Aston Villa vs Southampton post match thread

[martyn ellis]

If you look at the Burnleys and the Palaces and to an extent the Leicesters of this world, no matter who you put in front of them, they have a go, they get at the opposition, get the fans going, get stuck in and sometimes get a result. Is it below us to do that. This insistence on hoping for an early goal and then sitting on it drives me mad. It's not entertaining and more often than not it backfires. How many last-ten-minute goals have we conceded this season already? I despair.

[PeterWithesShin]

The Bent substitution absolutely crazy. So we took off our only threat to give no threat at all.

The Bent sub was mental, but it was Sanchez he came on for so don't get how we took off our only threat?

[PaulMcGrathsNo5Shirt]

Season 2010-11 Southampton were in the third tier of English football. During last summer they sold all of their best players and replaced them with players nobody had really heard of. Just goes to show if you have a decent manager or two and coaches that know what they're doing can do. Meanwhile at B6 we have N'Zogbia who is inept bordering on useless, Bent who is clearly not bothered, and then the tactical genius of Lambert who plays Cleverley down the left and N'Zogbia down the middle? Why not play Grealish he won't do no worse than what is already served up on the pitch, it least it might generate some excitement!In the first hour alone tonight I counted us giving the ball away no less than four times within 5 seconds of US having a throw in. What the fuck do they do all week at Bodymoor Heath?
The club stinks from the top to the bottom

[Gregorys Boy]

There was a sense that we were playing Sotons league position rather than the reality of what was in front of us, if we'd gone after them it might have been a little more interesting than that shite.

Quite. Watch Southampton get beaten by all and sundry in the next few weeks.

That may well happen, but if it does it will be because they are actually now entering a run where they will be playing all the top sides.  Losing to them suddenly doesn't make Southampton a bad side, and  certainly doesn't mean that they are not at least a level above us.

As for the low attendance, I think people are forgetting the factor of the kick-off time, the day, and of course our form, but I can't see too many attendances that low this season.

[edgysatsuma89]

Every time I've seen Bent playing this season (albeit briefly) he just looks like he's having a light jog in the local park. One of those jogs you tend to have when you haven't been on a run for 2 years and weigh 2 stone more than the last time you ran, and you bloody know it. You jog around without breaking sweat and think you've done a good job because you were outside for 20 minutes. You go home, have a pie, a pint and then realise you've put on another pound by the next morning.

There was one moment when someone threaded a ball forward into their box, and Bent had to move to his left to get to it - admittedly, he wasn't going to make it, but it was actually funny watching him, he looked like a Sunday league player.

It was funny in the same way that that clip of Gareth Barry chasing Mesut Ozil in the match in the 2010 WC was.

Ha that was the run i posted about. I just bursted out laughing. He made the 'run' about 10 minutes late aswell. Maybe if we painted the ball to look like a pie.

[PeterWithesShin]

We should stick a Greggs gift voucher on the ball, he'd soon be after it then.

[London Villan]

There won't be many Premier League matches this season with a ground only 55% full... Us and maybe Sunderland...

[TonyD]

Should have won that.  But hey a point is a point.  Only 7 off 4th spot.  Not too upset. 

[PeterWithesShin]

With the amount of tickets they give away Sunderland will never be half empty. Half empty of paying customers maybe.

[ChicagoLion]

The Bent substitution absolutely crazy. So we took off our only threat to give no threat at all.

The Bent sub was mental, but it was Sanchez he came on for so don't get how we took off our only threat?

Sorry I meant took away our only threat by moving Gabby.

[brian green]

Just home.   Must get to bed, long day.

Makeshift defence did well.   Sanchez was appallingly bad.   I suspect he is another Ivo Stas where we bought a player without really knowing what we were getting.   The "not up to Premiership pace" is a convenient cop out like the gastroenteritis bug.   He looks rubbish and probably is rubbish.

All our problems since the onset of Stylian's illness flow from our paperweight and uncreative midfield.   The defence gets over stretched because the midfield does not function and the strikers do not get goals because they get no midfield service.

The bringing on of Bent was as mad as anything Lambert has ever done.   How many times has Lambert made 70th minute substitutions only to see a lead thrown away?   I suspect he turns to the bench and points at somebody and mumbles incoherently.   The subs all look at each other and one of them volunteers to get stripped and go on.   I suspect in this instance he pointed at Joe Cole but nobody understood what he was saying.    It is the only explanation I can come up with.

[PeterWithesShin]

The Bent substitution absolutely crazy. So we took off our only threat to give no threat at all.

The Bent sub was mental, but it was Sanchez he came on for so don't get how we took off our only threat?

Sorry I meant took away our only threat by moving Gabby.

Ah, got you.

[PeterWithesShin]

Must admit, can't disagree with much he says for once, apart from the excellent bit as usual. Although the bold bit is a bit worrying. How bad must Baker's injury be if it's a lot longer than a few weeks?

Paul Lambert admitted mixed feelings at the 1-1 draw with Southampton - but the boss was delighted with the solid performances of centre-back pairing Jores Okore and Ciaran Clark.

Lambert was frustrated that Villa didn't take a 2-0 lead when Andi Weimann fired over the bar.

He said the claret and blues would have won the tight contest if the forward had netted.

Overall Lambert spoke of "big pluses" - none more so that the displays of Okore and Clark, who came into the team due to the absence of trio Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos and Nathan Baker.

He said: "I thought we were excellent in spells of the game. I thought there were massive plus points.

"I thought Alan Hutton was excellent in his first game in a month. I thought the two young centre-backs were outstanding, I really did. I thought they were excellent.

"Jores Okore hasn't played for 14 months. And he was outstanding. Ciaran Clark took the lead and helped him. I thought Ciaran was excellent.

"We had two young guys at the heart of our defence. Ciaran has been in and out of the side but never lets you down every time he plays. Jores was outstanding.

"I thought Gabby Agbonlahor was a threat all night with his speed too.

"But we had six players out. If you look at the three centre-backs plus Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph and Libor Kozak.

"There were big pluses overall. It's a big point because they are a good side.

"But I thought we should have been 2-0 up. Andi should have scored.

"We had a good move, Gabby cut it back and Andi hit it over the bar. If that goes in, I think we win the game.

"But Andi has scored important goals for this football club so I'm not going to let one chance blow anything in terms of what I think of him."

Lambert could well rely on the pairing of Okore and Clark in the foreseeable future with no dates set on the return of our injured centre-back trio.

He added: "Nobody will be back. Ron and Philippe will be out for a few weeks and Nathan will be out for a lot longer."

[brian green]

The sooner we get rid of Ron Vlaar the better.  His injury record (for us) makes him a total liability.

[PeterWithesShin]

To answer my own question, just found this from a few days ago in the Mail. Missed it and not seen it mentioned on here.

Just when will Aston Villa’s injury list relent?

Today we can reveal the news that Nathan Baker will be out for at least two months with a knee injury.