Aston Villa 1 Knuckledraggers crawl back under their stones 0 Post match thread.

[saunders_heroes]

The Secret Footballer taking the piss out of Rowett for revealing he knew Villa's team the day before the match...

Gary Rowett looks just silly in revealing Birmingham City’s inside information

After Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Birmingham City in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday night, Gary Rowett, the Birmingham manager, said: “I actually knew their team [on Monday], funnily enough. That often happens, you often get a little tip-off. Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re not.”

It was perplexing to all of us in the game as to why Rowett felt the need to mention it. Leaking teams goes on all the time. In fact, as a manager, you have to work on the assumption that the opposition will know which 11 players they are about to face at any point in the season.

I have leaked teams to other managers and teams have been leaked to me. You do it because managers remember it and you never know when you might need a favour yourself.

I’ve even had friends at rival clubs leak their teams to me. In fact, during the team meeting at our training ground prior to that match, my manager had stated specifically, without asking me first: “TSF will get their team for us and we’ll go from there.”

That was about five years ago but I remember it vividly. He said it in such a blase way, so flippantly, because he knew – and we knew – that it was just a given.

Leaking teams goes on all the time but it’s not as bad as it sounds in truth because you are never going to come up against a team that has changed all 11 outfield players from one game to the next.

So you are never really going to get caught out by a full-blown change of personnel.

All a manager is looking for is the reassurance that his best guess and the best guess of his analytics department on the opposition team is, in fact, on the money.

He wants to know if it is Diego Costa playing this week or Loic Remy, not whether the entire team is going to change from the week before because that doesn’t happen.

He wants to know if the injury sustained by John Terry will keep him out and whether Kurt Zouma will come in, not whether the whole back four is going to change.

And I’ll tell you how you can prove how easy it is.

This week, take the team that you support and best guess their starting XI. I bet you get most of the XI correct, probably ten out of 11. Then do it the following week and the week after that.

What you will find is that the changes very often come about as a result of injuries and suspensions, not like-for-like changes.

And most of the time you will be able to accurately pick the replacement player. It will be obvious. As a manager, that’s all you need to know.

I’ve been in team meetings where a player has piped up and said: “O’Shea tells me that Rooney is struggling, he got a knock in training.” Or it might be: “The kit man at Arsenal says that Walcott has been to Germany this week for a test on his hamstring.”

Those are more common. Usually, it will be an international team-mate who has the info.

Usually it will be an international team-mate who has the info
It is those snippets that are then followed up in-house. Very rarely do you need to have the entire team leaked to you bar, say, a cup match in which fringe players generally get a chance to prove their worth.

But those games are not really treated with the same respect as a league match.

The big mystery here is why Rowett came out and said what he said. I can think of only two reasons.

The first is ego. It has all the hallmarks of a “look at me, I can find out the starting XI of a Premier League team. Even though I’m beneath you, you’re nothing special. I’m your equal, etc.”

The second reason is that Rowett is attempting to undermine a bigger, local rival to endear himself to the Birmingham fans.

Fans love the chance to laugh at their rivals and Rowett will be thinking to himself that this makes Villa look a bit comical.

Like something such as this shouldn’t and doesn’t happen in football, especially at a Premier League club.

But take my word for it, it happens every single week in every single division at every club.

Very rarely will you find a surprise player in a starting XI.

If there is a change of personnel that looks as if it may have been a surprise when he lines up on Saturday afternoon, then I can guarantee you that his presence will have been known about by no later than Friday afternoon.

It’s poor from Rowett, to be honest. I think he’s made himself look silly in attempting to do the same to Villa.

When asked if the leak was worrying, Villa manager Tim Sherwood said: “Of course it’s not. It’s interesting why he even mentioned it. It’s strange.”

Put it this way, it’s more surprising than Villa’s line-up on Tuesday.[\quote]

 

Read more at http://www.thesecretfootballer.com/articles/the-secret-footballer/28409/gary-rowett-looks-just-silly-in-revealing-birmingham-citys-inside-information/#hJFqDSzYfUGGgIAr.99

[Madferret62]

So, Villa v Blose, lower  Holte. In my seat eagerly awaiting the slaughter of the noses that would ensue. Everyone standing- great, atmosphere building.

