Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest Post Match Thread

[Monty]

No to 4-4-2, we'd look too open and it doesn't play to our strengths (namely Grealish, Ayew, Ross Mac, Kodija).

[Perthvillan]

I managed to watch a few Championship games this weekend including our game and I must say that Villa were by far the best side I saw.
Reading - Ipswich on Friday was a poor game and Newcastle didn't have to do a lot to beat a very poor Derby side.
Even Blues had to really grind out their win over Fulham.
There is nothing to fear from any of them.
RDM made a big error in not at least getting Jedi on when we went 2-1 up. If he was fit enough to be on the bench he could at least have played 20 minutes.
We missed a shit load of chances and had some bad luck.
How many times have we hit the woodwork this season?
Once we get everyone fit and really start to gel as a team someone will be in for a real hammering.
Yesterday was disappointing because we didn't win but I am encouraged for the future.

[mr underhill]

people have been saying the same thing all season - give it time and we'll really hammer someone. Fact is, we don't because we have a powder puff midfield and despite having spent big at the back and up front we still concede too many and contrive to miss too many, despite having the most prolific forwards in the league. I was able to use my season ticket for the first time yesterday and whilst thoroughly entertained it was hugely disappointing we didn't win when we should have.

[Percy McCarthy]

We won't hammer anyone if we stop attacking when we go into a one goal lead.

[pbavfckuwait]

First game I have seen all the way through yesterday, positives, Kodjia looks a player, Ayew second half superb, but again needs to think at times to get rid to a better placed option. I think harsh on Bunn for the first one, that ball had some movement on it.
Concerns over both centre backs and our still non existent midfield and the managers insistence on trying to get all attacking options on the field at once at the cost of any shape, Lambertesque and also a bit Tactics Tim, do we have a machine at Villa park that drains managers of common sense.
Great that everyone thinks we are going to hammer someone very soon, but we are not going to hammer every team over the next 40 games, so we need to learn to drag out some one goal wins, I will settle for 4 shots, 1 on target but no goals conceded, that way you get 3 points, not 26 shoots, but only 1 point. If we want to become the great entertainers, let's do that next season in the prem, when we probably have not got much chance of winning it, this season let's get back to where we belong.

[AvFc4eVeR]

I managed to watch a few Championship games this weekend including our game and I must say that Villa were by far the best side I saw.
Reading - Ipswich on Friday was a poor game and Newcastle didn't have to do a lot to beat a very poor Derby side.
Even Blues had to really grind out their win over Fulham.
There is nothing to fear from any of them.
RDM made a big error in not at least getting Jedi on when we went 2-1 up. If he was fit enough to be on the bench he could at least have played 20 minutes.
We missed a shit load of chances and had some bad luck.
How many times have we hit the woodwork this season?
Once we get everyone fit and really start to gel as a team someone will be in for a real hammering.
Yesterday was disappointing because we didn't win but I am encouraged for the future.

Not sure on season totals, but it's 5 times in last two matches plus one off line in both games.

[ozzjim]

I managed to watch a few Championship games this weekend including our game and I must say that Villa were by far the best side I saw.
Reading - Ipswich on Friday was a poor game and Newcastle didn't have to do a lot to beat a very poor Derby side.
Even Blues had to really grind out their win over Fulham.
There is nothing to fear from any of them.
RDM made a big error in not at least getting Jedi on when we went 2-1 up. If he was fit enough to be on the bench he could at least have played 20 minutes.
We missed a shit load of chances and had some bad luck.
How many times have we hit the woodwork this season?
Once we get everyone fit and really start to gel as a team someone will be in for a real hammering.
Yesterday was disappointing because we didn't win but I am encouraged for the future.

Not sure on season totals, but it's 5 times in last two matches plus one off line in both games.

Think it was something ridiculous like 16 before the game started. To argue that is anything other than unlucky isn't possible.  3 or 4 have been poor misses, but the Ayew one yesterday, or McCormack at Derby for example were brilliant attempts that another day end in the corner.

