Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur Post-Match Thread

[itbrvilla]

Therein lies the crux of our problems.   For financial reasons (we assume) Lambert has been obliged to buy players with the potential to become Premiership standard.   One of his signings, Christian Benteke has adapted instantly and we have felt a huge benefit from his presence.   Others still have the jury out.   Some may make top half prem players others will not but we do not have the time to hang about for more than a week or two now to find out.   A poor run or like last year a disastrous Christmas and your season falls apart and you have to plunge young and undeveloped players into relegation dogfights.

Spot on.  The jury is still our on must of the players he's bought.

[Clampy]

I think Kozak hasn't been brilliant but you've got to give him time to settle in a new league, That being said I would put someone up front with Benteke, either Gabby or Weimann, but we cannot keep playing that 3 up front thing with Andi on the right. It just does not work and he drifts in and out of the game.

We need some width, Kick Lowton's arse and get bacuna on the right and get some bloody width

The system with three up front works well in away games but yeah at home I think the system might need tinkering. The problem is who to drop. Weimann and Benteke seem to have an understanding and we'd miss Gabby's pace if he was left out.

I suggested Bacuna in front of Lowton yesterday. I think that could work.

[LeeB]

I think Kozak hasn't been brilliant but you've got to give him time to settle in a new league, That being said I would put someone up front with Benteke, either Gabby or Weimann, but we cannot keep playing that 3 up front thing with Andi on the right. It just does not work and he drifts in and out of the game.

We need some width, Kick Lowton's arse and get bacuna on the right and get some bloody width

The system with three up front works well in away games but yeah at home I think the system might need tinkering. The problem is who to drop. Weimann and Benteke seem to have an understanding and we'd miss Gabby's pace if he was left out.

I suggested Bacuna in front of Lowton yesterday. I think that could work.

Get Bacuna and Sylla in the middle, and start playing the game in the oppositions half.

[Ads]

November looks like the month of milk and honey. If we end up losing the two home games in that month, then I wont be best pleased!

I think Lambert has been too loyal to a few players; Westowwod in particular. Time for Lowton and Bennett to come back in, Bacuna into the middle, with Sylla.

I would then bring Tonev in to play in the hole and have Benteke and Gabby up top. Alternatively, you can revert to a 442, with Bacuna wide right. Andi, Luna, Westwood and KEA haven't cut it the past few games. The squad is there, so use it.

[django]

I thought we weren't too bad yesterday. We didn't create much and neither did they. I thought we worked really well closing them down and limiting their space, once they scored their second it opened up and they created more but I thought that goal was against the run of play.

They have better players than us, they played slightly better than us. Nothing to get too down about.

About Kozak, it's too early to really judge him as a player, he's only had a few touches in total, but it doesn't look like there's any point playing him in the Benteke role, he's a passenger there.

[andyh]

Reading Dave W's write up in the 'pressed on' thread, I think he has exactly nailed it with this statement.

'They came to Villa Park on a grey Sunday afternoon, achieved a routine 2-0 win'

Sadly, for me, this just sums up our home form of the last 3 years.
Too many teams now come to Villa Park and achieve a 'routine win', it really is depressing.

[dekko]

I thought we weren't too bad yesterday. We didn't create much and neither did they. I thought we worked really well closing them down and limiting their space, once they scored their second it opened up and they created more but I thought that goal was against the run of play.

They have better players than us, they played slightly better than us. Nothing to get too down about.

About Kozak, it's too early to really judge him as a player, he's only had a few touches in total, but it doesn't look like there's any point playing him in the Benteke role, he's a passenger there.

This pretty much ^^^

I imagine Lambert will play a similar system next home game, because it works better with Benteke in the side and also Lambert's like that.  However Cardiff and Sunderland at home in November are the perfect opportunity to try a few new things out, and more importantly smack the shit out of them (because neither are that good).

[Ads]

Spurs have a good chance of finishing in the top 4 this season. They will certainly finish in the top six, as will most of the sides we have had the misfortune of playing in the opening 8 games.

The difference yesterday was that they had a touch of quality in the midfield, which you would expect from spending £100 million. We look what we are, a mid-table side. We are capable of beating teams above us in the table, in the same way that we're likely to succumb to a few inept performances along the way as well.

Until we get to the summer and no longer have to spend £20 million spread over 5-6 players to re-build the squad, as we have done the past two seasons, but instead buy two or three at £8-10 million a pop and the quality that a player at that price insinuates, then we won't be regularly beating the likes of Arsenal and Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and its unfair and unrealistic to expect us to be able to do that now; we just finished in the bottom six. Progress will be finishing 12-8th.

For the time being though, we canc ertainly help ourselves and the likes of Kozak by playing the their strengths. Isolating the bloke and lumping it up to him from the back isn't going to work.

