Aston Villa v West Ham Post-Match Thread

[paul_e]

We had a lot of possession yesterday but our problem is that we do very little with it.  The reason is that most of that possession is with players that do very little good work with it e.g. Hutton, Westwood, Bacuna. I am fed up with hearing that they put a lot of effort in.  the truth is that they are wasting good possession. To be fair to Bacuna, he is playing out of position and his defensive work is not bad considering.

Our defence is weak and we are having to rely on Sanchez and Gana playing deeper than they should do.  This is compounded by Hutton playing too far up the field, with no end result.  We need more players of Veretout's ability to use the possession we have and then you might see the best from Traore.

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

We played better yesterday and like most, I am pleased with what we are seeing from Ayew and Veretout.  However, our shortcomings are down to those player that have generally been around for the past 3 or 4 seasons.  I still think we should be trying our hardest to add to the squad in January.  I would say try and buy one key player that adds to the team whether we are relegated or not and bring the rest in on loan so as to, hopefully, get a better quality of player.  I say we need a keeper, right back, central defender , one (preferably two) midfield players an a striker.

I think the top paragraph is harsh, we created chances to get 15 shots and 8 of them were on target.  The problem is too many of our players get stage fright in front of goal and either miss the target or hit it straight at the keeper.  Veretout, Westwood, Gana, Rudy could all do with a goal to get a bit of confidence to pick their spot, Ayew is the only one doing that right now.

Hutton I think is a different issue as well, my problem with him is that he gets far too narrow when we're attacked on his side which either gives too much time to get a cross in or means he's coming out to meet the ball and giving the opportunity to come inside and lose him.  He needs to be forced 5-6 yards to the right by Okore but I don't think Okore has the confidence to shout at him right now.  Bacuna, for all his faults, is far better positioned and it's telling that the chances on that side tend to come later in the game when he's tiring and starts to lose concentration.

I thought we played easily well enough to win yesterday and it was only really terrible positioning by Hutton which gave them a meaningful chance.  Add on the good chances we missed and I firmly believe Garde has got us playing the right way and the performances are close to where they should be and now we need a bit of luck to go our way to get the results that go with it.  The next 2 are absolute must win games and if we can get those wins I think we'll be in a much healthier looking situation ahead of the FA cup weekend.

[walsall villain]

We had a lot of possession yesterday but our problem is that we do very little with it.  The reason is that most of that possession is with players that do very little good work with it e.g. Hutton, Westwood, Bacuna. I am fed up with hearing that they put a lot of effort in.  the truth is that they are wasting good possession. To be fair to Bacuna, he is playing out of position and his defensive work is not bad considering.

Our defence is weak and we are having to rely on Sanchez and Gana playing deeper than they should do.  This is compounded by Hutton playing too far up the field, with no end result.  We need more players of Veretout's ability to use the possession we have and then you might see the best from Traore.

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

We played better yesterday and like most, I am pleased with what we are seeing from Ayew and Veretout.  However, our shortcomings are down to those player that have generally been around for the past 3 or 4 seasons.  I still think we should be trying our hardest to add to the squad in January.  I would say try and buy one key player that adds to the team whether we are relegated or not and bring the rest in on loan so as to, hopefully, get a better quality of player.  I say we need a keeper, right back, central defender , one (preferably two) midfield players an a striker.

I think the top paragraph is harsh, we created chances to get 15 shots and 8 of them were on target.  The problem is too many of our players get stage fright in front of goal and either miss the target or hit it straight at the keeper.  Veretout, Westwood, Gana, Rudy could all do with a goal to get a bit of confidence to pick their spot, Ayew is the only one doing that right now.

Hutton I think is a different issue as well, my problem with him is that he gets far too narrow when we're attacked on his side which either gives too much time to get a cross in or means he's coming out to meet the ball and giving the opportunity to come inside and lose him.  He needs to be forced 5-6 yards to the right by Okore but I don't think Okore has the confidence to shout at him right now.  Bacuna, for all his faults, is far better positioned and it's telling that the chances on that side tend to come later in the game when he's tiring and starts to lose concentration.

I thought we played easily well enough to win yesterday and it was only really terrible positioning by Hutton which gave them a meaningful chance.  Add on the good chances we missed and I firmly believe Garde has got us playing the right way and the performances are close to where they should be and now we need a bit of luck to go our way to get the results that go with it.  The next 2 are absolute must win games and if we can get those wins I think we'll be in a much healthier looking situation ahead of the FA cup weekend.

With regard to Huttons positioning, it could have been better but the finish was excellent. Ten minutes after half time their goalscorere sliced a clearance terribly, that's our luck at the moment. Taking our chances might be a confidence issue but it could worryingly be ability too. I am old enough to remember Graydon scoring freely for us when we played at the second level but struggling when we got promoted to score fro what looked like similar chances. Ayew seems to be OK for this level but Gestede doesn't. We are playing well enough to win next time out though.

