Aston Villa v Sheffield United Post-Match Thread

[pooligan]

Good post Brian Green. You forgot to mention  West Ham league cup ,when they broke the the rules and played a ineligible player and instead of being kicked out of the competition were allowed to replay the game at home again

[VillaAlways]

Just this season alone, we have played 13 games at Villa Park if you include the cup games .Our record is won 3 drew 2 lost 8 .Just how bad do things have to get before Learner wakes up and sees there needs to be a change of manager ?

Lerner could not give a shiny shite!

[brian green]

The nightmare scenario of course is that Lerner will give him the money for a CB and creative MF both with experience and a proven track record and he will not know what to do with it.

He will be a mug punter who makes his selections sticking a pin in the list of runners who has lost his pin and suddenly needs to know about the horses.

The path he has preferred is the shotgun birdshot blast at the transfer market on the basis that the law of averages says buy enough and you will get a good one.   What this window requires of him is a couple of rifle shots at selected targets and I don't think he is up to it.   He is already on record as saying that January is an inflated market which of course it is and the trick is to buy well enough in the summer that you do not need January buys.   He did not buy well enough so he has no choice but to buy some backbone for the team.

I do not think he is up to it.   He will revert to type and buy four improvers.

[David_Nab]

Well that was utter shit some points

Tonev started ok then faded badly.Sadly still looks well off the pace.

Right bias - most of our attacks came down the right from Albrighton ,at times he had 3 men round him yet still we didn't find space !

FB's for the love of god OVER FUCKING LAP..all game both FB stayed in position and left the winger having to pass back to them.When led to more sideways passing.

CM both too lightweight and can no dictate a game.Delph is comfortable on the ball and can go past a man but he does not play good passes into attacking area's.Westwood can no play in a 4-4-2 full stop.

Weimann lacking confidence or just not very good ...not sure but he is not performing at moment

Benteke ..Had to headed chances second of which he should of scored from.Looks off pace badly needs a goal still no excuse for some of his poor lay off's  today.

Helenious ..nice goal and had some good touches on the ball.

Lambert got it very wrong today had 3 CM's on bench should of used one of them or pushed Bacuna into midfield.Doncian to CB and Lowton at RB IMO.

[Cambridge Claret]

As a Cambridge boy, I actually went to see Sheffield United beat Cambridge United in the last round. Today I had the misfortune to see them again at Villa Park. All I can say is that Cambridge gave them far more problems than Villa did and played with more skill, tactical awareness and desire. They didn't just pass the ball endlessly sideways and then give it away. Enough said. Nearly 50 years a Villa fan and still waiting for FA Cup glory. Two semi finals and one let down of a final. Let's face it it isn't going to happen in my lifetime. This man is sleepwalking Villa to the Championship. For God's sake, go now!

[danlanza]

Now, betting on the Noses to lose is an every weekend occurence.
Villa to lose, no way.
Take the house, take the car, take the 3yr free credit sofa and plasma tv and shove it right up ya arse.
Never, never, never.

[UK Redsox]

In theory, Albrighton & Bacuna looked like a good combination down the right. Unfortunately it appeared that they'd never practiced playing together before.

Making us long for the return of Joe Bennett just shows how bad Luna now is

[supertom]

There comes a point with a lot of managers, often the first nail in the coffin. We've seen it with O Neill and the Europa debacle. He lost a lot of fan support with that, and people became less forgiving about his poor brand of football (that in all honesty is glorious to watch compared to the current dross).
We had it with Houllier with the Liverpool shit and the City stuff.
Alex McLeish actually had a fair amount of goodwill, but he started get anzy with the fans and just talking shite. By Bolton there was absolutely no coming back. People say we never gave him a chance because of the Blose connection, but despite no one wanting him, as soon as the ink dried on his contract, we gave him the benefit of proving us wrong. Results wise he started off reasonably okay too.

I just wonder whether the F.A Cup comments could be Lamberts first nail. We've put up with our worst results run in his tenure, and we've already endured knockouts from lower league opposition, and the worst football we've ever seen (and I include McLeish in that- in recent months its as bad as I've ever seen here). He's talked the talk up to this point. We've heard on and on about the plan and the patience we'll need but on the pitch it's been dreadful. But whether taken out of context or not, his comments the other day were extremely disappointing.

Lamberts hemorrhaging fans as it is, and comments like the other day almost seem like the beginning of the inevitable slide toward the exit door. In truth I hope it is because he's shite.

[brian green]

Thanks for that reminder Pooligan.   West Ham also invaded the pitch when we played them and we thought we were going to be murdered.   All ignored.

One I did forget was the game on a par with today when we got knocked out by Millwall.  The Millwall fans started throwing drinks at our players taking throws and the cops sort of sorted them out.

The result of that behaviour by THEIR fans was that we were kettled into a steel cage in temperatures of minus 5 celsius and kept there for over an hour.   I really thought I was going to die.   Then we were marched by the cops to the train station whether we wanted to go there or not and were forcibly taken to London Bridge station.   My son who I was with lives five minutes walk from the New Den but we did not get back to his house until 2am.   Any other club but Villa would have torn Millwall and the Met Police a new one in protest at the treatment of their travelling fans.   What actually happened.   Nothing.

[brian green]

Welcome Cambridge Claret Where have you been hiding?   Are you the great big lad with the out of date shirt I said hello to the other day in Hills Road and you ignored me?

[Mortimer's Bear]

I definitely preferred football back in the days when there was'nt such comprehensive 24hr coverage. I'm going to be reading about this all and watching SSN all week now at least in the old days after Sunday you could get on with your life without constantly checking up on AVFC.

[Oscar Arce]

Villa fans have never shown such patience to a manager, seeing what he is trying to do with younger players but the 'plan' has to show progress and to me this season the football has been turgid and unwatchable, we play every game on the break because Lambert's buys (all the same type of player, particularly in midfield) have no creativity or ability to impose themselves on the game.
Every team I've ever seen has to have some creativity to break down a defence (particularly at home) but we have none.
We play etter away because the home team usually need to show intent to attack, leaving them open to counter attack.
Having watched Villa in every game since Lambert's appointment I have to conclude tha this is his 'plan'.
I go back a long way and he reminds me so much of Tommy Docherty, young players at all costs, even if it means relegation, as it did in Docherty's case.
I can only conclude that he will not change, he will not buy creative orward thinking midfield players that you need t unlock a defence at home and that is why we have such an appalling home record.
Westwwod, Delph, El Ahamidi, Slla, et al cannot play a forward pass but are reasonably effective in holding the centre ground to set up a counter attacking style.
For this reason, added to the dire period we are suffeing, the lack of a coherent style to break down defences, and the manager's stubborness to change (another Docherty trait..it must be a Scots thing!!) I have to say the only solution for me would be for the manager to be relieved of his position.
The first thing an experienced manager would do is to sign better and more experienced players in the spine of the team, which is exactly what Vic Crowe as Docherty's replacement did, but unfortunately too late.

[eastie]

Spot on Mr Arce.

[Clampy]

Whatever Lambert said the other day and whatever side he picked, we should never have lost today.

[VillaAlways]

Whatever Lambert said the other day and whatever side he picked, we should never have lost today.

Absolutely