Barnsley v Unbeatable Aston Villa post match thread

[ciggiesnbeer]

I genuinely can't remember the last time I saw us score three away from home. I like it.

4-0 vs Sunderland.

That was a fun day! Fun goals, showboating, opposing fans going ballistic at their manager. Great stuff.

[Bad English]

Totally surreal out of body experience. Bruce  now needs to ram all the potato and dinosaur based jibes down our throats by going  on a ten-game winning streak. Or he can fuck off.

[Axl Rose]

I think playing two up front works well for us, and Davis compliments Kodjia well.

I'd even go three up front in some home games, with Kodjia drifting and Hogan and Davis through the centre.

A good away win, looked solid for the most part. I enjoy watching Albert play. He creates alot for us when he does.

[Percy McCarthy]

I think playing two up front works well for us, and Davis compliments Kodjia well.

I'd even go three up front in some home games, with Kodjia drifting and Hogan and Davis through the centre.

A good away win, looked solid for the most part. I enjoy watching Albert play. He creates alot for us when he does.

Is he our top scorer? Him and Hourihane perhaps, who've both hardly had a kick until recently.

[Axl Rose]

I think playing two up front works well for us, and Davis compliments Kodjia well.

I'd even go three up front in some home games, with Kodjia drifting and Hogan and Davis through the centre.

A good away win, looked solid for the most part. I enjoy watching Albert play. He creates alot for us when he does.

Is he our top scorer? Him and Hourihane perhaps, who've both hardly had a kick until recently.

I think you might be right, Percy. I'd definitely keep both in the starting lineup. They offer us some balance, and both have goals/assists in them.

I'd like to see O'Hare/Odomah given more game, too. Could Onomah play a holding role or is he more box to box?

[mrfuse]

Can't remember the last time we went in 2 up after such a dismal 1st half. We just couldn't keep the ball, 19% possession is dreadful.

But better 2nd half and ended up comfortable winners. Keinan very good and great to see him score his 1st goal. Still a long way from turning the corner, but win the next 3 league games, which we can, then I might start believing

You are right, 19% possession is dreadful. Although when that stat was flashed up at half time I was genuinely shocked. I must have been watching the half through my claret and blue tinted glasses.

Barnsley's terrible back 4 played into our hands, their keeper was our MOTM. Chucked two in and conceded the penalty.

Nice to win well but we still have it all to prove against better defensive units.

I don't like to sound too pessimistic after scoring 3 goals but I have to agree with this. Barnsley have lost a huge amount of players and yet once again we set up in such a negative fashion and never took the game to them.

They gifted us the first 2 goals and that was game over. Personally at that point I would have liked us to have really gone for it, but its not the Bruce way.
 
On the positive side we have kept another clean sheet and the Davis, Kodija partnership looks promising.

[Clark W Griswold]

I was more impressed with the Barnsley 0 than the Villa 3, because defensively, apart from the one near miss towards the end, we shut them out magnificently. I have to give him credit that the defence does now look very good, i would say easily good enough for top 6. Going forward we looked poor again until we had the slightly lucky first, although fair play to Adomah for asking the question. After that we looked a little better, and then once we got the second we did look reasonably good going forward. It did feel that a bit of luck got us the goals to then give us the bit of confidence, otherwise who knows. Its pretty obvious though from the odd times we have done well that as long as we're set up right in attack and the confidence is there, we should be seeing these sorts of results most of the time.
Bruce now gets till the international break but to say that the jury is still out would be a big understatement.

[K4]

Message to Steve Bruce who has spent his career managing underdogs.

Please understand the difference between hysteria and expectation that comes from managing a big club.

Hull - Disappointing after signings made and full pre-season
Cardiff - Desperate
Reading - Desperate (Don't be fooled by our late goal making it look closer)
Norwich - Excellent, stumbled across KD due to injuries
Wigan - Excellent, different players coming in but continue with attacking intent
Bristol - Changes structure of winning team and loses all momentum
Brentford - fails to spot small ginger headed guy who has run the last three games we have played against them
Middlesbrough - wastes 40 mins by not changing things whilst we have extra player
Barnsley- Excellent

Please use the Barnsley game as platform, stop going on about hysteria and start spotting things that are happening on the pitch.

[Bad English]

His job is to get us up not to get us to love him.

Correct however despite my reservations about him I will love it if he gets us promoted this season.

Agreed. Three away goals and a clean sheet certainly gets me up. Keep it up Bruce! Looking forward to a goal bintje from now on.

[garyshawsknee]

Well said K4.

[Mister E]

I was more impressed with the Barnsley 0 than the Villa 3, because defensively, apart from the one near miss towards the end, we shut them out magnificently. I have to give him credit that the defence does now look very good, i would say easily good enough for top 6. Going forward we looked poor again until we had the slightly lucky first, although fair play to Adomah for asking the question. After that we looked a little better, and then once we got the second we did look reasonably good going forward. It did feel that a bit of luck got us the goals to then give us the bit of confidence, otherwise who knows. Its pretty obvious though from the odd times we have done well that as long as we're set up right in attack and the confidence is there, we should be seeing these sorts of results most of the time.
Bruce now gets till the international break but to say that the jury is still out would be a big understatement.

Barnsley's defence was crap. They exerted some control in the first half, missed an easy header in the first half and I thought we were slightly lucky to be two up at halftime.
Their No.20 - Potts - was very good.

[dorsetvillian]

At last an enjoyable away day, including the game! Davis and Kodja looks promising. It means we can go short and hold the ball up or go over the top into the channels.

[Axl Rose]

His job is to get us up not to get us to love him.

Correct however despite my reservations about him I will love it if he gets us promoted this season.

Agreed. Three away goals and a clean sheet certainly gets me up. Keep it up Bruce! Looking forward to a goal bintje from now on.

Agree with all of this. Including the 'getting me up' part

[avfcpg]

Two up top and we look more than a threat, who'd have thought it :-).
Third goal is how we should be playing....press them high up the pitch, get the ball back, and get it in the danger areas with players in the box.
Still thought we sat back a little (see possession stats...think we had 31%) when they were there for the taking...but much much better.
Home games are where we should be really taking it to teams...not sitting deep and counter attacking.

[tomd2103]

I think playing two up front works well for us, and Davis compliments Kodjia well.

I'd even go three up front in some home games, with Kodjia drifting and Hogan and Davis through the centre.

A good away win, looked solid for the most part. I enjoy watching Albert play. He creates alot for us when he does.

My only worry about playing two up top is the prospect of getting overrun in midfield.  Davis and Kodjia have the potential to form a good partnership though.  I know he has said he prefers to play on that side, but Snodgrass doesn't look a good fit on the right, as he's always looking to cut inside.