Aston Villa v Blackpool Post-Match Thread

[seanthevillan]

Didn't see the game today so I am unsure exactly how it panned out, however I can see the logic in westwood dropping into a back three as theoretically it allows the fullbacks to push further forward and also adds a decent passer to the defence.  Liverpool used the tactic well with Gerrard last season.

The team selected today had little natural width (cole and grealish are not really wingers) so it was important the full backs could push forward knowing that they were covered defensively.

If only we had a couple of left backs who were better at attacking than defending :-) this passing around in circles with nowhere to go was obviously discovered after he sent both Luna & Bennett away for the season :-)

Agree - cissokho isn't good enough on the ball to hold it high up the pitch/ do anything really apart from pass to the man in front of him. How many times does he cross into the first man?

Also Westwood dropping into a back 3 and pushing the full backs on is fine, but he doesn't need to play as a centre back to do that - Gerrard didn't. One of he or Sanchez could do that from midfield, the problem with this is that, as has been pointed out, our movement from midfield and deep full backs/lack of attacking width means we don't capitalize on any space created anyway.

A few times in the last few games someone (usually Sanchez) has played a cross field ball to Hutton or cissokho, but they can only pass backwards and the defensive net just shifts across the pitch.

For me the big problem in the first half hour til Westwood moved forward was cleverley - I don't see what he contributes

[Olof's Beard]

When's the DVD out?

Some of Lambert's comments post match come across as arrogant.  He knows he is untouchable and clearly does not even contemplate the notion that fans might be unhappy with the job he is doing.  There's an interview with Westwood where he harps on about the new style of play as well.  It's absolutely bizarre to find professional sportsmen lauding themselves for doing the most basic element of their sport (passing to someone in the same shirt) well without any apparent notion of how ineffectual it all is.

The most worrying aspect of Lambert's comments are his assertions about other teams sitting deep against us and making it difficult.  For starters, teams who knew how to keep possession effectively would work out how to break these teams down.  But secondly, I think he is of the belief that better teams won't sit deep and we will pass them to death, which is complete bollocks of course.  Better teams will hound and press us and given that the player on the ball very rarely has any mobile options to play too, we will just constantly lose the ball and be back to square one.

If he came out and said that we are keeping the ball better but we need to start moving it quicker at the right moments and playing between the lines more readily then fine, we could see that he has identified what we need to work on.  However he and some of the players genuinely seem to be of the belief that just having the ball for large chunks of time constitutes a good side showing effective attacking strategies.

It was obvious what was needed again today.  Width.  The one time we had a player break wide and forward in the first half, space was freed up inside and Grealish played in Benteke.  Sanchez made a couple of bursts down the right in the 2nd half and it bought about chances, corners and genuine pressure.  It's so screamingly obvious yet a man paid millions to run the team plods along insulting the intelligence of everyone else watching the match.  I have had enough of him now, the Westwood sweeper move is just another example of him trying to pin the tail on the donkey.

[silhillvilla]

Thought Westwood played well today and was my MOTM
It's good he's back for Leicester

[David_Nab]

Some observations

1)From the Family area I could hear the Lambert out chants , it started with the Holte but there was some from the North Stand too

2)Cleverly ..pointless.With all players available and playing a midfield 3 its Delph Westwood and Sanchez , it our situation there is no way she should be considering him at anything over 4 mil to be aback up player to those 3.

3)Lambert for the love of god your fullbacks are not creative enough to be left to provide the attacking threat from wide area's.This is our patten of play pass sideways ball reaches full back , nothing ahead of him so checks back pass's inside this continues back to the opposite fullback.He has nothing in front so check back and pass's inside/Lambert talks about possession well any half decent bunch of players can pass sideways whilst the other team sits back and lets them

4)Benteke , mostly isolated.There was one moment in particular in the first half that summed up our attacking threat.We broke quite quicky for once Benteke and Grealish were the only 2 players in the box both surrounded by Blackpool players , Benteke was wide and lost the ball.No other players were supporting.

