Aston Villa v Sunderland Post-Match Thread

[Chris Smith]

He looks like a forward that is disappointed in his own form and feels he is letting down his team. That's what I saw. Someone who for the first time since arriving at the club finds things aren't going all his way. He needs to find the solution. It's the mark of every great player.

He just looked like a poor player today. I can't really ascribe anything more than that to it, he just looked off his game.

If the rest of the team were playing well, it'd be more worrying, though. We're not though, we're creating next to nothing. I can imagine how that'd dishearten pretty much any player.

He looks totally lacking in confidence. I think back to last season and the way he bullied defenders, won almost every header and looked likely to score any time he got near the penalty area. Then I compare to his performance yesterday where he seemed to be hiding and was easily handled by Brown and O'Shea. He needs a goal.

It's one of the perennial problems at Villa Park, the inability to break down a team that stick ten men behind the ball. There were one or two decent enough individual performances and one or two shockers but overall it was just dull.

[Ads]

Its been six years, after three relegation battles and three top six finishes, but we are back in mid-table and its just not very exciting.

I recommend that you attend home games hungover, it has a numbing and calming effect.

[aj2k77]

Its been six years, after three relegation battles and three top six finishes, but we are back in mid-table and its just not very exciting.

I recommend that you attend home games hungover, it has a numbing and calming effect.

Out of intrest when was the last time we had 3 relegation battles in a row?

[Ads]

Usually its one brush with 16th and then back to 6th. This cycle though is taking a long time to run its course; 12/13, 11/12, 10/11; I cannot recall three previous times where we have struggled so consistently.

Paulie said after the Newcastle hammering "we will be feeling the effects of O'Neill long after these next few games". I don't think even he believed that it would take three seasons before we brought the wage deficit into line and began to plod up the league again.

[Chris Smith]

Usually its one brush with 16th and then back to 6th. This cycle though is taking a long time to run its course; 12/13, 11/12, 10/11; I cannot recall three previous times where we have struggled so consistently.

Paulie said after the Newcastle hammering "we will be feeling the effects of O'Neill long after these next few games". I don't think even he believed that it would take three seasons before we brought the wage deficit into line and began to plod up the league again.

Plod is an apt word. It's not particularly exciting but, hopefully, any progress from here will be built on solid foundations.

[rob_bridge]

I'm coming to believe that Tekkers has been "found out". O'Shea completely dominated him today.

Being dominated by O'Shea who is the ultimate 'solid pro' is worrying. He didn't get a sniff.

[rob_bridge]

Concentrated on defending their short corners and realising how crap Craig Gardner actually is but not much else!

Craig Gardner is not crap, unless he must be because he is a nose. I was surprised that they took him off as he was one of two who looked like scoring.

yeah thought he had a good game for Sunderland.

Compared to our midfield he had a good game.

[Clampy]

Lambert summed it up in one word, frustrating. We just needed a goal to open them up but we didn't really look like scoring it.

As for Benteke, he's just off form and nothing more. He's coming back from his first ever injury and he's finding it tough. Once he get's a goal,  he'll be fine.

[Ron Manager]

I can understand that we may make slow progress up the table to a position most of us expect to be in'that is 5th-8th. Without capital we cannot expect to go any higher. Everton are our benchmark in every sense.Except they could afford Lukaku's loan fee(and wages) and we couldnt.Both Moyes and Martinez have been extremely good value for that club.

On reflection Gerard Houlier could have been the best manager we have had in years if his health had stood up(it didnt) or if he had given up his other job as Tourism CEO for the city of Liverpool (he didnt.)

Unlike Lambert ,Mcleish and MON(mainly) he appeared to have the right contacts and the ability to attract top players

I really had high hopes for Lambert. I thought we would see a couple of highly skilled technically adept German players in. Players I had never heard of, but in the end nothing transpired.

We have relied on Benteke far too much and now he has had a dramatic loss of form we have very little to excite us.

You know what I miss the days of Ron Atkinson and Graham Taylor and yes MON.

Nothing to look forward to now.

[Axl Rose]

I miss Lowton and Bennett and their ability to link play on the wings, to get forward and to actually cross a ball. Yes, they (mainly Bennett) make mistakes and yes, Bennett doesn't seem to be that popular...BUT he was in our team for most games at the end of last year and looked like he was improving. Get him fit and get him back in. Lowton too. I don't like Luna much, if he was actually any good, he would be playing for Sevilla. We all know that, surely.

