Ongoing Defensive Frailties

[peter w]

He is poor aerially though.

[Mazrim]

Baker? Vlaar isn't great in the air but Baker is pretty good.

[Ron Manager]

Baker? Vlaar isn't great in the air but Baker is pretty good.

Bakers physically strong in the air. He could be big success this season. Ron Vlaar doesnt excel at any aspect of his defensive game.

[Clampy]

I like Baker a lot but he does have a habit of picking up niggly injuries. I don't think Vlaar is as bad as some people make out but that said,  i'd be a bit happier if Lambert brought in another centre half before the window closes because i'm not convinced about Clark as back up. Personally i'd have given him a few games in midfield this pre-season because I think that's where we'd see the best of him.

[Concrete John]

I look at Vlaar, Okore, Clark and Baker and don't really think any of them are bad players, but then none are outstanding players either (with the noted proviso that we haven't really seen enough of Okore yet).  There is probably a decent partnership within them, so it's up to Lambert to find it.

Like I said before, they don't have to be exceptional, just stop gifting sides soft goals.

[not3bad]

Of course it argued that it doesn't matter what players comprise the backline, Villa will always have a leaky defense while Lambert is in charge because that is an inherent weakness in his managerial style.

[andyh]

I watched the game online on Saturday, and must say I thought defensively, second half, we were shocking.
There was very little composure or calmness, especially in the middle of the back 4. Everything that we have deal with has an air of desperation or panic about it.
And, it seems that both full full backs were drifting inside a bit too much.

[Matt Collins]

The absence of replays on AVTV made it hard for me to tell what was going wrong with the defence, but something clearly was. Vlaar got himself into a right mess twice in the first half and put in a poor challenge for their first.

But while he got better in the second I thought our shape was really bad in the second half and they got in behind us easily without too much trouble

It may be that having two new players in there is a bit too much. So might it be Okore or Luna but not both to begin with? I like the look of Luna as a footballer, but think that I might play baker at lb and Okore alongside vlaar in the first couple of games.

Don't want to sound pessimistic but there's a chance we could really get turned over in one of our first three games, even if we play well going forwards.

It still looks to be the worst villa defence I've seen

[RussellC]

I agree Matt. I really like Guzan, but he still worries me a lot. Remember how close we came to throwing away the lead at Norwich in the last minute because he came for a long-ball that he got nowhere near? Similarly, I think Lowton is one of the best footballer's in our side. However, the one area he probably needs to work on most is defending! Both our LBs look to be decent going forward, but suspect defensively. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Clark or Baker playing at left-back in a fair few games next season.

[PeterWithesShin]

He worries you a lot because he came for 1 ball and missed it?

[RussellC]

He worries you a lot because he came for 1 ball and missed it?

No, he worries me in general. I don't think I've ever seen him confidently control his box when we've been defending a set-piece.

[Monty]

I think Guzan controls his penalty area better than any other keeper in the league. His catching is sensational.

[PeterWithesShin]

He worries you a lot because he came for 1 ball and missed it?

No, he worries me in general. I don't think I've ever seen him confidently control his box when we've been defending a set-piece.

I think he does, more than most keepers. Despite how many we conceded last year, especially from set pieces, i'm struggling to think of many where you could lay the blame with him.

[Clampy]

He won our Player of the Season so he wasn't that bad.

[RussellC]

Maybe I'm being unfair on him, and my view is distorted by the defence playing in front of him.