Aston Villa vs Newcastle Post-Match Thread

[andyh]

Just got in and haven't read the whole thread so I don't know the mood.

Firstly, RDM needs questioning for setting us up like that, with essentially 7 defensive players.
At home.
That was disgraceful and left our strikers so isolated it was unreal, especially when Jedinak was giving the impression of having the mobility of an oil tanker.
A central midfielder who struggled to get his fat arse in their half for virtually all of the first half.??

Toon really should have been out of sight, but as we know, if you don't take you chances you don't win games.

Last 20 minutes were far better.
Tish made a difference and the stimulus seemed to come just before the disallowed goal when Ayew angrily gestured to the players scratching their balls on the half way line to wake the fuck up and get in the box.
That finally seemed to galvanise the team.

If we take the game to teams and actually believe we can blow them away, then I think we could.
If we keep playing the game at a snails pace, like the first 70 mins today, we may as well give up.

Finally, aword about Kodjia.....brilliant.

What a skillfull, hardworking, inspiring player.
He honestly reminds me of Collymore, in his pomp.

He could be very, very special, as long as RDM stifle him.

[paul_e]

The thing about Westwood is that whilst he is frequently "not the worst" he is so peripheral to the game he might as well not be on the pitch.

We have a massive problem in midfield, we just look so light there, and Westwood and his inability to spot runners or to provide some sort of defensive quality is a huge part of that problem.

Crux of the matter. I don't wish injury on anyone but why the hell is it our better players that get crocked?

Probably because they actually make contact with the opposition. Westwood is like a gas floating around the middle, occasionally the wind changes and you see him.

Except Westwood made the most tackles and interceptions of our midfielders today, but don't let facts get in the way.

The problem today wasn't due to individual performances and trying to find a way to make it the fault of westwood or bacuna is tiresome, we were shit because our shape didn't suit our players and did nothing to counter the main threats Newcastle offered.  Yes Jedinak looked a bit off the pace and Elphick made a couple of poor mistakes but those are symptoms of the bigger problem which is that for the last 2 games rdm has abandoned the shape that he bought players to fill and we've seen 2 abject performances because of it.  the 4231 we were playing didn't get the results we hoped for but the signs were there that we could be a very good side, Ipswich and today is 2 games where we've had the same defensive lapses but have also lost all our attacking threat and that's not a worthwhile trade off.  $231 or 433 from here on and we'll be ok.

[Nastylee]

Our biggest problem all season has been trying to shoe horn all the attacking players we have into the team. This of course, has resulted in a lack of shape and when under pressure, a lack of defensive cover leading to late goals. Grealish did us a favour in some ways as it meant we had the opportunity to find a formation that might work. The back 5 crap should be binned. I think the three that finished in midfield has to be the way to go then it's Ayew, Koj and then it's upto the others to battle it out for the remaining spot.

[Matt Collins]

Our biggest problem all season has been trying to shoe horn all the attacking players we have into the team. This of course, has resulted in a lack of shape and when under pressure, a lack of defensive cover leading to late goals. Grealish did us a favour in some ways as it meant we had the opportunity to find a formation that might work. The back 5 crap should be binned. I think the three that finished in midfield has to be the way to go then it's Ayew, Koj and then it's upto the others to battle it out for the remaining spot.

I'm in this camp. Maybe grealish can play in the midfield three instead of Westwood.

Gestede is a donkey but kodjia has always looked best when he's on the pitch.

[ez]

Play 3 in midfield with Ayew and Grealish either side of Kodja - McCormack Adomah and Gestede to provide bench firepower.

Have a feeling Baker and Chester will be our best centre half combo.

I can't see Rdm dropping Westwood which means the midfield has to be constructed around him.

[Brend'Watkins]

What was the crowd?
Did Laleek Baker last more than 30 minutes?
How were the toon cadets?
Will we win the next two games? We have to if we have aspirations of promotion this season.

[cdward]

First half I thought we played deep and let them have too much time on the ball. We also kept giving away possession cheaply.
Golini had a good game,  the defence overall looked OK, Elphick had a bit of a mare, it happens.
We got away with it due to their poor finishing.
Up front we looked lively, and again were denied by the post. Ayew, Adomah and Kodjia played well, so did Gestede and RHM.
It's the midfield that doesn't do enough. We didn't win the ball enough, and gave it away too cheaply.
Tshibola had a positive effect on the game. Jedinak had a poor game, but still had some influence on the game, and was unlucky with the offside call. Westwood does not change the game at all.
Need to play with the high intensity of the last 20 minutes.

