Aston Villa v Liverpool Post-Match Thread.

[olaftab]

I listened to  Pat Murphy asking him a few questions. Lambert actually said "Can't fault them they were excellent". I can't believe Murphy did not go back with "OK Paul they were excellent than where is the problem?"
At one stage PM said "what about Gil Paul when he came on there was more speed and quick passing will you start with him next week?" Lambert replied " Hey errrr ummmmm he's a young lad joined us this week aha   aaaa.. he is 20 years old we bought him in to provide something different". Will he F in play next week Paul??

I listened to that interview, you must have better hearing than me because all I heard was some noise in response to Pat Murphy.

I must say it was difficult. I was in a traffic jam and my car has stop/start so I was able to hear something without engine noise but he is almost incoherent when answering questions under pressure.

[ROBBO]

Liverpool are only an avarage side but they made us look third rate, give Benteke some leeway the injury was a bad one and he's missed a lot of football. Gabby has to go and Cleverly is crap i would send him back now. Gil had a very good cameo but will be wasted with players like Gabby and Weimann alongside him. We are a tolerant lot hardly a whisper of discontentent all game.

[olaftab]

Benteke is not putting himself into harms way and that makes him very ineffective.

[pooligan]

8 hours and 42 minutes since we last scored in the league,but don't worry chaps,Paul says if we keep on playing like we are he is sure the goals will come.Deluded idiot!

[silhillvilla]

And that protest thing was fucking pathetic. I watched about 30 people spill into a rammed Holte Lower on the 8th minute . Brilliant .

[CJ]

Protest didn't appear to happen. One chap in front of me came in after 8 minutes but otherwise didn't notice anything except the presence of some OB in the Upper Holte concourse before the game. As for the game - same old same old although we had a decent spell of 20 minutes or so in the second half. Picking 4 central midfielders instead of variety beggars belief. Cleverley continues to offer the square root of fuck all, a view widely shared given the huge cheer when he was subbed (so Lambert's bound to fork out £8m for him); Gabby offers the same but he gets the role of captain; Benteke is so isolated he's easily marked out of the game; Baker has to be bottom of the pecking order for our CB's, and his air shot from 3 yards out would be comical if it wasn't so tragic....it just goes on.

But we have the makings of a decent squad, and any other manager would get far more out of it than Lambert does. Guzan is a good keeper; across the back Hutton, Okore, Vlaar, Senderos and Clark are all decent; Cissokho is OK in patches; in the middle Delph and Sanchez have genuine quality, Wetwood fulfils a role, and Gil looks to be a real find; up front Benteke on his day is a world beater. Lambert is just sucking the vitality out of the entire squad with the way he sets us up and the 'tactics' he employs. If things don't change I think we are certain to go down this year.

Gallows humour was much in evidence today - the resounding applause when we had our first attempt on  target, chants of 'two shots on target, we've had two shots on target', and 'we'll score again, don't know where, don't know when...'

Maybe we should just change the club name to Aston Villa Nil

[tmf1972]

Any no votes are from noses...

[rougegorge]

The manager says we dominated the game, peppered their goal and their keeper kept them in it.
That's a big embellishment on 15 to 20 minutes of attacking play in a home game. I remember one decent save and some misdirected headers.
It appears we're heading down and we'll add some unwanted goalscoring records into the bargain.

[PeterWithesShin]

Can we not label people who may a different opinion blues fans or nutters etc please. You may not agree with them but they are entitled to their views.

[silhillvilla]

The manager says we dominated the game, peppered their goal and their keeper kept them in it.
That's a big embellishment on 15 to 20 minutes of attacking play in a home game. I remember one decent save and some misdirected headers.
It appears we're heading down and we'll add some unwanted goalscoring records into the bargain.

The manager is deluded . I don't take him seriously at all anymore .

[Villa in Denmark]

Nothing else to say

[Percy McCarthy]

There must be a playing clause in Cleverley's loan deal because I don't understand why he is playing every game.

Why on earth would there be?

[PeterWithesShin]

OS match report

Villa produced a much-improved performance but fell victim to killer blows from Fabio Borini and sub Rickie Lambert.

Borini opened the scoring in the 24th minute, although Paul Lambert's men threatened an equaliser during a sustained spell of pressure after new signing Carles Gil and Andi Weimann had gone on as 66th-minute substitutes.

But there was no way back after Lambert had drilled home the Merseysiders' second 11 minutes from the end.

Villa more than matched the visitors before falling behind, with chances arriving at both ends during an entertaining opening period.

After Philippe Coutino had fired wide in the second minute, the home side responded with an Ashley Westwood free-kick which Nathan Baker met with a glancing header which drifted beyond the far post.

