Mansfield Town v Aston Villa all singing and dancing thread

[supertom]

Bent again. Standard Bent finish. He looks sharp. We may just get saved from Bendtner/Ameobi

[ciggiesnbeer]

Very good. bent has really impressed.

I also enjoyed that KEA back heel at the beginning of the move.

[Breezeblock]

Weimann did fuck all for 40 mins and then re-discovered his 2012-13 form for 5 minutes. More of that please Andi!

[paul_e]

Karim's been very good today. I think he's looked sharper and fitter than anyone. Perhaps being teetotal has helped him there. He looks a lot better playing forward and being more of a playmaker. Whether he can do that against Prem opposition regularly is another matter though.

He's looked good in pre-season the last 2 summers, he just struggles with the pace of the game in the prem and I can't see him ever adapting well enough.

[Brend'Watkins]

Richardson looks keen to impress and has.

[PeterWithesShin]

Decent work out. Ok so it's only as friendly against a division 3 side, but we showed some decent stuff. Hutton and Bent looked decent, Okore back was a big plus, Richardson and Cole look useful additions.

[Toronto Villa]

3-1, Weimann good cross, Bent nods in.

Fucking Dazza Bent, c'mon son. Somewhere Stephen Ireland is taking a smug drag on his pipe.

[silhillvilla]

Have we sung the "have you won the European cup " song yet ?

[PeterWithesShin]

Have we sung the "have you won the European cup " song yet ?

Have we conceded the late goal yet?

[paulcomben]

"At this stage, it is almost nothing to do with fitness. It's all about confidence and winning games and dominating the opposition. We'll thrash again. And Stoke better be worried." Roy takes over post match interviews.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Very enjoyable.

[silhillvilla]

Have we sung the "have you won the European cup " song yet ?

Have we conceded the late goal yet?

You tell me, I'm watching masterchef .

[Olneythelonely]

I only saw the last half hour. On that basis, we're gonna win the league.

Seriously, Hutton, Gardner, Bent, Westwood and Richardson all looked very sharp. Wing backs with Richardson and Hutton may be the way to go.

[supertom]

Not too shabby there. Good run out. We played a couple of more progressive systems which encouraged a bit of movement and football. 4-2-3-1 first half. 3-4-1-2 in the second, with Westwood playing sweeper in the middle of Baker and Herd.

First half standouts for me were Okore and Cole.
Second half I thought we got better and better the more we got used to the system. Westwood was good. Karim and Gardner were very good in midfield. Zogbia warmed into the game.
Credit to Bent and Hutton. Both played well. Benty in particular actually dropped out the box a few times to get involved, but of course his speciality is inside the box and he looks dangerous there. As Klose shows, even when the legs are gone, as long as you get service, a poacher will always nab you goals.
Weimann linked quite well with Bent too.

In terms of the players who need to find another level from somewhere to stay involved, I'd say Tonev (poor), Baker (Baker) and Carruthers (started okay but faded).

[Goldie.7]

Very enjoyable.

Agreed.