Out with KEA and lets inject some pace into the team, some trickery, a few new (and good) players in January please. None of this 'we can't compete with (insert tin pot clubs name here)' and bring some atmosphere back to Villa Park. Our last home game of the season we played Chelsea in May. I thought we played excellent football.

More of that please, Lambert.

I did not watch the game yesterday so cannot really comment on the performance. I will let those who were there do that. But to be truthfull Axl, i really do not see that much being done in January, if anything at all. I hope i am wrong by the way.

I hope you're wrong too mate, but I fear you could be right. You never know, though.

[Virgil Caine]

Although frustrated by the game yesterday I am beginning to think that the fault does not lie with the players but with the level of coaching - I cannot see an improvement in a general level of ball control, mobility off the ball, variance in corners, possession in key areas, running into channels and decisive and defence splitting passing. I will admit that on the positive side the defence looks a more cohesive unit so the extra work being done there is paying off. What is a concern is that there appears from my viewpoint a degree of lethargy and possibly a lack of developed fitness.

[olaftab]

Concentrated on defending their short corners and realising how crap Craig Gardner actually is but not much else!

Craig Gardner is not crap, unless he must be because he is a nose. I was surprised that they took him off as he was one of two who looked like scoring.

yeah thought he had a good game for Sunderland.

Going by his passing and shooting I thought he had a good game ....for us!

[olaftab]

I miss Lowton and Bennett and their ability to link play on the wings, to get forward and to actually cross a ball. Yes, they (mainly Bennett) make mistakes and yes, Bennett doesn't seem to be that popular...BUT he was in our team for most games at the end of last year and looked like he was improving. Get him fit and get him back in. Lowton too. I don't like Luna much, if he was actually any good, he would be playing for Sevilla. We all know that, surely.
Out with KEA and lets inject some pace into the team, some trickery, a few new (and good) players in January please. None of this 'we can't compete with (insert tin pot clubs name here)' and bring some atmosphere back to Villa Park. Our last home game of the season we played Chelsea in May. I thought we played excellent football.
More of that please, Lambert.

Our team in not good enough at the moment to do both ie score goals and keep clean sheets. Lambert can do one or the other. Last quarter of last season was do or die and we attacked and succeeded however whilst that is exciting and fun it is not a long term sustainable policy. I was personally ok with that but evidence is that successful teams are based on good defence.
And Nik yes I was pissed off with " we can't compete with **** ****" comment.

[Breezeblock]

Sign him up!

We had God on our side today J.

Yeah 'cos he's only standing about 5 yards off-side when the ball is played to him.  Mind you, the number of off-sides that fucking grey-haired lino missed below us was obscene.

[Irish villain]

I can understand that we may make slow progress up the table to a position most of us expect to be in'that is 5th-8th. Without capital we cannot expect to go any higher. Everton are our benchmark in every sense.Except they could afford Lukaku's loan fee(and wages) and we couldnt.Both Moyes and Martinez have been extremely good value for that club.

On reflection Gerard Houlier could have been the best manager we have had in years if his health had stood up(it didnt) or if he had given up his other job as Tourism CEO for the city of Liverpool (he didnt.)

Unlike Lambert ,Mcleish and MON(mainly) he appeared to have the right contacts and the ability to attract top players

I really had high hopes for Lambert. I thought we would see a couple of highly skilled technically adept German players in. Players I had never heard of, but in the end nothing transpired.

We have relied on Benteke far too much and now he has had a dramatic loss of form we have very little to excite us.

You know what I miss the days of Ron Atkinson and Graham Taylor and yes MON.

Nothing to look forward to now.

I know how you feel mate. I would add Little and Gregory to that list. 1996-2002, we were stacked full of potential and never out of the top eight. It just has felt like our stock as fallen really far and as though those we once competed with are too far ahead now to be ever caught.

I don't think Houllier was the right manager for us though. Maybe as a DoF but not a manager. I also thought Lambert's transfer business would be more progressive than it has been. I also didn't quite anticipate how bad we would be technically this season and also how direct.

It's just frustrating watching us, we are so ordinary for a club that had Champion's League aspirations just a few years ago and are now somewhat lucky to be still in the division. How we stayed up the McLeish year is still a mystery to me.