Aston Villa v Manchester United Post-Match Thread

[supertom]

Luna probably needs time some foreign players often do. People were saying how poor Vlaar was last season and now we're missing him.

Vlaar probably would have settled quicker without his injury last season. I wouldn't say he was poor either, more disappointingly average, but when you look at it, without him last season we were woeful. Without him this season, again, woeful. He's become a key player.
I don't see that potential in Luna. I'm not sure he's got what it takes in this league. His ability on the ball is quite disappointing too, given he's a Spaniard.

[eastie]

Luna probably needs time some foreign players often do. People were saying how poor Vlaar was last season and now we're missing him.

Vlaar probably would have settled quicker without his injury last season. I wouldn't say he was poor either, more disappointingly average, but when you look at it, without him last season we were woeful. Without him this season, again, woeful. He's become a key player.
I don't see that potential in Luna. I'm not sure he's got what it takes in this league. His ability on the ball is quite disappointing too, given he's a Spaniard.

Yes, Vlaar was a Dutch international too with proven pedigree whereas luna has been loaned out  and achieved little.

[supertom]

Luna probably needs time some foreign players often do. People were saying how poor Vlaar was last season and now we're missing him.

Vlaar probably would have settled quicker without his injury last season. I wouldn't say he was poor either, more disappointingly average, but when you look at it, without him last season we were woeful. Without him this season, again, woeful. He's become a key player.
I don't see that potential in Luna. I'm not sure he's got what it takes in this league. His ability on the ball is quite disappointing too, given he's a Spaniard.

Yes, Vlaar was a Dutch international too with proven pedigree whereas luna has been loaned out  and achieved little.

I wouldn't have a problem with Tony as a back up. Playing week in, week out is above him at the moment. What we need is a player similar to Vlaar's level who plays left back. Someone who can come in and compete in this league and also teach Moon and Bennett a thing or two.

[eastie]

Luna probably needs time some foreign players often do. People were saying how poor Vlaar was last season and now we're missing him.

Vlaar probably would have settled quicker without his injury last season. I wouldn't say he was poor either, more disappointingly average, but when you look at it, without him last season we were woeful. Without him this season, again, woeful. He's become a key player.
I don't see that potential in Luna. I'm not sure he's got what it takes in this league. His ability on the ball is quite disappointing too, given he's a Spaniard.

Yes, Vlaar was a Dutch international too with proven pedigree whereas luna has been loaned out  and achieved little.

I wouldn't have a problem with Tony as a back up. Playing week in, week out is above him at the moment. What we need is a player similar to Vlaar's level who plays left back. Someone who can come in and compete in this league and also teach Moon and Bennett a thing or two.

I miss bouma.

[supertom]

Luna probably needs time some foreign players often do. People were saying how poor Vlaar was last season and now we're missing him.

Vlaar probably would have settled quicker without his injury last season. I wouldn't say he was poor either, more disappointingly average, but when you look at it, without him last season we were woeful. Without him this season, again, woeful. He's become a key player.
I don't see that potential in Luna. I'm not sure he's got what it takes in this league. His ability on the ball is quite disappointing too, given he's a Spaniard.

Yes, Vlaar was a Dutch international too with proven pedigree whereas luna has been loaned out  and achieved little.

I wouldn't have a problem with Tony as a back up. Playing week in, week out is above him at the moment. What we need is a player similar to Vlaar's level who plays left back. Someone who can come in and compete in this league and also teach Moon and Bennett a thing or two.

I miss bouma.

Free agent Eastie!

[SamTheMouse]

I thought the best player we've had in that position over the last few years was Luke Young, and he was notionally a right-back, which says it all.

[pauliewalnuts]

I thought the best player we've had in that position over the last few years was Luke Young, and he was notionally a right-back, which says it all.

We've had such problems with full backs in recent years, with only sporadic outbreaks of stability. Especially right backs.

MON's funny thing he had about right backs, for example. Not so much who he picked to play there, but the way most of his substitutions entailed a change there (on 75 minutes).

[supertom]

I thought the best player we've had in that position over the last few years was Luke Young, and he was notionally a right-back, which says it all.

Luke was a solid, reliable player. Again, he represented the bad side in O Neill though, because we paid 5 million for Young, when we could have got him for half that a year earlier.

A bit of experience who could cover both full-back slots would be good.

[Fuse]

Luna doesnt look like he can tackle to me. He has let players glide past him time and time again this season. I think he is only good going forward. In the PL you need to do both.

Are we completely devoid of a decent left back at the club? What about the reserves/kids?

When was the last time we had a truly decent Premier League player come from the reserves/kids?
They're not good enough in my opinion. This is what happens when you cut back so hard you have to rely on reserve players, cheap foreigners and lower league fodder. The proof is in the pudding, so they say.

