Aston Villa v Brentford Post Match Thread

[Brian Taylor]

Ron Saunders took measure s to counter the gypsy curse. I think it is back and rdm should do likewise.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/aston-villa-1-1-brentford-8837948

[Nunkin1965]

The really, really stupid thing was, with Just-Head up front on his own, Brentford knew there was no chance of us breaking. They could relax and push us back at their leisure. That was staggering, a bit like our unfit players in the last 20 minutes.

And  not playing our most effective  forward, Kodjia,  right in the middle! On fitness it was alarming how our players faded away post  60+ and bringing on an unfit Amavi did not help at all.

Yes that was a major issue for me. Why decide to leave Gestede on his own? First half players were around him and second half nothing.

But for gods sake why move Kodjia out on the wing? I know he scored but why move him around after Sunday? Bizarre. RDM is shoehorning attacking players into the team and it will cost him his job.

[Pete]

There's a hilarious post in the discussion below the match report in the Guardian:

Perhaps Gabby is the answer in midfield? When he is fit of course. He could play the role that Merson and Pires have played in the past, an old head with an eye for distributing the ball.

I have replied, a few posts below it.

[martin o`who??]

Ooooooh dear - getting an awful sense of Deja-vu about all this.

[Pete]

Ooooooh dear - getting an awful sense of Deja-vu about all this.

Me too. A bit better than last year, in that we're drawing more games rather than losing, but we need wins. Four points out of the last 15, that's relegation form.

[castlefields_villan]

I was listening to it on Radio WM , they absolutely loved that. Twats.

I have no idea what to say re the game. It is amazing just how much of a habit the late conceding has become.

I wouldn't have said that - I thought last night's coverage was ok - although when I saw it was on R5SE I assumed, wrongly it would have been one of the R5 core team.  Still I thought Garry Thompson told it as it was and I thought Mark Reagan (I've got no idea where his loyalties really lie) covered it pretty much spot on and felt the tension we were all feeling (and that was all around the world as well).

[castlefields_villan]

Rdm doesn't give a Fuk get rid off him before its to late

and replace him with ?

[mallo]

How have we managed to get a load of new players and they turn into the old lot of players? There is a pervasive fear through Aston Villa - it's obvious. We are seriously average and I expected a lot more. At the very least I expect a team to be able to go to 2 close banks of 4 and defend together a la Everton boredom under Moyes when under the cosh, it's basics.

The road has become a lot lot longer than expected. Either we stumble through to Jan and get a new midfield or we have to accept we're going to have to play counter attack even at home because our midfield might as well not exist.

RDM without tackling this powder puff attitude is going to be on borrowed time - can't see Tony being overly patient.

[dorsetvillian]

Drove up from Plymouth. Crap journey both ways. Another late goal! Beginning to think we are cursed. What really gets me are the leaders!! We purchased just don't seem any better at managing a game than last year. A very worrying performance from players and management.

[ClarrieBlue]

I still can't quite comprehend what our game plan was. I was at the back of the Holte when it became apparent we were playing the four "forwards". So who is gonna supply the ammunition everyone was saying. Certainly not Jedinak or Westwood. It then all unravelled as we were dominated in midfield and any hope of getting Cissokho or De Laet forward was nullified. I mean they are not exactly the best backs going forward anyway. I know Cissokho takes some stick on here but I was in the Holte / Trinity corner and he was exposed to a "two on one" situation for most of the first half. When he went down with a head injury, I think he was probably dizzy actually. I guess that's why Amavi played in front of him in the second half. Woods just kept spraying it left and right and we were so narrow all the time. Thinking the same as everyone else in the ground, I turned to my sons in the 86th minute and said we would let one in any minute and they duly obliged. To be fair, you can't say they didn't deserve it.

Our main tactic was the big boot towards Gestede and I thought their centre back handled him quite well really. We took Gestede off and continued the big boot towards Kodija. On the night he looked really good, but that surely is not the way to use him. Their centre half won every ball from then on I think.

