Aston 'where will it all end' Villa v Middlesvilla Post Match Thread.

[UK Redsox]

A few thoughts.....

We now know why Adama almost never attempted a tackle whilst he was at Villa.

Why did Boro go so negative when down to 10. They were only playing Villa after all.

The Lansbury foul is only ever a yellow.

The Hogan block was an absolute classic.

Keenan looked far better in the few minutes that he played wide in a front three than he did as the target man.

Elmo is a better central midfielder than he is a right back.

Albert is a better winger than Snodders or Elmo

[villabear]

5 unbeaten, we're on a roll!!

now with added clean sheets
What's not to like

'Clean sheets' something when watching the Villa the last few years you can count on.

[PeterWithesShin]

That Hogan clearance is on a par with Richards stopping us scoring with his ear against Sunderland.

[pauliewalnuts]

Lansbury is a fucking awful player. What does he contribute?

He's fucking shit, and even having Bjarnason - who is so awful, he's surely not a footballer by trade - in the same side fails to make him look any better by comparison.

Lansbury should be driving a van for a living.

[olaftab]

Why did Boro go so negative when down to 10. They were only playing Villa after all.

Elmo is a better central midfielder than he is a right back.

Albert is a better winger than Snodders or Elmo

Boro were even more negative at 10 each.
Agree with the other two comments. Elmo was more effective in distribution in middle however that resulted in Adomah moving to RB and that was not good.

[tomd2103]

Went out after the game and only just got back in.  Firstly, we did have enough good chances to win and I thought Lansbury was definitely brought down by their keeper in the first half and we should have had a penalty.  On the subject of Lansbury, I thought the red was justified - a wild, high kick from behind is going to get a red more often than not in the current climate. 

On to the game and another really disappointing showing really.  Scrappy, shapeless performance and the deliveries in the final third were terrible,  agree with the comments about Lansbury, he offers very little and as much as I want him to do well, I just think Hogan isn't going to work out.  I feel for the guy, but Bjarnason was terrible tonight.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I almost feel sorry for Bruce tonight but his team selection, tactics and stupidity during the game cancel any sympathy.

First he puts Elmo at right back, a position he's played before under Bruce at Hull - and was shit. After the sending off, Elmo had nothing to do, nobody to mark, just tonnes of open space in front of him. Did he use it? Did he fuck. It was only midway through the second half where it appeared somebody had changed his batteries that he actually started moving, attacking and making himself useful.

Adomah comes on and starts to open up the left side combining well with Taylor, so what does Bruce do, switches him to bloody right back. We have three right backs plus Elmo in the squad and he plays Adomah there. That makes even less sense than when he played James Chester there the other week.

What was greatly disappointing was how half arsed the players were. No fighting for 50/50s, safe and negative passing, only Snodgrass looked like he cared and was up for the fight. Fortunately Boro having seen our team on paper must have thought we were better than we are as they offered little threat or intention other than to waste time.

11 months on, another game down the drain and I still can't work out what Bruce is trying to do. He may claim we were unlucky tonight but what he should remember you also create your own luck. The only thing he's creating is an easy decision for the board to kick his arse down Witton Lane.

[Des Little]

Lansbury is a fucking awful player. What does he contribute?

He's fucking shit, and even having Bjarnason - who is so awful, he's surely not a footballer by trade - in the same side fails to make him look any better by comparison.

Lansbury should be driving a van for a living.

A slow, shit van at that. And Bjarnasson isn't good enough to clean it - he's an absolutely awful, awful player.

[TheTimVilla]

That was shambolic, what a waste of time. We never looked like scoring, despite them being down to ten men from the 3rd minute onwards. The whole side was odd. A very defence minded left side (Taylor & Thor) and a non defence minded right (Elmo and Snodders); no balance. Why didn't we attack more on the right? We all know Downing can't tackle. Taylor sees far too much of the ball and has no right foot. Their right back frequently invited him inside, knowing he'd lose it on his own. Jedinak looked well off the pace and his radar was awry.

Christ alone knows what was going on Angela's head. I can only think he was frustrated, especially by the previous attack failing. Yes, Boro time wasted, of course they would. But he should have let their attack peter out in to nothing. If Ang hadn't been sent off, Snodgrass was well up for it.

Am I right in thinking that John Terry is playing in his preferred position and that Chester is accommodating that? If so, it has to change immediately as that was possibly Chester's worst Villa match.

Hourihane looked good and Johnstone made some more important saves. The rest were meh (at best). Shite ref and it pissed it down!

[tomd2103]

I almost feel sorry for Bruce tonight but his team selection, tactics and stupidity during the game cancel any sympathy.

First he puts Elmo at right back, a position he's played before under Bruce at Hull - and was shit. After the sending off, Elmo had nothing to do, nobody to mark, just tonnes of open space in front of him. Did he use it? Did he fuck. It was only midway through the second half where it appeared somebody had changed his batteries that he actually started moving, attacking and making himself useful.

Adomah comes on and starts to open up the left side combining well with Taylor, so what does Bruce do, switches him to bloody right back. We have three right backs plus Elmo in the squad and he plays Adomah there. That makes even less sense than when he played James Chester there the other week.

What was greatly disappointing was how half arsed the players were. No fighting for 50/50s, safe and negative passing, only Snodgrass looked like he cared and was up for the fight. Fortunately Boro having seen our team on paper must have thought we were better than we are as they offered little threat or intention other than to waste time.

11 months on, another game down the drain and I still can't work out what Bruce is trying to do. He may claim we were unlucky tonight but what he should remember you also create your own luck. The only thing he's creating is an easy decision for the board to kick his arse down Witton Lane.

It wasn't so much Elmohamady who could have gone off, it was Jedinak or Lansbury.  We didn't really need a ldefensive midfielder after the red card, so he could have sacrificed one of those two and either brought on Adomah and moved Snodgrass more central or brought on Hogan or Kodjia to partner Davis.  He waited until half time to make the change though. 

[leylandalbion]

5 hour drive there and back 4 fighting kids running through the rain to just miss kick-off and sending off and no doubt a ticket from a parking firm for not paying at Tesco.  Joy of joys...and to round it off no bonus villa reward points...bastards

[Pete3206]

We need to get more song sheets on the big screens. How about 'My Old Man' and 'You're going home in a fucking ambulance'?

[Brend'Watkins]

Lansbury' contribution first half was okay. 2nd half very good actually, by that I mean him being sent off the team played much better.

Bruce actually did make some alterations during the game and we were a bit unlucky in the end but it was a game there for the taking. Another ref who thought we were there just to see him.

[BC54 VFC]

How about: 'There's a circus in the town, in the town; Stevie Bruce is a clown, is a clown.......'.

[taylorsworkrate]

Something that really fucking winds me up, and perhaps it shouldn't, but fucking goalkeepers who take the goal kick from the opposite side of the six yard box to where the ball went out. Fucking c***s.

The Boro keeper did that numerous times.