Aston Villa vs Burnley Post-Match Thread

[ChicagoLion]

There is no denying that Gabby can put in the odd performance that lifts us, or can score important goals.

The problem is the 20 games in which he does next to nothing which separate these big performances.

I said this earlier but he is the poster boy for the five year long drift to utter mediocrity.

He isn't the only one, far from it, but he's the most disappointing one. Where do we think he'd go if we sold him?

I'd guess somewhere like Norwich, some newly promoted non entity.

Sherwood has done well to keep us up, but getting five or six games worth of good performances is one thing, stopping this sort of horror season happening again is going to be a big challenge.

Stopping the sort of implicit acceptance of mediocrity that giving the likes of Gabby new deal after new deal represents would be a step forward.

The Cup final is an unexpected bonus, and we played well in that competition, but 17th is as bad as we can get without getting relegated.

The "who wouldn't have accepted staying up and a cup final when Lambert was here" line of argument is fair enough - we'd all have accepted it - but the bigger picture is we have got to stop looking around the arse end of the table like a posher version of Wigan year after year.

To do that we will need either a new owner or a version of Randy that gives more of a shit and is more clued up, and a willingness to take difficult decisions, because the placid acceptance of dross is going to take some shifting after five whole years of it.

I hope that this new era of Fox and Sherwood is a move away from the "acceptance of dross" with or without Lerner. I think the squad is nearer a Top Ten than bottom 3 but there are some big gaps in the first 15.

We will find out during the summer if they have got the ability to start rebuilding the Club. I feel this is more likely now than it has been for several years.

[Toronto Villa]

I get the impression Sherwood won't have any issue being ruthless with the squad. He takes this very personally so he'll wear that as he goes through his post season analysis. It will be his first foray into the transfer market too so he'll wants to get in players that will play and work his way. No more passengers I would hope and expect.

[john e]

Only just got back in,
So no idea why Steer was in today, can someone explain

and if Given is injured is it official or just hearsay

Given injured. And if he played Guzan and he got hurt then we'd be playing some kid in the cup final because Steer is cup tied and Ben is also out. So he didn't risk Guzan.

Ok thanks, well it all makes some sense then

[passport1]

Couldn't give a stuff about todays game or the result. Once we were safe after last weeks results it was pretty obvious that the only focus of the management and players would be Wembley.

Sherwood said last weekend that ideally he wanted premiership status assured and two weeks preparation for the cup final.

Akthough I went I got more or less the game I expected. No urgency with the emphasis on avoiding injuries.

Maybe some suppporters were not listening.

[bob]

Our last game before the League Cup win over Yanited in '94 - our third league defeat on the spin. Were you there? Only twenty thousand other Villa were...


Aston Villa 1                       2         Oldham

Steve Redmond (og 58)     Darren Beckford (67)Rick Holden (74)
    
M Bosnich, E Barrett, S Staunton, S Teale, P McGrath, K Richardson, R Houghton, B Small, D Saunders (D Yorke, 76), G Fenton, S Froggatt       
Subs not used: N Spink, U Ehiogu       
Referee: Attendance: 21214 Stadium: Villa Park

I was there! Awful performance.

[ciggiesnbeer]

The Cup final is an unexpected bonus, and we played well in that competition, but 17th is as bad as we can get without getting relegated.

The "who wouldn't have accepted staying up and a cup final when Lambert was here" line of argument is fair enough - we'd all have accepted it - but the bigger picture is we have got to stop looking around the arse end of the table like a posher version of Wigan year after year.

Yes, a thousand times yes. This needs to end. Fingers crossed Sherwood is the man to do it and he will get the backing he needs.

[Kingthing]

Anyone that hung around after the game to watch our Lions club match would have witnessed a much more passionate affair, Nigel Spink in goal and Lee Hendrie playing for the UK and Ian Taylor playing for overseas, UK won it 10-6 (ish) cracking game, back in London now with a beer, can't walk but one off the bucket list!.....another one crossed off Saturday would end an amazing week.       

[pauliewalnuts]

Only just got back in,
So no idea why Steer was in today, can someone explain

and if Given is injured is it official or just hearsay

Given is struggling with injury.

If he'd put Guzan in, and he'd got injured, we'd have had to play rush goalie in the final.

What I don't get is that today we didn't really go for the "rest the ones we should rest" or the "go all out and win and restore confidence" options, we went for something which wasn't really either of them.

Nothing happened in terms of injuries, but I was very surprised to see him play Delph and Benteke, for example. Delph in particular got something of a kicking in spells today, it struck me as a needless chance to be taken.

[silhillvilla]

Seems the question -
"Why did Steer play"

[KRS]

team that started at CiŁyGuzan, Bacuna, Okore, Vlaar, Richardson, Sanchez, Westwood, Cleverley, Delph, Grealish, Benteke.
SUBS: Given, Weimann, Cole, Senderos, Cissokho, N'Zogbia, Lowton

I can see Sanchez playing for sure to help secure the back line and break up the play. I think that's about as defensive as it will get. You might be right about that team if Richardson can play. I imagine any player not 100% fit will make every effort to "recover" this week.

Sanchez is a defensive liability and will be certain to gift/cause a few goals against Arsenal. If he was to figure in TS plans for the final then I'm sure he'd have got some game time in the last 2 weeks but he hasn't.

[Phil from the upper holte]

I seem to remember we were pretty awful in the last couple of games before beating United in the final in 1994.

Think I said that about 20 times yesterday. Just hope we put in a better performance at Wembley! Arsenal looked good yesterday

[Phil from the upper holte]

The 2 games before the 96 final were a 2-0 loss at Sheff weds and one of the most boring 0-0 draws you'll ever see at home to Boro.

3 league games before the 1994 final were a 1-0 defeat at home to Ipswich, a 2-0 defeat at Leeds and a 2-1 home defeat at home to Oldham. Our only goal in those games was an OG.

Thanks for being the only positive person on this thread think I'm off to slit my wrists

[brian green]

A defeat is a defeat is a defeat. I found yesterday's game acutely depressing because I thought the days and weeks and months of turgid sideways passes then back to the keeper to try to find Benteke's head were gone forever but they were clearly not dead, only hiding. The biggest change Sherwood made was to play further up the pitch but there was no sign of that yesterday. Liverpool foolishly think what has happened in the last few weeks has no bearing on next season. Yes it does. We needed good performances against Southampton and Burnley to sustain morale and to sustain the identity Sherwood has given us. I agree with the poster who said Sherwood is a gifted, inspiring manager who has the ability to throw in the odd performance of a pub team manager with a bad hangover.

[Tom_Mc9?]

Boos and groans at every misplaced pass or pass backwards from the prawn sandwich brigade in the Trinity Upper. I'll be back in the North next time!

[frank black]

Boos and groans at every misplaced pass or pass backwards from the prawn sandwich brigade in the Trinity Upper. I'll be back in the North next time!

To be fair the lower North were the same.