron Manager]

And like I said nothing will ever change and if you all think about it whats the point of football if players are allowed to cheat?