[paul_e]

We had a lot of possession yesterday but our problem is that we do very little with it.  The reason is that most of that possession is with players that do very little good work with it e.g. Hutton, Westwood, Bacuna. I am fed up with hearing that they put a lot of effort in.  the truth is that they are wasting good possession. To be fair to Bacuna, he is playing out of position and his defensive work is not bad considering.

Our defence is weak and we are having to rely on Sanchez and Gana playing deeper than they should do.  This is compounded by Hutton playing too far up the field, with no end result.  We need more players of Veretout's ability to use the possession we have and then you might see the best from Traore.

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

We played better yesterday and like most, I am pleased with what we are seeing from Ayew and Veretout.  However, our shortcomings are down to those player that have generally been around for the past 3 or 4 seasons.  I still think we should be trying our hardest to add to the squad in January.  I would say try and buy one key player that adds to the team whether we are relegated or not and bring the rest in on loan so as to, hopefully, get a better quality of player.  I say we need a keeper, right back, central defender , one (preferably two) midfield players an a striker.

I think the top paragraph is harsh, we created chances to get 15 shots and 8 of them were on target.  The problem is too many of our players get stage fright in front of goal and either miss the target or hit it straight at the keeper.  Veretout, Westwood, Gana, Rudy could all do with a goal to get a bit of confidence to pick their spot, Ayew is the only one doing that right now.

Hutton I think is a different issue as well, my problem with him is that he gets far too narrow when we're attacked on his side which either gives too much time to get a cross in or means he's coming out to meet the ball and giving the opportunity to come inside and lose him.  He needs to be forced 5-6 yards to the right by Okore but I don't think Okore has the confidence to shout at him right now.  Bacuna, for all his faults, is far better positioned and it's telling that the chances on that side tend to come later in the game when he's tiring and starts to lose concentration.

I thought we played easily well enough to win yesterday and it was only really terrible positioning by Hutton which gave them a meaningful chance.  Add on the good chances we missed and I firmly believe Garde has got us playing the right way and the performances are close to where they should be and now we need a bit of luck to go our way to get the results that go with it.  The next 2 are absolute must win games and if we can get those wins I think we'll be in a much healthier looking situation ahead of the FA cup weekend.

With regard to Huttons positioning, it could have been better but the finish was excellent. Ten minutes after half time their goalscorere sliced a clearance terribly, that's our luck at the moment. Taking our chances might be a confidence issue but it could worryingly be ability too. I am old enough to remember Graydon scoring freely for us when we played at the second level but struggling when we got promoted to score fro what looked like similar chances. Ayew seems to be OK for this level but Gestede doesn't. We are playing well enough to win next time out though.

I agree it was an excellent finish but Hutton made his mind up for him by being too central and then rushing out to stop the cross, it meant Cresswell was always going to come inside and have a go.  The goal is only 1 example though, watch the game sfrom the last few weeks and look out for where Hutton's starting position is when the ball goes out to a player on that side and he is, almost inevitably, 5-10yards inside.  It's as if he's so terrified of the ball played between him and Okore that he's decided to block it himself but that just leaves a huge gap out wide.

[tomd2103]

We had a lot of possession yesterday but our problem is that we do very little with it.  The reason is that most of that possession is with players that do very little good work with it e.g. Hutton, Westwood, Bacuna. I am fed up with hearing that they put a lot of effort in.  the truth is that they are wasting good possession. To be fair to Bacuna, he is playing out of position and his defensive work is not bad considering.

Our defence is weak and we are having to rely on Sanchez and Gana playing deeper than they should do.  This is compounded by Hutton playing too far up the field, with no end result.  We need more players of Veretout's ability to use the possession we have and then you might see the best from Traore.

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

We played better yesterday and like most, I am pleased with what we are seeing from Ayew and Veretout.  However, our shortcomings are down to those player that have generally been around for the past 3 or 4 seasons.  I still think we should be trying our hardest to add to the squad in January.  I would say try and buy one key player that adds to the team whether we are relegated or not and bring the rest in on loan so as to, hopefully, get a better quality of player.  I say we need a keeper, right back, central defender , one (preferably two) midfield players an a striker.

I think the top paragraph is harsh, we created chances to get 15 shots and 8 of them were on target.  The problem is too many of our players get stage fright in front of goal and either miss the target or hit it straight at the keeper.  Veretout, Westwood, Gana, Rudy could all do with a goal to get a bit of confidence to pick their spot, Ayew is the only one doing that right now.

