Aston Villa vs. Man City Post-Match Thread

[Nastylee]

Yes nice one lads. Probably what Remi set out to do. He got to see a lot of the fellas.

Rudy did well coming on.
Richards good.
Ayew I don't think had his best day.
Gil was good in the first half.
Sanchez/Gana I think in general had decent games.
Hutton was good.
Brad needs to have a few more clean sheets to convince me.
Vertout best one out there? Certainly seemed to have a good engine on him...

Bit harsh on Ayew considering he was on his own against Kompany and co and had very little service. Thought he ran his socks off and did what he could in the circumstances.

[Quiet Lion]

I am not one to get carried away or go for over the top hyperbole, but it is clear to me Remi is our saviour and will lead us to the promised land.

I had a strange feeling at the end of that match, where I had to get up and pace the lounge, curl up into a ball and swear like a drunken sailor. It has been that long since I watched a match where we were hanging on to a positive result, I had forgotten all about that feeling.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

So many positives to take from that game. The biggest difference was Garde. You look at his subs and you could bet the house if it had been Sherwood it would have fallen apart. Everybody seemed to know what they had to do and where to fit in.

Doesn't it feel great to be finally organised.

[Boz]

Wonderful to see them show they can play when there's a manager who can organise them.

It'll be interesting to see what Sherwood's mates have to say, when there was so obvious an improvement with the same squad of players.

Garde was watching with intensity all the game unlike Lambert and Sherwood leaning back in their seats looking mournful.

Just hope it's more than new manager bounce from the players

[KevinGage]

Far more organised, particularly first half. Rode our luck in the second.

More quality in the final third and we could have pinched it.

Veretout is frustrating.  He has good awareness, but dwells on the ball too long. He is worth persisting with, a few more games in that position and he could come into his own.

[supertom]

That to me is a potentially season turning performance. That's as good as we've played since the semi-final against Liverpool. Easily.
Clark was MOTM for me. I thought he was superb today. He made some great challenges and blocks. Richards is great when it comes to last ditch but he loses runners too easily. We had a little luck on our side today and weren't punished thankfully. But particularly as captain and the main man in the backline, there's no way you can gift a side three unmarked opportunities on the six yard line. We're lucky not to be punished, but that said, we deserve a little luck and our performance warranted a point at the very least.

Hutton also played well. We know he's not a great footballer, but he puts everything into it and he made some cracking challenges.
Amavi was a disappointment for me. He looks very good at times, but he got beaten very easily on a couple of occasions by diving in. Going forward he seemed unusually hesitant to deliver a cross.

The midfield 3 did well.

Gil was tidy but he obviously tired after at the hour. N'Zogbia for me actually made more happen in the box in 30 minutes than Gil did in the first 60. I was actually (whisper it quietly) fairly impressed with Charles today. If he can somehow get inspired and if Garde can rouse Zogbia awake, then there is a good player there. He carved out our best opening.

Ayew was sharp but didn't get much of the ball. That's no surprise given the opposition and the gameplan required to take points from them.

Sinclair didn't isolate Sagna enough and run him on the outside. He was disappointing today.

For a 0-0 where we didn't get a clear cut shot on target, I'm actually chuffed at that. We just need to make better use of the opportunities we do get.

On the evidence of today though. We have quality. If we get these players looking organised and playing as well against the lesser sides, we'll pick up the points required. A point today is a ruddy good start.

[black pearl of inchicore]

Remi the Liberator

[PeterWithesShin]

Fought like fucking Lions!!!!

[clash city rocker]

Sat on the train at witton....HAPPY...!!!

[asgpaul]

Well pleased - a huge step in the right direction - great movement and awareness shown by players.  Pleased to see Lescott dropped, a good shape to the team and players really put there-selves about.  Sensible substitutions too - what's that all about?

[Steve R]

We got about as much out of that game as we could have. A good team selection, good formation, an excellent game plan, a point and even NZogbia broke into a trot when he came on.

We are a lot closer to safety than just one point on comparison to the absolute dross that featured last Monday night. City played better than any other visiting team so far this season and went away with a lot less.

I think Alan Smith would rather lose a testicle than say something positive about Villa.

[passport1]

Better than I expected.Lots of concerns remain lets see after five games.

[john e]

Fantastic start for Remi

Guzan the MOTM for me apart from one spill he was outstanding along with the centre backs

[PeterWithesShin]

Sat on the train at witton....HAPPY...!!!

I'm on the same train. Train wankers unite!

[taylorsworkrate]

We got about as much out of that game as we could have. A good team selection, good formation, an excellent game plan, a point and even NZogbia broke into a trot when he came on.

We are a lot closer to safety than just one point on comparison to the absolute dross that featured last Monday night. City played better than any other visiting team so far this season and went away with a lot less.

I think Alan Smith would rather lose a testicle than say something positive about Villa.

He's a villa fan