[Rudy65]

Someone mentioned earlier on the thread that the most shocking thing about losing again is that it doesn't hurt as much as it used to.  It's getting the same for me and may be explained by either a) I'm getting old(er), or b) I go to VP more in hope than expectation these days.  Then I heard a shocking stat on MOTD last night so I had a quick look at Statto- and sure enough we've only won 10 of our last 42 home games (4 under TSM, 5 last season, and 1 so far this season), scoring an average of just 1.1 goals a game. That really is depressing and needs to get resolved. I'm not sure whether there is a nervousness in the players at VP, and for most of the game yesterday the atmosphere was again very subdued except for the 10 minutes or so after CB came on. If we could get the atmosphere to how it was against Citeh it would help, but it's very much a chicken and egg situation both with the atmosphere and results. Worrying that we're depending on our away form to stay in the top flight

Your point about the atmosphere is spot on. The thing is these days most fans need something to get vocal and excited about inc me. When I see the team set up for damage limitation like yesterday, Liverpool and Citeh, then its hard to get too excited. Why start the second halves so well in these three games when we play so poorly in the first half.

Lambert is staring to hack me off with this approach. Why not give it a go from the off, get the crowd going and then maybe score the first goal of the match, rather than be constantly chasing the game. I bet we would be the only team in the prem who still felt Man U could beat us on their current form.

Lambert seems to accept defeat before he starts. His post match view was embarrassing, claiming it was a tight match which could have gone either way. Who is he kidding? Was on the Guardian web site last night and all the neutrals were right in thinking we looked poor and were there for damage limitation. Nearly as bad as McLeish in my view

As others have said the lack of width is a joke. The front starting three dont work together and KEA and Westwood isnt the answer. Sylla should be starting instead of KEA.

No doubt Everton will be the same

[olaftab]

November looks like the month of milk and honey. If we end up losing the two home games in that month, then I wont be best pleased!
I think Lambert has been too loyal to a few players; Westowwod in particular. Time for Lowton and Bennett to come back in, Bacuna into the middle, with Sylla. I would then bring Tonev in to play in the hole and have Benteke and Gabby up top. Alternatively, you can revert to a 442, with Bacuna wide right. Andi, Luna, Westwood and KEA haven't cut it the past few games. The squad is there, so use it.

So pleased that it's Lambert and not you who picks our team

[Ads]

I think anybody accusing Lambert of being a negative manager hasn't been watching him.

[Loxton01]

I always feel it is better the day after the game so as to let the dust settle so to speak.

For me yesterday Lambert put us out not to lose and for the first 30 mins it worked. Neither side looked like scoring. They then scored and there lay the problem how do we break them down. We had a good 5 mins with the Benteke header and then they got the second and that was that.

Clearly as fans we have to understand where we are now and where we were. On the same games played last season we would have 4 points and a much worse goal difference to know. Last season against spurs we got trounced 4-0 and they had 15 corners in one half alone. With the budget we have this season is going to be very much work in progress and try to continue to improve.

As someone referred to in their post earlier we are no longer buying players of proven premiership quality we are buying players with the potential. So far Benteke has far exceeded expectations whilst many of the other players have shown they can cut it but are miles away from the top six.

To me we have two players of top six quality Guzan and Benteke so to expect to compete with these sides week in week out is just not going to happen. In time if the side stays together its possible but unlikely.

From watching yesterday for me the game was won and lost in the middle of the park. We have two out of the three players who never go forward with only Delph ever prepared to get past a player. Away from home I agree with it at Home I just cant justify it. We play Cardiff and Sunderland at home in November and we MUST play only one of KEA or Westwood we cannot play both.

I dont agree with many on here who want 4-4-2. 4-4-2 is a system of the old ages no team plays it successfuly anymore. 1 up front is the new tried and trusted system. What we miss is the quality number 10 who links the midfield to the front players. Hits Gabby and Weimann down the flanks, plays the slide rule ball to Benteke.

Thats what this team so desperately needs. None of Westwood, Sylla, Delph or KEA will ever be that player. The only player who I think could and I stress could play that role is Tonev. However is he good enough only time will tell for me probably not but he must be given that chance.

Bacuna is showing real promise whilst Luna must improve defensively. This season he has been shown up by Hatem Ben Arfa and now Townsend both players just wanting to cut inside and he allows them far too easily. You can always excuse a bad game and mistakes its how you learn from it and he cannot afford a similar display.

This team is continuing to learn and over the last few years has cut its cloth. A top 10-12 finish is the best we can aspire for. What Lambert has to improve now is playing at Home against the Sunderlands, Cardiff etc. Failure there will lead us into another relegation battle

[PaulWinch again]

What exactly is going on with Helenius? He doesn't appear to have much faith from the manager.

[eastie]

What exactly is going on with Helenius? He doesn't appear to have much faith from the manager.

I'm not sure what role he was bought to fit into to be honest , he showed some nice touches in pre season and a couple of lovely assists but I don't quite see what position  lambert sees him fitting into .

[Rudy65]

I think anybody accusing Lambert of being a negative manager hasn't been watching him.

So you think he is positive? On what basis?

Displays against citeh, pool, bar codes, spuds, hull would suggest otherwise. Like others on here I got carried away after the first two games but otherwise we are as poor as last season