Aston Villa v Bradford City Post-Match Thread

[JM82]

Phil Dowd 

In all seriousness, I think it's down to a lack of a genuine captain as much as the boss. He can do what he wants at training but there is nobody in a Villa shirt who will drag the rest by the scruff and take the game.

[brian green]

Spot on Lee.   Not only are they not very good players, not only are they not very big players, not only are they badly coached players, they are players who panic when the opposition scores a goal.   In all my many years of following Villa I have NEVER seen a team so mentally weak.   My only exception to the charge of mental weakness in which I include the owner, the manager and the CEO is Stephen Ireland who is not mentally weak, he is mentally AWOL.

[NeilH]

What staggers me is that there is no a single player in the entire team with a set of cojones. It’s just pathetic, the absolute lack of leadership across the park. All I could think last night (as the pea sized testicular team crumbled once more) was how we needed a Teale, a Richardson or a Bosnich. Someone with a giant set of busters, who’d grab the game by the scruff of its neck and scream ‘they’re a fu**ing 4th Div team for gods sake’

All the other calamitous tactical decisions and comedy club management aside, the first thing that should be done this morning is to find someone with fight, as the endless capitulation and subsequent headless chicken response is more than pathetic, it’s simply unbecoming.

[Mortimer's Bear]

What staggers me is that there is no a single player in the entire team with a set of cojones. It’s just pathetic, the absolute lack of leadership across the park. All I could think last night (as the pea sized testicular team crumbled once more) was how we needed a Teale, a Richardson or a Bosnich. Someone with a giant set of busters, who’d grab the game by the scruff of its neck and scream ‘they’re a fu**ing 4th Div team for gods sake’

All the other calamitous tactical decisions and comedy club management aside, the first thing that should be done this morning is to find someone with fight, as the endless capitulation and subsequent headless chicken response is more than pathetic, it’s simply unbecoming.

I thought having Vlaar back would instill some leadership back into the team but there was nothing.

[DB]

We need better quality and strength in midfield - Bannan is just shit, Delph is slightly better but still no-where near the quality we need, but it doesn't look like he will buy. As soon as their goal went in heads dropped, Lambert must see that we just cannot keep a clean sheet?
Also, please play with width, how many time did the full-back get the ball, look up and there was nothing in front of them so they either went back or passed inside?
Some of them are clearly strruggling, please bring back the older squad players.

[DerHammer]

FUCK OFF ASTON VILLA!! JUST FUCK OFF.  that is all

[martin o`who??]

The worst part about it is , Bradford wanted us in the draw, got us, and beat us fair and square, what does that say about Aston Villa when even a fourth division side dont rate us. We are an insult to the Football club at the moment. Where is it all going to end?.

[Kingthing]

I've been to about 13 games this season and only seen us win two, Swindon and Bradford! sign of things to come ?

[rob_bridge]

We need better quality and strength in midfield - Bannan is just shit, Delph is slightly better but still no-where near the quality we need, but it doesn't look like he will buy. As soon as their goal went in heads dropped, Lambert must see that we just cannot keep a clean sheet?
Also, please play with width, how many time did the full-back get the ball, look up and there was nothing in front of them so they either went back or passed inside?
Some of them are clearly strruggling, please bring back the older squad players.

Agree but which ones? Ireland no thanks. CNZ see Ireland. Hutton so bad even TSM sent him away from Forest. Given ahead of Guzan - no thanks. Dunne not fit yet but will play.

Bent to play ahead of Benteke - not in my book as not the problem. Playing 4-4-2 with our sqaud is however.

Seems the only one left is Warnock - well if we're pinning our hopes on him then we are Sheffield Wednesday Mk II

[Villafirst]

Lambert out. Sorry, just not good enough tactically and can't organise or motivate the players. Get RDM in before Friday - we might just have a chance of survival, otherwise we're gone come May.

[oldtimernow]

Corners are our problem for sure

As I walked home last night I thought if I were the manager I would spend as much time after normal training practising defending corners till they got at least 10,20 or 30 right......

but then I remembered who do they train against because our forwards are just as crap at attacking them

[arnie66]

Here's the thing......

Most of us on here (if not all of us) don't have a millionaire lifestyle to fall back on, or the knowledge that if we fuck up there's a big pay-off and probably another massive contract somewhere else to come straight away. 

All we have is Villa

This team has given me some of the greatest moments of my life......and some of the worst

Right now I am hurting badly and I have no idea how much deeper the pain is going to get

But we go again !!!!!!!!!!!

[Fin Feds Dad]

This has got to be the lowest I have felt since supporting the club.

Its embarrassing - last week they got done 4-1 by Crewe in the Johnsons Paint trophy.

There is no shape, formation or continuity to Lamberts tactics - the shape and personnel of each team differs from week to week, game to game.

Bennett, Clark, Bannan, Ireland, Gabby all nowhere near good enough - Warnock is way better than Bennett , who got battered both games by Zavon Hines (not good enough for West Ham) - he gave away the corner that led to their goal when he first started challenging on the half way line.

Benteke - cant head the ball to save his life - absolutely no control on the direction of the headers. One wonder strike against the Baggies does not equate to 12 missed sitters.

We are now 23 days into the transfer window - with absolutely no sign of any incoming players.

Its stinks - we are gone - and will do a Leeds / Portsmouth - mark my words.

[brian green]

We talked about something similar on the way home.  The whole midfield is physically and mentally made of tissue paper but one thing he could do immediately is go out and get somebody, anybody, who is a six foot five fifteen stone centre back whose job it is to wipe out the opposition at corners and set pieces.   If we could stop shipping goals from that route we might be half way to being able to defend competently.   Not well, just competently.

[JD]

Never mind eh, we'll no doubt pick ourselves up and go again.

I don't feel like picking myself up. I just feel like sitting in a dark room and crying. What have we ever done to deserve the last two years?

Even my friends who take the piss when Villa lose (usually) feel sorry for me at the moment.

I hate everything about Villa at the moment.

I will say congratulations to Bradford though. Their players, manager, staff and fans will have a great day out at the Final regardless of what the result is.