Then Alan Hutton crossed for Christian Benteke to get in a header that was saved by Simon Mignolet, although Brad Guzan had to race from his line to save bravely at Raheem Sterling's feet in the 20th minute.

Four minutes later, though, Villa were caught napping when, following a throw-in on the right, Jordan Henderson whipped in a low centre and the unmarked Borini stretched to divert the ball past Guzan from six yards.

Guzan then saved a Coutinho header before Aly Cissokho's menacing cross from the left created an opportunity for Benteke.

The striker, unfortunately, was unable to bring the ball under control before Liverpool defenders crowded him out.

Sterling might have added a second goal for the Merseysiders in the 38th minute when he found himself clear with only Guzan to beat. He elected to try a lob, though, and the keeper was able to make a comfortable save from his weak effort.

Four minutes before the interval Carlos Sanchez tried his luck from 30 yards and it almost paid dividends, his skidding low drive being held by Mignolet at the second attempt.

And on the stroke of half-time, Tom Cleverley fired over after Westwood's superb pass had created the opening.

There were a couple of anxious moments at the second half.

First, Baker had to be alert with a timely challenge after Coutinho had sent Bornini clear, and then a header from Martin Skrtel brushed against the far post.

But the double substitution of Gil and Weimann gave Villa fresh impetus and in the 61st minute they were desperately unlucky not to draw level.

Fabian Delph, back after suspension, provided a teasing cross that was flicked on by Baker, and Benteke's ferocious drive looked a certain goal until Mignolet made an instinct save to push it away.

Then Gil displayed sublime skill to go past his marker before playing the ball wide to Weimann - and only just failing to make contact with the Austrian's return pass.

As Villa maintained the pressure, Baker sent a header just too high from Delph's corner before Delph's forceful run culminated with a perfect pass into Benteke's slipstream, forcing Skrtel into a desperate lunging challenge at the expense of a corner.

Just as an equaliser looked imminent, though, the home side were rocked by a second Liverpool goal in the 79th minute.

Guzan did well to tip away Lucas's low drive for a corner, and although Villa initially cleared the flag kick, Sterling was able to thread a pass through to Lambert, who drilled a low angled shot beyond the keeper and into the far corner.

It was an uphill battle after that, although Gil displayed some delightful touches and Delph was only just over with a chip shot before forcing Mignolet into a late save with a long-range effort.

[PeterWithesShin]

OS

Paul Lambert was upbeat despite the defeat to Liverpool - praising his team's "relentless" second half and the performances of Carles Gil and Fabian Delph.

Lambert was frustrated and disappointed following the loss at Leicester but he was much happier with the display against last season's Barclays Premier League runners-up.

The Reds may have run out 2-0 winners courtesy of goals from Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert but Villa were on top for long periods after the break.

They had a host of chances to score but came up against an inspired Simon Mignolet in the Liverpool goal.

Boss Lambert is positive that goals and results are around the corner if his players continue in the same vein.

He said: "I thought we were excellent in the second half. I thought we were relentless.

"The goalkeeper has had a great second half.

"The way we played the game, I thought, was excellent. On another day we get one or two goals.

"We just have to keep doing what we're doing. If we do that, as I said to the lads, the goals will come.

"The goalkeeper has made some great saves. You'd be more worried if you weren't creating chances.

"I was disappointed last week but this week I couldn't ask for any more other than a goal. That was only thing that was missing.

"As long as the lads stick together and don't break ranks and keep at it, they will turn it around.

"Carlos Gil came on and he was excellent. It was as good a debut as I have seen in a long time for a lad who has just come from another country and probably doesn't know everybody's name.

"You can see he is a top talent.

"The way he played, he was outstanding. He has a real good temperament.

"He's played at a massive club in Spain. When he finds his feet - and if he keeps performing the way he did - Villa will have a top, top player on their hands.

"Fabian has been a big loss. When you lose someone of that ilk for three games, the suspension was long. And, of course, he had the shoulder injury.

"He's been excellent. The good thing with Fabian is that you always know what you're going to get from him.

"Today his game was top-class."

[frank]

The most depressing aspect of the game was not that we should at least have drawn against a poor Liverpool side, not that the selection of Cleverley illustrates Lambert's cluelessness, not that Gabby and Weimann can't compete  at PL level, but that we're so used to losing and not scoring that we, the supporters,  just accept that this is the norm. We're lucky still be 14th but after the next couple of defeats, 3 if you include Hull, we'll  be in the bottom 3 and may well stay there. No one who's  been  to the last few games will be  surprised.