Disagree with this. Gabby, Weimann, Clark are decent and from the academy. Certainly better than the standard of what Lambert has bought in vs. Luna, Helenius, Bowery, KEA, Sylla, Bennett that have probably cost us close to £12-15m. We have just won a competition for u19s that included all the best in Europe. You are telling me that none of them are as good as the dross mentioned above?

Then you have the likes of Cahill, Whittingham, Ridgewell who have got careers in the PL. Further back you cna count Barry and Vassell who have played in World Cup finals.

This is where Lambert's philosophy doesnt make sense to me. Why blow money on buying lots of unproven youngsters when he could save the money and buy 1-2 decent experienced player and use our own youth academy that is currently seen as the best in the country?

[JUAN PABLO]

, and Luna is starting to get back to his best. 

really?

[PeterWithe]

Amongst the lads I go with there was a general consensus at the end of last season that what we needed most going into this year was experience being bought in at left back, centre back and centre midfield. I still think thats the case.

[JUAN PABLO]

I know he's Villa through and through etc and fast as fuck but Agbonlahor is a pretty ordinary player and the fact he's one of our better ones says it all really.

this

[supertom]

Luna doesnt look like he can tackle to me. He has let players glide past him time and time again this season. I think he is only good going forward. In the PL you need to do both.

Are we completely devoid of a decent left back at the club? What about the reserves/kids?

When was the last time we had a truly decent Premier League player come from the reserves/kids?
They're not good enough in my opinion. This is what happens when you cut back so hard you have to rely on reserve players, cheap foreigners and lower league fodder. The proof is in the pudding, so they say.

Disagree with this. Gabby, Weimann, Clark are decent and from the academy. Certainly better than the standard of what Lambert has bought in vs. Luna, Helenius, Bowery, KEA, Sylla, Bennett that have probably cost us close to £12-15m. We have just won a competition for u19s that included all the best in Europe. You are telling me that none of them are as good as the dross mentioned above?

Then you have the likes of Cahill, Whittingham, Ridgewell who have got careers in the PL. Further back you cna count Barry and Vassell who have played in World Cup finals.

This is where Lambert's philosophy doesnt make sense to me. Why blow money on buying lots of unproven youngsters when he could save the money and buy 1-2 decent experienced player and use our own youth academy that is currently seen as the best in the country?

Ridgwell, Davis and Whittingham would actually improve our starting line up to be honest. That might be a sad indictment of our starting 11, but they would.
It doesn't always work with the academy, but had some of our players been used better in the O Neill era, such as Bannan, we might have more success stories in our side now. Baker isn't quite cutting it, but he's being overused. That's not to say Donacian won't make the grade.
I'm happy to give more of our academy a go. Albrighton was our best player yesterday. But he's shown in the past he's got what it takes at this level. He might not be the best player around but I've a hell of a lot more faith in Alby than a player like Tonev for example. Certainly the fact Bowery keeps making it on the bench is bizarre. I cannot fathom the logic in that signing when we've got an academy producing attacking players like Robinson, Grealish, Carruthers, Drennan, Burke, or that officially, Delfouneso is still on our books (again, slightly better handling back when O Neill was here, and he might have fulfilled his potential more by now).

[JUAN PABLO]

Luna doesnt look like he can tackle to me. He has let players glide past him time and time again this season. I think he is only good going forward. In the PL you need to do both.

Are we completely devoid of a decent left back at the club? What about the reserves/kids?

When was the last time we had a truly decent Premier League player come from the reserves/kids?
They're not good enough in my opinion. This is what happens when you cut back so hard you have to rely on reserve players, cheap foreigners and lower league fodder. The proof is in the pudding, so they say.

Disagree with this. Gabby, Weimann, Clark are decent and from the academy. Certainly better than the standard of what Lambert has bought in vs. Luna, Helenius, Bowery, KEA, Sylla, Bennett that have probably cost us close to £12-15m. We have just won a competition for u19s that included all the best in Europe. You are telling me that none of them are as good as the dross mentioned above?

Then you have the likes of Cahill, Whittingham, Ridgewell who have got careers in the PL. Further back you cna count Barry and Vassell who have played in World Cup finals.

This is where Lambert's philosophy doesnt make sense to me. Why blow money on buying lots of unproven youngsters when he could save the money and buy 1-2 decent experienced player and use our own youth academy that is currently seen as the best in the country?

and this

[Flamingo Lane]

At least Bakers incredibly poor distribution and positioning allowed him to fly into some tackles which was about the highlight for excitement, I thought him incredibly lucky, along with a few Utd players, to stay on the field.

One tackle - I think it was called a "scissors" - was particularly awful.  He seems to have learned nothing about how to tackle and how not to tackle at this level, and reminds me of the kind of parks player who is basically just a bully with little or no talent.