Aston Villa v Stoke City post match thread

[myf]

To be fair we have lost a one goal in two striker and two very decent midfielders. 

is that meant to be a defence of sherwood? This s a poor league and we're being embarrassed by all three promoted clubs. At least toon and mackems can say theyve had a tough start

[TonyD]

We will be as  good as down by Christmas I'm afraid. 

[garyshawsknee]

We played well for an hour at Leicester so why change the way we played completely he is clueless

We are going down thus season and with a whimper

Exactly . For all of 30 minutes, that was a good performance. So the need to change systems tells me he has got an effing clue.

[Loxton01]

Well least Chelsea no they have three points sorted next game to take the pressure off Jose

[SamTheMouse]

I genuinely don't understand the thinking behind the tactics.

Why go five at the back against Stoke? And then play three midfielders who tend to sit deep and hardly ever make runs into the box. Against fucking Stoke. At home. So we're going to lump it to the big man. Because as everyone knows, Stoke are shit at defending against that kind of thing. For fuck's sake.

Playing three central defenders is not easy, everyone knows it's tricky for the players to get used to. So Sherwood brilliantly decides he's going to not only play three CBs, but he's going to make one of them the new boy who hasn't even played for us and has no experience in the Premier League.

Then, when the time comes to inevitably make the change to a back four, he takes off the experienced old hand whose main problem is a lack of pace - because Stoke are just brimming with pace, aren't they? - and leaves on the new boy, who promptly gets caught out of position miles away from the other centre-half, and Arnautovic gets left in about 10 square yards of space in the box to score.

Honestly, could none of those geniuses sat in the dugout have spotted this coming?

[saunders_heroes]

Christ that was appalling. Knew we were in trouble as soon as I saw the team sheet. What a disgraceful, negative, boring starting 11.
Just not good enough for Aston Villa.
These last 5 years have been a fuckin disgrace to the club. Shame on you, Randy Lerner and your lack of ambition and pride in this club.
Let's just hope we stay in this league by hook or by crook.

[ChicagoLion]

I genuinely don't understand the thinking behind the tactics.

Why go five at the back against Stoke? And then play three midfielders who tend to sit deep and hardly ever make runs into the box. Against fucking Stoke. At home. So we're going to lump it to the big man. Because as everyone knows, Stoke are shit at defending against that kind of thing. For fuck's sake.

Playing three central defenders is not easy, everyone knows it's tricky for the players to get used to. So Sherwood brilliantly decides he's going to not only play three CBs, but he's going to make one of them the new boy who hasn't even played for us and has no experience in the Premier League.

Then, when the time comes to inevitably make the change to a back four, he takes off the experienced old hand whose main problem is a lack of pace - because Stoke are just brimming with pace, aren't they? - and leaves on the new boy, who promptly gets caught out of position miles away from the other centre-half, and Arnautovic gets left in about 10 square yards of space in the box to score.

Honestly, could none of those geniuses sat in the dugout have spotted this coming?

Perfectly summed up his ineptitude.

[tomd2103]

Almost a carbon copy of the West Brom game really.  A few positives - thought Gana and Veretout looked better and Richards had another good game.  I thought Gil was good when he came on I have to question why he isn't starting in the number 10 role.  Overall though it was not a good performance and our delivery in the final third was awful. 

What exactly does Ray Wilkins do during a game?

[aj2k77]

To be fair we have lost a one goal in two striker and two very decent midfielders. 

And spent £50m replacing them. We are a team cobbled together by a bull shitter pretending to be a top division manager. He has no shape or style he wants us to play. He needed to cut his teeth in the lower leagues and had a few years in the Premier before taking on such a tough job, he's sinking.

[kippaxvilla2]

In which case if he does go I do not want us fcuking about with another unproven at this level manager who as soon as he rocks up forms a grey figure caught in the headlights within weeks.  So that rules Rowett out.  It can only be someone like Allardyce or Moyes.  No more taking chances.

[silhillvilla]

My fear is when we drop, we will quickly be the new Sheffield Weds, forgotten and cut loose into the wilderness for decades.

[kippaxvilla2]

By the way can someone post that picture doing the rounds the last of the clueless winos one.  It is quite funny.

[aj2k77]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34366599

Just take a moment to look at the link and the bbc report has a player map showing on average where each player was positioned.

Stoke has a lovely spread around the pitch.

We have 3 central midfielders all within 5 yards of each other, completely bypassed most of the time by the other team.
We have Hutton, Alan fucking Hutton as our most advanced player bar Sinclair and Gestede.
We have a massive gap at the heart of defence.

It looks as stupid as it was. What is going on behind the scenes?

[ciggiesnbeer]

As I say every week now, what is there left to say that hasn't been said a 1000 times already?

My position too Richard. I'm exhausted by getting this worked up, and I try hard not to. But 5 years and counting and even being one of the most optimistic ones I feel beaten to shit by it all.

It just saps your energy doesn't TV? I feel drained by 5pm every week now even though, bizarrely, they make me care less and less. I actually watch hardly any football now at the weekends or in the week and it's all down to year after year after year now of this unremitting shit. I sat in Bath in the sun in the week and thought how much I wished I could live there, go and watch the rugby every week, and forget all about this f*cking drain on my life

I'm fortunate living so far away in many respects with other sports and a young family. Because I now look for ways to avoid football after we have lost so you can imagine how much football I have managed to avoid. Just turning on the radio or TV and somehow a sneak at the table or a pundit mentioning how bollocks we are just brings me down. I don't need it.

Same. I care less and less, mainly as a self defence mechanism. I think someone else mentioned in another thread no English team has gone for such long stretches without league wins as Villa the past few years? Anyway it feels like it.

[silhillvilla]

I haven't watched Motd for weeks now