[ciggiesnbeer]

One day I would love to see a video of westwood in training. It must be genuinely world class.

[Jimbo]

Play 3 in midfield with Ayew and Grealish either side of Kodja - McCormack Adomah and Gestede to provide bench firepower.

Have a feeling Baker and Chester will be our best centre half combo.

I can't see Rdm dropping Westwood which means the midfield has to be constructed around him.

Which puts pressure on the other midfielders because they have to fill the gaps left by Westwood, the big stick of nothingness.

I'm not blaming him for our shitness today, but his net contribution over the last four years has been utterly pathetic. Once he is adequately replaced we will see what a difference having a midfielder who actually contributes can make. A tackle or interception here and there isn't enough. See Aaron Tshibola.

[oswald funkletrumpet]

Shocking line up to start with from RDM, he really has gone to the Sherwood School of Football Tactics.

this

 adomah at wing back what the fuck was that about?

the twats should have been out of site at half time but at least we showed some balls in the last twenty mins

central midfield is a big worry

and jedinak and elphick fuck me what a pair of donkeys

[croatian]

Watched it in a pub in ashington.

Bastards embarrassed me yet one more time. When's it gonna stop? Heroic draws at home, losses away, that's relegation form.

I wouldn't be unhappy for the owner to pull the trigger tonight. Apart from the last quarter it was clueless, gutless,  artless and insipid.

50 million quid? How many bugatti veyrons can you buy for that? We are a funky moped..

And elphick? I thought he was a dead alcoholic actor from Warwickshire? Or was that Michael elphick? Maybe paddy O'Reilly had him dug up, and stuck a shirt on the cadaver?

How much patience should we have?

[Risso]

Play 3 in midfield with Ayew and Grealish either side of Kodja - McCormack Adomah and Gestede to provide bench firepower.

Have a feeling Baker and Chester will be our best centre half combo.

I can't see Rdm dropping Westwood which means the midfield has to be constructed around him.

Which puts pressure on the other midfielders because they have to fill the gaps left by Westwood, the big stick of nothingness.

I'm not blaming him for our shitness today, but his net contribution over the last four years has been utterly pathetic. Once he is adequately replaced we will see what a difference having a midfielder who actually contributes can make. A tackle or interception here and there isn't enough. See Aaron Tshibola.

There was one bit of play on about 40 minutes or so, when a Newcastle player was attacking our penalty area, and Westwood avoided tackling him like a Blues fan avoiding a shower.  Absolutely shithousery of the highest order.

[CJ]

Shocking first half. Poor tactics, poor shape, no intensity, faffing about in dangerous areas. Newcastle could easily have been out of sight but for good goalkeeping by Gollini when we'd presented them with a one-on-one, and miss of the season in the second half. Changing the shape and bringing Tshibola and Gestede on made us an entirely different proposition in the second half so fair play to RdM for recognising his mistake and rectifying it. We've got several players who can take players on - Tshibola, Kodjia, Ayew, Adomah - and then players who have difficulty doing the basics - Jedinak in particular had a mare. If only we'd started the game the way we played in the last 20 minutes we'd have got a better result than we did, but in the end we deserved a point.

Couple of things - haven't seen any replays but 1) was the disallowed goal off-side, and 2) should we have had a penalty or was it a dive?

And at last they've opened Park Circus access to the Expressway/M6 so getting back after the game was back to normal

[tomd2103]

Our biggest problem all season has been trying to shoe horn all the attacking players we have into the team. This of course, has resulted in a lack of shape and when under pressure, a lack of defensive cover leading to late goals. Grealish did us a favour in some ways as it meant we had the opportunity to find a formation that might work. The back 5 crap should be binned. I think the three that finished in midfield has to be the way to go then it's Ayew, Koj and then it's upto the others to battle it out for the remaining spot.

I'm in this camp. Maybe grealish can play in the midfield three instead of Westwood.

Gestede is a donkey but kodjia has always looked best when he's on the pitch.

I agree and that is probably because Kodjia does a lot of work in the channels and outside the box.  If he's playing up front on his own, that often means there no one in the box to get on the end of something.  For all his faults, Gestede does seem to make a real impact when he comes in the later stages of games.

[PeterWithesShin]

It was offside. It wasn't a pen or a dive in my opinion, their player was just stronger in the challenge.