5)Grealish , still a little lightweight and needs to release the ball quicker at times but is worth persevering with in a wide position over Weimann for me.The problem he has alongside Cissoko and Hutton is the ball out to them comes so late they are all faced with 2 men to beat.We don't move the ball quick enough out wide and into space.

6)Sanchez ,MOTM for me is literally the only player in midfield who injects pace into our play.He is everywhere on the pitch and makes good runs off the ball to create space.

Overall is was a woeful performance , which comes on the back of 3 goalless  games in the league.As an attacking threat we are hopeless and as well as the defence are playing they can't keep a clean sheet every game.Possession means nothing if you are not able to hurt the opposition .61mins until the keeper made a save it's not good enough.

[Holte L2]

Didn't see the game today so I am unsure exactly how it panned out, however I can see the logic in westwood dropping into a back three as theoretically it allows the fullbacks to push further forward and also adds a decent passer to the defence.  Liverpool used the tactic well with Gerrard last season.

The team selected today had little natural width (cole and grealish are not really wingers) so it was important the full backs could push forward knowing that they were covered defensively.

If only we had a couple of left backs who were better at attacking than defending :-) this passing around in circles with nowhere to go was obviously discovered after he sent both Luna & Bennett away for the season :-)

Agree - cissokho isn't good enough on the ball to hold it high up the pitch/ do anything really apart from pass to the man in front of him. How many times does he cross into the first man?

Also Westwood dropping into a back 3 and pushing the full backs on is fine, but he doesn't need to play as a centre back to do that - Gerrard didn't. One of he or Sanchez could do that from midfield, the problem with this is that, as has been pointed out, our movement from midfield and deep full backs/lack of attacking width means we don't capitalize on any space created anyway.

A few times in the last few games someone (usually Sanchez) has played a cross field ball to Hutton or cissokho, but they can only pass backwards and the defensive net just shifts across the pitch.

For me the big problem in the first half hour til Westwood moved forward was cleverley - I don't see what he contributes

I've been mulling over his tactics since I got home. I think the possession game we play I'm theory is a good game plan. 
Westwood suits the strategy but doesn't need to pay as a centre back to bring the ball forwards. He coud play a deep lying play maker and interchange with Sanchez.
The problem is definitely Cleverley. He offers nothing.
I'd stick with Cole, on the basis we can keep him fit and would love to see us get a foil for Benteke IE a playmaker or a support striker. When Benteke gets doubled up by markers we can't brake teams down at all.

[Gareth]

Unconditional backing didn't help the players either!  Complete nonsense that booing affects the players, are they really that weak? for me this lot & their leader have got of very lightly.

Why do you think teams have better home records than away ones if home support means nothing?

Never said it didn't, though I suspect our record over the last few seasons might not support the home fortress theory! 

In a time when you are giving your fans very little to cheer support has to be earned a little & if some want to boo or chant for his job they have every right.

Without wishing to turn this in to a " who has a right to boo" discussion, booing will detract from the teams performance then make them play worse. So booing and moaning the team play badly is a self fulfilling prophesy.

Sometimes I'd like to see some of them have the attitude of 'gonna ram those boos down your throat' than do as Lambert as done and use it is an excuse.  Probably never happen but it would be nice to have a team of leaders...perhaps we have to go pink & fluffy with the modern day player :-)

[silhillvilla]

What we lack is width and movement . It's great having a Sanchez and a Westwood in control on the ball but we need a forward outlet .
Watch Rooney when he plays the Westwood role or Stevie Mee. They play raking 40 yarders to wide men on the move who then stretch the play and allow further space and movement inside .