I know most of the above has already been said but I had to have a moan. To cap it all on the train back to New Street, we had to suffer the indignity of Brentford fans taking the piss out of us and there wasn't a lot you could say back. Their parting shot was "Oh well, we'll see you again next year - but then again maybe not" inferring that relegation is a possibility. I really don't think we are quite in those dire straits yet but I think our main problem is that unless we can pick up some creative "out of contract" midfielders we are stuck with what we have till January. Maybe Grealish and Adomah will offer more creativity I dunno. As everyone has said, by the time we have played the next three games things could look a whole lot worse.

[PeterWithe]

I dont think a lack of creativity will be a long term issue but we really need Tish or someone else to step up and give us that midfield presence and energy.

[Hookeysmith]

When can we expect our very own sick note Tshibola to play again?

Err he is not injured  - just not picked

[paul richard]

Last night was a game changer.  The moment that Brentford's equaliser went in was the moment the mood around the club changed.  Yes, we all knew it was coming, but up to that point we had talked about how we were playing well in matches, how it was so much better than last season, and how some team somewhere was going to get a hiding.  The assumption was that things would click in to place, we would get our rightful deserts and would move up the table.  That illusion evaporated in an instant in the 88th minute of last night's game, and in that moment the shock that we had allowed ourselves to be outmanoeuvred by moderate opposition on our own patch and the realisation that we are a bang average team ourselves with problems of balance, shape, motivation, squad depth, fitness and spark generated the wave of booing that we had wanted to put behind us after last season's debacle but which now came unavoidably to the fore.  I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.  It was a disjointed, incoherent, lifeless, spiritless performance which saw us retreat behind the half way line for more than half the game against an anonymous, mediocre team - a League One club punching above its weight in the Championship - illuminated only by a single moment of high class for a goal that looked like it belonged in another game.  I'm not going to single out any particular player for comment; the stifling mood seemed to affect them all.  But shape of the team and the motivation of the players is the responsibility of the manager, and he has to carry the can for the shambolic performance that emerged.  I get the feeling that Dr Tony will not tolerate too much more of this, and RDM may therefore already be on borrowed time.  A failure to win any of the matches before the next international break may see a change of manager far sooner than any of us might have predicted.

[Mortimer's Bear]

Rdm doesn't give a Fuk get rid off him before its to late

I suspect he does.

[ClarrieBlue]

I think you are right. Folks by me were not just miffed, a good few were absolutely incensed by that goal. In the 7 minutes that followed I don't think we got anywhere near their goal. We had gone completely. Brentford did have a couple of half chances as I recall.

Last night was a game changer.  The moment that Brentford's equaliser went in was the moment the mood around the club changed.  Yes, we all knew it was coming, but up to that point we had talked about how we were playing well in matches, how it was so much better than last season, and how some team somewhere was going to get a hiding.  The assumption was that things would click in to place, we would get our rightful deserts and would move up the table.  That illusion evaporated in an instant in the 88th minute of last night's game, and in that moment the shock that we had allowed ourselves to be outmanoeuvred by moderate opposition on our own patch and the realisation that we are a bang average team ourselves with problems of balance, shape, motivation, squad depth, fitness and spark generated the wave of booing that we had wanted to put behind us after last season's debacle but which now came unavoidably to the fore.  I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.  It was a disjointed, incoherent, lifeless, spiritless performance which saw us retreat behind the half way line for more than half the game against an anonymous, mediocre team - a League One club punching above its weight in the Championship - illuminated only by a single moment of high class for a goal that looked like it belonged in another game.  I'm not going to single out any particular player for comment; the stifling mood seemed to affect them all.  But shape of the team and the motivation of the players is the responsibility of the manager, and he has to carry the can for the shambolic performance that emerged.  I get the feeling that Dr Tony will not tolerate too much more of this, and RDM may therefore already be on borrowed time.  A failure to win any of the matches before the next international break may see a change of manager far sooner than any of us might have predicted.