Aston Villa vs Tottenham Post-Match Thread

[Ads]

While I think we set better, I still don't think we should be shoehorning Cleverley wide, play him central and get Grealish out there.

[Clampy]

Truly abysmal he was. Watch the game.

I did, i was there.

Sanchez was no where near abysmal. He was very effective for about an hour but got tired and should have been subbed. His tiredness resulted in two free kicks near the end and they scored from one. This was the fault of people on the touchline.

I wonder if he would have been subbed had we not been down to ten men. I'm not sure if there was another center midfielder on the bench. No, he wasn't abysmal and he didn't give the ball away again and again either. He did ok for me.

[TonyD]

I though Sanchez looked alright.

Which has basically been the problem with our central midfield - they're all 'alright'.

Westwood, Sylla, El-Ahmadi, Richardson, Gardner - apart from Delph, sub one in for another and it'll probably be about the same. Nobody really doing anything apart from just being 'alright'.

Nobody who can make a decent killer pass.  Someone like Bannan.

[rob_bridge]

While I think we set better, I still don't think we should be shoehorning Cleverley wide, play him central and get Grealish out there.

Cleverly and Westwood were practically holding hands some of the game.

Better to start with Richardson and bring Westwood on after an hour to replace Sanchez

I thought Baker played well. And Weimann had a good game. CNZ was ok until he too got tired.

[rob_bridge]

I though Sanchez looked alright.

Which has basically been the problem with our central midfield - they're all 'alright'.

Westwood, Sylla, El-Ahmadi, Richardson, Gardner - apart from Delph, sub one in for another and it'll probably be about the same. Nobody really doing anything apart from just being 'alright'.

Nobody who can make a decent killer pass.  Someone like Bannan.

Or Stephen Ireland

[Percy McCarthy]

Truly abysmal he was. Watch the game.

I did, i was there.

Sanchez was no where near abysmal. He was very effective for about an hour but got tired and should have been subbed. His tiredness resulted in two free kicks near the end and they scored from one. This was the fault of people on the touchline.

I wonder if he would have been subbed had we not been down to ten men. I'm not sure if there was another center midfielder on the bench. No, he wasn't abysmal and he didn't give the ball away again and again either. He did ok for me.

I agree Clampy. Given time I think he will join our short list of good players. At which point he will no doubt become injury prone.

[nigel]

Thanks Christian.

Yes he was foolish. But Mason should have gone as well for sticking his head in Bentekes face. Also what about Soldado then continually pushing Benteke after the incident.

No consistency from the ref

Agree, Rudy.
If Benteke had to go then so should Mason for putting his head in CB's face.
The ref and forth official bottled it.

I was also of the opinion that:
a) raised arm in the face is a red. Ref ignored it.
b) two footed challenge, even if it misses, is a red. Ref gave a yellow!!

[villan from luton]

While I think we set better, I still don't think we should be shoehorning Cleverley wide, play him central and get Grealish out there.

Totally agree

[Mister E]

While I think we set better, I still don't think we should be shoehorning Cleverley wide, play him central and get Grealish out there.

Totally agree

Grealish wide is wasted. He should be playing behind the front man.

[kippaxvilla2]

The problem is that people are so fed up of the general shitness of the last two and a bit seasons that even saying we were unlucky because of a sending off is starting to sound hollow.  And it isn't helped when the manager describes a very average performance against very average opposition as excellent. 

If he thinks we are playing well then I'm afraid we really are heading for the drop.  You usually find that with managers who are under pressure suddenly encounter;

Lots of injuries that as soon as the manager moves on miraculously clear up.

Ill discipline within the side.

Players looking scared to be on the ball which again seems to come right as soon as the manager leaves.

Increasingly poor excuses for losing games also manifest themselves.

Leaving aside today the question we need to ask is 'does anybody seriously think he is capable of turning this around?'  I have severe doubts.  He's looking and sounding increasingly like a beaten man and Keane has already become the side show everyone expected with Strangely zero passion on the sidelines.

Sometimes the only way forward is to simply make a change - if nothing else to try and give us a honeymoon period to somehow get us to 35 points this season.  Another 8 wins and a draw feck me.

[Dan England]

The naivety of Lambert after the Red was unbelievable.  Why sick with essentially the same formation you started the game with? Experienced and good managers would at that point shut up shop. We didn't need a goal we needed to make sure we didn't concede; choke the midfield, form two solid banks of 5 and make them launch hopeful balls into the box.

10 minutes to hold on to a lead, naive is being kind.

[Monty]

When you look at the footage, Mason is extremely aggressive to Benteke and Benteke is trying to shove him away. Are we really saying that just 'raising your hands', even as an apparently defensive act, is worse than aggression and headbutting? That seems completely arbitrary. We might as well as which one of them is wearing shinier boots.

I'm not a violence-loving person, as a rule. But, I have to say, watching that incident, I'd enjoy seeing that scrawny tit Mason go at Benteke without the protection of team-mates and a referee. Then we'd see how brave he is.

[richtheholtender]

The problem is that people are so fed up of the general shitness of the last two and a bit seasons that even saying we were unlucky because of a sending off is starting to sound hollow.  And it isn't helped when the manager describes a very average performance against very average opposition as excellent. 

If he thinks we are playing well then I'm afraid we really are heading for the drop.  You usually find that with managers who are under pressure suddenly encounter;

Lots of injuries that as soon as the manager moves on miraculously clear up.

Ill discipline within the side.

Players looking scared to be on the ball which again seems to come right as soon as the manager leaves.

Increasingly poor excuses for losing games also manifest themselves.

Leaving aside today the question we need to ask is 'does anybody seriously think he is capable of turning this around?'  I have severe doubts.  He's looking and sounding increasingly like a beaten man and Keane has already become the side show everyone expected with Strangely zero passion on the sidelines.

Sometimes the only way forward is to simply make a change - if nothing else to try and give us a honeymoon period to somehow get us to 35 points this season.  Another 8 wins and a draw feck me.

Hard to argue with that.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Gave it a good go this evening. Spirit was a lot better and we finally had players supporting Benteke. Lambert to be fair was rewarded in his decision to start Nzogbia and Weimann with both being involved in the goal. However we looked in trouble I thought even before Benteke's moment of madness. Thought Rico and Gabby should have been a lot earlier when any number of our players were blowing out their holes from about the 60-70 min mark. The Spurs substitute trio in comparison improved them hugely

For the majority of the game though it was two very poor sides. Cissokho seemed on a one man mission to break the all time Villa misplaced pass record, Lowton's efforts to play Adebayor offside in the first half were pub football esque, very little again from Cleverley and Nathan Baker hoofing everything in sight. For all our huff and puff, Guzan was our best player. Our team is bereft of genuine quality and that is the reason we are staring into the barrel of another relegation fight.

Guzan 9, Lowton 4, Vlaar 6, Baker 5, Cissokho 4, Westwood 6, Sanchez 6, Cleverley 5, Nzogbia 6, Benteke 4, Weimann 6. Gabby 5, Rico 5

Spot on

Seconded. The only point to add was at half time I was convinced Benteke would score in the second half having twice gone very close in the first half. We never came close with our second half performance. A point would have been a fair result for two poor teams but we're Lambert's Aston Villa - forever giving and all so predictable.

[SashasGrandad]

Not good enough.  We lost through our own ability to self destruct.  Spurs deserved to win IMO

Rubbish

Ditto - worst Spurs performance for years - Benteke was set up - Spuds had to resort to desperate tactics and do what QPR did and kick their way out of trouble.