[Keeno]

The player I feel most sorry for in this dreadful state of affairs is Benteke, and I fear he may be off this January. When you're hardly getting a sight of goal all game due to the ineptitude of the manager and the players behind you (bar Sanchez, Grealish and occasionally Delph), its no surprise that sometimes he misses chances he'd normally score if we were keeping him busy and sharp! It must be incredibly frustrating, particularly if we're playing a team we should beat, seeing the ball continually moved across the back four and deep midfield without any penetration. The amount of times you see him peel off the shoulder of a CB calling for a through-ball before never being given it is just ridiculous. It's also no surprise that towards the end of these turgid matches he ends up showing his frustration, throwing his arms up etc - he's just replicating what we're all doing in the stands!!

[Tayls_7]

What we lack is width and movement . It's great having a Sanchez and a Westwood in control on the ball but we need a forward outlet .
Watch Rooney when he plays the Westwood role or Stevie Mee. They play raking 40 yarders to wide men on the move who then stretch the play and allow further space and movement inside .

Raking 40 yarders? Sounds like we need Sylla back.

[silhillvilla]

What we lack is width and movement . It's great having a Sanchez and a Westwood in control on the ball but we need a forward outlet .
Watch Rooney when he plays the Westwood role or Stevie Mee. They play raking 40 yarders to wide men on the move who then stretch the play and allow further space and movement inside .

Raking 40 yarders? Sounds like we need Sylla back.

My point was you need to mix it up. Endless sideways balls get you nowhere

[olaftab]

My only ambition in football is to see us win the cup. I'm 43 and just hope I live to see it.

Wow, I'm 43 too. What a coincidence. How long are you planning to live for?

That's amazing two Villa fans 43 years old! If you both live till 2057 and at 86 years of age please travel to Wembley together to see us lift the cup.

[saunders_heroes]

I hope we're not gonna be last on MOTD again. I've got work tomorrow.

[olaftab]

Take a day off tomorrow. There will be nothing going on and you deserve it!

[peter w]

Well we won.

It was cold and dull. I went to Palace as well and can't believe how drab it was. There was no pace, movement or tempo to either game. We'd get a break in a good position a few times but the final pass or movement leading to a ball being played in is just not there. Three passes later its usually back at the centre-halves feet as we start again with a bit of urgency before the 5th sideways pass slows everything down. He's a willing trier is Cissokho but neither he or Hutton have the ability to play the attacking wing-bacl position well enough to make this system work. If we had a willing capable full-back who can do the overlaps and get behind defences and create either a chance, score, or at least stretch or cause some panic in the opposing defence.

As it is its seems to be a confused team not really knowing what they're doing. Yes we've got a change of system but all that is is us keeping the bloody thing. We've proved we can do that but not brilliantly well and have it usually where we can't hurt teams. But the players always look lost in the last third. \surely they don't have to be coached to the degree that a bit of movement and a higher tempo is totally alien to them?

You have to look at how we're being set up and how we're appraoching the game. The manager is totally at fault here and changing something that was rubbish but at least showed a smidgeon of attacking intent to one that really seems to devoid of any attacking know how and with a lack of craft or guile.

Lambert really has panicked and I don't think he really knows what he's doing or how to improve things. He and we are at a point in time where we're both just hoping for wins. Expecting them, even against a poor and desperately poor Palace and Blackpool, is something we, and I suspect he, no longer do. For that he has to go. Even after the goal I have to say that the Lambert out chants we a joy to my ear. They were louder today also. The tide of support that Lambert maintained for a good while is starting to become a more vocal current going the other way. It won't take long for things to be different in the terraces if the side doesn't start winning games a little more regularly and play better than this. The atmosphere today and Palace to a degree, has felt different. You can sense around you that people have had enough.

Whatever you think/thought of Lambert it just felt like evryone has had enough of this. I've just watched his poet-match interview on MOTD..."we played well"

I mean. Seriously. Even the pundits started talking about us the way that many of us see it now.  We're bloody awful.

That aside...I took my 5 year-old to both games and he thoroughly loved both of them. Came home sing Holte-Enders in the sky. Ahhh, I see it as job done but I'm not resting on my laurels.

[silhillvilla]

MOTD have mentioned the lambert out chants . At last.
The end is nigh .