Kick off seconds away and my row was joined by 3, I won't call them men as they weren't, who literally barged past, pushed several people, including two pensioners out of the way and proceeded to occupy seats that weren't theirs. Now I like to help out fellow fans and had they asked to sit/stand together no problem. Drink had clearly played its part (no objection to anyone having a few) but their demeanour was, frankly disgusting.

They took it upon themselves to bellow out the ever so witty Tracy Andrews ditty as though it were the most cutting hilarious jibe ever, much to the bemusement of those around them. They collectively and constantly berated Villa players as "******". Grantedfirst half was shit, but booing your own team off in a derby???!!!

So, was this a case of the youth having a bit too much ale and indulging in a bit of leary banter? NO- these were three 40-50 year olds clearly vicariously reenacting their "top boy" days. These were, supposedly, fully formed adults of the species, dads, maybe even granddads. An utterly pathetic sight. Knuckle Draggers- fuck off you've had your day.

[cdbearsfan]

Won't quote you to avoid clogging up the page, but that article was a good read, cheers SaundersHeroes.

[The Man With A Stick]

Rowett can't be the new Bob Paisley that they're all hyping him up to be if he knew our starting 11 the day before and they still couldn't beat us.

[Bottom Right 89]

Won't quote you to avoid clogging up the page, but that article was a good read, cheers SaundersHeroes.

Agreed cheers for that Saunders - I'm convinced TSF is Danny Murphy.

[cdbearsfan]

Dave Kitson, inni? Although I think he gives contrasting clues sometimes to throw readers of the scent.

[aj2k77]

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/09/23/loved-every-minute-birmingham-city-players-react-after-aston-vil/

Love it, sounds like a bunch of non league players getting their ''time to shine'' on the big stage, then disappearing back in to the anonymity of 15,000 at the Sty.

[ChicagoLion]

http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/09/23/loved-every-minute-birmingham-city-players-react-after-aston-vil/

Love it, sounds like a bunch of non league players getting their ''time to shine'' on the big stage, then disappearing back in to the anonymity of 15,000 at the Sty.

They with thier fans are in a continual delusional feedback loop.

[nigel]

The first half with Lescott and Gabby was like playing with 9 players, no wonder we were under pressure.
Once we had 11 players it was game over 

[olaftab]

But it wasn't like playing with nine it was much worse as there were 9 on our side 13 playing for them due to the errors both were making.

[cdbearsfan]

I actually think Gabby was ok.

Lescott was beyond shite.

[The Edge]

Just reading the Bham mail. Reading about the arrests. The noses named were from Redditch and Solihull. Yet those fuckin retards try an claim they are Brums club an our fans aren't from Bham. What utter bollix. I live in Nechells where the majority of my mates are villa!!!  Noses from the mean streets of Solihull & Redditch trying to tell ME that they are the true Birmingham club. Oh the irony.

[olaftab]

Sorry don't buy that Edge.They are from Small Heath and a Brum club. We have loads from Tamworth and Ireland etc. and that's great. Agree on all us Nechellians being the bedrock of Villa support😀

[The Edge]

Sorry don't buy that Edge.They are from Small Heath and a Brum club. We have loads from Tamworth and Ireland etc. and that's great. Agree on all us Nechellians being the bedrock of Villa support😀
I'm not denying they are a Birmingham club. Of course they are,they're small heath and we're aston.
Im talking about them claiming that villa support is made up mainly of people from outside Brum when that's clearly bollox. Yes we welcome fans from far and wide but so do they. And I wouldn't mind betting that the proportion of fans who travel from outside the city is similar for both clubs. It's just that we get bigger crowds so there's a larger number that come to see the famous Villa.

[dave.woodhall]

One from the other side. http://thebirminghampress.com/2015/09/villa-triumph/