[simboy]

Perhaps I'm the only one but I thought Grealish just "had to beat the extra man" yesterday. There were a number of times when it looked easier to pass the ball to the man in space ( admittedly Cissokho who's not the best crosser of the ball) but chose to take the ball back into a ruck of players.

If he's going to play in the creating role (more centrally) he's got to be more incisive.

I, like some others am not convinced about Elphick as a defender over all. I like his vocalising (which we lacked last year). However the basics have to be right, tackling, marking and chasing back.

Thought Ayew had the best game I've seen for a long time, had the left back on toast second half.

Overall the shock we got of conceding forced us to go "all out" for 15 minutes with the replacement of gardiner by gestede - what I didn't get was why we tried to hold on to the lead with only Westwood who could be described as anything like a defensive midfielder on the pitch (and five forwards or attacking midfielders on). If it had been me ( not that it ever will) I would have pushed for that third.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Points lost due to a lightweight midfield

Especially the second the run wasn't that good it was just piss poor defending by a team overrun with attackers.Really need Tishibola and Jedinek to be fit as Westwood and Gardner ,especially as a midfield 2 isn't good enough

Absolutely

Jedinak and Tshibola will replace those two when fit

[Matt Collins]

I wonder if he could play a 442 with gestede and kodjia in some games

The sort of mad diamond we had yday isn't sustainable and we don't really have the players for a normal diamond - it would also mean dropping jack and McCormack for ayew at the tip - or playing one further fwd. and no place for adomah

Possibly could play adomah right and ayew tucked in on the left - but again no place for jack or McCormack

Anyway, I think every other manager would kill for these problems so that's where he needs to earn his money

[ozzjim]

I think he's going to have to make some tough calls soon.  Gestede and Kodjia look like they could make a decent 2, Jack and Adomah could play wide but then Ayew and McCormack miss out.  Rotation is going to have to happen with so many games.  Think Gestede will start in the week and possibly McCormack will drop out.

[john e]

Points lost due to a lightweight midfield

Especially the second the run wasn't that good it was just piss poor defending by a team overrun with attackers.Really need Tishibola and Jedinek to be fit as Westwood and Gardner ,especially as a midfield 2 isn't good enough

Absolutely

Jedinak and Tshibola will replace those two when fit

im not so sure
I was looking at peoples line ups over the last two weeks, most had no Westwood or Gardner in and I thought then that we still don't realise that the manager likes them

I reckon they will both play as big a parts as Jedinak and Tishibola do over the whole season
in fact I bet Westwood will play the more games than any other midfielder come May

I like a lot of others don't think they are as bad as some make out but playing both does leave us weak in midfield,
 I think we could get away with playing one and they could do a reasonable job, but both and we always seem to struggle

we don't even know how good Jed and Tish are yet anyways,
 we automatically think they will be the answer to our needs when they might well struggle and find themselves off the pace,
 especially Jedinak who is old, remember people moaning about Petrovs legs going and that was when he was our best midfielder

unfortunately I think we will have to be putting up with Gardner and Westwood more than we'd like

[David_Nab]

The Midfield is the big issue for me , all hopes are on a Jed and Tshibola to come in and steady it but the former is past prime and latter is all potential and seemingly made of glass !

Even with injuries with the amount we have spent we still ended up with at least 3 defenders on bench 4 if you include Bacuna as RB option.For me once 2-1 up I would have had a leggy looking McCormak off and Bacuna on in CM ( Bacuna over Jedinek who clearly wasn't fit after his travels and injury picked up during Oz game ) just to add legs in there.

[Dr Butler]

Forest came for a point and got it...it seemed every time we got a head of steam on the Forest goals they would find away to use their frustrating time wasting tactics to slow us down, so although far from great it looks like we are getting better with each game and I believe we will thump someone real soon.

UTV
The Doc

[CJ]

Haven't seen it mentioned anywhere but thought it was worth mentioning the minute's applause on 23 minutes for the villa fan who lost his battle with cancer aged 24. Have to admit I didn't know what it was about until afterwards