Aston Villa v Crystal Palace post match thread

[papa lazarou]

Fortunately for Harry Kane he doesn't have to spend vast portions of the game with his back to goal watching the most laborious build up, with organised defenders glued to his arse, fully knowing that by the time the ball reaches the area we don't have the twinkle toed, intricate passers to penetrate.

[john2710]

It doesn't really matter what system we play, we have neither the players nor the coaching skills available to make any of it work.

[Villa in Denmark]

It doesn't really matter what system we play, we have neither the players nor the coaching skills available to make any of it work.

I think we do have the players.

It's down to Lambert and his game plans.

Nobody ever runs beyond Benteke.
Nobody ever looks for the pass inside the opposition fullback for Hutton or Cisokho to run onto.
Nobody ever makes a run down the line when our fullback cuts inside.

Why?

Because that's putting our players our of position if the move breaks down.

He's so scared of losing, he's scared to try and win.
By default he's giving the players a vote of no confidence, by not allowing them to attack. How motivating must that be.

It's taken him 2 years to shake off that first Christmas and trust the team to hold onto some form of possession. We can't wait another 2 years for him to decide it's worth having a go occasionally.

[Boz]

It doesn't really matter what system we play, we have neither the players nor the coaching skills available to make any of it work.

We have some players who are good enough, but the coaching and motivational skills from the player management are missing and until Lambert does something about it or better still goes it'll remain the same.

[ktvillan]

It doesn't really matter what system we play, we have neither the players nor the coaching skills available to make any of it work.

I think we do have the players.

It's down to Lambert and his game plans.

Nobody ever runs beyond Benteke.
Nobody ever looks for the pass inside the opposition fullback for Hutton or Cisokho to run onto.
Nobody ever makes a run down the line when our fullback cuts inside.

Why?

Because that's putting our players our of position if the move breaks down.

He's so scared of losing, he's scared to try and win.
By default he's giving the players a vote of no confidence, by not allowing them to attack. How motivating must that be.

You have just described McLeish there, the man Lambert was brought in to replace because of the lack of "compelling football".  The current football is about as compelling as Ebola, yet whereas McLeish was sacked after only 1 season, Lambert is backed for several seasons and given a long term contract.  It really doesn't make any sense does it?   

[john2710]

Nobody will convince me that Gabby, Weimann or N'Zogbia are anywhere near good enough. When you see someone like Robbie Keane play you realise just how limited these players are. They have neither the football intelligence, speed of thought or the technique to play at this level.

Added to this Lamberts tactics only expose the limitations of these players.

Yesterday was crying out for someone like Joe Cole to start, it might not have worked but it would have shown that Lambert knew what was needed to open up the Palace defence. The fact he did not put him on until the 82nd minute shows how clueless he is.

[supertom]

It doesn't really matter what system we play, we have neither the players nor the coaching skills available to make any of it work.

I think we do have the players.

It's down to Lambert and his game plans.

Nobody ever runs beyond Benteke.
Nobody ever looks for the pass inside the opposition fullback for Hutton or Cisokho to run onto.
Nobody ever makes a run down the line when our fullback cuts inside.

Why?

Because that's putting our players our of position if the move breaks down.

He's so scared of losing, he's scared to try and win.
By default he's giving the players a vote of no confidence, by not allowing them to attack. How motivating must that be.

It's taken him 2 years to shake off that first Christmas and trust the team to hold onto some form of possession. We can't wait another 2 years for him to decide it's worth having a go occasionally.

Absolutely spot on.

[IAmTheOneIanOlney]

It is slightly worrying, though, that we don't seem to have any players (bar Grealish, maybe) who can see how a game is going and try to change it. Someone who might think, "Sod it, I'm going to try something here," instead of "Who can I pass sideways to?"

[paul_e]

It is slightly worrying, though, that we don't seem to have any players (bar Grealish, maybe) who can see how a game is going and try to change it. Someone who might think, "Sod it, I'm going to try something here," instead of "Who can I pass sideways to?"

That's the McLeishian approach to the game in a nutshell.  Coahc the team to defend and hope that someone up front does something magic.  Right now Lambert seems to have the same appraoch but has decided he doesn't believe in magic.

[Ron Manager]

I think a few on here see young Grealish as the next coming. No doubt he has some skill say compared to Weimann, Agbonlahor,Westwood and Cleverley but unless he puts some weight on he will not cope at the top level. Man Utd managed to fill out Dea succesfully and that's
what we need to do with Jack. Otherwise he will become another Stephen Cooke and drift off the scene.

He is just another promising kid as far as I'm concerned at this present time.

[Clampy]

Thinking about it (although I didn't mind too much at the time) I'm surprised we let Robinson play for Preston in the Cup. A fresh face alongside Benteke on Sunday would have been a nice idea.

[Hoppo]

I didn't realize that Robinson was cup tied. Another fuck up.

[Boz]

I didn't realize that Robinson was cup tied. Another fuck up.

More mis-management from the Clueless One

[supertom]

I didn't realize that Robinson was cup tied. Another fuck up.

More mis-management from the Clueless One

I suspect the original plan was to keep Robbo out all season, but it then became clear Darren Bent couldn't be arsed. That said we've brought Robinson back and not used him. He's got pace he could have had an impact in games, particularly when he first came back having had a good run of form. Now that'll be a distant memory and I imagine some of that confidence will have worn off.

[Fin Feds Dad]

Nobody will convince me that Gabby, Weimann or N'Zogbia are anywhere near good enough. When you see someone like Robbie Keane play you realise just how limited these players are. They have neither the football intelligence, speed of thought or the technique to play at this level.

Added to this Lamberts tactics only expose the limitations of these players.

Yesterday was crying out for someone like Joe Cole to start, it might not have worked but it would have shown that Lambert knew what was needed to open up the Palace defence. The fact he did not put him on until the 82nd minute shows how clueless he is.

Completely agree - our ''forwards'' are so immobile. There is often 20 to 30 yards between our players, holes that a forward could drop in to, a channel that a forward could run into to give the defence an 'out' ball but what do they do - they hide behind defenders.

Gabby is the biggest culprit for that , he just dawdles around - never moves before a ball is played, just reacts and his pace used to get him into position - got a big fat 4 year contract after scoring at Anfield - and has done nothing since.

Endured match of the day today - couldn't be arsed to stay up until 2016 for the Villa game to be on last again - and purposely watched the other teams front players - they make our lot look like statues.

They didn't used to play like that, remember Benteke's back heel to Wiemann at Anfield - a goal brought about by movement and touch. It has been coached out of them by this clueless, mumbling buffoon.