Manchester United vs Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[PeterWithe]

You don't have to do much homework on us to see where our weakness is.  I'd play Clarke at the back instead of Bennet who isn't ready for this level by a long way.

I'm not so sure that would have made any difference last night, Valencia bullied Bennett off the ball constantly and he'd have just pushed it past Clarke and ran. A left back upgrade is a must if we survive. I happen to think Bennett will come good but I don't think he'll be strong enough again next year.

[eastie]

You don't have to do much homework on us to see where our weakness is.  I'd play Clarke at the back instead of Bennet who isn't ready for this level by a long way.

At half time i'd have settled for 5-0 such was their dominance. So, you have to give them some credit for their effort.  We also deserved to get at least one goal and we should have been playing against 10 men for most of the 2nd half.

See I think Bennett was ok last night, Lowton was bloody awful and at fault for the first goal and constantly out of position. Baker and Vlaar were both really poor in the first half as well. I think Bennett is a bit of an easy target.

I think most defences would have struggled last night , Bennett and Lowton have both shown promising signs recently and its a bit harsh to judge them on last nights performance considering the quality of the opposition- most defences would have been exposed by them.

[curiousorange]

This may not mean much, but don't forget Old Trafford can be an overwhelming place for players who have stepped up one or two divisions.

[David_Nab]

You don't have to do much homework on us to see where our weakness is.  I'd play Clarke at the back instead of Bennet who isn't ready for this level by a long way.

At half time i'd have settled for 5-0 such was their dominance. So, you have to give them some credit for their effort.  We also deserved to get at least one goal and we should have been playing against 10 men for most of the 2nd half.

See I think Bennett was ok last night, Lowton was bloody awful and at fault for the first goal and constantly out of position. Baker and Vlaar were both really poor in the first half as well. I think Bennett is a bit of an easy target.

The problem with Lowton is too much is placed on him.He bombs on in attack and yet often finds no one supporting him and has to try go alone ,if  he loses the ball its a simple ball down the line and we are exposed.The system we play doesn't help the FB the attackers are given license to roam especially N'Zog.N'zog in particular is alot like Ireland in that to get the best from him he needs a free role but then it leave us exposed elsewhere.

[Jimbo]

I asked about KEA because I genuinely didn't see the second half, I couldn't stand the pain. I hope he has improved, because whenever I've seen him recently he hasn't looked up to it.

[peter w]

And also let's not forget that the 2nd and 3rd goals were offside. not that it would have made too much difference to the result but we got caught cold in the first 90 seconds, two goals that were never going to flagged offside at Old Trafford on their night, and that pretty much was that. We could have scored, obviously so could have they, but when trying to look for positives that is exactly what Lambert can be saying to the players.

[fredm]

I think KEA was helped by the tempo of the game being vastly slower in the second half. The one fault, if that is the correct word, I have with him is that the game seems to pass him by. Perhaps this is because he has always played in a league and at international level where the speed of the game is slower than the PL. unfortunately he has not been able to have a period of matches to enable him to acclimatise to the speed of the league as the others making up our midfield are also trying to find their feet.
With regard to Bennett and Lowton I think two things are pertinent. One is that other teams full backs push on thus doubling up on them (Rafael and Valencia) and they are not getting help quick enough from elsewhere, and second, both of them need to get on the weights this summer and get some upper body strength. They are both too easily held off by physically stronger opponents.

[eastie]

@martinlaurence7: Ron Vlaar completed 100% of his 36 pass attempts vs Man United last night - the 5th most passes in a PL game without misplacing a single one

[Mortimer's Bear]

@martinlaurence7: Ron Vlaar completed 100% of his 36 pass attempts vs Man United last night - the 5th most passes in a PL game without misplacing a single one

He just needs to learn the art of defending now then.

[PeterWithesShin]

Stat time

Fabian Delph enjoyed the best figures after the defeat to Man Utd.

Delph has really come into his own these past few weeks and the stats show he was the pick of the pack, despite the loss at Old Trafford.

Delph was No.1 for interceptions with four, alongside Nathan Baker and Ashley Westwood.

Delph was No.2 for passes with sixty-six successful out of seventy-three made. Matt Lowton was No.4 with sixty successful out of sixty-five made. Michael Carrick was No.1 with eighty-five successful from ninety-five made.

Delph was No.1 for fouls suffered with three. Charles N'Zogbia was No.2 with two.

Andreas Weimann was No.1 for attacking third passes, with nineteen successful from twenty-five made. Lowton was No.2 with eighteen successful from twenty-two made. Delph was No.3 with sixteen successful from twenty-one made.

Lowton was No.3 for tackles with three successful from six made. Delph was No.4 with three successful from four made. Gabby Agbonlahor was No.5 with three successful from three made.

Ron Vlaar, Nathan Baker and Weimann were joint No.1 for blocks with one.

Karim El Ahmadi was No.2 for shots with two in total and two on target. Christian Benteke and Weimann were joint No.3 with two in total and one target. Unsurprisingly, Robin van Persie was No.1 with four in total, three on target and three goals.

Baker and Benteke were joint No.3 for chances created with two, behind Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

N'Zogbia was No.3 for take-ons with one successful from two made. Westwood was No.5 with one successful from one made.

Baker was No.2 for clearances with six successful from eight made. Vlaar was No.3 with four successful from six made. Lowton was No.4 with three in total.

Benteke was No.1 for aerial duels with six successful from nine made. Baker was No.4 with two successful from four made.

Villa's No.1 pass combination in the match was Lowton to El Ahmadi with sixteen.

No.2 was Agbonlahor to Delph and Delph to Agbonlahor with fifteen.

[alteavilla]

@martinlaurence7: Ron Vlaar completed 100% of his 36 pass attempts vs Man United last night - the 5th most passes in a PL game without misplacing a single one
[
vlaar was to mark rvp that is the plan normaly
did somebody tell him he might have the measels because he did not go near him all night
completing all your passes ok,what about tackling  and marking your man
very average player as a center half






/iquote]

[PaulWinch again]

I think the reason we didn't concede in the second half was that I took my Villa shirt off in digust at half time and replaced it with a random t shirt.

[damon loves JT]

No, it's because the wi-Fi went down in our house and I couldn't check the match thread.

[saunders_heroes]

You don't have to do much homework on us to see where our weakness is.  I'd play Clarke at the back instead of Bennet who isn't ready for this level by a long way.

At half time i'd have settled for 5-0 such was their dominance. So, you have to give them some credit for their effort.  We also deserved to get at least one goal and we should have been playing against 10 men for most of the 2nd half.

See I think Bennett was ok last night, Lowton was bloody awful and at fault for the first goal and constantly out of position. Baker and Vlaar were both really poor in the first half as well. I think Bennett is a bit of an easy target.

I think most defences would have struggled last night , Bennett and Lowton have both shown promising signs recently and its a bit harsh to judge them on last nights performance considering the quality of the opposition- most defences would have been exposed by them.

Oh please! Both our fullbacks have been woeful all season. We can't keep on giving them the benefit of the doubt. They're not good enough and they never will be. This is our worst defence in living memory and they have to take their fair share of the blame.

[saunders_heroes]

@martinlaurence7: Ron Vlaar completed 100% of his 36 pass attempts vs Man United last night - the 5th most passes in a PL game without misplacing a single one

Lies, damn lies and statistics. The thing with Vlaar is, when you really need him most he'll let you down. Another dreadful signing.