Hutton I think is a different issue as well, my problem with him is that he gets far too narrow when we're attacked on his side which either gives too much time to get a cross in or means he's coming out to meet the ball and giving the opportunity to come inside and lose him.  He needs to be forced 5-6 yards to the right by Okore but I don't think Okore has the confidence to shout at him right now.  Bacuna, for all his faults, is far better positioned and it's telling that the chances on that side tend to come later in the game when he's tiring and starts to lose concentration.

I thought we played easily well enough to win yesterday and it was only really terrible positioning by Hutton which gave them a meaningful chance.  Add on the good chances we missed and I firmly believe Garde has got us playing the right way and the performances are close to where they should be and now we need a bit of luck to go our way to get the results that go with it.  The next 2 are absolute must win games and if we can get those wins I think we'll be in a much healthier looking situation ahead of the FA cup weekend.

With regard to Huttons positioning, it could have been better but the finish was excellent. Ten minutes after half time their goalscorere sliced a clearance terribly, that's our luck at the moment. Taking our chances might be a confidence issue but it could worryingly be ability too. I am old enough to remember Graydon scoring freely for us when we played at the second level but struggling when we got promoted to score fro what looked like similar chances. Ayew seems to be OK for this level but Gestede doesn't. We are playing well enough to win next time out though.

I agree it was an excellent finish but Hutton made his mind up for him by being too central and then rushing out to stop the cross, it meant Cresswell was always going to come inside and have a go.  The goal is only 1 example though, watch the game sfrom the last few weeks and look out for where Hutton's starting position is when the ball goes out to a player on that side and he is, almost inevitably, 5-10yards inside.  It's as if he's so terrified of the ball played between him and Okore that he's decided to block it himself but that just leaves a huge gap out wide.

Problem is, players like Hutton make costly mistakes week-in-week-out.  Off the top of my head in the last three games he gave a penalty away against Arsenal, was involved in that mix up against Newcastle which could have finished us off and was at fault at yesterday as well.  When you are struggling to score goals you can't afford to be so slack at the other end.

[Villa in Denmark]

I wonder if Hutton's starting position has something to do with Richard's penchant for going walkabout up field leaving Hutton as essentially the right hand side of a 3 with either Lescott or Clark inside of him.

You'd quickly get used to getting sucked into the middle in those situations.

Anyway where is Richards? He's been out for nearly a month with  "a minor knock to the knee" was how I think it was first reported.  Lucky Okore was fit just in time.

[frank]

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

I thought he actually played better against Newcastle and yesterday than for a long time. His ball control was more confident, his flicks more directed and in both games he certainly caused the defence problems. However, I agree with you that he missed chances that he should have scored from. He's not the answer to our striking problems, but he's a bit better than I thought he was.

[AV82EC]

Does anyone else get the distinct impression that some of our players are actually being coached and look a lot fitter than they did 2 months ago.

[Toronto Villa]

Does anyone else get the distinct impression that some of our players are actually being coached and look a lot fitter than they did 2 months ago.

I imagine Bobby D is having an effect. A proper pre season with a proper fitness coach would have made a massive difference. And it has coincided with Gabby being shown the door. I know from the last time Duverne was at the club they didn't along.

[Bad English]

A ****proper pre season**** with a proper fitness coach

HOUSE!

I win AVFC new-manager Bingo!

[Steve R]

Does anyone else get the distinct impression that some of our players are actually being coached and look a lot fitter than they did 2 months ago.

Yes to both. Veretout and Sanchez in particular are lasting the course this last few games - Sanchez' injury not withstanding - and the form of Westwood, Bacuna and even Gestede has visibly improved.

Apart from a brief attempt by Houllier to impose a bit of professionalism - which caused insurrection at the time - we haven't shown obvious signs of coaching or fitness  training since well before O'Neill's or O'Leary's times at the club.

[tomd2103]

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

I thought he actually played better against Newcastle and yesterday than for a long time. His ball control was more confident, his flicks more directed and in both games he certainly caused the defence problems. However, I agree with you that he missed chances that he should have scored from. He's not the answer to our striking problems, but he's a bit better than I thought he was.

If we can get a decent striker in next month, then I think Gestede could have a role coming off the bench in the closing stages. 

[adrenachrome]

Gestede's only good point is his ability in the air but he put 3 good chances wide or over.  We cannot afford a player that cannot put away chances that are supposed to be his bread and butter.

I thought he actually played better against Newcastle and yesterday than for a long time. His ball control was more confident, his flicks more directed and in both games he certainly caused the defence problems. However, I agree with you that he missed chances that he should have scored from. He's not the answer to our striking problems, but he's a bit better than I thought he was.

I agree.

He was winning headers, holding the ball up well, and bringing other players into the game.

Of course, any striker that misses clear cut chances will be subject to justified criticism.